Author's Notes: I AM SO HAPPY! 57 Reviews, 105 Favs and 177 Follows! I'd like to thank everyone for their continued support as it is truly appreciated. Leave a Review or PM me because it really motivates me to keep writing. Now, some people have been concerned that I'll drop the story. Trust me, I won't. Also, as of now, there is a poll in my profile page. You can vote for a sequel of the story after it's completion. Choose Yes or No. Anyway... let's get on with the chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"DAMN IT ALL!" Sasuke yelled as another surge of pain shot through his body. The black flame pattern on his skin was acting out a lot.
"Take a break. You can't keep going." Older Sasuke advised. Looking at his younger self suffering from the Curse Mark wasn't pleasant at all.
"No.. I can... keep up. One more time." His voice was pained and his body was covered in cuts and bruises. He formed three hand-signs as he activated his jutsu again.
"Chidori!" Soon, his hand was engulfed in lightning and the Curse Mark advanced further along his skin as another surge of pain brought him to his knees, causing the Chidori to be undone.
"FUCK! IT HURTS!"
"It's no good, you've reached your limit. Chakra Exauhstion is what activates the Curse Mark." Older Sasuke said.
"I KNOW! But damn, it hurts like a bitch!" said Sasuke as the flame pattern started to subside.
"We need to do something about it, but what? Mine was removed thanks to Itachi. Who would be able to remove a seal as strong as the Curse Mark?" Older Sasuke thought.
"Do you... think we can... remove it?" Sasuke asked panting.
"Actually I was just thinking about that. Maybe the Hokage can help us. Afterall, he is a master of Sealing Jutsu and seals in general."
"Naruto is a seal master?" How? The sealing arts are extremely difficult to master." Sasuke was in disbelief. To think that his dobe of a teammate would someday be the world's saviour, a Hokage and now a seal master...
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"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto created 2 shadow clones to spar with. He infused his kunai with some wind chakra and took off.
"You are getting the hang of your element pretty fast Naruto." Older Naruto smiled at his student.
"Well, I am learning from the best!" As he said that he sliced one clone with his kunai along the chest, causing him to poof out of existance.
"So, this is what Jiraiya-sensei felt like when he was teaching me?" Older Naruto smirked.
Naruto dodged two swift strikes from his remaining clone with a backflip. As soon as his feet touched the ground he took off towards his target with blinding speed. He infused his kunai with more chakra, expanding it's length to that of a short blade. He was too fast for the clone to follow his movements and in a matter of seconds, the clone was lying on the ground, clutching at his throat before he too poofed away.
"You're getting faster and your chakra control is increasing." Older Naruto said.
"Well, I've almost mastered my Wind Element. My jutsu can be activated using less chakra and their strength is greater. But Rasengan is another story..." Naruto informed looking down.
"Show me. And no Shadow Clones for help. All they do is waste your chakra faster when using it."
"Okay." Naruto started forming chakra in his right hand. Soon enough, the chakra took the shape of a sphere and was rotating with immense speed.
"RASENGAN!" he shouted as he attacked the nearest rock. The attack destroyed a part of the stone but not all of it.
"Not... good enough... yet." Naruto said as he fell to the ground, panting.
"You've got down rotation, power and containment. So why is this happening?" Then it came to him.
"Naruto, take off your shirt." Older Naruto commanded.
"Sure but... why?" asked Naruto as he got up on his feet.
"Just do it! Then you'll try Rasengan one more time." he answered with his 'Hokage Voice'.
Naruto took off his shirt revealing the seal on his stomach. Older Naruto put his hand over the seal.
"Five Elements Unseal!"
"Gah, it burns!" Naruto screamed.
"Bear with it for a while. I'm almost done."
"What are you doing?"
"Fixing what Orochimaru did to you." Older Naruto answered as the chakra focused on his fingertips started to fade.
"You mean... when the Snake bastard knocked me out during the Second Round he did something to my seal?" Naruto asked.
Older Naruto released the unsealing jutsu and smiled. "Yeah but don't worry. The seal messing with your chakra is gone."
"So, that's what was slowing down my training?"
"Pretty much. Now try the Rasengan one more time."
"Alright. Rasengan!" Naruto formed another Rasengan in his hand and took off towards another rock. Needless to say, the rock was destroyed completely.
"There we go. That's more like it." Older Naruto nodded in approval.
"YES! I DID IT!" Naruto yelled happily, jumping up and down.
"There, there. Calm down. Don't forget, the reason you got it down that fast is because I was the one who taught you."
"Huh, what do you mean by that?" Naruto asked.
"Jiraiya-sensei taught me the Rasengan and I mastered it in a week. I taught you the Rasengan and you mastered it in two days."
"So? It's just easy to learn?"
"No. The Rasengan was created by the Fourth Hokage and it took him years to do so. It's because you and I are the same that you learned so fast."
"Damn it, now I'm more confused than before." said Naruto pouting.
"Look, it's because I know you so well that I knew the exact approach and method to teach you. We are the same afterall..." Older Naruto explained.
