Short silence followed Kakashi's statement. And then Naruto, shaking his head, yelled, "WHAT?! You mean you don't even have a plan?"

"Not quite," said Kakashi, honestly. "You three can handle all of that. After all, you've all become wonderful Shinobi, much better ones than I, anyway. I'm just an old coot who's survived into the new era." He touched his chest, where a large scar marked his last major battle defending Chouji against Pein's assault.

They all stared at him silently, as Kakashi stared upwards as if pondering something. "In any case," continued Kakashi, "we will need to work together to assist Naruto in taking down the Nine-Tails."

"Good idea," agreed Sakura, "a coordinated effort by all of us would probably give us the best results." She turned to Naruto, "sure you can handle it dear?"

Naruto growled at the comment, as he folded his arms. "What?! I can take care of myself."

"On the contrary; you'll probably lose control of the Nine Tails and set it out on all of us," replied Sakura, who rolled her eyes.

"Aw, c'mon Sakura…you know I'd never do that. C'mon, now!"

Sakura sniggered, "Mmhmm."

"Anyway," said Naruto, looking to change the subject away from him, "it's nice to see Leaf Village on its feet."

"Yeah, it's so nice here," agreed Sakura, raising her head up to let the bright sun shine upon it. The warmth she felt was shared by the others, who, for too long, fought in a war-torn world.

"You know," said Sakura, "I felt so guilty that we didn't take advantage of the peace we had when we were little. I remember way back when we were the innocent little team seven. By the time we were adults, it was a little too late." She frowned slightly.

Kakashi smirked, as old memories stirred inside his mind. A vivid image of Naruto trying to attack him and then of a certain butt-poke nearly made him laugh. He closed his book and looked up, "Well, this is what being a ninja is all about. At age twelve, we consider you a weapon. Still, don't count your childhoods out just yet. It's not like you all missed anything that spectacular." He grinned at them.

"What do you mean, Sensei?"

But Kakashi only waved her off, refusing to elaborate. "Hm, good thing this place is isolated. I sure wouldn't want to meet my younger self."

Naruto laughed, "Are you kidding me? That would be the most hilarious thing ever. C'mon Sensei. Let's go and find the young you. With that shape shift thing on, no one would ever know the difference."

Kakashi shook his head, "Um, no thanks." Coughing, Kakashi glanced at a pretend watch, "Hey, why don't we go…head back to the Hokage. Let's see what they've decided."

"No need," interrupted a voice.

Four heads turned to see the Third walking towards them."

"Ah, Third," said Kakashi, bowing, "there was no need to come to us. We were just about to return."

Sarutobi shook his head.

"No, no, it's fine. I like to get out of that cramped office once in awhile anyway. Minato wanted to come, but he's a bit tied up, so he sends his regards. Now, I believe we have some things to discuss?"

"By the way, Old Man," interrupted Naruto, "can you tell your ANBU guys not to follow us? It's annoying. Besides, it's not like we're up to anything. You can trust us."

The Third looked taken aback, and he was clearly surprised to find out his ANBU spies had been discovered. "Um, well…it was a precaution. Though I am amazed you were able to detect their presence."

Naruto waved it off, "For a bunch of guys who just came out of a war-torn world, you can expect us to be pretty sharp. Those buffoons up there make so much noise even our Genin could probably detect them.

The Third tilted his head slightly as if to measure Naruto's worth. In the end, he gave a ghost of a smile before saying, "Fine…anyway, to business. I've thought about what you've all told Minato and me, and, I've decided that I'll believe your story."

"Well that's a relief," replied Naruto sarcastically. "Decided we're not spies then, huh?"

"Yes," said the Third, matter-o-fact, determined to try and retain his composure, "Moving on! We considered your suggestion about activating you all as Shinobi of the village. You burden us with a responsibility, but I think the four of you might help us out tremendously. You do seem to be trustworthy people, so I will take you for your word that you won't do anything that might endanger the village."

"Of course," said Kakashi.

The Third paused, before he handed out a sheet of paper to each member of Team Seven. "These…are documents that, when signed, will certify you as Shinobi of the village. Notice that the name section is blank. I'll leave you to figure out names for yourselves, since it'd be foolish to walk around with your original ones. I'll put these into our classified archive of Shinobi. Only the top council members, Minato, and I will be able to view it."

"Interesting," said Kakashi, scanning the contents of his paper "According to this dossier, the four of us were part of a branch of the ANBU that not only directly served the Hokage, but were known only to him as well. Very clever. Even though such a branch does not exist, no one would be able to dispute it, since the Fourth is the only one who supposedly knows about it."

"Exactly," said the Third, smiling, "a stroke of brilliance, yes?"

"If I may ask," Interrupted Sai, "what exactly were our missions as members of this branch? It'd be awkward if someone were to ask us this, and we being unable to provide an answer."

