Prologue
Ominous Winds
The very first thing he had noticed was the eyes.
Back when they were a team, back before Sasuke had the family that had grown around him for the insatiable quest for power, Sasuke had a different look in his eyes. The shade was the same, yet somehow there had been a spark within them that betrayed his excitement and at times, amusement. While many people said that it was Naruto's eyes that were clear, he had always thought that it was Sasuke's eyes which were alive.
The Uchiha had tried to hide it of course. Naruto was under no doubt that he was under some sort of stupid impression that he had be to emotionless in able to be effective, so that he could slit his brother's throat heartlessly and without hesitation. Already, back then, the shadow of vengeance had taken such a hold on the dark haired boy, and it only grew stronger with time.
Nevertheless, Sasuke had sucked with his emotions. Kakashi had once commented lightly that Naruto should take some lessons from Sasuke, because the dark haired boy was just as emotional as him, but knew how to restrain it.
Naruto hadn't understood then, but slowly, over the years, he had begun to see the truth of the observation. It had always been easy to tell when Sasuke was angry, mocking, or trying awkwardly to be kind. For someone who talked about as much as Naruto's bedrolls, Sasuke had been as easy to read as the Academy scrolls.
And now, looking into the Uchiha's eyes, which were as flat and dark as the spots between the stars, Naruto could spot no semblance of that spark. It had been swallowed by the monster named vengeance, leaving only a shell of what it used to be in place.
Sasuke was unreadable now, and Naruto was suddenly afraid that he would be forever.
Naruto did not shiver, realizing now more than ever that Sasuke had become a predator, and that he could not show his weakness. Phantom pain was shooting through his chest, and though he tried his best not to, his mind couldn't help but flash back to the last time he had experienced the Chidori.
Even the scenery was nearly the same. Though they were not under two great statues, they were under a bridge. They were also fighting on top of water. It was uncanny, and though Naruto never gave much thought into ideas such as fate, it was at times like these that he couldn't help but wonder.
He knew not where Danzo was, considering they had been following him in the first place. But, if the looks of the three in front of him were any indication, Naruto had good authority to say that their Rokudaime Hokage was dead. Not that he minded of course. That old bastard had ordered Sasuke's execution after all, and was far too well prepared for Tsunade's fall to ease Naruto's mind.
He felt Kakashi take a step forward, but Naruto held up a hand to stall him. The jounin snorted, displeased, but nonetheless stopped. Sakura was also behind him, healing a girl that Naruto had briefly noted the conditions of but was unable ask about when he had first arrived.
Slowly, Naruto shifted into a more comfortable stance, one that was meant not for fighting. They had finally found Sasuke alone, and Naruto wanted to appear as unthreatening as possible. He felt hysterical laughter bubble in the back of his throat, but quickly pushed it down. The events of the past few days were taking its toll, but Naruto could still handle it. He had to.
Naruto swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to make his voice as calm and assured as possible, "I'm sure that you should know by now… if we were to fight now, we would both die."
To be completely honest, Naruto knew that if he went all out at the moment, he could have killed Sasuke. He had his senjutsu which defeated Pain after all, and Sasuke had just fought the Rokudaime Hokage. No matter how much of a bastard Danzo was, he had to be strong. However, Naruto did not want to kill Sasuke.
He wanted to save him.
The thing was, Naruto also knew that if he defeated Sasuke in the condition that the Uchiha was in now, the Uchiha would never accept the defeat. Naruto was not stupid by any means, or at least not in the sense that really mattered. He knew he lacked academically, but people he did understand.
To save Sasuke, they would have to fight evenly, and only then would the Uchiha acknowledge that Naruto's path was truly the right one.
Unfortunately, the Uchiha did not see it that way. Sasuke snarled, taking a step forwards, the wind whipping at his hair and giving him a wild appearance.
"Konoha nin, you are mistaken," Sasuke murmured in that low, hateful baritone of his. It held no outward inflection, not unlike the tone of his youth. But, unlike the voice from his younger days, there was no undertone of companionship, "You could never defeat me. Not in the past, not in the future, and not now."
