Chapter 10

When I went back in time to fix things, I figured I would go all avenger-style and take down the Akatsuki with my all mighty Rinnegan. Nope! Instead I am stuck here plowing someone's garden.

I grumble to myself for the umpteenth time as I plant another flower. Kakashi knows that we need to take down the Akatsuki, so why are we doing this?!

I look at him and finally decide to voice my thoughts. "Kakashi! Why are we doing this when we could be training?"

Naruto nods vehemently, screaming "Yeah!" Some random person yells back to stay quiet and Naruto blushes in embarrassment.

Kakashi looks up at us from behind his book. He ignores Naruto, looking straight at me. "We are doing this because we need money. Besides, if we want to take on C-ranked missions, we need at least 10 D-ranked missions completed. We have 9, so this is the last one."

I grunt, then get back to work. He did have a point. Even if we have a world to save, we need money to live and access to higher missions. Especially with the Wave mission coming. Wait, when is that?

My eyebrows furrow as I think on this. When was the Wave mission? It was some time after we became genin, and annoyingly after we had done plenty of D-ranks. So it must've been after a couple months.

But in this timeline, we have only done 9. I would opt to wait, but we also have done a lot more training. Naruto was getting the basic wind manipulation down and Sakura could convert her chakra into healing chakra. All in all, we could be at the same point in time.

My mind wanders to the mission itself. That mission was our first taste of the real ninja world and all the danger in it. Me and Naruto built our camaraderie on that mission, along with my sharingan reactivating. It was incredibly important to us.

But… how useful would it be here? Me and Naruto already have begun a friendship, and I already have my sharingan. I can't see a benefit to this.

"Sasuke." I blink, then turn around. Kakashi was looking at me with a seemingly indifferent look, but his furrowed brow told me different. He subtly gestures for me to come over, nothing but his hand betraying his calm demeanour.

I get up and walk over, wondering what Kakashi wanted. Kakashi eyes smiles as he sees Naruto and Sakura look at them curiously. "Me and Sasuke need to chat for a bit. No, he isn't in trouble. You two just keep going, alright?"

Sakura nods and keeps working, but Naruto looks determined to find out what was happening. I just frown and say "Naruto, no need for it. Just stay here."

Naruto looks at me, then sighs. He nods and turns around. Kakashi eyes me for a bit, then turns and walks to the side of our client's house. I follow him without question.

Kakashi gets in front of the house, then launches himself onto a roof. I follow without a second thought, landing next to Kakashi. Kakashi turns to me and says "What is it?"

I raise an eyebrow, confused. Kakashi sees this and says "What were you just thinking of? I can tell it was important."

My mind drifts back to what I could've thought of that was- oh, that, the Wave mission. I shake my head and say "It's nothing." The Wave mission had no benefit to us now, so I had no need to damnit he has that look again.

Kakashi sets a firm gaze onto me, one that I knew all too well. Kakashi would get his information or I'd end up in the river with an incredibly sore ass…. Don't question it.

I sigh, knowing I had no way out of this. "Alright. I was thinking of our next big event, the Wave mission."

Kakashi nods, recognizing it from the story I told him and Hiruzen. "So, why were you thinking so hard on it Sasuke?"

I frown, then say "I see no benefit in it anymore. Me and Naruto are friends now and I have my sharingan, so nothing really matters anymore."

Kakashi looks at me, and I instantly get this feeling. It is a special feeling only teacher and student can share. It was that feeling of oh shit I just screwed up didn't I?

Kakashi shakes his head and says "Sasuke, I expected more from you. Can you really think of no other benefits?"

I look down in thought. What other benefits are there? We had everything that is important. What else is there besides comrades and the sharingan?

Kakashi sighs, then says "Nothing?" I nod. "How about experience, or an eye opener? They are just kids Sasuke, and they still think this is a game."

My eyes widen immensely when he says that. I… didn't think of that. Experience is extremely important, especially the first mission. Kami, I'm such an idiot!

