A Whole New World, Prequel to a New Chapter

by SpinLord

Fate is an unrelenting adversary. This time, Fate has destroyed the Ninja World. After failing his world, Uzumaki Naruto expected to die and be plunged into an abyss. As it is, though, he found himself presented with a choice. Would he choose, or would he willingly let fate carve his path once again? (Bridge fic to several crossover fics.)

I just found out that I'm quite the daring person, writing yet another fic while still working on some others. Let me note that I'm NOT a multi-tasker, so this might slowme down a bit...but have no fear! I shall prevail and one day I will defeat my annoying inner plot bunnies!

This fic was meant to be dark, somewhat brutal-ish. But considering that I'm a faint-hearted citizen, I'm not sure if I'm making it sound as cruel as I'm picturing it in my mental anime projector (seriously, every author ought to have it as a muse!). Not too brutal though, as I know that there are kids reading this thing as well.

Okay, moving on...this fic is not an ordinary fic.

Naruto: No shit, Sherlock.

Me: Shut up and gag, blondie.

I had thought of making it a prequel to a crossover fiction, but then I got the idea of making it a bridge fic instead. For those who don't know what a bridge is, well let's just say it's what I call a one-shot fic that would lead to some other fics. In this case, I'm talking about a bridge fic that will lead to several other fanfictions that I will write in the future. Judging by how I'm going to make this fic look like, I'd say that it fits the purpose.

The basis of this story, however, is taken from the anime/manga Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. And for a spoiler, I'll tell you that one of the future fics this bridge fic will lead to will be a Naruto/Higurashi no Naku Koro ni crossover ;D

Oh, and in this story, I'll refer Kyuubi with his real name, Kurama :D I don't mind the spoiler for those who are getting spoiled, but do you?

Naruto: Just skip the pep talk and go on with the story, already!

Me: Ever the impatient one, eh? If you're so eager to start with the story, then please do the freaking disclaimer!

Naruto: Wha—but why me?!

Me: Well, you're here, right?

Naruto: Ass.

Me: At least I have one. Or a pair, if you're counting by the butt cheeks.

Naruto: *grumbles and takes a card, then reads it* SpinLord doesn't own me or any manga/anime reference that he's going to use in this story. The idea, however, is purely his and we don't have a say in it at all.

Me: There, was that so hard to do?
Extra AN: I have upgraded my author abilities and replaced some of my page breaks (or line breaks; either way).

xoxoxo: In-story line break. I'm gonna use this one to separate some events that happen in the story.
-xo-: Author line break. This one, I'm gonna use to separate things that isn't directly connected to the story, but will affect the story indirectly. Those things included the Author's Notes, story title, and shameless inserts (you'll get what I mean).

Extra AN #2: I reloaded this fic in February 4th, 2013. Some minor replacements, particularly the one where Frederica was supposed to refer her dimension as "realm" rather than "world" to avoid confusion.

-xo-

I hereby declare war on fate
For I am steering its wheels out of its destined route
SpinLord presents
A Whole New World, Prequel to a New Chapter
A Naruto 'what-if' one-shot fanfic

-xo-

It felt as if hell's gate just bursted open.

The searing pain, the scorching heat...moreover, the painful sight of a hundred or so of dead people. Those were good people, ninjas, with families and friends waiting for them to come back from this war victorious. That was what he thought, too, when he first joined the fray. He thought that the Shinobi Alliance was already winning against the opposing army of the white Zetsu, revived shinobi, and Bijuu. He was wrong. It wasn't a victory, they weren't winning. Heck, by this point, it couldn't even be called a war anymore.

It was a massacre. A giant killing festival that had the combined forces of the Shinobi Alliance as the pinata, and the half-revived Juubi as the batter.

Even in its half-revived form in the shape of the Gedo Mazo, the Juubi was as terrifyingly powerful as ever. A wave of its hand took out nearly a whole platoon of ninjas, a bit of a tail-whip there and strong whirlwinds brought up countless ninjas and samurais alike up to the sky before they crashed down with a sickening crunch. The worst, however, was its roar attack. Naruto had seen it himself; the Juubi took its nine eyes away from him and settled to stare at an incoming flock of samurais. The horror began when it opened its mouth and began charging chakra into it, much like what Kurama did to perform the Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bomb).

The result was terrifying.

It was like a volcanic eruption, but more destructive than that. A harbinger of destruction; and Kurama wasn't exaggerating when he said that the Bijuu he once had been part of was known as the strongest beast the world had ever known. And the beast was unstoppable in its relentless rampage, killing more and more of the Allied forces each passing seconds, ninjas and samurais alike. Those were more parents and children that weren't going back to their awaiting families...

Gritting his teeth to contain his anger, Naruto glared daggers at the controller of the Juubi, who was standing calmly in front of the beast as if he knew it wouldn't bring harm to his person. This villain...this ghost of a man, was the cause of all this. He was the one who declared war on the ninja world. He was the one…who brought death upon them.

Tobi…Uchiha Obito!

A fire lit up inside Naruto, bursting throughout his body. The fire fueled him, his rage and all of his pent up emotions. In turn, his body itself ignited in bright yellow shroud of chakra, taking the form of a high-collared cloak that was made entirely of chakra. His whisker marks—three on each cheeks—thickened, while not necessarily making the whisker marks look wilder as they formed a rectangular shape. His hair formed two larger spikes on his already spiky hair, which stood out and made them look like a pair of horns. And his eyes, once a vibrant blue which was even bluer than the sea, turned blood red with a myriad of emotions storming behind them; anger being more prominent, with rage coming in close to it.

"This ends HERE!" he stated as he dropped into his battle stance. His opponent chuckled darkly, looking at the blonde with his Sharingan as his right eye and a Rinnegan as his left, "End? Naruto, you don't have the slightest idea of what's going to happen. You can't stop the Juubi. That is, if that was what you're planning to do." the man grabbed his battle fan, previously lent to Madara, and brought it up in front of his body, "My plan...Madara's plan will not be stopped here. With the Juubi near its complete revival, initiating the Mugen Tsukuyomi (Endless Tsukuyomi) is just a step away. Though, it's a shame that Madara had to die earlier than I thought. You prove to be stronger than I thought…"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" A burst of speed later, and he found himself launched towards that bastard with a Bijuu Dama (Tailed-Beast Bomb) forming on his right hand. The speed he travelled in was almost parallel to the speed of the Fourth Hokage's Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Jutsu), in which all he became was a streak of golden light. No eyes of a human should be able to keep up with that speed.

Unfortunately, Obito could no longer be considered a human with the power of two powerful eyes in his arsenal. He was able to side-step Naruto's attack and avoided being pulverized by the blonde's jutsu. Naruto, surprised by this turnout, had no time to react when Obito launched a strong uppercut to his gut that knocked the wind out of him. The dark-haired Uchiha then attacked once more by side-kicking Naruto on the face. Naruto had just regained his footing and, as he realized the attack, he jumped away to dodge.

Obito wasn't finished. Forming a couple of hand-signs, he blew out a fireball large enough to burn a house in one blow; the Uchiha clan's original technique, "Katon: Goukakyû no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu)!"

Naruto scowled, "Don't underestimate me!" After roaring that out, he made a suicidal dash towards the fireball. Taking in a deep breath, he then roared with all his might, resulting in his voice mixing in with Kurama's own and making it sounded like two beings just roared as one. The result? Pure chakra clashed against the fireball and completely cancelled the offending flames away.

'Just with chakra, huh?' Obito thought calmly, amused by Naruto's ability. He smirked and turned around to jump away from an attack by one of Naruto's enlarged chakra hands. Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration, "COME HERE!"

Obito laughed darkly. He jumped several times before eventually landing on the Juubi's outstretched hand. The gigantic statue raised its hand up at Obito's command. By now, Obito was too far out of Naruto's reach. "I have wasted enough time playing with you, Uzumaki Naruto." He raised both of his arms and chuckled, "It's time…for the grand finale!"

Naruto didn't like the sound of that, "What do you mean, you bastard?!"

Obito looked down on Naruto from his current spot, "I'll show you the Juubi's true power." The Gedo Mazo—housing the power of the Ten-Tailed beast—then started to take a stance. Its stance made it look like squatting, its hands spread to its sides as if praying with a widely-opening mouth. Obito scoffed, "Hmph…while it's true that Juubi is still halfway through its full resurrection, I think his current power will be enough for an appetizer." Part of Naruto wanted to slap that smirk off of Obito's face for trying to make a joke with food preference in this kind of situation, but he was currently more curious to what the Juubi was trying to do. It looked like it was trying to…

Wait…

No!

"A Bijuu Dama attack?!" Naruto let out with dread. He cursed inwardly; if that attack hits anything even remotely near them, there was a chance that Naruto would take a considerable damage. Strangely, though, the gigantic statue of the half-revived Juubi wasn't even pointing the attack to him. On the contrary, it seemed to be facing somewhere far away behind him. At that time, Naruto heard Obito's voice echoing throughout the area, "Before I command the Juubi to attack, let me ask you something…" A pause, not too long that Naruto made the initiative to chase Obito up the statue, but not too short that it didn't feel like a pause, "Naruto…do you know the weight of a choice?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto demanded angrily. He wasn't in the mood for some inspiring conversation, or any conversation with the Uchiha at all.

Obito shrugged carelessly, "Just asking. After all, we both are the same in which we had made hard choices. Life IS made by making choices. Me? I once chose to give Kakashi my Sharingan in hopes he'd be able to use it to protect Rin." He chuckled mirthlessly, "Well, we both know how that ended, don't we? And you, being the Jinchûriki of the Kyuubi, have made choices too. Let's say…you chose to chase after Sasuke, risking your own life by doing so, instead of leaving him alone. Even I have to admit that that's a pretty heroic act."

"So what's your point? You haven't piss your pants in fear and decided to play nice with me, haven't you? Because even if you are, that won't change anything!" Naruto growled out. Kurama, sensing his Jinchûriki's raging emotions, talked to him through their mental connection, 'Naruto, calm down. Getting angrier than you already are won't help us defeat him.'

It was ironic, actually. Years ago, Kurama would've urged Naruto to get angry.

"No need to be so hasty." Obito said tauntingly. Suddenly, one of the tails that had sprouted from Gedo Mazo's back raised in the air ominously. "Now, I will let you make a choice. It's what we both are good at, isn't it? Although," a twisted smile formed on Obito's face, "I don't think you would choose either of these options."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the way Obito smiled, not a bit.

"Now, where was I? Oh, right," he raised his left arm and pointed his finger to the same way the gigantic statue was facing, "In one hand, I have the lives of your Alliance. The Juubi's power is more than enough to destroy their remaining forces. That being said, the lives of your beloved friends are in danger."

In response, Naruto's eyes widened and his red-slitted pupils dilated in shock. He thought about his friends…Sakura, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Kiba, Hinata…and pretty much the faces of all of his friends popped into his mind. A vein popped on his temple, 'He's threatening my friends?!'

"On the other hand," Obito continued, pointing his right finger to the tail which was raised behind them, "I have the lives of Kakashi, Gai, the Hachibi and his Jinchûriki. Just with a flick of my wrist, I can command that tail to smash them to smithereens. The lives of your teachers are in trouble, Naruto, and I wonder what will you do?"

"You…bastard!" Naruto said, shaking with anger. Never in his life had he felt so much resentment to a person. Not even his anger when Jiraiya was killed compared to this.

Obito clicked his tongue and wiggled his right finger, "The clock's ticking, Naruto. We all have our choices. Now…" He raised both of his arms up in the air before bringing them both down and yelled loudly, "CHOOSE!"

Instantly, dark chakra began gathering around the Gedo Mazo's mouth. At the same time, the tail behind it tensed as if the owner had just received a sudden order. Naruto sweated, panic taking over his mind and clouding his train of thought. 'Shit! What the hell am I supposed to do?! I can't choose between these two choices!' He gasped in surprise as he finally got an idea, 'That's right! Shadow clones!' He brought his two hands in front of him and formed them into a cross-fingered hand-sign, "Kagebunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" Appearing via a cloud of smoke was a copy of Naruto, also shrouded with the same chakra as Naruto. The clone blitzed towards the place where Kakashi, Gai and Killer Bee were, intent on stopping the tail at all cost.

Meanwhile, the real Naruto had just summoned the transparent chakra-form of Kurama, which quickly escalated in size and rivaling Gedo Mazo's size. Although it wasn't the real form of the Nine-Tailed Fox—being only his pseudo chakra appearance—it still held power like no other. This time, however, Kurama had decided to…contribute in the Jinchûriki-Bijuu link form.

"Well…" The phantom-like, Kurama-shaped chakra spoke while maliciously grinning, "I guess this is what you humans call a fight against yourself."

xoxoxo

With Kakashi…

Kakashi wasn't in the best of shapes.

Currently, he was sitting while leaning to a raised piece of earth that was made during the previous battle they had. Having used his Mangekyou Sharingan's special ability, the Kamui, several times to transport Naruto's attacks to the same dimension Obito was using really depleted his chakra. He could feel the transplanted Sharingan in his left eye socket returning to its normal form. He frowned, wondering how messed up the whole situation was.

He never thought that the masked Tobi is really Obito. Why would Obito—a fellow shinobi who, in Kakashi's memory, was loyal and a hardworking ninja—became comrades with the Uchiha Madara? To his further confusion, why would Obito impersonate Madara when the historical Uchiha hasn't even been revived? Perhaps the Obito he knew really is gone. If all that happened because Rin died, then like Obito had said…this is Kakashi's fault.

"Kakashi! Snap out of your un-youthful reverie!" Gai exclaimed, shocking Kakashi out of his thoughts. Then, still in a sitting position, he looked up to see the stony tail of the Juubi descending towards them. He gasped, 'Damn it! He's trying to destroy us! Tch, quite the timing, too…'

"Kakashi-sensei! Gai-sensei!" At that time, Naruto's clone arrived in front of them with the yellow chakra still shrouding his body. "You gotta get out of here! That bastard is planning to kill you all!" He said frantically.

"We could run, but…" Kakashi looked up with his right eye—his Sharingan having been closed a while ago. "Fighting Obito alone might not be such a good idea."

"I can take care about that later! For now, we need to get you out of here!" As Naruto's clone kept talking, the tail gains speed at an alarming rate as it was going halfway through its coordinated arc, intending to smash them to bits. Naruto-clone turned around and glared at the offending tail. Almost automatically, two large clawed chakra hands sprouted from the back of Naruto-clone's chakra cloak, rising high above his head. "I'll try to hold it off. Use that time to run!"

Before any of them could comment on that, Naruto-clone had already jumped to meet the tail in the air. In midair, the blonde brought forth the two giant chakra arms which dashed to meet the oncoming tail. The arms met their target, but Naruto was surprised by the sheer force and weight that the tail had that even affected the chakra arms. At this rate, he would lose hold over the enormous tail of the Ten-Tailed beast. "Ugh…I won't lose HERE!" With a pinch of adrenaline, Naruto summoned out another pair of chakra arms; these ones went to the ground and acted as stabilizing legs for the still midair Naruto clone. Still, the tail was pushing him down little by little.

"S-shit!" he cursed as his arms strained under the weight.

