Chapter 2: Something Begins

Legend to text:

"Normal Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Tailed Beast or summon speaking"

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Naruto found himself sitting before Kurama's massive gate on the verge of madness. He was a 21-year-old man, he had a wife, and he was the Hokage. But at the same time, he was a 12 years old boy, he was alone, and had just become a genin not 6 months before. What was real and what wasn't? He didn't know anymore as the memories of his past collided with the those of the present.

"Naruto you need to calm down, if you don't, you're going to have psychotic break and all of this will have been for nothing."

Naruto's crazed eyes shot up to the fox and a glint of sanity appeared, the only constant between both the past and present was right in front of him. The nine-tailed fox, did it have a name? Did he know it? He thought he said it only moments ago, but now he just wasn't sure.

"K…Kurama?" Naruto managed to studder out.

"Yes, that's my name, just focusing on breathing Naruto, your confusion should pass if you just calm down.

They sat in silence for a while as Naruto's mind settled. However, the peace didn't last as bubbles began to erupt from the floor and Kurama began to feel an all too familiar pull from beyond his cell. He sighed and quickly pulled his chakra back, opening his tired eyes to settle back on the boy, indifferent to the betrayed look he was receiving.

"What the hell did you do to me?"

"You misunderstand Naruto, this was not done to you, it was done for you. We have given you a great gift, another chance to live. One where you could right the wrongs of your past and be able to find live a long life, hopefully with the woman you love, if that's still what you want of course."

"Who is 'we'?"

"The rest of the tailed beasts and I. Who else could have done this? Asked the fox in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Can I speak to them?"

"No, they aren't here, and the ones that are here don't know you. At least not yet anyway."

"And where is 'here' exactly?"

We are in another reality, very similar to our own. The only major difference being that it is about 9 years behind, as you no doubt have noticed."

"So, we are alone then?"

"Yes, only we could cross and that in itself was a gamble."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that response. "What'd you mean by?"

Kurama cracked open an eye in irritation and cut Naruto off. "It doesn't matter now because it worked out, didn't it? I can see where you are going with this so I will just go ahead and tell you that you nothing can be done to send you back. Your old life is gone, Naruto. The only thing you can do is accept it and keep enduring, as you always have.

Naruto rose from the ground and angrily shouted at the fox with a hatred that rivaled his own in his old days. "So, you just expect me to go with this?! Just like that?! Everything I went through, the pain I endured, the friends I made, the woman I loved, the life I made for myself, it's all gone and you think that I can just let it all go?! Why the hell did you even do this?! I saw Temari there, that was enough and you stole that from me!"

Kurama rose from his resting place and slammed his claws against his cage, shaking the entire mindscape and knocking Naruto to the ground. You don't understand what you are talking about you little brat! Do you think that's what Temari meant when she told you to find her? Do you think she would have wanted you to just give up and squander this opportunity to live, to grow old, to have children?! Things you can only dream of doing in the afterlife!

Naruto didn't dare to meet the fox's eye as he finished, he didn't even make a sound. Naruto knew was right but that didn't make it any easier to deal with. So, they laid next to each other in silence for what felt like hours.

"So, you were there when we spoke?"

"Obviously, how else would I have known what she said?"

"I guess I'm just surprised. I thought you wanted to be free more than anything but you decided to stick it out, knowing that you'd be back behind bars.

"Don't remind me" the fox said with a huff.

Naruto smiled warmly. "Thanks Kurama, I'm sorry for the pity party. It's hard to accept this but you are right, the only I can do is keep moving."

Kurama didn't move from his relaxed position but Naruto could tell he was in somewhat of a better mood. "I don't need your apology, what I need for you to do is to formulate a plan to get this seal lifted. I can push chakra through to safely loosen it but without the key we are in bind."

"Can't you just force it open it like you almost did when I fought Nagato?"

