This is a Naruto time travel fiction.
Pairing: M/M, Minato/Naruto. The main pairing will be MinaNaru and other pairings are still undecided, if there will ever be one. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 1: A Shocker
Uzumaki Asahi, the Nidaime Uzukage, the first son of the Shodaime Uzukage, Uzumaki Ashina, was silently watching his home, the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides through the windows of his office.
He couldn't believe that it's already been ten years since he have been gifted by such blessings. Yes, blessings. He was graced by twins, a boy and a girl. He loves them dearly and unconditonally, along with his lovely wife, Uzumaki Yua. Their children, Naruto and Kushina, were each other's most favorite person in the world. Those were really good kids, well, they're good when they're not being mischievous. 'Heh, those little prankster devils. Uzumaki blood definitely runs strongly in them.' He chuckled.
Speaking of his children, he recalled what happened exactly five years ago.
Flashback
Asahi was reading a scroll when Naruto, his five year old son, tugged at his pants.
"Otou-san, can I talk to you about something?" He asked seriously as he looked up at Asahi.
Asahi can't fathom how someone so young can speak so seriously.
"Sure, Naruto-chan. What is it?" He asked curiously as he squatted down.
"Can we talk in your office? Where there are privacy seals?" Naruto requested.
'He knows about privacy seals already? Was it in some of his books?' Asahi pondered.
He was greatly surprised when Naruto showed great interest in reading at such a young age. He remembered trying to teach him to read, but it proved to be unnecessary. Naruto could identify each character just after he turned two. He didn't think much of it and just thought, 'I have a prodigy of a child, huh.'
It was also a surprise, again, when he heard Naruto speak in full sentences when he was just three years old, whilst Kushina still speaks with broken sentences when they turned four.
Shaking his head, he humored Naruto and activated the privacy seals when they entered his private office at their home.
He noticed that Naruto was fidgeting and looked really nervous, so he let him take his sweet time to gather his courage to say what he wanted to say.
'Did he do something bad? Although, I highly doubt that. He seldom does.' Asahi thought. It was obvious that Naruto was struggling whether he'd say whatever it was or not. Seeing this, Asahi smiled encouragingly, "Naruto-chan? Is there something wrong? It's alright, you ca- "
"I'm from the future!" Naruto suddenly yelled out of panic.
Asahi's smile froze, 'Well, that was so far from what I expected.' He mused. He stared at Naruto's nervous yet determined face.
'Naruto-chan won't make up something like that. Hmm, a new prank?' He inwardly mused as he stared at Naruto, 'But he's got such a serious look. Maybe he learned how to act?' He stared at him some more, 'But those eyes. It's like there's a fire blazing from those eyes.' He pondered.
Asahi looked up at the ceiling and sighed dramatically, 'Kami, you really like to play games with me, huh?' He looked down at Naruto again. 'Okay, alright. Let me think about it before rebuffing what Naruto-chan said. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.'
He thought about their interactions together from the moment Naruto acted so mature, and tried to puzzle it all together. 'That could actually explain how he's so smart. It shouldn't matter if I thought he was a prodigy. I mean, no prodigy can be that smart, right? I should have noticed that something was going on when he could read hiragana and katakana already. And when he was trying to practice Fūinjutsu.'
That memory was quite amusing to say the least. When he ripped the scroll from Naruto's hands when he caught him writing, worried that it might explode, he got the shock of his life, yet again, when he saw how the seal was put together sloppily, yet correctly placed and balanced. The sloppy part must have been because Naruto still couldn't hold the brush properly. 'I was too proud of him at that time that I didn't think too much of it. Damn fatherly pride.'
Naruto just watched Asahi's expression go from denial, amusement, and whoa, was that amazement? Then resignation, then...shame? He tilted his said and got a bit sidetracked, 'What would he be ashamed of?'
A few minutes have gone by with Asahi just staring at Naruto while thinking deeply.
"If you're from the future, then why did you come back?" Asahi finally asked. He's got an idea, but he'd rather have Naruto answer it before concluding anything.
"You're taking this really well." Naruto said instead.
"Oh, no, not at all. I'm just trying to think logically because if not, my brain might just explode." Asahi exclaimed with an obvious facade of calmness.
"But still, I didn't think you'd believe me immediately. I thought I'd have to force you to use the Uzumaki Interrogation Seal on me."
"Kami, no! I wouldn't do that! Not to you, at least. The way you said it, you must have known what it does, right?"
