Chapter 3

"I wish Ero-Sennin was here. He'd have this whole thing changed over in no time."

"Yes, he would. Unfortunately, he hasn't been around for a long time, so we'll have to make due with the limited knowledge of the three of us."

Naruto sighed as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair. Darui, Kakashi, and himself had been taking turns every day trying to reconfigure the seal they found in the ruins of Uzushiogakure, one which Naruto believed was for time travel, while the other two were skeptical at best. Kakashi was worried about even attempting it, and didn't want to waste time thinking about using it since it needed what they estimated to be the chakra of more than one hundred shinobi with decent chakra pools. And that was just to get it started. They had no idea how much it would need to actually do anything.

Their only chance at actually making it work was for them to adjust it so that it could use the chakra of a bijuu, like they were doing. The only problem is that it was taking so long, and their forces were getting smaller every day. Naruto's fuuinjutsu training had progressed slowly, and he didn't even truly start until after the war had already started.The saddest part was that of those not caught in the red moon genjutsu, he was the most knowledgeable person they had.

"Kakashi... do you think we can pull this off?"

The fatigued general rubbed at his stubble-covered chin and sighed; he had stopped bothering with the mask long ago. At least it felt like it had been forever. "I hope so, Naruto. I really hope so."

"You heard what I said. He's another Uzumaki!"

"So you believe this man's words without question?"

Kushina pouted, looking at her friend as they walked side-by-side towards the training grounds. It was a little past noon, so if this other Uzumaki person was at all punctual, he should have been sparring with her boyfriend for a while now.

"Of course I question it. I just got caught up in the excitement of another Uzumaki being in the village. There used to be a lot of us, until the second war. Everyone who was in Konoha went home to defend it, only to be killed. I just had a feeling that some had managed to flee and survive somewhere."

Kushina's friend, Uchiha Mikoto, looked at her companion with obvious sympathy. "Are you still upset about not being allowed to go there?"

"Of course! If I had been there with the Kyuubi, Uzushiogakure would still be here today!"

"We've been over this. You were twelve, Kushina. They wouldn't risk you."

The redhead simply growled, but did not comment further. She knew they had made the right choice by keeping her in the village for the duration of the second war. It was likely that Kumo attacked them for that very reason... Granny Mito was on her deathbed and they had to pull the Kyuubi out of her. It would take years before Kushina was able to use even a fraction of the Kyuubi's power, and Kumo must have known that.

Uzushiogakure was attacked and wiped off the map in less than a week. There was no time for Konoha to get adequate forces there in time to help defend. Even if she didn't know exactly who her parents were, she saw the Uzumaki clan as her extended family. To know that they were all gone really hurt. But now there was someone in the village who claimed he was also an Uzumaki. The problem was that he had blond hair, when a large portion of the Uzumaki she remembered had red hair.

Of course, there were a few with different hair colors like blond and brown and black, and there was even one strange girl with dark green hair who she remembered seeing now and then, but they were definitely the minority and typically married in. It was the same thing with the Uchiha and the Hyuuga – or most large, established clans for that matter.

"Hello, Kushina? Are you listening?"

The redhead snapped to attention, offering Mikoto a sheepish look. "I'm sorry about that. I was just thinking about the past."

The raven-haired woman nodded slowly. "I understand. Just pay attention to where you're walking. You almost ran right into that tree a few paces back. I wasn't about to stop it from happening."

"Hmm, that would have been funny."

"For me, yes. It probably would have hurt you."

"I'd still laugh at myself for being an idiot."

Mikoto snorted and shook her head, a wan smile stretching across her face. "I can only imagine when you have kids, what kind of knuckleheads they are going to be."

As if on cue, there was a crashing noise that came from the trees above the two women. A moment later, two black and yellow blurs fell to the ground near them, and stopped when one of them began to yell out, "Whoa whoa whoa! Time out!"

The blond that Kushina faintly recognized as the man from the Ramen stand yesterday was crouched on the ground right in front of them, with Minato slightly crouched behind him and a triple-prong kunai in each hand in a reverse grip. Upon further inspection, both of them were breathing heavily, though the one with whisker marks on his cheeks seemed a lot worse for wear, if the messy state of his clothing was any indication.

