I don't own Naruto
"The best laid plans of Mice and Men, often go awry."
-Robert Burns
Prologue
The Ruins of Uzushiogakure
The pounding on the chamber's sealed doors was growing louder as more Zetsu clones attempted to break through the barrier. Each hit caused a shudder across the large room as the ceiling slowly dropped small particles of debris on the three occupants of the room. Suddenly, a large, thunderous boom shook the room more than any of the blows preceding it, accentuated by a large crack forming on the thick, stone doors. "Uh, Kushina-san, I don't think we have much time!" Kiba yelled to the woman at the center of the room. She sat, cross-legged, in deep concentration as her signature Adamantine Chakra Chains were busy turning dials and giving power to a large, circular portal on the other side of the room from the door. She gritted her teeth and growled in frustration. In this instance, she was grateful for the unlimited supply of chakra granted to her by the Edo Tensei jutsu. This portal was never meant to be operated by just one Uzumaki, and she needed all the power she could get.
"I need a bit more time, Kiba!" she yelled, "If they get in, you and Akamaru-san will need to hold them off for as long as you can!"
"Oh yeah, sure. Just let me hold off the army of mindless abominations alongside my ailing dog! That'll go great," Kiba remarked, "I'm not sure if you've noticed, lady, but I am not your son! For me, the impossible remains impossible!"
"Then stop yelling and let me concentrate!" Kushina retorted, turning her attention back to the task at hand. Just a little more-
The doors shattered open as if they were made of glass and not six-foot thick stone, and a mass of pale bodies rushed towards the two shinobi and the ninken. "Shit!" Kiba yelled. Kushina tensed for a moment, before locking the portal into place. It wasn't quite where they wanted, but it was close enough.
"Come on you two! We're going through!" Kiba and Akamaru nodded in affirmation and they raced towards the other side of the room, where the portal lay. On the other side of the gateway, they could make out the priests and shinobi of Uzushio from long-ago, watching the events on their side with terrified interest. The three of them were fast, their shinobi training granting them speed and agility beyond that of any normal human. They raced with the speed of a hundred horses and a thousand cheetahs. The Zetsu were faster. The mass gained on them with a ferocious tenacity only afforded to the mindless dead and Naruto, reaching out to grab them and pull the hapless would-be time-travelers into the horde. If something wasn't done, they wouldn't make it, and the ninken understood this most of all.
Neither of them noticed Akamaru turning around, neither of them noticed as he began attacking the mass, ripping through the Zetsu like putty, holding them off so the other two could get just a bit farther ahead. Neither of them noticed this as they leapt through the portal and landed on the other side, sliding across it. The priests moved to close the portal, as Kiba and Kushina turned around to get one last look at the world they once knew. Kiba's eyes widened as he saw Akamaru get torn limb-from-limb by the Zetsu. He screamed, screamed so loud he couldn't even hear the portal close as the shinobi surrounded him and his companion. The portal hadn't closed fast enough, so he had felt Akamaru's chakra- connected to Kiba's own- flicker out and die. As the gateway closed it cut off a White Zetsu arm that had just managed to reach through. Kiba went limp and would have fallen to the ground, had Kushina not caught him.
"I'm sorry, Kiba," she said, "I am so so sorry." He did not care if she was. Akamaru was dead. Kiba had finally lost everything he loved.
Orochimaru's Hideout, Land of Sound
Sarada stood in the middle of the seal array, holding her arms and shivering. The cave was cold, damp, and dark, the only light coming from the single bulb over head and the luminescent tanks dotting the edges of the room. Desks and chairs had been shoved to the side and piled up the walls of the room haphazardly so Karin would have room to finish the seal. It was an old Uzumaki design Orochimaru had discovered some years back. For once, the scientist had been lost in trying to understand the sealing matrix and begrudgingly handed it off to Karin, who'd been able to determine its true purpose: time travel. Turns out, the Uzumaki had been very interested in studying the flow of time and had come up with several methods to circumvent it. So, in her spare time, Karin took to completing the seal and making it fully usable.
"Karin-san," Sarada said, "Are you sure this will work?"
"I don't know, Sarada," Karin answered truthfully, "But we don't have much choice. I'm sorry it has to be you. You know what you need to do?"
