Chapter 2: Some thing change, but other...
It was over a month since Naruto had that conversation with the Hokage, and since then he had begun to be trained by him.
At this very moment that's what they were doing, in a secluded corner of the training area where few people normally went. Naruto was currently being trained in the most basic techniques under the tutelage of Hiruzen, who was currently impressed.
"You're very skilled, Naruto. More than I expected." Hiruzen commented.
I've always been good at combat. I mastered the forbidden shadow clone technique in a few hours. I learned the technique that took my father three years to master in less than a month and evolved to a level that no other user has achieved. I mastered Sennin Mode better than my master Jiraya and in a short space of time. And I was even able to adapt Kurama's chakra transfer to anyone I touched during the war. I was always powerful enough to be able to do these things, but most people weren't able to see through the idiot boy. And now that I don't have a second chakra in my body to cause interference, I can have more control over my chakra. However, now that I've returned, I'll have to master it all over again.
"Most of those techniques aren't a problem." Naruto commented as he stood over the water.
"Sometimes I wonder if you really need me to train, Naruto." Hiruzen commented.
"I do." Naruto stated as he looked at the old man. "Even if the academy is responsible for teaching these things, everyone else will also be trained by their clans and their parents. Something I won't have the privilege of for reasons we both know." Hiruzen just sighed.
"You're right." He ended up agreeing.
"Besides, I already have in mind what I need you to train me in, Hokage." Naruto replied as he walked slowly out of the lake and towards Sarutobi.
"And what would that be?" Hiruzen asked.
"Taijutsu I will train myself. Make my own style. And Genjutsu is not my style. I want you to train me in Ninjutsu, especially elemental Ninjutsu. I have an affinity with the Wind element, so I'd like to start with that." Naruto said as the man agreed. He hadn't expected the boy to already have an affinity.
"I know a few wind element techniques, but we can supplement your training with techniques we have stored in our scroll library." The Hokage replied.
"However, I would also like to master a second element. Preferably water. No, it has to be water. Two elements are more than enough for now." Naruto said as he stood next to the Hokage.
"Why water?" Hiruzen asked curiously.
"We're in the Land of Fire, which has that name because most of the ninja here have an affinity with that element. In case you don't remember, most people hate me because they see me as the Kyuubi, and may even try to kill me. This doesn't just include civilian, but ninjas too. If I want to survive, I'll have to overcome their abilities, and that includes their elemental jutsus." Naruto explained and the Hokage was a little surprised by his reasoning.
"That makes sense." Hiruzen agreed.
"I also want to learn about Fuinjutsu." The blond continued. "I may not have red hair, but I'm still an Uzumaki. I want to learn the techniques of my clan. Also, I'd like to become a sensor ninja. I'd like to be able to see the world without having to use my eyes. Enhance my other senses."
"Interesting. I think I can teach you most of that, but it won't be an easy job." Sarutobi said and Naruto only agreed.
"The harder, the better." The blond confirmed.
"I admire your enthusiasm. However, I won't be able to focus completely on your training. I'm still the Hokage, and I have a job to attend to." Sarutobi commented as he adjusted his hat.
"No problem. I'll do most of the training myself. I just need your guidance." Naruto agreed seriously.
"I see..."
Just as the two decided to return, another person appeared on the scene.
"Hokage, I've finally found you..." Said a voice that sounded energetic in the way it spoke, even though it was clearly adult. Naruto and the Hokage looked forward when they saw the person approaching. Naruto clearly recognized and opened his eyes wide in surprise, and his body shook completely.
It can't be... that's... Obito.
Uchiha Obito stood there in front of them. It was the same face Naruto had seen. However, he clearly had the clothes of a Konoha Jounin as well as his bandana. The same black hair, and he even had the same mark on his face. However, he had a sincere, friendly smile on his face as he approached.
He freed Kyuubi on the day I was born. He created Akatsuki. He helped Itachi exterminate the Uchiha clan. And he started the Fourth Ninja War. And he's here, right in front of me.
Naruto felt his body tremble. Out of fear, because he had neither the power nor the ability to face him. And from anger at everything that had happened.
"Obito, how was the mission?" Hiruzen asked calmly.
"No problem, Hokage. Everything went perfectly." Obito said, then turned his gaze to the blond man standing there. The Uchiha's face seemed to light up with a smile. "Naruto, it's been a long time! I didn't expect to find you with the Hokage. How are you?"
Is he treating me... like a friend? What's going on? Has he changed as a person? Hagoromo said that going back in time could change things, but changing people like that... wasn't he responsible for the Kyuubi attack twelve years ago in this version of the world? He's dressed as if he's always been a Konoha ninja. So who did the attack twelve years ago? What about Akatsuki? Is the war really still going to happen? Obito started it, but this Obito doesn't look like the Obito I knew. Is the war still going to happen? What the hell is going on?
