Continuing on! As we last left off...

Disclaimer: This story has multiple mentions of trauma, death, and blood. So if it's not your cup of tea, please use discretion.

As a clarification, I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. However, I do own the plot so :D

'Thoughts...'

"A physical speech..."

"Kurama talking..."

"Past memory..."

Enjoy!

Edited 11/6/2020

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...The words began to be clearer and clearer before he was once again overwhelmed by a blinding golden light.

"I think he's dead."

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"Stop that!"

As the floor-bound redhead readjusted his eyes to the bright sun's rays, he was met with a dark-haired boy continuously flicking his forehead and preparing to stick a saliva-wet pinky into his ear. He swatted the boy's hand away, bathing in a strong warmth he hadn't felt in ages. His senses rendered and he could feel chakra in other substances once again. 

"Hello?" He could hear the boy whining once again. "You alive in there?"

Naruto finally looked at the child, his eyes widening as he registered who he was. Obito. As in, child Obito and child Rin. He took a deep inhale, somehow managing to get far too excited half way threw and chocking on his spit before letting out a loud;

"It worked!" The whiskered teen laughed as the two stared at him in disbelief. He did it! He really did it!

"What are you some kind of crazy scientist or som- Ow!" Obito said bluntly, before being backhanded by Rin and rubbing the forming bump on his head.

"My apologies, sir. My name is Rin Nohara and this is Obito Uchiha." She introduced carefully, making a note to ask the man about his injures. We found you near the edge of the fire border. I was able to provide basic medical aid and you should be alright for the time being. Our sensei will be joining us soon, so could you, um, hang tight till then?"

Naruto smiled brightly, pausing to think momentarily. Young Rin and Obito acted exactly like him and Sakura did as children. The constant mentoring and erratic nature always managed to infuriate Sasuke. And yet, with their differences always clearer than a day, they became the best team in the entire shinobi world; In their book at the very least. And without a doubt, Naruto knew that given the chance, this team would've been exactly the same.

"My name is Kinuki Totsuka, a spy for the leaf, I have been on a mission for several years now. It's nice to see some friendly faces once again." The words felt foreign in his mouth. After Garaa's final breath, Suna fell under a new, corrupt leader. The entire village became miserable and he felt it his duty to save his best friends legacy. He infiltrated Suna under this name and killed the current Kage with furious passion, and now, this name would define who he was in this world.

"Wow, a spy! You must be really strong or something! Fight me dobe! Fight me!" Obito yelled obnoxiously, flailing his arms with everlasting energy.

"Uh, I don't think I have the right to. I mean, what would your sensei say if I did." The young Uchiha pouted, staring at the teen with sere determination. "Do you know what day today is, young Rin?"

"It is Friday, October 17 in the year 422 SY" She answered politely before asking her own question. "Where have you been all this time, sir?"

"I've been in Kusagakure. But," He dragged out the word. "I can't tell you why, it's top secret." He grinned towards Obito, who brightened at the phrase 'Top secret'. Naruto began to tune out the mass of shouts that came from the bickering Obito and Rin and instead focused on the footsteps closing in quickly.

"Rin, you shouldn't give out information like that. He might be a spy." Naruto whipped his head towards an upper branch. There sat a young Kakashi, with both eyes still attached and his superiority complex intact. It took. everything in his power to withhold himself from giving a hug to the boy then and there. 

Obito gave out a huff. "Well, if you were listening Baka-Tashi, you would have heard him say that he is a spy so bleh."

"A spy for another country you idiot."

The sound of weaponry filled the air. With the glaring sun's rays reflecting off metal, a collection of kunai and shuriken were launched at the group, forcing the redhead to deflect the weapons with his own in an attempt to protect the young ninja. In front of them, Kakashi was thrown to the ground with a forceful kick from behind.

Around them now stood what looked like a group of Iwa chunin, all grinning towards the teens with a unique stance, measuring them up for size.

"Give us the girl and no one gets hurt." One of the five men shouted, pointing his katana with the most awkward stance the eldest had ever seen. In his 18 years of life, Naruto had never seen such a poor threat. He raised a brow at the man, mocking him for even speaking.

"No, I don't think you understand. If you leave peacefully, you won't get hurt." He threatened, biting his tongue to hide a snicker rising in his throat. The Iwa-nin laughed at the male as the children gathered behind him unconsciously, pulling out weapons of their own.

"Well," The men grinned. "I hope you can put your money where your mouth is, boy."

The leader of the group ran towards Naruto, pulling a sharp Tanto out of its sheath as the others ran towards the chunnin behind him. Swiftly swinging towards Naruto's chest, the redhead pushed himself into a flip with the force of the sword, effectively confusing the shinobi as he bounced off his head towards the others.

While Kakashi was able to hold his own against two of the nin, Rin was relying on Obito's reckless courage to protect her, using a wimpy kunai against the shinobi's large disposal. The leader struck at redhead again and he dodged the sword with experience beyond his age. He felt his exhaustion catching up once again. He knew with the amount of energy he spent on the seal and his best friend, he would last no longer than 10 minutes against these douchebags.

'Do we have enough chakra for a simple B-rank?' He asked Kurama in his mindscape quickly.

"It's risky, kit. But, if you have no options than sure. I'll give you as much as I possibly can. Nothing above a B-rank, do you understand. B-R-A-N-K." The jinchuriki nodded, feeling the surge of power giving him a small adrenaline boost.

