-In Boruto's timeline-
Naruto had spent a few days in this timeline already, and he deemed the most noteworthy thing on this trip was finding out how to retrieve the other half of Kurama. Otherwise, the rest of Orochimaru's research wasn't as exciting as he hoped, heck, everything related to jutsus are things he could figure out with the current Orochimaru!
Perhaps it's because they already began dabbling in more complex seals that allowed for his curse mark to improve, their current advancements in terms of jutsus isn't too far behind the one in this timeline.
Aside from that, the other thing he found fun was...
"Really!? You must have had it rough, Sai-san" Naruto held a tissue to his eyes as he wiped his tears
Seated across to him was a pale faced man with a gentle smile and short black hair.
"Haha, it wasn't anything, though I should also warn you, Danzo isn't an easy opponent, even if you are very powerful compared to the thirteen-year-old Naruto of our timeline" Sai said with a hint of warning
"Yeah, thanks" Naruto grinned, he got along very well with Sai.
Why is that?
"Oh right, let me tell you about some of Ino's favourite food" Sai clasped his hands together and said with a bright smile
"Sai, you're the best person I've met from this timeline" Naruto said with a straight face
"Huh? What about me?" Ino poked her head over and frowned
Naruto stared at her
"I'm sorry, I cannot show an ounce of interest in you, if anything, I might consider you an enemy because you look too much like Ino" Naruto said with a dead serious expression
"Hah!? But I am Ino!" Ino gasped
"You are Ino, but not my Ino" Naruto responded
"...urgh, you're way too annoying to talk to" Ino pinched between her brows and said
Naruto shifted his gaze back to Sai
"Sai-sama, please, go ahead"
"Sama?" Ino's lips twitched, how is his addressing of Sai more and more formal with every sentence?
Sai laughed, he was quite fond of Naruto as well.
"When it comes to favourite food, Ino adores cherry tomatoes, as well as pudding" Sai said
Naruto nodded as he wrote it down on a notepad
"Her least favourite food, fish, specifically, she hates sashimi" Said added
Naruto nodded continuously
"What about interests?" Naruto asked
"She likes-"
"Hey, I'm right here, you know? You can just ask me, why are you asking my husband?" Ino frowned even more, rather displeased that these two are talking about her, yet they aren't involving her in their conversations
Naruto and Sai turned to her
"I'd rather not have my wife talk to another man who may be interested in her about her own interests" Sai said
"I'd rather not talk to a woman who looks like my girl about her interests" Naruto added
"...fine, you win" She sighed and leaned on the table on one arm, watching the two converse
-Five minutes later-
"-and then she bashed me into the tree without mercy, can you believe it? Seriously, I know it's good that she's strong, but she's using the strength I gave her to bully me" Naruto sighed
Ino and Sai listened, with Ino showing shocked expressions, whilst Sai laughed
"From the sound of it, you spoil her a lot"
"Of course! And let me tell you, her dad is another being entirely" Naruto said with a serious expression
"My dad?" The two thought of Inoichi, who usually has a stoic expression, but is incredibly loving towards Ino.
Naruto stared at Sai
"Sai-sama, when you began dating Ino...did her dad show signs of disapproval?" Naruto asked with a serious expression
"Huh? Well, he was concerned at first, but after getting to know him, he eased up quite a bit around me" Sai smiled
"..." Naruto covered his face and let out the biggest sigh in his entire life
"You have it so lucky man!" Naruto screamed into his hands
"Wh-What's wrong? Is my dad very defensive or something?" Ino asked
"More than just defensive...he has attained strength that mortals like ourselves would never tap into" He replied seriously
"Hah? What's that supposed to mean?" Ino and Sai were both incredibly curious as to what he meant by that
Naruto stared at them
"I have asked Sasuke about Inoichi to confirm my suspicions...even Sasuke stated that he felt a sense of dread when Inoichi-san was releasing his anger towards me" Naruto's expression was grim
"...wh-which Sasuke..." Ino gulped
"The one from this timeline" Naruto responded
"..."
How!? They both knew how powerful Sasuke is, and even he felt a sense of dread from her father!? This didn't make sense! The Yamanaka clan isn't known for their combat capabilities!
"His power grew more and more as my relationship with Ino developed, when I first became friends with her, he was exerting power rivalling that of one tail worth of chakra from Kurama...then two, three, four...I no longer know how much power he holds" Naruto had his hands together as he trembled
"Th-That's insane! My dad is definitely not that strong, this must be a joke, right?"