"Why are we stopping?" Minato's back was to the two women, so he likely hadn't registered they were there yet.

Naruto chuckled. "We have innocent bystanders here now. I don't want these two lovely ladies to get caught in our crossfire."

Minato's eyes went wide, and then pale as he finally whirled around and registered that Kushina and Mikoto were standing there, looking at the two boys. "A-A-Ah – Kushina! I'm sorry, I didn't even... Mikoto-chan too? I was so focused on fighting, I haven't been able to spar like this in so long that I-"

He didn't get to finish as Kushina walked over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "It's fine, Minato. I know how you get when you find something – or someone – that intrigues you."

Minato blushed very slightly and nodded, but chose not to say anything. It didn't take long for Kushina's focus to shift from her boyfriend to the new arrival. She quickly noted that he was the tallest one among them when he finally stood up. Not only that, but he had the same hair color and eyes as her boyfriend, only his face wasn't quite as chiseled. It was more rounded. Those marks on his cheeks too... they definitely stood out, but in a cute sort of way.

"So, are you really an Uzumaki?"

The new arrival in front of her merely shrugged his shoulders and gave her a small grin. "Well, Hokage-sama has pretty much raised me since as far back as I can remember, and he always said I was an Uzumaki. He said my mother was from Uzushiogakure and died serving Konoha, but he doesn't know anything about my father. He took me into his care when my mother died, and I've been serving him ever since."

"Did you know her name? Maybe I can find out who your dad was."

Naruto shook his head negatively. "I've never asked, and Hokage-sama has never offered it to me. I figured there was no point in wanting something that I'd never have or need."

"That's a pretty sad way to look at it." Kushina could tell from looking into his eyes that he didn't really mean what he said. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but he seemed to be too... happy... compared to the solemn words he was saying. "You should ask Hokage-sama to tell you then. I bet I could find out more about her."

"Oh really? How would you do that?"

She didn't think he really looked smug as he said that, but from the twitch of his lips and the light in his eyes, it was almost as if he was goading her... as if he was privy to some joke that only he heard or knew about.

"I happen to be an Uzumaki as well. Most of the information from Uzushiogakure that could be recovered was brought here and placed under my care, since as far as I know I am – or was – the only Uzumaki still in Konoha."

Naruto seemed happy, but not in a way she was expecting. Instead of immediately agreeing to go ask the Hokage about his mother, he simply shrugged. "Well, I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only Uzumaki around anymore."

"Me too. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

Naruto chuckled. "I'm nineteen. I'll be twenty next month."

"You're older than me!" Kushina offered Naruto a mischievous grin, "Since you're all the family I have left, that means I get to call you Aniki!"

Naruto's face went completely blank before he burst into laughter. He was laughing so hard that after a few seconds he bent over, clutching at his stomach. Looking up briefly to see the pout on Kushina's face, he started laughing even harder.

"Whaaaat?" Kushina began to whine. "I've always wanted a big brother! Why are you laughing?"

Naruto's laughs eventually began to subside, and he chose to lean against a nearby tree for support as he wiped at his eyes. "Ah... hahah... nothing, sorry. It's just – you were so serious one minute, and then the next you started calling me Aniki. I just wasn't expecting that. You seem to have accepted me rather quickly, too."

The redhead accepted this explanation, though she had since placed her hands on her hips and stared at him expectantly. "I'll go verify your story with Hokage-sama the next time I see him. Otherwise I don't care. This is just too exciting, so... can I?"

Chuckling briefly yet again, Naruto nodded a few times as he slowly pushed himself forward again, away from the tree. "Sure. I'd be honored if you called me that."

"Yay!" Kushina gave him a big smile, then promptly ran over and gave him a quick hug. It was a little awkward for both of them, and she had already pulled away before he could even consider returning the gesture. Giving him a small wink, she then turned around and started fussing over a very slightly roughed-up Minato.

Naruto just crossed his arms over his chest, smiling as he watched the interaction, completely unaware of the other person nearby until she cleared her throat and began speaking.