"I wouldn't recommend that for a couple of reasons. First, every sensor within 300 miles would sense it and Konoha would go on high alert. Second, we don't know how forcibly opening it would affect your body. I suspect that even releasing one tail right now would be too much let alone all nine."

"Well, that's annoying." Naruto whined as he slumped up against the gate. "Wait, since I'm a kid again I bet I also can't use a lot of my more powerful techniques like the rasenshuriken or senjutsu either huh?

"Probably, but it's not all bad, since we are partners now unlike last time there are also some new methods and techniques that we could try to speed things up and they might even make us more powerful than before. However, there's a catch."

"And the catch is?"

"We would have to leave the village, there is no other way."

"But…"

Kurama didn't even let him finish as his piercing eye shot open. "I'm telling you; they would never approve. Even if you somehow convinced the Hokage, the council would never approve so it wouldn't matter. Leaving is our only option."

"Why?"

The fox paused for a moment as he contemplated. "These methods I speak of are… well, rather extreme but I have no doubt that they will be effective."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I will when the time comes, I don't want you getting any ideas. So, are you willing to leave your Konoha or not?"

Naruto began to ponder as the fox dozed off. He didn't want to leave but the more he thought about it the more he realized that leaving was his best option. After all, the best training of his life took place outside of Konoha with Jiraiya and he also wanted some new training that he didn't have in his previous life. The two things that stood out to him were training with some type of weapon and space time ninjutsu. Sasuke's sword was one of his most deadly tools and if he was going to have to fight him again, which he knew he would, he would like to be able to match him. But who would teach him? And then there was space time Ninjutsu, he somewhat had an idea of how to perform the hirashin since his father had teleported him several times during the war with it. However, he hadn't every done it himself and he didn't have the proper kunai or a method of making them to even try it. Suddenly, the light in his head kicked on and he knew where he would go and what he would do.

"Kurama, I have a plan!"

Kurama stirred, cracking open his large red eyes. It was at this point that Naruto noticed that Kurama looked off. He hadn't noticed it before, but on further inspection he looked really gaunt and his coloring was off, like a grayish orange instead of the usual reddish orange. He became worried.

"Kurama, are you okay?"

"I am just tired, the transition to this reality was only a moment for you but for me it was 9 years of focus and careful chakra control. Just give me time and my strength will return. Now what is this plan of yours, I hope it isn't stupid or you will regret it waking me."

Naruto scoffed at the fox but continued, "Well are going to the Land of Waves in 3 months to recruit two missing nin that will be there. After that… well since you aren't sharing your training plans, I guess I won't either. You'll just have to wait and see."

Kurama was not amused but decided it wasn't even worth the words. He simply turned away causing Naruto laughed as he rose to his feet. "Anything else before I go Kurama?"

Yes actually, don't mention anything we know of the future to anyone, we have already altered this place enough and we don't know for sure how things will play out so it's best to just let things happen as they do. Do you understand?

"Alright, alright, I got it, don't get all worked up" Naruto said with a hand wave as he walked away. "And Kurama. Thank you, for everything."

"Don't thank me yet, this journey has only begun."

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With his mind settled and a plan in motion, Naruto decided to get up. He looked at his wall calendar and was glad that it was Saturday meaning he had the day to himself. Daylight was still a ways off but he was used to getting up early now anyway. He thought of all the time he wasted in his younger years sleeping in as he got dressed and cooked his breakfast ramen.

"If only I knew I didn't have that much time left." he said with a sigh. "Well at least I can make them count now."

