Before they had even realized it, months had already gone by and winter was going to be starting soon. Naruto had spent a lot of time with Minato going over information they had and trying to come up with an idea of what the enemy was planning. Minato had told Naruto everything he knew about Danzo, but even then, they didn't know much since Danzo was always so good at being secretive.
Obito and Rin had started to date regularly again, and to Naruto's joy, it seemed like nothing had changed between the two. They seemed to pick up exactly where they had left off, though Rin decided to start working in the hospital instead of going on missions. Kakashi on the other hand took more missions with the ANBU and was gone most of the time.
Naruto was walking through the streets of the village after having some ramen when he suddenly bumped into Itachi and his mom. "Hi Itachi! I haven't seen you for a while. How are you doing?"
"Big brother Naruto! Guess what?" Itachi ran up to Naruto with a big grin on his face. "I'm going to be a big brother soon!"
Sasuke... Naruto had a small smile on his face as his thoughts went to his best friend. "That's great, Itachi! I know that you are going to be an awesome big brother!" As he patted the top of Itachi's head he turned towards Itachi's mom. "Congrats, Mikoto. That is wonderful news."
"Thank you Naruto, that is very kind of you to say."
"It's no problem at all." Naruto couldn't help but feel happy, because he finally felt like he had his friend back. "I am very happy for your family." Suddenly, as he was talking, Naruto felt something cold land on his face and when he looked up he saw the most wonderful sight.
"Oh my, it started snowing." Mikoto was smiling up at the sky before turning to Itachi. "This is the first snowfall of the year isn't it, Itachi?"
"Yeah, it is! Now whenever I think of snow I will remember how happy I was when I found out I was going to get a little brother!"
Mikoto was laughing quietly as she looked at her son. "How do you know it's a boy? You could end up having a little sister."
"Nope! It's going to be a brother, I just know it!"
"Haha, alright Itachi. If you say so, then it must be true."
Naruto was smiling to himself as he watched Itachi and his mom talk about Sasuke. Well you aren't wrong Itachi, but I won't tell you that. "Well I better get going now. I have to make a report to the Hokage, ya know. Congrats again!"
"Thank you, Naruto. We'll see you around. Take care of yourself, okay?" Mikoto rushed up and gave Naruto a quick hug before turning around to start walking away.
"Bye Mikoto, bye Itachi!" Naruto continued to watch until they were both out of view, still lost in his own thoughts. It's kind of weird being around when Itachi and his mom find out she is pregnant with Sasuke. Though I guess I'm going to have to get used to it since there's only a short amount of time left until all of my friends are born. Naruto continued to smile to himself as he walked to the Hokage's office to talk to his dad.
"You look awfully happy. Did something good happen on your way here?" Minato was looking at the bright smile Naruto had on his face as he walked into his office. "I haven't seen you this happy in a while."
"I haven't felt this happy for a long time."
Minato knew what he was talking about. Even though he knew that Naruto was doing better, the trauma that Naruto had gone through had put a lot of stress on his mind, making it really hard to feel truly happy about anything. "What happened?"
"I met Itachi and his mom on my way here. Itachi's mom is pregnant."
Ah, yes. I get it now. A smile appeared on Minato's face as he looked at Naruto. "That means it is your friend, right?" He didn't need an answer. As soon as he saw the smile widen on Naruto's face, he knew he was right. "I'm happy for you. It's good to know that things are getting better in this time-line."
"Thanks dad."
Without any more delay, Minato and Naruto began to talk about any information that they had found out regarding Danzo, or anything to do with what Madara may have had planned.
* * * * * *
"Gah! I hate this so much! I don't want to just sit around and do nothing!" Naruto was pacing back and forth in his apartment as he thought back to his meeting with Minato. "It's been over a week since he told me that we would just have to wait. But that is like a year away!"
"Calm down, Kit. You know that he is right. You know Danzo is going to be the one to attack, you know that Zetsu is helping him, and you know it is going to happen on the day you are born. Until then there isn't anything else you can do. You have to wait."
Naruto thought back to when he was at Minato's office. They had met up to discuss any new findings they had, but unfortunately neither one of them had found out anything. They knew that Danzo was planning something, but still couldn't find out where he was hiding. They also figured that his plan had to be somewhat similar to what Obito did in Naruto's past because Zetsu had to be helping him. The only problem they faced now was that they had to wait until Naruto was born in this time. "It's only the beginning of November, ya know. I don't have anything to do for a year. It feels weird."
