A/N: Thank you for all your awesome suggestions! I will do my best to pick some of your suggested characters for the harem but not everyone will be added. The max is ten females, although I'm looking at around six or seven females. Any more than ten will put a strain on my ability to write an interesting story that also includes meaningful relationships (unless I somehow improve my writing skills in the future *wink wink*). So, I'm sorry in advance if someone you really wanted in this harem will not be here.

Q&A Section:

coresplinter: Hm… I think I would've enjoyed it more if you didn't make 'him' all emo and Sasuke-like…

I am very sorry if you feel this way but being emo is associated with being Uchiha. Naruto wouldn't be an awesome Uchiha shinobi without it! In all seriousness, I see the "emo trait" as a way to add a major weakness to Naruto, like Kishimoto somewhat did to Sasuke. I realized that, after a couple of chapters, I made Naruto way too strong (Shinju Chakra, Kamui, Future Knowledge, Huge Jutsu Collection, Senjutsu, etc…) and I really didn't want this story to become a Naruto stomp-fest. So, his unstable and naive mental state will serve as his glaring weakness (as you will see in this chapter) and will make this story a lot more interesting in the long run.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 8: Dancing Puppet Strings

"Open your true eyes child, and show me you mark of strength." An Uchiha elder spoke with a raspy, yet grandmotherly, tone as she sat across from one Uchiha Obito in this covert meeting. One lone red sharingan eye rotated intimidatingly from her eye socket as it cruelly dissected the black-haired boy. The elder in front of him seemed to be frail individual: her white hair and liver spots decorated what may have been a beautiful face the held two working Sharingan eyes. But now, she was just an elderly Uchiha with working eye and one white eye - indicating her blindness on the left side.

But she did not seem like the old and frail grandmother figure who needed assistance carrying groceries to her home. No, Naruto could feel the devastating amount of chakra dormant in that body.

It was vast. It was the an ocean of chakra molded into the form of the Uchiha elder in front of him.

For someone who lived through the vicious era of the Warring States Period before it transitioned into the glorious time where Konoha was founded and built, her mere presence reeked only of insanity and misery to someone who was aptly in tune with nature.

And she was not alone.

Five other Uchiha elders in this secret room displayed disarming smiles and kind gestures to Obito. But Naruto quickly realized that it only belied the gallons of sweet tangy blood that drenched each individual crimson several times over.

For Obito, he knew all six elders sitting in this room on a personal level. His personality came to fruition once more as Naruto had the immediate urge to call the individual reeking of death, "Hitomi-baa-chan!" But with the increased passive sensor ability Naruto gained from refining his Senjutsu in his new body, he felt increasingly repulsed by these people. Hell, could they even be called people anymore?

Naruto was slowly beginning to realize that these were the true S-rank shinobi when there was no such system in place back then. These six old Uchihas could have been the some of the very best ninjas the Uchiha Clan has ever produced during a world littered with constant conflict. And where many others perished in their valiant struggle to stay afloat and do their best to live another day, these elders were once deadly shinobi and kunoichi who flourished and thrived in that genocidal era.

With the amount of of blood they each spilt, they all made Uchiha Madara at look like a saint in comparison. Madara strove to bring peace in his own misguided way yet based on each elder's aura Naruto could sense hinted that they only selfishly wanted their ambitions to flourish - regardless of the hardship and sacrifice they brought onto others.

But no matter how much Naruto could feel disgusted by these individuals, he could not do anything to avoid them considering they made up the second major power bloc in the Uchiha Clan after the Uchiha Clan Head family. He was fortunate enough to have Obito's personality provided a convenient buffer to interact with these monsters.

Nevertheless, he acquiesced to her wishes.

"Hai Baa-chan!" Pouring chakra into his eyes, his eyes rapidly evolved to their three-tomoe state and then into the complex yet soothing pinwheel Mangekyo dojutsu.

