Origins

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Summary: The last thing Naruto remembered was a pair of ringed eyes. He didn't expect to be thrown over 50 years into the past, finding himself belonging to a family that he didn't know. There is only one variable that can fix the future: Uchiha Naruto.

A/N: This story is an idea I've been wanting to write down for some time. I hope I can continue it, and I hope you guys enjoy it. I don't know if this idea is fully original or not, I haven't seen any of Naruto during the beginning of the First Shinobi War.

Ch1: Memories

Naruto could recall pain, searing pain. Like every inch of his body was slowly being burnt with fire, pickling him with the sensations of millions of deadly needles.

Madara, he was fighting Uchiha Madara with the entirety of the shinobi alliance. His thoughts were fuzzy, he couldn't feel through the pain. Floating through the void, utterly weightless, the Uzumaki had no idea what had happened. Sakura, Saskue, his friends, all were probably dead. 'Am I dead too?' he asked himself, struggling to see color.

Blackness.

The pain numbed, subsiding to a vague memory of the fire coursing through his body. Now, he felt cold, lifeless, purposeless. His mind was no less jumbled, struggling to place together a cohesive timeline. Focus was impossible, there was only fear. Fear and confusion.

He tried to remember, he really did. Was it the enormous katon jutsu that wiped them out? No, he and Kurama had survived that. It was the meteor, Tengai Shinsei, that absolutely crushed them. Though, even with those broken bones, he still had to fight.

But Kurama, he told the boy about some escape. Some way to fix this. He couldn't remember properly, it was all too fast, too confusing.

The void was swallowing him; he was falling through the impossible darkness. 'Wait,' he paused in his thoughts, 'I'm falling?' It was the first sensation he felt since the pain numbed.

Suddenly, a light swallowed the darkness, reaching out and grabbing him in its tendrils.

With a small thud, he landed face first in the dirt. Dirt? He could see the ground, the stems of grass poking out from trodden earth. His body felt numb, almost distant to him as he tried to align the feelings with his perception. Clutching a fistfull of dirt, he found his joints sore. With great effort, he pushed himself onto his knees, his body still not responding exactly with his intentions.

He was on an old dirt path, he saw that. Trees stretched around the path, reminding him of the forest near the Uchiha compound. It was nigh impossible for him to know where exactly he was, there were no landmarks he knew. Added to that, there were no large craters from meteor impacts or singed trees from powerful katon jutsu. Even evidence of the fight with the Juubi was nonexistent. Another thought occurred to him: He was completely and utterly alone.

"Kurama?" he called softly, frowning immediately afterwards. His voice was very high pitched, almost like when he was a kid. People may call Naruto below average in intelligence, more like dumb, but he still knew when something was unusual.

He didn't have to speak, only think, but the words were just to break the silence permeating his mind. There was no answer, an unexpected thing for Naruto. Of recent, the Kyuubi was always there, encouraging him to never give up, helping him perform amazing feats. From understanding the boy's emotions to helping separate the Juubi, the fox was right there beside him. And when all else failed, Kurama could always tell him anything about the fight that he didn't comprehend.

Right now, it was driving him insane, not knowing what happened.

"Hello!?" He shouted, standing up with great effort. He spun around, looking for any detail, anything to say something. The sun shown in the sky, it was midday. The last time he saw the sun, it was still night, so how was it suddenly noon?

Walking was no easy chore, but he had to follow the path. There was a small road, if it was actually large enough to be described as so, and every road had to go somewhere. He stumbled at first, his strides were much smaller. He felt shorter as a whole, as if the world was far bigger than it should be. Looking down on his body, he seemed to be far younger.

The weirdest part so far, his clothes were all different. Why would that be? It clearly wasn't that stupid genjutsu Madara had tried to finish, the Juubi was split up. There was just no way.

Then how did he explain the navy blue, high collared tee-shirt and white bandages on his right leg? He even had black shorts, and he never wore shorts. It was always that orange and black jumpsuit.

