Ninja of the Void
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it. Also certain lines from Doctor Who.
"Talking"
Thoughts
The Impossible Meeting of Past and Future
Minato then narrowed his eyes at him as he slowly began to speak. "Are you . . . . Are you Naruto?"
The blond jinchuriki and the Hyuga heiress almost felt like jumping out of their skin at what the elder blond man had just stated. "How . . . . How do you know my name?"
The yondaime gave a light laugh to this. "A very strange question to be asking me kiddo" as he petted the blond over the head to which Naruto responded by swatting his hand away. "But what are you doing with my watch?"
"Your watch?" then questioned Naruto now confused. "How can this be your watch?"
Minato gave the blond jinchuriki a strange look. "Of course it's my watch, but then . . . . " as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Why are you here? But more importantly how can you be here?"
All the while Hinata was carefully listening as she was struck frozen at what she was hearing as the dots were slowly being connected in her head. "Naruto-kun's name . . . . Yondaime-sama's watch . . . . The strange confusion . . . ."
"I can't tell you how I can be here, that's too complicated to explain!" But that's when Naruto remembered something extremely crucial that he had to get off his chest concerning the very first day he learned it. Of course if he really thought about it, the man in front of him now wouldn't know the answer to this. But nonetheless, he was too angry now to be thinking straight concerning his question.
"Naruto? Are you feeling OK?"
But quickly jumping the gun, Naruto punched Minato right on the cheek which caused the yondaime to fall flat on his back.
Minato then sat up holding his cheek as he looked curiously to the blond. "Why did you do that for kiddo?"
Naruto squeezed his fists in anger now grinding his teeth as he felt like he was going to explode at any moment if he didn't let this out. "Why?" he demanded furiously. "Why did you put the Kyubi in me? You know how much I suffered because of that?"
The yondaime looked on with wide eyes to what the blond had just said. Then quickly getting back on one knee he grabbed Naruto's shoulder as he looked into his eyes. "What did you just say?"
As he then became dumbfounded at this, he felt a poke at his arm. "Naruto-kun".
"Not now Hinata-chan".
"Naruto-kun" as Hinata poked his arm again.
"Just hold on a moment".
"Naruto-kun!" as the pale girl then aggressively pulled at this sleeve.
"What?" as the blond then looked to his friend, "What is it?"
"Naruto-kun . . . . The yondaime-sama . . . . I think . . . . I think . . . ."
"What? What are you trying to tell me?"
As Hinata looked between them, she then looked back to Naruto as she slowly said what was on her mind. "I think your father . . . ." as she now looked at the elder blond, "is the yondaime-sama".
"What? That's crazy! The yondaime can't be my dad! That would be . . . . That would be . . . ." as it slowly started to come to him. With everything that was exchanged between them, the light bulb in his head started to become brighter and brighter as the pieces started to come together. Now looking at Minato with his serious face on in addition that he wasn't refusing the fact only confirmed what his pale friend had said. "It can't be . . . ." as he now became stunned silent to this revelation.
". . . . I think we need to have a talk". So guiding the children to his living room and having them take a seat, he hastily prepared some drinks for them as he took his seat across from them. Then after giving a bit of a sigh, Minato was ready to get into this as he took the watch from Naruto and placed it on the table. "I have a few things that I need to know".
"Hold on!" then shot Naruto, "I have a few things I want to ask myself!"
"Naruto-kun, manners" Hinata then said.
Minato closed his eyes in contemplation before opening them again. "Then we'll do it this way. I'll ask a question then you go and we'll continue as such until we have no more questions to ask". Then clearing his mind and carefully choosing what he wanted to ask, he decided to let his son go first waving his hand to this.
Then listing his priorities, Naruto picked the very first question he wanted to ask. "Are you . . . . Are you really my dad?"
Minato's facial expressions distorted a bit showing uncertainty. But then looking back to Naruto, "I would think so" to which the children looked to him in confusion for him to further explain. "For the thing is . . . . Your mother is still pregnant with you as the only thing we know is that it's a boy. However after looking at you with your eyes, hair color, and the fact you had my watch there was no doubt in my mind that you were my son. Although I wasn't entirely certain of your name, it was something your mother and I were still discussing. Now . . . ." as he focused on Naruto, "how can you be here?"