However, at that time the other remaining Jinchûriki came to the rescue at the nick of time. "Yoo~ Attacking with tails is so damn silly~! FYI it's also shitty~!" went the rap of one Killer Bee in full Bijuu mode in the shape of a gigantic, tentacle-tailed ox as he raised both of his gigantic arms to block the tail slam. After receiving the help, Naruto-clone exhaled with relief evident in his breath, "Thanks, Bee-jisan!"

Killer Bee nodded at the blonde, before talking through his transformed form, "Gratefulness aside, do you have any idea how to take down this ho'? Its body is wide, but we can't just attack it with one go!"

"I'm still thinking about it…" Naruto-clone answered seriously while still holding his two chakra arms over the single tail the Juubi was using, "Maybe we have to attack Obito first. Seeing as he's the one who summoned the Gedo Mazo, the statue should disappear if we defeat him." His plan was sound. Attack the brain controlling the body; a speed kill that ninjas are great at. "Bee-jisan, can you hold the Juubi in place for a while? I'll need an opening to attack Obito." Naruto-clone asked. Killer Bee (or rather, the Hachibi) nodded affirmatively.

However, it seemed that it wasn't meant to happen. Back on the palm of the statue, Obito grinned maniacally, "Idiots."

At that point, there was a slight miscalculation in Naruto's plan that resulted in a fatal failure. They forgot what being they were up against. They were up against the destroyer of lands, the harbinger of destruction whose mind was set only to wreak havoc. They forgot…that they were up against the Juubi, the Ten-Tailed beast. Naruto's mistake wasn't of underestimating the Juubi's power; no, the Ten-tails' power was too big to be ignored. His mistake…was to forget about the number of tails the Juubi possessed.

Ten.

Ten, giant, destructive tails with the power to shake the earth.

They caught one, but they let the remaining nine descend towards them to crush them. THAT is their mistake. They were so caught up holding up only one of its tails—which was already stronger than they originally thought—that they had no time to worry about the remaining tails.

And when they realize that, it was too late. Judging by the speed the tails were going at, there was no way that they could halt their advance. The momentum they had was too great. They realize this as the tail crashed onto the tail the two Jinchûrikis were holding; as Bee got smacked by five humongous tails in the face, Naruto-clone received four crushing tail slams that immediately cancelled his existence.

And then...the tails went on a straight course for the remaining fighters. However, both Kakashi and Gai were unable to do anything to defend from the attack or dodge it. Chakra-wise, Kakashi already went low because of his constant use of Mangekyou Sharingan. Gai might be able to do something as he still housed a sufficient amount of chakra which was enough to at least kick the tails away, or initiate his Asa Kûjaku (Morning Peacock) to outright burn them. Unfortunately…

Unfortunately, his Eight-Gates mode had begun to take its toll and it brought a strain on his body muscles. That strain was something that Gai could normally manage by resting his muscles. To his demise, though, the strain that was brought to his muscles was too much to the point it paralyzed him. 'This…shouldn't have happened!' he thought to himself. Of course, Gai was oblivious to one vital point.

He had already used his Eight-Gates mode when the fight against Obito began. Eight-Gates mode isn't a transformation jutsu that can be used constantly for a long period of time. Lee utilized five chakra gates back when he fought Gaara all those years ago, and it brought him to death's doorsteps. Gai is probably the only one capable of using more gates while not actually knocking on that door, but at the very least that usage would exhaust him greatly. Even when he fought Kisame on the flying turtle-island, he ended up being paralyzed and hurting all over.

And that condition applied to him once again, this time.

And that ultimately sealed their fate. At that point, they knew that their death was imminent, even as their past life flashed between their eyes like something out of a movie. For Gai, his past life wasn't that much to remember until he met his team; the same team 9 that had been under his tutelage for these past few years. Yet, all that memory paled in comparison to one.

'Lee…' Gai thought solemnly, closing his eyes as he expected death to come at him, 'I don't regret dying now. I've accomplished my dream to turn you into a splendid ninja. The only thing I regret now…is not being able to see you pass the flames of youth to your students in the future.'

Seeing his friend accept his fate so readily, Kakashi closed his lone right eye before opening it again. Sadness filled his eye, while blood trailed down from his left Sharingan. Both of his eyes were locked on to the gigantic tails, but his mind was elsewhere. His life flashed between his eyes, but unlike Gai, Kakashi regretted the things he did…or more precisely, failed to do.

'Sensei…I've let you down. I think if you were alive right now, you wouldn't even look at me. I had failed my team of the past and of the present, and as a Jounin I've done nothing but make the wrong choices. Rin…I'm sorry that it had to end like that. I know that right now you are cursing my name in heaven for killing you. I regret having to make that choice…once again I had put a comrade's life in jeopardy for the sake of a stupid mission.' Kakashi closed his eyes, finally letting his entire burden go and, in turn, accepted his sealed fate, 'Obito…I'm sorry that I broke my promise to you. I regret…letting you die for my sake that day.'

The tails crashed down, bringing forth the sounds of breaking earth, agonizing screams and the squelching sounds of two bodies being crushed and reduced to nothing but a bloody mess. At that time, Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai…..entered eternal slumber.

xoxoxo

Being in a complete Bijuu mode has its perks…yet, said perks were the epitome of Uzumaki Naruto break for insanity.

As we know, the Bijuu mode enabled Naruto to move at untouchable speeds, granted him near-limitless chakra and the ability to summon out Kurama in his chakra form. But the most amazing ability of all is the ability to sense people's hearts. That ability had helped the Alliance gained the upper hand in their fight against the form-shifting White Zetsu clones. Indeed, it is an extraordinary ability.

However, that ability had perhaps broken Naruto's last grip on sanity. The "heart-sensor" ability he has had brought him a new outlook on the meaning of a cruel, gruesome death. He could sense it…no, in fact, he could almost feel it. The way that regret poured off his sensei's person, the way his heart was acting…but most of all, how his heart became nothing but a bloody mass under the giant tails of the Juubi.

"No…" Naruto whimpered, "No, it can't be happening…this can't be happening!" He gripped his head as the image became more vivid than vague, "KAKASHI-SENSEEEII!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Obito let out a crazed laugh from atop of the Juubi's right hand, "Why, I never thought that killing those two would be so easy! Both the Copy Ninja and the Legendary Blue Beast…unbelievable! This TRULY is...the Juubi's power!"

Kurama, in his chakra form, narrowed his rural eyes and growled. In conjunction, Naruto also growled under him while his eyes were looking at the ground. Tears leaked from them and dropped to the ground unceremoniously. "You…bastard…!"

Kurama also felt the anger that Naruto was pining for Obito, and he couldn't help but curse as well, "You low-life…you're nothing but a dirty soul being put into a bag of flesh."

"Ho? Is that anger that I think you're letting out, Kyuubi? That's strange; hate has always been your driving force, but this anger…hmmm…I see that your Jinchûriki has influenced you much." Obito said tauntingly.

"You're wrong." Kurama stated angrily, "True, hate has always been a strong part of me, but it hasn't always been my driving force. Unlike how you may think of us, we Bijuu have feelings; feelings that were born when Rikudô-jiisan was still here. Those feelings are what connect us to our Jinchûriki!" Kurama's right front leg slammed the ground beneath it as he gathered a large amount of chakra, preparing to launch the Tailed-Beast Bomb, "And depending on our Jinchûriki's feelings, our power will rise and fall along with it! Whether they're sad, happy or angry, we are their power! You…"

Naruto finally looked up and glared at Obito with his crimson-red eyes, "You…"

"You don't have the right to use Rikudô-jiisan's eye!"

"You won't hurt ANYONE ELSE!"

Right at that instant, chakra began to gather around the blonde Jinchûriki and his Bijuu in the shape of countless colored-orbs; some of them being a malicious dark red in color, while others seemed to shine with a type of transparent sky-blue, bordering on periwinkle. Those chakra orbs came up to Kurama's face where he waited with an open mouth. There, the chakra merged together and began to mold a gigantic orb not unlike the one that the Juubi was charging.

"Hm? So you want to test the Juubi's power? Interesting...let's see how strong you really are, Uzumaki Naruto." Obito said as he pointed an open palm towards Naruto, a gesture that the Juubi acknowledged as a command to take aim. Naruto narrowed his eyes before doing the same and pointed his yellow, chakra-coated palm towards Obito; his face hardened as he was eager to wipe that smug smirk off of his face. In response, Kurama also targeted the villain and his beast as well. The chakra generated by both beasts condensed and the result was earth-trembling, literally. The ground cracked and began trailing a web of fissures around them.

And then, as angry slitted red-eyes locked on to a pair of hetero-chromic eyes while another, much larger pair of crimson eyes locked on to the many eyes of its predecessor's Rinne-Sharingan...the fighters roared.

"BIJUU DAMA!"
"BIJUU DAMA!"

The roars of the commanding ninjas were soon followed by the roars of the two beasts behind their respective backs. Behind Naruto, Kurama launched his dark sphere of pure chakra and set it on collision course with Juubi's own sphere. And then…they clashed. The result was nothing short of a near apocalyptic tremor with an accompanying maelstrom. The clash of the two attacks had shaken the very foundation of the Earth itself. Before, Kurama had exchanged blasts with his brethrens a while before they were absorbed by the Gedo Mazo. The attack back then…couldn't compare.

They were fully aware of the effects of two Tailed-Beast Bombs clashing against each other, but by the looks of it they could not care less than they already did. Obito was too eager—excited, even—to demonstrate the power of the Ten-Tailed beast that is under his command. In contrast, Naruto was hell-bent on protecting his allies from being pulverized by that same attack. He'd do anything to win this battle.

Even if he has to channel all of his chakra for another attack.

Kurama noticed that his chakra reserves had suddenly spiked and was literally being re-fueled. His eyes widened in shock as he looked down at his jailor and almost roared through their mental contact, 'Oi, brat! What in the name of Kami do you think you're doing?!'

'Isn't it obvious?' Naruto asked back mentally. His body was still coated in Kurama's chakra, thus no one could see that he was sweating bullets underneath that chakra cloak. 'I'm giving you the last remains of my chakra. Use it and blast that fucker to kingdom come!'

'This is unnecessary!'Kurama bellowed, 'You don't have to do this! You already used up a lot of your chakra to fight that Uchiha; and even before that, you've used a considerable amount just to extract my chakra. If you do this, then you'll—!'

'Die? Possibly,' The nonchalant tone that the blonde used to interrupt Kurama's sentence was annoying, but he continued anyways, 'but we can't take chances. Don't forget that we're up against the strongest Bijuu in existence. If by sucking me dry of my chakra you can protect my friends—UGH!' Naruto lurched forward and clutched his right chest in pain. The almost alien feeling of unexpected pain didn't just creep up to his body; rather, it shot throughout all his nerves like a lightning bolt. He didn't know what this pain was. No...wait, that was wrong. The pain felt familiar...

The pain…it came from the…from the chest wound that Sasuke gave him? That couldn't be right; it was already ages ago. Naruto didn't get it; the wound was supposed to be healed after all that time. Was healing internal organs something that even Kurama's chakra couldn't do completely?

"…keh…a teme up until the end, huh?" Naruto muttered. He dropped to one knee as he was obviously trying very hard not to pass out right at that moment. He chuckled mirthlessly and resumed his mental conversation, 'Kurama…I'm begging you here. I can't protect my friends alone; not against a monster like that. So…please…please protect them.'

Kurama stared down at Naruto, who looked back at the giant fox with a grin and squinted eyes on his face, "I'm counting on you."

"….." Kurama fell silent; even as the clashing Tailed-Beast Bomb was being pushed back towards him and Naruto, Kurama stayed strangely calm. He clenched his jaws and let his teeth grind against each other. At the first look, it might seem that the fox was upset. On the contrary, however, his mouth broke into a wide grin which showed his white teeth and elongated fangs. This…this isn't the same kind of request as the blonde always made. This isn't a request to lend him power so that he can protect his friends…nor is it a request to fight alongside him as Jinchûriki and Bijuu. No, this is Naruto—that same fearless, unimaginable idiot he always was—entrusting the lives of his friends to Kurama. That was more than the fox would ever ask for…trust.

"Leave it to me." Kurama said, growling as he charged up his chakra again and ejected more of those red and blue orbs of chakra from his body. The chakra once again gathered and molded into a sphere before compressing again. This time, however, Kurama clamped his mouth down on the sphere and let it enter his body. He crouched low, readying himself for the attack that was to come.

Obito raised a curious eyebrow at the occurrence happening in front of him. All he saw was Kurama eating his own self-generated chakra before dropping to the ground, leaving the Uchiha unable to see the nine-tailed fox with the Bijuu Dama still clashing against each other in front of him 'Eating a mass of pure, condensed chakra? It's obvious that Kyuubi wouldn't be able to move freely with that in his stomach.' he thought while narrowing his eyes, 'What are they planning?'

"Now," Naruto began as he staggered to his feet. A sudden coming of wind blew his chakra cloak; the chakra shimmered, but it didn't disappear. The blonde then shouted his battle cry, one filled with unyielding determination, "SHOW HIM OUR POWER!"

Kurama's mouth began to emit smoke as his cheeks puffed. Then, by concentrating on his latent chakra and the chakra that Naruto gave him, he let out a roar of pure reddish-white energy beam straight towards the clashing Tailed-Beast Bombs, "Bijuu Dama: Hakai (Tailed-Beast Bomb: Destruction)!"

The speed it was going on is greater than the prior Bijuu Dama, and its power wasn't something to be trifled, either. In normal conditions, Kurama's special Bijuu Dama would crash into the two gargantuan Bijuu Dama spheres and explode on contact. However, thanks to Naruto's chakra also backing it up, the special Bijuu Dama was able to pierce through the two spheres while leaving a sizeable gaping hole on them in its wake. Obito, whose line of sight was blocked by the spheres, widened his eyes as he saw the bullet of destruction speeding towards him.

And all things seemed to vanish in a blinding white light. Not one slip of darkness was able to escape from the deadly light; even the sky seemed to burst in light like a million starry fireworks. The world seemingly stood still for only but a moment as it shook with a tremendous force. And then, after a period of near-apocalyptic condition, silence overcame the battlefield. The light, once so bright and powerful, was now replaced by their normal colors.

A pair of exhausted blue eyes scanned the area, not minding the disappearance of the yellow chakra once enshrouding his body. He didn't mind…..even if he was responsible for the annihilation of the surrounding area, he didn't mind.

Why? Because he—Uzumaki Naruto—had succeeded. He succeeded in protecting his friends, his allies, and the future of the shinobi world. Tobi…no, Uchiha Obito is finally dead. And, along with him, the Juubi was also annihilated. He WON!

"I…we…we did it. Kurama, WE DID IT!" Naruto exclaimed heartily. The translucent fox behind him grinned widely, feeling the same of joy that Naruto was feeling and, dare he say it he felt somewhat giddy, too. He would never had thought that he could defeat…well, his former self (he was a part of the Juubi, after all). Truthfully, he expected that last attack to leave no effect on the Ten-Tailed Beast at all, even though it was still half-revived and as such containing half of its original power. But, look at the reality! He was even able to fully incinerate it to the point where neither the Juubi's nor Obito's remains were left. "Yes, we did. I have to hand it to you, brat. Without the chakra you gave me, I wouldn't be able to blast those two away." Kurama's mouth turned into a toothy smirk, "You…would really give up anything for your friends, huh gaki?"

