Hello everybody, just wanted to let you know that I don't own Naruto.

Also, I'm sorry for taking so long with getting back to this story. Life kinda kicked me in the butt. I've been out of writing for a while, so my imagination and writing have to get back in the groove. I also need to change some things, since it wouldn't come close to how the story is playing out right now in the manga.

Course, this is an AU, so I'm keeping many things the same and 'forgetting' some of the things in the manga. Such as Naruto's Super Kyuubi Mode. It is badass, but way too straight forward. It does all the things Sage mode does, kinda, times ten. Actually was kinda disappointed to tell you the truth. Anyway, sry for the long intro, here's the story.

-"The third war was devastating to all the nations involved, and to this day many hate Konoha for some of the things we had to do in order to win."

Chapter 1: Start of Something New

"Hokage-sama," the ANBU messenger known as Panther spoke in a formal tone as he addressed the Sandaime. "We have taken back the village of Wanaka and have successfully driven out the remaining Iwa nin that attacked Kasaki village to the north. As of now, Jiraiya of the Sannin is requesting relief for his team and team Ryuu. Both are tired and Ryuu-san has an injured member."

"Who is injured," the Third asked, curious.

"Uchiha Mikoto," the ANBU answered.

Sarutobi sighed as he continued to look at the map on his desk. Never before had he felt this stressed in his life. Stressed and still very much confused. A little over five months ago Iwa had determined that Konoha had too much land, land that they claimed belonged to them. The fact that the land they wanted was rich in agriculture and other minerals did not escape anyone's notice, and Sarutobi knew that they just started the war because they wanted it for themselves.

However, what really confused the Hokage was the action of two other Great Shinobi countries. Not a week after Iwa nins attacked the village of Kasaki, a major trade village close to the Iwa border, Cloud and Sand declared war on Konoha as well. Neither village had given a reason why, they just attacked. Cloud easily slipped through Ta no Kuni, killing their Daimyo and declaring it a part of Cloud, and advanced on the village Wanaka. Wanaka was not huge or important, but it did give the enemy a foot hold to advance further into Hi no Kuni.

Luckily for the Land of Fire, the Mist chose that time to attack and take over Wave country, a small yet important port village. The Cloud immediately took this as an act of aggression and withdrew most of the shinobi they had in Wanaka and replaced them with Samurai, for some reason believing that Konoha would have too much of a task in forcing back Iwa's forces as well as the Suna nins that infiltrated southwest Fire country. They were wrong.

Iwa, in a strategic blunder had decided that Ame no Kuni would be easy pickings and provide the perfect shortcut right into Hi no Kuni. Sarutobi was not sure what possessed the Tsuchikage in believing that Hanzo the Salamander was getting too old to stop them, but the Hokage was not complaining. While Iwa nins were being decimated in Rain country, it allowed Sarutobi to spread out his ninja and the Fire Daimyo's samurai to other parts of the country to help defend. He had Jiraiya and his team, along with six other ninja squads, and five hundred Samurai head to Kasaki to retake the village as well as push what remained of the Iwa nin back to Earth Country.

Trusting Jiraiya to not need too much help taking back control of the north for the time being gave the Hokage the freedom to send Tsunade, along with four other squads, to take back Wanaka and defend the border to Kumo controlled Ta no Kuni. The Fire Daimyo allowed Sarutobi to give Tsunade control over one hundred of his Samurai for support, but he doubted they were going to be needed. From the way things were going and the reports he was receiving, he did not think Kumo would send too many ninjas to aid their Samurai and the two squads of nin guarding Wanaka and its surrounding area.

Suna was a little harder to deal with and was a lot harder to push back. With Cloud and Rock separating its forces due to its own blunders, they could not attack Hi no Kuni with its full effort. Mist threatened to advance on Kumo causing Cloud to be on the defensive, and Rock was having a hard time with Hanzo and his considerable might as the Salamander killed any Rock nin that he could find within fifty miles of his border.

