A/N: Chapters may increase in quality.

Uploaded: 8/11/2017

Last Edit: 10/20/2017

Trespassing the Laws of Time

By ShiraChan-Desu

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 1

Ino

"Sensei…this doesn't look like Konoha…"

The Yellow Flash said nothing, looking around with narrowed eyes at their foreign surroundings.

They stood under the shade of a large tree, its roots digging beneath the dirt underneath the soles of their feet. To help protect it from damage, a short wooden platform was erected in a circular formation around the large plant. Hedges and wooden benches bordered the area, trees towering over them in an array of healthy green.

Each of the four sides of the area had a different purpose. To their right, past the hedges, was a fence overlooking an array of houses. To the other side and behind them was a stone wall, firm wooden stairs rising to connect to the bustling streets above. Ahead of them, to the corner of the pit nearest to the stairs, buildings enclosed together to create a full line of stores, not unlike what he could see above them.

But even if he and his team has suddenly found themselves in an unknown place, even if there was every reason to be paranoid or uneasy, his mind was observing the opposite.

The children playing at the corner nearby were clumsy, shrill laughter bubbling up their throats and giving a red glow to their chubby cheeks. Several adults sat on the benches nearby, either talking with one another or watching the children with a fond, nostalgic look on their faces.

Minato has been to many villages, and he has always remembered how different they were compared to Konoha.

But this place...

He turned around, Rin gasped, and his eyes widened as he drew the same observation looking at two, not three, of his students –

"Where's Kakashi?"

Obito whirled around with wide eyes, obviously not noticing that his teammate on less than friendly terms was gone. Rin's face was starting to become pinched with worry. "Kakashi? Kakashi!" she called out, hands surrounding her lips.

No matter where Minato looked, he could not see nor sense his student's presence. Seeing that the civilians had not yet noticed their presence, his hands flashed into a jutsu, and the familiar pulse of chakra settling over him like a mirage had him relax minutely. His students jerked, before immediately following his example, puffs of smoke as they transformed into nondescript civilians.

Being well-known, it was obvious that he had to disguise himself to prevent from any potential enemies recognizing him. His students were less of a precaution, but they too understood the importance of stealth. While they were just mere Genin, the clan markings or the distinguishable symbols of their clan on their clothing could potentially give away who they were loyal to.

And they still had no idea where they had found themselves in. They could potentially disperse their henge once they discover if this town was just part of the Land of Fire, but at the moment, they knew they should not risk anything until they were sure they were safe.

All they knew was that one of their teammates were missing in this foreign place. And they needed to find him as they figure out how they got here and how they could get back.

And he had a feeling it had to do with the scroll that was metaphorically burning a hole in his pocket.

"Don't draw any attention to yourself. Stay relaxed, and stay alert," Minato ordered his remaining students. They nodded under their disguise, thankfully understanding the seriousness of the situation. "Tell me if there is anyone suspicious looking at you and keep an eye out for Kakashi."

Minato-sensei started walking in the direction of the street ahead, Rin following close behind. Obito moved too, but he nearly tripped when a strong tug on his pants almost unbalanced him.

A small boy looked up at him with wide eyes. "Onee-san...How you do that?"

"Do what?" Obito uneasily looked from the boy to his team, who were getting further and further away.

"How Onee-san just go..."p-hhh' - " the boy's lips puckered and exploded outward, mimicking the plume of smoke, "and O-Onee-san was here?"

"I'm a ninja, I just changed what I look like, now go…" He tried to push the child away, hyper-aware of the gazes boring into his back, daring him to harm the child in his efforts. A bead of sweat trailed down his forehead.

"No!" the boy burst out, chubby fingers bearing surprising strength in its grip. "Onee-san appeart! I wanna know how to do that!"

"Y-you'll learn when you get older!"

The rest of his team came back and thankfully Minato-sensei helped guide the boy back to his playmates.

Rin was watching him with a small smile as he muttered to himself, "Just appeared, he says. I was there the whole time. It's not my fault he needs to get his eyes checked."

Once Minato-sensei came back, they left the area. As they walked down the street, he made eye-contact with a shopkeeper who smiled at him and waved. Obito instantly looked away and drew closer to Minato-sensei.

The situation they were in was…scarily strange, to be honest. It only took a span of one second for them to go from the Training Ground to here. There wasn't even a white light or anything. He looked at Minato-sensei, who was disguised as a nondescript man with messy brown hair and black eyes.

If he remembered correctly, the last thing he did before they arrived here was crashing into Minato-sensei (who, he realized with a hint of envy, hadn't even budged an inch). And then right after, he had heard a crack and once he regained his balance and looked up, they were already here.