"So, you now have a new little sister of sorts. You seem pleased, though I can tell you from experience she will be more trouble than she is worth."

Naruto blinked as he turned his head to look at the speaker. His eyes settled on a very attractive young woman, probably around his age if he had to guess. She had long black hair that was currently held up in a ponytail, and very dark brown, nearly black eyes. As he looked at her, Naruto realized that she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite place it. She appeared to be amused at the interactions from before, and her voice held a teasing tone to it.

"Is there something on my face?"

Naruto blanched, waving his hand quickly in dismissal. "N-No! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. You just... sort of reminded me of someone, and I was trying to figure out who."

"Huh. I thought it was just Kushina. Do you Uzumaki always tend to space out a lot?"

Naruto nervously scratched at the back of his head. "Not that I'm aware of. Sorry again."

"Whatever." The woman waved her hand dismissively, though there was still a small smile on her face. "As for looking familiar, my father is the head of the Uchiha clan." She made an obvious glance at his exposed upper arm and the tattoo on it, "So if you are in fact ANBU, you've likely seen him often. That's probably where the familiarity comes from."

Naruto nodded to her – he had recognized that she was an Uchiha by the fan symbol that was on her casual shirt, which just so happened to be in the middle of her chest. It was hard to pry his eyes away, as he had a healthy appreciation for the female figure. His godfather taught him the things he should not do, and number one was letting your eyes wander when talking to a woman when it wasn't appropriate. Unless she asked you to, of course.

From the brief glimpse he had been able to get before talking to her, even if she was an Uchiha, it was obvious she was very attractive. It really was too bad that he was trying to remain as detached as possible from society so he didn't mess up the timeline too badly. Still, there was nothing stopping him from being polite.

Trying to keep his eyes focused on her face, he offered the woman a grin. "Well, I should probably drag Minato back into our spar that I stopped. It was nice talking to you. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, by the way."

The black haired woman's smile turned into a smirk. "I know who you are, Kushina couldn't stop talking about you on the way here. I'm Uchiha Mikoto, heir of the Uchiha clan. Perhaps we will speak again. Bye for now."

As she offered a wave before turning and calling out for Kushina, Naruto hoped that she didn't see his face pale after he heard her name. While he didn't recall ever meeting her before, the name was one he easily recognized.

He had just been checking out Sasuke's mom! That was just plain wrong on so many levels.

Right?

Sarutobi sighed as he rubbed at his forehead. Reports had been coming in that skirmishes between Rock and Sand had been becoming even more numerous over the last week. So far Kumo had remained tight-lipped about the whole thing, apparently their old Sandaime Raikage was not eager to get involved with any wars so soon after Konoha decimated them in the last one.

Mist appeared to be caught up in the middle of a civil war that had broken out. They lost their Nidaime Mizukage near the end of the Second Great War, and there were two people claiming to be the Sandaime Mizukage if the reports were to be believed. The two claimants had caused a civil war of sorts to break out, each had the backing of a different group of people – those with bloodlines, and those without.

Sarutobi had put out an offer of asylum to any bloodline clans looking for refuge, but so far none had come. The offer hadn't been out for that long, however, and if one or both of the people claiming to be Mizukage were controlling information, it was unlikely he would see any clans arriving here.

With that in mind, the Sandaime turned to glance at the young man who was sitting in his office, looking bored out of his mind as he picked at some dirt under his fingernails.

"Naruto, what can you tell me about this apparent civil war in Mist that I've been hearing about?"

The blond perked up for a moment and let his hands fall to his lap. "So, the War of the Bloody Mist starts before the Third Great Shinobi War? I didn't realize that."

"Bloody Mist? Is that what it was called?"

"Yeah." The blond nodded, then looked out the window. "No one really knows much about it, but we do know it lasted through most of the Third Great War. After the Second Great War, the Mist has always been closed off from the other nations for some reason, and any information we got was usually delayed so there were no accurate records about what happened when over there. They finally came out of isolation when they got their Godaime Mizukage, right before the Fourth Great War, but they were also the first country to completely fall. We never did get much information about them as a result."

