"Okay, how about we start with some introductions. What do you like? What do you hate? What are your dreams for the future? What do you like to do? You're working together from now on. You'll get to know each other eventually, but it helps to have an idea of what direction you plan to take your lives in." Kakashi stated, walking over to the roof's railing and leaning back against it.

"Oi oi, why don't you introduce yourself first?" Naruto suggested, giving Kakashi a wary look and trying to bite back a smile.

"You do look... suspicious..." Sakura said, her voice quiet.

"Hmm... very well. My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I have absolutely no desire to tell you guys about what I like and what I don't. I have a lot of hobbies, and as for the future... hm..." Kakashi trailed off, gazing at the sky with his head cocked to one side.

"...We already knew his name." Muttered Sakura.

"Now it's your turn. Let's start on the left." Kakashi said, snapping his attention back to the present and looking down at Sakura.

"Me? Uh..." Sakura squeaked, not expecting to go first. "W-well, my name is Haruno Sakura, and I like... I like..." She let out an embarrassed giggle, before flipping around completely and in an almost deadpan tone continued, "What I hate... is Naruto. My hobby is..."

Naruto winced at this, making a face but trying not to make too much of it. It was just how she was at the start, after all. Naruto knew they'd grow closer eventually. It was still incredibly annoying to hear, though. Something behind the mental door marked with 'Older Self' was trying to break free, and he was having to focus considerably to keep from seeing it. It wouldn't do to have an episode here in front of Kakashi and his team, after all.

'Going to be okay?' Asked the Kyuubi.

'Depends.' Naruto replied mentally, listening idly as Sakura rambled on. 'Hey, I'm starting to have second thoughts about this...'

'Which part?'

'Not making any changes. If we're too scared to change anything, then when will we know when to act?' Asked Naruto.

'We'll know. Why? Are you thinking about doing something differently?'

'I dunno. Keep arguing with myself about it. Literally, most of the time. I have a few ideas, but...'

The Kyuubi let out a sudden growl. 'Hold on. The Uchiha brat is up...'

Naruto's focus shifted back to what was going on around him, and he glanced aside at Sasuke just in time to see him start talking. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke," he began, his tone as dark as ever, "I don't like anything in particular, but there are plenty of things I hate. I stopped 'dreaming' about things a long time ago, but... I do have a few goals in life. I want to resurrect my clan... and I want to kill a certain man."

Naruto tried to stop himself, he honestly did. Even with the Kyuubi roaring for him to keep his mouth shut, the words slipped out before he could react. "And what good will that do? You kill him and then what? Then you're a murderer. Would it stop with just him? Would anyone who stood in your way end up dead, too?"

Sasuke's head snapped to the side, eyes narrowed to slits. "Keep your mouth shut about things you don't understand, dead last."

"Uchiha Itachi." Hissed Naruto, returning the glare. For his part, Sasuke had the decency to look surprised. "Why the shocked look? You think I don't know about you guys already? Contrary to what you think, I'm not an idiot. I've done my homework about all three of you. I know exactly what you're after, Sasuke."

"You know nothing about me." Growled Sasuke, getting to his feet.

"Don't I?" Naruto replied, standing as well and stepping up so he was almost touching his teammate. "You live alone because your family is dead, murdered by your brother's hands. You and I are alike in that regard, aren't we? Neither of us have anyone we can depend on. Or rather, neither of us had anyone we could depend on. Make no mistake about it, I don't like you, Sasuke."

"Don't compare the two of us!" Snapped Sasuke. "We're nothing alike!"

"Oh, we're about as far apart as can be. I'm just saying that I know what it's like to be alone, too." Naruto said, crossing his arms. "And as I said... I don't like you. But I would still die to keep you safe. We're teammates now. You know what that means? It means neither of us are alone anymore."

This, for some reason, seemed to cause Sasuke to falter. He blinked a few times, brow creased, as though trying to figure out what on earth he was staring at. This wasn't where he had expected this conversation to go. There was a fierce look in Naruto's eyes that sent a chill down Sasuke's spine. He wasn't sure why, but seeing the class clown suddenly get so serious and break out knowledge that he had kept secret all those years unnerved him.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," continued the blond, keeping eye contact with the Uchiha the entire time. "My favorite food is ramen, I enjoy gardening in my spare time, and my dream used to be to become the Hokage and make everyone in this town acknowledge me. I'll still gain their acknowledgement, but I'll do it by protecting this town with my life. If anything happens to this place, I'll be there along with those jerks who've spent their entire lives looking down on me and calling me names. This town means more to me than I could ever express in words. I won't lose it for anything!"

