Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Misplaced Timing ❯ The first changes begin. ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

After hearing his words repeated back at himself yet again, Sarutobi nodded his head with a grim expression on his face. The four Narutos' let out a collective sigh of relief before high-fiving one another with grin's stretching their face's.

A few more moments passed before they quieted down and the duplicates dissipated into smoke once more, leaving the original sitting on the floor and looking up at the Hokage eagerly, having recovered some of his strength by that point.

"You must understand, Naruto, that what you have told me is unsettling. The knowledge you hold of the future is a burden you should not pass on to others without strict consideration," Sarutobi told him in a tired tone, closing his eyes in thought.

Naruto nodded his head. "Of course. I didn't even want to tell you, but I kinda need your help for most of what I want to alter," he responded seriously.

Sarutobi frowned at him without opening his eyes.

"If you change one thing you are liable to change many more as an unintended result; we must discuss the merits and risks of whatever it is you have in mind before even beginning to implement it," he responded in the same tone.

"Aw, c'mon. How much could shift out of place by making a few friends earlier?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi turned toward him and finally opened his eyes with an raised eyebrow at the boy- no, the teenager, in mind and maturity if nothing else, he silently corrected, and said, "Who did you have in mind? I sensed something about the youngest Uchiha during your memories with Jiraiya-san, and a similar if different result from the red-haired boy."

"Oh... well, Sasuke sooner or later. Probably sooner to try and keep him from becoming too introverted and focused on killing Itachi and getting revenge above all else," Naruto answered. "And Gaara definitely ranks up there. Even now he's probably fending off an assassination attempt! If I can befriend him as a child it might help contain how murderous he'd become later!"

Sarutobi shook his head slowly in sorrow at hearing that. "Is that all?" He questioned.

Naruto shook his own head no.

"Friend-wise probably, but there's a lot of other stuff to get a handle on before it's too late. It might be possible to wrangle up Kabuto and get a foothold into Orochimaru's network for starters." He responded.

"Maybe try and do something about Amegakure before Pain becomes completely lost- I do not want to fight his six paths again! He could have helped out in so many ways if he had lived!"

While jinchuriki and Hokage spoke nearby, an unwelcome pair of ears listened in from below. The wood beneath the sash of the window captured every word and detail intently, as was the intention for it and had been so since Tenzo was enfolded into the ANBU three years prior.

In part his nature was to be sure that the Hokage would always have a ready-guard and warning in place should an attempt to kidnap or even kill him occur, or a henge-user try to replace him at some point in order to deceive Konoha and the Council.

The other part of his nature was to record down anything that might help ROOT secure the future of Konoha.

Any mission that might be seen as too awkward to be carried out by the Hokage's orders, either in public or otherwise, whether he chose to present the details to Danzo or not, would be dealt with by ROOT in secret and often at certain lengths and a healthy time-dilation to be sure he never grew suspicious over certain enemies or goals being dealt with on their own.

The information Tenzo overheard and recorded would definitely need to be passed onward at the nearest opportunity.
"Enough, enough. Yes, Naruto, your ambitions are fair and just. But we can not just set about altering every thing that you would like to." Sarutobi argued after hearing the rest of his plans.

Naruto's eyes narrowed to thin slits as he frowned. "Why not?" He questioned in annoyance. This truly was not going the way he thought it would have, which was why he had not initially wanted to alert the Sandaime to his presence.

"To begin with? You yourself said this may not even be the same dimension you were born in, and though much of what you declared aligns with what I would likely had done, there may exist very particular differences. We can not guarantee that events are the same or will stay the same if you start poking at them!" Sarutobi answered in slowly rising annoyance, if disappointment.

Naruto hmphed to himself in frustration and pushed up to his feet, feeling uncharitably irritated.

"Fine! Have it your way. But I'm not just going to sit here on my haunches all day long and wait around for Akatsuki to get a move on picking us all off!" With that said he headed for the open window's ledge.

"Where are you going?" The Hokage demanded as he strode forward, again preparing to stop Naruto if need be.

"Training!" Naruto snapped over one shoulder as he rolled out the window toward the ground below.

He hit with a low thud and rolled through it, popping back to his feet with a slight slouch of disorientation from the size difference between his older body and the younger one.

After a moment he shook his head to clear it, then began jogging quickly off toward the old training grounds he had used for so long as a child the first time around.