A wrinkled hand lightly touched Naruto's chin as Uchiha Hitomi moved her head closer for a better look. Marveling the unique signature of the upgraded Sharingan, she absently noticed Naruto instinctive jerk to get away from her appendage.

Pulling back when she saw his slight visible discomfort that only an Uchiha would unconsciously display, she spoke out loud to her colleagues. "He definitely has it. It seems like great times are destined for the Uchiha once more."

"Undoubtedly. This is an auspicious sign from Rikudo Sennin himself. We haven't had one since the duo awoken theirs ten years ago." Another elder spoke, a male, this time who was completely blind - with two pale eyes. Naruto got the sinking feeling that every elder in this room has - or had - the Mangekyo Sharingan. Which brought the question, why did they not have the enternal variants? He couldn't believe that they could not find someone closely related to eyes with.

Another blind man with a white beard clenched his hand into a fist. "An answer to Danzo's little parade, we have, it seems. Show off the powers of this clan to the uneducated masses, we shall, once more."

"I still don't think we can trust that ignorant fool." An austere woman spoke derogatorily. "Not with that blasted Senju filling up his student minds with his lies."

"But that's what the Senju bastard wants to do. To debilitate us." Arrogance dripping from the last elder's tone. "He gets the last laugh even after death. And that is why we always win in the end. We just needed to wait till the right moment. And that moment is now." He turned back to stare at Obito with one red Sharingan eye that kinda daunted Naruto. "Typical Senju arrogance."

"Huh?" Naruto muttered to himself softly as he was lost in this abstruse conversation. But, it seemed as if every occupant of the room heard him.

Uchiha Hitomi spoke to Naruto in a disarming tone, "Tell me Obito-kun, do you know the details surrounding our current situation in this war?"

"Uh...no." Naruto stuttered as he was completely blindsided by the rapid change of topic of discussion. He was still reeling from the fact that Madara seemed nice compared to these people.

"We are losing." She answered abruptly as her lone eye stared straight to Naruto's eyes.

"What?" Naruto uttered as he slowly registered the comment. "But… but… aren't we-"

"Winning? Konoha is losing in this battle of attrition. We are being pressed on all sides. Iwa and Kumo are marching closer and closer to Konoha everyday while proving irritatingly illusive for our forces. Kiri, on the other hand, is wrecking our supply lines from the coast. With Suna officially joining in the fight against us after deciding that playing neutral won't allow them to get a share of the rewards, Konoha is destined to fall in months."

"Bu-"

"And the opportunists are out for blood. More and more factions are appearing out of the woodwork - each wanting a carve out a piece of Fire Country for themselves. In short, this war marks the end of Konoha itself - and with it, the Uchiha."

"W-w-w-wh-" He was completely shocked by how Konoha wasn't winning like they were supposed to according to the history textbook, Konoha: Beautiful Foundations, that Naruto was forced to read when he was younger. A sinking pit started to form in his stomach as he realized he wasn't in the past. He was in a whole different dimension - which made all of his future knowledge that he learned absolutely useless.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Of course, had Naruto actually paid attention to Iruka's lecture in class on the second day of the Academy, he would have learned that the history textbook that Naruto was deriving his information from was complete bullshit when it came to teaching about the three shinobi wars. Since the history textbook was made to teach civilians the basics about history, it failed to cover all the important details that any shinobi or academy student needed to know. But the Academy was running out of funds since the Council Elders implemented budget cuts and thus the Academy was forced to grab the cheapest, yet most updated history textbooks in bulk - Konoha: Beautiful Foundations.

It just so happened that one day, Naruto left class early to do a prank on a shopkeeper that wouldn't sell him some instant ramen. If he stayed ten more minutes, he could have heard Iruka describe the Third Shinobi War from his own personal experiences. That day, he did a great job explaining to the children the actual war effort in full detail which painted the war a very different light than the textbook did. The lesson concluded that day was that you made sure take you everything - including information - with a grain of salt.