Sarada nodded. "Find the Sage of Six Paths, warn him of his mother's plans, and stop her from creating Black Zetsu. Doing so will prevent the Elemental Gates from being constructed under its watch and not only prevent the return of Kaguya, but also stop the impending Otsutsuki invasion."
Karin nodded. "Good girl, are you ready?" she asked, having finished the seal.
Sarada nodded, "I am."
Karin pressed a button on her remote, feeding the seal with the necessary amounts of chakra from the lab's storage units, and began to go through the seals. Sarada watched in awe as Karin went through every seal ever conceived by humans. Not only the normal handsigns such as tiger, boar, and turtle, but also all the ones need for unique jutsu as well, such as the clone jutsu. It took half an hour, but Karin finally went through them all before slamming her hands down onto the ground where the seal lay. "Space-Time Style: End of Apocalypse Jutsu!"
As the seal lit up, Sarada remembered her friends: determined Chocho, bored Shikadai, inquisitive Inojin, and calm Mitsuki. She remembered her Mama and Papa, her teachers Konohamaru Sarutobi and Naruto Uzumaki. She remembered her brother, Satoru, who only had two years on this earth before he died. And-and she remembered-
Boruto. Sarada thought at last, as she finally awoke to a peaceful blue sky and a gentle breeze.
The Gate of Earth, Cavern of the Dead, Land of Earth
The challenger's name was Otohime Otsutsuki, and she was as powerful as the rest. She bent space and time to her will and caused reality to bleed like an open artery. She snapped once more and the wall Mitsuki, son of Orochimaru, was standing on turned to liquid mercury. He slipped and fell, sliding across the floor with no grip to get himself up. Otohime raised her hand and snapped again, causing several lances made of coal to appear behind her and propel themselves at Mitsuki. He scoffed and launched a fire jutsu and the lances, burning them away until they were smoke. He didn't have time for this, he needed to get into a position to use the jutsu Shikadai taught him. Grunting, he somehow managed to stand back up and get away from the mercury. There was another snap and the smoke created by burning the coal lances transformed into sand which fell to the floor. Otohime stared right into Mitsuki's eyes, rage burning in her own. Needing just a little time, Mitsuki summoned the largest snake he could and had it charge Otohime.
Scoffing, the princess snapped again and set the snake on fire. That didn't matter though. It had done its job and Mitsuki managed to activate the jutsu and connect with Otohime's shadow. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" he yelled.
"Wha-!" Otohime cried out, before scoffing, "Do you truly believe this can hold me forever, young one? It shall be dissolved in but a few moments."
"I do not need it to last forever," Mitsuki said, "I just need it to last long enough to have you perform a little jutsu for me."
"What Jutsu?" she asked as her hands were brought together. The signs were done as fast as Mitsuki could make them.
Rat-Tiger-Ox-Dragon-Bird-Horse-
"This is- no, how could you- how could you know of this jutsu!?" she screamed.
"I read it in one of your scrolls," Mitsuki said, "You really should guard your library more carefully."
"NO! NO NO NO! HOW DARE YOU HUMAN?! HOW DARE YOU?!" she screamed. It didn't matter, the jutsu was complete. Mitsuki stuck out his arms and put his hands together in a ring, causing Otohime to do the same, but pointed at him. The overwhelming amount of power put behind the jutsu should at least buy Mitsuki a year or so, since Otohime will probably be too unconscious to tell her fellow clan members what happened. That's all Mitsuki needed.
"Space-Time Style: Time Tunnel Jutsu!" Mitsuki and Otohime yelled. A yellow tunnel of light shot out from the ring created by Otohime's hands and engulphed Mitsuki. He broke the Possession Jutsu and ran to the other side of the tunnel.
Ruins of Kirigakure, Land of Water
This is our only hope. Sakura thought as the three remaining Kage, plus Konohamaru and Temari, took their places. And while that statement was the truth, it did very little to ease Sakura's guilt as the others present began to pump their chakra into the seal. They'd found the plans for the time travel seal among the ruins of an old ROOT facility they had happened to take shelter in. To think, Danzo would have had something like this hidden up his sleeve. She was just thankful that he never had the chance to use it.