"Well, why would you need to give them an answer in the first place," argued Sarutobi?

"It will be good to have a story," said Sai, "in case we run across a situation in which we must divulge that information."

"In that case," said Sarutobi, "being from the future, the four of you must have knowledge of the various hidden villages"

"Of course," said Naruto, grinning. "Why, I can tell you every single member of Cloud's Shock Division. There was this guy, Miko…oh and…"

Before he could continue rambling, the Third raised a hand. "Alright, alright! That's very good. The point is; you all possess information about our rival villages that the village does not. We'll say that when you became of age, you were all secretly inserted into the other villages to gather information. Information on its member, goals, whatever. You could perfectly support this claim, should anybody, especially the council members poke their noses into your profiles. Meanwhile, should any person ask to see your birth, records or any other sort of documentations, we'll say that due to the risk of capture, all files and records here were destroyed."

"That's all good," said Naruto, "but even with all this elaborate planning, surely one of the council members will suspect something when four powerful Shinobi suddenly pop up out of nowhere."

"Not easily convinced are you," asked the Third, smiling. "And I see you are quite confident in your skills as well. However, in this case, I think we can be assured the council will pose very little problem to me and Minato…or you for that matter."

"You're awfully confident," said Kakashi, "the council members are not blind, or so I'm aware."

"Well, Kakashi," said Sarutobi, "your perceptions of the council are a little inaccurate. You give them much more credit than they deserve if you think they're going to look especially closely at the Shinobi archives. Most of them care more about acquiring power and influence in the village than whether or not four new Shinobi are suspicious or not."

"What about Danzo? Homura and that old lady Koharu," asked Naruto. "They're pretty observant if you ask me."

The Third sighed, "Yes, that is true. Which is why I have come up with this elaborate plan! As long as you guys don't make too much of a show of yourselves, they will leave you, Minato, and me, alone. On a side note, we probably won't send any of you on high rank missions either."

Apparently satisfied, Kakashi shrugged, "Okay. So, I take it we will have a Jounin rank in the village?"

"Hm, hm, yes, about that," said the Third. "I suppose you could just tell us something of your abilities and whatnot, but frankly, we'd like to see them for myself. We would like for you all to participate in the upcoming Jounin Exams. They will take place in one week. Plenty of time for you to prepare, no? Don't worry about the elders…they don't ever watch the exams anyway."

"Jounin Exams," said Naruto, who seemed suddenly excited. "That sounds fun."

Kakashi sighed, "Jounin Exams? Sounds…fun…" He sighed.

"What," asked Sakura, "didn't you take them?"

Kakashi looked away, "Actually I was promoted under special circumstances. Right before the war when…" He trailed off as he remembered that mission with Obito.

The Third must have noticed Kakashi's discomfort since he quickly changed the subject, "Right, anyway, I'm sure you'll all do just fine. Well, then…if you will sign in some names, I will get going and leave you to explore as you please. I've arranged accommodations in the A-District Apartments. I'm sure you all know where that is. I assure you no one will bother you there."

"Wonderful," said Kakashi, who had quickly signed a name. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai followed suit, each coming up with a name.

"Well, I'll be seeing you then," said Sarutobi. Before he quite left, Kakashi stopped him.

"Wait! There is something I still need to discuss with you and the Fourth. Alone," he added, after Naruto had stood up."

Naruto grunted, but sat back down. 'Figures! So he did have some kind of plan, and now he won't tell us!'

The Third blinked, but nodded, "Alright, that's fine with me. We'll head back to the office."

"You three," said Kakashi, pointing at his confused team, "Head over to the apartments. Try to stay out of trouble. I'll be there shortly." And with that, he was gone with the Hokage.

"Blah," said Naruto, "stay out of trouble, he says. What does he think we'll possibly do?"

This question went ignored. Instead, Sakura asked, "so, what are we going to be calling each other now? I think we're going to have to leave our real names behind. It's kinda sad," she said, with a frown, "I feel that by throwing my real name, I'm also throwing away part of who I am."

Naruto's face darkened. "That's what we need to do, Sakura. After today, we are no longer Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi-Sensei! Those names…those people will soon be born in this time period. That part of us…we need to say goodbye to them."

Sai nodded, "It's difficult, but sometime or another, a Shinobi must accept sacrifices. And after all, we are trained to use aliases. It's just this time…we'll be using an alias indefinitely."

Sakura's fist clenched as a tear dropped from her eye. Part of her was angry at the lack of sensitivity while the other remained sad. Well, boys will be boys, I suppose. Blunt and ignorant as usual.

She was stopped as Naruto pulled her into an embrace. "Hey, c'mon now, don't cry, Sakura."

It was quiet for a moment, while Sakura sniffled until, "Um," interrupted Sai, "shouldn't we be going?"

