Note: In this chapter, there's a temporary switch from 3rd person limited to 3rd person omniscient.

Sasuke handed Hiruzen a condensed, written up mission report. He was about to leave when Hiruzen stopped him.

"I'm deducting your pay for a while, since you said you didn't want to stay in that 'shithole' anymore. I moved you," Hiruzen told Sasuke, seeming irritated.

"Really?" Sasuke felt himself almost smiling. He didn't think Hiruzen would actually listen to him and move him - not that he was complaining.

Hiruzen snapped his fingers, summoning an ANBU, the same one from before. Sasuke followed the ANBU, who led him out of the Hokage building and to a nearby apartment complex.

This one wasn't luxury, but it wasn't smelly and dirty, and a lot nicer. Sasuke wasn't too picky - he probably wouldn't be spending that much time here anyway.

"Thanks," he thanked the ANBU, who seemed to have gotten less hostile towards him. The ANBU promptly left. Sasuke sighed, and began walking back to his previous, crappier apartment in order to move his things.


After settling in, Sasuke went back to his to-do list, adding in items and ticking some off. He arrived at the issue he dreaded - namely, the Jinchuuriki problem.

Sasuke drummed his fingers on the table, thinking about how to best resolve the issue. Eventually, he decided to just be blunt about it.

I'll just talk to the Kyuubi. Maybe negotiate. Easy, he thought. He did it before. He wasn't stupid enough to think the Kyuubi would co-operate with him so easily, but he might as well try.

He stilled, closing his eyes and trying to sense where Kushina would be - being a Jinchuuriki, she had a massive chakra signature, and wasn't trying to suppress it currently, so he found her relatively quick.

He began cautiously walking towards wherever she'd be.


"Namikaze-kun, your report," Hiruzen calmly regarded Minato, who sat down in the seat opposite Hiruzen's.

"Sasuke is a rather unusual character, and definitely a person of interest." Minato stated. There was an unresolved tension between Minato and Hiruzen.

"He's whimsical, yet meticulous. He palters and equivocates, even subconsciously - honestly, it's quite brilliant. This makes him highly secretive. It's nigh impossible trying to extract any information," Minato said. A hint of annoyance seeped into his voice.

"I can rarely tell if he's lying or telling the truth. Frankly..." Minato trailed off, searching for the right words, "It's like he just appeared one day, out of thin air."

"Do you think he's dangerous?" Hiruzen pursed his lips in worry.

"I'm not sure. Sasuke is a powerful amalgamation of prodigious talent, wit, and a shit ton of trauma. We should be careful with him."

"You think he could be beneficial to us," Hiruzen procured a single piece of paper with a defeated expression.

"Maybe. I feel like he could win us the war, even single-handedly. And it wouldn't cost us a thing. On the other hand, he could destroy us if we don't know how to reign him in," Minato glanced at the piece of paper, grunting in annoyance when he saw it.

"I guess it's a risk worth taking," Hiruzen sighed, passing the paper to Minato.

"I don't think he will try anything, but the fact that he could means that we should exercise caution," Minato held up the paper, not yet reading it, "I can activate and deactivate the seals, but once he figures out how to break the seals, then we might be a bit screwed."

"Is this..." Minato began reading it, slightly shocked, "This is a file on Sasuke. This is it? Hiruzen, it's 9 words and a drawing."

On the top right corner was a colourised drawing of Sasuke. There wasn't much other information. Many categories were left blank.

Name: Sasuke
Age: 17 (?)
Abilities: black fire (?), Sharingan
S-rank

"Well, it's not like we can find anything out. He's annoyingly secretive. Besides, blocking his chakra isn't going to help us find any information on his abilities," Hiruzen replied, irritated.

"Even the Bingo book has more than this," Minato rolled his eyes, feeling frustrated.

"Do you really think he's that powerful?" Hiruzen snatched the file away.

"Maybe. He hasn't shown us anything except the Sharingan, so we can't gauge his true strength," Minato said. His opinion of Sasuke varied from admiration to wariness.

"Actually, his strength is one thing, but that's not what I'm worried about," Minato stated thoughtfully.

"Hm? Elaborate."

"He's frighteningly intelligent. When he speaks, I get the feeling that he knows much more than he lets on. It's almost like he's...omniscient or something," Minato's expression twisted into one of worry.

"Then, do you think you could beat him in a fight?" Hiruzen looked at Minato judgingly.

"As I said, we don't know enough," Minato answered, looking even more worried. This answer disappointed Hiruzen.

"Go do some training. If he's faster than you, you're screwed, and then, we're all screwed! Speed is basically your only skill," Hiruzen chided.

