Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It is owned by Masashi Kishimoto (hope the spelling is correct and I don't know his last name)
Answers to Reviews:
BigMasetheDon: Well, it depended on the poll and the poll result is out. Check the end of the chapter for the result
davycrockett100: Thanks
Wolvmbm: Yes, I agree. But, Itachi was instrumental in keeping the Akatsuki away from Konoha and hence Naruto by being the spy for Jiraiya. Itachi was accepted into the Akatsuki partly due to the Mangekyo. So, Shisui's death is necessary. I will lay the plan out so that Naruto still manages to change stuff but not too drastically.
Jasmine: Thank you for reviewing, check the previous answer for yours too. And yes, the third will live.
Anonymous: Thanks
"Blah" – Normal speech
'Blah' – Thoughts
"Blah"- Kurama and other tailed beasts talking
'Blah' – Kurama and other tailed beasts' thoughts
Shadow Clone Jutsu- Jutsus
Okay guys, without further delay, here is the story
FLASHBACK:
After all this, he started working on his taijutsu. But he had hit a road block with it. Even though his earlier style was extremely effective, there were a large amount of holes in it. So, he had to start improving it and augment more style to suit him better. The best way to get good information on taijutsu was to find Gai sensei. Even though everyone had to question the sanity of the spandex wearing elite-jonin, his taijutsu prowess could not be questioned. He was good enough to push the copy ninja Kakashi to an edge only with his taijutsu alone. So, he was the best pointer. So, the original Naruto went to look for him while his clones set to work on the jutsus and the exercises.
Streets of Konoha:
Naruto had to admit. The guy was definitely hard to find if you needed him. And the frustration that came with it was ridiculous. Seriously, he had been searching for almost an hour, and the spandex clad taijutsu powerhouse was nowhere to be seen. Now, he was asking himself whether he had ask the old man hokage for help. But suddenly, as if on cue, a shout about youth came to be heard. And that was music to the blonde boy's ears. Finally, he had found him at last. Naruto just ran towards the source of the slogan of youth.
He found Gai sensei lecturing some chunnin about the 'FLAMES OF YOUTH'. The chunnin was almost at his breaking point. He looked like he would crack at a moment's notice. So, Naruto rushed towards them to save the chunnin from the pain of Gai sensei's Flames of Youth. As soon as Naruto went near the duo, the chunnin noticed him and sent a glare at him. Naruto noticed the glare but paid no attention to it as he thought that the chunnin must have lost someone close to him during the Kyuubi- Kurama's attack on the village.
Gai sensei also noticed that the chunnin was sending a glare and looked towards the target. As soon as he looked at Naruto, he also came to the same conclusion as Naruto and ignored it. He held no anger or hate against the boy and he knew that the Kyuubi and the blonde boy were two different people. He was also one of the only few people along with the third hokage, Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi and the hokage guard platoon that included Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi and Iwashi Tatami, to know that the boy, Naruto, was the son of the fourth hokage, Minato Namikaze. But, it still hurt him that he could not do anything for the boy who was placed with a curse on him without his own knowledge. But what he didn't know was that Naruto was from the future and knew of all of this.
Naruto went to the green beast and asked as if he was meeting him for the first time in his life, "Hey super fuzzy brows sensei. Are you Might Gai?" adding the sensei unknowingly.
But, unfortunately, Gai being one of the densest people Naruto knew apart from himself, he fell for it and replied, "Yes boy. You have come to the beautiful green beast of Konoha. I am indeed the most youthful Might Gai. And you must be Naruto. May I ask what such a young and youthful boy like you want from me?"
Naruto knowing that his act had worked replied, "Jiji sent me to you. Can we talk somewhere else?"
Gai concluded that Naruto must have had meant the third hokage when he said 'jiji' and he also concluded that Naruto wanted to go somewhere else because the people around were still glaring at him, though not very intensely as most were getting back to their work. So, he answered, "Of course my most youthful boy, let us go to training ground 9 as that is where I usually train".
They both went towards the training ground 9.
Training Ground 9:
After reaching the training grounds, Gai turned towards Naruto and asked, "Now Naruto, what did you want to talk about?"