'HOLD YOUR TONGUE!' Snarled the Kyuubi. 'You've spoken of being terrified of causing changes, yet this is what you do?'

'I know what I'm doing.' Naruto replied. But his voice sounded... older, almost. 'Yes, I'm scared of making changes. But unless I make changes, everything stays the same. I'm letting that idiot know from the outset that I'd be willing to die for him. You saw the look on his face. It was like my older self was guiding me along as I spoke. My heart's pounding, and there are butterflies in my stomach... but it's a good feeling. I'm tired of feeling sick all the time! I won't hide anymore, fox. We move right now because there's a lot we have to setup before Orochimaru marches on my town.'

There was a low, rumbling growl and then, 'Pray you choose wisely, then. If we skew things too greatly at this point, then we lose our one advantage. Never forget that!'

'I don't plan on it.' Naruto said. 'My older self hid his true emotions from everyone around him. He didn't act until it was too late. He refused to do what needed to be done. I've seen the ruin that was brought from that. I won't let it happen a second time!'

Finally closing his eyes, Naruto turned away from Sasuke and went to lean against the railing behind where the team was sitting. His eyes scanned over the town, memories of the giant crater it had once been flickering through his mind. "I don't care if you plan to kill your brother. If you want help, all you have to do is ask. He was a brother from another lifetime. I'm the only brother you have now. We're family, and I'm going to treat you like it. I'm sorry if you don't like that. I'm tired of watching you sit around looking miserable all the time."

"I have to do it myself." Sasuke finally said. "Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what? It won't 'count' or something?" Asked Naruto. "Otherwise it won't be as satisfying? I'm not letting you run off on your own."

"You couldn't stop me if I wanted to." Declared Sasuke.

Naruto let a ghost of a smirk rise on his face. "Says the guy who got tied up earlier today."

That did it. Sasuke's cheeks flushed crimson for the briefest of moments and he sputtered for a second before crying, "That didn't count!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Naruto said, grinning outright now. "Hey, sensei, we done for now?"

Kakashi nodded slowly, surveying the blond with his visible eye. "For today, yes. Tomorrow, however, we're going to start on your training. I'll be your opponent. Be warned, though... of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen. The rest will go back to the Academy. My training is a nightmare unlike anything you've ever faced before. Bring your gear to the training grounds tomorrow morning, at dawn. Skip breakfast, or else you'll make yourselves sick."

Kakashi pulled a few sheets of paper out from his vest, passing one to each of his students. "The details are all right there. Don't be late..."

Naruto smirked, holding his piece of paper into the air and letting the wind carry it away. With a grin, he looked directly at Kakashi and declared, "We'll be there. You don't be late."

Sasuke crushed the paper in his hand, glancing off.

Sakura was alternating looks between the paper, her teammates, and her instructor. Gnawing at her lower lip, she suddenly turned to look at Sasuke. "What did he mean? Who tied you up?"

Sasuke's muscles went tense and his eyes slid to where Naruto was standing. "Nobody."

"That's me. One big nobody." Said Naruto, walking back to the railing and hopping onto it. Spinning around to look down at his team, he added, "Seeya in the morning, guys. Don't be late!"

And with that, he flung himself backwards off the rail. Spinning around in the air, he landed upright and took off in a sprint across the rooftops, bouncing from building to building. He would need to get his rest if he wanted to be at the training grounds before the others. But there was still a lot of daylight remaining, and he had some things he wanted to get done. It had felt... liberating, in a way, to finally allow himself to vent some of his frustrations. He had played his cards. Now he had to wait and see how Sasuke would react to them once he'd had time to process what had been on them.

'You risk everything for him.' Growled the Kyuubi.

'If I can keep myself from having to kill him again, I'm going to. If I have to pound into that idiot's thick skull that he isn't alone, maybe he won't run off seeking power. I have plans for Sasuke. I'm not letting him fall into the darkness this time!'

'You aren't heading home or to Ichiraku. Where is our destination?' Asked the demon fox.

"Got an old friend to see..." Naruto said, his words being lost to the wind as he flipped down from the roof he was on to the ground. Looking around, he slipped his hands into his pockets and smirked. 'Didn't get a good look at Kakashi or Sakura as I was talking. Don't suppose you were able to?'