"Yes. When someone was put at the center of the seal, it will glow that bluish color when they remained honest. If they lied, it would slash at their skin until they tell the truth. The torturous experience depends on how the seal was tweaked and what the interrogator decided to torture someone with." Naruto stated.
"That's right." Asahi sighed, "And you really think that you'll have to resort to that?"
"Yes. Anything to make you believe what I wanted to say." Naruto said seriously.
Asahi contemplated for a second.
It was really weird talking to a five year old kid about torture and interrogation.
"Alright, let's say I believe you, Naruto-chan. Now, tell me everything you think I should know." Asahi urged.
Naruto was amazed at his father. He was clearly doubting of course. I mean, who would believe what a kid had to say, especially about something so unimaginable? Yet Asahi tried to think things through and listen to whatever Naruto wanted to say. He also emphasized what Naruto thinks he should know, and not demand every knowledge he has.
"You weren't my parents back then." Naruto just blurted.
Asahi spluttered, "Wha-?! How?! Who?!"
"I'll explain everything and we'll get there eventually." Naruto placated like an adult. Asahi would have laughed at the sight if the situation didn't call for it.
Asahi just nodded dumbly instead.
"You know about the tailed beasts, correct?" Naruto asked first.
Asahi hummed, "Of course. The seals used to contain them originated from the Uzumaki clan after all. Some of the Fūinjutsu users from different Hidden Villages just altered them, making the seal weaker. Only a seal originally crafted by a Seal Master is the best of the best." He replied, brimming with pride for being the head of the clan of such glorious people.
The people of Uzushiogakure might just be the only people who have nothing against a Jinchūriki. They fully understand the difference between a scroll and a kunai because of their close proximity with Seal Masters. In addition, they revered Jinchūrikis and consider them as heroes. Most of them, if not all, idolizes Mito-sama not only for her formidable Fūinjutsu, but also for being able to contain the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, the strongest of the Tailed Beasts.
"My mother was the second Kyuubi hostess." Naruto continued.
Asahi hummed again, "Then, that must mean that you're still an Uzumaki despite not being our son before, since your mother was the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi and only an Uzumaki have the abilities to do so."
Naruto answered, "Correct. And my parents were Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, and Uzumaki Kushina, the Uzumaki Royal Princess."
Asahi just stared at him for a few moments then spluttered, "Bu-! What?! Hah?! Do you mean Uzumaki Kushina, your current younger twin sister?! How?!"
"Yes, I meant Uzumaki Kushina, my current younger twin sister. I said I'll explain," Naruto deadpanned, "It's because of the Transtemporal Travel Seal. It's against the principle of the World's Natural Order for one to travel through time. But that doesn't mean that it's impossible to do, just difficult, really difficult. We can create a seal that travels through time and dimension, but won't be able to direct it to a specific point in the past." He continued, "At first, we can't draw lines and symbols required for the array of the seal that can it to go to the specified time that wouldn't cause an imbalance. However, when we did manage to balance it, the quadrant where the seal was supposed to be triggered to travel through dimensions won't work, hence, a waste of time and resources. It took us almost a year to finish the seal." He explained.
Asahi just stared at his son, not comprehending the possibilities of using seals as a means of time hopping.
"But then, we realized that we can still use the seal even if it doesn't have the capability of going to a specific time. All we needed to do was to locate an anchor, kind of like a signal, something that will ground us to a person or object of the past so we won't get lost in the vortex of time and dimension. We aimed to go back to when I was still a kid, so I used my Uzumaki-dominated blood as the anchor because there were still Uzumakis left at that time," Naruto raised his hand to stop Asahi from saying anything —Asahi would have laughed seeing how a four year old kid silenced an adult, if the situation wasn't so serious, "although they are scattered throughout different villages. And if there were two of the same soul living at the same time and dimension, the paradox will force one of us to consume the other, but that doesn't matter since the would-be consumer will absorb the memory of the one he consumed, so it can be considered as merging, therefore, either of the two will still have the memory of the future." Naruto added.
"However, what we didn't account for was for us to be sent to a time where I didn't exist yet. I mentioned that I've focused on my Uzumaki blood to use as an anchor, so it might be what have caused the travel to send me here, where it wanted to be as close as it can get to the signal, Shina-chan who was my closest blood relative and the Uzumaki Clan, where the blood was most dominant because of the number of its members —at the same time. That's why, instead of ceasing to exist, I was 'reborn' and created a new body. Now, I'm a pureblooded Uzumaki." Naruto beamed.
