Tachibana Makoto limped down a crowded street, surrounded by the lively buzz of a big city. He took slow and steady steps, taking upmost care not to fall. Not half an hour before, he tripped down the stairs of the local library and twisted his ankle, and likely strained a great deal more. Makoto's shoulder hadn't fared much better in the fall, but he was within sight of the bus stop that would take him home for food and rest.
Makoto sighed and rubbed his sore shoulder, noting that it didn't have any sharp pain.
"What did I do to deserve this...?"
That was as good a sign as any that nothing was seriously wrong with it, so when he arrived at the bus stop, he leaned against a post with his back avoiding his bad shoulder as much as possible. Sparing a glance to his leg, he wondered if he'd be able to get up if he sat down right now so didn't even try the bench.
It had been a long day for the book-absorbed youth, who had spent the better half of his off day reading fiction novels of modern and historical significance, with the occasional tale of real heroes. Whether their name be Gilgamesh, King Arthur, Charlemagne, Thor, Iron Man, Harry Potter, Goku, Naruto, the list of his interests went on.
Makoto was a nerd and proud, a man with nothing but admiration for the writers that brought so many heroes to life. He even dreamt of rising to challenge them one day, with great stories of his own. Alas, he would soon find out that he never would, in this life.
After boarding the bus, what seemed a boring ride quickly spun out of control when a giant 50ft trailer broke off from the truck pulling it down an inclined side street. After the snap of metal, there was a scream that went unheard by those trapped on the bus. The trailer slowly picked up speed, the road behind it wide open and empty.
Some sort of divine instinct compelled Makoto to look outside his window beyond the countless faces on the sidewalk. He caught sight of the trailer far too late to move, but he still tried anyway. Coincidence became misfortune when his left leg gave out, and he fell back into his seat staring at the oncoming mass of metal on wheels.
The last thing Makoto remembered was a loud crash, as deafening to his ears as an explosion. He felt no pain, in fact he had no more thoughts at all. Everything that used to be 'Tachibana Makoto' became blank.
#
A screen appeared in front of a dazed figure, only seeming to be vaguely aware of its own consciousness within the world of white.
[Welcome to the Network. This plane serves as both the glue that binds the multiverse together and as the pathways to reach each conceivable iteration of this universe and every other. As a pure youth who died before he really lived due to extreme misfortune, you have been given special rights regarding your reincarnation.]
"Rein...carnation...? " Makoto read the message box over a dozen times before his memory and consciousness finally took hold.
"The last thing I remember was getting on that bus and... Oh god! I really died!" Makoto panicked for a moment, having an extremely hard time catching his breath.
This is real. That crash killed me instantly... Nobody could have survived that.
While Makoto was struggling to come to terms with reality, he pressed the 'arrow' button in the corner of the message to display the next one. If he was dead, and that message was real, he still had a path.
[You may choose any world that you wish to reincarnate into, and will receive Administrator Privileges that will allow you to make the most of your new life. If you refuse you will be reincarnated randomly with no memory of your previous life.] [Warning! Refusing gives a high chance of non-human reincarnation and likely a quick death.] [Do you accept?] [Y/N?]
That was an easy enough question to answer. Makoto quickly selected yes.
[Reincarnation specifications approved. To choose the universe you will live in, please select one of the following options. *Popularity will define the search of universes by how much you enjoyed their stories personally in life.]
{Browse} {Search} {Sort by: Average Power Level/Population/Difficulty/*Popularity} {Random}
"Hmm... I'd love to look through here all day, but, I already have my answer."
Makoto smirked faintly and pressed Search, and then input Naruto without any need for a keyboard, only his thoughts displayed the words on screen.
[Which era would you like to live in?]
{Era of the Divine Tree} {Kaguya's Reign} {Birth of Ninshu} {Rise of Ninjutsu} {Warring Clans Era} {Shinobi Village Era(Canon Naruto/Shippuden)} {Ninja Tech Era (Canon Boruto)} {Custom}
The last option made Makoto's heart skip a beat. Could he really do it? Customize the history of the Naruto Universe to his own liking? He certainly had to try. Makoto smirked and picked Custom.
From here he was given a plethora of options, and while he had complete control over the lives of characters, he couldn't exactly write them out. All he could do was observe and manipulate their roles in the story. He left everything that happened between the Ten Tailed Beast, Kaguya Ootsutsuki, and her sons as they occurred in canon, as well as the history of Ninshu afterward spread by Hagoromo, the Sage of the Six Paths. Here is where Makoto began to make changes.
Black Zetsu failed to turn Indra against Asura but succeeded in rewriting the Uchiha Tablet, biding his time and working in the shadows until he could bring the revival of Kaguya to fruition. He would later succeed in bringing about the Warring Clans Era, but the Uchiha and Senju Clans were inseparable allies despite Madara, a loved former ally, betraying them after awakening powerful new eyes after the tragic death of his brothers almost systematically. This allowed him to read much of the altered Tablet, leading to what he saw as his last chance of salvation. Hashirama Senju and the Uchiha were the first to form a ninja village, and soon enough the other clans began to do the same in their own countries. Most things were on track for canon, and yet many things were different.
Makoto spun the tales of many characters across the shinobi world, creating both new friends and foes to meet, however, once Makoto rewrote Naruto up to the timeline of canon events, specifically the Kyuubi Incident, he couldn't entirely resist living the rest out with the characters he had come to love.
He wanted to live his own story of course, but that could always come later. Before any of that, Makoto wanted to see how the changes he made would impact the future of this universe. The final edit Makoto made was to ensure the survival of Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina.
Makoto finalized the editing and submit his parameters, and a new message popped up.
[Universe selected. Reincarnation date and time, set. Happy Hunting!]
Just like that, the blank world changed form and birthed the new world of Naruto.
#
A shrill howl echoed across Konohagakure as The Nine Tailed Fox was pushed out of the village with minimal casualties due to the efforts of Hiruzen and the Legendary Konoha Sannin- Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. While they fought, Minato dispatched the Masked Man controlling the fox. After their fight was over however, Minato was approached by a black-cloaked five-year-old child with a blank, featureless white mask.
"Who the...? I have no ANBU like you. Name yourself!"
"You can call me... Blank."
His childlike voice was oddly pitched, leaving an eerie ring in the Fourth's ear.
"I came to present a solution to our fox problem."
Despite the suspicious glare Minato wore, he responded well enough.
"Explain."
"I'm aware that you plan on sealing Kurama into your son... I ask that instead you seal him into me."
"Kurama...Is that the fox's name? You want me to seal him into a stranger?"
"Trust me. Nobody understands the true nature of the Biju like me."
"No."
Before Blank could do a thing, Minato placed a Flying Thunder God Seal on him with a swift touch on his shoulder.
"I cannot give you the Kyuubi. As Hokage, such an act is nothing short of irresponsible."
Somehow, the Fourth Hokage figured Blank must have known that would be his response, based on what the boy said next.
"Fine. If not that, then seal him into your son as you already intended, and when your son becomes a Genin, make me his Jonin Sensei. Assuming I'm appointed one by then. I assure you that I will be the best person to teach him to tame Kurama."
Even Minato was a bit shocked at the proposal, but every second they spoke was another for the fox to destroy Konoha.
"I'll consider it if you show me your face."
Blank chuckled. "No, that's no fun. Within the next year, I will become a Konoha shinobi... When the time is right, how about I show you my mask then?"
Minato merely raised an eyebrow. "Is this just a game to you?"
"Not entirely... Everything I do has a reason. That doesn't mean I can't have some fun doing it, right?"
It was the Hokage's turn to chuckle, but here he cut Blank off.
"I go to suppress the Kyu- no, Kurama. I suppose I'll being seeing you soon, even if I don't know it..."
Minato was gone in a flash, just like his moniker.
Blank just smirked and returned to the shadows while leaving his marked cloak behind, the first seeds of his plan having been sewn.
Meanwhile, Minato arrived to face the Kyuubi right on time with Naruto and Kushina at his side, but he was forced to use the Flying Thunder God Barrier to send another Bijudama away from the village.
Jiraiya looked quite relieved to see his student arrive, but the other two Sannin and the Third could only wonder why he arrived with his son, and especially to see Kushina so well after the extraction of a Tailed Beast. None of them had time to voice their thoughts before Minato himself spoke.
"Jiraiya, I have a very important request of you. I need your help to seal the Nine-Tails within Naruto. Alone, it's chakra is too much, but together..."
Needless to say, the Pervy Sage was flabbergasted by the request.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
The Fourth responded with total conviction.
"Okay."
Jiraiya expression turned serious instantly, and he cracked his knuckles while he thought of everything he would need for the sealing ritual.
"Thank you. Third, remain here with Kushina and Naruto to keep an eye out for trouble. Before I arrived here, I was fighting the masked Uchiha that broke the fox's seal and placed it under genjutsu."
Hiruzen's eyes flashed open for a moment before he narrowed them and nodded firmly. The same man that killed Biwako, surely.
"Understood."
Minato nodded respectfully in return and then turned around to face the snarling Kyuubi.
"Orochimaru, help me get the fox's attention and bind him while Tsunade aids Kushina as best she can. If all else fails, her jutsu will be invaluable in restraining the Nine Tails."
Tsunade gave the Fourth a resolute nod and rasied her fist in the air.
"She will not die on my watch."
Minato vanished, already moving to confront Kurama. The others shared a nod amongst themselves before splitting up to see to their duties.
Kushina shared a glance with Minato just before he teleported, as well as a heartfelt smile.
"Good luck... Minato."
Kurama charged Minato to meet him head on, swiping his claws through the earth to fling dirt, rocks, and trees at the Fourth Hokage.
Minato flashed aside to dodge easily, spreading his Flying Thunder God kunai across the landscape well in advance.
Kurama was unable to predict where the Fourth would appear, so he swiped his tails around in one direction while slashing the other way with his right claw in what effectively cut off Minato's intended retreat, who appeared in the path of the Kyuubi's massive claw.
Without missing a beat, Minato formed a Rasengan in one hand, and then increased its size five times over. After impact, the whirlpool of chakra doubled in size for a moment before exploding into the fox's claw.
"Super Expanding Rasengan Stage Two!"
Kurama was knocked back by the jutsu, spinning around oddly due to his position and angle of impact. His claws showed signs of heavy damage, namely the formation of deep cracks along the surface. As the Tailed Beast stood back up snarling, one of his claws shattered at the tip.
The demonic howl that followed carried the force of an explosion as Kurama gathered mass amounts of chakra for a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Orochimaru seemed unaffected as he arrived beside Minato.
"So, what's your plan Hokage-sama?"
"Summon Manda."
Orochimaru glared but didn't refuse, forming the seals for the Summoning Technique at the same time as Minato. They both finished quickly, and suddenly the battlefield was covered in smoke from two boss summons.
Manda and Gamabunta stood side by side while their summoners stood on their heads. Orochimaru formed another set of hand seals that released a swarm of small snakes from his arms resembling a surge of water, which spread far and wide around Kurama.
Minato summoned two other toads however, Fukusaku and Shima each standing on one of his shoulders. They were experts with Natural Energy and were his only method to access Sage Mode due to the time it took to gather it himself. They quickly formed the bond with Minato and his face took on toad-like frame and features, while gold markings appeared around his eyes, branching across his now-wide cheekbones.
"Orochimaru, be prepared to bind him when I give the signal, it'll be hard to miss. We only have one shot at this."
"Very well. We'll be ready. Let's go, Manda."
"Let's tear him into fucking pieces!"
Orochimaru chuckled and urged the violent snake around to the left side while his swarm began to encircle the beast without getting close, creating a ring of snakes around the fox.
Minato took a deep breath, focusing intensely.
"Gamabunta, don't use any water jutsu against the Kyuubi. Instead, use oil."
"Understood! Don't want to mix water and oil, eh? Planning on burning the bastard alive?"
Minato frowned a bit, nodding gravely.
"I'm still not sure if it will be enough to really damage the fox, but it'll definitely keep him down for a moment or two."
"I sure hope so... Otherwise he'll be mad as a hornet."
"Indeed... That's why we only have one chance to end this. Ma, Pa, each of you take a Hiraishin kunai. You're going to have to throw at least one of them later."
"Just tell us when."
Just as Kurama accumulated a mountain-sized Bijudama, it condensed into a ball small enough for the fox to chomp down with a feral, hateful glare.
"What is he doing!?"
Minato instantly formulated half a dozen ways this could go down, but if all of that chakra became directed out of his mouth at a single point...
Minato quickly began forming hand seals for his Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder after throwing a Hiraishin kunai high into the air and drawing another.
Kurama released the explosive force of his Bijudama straight at Minato just as he predicted, shaking the very air around the battlefield and uprooting trees close by.
Minato's teleportation barrier whisked away the beam of chakra to the kunai Minato sent skyward, shooting like a beacon into the heavens before it lost steam.
