Chapter XI

Team 7 Arc II

To put it frankly, Rin Nohara had begun to harbour a real and genuine fondness for Naruto Uzumaki. Over the course of the last three days of training with Team 7, Naruto consistently demonstrated patience and understanding towards all three chunin members of Team 7. However, Obito seemed more preoccupied with the Uzumaki Clan than giving Naruto himself the attention he deserved as Team 7's stand-in instructor, much to the irritation of Kushina and, if Rin's observations were correct, Naruto himself. While Rin found clans to be intriguing herself as she was from a civilian family, she also couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed by Obito's fixation and obsession over the matter. Additionally, Rin felt that Kakashi was behaving foolishly. Minato-sensei had unequivocally stated that Naruto wasn't a spy, making Kakashi's thinly veiled hostility unnecessary from Rin's point of view.

Rin snapped out of her reverie as she witnessed Obito being hurled away following a brief clash with Naruto. It was evident from Naruto's extended right leg what had transpired. Swiftly, Rin vaulted through the trees, attempting to intercept Obito's descent towards a nearby tree. Despite her efforts, she couldn't reach him in time. Fortunately, one of Kushina's chains intercepted Obito mid-fall, gently guiding him to rest upon a sturdy branch. Landing beside Obito, Rin anxiously inquired, "Obito, are you alright?"

Obito winced, massaging his sore stomach where Naruto's kick had struck him. "Just a bit banged up. Some healing wouldn't hurt, Rin."

With a nod, Rin brushed her brown locks aside and placed her hands over Obito's abdomen. The green glow of her Mystical Palm technique illuminated the scene as chakra surged through her palms, initiating the healing process. In the distance, the sounds of Kakashi sparring with Naruto provided a semblance of reassurance. However, Rin's relaxation was short-lived as she sensed another presence approaching rapidly.

"Lesson Number... um, what was the last one?" Naruto's clone interjected, materializing beside Rin and Obito, startling them enough to disrupt Rin's healing technique completely. "An adversary will always attempt to disrupt the healing process. Just like this!"

Before Rin or Obito could properly respond, the Naruto-Clone hurled some sand and dust at them making the two chunins to start hacking and coughing. Rin groaned as some of the dust and sand got into her mouth and retched silently to spit them out. Obito spluttered in indignation before he quickly made some hand seals and launched a fireball into the air to get rid of the cloud of dust enveloping them. The fireball had the intended effect of dispersing the cloud of dust and sand, but unfortunately, the gleaming red hair of Naruto was missing, meaning that his clone had gone into hiding to ambush them again. In the distance, Rin saw Kushina nodding, approving of Obito's strategy to disperse the cloud. Rin winced and tried to ignore the small pang in her heart.

Sometimes, Rin felt like it was a cosmic joke that she had even been promoted to Chunin in the last chunin exams. Rin recognized that she was proficient in medical ninjutsu, but that was really it. She had good chakra control and could disrupt genjutsu thrown her way but her taijutsu and the rest of her ninjutsu were painfully mediocre. The only ninjutsu barring her medical techniques and the Academy Three that she even knew was the Shuriken and Kunai Shadow Clone technique. For a chunin she was inadequate, at least, so she believed. Even Obito, who struggled against Kakashi's early promotion more than she ever did had a whole list of fire techniques under his arsenal and like all Uchiha, he practised his shurikenjutsu a lot, making him very proficient in its use. Rin didn't even dare to start comparing herself and her skills with Kakashi's. It would be entirely too depressing.

'Sometimes I think Minato-sensei had something to do with my promotion.' Rin thought glumly as she renewed healing Obito's stomach. She longed for days when someone would approve of her for anything else than her medical techniques. 'I trained hard for my medical ninjutsu. But it's not the only identity that I have!'

Always in the rear, and needing to be saved whenever an enemy got into their rear, Rin was quite understandably fed up. Minato-sensei was a good sensei as well, but he never focused on individual techniques unless he was approached first. It was how Jiraiya had taught Minato and Minato continued the tradition. Minato's teachings were more derived and focused on tactics, team formation, combination jutsu and focused on the war front. Breaking out of her thoughts, she saw Obito launch another fireball at the original Naruto in the distance who was still sparring with Kakashi. Kakashi glanced at the incoming fireball and fell back, trying to make Naruto take the brunt of the attack. The original Naruto crouched low, his hair fluttering in the evening breeze as he then sped towards the incoming fireball. Rin's eyes widened as Naruto cleaved his way through the fireball, landing right next to Obito without a single burnt hair and placed a kunai on his throat.