Wherever here was. But what was really beginning to irk him was the fact that everyone seemed so happy and friendly. There were a lot of people at home on the streets who were just like that, but it was disorienting to connect the similarities.

He just hoped they were still on friendly soil, because keeping up a henge for hours on end wasn't really his specialty.

Obito nearly shot straight into the air when he felt a small hand grasp onto his. And then when he turned to his side and realized that it was Rin who had done it, smoke nearly came out of his ears. He struggled fiercely against himself, but was unable to stop his flinch when she neared his ear and whispered, "It'll be less suspicious if they think we're just walking together."

He whimpered – no, he nodded, savoring the feeling of her hand in his as she swung their hands between them to keep up their appearance. It's been a year or so since Rin had stopped always doing this. She used to do it all the time as kids, but as they grew older, naturally physical contact became less of a constant, and before he knew it, his reactions were de-conditioned and he started flinching whenever he didn't see it coming.

"Sensei!" Rin whispered.

Their disguised sensei had ducked into a restaurant, which, upon following right after him, they discovered was not that crowded. Minato-sensei chose a booth near the back with privacy curtains. They all settled in and Rin released his hand. Obito couldn't tell if he was disappointed or strangely relieved.

They waited until a waitress came. Obito watched as Minato-sensei ordered politely, but the moment the waitress left, his stony 'thinking face' slammed back into place. Obito shivered. It was times like these that he would remember that their sensei was one of the top Jonin in Konoha. It was slightly awkward as he and Rin fiddled in the silence that followed, sneaking peeks at the animated tables throughout the restaurant while their sensei sat, a thousand thoughts probably running through his brain every second.

It was only when their food came and they were finally able to draw the curtains without suspicion that they faintly relaxed. Minato-sensei pushed aside their food (Obito eyed them forlornly and Rin kicked him on the leg gently), and took out something from his pocket that Obito recognized as a scroll.

A weird scroll with a lot of markings on it and – with a growing sense of dread in his stomach – a deep tear from the top of the scroll to the near middle. It looked like it had broken through a few layers and a few imprints looked smudged.

"Sensei…what is that?" Rin said hesitantly.

"Sandaime-sama gave it to me before we came to the Training Grounds," Minato explained, a calculative look on his face. "It was a scroll he couldn't read because it has a few seals on it. He asked me to pass through them and decipher the scroll, but even I have been having trouble figuring it out." He carefully smoothed a finger over the tear.

Something clicked in Obito's mind. He inhaled sharply, causing them both to look at him in surprise. "Minato-sensei, is that…was that—was that what made that sound?" Rin looked confused, but Minato-sensei's expression turned into understanding. "Did I do that?"

"It wasn't your fault, Obito," Minato-sensei said patiently, no doubt knowing that guilt was beginning to gnaw at his heart at the realization. "I should have put it at a safer place, but I was too distracted."

"You mean when Obito…" Rin wondered out loud, blinking.

"Yes Rin, that was when this scroll got damaged. And I have a feeling that this is the reason why we have found ourselves here right now." His expression became serious. "I need time in order to figure this out. But we also need to find Kakashi."

He looked at them both in the eye. "Did any of you see anything strange when we got here? Who was nearest to him?"

"I – I was," Rin said. Obito felt a faint tendril of jealousy, knowing why she would be. "He was right by me, Sensei, but when we came here he was gone. Like he just disappeared the moment I blinked."

Their sensei digested the small amount of information, and nodded his head. "Right now, our top priority is to find out exactly where we are and where Kakashi is. I'm certain he knows what to do to stay hidden, but if he has been put into enemy hands, this will get much more dangerous." He leaned back against the comfortable backrest of the booth. "We have to pick a rendezvous point – a hotel, more likely - and once we find one, we'll split up. It'll be less suspicious that way. If they are our enemies, they will least expect children to be sent undercover. Gather as much information as you can, but always be careful who you talk to and keep an eye on each other's backs. You can't afford to get separated."

The two young Genin both nodded.

"Once the sun has almost completely set, we'll meet back at the hotel. Do you understand, Obito, Rin?

"Yes sir!"

Their stomachs were relatively full after they left the restaurant half an hour later, having eaten what Minato-sensei had ordered for them previously. The small flame of embarrassment he felt when Minato-sensei had passed him a plate with a knowing and slightly amused smile had all but disappeared.