That was until he heard Kakashi scream in pain. Dodging the leader once more, he hit him in a single point at the base of his nape and silently thanked Haku as the commander landed face-first into the lush grass. He searched the clearing for Kakashi, catching the young jonin holding his eye in a surge of pain. Meanwhile, a tied of Rin sat unconscious at the foot of a tree, Obito mere centimeters away from her. The Iwa shinobi crackled in glee, laughing at the team's quick defeat.

" If you leave peacefully, you won't get hurt." The group mocked the former kage, kicking Kakashi to the ground as he struck at them with the muddy kunai.

"Wind release: Passing Typhoon!" The redhead released a sharp gust of wind at the men, slashing at their necks, killing all of them instantly. He let out a sigh of relief; he wasn't out of the ring yet.

"Brat, that wasn't a B-rank!" Kurama shouted within Naruto's mindscape, causing him to wince mentally, his head was beginning to throb, eyes fuzzy as he pushed himself back toward the genin team.

"Kaka-Baka, are you alright." The teen addressed winced at the nickname as Obito began to roll on the muddy floor, holding his sides painfully in laughter.

"Yes, I'm fine." He huffed in annoyance. "My name is not Baka-Tashi or Kaka-baka, its Kakas-" He held his tongue, turning towards Rin and untying her with one hand while cradling his wounded eye in another.

"His name is Kakashi Hatake, 13, Jonin of Konoh-" Kakashi threw his last kunai in-between Obito's legs, effectively shutting him up as the hyperactive boy whimpered for sweet mercy. Naruto smiled at the pair; they were exactly like him and Sasuke used to be in their genin days, except, these children were seasoned killers, stuck between war and childhood.

"Kakashi, come here a moment." The silver-haired teen raised an eyebrow. "Come on, I promise I won't bite."

"Earth Release: Flying thrown stones!"

A multitude a boulders fell towards the two 'friendemes' as rocks hit mountain nearby. Obito panicked, pushing the other away from the line of rocks and into safety as the earth was mere seconds away from flatting him into a pancake.

Naruto's eyes widened and without realizing, used Kurama's swift chakra to push himself towards the Uchiha. And just as the rock just grazed Obito's nose in an attempt to trample the young child, the rock launched towards the awakened commander, crushing him in its stead.

Obito opened his eyes to see a man-made of gold. Pure power resonating in the air and large ears on his head formed out of pure chakra. A long cape with firey tips hit his face lightly as the wind swayed his clothing. The raven felt the chakra tickle him softly, comforting him in it's warmth.

"Kakashi." The man called forward, quickly gaining his attention. "Come here. Quickly now, I don't have much time."

"Kinuki.." Kakashi breathed out at the redhead's glory. Despite his mental effort, the Jonins heart reached to the man, pushing him towards its light. Naruto raised his right arm to his wounded eye, releasing a fair amount of nature chakra to heal the eyes posterior chamber.

And while the young jonin was able to see light once again, the teen felt his entire world fall into darkness. He was gasping for air, hacking spit as his chakra levels at an all-time low.

The Hatake's eyes widened in shock. "Kinuki!" He yelled, reached towards the teen as the bright golden chakra that encased his body wisped away with the wind.

He looked towards a blinking Rin in alarm, catching her eye as she raced to the redhead's aid, laying a thin sheet of green chakra against his head to identify the damage.

"His chakra levels are too low, damn it." She mumbled to herself. "How was he able to even move with levels this low?"

Obito made his way next to the group, staring at the once glowing man in pride.

"Did you see that!" He shouted at Kakashi. "That was awesome!"

A rush of air fell behind the team and a blond jonin joined them on the floor.

"Minato-sensei." Rin acknowledged.

"Who the heck is he?" Said blond responded, his flank covered in spots of crimson blood. He took a deeper glance at the man and placed an identity to that hair immediately. An Uzumaki. The only clan to have hair as red as the blood on his now scarred chest.

"He introduced himself as Kinuki Totsuka, a spy of some sorts. He said he's a shinobi of the leaf but look." Kakashi points to a metal plate at the redhead's thigh. "It just says 'Shinobi'. What village just writes 'Shinobi'?"

Minato thought for a moment. "None that I know of. But he might have some vital information even if he isn't a leaf shinobi. Let's grab him and go. Kakashi, I need a recap on the occurrence. Rin, could you spear some wire? I'll tie him up just in case."

"But sensei, he saved our lives! Shouldn't we at the very least trust him?"

Minato narrowed his eyes. What would this boy have to benefit from helping some tiny children?

"It's just a precaution, Rin. You should always take any step nesseccary to ensure your safety." Rin threw him some tape, nodding at the future Kages words.

"Well then, let's go back home, shall we? You can give me a recap on the way." The future hokage smiled, placing the teen on his shoulders and they jumped to the covers of the trees.

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Wowie a second chapter. And it didn't turn out as bad as I initially thought. So, just as a clarification, Naruto went back in time around 21 years back. Currently, Team Minato is at the tender age of 13, the same day that Obito was supposed to die and Kakashi was newly appointed Jonin. For those of you who are saying "Oh no, Kakashi doesn't learn his life lesson if Obito doesn't die, blah blah." Then don't worry, there is a future plan for his existential crisis trigger. Naruto is at the age of 18 and Minato is 20, 2 years away from becoming Kage and 3 years away from Naruto's birth. So that my friends, is the math part of the story. Hope you enjoyed!

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