Naruto, Once Again
A/N I do not own Naruto.
"Normal Talking"
"Thoughts/Flashback"
"Demon/Bijuu"
Chapter 1: Shinigame's Game
"Why, why did it have to end like this?"
"I am sorry, Naruto, my brother. I wasn't strong enough." Naruto barely heard as he was slowly laid down in the middle of the decimated battlefield.
"Where... Where did it all go wrong?" Naruto thought. "Damn it! Everything was going according to plan!"
As he laid there, with his best friend's arm through his chest, slowly dying, he thought back to the "perfect" plan that Shikamaru had laid out for him.
_Flashback_
"Are you sure this plan will work Shika?" Naruto asked as he paced the tent that the Shinobi Alliance had deemed HQ.
"There's no way this plan could fail Naruto", Shikamaru replied, "I've spent nearly a week putting this together, accounting for every minute detail that could go wrong. I assure you, this plan is foolproof."
Naruto stopped pacing and turned to look at Shikamaru, "Are you absolutely positive?" He had absolute faith in Shikamaru's strategic abilities, but with everything that had taken place already, they had to be certain that this plan would not fail.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed "If I had any doubt in this plan, do you think I would bring it to you in the first place?"
Naruto grinned at his lazy friend "I know, I know Shika, but you know how much hangs on this final battle." He placed his hand on the table and, once again, began to examine the folder that Shikamaru had brought him. "Okay, run this by me one more time."
Shikamaru sighed, "Alright, which parts do you need to hear again?"
Naruto chuckled "Could we just go over it all again?" He said, as he scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.
Shikamaru sighed a final time before lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. Naruto thought he heard something along the lines of "Troublesome blonde" being mumbled.
"Alright Naruto," Shikamaru began "Listen closely, 'cuz I'm only going to go through this one more time." Shikamaru joined Naruto at the table, picking up the file and flipping it open. "The war is coming to the endgame. The Alliance's forces have been cut almost in half, leaving us with roughly 40,000 ninja. Among those losses are the Godaime Hokage, Godaime Kazekage, and Sasuke Uchiha." Shikamaru looked at Naruto and took in his somber appearance. He knew he was walking on thin ice here, but he had to make sure Naruto knew where they stood. "Although we have sustained heavy losses, Madara's army has dwindled even farther. The spies estimate that only 15,000 white zetsus remain. Along with those heavy losses, Obito, Kisame, and Kabuto have also been slain." Naruto took all this information in and nodded for Shikamaru to continue. "As well as having the advantage of numbers, we also have the advantage of the chosen battlefield, Suna. Many of our remaining troops are from Kiri and Suna, so they are used to fighting on loose sand. The white zetsus, having plant DNA, will be at a sore disadvantage fighting o-"
"But what of Madara and the other temes?" Naruto interrupted.
"I have taken that into account, even if he can fight us evenly on the sand, having his army at a disadvantage falls right into my plan, now shut it and let me continue" Shikamaru retorted.
"Sorry" Naruto grinned sheepishly. Shikamaru briefly wondered how the blonde could still be his same knuckle-headed self in the middle of a war.
"As I was saying, the zetsus will be mismatched while fighting on desert sand which gives us a huge advantage. The first wave of our attack will be mostly made of Suna and Kiri nin. I expect Madara to stand back and work on drawing you and Bee out into an open confrontation so he can capture your bijuu. Even if he doesn't, this will still work for my plan. The first wave will strike at the center of the zetsu army and try to drive a wedge through the middle. The wave will consist of short range fighters who can take a lot of damage. This wave will be headed by Kakashi and Sakura."
"The second and third waves will then flank the zetsu army to keep them from collapsing in on the wedge. The waves will consist of a variety of mid to long-ranged fighters. These waves will be led by Temari and Kankuro. I hope to utilize their long ranged attacks to draw the edges out even wider."
"The final wave will come in after the first wave has drove a wedge into the army. This wave will consist of powerhouse fighters that can provide a surge to push the wedge through even further. This wave will be headed by you and Bee-san. When you join the first wave and push through to the back of the army, I want you and Bee to pinpoint Madara's location and confront him. I know that you can defeat him."
Naruto pondered this all quietly. In theory it seemed like the perfect plan, but he couldn't help but worry. Before he could voice this, they were interrupted by a newcomer. Naruto stood to see who had disturbed them when his eyes dropped to Sakura at the opening of the tent.
"Hokage-sama" Sakura addressed Naruto "The preparations are complete, it's time for battle."
Naruto was taken aback by the title. "Mou, Sakura-chan, you don't have to call me that, Naruto is just fine."
"Fine, Naruto, just get your butt out here and get ready." With that she exited the tent.
Naruto chuckled and addressed Shikamaru "Let's go see if this plan is as foolproof as you say, Shika." With that he donned his robe and walked out the tent, mentally preparing for victory.
