Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and all the chapters previous, but only Spaceorbis wins money for guessing this chapter's plot.
Spaceorbis, you accept Monopoly money, right?
To everyone else who didn't win, I hope you can enjoy this new chapter as a consolation prize.
Chapter 4: Telling Secrets
Hours later, Naruto and the rest of his gang found themselves sharing the hastily cleared out large sick room in the children's ward. It being the only room in the hospital capable of accommodating eleven sickbeds. Naruto remembered this room very well. He visiting this room once a month after the 4th Shinobi War ended. The Leaf village had been rebuilt along with the general hospital from Pain's attack and children hadn't stopped getting cancer in that time.
Naruto, being one of two undisputed heroes of the Ninja World, thought he would brighten the days of those sad little kids; more than the colorful cartoon toads, slugs, and snakes that were painted on the walls ever could. More often than naught, he was right. Those bright smiles he got as a reward made all the years of hardship seem worth it. Naruto had always been known for his bright smile his fangirls would equate to sunshine, but to him, he had nothing on the kids who had no choice but to celebrate Christmas in July.
Now ten years into the past, that same room had all its regular patients moved out in order to treat and contain the 8 troublemakers who had started this whole mess. Naruto and the 7 other time travelers among the Rookie 9 had been laying in their beds with liquid chakra restoring IV drips on one side and ANBU guards on the other. Until Rock Lee showed up, carrying his entire team on his shoulders and a look of defeat on his face. Then the party really got started.
While Lee and his two unconscious teammates remained here to be strapped down to their beds, Gai-sensei was taken into intensive care ward on account of some kind of poison gas swelling his throat.
Lee was awake and suffering from only minor muscle strain (plus the rope burn from when he tried to break free of his leather straps after the ANBU guards wouldn't tell him what Gai's condition was). He was given a sedative and had calmed down.
Tenten was still unconscious, suffering from Stage Two Chakra Exhaustion that the doctors couldn't make heads or tails of. Lee had mentioned that she was attacked by a masked man in purple that was teammates with Kabuto. Eventually the group crowd sourced that her chakra had been syphoned and the doctors gave her the heavy duty chakra replenishing medicine. Even still, the Konoha 11's expert medic and the hospital doctors all agreed that Tenten probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
Neji was the oddball case. He didn't have chakra exhaustion at all, which was appropriate since he was the only member of the original gang that didn't go back in time on account of him being dead. Naruto of course had to do a double take when he saw the Hyuga prodigy again. The last time he saw Neji alive, he was taking two tree branch sized spikes to the torso to save Naruto and Neji's cousin Hinata's life. That had nearly been the straw that broke the camel's back for the Uzumaki, if it wasn't for the harsh words from the girl he had unknowingly inspired all her life. They both had grieved for Neji together, as had all of the Konoha 11, and now there he lay. Sleeping in his hospital bed looking slightly younger than Naruto had ever known him in life.
The blond felt his blood boil when he heard what had happened. Team Gai had somehow managed to catch up to Sasuke and Kabuto's fake Genin Team, and Neji of all people had ended up fighting Sasuke. From what they could tell, Neji had put up a valiant fight, but Sasuke, that snake, got him in a Genjutsu. Not the Tsukuyomi: the Nightmare Realm, thank god, but count on the Uchiha that it was nothing pleasant.
Naruto adjusted his body in bed to get comfortable. He looked up at the ceiling with the painted rainbows, smiling sun, and the flock of birds. This was not how this mission was supposed to go. It was supposed to be a solo mission. Just him sent back to fix the mistakes made in the past. Save a few more lives worth saving, stop Sasuke from turning evil entirely, and prevent the annihilation of the entire Ninja World while he was at it. Hell, best case scenario he was supposed to be sent back with his adult body while his past-self existed alongside him. Letting him save the ninja world from the shadows like a true shinobi would.
He didn't need Shikamaru to explain it to him that this plan was well and truly scrapped. Sasuke was free and as committed to his ideology as ever. And Naruto practically blew his cover in one last desperate attempt to reconcile his oldest friend. Of course, Sasuke was the one who attacked first, but still…
'You're overthinking it, Kit.' Kurama interjected.
'Am I?'
'Yes. No plans survive the full mission. That was the first thing Kakashi taught you once you became a Jounin. How you adjust and adapt is what determines if you are a capable soldier and team leader.'
'So did I make the right call in trying to talk Sasuke into switching sides?' Naruto asked bitterly.
'No idea, those questions are for your human after action committees your stupid village council loves so much.' Kurama sighed.
'But Lee said that at least five people have died when I let Sasuke get away.'
