"I hate to send you off so soon after you arrived but if you're gonna stay, you'll have to contribute," the yellow-haired Hokage spoke as he walked around his office, grabbing various files from shelves full of scrolls and portfolios. "I would let you stay without compensation but with mission demands high and very few shinobi to complete them as a result of the recent war, I'm afraid I just can't convince the council to let this one slide."
"I understand, and it's not a problem. I'll help however I can," Naruto answered, standing tall in front of Minato's desk. A bit of that Hokage's Instinct was slipping through after concealing that part of himself for so long. Now, it suited him well, standing tall before his father and offering his assistance.
He'd been in the past for exactly one week. In that time, he'd managed to get away with following his father to work each day without having to complete any work himself. But, he knew, it was just a matter of time. Minato was right-there were very few shinobi available for missions... he'd seen many exhausted men and women returning from missions to be sent immediately on another. Naruto even managed to peek in the missions book and noticed over half of them were still left unchecked, with more coming in each day. It was so different than the mission demands Naruto was used to in his time—a time of relative peace with few mission requests from neighboring lands, a perk to the lack of warfare.
"Your mission is to deliver some medicine to a war amputee in a small village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. There's detailed information in the file," Minato said as he handed Naruto the yellow folder. "Kakashi will accompany you on the mission to ensure mission completion and evaluate your skills," the Yondaime added as he scratched something down on some file. Naruto nodded to the silver haired nin standing stoically in the corner, face conveniently hidden by the cat-like mask he wore. He'd never seen Kakashi in ANBU uniform yet. It seemed like that porcelain mask turned a switch on in him, going from a lazy, slightly annoying teenager who could care less about procedure to a dutiful and wholly committed soldier. Naruto had ANBU under him in the present and for the first time ever, he wondered what kinds of lives those well-conditioned ANBU lived when they didn't have to conform behind an anonymous porcelain mask.
And, Naruto couldn't help but wonder for a moment what kind of person he might be if he wasn't hiding behind a mask himself. If he could just tell Minato the truth about who he is and how he travelled here by accident from the future with one of Minato's own jutsu...
"I trust you'll fare just fine on your own, it's only a B-rank... but should something go wrong, Kakashi will be shadowing you from a distance and can intervene if necessary."
"Hai," Naruto chimed duteously, nodding before taking the medicine he was supposed to deliver off the Hokage's desk and setting out.
It was a cool day, especially with travelling mostly in the shade. The trees offered relief and shelter from the sun on the blazing hot days but did nothing good on the cold ones. He'd wished for a moment he could draw from Kurama's chakra and get there faster but going into Kyuubi mode would certainly draw suspicions. Damn shadow ANBU... and Kakashi, of all people-the one most suspicious of him. Naruto let out a soft sigh as he continued to leap through the trees at a regular shinobi-like pace.
He arrived as planned at the small village on the border of the Land of Fire and Land of Stone. It was a small labor village with notably few children. Either they were all locked up inside or... he paused for a moment, leaning on a tree and looking upon the dirt streets and a tiny woman carrying buckets of water from a nearby well back to town. No capable men left to do that job... no children, either... It pained Naruto to think about the reality of the situation. Children were prime hostages in war, especially from small villages so close to the border such as this one. Most of the capable men went off to fight, and from a village such as this one, those men were ill-trained. Many not even genin level.
It was no wonder they needed help from Konoha. Naruto skimmed the bottle of medicine held snugly in his pouch with the tips of his fingers and took a deep breath before heading into those sad, sad streets.
He gained many onlookers as he walked carefully down what must have been the main street (and really the only street, at that). As suspected, he saw no children. There were elderly men and women, sitting on the steps of their homes and watching with curious eyes as the tall blonde with a Konoha forehead protector, one that Minato gave to him for the sake of this mission, walked tentatively through their tiny village.
He paused when he saw the woman from earlier-the frail one who'd been carrying the water. He kindly offered help and easily lifted the two buckets off her shoulders and onto his own.
"Thank you," she said, rubbing her sore shoulders. She stretched her neck and then froze when she finally got a good look at the blonde man. Her eyes lit up and jaw opened ever so slightly, as if wanting to say something, before retreating back into herself. A blush creeped on her cheeks. For a moment, the two walked alongside each other quietly, neither one knowing quite what to say.
Finally, Naruto decided to ask her where the hospital was, "I have to deliver this medicine to a young woman, an amputee."
