Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto, but I do own my plot and OC's. Anything I borrow will be appropriately disclaimed and the rightful owners will be acknowledged.

AN1: Hello there. So this here is the prologue of the long awaited rewrite of this story. Updates are going to be slow for the foreseeable future. I'm honestly sorry about this- I keep having ideas and flashes but I have things to do so my writing will take backseat. But I don't want to drop any story so they will continue albeit with slow updates. That and for now I will be focusing more on KK than this so yeah...

AN2:I have written a couple of chapters ahead of the prologue but until I'm sure that they are what I want they will not be posted up.

AN3: I'm sure there are a kinks- this was edited from a brief flash of inspiration while I was tired so...- to work out in this chapter so I will be revising it eventually. It won't be taken down or anything, just revised.

AN4: Then finally, thank you guys for the support and patience so far. If you have any concerns with the chapter then send me a PM or review- any one is okay- and I will try to address them. Feel free to criticise the story- I honestly won't get better unless you do. I hope you enjoy the prologue.

Spiral Reflection


Nine year old Naruto Uzumaki sat at the table in his small parlour, trying to study for the test which was coming up the next day.

This was not normally his style but after the short confrontation he had had with the annoying Uchiha earlier in the day he wanted to beat him so badly. Just because he came from a prestigious clan he thought he was so great and perfect. Just thinking about that annoying Uchiha was enough to make steam come out of his ears. Oh he'd show him, he'd show them all! Not just that Uchiha but also those that laughed at him and said he was not fit to be a shinobi; those who said he was weak; those who said he was worthless: he'd show them all! And all he needed to do was to beat that Uchiha in their next test. If he did that then they'd all have to acknowledge him.

It was the perfect plan!

Indeed, it was the perfect plan. If only he had the patience to do more than try to study. That Naruto once again held the lowest score in his entire class was not surprising; that he was frustrated by this was even less surprising; and that his frustration increased when he learnt that Uchiha Sasuke had the second highest test scores in the class was the least surprising outcome of all.

"So annoying!" Naruto shouted as he ripped up his test paper into tiny bits, squeezed them together to form a ball and then threw it into a dustbin. Still, that was not enough to calm his anger. How he wished he knew one of those impressive fire jutsu then he could incinerate the damn thing!

He was in a bad mood. He was in a really bad mood.

Well whatever. Why should he care? When would he ever need such knowledge in the real world?

He tripped. He swore; loudly, and with a vocabulary that no nine year old should possess.

Scowling fiercely, he turned his head to glare at whatever it was that tripped him. At the sight of the small object that glinted in the sun, light reflecting of its shiny surface he stopped short. Anger momentarily forgotten, Naruto crawled closer to the object to examine it.

The small object felt heavy in his hands, its smooth metal surface cool and pleasant to the touch. He stared at the object in curiosity. The small clock on the surface showed him that he was late for lunch but for once he was not bothered. What was a fancy knickknack like this doing in the middle of the road?

He lifted his head and looked around but he was obviously the only one in sight, and right so too. If this path had as many people as normal paths then he would not be here. He turned his head back to the golden watch and, not bothering to stand up, began to examine it. Small hands brushed against its surface; there were four small faces on the clock's surface: one showed the time; one showed the both the month and the day plus some squiggly lines he could not read; the third had pictures of circles (though some of the circles were half, three quarters and a quarter that looked more like a bowl than anything else); the last had years written in it. Naruto examined every corner of it, noticing the notches that decorated the circle's circumference, the small circle that sat atop the knob on its top, and the sideways eight that was engraved into the back of the watch sent small jolts of energy through his fingers as they traced over it. He did it again and again, and felt his body give a strange but unidentifiable response that made him both happy and wary. But it wasn't enough to make him stop.

Eventually he stopped and flicked a small button like switch that sat at the edge, and was satisfied when the watch opened up to show the face of a compass. Naruto had no idea how to use one of these but a sensei had brought one of these to a class to show it to them. Naruto had been wholly uninterested in anything the man had to say and the man had been more than happy to let Naruto not pay attention. Still, even with his limited contact with one, Naruto was immediately able to feel the difference between the two- and see it of course. A blue mist floated behind the compass face in streams that were both meticulously organised and at the same time headache inducing chaotic. He never bothered to analyse these conflicting opinions that he had come to: he had a feeling that it would turn out to be more complex than he was willing to endure (especially not after that horrible test!). Around the edge of the compass was a solid surface that held symbols that he once again did not understand. He squinted at them in an effort to understand but gave up in a moment, when his stomach forcefully reminded him that no matter how much the watch fascinated Naruto it had more important matters to be attended to.

Naruto closed the watch-compass and stood up from his position on the road. He used one hand to quickly dust across his shorts, not really bothered by the dust that clung to it. He looked around once more to ensure that there was no one there then he returned his gaze to the watch. His fingers fiddled with it restlessly as he contemplated whether or not he should take it with him. On the one hand, this watch was obviously expensive and this path was barely used; if he left it here there was a good chance that the owner would come back here before anyone else and find it. On the other hand, there was a slim chance that the owner wouldn't come this way and either someone else might find it or an animal would take it away. He sighed and shook his head. He would leave it he thought. He looked around and spotting a tree, decided to hang the watch up from one of its branches. If the owner came back then it would be clearly visible; however, if the owner did not come back (how he wished that was the case) then, well, he passed here every day to and from classes and he would just pick it up.

Naruto looked at it once more, savouring the feel of the cool metal against his skin.

A brief but sharp pain flared against his skin and he yelped in pain.

"What th-!" He lifted up the palm where it had been resting to his face. There was a new scar on his palm. The shape of the fallen eight was a vivid red that stood out against tanned skin and throbbed to an unheard rhythm; though the pain was gone. Naruto stared at it in surprise before turning his eyes to the watch and the weird symbol. He couldn't help it: he lifted his fingers and once more traced the shape in a slow deliberate motion; nothing happened. He looked at it before he shrugged again. He wanted to keep the watch but…

Before he could finish that thought the weight against his palm disappeared: the watch was gone.


A man sat at the best ramen place in the village of Konoha dressed in a long red jacket with black stripes at the sides and his hood pulled down fully to cover his face. He sat hunched with his arms resting on the table as he stared at his noodles without eating any- his bowl was still full.

He tensed slightly as he felt a weight in his left pocket but the shift was only little and was gone quickly so nobody noticed the change. He sighed and shook his head- the new arrival in his pocket quickly forgotten. After all, he thought absently, it would always return to him when he called it so there was no need for him to be overly concerned.

He stirred his noodles with his chopsticks and grimaced at the unappetising slump that it had become. With a sigh he motioned Teuchi over and placed a new order. For the moment he pushed his thoughts aside and focused on the warm noodles that were placed before him.

As his thoughts were now free to stray he finally considered the question that had been floating about in the back of his mind, not important enough to worry about but now interesting enough to occupy his thoughts: where had the watch gone, what had it done and just what would arise from it?