There was a heartbeat of silence. Naruto breathed in, briefly closing his eyes and acknowledging that even if he wanted to retreat right now, Sasuke would not let them. It would sting the Uchiha's pride.
They moved forward as one. Naruto heard Kakashi shout something, but he could not make out the words. His mind was buzzing with what he had to do. Who he had to fight. Battle. Sasuke.
Sasuke's palm slammed towards his throat without a hint of mercy. Naruto ducked under it, making to catch Sasuke's overextended arm and flip the other using the established momentum. The blond was met with a knee instead, aimed towards his solar plexus. Quickly Naruto had to pull to the left, forced to abandon his grab and instead sweeping his own foot out to kick out Sasuke's remaining leg from underneath him. By that time Sasuke's upper balance had recovered, and he met Naruto's counter with his own.
They exchanged a flurry of blows, too fast for anyone to intervene without risking getting caught in the assault. Uchiha Sasuke had attacked all five Kages and had come out alive. Uzumaki Naruto had defeated the godlike Pain. Neither were at the level of average shinobi any longer.
Finally they pulled apart, skidding across the water as they regarded each other. What had passed had been nothing more than a flirtation, a test to see how far each had come since that day. That day when they had fought to the death, and had seen each other's abilities to their limits.
Naruto's fist opened and closed at his side. He bared his teeth. He had no need to evaluate his former teammate's strength. He'd understood that the prideful Uchiha didn't want to see what was right in front of him, though. "Are you satisfied, Sasuke?"
The dark haired boy's lips twisted downward, almost as if he had read Naruto's thoughts and was annoyed by them. Except that there was no acknowledgement in those cold, hard eyes, and no challenge in that frown, only cold disdain. Only his voice betrayed his frustration. "You are not worth my time."
"Oh yeah?" Naruto grinned, though he felt like doing anything but, and lifted his fingers in a familiar cross seal. Taijutsu had always been Sasuke's forte, but Naruto would not lose if it came to anything else. But he made the mistake of meeting the Uchiha's eyes when he made the provocation.
In truth, he hadn't thought he was in any danger. He didn't think that Sasuke would use them to win. He was wrong.
Before Naruto really even knew what was happening, the dark hues of Sasuke's gaze were being replaced, the red rims and spikes of the Mangekyou Sharingan emerging from the depths of his soul. His eyes bled from overuse, but Sasuke did not seem to care. He was too intent on defeating Naruto.
Blue eyes widened, but by then it was already too late. The world had disappeared.
The first thing he noticed was the smell. The damp, musty odour of muggy decay filled the air, permeating every inch of his being. Water squelched underneath his sandals, filling up the place between his toes and soaking through the bottom of his pants. A lone light hung above, rocking to and fro as it swung precariously from the ceiling.
A low, rumbling laughter emerged, bouncing off the walls and imbedding themselves in the nooks. With a wince, Naruto turned, just in time to see the all too familiar figure of the nine tailed fox close its jaw with a grin that was only matched by the malicious glint in its serpentine eyes.
"Crap," Naruto muttered.
"Well, well, well," the immense being murmured with an edge of unholy glee in its voice, "look who's finally decided to come visit."
Naruto opened his mouth to snap out a reply, but before he could, a whip of red chakra lashed out, twisting around his throat and lifting him off the ground. His skin sizzled where it touched, burning from the contact. Naruto choked, kicking his feet uselessly beneath him as he clawed at neck, but it did no good.
"Quiet, insect," the Kyuubi hissed, one of its tails swinging idly behind it. "Now that your Yondaime is not here, he cannot protect you. Shame, isn't it?"
It was angry. The Kyuubi was angry, and it was taking it out on Naruto. The blond didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Although he would not trade the episode with his father for anything in the world, it had made the Kyuubi come to seek him out for vengeance.
