A/N: subtle reminder that my future timeline here isn't exactly canon, partly because of the changes made to that timeline in previous stories, and partly because I know absolutely nothing about the sequel series.

The last time Obito visited the future, he'd gone directly to the safe house Kakashi put aside for the wayward jinchuuriki from Naruto's time. It was located in a remote part of Fire, far from the other major countries. It was such a secret that only the Hokage himself knew about it. Even though Akatsuki no longer existed in this time, they didn't want to take chances.

So the Rokudaime said. But more than that, he always seemed determined for Obito and the others not to enter the timeline. No doubt the uncontrolled experimentation Orochimaru did there had something to do with his attitude.

Aside from the jinchuuriki hideout, Obito was only supposed to jump directly the Hokage's office, and that was only in case of emergency. He wanted to avoid that this time, so instead, he tried landing behind the spot where he knew the ramen shop to be.

Tried being the operative word.

He thought he had the location right. But his previously fine-tuned control slipped, and instead of hovering, he fell into the world right away.

Obito landed off-balance and stumbled into some trash bins. They crashed into each other and fell over.

Obito swore under his breath and quickly righted them, looking around furtively to see if anyone had noticed.

Luckily, there was no one immediately around him. He was in a narrow alley between two buildings of differing heights. A thin trickle of water ran from beneath the plank fence behind him to a drain close to the street.

Obito walked out of the alley, trying to make his gait natural. Without his gear or hitai-ate, he would look like a regular kid at a glance.

He walked around to the front of the shop, expecting to see Ichiraku's with its open counter and stools lined up.

Instead, he saw a shop for housewares. The building on the other side of the alley was a small convenience store.

Obito looked up and down the street. This was Konoha, without a doubt. The building styles were familiar. In the distance, he could see the Monument. It looked crowded with all the new faces, including Kakashi's.

Putting aside the nausea-inducing image, Obito looked at the line of shops more closely. At first, he thought maybe Ichiraku's had moved, but—something was very off. The village felt the same, but it didn't look quite the same. Had they renovated this whole street?

"Are you okay, niichan?"

Obito looked down. A little girl was holding a ball and staring up at him.

"Um…" Obito bent slightly to talk to her, hoping his question wouldn't seem too out of place. "Do you know where the ramen shop Ichiraku's is now? Is it gone?"

"Nope! They built it down there." The girl pointed right, down the street. "I could show you if you want!"

"Okay, thanks."

The girl bounced the ball in front of her feet as she walked. Obito looked from one side of the street to the other, trying not to be too conspicuous about it. There was no doubt. This street, at least, was entirely unfamiliar.

"Kaa-chan says ramen's not good for you," the girl said in an matter-of-fact tone, bouncing the ball, then catching it. "We're only allowed to go on the weekend."

Obito laughed. "When you grow up, you can eat it as much as you want."

"I. Know. Anyway, I don't think that's true. Naruto-nii eats there all the time," she said, as if that settled the matter.

Obito faltered in his step. The girl didn't notice, and he quickly unstuck himself to continue forward.

"Do you know Naruto?" he couldn't help but ask.

"No." She sound slightly disappointed. "Oh, he came to our class one time, though! He was really funny."

Obito spotted what could only be the ramen shop up ahead. "That's it. Thanks, but you should be getting back. Don't want your kaa-chan to think you're eating ramen on a weekday."

The girl made a more scornful sound than he'd heard any Uchiha child make. She kicked the ball the other way and went running after it.

The front of the ramen stand was a little more enclosed than before, large windows in a wooden frame, with a sliding door that was currently open. Even though he'd already eaten, the smalls wafting out into the street were enticing.

"Welcome!" the proprietor called when Obito drifted in.

"Er—" Obito stopped in his tracks.

It wasn't lunch time yet, and no one else was in the stall. Was it worth the risk to stay and wait, or should he ask the man about Naruto's whereabouts? He bought himself some time by walking over to the menus taped to the wall and pretending to look over them.

Given that his other self had gone missing so long ago, Obito figured no one besides Kakashi would recognize him. There was a small chance someone else from his class could, but he still hadn't felt the need to put on a disguise. Now that he was actually here, though, he felt exposed. The longer he stayed around, the more likely that the Rokudaime would catch wind of his presence.