Naruto groaned, as he felt Sakura pull away and nod. Way to kill the mood, Sai…you jerk. "Sure, why not," he said aloud.

And, as they turned, they subconsciously buried their pasts deep within their memory. They were now Ayame (Sakura), Jin (Sai), and Akuro (Naruto).

Hokage Tower

"Well, Kakashi…what is it you want to talk about?" As Minato looked up, he was surprised at how serious Kakashi looked. "Err…what's the matter?"

"It's about the Nine Tails," answered Kakashi.

"Yeah," said Minato, "about that. But before we get into it… Kakashi, tell me…about Naruto's life. I know I ended up sealing the fox into him, but…what happened to him after that?"

Kakashi blinked. He groaned. 'Oh no! Now is not the time to be discussing this.'

"I'm waiting Kakashi."

"Alright," said Kakashi, reluctantly. 'Damnit, I didn't plan on this. Minato Sensei…don't do anything rash.' "After you sealed the fox into Naruto, he was forced to endure a very painful childhood with no friends. When the villagers learned that Naruto was the host of the Fox, they lost all reason. Most hated him, going as far as to attacking him. The Shinobi…many of them hated Naruto because they lost friends and family at the hands of the Fox."

With a pale face, Minato swiftly stood up, "You can't be serious?! There's no way! Didn't they know he was my son?"

Kakashi sighed, "No…they didn't. When you died, Sensei, you, Third," said Kakashi nodding towards Sarutobi, "cut all the connections between Naruto and the Fourth. No one, not even Homura, Koharu, and Danzo knew of Naruto's blood."

Minato stared at Sarutobi disbelieving. "I didn't even do it yet," protested Sarutobi, raising his hands.

Minato shook his head, "So… my son was considered a monster. Just because of me. Where is he Kakashi? I need to speak with him."

"Later, Sensei," said Kakashi. "Right now, we need to talk about two days from now…when the Nine Tails begins its attack."

Minato burst up yet again, "WHAT? Two days?!"

"Exactly," said Kakashi. "The way I see it, there are two choices. We interfere and kill the Nine-Tails in this time. Or…we follow our timeline and…" He did not want to finish, but luckily Minato got the message.

"And I seal the Nine Tails into my son? No thanks. I understand you guys are from the future, but aren't you here to change the outcome of that future. I don't care for my own life at all, but if this decision means saving my wife, my son, and many of the villagers, I'll gladly go for it."

"I agree," said Sarutobi, "as different a timeline this decision may result in, we'll deal with it. Personally, I'd rather not become Hokage again. Too much paperwork." He grinned at Minato. Turning back to Kakashi he said, "but how in the world can we possibly stop that beast, let alone destroy it completely?"

Kakashi nodded, "Most of it is going to rely on Naruto as, and I know this sounds crazy, but he is possibly the only one who can hold back the fox. While he's doing that, I will try and banish the fox to another dimension with my Sharigan."

Minato and Sarutobi looked at him as if he were crazy. "The Sharingan can do that?"

"Well," said Kakashi, "let me put it this way. 'My' Sharingan can do it. And lifting his headband, he revealed his Sharingan. Summoning his chakra, he evolved it into the dreadful Mangekyo.

"Amazing," said Sarutobi, "what is that?"

"It's called the Mangekyo Sharingan," explained Kakashi, "and as I'm sure you can guess; it is much stronger than a normal one."

After a pause, "And you can banish the fox to another dimension?"

"You're not sure, are you," said Sarutobi, narrowing his eyes at Kakashi's shifty look.

"Eh, well, I've never tried before." He shrugged.

Meanwhile, Minato still had a dumbstruck expression, "Kakashi…just how strong are you?"

Kakashi blinked, before smiling mysteriously, "Hehe. Oh I'm sure you could give me a run for my money, Sensei, if that's what you're wondering. But don't be concerned with me. As much as I hate to admit, all three of those kids have surpassed me. Like I told them, I'm just an old coot who's lucky to still be living. But Naruto, that man is something. Over the years, his abilities have gone from dead last to number one. His skills probably outclass yours."

Minato's mouth dropped, "wow, I don't know if I could believe that till I see it. Sarutobi, didn't you register them for the Jounin Exams?"

"I did."

Minato grinned, "Well…I can take a break from the office for a day. This I have to see."

Sarutobi shot his student a glare. "Minato, don't slack off on me now."

Minato shrugged, "Psshh! C'mon, Sensei, you can't tell me you're not interested either. I'll use a clone or something, but no way am I going to miss out on my son's little test. Speaking of which," he concluded, more to himself, "that means I can't let myself die at the Nine Tails hands…err…claws? Hm, Hm…right…"

Kakashi and Sarutobi stared ahead blankly as Minato went off on his little tangent, spinning theories and talking into his head.

