Title: Namikaze
Summary: In a world that is slightly different from the one we know Minato and Kushina live. Now the children of this world must grow up to become the amazing Shinobi we all know and love - only a little differently. Joined by a few new faces can the rookies navigate a world full of blood, politics, schemes, and mysterious enemies intent on killing them?
His world was ending.
They had lost the war and there was nothing left for him to fight for. Every village had been destroyed, every person killed, and every thing obliterated. Naruto couldn't stop the tears from flowing freely down his face. He'd lost everything dear to him. His teachers, friends, the entire village.
Despite everything he'd done, despite all his best efforts, he had failed.
"You can have another chance."
Naruto snapped his head up. A masked person stood just a few feet away from him. He hadn't sensed them coming, hadn't even noticed them until they had spoken. They were average height and wore plain black clothing. A plain white fox shaped mask covered their face but not the rest of their face which allowed him to see bright red hair.
Naruto had thought he was the last on left. His enemies had opted not to end his life and let him watch the world rot away. They had left him to wallow in the knowledge of how miserably he'd failed.
How had this strange person escaped them?
The masked person held up their left hand palm and wrist towards them. As he looked he saw a number displayed just below their palm. The number glowed with purple energy then ticked one number down. It looked like a timer but what exactly was it timing?
He couldn't restrain his curiousity and asked.
The person turned their wrist around to look at the number for themself, "It's how much time I have left. How much time you have left."
He was still confused to say the least. Did they mean that this world was going to end when that counter hit zero? Did they have something to do with the people who sought to end this world? The answer was too vague and only created more questions.
He of course asked for clarification.
A light chuckle reached his ears but sounded more tired and sad than amused. The person shook their head. Naruto watched as they removed the mask revealing the face of a young girl. She had sharp blue eyes and short cut bright red hair that framed a narrow face. Naruto couldn't help thinking she looked a lot like a girl version of his father.
She began to explain, "I am from another world. In that world I was born in place of you and like you I failed to save my world. This counter is how long I have left before the Jutsu I used to jump from one world to the next, from mine to yours, ends. When it hits zero thats the end and I will disappear. Completely."
Naruto didn't know what to say, if she was telling the truth that would be amazing. What were the limits to what she was able to do? Where could she go? Could she warn people about the dangers that the next world would face?
Taking his silence as a sign to continue the person added, "This world is a failure too. It couldn't be saved but I can take you with me to the next one. Perhaps with your help we can save that world. We can give the Child of Prophecy of that world their best chance."
"You mean - ?"
She took a deep breath, "I will disappear when this jutsu ends. Completely cease to exist. If you come with me you will too. But I believe if we can save the people meant to be our parents then the next world will not be doomed. It can be saved."
"Okay!"
The girl seemed surprised by his immediate acceptance. Then she smiled at him, the truest most sincere expression he'd seen on her face through out the whole exchange. She offered him her hand. When he took it they were enveloped in white nothingness.
They didn't have to put any effort into moving, the strange place seemed to push them forward on its own.
"We will arrive in the new world on October 10th but when during that day is hard to say."
Naruto fixed her with a curious gaze, "How do you know it'll be on the 10th?"
He eyes were cold when she said, "It's always the 10th."
Before he could ask anymore questions the light faded away and they staring the Kyuubi in the face. His companion grabbed the back of his jacket and suddenly they were on the grown before the Kyuubi could snap them in his jaws. They hit the ground between the Kyuubi's paws and went skidding through the mud and muck. Both were quick to recover and get back on their feet just fast enough to avoid getting stepped on. Naruto grabbed the girl and dragged her off to the cover of some nearby trees.
"You can use Dad's time-space jutsu!?"
"Thats not important now. We are fighting time. I need to you keep our Father busy while I get the baby born in this world. I'll have to seal the Kyuubi in them if we don't want our Father to use the Reaper Death Seal."
Naruto nodded. Remembering the story he had been told about the night of his birth He figured his father must be fighting the masked man right about now. It took him a minute to get his bearings but he was quickly able to sense Minato. He was a good distance away but Naruto was sure he'd make it in time.
"Just keep Dad busy. I can do that." He rushed off to the location.
"Good luck." The girl whispered before using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
Naruto arrived at the location of his father's fight with masked attacker just in time.
