Hey-o! Now, before some of you jump to conclusions, I am merely posting this as an idea. It just came to me, and I liked it. I will continue 'To Protect,' for those who also read that story. I will not be continuing other stories just yet. Despite being on break, I am both a lazy writer and a bit occupied with volunteering this summer (I really need the hours...).
I don't know the entire Naruto story, by the way. I only know:
Everything from the beginning to Sasuke's defection
Naruto's return after the timeskip to Pain's assault (not all of it since I just played the game)
The battle with a certain horn-headed white-haired lady (again, from a game)
Naruto and Sasuke's final battle (still from a game)
And that's pretty much it. Small list, I know.
Either way, Naruto is one of my favorite anime/manga series next to Bleach, Fairy Tail, and One Piece. As such, I love reading good fanfictions about them (read: no bashing, excellent use of conventions, good choice of words, in-character dialogue and everything else concerning the characters unless it's mentioned beforehand and used sparingly, good pacing, no long boring descriptions, etc.). I know, I know, a somewhat long list, but I'll shorten it to this: the words cannot convey any simple-mindedness the writer may or may not have, the text has to make sense (meaning no bad grammar and/or spelling and/or punctuation. Bad capitalization is okay to me in small quantities few and far between), and the story itself has to be good (and accurate to canon, but that's just a personal preference). No "absolutely cruel Sasuke just because he was an asshole most of the story" or a "crazy, close-minded fangirl Sakura who can't think for herself and sides with Sasuke extremely fast even when everyone hates her for it" or any of that shit. Those are horrible characterizations people tend not to mention before the story starts. Plus, with those "bashed characters," I only see writers who absolutely don't see one of the most outstanding lessons that Naruto teaches: hatred only makes more hatred (or various other second-most-important lessons that people don't seem to get either). If you want to say something about how you hate Naruto because "he chases after Sasuke even though the motherfucker tried to kill him multiple times" (and that's an actual guest review on one of my favorite stories, after quite a bit of cleanup), that's fine, but I have something to say to you: you don't have any stories to speak of, so even I'm doing better than you (and if you do happen to have some stories of your own, your stories are probably no good either way).
Anyway, sorry about the rant. I tend to dislike those types of people (I think I'm being kind of hypocritical when I say that, but whatever).
However, I'll tell you something I like: time travel stories (in case you haven't read my other stories, mostly time travel) and, just recently, video game stories. Which is why I decided to write this; it's a mixture of the two, with a little... extra to it as well.
Also, just a heads up, I don't know the entire story of Naruto very well (and especially not the Naruto: The Last movie), as I'm still working my way through it. As I said, this is just an idea, so input is almost mandatory (meaning this: if you give me input, I know you at least understood the point of this chapter, terrible or not.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I shall start simple with the disclaimer this time.
Pilot: "When I say 'Don't just stand there,' you're supposed to MOVE!"
"Naruto! What's going on here?!"
Naruto, the Seventh Hokage, was lying down with his eyes closed before that little outburst. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and opened them. Not a foot away from his face was a glaring Sakura, with Hinata, Sasuke, and Shikamaru in view behind her. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked at Sakura. In addition to Shikamaru, Sasuke, Hinata, and Sakura, he found that Tenten, Shino, Sai, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro stood to his left, and Kakashi (who, for once, wasn't reading porn in broad daylight), Ino, Tenten, Kiba, Akamaru, and Chōji to his right. Everyone was staring at him.
"Sakura? Everyone? What's going on?" he asked groggily, staring at Sakura dumbly.
Most of the surrounding people saw a tic mark at Sakura's temples and backed away. "That's what I just asked you, you moron!" she shouted, giving him a lump on his head. One could hear the sound quite clearly (along with an "Oww!" from Naruto).
Rubbing his head, Naruto's head was finally clear enough to look around and take in the surroundings. He first looked down to confirm that what was under him was not a bed, but water (which, luckily, he was subconsciously supporting himself on using his chakra) and around to see that he was not in the Hokage's room he was so used to. On the other hand, he still knew exactly where he was (but he still didn't know why, of course).
