Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in The Leaves, commonly known as Konoha was getting ready for another busy bustling day. The sun was beginning it trek to its full height, an indicating that morning was soon to be upon the village.

Shop owners began setting up their stores, cleaning and restocking all of their products that would wait on shelves to be bought. Some early risers were simply taking a stroll on the street, enjoying the last minutes of quiet and peace. Others were already beginning to browse around the many different shops that were open, on a hunt to bargain and buy what they needed. It was a beginning of another normal day.

Somewhere in the waking village, a shrill sounding alarm clock rang though the room of a small apartment building. The occupant of the room groaned under his warm soft covers before peeking through towards the source of the noise. He glared at what he deemed, the evil ringing alarm clock, and slammed it shut with a satisfying thump. With that accomplishment he crawled out of his bed and stumbled towards the bathroom to begin his morning routine. For the most part, he was still in dream land filled with ramen, lots and lots of it; after all, one can never get enough ramen. Thus he was so enraptured in his daydream that failed to notice his face in the mirror, not that he didn't care about his face.

So he continued on in his ramen daze finishing his bathroom routine and began heading towards the kitchen for food. As he passed by the calendar that hung slanted on his wall, he absently noted that he was suppose to go to school later for teams. He continued on for a good three seconds before he stiffened in shock. All thoughts of ramen completed wiped from his mind. He ran back to the calendar and stared at it in complete disbelief "…This…This is impossible! What the hell is going on?" You see, what shocked him so much was what was scrawled in by a bright red marker. REMEMBER! TEAM ASSIGNMENTS TODAY!! DATTEBAYO!!!

This couldn't be possible. Unless… Did it really work? Was it likely? A growing hope welled up in his heart. He ran to the nearest window in the room and flung the shutters open. He was greeted with a sight that nearly overflowed his heart with happiness. It was Konoha in all its glory, unmarred by constant battles. It was a beautiful sight to behold. He did not notice or feel the tear that slid down his face. Never had he thought that he was going to be able to see this wondrous sight again. He slumped down against the wall and started to chuckle. It then bubbled into full blown laughter. It worked. But wait. If it worked then…He ceased laughing and took a look at his hands…

He shot up and made a run to the bathroom peered tremulously into the mirror. At that moment, he could not decide whether he should've been happy or sad, but he was definitely shocked. There staring back at him was, well, himself…a boy no older than eleven, with the same gravity defying hair and bright cerulean eyes, and with a finishing touch of the tell tale whiskers he always had. No way. No way. No Way.

He backed up banging to the wall behind him, laughing weakly before punching his hand up in triumph "So we did it…!" He covered his face wearily, the sudden adrenaline early in the morning finally coming to a halt "We…really did it…We're still alive."

"I wonder how they're coping with this…" he muttered, unable to help but smirk at the thought. But first, he needed to check on his little occupant. He relaxed his body and closed his eyes, delving deep in to his mind. He walked through the familiar passageway constructed like sewer pipes. He was not daunted by the dreary surrounding; rather, he enjoyed the walk, going at a leisurely pace until he reached his destination. Opening the door, he came upon an immense cage that loomed in front of him. The cage was wide open. How that cage was opened was another story. Right now, in the room, there was a gigantic majestic red fox with nine tails, otherwise known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune ready to pounce.

Before he could even voice a greeting, the demon clamped its host beneath its paw and roared in anger, "UZUMAKI NARUTO! I can't believe you fools actually used it! You all could have royally screwed yourselves over and DIED! Do you guys have no sense at all? Did I not SPECIFICALLY forbid you all not to use it?!" Uzumaki Naruto rolled his eyes in annoyance before glaring at the fox, "Well, whose fault was it for telling us about the scroll and then giving it to us about it? Huh? And anyway, it's not like you can kill me, unless you want to be suicidal. If that's the case, then be my guest." The fox let out a feral growl before moving away from his host and back towards the cage, frustration showing in his every stride. "That was not the point! It was to teach you guys the concepts of creating techniques. I told you that it was an untested creation—"

Naruto cut in, true irritation beginning to get the better of him "Look, we already knew the risk. You drilled it into us with every waking moment you had. But, you knew we were thinking about using it for a while now. Even you could see that we failed". The fox glared at him but did not respond. Instead it flopped to the ground and faced the other direction, which looked really childish for such a great demon. "You knew as well as I did. There was nothing worth fighting for anymore. Even though we beat them, it was at the cost of everybody's life. That was an empty victory. We didn't even have a place to call home anymore. We had nothing left" finished Naruto calmly, albeit bitterly.

