"Once the seal activates, you'll basically be thrown through the Temporal Dimension," came Obito's grim statement, "It'll be painful at best, and it's likely that you might accidentally graze a couple other dimensions or timelines, since the general execution of the seal may be...turbulent. As for Kurama, I'm guessing that he and his counterpart will either merge together, or one will be shoved from existence, in one way or another. Concerning the latter, if that does happen to occur, I don't think you'd need to worry. Your bond with the present Kyuubi is stronger than Kushina's was, and the general construction of your seal is significantly well built in comparison to hers, so if either of the Kyuubi have a chance at being forced from that dimension it's not likely that it'd be yours."
Naruto nodded hesitantly before meeting his onyx eyes, confusion gleaming in her own blue ones as she tilted her head, "...Graze? Dimensions or timelines? Whaddya you mean, dattebane?"
The Uchiha heaved a long and bone-achingly tired sigh, "The seal, paired with the Kyuubi's chakra, will cause an extremely explosive reaction," he pointed a finger at the multitude of intricate brush strokes that formed a massive and complex seal on the floor of the cave, "That is unstable, untested, and dangerous. It'll work, I know that for sure, but it's far from perfect.
"Time flows along a single path, like a river," he paused, heaving another sigh before plopping haphazardly on the ground. Mirai copied his action, resting her elbows on her knees as she focused her attention on the man.
"The 'present' is like a boat on the river that is time. When you make the jump through time, this present will continue to sail, but you will land in the past, on a different boat. Do you follow?"
Mirai nodded unsurely, "...So when I leave this present, it'll still exist. It'll keep on moving down the river, even if there are...," she winced, loss spiking painfully in her heart, "...no souls left in it?"
Obito nodded, eyeing the blonde skeptically before continuing, "Yes. The present will still exist, becoming your past. Here's where it gets tricky," he pursed his lips, hands forming an arch under his chin. "The moment you travel into the past, you basically make... an alternate reality of sorts."
Naruto perked up, "...What?"
"Think about it, Naru. Once you travel through time, the present becomes your past, and the past becomes your present. Since you don't exist in the past - which is now your present - you cause a major change in the timeline. Something as unique as a soul being out of place in a timeline causes a huge deviation, even on its own. Since time is a river, it's only flowing in one direction, and only following one path. But, the moment you change something, you disrupt the flow of time, and the river branches out, forming an entirely new future."
She scrunched her face, trying to wrap her head around what he was telling her, before nodding.
"...This seal is practically defying the laws of time, pushing against the current, which is why it's going to be a rough ride - painful and risky - but we both know that it's our only option left," he grimaced. "So, like I said before, since you're going against the flow of the river, you might graze other deviations, if they exist. There's really no way to tell if they do; as far as records go, it's never been claimed that someone succeeded in time travel, and if they did there was no way to prove it so... Yeah, its only theory. There might be deviations, again I have no way of knowing."
Naruto nodded, running a hand over her face tiredly, "...What about you--?"
"Naruto," the blonde flinched at the harshness in his tone, "We already went over this. You know as well as I do that only one of us can go. You're better suited for the task. I couldn't even if I wanted to - it would be impossible. There can't be two souls in one present, after all."
He smiled, and the tears that fell from her eyes couldn't be stopped, "Besides," his voice was soft, full of regret and sorrow and despair, "I've had my second chance, and I do not deserve another one."
Red.
Red... everything was so, sored. It pooled on the ground, burning hot against the cold, cold stone in thick, deep puddles.
Too much. She lost too much blood.
But she just... smiled, red staining her white teeth, red dripping from her pale cheeks, red mixing with her crystal tears.
Red, red, red.
She reached up, her cold and shaking fingers caressing Naruto's wet cheeks gently, "N-Naru...to..."
Her voice... it was weak, barely a whisper, and that red, red, red substance dripped from her blue lips, trailing down, down, down, until it fell from her chin, each droplet splashing loudly as it hit the ground, echoing in the blondes ears.
Drip, drip, drip.
"I...I've...always... want-wanted you to know-"
"No!," Naruto rasped, pressing the stained fabric against the girl's large wound, desperately trying to staunch the flow of hot blood, "D-don't talk," she pleaded, her vision blurring with tears, "Save your breath, please, K-Kakashi-- he's- he's coming! He's on his way, he'll help you--"
She sucked in a breath, the blood gurgling and bubbling in her throat. Ruby droplets spattered on Naruto's face as she coughed hoarsely, choking on her words, "Listen to me!"
