Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto so that means that I'm not Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter posted 03/20/2009.
About chapter 439 and chapter 440... I never expected that HE would appear.
At first I wanted to make Minato's and the other time travellers original time line a possible future of the original story. Pein's invasion has changed some of the events of my time line, like Hinata's confession or the current events in the manga.
Minato's original time line is the same as the canon story (including the anime fillers and movies) until Pein's attack, in that time line Naruto's fight with Pein had a different ending.
While they headed towards the other side of Suna, Arashi and the others felt the gargantuan mass of chakra.
"This is no good... Where's Naruto? The memories of the clone I send to the hotel said that he is not there...", thought Arashi.
"H-He must be looking for a good place to eat ramen, he will be all right", said Kushina trying to believe her own words.
"I hope so...", responded Arashi.
Unfortunately, their delussions proved to be wrong when they finally arrived at their destiny.
Kushina recognized the creature that Naruto fought during Orochimaru's invasion, it was at the same time one of her worst and best memories about the Naruto of that time line. Until that fight she never feared for his life as she did before, she was afraid when Mizuki tried to kill him, same happened when he fought Zabuza and Orochimaru, but the monster that was destined to be Suna's secret weapon during the invasion excelled everything Naruto fought before.
However her son swallowed the fear and fought Gaara with a skill and bravery that she never saw before, specially when he summoned Gamabunta and, against all odds, managed to defeat it awaking Gaara. After that fight she didn't fear for Naruto's life because she knew that he would survive until he achieved his dream.
Now a similar scene was happening in Suna's outskirts. They managed to see how Naruto jumped from Sai's bird and slamming his fingers in Gaara's gut, then, Shukaku disolved into the sand he was formed, destroying Sai's bird. Lucky for them, they were saved by a strange puppet and a boy who looked dressed in an insect like armor.
Arashi rushed towards the group of kids. He noticed that they looked very tired, obviously they intervened in the battle too, but all his focus was on his son.
"Naruto! Are you all right!? What happened!?", asked.
"He is all right. He just overused his chakra", said the boy in the armor.
"Shino?", asked Arashi stranged.
The Aburame nodded, his armor turned into a swarm of bugs that disappeared into his coat.
"I almost forgot that Shino was about to take the jonin test when we were send to this time, I shouldn't be impressed for him having a technique like this, but I am. Perhaps I could convince him to do some 'special missions' in my place now that he can fly", thought the ex-kage.
"Can anybody explain us what happened here?", asked the Hokage.
"Yes, we would like to know that. What's that thing a Bijuu?", asked the Raikage.
"It's a long story, but first we should go to the hospital, Naruto is not the only who needs medical attention", said Shikamaru.
Hinata, Haku, Sasuke and Chouji were barely able to keep standing, specially the Akamichi who was now feeling the drawback of the pills he took for the fight.
Hiashi took Hinata before she collapsed to the ground.
"She used a lot of chakra, I never saw her in this shape... What happened here?", thought concerned.
Unfortunately, the Raikage and his body guards were there so he had to keep the faccade of being a branch member concerned for his misstress and not a worried father.
Chouza recognized the effects of the pills on his son and took him inmediately to the hospital, without waiting for the others.
While Lee took Haku on his shoulders to bring him to the hospital, Sasuke was almost tackled by Sakura and Ino.
"Sasuke-kun! Are you all right?", asked the girls.
"Mmph, I'm fine, just a bit tired", said the boy before collapsing in Sakura's arms.
"Take this, Ino-Pig! Sasuke hugging me!", exclaimed Inner Sakura while the real one blushed like Hinata when she was near Naruto.
Most Suna ninjas thought that it was a good chance to get rid of Gaara when they noticed how in bad shape he was. But his siblings made them change their oppinion.
Temari and her summons placed themselves between them and Gaara while Kankuro disasembled his giant puppet into the five puppets that formed it.
"What!? When did they got that power? Temari shouldn't be able to summon any weasel able to fight yet and less to many... Most jonins are unable to do it. And Kankuro can control five puppets at the same time? And where did he got the jackal and the vulture?", thought the Kazekage looking at their children.
Kankuro took Gaara on his shoulders and headed to the hospital, Temari crossed looks with her father and the other ninjas and followed her brothers.
"What intriges me more is why are they protecting Gaara, I should keep an eye on them...", thought the Kazekage.
His glance crossed with Arashi's who was heading to the hospital with Naruto on his arms.
"... I'll keep an eye too in the Uzumaki's. I expected that the Black Angel and Konoha would seek retribution for his son's death at Gaara's hands; that would have give me an excuse to get rid of Gaara handing him to Master Sasori to extract Shukaku without questions from the council; then I would have give Gaara's corpse to Arashi", thought the Kazekage.
He looked at the Konoha students.
"Who would have thought that the Uzumaki kid and his friends could defeat Shukaku? Temari and Kankuro intervened in the battle too, perhaps I could take advantage of this...", thought the Kazekage.