When he finished eating, he left to go to the training fields so he could get an idea of where his abilities stood. Arriving in the forest of third training ground he quickly scoped the place before creating a small masking barrier that Jiraiya had taught him, after all, he didn't want anyone to see his techniques. With the barrier set, he began to gather and rotate his chakra into his right hand but despite his best efforts the rasengan would not form. It wasn't until he used both hands that he managed to form a baseball sized sphere of chakra, hey sighed as he observed the sphere before dissipating it. He was somewhat relived but at the same time disappointed, to have to form the rasengan with both of his hands was in his eyes a failure and that was without considering the amount of time it took for him form it or its small size. Still, he knew that power would come with time so in a rush of smoke thirty clones appeared before him. Speaking with the first half, he told them to focus on creating the rasengan faster while he told the other half to focus on performing it with one hand. They were instructed to do this until they ran of chakra or blew themselves up. Next, he created thirty more clones and sent all of them to practice the leaf cutting technique for wind release, he knew from his experience with the rasengan that this would also be difficult but since he couldn't magnify its power with overwhelming amounts of chakra due to his age he knew that adding elemental nature was his next best bet. Lastly, he had to find something for himself to do.

"Ah I'll practice Taijutsu, nothing like some classic training to get back into shape!"

And with that statement 10 clones materialized around him, all ready to fight on command.

"Alright guys any questions before we start?"

Surprisingly one actually raised its hand garnering facepalms from the rest.

"Can we use kun…"

The clone didn't get to finish as the item in question passed through his head.

"Stupid question, now c'mon try to kill me already. I'm falling asleep here!"

With that the remaining nine rushed at him. It was shaping up to be a very productive Saturday and it wasn't even 10am.

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It was now late in the afternoon and Naruto looked like he'd be beaten to a pulp as he dragged himself through the village, but despite that, he also was quite content. Training had been very productive so he decided to reward himself by going to Ichiraku's to choke down five bowls of ramen before going home. But as he dug into his dinner the reality of his situation caught up with him, he was alone again and all he could think about was Temari. He missed eating with her, walking home with her, or when she would be waiting at the door to greet him. But alas, when he opened the door to his apartment, it was dark and quiet. He sighed before shutting the door behind him. Not another sound was made as he showered and then crawled into his bed, dreaming of the day when he would be reunited with Temari of the Desert.

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3 months later

Naruto opened his eyes and saw Temari standing before him on top of the Hokage tower. She looked like how she did on their wedding day, stunningly beautiful in her long red and white kimono. He immediately kissed her as she wrapped her arms around him. When the parted Naruto spoke in a very somber tone unlike the last time he was here.

"Temari-Chan, why can't I just stay here with you?"

"Im sorry Naruto-kun, but regardless of how hard you try, you cannot stay. You need to wake up."

"But why Temari-Chan? Why can't I stay?"

"You need to let go of me Naruto-kun, I am your past, you need to look toward your future. She is waiting for you."

Naruto could feel he was being pulled away, he pleaded down on his knees to her causing her to tear up.

"Temari-Chan please! I love you more than anything and I can't stand being alone anymore! Please let me stay here with you!

"I love you to Naruto-kun but you cannot stay. Please stop trying to come back here, it only makes this harder. You need to wake up now."

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Naruto shot up from the bed to find himself alone in his apartment, he hated this place. All the memories of his previous life here with her only made it all the more unbearable. They had spent a couple of years here together fixing the place up, it was small but it was their home and they loved it. But now it was only a sign of his failures as a Shinobi and as a husband, he couldn't even protect the person he loved the most. As he fell back into his pillow, he began to reflect on his time in Konoha since he arrived, it had not pleasant out there either. He couldn't stand the looks of the citizens anymore. He knew it wasn't their fault, they had lost loved ones in Kuramas attack just like he had lost his parents but seeing their judgmental glares after feeling their love was becoming too much to bear. He had no sanctuary at home or out there and was driving him to the brink. He was pulled out of his thoughts as Kuramas words reverberated through his mind. "She is right you know; you're only making this worse for yourself by forcing your mind into that place."

Naruto grimaced. "I know, but it's not like I'm trying to go back, I can't help but reach for her in my dreams even though I know it's pointless. Even so, it's time to go finally time to go at least."