_End Flashback_
"I guess Shika's plan wasn't as perfect as we all thought, who would have thought that Madara would have picked up the Edo-tensei." Naruto thought as he was drawing his final breaths. He looked around at all the destruction and noticed the bodies of many of his friends strewn about. He immediately felt guilt so powerful that, if he wasn't already about to die, he was sure would have brought him his death.
Sasuke speaking distracted Naruto from his mind crushing guilt. "Naruto, I couldn't fight it, it was too powerful."
He turned to look at his psuedo brother, who had his head hung, his hair hanging low around his face. He began to unravel as the Edo-tensei began to fade. If it was any other time, Naruto would have made fun of him for sounding so emo, but, given the circumstances he knew that he had to put his friend at peace.
"Sas...uke..." The Uchiha immediately turned to him. "do...not..regret...any...thing" Naruto said with his final breath. He closed his eyes and accepted the darkness that enveloped him. "I'm coming to see you Tou-san, Kaa-chan."
The next time Naruto opened his eyes, he was staring in what seemed to be a black void. All he could see was the ground a few feet in front of him, and then darkness. he took a few steps forward, but still couldn't see anything but the ground in front of him. It was like a dense fog that kept him from seeing passed a few feet.
"Huh, I guess this is what death is like." He mumbled.
"It would appear so kit"
Naruto eyes widened and he immediately whipped towards the direction of the voice, but still couldn't see anything. "Kurama" Naruto voiced "where are you?"
"Right in front of you, although this darkness seems to keep us from seeing each other."
Naruto walked forward about 20 feet before a giant paw came into view. "Uh, Kurama could you shrink down so we can see each other?"
Before the nine-tails could comply, a blinding light flashed throughout the area. For the first time, Naruto could take in the place that his death had brought him to. It was the most desolate place he could imagine. Even the desert he just came from seemed beautiful compared to this place. There was nothing. This made the figure that had appeared with the light seem even more frightening. Naruto took in the stranger's appearance. The figure was at least 20 feet tall, with a long flowing robe and his skin was colored a light purple. His hair was white and flowed freely down his shoulders and he had a giant straight-sword in his right hand. None of this caught Naruto's attention though. What Naruto was fixated on was his face. He had teeth that looked to be a foot long where his incisors were, and had two white horns coming out of the top of his head. None of that compared to his eyes though, his eyes were pitch black and looked as if they could kill you if you stared to long. "This guy looks like a freakin' monster out of a nightmare."
"Naruto, Kyubbi, I have been expecting you for some quite some time now." The figure spoke. Naruto couldn't help but shiver at the malevolence coming from this guy.
"Who a-" Naruto started but Kurama interrupted.
"Shinigami, so we really are dead."
"Shinigami? No wonder this guy scares the living daylights out of me." Naruto though, and shivered once again.
"Yes, now I will finally have your other half, Kyubbi." Shinigami chuckled darkly. "and on top of that, I get the son of that insolent fleshbag."
Naruto bristled "Hey, you take that back you old freak!" "My dad was one of the greatest shinobi that ever lived!"
"Irrelevant, you are all dead anyway." Shinigami replied. Then, Shinigame's face contorted into what Naruto thought was a smirk. "But," Shinigami continued "Maybe I can help you with that"
Naruto started and narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean by that Furui furīku."
"Simple," Shinigami chuckled again before continuing "I am allowed to let you plead your case before Kami, and if he finds you favorable, then you get a second chance at your life."
"Are you serious?" Naruto shouted excitedly, but the Kyubbi just narrowed his eyes.
"What's the catch Shinigami, you wouldn't do this out of the goodness of your heart." Kurama questioned, completely suspicious of the god of death. Naruto caught on and began to shout his agreements with the fox.
Shinigami began to laugh even more darkly, "You would know, wouldn't you, you old fox?" Kurama just continued to glare darkly at him. "Fine, you caught me."" In return for me taking you to Kami, you have to bring me the soul of one Madara Uchiha."
"That's it?" Naruto asked "Nothing else?"
"That's it you whelp, just bring me the soul of Madara in your next life and our agreement is complete."
Naruto began to jump around like he was 12 again, "Then what are you waiting for you old freak?! Take us to Kami!"
Shinigami only began to laugh again and then, before Naruto could do anything, Shinigami swung his sword and cut part of Naruto's shoulder. He then took his blade and slowly licked the blood off of the end of the blade.
"There, the deal is sealed. Prepare to meet Kami" Shinigami brought his hand up in a one-handed "sheep" sign. Before he sent them off he looked right into Naruto's eyes and said "Oh, and if you fail to capture Madara in your next life, then I will consume the souls of every person you ever cared for." Naruto's eyes widened and before he could do anything, Shinigami finished the Jutsu. The last thing he heard was the sinister laugh of Shinigami.
A/N This was really fun for me. Although this is the first chapter of fanfic that I have ever wrote, I'm sure that there will be many more to come later. If my lifestyle allows, then I hope to continue updating at least once a week.