Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Sonic The Hedgehog.

ITAOJ

Out With The Old, and In With The New

Previously on In the Aftermath Of Judgment,

"All this seems to be some kind of illusion." Kakashi muttered. "The clean and scentless streets, Shino's bugs being sent in backtrack and the flux of energy blinding Neji." The cyclops added, "But if it is a trap then why isn't my danger sense going off? We have been in this illusion for ten minutes and nothing has happened. Not even a nick to the leg." Kakashi was just walking back and forth until he had the crazy idea of taking out one of his kunai and stabbing himself in the leg!

He was used to the pain, but he was still taken by surprise when he ran into someone in the very next instant. "Watch it! I don't run into people like you, I just mind my business!"

"Honey, please not in front of our kids." Kakashi could have sworn to recognize those voices but he couldn't make out where they were coming from when his senses were being fooled with voices, scents and images of a crowd during a festival. "And especially not those kids. Nobody wants to see a man like this anymore than us."

Kakashi just couldn't take all this in and felt like he was some kind of clown with everyone staring, moving in blurs and whispering rather loudly. It was enough to make even a man like him to faint, all it took was a rather hard shove.

XXXXX

"It is strange." Guy said causally. "If this crowd had been here this whole time then most of us would have heard it."

"I agree Guy." Asuma said and the other Konoha Shinobi nodded. The streets covered with people and litter were the last that any of them expected to find. "So where did they come from?"

"Look at the silly people Mommy~!"

"Yeah, don't they know that this is our home and they came out of nowhere~!?" Giggles were followed by similar, innocent statements of children that appeared from every angle to point at them like they were zoo exhibits.

"I am not sure but those symbols are definitely bad news." Adults soon joined the commotion of kids,

"Yeah, like in the history books from some time four millennia ago or something."

"And what about the ones we found in the town square looking like idiots?" The scout team from the flying village soon heard that and hurried over to where the roads seemed to meet at one point; that is the one usually called the 'town square'. Too bad they never heard this last statement which could have led to a much better encounter.

Because when the Konoha Shinobi made it to where their initial scout team were located, they were also being rounded up by soldiers. Each one wore strange armor that were smooth and slender but seemed to be thick and heavy too. Their armor, in question, was in pieces on the shoulders, elbows, wrists, kneecaps and ends of the legs. Underneath, their entire bodies up to their necks were a full body suit of chains with cloth around the joints and ends of the limbs. In their hands were both a shield around their height, spears about half longer and a short sword seen on their belts.

And then there was the commander of the soldiers, by a glimpse of a similar but much more ornate version of the artillery outfit. He was saying something of 'disturbing the peace' and that 'they are in the presence of the Uzukage'. And so, the crowd made way for a woman in a very expensive outfit that fitted queens of lore, with the symbol of a whirlpool for the world to see.

But then came the reaction from the ground team that got the attention of everyone watching. "Naruto!?" Sakura gasped but Kakashi's made hers sound more like a quick breath of air. And what he said startled them all,

"KUSHINA-SAMA!?"

"The twentieth, thank you very much." The woman with the uncanny resemblance to Naruto's mother from four thousand years ago said with slight deadpan. Kakashi had the decency to laugh in a sheepish chuckle. "Now that you have found Uzu, what are you planning to do here?"

"We want to know how to get back!" Kiba shouted off, yet again. And while the civilians glared at the dog boy for his disrespect, the Konoha Shinobi wished they could get away with tearing out his voice box.

"To your home? To your time? To your old spot as top of the world?" Kushina XX responded. "We may be named after a Shinobi village but those ways are over four thousand years old and while we have moved on, you haven't even tried. Like when we were attacked by the ancient villages of Kiri, Kumo and Iwa, you didn't even try to help us when we would appreciate it." The air got very thick and the visitors found it rather difficult to breathe.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Asuma spoke up, not out of anger or fear but disappointment, aimed at something else. He knew about the destruction of the original Uzu and that when his father was in charge, yet the old Hokage called for inaction about helping them.

"Nothing." That was among many answers none of them expected and, on cue, the citizens went back to their every day routines. "Holding a grudge is not healthy. Especially over four thousand years."

"So, can we stay? We won't stay longer than a day…" Kakashi started to request of the Uzukage when she cut him off.

"You don't have to worry. Our granddad and his wife will never dream of telling us to torment you. They are not that cruel, not like most." Kushina XX answered and with an invisible jab at some of the visiting Shinobi. "You may have a place to sleep in but everything else, you will have to manage on your own. I am sure you won't mind."

XXXXX

Later, they were indeed given a room that was definitely better than a jail cell in some dungeon. It was almost like a circular room with beds, windows, side tables and even an old-fashioned stove in the center. There was a door on one side which will lead to a staircase inside the even bigger lobby of a special inn that is now called a 'hotel'.

"Well I have given some thought and we definitely passed through an illusion placed around this new Uzu village." Kakashi was relaxed a little and this time, he didn't have his porn book out. Who's to say that he couldn't serious when relaxed? "It does bring up the question if this is an independent village or somehow still part of the government in charge of that 'Station Square' from way back."

"I did see some wooden carts that carried metallic containers will the symbol of the G.U.N. organization." Kurenai added. "That could mean that this village does deal with the outside world but still live like our village before we disappeared." Silence filled the room once she made that comment.

