A/N: Update date - 6/28/10. This chapter is much longer to make up for the short one last time. A lot of time passes in this chapter, at least by comparison. For those of you wondering about Sai, two things: One, I have not forgotten about him. He just isn't integral into the story, at least not yet. Two: He's helping out in the war effort, as an ANBU operative. I haven't mentioned that in the story, but I'll try to at some point.

On the review front: I'm really pleased with the responses so far! I never expected anything like this when I started this fic, and I'm thankful towards each and every one of you.

As promised, here are the people who reviewed last chapter:

BloodKitsune11, TsubasaWitch, Shinigami, Midnight Phase, Thealie, wind dancer1981, empire14, The-Real-James-Potter, Kiiroi Senko, THE-complete-zelda-fan, ShamaLamaDingDong, watchingtherain1, yarra, deanine.

Thank you all! I really appreciate it.

For those of you who wrote detailed reviews, I can respond personally.

Midnight Phase: I can't say for certain, since this story doesn't really follow a strict outline. I have ideas and interactions I want to do, and I make them happen within the confines of the plot. Sakura and Sasuke are not going to be shipped any time soon (if at all, perhaps). Sasuke is healing by connecting with his family again, while Hinata is doing the same. As for Naruto...well, he already has a well established cover story, and he's not stupid. That said, we'll see. Kakashi's MS will be revealed to the Uchiha clan in due time, but again, a lot of that stuff is far off. And what saying, exactly?

Shinigami: Danzo has been removed from power. But as for arresting him outright, how can he be arrested for crimes he hasn't technically committed yet? Besides, if Sarutobi hated the idea of killing OROCHIMARU of all people, then I seriously doubt he'd go out of his way to punish an old friend of his.

Once again, PLEASE review! If you've got this story on alert, is it so much to ask that you spend 10 seconds to leave a one sentence review? It means a lot to me; it's my motivation.


Chapter 7: Prelude to Peace

"You can't be serious!"

"Yes, I can."

Naruto and Hinata had brought their decision to light for the rest of their group, along with the Sandaime. So far, they were having trouble convincing them.

"You understand that the more you interfere with events, the less likely it is that any of you or your generation will be born!" yelled the Sandaime.

"We know," said Hinata, "but if we don't help out and change things, then many more people will cease to exist. Just as some people won't be born, others will be born because of our changes. Besides, it's very likely that they'll be born, but they won't be genetically identical. Just by being here, we've already changed things."

He paused, mulling her words over. "I still don't want you to interact with your families until the previous conditions I mentioned have been met. Once they have, you can tell them, assuming you follow procedure and make sure the secret does not get out."

"Well," interjected Naruto, "it may get out completely eventually. After all, how can we join our families when they can't acknowledge us like that? But…I think that maybe it can work to our advantage."

"How?" he asked.

"Well, if everyone knows and believes we're from the future, then we'll be able to change things outside of Konoha. Things like Akatsuki capturing and killing jinchuuriki, or Gaara's case. Maybe…maybe we can make peace with other villages."

Hiruzen, being an optimist at heart, considered the possibilities. "Perhaps. Regardless, it will have be handled very delicately. And in due time, as well. But not before then."

"One other thing." Everyone turned to look at Naruto. "Just telling our families about us might be a bad idea. I've gotten a chance to bond with my parents without them knowing who I really am. When the time comes, I think it will be much easier for them to accept me because of that."

"That would mean establishing cover stories for all of you. And that would also mean changing things for certain. Are you prepared for consequences like that?"

Sakura spoke up this time. "Maybe we've been looking at this the wrong way. I don't think our families want to have two of the same child, at least in the way we're thinking. Perhaps it's best to really become close to our families and not worry about events that are already out of our control."

Naruto could practically see everyone changing their minds.

"I've already told my past self and my old team the secret, and it's worked out very well so far," said Kakashi.

Hiruzen looked out the windows overlooking the village. We've really taken a turn for the surreal, haven't we? "Well, I guess that settles it. Though if at all possible, don't interfere with any other families besides your own, at least for the time being. Let's take this one step at a time."

Agreement spread throughout the room, but Naruto noticed his love staring at the ground, acting strangely. "What's wrong, Hinata-chan?"