"That ends this sparring session, ne?" Naruto announced with a happy smile as he observed the frozen Obito who was watching the kunai on his throat with wide eyes. Before Obito could panic, Naruto removed the kunai from his throat and shelved the kunai into his holster. Rin watched as Obito grumbled and Kakashi mumbled insults about Obito's skills under his breath. Kushina strode forward from her position on the sidelines and clapped her hands.

"That was a great session!" Kushina smiled radiantly at Team 7, her smile threatening to blind them all. "Minato will be happy to see your improvements when he comes back!" 'And I'm sure his ridiculous ideas about Naruto can finally be put to rest after that, you know!'

Rin stayed back as Kakashi, Obito and Kushina exited the training grounds slowly. As an idea formed in her head, Rin wasn't sure exactly how to break it to the person she wanted to talk about it. Naruto turned and looked at her, his eyes rising a fraction in askance as he waited for Rin to exit the training grounds alongside her teammates as well. Those deep azure blue eyes reminded Rin so much of Minato-sensei that sometimes Rin couldn't help but wonder if Naruto was related to Minato as well, and not just Kushina. That would certainly be weird from a different perspective. Shaking herself, Rin walked forward slowly and steadily before she shakily raised her head.

"Rin?" Naruto asked, with a hint of worry underneath his words. Rin had been nothing but bubbly for the three days that he had known her properly, so Rin couldn't fault him for being worried about her sudden apparent 'change' in personality. His searching eyes glanced at Rin and at the vanishing figures of the rest of Team 7. Obito was waiting on the edge of the training ground waiting for Rin whilst Kushina and Kakashi were arguing about something or the other. The two always got into some kind of argument.

"Naruto-sensei." Rin acknowledged slowly as she chewed her lower lip, trying to make sure that the next few words came out of her properly. "I was wondering if I could request something."

"Of course. Anything." Naruto nodded earnestly, his hair falling and rising in a rhythmic dance as Naruto nodded. Rin had seen that Naruto liked to preen a bit whenever she and Obito called him 'sensei' on occasion. Kakashi had refused point blank to call Naruto anything else than Mr. Uzumaki and Kushina liked to tease Naruto with both 'Mr. Uzumaki' and 'sensei', making him splutter and blush in a manner that reminded Rin of Minato-sensei. Naruto and Minato-sensei were definitely very similar, even though there seemed to be some distrust on the part of Minato towards Naruto.

"Naruto-sensei. I was wondering if you could train me more. Like – like an apprentice or something." Rin mumbled out, cursing herself internally for the jumbled and garbled manner in which she had extended her request. 'That was horrible! Oh no, what will he say?'

Rin avoided meeting Naruto's gaze, her thoughts consumed by a notion she'd long harboured but hesitated to act upon. The idea of seeking additional training from a Jonin had lingered in her mind's periphery, yet her lack of confidence hindered any bold moves, especially when it came to approaching higher-ups. Among the Jonin she knew personally, only Kushina and Minato came to mind. Occasionally, Jiraiya and Tsunade would grace their training sessions with their presence, offering fleeting interactions and minor praise, but their involvement with the newest Team 7 iteration remained superficial. Kakashi, on the other hand, seemed more connected to the esteemed Sannin due to his late father's close ties with them. Through Obito, Rin had some acquaintance with Mikoto and Fugaku. While Mikoto exuded warmth in their conversations, Rin couldn't shake the feeling of unease around Fugaku, whose icy demeanour left her unsettled. Aware of Mikoto's past camaraderie with Minato-sensei in the old Team 7 under Jiraiya's leadership, Rin was reluctant to potentially strain their relationship by seeking alternative guidance. Considering Minato and Mikoto's former teammate, Dekai, was engaged in a lengthy espionage mission in the Land of Water, he remained an inaccessible option. Thus, Rin found herself in a quandary: she needed a Jonin close enough to confer with Minato about her training, yet distant enough to avoid stirring friction. In her contemplation, Rin had concluded that Naruto fit the bill perfectly.