"Come to think of it…" Sakura took her turn. "We have been told so little of what happened when we vanished. It is obvious that Naruto and Hinata were left behind and four thousand years is a good number for all these cities to be made but what about all those talking animals wearing human clothes. I didn't think that even Summon Animals could evolve into those."

"That's the thing, Sakura-san." Kakashi picked up on that. "Normally Summon Animals will just wear their own clothes and talk in our language, those from the city we visited looked anthropomorphic. None of the Summons that I am familiar with are even close to that description."

"Anthro-antmro-annn-" Kiba was always the other knucklehead of the class when Naruto was the class clown. And he still had the nerve to call the latter a dense idiot. "What is this shit long word you used to call those fuckers from the floating house?" Kiba wanted to say something else but felt like something was reading to eat him alive.

"Kiba-san, I will ask you politely to be silent or else my friends will try out your fresh meat, if its still fresh." Shino threatened his teammate, not willing to put up one more of Kiba's rude manners. Especially after the dog user couldn't let go of his childish crush on Hinata.

"But to answer you question, mutt breath…" Sakura cut in. "Kakashi-sensei said the word 'anthropomorphic', which means that those animals stand on two legs, speak our language, wear clothes similar to ours and even live similar to us. It is like seeing humans with the look and parts of animals."

Kiba made an 'oh' face and nodded. Shino took that as a good signal and released him. But not before giving the dog user the look of 'try it again and I will not hesitate'. "So now what? Are we still touring the country or finding a way to get back to our time?"

"I doubt that we can get back to that." Neji spoke up after being quiet along with a few others. "Somehow, all this is clinking together to me. I think that we are being punished and since the land did just fine without us, should we really try to be Shinobi again?"

"Neji, don't start thinking nil on us now!" Tenten shouted but Neji's expression didn't even budge.

"I mean it, Tenten." Neji said, surprising his teammate a bit. "This is the first Shinobi Village we have encountered since we arrived after four thousand years. They say that the age of Shinobi is over, so what does that mean for us? All we know is Ninjutsu and leaving the old way. Everyone else have moved on but without us, can we still call this land our home if it wants nothing to do with us?"

That caused everyone to be silent, not one had an answer to give. "We will think about this in the morning. Everyone, get ready for bed. We leave before we overstay our 'welcome'." Kakashi said and so, they all hit the hay.

XXXXX

That next morning, the Shinobi were right and early, and checking out of their room. "Its too bad that you don't well welcomed to stay a little longer." The desk clerk spoke to them in a neutral tone. "Was the room we provided comfortable in the slightest?"

"It was." Kakashi answered while returning the room key. "I was surprised that no one even tried to off us while we were sleeping." The clerk just shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"In our hotel, our customers are to get rested and get sleep, not get killed." Kakashi resisted the urge to chuckle at that. "Anyway, it is done and I wish you luck on where you are going. It is still an unfriendly world out there, watch yourself."

"We will." Kakashi said and yet when they left the hotel, there was a familiar sight in their path. "We weren't going to cause trouble, Uzukage-sama. We were literally just leaving."

"Either you are losing your touch because the boss is still in her office, doing her duty and sent me for something else." The 'Uzukage' said which took everyone by surprise. "That's right, the Uzumaki have been and still are famous for a lot of achievement which includes the usage of Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones). Our great, ageless ancestor taught us all what can be achieved with this ancient technique."

"Right." That was that could be said as every single Konoha Shinobi knew what the clone was saying and they had fresh memories of the man himself using the technique that was otherwise lethal to any one of them. "So why is a clone sent t see us. I thought you didn't want anything to do with us."

"Perhaps we do, but we still obey our ageless ancestors. And just last night, both of them told us to invite you to our library." The clone said and this took the Shinobi by surprise. "It's this way, and don't get left behind."

XXXXX

"WOW~!" That was the collected response when the Konoha Shinobi stepped into the library of the village. It was massive, like it was made inside a large cave opening; there were shelves filled with books with over five floors with balconies to reach them. "This is one hell of a library."

"Thank you, everyone who lives in this village is very proud of this bad boy. It is one of our greatest achievements since Naruto-sama and Hinata-sama rebuilt our village." The clone responded and it was that second statement that got everyone's attention. "Did you really think that our village had been here all along? If not for our ancestors, this village would have sunk into the waters."

"What else happened while we were gone?" That was the collective thought on everyone's mind and the clone simply said, waved its hand and a large book appeared before them.

"This book details everything that has happened since Konohagakure had vanished. But I must give you a fair warning." The clone spoke seriously. "Through means that you will not recognize, there is an enhancement that causes everyone who gazes to receive a vision. Inside, you will see everything. And not all of it is pleasant."

With that said, the clone finally turned into a puff of smoke, leaving the book with the Konoha Shinobi. Steeling their nerves, the Jonin gathered the Genin around and opened the book. Out of the countless pages came a bright light that lit up their sight.

End of Chapter 12.

*Hello everyone! I had gone on a trip down memory lane while trying to find the chapters on this story in my files! Right now, things are going to be different once I graduate from George Mason. I will job searching, going a bit local for a bit until I go for police officer. What I am scared off will be me having to give up on fanfiction and my video games for a life with a career. Hopefully I can get into the swing of things, like all of us at one point in our lives.*