A/N: This is in honor of the death of Neji Hyuuga.
Alright, so this is the prologue to a new story I've been working on. With Neji's death I decided to change things a little so that all three were reincarnations of certain people close to their parents. I was so devastated when Neji died but slightly relieved because when I first saw the picture I thought it was Hinata who had been struck by the wood poles. So this is my way of honoring him. RIP Neji. May this new destiny be better than the first.
Disclaimer: I do not own. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Prologue:
"Are you sure of this?"
He smiled at his father. It had been great seeing him again but it was time to leave. "Positive," he replied. He smirked slightly when he felt the presence of two others draw near. "They're here." He watched as the two reached them. One was a teenage girl with purple rectangular markings on each cheek. The other was in his twenties and had long black hair that was tied low in the back. His onyx eyes were tired but conveyed the anticipation he was feeling. Out of them, he had experienced and sacrificed the most.
"Itachi, Rin," he greeted.
"Hello Neji," Rin replied before turning to his father. "Hello Hizashi."
"Hn," Itachi grunted. Neji rolled his eyes at the familiar sound. Usually, Itachi was much more talkative and well-mannered but Neji couldn't blame him for being distracted lately. The three of them were sacrificing their current afterlife to be reborn again to those close to them. He and Itachi would be born as their own nephews (technically cousin in Neji's case). Rin would be born as the son of her former crush and teammate. Out of them, only Itachi would possibly be anything like his past self.
Neji couldn't help but think about who he was about to become. He had been happy when Naruto and HInata finally got together. When he had learned they were going to have a son, he had known what he needed to do. He would be reborn as the son of the 6th Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. He didn't know what he would be like or if he would ever remember his past life, but he didn't regret his choice. He had died to save Naruto and if he hadn't, the Fourth Great Shinobi War would have ended much differently and he would not be being born in the first place. He glanced over at Itachi. He didn't know how Itachi must feel being reborn as his own nephew to the brother he had caused to kill him. He couldn't imagine the sacrifices Itachi had made. He could tell though how proud Itachi was of his little brother and soon to be father. If it wasn't for Sasuke's intervention, the Ten Tails wouldn't have been defeated.
"Are you ready?" Itachi asked.
Neji nodded. "It's time for a new start," he said.
As the three of them started off to begin their journey, those who were watching observed as their forms changed. In Neji's place stood a boy with long, spiky red hair, pale blue eyes and whisker-like marks on his face. He had a foxlike grin that was unlike him. Rin's hair grew shorter and became spiky silver with black bangs, her eyes violet and a sly smirk appeared on her face. Itachi simple seemed to de-age until he was thirteen like the other two, his hair becoming slightly spikier and the worry lines disappearing from his face. Standing together, there was no doubt that the three of them would be able to handle anything their new lives threw at them. They were the next Team Seven after all.
"Troublesome," Hizashi heard one of the shinobi say.
He rolled his eyes. "Don't think I haven't overheard you and Inouchi planning to do the same thing for your grandchildren Shikaku," he said.
Shikaku sighed. "Nah, I think I'll let Asuma take that one," he said. "I'll wait for Yoshino. Otherwise she'll follow me just to haunt me for not waiting for her."
Hizashi shook his head at the Nara's comment. "That and you're too lazy," he said.
Shikaku smirked. "There's that too."
Hizashi turned back to the group of three that was slowly fading before their eyes. "They'll have to go through a lot with Orochimaru still out there."
Someone else spoke from beside them and they turned to see Minato Namikaze, the former Fourth Hokage with his wife and Itachi's parents as well as Jiriaya, Nagato and the other three Hokages. "If anyone can stop him it's them," Minato said.
"I hope your right," Hizashi said, watching as the three disappeared finally from the afterlife to start their new journey.
Down below, in the Hidden Leaf Village, the first of the next generation took his first breath as a second later, two others did the same. That day, the village celebrated the birth of Kurama Uzumaki-Namikaze, Takashi Uchiha and Rin Hatake.