"Why?" Was the simple question thrown back at her by Naruto. His normal happy-go-lucky mood had visibly melted out as a more serious demeanour rose up in Naruto's expression. His eyes were sharp, looking at Rin and his mouth had set into a line. "I have been teaching you Rin. These past three days, you, Kakashi and Obito have been sparring with me, haven't you all? You three are getting closer to landing a solid hit on me, believe it! Don't give up yet."

Rin shook her head slowly. "No, that's not it! I want to be trained, like an apprentice. Separately."

Naruto took a deep breath and looked at her critically, making Rin feel small for a second. "Then I must ask again, Rin. Why?"

Rin's thoughts raced quicker than Minato-sensei's Flying Raijin technique. She understood that her response held the power to either open doors or slam them shut in her hopes of securing a separate teacher. Steeling herself, Rin glanced over at Obito, who observed her from a distance with evident curiosity. Despite not knowing the specifics of Rin's conversation with Naruto, his supportive gaze bolstered her resolve.

Drawing a breath, Rin turned to face Naruto with determination, prepared to deliver her answer. "Because I'm weak," she declared, her tone devoid of shame. Folding her arms, she locked eyes with Naruto's azure orbs, battling against the tears that threatened to spill at her candid admission. "I'm painfully average at taijutsu and ninjutsu, and my skills in genjutsu are barely passable. Obito can delve into his clan's archives for additional training, which he does. Kakashi is a prodigy. Every time, I find myself trailing behind them. Every single time. I've grown tired of it. I may excel as a medic ninja, but that's where my identity ends for now. I want more. I don't want to watch their backs anymore. I refuse to be the teammate who lags behind while others charge into danger. So please, allow me to be your apprentice."

Naruto's expression shifted, catching Rin off guard. She recognized the signs from her medical training at the Konoha Military Hospital—his eyes clouded with a distant memory. Sensing an opportunity, Rin pressed forward.

"And you," she continued, her voice gaining confidence. "You're the perfect fit for this role. Kushina-sensei is Minato-sensei's girlfriend, creating a conflict of interest if she were to mentor me. The same goes for Mrs Mikoto, with her history as Minato-sensei's former teammate. I don't have connections with other Jonin to make such a request. However, your relationship with Minato-sensei is indirect, through Kushina-sensei, who is your cousin. You can discuss my training with Minato-sensei without causing any tension. Moreover, your strength speaks for itself. I've heard of your victory over Hanzo, believed to be unbeatable. So please, consider taking me on as your apprentice."

"No."

A crushing feeling came over Rin as she heard that dreaded word leave Naruto's mouth. Rin twitched as she looked up to see Naruto clearly for the first time since she had laid out her request. His blue eyes were shining with something that she couldn't place, and his face was stonier than the stone face monument of the Hokages of Konohagakure. Rin's mouth opened slightly as she processed the rejection. Dejection fell over her as her shoulders slumped and her face fell. All she could do was utter out a single "Why?"

Naruto let out a puff of air, as the day got darker and colder. Already the sun was starting to turn deep orange as it set in the west. Its dying light reflected on Naruto's deep ruby hair, making Naruto look majestic, in a way. "You haven't told me, truly, why I should apprentice you Rin. Every single weakness you mentioned can be sorted out by yourself. Go to the library. Read some scrolls, and practice what's written on them. As Chunin, you have clearance for such matters. So think again, and tell me why I should train you?"

Rin slumped, as her voice became weaker. "But, I've already told you."

Naruto's right hand grasped her left shoulder firmly. Rin looked back up as Naruto leaned down, looking at her seriously. "No. It is a facet of your wish, but it is not the true reason why. If you cannot recognize it yourself, Rin, then no one can help you. Search deep down, and tell me."

Rin trembled, as she tried to think. Think of all the reasons she could to request training from Naruto, already famous throughout the lands as the Crimson Sentinel, named as such by Hanzo of the Salamander, whom he had defeated in single combat. Digging deep into her heart, Rin gasped internally. Her late father had always remarked that the truth was more terrifying than any lie. How she wished he was wrong. Her trembling grew fiercer, only put in place by Naruto's firm grasp on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she stilled herself and answered Naruto, in a very small voice.

