Shisui and Itachi were just standing in shock, not knowing how to react. In front of them was the giant nine-tailed fox standing in all his glory. They've never felt KI like that before. Suddenly Naruto jumped on top of the fox's head, hugging him.
"Stop acting mean. You know they are friends." Naruto said from his position.
Kurama rolled his eyes and huffed. "Fine, brat. Get down." He said. When Naruto jumped down, Kurama transformed into his human form. "Hello, brats," Kurama said.
Itachi was the first to recover enough from the shock of the fox transforming. "Hello, Kyubi-sama." He managed to say, and Shisui also managed a quick "Nice to see you."
Kurama chuckled. "At least you have manners. My name is Kurama, by the way." Kurama said. Naruto let out an annoyed huff for implying he didn't have manners.
"Ky…Kurama-sama, why did you want to meet us?" Shisui asked. They were both a little more relaxed now.
"As Naruto told you, I am old beyond what you like to think. My siblings and I were created by the Sage of the six paths. This is why you are here. I want to tell you the story of my father and his biological children. I also took this form since it will be easier for us to interact."
"We are in Naruto's mindscape. We both have complete control over how we want to present ourselves and things around us. It will be much easier to show you things with more details this way." Kurama said, and with a snap of his fingers, the scenery around them changed into one only familiar to Naruto and Kurama.
"The story begins years ago…." Kurama started.
A few hours later, and after answering all the questions the boys had, they were now well versed in the history of Sage of the Six Paths, his mother and brother, his children, and their reincarnations. Kurama kindly kept hidden the fact that Sasuke was a reincarnation of Indra or anything related to Zetsu.
"So let me get this straight. The Sage gave a gift to each of his children, but it only bore hatred between them. And that is why Uchiha and Senju were fighting for years? And now there are forces trying to combine the forces of all 9 Biju again so they can free Kaguya?" Shisui asked.
"To put it simply, yes. If she is freed, it will be the end for all humanity. Humans have been infused with chakra for years. Without chakra, all life will perish." Kurama confirmed.
"What can we do to stop it?" Itachi asked with determination.
"For now, you can only delay their forces. We know that Naruto is the reincarnation of Ashura. My father already gave him the gift in the form of a tattoo on his wrist. When he gives Indra's reincarnation the other half of the seal, we can destroy that damned statue." Kurama said.
"But Naruto, can't you use seals to destroy the statue?" Shisui asked.
"No. No matter what I try to use, the power of the statute will defend it. It can't even be moved without the Rinnegan. I am already working on the plan of what needs to be done when we find Indra's reincarnation."
"I am doing all I can to prepare, but in the meantime, we have to delay Akautski," Naruto said.
"Akautski?" Itachi asked.
"Yes. They are an organization of S-rank nuke-nin. Shisui and I already came across two members. They wear a black cloaks with red clouds. If you see them without preparations, run. They are too strong to engage individually." Naruto warned.
"Wait, so they were part of an organization?" Shisui asked, surprised.
"Yes, and now that we killed two of their members, they will be on guard against Konoha. There are only so many S-ranks they can recruit." Naruto said.
"Isn't there a way to find Indra's reincarnation?" Shisui asked.
"The only thing that is for sure is that he will be Uchiha and older than me. This means most of your clans can be candidates. Another thing is the darkness that will fall on their soul. But they can just as easily fight the darkness." Naruto said.
"Shouldn't we tell the Hokage about all of this?" Itachi asked.
"I can't. They will question how I acquired the information. If I tell them about Kurama, there is a high chance of me getting imprisoned or put under watch. I won't be able to make moves. The information we told you about Akatsuki is from my spy network in ROOT, but the fact of what they are after comes from Kurama."
"I can only get others involved when they finally make a move against any of the Jinchuuriki. I've already sent a special warning to all of them. There is a special way for Jinchuuriki to communicate. I don't know if they will take the warning seriously, but I will do what I can to keep them safe." Naruto said.
"But Naruto, Yandaime-sama is your father. He won't let you get imprisoned." Shisui said.
"I'm sorry, Shisui. But I don't want to pressure him to choose between his duty to the village and me." Naruto said. The fact that he was afraid of what he might choose went unsaid, no matter how many times Kurama tried to reassure him.
"I think it's getting late for now. It was nice to meet you, boys." Kurama said as he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
Shisui and Itachi said goodbye before getting out of the mindscape.
It's been a few days now, and the trio has been working on many plans. Shisui and Itachi demanded to be with Naruto in his takedown of Akatsuki. Naruto tried to deny it, but his friends weren't taking no for an answer.
So instead, they started planning. Naruto was upping his spy network to keep an eye on any information on Akatsuki. In the meantime, Shisui and Itachi would search through all Uchiha documents to see if there were anything on Rinnegan or the statue.
It was a good plan and would buy them some time. Of course, Naruto knew who the reincarnation of Indra was, but he wasn't sure if Sasuke would go through the path of darkness again or if his powers would awaken if he didn't.
Naruto wanted to ask the Sage, but there was no way to contact him. he believed that if there was a chance of meeting the Sage again, he had to wait for him to initiate it. Instead, Naruto was trying to find a way and destroy the statue.