His hitai-ate! He couldn't feel the string tied around the back of his head, so he flung his undersized hand up to his forehead. The cold metal wasn't there. Panick hardly described the feeling he felt at the loss of one of his most prized mementos. Iruka-sensei had given it to him, and now he didn't know if the man was alive or dead. Hell, he still didn't know if he, himself, was alive or dead.

For a few minutes, he followed the road going one direction. Slowly, the sights became more familiar. A training grounds, must have been 20something if he recalled correctly. There were kunai stuck in it, making him smirk a bit. 'Is the war over? People wouldn't be training if we were still fighting Madara.' Huh, did he just reason that out? How unusual.

Finally, he came upon houses. There were a huge group of them, maybe forty, each very wide yet only one story. He could also see a street covered with stands and shops, something not unusual in Konoha. 'The Uchiha clan compound,' he immediately recognized. The thought struck him, he never saw the inside of the compound, much less from the angle of the forest. How had he known which compound it was. Yet, somewhere deep inside, he felt like he belonged there.

'Kurama, a little help here...' No answer. 'Damn fox! You're just jealous of my amazingness.' Nothing. Normally, that would have generated a response, a grunt at least. Proof that the beast was still there, but Naruto had none. He seriously could have used help from the Bijuu right now. He was lost, seemingly shrunk down, probably in some form of delusion. There had to be an answer. There had to be!

He began wandering between the houses, as he looked up towards the sun, questioning if it was real. He saw one Uchiha, characterized by the onyx eyes and raven black hair, who gave him a raised eyebrow as he passed. Naruto wondered if he should talk to the man, but he didn't want to deal with one of those arrogant bastards.

'Wait, what the hell.' There was a living Uchiha other than Madara or Sasuke. That couldn't possibly be right, could it. This only deepened the mystery in Naruto's mind.

As he continued his journey, he saw more and more Uchiha. A few were walking back towards there house, one was even likely going on a mission with a large backpack on his back. This was an odd sight for the confused boy, so many people of any clan in one place. Though the compound should have felt alien to him, he was beginning to remember the place. He could almost classify it as familiar, and his path was guided by some instinct in the back of his head.

The path extended into the heart of the compound, where it turned into a well worn, solid path that every Uchiha knew to be the main route around the compound and to the market district of Konoha. He took a left on the path, searching for some house that he knew he should go to. The why was almost completely lost to him by now, he was just doing whatever came to him.

Finally, he came upon the house he was looking for. It was much like the other clan houses, simple, one floor, and a fancy black roof.

Tentatively, he walked up to the door, where the Uchiha fan, red and white, was proudly flaunted. Three times he knocked, his body doing this foreign action as his mid was in a trance.

The door opened.

A man, no a teen, stood with a confused look of his own. That face for an Uchiha, however, resembled more of a frown, indicated by a slight twitch of the side of the lips. 'When did I get so good at reading expressions?' Naruto wondered.

This young man, Naruto knew with unusual certainty that he was seventeen. Despite the pristine hitai-ate proudly displayed on his forehead, he seemed like he just got up. His jet black hair was messy, insane at best, spiking randomly and falling over his hitai-ate. He appeared to have been getting ready for training, a skin tight black suit covered his upper body, greyish armor on his legs, and wasn't wearing anything on his feet. Naruto squinted his eyes at the man, he was just so familiar. He wanted to run up and give the man a big hug, though he couldn't explain where the impulse came from. It took a few moments for memories (were they even his?) to flood his mind. That was Kagami Uchiha.

"Naruto-kun?" He asked, surprised, concerned.

"Aniki?" Naruto replied, mirroring the man's tone. He clasped a hand over his mouth. 'What am I saying? I don't have a brother, and I certainly don't look like an Uchiha.'

"Shouldn't you be at the academy?" He sighed.