"I want to be seen," Rin confessed, her hands twitching in agitation. "It's always Kakashi or even Obito. I'm just the medic, just the girl who helps them calm down their disputes. Never anything else. I want to be seen. For more than just that. And, and this war, it drives that point home. So much hatred and hostility emanating from our enemies, which begs nothing more than to be treated with intense animosity, it feels like sometimes, sometimes I don't even have the right to exist fully in this world."

"I just want to be seen. Heard. For more." Rin repeated as she nearly collapsed onto the training ground floor.

Naruto let go of Rin and turned around. Rin looked down at the ground despondently, her bid to get a mentor having seemingly failed. Rin heard Naruto take a series of deep breaths before the redhead started to break out into a series of chuckles. "I thought, of anyone in your team, it would be Obito or Kakashi. But you are just as headstrong and stubborn as the two of them. You just hide it better."

Rin's cheeks flared red in embarrassment at the accurate assessment. Before she could defend herself, Naruto turned back, inclining his head.

"Get up," Naruto ordered solemnly, but with a kind and gentle smile on his face. "Starting right now, you are the apprentice of Naruto Uzumaki. Once you have entered, there's no going back. I won't go easy on you kid. Many days, you will want to run high and low towards the mountains and the ocean to get away from my training. But, if you endure, like a true kunoichi, you will make it through."

Rin's face brightened at the impromptu acceptance that she had just received. She stood up steadily as she nodded fiercely. "No matter what, I won't quit, Naruto-sensei."

Naruto turned around fully and ruffled her brown hair. His wide and toothy smile threatened to blind her completely as she tried to shake off Naruto's ruffling of her hair. "And you are not weak, Rin. No one in this world is weak. Everyone is strong. But at this moment, you are probably the strongest person in the entire world."

"How?"

Naruto grinned with a semblance of melancholy glinting in his eyes. "Because, being honest, not just to others, but even to yourself is the greatest strength anyone can have in this world."

"Why me? Why not Sasuke?" Sakura's reanimated form asked Naruto as it grasped its surroundings, and the two Otsutsuki in the distance, who were playing for time against Naruto. Naruto turned his attention to Sakura, though he kept his guard up, just in case Kinshiki and Momoshiki decided to do something incredibly stupid. The ruins of Kirigakure were in particular a hard sight to observe, especially after Naruto had made that desperate promise to Kagura inside the shared Tailed Beast Mindscape that he would make sure that his beloved village would prosper in the future. Naruto hadn't been able to keep that promise and the fact that the Otsutsuki duo had chosen Kirigakure as their landing spot was just rubbing salt in the wound.

And it was just painful to even look at Sakura. A year after defeating Kaguya, Naruto had come to many realizations. And while it was true that by the Fourth Great Shinobi War's end, he no longer held romantic views for Sakura, a deep thrumming love for Sakura continued to beat in Naruto's chest. Having never really understood romantic love, other than from the lenses of perverts like Kakashi and Jiraiya, Naruto had come to the realization that perhaps he had never loved Sakura in a romantic way. But nevertheless, he did love Sakura. Like she was his own sister. Sasuke his, brother and Kakashi their awkward older brother who was more than a decade older than them and didn't know what to do with them precisely.

"When he died, there was not much left of him to use for the reanimation," Naruto muttered solemnly, flinching at the pain that flashed in those deep green eyes. "Only his Rinnegan which he sealed for me in case I needed it in the future. I can't use that to revive him, obviously. And….in order to defeat Black Zetsu, Kakashi-sensei sacrificed himself into the Kamui dimension forever sealing Zetsu with him, so I can't bring him either. I had wanted to bring us all together, once again, Sakura, but it seems like that it's only the two of us."

"I would have liked to stay dead rather than hear those painful words, Naruto." Sakura admonished Naruto lightly, swatting him gently, in a reminder of good old days, long past, eliciting another pang of regret deep within the confines of Naruto's heart. Naruto turned away, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes as Sakura's expression lightened. "I've….no, in the Purelands, we've heard what's happened Naruto. I'm so sorry that you have to bear this burden, all alone besides Kurama. How is the grumpy old fox anyway?"

