"Could you at least try to act more mature?" Minato questioned for the third time.

"I was merely attempting to do some research. I need to keep my abilities sharp, or else I might lose them.." Jiraiya defended, though he still sounded proud of work.

"That would be a favor to everyone." Minato scoffed.

After Minato had found Jiraiya at the bathhouse he had taken the battered man back to his own house. The entire way Jiraiya had complained that he hadn't done anything wrong, which Minato found laughable. Sometimes he wished Tsunade was back in the village, just so she could punish Jiraiya.

Minato looked at Jiraiya again. In a few seconds the man had become serious. "How is your team?"

"Obito currently has an injured arm, Kakashi is as cold as ever, and Rin is feeling a lot of pressure to keep her team together, then you add that Hokage-sama gave me a fourth student, and it adds up to me being stressed." What was really causing his stress was trying to figure Naruto out.

"Sensei told me about the addition to your team. He said he did it because he thought you would be the best team to keep an eye out for him."

Jiraiya already knew about Naruto. At least that would keep him from having to explain everything. "He acts weak and mature, but there are times when I catch his eye and he seems so knowing, like he knows what's going to happen and he's content with that."

Jiraiya sat down on the couch. "Sensei also told me that he doesn't believe the kid has been fully honest with any of us. He said that while nothing can be proven as a lie, he believes it is. Do you?"

Minato had to think. Previously everything the boy had said had been flippant, like he had no personal investment in it. There was nothing they could contradict, but at the same time, what was the likelihood of a young shinobi meeting up with a Konoha shinobi, hearing about Konoha, and then deciding to travel there? They were in a war, why would two shinobi's from different villages talk about their homes? Right now they were at a 'fight first, question later' time. But then there was yesterday. When he had asked Naruto about his arm, he hadn't expected an answer. Naruto's entire countenance had changed for a few seconds, before he said that his arm had been injured in an attempt to help a friend. From his expression to his tone, Minato knew that even if everything else the boy had said was a lie, this was true.

"I believe he has lied to us about several things, but I don't believe his intentions are to harm us. He's had quite a few opportunities already, yet he hasn't taken one."

Jiraiya gave him a small smile. "Make sure you do not believe what you want to believe because you like the kid. Often times in a shinobi's life they have to put personal feelings aside."

"I know that." Minato said indignantly.

"I know, but it never hurts to remind you. Besides, knowing something is easy. It's when you have to make choices in order to live it out that things become difficult." Jiraiya jumped up from the couch. "So where's this kid that is causing so much conflict?"

"I believe he is with Obito at the training fields. Naruto is injured as well, so they both mentioned wanting to improve their taijutsu."

Jiraiya looked at him in confusion. "You said Naruto?"

Minato nodded as he made for the door; unlike most shinobi he preferred a door to a window. "Yeah, it's a strange name, that's for sure."

"Did you know that main character in the book I'm writing is named Naruto?" Jiraiya still looked confused.

Minato shook his head. "Strange coincidence."

Jiraiya sighed. "I thought I had made the name up, but it seems I might have heard it during my travels. And I was planning on making it so I would profit from anyone using the name in the future."

Minato chuckled. "Like anyone would name their son Naruto."

oOoOo

Naruto felt a bead of sweat run down his face. For the past thirty minutes straight, he and Obito had been working on their taijutsu. While his own was in pretty good shape, Obito's still needed a bit of improvement. Obito's biggest problem was that he ran out of breath too quickly. In a real fight, he wouldn't have time to catch his breath, so Naruto had decided that was how this practice would go as well. He lunged toward Obito with what looked to be a jab. Two feet away from hitting Obito, he turned and used his left hand to rotate his body and send a kick toward Obito's abdomen. It was a fairly easy move to block, but Obito's tiredness caused him to move too slowly. The kick connected with his abdomen, sending him to the ground.

