The extra help turned the skirmish around. With the Zetsu imposters taken care of, the Sealing Corps managed to seal almost all of the enemy's Edo Tensei summons on the field.
Younger Naruto was getting tired, and his clothes showed a few slashes and scrapes, but he straightened with a victorious grin. His few remaining Bunshin all flopped to the ground.
The Zetsu were extinguished. And the best part was he'd taken them all down on his own. Everyone else had been too busy fighting the revived Uchiha and the other zombies. Because he fought, the Sealing Corps was freed up to catch the Edo Tensei. It felt good to help in a real way.
Naruto stepped over a Zetsu with a large crater in its body from his Rasengan, the multiple remaining bunshin behind him vanishing with puffs of smoke. He wanted to see how things were going on the other side of the field.
They were just finishing up on their side, as well. Everyone was gathered near a row of sealed bodies, everyone looking exhausted and battered.
"I'm gonna send out another wave of bunshin before the Mode wears off again," the older Naruto said. The younger watched in awe as he called up a few flaming-gold copies that jumped up into the air and sped away at incredible speed. It made him glad he'd dispelled his own tired-looking, puny bunshin before coming over.
"Can you tell us what's happing on the other battlefields? What about the revived Uchiha?" a Suna kunoichi from the Sealing Corps said.
He started explaining what they knew, talking quickly and gesturing wildly. The younger Naruto didn't pay much attention to their conversation. He noticed there was one body still being wrapped up among the busted-up rocks and torn earth of the battlefield. A sealer was there, and Kakashi was standing over the body, holding his wrist and looking down at the process.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto hopped over beside him. "What is it—" he saw what his sensei was looking down at, and his mouth changed into a surprised 'oh'. He recognized the cracked and peeling face belonging to the body on the ground, a face that was soon completely covered in a white wrap at the hands of the sealer. "H-Haku!"
"Zabuza was here, too," Kakashi said, moving to lower his headband back over his eye. "Sorry you missed them. They would have found it interesting to see you, too, since they remember you just as you are."
It shouldn't have been much of a surprise. Orochimaru liked to use the Edo Tensei to throw familiar faces into battle. He suddenly wondered if Sasuke had seen the Uchiha clan yet. In the excitement of everything else going on, Naruto had momentarily forgotten about Shisui's warning. Orochimaru was probably going to force the clan into a confrontation with Sasuke soon.
"I heard you had a tough time in Suna," Kakashi said. "We heard you managed to escape after Orochimaru's attack, but everyone was worried. You're probably the first Konoha shinobi to visit Ame and leave alive in the last twenty years."
"Huh? Oh." Naruto kept forgetting his new friends were once considered to be extremely dangerous criminals. But his older self seemed just as comfortable around them as he felt, and that was all the assurance he needed.
Naruto shrugged. "You didn't have to worry about me, Kakashi-sensei! Not even Orochimaru can stand up to Itachi and Nagato and Konan. They're going to help me get back to the past, too. Oh, wait—I haven't even explained about them yet! See, when I left Suna—"
"The older you explained some while we were fighting. We needed a little elaboration after he dropped in yelling not to seal them." Kakashi glanced past Naruto and tensed.
Naruto turned to see Itachi, Nagato, and his older self approaching. The Sealing Corps were packing up their tools behind them.
"It's been a while, Kakashi-senpai," Itachi said with an open smile, an unexpected action that made him seem somehow younger than when he was still alive.
Kakashi gave him a look of genuine surprise. "A-Aa. Thank you for taking care of Naruto for us."
Itachi nodded. "The Sealing Corps contacted Allied Shinobi Force headquarters. They have developed a strategy against the enemy constantly targeting the Kyuubi Chakra Mode clones."
"Nobody can do much 'till all the fakes are gone," the older Naruto said, punching one hand with the other. "But once we do that, we'll have Orochimaru on the run! And we can finish mopping up all the battlefields with his Edo Tensei zombies."