"W-*yawn*-why are we here-ttebayo?" Naruto asked, getting up off the water.
"So you do know where we are," Shikimaru deduced.
Naruto nodded. "This is in my head," he answered bluntly, as if such a crazy statement had no weight. He hardly noticed everybody expressing their surprise through gasping, "eeh?"-ing, etc. He was busy looking around.
"This is your mindscape? ...Is this water brown? Please don't tell me we're standing on sewage, Naruto!" Ino whined, looking to him for an answer.
"Noisy brats! Shut up!" came an echoing voice from in front of the group, jerking all their attention to it (including Akamaru's growling).
"Huh? Kurama?" Naruto asked. Then he finally noticed something odd... "Why is the seal here?" He stared at the enormous jail-cell-esque bars, puzzled.
"Who the hell are you people? Last I checked, I was being contained inside one tiny blonde moron, not a whole bunch of other people," came the voice. Everyone finally directed their attention to the bars and noticed the slitted red eyes and the predatory smile full of sharp teeth that was present behind the bars.
"That's the Nine-Tailed Fox?" Sai asked.
"B-But he seems... angry," Hinata noted.
"Kurama? Why is the seal here? What happened?" Naruto asked.
"Why do you know my name, human? Nobody has the right to call me that except my dead creator," the face of the fox shot back.
"Huh? It's me... Uzumaki Naruto. The guy who became the Seventh Hokage, remember?" Naruto was only more confused that the 'demon fox' wasn't recognizing him.
"Heh. Nice try, but Uzumaki Naruto has not become the Hokage, nor will he ever. The town hates him, and he sucks at everything. If anything, he's bound to die from his arrogance," the Kyūbi rebutted.
Nobody spoke for a minute; everyone was drinking in that information (with a grain of salt each, mind you).
"Naruto, who are you talking to? I was trying to sleep," came another, calmer voice from behind the group. Everyone turned to see another set of slitted red eyes. The difference was that this Kyūbi wasn't behind the bars of a seal.
"Another one?" Temari wondered out loud.
"Kurama..." Naruto mumbled.
"Huh? What are all of you doing here? One human to keep me company was enough, you know." Kurama, seeing there was company, pushed himself onto his legs.
"We have no idea. We just woke up here one by one," Tenten stated.
"We didn't even know where 'here' was until about two seconds ago," Shikamaru added.
"Ah. I guess we'll have to figure that one out, then. Any ideas, Naruto?" Kurama asked.
"No. I remember being at Boruto's birthday party, then things are blurry after that-ttebayo..." Naruto stated.
"Who the hell are you, impostor?" came the voice of the first fox, bringing everyone's attention to him once more.
"Huh? Me, an impostor? Hah! What about you? How did you get here? And behind bars, no less. How badly did you screw up... whatever it is you were doing?" asked Kurama (the kind).
The Kyūbi behind bars growled. "I didn't do anything, if you must know! Someone was manipulating me and I could only sit back and watch as that blasted Uchiha made me wreak havoc on a village! Granted, the humans deserved it... Bah. Why am I even talking to you about this? You wouldn't understand, seeing as you're friendly with humans of all creatures," he shouted, causing an echo to roar in the enormous sewer and forcing the aforementioned humans to cover their ears.
"What is going on here? I thought there was only one Kurama!" Naruto shouted.
"You know as much as I do, kit," Kurama answered.
"I believe I know the answer to that question."
Everyone started upon hearing that new voice. They craned their necks looking around, but could not identify the source. Naruto, however, recognized the voice itself. "Old Man Six Paths? What are you doing here-ttebayo?" he asked the voice.
"'Old Man Six Paths'? You recognize this voice, Naruto?" Gaara deduced.
"So do I. He is the Sage of Six Paths," Sasuke elaborated.
"He gave Naruto and Sasuke-kun chakra near the end of the war," Sakura added.
"So that's what he sounds like..." Shikamaru filed this away into his memory.
"Old Man Six Paths, where are you?" Naruto continued, still looking around.
"Never mind that; what are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead!" Kyūbi interjected.
