The Toneri arc did not happen like in the canon timeline.

The Savior of the World

The Savior of the World, a name he had been stuck with for the last four years. Naruto often wondered if he would be able to escape such a name. As a child, he craved the attention of everyone, but now all eyes are on him, yet he fails to find the satisfaction he yearned for all those years ago.

Naruto sat in the middle of a grassy field surrounded by forestry. The grass was tall and unkempt and waved like the mighty ocean as the wind blew through. There was a blanket underneath Naruto's crossed feet and several scrolls. They varied in size and some lay scattered unrolled, revealing their secrets to the world.

Directly in front of Naruto, a scroll the size of a meter lay unrolled in front of him. To his right, a small bottle of ink sat unopened with ink splattered on the blanket directly below it. Naruto grumbled to himself as he held his wrapped hand with a brush to his face. The brush dripped ink onto his lap and stained the gray pants he was wearing.

Naruto paid no attention to the stains on his dark pants as he stared at the writing on the scroll in front of him. His eyes darted back and forth on the scroll, as he analyzed his work with vigor. Then his eyes stopped moving.

Out of nowhere, Naruto dropped the pen out of his hand. Without missing a beat, Naruto flashed through the thirty-hand seals needed for the seal in front of him. Finishing on the ram seal, he separated his hands and slammed his palm on the seal below him.

Clank

The brush had hit the ground.

Naruto held his breath. He watched as the kanji below his hand began to glow a dim blue light. Then to his surprise, Naruto watched as the kanji began to move toward the palm of his left hand and disappear underneath it. Naruto gave a giddy smile as he watched his creation work.

"Let's go!" screamed Naruto as jumped up in joy. Naruto began to jump all around the field as the grassy blades cheered him on. Naruto gave a twirl and finally fell onto his back. He raised his hand to the sky and then turned his palm toward his eyes.

His palm looked no different, but as he pulled a bit of chakra to his hand he watched as a small swirl appeared on his palm. At last, Naruto had been able to replicate his mother's work. It was a sacred seal passed on from one Hokage to the next. It allowed for the release of high-level seals without having to draw them out, instead using hand seals to release the seals.

Created by the Uzumaki clan and passed down from Hokage to Hokage. While Naruto was no Hokage, he was an Uzumaki. After four years of learning fuinjutsu and his mother's notes, he was able to replicate the seal.

It was not the Flying Rajin, but it was his pride.

The only fallback to the jutsu, was that it was limited by the number of seals stored in the storage seal in which he had created the seal. Kakashi's storage seal was enormous due to having shared a scroll with 6 previous Hokages, two of whom were probably some of the greatest fuinjutsu masters to ever live.

However, Naruto had been able to acquire a vast amount of seals due to his mother's notes. At Naruto's current ability he couldn't quite replicate all of them, but he had managed to recreate a good number.

Naruto then just stared hard at his hand.

A minute passed….

Then two minutes….

Then ten minutes….

He just kept staring at his hand until his arm began to tire. His face just stayed blank as he kept staring at his hand. Finally, he pondered, "I finally accomplished my goal…but why do I feel so…unhappy."

Naruto finally dropped his hand to the ground as he realized he couldn't shake this cold feeling running through his heart. Naruto's eyes gaze up at the bright blue sky above him. He watched as a lone bird transverse the sky. Naruto could barely make out its white shape as it glided aimlessly in the sky.

"Why can't I just be happy for once." mused Naruto as he watched the bird finally fly out of his sight. Four years had passed since the Fourth Great Shinobi War. A pain shot through his right arm. Naruto ignored the pain as he was used to it. It always seemed to flare when he thought about the past.

Yet, he couldn't help but stop thinking about it. Those four years had gone so fast and finally, Naruto was starting to realize just how much time he wasted. While being the Hokage was without a doubt his lifetime goal, he did not need to rush as he did. Naruto did not doubt that it may take up to another decade until Kakashi decided to hang up the hat.

After all, there was no reason for him to do so. Kakashi had flawlessly taken up the mantle and made sure to secure the peace that they had managed to achieve after the Fourth Great Shinobi War. It was like an era never before seen in the history of the Elemental Nations. It wasn't a perfect era of peace, there were a few skirmishes here and there, but nothing that could lead to another great ninja war or animosity between the Five Great Villages.