She didn't move her eyes from the floor. "I…I don't think there's a way for my family and I to interact without them knowing the truth. I wouldn't be able to get close to them through the clan, and my family isn't exactly active in village matters that I could participate in."

The Hokage sighed. "I'm getting too old for this. I'm leaving the choice up to you all, individually. If you need help establishing a cover story, I will do what I can, but I'm no miracle worker. In the mean time, I've got a war effort to run. Which, I'm afraid, brings us to other matters."

Naruto didn't hesitate to volunteer. "I'll do what I can. I'll handle the open battles, and force as many surrenders as possible. I don't want to kill a single person if I don't have to. All I ask is that you set up whatever you need to so I can hand my prisoners off quickly."

"You really think you can fight a war without killing anyone? That's absurd," said Hiruzen.

"I'll make it happen. I've studied sealing jutsu for a year, and I know enough to design incapacitating seals. You've already seen it in action; I'll plow through until the enemy surrenders."

"Well, we're fighting a war on two fronts here, and there's only one of you, Naruto. As for the rest of you…"

"We can end this war right now." Once again, all eyes were on Naruto. "It's simple. War is very bad for ninja villages in just about every way. They lose skilled ninja, they can't take on missions and earn money, they have to spend more money for a war effort, and they run the risk of being wiped out entirely. All we have to do is make the case in a way where they'll listen."

"And how do you propose to do that?" aksed the Hokage.

"Send a couple diplomats with me, and I'll get their attention. I suggest we start with Suna, since Iwa just had their butts kicked and won't be making a move anytime soon."

00.000.00

Watching the sunset from atop the Hokage Mountain, Minato and Kushina lay in each other's arms as they thought about the future. "Kushina-chan?"

"Yes, Mina-kun?"

"I've been thinking—"

"I would certainly hope so, Mina-kun," interrupted Kushina. They both chuckled at that, but Minato knew he had to press the point.

"We should get married sooner, rather than later."

She turned to look in his eyes, considering the idea. "Yeah…how soon, though?"

Now for the hard part, thought Minato. "As soon as possible. I just don't see any reason for putting it off."

She seemed taken aback momentarily before regaining her composure. "I guess you're right. I've always wanted a small wedding."

Minato looked at his lover with a raised eyebrow. "You just don't want my fangirls to come."

Kushina feigned anger and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "You're the one who suggested the whole thing. You just don't want my fanboys to come."

"Well, looks like I can't play the whole jealousy card." He sighed, fake disappointment written all over his features. "And here I was hoping for a reaction."

She smirked, and pulled him close. "How's this for a reaction?" she whispered into his ear. Kushina knew that the one time Minato wasn't thinking was during their more intimate moments, and brought him into a passionate kiss.

00.000.00

"Who are we going to meet, Jisan?" asked Rin. The two were walking towards the residence areas near the Hokage Tower.

"A student of mine. She's one of the best medic-nin's you'll ever find. Trained by Tsunade-sama herself."

Rin recognized the name immediately. "Tsunade of the Sannin? How? I thought she left the village a long time ago. How'd she get to be her apprentice?"

Kakashi-jisan laughed. "Well, that's a story in and of itself. But in about 13 years' time, if the timeline were the same, one of my other students, Naruto, would have convinced her to return and claim the position of Godaime Hokage."

"Godaime?" she asked. "What about the Yondaime?"

Kakashi-jisan stopped in his tracks and stared at the ground. Rin's curiosity spiked immediately, and she recognized the pained expression on his face. "The Yondaime died very young. He sacrificed himself to save the village, making the Sandaime come out of retirement. He was killed, too, causing Naruto to go with Jiraiya-sama to search for Tsunade-sama."

Sandaime-sama was killed too? she thought. "Wait, who was the Yondaime?"

The jounin's voice was barely above a whisper. "Minato-sensei."

Rin gasped; this revelation sent her mind reeling. Kakashi finally awoke from his reverie and soothed his teammate's fears. "You don't need to worry. We're not going to let that happen this time."

She nodded and regained her composure. They continued on in silence for a while, but Rin had a question nagging at her. "You said, 'we,' before. 'We're not going to let that happen.' Who were you talking about, exactly?"

"You'll find out in due time. Let's just say we've got a group of misfits who are perfect for the job."

They reached the suite, and Kakashi knocked on the door. It was opened by a calm, odd looking teen with black hair that seemed as whacky as Kakashi's. "Sensei?" he asked.