"It's a long story, my young Kurama. My chakra lived on through my sons, who have been reincarnated through the centuries. When their chakra, which is present within these reincarnations, comes together, I will appear," the disembodied Sage of Six Paths explained. "And, to answer your question, Naruto, I am over here," he added, no longer disembodied. Everyone could now see him appearing. There was now a string of chakra stemming from Naruto and Sasuke, which everyone followed with their eyes to the Rikudō Sennin, who was becoming more visible with each passing second.
"Now, what about the mini-me over there behind the bars? What's the deal with that?" Kurama (the one outside the bars) asked him.
"I do not know why there are two of you, Kurama, nor do I know why you all suddenly appeared within the mindscape of a thirteen-year-old Uzumaki Naruto, but I can tell that the young boy's body has now changed from your appearing here." The Sage was now fully visible in all his white-robed wisdom and coolness.
"How has his body changed? And he's not very young..." Sai asked. Naruto's head drooped at this (out of shock, not sadness) and one could hear him mumble "I'm not very old either-ttebayo."
The old Sage chuckled at the blond man's expense. "Don't worry, Naruto. Old age comes for us all eventually," he joked good-naturedly (and now Naruto is depressed). "Now, to answer your question, he is no longer within his mature body. Likewise, neither are any of you. From my perspective, you all suddenly appeared within this young boy's mind, without any warning, one day, and his body then changed. His body is now less... definite, if you will. He is no longer merely capable of appearing to be his young self. It's quite a hard task to explain this phenomenon. I suppose one could liken the change to melting metal: before this change, his body, like a piece of metal, was only capable of holding one appearance, one shape, and there was no way for him to change his shape aside from the 'Transformation Jutsu' I have seen ninja use, which is only temporary and a conscious effort. However, if one were to melt a piece of metal, it would be possible to shape this metal into a different shape; similarly, he now has the ability to change his body to suitably support different 'molds,' or people - in this case, you all." He tried as best he could to explain.
"I see. So, basically, we're in the mind of a younger Naruto, whose body has now change to be able to support different people's physical attributes..." Shikamaru summarized.
"As far as I have figured out, that seems to be the case," the old man answered.
"Wow, Old Man Six Paths, you're really smart!" Naruto praised, grinning his usual "big idiot grin."
"Thank you. However, I merely noticed the difference in his physical energy when you all appeared. Either way, I imagine that, even if one of you were to take over his body, he won't be able to change all that much due to the fact that he possesses less mass than any of you appear to have had, provided you are from the future as I suspect," the old sage explained dismissively.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait... the future? What are you suggesting, old man?" Sasuke asked (calmly, contrary to how this writing may have made it seem he was asking).
"I believe I can answer that," Shikamaru intervened. "He said that we are inside a thirteen-year-old Naruto, but the Naruto we know isn't thirteen anymore. Likewise, he said that we suddenly 'appeared' in this place from his perspective, and that's basically the same for us," he explained, gesturing around.
"Are you suggesting we traveled through time somehow, Nara? Hagoromo?" Kurama asked him.
"It's the only possibility given the circumstances," Shikamaru noted.
"It would appear so," the old man answered.
"So... there's no possibility we were kidnapped or something more sensible?" Sasuke asked.
"No, us travelling through time seems more reasonable to me. After all, what kind of kidnapper would possess a second Kyūbi no Kitsune?" Shikamaru responded rhetorically, "...and in a sewer?" he added, quirking an eyebrow.
"Indeed. I believe such a place makes for an extremely unhygienic hideout," Hagoromo answered. "However, with this information, perhaps you can tell me if the... device now ingrained into young Naruto's arm resembles anything you know from your past lives in the future," he added.
"Huh? Device?" Tenten asked.
The old sage simply held his palm out and an image appeared. In the image was a bright-skinned arm and hand, and there was what appeared to be a digital touchscreen embedded into the arm... No, 'embedded' isn't quite the right word... it was as if the skin of his arm became the screen; the skin was a shiny black as opposed to the bright-colored skin around it.
"...Boruto's new game system?" Hinata asked in confusion.
"What is this 'game system' you speak of? I have not seen one before," the white-robed sage asked, closing his hand and returning it to his side (the image didn't disappear, though).