"What do you mean?" Naruto then asked. "I used your watch to get here. Isn't that obvious?"
"We didn't mean to come here on purpose" then said Hinata. "We actually meant to go somewhere else to prevent a tragedy from occurring".
Minato looked to them as he then had to hold his face at the complication that had just presented itself to him now. "One problem at a time . . . .", then clarifying what he wanted to ask "the reason I ask is because just today I was planning on destroying this infernal machine meaning you couldn't possibly be here. But since you're here . . . . something must have happened between now and then".
The blond jinchuriki then looked confused at this. "Then how can we be here? And why would you destroy such an amazing creation as this watch?"
"That was two questions, but the answer applies to both". Then taking a moment to look at the watch, he closed his eyes to think about how he should word this. "How to explain this all . . . .", but now looking back to the children "Naruto . . . . For my time travel method to work, the watch was designed to be synchronized with the flow of time around us making it exist at every point in time even before it was created. So this allows the watch its many functions of manipulating time and space, and due to this synchronization and activation it's most likely that our time streams crossed with each other at some instantaneous moment by accident which ended up getting you two sent here by mistake. But now . . . ." as Minato recalled his experiences with the metal contraption, "this machine is only but a curse . . . . Something I should have never built as it was never able to accomplish the ultimate goal I had for it".
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Now now Naruto" as Minato waved his finger at this, "it's my turn to ask a question now . . . . For what purpose did you have for coming back in time?"
Hinata then decided to answer this one. "Seven years ago by our present, my uncle was killed due to an incident with the hidden cloud village and because of that . . . ." as she thought to Neji. "Many bad things in my family happened. So we wanted to come back to prevent my kidnapping which started this event".
". . . . I see" then said Minato. "But what you're doing is a fool's errand as you cannot save him".
Naruto immediately got angry at this. "How can you say that? We haven't even got the chance to try yet!"
"Then you still don't understand why it cannot be done . . . ."
At hearing that, Naruto couldn't believe how coldly his father put it. This was a person's life they were talking about as he seemed to have swept it aside like it was nothing. The yondaime was supposed to be the yellow flash of Konoha, the man who could make the impossible possible. But yet here he was telling him that something couldn't be done. He then snatched the watch from the table. "If that's all you're going to say then I'll fix this myself. I'll show you it can be done!"
Minato gave a sigh to this. "Hinata-san right?" as the pale girl gave a nod to this. "Please wait here, I'm going to accompany my kid on his trip".
"So you are going to help Naruto-kun?"
The yondaime paused at this as he looked to her. "Yes . . . . So if you may Hinata-san please wait here. Naruto and I will be back in no time". So leaving for a moment, he came back with his jonin vest and ninja pack as he stood next to his son placing his hand on his shoulder. "I'll charge the watch with my chakra. You just input where we need to go and I'll explain the rest on the way".
Naruto immediately lightened up at this. "Thanks . . . . uhh dad for helping me with this".
Minato remained silent at this. In the matter of seconds the two blonds disappeared in a flash of light leaving the Hyuga heiress alone. Of course she wanted to go as well. But with how the yondaime was behaving, he must have had a good reason for everything he said and done to which she had to have faith in. So taking a seat, she twiddled with her fingers as she waited for their return. "Naruto-kun . . . ."
~ Konoha (Hyuga's estate) ~ (seven years later)
Upon materializing into the house, both blonds used a henge to disguise themselves to look like Hyuga's. Then looking around Minato took Naruto to the most private area he could find which would normally be the meeting room. "Even if seven years had gone by the relative layout should be the same". "So when are we exactly?"
"This is the Hyuga's estate exactly one hour before Hinata-chan was kidnapped".
"I see" the yondaime then said. "Now if you're going to be so adamant about your resolve then let me explain a few things to you. The ultimate purpose of the watch was to fix the mistakes of the past as each of its functions were made for that purpose".
"So this watch really wasn't made to be a weapon, right?"
Minato nodded his head at this. "Yes Naruto, this tool was made to save people. Now keep in mind you only have one try to get this right".
"What? Why?"
"Because if you made a mistake and tried to go back again you would end up bumping into the past you which would begin a long series of headaches, so that's why I created the time loop function".
"You mean rewind".
