Rewinding The Clock

Chapter 3

Disclaimer. I do not own anything from Naruto. I own the plot and if you want to build off my story please contact me first. Thank you. Enjoy!

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Haruchi walked through the village towards his apartment. He closed his eyes as he went through the bustling streets, just absorbing everything he could, all the smells and sounds of his home. Haruchi jolted as he sensed a familiar chakra in front of him. It was his younger self!

The bright, orange jumpsuit stood out in the crowd. Haruchi continued to follow him as it seemed they were both heading to the apartment building. There was less crowd as they got closer to their destination. Suddenly, as they reached the apartments, young Naruto spun around, pointed a finger at Haruchi, and shouted.

"Hey Mister! Why're you following me? Are you some sort of creepy closet-perv?"

Haruchi sweat dropped. "I'm heading to my apartment, it's in this building."

Naruto seemed embarrassed and scratched his head, "Oh, it's just no one really lives in this building except me."

"I've just moved here. Before I was out on a long mission. My name's Uzukaze Haruchi."

"Woah! You're a ninja?! I'm going to become hokage someday! The name's Uzumaki Naruto, believe it!"

"I don't doubt that."

At this Naruto had to look up at the stranger. Normally people brushed off his dream but the way Haruchi had said it made it seem as though he was certain the dream would come true.

"Hey, I need to settle in but how about in an hour I'll treat you to dinner. Does ramen sound good? You can tell me about yourself then"

Naruto's eyes lit up at the prospect of ramen. He quickly accepted the proposal and went to his apartment which was next door to Haruchi's. 

Haruchi also entered his own apartment and relaxed on the bed. The Sandaime had given him an already furnished room along with some money. As Haruchi laid on the bed, he stopped himself from having a break down. It had been hard to see his younger self, but Haruchi had promised himself that after seeing jiji and Pervy Sage to move on. He would always hold his precious people in his heart but now there were younger versions of those people who needed him to save their future. 

When it came time for dinner, Haruchi was ready. He went next door to pick up Naruto and they chatted on the way to Ichiraku's. Naruto was the one asking the most questions. Mostly about being a ninja and naive kid things like why Sasuke's hair looked like a duck's butt. Haruchi had no answer for that one. 

They finally reached the restaurant and Teuchi greeted them.

"Naruto! My favorite customer, and did you bring someone with you?" He sent Haruchi a puzzled glance. As far as he knew, no one liked being around the kid because of the nine-tails. Haruchi sensed his thoughts, and laughed, "Nice to meet you sir, I'm Uzukaze Haruchi, Naruto's new neighbor."

The duo ordered and as they ate they continued talk. Teuchi also became more relaxed as he saw how the two interacted. 

"So Naruto, are you a ninja yet?" asked Haruchi.

"No... but my graduation exam is next week and I'm going to pass, believe it!"

Haruchi mentally noted that that gave him about a week before things really started to pick up. After finishing their meals, Haruchi paid, which was a lot considering Naruto had nine bowls and he had two. Haruchi still loved ramen but didn't eat as much because in the war there wasn't a lot of food. This made Haruchi uncomfortable to eat a lot because his comrades hadn't been able to get that much.

When they reached their apartments, they bid each other goodnight and went into their own separate apartments. 

Haruchi still had a lot to think over. He would use this week to prepare for everything to come. He wanted to interfere in the Mizuki incident but not until Iruka said all the things that made him believe in himself.  Haruchi had a lot to talk over with the Hokage and Pervy-Sage.

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After what must've been the first good night's rest, Haruchi headed to the hokage tower. He had slept longer than he could remember but was still always alert, a habit that had come back with him from the war.

"Hey, old-man, I'm here."

"Ah, Haruchi. I've got your anbu mask and cloak. Jiraiya left to go strengthen his spy network and track the Akatsuki's movements. Now we'll be prepared if anything happens." said Hiruzen as he passed over Haruchi's fox mask and Anbu captain cloak. "It isn't the first time I've chosen a captain without first going through Danzo so there shouldn't be much suspicion."

"Great. We'll need to deal with Danzo eventually but I'm waiting till Sai gets forced onto one of the genin teams."

"Ok, now from the visions Kami gave me it seems you got Kami's power?"

"Kit. The old-man brings up a good point. We should look more into that."

"Yeah, Kurama and I are going to work on it later. For now, we should focus on getting closer to the Konoha 12 and the other jinchuuriki, as well as gaining allies."

"I agree, and with that in mind I'm sending you on your first mission as Anbu Fox. It's a mission to Suna where we're going to strengthen an alliance with the Kazekage."

"Yeah, hopefully that would prevent them from siding with Orochimaru during the chunin exams."

"And we can deal with the one tails while we're there."

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So with a plan, Haruchi said goodbye to Naruto, donned his gear, then set off to Suna to see an old friend.