Naruto replied, "Super fuzzy brows sensei, I am going to start my academy days in a few months and I have been training hard for it. But in the field of taijutsu, I found no growth. So, I went to jiji for help and he told me that you were the best taijutsu expert in Konoha and I should consult you. So, could you give me some tips? I am working on my own style. So, please help me".
Gai looked at the boy and after giving his nice guy pose said, "Of course Naruto-kun, by all means. Now, show me what you have been working on. Let us move on from there. Now attack me with the style of yours". Gai took up his fighting stance.
"Alright then, here we go. Shadow Clone Jutsu", Naruto said as he made his favorite hand seal and a couple of Naruto's poof'ed into existence.
Saying that Gai was shocked was an understatement. A 9 year old boy doing a B-rank kinjutsu without even the slightest sign of exhaustion was unheard of by anyone. Gai stood there gaping at the boy for some time before asking, "Naruto-kun, where did you learn that jutsu?"
Naruto just gave his biggest grin and lied, "You see super fuzzy brows sensei, due to my 'condition', it is impossible for me to do the normal clone jutsu that is taught in the academy. And because of that, I knew that I would fail. So, I went to jiji to find a solution to that problem. Jiji noticed that I had roughly 5 times as much chakra as him without consider that massive thing inside of me," 'Hey, I am not a thing you brat. I am Kurama, the nine tailed fox', "So, he taught me the shadow clone jutsu and I figured out its secret to use it in training", he finished with the same grin.
Two information stood out for Gai. One was that the boy had more chakra than the hokage himself, which could essentially be translated as, he had the most chakra in the village. The second was that, he knew! He knew of the fox. So he asked with a little low voice, "So Naruto, do you know everything?" He was asking whether the boy knew of his heritage.
Naruto understanding what he meant, replied, "Yes, jiji told me everything including my heritage. If you live a life that was as harsh as mine, you will end up meeting the fox. And don't worry, he is still trapped, if you could say so. And also, I am not angry. I am happy that I protect this village that my father gave his life for and I will also do the same if the need be. Now, can we get to work?" It was an elaborate lie but Gai fell for it.
Gai, after recovering from the surprise and shock said, "Your flames of youth burn brighter than mine Naruto-kun. Come, let us begin", he took up his fighting posture again.
As soon as he said this, Naruto and his shadow clones started attacking him with all their power. It wasn't a highly refined style. But, it was highly unpredictable and effective. But, Gai soon dispelled all the clones after getting a basic grasp of the blonde's style of fighting and told him to stop.
He then said, "Very youthful display of your taijutsu Naruto-kun. It perfectly suits you. Though it has a lot of chunks in it, it is highly unpredictable. Even I couldn't predict what you would do next. That is a big advantage for you. My experience won the fight for me as a matter of fact. There are some flaws in it, which can be ironed out. I will help you in any manner I can. You need to increase your speed and strength. Your stamina is not a problem at all. So, to increase your speed and strength, I suggest you get some weights. Can you get them?"
Naruto pondered over it for some time and then replied, "Nah, I don't want to destroy myself, no offense super fuzzy brows sensei. Your training methods are a little extreme for me. I will not always be depending on taijutsu since I have Ninjutsu. But can you help me with my moves and stuff? I will work on my speed and strength."
Gai replied, "Of course Naruto-kun. Now, I will get back to my duty as a leaf shinobi. Every Sunday, I will help you with your taijutsu. But since it is your own style, I can only iron out the flaws."
Naruto said with a grin, "That is all that I need super fuzzy brows sensei. But, please can you keep all of my abilities a secret? You do know that the village still fears me for my problem, and then suddenly if they come to know that I can pull off B-rank kinjutsus, they will fear me more than ever. I can live with the hatred, but I can't live with the people fearing me". He was pleading with Gai.
Gai just took a look and Naruto, and felt a pang of pain in his heart seeing that the boy had matured beyond his age thanks to the treatment he had received from the villagers. He gave his nice guy pose and said, "Don't worry Naruto-kun, I will not reveal your secret until you want me to or you show it yourself. I will not even tell my eternal rival Kakashi about you".