Minato looked weirdly at this. "Right . . . . Now with this function you can create an isolated pocket with in space time which will allow you to try as many times as you need without creating a paradox amongst yourself if a mistake were to occur".
"Para- what?" then asked Naruto as he didn't know what the word meant.
"Naruto . . . . You really went into this without thinking it through . . . ."; "it's a contradiction to the logic of the universe which is an event by all tense and purposes that's not supposed to happen". Now taking a breath to further his explanation, "the watch was also designed to perceive the world in two ways to help assist its user. The first was to perceive the choices of the user to help guide our decision while the second was designed to perceive the probability of the choices others would make".
"He must mean time echo and time stop", "so wait all those times I've used it I wasn't stopping time?"
Minato gave a choked laugh at that. "Naruto, if time stopped even for a second that would mean the end of the universe. So in that case, what you were seeing was advanced probability. In it, you were dislocated from time to which the people it concerned had already made their choice and all you had to do was fill in the gaps of how you wanted to respond to them. So think of it like the Sharingan but times ten". Minato then looked at the clock. "It's about time to start. So begin by setting up a loop bubble".
Naruto gave a confident smirk at this. "Fine, but I don't really see why I have too. I'll fix this all in one try". Then after inputting the sequence with everything put into place, Naruto soon ran off to do what needed to be done.
Minato paused for a moment before following right after his son.
Now on the roof top both blonds watched the scene unfold as a masked man easily bypassed the gate watchers as he quickly ran in. Then a moment later out from one of the side windows, the man emerged with a young Hinata in hand as he attempted his escape. Right on time, Naruto's younger self appeared as he was examining the guards. Deciding now was the time to strike; Naruto used his fast forward skill as he was instantly in front of the perpetrator. Giving him no time to react, he gave the hidden cloud kidnapper a swift uppercut to the jaw which knocked the man out. Just as that happened, Minato appeared below to take Hinata back as he slowly placed her to the ground below.
"Hey! Who's there?" yelled out young Naruto. At seeing his approach, both blonds then disappeared just as the boy approached the scene and with that there mission was accomplished.
"See, what did I tell you?" said Naruto proudly as he and Minato were watching the scene unfold from quite some distance away. "I only needed one try to get this right".
The yondaime could only shake his head softly to this. "Keep watching Naruto . . . . You'll understand soon why you cannot save him".
~ Konoha (Namikaze residence) ~ (seven years prior)
Hinata was feeling quite unsettled as she was waiting on the couch as she continued to twiddle her fingers. "It's only been five minutes, but I can't help but worry . . . ." she then said sadly as she started to poke her index fingers against each other now in nervous habit. Then right before her, space began to contort as a bright flash of light appeared, "Naruto-kun!" But before she could say anymore, Naruto's very aura felt weaker as just looking at him showed defeat in his eyes. "Naruto-kun?" She then looked to the elder blond. "What going on? What's wrong with him?" as her tone now reflected deep concern.
Minato could only look saddened at this as he helped Naruto to his seat as Hinata took her seat next to him trying to comfort whatever was bothering him. Then soon enough the elder blond removed his vest and equipment putting them away as he retook his seat across from the children.
"Naruto-kun, what's wrong? What happened to you? What happened with my uncle?" as Hinata tried to look to his face for answers.
But as Naruto looked up, it reflected absolute shock as his eyes were wide like saucers. "I couldn't do it . . . ."
"Ehh? I don't understand".
"I'm so sorry Hinata-chan" as the blond jinchuriki eyes began to water. "I couldn't save him . . . . No matter what I did . . . . No matter what choice I altered . . . . I couldn't change what happened . . . ."
"What?" as Hinata then looked to Minato for answers, "yondaime-sama, I don't understand? What is he talking about? What happened?"
"Just as I said . . . ." Minato's tone reflected sadly.
"I just don't get it" said Naruto in frustration. "I stopped the kidnapping, I reinforced the Hyuga guards, I sabotaged the Kumonins from coming to Konoha, and I even went as far as kidnapping Hinata-chan before they could get to her. But . . . . " as he now looked to his dad, "no matter what I did . . . . Hizashi still dies every time at the exact same time no matter what changes were made".
