Authors Note: Don't own anything. Image from wallpapersafari

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Thanks to NarieIV for the summary :) But it's not quite accurate.

The reason I've not put a detailed summary was that when I chose to post the first chapter, I didn't even have a name for this story yet! I wanted to see what sort of response I would get. In hindsight, it seems like clickbait lol.

I appreciate the feedback that I've been given so far so thank you. As my summary says, read it or don't. If you happen to enjoy it then fantastic. If not then no hard feelings.

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Chapter 3: Meeting the Voice

It had become apparent to Naruto that after he had hit his head on the floor, he had begun to feel much calmer, more in control of his thoughts. Not so tightly wound with energy. It was difficult to explain. Like being able to stretch in his own body. That sounded weird as well… it was a good feeling though. Perhaps, it had nothing to do with his head injury and more to do with knowing about his burden. Finding some inner peace, perhaps?

"Well, you're not far off." He didn't know how but he knew that voice had come from his own head. But that was most definitely not his voice!

A chuckle echoes inside his mind ominously.

"It's past time we met Uzumaki Naruto" the voice was deep like a mans' and sounded old.

Still Saturday

The next thing Naruto became aware of was that he was no longer laying on his bed. He was now laying down somewhere completely unfamiliar to him. Darkness was prevalent in his new surroundings but there was just enough light to see. Where the light came from he couldn't determine. Looking up from his position on the ground, trying to find the source of the light he glanced at the ceiling. No lights that he could see but there were pipes running along the top of the walls. His surroundings had a slight yellow tint to the greyness of the walls.

Sitting up he noticed that he was partially submerged in water. Or what he thought was water. Didn't feel like a liquid at all. It moved like water when he swirled his hands within it. It had zero resistance, nor was it wet. it didn't feel hot or cold. As he stood up nothing clung to his clothing. This was easily the most surreal experience he had ever had. He didn't think that he could ever think this up so on some level he knew that this wasn't any dream. The best way he could describe it was like smoke - but it looked like water.

"Come." That was the same voice! And he could hear it more clearly now, it was coming from in front of him. Looking around he saw that he could only go in one direction or stay put. Deciding against his better judgment he followed the voice. It wasn't like he knew how to get out of here. 'Wherever here is…'

Walking down a corridor he saw many doors barred from the outside with thick chains keeping anyone from getting inside. "Or anything from getting outside" that same voice spoke again. With that said Naruto concluded that the voice probably knew this place better than he did - he curbed his curiosity. It was relatively easy considering the dark and sinister feeling this place had. Heavy perhaps? Or thick? Like the air was weighing him down slightly. As he continued to walk, he noticed that his feet made no sound even when moving through the smokey liquid. testing an idea he called out hesitantly

"Hello?" His voice made no echo, this entire place was beginning to give him the creeps.

The unknown thing covering the floor, whatever it was, had an apparent current to it. As if it was leaking from somewhere. Thinking if he opened the wrong door or went the wrong way he could get caught in a flood. He hadn't checked to see if he could breathe in the non-liquid thing that surrounded the floor. Didn't particularly care to find out.

This was a long hallway. No other routes to go but straight on. More doors were along the stretch but weren't padlocked or chained shut, he chose not to look. He walked onwards 'til the hallway veered off and opened to a vast open space. Craning his neck backward to find the top of the room. There didn't seem to be a roof to the ceiling – if there was one then it was higher than he could see. This place was not empty. To his left, he could see giant golden bars that reached as high as the room. 'The air is a lot heavier in here' he noted immediately.

Despite the atmosphere of the location he was in, and his fear; he couldn't help but feel that if someone gave the walls a good coat of paint and some furniture then this could be a palace by the size of it.

"Once more your perception is remarkably close." The voice had come from the same direction as the giant bars. Not seeing any person around he crept towards the massive bars. Cage - he decided, now that he was closer. The space behind the bars was surrounded by darkness, unnaturally dark. There was a gigantic figure he could roughly make out the outline of. Another form averted his gaze from the creature as it made its outline know with a blue glow surrounding them. It was a person! Or at the very least the shape of one.

