Chapter 2: Plight
Naruto groaned as he began to register sounds and smells. He couldn't tell where he was or why he was lying face down on what he guessed was the hard, rocky ground. The thick smell of blood reached his sensitive nose, and he groaned again in disgust. The blond shifted to relieve pressure on his arm only to freeze when pain exploded in his side. Kami, what happened?
He blinked open his heavy eyelids, his eyes slowly focusing on dark, moving shadows on the ground which he identified as belonging to humans. He didn't understand how he didn't detect them when they were only several feet away. He turned his head carefully to settle on one cheek.
"He's awake," a voice – a man – whispered.
The sandaled feet in front of him moved closer and Naruto tensed. "Can you understand me?" A female voice reached his ears.
Unable to move away, Naruto merely nodded.
"Good. How do you feel?"
"Like some insane missing-nin ran me over," he replied weakly as bits and pieces of his memory returned.
Someone snorted in the background, "More like ya' got torn apart. Never seen someone so shredded."
"We didn't dare move you until our medic-nin arrived," the woman spoke again, her voice laced with annoyance at the man. "I've managed to stop most of the bleeding, but I don't have the skills to treat your internal and head injuries."
Naruto's head began to pound as he tried to keep up with her words. He whimpered at the intense pain which suddenly engulfed his entire body, and it became difficult to draw air into his lungs. Why was Kyuubi not healing him?
"Hey, stay with me! Don't close your eyes!" The woman called out to him. "Fuck, where is Saki? He's going into shock!"
Seconds later, a warm sensation covered his head and spread down his spine. Naruto sighed in relief as the pressure in his head lessened.
"We're going to put you on your back now," a different female voice warned.
Naruto grit his teeth as his body was turned over, but the warm sensation returned, this time directed to his chest and stomach. He opened his tired eyes again to see a pair of kind eyes before succumbing to blackness.
When Naruto woke again, the first thing he felt was wind against his face. He tightened his arms around whatever he was holding onto and carefully opened his eyes.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. How are you feeling?"
"…Better." Naruto rasped. He realized he was being carried on someone's back as they sped through the forest. "Who…?"
"Ahh, we're Konoha-nin, and I assume you are too from that tattoo on your shoulder and your uniform," the man said amicably. "It's good to see you alive. You were covered in blood, but it's mostly dried now. You had a severe concussion, stab wounds, broken ribs, chakra exhaustion, and internal bleeding."
"Um…," Naruto spoke hesitantly, unsure about his situation. "Where am I?"
"We're between Kusa and Hi no Kuni, headed to Konoha. We'll be there in a few minutes. In the meantime, how about we get to know each other better? I'm Kei, by the way. And you?"
"Naruto," he supplied shortly, uncertain how much information he should disclose.
"Okaaay… tell me about yourself. How did you end up all bloody back there?"
"I fought a missing-nin. I'm pretty sure I won."
A man to his left snorted loudly. "Won? Looked like ya' lost that one, kid."
"Satoru, be nice," a woman to his right reprimanded. "I'm Saki, the medic-nin of this jounin unit. The rude man is Satoru, and the kunoichi at point is Mika. We felt a chakra spike on our return from a mission and decided to investigate."
Feeling more comfortable with the team, he told a bit more about himself. "I had a mission near Kusa to eliminate an enemy nin. He was wicked with a sword, but I know I won the fight." He stated indignantly.
"Alright, alright. Calm down, kid." Satoru snickered. "You're a Hunter-nin right? You seem pretty young; how old are you?"
"Yeah… I'm eighteen. You know, you're not supposed to see my face. Actually, you are the first after the Hokage. Now I have to kill you, no matter how nice you've been," Naruto joked lightheartedly and placed the chipped mask hanging from his waist back on his face, "but I'll let you go this time since you guys saved my life. And saved my mask."
"How kind of you," Satoru said dryly.