However, Sand was a different story altogether. It had no need to split its forces and attacked with all its might. It had made it a few hundred miles into Hi no Kuni, coming uncomfortably close to Hi no Kuni's largest city and home of the Fire Daimyo. Seeing as the Daimyo only had around a thousand of his Samurai left and only the 12 Ninja Guardians to protect him, the Hokage had to act fast and hard. Therefore, he sent his ANBU second in command, Uchiha Keisha, some of his ANBU corps (around 50), five other jonin squads, Orochimaru of the Sannin, Danzo the Fire Breather, and Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang.

As Sarutobi looked down at the map before him he was proud to say that his planning was right on the money. Mist did indeed attack Cloud, very strongly in fact, which prevented them from sending backup to Wanaka and allowed Tsunade to take Wanaka village back and guard it with relative ease for the time being. Also, Hanzo had done Sarutobi a favor by killing two of Rock's Diamond Brothers, brothers with large amounts of chakra and a bloodline that allowed them to make their skin tougher than diamonds. That gave Jiraiya the chance to take on only one of the brothers instead of all three as he fought to take back Kasaki, and even though it sounded from the reports that his team was exhausted, in the end they had won that battle.

Sarutobi gave out a buff from his pipe and looked at the ANBU messenger. "And how goes the fight with Sand. The last I was told we had driven them almost all the way back to their border," he asked. The Hokage wasn't surprised that the Sand was driven back as quickly as it had considering the Shinobi that he sent there to take them on. As a matter of fact, he would not be surprised if they had destroyed and killed all the poor souls that wore a Sand symbol on them.

The ANBU shifted uncomfortably for a second before answering the question. "All is well, as of now Hokage-sama. However, in the week separating the reports from the field, our forces ran into a setback."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at that. What force could possibly slow them down?

"It was the Kazekage," the messenger answered the unasked question in the Hokage's mind. "He set a trap that instantly killed or injured many of the Samurai as well as twenty-one ANBU. Thunder (Uchiha Keisha's ANBU name) had her right arm torn off in the trap as well. In the fight that ensued after the Kazekage and his escort made their presence known, Danzo-san was also severely injured; however, before the Kazekage defeated him he was able to kill all but one of the Sand Special Unit (Kazekage escort). The White Fang and Orochimaru of the Sannin were able to kill the last one as well as mortally wound the Kazekage. From the reports of the wounds, it is believed he died before he made it back to Suna," the masked ANBU messenger finished with what could be interpreted as pride in his voice.

Sarutobi nodded and asked if there was anything else to report. When he said there was not, he told the messenger to get Tears, the ANBU commander. When the messenger left, he let out a loud sigh and sat down in his seat to think. Uchiha Keisha was going to be hard to replace, as were the twenty-one ANBU that had fallen. But it was not as bad of a loss that it could have been considering the Kazekage had shown up to fight. He had not expected the Kazekage to show up, at least not this early in the game. Was Suna that desperate to take Konoha down? He wondered ideally if perhaps the Kazekage had been as stupid as Cloud and underestimated the Will of Fire. Surly he had reports of who were leading Konoha's counter strike.

Perhaps it was suicide. Sarutobi just found it hard to believe that the Suna Kage had been arrogant enough to take on not one, but two Kage level opponents in Hatake Sakumo the White Fang and Orochimaru of the Sannin, as well as a ninja ranked S-class in all foreign bingo books in Danzo the Fire Breather. Perhaps it was a ploy? Perhaps a means to something else? Perhaps it was not even the Kazekage but someone else? Now that was disturbing to even contemplate. Jiraiya's spy network should have picked up on someone in Suna that was Kage level if that was the case. Perhaps it was just what it sounded like, a ninja who got in over his head.

The Hokage's thoughts were interrupted by a slight shimmer in the air before there was a poof of smoke and leafs. Standing in front of him was Tears, real name Mitarashi Ken, ANBU Commander. "Hokage-sama," the man bowed before standing straight and waiting for Sarutobi to tell him what he wanted. Sarutobi always liked his mask, shaped in the form of a tear drop. It was very different from the others.

"I need you to send a squad of ANBU and five medics to Tashika Village. Danzo and many others have been hurt and need immediate backup, medical attention and supplies," the Hokage answered him. "Also, what squad teams are ready to go on relief missions?"