Then he just slipped through the bars. Naruto took a few shaky steps away from the man – he could feel the power radiating from this person. Slowly the light revealed more than a silhouette and the man's features were far more visible. First impression, other than the power he could somehow feel, was how old the man must have been. Wrinkles littering his face; his hair was grey. More of a dulled white really, long enough to reach behind his back. His posture was hunched but still proud. Reminded him of the Third Hokage in that regard.

But it was the specifics of his facial features that terrified Naruto.

Blue eyes.

Six whisker marks on his face.

Was this somehow his father? The wheezing laughter he heard made it very apparent that he wasn't his father. "Well, who the hell are ya then?" He asked angrily, not like being laughed at or that his thoughts were somehow being read for that matter.

"Come on Naruto. You're an idiot, but you are far from stupid. You know who I am. Besides, let's do this somewhere else." The man's voice was calm and soothing, contradicting precisely how he felt at the minute.

"Then why did you bring me here if we were just gonna go somewhere else?"

"Because this is the center of the seal. Come. We have much to discuss." The old man didn't look to see if he was following him. The gait of the old man was measured, slow and deliberate.

They entered another part of the dirty palace through a door he hadn't noticed before. They found a more moderately sized room to converse in, no heavy presence in there. Naruto had the impression it was going to be a long talk. Every old person he had talked to loved to speak at great length.

"Can I assume you've figured it out by now?"

"Yeah, you're me. But old. Like super old." Naruto was not impressed at the visage of his future appearance. He always pictured himself as dashing and powerful. With his blond hair blowing in the breeze and kunai in hand, eyes determined as he faced down his foes. Basically, he envisioned an old him being super-special-awesome! Not super old!

"You would do well to consider my age as a sign of my strength when the weak die young in our profession."

That had shut him up. The third Hokage was the Hokage because he was the strongest. This older version of himself definitely looked older than the Third.

"Ok, I have quite a few points so I'll jump straight to the point. Firstly - I wasn't meant come here."

"It was an accident?" He asked incredulously. He still didn't know how to exit so he had already resigned himself to listen. That didn't mean he would have questions.

"No, not an accident. I had intended to come back to the past but not like this. When I ended up in the seal I knew that my technique had failed, and there is no going back for me. So, I have chosen to teach you instead. My chakra in your body is creating a more balanced you. When I was your age, my chakra was so out of balance. It made me unable to sit still for more than a few minutes at a time."

"What went so wrong in the future?" Naruto was taking this new situation in stride. Give credit where credit is due. Future versions of themselves aren't something you can anticipate or plan for. Naruto kinda figured this and just went with the flow for the moment.

"I had been a jinchuriki for so long I grew tired of sacrificing myself for those who would never do the same for me. You don't understand what it truly means to be what we are. The Third had to keep us ignorant. Power was never going to be an issue – not when we had the 9 tails locked inside us. His chakra far surpasses that of any of the other 8 bijuu." His tone of voice seemed as tired as the man looked.

"What do you mean? He told me what it means to be a jinchuriki already. He wouldn't lie to me."

"He has only lied to you. The third has made sure to downplay the significance of your burden. To be a jinchuriki is to be a weapon for the village –"

"That's the same for everyone –", his counterargument was quickly shut down rather angrily.

"No! You are a weapon - used only in war. An army killer. A chakra bomb that the Hokage can point and aim with." Before young Naruto could retort a hand was held up stopping him. "I know what I'm talking about because that's exactly what happened to me. Kakashi never taught me anything to improve upon my ninja skills. He taught the other two plenty. Only told me to work on my basics, never showing me where to start or going through any of it with me." Naruto could feel the pain in his voice. It wasn't easy for Naruto to open up about his feelings, he could easily assume it was the same for the older him too. His words were resonating with him, as much as he wouldn't like to admit it.

"War wasn't far off – I practically won it myself by using the Kyuubi's chakra. Came in like a wrecking ball of destruction. Won the war and became a hero to the village but they feared me for my power because it wasn't my own." There was zero pride in his voice for having won a war practically by himself.

"By the time I was a candidate for Hokage I was still a genin. Try to imagine how humiliating that was? They will always fear you Naruto. If you don't rely on your own skills, you will never be respected as a shinobi. I was Hokage but I wasn't loved or respected." The anguish on his face and in his speech was so vivid it hurt young Naruto just to see. Let alone live out his life, to do all the hard work and have nothing to show for it. He pitied himself he came to realize. It was an uncomfortable thought. He never wanted pity from anyone, let alone to pity himself.

