Chapter 14: Moving Forward

Posted: 7/16/2013

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto

Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, currently residing in his office at his desk, was in deep thought about everything that had happened in the past few weeks. The chaos that had gripped his mind began just a few weeks ago when Shimura Danzo and his renegade ROOT organization, resulting in the death of most of the Uchiha clan, his old teammate and good friend, Uchiha Fugaku, and the coming forth of a dangerous threat to Konoha.

What followed soon after was probably the hardest for him to comprehend out of everything, but once he thought about everything that had happened over the past few weeks, it all made sense…or at least as much sense as it could. His son, Namikaze Naruto, was somehow a time traveler who had traveled back to the very moment he was born to stop what would have been a catastrophe not just for the village, but for his family as well.

Once he was able to piece that information together, the following action of actually making his son a jinchuriki was made clear as Naruto wasn't the only time traveler amongst them. Still, it was hard to believe that Naruto had managed to break away that cynical and shrewd exterior of Kurama's.

Based on the conversation between him and the eight others who were in the loop of this who time travel ordeal, they figured they still had some time before anything major happened and there was plenty of time to prepare. But still

Just a few nights ago, Minato realized the harsh reality of this entire situation…This was no longer Naruto's timeline. Many things had changed already, whether they were intended or not. The most obvious being that he was still alive and that Konoha was much stronger due to not having suffered what he predicted to be a near 40% loss due to the actions of a certain student of his nearly 10 years ago.

Most definitely, those extra 40% of Konoha's people had already done stuff that they hadn't in the previous timeline, resulting in even more changes, even if they were only minute. It was a result of what was probably the most shocking event that was what allowed for Minato to realize this. For some reason, and his wife's temper not helping the situation, the Hyuga clan had officially disowned and banished their heiress, who Kushina easily realized had developed a massive crush on Naruto in the past and was already starting to show signs of the same crush. The only positive outcomes of this whole ordeal being that Hinata was probably the first Hyuga to be banished without being sealed by their repulsive seal, and that she was now in the care of her godmother.

Still, Minato realized that already enough had changed to warrant his belief that this was no longer the same timeline that Naruto had come from…that pesky little butterfly effect.

Making a quick hand motion, a dog-masked ANBU appeared in front of Minato. "Kakashi, go round the rest of them up. There's something I need to discuss with everyone" said Minato.

"I see you're concerned to" replied Kakashi before shunshining away. However, before he could manage such a move, a large explosion racked the village and Minato shot to the window to see what was going on.

All around the village, multiple explosions were set off and the village itself was thrown into utter chaos.

From the window of his office, Minato spied a number of wild masked and feathered beasts, frantically darting across the rooftops in a panicked state. The main streets in Konoha were dyed in a mixture of red and orange colors with countless bodies lying motionless across the street. It looked as if Konoha had become a battlefield at the center of one of the great shinobi wars.

"Sensei?" asked Kakashi as he walked next to Minato. "What exactly is going on?"

"I think I've got a pretty good idea" replied Minato. "And as much as I hate to say it, two certain someones aren't going to be having ramen for some time."

"Should I assemble everyone at the tower?" asked Kakashi.

"No, I'll handle this 'enemy'" replied Minato. "You just do what you can to calm everyone down." With that, Minato was off in a flash.

Arriving mere milliseconds later in the center of the main street of Konoha, Minato looked around to all the bodies lying around him and smoke rising from some used smoke bombs, most likely sleeping gas. Thankfully, they were still alive, but the crudely drawn designs on their faces suggested that they had fallen victim to this 'war' that Konoha had found itself caught up in. Surrounding him, were the buildings of the village, splattered in either red or orange paint.

As he was about to flash away to the next scene, one of the feathered masked beasts fell from the top of the buildings, giving Minato a good look at what had befallen his ANBU. Someone had glued his mask on upside down and used some sort of adhesive to cover the poor ANBU in multi-colored feathers.

Minato's next stop on his search for the culprits behind the attacks led him to the Inuzuka compound, where someone had decided to take out quite a bit of frustration on a certain cat that plagues the ninja careers of genin. Now normally, Inuzuka hounds were friendly to cats, but Tora was a different story. Of course, it didn't help that Tora smelled as if she had been drenched in steak sauce. This prank wasn't too bad, and even Minato found it hard for him to pity the demon spawn of a cat. Unfortunately, he'd be getting some complaints from Madam Shinji later.