"You can confirm by asking Sasuke, I doubt he'd be willing to joke about this" Naruto responded
"And one time, when I lost to Ino, she wrote something on my face, I only realised what she wrote after I got home and checked, but Inoichi saw it before I got time to know what it says myself" Naruto said
"And...what happened?"
Naruto trembled slightly
"I ran, I ran as fast as I could, fearing I would die at that moment, even fighting Urashiki didn't give me such a powerful sense of danger, it was...terrifying" Naruto gulped
"I-I see, you have it rough, huh?" Sai said with a sigh
Naruto wiped his eyes
"Yeah..."
"What was written on your face?" Ino asked
"Property of Ino, followed by a heart" Naruto replied
"...I would never write that" Ino said, refusing to believe that
"Well, you're not the same person, so of course you wouldn't" Naruto replied
"..."
"Oh right, this is a picture of Inoichi-san as a woman" Naruto said as he placed a picture on the table...
"..."
They were speechless, damn, no wonder Inoichi hates him so much! He turned him into a woman! Ino has seen it already, but now that he brought it up again, it connects the puzzle pieces together...
"Naruto, can I ask...why did you create a jutsu like this?" Ino's lips twitched as she stared at Naruto
Naruto shrugged
"Dunno, at first it was to mess with Hiruzen because haha, funny, later, it became a habit where I just turn every powerful Shinobi I meet into the other gender as a way to humiliate them" Naruto said with a calm expression
"And if I feel like it, I might mass produce their pictures and have it spread across the different villages and lands" Naruto added
'This demon' Ino and Sai were at a loss, his thoughts are seriously dangerous!
"I'm home" A young boy walked in from the front door, and upon seeing Naruto, his expression soured
"Why are you here again?" This boy is Inojin, Ino and Sai's son.
He is the same age as Boruto, so he was two years older than Naruto.
"Boo hoo, Sai-sama, your son hates me" Naruto covered his eyes and wept
"Grr, don't you try hitting on my mum" Inojin growled
Naruto peaked his fingers open and stared at Inojin
"Um...kid, not sure how to break it to you, but I ain't after your mum" Naruto said with a slight frown
"You're clearly dating her younger self" Inojin snapped at him
"That's different" Naruto replied
"How?!" Inojin shouted
"Ino from my timeline is the one I'm with, the Ino of this timeline is considered a different person, not to mention, three times my age, and has a husband that I get along with" Naruto said with a serious expression
"Oi oi oi, I am not three times your age" Ino snapped
"Thirty two, it's close enough" Naruto shrugged
"Damn brat" Ino gnashed her teeth
Sai laughed and patted her shoulders
"Don't let it get to you, he's even younger than our son" He said in a comforting voice
Ino puffed up her cheeks, realising that she's getting angry over a child. But it's strange, in front of this Naruto, it didn't feel like they were talking to a child at all, rather, he's very mature.
"E-Either way, stay away from my mum" Inojin said
Naruto stared at him as he rubbed his chin
"Hey kid...do you know about the headhunter jutsu?" Naruto asked
"Huh? The one where you pull someone into the ground, leaving only their heads above the ground?" Inojin asked in confusion
Naruto nodded
"You see, I don't have affinity with the earth element, so I get rather forceful with my methods" Naruto said as he pulled up a photo
It was of the Genins he smacked into the ground using the executioner's blade during the Chunin exam. With blood covering their heads, whilst Naruto slammed the flat side of the blade onto the head of another.
He slid the photo onto the table calmly
"..."
"Anyway, why don't we have a quick spar? I'm sure you can learn a lot from this experience" Naruto smiled calmly and said
The whole room fell silent
Sai stared at Naruto
"Oh, this is a form of mental disturbance before a fight, I learnt about this during my time under Danzo" Sai said with a gleeful expression
Ino's lips twitched
"Naruto, did you just threaten my son?" Ino asked
"Huh? What are you talking about? The photo and the spar are two very unrelated things" Naruto said with a wronged expression
"I never mentioned anything about the photo" Ino said with a forced smile
Inojin on the other hand gulped
"Oh right, here's a picture of Sarada screaming her head off because I poisoned her with paralysis poison and had her sensei carry her away" Naruto said as he slid another one onto the table
"...Naruto-sama, have you had tea? Our family has some great tea leaves" Inojin smiled and asked
"Oh, sure" Naruto nodded innocently
Sai clapped his hands
"Wonderful execution of subtle threats, perhaps you should join the interrogation squad when you grow up" Sai complemented
"Thanks, I have considered that, but I also like roaming, so I'd say no" Naruto shook his head and replied
"Pity" Sai shook his head and said
As Naruto and Sai conversed, Boruto arrived, informing him that Naru2 had requested his presence.
