Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Plz don't sue me.
Warnings: Foreboding, child ninjas, violence, death, etc.
A/N: I will be updating this story very slowly. I'm also working on multiple fanfictions at once, depending on inspiration and mood, so it takes longer to come around to updating each individual story regularly.
Chapter 4-
Word Count- 2600
Brewing hurricane
It was Naruto's turn to report in. After their fifth C-Rank in less than a fortnight, Naruto was in the Hokage's office, handing in a brief report. It was sort of embarrassing to pass the report over to the chunin. His writing was barely legible, and he got many quiet comments on it. He only rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly in response. For once avoiding insult, Naruto sprinted away down the corridors.
Fresh air greeted him. He emerged into the bustling street and scanned the people. He caught sight of a familiar mop of black hair. He approached from behind, creeping up slowly. But Sasuke twisted around, one eyebrow raised. Naruto stepped back, chuckling nervously, and plastered on an innocent smile. Sasuke was clearly not fooled. The Uchiha turned back and led the way through the village.
Naruto looked up. Sasuke was already going around a corner. He pouted and ran after him.
"Oi, wait you bastard!" he called out. Civilians shot nasty glares at his words. Naruto frowned and dismissed them. He came up beside Sasuke.
The village passed into darkness as clouds crossed over the low sun. The Uzumaki became impatient and sped up, Sasuke now the one to shout in annoyance.
Another crossing later, and the two boys nodded their goodbyes.
Naruto pushed open the wide door of the apartment complex. The inside was damp and musty, but certainly better than that of his old building. In the dark of the hallway, he didn't use his eye to see, and let muscle memory take him up the winding staircases; past rows of shut doors; past the broken voices of families having dinner.
Three floors up and he came to his door. No noise came from within, and Naruto remembered that Kakashi was on a long-term mission for the next month. He and Sasuke could only take D-Ranks and train for that time, confined inside the walls of Konohagakure.
He made his way inside and switched on the light. The apartment was as clean as usual. He crossed into the kitchen and flicked through the numerous cupboards. As he cooked a small serving of soup, a burning pain started up in his chest and behind the breastbone. He clutched at it, trying to take the pot off of the stove simultaneously. His breathing became painful, in short bursts.
As quickly as it came, the sensation subsided. He glowered, completely confused. Could it be... but it had been months since they went back in time. So why now?
He shoved the problem aside, and set his bowl on the bench. He packed and cleaned the utensils, and the soup cooled.
He stayed up far into the night, when the world was fully blanketed by the darkness of midnight. Naruto lit up an oil lamp and read many scrolls beside it. He made notes from stacks of books, filling a notebook with his chicken scratch.
Appalling to others, but he could read it and that's all he really cared about.
By the dim light, Naruto summarised close to four thick books. His poor writing was alongside diagrams of neatly drawn runes and lines. Thousands of pages were shortened to a tenth of that.
When his task was done, Naruto leaned back in his seat. He admired his work, and the art of seals. He felt like he was fulfilling the legacy of his bloodlines; the Uzumaki, the greatest practitioners of Fuuinjutsu in shinobi history; and that of his father, also a great seal master.
He expelled a long breath, stretching his arm past his head. He leaned one way, then the other. It was well past the time for sleep. His drive to work was only beginning to start up. Where had this hobby of reading been all his life? Locked away by the hate he endured? The neglect of his teachers and any relation he had?
No. Naruto had long ago vowed to not be bitter, or resentful.
Konoha was its people, and it was his duty to protect them, not hate them. Despite that he was well within his right to hate the villagers, Naruto knew he could not.
He grabbed a fresh notebook, binded by black leather. On to the next one, he thought.
...
Sasuke was first to arrive at the Hokage's office less than a week later. The Sandaime hadn't mentioned the reason for the summonings in the message he received by a hawk. He was usually still asleep at this time, or up for an early training session with Naruto. Speaking of, the loud blond was not even here yet, even though he was usually the first to arrive.
Inwardly, he snorted, glad to outdo his friend.
The Hokage sat patiently, smoking his pipe and breezing through some paperwork. After completing a stack, the old man looked up.
"Please go look for your friend, Sasuke-kun," he ordered, sounding amused. Sasuke twitched. But he made no comment, and so he shunshinned away.
He arrived before Naruto's apartment door. Without knocking, he barged in.
The curtains were shut, leaving the living room only slightly lit. He opened them, thinking all the time, why is the Dobe still asleep?