Minato's next Hiraishin took him near the Nara clan compound, where he could hear a loud ringing coming from the compound. It didn't take Minato's genius to deduce that someone had set off a number of alarm clocks in the Nara's house. This would prove to be a troublesome morning for them.

The sounds of ringing alarms weren't the only disturbing sound for the Nara's morning. Considering the Nara men's liking for most troublesome women, they were probably the one clan that the women of the village didn't have to worry about peeping on them. Still, Minato felt obliged to get his sensei out of the trouble he most likely was in now. However, it wasn't Jiraiya that was the problem.

"You know, for some reason I can't help but feel this one was warranted. Mizuki is already showing shady behavior and the fact that he actually tried to implement my son as a traitor in the past only makes it even more believable that he hasn't quite changed" thought Minato. "I will need to have him interrogated. If he's working with Orochimaru, that could only result in problems." Up until now, most of the pranks had been relatively harmless (physically) and annoying at the most. This would be the first case where someone would most likely be admitted to the hospital…and later to Inoichi.

Someone, most likely Naruto, had dressed a certain white-haired chunin instructor as Jiraiya, tied him up, and left him hanging just above the women's section of the outdoor hot springs. And now poor Mizuki was left strung up like a piñata above a hot spring full of kunoichi who had a bone or two to pick against the one and only self-proclaimed super-pervert. Unfortunately for Mizuki, those were the last kunoichi in the village he wanted beating on him.

"I think I'll let Mizuki soak for a bit more before sending Yugao to go pick him up, if she ever stops beating on him along with Anko and Kurenai" thought Minato. "And a few of those bumps on him hint that Kushina's already gotten in a few shots." And with that, Minato flashed off to the next 'battlefield'…the Hyugas.

Mass chaos had ensued within the Hyuga house this morning. The Hyuga's prided themselves on their all seeing vision and the fact that their compound was virtually impenetrable without being detected, unless of course you were a certain blonde who had already broken into the ANBU HQ…twice in a single week and many times before.

"This must be Naruto's form of revenge against the Hyugas for what they did to Hinata-chan" thought Minato. Again, this was another prank he was reluctant to help fix, but there were some Hyugas (Hizashi) who he still held some level of respect for. Naruto had turned the Hyuga house into a hall of mirrors, using some seals that he had picked up over the past few months to reinforce them with chakra, making them impenetrable to the Byakugan, and sending the Hyugas running around their own house like chickens with their head cut off.

"Perhaps it's about time I put a stop to them" thought Minato before getting a laugh as he witnessed Hiashi run into wall, another wall, a third wall, and finally the wall he originally ran into. Now it was time to find the culprits as he flashed to the seals that he had placed on his family.

"Just one more touch and then my masterpiece will be complete" grinned Naruto as he was stuck to the side of the Hokage Monument with his chakra, repeating what was most likely his most famous prank from the past. Yes that's right; he was currently busy painting the Hokage monument. As it stood, the Shodaime's head now was painted solid white with a few black outlines surrounding the mouth and eyes. If Naruto knew what it was, the Shodai would look very mime-ish. The Nidaime looked as if he had just graduated clown school. Sandaime Jiji's face resembled the one from the time where Naruto hit him with the Oiroke no Jutsu. Naruto was currently putting the finishing touches on his dad's face, which was nothing more than a few touch-ups like whisker marks to make Minato look more like Naruto, a testament to the dream that still burned strong in Naruto's heart.

"There we go, just one more to go…" Naruto was immediately cut off as he disappeared from the side of the monument and appeared in his dad's office, earning a wave from a certain masked jonin who still had yet to leave to accomplish his own errand.

"Ya know, I suppose I could stop for one bowl of ramen. Naruto-kun may have inherited my genius, but there's no way he's bested the true prank master" said Kushina to herself as she finished her own prank. Currently, she was bringing retribution upon every store that had overcharged Naruto for goods in the past, which was pretty much all of them. Once the store merchants woke from their smoke-bomb induced slumber, they would discover that instead of being stocked with their normal contents, their shelves would contain nothing but instant ramen.

"Ah Kushina-san" greeted Teuchi, probably one of the few people in Konoha who was currently unscathed. While Kushina was aware that Teuchi made a killing off of Naruto in the past, it wasn't because he held anything against the boy…or that bottomless pit of a stomach he had. "What can I get you?"

"I'll have a large bowl of…" Kushina was cut off as she instantly disappeared in a flash of yellow.

"…pork ramen." By the time she opened her eyes, she realized the ramen aroma was no longer present and she found herself staring at her son, who was pouting on the Hokage's desk with his arms and legs crossed, next to a very irritated Minato.

