Hey guys, early update here! I'm going to be super busy this weekend due to going to a convention and I'm also sick soooooooooo I wanted to have this be posted when I was not as busy. Fair warning: Emotional rollercoaster for the next few chapters, hope you guys have your seatbelts fastened. The ride starts with Jiraiya vs Pein. Also if I screw up something, I will fix it almost instantly. Like I said, I'm sick so mistakes are bound to happen, sorry!

Thank you guys for the fave, follows and reviews! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Amikotsu: Phew, good to know I wrote the romance bit okay enough. I was reading a ton of romance fanfics beforehand and decided to try it out, my beta was so concerned because I usually write fluff. I really didn't have any themes or plans with the babies names being themed, it was more of a "Oh… hey. Beautiful ocean and death water!" kind of moment.

wyattharto8: Awww thanks. I'm already working on a future chapter where we see Deidara acting like a mom and so far it's been a blast writing it. :D

Mad167: I'm going to be honest with you, your suggestion had me try to write that because I had so many ideas that would work for it… I ended up hating the chapter and deleting it. It's really cool, but shortly after Deidara realizes he's in the canon timeline he completely breaks down realizing many that he love and care for (like Kimimaro) are either dead or his enemy. Soooooo while I like the idea, I do not want to break Deidara down with the harsh realities that would imply.

VenaHope: My lips are sealed when it comes to Shisui, gonna have to wait and find out. :P Orochimaru will indeed come back, that dude is like a cockroach, he doesn't die he just deages. I have a theory that everytime he comes back via the curse mark he has the same mentality of when he made the mark, so when he came back briefly using Sasuke's mark he was still crazy and wanted Sasuke's body. On the other hand, Anko's mark was made when he was more interested in knowledge than the sharingan and was more calm back then, so that may explain why.

ElysiumPhoenix: Babies are finally here! Yeah, Sasuke needs to work on his timing, or at the very least learn to knock lol.

cdog1019: It's the Warner Brothers animated movie Anastasia.

Ringo1327: Not gonna say, as I have said before, everyone's fates were determined via coin flip. You'll learn within the next few chapters.

Pr1nc3ss K3nny: Yeah I learned a lot about pregnancy, but not many talk about twins. I don't mind the random facts hun, I love learning new things and it makes it all the more fun when something new enters my mind. :3

Joeriezeilay: Thanks for reading! Glad you liked it!

midnight-flurry: Yeah, sadly I didn't want him living to be all sugarplums and rainbows, I wanted some kind of consequence for him living and being paralyzed was the one that made the most sense to me. But at the very least he can live to see his daughter grow up into a fine kunoichi. :)

Yurei Hanatsuki: I may add in a bit later where Kimi meets Jugo. Depends on my mood, but it will most likely happen.

AkabaneKazama: Love your energy and I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Hope you catch up soon hun! :D

shanefrost23: Team Hebi/Taka won't actually be created in this fic, Suigetsu doesn't really care about Sasuke and will stick with Kisame most of the time and Karin is loyal to Deidara and the girls (Hinata, Ino and Sakura) more so than Sasuke. The only one from the original team that will stick with Sasuke is Jugo as he is controlled by Sasuke's sharingan.

Bcp2005: I'll be finished when I'm finished. I still have the war arc and the epilogue to deal with.

MelonLordOfMelons: I'm actually going to have a chapter completely devoted to unused side story ideas after the invasion arc (like how the anime went into flashback land for several episodes) so I will include when Suigetsu actually meets Kisame there. :3

A guide for how I write Pein and his paths:

Deva path/ Pein: Yahiko body.

Petra path: chakra absorb

Naraka path: Summons the freaky demon thing and reanimates other paths.

Animal path: self explanatory

Human path: The one that hits your head and takes your soul. Long haired Pein.

Asura path: Machines. Boom.

I'm going with the english names because the Japanese ones are... yeesh, look them up, I am not going to keep track if I used those.

Warning: Violence, language (I keep forgetting to add that warning), dramatic and emotional moments (not gonna specify due to spoilers).

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... it would be a lot more tragic if I did.


Every day for the past four days I would be with the twins. I would bottle feed them, change them, and help the nurses do their check up. In my past life, this would be impossible, but hey… perks of being an ANBU with some basic medical experience. Each day I could see them getting stronger, well... as strong as newborns possibly could, and thankfully Anko's breast milk was full of nutrients for them thanks to the diet I was making her take. I'm so grateful she agreed to use a breast pump, she apparently hated the feeling of nursing and was more than happy to keep those two away from her nipples. Apparently she's afraid they will bite her... reasonable enough, Shisui didn't seem fond of being near her chest and screamed the first time we tried to get him to nurse.

