Uzumaki Naruto and the Multiverse

Prologue: Naruto

Disclaimer: This is a fan-made work, which means I own pretty much none of it... save maybe some original characters that may or may not appear it at one point... but yeah, Naruto and any other work by any other creator is definitely NOT MINE.

"Sorry, Naruto, but I have to fail you." Iruka-sensei's voice is quiet and monotone.

I look down and clench my fists. This is so not happening again. "But, sensei, I made a clone. And I passed everything else. Transformation, replacement, written…" My throat is sore. Why? Why is it always me? My body is cold. There has to be some outside reason. Right? It's just a clone technique… And I've worked so hard…

He nods. His posture is stooped, and he won't look me in the eye. "That's true, Naruto. You did. However…" He shakes his head and sighs. "Be that as it may, I can't bend the rules for you. I can't…" He trembles, and his voice breaks. "I can't show favoritism. There's always next year. Off you go, now."

I leave the Academy with a weight in my chest. I don't understand. My vision is blurred. I've tried. I did. I tried everything. And I still can't get the stupid technique down. My limbs are heavy. So what if I can't make a clone? I bet most real ninja don't use it anyway. Humph, I'm sure the Fourth never did. I meander, but the world around me is unfocused. There are blotches of shapes and colors on the streets, probably people glaring at me. There's buzzing, hammering, clicking, clacking, pounding, yelling, barking, talking, and who knows how many other sounds. It smells of food, perfume, sweat, sewer, and the occasional flower. It looks like it's crowded. Well, everywhere except around me. That's always an empty area. All energy seems to have left me. They're probably gloating, the bastards. 'Oh, look, the demon failed again!' Why am a demon, you… you… oh, damn it, I can't even think of an insult. Maybe I should start calling them demons, see how they like it!

I don't know for how long I walk, but I find myself on the top of the Hokage monument, just in front of another forest. At least we have plenty of those. I sit on the Fourth's head. Hey, if it's got to be a kage, why not the best one, right? The entire Hidden Leaf Village spreads out beneath me, bathed in the light of the setting sun. The air is fresh, and a light breeze is blowing. The smells of trees, animals, and the earth are all there. Birds are chirping. It's like a paradise. My heart beats slowly, and there is hollowness in my chest. It's far from one, though. It's dark, and cruel. It's more like hell. Why do I even try? I don't deserve this. My breathing is shallow. I've done nothing to them. Tears fall from my eyes. What am I even going to do if I can't be a ninja? What is there for me if I can't be the Hokage?

"You know, none of them cried like that." The voice comes from behind me. It's not particularly deep, or gravelly, but there's a darkness to it. A danger.

I shrug my shoulders. "None of them failed the genin exam twice, either." I could turn around to look at him, but I don't. What's the point? If he wanted to kill me, he would've already.

The man sits next to me. "Maybe not, but they never gave up."

My jaw is clenched, and my voice hollow. "Leave me alone."

"That… would be extremely counterproductive to what I want."

I snort. "And what's that?"

"To help you."

"Yeah… because everyone always wants to be there for me." I swallow, and my chin trembles. "That's what people always say, let's go help Naruto, 'cause we love him so damn much."

He shrugged. "Hey, first time for everything, right?"

My heart beats slowly. "Okay…" I'm so tired. "Let's pretend you do. Why?"

He chuckles. "You may not believe me, but we're very much alike." His voice is a bit louder, and the danger lessens just a little. "Like you, I was an orphan. Like yours, my parents died to save me…"

Wait, what? My eyes snap up to him. He knows who my parents were! My heartbeat races. The emptiness in my chest fills with lightness. Every muscle on my body trembles. "Who were they? How do you know of them? How did they die? What…"

"Whoa there, slow down." He raises his hands. "One question at a time, please."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Calm down, Naruto. It's fine. It's fine. I breathe slowly and deeply, but my muscles just refuse to stop trembling. "Alright. Who were my parents?"

"Do you really want to know that right now? Because I'm not sure you're ready to face all the horrors in that particular Pandora's Box."

My gaze locks on his, blue eyes to green. He has a stubble, except on the right side of jaw. There's a burn mark there. He also carries several scars, one over his right eye, one on his left cheek, and very weird lightning shaped one on his forehead. His jet black hair is messy. Stupidly messy. Like, seriously, get a comb.

I glare at him. "Who's Pandora, what's in her box, and why do I care?"