"Hello honey, I was just about to order ramen, do you want anything?" asked Kushina, trying to get out of whatever trouble she knew was in store for her and Naruto.

"You two will be lucky if you get any ramen for a month" spoke Minato. "Do the two of you realize how much trouble you've caused the village?"

"Oh come on Tou-chan. It couldn't have been that bad" sweated Naruto.

There were several knocks on the door and many villagers and clan heads arrived to voice their complaints.

Many complaints, scoldings, and headaches later…

A few more knocks were heard on the door and the remaining members of the group who had knowledge on the future entered. Well, Fukasaku didn't come through the door but was summoned by Jiraiya.

"Okay Minato, what did you summon us for?" asked Sarutobi, who had just finished ungluing his grandson from the inside of a square 'rock'.

"I wanted to make something clear that I've realized through a combination of the most recent events and some of the research I did on time travel theory" said Minato. "And that is that I don't think we should just sit idly by waiting for certain things to happen."

"While I would normally go against messing with the timeline, we've already done enough of it that this is in no way, shape, or form the original timeline" agreed Kurama inside Naruto's head.

"Kurama actually agrees there. He mentioned something about already meddling too much with the timeline" spoke Naruto, for his tenant.

"That's what I was getting to. Too much has already been changed that things are going to be the same as they were in the past. I believe our best course of action is to prepare for what we know is going to come. In particular, I'm talking about Akatsuki and Orochimaru" spoke Minato.

"The future actions of my former student sure are troubling" spoke Hiruzen. "But Konoha has to be much stronger than it was in the past. We did not suffer the losses we would have from the Kyuubi attack that was prevented in the first place. We have many more strong shinobi to defend the village should Orochimaru ever attack. We have the knowledge of his future endeavors and how we could stop him. And most importantly, we have a strong Hokage that would surely prove a more formidable match against any threats than myself."

"You're still one of the most powerful shinobi in this village, Hiruzen" replied Minato.

"That may be, but I'm no longer the shinobi I used to be" admitted Hiruzen. "But still, that doesn't mean I won't do whatever I have to for this village, even if that means giving my life."

"Hopefully we can avoid that this time around" spoke Itachi.

"Yeah, according to Naruto here, your son Asuma's going to get lucky in a few years with that hot genjutsu mistress" commented Jiraiya before getting slammed in the head.

"Pervert!" shouted Kushina, removing her fist from Jiraiya's skull.

"Jeez, even when Tsunade's not here…"

"Well someone's gotta make sure you're kept in line when Tsunade-sensei's not around."

"Minato, that reminds me" spoke Jiraiya, catching Minato's attention. "My informants have given me a lead on Tsunade's location."

"I assume you want to go and bring her back?" asked Minato.

"And I also want to bring Naruto with me" replied Jiraiya.

"You're not taking Naruto on one of your 'research' trips!" shouted Kushina.

"I swear it's not what you think. I have an idea on Tsunade's location. I believe her to be in a town near the borders of Kusa" replied Jiraiya.

"I believe we should let Jiraiya go. Tsunade would make a valuable tenth member to our group" spoke Hiruzen.

"Ten Akatsuki, ten of us" realized Kakashi, earning a nod from Hiruzen. (AN: Naruto, Kurama, Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, Itachi, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Fukasaku, and Tsunade)

"Precisely."

"But why do you want to take Naruto?" asked Kushina.

"Because, Tsunade won't come back easily and it was Naruto who brought her back last time. If anyone has the best chance at bringing her back, it's him" replied Jiraiya.

"Hey Ero-Sennin, if we're going on a trip, are you going to teach me anything cool? Like you did with the Rasengan?" asked a now hyperactive Naruto and earning Jiraiya a look from Minato.

"I said I was sorry. It's not like I meant to teach the Gaki your jutsu" replied Jiraiya.

"No that's right, I just had to pay for you to 'gather information' in order to get the Rasengan out of you" retorted Naruto. This sent a cold chill down Jiraiya's spine as Kushina sent a harsh glare to Jiraiya.

"Naruto-kun never mentioned anything about having to bribe his birthright out of you" said Kushina a little too sweetly (fyi, that's not how you want her to talk to you).

"What?! I didn't do anything!" defended the poor super pervert.

"Anyways, I actually agree with finding Tsunade" replied Minato. "Not only would she make a valuable member to our team, but I'm sure the hospital could do much better with her in charge."

"I take it you're going to offer her the position as head of the hospital and medical academy?" asked Hiruzen.