Naruto recalled the last four years and the countless missions he conducted for his village. It was probably a hundred, maybe pushing two hundred missions. Some were quick and easy missions, and others had him spending over a week hunting down S-rank missing-nin. All that while being under the tutelage of Kakashi, as he helped maneuver Naruto towards the path of Hokage. Kakashi had warned about the pace he was working at and had urged him to take a break.

Kakashi's advice was sound, but Naruto had brushed him off. Naruto couldn't quite recall why he had. Maybe it was the ambition behind his goal….or maybe it was to hide the grief he suffered in that war….no the grief he had suffered all those years before.

An ache settled in his heart. His heart began to beat faster and faster and Naruto closed his eyes. Memories raced through his head as he recalled tragedy after tragedy.

How many people had died for his sake?

How many people had suffered?

Naruto opened his eyes and took deep breaths as he tried to slow down his heartbeat. Naruto sat up and brought his knees up to his chest. Damn, why couldn't he just move on? Why couldn't he just move on like everyone else?

Little over a year ago, Shikamaru married Temari. Meanwhile, Shikamaru's other two teammates were engaged. Ino was engaged to Sai and Chouji was engaged to Karui of the Hidden Cloud.

Naruto grumbled, "How the hell is Sai gonna get married before me."

Naruto shook his head and brushed off the jealousy.

"No, it's great that Sai is getting married. I'm glad that emotionless bastard finally learned…well some emotions."

Damn, even his two other teammates were married. Sakura and Sasuke didn't have a grand wedding, but they had wed quietly a few months ago. Naruto mused, "Even the damn emo…"

Naruto let out a sigh as he was pretty sure that Sakura was pregnant. The other day, He sensed her chakra, and Naruto could sense a flicker of life in her stomach.

The only losers like himself were Team 8, but even if they weren't successful in their marital status they all seemed happy at what they were doing.

Kiba currently had several ninja-nin shinobi under his wing and was helping nurture them for the future of Konoha.

Shino had taken up a post at the Academy and was currently teaching the future of Konoha.

Hinata had taken a prominent role in the Hyuga clan and was on her way to changing many of the old and oppressive traditions. Hell….Kiba had told Naruto that she had begun the process of courting in her clan. No doubt due to pressure from her father, but Naruto was hopeful she would find someone wonderful. After all, Hinata was probably the sweetest person Naruto knew.

All of his friends had found something to enrich their lives and…just be happy. Then there was him.

Naruto dropped his head.

Sure he had accomplished much in the past four years, but there was nothing for the long term besides his goal of becoming Hokage. Naruto had thought that being Hokage was all he wanted, but….why couldn't he shake these feelings of emptiness?

Before he could lament anymore, he sensed two people making a beeline toward his position. Naruto looked up in the direction they approached and he watched as they came flying out of the tree line.

Anbu Black OPs.

The deadliest Konoha had to offer. Naruto smirked as he stared at the two in front of him. They both dressed in identical Konoha ANBU outfits, but their hair and size helped distinguish them. One of them was a young woman with long brown hair. The other was an older man with spiky brown hair and his age was more difficult to tell. Naruto then beamed, "Hinoko! It's been so long since I've seen-"

Naruto was cut off as his hand snapped towards his face and caught a chakra in the form of a needle. Naruto laughed as he watched the female ANBU fume.

"Don't be saying my name, you dumbass." roared Hinoko as she had her finger pointed out towards Naruto and her other hand on her extended elbow. The ANBU next to her gave an audible sigh at her partner's temper. The ANBU next to her then said, "Hinoko, you need to work on your anger. You're an ANBU."

"I don't want to hear that from you…RO~." Hinoko spat. She then formed a hand seal and the chakra needle in Naruto's hand exploded. Naruto then also proceeded to explode.

Hinoko took a step back away from the smoke in shock.

"Over here, shrimp!" taunted Naruto from behind. The two ANBU turned and they watched as Naruto finished packing up his materials. He then proceeded to seal them into a small book, which he quickly pocketed into the back of his pouch. Hinoko then stammered, "How-When did you make a Shadow Clone?"

"You still need to work on your sensory ability," commented Naruto lamely as he walked towards the two ANBU. Hinoko proceeded to make a fist in frustration. Naruto offered the girl a smile, "Don't fret, Hinoko. Sensory skills take years to develop. It's quite amazing how far you've come."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "But what do I expect from people like you, prodigies have it so easy."