"Well, technology has developed over the years, and people adapted technology to entertainment. That's how the portable video game system came to be," Tenten explained, never taking her eyes off the image.
"In our time, people sell portable game systems to make money. We decided to buy our son the newest system for his sixteenth birthday, since he's been working so hard to become stronger," Hinata explained.
"I see. It's an intriguing concept; a form of entertainment that never leaves a small area of space... Interesting," the sage summarized.
"I guess that applies too..." Kankuro commented.
"However, that poses the question: what is this device from your time doing as part of young Naruto's arm?" Hagoromo asked.
"I... think it was the Hiraishin," Naruto commented.
"Eh? Naruto, you learned the Hiraishin? Since when?" Kakashi asked out of curiosity, looking at the aforementioned man.
"Well, not exactly. I was learning fūinjutsu in my free time after taking care of my family and I've gotten pretty good. I made a couple storage seals and explosive tags as practice, and I think they're pretty good," Naruto explained, reaching into the pouch on his leg and pulling out a scroll and an explosive tag and handing them to Tenten, who examined them and gasped in surprise.
"Woah, these are really advanced! Where did you learn how to make these?" she asked him in amazement.
"Eheheh... Well..." Naruto answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "I had a little help from a fellow Uzumaki who knew the basics..."
"Another Uzumaki? Who?" Chōji asked.
"You don't mean-" Sakura guessed. However, Sasuke interrupted her before she finished.
"Karin, huh?" he smirked.
"Yeah. In just a week, she taught me more about my clan, things I never knew about us, by going through the records at Orochimaru's hideout. Did you know the Uzumaki had a whole village? Their own village!" Naruto answered.
"So she taught you the basics?" Sakura guessed again, smiling.
"Yep, and from there, it was just practice, practice, practice. My clones blew themselves up so many times until we got the hang of making a seal. Then I had the idea to try and make something from the Scroll of Sealing into a single-use seal tag, like an exploding tag," Naruto continued.
"Good for you, Naruto," Kakashi answered, doing the eye-smile thing with his eyes.
Shikamaru only sighed. "So you decided the Hiraishin was a good idea to try first, huh?" he asked knowingly.
"Yeah, I wanted to try that one first, since my dad used it a lot, but... well, that one I used at the birthday party was my... first try," Naruto admitted, going sheepish again and putting his hand on the back of his head. He was smiling nervously.
This made Tenten fall over. Surely, the idiot had already figured out you're never supposed to use your first of any handmade seal so casually? Tenten knew that any seal master worth anything at all would know this, and Naruto managed to make such advanced storage scrolls and exploding tags through trial and error alone, so why in the world would he use the "first try" outside of a testing environment?
Oh, right, he was Naruto; forget being more mature, he was still the same idiot who basically grew up on instant ramen.
"So, we all made contact with the faulty Hiraishin seal and Naruto, then it activated and now we're here... how troublesome..." Shikamaru summarized.
"I told you, didn't I? You shouldn't experiment on people, especially with a time-space Ninjutsu. You know I speak from experience, right?" Sasuke scolded, sighing.
"Well, it could be worse, at least... we could be forced to deal with a drunk Lee if Naruto hadn't given him a last minute mission..." Temari noted.
"Wait, where's Boruto? I think he was touching his game system when the seal activated, and the game system is right there, on Naruto-kun's arm, so..." Hinata asked.
"...Actually, something was flying for my face back at the party, which is what shocked me into activating the seal. Now that I think about it, it looked like the game system; that was the arm I used to block it," Naruto noted.
"That still doesn't explain how there're two of me in here, ya know!" came the Kyūbi's voice from inside the bars.
"Actually, it makes perfect sense now, other me," Kurama answered.
"How?!"
"Simple. I am you in the future. Really, were you not paying any attention? Did you not notice that I have more chakra than you? Or the fact that you're behind bars and I'm not?"
The jailed beast (yes, that was a play on words) could not retort to that at all, so he opted to not look stupid by trying.
"Ahem," Hagoromo grunted to get their attention, "it would appear Naruto is waking up. Let us watch what happens."