"Why not? She IS the best medic ever produced. Besides, she needs some reason to be called back to Konoha. Last time it was to become Godaime, but that's no longer necessary. I'll even allow her to start a program in the academy for aspiring medical ninja" said Minato.

"She would actually like that" replied Hiruzen.

"I think that would be for the best as well" spoke Jiraiya. "But I'm still going to need the Gaki. I feel like I'm going to need him if I have any chance on bringing her back." Jiraiya looked to Kushina, knowing that it was her approval he needed as Minato most likely had no objections.

"Fine, but under one condition" replied Kushina. "From everything Naruto told me about that one girl he encountered with Sasuke, the one with red hair and that was working with Orochimaru. Karin was her name I believe."

"What about her Kaa-chan?" asked Naruto.

"I'm almost certain she's an Uzumaki" stated Kushina, grabbing everyone's attention. "If that's the case, I'm not just going to sit by as Orochimaru gets his slimy fingers on her."

"So if I understand you correct, you want me to infiltrate Kusagakure and bring her back?" asked Jiraiya. Kushina nodded happily. "Sure…because kidnapping a potential shinobi from a neighboring village won't cause an incident."

"Only if you don't get caught" smiled Kushina.

"Oh and while you two are out, I have a favor to ask as well" said Minato.

"What do I look like? A courier ninja" said Jiraiya sarcastically.

"Please tell me we're not going to have to deal with those guys again…" deadpanned Naruto.

"One thing I've been working on is improving our relations with Suna. That way, Orochimaru will have one less ally to use against us. I just need you to deliver this most recent negotiation draft and wait a day or two for the Kazekage's response" said Minato, handing Jiraiya an envelope.

"Suna? That means I can see Gaara!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Great…that mean's I've gotta put up with that insane tanuki of a brother…" groaned Kurama.

"Gaara?" asked Kushina. "Oh, isn't he the Kazekage's son?"

"Yeah, and if I remember correctly, he's having trouble in the friends department" said Naruto. "But if we're going to Suna, then perhaps I can show him that he's not alone and stop him before he goes down the path of loneliness and despair. Or at least try to bring him back before he goes too far."

"From what you've told me, it sounds like his seal is unstable" commented Jiraiya. "Perhaps I can see if I can fix it."

"While that may seem like a good idea, be careful when you do that Sensei. I'm trying to improve relations with Suna, not make it look like I'm trying to sabotage their jinchuriki" warned Minato.

"I understand. We'll leave in a few days from now, Naruto" said Jiriaya.

"Minato-chan, I will also prepare to summon you to Mt. Myoboku at around the same time. I hope you're ready. Sage training is anything but easy" said Fukasaku.

"I still wish I could re-learn Sage-mode" groaned Naruto.

"You can once your chakra settles down in a few years, Naruto-chan" assured Fukasaku.

Minato nodded. "Hiruzen, I hope you don't mind holding down the fort until I return."

"I'm sure I can take the hat for a little. After all, now that the paperwork problem has been solved, being Hokage again will be a breeze" smiled Hiruzen.

"So ARE you going to teach me anything cool?" asked a hopeful Naruto.

"You do realize you ARE still in the academy. I could teach you the Bunshin or perhaps the Kawarmi" teased Jiraiya.

"I know an S-rank kinjutsu and you think you can bribe me with stupid illusionary clones?" replied an irritated Naruto.

"Meh, it was worth a try. Perhaps I'll help you a bit with your sealing" replied Jiraiya. Naruto shrugged at this and nodded.

"Speaking of S-rank kinjutsus…" interrupted Minato. "You still have yet to show me the completed version of the Rasengan."

"I can show you right after this. If you'll let me get a bowl of ramen first."

"Oh that's a low blow, -ttebane!" shouted Kushina. Both ramen addicted Uzumakis had been stripped of their ramen privileges for the month as punishment and now Minato was torn between letting Naruto get a bowl and not seeing the fabled Rasenshuriken.

"Futon: Rasenshuriken!"

'Naruto' charged forward and slammed the spiraling chakra shuriken in to a poor unsuspecting rock, obliterating the rock, all the surroundings, and the shadow clone that Naruto had sent to carry the Rasenshuriken.

Minato's jaw dropped at the resulting crater from the completed form of one of his most prized jutsus. And the next few hours were spent with Minato asking questions out of Naruto and the younger blonde having his dad use shadow clones to learn how to add wind chakra to the Rasengan. Later, all three Uzumakis/Namikazes, joined by an ex-Hyuga, went to Ichiraku as Kushina had…other forms of leverage to get her out of ramen suspension (also known as the couch).