The Raikage and the body guards followed them, trying to not attract too much attention. The Cloud leader looked at the Konoha students, specially the boy in Arashi's arms.
"Yes, the boy is his son, there's no doubt about it. As his father, he also defeated a jinchuuriki who was using the power of his bijuu... True, he didn't do it alone he had his friends and the Kazekage's children but it was obvious that he was crucial in the battle", thought the Cloud leader.
He noticed the way the Hyuuga boy was looking at him.
"I forgot about the disaster that my predecessor organized years ago with the Hyuugas, their leader, Hiashi, killed the man who was trying to kidnap his daughter and he had to sacrifice himself prevent a war. This among others was one of the reasons because nobody cried when I killed the former Raikage and took his seat. With Hiashi's brother here this is perfect time to start my plan concerning the Hyuugas", thought.
They arrived at the hospital, the receptionist looked shocked when she saw that the 'demon boy' (Gaara) needed medical care. The looks from the Sand Siblings and her survival instincts told her to not trammel in Gaara's admission.
Naruto, Hinata, Haku and Sasuke only had some bruises and minor cases of chakra exhaustion, nothing that wouldn't be resolved after a day of rest. Chouji was in worse condition, the one and half pills he took during the battles strained his body severely; fortunately his life was not endangered but he would have to spend two weeks in observation with diet rich in proteins (something that he would enjoy when he wake up, indeed).
Gaara was the most wounded of all, the medics reported that he multiple wounds caused by kunais. But what stranged them more were the abrassions and internal wounds that were not seen since the last Ninja War, when a young ninja who later would be known as the Yellow Flash ravaged Konoha's enemies with a chakra sphere.
The medics also reported about the seal that was put over Gaara's preventing the Sand Shield to attack them.
The adults looked at kids who were conscious, waiting for a response.
Shikamaru sighed, having the best memory and analytical could be a drag sometimes.
"How troublesome... All started yesterday when we found Naruto talking with Gaara...", said.
The Nara told the adults when they saw Naruto talking to Gaara and offering him his friendship (skipping the part where Naruto told Gaara that he was also a jinchuuriki). Then came the part when they found Gaara trying to kill Naruto and they realized that he was under a genjutsu. Shikamaru described the battle in a detailed way, describing what each one did during the battle, the Raikage and the Kazekage found very interesting the special tags that Naruto created and asked Arashi if he created it.
"No, they are not. The speed increasing tags are an original idea of Naruto and he created them himself", said Arashi proudly.
Shikamaru continued the story, describing how Naruto managed to free Gaara from the genjutsu but then they had to fight against Shukaku. After the funny part where Naruto almost neutered Shukaku, Shikamaru described the plan that they used to seal the tanuki again in Gaara, with the others giving extra details about the battle.
Everyone was speechless when he finished, specially when Hizashi (Hiashi) confirmed that Shikamaru and the others were telling the truth. They saw the end of the battle anyways, there was no reason to not believe them.
"Sooo... A group of kids, most of them still Academy studendts, managed to defeat a bijuu...", commented the Raikage in awe.
"This generation of will be the strongest ever seen in Konoha", thought the Hokage smiling.
"Arrghhh!!! Why had to lost this that wonderful and youthful battle!!??", complained Lee with tears on his eyes.
Kiba and Tenten had similar thoughts, they didn't know what they would have done in the battle but they would have done their best.
Ino and Sakura were giving thanks for not being present in the battle but then they felt ashamed of themselves and bowed to be as brave as their friends.
The Kazekage looked calm, but the truth was that he was furious. Those pesky kids wrecked his plans, not only that, but the rumors of a bunch of Konoha students defeating the Shukaku would increase Konoha's fame towards the potential clients, he should make sure to spread a version of the story where Temari and Kankuro took did most the battle, ignoring the parts with the Leaf nins.
However his main worry was now Gaara awakening, if son tells that he was the one who put him under a genjutsu, he would have problems trying to convince the Hokage that he had nothing to do about an attempt in the life of a citizen from Konoha.
Hiashi felt proud of his daughter, she was able to surpass the fear that obviously she felt and fought with bravery against the bijuu using the water jutsus that she learned during last months. Letting her blossom by herself without pressures proved to be a great idea.
Shikaku and Chouza also felt very proud of their sons. Shikaku was very glad but a bit intriged to see that Shikamaru was able to act like a professional ninja, perhaps he should make him a test to determine his IQ. Chouza was a bit mad with his son for using the pills but also very proud for the way he protected his friends.
"Wait a minute. Did you say that Naruto formed a Rasengan in the tip of a kunai and then he threw it?", asked Arashi surprised.
All the kids nodded.
"Naruto found a way to improve the Rasengan turning it into a range attack... True, in the future he will do the same with the RasenShuriken, but doing it with a kunai is something that I can't guess... How he did it?", thought Minato.
"Just ask when he wake up. You should be happy for how he stood for Gaara yesterday, for his victory and the way his friends helped him in the fight, because I am", said Kushina.
