Chapter 9
Loran, 16 years in the past
Minato was the first to awaken in their new environment. He took a glance around and noticed it was a large circular room with stone slabs everywhere and what looked to be either a grave or small memorial stone with walls coming out of it. There was bits of grass here and there in the ground and the top of the room which he could tell was a massive height had either five holes or windows as he could see light streaming in. The next thing he noticed was Naruto laying on top of him. He gently nudged the boy and he woke up.
"Where are we dad?" he asked groggily as he slowly sat up and looked around the room. "I have an idea but I'd rather survey the area first. Our mission remains to capture Mukade. Remember that," he answered in all seriousness. Naruto could tell he was concerned about this development.
Suddenly they noticed someone was singing somewhere in the chamber they were in. They looked just past the grave as they stood up and noticed on one of the stone slabs a young woman with features oddly reminiscent to an Uzumaki. In fact Naruto almost mistook her for a relative of his own mom. She had vibrant red hair that went past her back kept in a ponytail along with two large side bangs that framed her face and reached to the ponytail. Violet blue eyes and a sweet delicate face. She wore a pink jacket showing some midriff, a dark blue skirt and leggings finished off with black sneakers. All in all if Naruto didn't have feelings for Satsumei it might have been love at first sight.
"Hey, can you tell us where we are?" Naruto asked startling her from her singing, he noted that she had tears streaming down her face. She said nothing and ran. She ran towards an entrance and they attempted to pursue. She went through and down a hall and two puppets popped up and tried to attack then. But just as they crossed the threshold they fell apart. It looked as if they hit a purple barrier and were ripped to pieces as they passed.
"Well, that didn't go over well," Minato stated nonchalantly as if he didn't even care. "Now I know who Kakashi-sensei learned his aloof attitude from. Any idea who she might be?"
"That is Queen Sâra if memory serves correctly. Technically our original mission here also included protecting her back then. This confirms we are in old Loran. She wouldn't be alive today so we must have traveled back in time, sixteen years to be exact."
"So… how do we get back?"
"I can't be one hundred percent sure. Messing with space-time is tricky but if my hunch is correct we merely need to defeat Mukade and seal up the leyline again. I hope hehehe…," he trailed off making Naruto nervous but he noticed right away and gave the boy a steely gave. "Naruto, I won't let anything bad happen to you. I WILL get us back one way or another. Just TRUST me."
How could the boy not? It didn't matter that he'd only within the last couple of months met the man but he's only felt trust since. The man has done everything within his power to make up for lost time so far and he was even willing to risk potential eyesight to protect Naruto. Naruto trusted this man with his life.
"Well, we should get out of here. Feel like a climb?" Minato inquired as he stared up. He knew what Naruto would say so he darted up the wall with the boy in pursuit.
They eventually crashed through glass and arrived in the main city of Loran. There was grass immediately under them but there were large towers as far as the eye could see. "Isn't it kind of weird how close the towers are? I cant imagine that its an aesthetic thing" Naruto pondered aloud. "You may be onto something Naruto. It IS possible to use structures to aid in the use of chakra strings but its such an advanced technique and would still require even further chakra. Regardless its something to keep in mind," Minato responded while walking ahead. There was really no point in RUSHING. If they had already fought/seen puppets on two different occasions likely there would be more here.
"May as well explore. It's been forever since I've been here I hardly remember it," was he excited!? His father always seemed so reserved for the most part. Not necessarily quiet but definitely not boisterous like Kushina. Maybe him and his father were a bit more alike than he thought. He followed him regardless, he wouldn't mind exploring. He wanted to see what Loran looked like before it was ruined.
And so, they walked past quite a few towers and noticed it was pretty barren. Not a soul in sight. Again, his memories were fuzzy, at this point he was sure that his memory problems had something to do with the way he was resurrected. He left that for a later thought. He decided that the only way to figure out the situation was to get a vantage point so he jumped and landed on the side of a tower and started scaling it. Naruto wasn't one hundred percent certain what was going through his head but followed anyways. He was just enjoying his time with his old man.
Minato finally decided to jump off the tower onto one of the bridges. He noticed there were numerous bridges connecting the myriad of towers, it all gave some credence to their theory about the chakra strings but still wasn't proof. They had no choice if they were going to get more information, he just didn't want to suggest this right now.
"Naruto, what do you think about splitting up for a bit? Probably half an hour at most just to find whatever information we can. We can reconvene at this spot then. I'll give you my kunai so you can call me if things get sticky."
"I don't want to but I see your point. Half an hour at most and you got a deal. Won't you need your kunai?" he asked. "No, I won't even need my Flying Raijin at all. I'm more than fast enough without it to take on even most Kage level shinobi. Plus, I don't know if you've forgotten but… I'm a sage. My sage most gives me flight as well as lightning speed," Minato replied with a grin. Now Naruto knew where he got his, as Satsumei calls it 'sunshine smile'. They nodded to each other and jumped in different directions, Naruto went West and Minato went East.
Naruto landed on a tower that happened to be much shorter than the others around him and couldn't help but wonder about the strange architecture. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud growling in his mindscape and he was pulled in.
That familiar sewer and giant fox demon were all that greeted him. "Well, I definitely didn't come here of my own accord this time so I'm assuming you have a purpose for this visit."
"Indeed, stay weary. This place reeks of chakra underground. You are in a time where one could augment themselves with the power of this so called 'leyline'. All the facts are adding up that Mukade picked Loran for a reason. The increased versatility for his puppets. The higher need for chakra in such a case is a perfect reason to take control of the leyline. We don't know what his intentions are but if he could somehow control this place he'd have a veritable fortress."
"So, does that mean if he uses the power of the leyline we can't win?"
"It means that if he uses the leyline your father will actually have to get serious and you will probably be required to help him. You won't win otherwise. Stay sharp, I sense fifteen more chakra presences similar to the puppets you fought closing in. Now go."
Naruto was ejected from his mindscape just in time to prepare for the horde of puppets coming in. He wasted no time flinging his own tri-prong forward and flying through hand seals. "Multi shadow Kunai Jutsu!" one multiplied into two hundred as they soared forward. Some didn't hit as the puppets on the outer edge of the formation did turn directions and quickly darted away and around Naruto. Too bad… against other people that may have given an advantage but the point of the kunai technique wasn't just for damage. He flashed forward landing on the tower his original kunai landed on and plucked it out. He surveyed the enemies, he only took out the side of them with that attack and now they were scattered so the same trick wouldn't be as effective again.
He needed something new… or a blast from the past. He summoned two shadow clones who each went through a set of hand seals. "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu/Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" the two clones yelled simultaneously as they launched their respective attacks. The real Naruto summoned up Ryujin and pulsed a HUGE amount of chakra and sent it flying forward in a massive wave of electricity combing with the massive fire/wind attack. Now it was a flaming storm with lightning pulsing through it. The attack annihilated the rest of them.