Naruto woke up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He looked over at where Hinata would have been, only to find that his bed was for one.
'Oh, that's right. I'm a little kid again,' he remembered in a phrase.
Keeping his eyes open, he yawned, stretching his arms upward and arching his back. "Ugh... what time is it?" he wondered aloud absentmindedly.
"6:00 A.M." came a mature feminine voice. This brought Naruto's attention to the device on his wrist now, where he noticed two things:
One, the game system with a black touchscreen replacing the skin of his wrist.
Two, a box was glowing on the otherwise black screen where, sure enough, the current time was in the middle.
"Hmm..." he mumbled. Cautiously, he tapped the box. Suddenly, the box changed, making Naruto start just a bit despite being ready for something. Specifically, the "6:00 A.M." disappeared and the box expanded, reading "PAUSED", covering the entire black area on the top of his wrist, spreading out like a shockwave. As Naruto followed this "wave," he saw it extend far beyond just the black screen on his wrist, despite the box stopping at its boundaries; it traveled along the ground through the shadow of his arm on the bed. It moved fast, too; within a second, the wave had frozen his entire room, making the room (and the world outside, he noticed when looking through the window) green and white (as opposed to black and white). The green was not overpowering (think green screen), but noticeable (like grass or bushes or *gasp* leaves). Then, right after that, a cluster of letters floated up from the black band, finally stopping in midair once they had arranged into words.
Paused
Resume
Stats
Equipment
Traits
Techniques
Missions
Relations
Training Missions
[LOCKED: Must achieve Genin Rank to unlock]
Help
Save
Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "What the heck is going on-ttebayo? 'Missions?' 'Traits?' 'Training Missions?' What are these?" he mumbled. Suddenly, more text appeared in a box next to all these options while also being read aloud by that woman from earlier.
?: Oh? Is this really your first time opening the pause menu? You must be
new to this game.
"This is a videogame, huh? I've never played these things before," Naruto interrupted. The box with these words shrunk out of existence, to be replaced with another box, again being dictated as the words appeared.
Haruka: I'm the in-game assistant, Haruka. I will make you go through this tutorial so you don't lose all your sanity being stuck in the pause menu forever. I will go over all these options so you know what you're doing.
"Oh, thanks, Haruka-neechan," Naruto said. Another box appeared, replacing the old one.
Haruka: You're in a videogame. You really have no choice but to play along, but you said it yourself: you've never played a videogame. I've no choice but to help you. And, basically, I'm a voice in your head. Don't worry about that, though. Just pay attention.
"You're a commanding one, aren't you?" Naruto deadpanned. He sighed. "Fine, fine, whatever. Go on."
Haruka: Good, you're paying attention. As I was saying, here is what each of the options basically means:
Resume: Unfreezes reality (so you can continue playing for your life)
Stats: Lets you see your stats (so you can see how strong you are)
Equipment: Here you can put things you pick up on your person (so you can use them)
Traits: Lets you see what you can do passively (meaning without trying)
Techniques: Shows you techniques you've learned (pretty self-explanatory)
Missions: Keeps track of your missions (more useful than you might think)
Relations: Shows you how good you are with which people (or how badly you fucked up)
Training Missions: Allows you to fight monsters you wouldn't find in real life to grow stronger (yes, you get an unfair advantage)
Help: Here you can find all the tutorials you will ever need (because you will forget something sooner or later)
Save: Allows you to make a special point in time and space (so, if you die, you won't lose everything)
"Oh... That's awesome, ya know! Real life would've been so much better off with this stuff! So, wait, what exactly is this 'pause' thing? I didn't totally get it," Naruto asked.
Haruka: Really? You couldn't tell by the water bucket precariously hanging over your head?
And, indeed, when Naruto looked up, there was a water bucket hanging over his head tipped over. However, it wasn't moving at all; the water was supposed to be pouring out of the bucket, even already partially out, yet gravity didn't appear to be applying to anything right now.
"Gah! When did that get there?!" Naruto yelled.
Haruka: You're a heavy sleeper.
"But you're a voice in my head! How did you set that up?!" Naruto asked, panicking.