"Well, congratulations. You idiots actually did it through SHEER DUMB LUCK. Now go away." the fox sneered. Naruto pouted, before moving to the fox and sitting next to it, "Oh, Come on Kyu! You know that you were really worried about us! You love us! Right?" The Kyuubi grunted a denial choosing to observe the cracks on the wall "Why would I care about a tiny pipsqueak like you? It is a waste of my time"
Naruto twitched "I am not a pipsqueak! I'll have you know, I did grow!" shouted Naruto indignantly.

The fox gave a throaty laugh, "By how much? Two inches?"

"KYUUBI!!!" Even as the fox cackled at its host's annoyance, he knew that deep down inside, no matter how much he tried to deny it, he was rather relieved that the three were alright. Though the fox would rather die than tell anybody he had come to see the three kids as his kits. He had watched all three of them grow greatly and become strong beyond what many expected. He did not know when, but somehow he had grown attached to the three humans, much to his distress.

Naruto heaved a sigh of annoyance as he realized that the fox had long drifted off and had completely ignored what he had said. He left the fox, returning back to his apartment. As he got up from his seat on the floor, he felt two familiar chakra strings poking at the back of his mind. He hastily performed a series of hand seals and could almost feel the two strings connect to one of his own forming a single twine of chakra. This twine allowed them to communicate with each other, like a telephone.

'So, enjoy being eleven years old again?' asked Naruto jokingly as he felt a tinge of annoyance from both of his teammates.

'You could have warned us, idiot. You know I hate surprises.' replied Sakura. She had almost screamed when her mother came to wake her up.

'Hey. I didn't know about it was going to be like this either so don't blame me!' said Naruto in mock despair.

'It is too early. Shut up.' muttered Sasuke, displeasure coloring his tone.

Naruto merely shrugged to himself before saying 'You're just not a morning person.'

Sasuke glared darkly as he moved towards his bathroom, 'You're just an energetic freak that can't shut up.'

Naruto twitched in irritation, 'TEME'

Sakura laughed quietly to herself, receiving strange glances from her parents that she chose to ignore. "I didn't realize that it took so much concentration and chakra to get here."

Naruto paused from what he was doing, frowning, "Well, I guess it's cause we are only eleven years old. I mean, I'm surprised that you guys were even able to get here."

"That, is because once this link is made, it can't be completely broken. You should all thank me for thinking of such an ingenious idea. Think of it as a boon and a curse that can only be lifted if one of you died. It'll never leave you. I know since I was the one who created it. Plus it was definitely an entertaining experience for me when guys first used it." interrupted the fox.

Sakura gave a snort of disbelief, "Of course for you, maybe. But, I on the other hand did not enjoy that experience at all. I had to redo the entire project process all over again." she grumbled in frustration. Naruto just glared while Sasuke chuckled quietly. The fox gave another cackle of glee.

(Flashback)

It all began as just another training day for Naruto. Like always, he trained till was completely and entirely exhausted, covered from head to toe with cuts and bruises and unable to move at all. While he lay on the ground to recuperate, he was having a somewhat civilized conversation with the Kyuubi. Yes, a conversation. He had found that the fox inside him was surprisingly interesting to talk with even though the fox constantly made fun of him and his stature.

At one point, Naruto mentioned how easy it would have been if he could just send a mind message to Sakura so that she could heal his wounds. Kyuubi, being the oh-so kind demon, suggested a technique that it created that could connect them via chakra. Without waiting for the complete explanation, Naruto immediate performed the technique. Sakura, who had been in the middle of doing a delicate project that required the upmost concentration, was so surprised to have her mind violated and suddenly connected to another person, she accidently crushed the poor project she had worked so diligently on for days. An enraged Sakura then went on a manhunt for the culprit, Naruto, beating him into a bloody pulp, much to the blonde's dismay and the amusement of the fox.