Naruto was about to celebrate when he was launched forward by an attack from behind. Before he could fall he was hit again and again. He basically was now a human volleyball right now, being tossed around like a ragdoll until one of the new puppets seemed to get antsy pants and fired a purple laser at Naruto from above. He couldn't react in time and was sent flying through the roof he was near. He collided with the ground and broke through it opening to a new area. It had mechanical aspects all around, pipes that he could sense chakra flowing through. When he landed he'd realized there was blood leaking out of his thigh. With his high pain tolerance he didn't notice when it happened.
Four more puppets came at him firing off what looked like missiles. He was prepared this time with his tri-prong being swapped out for Ryujin. "All right, I'm getting real sick of you puppets!"
With Minato
The Yellow Flash was checking out the pipes around the city. There was definitely chakra flowing through them. There was no doubt about that. He had a bad feeling about it all. This was way different than what he fuzzily remembered. He didn't remember this much chakra running through the city before.
He had to get back to Naruto before something bad happened. He heard an explosion and rushed towards it. He even felt Kurama's chakra explode. He only hoped Naruto would use his kunai if he absolutely needed to
With Naruto
He'd blitzed two of them faster than they could react cutting them both in half and moving out of the way before the explosions happened. Then he was on to the next two. He didn't notice that he'd dropped his father's tri-prong on the ground. He'd manage to cut through those two but was shocked to see what looked to be thirty more appear.
"Dammit! I'll need dad!" he sealed Ryujin and reached for his dad's kunai but it wasn't where he put it. He looked around for it and noticed it's glint. As he dived for it that's when the puppets all shot their chakra missiles. He saw it in slow motion, the missiles coming at him, him moving too slow to get to the kunai. He closed his eyes and awaited whatever fate had in store but it never came. He vaguely felt the sensation of being grabbed and then shunshinned away.
When he opened his eyes he was a bit away from where he just was and next to a man in an ANBU uniform. It wasn't any of the masks he'd ever seen. He'd heard two calls of "Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!" and turned to see two other ANBU blasting away the entirety of the platoon of puppets. "Are you hurt?" that voice sounded like…
"Naruto!" his father appeared next to him and looked at the team of ANBU. "Holy shit. I was not expecting this," was the man's shocked statement with wide eyes.
Naruto looked between his father and all three ANBU. Yeah, he was sure he knew all three body shapes and voices that he heard. "So… it really is you and your team dad?"
"Yes, yes it is. The one with the Phoenix mask over there is Ax and the one with that adorable rabbit mask is your godmother. Obviously the one right here with the multi-colored mask and blonde hair is me."
"But that means we traveled back in time to during your mission! What are the odds of that?" Naruto pondered. "Well, since you already know our identities, there's really no point in keeping these on," the now identified young Minato stated as he placed his mask in a seal. The two identified as Axel and Mikoto landed nearby and took their masks off as well. "You know, anyone who has seen your hair before would not have been fooled by a simple ponytail and mask," Naruto deadpanned. It's true, currently Axel's hair was kept in a ponytail similar to Jiraiya's.
"Look kid, I relish every fight I get into. It's hard to be discreet about anything when your me. Besides if I heard your conversation correctly your my nephew from the future. You should know that by now then," yup, definitely Axel. "He's adorable! I just wanna hold him and squeeze him and love him forever!" and that was definitely Aunt Mikoto from before the massacre. Much more vibrant and expressive. So much more expressive that she was crushing him in a bear hug right now.
"Aunt Mikoto, please, your gonna kill me this way!' she let go looking a little embarrassed but gave him a ruffle of the hair. "You three seem to be accepting the whole time travel thing pretty well. Why aren't you suspicious?"
"First off, we've seen stranger things than this. Second off, that's the design for my cloak that I've shown to no one but your mother. Third, you two look so much like me I can't think of anyone who would go out of their way to make a ruse like this," Minato listed off. "In the meantime, why ARE you here?"
"Well, we were hunting Mukade down AGAIN when he absorbed my sealing formula that was keeping the leyline in stasis. Somehow it sent both of us back in time. To be precise, sixteen years. We'll do our best to not change anything but we need to take Mukade," old Minato explained.
"Well you already know that we're after him as well. Our goal is the same. Since this is a mission in progress however, I can't let you interfere. But I do have something I'd like to request of you that might make things easier on all of us. Can you find and guard the queen?" the young Minato inquired.
"That is within acceptable parameters. It will take your focus off protecting her allowing you three to find Mukade quicker. Naruto, while our final mission hasn't changed, we will be changing the route we take to complete it," the Yellow Flash declared as he turned back to Naruto. "How's your leg?"
"Meh, Kurama's already finished healing it. I couldn't feel it anyway. All the grueling beat downs that Uncle Axel put me through more or less made me numb to most pain," was the answer that brought sweat drops to all of them except one. She had fire surrounding her and her fist landed square in Axel's jaw. "How DARE you beat on my adorable godson!? Do you have anything to say for yourself!?"
"I didn't even do anything yet! I don't even know him yet!" this was a major reversal of future self can deal with past self's mistakes. After he'd recovered he was the one who asked the question on everyone's mind. "Sooo… we can't call both of you Minato so what do we call you?"
"Just call me Lord Fourth," he replied with his sunshine smile that Naruto inherited. "WHAAAATTT!???" Mikoto and Axel shouted at the same time. Lord Fourth and Minato had to scratch the inside of their ears and Naruto had gone dizzy at the intensity of their volumes.
"You became the fourth Hokage! That's great! I'm so happy for you Minato!" Mikoto exclaimed excitedly jumping up and down. "Huh, well that means you beat Kushina to it then. Good on you bro, glad I could help," typical Axel.
"Anyways we should split up now. If you take a left here it'll take you to the gates of Loran but if you take a right before that you'll head down the main road. Be careful, there is a festival going on in honor of the queen. I recommend taking to the towers as soon as possible. Oh, also I picked this up when I saved our son," Minato explained as he handed the tri-prong kunai back to Lord Fourth.
"Thank you. I appreciate that you believe us and that your not trying to kick us out of Loran. If you need us I'm sure you'll be able to find us through your summons. Let's go son," Lord Fourth answered and darted off. Naruto stayed for just a bit longer looking at them. "Go on kid. We've all got work to do," was Axel's simple reply with a grin.
Naruto needed no more incentive to follow. 'Even in this time period all three of them are so cool! Although I like the father of my time a bit better. A little less reserved. It's nice,' were the thoughts running through his mind as he giddily ran after his father.
They'd eventually stopped at what looked like some kind of gathering square. It was a massive clearing that could easily hold two thousand people. And hold people it did. But it wasn't just people, there were parade floats and balloons, people dressed up in costumes. Minato looked closer and he saw something… odd but he'd let Naruto figure that out on his own. It wouldn't necessarily be detrimental yet anyway so no loss if he didn't notice it.
When they finally picked a tower to rest on and watch the queen Naruto was in awe. He couldn't believe how incredible the festivities were. They were celebrating like there was nothing wrong in the world. It almost seemed TOO nice but he quickly let that thought go.
