Yo! New story here. This one's been sitting around and I just wanted to post it because otherwise, it would really be a waste. Don't expect regular updates or even regular chapter lengths; they'll fluctuate with my mood. I'll most likely update this cywscross-style (search for that author if you don't know him/her - he/she's awesome). That and I don't have a good plan for this so when I feel it can't go any further, I'll probably put it up for adoption. Probably.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach. They belong to Masashi Kimimoto and Tite Kubo respectively.

Enjoy!

Edited: [25-12-14] Changed conversation with Hiruzen. Minor grammatical errors corrected.

Cerulean blue eyes snapped open and Uzumaki Naruto jerked out of bed. His chest heaved as he panted, flashes of blood, fire and bone flying through his mind's eye. It almost seemed like a nightmare – if it weren't for the fact that it had actually happened.

He felt around his body, trying to make sure there weren't any gaping holes or any blood, though Kurama would have quickly healed them.

Kurama!

"Still here, brat," a voice echoed inside his head.

"Kurama," he breathed with a sigh of relief.

"Now shut up," came the immediate admonishment. "Trying to sleep. What you did took a lot out of me." Naruto felt a slight smile tug at his lips.

So it had worked.

'Thanks fur ball,' Naruto replied mentally. It was greeted with a snort before a loud rumbling snore trembled across his mindscape.

His eyes raked across his dark room, taking comfort in the empty ramen cups, crumpled clothes and other miscellaneous items littered around the room. It had been a long year since he had last seen these four walls. Since Konoha had burned down around him.

Glancing out of the window, Naruto took in the navy sky twinkling with burning balls of helium and fell back down into bed, all the muscles in his body losing their tension for the first time in what seemed like forever. Months of camping, staying on guard and fighting for survival had taken its toll on the 19-year-old.

Or 12-year-old now, he mused. Naruto stared at the bare ceiling, knowing it would be next to impossible to get to sleep, not when he knew what would happen in the future. The root of it all was here, in this stretch of time. The Chuunin exams, the invasion, the death of the Sandaime… this was when it had all begun.

When was it anyway? Naruto jumped out of bed and immediately stopped by his bedside table. It was empty save for a ticking clock. No picture… he wasn't in Team 7 yet; he must still be in the Academy. Had he passed the graduation exam? No, no hitai-ate either. Unfortunately, he couldn't get an exact date yet. Naruto's monthly provisions had been barely enough to get him through the month, though they should have been, if not for the premium prices he had to pay. He felt the corners of his mouth tug down into a frown. It had made him forget about even considering buying wanted objects; he would be lucky to get the necessities.

He flopped back into bed, the springs under the thin mattress bouncing up and down before finally adjusting to his weight. It was probably best that he had overshot that time-travel jutsu. He'd rather not arrive too late for the exams. Speaking of the time-travel jutsu, Naruto wondered about his orange-haired companion. The teen had become an unlikely friend after he had been rescued from Kabuto's clutches at the start of the war.

"I just ended up there yesterday. You saved me just in time; that snake creep was about to start experimenting on me today," he had said.

Nevertheless, he had joined up with the war effort, and had been one of the few remaining survivors. Although dressed curiously in a black hakama and a sword across his back, he had been quickly accepted among Naruto's peers. Well, Kakashi had wanted to order ANBU surveillance and a Yamanaka to double check his loyalties, but he had been dissuaded. Not easily, mind you.

The stranger had later become a close friend, as close as Sasuke or Sakura had been… at least until they died. He had helped Naruto send them both back into the past.

Where is he now? He did say he wasn't originally from this dimension…

Naruto finally shoved all thoughts out of his head. If the graduation exam turned out to be tomorrow and he hadn't slept at all… well, he'd probably still pass. But that was just it. He couldn't pass. He had to reveal Mizuki and be dead last. As much as he hated it, he would have to be called Dobe later on by the 'last' Uchiha. Yeah, you're definitely the last of your clan when you have a brother running around, spying on enemy ninja.

