夢 - 2021 rewrite

chapter two

"...You're from the future."

"Yes."

"And in ten years' time...there will be a war," he continued to their impatient faces.

"Yep," Kakashi bounced on the balls of his feet. "Do you need a minute to process, or--"

"And you've come back to prevent it because Madara, who was pronounced dead, revives the Ten Tails," the Third spared another blow of his pipe. "And why should I trust you?"

The three of them looked amongst each other and their unhenged self. They'd shown him Sasuke Uchiha, and the Third said, there are countless other Uchihas here that look like him (to which Sasuke beamed at). And they'd shown him Kakashi Hatake, and the Third said there are handful of imposters who could easily impersonate a man from the Bingo Book. And they didn't bother using Sakura as proof, knowing she was simply a commoner with a striking case of pink hair.

And so they looked at Naruto. "Why?" The Third said, taking notice of the unconscious body in his office. "Who's the boy?"

Naruto, long forgotten against the wall, groaned once more. "Oh, uh," Kakashi paused. "He's Minato's son. Eighteen years old now."

"Naruto?" He stood and peered down at him. Kakashi released the henge, revealing the exhausted Uzumaki and his aching abdomen. "Wh-what happened to him? Is he hurt?"

"He's unconscious. He has been for nearly a day," Sakura commented. "The jutsu was his idea. And with his large reserves and the Kyuubi, he powered the process the most out of the four of us. He took a big blow to bring us here. I tried to transfer my chakra, but recovering all that he lost will take a long while."

Kakashi paused as the Third made his way closer, crouching down to the slumbering boy. The idea of imposters was, now, an afterthought. "Surely, you must have something that can help him," he suggested. "Sakura here trained under Tsunade but--"

"Tsunade? She comes back to the Leaf?"

"Yes. She is appointed the Fifth Hokage," Kakashi explained, trying to be quick. "Naruto and Jiraiya brought her back to lead Konoha."

"Really? I must have retired, then," The Third chuckled and caught their hesitant gazes. "What?"

"Hokage-sama," Sakura cut in, a worried smile etched on her face. "If we could--if we could continue our talk concerning, well, the war."

Once more, the three nins caught the Third in a pondering silence. Sasuke imagined the dilemma the Hokage must face: trusting these nin and the injured Uzumaki, or not sparing another minute listening to some imposters. But as they'd tried to make clear in the past 30 minutes, and as the Hokage surmised from their impatiently worried faces, there is no malevolent intent in claiming one is a fighter from the future where the world is overrun by warfare. Or, at least, the Hokage hoped.

And the Third spared another glance at the poor blonde asleep against his wall before returning to his seat, smoke and white robes and all. Maybe, he could test the waters. "Considering the fact that I know far less about the future than you do, please do tell me your plan. And based off of what you told me about the war, it seems you four should have gone further into the past than here."

"Well, we didn't want to overexert ourselves, especially Naruto," Sakura responded, sparing another worried glance at the still-unconscious blonde. The Third had told them that the supposed Team 7 genin were mere six-year-olds at the moment. The jutsu had brought them four years past their intended mark, which explained Naruto's condition. "You see, the entirety of this was his plan. We don't exactly know what the rest of it is, now that he's...not responding."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing much I can do other than what your medic has done," the Third looked the boy over once more as Sakura straightened her posture. "Surely, training under Tsunade has taught her more than our hospitals can do. And we wouldn't want to risk someone breaking his henge and mistaking him for Minato or some imposter." And Sakura nearly smiled.

"I can keep transferring my chakra over periods of time to fasten his recovery, so for now, we just need a place to stay at," Sakura concluded and Sasuke stared at her with a bitter scowl. "He'll wake up in at least two or three days at that rate."

"And when he does, we can continue this conversation," the Third added with a pleasant smile. "I have a safe house somewhere, not too far from here. I'll have my guards transport you--"

"No nonsense, Hokage-sama," Kakashi cut in. "There are plenty of places to stay at, and we really would not want to intrude in your--"

"No, please, Kakashi, no one's been there for years." He pressed with a smile and some smoke. "And considering the vitality of your four lives, especially in regards of the Fourth War, your safety and survival is my utmost priority in protecting my people. I will not accept any protest. And, my, it's nearly dinner, I will call my guards in this instant."

"Really, Hokage-sama, we can fare well on our own--" The door opened and Sakura took Naruto in her arms, nearly forgetting their henge.

"Keep him safe, okay? I'll see you soon," he finished and the guards, with their curious gazes, followed the four of them out.

"Give me him, I'll carry him--"

"Sasuke, you carried him last time--"

"He's heavy, isn't he? Hand him over--"

"You kids, give him to me."