Everyone waited for Fukasaku to continue. He cleared his throat and began.

"The Great Sage said the vision involved Naruto-chan at a younger age, but he insisted it was an event that hadn't happened yet. No one could understand what it meant. So we looked in the Great Sage's crystal ball, which uses Natural Energy to trace chakra patterns. I decided to go to Konoha when I saw that Naruto's chakra signature was appearing in two very different places. I've been trying to reverse-summon myself to this one's location all along, but it was very difficult." Fukasaku looked at Naruto. "It's similar, but something in your chakra signature has changed to the point where you are almost not recognized by the Summoning Contract anymore."

"What?" Naruto sat up straighter in alarm. "I thought that was just a temporary thing. Was it that bad?" He glanced at Sakura.

"We did notice there was something interfering with his normal chakra signature," Sakura said. "But Tsunade-sama said it was most likely outside interference, not a change in the nature of the chakra itself. That doesn't seem possible."

"Have you scanned his blood here? One of the reasons blood is used in the Summoning Contract is it carries a much more accurate sampling. It makes the contract much harder to fool."

"We did it at home, but…" Sakura's eyes widened in realization. "We didn't stay around to see what the result was. Did you tell Tsunade-sama about this?"

"Yes. She gave the assistants at the lab an earful when she found out the sample was still in the queue. She will tell us the results when they come out, but there is certainly something wrong. The contract doesn't lie."

"But I'm me," Naruto said nervously. "Even if there is something weird going on… I'm not some kind of imposter."

"You're not the same either, though, because you can't be," the Wind Daimyo said unexpectedly. He leaned forward in his chair, smirking. "It's only logical, after all. The same person can't exist in the same way in more than one place at the same time. Even if you shinobi know how to make copies of yourselves. Otherwise, you would be nothing but a copy either, unable to act independently. There would be no meaning in even considering you as a separate being."

Everyone was silent for a while. Naruto could feel a brain-twisty headache coming on.

"That could be," Fukasaku said finally. "Whatever the case, I want to bring Naruto-chan to Mount Myoboku to see the Great Toad Sage. Maybe the two of them together can figure out what the vision means. Or maybe the Sage will see something more clearly with Naruto-chan present."

Gaara crossed his arms. "You seem to think it means danger. Why? What did he see?"

"It was… a little vague, going by his description. I pressed him for details, but he said it was difficult to see because it's not a set path. It could change at any moment, depending on what everyone involved does. But yes, I believe it means danger. He saw this Naruto-chan in a dark space, laying on the ground in terrible pain. It's not clear where this was—he said it felt like 'inside', but that could mean anything from a room here to an Akatsuki hideout deep underground. In any case, our efforts to keep Naruto away from the enemy may fail. That is why I had to let you know about it, Kazekage."

"But what are we doing wrong?" Temari frowned. "When is this choice supposed to be made?"

"Why worry about what some old geezer toad saw?" Naruto said. He was not interested in being subjected to even more bodyguarding.

Yamaguchi delicately wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. "We promised to keep Naruto-kun safe. If we cannot do it, it will reflect badly on us in the eyes of the entire Allied Shinobi Force. Maybe we've been thinking about this the wrong way. No doubt the enemy expects him to be sheltered among shinobi, so all of the great Hidden Villages are bound to be targeted. Instead, what if I brought him back to the Wind Capital with me?"

The two men sitting between Gaara and the Wind Daimyo shifted in their seats slightly.

"Yamaguchi-sama," one said quietly, leaning in toward the daimyo. "Is it wise to bring a jinchuuriki to the heart of the Wind Country, especially one belonging to another country? Members of the court would protest. Many of them share your uncle's concerns about the hosts—"

"Enough," Yamaguchi cut him off.

The noble that had spoken fell silent, but gave Naruto a look he knew all too well. Disdain mixed with fear; a look that said he was mistrusted simply for existing. It was the first time someone had looked at him like that since arriving in the future, and he'd almost forgotten to watch out for it. Anger boiled deep down in the pit of Naruto's stomach, and his mind sifted through various ways he could ruin the noble's immaculate silks without getting caught.

Or not. It would be worth it.

"I also disagree. It would be too dangerous. Not because of Naruto," Gaara added coldly, "but because it would put civilians in danger if the enemy found him there."

"Mount Myoboku is difficult to reach even if someone knows where it is," Fukasaku put in. "And there, we can start training him in the Sage Arts."

"Um, I like that option, can we go with that?" Naruto said.

There was a pause.