"Hello, Sasuke. Is Sakura in?" Rin was taking in every detail; this was all new to her.

"Yes. Sakura?" he called out. A girl with pink hair walked to the door.

"Sensei?" she asked. "And who is this?"

"This is Rin, Sakura."

Sakura stared at her in shock. "Rin? As in your dead teammate Rin?"

The medic-nin in question jumped at that comment. Dead? I died? She was starting to panic before Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder.

"There's no need to worry, Rin. It's like I said, we're not going to let any of that happen this time. Why don't we discuss this inside?"

After walking to a table inside, everyone sat down. Rin started with her worries. "Jisan…I died?"

He nodded. "H-how?" she asked, noticeably terrified.

"It was the same night that sensei died as well. I lost a lot of people that night. Too many. Everyone did. I don't know nor remember many details. There was so much chaos, no one knew what really happened."

She was silent for several moments. "What happened that night? If so many people died and the village was threatened, it had to be something really big, right?"

Kakashi looked up at the ceiling, considering how to proceed. "Well, there's no point in not telling you. The night of October 10th was the night the village came under attack by the Kyuubi no Youko…"

00.000.00

Strolling along the main streets of Konoha, Hinata heard her boyfriend calling out to her. She'd been in such a daze, thinking about the awkwardness of her situation.

"Hinata-chan!" He panted for a few moments, obviously a little winded from trying to catch up.

She turned to face him with a small smile. "What is it, Naruto-kun?"

He stood upright, scratching the side of his head. She'd begun to pick up on his nervous ticks as well, and drew great pleasure from pointing them out in…intimate ways. "I think I know of a way for you to get close to your family without them knowing everything," he said.

Now she was very intrigued. She'd been thinking of such a solution ever since the dilemma presented itself, but was at a dead end. "You said that there's no way to get involved with them through the clan, since they wouldn't recognize you, and the Hokage couldn't set you up because your family doesn't do a lot outside of the clan. So…why not just have the Hokage tell your family the truth, but leave out the part about you being their daughter?"

There it was, the painfully obvious solution that occurred to no one except Naruto. Whereas she was looking at every clever or subtle solution that might allow her to get close to her family without arousing suspicion, the formerly knucklehead ninja just went and did things the obvious way. Ironically, his method would not only completely work, but leave out the high chance of failure that complex plans always had. It was, in short, stupidly genius; Naruto to a T.

She was so floored by this that she seemed to be in a daze, so Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hinata-chan?"

The Hyuuga heiress nearly jumped, but quickly regained her composure. "Y-yes, that's a great idea, Naruto-kun. Thank you." She gave him a quick kiss before heading back to the Hokage Tower.

Smiling as he watched her go, another stroke of genius hit him. Wait, Sasuke-teme is in a clan too! With a snicker, he went to go rub in his genius plans to his oldest friend.

00.000.00

The wedding invitations went out the next day with the instructions to keep the event a secret. With only a few days advance warning, the small wedding was prepared. It wasn't much, the couple decided, but they wouldn't want it any other way. Naruto and Team Minato were invited, as well as other close friends. The elder Kakashi was invited as well, as Minato had learned who had rescued his team during their mission. The Yellow Flash regretted that his sensei couldn't be there, but Naruto had told him that Jiraiya would be out of the village for quite some time. There wasn't much pomp and circumstance, but the love was evident to those who were able to attend. Not wanting to make a target out of his family, Minato decided to keep knowledge of the marriage limited to those who attended the wedding until the war was over.

At one point, Naruto considered telling his parents the truth, but decided to give the couple a true honeymoon without such serious matters on their conscious. Well, as good as a honeymoon could get during the middle of a war. Naruto left for his mission after a few farewells as everyone else continued training. Sakura worked with Rin on her medical ninjutsu, and she discovered enormous potential in that regard. Kakashi-jisan continued training his younger self and Obito on the Sharingan, even giving them a few simple jutsu to copy.

Up in his office, Sarutobi Hiruzen reflected back on the events of the past two weeks. He had seen many things in his life, but nothing compared to this. Naruto better talk to you soon, Minato. I'm more than ready to retire.