"You think we could get Uncle Axel to hold a few more festivals back home?" he asked in wonderment. He really was a child at heart. "Not sure, if any Hokage COULD fit it into their busy schedule it would be him. I have to admit, the way with which he gets things accomplished is FAR quicker than the two years I was in office. We can ask him when we get back regardless," then he pointed at the balcony of the tallest tower.
When Naruto followed his finger he saw her. Queen Sâra in all her glory. He had to say, in her queen's attire she really was quite beautiful. The headdress was quite tacky though, hell, he didn't even like the Hokage's hat! She traded out her previous clothes for purple and pink robes that were quite elegant over a black shirt. The robes she wore ran all the way down to her ankles.
She waved to her people who seemed to adore her and smiled an elegant smile. He did notice that there were two puppet guards behind her which put him on immediate alert. He tensed for a moment but Minato caught it. "Dad, those puppets are the same ones that have been hunting us."
"Yeah, I don't like the looks of this. For some reason this seems… different," and that's when he noticed it. The hand that came out to push her. "Naruto, move now!" he sprung into action not quite quick enough to stop it. She had already tumbled forward and the balcony collapsed leading to her falling. Minato was there almost in a flash. He wasn't going to risk hurting her so instead of throwing his kunai for the Flying Raijin he settled for the good old fashioned way of big ass jumps.
Minato caught her bridal style and attached his feet to the tower through chakra allowing himself to slide along it until he got close enough to the ground to jump and land without jostling his passenger too much. Minato stuck the landing perfectly but it was a long enough jump that Naruto stumbled right into his dad's back. The taller man merely smirked at him before setting Sâra on her feet. "I'm sorry about the rough landing but I was more worried about your life than your comfort."
"No, it's fine. I'm grateful you saved me," she said as she looked up at him. Her eyes widened and with a light blush she looked away. 'Yup, I still got it.'
"I saw it but I somehow couldn't react in time. That's not normal for me but I still managed to save you so alls well that ends well. You were pushed which unfortunately means someone is after you. Have any idea who?" he calmly said.
"No, no one comes to mind. My people love me. You saw them all down there," his face twitched when she said that but he schooled his features so quickly only Naruto caught it. NOW, he knew something sketchy was going on. Where the hell is Mukade? This is one of those times where Kakashi-sensei would tell him to look underneath the underneath. That's when three familiar people landed near them.
"So… you made contact with the queen I see. It's important that she remains protected. At all times no matter what," Axel stated. "Let's find a better spot to get you fully caught up on what we're dealing with. No doubt things have changed since you did this mission Lord Fourth," was Minato's quick statement before he darted away, everyone following his lead. Lord Fourth picked the queen up and followed at a slightly slower pace so as not to disturb her.
They ended up in a hallway in one of the towers that would eventually lead to the main castle. The hallway had stained glass across. "So… what is going on regarding Mukade?" was the simple question the fourth asked.
"Roughly six years ago a man by the name of Mukade arrived while the previous queen was still alive. She took him on as advisor. Not too much later she ended up dead and her daughter here took her place. We three believe he may be trying to use the power of the leyline to make a puppet army for war. Possibly to take over all the great nations even," Minato explained calmly allowing the father son duo to take it in. "Hmmmm… this is indeed different. I believe when I was sent here originally we had gotten intel that Mukade was just an assassin and we were to protect the queen from him."
"So… what do we do now that things have changed so much?" Naruto asked, concern evident in his voice. He's fought a tailed beast but that was the weakest one. He hasn't fought armies of puppets before. This fight just seemed… different.
Sensing his discomfort Mikoto came up and hugged him rubbing comforting circles on his back. Lord Fourth could only smile at the sight, she was just as kind and caring back then as she is now. While a little unprofessional to do on a mission he didn't mind. His team had always had problems being one hundred percent professional anyway.
"Well, the mission itself doesn't change. We need to find Mukade and bring him to justice. Naruto and I will continue to guard the queen while you three will try to track down Mukade. IF he's truly the advisor then I'd start at the throne room."
"Yes Lord Fourth!" he heard from all of them, with salutes even. Hell, even Naruto joined in. Someone wasn't having it though.
"That's enough out of all of you! There is no man name Mukade. Six years ago a kind and just man name Anrokuzan showed up and pledged his allegiance to my mother and the kingdom. After my mother died he has served me faithfully. I will not have you tarnish his name!" she shouted in fury and turned to leave. "Queen Sâra, where are you going?" Naruto questioned fearing the worst.
"I'm going to go ask him myself!" she yelled as she began running. Lord Fourth looked at Naruto and nudged his head towards the queen. Naruto got the message and began trailing her.
"Alright, so that just happened. We'll be around. Just keep her safe and we'll finish the rest," Axel stated and took off, Mikoto following closely no doubt expecting him to cause trouble. "Well, I'd give you my kunai but I doubt you'd need it. So instead, how about I give it to you to pass to Naruto. He might not have been born yet in my time but he is still my future son and I'd like to protect him too," Minato stated with a parental tone that Lord Fourth recognized all too well and handed him the kunai.
Lord Fourth took the kunai with a smile and nodded. "I appreciate it and I'm sure he will too. Now, it's time for us to go our separate ways," they nodded at each other and took off for their destinations.
When Lord Fourth found Naruto and Sâra she was talking to a group of her citizens. "Our loved ones were taken against their wills. It was done under your orders," one of them said. She seemed to be the leader.
"I've ordered no such thing!" Sâra protested but to no avail. They weren't convinced. It seemed that there were happenings in the kingdom that the queen was unaware of. "Queen Sâra, maybe it would behoove us to look into this. Maybe it will give us the bigger picture," Lord Fourth suggested trying to placate her. She seemed to consider it for a moment. To her he seemed like a very reasonable man, all of those other shinobi, even the one who looked exactly the same as him treated him like some sort of king and they called him Lord Fourth which meant royalty to some extent. He was also very handsome, she almost couldn't keep the blush back when she thought about that.
"Very well, that is acceptable. Where do we start?"
Five minutes later- town Square
It was night time and the three of them plus the citizens headed down to the town square. It was magnificent, better than the previous parade. The lights shone so much more brightly in the night. Neither Naruto nor Lord Fourth were buying it though, but Sâra seemed to be enjoying it. "Isn't it magnificent? This is the parade that Anrokuzan put together in my honor. You can tell my people love me"
"Then why do your people call you the 'puppet princess'?" one of the would be kidnappers asked. "That was inappropriate! I must say though that I'm not surprised he said it and I almost agree with him," the female who seemed to be the leader stated.
There was a loud cheer from the crowd and they saw a puppet version of the queen step onto the balcony of the main tower. Come to think of it that was where Sâra fell from and now it was repaired. What did this mean? Was she really just a puppet queen?
They watched as Naruto unsealed Fujin and charged chakra into it. "Do you think you can do it? That's a hell of a throw," Lord Fourth asked. "Hmmmm… there's a seal on each of my odachis that can summon them back if I'm ever disarmed. This shouldn't cause any problems."