The small woman's brows raised as she looked up at Naruto, "Oh! I can take you there. I- I can't believe you're delivering it..." she whispered shyly, twiddling with her fingers.
The blonde looked sidelong at the woman, baffled by her strange statement, "Uh- yeah..."
"I mean, I'm really very grateful," she went on. "And honored, really-"
"Honored?"
"Well, of course! There's lots of talk around here about you and all the great things you did to help during the war, Hokage-Sama!" the woman chimed, completely unaware of the baffled look dawning on Naruto's face. For a moment, Naruto could almost imagine she was talking to him, the real him from the future. But he quickly realized what she was saying and couldn't help but laugh out loud. This earned him a confused glance from the small woman and a few curious eyes caught on the two as they continued through the street.
"I'm not the Yondaime, though people tend to say we look a lot alike so don't take it personally."
The woman's jaw dropped a little as she examined the man's face, gleaming at his bright yellow hair and ocean blue eyes, "Y-yeah, so similar... I mean, I've never actually met the Yondaime but I've seen a couple photographs and-" she paused, struggling to find her words as she glared dumfoldedly at the older man. "Well, everything checks out. The hair, the eyes, the kind demeanor..."
Eager to stray from the subject, lest she start asking questions he doesn't know how to answer (and he knew Kakashi was nearby somewhere, probably listening) he placed the buckets down where the young woman pointed and gave her a curt nod.
"Thanks- uh," she smiled softly. "I didn't get a name."
"Naruto," he answered simply.
"Thank you Naruto. The hospital tent is ahead and take your second left. You'll see it, it's hard to miss."
He smiled at the woman before heading off, subconsciously checking his pouch again for the medicine. He couldn't help but chuckle under his breath as he thought about strangers confusing him with his father. He'd always thought Kakashi Sensei was overreacting when he'd often compare him to Minato... guess they were more alike than he'd thought. This only made Naruto more curious about Minato. He craved all the knowledge about his father that he was never before able to obtain, but now in the past, could.
He made a mental note to ask Minato about his paperwork habits. Did he get stuff done on time or fall behind as often as Naruto did? For some reason, in his mind, his father was a better, perfect version of himself. Or rather, Naruto was a less-perfect version of his father. And if he played his cards right, he could learn from Minato and become better... a better man, Hokage, father, and husband.
He approached the field tent and pulled the dirtied curtain aside, peering inside for a doctor or medic to hand the medicine off to. As he skimmed the room, his eyes caught on a young girl sleeping on a cot, her right shoulder wrapped tightly in bandages. He could see the blood seeping through the bandages and approached the bedside to get a closer look.
The girl rustled before green eyes flickered open. She peered tiredly at the blonde man by her bedside before attempting to sit up. This brought on a chain of events where Naruto felt completely out of his element, standing back and having no idea what to do. He wanted to help so bad but didn't know how. He wished Sakura was here, she would know exactly how to handle this situation.
The girl cried out in pain before falling onto her back again, losing the support of her only remaining arm to clutch her bandaged limb. Within seconds, two people, a man and a woman, came rushing in from behind a curtain. They were muttering words of assurance while working to unravel the soiled bandages and replace them with clean ones. Where possible, Naruto would grab things as they called for them-disinfectant, roll of bandage, scissors, clip... and after a moment that felt long but was short in reality, the girl had new bandages and had been injected with something to make her sleep again.
"Thank you for your help. That's the second time today she's bled through her bandages," the man muttered, "We knew the prosthetic was a bad idea. She hasn't stopped bleeding and crying out in pain since we removed it. Even with it gone, her body still seems to be trying to reject it."
"I have these meds from Konoha," Naruto said, handing the bottle to the doctor. "They'll help with... uh- hold on," he motioned with a single finger as he dug through his pouches for the paper containing mission information. "Eh...? It was right here..." He started pulling bits and ends out of his pocket and placing them on the sterile plate beside the cot. The nurse grimaced as she grabbed the sterile instruments and held them away from Naruto's pocket items. "I think I've lost it. Damn it..."
As if on cue, a certain silver-haired ANBU pulled the curtain back and entered the tent in lazy strides. "This the paper you're looking for?" He held up the yellow-tinted page Naruto thought he'd lost.
"H-how? When- where?"
"Minato was right to send me after you... I thought it was to wade off enemies but turns out it was just to pick up after your clumsy ass," Kakashi muttered as he handed the paper containing information about dosage and ingredients to the doctor. Naruto frowned, crossing his arms as he tried to swallow the resentful remark that wanted to slip out in reply.