00.000.00

The Land of Rain had its name very well deserved, Jiraiya decided. It poured, and poured, and continued pouring day in and day out. There really wasn't any other way to put it, this village was hidden in the rain. Making his way through one of the many war-torn areas of the village, Jiraiya traveled in the shadow of an unknowing shinobi. He was looking for a contact, someone who could lead him to this peaceful resistance movement. Though there were many people talking about the movement, no one seemed to know anything of true relevance.

After the fourth day, he finally hit a stroke of luck. He saw a small gathering of people talking about plans for world peace. Whereas before, people merely talked about it as if it were some lofty dream, these people talked about it in a business-like fashion. They also wore the same uniform. Knowing that such a conversation was grossly out of place otherwise, he approached the group without a disguise. They were suspicious, at first, but he quickly said that he was an old friend of Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. The group apparently recognized the names, and led him to a contact, which eventually led him to seeing his students after many, many years.

Yahiko was elated. Hanzo himself had agreed to a meeting to join forces and spread their peace movement. All three of the orphans agreed that this was the break they had all been yearning for for years, and were almost giddy with anticipation for the meeting that was to be held the next day.

A knock resounded from the door. "Come in," they said, smiles adorned on each of their faces. Nothing could dampen their spirits, and their happiness showed.

"Yahiko-san, there's a man here wishing to see you three. He said that he's an old friend of yours," said the messenger.

Old friend? thought Yahiko. Nothing comes to mind… "It's alright, Takara-san. Let him in."

Takara nodded, and exited the room before showing the hooded traveler in. He raised his hood, a wide smile stretched across his face. "It's been a long time, Yahiko, Konan, Nagato. Too long."

"Sensei?" they yelled, overjoyed to see the man, and ran to embrace him. (A/N: I know that hugs outside of couples/families are uncommon in Japanese culture, and I don't care. I'm keeping it as is for this fic.)

"What happened? We thought we would never see you again!" said Konan.

"I'm sorry. During the last war, I received news that you three had been killed. I never knew the truth until about a week ago. Why don't we bring in some tea and catch up? It seems we have quite a lot to talk about."

Deciding that this was the best day that he could remember in a long time, Nagato quickly retrieved a tea pot before the four of them caught up after years of separation.

00.000.00

Initially mistaken for the Yellow Flash, Naruto had little trouble convincing a group of Suna shinobi to gain an audience with officials for peace talks. The trip had been quick, as the diplomats Naruto had been sent with had received ninja training. He supposed that in a time of war, everyone had to be capable of holding their own in battle. Dressed in his classic black and orange jumpsuit with his red and black sage cloak, he looked highly unusual for a shinobi. This worked to his advantage, Naruto deduced, because he wanted to come off as up front and honest. The biggest reason why Naruto was so good at convincing and changing others was that he was the opposite of what was expected; he was loud, boisterous, highly visible, playful, and nice. In a world where people looked underneath the underneath in everything, Naruto was someone you trusted to not have ulterior motives. Everything about him came off as genuine.

Which is exactly why he quickly gained an audience with the Kazekage. He wasn't trained in the intricacies of kowtowing, and showed respect in a rather bass-ackwards way. He simply acted as himself, and the Kazekage was baffled at this. Diplomats always chose their words carefully, delivering meanings through subtlety and word games. Both of which, the Kazekage quickly found out, were completely lost on Naruto.

"I brought a couple diplomats with me because I don't know much about politics or stuff like that. Really, I just wanted to talk with you. So, I guess I can start with this. War really doesn't help you guys out. You lose ninja left and right, which puts years of training and effort to waste. Your ninja are tied up by the war, and so you can't go on any missions, meaning you can't make any money. You run the risk of defeat, so you might get screwed in the end anyway. And even if you win, then what? You don't have the resources to make use of what you gain, and you'll be weak, so villages like Kumo can come and take you out. It really makes no sense, and both sides want peace. Why not just do it, then?"

The Kazekage's mouth hung open. What the HELL?

"Sorry, speeches aren't my thing. Look, I could personally level Sunagakure to the ground in a single day, but I wouldn't want to do that in a thousand years. I really want peace, and I hate it when people die, even my enemies. I really don't want to ruin your day, so please help me out here."

After nearly a minute of silence and blinking, during which Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably, the Kazekage finally spoke up. "You mean to tell me that your village wishes for peace, and that you personally could lead your village to victory in a single day?"

Naruto placed his finger on his chin as he struck a thinking pose. A few moments later, he spoke up with a smile. "Yep, pretty much."