But… Naruto (and maybe the others as well) missed that important lesson… and so our somewhat naive protagonist never realized that the current war crysis that Konoha is currently in is the exact same situation his Konoha experienced in his timeline…

Good job Naruto!

You concluded wrongly that you are in a completely different dimension. More headaches for you in the future! Cheers!

Anyway, let's get back to the story…

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

"B-b-b-" Naruto stammered.

"But with the ascendancy of your eyes, we can stop this disgraceful tide of war." The elder said calmly, as if she wasn't talking to Naruto about a serious subject over a cup of tea. "And that's why we need to take the appropriate steps to make sure that the Uchiha stay on top. So tell me Obito, are you willing to do what is necessary. For Konoha? For the Uchiha?"

There was a silence that engulfed the atmosphere as Naruto rapidly processed the deluge of information that Obito's "Baa-chan" told him. Konoha was going to lose. Konoha was going to fall. And with Konoha gone, everyone was going to die or suffer: Kakashi, Rin, Minato, Mikoto, Itachi, Shisui, Kagami… the list went on and on. Everyone, even the little Uchiha children that Naruto loved to play and teach with in his free time to the kind Uchiha Teyaki who gave him free food, was going to die. Iwa and Kumo are getting closer and closer and when they do… it will be hell… Naruto concluded grimly as his mind wandered back to the day of the screaming cacophony that engulfed the air when the Confederate Shinobi pushed the Allied Shinobi Forces out of their last stronghold in Fire Country - Konoha. Hundreds died on that fateful day, but the corollary was thousands grieving the loss of family and friends.

But most of all, she could die. Naruto concluded rationally. Suzuki Tsunami, the adorable yet benign woman whom Naruto was very slowly, but ever surely, falling in love with after finally moving on past his first true love. Her purity served as his warm welcoming light in this dark and violent world. He could, no would not fail another. Or he would-

Eyes, formerly tormented with indecision and grief after Kakashi's blatant rejection, sharpened into gems of pure determination as the Uchiha blood within him sang of possessiveness. It seems I must wage war against my future allies…but Tsunami-chan will not be harmed by anyone. She WILL be safe. She MUST be safe.

Decision made, Naruto broke through the silent ambience first. "What do I need to do?" He felt his chakra hum in anticipation - anticipation for what, he didn't know but Naruto was going to make sure he kept this promise. Or he would commit seppuku like Zabuza did on the battlefield and take as many as possible to the afterlife. She was that worth that much to him.

Quiet murmuring broke out between the elders before Hitomi silenced them with a quick snap of her fingers. Then, she explained her plan. "In Konoha's leadership, there is a man who can give you the most important yet dangerous missions to allow you to change the tide of the war and bring the Uchiha back to prominence once more."

"Who?" Naruto questioned quickly as he hung off her every word. Desperately.

"Shimura Danzo." She replied, with a hint of distaste coloring her words.

Blood fell from Naruto's face as he recalled the one of the two people he wanted to avoid in this new dimension. Although the details currently surrounding the man was very ambiguous, it painted Danzo as a man that Naruto did not want to be in the same room with. Sai's exquisite personality can attest to that.

"So you heard the rumors." She nodded approvingly. "But nevertheless, we must ally with him. He recently created a black ops program called Root and the Hokage is requiring all clans to have at least one B-rank member minimum in this program. And as foolish as the name may sound, I can absolutely guarantee that any individuals of high aptitude will enter the program."

Huh? Wasn't he supposed to steal orphans? Then again, my info may be faulty in this new world. Naruto thought shook his head. He would need to figure out the differences between his and this world when he had some free time. "Wouldn't it be better if I stayed with Minato-sensei?" He asked.