"If you're undecided, our house tonkatsu is very popular," Teuchi said.

"Okay. I'll try that."

Now that he was committed to it, Obito sat down on the farthest side, where he would be less visible to the street.

Asking the old man was his best bet, but what if Naruto was off on a mission somewhere?

Calm down, he told himself. If Naruto was out of the village, someone would know where. The layout of this world hadn't changed much since his time. He could try hovering again and go wherever Naruto was. Even if it meant resorting to kidnapping, all he needed was a chance to speak with him in kamui.

A few moments later, Teuchi put the bowl of ramen down in front of Obito.

"Thanks, jiichan." Obito flashed a smile.

He wasn't particularly hungry, but he was glad to have something to do while he figured out a way to ask the old man where Naruto lived.

Obito picked a pair of chopsticks from the cup on the counter and split them apart. He leaned over the bowl and picked up a big bunch of noodles to cool them. He tried taking a bite.

"Hey, Teuchi-occhan!"

Obito nearly inhaled the noodles in his mouth. He dropped his chopsticks and fought the urge to cough. He covered his mouth and chewed, turning his head to the side.

Naruto sat down a couple of stools away.

"Naruto!" Teuchi said heartily. "Will it be the usual?"

"Yeah, but with extra cutlets. I'm starving. Kakashi-sensei made us get up before the sun this morning."

Teuchi laughed. "Coming right up."

Obito picked his chopsticks back up and busied himself with another bunch of noodles. He surreptitiously observed Naruto.

The most noticeable difference was his height. The version Obito knew was shorter than him, but by eighteen, Naruto had gained enough height to sit on the stool with both feet on the floor.

His hair was cut shorter, and his face was more angular, but the clear blue eyes and whisker marks were the same as ever. Instead of his usual orange jacket, this version wore a black jacket with orange pants. Obito noticed one of his hands was wrapped entirely in bandages.

Naruto hummed happily under his breath, drumming fingers on the counter while waiting for his order. Then the drumming paused, and he tilted his head to the side subtly. Obito recognized the pose. He was listening to Kurama.

"Hm?" Naruto gave a puzzled frown. He leaned on his elbow and turned his head to look at Obito.

Obito clenched the chopsticks and turned his face away, feigning interest in the advertisement on the wall beside him.

Do something. If Naruto or Kurama recognized him first, it would cause a commotion. But this wasn't a good place to explain everything.

Alright. Kidnapping it was, then.

Obito's heart lobbed when Naruto moved to sit beside him.

"Ne—" Naruto started.

"Ouch!" Obito hissed loudly. He knocked his ramen bowl off the counter and it cracked loudly on the polished concrete floor, spilling noodles and hot broth everywhere.

Naruto gave a startled yelp and looked at the bowl. Obito stood on the bottom rungs of the stool and grabbed the front of Naruto's jacket with both hands. His Sharingan flared to life and he focused all his power on pulling them back into kamui.

Naruto only moved to look up in surprise before he was caught in the dimensional jutsu. His eyes widened in confused recognition. Teuchi shouted.

The space between dimensions wrinkled, and they fell through.

They landed in kamui ungracefully. Obito was so focused on getting them back there, he forgot to account for where.

They were near the base camp, but instead of being on the level area around it, they appeared on one of the rectangular columns that rose above it.

Obito was still holding on to Naruto's jacket. Naruto scowled and looked back over his shoulder, teetering on the edge of the column.

But before Obito could correct his mistake, Naruto grabbed his arms and spun around, using the momentum to throw Obito down into the camp.

Obito hit the floor with a pained exhale and rolled on the smooth surface until his back hit the Mokuton box.

"What the hell is going on? Who are you? Apologize to Teuchi-occhan for ruining a good bowl of ramen!" Naruto jumped down from the column and looked around, taking in all the unusual features of the camp. He walked toward Obito, but stopped abruptly a few feet away.

Obito looked up, trying to catch his breath without moving too much.

Naruto stared. Then he said, "…Obito?"

Obito peeled himself off the floor and stood. "Sorry about that. Kakashi would skewer me if he found out I was in the village."