Naruto threw the sword and carefully manipulated it around the airspace above them. They just barely saw the cutting of what looked to be chakra strings and then the puppets on the ground started dropping like flies. The sword disappeared in a yellow flash and returned to Naruto's hand.
"All of them, each and every single one of them is a puppet. They were probably the EXACT same crowd from before and used to keep you thinking your people loved you. Let me ask you, how many people actually live here? Are there really this many citizens of Loran?" Naruto continued by waving a hand around towards the now disconnected puppets.
"I… don't know. The parades have always been this big but if they're just puppets then probably not as many as I once thought. As a child I never really thought about it and Anrokuzan has been around since I was a child," she answered though her voice seemed to get quieter as she went on. "Well then let's check something else," Lord Fourth added and jumped up towards one of the pipes that stretched across the town square. He pumped chakra into it and then it glowed blue and the glow went down along the pipe for a long ways. Also it appeared as if the chakra strings reattached themselves as the puppets came back to life. "Queen Sâra is there an underground entrance of any kind that leads to the leyline? I feel as if the key to this mystery is there."
"Yes, follow me," she stated as she led them to what looked to be a grate in the ground. Naruto took the moment to look around first and make sure they weren't being followed. Nothing so far, this seemed too easy. There was no way this Arokuzan/Mukade whatever he went by now, didn't know they were on his tail.
Lord Fourth lifted the grate and set it to the side. "I'll go first incase there's any danger. Queen Sâra will come second and then Naruto as the tail," he stated receiving nods. One of uncertainty and one of complete trust. Guess which was which.
As Lord Fourth descended down the ladder he noticed it was more like a vent shaft than anything so he touched a finger to a seal on his coat. It pulsed for a moment and then shortened to just down to his waist. 'Anti-blood? Yes. Anti-dust? Not what I I had in mind when I had this cloak made.'
They ended up crouching around a vent looking down at… a factory? Yeah, they went with factory. Lord Fourth unlatched the vent with a kunai and set it to the side so it didn't make any noise and with all the poise you would expect from the Yellow Flash jumped down landing in a crouch.
Next was Sâra, she didn't realize how far the distance was so when she tried to lower herself she panicked and fell. But the Yellow Flash was faster and caught her effortlessly, and set her down. She seemed to grumble something incoherent which brought a sweat drop and a sheepish smile to his face but it quickly left when Naruto landed next to him. "Ten out of ten mah boy!"
"Thanks. Now, what do we do from here?"
"Well, YOUR going to stay with the queen and take her where she needs to go, I'M going to snoop around a bit. Oh and here " the Fourth said as he handed a tri-pronged kunai to Naruto. "That is Minato's kunai. He said even though you weren't born in his time yet, he still wanted to protect you regardless," and with that the Yellow Flash walked off.
"I can not get a read on that man," Sâra commented with a tone Naruto wasn't sure about. "Hmmm… I'm not sure what is happening in his head. He's not what my uncle described him as. Ever sense he came back to life he's more like Kakashi-sensei and my uncle than the stories. You saw his counterpart. Though they may be the same person the one who came with me is way more laid back," it's not that he was complaining though. She could tell by the fond smile on his face. "Anyways we should get going too."
They looked at their surroundings and saw a conveyor belt that was churning out puppet parts. They saw a giant machine that looked to have many handles for pushing and low and behold the citizens that were taken against their wills were there pushing. They were in the barest of clothes and looked to have no light in their eyes. Farther away was a platform that was like the chamber that teleported him and Lord Fourth back in time. Chakra was indeed flowing from it. "Naruto, I need you to get me down there," she requested pointing to the platform. With a nod he ran his hands over a few seals across his body instantly becoming lighter on his feet and then picked her up bridal carry. "I'm not quite as physically strong as my father so it'll be a bumpy ride, just hold on tight."
He darted down and contrary to what he said the landing was perfect and graceful. He set her down and while he probably should have been stealthy he noticed that there weren't as many patrolling puppets as would have been smart. "Hide here. I'll leave a Shadow Clone with you but I'm about to get VERY violent," he said as he made the cross hand sign and another Naruto popped up surprising Sâra. She schooled her features quickly. Then she felt something dark roll off him. The red chakra that he released was bubbly and violent. His red slit eyes were unnerving to her and she noticed his elongated fangs and claws. "What is this?" she asked frightened. "I'm what's called a jinchuuriki, basically I have a demon sealed inside me for lack of better words and time," he didn't let her say anything else as he quickly unsealed his own tri-prong as well as Ryujin and darted for the nearest patrol, charging his sword with lightning.
Slicing straight through the first puppet in his way he flung his kunai towards the next one, flashing to it and kicking straight through its midsection with his full Kurama enhanced strength. Another throw and flash later he was slicing through two more and jumping away. If puppets had blood then this would have been a bloodbath.
Lord Fourth
He heard the sounds of battle from where he was and he could feel Kurama's dark chakra. It was slightly worrying that Naruto decided to let loose like this but he also knew Axel had been training him in the use of the chakra since he started the academy so he let it slide for now. He was busy placing paper bombs everywhere anyway as well as a few of his own Flying Raijin designations. Never know when you may need a quick getaway.
He continued on to find out what Naruto was up to now that he had deemed there were enough seals.
Naruto
He'd already cleared out the majority of the puppets so he gave a nod to his shadow clone who led Sâra to the platform. "Wait here," she said as she knelt down and began to chant "I, the queen of Loran command you, let thy flow now cease, and quell the power that's within," as her hands began to glow purple and the device in the middle of the platform began to resonate the same color and energy. It pulsed that same color multiple times and the sealing designation around it glowed as well and then disappeared. The Naruto clone as well as the real Naruto noticed that the conveyor belts stopped their functioning and sensed the flow of chakra around them dissipate. Naruto had cleared his enemies out completely by now so he joined her side. He knew better than to think things were done so his clone did as well and therefore didn't disperse.
"The leyline is shut down now. The energy flow has ceased completely," Sâra explained as he walked up, she noticed that while that dark chakra receded and his features returned to normal he did not dismiss his weapons. "You're sure it can't be used now?"
"As far as I know there isn't a way to use it when it's shut down. Why are you so worried?" she asked with a delicate eyebrow raised. "I've just grown accustomed to a certain motto that my uncle instilled in me from a young age. Expect the worst and hope for the best and you'll never be disappointed. I just have this gut feeling things are about to get worse."
She didn't like that answer at all. Not when these were trained shinobi, even his father was on edge and he was the one that ALL of them seemed to look up to. What was it about the shinobi world that she didn't know that could be so detrimental to this mission of theirs? Then they heard "My queen, what are you doing here?" from above.
On one of the platforms above them a man that to Naruto anyway, looked a lot like a fattened up Mukade with a beard and mustache as well as some advisor robes was looking down on them. "Anrokuzan! I've stopped the leyline. I won't let you use it to make these weapons of war. As queen of Loran I order you to stop making these puppets and let these people return to their families!" she declared with some queenly backbone.