The blonde froze at the desperate, enraged cry, and the flow of her protests snapped to a halt.
"I...I...want to tell you..."
...drip, drip, drip...
"...that is wasn't... it wasn't your fault, o-okay?"
Another cough racked her body, jolting her pierced lungs. She groaned.
"...I d-don't...blame you for what happened, I...i never d-did I-..."
drip...
drip...
"--wasn't...yo..ur...fa--"
drip...
drop...
"Saku... w-wait!--"
drip...
drop...
"N-no, don't- don't close your eyes, Sakura-chan...Sakura... SAKURA!"
...drip...
...drop...
...drip...
...drop...
She jolted, her body flinging itself into an upright position. A cold sweat coated her body, sticking the white sheets to her trembling limbs, the sticky sheen of sweat causing her long blonde locks to cling to her arms and face. The air in her room was hot and stuffy, like molten lava in her lungs as she desperately gulped down the burning air.
"Kit..."
"I'm fine," she rasped, fist clenching the fabric of her shirt in a vice grip. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs, limbs shaking from the blood and adrenaline that rushed through her body. "I'm fine..."
Preventing Uchiha Obito's psuedo-death was first and foremost, she had long since decided on that. His apparent death was emotionally devastating to Kakashi and Rin, ripping away much of the innocence they had retained - it was a major lesson for Kakashi, a factor that helped shape him into the man he was from Before, but it was also extremely damaging.
Mirai had confidence that he could deviate from his selfish ways without the added trauma.
The Kannabi Bridge mission was all in all a major catastrophe. There was so much risk involved, every task and consequence in the hands of a group of kids, and the whole idea was just so freaking stupid.
Mirai couldn't fathom why they - the council - would send a group of preteens on a mission that would be a crucial turning point in the war. It was an exceedingly stupid and careless decision, one that endangered both sides, and she wanted to throttle the person who came up with easily one of the most moronic ideas in history-
Which, it actually might have been the most moronic, seeing as that mission was the beginning of the end, in a way.
Either way, the mission needed to be supervised. Someone strong enough and experienced enough. Someone who could guide the mission well enough so that the entirety of Team Seven would be returned back to the village, all in one piece - someone who knew what was going to happen.
And there, of course, was the problem. Obviously, she was the only one who knew of the impending disaster. Hiruzen was unaware that this particular mission was the one in which Obito had been crushed. (She hadn't told him the details concerning which mission the Uchiha had gone bad on. The chances of him going behind her back in some attempt at retribution and royally screw something up were too high.) She was experienced, enough to guide the mission itself, but the matter of strength was in question.
Mirai didn't have any delusions to the sheer amount of power she had lost. She still hadn't found the time or place to test her limits, of course, so she didn't know what skills she had retained - if any at all - which, according to the circumstances, puts her in deep shit.
So far, she knew that she had retained her taijustu and general reflexes. She obviously was still Kurama's jinchuuriki, so chakra wasn't at all problem, but then there's the matter of utilizing said chakra.
Sage mode was out of the question, no doubt. Her body was younger, and therefore weaker. If she were to use sage mode while in this feeble form, it would surely be damaging to the body, so much so that she doubted even Kurama's regeneration would be much effective. That particular skill would sadly have to wait until she was at least physically fourteen.
Luckily, her ability to sense emotional responses in others' chakra had been steadily returning to her, and while it was not a direct combat skill, it held a genuine advantage.
Unfortunately, despite her current weaknesses and overall lack of knowledge of her own skills, she was the only person who could do the job. She couldn't tell anybody else about it; Hiruzen was the only living person she'd trust in this timeline with that information, and even he only knew because she needed jurisdiction and freedom within the village.
She didn't want anybody to know.
And she would make it a point to never, ever tell another person. The mission had to be completed without making any emotional connections - from Before or otherwise. Forming bonds was the last thing she needed now, and she knew that if she trusted another individual enough to tell them, she will have already failed to prevented disaster in this timeline. She had to stop Madara's plan and be gone before Kushina gave birth to the Naruto of this timeline. Then she could... rest in peace.
Lack of emotional connection guaranteed success. This was something she couldn't forget.Anyone that is personally associated with her would be a target for potential enemies, and she couldn't put anybody that she cared for in the line of fire. If she avoided friendships, then nobody would be a liability - nobody would be at risk because of her mission, and it had to stay that way.