"I'm so sorry kiddo" as Minato then decided it was now time to speak up. "If you were like me . . . . You wouldn't have listened either until you tried to avert the event. But ultimately in the end, you cannot change the past because they are fixed points in our history".
"Fixed points? What does that even mean?"
Minato looked down sighing before looking back up. "Simply . . . . Its part of the rules of causality" as he then stood up. Then forming a few seals, a blackboard appeared as he took a piece of chalk drawing an A, B, and C while drawing a circle connecting the three letters together. So first pointing at the letter A, "within a circle of events Hizashi-san dies". Then pointing at the letter B, "now comes the aftershock of the events which affected the Hyuga clan". Finally pointing at the letter C, "then comes your attempt to try and change the past which then completes this circle of events thus creating the paradox". So then retaking his seat, "point A is your fixed point. The very event you cannot change as the very foundation of events would then fall apart nullifying what you're trying to do thus making any endeavor pointless".
"Yondaime-sama" then said Hinata.
"You can call me Minato if you wish. Calling me the yondaime constantly must be rather tiring".
Hinata gave a nervous choke at this. "Umm . . . . Minato-sama, how do you know so much about all this?"
With that question the yondaime looked down saddened at this as he retook his seat. "Because like you . . . . I too tried to avert a tragedy" which then got the children's full and undivided attention, "it was for this expressed purpose I created the watch to save everyone".
"What did you try to change?" Hinata then asked hesitantly.
". . . . The so many deaths of good people from our village . . . . and many others that had occurred due to war, but to start at the very beginning of these series of tragedies I wanted to save Uzushiogakure, the village of your mother".
"My mom" then said Naruto.
Minato gave a nod to this. "I studied for days from history of every possible attack I could strategize to ensure the village would not fall. I planned every last detail up to the point of escape to save everyone. But even after a hundred tries in a hundred different scenarios. . . . I learned that I could not cheat causality as the death of those people and the destruction of Uzushiogakure were fixed points in time . . . . . Things that cannot be changed. It tortured me each time I failed. But eventually I had to stop as my interference began to rupture the very fabric reality. However in doing so, I came to understand one very simple thing in life".
"And what was that?"
"That the best we can do is honor the ones that have left and to keep all our current loved ones safe and warm by valuing them for all they are as simply" giving a slight pause, " there is no time like the present" the yondaime then said as he warmly smiled to the children.
The blond jinchuriki gave a sheepish smile at this as he turned towards Hinata as she did the same.
". . . . But I guess I won't have that opportunity in the end will I?"
"Dad?" as Naruto gave him a questioning look.
"Minato-sama?" as Hinata did the same.
"Don't give me that look" then said Minato calmly. "Your presence here and your inability to recognize me as your father told me enough" as he then closed his eyes in thought before reopening them. "Sometime sooner or later . . . . I'm going to die and if my guess is right your mother Kushina will die also". Both children could only remain silent to this confirming the elder blond's assumption. Then thinking over about what Naruto had told him earlier in their discussion, "so if my guess is right it must have something to do with the Kyubi that's inside of you now. So I ask, what happened to make you a jinchuriki?"
"What can that possibly change?" then asked Naruto. "You said the past couldn't be altered".
"Well it's complicated to explain".
"Then simplify it".
". . . . Very complicated".
Naruto then started to get a bit peeved at how his father was treating him now. "Try me".
Minato scratched his head to this as he thought about how to explain something that even a child could understand. "Naruto, time is not simply a linear progression from cause to effect. But actually it's more like a big ball" as he motioned with his hands, "of . . . . wibbly wobbly . . . . timey wimey . . . . stuff". Even to himself that sounded weird. But then looking to the children they still looked a bit confused to his half baked explanation. "Let's just say there might be something I can still do about our future".
"But then what can be done? We don't even know why the Kyubi attacked Konoha" said Hinata.
"Because that's the strange thing" then said Minato. "Because at this time the Kyubi should be . . . ."
"Mina-kun, I'm home! The doctors gave me and the baby a clean bill of health. Did you already make dinner?"
"That's your mother!" Minato silently exclaimed. In that instant everyone in the living room almost choked on the air they were breathing for their own reason. Hinata because of the sudden entrance of the mother of her best friend, Naruto because the mom he has never met was now only ten feet away from him, and Minato because this would all be very complicated to explain to his wife. "You two, hide" the elder blond then commanded.
