Chapter 01: Return Home

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Naruto asked, looking over his shoulder before looking back at Sasuke.

"Do we have much of a choice?" Sauske looked at Karasuki, a deep scowl on his face. "We're too weak to take them on and there's nowhere to run and train up. Travelling through time is our only option."

"Karasuki, how far are you able to take us back?" Naruto asked. Many lives were sacrificed to reobtain Karasuki. Naruto shuddered at the memory. He couldn't let their sacrifice go in vain.

"If we make a round trip, we can-,"

"No," Sasuke cut in abruptly, causing Naruto to stiffen. There wasn't anything in Sasuke's tone that startled him, he was just so uptight because the Otsutskis have successfully managed to ambush them multiple times. No one could ever be too on guard at this point and time. Especially when he and Sasuke were the last two survivors. "The further the better. Plus, I don't think we should do a round trip. There's nothing left to come back here."

"If that is the case, I can take you back to October 10, the year that the Kyubi attacked Konoha," Karasuki replied. "I have a lot of chakra reserves left inside me. Of course, I am taking both of your chakras in account as well.

"We'll go there," Naruto said. He and Sasuke placed their hands on the turtle, channeling all the chakra they could. He then turned to Sasuke. "See you on the other side, partner."

Sasuke smirked as a white light started to envelop the area. "See you."

"Naruto," A deep, rumbling voice was the first thing Naruto was greeted with. His body ached everywhere, so he didn't move, opting to keep his eyes closed. "Naruto! Wake up!"

Jeez! I'm awake, Kurama! Naruto shouted in his head, leaping up on his feet before wincing in pain. "Ow…"

"He finally awakes," Sasuke's voice sounded behind the Hokage. Naruto turned around to see Sasuke sitting on a rock, looking at Karasuki, who was retraced in his shell. Naruto then looked around. They were in the middle of the forest. A forest that Naruto remembered all too well: The Forest of Death. The last time he was here, he was holding Boruto's dead body, the trees splattered with blood. The kid ran away, trying to take on the Otsutkis on his own, only to be ambushed and killed by Isshiki. Naruto looked up to see sun glaring in his eyes. He hadn't had the chance to appreciate the sun in a while. He was too busy focusing on the war that the Otsutskis had raged against the world. A war that they had lost. Before they knew it, Naruto and Sasuke were the last two people alive, completely surrounded and helpless. This was their only option.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, fixating on the shell of the time-travelling turtle. "I guess he had to retreat after using that much chakra, huh?"

"He's dead," Sasuke said, causing Naruto to stiffen. "He used up all of his chakra to take us back here."

"I see," Naruto said, looking down. "I guess we're back to the day I was born then, huh?"

"Yeah," Sasuke replied with a curt nod. "We need a plan."

"You're not going to run off and do whatever again, right?" Naruto asked. He knew Sasuke preferred to work alone, but they couldn't sperate for the time being. At least until they had a stable form of connection.

"No," Sasuke shook his head, though Naruto could see that Sasuke was slightly agitated. "I suggest we both stay in Konoha for the time being. We should train our former selves. Make them stronger. Hopefully, they'll be strong enough to take on the Otsutskis when the time comes."

"That makes sense," Naruto said. You doing alright, Kurama?

"I don't have all too much chakra left. If I really need to, I can lend you some, but I would rather sleep for the next couple years," Kurama replied.

Thanks, furball, Naruto replied. A smirk on his face.

"Whatever."

"How much chakra do you have?" Naruto asked. He didn't know how long they have been in the current time, but he had about 5 percent of his chakra, but considering that it was Naruto that we're talking about, that was quite a bit. "I have about five percent."

"I have about seven," Sasuke replied.

"Wait," Naruto looked to the trees, a stern expression on his face. "Someone's coming."

Naruto tensed as the chakra signature approached at a blinding speed. The signature seemed almost… familiar. Naruto knew he's felt that chakra signature before, but he couldn't place exactly where or when he felt it. Suddenly, he found a kunai before his feet. Naruto looked at the kunai and instantly paled. That kunai… he's seen that before. It had three prongs and an all too familiar seal on it. Before Naruto could react, he was blinded by a yellow flash.