The choke hold tightened. He was gasping for breath now. He struggled more, but it was to no avail. The chakra had no physical shape, and he could not affect it. Spots of black were appearing at the edge of his vision, and the cage was growing hazy to his vision, a blur of red now instead of distinct barrier between prison and prisoner. He gurgled. Shit. This was bad. The Kyuubi was really going to kill—
And then, quite suddenly, the Kyuubi let go of him.
Naruto dropped to the ground with a splash, landing on painfully on all fours, coughing. A hand rose to his throat, feeling the tender flesh. Angry welts had appeared, agitated by the burning chakra.
The Kyuubi leaned close, narrowing its eyes dangerously as it breathed upon Naruto. Its breath smelled of rot and decay, and Naruto couldn't help but shiver despite the warmth. "You should be glad that we have company at the moment and I cannot devote my full attention to you, but worry not, there will be next time."
Naruto glared up at the being, but couldn't help but flinch when the Kyuubi snarled, its voice reverberating through the sewers. And then, quite suddenly, the massive creature turned its attention away from Naruto, looking beyond him.
"Uchiha," the Kyuubi spat, and it was no longer in any way amused. Its voice bellied the tales surrounding it, confirming its century old hatred and rage.
Naruto let out a breath. So Sasuke had finally come. He turned to greet his former friend.
The heir to the once prominent clan stepped out of the shadows, wearing the trademark high collar of the Military Police. His eyes were spinning with the red of the Mangekyou, his face completely unreadable.
Naruto let out a gasp, "Itachi?"
Uchiha Itachi let out a smile, albeit a small one, "Uzumaki Naruto-kun. Pleasure."
Naruto did not quite understand it, but he took it all in stride. Odd happenings were a common occurrence in his day to day life.
"What are you doing here?" He blurted out.
"As direct as always, I see," Itachi said with a chuckle.
The Kyuubi let out a roar, four tails of chakra lashing out to banish the intruder from their mind. Itachi only pivoted, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the tailed beast, and the Kyuubi froze.
Anger radiated from beneath its pores, but the tailed beast remained unable to act upon it.
"Those accursed eyes," the Kyuubi seethed, hatred rising like heat and choking the very air around them.
Itachi ignored the fox as he turned back to face Naruto. His smile faded, and a strange expression came over his face. There was an intense sadness there, and just a hint of guilt. Never a good combination. "Do you remember the 'gift' that I left you before you died?"
Naruto nodded slowly, careful not to glance at the Kyuubi. Between his father and Itachi, one might have felt that the Kyuubi would not seem so intimidating anymore. That was not the case. The threat of the fox was very real, and very relevant. He could not get too overconfident.
"Yeah, although you could have been more clear about—" And then it hit him. Thinking back to Itachi's request, Naruto suddenly had a brilliant flash of why the elder brother might be here. Wonder filled him, and he could barely hold back his glee. "Your 'gift' is going to help me deal with Sasuke's Sharingan, isn't it?"
To his surprise, Itachi did not immediately speak. Instead, the Uchiha simply stood there for a moment, silent.
"Itachi?" Naruto prodded.
From behind him, the Kyuubi shifted, amusement bleeding into its stance. Crimson eyes were narrowed as they looked upon the Uchiha with a hint of dark laughter.
"No, the Uchiha has more in mind," The Kyuubi hissed, the deep reverberations in his throat making Naruto's insides tingle. "Doesn't he?"
Naruto turned confused blue eyes back to Sasuke's brother, wondering what more he could possibly do. If it were not a way to counter the Mangekyou, how could it possibly help Naruto?
"The chakra I put into you was meant to manifest for one thing, and one thing only," Itachi said softly, taking a step forward and ignoring the warning growl that the Kyuubi gave him. "You see Naruto-kun, before my death I gave you most of my chakra, spinning it into a program that could only activate if certain commands were met. You see, I've set this to be activated should Sasuke ever come at you when his eyes were in danger of becoming blinded permanently. The schematics of the matter would take too long to explain, and I admit I am short on time. Unfortunately, I do not have the chakra capacity of a Jinchuriki, and I am afraid that the chakra supporting me will run out soon. So, I'm afraid I can only afford you a hurried explanation."
