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***
So, the 10th of October, the unfortunate day. The Original is now shoving all the scrolls and cash into inventory. I can't do that, so he went on his own. He created me to distract Kushina while he does his chores. Half an hour later, after the end of the academy class, he came home. By the way, the Original didn't send the clone to the academy, it seems, only because of stubbornness. I don't want to think about anything today but Naruto's birthday and what comes after. At home, Mum was reading scrolls. Not books, scrolls. I don't understand why they still make them. I would understand if there were only old scrolls, but every new technique or piece of Shinobi knowledge is written in scrolls. Books are rarely used, mostly for stories. So Mum was reading a scroll, probably on Fuinjutsu.
- Mum, I'm here!
- Welcome home, darling! Yeah, I guess I'll miss even this little thing. I wonder if I'll have flashbacks or something when I come to an empty house? Or will I just be sad? Hmmm, depressed or something? The last time I experienced that was...in a previous life. Yeah, it's gonna be sad.
- Mum, I'm hungry.
- Of course, darling, I'll be right there. And leaving the scroll, she went home. Hmm, what's with the scroll? Walking over to the sofa where Mum was sitting, I took the scroll in my hands and opened it. "Time Barriers." After reading the title, I became very curious. But when I read the scroll, there was nothing about the Technique itself. It only described the pros and cons of using certain time barriers. The most interesting barrier was the barrier to travelling back in time. It said that time cannot be reversed, but you can move back to the place where you left the time barrier. So, if I create it now, I can travel to this time period, but I also need to leave a barrier in my own time in order to return. The barrier only lasts for 24 hours. If I leave the barrier in place now, it'll be gone in a day. But it's while it's still working that I can travel. And I'll only be able to stay in the past for 24 hours, because the Barrier I leave in my time will disappear after 24 hours. That was very interesting. A bookmark barrier and a barrier to transfer into a bookmark are two different but equally complex barriers. It seems you can change the past like that, but only your own life after learning it. You can't use other people's barriers, but you can transfer a person with you. The main thing is to fit into the barrier. But there was no description of the barriers themselves. Or rather, how to create them, maybe in other scrolls? I didn't know parents could make such barriers. There were other barriers that manipulated time, but my mum called me to eat. I can eat, but it won't help the original. From me he will only get the taste of the food and the memories of eating it, but not the energy from it. While eating, I asked her.
- Mum, do you know time barriers?
- Ha ha ha, did you read that scroll? Abandon hope. They were only descriptions of the pros and cons of such techniques. The scrolls themselves have been lost for ages, even a hundred years ago, and there are no users at all.
- Oh, I see. I wanted to learn them.
- I'd love to do that too, dear.
- But why are there so many limitations to these techniques? Isn't there a technique that can take you back to a time before you were born?
- Techniques are not omnipotent, dear. All the techniques of the Shinobi World have their limitations, conditions and disadvantages. They can only be reduced, not completely removed.
- Do your techniques have disadvantages, too? And Father's?
- Yes, if you think about it, there are many. Your father's technique, for example, only works with his chakra. He can't move anything he doesn't tag or move to him.
- Is that why he put his mark on my body?
- Yes, it's to protect you.
- I see. Mum?
- Yes, darling?
- Would you like to go for a walk after we eat?
- I'd love to. And a happy smile. Did I ever ask her out so infrequently? Maybe I should have spent more time with them. Well, it doesn't matter now! I need to keep her away from the house until the Original's finished.
***
After the walk, when we got home, Mum quickly rushed inside. I was surprised and looked to see what she saw. Before Mum blocked my view, I saw Original sitting down and holding the Family Album in her hands, crying. Yeah, he doesn't look like he's having a good time. I'd better stay out of their way. I don't think I'm going to be able to dispel him right now either. He doesn't need my memories right now. Shall I go for a walk, then? Hmm, if you use chakra actively, the clone will disappear after it's used up all of it. But I don't need to use it now, so I'll live longer. The Original didn't create anyone else besides me, so he put a lot of chakra into me. If I don't use it at all, I'll probably live another week or two, a month at the most. Not knowing what to do, I walked around the village. Hmm, I happened to recognise one of the shops. A mask shop, if it could be considered a shop. It was quite small. There were about sixteen of what I realised were the best masks hanging in the window. There were many more inside the room. This is the same shop where Naruto wanted to buy a mask and was just looking at them, but the salesman chased him away while throwing the mask he wanted in his face. The anime only showed a few instances like this, but I think Naruto was chased away everywhere. The vendor was younger and was soliciting customers. I'll deal with them later when they do the same thing they did in the anime. In the meantime, let's walk some more. Eventually, I just made it to Hokage Mountain and sat on my father's head. I'll never get bored of this.