Suigetsu and Jugo are under constant watch for the time being, after a loooonnnnngggg conversation with Sasuke and Tsunade, things settled down to a basic agreement. Suigetsu is under watch by Kisame while Sasuke was incharge of babysitting Jugo, as he could control the boy. I wasn't surprised at all, I've theorized that the timeline would force itself to be fixed at some point and it was only a matter of time I would meet those two teenagers. I'll most likely message Zabuza in seeing if he would want to pass down his sword techniques to the water boy, if Zabuza doesn't want him I think Kisame was interested in training the boy.

Now I just need to figure out how to make sure Orochimaru doesn't turn into a crazy asshole if he comes back. Kabuto's gone under the radar so he'll be using edo tensei soon, if not already.

"Congratulations. Not many can brag having twins." Looking up while burping Shisui, I see Jiraiya leaning against the doorframe. He had a peaceful grin on his face, but his eyes spoke another language…

"Thank you Jiraiya-sama, not many can brag being married to an Uchiha either, un." I chuckle softly, pleased hearing Shisui burp. Setting him in his incubator, I step out of the room and the hospital with Jiraiya, "What are you up to?"

I hear Jiraiya gulp as my tone dropped the motherly act, "Ah… heheh… not one to waste time huh?"

"And you're one known for wasting others' time, specifically my brother's, un."

The sannin deadpans, "Touché… I'm going to Amegakure." He cannot be serious… a pause… nope, no grin. He's serious.

Incoming unhappy Deidara.

"You have got to be joking. You… I told you who the leader of the Akatsuki was, I translated that part of my notebook and sent it to you! Why would you go there?! Are you stupid, un?!" My voice began to crack as I was now screaming in his face, smacking the back of my hand with my palm in emphasis. People would pause to see the commotion, but quickly walked away realizing it was me.

Jiraiya holds his hands in front of him in surrender, "Look kid, I know the leader is Nagato… but, I have to go. As his former teacher, it is my job to take down my former students before they do more harm." Yep, he's stupid.

"This isn't just about being his teacher isn't it? It's for your stupid pride and grief over Orochimaru's death, un!" Jiraiya stared at me slack-jawed, "Nagato won't drop his goals for you! If you go to Ame, you'll die. End of the line. You'll… you… already know this… I told you..."

Jiraiya refuses to meet my eye, "I have to go and face Nagato. I want Naruto to take my legacy, and you might be missing some information on the rinnegan."

No I'm not! I know Pein's abilities! Why is he so stubborn?! "Fine… then I'm going with, un." Damnit, I am not going to lose Jiraiya, doesn't matter how important his death was to Naruto's growth.

Jiraiya's face hardened, "No. This isn't your fight. Stay out of it Deidara, focus on your family… your children and Naruto."

I shake my head stubbornly, "You have got to be kidding me if you think I'm just gonna let you waltz over to Pein and di-"

I didn't even realize Jiraiya moved until darkness consumed me.

Several hours later

When I came to, Itachi was preparing one of my pouches. Odd. Sitting up, I rest my forehead in the palm of my hand, "Ugh… Itachi…?"

"I can't stop you from going after Jiraiya, but promise me that you'll back off if things get too rough." He looks at me with pleading eyes as he hands me my pouches. Filled with clay, explosive tags and scrolls, "Pein will not take your appearance kindly…"

I stare at the pouches in amazement, I was expecting an argument with Itachi, or him at least trying to hold me back. I guess… he understands. Getting on my knees I plant a kiss on his cheek, "I promise… I'll use jutsu that will keep me at a safe distance, un." It pained me to see the expression on Itachi's face, it was the embodiment of worry… but… I had to try.

Making the fastest bird I possibly could, I fly off to Amegakure. It wasn't raining like normal, so that means Pein and Jiraiya were fighting somewhere. An explosion in the distance gave away their location, which was the tallest tower in the village.

Flying overhead, I can see Jiraiya missing an arm and the 6 Peins all standing in front of him like the badasses they were. Petra path looks up at me, causing deva path, aka Pein, to also look at me. Within seconds, I had 10 rinnegans staring at me, the last 2 eyeballs were focused on Jiraiya to make sure he didn't escape or attack.