I nod my head, still berating myself for such a dumb mistake. Kakashi eye smiles, then says "Good. Now that we have that out of the way, let's go continue the garden." I groan loudly, inciting some laughter from Kakashi. I follow him back, not willing to complain.

It took a while, but we eventually finished up for the day. Sakura waved us goodbye and ran to a training field. She seemed eager to continue her training. I don't blame her, healing is a fun talent.

Naruto sticks with me and Kakashi as we move to our own training ground. Kakashi said it was time to begin jinchuriki training. Surprisingly enough, Kurama seemed eager to do this. I have no clue why, the fox wouldn't elaborate.

I look up at the sky, thinking about this whole thing, hands stuffed into my pockets. This training would help me begin to tap into Kurama's chakra myself. I doubt I could get up to that golden cloak Naruto had in the war, but I feel like I could at least replicate the bijuu bomb and that bubbly orange cloak he used on me in… Final Valley.

Amazing how one memory can instantly break someone's mood. I was not fond of my fights with Naruto in Final Valley. The first one was of my complete idiocy of not turning back, and the last one was my attempt to remove any bonds so I can rule shinobi with no burdens. The second one…

I shudder every time I remember that time. Completely ruled by Itachi's death and my own idiotic ideals, I was at my worst in that time. I had completely lost it, and I had taken it out on Naruto and Sakura. I was even foolish enough to think I could take on Kakashi.

I shake my head, banishing the bad thoughts. That was in the past, I need to focus on the task at hand. And since we are now arriving at the training ground, I assume that is the training.

Me and Naruto go to the center of the field while Kakashi says "Alright you two, it's time to harness the Kyuubi's power. Don't worry about it going wild, we have ANBU here to restrain you if that happens."

I nod, then turn to Naruto. He seemed a little frightened, but also determined. I smile, then close my eyes. When they reopen, they are bright red with the sharingan's power. "Don't close your eyes Naruto."

Naruto nods, keeping his eyes firmly placed on my own. I channel my chakra into my eyes, weaving it into a way that couldn't be described with words. I can feel the tomoe spin, and then, the world goes black.

I open my eyes again and notice I am in a very strange place. It was like a factory basement with pipes running across the ceiling. Multiple corridors were around me, but there was a massive space behind me. I pick myself up, then realize that I was in at least a foot of water. I pick myself up fully, then look around again.

I hear a groan, then turn to my right. I see Naruto picking himself out of the water. He rubs his head, cracking an eye open. He looks at the walls with confusion, then turns around. His eyes go wide and he steps back as he notices the vast darkness.

I turn to the darkness, saying "Naruto, this is your mindscape. We will find the Kyuubi here." Naruto gulps, then nods. We begin moving forwards into the darkness.

Even with my sharingan the area around me was just a large mist of black. We had some sort of light following us, keeping the area around us illuminated at a set distance. After a bit, we fell upon a set of massive bars.

I knew what this was and stopped. Naruto looks at me, but I just gesture for him to continue. Naruto nods, then looks at the bars again. He inches forwards slowly, seeming to measure each step.

A blast of hot air hits us from the bars, making my hair flap wildly. Naruto freezes in his tracks as a massive set of red eyes suddenly appear above him. The being inches closer, and Naruto looks at the being in awe. It was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Kurama, in all his glory.

Kurama smirks at Naruto and says "So, my jailer has finally returned. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Naruto looks at Kurama in confusion. "Returned?" He looks at me, but I just shrug.

Kurama seems to finally take note of me and growls. But… something felt off. It lacked the hatred and menace that I used to feel from the fox. What's going on?

Kurama blows out more hot air, glaring at me. "What is the Uchiha doing here?"

I bow politely to the fox, saying "I only helped bring Naruto here Kyuubi-sama. I will not interfere."

This just incites a snort from the fox. He narrows his eyes, intensifying the glare. "As if I would trust an Uchiha. You'd best be telling the truth, our I will crush your tiny mortal body with my claws." I just nod, accepting the terms.