"Oh, but can't I go later? I'm enjoying my conversation with Sai" Naruto groaned
"Come on, he said he'll owe you a favour if you help him with a matter" Boruto replied
"What can he do for me? I'm just a clone, not to mention, I'm from another timeline, his help means literally nothing to me" Naruto replied
"Well...just follow me, I'm not too sure about this whole thing myself, the old man's pretty vague about it" Boruto sighed
In the end, Naruto reluctantly agreed to go meet Naru2, who was swamped with paperwork.
"Sup old man" Naruto greeted
"Should I call you lil brat then?" Naru2 asked with a chuckle
"Nah, call me the handsome beast of Konoha"
"...I called you here today because I feel that you can help improve the skills of the kids at the academy, if you do so, I'll owe you one" Naru2 said
Naruto rubbed his chin
"There is quite literally nothing you can do for me, the only reason why I wanted to come here is because I wanted to meet Orochimaru" Naruto shrugged
Naru2 frowned faintly, trying his best to think of something that can be used to bargain with him.
"Is there really nothing else you want?" Naru2 asked
Naruto rubbed his chin, he wasn't willing to work for free, but there isn't anything he felt he needed aside from Orochimaru's research.
Seeing his expression, Naru2 sighed
"I can't believe I'm doing this...there is a recipe of Ichiraku ramen that has yet to be developed in your timeline, though you can obtain it in the future, I can give you the recipe ri-"
"Deal" Naruto said with an eager expression
Naru2 groaned
"To think I had to use my trump card" He muttered
"It was the correct card" Naruto nodded with a triumphant expression
Naru2 waved his hand
"I have informed the instructors of the different teams, I won't ask of much, you just need to train two teams for me" He said calmly
"Oh? Which team?" Naruto asked
"The first team is the team my son is in, Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki, the second team is Inojin, Shikadai, and Chocho" Naru2 said calmly as he passed a few records of the two teams.
Naruto read through the records and nodded
"Alright, if it was any more than two, I might have rejected"
"I figured as much"
After giving Naruto some more time to finish reading, Naru2 spoke again
"The team instructors will also be with you in case anything happens, but I think you can handle yourself just fine" Naru2 said
"Naturally, but training these kids won't be easy, for one, I can only use a fraction of my original strength since I'm just a clone, my chakra capacity isn't as high, two, their level of teamwork is probably a disaster compared to one another" Naruto said, comapring the Ino-Shika-Cho team to Boruto's team is probably like comparing bandits to royal guards when it comes to teamwork.
"Haha, that's for you to figure out" Naru2 smiled, fully knowing what he meant
Naruto simply clicked his tongue
"Tch, whatever, I won't be here for long anyway, doubt this clone will last any more than a few days" He muttered
"That's fine by me" Naru2 responded, his hands never once stopping as he continued to sort through the various paperwork.
Naruto stared at the massive pile on the desk, and pinched between his brows
"Seriously, what is so good about the Hokage seat?" Naruto muttered under his breathe
"It's less about the work, but the thought" Naru2 chuckled
"Oh, cool, Hiruzen couldn't wait to drop his role of Hokage, I wonder when that thought settles in for you"
"On that note, how is grandpa Hiruzen?" Naru2 asked with a smile, he was surprised to hear from Sasuke that Hiruzen was still alive in Naruto's universe
"Him? He's lazing around in the office, sometimes playing with his grandson"
"I see" Naru2 wore a gentle smile as he thought back on his time when Hiruzen was still Hokage...
"Off you go then, the gathering will be at the training ground just outside the academy" Naru2 said
Naruto nodded
"Oh right, while I'm here, I'm gonna say it, your timeline is boring" Naruto said with a blank expression before leaving
Naru2's lips twitched when he heard that, but he chuckled
"Perhaps for you who walks a different path to me, will think so, but I am content"
Naruto left the building and directly went to the training ground. His arrival quickly attracted the attention of those who already arrived there, and was met with numerous curious eyes.