A weight was resting on his eyelids, dragging them down across his eyes. Just before they shut completely, a thought ran through his head.

I won't let you down… everyone.

—ナルト—ブリーチ—

A flicker of a golden ray of sunshine streaked across Naruto's face, causing his eyes to twitch. Groaning, he sat up blearily and rubbed his eyes. Where was he anyway? As his vision focused, he almost let out a yelp of joy unbecoming of his 19 years of life. The thoughts of last night raced through his head with the same speed as when he leapt out of bed and threw himself into his morning routine.

Naruto zoomed through his bath, having learnt the importance of having showers in his later years, and brushed his teeth with an almost bone-breaking vigor.

Inspecting his reflection in the mirror, he almost grimaced at how scrawny he was. While it was mostly due to the almost exclusive diet of ramen, the fact that fresh vegetables were hard to get ahold of also played a large factor. His hair was back to being short; it had grown longer, resembling his late father, during the war when he had neglected to trim it. But honestly, the recession in growth didn't really matter to him. He could save everyone! No one would have to die! But…

Even if he did save everyone, they wouldn't have the same relationships… would they? Sasuke couldn't be allowed to leave and that would change his whole personality, even some of the jutsu he could use. Sakura and the rest of the Konoha 11 wouldn't throw themselves into training with the same resolve as before. Heck, there wouldn't even be a Konoha 11. If all turned out well, there would be a Konoha 12.

Throwing on his orange jumpsuit, Naruto glanced out of the glass window. It was still early, 5 a.m. by the sun. The Academy wouldn't start until 8. With a shrug he headed to the kitchen and hastily made a cup of instant ramen, gulping it down as soon as the required three minutes were up, nearly scalding his throat. Naruto could train instead. If he remembered correctly, Gai-sensei and Lee were up training at this time.

Not that I would train with them, he thought with a shiver.

He slipped into his shoes and headed out, nimbly hopping from rooftop to rooftop. He grinned brightly at the houses, a sun that would rouse the sleeping village. Even if it took all his might, even if it took all his strength, even if it took his life, Naruto would protect Konoha. It was his village, for goodness' sake. It didn't matter if the everyday civilians glared at him and stabbed him with their hurtful mutterings, there were still his precious people here, even if said people didn't know it yet.

With one last large bound, he reached the green wall that surrounded and protected Konoha. Flashing a cheery smile at the surprised Kotetsu and Izumo, he started to run two laps around the wall. The guards were probably shocked that he was here to train this early.

Naruto set a steady pace, his feet hitting the dirt path at regular intervals, kicking up plumes of billowing dust. Two laps were probably pushing it. The course took at least half an hour for Gai-sensei and three quarters of one for a normal adult. He wasn't even a teenager now and his body didn't have much muscle mass, a problem he'd have to correct immediately.

Stumbling slightly, having miscalculated the distance, he recovered just as quickly before continuing on the trail. In his mind, Naruto began to plan a training schedule designed to have his muscles regain their muscle memory and try out all his jutsu in this form as he absentmindedly kept his feet moving.

'Hey furball,' Naruto called out mentally. 'Do you think you could help me grow or something?'

He could hear a bored yawn before Kurama replied, "I doubt you'd want to look like an overgrown freak."

'Eh… True. I guess I'll just have to focus on ninjutsu instead of taijutsu,' he conceded.

"Don't focus too much, brat. You don't want to have to explain how you know the Rasengan or even completed it, and you definitely don't want to explain how you can use my chakra."

"Wait… So I'm basically left with 4 ninjutsu?!" Naruto exclaimed, forgetting for a moment to keep it mental.

"Shut it. You sound like an insane person. Just keep it at four until you graduate, then say you started taking it seriously or something of the like. The white-haired pervert should accept that reason."

'… Are you talking about Kakashi-sensei or Ero-sennin?' he inquired.

"In this case, the Hatake," Kurama clarified.

'…Kurama, Kakashi-sensei's hair is silver not white.'

"It's white, brat. I know white when I see it, and the shade of his hair is the same as Tobirama's."