"I should have expected you to show up, Deidara."

Jiraiya shoots his head up seeing my bird as well, "What the hell are you doing here kid?!" The elder toads were looking at Jiraiya like he's gone crazy, but they were also lost as to who I was. It took them a moment to realize I was the one the toad sage spoke about in the past.

"Gotta make sure my brother's godfather stays alive, un!" With dramatic flare, I leap off the bird to slam my hand on the water, "Summoning jutsu: edo tensei!" Jiraiya froze as coffins appear on either side of me, lids slowly falling and the sound of armor clinging rang in everyone's ears.

"You… you've used that forbidden jutsu? Why would you use such a forbidden technique…?" His shoulders slack when Tobirama and Hashirama step out of the coffins, "The Shodai and Nidaime Hokage… to think I'd meet them in my lifetime."

Tobirama stared up at the 6 paths in contemplation, "What is going on here, Deidara?" He glares down at me, obviously wanting answers. Hashirama was more interested in Jiraiya though, eyes lighting up in realization.

"Ooooh! You're Hiruzen's student and Tsuna's friend! The perverted one!" That… made me chuckle, if only for a moment as Jiraiya momentarily made a doom cloud.

I would have answered Tobirama's question, had it not been for the familiar sound of fluttering paper heading in my direction. I though Konan left the area after animal path washed away the oils on her? "They all share their fields of vision with each other, the fat one absorbs chakra. Good luck, un." Leaping back onto my bird, I made sure to keep my patterns wild as Konan gave chase.

I glared at the hundreds… no… thousands of papers flying at me, trying to learn a pattern that never existed, "Come on Konan! Why are you and Nagato working with that guy? He's using you both! If something happens to either of you, he'll just dispose of the other and take Nagato's eyes for himself, un!" Now I was not only picking up speed, but I was ripping off any paper that got on me and was dodging the chaos down below, barely missing many of the jutsus that strayed towards me. Well, the Hokages' jutsus were strays... not so sure about the others.

While Jiraiya was preparing his jutsu to capture a path, the Hokages were working on learning Pein's patterns. Deva and naraka path kept their distance while petra path was going ham on the chakra absorption. Hashirama was more on the observation side while Tobirama was spamming jutsu after jutsu, good thing we're on water.

'Wait a minute… 1… 3… 5… where's human path?!' My heart stopped when I realized what Pein was doing, he was distracting the Hokages! This was a bad idea, Hashirama can't use woodstyle here, there wasn't any earth*, "Release!"

Just as human path emerged from the water behind Hashirama, I trapped the brothers in their coffins. Due to the speed of which the coffins popped up, human path's chin collided with the wood at a force in which any living human would have broken their jaw, but in his case it was just a very satisfying thunk sound. Jiraiya had vanished from sight and now all the Peins were watching Konan continue her relentless chase towards me. I was completely covered in paper cuts, which will hurt like a bitch when the adrenaline leaves me, but at least Pein didn't get near my Kages.

… Yep, I'm possessive.

Getting dizzy from all the loops I've had to do to avoid this woman, I try again, "Listen Konan, I don't want to fight you," mostly cause you're kicking my ass, "but I also don't want Jiraiya to die. Please just let me leave with him and I'll keep away from this village, I'll even trade information that would be valuable to the Akatsuki, un!" I couldn't handle the idea of Jiraiya dying, it was bad enough when I watched it for the first time in the anime… this time I've befriended him and got to know him as a real person. I don't want to lose him.

Again, she said nothing and kept her attacks, earning me more cuts and her own paper starting to turn red with my blood. Damn, I'm not going to have a repeat of my encounter with Hidan, I need to get us away from Amegakure.

Hearing the sound of something going under, I notice animal path has vanished. Thankfully, Konan stopped attacking me, so I allowed myself to breath out my relief, "Thank Kam- YIPE!" I had to literally do a barrel roll off my bird when human path decided to drop by for a visit. With Jiraiya currently missing in action, I was Pein's object of attention at the moment. He seemed more focused on getting human path close to me… meaning he's aiming to kill.

Needless to say, I needed an adult… specifically one with sharingans.

Laced with sarcasm I slam my hand in the water after weaving hand signs, "Alright chakra, you know what I fucking want, give me the lord of poofs and his brother, un." Two new coffins appeared, once again catching deva path's attention.