'Didn't the Uchiha's older brother lecture you about this years ago? You don't do things on your own and you didn't let him get away by yourself. You did what you thought was right and your team isn't dead. So quit bitching and start acting like the future Hokage all of your friends believe you will be.'
'I'm just so fucking tired of it!' Naruto exclaimed. 'I'm tired of losing! I'm tired of taking one step forward and two steps back! I keep trying to outflank Sasuke and he outflanks me right back! I try to play by the rules, fight with honor, and he just skirts around it! What the Hell am I supposed to do when I'm tired of fighting?!'
'You fight a little more…' Kurama thought. 'You keep on fighting because you know deep down there is a bright light that Sasuke, or Madara, or Kaguya, or anyone else with a stick up their ass can never hope to extinguish. Its small and it flickers but it is always worth fighting for. So, whenever you're ready to stop pouting, the world needs saving again.'
Naruto lay there in bed, his friends and the ANBU guards being completely unaware of the conversation going on in his head. He covered his face to hide his tears.
'I gotta keep fighting… This time for good.' Naruto thought to himself, having had his solitary moment of doubt. He then propped himself up on his elbows and saw that Shikamaru was awake too. He gave Naruto a look they were both familiar with from their times spent undercover in ANBU together.
'Distraction.' Shikamaru thought and Naruto gave the barest hint of a nod.
As soon as Naruto's ANBU guard looked the other way, the infamous prankster pulled out a jawbreaker sized marble and let it land on the floor.
"BOMB!" Naruto's handler cried as the black marble hissed and exploded, filling the room with noxious brown gas.
"Stink bomb!" Another ANBU agent corrected as he dashed out of the room, covering his mouth. His fellow guards followed closely behind him, pushing past a startled nurse who cringed when she got a whiff of the gas. She closed the door behind her to try and spare the rest of the hospital its vile fumes.
Naruto hopped out of bed and barred the door with a chair.
"Oh God damn it, Naruto!" Kiba cried as he clutched his nose. He and all their other friends were quickly waking up to the ungodly stink.
"Wah…what? AH OH GOD!" Tenten cried as she was violently awoken from her chakra coma.
"For God's sake, open a window!" Sakura cried.
"No! Keep it closed!" Shikamaru ordered while pinching his nose.
"Hold on, hold on." Naruto said as he flashed through a quick series of hand signs and slammed his palm onto the hospital tiles. "Air Filter Seal!" Naruto cried. He pulled back his arm and immediately all of the sulfur gas was being sucked into the seal on the floor and filtered out clean and pure air.
"Glad to see this seal works on more than just poisonous gases." Naruto said before coughing. He could still smell the stenches seeped into his clothes.
"Do I even want to know where you were hiding that stink bomb?" Sakura asked.
"What can I say? I'm a man of many talents." Naruto smirked. While on the inside he was kicking himself for slacking off on mastering the Pine Scented Seal.
"Right, so what's the plan?" Choji asked. "I figured we were going to play dumb and get sent back to our parents?"
"Not anymore." Shikamaru spoke up. "I've been giving this a lot of thought and the best course of action for us to take is to tell the Hokage we are from the future…" He said dramatically.
"You care to elaborate on why?" Ino asked.
"Not until we get an audience with the Hokage. The only problem is, how do we convince him that we are from the future?" Shikamaru inquired.
"Tell him about the Sound/Sand invasion during the Chunin Exams?" Kiba suggested.
"The Chunin Exams where that happens are a year away. By then, Sasuke will have gotten far too strong." Sakura countered.
"What we need is a bit of information that we as children could never possibly know." Shikamaru said. "Naruto, you're the Hokage-in-training. Got any Triple S Class secrets you could share with the Third?"
"Besides the one about you being the son of the 4th Hokage." Shino pointed out. "That is less of a great secret than it is an unacknowledged fact the collective ten of us could have deduced together."
Naruto thought about it for a second before a light bulb appeared over his golden locks. "Triple S class? Yeah, I've got one or two."
The room door then burst open when two ANBU agents rammed their shoulders into it.
"Alright you brats, really freaking clever!" Walrus exclaimed.
"We want an audience with the Lord Hokage." Naruto said, using his diplomatic tone he had mastered after years of desperate pleading for aid from countries across the seas.
"Yeah right, all you kids are gonna get is an earful from your parents once we finish cleaning up your classroom." Walrus stated.
"Tell him it pertains to the real reason behind the Uchiha Massacre. Or should it be called…the Failed Uchiha Coup?" Naruto asked, startling everyone in the room.
'Uchiha Coup?' Sakura thought in place of everyone. 'What the Hell did Sasuke's clan do now?'