"No. Danzo can allow you to access more resources and leverage that Namikaze-san could ever provide you with. We have recently heard of your… destructive practice sessions. With you being confirmed as an A-rank shinobi by the Hokage himself, staying on that team will only serve to hold you back. Something, it seems, your team is already doing." She said with a glint in her eye, daring Naruto to tell her she was wrong right in front of her.

Naruto frowned when he realized that his secret training sessions weren't, well, secret anymore. The plus side to all of this is that she assumed that he was hiding his true abilities until he just unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan, so he could use the same excuse in the future if someone would be suspicious about his recent magnification of strength.

"So why don't you get someone else?" It was obvious to Naruto that Danzo would provide a much better opportunity to hunt down Madara, but he didn't want to have his vibrant personality replaced with a rock

"Why you-" One of the elders interjected angrily, before another elder next to him gave him a quick jab to silence him.

Hitomi, without showing any of her own irritation at Obito's stubbornness, decided that the current route wasn't working. Without missing a beat, she decided to change the topic slightly so Obito would be more receptive to their ideas. "Did you know that Danzo wanted Itachi to enter Root?"

"WHAT?"

She pressed on. "Itachi isn't ready for such a program yet Danzo demands the Uchiha must send their finest since we lost little compared to the other clans. Yet, this would only desiccate the golden path our future heir has already started on. While he is prodigious in many disciplines, the Uchiha cannot sacrifice the next clan head to some outsider's whim. And moreover, he wants the other children to enter: Shisui, Miku, Dai, Kenshun, Nao, Murasaki…"

As she began to list the names of the various Uchiha children that Obito - and now Naruto - started to teach, it ignited hot agony. Ignorant of the very small grins from the other individuals in the room, Naruto saw red when Uchiha Hitomi clinically listed more and more children to be sent on the battlefield prematurely where most of them would die and the rest would be broken physically or mentally by the deleterious battlefields of Shinobi World Wars. Furthermore, all of those children she was listing were his students that Danzo wanted.

If Danzo really wants the Sharingan, then he can look at mine for all he wants. But, he will NOT dare to touch one inch of MY students. Or I will murder him and burn the fucker to ashes and hide his leftovers in a ditch, then turn the ditch into a fucking swamp and drown the swamp in water an-

"I'll join Root." Naruto answered hotly as his activated Mangekyo Sharingan rotated endlessly in agreement. Inwardly, he was deathly horrified by how dark that train of thought was. I need to get out of here before something else happens. Their auras are somehow infecting me through my Senjutsu ability. Fuck!

All the elders nodded their head in approval. Seeing the meeting was done, Naruto unashamedly ignored proper etiquette and stood up abruptly to leave. Taking a discreet glance at the tablet at the end of the room with his still active Mangekyo Sharingan, he quickly memorized the imprints on the stone tablet that Madara spoke of during his interesting monologues. He would spend some time later understanding the text at his own convenience but, right now, he needed to leave this room as soon as possible. But before he was able to, Hitomi spoke once more. "There is one more thing you must do. For the clan."

"What?" Naruto gritted out caustically as he turned around. He needed to leave fast. Something was very wrong with him and he needed to get down the bottom of the problem - fast.

"You need to impregnate the most powerful Uchiha woman currently available as per the contract you signed when you agreed to become a Konoha shinobi and unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan. Violation of this contract leads to immediate removal of Sharingan and possible execution as stated in Article 2, Section 5. Attempts to resist can include suppression with extreme prejudice, extraction of sperm forcefully, and barred from entering your biological child's life."

"Huh?" Naruto blurted out loudly as all the previous anxiety evaporated instantly. He could only blink as his mind slowly translated Hitomi's words circuitously.

She threw him a vanilla folder with some papers stuffed in. "Here is all the information that you need to know about Uchiha Saeko. Congratulations! I hope to see some children running around soon."