To achieve your life's dream, and then not get the rewards that should go along with it? It was unthinkable. Unforgivable even. To work your whole life and risk – no, not risk, sacrifice yourself for your village. That's what he had said. Sacrifice. To then not get any of the respect or love in return was a disgusting prospect to Naruto. He would want to go back and change that kind of future for himself too. He could understand that.

"Me coming here was a one-way trip, the technique I used destroyed my body and made me a spirit in essence. I can never go back. I will advise you to the best of my ability. You do what I say, and I promise you that you will be skilled and respected. You never have to worry about not becoming powerful as I was the most powerful being on the planet. Skill is where the real hard work lies.

You carry both our dreams with you. I know now in which direction I should have gone but I let my blind faith in people get in the way of my progress. I can point you to what needs improvement, and I will be there with you. Every step of the way. Helping you understand things that took my years to realize on my own." The long speech had captivated young Naruto so completely. His heart went out to the old man; he was already feeling thankful to his future self. What a miserable future he had just avoided. He looked like a defeated man who had put all his hopes on his young shoulders.

Able to hear the thoughts of his younger self, future Naruto couldn't help but smile. "No. I simply believe in myself. No matter what age I am." Receiving a smile that he hadn't been able to achieve in decades made him thankful, he had made the correct choice. "I will be your sensei Naruto. You may not agree with what I say but believe me when I say that you need to do this. Alright?" Getting an excited nod. The boy had absolutely no idea what he was in for.

"Consider this our first lesson. History. Our history." That regained his attention. As soon as he had said the words 'history' he felt his earlier excitement plummet. Now it was back with a vengeance.

"Our father was the Fourth Hokage. Namikaze Minato. Kakashi and the Third knew this and kept it from us. I never learned this from them; I figured it out myself only when I was 20. They were apparently going to tell me when I made Jonin. As I said, still a genin when considered for Hokage. See the link? Removing your ignorance is our top priority.

Our mother. Uzumaki Kushina. She was royalty. She was born in The Land of Whirlpools. Uzushiogakure. She was the Princess but also had a strong chakra signature. She was chosen to be the next jinchuriki of the Kyuubi after the first's wife. That's right. The old man didn't tell you that part, did he? We weren't the first. You're the third host of the Kyuubi and he has been imprisoned for over 100 years within humans. He's a victim as much as we are. More so actually but I'll save that story another time."

He could only listen in shock. What else could he feel? These were the answers that he had craved for so long. So long that he had stopped asking! Believing that he'd never know. That no one knew. He had started to come to terms with never knowing that, but now… He listened more intently than he had ever listened to anything in his entire life!

"The first jinchuriki was also an Uzumaki by blood but the village only recognizes her as Senju Mito. Konoha and Uzushio had an alliance until it was destroyed.

As I was saying our mother; highly underrated as a ninja in Konoha but absolutely feared throughout the rest of the world. The 'Red Death'. That was her moniker. Sealing master and master swordswoman, using the Kyuubi's chakra she was a monster on the battlefield. But was by all accounts an absolute angel off. Friends with all the current clan heads – her best friend was Sasuke's mother apparently.

Now, this information is highly classified in the village, but it is not unknown by a great number of people. Our mother like I said was great friends with all the clan heads, so they all know she was our mother. She kept her relationship with our father a secret so not as many knew for certain who our father was but many suspected, especially now since you are a spitting image of him. This information was made classified; punishable by death. Thirds orders.

Only 9 people in the world share your burden. All of them are treated with scorn because only through great negative emotions can you activate a bijuu's chakra for the first time. From there you can learn to use it. If you were to experience extreme negative emotions in the heat of battle you would use the chakra of the Kyuubi unconsciously if not trained to resist its power. But it could also activate…. If you were about to die and were aware of your impending death. That was how Konoha got me to use Kyuubi's chakra consciously for the first time. I was pushed into the Great Abyss."