She was never an expert at seals, but Kabuto had managed to explain it well enough. Essentially, the seal was drawn on some flat surface with a special brush and ink combination that imbued it with yin and yang chakra. Afterwards, five masters of the individual nature affinities would take up a location at the five corners of the seal and combine their natures and pure chakra to essentially punch a hole in the space-time continuum and send someone's soul into their body back when they were young. They would have all the memories of the future with them, as well as all of their skills and chakra, once they were physically capable of using them, of course. There had been a lot of debate over who to send, but it was decided Sakura would go since she was considered the most capable shinobi they had left. Apparently even the other Kage thought she was better than them. Sakura argued the point, of course, but everyone's mind was made up.
She didn't feel good about this. The jutsu required a large amount of chakra outside of the nature affinities to use. Which was why several other shinobi were situated around the seal and were pouring their chakra into it as well. Neither any of the shinobi providing the chakra nor the ones providing their elemental affinities would survive, the chakra exhaustion would kill them instantly upon the jutsu's activation.
"We're dead one way or another," Kurotsuchi had said when Sakura brought this up, "At least this way our deaths will actually mean something." And with that, it had been decided. Now Sakura stood at the very center of soon-to-be corpses, waiting for the chance to do it all again. They knew she had to track down the Elemental Gates. The ones in Earth, Wind, and Water were located, as well as a general idea where the Yin-Yang Gate was. They also knew that to close them they needed at least two tailed beasts to close each Gate (with the exception of Fire) and all of them to close the Yin-Yang Gate. The bad news was each Gate required different bijuu. The Good news is that each Gate's bijuu were already sealed into the respective country's Jinchuuriki. So, Nine-Tails for Fire, One- and Seven-Tails for Wind, etc. Not that that fact would make it any easier for the jinchuuriki to agree to help her, of course, but Sakura'd cross that bridge when she came to it.
Deep down though, Sakura also hoped she could do something about Naruto's loneliness and the Uchiha Massacre. Maybe even save the Third Hokage from dying. Who knows? It was time travel, infinite possibilities awaited her.
"Are you ready, Sakura?" Temari asked, snapping Sakura out of her mind.
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready." She wasn't ready, but it's not like she had much of a choice.
"Good, we're going to activate the jutsu now," Temari replied.
And then, everyone performed the seals they'd all memorized, pumping their chakra into matrix. When it happened they all spoke as one. Samui, Kurotsuchi, Chocho, Ino, Temari, Darui, Chojuro, Mei, Ino, as well as every single shinobi she didn't even know personally that was gather there all cried out with a unified voice, "Space-Time Style: Rebirth Jutsu!" Light Blanketed Sakura, and she was gone, 58 corpses left in her wake.
Civilian Shelters Behind the Hokage Monument, Konoha
The plan had been full proof, in Danzo's eyes. Let the Uchiha brat kill him, but not without first programming his last, hidden Sharingan to activate Izanagi several decades later. The technique had worked for Madara (albeit with a shorter period of time between death and rebirth), so he figured it would work for him as well. His enemies would think he was gone for good, and he would be free to remake ROOT and take them all by surprise several years later. Of course, he never expected the end of the world.
"What're you doing now, Danzo?" the figure bleeding in the corner asked as the former Elder inspected the seal matrix. It was a long shot yes, but it just might work.
"I'm creating a time travel seal to go back and fix this mess that you made," Danzo said, "I shall go back in time and use my knowledge to make Konoha strong enough to survive this coming onslaught."
"Oh, and how're you gonna do that?" the figure asked, coughing up more blood, "Induct more children into your bloody cult, perhaps? Maybe enslave the entirety of Konoha and force them to do what you will them to? Power over bonds, victory over morality. No more Will of Fire, just a military state hoping to burn down the rest of the world. Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong."
"No, no you are not," Danzo said, adding another layer to the seal, for support, "Though it is far less idiotic than you make it sound. Your precious Will did nothing to stop this calamity. Despite all your talk of comradery and cooperation, at the end of the day, you lost, Uzumaki. In all honesty, you may be the worst Hokage in the history of the village. Even moreso than that fool Hiruzen. Honestly, you make me sick."
Naruto laughed, his voice filled with venom and spite for the man in front of him. "You may be right, Danzo. I've failed my village, I've failed my family, I've failed the world. In the end, all my fighting and struggles were for nothing. But, y'know, I turned out a whole lot better than you did."