"So… you are Obito? But… you're dead." Naruto looked aghast. "Is that why you look so young? Are you a-a-aa—"

Obito paused in the middle of dusting himself off. Despite the ridiculous situation, he smiled a little. "You haven't changed a lot, huh? I'm obviously not dead. At least, not this version of me. Do you remember when Orochimaru used a space-time Summoning technique to bring a younger version of you to your time? He did it to me, too."

"I remember. I heard he brought you and another Kabuto forward." Naruto gave a confused frown. "So… you're the Obito who was brought forward that time? But how did you—you came back to my world on your own?"

Obito looked around the camp. Then he walked to the front of the field tent and sat down on a crate. "Judging by your reaction, I'm guessing Kakashi never told you. I've been back to your world several times. When I unlocked my Sharingan in your dimension, I somehow got the ability to travel to dimensions other than my own. We were sent home, but I found your younger self, and Kabuto, too. The three of us—" He felt a pang in his chest. He curled his hand over the crystal pendant, which reminded him that he had it.

Obito took the necklace off and held out the stone in his hand. Naruto walked forward and picked it up, recognition written over his face.

"See? Your younger self let me hang on to this. I'm supposed to give it back, but there's been a problem, and… I went to find you because I need help."

Naruto smiled, but sadness lingered around his eyes. "It's been ages since I've seen this. I don't have it anymore. Kurama broke it when we were fighting Pein." He winced. "I know, I know! We don't need it anymore. But I could have given it back to Tsunade-baachan."

"He said the same thing. That he didn't need it anymore," Obito said.

"Really?" Naruto's voice sparked with interest. "How are they doing? They weren't here long, but I miss that little guy sometimes. Wait—if you can go anywhere, couldn't you bring him back to my world, too?"

Obito took a shaky breath. He was forced to hold it for a moment as his throat closed up.

Not now. Now was not the time to get upset. There was still work to do.

"I can't go anywhere. To go somewhere, I need a path to follow. Usually an object that ties directly to someone living in that world. That's the problem I have right now." Obito stared down at the floor. "We found the original Summoning contracts Orochimaru made for us. I was able to use that to jump to your younger self and Kabuto. But there was a battle recently in my world, and… I lost it. Now I can't reach them. Actually, it's worse than that. Kabuto's real body died, so he's still in a Zetsu body. If the contract is destroyed, he'll leave that body and die."

"You want me to help you find it," Naruto said softly.

Obito stood. "I-I know it's a lot to ask. There's a lot more to the story, but that's the basics of it. Rin and Kakashi are helping me, but I thought the search would go faster if we had your help. The book is tied to your younger self. You can find it, right?"

Naruto swiped under his nose with his thumb and grinned. "Hah! Sounds easy. That means we're going to your world, right?"

"Yeah. Is it okay if we go now? I understand if you can't, but… the sooner, the better."

Naruto looked down at the necklace in his hand. "I'm sure people will be wondering where I am. But with your kamui, it won't take long. Then, once this is all over, I'd like to see the younger me again sometime." He held the necklace back out to Obito.

Obito once again felt a slight sting in his right eye. He draped the necklace back over his head and tucked it under his shirt.

"Alright," he said. "Rin and Kakashi are waiting for us on the other side. Let's get that book back."

Obito and Naruto emerged into the shady alcove where Kakashi and Rin waited.

Rin and Kakashi stood from their resting spots. While the older Naruto looked around the clearing, the others were looking at him.

Finally Naruto noticed them. He laughed and strode up to Kakashi, who took an affronted step back.

"Wow, it's a small Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto laughed again and patted him on the head.

Kakashi jumped back and drew his chakra blade in the span of a blink. "Just because we need your help, it doesn't mean you can act so familiar."

"He sounds like a kid!" Naruto said to Obito, who couldn't suppress his own grin.

"Nice to meet you, other-Naruto," Rin said. She put her hands together. "It really is an older version of him. Don't you think he looks even more like Minato-sensei now?"

"No," Kakashi and Obito said at the same time.

Kakashi glared. "Don't copy me."

"That's my line."

