Rewinding The Clock

Chapter 8

Disclaimer. I do not own anything from Naruto. I own the plot and if you want to build off my story please contact me first. Thank you. Enjoy!

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Haruchi smiled as his companions laughed alongside him. 

They were an unusual sight. After escorting the Hokage to the room with the other Kages, Haruchi had been left with nothing to do, as only Kages were allowed in the room during the meeting. But still, Haruchi hadn't expected this to happen. Baki and Bee continued laughing. They were all sharing funny stories. 

Haruchi had been approached by Baki after they had left their leaders. Baki had wanted to thank him for the changes he could see in Gaara. When he had asked the cause, to his surprise, the Kazekage had told him Haruchi's name. Haruchi had been talking with Bee and so the three of them went out to lunch while waiting for the Kage Summit to finish. 

They must have been a sight to make anyone who saw them double back. Who would have thought? A leaf, sand, and cloud ninja calmly eating lunch together, enjoying each other's company. 

"So what do you reckon the meeting is about," Bee asked Haruchi.

"Well if I had to guess I would say it has something to do with the upcoming chuunin exams."

Haruchi had actually gone over with Lord Third what to bring up. If they strengthened their alliances and more nations attended then Orochimaru would have a harder time. Haruchi seriously doubted that it would stop the sneaky snake but he hoped they would suffer less damage this time.

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The Kage Summit was over and for the first time in a while, all the Kages returned with more hope than ever for a lasting peace between the villages. The first day had been the same as before but the next few days went smoothly. This was in part due to Bee and Baki talking with their respective kages. The two had gotten closer to Haruchi as well as all the other kages, who had slowly gotten more and more curious about the man. With less of their mind focused on bickering, the meeting had been more productive than ever.  All nations ended up agreeing to attend the chuunin exams.

On the way back, Haruchi had gotten closer to Yuugao which he was thankful for. She still didn't know it was him who provided her boyfriend's cure. He didn't want her to find out and feel like she owed him. He owed her much more from during the war.

Haruchi sighed with relief as he stepped through the gates. It was always a relief to him to see the village still standing. 

"Haruchi!!!" three young voices chorused. 

The Uzukaze waved goodbye to the rest of the amused ninja mission group and headed over to the team of genie calling his name. 

"Hey!" he greeted them.

Naruto embraced Haruchi. He was happy the red head was finally back. Although he wouldn't mind seeing Kakashi-sensei become more and more confused as the days went on. 

"Hn. Haruchi. Kakashi-sensei said he would ask for a C ranked mission tomorrow."

This caused the jounin to grin. It seemed everything had been going smoothly. Team 7 was already stronger than they had been in his time. He had talked to Hiruzen about Team 7's first C ranked mission. Team 7 would need to have the same mission to the Land of Waves. It was the mission that greatly affected them in Haruchi's time. 

"But this time that Zabuza freak and Haku-brat are going to survive."

He sent a mental thanks for Kurama's input. Haruchi valued his companion's opinion and was grateful that he had agreed with Haruchi's decision to change who lived. They wanted as many allies as possible.