"We have been tasked by the Allied Shinobi Forces to protect him," Yamaguchi repeated. "Though I see nothing wrong with letting him go there to train, at least, if it is a safe location."

"What would the effect be if he learns the Sage Arts sooner?" Neji wondered.

"Aw, who cares about that!" Naruto waved his hands. "Training me is a great idea. If I get stronger, you won't have to worry about Akatsuki anymore! Then me and aniki can both fight in the war, and it will be awesome."

"Aniki?" Sakura asked.

"I have to call him something, right? Saying Older-Me gets confusing really fast."

"What are you, a gangster?"

Gaara rubbed his forehead with one hand. "Naruto, please take this more seriously. The war is to stop Madara and Akatsuki, but it's also to protect you and the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki. Their plot can only work if they get hold of you. We won't send you to war, even if you get stronger."

"Baa-chan said you were like this." Naruto crossed his arms. "So why're you going if we can't?"

"I'm not a jinchuuriki anymore."

Naruto had been expecting some kind of excuse, but this threw him for a loop. "What?"

"I was already captured by Akatsuki before," Gaara said. "And they took Shukaku from me. And I died."

"What?"

"I'm only here today thanks to one of Suna's revered Elders, Chiyo-baasama. She used a life-transfer jutsu to bring me back. Extraction of the Tailed Beast has killed every jinchuuriki Akatsuki has captured so far. Had it not been for your future self and others from Konoha retrieving my body, or Chiyo-baasama, I would have been just as dead as the rest of them."

Naruto uncrossed his arms slowly. "Gaara…"

"I can't say you should fight in the war," Fukasaku said. "But if you train and become stronger, you can defend yourself better. The older you is also training in hiding."

"He is? Can I do what he's doing?"

"Unfortunately, I can't help you there. From what I understand, he is learning from the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki about using the bijuu's power."

"How to use it? I definitely want to learn that!"

"I don't think you could, even if you had someone to teach you." Sakura shook her head. "It's not just about doing things out of order. Your seal is going to start weakening gradually, and using the bijuu's power too much could cause it to completely break."

"So… I have to wait until my seal is reset?" Naruto slumped in his chair.

"How did you know about that?"

"Kakashi-sensei told me. But he warned me not to use it too much, too."

"It's out of the question. Only the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki could teach you that. I can, however, train you in the Sage Arts," Fukasaku said.

"I guess I could settle for that."

"Settle?" Fukasaku puffed up indignantly. "On second thought, I don't know if you're mature enough to handle the Sage training."

Naruto straightened up. "No, wait! I am. I take it back. I would love to train with you, Sennin Jii-chan."

"Ha ha, good. That's more like it."

"So, can I go?" Naruto looked around at his teammates and Gaara.

"You should go to the Great Toad Sage and find out more about his vision," Gaara said. "And it would probably be good for you to train. But when you are not training, I want you to stay here."

"I guess that's okay. Better than being stuck doing nothing all the time."

"This arrangement will work for now," Yamaguchi said. "But we still need to consider what will happen during the war. Gaara will not be here, nor will most of Suna's forces."

"Nothing has to be decided today," Fukasaku said. "But I would like Naruto to see the Great Sage as soon as possible."

Gaara nodded. "I agree. Go ahead."

Fukasaku bowed his head briefly in acknowledgement, then clapped his hands together.

They appeared on a long path that wound through large, brightly colored vegetation. The air was warm, almost tropical, and the smell of flowers and soil lay heavy in the air.

"Ah!" Naruto yelped and stumbled when he went from sitting on a chair to sitting on nothing. "What the hell?"

"I've summoned us to Mount Myoboku. I'll give you the full tour later. For now, we need to see the Great Sage."

At the end of the path was a temple with two large toad statues flanking the entrance. Everything here was so large it made Naruto feel shrunk, which was odd considering most of the toads he'd ever met were small. But then again, there were toads like Gamabunta around, too.

Fukasaku noticed him gaping and smiled. "Well then, shall we?"

"So what kind of training is it, the Sage Arts?" Naruto asked, following Fukasaku and looking curiously around at the scenery.

"The Sage Arts involve sensing and harnessing the Natural Energy of this world: taking it into your body and molding it with your spiritual and physical energies. The senjutsu that results from this fusion of energies is consequently very powerful."

Naruto stared at him blankly. "Hah?"

"Don't worry if you don't understand it yet. I know you can do it, since you've done it before." Fukasaku frowned. "For some reason… it seems you're already drawing Natural Energy toward you without realizing it."

"What do you mean?"