"Team, we're home," Mika called from the front. They passed through the gate with little trouble, helped along by the Hunter-nin tattoo which could only be applied by the Hokage. The unit sped over rooftops to the Hokage Tower and arrived at the door to the Hokage's office at Naruto's insistence.
"Enter," a male voice called them in from behind the door. They filed into the office and lined up in front of the Hokage's desk. The man behind the desk eyed them quizzically and opened his mouth to question their presence until he was interrupted by a loud yelp and heavy thud. The Hunter-nin had fallen off Kei's back in shock at seeing the Sandaime sitting behind the desk instead of a drunken Tsunade.
"W-what the hell!" Naruto stuttered from where he collapsed on the floor. Panic and a dreaded hunch grew within him as he stared at the man in shock. "S-Sandaime-Jijii…" Shit, shit, shit. What's going on? What did I do? Ahhh, damage control. That's right, I need to do damage control, now.
"Hokage-sama!" Naruto stumbled to his feet and stood at attention. "I would like to request immediate private audience with you. I have urgent S-class information to deliver as soon as possible!" He continued hastily, this time using Hunter-nin codes for the highest of emergencies. "A red sun has risen from the West. Birds abandon lower nests. Shadows hover above." If his hunch was right, he was in deep shit...
The Sandaime's eyes widened and shoulders tensed visibly. "Team 21, dismissed! Report to mission control, and I will call for you once this issue has been resolved."
Members of Team 21 looked at each other in confusion but obeyed without question. Once the door closed behind them, Sarutobi activated Privacy Seals and directed hard eyes at the stranger standing in front of him. "Report!"
Naruto swayed slightly on his feet before straightening, removing his mask, and delivering a truthful overview of his plight to the man who was supposed to be long dead. "I, Uzumaki Naruto, am a Hunter-nin of Konohagakure. During a solo mission beginning between 12 to 14 hours ago, a jutsu of my own making malfunctioned, causing my being to be transported through time. Team 21 discovered, healed, and carried me here. Though I am uncertain of the current date, I am from the future and loyal to Konohagakure."
Thick silence reigned in the office.
"How can you prove this?"
"Uhh…" Naruto's professional demeanor crumbled as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm not really sure. Can I think on it?"
Sarutobi watched him with narrowed eyes. He sent a light pulse of chakra to connect with Naruto's exposed tattoo, which would respond in kind if it were real. "I remember every ANBU and Hunter-nin I have branded. But I have no recollection of you. My every instinct calls you imposter," the Hokage paused guardedly. "However, your mark of loyalty answered, strong and pure. Unless the secrets of the seal have been compromised, which is unlikely, you are a true Konoha shinobi."
Naruto let out a relieved sigh.
"In no way does this mean you have my trust," Sarutobi said sharply. "You tell a farfetched tale, but I have seen stranger things during the war. You have until you leave this room to prove yourself. Now, provide your identity in detail."
He hesitated. He didn't know what he should disclose and what he should keep to himself in this delicate situation. Gathering his thoughts, he began. "I am Uzumaki Naruto, age 18, orphan, Tokubetsu Jounin in the Infiltration & Reconnaissance division, and Hunter-nin code name Akashiori. I was apprenticed to Ero-senn…er…Jiraiya-sama since the age of 13 and gained Seal Mastery one year ago. Umm, yeah…" he trailed off awkwardly, keeping his heritage and status as the Kyuubi vessel to himself.
Naruto clenched a hand in nervousness. "Old man, can you tell me the date?"
Sarutobi raised his eyebrows at Naruto's rudeness but did as requested. The blond furrowed his brow in concentration before letting out a long, loud groan. "Fuuuck, I've landed twenty-four years in the past, and I don't think I can get back to my time."
The Hokage gazed skeptically upon Naruto's despairing form. "How can you be certain?"
Naruto reached into his pack to pull out a containment scroll from which he unsealed a black scroll. He spread it open on the desk for Sarutobi to see. "This is the seal that I used to transport myself. It was supposed to only turn back a few minutes at most, but during battle, I got carried away and pumped too much chakra into it."