Haruka: I have my ways. Now, let's keep going. You don't want to miss a beat at school today, do you?
Naruto sighed. "If I get wet from that water bucket, I will find a way to get you back for this," he grumbled.
Haruka: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, first, just something you should know, you can speak or touch the word for the menu you want; I'll know what you're talking about either way.
"Okay, okay, keep going," Naruto commanded, bored.
Haruka: Fine. Open the "Stats" menu yourself.
"Okay," he said, "'Stats.'"
Instantly, the words slid into nonexistence to the left. Then, right after that, new words and numbers appeared from the right, until it looked like this.
Back
Stats
Level: 3 Exp.: 0/50
HP: 800/800 (Base+50 [Uzumaki Lifeblood])
Chakra: 1500/1500 (Base+50+500+500 [Uzumaki Lifeblood] and [Jinchūriki(Kyūbi)] and [Jinchūriki(Kurama)])
Strength: 20 (+11 [Taijutsu Novice 2])
Speed: 13 (+11 [Taijutsu Novice 2])
Accuracy: 10 (+34 [Experience-Hardened Shinobi(Kage)])
Endurance: 16 (+32 [Uzumaki Lifeblood])
Knowledge: 10 (+35 [Time Traveler])
Perception: 0 (+20+40 [Time Traveler] and [Experience-Hardened Shinobi(Kage)])
Chakra Control: 2
Charisma: 100 (-35 [Jinchūriki(Kyūbi)])
Luck: 100 (max)
Attack: 33
Defense: 48
Evasion: 24
Critical: 33
Chakra Usage: 200% (That's reeeeeeeeally bad)
Money: 0 Ryo
"Is this good or bad? I wouldn't know," Naruto asked.
Haruka: Well, most of the reason your stats are so high is because we're time-travelers (yes, I also traveled through time, like you and your friends) and because your body right now is synching to your new tenants, integrating them into your body so that they can help you despite being little more than sealed spiritual energy. You can thank me later for that, by the way. Despite all that, this body is still young, tiny, malnourished (no thanks to you), and weak in comparison to your mature body; those pluses you see are all because of skills that aren't even active most of the time, so forget about the pluses if you're talking about just you. And, to add insult to injury, you don't have any money. So, no, that's not good, that's bad.
"Dammit," he cursed.
Haruka: On the bright side, you have a lot of potential as a younger kid, plus you can get some pretty sweet skills. You have a lot of hidden potential as the player of a videogame, especially in this one. Go back to the previous menu.
"Okay...uh, 'Back?'" Naruto asked-commanded.
Haruka: Yep.
With that, the previous options came up, the stats going away.
Haruka: Lets see what traits you have.
"Okay. 'Traits,'" he directed. The menu changed again, this time to a table; one column said "Skill" while another said "Description" and another titled "Effects" and a final one titled "Used..." Naruto gaped, commenting with, "Whoa, that's a lot..."
(Note: Since columns might not appear so well on here, I'll simply write what is under the section of this table that is being viewed.)
Back
Passive Traits
Trait: Uzumaki Lifeblood
Description: The Uzumaki Clan mostly died out some time ago at the hands of Iwagakure, and their village was destroyed; why this happened, most people call fear of their strongest features. Amazing seal masters, a powerful Kekkei Genkai... and freakish vitality. Seriously, Uzumaki are so durable, they can crash through a lot of brick walls headfirst and only be missing some of their brain cells and not the whole thing.
Effects: +50 Max HP, +50 Max Chakra, +32 Endurance
Used: Passively
Naruto was about to comment on that last sentence in the description (because he was wondering if he could really do that).
Haruka: Don't even think about trying that. Besides, save that kind of endurance and energy for your enemies to deal with.
Frowning, he kept reading.
Trait: Time Traveler
Description: Most people call time travel impossible in basically all points in the history of intelligence. Well, to them, this skill says, "Shut up! You want proof? I'm your proof!" Technically speaking, this makes your body change faster to accommodate for all the changes inside your head, so it will grow faster to match your previous strength, senses, chakra levels, and all that. However, this requires time (naturally).
