Home: Part II

Naruto sat cross-legged on a sturdy tree branch, her brows furrowed in deep thought. The evening sun dipped low, casting a warm orange hue across the forest. Leaves rustled gently in the breeze, and she absentmindedly twirled a lock of her fiery red hair around her finger, pondering her way back home. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy this strange time travel gig, but the whole "pretending to be my mom" thing was wearing her down. She sighed. 'How the hell do I fix the timeline without screwing everything up?'

Suddenly, a chill crawled up her spine. She stiffened but didn't immediately react. Her senses, honed from years of fighting, screamed that someone was approaching. Keeping her movements casual, she blinked and turned her head ever so slightly to get a glimpse.

'Kumo-nin?' Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and a slow smirk tugged at her lips.

Naruto leapt gracefully from the branch, flipping mid-air before landing on the ground with barely a sound. Her chakra flared subtly beneath her skin as three figures stepped from the shadows. Their black cloaks billowed ominously, and their forehead protectors gleamed with the unmistakable cloud insignia of the Hidden Cloud Village.

"Why are you trying to attack me, dattebane?!" she demanded, her voice breaking the serene silence of the forest.

The Kumo-nin didn't answer, their eyes cold and focused. In unison, they rushed at her, the first one lunging forward with a kunai aimed straight at her throat.

Naruto didn't even flinch. She sidestepped smoothly, grabbed the wrist holding the weapon, and twisted it with just enough force to send the ninja crashing headfirst into a tree. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The second one followed immediately, his chakra sparking as he formed hand seals. "Lightning Style—"

Before he could finish, Naruto's fist connected with his jaw in a perfectly timed uppercut, cutting off his jutsu and sending him flying backward. He slammed into the ground with a grunt, his consciousness fleeing before his body hit the earth.

The third Kumo-nin skidded to a halt, visibly trembling. "W-What the hell...how are you so good?!" he stammered, eyes wide as he glanced between his fallen comrades.

Naruto cocked her head, bored. "I thought Kumo-nin were supposed to be strong. Guess I heard wrong." She sighed exaggeratedly and stretched her arms over her head. "Look, if you're gonna kidnap me, at least do it with some effort. Honestly."

The confused shinobi blinked, clearly thrown off by her nonchalance. "Wait... you 'want' us to kidnap you?"

Naruto's eyes sparkled with amusement. It hit her then—'Ah, right. These idiots must be the ones who kidnapped my mom.' In the original timeline, her mother, Kushina, had been abducted by the Hidden Cloud. It was her father, Minato, who had saved her, kicking off their whole romance.

"Well," Naruto muttered under her breath, smirking, "guess I'll play along."

The remaining Kumo-nin blinked in confusion but took advantage of the situation. "Uhh... fine. You're coming with us."

They grabbed her cautiously, as if expecting her to lash out, but Naruto simply raised her hands in mock surrender. "Take it easy, guys! I'm fragile," she teased, though her grin suggested anything but.

The shinobi, still bewildered, hurriedly led her away, sneaking through a hidden passage deep in the woods. As they traveled, Naruto subtly pulled out strands of her bright red hair, letting them fall behind her like breadcrumbs. 'Minato, you'd better be following.'

After what felt like hours of walking through winding paths and dense foliage, Naruto stifled a yawn. She was getting 'really' bored, and her patience was thinning. Suddenly, one of the Kumo-nin yelped in pain as a small pebble bounced off his head.

The leader whipped around, kunai at the ready. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"

The forest fell eerily silent. Then, a figure appeared—Minato Namikaze, a twelve-year-old prodigy with sun-kissed hair and a steely determination that belied his young age. His eyes, bright as the sky, assessed the situation in an instant. He wasted no time, darting toward the enemy in a flash.

Minato was quick. The first shinobi barely saw him coming before Minato's fist connected with his gut, sending him sprawling to the ground, gasping for air. The second attacker tried to retaliate, but Minato moved like a blur, slipping past his defenses. With a swift kick, he disarmed him, following up with a brutal chop to the neck that knocked him unconscious.