"As of now, there are twenty-five Squads that are waiting for orders, not including the genin," Tear answered without hesitation.

Sarutobi nodded, thinking who best to send in Jiraiya's spot. Perhaps Uchiha Daraki? No, a Hyuuga would probably be best. But Jiraiya was a big shoe to fill, so to speak. Yes, it would be better to send both a Hyuuga as well as an Uchiha. He only hope that they would be able to work together.

"Bring me…" but the Hokage didn't finish, instead he shot to his feet, looking out his window and peering around. Tears flew to the window and opened it, indicating that he felt the sudden spike in chakra as well. He calmly walked out to the balcony, unconsciously noting the nine ANBU in the shadows were awaiting his orders.

He closed his eyes for a moment to concentrate and get a better feel for where the chakra spike was coming from. When he found it he frowned. The amount of chakra he could feel was a very large amount and had a peculiar feel to it. It was not a ninjutsu, it was taking too long for that. Perhaps a Genjutsu? No, the Hokage thought, too noticeable. The Hokage's eyes flew open as he realized why it felt off. It was some kind of Fuinjutsu, and he didn't want to know what this particular jutsu, with its huge chakra amount, was going to do to his beloved Konoha.

He turned to Tears, and although he was looking at him, he was addressing all the ANBU with him. He knew that aside from himself and Tears, who could sense chakra spikes from far distances thanks to specialized training, that the other ANBU had no idea what was going on. They only knew that their Hokage and ANBU commander were both uptight and looking very much like they were about to go to war. "Tears, stay with me, the rest of you follow in the shadows." With that he jumped onto the nearest building and sped over the roof tops. He moved as fast as he could and with satisfaction noted that even at the age of forty five, he was still faster than the ANBU that followed behind him.

When he reached the Hokage monument he put the right amount of chakra to his feet and sped up the wall noticing with some worry that the chakra spike he had felt was considerably lesser now, and becoming more so with every step he took. When he finally reached the top, he could no longer feel it at all. As a matter of fact, the only thing he could sense was another person. Looking around only for a split second to check for traps, he sped towards the only person he could see up on the monument.

The person was bent over and breathing rather deeply. He also seemed to be clutching his stomach and groaning in pain. Taking the opportunity to end this quickly to ensure that the man could not run away, he made five quick hand signs and pressed his right hand to the ground. "Douton: Four Hand Trap." Instantly four arms made of earth shot out of the ground and grabbed the man's arms and legs, making him straighten and shriek in surprise.

The Sandaime walked up to the man and stood only a meter in front of him, eyeing him suspiciously. Not even a second later, Tears arrived behind the unknown man and held his short katana to the guy's throat. The man seemed quite young, perhaps 17 or 18. Had long, sun kissed blond hair that fell almost to his shoulders. He was tall, about the same height as Orochimaru, maybe taller. He wore a red Jonin vest, a black long sleeve shirt, and black pants with ninja issued sandals. He also wore a blood red short sleeved coat, the same color as his vest, with black flames blazing on the tail end. The Hokage narrowed his eyes when he saw the Konoha Leaf symbol on his forehead. From the man's body build, stature and emotionless face, as well as the amount of chakra he felt him using before he got here, the Hokage knew that the man was at least Jonin level. However….

"I know every ninja in this Village, so I know that you are not from Konoha," the Sandaime stated, which for some reason prompted the man to smirk. "Therefore, you will tell me who you are, how you were able to slip past the ANBU and other defenses along the walls, and which one of my comrades you killed to take that hitai-ate!"

The man was back to his emotionless mask, but none the less introduced himself. "Apologizes, Sandaime-sama. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the Rokudaime of Konohagakure no Sato." Whatever the Hokage was expecting, it was not that, and it apparently showed on his face as the man smiled and lifted his chin. That is until Tears pressed his katana harder on the man's throat, so much so that the action drew some blood.

"You know," the Uzumaki boy hissed, "You don't have to do that. It's not like I can escape."

Tears seemed to shrug, "I have no problems slicing your throat if you continue to lie to the Hokage."