This was all a bit much to take in at once. Naruto was sitting on the ground not knowing how he got to the floor. His mother shared the same burden as him? Was it wrong of him to feel joy at the thought? Now Naruto didn't have an abusive childhood. He never got hit by anyone that wasn't roughly the same age. He wasn't shouted at or chased down by mobs. What he got was an almost complete lack of care for his wellbeing. When he would fall in the street and scrape his knee, people would ignore or just outright avoid him.

It was the comparison of how every other child was treated that had done so much damage to Naruto mentally. He always had something to compare his life to. He knew if someone else had cut their knee, their parents would come rushing over and make them feel better. Clean and dress their wounds and cheer them up with a treat of some sort. Usually ice cream. Nightmares were soothed by parents, and they were tucked back into bed with a kiss on their foreheads, with the promise of sweeter dreams.

He could contrast between them because he was treated so differently than everybody else. Always kept at arm's length. Now he could imagine his mother coming over with worry and love and helping him stand up when he had hurt himself, fussing over him even if he wasn't hurt. He had a mental image of her features courtesy of his older self. Long flowing red hair, soft violet eyes with a comforting, proud smile. His throat felt like it was going to close while his heart felt heavy and constricted with grief. The feeling was bittersweet. Tears streaked down his face from the imagery he could see, the smile he had was not his signature grin. Something small and vulnerable, both full of love and empty from loss. Family. Knowing what it means but never knowing what it meant. Up until now.

"Ok, we have been here for a while so I'll let you go. We can talk through this seal. It was showing on your stomach because I was trying to get you here. In time you will be able to feel when our link is established and to deactivate it at will. You have your first mission shortly."

Sunday

Naruto opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them. It was 622. He didn't hear his alarm. Well, that was certainly a lot to take in. He knew the names of his parents now!

"Just remember that it is classified - even from you."

"Can't tell anyone – got it." It mattered little to Naruto; he just wanted to know their names. That they existed! As the old him had said - he may have been an idiot, but he wasn't stupid. The past tense used wasn't just because he had traveled back in time somehow. His parents were dead. His father when he defeated the Kyuubi. His mother must have died at some point as well. He knew that to be true in the pit of his soul. They were dead. Knowing helped the ache but could never heal it. Not when it was practically thrown in his face every day that he was all alone. He was still an orphan.

Just knowing his roots was enough. He got his name from his mother. 'She was royalty! Does that mean I'm royalty? Is that how it works?' He asked the old him

No response, oh well. Onwards, quick morning routine and off to training ground 7 once more. Wiping the tears that still marred his face and blowing the snot from his nose. It was time to begin his career as a shinobi. No more crying.

Was this some kind of joke? He had met with his team and ended up waiting for his sense for well over an hour! Then they made their way to the mission assignment desk which was right near his house for Kami's sake. Only to then get given his mission. A chore for some guy who had lost one hand and couldn't be bothered to do his gardening himself. Which was on the other side of the village! Now he liked to tend to his plants, so it wasn't so bad but how in Kami's name was this a mission?

He wasn't the only one to have these thoughts, judging but the faces of his teammates. Kakashi had merely softly chuckled and told them to get to work. Opening his book he began to 'supervise' them. Which looked suspiciously like reading his book while keeping them in his sight. The occasional perverted giggle did nothing to help Naruto's current mood.

"Many undercover operations require you to assume a job to maintain your cover – gardeners, cooks, smiths, there is always a need of skilled labor. Not just in Konoha but every village or town. Some villages have no smiths so anyone who can craft, say, farming equipment or weapons are highly valued and paid. Depending on the economy and location.

These missions are giving you the skills necessary to get employed for long undercover missions. Take this seriously, it is a skill to be learned and improved."

That... made a lot of sense when he put it in like that. Still though, he had been expecting to be saving princesses and fighting rogue shinobi. He was reminded of Kakashi's words from yesterday to his mind; to look underneath the underneath. Searching for the man he caught his eye, looked at him, then got back to work without any more grumbling.

Kakashi had his book open but he was no longer reading the pages. After he caught the eye of his youngest student, he had subtly kept an eye on him from the corner of his vision. His loud complaining had stopped. Whereas Sasuke had not been complaining from the start he could see it in the boy's eyes. The dissatisfied look he held. His sole female student had been complaining as much as Naruto to begin with. Complaining at getting dirty and how "this wasn't what she had trained for" but stopped shortly after realizing that Sasuke wasn't complaining.