Sasuke walked purposefully to the blond's room. He went straight in and looked to the bed where there was a bundle of unmoving blankets.The mound rose almost unnoticeable, first from the disturbance that Sasuke created, then smaller movements. Peaceful breathing.
Sasuke huffed. He went up to Naruto and forcibly removed the cover. Naruto shot awake, sitting up and twisting around with bleary eyes. He blinked the sleep away and finally noticed Sasuke.
The Uchiha was not pleased.
"How come you were sleeping? We got a summons almost an hour ago!" he demanded. Naruto's eyes widened with surprise.
He scrambled around the room moments later, jumping into an acceptable outfit.
"I was up all night, reading," he said apologetically, then grabbed Sasuke's arm.
Sasuke found himself before the Sandaime once more. Naruto repeated the same excuse to his grandfather figure.
"Well, I called you here to make a request," Hiruzen began. "At the reports of many shinobi, including your brothers, I have decided to give you a promotion."
Sasuke saw excitement flash on the other's face. He became curious.
"You two will graduate from the genin rank to part of the ANBU force."
"Really!?" Sasuke sniggered at Naruto's outburst.
"Yes, do you accept?" the Hokage asked. He quickly nodded. Naruto did too, quite sporadically. He was grinning from ear to ear. Sasuke smiled too. They were one step further in their plans.
"ANBU Kitsune," Hiruzen passed a fox mask to Naruto, then turned to him. "ANBU Taka." A mask designed like a hawk was placed in Sasuke's hand. I actually cannot believe it, he thought. He was hawk in ANBU and could summon Garuda, also a hawk.
"You will be part of a squad under ANBU Inu," the Sandaime went on. So, Kakashi's team. "Most of his team is retiring or being reassigned, so it will be you three as well as ANBU Itachi." Now Sasuke had to raise an eyebrow. An entire squad consisting of close family. But he didn't complain. The tight bond between them will make them stronger.
The Hokage had a new expression on his face. Smug and evil.
"You two are still confined to the village."
Sasuke was not happy.
...
Post their induction into ANBU, the two time-travellers met up at Naruto's apartment. They did some housekeeping chores to pass the time, staying in a comfortable silence. All the while, they thought about a new possibility. The after-effects of their jump through time. When all was cleaned and sorted, they sat for lunch, indulging in some sushi.
"Last night," Naruto started, "it felt like my heart was dying. What do they call it? Heartburn, yes that's it."
Sasuke hummed. "I've been getting a lot of pins and needles lately," he added. They lingered in thoughtful quiet.
"I have too. It always happens after using chakra. Maybe our coils are stuffed?" Naruto concurred. "Also, my eye was restored using some of the Rikudo's chakra. I still had some left, though it should have disappeared when the war ended."
Sasuke nodded, utterly perplexed. If the Rikudo Sennin's chakra never left, then it is possible they have retained their powers. Sasuke still had the Rinnegan after all. Perhaps the chakra was lying dormant within them, mingling with their own and interrupting the flow. It was a highly plausible theory.
Sasuke accepted that as the explanation, though he still had some doubts. Nevertheless, he still prayed that whatever was festering in their coils would not worsen.
They avoided the missions desk entirely, swearing to not take a D-Rank mission. Instead, Naruto led Sasuke to the Forest of Death.
"It's technically part of Konoha," Naruto said, smirking. "And it's perfect for training."
The moment they entered the trees, the light dispersed. Naruto lifted his hitai-ate and the jungle of darkness became visible.
"I don't remember it being this dark," Naruto complained.
Sasuke faced him, eyes bleeding from coal to crimson as his Sharingan activated. "That's just this side of the Forest. It also happens to be the more dangerous district," he said monotonously.
"Cool."
They went in deeper, looking for prey they yet to come across.
A flurry of limbs and fur. The fight began.
Naruto dodged a clawed paw then launched into the air. He kicked out to the side, catching the monstrous tiger on the side of the head. As the feline tilted its head up to follow Naruto's movements, Sasuke took advantage. The Uchiha came underneath and sliced upwards with his katana. His precise aim met the belly. Blood sprayed out, littering the damp grass. Sasuke jumped to clear ground and turned just as the tiger collapsed.
It whimpered in pain, trying to get up again, only to stagger and stumble back down. Naruto finished off with a kunai in the neck, putting it out of its misery. He flinched at the last sound the tiger made, agony clear in its gurgled voice.