"As much as would like to exchange pleasantries," The man who revealed himself as the light dimmed was none other than the Yellow Flash himself, Namikaze Minato, "You're interrupting snuggle time."

"Dad?!"

About a half hour earlier, Minato was having some quality time with his wife. "Are you sure you want to go with Naruto?" He asked, looking fondly at Kushina's belly. Nine months had passed since that fateful day, and little Naruto was going to pop out any day now. "We can still change the name if you want."

"I like it," Kushina replied, giving Minato one of her heart-melting smiles. "It really is a nice name."

"You've mellowed out a lot this past month," Minato noted. "Maybe I should get you pregnant more often."

"Watch what you say," Kushina gave her husband a playful smirk. "The second the baby comes out; you're going to get it."

"I'm going to get what?" Minato asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You're going to get this!" As Kushina moved into kiss Minato, they were both interrupted by a gigantic discharge of chakra. Minato tensed. He never felt a discharge of chakra that strong before, even when Kushina unleased the power of the Kyuubi.

"I guess I have to go check it out," Minato groaned. He really wanted to spend more time with Kushina, but as the Hokage, he needed to make sure that whatever happened wasn't dangerous.

"It's okay," Kushina smiled. "I understand."

"I'll be back in a flash," Minato said before putting his hands together, vanishing in a yellow flash. He appeared at the base of the Forest of Death. The chakra signature came from the Forest of Death, but it wasn't like he had kunai all over the forest. He closed his eyes. There is a lot of chakra residue from the burst of chakra, so he was easily able to pinpoint the place with the highest concentration of chakra. He threw a kunai, teleporting to it before picking it up and throw it again, repeating the process. It only took a few minutes to reach the center. Minato appeared on a tree branch. When he saw two unfamiliar people conversing, he didn't think. He just threw a kunai, watching it land in front of one of the men before teleporting to it.

"As much as I would like to exchange pleasantries," Minato said, looking at the two people with a confident smile on his face, "You're interrupting snuggle time."

"Dad?!" The word made Minato stiffen slightly. He looked at the man who said that. He looked at the man who said it. He looked around his age and shockingly familiar. His hair had the exact same color as his, but his eyes. Though his eyes were a deep blue, they still somehow looked like Kushina's. The thing is, he's never met this man before in his life. Even his chakra seemed familiar. He focused in on the man's chakra. He seemed to have as much as he did, which was already something, but his chakra was still going up.

"You idiot!" The other man walked over to his companion and punched him on the head. "You weren't supposed to say that!"

"Sorry, Sasuke," The blonde rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Minato noted that the gesture was something he did as well but chalked it off to a coincidence. The second man, Sasuke had black hair covering one of his eyes and wore black clothing. Minato noted that he looked a little bit like Itachi, Mikoto's kid.

Sasuke… Minato tested the name in his head. It sounded very familiar. Then he remembered something. A couple months ago, Mikoto and Fugaku had another kid, in which they named Sasuke. It had to be a coincidence. But if that were the case, why would the blonde call him dad?

"I'm sorry, but what's going on here?" Minato asked, catching the attention of the two men. Minato pointed at the blonde. "Did you just call me dad?"

"Should we tell him?" The blonde turned to Sasuke.

"Well, he is the Hokage," Sasuke replied. "Plus, you dug yourself into this situation. This isn't on me."

"Fine," The blonde turned back to Minato. "My name is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, and I am from the future."

Minato's thoughts reeled to a halt. He and Kushina just had a conversation about their son's name. The man looked so much like him and Kushina. This "Naruto" may be his son from the future, but it could also be one huge coincidence. Maybe Kumo sent someone to do this, as outlandish as that would be. "Prove it."