Naruto waited to see if Obito would get up, but after a minute he realized Obito was no longer able to move. He collapsed down onto the ground next to Obito. "I'm so pathetic." Obito whined.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Obito shot him a glare. "I'm not laughing at you, Obito, just your statement. Thirty minutes of nonstop taijutsu is a lot. Using jutsu spaces things out and gives you time to breathe, unlike what we just did. There is only one genin I can think of that could do it."

Obito looked over at him. "Yourself?"

Naruto laughed again. "No, not myself, though I guess I am still a genin. No, I meant a friend of mine. For some reason he wasn't able to do ninjutsu or genjutsu, so he had to rely solely on taijustu. Because of how dangerous it is to only have one of the jutsus, he worked hard to make himself the best taijutsu user. No matter what the weather was or even where he was, he always took the time to work on his taijutsu, and it paid off. He even managed to beat an Uchiha with it once."

Obito's eyes widened. "Wow. And that's all because he trained hard?"

Naruto nodded. "Just because you're not talented in one area doesn't mean that you can't work hard to become good at it. But know that there are some things that a body won't do. My friend tried ninjutsu and genjutsu, but he didn't have the ability to perform them, so he improved on what he knew he could."

Obito was quiet for a minute. Naruto could see that he was thinking over what he had just said. When he did speak, he sounded confused. "So you're saying: practice hard to improve on something, but don't be discouraged when you don't get it?"

Naruto nodded, basically. "Basically. Like me and Bunshin. At first I thought it was just my lack of chakra control that was preventing me from using them, but even when my chakra control was at its best, I still couldn't make a simple Bunshin."

Obito seemed confused at his use of past tense, until his gaze fell on Naruto's arm. Looking back up towards the clouds Obito seemed to be contemplating something. After a full minute of silence, Obito voiced his question, hesitantly. "What happened to your arm?"

Naruto had been expecting the question, so it didn't startle him like Minato's questioning did. Yesterday he had surprised himself by giving an answer, even if it was a cryptic one. He didn't want to have to talk about it again. Even now he was dreading the nightmare that he was sure was awaiting him behind closed eyes. Telling Minato had been one thing, the man was his father even if he didn't know it. Even in his own time he had told only Kakashi and Tsunade. Naruto sat up and looked down at Obito. Obito knew he was from the future and he would ask more questions than Minato had. If he started asking the right questions about what happened, there was a chance Obito would stumble upon the truth. And though it seemed irrational, Naruto couldn't help thinking Obito would hate him if he found out the truth.

"Obito, Naruto-kun, can you spare a minute?" Minato's voice called out. Naruto couldn't help the relief that spread through him at Minato's timely interruption.

"Can they spare a minute? From the looks of their lounging around, they have all the time in the world." A second voice said. Naruto felt his heart speed up. Even after three years, he would know that voice anywhere. Jiraiya. Naruto stood up, followed by Obito. Sure enough next to Minato was the super pervert, Jiraiya.

Jiraiya paused next to Minato. "You didn't mention that he looks like you." Jiraiya said the Minato.

Minato chuckled. "I thought the Sandaime would've mentioned it. It is a little strange. Naruto, this is my sensei, Jiraiya."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to. There had been so many times when he had wished Jiraiya back from the dead, and now here he was, standing in front of him. He pushed down the desire to fill Jiraiya in on the past three years. He was in the past and this Jiraiya didn't know him. Looking at Jiraiya was the same as the Sandaime. Both looked much younger than they had ever looked in his own time.

"Look at that. He's so impressed by the great Jiraiya that he can't even speak." Jiraiya proclaimed loudly.

Unsure of what to say, Naruto decided to stick with acting like a starstruck fan. At least for now. "It's a pleasure to meet to Jiraiya-sama," that about killed him, "I've heard about you on my travels."

Jiraiya looked smug at his words. "It's no surprise to me that my accomplishments are already legendary." There seemed to be a different air around him then Naruto remembered. He had spent enough time with Jiraiya to know his moods, and even his best mood had not been as genuinely happy as this one. For the first time, Naruto realized how much Minato's death aged Jiraiya. "Minato and Obito, could you please leave me and Naruto-kun alone for a few minutes? I'd like to ask him some questions."