"Okay Naruto, time for you to admit that I'm the better prank master" said Kushina, as she slurped down her 6th bowl of ramen.

"What?! I so out-pranked you!" argued Naruto, finishing his 7th bowl, much to Teuchi's delight. "Just face it, you're all washed up."

"I'll show you washed up!" shouted Kushina as both of them pulled out a red/orange colored paint-filled balloon and tossed them at one another. Now, Minato and Hinata were sitting between the two but Minato wasn't called the 'Yellow Flash' for nothing. Both Minato and Hinata disappeared and the two paint balloons hit their mark.

"I thought we were done with this" said Minato as he and Hinata flashed back to their seats, joining the painted mother and son.

"But we can't just leave it at that! I know!" exclaimed Naruto. "We'll let Hinata-chan decide!"

"Eek!" squeaked Hinata as both Naruto and Kushina stared intently at the poor girl, causing her to pass out. Still, she passed out rather happy at the turn of events in her life. Naruto's family had been more than accepting of her and in all honestly, their little prank war gave her a warm feeling at just how far those two would go to make her happy. While she was still heartbroken that her own father had tossed her aside so easily, the ex-Hyuga was actually looking forward to a life with her godmother…and a certain blonde.

The following morning,

"Minato!" shouted Kushina as she came bolting from the bathroom, holding a test stick. That could only mean one thing.

Minato peered his head around the corner of the kitchen, only to be glomped by his wife and the results on the test stick being practically shoved into his face.

"Wait…does this mean…" gasped Minato.

Kushina grinned and rapidly nodded her head. "I'm pregnant!"

Minato was left speechless for a moment before a large grin plastered his face. "We're going to have another baby!" cheered Minato. However, a completely different thought was on his mind. "Great…just what I need…more mood swings."

"NAMIKAZE NARUTO! GET YOU LAZY BUTT OUT OF BED AND DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" shouted Kushina.

"And so we begin…No wait, this is how Kushina normally is" thought Minato, dreading the next couple months.

"NAMIKAZE NARUTO! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF BED AND DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Naruto was still happily asleep. Today was the one day of the week where he didn't have to go to the academy and could afford to sleep in. That was until he heard his mother's shouting. Immediately after Kushina's screaming rang through the house, Naruto shot straight out of bed, nearly stumbling over the slippers and some clothes he had lying on the floor (his room was cleaner than in the past, but remember he's still a 9/10 year-old boy)…followed by him gracefully tumbling down the stairs of his house and landing in front of his parents, face first.

"Troublesome…" muttered Naruto. "Damn, I'm starting to sound like Shikamaru. I wonder if his mornings are like this?"

Nara household,

"NARA SHIKAMARU! GET THAT LAZY ASS OF YOURS OUT OF BED THIS INSTANT!" Nara Yoshino shouted through the house.

Shikamaru lazily sat up in his bed and let out a big yawn. "Today was supposed to be my day to sleep in…troublesome…"

Back in the Namikaze house,

"W-what?" stuttered Naruto, his face on the verge of resembling a gapping fish.

"I said, I'm pregnant. In a few months, you're going to have a baby brother or sister" grinned Kushina.

Naruto couldn't believe it. The closest thing he had to a brother before would be Sasuke, and now here he is, actually hearing that he will have one soon.

"That's great, -ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto, causing a bead of sweat to drop from Kushina's head.

"I seriously hope the next one doesn't have that verbal tick" prayed Kushina.

Walking down the stairs, Hinata heard the announcement and while she was extremely happy for Naruto and his family, she couldn't help but feel a small painful tug at her heart. "Hanabi" she thought. It was actually less than a month before her younger sister's fifth birthday and Hanabi was the one thing about the Hyuga house that Hinata truly missed. The slight look on her face went unnoticed by all except Kushina.

"It's okay Hinata-chan. I know you miss your sister, but I'm sure Ko and Hizashi are making sure that everything is fine" assured Kushina.

"I'll talk with Hizashi and see if I can arrange a meeting between Hinata and her sister before I leave" commented Minato.

"T-thank y-you" replied Hinata sincerely. "B-but w-where are y-you g-going?"

"That's right, we haven't told you yet" said Minato. "I'm leaving for about a month or so for some special training."

"B-but I t-thought you w-were the s-strongest ninja?" stuttered Hinata.

"I may be Hokage, but there's always room to improve and get stronger" replied Minato.