"Well I sure as hell do, especially since I'm not lying," the boy retorted.

Tears said nothing more to the man, instead he gave a significant look to the Hokage, who was still inspecting the boy. Sarutobi saw it, and Tears gave a pointed look at the man's back. Frowning, the Hokage moved around Uzumaki to look at what Tears wanted him to see. There, in Kanji, were the words Rokudaime Hokage.

Sarutobi didn't know how else to react but laugh. He couldn't believe the stupidity of wherever this guy was from. Did his Kage think that they could get a spy into Konoha by making him think that he had traveled through time? He felt insulted, and he felt the need to once again go out into the front lines and show these bastards that Sarutobi Hiruzen was no dumb, ageing fool!

"Do you think I am that stupid boy!" he yelled grabbing the boy's chin. "I may have been off the front lines for twelve years now, but I can assure you that my senses and skills are still well …." He didn't finish as the same person who he was trying to intimidate started laughing! Right in his face no less.

Uzumaki calmed down enough to finally talk after a minute. "I'm sorry, old man, but I've never seen you like that before. Not even when you yelled at me for playing that prank on you by turning all your underwear orange," Uzumaki finished with a wistful sigh. Sarutobi stared astonished at the boy for a second, and was about to give the order for Tears to take him to the interrogation unit when the boy spoke again.

"Tsunade baa-chan threw away the first Hokage's necklace when Nawaki died," he spoke softly, looking the Hokage right in the eye. Sarutobi stiffened. The only ones who knew about that conversation and what lead to it were Tsunade and him. So how did this boy know about it?

"You found it below the firsts head, in the grass, right down there," the Uzumaki boy said pointing his head down to where the first Hokage's head was. "You took it to her, you found her at the memorial stone, and you said…"

"Silence!" Sarutobi snarled. "What have you done to Tsunade-hime!" Uzumaki didn't answer, instead turning back into that emotionless mask again. "Tell me!" he said dangerously as he grabbed the boy's throat. Tears quickly moved the sword from the boy's throat so it was not in the way.

If anything, however, the boy just looked annoyed, as though Sarutobi were getting on his nerves with the accusations. "I haven't done anything to Baa-chan. I'm sure if you send one of those nine ANBU hidden in the trees to the Village that you'll find her nice and safe in a bar gambling all her money away."

Sarutobi blinked at the boy. He seemed to speak the truth, and he could hear the affection that the boy held for Tsunade every time he called her baa-chan. But that didn't make any sense! It was impossible to travel back in time, at least not as far as the boy seemed to be indicating. But Sarutobi knew from the reports that Tsunade was fine, that no ninja could possibly defeat the Shinobi in Wanaka, capture her alive, and then break her to reveal all that sensitive information in only one week, which is the longest it takes to get reports back through messengers. He sighed. Perhaps he should hear the boy out.

"Then tell me, why are you here. Why travel back in time? And to this time of all times?" Sarutobi asked.

Naruto smiled sheepishly before answering, "Well, that's the funny thing. I have no idea what time period I'm in. Although I can guess that it must be a while back since you don't have all those wrinkles and grey hair on your face and stuff."

Sarutobi's eyebrow started to twitch at that, and he accidently squeezed Uzumaki's neck harder than was necessary. He was shocked when the boy let out a gurgle before buffing into smoke, and he heard a voice behind him.

"Sheesh Ojisan, what's with all the aggression. I think I liked you a lot better when you were older." Sarutobi turned to see the Uzumaki boy standing there, two hands on the back of his head, smiling widely at him. He also took notice of the sword that hug at his waist, its red and gold handle doing well to hide under the red short sleeved coat. That had not been on the clone. "You keep that up, and I'll have to use the jutsu I used to defeat you when I was 12."

The Sandaime was instantly curious. "And what Jutsu would that be?" he asked, already moving into a defensive stance.

Uzumaki's left eyebrow rose in surprise at the challenge before his face split into a fox like grin. "Well, if you really want to know." He crossed his hands into a modified version of the ram seal and six clones puffed into existence.

"Harem no Jutsu".