Hinoko's mask hid her blushing face. The young girl opted to cross her arms and refuted, "Funny coming from you, you were the most powerful shinobi at my age."

"Ahh yes, that did happen, but I had so much help. I heard from Shikamaru you're mostly self-taught." Naruto then placed his hand on Hinoko's head, "Take a break. Go on vacation or something, when you come back I'll pass on some of my teachings. Maybe with that, you can catch up"

Hinoko growled at Naruto's action. She moved to swat Naruto's hand away, but he seemed to disappear into thin air. Hinoko's hand slapped the air and she grumbled, "That damn fool, when is he gonna stop treating me like a child. I'm sixteen!"

Ro ignored his ANBU partner and merely sighed, "We didn't even tell him why we were here."

"Yo."

Kakashi groaned as he felt a breeze run through his office. He stopped typing on his keyboard and turned towards the window. Naruto sat leaning against the side of the window smiling at him. Kakashi then asked, "Where are Soku and Ro?"

"I left the firecracker and her leash behind," announced Naruto as he sat on the window's ledge. Naruto then muttered, "Maybe give the poor girl a break, Kakashi. I think a mandatory vacation is best for her….or maybe cut her from the ANBU for a bit."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Naruto's suggestion. Kakashi then huffed, "Rich coming from a workaholic like yourself."

Naruto said nothing for a moment. He just gazed out of the window. His beautiful village was the sight before him. Naruto watched below as people walked down the bustling road. Some people were on a casual walk, while others were rushing to work.

"I'm serious." maintained Naruto. Kakashi dropped his hand at the change in Naruto's tone. Naruto then pointed out, "I've learned a thing or two from you…about managing Shinobi."

"Hinoko will be an important shinobi in the future. Whether I am Hokage or not in the future, I know she will be tasked with an important role in this village." predicted Naruto as he continued to stare into the village, "She has lived her whole life in ANBU. How can she ever appreciate life and those she protects if she doesn't get a chance to live it?"

"What about you? I could say those same things to you," remarked Kakashi as he leaned back into his chair. Naruto smirked as he chuckled, "If we're gonna play 'point the finger', then just know my little finger knows who to pick next."

Kakashi rolled his eyes quite annoyed.

"Hinoko doesn't need to work herself to death like you and me." decided Naruto. Naruto then finally slid off the window's ledge and landed on his feet. "She needs to live a little. Get out there….maybe a genin team or maybe find someone nice for her."

"I was gonna give you a mission, but now you have me wanting to send you to a therapist," stated Kakashi with a bit of concern in his voice. Naruto sighed as he sat in the chair in front of Kakashi. Naruto then mumbled, "I don't need no damn therapist."

"Sure sounds like it."

Naruto rolled his eyes and put his hand on his heart as if Kakashi had offended him. He then cried, "It is so crazy for me to be concerned for my fellow shinobi, that I'd be sent to the shrink."

Kakashi said nothing. He eyes Naruto carefully and he thinks, "There he goes again hiding behind his humor. Maybe Ino was right about sending Naruto for a psychological check-up."

Kakashi had been concerned for Naruto for the past couple of months. Kakashi had been his sensei for almost ten years now, and he knew his student like the back of his hand. Something had changed in him ever since Sakura and Sasuke had gotten married. At first, Kakashi thought maybe he felt jealous of Sasuke. Naruto had once been in love with Sakura, but he had been the one to set the two up.

Kakashi had an idea or two about what it could be. An orphan with a traumatic past and upbringing who would rather bury their feelings in work and have those repressed feelings resurface years later. Kakashi blinked as he began to realize how similar Naruto and he was.

"Maybe, I'll give him a genin team."

"Kakashi!" nearly screamed Naruto as he broke Kakashi out of his thoughts. Naruto then crossed his arms, "So? What do you think? I make some pretty good decisions for the welfare of my shinobi."

"Pretty Hokage material if you ask me." gloated Naruto as Kakashi could swear he could see his eyes sparkle with pride. Kakashi just sighed, "I'll admit it has some merit, so I'll give it some thought."

Naruto beamed with a smile. Kakashi couldn't help but smile, "There's the Naruto I know."