After a couple of hours, I got bored of it and went into the forest to get the statues. It seems like it's just a forest now, but in the future it'll be populated with houses. I would have liked to talk about philosophy about deforestation and such, but I wasn't allowed to. I overheard someone. It seemed someone was practising with shuriken. It was about a hundred metres away from me. I walked towards the sounds, there was nothing for me to do anyway. As I got closer, I could see a few shurikens colliding with each other, and one flew straight into a target on a tree. I tried to walk quietly, according to Shinobi methods, and I didn't seem to be noticed, but another shuriken suspiciously hit the tree next to me. Looking at whoever was throwing it...no, not surprised, just curious. Long, back-length black hair with blue highlights. Black, pupil-less, large eyes. A beautiful figure with soft skin. She seems strong but fragile, as if she would crack from any harm, no matter physical or psychological. It was a girl a couple of years older than me. She's probably in her final years at the academy. She wasn't wearing a Genin protector, at least. But she was wearing dark blue clothes with the Uchiha clan insignia. Her Shurikenjutsu technique is pretty good, but a little inferior to Itachi's. I didn't try to peek, but next I was just sitting in a tree watching her training. She already knows fire techniques and has learnt more of them than I have. She didn't seem to have any other element. But her affinity for fire is pretty high, and her chakra reserve is high, she's been training with fire techniques for a long time, so I'd assume she's very close to the main branch of the clan. She doesn't seem to have a Sharingan yet, otherwise she'd be training with it too, so she'd be able to detect me. A few hours later, she collapsed to the ground with chakra exhaustion, at least I think so, because she'd just passed out from another Fire Technique. I was freaking out about it at the time and didn't know what to do. On the one hand I need to help, but on the other hand, I look like a regular Stalker right now. After thinking about it for a few more minutes, I just decided to take her to the hospital. What can I say, she looks even more beautiful up close. On the way to the hospital, I thought a lot about what I would say to her if she woke up. The most normal thing to do was to tell her the truth, but to keep quiet about the fact that I'd been watching her. I wanted to say that I had just found her in the woods with chakroic shock and decided to bring her to the hospital. But contrary to my expectations, she didn't wake up. So I just delivered her and handed her over to the Iryonins. Told them what I wanted to tell her and just left. They didn't question me about who I was or anything. I guess that's how they often get kids who overtrain and pass out in the woods.
It was already night and I, again, didn't know what to do. The fox attack was about to begin and I suppose I should get farther away. But I wanted to observe everything that was going to happen. I don't understand why the Original didn't think of sending clones to different points in Konoha to see all the events taking place. After a few minutes of thinking about it, I wanted to go to the site of Minato and Obito's battle, but I realised I didn't know where that was. The only thing left to do was to watch the Nine-Tails attack. So I went to the Hokage Mountain. It's the best view, and I'd get to see Tails' bomb in action. But I guess I'll have to settle for another head instead of the Fourth's. Because that's where Father will be. I chose Hashirama. It's a good view, and Father and Obito won't notice me, and his head is flat and there's no hair sticking out. It's comfortable to sit. Once I got there, the show began. Nine-tails appeared as a summoner and started smashing everything. Thanks to my Sharingan, I could see that he really did have Obito's Sharingan in his eyes. The ordinary citizens as well as the weak Shinobi began to evacuate. And the Jonin were trying to attack the Kyuubi. They weren't doing a very good job. They were like mosquitoes on a summer night. Then there was the Bomb. It was really huge and on its approach to the Hokage Mountain, it tightened into a seal. There was a massive explosion in the distance. I think it could have blown up all of Konoha with it, and why didn't Obito do that? That's odd. But that's beside the point. I was just watching Fox destroy Konoha with his Sharingan. But suddenly, I saw someone familiar. She was running across the rooftops towards the Uchiha Clan neighbourhood. Running around Konoha at such a dangerous moment! She has almost no chakra now!!! And somehow, I jumped off the First and headed straight for her. If it had been a stranger, I probably would have just ignored her, but she was very familiar to me, and it was because of me that she was in danger. If I hadn't taken her to the hospital, she'd be in the forest outside of Hokage Mountain right now. Why didn't I think of that before? Never mind that! She's in danger!!! Fox's tails were smashing everything around him. I created a couple of clones and threw one in her direction, and just in time. One of Fox's tails would have killed her now, but the clone picked her up and flung her upwards, hitting her tail. The girl was surprised, but I didn't notice. Next I threw a second clone and he, again, picked her up and threw her towards me. I, without realising it myself, picked her up quite nicely and on my back from her angle of view, exactly the moon was showing off! I know this because I had my eyes activated the whole time. It's a bit of a leveller, but it's dark now, so let's hope she didn't recognise it. It wasn't dark, cos the moon was shining behind me. Yeah, she must have seen the glowing Sharingan. What am I supposed to do with her? Well, it doesn't matter now. The girl's still in shock, and I'm making a hasty retreat from the Kyubey.