Sarutobi's head snapped up in disbelief. "From what I see here, you would need an impossible amount of chakra to rewind this much time!"
"Uh…I might have forgotten to mention that I'm the container for the Nine-Tailed Fox…"
The Sandaime eyes widened. "Jinchuuriki. Uzumaki. I see… So it continues to the next generation," he murmured bitterly. "That would certainly make this plausible. Uzumaki-san, you mentioned you believe yourself unable to return."
Naruto shrugged casually, trying to hold back his panic. "I never looked into a reversal or fail safe, and since the basis of the seal is to rewrite time, I've technically erased my past, at least for myself." His shoulders drooped lower as he spoke. "I don't know about other people in my time. Maybe they move on with their lives without me, making this like an alternate dimension or parallel universe… You believe me?"
"Not completely. I give you the benefit of the doubt solely for the mark on your arm. Can you prove you are indeed from the future."
The blond shut his eyes, deep in thought. "I can show you Kyuubi's seal, which is still in development in this time. Damn, there's no way to verify future events since they haven't happened. Maybe a blood test to prove my ancestry? I have a contract with the Toads Summons, or I used to. I'm not sure how time travel affects the space-time continuum. Oh, I know what'll convince you!" Naruto smirked. "I know all the places you hide those perverted Icha Icha books, like the hidden compartment in the book "Manual for Toilet Cleaning Best Practices" in the second bookshelf. And I might even have an old draft of volume 7 in my pack."
The Hokage leaned forward in his chair as his eyes glinted dangerously. "Boy, do not mock a kage. Show me!" he demanded.
"Oh? What are you referring to?" Naruto snickered.
Sarutobi grunted in embarrassment. "The seal, of course. The seal."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Okay, here." He lifted his flak jacket and undershirt and carefully pumped chakra into the seal on his stomach but frowned when nothing happened. Naruto's eyes widened when he realized he could barely feel chakra in his body. "Wha…?" He tried again, pushing chakra with more strength, until finally the seal appeared faintly.
"Something's wrong with my coils, old man. Give me a moment to check something." Without waiting for a response, Naruto sank into his mindscape. When he arrived at the demon's cage, his breath hitched in surprise.
'Kurama!' Naruto rushed forward and easily slipped between the bars. 'Kurama, what's wrong with you? What happened?' The fox's red form had grown in size, but he was trembling and gasping shallow breaths. What the boy could see of his body looked stretched and taunt. He was curled up in a tight ball, obviously in extreme pain.
'Kit?' The fox panted. 'What has h-happened out there? I cannot c-concentrate enough t-to look.' Naruto tried to stroke his fur, but snatched his hand away as it burned his skin.
'I pumped too much chakra into the time seal. We've traveled too far back in time – over two decades. Sandaime-Jijii is alive!'
'That explains my condition,' a violent shudder wracked Kyuubi's frame. 'It didn't just r-rewind time; it transported your body through time and p-placed you in the past.'
'Placed me in the past? Then why weren't there two of me when we tested it in the library?'
'I am not certain. My guess is that your body replaces or m-merges with the past's when you reappear.'
'Then…what about now?' Naruto furrowed his brow. 'Why am I alive when there isn't a me to replace?'
'It is possible that since t-there isn't anything to merge with, you remain as your own entity.'
Naruto took a closer look at the dingy cage around them. 'What about you? Why are you like this?' Naruto gestured at his feverish form. 'Is it because there's another you in this time?'
'Most likely.' Kyuubi paused to curl tighter into himself, his chakra spiked before receding. 'I believe this is d-due to the Yin portion of my chakra. Your dratted f-father sealed my Yin chakra within the Shinigami and my Y-yang chakra in you. However, in this time, your mother holds both the Yin and Yang…'
'So that means the Yin chakra in my mom merged into you when we appeared here,' Naruto exclaimed. 'Are you in pain because of my father's seal?'