He sighs and presses his hand on his forehead. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"You were saying…"

He gestured toward the village. "Thirteen year ago, the Nine Tailed Demon Fox attacked. It burned and destroyed everything in his path. Countless ninja perished to it. Then the Fourth Hokage came and battled the beast. They clashed until he managed to kill it, though he died himself."

I growled. "I know all that. What's your point? And what does he have to do with my parents?"

"That entire story… is a lie."

My heart skips a beat. No. My mouth falls open. No way. It's the Fourth, the greatest damn hero of this country. I shake my head. "You're lying! He saved us, I know he did, and no matter what you say…"

"He did save you."

I clench my fists and grind my teeth. "Then what are you…"

"If you shut up and let me tell the story, you might find out."

I take a deep breath. Calm down, Naruto. Again. "Go on."

He cracks his neck. "Like I said, the entire story is a lie. Or rather, it's true, but lacks ninety percent of what happened. You see, he did battle the monster. He did beat it. But that's all." There's a gleam in his eye, though I'm unsure if it's from some light, or coming from inside him. "The true tale begins about a century ago. Naruto, what do you know of how the village was founded?"

I shrug. "Not much. I…" My cheeks flush. "I kind of slept through the history classes at the academy."

He chuckles. "Another similarity between us, then." His voice becomes quieter, and deeper. He looks at the horizon, almost unblinking. "It was a world of endless battles, an era of warring states." The sun sets, but there are no stars next to the full moon. "The one village per country system didn't exist then. There were only clans. It was a world of strife and conflict. Power meant everything." The breeze becomes wind. "The Uchiha clan was known all over the world for their remarkable chakra and the sharingan." There were no more sounds around us, except the wheezing and roaring of the increasingly stronger wind. "And there was the Senju clan of the forest, said to rival the Uchiha in strength. Senju Hashirama, their leader, was considered the most powerful ninja of his time. To oppose him, stood Uchiha Madara, who was almost his equal. The two clans, and the two leaders, fought ceaselessly. Casualties were numerous on both sides, until…" He looks at me for just a moment. "Until Hashirama managed to convince both Madara and the two clans that this would destroy all of them. So, they banded together to create a new organization, which they named the Village Hidden in the Leaves." He sighs. "They actually managed to coexist. For a time. But then, Madara, who was becoming more and more convinced that the Senju would at one point wipe out the Uchiha, was denied the position of Hokage. You can guess what happened after that."

"He left the village?"

"That's right." The air is cold. A frog croaks in the distance. "It wasn't enough for him, though. No, he wanted to destroy what he'd built. Yet, he wasn't as strong as the First Hokage. He needed an edge. Can you guess how he got it?"

"Um…" I shrug. "No idea…"

He ruffles my hair. "That's all right." He leans back on his hands. "He tracked down the Nine Tails and bent it to his will."

"Whoa!" My eyes bulge. "Is that even possible?"

"Oh yes. Either by being stronger than it, or with the sharingan. He had both. Now, can you guess how this story turns to you?"

"Hm… He lost, I remember that much. Did…" I gasp. "Did the Leaf keep the Nine Tails?"

He laughs. "Very good, Naruto. Yes, the First locked it up inside a human. It was the only possible way to contain such a fearsome beast, and this person became a jinchūriki, a human sacrifice." His jaw is set, but he still won't look at me. "That person was his own wife, the lady Mito, and she did her duty for decades. Until the time came for a new jailor to take her place. This one was again a wife of a kage. Her name was Uzumaki Kushina, and she was married to the Fourth."

I gulp. "Uzumaki…" My heart skips a beat, and I miss a breath. "Like…"

"Like you, yes. Now, thirteen years ago, Kushina was with child…"

There's fluttering in my belly. "Was…" Adrenaline rushes through me like wildfire. "Was that child…"

"Hush. No more interruptions."

"But…" No. I need to know. My muscles tighten. I can't wait now. I shake and treble. He said Uzumaki… Like me…

"Naruto."

I nod. "Fine." Stay calm, Naruto, damn it! Shut up! Listen! A scream tries to escape me, but I push it back. "I'm sorry. Please continue."

"Good. As I was saying, thirteen years ago, Kushina was pregnant, and one of the unfortunate side effects of the seal holding the demon is that it weakens during childbirth." He takes a deep breath. "Some… unsavory people decided to use that situation. They attacked the baby, and when the Fourth went to save it, they took Kushina, and unleashed the Nine Tails on the Leaf." His voice drops to a whisper. "Naruto, do you know what happens when a demon is extracted from a jinchūriki?"