"You are rather open with your jutsus, it's a shame that such talent was not able to join the Akatsuki." To be frank, if I had joined the Akatsuki, everyone would be dead and you all would have won before Naruto became a genin, "But that never happened, instead, we are enemies. Shinra tensei!"

Pein's jutsu force me back to the point where I slammed into the metallic walls of the Akatsuki base. The coffins remained unmoved… until Madara kicked the door open due to me yelping in pain from impact. Izuna was more graceful, sliding the lid open then stepping out onto the water.

Madara observed the five in front of him with a calculating gaze, "Ah… The rinnegan, such memories… there's only 5 paths." He looks around before looking at me, for a split second his face was laced with concern, "Are you okay?"

I groan as I feel the bruising already forming on my shoulders, "Yeah, I'm okay... Jiraiya-sama took animal path under with him, I need you two to help keep Pein busy so I can get him out of here, un." I look over to see Pein staring at Madara in… interest? It's hard to get a read on a corpse.

I could practically feel Nagato oozing out his discomfort and overall confusion from his hiding spot. Hell, I would too if my enemy suddenly summoned someone that was supposed to be my boss… holy shit alliteration at its finest.

After a brief pause, deva and petra path stepped in front of the Uchiha brothers while the rest stayed back. Oh, so now that they have sharingan you're gonna keep human path away? Thanks a lot Nagato! I quickly returned to the safety of my bird as all hell broke loose below me. Thankfully for my already cut-up skin, Konan was nowhere in sight.

Madara didn't see the point in using Susano-o in this fight, so he just danced around the paths to look for an opening to naraka path which was kept far away from him. Izuna was more interested in petra path, trying to see if there was a limit in how much chakra can be absorbed. I don't blame either of them for treating these fights like a game, Madara knows more about the rinnegan than anyone here and Izuna… he's just cocky in general, it's how he died in the first place. Not to mention both are in their prime with no limit on chakra… They're fine.

Satisfied in seeing that Madara was keeping the other paths away from me, I focus my scope onto the waters in hopes of finding Jiraiya. If the man was smart, he would have fled by now, but lo and behold, I see white hair begin to poke out of the water. Asura path was also gone but the Uchiha's were too distracted by their opponents, Pein was watching Jiraiya from the distance. I quickly make a nosedive for Jiraiya, "Get out of the water!"

It was too late, asura path launched Jiraiya out of the water, crushing his throat in the process. Pein took the opportunity to use shinra tensei on the brothers, sending them back as far as he possibly could while the other paths launched at Jiraiya. I twists my birds body to hover above the water as I watched in horror as Jiraiya was stabbed with chakra rods, asura path aiming his missile filled arm at me to keep me away.

The anime came to me like a series of flashbacks, why was this happening? Why did Jiraiya come here in the first place? He had no reason to come here. Was this just the stupid Universe reminding me that I wasn't some god that can change every little detail? Because I'm not, I'm human and I'm stubborn enough to where I'll change as much fate as I can. I'm not going to lose Jiraiya...

I drop a series of C1's to get the paths away from Jiraiya, "Guys! A diversion please, un!"

Madara looked to his brother, who nodded and the two weaved a set of… very iconic hand signs, "Fire style…"

Izuna finished the second half, "Great fireball jutsu!"

Like hellfire had a spitting contest with itself, a wall of flames blocked the paths from myself and Jiraiya. I couldn't see what was going on from their side but I didn't care. I carefully pulled Jiraiya onto the bird along with the elder toad. We were in the air just as Pein used shinra tensei to disburse the flames.

The Uchiha brothers unsummoned themselves as a I picked up speed on heading to Konoha. I pull out the scroll Itachi packed me and open it, relieved that it's full of medical supplies. Taking my ribbon, I undo my hair and quickly retie it back completely, giving me an Edward Elric kind of look.

"Fukasaku-sama, please guide me in how to patch Jiraiya-sama up, un." I needed to move fast if I wanted to stop the bleeding. The elder toad quickly began instructing me in pulling out the rods and pressing cloth over the holes to cover them. But Jiraiya was giving me a look I didn't like, he was starting to lose conscious.

My heart rate increased, "Jiraiya stay with me you idiot, don't you dare pass out on me! You have to stay awake!" I press more on the wounds, careful of his lungs, I'm certain one of them collapsed during the stabs, "If you can't stay awake for me, then do it for Naruto!"