Nothing seemed to work, and Naruto was getting frustrated. It was one of the first things he started working on when he entered this timeline, but so far, there has been little to no progress. Naruto knew he had to be patient, but he was running out of time.
If worst came to pass, he was working on an impenetrable chamber in a well-hidden location. Somewhere no one could find or enter. It was a work in progress for just as many years, but Naruto didn't want to risk it.
Who knows? Maybe in the distant future, there will be someone who has the extraordinary power or knowledge to bypass the seal. His only hope was for Indra to awaken in time so they could seal Zetsu. It was getting harder and harder to stay away from that creature.
During his previous life, they managed to seal the creature sometime toward the middle of the war. Zetsu wrecked so much havoc trying to capture Naruto and B in order to seal their beasts and resurrect Kaguya.
When the allied forces managed to get close enough to the statue in order to extract Shukaku, Zetsu went mad. He was furious, trying to end them all. After a long battle and the death of 2 of the Kage, they managed to seal Zetsu.
It was both a win and a loss. Of course, Madara sealed the rest of the Biju in himself soon after, becoming a pseudo-Jinchuuriki to the ten-tails. It wasn't very long after when Naruto was captured. He still remembered that day clearly.
He was on a mission with Sai, Hinata, and Ino. They were trying to buy time for a group of civilians to be evacuated to the new base. By this point in the war, there were still civilians around. Their numbers were decreasing rapidly, but there was still a chance for those who were living in the shelters.
The civilians would take care of manual jobs around the bases. Cleaning, cooking, taking care of the injured, and any small job that could arise. It was not perfect, but everyone was doing all they could to help around.
These civilians were part of a fallen base. They took shelter in a small hideout and needed protection to get to another base. Naruto's group was supposed to hold back the enemies who destroyed the fallen base so that another group could escort the civilians to safety.
When Madara gained power, there were many who decided to join his side, mainly for protection or the criminals who wanted to raise chaos. But after the war kept going on, more and more people joined him to survive.
It was hard to fight against humans to save humans. It was contradictory. What was to say whose life is more valuable? Madara was clear about his plan of building a world in his image. He wanted to create a world where everyone obeyed him.
He would rule over everyone. And since he would be the sole ruler and in absolute power, there would be no war. He would also kill anyone who dared disobey his rules, so everyone would have to obey every law.
It was a fight for freedom, but by the time Naruto traveled back in time, there was not much left. There was no hope of survival. The lands were barren, and the resources scarce. What they had would finish in a few years, so the complete destruction was only a matter of time.
Naruto would protect humanity this time, no matter the cost.
Naruto was summoned to the Hokage's office. He was waiting to enter in front of the door. He had no idea why he was summoned. He recently came back from a mission from Danzo and was catching up on his sealing works when he got the summon.
He was just told to report to the office immediately. He could feel his father, Shikaku, and Kakashi inside. Their emotions were confusing. He could feel them conflicted and agitated. There wasn't any news that Naruto was aware of that could cause those emotions, but Naruto decided to wait.
Finally, he was invited inside. He quickly went to the designated position and bowed. "Hokage-sama. You summoned me?" Naruto asked.
One of the things Naruto always did unconsciously was his sensing. He could passively sense those around him. But there was also another level where he would reach to people with his chakra. It was something most sensors could do.
It was also the basis for abilities such as genjutsu or killing intent. You had to reach your target with your chakra. But it was also something many did unconsciously. Often times people did so with people they trusted and loved. They would subconsciously reach for their chakra to feel comfort and reassurance.
After Minato's recovery, it was something Naruto often did consciously. His father was also a sensor, and he always welcomed Naruto's chakra. The first few times, it was awkward and hesitant, but now it was instantaneous.
Whenever Naruto's chakra tapped his father's, he would curl his chakra around Naruto's. It was the only time Naruto could feel positive emotions through his sensing. His father was warm and gentle. He felt like sunshine on a summer day. Warm and comforting. He was also steady and strong.
Naruto felt calm and protected whenever he did so, and he could feel how his father also enjoyed it. They might not have the normal bonds of a parent and child, but this was something they had. A connection, and it felt amazing.
It also brought Naruto memories of his edo tensei father. He felt the same way. It helped Naruto not to feel like an imposter. That no matter the circumstances, his father would remain his father and always be there for him.
Naruto enjoyed all the time he got to spend with his father in both lives. He only had a very short time with his mother, but his father always did what he could to remain by his side. When Naruto felt broken and hollow after the loss of his friends and comrades, his father was there for him.
Even now that he was still trying to keep his father at a certain distance, he could still feel his love and support. There were still reminiscences of those negative emotions his father had when he woke up, but there was so much more.
There was also unconditional love and support. It made Naruto feel like a child he never got to be, with a father to protect him from the harshness of the world. But Naruto was not a child, and he had to save the people he loved, so he couldn't let himself get lost in the feeling.
"Yes, Naruto-kun. There is an important mission." His father said with a gentle smile as he gave him the signal to rise.