- "Hold on tight!" she said, grabbing me tightly and burying her head into my chest. Yeah, nice girl. Maybe it's still...aah! Okay, not about that right now. After I got away from Fox, I thought about whether to go to Uchiha Quarter at all. They were evacuating everyone now, and it might be dangerous in her neighbourhood too, so he thought nothing better than to go behind the Hokage Mountain where she was training. The girl didn't say anything and only hid her face, squeezing me in the chest area. Is she embarrassed! Wow! After reaching the forest, I put her down and.....
- Are you okay? Can you walk? Why were you going to Uchiha Quarter? The girl didn't raise her head. Maybe she was scared of me. Hmm, I'll have to think about my eye legend now. Iii, unable to find anything better to do, decided to pose as an Uchiha. If she couldn't see the colour of my hair, it's fine. So, "Transformation Technique" and change my hair colour to Uchiha and the emblem on my back too. I didn't deactivate my eyes to avoid showing my blue ones, but after the Technique I removed them and made my eyes black. My Technique skill is not high, only level ten, but she's not even Genin yet, so she shouldn't be able to recognise it. I didn't introduce myself. My name is...umm...Daiki Uchiha, what's yours?" Yeah, I can't think of anything better than my past name. Well, let's see. The girl didn't raise her head, but she started mumbling something indistinctly. I put my ears closer to her and I heard....
- M-my name is Sarikawa U-uchiha... nice to meet you....- and kept repeating it all the time.
- Sarikawa? Nice to meet you too." she looked at me and collapsed on her side. She didn't seem to notice that I was coming over. Are you okay?! She sat back up and rubbed her right shoulder. Anyway, Sarikawa, why did you run away from the hospital and head towards the Uchiha Quarter?" She raised her head and said with a louder voice.
- M-my parents! They're in the Quarter, we have to save them!
- Ah, so that's why. I think the Quarter's been evacuated, they're probably safe by now too. Are they Shinobi?
- N-no, they're not Shinobi. Dad's a merchant and Mum helps him.
- Well, if they're regular citizens, they're definitely going to the shelter. You should go too, it's not safe in the Quarter right now. They must be worried about you. Shall we?
- Okay.-the girl was still having trouble walking on her own, so I took her in my arms and ran towards the shelter, and it would be faster that way. When I got to the place, I saw the jonin guarding it. After we passed through them, we joined the others. I had put her down at the entrance, and now, to avoid losing her, we held hands. At one point, she ran towards two people. Mum! Dad!
- Saki? Saki! Are you all right?! We were so worried!!! I didn't hesitate and left the shelter. After the second bomb exploded, I headed in her direction. When I got there, all I saw was Hiruzen and a couple of Jonin carrying me and Naruto away, as well as the bodies of my parents. I followed them from afar and when the moment was right, I snatched Parents' bodies away. I had thoughts of reviving them, so I decided to hide the bodies myself. And wait for the Original to wake up and put the bodies in the inventory. They were already dead, so they'd fit in the inventory, and because they'd be there, their bodies wouldn't change and reviving them would be easier...I guess. They took Original and Naruto to the hospital, and I went home. We have to wait for Original to wake up. Memories are harder to transfer in sleep and it'll be better to dispel them when he wakes up. There's food at home, so I ate and went to sleep in my parents' bedroom....
