okay, I have absolutely no idea where this story is going to go, but what's important for you to know is that it's mostly a story about healing. and teams. and therapy. and everything else.

so there's not a lot of action, but there's a lot of selfishness.

this story involves time travel.

"So, what do you want this time?" he asks almost mockingly, paying tribute to some unknown sense of perverse pleasure he's developed over the many times he's walked from edge to edge. "Stop Akatsuki's activities? Prevent another clan from being massacred since the previous one was inevitable? Intervene on the front lines, but as a spy, and then also spend my energy doing a henge, pretending to be a nin renegade, helping your shinobi?"

He wants to speak, he wants to cut with words, even though he has already become different. The change had taken place: he was an adult. Yet his nature still remained stubbornly the same... at some moments he swore to himself that change was the best thing. At some moments he prayed that the sentimental echoes of the past would be erased from his face.

"No, this is... a different kind of mission," Hiruzen squinted. There was a look of weariness in his eyes, though it had to be admitted, for the chaos that was Konoha, he was still holding up well.

Naruto - both of them - he was pretty decent with Naruto too, restraining both from too radical ideas and jokes.

The first time Naruto found himself in the past, he couldn't even think of being in this position. He didn't have a properly formed plan, as usual, and willy-nilly, his fire in his heart had become sensible enough to trust the Third Hokage. Kurama had helped, too.

He now went by the name "Kazuhiro". Just a name. No indication of clan affiliation, please Kami-sama.

He found himself in a rather convenient timeline: yes, the Uchiha clan had already been cut out, and Obito had already been "corrupted", but Naruto had managed to eliminate a lot of renegades. In a way he had never been able to do before time travel - quickly and efficiently, without too much fuss.

"You've done a lot," distracting himself from the previous topic with the mission, Hiruzen muttered, bringing him to what he wanted. "Still remember those times when you..."

"Get to the point," Naruto muttered through gritted teeth, hoping to hear the truth.

"Tell me honestly, the world isn't in danger now, is it?"

Hearing that question, Naruto's insides clenched in terror. He was actually prepared for this conversation, moreover, he had been waiting for this conversation for a long time now, but he couldn't predict exactly when it would happen. In fact, he was more afraid than trying to shorten his painful wait, watching even Kurama unable to predict the course of events.

Taking out Obito, Zetsu and all the others, getting Danzo out of the way, feeling his blood burn with rage, even with all the mess he'd cleaned up on his own over the years... he always remembered that at some point his work would end.

Someday, Hiruzen will see no more use for him. Someday the renegades will no longer have the power, the purpose for which they were united: then peace will come.

But he won't be in this world - he doesn't need it.

They already have their own Naruto, they already have their own generation, not sent from the future, and Kazuhiro is frankly superfluous here.

"Yes, however some problems remain, but..."

"But overall it's okay?" he asked, and Kazuhiro felt his jaws clench painfully.

"Yes," he exhaled. "The world is no longer in danger. No more than usual - no one's canceled the embittered nin renegades yet - but none of them have any world-threatening ideas. The kids should all grow up normal too..." and then after a moment's thought, he added, "Sort of."

The Third Hokage nodded in satisfaction, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze. The Third Hokage nodded contentedly, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze that made him uncomfortable.

"I hereby remove you from your position as Konoha's special spy."

A pause was applied for empty effect. It, of course, had little effect on Kazuhiro. Rather, it made him close his eyes, resigned. No screaming, no nothing.

He's not needed here. It's true.

The world couldn't stand two Naruto's. Especially as he was now.

He occasionally looked around the streets of Konoha late at night, hiding and not giving away his presence to late passersby and shinobi returning from missions. Hoping to find familiar faces and greedily soaking up what was the past to him, though now it was it - the present of the present. He had much to be grateful for.

"Kazuhiro, you are appointed as a full-fledged jonin of Konoha."

And then the ground fell away from under his feet.

"In what... What do you mean? - Stunned, he asked, looking at..."