'The girl was giving you a look I cannot place. The scarecrow was almost certainly trying to peel back a layer or two to see what made you tick. Whether he reached a conclusion or not was anyone's guess, however. He's almost as good at masking his emotions as you are.'

'I don't care what the villagers think of me. I know they'll see me differently in the future. I want them all to know what lengths I'm willing to go to for it. I killed myself once to try and save it, and I'll do it again if something goes wrong this time. Until it goes right, I won't let myself rest!' Thought Naruto. 'If I lose Sakura to Sasuke, then I'll deal with it when it happens. That's obviously not the ending I want, but if it's the one I have to settle for, I will.'

'Again, you speak as though your own happiness weren't a factor in your plans.' Replied the Kyuubi. 'It is unhealthy.'

'I'll survive. It's what I do.' Naruto said, closing his eyes for a moment. 'They might not. That's why he came back. That's why I'm here. If I end up dying to stop Madara, then that's what'll happen. But I won't accept this as a success unless I save everyone!'

'Include yourself in that, then!' Roared the Kyuubi.

Naruto just smiled, rounding a corner and hearing what sounded like someone counting in the distance. He had walked out from the town proper now, and was en route to one of the other training areas. He hadn't been sure the person he was searching for would be there, but the odds were in his favor. Sure enough, as he passed around a few trees, he saw the other boy. New memories surfaced and flashed by, causing him to falter for a moment as he sorted them.

Rock Lee had burned himself out, leaving little more than a hollow shell behind. He had opened the eighth and final Gate in the defense of Konoha when Madara had stormed the town. His efforts hadn't been in vain, as he had severely wounded Madara and was the reason the Uchiha had ultimately retreated. And though the town had suffered many losses that day, Lee had been given a hero's funeral. Pushing himself away from the tree, Naruto walked toward the green-clad taijutsu expert, who was doing situps.

"All by yourself?" Naruto asked, once he was within range.

Lee blinked, stopping his routine to look up at Naruto. "Ah, Naruto-kun! What are you doing out here?"

"About that..."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto groaned as he trudged back into his apartment well after sundown. His muscles ached, and he was sporting a black eye from failing to dodge a telegraphed punch, but he was happy. The one thing he hadn't done yet since merging with his older self was to get into a proper fight. Lee had been all too willing to spar with him, however, and it definitely helped work out a few problems Naruto had foreseen himself having.

For one thing, he wasn't quite used to his limbs being shorter again. He kept getting weird flashbacks to his future self fighting. When he tried to emulate the moves, they wouldn't connect due to his smaller body. He had worked out most of those kinks, however. The second problem was that he really needed to start doing stretches. It wasn't so much the fighting that had left him sore, it was that his body wasn't used to combat now. That was one reason he planned to get to the training grounds before the others. He wanted time to stretch and limber himself up.

Changing as quickly as his aching body would allow, Naruto set his alarm for 5:30 in the morning and promptly collapsed in bed.

"I missed him..." He murmured, staring into the darkened room.

'Are you certain this is the best way to go about things?' Asked the Kyuubi. 'I understand your reasoning, but...'

"I can't properly do it until after Orochimaru comes. I need to literally knock some sense into Neji to make him see things my way. The rest, though... I think I know what I can do." Naruto said, smiling crookedly.

'Just be aware that the ripples you're making could lead to dire consequences down the road.' Growled the fox.

"There'll be dire consequences alright. But not for us. Not this time." Said Naruto, closing his eyes and stretching out. "No more talking. Need to try and clear my head, right?"

'Indeed. Try not to fall asleep before you finish meditating, however.' Said the Kyuubi.

"Yeah, yeah..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Dammit..."

'You knew it was going to happen.'

"Shut up..."

'You had to have known how sore you'd be.'

"Would you please shut up?"

'What were you expecting, fighting with Rock Lee?'

"Yes, yes, I'm an idiot who's aching like crazy because I overdid it last night, now would you shut the hell up and let me think?" Naruto snapped, glaring into his empty fridge. "Last time, I didn't eat because I believed Kakashi's dumb warning. This time I'm not gonna eat because my stupid ass forgot to get groceries before I went off to fight Lee..."

'Best get a move on if you want to loosen up.'

"Hey! What did I just say?"

'Merely trying to keep you on schedule, that's all.'