"And I'm leaving for a few weeks with Ero-Sennin" replied a slightly saddened Naruto.

"What?!" squeaked out Hinata. A few weeks without her bright Naruto-kun? How would she manage? "W-what a-bout your f-friends a-and the a-academy?"

"I know, but there are some really important things I need to do with Ero-Sennin. I'm not going to fall behind in school because Ero-Sennin's going to make me stronger than the academy ever could and as for my friends, well I'll be back I promise. I know I'll be away for some time, but I'll come back stronger so that I can help everyone, including you, get stronger as well! –ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto, flashing a foxy smile.

"And don't worry, Hinata-chan. I'm not going anywhere. In fact, I think it's about time we get started on operation 'show those stuck-up Hyuga's just how wrong they were'! –ttebane!" exclaimed Kushina. "What do you say?"

Hinata thought for a moment, but quickly resolved herself. If Naruto-kun was going to get stronger, then she should as well.

"Okay class, today I regret to inform you that Mizuki-sensei is in the hospital recovering from some serious injuries" announced Iruka, causing Naruto to snicker a bit.

He turned his head to Sasuke, who was currently wearing a hat with a strand of orange hair sticking out. That had been another of Naruto's pranks the other day, putting orange dye in the Uchiha's shampoo. The only one who came out of that without orange hair was Itachi and another Uchiha (Itachi saw Naruto do this and the other Uchiha was bald to begin with).

"So do you have a way to get this stuff out?" asked an irritated Sasuke.

Naruto sighed and pulled a slip of paper out of his desk, slipping it under the brim of Sasuke's hat and putting some chakra into the paper. The seal on the paper activated and the orange began to fade from Sasuke's hair. "A seal?" asked a curious Sasuke. "Since when could you use seals?"

"My parents are seal masters" replied Naruto. "I just wish I would have learned this in the past. This fuinjutsu stuff is awesome!"

"Hn, fair enough" shrugged Sasuke, as he resumed listening to Iruka-sensei's lecture on the history of weaponry. Unlike most lectures, this one was fairly interesting and many students were having silent discussions with one another on what type of weapons they wanted to wield.

In another classroom, an envious girl who was a year older and had buns in her hair listened to a lecture about proper shinobi attire while another boy's eyes widened in awe when their teacher showed a slide displaying a horrific green jumpsuit, modelled by a certain bushy-eye-browed jonin, flashing a most youthful pose.

Namikaze estate,

Finally, Kushina was getting down to beginning Hinata's training. If her suspicions were correct, it was only a matter of time before the Hyuga's would be eating every comment regarding Hinata being weak.

"Okay Hinata-chan, I want to start off with some chakra control exercises that are reserved for genin-level shinobi, but first there is something I need to see" said Kushina.

"W-what is t-that, Kushina-sensei?" asked Hinata, having accepted Kushina as one of her teachers.

"It's about your chakra" replied Kushina, pulling out a piece of paper. "I remember from my time with your mother that she used wind and water jutsus. The Hyuga style is inherently earth based. If my suspicions are correct, you've inherited your mother's talents, including her wind-dominant chakra nature." Kushina handed the paper to Hinata and instructed her to channel her chakra into it, the result would tell what Hinata's natural element was.

Hinata did as instructed and as Kushina predicted, the paper sliced in two. "Just as I thought." Kushina pulled out a circular disk about the size of a cup coaster and gave that to Hinata. "Now channel your chakra into this. It's a special Uzumaki emblem that my clan used to determine ALL the elements in ones chakra, the primary element, the secondary element, and even a tertiary element in some cases. The only downside with it, which is why I used the chakra paper, is that it doesn't tell which one(s) is stronger."

Hinata took the emblem and did as Kushina instructed. Channeling the chakra, blue and light green appeared on opposite sides of the disk and began to spiral together until meeting in the middle.

"Just as I thought, -ttebane!" exclaimed Kushina. "You're like your mother, and as such the reason the Jyuken was never good was because of the earthen elements to it. They clashed too much with your wind and water natures."

The realization hit Hinata. She wasn't good at the Jyuken because she was a weak failure, she just wasn't taught the proper fighting style.

"Now, this poses a small problem. You see, my elements are water and earth, but not wind. Usually, people start with their strongest element first, which for you would be the wind element. But the two wind users in our house will be away for at least a month" explained Kushina. "I know a few exercises to help, but I can't do much more than that for wind. Water though, is a different story."

"Wait, d-does that mean N-Naruto-kun and M-Minato-san b-both have w-wind chakra?" asked Hinata.