Hearing this, Naruto gave a genuine smile and said, "Thanks super fuzzy brows sensei. See you later". He then ran off towards his personal, or so, training field behind the hokage monument. But just as he was about to leave, an ANBU with the weasel mask appeared in front of him. Naruto knew that weasel mask meant that the person in front of him was Itachi. But, he stayed silent.
The ANBU said, "Naruto-kun, your presence is requested by the lord hokage".
Naruto knew that Itachi did not hold any hatred towards him. Instead, he was one of the only few people who respected his father's final wish of seeing him as a hero. So, he replied, "Well then, take me there ANBU-san"
The ANBU put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and vanished via Shunshin.
The Hokage tower:
Naruto was transported to just outside the hokage's office and the ANBU just disappeared soon after that. So, Naruto did the only thing he knew to do at such a time. He kicked open the door, entered the hokage's office with the biggest grin he could give and asked, "Hey jiji, I heard from weasel-san that you wanted to see me. What did you want?"
"Well, take a seat Naruto. How was your talk with Gai? Very wise of you to reveal neither too much nor too little", the third hokage said as he motioned towards the chair in front of his desk.
"Good, super fuzzy brows sensei told me to go to him every Sunday. How did you know", he asked as he made his way towards the chair.
The hokage just gave a slight chuckle, motioned towards the crystal ball on his desk and said, "Do you think I don't make good use of the crystal ball Naruto?"
Naruto replied, "Actually, I thought that you used it to peep on women, since you read pervy sage's books".
The third hokage's mouth just fell open wide. He could say nothing but gape at the boy's knowledge. He then composed himself and said, "Now Naruto, let us forget about that. Come take seat already".
Naruto just sneered and went to the chair motioned by the hokage. The hokage motioned the ANBU's in the room to leave and activated the privacy seals. Noticing this, Naruto thought that something important must have had come up and jiji wanted to talk to him. It was then, when he reached his chair, that he saw that another person was there with the hokage. So, he asked the hokage, "Meh jiji, what is Shikamaru doing here?"
Shikamaru just yawned a bit before saying, "Only you would have the balls to call the 'God of Shinobi' as jiji".
The hokage chuckled and said, "Naruto, I want to say that you are not alone".
Naruto was getting more and more confused. Seeing this, Shikamaru said, "He meant that I am also from the future, genius".
Naruto didn't know what to say. His mind was racing. Was this a joke? Was this some kind of dream? Or an illusion? Genjutsu? Right, it must be a Genjutsu, he thought as he made a ram seal and sending out a burst of chakra shouted, "KAI". But, nothing changed. The third hokage was still there. Shikamaru was still sitting next to him.
Seeing Naruto's predicament, Shikamaru just made a hand seal and suddenly, a shadow crept up Naruto's neck. The blonde started to panic and realisation dawned on him. After some time, he said as he released the jutsu, "If you remember right Naruto, I learnt this jutsu after the chunnin exams and when we after Sasuke. It was during the Sasuke retrieval mission that I used this jutsu for the first time against the Genjutsu user Tayuya. I broke my finger with it".
Naruto, now assured that Shikamaru was indeed from the future, asked, "Alright Shikamaru, I believe you. But how did you come back? I mean, the last time I saw you in the battlefield, you were dead". Sadness was evident in his voice.
That's all folks. Sorry for the lateness. Had to let the poll end. And the results are as follows,
Should Mikoto Uchiha survive? -Yes
Should the third hokage survive? –Yes
Should Naruto's parents be used for Edo Tensei? –No
Besides, I know that Gai knowing everything is strange. But heck, he is Kakashi's most trusted friend. So, he must know the truth right. And the hokage's guard platoon always knew that Naruto was Minato's son, since they are the hokage's guard. And Asuma is the third's son. So, he must know. It was all a logical choice.
Well, then, I will do as you say. And guys, only one more chapter to go and then the next will be Uchiha massacre one. So, wait for it. And, come on guys, review. Bye, see you in the next chapter.