"Wh-" As he reflexively caught the packet of papers that had all the information about Uchiha Saeko. But he didn't need any of it since Obito knew the individual very well. Uchiha Saeko was Shisui's mother… a very deadly swordswoman/widow in her own right who was rumored to be on the brink of becoming an S-rank kunoichi before she retired. She stabbed just about anybody who looked at her lewdly - including sending one white-haired pervert to the emergency room repeatedly.

Only one thought echoed through his mind. Rikudo Sennin, why me?

"Now, you can go." She said sweetly yet compellingly. "And make sure you treat her well. Understood?"

Switching between looking at her and the folder back and forth a couple of times, Naruto's mind shut down as his literally held the sheets of paper that had the information about his future wife that his clan decided to arbitrary provide for him.

Turning around, he absently walk out of the secret room robotically as his mind was in complete turmoil. Two thoughts were concurrently running through his mind: "Senjutsu influence is somehow corrupting me" and the more mind blowing thought "I need to have a kid with Shisui's mom".

When he walked out of the shine, he screamed one word to the sky to release all his frustrations - regardless of the attention he brought upon himself.

"FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!"

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

The group of elders waited until the yelling died down and the footfalls slowly faded before they resumed their discussion.

"I know that making the boy enter Danzo's graces was the plan. But was it really necessary to lie to the boy about how close Konoha is to losing? We are at a stalemate against the other four great nations. It doesn't seem like it would end anytime soon although we are at a slight disadvantage. But we aren't losing per say with all the attrition the other nations are facing..."

"The best lies always have a hint of truth." The austere elder recited the axiom.

"Indeed. Obito clearly doesn't trust us for some reason. It may be a byproduct from unlocking his Mangekyo or dancing so close to death. But it won't matter how much he tries to resist us." Hitomi replied as the genjutsu around her one working eye shattered, showing a black triangle inscribed on the red bleeding eye before the whole eye turned to pale white. "Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods) ensures that even the worst lies becomes the very truth."

"But a necessary truth, it is." The elder with a white beard added - without a tint of remorse. "To reap the fruits of our success, the future Uchiha will. Planted the seed, we have. Wait for the next generation, we shall. Then, return, our light will, for the Great Sage shall guide us."

"Certainly. And then, Infinite Tsukuyomi can blossom, once more, as he foretold." Hitomi said as she blindly stared at the area where the stone tablet was sitting ominously by the wall.

"As he foretold." The other elders repeated together solemnly in unison.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Looking at the folder in his hand, that felt a lot heavier to Naruto than it should have, he quickly ran back to the Training Ground 40 with the pond to find Shisui happily blowing fist-sized fireballs across the water. He really didn't want to think about the convoluted mess that Obito somehow got him into so he sent the carefree boy to gather all the cute little Uchiha kids. He sat on the muddied, burnt grass and brought out blank scrolls and brushes as he waited.

Assisted by some Kage Bunshin, he started writing instructions for a jutsu that he was intimately familiar with in his old dimension. No matter how many problems he was currently facing (most recently - being forced to have a kid soon), he needed to make sure the kids - his students - would be well protected on their own when someone high up like Danzo was poaching his students. Entering Root only guaranteed that he could no longer keep an eye over them. Thus, multiple precautionary measures must be put into place.

With a click, Naruto rolled his last scroll and placed it on top of the little hill he made from the scrolls. Dispelling the last of the Kage Bunshin, he turned when he heard loud footsteps to see the first set of Uchiha children running towards him.

"Obito-san!"

"Onii-chan!"

"Leader-sama!"

"Boss!"

An assortment of Uchiha children from the ages of four to ten shouted out loud happily as they gathered around him. He lifted one of the nearby little girls up into the air, Akame - Obito's memories helpfully supplied for him. Giggling, she yelled, "Faster, faster" at him as she gave him a happy grin as he spun around with the girl in his arms.

Putting her down, Uchiha Akame let out a pout as her spot was taken by an older boy. Regardless, she and the other children watched entranced as Obito picked up Uchiha Kenchi. Naruto then proceeded to throw the boy in the air as he screamed in delight before catching him and throwing him up again.