"Lunch?" he asked shakily. Sasuke shot a Katon jutsu at the corpse, fur and all. It shrivelled up beyond recognition, turning in on itself. Naruto faced the Uchiha with a patronising glare.
"A complete waste!" he cried out. Sasuke threw his arm up, taken aback by the negativity. Naruto sighed. "Let's look for more.
A few charred meals and piles of ashes later, and the two began to spar. Their powerful ninjutsu made the earth rumble, sounding like an earthquake to all surrounding, and most definitely feeling like it too. Their training today was a success.
...
Beneath the surface in an unknown country...
"It is going exactly as you have seen, Kami-sama," said a man, forehead pressed against the cold marble as he bowed deeply.
An eerie presence filled the room of indiscernible size. It was dimly lit by evenly spaced fire pits along the walls. It was a long room, that much was certain. The great space was lined with columns, also made from marble. A holy, creepy place, fitting for a holy, creepy being.
The so-called Kami was seated upon a great throne. The throne had a back that reached far up, probably into the ceiling, if there was one. The figure on the throne was shrouded in the shadows. Whoever his servants were, the followers he had, no one could see him truly. He sat there, an imposing figure lording over subservient humans. The name of Kami that had been bestowed upon him was fitting.
The man that bowed before him seemed to shrink in on himself. This was one of the weaker of his followers, merely a messenger. Fear had no place among the best of his ranks, the true warriors.
Kami chuckled, the sound echoing off the walls and sending the messenger into an even deeper bundle. Veneration, reverence, glorification of himself. Kami lounged on his self-proclaimed throne. The petrified man squeaked out affirmation when he spoke his dismissal, all but sprinting from the room.
This fresh news, however brief the information was, served to amuse him quite a bit. He enjoyed this little game, a game of cat and mouse that they did not know about. Nevertheless, the two were a part of it, no matter what they would do to escape. He was the cat, they were the mice. He had the power, they did not.
After all, he was Kami, the strongest in the universe. What were they but mere mortals. Not the weakest in the world, he decided, but they could never match up to him. He grinned, excited by the next move to come in this game. They were going right where he wanted them to, in the direction of his trap. Soon, he would have them.
Kami called out, his booming voice rising through the adjacent halls and chambers. "Ai," he acknowledged the warrior crouching before him. He was a member of Kami's elite, his most trusted group of warriors.
Ai was in his late teens and very small. He looked starved and weak. He wore deep crimson robes that fell in a long bundle behind him. The thin fabric did not conceal his tiny frame. His head was down, startling green eyes on the floor. He had his deep black hair in a braid ending at his mid-back, resting next to two sheathed blades. The blades were short, around half the size of a standard katana.
Kami spoke again, "I have received the news I've been waiting for." He watched as Ai let a crooked smile cross his sharp face. Narrowed eyes dared look up.
"Contact Akatsuki. They must make the first move and begin the hunt of the Jinchuriki," he ordered. "The Juubi must be revived. The two need to be destroyed. He made a mistake in choosing them."
As Ai left the chamber with a hurried walk, Kami chuckled once more. "Guides? There is no such thing. The world is meant to war and I shall make it so."
...
Sasuke never felt so relieved as when Kakashi finally returned from his mission. They weren't confined to the village any longer! Naruto jumped and cheered raucously beside him. The blonde ran to his adopted brother.
"Hurry up! We need to go to the Hokage!" he yelled impatiently.
"Hai, hai," Kakashi sighed exasperatedly. The three of them took to the rooftops, sprinting over in a rush. Kakashi looked worse for wear, but Sasuke knew that the Hatake could fight for many days straight if he wanted. This must feel like nothing to him.
The Sandaime, it seemed, had expected them to be there.
Kakashi stepped forward, "Mission completed, Hokage-sama." He handed over his report and went back to their side.
"Good job, Kakashi," the Hokage said. "I have created your new ANBU squad, consisting of Itachi, Kitsune, Hawk and yourself. You are the captain, as expected."
Kakashi nodded affirmatively, already guessing the identities of the new members. Sasuke could tell from the way he looked at him and Naruto.
"You have one week of recess, then a week of training together to build your teamwork. I want a full report from each of you at the end of the two weeks. Sasuke, relay this to your brother."
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Sasuke dipped his head respectfully.
"After that, you will be assigned your first mission as ANBU Squad Zero," the Hokage finished.