It would be strange, she knew. Bonds were something she sought with every fiber of her being as a child... but if she were to let anyone in, she would constantly have to keep them lit of harm's way. She'd have to worry about what they knew and where they were and she just couldn't let anything get in her way.
After all, it was the bonds she made that hindered her, and as much as it hurt to be alone, she couldn't risk her loved ones again.
She hadn't discussed the Kannabi bridge mission with Hiruzen yet, which, of course, was a problem. Seeing as he was the current Hokage, she had to discuss, negotiate, and inform him of her actions concerning her mission. It was inconvenient and annoying at best, but not exactly surprising seeing as the man didn't completely trust her yet.
Despite his actions, it was painfully obvious that he would probably be closely monitoring each and every movement of hers for the foreseeable future. His lack of trust was righteous, she supposed, because even though he had evidence of where she originates from, he still doesnt personally know her. Trust is earned, and is not ever easily given. The man had no real knowledge of Mirai's character or skill - only a rough hint of her ideology and love for her village. His overall information was, in a way, mediocre ,and as such, he would be keeping her on a tight leash.
She sighed, tracing the surface of the rough stone. A certain chill seeped from its depths, despite the heat of the beating sun, it's many facets sparkled with dew under the early morning light, each shimmering droplet connecting to form watery paths under her fingertips, seeping into the letters of the engraved stone.
A soft scoff escaped her lips, almost sardonic in nature as her digits swept over unfamiliar names and blanks spaces, ones which would have, in her time, held vividly clear characters - the names of those she had known.
The Memorial Stone.
It's funny, how she sat here now. Kakashi used to spend the majority of his time in this same spot, contemplating, despairing, dwelling on the past, on what he did or could have done. Now, she sat here alone. No longer would she be in his company, no longer would she see him, talk to him, spar with him.
Or anybody she loved.
She was now, as he was then, alone. And that feeling, she mused, felt somehow darker and emptier than it felt as a child. What once was a void, black as death and filled with absolute nothingness now carried the ghosts of her past, static images that lurked in shadows.
And those faces, those fantoms that whispered her name and screamed in response to the pain of their mortal wounds made that void seem so much more blank, so much more empty and lonely and full of dispair.
Before, when she and Kakashi would stand in front of this same stone together, she at least had the comfort of knowing that the spirits of her loved ones were watching over her. They were with her at all times so that even when nobody was around, she wasn't ever truly alone.
Now, it would seem, she was alone.
After all, she doubted even spirits could travel through time. The souls of her loved ones, she believed, no longer watched over her as friends, but instead as phantoms in the depths of her empty heart.
"A promotion?," Kushina's loud voice carried easily through the thin walls of their home, chock full of mirth and pride.
Minato felt a proud smile stretch across his face, "Yes, Hokage-sama is considering it. Kakashi will become a jounin within the next few months, I believe."
Kushina bounced into kitchen, her crimson hair trailing fluidly behind her, unbound. She stopped just passed the threshold, supressing the urge to glomp the blonde lest she be splashed with boiling oil. Minato smiled softly at her, pecking her lightly on the cheek as he passed by her, slipping oven mitts onto his calloused hands.
"Good for him, dattebane!," she grinned excitedly, "I thought they decided to at least wait until next year before his promotion. What changed their minds?"
"His performance on our last assignment was 'an exceptional example of true leadership skills'," he paused, a smirk flitting across his face in response to her doubtful expression. "Their words, not mine. As much as I believe he has the skills of a jounin, I still wonder if he would make the right choices for the team as a whole," he sighed.
Kakashi was skilled, extremely so for his age. He had a sharp mind and the ability to adapt to every situation and circumstance accordingly, eliminating resistance efficiently and effectively. His physical abilities were nothing to scoff at either, but Minato worried still, because the boy just didn't hold enough concern for the team as a whole. Not to say that he didn't care for Rin and Obito - but the boy was young and stuck in his ways. Minato worried that he wouldn't learn to put his teammates before the mission before something terrible happened.
Sometimes you don't know what you have until you lose it.
"He'll learn, Minato," she hummed in understanding. The blonde grinned in response, and the two fell into thoughtful silence.
The oil on the stove sizzled and popped, and for a fleeting moment, icy dread froze in his veins, and Minato winced.