Naruto looked to Sasuke. "How am I supposed to do that? I mean, I never knew them." Minato stiffened. That could mean one of two things. Either whoever sent him didn't have enough info or… Minato shook his head. He would rather not think that thought.

"Your Jutsu, dobe," Sasuke replied, his expression still calm.

"Ah, right! Watch this!" Minato directed his focus to Naruto's hand. Slowly, wind started to form above Naruto's hand, forming an all too familiar blue sphere.

"That's…!" Minato took a step back. The only ones who should know that jutsu are him and his sensei, Jiraiya.

"Yep," Naruto smiled. "That's the Rasengan."

"Who taught you that?" Minato asked, instantly tensing as the jutsu faded. He was skeptical, and if someone else knew the jutsu, that could be a disaster.

"Ero-sensei, of course," Naruto said. Minato thought he couldn't be more shocked. Ero-sensei was something Kushina liked to call Jiraiya. "Is that enough?"

"No, not really," Minato shook his head. "It's a jutsu. Technically, anyone can learn it."

"I'm sure I would be able to prove it if I talked to mom," Naruto said. "She's due now, right? You should probably get to that."

"She's due?!" Minato exclaimed. Future business be damned, if Kushina was due to give birth, he would be there to support her, even if there was only a small chance. Since the Kyuubi's seal weakens during childbirth, he needed to make sure nothing went wrong. "Crap!"

Before either Naruto or Sasuke could react, Minato was gone in a yellow flash.

"Well shit."

Minato appeared back in his house to see Kushina in pain. "I'm here," he said, putting a hand on his wife's clenched fist.

"Thought you would never come…" Kushina gave Minato a weak smile. "Are you able to take us to the safehouse?"

"Of course," Minato smiled, teleporting them to a tag in the safehouse he left there, just in case. The childbirth was a long and painful process, but within the next hour, Kushina was holding a little baby boy.

"Welcome to the world, little Naruto," Kushina smiled. Minato stiffened. That man from earlier. He was left running amok. Could he possible be Naruto from the future? Minato shook his head. That was impossible. Kushina winced in pain as the Kyuubi tried to force itself out. Suddenly, the doors burst open, a dead ANBU flying through the safehouse. Minato turned to see a masked man with short, spiky hair. Minato tensed, as the one eye that was showing was a sharingan.

"Who are you?!" Minato demanded. The man walked over to Kushina, holding a hand towards little Naruto. Minato tried to slash the man with a kunai, but it went right through the man's head. The man grabbed Naruto, calmly taking a step back.

"You can call me Tobi," the man said as Kushina screamed in pain, the Kyuubi's chakra leaking out in an accelerated rate. Minato ran towards Kushina but froze when Tobi put a kunai to Naruto's head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Let him go!" Minato shouted, throwing a kunai. He teleports behind Tobi and grabs Naruto, attempting to kick him in the face. Tobi sneers as he jumps back. Minato looked at Naruto to make sure he was safe and paled when he saw an explosive tag on the baby. Minato's mind instantly changed course. He teleported away, so the tag was too far from Tobi for him to detonate it. He placed Naruto away in his house before going back. Minato thought his skin couldn't get paler, but all the blood rushed from his face when he saw the Kyuubi in its full glory, its eyes dawning the three spinning tomoes of the sharingan.

"Kyuubi," Tobi looked towards Kushina. "Kill her."

"No!" Minato instantly dashed over to Kushina, who was lying down, barely able to keep her eyes open. He grabbed her arm and teleported back to his house.

"Are you okay?" Minato kneels before Kushina, brushing the stray hairs from her face.

"They're going for the village…" Kushina manages. "You need to protect it. We'll be fine…"

Minato looks towards little Naruto, who was laying in the bed beside her. He gently grabs Naruto with both hands, gingerly giving him to Kushina, who smiled down at her baby. "I will. I promise I will."

With that, he turned around, grabbing his Hokage cloak that was hanging nearby. He turned his head to look at his wife and son. "Stay safe, okay?" Kushina nodded and with a bright flash of yellow light, he was gone.