Effects: +20% stat growth/Level Up, +35 Knowledge (unless you're completely clueless about what you lived through), +20 Perception
Used: Passively
Trait: Jinchūriki (Kyūbi)
Description: Up to nine people in the big, big world have really chaotic lives because it was decided that they would be given a force of nature (and chakra... lots of chakra) and they would be tasked by life to control said force of nature (well, chakra) and with the condition that there is now a voice in their head. The Kyūbi, unfortunately, is the most powerful and cynical of these nine Tailed Beasts, so the Jinchūriki of this fox may not even have that voice in their head... or, maybe, a voice they don't want to listen to.
Effects: +500 Max Chakra, -35 Charisma (caused by living in a village where people hate you; change this and the penalty goes away), causes "Lynching Target" relation with villagers of Konoha (until that's changed), causes "Annoying Little-" relation with Konoha ninja (again, only until that's changed)
Used: Passively (upgradeable)
"'Upgradeable'? What does that mean?" Naruto asked.
Haruka: Well, obviously, it means that you can make the trait better.
"Yeah. I got that," Naruto deadpanned, "but how?"
Haruka: Well, right now, things are pretty bad between you and the Kyūbi that was already here. How do you think you should improve it?
"...Talk to him?"
Haruka: So you do know...
"What's that supposed to-?!"
Haruka: Just keep reading. You may have all day, but waiting that long does your body no favors.
Trait: Jinchūriki (Kurama)
Description: Up to nine people in the big, big world have really chaotic lives because it was decided that they would be given a force of nature (and chakra... lots of chakra) and they would be tasked by life to control said force of nature (well, chakra) and with the condition that there is now a voice in their head. However, thanks to a certain time traveler, there are now two Kyūbi no Kitsune in existence. The second one is already familiar with said time traveller and respects him quite a bit. As such he is more... lenient with lending his passive abilities and chakra, and he is not publicly known of.
Effects: +500 Max Chakra, allows use of Dark Sensor active skill, allows use of Kurama Link Mode and Kurama Mode buffs, allows use of Tailed Beast Bomb and all other Bijū techniques
Used: Passively (max)
"I'm a double-Jinchūriki for the same Tailed Beast? How?" Naruto wondered, staring at the text.
Haruka: *sigh* Is it really that hard to notice? You brought back your Nine Tails with you, and even the seal, while there was already a Nine Tailed Fox within young Naruto. You essentially put young Naruto in the backseat, and, likewise, your Kurama did the same with the Kyūbi of the past. I'm pretty sure you saw that in your little chat not five minutes ago.
"Ah. That's cool! Two Kuramas!" Naruto laughed.
Haruka: Well, more like "one and a half," given that you have both halves of future Kurama and one half of past Kurama, but that works too.
Trait: Tailed Beast Chakra Handler (nine)
Description: The Tailed Beast Chakra Handler trait simply means there's Tailed Beast chakra present in the person (and they can use said chakra) with this skill. All Jinchūriki who have conversed with their Tailed Beast at least once possess this skill at the "one" level. However, not one person has ever possessed the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts before now; most people tend to believe that Bijū are nothing but monsters, so usually Jinchūriki are the only ones with this trait.
Effects: Allows use of all the nature releases of the chakra of the Tailed Beasts
Used: Passively (max)
Trait: Experience-Hardened Shinobi (Kage)
Description: This is not so much a skill as it is a fact of life: one who lives through battle finds battling easier than a greenhorn would. Obviously, this experience is not strictly bodily; the mind will learn through surviving battle. And this happens to be the highest level of this trait: Kage; restricted to those who wear the hats or people just as experienced.
Effects: +34 Accuracy, +40 Perception
Used: Passively (max)
Trait: Taijutsu Novice 2
Description: Skill at being a ninja is important in general, but most distinguished ninja tend to specialize in something. This just so happens to be Taijutsu. Strength, speed, and reflexes are the basic bread, butter, and... well, something else so the "reflexes" part isn't lonely. Little kids tend to be novices only because they're weaker than a certain overly-intense Taijutsu virtuoso who's an adult.
Effects: +11 Strength, +11 Speed
Used: Passively (upgradeable)
"Only a novice?" Naruto asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I'd say I'm pretty good at Taijutsu-dattebayo!"
Haruka: No matter how good you may have been as a battle-hardened Kage, in a child's body you only know how to do it. Think of it as "starting over," but with a head start, since you don't have the same physical strength or muscle memory yet. You're only thirteen now.
Naruto said nothing but kept reading.
Trait: Friends in Mindscape (Awareness)
Description: This kind of came with that Hiraishin incident. All the time traveler's friends at his son's birthday party that happened to be connected to him physically were teleported to the past, essentially warping across the fabric of time-space (an act which takes an immense amount of chakra) to the closest anchor: Dead Last Uzumaki Naruto. During a good night's sleep, in which you recovered all of your lost chakra (see the Technical Game passive trait), you came to realize that these friends were all trapped inside your head. It seems this warrants further investigation...
Effects: Allows use of Switch techniques
Used: Passively (upgradeable)
"Wait, what the...?"
Haruka: What, did you think otherwise?
"No, but I don't quite get it. It says here that I need to investigate this thing further, but how do I do that? I don't think talking to my friends is gonna get them to help me," Naruto wondered, blinking a couple times.
Haruka: *sigh* Weren't you paying attention? Your body now allows your friends to use their unique abilities in your body. You also know that the technique is called "Switch" and that it relates to those friends of yours inside your head. They know too, since they're watching through your senses... Do you see where I'm going with this?
"So, basically, I should talk to them so I can use the technique without surprising them?" Naruto surmised.
Haruka: Well, you don't have to per se, but if you want-
"Of course I do! Just because I have this trait doesn't mean their abilities are mine! At the very least, I should get their permission!" Naruto scolded.
Haruka: Do what you want.
Trait: Technical Game
Description: Technically, yes, now life is a game for you, Player. As such, some common themes present in video games are present in this one (see below).
Effects: Gives Instant Regeneration buff when you sleep, gives ability to learn by touching (see Help for details), gives ability to eat food and restore health by touching food (no taste, though), allows use of Size Up active skill
Used: Passively
Trait: Like a Phoenix
Description: In video games, losing all your HP tends to mean "Game Over." However, you are Uzumaki Naruto of the future; there have been a lot of times where you seem to have lost all your energy, only to come back into the fight, stronger than before and completely rejuvenated. This is basically that fact in trait form.
Effects: Allows Complete Rejuvenation healing effect once in a battle (provided that you are still the same energetic Uzumaki Naruto) when HP drops to 0
Used: Passively (once per battle)
"Wow, that was a lot of information..." Naruto sighed, rubbing his head.
Haruka: I think it'll be easier for us to go into a battle so you can get a feel for all this stuff before you try it for real.
"Wait, what about the other stuff?" Naruto asked, manually pressing the "Back" button
Haruka: That depends. The jutsu you know haven't changed, and I'll explain some of the other things later. For now, just unpause the world and get up out of bed.
"Okay. 'Back.'" Naruto commanded. Nothing changed, though. The world was still green and white. "'Unpause?'" he dictated, a little less certainly, with no effect. "'Resume?'"
Then, as fast as it had all happened, the world returned to its original color and movement.
...which includes the water bucket that was hanging precariously over his head. The bucket itself stayed in place (save for a little swaying caused by the emptying water). However, the water splashed all over Naruto and his sheets.
"Haruka!" he growled loudly.
"Shut up, noisy kid! You're too loud!" came the shout from the upstairs neighbor.
"Sorry!" After that, Naruto phased into a more sour expression. "Haruka..." he growled, much lower this time.
Haruka: Fufufufu... My my, why are you growling at me? It's not my fault you chose to stay in your bed to unpause your game.
Well, that went well! ...Hopefully.
Anyway, I just had this idea, and I'll probably be going for this while also trying to come up with some ideas for my Bleach story "To Protect." I had a good break from writing (read: a bad time trying to get rid of writer's block), so I should come up with something good once I read it again (although I have been waiting for a new chapter of the Bleach manga). Ja ne-ttebayo!