'P-possibly. His seal was made to hold only m-my Yang chakra. It currently feels as if I am being s-strangled. My b-being is becoming too large to be c-contained within the existing seal. I have tried to keep it at bay, but using your chakra a minute ago has upset the balance.'
'What if I expand the seal?' Naruto asked in panic. 'Would that work? Adding another Four Symbols Seal to make it a Twelve Tringrams Seal. I'll infuse a Three Point Seal for stabilization.'
'The theory is l-logical. Y-you can only t-try.' The fox's breathing became even shallower. 'Hurry! We are running short on time. T-the seal is about to s-shatter, and we will both perish!' A larger chakra spike flared from Kyuubi's body.
'Can I do it in mindscape, or do I need to go back outside?'
'It m-matters not!'
Naruto shoved his hand into his pack for the scroll containing all of his materials on Sealing. Found it! Tossing everything else aside, he threw open the scroll on Spirit Sealing. The Seal Master slammed a kunai into his left hand and dipped his brush into the dripping blood. He mentally materialized a large sheet of paper to duplicate the Four Symbols Seal. Working as rapidly as possible without making a mistake, he hastily covered the surface with a seal made up of three Four Symbol Seals and the triangular Three Point Seal. As a precaution, he added Five-Seal Barriers to the corners and center to prevent physical destruction to the seal itself.
Once completed, he threw aside the brush and slammed his new seal on top of his father's rapidly fraying seal. With a fleeting hope that it wouldn't blow up in their faces, he pumped in all the chakra he could gather, both Kyuubi's and his own. The seal glowed bright red and suddenly a huge red flash and tremors rocked his mindscape.
'Kurama!' He yelled, but his voice could not penetrate the rumbling and creaking of his surroundings.
An ear-splitting roar from the convulsing fox shot through his mindscape and jolted up his spine. Following the jolt, sharp agony pulsed in his head. Through his scrunched eyes, Naruto could barely see the ceiling cracking, crumbling, and reforming. Pipes ripped apart, clanking as they hit the ground. Large chunks of concrete tumbled down onto Naruto as he clutched his head and scrambled to flatten himself against the closest wall. Muddy sewer water splashed onto him as the chunks crashed onto the flooded corridor, only to be absorbed by the ground.
He grit his teeth against the pain and finally understood what was happening; his mindscape was reshaping to accommodate the new seal and chakra. He could vaguely see the walls elongating. The ceiling rose, and with it the metal cage bars lengthened. On the opposite side of the falling concrete, he could make out the cage widening and the fox growing in size, keening as his body stretched painfully.
Kami, his head felt like it was splitting!
Naruto sobbed and lamented the destruction of his mindscape. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to stabilize his mind. He hoped his already-questionable sanity would survive the trauma. He wished for Kurama's well-being. He begged for survival. He just wanted everything to be better, for both him and the Kyuubi who had become his most trusted friend, confidant, advisor, brother, father, colleague, and partner in crime.
After what felt like hours, the quake eased. As pain receded, he opened his eyes, fearing the damage his mindscape was sure to have suffered.
The first thing he noticed was the soft glow. His vision sharpened and Naruto stared in awe. What the…?
The sewer was gone. Disappeared. Transformed.
In its place was grass, rolling hills, trees, a sunset. What previously was sewer water had become a flowing spring with fish swimming in its clear water. He felt gentle wind ruffling his hair and saw clouds floating in the sky.
How had this become his mindscape? Surely he was dreaming. No one had heard of such a thing happening. He remembered the conversations with Yamanaka Inoichi who described most minds as a single colored expanse decorated with doors, usually imitating the color of the individual's chakra, with memories and thoughts flashing by. Pure minds, usually children, had unblemished memories while those of people tainted by evil and insanity had frayed or chipped images, depending on the severity of damage.
How could his scarred mind be a peaceful landscape, with memories and thoughts lightly flowing down the tumbling waterfall?
Kyuubi hummed in relief.
Naruto turned to the bijuu and saw him lying behind tall, white columns of limestone, not really a cage – just a barrier between Kyuubi's space and the passage out of his mindscape. He strolled over to the tired fox, past the columns, and rubbed the side of his muzzle.