"Natural Energy is everywhere, but to use it, one must focus to gather it. Yet it's moving around you in a way that's unheard of for someone who hasn't been trained." Fukasaku swirled both of his froggy hands in circles in the air, trying to mime an invisible cloud. "I was finally able to summon myself to you by tracking the disturbance in the flow of Natural Energy, rather than following your chakra directly. I think it worked because you were sleeping. You were in as much of a meditative state as you could be, and there was a lot gathered around you."

"Then it sounds like my training will be easy!"

Fukasaku gave a weary sigh. "You're missing the point. Tsunade confirmed what I suspected: you are different from your counterpart in this time. We just don't know how, or why."

"But I'm… me." The more Naruto had to say it, the less certain he felt.

"I believe you. The fact the contract works even a little is proof. Regardless, your affinity for Natural Energy might not make things easier. Being saturated with it is very dangerous, so it's good you only attract it and don't absorb it unconsciously. What matters most is how well you can balance it with the other energies. You have less experience with chakra control at your age."

"I've done control training," Naruto objected. "I've done tree climbing and water walking—Ero-sennin even taught me the Rasengan! And he said if I could do that, I could do anything. Oh!" He tilted his head at the sudden thought. "Is Ero-sennin going to help me train this time? You said you taught him this same stuff, right? Wait… does he even know I'm here?"

Fukasaku went silent for a moment. It was the kind of silence Naruto was learning to associate with people debating whether to tell him the truth or not.

"Sennin Jii-chan?"

The toad avoided Naruto's eye. When he answered, it sounded like he had a stone in his throat. "I hate to be the one to tell you this a second time, but… Jiraiya-chan is gone. He was killed fighting Pein."

Naruto stopped walking. Fukasaku stopped and looked back at him.

"That doesn't make sense."

Fukasaku shook his head slowly. "Naruto-chan—"

"How could he get killed fighting someone I was able to beat? There's no way he would."

"We were able to come up with a winning strategy thanks to the information Jiraiya-chan got for us. Without that, we might have lost. The enemy was beyond our capabilities... to be honest, we were lucky it worked out the way it did."

"Baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei told me everyone was brought back."

Fukasaku grimaced and bowed his head.

Naruto crouched down to the toad's level. "Tell me what happened to him."

"He went to Amegakure to find information about Akatsuki. By then, he had a hunch their leader was operating there. He wasn't looking for a fight, but when confronted by Pein, he decided to take him down, and…" Fukasaku paused, brow furrowed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Naruto stood again. "Where was I when all that was happening?"

"I'm not sure. I think you were searching for another member of Akatsuki."

"Who?" Naruto didn't wait for an answer. He continued striding down the path toward the temple.

Fukasaku hopped faster to catch up to Naruto's longer strides. "I'm sorry, I don't know. It didn't come up when we were training. Are you sure you're alright? I know it can be hard to accept, especially when it's so sudden—"

"There's nothing to accept. It won't happen, so it's not really real."

"What?"

"When I go back home, I'll warn everyone what Pein and Akatsuki are going to do. No one will have to die. If I learn the Sage Arts and you tell me all about Pein, Ero-sennin won't have to find information about him. So, it won't happen."

Naruto trotted up the stairs of the temple, energetic enough, but with a stiffness he couldn't quite mask.

"Naruto-chan—"

"Come on, this is the place, right?" Naruto pushed the door to the temple open, and Fukasaku followed after him quickly.

The Great Toad sage was basking in his pool, snoring slightly. His hat was tilted haphazardly to the side, but it somehow didn't fall off.

"This is the Great Toad Sage?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Ahem." Fukasaku cleared his throat. "Honorable Geezer, I've brought the younger Uzumaki Naruto."

"Eh, what?" The Great Sage lifted his head and peeled his eyes open to look down at them. "Who is that, now?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Fukasaku repeated. "It's the younger version you saw being attacked. Have you been able to see anything about it more clearly?"

"Ahh…" the Great Toad Sage blinked slowly and fixed his squinted gaze on Naruto. "Yes… it is very worrisome indeed."

Naruto took a step backward. "W-What?"

"It is still hard to see… it is in a very dark place. But I can see someone else now. A man wearing a mask."

"Is it Akatsuki?" Fukasaku asked quickly.

"I sense… hm." The Sage scratched his head with mild puzzlement. "Great hate and great love. Great enmity and friendship. A desire to kill and desire to save. I've never seen anything like this."

"But is Naruto-chan in danger? If so, what can we do to change it?"