"He's grumpy. And sad about the fact that his siblings have all left to the ends of the world to find some long-needed peace." Naruto chuckled as his seal reverberated with Kurama's whining about the fact that he didn't miss his siblings. "But he has missed you too."

Sakura knelt down slightly and tickled Naruto's abdomen, smiling and chuckling slightly as she inclined her head. "I missed you too, Kurama."

Naruto's seal stopped thrumming as pains of sadness came out of it in waves, as Kurama acknowledged the reanimated pink head. Sakura stood up and then turned to Naruto, her sad gaze returning. "I've heard about you reanimating so many people. Spirits have been coming and passing in increasing intensity in the Purelands. That would be your doing right?"

Naruto nodded guiltily. "When I mastered the technique after raiding Orochimaru's old hideout, I couldn't help myself. I found any biological remnant left behind and then used it to reanimate the lost people, just for a few minutes. Just for a few minutes of conversation. It, it helps me stay strong."

"Playing with the dead is wrong Naruto." Sakura admonished him kindly, as she strode forward and stroked Naruto's whiskers. Both teammates didn't look at each other in the eye, as the pain would be too much to bear. "You should let go of the past. Seek a new future. An empty world is basically your sandbox. Do as you will. You have never lacked in creativity and imagination. But let us go. These strings from the afterlife that continue to cling on to you will wear you down until you become a madman."

Naruto chuckled sardonically. His chuckle erupted into full-blown laughter as he clutched his sides. Eyes wide, he stepped forward, clutching his heart. "Do you not see, Sakura? I'm already mad! I'm already mad! How can I not be? When I'm the only one left! The…...only….one…"

Naruto collapsed in a heap onto the ground, momentarily losing his focus on the two distant Otsutsuki as well. But Naruto gathered his wits as Sakura's soft hands let him up slowly. Sakura's gaze was mournful, as she mourned for the bright teammate that she had left behind in the world of mortals. The bright teammate that was now being driven into insanity by the sheer weight of what he was enduring on passively. It was simply crushing to look at Naruto's growing madness, having known him before that.

"Sakura, you always had a solution to my problems." Naruto rasped as he wobbled to his feet. "Please…please tell me how I can turn this around. Please tell me…. how I can save everyone! You, Sasuke, Kakashi, Mom, Dad, Granny Tsunade, Pervy Sage, please…."

Sakura shook her head slightly. She turned and pointed at the two Otsutsuki who had finished recovering and were now racing towards them. Naruto's eyes widened as he stood up to his full height and felt Kurama's bright chakra cloak cover him entirely. He smacked his fists together and then started to walk slowly at the incoming Otsutsuki duo. Sakura allowed a smile to grace her face as he walked next to him and allowed the hundred seals on her forehead to be released as she built up her own chakra as well. Naruto chuckled slightly, as he felt the familiar grace of Sakura's chakra wash over him.

"Let's teach these two a lesson, Sakura. Like old times."

Naruto was not proud of it. But he had sought out Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno. Only a few months into their marriage, they looked like dopey young adults making eyes at each other. After hearing Rin talk about her reasons for seeking Naruto's mentorship out, he was vividly reminded of Sakura. A deep pang expanded inside of his chest as he tried to spy on the parents of one of his best friends with something akin to decency. Naruto was not proud of it, but he couldn't help it. Watching the two Haruno's go on a date had been reassuring to Naruto in a way. His Sakura was lost to the timeline that he had destroyed, but Sakura would still come back. And it wasn't as if his Sakura was gone for good. She was always there, inside him, like everyone else that Naruto had lost in the future. And after all, it had been Sakura who first informed him to seek a way into the past to save everyone. She had practically saved him from descending into madness when she had planted that idea inside his head before she released her reanimation.

"Why are you spying on two Chunins?" Naori asked beside him as she pushed her violet locks of hair softly to the side. As the one assigned to observe Naruto, she had been a little alarmed when Naruto had left the training grounds that evening with soft and teary eyes, but found him to be weirdly observing two adults and by the looks of it, recently married Chunins going on a date. "Do you know them?"

Naruto looked contemplative as if he wanted to give a positive answer, but he shook his head. "No. I don't know them."