Asahi looked like he would combust, so Naruto decided to ruin his father some more, the little devil.
"You must have noticed that I kept saying 'we'. It's because there were two of us. He's the Nine-tailed Demon Fox and we worked together to get here." He stated as if what he said was normal.
"Y-You're with the Kyuubi?" Asahi stuttered, he might actually go insane from all this.
"Yes. I was the third Jinchūriki host. You don't have to worry though. We're friends now. Since he already exists in this time before we arrived here, they just merged, hence, the retained memory of the future." Naruto explained cheerfully.
Asahi sighed dramatically then stopped short, "What do you mean you're the third host? What happened to Kushina-chan?" He asked worriedly.
Naruto's smile was wiped out of his face. He was silent for a few minutes, then, "A female host's seal is the weakest during childbirth. Someone from my time who could control the Kyuubi forced him out of the seal and controlled him to destroy Konohagakure. My previous parents stopped him from ravaging the village. The Yondaime sealed him using the Shiki Fūjin," It seemed impossible but Asahi's eyes widened even more, "to seal the Yin half of the Kyuubi inside him and to seal the Yang part inside me. My previous mother, despite just giving birth and having the Kyuubi extracted from her, used the Adamantine Sealing Chains to restrain him. She used the last of her chakra. They both died at the first hour of my birth." He said with a steeled voice but with teary eyes.
Asahi just stared at Naruto for the hundredth time that day then suddenly pulled his small body to his chest and hugged him tightly, 'Kami, he have suffered so much. Living alone without parents. Bearing such a big burden. My poor, poor child.' He thought sadly.
Naruto just cried silently. After a while, he calmed down and tried to continue his story.
"T-The man. The man that controlled the Kyuubi was a member of an organization. Their goal was to collect all of the tailed beasts so they can use them to create a worldwide genjutsu. That genjutsu will put all people, be it shinobi or civilians, under a false reality, where their dreams come true." Naruto whispered.
Asahi hummed and urged him to continue.
"We couldn't let that happen. We managed to eliminate some of them, but the most formidable ones remained, and they were too strong. When the Kages of the Five Great Shinobi Nations held a meeting, the leader of that organization paid them a visit and declared the Fourth Shinobi World War."
Asahi's eyes widened. They were still at the Second Shinobi World War and there will be another two? He sighed deeply, 'It looks like peace is really unattainable.'
"All of the Hidden Villages banded together as one." Naruto said while smiling lightly.
Asahi gaped, "Do you mean that there will come a time where the villages will befriend others?"
"Yes. But you must also understand that it's only because they share the same enemies that the alliance was created in the first place. You could say that it was just a temporary truce." He answered sadly.
"But then, as they continued to fight to protect each other, to make sure that others survive, even if they're from the other villages, they realized how much of a fool they were." Naruto breathed in, "They finally understood each other. They understood that after all this time, despite their differences, they're all just the same." He continued.
"They were all driven to seek vengeance under the guise of justice. They were all doing what they considered as justice and continued to breed the cycle of hatred. We wanted to kill them because they killed people dear to us, just like how they wanted to kill us because we killed people dear to them. We wanted to inflict pain upon them, just like how they inflicted pain upon us, and vice versa. If one succeeds, then the defeated's love ones will strike back and it will happen over and over and over again until nothing's left anymore. It's actually quite saddening that the Hidden Villages have only come to an understanding because we all have the same enemies." Naruto said sadly, "But they finally understood each other, nonetheless, and that was what's most important."
Asahi always thought how wars were pointless. There's no victors in wars. Someone will always die, whether they're on your side or the enemy's. It doesn't matter whichever claimed to be the victor because at the end, both sides loses something. At the end, they're all losers. However, Asahi was speechless because Naruto portrayed the war perfectly, even deeper than his own understanding. If he ever had doubts about Naruto coming from the future, then it's all gone now. No five year old, no matter how smart, could have eyes like that. He observed Naruto as he told him his story, and saw for himself how old Naruto's eyes were.
Those were not the eyes of a kid.
"The seal. You used it because -"Asahi gulped, " -it has to be done, right? Something really bad happened for you to take such drastic measures to actually travel in time."