'Kurama?' Naruto ventured.
The fox hummed again. 'Yes, Naruto?'
'How do you feel?'
'Tired. Stable. Peaceful.'
The jinchuuriki's lips curved into a gentle smile. 'Look around you.'
Kyuubi cracked open an eye. 'Impressive.'
'Do you know how this happened?'
'You wished, dear friend. You wished for something better, and in the overhaul, your mind was able to grant that wish.'
'Is this permanent?'
'It is, unless you change the seal again or you lose your sanity.'
'Then we have to make sure my mind stays strong.'
'Yes,' Kyuubi replied. 'Now let me rest. My chakra should have finally begun to heal your remaining injuries. I will call when I am recovered.'
'Okay, sleep well.'
Naruto pulled himself out of his mindscape and opened his eyes. He looked around the room – the lounge connected to the Hokage's office – and called out to the man he could see through the doorway. "Sandaime-Jijii."
The old man, who was not so old as Naruto remembered, paused in his paperwork and raised concerned eyes at the boy lying on the sofa.
"Uzumaki-kun, how do you feel?" Sarutobi strolled over.
The boy chuckled wearily. "I've heard that question too many times in the past day. I feel good right now compared to several minutes ago. How long have I been out?"
"You arrived in the office past 9 this morning. It is now nearing midnight."
"Wow." He couldn't think of anything else to say.
"You were convulsing, and your unstable chakra continued to spike all throughout the afternoon. I considered moving you to the hospital but kept you here to avoid an uproar and rumors," the Sandaime explained. "Would you mind telling me what happened?"
Naruto nodded tiredly. "I know that Uzumaki Kushina is the jinchuuriki right now, and you might have guessed that she's my mother. When I popped into this time, the two Kyuubis merged. My Kyuubi took over as dictated by the time seal. He's made up of only Yang chakra but her Kyuubi contains both Yin and Yang. In the merge, the Yin was absorbed into my body with the Yang, overloading the seal on my bijuu's cage."
"And I presume you were able to resolve the problem? I observed the seal changing during the peek of your convulsions."
"Yeah, I've studied a bit of Spirit Sealing since I'm a jinchuuriki so I came up with a way to strengthen the seal and stabilize the rest of the chakra." Naruto grinned smugly. "I gotta say, I'm pretty awesome."
Sarutobi began to chuckle, which gradually broke into a full, outright laugh. "I must agree with you. Uzumaki-kun. I have seen enough to know you are being truthful. I officially reinstate you as a shinobi of Konohagakure, retaining your previous status and rank. Welcome to my Konoha."
The Hunter/jounin's grin grew wider. "Yes, sir! And Jijii, I'm going to keep calling you 'Old Man' so you have to call me Naruto. Just Naruto."
"I shall do so, Naruto," Sarutobi conceded. "Before you retire for the night, we must devise a cover story and find you a place to stay."
"Umm, I think I should change my last name since Uzumaki Kushina is an orphan."
"Correct. What would you suggest?"
"How about Uzuhara, since I'll probably forget if it's too different. And I definitely want to keep my first name; I like it too much. We don't have to lie about me being an orphan. Can I have been placed under a deep cover mission in Kusa, since your team found me around there? I specialize in infiltration & reconnaissance, so that'd make sense right?"
"That is satisfactory for now. I will fabricate the appropriate documents at a later time. Now we must find you accommodation. I think it would be best to place you in the ANBU Headquarters to minimize questioning due to your sudden appearance."
Naruto paused with slight discomfort. "I guess that works." He donned his mask.
"Akashiori, return at some time tomorrow, and we will discuss the details of your duties. Rest well." Sarutobi gave him a kind smile before calling in an escort to take the Hunter-nin to his new home.
"Thanks, old man. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Naruto followed the ANBU escort out of the office.
Naruto flopped onto the comfortable bed in the sparsely decorated room.