Naruto felt his blood run cold. If Itachi's 'gift' was not a counter for Sasuke's sharingan, then what was it?
"I had not intended on Madara getting a hold of my brother the way that he did," Itachi continued, smiling sadly. "I underestimated him, but in a way, I had also expected that, so I created this fail safe. Sasuke would never take my eyes if he were himself, you would probably know that better than anyone. However if he is willing to blind himself, it means he has made the decision to gain the Eternal Mangekyou Sharigan after all. And then, coming after you with the intent to kill… do you remember, Naruto-kun, the day that I asked you whether you would save the village or save Sasuke?"
Naruto nodded dumbly. He wasn't quite understanding where Itachi was going with this, but somewhere in the back of his mind he registered it all as incredibly important.
There was just a hint of a smile on the elder Uchiha's face, "On the condition that Tsukuyomi was activated without any shred of humanity in my brother's heart, I have appeared. Uzumaki Naruto-kun, using the time/space jutsu that I have learned from Uchiha Madara and your immense chakra, I will send you to a time where my brother could have been saved. Do you agree to this? No, it is cruel of me to ask. You have no choice."
...Naruto didn't understand it. He thought he would, but he really didn't. He opened his mouth to ask, but before he could, the martyr of the Uchiha clan had already turned away from him.
Itachi looked back at the fox, whose eyes widened just the slightest bit, "For this, I'll need your power."
And then, he reached out and placed a hand on the Kyuubi's nose, and tugged.
Shock flooded Naruto's system, and then it hit.
The Kyuubi let out a primal roar, its anger flooding Naruto's mind. Naruto screamed.
Pain poured through him, as if some dam had been released and everything that could hurt was now hurting. Liquid fire filled his veins—no, doing more than that—it felt as if it were ploughing through his veins, not caring for the destruction it left in its wake. Even Kyuubi's transformations had not been this bad.
It hurt. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt!
And then, quite suddenly, it was gone.
Just like that, the pain receded, fading back into the depths of his mind and leaving him nothing more than a faint memory.
Naruto let out a few pants, dimly realizing that he was flat on his back. He didn't know when he had fallen, but with the pain he had been going through, he was not all that surprised that he did.
Scowling, he sat up, intent on giving Itachi a piece of his mind. And then, he spotted it.
Naruto froze.
There was a hand mirror lying on his bedside table, and it was, as clear as day, displaying an Uzumaki Naruto that had not been seen in ten years.
The baby fat he had worked so hard to get rid of had come back, and his eyes were much larger than what he remembered. He was no longer wearing the Hitaiate that he had worked so hard to earn, and had taken almost religious care of due to the fact that it was Iruka-sensei's before it became his.
Naruto felt his breath catch.
What the hell had happened to him?
Slowly, blue eyes turned away from the mirror, although the action was hard for him to make. He dimly noted that he recognized the bed he was sitting on, recognized it all too well. The bedside table had not seemed odd to him because that was exactly where it should be, as was with the rest of the measly furniture scattered around his bedroom.
Somehow, he was back in his apartment, when he should have been halfway across the Land of Water fighting Sasuke.
Naruto took a breath. And then another. And another.
He vaguely noted that there were some things off about his bedroom, and that it was missing much of the extra things he had acquired over the years, most notably his ever present frame of Team Seven. He also noted that he seemed to have plants that he never grew, and that his bedroom should perhaps be demolished because Konoha had not yet completely recovered from Pain's attack.
Naruto did not like to panic. He had done enough of that in his younger days, and he had thought he had gotten over it. And yet, at the moment, he could not help the distinct feeling of panic settling in.
He called for the Kyuubi in his mind, yet the fox demon did not respond. He might have hated the fox but at least it was familiar and—
And suddenly, he realized.