"So you know that much of what I've been doing do you? Well then I'm afraid I can't let you live. I have no need for the leyline that you cutoff anyway now," he stated nonchalantly as Naruto looked around and noticed that the puppets attached to new strings and moving towards him and the parts that were on the conveyor belts were now formed into new puppets and marching at him and Sâra.
"Go, free your people and get out of here. You now have the truth. It's now my duty to capture him. If you want to be a true queen and make your mother proud it is up to you to protect your people, you get me ?" he said not giving her a chance to respond as he glared up to Anrokuzan. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure your Mukade."
"Hmmm… Mukade huh? Yes, maybe once I went by that name. But I no longer answer to that hoodlum's name. I am now Lord Minister Anrokuzan and I rule this kingdom!" his eyes turned excessively maniac at this point as he gave a battle cry and his army of puppets charged.
His shadow clones went with Sâra and he darted around with his odachis both on display hacking and slashing. He couldn't waste chakra on the Flying Raijin right now. Channeling Kurama's chakra into his legs he gave himself a massive speed boost and he looked like he was launching off like a rocket every time he moved. He cratered the ground almost every time he landed as he tore apart the battalion of puppets. Lightning and wind danced in a whirlwind of destruction and parts and clay were sent flying. By the time he stopped there wasn't a single puppet standing. He stayed still for too long as Anrokuzan merely sent more chakra into the puppets and the parts flew at Naruto. They merged around him to make an armor prison. It looked to be a giant puppet golem only allowing a small space for him to look out. His limbs were all held tight and his blades lay on the ground as he struggled to get free.
"Please stop this Anrokuzan!" Sâra pleaded as she returned, something in her couldn't let Naruto face her advisor alone even if she was no help in a battle. He took what looked to be some kind of elevator down towards them. "You know, I really must thank you for being a good little puppet queen. Your mother saw through my act and straight up refused to go along with any of my plans. You however play your part like a good little girl. I however, have no more use for you so now I must dispose of you."
"Don't tell me you're the one who killed my mother!?"
"Your only just now realizing the truth? I must say it's a little late for that. The truth will do you no good in the afterlife," he taunted as he manipulated his chakra strings in such a way that a spare sword came flying at her. She wouldn't be able to move in time, she was too busy tearing up in despair. Before it could strike a familiar cloak was seen one second and the next she was safe in the arms of Lord Fourth on top of the golem. He was comforting her like a father would, whispering in her ear and rubbing circles on her back. For some reason this situation made his parental instincts kick in and he wasn't sure why, it didn't matter, as his instincts were stronger than his will right now.
"You don't need to listen to a single word he says. Your mother would be proud of you. He's but a savage who would step on anyone in his way to get what he wants. As queen it is your job to take back your kingdom and protect your people. Now, if it your wish we the Namikazes will end this man's reign over your kingdom," he stated not too loud.
Mukade looked on in shock. "Hold on! I didn't notice it before! Your… you're the Yellow Flash! The only shinobi to ever attain a flee on sight order in the bingo books of our time. You were said to have died during the Kyubi attack on the Leaf. I don't know how your alive but I won't let you ruin my plans!" he didn't get to say anything else as the golem exploded in a massive burst of Kurama's chakra. Lord Fourth appeared twenty feet away still holding Sâra. He set her down allowing her to get her bearings, traveling at the speed he moved would be disorienting for most non jonin shinobi let alone a civilian.
"Queen Sâra, I need to know. Do you plan on fighting or giving up?" he asked after she had finally wiped her tears away. The fire he saw in her eyes really did remind him of Kushina. She was determined… and quite possibly pissed. He just hoped not all redheads had demonic hair when angered. "I will fight. I Queen Sâra command you, Minato Namikaze and Naruto Namikaze to end the threat known as Anrokuzan and secure my kingdom!" that was all he needed. "Very well, take Naruto's clone and free your people. We'll clean house here."
He walked up to the now freed Naruto and looked him up and down. "Being stuck in that thing must have really pissed you off, huh?" he asked dumbly . The only reason he could tell was that there were four chakra tails exuding from his son. "I wanna crush his damn skull into paste!"
"Whoa, your sounding like your uncle when he's angry. Calm down Naruto. Remember, it would be preferred if we could take him alive. Oh, we got company," Lord Fourth replied as the puppets all around them started moving again. Anrokuzan still hadn't figured out that he was beaten but he would soon. Before they could do anything else though he pulled his cloak over his head and seemed to start expanding. The cloak was shed and in its place was a massive puppet spider with a humanoid head. "Listen son, I know you have a clone protecting her but I want you to go and escort her. I know you want to get back at him but this is a perfect time to learn how to prioritize different objectives in a mission as well how to keep a cool head."
"But father we have a clone, she's protected. What if I leave and something happens to you?"
"My safety isn't the priority or objective in the mission. I won't be taken down by this man. If the Raikage couldn't beat me I guarantee this clown won't. I just need you to trust me Naruto," he pleaded as he held Naruto's shoulders. Naruto bit his lip contemplating and then hugged his father and took off in rapid succession. The Yellow Flash merely smiled, yes his son was still a child at heart but, it was moments like this that showed a deeper maturity. The boy was willing to put the mission above his own personal feelings. Axel had given the Fourth a rundown on Naruto's current flaws and it was transparently clear that ONLY Minato could teach Naruto that there is a time and place for feelings. Now wasn't the time to contemplate that though. He had a job to do.
He turned to his current enemies and flung ONE tri-pronged kunai. With a few hand seals that one became ONE THOUSAND. This was the proficiency of a battle-hardened kage who had only known combat for his whole life. A man born of Madara and a stranger of which no one knew the true origin. This ability didn't even dent his chakra reserves he noticed. It was way more than he usually multiplies his kunai into. 'I suppose when we get back I'll have to spar with Ax so I can get a proper read on my chakra reserves.'
"Alright, Flying Raijin: Celestial Air Slice Type-Zero Barrage!" he disappeared and within four seconds everything in front of him dropped. The term 'like a puppet with its strings cut' was both entirely too accurate and not accurate enough. Every single puppet had a massive whole carved out and it's chakra string cut. Lord Fourth was standing in front of Anrokuzan holding his kunai in his right hand and a Rasengan in his left. The spider puppet body was flat on the ground with a large chunk gouged out of the abdomen.
He watched as it rapidly regenerated. It was shocking, even Kurama stacked on phoenix sage mode could not produce regeneration on that level according to Ax. Was this man able to call on the full power of the leyline? Three people landed next to him.
"Lord Fourth! It seems you have found the target," was the simple statement by Axel. "Indeed. This is Mukade or as he's known now Anrokuzan. His body is a puppet. I applied heavy damage to him but he's already fully regenerated. I may have to use my Susanoo here," he stated earning shocked expression from all of them.