Kurama turns to Naruto again, grinning wickedly. "Now, what does the fourth's brat have to say about me?"

Once again Naruto seemed confused, but he shrugs it off. He straightens up and says "I've come to control your power Kyuubi. I need to so I can protect my nindo and my friends!"

Kurama looks at Naruto for a second, then tilts his head back and lets out a thunderous laugh. Naruto stumbles a bit, the laugh shaking the mindscape. I myself am unaffected. Kurama looks at Naruto again and says "My power is not something that can simply be controlled by your will alone. I must allow you to use it, and you must be respectful with it. Nothing short of mutual respect will allow you to use this power."

The massive fox lays down on the hard floor, looking at us with half-closed, but amused, eyes. "Begone my jailer, and let us see how much you can handle for now."

A sudden force hits us both. Naruto screams as he is sent flying away, disappearing from the mindscape. I try to fight the force, but it suddenly increases tenfold. Right as my feet leave the ground, I notice Kurama looking at me with a smirk. Then, things go black once more.

My and Naruto groan as we pick ourselves up. Getting launched out of a mindscape is never a fun experience, less so for me since I was in Naruto's and not my own.

We both stand up, Naruto looking around in confusion. I notice that my sharingan was still active, shown by the chakra flowing everywhere. I decide to keep it on for now. This body isn't as used to it as my old one was.

I look at Naruto, then frown. There was some sort of orange tint in his chakra, spreading higher and higher. What in the world is that?

"Simple, Uchiha. My counterpart is spreading his chakra through Naruto's system to see how much he can handle."

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. There was something wrong with that. "Doesn't the seal prevent that?"

I can feel Kurama nod his head in agreement. "It prevents my chakra from flowing, yes, but it does not stop all of it. I never bothered to do it because Naruto was too stubborn to be controlled, but I could get up to a single tail out without his emotions going wild."

It was at this point that I notice Naruto beginning to change. His whisker marks were thickening, and his pupils were becoming slitted. From what I remember, his teeth should be sharpening too. His hair had become even more wild than before.

Naruto grabs his head, gritting his teeth. "Agh, what's going on? I feel weird." He groans a bit as his fingernails sharpen like claws.

I notice some more of Kurama's chakra seeping into Naruto's system, and I say "The Kyuubi is putting his chakra into your system. I believe he wants to test how much you can handle."

Naruto looks at me, then nods. "If this is the training, then fine. I won't let that damn fox control me!"

Naruto grunts, then straightens up. I can tell he was having a difficult time controlling what was flowing into his body. He was sweating and his hands were clenched tightly.

"Now, it is your turn Sasuke." My eyes widen in surprise, and then a sudden pain hits my stomach. I yell out and clutch my stomach tightly. This felt like acid!

I can feel the acidic chakra flow through my body, spreading the pain. My arms straighten out, no longer able to bend with the corrosive chakra flowing through them. I grit my teeth and stand straight, trying to handle the pain.

I can feel the changes begin to happen as well. My fingernails sharpening, my teeth growing and becoming fangs, and oddly enough, the whisker marks thickening. I was having the same results as Naruto.

Then, multiple things happen at once. An explosion of chakra erupt from me and Naruto, bubbly chakra flowing around us. We scream, the chakra burning into our exposed skin and scorching our clothes.

I hear Kakashi call for us, but I heard nothing from the roar of chakra in my ears. I crack an eye open, and all I see is red. Another spike of pain hits me, making me yell again. This damn chakra was burning my skin off! Damn it Kurama, stop it!

Something must've happened with me and Naruto, because I suddenly see branches flying at me. They wrap around my body, and I struggle to get them off. Is this an attack? Where's Naruto?! Is he safe?!

Suddenly, I can feel the chakra leaving my body. For some reason, this left me… really… tired. I can feel my consciousness slipping away.

"Maybe it was too soon for you." Kurama slinks away, and the world goes black once again.