"Yeah, I'll bet that's all you're doing..." Muttered Naruto, stalking out of his kitchen, slipping his shoes on, and leaving his apartment. It was a chilly morning out, just as he remembered it being the first time around. He took in a deep breath that did wonders for his aching body. That was the one thing he had forgotten to take into account - just how sore he'd be the morning after training. His body was still out of shape. That was a problem he had to fix as soon as possible. He had talked to Lee about it, and the fuzzy-browed boy had said that Naruto could feel free to come around to train with him whenever he wanted.

As he had planned, he was the first to arrive at the training grounds. Plodding over to where the three posts were, he reached out and touched the one he had been tied to in the original timeline. If his ideas worked, things would play out a little differently this time. Looking around for a moment, he dropped to the ground and began work on stretching himself. It was difficult, as his muscles were arguing against the movement the entire time. Eventually, however, they seemed to ease up and behave the way he wanted them to.

It was nearly forty-five minutes before Sasuke and Sakura turned up. Probably met one another along the way, Naruto figured. He was sprawled out on the ground with his arms behind his head, gazing up at the clear morning sky.

"You know," he said, loud enough for his teammates to hear as they approached, "I'll bet you lunch that he doesn't turn up for at least an hour."

"I'm surprised you got here before us." Sakura said, eyeballing Naruto strangely. "You didn't just stay up all night, did you?"

"No, but that probably would've been a better idea than just getting four and a half hours of rest." Said Naruto, making a face.

"...Why did you go to bed so late?" Asked Sakura.

"Out sparring with Rock Lee." Naruto said, closing his eyes and stretching. Wincing slightly, he added, "That's where I got the shiner..."

Sasuke snorted at this. "I've seen him around. He's the one in the green spandex, isn't he?"

"Yup. Completely awful fashion sense. Punches like a damn monster, though..." Naruto said, reaching up and gingerly touching the spot around his injured eye. "So I'm sore and I'm tired and I forgot to get groceries, so I'm starving, too. What about you guys?"

"I slept just fine." Sakura said. "Not used to skipping breakfast, though..."

"I made a large dinner last night." Sasuke offered, sitting down and crossing his arms. "Feeling good so far. I can make it to lunch, at least."

"What do you think he's got planned for us?" Asked Naruto.

"With him, there's no telling." Sakura said, hopping up on one of the posts. Looking up at the sky, she pondered aloud, "You don't think we'll have to fight him, do you?"

"They wouldn't make us win in a fight against a jounin just to advance." Sasuke said, though he didn't sound entirely sure of himself. "Whatever the case, we should be able to deal with it. Oh, and you can consider your stupid bet taken, dead last. Half an hour, at the most."

Naruto smirked. "You're on."

And, at just over an hour later, when Kakashi finally came waltzing into the training grounds, book in hand, Naruto jabbed Sasuke in the ribs with his elbow. "You're lucky Ichiraku isn't expensive."

"I hate you. You know that, right?" Said Sasuke, casting a withering look in Naruto's direction.

"Well aware!" Naruto chirped, grinning. "What can I say, I'm a cheap date!"

"You're late!" Cried Sakura, pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi as he drew nearer.

Kakashi merely smiled behind his mask as he passed his students, heading for a tree stump and pulling out a clock. After fiddling with it for a moment, he turned and faced his team, reaching into a pocket and pulling out two other objects. "The timer's set for noon. You have by then to take these bells from me. Whoever doesn't get a bell also doesn't get any lunch. You'll be tied up to those posts and I'll eat in front of you, in fact. You only need to get one, but there are only two of them. Whoever fails to get one will be sent back to the Academy. You can come at me however you want, and you'd better come after me seriously. I'm not going to go easy just because you're a bunch of kids. Are we all ready?"

"Ready as we'll ever be, considering." Naruto muttered, staring at the bells and hearing a ringing in the distance.

"Start!" Kakashi yelled, sitting down on the tree stump next to the clock. Immediately, Sakura and Sasuke leapt off, hiding themselves in the foliage nearby. Naruto, however, stood his ground.

'The ringing is in my head, isn't it?' He asked.

'Most likely. Try to tune it out.' The Kyuubi replied.

Sighing, Naruto glanced to the side, where he knew his teammates were hiding, then looked back at Kakashi. The man had pulled out his book and was glancing down at it casually. Sticking his hands into his pockets, Naruto strolled over to him, moving to one side so that he could talk to Kakashi without fear that Sasuke was reading his lips.

"Where'd you get the black eye?" Asked Kakashi, his tone light.

"Training with Rock Lee." Naruto said. "Figured I could use some exercise. Kinda dodged when I should have ducked. I don't think I'll ever be able to throw a punch like him."