Now that Naruto had also grown silent, they all worked without complaint. Two of his little gennin trying finish the job as soon as possible. With no real care and attention. It was a surprise that it was Naruto of the three who seemed to be the most professional in his contributions. Taking care whilst tending to his lot of plants.

Kakashi had thought that it might have been due to Naruto now complaining solo, which had caused the usually brash child to be silent. Kakashi would keep his eye on his sensei's legacy. It would be truly surprising if it was the so-called dead-last of his graduating class to be the first to look underneath the missions to see the real assignment.

D Rank completed to the clients' satisfaction, Kakashi lead the squad back to the mission assignment desk, he had decided to take another mission. Painting a fence – see if any of his gennin piped up again. More importantly; who wouldn't.

Naruto decided to listen to the voice in his head, this was his job now. A part of it that he didn't have to enjoy, but there will be other aspects of the job that he wouldn't enjoy too. Such as taking a life. As a plus when his sensei looked at Naruto quickly he could have sworn the man smiled at him. With a little positive reinforcement, he cracked on with the mission. He painted that fence. He painted it real good.

"This is somewhat similar in how you can use your chakra. Smooth strokes, leaving behind no streaks. Efficient and effortless. Try moving your chakra in movement with your strokes, keep the same direction. Always work downwards and do the longest stroke as smoothly as you can manage with the least amount of paint you can. Like using as little of your chakra to do the most with it…wasting as little as possible."

Not getting startled by the voice, he thought about if he should do what he said. Deciding there was no harm in it, he listened as he received instruction.

It was relaxing if not a bit tedious. Attempting to move his chakra in a similar motion felt strange. He felt like he should be releasing it but kept it within his arm for now, up his pathways as smoothly as he could. Keeping the same amount of chakra and spreading it through his arm evenly was extremely difficult. The more chakra he used the easier it had been to control. His work was beginning to decline so he focused back on his mission.

Older Naruto smiled to himself in the seal. Being able to manipulate chakra flow within yourself without the use of hand seals was a Jonin level technique. It was classed as chakra control, but the terminology surrounding control was so loose and vague. Chakra manipulation and control were hard to differentiate between and varied from person to person. He was going to get Naruto to be more serious about his skills – he had already ensured the boy's loyalty with the knowledge of his parents. He would make him a respected shinobi. Armed with the skill that the village deemed him too hopeless or unsuited to wield.

'He will come along nicely. Able to practice almost all the fundamentals within his own apartment means he would be on par with his classmates in no time. When we put our mind to it, we could accomplish feats that no one in this generation could have ever hoped to do. In a few hours, we taught ourselves a B-Ranked kinjutsu. From a scroll. In all their time at the academy, we never learned the most basic of bunshin techniques. We had achieved more on our own in the span of a few hours than the entirety of our academy years.

When he was truly focused and committed at this age, there was no limit on what he could do. 'That mentality is what I needed from little Naruto moving forwards.' Came the internal thoughts of the future Naruto.

This was what he thought he'd have the most trouble with when he decided to mentor himself. Having never had any students, other than his pseudo rivalry/disciple with Konohomaru, he had never taught anyone what he knew. The information he possessed would have died with him. Most of his knowledge was self-taught, so having access to the village he was going to use it for all it was worth. So much information had been destroyed with Peins attack that almost everything was taught through word of mouth in his time.

'So much was lost.'

Coming so far from the future he had little to no knowledge of the history of this time other than what he remembered. Or before this timeline, such as the warring clan's era. Neither did young Naruto. By just simplifying things for the boy; it was like a complete switch in his thought process. Explaining it so simply that he could grasp it and run with the thought to heights unimagined.

It was downright shocking that he is so easily swayed and manipulated at that age. He was manipulating little Naruto, but it was for a good cause.

With the mission done with they reported back to mission assignment HQ. Kakashi gave a verbal report and handed a Chunin sat at a desk two slips of paper. Each had the signature of their clients as proof of works completed. They were logged into a book and two envelopes were handed to the Jonin. Kakashi turned to his three genin. "Maa, I have to take the money upstairs, as the village gets its cut first. This can take some time. I will visit each of you with your share of the money later today. Go home and rest, we are going to start training tomorrow. You are all dismissed."