Naruto hit his hand to his fist in realization. "Oh yeah, I guess Kakashi-sensei can't be the Copy-nin here, since he's never had the Sharingan."

A confused sort of pause followed.

"Can I talk to you for a second? Really quick?" Obito pulled on Naruto's sleeve and walked a short distance away.

"Listen," Obito said in a barely audible voice after turning his back toward the other two. Naruto leaned close enough to hear. Obito found a tree to focus on and stared at it instead of Naruto's face next to his. "They don't know about the stuff that happened in your timeline. Especially what happened with the other me. I don't plan on hiding it forever, it's just… look. The war just ended. Once Sensei becomes Hokage, things will be stable again. But for now, they don't know."

"Oh." Naruto stood back up to full height. "Sorry. I forgot about that."

Kakashi was still glaring suspiciously when they came back, but Obito decided to head him off.

"Okay. So we all know what the plan is, right? Naruto will search for the book. Once he knows where it is, I'll take us there. We can end this by the end of today."

"If Kiri has it, we'll have to go in and grab it without being seen. We can't start another conflict," Kakashi said grumpily.

"Right. We'll take every precaution needed." Obito looked at Naruto.

"Okay." Naruto walked to the center of the clearing and sat cross-legged on the ground. "So I'm looking for something that feels like the little me?"

"It's connected to me and Kabuto, too. All three of us are in it."

"Got it." Naruto closed his eyes and sat straight-backed, one hand curled inside the other near his navel.

His face smoothed of all expression. Within seconds, invisible brushstrokes painted orange over his eyelids.

"What is that?" Rin asked Obito in a whisper.

"His Sage Mode," Obito guessed. It didn't look exactly the same as the Sage Mode he was more familiar with, the one younger Naruto used. But it had to be that.

Naruto opened his eyes. They were now golden, with horizontal flat pupils.

"Hm." Naruto relaxed and leaned back on his hands. Even that small movement seemed strangely graceful under Sage Mode.

"What?" Kakashi asked. "Can you find it?"

"Oh." Naruto sat up properly again with a laugh. "Right. I got a little distracted. This world is so different from mine! I'll look for the book now."

He closed his eyes again and concentrated.

The team stood in silence, waiting, exchanging tense glances.

Naruto's brow furrowed. His eyes moved under his eyelids like he was dreaming.

When he looked up again, his expression was grim.

Obito felt a sharp sense of foreboding. His voice came out strained. "What's wrong?"

"I recognize that energy. The book is with Madara."

"Madara?" Kakashi said. "What does that mean?"

Naruto shifted his gaze to Obito, waiting for him to say something. He'd already taken to heart Obito's request not to mention the circumstances of the Fourth War.

"Uchiha Madara," Obito said quietly. "I should have known."

In a way, he had known—at least the possibility. Tobi warned him multiple times.

"He's alive," Naruto pointed out. "I don't know how, but he has the book. I'm sure of it."

"One of the village founders?" Rin asked. "I thought he was killed by the Shodai."

"Even if he wasn't, he'd be dead by now," Kakashi added.

Obito shook his head. A sort of numbness was creeping over him. He was trying to keep it down, trying not to panic. "No, he's alive. I met him when I went looking for the book the first time. He knew I was looking for something—he must have figured it out. He's keeping himself alive with a source of natural energy. He's stuck in one place. But he has these plant clone helpers who can go out and be his eyes and ears in the world."

"The Zetsu." Naruto stood. "I don't know everything about when Madara was still alive, but it doesn't matter what kind of shape he's in. He and the Zetsu are too dangerous."

"Wait." Obito jumped forward and grabbed Naruto's sleeve. "We can work together to bring him down. There's a limit to what Madara can do right now. I saw. He doesn't have the Rinnegan, and he'll die if he detaches from the tree. If he doesn't know what the book is yet, he probably wants to lure me into talking to him again. I can distract him if you can grab the book."

Naruto looked down at him, brow furrowed in concern. "But what if Madara has figured that jutsu out? What if he uses it on himself?"

Obito let go of Naruto's sleeve.

He hadn't thought of that.

The whole time, he was worried about the truth of other dimensions getting out if Kiri examined the book long enough. He even thought some might try to use it. And though that was all very bad, there was a caveat. One needed a strong doujutsu to actually pull it off.