The sheet protector held out to him, brand new, polished with care.

Saindame looked at him boldly, as if to give him the very will of the fire that was everywhere here.

It was brave, it was trust itself, after all, it was an acknowledgement that Kazuhiro belonged to this time, and that he was stepping out of Konoha's shadow as its shinobi.

Swallowing, Kazuhiro took hold of the hitai-ate with a trembling hand, as if he couldn't believe he had gotten this opportunity.

He had once stood here as well. Once upon a time, he'd been executing their plan with Hiruzen, discussing their next moves, trying to appease Kurama, with whom they'd unexpectedly sung together in a moral compass. Sometimes the biju jokingly incited him to do more, but at the same time, he also made sure Naruto didn't stray too far off course. Something in him, in themselves, had changed. And it was so expected, so they didn't think too much about it.

And bringing his hand over the bandage, he tried not to yank it away.

"Is it really mine?" he whispers in disbelief.

"Yes."

And something in Hiruzen's gaze, so... firm and confident, makes Kazuhiro believe it to be true. As if he, having not gone through the failed war with him, having seen the horror that he has not, is desperately trying to understand him, along with giving him a chance to rise.

They both know that the Third Hokage's guilt is boundless to the point of horror. That once wronged, even with all his wisdom, he would be too soft to confront the horror. It's not foolishness, no. Nor is it weakness.

It was the weariness of his era still past, and the dawn was an impenetrable fog.

Kazuhiro quickly takes the hitai-ate, placing it on his forehead and smiling excitedly at Hiruzen, trying to hide his true excitement. However, he didn't succeed at all in doing so. Not that he was upset.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," he whispered, still unable to fully comprehend what was happening.

"Just Hiruzen," the smiling man replied to him.

Still in blissful disbelief, Kazuhiro allowed himself to let it all go for a second, thinking about what existed right now. Of course he still has more questions. Of course he knows that despite the missing global threat, there's still a lot of work to be done: dealing with the rest of the villages to strengthen the bond and allowing the world to truly be at peace, erecting a good time to live.

"About the details," his Hokage - come to think of it, now actually his Hokage - begins to speak again. "I will introduce you to Shikaku-san, and he will in turn escort you to the jonin station. Missions and everything else will be in the most routine order. I'm sorry, but I won't be getting you Madara for fun," the dry joke is met with a cheerful look and a merry giggle: as if Kazuhiro would trade the offer of a peaceful life for another 4MVSH - no way in hell!

"Alright," Kazuhiro nodded. "Anyway, nothing should happen in the next decade. However... there's something that interests me."

"What is it?" Hiruzen emitted puffs of smoke from his pipe, looking at him thoughtfully.

Under that gaze, Kazuhiro wants to squeeze out his entire soul to let Sarutobi see the full horror of his thoughts.

Sometimes he comes to a realization. To understand why Kakashi obeyed orders so unquestioningly: it's easy, it makes you believe that past sins will be absolved with every better step taken in the name of good.

Sometimes he came to understand. In the future, he understood Sasuke better, obsessed with one idea, not looking far into the future, because even though he had chosen a goal for himself, he couldn't imagine what would happen after it was accomplished.

Sometimes he comes to understand. Sakura, the gentle Sakura who had been his friend, now living in the academy and tormented by the torment of her soul: who would make fun of a childhood crush when it was so beautiful and powerful? Kazuhiro through the years clearly realized the fact that she was wiser than all of them, having outlasted their development for many years to come, it was just... no one paid attention to it. Not even she herself.

Kazuhiro squints now, clearing his throat. He doesn't want to think about what was and what will be, but he cares about the past and the future: that's what he's been fighting for all this time.

But some stupid part of him wants to let go of control and let things go, letting it command him.

"Should we tell the others?"

"What exactly?"

Oh, he would have so much to share with everyone else. Kazuhiro remembered the look of distress in Sasuke's eyes as he watched him. It was right after Itachi had died. He hadn't even needed to put any effort into it, as his illness had progressed to a point of stupefaction quickly. Even faster than his timeline. In fact, Itachi had begged for death. And Kazuhiro had made his death a loud, showy one, taking the bounty on his head.