"Wait, you can use the Susanoo?" was Mikoto's question. "Yeah, a lot has happened between this time period and when I became the hokage so I do have the Mangekyou. That's not important. We must devise a plan to end this fight."
"Hmmmm… how about we just perform a combined jutsu and completely annihilate it? That's always worked for us before?" was Axel's both intelligent and dumb suggestion. "You know what? Screw it, I'm down," Lord Fourth responded as he bit his thumb and flew through hand signs, slamming his hand down and summoned forth Rikujo the boss of the thunderbird clan. He looked between Minato and Lord Fourth and was shocked. This was the Rikujo of this time period so he had no clue how there could have been two Minatos.
"What?" was all he could say in shock. "This is a bit of a story but I came back from the future with my son through some shenanigans I don't have time to explain. I would appreciate it if you could aid me in the double thunderhead maneuver Lord Rikujo."
"That's hardly enough information to go off of but I can tell it really is you Minato so I shall give you aid regardless of the confusion," the bird boss replied as the two ascended into a thundercloud overhead. In the meantime Team Minato prepared their respective attacks. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Caterwhaul!/ Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!/ Wind Style: Vacuum Blades!" were the shouts heard from the team as the familiar wave of fire was expelled from Mikoto's mouth, Axel shot off an armada of dragon headed fire blasts and Minato literally shot what looked to be blades of wind that not only increased the intensity of the fire but also seemed to melt through Anrokuzan's body like butter.
They kept up the attack until they heard a familiar thundering roar. "Thunder God's Rasenimpact!" they watched as Lord Fourth came down from the thundercloud with a lightning armor in the shape of Rikujo that added a thunderhead to his Rasengan. He came down so fast that most shinobi would never be able to dream of matching his speed let alone surviving the impact that came. The Rasengan seemed to have sucked in everything as it came down, the flames, the wind, and the lightning the armor was producing. It released everything on impact and Lord Fourth flashed away at the exact moment of detonation.
He appeared a bit behind the group with Rikujo on his shoulder as he admired their handiwork. It wouldn't last long. They'd created a crater that the puppet body fell into, what was more distressing was that all the puppet parts and bodies around them including the puppet golem from before seemed like they were magnetized toward him because they flew to him and started creating a new body. It was massive, it looked like it was based off a serpent, it had massive horns out the sides of its head, spikes down its long spine and tail, and a massive torso that had huge arms.
"Okay, seriously, what the actual fuck. How the hell can this thing take THAT much damage and still regenerate and then… evolve?" Axel asked even if he wasn't sure he wanted the answer. "We can be absolutely certain now that he has the power of the leyline at his disposal now. There is no other way he could survive attacks of that level and IMPROVE," Minato concluded as he pulled the legendary lightning and wind kunai that Lord Fourth was well known for in the future. "That is so weird seeing myself use those," the Yellow Flash stated as he pulled his own out. Axel reciprocated by unsealing his claymore and gunbai, and finally Mikoto released a blood red katana.
"So, who wants first crack at him? I'm itching for a good fight!" Axel declared as he unleashed a maelstrom of fire and wind from his weapons respectively not giving anyone a chance to answer. The two attacks combined and did… nothing to the puppet. "The fuck?"
He was met with a tail slap that sent him careening. Mikoto had to FIGHT the urge to go after him and check up on his injuries. The three of them looked upon their current enemy and not a single one of them could form a plan. The previous combined attack should have annihilated damn near anything and yet this… monstrosity was standing here not only unharmed but stronger than before. "I hate to say it but first order of business is to get out of this space. We will need more room to fight such a massive creature. Mikoto, Minato and I shall hold it off long enough for you to get Axel somewhere else. Follow Naruto's path, I don't care right now, but we need to move this fight," Lord Fourth commanded like the battle hardened commander he was. She only gave a nod and darted towards Axel slinging one of his arms over her and carrying him off in the direction of Naruto.
Before the puppet could even come close to hitting her he was interrupted by two GIANT Rasengans repelling him far away. They waited until the puppet body rose before they dashed away.
It wouldn't be long until they reached Mikoto and the rest. They took a defensive stance and listened as Axel grumbled… something. "What the hell. Did someone catch the number of that Tsunade punch?"
Typical Axel, if it actually effects him, he compares it to Tsunade's strength. That was one of the few things that Axel felt and was actually SCARED of during their training all those years as genin. After all, Jiraiya-sensei tended to treat them more like they were his own children than students after awhile.
"Ax," was all Lord Fourth said as Axel focused on him. "We need to keep him away from Sára, can I trust you to do that?" he asked before dashing off.
"He didn't give me much of a choice. Hold him off for a moment guys," Axel said nonchalantly as he forced his palms together and chakra began gathering around him.
Minato nodded as he burst forward with a Big Ball Rasengan and slammed it into the puppet before it could react. Mikoto was preparing a jutsu in the meantime. Minato took both kunai of his and slashed repeatedly for about five seconds to keep the pressure on.
With Naruto
He was worried regardless of if he trusted his father or not. Ironically a younger version of his uncle being there did NOT help. Axel's fighting style was better off solo than with allies so sometimes he got people in trouble without meaning to. It didn't matter though, his duty was to protect the queen right now. That's why he was getting very antsy pants watching her try to corral her citizens into one of the towers. It would specifically lead them down to the chamber where Naruto first met her. According to her because the leyline couldn't flow there Anrokuzan would not be able to follow.
The explosions farther away seemed to stop, had they beaten him? His answer was that giant puppet body hopping between the towers right at him, well Sâra, he was just in the way. When it's clawed hand was about to come down on them he saw it lurch back and start being spun around by its tail. He couldn't believe his eyes, Aunt Mikoto, sweet delicate Aunt Mikoto was literally swinging that massive hulking beast by its tail and then she threw him. She threw that giant thing towards another tower. He saw as right above where the puppet landed both Minato and Lord Fourth came down on a bridge with a Rasengan each and collapsed the bridge on the puppet and then a giant ball of fire came down on it as well.
"They're getting extremely serious if they're pulling all of this out. Queen Sâra we must get your people to safety."
"If you can get me to the leyline's other chamber I can fully seal it off. It may even stop his regeneration helping you guys to end this," she said with uncertainty but in his eyes she may have just given them some hope. "That works for me, something is better than nothing. Let's move people!" he finished as he started directing them down the tower with Sâra leading the pack. He barely looked back in time to see Axel take a nasty slice to his torso. It looked like he tried to turn into fire but barely made it in time to save his innards. This must have been before he mastered the full power of his Sage Mode.
He didn't have time for those thoughts. He ran down the tower but had a hard time ignoring the sounds of something big coming closer. Did they let him pass? Did they fail? These were some of the most powerful and well trained shinobi of all time. This was Jiraiya's team, how was that possible? He didn't have time to ponder that as he noticed they were on a staircase hugging the outer wall of a large chamber that seemed to have another… yup a tower in the middle. This one seemed different though. It seemed… special in some way. Luckily all the citizens had gotten into the tower and Sâra was entering it as he had to duck under a giant claw.