Little did the young ANBU know just how much blackmail the older blonde had on him... from the future albeit, but blackmail nonetheless. He could tell him about his little porn addiction and how his own students beat him in a fight by threatening to tell him the end to of one of his little guilty-pleasures... a highly embarrassing story for sure. One Naruto constantly reminded present-day Kakashi about.
But he couldn't. That would be an idiotic move sure to get him locked up and interrogated, especially if Kakashi was making the call.
So he bit his tongue and forced a smile as he brushed off the teenager's snarky comment.
"You must be tired from your journey," the nurse said, motioning him to sit again. "Why don't you rest up for a bit and I'll get you some tea and sandwiches?"
"Oh, I don't want to intrude-"
"No, no, it's to show our gratitude for delivering this medicine," the woman answered swiftly, giving the blonde man no choice but to abide by her instructions. "She's been in pain for weeks. She was fine for a while, about two months actually, and it seemed like she was adapting well to the prosthetic... but it's new science with cells from the First Hokage and we really had no idea her body would reject it like it did."
She got him a warm cup of tea, also filling a syringe with the new medicine Naruto had delivered to them and injecting it into the arm of the sleeping girl, before heading off to tend to another patient. The male doctor was also long gone. Kakashi had retreated back to the shadows and Naruto was left alone with the sleeping amputee.
He watched in quiet thought for a while-he really didn't know for how long. He thought a lot about everything until he lost track of time-before the girl started waking up again.
"Hey," he muttered, placing a hand on the woman's healthy shoulder to keep her from trying to sit up again. "They got some new meds into you. It should help your body to start healing again and reset your immune system so it doesn't keep trying to reject the previous prosthetic." Naruto surprised himself with the words that came out of his mouth. It was like Sakura was speaking for him and he was on auto-pilot. He'd never been good with medical terminology and was sure he'd said something wrong but he got the point across anyways so he considered it an accomplishment.
As he pulled his arm away from the girl, she reached up and grabbed it gently, examining it in a loopy sort of state.
"Your arm," she murmured.
"Oh... this?" he realized the girl was talking about the bandages covering his entire right arm. "It got damaged at war... but they found a prosthetic that worked."
"I wish mine worked... but it was new science so I guess I shouldn't have got my hopes up..." the young girl muttered sadly as she ran her good hand over the bandages.
Naruto couldn't help but think that he could help this girl with the knowledge he had. However small his medical knowledge extent was, he was sure he had something that could be the key to this girl's prosthetic working. He remembered Sakura explaining it to him soon after he got his own prosthetic... something about merging stem cells of the patient's and Hashirama's cells to prevent rejection of the prosthetic from the body... Even though extensive research on the Hashirama cell hadn't been completed in this time period yet, he couldn't help but feel like he should share some knowledge and help this girl. Unfortunately, he'd always tuned out Sakura's blabbing and now he wished he'd listened a little closer.
Naruto offered a kind but subtle smile before getting up, deciding it was time to head back now. He'd completed his mission and delivered the meds. This girl would be okay... even though she wouldn't get an arm back, she'd still live. Even if Naruto may have been able to share knowledge that could get her a working arm again... But she would live and that's what mattered most.
On the journey home, Naruto got lost in his thoughts again. He really would have shared the information about the Hashirama cell if he'd known it. It would have changed the course of time, but he was ready to do it for the sake of this stranger with no significant role in history.
And if he could bring himself to do it for this girl, surely he could do it for Minato Namikaze and his family... the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, Konoha's Yondaime and a genius known across the nations.
All he'd have to really do is stop Madara. Not to mention getting rid of Madara could prevent many other events... Obito could return to the village. The Akatsuki, though still forming without him, wouldn't have as significant a role and could be dealt with more easily. The entire Fourth Shinobi war could be averted simply by destroying Madara now, in his weakened state.
He could save his parents. With Minato still in office, and the Nine-Tail's attack never having happened, suspicions on the Uchiha wouldn't be as much of a problem and any power issues between the council and Uchiha clan could be solved by nurturing conversation between Minato and Fugaku...
And surely he could take the old man on, only he had no idea where Madara was even hiding. He'd have to wait until the night of his birth on October 10th and stop Obito before everything happens... explain everything to him, about Kakashi and Rin and the truth of Rin's death... and get Obito to show him to Madara where Naruto could surely destroy him and prevent a whole array of terrible events from happening...