***
The next day, went into the hospital, but Original was still asleep. Then looked around Konoha after the destruction. All the clans were rebuilding their estates, just like the rest of the regular citizens. Some hadn't been hit at all, and some had lost everything. The insurance company and the Bank were working hard. Some wanted to rebuild, some wanted to withdraw cash or take out loans. I was surprised to find out there was one. But in my world, even in the Middle Ages, there was such a thing, and here the technology was developed until about the 18th or 19th century. Afterwards, I wanted to visit Sarikawa, but I didn't know where she lived. So I went to the forest behind the Hokage Mountain. There was no one there either, so I decided to wait and train. Time flies faster when you're training.
And so it was. After a couple of hours, I felt someone nearby and used my Sharingan to see Sarikawa. She was about a hundred metres away and I stopped training and waited for her sitting on a huge rock in the centre of the clearing. When she saw me she hid behind a tree. Do I really scare her that much? Although, if she was really scared of me, she would have left as soon as she saw me. Maybe she's shy. Although, in canon, even Hinata wasn't that shy. And she's an Uchiha. And she's older than me. She's a unique person. I humbly waited for her to come over and sat down in a meditation pose, closing my eyes. After a few minutes, I fell into my consciousness. Hmm, everything was just as chaotic. After the sealing, I kind of had to see the Fox in my head, though yikes, I was created before the sealing, I guess that's the point. Then I felt my nose and cheeks being poked by someone in the real world. When I opened my eyes, there was a finger in front of my face, followed by Sarikawa's face. She stared at me for a few seconds, then blushing sharply, jumped off the rock and hid behind it, covering her face with her hands. Yeah. The girl is very shy. But that's what makes her cute. Even though I'm only five and a half now, I like her already. I don't give a shit about the harem ban. I can't go around such a cute girl. So I jumped off the rock and went over to her. She was sitting with her legs bent and still covering her face. I put my hand on her head and rubbed her hair a little. It made her blush even more and even her ears were red. I smiled and said...
- Sarikawa, good afternoon. Are you all right? What about your house and your parents?
- It's x-good. The house wasn't damaged. My parents are fine. I'm fine, too." She started to slowly lower her hands, but when she saw my gaze, she put them back up. Then she said in a quiet voice-thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, I could have died and-and for walking me back to my parents with-thank you!" she finally wanted to stand up and bow, but she bumped against a rock. Well, she was hiding in the most closed place and a part of the rock was covering her. - ouch! - she shrieked, and sank back down, clutching her head.
- Careful. Doesn't it hurt too much?" and I put my hand on the top of her head. She looked up, and I stared at her hair so I wouldn't have to look at her, or she'd cover her eyes again and be embarrassed.
- It doesn't hurt. I-I wanted to ask you a question. Did you bring me to the hospital after practice?
- Huh? What makes you think that?
- I'm sorry! I-I made a mistake!
- No, you're not mistaken. It was really me. Don't let yourself get chakra-depleted again. Training is training, but you've got to take care of your health, okay? - and the signature OYasha smile.
- H-okay. Is your house okay? And your p-parents?
- The house is fine, but my parents...they died yesterday." she dropped her hands and opened her eyes wide.
- I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to.
- It's okay, it's okay. Oh, she's not hiding anymore. Why did you come here, by the way?
- I-I was looking for you to thank you.
- Oh, okay. How old are you?
- M-me? E-eight.
- I'm five-- she looked at me even more dazed after that. - and a half.
- You're only five?
- Yes! Why?
- N-nothing!
- Do you go to the academy?
- Y-yes.
- Me too. - I kept asking questions like that so she'd keep talking to me.
- Do you train here often, Sarikawa?
- M-maybe... can I...
- What? -I really couldn't hear what she was saying, and she started squirming back, covering herself with her legs. Then she whispered louder....
- You can call me Saki! That's what my parents call me!
- Okay, Saki.
- Can I call you Dai-kun?" she said again uncertainly.
- Sure! I don't mind! Do you want to practice together? I'm good at Shurikenjutsu.
- Good. Ah...um... Dai-kun, can I see your Sh-sharingan?
- Sure, here! - and activated his eyes.
- Wow! That's amazing, Dai-kun! Are you really five years old? Even the genius of the clan, Itachi Uchiha, doesn't have eyes like that. How did you get them so early?
- It's a secret.
- S-secret? You mean you know how to awaken the Sharingan?
- Yes, but that's a secret too. Don't tell anyone, okay? Maybe I'll tell you how to do it later.