Walrus just looked nervously over at his fellow ANBU agents. None of them knew what the orange clad boy was going on about either. But to bring up the Uchiha Massacre…
"Wait here." Walrus ordered as he left the room to go fetch the Hokage. All eyes fell on Naruto and the truth behind this Uchiha Triple S Class secret.
Several minutes passed without anyone saying a word. They couldn't risk further discussions with the ANBU agents present. A dozen faceless masks with unproven loyalties. Not the sort of thing you wanted to let overhear about your knowledge of the future.
Finally the door swung open and the children were greeted by the man many saw as the grandfather of all young Leaf ninjas. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, dressed in his red and white Hokage robes and dawning the famous Hokage hat. Naruto had to fight back his tears. 'It's really him.'
"Hello, children. You wished to speak with me?" Hiruzen asked innocently, as if he were just visiting them in their class while school was in session.
"Yes, we have something very important to tell you, Lord Hokage." Shikamaru spoke. "Something we really need to discuss as privately as possible."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, given the circumstances." Hiruzen said with genuine sympathy in his voice. "The twin councils are in an uproar. You all are in a lot of trouble. So anything you wish to say to me you can say in front of my ANBU guards."
"It has to do with Sasuke and why he needs to be hunted down as a traitor immediately." Naruto stated.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at Naruto. That was an extremely serious accusation to make. Even against a classmate who attacked you. "If you wish to tell your side of the story, I will listen. But the ANBU tracking teams have orders to bring Sasuke in alive in order to hear his side of the story as well."
"Bring him in alive? He killed a team of ANBU agents!" Lee snapped.
"So you say, Rock Lee, but you admit to the ANBU agents that you did not see Sasuke commit the murder, and he was with three other older boys."
"Kabuto, I don't know his teammate's names, they are traitors too." Lee said.
"Our files list them as Genin. They have just failed their 5th attempt at the Chunin Exams. They hardly seem like they are capable of being traitors." Hiruzen argued.
"You're kidding me." Tenten growled.
"All we know for certain is that Sasuke and Kabuto are missing." Hiruzen said. "You, Tenten, killed one of the alleged traitors and Lee beat the other into a coma. He hasn't awoken yet and neither has Gai. All we have is your word that they were traitors."
"You don't think we killed those ANBU agents, do you?" Lee asked, a little worried.
"I do not, but this investigation is still ongoing." Hiruzen reassured.
"But you don't trust our word because we are Genin and Academy students." Tenten stated, hitting the nail on the head.
"As I've said, this investigation is still ongoing."
"We are getting off topic." Shikamaru spoke up. "We have all the answers you seek, you just need to trust us enough to speak alone."
"And yet you do not wish for me to trust my own ANBU?" Hiruzen countered. "Shikamaru, what exactly is going on?"
"We know the truth about the Uchiha Massacre." Naruto stated, making Hiruzen snap his head towards the blond.
"What does the death of Sasuke's clan have to do with today?" Hiruzen asked.
"It proves that Itachi wasn't thorough enough when you ordered him to do it." Naruto said, making everyone's blood run cold.
'The Third Hokage ordered the Massacre?' Sakura thought in horror.
"What was that?" Walrus roared.
"Leave us. All of you." Hiruzen stated with absolute authority.
"But sir…" Walrus spoke up before Hiruzen raised his arm and cut him off.
"All of you, out. Now." Hiruzen repeated, his tone letting the ANBU know they did not want him to repeat himself a third time.
"Yes, sir." Walrus said quickly. The ANBU all bowed and then headed out the door, leaving Hiruzen alone with all the time travelers, plus one unconscious Neji.
Hiruzen took out his pipe and motioned to light it before he remembered he was in a hospital and resigned himself to chewing on the tip.
"Go on…" Hiruzen stated.
"Back when Sasuke was 7, his clan was planning a Coup against the Leaf. After negotiations broke down, you and your advisors ordered Itachi to assassinate his entire family. Only Itachi spared his younger brother, who he loved more than anyone, so that Sasuke could kill him later and avenge the clan." Naruto summarized, keeping all of the jaws of his friends firmly on the floor. "Itachi was then sent on a deep cover mission to join the inner circle of the Akatsuki and relay intelligence back to the Leaf through Pervy Sage-sorry, Jiraiya."
"Son of a bitch, you're kidding me." Kiba whispered.
"That's horrible…" Hinata whispered.
"The Third Hokage did that? He couldn't have…" Ino whispered to herself.
Hiruzen bit down hard on the tip of his pipe. Judging from their reactions, only Naruto knew the secret, but that should be impossible. No one besides the Hokage, his three advisors, Jiraiya, and Itachi himself knew the truth of that black stain on the Leaf's history.