"Sorry, Kushi-chan... I am very proud of our son, I just regret not witnessing his fight and seeing the progress he made during last months... I should give him a reward", responded Minato.
"I have something perfect in mind, but you'll have until the end of the Chuunin Exams to give it", said her.
Minato looked at Gaara's room.
"Naruto just gave me the perfect excuse to take a look at Gaara's seal and fix it", thought.
His gaze turned to the Sand nins.
"I think I should check Gaara's seal, to make sure that the seal that Naruto put on him works without any problem, that seal was put in the middle of a battle and we can't be sure that it will keep the Shukaku at bay", said Arashi.
The Kazekage was about to refuse but his children took the word.
"We'd be very grateful, Uzumaki-san, your intervention will help to keep Suna safer and if it helps our little brother to sleep, then much better", said Temari.
"Yes, my daughter is right, but you should make your check when Gaara is healed and awake. I'll make an investigation to find who's behind the genjutsu that affected Gaara. Who could have done it? There must somebody trying to interfere in the alliance between Konoha and Suna...", said the Kazekage.
"You are right, your son must be in the best shape possible for the check, perhaps at the end of the exams Arashi will be able to see Gaara without risk", agreed the Hokage.
"Perfect! They took the bait! And because I'm the one who made the assumption of the political saboteur and had the idea of the investigation, nobody would suspect on me! I just got another idea to get rid off Gaara. I'll put it into action as soon as possible", thought the Kazekage.
The Sand Sibling looked at their father stranged, he seemed too concerned for Gaara, they should keep him in check.
"I have a question", said Shino
The adults looked at him.
"Why nobody came before? The chakra that was unleashed in the battle should have alerted everyone in Suna", deducted the Aburame boy.
The adults told them about the battle between Arashi and Kirabi and how the Cloud jonin used the power of his Bijuu in the battle, obviously overwhelming their senses and making impossible to feel the weaker Shukaku.
"Three jinchuurikis in the same place? Perhaps we should tell Sand and Cloud about Naruto and try to form an alliance against the Akatsuki", thought Shikamaru.
They noticed that the Raikage felt a bit uneasy.
"Is there something wrong, Raikage-san?", asked the Hokage.
"It's nothing, I just feel that I forgot to do something...", said the Cloud leader.
MEANWHILE, AT SUNA'S OUTSKIRTS
"WHAT THE %&$! SOMEBODY SET ME FREE!!", yelled an enraged Kirabi still trapped in Arashi's tree.
Next chapter: Akatsuki strikes.
OMAKE: CHAPTER 51 DELETED SCENE
Arashi rushed towards the group of kids. He noticed that they looked very tired, obviously they intervened in the battle too, but all his focus was on his son.
"Naruto! Are you all right!? What happened!?", asked.
He looked that Naruto was fine but unconscious.
"H-How is Naruto-kun?", asked Hinata getting at their side.
"Min-kun, I have an idea. A very funny idea, he,he,he...", giggled Kushina in a mischievious way.
Minato smiled under his mask.
"Oh no! Naruto is not breathing! He needs the CPR inmediately!", exclaimed Arashi opening Naruto's jacket.
He looked to the others and made a winked at them, telling them that in reality Naruto was fine.
"Quickly! I'll make the cardiac massage, you'll insufflate air on him", said Arashi seriously at Hinata.
Hinata was completely red, and it was not for the rising sun... She had to give Naruto the kiss of life to save him!
"I-I h-have to k-kiss N-Naruto-kun!? T-True it wouldn't be a true kiss, but our lips will touch each other...", thought trying to contain the blussing.
The fact that Naruto had his jacket opened showing the results of his physical didn't help anything...
"Quickly, Hinata, Naruto's life is endangered", said Arashi trying to look concerned at Hinata while he did his best to not laugh.
Kushina for her part, was laughing as never in Minato's mindscape.
"W-What should I do!? What should I do!?", thought Hinata confussed. A part of her wanted to kiss Naruto but another one was too embarrassed to do it in front of everyone.
Something snapped in her mind and Hidden Hinata was born (again)
"KISS HIM! YOU'LL NEVER HAVE A BETTER CHANCE! AND THE GOOD POINT IS THAT HE WILL BE VERY GRATEFUL TO US!", exclaimed Inner Hinata.
It was all she needed to make a decission.
"I'll do it! I will help you to save Naruto-kun!", said Hinata to Arashi.
"That's the spirit. Now let's proceed with the..."
Unfortunately somebody anticipated them 'saving' Naruto.
They saw Sai applying the CPR on Naruto, including the kiss of life part.
Those who were aware of the plan looked at them with sweat drops (Sakura and Ino with nose bleeds)
The pale boy checked Naruto's pulse and looked at them with a smile.
"It's done, Naruto breaths again. I saw that you were too busy talking so I applied the CPR on Naruto myself. What's going on, Hinata? Why are you looking at me like Sakura when I talk about her forehead? What are you going to do with that kunai? And why are you emanating that killing intent? Eh!? NOOOOO!!"
END
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