The impulse from earlier didn't return, leaving him with no clue what to say. He was sixteen, way too old to go to the academy. "Err... I don't know. What day is it?" 'How long after the war is it,' he wanted to ask, but he avoided mentioning it. The last thing he wanted to worry about was Madara on the loose now, especially with the plethora of questions rattling around in his skull.

Kagami was puzzled by the odd question. "April 18th. Can't you remember this stuff?"

'The war happened in the summer, so its almost been a year. Weird, I would have thought that Konoha would look different, like it did after Nagato's attack.' He thought the last part as he twisted his body around and looked at a few of the larger buildings in the distance. It was a fact that two of those apartment complexes were destroyed, so why had Konoha rebuild the exact same ones? In fact, none of the landmarks looked different, the Hokage monument still had two faces.

Wait.

What!?

'Where did Tou-san and Baa-chan go!? A-am I in some genjutsu?' No, he eliminated that possibility earlier.

"Something's on your mind. You can tell your aniki," he squatted down to Naruto's height, which was humiliatingly short. He didn't think that he was even five feet tall, how awful.

"NO, no, nothings wrong," he shot back hurriedly. The faces, the Uchihas. There was only one conclusion that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki (where was Kurama?) could come to: He was in the past.

Utterly insane. He was a raving lunatic. But a raving lunatic with an open mind and this new, weird logic programmed in his brain. It was the only conclusion. Well, he eliminated the impossible, and what remained, however improbably, was the truth. That didn't make it easier to accept.

"You sure? You've been acting like you're out of it ever since..." he couldn't finish the sentence. Naruto noticed pain in his bother's eyes, but was even more startled to find tears in his own. A few wet tears, trickling down his cheek.

Memories surfaced.

Flashback

"Kaa-chan!" An eight year old boy cried, tugging on a raven-haired woman's sleeve.

Midori had a radiant smile, an unusual quality of anyone befitting her clan or her situation. Despite her pale face, everything seemed much more vivid about her, namely her colorful personality. Hitai-ate displayed on her forehead, she wore a green flack jacket and black short sleeved undershirt, tight gloves on her hands with a steel plate in the middle to deflect kunai and swords. A tanto was sheathed on her back behind her hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail.

The concept of war was nothing to scoff at. She had fought wars in the past, before the founding of Konoha, but now they were organized. Intense. Though less than three months old, the war had escalated to the point where each nation was worried for the safety of their newly founded villages. The frontlines were a slaughtering ground, and unfortunately, Naruto's mother was being sent to Kumogakure's frontline. That was perhaps the most dangerous of all at present. She had to tell the boys, Kagami and Naruto, that she might not be returning.

Standing at the door, Midori turned back to Naruto, a reassuring smile on her face wiping away her haunted expression. "It's alright. I'll always be there for you, Naruto-kun. I have to leave now, but first, give your kaa-chan a hug." Her son embraced her in a quick hug, though it was the fourth one in the past ten minutes.

She was about to leave when she heard footsteps from the hallway. Kagami walked into the living room, placing a hand on his younger brother's left shoulder. He had rushed to get ready, his grey armor on slightly sideways and his chuunin flack jacket uneven. Even his hitai-ate was sideways, and he always put it on straight. It was obvious to Midori that he had rushed to get ready the moment he heard she was leaving.

"Don't tell him that. Don't go, please. I'll fight in your place." His resolve was hardened, he would protect the village. But he would not let his family sacrifice their lives for this, Midori wasn't even that good of a kunoichi.

"It is my duty, Kagami-kun. Stop being foolish. I know its been hard since your dad passed away, but you are younger than me with more reasons to live. You have a full life ahead of you, and hopefully we can end this war before you get dragged into it. Besides, you can protect your brother better than I ever could." A few of her reasons went unsaid, mistakes she made in the past.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks, yet he made not a single sound. Suddenly, he swiftly moved across the room, wrapping his mother in a hug,

"Good luck, Kaa-san," he said into her shoulder, backing up after a long minute.

