"It's being here now that's important. There's no past and there's no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can't relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don't know if there is one."

-George Harrison

Chapter 1

Time is a fickle thing. There are multiple theories as to why one shouldn't mess with the law of nature that is time. It is infinite, it is misunderstood, a mystery, an eternal element. The power to wield the very foundation of time is a taboo. Look at the clock, every sound of its ticking is always in acceleration. But what would happen if it were to be reversed? The young blonde, known as Naruto Uzumaki woke up with a jest when Iruka threw an eraser onto his head.

"Naruto, how many times do I need to tell you that you shouldn't sleep in my class?"

"Your classes are always boring, Iruka-sensei". Scowling, the blonde was forced to listen to another boring class.

'Tick tock, tick tock'. Naruto kept looking on the clock. He is lulled by its sound, enough to put someone into slumber. As Iruka was lecturing about justsus and Kekkei Genkai, Naruto couldn't help but think if it's possible to manipulate the laws of time. Truly enough, he's a dead last, a good for nothing one but there are times he wished to control time so he would know, at see his parents just for once. He wanted to see what life is really like in the ancient times. What shinobi are capable of, what the people are really like. Shrugging his thoughts and not paying attention, he just continued to look on at the ticking clock.

'The clock's so slow. When will this boring lecture end?'

The bell rung and the students were excited to go home. That day, when Iruka scolded him, he could see the hateful glare directed towards him. Thoughts are continuously running into his head. Why was fate cruel to him? What did he do? Why the old man didn't tell him of his parents' identities? A lot of questions unanswered. He went out of the Academy, breathing in the cold wind as he walked with no care to the world. As a six year old, he desires parents but he couldn't help it. Perhaps fate was cruel to him as he doesn't have a family. As he walked, he passed by a small shop. Naruto couldn't help but smile at the ticking clocks. Seeing no one inside, he walked in and looked at them with glee.

"It's strange for a child to go inside here". The blonde heard a voice. Jumping in fright, he gazed at the man. The man is old, with almost little to no hair and was very dirty.

"Sorry mister. I was just looking around. I won't stay very long", Naruto answered sheepishly. He knew that most people hate him and this time he won't stay longer to avoid being glared at once again.

"I intend no harm. You see, no one comes to this shop". The old man took a seat at the corner.

"What is time for you?", he asked, with curiosity in his eyes.

"Huh?", Naruto scratched his head, confused with the question.

"I mean, what do you think of time? Look around you. The sounds of the clocks tick around. They always come forward".

"But if you get out the batteries of clocks, time will stop", the blonde answered.

'This man is weird'.

"Exactly. Those blue eyes of yours, you're full of curiosity. Time is a mystery, it is eternal. It is infinite".

"Ahhh…Old man, I have to go. I'm hungry right now and you're just wasting my time".

"Child, there is no waste of time. The past, present and the future connects. Do you know why the power of time is a taboo? People abuse it. They say changing the past may change the present. It is called the butterfly effect. For instance, you traveled into the past; you killed the young versions of your grandparents. Travel back to the present, you find out you didn't exist. It's as if you erased your existence but you still exist. You, who killed your own you, won't belong to the normal flows of time."

"Then, there's no reason you should change the past if that's your intention. You change the past, you go back to the present then you will see history has changed. What use is that, then?". Naruto answered.

"Young man, while changing the past is a taboo, there is also another theory why come back to the past. Why? Simple. Picture it this way. This is the present, you have an enemy. You go back to the past to kill them then you returned back to the present they still exist. As I've told you earlier, while changing the past changes the present, there is also a theory that changing the past won't affect your own present timeline. Instead, when you change the past, reality will split to prevent the present timeline from being afflicted with the changes you've made, giving birth to an alternate route".

"I don't understand. This is so complicated", Naruto shouted in frustration.

"Timeline 1 has the normal flow. You go back to the past to change it. Return back to timeline 1. Past is still unchanged. Reality splits, giving birth to timeline 2. That timeline 2 is the past you've changed, giving birth to an alternate and parallel world", the old man explained.

"Then that means, there are two worlds. Travelling back and forth by changing timeline 2 won't change timeline 1", Naruto exclaimed.

"You got it well, child. Now, do you think humans will have the power to wield time?"

"Nothing is impossible". Naruto replied. "I always look at the clocks because they are a mystery to me. Do you know that feeling, that feeling that seems you can have your wishes come true by just looking at the clock? I can't explain it and when I told Iruka-sensei about that, he calls me off as being paranoid, saying 'just too much ramen'. I think that time is really a mystery, one that you couldn't answer, which is infinite".

"You can also accelerate, or reverse your own time, which is age. Anything is possible with the power of time".