"Your dad said that he was going to assign you as a team leader didn't he? You'll still get to go on missions while you wait."
"Yeah I know, Kura. But knowing what's going to happen has my mind racing like crazy, ya know. Knowing that I can't do anything about it makes me so mad!"
"Haha! Don't worry Kit, you've been able to defeat every enemy you've faced so far. I have no doubt it'll be the same outcome this time."
"You stubborn fox..." After exhausting himself with all the pacing and thinking, Naruto finally laid down on his bed, ignoring the laughs from Kurama. "Whatever. I guess we'll see how things go this year." It didn't take long for Naruto to fall asleep, sure that he would be able to change the disastrous future that he came from.
"Good night Kit, and don't worry, I know you'll win. I believe in you just like your dad and everyone else does."
* * * * * *
"So what is your plan?" A slimy male voice spoke out in the surrounding darkness. In the distance opposite of the man, a large silhouette could just barely be seen. "You're quiet today. Did something not go the way you wanted it? I thought you were supposed to be super smart."
"On the contrary, things are going quite well indeed." A smirk made its way onto the man's face as he spoke. "I even acquired a new partner recently that will help the plan go much smoother than we originally anticipated."
"Oh! Well isn't that just so exciting! Tell me Danzo, is your army going to be enough to take control of the Leaf Village?"
Danzo was silent for quite some time as he stared off into the darkness in front of him. He had been working on this plan for a while now. He didn't like the way Hiruzen Sarutobi ran the village, and now that Minato Namikaze has taken over he was even more determined to carry it out. "You underestimate my knowledge, Zetsu. I know that I will win. And now that I have the help of someone who will be able to control that wretched fox, we will be guaranteed victory." Zetsu and Danzo made their way from the dark room they were in, down a long corridor of stone. As they got farther down the passageway a sliver of light started to appear around them, lighting up the bleak stone walls.
"My goodness this is really impressive!" Zetsu was staring out at a vast underground dome with at least forty different levels. "Yes, this is quite something Danzo."
"Ah, Black Zetsu. I was wondering when you were going to speak up. Does this meet your expectations?"
"Yes. It seems you were telling the truth when you spoke about being confident enough to win. Now, what was this about having someone who can control the nine-tails?"
A sinister smile formed on Danzo's face as he made eye contact with Zetsu. "A special Uchiha who doesn't like how the village looks down on them. He has kept his ability a secret from everyone so that they don't worry about him trying to start a coup d'etat. I just so happened to share a little of my plan with him and he said he was willing to help out."
"That will be of great help to us indeed. But what are you going to do about Naruto? He won't just let us do whatever we please."
"I have already planned for that. Follow me." Danzo led Zetsu down more winding corridors, some lighter than others. After walking for quite some time they had finally made their way down to the lowest level of the hideout.
"It seems you have been quite secretive about this. That's good."
"Trying to restrain that brat has already failed multiple times. It would be pointless, as well as foolish, to try the same thing again when we already know that it is going to fail." Pushing open one last door, Danzo led the way into a dimly lit room.
"Oh my isn't that just amazing! That might very well work!" "Yes, I am looking forward to knowing how this will work out. We expect great things from you, Danzo."
Nothing else was said as the two once again made their way up the winding corridors until they were standing in the same pitch black room they had met up in. Silence filled the space as the two were lost in their own thoughts. It was only after quite some time that Danzo spoke up matter-of-factly. "This hideout is perfect for our operation because of the sealing jutsu that is kept up around it. No one will be able to find it no matter how hard they try."
"Yes, yes! It is really quite impressive! It won't be too much longer now!"
"Yes, from your knowledge of events to come that you spoke to me about, we have less than a year now. It also seems that the blasted Minato and Naruto have finally stopped trying to search around for information which gives us more freedom. We will be ready."
Crossing to the other side of the room, the two seemed to disappear as they excited the hideout. Zetsu merged himself with the ground underneath, leaving Danzo alone. He looked at the view that laid below him, a malicious smile spreading across his face. Yes hiding in plain sight. No one will even think to look here. The sun was setting as Danzo stared down at the Leaf Village atop the Hokage faces. "Just you wait Minato, I will tear this village from your grasp, and take away everything you care for."