"Why?" Naruto hissed. "That's my mom in the next room!"
"Because your mother doesn't know about the watch and its ability to time travel, if you're here I'm not sure your mother would be able to handle the shock of all this information".
"No way! I want to see mom!"
"Naruto-kun maybe its best that we listen to Minato-sama and go hide for now".
"But it's my mom Hinata-chan I might miss my only opportunity to meet her".
Just as Minato was about to say something more, it was too late. "Mina-kun, I hear voices. Do you have people over?" It was then that Kushina walked into the room. As the group looked to her, she had waist long red hair, grayish blue eyes, and wore an orange shirt with a black over dress. As the red head looked about her face glowed with awe. "Are these fans of your Mina-kun? And such cute little children too" as she walked up to them, she then got on one knee as she smiled to Hinata first. "What a cutie pie of a Hyuga" as she pinched her cheeks stretching them to which the pale girl showed visible signs of discomfort too. "She's so cute Mina-kun, a Hyuga girl that actually smiles for once!"
"Kushina-san" Hinata barely managed to murmur out to which the red head soon let go as the Hyuga heiress then rubbed her cheeks in soreness.
"You know you look awfully a lot like Hiashi's wife when she was young. Man I still wonder why she got with that guy". But then looking to the next child over, "and look at this cutie" as she smiled broadly at Naruto. But then looking into his eyes she suddenly came to a halt as she now stood up to look at Minato. "Mina-kun, it's very strange. This boy here looks a lot like you".
"Umm Kushina-chan, about that . . . ."
"But now taking a closer look, the resemblance is rather uncanny isn't it?" as she now pointed between the two blonds. As she continued to point between them her eyes started to become wider each time until they were like saucers. Now looking back to her husband, a very heavy aura began to emit from her which started to make the room occupants feel a bit edgy. "Mina-kun . . . ."
To Naruto and Hinata eyes, they never thought such a reaction was possible. But here before them now the legendary ninja himself looked scared for his life as he seemed to be cowering back. "Uhh yes Kushina-chan . . . ." Minato half stuttered.
"Who is this boy exactly?" then asked Kushina as the red head pointed to Naruto.
"Uhh . . . . That's a bit complicated to explain . . . ."
At hearing this Kushina started to get teary eyed as she cupped her face. "It's as I thought!" she cried out. "You had a love child didn't you? Even though you had me as your wife!"
"Kushina-chan! That's not even possible" as he waved his hands innocently to this. "He's like fourteen years old!"
But at that statement Kushina began to cry louder. "You're so horrible Mina-kun! You even said I was your first! I even gave you my first!" Everyone then didn't entirely know what to do, but that's when the atmosphere around them got cold . . . . really cold. As they looked to the red head they could have sworn that her hair was sticking up as she was glaring a demonic like eye at them. Then suddenly several spiked chains made of chakra began to appear as they covered the floor, wall, and ceiling as they now seemed to be aiming at the yondaime.
"Oh no" then thought Minato. "The red hot-blooded habanero in back!"
But then after an unnatural amount of silence that passed, "Mina-kun . . . . I'm going to kill you!"
"Whoa wait Kushina-chan! It's not what you think!" as Minato looked like he was about to duck and cover.
"Wait! Mom!" Naruto then exclaimed as he hugged Kushina around the waist to stop her. "Don't kill dad!"
Then suddenly all the chains disappeared as she looked a lot more calmer now as she then looked dumbfounded at the blond child currently now attached to her. She then looked to her husband as she pointed to the blond boy. "Mina-kun, why did this boy here just now call me his mother?"
Minato gave a deep sigh to this. "Well Kushina-chan . . . . This boy here is Naruto and this girl over here is Hinata-san . . . . They are both from the future . . . . And Naruto is . . . . Well" as he rubbed the back of his head deciding to be blunt about it, "he's our son".
As the red head attempted to understand all that her husband had just told her, there was only one thing she could say ". . . . huh?"
". . . . This is going to take a while to explain" to which he turned to Naruto and Hinata whispering to them. "Just follow my lead OK" to which after a long and heated lecture Minato said all that could be said with specific edits to his explanation.