"How did you learn about this? There are no records kept of Itachi's mission details. Either of him being ordered to commit genocide or of him being a double agent." Hiruzen asked very seriously.
"Another Uchiha told me and Itachi confirmed it to me himself." Naruto said. "At least they will…five years from now. After the Sand and Sound villages attempt a sneak attack against the Leaf, under Orochimaru's direction. And Sasuke flees the village to seek Orochimaru out for power. And then I leave the Leaf to train with Jiraiya for 3 years. And the Akatsuki start hunting down myself and the 8 other Jinchuriki. Which leads to the future Kazekage being kidnapped, and the Leaf to be destroyed. And that leads to the 4th Shinobi World War where the Five Great Ninja Nations band together to fight against the Akatsuki. Which eventually leads to the 5th Shinobi World War lead by Sasuke and the minor Ninja Nations against the Shinobi Alliance which the Alliance loses and all the Great Ninja Villages are burned to the ground, including the Leaf."
Hiruzen blinked twice after Naruto's rant. No one could get a read on the old man. He looked shocked, like he wanted to call out Naruto for lying but the lie was too elaborate to just dismiss.
"Naruto, take a walk with me." Hiruzen ordered, motioning towards the door.
Naruto did a quick look back at Shikamaru, who nodded, before leaping out of bed to take the past Hokage up on his offer.
The two of them headed out into the hallway and rounded a few corners in complete silence before Hiruzen finally decided that enough was enough.
"Okay, Naruto. Out with it." Hiruzen said as they both walked down a deserted hallway.
"What are you talking about, sir?" Naruto asked.
"You know darn well what. Drop this ruse right now. It's not funny, you and your friends are in a lot of trouble. You've destroyed your classroom, fought with your fellow classmate, an entire ANBU division has been scrambled, as has a division of regular Jounin and Chunin forces. A civilian has been killed, a team of ANBU agents have been killed; and you try to brush all this off by claiming what exactly?" Hiruzen ranted.
"That I am from the future. We all are." Naruto said. "Me, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Bushy-brows, Tenten, and…AH SHIT!" Naruto cried as he stopped in his tracks when it hit him. "Where's Sai?"
"Who is Sai?" Hiruzen asked.
"Mine and Sakura-chan's teammate. At least he will be. He would be an agent of Root by now. Damn it."
"Root? How do you know about Root?" Hiruzen asked.
"I told you. I'm from the future. At least my mind is. I'm pretty sure this is my old, younger body…" Naruto said as he tugged at his collar to inspect his torso. His chest muscles were smaller, and devoid of the scar over his right lung where Sasuke had once pierced him with his Chidori.
"You really expect me to believe that any of you are from the future?" Hiruzen asked.
"I know it's hard to comprehend. I actually went back in time and I can hardly believe it half the time." Naruto admitted.
"How did you even travel back in time? Scholars have been trying to create a jutsu that would allow time travel since the early days of the Sage of Six Paths."
"That's just it. A few months ago, back in my timeline, some architects discovered the Tomb of the Sage of Six Paths. The walls were covered in ancient writings, listing jutsus that were once thought impossible. One of those jutsus was the Taimu Toraberu no Jutsu. Which translates to Time Travel Jutsu." Naruto explained. "We spent the next several months translating the writing on the wall and concluded that it would work. Although we all thought that it would only send me back in time."
Hiruzen looked at Naruto, trying to gauge his reactions. "Could you replicate this jutsu? Or lead us to the Tomb of the Sage?"
"We spent months just trying to copy down the intricate seal work required to perform the jutsu. I was actually the best fuinjutsu master we had in the Leaf back in my timeline, but there is no way I could recreate it from memory." Naruto admitted. "As for the Tomb, I don't know where it was exactly. I think it was located in a mountain somewhere in the Land of Fire, but I was busy fighting on the front lines while they made the discovery. I was called back to help do the seal work."
"So then you have no proof of your claim?" Hiruzen asked.
"How else do you explain how I know about Itachi?" Naruto pointed out.
"I don't know." Hiruzen admitted as he leaned against the window sill. "There are so many other possibilities other than time travel. None of them are pleasant."
"Well how do I prove it to you?" Naruto insisted. "I want you to believe me, Lord Hokage. But if I can't, me and my friends will find another way. I will protect the Leaf village and save the world myself if I need to."
Hiruzen turned back towards Naruto and, for a split second, he imagined that he would find a man standing beside him, tall and proud like his father, wearing a Jounin vest, a great shinobi of the Leaf like the Third Hokage always hoped he would be in. Instead, he saw a boy dressed in a hospital gown.
The Third Hokage chuckled. "Let's say that I do believe you, what would you ask of me?"
