Hi there!

First of all, thanks for reading this story! I decided to write this story on a whim, mostly because there aren't many time-travel stories about Naruto or Sasuke going to the future and hundreds about them going into the past to change it.

Well… like all my other stories, I hope this one will be a bit different but interesting at the same time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Warning: Spoilers about recent manga events.

This is not Yaoi.

Enjoy!

"We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude."

Charles R. Swindoll

The Perfect time-travel Jutsu

完璧なタイムトラベル術 (Kanpekina taimutoraberu-jutsu)

Valley of the End

Both boys clashed with their respective jutsus, creating a huge blast in the water. Naruto's mind was racing like crazy; all he could think of were Sasuke's words to him.

"Does our friendship mean nothing to you?" he young blond had asked.

"No, it wasn't meaningless" Sasuke had answered, though his face remained completely blank. "To me you have become...my closest friend."

Naruto used all his strength on his Rasengan. He had to test it… he had to know!

The blast threw them on opposite directions. Sasuke was the first to emerge from the waters, frowning with anger and frustration.

"Argh! And I was at full power when he countered my Chidori… And his jutsu…" the young Uchiha though, bitterly thinking about Naruto's mysterious new jutsu and how it had been able to cause more damages to the water supply back at the hospital than his Chidori. "Naruto… Such a loser…"

How could that be? How could someone like him grow so powerful in such a short time? It wasn't possible. Naruto was a moron, a loser, a hopeless Dead-Last. There was no way Sasuke was going to lose to a guy like him.

Meanwhile, Naruto slowly floated towards the water surface. He wasn't even rushing, his determination, his anger and confusion had been replaced by something far more awful. As the blond looked at Sasuke's angry and disdainful eyes, all he could feel was… sorrow.

"I… I can't deny it now" Naruto though. "You did mean it."

Sasuke knew he couldn't waste another Chidori since his limit was two Chidori per day. As Naruto rose from the water, the raven smirked and decided to create an opening. Quick moves and jutsu in rapid succession… then move in with the Chidori and hit him square, full-on.

"You really meant it" tears began to fell down Naruto's cheeks, as he watched Sasuke activating his curse seal with a wide grin on his face. "You really wouldn't think twice about killing me. Sasuke… Right now, that's all he can think about… All his energy, all his mind focused on how to kill me. This is for real… this is really happening…"

"Did you know, Naruto…" Sasuke said, still grinning, completely unmoved by Naruto's sadness. Actually, he couldn't even see it. "When two shinobi are of a high enough level, they can read each other's thoughts, through no more than a trade of blows. They don't need to say a word." Naruto remained silent as Sasuke prepared for another attack."Do you know my thoughts? Can you tell me what's on my mind?"

Naruto could move away from Sasuke's Housenka no jutsu, but that had been just a diversion. As the raven kicked and punched Naruto ruthlessly, the blond remembered.

"Sasuke… I knew you were always alone. I… I used to be glad I found you, someone like me. I was… happy. From first glance, I wanted to know you. But… it wasn't that simple. You could do anything. You were always so popular."

Sasuke punched Naruto in the stomach.

"I was frustrated and I decided you were my rival! I had to beat you… Especially, with everyone calling me a loser. Then they threw us together in Team 7, and nothing was changed. Stubborn as I was, I never let on what I really felt."

The blond spit blood as the Uchiha punched him the face.

"Truth was, I just wanted to be like you. You were my idol. And so..."

"You're one of the ones I want to fight."

"Hearing that… I was never happier. With those words, for the first time you acknowledged I was good. And… yes, without even trading blows… without saying a word, I knew right then and there… we were friends."

Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar and lifted him into the air. His left hand was surrounded by lightning.

"No, it wasn't meaningless. To me you have become...my closest friend."

"And yet… here you are, intent on killing me. So I don't know what to believe anymore. Did you ever mean what you said? Maybe I was just deluding myself that we were friends. Maybe I wanted it too much…"

Sasuke raised his arm.

"You're too late, Naruto!" he screamed, while his Chidori pierced Naruto's chest from one side to the other.

The blood ran through Naruto's arm and mouth, dropping to the water.

"In the end, maybe it was just me who thought we were friends… But then… that makes me… That would make me so stupid, Sasuke. But… I can't help it. I don't why. I guess it's just… I don't want a thug like Orochimaru to ruin you…"

At the last moment, Naruto was able to move Sasuke's arm from hitting his chest.

"So I missed your heart" Sasuke said, with a blood thirsty look in his red eyes. "Nice move with your hand there. Still… Didn't help much, did it? You're still out a shoulder and a lung" he removed his bloodied arm from Naruto's chest, smiling with satisfaction. "You can't use your right arm. You can't even breathe properly. Forget about using hand seals or your jutsu. It's all over."

With his left hand, still wet with the blood of the person he considered his closest friend, Sasuke grinned evilly and started to squeeze Naruto's throat. As he took his life, he would finally gain the Mangekyō Sharingan and have the power to kill Itachi.

"It's done…" the Uchiha thought.

Suddenly, Naruto's hand grabbed Sasuke's with such strength that the raven had to let go of him. Something was happening… Naruto's body was surrounded by red chakra.

"What…? Red chakra? That power… where did it come from?"

To Sasuke's astonishment, Naruto's wound started to heal incredibly fast. In a matter of seconds, the hole was gone. The blond himself looked different, his canines were bigger, his whisker marks more pronounced.

He looked like a raging beast.

"Sasuke! Orochimaru can't have you!" Naruto growled, tears running from his now red and slitted eyes. "I'll stop you even if I have to break all of your limbs!"

Sasuke was dumfounded. "Is this really… Naruto? What's this force? It's overwhelming… And was that really red chakra? Is he a monster?"