Apartment

"Not bad," said Sakura, gazing into their relatively luxurious new room. There were four beds, one for each of them. A window near the back gave them a magnificent view of the mountain, with the four Hokage faces carved into them. Two bathrooms faced each other on opposite sides of the room. For this, she was particularly grateful, seeing as she really didn't want to shower in the same tub as the guys.

Naruto threw himself onto the nearest bed, and gave a deep sigh. "Wow, now this sure beats sleeping on trees. I haven't slept on a bed like this in ages. I think I can finally go to sleep."

"It's so comfy," said Sakura, patting the bed. It gave a little squeak in response. "I really missed this."

"Hm, with all this space, I'll be able to draw again," noted Sai, as he too found and took a bed.

"Yeah, we can pretty much relax and do whatever we want for awhile," said Naruto, "especially since we don't have to be worried about getting attacked every single hour of our lives. Say, that reminds me, weren't you going to draw a portrait of Ayame and me?"

"Yeah," agreed Sakura, "you were going to do it before, if only that nasty Madara hadn't been around."

"Why don't we do it now," suggested Naruto?

"I don't have anything to draw on," laughed Sai. "We could do some shopping later, after Kakashi returns."

"Say, what are we supposed to call Kakashi-Sensei, now," asked Naruto? "He never told us what his new name was going to be, before he ran off."

"No clue," said Sakura, shrugging.

"Beats me," said Sai.

"I bet it's something cool," said Naruto, "knowing Sensei, it's probably too cool for us. Ugh."

"Yo!"

Naruto nearly jumped as the oh-so familiar voice drifted in from the open window. Outside, Kakashi sat facing away from them, staring out into the heart of the village.

"Oh, you've returned Sensei," said Sakura. She paused. "Hey, you're back to your original appearance. Isn't that dangerous?"

Kakashi snapped his book shut and dropped through the open window. "It won't be a problem. If you were listening earlier, I can change back and forth whenever I please. Besides, I'll be holed up in here more than anything else. I'm a little too old to be running around. With Make-Out Tactics, what else do I need? I can just have you guys bring me back food."

Sakura shook her head, "More like you're just a lazy couch potato, Sensei."

"Yeah, like we're really going to bring food for you," snorted Naruto, crossing his arms, "I would die before I did that."

Kakashi groaned, "What happened to the good old days when you guys listened and did everything I said. How I wish you weren't all grown up."

"Yeah, yeah...hey, Sensei! What are we supposed to call you," asked Naruto?

Kakashi gave them a smirk, "I should...but...I don't feel like telling you."

For a moment, there was silence. And then, Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto were bursting out in laughter, leaving Sai entirely bewildered and clueless, reaching for his book on jokes.

"Hahaha, I haven't gotten you two with that in a long time," laughed Kakashi.

"Yeah," laughed Naruto, "I remember the first time you did it. It's when we were first introducing ourselves. I thought you were a prick back then. Hahaha."

Kakashi stopped laughing and scowled. "Yeah? Well, the three of you were all brats."

This statement was ignored, as Naruto turned to Sakura. "Hey, sweety, Kakashi used to be late all the time too, remember? And every time, he came up with one of those lame excuses. I think he used the black cat crossed my path one like sixteen times on us. What was the other one? Oh yeah, the old lady."

Sakura laughed, "Haha! Yeah, I thought Sensei was such a jerk, but he was kind of funny too. I still remember when you got him with the eraser. Haha, his face!"

A vein bulged in Kakashi's head. 'They're brats to end, eh? Oh, I'll get them yet. Hah, next mission, I'll make them wait a whole day. Yeah, that'll get 'em. Look at them; insulting me when I'm right here."

"You okay, Sensei? You look a little frustrated," said Naruto, trying not to smile, and failing miserably.

He received the finger as a response. "Shoo!"

"Good times," laughed Sakura, "good times. Anyway, Sensei, the three of us are going to check out the village. It's too good an opportunity to pass up, so we'll see you later. And don't worry, I'll make sure Akuro remembers to bring some food."

If Kakashi's glare could kill, his ex-students would have been dead. "Sure, go ahead," he said through clenched teeth. "Later gators."

Naruto snorted, "Yeah, whatever. Let's go, Jin." Then, giving a short nod, he vanished along with Sai, leaving Sakura staring blankly after them.

For a moment, she remained silent, staring at the empty space where Naruto had been. And then, much to Kakashi's dismay, she vanished, yelling, "NARUTO!"

Kakashi smiled, listening to Naruto's voice become softer and softer, until it utterly vanished. Then, sitting down on his own bed, he opened his unfinished book. Things were just as they should be; normal. He heard a loud thud in the distance. Now that was the team he knew and respected. Things were looking good.