Rin told her remaining team of a building she had sighted on the way to the restaurant, and they walked a quarter of the way back the way they came until they came across the said establishment. The hotel was small, but it was at a good price and the owner was friendly, greeting them with a warm welcome and escorted them to their room. Their temporary refuge had all the necessities they needed, complete with several futons and a bathroom. The owner told them that breakfast would be available downstairs for free, if they so chose to. Team 7, minus one member, thanked her kindly. Minato-sensei set up a few seals around their temporary hide-out and they all headed out once again.

"We should probably look if there are any ninja around," Rin suggested as they walked together on the streets. Minato-sensei was nowhere to be found, as he departed as soon as they left the hotel to do whatever a Jonin leader does in an unknown yet non-hostile environment (at least for the moment).

He felt excited and adventurous as he took in the lively and cheerful atmosphere of the village or town. Although they were without their main pillar of strength, it eased his mind that Minato-sensei obviously thought that they could take care of themselves well enough to let them wander alone. Plus, with the ever-bright Rin by his side, the adventure was that much enjoyable.

Even if...

Even if one of their teammates was missing.

The thought sobered him and a frown began to tug at the corners of his lips.

"Obito! Obito, are you even listening?"

He blinked and looked up at Rin in surprise. "Huh?"

She shook her head, managing to look both fond and annoyed at the same time. "Really, you're always getting distracted. I need another pair of eyes on this, I can't do it alone."

"Uh – yeah, I know Rin, sorry, it's just...I've been thinking..."

His teammate's henged eyes, hazel, glimmered with concern when he trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence and ruin the mood. "Thinking...?"

"...Never mind." He smiled at her, not quite the grin he wore the majority of the time. Rin looked completely unconvinced and even opened her mouth to say something, but when he turned the puppy-look on her, she wavered.

"O-okay..." With one last worried glance at him, she turned her head, watching the people around them. "At first, I was thinking that we could look to see if there is anyone who is walking around with a hitai-ate. That'll make it easier to see where we are without having to ask random people. It's less suspicious."

"Yeah…" Obito shook his head again, ridding himself of the lingering thoughts. "So, let's go down this way?"

The sun was starting to near the horizon, so at most they had a few hours before they had to get back to the hotel.

Along the way, Obito couldn't help but notice something.

"A lot of the buildings kind of look…new." And that was an understatement. The wooden buildings looked like they were recently constructed, the paint on stone walls just barely chipped and worn, and all the signs were utterly free of any blemishes. "Either they were just built recently, the people here are rich, or this village is just full of perfectionists."

Rin hummed curiously in agreement. She took a peek over her shoulder and stopped. Obito paused too and followed her line of sight.

An animal was pulling a wagon piled with wooden planks. Its owner and possibly a friend were casually walking beside it, talking.

"…You don't see that every day," Obito slowly commented.

"Just what is this place?" Rin said, continuing to walk after a while. "How could it be so peaceful when there is supposed to be a war going on?"

"It's like they think the war is over or something," Obito agreed. He put his hands behind his head, but his eyes flashed around a bit uncertainly. "I don't think I see any ninjas, Rin."

"It's only been a couple of streets...Let's keep looking."

They continued on, attempting to be discrete as they looked around at the citizens and their surroundings. It set him on edge that there was practically nothing suspicious about the place. If anything, the suspicious people were them.

"Come on, give us something. Anything," Obito muttered. "A shadow in an alley. Someone bargaining for something suspicious." But there was nothing. Every alley was empty and not as bleak-looking and there was only the peaceful sound of bartering and advertising from the stores.

He never thought he would be wishing that something could look wrong.

A little boy ran across the road ahead of them and tripped, immediately bursting into tears. Rin gasped and hurried to the boy, reaching him at the same time someone with long blonde hair did. Obito arrived a beat later, but when the other person helped the little boy up and consoled him before looking up at the disguised Genin, he froze.

Glossy lips curved in a smile, nodding at them, and then gently guided the little boy back where he needed to be. A long pale fringe covered part of the right side of her face, a small amount compared to the straight layers cascading down to her calves. She stood up to her full height, and looked down at them contemplatively. She smiled again, "Why, hello. I don't think I've seen you kids around before."

The black-haired and hazel-eyed girl beside him, a bit of anxiety lightly tilting her voice up, said, "I-I'm Rin and this is…um," she elbowed him on the side, making him break out of his daze.

"I'm Obito!" he burst out reflexively in a rush of breath, "N-nice to meet you!" He rubbed a hand on the side that was hit, exchanging a pout with Rin, who was looking at him, slightly apologetic.

(They completely missed the twitch and appraising gaze on Obito, disappearing the moment they turned around to be replaced with a smile.)