"I'm honestly not certain. Shikamaru is the one with the plans. I plan on making him my advisor when I become Hokage." Naruto smiled.
"Selecting someone smarter than you to advise you? Very wise, Naruto." Hiruzen said. "Perhaps there is more truth to your words than the lack of evidence would suggest. The Naruto I scolded last week would say that he would do the Hokage job all by himself."
"Well I was next in line to be Hokage before I went back in time." Naruto chuckled.
"Which was when exactly?" Hiruzen asked.
"I think I was supposed to jump back in time ten years."
"You think?" Hiruzen questioned.
"The whole seal was written in dead languages that only the Sage knew. We had to consult the Elder Toad and Pervy Sage can tell you how frustrating it is to keep up a conversation with him after he forgets your name mid-sentence." Naruto deadpanned.
Hiruzen burst out laughing. "Pervy Sage, what a perfect nickname for Jiraiya."
"Yeah, he was my mentor before he died." Naruto said sadly.
"And when did he die?" Hiruzen asked.
"Four…five years ago? Or is it from now? It's hard to keep track. I did find out later that he was my godfather." Naruto said.
Hiruzen's mood turned somber. "I see. And if you know about your godfather, you must know about your parents…"
"I do." Naruto nodded. "Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. I actually got to meet them through my father's Four Point Seal he placed on me. He put his and my mother's chakra inside me so that I could talk to them one day."
"I see…" Hiruzen sighed. "Naruto, you must understand…I kept your lineage a secret to protect you. Your father made many enemies in his life, as did your mother. If word had gotten out that they both had a son together, you would be in constant danger every time you stepped outside the Leaf village."
"As opposed to being harassed while inside the Leaf?" Naruto countered.
"I deserve that. Rumors have always circled around you that gave everyone the wrong impression and I could not suppress them without standing atop other people's rights."
"That's bullshit and you know it." Naruto spat. "You could have done so much more."
"And the more I attempted to protect you the more outsiders would question your importance." Hiruzen stated. "And your lineage. I had every intention of revealing your parentage once you had turned 18 or achieved the rank of Jounin."
"Well that day has come." Naruto stated. "Half a day ago, I was 22 and the Head Jounin in the Leaf village. I can defend myself and I don't give a damn who knows my lineage. I didn't come here to rub my parents in everyone's faces. I came here to stop Sasuke from becoming evil."
"And that's another thing? Just what in the world leads young Sasuke to the dark path?" Hiruzen asked. "I knew his path of vengeance would always take him down the wrong path, but I had hoped that his Will of Fire would show him the way back."
Naruto leaned against the window of the hospital, looking out at the village as the sun began to set. Giving the rooftops a kind of magical glow that always made the fighting worth it.
"I don't know. It was the damnedest thing. He did see the light. I helped bring him back to the right side. He helped us win the 4th Shinobi World War and saved the world. Then he went off on a journey of redemption for himself." Naruto said as he remembered handing Sasuke back his headband he had been keeping for 4 long years. He could see it in his best friend's eyes. His vision was clear. He was happy and relieved of all his demons. He was good. "Then a year later, to the day, the roads leading into all of the minor nations bordering the Great Ninja Nations were closed to the Shinobi Alliance. And Sasuke lead a sneak attack on all six of the Allied Nations."
"Six?" Hiruzen asked.
"The Samurai from the Land of Iron were included in the Shinobi Alliance. After they helped us win the 4th War. Their tiny nation was the last to fall before the Land of Fire." Naruto said bitterly.
"Things must have been truly grim if the Samurai ever allied with the Shinobi not once, but twice." Hiruzen said.
"Worse than you'll ever know."
Hiruzen looked out at the four Hokage faces cared into the mountain side. His face stood second from the furthest on the right while beside him was the 4th Hokage, Naruto's father, and Hiruzen's two mentors and masters. The 1st and 2nd Hokage. All of them judging him on his next move.
"I'll trust you, but you need to trust me with more information." Hiruzen decided.
"Then we need to talk to Shikamaru. If I know him, he'll want to have a say in what I tell you." Naruto said.
"You really value his council, don't you?" Hiruzen asked.
"I do." Naruto said. "He and all the other guys are like brothers to me."
"And the girls? Are they all like sisters to you?" Hiruzen asked, making the young Jounin blush.
"Some of them…" Naruto admitted.
Hiruzen smiled. "Then let us not keep them waiting any longer." He said as he motioned to walk back to their hospital room.
"Old man, wait." Naruto said quickly.
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.
Naruto's fist tightened, the Third Hokage could tell what he was about to hear weighed heavily on the young man's shoulders.