Kushina gave a nervous chuckle as she was now rubbing the back of her head. "I'm sorry you kids had to see that. Even though I'm only three months in, hormones can make any girl crazy". But now looking directly at Naruto and Hinata, "so you two are from the future huh?" Then focusing more to the young blond, "and your name is Naruto right? Mina-kun and I were still discussing names for you when we found out you were a boy not too long ago. But I didn't think we would actually choose the name from Jiraiya-sama's story".
"Ehh?" as the blond jinchuriki looked wide eye at this. "You got my name from ero-sannin!", ". . . . well it could've been worse".
"That's so cute!" then squealed Kushina as she hugged her son. "Did I tell you to call him that or did you come up with it on your own?"
"Uhh . . . ." as Naruto began to fade off. "Yeah . . . . I came up with it". In his father's explanation, he only explained the bare minimum to his mother about his watch and its abilities. However from how his dad put it, he specifically left out what he tried to do, how their future turned out, and why he and Hinata came back in the first place. "But I can understand now . . . ." as he thought carefully about it. "I wouldn't want mom to worry about it either . . . ."
"So you're Hinata-chan right?" as the red head now turned to her, "and you're Hiashi's kid! I didn't think a grouch like that would produce such a sweet kid like you".
Hinata could only give a nervous chuckle as she didn't really know how to respond to that.
"So . . . ." as Kushina started to give off a mischievous cat like smirk. "Are you like my little Naru-chan's girlfriend or something?"
At that statement the duo could only gape as they both turned red in embarrassment.
"Na. . . . Naruto-kun's girlfriend!"
"Mom!" the young blond then exclaimed. "We're just friends!"
"Sorry sorry" Kushina waved while laughing a bit. "I just had to say it. So tell me about what I'm like fourteen year from now? I don't have any gray hairs yet right? Did I ever get around to giving ero-sannin the ultimate prank? Hmm, I wonder how all my friends now look fourteen years from now".
"Kushina-chan, you shouldn't be asking those questions" said Minato calmly.
"Right right, I wouldn't want to spoil the secret either. It's just so exciting and tempting to know how your future is going to turn out". But then looking up at the clock she stood up, "I'll go get some snacks. There is just so much for us to talk about".
Just as she left, Minato then turned back to Naruto. "May I ask for your watch?"
"Sure" as Naruto handed over his watch. "But why?"
As the elder blond held the watch in his hands he started to stare intensely at it. But then a moment later smoke started to emanate from the device which immediately alarmed the children.
"What are you doing?" Naruto then exclaimed as he took back the watch only for it to sound like a dying cat as more smoke started to pour out of it. "You . . . . You burnt out the watch" as he looked at it shocked. "Why did you do that?" as he turned to him.
"Minato-sama?" Hinata then asked curiously as she looked to the yondaime to explain.
"As I told you before time travel should never be done and it's too dangerous to keep around due to the people who might try to misuse it. This watch and it's many abilities is too much power for one person to ever have".
"But you said people can't fix the past".
"But that doesn't change people from trying to learn from the future. Can you imagine what could happen if this secret were to get out? In the worst case scenario it could erupt into a war on a scale no living being could possibly even imagine. This event could very well burn the world in a way that it could never heal from. Can you honestly say that the secrets of the watch will never get out Naruto?" as Minato then gave his son a serious look.
At that stare all the young blond could do was look away.
". . . . A self-fulfilling prophecy paradox prevents me now from destroying the watch on my end. So that just leaves me to do something about the watch in your time". Now looking at the fried device, "the watch is still functional enough to return you two home, but afterwards it will become completely useless to which I kindly ask of you Naruto to not try and repair it. This is my only request to you as your father".
"But there are so many things I haven't asked you yet! So many things I don't understand! Am I not going to be able to see you or mom again? And why did you ask all those questions if nothing was going to change in the end? What was the point to all of it then?"
"I already have enough to proceed for now. But there is something you don't understand Naruto. Time can be . . . ."
"I'm back" then said Kushina with snacks in hand. "So what should we talk about first?" as she placed the platter down.
"Oh Kushina-chan, Naruto and Hinata-san needs to get back to their own time now. So it's about time we said farewell to them".
"But this is just so sudden. Can't they come back to visit?"