"Naruto? Naruto! Hey, are you okay?" Obito had come very close to the blond to find out what had happened. He was completely lost in thought. At that moment he seemed to come back to the real world as he realized that he was standing in front of him.
"I... I'm fine." Naruto replied in a halting voice, trying to remain as calm as he could while his eyes narrowed.
Calm down, Naruto. Enemy or not, don't let on that you know too much. Right now, I'd better go and get some information. He is not my enemy. He is different.
"Are you really all right? You're quieter than usual, Naruto." Obito commented on the boy's unusual attitude.
"I'm fine. I need to do something at the moment." Naruto said as he moved quickly away from the scene, leaving the two of them behind. He needed some time to think about it all and find out more about everything that had happened.
When Naruto had gone, Obito turned to look at the Hokage. He had concern on his face.
"Hokage, what happened to Naruto? He doesn't seem to be himself anymore." Obito asked seriously.
"That's... nothing." Hiruzen spoke, but the Uchiha wasn't going to let it go.
"If something happened to Naruto I need to know!" Obito said angrily to the Hokage. "He's my sensei's son. He... he shouldn't have to suffer in this situation. He... he's a good boy." Obito spoke quickly, calming himself with a sad expression. He could see himself in the boy. They really were alike. And the boy had lost everything. He felt he should try to protect him.
"You really care about the boy, Obito." Hiruzen commented as he lowered his hat. "I care about him too. Sometimes I don't know what's really going on in his head..." He then looked up. "I think you should know, but it would be good not to tell anyone. Naruto will probably get angry anyway..."
Obito merely nodded.
--
What happened to the Uchiha clan in this version of the world? I need to know. I need to see for myself.
Naruto walked quickly to the Uchiha district, passing through the streets of Konoha. He had only been to the place a few times in his life, and that was only to find out clues about Sasuke. He particularly wouldn't have cared at the moment, but what happens in this place is really vital.
As soon as Naruto arrived at the place, he was surprised to see that it was busy. There were people there going about their daily business.
The massacre didn't happen? No, there's something wrong. This place has people, but not as many as you'd expect.
Naruto walked around the district with a certain curiosity. He could see that there were some vendors in their stores. And even some children playing as they ran around the place. It certainly seemed commonplace. But the concentration of people was much smaller.
As he walked along, he came across the Konoha Military Police Department. When Naruto stopped in front of it, he saw that the place was completely abandoned. Almost as if it had been destroyed. He even noticed that there were some bloodstains in the place. And that put his mind on alert.
This place... has been attacked. The ninjas here were killed. The massacre happened all right, but not everyone died? What really happened here?
Naruto was really thinking about it. However, now that he thought about it, he didn't see any Uchiha ninja as he walked around the place, only civilians. This was beginning to boggle his mind until he heard a voice.
"Hey, kid. What are you doing here?" A female voice called out, bringing Naruto out of his thoughts. He turned to see who it was.
When he turned, he saw a girl, who looked to be about his height and the same age as him. She had long black hair that went down her back, and some that stopped in front of her body. She had black eyes that were common to the Uchihas, and quite pretty features on her fair skin. Naruto, however, couldn't help but think that this girl was familiar.
She's pretty...
"Are you talking to me?" He asked and she just sneered.
"Is there another idiot here?" she asked, crossing her arms as she stared at the blonde. Naruto frowned for a moment, but his expression soon softened.
If all Uchiha were like this...
"I've never been here before. Where am I exactly?" Naruto asked, trying not to look like he knew anything. The girl seemed to soften her expression a little.
"This is the Uchiha District." The girl replied, only confirming what Naruto already knew.
"So the people here are from the clan..." Naruto said as he looked around. "Who's the leader of your clan?"
Maybe I was mistaken? It doesn't look like there was a massacre, but this place seems to show it so much...
"That would be my brother, Itachi." The girl replied. "Who are you?"
Itachi? I was expecting to hear the name of Sasuke's father. So why is Itachi the leader? Does that mean that his father passed on the leadership to him, or did his father die? And wait... brother?
"I'm Naruto." The blond replied.
"And your clan?" The girl asked.
"I... don't have one." She seemed to be a little surprised by the answer. The blond could say Uzumaki, but he wasn't one anymore. Not any more. He was an orphan, and should remain one.
Naruto wondered how he should proceed. Things seemed so strange in this world. Then a voice caught his attention.
"Satsuki! I've finally found you." Said a voice that Naruto recognized. He looked up again to see who it was. It was Itachi.
Itachi is here. But not as a member of Akatsuki. He looks like a leaf ninja the way he is. And now he's the current leader...