"What the hell are you?" the Uchiha asked.

"Your friend" Naruto growled. "That's what I've been telling you… filth like Orochimaru can't have you! And that's why I'm gonna stop you… even if I have to break your every limb!"

And real battle began.

Konohagakure, Hokage's Office

Hundreds of scrolls and documents were piled on the desk, waiting to be carefully read and duly signed by the Hokage. Some of them had red ink, to remind the Kage just how important and urgent they were. Damn, he hated paperwork!

Just looking at the papers, he felt an unbelievable urge to burn them and pretend he never got them in the first place. Obviously, he couldn't do that (much to his chagrin!) or there would be horrible consequences.

Somehow, he felt especially tense today. Ever since he'd woken up, he felt uneasy and insecure… like something was wrong.

The Hokage shook his head vigorously. He was being ridiculous. Nothing was wrong! The day went on normally; there were no reports about threats to the village, the teams he made were on missions, he just got eleven reports on successful missions and a lot of people from all around the world wanted the Konoha ninja to handle their requests.

The village was safe. His people, his friends, his comrades, his allies, his family… they were all safe and happy. What more could he want?

With a soft smile, he got up from his chair and looked at the window. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The sky was bright blue and the weather was nice. He could see the villagers and the shinobi on the streets chattering cheerfully, going shopping or doing their chores. A small group of children, who, he assumed were skipping class from the Academy, ran towards the playground. Their parents would be notified by their teachers eventually and they would all be punished, but right now all they wanted was to have fun.

Their smiling faces made the Hokage fell at ease. There was nothing wrong with this day.

"Ano… excuse me… Hokage-sama?" a shy voice called.

A young woman entered his office warily, trying to look at him in the eyes. She was short and skinny, her light brown hair was tied in a ponytail and her black eyes were filled with apprehension.

"Yes?" the Hokage asked, trying to remember her.

"I'm… I'm here to ask your approval to perform a jutsu" she said, trying her best to sound confident.

"A jutsu? Why are you asking my permission?" the Kage asked, slightly confused.

"Oh! Right… I'm from the Investigation Unit" she explained. "We were assigned to collect and study the old jutsus left by other ninjas from our village. Many old scrolls appeared when the village was being rebuilt, hidden underground or on secret passageways... My unit is responsible to find them and study them before presenting them to you and the Jōnin council."

The Hokage nodded, also embarrassed to have forgotten that. Today he was really off in some way.

"My name is Kawano Minami" she said. "I'm the one responsible for analyzing the space-time Ninjutsu found three months ago, which were buried under the previous ninja Academy. Most of them are just thesis and experiments about the flow of time and how a ninja can use his chakra or seals to bend time to his will."

Minami tried to look the Hokage in the eyes. She had to show him how determined she was about her research. She needed his approval!

"I don't even know who made them. Honestly, I though the shinobi who wrote them was just rambling… but there is this one jutsu who caught my attention. I really believe it could be done."

The Hokage blinked.

"What could be done?" he asked her. "What jutsu are you talking about?"

Minami's eyes became resolute.

"The perfect time-travel jutsu" she finally said.

"What?"

"The past cannot be changed" she said. "It's an essential rule. If someone changed something about the past there would be terrible consequences. For instance, if we saved someone from dying in the past, someone else would have to die in their place. Every action has repercussions… even our mistakes, preventing them would only lead to others. That is why the past his so sacred, it cannot and it should not be touched by anyone. If everyone tried to change their past or somebody else's, reality would be destroyed."

The Hokage kept staring at Minami, more and more intrigued. Everyone wished they could change something about their past… Damn, he, more than anyone, understood that desire. But what she said was true: changing our past was not the answer. He would never save someone by sacrificing someone else's life but his own.

"You said the jutsu you found is "perfect"?" he asked. "What did you mean?"

Minami's eyes shone with enthusiasm.

"From what I found, this jutsu can bring things or people from the past into the future and then return them into their own time completely untouched. In other words, when the person from the past goes back to their own time, he or she won't remember anything about the future. They will return to the exact moment when they left and be exactly the same. That way, the future won't be changed, there is no danger! That is why I'm asking you permission to use this jutsu, sir."

The Hokage stood silent for a few moments. He could understand Minami's excitement over the jutsu and he was curious too, however, even if the jutsu worked, he couldn't just let her bring some unknown person into their time. That would be a threat to the village and possibly cruel to the person. Who would want to be dragged into someplace mysterious as a guinea pig for a jutsu? That was insulting!

"Are you sure you can perform this jutsu? Are you sure it isn't dangerous?" he asked.

"I'm almost positive, Hokage-sama. Believe me; I did my research on it for weeks. I know it step by step and I know I can do it."

The Kage sighed and faced her. "Very well, you have my permission to perform the jutsu. But, I have a few conditions: you won't bring anyone from the past, it's wrong to test jutsus on people without their consent" Minami nodded solemnly. "You can test it outside the village, it's safer that way."

"Yes, sir. I give you my word. I will test it on some animals from an isolated area. Do you have any suggestions?"

The Hokage went back to his desk and rubbed his nose absent mindedly. An isolated area? There were so many, but right now he couldn't think of any…

"The Valley of the End" he said, without thinking. "It's secluded… no one else goes there."

Minami nodded, thanked the Hokage and left. She was so excited! She couldn't believe she was actually gonna use the time-travel jutsu she'd been studying so hard for weeks. This would be the high point of her career.

The Valley of the End… she believed the famous white salmon often produced offspring in there. She could try and bring some. What could possibly go wrong?

Okay, this was the first chapter. It's a bit difficult to tell the past from the future and I don't want to give a lot of information at this point (where's the fun in that ^_^)

Please tell me what you think! See ya!