They all left the assignment office excited for tomorrow. Naruto headed to his apartment, as another bonus he lived closest to the assignment office. He knew that they would be going there on a regular basis. The number of ninja coming in and out from that place was practically continuous.

Now being as good a time as any to start and knowing that, unlike his past life, this Naruto had another test to prepare for. Future Naruto waited until the boy reached the inside of his apartment before giving orders.

Having remembered Sakura's words from yesterday about the location of the training grounds being in his academy textbooks, Naruto was told to crack open the books and study. He'd be doing the same, helping his younger self with the more difficult words. Finding his academy scrolls and texts on his small desk, a lot of them haven't ever been opened. There were also loads of them.

Not seeing how this was going to help him one up Sasuke or impress Sakura, he started doubting the older him's wisdom.

"Looks like we're in for a long night. This will help us Naruto. Trust me."

Having not been wrong so far... Cracking open his academy texts about chakra and its properties first, he began to read to the best of his abilities. Naruto wasn't illiterate, but he wasn't the best of readers he could admit that much. Hearing the older him speak to him was really helping. It felt silly but he felt like a son being taught by their father when he was told what word he had mispronounced or what he didn't understand fully. This was all stuff everyone else who had graduated knew, so he had to know this stuff as well. This was important, he came to realize quickly, and it showed him just how little he actually knew.

While having an older version of himself in his mind was weird, he couldn't help but find solace in some company. That he said he would help by looking through his eyes didn't worry him nearly as much as it probably should have. But all in all, not a bad first day. He wasn't sure but he felt like Kakashi was looking at him differently. Something in his eye that he couldn't quite identify. He could have been misinterpreting things though. He did catch the man's eye twice and both times he felt like the man was looking through him and seeing him as… well as more. More than the other two.

Speaking of his sensei, he appeared outside his window scaring the crap out of Naruto who was been deep into his books. He was just silently watching him through the window. Kinda creeped him out. Holding out an envelope he saw he had come to give him his money. Relief that he wasn't being stalked or something, he opened the window for the man, who took that as an invitation to enter.

"Was there a problem with my door, sensei?" Just getting an eye smile in return. He was passed his envelope. He counted it. Twice.

"This can't be right? 1600 Ryo? For two lousy D-Ranks? Whoaaa." This was almost as much as he would get in his stipend for the week! In one day! Scratch that in a couple of hours of work. His smile was like a ray of sunshine. "Thank you Kakashi sensei."

"Maa, it's nothing. The village looks after their shinobi. Welcome to the ranks; Genin Uzumaki Naruto." Hearing his sensei say it like that made it feel so much more real. Like he had been living in a fantasy up until now and just now truly woken up to the reality. Of being what he had worked for, for as long as he could remember. The way he said those words cause a swell of emotion in the young blond. Opening his mouth to speak to the man, he finally looked up from his envelope.

And as quickly as he had come his sensei was gone, straight out the window. And here he thought they were having a moment. Teacher to student. And the moment was gone.

"Pride. He was proud of you. You looked underneath the underneath. The first to do so on your team"

'That was you, not me.'

"No, that was you. Naruto, I don't want you to follow in my footsteps, I want to help you forge your own path. I explained it so that you would think to look closer, that's all. And now you will. I think he's beginning to see that you are more than what the academy records say. What we've always known about ourselves. It's easy to say you are more than what people say you are. It's so much harder to prove it. Kakashi looks beneath the beneath in almost everything he does. He's a very suspicious person, but at the same time, desperately hopeful."

'What do you mean?'

"I mean he wants you to be like our father. He was considered a genius in the shinobi arts. We have that potential, but it won't be easy. We must work at it and fight for every ounce of respect we can get. Kakashi is seeing if we have that same spark of genius. Your pranking in the past was a showing of your intelligence. Keep your focus in front of your sensei and I believe he'll begin to respect you. In the way that I never was."

With newfound energy, he decided to keep at his studies. Kakashi might actually believe that he may not be the dead last? Well, he'll prove it to him without a shadow of a doubt. Determination practically radiating from his being he sat down and studied. This was only the beginning -dattebayo!