"Then why are you following them?" Naori's frown deepened as Naruto chuckled in response. Naruto looked around at the small restaurant that they were in and pulled a chair from one of the empty tables and tapped on it gently.

"Come sit." Naruto invited with a nostalgic smile. "It has been a long time since I visited a restaurant with a friend in tow. Come on."

Naori weighed her options. Formally, an observation mission meant not engaging with the target, but with Naruto's sage mode and his impressive sensor skills, Naori was absolutely sure that Naruto had already known that she had been the one tailing him these past few days on the order of the Third Hokage. Shrugging slightly – nothing with Naruto was ever simple or formal – and accepted the offer, sitting down next to Naruto. Naori had already broken that formality when she had addressed Naruto directly anyway. "You know; I haven't seen you so solemn. It's been weeks, a little over three months since I've known you and you've always been happy-go-lucky or even serious, but never so solemn."

"You were observing me. I think you saw Minato's student sticking behind to ask me to mentor her?" Naruto asked Naori softly as he bit into the small cake he had ordered for himself. Naori nodded. She had observed the entire scene. It had been very touching and was one of the reasons why Naori was willing to cut Naruto some slack for basically tailing some innocent Chunin couple. Maybe he had a good reason. "Rin's speech reminded me of someone. I had a friend once. I thought I loved her romantically, and while she loved me back, she never loved me back romantically. In time I learnt the difference between romantic and platonic love and came to accept her as my sister in everything but blood. But it was too late. Not too soon after, she was killed. The couple I am – was – tailing has a striking resemblance to her parents. I'm just feeling nostalgic and lost in memories today. Sorry if I alarmed you Ms. Naori."

'Ah.' Naori thought sadly as she relaxed against the restaurant table slightly. Naruto's great strength sometimes blinded Naori to the deeply unsettling and deeply disturbing history. 'I suppose that's a valid reason to be tailing two unknowing Chunins.'

Naori broke out of her head and then turned to Naruto. "You know; you shouldn't dwell on your past so much. It's something that I've noticed about you, you know?"

Naruto broke his gaze away from Mebuki and Kizashi as he turned to look at Naori in a startled manner. "What?"

"I grew up during the Second Great Shinobi War. And now, the Third Great Shinobi War is going on." Naori began, as she paused slightly in her explanation. She took the offered tea from the waitress with a gentle smile before turning back to Naruto to continue her explanation. "If there is something that I've learnt, or I suppose, something our generation learned was that it is fine to grieve, to reminisce about your lost ones, but it is never healthy to only dwell on the past or to be stuck in the past. It is dangerous, profoundly so. There was a 20-year gap between the First and Second Wars. Many people had forgotten how devastating wars could be. Many people lost themselves in their grief and forgot the entire meaning of living."

Naruto didn't say anything at first, seemingly struck by the words. His bangs covered his eyes for a second before he let out a small smile. "I suppose you're right, Ms. Naori. I forget how close the Second and Third Wars started. If anyone knows about grief, it is this generation. I'll take your advice."

"Here." Naori gently pushed some notes onto the table, paying for the cake and teas that Naruto had ordered. Naruto's eyes lit up slightly as he saw the bills placed on the table. "You're still a new shinobi. I don't think your purse is so heavy yet to buy such an expensive meal. I'll cover for it today."

Naruto tore his gaze away from the bills and shook his head. "No. I can't do that. You can pay for the tea you ordered, but I'll pay for the rest."

Naori pushed Naruto in a gentle way and shook her head, mirroring the redhead. "No. Now get out before I order an ANBU squad to throw you out. Get a good walk, and sleep soundly."

"Thanks," Naruto muttered softly as he stretched his arms. "Though I suppose I should go to the Uchiha Clan Compound first. Obito left some of his shuriken and kunai in the training grounds. Gotta return them. Your little cousin is a nuisance in the training ground sometimes, Ms. Naori."