"SÂRA!" was the roar he heard as the puppet changed direction suddenly and launched towards the tower. Two giant Rasengans courtesy of Minato and Lord Fourth knocked him into the wall though. They landed next to Naruto inspecting him for any damage but only got a shake of the head. Satisfied they turned back to the puppet. "Axel might be out of commission if Mikoto can't heal him up. For now it's just us three protecting her. Naruto it's up to you to stick with her as always," was Lord Fourth directions and he heeded his father's words as he ran down the stairs and caught up to Sâra. "How much chakra do you have left?" Lord Fourth asked.
"Not as much as I'd prefer but probably more than I should have. His regeneration has to have a limit. We need to find a weak spot," Minato replied while thinking up a plan. "Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Lord Fourth yelled as he flung one kunai which turned into a thousand and barraged the puppet. It started stripping away parts of it and revealed a spot that had that spider body from before. If they recalled correctly that was the main body. The puppet was struck by a chakra stream of lightning and healed just as fast if not faster than it was damaged. "Bullshit!"
Minato was more shocked that an outburst like that would even come out of his future self. "Sorry, in the heat of battle I tend to act more like Axel and Kushina than us," he said with a sheepish grin rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't start doing it until after the third war."
"Well, it doesn't matter now. We need a plan and fast."
"Dad!" they heard as they turned to see Naruto running towards them. "Your supposed to be guarding Sâra."
"I know but I need your help. If we can get her into the main chamber of this tower we can seal his hold over the leyline but first we have to get her people into the inner garden to keep them safe. The problem is there is a door that wont budge."
"Hmmm… Minato, take it from here and I'll see what I can do about that. We may have our answer to this situation," Lord Fourth stated gaining a nod and then taking off with Naruto.
Indeed there was a giant door in their path. He was feeling along it trying to find any weak spots. There were none, it was solid rock. But that meant it would be easy for him. "All of you get back including you Naruto. I need plenty of space for what I'm about to do."
Naruto watched as he took a few steps back to give himself room and barely noticed that the sounds of fighting got louder, he wasn't sure why but he had a guess. He watched as his father clenched and unclenched his fists once and almost faster than he could blink he was surrounded in what looked to be an armor of lightning. His hair was wildly waving about and the chakra radiating off of him was incredible. This was his father's Sage Mode, he'd seen it when his father and uncle fought in his mindscape but wasn't able to really get a good look at it. This was simply incredible. But he wasn't done there as he was slowly lifted into the air and a familiar lightning blue chakra hoisted him up and formed a construct. Everyone in the chamber was mesmerized by it. Even the non shinobi could feel the incredible chakra emanating from the Yellow Flash.
His now Full Bodied Susanoo lifted one hand and the Rasengan formed in it. Massive was all Naruto could describe it as. "Susanoo Sage Powered Rasengan!" he shouted as he slammed it into the door grinding it into nothingness. The chakra left as quickly as it came and Naruto could see the light panting, the sheen of sweat, and the blood running down from his father's eyes. He wiped it away before anyone else could see but could tell Naruto noticed. "Queen Sâra. It's all up to you now. If you don't seal up the leyline we may not win," he stated as he walked past Naruto and back to the fight locking eyes with Naruto and giving a nod.
Naruto watched as all the citizens ran into the inner garden and the queen commanded them to stay put as far away from the entrance as possible. She then ran down a hall to the left and he followed. They came upon the chamber that sent Naruto and his father back in time. He took guard at the entrance as she ran to the sealing device on the platform.
Just as he thought both Minato and Lord Fourth landed next to him as well as Anrokuzan barreling into the chamber. Axel and Mikoto landed behind them. Mikoto was helping him stand while he clutched a hand to his stomach. "Alright, time for some damn payback. You all know what we have to do. We have to annihilate this fucker with so much fire power he's erased from the history books."
Typical Axel, brute force was the best way in his book. Funny enough everyone seemed to agree. "Very well, hopefully she gets the leyline shutdown in time. Rasengan!" Lord Fourth shouted as a Big Ball Rasengan appeared in his open palm. Minato formed one in between his palms that seemed to be almost greenish and held it to the Fourth's increasing its size. Axel also summoned a Rasengan but his was red in color, regardless it still resonated with the other two and tripled the size of the already MASSIVE Rasengan. "Son, join in."
"But, I still don't know the Rasengan yet."
Lord Fourth shook his head with a smile. "You don't need the Rasengan, just add your wind chakra, I'll keep it all stable."
Naruto noticed that there were wisps of flame dancing around the chakra ball as well as volts of lightning. He nodded and placed his hands as close as he comfortably could without getting hurt and began pumping wind chakra into it. He had to quickly retract his hands as blades of wind surrounded the ball and took the shape of a shuriken. Lord Fourth held it high above his head. "Well? What shall we call this? We seem to have done the impossible," he inquired with a fond smile.
"How about… the Ultimate Supreme Inferno Storm Rasenshuriken?" Naruto suggested as he looked at the technique in awe. His sensory abilities were going haywire with the amount of chakra coming off the move. "Your just like me. But I love it. Mikoto can you get me a clear shot at his upper left chest?" he received a nod from the still stupefied Uchiha heiress who launched at the puppet like a missile with a chakra enhanced fist and shattered straight through the middle of the chest. The force of the impact was so great it rippled across the puppet and knocked most of his armor plating off revealing Anrokuzan's real body.
Lord Fourth took that moment and dashed forward aiming the attack right at the main body. "Ultimate Supreme Inferno Storm Rasenshuriken!" he came down like a war hammer and slammed it into the body. A few things happened all at once. They all heard a nasty grinding noise, an explosion of fire reminiscent to a nova, and a giant charge of electricity exploded out. Lord Fourth was thrown back but flashed to Naruto. "Whew, am I glad I have a seal on you."
The puppet's body was almost completely annihilated. All that was left was the main body, funny that's where most of the damage should have gone. "Regeneration Jutsu!" Anrokuzan yelled but everyone noticed the chakra fizzled out and nothing happened. "Well, end of the line Mukade, or Anrokuzan. Whichever name you want to die by," Naruto stated as he walked forward with Fujin now summoned to his hand and a wind aura.
"Is it okay for him to do this?" Mikoto asked worrying like a mother would. "Don't worry, he's already had his first kill. He'll be fine," Lord Fourth responded as he watched his son behead the puppet and place it in a scroll. He walked back over to them and they joined Sâra on the platform.
Lord Fourth pulled out a tri-prong and placed it in the device for the leyline controls. He did a few hand seals and a similar formula from before their journey into the past appeared but Naruto could tell there were a few extra measures of protection. "I felt it best that I seal this thing off in a way no one can touch it," Naruto and Lord Fourth began glowing white. "Time's just about up. With Mukade defeated and the leyline sealed the pendulum of time is swinging back into motion," Minato explained.
