Reality

Naruto, the Nanadamine Hokage, landed on the ground with a all but silent tap of a toe but it was enough for the blind swordsman to pinpoint his location. With insane speeds the katana blade arced in the air towards his neck. A clash of sparks and Naruto parried the blade again but his reserves were wearing thin. The older man before him was not the Kage killer Naruto knew him once as, Naruto could tell time had taken it's toll.

However, this man had taken too much of his time. The blonde Hokage had been absent from his Village during this attack long enough. It took much effort but Naruto dredged enough power to activate his Sage mode, the once Kyuubi container caught the blade and with an abrupt jab with a knife chop towards the swordsman's stomach the natural energy that had formed around him cut deeply into the enemy's innards. The blind fighter collapsed and coughed out blood, yet as he did Naruto's superb hearing picked up the laugh.

"Why do you laugh so close to death?" The old Hokage remarked, trying to catch his breath, the eye shadow like pigment from his Sage mode faded as he released the natural energy once more. Even though the enemy nin's eyes did not see they moved towards his direction and the man smirked.

"B-because, my death w-was not in vain, Ho-hokage. The mist has destro-oyed your village by now." The man laughed again even as he died, though Naruto was not close enough to hear, he was already racing back towards Konoha, pushing his 76 year old frame as fast as he could.

Naruto Uzumaki was not one to abandon comrades. That had been a fact shown from his very first c turned A ranked mission. To chasing Sasuke Uchiha down time and time again. To fighting Pein away from his village's remains to allow the villagers time to escape.

Naruto Uzumaki was not one to forgive. When Kakashi had been crippled Pein had lost four of his bodies. When the human sacrifice had learned of the dying Tsunade the Akatsuki leader and his blue haired teammate had been deprived of their lives.

Naruto Uzumaki was not one to cry. After Gamakichi let her go, Naruto had held his rapidly aging leader. She demanded he promise her he would live happy, and make her proud. It was only then that Tsunade, her wrinkled worn face pinched with a smile, put Sakura's hand over his, died. It was surreal at first and Naruto couldn't accept it. But the wet feeling he felt against his shoulder as Sakura sobbed into his chest, made it suddenly all too real. When all the gathered ninja looked away and he felt no ones gaze but his dear Sakura-chan he allowed himself to cry.

With an extra burst of speed he flew out of the forest before the great wall. With a flick of his wrist one of the remaining Yondamine's tri-pronged kunai. It'd take it a moment to arc over the wall and land somewhere inside the district, where the jolt of landing would release the stored chakra into the summon seal and pull him to the Kunai. It was amazingly simple yet complex, his father's flying thunder god jutsu.

After the funerals of Tsunade and countless others Naruto had taken to cleaning out the Hokage tower of Tsunade and Shizune's things when he had found the kunai. Just remembering how he had found them made him think of the others he had lost that terrible month. Shizune would never again move. Her body had been quickly wasting away. It had hurt to see Shizune like that, but Naruto knew it would only be a matter of time, and if she could have talked he was sure she would want to be let go like Kakashi had asked.

Hatake Kakashi had taken catastrophic damage, and was told that should he recover he would be a quadriplegic. Kakashi had remained silent for several days after learning this until he called for his team. He wished them well and then asked for death. Naruto resisted until Kakashi brought up the Shinobi rules. He was clear in his right. Naruto was too shaken to even speak at first, and when he wasn't distraught he was yelling that he didn't want to loose another precious person. It had taken nearly an hour of talking before Naruto said goodbye to his sensei as Sakura severed the flow of blood to Hatake's brain allowing him a peaceful quiet end. Naruto had cried then as well. He had held onto Sakura as he sobbed into her hair why he had to keep loosing his precious people. Sakura said nothing but held onto him, her own tears marring his jacket.

The tug from the knife signaled the kunai had landed and he let it pull him through a tunnel of yellow light. His feet landed an instant later on the sloped surface of a collapsed roof. Konoha was in shambles. The sounds of fighting had faded and now only the muffled sounds of the dying filled the foul air. Fires were spread out over the entire city, and part of the Hokage monument, his own face he noted, had been pulled down onto parts of the village. Shame and failure filled him as the old shinobi made fifty or so Kage Bushins and sent them off to try and save the few who remained. Sadness crept in as he wished for his old teammate was alive to help him in moments like these, his low knowledge of healing could do only so much for the wounded.

Sakura's pale face smiled to Naruto as she gave him a kiss, their first. But any feelings of love where overcome by dread when he tasted the copper of her blood. The fight had been hard but he tokubetsu jonin and her Rukodamine Hokage had managed to finnish all but final member of Akatsuki.

"Sakura, hold on, your gonna make it, okay? Just stay with me Sakura." It sounded so hollow and desperate in his ears, he could only imagine that was why she smiled despite such pain. Knowing how foolish he was being.

"Baka… I'm a medic… I know." Tears Naruto tried desperately to hold in were falling washing some of the blood she spit up off her cheeks.

"I can't go on Sakura, not without you! I need you!" Her hand ruffled his hair.

"You can. They… Need you Naruto. Now… Go, Nanadamine Hokage." She smiled warmly at him and closed her eyes. Her grip on his slackened then fell away. Her face looked so much like an angels there. As part of him died he looked up into the red glaring eyes of her murderer. Sasuke Uchiha showed no remorse for his actions, and only smirked when he saw Naruto's tears.

"She named you her successor. Congrats Dobe, you finally got your wish." The smug cold remark was met with a Sage powered punch as Naruto's clone that had been pulling on the natural energy dispelled sending the power to it's master. Sasuke had not apparently known of it and was sent flying before he righted himself and snarled, activating the level one curse seal. Fury spoke clearly on his face that the dead last had managed to hit him, Sasuke Uchiha of the perfected Mangenkyo Sharingan. The two warriors lanced towards each other.