"I think I get what you're trying to say. But I've got to admit, that Shadow Clone Training Method is AWESOME!"
"Well, you and I are the only people that can use this method thanks to our huge chakra reserves." Older Naruto informed.
"We're just that awesome, aren't we? Anyway... I'm super hungry!" Naruto said as his stomach growled.
"I think Hinata has finished making dinner. Let's go back home."
"Yay! I love the food Hinata makes!" Naruto said, clearly excited.
"That's good. One day, you'll have your Hinata's cooking all to yourself." Older Naruto smiled.
"I can't wait to go back and see her..." Naruto's thoughts trailed off to the purple-haired girl he came to realize he loved.
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"I'm telling you, that's what I saw!" Shikamaru Nara said to the remaining Rookie 9.
"And I'm telling you I ain't bying it." Ino quipped back at her lazy teammate. Her husband, Sai, also nodded in agreement.
"Shikamaru-san, if what you say is true then why didn't you say anything earlier?" he asked.
"I already told you, I wasn't sure if what I saw was real. But I spent so much time thinking the past couple of days, I'm sure of what I saw." Shikamaru answered.
"Shikamaru, stop. Jumping to conclusions isn't something you are used to. Why? Because you possess intelligence that has been used to it's fullest in the past. What you are claiming right now... is foolish." Shino said, impassive as ever.
"Akamaru and I are getting too tired of this shit. First the war and now this? I've seen many things but Naruto is 33 years old. And the Hokage! Not a 13-year old!" Kiba said as he slowly walked away.
"Fine then. If you don't believe me, you'll just have to see them for yourselves. Follow me." Shikamaru said to everyone.
"Wait. What do you mean?" asked Choji.
"We're going to pay a little visit to Naruto."
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Meanwhile, Kakashi Hatake and his youthful rival, Might Guy, were enjoying each other's company, talking about random stuff and the state of the village.
"So Kakashi... How is Naruto doing? I heard our Hokage has been rather busy." Guy asked.
"Well, Naruto always was special. He's been dealing with paperwork a lot smoother than I ever did." Kakashi answered.
"Ah, but you had certain un-youthful distractions..." Guy pointed to the book in his rival's hands.
"What? You honestly think I ignored the duties of a Hokage to read this fine piece of literature?" Kakashi asked as he stiffled a perverted giggle.
"Bah, your Flames of Youth have been put out. I will make sure to give you a sample of the hotblooded power o-"
"Are we still talking about Naruto here?" Kakashi interrupted.
"No- I mean yes... DAMN IT. You are not getting away with this Kakashi! Not this time! I CHALLENGE YOU MY ETERNAL RIVAL!"
Kakashi sweatdropped.
"Alright fine. What's the challenge?"
"Beat me in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors and you get to decide the challenge. If I win, I decide the challenge." Guy answered with bright smile. Despite his age and condition, he was still the same 'youthful' Guy.
"Nope. Not gonna happen. Not two challenges in one."
"These are my conditions. Do you accept them or-"
"Guy please I'm tired and-"
"DO YOU ACCEPT OR DON'T YOU?"
Kakashi sighed.
"I'm getting too old for this. Fine, fine. I accept."
"ALRIGHT! WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH! ONE, TWO, THREE..."
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"
Kakashi: Paper
Guy: Rock
"DAMN IT! NOT AGAIN!" Guy was crying anime tears.
"Looks like I win this one." Kakashi said smugly.
"Alright, alright. What's your challenge?"
"Staring contest. That is all."
"Wha-What! A simple staring contest is nothing that Might Guy can't handle." Guy exclaimed proudly.
"You know the rules. Do you accept?" Kakashi asked lazily.
"OF COURSE! NOW LET'S GET STARTED!"
"Alright. 1, 2, 3, Begin!"
The staring contest between the two Eternal Rivals had started, and it wouldn't be over anytime soon.
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Older Sasuke and his 13-year old self were just outside the house of tne 7th Hokage when they encountered some familiar faces.
"What are you all doing here?" Older Sasuke asked the people he now could call friends.
"We were just looking for Naruto actually." Shikamaru answered.
"And by we he means him dragging us along with him." Ino added.
"See! There he is!" Shikamaru pointed at the 13 year-old genin Sasuke for everyone to see.
" .God." everyone except Shikamaru said at the same time.
"Anyway, Naruto and I will explain everything later." said Older Sasuke as he knocked on the door three times. Hinata answered it but was surprised to see so many people standing in front of her.
"Hello. What are you all doing here?" Hinata asked.
"We came here for Naruto." said everyone at the same time.
"Oh. Well, he's been at Training Ground 3 all day. If you want you can all-"
"Thanks Hinata." again everyone said as they all headed towards the Training Ground.
"-...wait for him here." Hinata finished and with a sigh she closed the door and headed back to the kitchen.
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"How long do I have to keep doing this?" asked Naruto dropping his meditative stance.
"For as long as it takes. You still haven't synced your chakra perfectly with Nature Energy."
"But it's so hard. How can I get this down before I get back home?"