"Oh, please," Minato laughed, offended, "I'm the only reason Konoha is even surviving this fucking war!" His blood began to boil. Hiruzen really was insufferable.

"Anyway, this is your goddamn village, and you're the Hokage, so it's your job to protect it from fucking teenage boys! Not mine!" With his rage fully built up, Minato stormed off, slamming the door shut on his way out.

He needed a drink - preferably a strong one.


Sasuke sipped his tea, spying on Kushina from the corner of his eye. He was just out of range so as to not faint. He transformed into a normal-looking civilian - he couldn't go strutting around the village looking like an Uchiha.

He also couldn't afford to have anyone see his Sharingan, so he put on a pair of sunglasses - just in case. He'd follow Kushina until she was alone, and then he'd do it.

She got up. He waited a minute before he followed her.

When she was alone, Sasuke activated the Mangekyou Sharingan. And then he did it.

It worked. He was in her mindscape, which was much tidier than Naruto's, but the atmosphere was more chaotic. It was a long, winding corridor. He sprinted, wanting to make it quick.

This time, The Kyuubi wasn't behind bars. It was bound by adamantine chains, which wrapped its entire body, squeezing and clenching. Sasuke winced, that's how painful it looked. It whimpered and groaned in pain, not yet noticing him.

He wasn't stupid. He had figured out that the Bijuu had consciences and awareness - probably more so than humans. Humans, however, had the opinion that they were just angry bundles of chakra, powerhouses that they could wield to benefit themselves in war.

"Ouch," Sasuke muttered empathetically, attracting its attention.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Its voice echoed in the hallway. The Kyuubi bared its fangs and its slit eyes radiated pure fury. Sasuke was unfazed. A chained up Kyuubi was even less intimidating than one that was behind bars.

"So you know me," Sasuke said, keeping his tone calm and unassuming.

"Of course I do. I see everything that goes on in that bitch's life," It growled. Sasuke couldn't blame the Kyuubi for being such a temperamental beast.

"You've been causing my black outs, haven't you? Why?"

"It should be obvious," It licked its lips, as if it wanted to eat Sasuke, "You're a filthy dimension hopper. That's why."

That was a new piece of information. In retrospect, he should've known he was traversing dimensions rather than travelling through time. Technically, time travelling wasn't really possible - it was simply too complicated.

"I didn't do it on purpose," Sasuke replied, trying his best to keep calm. Somehow, the Bijuu knew what he was, and they reacted. The most they could do was impose some sort of black out whenever he got too close. He didn't know how they did that, but he didn't particularly care. All he cared about was getting them to stop.

"You didn't?" This time, the Kyuubi seemed confused, and a little calmer. "Why should I believe you?"

"Jeez, I don't know. But I'm not lying. I just ended up here, nearly a month ago. I thought you'd know actually."

"Well, I don't." It tried to swish its tail in anger, but the chains stopped it. "It's a little hard to know things when you're chained up."

Sasuke suddenly got an idea. He wasn't sure if it would work, but it was worth a try.

"Can you stop with the black outs? And maybe tell your friends to stop as well?" He thought for a second, "Please," he added for good measure.

"As if!" It began chuckling humourlessly, "Watching you faint is the only entertainment I get! Saying please won't make me want to not do it any less. Besides, what do I gain from it?"

"Obviously not for free," Sasuke rolled his eyes, prepared to offer something to the Kyuubi, "I've got something to offer."

"Oh?" It seemed intrigued, "Do tell," It listened patiently, the anger in its eyes dying down.

"I'm from roughly 20 years into the future. This dimension is basically identical to 20 years in my past. So I know everything that is going to happen. That's what I'm willing to offer you: knowledge of the future," Sasuke smirked, knowing that he succeeded in catching the Kyuubi's attention.

"Why would I care about the future? I can't do anything about it anyway," it growled in resignation.

"Actually," his smirk widened, tempting the Kyuubi, "You probably could." He teased the Kyuubi with that tidbit of information, knowing that it had no choice but to accept.

It went quiet, probably thinking about it. Finally, it let out a deep sigh.

"Fine. You have a deal. I'll stop, but you have to give me information, and believe me, I'll know if you lie. I'll get the others to stop as well," It closed its eyes, now much calmer.

"Wonderful. Then-" he stopped himself, making out the faint sound of footsteps. It was Kushina. She was coming here.

"I'll be back." He turned to the Kyuubi and nodded, before vanishing out of its sight. It didn't get angry, knowing that he had no choice but to come back.

Unfortunately for the Kyuubi, there was one tiny thing that Sasuke didn't mention: the fact that he could simply suppress its chakra. For some reason, he just didn't feel like doing it - it was some sort of instinct, and Sasuke usually followed his instincts.

He found himself standing where he was before, now in the real world.