"I will send you to a time where my brother could have been saved."
It seemed so impossible, so laughable that Naruto was almost willing to brush the thought aside before he even considered it. And yet, and yet Uchiha Itachi was a genius shinobi who had murdered his entire clan in one night, and had almost defeated Sasuke with a broken body and half his chakra.
Suddenly, the idea did not seem so far away now, not so impossible. Was Naruto not some child of prophecy? Did people not come back from the dead? Was Madara's or Tobi's or whatever his name's plan not to destroy the moon and bring about world peace?
He wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry. Itachi had sent him back to the past. The. Freakin'. Past.
He settled for plopping back against his bed, allowing the cushions to catch his body. They went whoosh, just as the air in his lungs went whoosh. This all felt so surreal, and honestly Naruto was expecting to be woken up at any moment and for this all to be declared as a dream.
But that did not happen.
He pinched himself.
Nothing happened except for the fact that he suddenly felt like saying 'ow'.
"Ow," Naruto whispered, before a sudden wash of emotion flooded through him. Suddenly he sat up again, eyes narrowed in anger as he thought about what Itachi had done. The idiot had sent him to the past. The past!
Naruto didn't know how old he was, but this was definitely before the time that they had defeated all of Akatsuki and the Kages had made the decision to unite against the threat of Madara. Didn't Itachi know how hard that had been?
And now, and now Itachi had sent Naruto back to a time where he could change all that, where he could screw it all up.
Naruto didn't like to read, but he hadn't travelled with a sensei that wrote books for a living and not learned anything about plot devices. He had heard of the Butterfly Effect, and he was very, very aware of what could go wrong.
Usually, when people went back in time, it was because things had gotten so bad that it couldn't possibly get any worse. They could then change things for the better. There was only one problem with that and Naruto's situation.
Everything had already been alright.
Sure it hadn't been perfect, but things had been looking up and Naruto had been hopeful for the future.
Naruto didn't like to swear hardcore, but there was only one word that was coming into mind right now.
Fuck.
Why the hell did you do something like this to me Uchiha Itachi? Naruto thought furiously, You've screwed everything over. You're risking the world you—you—you BroCon!
And that was exactly what Itachi was, an overzealous brother. Oh people did think he was so brilliant and tragic, but Naruto could see it now. Uchiha Itachi fretting over Sasuke's every move, buying them matching shirts (actually, now that he thought about it, they already had those), fixing Sasuke's face just right so that he could give off the correct Uchiha Glare …
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the last thought, feeling some of his anger dissipate.
And then, Naruto took a deep breath, trying to get himself to look on the brighter side of things, as he had always done ever since that fateful day in the park. He was never one to dwell on the past after all.
And then he remembered that he was in the past, so he had to dwell on it.
Naruto let out a scream, and threw his pillow across the room.
Stupid Itachi!
He took another breath, and tried harder.
He could… save Sasuke.
It was certainly what Itachi had wanted, and Naruto would be lying if he said that it wasn't what he wanted too. Of course, he had never imagined that he would do it in this manner, and to be quite frank, he did not wish to do it in this manner either.
When Itachi had basically asked Naruto if he valued Konoha more, or Sasuke more, Naruto had not been lying when he replied with an 'equally'. The method that Itachi imposed on him put Konoha at too much of a risk. This price for 'saving Sasuke' might have been just a tad too high.
And also to be honest, Naruto wasn't exactly pleased on a personal front either.
Unlike what Itachi evidently thought, his life had not revolved around bringing Sasuke back. It was always one of his foremost objectives, yes, but it had not been his only one.
He had finally gotten strong enough to protect his precious people, he had finally taken out most of the Akatsuki, and he had made the world acknowledge him. Now, he would be starting from zero. He didn't mind hard work, really he didn't, but it still urked him that he would have to do it all over again.
A third breath.
Who else could he save?