"Actually, it took me about a week and a half to be able to use Sage Mode freely."
"What! We don't have that much time! I have to get stronger to protect everyone." Naruto yelled.
"Don't start with me! Here I am, giving you the means to beat the Akatsuki and you whine! You have time y'know?" The two Naruto's were yelling at each other comically.
In the distance, the group looking for the Orange Hokage were watching the scene and were having the time of their lives.
"That dobe will never change." Sasuke smirked.
"Look. All I'm trying to do is give you a better future y'know." Older Naruto said.
"I'm sorry." Naruto apologised.
"Don't be. We have work to do."
"And just so you know. I am very grateful... about everything." Naruto said.
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Training me to become stronger is one thing but... what you, Hinata, Boruto and Himawari have done for me in such a short time... I will never forget that." Naruto bowed to his Older self, leaving him confused.
"And what is that?" Older Naruto asked.
"You showed me the meaning of Family." he answered.
Sasuke decided that they should get back on track with what they were doing and called out his teammate.
"OI, DOBE!"
"TEME! How are'ya?"
"I'm doing pretty good. How about you?" Sasuke asked the blonde.
Naruto stared at his rival in disbelief. "Okay, who the hell are you and what have you done to Sasuke?" he asked. Sasuke merely scoffed.
"Hey there guys! What's up?" Older Naruto said to everyone.
"Cheerful as ever I see, Dickless." greeted Sai.
"Bah, bite me."
"Naruto, we need your help. It's about-" Older Sasuke was cut off by Sasuke.
"...-Me. I need to ask you a favor Lord Hokage." said Sasuke bowing.
"Sasuke what's wrong? Did something happen?" Older Naruto was confused.
"Uh... yeah. Well, actually no. Something is wrong." Sasuke removed his shirt revealing the Curse Mark Seal.
"I see. So it's causing problems with training huh?" Older Naruto said matter-of-factly.
"Well yeah. If I'm gonna teach Sasuke how to control Mangekyo Sharingan, we're gonna have to get rid of it." Older Sasuke informed.
"The Mangekyo already wastes too much chakra. And the seal gets stronger with Chakra Exauhstion. So you can't use it safely or teach him how to control it." said Older Naruto.
"So how is your training going?" Naruto asked Sasuke.
"It's going. Other than the Curse Mark, my skills and jutsu are advancing rapidly." answered Sasuke. "So what about you?"
"I've been through hell! With all this Elemental Affinity, Jutsu and Sage Mode Training, I'm spent. But frankly... It was all worth it!" Naruto exclaimed happily.
"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, my skills as of now are near high-level Jonin-rank. I could propably beat Asuma and Kurenai-sensei and give Kakashi-sensei or Super Bushy Brows-sensei a run for their money." Naruto grinned.
"J-J-Jonin... R-Rank?" Sasuke's fists were clenching and he felt fire flowing through his veins, rage was visible on his features.
"Calm down Sasuke. We're both striving for the same goal. Breathe, relax." Sasuke thought, calming himself slightly. His face seemed more calm and collected as his fists unclentched.
"Naruto, when we get back home, don't lose to that Hyuuga."
"Wha-What are you saying?" Naruto asked.
"I'll be waiting at the Finals and then... Naruto, I will fight you." Sasuke smiled. A genuine smile that Naruto had never seen before.
"You got it!" Naruto flashed his trademark grin and Sasuke smirked before Older Sasuke spoke up.
"If you two don't mind we'll get started with the Unsealing Jutsu so Naruto, take a few steps back." he warned.
Naruto did as he was told and quickly stepped back.
Older Naruro flashed through a series of hand-signs before he placed his hand over Sasuke's seal. His palm started glowing a light blue colour and a moment later Sasuke began screaming in agony and pain. The seal pattern spinned clockwise and the seal Kakashi had placed over the Curse Mark dissapeared.
"Kakashi's seal is gone. Keep going Naruto." Older Sasuke said.
"I know! Damn it, I'm so close to collapsing from Chakra Exauhstion... Kurama! A little help?"
"Alright kid. We haven't synced in a while and I'm getting kinda excited." spoke Kurama from inside his mind.
Chakra shot out like a flare from the blonde Hokage's body and soon he was in his Kurama Link Mode. Naruto could only watch in astonishment. All this chakra...
"Whoooaa... Will you teach me this too?" he asked.
Older Naruto, not daring to look away in fear that his concenteration on the unsealing will break, answered with a low voice.
"Not... this one Naruto. This is... something you'll have to... figure out yourself." he said panting.
Soon enough, the black flame-like pattern that by now had spread throughout Sasuke's body started to subside back to the seal and then... The Curse Mark dissapeared.
"It's...done..." Older Naruto said as he deactivated his Kurama Mode and fell, motionless, to the ground, joining an unconcious Sasuke.
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THREE HOURS LATER
"I'M NOT GONNA LOSE KAKASHI!"
"Just give up Guy."
These two were still at it...
I hope you liked the chapter :)
Andrew... out!