"I'm afraid not" the elder blond then said. "It's not appropriate for people to be visiting other time zones as it will cause time itself to become distorted with irregularities".
"I see . . . ." Kushina then said sadly. She then looked to Naruto as she warmly smiled to him. "I guess I won't be able to see you again for some time now huh? But then again I guess our actual first meeting will be a few months from now" as she then gave her son a hug. "I'll be happy to welcome you into the world then".
". . . . Mom".
The red head then looked to Hinata. "Watch over my Naruto closely alright. He's definitely going to grow up to be a troublemaker like me if I know my own son to which I'm going to need the extra help".
"Yes Kushina-san" the pale girl nodded.
Then backing off Kushina stood next to her husband. "Good-bye then, I'll see you all again in fourteen years".
"Good-bye . . . . mom" said Naruto. Then typing in the sequence while charging the watch, he then took Hinata's hand. As the jutsu started to take effect, their form began to distort to which in a grand flash of light they were gone.
~ Konoha (plaza area) ~ (fourteen years later)
Upon arrival Naruto looked completely downcast as his eyes became shadowed to which Hinata completely understood why. ". . . . I won't be able to see them again".
"Naruto-kun" as she then held his hand tighter.
"Mina-kun, how did we end up here?"
". . . . Huh?" said the duo as they immediately turned around to see a confused looking Kushina with a bashful looking Minato. Of course the blond jinchuriki was ecstatic at having his parents there which meant more time with them, but equally dumbfounded to how they could be standing there next to him now.
"I did not think this was possible . . . ."
"So wait are we like in the future? That's so cool! But wait, how can we be here then? I thought we needed to be touching Naruto or the watch?"
"Oh no" as Minato then held his face, "it must have been due to chakra resonation".
"Chakra resonation?" as everyone then looked to him to explain.
"Due to the power of the watch and how devastating it would be if it got into the wrong hands, I built a safety precaution into the design making it so that it would only recognize my chakra and my chakra alone. But chakra like genetics can be a hereditary thing between parent and child. So when Naruto charged the watch, his chakra resonation was close enough to a match between me and Kushina-chan which spoofed the watch into making us jump with it".
"So how are you going to get back?" then questioned Hinata. "You broke the watch".
"You broke the watch?" Kushina then questioned as she looked to her husband with an accusing eye. "Why would you do that?"
Minato could only give a strained chuckle at this. "That's . . . . A very complicated story, but if my study is still intact I should be able to get it up and running again to return us home".
"So if that's the case then no one will mind if I take a look around" Kushina then chimed as she began looking about.
"Don't" as the elder blond grabbed her hand. "We're not supposed to be here, remember? We shouldn't be poking around in a future we know nothing about".
Kushina then gave a pouty face to this. "Don't be such a party pooper Mina-kun. It's not like I'll get into trouble or anything. If it bothers you that much I'll be in henge. Hmm" as she placed her hand to her chin, "I wonder if I'll see my older self in this time? Or perhaps she knows I'm already here? Or maybe she left so we wouldn't meet" She then shook her head to how complicated it was as she then looked to the children, "so is there anything interesting going on at the moment?"
"Well . . . . The chunin final exam is going on right now . . . ." said Hinata shyly. "Naruto-kun had just won his first match and it's currently about to enter the next round".
"Ahh, I missed Naruto's match. But don't worry; I'll definitely be here to watch you win this tournament" as she petted Naruto over the head.
"I'm . . . . also in this tournament" Hinata then added in meekly.
"Well isn't that interesting" as she looked to Hinata with a cat like smirk. "You better give my Naruto a good beating Hinata-chan or else he's never going to learn who the boss is, alright?" as she gave her a wink to which everyone including Minato gave a strained laugh too. "So it's the chunin finals now huh? Ahh that takes me back!" she gleed, "come on let's go see it!"
"Wait Kushina-chan! Don't forget your henge!" as Minato chased after her in his henge to which the children followed right after them. As they arrived closer to the grand area, the elder blond could only give a sigh to this. "I might as well see what's going on then. It would be nice to see how much the village changed after fourteen years".
As they arrived to the entrance Naruto and Hinata easily got in since they were participants. But as for Minato and Kushina, they were henged as an old couple to which the Konoha guards saw no threat to thus allowing them to enter as well. For Kushina, she was just too ecstatic about being in the future. Plus the fact it was at the chunin finals where her kid and his friend were participating in.