He'd save hundreds-no, thousands-of lives from the evil brought into the world by Madara Uchiha. An entire war, for one. Thousands of soldiers who died needlessly. Neji's face comes to mind 'd be bringing back a man who never deserved to die, along with thousands more. He still had vivid pictures in his memory of bodies scattered across the battlefields. And Neji... bringing him back might just be one of the best things he could ever do for his wife. To bring her beloved cousin back... and Boruto and Himawari would get to know the incredible man their uncle is.
He'd bring Kakashi's best friend back and save them both from darkness. He'd save his parents. He'd give himself a better childhood; maybe even giving Boruto a better father in subsequence.
The prospect of changing so much history brought a big knot to Naruto's stomach. He felt ill from these thoughts but forced himself to keep moving forward. It was terrifying yet so, so appealing... and just within his reach.
He travelled at leisure on the way back to the village. There were too many thoughts on his mind to rush and jump back into everything... and he had a massive decision to make, one that has continued to haunt him since his first day in the past: to change history or stay out of it.
He saw the benefits of changing things, but he also feared the risks... but then again, Naruto has always been a risk-taker, and never one to believe in fate. The whole philosophy that the course of one's life can never be changed, that it will and should always stay the same way it's destined to, has always bothered Naruto.
But the thought of changing so much also did not sit well with him. He wasn't even supposed to be in the past... coming here was a complete accident as a result of Naruto's clumsy nature and extreme chakra levels... and his lack of patience, trying such a complicated time-space jutsu without all the pieces. Or was it an accident at all?
He sighed heavily as he looked into the sky, noticing the sun starting to set. He could set up camp or push forward another hour and make it to a hot-springs town. After only a moment, Naruto decided to push through to the hot springs. Maybe a dip in the springs would help him clear his head and make the decision easier for him.
Upon arrival, Naruto purchased two rooms, intending to offer one to Kakashi, but when he finally found the stubborn teen, he was already resting peacefully in a tree-branch near the Inn. Modern-day Kakashi would pound young Kakashi for passing up the opportunity to have a free Inn stay... Naruto couldn't wait to get back to his time and tell the old man all about his experiences with his teacher's younger self.
An unmanly noise escaped the man's throat as he lowered himself into the wonderful hot water and felt truly relaxed for the first time in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time he was at a hot spring, even in his time. Hokage duties kept him so busy, and the time he did have off was spent with his family, since he didn't spend much time with them otherwise... and he felt like he owed that to them.
For once, Naruto realized why Kakashi was so adamant on retirement, and understood his goal to visit every hot spring in Konohagakure before his time was up.
Retirement... that sounds nice...
"Long day, huh?" a voice came from the opposite side of the pool. Naruto opened his eyes upon hearing the voice but couldn't make out the man's face through the thick steam.
Even though Naruto really just wanted to relax, away from people and think, he did the civilized thing and answered kindly, "Long life."
"Well, that's what these hot springs are for, son, so may as well enjoy them while you can."
Being Hokage in his day, Naruto got so used to being referred to with honorifics. He couldn't remember the last time someone called him son... it was probably Jiraiya, before he died, and that felt like forever ago. Naruto took a deep breath, enjoying the steamy bath as much as he could.
"Have we met before?" said the voice through the fog. "You seem very familiar."
Upon opening his eyes again, Naruto jumped when he realized that the man had moved closer. No longer was he a silhouette in the fog but one moving towards him through the water, leaving ripples in his wake, features becoming more visible with every slow, water-held step.
A breath fell from the young man's lungs when he was finally able to make out the older man's features. It was unmistakable. The long, white locks, strong jaw and red lines under his eyes... he looked exactly like the Pervy Sage only much, much younger... He must've been only ten years older than Naruto in this time.
He hardly knew how to react. Meeting Jiraiya again was one of the things he never thought he'd get to do. Except, unfortunately, Jiraiya didn't know who Naruto was. Naruto wasn't even born yet, so the older man had no way of recognizing him, even if he told him who he was.
"I, uh," Naruto was at a loss for words. He knew he'd have to lie to his father and mother, and young Kakashi... but never did he even consider that he might run into the Pervy Sage.
"You..." Jiraiya hummed as he examined the younger man carefully. "You're... Minato's cousin, yeah? Namikaze... Naruto?"
"How did you-"
"I was just at Konoha visiting him and Kushina," the white-haired one says. "Dropping off my newest novel to them to read, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja."