"Deidara-chan!" Fukasaku tried to scold me for something, but I kept going.

"You can't miss out Naruto's life, you're his godfather! You need to be the one to see him off when he marries Hinata! Be there when he has his brat of a son and his powerful and beautiful daughter! He becomes Hokage just like his father, the Nanadaime Hokage! He gets this stupid haircut and everything, you need to be alive to see it, un!" I watch Jiraiya give me a smile, as if thanking me, his eyes becoming dull.

"You can't die, damn you! Do you hear me?! We're almost to Konoha, Tsunade can heal you! I'm not going to lose you because the timeline is trying to fix itself! I-"

"Deidara-chan!" The toad puts his hand over mine, slowly shaking his head, "Jiraiya-chan is already…"

I place two fingers against his neck… no pulse… I hit pressure points, no reaction. No breath... no blinks… nothing. My hands shook as they slowly crawled up my face, tears were leaking from my eyes as my mind burned the image of his dying expression into my memories.

'No… nonononononono… why? Why? Why did he give up? Why did he… he…'

ANBU came running as my agonizing scream reached the borders of Konoha and beyond.

Sometime later

'I can't look at him…'

I was now at the hospital, Sakura was healing injuries I had gotten, but I'm certain that I'm in the wrong room. There were two tables in front of me, one held the burnt body of the animal path, being heavily examined by Shizune and some other medical shinobi. The other table… had Jiraiya. Tsunade and Naruto were standing by the table looking at him. Sasuke and Kimimaro were also in the room, keeping close to Naruto and ready to give support if needed, Itachi was standing next to me.

I couldn't look at my brother, those dull blue eyes staring blankly at his godfather. I couldn't look at anyone, not Naruto, not Itachi, not even Tsunade. I just kept my eyes locked on the animal path, as that was the only thing in here that was void of judgements or thoughts.

"Deidara-nii… why did pervy sage die?" I flinched hearing how hollow Naruto's voice was, he sounded like his spirit was broken at this point… I don't blame him if that is the case.

"... He insisted on facing the leader of the Akatsuki alone… I joined in the middle of the battle… I…" I bow my head, everything, even gravity felt heavy all of the sudden, "I'm sorry Naruto… I don't know why he went there in the first place, un."

"I should have gone with him." I feel Naruto's anger wave throughout the room, "I should have fought the Akatsuki leader beside him!" Out of anything he could have said… that was the most childish thing possible.

Lifting my head up, my face twists into a glare, "Naruto, at your state you would have been a hindrance for Jiraiya and would have gotten captured by the Akatsuki. The last thing he would have wanted would be for his godson to die all because of his actions." Naruto mirrored my glare, the tension in the room rose to the point where it was nearly suffocating, neither one of us backed down from the other's stare, "Do you really think you could have taken down Pein? Jiraiya had sage mode, I had jutsus you couldn't even image were under my belt, neither of us were any match for him. What could you have done that didn't involve you using the Kyuubi, un?"

Even with his abilities to use seals, even if by chance Sasuke was with him, he wouldn't survive against Pein if petra path was around to absorb every jutsu out there. Without nature chakra, Pein is all but untouchable when the other paths were with him.

"Then why didn't you take him away?! I know you have the ability to completely wipe someone from existence! Your C4 could have killed him, why didn't you use that, dattebayo?!" Naruto's face turned red as he yelled at me, fists clenching up.

My lips pull into a snarl, "Did it ever occur to you, Naruto… that I am not someone who will kill my enemies at a given notice? I have my reasons for not killing them, I wanted Jiraiya alive as much as anyone else… but those two… It's the same reasons as why I kept Sasori alive." They deserve another chance at life, one free from Obito and Zetsu's manipulation.

"So you chose them over pervy sage…" My mind goes blank at Naruto's words… did I really…?

Suddenly, Naruto stormed out of the room, as he turned I saw tears begin to leak from the corner of his eyes, Sasuke looked at me in interest, "You're not going to go talk to him?" Even Tsunade broke out of her daze to look at me.

I shake my head, brushing off Sakura's comforting hand to stand up, "To be frank Sasuke, I'm the last person he would want to see right now, un." All I wanted to do now was throw up, so I did. I pushed Kimimaro, who had approached me, away and ran for the bathrooms as the pressure in the back of my throat built up. I barely made it in time to lose my lunch and whatever bile was in my gut. After several minutes of nothing but vomiting and yelling in anger, I begin washing my mouth out in the sink. Everyone remained in the autopsy room, wanting us both to have our space.