Danzo stopped his work, and turned his attention towards the dying Hokage. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Once again, Naruto laughed. "I mean, just look at you! A skilled, powerful shinobi who could have done so much for his village! You had it all: money and power, respect and admiration, even your own black-ops operation loyal to you and you alone. But did any of that ever actually make you feel good? Were you ever satisfied with the lot you'd been given in life, with all its perks and privileges? No, you just had to continue taking and taking, trying so desperately to fill the void in your heart you made yourself by taking in the first place. Hoping and praying that it all meant something in the end. That maybe, just maybe, all the treachery had actual value. But let me ask you something oh great and mighty Danzo-sama. What, exactly, did you accomplish in life other than ruining everyone else's lives? Nothing, that's what. Nothing. If I am a failure, Danzo, then you are less than a failure. You're just pathetic."
They shared eyes for the longest time, neither man appearing any less resolved. But that was not true, for in Danzo's heart Naruto's words stung. He could not deny their truth or their meaning. Naruto was right.
It started with a small chuckle in Danzo's throat, but it grew ever larger and ever greater. Reverberating off the shelter's walls. It deafened all who heard it with pity and sorrow, for this was the laugh not of an amused villain or an insane monster, it was the laugh of a defeated man. One who was forced to finally open their eyes to the mirror, by nothing more than a mere question.
Danzo's hand went slack and before he knew what was going on, he saw tears fall to the ground. How odd, he couldn't remember the last time he cried like this. He couldn't remember the last time he cried at all.
Naruto watched him for a few moments, giving him some room, before forcing himself up and limping towards the seal on the floor. Quietly, he took the sealbrush from where Danzo had dropped and finished the seal. "If you want to stop this, you'll have to find some way to close up or destroy the six elemental gates," Naruto said, "The Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Water Gates, are in the respective countries of the same name. I know the one in Fire Nation is where the Temple of Fire used to be and the one in Wind is atop a plateau called Kanama. The other three I'm not sure of. You're on your own for those. As for the Yin-Yang one, you'll find that one far to the North, in Iron. It's apparently the center of the others so you should be able to figure out where the other three gates are through some math on your part. These are the receptacles for chakra from the Otsutsuki's dimension and are how they managed to create a portal to ours. Get rid of the gates, you get rid of the threat. Now, I believe you need the five natures and a whole lot of chakra to activate this seal, right? Alright, I gotcha. Kagebushinn no Jutsu!"
And just like that, four clones of Naruto appeared at four of the corners of the seal with Naruto taking the fifth. The five Naruto's prepared the five natures and chakra necessary to activate the seal and pumped it into the array. Naruto looked over to Danzo and shook his head in pity. "This seal needs very large amounts of chakra to activate. I assume that's why you brought me here," Naruto said, "Get in the center, Danzo."
The former ROOT commander looked at Naruto with incredulity, but did not question his order. However, he was curious. "Why? You just said I was a cruel, selfish man. Why are you letting me go through with this?" he asked.
"'Cause like it or not, you're the only hope we've got, odd enough as it is," Naruto said, "And besides, if you mess it up and start a New Age of Darkness or somethin', I've got enough faith in my past self and the rest of Team 7 that you'll be taken care of in no time."
"Stop. Perhaps there is a way we can bring you with me," Danzo said, "Maybe if we grab one of the Otsutsu-"
"No," Naruto said. He looked down for a moment, memories flooding back to him. "Danzo, my wife was impaled on a rock, my best friend was torn limb from limb, my son was killed keeping one of those things off of some refugees, and my daughter- my daughter ended it herself two weeks ago. For the past year I've seen all my friends get slaughtered and burned until not even ashes were left. I'm angry, desperate, heartbroken,weak and… and I'm tired. So very very tired, Danzo. I just want to rest now and see them all again. So please, don't argue."