To say the Kazekage was floored would be an understatement. He had never imagined anything like this when he agreed to this meeting. He seriously doubted the kid's claims, but he there was something about him…. Still, now that he thought about it, what was wrong with what the blond teen said? His arguments made sense, and there is simply no way this kid was trying to get some sort of leverage out of this deal. He was too stupid for it. "And if I agree to this peace, what do you want in return?"

Naruto looked at him like he had just said something really stupid. "Eh? What are you talking about? We'd get peace in return, dummy. Is there something I'm missing here?"

Well, he thought, this is certainly…interesting. "So let's say I was to agree with you. What are you authorized to do?"

Naruto pointed a thumb to the man and woman behind him. "That's what the diplomat guys are for. Ojisan said that we can draft the resolution right here, if that is alright with you."

The Kazekage scratched his chin. Such a heel-face-turn in policy would look odd at first, but ultimately his people would be happy. He could negotiate terms that would leave no dishonor to Suna, and his village would rejoice at the peace. There was, however, one other problem that needed to be addressed first. "What about Iwa? You are at war with them, too."

The blond actually smiled at that, confusing the man even more. "We came here first," he said, "because we just kicked Iwa's butt and knew they wouldn't be able to try anything for a while. We want to have peace with them, too, but I can't be at two places at once." The teen paused, and revised his statement. "Well, I can, but not as far as Suna and Iwa. Maintaining shadow clones over that kind of distance is hard."

I can't even tell if he's joking or not, thought the Kazekage. But it does make sense. Either way, we'd be given a reprieve while Iwa and Konoha fight it out. Not a bad proposition… "Then I believe we can draft an agreement. We should get started immediately." He nodded to his ANBU guards, who went to retrieve the required personnel and materials. He couldn't help but notice the blond boy grinning like an idiot at that.

00.000.00

"…and Hanzo approached us, asking if we wanted to discuss joining forces and spreading our message internationally!" Yakiho recalled cheerfully.

Jiraiya paused, his face suddenly growing serious, in direct contrast with the huge grins on his students. "When?" he aksed.

"Tomorrow. He gave us a location and time to meet us, and we'll take it from there," said Konan.

Sighing, the Toad Sage delivered his warning. "Listen to me, all of you. That meeting is a trap. Without a doubt."

All three of his students started to protest. "But sensei! This is what we've been waiting for! Why would they want to fight us? We're a peace movement!" yelled Yahiko.

"Okay, look. I've fought Hanzo before, and I know a bit about him. He's a cold-blooded man who rules through an iron fist. He likely sees you as a threat to his power, and won't lose a moment of sleep over betraying each and every one of you."

That gave them pause. After finally getting their first big break, they didn't want to believe that it was all a setup. Jiraiya felt that it would be good to let them in on his source at this point. "What I'm about to tell you sounds beyond crazy, and I had a hard time believing it myself, but I can't think of any other way to explain it." They looked up at him with curious expressions. "The reason I'm here, the reason I even knew that you were even alive in the first place, is that I had a warning delivered from a shinobi who somehow travelled into the past."

Though Yahiko and Konan looked more than skeptical, Nagato was quick to believe that claim. As the bearer of the Rinnegan, he had powers that baffled many ninja. Perhaps the ability to travel to the past was not so ludicrous. "What exactly do you mean, sensei?" he asked.

Jiraiya took a sip of team before continuing. "The Sandaime Hokage introduced to me a group of Konoha ninja who claimed to have accidentally traveled into the past. One in particular was something highly unusual. He was the son of one of my students, and knew several techniques that only such a person would know. In order to prove his claim, he told me that you three were still alive. He warned me, however, that you would fall into a trap around this time. He described it as a meeting, exactly the kind of meeting you just told me about, where Hanzo and a rogue shinobi from Konoha would ambush you. He said that…he said that you would die in the ambush, Yahiko."

His students looked deathly pale as they turned to Yahiko in concern and disbelief. Yahiko himself just stared at his sensei. "I…I'm going to die?"

Jiraiya's expression seemed to ease a little. "Only if you go to that meeting. And not if I can do anything about it. But…perhaps we can use this to our advantage."

"What do you mean, sensei?" asked Konan.