"You…bet, dattebayo!"

A breath came from Kurama's snout, making him look peculiarly relieved for some reason. He chuckled and closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly, "Hmph, once a brat always a brat, huh?"

"SAY WHAT?!" Naruto bellowed, pointing an offending finger at the giant fox. The fox just grinned maliciously—as he always did—at the blonde, "Heh, proved my point there. Anyway, it seems that we won't be able to maintain this mode much longer. Your chakra is already as depleted as it is, and I've never used up so much chakra in my hundred-year of life either."

"Yeah, I get your point. Frankly, I'm feeling tired as well. And you've done your part, so you might've as well earned yourself a nap."

"That would've been a good idea if you would renovate the mindscape you're holding me in." Kuramai said. His form then wavered; a tell-tale sign that Naruto was running out of chakra to keep him tangible. Nevertheless, Kurama still upheld that smirk of his.

"Meh, I'll do it later." Naruto shrugged. It wasn't really his problem if the fox felt that the damp sewer network that Naruto's mindscape was made up of felt uncomfortable; Kurama had stayed there for sixteen years and SURVIVED in that shithole, so it shouldn't have posed so much of a problem. But, in a way, Naruto felt responsible for at least changing the outlook of his mindscape. After all, it was the LEAST he could offer to Kurama for protecting his friends. He smiled warmly at the slowly disintegrating form of his Bijuu, "Thanks, Kurama. I owe you one."

"Meh, I'm keeping a tab on your IOUs, so I'll charge you lat—" The way Kurama's mouth moved signaled that he was going to say something else, but something made him stop. No, rather than stopped, it seemed that he was frozen solid as if someone used an extremely powerful Hyôton (Ice Style) jutsu to freeze, or something like an over-powered Kagemane (Shadow Possession). But that is impossible; Kurama the Nine-Tailed Fox wasn't such a being that could be easily bound by some second-rate jutsu like that. In fact, the only one who was able to stop him in his tracks was Uzumaki Kushina with her chakra chains.

No, the cause of his immobility wasn't a jutsu. As the fox's eyes shook, his jaw set agape, and his wavering face contorted in disbelief, the cause was something entirely different. "No…it's impossible!" Kurama let out, confusing Naruto with his strange demeanor. Before the blonde could ask anything regarding that, however, Kurama roared in…he couldn't believe it, but there was fear in his voice, "BRAT, RUN!" The Nine-Tailed Fox never did get to tell Naruto what he had to run from, exactly.

"O-Oi, what's wrong with you?" There wasn't a time that Kurama would show fear. Not even in the face of the Yondaime Hokage, who had defeated him in the past, did the fox ever showed fear. Yet, the fear he was showing was so palpable that it almost felt like a brick wall. The distressed tone that he used was just as unsettling. Just what was wrong with Kurama?

The question hanged on Naruto's mind for several long seconds. It never dawned on him that his answer would be so close; so close, even, that it managed to cast a shadow around him. Naruto blinked, wondering what darkened the sun so suddenly that there was only darkness around him. He turned around, expecting an answer as he cast a curious glance at the sun. Oh, he received more than an answer. First, there shouldn't be any sun that was colored so eerily purple that it was intimidating. Also, the sun shouldn't have multiple rings of tomoes that encircled it.

Now, at least he knew what scared Kurama. Maybe disappearing back into the seal was the best option for the nine-tailed fox…maybe. He couldn't blame him; the logic was sound, if not a bit humane. Fear the stronger. Frankly, he was sure that whatever fear that Kurama was feeling was justifiable by this…being in front of them.

Juubi.

How the beast survived, was a question beyond Naruto's comprehension. He was sure that there wasn't a trace of presence when he last saw it. Not to mention that, judging by the crazed laugh that accompanied the beast's revival, Obito apparently survived as well. "Wha…how in the freaking hell?"

"Hehe…AHAHAHAHAHA! How intriguing, Uzumaki Naruto!" the Uchiha laughed, "I never expected you to waste all of your chakra for a single attack. Ingenious, really; even I wouldn't be so brave to try a stunt such as that."

"How...HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!" Fear; palpable fear, not unlike the one that invaded Kurama's entire being, struck him like a vicious bolt of lightning. In the presence of the annihilator, that much was expected.

"How? It was pretty easy, actually." Obito said after gaining control over his laughs. "Your attack was…unexpected, that much I can say. Level two of the Bijuu Dama, the Bijuu Taihou (Tailed-Beast Cannon) isn't an ordinary attack. Nevertheless, you forgot about my Mangekyô Sharingan's power." Obito pointed his thumb towards his right eye; three swirling straight lines, set on a triangular formation on a red pupil, and grinned, "I simply transported myself along with the Juubi to another dimension. If I hadn't, I would surely be dead by now."

Naruto's face was one of shock and disbelief rolled in one go. How could he forget about that annoying ability?! That was one jutsu he had to be on guard for this entire time! How could he…..were all the efforts he'd done for nothing?

"Now, what's with the long face, eh? Come on, you should be grateful! With this, I can give you one spectacular show of fireworks, just like I have planned." Obito chuckled ominously, "I'm such a good person, aren't I?"

"Eh?" Naruto looked up. It seemed that he wasn't going to be squashed sooner or later, because Obito would've done that by commanding the Juubi to step on him like a rug. Instead, it seemed that the Juubi was charging…chakra? What is he—

"Oh…no." Naruto was barely able to say his words out loud as an idea permeated his mind. The idea was horrible, but it was the closest to reality as of the moment. Still, it was enough to bring him to his knees. Back on the Juubi's right shoulder, Obito cackled madly, "Remember what I said that life is all about the choices we make? You know what? I'm RIGHT! Now, because you chose to protect both your friends and your teachers even though I distinctively remember telling you to choose one…..you'll now lose BOTH!"

"N-No, please! Stop it! Don't hurt my friends, I'm begging you! I—if you want to kill me then kill me, but please let my friends go!" Naruto found himself tearing up again, this time. The thought of his friends killed by an oversized Bijuu Dama…was too much. He desperately reached out, clawing his way to prevent the horrible fate of his friends. Truthfully, he had never looked more pathetic. "PLEASE, OBITO!"

The Juubi paused just as it completed the Bijuu Dama. Looking through tear-filled eyes, Naruto hoped that Obito—no matter how evil he is—has a slight drop of humanity inside him still, and that he would spare his friends. However, the pair of Sharingan and Rinnegan that glared at him said otherwise. "Heh…hehehehe…HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's funny; you requested something impossible from me. My dear, dear Jinchûriki…if I spare your friends, how are you supposed to understand the weight of a choice?" Obito grinned; his smile was impossibly wide, giving him a deranged look as he glared down at Naruto.

"Please…please…"

"Now, KILL THEM ALL, JUUBI!" At Obito's command, the Ten-Tailed Beast opened its mouth and clamped it down on the Bijuu Dama it created. A thunderous boom resounded as the Juubi's stomach inflated because of the chakra, but the booming sound didn't hold a candle to the one resounding when the Juubi let out its attack. "Bijuu Dama: Baionoido (Tailed Beast Bomb: Annihilator)!"

The blast of chakra that followed was...one of incomparable power. Even the air was dispersed when the head of the beam flew. The very particles that the air was constructed of were utterly annihilated; such was the erasing nature of the Juubi's chakra. Naruto expected no less from the beast. But it didn't help him to negate the sudden pain in his heart when the beam made contact with its target, resulting in a humongous explosion.

A humongous explosion that he knew his friends should be caught up in.

Utterly speechless, Naruto could only look on in pure agony as images of his friends glided around his mind; gleaming pictures that, for a moment, blinded his vision and didn't even let him see his surroundings. Faces invaded his sight; the familiar faces of his friends. And, in an instant, he felt his mind leave his body.

The ravaged world that made up his surroundings was replaced with a world filled with white light and nothing else. He stared hollowly with an unreadable expression on his face. He had been to this place several times before…even though those times were momentary he could still remember the feeling of being in the place. Actually, that wasn't even what he was staring at. No, his eyes were locked on the figures of the many people that appeared in front of him in that white-white world.

"Everyone…"

There were so many people there. So many of them that had light coming off from their bodies and chains coming out from their chest—a tell-tale sign that proved that they were, after all, dead. Naruto's body shook as he caught sight of his fellow Konoha ninjas, all in the same state as the other people he saw. There was too much…too much people crossing over to the other side.

"I'm…I'm so sorry."

An apology wasn't enough, he had thought. A simple apology couldn't be enough to ask for their forgiveness. They believed in him, damn it! He was supposed to protect them; he was destined to! They were his responsibility, and the fact that he couldn't uphold that task…

Strangely, none of them looked at him with disdain or disappointment. Their eyes looked as if they were just as sorry as he is. One by one, they began to vanish in a spark of blinding light. Naruto took a deep intake of air; he didn't expect them to disappear this quickly and so suddenly. Instinctively, he rushed forward towards the only group of people he knew in that herd of people.

The infamous Konoha Eleven; the ragtag group of newbie in this war...his friends. He almost felt like his chest got split open when he saw the familiar glow of pink on green and black. He shut his eyes immediately. It wasn't that the glow blinded him, nor was it that the person that exuded that glow looked horrible and posed as an eyesore.

No, in his eyes, the girl known as Haruno Sakura was the farthest thing away from ugly. It wasn't her appearance that made him close his eyes, although the sight of her faintly glowing body and the chain protruding from her chest were some contributing factors. No, it was her presence; more than anything that he felt guilty of was the fact that she was THERE, in that world of light. Damn it, he couldn't even look at her in the eyes.

Unseen to Naruto's closed eyes, Sakura along with the other Konoha Eleven smiled at him, almost looking like wanting to comfort him with those smiles. Turning around, the girl whose hair was a mirror to her name nodded to her comrades. "It's time." The dreaded words came straight out of her mouth. She received a couple of nods, though she could still see Hinata silently crying in the back. She frowned sadly; Hinata didn't deserve this. She was always behind everyone even though she is stronger than any of them really is. It was almost unfair that she didn't even get the chance of meeting Naruto again in the world of the living. But…they were already using too much time as they were, and as unfair as it sounds, they have to leave.

"Guys, wait!" He chased after their shimmering bodies; try as he might, though, there wasn't much that he could do as they were disappearing faster than his legs could carry him. Eventually, they were completely enveloped in a bright white light. Naruto tried to run faster, but that action led him to trip on his own steps and fall flat on his stomach. He grunted and looked up from the ground, "Wait... I still...I don't want to lose you yet."

They smiled at him.

Kami, they didn't know how that smile wrenched his heart so much. It was as if applying salt to the wound.

They smiled at him, and then they disappeared. Along with them, the light-filled world also did the same. By that time, Naruto found himself back in the battle-ravaged world he was in before, staring with a dreadful expression on the black spot that…well, he assumed that the spot was where Juubi's blast hit. He glanced behind him, and wasn't so surprised to find the Juubi's unmoving form glaring down at him. He frowned, a little confused as to why the gigantic Bijuu hadn't attack him yet. Maybe time had stopped while he was in that light-filled world? Perhaps; but he didn't have any more time now. He was now alone, facing the Juubi as well as Obito.

Is there no more hope for him?

The sound of crumbling earth reached his ears. The strange thing was that the Juubi wasn't even moving, which indicated that the sound came from somewhere else. He focused on the sound, realizing that it was coming from the Juubi's back. Then, along with the sound of crumbling earth, came the sound of…..rap?

"AAAAH, that hurt like a bitch~! Hah, just kidding, it didn't even itch~! Urgh…my head is spinning though…" Killer Bee rose up from the ground he was buried in. It seemed that his Bijuu mode protected him from the brunt of the Juubi's tail attack, thus the reason why he was still here. Obito turned around to give the Jinchûriki of Kumogakure a withering glance, albeit with a bit of annoyance in those two different eyes.

"Hmph…so you're still alive after all that? I guess I have to say I'm impressed. I should've expected this, though, since you ARE the perfect Jinchûriki." Obito said.

Bee didn't retort, however. If one were to look closely, Bee was having trouble just having to breathe normally. Even now, he was trying to hold back the cough of blood that had accumulated in his throat. Medical observation suggested that he was sporting a busted lung, creating a problem for his air circulatory system. If anything, Bee's eyes—now uncovered by his usual sunglasses; revealing deep black orbs—or more precisely the whites of his eyes that had turned bloodshot red was enough proof that he was injured badly.

Obito noticed this, and his grin returned, "Oh? So you didn't get away with it unscathed, I see?" His left hand rose, commanding the Juubi's two tails to descend on Bee. Not being able to move, Bee was caught easily by the two tails and was brought to the Juubi's front and center. Obito smirked as he locked eyes with the Eight-Tails Jinchûriki who was now glaring as best as he could with his bloodshot eyes. "Splendid. Even if you are bound to lose, you still have the will to fight me. Truly splendid, indeed." Bee twitched at the comment, which didn't go unnoticed by Obito.

The tails binding Bee tightened considerably, almost crushing the dark-skinned man's arms. Obito sneered, "Any last words?"

Gritting his teeth in pain, he spared another glare at Obito before he glanced from his shoulder to Naruto. He fell silent as he took in the look on the blondee's face; it was obvious to both of them that they couldn't win. Not now, nor ever. 'I don't know what to say. I guess we overestimated our ability, even though Brother taught me humility~….sorry, Naruto.'

Then, with a hoarse voice as if a cat got stuck between his throat, Bee growled dangerously at Obito, "Your…rap…is…crap~ Fool! Ya fool!"

Silence replaced the noise that was once created. A moment later, a grin crossed Obito as a crazed look appeared on his face. "Is that so?" Not a moment later, the tails holding Bee released him and let him fall to the ground. However, Bee never got the chance to touch ground as he fell into the Juubi's awaiting right hand. With a primal roar, the Juubi then tightened its grip on Bee, breaking almost all of his upper and lower body bones. A pain-filled, agonized cry pierced through the air as Bee felt that his bones were literally being turned into dust.

Naruto looked hopeless. He couldn't do anything at this point; he couldn't even save his fellow Jinchûriki from his imminent fate. He could only…watch helplessly. He went over his current condition; chakra level: zero, stamina: zero, sanity: …bordering zero, but he was close to snapping under the pressure.

Eventually, Bee's bone-breaking treatment stopped. The man was already spewing blood from his mouth, and it was hard not to notice the oddly limp limbs he sported when the Juubi threw him upwards again before catching the man with both of its giant hands. The Juubi then followed up with an action that would possibly be the breaking point of Uzumaki Naruto's sanity. It pulled on Bee's arms and legs to opposite sides, splitting the man in two as easy as toilet paper.

Blood rained everywhere from Bee's severed body, looking like a red fountain shooting out from his torso. Following the torrent of blood were several intestines that fell to the ground with a sickening splat sound. Naruto stared blankly at the red spot that Bee's remains was lying on; shock was already reigning over his body by now, and he was paralyzed—petrified, even. Memories of his times with Bee flashed between his eyes, but they were instantly replaced by Bee's dead expression on his face. And all went red in an instant.