"Excuse me." The Suna kunoichi that had spoken up earlier came to their group. She was holding one of the radio receivers. "There's a message from HQ—the Hokage and Raikage are demanding the younger Naruto get off the battlefield. I have only heard the basics, but I must say I agree. It's bad enough with the older one being here, but we still need him to find the impostors."
"Whaat?" "Blehhh." Both Narutos voiced their opinion at the same time.
"Even if he's not an impostor like the others, he shouldn't be here. It isn't safe for him to be in the open where the enemy can find him."
The younger Naruto glanced at Nagato and Itachi. They'd warned him about this, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.
"Several large groups of revived Uchiha have appeared," Nagato said. "We can scout their locations, and Naruto can come with us to investigate. We will be staying away from the main battle after this."
"Tell baa-chan I'm safer with these guys than anywhere else," the younger Naruto said. "We've already worked it out. They can send me back to my own time if anything happens."
"Is that really true?" the kunoichi said, looking back from Naruto to Nagato.
"There's no absolute certainty it will work," Nagato admitted. "But we do have a plan. We have no intention of letting the enemy capture him again. Hopefully, it won't have to come to that."
"I'll go along, too," the older Naruto said. "I'm supposed to meet up with Bee-occhan, but I can stick around a while. I can get anywhere I need to be really quickly. We haven't had enough time to hang out together yet."
The Suna kunoichi listened at the receiver for a moment as a voice they could recognize as Tsunade's came through, though her exact words were not clear. She looked back at them and handed the receiver and battery pack over to the older Naruto. "Hokage-sama says you should take a radio with you, if you decide to go with them. That way, you can report anything you learn about the Uchiha, and so HQ can call you to where you're needed right away."
"Um… okay," he said. He took the battery pack and receiver, slipping awkwardly into the straps of the pack. It looked strange on his back, with the bright golden chakra enveloping his body.
"Don't stay away long," Kakashi cautioned. "I know the two of you must a lot of catching up to do, but we haven't won the war yet. We've managed to turn the tide for now, but it could always change. You need to stay on your guard. You two, especially. You're the enemy's goal."
"Osu, Kakashi-sensei!" the older Naruto said with a salute, and the younger copied him precisely with a cheeky grin.
With that, they split off toward the last place a large group of Edo-Uchiha had been seen.
"Nice save, Nagato!" The younger Naruto gave him a thumbs up. "I thought I was about to get stuck there. What're we going to do now?"
"Finding a group of Edo-Uchiha could be useful, so we might as well go. If we can catch one of our own, maybe we can trace it back to Orochimaru."
The older Naruto fell back into stride with his younger counterpart. Itachi and Nagato were running ahead of them.
"So, have you guys really figured out a way for you to go back?"
"Yeah!" the younger said, latching onto the topic eagerly. "'Cause Nagato is the one who summoned me here. Even though he doesn't remember how he did it, he and Itachi think I'll be sent back if he gets sealed. It'll cancel out the jutsu. So I agreed if I get in any trouble, they could do that."
The elder laughed. "It sounds like you've had a really weird time here. When exactly d'you come from, anyway?"
"Baa-chan was just made Hokage the day I left." He got quieter. "In Ame, I went back to the past again for a minute. We don't really know why. When I was there, I could tell time had passed. That means it's probably still going while I'm here. I could be changing stuff already without meaning to."
Naruto looked up at his older self, failing, for some reason, to say what he really wanted to say. Their time together would always be limited by the war. And by the time it was over, he hoped to be back home where he belonged. There were still so many things he wanted to talk about.
He wanted to ask if it was too late to stop Sasuke. But they hadn't touched on that topic yet. He didn't understand why Sasuke was out there alone and in pain, especially seeing how strong his older self was. He was afraid of finding out he—that his older self didn't care anymore.
But he had to know now. There wouldn't be a lot of chances to ask. Knowing meant it could be changed. So he plowed on through.