Danzo nodded and Naruto activated the seal, "Space-Time Style: Rebirth Jutsu!" Danzo closed his eyes as he was sent off into the great beyond and another time. Alone in the cave, and mind going blurry, Naruto dispelled the clones and got up, clutching his bleeding side. The pain was gone now, numbness having consumed him. He trudged his way to the shelter's exit, burning the matrix with a small fire jutsu on his way out. Slowly, he walked up the stairs, mind racing with memories of old: passing the bell test, his first chunin exams, Sasuke leaving, Sasuke coming back, Madara and Obito, Kaguya and Toneri, Momoshiki and Kinshiki, Team 7, Sarada training under him, and Kakashi's funeral (the only one they had time to do for those the Otsutsuki killed). He remembered his and Hinata's wedding day, how she smiled so brightly and made his world so much better. He thought of the day Boruto was born and all the fears and anxieties that he thought he was past came rushing back to him at once, and he remembered how it happened again with Himawari.
Naruto stepped out of the shelter and walked over to the railing, overlooking the village. Its once proud buildings finely reduced to rubble, rotting corpses littering the street like poorly-made rag dolls, and the smell of flames burning his nose. His nation, his village, his home turned to ash. He thought of his dream, to be accepted by Konoha and become Hokage. To be the greatest ninja ever known. It's all he ever wanted in life, all he ever desired. That was his goal, his mission in life. And yet-
"And yet I'd have given in all up, if it meant I could see you two grow up."
Naruto's legs gave out.
Author's Notes: Hey, welcome to my fanfiction. Still figuring out if I should simply go down the timeline chronologically, or if I should inter-spread the time travelers' adventures together in a non-linear sort of fashion. I'm leaning more towards the ladder, but I'm willing to hear your guys's thoughts on the matter.
A couple things I feel I should get out of the way before we start. There are several people at play here. Each going to varying time periods with varying levels of knowledge. I chose the ones I did because I either thought they would be a good fit, or because they were a character I really wanted to write. It should also be noted different people are using different methods of time travel, which yield different results.
Kiba and Kushina- use an ancient Uzumaki Time Gate that can be set to go to any point in time within 150 years past or future. This method can be used multiple times and can allow someone to do a lot or time jumping. They are going into the past with limited knowledge of the gates and (let's face it) everything else. Neither of them were particularly observant history students. All they know is- Izuna die= DOOM as well as the fact Mito married Hashirama.
Sarada- uses "mobile" version of Uzumaki Gate initially started by a seal master named Yasuhiko Uzumaki and perfected by Karin. Though it really messes up the chakra system and essentially erases all kekkei genkai from the body. They don't know this yet. She is going into the past with no real information other than the location of the Fire Gate and all the stories her parents told her about Kaguya and the Sage.
Mitsuki- forces an Otsutsuki to send him back in time with one of their most dangerous jutsu via using Shadow Possession Jutsu, which Shikadai taught him because at that point Shikadai was the only Nara left and he didn't want his clan's jutsu to die. On one hand, he was an excellent history student who knows a lot about the past as well as the location of all of the Gates due to his infiltration of the Otsutsuki compound. So out of all of them, he's the most well-equipped to handle everything. Downside: he has no idea which period he's going to end up in and he'll have to adapt accordingly.
Sakura- uses time-travel seal based off of Yasuhiko Uzumaki's notes similar to Karin, but was completed in a different way than Karin's, meaning it only sends the mind and chakra reserves back in time to the point of birth. So, Sakura is going in with the disadvantage of her small body, but with her skills still intact. She also has the disadvantage of being the farthest down the timeline, so there are going to be a lot of changes she's not prepared to handle.
Danzo- essentially uses the same method as Sakura, but Naruto couldn't put in enough power to also send Danzo's chakra and skills back with him due to Naruto's severely weakned state (he just got out of a fight with three Otsutsuki when Danzo nabbed him). So Danzo'll have to relearn his skills. He has the advantage of essentially making history so he knows what to change and is the most politically adep, but he's the second-farthest down the timeline, so he's gonna have a bunch of stuff to deal with that he wasn't expecting. Though, he is the best of the ones sent back in time at adapting to unexpected situations.
Information such as Kushina's resurrection, how Mitsuki got all this info, how everyone got to their respective locations, etc. will be revealed via flashbacks.
Also, I think I did Naruto's death scene pretty well. Hope you guys found it heartbreaking enough.
Title comes from the number of periods traveled to. Not the number of Travelers.
Well, until next time! Callian31, signing out!