"You're not going to like it, but I suggest we ambush their ambush. The Sandaime Hokage had already dealt with the rogue Konoha shinobi, and you've got one big advantage."

"And what would that be, sensei?"

He smiled. "Me." They all laughed at that. "Oh, and before I forget, that future student of mine asked me to send you a message, Nagato."

"Hm?"

"He said, 'I'm sorry about Tiny.' No idea what that means, though."

Nagato's jaw dropped at that.

00.000.00

Uchiha Fugaku was a bit more than perplexed. It wasn't often that he was summoned to see the Hokage personally in his office, and unheard of for his wife to be added to the invitation. Upon entering the most important room in the village, as many people called it, he was greeted by a smiling Hokage and a reserved teenager who held a slight smile of his own.

"You summoned us, Hokage-sama?" asked Fugaku.

"Ah yes, come and have a seat. We have important matters to discuss."

As they took their seats, the Hokage seemed to be overly warm for whatever reason. "Tea?"

"Erm…no, thank you. We're fine."

The older man took a seat in front of his desk. "Very well then. With pleasantries out of the way, I'll have to take a moment and activate the necessary precautions…" he said as he activated the seals throughout the office. "This office is now sound-secure. With that done, I'm about to tell you an S-rank village secret. Do you both understand what that means?"

They nodded. Fugaku was starting to get nervous. Though he wanted to be in the loop as much as possible, the whole setup seemed very odd to him.

"Good. Well, there's no easy way of saying this. What I'm about to tell you is absolutely true and proven. This boy in front of you is one of a small group of Konoha ninja who have accidentally traveled into the past."

Both Mikoto's and Fugaku's eyes went wide as they processed his words, and then looked at Sasuke, who nodded back. Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe before continuing. "Now, the reason I have told you this is because this boy's name is Uchiha Sasuke. He is a skilled member of the Uchiha clan from the future, and I trust you can help him get reacquainted in this new setting. He's had a difficult past, I warn you, so please help him in that regard. That said, do not press for answers. Trust me, it would not be a good idea to pry into his history. In case you were wondering about asking him for secrets or hints of the future, don't. All of the important events that affect your clan that he knows of have been reported to me, and I have taken steps to ensure that they will be prevented."

Fugaku didn't miss the hint that the Hokage had dropped. He worded that as if every important event that happened to the Uchiha Clan in the future are bad… "We'll do everything we can for him, Hokage-sama."

With a nod, Hiruzen decided to finish up the meeting. "Then good luck. Sasuke, I trust everything about this is suitable to you?"

Sasuke nodded with a small smile. He hadn't ever expected to see his family again, and this was something of a dream come true.

00.000.00

Hinata sat at the table with her family, eating dinner with well practiced manners. Having gone through a similar ordeal very recently, Hiashi and Hitomi had taken her in with pleasure. They knew that they couldn't pry into her history, but they still tried to get to know this distant descendent of theirs.

"Hinata-san, I'm curious…what exactly had changed between the Hyuuga clan of your time and one of the current time? I understand if you cannot tell us, of course…"

"No, it's fine, Hiashi-san. The Hyuuga clan had prospered for a time, but there were several problems that threatened the clan's very existence in my time." It couldn't hurt to stretch the truth, could it?

This news seemed to cause the clan head to freeze. "What kind of problems?"

Hinata smiled inwardly. Sometimes your tendencies DO rub off on me, Naruto-kun. "Well, to start, the Caged Bird Seal had driven many Branch members to depression and mental instability. A civil war seemed about to erupt, and rumors said that the Branch members had found a way to circumvent the seal. The Hokage was about to intervene and order the seals to be removed. I personally agree with that course of action, as the Uchiha clan had never had a problem with insubordination even though they lack a seal of any kind."

Hiashi grew even paler as he considered the implications of what he had been told. A civil war? And the seal had been circumvented?

She wasn't about to stop there, however. "There was also the problem of the Jyuuken itself. Many Hyuuga began falling in battle during the Fourth Great Shinobi War because our fighting style is all the same. In essence, if you have fought one skilled Hyuuga, you have fought them all. The Byakugan's possibilities are many, but we had limited ourselves to one type of taijutsu. It was a disaster waiting to happen."