"In one year, during the 3rd phase of the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru will kill you. I don't care if it fucks up the timeline by telling you. I don't want you to die." Naruto stated.
Hiruzen just looked at Naruto, imagining a Jounin under his command, reporting to Hiruzen a grave bit of news.
"Thank you for telling me Naruto. I swear, I shall make the appropriate steps to avert this." Hiruzen said.
"Promise?" Naruto asked, reminding Hiruzen of the child he had scolded for his pranks last week.
"I promise." Hiruzen said, visibly lightening the burden on Naruto's shoulders. He turned to walk away but was stopped when he felt tiny arms wrap around his torso in a bone crushing hug.
"I really missed you, Old Man." Naruto cried, making Hiruzen chuckle as he returned the hug.
"It's good to see you again, Naruto. I look forward to meeting the man you have become." Hiruzen smiled. For the brief moment, they weren't Academy student and Hokage, they were grandson and grandfather, hugging for the first time ever.
Back in the hospital room, Sakura was getting impatient. Naruto and the Third Hokage had been gone too long for her tastes. Something everyone cued in on by the constant tapping of her foot.
"I'm going to look for them." Sakura declared as she made her way for the door.
"Sakura, don't." Shikamaru said. "Naruto can handle this."
"I know he can. But this is taking too long. What if the wrong person overheard him and the Third Hokage? What if Danzo overheard him and dragged Naruto off for questioning?" Sakura argued.
"I think we would hear about that." Choji pointed out. "Naruto is not one to go quietly."
"Still, I'm worried." Sakura admitted.
"Seriously, Sakura. You sound like my sister." Kiba said. "Are you his keeper or something?"
"I can't be worried about my teammate?" Sakura snapped.
"Depends, are you as worried for Naruto as you are for Sai?" Shino asked, with a knowing smirk.
"Sai!" Ino cried. "Oh shit! I completely forgot about him! Where is he?!"
"He'd be with the Root." Shikamaru said bluntly.
"Well we have to save him!" Ino exclaimed.
"We will, in time." Shikamaru insisted. "Right now, we need to focus on ourselves. Once Naruto comes back with the Third Hokage we can start planning our strategy. Including how to rescue Sai."
Ino held her pillow tightly, hating that they weren't all freaking out as much as her. Of course, Sai was her boyfriend of 2 years, before they broke up. Ino had thought that Sai was being genuine when he called her beautiful that one time. And the ever emotionally overflowing Ino had somehow taken a liking to the emotionally devoid Sai. Still, such a relationship couldn't last, not with a war on. Ino began the relationship and Ino was the one to end it. Miraculously, without any hard feelings between them. Now Sai was like Shikamaru and Choji. Brothers to Ino, with room in her heart to be something more.
That's when the door swung open and Sakura snapped her head to see Naruto, instead she saw that one ANBU with that stupid walrus mask.
"The Lord Hokage has requested any of you who can stand join him in his office where it is secure." Walrus stated.
"That's all of us." Shikamaru said as he threw back his covers and stood up, followed by each of the time travelers. Only Neji remained behind. Still unconscious from his fight against Sasuke. Tenten's eyes lingered on him.
"Come on, my metal flower." Lee said after catching Tenten staring at Neji longer than he did. "We will see him afterwards."
Tenten finally broke away from Neji. "Right…"
The Konoha 10 leapt out of the beds, took turns in the bathroom to change, and were escorted to the Hokage's office.
One by one they entered the oval office, with the windows looking out the entire Leaf village, and a single desk facing away from the windows. Where the Third Hokage sat and Naruto stood by his side.
They all lined up like Veteran Jounin in front of their Hokage, their heels clicked together and their arms held at their sides.
"Leave us." Hiruzen ordered his ANBU agents, who nodded and exited the office. The door clicked shut and Hiruzen held up his index and middle finger to make half of the seal of the Tiger.
'Silencing Seal.' Hiruzen thought. The room glowed with runes before fading away. Not a sound could escape these walls now. The windows were tinted with runes that prevented even the Byakugan from seeing through the walls.
No one, who wasn't inside the Hokage Office, could hear what would be said.
"So, I take it Naruto managed to convince you?" Shikamaru said, even as he knew the answer.
"He did." Hiruzen replied. "He always wanted to wait until you arrived to explain to me anything more about the future."
"That's exactly it. Count on you, Naruto, to make a smart decision when it counts." Shikamaru praised.
"Um…thanks?" Naruto asked, feeling like he had still been insulted.
"So what has he told you?" Shikamaru asked.
"Besides that my student Orochimaru will kill me in one year during the sneak attack from Sand and Sound? Not much. I understand that Sasuke is a threat that must be stopped at any cost though."