The young lady - who was probably in her late teens, but had a presence that made him want to back away quietly - said patiently, "Well it's nice to meet you Rin-chan, and," she looked at him, pausing for a slight moment, "Obito-kun."

Rin broke the silence that followed, "…Y-you're very pretty, Miss."

The woman blinked at her, and then laughed. It wasn't a dainty laugh. More like one that hinted towards an overbearing personality. "Thank you, Rin-chan," she said without a hint of bashfulness. She then looked over his teammate casually and grinned, "I have a feeling you'll turn into a fine young woman yourself one day."

Despite the situation they were in, Obito just couldn't resist turning his head to follow what the lady was seeing.

Unfortunately, the lady must have noticed something in his expression, or maybe it was his eyes, because she crowed, "And it looks like your boyfriend here has no trouble agreeing with me."

It took a moment for it to sink in.

Mortified was the only way to describe his reaction. Any thoughts rumbling through his head lost fuel and sputtered out.

Rin lifted her hands, waving them back and forth, "He's not my boyfriend Miss…"

"Ino-san. And I believe that blush begs to differ, Rin-chan~! Just look at him, he's as red as a tomato!"

Obito froze when Rin turned to him briefly with a curious look. All he wanted to do was run away and hide in a hole.

"Ino-san," Rin complained.

Ino waved it off with a manicured hand. "Well don't say I didn't warn you Rin-chan. Even with those horrid goggles, I know he's just going to snatch you up one day."

Rin flushed this time, and Obito became indignant again, his voice fueled with embarrassment, "Hey! These goggles aren't bad! They protect my eyes because they get dry easily!"

Ino pursed her lips, almost like a pout. "Is that so? You should get something for that, Obito-kun. With a face like yours, others can't appreciate it with those goggles covering it up all the time."

Faster than he could react, she pulled the goggles up, one hand holding it up and the other nestled in his hair. She smirked triumphantly. "There, now that's a face."

The hand on his head felt a bit warm, and he quickly shook off the intruding appendages, ignoring the slight sting on his scalp when a few hairs were pulled loose in his haste, backing away from the contact with a scowl.

Ino shrugged her shoulders, and there was a gleam to her eyes when she appraised them. Obito wasn't sure he quite liked it. She sighed nostalgically, "The innocence. One day you'll know what I'm talking about. How old are you, Rin and Obito?"

Rin said hesitantly, still a bit wary from the teasing, "We're both ten."

"I see. And you're both shinobi."

Obito's eyes widened, and he subtly reached for his kunai, seeing Rin do the same out of the corner of his eye. The woman in front of them didn't show any indication that she noticed. Or she just didn't react.

None of them were wearing their headbands with their henge, nor were they wearing anything that hinted towards their affiliation as shinobi. They couldn't risk it. So how did she know?

"Did you encounter any trouble while everyone was away?"

"A-away?" Obito stuttered. Ino was smiling gently, yet there was something tingling in the air that was becoming more and more noticeable.

"Was there any trouble while most of the shinobi were out on the battlefield? I heard there were some skirmishes while you were protecting the village. Well, you and all the mothers and whoever stayed. Was there anything you remember that we need to know?"

They stilled.

"You can trust me to get to whoever need it to. If you haven't already told someone else. For all we know, it could've been lost somewhere among all the recovery preparations. The war has really taken its toll on everyone, and it won't surprise me if their minds were a bit occupied when they came back."

"Ino-san...What war are you talking about?"

Ino-san looked at him strangely. "Excuse me?"

"What he meant was—!" Rin intervened, stepping a bit in front of her teammate. "He can't remember what the war was called. It hasn't been sticking no matter how many times we tell him."

She laughed semi-nervously, ignoring his indignant squawk.

Ino-san smiled, but something was a bit off about her eyes, something that Obito wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been anxiously looking for her reaction to his slip-up upon realization. He sweated internally, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't pry.

"Well that can't be helped." Her voice was light. "After all, it's going to be a significant part of shinobi history once it's put in text."

She lifted her index finger, winking at them, and something about her cheery tone made Obito's hair lift at the back of his neck, "Remember this now as I say it, Obito-kun. There have been three great wars before ours. And all of them share a common similarity. Shinobi. World. War."

She leaned down. "And what do you think this one was?"

Dread curled in the pit of Obito's stomach. Three great wars. Before…wherever this was, the Third Shinobi World War was in full motion. And if what this lady was saying – no, this shinobi; there was no mistaking the gleam in her eyes…

Their war had ended a long time ago.