"Guy's trained him up well." Kakashi said, his gaze leaving the book. "You're supposed to be trying to get a bell, not chatting with me. What're you planning?"

"Trying to decide something very important." Naruto said. "...It's been a long time since we got to talk like this. I'm nervous."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow raised somewhat. "I don't think we've ever talked before."

Naruto only smiled wanly in reply. "I know this is about teamwork, Kakashi-sensei. I'll try and round those two up and work on a plan, but..."

"But...?"

"I really need to burn off some frustration." Naruto said, his hands opening and closing reflexively. "I'll get them after, but... could you humor me just for a few minutes?"

"Whatever you think you can throw at me, I can handle." Kakashi said, making a shooing motion with his hand. "Go on and do what you need to."

Naruto nodded slowly, turning and heading back to where he was originally standing. Kakashi's eye followed him, glancing down to the boy's hands. It would have been hard for his teammates to notice, perhaps, but it didn't pass by him. Naruto was forming and releasing tiny balls of chakra each time his hands opened. That, Kakashi decided, was incredibly strange for someone who was supposed to have gotten the weakest grades in his class. In fact, Naruto had been acting very differently than the Third had said he would. Kakashi had no doubt that if the boy had been capable of anything beyond shadow clones, the Hokage would have at least made a passing mention of it. He looked back down to his book, though he was unable to focus on the words now.

'Stop doing that before the Uchiha brat notices.' The Kyuubi said.

Naruto's hands closed into fists as he turned back to face Kakashi. 'Sorry. But like I said, I need to burn off some frustration.'

'You can't use the Rasengan now. Weren't you saying that you didn't want the brat to not be aware of your 'tricks' before you were ready?' Asked the Kyuubi. 'And beyond that, it's dangerous. There are very few ninja who have used the Rasengan, and you've known all of them to some degree. The scarecrow is no fool. Use that in front of him now and we'll end up staring down Morino Ibiki.'

'What he doesn't know won't hurt me. I've thought this through. Just let me get this pent-up anger out of my system. Fighting with Lee helped, but I couldn't push myself against him.' Naruto argued.

'You can't go all out against Kakashi, either. Not in front of them.'

'That's another reason I went to fight Lee. To tire my body out so I wouldn't be able to fight Kakashi at full strength. I'm only going to be able to push myself as far as my aching body will let me. I know the risks involved. But he won't see anything if I don't want him to.'

'It isn't about whether he sees it or not.' The Kyuubi replied gruffly. 'It's about him reporting any oddities to the old man. The old man if we're lucky. If we aren't...'

'Straight into the Torture and Interrogation boys. I know.' Naruto said.

'Then play your cards very carefully. If you try doing anything I deem dangerous, I will stop you.' Said the Kyuubi.

'That a threat, fox?'

'Merely a warning.'

Naruto licked his lips, bringing his hands up. His fight with Lee had prepared him somewhat for how different combat would feel, but it wasn't enough. The memories had been hammering against him since his older self had come back. He had to vent his frustrations. If he didn't, he was going to go off and do something truly stupid. Eight letters, sealed in envelopes, were sitting on his desk back at his apartment, addressed to the other jinchuuriki. Warning them about what Akatsuki would eventually try to do to them. It was only through a long argument with the demon fox that he stopped himself from sending them. For now, anyway.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He roared suddenly. And, in an instant, the training ground filled to capacity with shadow clones. This threw Kakashi into alert, as all of the reports on the boy's skill had said nothing about being able to do something like this. Naruto vanished amidst the clones and, as one, they all began to speak, all of them slightly out of synch with one another. "I know you can find the real me if you want to. Same goes for that Uchiha idiot! So why don't the both of you get a good look and tell me what you really see. I'll fight you on your own terms if that's really what you want, sensei. Just know that I might surprise you!"

Surprise, huh? Kakashi smirked as he set his book down, reaching up and pulling his forehead protector up, revealing his Sharingan. Glancing through the mass of shadow clones, he spotted the real Naruto somewhere towards the back. He was hidden from plain view, but something was going on with his chakra. From what Kakashi could see, it kept flaring up and, at least once, he was sure he caught sight of it changing colors. He wasn't sure what to make of that, though he had his guesses. His eye floated to the right, where he caught sight of both Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke's own Sharingan were active, and he looked about as confused as Kakashi felt.

