The Past

The New Naruto

Sasuke woke up, and noticed that the sun was just rising on the horizon, shining a stunning mix of violet and blue.
" Oi, Naruto! Wake up, it's time to go." Sasuke announced, while stretching.
"What is up with him, he was in such a hurry to go yesterday.." He thought to himself.
Sasuke went over to where Naruto slept, only to find an empty futon.
" That idiot! He is only going to get himself into trouble." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.
Well I have to find him, who knows what could've happened to Naruto...

Naruto's eyes started to open, his eyesight was fuzzy and unclear. His entire body was sore, and had struggled to sit up. "What happened to me?" The blonde mumbled, and went to waterfall nearby to wash his face. Naruto gazed at his reflection, and his eyes widened in shock. " WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME?!" He yelled, holding his head in his hands. Splashing water in his face, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. " This isn't a dream?!" He muttered.
Was this what the masked man had meant by a parting gift?

"Where has that usuratonkachi gone?" Sasuke thought to himself, searching on his summoned bird for his friend. The raven haired boy had been searching for two hours now, with no sign of where Naruto had went. He passed the Final Valley, and saw a blonde man sitting there. " Is that Naruto?" he asked, lowering to get a closer look.
Getting off his bird, he walked over to where he thought he saw the blonde. Sasuke watched the man he confirmed was Naruto, try to use his specialty jutsu, the Rasengan, but to no avail. The raven haired boy observed Naruto try his Clone jutsu, only for a pathetic excuse of a clone to appear, rather than one hundred. Sasuke stared at Naruto, and burst out laughing. " W-What happened to you?!" Sasuke said, out of breath from laughing.

" Teme! I had a pain in my neck that caused me to fall from a tree, which knocked me out. Next thing I knew, THIS happened!", Naruto gestured towards his hand, bruised from failed Rasengan attempts. " I can't use any of my jutsu, and my Taijutsu is worse than an Acadamy students'! Above all, the weirdest thing is that the whiskers on my face disappeared!" Naruto exclaimed, rubbing his cheek.
Naruto stared daggers at Sasuke, who continued to laugh at who continued to laugh at his misfortune. "Sasuke, you haven't changed at all..." The blonde muttered, continuing to try his jutsu.

'What happened to the idiot while
I was gone? He's like an entire other person now.' Sasuke thought to himself. After calming down, he continued to watch the hero of the ninja world struggle to accomplish a simple jutsu. He winced when he saw the blonde fly backwards from another failed Rasengan, and hit his back on a tree. Walking over to the tree, the raven haired boy offered to help his friend up.

Naruto got up and paced around the field, looking as if he was confirming something. " Hey, what's your plan now? You lost all your strength, how do you plan to get your kid back?" Sasuke questioned, looking over to see a Naruto grinning from ear to ear.
" Sasuke, I think I have a plan, but I need your help for it to work." Naruto stated, while unraveling a scroll.

Naruto placed the map scroll on the ground, and pointed to the edge of the Land of Fire. " I think that the Masked Man is keeping Bolt here, when I was able to sense where their location it was around this area. Now that I am unable to use Chakra and Taijutsu, I won't be able to do much. Although, due to the fact that the whiskers on my face disappeared, I may be able to pass off as someone else." The blonde explained, analyzing the situation.

" So we know where they are, what's your plan Naruto?" Sasuke asked, amused by Naruto's seriousness.
" Since the area was formerly a battlefield from the Great Ninja War we fought in, we know about the hidden traps leftover from the war. We can use that to our advantage and trick him. I need you to create a distraction, I'll handle the rest." Naruto said, rolling the scroll back up.

"Naruto, you have really grown from that knucklehead that I knew long ago...." Sasuke thought to himself, smiling.
" Hey, Teme. What are you smiling for? Is it about Sakura Chan?" Naruto said, slyly smiling at his friend.
" Eh?! Dobe! It's not that at all!" Sasuke defended, getting redder each passing second.
"I don't know if he will ever truly be mature though..." The raven haired boy thought to himself.
Naruto stood up and began walking in the direction of the border of the Land of Fire. "Sasuke, I think it's time we hit the road. We need to catch up to them before they reach the battlefield, so that we have the upper hand." The blonde firmly stated, gesturing for Sasuke to follow him.

" LET'S GO RESCUE BOLT!" Naruto shouted, pointing in the direction of where his son might be.