As Naruto waited for the rest of the children to come, he played with the various children as he silently committed to memory each kid in his arms that Obito knew. Kiku, Ryota, Sakurako, Yua, Kazuo, Aoi… the list went on and on. These were his students that he may never ever see again.

After a couple of minutes, he spotted the two last children heading towards him: Shisui and Itachi. Placing Uchiha Shun on the ground, he proceeded to yell, "Attention!"

With the order was heard by all, the children scrambled around like headless chickens to quickly find their neighboring students they were assigned to sit next to. Obito, one day, decided it was a good idea to mimic a classroom style setting outdoors, with the younger and shorter kids in the front, and the older and taller children in the back so he could start them on the basics of the Henge (Transformation Jutsu).

As the last couple of children sat down on the grass, Naruto walked towards them. Waiting for everyone's undivided attention, he began his speech as paced in front of his audience back and forth. "Uchiha Rangers! Today, I have called a meeting today because I have something important to tell you."

The kids quickly began whispering to one and another as they tried to guess what Obito was going to say. Waiting for the silence to die down, he continued. "I would like to inform you that the Uchiha Clan requests that I will join a super secret shinobi program!"

"Ooohhhh!" The younger kids chattered out excitedly to one and another while the older ones waited patiently for the other shoe to drop - as experience always dictated. "But! That means I will be out on the battlefield more often to do more dangerous missions. And thus, I won't have much time to teach you anymore."

There was an uncomfortable silence that engulfed the children. Hearing the outbreak of sniffles from the younger audience, Naruto hastily continued. He definitely did not want to deal with crying children. D-ranks already gave him enough experience with that.

"That is why... today, I want to give you all something very important. As a farewell gift from me, I will give you all the instructions for a very strong jutsu for your arsenal. A very useful A-rank jutsu."

Holding out his right hand with the palm in the air, he let his chakra flow through his arm. The chakra greedily molded into a familiar shape that he and his enemies were intimately familiar with - a red sphere made up of pure chakra.

"Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere)." Naruto muttered quietly, yet it was heard by everyone clearly.

Hearing the sounds of gasps and awes, he smiled gently at the children. Even the stoic Itachi was vibrating excitingly in his seat as his Sharingan eagerly tried to decipher the secrets of the sphere while simultaneously trying to ignore the excited, yet animated, Shisui next to him.

While he would rather spend the time infusing important philosophies, many of the older ones will be entering the battlefield in a couple of years. This jutsu would serve them well. He could only hope that that everyone would return to this spot for class in the future. But...he knew that not everyone would make it back.

Activating his Sharingan for a split second, he allowed its photographic memory to effortlessly remember this carefree image of all his students in front of him. He would do his best to end the war quickly. And if entering Root was the best way to go about it, he would do it despite his reservations. After all, the ends justify the means…

Summoning a sealless Kage Bushin that further excited the children, they gave a scroll to each children as he continued to speak. "These scrolls have the step-by-step instructions on how to perform this jutsu. However, it requires very good chakra control so make you start practicing your chakra control! If you can do tree walking, try practicing walking on water. If you can do that easily, then walk on jagged cliffs. Chakra control is very important for any shinobi so make sure you always practice. Is that clear Uchiha Rangers?"

"Yes sir!" The kids shouted out as they happily held onto their scroll.

"Good! Class dismissed."

Seeing the children run back home with excited faces brought a warm smile to Naruto's/Obito's face. This is what I am and will fight for. For the children who never had a childhood, for Tsunami to be safe, for Team 7 to live. Everything is for the wellbeing of Konoha.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Infusing chakra in his legs, Naruto effortlessly hopped on top of a nearby tree. Quickly spotting the object of desire in a clearing of grass, he let his chakra quickly take his legs to a familiar rock.