Naruto nodded, "I was eighteen years old. The war was bordering on two years at that time and it may seem really short compared to the previous wars, but it was a massacre. The enemies have decimated almost all shinobi forces. The small number of people left doesn't have the will to fight anymore. No one would when it was obviously a losing battle. That's when I told them about the seal. They agreed because they just wanted it all to end. Going back to the past will erase the future, because once one travelled to the past, the 'future' wouldn't exist anymore since it didn't happen yet." Naruto said, recalling his comrades' faces as he vanished from their plane of existence.
They all looked relieved.
Asahi looked aghast, 'There was someone so strong, that they managed to wipe almost all of the shinobis out? Kami, what has the world have come to?'
"I mentioned that there were still Uzumakis left, meaning that they're almost extinct. It's because before this era of war ends, a combined forces of Kirigakure no Sato, Kumogakure no Sato and Iwagakure no Sato, will attack our village. They feared that we deemed too big of a threat to be spared, that they needed three Hidden Villages combined to fight us. Uzushiogakure fell, but not before leaving those three villages with only a fourth of their shinobis remaining, each. They were too weakened to fight, that's why the Second Shinobi World War ended with Konohagakure on top." Naruto explained.
Asahi was grieving, he was grieving for the supposed death of his family from Naruto's time.
"It would be wise to let the Uzukage know, so we can be prepared for this war." Asahi said after a while.
"I just did." Naruto said with a smile.
Asahi looked aghast, "What?! You told him before me? I'm hurt Naruto-chan! You trust him more than me?" He suddenly forgot that he was in sorrow as he whined and pouted.
Naruto stared at him as he thought, 'Otou-san could be really childish at the wrongest of time.'
Naruto just gave him a look that Asahi swore meant, 'Are you for real?'
"No. You're the only one I told this about." Naruto answered.
Asahi took a few seconds to understand what he meant then, "What?! I-I'll be the Nidaime?!" He exclaimed. Naruto nodded happily and Asahi suddenly thought, 'Wow, how anticlimactic.'
Asahi suddenly looked determined, "I won't let our people down. Thank you for trusting me, Naruto-chan," He smiled softly.
"But why tell me now? Don't tell me that the war against our village will happen soon?" Asahi asked worriedly.
"It's near, yes, but not soon. It happened six years from now from my time. I told you this early on because I swore that once I could talk properly, that once I could properly explain myself, I'll tell you everything because I don't want to live in secret, at least not from you." Naruto answered.
Asahi smiled softly at his son, yes son, he's his blood after all.
"You have suffered greatly, Naruto-chan. You should let us do some of the work this time." He hugged Naruto tightly. Naruto hugged him back and closed his eyes.
Flashback End
That day was really something, alright. He could say that he received more surprise from that time than he ever did before, and that's saying something since he's not that young anymore. But it doesn't matter. Him and Naruto became even closer than they did before after that. He's so lucky to have such an amazing person as his son.
His office door opened, 'Speak of the devil.' He chuckled, as Naruto walked in alongside Kushina.
Asahi smiled at them, "Well? What could I do for you, you little devils in angels' clothing? Did you run away from some of my ANBU again? Did you pour some paint on the fountain in the middle of the market place? Did yo-"
"W-Wait, otou-san! We didn't do anything this time, dattebane!" Kushina pouted.
Asahi just laughed, "Could have fooled me."
Naruto giggled, "No, we really didn't do anything this time."
Asahi hummed, "What is it, then?"
"The trip to Konohagakure. I want to join Shina-chan." Naruto said seriously.
"Please, otou-san! We'll be really good, we promise. We won't cause that much trouble. We won't wreak havoc, well, not much." Kushina mumbled that part, "We'll ob-" Kushina was cut off when Asahi just laughed again.
"Ah, I was actually just waiting for you both to come barging into my office. About time you did." He replied as he looked away.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously when he turned away and asked, "How much?"
"How much what?" Asahi asked, still not looking at them.
Narito huffed, "I know you made a bet." He continued, "We're really supposed to go there together, but you said that only Kushina would, because you made a bet, again, with others about us."
Asahi laughed sheepishly, but Naruto wasn't done, "It must be about how long would it take us to ask you to let me join Shina-chan, am I right?"
"Sometimes, I really hate how smart you are." Asahi pouted. Naruto just smirked.
"But, I know that one of you can't live without the other. So I was really expecting this soon." Asahi said with a soft smile.
"Get going now gakis. I'll see you when I'm done here."
"See you at home, otou-san!" They both said.
Asahi smiled as they walked out of the room. 'Never a dull day with them." He chuckled.