"Why…" the younger Naruto started. His older self looked at him when he spoke up, but didn't interrupt. "Why weren't we able to stop Sasuke? Why is he still in trouble now? I heard he left right after the time I did. It could have already happened, and I wouldn't know."
The elder let out a long breath. For a moment, everything was silent except for the rustling of the wind through the tress, and their footfalls lightly hitting the ground.
"I couldn't stop him because I was too weak," he said finally. "I didn't completely understand it at the time, but strength is the only thing Sasuke will pay attention to. He's always wanted more power, but back then, we didn't realize what he'd give up for it. It was more important to him than bonds, and definitely more than the village."
The younger felt a lump rising in his throat. Nothing could have been more obvious than seeing Sasuke in person, but hearing the truth about it from his older self really drove it home.
"But…" the elder trailed off.
The younger looked up.
"When he left, and we fought… even if it was for just a moment, we understood one another. Sasuke called me his friend. He said it, right to my face." The elder gave him a wide, brilliant grin that the younger couldn't help but return, even hesitantly. "You might have missed out on him saying it, but it's still true. He acknowledged us before anyone else. So no matter what happens, I will save him and protect Konoha. It isn't a matter of choosing one or the other."
So his older self hadn't given up. Naruto felt relieved, but also anxious. Things wouldn't be the same for him—it was already not the same.
"What if I am too late? Then he doesn't know I would have tried stopping him. What would he do then? Do you think he still left, even though something happened to me? I was in the hospital when I woke up in the past. I didn't see him, but… I wasn't there long."
The elder crossed his arms, thinking. "Honestly, I don't think it would stop him. We sent a team to go find him, but I had to push everyone to make that happen in the first place. And everyone got hurt really bad… if the same people went after him without me, I don't know what would happen. We barely made it before. Sasuke left to go train with Orochimaru, and he had sent some powerful people make sure it happened."
Orochimaru. No matter what, it always came back around to him. The younger Naruto better understood why Sasuke had attempted to kill the old snake.
"So why is the Orochimaru of this time so interested in me? Why didn't he try using it on Sasuke instead?"
"It isn't difficult to see why he chose you, given your impressive potential," Itachi said unexpectedly from up ahead. He looked over his shoulder at them. "Sasuke is, of course, extremely talented. But you may be even greater than him in terms of 'hidden potential'. If that is what this experiment is about, it would make sense. Though you and Sasuke are both remarkable in that area, you are someone he overlooked at a younger age, a missed opportunity at a time when he was busy trying to lure Sasuke with promises of power. And I'm sure even he realizes how much you and Sasuke's paths are intertwined."
"Do you think he could do it again? Summon somebody else? I asked him, but he never gave a clear answer."
The older Naruto frowned. "I don't like the sound of that. How could we fight against a not-dead zombie? An un-un-dead—whatever?"
"Unfortunately, I think it's very likely Orochimaru will try replicating his experiment at some point," Itachi said. "The good news is he can't use it recklessly. Given the complicated circumstances he put into motion to achieve it the first time, it must carry a great amount of risk."
"I am no longer there to bear the brunt of it," Nagato said with a hint of dry humor. "The way everything was arranged, it probably requires doujutsu and a large amount of energy. Perhaps there are some within the Uchiha clan who could do it. That would be another reason for him to summon so many of them."
The older Naruto gave a snort. "And it's another reason to stop him before he gets the chance. We thought the regular old Zetsu impostors were bad. I don't want to see what that might look like."
###################################
The forest got thicker and darker as Sasuke ran further away from civilization. He was heading toward a place where most people never went, if they were lucky. It was Orochimaru's main hideout in the former Land of Sound. The land was now reverted back to its old lord. As far as anyone knew, it was a peaceful place freed from the snake's influence.
Sasuke mentally took stock as he moved further in. The last he heard, Karin was a prisoner in Konoha. If he managed to find the other members of Taka here, they would journey there next to retrieve her.
Kisame told him that Itachi was the first of the clan to be resurrected, and he had managed to escape control somehow. Apparently, Itachi was in Amegakure planning to help the former leaders of Akatsuki send the younger Naruto back to the past.