"Unfortunate." Hiruzen looked over a few sheets of information spread over his desk, various reports from around the nations, and let out a small sigh. "I was thinking about sending a team in to spread word in Water Country that we're offering asylum to any clans looking to escape the civil war. In fact, I already had a team in mind, led by Hatake Sakumo. What's your opinion on this?"

Naruto knew that the Hokage wasn't asking for an opinion, he was actually referring to Naruto's knowledge of the future, and if this particular decision would have any impact.

"In my time, we didn't have any different clans than there are now. But if I'm remembering correctly, I know why."

"Are you able to say why?"

Naruto frowned, thinking about it for a moment before speaking slowly, "I can't say for sure, since by the time I was made Hokage, Konoha was about to be destroyed again and I never had a chance to go through the old files. There was a mission that Hatake Sakumo fails, and it costs him his life."

"Sakumo... failed? While not in the realm of impossibility, I find that very hard to believe - he has an impeccable mission record."

It was Naruto's turn to sigh as he gazed at his hands. "Saying he failed may not be the best way to say it. His team was captured during the mission. He had a choice between completing his mission and abandoning his team, and he chose to save his team and abandon the mission instead."

Sarutobi's eyes went wide briefly before they narrowed. "I see. I believe he made the correct choice, however there are likely those who do not share my opinion."

"Correct. It was so bad that it led to his eventual suicide, leaving his son Kakashi all alone."

"Kakashi? I see." The Hokage lead back in his chair and pressed his fingertips together as he stared at the report on his desk. "So tell me, Rokudaime Hokage-sama... what would you do?"

Naruto settled back into his chair as he watched the Sandaime start to shuffle through some papers. This would be the third time Sarutobi Hiruzen had referred to Naruto as the Hokage. Whenever he had done it previously, he had followed the blond's instructions to the letter, and so far had gotten perfect results. Granted that both times it was about Orochimaru and his laboratory locations, but they had to find some common ground to start on. Hiruzen hadn't made a move against his wayward student yet, but was stockpiling evidence for the future, and likely hoping that he could sway the man to stop what he was doing.

Now it seemed the current active Hokage wanted him to give some input on what to do with his personnel, which was a first.

"Is Sakumo a Jonin Commander?"

"Not now, that would be split between you and Nara Kokoro."

"Any relation to Shikaku?"

Sarutobi nodded. "His mother, but she claims she wants to retire soon. The Second Great War burnt her out, apparently. I was thinking about who to replace her with."

"Let her step down if she wants, and give the position to Sakumo. That will keep him here in the village. I will take any missions that he normally would have gotten, so this way he will be around for his son later. I don't know how this will change Kakashi... but hopefully for the better. Sakumo is an ally that I'd like to have around when I need to face Tobi again, assuming nothing else happens to him. Towards the end of the Third War Shikaku can be promoted to what he was in my time."

Hiruzen nodded. "If this is a mission that Sakumo would have failed, what makes you think you aren't too valuable to perform it as well?"

Naruto simply sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "While I'm not invincible, I am very nearly immortal thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra in me, combined with Uzumaki longevity. I know how to purify the bijuu's chakra and make it even stronger. Not only that, but I'm a Sage. Not to sound terribly arrogant, but I doubt there is anyone one alive right now that can stop me. If I find Tobi, Uchiha Madara, or whatever name he decides to go by - I will not hesitate to chase him down and kill him."

The current Hokage scrutinized Naruto with a careful gaze. Noting how serious Naruto was, he slowly nodded. "Very well. But I'm still sending a team with you, just in case. One that can support you, even if you don't feel you need it."

"I understand."

"Good. Now, I have some ideas, tell me what you think of them from what you know..."

A/N: This essentially ends Arc 1 of the story. This arc was building up the intro, and the next few chapters (Arc 2) revolve around constructing the relationships along with plot - it will deviate almost completely from canon, obviously. Arc 3 will focus on the plot and conclusion. I haven't bothered to check total word count of the story, but I assume it's somewhere around 75-100k when all is posted.

See you next week.