Great, more questions.

Minato agreed and motioned for Obito to follow him as he walked back in the direction of Konoha. "We'll meet you in town." Jiraiya called back to them as the neared the edge of the grounds.

Being alone with Jiraiya was almost painful. Memories of times he'd spent with Jiraiya were running through his head. At the end of the road of memories was the scene where Tsunade told him the Jiraiya was dead. He had never felt so hopeless and lost as he did then. In the four years they'd known each other the man had become family and losing him felt like a kunai had been stuck in his chest. Realizing that he would never get to insult the pervert again, never get to confide in him again, and never get to see the man again was one of the most crushing moments of his life. If it wasn't for Iruka and Shikamaru he didn't know where he'd be right now. With their help he had learned to accept Jiraiya's death and move on.

Now Jiraiya was standing before him with no knowledge of who he was.

"So you travel a lot?" Jiraiya leaned back again one of the training poles.

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. "I…I did." He inwardly scowled at his stuttering. Deciding to follow Jiraiya's lead, he leaned on the pole next to Jiraiya.

"Where are some of the places you've gone?" Jiraiya was testing him, seeing how deep his stories went. If there was one person who could figure out the truth based on his story, it was Jiraiya.

"Let's see…" Naruto pretended to be thinking. After he felt he had waited a good amount of time, he listed some of the villages he had traveled to with Jiraiya. "That isn't all of them, but I can't remember any of the other names."

"I've been to all of those places before. How did you like the temple in the Tsuchigumo village?" Jiraiya asked.

Was this a trick question? When Naruto had traveled there with Jiraiya there had been no temple, but there had been several ruins. Had there been a temple there in this time? Once again, Naruto chose the safe answer. "I don't recall there being a temple there, but I've been to so many villages, I could have them mixed up."

Jiraiya nodded, but remained quiet. Naruto could only figure he was thinking of his next question. "What village where you in when you met up with the Konoha shinobi?"

This was definitely a trick question. Whatever answer Naruto gave Jiraiya could go back and check records to see if there had been any shinobi in the village at that time. "About six months ago, I was in a small city on the outskirts of the Land of Earth. I can't recall the village name, but it was barely into the country." Hope fully that was vague enough that they wouldn't be able to find the lie.

"We are at war with Iwa, the Hidden Village in the Rocks." Jiraiya said. "Why would a Konoha shinobi take the time to brag about his hometown while in a war zone?"

"I still had my Getsu hitai-ate with me at that time, so he knew I wasn't an enemy. When I first entered the Land of Earth I was attacked by Iwa shinobi; the Konoha shinobi saved me. He was injured, so I stuck around to help him while he recovered. He was a proud man and often insisted that I leave him, but I felt I had a debt to repay. He never shared his name with me, but he had dark hair and strange eyes, if that helps."

"Sounds like either an Uchiha or a Hyuuga. Were his eyes white or red?"

"Red." Naruto answered.

"Then it was an Uchiha." Jiraiya straightened and took a step forward. "Thank you for answering my questions."

"Wait, you said the red eyes meant an Uchiha, but my teammate is an Uchiha and he doesn't have red eyes." Hopefully this made him seem more ignorant.

"It takes time to develop the red eyes." Was Jiraiya's answer. "Let's head back to the village before your sensei starts to wonder what I've done with you."

Not wanting to be left to his own thoughts, Naruto kept the conversation going. "How much longer do you think the war with Iwa is going to last?" He actually knew, but at least it wouldn't be quiet on the walk back. He didn't want to be left to his own thoughts.

Jiraiya sighed. "I don't know. I hope it won't last for much longer, but an end still seems so far off. If I could do anything to bring it to an end faster, I would." The next part Jiraiya mumbled under his breath. "If there was any way I could have done to prevent the war from happening, I would have done it."