Well, almost everyone was giving us space.

"You can't blame Jiraiya-sama for his actions… nor should you blame yourself for his death." Tilting my head to the left, I see Kakashi leaning against the sink counter, reading his book as if nothing happened, "Death is inevitable and he chose this path."

I rub my eyes, "But why would he go to Amegakure? I told him everything to know about Pein and Konan, he knows that they're his students and he knew that if he went there he would die! Why would he be so reckless?!" I look to Kakashi, hoping for answers or guidance from him. If he hadn't gone to the village, I wouldn't have had to make the choices I did, and he would still be alive.

Kakashi sighed and closed his book, "Put yourself in his shoes, what if that was Naruto and Sasuke? What would you do?"

I scoff, "They would never betray the villa-"

"Minami and Shisui."

I pause as Kakashi locked his eye with mine, neither of us moved as the two names sinked into my head. Minami and Shisui were babies, barely able to keep their eyes open for a few minutes. Was he seriously suggesting…?

"You're treading dangerous waters there, Hatake…" Fibers of marble and wood started splitting off the counter from my grip, slowly tightening on the material as rage was building up.

Kakashi didn't back down, "I am, and I'm asking you to think about this. If your son and daughter betrayed the village, and were considering destroying it and taking over the world just like the Akatsuki… what would you do? Allow them to run free?"

I couldn't move, and stayed in my spot for a long time as Kakashi stared at me, waiting for a response. The idea was… in all honesty… not impossible. I cannot predict my children's lives like I could with everyone else, what would I do…? My body began to shake as I started to understand Jiraiya more. He was the one that trained the Ame trio, left them to fend for themselves and in some ways is what built the Akatsuki. He didn't make the organization of S-ranked criminals, but he trained the leaders of a rebel group that became manipulated by those with evil intentions. Jiraiya didn't go because of pride or because of the idea that he was their teacher it was his responsibility to stop them.

He blamed himself for the Akatsuki's birth… he wanted redemption for his choices….

Kakashi rested his hand on my head as I had gone silent, "I understand that you want to change things… but some things cannot be changed even if you tried."

"I didn't try hard enough." Kakashi tilts his head, "I could have killed Konan, and Pein… but I… I couldn't… I didn't want to… I… I…" I chose them over Jiraiya, I chose two people who keep wanting to kill me over my own brother's godfather.

"You're beginning to break down, breathe Deidara." Kakashi coaxes me to return my breathing to normal, "You didn't want to kill them, there's no shame in that. Now… tell me, Jiraiya-sama died smiling… what did you tell him?"

My head bowed low, hair completely covering my face, "That Naruto gets married… has kids… becomes Hokage…"

"Then he allowed himself to go knowing that Naruto had a bright future ahead of him."

He was right, what could I have done to prevent his death? Even with the edo tensei, it's no match for the rinnegan and the 6 paths, Madara didn't even have the rinnegan in that fight. Unless I kill Nagato, there's really no way to kill Pein and I… I just couldn't kill them… even at the cost of Jiraiya's life.

"I'm sorry… I'm so… so sorry…" Tears leaked from my eyes as Kakashi pulls me into a hug, "I'm so sorry!" My tears became uncontrollable sobs as my voice wailed out in heartache. I can't pick both options anymore, I can no longer end a battle with both living. Like with Asuma, to keep him alive I had to kill Hidan and Kakuzu. For in the hopes of Nagato and Konan surviving, Jiraiya's fate remained unchanged, but even then I'm at the risk of losing them too. I wasted the perfect chance of saving Jiraiya over selfish desires.

After a moment, Kakashi removed himself from me and a new body took his place. The smell of miso and similar height allowed my overworked mind to register that I was hugging Naruto, Iruka remained in the hallway, having been the one to go comfort Naruto. I hug him tighter, like a lifeline, my face buried itself in his shoulder as a new wave of tears came out.

"I'm sorry Naruto… I'm sorry that I'm a selfish, stupid human that tries to play god. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep Jiraiya alive… I'm so sorry for failing you-"

Naruto cuts me off by gently placing his hand on top of my head, "It's not your fault, you can't undo your choices. I wanted... I wanted him to see me become Hokage. But.. I can't blame you for his death… thank you... for trying and bringing him home, Deidara-nii." He nuzzles his face against the side of my head, causing more sobs to escape my throat. But as I held my brother, a new thought occured.