"Uh…ugh…UWAAAAAAAH!" Screaming bloody murder was the only thing he could do. Other than that, he could do nothing. Not protecting his friends, not protecting his allies, his sensei, his fellow Jinchûriki, or the ninja world itself. Kami, he never felt so helpless. Right at that time, Naruto started to hyperventilate. He desperately clutched his right lung almost as if he was trying to rip it out rather than forcing it to breath.

Obito looked down on Naruto's quivering form. Blood had dirtied part of his face. Taking notice of this, he used his glove to wipe away the blood; Killer Bee's blood. Staring at his bloodied glove, he raised an eyebrow curiously. "So this is how a Jinchûriki's blood looks like. What a surprise; I thought it would have a different color. I guess he's just a normal human, after all." He shrugged carelessly before throwing away his glove. It wasn't as if he still needed it, anyway.

Turning his attention to Naruto once again, Obito frowned when he saw that Naruto hadn't moved from his previous spot at all. He clicked his tongue, sounding almost disappointed. "Now, now, Naruto, I thought that at least you would have some more fight left in you, ne? But it seems that you don't have it anymore. Shame, and here I thought I'd be able to enjoy playing with you some more. Oh well, I guess I just have to settle with seeing your blood color. Killer Bee's blood doesn't seem interesting, but I wonder about yours...?" Obito's mad grin came back; he looked delighted at the thought of seeing more blood.

Naruto kept silent as he looked at the Uchiha. Not a single word was uttered between them for the next passing minutes. Obito didn't even have the urge to comment as he usually did because he was busy staring at the disturbing sight in front of him.

A smile. On that face partly painted in blood spots was the most disturbing smile that Obito had ever set his eyes on. He shuddered slightly when he took Naruto's face as a whole; a tick of a nerve on his temples, dilated bloodshot eyes with his pupils turning red with slits, and that wavering smile. Wavering as it may be, though, it still was a disturbing smile.

"Hah…Hahah…HAHAHAHAHA!" The laugh was Naruto's. That crazed, uncaring yet passionate laugh was Naruto's. It was an obvious fact.

He snapped.

Obito grinned maniacally. It seemed that he had succeeded in destroying the blonde Jinchûriki's mind. "Well, well... it seems that you've reached your breaking point." His bare right hand raised high before it fell down and pointed an open palm at Naruto. "Farewell, Uzumaki Naruto."

Once again, the Juubi began charging its chakra and released it in the form of numerous chakra orbs. As per procedure, the chakra condensed and entered Juubi's mouth, traveled down its throat and nestled in its chakra-filled abdomen. There, it began to churn and twist as a fusion reaction between two forms of pure chakra began to merge. And yet, throughout the whole process, Naruto kept laughing. The laugh didn't die down, nor did it sound like it was going to end sooner or later. The whisker-marked blonde didn't take into the account that the laugh he was eliciting was pushing his body over the edge; forcing his injured right lung to shrink and enlarge abnormally. In short, he was breaking his lung.

Despite everything, he kept laughing. Bits of Kurama's malevolent chakra seeped through his skin and twisted in the air as he did. However, if one were to look past the twister of red chakra and the crazed look pasted on Naruto's face, they would find that Naruto was not a lost cause. Not yet, anyway. As tears trailed down his cheeks furiously before being swept away by the furious winds, the eyes that generated the salty water were shifting. In the end, Naruto held a pair of hetero-chromic eyes; his right one was blue, while his left was still blood-red with a slit.

It was a struggle of the mind. Naruto's sanity was hanging on its last string. At this point, there was a chance that he could actually survive his imminent death. He could do something; something like turning to run like hell or to charge at Juubi with the assumption that Obito had enough sanity to not make a point-blank shot that would kill all of them. Yet, Naruto didn't choose any of these viable options.

Instead, he prayed. Dropping to his knees and raising his head to glare at the skies, he prayed one last thing with the only sanity left in his mind to form the correct words. 'Kami… if You're really there, then would You grant me one last wish? Just one before I die? I've been Your pet for my whole life and endured what You've thrown at me the whole time, so I suppose it's only fair…' He ignored the fact that the Juubi's stomach was rumbling, and the fact that its eyes was glaring down at him as if pinpointing its next target.

'I wish… that this chaotic, upside-down world called the Ninja World…would cease to exist.'

"DIE, JINCHÛRIKI!" The Juubi's mouth finally opened, revealing the accumulated chakra forming in his throat. "Bijuu Dama: BAIONOIDO!"

In the middle of the bright light that consumed everything, one Uzumaki Naruto smiled. A sudden thought of irony crossed his mind. He knew that this wasn't the time for it, but he remembered that his whole life he had been shouting "Dattebayo (lit. Believe it)!" The catchphrase itself wasn't the point here. But Naruto was a man of his words, and if that one catchphrase meant anything at all…then he would believe in God's decision.

Amidst the deadly light...the beast was slain.

-xo-

What you're running away from,
is the demon in your heart…
What you want to prevent,
is the needless flowing of one's blood…

To break an eternal curse,
is a waste of time…
Open your eyes,
as an act of atonement…

A disaster shall awaken,
a massacre shall repeat…
Accompany the festival,
to open a new path…

-xo-

The first thing he felt was the cold. It was nothing short of a chilly frostbite, as if he was lying down on snow hill like the ones in Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron) with no clothes on. The next was pain; pain that completely enveloped his eyes as he tried to open them. It almost felt like staring straight at the sun with no protection, a continuous burst of nerves that resulted in a blinding whiteout. Last but definitely not the least was the cramp that his body was under reigned of. It actually felt like he hadn't move in years.

When he was finally able to open his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of a red ceiling with pipes decorating it. His body cramp subsided, replaced by the sudden increase in the cold that he felt. He jerked upwards in shock, noticing the splashing sound that he made as he did. He looked down, realizing that he had been lying in murky waters the whole time.

No wonder it was so cold. He was in a freaking sewer.

"Where…?" His mouth let out. He let the question hang in the air; not because he was taking time to familiarize himself with his surroundings, but because his mind just went blank. Blank, as in, there wasn't anything in it. No memories or anything; it was as bare as it could be safe for the usual natural train of thought. He shook his head slightly in effort to try and bring back something, anything that would at least fill the unusual emptiness in his head.

Still, nothing came.

He frowned. Eventually, he gave up thinking about it and made to rise up to his feet. Halfway through the process—he just got up in a squatting position—he noticed a face on the water surface. Curious, he bent over and looked at it, wondering if this boy—the figure looked too young to be a full-grown man—staring back at him knew where he is. The boy, as he could depict, had the most striking color of yellow as his spiky hair's hair color and eyes that were colored the deepest blue in contrast of his bright hair color. The murky sewer water shaded it, but he could guess that this guy was quite tanned. What drew his attention, however, was the three thin whisker marks on both of his cheeks—three on the left, three on the right—that resembled a tattoo.

It required him several more moments to realize that this guy was his reflection as his hands reached out to his own cheeks.

"Who…who is this?" he wondered aloud. Not a minute later, another question sprung up, "Who am I?"

Suddenly, a rumbling noise echoed throughout the sewer pathway. The sound was low-pitched, but it had enough force behind it to shake the entire sewer. The blonde rose up to his feet, eyeing the end of the path with a suspicious look. The end of the path was dark, but he noticed that—as he walked towards it—the darkness seemed to dissipate and was instead illuminated by a mysterious source of light.

'This truly is a strange place…' he thought. He had never heard of a place that would be convenient enough to be illuminated for those who walked into it. He had the suspicion that the mysterious source of light that cleared his path was he himself, but he chuckled at how juvenile that sounded.

Mindscape.

"GAH!" A sudden blast of pain made itself known in the blonde's head. He clutched his head with both hands, desperately trying to clear away the sudden headache that assaulted him. His messy hair was getting even more messed up by the grip of his hands. Every nerve in his head was throbbing heavily; so loud that the throbbing sound was the only thing his eardrums could pick up.

Then, as soon as the headache came, it disappeared. The blonde was left writhing on the watery ground on all fours trying to control his haggard breathing. "M-Mindscape?" he asked aloud to no one else in particular. He didn't know who or what spoke to him, telling that word. The crazy thing was he noticed that no one was around him. How did the information enter his mind, if that's the case? Worse, he felt that the information wasn't spoken; rather, it just appeared in his mind.

"…I need to find a way out of here." With that in mind, he then resumed his walk down the path.

After a long moment of walking, he stumbled upon the strangest thing he had ever seen. It seemed like a giant prison; judging by its width and height, it was supposedly able to hold twenty-two thousand elephants by itself. What was even more disturbing than that, however, was the fact that it was completely ransacked. The prison bars were bent in all kinds of ways; some even got halved and was lying harmlessly on the wet ground. From this, the blonde concluded one thing that was pretty obvious to him. Whatever the prison previously, it was out of its cage and was somewhere else. And anything that needed a prison that big must be dangerous, as well.

The blonde walked towards the broken prison, intending to inspect it closer. He was sort of nervous as he had the feeling that he would be jumped at anytime. His nervousness disappeared eventually when he noticed a hovering black orb on the back wall of the prison. He tilted his head as if questioning the black orb about its existence. Knowing that probing on a flying black orb wasn't going to get him anywhere, he shrugged and made to touch the black orb. He was pleasantly surprised when he felt no resistance when he touched it. "So…it's a black hole instead of a black orb?" he asked aloud again.

"I better see what's on the other side. Hopefully, this will be my way out of this place." He then pushed himself forward with his right arm going through first. As his whole body passed through the hole, he was once again greeted by a strange sight. Wherever he is, it must've been weightless judging by the numerous objects hovering around him. On a closer inspection, those 'objects' looked more like crystal shards with a colorful glow in them; each having their own, individually different glow.

"Out of a sewer…" the blonde breathed out, "and into space, huh? What's wrong with this place, anyway?"

A stray shard drifted near him, seemingly out of its orbital path. The whisker-marked boy grabbed it and looked into the soft glow that the shard emanated. The glow was translucent, but it was bright enough to shine its own light like a star. Multiple colors stirred in the crystal and the glow was reflected on the blonde's blue eyes. "It's beautiful…" he said. He kept looking into the shard and was able to make out several colors that stood out from the rest.

And at that instant, flashes of memories invaded his mind; memories that he somehow knew wasn't his. He stood there, unblinking as the shard in his hand glowed even more brightly with such intense light that it was almost blinding. The memories played in his head like a worn-out movie player. He saw a teenage boy with purple eyes and brown hair that was lazily spiked downwards beating the hell out of two girls which had green and brown hair respectively. He couldn't depict their eye color; not just because of the mere fact that their eyes were closed, but because their faces were literally smashed in by the steel baseball bat in the brown-haired boy's hands.

It took all the boy had not to vomit at the horrid sight, and it took all his willpower not to pass out from the memory overload. Instinctively, he threw away the shard after realizing that it was the source of his current pain. He breathed heavily, wiping the sweat off his brows. "What…the hell was that?" he asked shakily. He cursed; he was receiving more questions without having the sufficient amount of answers to balance it. He didn't like it one bit. Moreover, the memories that he saw was imprinted in his mind. Still, he knew that somehow those weren't his memories. The feeling of at least SOMETHING in his mind was refilling, but it still felt hollow at the same time.

After wiping his face clean from his sweat, he looked around. He still hadn't found an exit, and judging by how unexpected things had become in this place, he REALLY need an exit. However, he heard voices that stopped him from going anywhere else.

"I see… Would….somehow….return?"

'What? There's another person here?' The blonde frantically looked around for any signs of life.

"No…..impossible to do….not God."

Now the blonde was certain that rather than a person there seemed to be two people here. 'Where? Where are they?' After some moments of looking around, the blonde momentarily gave up as he nearly sprained his next from the last twist. His eyes then caught sight of two enshrouded figures dead-ahead in front him, around twenty feet or so. He ran forward, palming away some shards that got close to him in fear of his mind being assaulted again. He stopped when the two figures finally came into his range of sight.

The first one was definitely male, that much he could depict. A tall man—perhaps a head taller than the blonde—whose shoulder-length hair was a striking orange and a little bit spiky, yet still retaining its straight pattern. He was slightly tanned, and his lean figure was covered by a red battle-kimono which was tied with an obi with nine ends. That was strange; considering that an obi couldn't have an odd number of ends (it was practically a cloth being used as a belt, after all, so one obi should've had two ends). The other strange thing was that the obi was worn backwards so the ends were sprouting from his back waist. The man was barefooted, thus the blonde could see the slightly elongated claws on his toes. Come to think of it, his fingernails looked elongated as well.

The man's facial features were quite feral, if anything. A single canine protruding from his lips, a pointed nose, red irises with slits in his eyes, but the most curious thing was three whisker marks on both sides of the man's cheek. Those marks were not unlike the ones on his cheeks. He could see all of these characteristics because the man's attention was already on him the moment they were in the blonde's range of sight, and so they faced each other.

The orange-haired man grinned as he spoke, "He's here." At that point, the blonde noticed the presence of another person besides the orange-haired man. He didn't saw the person before because she—judging by the long blue hair the person sported; it was a she—was really short. No, scratch that, she was an utter midget!

Not that the blonde was saying that she was so short that she didn't even reach his knees. No, her height was fairly normal for a child. Which was the disturbing factor; why would a mere girl be here of all places? The girl's blue hair framed her face and her bangs shielded her eyes, so there wasn't much to see for her facial features. Other than that, the girl was wearing a light green, one-piece sundress and was barefooted as well.

Seriously, was he the only one in this place with enough common sense to wear some footwear?

He didn't have much time to wonder about that as the girl raised her head so that her face was clear to the blonde. He was right; the girl was only a girl. But on a closer look, there was this commanding feature on her face that showed no weakness or vulnerability at all. If anything, she looked quite intimidating with that sneer on her face. But what scared the blond—scared, frightened; all the kinds of fear—were her eyes. Her pupils were a pair of menacing purple orbs, and there was also the red dot in the middle of the pupils that unnerved the blonde.

"Greetings," the girl spoke up with a much more mature voice than he had expected, "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Wha-?" It was only by mere nano-seconds; that was what it took for everything to come back like a forceful tidal wave. Everything, the memories of his life, the memories that was the perfect fit for that hollow crack in his mind…it all came back in one explosion, forcing myriad of pictures into his mind. "UGH! UWAAAAAAAHHHH!" He was once again tipping to the brink of having his mind short out. What's worse was that his freshest memory came back and it refused to go away; the memories of the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Just as he was about to lose his mind, he felt a grip on his shoulder and the pain on his head dissipated just like that. He opened his eyes and saw the orange-haired man looking at him with narrowed eyes. The grip on his shoulder was tight, but Naruto wondered how this man could prevent himself from clawing him even though his fingernails were literally in Naruto's shoulder. "Get a grip, brat. We didn't make you remember all those things just so you forget about it again."

That voice… Naruto knew that voice. He was forced to hear that voice for as long as he could remember, so it was hard not to remember who that voice belonged to. "K-Kurama?"