A sudden surge of chakra made Kakashi's attention snap back to Naruto. But Naruto had moved, and the shadow clones had started their assault. One after another, they flew at the jounin relentlessly, getting themselves destroyed in a single hit apiece. But no matter how many he hit, more would take their place. It had been a long time since Kakashi had been forced to deal with so many clones. As he moved and fought back against the clones' attacks, he searched for the real Naruto. But the real Naruto had vanished somewhere. Kakashi kept moving, kept looking around, but no matter where he looked, he was unable to find Naruto anywhere. One of the clones managed to sweep Kakashi's leg out from under him, causing him to topple backwards. However, the jounin kicked off with his other foot, flipping back towards the river and away from the army of shadow clones.

This, however, was exactly what Naruto had been waiting for. He had gone underground and effectively drilled himself a tunnel out into the water, waiting for his clones to push Kakashi back. Launching himself from the river, he swung a hand at Kakashi, clipping one of the bells and causing it to ring. Kakashi spun, grabbed him by the ankle, and tossed him back toward the three posts. Naruto landed on his feet and, standing up straight, dismissed his clones.

"Could've gotten it if I had wanted." Naruto said, panting heavily. A grin rose on his face as he turned away from his teacher, heading toward where he knew his teammates were hiding. "But like I said, there's no point in doing it that way when I know what this is really about."

Kakashi stared at Naruto as he walked off, breathing hard but otherwise showing no signs of exhaustion. This was well above what he should've been able to do. And not just skill-wise, he had shown a level of tactical thinking that belied his grades. Something was definitely wrong here. He turned and looked at the now-obvious hole in the ground, which must have happened when Kakashi had felt the chakra surge. If the clones hadn't been blocking his vision, and if he hadn't been constantly looking for the real Naruto, he would have noticed that the water around where Naruto had exited had turned dark from the dirt and mud spilling out into it. He would have to have a little talk with the Hokage about this.

"What the hell was that?" Asked Sasuke, leaping down from the tree he had been hiding in.

"Why didn't you take one of the bells, you idiot?" Cried Sakura, also coming out of hiding.

"This is about teamwork." Naruto said. "It'd mean nothing if I got one on my own. We either do this as a team or not at all."

"Hang teamwork, how did you make so many shadow clones, dead last?" Asked Sasuke, his Sharingan still active.

"You'd be surprised what I can do. Like I've said before, lack of effort doesn't mean lack of talent. It isn't important how I did it. What's important is I know a way to get the bells away from him without burning any more chakra... which is good, since I kind of depleted a lot just now." Naruto said.

"...Alright, let's hear it, then." Sasuke said, crossing his arms.

"It's that book of his." Naruto said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. Kakashi was sitting back on the tree stump, gaze on Ichaicha Paradise once more. "I've heard he likes that series a lot. He hasn't reached the end of that one yet. Now what if I told you I knew the ending?"

"I'd say 'so what.' What's that got to do with anything?" Sasuke asked, looking sour.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto explained, "Use your head, wouldja? You have those weird eyes too, right? If I were to stop talking and just mouthed words, you'd still be able to see what I was saying, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, and?"

"And..." Naruto continued, grinning. "If he doesn't want us to spoil the ending to his dumb book, he'll have to close his eyes."

"Why both of them? He had his right eye closed while he was fighting your clones. He can't read lips normally, can he?" Asked Sakura.

"Betcha he wouldn't risk it on the offchance he made something out." Naruto said, smirking. "He'll cover his ears, he'll close his eyes, and we can get the bells."

"But there's only two." Sasuke said. "So who gets left out?"

Naruto's smirk grew at this. "Come on, Sasuke, figure it out on your own. You shouldn't need the 'dead last' of the class to tell you what we're gonna do, do you?"

Sasuke scowled at this. "Fine, but if your idiotic plan doesn't work, I'm going after him myself."

"Fair enough." Naruto said. "Alright, here's how the book ends. Try and memorize as much of this as you can..."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Author's Notes: As stated elsewhere, originally there was going to be at least a Rasengan thrown out during Naruto's siege on Kakashi. But the Kyuubi is right - no sense in risking so much just to vent. So he went about things a little differently. And now he's using the idea he thought of after the time jump in the original. So what's going to happen the second time around in this timeline? Kakashi wouldn't fall for the same tactics twice, would he?

And yes, I'm leaving it on a slight cliffhanger for now. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get the next chapter out. They do seem to be coming easier now that I've gotten some steam built up.