Sarutobi watched him go with a feeling of unease replacing his anger. You really could have handled that better, Sarutobi, he thought, turning in the direction of the door as someone stepped in without knocking.

Stupid old man! Thunk. Stupid Madara! Thunk. Stupid me! Thunk.

With every annoyed thought he threw an old and shoddy-cast kunai toward the mark on the tree down-range about thirty feet, about half an hour after departing the office.

The slightly battered tools strayed off the path he was aiming for every time, but all he cared about at the moment was that they were at least staying in the crudely drawn chalk circle he had put there who knows how long ago.

Another few throws later and he had to go and fetch them again.

A hastily summoned Shadow Clone moped as it leisurely walked forward and tore the objects free with more force than needed, leaving rents in the surface of the wood deeper than the kunai originally had penetrated.

"Come on, come on! Haven't got all day!" Naruto grumbled.

His duplicate made a face and responded in distaste, "Yeah, we kinda do!"

"Well what are we going to do about it?" Naruto shot back.

His Shadow Clone frowned in thought, stopping where he was.

Naruto eyeballed himself standing there and considering. "Don't bother. Kyuubi and I already went over the facts and old man Hokage's the only one we can confide in for the moment." He stated.

A low whistling sound pierced the air as a proper kunai thrown with practiced ease and surety sunk into his duplicates forehead and carried on into the tree behind, wedging itself deep enough for the tip to emerge from the back and leave a narrow fissure splintering off from the point of contact.

Naruto spun around to see a tall nin wearing a dog or fox-like face-plate and the usual black and gray clothing and armor of an ANBU approaching from only a few feet away.

"What..!" He uttered in surprise; normally the ANBU avoided such blatant approach when tailing him, and to see one just boldly step out of the shadows put him slightly on guard.

"Sshh," the voice that emerged from beneath the mask was slightly hollowed due to the porcelain, but it was one that after a few moments thought he recognized, drawing a curous frown across his face.

Naruto relaxed his guard as he stared at who he suspected to be Yamato beneath the mask, nevertheless.

"Yamato-taicho?" He asked.

The other did not show any signs of recognizing that name and instead the ANBU slowly stopped about two or three feet away from him, and Naruto watched, wondering what was going on and if perhaps this was one of the unexpected changes the Hokage had mentioned.

Turning and walking around to look at Naruto the face-plate tilted to the side as if in silent questioning, and after doing two full rounds paused during the third while behind his back.

The ANBU slid to one knee and pressed his hands through a set of seals even as Naruto turned his head over one shoulder, triggering the chakra that had already been sent into and saturated the ground from afar.

Naruto spun around in rising concern once more, but at the same time, roughly a moment after the ANBU knelt down, pillars of wood and root erupted from the soil that moved with rapid speed to encircle around the boy and wrap tightly about his limbs, and then finally expand around into a cage that held him locked into position.

Branch's split off from one another and secured the cage and unfortunately captured jinchuriki within, so that each of Naruto's fingers were locked spread apart into position to prevent him from performing any degree of jutsu, and a narrow apparatus wrapped over his mouth and nose to keep him from speaking and very nearly even from breathing.

Rising back to his feet the ANBU walked around to look over his subject and verify his new mission was proceeding accordingly.

Naruto's eyes were wide and his muscles were taut with the effort to pull free, but he was completely encased around his smaller limbs in solid, half a foot thick wood.

Grunts escaped him but nothing more, and as before the ANBU said, "Sshh," and leaned down to grip the edges of the cage, where handles jutted out along the top and sides for easy transport.

Lifting the light yet firm prison and its query into the air and then settling it over the shoulders, the ANBU member kicked off from the dirt and rushed back into the forest around them, confirming that all was going as intended.

If his attention had not been focused singularly upon Naruto he may well have taken note of the other boy within the area, who was only just approaching when the ANBU had struck.

The youngest Uchiha stared after them for a very long time.

Sarutobi looked at the unexpected and, more so, bold intruder.

"Kakashi-san? What can I do for you at this moment?" He questioned mildly.

Hakate Kakashi sniffed at the air in curiosity before blanching. "What died in here?" The Jounin wondered.

Sarutobi let out a grim laugh. "A slight accident with Naruto. I'll have it dealt with later- come over here if you wish to discuss something, the smell is kept at bay through the wind drifting inward." He responded.