Panting heavily from the strain despite the aid of Senjutsu, Minato took a moment to recover as Gamabunta charged forward swiftly forming hand seals. He fired three shots of oil from his mouth, spaced out to cover all of the fox.
"Toad Oil Bullet!"
Kurama glared and growled, swiping each of his tails like a whip, literally kicking up a storm. Each swipe of his tail generated a small twister, and they ravaged the land around before converging in front of the oil bullets, splattering most of it in the wind to rain back around the area. Kurama still got splashed himself, but to an almost negligible amount.
Through it all, Gamabunta drew his dagger and came jumping down right in front of Kurama, slashing downward as he landed only for his weapon to be pinched between two of the fox's tails, stopping in its tracks. It was easily cast aside to plunge into the ground.
However, the sword was a diversion for the last shot of oil which blasted forth in a stream at point blank range. Minato followed up nicely with a jet of flame as the oil burst from Gamabunta's mouth.
"Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
Kurama howled as the flames engulfed him, but only until spun around while releasing a powerful shockwave of raw chakra to push off the flames, causing the forest to catch fire. Despite a direct hit, the Kyuubi seemed almost unfazed, if not just angry.
"As expected, I suppose... But the next attack will finish it."
Minato formed a Rasengan and held a Hiraishin kunai in his other hand, holding the Rasengan out in front of him. As he spoke, the jutsu underwent many changes.
"Ma, Pa, I need your help with this one. I'm going to apply shape and nature transformation to this, as well as Senjutsu. I need you to help me keep it stable. Truth be told, this jutsu isn't exactly complete yet... But if this works, it'll be an S-Rank Forbidden Technique for sure."
"We'll try."
By the end, Minato's Rasengan had grown twice its size and turned red, set aflame in a spiraling inferno, the toads on his shoulders helping him keep the mass of chakra together as asked.
"Gamabunta, jump back and as high as you can."
"Yeah!"
The Toad Boss sprung into the air away from Kurama, but as soon as they took off he gave another order.
"Ma, throw your kunai to the side of the Kyuubi and keep it afloat."
Shima did as asked immediately, imbuing wind nature chakra into the kunai as it was thrown so it would hover for a short time nearby the fox.
Kurama started charging another Bijudama, firing it prematurely when he noticed Minato's machinations.
"Pa, throw yours beneath him now!"
As the bomb closed in, Minato raised his own kunai in its path and formed the necessary seals with one hand, using a different and slightly longer set than usual. Still, his teleportation barrier was in time to redirect the weak Bijudama back at Kurama himself using Fukusaku's kunai.
Taken off guard having not having seen the kunai, Kurama was blasted in the chest by his own attack and sent reeling on his hind leg. Minato named the attack whatever came to mind, as usual.
"I call this..."
At the same time, Minato vanished from atop Gamabunta and appeared where Shima's kunai still hovered, and threw his own kunai in the air ahead of Kurama's path, high above the fox. Despite the impact, Kurama still made an effort to strike out at Minato as he appeared, releasing a destructive stream of wind from his mouth.
"Flying Thunder God: Level Five-"
Holding both hands together with his blazing Rasengan hovering out in front, Minato activated his Flying Thunder God again to appear at the kunai thrown over the fox's head, dodging the wind and pointing his trump card right at Kurama from above. As its name was spoken, Minato used his chakra to propel the jutsu through the air to strike the fox directly.
"-Vanishing Spiral Phoenix Burst Flash Toad Style!"
Kurama was impacted by the jutsu and driven back down into the ground in an instant, the resulting explosion around the Rasengan undergoing shape transformation to appear as the wings and tail of a phoenix.
Everyone who witnessed the technique would be amazed, Orochimaru especially was jealous of his reluctant ally, who had recently usurped the Hokage title he so craved. Jiraiya arrived on scene in time to catch the spectacle up close as well, holding nothing but pride in his student.
Orochimaru never gave Kurama a chance to recover. Without regard for the flames obscuring the fox with their volume, his horde of snakes swarmed the Kyuubi. Furthermore, he summoned an additional nine large snakes, each brown and nearly identical, all of which struck and bound one of the fox's tails. Manda bound the fox across its chest, biting down on the Kyuubi's shoulder to paralyze him.
Kurama could do nothing but glare as a slow-breathing Minato landed beside Jiraiya, who already had the alter prepared with Naruto wrapped on top.
"Naruto... One day you'll understand why I chose you to bear this burden. I know you will grow to tame the fox and become the Child of Prophecy. That Masked Man intends to rule the world... This is only the beginning."
Minato and Jiraiya knelt over Naruto and began forming the seals to begin the sealing process, beginning simultaneously.
"Eight Trigrams Sealing."
"Eight Trigrams Sealing."
Within seconds, the entirety of the roaring Kyuubi was sucked inside the infant Naruto, finally bringing an end to what would later become known as the Kyuubi Incident. In this world, Kushina miraculously survived thanks to her Uzumaki vitality and Tsunade's vast medical knowledge. Naruto Uzumaki would grow up knowing the love of his family.
#
Makoto Nara awoke at age six in the starting location he originally selected for himself during the creation of the universe. Being older than he actually was, he opted not to have a large family that would control his future in a way that interfered with his ultimate plans. He was capable of making those important decisions for himself, so he was born into the Nara Clan, notorious for their laid-back attitude.
Makoto with his honed mind would fit in with the clan perfectly, and they would likely give him the most freedom to do as he pleased. He briefly considered being born an Uchiha or Senju instead, but he didn't want to take the spotlight of the story from the main cast, he wanted to observe them more than anything. Instead, he had more of a supporting role in mind for himself.
Thanks to his Admin Privileges, Makoto was able to simply fast forward through his baby years without losing awareness of what happened in them. With his prior life experience, he was hailed as a genius even among the Nara's, given he could speak like an adult from the moment his vocal cords developed properly. Makoto was not afraid to cause a riot with his wealth of knowledge and insane development, and did not hesitate to begin shinobi training. His parents Hiyama Nara and Shirobara Nara did nothing but support him.
Makoto made a pit stop to intrude on the Kyuubi incident as Blank, but resumed and ultimately stopped fast-forwarding on the day he graduated from the academy, in fact the same day as Itachi. They had both graduated after being enrolled for a single year, and the duo was on track to become famous across the village as eternal rivals much like Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai.
After resuming, the Network gave Makoto a helpful reminder.
[Please review your status after Fast Forwarding.]
"Show Status."
Character Name: Makoto
Alias (es): Blank
Age: Seven
Birth Month: July
Gender: Male
Blood Type: O
Height: 46in (3ft 10in)
Weight: 64lbs (Lean)
Notable Features: Genius Intellect due to extensive knowledge of the Naruto Universe and previous life.
Family Members: Shirobara Nara and Hiyama Nara.
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Occupation: Shinobi In-Training
Village Rank: Academy Student
Personal Goal: Makoto has resolved to enjoy his new life to the fullest, living an epic story alongside some of his favorite characters.
Stats:
Level: 5
EXP: 142/435 (INT + WIS + STR + VIT + DEX + LUC x LVL)
HP: 90 [LVL X (STR x VIT)]
SP: 120 [LVL X (STR x DEX)]
INT: 30
WIS: 40
STR: 3
VIT: 6
DEX: 8
LUC: 0
Chakra Pool (Pasive): 1200 (INT x WIS)
Chakra Pool (Active): 60 [(INT x VIT)/STR=\=10]
Passive Chakra Recovery Rate: 7% per minute. (INT + WIS)/10
Chakra Control: 56% [(INT + WIS)/10 (DEX)]
Jutsu List:
Shadow Possession Technique [LVL: 7]
Enclosing Technique (Store) [LVL: 10]
Unsealing Technique (Retrieve) [LVL: 10]
Cloak of Invisibility Technique [LVL: 10]
Rope Escape Technique [LVL: 10]
Transformation Technique [LVL: 10]
Body Replacement Technique [LVL: 10]
Body Flicker Technique [LVL: 3]
Clone Technique [LVL: 5]
Skills:
Leaf Concentration Exercise (LVL: MAX)
Hand Seals (LVL: 6)
Climbing (LVL: 8)
Stealth (LVL: 15)
Fighting Style: Short-Mid Range Support Ninjutsu/Unbalancing Defensive Taijutsu
Tactics: Manji Formation
Weapons: Kunai
Summary: Makoto is a highly trained child that drilled the basics of being a ninja into his body using effective methods derived from memories in his past life. He is a true inheritor of Hashirama's Will of Fire and intends to support Naruto in his destiny as the Child of Prophecy and his dream of becoming Hokage.