No Naruto had gained his dream. He was Hokage but without his family, his precious people, it was a lonely existence that he filled with being a mentor to countless becoming like his grandfather, the Sandamine in training the next generations will of fire. Yet it seemed so hopeless, Konoha was gone, everything was lost. Not even the Pein attack had been this devastating. The Nanadamine Hokage had failed his duty.

As he carried the small inert form of an academy student towards the hospital the pitiful remains of his forces shuffled through the wreckage looking for survivors, most of them only found bodies. Their silence as he walked was statement enough to show their feelings. It took time for the fox like Hokage to reach the hospital but what he found filled him with horror. The building had been leveled, it had been teeming with wounded and civilians. Now it appeared to be their tomb. The Hokage laid the boy down and dropped to his knees. It was uncertain how long he remained, allowing his pain to cover the broken ground, till Naruto felt more than he heard the scrape of metal and flung himself aside allowing the mass of Shuriken and Kunai to pass by with little room. A mysterious shape hung in the air a few feet away, it's rattling shaking form reminded Naruto of Kankuro's Karasu.

"GAARA! KANKURO!" Naruto had lost sight of them in the fog. The heavy mist was affecting Gaara's sand so he stayed close to his remaining sibling. This new attack on both Suna and Konoha had both the nations scrambling and both the Hokage, Sakura, and his life long friend, Kazekage Sabaku no Gaara worried. Kiri was mobilizing their forces. Madara had made his bold alliance with Akatsuki and Iwa public. Naruto joined Gaara on the battlefield in the remains of the land of rice. The two containers former and current with the small army of Puppets had kept casualties down but when Kiri got wise they sent the best. He was a legend, the leader of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shū, Kenta Usuei. The only one still loyal to the Mizukage.

The blind swordsman ninja who used his family's Shingan to deadly force. It was the very man the three leaders of the forces were chasing. And now he had lost his comrades. A cry of pain was heard and Naruto followed it. He nearly puked when he slipped on the remains of Kankuro's innards. The upper half of the ninja laid to his right and the lower to his left, Kankuro's face held a look of shock. It had been a quick death. Naruto closed the eyes to his friend, and raced onwards towards the tower of sand that rose above the mist.

With a force belying his years Naruto's first smashed the puppet down. The ceramic armor and joints snapped with impressive force leaving little for the puppet-nin to repair. Deprived of his weapon, his enemy would have to close, and Naruto knew he would win the battle. It was then a sword dug into his back and out the back.

Blood seeped from his chest where the blade had pierced his heart. Every beat pumped more of his life blood out of his body. With pain coursing through him the old Hokage turned to see his killer. It was the dead body of the boy, his head twisted back at an nauseating angel from his body but the aim of the sword was true. The man was a puppet user, and like Chiyo had done to Sakura, he had used a human body as a puppet. He'd been careless thinking others respected life like Naruto did. For a moment Naruto wished he had the Kyuubi to heal him once more, but as the color drained from the world he smiled. It was over, he could be with his loved ones again. Naruto's world faded from view. Naruto had lived a life far longer than most ninja. He was old and tired. Now he could rest.

_-_-_-_

"NARUTO!" Naruto's eyes widened and he coughed, lungs burning. Cool soothing hands rested above his lungs and forced the smoke from them. Looking around he did not recognize the room he was in, but the face above his was one Naruto could never forget.

"Jiraiya?" the man paused, a frown marring his … Well actually he made Pakkun look handsome.

"Gaki, you've never called me that, why start now?" Naruto hugged the man.

"I've missed you, Ero-Sennin." The self dubbed super pervert was at a loss. Something was wrong.

"Gaki, I've only been gone ten minutes looking for Tsunade. Did Itachi break something when he hit you with that genjutsu?" Naruto's eyes widened. The Tsunade retrieval mission? But that was back when he was a genin! Over 60 years ago! The blonde quickly rose and scanned the room. Spying a small mirror he picked it up. It was small so little could be seen, however the wrinkles and the scars of battle were missing. His hair was once again a sun kissed yellow and not the faded grayish yellow that he had sported in his last ten years of life. All he recognized were his eyes, the same haunted blue of his older self.

He set the mirror down, slightly hyperventilating. His clothes, the jumpsuit, the all orange jumpsuit he had worn as a fresh genin all those years ago. What was going on? Forming a half ram he poured his chakra into the seal and tried to release the genjutsu. Jiraiya sat on the foot of the bed looking both half amused and worried. Nothing had happened. Why had nothing happened? Why was he reliving his life? What was going on?!

To be continued…

Authors Notes.

This idea and basis of this first chapter came originally from an old yet highly enjoyable Sorcerer Hunters fanfic where Carrot lives out his long and tragic life only to find it was a magic attack… or that he is dying and hallucinating. The fiction sadly never went past the fourth chapter and was abandoned. Credit to the author for inspiring me.

I'll be trying to keep it up as this and Return from the End are latest works in a very long time. There is another but I will have to see how it goes. I don't want to break my muse. It will be called 'Child of Mine' and already has a few chapters planned. This Reality and Return from the End has a set path but no planning. Usually a bad thing but I don't want to get caught up in the details. Both of these stories were written poorly (grammar wise) trying to get the ideas out of my head before I lost them.

I'd like to bring up a small poll as soon as I figure out how to do that for this story. Should Naruto have been married? Did he stay alone? I like several female/Naruto parings except Hinata. I am sorry if you like that but there are so many and I find Hinata's character to be too passive for Naruto's boisterous ways. He needs some spunk to smack him in line. Argh I'm rambling. Okay. Thanks for reading.