When the Kyuubi finally stopped laughing, he decided to interfere. To the two teen's surprise, Sakura was able to hear the fox demon. After a couple of minutes of shock and another couple minutes getting over it, Kyuubi explained that the mental connection, once made, could never be broken and that no one else could spot it. As much as Sakura disliked the idea, it was an ideal solution for communication, especially when they didn't want to be heard. Sasuke was also introduced to this a day later, with consent. The mental link was like a walky-talky; they were able to talk with a barely noticeable amount of chakra. Convenient. They were able to know how far apart they were from each other by the thickening and thinning of the chakra link.

They also found that they could go meet the actual Kyuubi and each other but only in the room with the cage. It turned out that the Kyuubi was the source that was linking them together. Initially, both Sakura and Sasuke were rather wary about talking or even meeting the demon fox. But they gradually got over it. Gradually. For a demon fox, it was surprisingly well learned, and had a sense of humor…sometimes. All of them had at one point or another conversed with the demon whether it was for information or simply just to talk to it. The talks led them into wondering why the fox really attacked the village since through its conversations; it had absolutely no interest in it. The three teens soon uncovered that the Kyuubi was actually, not the one to be blamed for the attack. Rather, he was controlled and forced against his will to do the bidding of the one that managed to seize control of his mind. When they found who the actual perpetrator was; they were furious.

(End Flashback)

"So we really made it work." said Sakura thoughtfully.

Naruto smirked "Duh."

She glared before continuing, "But what will happen to the time that we left? And why are we here?'

The fox grumbled from where it resided, settling its head on its paws, "I told you numbskulls that it was an untested method. My speculation is that that we actually still in the same time dimension. The time that you were once in is now but one of the many possible scenarios. But know this; it is highly possible for a repeat in history if you guys make all the same mistakes again." The three teens nodded their heads grimly. They could not let that happen.

"Now, leave me alone you irksome ticks. You guys sapped too much of my chakra for the technique, chakra that is going to take a very long time to replenish. Plus, you idiots destroyed the scroll which I had been worked on for centuries! All that information! Gone!" The three winced a chorus of apologies soon followed. They knew that they had wasted away a lot of chakra and even more of the fox's. Had they not used it, they would have all perished. The fox huffed it's annoyance but decided to let them off. "Also, Naruto, Don't expect to be healed anytime soon."

Naruto paused midway from dressing, "Wait! What?! That's not fair!" Naruto pouted and whined.

The fox sneered, "Tough luck. Suffer like the rest of your companions." With that Kyuubi retreated deeper into its cage, and his link dimmed to a miniscule thread.

Naruto glared before muttering "Vindictive fox…Didn't have to take it all out on me."

"Well, from the way I see it, we are going to have to begin train…I don't think we have any of the muscle or chakra as compared to before." said Sakura.

Naruto moaned "No…First no healing and how this? That is just so unfair!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and said "Live with it, dobe. At least this time we will have a hell lot more of a head start…"

Naruto nodded, albeit reluctantly and added "Well, I suggest we start training right away…after the team assigniment" It was essential. No arguments.

Suddenly, Sakura groaned from her connection, "Do we still have to act like the way we were when we were eleven? I don't think I can stomach squealing and being head-over-heels in love with Sasuke…I view you two as my equals. It would be…so awkward screaming like a fan girl."

The two other boys shuddered, as memories of how Sakura and the rest of the girls acted around Sasuke began to re-emerge. 'She's right you know…I don't want to act like an idiot either…" commented Naruto.

Sakura coughed while Sasuke bit back a snort.

Naruto frowned before rolling his eyes "Thank you for that vote of confidence. I suggest we just surprise them all.'

Sasuke sighed "I don't like where this is going…'

Naruto diligently ignored the comment and began to laugh manically "I can't wait to see the look on their faces. I can imagine it already! This will be the best prank ever!"

"How about we first all meet together at the bridge?" Sakura suggested.

'Fine.' replied Sasuke, already walking towards the meeting place.

"Yah…I'll have time to think of a plan…" replied Naruto. Sakura sighed in exasperation before leaving, her chakra link, just like the Kyuubi diminished to a mere hair width. Sasuke followed after her and his link diminishing as well. Naruto dropped his thoughtful look that was replaced by a serious face that looked rather strange on the eleven year old boy's face, "I can't believe we're actually here..." He looked outside once again admiring the view before him, and promised himself "This time...this time I'll protect you all."