The orange-haired man nodded affirmatively. Naruto stared at the man in front of him with wide eyes, unable to believe that his theory was correct. "What…the hell happened to you?"

"Well…" The man, now affirmed as the same Kurama that became Naruto's Bijuu, looked past his shoulder for a bit before turning to face Naruto again, "Let's just say that this is the after-effect of overusing my chakra."

"You ran out of chakra and turned into a guy straight out of girl magazine? That's convenient." Naruto stated with a blank look on his face. Kurama growled dangerously at the blonde, showing his elongated canines. "Let me get something straight here. I OVERUSED my chakra, not RAN OUT of it. That's something that you humans experience when you push your limits. Secondly, I have no idea about this girl magazine, but I certainly AM NOT from any of them."

"Woah, you still retained the cranky attitude." Naruto said, sweat-dropping.

Kurama continued growling at Naruto for some more moments, though it didn't last as he finally gave a relieved chuckle at their current predicament. In turn, Naruto chuckled as well. "It's good to see you back to your normal self, brat." Kurama said, giving the blonde a half-sarcastic smirk.

"Well, I can't say 'likewise', since I'll need to get used to seeing you in a human form. But, anyway, it's nice to see you too, dattebayo." Naruto said as he shot a grin at the taller male who was formerly his Bijuu.

A cough brought their attention back to the mysterious blue-haired girl that said Naruto's name before. Kurama turned his head towards her and had the decency to look sheepish as he scratched his head. "Ah, sorry, I forgot about you for a while there."

"Forgot? Is my presence so transparent that it escapes your mind?" the girl asked sarcastically, an annoyed frown on her cute little face. Surprisingly, Kurama found the look a bit too intimidating for his liking; if the slight jumble on his words meant anything at all, it might possibly be a sign of Kurama's discomfort, "N-No, not at all. It's just that I kind of thought that you jumped the gun and shoved the whole memories of his alter-selves into his mind." Seeing the disbelieving look on the girl's face, Kurama continued frantically, "Hey, I have the right to be worried as well, you know! After all, my life IS connected to his, so it's only natural!"

"Hmph. I knew that." The girl simply closed her eyes as if deciding that Kurama wasn't worth her time.

"Oi, Kurama, who's the sarcastic girl?" Naruto whispered quietly behind Kurama's back. Turning his head to glance at the blonde, Kurama cast him an uninterested look before asking him back, "Why don't you find out for yourself? You seem curious enough about it."

"Are you crazy or something? Oh, wait, don't answer that. How do you think I, a normal human being, should talk to a girl that could scare YOU, a freaking Bijuu?!" By now, Naruto's whisper was getting obviously angry, even though he thought that he was doing a pretty good job keeping his voice down. Of course, ever the oblivious blonde, he didn't realize the fact until the girl he was talking about stepped forward and closed the distance between them slowly. Naruto flustered suddenly when he noticed the piercing look from the little girl's eyes that seemed to bore into his very being. Granted, the scary purple eyes were gone—normal purple irises replaced those deep purple with red dilated pupils—but it could still classify as a Dôjutsu (Eye Technique) just by the fact that the cold, calculating look was intimidating.

"Uhh…hm, ah…how're you doing?" A lame question to start a conversation, of course, but lame was better than nothing at all. He was relieved when he saw a spark of amusement crossed the blue-haired girl's eyes.

"Hmhmm…Kurama was right, you do act like an idiot from time to time." She suddenly stated.

"Say what?!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. With a comically pissed-off expression he pointed an offending finger at the short girl, almost poking her on the forehead. "I dare you say that again, you midget! I double-dare you!"

To his surprise—not to mention pure aggravation—the girl merely chuckled, looking amused by the sight in front of her. She inclined her head to Kurama, who was now standing beside Naruto with the same amused expression on his face. "Is he always this juvenile?"

"Sadly, yes. And to say that I was shocked when I first realized it would be a gigantic understatement."

"I see."

"OI, STOP TALKING LIKE I'M NOT HERE ALREADY!" It was a fact that Naruto craved attention (and he still does), and being ignored was one of the things that would annoy him to no end.

The girl sighed, "I thought you were curious to who I am. You seemed interested up until a few minutes ago." She sounded strangely disappointed... well, okay, ALMOST strangely disappointed. It wasn't like Naruto could discern anything from the looks of her stern face. "Er...yeah, actually. Who are you? And how do you know my name? Furthermore, where are we right now and why is it that there are flying shards everywhere? And-!"

"Well, well, aren't you the anxious one?" The girl cut off, chuckling as she did so. "Let's start off by answering those question one by one, shall we?"

Naruto's one-sided ranting came to a halt after the girl's interruption. Inhaling some air that he didn't know that he needed, Naruto then repeated his questions albeit more slowly, "Alright… I guess we can start by your name. Or, more exactly, who exactly are you?" Kurama looked at the blonde with an expressionless glance. On a closer inspection, it was obvious that he was indirectly asking "See what I mean?" rhetorically to Naruto, even though the blonde didn't show any signs of noticing it.

"Hmm... That's a good question." The girl simply said before a smirk overtook her face, "But an even better question would be; who are YOU, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto blinked owlishly as he tried to understand the girl's question. Try as he might, though, he wasn't blessed with the adequate IQ level that could decipher such a riddle. So, with a tilted head and squinted eyes (and the Uzumaki trademark that patented it as Naruto's original look), he shot another question at the girl, "Uh…is that a trick question?"

Again, the girl chuckled. Naruto had, by this point, understood that the sarcastic chuckle was actually a sign of positive humor. So, he accepted the way it sounded; he still couldn't help but feel annoyed by the sarcastic tone that the chuckle held, since it felt that the girl was mocking him. "It is only a normal question out of curiosity. A person such as you should obviously know who he is, should you not?"

"Erm… I guess?" Naruto let out; scratching his head after hearing the blue-haired girl's riddled statement. "Well, I don't know how to answer that, but…I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and nothing else. I suppose so." Naruto hesitantly added the last part. He was so caught up in his confusion that he missed Kurama's jibe, "No shit, Shinichi(1)."

Despite the so-so answer, the girl nodded and looked satisfied enough. "Well said. I already know who you are from the start, so further introduction is unnecessary."

Naruto pouted at the remark, "You made it sound like my introduction isn't worth it."

"That's because I did." The girl stated as-a-matter-of-factly, earning a growl from the blonde. Seeing the offending look on the blonde's face, the girl frowned and closed her eyes. When she opened her them again, Naruto was again scared out of his undergarments by the purple eyes and devilish red spot in the middle. "If you know what's good for you," The girl said, her voice taking a more ominous turn, "you'll silence your mouth."

"*gulp*H-Hai…"

Nodding once more, the girl's eyes returned to their natural color. "Very well, then. Let me introduce myself." The girl began with her normal voice, which still sounded far more mature than she actually looked, "I am the watcher of worlds and events. My name…is Frederica Bernkastel, the Saint of Time and Space." The girl then stretched out her arms, gesturing to the surrounding area, "Welcome to my realm."

Naruto looked at the girl, a little confused by her foreign-sounding name. Actually, he didn't know which confused him more; the part that this girl had a foreign name, the part that she was a freaking SAINT (which was saying much), or the fact that his knees were trembling by the force of her words alone. It could be all of those jumbled into one; that was a possibility. But no matter how he saw it, there was one thing that he was clear of.

She was no mere girl.

To think that even her words could weigh so much that he was barely able to stand…the idea proved the hypothesis. He carefully mouthed the girl's name, trying to get his tongue used to say the name, "Fu…Fure…Furederika?"

Frederica merely chuckled at Naruto's attempt on spelling her name, "Hmhmm…not bad. Unfortunately, the name you spoke of belongs to my counterpart."

"Eh? What's that suppose to mean?" Naruto's question was declined by Frederica, who shook her head. "That is a story for another time. For now, I'll need you to hear me out for a while."

"Um, before you explain anything, would you tell me where we are right now?" Naruto asked, carefully watching his tone as to not anger the girl. Damn, he had to admit, even though he was a fearless, unmannered teen, this girl had completely changed his attitude and mannerism. "Really, I don't mind a half-assed explanation about this place itself, but I need to know why there's an entrance to this kind of place inside my mind and how Kurama's cage was broken."

Fortunately, Frederica smiled quietly before speaking up to explain that particular detail. "Your confusion is quite understandable. However, I think Kurama is more suited to explain it to you. Kurama?" The orange-haired man then nodded before turning to Naruto and locked eyes with him. "Well, I was actually knocked out when I first came back from the fight we had. When I woke up, the cage was already as you saw it. I suspect that the seal had worn off some time in my sleep. Did you do anything to it?"

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction. Could it be that the cage broke when he temporarily lost his mind? It's possible; after all, the only thing that held the seal strong was Naruto's willpower. When that willpower disappeared…then perhaps that was what triggered the cage's downfall. Instead of conveying this, however, Naruto shook his head in a subtle denial. "N-No, nothing that I know of…"

Kurama raised an eyebrow, but soon shrugged as he thought nothing of the blonde's answer. "Hm…oh well, it happened. Anyway, sometime after I woke, a portal opened up at the back of the cage. It was small, but I was able to fit in when I touched it. And thus, I arrived in this place."

"Were you already, uh…human-like when you entered the portal?"

"Well, yes, actually I was." Kurama said, blinking several times in confusion, "Like I said, I became like this after I overused my chakra. My real body is consisted of chakra, after all, so it reacts to the increase and decrease of my chakra. I reverted to this form to prevent myself from releasing too much chakra as I would have if I'm in my real form."

"So, it's like preserving your chakra?"

"In a sense, yes." Kurama said, nodding his head. "It's not like this is the first time it happened." The statement was blunt, but the thing that surprised Naruto was how normal Kurama made it sound like. It was as if the fox-turned-man already experienced this several times before. "Wait, this has happened before?"

"Urgh, don't tell me you forget about that time after the chakra tug-of-war fight on that turtle island."

"Ah…yeah, I didn't get to see you again after that whole thing." Naruto said, scratching his cheek and looking sheepish, "Though, if I had, then I would've laughed on how 'humane' you now look!" His joke was enlightening, but it still rewarded him with a hard bump to his head and an annoyed growl. "Watch it, brat. You're lucky that I'm in this form; otherwise I would've already wiped that grin off of your face."

"I'd like to see you try, fur-ball! Dattebayo!" Naruto growled back.

"Why you little…" Kurama said under his breath, his hands spread as his nails grew an inch longer in effect with a noticeable "ching" sound. The conflict would've continued if Frederica didn't interrupt them by clearing her throat. When both males had their attention pointed towards her, she gave the death glare that they had both came to fear. Heck; there was a bit of spiritual energy mixed into the glare as well, so it might've been equivalent to an overpowered Sharingan. "Aren't we getting a bit out of topic here?"

"H-Hai…" Naruto and, strangely, Kurama said in chorus. Were it any other time, Naruto would've laughed at how scared Kurama was sounding. But considering the fact that he was nearly shitting his pants himself, he chose to be the wiser one and kept silent. Well, as silent as his clattering mouth could let him.

Frederica smiled before her eyes softened and the glare subsided, making the two males release the breath that they didn't know they were holding. "Good." The girl began, "Then perhaps this is a good time to explain why you both are here."

"Yeah, I've been curious about that, too. It's not every day that I get stranded in an unlimited space with a fox spirit and a saint of time…or whatever you said you were." Naruto admitted. Frederica just looked at him blankly before she turned around and brought her right hand up in front of her. Naruto quirked an eyebrow, curious of what she was doing. "What're you doing?" Instead of answering him, Frederica just kept silent and kept her form as still as possible. Seconds passed and Naruto began to think that she was ignoring him on purpose. Before he could shoot a remark, however, a crystal shard came hovering towards her hand.

"….I don't get why this world ended like that. Seeing how the other worlds ended, you should've won the battle." Frederica suddenly said. Naruto frowned; whatever she was getting at, he didn't like the sound of it. "What do you mean?" he inquired.

"This world... Well, I had thought that your world is as predictable as the other ones, but it seems I was wrong." The blue-haired girl turned around and handed the shard to Naruto, "Here, take a look."

Naruto looked at the shard as it drifted its way towards him. He eyed the shard strangely as he saw images that were familiar to him. He narrowed his eyes at Frederica, looking angered for some unknown reasons. "What the hell is this?" he growled out, "This thing…what the hell is this?!"

"Ah, right to the point, are we?" the girl chuckled a bit before continuing, "What you're holding is what I would like to call…a Shard of Time."

"Shard of Time?"

"It is the embodiment of multiple memories from various people in a particular world jumbled into one. In a sense, this shard is created along with the existence of memories in the world it represents. Without the memories, a shard cannot be constructed." Frederica gestured her hand to another shard, which came hovering towards her just like the first one she summoned. "Understanding this, there are two kinds of shards that I've familiarized myself with. The first kind is the one consisting of fresh, unaltered memories. The worlds that had these kinds of memories are often unstable and often left me in curiosity. For that reason, I name these kinds of shards as 'Question' arcs."

"Question arcs?" Naruto was confused. Frederica clearly made it sound that these 'shards' were some kind of story. Why did she, actually? Sensing the blonde's confusion, Kurama decided to answer on Frederica's behalf, "Well, Frederica likes to think of these shards as books or the likes. Earlier, she claims to me that she reads these things rather than observing it, though I haven't really grasped the concept that well, yet."

Naruto kept silent at the revelation, but he still glared at Frederica, "I don't care about what you call it! If this is really a shard that shows what my world is like, then why is it that all I can see of my world is nothing but blank space?!"

"That…" Frederica answered immediately, cutting Naruto's words off, her voice just as harsh as Naruto's. She stared at Naruto, her unwavering eyes locking onto his which were shaking with anger. "That is because the memories that constructed ended after your death. Essentially, all I can assume is that your world ended shortly after you died."

"That's impossible! How come a world could end just like that after I died?!" He demanded answers; answers that he felt he deserves to get. He didn't want to believe the girl's words, and he was thankful that what she said simply made no sense to him. While it's true that, after he died, that meant Obito had free reign of the world. With the Juubi in the Uchiha's control, an apocalypse could happen anytime. Even so, wasn't Obito's true plan involved activating the Mugen Tsukuyomi? If he wasn't mistaken, that jutsu is a stupidly-powerful Genjutsu that would put the whole world under an illusion? Obito's target was the world itself, so destroying it was out of question.

If so, then why did his world end?

"I don't believe what you said." Naruto said defiantly, "I admit that, after I died, I left a bad guy still alive in my world. But even so, one guy alone can't really destroy the world, can he?"

"True, that." Frederica coincided, "A human alone can never destroy a world. It is simply too large of a task for such a small individual to complete. The only one that can destroy a world or simply ending it…" she paused. Naruto frowned unhappily at the cliffy sentence the girl gave; it made him uneasy, "Who could that be?"

Frederica's stare kept its unwavering resolve, even when she spoke with obvious respect to someone of a higher plane of existence, "Kami-sama." Her answer caught both Naruto and Kurama off-guard. That same answer, however, seemed to calm Naruto down a bit. He felt that he could understand if this was something that God did, seeing as He is the creator of the whole universe. Only…while he now could see that the end of his world actually made sense, the reason for it to end was still too vague to him.