"Hm? You are Naruto, right?" Itachi looked at the blond, who was a little tense at the situation. He wasn't sure how to react
"You know me..." That was all Naruto said. He shouldn't be so surprised, after all, he was the village Jinchuuriki. Or so everyone thinks.
"Ah, yes. I'm surprised to see you here. My sister didn't bother you much, did she?" He asked with a warm smile.
"Hey!" The Satsuki girl seemed to complain to her brother.
This girl... now I recognize her face. It's Sasuke! But why is he a girl? Have the changes in this world been so sudden that this kind of change has happened?
"Have you lost something in my face?" Satsuki asked with an annoyed frown. Naruto ended up not realizing that he had spent some time staring at the girl's face.
"You... are..." Naruto muttered, but the other two overheard.
"What am I?" she asked. Naruto looked away and tried to pull himself together.
"It's nothing..." Naruto said. "I should probably go. Sorry if I ended up barging in." The blond apologized promptly and was already moving to leave.
"No! You can stay, Naruto!" Itachi answered quickly. "My sister is always annoyed, but anyone can stay here." The older Uchiha glared at his sister, and the girl just looked away in embarrassment.
"I was just passing through. I have other things to do at the moment." Naruto replied, turning to look at the two of them. "And I imagine you two do too. See you later." And he just decided to leave.
Naruto just decided to get out of there as quickly as he could, leaving the Uchihas behind. He still had a lot to think about.
It wasn't long before he was back walking through the streets of Konoha as people gave him the same hateful looks as before. He'd gotten used to it anyway.
As he was walking, standing in front of him was Obito. He was looking at him with a rather sad face.
"Hey, Naruto. Would you like some ramen? My treat." Obito said with a faint smile.
"All right."
--
"The ramen here is still amazing." Naruto commented happily as he ate. Even though the world was different, the ramen stand was still the same as it had always been. And that cheered his spirits.
Naruto and Obito were sitting side by side at Ramem's stall. Night had already fallen. Obito also looked happy as he enjoyed Ramem in place.
"Nothing better for my best customer." Teuchi said with a smile.
"Ah, Ayame. You cook so well and you're beautiful. Please be my wife when I'm older!" Naruto said nonchalantly as he ate his meal quite happily.
This, however, seemed to cause a shock for those listening. Obito seemed to choke and began to slam his fist into his chest repeatedly. Ayame turned completely red, and Teuchi jumped at that.
"W-what are you talking about, Naruto?" Ayame asked as she brought her hands to her face while completely embarrassed.
"You'd make a perfect wife, Ayame." Naruto replied with a smile.
"Eeeehhh?" The girl really didn't know how to react.
"Hey, Naruto! Know that if you want my daughter's hand, you'll have to show yourself to be a great man!" Teuchi said seriously as he crossed his arms.
"Don't worry. When I become the most powerful shinobi I will win your daughter's hand." Naruto said resolutely.
"Eh? Ehh? Ehhhhhhh? Wait, what?" Ayame was becoming increasingly embarrassed.
"Let's wash the dishes, Ayame." Teuchi said, pulling his daughter, who seemed paralyzed by what she had just heard. Naruto just started laughing at the situation.
"I'm glad you're in a better mood." Obito commented from the side.
"Are you trying to cheer me up?" Naruto asked in a corner. "You don't have to. I'm fine."
"After discovering the truth, it's normal to feel down." Obito said empathetically.
"So the Hokage has told you about that..." Naruto let out a sigh at that. "He should keep quiet about it." He then looked at the Uchiha. "This has nothing to do with you, Obito. You don't have to feel obliged to look after me just because I'm your sensei's son."
Kakashi didn't care about me when I was just the village demon. He only cared slightly about me when I became genin and became part of his team. Even after I saved his life on that mission, he still cared more about Sasuke and Sakura, since he trained in genjutsu with her and trained Sasuke to fight in the Chunnim exam. It was only after Sasuke left that he decided to help me with something I asked for. I think in the end, that's what sets him apart from you Obito, and I really appreciate you caring about me, even if it's out of obligation. But I'm too used to loneliness to accept any kind of moral support now.
"Naruto..." Obito said with a sad expression. The blond ended up smiling.
"If you want to help me, I'd like you to protect my sister. Knowing that she's okay is what gives me reason to keep going. And we both know that she's much more important than I am. I'm sure she will be. So I'd like you to look after her, Obito." Naruto said.
In no version of this world could I really be happy. But at least my sister can be happy for both of us. And maybe walk a better path than I did. I have to make sure she follows a better path.
"You're important too, Naruto. You deserve happiness too." Obito said, still sad.