"The reason I called you today is that I have an important mission for you," revealed Kakashi as he changed the conversation. Naruto sat a little straighter at Kakashi's shift in tone.

Kakashi then cleared his throat and said, "As you know these couple of years, I've been giving you missions to help with your development towards Hokage. I come with you with a very important mission."

"You'll be conducting a mission based on espionage."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he chuckled, "I'm gonna be some type of spy?"

"Yup."

"Are you serious?"

Naruto paused for a second as he could see Kakashi's eyes smile back at him. Naruto then pondered, "How exactly? The only way to suppress my chakra is through Sage Mode, but even that is risky. "

"Well, you won't be taking any secret identity, but you'll be acting as an ambassador for the Village Hidden in the Leaf," answered Kakashi. Kakashi continued, "I thought this would be a great opportunity to work on your diplomacy as well as use the opportunity to appreciate the roles of the shinobi you will one day manage."

"I can't imagine many places where I would be needed to spy on." contemplated Naruto with interest.

Kakashi then asked, "Have you heard of Westalis and Ostania?"

"Bits and pieces."

"Well, these two countries are found across the ocean on the western continent. They are two countries that have erupted into superpowers the past decade." disclosed Kakashi and he then pointed at his computer, "They are both countries of much technology and are the reason we have advanced our own."

"Peace between Ostania and Westalis is quite fragile," noted Kakashi as he reached down into his desk. He pulled a scroll slightly bigger than his hand could hold and tossed it to Naruto. Naruto caught the scroll effortlessly. "Before the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Tsunade had made it a priority to develop relationships with Westalis. I have continued to do so."

"Westalis has an organization known as Westalis Intelligence Services, an intelligence organization that probably rivals our ANBU black ops," admitted Kakashi grudgingly. Naruto gave Kakashi an empathetic smile as he knew how much Kakashi cared about his ANBU black ops. "They are very concerned about a political party in Ostania, the National Unity Party."

"Let me guess they aren't quite happy with the status quo." quipped Naruto, quite annoyed. "Things aren't so different even on the other side of the world."

"Unfortunately, that is an accurate guess." lamented Kakashi, as he brought his hands together to rest his chin on top of them. "Westalis and Ostania have been warring for generations. During Tsunade's reign as Hokage, Westalis, and Ostania had finally managed to come to peace. It's been almost 6 years since their last major conflict."

"However, just because conventional warfare has stopped being waged, doesn't mean all the fighting has stopped." informed Kakashi cryptically, "A different type of war is being waged between the two countries, the one that includes their economies, weapon development, and intelligence."

"Sounds quite similar to what happened after the conclusion of the Third Great Shinobi War." pointed out Naruto as he crossed his arms.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. Kakashi then added, "Unlike us, they have made great strides in ensuring another war does not occur. Currently, there is a major roadblock."

"National Unity Party," answered Naruto as if he just got the numbers to the lottery. Naruto then mocked, "Do I get a prize for coming up with the right answer?"

Kakashi ignored Naruto's comment and continued, "Yes, the National Unity Party, and more specifically their leader, Donovan Desmond."

"I can't give you specifics as WISE…." Kakashi paused for a second, "The Westalis Intelligence Services I was telling you about, was only able to send so much information without raising suspicion about our relationship."

Kakashi then revealed, "They have requested that you would be willing to aid them in trying to gather information on Donovan Desmond."

"How exactly am I supposed to do that?" questioned Naruto as he twirled the scroll in his hands. Kakashi shrugs his shoulders, "As I said they weren't able to give all the information about the mission, but they wanted to use your status to help infiltrate the higher ranks."

"Even in Ostania, the name Naruto Uzumaki carries power." quoted Kakashi as he read off a paper on the side of his desk. Kakashi then theorized, "As an ambassador, you will have access to many political sites and even the opportunity to meet with the National Unity Party."

Naruto sighed as he let his head hang from the back of his chair. He then pondered out loud, "Sounds like a pain in the ass. How long exactly is this mission supposed to last?"

"They didn't say, but I would think one to two years."

"WHAT!?" yelped Naruto as he jumped up from his chair. He slammed his hands onto Kakashi's desk and then scoffed, "I don't wanna be away for the village that long."