Naruto didn't get response so instead he jumped out of the bed eagerly, got dressed, and began sealing almost everything in his room into a single storage scroll, another handy trick he had picked up in the past. After packing everything he created a clone to get him new clothes (since orange was not a subtle color) while he quickly jumped to the rooftops. He had scheduled a meeting with the Third Hokage first thing in the morning so he needed to get a move on if he didn't want to be late. He was one of the only people Naruto still truly loved in the village, the man wasn't perfect but he still did his best to protect and raise him when he could. He, Iruka and the Ichiraku family. They were the only people he would miss after he left.

As he traveled from rooftop to rooftop, Naruto then began to reflect of his experiences with team seven since his arrival 3 months before. Starting with Sasuke, he was still the stuck-up asshole Naruto remembered from their childhood days. The only difference was that Naruto wasn't trying to be friends or foster a rivalry with him. Still, Naruto couldn't deny that there was a bond between them but there was doubt that he wouldn't hesitate if Sasuke became a threat, that was one mistake he would not repeat again. Moving on from there, Naruto's thoughts then shifted to the girl who was obsessed with said stuck-up asshole, his other teammate, Sakura Haruno. As he thought about her, he began to he wonder why he ever had romantic feelings all those years ago. Sure, she was pretty, smart, and she could be really nice at times but those occurrences were few and far between, especially when it came to him. Most of the time she was rude, selfish, and completely insensitive to how anyone else felt. He knew it was a maturity thing and that as she experienced more, she would become someone he greatly respected and could depend on, 'the future just can't come soon enough'. He thought as his thoughts finally shifted to Kakashi, his Jounin sensei. In truth he really didn't have anything positive or negative to say about him other than the fact that besides teamwork he really didn't teach them much with regards to anything else. That's not to say Naruto didn't learn anything though, his personal training had actually been very successful, unlike his social life. Pretty much everything had improved greatly from his Taijutsu to his chakra control and finally to the rasengan. He could form the technique almost instantly with one hand and after combining it with his wind nature it had become fairly potent in terms of destructive power. It was still a far cry from what he could do with them in the past but it was progress. In addition, he also confirmed that due to his younger age and thus smaller chakra reserves that rasenshuriken was a definite no go and he also couldn't maintain his sage mode for more than minute without becoming exhausted.

As he got close to the tower, he confirmed that his preferred entry point, the window, was open and ready for his grandiose entrance. In the past he had never used it on Lord Third since hadn't seen Kakashi or Ero-Sennin do it yet. He chuckled mischievously to himself as he approached, ready to wake the old man from his nap or to break his concentration. Those moments had always given him the best reactions from Baa-chan when she was Hokage. However, Naruto's thoughts were cut short as Third Hokage,Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice sounded from behind him as the clone sitting at the desk puffed out of existence.

"Planning on trying to scare me Naruto?" Hiruzen asked with as he let out a puff from his pipe.

"No no of course not Jiji, wherever would you get that idea from?" Naruto said as he turned and raised his hands in defeat. 'How the hell did he know I was going for the window, that old lecher is as sharp as ever I guess.'

"Right right, just taking notes from your sensei, hm?" Said the Third Hokage as he climbed inside with Naruto just behind him. He then took his seat behind the desk while Naruto sat in front noting how odd it was to be back on the other side.

"Now what did you want to discuss with me Naruto, this is rather early for you on a weekend, is it not?"

"Gramps before we talk, can you ask the Anbu behind us to leave and can you activate the privacy seal? What I wish to discuss is very private."

Hiruzen was surprised that the boy could sense the Anbu or knew about the privacy seal in the room. It's not that any of it was a secret per say, it's just that he wasn't expecting the 11-year-old boy to acknowledge it.

"Very well, leave us." Hiruzen said as he tapped his desk causing the privacy seal to spread, like a ripple on a pond. At the same time four masked individuals came out of the walls and walked out. Once that finished Hiruzen removed his Hokage hat and looked at Naruto with a curious analytical expression. He noticed that Naruto's eyes looked a lot different than when he last saw them, they were still bright but they had some age to them. Like he had already lived through hell and back. Regardless, he pushed it out of his mind for now.