"And why, pray tell, did Kami-sama decided to eradicate our world?" Kurama piped up. He wasn't too keen of the idea that God decided to end his and Naruto's world; it wasn't that he didn't believe that the omnipresent being that everyone referred to as "Kami-sama", but he couldn't see the logic to the action. Why did God suddenly decide to end a particular world?

"The reason is unknown." Frederica answered. She looked a little uneasy at first, but regained her composure a moment later, "Well, at least to me it's not. God's decision is His business alone, and no one would have any idea of it."

"Don't you at least catch a wind of it, at least? Surely, as a saint, you should know something." Kurama pressed on.

"I'm sorry, but I really have no idea." Frederica said apologetically. She sighed, "God's decision isn't something anyone can meddle with; even if it's someone like me. All of His decisions, be it as complicated as setting up destiny for a world or as simple as granting a wish, is all a secret for everyone but those He purposefully decided to let know of."

Naruto actually had to raise an eyebrow at that. Granting a wish is not as simple as Frederica made it out to be; he had experienced it firsthand, after all. But counting in the fact that it was God that they were talking about, perhaps granting wishes seemed like a trivial thing to do. 'Like, if I wished for ramen to drop out of the sky, maybe it would happen. Well, ramen rain isn't that logical though, so…' he trailed off in his thought. Halfway through his thoughts, though, another thought intervened, 'Wait a minute…granting a wish? Why does that sound familiar?' His face scrunched up in thought, desperately trying to reach for the memory that was stored too deep in his mind for his liking. 'Gah, damn it. Why is so hard to remember when I really wanted to?' he cursed mentally.

Then, it happened. Once again, he was struck by a memory.

'I wish… that this chaotic, upside-down world called the Ninja World…would cease to exist.'

"AGH!" the sudden appearance of the memory shocked Naruto's entire being. That, plus the emotion he remembered he had when he said those words, resulted in a head-thumping nausea. He gripped his head with both hands, feeling as if it was threatening to explode again. His outburst caught both Kurama's and Frederica's attention; the former immediately going to Naruto's side to check, "Oi, brat, what's with you?"

Shakily, Naruto raised his head and put up a fake smile—one that Kurama had the privilege of noticing the fakeness in it—while droplets of his sweat ran down his face. No, he can't let Kurama know about this; about the wish he requested God. If this was ever let out…he didn't like to think about it, but he knew that the orange-haired man wouldn't be exactly okay with it.

To think that this is all because the wish of the Ninja World's existence…but its non-existence sounded more precise; now that he actually thought about it. "Heh, nothing, nothing. I think I hit my head or something before I woke up. Damn, I think it's gonna bruise." he said reassuringly.

Frederica, for her part, frowned with an obvious confusion on her face, 'Memory backlash?' she wondered, 'I thought all of his memory had come back to him already. Did he miss one bit of it?'

Naruto hadn't notice that Frederica was staring at him intently. When he did, Naruto shot her a grin that spewed off a sheepish apology for ignoring her. Trying to deviate the attention from him, he opened up with a question, "Ne, Rika-chan, these 'Question' arcs that you said…you said that they're made of unaltered memories. What do you mean by 'unaltered'?"

A sigh escaped the blue-haired girl's lips. It was a wonder how Naruto could misinterpret her name for a second time (to the point of calling her not by her name per se, but her counterpart's), and as much as she was annoyed that he wasn't paying what she said about it any attention she would need to stomach it for the time being. But…the shift in his behavior was unsettling, even though it was her that it unsettled. She decided that she should stomach THAT too for the time being. "The word is the reference." The girl simply said. Naruto tilted his head, looking confused and a bit lost by Frederica's riddled choice of answer. When he finally understood what she meant, he asked again, "Then how about worlds with altered memories?"

"Oh, there are several, of course." Frederica said, nodding her head. "Those worlds are worlds that materialized as the conclusion pair of the 'Question' arcs. Like I said, the 'Question' arcs are just that; a world that leaves questions. That's why there exist worlds that are filled with answers that co-exist with the 'Question' arcs."

"Let me guess… You call these worlds 'Answer' arcs?"

"You're fast to catch up, Uzumaki Naruto."

The answer left Naruto grumbling about how a child could treat him like a child and get away with it. Of course, he knew that he didn't have a say in it. Frankly, he didn't...no, couldn't have qualms with it even if he wanted to. The girl was THAT terrifying. Of course, when she wasn't using those terrifying-slash-badass eyes, she looked as harmless as the little girl she seemed to be. But, for the life of him, he didn't understand how a little girl could sound as menacing as an angry Godaime Hokage when that girl talks; like when she started explaining more things to him right now. "Before that, let me explain to you about the altered memories. The altered memories are memories that belong to people who lived in the 'Question' arcs and died. When they die, the memories themselves didn't vanish, but transcends to another world where their alternate selves lives. It could be said that it's simply memory-transfer between two or more coexisting worlds, but in reality it's more complicated than that."

"Uh…may I ask for a beginner's elaboration?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in a quizzical manner. If he was to be honest with himself, then he would say that all that Frederica said to him were gibberish at best. It was only thanks to Kurama that he finally understood what the girl meant. "To tone it down a little bit, you can say that there are parallel worlds that exist besides a single world. And since they are parallel, the content of the world also exist in a parallel manner; thus the existence of a person's alter-selves."

"How come you know all this?" Naruto gave a pointed look at the kimono-wearing man.

"She explained it to me first. But, of course, I think it's simply because I have the superior brain to understand it better than you can." While he grinned, Kurama also saw that Naruto was visibly growling at him comically. Kurama inwardly smiled; the worry that he had for the blonde vanishing once again. It seemed that Naruto was behaving normally again, so he just needed to forget what happened earlier.

"Grr…well, whatever. So, in other words, every world has something like a parallel twin. And because of that, the people in one world also have an alternate copy of themselves. Is that right?" Naruto said, testing his hypothesis. While it's true that the concept of him having an alternate copy—or in this case, a possibly exact copy—was quite preposterous, Naruto couldn't bring himself to say that it WAS logically impossible; ignoring the fact that he could create copies of himself with a single hand-seal because that was besides the point. He had seen strange things, of course, but this experience of being taken to a limitless space where a Saint of Time and Space seemed to control worlds was already logically impossible as it was. The fact that the impossible actually happened made him capable of believing in anything now.

"When you put it that way, then yes, you're right. However, the alter-selves are not mere copies of someone. Saying that they are copies is like saying that they created based from the real person from a particular world." At Frederica's answer, Naruto frowned and creased his eyebrows inwards. "Well, aren't they?" Naruto asked. He tried to make it sound like a non-rhetorical question, but he didn't know if it worked or not. It seemed that he succeeded, because he didn't feel those cold eyes glaring daggers into him at the moment. "Not exactly," Frederica said while shaking her head, "the alter-selves represent an existence in, of, and by themselves. To be honest, I would even go as far as to say that both the real person and their alter-selves are real. Hmm…wait, that isn't right…" The blue-haired girl seemed to think about her words, lowering her head when she did so. Naruto just kept staring at her silently, even though he didn't know half about Frederica's statement, but he frankly didn't give a rat's ass. He couldn't show his lack of understanding for big bad vocabularies, otherwise Kurama would further torment him for it.

The girl finally looked up after such a long time that Naruto had thought that she was trying to repair a tear on her sundress. "Now that I think about it, the concept of 'real' is not even relevant. I haven't put much thought about it before, but the alter-selves are just as real as the ones that they represent. They exist; not only as part of someone else, but as an individual." She shrugged, "So it is not really the problem of which one is real and which one is not."

Understanding a foreign concept requires a considerable capability of accepting and a high tolerance for shock-absorption. Naruto was pretty durable in the shock-absorption part, but part of him couldn't even begin to understand what Frederica stated. All his life he believed that he was the one and only, not some sloppy seconds. And now, a little girl stood before him spouting some stuff about parallel worlds and alternate selves. "If that's the case, then how come I didn't end up like my alter-selves?" Seeing Frederica's questioning look, Naruto continued to elaborate, "Well, you know, you said that it was strange that my world ended up being destroyed. And then you said that it is unlike the other worlds that contains my alter-selves. What I don't get is why my fate is different from the others?"

"Just because your alter-selves have a particular fate doesn't mean that you would have the same fate as the others." Frederica's delicate hands gestured to two shards which then flew towards her like summoned birds. "There are several worlds that I have observed before yours. All of these worlds…the main point is that you and your friends survived the war of your world." She then passes the shard to Naruto, while passing another to Kurama. "Unlike these other worlds, however, your world was utterly destroyed. I don't know why this happened, but it is not impossible to happen either."

As both Naruto and Kurama peered into the shards, images of each world invaded their minds. What they saw surprised them; contradictory to their deceased world, the shard in their hands showed a world where they triumphed against the Juubi and Obito. Not only that, but the whole Alliance survived the whole ordeal. The one shard in Naruto's hand transferred memories of his alter-self in that world where he was the hero of the whole Five Elemental Nations. And then, of course, his long-awaited dream that came true in this world.

"R-Rokudaime…Hokage?"

There he was—or an image of himself, at least—clad in his black and orange jumpsuit set under his red Sage robe; the black, flaming imprints licking the bottom edges of the cape-like robe. His face...no, his alter-self's face was grinning under that red-white hat that had the kanji for 'fire' imprinted on the front tip. There he was; standing tall above a newly-constructed Hokage's building that, amusingly, had a new paint job. He didn't know who the genius people were, but he was pretty damn sure that his alter-self was going to feel indebted to the carpenters and painters.

Orange-colored Hokage's building that had a ramen bowl monument? Now that is just unreal.

It was kind of a disappointment that the face statue engraved on the Hokage Mountain was set into a serious, frowning look of a man. Not that he would've complained if he was actually his alter-self. Au contraire, he would've been so ecstatic that he finally…realizes his dream. It was something that he failed to do in his own world. Strange; he felt happy for his alter-self since he was able to achieve his dream unlike himself, but he couldn't help but feel envious.

He pushed that thought to the farthest place in his mind. He had no right to be envious. He failed to protect HIS previous people, whereas this alter-self of his succeeded in doing so.

Beside him, Kurama was staring silently at the shard in his hand. The world that the shard portrayed...well, he wouldn't go so far as saying that it was the most seemingly convenient, but it was close. It portrayed a world where Kurama, in his last stand against the Juubi along with Naruto, gave up all of his powers and chakra for the blond to use. Doing so not only did the blond turned the tables and became able to vanquish the Juubi (which was surprising, since the Ten-Tails was basically immeasurable power given a form), but it turned him into a hanyou; a term used to call a half-demon. However, the most surprisingly happy memory in it was that Kurama became reunited with his siblings and the only father he would ever acknowledge, Rikudô Sennin.

At first, Kurama was worried about this world's Naruto's state as a half-demon. Having the majority of the villagers hate the blond for housing the Nine-Tailed Fox was bad enough, and being a half-demon would only worsen the condition. Not to mention that half-demons were known to be the hated breed of both sides; hated by humans and demons alike for having 'impure' blood running through their veins. Kurama's worry, however, proved to be for naught. In that world, it didn't matter if the Naruto there was a half-demon, because he saved the whole shinobi world by being one! There wasn't any kind of fear transmitted from those other humans his Jinchûriki had befriended; there was only pride and joy. At that revelation, Kurama unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. What a happy world, indeed…

"So these worlds are the 'Answer' arcs you told us about?" Kurama asked. He didn't really need an answer, because he already had a clear assumption that this successful world had to be an 'Answer' arc judging by how successful the turnout was. To his surprise, Frederica shook her head negatively, "No. Actually, those are 'Question' arcs."

Naruto had heard what Frederica said, and he was no less surprised than Kurama. "They are?" he asked, "I thought 'Question' arcs were supposed to be confusing and anti-climactic. Isn't me being Hokage actually a big enough climax?" He might sound like he was exaggerating it, but in truth that was what he believed. After all, being Hokage was the coolest thing that could happen to him! That was supposed to be a big ending right there.

"Well, perhaps it is. But considering the fact that those two worlds in your hands ended right after that moment, it is also confusing for me." Frederica said, folding her arms in front of her chest. She watched with an amused expression as Naruto's jaw dropped and his eyes blared in shock. The not-so 'deer caught in the headlights' look was clearly a look that she didn't get often. "Wait…ended? Is this the same kind of 'ended' that my world has gone through?" If that is true, then Naruto wasn't only responsible for the end of his world, but also for the other worlds parallel to his own. The thought made him shudder in fear.

Again, Frederica shook her head before answering Naruto's desperate question, "I don't think that is the case. This is already the limit of how much each shard would let me see. I don't know why, but it seems that each of the other parallel worlds didn't really have a future beyond the aftermath of your war to being with. That means that the memories of those worlds only came as far as that. Normally I would assume that the shards are broken, but I believe that's not the case."

"Why is that?" Kurama, after casting the shard in his hand away, asked.

"Because I was here," Simple, yet it sounded enough as a reason. "I've been keeping watch over all the shards to keep them from malfunctioning in any kind of way. I am, after all, the Saint of Time and Space. I have the duty to maintain the balance of time in all the worlds and create enough space to keep said worlds from grazing each other which would create a tear in the fabric of space-time continuum. Yet, since as long as I can remember, none of these worlds had malfunctioned."

"Still, if it's not broken, then what exactly happened to these worlds?" Kurama asked; his curiosity still not satisfied. Frederica shook her head

"To put it simply," Frederica's outstretched her hand, once again gesturing for a shard to come to her. But, unlike the others, this one didn't come to her immediately. Frederica didn't take this as an oddity and continued talking, "The 'Question' arcs of your universe are supposed to end with no continuation. They are incomplete worlds, created by Kami-sama Himself to accumulate memories for this one world; this one 'Answer' arc." Kurama quirked an eyebrow at the girl's statement. Fact was, while he was completely aware that doing so wasn't out of God's reach, he couldn't grasp the concept of God creating numerous worlds for, what, ONE world? That was really pushing.

The shard that Frederica summoned finally came forth. However, the shard…wasn't really a shard. Really, it looked more like an orb; a shiny orb that seemed to be constructed of several shards jumbled together. "If there is actually a 'real' world among all these worlds, then behold!" Frederica said, "For this is your universe's true world, its only 'Answer' arc...Shippuden!"

Red eyes narrowed in confusion, "Shippuden?"

"Fufufu…that's the name I gave for this world." Frederica said, sounding strangely proud of her self. "What do you think?"

"It's…huge." Kurama stated. He almost face-palmed when he noticed that he had just pointed out the obvious fact; and he would've if he didn't recover from the slip afterwards, "I-I mean, compared to the other worlds, this thing is larger."

"Well, that is to be expected." Frederica said, her hand moving slowly and guided the basketball-sized orb towards Kurama, who eyed the orb suspiciously. "You can take a peek if you want. It won't hurt to simply look into the memories of this world." The blue-haired girl said again in a reassuring tone. Kurama wasn't so easily tempted by her words, but he couldn't ignore the simple fact that just seeing would be harmless. Giving in to his curiosity, he gently touched the crystal orb, letting the memories inside it assault his mind. He received the memories, but…

"What does this suppose to mean?" Kurama said as his red eyes glowered like he had been insulted. In a sense and indirectly, though, he probably was.

"The meaning is as it already seems." Frederica answered vaguely.

"Quit with the riddles, space witch." A growl, animalistic and aggressive, escaped the orange-haired man's throat. Frederica was taken aback by how hostile the Nine-Tailed fox-man sounded, but kept silent to hear him out. "I don't care what you call this world, and I certainly don't care what you will do with it. However, one question…" Kurama's eyes narrowed dangerously at the girl, "Is this the reason why the other worlds don't have a further future?"

"I'm surprised that you were able to discern that with just a single touch." In contrast to the growling man, Frederica chuckled. "Yes, it is. The reason why the other worlds don't have a future is simply because they were destined not to have one. The 'Question' arcs of your universe are…unique. Let's say that, compared to the other universes which 'Question' arcs are worlds that cannot be replaced whatsoever, your universe completely contradicts the theory that these other universes compiled." Frederica smiled as her chin nestled in-between her thumb and index finger. "They are merely worlds that are constructed to complete the real worlds known as the 'Answer' arcs. Their sole purpose is to create memories—both pleasing and displeasing alike—before merging with the Shippuden world to deviate its direction at one time or another to avoid dangerous paths that the 'Question' arcs had crossed."

Kurama stayed silent, letting the girl finish her explanation. As the explanation progressed, though, his frown deepened accordingly. "So, basically, you're saying that our worlds are purposefully ended to help this one world?!" he said, half-roaring as his anger rose. Right now, he was pissed off. What gave this particular world called the Shippuden or whatever the ease of being helped by all the other 'Question' arc worlds?

As time went by, the question changed. Why, of all the worlds that had helped construct the Shippuden, was his world being the only one ended with it being destroyed?

"…this is unbelievingly unfair." He finally muttered.

Frederica's smile dropped at the statement. She sighed before dropping her hands to her sides almost limply, "I understand. I can imagine that it wouldn't be the most relieving feeling." A pause started when Frederica's eyes shone with concealed yet powerful feelings, "But understanding the oddity that belongs to your universe and your universe alone is something you have to do. After all, you can see for yourself, can't you? Shippuden is on the brink of destruction, even with all these memories protecting the Uzumaki Naruto of that world."

"...I agree, however reluctantly." Kurama said. He sighed, a troubled look marring his face before he spoke again, "I never expected that the Juubi would be fully revived in that world. Mine was destroyed when it was only half its former power, but a world where it is fully revived? I don't think it has any future whatsoever."

Silence entered between them two. Kurama took it as a sign that he had said enough, but Frederica's passive stare said otherwise. As an ancient Bijuu, he naturally stared back at the girl with equal passiveness. Beyond the passivity, however, there was a conflict brewing in Frederica's eyes. Being the curious fox he actually was, he asked, "What is it?" The mere concern in his tone must've caught the girl off-guard because she blinked like she was in some kind of trance. She shook her head and pasted her usual nonchalant smile on her face, "Nothing. It's just that…I was thinking about the possibility of what you said. If Shippuden really has no future…well, then all of this would be meaningless. All of the sacrifices of the future of the countless worlds would be all for naught." Seeing a frown and furrowed eyebrows coming to Kurama's face, Frederica gave him a relaxed chuckle. "Rest assured, Kurama. This world definitely has a future, no matter how indefinite that future is."

"Define 'indefinite'."

"Well, Shippuden have not reached an ending yet." Frederica quickly said, "Even right now, it is still automatically gathering memories from different parallel worlds to finish itself in the best way possible; your world included."

Kurama hummed his response as he was unable to say anything else. He couldn't, simply because he didn't know if he wanted to know more or not. Another voice joined in the conversation, though, and that saved him from his dilemma. "I don't know about this world's future or whatever…truthfully, I don't think I have to care if this world has a future or not." Kurama recognized that voice. He turned around and saw Naruto, already standing up to his feet and his hand touching the crystal orb while his eyes glowed, which must likely because of the glow that emanated from the orb. He was probing the memories in Shippuden, it seems. "But, if there is anything that I can say about this world…" The blond paused, his mouth left hanging open as he tried to brainstorm for the right word. He couldn't use too much of his brain power, though, lest he would pass out again from brain over-usage.

"It's…beautiful."

Compact words were his forte. It still is until that very moment. "There's barely any tragedy in this world…" Naruto looked solemn for a moment when a brief flash of memory crossed his mind, "Asuma-sensei and Ero-sennin still dies in this world…does this always happen in other worlds, too?" Right at that time, Naruto felt sick to the core. Not because the thought of the two fallen men disturbs him; no, he had passed a long time since the death of the two. No, it was the mere prospect that he felt…relieved, in a sick way, that his world wasn't the only one suffering from the loss.

Frederica's eyes softened as she gazed at the blonde. For some reason or another, she sympathized with the blonde; having to see the death of countless people of countless other worlds has that effect on you. "Regrettably, the death of Sarutobi Asuma and Jiraiya the Toad Sage is an unavoidable rule for every world in your universe."

"A rule?" Naruto asked. His left fist clenched at the side of his pants, his nails nearly digging into his skin just by doing so. "Who the hell made that rule?!"

"Do you really need to ask?" Frederica asked back. Whether it was a rhetorical question or not escaped Naruto's comprehension. But as of the moment, he couldn't care less. His angered silence concerned Kurama, who only gave him a pointed look that was enough of a sign for the blonde Jinchûriki to calm down. After he did, Frederica continued with an explanation, "This is a rule instated by the very entity that created all of these worlds and the lives inhabiting it. The absolute rule set to stone by Kami-sama Himself."

The absolute rule that she liked to call as the X, Y, and Z rule applied for all worlds from different universes. Even now, the world that had caught most of her interest called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni had that rule. Other worlds, such as the one called Bleach and the other named Ao no Exorcist had these three rules; albeit those rules being subsequently different in nature for each worlds.

Those rules always involved someone dying. Tragic, but rules are rules.

The right hand that Naruto had placed on the orb a while ago released its soft grip on said orb, returning to its rightful place at his side in the shape of a clenched fist. "So, basically, you're saying that Kami wanted them to die, so He took their lives?" There came the disrespectful question from Naruto's mouth. He took no concern that he was being disrespectful to his creator and continued to shoot questions, "Then, the same intent is the reason why my world didn't have a happy ending like the other worlds, right?" He continued being disrespectful; he noticed this. However, right now, he couldn't seem to bring himself to care. Putting his world into a definite route to destruction was definitely something God could do.

If so, then THAT is the reason why he lost against Obito. In turn, THAT is what made him wish that the Ninja World would cease to exist. If only THAT didn't happen, then he at least would be able to go on without the guilt of making such a wish before his death plaguing on his soul like a freaking leech! As a show of irritation, Naruto gritted his teeth harshly and cursed at the nonexistent ground underneath his feet, "Grrr…why the hell is God so unfair?!"

If it was the past him who couldn't control Kurama's chakra, then Naruto would've been leaking red chakra everywhere with the temper he currently had. But now, since he could already control it, no malicious chakra was let out. The result was the same altogether, though, because even his words held such a weight; a weight that unsettled even his own Bijuu. Kurama thought that Naruto was being egoistical, childishly so. At the same time, he could relate to the feeling of being cast out for another's sake, and that left him with no right to say anything. However, Frederica, as a being that exceeded Kurama both in life period and wisdom, saw past Naruto's harsh words and childish beliefs.

All she saw was a hurt little boy who cried over his fallen world.

Was that really wrong to do? He was after all, the supposed savior of his own world. It was the same for every other world in his universe. Uzumaki Naruto is the savior, the child of prophecy. For without him, then the world known as the Ninja world would fall. Yet, here he was (albeit being a probable alter-self of another Naruto) after having his world destroyed for a purpose. It was heart-wrenching to think that he wanted to survive and protect his world—a desire that not all of his alter-selves had—yet he was faced with the unshakeable destiny that said that his world was to fall.

Without anyone noticing it, outside of Frederica herself, the girl was already in front of Naruto. She stood there, head only as tall as Naruto's abdomen and her blue hair cast over her face. The anger that exuded from Naruto was temporarily calmed down, mixing with a thought filled with confusion. When Frederica suddenly tilted her head upwards and looked at him with fierce, deep purple eyes, he thought that he was done for. When she suddenly hugged him with the best efforts of her short arms, he thought that she was going to do a German Suplex as his punishment. Her next words, however, clarified her intentions.

"Hate not God or the actions He conducted," she said warmly; understandingly, "but the reason He did what He did."

Then, like a candle in a storm, Naruto's earlier anger towards the divine vanished. The blonde himself couldn't comprehend how it happened, but he found himself doing exactly what Frederica told him to. He figured that she was that persuasive, but that might not actually be the case. Well, probably. Anyway, he looked at her with eyes that conveyed the real feelings he hid under his earlier outburst.

Disappointment.

"Is there really a reason why Kami did this to me? I've been His tool for probably my whole life—"

"And so have your other alter-selves." The girl cut off, effectively silencing the taller boy. "All of your alter-selves have also suffered the same way you did. Being in a parallel world doesn't mean that that destiny would change in any way. All of you…are the same Uzumaki Naruto as you are."

Naruto looked down at the girl for a brief moment before casting his gaze sideways as he found himself losing his resolve when he saw her eyes. He gritted his teeth again, but was able to say, "Still…" No more words followed. The lack of words made Frederica frown before she released her hold on Naruto. Part of her wanted to say that she understood what the blonde was going through, but the fact is she couldn't.

From her perspective, which was saying that the whole event was like a book, Naruto is one of those people who she liked to call the Wild Cards. Like a select few people from other universes, he was destined to bring about a change to his world whether it was for the better or worse. Wild Cards were usually faced with the harsh face of destiny, and that destiny always came in the form of two or more forked roads. Choices were the thing that these forked roads always brought about. Every person had to choose; it didn't matter how much clone you can make with the Kagebunshin no Jutsu, or how fast you can go with a Shunpo (Flash Step) to go up all of those paths. In the end, you'll have to make choices; hard choices, more often than not.

She wasn't a Wild Card. Therefore, unlike these types of people, she didn't really know how heavy a choice can be.

But she learned from experience; her type always does. "I wouldn't go as far as to say that I know how you feel, Naruto. Unlike you, who faced destiny head-on, I am merely someone who transmitted that destiny which God has set upon." She took a deep breath, "However, I can say this. I have seen many people transcending from different worlds after the end of one. Many of them came to accept what came to happen to them in their world, while others were unsatisfied by the results. Some even hated God for what He put them through." Naruto flinched at the stressing the last sentence was put through. Frederica nodded affirmatively at him, "Yes, you would've been concluded as one of that last group if you have started to have negative emotions against God. But I see that you can change, like your other alter-selves that had passed my realm years ago after their world ended."

"You saw them?"

"Yes. Unlike you though, they were satisfied by how their life was, even though it was very incomplete. When I told each of them about their world, one by one according to their gradual appearance, they seem to accept their fate as mere tools of completion for Shippuden. Given the 'happy ending' their world was granted, it was only natural."

Naruto looked at Frederica curiously. The prospect of her seeing his look-alikes multiple times was completely unreal. He figured that she must've been bored by the stereotypical persons that she had to meet, but he remembered that every world had different endings. As such, they should have different stories to tell. "Where do they go after that?"

"Well, if you're talking about the ordinary people, then they went straight to either heaven or hell." Frederica answered. She smiled and turned around, making Naruto think that she was finished talking before she continued her answer, "However, according to the law that God has instated, special kinds of people can live again in another world residing in another universe. The likeliness for that to happen, however, depends on how strong the person's heart is and how compatible they will be if they live again in that other world."

"So…they can live again even after they died?" Naruto asked. At Frederica's nod, Naruto continued, "I wonder why no one has been revived like that in my world." Naruto said with childish curiosity. Frederica, however, shook her head, "It is true that these special people are able to live again after they died. However, living in the same world that they left is the same as being resurrected. Resurrection goes against God's rules, and as such, the only option left was to live in another world residing in another universe."

"Is that sort of thing even possible?" Kurama, who up until this moment had kept silent, perked up. "I mean, I believe in life after death, but to suddenly appear in a world which isn't even parallel to our own?"

"Actually, it happens all the time." Frederica said. She flicked her finger, setting their surroundings into a circular motion. Her two guests almost had their eyes fly out of their sockets when this happened so suddenly. Not affected by this in the slightest bit, Frederica continued, "In this regard, it is called reincarnation. Unlike resurrection, reincarnation is not prohibited as it is a natural cycle of life, even though it sounds unreal. People who didn't go to heaven got reincarnated in another world, but with no memories of their past life. Transporting people to a different universe tend to wipe their memories of their own universe more often than not."

"I…I see." Kurama said. Naruto, for his part, looked solemn as he fell into silence after Frederica's long explanation. After a long while, he looked straight at Frederica with hesitant eyes. "Is there…a reason why you're telling me this?"

Frederica noticed how Naruto looked, but what she took notice of even more was how he sound suddenly downcast despite how good she thought her explanation had went. Pushing the concern away for the moment, she answered Naruto's question, "There is." As she said so, the circular motion of their surrounding stopped. It was then that Naruto and Kurama noticed that they were looking at orbs not unlike the Shippuden orb that they saw before. They were cut off in the middle of their surprise when Frederica started to talk again, "That same condition that applied to all those special people…applies to you, too." Her small hands were spread out to both of her sides, and a smile was once again pasted on her face, "But for you, Naruto, I'll make some amendments to that condition."

"Amendments?" Naruto asked. By the time, he realized that he probably had already asked too much questions to the blue-haired girl in front of her. Perhaps it was because he was in some place where questions rained on his mind, but that was no excuse. He had to thank Frederica for being patient enough to handle his unending curiosity.

"A slight change, I suppose." Frederica asked; her face turned sad as she regarded Naruto with an apologetic smile on her face, "It's the least I can do for the troubles you went through."

"Rika-chan…" Naruto was, for a lack of a better word, baffled. He didn't expect the girl to be sorry for something that she didn't even do on her whim, and the sincerity of that apology was shocking too! If anything, he felt glad that she was concerned about him. Kurama was just as startled as his Jinchûriki. He looked sideways at the whisker-marked blonde with a small smirk on his face. 'I never thought that he could even change the mind of a saint without doing particularly anything. You're really something else, Naruto.'

After a brief moment, Naruto's face turned serious as he asked, "Then, what are those changes?"

"I will give you two choices…three, actually, now that I think about it. One, you can go to heaven. As simple as I made it sound, it's actually a very logical option for you. Two, you can live on and simply…forget about your past life. If the past really hurts you, then I recommend it, but it's still yours to decide." Frederica's eyes changed when she looked at Naruto. For some reason or another, Naruto knew that it changed. Although it was still the same dark purple irises that set chills to his bones, he could definitely tell that something changed. For some reason, Frederica's eyes lit up with mischief; he'd notice that look anywhere, having used it in his past life numerous times. "Or, option three; you can live on, while still retaining your memories."

"What?" Naruto asked aloud. He wasn't expecting an answer for his question this time, because it was more of an exclamation out of surprise and disbelief. Kurama frowned at the saint, "I thought you said that the memories would disappear if we travel to a different universe."

"Normally, yes, but this is the amendment I talked about." Frederica said, "He can live on in a different world in a different universe, but with his memories still intact. Pretty interesting, don't you think?" The other two could only nod dumbly. Frederica looked satisfied, but she wasn't finished talking, "However, if you DO choose this option, then I will grant it on one condition."

"And what could that condition be, I wonder?" Kurama asked again. He was feeling strangely anxious on this, and he frowned again. This anxiety wasn't his; frankly, he couldn't be anxious on any of the choices that were said. The only explanation that he could come up with is that it was Naruto who was feeling anxious.

An eager Naruto would somehow always leads to a troublesome outcome.

"The condition is that you will be reincarnated in a world of my choice and that you would help me to find the true ending of said world."

"That's not much of a condition at all." Kurama said, sweat-dropping at how easy the condition sounded.

"Oh, but it is. The world is completed already, but I have the inkling that things would come out differently with your presence there." Frederica said. Inside though, she was thinking to herself, 'Whether the change you bring is for the better or for the worse is still undetermined. You two are, after all, Wild Cards.' Putting up a smile, she glanced at Naruto, "So, what will it be?" Her nonchalant tone still lingered at the end of her question, but it diminished completely when she caught the sight of Naruto's face. She frowned; she couldn't discern what that look was, which was disturbing since she was supposed to know. It seemed that Naruto looked…hesitant?

"I…" Naruto started, trailing off even at the start of his sentence. He bit down on his lower lips as if trying to cage in the words that were going to jump out of his mouth. She mentally urged the blonde to say whatever it is that he wanted to say, but otherwise kept silent. He needed to say it for himself, not because she asked for a response. In the end, Naruto sighed. Frederica looked puzzled by Naruto's response (or, more precisely, lack thereof) and was about to ask him for real before he heard him chuckle mirthlessly, "Heh…I really can't do it after all."

"What do you mean?" Frederica asked. For the life of her, she didn't understand what held the orange-wearing teen back from saying anything.

"I…I can't choose." Naruto stated. "No, to be honest, I'm pretty afraid to choose."

Frederica looked at the blonde strangely, "How come you are afraid to choose? This is your choice, and only by your choice alone can you proceed to wherever you want to go."

"But…!" Naruto exclaimed. He was sure that he surprised everyone with his outburst; hell, he surprised himself. He looked down, finding his gaze falling on his feet for comfort. "I…I don't want to choose! I can't just randomly point where I want to go without knowing what the consequences are! It's…ugh…" Naruto's hands nestled themselves on his head, gripping it painfully. Kurama looked at his jailor pityingly. He understood where this hesitation and fear were coming from. Once again, he couldn't help but curse the man who turned his Jinchûriki into a wreck. 'It's all that man's fault…Uchiha Obito.' He thought.

Frederica stepped forward towards Naruto with a calm and collected look on her face. She faced the downcast blonde, knowing full well that he would avert his gaze from her. "Then tell me why you don't want to choose." She said…no, ordered. Silence overtook the area for what felt longer than the few minutes it actually was. It was then that Frederica noticed the sound of sniffling. It was then that she realized the Naruto was crying. "I…" he said, trying his hardest to keep his voice from wavering, "The last time I was forced to choose, I can't make the choice at all. It was *sniff* only natural, since the choices I was given concerned the lives of my teacher and allies. I couldn't choose that time…" Naruto shut his eyes, blocking the tears that were threatening to fall at the first sign of him letting his guard down. "No…I did choose. I chose to save BOTH of them. It was a selfish choice, and for that reason…I LOST both."

'Not to mention that I wished for my world to cease to exist…' he thought as an aftermath. Maybe…just maybe, if he didn't make that wish, God would instead bring about a miracle and protected the Alliance. Even though he wished it AFTER the Alliance was annihilated, he somehow knew that God could read on the future at that time. Maybe if he didn't let a slip of an idea that he wanted the Ninja World's destruction enter his mind, then God would do something. That being said, if that actually happens then his world would probably have a future after he died. Reality kicked in and reminded him that he DID make a wish; one that practically destroyed his world.

If there was ever a time that he felt he was a failure, then there are two times that justified that feeling. One, it was when Jiraiya died. Even now, the death of the white-haired Sannin left a scar in him; one that he didn't know if he could heal it like his other scars.

Over time, that scar had closed, but it was never fully healed. Maybe Kurama's chakra could never heal wounds of the heart.

The second time, however…he didn't know if there was anything that could either heal or close it. When he failed to save his world, all he felt was regret and the heavy thought of bearing such a huge sin was…toxic for his mind. More than that, though, it gave him a new sense of fear. It was not of someone, even though it does concern someone else. It was no more of his own self, because he had nothing to fear from himself at all. Unexpectedly, it was fear of his actions. Up to his death, the last mistake he ever made was to be indecisive. He wondered then and there, if that time he had chose between his teachers and his alliance rather than choosing both, would Obito really spare the other? If that was the case, then he actually had a chance of saving his world! If that was the case…then, the cause of the fall of his world is himself. Thus, there he was, fearing the weight of choice that is once again placed on his shoulder.

He couldn't. The risk was too high. It would've been much easier if he would shoulder those risks alone, but what about Kurama? He would undoubtedly face the same risk as the blonde. That was one bet Naruto wasn't going to take; he can't lose Kurama too. He was his last memory of their deceased world. If Kurama ended up disappearing, for one reason or another, then…

"Naruto." The voice was surprisingly gentle. More than that, however, it sounded so…inviting. Frederica had always sounded like a mature woman from the start of their introduction, but Naruto had never thought that she could sound like a mother as well. Truthfully, it put him at ease. Even though Frederica sounded nothing like his mother, Kushina (Kami bless her soul), there was no doubt that she made it sound like her in a way. So much so, that he couldn't help but give a response, "What?"

"…I know that you probably think of this as a burden." Frederica said solemnly, "But please, do think otherwise. I'm giving you a choice, not so that you would feel burdened by it, but so you can shape your own path. Putting you through a predetermined fate would be the last thing on my mind, because if that is going to be the case then your new story won't be so interesting."

"I…I know that, but…" Naruto muttered. He cursed his sudden loss of words; where has his earlier energy gone to? What a bad timing for it to disappear, too… "If I make a choice, then I would only end up hurting other people again. Obito was right. After all…I don't understand the weight of a choice."

Frederica looked at the blonde pointedly, feeling upset by Naruto's state of depression. "To choose is not a burden, Naruto. To take responsibility of that choice is another thing, of course, but courageous people such as you would face whatever outcome their choice bring. To choose is a freedom, and never let anyone tell you otherwise." Frederica urged the blonde to make a decision already; it wasn't that she was impatient (I mean, really, she has lived for more than a thousand years if she really is a saint), but the paths that Naruto would undertake by his decision wouldn't be fit for indecisive people. She had faith, really, that Naruto is braver; more determined than how he is now. After all, all of his alter-selves were reckless, do-or-die type of people; a trait that she found unchanging even when those alter-selves came from different worlds.

Maybe he just needs a little push?

"And…you don't have to be afraid." She added after a long pause, "You're strong. You are the same person that had shouldered the status of Jinchûriki, the Power of Human Sacrifice, for his whole life. By yourself, you are strong enough to determine your own path. With Kurama at your side, you will be able to change whatever fate that will befall on you." Again, she paused to let her words sink in Naruto's currently feeble mind. She glanced at Kurama, who was looking at the blonde with uncertain eyes. She smiled, "And with my help…choosing over trivial matters like this will be such an easy task."

Shocked by the girl's profound words, Naruto raised his head and wiped his tears from his face. He began wording his jumbled thoughts hesitantly, one by one, "You…you will help me?"

"My assistance would only go as far as observing you, watching you wherever you go. However, I will make you know that you are never alone in taking on the path you choose." Frederica stated. In normal circumstances, doing so was out of her jurisdiction as a Saint of Time and Space. Doing so would, not only alter Naruto's destiny, but also other people in the world he would choose to go to. However, for now she will be willing to give her assistance in such a manner. She owed him that much, at least.

A happy smile crossed Naruto's face. He was glad, obviously. Glad that there were people who sympathized with him and his current condition. Maybe, just maybe, if Frederica would help him in his journey, then…

'No.' he thought, shutting that train of thought off of his mind. 'I can't do that to her.' A frown once again took over his face as he fell into silence once more. 'I have no right to ask of anything from her; it's just not right. I mean, it's not as if she owes me or something like that, right? Keh, how stupid I am, really…' He chuckled, brushing his hand through his wild hair and gently massaged his scalp. 'I've been really stupid lately. What was I thinking, backing out from a chance like this? She has just given me a choice; a choice that not all people had the chance to get! Is it that hard to make a choice from the options given to you? No.'

Kurama observed the changes in Naruto's face constantly. He could not even blink as the abrupt change in the blonde's face surprised him more than ever. But, he was more relieved than surprise to see how Naruto's face had changed. 'It's him.' Kurama thought, grinning widely at the prospect, 'It's the old brat again.'

Frederica herself was observing Naruto as he ranted self-consciously to himself. She smiled; her words had finally gotten through him.

'Who am I, really?' Naruto questioned mentally to himself, 'Am I just Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure? No; if that's the case, then all of the other me are just the same as me. Then, what makes me different from them? What makes me THINK that I'm different from them? Like them, I wanted to be Hokage, and I still want to be one even now. Like them, I'm a Jinchûriki since birth. And, like their world, the Sasuke in my world also left my village. Is there really any difference between me and them?'

Naruto shook his head to clear away uncertain thoughts. His eyes' focus was no longer on the ground when he raised his head and looked at the orbs hovering behind Frederica as they gave off a pinkish glow. Those orbs represented the worlds he would be choosing to go to, and with just a flick of her hand Frederica could send him to any of these worlds. It is all up to him.

'That's right.' Naruto thought, a smile making its way up to his lips. 'Unlike all of my other alter-selves…unlike all of them who were sent off to God-knows-where…I can choose. Unlike them, who had their path carved by somebody else, I have the chance to carve one for my own!' He clenched his fist as a new sense of confidence came over him, 'To choose…is a freedom. I won't be crushed by fate anymore. And I swear that I won't be a pathetic loser who wishes for the destruction of his world in the last seconds before his death!' he began to think furiously. He was still blaming himself about that wish, but he was mainly cursing his past self for being completely foolish. 'That's right; it was really a stupid thing to do! What did I achieve from wishing something like that, huh? Nothing! All I did was taking my friends' freedom to choose whether they want to continue living on or not!'

Granted, his friends' in the Alliance were dead even before he died—he witnessed them crossing over to the other side personally, after all. But those weren't his only friends and allies. He still remembered the friends he made in his journey. By that time, Hikaru from the Crescent Moon Island should be at least a soldier by his own right. Temujin, who back then departed by ship to who-knows-where, should be stronger than the last time they met. Shion, who was still the priestess of Oni no Kuni (the Land of Demons), would also be more powerful; not that she wasn't when he was assigned to protect her. All in all, he believed that he had taken away his world's last hope of survival by requesting such a wish.

Not anymore.

"…if I back out now, without making a decision myself…" Naruto said, facing Frederica completely with a determined smile, "I can never be the Hokage that my friends wanted me to be."

Frederica gave a smile of her own, soon accompanied by Kurama who smirked proudly at his jailor. 'Damn brat making me worry for nothing…' he thought, a little annoyed but relieved at the same time. Frederica chose at that time to let her voice be heard, "I see that you have found your light, Naruto. That's good; I wouldn't want to have faith in someone whose heart is clouded with uncertainty."

"Yeah…I couldn't have found it if it weren't for you." Naruto said, grinning widely at the little girl, "Thank you, Rika-chan."

"The pleasure is all mine." the blue-haired girl said. Then, her right hand lifted, outstretching itself towards Naruto as if she was intending to shake his hand. On that gesture, the orbs that were flying behind her came to hover above her palm and spun ever so slowly. "Now, I would ask you this one more time. Like before, the choice is yours." Her smile seemed to widen a fraction as she talked, while a mischievous spark lit up in her eyes.

"What is your wish, Uzumaki Naruto?"

End.

-xo-

So…what do you think? Cliffy enough?

I know, I know, this story has many loopholes and manholes; whichever of the two. After all, I was trying to make a story that could branch off into multiple crossovers, depending on my mood. How the outcome would be on your end, though, I'll leave it to you to say in the review. Meanwhile, I'll go through some parts that I think you have found disconcerting or downright annoying in this story.

-Madara died too easily? Yeah, I thought up about that, too. Frankly, I don't have an explanation for that. I was too caught up by the thought of making an epic bridge fic that I ignored how the manga proceeds. After all, this fic is written down BEFORE Kishimoto-sensei revealed that Tobi is, in fact, Obito. Hell, I had written down that Tobi was Madara when I first started this story, so I had to make changes. I even had to make it so that the Juubi was only half-resurrected, because at that time the Juubi was still in Gedo Mazo form.

-Kakashi and Gai looked weak? That is on purpose. They had to; after all, they had fought seven Tailed-Beasts while unleashing humongous jutsus in their arsenal in the manga. They are bound to exhaust themselves sooner or later. And, without Kakashi's death, I wouldn't be able to project Naruto's descend to madness.

-Half-resurrected Juubi sounds too mainstream? Well, considering the fact that Madara died early in this fic, it also gave me the idea to connect it with the Juubi's half-resurrection. I wanted to make it so that the Juubi's half-resurrected state is believable, and so that Madara's death would have an effect. Without Madara, Obito would be forced to make the half-resurrected Juubi make a move on the remaining ninja forces. It might sound a bit rushed, but that's how I pictured it if Madara would, in a case, die earlier than the schedule.

-Naruto + crazy= never happens? The equation itself sounds impossible, I know. But it is necessary if I really wanted to make a Naruto/Higurashi no Naku Koro ni crossover like I said in the upper AN.

-Frederica is the Saint of Time and Space? I thought that up, actually. She's not really a saint, of course. Her appearance is in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni's manga release, in Minagoroshi-hen (The Mass-Killing/Massacre Chapter). She doesn't appear in the anime, so you would have to read to know her.

-Explanation on the parallel worlds too riddly? Hey, I'm not an inter-dimensional traveler. I conjured up what I had in mind to the best I could.

Any other problems will have to go to the reviews since I don't have enough space for more questions. Oh, and I want to apologize for breaking my promise to the group of my loyal readers. If any one of you had read the postpone note in my fic Santa of the Leaf, you would remember that I promised an update on that fic and a new entry for a new story which is a continuation for my Naruto/Spiderman crossover, Arachnid Hero and the Fox Host. Sorry, but I had to post this one first because it has been nagging me non-stop for the last three weeks.

Glossary

"No shit, Shinichi." Well, I intended to make it sound like a "No shit, Sherlock." But considering that we're in the world of anime, I inserted the name of the most notorious (at least to me) detective in the manganime world, Kudo Shinichi!

Well, that's it for this story. Thanks for reading, and heads up for whatever crossover I want to write as a branch of this story. Until then!

This is SpinLord, spinning out!