The Great Toad Sage hummed. "It changed. I was able to see more. That means something has brought this outcome closer to reality."

"What?" Naruto yelped. "You mean we made it worse? What did we do?" he looked at Fukasaku.

"A decision hasn't been made about where you will be staying during the war," Fukasaku reasoned. "Your path hasn't been diverted yet. We have to make the right choice."

"In any case, Naruto-chan's life will be in danger if something does not change," the Great Toad Sage rumbled.

"Honorable Geezer, do you think it was the Tailed Beast extraction you saw?"

"Eh?" the Great Toad Sage said. "What're you asking about, now?"

"The Tailed Beast extraction!" Fukasaku waved his arms. "Akatsuki! Naruto-chan being in danger!"

"Hm… eh, who is that again?"

Fukasaku sighed and shook his head. "I suppose that's all we're getting for now."

"I don't get it… did we really do something to make it worse? I left Konoha because it was supposed to be safer than staying," Naruto said.

"I don't know. But we're running out of time to figure it out."

"Do you think it's because the Wind Daimyo is in Suna?" Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I mean, he dropped by sort of unexpectedly. He's the only thing making the situation at Suna different right now. And I don't really trust him."

"Maybe," Fukasaku said slowly. "I don't know why he'd do anything to betray the Allied Shinobi Force. Even with a reason, it would be risky, considering what is at stake if Madara wins the war."

"I'll keep my eyes open for anything suspicious," Naruto said determinedly. "And we should start my training as soon as possible. Then I won't have to be there all the time! And I can be stronger."

"Alright. Before we begin, I'll have you re-sign the summoning contract in blood. You don't need it for the Sage training, but I would like to know we can reach you if you get into trouble. Technically, you need Gamabunta's approval before you can sign it, but I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"Will it work if I've already signed it before?" Naruto frowned.

"I think so, but this is an unusual situation. It already works a little."

"What if I tried to summon one of you? Would you come to me or to aniki, or would it not work at all?"

"I don't know. But go back and tell everyone what we were able learn from the Honorable Geezer. Later tonight, you can test summoning to see if it works."

"Do I have to go back now?" Naruto said dejectedly. "Can't we go ahead and start my training?"

"I'll visit you tomorrow. After all, I told everyone I'd bring you back soon. I understand the Kazekage's perspective. This isn't the time to be doing whatever we want."

Naruto sighed. "This is almost exactly what Sakura-chan always said having parents was like."

"You're probably right," Fukasaku chuckled. "But the same thing that applies there applies here, too: it's just because they love and care about you."

Naruto gave a small smile. "I know."

"I'll send you back to the meeting hall," Fukasaku said. He hopped in front of Naruto and clapped his hands together.

A moment later, Naruto was standing in the empty meeting hall. He looked around, momentarily disoriented and slightly surprised no one was around. Plates were left abandoned on the meeting table, but no one had come to clear them out yet.

They must have assumed he'd be gone longer and ended the meeting. Naruto trotted toward the door, keen to get away from the gigantic statues, who seemed much creepier in the silence. The light from the windows made their faces long with eerie shadows.

"There you are, finally," someone said from behind him.

Naruto whirled around. A man in a high-collared coat and an orange mask was standing where there had been nothing but empty space before.

"Who are you?" Naruto growled, positioning his hands near the weapon pouch on his leg.

The man dashed toward him and stretched out his arm. Naruto ducked to avoid it, but it wasn't a strike—the man grabbed his right wrist, the hand with a fistful of shuriken ready to throw. Naruto tried to pull away, but he couldn't move. The world around him stretched and twisted unnaturally, converging on the black hole in the orange mask.

He had no choice but to dive headfirst into it.

After the meeting adjourned, the Sand Siblings and Team 7 (plus Neji) had their own lunch in Gaara's loft apartment on the top floor of the Administrative building. The panoramic view of the village spread out below and the minimalist furnishing of the living room gave it a tranquil feel.

"Naruto's going to complain that we left him out," Sai said, breaking apart a bread roll.

Sakura grinned. "Especially if they try to feed him over there. He's told me the kind of things the Toads like to eat. But we'll make it up to him. Are there any ramen places around here?" she asked Gaara, who was sitting on a couch near the windows.

"Yes," Gaara said. "There's one near here he likes. They serve some local varieties that aren't available in Konoha."

"Hah? How do you know that?" Temari asked.

"Probably because ramen is one of Naruto's favorite conversation topics," Sakura guessed. "Of course he gave the Kazekage his expert opinion on Suna's ramen stands."