'It's silver, fur ball. And who in the Elemental Countries is Tobirama?'

"How do you plan on being Hokage when you don't know who the Hokages were? It's white, brat."

'Silver,' Naruto refuted with a passion. 'And I already did plan on becoming the first genin Hokage. What's the difference if I don't know the previous Kages' names?'

"Whatever brat. White."

'Silver.'

"White."

'Silver.'

"WHITE!"

'SILVER!'

"STUPID BRAT! HOW CAN HATAKE HAVE SILVER HAIR WHEN HIS FATHER WAS CALLED THE WHITE FANG?!"

'… Ok. Point taken.'

The rest of the run was done in silence after an incredulous snort on the behalf of a certain orange-haired fox. After an hour and a half, his muscles were straining and crying out in relief at the sight of the tall green gates. Yes, this was a serious problem. It was probably a bit of a combination of the fact that he was a child, and the malnourishment he had received at this time.

He waved at the guards again, before stretching a bit and dropping onto the ground, his back resting against the side of the large gates. Leaning his head back and shutting his eyes, he relished the warmth of the rising sun, only to jerk back up at the cry of Kotetsu's "Halt!"

Eyes snapped open to take in a familiar form with orange-hair. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he made to stand up.

"Who are you?" Izumo demanded.

A shinigami with orange hair as spiky as Naruto's own lifted his head, his ever-present scowl deepening.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. I have an important message to tell the Hokage."

—ナルト—ブリーチ—

After a few minutes of haggling and explaining to the guards, Ichigo finally managed to get them to allow him to see the Hokage. When they argued over whether or not to get an ANBU or another ninja to escort him as they were guarding the gate, a certain well-known Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja volunteered.

"Naruto?" Kotetsu asked. "But you're not even a genin."

"Don't worry, Kotetsu-sensei. You're talking to the future Hokage! There's no way a random hair-bleaching stranger can beat me!" Naruto proclaimed. Ichigo felt an eyebrow twitch at the hair-bleaching comment and had to squish down the urge to knock him out to make a point. The blonde seemed to be straining to keep up his idiotic old self.

The two guards slowly nodded after some hesitation and allowed them through with a word of warning to exercise caution to Naruto. The son of the Yondaime Hokage waved off their concern and proceeded to lead, or accompany Ichigo to the Hokage's tower.

"So," Naruto started, as they walked at a brisk pace. "When did you get here?"

"Just last night," Ichigo replied, recalling how he had nearly mistaken the woods he had ended up in as the exact same one he had been in before. "I ended up in the forests nearby. Nearly broke my back when I fell on top of a tree."

He heard a snicker from Naruto and barely resisted from cracking a smile at the blonde's infectious laughter.

"You know you wouldn't have been hurt quite that much." Ichigo shrugged.

"I guess."

They paced in silence for a few moments as Ichigo observed the various merchants setting up shop. He never did get to see much of the village, having only been found a year before it was burned down to the ground. A year filled with long hours of fighting for survival. In his mind's eye, it wasn't a stretch to see the burning buildings surrounding him.

"Any clues why I look the same as before and you're a tiny midget?" He asked.

"HEY! I am not a tiny midget!" Naruto objected loudly, drawing glares. Ichigo snickered.

"I'm sorry, I meant tinier midget, because you already were a tiny midget then," Ichigo quipped. Indeed, he had been a great deal taller than Naruto, even though they were the same age. He could see Naruto visibly let his temper go as the blonde rolled his eyes. A cackle rang through his head.

:Good one, King:

"Yeah, yeah. Done with 20 ways to poke fun at Naruto already?" he snapped. Ichigo repressed a chuckle. Their relationship was almost like that of brothers, though obviously not of blood, their meeting pure chance and coincidence thanks to a certain stupid Urahara and his stupid similar-looking inventions.

It was a 2 years after the Quincy War, and he'd been meaning to go to Soul Society, as he did every fortnight, and Urahara had set up the portal. However, he later concluded that there had been a mix up between the actual portal and a portal to a Whole. Different. Dimension.