The leader—the last Kumo-nin standing—froze, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. He tried to reach for a weapon, but Minato was already behind him, pressing the cold edge of a kunai against his throat.

"Game over," Minato said softly, his tone ice-cold.

Naruto grinned from where she stood, leaning lazily against a tree trunk. "Nice timing, Minato!" she called out cheerfully.

Minato turned toward her, still catching his breath, his expression wary. "You... you could've fought them off yourself, couldn't you? I mean, you're trained by Jiraiya-sama, right?"

Naruto blinked, caught off guard. "Uh..." 'Crap.' "I... I ran out of chakra?"

Minato raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "Ran out of chakra?" His eyes scanned her with suspicion.

Naruto panicked internally, then plastered on a seductive smile. "I'm really exhausted, Minato-kun~" She sashayed toward him, batting her eyelashes. "Why don't you carry me back to the village? I'd be 'ever' so grateful."

Minato's face turned the colour of a ripe tomato, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "C-Carry you?!"

Naruto inwardly cringed. 'This is so wrong. I'm flirting with my own dad. Gross.' But she kept up the act, throwing herself dramatically to the ground with an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, Minato, I'm so tired~" She gave him her best puppy-dog eyes, almost gagging at how ridiculous she felt.

Minato, flustered beyond belief, took a hesitant step forward. "I, uh... I guess I could..."

But the poor kid never got a chance to finish. His brain short-circuited from the overwhelming awkwardness, and he promptly fainted, collapsing face-first into the dirt.

Naruto stared at his unconscious body. "Are you kidding me right now?" she muttered, rubbing her temples in frustration. "I can't believe this is happening." With a resigned sigh, she hoisted Minato onto her back. "Guess it's up to me to carry 'you'."

The trek back to the village was surprisingly peaceful, considering she was lugging around an unconscious future Hokage. Leaping from tree branch to tree branch, Naruto marveled at how lightweight he was. 'Seriously, Dad? You should eat more.'

As they reached the gates, a group of shinobi started to rush over, concern etched across their faces, but before they could intervene, Jiraiya appeared, strolling casually toward them. His eyes twinkled with mischief as he took in the sight of Naruto carrying Minato.

"Well, well, well," Jiraiya said, crossing his arms. "I hope you're still as pure as ever, Kushina."

Naruto's face turned beet red. "'Pervy Sage!'" she yelled, smacking him over the head so hard his white mane shook.

Jiraiya chuckled as he grabbed Minato off her back, slinging the boy over his shoulder with ease. "Let's get the kid back to his apartment, shall we?"

As they walked, Naruto recounted her ridiculous plan to let the Kumo-nin kidnap her, hoping it would spark the beginning of her parents' love story. Jiraiya, ever the pervert, giggled in his usual lecherous manner.

"Ah, young love," he mused, a lewd grin spreading across his face.

Naruto shot him a glare and promptly smacked him again, this time hard enough to leave a red mark. "Keep your pervy thoughts to yourself!"

Unbeknownst to them, Minato was slowly regaining consciousness. His head felt foggy, but he managed to catch Jiraiya's comment about "young love" and how "Kushina and Minato are made for each other." His face turned a deep shade of crimson as his mind spiraled into awkward thoughts, barely able to stop a nosebleed.

As they reached Minato's apartment, Jiraiya turned to Naruto with a smirk. "Oh, by the way, Kushina. I've cracked the Hiraishin seal."

Naruto froze, her eyes widening. "Wait—'what?!' Are you serious?!"

Jiraiya nodded, his face unusually serious for once. "Yeah, I've figured out a way to send you back to your own world."

Minato, who had been feigning sleep up until now, perked up at this. 'Send her back?' What were they talking about?

Jiraiya leaned closer to Naruto and whispered, "Meet me at the Uzumaki temple tomorrow. We'll discuss it further."

Naruto's heart pounded in her chest. 'This is it. I can finally go home.'