For two more nights, they didn't speak to the Hokage because they were grieving for someone whose merit had never been recognized. Whose efforts and suffering were ultimately in vain.

Sasuke was depressed.

Kazuhiro had to restrain himself from walking over to comfort him. But with some thought, he hoped that it would bring some sense to Sasuke.

And that was only a small part of the hidden.

Smoke comes out of the pipe, and Hiruzen already knows the answer to the question he asked Kazuhiro.

"The Uchiha massacre, the fact that Obito was alive and destroyed as an enemy, about Madara... should we...?" no, there is no fear in his voice, yet Kazuhiro is afraid: this is true torture. "Should we bring the truth to them so that this will never happen again?"

Kazuhiro had expected many things: for Shaindame to start making arguments as to why it shouldn't be done, or to sigh, saying that in order to correct mistakes, the information had to be told, but not to everyone, only to those people indirectly or directly involved in the cases.

Now, in the Hokage's office, late at night, when Kazuhiro has returned with the news that Madara and Zetsu have been completely defeated along with the rest of Akatsuki, he is struck by the philosophy of life, and there is nothing he can do about it.

"What do you think?"

And it's knocking the air out of your lungs.

He grudgingly, almost with a sarcastic evil grin, looks at his already Hokage, thinking about being trapped. Tilting his head to the side, Kazuhiro replies "I think it's too much trouble to tell you anything. Just as my presence and especially my 'special purpose' should remain a secret, some details should not be known," he whispers defeatedly, trying not to look out the large windows behind Hiruzen's back. The view of Konoha is too strong there. It's sobering. It's irritating. It's wistful.

"I understand," they say back to him, and Kazuhiro is amazed for the umpteenth time. "That's why I need you to get involved in Konoha's life. This is why I need you to live: it will make it easier not to go mad from the burden of secrecy."

"Easier?" Kazuhiro thought dazedly. "Easier! After everything that happened, he should be abandoned and left behind by everyone he's ever known, and now he's being thrown to them in order to make it "easier?"

However, he was glad. A large part of him was glad about it. Just as he had considered it an honor to have a chitai-ate leaf in his possession without thinking of the consequences to himself before doing so. It's hard, but he needs to move on. And if he's allowed to - he'll grab that opportunity with all hands and teeth if he has to.

"I know what you're thinking," mockingly chuckles Hiruzen "However, trust me, trust me, and you'll be part of the Leaf again," an incredulous Kazuhiro glares at him "For real now.

Rolling tiredly from foot to foot, Kazuhiro grinned in a Hokage-like manner.

"Using you, even though you wanted it," he added, looking at the way Kazuhiro's eyebrow rose skeptically at the first words. "Yes, I did use you," he nodded to his thoughts. "We kept the world as you would have wanted it to be. And now I... and not just me... the whole world must repay you."

"Bullshit," Kazuhiro looked at him menacingly, snorting. "The world owes me nothing."

"Suit yourself," the Hokage agreed without further question.

"What am I supposed to do?" asked Kazuhiro after a short pause. He asked pitifully, trying not to show his weakness. But he wasn't very good at it.

"To live," Hiruzen replied simply.

And before Kazuhiro could think about the fact that he should have committed suicide after eliminating Madara, a knock on the door was heard.

"Come in," Hiruzen said.

"Maa, called, Hokage-sama?" asked Shikaku in a deceptively sleepy, yet not deceptively disgruntled voice.

Come to think of it, all Nara were like that. Shikaku was no exception. It didn't mean that they were unprepared in emergency situations, it didn't mean that they weren't capable of acting quickly and clearly, on the contrary, one wouldn't find brain reactions faster than Nara's and one definitely couldn't question their determination.

He goes into the office, looking and analyzing in passing: it's business as usual.