"Well, our mission is done Queen Sâra. It's time for you to focus on your people and us to go our separate ways," Naruto to her. "You've done so much for us. How could we ever repay you?"
"Just be the best queen you can be and make sure your people survive anything thrown at them. I want to be able to read your legend in the history books when I return," Naruto responded.
"Yes, well I think it's best none of us remember this. Best not to take any chances of changing the future," Minato stated as he started to form hand seals. "Actually, I knew you'd say that for some reason. I think it best if Naruto and myself keep our memories. So just wait for us to return to our time would you?" Lord Fourth requested. His younger self thought about it for a moment and then stopped his hand seals.
"Naruto, it's time to say goodbye to everyone."
Naruto nodded at his father and approached Mikoto first. "I'm sorry I don't give you enough attention in the future. I promise I'll change that. I'll spend more time with you. Not like you'll remember this conversation but just know I'll put more effort in," he declared with tears welling up while bear hugging her. She hugged him back and whispered sweet nothings into his ear. She could tell he was just a child at heart. He was sincere in his declaration and although she wouldn't remember it she would be grateful for it. It warmed her heart so.
He let go and walked over to Axel looking up at his towering figure. "Uncle Axel. I'm gonna punch you in the face when I return. I don't know why but I will," he said so nonchalantly that it seemed like something he would regularly say to the man.
'Why me?' Axel had no time to actually ponder that as Naruto already moved on to Minato. "Dad, it was so cool to see you and your team when you were all younger. Although two of you haven't actually changed that much it was a nice refreshing experience. You might not technically be the Minato Namikaze I'm familiar with but I love you all the same ," Naruto stated with certainty and tackle rushed him. Of course he couldn't knock him over but it was the sentiment. "Naruto, I could not have asked for a better son. I'm already so proud of you and I know you'll only do greater things with time. I also know that you are in good hands in your timeline. Take care of your mother for me," Minato responded as he looked at his future self who was staring at nothing in particular. The older man looked back and merely grinned in confirmation with a thumbs up.
"Whelp, time to go," Lord Fourth stated as the light surrounding the two blinding everyone suddenly and then they were gone.
The present
Minato woke up first and had to get his bearings straight before he could look around for Naruto. It didn't matter because he heard Naruto's groggy voice next to him. "Dad? Are we back?"
"Looks like it. Let's get out of here. I'm tired of towers and chambers for a while," he stated standing up and then helping Naruto up as well. He noticed Naruto was walking unsteady so he held the boy to himself which the boy did not struggle at all, in fact he leaned into Minato if anything.
When they saw sunlight finally they noticed someone who looked strangely familiar walking through the ruin towards them.
They met her half way and Naruto finally stood up straight having regained himself. "I was passing by and felt a disturbance in the leyline and decided to check it out," she explained. She was damn near the spitting image of Sâra if not for lighter hair and eyes as well as an orange cloak that was clearly meant to keep the harsh sands away. "You sensed it?" Naruto inquired.
"Yes, my mother used to be the queen of Loran and I inherited a bit of her power. I have to use this to sense it though," she showed him a withered tri-prong kunai, specifically one with his designated formula on it. He reached back to his secret holster and found nothing there. 'When did I drop that?'
"My mother once told me that she had met a great warrior in a dream and he had left this."
"Your mother the queen?"
"That's right. Loran was ravaged by war and my people were almost destroyed but thanks in large part to my mother we managed to survive. I intend to stay by my people's side just like my mother and make sure they survive. Sorry for taking up your time," she suddenly gave a bow to each of them and walked away. They waited until she was out of earshot before they said anything.
"Was that really Sâra's daughter?" Naruto asked incredulously. "I guess so. We might have accidentally changed the timeline just a bit. I don't remember anyone from Loran surviving. To my knowledge the reports stated that everyone was wiped out. Well anyways, our mission is done but we still have one more goal before we return home."
"I have to learn the Rasengan, right?" the boy inquired. "Yup, and now that you've seen a Rasengan with chakra natures added you've got a new goal to eventually hit. But I have every bit of faith in you. So do the rest of us. Now, let's find a spot to make camp and get some rest."
They'd noticed there was no difference in the time of day from when they went back in time. They did indeed make a camp with equipment from their scrolls but Naruto wouldn't quit at trying to go back to his training. Minato just couldn't say no. He seemed like he still had plenty of chakra so it seemed like it would be okay. "Alright, fine but… we'll be using the Shadow Clone trick to speed it up."
"Awesome!" the boy yelled as he pumped a fist into the air. He summoned twenty shadow clones and all of them were thrown a rubber ball. "All right, here's how this is going to work. Any one of you gets any improvement you will pop so the rest of you get the knowledge. In the meantime I want to work on the original's taijutsu. I appreciate that like your old man, your uncle and even back in the day your mother and sensei you like to use the blade but I want to make sure you can fight bare handed in the case your disarmed and for some reason can't summon your swords back. And no, relying on Kurama's chakra won't always be an option."
And that's what they did through to the night. They managed to get five hours of training before nightfall. As they were in the desert it got very cold so they set up a campfire and sat in silence leaning against each other staring at the crackling embers.
"Dad?"
"Yes son?"
"Thank you."
"What for?"
"This was my most enjoyable mission so far. I've never had more fun and I've never had such a great time. I got to learn more about you, Aunt mikoto, and Uncle Axel. Well, I didn't learn too much about him that I didn't already know but the point stands. And having all this time together with you has already been some of the greatest moments of my life."
His heart almost couldn't take anymore, Minato couldn't be happier to hear these words from his son. It already seemed like he was making up for lost time. "I've enjoyed every moment with you so far son and I hope to continue making memories with you. I don't regret sacrificing myself to protect you all but I regret that it had to happen. I feel like in hindsight I could have done so much more to prepare for that night but I suppose it all turned out okay."
"I… can't wait to make more memories dad," and then his head hung limply signaling that he had fallen asleep. Minato picked Naruto up and brought him into their tent and tucked him into his sleeping bag after carefully taking his cloak off. He exited back out and continued tending to the fire for awhile. After a little bit he could have sworn he saw an apparition of a much, much younger Axel tending to a fire but chalked it up to being too tired. He put this fire out with a tiny water jutsu and decided to head in as well. Taking his cloak off he slid into his own sleeping bag and then pulled Naruto close to him. The boy unconsciously snuggled up to him and latched his chakra onto him. 'So, this is what Kushina meant. She's right, he is still somewhat lonely. I won't let this continue anymore. He won't be lonely for as long as I live.'
The next day
Naruto awoke to the smell of grilled salmon and boar. He exited the tent and noticed that Minato had plenty of food in pans over the fire. He saw various mushrooms and vegetables and some bowls of already cut fruit. "Kushina has told me that since you and Ax are both jinchuuriki and the fact that your also an Uzumaki you have a hell of an appetite. I had this all sealed in scrolls so we could eat incase we weren't around food sources so… enjoy," Minato explained and Naruto did as told.
The rest of the day consisted of more training as did their week.