Naori inclined her head as she tried to fight off the laughter when she remembered Obito kicking Naruto in the unmentionables during one of their training spars that morning. Naruto's howl of outrage had been a masterpiece to behold. Covering her mouth with her hand to prevent her small chuckle, she simply nodded. Naruto took leave of Naori thinking about the words that she had spoken. At that moment, she had reminded Naruto of Sakura and Hinata a bit. It was weird and heartening in a way. Naruto chuckled to himself at the thought as he leapt from roof to roof towards the Uchiha Clan Compound. Landing softly in front of the entrance, the Uchiha Clan guards simply sighed and let him through. They were more than accustomed to weird accomplices of their clansmen jumping in front of them. To date, the Uchiha clan guardsmen didn't know why one of their cousins, Obito, associated with that weirdo Might Guy.

Softly walking through the clan compound, Naruto began to scratch his head. It had been years since he had entered the Uchiha Clan Compound, and it was evidently larger than he had thought. Turning around he floundered a bit. He knew Obito lived in the northern sector of the clan compound but that really didn't mean jack squat since the northern part of the compound was literally bigger than a normal village avenue. Naruto turned to a small shack on the outskirts and saw a small young girl playing with skipping stones next to the shack. She looked much too old to be still playing skipping stones, but Naruto digressed as he strode up to her in a friendly manner and smiled at her. "Hey, do you know a person named Obito Uchiha? I'm searching for him."

The girl's bouncing brown hair settled down into a mess as she eyed him curiously and nodded. "Of course I know Obito! He lives in house number 23A mister! Why'd you want to see him anyway?"

Dimples formed on the girl's face as she tried to look at him haughtily behind her tall cheekbones, but her squeaky voice threw the image off. Naruto chuckled at the little girl's theatrics and answered her kindly. "I'm looking for Obito to return some things he left behind at the training grounds."

The girl's face brightened. "You're a Shinobi mister? Like Obito?"

"Of course." Naruto pointed at his forehead protector. He smiled and pointed at the forehead protector gleaming on the girl's own forehead and said, "You're one too. A genin?"

The girl shook her head. "Noo. I'm a Jonin."

Naruto eyed the girl before nodding along happily. "Ah, it's nice to meet a superior then! I'm Tokubetsu-Jonin Naruto Uzumaki at your service, Jonin Uchiha."

The girl clapped happily, as she grew seemingly delighted at the fact that Naruto hadn't mocked or teased her for calling herself a Jonin. She preened and said, "I'm Jonin Junko Uchiha, nice to meet you Uzumaki!"

Naruto froze. His blood chilled as he recognized the name. A sudden dread overcame Naruto as he registered the name in his mind. It was a name that was whispered in the records of the First Great Shinobi War. Naruto had read the name many times when he had broken into the Hokage Tower multiple times in the future. A small shiver coursed down his spine as Naruto's eyes visibly narrowed at the little girl. The little girl hadn't been joking about her Jonin status, was she then? Naruto leaned forward, his eyes frostier than the ice caps on the opposite ends of the planet.

With a clipped tone, Naruto voiced his frosty question.

"What is an Akuryo [1] doing here?"

[1] - Evil Spirit/Ghost

Author's Note: Sorry for the long break! My new semester started and I've been loaded with work. But I'm back! Thoughts? Would love to hear some thoughts regarding the chapter! A lot of things going on in this chapter, hope you all noticed them all! For me personally, we got a lot of characterization for Kakashi and Obito in the series, but never Rin, who was more like the plot device and the wallflower girl. I'm going to try and give her some agency here. Plus Naruto definitely sees Sakura and to a smaller extent, Konohamaru inside of her, with her declaration. I hope you all liked the idea that a reanimated Sakura gave Naruto the initial idea to leap through time!

Alright, going to answer some reviews as well: -

Someone mentioned that being suspicious because Naruto has a secret but not a traitor or spy doesn't make sense. It does. It absolutely does. I grew up during the height of the Nepali Civil War and in every village, any newcomer, even if they weren't a member of the enemy faction, was treated with increased suspicion, especially if it was obvious they were hiding something. Us kids were warned about such things a lot by the elders during the war. I grew up with the situation, and I know how it goes. And just in case someone is getting the wrong idea, Minato isn't acting like a jealous boyfriend. He knows that Kushina harbors no romantic feelings and vice versa for Naruto (plus EW!) but is concerned that a familial relation just popping out of nowhere could take advantage of Kushina's want to have a family again. Taken from his perspective, it is a valid concern, especially during wartime.