He was pulled out by one of the ANBU late at night, saying he needed to go to the Hokage's office. Shikaku arrived quickly, envying Kakashi's ability to not have enough of a conscience to be quietly late. He, unfortunately, couldn't do that.

Turning around, Kazuhiro smiles awkwardly at him, waving, and Shaindame nods in greeting.

"Shikaku-san, it's good to see you," meeting Nara's mute question in his eyes about who was next to him, the Hokage said.

"Uh, hello Nara-sama," Kazuhiro greeted him, making a slight bow.

The first thing Shikaku noticed about him was respect. The second thing that caught his eye was the immense fatigue, as if this man had been working continuously for years.

Having deduced from the hitai-ata on his head, and who he himself was, it came out of him on an all-too-sleepy head:

"And what did you tell my new jonin about me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, grudgingly, thinking about the fact that he wasn't used to such respect and strange combination of emotions on his face. Moreover, he'd have to get to know this man initially, scouring for information about him, because he hadn't seen him before, at least not from the List shinobi. "Because if you made me a reliable, responsible and not lazy commander, then I will be forced to directly fail in my duties."

When he said that, Shikaku definitely didn't expect this new shinobi to chuckle. Moreover, he hadn't expected the Hokage to let a few chuckles go along with it.

Thankfully, they quickly calmed down.

"Shikaku, this is your new jonin, as you guessed," he pointed the pipe at the man named. "Uzumaki Kazuhiro, my foreign policy closer and spy for like five years now."

And Shikaku felt his eye twitch. Problematic.

"Kazuhiro, this is, as you realized, the Nara Shikaku I told you about. He will be your commander from this day forward."

And Kazuhiro himself started thinking "what the fuck is this" for a second before he picked himself up.

"I'd be happy to work with you," Kazuhiro retorted solemnly.

And Shikaku, Kami-sama, Shikaku looked at him for the first time, really looked at him. He had evaluated Kazuhiro initially the way he was used to evaluating enemy shinobi - it's behavior pattern, it's strengths and weaknesses, it's feelings or lack thereof.

But now, after the confidence and something to the oddly guilty tone in the Hokage's voice as he spoke his newly minted jonin's name, Shikaku allowed himself a good look at Kazuhiro.

A young man, probably no older than thirty. His eyes would have given Shikaku much more than that. Those odd-looking eyes, a dirty shade of gray. Maybe they used to be blue. Long hair gathered into a scarlet-colored ponytail - no doubt about it: Uzumaki's signature shade. Shikaku's keen gaze caught the bags under his eyes, at the sight of which fatigue screamed at him.

All of his clothes screamed authenticity, from the voluminous earrings to the traditional garb. And something told Shikaku that he couldn't make him wear a green vest and a jounin uniform. Moreover, Shikaku couldn't see him in that uniform, he could only imagine it, sketch it in his head, but it looked so ridiculous to him that he simply dismissed it.

"Try not to kill me before my time," he chuckled dryly.

And seeing a grim nod in response, with eyes full of mirth, Shikaku immediately thought that this man would fit right in.

And that he was an Uzumaki, that they had another Uzumaki. The fact that he would have a new headache, and the fact that a shinobi of Kazuhiro's description had recently appeared in the Bingo Book, and that it was all extremely strange, Shikaku would think later.

"Dismissed, let us not further delay your precious hours of sleep," the Hokage told them, and bowing, Shikaku said to the departing Kazuhiro:

"You'll come here tomorrow. Ten o'clock. I'll introduce you to the others and we'll figure out the rest. Basic aptitude test, so try to get some sleep. Also, try to keep your composure. Some of us... are going to be too pushy."

And then, met with Kazuhiro's non-sabbatical agreement, Shikaku sighed tiredly, turning to face the Hokage as the door closed behind the newly minted jonin.

"You could have summoned me in the morning. I don't have to take him to the station until morning or afternoon anyway," he said simply for no purpose.

And Hiruzen's mockingly sparkling eyes let him know that it was too early for Shikaku to relax.