The trip to Headquarters located at Konoha outskirts had been awkwardly silent after Naruto's first several questions received one-word responses. Once they arrived, he had been allowed to choose a room from the list of uninhabited ones. He carefully chose a sixth floor window room facing the indoor training facility. The room was just taller than the facility, tactically providing him an alternate exit from Headquarters.
The blond stared at the seal containing Kyuubi and carefully reviewed what had happened.
He had messed up his time jutsu, ended up twenty-four years in the past, doubled Kyuubi's chakra, reinforced the seal, gotten his job back, and acquired a home. He had been incredibly lucky: lucky that he had survived; lucky that it was Konoha-nin that had discovered him; lucky that he had fixed the seal in time; lucky that the Hokage had accepted him; and lucky that he had a warm bed to sleep in. He had never before been so thankful for his awe-inspiring good fortune.
However, it had also been bad fortune to have landed in the past in the first place. This thought threw him into a sudden bout of depression. Naruto knew, though he refused to admit it yet, that there was no way to return to his time. By landing in the past, he had erased his past; his slate had been wiped clean. It was impossible to jump forward in time, only jump back. You can't jump into what hasn't happened.
And since he had been thrown into a world before he was born, he could no longer take the place of this reality's Naruto. There was a possibility of successfully replacing baby Naruto once he was born, but that was years ahead.
Regardless, he was never going to see his precious people again. There would be versions of them within this reality, but they wouldn't be his precious people. It wouldn't be his Iruka-sensei, his Sasuke, his Kakashi-sensei, his Tsunade Ba-baa, his Ero-sennin. They would all belong to baby Naruto, and even if he did replace him, it would never be the same.
Naruto felt tears collect in his eyes. He wanted to curl up and cry, but what good would crying do? It wouldn't improve the situation one bit so he did his best to hold back.
'Just let go, kit.'
Naruto clenched his jaw. "No."
'It may not help to cry, but suppressing will only hurt you. You know that.' Kyuubi's soothing voice rumbled from within. 'Just let go.'
He choked.
'That's it, let it all out. Let out your grief,' the fox coaxed softly. 'There is no need to be strong right now. Your spirit is already strong, so never fear vulnerability behind closed doors. Just cleanse yourself of your anguish.'
Naruto couldn't hold back any longer. Tears flowed down his cheeks as near-silent sobs wracked his body. He gasped for air and thought of all the times he shared ramen with Iruka-sensei. He remembered the terrible D-rank missions with his team. Trying to peak at Kakashi-sensei's face. Saving Ero-sennin from angry naked women. Sharing quiet moments with Gaara. The battles fought alongside his precious people.
So many memories which were now mere memories and no longer reality.
It hit him that he had lost every single one of his precious people in one single moment, and the pain tore at his heart. All for one insignificant Hunter's mask.
Kurama pulled the boy into his mindscape and wrapped a comforting tail around Naruto's shaking form. He could only provide warmth and promise of companionship. The fox was Naruto's last living remnant of his past. And they both knew there would be more grief to come when he met his precious people as strangers.
'Kyuu, it hurts.' Naruto whispered.
'I know, kit. I know.'
'I want it to stop hurting.' Rain began to drizzle in the cloudy mindscape.
'I know, and I also know you can overcome this.'
'But I don't want to forget.' He sounded so young.
'You don't have to.'
'Will you help me remember?'
'I will. Always.'
'Promise?'
'I promise. We shall never be apart.'
'Forever?'
'For all of your mortal life.'
'Then what about you?'
'Perhaps I will accompany you to the afterlife.'
'That sounds nice.'
'Yes, it does. Now, sleep. I will be here when you wake.'
'I love you, Kyuu…'
'I love you as well, my dear, dear friend.'
'Mmm…'
Naruto's tremors faded as his breathing evened out. Kyuubi watched over him in the dreary landscape of the mind. He gently licked away the last of Naruto's tears and settled down to rest his own drained body.
'It will be better tomorrow.'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone