Pain tore through his body like wildfire as the gray bone blades stabbed another clone and was dispatched. Kaguya was not backing down, and nothing was getting through her. Sasuke was in another dimension, however that worked, Kakashi and Sakura were somewhere behind a sand dune, and he was currently flying through the air trying to find a way to get to his former team mate.
All in all, things weren't doing so good.
Another flare of pain went through him as he lost another clone to the Mother of Chakra's attacks, and his mind continued to race. What was he going to do? He never doubted himself, he always believed in the end he would win, it was just a matter of finding out how to do it. But he had no clue how to rip a hole in space and go after the only person who was literally the answer to stopping the pale woman.
He blinked. The world changed again, and he could feel less of his clones nearby. Below him was a sprawling green sea, the fumes of it making his nose sting and his eyes water. Naruto could see Kaguya in the distance. He flickered again and winced as another clone took the blow.
He blinked. Gravity was suddenly tripled as he fell to his knees in another world, sensing even less of his clones. Sakura and Kakashi was also gone. What happened? Kaguya was closer now, although also on her knees.
He blinked. His hands suddenly felt numb as his body sank into the snow, as the world again changed around him. Kaguya was only a few yards away, and he couldn't sense his friends, or any of his clones. He reached out to Kurama, his mind calling for chakra. For help. For anything.
He blinked. She was in front of him. Something had him frozen, his body felt lifeless. All he could see was her weeping eyes. A hand came up, and though he couldn't flinch he feared her ash bones stabbing him and ending it.
"Your chakra… Belongs to me… I will have it now…"
He felt her fingers touch his cheek, and Naruto winced, his eyes closing again. She whispered into his ear, but in the hurricane of pain and wind around him he couldn't hear her.
Naruto opened his eyes. He was staring at a tilted wall. No, the wall wasn't tilted… he was laying down. The floor… no the bed under him had a familiar stiff but comforting feel to it. Confused he sat up, rubbing his face. Tiredness seemed to envelope him like a heavy blanket, like he'd just fought for his life and then ended up here. He blinked, looking around the room. It was his room. Of course it was his room, what other room would it be. Naruto looked at the wall at his calendar. Today had a big circle in red marker around it.
It was the graduation day. His eyes went big as he jumped off his bed, scrambling to get dressed. Today was the day! He finally had made it through 4 years of the Academy, and now he was legally able to apply for the Genin exam! He pulled on the black over shirt with his swirl pattern over his orange tshirt and jumped into his black cargo pants. For a moment he frowned, staring into his closet at the normal orange jumpsuit.
"Funny… I never noticed how ugly that this was…" he mumbled to himself. He then shrugged and headed out of his apartment. Naruto took off from his home, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Ahead and around him he could see several other academy students all heading in the same direction. One such student made their way to him as he landed on another rooftop.
"Good morning, Naruto!"
Naruto grinned and gave a salute as they launched into the air again. "Morning, Kiba! Ready to say goodbye to the Academy?"
The Inuzuka let out a woop and rolled at they landed on the street. "Goodbye classrooms, hello headband! Think you'll make it through without getting sent to the principal's office again?" The two bound on the walls of the alley and back to the rooftops, and resumed their trip. Naruto gave him the thumbs up. "Dude, nothing is keeping me from graduating. This time tomorrow, I'm gonna be a ninja!" Kiba and Naruto fist bumped and Kiba bounded away to talk to another student.
Soon, Naruto touched down in front of the Academy gates and grinned. This was it. He was one step closer to achieving his dream. He turned and looked behind him into town. Over the Yellow District he could see the colossal statue of the 4th Hokage. The monument to the Yellow Flash stood proudly as he watched the West, a commemoration to his triumph over Iwagakure and his sacrifice to the village.
"Watch me Dad…" he whispered to himself. "One day I will be able to proudly take your name."
As the young blonde went into the Academy, a ghostly figure watched him from the top of the 4th's head. The red transparent entity giggled before flitting down and following the boy, as it had for the last 12 years.