"By the way old man, I must leave. It's already night", Naruto smiled then waved at the man.

""Wait",the man called. Naruto looked back at the man.

"Remember, if you really wish to know of time, remember me for I am part of you". The man then vanished leaving a bewildered Naruto behind. The blonde then ran and ran as he was scared of his wits, forgetting his hunger completely. It was completely nightfall as he saw two youths, aged 11 with blood and gore on each other.

"The Foundation is involved. Unfortunately, there's no way to stop the Uchiha coup. If internal warfare breaks out in the Leaf, the neighboring countries will invade and war will begin. I was planning on using Kotoamatsukami to stop the coup, but Danzo took my right eye. He didn't trust what I was trying to do, and he will resort to anything to…". The other man trailed off as he sensed something. The ebony haired man with the ponytail threw a kunai into the blonde's direction and the blonde then ran, evading it.

There they saw, the village's jinchuuriki which astounded the two on their core.

"Ummm….",

'Naruto, think, think. These are high profile shinobi. They will kill you.'

He then remembered what the mysterious man told him. The sounds of the ticking clocks, he could hear them. He can hear the very foundations of the sounds of the clocks.

"Tick tock, tick tock", Naruto said absentmindedly.

"Can you hear them? The sounds of the ticking clock. Time is running short, one disappears into a haze. Eye of vengeance, never used. For everything in this reality is always out of time".

Itachi and Shisui have a look of surprise on their faces as the jinchuuriki in front of them has known of some of the crucial plans. Before they could do something to erase the blonde's memories, the blonde mused.

"Foolish mortals. Do you think you can win against time? I don't waste time, for it is on my side. Wait… Why am I acting like this?"

The blonde then clutched his head in pain.

"I'll handle this, Shisui". Before Itachi could act, Naruto once spoke again.

"Time….The sands of time are coming for me". The blonde's eyes are in a daze. He did something unexpected. With immense speed, he touched Shisui. The older man gasped at this.

"The eye he has stolen, I shall return. However, I warn you. Speak not of this occurrence or I shall kill your friend completely". Naruto said in a dark tone, his bangs shadowing his eyes. Then, Naruto jumped into the river, vanishing completely. The two Uchihas are bewildered, as Shisui managed to see with enough clarity again. His right eye just returned for no reason. Worried of this, they saw writings on the ground, with blood.

'Go on with what you have planned originally. Don't let your brother fall to the dark side, Uchiha Itachi. And you, Shisui, don't kill yourself. Itachi will be saddened".

Screams filled Naruto's ears as he saw countless shinobi fighting. He was there for no reason. Fires, jutsus, and swords wreaked havoc. He was surrounded by a pile of corpses lying on the ground. Out there, he saw a child bearing an Uchiha crest, terribly wounded. Without anyone looking, he carried the unconscious child into safety as he ran in the dark forest not knowing where to go.

'This child is no more than 7 years old. Why is he here on the battlefield?'. Naruto thought. The blonde tore off a portion of his own shirt and wrapped it on the wounds of the Uchiha. Now, he was confused. He doesn't know how he ended up in this place. He knew he wasn't in Konoha longer. He heard the sounds of the clocks at the back of his head. Somewhere, in his gut, Naruto knew something was wrong, very wrong. It's as if this is not right.

"This…Don't tell me…"

He ended up somewhere in a distant past. He doesn't know how many years; he just felt it's more than a century before. The child beside him woke up and the Uchiha, seeing his crest, the symbol of Konoha, though on that era, the symbol of the Uzumaki clan, attempted to kill him, though his movement was restricted as he was wounded. He therefore grunted in pain as a result.

"W-Wait. I'm not an enemy", Naruto raised his arms in exasperation.

The Uchiha child narrowed his eyes at this as he looked on Naruto with calculating glint.

"Why would a member of an enemy clan help an Uchiha?"

"Enemy?"

"The symbol on your back is the crest of the Uzumaki clan. And that clan is also our enemy, for they are allied with the Senju. Now, you're helping me? No…You're using me as a hostage. You wanted my Sharingan for yourself".

Naruto was irritated by this as he whacked the Uchiha on the head. "I'm helping you get back on your feet and this is what you're doing to me? I don't even understand what you're talking about".

The said Uchiha was confused at this.

"Izuna...", a voice called out.

"Too bad your plans will be futile, Uzumaki. Madara-nii is stronger than everyone, and a child like you will just be killed by his own hands".

Ignoring the Uchiha's taunts, the blonde ran off, with fear. One moment, he was at Konoha, the next he was in a different time, in a different place. Though he knows, at the deepest pit of his subconscious, that time is on his side without even knowing it himself.