Jiraiya's body is in Konoha… he's in Konoha… his DNA is not at the bottom of the ocean.

Snapping my head up, reason and logic leave my body as I tore away from Naruto and ran to the autopsy room. I slam the door open, making everyone jump from shock, I must look insane right now but I didn't care.

"Destroy Jiraiya's body! Now!"

Tsunade look to me in confusion an grief, "He should be buried. Why would we destroy his body?" I didn't care if Team 7 was within hearing range anymore. If the timeline wanted to be the same for this, then I'm gonna make damn certain it stays the same completely!

"Kabuto is creating an army of reanimated corpses, Jiraiya's body is suppose to be in the bottom of the ocean right now! If his body remains here then Kabuto could bring him back, un!" Naruto had froze in his place right behind me, while Kimimaro's eyes lit up in realization. Sakura wasn't sure what to think of my claims, and Sasuke was quick to prepare a fireball jutsu without question.

But Sasuke didn't need to worry about that though. One familiar shing later and Jiraiya's body was enveloped in black flames. Itachi's eye bled as the flames ate away at the body. Everyone stood there gaping as after a minute, it was like there was nothing there anymore. Amaterasu ate it away, ash and all.

At first, Naruto's face twisted in anger… but then confusion, "How… do you know that he's doing something like that? Why did Itachi followed what you said without hesitation? What the hell is going on Deidara-nii, dattebayo?!"

It's too late for regret, too late to back out of what I just said, it's time to tell them the truth. If Kabuto starts making his moves now, I need their full cooperation in order to beat and hopefully kill that slimy wannabe serpent.

"I am-"

"Hokage-sama!" No… I'm not the Hokage?

We turn our head to see an ANBU appear in front of Tsunade, by his body language, something was wrong. At first, he seemed hesitant to tell her the news with so many witnesses here, but I recognized him, he was on my squad. Flashing him a sign, he gives me a brief nod before continuing his report.

"We have received word that team b has gone missing, and at the same time several graves have been broken into. We sent another team in and all they could find were signs of snakes."

Everyone froze on the spot as they all looked at me, team 7 had expressions that demanded answers, and I'm more than willing to share. They're ready now. Kimimaro has been ready for years now, but he hasn't not bothered questioning me, not since our first encounter with Kabuto when I promised to tell him the truth when I killed him… He's alive… but I didn't want to exclude Kimi from this.

"I am a soul reborn in a body that was not originally mine… and I have knowledge of a timeline… a 'future' that I have been changing from day one."


I'm so sorrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyy TT-TT my beta and I spent a long time trying to decide Jiraiya's fate, and even after we decided, we were still debating on how this would go. Using the edo tensei summons could have easily saved Jiraiya, but logically speaking I would have to kill Pein and Konan in the process, and I didn't want them to die at this point. (I am still not going to say if they live or die yet) I'm sorry if anyone disagrees with my choices, but this is my story and I will write it how I see fit; I do not want this to be one of those stories where every time Deidara tries something, it ends with him succeeding, that is not how life works.

On a side note: Deidara will not use edo tensei to bring Jiraiya back, not only would that disrespect Jiraiya finding peace with himself, but also because he would not like being brought back in such a jutsu. Madara and the others don't mind because they know that once Deidara is done, he would release his hold on them and they want to see what this generation has in store for them.

If anyone has noticed, I keep on mentioning that the timeline is fixing itself. I am a believer that even if you travel back in time to change something, another new event will happen later on to create a similar moment or have it happen regardless. The prime example is how Sasuke and Jiraiya still followed similar paths fighting Orochimaru and Pein, but for different reasons compared to the anime. This is why some arcs (like the Sora arc) happened and for the most part stayed the same, but with changes in it (like him getting captured by the Akatsuki). The timeline is not trying to revert back to its original form, but it is trying to get some events to happen in order to remain balanced. Sorry if this is confusing, but it's my explanation for why some things changed while others didn't.

* Note that in the anime, we never see Yamato or Hashirama use woodstyle in any location that does not have at least some earth/stone. I do not think that it can be used in a place like Ame because in the locations they are fighting, it is just water and metal.

Next chapter is the invasion… that's gonna be fun. I'm breaking that arc into two chapters… so yeah. Spoiler alert: Cliffhanger next week.

As always, reviews are loved and I will see you all next weekend with a chapter I have been prepping since late December.

Bye!