Neji sighed. "Just what is Konoha going to become when that guy is Hokage?" his mouth twitched in a smile, but soon he turned serious. "Will you let him stay with the Toads when the war starts?"

Gaara leaned back and looked out of one of the long windows. "Under the circumstances, most likely. Though Yamaguchi-sama does not want me to."

"Why?" Sakura asked. "I mean, I'm not… entirely sure it's best to let him do his Sage training earlier, but it would keep him occupied. And Mount Myoboku is one of the safest places he could be."

"The problem is, we have no way of contacting that place unless one of them comes to us. I trust the Toads, but if something happened, we wouldn't know. And Yamaguchi-sama believes Naruto would use it as an opportunity to escape the Land of Wind's custody."

"What?" Sakura bristled. "Excuse me, when the hell did Naruto become a prisoner of the Wind Country?"

Temari and Kankuro tensed at Sakura's belligerence and both glanced at Gaara. Old habits were hard to break, and it still made them nervous when someone took a hostile tone with their brother.

Gaara turned from the window to look Sakura in the eyes seriously. "The daimyo is a fool. Prestige and political control are his only concerns. You don't need to worry. At least, not about that."

"Is there something else to worry about, then? Are you referring to what we had to hurry all this way for?" Sai asked. "Can you to tell us about that?"

Gaara stood from the couch by the window and sat down on one of the empty cushions around the table. "Yamaguchi-sama, while better than the previous daimyo, still carries some of the ingrained prejudice against the jinchuuriki that many in this country have. However, most of our nobility are even worse than he is."

"We noticed," Sakura said dryly.

"The treatment of jinchuuriki in this country has always been terrible," Gaara said softly. "But Yamaguchi-sama is too much of a pragmatist to let superstition dictate everything he does. He allowed me to become Kazekage even before I lost Shukaku, because he believed I would be loyal to him. He assumed I wanted to distance myself from the previous Kazekage, the same way he wanted to from the previous Wind Daimyo. Did you know the old daimyo was assassinated, as our father was?" Gaara inclined his head toward his siblings.

"Were the two assassinations related somehow?" Sai asked.

"It didn't seem so," Gaara said. "They happened three years apart, and the assassin was caught. I thought at worst, Yamaguchi-sama hired someone to remove the former daimyo. But he's claiming innocence, and he seems to think someone is after him now." He looked at Temari and she nodded.

"Right," she said. "When we were at the Five Kage Summit, the Tsuchikage graciously revealed that our country used Akatsuki's services in the past. When we came home, we dug up as much as we could about it. I had to pay a lot of visits to the Wind Capital in order to coordinate the investigation there. Sure enough, we discovered that our father and the previous daimyo made deals with Akatsuki. Yamaguchi-sama hadn't known about it either, or so he claims. But we were able to confirm the Akatsuki members involved were Sasori of the Red Sand… and Orochimaru."

"You're saying Orochimaru had a connection to the Wind Country through Akatsuki?" Sakura said slowly. "That makes sense, but Orochimaru left Akatsuki long before he made the deal with your father, right? So if Yamaguchi-sama is afraid of Akatsuki coming after him…"

"No. It's like this," Kankuro said. "Orochimaru played the old Wind Daimyo and Kazekage against each other, which wasn't exactly hard to do, because they already hated one another. Orochimaru convinced our father that the daimyo was going to do away with Suna entirely and leave our country's defense to Akatsuki. On the other hand, he convinced the daimyo that our father was planning on staging a coup against the Wind, which caused the daimyo to cut support for Suna even more, which made Suna even more willing to go along with Orochimaru. It was all a ploy so he could gain military backing to invade Konoha, and… argh," Kankuro rubbed his forehead with one hand.

"What?" Neji said.

"Long story short," Gaara said in a heavy voice, "Yamaguchi-sama believes Orochimaru is the one behind the younger Naruto's appearance here, and he's convinced Naruto is a weapon planted by Orochimaru, to be used against us when everyone leaves to go fight in the war. That is why he wants to know where Naruto is at all times."

"That's…" Sakura stood up. "That's ridiculous! Orochimaru is dead! Where the hell did he get the crazy idea that Orochimaru is even alive, much less that he would care about the Wind anymore if he was?"

Sai put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, as if reminding her to stay calm. "On what basis do they suspect Orochimaru?"

"That is why they fled here," Gaara said. "Several residents at Yamaguchi-sama's castle were found dead, their faces missing. It resembles the technique Orochimaru used to infiltrate the Exams and invade Konoha."