It didn't have the same number of names as it did in his dimension nor the number of cracks that hinted at its age, but it was still just as important to Naruto. With a finger, Naruto traced the smooth comforting grooves of the inscribed names of various shinobis who gave their life for this village. The true heros that were forgotten in the sands of time when Konoha fell in his world. Sorry, Gaara, Onoki, A, Mei… I will butcher your future shinobi. For Konoha cannot dare to fall a second time under my watch. Please, forgive me… for the Shinigami will have none for me…

Naruto stared at the memorial stone for a minute as he relished the quiet atmosphere that was periodically interrupted by birds singing. The peaceful atmosphere that could only be obtained by the countless sacrifices that these noble shinobi and kunoichi made to keep Konoha winning every war to date. Bowing in respect for the fallen, Naruto swiftly headed back home to get ready for his date with Tsunami. He would do his part to ensure Konoha would stay on top.

Madara could wait.

Now then, how can I break the news to Tsunami-chan?

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

As he left the monument, he never heard the quiet voice whisper in his head. The Shinigami may not forgive you, but I shall. Well done, my instrument. You have journeyed the first steps towards the zenith hour; for you are on the path to salvation. My salvation.

Two basic sharingan eyes glowed in the darkness as a shadowed figure stared at the large, pristine fuin cage that once housed the great Kyuubi.

With a small twitch of the index finger, what was once three tomoe rotating in each eyes rippled into a long forgotten Mangekyo Sharingan pattern that danced furiously in the murky darkness. The eyes displayed three straight bars stretching from the enlarged pupil in the center.

Then, they evolved even further…

I never got to thank you… nii-san. The figure whispered to himself in the shadows as the pattern changed once more to display concentric ripples with nine endless twirling tomoe in each eye. Raising his arm, the individual gently placed his palm on one of the bars of the cage. Pulling back, the mysterious figure watch stoically as the bar, that once resisted the destructive might of the strongest biju, started to turn black and rot.

I never got to thank you… for everything…

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

A/N: (I recommend that everyone should read this side note to avoid further confusion!)

And that's a wrap on this delicious chapter. In this chapter, we see a lot of manipulating done that would have a lot future consequences down the line (for our awesome protagonist, for the interesting plot, and for that delicious harem sandwich)!

A major plot point that you may be confused on is that Naruto thinks that he is in an alternate dimension when in fact, he is NOT. He is currently back in time, just with Obito's body. The elders manipulated the facts to make Naruto think that Konoha was losing in this time so that he would have a greater incentive to enter Root for the Uchiha. An unknown/accidental byproduct from this manipulation is that Naruto wrongly concludes is that "his Konoha" isn't the same as the "this Konoha" - since the textbook doesn't say that "his Konoha" was losing at any stage of the war. Of course, had he actually paid attention or stayed in class, he would know otherwise.

Textbooks are used (even today in the 21th century) for indoctrination/patriotic purposes so it wouldn't have anything too discriminating (like a nation quietly supporting inhumane torture for information or secretly funding certain rebellious groups) so the nation would not be seen under a bad light by its denizens. The lesson of the day people is: trust your textbooks' info with a grain of salt! But make sure you still know all the details to get good grades (if you are still in school like I am T_T)! :D

So I hope I cleared any confusion you guys have! If you still are confused with anything, put it on the review. I can try to address it for the Q&A session for chapter 9.

This - and maybe some parts in the future (depending on the overall reception of this idea) - will have parts that Kishimoto kinda neglects in the canon: misinformation. In today's world, information is a very, very powerful weapon in politics, economics, warfare and so many other things. So in Naruto's world where shinobi reign supreme and everyone has a bunch of skeletons to hide in their closet, information would be even MORE valuable. I hope that by adding the element of misinformation, Naruto won't easily be able to predict and kill off all the "future" antagonists. And thus, the plot spices up!

So please take a moment to leave a comment on your feelings with my idea! I love the widespread support you guys give me!