"In this world, for people to be happy, other people have to suffer. It just happened to be me." Naruto commented with a melancholy smile, almost as if he were laughing at his own misfortune. "That's the way it is. But you don't have to worry so much. I'm strong enough to endure this path."
"Naruto..." Obito wasn't sure how to put it. This situation sucked and he wanted to save the blond from it. He couldn't save his father, so at least he'd like to save his son.
"Anyway, Obito. There's something I'd like to know." Naruto said becoming serious again, ignoring his melancholy side.
"What would that be?"
"What happened in the Uchiha clan?" Naruto asked bluntly. Obito was taken aback by this question.
"Why do you want to know?" Obito asked back.
"If I want the world to become a better place, I need to understand how everything works." Naruto answered simply. Obito was thoughtful about this answer, staring at the boy as if trying to decide what he should say. Naruto quickly realized this. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I'll find out some other way or from someone else. I just wanted to know from you beacuse you're Uchiha, and I thought you'd be the best person to tell me about it."
"That... that's something a lot of people know, but few people really try to find out what happened..." Obito commented with a faraway look in his eyes.
"I see..." Naruto commented.
"I was on a mission when it happened. The Hokage had asked me to go on a mission to Kumogakure." Obito commented. "I was away for quite a while when the massacre happened."
So the massacre really happened?
"When I came back, I heard from the civilians that all the Uchihas had been murdered." Obito continued. However, this caught Naruto's attention on the spot.
"All the ninjas?"
"The assassin had a target in mind. He killed everyone who was a Shinobi, and was linked to the Police Force. Everyone who was able to fight ended up dead. Only civilians, children and the elderly remained." Obito said gloomily.
That was different too. Itachi had killed the entire clan to prevent a war in Konoha with Obito's help, but this time the assassin killed only those who were going to start the revolt and be part of that force. The civilians who had nothing to do with it were left alive.
"Do you know who did this?" Naruto asked. Things had changed so much in this world that everything was getting confused in his mind.
"It was the current leader of the clan's best friend. It was Uchiha Shisui, friend of Itachi." Obito replied and Naruto was confused because he didn't know who it was.
"You said that he had killed all the ninjas in your clan. But both you and Itachi are alive." Naruto pointed out.
"Yes. He really must have been planning this for a long time." Obito began to explain. "I don't like to brag, but I have no doubt that I'm the strongest ninja in the Uchiha clan right now. If Shisui had tried to kill me, he wouldn't have stood a chance, and he'd be dead. That's why he planned to kill the others when he was sure I wasn't in the village. When I was far enough away to be able to stop it. And with that, he had his chance to get rid of all the other clan members." This ended up making a lot of sense to Naruto.
"What about Itachi?"
"Itachi tried to stop his friend, but it seems he couldn't. Itachi and Shisui were friends and were almost equal in power. Shisui perhaps didn't kill him because he knew it would be too costly for him. In the end, only the two of us as ninjas of the Uchiha clan were left." Obito finished.
"Do you know why he did it?" Naruto asked.
"Itachi said it was because he hated the clan. He thought they were all too weak and had no right to live." Obito said. "I'm no sot sure, but I'll find out when I meet him myself. At least, before Satsuki goes after him."
"Satsuki... is Itachi's sister, right?
"She has a grudge against Shisui for killing her father. She told me herself that she wanted to take revenge and kill him. The event was too much for the girl." Obito let out a weary sigh.
Some things change, others don't.
"I see. Thank you for telling me, Obito." Naruto said quietly. "And thanks for the meal." He thanked him as he got up to leave. He would have a lot to think about with all this.
"Naruto." Obito called out without turning towards him. "Do you still intend to become Hokage?"
This took the blond by surprise. This had been his big dream for a long time, and things hadn't changed even when he was fighting during the war. Now, feeling like the real Naruto, having knowledge he didn't have, and looking at the world through different eyes, things weren't the same.
"I don't think I'm worthy of being Hokage, Obito." Naruto replied sincerely with a weak smile. "I don't have what it takes. That dream... is no longer for me." Naruto said. "But... I have a much bigger and more important dream than that." He finished and left, leaving Obito behind curious as to what he was referring to.
Yes. I didn't go back in time to become Hokage. I went back in time to bring peace. The peace that Jiraya wanted so badly and couldn't get. The peace that Hagoromo wanted and didn't get either. I need to bring peace. I need to protect those people who are so important to me. It's my purpose.
I don't care if I'm hated or not recognized. It's irrelevant. And even though many people don't deserve such peace, I have to get it.
And for that I have to get strong. Stronger than I've ever been.
Strong enough to defeat Akatsuki. Strong enough to kill Madara. Strong to destroy Kaguya.
Strong to crush fate with my bare hands and make it obey me on my feet.
And I need to do that.