She knew that she had him hanging on her every word now. "Another significant problem was the lack of personality that the Hyuuga became known for. We place such a heavy emphasis on emotional control and strictness that those who require nurturing and kindness suffer greatly. And if I may be so crude, it hurt many Hyuugas in their…marriage outlooks." Well, if even one of those things changes, Naruto-kun, then you were absolutely right.

00.000.00

Kids, thought Hanzo, so damn naïve. He saw the three leaders of the so called "peace" movement he had spoken to earlier approach the designated location. He was telling the truth when he said they'd have a meeting. He just omitted that it would involve immediate lethal force.

He signaled to his forces to begin the attack, when all of a sudden the ground around him seemed to melt. His decades of experience allowed him to quickly escape the attack, but few of his subordinates managed to do the same and were swallowed into the ground.

Before his remaining men could regroup with him, paper shuriken flew right past his face. He dodged them with ease, and quickly saw the attacker. "Well, well, well. It seems you kids weren't so naïve after all. I've underestimated you."

Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko emerged from their hiding places, entering a stare down with their new enemy. "You were planning to betray us all along?" yelled Yahiko.

"You say that like it's surprising." Hanzo quickly summoned his famous Salamander, standing atop its head. "And now, if you don't mind, I'm going to finish what I've started."

"Actually, I DO mind!" yelled the voice of a newcomer. They all turned to see a large puff of smoke to see a white-haired man strike a pose. "These tears of blood, overflowing with rage! I went from Sannin to Sage! The Monstrous Toad of Mount Myoboku! I am Jiraiya-sam—AH!" The man fell flat on his face.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP, JIRAIYA! I've had enough of your stupid dramatic entrances!" yelled Gamabunta.

"OI! IS IT SO MUCH TO ASK FOR YOU TO STAY STILL FOR A FEW SECONDS!" The Toad Sage quickly regained his composure. "Anyway, we've got a dangerous opponent this time: Hanzo the Salamander."

"You!" yelled Hanzo. "I remember you. I gave you three the title of Sannin. Well, this sure is a pleasant surprise. But a bit stupid of you, I might add. I've already defeated you before when your whole team took me on. Now you're alone."

"Yahiko, Konan, Nagato—you handle the others! This fight is personal!" He turned to the toad boss. "You know, Gamabunta-san, Hanzo over there thinks he has the better summon. Care to prove him wrong?"

The giant toad drew his equally large sword. "With pleasure."

00.000.00

News of the peace treaty had reached Hiruzen a few moments ago. He was surprised, and yet not at the same time. This blond enigma was full of surprises. "Send messengers to all of our forces on the Suna front, and tell them to stand down immediately. We'll follow the treaty to the letter."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" yelled the ANBU. Hiruzen's well trained ears could detect the happiness in their voices. At the very least, peace with Suna meant fighting a war on only one front now. There wouldn't be a single person in Konoha not overjoyed at the news.

00.000.00

"Itachi-chan, say hello to someone who's going to be staying with us for a while!" Mikoto cooed.

The boy immediately smiled and latched on to the teen's legs. "Funny hair guy!" Sasuke responded with something he hadn't done in many years—he gave a wide, genuine smile.

Mikoto was about to scold the boy, but Sasuke spoke up. "It's alright. It's…endearing." Not a word I've actually ever used, I think.

She sighed, amused at her son's cute antics, but still slightly embarrassed by his actions. "Well, you can put your stuff in the room down the hall. When you're ready, you can join us for dinner." She smiled, and he returned the gesture. Sasuke stepped into what used to be his old room as a flood of memories overwhelmed him. This time, he noted, he didn't feel an overwhelming pain when recalling them.


A/N: My longest chapter yet.

I hope that I haven't gone overboard with regards to Naruto's peacemaking abilities, but it just seems natural given what we've seen of him. He comes off as completely genuine and friendly, and has a natural talent for changing people. Just look at Pain and Gaara, seriously.

Yes, Yahiko will not be dying. I love the guy too much.

I apologize for not going into more detail about Minato and Kushina's wedding, but I did that for a few reasons. I don't know anything about Japanese weddings, nor did I want to Americanize it. The wedding itself was not a big deal, plotwise.

So, questions to my reviewers:

1) Any constructive criticism you can offer? I'm constantly trying to improve.

2) Is anything moving into the realm of being relatively unbelievable?

3) Any character interactions/situations you'd like to see? Remember, this story is not hard-outlined. Suggest it, and you might see it.

Until next time!