Jiraiya shot her a knowing look, giving Minato one last glance before turning and leading Naruto out of the apartment. She hesitated at the door, looking back at Minato's still form lying on the bed. He looked so young, so… peaceful. She sighed, feeling a strange mix of emotions swirling inside her.

'Maybe this is it, Dad. Maybe I'll get to see you again on my terms.'

As they walked through the village streets, dimly lit by street lamps, Naruto remained lost in thought. Jiraiya, sensing her unease, decided to break the silence.

"Y'know, it's funny," he began, chuckling under his breath. "You being all flirty with Minato like that. Poor kid didn't know what hit him."

Naruto groaned. "Don't remind me. That was way more awkward than I thought it'd be. I'm scarred for life." She shook her head, still cringing at the memory. "I flirted with my own dad, Pervy Sage! You don't just 'walk away' from something like that."

Jiraiya burst into laughter, doubling over. "Hey, at least he's passed out and won't remember most of it. Though that face he made… priceless!" He mimicked Minato's wide-eyed, blushing expression, making Naruto snicker despite herself.

"Okay, fine, it was a little funny. But still, I'm going to need therapy after this."

They continued walking, Jiraiya's amusement slowly fading as they neared the outskirts of the village. His expression grew more serious, his tone shifting with it. "Naruto, when we meet at the Uzumaki temple tomorrow, we need to be careful. Messing with time and space jutsu… it's not something you take lightly. I've cracked the Hiraishin, sure, but getting you back to your world, and your time, without any consequences—that's another challenge entirely."

Naruto stopped, her gaze hardening. "I know the risks. But I can't stay here, Jiraiya. This world… this version of the past—it's not my place. The longer I stay, the more I mess things up. And with Danzo snooping around, I don't trust any of this."

Jiraiya nodded, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Danzo. "You're right to be wary. That snake's always up to something. We have to move fast, before anyone else catches on."

Naruto's stomach twisted in knots. She trusted Jiraiya, but the feeling of something bigger lurking in the shadows never left her.

As they approached the gate, Jiraiya gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Get some rest tonight, kid. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day."

Naruto nodded. "You got it, Pervy Sage." She turned and headed back to the small inn she had been staying in, though sleep was the last thing on her mind.

Û~Û

Meanwhile, back in Minato's apartment, the young shinobi sat up in bed, his blue eyes wide with confusion. He had heard more than he should have, his mind still racing from what Naruto—'Kushina'—and Jiraiya had said.

'Send her back to her own world.' What did they mean by that? Where was she from?

Minato's hands clenched the bedsheets as thoughts swirled. He had always known something was strange about Kushina, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. But this? This was a whole new level of mystery.

'I'm going to that temple too,' Minato declared in his mind, determination setting in. There was no way he was going to let this go. If Jiraiya and Kushina were hiding something this big, he had to find out the truth.

Just then, a slight rustling sound came from outside his window. Minato's eyes flickered toward the curtains. His instincts kicked in immediately. He leapt from the bed, kunai in hand, and flung the curtains aside—only to find nothing but the empty night air.

But something still felt off.

High above, hidden within the treetops, the Inuzuka ROOT operative crouched low, their sharp ears having caught every word spoken in the room below. The spy's eyes gleamed with the sinister satisfaction of a mission well executed.

"Tomorrow," they whispered, their voice barely a breath on the wind, "Danzo-sama wins."

Û~Û

Authors Note

So, a couple of chapters down the line, we're gonna see whether Naruto makes it back to her original timeline or not—stay tuned for that twist!

Now, the burning question—Has Naruto fully adapted to being Kushina? Well, it's a bit of both. She hasn't had too much time to dwell on it, thanks to all the intense training, but she's slowly adjusting to Kushina's physiology during the sessions. You'll see more of that soon.

Oh, and there's a big, weird surprise coming your way in just a few chapters—something you won't expect at all.

As for Danzo… some of you might think what's coming with him is over the top, but trust me, it's all part of a bigger plan. I won't spoil it yet, but you're gonna see how it all ties in.

Got any thoughts? Feel free to share in the review section!

Till next time, folks!