"Yep. Actually, Minato can use wind, lightning, and water with a high degree of proficiency. I think I've also caught him attempting a fire jutsu as well, but nothing compared to those three. Naruto-kun I know for a fact is wind, but I never tested him for a second or even third element" explained Kushina. "Now let's get started on those chakra control exercises. From what Naruto-kun's told me, you already have excellent chakra control so tree climbing and water walking should be a breeze! –ttebane!" "I'm also going to have to get rid of her stuttering. I'd almost rather have that damned verbal tick, -ttebane!"

With Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi,

All three of them were at the lake that was located behind the Uchiha compound.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" (Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu)

About half a dozen small fireballs erupted from Sasuke's mouth as Itachi and Naruto sat back and watched Sasuke perform his jutsu.

"Not bad, Sasuke" commented Itachi. "You only had to watch me once there and it didn't take too long for you to get the jutsu down."

Itachi had been working on instructing Sasuke on how to use the Sharingan. One thing Itachi had done was to take it upon himself to train his brother, so that he could help shy Sasuke away from darker paths, should those ever be offered to the young Uchiha.

"But I still didn't get it the first time through-" Sasuke was cut off as Itachi poked him in the forehead.

"Considering you've only just awoken your Sharingan and it still had yet to mature, you did very well" replied Itachi. "Once your Sharingan gets stronger, then you'll find no difficulty in reproducing a jutsu and using it against your opponent. However, I should warn you that it's not right to copy a comrade's jutsu. If someone whom you trust offers you a jutsu, you should work towards learning it as a sign of respect. The Sharingan's copying ability should only be used on an enemy's jutsus. Understand Sasuke?"

"I do, Niisan" replied Sasuke as he went back to the dock to work on that new fire jutsu Itachi had taught him. "Watch out Danzo. If you ever show your face again, I'm going to kill you now that I have my Sharingan!"

Itachi turned to Naruto and spoke quietly. "I think we can keep Sasuke under control, but there are others I am worried about. Some of the younger Uchiha and even some adults have begun to develop that 'avenger complex' and are contemplating why the village isn't doing more to hunt down Danzo" explained Itachi. "I am worried that one of them might eventually find darker paths."

"My dad's doing everything to find Danzo, but he and his ROOTs were warped away with Obito. Even Kakashi-sensei said that he can't track them" replied Naruto.

"I understand that, but they don't" replied Itachi as he witnessed Sasuke throw off another volley of fireballs before falling to his knees, the young Uchiha's chakra finally running low.

The next day in class,

"Only one more boring class before leaving with Ero-Sennin again" thought Naruto.

"Good morning class. Before we begin, I would like to take this time to welcome a new student" spoke Iruka. This caught everyone's attention, even Naruto as the new student stepped into the room. The moment Naruto saw the new student, he was struck. "I would like to introduce you to our new student, Sai."

"What the hell?! What is Sai doing here?!" shouted Naruto mentally.

"He's probably acting as a little weasel for that Danzo guy" replied Kurama. "I say we just get rid of him and be done with any problems he and his puppeteer may cause."

"No. Sai may be an agent of Danzo, but he changed. I won't kill him. He can be changed to join us" replied Naruto.

As introductions were going on throughout the class, it was Naruto's turn to introduce himself to Sai. "Hello, I'm Namikaze Naruto."

Sai looked at the blonde jinchuriki with interest, as well as the raven haired bow sitting next to him.

Flashback no Jutsu

Sai knelt in front of his bandaged master on the middle of a bridge in some chamber far beneath the streets of Konoha.

"Soon, I and my men will be leaving Konoha for some time" spoke Danzo. "While I would like to have you accompany us, I have an important assignment for you. As it stands, the Hokage is unaware of your connections to me and after this week is up, I will be considered an 'enemy of the village'. Because of this, I will no longer be able to continue my normal operations from within the village, which means I will need someone to keep an eye on things for me. I already have agents observing certain targets and I am assigning you targets to watch and report on to me. You will become enrolled in the Academy, where I want you to observe the Hokage's son, Namikaze Naruto, and the younger son of Uchiha Fugaku, Sasuke. You are extremely talented for your age and your painting is just wonderful. As of today, you will be known as Sai."

"I am Sai" spoke the pale boy.

"And wipe that fake smile off your face" ordered Danzo.

"My apologies, the book I am reading says a smile is the best way to meet people" said Sai.

End Flashback no Jutsu

"Hello…dickless."