She nodded, words were now unimportant. With a wave, she left. The two were shocked at how sudden it all was, her team being called to fight. It was a desolate few days after that; however the brothers learnt how to put it out of their mind, waiting for her safe return in two months.

Weeks later, they received a red enveloped letter, notification that their last direct family member was dead.

End Flashback

'Is that my memory?' Naruto wondered. It felt real, it seemed real. But was it the truth? He didn't consciously remember anything else, maybe brief images of childhood, the academy, his friends.

'My mother is Kushina Uzumaki!' he reminded himself, quickly.

"Naruto-kun?" Kagami asked quizzically, as the boy's eyes had focused on the wall of the house while the memory flashed through his head.

"Sorry, Aniki." He focused back on his brother, immediately finding the man far more familiar than before. So, he could remember his family with clarity, but what about the academy, which he apparently attended? Did he know any jutsu? Who were his friends? A bunch of questions rattled nonstop in his head.

What was worse, his future knowledge didn't even let him know who Kagami was. He wasn't too familiar with the Uchiha, save Itachi, Madara, and Sasuke. Sasuke, his rival, and newly reunited friend. Gone, in the blink of the eye. Now, he was many years older than his friend, stranded in an unknown era (was it truly unknown?).

There was a deep silence, they couldn't even hear the normal hustle and bustle of the compound.

"Aniki," the boy began.

"Naruto-kun."

"You're going on a mission, aren't you?"

"Yeah." At the downcast look in his brother's eyes, Naruto was hoping to learn more about Kagami, he elaborated, "I'm only going with my team to guard a convoy from the Land of Iron. Nothing big, just this cool chakra-conducting metal that we don't want Kumo to get their hands on."

"You'll be safe?"

"Don't worry," he chuckled, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder like he always did, "I'm not going anywhere." He waited for Naruto to calm down and give him an understanding nod. "You still didn't answer my question."

"Huh?"

"Why aren't you at the academy?"

"Can't I get a day off," he sighed, making it a statement not a question. "To say goodbye to you," he added.

Kagami heaved a large sigh, taking his hand from Naruto's shoulder to fix his messy hair. Afterwards, he gave his little brother a warm embrace. "I have to go. Promise me you'll take care of yourself."

Naruto nodded.

"I'll be back before you know it!" He smirked, patting Naruto on the head. He left the boy speechless as he walked right past him, onto the road that led back to the center of the village.

Once Naruto was sure he was alone, he didn't even enter the house. He was stunned, taking everything in, trying to puzzle out his situation. Everything seemed to make more sense, but was the entire word different, or just him. In this time he shouldn't even exist, yet he did, and what's more, he had a background. A past, that he didn't truly live. Or did he? It befuddled him, the specifics of that memory.

"This is soooo weird," he complained, in a very Naruto-ish manner, high pitched and whiney.

One last time, he turned to see Kagami's back in the distance before entering his house and closing the door behind himself. It was dark, he was completely alone. It wasn't like he felt uncomfortable living by himself, no the house felt all too familiar. But it also felt empty, a concept that eluded him, never having a family to fill in the space. It was darker, almost desolate all alone, knowing that his precious brother's life was now on the line.

The couch, the kitchen, even the small red-cushioned chairs brought back a sense of familiarity. Not quite the tangible memory he felt earlier, but it was a sat down, knowing he had a few things to figure out.

Kurama was the first. He lifted his blue shirt, channeling a little chakra to his stomach. Nothing happened. No seal matrix formed, no entity pulled him into his mindscape to talk. So, if he didn't have the Kyuubi, than either his mother or someone else (was it Mito, he wondered), who had the Kyuubi. He was no good with names. At the same time, despite the logical look at it, he felt deeply troubled for loosing another companion and friend. Loss seemed to be his theme for the day so far. Loss and confusion.