- Really?! Thank you.
-Now, let's practice, shall we?
- All right!
We practised shuriken throwing until evening. I showed her a couple of drills and she started with them. She's very talented, almost as talented as Itachi. She's on the level of an average Genin, maybe even higher. We didn't do any sparring and nothing seemed to fly at me, so I didn't get divorced. After practice, I walked her home. Well, to the Quarter. If I go into the Quarter like that, they might think I'm trying to sneak in with her. At the entrance, I told her I had business to attend to and had to go. After saying goodbye, I went to the hospital. I saw Hirusen and Original there. They were talking about something. Hiruzen noticed me at once, but realising that I was his clone, he didn't pay attention. After that, things started to get weird. Hiruzen said that Naruto was dead, and after that, the Original went into a frenzy. His chakra went flying in all directions, and I quickly got out of the hospital so I wouldn't get divorced. I didn't understand what it meant that Naruto was dead. I had definitely seen them carrying a live Naruto yesterday. And this universe wasn't supposed to be much different from canon. Naruto must be alive or...for a moment I thought that maybe in this world Naruto had died and his place was taken by Menma Uzumaki. But I quickly dismissed that thought. I didn't remember any Fox rampage today, and if he had actually broken through the seal and come out, I don't think that asshole Hiruzen would have been able to stop him without using the Death God seal. But, it's still worth checking him out just in case, for your own peace of mind. When I found the patient lists at the hospital and asked the doctor for them, I realised that Naruto wasn't in the hospital. That really freaked me out. But I quickly realised where he could be. The orphanage! But sneaking into an orphanage, especially at a time like this when the Shinobi are busy rebuilding the village...and it turns out it can be pulled off! Giving up, he just ran towards the orphanage. A large building, with a backyard and a training ground, yeah, even the orphanage has a training ground. Okay, that's not what's important right now. We gotta get in there. Sneaking in through the window used Henge a three year old regular clanless. Bypassed all the staff and went into the office. Then waited for the workers to disperse. It was already nighttime, so I managed to pull it all off. After waiting, I started looking for information on children born on the 10th of October. I found Naruto's information. I'm surprised they didn't change his first and last name. I could understand the name, they'd just say he was the son of one of the victims of the Fox attack, Uzumaki, which would fit in perfectly with the fact that the new Jinchuriki should be an Uzumaki with a distinct gene, but the name. Hmmm, okay, that's not really important. Now let's check where he is. Finding him, in one of the rooms, I went in. Naruto was sleeping peacefully in his cot.
- Huh, Naruto, what are we gonna do? We're told we're not brothers. But I'm your big brother and that's never going to change. I promise I'll take care of you. In a year, I'll be a Genin and I'll be able to earn money. I hope I'll be allowed to take the Chunin exams afterwards. Until you become a student at the Academy, I promise I'll be strong enough that no one will dare say anything when I take you away. Will you be patient until then? I promise you won't be hurt and you won't starve. You'll do well in school and your house will always be clean. You'll be popular and you'll be able to punch Sasuke in the face. But don't go to Sakura! She's a bitch! You'll either choose Hinata or someone else, understand? Ha ha, yeah. We'll be fine, and after the war, I'll revive my parents. And most importantly, I'll torture that bastard Hiruzen. Before he dies! That's right! And if I don't make it, I'll go to the barrier, pump my eyes, buy the Hyuga genome and pump my eyes too. I'll be able to do the ritual. I'll become the strongest man in the world! You just wait until then, okay? I'll take care of you like I promised my parents. I should probably get going, or I'll get caught. Good luck, Naruto!
Afterwards, I got out of the orphanage and went home. They haven't done anything to him yet. Hiruzen must be in no hurry. After eating dinner, I lay down on the couch and picked up the scroll I was reading before the walk and continued reading it. The other barriers are interesting too. Some slow down the time in the barrier, and some speed it up. And this can be controlled. Some stop time in it altogether. In general, all the tricks with time. I liked them very much and decided that I would dig up this knowledge after the war. The next day, when I got to the hospital, I saw the Original wounded. Yeah, I guess Fox's chakra release didn't go so well. He was in bandages, but he was moving normally.
- Hey! Original, how's your health?
- Hm? What are you like? You're not unclothed, are you?
- No, well, you're about to find out. - folding the seal, dispelled....
Congratulations!
Skill acquired: Stealth Level 1.