"Well Naruto?"

"Lord Hokage, I have come here today to request what belongs to my parents and to also request a formal leave of absence until such a time that I am ready to return or am needed back in the village."

Hiruzen's eyes twitched momentarily. "Naruto, I have told you many times, you are an orphan and we don't know who your parents were. All that I can tell you is that they died in the 9 tails attack. As for your leave of absence I cannot in good faith... "

"That's a lie!" Naruto shouted as he rose from his chair, his chakra creating a slight rush of air as his eyes flashed red. He was angry and would have it denied straight to his face. Meanwhile, Hiruzen didn't even flinch from the boy's outburst. He was more interested in what Naruto would say next as the boy took his seat again.

"I apologize, Lord Hokage, but I won't be lied to. Not anymore, I know the truth of what happened that night."

"And what truth is that Naruto?"

"That my father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze and my mother was Kushina Uzumaki. They both died sealing the 9 tails in me and I was given my mother's last name to protect me from my father's enemies. That is the truth."

Hiruzen's facial expression did not change as Naruto revealed one of the most classified secrets of Konoha. He had learned over the years to hide any of form weakness when hearing or discussing information of this nature but deep down he was shocked. After a moment of contemplation, he rose from his seat and paced across the room before stopping in front of a portrait, his back facing Naruto.

"I do not know how you managed to piece this information together but you are correct on all accounts so I will not try to deny it, but you understand. It was also done to protect you from the pain that we believed knowing this would cause you. That you were alone because of your parents' sacrifice, that as a consequence of that sacrifice a great burden was also placed upon you, and that through all that the villagers couldn't look past it resulting in you being treated like an outcast. In their last moments, I promised your parents I would look out for you and protect you from the evils we knew you would face. It seems that I have failed on all accounts and for that I am truly sorry."

Naruto could tell that Lord Third was a very difficult time telling him this, so he tried to comfort him. "It's okay Gramps, I understand why you did it. I just want what my parents left me, and with your permission I want to leave the village for some time. I just want to go somewhere where I won't be hated just for existing and maybe while I am gone things will mellow here."

Hiruzen glanced over his shoulder before turning back to the picture, the portrait of Naruto's father. He then reached out and as his hand made contact, the picture disappeared and, in its place, there was now a scroll and a three-pronged kunai. He pulled both off the wall and quickly paced over to Naruto handing him the scroll.

"This is for you, but first you must come with me. As for your requested leave of absence, my hands are tied. As the Jinchuriki of the nine tails the council will not let you leave as it will be seen as a weakness to the other villages. However, if somehow you managed to get out of the perimeter without being detected without me or anyone noticing... well, well I think you understand what I am getting at.

"Of course, Jiji, of course."

"There is a catch though, I expect you to return within a year and when you do you will need to have something to offer the village, otherwise I will no choice but label you as an missing nin to be hunted and killed on sight. Now stay close to me, we can't let anyone see us."

Hiruzen then looked at the kunai and began to focus as he tried to remember how to perform the fabled technique of his successor. Meanwhile, Naruto could somehow feel the kunai pulling him, like a moth to a light, it was calling him to particular place somewhere on the west side of Konoha. He reached out and as he touched the kunai both he Hiruzen disappeared in a flash of light before reappearing in front of a large gate. Taking a moment to process what happened, Hiruzen then eyed the boy with a stony glare.

"Naruto, while I am proud that you can perform your fathers jutsu I need to understand how you knew how to do it, immediately.

Naruto raised his hands defensively. "Jiji, I honestly don't know what happened, I just sort of felt it and before I even understood what was happening, we were here!"

"Don't lie to me boy, this isn't the first surprise you have sprung on me today. What else are you hiding?"