The young ninjas all looked at one another.
"Yes. Just so you know we will do everything in our power to prevent your death. That was always Naruto's first task when he was the one to return to the past alone." Shikamaru said.
"Well you need to forget about the what ifs and what should have been for now. And focus on what you need to do. You have my support, so let's get to work." Hiruzen stated, spreading relief all along the time travelers.
"In that case, we ask that you let us restrict what knowledge of the future we pass on to you." Shikamaru stated.
"And why would I agree to such a thing?" Hiruzen asked.
"Because if word gets out that we are from the future, than everyone with ambition is going to want in on what we know. At best, that would make our information worthless since everyone will be changing their actions. At worst, our enemies will use our knowledge to their own advantage."
"Like Danzo." Naruto spoke up.
Hiruzen stared at the young shinobi. "How much do you know about Danzo?"
"More than I want to know, but less than we need to know." Naruto stated. "We do know that Sasuke will kill him a month before the 4th Shinobi War ends. September 1016 A.S."
"I see. Four and a half years from now." Hiruzen said sadly. "In that case, I recommend that you keep Danzo alive until then."
"Why would we do that?" Sakura asked, knowing exactly how much of a pain in the ass Danzo was to her master Lady Tsunade.
"Not because he is my friend. For whatever evil you may perceive he has done, in his heart I know that he was always thinking of the Leaf." Hiruzen defended.
'Just like me and Sasuke.' Naruto thought.
"Yeah, thinking of how to rule the Leaf." Kiba bluntly muttered.
"He has a point. What if Root managed to divert a catastrophe from the Leaf without the Hokage or the regular ANBU ever knowing about it?" Shino pointed out.
"Fine, but what about Sai?" Ino spoke up. "He was still an agent of Root around this time. He's probably trapped in some windowless underground bunker, scared and alone!"
"Give him some credit, Ino." Choji spoke up. "Sai's probably not scared."
His point was met with a stink eye from Ino.
"He's right. Sai is smart. He's probably keeping his emotions in check and playing the role of a good Root agent." Naruto said. "If anyone could maintain his cover being back in time its him."
"That's all well and good for now, but shouldn't we make steps to freeing him? We can't wait until he's accomplished all the possible good he could accomplish in 4 years. Sai joined you and Sakura on Team 7 after 3 years. Should we even wait that long?" Hinata pointed out.
"No idea." Naruto said deep in thought. "I never heard Sai talk about any of the missions he went on back when he worked for Danzo. I figured they weren't the kind of missions you'd ever want to talk about."
"Neither did I. But since we are back to being 12 years old, Sai should have his tongue seal again, preventing him from revealing any of Danzo's secrets." Sakura pointed out.
"He told me about some of his missions." Ino said sadly. "He was forced to do awful things. Killing innocent people. People that helped the Root on their missions but Danzo didn't want any loose ends. Or any family members to go looking for those loose ends." She spat.
"So we need to free Sai as soon as possible without tipping Danzo off that we or Sai are from the future." Shikamaru summarized.
"I think it's safe to assume that he already knows about us." Shino spoke up. "Our arrival was very public and very noticeable. Not to mention all of the ANBU agents that got involved. It would be dumb luck if Danzo didn't put 2 and 2 together."
"All anyone outside of this room knows is that there was a fight at the Academy by the 8 of us against Sasuke. And that Naruto used an extremely advanced barrier jutsu for his age." Shikamaru clarified. "That will get Danzo's attention, but it hardly suggests that he is a time traveler."
"Yes, but Sasuke is heading for Orochimaru's right now. And Orochimaru and Danzo were partners in their day. They shared intel and provided resources for each other." Naruto said.
"Well it doesn't matter right now. We can't do anything in our current state." Lee pointed out. Everyone muttered in agreement.
"My thoughts exactly. As many things as we want to accomplish, we won't be any use to anyone until we train to get our bodies back up to our old levels." Shikamaru stated.
"So we're just going to go back to the Academy and train up like we used to?" Kiba mocked.
"Of course, not. We're dropping out of school and we're going to get to our high intensity training right off the bat." Shikamaru stated. "No need to relearn any jutsus, we just need to increase our chakra capacity and our physical abilities."
"Drop out of school? What are our parents going to say?" Ino asked.
"That's where the 3rd Hokage comes in." Shikamaru said slyly as he turned towards the grandfather of the Leaf village.
"What do you have in mind?" Hiruzen asked with his hands held together, laying on his desk.
"I want you to create a secret squad. An ANBU training program for exceptional individuals. Have all our parents think we have been chosen for the fast track to the rank of ANBU. The elite of the elite." Shikamaru smirked at his genius plan. All the rest of the Konoha 11 looked at him in awe of this plan.