Itachi hadn't even tried to see him. Instead, he was somewhere trying to help that... whatever it was. Why? Did he not care about seeing him? Was he not angry the Uchiha were being used as pawns?
If his brother didn't care about meeting him, he would use Taka to track him down once more. If Itachi was still in Amegakure, it could be tricky to find him, not to mention dangerous. It was well-known that people who entered there had a habit of never coming back out.
But he had to. Itachi was, after all, an Edo Tensei. He could disappear at any time, leaving the many questions haunting Sasuke unanswered. That was an unacceptable outcome.
Sasuke slowed his pace as he got close to the hideout, all senses on alert. Most were vacant these days, but they still had functioning traps.
Rather than storming the base's main entrance in the heart of the former Hidden Village, Sasuke chose a discreet auxiliary entrance. The staircase built into the ground lead into one of the hideout's many underground hallways.
Still, the base's security seals would have detected him by now. Sasuke glanced back and forth before descending the stairs, one hand resting on the sword strapped behind him. The seals were supposed to allow him passage, if nothing had changed since the last time he was here.
All remained silent as Sasuke went down into the suffocating darkness. The hall smelled cold and earthy, as usual, but it lacked the charred scent of torches lining the walls. It had been a long time since they were lit.
If Suigetsu and Juugo were here, where would they be? He didn't have the patience for a long search.
Navigating in the dark here was not a challenge for Sasuke. He knew the place very, very well. Still, he activated his Sharingan after entering the first large underground chamber.
If the rest of Taka was here, he would probably hear them before he saw them, given Suigetsu's fondness for listening to his own voice—but it was best to be cautious.
Looking around as he walked, Sasuke saw several very faint glowing patches moving along the walls. Just some rats. Nothing remarkable there. But just as he was about to move on, he noticed something odd about the way the rats were moving. They scurried—no, fled, all running the opposite direction he was.
They were running from this room as if their lives depended on it.
Sasuke felt something brush against his senses, like a cold blast of air on the back of his neck. He whirled around, drawing his sword quickly and instinctively to cleave through the thick mass of flesh and scales close behind him.
The snake, now in two parts, fell to the ground with a wet flop accompanied by agonized hissing. It continued to writhe for several seconds before it gradually slowed, then lay still.
"Come out, Orochimaru! I'm not in the mood for games right now," Sasuke said sharply, flicking the grime off his sword. He felt fury all the way down to his fingertips.
"Your reflexes have only gotten better since implanting Itachi's eyes," Orochimaru's raspy voice came in low from the left hall. Sasuke saw him walking at an unhurried pace, a torch in hand. He used it to light a few other torches around the room, apparently unafraid to turn his back on Sasuke to do so.
"Why did you use Edo Tensei to revive the Uchiha?" Sasuke demanded, suppressed anger filling every syllable of his words.
"Is it really beyond your understanding, Sasuke-kun? You know I don't like to be asked unnecessary questions. Your clan is famous for being the very best at war. I would have thought it obvious."
"That can't be the only reason," Sasuke growled. "As if you care about the war any more than I do! You've always wanted the power of the Uchiha at your disposal. Having a war to fight is just an excuse."
"Maybe. But it's difference in semantics at this point, isn't it?" Orochimaru gave an amused 'hmph'. "Aren't you glad for the chance to see your parents and brother again?"
"Not as mindless slaves to your jutsu!" Sasuke's eyes shifted into the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan before he consciously willed it. As angry as he was, he wanted to know what Orochimaru was plotting, including why he showed up now, knowing he would be incensed about the Uchiha being used. Was the snake trying to provoke him?
"You've learned not to attack recklessly at the first impulse. I am impressed. Temperance is something I'm afraid you've been lacking more in recent years, rather than less."
"You're stronger than you were before. How?" Sasuke observed Orochimaru's chakra and found it to be a far cry from being in the sickly, weakened state it was in before.