He had appeared in a creepy snake guy's laboratory, a person he had later discovered to be named Kabuto and had been about to be experimented on by the creep when Naruto and co. had busted him out of there. Ichigo had later found out that he was in a different dimension (one he had decided to dub Naruto-verse), with no possible way to get back and, after grieving the fact that he'd never see his siblings, friends or family again, immersed himself into this new dimension, as the official name would later call: the Elemental Countries. At least he had his Zanpakuto.

:Oi! King!:

And his Hollow, of course.

Apparently, there was some kind of war, and having gone through two, he could tell the bad guys from the good guys. Or at least the good-er guys from the bad-er (because the world knows that nothing black or white [except for shinigami and Hollows]). Ichigo had made new friends, made some enemies and had become all-but-blood brothers with a certain ninja by the name of Uzumaki Naruto.

And then, things had gone in a downward spiral and after two years of war, Ichigo had watched his friends fall and barely made it out in the end. Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and apparently learning how to mold chakra wasn't a desperate enough measure.

The death of the rest of their faction was the last straw. The war had wiped out all shinobi, with the exception of Naruto and, using the term 'shinobi' very loosely, Ichigo as well. They had succeeded in creating a time-travel jutsu, though seal would be more precise. Made meticulously with Naruto's newfound sealing prowess, they had activated it and sent themselves back in time.

Cross-dimensional travelling was mind blowing enough, but now time? Ichigo might be adequately clever, but he wasn't quite clever enough to comprehend that, even though he had helped out with making the seal.

Zangetsu had speculated that the reason his body was still the same was because he technically 'did not exist' in this dimension. A new body or persona had to be created for him and as this universe did not know his past, they had made it equal to his future.

Now, the two (or the five, depending on how one thought of it) were back in the past and a somber mood fell upon them as the Hokage's mansion loomed in sight. The familiar red and gold walls rose up in front of them, eliciting a nostalgic sigh from the blonde beside him.

"What do we tell him?" Naruto finally said. Ichigo arched an eyebrow.

"Weren't you the provisionary Rokudaime Hokage-slash-leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces when all the Kage were practically gone?" Ichigo asked. Naruto promptly gave him a look that clearly conveyed I-know-what-I-think-we-should-do-but-I-want-a-second-opinion. With a sigh, he replied, "We need to tell the Hokage. We won't be able to do much without his consent."

Naruto gave a nod that declared his approval, an extremely weird thing considering that the Rokudaime Hokage was now a twelve-year-old.

Yes, definitely weird, Ichigo thought. He speculated that he had heard Zangetsu and his Hollow hum and grunt in agreement.

The duo trod up the stairs and reached the Hokage's door. The two ANBU who stood guarding the door immediately cried out, "Halt! State your name and purpose."

Ichigo gave a short nod. "Kurosaki Ichigo. I have an important message for the Hokage." He watched the two guards share a look and turned back to him.

"The Hokage is not expecting you. He does not have any appointments this early." Ichigo leaned closer, almost menacing.

"This message is urgent and may affect whether the village will live," he stated firmly. The guards shared another look before one poked his head into the room for a few moments. The guard held the door open.

"Hokage-sama will see you now." Ichigo walked through the door and could hear Naruto making to follow, only to be blocked. He turned around saying, "Uzumaki Naruto is imperative to the message." The guards hesitated before allowing him through. The door closed softly.

What on Earth is going on that the jinchuuriki of the Hidden Leaf is involved?

ナルト—ブリーチ

When Hiruzen saw his guard announce that a messenger with an urgent message had come, he was understandably surprised. Nevertheless, he accepted the meeting and observed an orange-haired in his late teens step through the doorway. Upon the sighting of the huge sword – the Land of Iron? – he discretely signaled the ANBU hanging in the corners of the room to be on guard. Imagine his surprise when the son of his fallen colleague, having been directly told to come, followed the young adult.

The two reached the middle of the room, and the strangely dressed orange-haired teen gave a low bow.