Because if there was one thing he knew about the wars in the past, they didn't all occur around the same time. There always was a gap to separate them from one another. And if what she was saying is true, then the war that had happened recently was not their war.

Rin stopped breathing next to him, frozen just like him.

Three great wars before the recent one. Which means the war that this place had witnessed was the –

"Fourth Shinobi World War…"

He didn't know he had spoken aloud until Ino-san cocked her head at him and nodded. "Are you both alright? You look a bit pale."

The gravity of the situation seemed to cave in. And all Obito was able to do before stuttering out a goodbye was grab Rin by the arm and walk back the way they came, heedless of the calls from behind them.

He…They…They needed to think.

"F-Fourth Shinobi World War…" Rin murmured in shock, her legs walking by motor-memory alone. "We're not in…how could this happen? How is this possible?"

Obito didn't say anything, his mind whirling with the new information.

Something shone ahead of them, catching his eye. Someone in a uniform of familiar-looking green walking past.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The noise in his ears droned out into a low buzz. The background slowly faded into black.

As the ninja passed by, Obito's head turned, and he saw.

The hitai-ate.

An engraving that looked like the drawing of a leaf with a swirl in the middle of it.

The symbol of Konoha.

~T~

Minato arrived in their hotel room.

He knew at once that his students were already back, but the moment he stepped inside, he could feel the anxiety and shadows in their eyes.

He sighed, knowing exactly why.

"….We're in the future."

Obito didn't even say it as a question. It seemed that the knowledge still seemed to shock both of his students to the core.

He had felt the same way at first.

But at least to him…it wasn't an entirely foreign concept – the idea of trespassing through the laws of time.

The Hiraishin was a space-time jutsu that he had mastered. If it was possible to teleport to different places in the span of a second, he could not deny the possibility of someone creating the ability to teleport to different time periods.

"Explain," he said simply but gently.

"Back at home, it was the Third Shinobi World War, and it was still happening. But here, their war just ended less than a year ago…and they said three world wars happened before it," Rin murmured, eyes staring down at the clenched hands on her lap.

"And we know where we are now, too," Obito added. "The hitai-ate…I saw a handful of them and they were mostly all the same. Most of them were from Konoha. Which means we are not only in Konoha, we're in the future Konoha."

"And what of there being 'mostly all the same' for the hitai-ates, Obito?"

"There…there were others, too. I saw a more than a few from Cloud, Sand, and…Iwa."

"We also saw someone from Cloud holding hands and talking with people from Konoha," Rin said. And paused. "…This Konoha."

Minato nodded. "Which means that at this moment, it looks like the alliances between at least those Hidden Villages are strong. Whether it is from the Third War or the Fourth War, we don't know. But we have to keep the disguise up for a while whenever we go out. We can't have someone questioning why we look so much like anyone we know in Konoha."

His two students said nothing to that.

"So the scroll…?"

Despite the situation, Minato couldn't help but feel a small flame of pride at Obito's observation. He nodded solemnly. "I needed to make sure of it, which was another reason why I had us separate ways." He looked at them meaningfully. "Parts of the seal read 'Time'."

They immediately knew what he meant.

He had once taught his students the basics of fuinjutsu as a way to explain to them the basis of his main techniques, as well as to potentially peak their interests, in the case that they would choose to pursue a deeper reservoir of knowledge.

They knew just as well as him that a successful seal would only work as long as the general contents were included in the formula itself. And the fact that 'Time' was repeated in various instances throughout, there was no doubt about its implications.

Obito put his head on the table, hiding the torrent of emotions that Minato could still feel coming from his student.

"…Kakashi…?" Rin's quiet voice spoke.

Minato shook his head and watched as she let out a shuddered breath, closing her eyes and tilting her head down, her forehead almost connecting with her raised knees. The Jonin sat and used a hand on her shoulder to make her lean against his side. He placed a hand on Obito's back, hoping it would provide enough of a source for comfort as the other would allow. He felt one of Rin's arms grasp the back of his flak jacket with a small shaking hand.

He knew that if he had come sooner, he would have been bombarded with questions and emotions being thrown all over the room.

But he had ended up coming later than he expected, which allowed his students to have more than enough time to think deeply about their situation and what it would mean.

Their only hope to get back home was a damaged scroll he wasn't even close to finishing in deciphering.

If they were able to get back, it wouldn't be any time soon. They wouldn't be able to see any of their family. They had no familiar face at this present era who they could talk to without risking blowing their cover.

And the fact that they literally had the future in their hands – the gateway to the possibility of knowing what would happen to them in the coming years – was hardly an easy reality to face.

Kushina…It looks like I won't be coming home today.