The feeling of that chakra corresponded almost disturbingly well with the behavior of boiling oil, he mused. The feeling was much the same, bubbling uncomfortably beneath his skin, fiery and burning in nature, as if it held so much power that it could not be contained.
The grin on Minato's face dimmed, and he turned back to the stove, stirring the frying meat slowly.
"Do you remember what we found on our last mission?," he asked suddenly, a restless sort of unease coloring his tone. A frown crawled it's way onto Kushina's face and she tilted her head slightly, "You mentioned a little girl, briefly, but you wouldn't tell me the details..."
"Ah, well I didn't really know what happened - I don't have much information at all, even now, but..." He hesitated, shaking his head slightly to clear his rampant thoughts, "We completed our mission quicker than we thought we would, so we decided to head back immediately..."
He turned off the burner, setting the prepared food off to the side to cool a bit, before plopping onto the sofa with a sigh, "There was..." he paused lips setting into a grim line. "There was a massive chakra spike, so large and sudden that Obito and Rin almost lossed consciousness from the sheer weight of it. I... I don't think I've ever felt such a large amount of pure chakra released in one moment like that."
He shuddered, that hot, boiling feeling crawling in his veins at the memory - it felt feral, wild and predatory, writhing with pure agony. The feeling was horrendous, and he had half a mind to make sure his little students weren't at all traumatized by it, in all honesty.
Kushina joined him on the sofa, a look of apprehension dawning her features. "We were about ten miles from ten village gate when it happened."
The redhead frowned, "Ten miles? But - that's so close. I didn't sense any sort of disturbance. If it was as large of an amount as you say, and so close, why didn't anyone feel it?"
Minato met her violet eyes, worry swimming in his sapphire ones, "That's the thing. I think somebody may have used seals to keep the energy contained. The chakra itself felt... uncontrollable in nature - it felt raw and angry and torn, as if the source was," he hesitated in his words, "Almost as if it's source was grieving."
"You think somebody activated chakra containment seals?," she tapped her chin. "Seeing as nobody in the village sensed it, that would be my best guess as to why. As for the chakra itself... I've heard of cases where a person's emotion was so strong that it somehow...infused itself into their chakra, but what does that have to do with the girl?"
Minato gazed at the ground, a heavy weight of anxiety dropping in his chest and twisting in his gut. He ran his hand through his blonde locks, limbs restless with unease as a hurricane of thoughts stormed his aching brain.
"I think... I think she was the source of that chakra."
Dark eyes glazed over as a deep sigh escaped Hiruzen's lips. Thick tendrils of smoke trailed along, curling in swirling patterns before dissipating to set a silver haze within the enclosed space of his office.
Uzumaki-Namikaze Mirai, Hiruzen thought, was an anomaly.
Her claims were, by all evidence, completely and unfortunately true. His many doubts had indeed been smothered when he read the scroll, the parchment spattered with the girl's fresh blood, dripping red at the edges with the liquid like a message from the god of death itself. What it held was proof enough for her claims, containing not one, not two, but three Hokages' seals. Hailing from three future Hokages, the Godaime, Rokudaime, and Nanadaime - Senju Tsunade, Hatake Kakashi, and Mirai (named Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto at the time of her reign), respectively.
His initial reaction to the seals, was an immediate denial of the truth, simply seeing as Konohagakure only has three Hokage - him being the third and currently acting. But, having read the scrolls contents, and confirming them, it would suffice to say that he had no right to deny its claims.
The reason for this being a simple one; it is completely and undeniably impossible to truly replicate a Kage seal, for two reasons.
One, the combined chakra of the reigning Kage and his or her successor must be used to make the seal. The combination of blood creates a unique signature; one that cannot be replicated artificially. Additionally, the blood must be from living and breathing sources, the samples fresh enough for the chakra to have not drained from the liquid.
Second, predecessor and successor alike must embed their chakra simultaneously into the seal, encasing it permanently.
Of course, countermeasures are placed in the event that the acting Hokage is either permanently incapacitated or dead, and haven't chosen or officially elected a successor. In the shinobi world, these unfortunate situations are not in any way rare, so the council during the reign of the Nidaime brought to life an adequate alternative; five or more shinobi, personally selected and trusted are chosen by the Hokage on the day that they inherit the hat, so that in the chance that they are unable to be present during the official announcement of their successor, these shinobi would loyally act as the blood and chakra in the predecessor's place.