Honestly, Jiji it's the truth! I have nothing else I swear!" Naruto said, lying straight through his teeth.

The Third Hokage bored into Naruto with his eyes searching for any hint of a lie. After a moment however, he relented, for now. "Very well, I know there are things you aren't telling me but I will not press this any further on the condition that you do not speak of any of the things we have discussed or about the technique you just used, unintentionally or otherwise. If a shinobi from another land heard or saw any of this you would have a price on your head by the next day in all the elemental nations. Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto nodded. Hiruzen was right and he hadn't considered this, he would need to be more careful once he left Konoha. If he caught national attention, it could attract his father's old enemies in Iwa or the Akatsuki and he was years away from being ready to face either of them. He was pulled out his thoughts by Hiruzen who placed his hand on his shoulders and smiled.

"Now do you know where we are?"

Looking up at the gate and noting the Uzumaki crest he smiled eagerly. "We are at my mother's family estate; how do we get in?". He had heard of this place in his previous life but by the time he got possession of the estate it was a pile of rubble, having been demolished by Pain when he leveled the village.

"Well Naruto, this place is sealed by something called a blood seal so only you can open it. Just prick your thumb and place it on that Uzumaki family crest."

Naruto nodded walking up to the gate and pricking his finger with the three-prong kunai before placing it the crest. It glowed slightly, and a rush of wind followed as the gate opened and the barrier surrounding the property dropped. Naruto looked around in amazement, just by seeing it he could tell it was incredibly complex. He was hoping there was a scroll about it somewhere in his parents' home. Hiruzen noticing his reaction decided to tell him what he knew about it.

"This place has always been known for its seals but your father and mother truly turned it into a masterpiece, they even planned to integrate something like this into the village permitter but unfortunately, they never got the time. Sealing is a lost art after all, and with your mother and father gone, it has stayed that way." Hiruzen sighed as he finished speaking. He wished he would have died in their place. He was already an old man when they died, he had already seen his son become a man and had lived through 3 wars, they weren't so lucky. "Can't change the past though" he thought. Little did he know every step they took was shifting the threads of fate for this world. They pressed on into the compound curious by what they would find. As they entered, the gate closed behind them, resealing the place from the outside. Nobody would know they were there, and even if they did, they couldn't hope to get in.

A/N: So that's two down, admittedly, this chapter is a little slower and shorter then I would have liked but I felt I ended it at a good stopping point. I promise the next chapter will be a little more exciting especially towards the end of it. Now, As far as a schedule goes I am gonna try to have a chapter out about every week to two weeks depending on how busy I am with work and school (getting a masters while trying to have a career and spending time with your wife is difficult). Also, finding a logical reason for Hiruzen to allow Naruto to leave the village was rather difficult but at same time the show wasn't really logical either with everyone being dumb enough to neglect a child that contained a superweapon. Still, I hope you enjoy reading it and if your so inclined write a review/favorite the story, etc. Ya'll might not think it but those kinda things really do keep us writers going. Lastly, I am considering starting another project on here (a rewrite of an existing abandoned story (7 years and counting)). I wouldn't change the premise as much as I would fix grammar and rewrite to suit my style before eventually making it my own as I reached the end of the original authors work. I reached to them but to be respectful but like I said its been 7 years so I doubt I will get response. Still I think I can speak for everyone when I say it deserves to be finished (and I will of course link to the original story, I don't want to take his thunder) so be on the lookout for that in the coming weeks. Anyway its late and I am rambling so thanks again and have a good night.

PS: Ended up republishing a revised copy of chapter 2. If you didn't notice the difference, basically I changed Hiruzen and Naruto's conversation slightly to be more in line what I believe would be realistic with Hiruzen not being able to approve Naruto leaving officially and with caveats associated with it. Anyway, something minor but I believe it makes more sense for the world. I will also be publishing a revised version of chapter 3 today that will tie into this.

BBG out