"Hokage-san, my name is Kurosaki Ichigo and we come bearing news of the future," he started. Hiruzen started when he heard the suffix added to his name. Most unknown dignitaries used –sama, as was required by decorum. However, this part was easily disregarded when compared to the other half of the sentence. The future?

"The future?" he asked, echoing his thoughts. He leaned forward, resting his creaking joints on the wooden table. "Please elaborate."

Ichigo cast glances to the four corners of the room before sending a pointed look to the Hokage.

So he knew what kind of defenses the Hokage had in place. Although it was a colossal security risk, something about this teen and the fact that he was apparently a friend to Naruto made Hiruzen want to trust him. With another hand gesture, the four ANBU stationed in the corners of the room were dismissed, leaving him with the two youngsters.

"Naruto and I have come from the future back here to save all the shinobi of the Elemental Countries. The Fourth Great Shinobi War wiped out almost all of us," Ichigo said, his and Naruto's face growing steadily darker.

"You do realise that you both sound mentally insane, and for all I know, this could be an assassination attempt," Hiruzen pointed out. To his surprise, the orange-haired teen merely shrugged.

"It's understandable, but I figured you would trust Naruto here."

"And the Naruto in front of me could be an imposter with an undetectable transformation technique," Hiruzen deflected. To this, Naruto's eyebrow suddenly began twitching.

"Old man, I don't think that an enemy ninja would be the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and know who my parents are," Naruto replied. Ah. That would definitely prove it. If he knew… well, the very thought made him somewhat guilty. As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen may have gotten away by saying his job was highly attention demanding and time-consuming, but it would not have lessened the burden that threatened to on crush his heart. He had heard, if not witnessed, of the villagers actions of spite and ridicule, and those tales are what made him set up the ANBU guard that later shadowed the young blonde's every move. Hiruzen had the chance to make Naruto's life better, and had let it slip through his fingers; how he would face Minato, he didn't know.

"So you know?" he asked hesitantly. Naruto nodded.

"Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, dattebayo!" Naruto proclaimed with a cheery smile as he pumped a fist into the air. Hiruzen allowed a small smile to grace his lips. Just like Kushina, he was.

"I think that should be enough proof. Hokage-san?" Ichigo looked to Hiruzen for confirmation. Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. For all he knew, Naruto could've have been 'hijacked' and defected to another village. With a shake of his head, he quickly discarded the idea; the ANBU surveillance constantly observing Naruto had reported nothing out of place, but he still required more proof.

"I still require hard proof," Hiruzen pressed. The Uzumaki in front of him seemed to contemplate the slight conundrum for a moment, ignoring both the Hokage as well as Ichigo's eyes boring into him.

"Here we go. Rasengan," Naruto intoned, a spinning blue orb of chakra coming to life in his palms.

On the outside, Hiruzen calmly leaned back in his chair though inwardly he was panicking. With the Rasengan… only Jiraiya and perhaps Kakashi knew it, and no enemy forces had not overcome both of them. And with that, came the confirmation: Naruto and this Ichigo were telling the truth. The implications that came with the truth were ones that he'd rather not consider, though Hiruzen knew he would have to. Although he sincerely wanted to discuss Naruto's heritage with him, it would have to be a conversation saved for later.

With a long-suffering sigh, Hiruzen nodded. This was too much work to be done in the morning. "So you've come back in time to change the future. I don't know what to say," the Third Hokage honestly confessed.

"Don't worry, old man. We'll take care of it. But…" Naruto shared a look with Ichigo. "Is there something you could do for us?" Hiruzen leaned forward.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"We don't suppose you could arrange for the assassination of one Shimura Danzo, could you?" Ichigo asked haltingly. Immediately, Hiruzen's gaze became sharp.

"As much I do not like the man, you are talking about a man who, admittedly does not have Konoha's best intentions at heart no matter what he believes, is often crucial to Konoha's survival. He controls a large proportion of our forces from the shadows. It is not wise to dispose of him," Hiruzen explained.