As far as the list of traitors went, there weren't a lot. It seemed as if Sasuke had been one of a kind.
And for some reason that thought brought his mind to falling snow, a faint smile and gentle words. A lesson he could never forget.
Haku. Zabuza. There was no way he was going to let them meet the fates that they did this time around.
And there were others who had died too.
Jiji, Asuma, Jiraiya. He could save them.
He felt his heart give a beat.
He was beginning to warm up to this whole going back to the past thing.
Naruto let out a chuckle, which sounded strange coming from his youthful voice. He pulled his legs towards him, sitting cross legged as he thought about what he could do. Since he was having a second chance, he might as well take full advantage of it. He wouldn't do quite so badly in the Academy this time around, and wouldn't that show Sasuke!
The thought of Sasuke caused the smile on his face to flicker. He couldn't just aggravate Sasuke, he knew. He somehow had to stop Sasuke from feeling the need to leave the village. While he could do that by revealing everything Itachi's reasons, Naruto was unsure of whether that would turn Sasuke against Konoha. He couldn't in good conscience keep what he knew to himself, but would he really be able to save Sasuke if he told the Uchiha everything after the Massacre?
And then, a brilliant idea hit him. The Massacre! Everything had devolved from that, hadn't it? Naruto glanced at his calendar, and was relieved to see that the year put him at six years old, well before the rumours had begun to spread of the Uchiha Police Force's demise. He had time.
Of course, he could not hope to stop something like that by himself, especially when he didn't quite know when it would happen. He vaguely remembered Madara/Tobi mentioning something about a coup d'état. He needed help.
Naruto hopped out of bed. There was a lot he needed to do.
Atop Mt. Myouboku, the Great Toad Sage let out a choked gasp as his eyes flew wide open. He had seen many things in his time, including the rise and fall of the Sage of Six Paths. Of course, he had been nothing more than a little toad then, but he still remembered well the aura of the man who had changed the world.
Outside of his abode, the sounds of the birds chirping to their children drifted through, accompanied by the willful titters of other mountain creatures. The wind lapped against his dry skin, bringing in the moisture of the springs. The Great Toad Sage relaxed. Something unexplainable had just happened, but that did not mean that the end of the world would be in sight. Things were still running their course.
Nevertheless, it would be a difference course now. He had never had this happen to him before, but he was still very young in comparison to some of the other beings of this world.
"The prophecy," he murmured softly to himself, closing his eyes again, "has shattered…"
Note: This follows the manga up until Danzo dies. Everything revealed after that point should not be taken as a given. Some things will be included, such as Kushina's heritage and other background information, but other things, like Kabuto's ability to spam Edo Tensei, will be completely and utterly ignored. Naruto really started going into supernatural fantasy land during the Fourth Shinobi War arc and since I've always liked the more down to earth approach the earlier arcs had, I'm sticking to that tone. Also, just… just imagine that everything the Kyuubi says is in bold. I don't know why bolding seems to be disabled on FFN for the moment, so until that bug is fixed, please use your imaginations.
Itachi's jutsu: A bunch of stuff about Itachi's jutsu is never really explained (because he doesn't expect Naruto to understand), so I'll just say it here… he's anchored a part of himself to Naruto using a large portion of his chakra, so his 'real' self was actually significantly weakened by that event. That chakra stayed dormant until Itachi's conditions were met, and then it revealed itself in the form of Uchiha Itachi who then rapidly started disintegrating because alien chakra cannot last long outside their owners. Itachi then borrowed the chakra of the Kyuubi using his own Mangekyou to send Naruto's mind back in time through the thorough research of time/space he did because of Madara. It's not very precise, and he had an error bar of about three years on either side, so he decided to choose five years old as the age to send Naruto back to. Naruto ends up at six, which is not too bad for Itachi Uchiha. The condition was initially supposed to be if Sasuke used the Mangekyou on Naruto with Itachi's eyes, but I couldn't make that timeline work, so unfortunately you get a subpar foundation for the hows of the technique.