Kakashi nodded his head and stepped forward quickly. "I wish to take-over the Uchiha survivor's education and well-being," he stated firmly in answer to the Sandaime's question.

Sarutobi quickly riffled through any action the Copy Ninja had displayed over the last few weeks that might have forewarned of this action, and then further back still.

Unfortunately, he couldn't recognize a single instance leading up until this moment.

"What brought this about?" The Hokage asked, giving Kakashi his full attention.

"As the sole other shinobi capable of the Sharingan, to begin with, I can teach him to bring it out sooner and gain dominance of the power in a safe manner. Relatively speaking." He answered.

"'Relatively speaking'?" Sarutobi repeated, and Kakashi nodded his head.

"Of course. He is a shinobi after-all, and there will be danger involved for him; but hardly as much as he would have to endure otherwise, and I can guide him and train him in preparation for the difficulties laying ahead of him as the last Uchiha." The Copy Ninja responded.

"He remains in just as much danger as the Hyuuga heiress of being kidnapped by another village, and frankly, I'm amazed no one has dared to try. Also, without a proper force in his life to guide him and teach him, the chances of safely making it to even chunin level fall's with every passing month." He added when the Hokage made no motion to speak.

Sarutobi remained silent for such a length of time after that that Kakashi began to wonder if the Hokage had drifted asleep with his eyes open, but at last he sighed. "Very well. If he will agree, you may take Uchiha Sasuke on as your unofficial pupil." He stated wearily.

"I could easily- wait, what?" The Copy Ninja began and paused in mid-protest. "You're agreeing?" He asked, not quite able to accept that things had been accomplished like that.

Sarutobi gave him a low scowl. "Yes, I am agreeing to it!" He answered irritably.

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. "I didn't expect it to be that easy after such a length of silence," he responded.

Sarutobi's face didn't change. "Drudge up the required paperwork after you have his agreement and I'll sign the waiver. Do not falter, Hakate Kakashi!" The Hokage warned in an ominous tone that unsettled the Jounin. "You will be responsible for Sasuke Uchiha's survival from that point onward!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he answered respectfully at last. Turning and retreating back through the door he began working his way toward the Uchiha residence as a starting point to search out the child.

Sarutobi grimaced once the Jounin was gone.

"Look at what you've already begun, Naruto. The only reason I even agreed to this is to try and maintain what loyalty or ties to Konoha I can for the boy!" He stated, not liking what was to come for the youngest of the three remaining Uchiha-line at all if history stayed true to its path.

Look what you've managed to wrap us up into now, boy! A vicious snarl echoed across the walls of the sewer.

Naruto grimaced at the fox. "How was I supposed to know he'd do that? Yamato never showed any signs of this in the future, even if he did threaten to use force as an instrument of training." He responded defensively.

Really? The Kyuubi demanded in a tone that if it weren't the fox, Naruto might have taken as sarcasm rather than a biting rhetoric. I thought you were supposed to be smarter after eight years; but of course not. Your guard was dropped the moment you left that office! It growled at him.

Naruto growled right back at it. "I can get us out of this if you'd let me return to my body!"

The Kyuubi's eyes flared and the full brunt of his killing intent stabbed at Naruto sharply. Do not presume to argue with me, child! You think I wish to speak with you? The damage you were invoking in an effort to break free would have destroyed us if I allowed it to go onward! The fox roared.

Naruto picked him self up off the floor about five seconds after being blown over by the rush of chakra-suffused wind, water dripping off of his hair and clothing. Do not fight the cage. Have you forgotten the control over my fellow bijuu that the line of Senju possesses? That cursed blood and nature is imbued within our captor, and you will not escape as you are- so invoke your precious Sage mode if you want a way to weaken the bindings and slip free! The Kyuubi growled at him.

Naruto stared at it almost blankly for several seconds before smacking himself in the forehead for not thinking of that sooner.

But he noticed a flaw in that plan. "He's gonna freak out and really draw out the suppression techniques if I do that." He argued.

Kyuubi's tails flicked back and forth in rapid agitation before he settled down onto his front paws again, looking away from Naruto. Do as you will, if you do not kill us first, he stated and with that dismissal Naruto found his form drifting back and away from the cage of steel and rising toward consciousness again, to return to his own cage of wood.

End chapter two.
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