Obito hadn't wanted the Time-Spanning Incarnation to get back to Konoha, either, but he'd forgotten that Madara would be able to use it. He even had access to the ideal vessels.

The target had to be a living person. Madara was still alive.

He was weak.

He had the resources.

He had every reason to try it, even if it killed him in the process.

Obito's hands started shaking. He forced more words to come out. "It might not be too late. If he knew how to use it, he wouldn't need to lure me in. He'd Summon me using the contract."

"Or maybe he wouldn't. If he Summons himself, he won't need your help anymore."

"We have to try!" Obito raised his voice, ignoring the alarmed look Rin gave him. "You can take out the Zetsu using Kurama's energy, right? If he hasn't done anything yet, we can stop it. Besides, I can help! I don't care what happens to me! We have to get it back!"

"Will one of you explain what's going on?" Kakashi demanded.

There was a pause. Obito felt the lapse of time acutely. Every second spent debating what to do was another second Madara had his hands on the book.

Obito turned to Kakashi and Rin. "I told you guys. The book holds a type of dimensional jutsu we don't want anyone to use. Madara is one of the few people who could actually use it. He is dangerous, but if we act quickly, I think we can take him down. We still have some element of surprise."

"…I agree," Rin said.

"What?" Kakashi said tensely.

"It's the three of us and Naruto-san. All we have to do is get our hands on the book and leave. We have the chance to strike first. I think we should take it."

Obito suddenly felt unsure. He didn't want to put the others in danger. He looked back to Naruto. "Can you… you've faced him before. Do you think we can do this?"

"When all of us faced him, the situation was completely different." Naruto closed his eyes again. Was he thinking about the answer, or was he focusing his senses on Madara?

"If the book is that valuable, I don't think someone like Madara would destroy it outright," Kakashi said. "From what you're saying, the real danger is him figuring out how to use it. How bad would it be? That's what I want to know. That's how we should decide whether to go now. If waiting would be worse."

"Little-Kakashi-sensei is right," Naruto said.

"Please don't call me that."

"I dunno." Naruto glanced at Obito. "In my time, Madara found a way to bring himself back to life. But I don't know if this is anything like that. Obito, do you know?"

"If he summons his younger self, it'll be like getting his youth back. There might even be a way for him to take over his younger self. Orochimaru did that after he left your time. He'd be at full power again! So we need to—"

"Wait!" Naruto made a 'time out' motion. "Orochimaru left my world? How? I thought he just disappeared!"

"That doesn't matter right now!" Obito scrubbed his hands through his hair in frustration. "What I'm trying to say is, it's bad. We can't let him have it, and we definitely can't let him use it! I have to go. I'm sorry. I can't stand around and argue about it."

Rin narrowed her eyes. "You're not leaving without us."

"Technically, he could." Kakashi looked equally displeased.

"Not a chance." Naruto leaned to cuff Obito lightly on the shoulder. "The Obito I know wouldn't leave his friends behind. He just doesn't want anyone to get hurt."

"What are you talking about?" Obito asked with difficulty.

Naruto bent slightly, closer to Obito's height. He pointed at his own face. "I had a chance to talk to him once, your older self. The real him. I don't know if you know anything about him, but I do. You want to make sure these guys stay safe, right? That's why I'm here. I won't let anything happen to them. Or you." He gave a reassuring smile. It was like being blinded by the sun.

Obito felt his face flush. He pressed a sleeve over his eyes, both to hide the redness on his cheeks and the hint of stinging tears.

"Alright," he heard Kakashi say. "I'm counting on you to be as reliable as Minato-sensei. We'll fight if we have to. But our first priority should be getting the book. Everybody agreed?"

"Yes," Rin said. "We know how important it is now. But we should take it and leave as soon as possible."

Naruto made a sound of agreement. "Okay. Obito, the moment we have it, be ready to transport us away. I'll make sure the Zetsu can't do anything, either."

Obito took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He was dry-eyed when he looked up at them.

"Everyone hold on to me." Obito held out his arms.

"Can you jump with all of us?" Kakashi still looked skeptical.

"Watch me."