But after marveling at all the sights and sounds, the red headed woman started to calm down a bit. "Did you see that Mina-kun? They actually put your face on the hokage mountain, isn't that cool?"
"Yeah" Minato chuckled.
"I can see now where Naruto-kun gets's his stamina from" thought Hinata with intrigue.
But then suddenly Kushina came to a stop as she feel silent.
"Uhh mo . . . . Ma'am, is there something wrong?" asked Naruto.
She then looked ahead as she saw the sand siblings standing only but a few meters away. But more specifically she was looking at the red haired boy standing in the middle. She then turned back facing the group, "those three ninjas from the hidden sand village . . . . are they participants too?"
Hinata and Naruto slightly stalled at the question as they looked to the sand siblings. Looking to Gaara, the pair knew who he was or rather what he was, but they were uncertain if they should share this information. But Naruto seeing his mom still waiting, he gave her an answer "Yes . . . . they are participating in the chunin finals as well".
"That boy in the middle . . . . he's a jinchuriki isn't he?"
Upon that remark Naruto, Hinata, and Minato almost jumped at this for their own reasons. "How did mom know he was a jinchuriki?" Naruto puzzled. But seeing that he was still selling a façade to her, he couldn't ask her how she knew that.
"Is he?"
"Yes" Hinata then slowly said. "Is there a problem with that?"
Kushina blinked at this before she let out a chuckle. "No there is no problem with it. I was just curious if he was or not". Then looking around she waved to the pair. "Why don't you two run along now and go to your other friends. There are just so many things I want to see and I'm pretty sure you don't want to follow your mom around all day".
"But mom . . . ."
"Don't worry dear" she warmly smiled to the young blond. "Your father is with me. So just run along with Hinata-chan OK".
The blond jinchuriki slowly nodded to this as he took Hinata's hand to leave. "I hope we can talk again soon" the Hyuga heiress politely bowed just before they left.
With them leaving Kushina then turned to face Minato as they were both thinking the same thing. "Mina-kun . . . ."
The elder blond could only give a nod to this. "I might just be paranoid during these peaceful times . . . . But I would at least want to be prepared . . . ." Both Kushina and Minato knew that none of the villages would ever send a jinchuriki like this to another village under any circumstance. Even amongst allies, they were too valuable as they contributed to the village's military strength.
"I know that look Mina-kun. But there's no way they are going to use this tournament as some kind of ploy to stage an invasion. These are peaceful times. What could they possibly gain by attacking Konoha if they still are our allies?"
". . . . I want to believe that too Kushina-chan. But I would feel better if I at least gathered some information around the village" as he looked around. "Judging from Naruto's and Hinata-san's reaction, the fact that the sands jinchuriki is here is not known to Konoha's security forces simply by looking at how few guards there are and that I do find troubling". Then reaching into his pocket revealing the watch he took back from Naruto, "my special kunais would have either been destroyed or archived by now . . . . I might need this watch working sooner than I thought . . . ." But looking to his wife's concerned face; he soon gave her a reassuring smile. "You're probably right Kushina-chan. Nothing is going to happen today as I'm just being overly paranoid".
The red head soon smiled brightly back at this. "Good, now come on Mina-kun. Let's go find some seats to watch the match from!"
Minato chuckled at this. "You just save me a seat OK. I just need to go quickly take care of something before I can sit and watch the matches with you".
"OK dear, just bring me back some snacks to eat alright. I am eating for two you know" she waved.
The elder blond gave a warm chuckle to this. "OK Kushina-chan, your usual pickle and peanut butter right?"
"You know it" she giggled.
Minato then smiled and waved to her as his wife soon left to go find a seat for them. Just as they parted ways, he looked back to the circular contraption in his hand. "I hope I can get this working soon before anything bad happens . . . . I just hope Kushina-chan was right about this . . . ."
To be continued . . . .
Author's notes: This concludes another chapter to which I hope you all enjoyed. Now I either answered most of the questions asked or probably produced more questions to answer. However I will say that the answers are coming as I still have a lot of material to go through to which Minato has yet to still explain a ton of stuff in the story that will be important much later on.
So I thank everyone for taking the time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.