"Wow, is that what Hokage-sama looked like as a kid? He's so adorbs" A young girl with dark skin and a pleasantly plump figure hopped over, wearing a curious gaze in her eyes as she stared at Naruto.
"You're Chocho, correct?" Naruto asked
"Yes" Chocho nodded
"Mn, behind you, I assume is Shikadai, you have that same gaze as your old man" Naruto looked back and said
"Mn" Shikadai nodded
"Same lazy attitude, I can work with that"
"Can you really though?" Inojin chuckled
Naruto glanced at him, then smiled
"Inojin, Shikadai, and Chocho, this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho....now, next is Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki, I guess you are this generation's Sanins?" Naruto asked
"Huh? No, I don't know summoning jutsus" Boruto responded
"I can summon snakes" Mitsuki, a pale boy with white hair said as he raised a hand
Sarada didn't respond, and just stared at Naruto in silence...
"Hm, I see, I'll start with today's lesson, come at me all at once" Naruto said as he tucked the various papers he had into his shirt
"Hah? You're just a clone, won't you disperse if we accidentally hit you?" Boruto complained
Naruto pinched between his brows
"Does everyone else think so?" He asked
"Isn't that common sense?" Chocho asked with a clueless look on her face
Naruto groaned
"Urgh, so these are the idiots that you left to me? Jeez, fine, I'll start with a lecture first" Naruto said with an annoyed expression.
He crossed his hands and summoned a clone
"Alright, this here is a shadow clone, all of you believe shadow clones disperse the moment they feel pain, correct?" He asked
The six of them nodded
"Boruto, summon a clone" Naruto said
"Huh? Sure" Boruto nodded and summoned a clone
Naruto walked over, and grabbed Boruto's clone by the wrist
"Alright, tell me if you feel pain" Naruto said calmly
"I do" The clone nodded
"Then why didn't it disperse?" Naruto asked everyone
"Uh, I mean, it wasn't a lethal blow, right?" Sarada said as she shifted her glasses up
Naruto glanced over
"Oh? So now it went from taking a hit to lethal blow? But you are half correct" He said as he smacked Boruto's clone
"Ow!"
*Puff*
Immediately, his clone dispersed after that
"Is that a lethal blow?" Naruto asked
Everyone shook their heads
He then walked over to his own clone, and smacked it, however, aside from the clone rubbing his own cheek, he didn't disperse like Boruto's clone did.
"There, I did the same thing, but that didn't disperse it, did it?"
They all shook their heads, as their expressions became curious
"Shadow clones aren't one hit wonders, they have their own tolerence depending on the user's pain tolerence, once it goes beyond a certain threshold, then they get dispersed" Naruto said calmly as he shifted to his clone
"In regards to mine, I have quite the tolerence, so..." He punched the clone's guts, causing him to cough, but once again, it didn't disperse.
This took everyone by surprise
"Now, Boruto, punch my clone as hard as you can" Naruto said
"Oh" Boruto snapped out of his daze and walked up to the clone, he clenched his fist and threw his strongest punch.
*Bam*
The clone merely lifted one hand, and grabbed Boruto's fist
"That blow, by your theory, should be enough to disperse a clone, no? But you're wrong, clones can even bleed if they can tolerate enough, so what I'm saying is you don't need to hold back against me, but if you're that worried, I'll have another clone spar with you all" Naruto said calmly
The kids were all in awe, they never knew a shadow clone was capable of this much, and at the same time, amazed by Naruto.
"Oh right, before we start, I need to warn you all, I'm not as nice as the Naruto of this timeline, you better be prepared to get hurt" He revealed a cold smile that sent shivers down their spines
-Back in Naruto's timeline-
"Why is my clone still not back yet, I could have sworn the original goal was to get Orochimaru's research and dip" Naruto scratched the side of his cheeks and muttered, he can sense that the clone is still existing, but he doesn't know what state its in, nor what it is doing at the moment.
"Where are you looking during training" A blade came down upon his head, in which he quickly ducked and rolled on the ground to avoid.
Zabuza pulled back the blade with a sneer
"Sensei, I could have sworn you were right handed" Naruto scratched the back of his head and said with a groan, Zabuza was swinging with his left hand without any traces of difficulties whatsoever.
"Hmph, an experienced shinobi should know to be adept with both hands" Zabuza responded before charging at Naruto once more
Naruto groaned, but held his own against Zabuza for a while, though his stance throughout the battle were mostly passive without many chances to fight back. Against Zabuza in terms of raw kenjutsu, he fell short by a long shot.