"Does that mean no?" Naruto asked, his eyebrows screwed up in bewilderment, with a similarly confused Ichigo next to him. Hiruzen discretely rolled his eyes. Birds of a feather. It seemed the years had not sharpened the Uzumaki's mind.

"It's not necessarily a no, but merely that it is unwise," Hiruzen said, rephrasing his previous explanation. "That, and your perception of the future is more than likely to be biased."

The taller teen looked down at the pre-teen. Odd. It seemed that Ichigo deferred to Naruto for some sort of reason. The Uzumaki fingered his chin for a few moments, his eyebrows locked in concentration.

"On the contrary, getting rid of Danzo would not negatively affect anything. He did not mobilize his forces during the invasion of the Chuunin exams, nor did anything he do affect anything at all really, or not until three or four years time… but those were only negative effects," Naruto reasoned. It was slightly disturbing to hear such a close analysis from who was widely known as a poor academic student.

The invasion of the Chuunin exams? What was that all about? Swallowing his questions for now, as he would have a hard enough time sorting through the information already given, Hiruzen deliberated for a moment. If Naruto's scrutiny were true, then it wouldn't hurt to dispose of Danzo. It rather saddened him that his old friend would eventually become someone that required the disposing of.

While not a particularly cruel or vindictive person, Hiruzen could see that it would certainly make life, especially his own, easier. However, the loss of life should never be taken lightly…

"Old man," Naruto started, as if reading his thoughts. "I know you have your doubts about whether we should, but perhaps this would help: ROOT is still active and being lead by Danzo." This was certainly troubling news. Hiruzen had thought it had been disbanded after the Fourth's order… but apparently not. He had been too complacent it seemed.

"I'll launch an investigation," Hiruzen finally conceded. The two boys' faces perked up. "If, and only if, any incriminating evidence is found, then we'll take action. However, this will take time, and I am not able to guarantee anything."

Another affirmative nod. Hiruzen's eyes flickered to the clock ticking on his desk. "Naruto, I do believe the Academy is starting soon." Naruto's eyes widened and the blonde took a glance at the clock.

"Oh, man! I need to go!" Naruto all but yelled. Ichigo snickered.

"I think you make the first Hokage who has ever needed to go to the Academy after they got the hat," Ichigo quipped, earning a hard glare from Naruto. Hokage?

"Shut up. I thought we were done with 20 ways to tease Naruto!" Naruto retorted.

"Hokage?" Hiruzen asked, causing Naruto to scratch the back of his head, flushing faintly in embarrassment.

"Not really officially. The official title was provisionary Rokudaime Hokage, but it didn't really mean anything," Naruto explained, though his blue eyes, so like his father's, grew darker at the last few words.

"Gotta go!" Naruto perked up again and dashed out of the door. "See ya later Ichigo, ji-ji!" The door slammed behind him, though it was quickly opened again.

4 ANBU peeked their heads in and asked, "Do we come back in, Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen looked to Ichigo with a question, who shrugged in return.

"Nothing too sensitive," he replied. Best to be on the safe side, Hiruzen thought.

"Give me five more minutes, maybe longer." The door shut softly again, and Hiruzen turned to Ichigo.

"So, who are you exactly? I've never seen you around before. The Land of Iron, perhaps?" Ichigo grumbled and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, 'why is it always the land of Iron'.

With a sigh, he replied, "No. Actually I'm not from the Elemental Countries at all." And then, the orange-haired teen launched into his own story, and Hiruzen learnt all about his journey in cross-dimensional travel. At the very start, when he mentioned 'shinigami', Hiruzen started.

"Shinigami?" he asked. Did he know what happened to the Yondaime Hokage?

"Yes, though not the same as the ones you have over here. And no, I don't know what happened to the Fourth. I get that a lot from Naruto, and Kakashi and pretty much everyone who knew the man," Ichigo explained. Once he had finished his story (and blown Hiruzen's mind away), Hiruzen finally stated more than asked, "So, I suppose you need a place in the village."