Naruto froze in his steps before quickly resuming, hoping Jiraiya didn't notice. The entire time he had been here he had been content to spend time with Minato and his team, assuming he would eventually figure out a way home. He had thought it was just a random occurance that he had ended up in the past, but was it to change the future, or was he being tempted by fate? Though he didn't know as much on the war as he should have, he still knew what some of the deciding factors were. If he could speed up those occurrences then he could end the war faster. So many lives could be saved. But how would that affect the future? How much of what happens is reliant on the time when the war ends? What if Jiraiya hadn't met Nagato yet? By preventing that meeting he would stop the Akatsuki from forming, which sounded good at first, but at least Naruto knew they won that battle. Tobi would have found another way to gain the Bijuu, and maybe that other way would've been more dangerous.

No, it seemed like changing the past wouldn't be a good thing. But wasn't his presence alone changing the past. A far as he knew, Kakashi never had a teammate named Naruto. By telling them his name he ran the risk of Minato not naming his child that. Did Rin and Obito pass the chuunin exams the first time they took them? Though there was still room to fail there. By taking the chuunin exams and beating teams, had he taken someone's place that was supposed to be promoted?

We have had no control over the circumstances we are in. Do not worry with things you cannot change.

Quit trying to sound so wise, Kyuubi. We might have already changed things. I can't believe this is the first time I'm thinking this situation all the way through.

We didn't send ourselves to the past, which means that we are not responsible for the changes our presence may make.

As much as I hate seeing the people around me die, I don't want to change the future. All of the hidden villages are finally at peace with one another; if we save one person from death then we could potentially be leading to another's death. And how do we know what is supposed to happen? If we see a person dying, how do we know if they are supposed to be saved or not? I don't know if I can watch someone die without doing anything to help them.

That I know. You wouldn't even let Tobi die without giving him a chance for redemption. I say we just let everything play out. We live like we would if this was our own time. If someone needs our help, we help them. But at the same time we won't be doing things to purposefully change things.

That seems to be the best way to go. We do need to start looking into ways we can get back to our own time. If time is passing there the same as it is here, then they're going to have to elect a new Hokage, and I really don't want to lose the position I've worked so hard to achieve.

You continue with appearances here, I will start looking into a way to return to our time.

"We're here!" Jiraiya announced. Naruto was startled back into reality. He and Jiraiya were standing in front of a bathhouse.

"Are you here to peep on women?" Naruto exclaimed, like he had never heard of someone doing such a thing before.

Jiraiya scoffed. "I'm not peeping. I'm merely doing some research."

Naruto gaped at him. "Research for what?" Naruto immediately made a face like he regretting asking.

"I'm an author." Jiraiya stated proudly. "But my book didn't sell too well. I'm thinking of adding a certain romance aspect to the next novel."

Naruto pointed a finger at Jirayia. "You're a pervert!"

"He always has been." Minato's voice came from behind them. He was sitting on the roof of the building opposite the bathhouse. "I should've known this would be were you would go first. I told you earlier that the Hokage would want to see us, Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya's shoulders dropped. "And I was about to do some good research. It better be important." Jiraiya waved to Naruto. "See you later, kid."

Minato smiled at Naruto before he led Jiraiya toward the Hokage manor. Though neither said what the meeting was about, Naruto was pretty sure Jiraiya's questioning had something to do with it. He only hoped he passed without suspicion.

A/N: Man, this chapter was hard to write. Not a lot happens, since the chapter is actually to set up future events, but there seemed to be so much that I needed to get in. It doesn't help that Jiraiya is an incredibly hard character to write. I can't write his perverted acts well at all.

And about Naruto finally realizing that he could change the future: if there was one person Naruto missed the most it would be Jiraiya. Everyone else Naruto had seen up until that point he could live knowing their future, because he already knew what it was like to live without them. He was content with the ways things were. When he saw Jiraiya he realized he could try to prevent his death, but in the end he realized that by preventing Jiraiya's death he could be causing someone else's.

P.S. The day after my last post I learned that I my college application was accepted. Figured I'd update everyone on that since I've mentioned it several times. I won't be starting until next fall, so don't worry about the story, I hope to be done with it by that point.

Well, thank you for reading and please take a few second to let me know how you liked it, good or bad.