…

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! THAT'S IT, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" shouted Naruto. Currently, he was being restrained by Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, and even Shikamaru's shadow, all of which were struggling to prevent Naruto from heeding Kurama's advice and killing the little spy on site.

Many of the girls in the class blushed at the mentioning of Naruto's…manhood and those who considered themselves amongst the Naruto Fan Club, were also being restrained from ripping the pale boy to shreds.

After everything calmed down, it was Sasuke's turn to introduce himself.

"Hello…duck butt."

And so everything that happened with Naruto's outburst, happened with Sasuke's.

And for Sakura, "Hello…Ugly."

I think we all know what happens. Let's just say Sai didn't make a good first impression.

A knock was heard on Minato's door as he, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, and Fukasaku were finishing up last minute preparations for Minato's training trip.

"Dad, we've got a problem" spoke Naruto as he disregarded the earlier knock and just entered.

A quick explanation regarding the whole Sai incident later and now Minato, Hiruzen, and Jiraiya were all a bit worried.

"If Danzo has one agent of his in Konoha, who's to say he doesn't have more planted amongst our ranks?" asked Jiraiya.

"This is troubling indeed" spoke Hiruzen and Minato at the same time.

"You just worry about your training trip, Minato" said Hiruzen. "I can look into this whole issue. Out of everyone here, I know Danzo the best and I have the best idea on what to look for in picking out any potential spies."

"I want you to leave Sai to me though. In the future, he actually became a good friend and I think I can change him so that he's on our side" pleaded Naruto.

"If Naruto can get through to one of Danzo's agents, then perhaps we can get a lead on where he's hiding" replied Jiraiya.

Hiruzen nodded. "Very well, we'll leave Sai to you."

The following day at the village gates,

Minato was with Fukasaku and Naruto was packed up with Jiraiya. Kushina, Hinata, Kakashi, Itachi, Sasuke, and Hiruzen were all at the gates to see them off.

"I'll be back in a month or so, honey" said Minato, giving Kushina a loving kiss goodbye.

"You'd better come back. I'm not going to be making the midnight ramen runs, ya know!" exclaimed Kushina. Minato sweat dropped, remembering Kushina's last pregnancy. The current record stood at 6 ramen runs in a single night when it came to cravings. It's a good thing Minato had a Hirashin seal set up at Ichiraku and any store that sold ramen.

"And Jiraiya, you'd better take care of Naruto-kun and remember not to do anything I would frown upon" said Kushina, cracking her knuckles for emphasis.

"Don't worry Kushina, Naruto will be fine with me!" said Jiraiya, shaking his hands rapidly in front of him.

"You'd better come back with a good jutsu, dobe" said Sasuke, smirking at the wince Naruto gave to that nickname. Sasuke didn't call Naruto 'dobe' because Naruto was the dead last. Both of them were competing for the top spot of the class this time around. No, he just did it because it irked Naruto.

"Please teme, I'll come back with something more than that silly match of a fireball you've got" returned Naruto, getting the same reaction out of Sasuke for the 'teme' comment.

"G-good l-luck N-Naruto-kun" stuttered Hinata as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Minato-chan, it's time to go" called out Fukasaku.

"Well, goodbye everyone" waved Minato before he and Fukasaku disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Right! Let's go find Tsunade-baachan!" exclaimed Naruto before he turned and began to walk away.

"You know she's going to kill you if you call her that" warned Jiraiya as he followed the blonde.

"Nah, what's the worst an old bat like her could do?"

Author Notes

Sorry for the delay of the chapter. It's been a busy few weeks. I said I would get this chapter up before taking a leave for vacation and here it is, from the hotel room after a long car ride. I am now on vacation and won't be back until probably the second week of August for The Uzumaki Tales and probably mid/late August for this story.

The next couple chapters will detail the trip for Naruto and Jiraiya as they search for Tsunade, Karin, and make a stop by Suna where Naruto will meet Gaara for the first time (in this timeline). Afterwards, I'm thinking one or two more chapters before the graduation from the academy.

Before leaving, I've got a few questions to ask for.

First, for Naruto's elements, obviously there is wind as his primary. I was thinking lightning as a secondary and I want to add a third, but I'm not sure if it should be water, earth, or fire.

Second, I mentioned this would be NaruHina, but I'm looking for pairing suggestions for Sasuke. Possible options are: Sakura, Karin, Haku (femHaku).

Last, what weapon should Naruto wield (I was thinking giving him his dad's kunai)? What weapon should Hinata use? What weapon should Sasuke use?