Judging by the blending chakra of several individuals in both the Godaime (which, disturbingly held chakra signatures that matched strikingly well with that of his most trusted shinobi, which he'd chosen in case of his death) and Rokudaime's seals, this particular method had dolefully been used, and though it had initially shocked Hiruzen, he grievously admitted to himself that it wasn't entirely surprising.
If the authentic seals themselves hadn't been enough to convince Hiruzen, the large seal, stroked intricately and carefully in the blackest of inks, its pattern holding a certain air of desperation and genius, had.
The blonde that bore the seal had stood before him with defiance in her oceanic gaze, her small form glimmering with the red and strikingly volatile chakra of a certain tailed beast, the Kyuubi, or as she had so vehemently insisted, Kurama.
And it was quite disturbing to Hiruzen, when she forlornly admitted that there was a 'slight' mishap, as she'd so eloquently dubbed it, and made him very aware of that spine-chilling fact that Konohagakure now held a total of twenty tales worth of raw chakra. With a sunny smile on her deceivingly innocent face, she reassured him that while the Kyuubi which was native to this timeline was most certainly pissed, her personal tenant was actually quite docile toward the human race, though he tended to dip at least six of his tails into a dose of bloodlust every now and again.
Hiruzen had to suppress a shudder, which was an exceedingly difficult task, as he gazed momentarily at her seal before immediately dismissing her - and subsequently, her tenant - from his office, so that he could ponder over other necessary matters.
And from that point, he had to remind himself that Mirai was an anomaly, and she was no doubt powerful, but as it was, she was also a child.
At first, he had assumed that her age regression was a uniquely physical matter, affecting only her body and not her mind... But general observation of the girls attitude and demeanor prompted Hiruzen to suspect otherwise.
She had retained at least most of her mental knowledge - her thought process was advanced and she could effortlessly recall her memories and lessons from her previous life - but her emotional stability and her attitude, among other things, seemed to be slippery in their standings at best. Her general attention span was regressed, to the point where she would completely zone out at the most random of times, unrelated scenarios, ideas, and topics reeling through her at dizzying speeds. She was restless, constantly giving moving and fidgeting--
Overall, he was quite certain that the whole time travel ordeal had effected her in ways greater than simple age regression, because now, physically, her mind was still undeveloped, and that had undoubtedly affected her mental state as a whole.
Her mind, though tremendously advanced, had been partially shifted into a child's mind.
The girl, he knew, would most definitely be pissed, but after a week of thought and consideration on the matter of her physical and mental state, he belatedly realized that her rank as a chuunin at the tender age of five, paired with her unusual independency, would only serve to attract attention and suspicion. Suspicion was not something the girl needed. Attention and suspicion bred curiosity, and curiosity served to risk exposure.
She needed a cover of sorts, as well as somebody who he could trust to keep watch of her mental stability, and if all worked out the way he hoped it would, she would simultaneously gain friends and allies.
After all, the girl had lost... everything, and the solitude which she seemed adamant to instill upon herself would only serve to worsen her obviously unwell and unstable mental state. She would be pissed, yes, but Hiruzen had to insist to himself that it was worth his pain.
"You... want me to be her guardian?," came Minato's incredulous cry. The poor man had been thrown for a loop, confusion and nervousness present in his normally calm and collected gaze.
Sarutobi puffed a cloud of smoke, expression devoid of all emotion, "Would you be adverse to that, Minato-kun?" He lifted his gaze, heavy with judgment (though a good percentage of it was flawlessly and artificially placed to add a certain amount of weight to his demand), and Minato paled imperceptibly, but Hiruzen did not provide him with the time to speak, opting to solidify his demand.
"You will not be officially acknowledged as her guardian. You will simply provide her refuge, as well as a place in your team. I believe she would be more comfortable in the presence of those who saved her life, would she not?"
The blonde hummed doubtfully, "In a normal situation, one would believe that she would, but," he sighed, "The girl seems to be... afraid of me."
He narrowed his eyes in confusion, "And she is to be staying with me? Is she aware of this development?"
The Sandaime raised his hands in thought, the appendages forming and arc below his chin, "I have yet to inform her."
The nervousness radiating from the blonde - which would have been imperceptible to anyone who did not know him - was palpable to Hiruzen, and the man chuckled warmly to ease the Namikaze's unsettled thoughts, "Worry not, Minato-kun. I have no doubt that Mirai will warm up to you."