"How?" Orochimaru raised a brow.
"You've changed bodies."
"Very good, Sasuke-kun. I don't know if you heard about it from that masked relative of yours, but I took over Kabuto after he injected part of myself into his veins. Now I am completely myself again, with the help of another one of my old protégés. You may be interested to know Kabuto is back to himself again, too."
"Why would I care about that?" Sasuke asked, fingers tapping impatiently on the hilt of his sword.
"Because Itachi escaped the Edo Tensei only because I was suppressing Kabuto. Soon, I expect Itachi will notice the shift. He'll have no choice but to rush as fast as possible to stop Kabuto. He just might make it in time, too. Kabuto is very weak right now, and it will take time for him to recover."
Sasuke stared for a moment. Then his face twisted into a harsh scowl. "Where is Kabuto?"
"At our lab close to the border of the Lightning Country," Orochimaru said smoothly.
Sasuke stood in indecision, gripping the sword hilt tightly. What if this was some kind of trick?
"Will you still be here when I come back?" he asked.
"No, but you can find me if you go to Konoha. Suigetsu and Juugo are near there. If you want meet Itachi, you should hurry. I think your friend 'Madara' has a vested interest in preventing that, and we wouldn't want him interfering."
Sasuke had a lot more to say to Orochimaru, but the pull of seeing Itachi was too great.
He turned and ran back the way he came before he could second-guess anymore.
######################################
"Then Yamato-taichou took us to a hot spring resort. The food was incredible 'ttebayo! But he did it because he was suspicious of Sai, and wanted to put a tracking seed in his food. He made me and Sakura-chan take one later on. He's stricter than Kakashi-sensei."
"Really? I'm used to calling him Moku-oji, and getting him to buy ramen for me."
"I guess you haven't seen how scary he can be yet." Older Naruto gave a shudder. "And I can't believe you already like Sai. I wanted to pummel him the first time we met. I guess he has changed a lot since then. He was only a jerk because of Danzo and Root."
"AHA! That! Tell me about that!" the younger demanded, jabbing a finger at his older self dramatically. People kept casually mentioning Root with no explanation. Even his older self!
"Y'mean no one's told you about that yet? Well, it's a—"
The elder was cut off when Itachi and Nagato stopped running very suddenly. Both Narutos skidded and nearly slammed into them.
"Hey! Why did you guys just—"
"You felt that, didn't you?" Itachi asked tensely.
"Aa," Nagato said, sounding grim.
"Guys? Itachi—"
Itachi closed his eyes, and there was a shift in the energy of the air, like the smell of atmosphere before a storm. The older Naruto took a step backward, while the younger looked between them all in confusion.
Itachi's eyes started dripping blood. The large, ethereal form of his Susano'o shimmered into view, rapidly growing skeletal arms. One of these shot a giant hand toward Nagato, slamming into his body hard enough to lift him off the ground, dangling him in its deathly grip.
"Can you trace it?" Itachi asked him, calling over the startled cries of the other two.
"At 12—no, 1 o'clock from here, approximately thirteen kilometers," Nagato said, looking in the direction he had indicated. His arms were pinned to his sides by the large hand, unable to move in the Susanoo's grasp. But he didn't seem surprised by the attack.
"Oi!" the younger Naruto shrilled, waving his arms in a fit of aggravation. "What's happening?"
"Kabuto has been released," Itachi answered, finally turning to them. He leveled his Mangekyou Sharingan at the older Naruto. They could feel the heavy, atmospheric shift in energy again.
Suddenly, the elder started choking. He grasped at his throat with his hands and gave a few hacking, half-formed gags.
"Stop it, Itachi! What are you doing?" the younger yelled. He wanted to help his older self, but knew he couldn't touch him while he was covered in the Kyuubi's chakra.
Something was emerging from the older Naruto's mouth. A sharp black beak, then a head, then an entire crow came shifting and struggling out of his mouth. It flapped its wings as soon as it was free, tossing its head back and forth. One of its eye sockets contained a Sharingan.