Hiruzen paused to mull this over. "You want to start your own special squad of 3-4 teams to allow yourselves to complete your mission to save the world without being interrupted? I assume you would also like a secret clubhouse to meet up at?" Hiruzen mused.
Shikamaru and the rest just stared at the Hokage, who coughed.
"My apologies, it is still hard to remember that you are all 22."
"Apologies nothing, a secret clubhouse sounds awesome." Naruto said in awe, making his more serious teammates groan.
"Naruto…" Sakura groaned at his childishness.
"What, Sakura-chan? It's like we're time traveling secret agents and now we get a kick ass clubhouse!" Naruto exclaimed with his eyes sparkling.
"Oh yeah! And then maybe the ANBU can hook us up with x-ray glasses and decoder rings." Kiba said sarcastically.
"You think?" Naruto gasped.
"No, you dork!" Kiba exclaimed.
"I will see to finding you all a base of operation that will offer you privacy and access to everything you need to complete your mission." Hiruzen interrupted. "I assume you will want to be able to live in the base?"
"It would be the safest option." Shikamaru said.
"Oh no, I am not becoming a hermit with all of you." Ino stated firmly.
"We wouldn't be hermits, Ino." Shikamaru said. "We could leave and see our families every now and again, but we need to limit our contact with them to reduce the risk of any of us revealing our identities. Need I remind you that you living in a clan compound of mind readers?"
Ino grumbled at his unfailing logic. "Fine. Swear to God there had better be plenty of closest space."
"And private rooms." Sakura added. "I'm not bunking with six other guys while they go through puberty."
'Oh please, you'd love that. Or more accurately, you'd love it if you only had to bunk with your remaining immediate teammate.' Inner smirked.
"Oh, like I want to spend the next few years sleeping next to a bunch of girls going through puberty. God forbid they each start bleeding during their own separate week and I'll never get the smell out of my nose." Kiba said before he was simultaneously hit in the head by three fists and a mace.
"So, I'll put separate rooms high on the list of priorities." Hiruzen said as he considered writing all this down.
"Since we're taking requests, I'd like a fully stocked kitchen to cook with." Choji said. "If it's gonna be our home, might as well make it feel like one."
"Oh, I second that." Naruto said, remembering all the delicious meals that Choji could make out of a campfire and a few days' rations. Give him a genuine kitchen and he would make it sing.
"We should also get a Television with cable." Shino says.
"You want to watch TV?" Hinata asked.
"I want to watch the news. We can't expect the Hokage to give us all of the ANBU intelligence reports and we can't be expected to sort through all the relative data. Having the news channel on could help keep us in the loop on what the consequences of our actions." Shino stated. Everyone nodded at his logic.
"I would also ask for our own private underground training grounds, but that might be a bit much." Shikamaru said.
"For practicing your techniques that you all shouldn't know yet." Hiruzen realized. "I'm afraid you'll have to settle for your usual training grounds for now."
"Very well." Shikamaru sighed. "We will need to bring in our Jounin-sensei into the loop. They'll be of great help in future missions and in training us."
"I'll see to gathering them. You will all have to return to your hospital beds for the night, to ensure that your chakra exhaustion is absolutely healed. Knowing Naruto, he will be pushing himself to his limits in training soon enough." Hiruzen joked.
"That's a given." Sakura stated.
"Hey, come on, we can all do stupid and reckless things too." Kiba complained.
"Screw you all." Naruto stated, making everyone including the Jinchuriki laugh.
Author's Note: Spaceorbis, bad news, the Monopoly money turned out to be made of air. I know that will make exchanging it for real money harder but… Ah Hell, I'm sure you don't mind. Do you?
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think via Review so that I can feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Well, see you next time.
Actually, hold on... SageModeSasuke convinced me to write a quick little omake about another way Naruto convincing Hiruzen could have gone. Check it out.
"The tree leaves fall backwards..." Naruto said as everyone looked on him with confusion. He said that he knew how to convince the Third Hokage that they were all time travelers, but what were confusing words like those supposed to do?
"Impossible." Hiruzen whispered. He had heard of that password from the scrolls meant only for the eyes of the Hokage, but he never dreamed he would hear those words spoken to him in his lifetime.
"You're from the future..." Hiruzen stated.
"Believe it." Naruto said.
Yeah, a password that only the Hokage would know in case any Leaf ninja ever found themselves sent back in time. But it seemed to quick and I could think of a number of ways Hiruzen could still doubt Naruto's claim of being a time traveler, so I went with the longer way. What do you think? Should I have gone with the other way or did I make the right choice?