I close my eyes. "They die, don't they?"

"Yes. She died, and the monster rampaged, under the command of those unsavory people. The Hokage had to save his home. But, the beast is immortal and can't be killed, so he had to seal it again. He created…"

"Another jinchūriki."

"That's right. And he used his own newborn son to do it."

An invisible string tugged at my heart. "How did he die then?"

"The seal he used is the Death Reaper seal. It's the strongest there is, but the cost is the life of the caster."

I gulp and nod. Here it comes then. "Tell me the child's name."

He sighs and looks me in the eye for the first time since starting. "Uzumaki… Naruto."

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Well isn't that fucking ironic? I tremble only slightly, but my muscles are rigid. Being hated over something I had no damn control over, despite being the son of a Kage. And not just any Kage, mind you, but the greatest damn hero this stupid country's ever seen. I grind my teeth, and my jaw clenches. Not that anyone knows that. Yeah, why give the poor orphan a break, let's keep the one piece of information that might makes his life just a bit better a goddamn secret. No, no, no. Heat flows through me. No, it thunders through me. No, even better, it fucking rages through me. Because, why try to find a family to adopt the son of our fallen hero, right gramps? Why let him have a normal childhood? Why tell him he has an immortal demonic fox of amassed violence and hatred sitting in his damn stomach? Well, fuck you too, gramps. No, actually, you're not my gramps anymore. You're just Lord Third from now on! I flex my arms and curl my lips. And the villagers! Yeah, let's make life a living hell for the one thing keeping the Nine Tails from murdering us all. Great idea jackasses! Maybe I should just let it out. Watch it kill all of you, why do I care? My heart is pounding. I drop my head into my hands and cry. I don't know for how long, but I just let it all out. Why me, father? There had to be other freaking babies around. Why me? I curled up and sobbed. Why me?

###

"I'm okay now." I wipe the last of the tears from my face. The wind's died down, and the night is a bit warmer. Crickets are chirping again, and the smell of the forest is back.

The stranger pats my back. "Good job, kid. You handled it way better than I thought you would."

I squint at him. "I went into a rage and then curled up in a ball to cry. What did you expect?"

He shrugs. "Murder attempts."

My mouth falls open, and I sigh. "I'm not even going to ask." I look at him and bow my head. "Thank you. For telling me the truth."

"No problem."

I tilt my head. "Who are you?"

He snorts. "You're only asking that now?"

I shrug.

He chuckles. "Who I am depends on who you ask. To some, I'm a hero. To some, I'm a monster. To some…"

"No. Who are you to me?"

A sad smile is on his face. "For now, I'm just a stranger. I could be more, though."

My eyebrow rose.

He shakes his head and looks down. "I've lived a long life, Naruto. For millennia, I've travelled throughout the multiverse and brought peace to a thousand worlds. I was a liberator, a conqueror, a tyrant, a mentor, a teacher, and an enemy." His voice is flat, and his back bowed. "Yet, I've never been a father." His shoulders quake. "Bookworm, and I… We tried everything, but… magic couldn't give back what it took away." He laughed a bitter and dark laugh, and his voice is tearful. "Not even Shenron, a wish granting dragon that gave us immortality, could grant that wish. Can you imagine? A being that can bring people back from the dead can't give new life." His shakes his head and looks at me with wet eyes. "So I'd like to be a father to you. We both want to be parents, and you…" He holds his breath. "I've spent five hundred years in this sorry excuse of a dimension, and I've seen no one else so similar to me. An orphan hated over something in which he had no control. A child of prophecy, burdened with a glorious purpose. I could go on and on, but the point is…" He takes my hands into his own. "Would you like to be our son, Naruto?"

I frown. "You don't mind… the thing I carry? You're not afraid of me? You don't hate me?"

He shakes his head. "Never."

"We're not going to leave the Leaf?"

"Our house is outside the walls, but close enough."

I grin as widely as humanly possible, while a tear falls down my cheek. "Then yes. I'd like that very much."

We both stand up. He's smiling, happily now. "Come on. Let's go meet your mother."

"Hey, you never told me your name."

He ruffles my head. "My name is Freak."

With a crack, we disappear from the Hokage monument.

###

A/N:I know this is technically listed as a regular story and not a crossover, but... It would be kind of pointless to have a multiverse world and not bring in characters from outside. So... yeah... expect a lot of "crossovery" action happening, and many different characters showing up.