While the story seemed completely out of this world (which it was), he would take it as it was; there were no other sources, and while Ichigo was surely omitting details, something just made him trust the young man.

Ichigo inclined his head. The duo had sent themselves back into the past in this moment in time for a reason. Ichigo would need to help Naruto achieve whatever needs to be changed.
"Why did you choose to come back to this moment in time?" Hiruzen queried. Ichigo looked up for a moment, thinking.

"Naruto said something about how that reconnaissance mission near Iwa being the beginning, but Kakashi had… passed by then, so we didn't have anyone who could go back that far…" Ichigo started. A reconnaissance mission near Iwa that involved Kakashi… it had to be that one where Team Minato had lost a member of their team.

"And we didn't know that I could go back to that time," Ichigo went on. "So Naruto decided the Chuunin exams was the next best major turning point but something about some people in the Wave who could help turn it around." Ichigo's amber eyes finally focused back on Hiruzen's own.

"It was on a mission before the Chuunin exams, but we overshot a little and ended up before he was a genin," Ichigo concluded. So, Ichigo would need to be somehow assigned to be able to assist Naruto on a mission with his team.

"What are your abilities?" Ichigo's expression became guarded.

"Why do you need to know that?" he shot back.

"Technically, I need to know the abilities of every ninja in the village, but specifically for this case, it's so I can figure out how to assign you to be able to assist Naruto in the Wave." The tension faded from his shoulders.

"I can mold a bit of chakra, but my repertoire in shinobi skill is kind of… basic. Very basic. I specialize in kenjutsu and can do some kido. My taijutsu… apparently it's really good. I just beat this weird guy with bushy eyebrows in this horrible shade of green and apparently that means I'm good," Ichigo said. He could beat Maito Gai, Konoha's Taijutsu specialist? His Taijutsu would be Jounin standard then.

"What's kido?" Hiruzen asked. He could see palpable pain in the boy's amber eyes.

"It's like ninjutsu back in my… dimension." Hiruzen nodded.

"We could probably set you up as a Chuunin and say you were a wandering swordsman who decided to settle down in Konoha. You would need to go through a few tests. How does tomorrow sound?" Hiruzen suggested.

"It's fine."

"I would set up an ANBU guard, you are an unknown enigma, but with the… delicate information you and Naruto will no doubt be discussing, it's not the best idea." This would mean calling off Naruto's ANBU surveillance rotation as well, though if he was truly at Kage-level, it shouldn't be necessary.

"You also need to fill in some paperwork. This," Hiruzen took some sheets from the table, "is for a residency permit and as for lodgings, there are quite a few apartments vacated around Naruto's due to his being… well, you know." Ichigo nodded.

"Thank you, Hokage-san. I'll hand these into your secretary," Ichigo said, and made to leave.

"Please wait a moment," Hiruzen called out, causing Ichigo to pause and look back. "I would like to inquire into the reason behind your suffix. I assume-"

"That I am loyal to Naruto?" Ichigo finished. "Yes." As Hiruzen opened his mouth, he was cut off Ichigo. "I am still loyal to you, Sandaime, but my first priority is to Naruto, and I will not disobey an order unless it is directly contrary to something Naruto has said. Naruto… he won't contradict one of your orders, not likely anyway. I hope this makes me substantially less of a village threat?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Very well. It is understandable." Honestly, it was slightly scary how well Ichigo was politically versed. If this was Naruto's friend, perhaps he had underestimated the both of them a bit too much. "Additionally, am I to know everything about the future?" Ichigo's eyes flickered to the ceiling as he pondered the question for a moment.

"We'll probably come back some time later... There are some events that you definitely need to be informed of. Others… others might be better left unsaid. Notify us when you have some free time. Have a nice day." With that, Ichigo walked out of the door, and four ANBU came scampering in, resuming their duties.

Hiruzen merely sighed and massaged his temples. It was too early in the morning to deal with this.

Please leave a review. I appreciate constructive criticism, not things like 'I don't like it' and leaving it at that. Tell me why so that I can improve and make this story better. Thanks!