"Ahh, that one," Naruto improvised. Luckily, Naruto had read that one extensively. "The one about the Child of Prophesy... his name was-"
"Naruto," Jiraiya answered for him, a strange look looming in his eyes as he looked at the blonde man curiously.
"Heh, yeah... what a coincidence," Naruto tried to laugh it off, though it came across more awkward than he would have liked. Naruto sunk deeper into the hot water, submerging his chin. In an effort to steer the conversation away from his identity, Naruto decided to engage the Sage in conversation about the book. Not only would it (hopefully) distract the older man but also answer some questions Naruto had about his mentor's view on fate and prophesy... the very question Naruto was struggling with now. "Say, you talked about pathways in that book... about how choosing one path can significantly impact outcomes. And how Naruto chose his own paths but still ended up where he was supposed to be, because all his paths always led to the same place and he could live out his prophesy... just how much do you believe in that philosophy yourself?" It felt like more of a ramble than a conversation but Naruto was desperate.
"Mm, in a bit of a crossroads, are you?"
"Something like that," Naruto muttered, fiddling nervously with his fingers under the water. It felt like Jiraiya was staring right through to his soul, though Pervy Sage did tend to be quite intense sometimes, especially when it came to his writing...
"Hm," he grunted, leaning back against the wall of the pool and closing his eyes in deep, deep thought. Naruto could almost make out a smirk forming on the older man's lips, but stopped starting as soon as Jiraiya opened his eyes again. "Though the paths were different, the goal was the same... so though aspects of his decisions changed, his prophesy was still brought to completion one way or another."
Naruto thought hard about his mentor's words, trying to make sense of it and apply it to his decision. Before he could think much about it, Jiraiya interrupted.
"You seem quite knowledgeable," the Sage remarks as he steps out of the bath with a towel wrapped around himself. Naruto stiffens, sure now that he'd gone too far... asked too much... Jiraiya was getting suspicious. Even Naruto could tell that. "I won't press you because if you know what's good for you, you'll answer with half-truths anyways..."
At this, Naruto's brows furrowed involuntarily. Luckily, the older man had already turned his back, getting ready to leave.
"Though, who am I to lecture you?"
"What do you-" but the Uzumaki could hardly finish because the older man interrupted him with well-thought words.
"You who seems to know so much about the future... Just be careful, Naruto Namikaze. Time is a fragile, fragile thing."
Naruto's eyes nearly popped right out of his head. He could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. "Who said anything about the future?" Naruto asked in as calm a manner as he could muster.
"You did."
"Huh? No, no, I don't recall that at all."
The Sage's back was still turned to him, and Naruto was at least grateful for this. He knew if Jiraiya could see his face right now, it would only confirm his suspicions. As the older man turned around, Naruto composed himself surprisingly quick. He looked up at the man, face a void yet fear vibrating in his chest.
The smirk that grew then upon the older man's face brought a knot to Naruto's stomach. He , he knew. But how the hell did he figure it out? Naruto didn't remember mentioning a single thing about the future. He was careful with his words and used his Namikaze alibi to get away with his uncanny resemblance to Minato. He simply asked the older man about the fabric of time, which Naruto thought was a pretty safe topic considering it was a topic already in the Sage's book.
Jiraiya, in his suddenly lighthearted manner, simultaneously answered and calmed the Uzumaki's racing thoughts with ease, seemingly unscathed by the whole situation, "Tales of a Gutsy Ninja isn't released to the public and yet you claim to have read it."
"I-I read a draft, one that was leaked," Naruto thought up hurriedly, desperately trying for an excuse.
The older man didn't fall for it one bit. "You can drop the bluff, son." He patted the yellow-haired nin on his head before finally turning around and heading for the door. "Don't worry," he said before he went inside, "I won't tell. Who am I to lecture a time traveler about the fragility of time and then proceed to blow his cover?"
Naruto sat in the water in a mix of shock and confusion, completely unsure how to feel or act, as his mentor reached for the door. Just before he was about to close it behind him, Naruto sprung out of the water, wrapping his bottom half and sprinting to catch him before the door was closed.
"How do you know I'm from the future and not just a spy? I could have read your drafts. You have no way to prove I didn't."
"Come on, Naruto," Jiraiya sung, "I can put two and two together; rather, I can put father and son..."
Naruto was quick to cut that one off, in case Kakashi was nearby. "Uhh- yeah, so you were saying earlier about visiting Minato and Kushina," he butted in, eager to change the subject.
Jiraiya smirked, letting the younger man inside after him. "Join me for some tea, will you? Let's have a chat."