"Yo Haku, can I get some ice in my water?" Naruto asked as he held his cup of water up
Haku rolled his eyes, but to his surprise, he pointed a finger over, and ice formed in his cup
"Seriously? Wow, thanks" Naruto gulped down the water and grinned
"So~, got a request for me?" He asked with a sly smile as he gazed towards Haku's hesitant expression
He had gotten used to Haku's cold response towards him, so when Haku actually complied, it means that there is something he wants.
Zabuza noticed Haku's gaze, and left the yard silently, which lifted some of the complicated feelings in Haku's heart.
"The Yamanaka girl...how did she become so strong in such short time? Not just her, you, Zabuza-sama...you're all becoming so strong yet I'm stagnant" He bit the bottom of his lips
His face revealed a faint pinkish hue that made him seem rather adorable.
"Aw, so you want to get stronger" Naruto smiled and sat down on the opposite side of him so they were meeting eye to eye.
"..." Haku didn't speak as he lowered his head a little, after a moment of silence, he gave Naruto a faint nod.
*Clap*
"Easily done! Sensei's kid is no different to a sibling to me, from this point on, we will let go of all past emnities and start anew" Naruto reached a hand over and grinned
Haku stared at his hand, then at his sincere smile.
*Grab*
He reached his hand over and shook Naruto's hand
"We will start anew...N-Naruto"
"You can call me big bro if you want" Naruto grinned
"...how about an ice coffin?" Haku's gaze became incredibly cold, and Naruto felt a chill without him even using any ice release.
However, he didn't back down
"Haku, sensei is your dad, and being a teacher is no different to a father, that's how I see it, so from the moment I took him as my teacher, I have considered you a brother, what do you say?" He asked
Haku paused
'A...brother?'
A thought that he had long assumed to be impossible began to surface his mind as he began remembering the joyous times he shared with his parents as a child before the incident...a family, all this time, it has only been Zabuza.
But is it possible? Is it possible to accept someone else into this small circle he formed in his heart?
He firmed himself and let out a deep breathe
"A brother, huh?" He muttered
Naruto nodded
"Yep, a brother" Naruto gave Haku a grin
Haku thought for a long while, he stared at Naruto, then closed his eyes.
'Do I really hate him? Yes, I loathed him for what he has done to Zabuza-sama, what he had done to me...but now...
He thought back to his childhood
'Mum, when will I become a big brother?' He remembered asking his mother that question, and she smiled back at him as she stroked his head.
His eyes opened
'Then...'
"Then call me Onii-san" Haku revealed a genuine and bright smile as he spoke
"...um...d-did a switch flip inside you or something? You do realise that you're asking me to help you get stronger, right? Like, not the other way around, also, did your attitude just take a one eighty?" Naruto's hands gestured as he asked with a perplexed look
Haku smiled gently, even he was surprised. The moment Naruto mentioned brother, he couldn't help but feel some gears shift in his mind, and the first thought was...can he have Naruto call him big brother?
"We will start anew as you said, and since you said you treat Zabuza-sama as a father, and me as your brother, the older one should naturally be the older sibling, no?" He replied
"...c-can I just call you bro instead? This is actually making me embarrassed" Naruto scratched the back of his head and asked
"Onii-chan, or Haku-nii is fine as well" He replied
"...can you just go back to hating me? I'd take that any day"
"No can do, Naruto" Haku shook his head and replied
Zabuza, who left earlier, was listening in on them from inside. And the more he listened, the more his body shook as he covered his mouth. His shoulders would tremble uncontrollably as he did his best to make sure his laughter didn't escape his mouth...
'Naruto, g-good luck to you, hahaha, no, should I start calling him son? Hahahaha! HAHAHA' Zabuza was laughing hysterically in his mind, but outside, he was doing his best to hold it all in...at least until these two finished sorting out their roles.
"Haku, I'm the one helping you get stronger" Naruto exclaimed
But no matter what he said, Haku was unyielding as he stared at Naruto...
"Tsk...H-Haku-nii..." He uttered
"There we go" Haku smiled
"...I've been sullied" Naruto covered his face and wept
"Oh, man up Naruto, let's get to training now" Haku looked rather refreshed as he gave Naruto a smile, whilst Naruto couldn't look any more sour than he is now.
"BWAHAHAHA" Out of no nowhere, they heard someone laugh inside their house
'...I hate today...'