Kakashi's eyes hardened at Naruto's refusal and Naruto relaxed his arms at Kakashi's change in demeanor. Kakashi calmly replied, "As Hokage, you will one day be sending shinobi on these types of missions. You will ask your shinobi to leave their homes for months and even years at a time. Some will never see the home they left to protect."

Kakashi paused as he gave Naruto a very serious look. He continued, "You dare to tell me you can't do the same."

The words stung Naruto hard as he fell back into the chair. Naruto's gaze just shifted to the ground like a child who had just been lectured by their parents. Naruto then conceded, "Fine, I'll do the mission."

"I know you don't like being away from the village for long, but take this as an opportunity." offered Kakashi as his tone shifted back to his usual self, "Live a little…maybe find a student….or maybe find someone nice for yourself."

Naruto nearly tossed the scroll into Kakashi's face then he yelled, "YOU IDIOT! THOSE WERE MY WORDS!"

Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's rage.

"I was just joking, Naruto, but you'll learn a lot from this. About diplomacy and the intricacies of our finer shinobi arts," stated Kakashi with confidence. Naruto couldn't remember ever being so annoyed with Kakashi.

"You'll have two weeks until you are to depart to Ostania. You are to memorize all the information in the scroll as it contains all the information you need to know," announced Kakashi as he dug for a book underneath his desk. He pulled out a large black covered book that was covered in dust. Kakashi brushed off the dust and handed it to Naruto, "ANBU Black Ops manual on our covert communication system. In case, you ever need their help or end up doing work with them."

Naruto plucked the book off Kakashi's desk and just grumbled.

"Why do I have the feeling this is gonna be a pain in the ass."

Naruto was currently making his way through the countryside of Ostania. It reminded Naruto of the Land of Grass. It was a lot of long grassy plains that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was mostly inhabited by farmers who worked hard to make a living. However, just like the Land of Grass they had been rampaged by wars, and Naruto could sense their distaste for foreigners. Naruto had disguised a clone to venture a bit and their distaste for him was quite obvious.

Naruto was currently standing in an empty field in the middle of nowhere. He was to meet with an agent codenamed, Twilight, for a briefing on his mission. He would be aiding him in the special mission that WISE had for him. Once he was briefed, Naruto would backtrack to the port of Ostania and act as if he just arrived in Ostania. He would then be escorted to the capital city, Berlint, by Ostania officials.

Naruto did not like the obscurity behind his mission. However, just like Kakashi had said it was often the case with these types of missions. Naruto wondered how Sasuke had spent the better of the last four years doing this type of work. Speaking of the bastard, he hadn't had a chance to say goodbye to him or any of his friends. Naruto had hoped to spend one last night before he left, but he was stuck memorizing all the information for his mission. Naruto gripped his fist in frustration. "That bastard Kakashi could have warned me how much information was packed into that scroll."

In his typical fashion, he pushed off reading the scroll til his second week and was stuck indoors with his shadow clones trying to memorize everything. Naruto then sighed as it was probably for the best. After all, it was an S-rank mission, it would cause suspicion if he suddenly said goodbye like that to his friends.

Naruto perked up at the sound of an engine in the distance. Now that was something Naruto would never get over seeing. Automobiles were common in this country and Naruto was quite fascinated by them. He watched as the car continued its track until it came within a few meters of him. The car came to a halt and the engine quickly died.

Silence filled the air as Naruto couldn't see who was inside the car due to its dark tint. However, Naruto could sense two people inside the car. That's when he sensed it.

He could only describe it as a bright-colored chakra that was bubbling with energy. It was so clean and pure that Naruto knew it could only come from one type of source.

Click

The doors of the car opened.

Yo!

Hope you enjoy this story. I know I have many unfinished fics, but what can I say? Thus, the life of a bad author. Anyway, there are a lot of changes from the canon. The biggest is the absence of Toneri's attack on the Hyuga clan. Drastically changing the character of Naruto as he doesn't get together with Hinata. (I love Hinata, but thought this was a great story idea). Hope to explore some Post-Fourth Shinobi War elements just because there aren't too many fics that cover the "blank period" in Naruto. I know Kishimoto was dying to finish Naruto, but the potential in that blank period keeps me up at night. Of course, this is a crossover, so we'll be spending more time in Ostania. The only thing that made me nervous about writing this story is trying to nail the character of Anya as she is a really good child character. I think she's brilliantly written, so I hope not disappoint. Till next time!