The masked man had gotten a set chains around the Yondaime but just as Naruto was about to yell a warning Minato flashed away. He snapped his mouth shut before any actually noise could make it out. He'd let this play out on its own resolved to only step in if things went iffy.
"It's probably best to only draw their attention If I need to. Even if I do have to step in I'm covered in dirt and mud. That means there is no way for Dad to recognize me as the baby by my birthmarks either. I'm just a random Konoha Shinobi." Naruto thought to himself perching on a high branch.
Both men could probably sense he was there but neither made any attempt to engage him. He could just watch. Everything He'd been told was playing out exactly and right before his eyes. It was pretty satisfying to watch his old man use Rasengan to beat the masked man into the ground. It took a lot of willpower to keep from cheering for his father.
"I wonder how that girl is doing?"
The world jumper landed in the safe house Minato had left his wife, Kushina, just in time. It had taken her a painful amount of time to figure out which kunai marked this location there had been so many in the near vacinity. When she landed the cry of an infant alerted her that she was in fact in the right spot. The place was mostly empty save some sparse furniture and the odd looking bed her mother was laying on.
Speaking of her mother, a string of expletives told her that the woman was none too happy to see her. Thankfully Kushina was still to weak from childbirth and having the Kyuubi removed to fight her. The girl didn't want to fight her own mother.
"I'm sorry for everything. I'm here to help make it better. Please don't fight me on this." She stated simply as she neared Kushina. Of course the new mother wasn't going to listen to some random stranger and was quite lively for someone in her condition.
"Don't you dare come near me or my children! One more step and I swear I'll tear you apart!"
The girl stopped dead, "Children?"
Never before had she landed in a world were two children had been born. Was it because she had brought Naruto along with her? She glanced at the two infants. One was a blond and the other a red head. Twins. A boy and a girl.
Naruto and herself.
She shook her head. No, it wasn't actually her or Naruto but this worlds version of them. But how was she supposed to handle this? The Nine-Tails had to be sealed in the Child of Prophecy. Which of these children was it? Were both of them the Child of Prophecy? There was no telling.
She would just have to split the Kyuubi between them. Yin and Yang.
She made a couple of hand signs and cast a simple jutsu that would put her mother sleep and help her heal. Something like this probably wouldn't have worked had Kushina not already been in a weakened state. Once the woman was safely out she then gathered the two infants into her arms.
"I'm sorry to all of you but this is how it has to be," She whispered softly.
The sealing alter was set by the time Naruto arrived back with her. In the background the Kyuubi raged all the more violently.
"Wha-? Twins?"
The girl nodded at him, "Thankfully I know how to split the Kyuubi from watching your father do it in your world."
Naruto wanted to ask all kinds of questions about that. How could she have seen his father seal the Nine-tails in him? There was no time to ask though as before mentioned creature looked their way. Even though he had befriended the Fox in his world he still found being fixed by the bijuu gaze to be absolutely terrifying.
"Well, Dad ported away to check on Mom and the baby. We don't have much time before he shows up here." Naruto warned her. He really didn't want to get killed by his own father.
"Right,' She agreed and began making the hand seals for the sealing jutsu she would use.
Gently she placed her hands on each of the infants stomachs and uttered a small prayer. Like the winds of a storm the Kyuubi began to get sucked into the seals on either infant. Naruto put his hands on her shoulders offering up his own chakra to help to set and reinforce the seal. As soon as the Kyuubi was completely sealed into the pair of infants Naruto pulled the girl away them. It was just in time to avoid being attacked by a very angry Minato Namikaze.
"Who are you?" Minato demanded placing himself between them and the children.
Naruto threw a questioning glance her way. How did she plan on explaining this one?
"We aren't in league with the masked man. We just came to help. If we hadn't stepped in it is very likely you and you wife would be dead by now," She offered in explanation.
Then she turned to Naruto and showed her wrist to him. It was almost to zero.
"Time for us to go."
Minato watch the pair as they changed into a odd light and slowly faded away into nothingness. He wasn't sure he knew what was going on or how to explain this to Kushina but at the very least the fox was sealed away again, the twins were safe, and both of them were alive.
He gathered his twins protectively into his arms and flashed away.
Thank you for reading! This is my first Naruto fic in a long time and I'm excited to be getting back into the fandom! Some people were concerned this would be a neglect fic but worry not as it will be the farthest from that. I appreciate you reading and if you really liked feel free to review and maybe even favorite this story.