"Good," Itachi said to himself.
"What the hell is that? Would someone tell me what's going on!" The younger pointed at the squawking crow as it circled, going around in the air a few times before settling down on the elder Naruto's shoulder. He wiped his mouth and gave several stifled coughs.
Itachi walked closer to them. The Susano'o moved along with him, Nagato's body still clutched in its fist. "That is my crow. It contains Shisui's Sharingan. I told you before about his Sharingan ability, the Kotoamatsukami. The eye in that crow was set to emerge and cast a genjutsu whenever my Mangekyou was aimed at this Naruto. I originally placed it there to be used against Sasuke, who I knew would implant my eyes."
"Wh-what?" the older Naruto croaked, expressing his younger self's thoughts exactly.
"In other words, it has given me a command that should override the control tag placed in me. As I said, Kabuto has been freed from Orochimaru. But he can't control me now."
"This will not hold me long if he decides to take control," Nagato warned. "We need to hurry and stop the Edo Tensei before he can try to use me."
"W-wait!" the younger Naruto cried, face scrunched with the extreme effort it took to keep up with this conversation. "So you're saying Kabuto is back—and he could control Nagato at any time? But you—you can't undo the Edo Tensei! If Nagato disappears, then I will too, isn't that what you said? I'm not ready to go back home yet!"
"We need you guys to stay here!" the elder chimed in, motioning enthusiastically as his younger self did. "We need someone to go after Orochimaru and stop him from controlling Edo Tensei zombies in the war! Isn't there some other way you can break Kabuto's hold over Nagato?"
"I'm sorry, Naruto. The safest thing would be to seal Nagato right now, before Kabuto has a chance to use him. I could run to where Kabuto is this moment and try to stop him. But there's no guarantee I would make it in time."
"But—there has to be another way! Ne, Nagato?" the younger Naruto tried appealing to the redhead, looking up at where he dangled above the ground.
"Itachi could keep Kabuto suspended in a genjutsu for as long as we need," Nagato admitted. "It would be extremely risky to try, however. And we don't have a lot of time to debate it, either way."
"Okay, okay, what about this?" the older Naruto cut in. "Itachi can try to stop Kabuto, and we'll take Nagato back to the Sealing Corps. If it looks like he's going to lose control, we can stop him. That way, Kabuto can't use him against you, but we'll still have a way of sealing him."
"Are you sure about that?" Itachi gave him a serious look. "If Kabuto takes control of Nagato, he may try to capture one or both of you."
"I can keep the younger me safe, no problem!" the elder said, bumping a fist to his chest.
"It's best if I stay away from the two of you altogether," Nagato said. "I would rather risk being turned into a pawn than endanger any of you." He paused. "I know a way that will buy us some time. I can have my summons bring me to their home. Exactly where it's located is a secret even to me, but I know it is very far from here. They can seal me if Kabuto takes control."
Itachi sighed. It was clear he thought it was a bad idea. But the hand of his Susano'o loosened, and Nagato dropped lightly down to the ground.
"Alright," Itachi said. He aimed his Mangekyou Sharingan at the crow again. It burst into a plume of jet-black flames.
"Ahh!" the older Naruto cried, backing away quickly from the bird that was quickly being consumed by the flames of Amaterasu. "What now?"
"Shisui's Kotoamatsukami won't be usable for another ten years," Itachi explained. "It is better for it to be destroyed now, instead of it falling into the wrong hands later."
"Warn someone next time," older Naruto grumbled.
"It's time to go. Remember, move as quickly as you can."
"Ready," Nagato said.
"Scatter!"
Itachi, Nagato, and the two Narutos jumped away and started running in opposite directions at the same time. The older Naruto led his younger self, moving what seemed impossibly fast, but never fast enough to lose him.
Everything had changed in the blink of an eye.
The younger poured all his concentration into running. That way, he wouldn't have to think about saying goodbye for good.
16