The second was what year it was. From his shakey memory, it was one year since the First Shinobi War. From all of his education earlier, not much, it took no short amount of effort to elicit the information. After maybe five minutes of concentration on the red chair, he figured it was around 50 years. He just thought of that for a second. He had to go through all four shinobi wars over 50 years if he ever hoped of changing the future. Then again, hadn't he already done something? Or was this a different reality, not the past? Still, that was ridiculous that he might meet himself in the future, but he'd be an old man.

Even older than Jiraiya! That made him laugh, maybe he'd be his 'Ero-sennin's' teacher in a twist of irony. It made him snicker with how hilarious that would be.

Finally, the third thing on his mind was his appearance. After all, he'd never seen a blond Uchiha before, and he felt much younger. Now that his memories were telling him that he was 9, he needed some help remembering what he actually looked like.

A mirror. Where could he find a mirror? His sluggish brain too a few moments, he wasn't the fastest of thinkers, but he figured it out. His room, of course. How could he not have thought of that first?

He walked down the hallway, taking a left into a small room with a six foot, comfy-looking bed. Part of him wanted to yawn, call it a day, and sleep off all of his questions. That way, he could take life as it came at him. No, what was he thinking. He stared danger, death even, in the face, and he never just 'called it a day.' It made him wonder how time travel should make him feel any different. It was another challenge, and the first step to solving it was his appearance.

In his bathroom, he found what he was looking for, his reflection. Yet again, Naruto was absolutely stunned by his was just so weird, to look completely different.

He had hair reminiscent to his youth, long, spiky, and nearly over his eyes, though it was longer than he remembered it to be. His hair was the same, minus one fact. Instead of the normal sunny blond, it was a dark black similar to the rest of his relatives in this world. Also, he had no whisker marks on his cheeks, probably a sign that he wasn't related to anyone who housed the Kyuubi. Then there was is eyes. Even after poking them to make sure they weren't an illusion, he still didn't believe it. They weren't the sky blue he was familiar with, but a dull, coal color. Other than those three things, it would have been impossible to differentiate him new body from his previous nine year old self.

After a sudden wave of exhaustion, the now raven-haired boy took it upon himself to lay down in his bed. With this nice relaxation, he hadn't had any since the war went on for many days before they lost, he used the time to make his conclusions about the position he was in. So, he was probably in some alternate dimension, in the past, where he already existed. He had some form of memory of those events. With that, he assumed that he was becoming a lot more rational since he came here. That was likely from his Uchiha self.

Now, at least, he could fix what went wrong.

He could kill Madara and hide his body to stop him from being revived.

He could stop Obito from becoming evil, though he had no idea how.

He could, no he would, finally achieve Ero-sennin's goals of world peace, starting now.

With a smirk, he closed his eyes. He would be the variable that changed everything.

A/N: This chapter is probably shorter than the next ones I'll do. I had this idea running through my head, I even made a timeline up until Cannon started, and I just had to write it down.

Tell me what ya think, I don't care if its slightly offensive or not.

Btw- I'll update the Timeline as this story goes along, as Kishi really didn't have any dates or ages for this time period. The year is relative to the founding of Konoha. If something makes no sense, tell me and I can see how the actual date will impact my story. If enough people want to know more about these times, I could even write a story directly including them before Naruto arrives in this one.

Year Event

0- Konoha founded, Hashirama elected as Hokage over Madara

2- Academy and ninja ranking system fully established.

3- Kagami, Hiruzen, Danzo... ect born

4- Other villages begin to be established

7- First Kage summit is called.

8- Hashirama deals out Bijuu as a peace offering to other villages

10 (early spring)- Madara leaves village

10 (October 10)- Naruto born

11- Hiruzen, Homura, Koharu graduate (age 8). Team under Tobirama and Hashirama

12- Kagami, Danzo, and Torifu Akimichi graduate (age 9). Subordinates, kind of a team, under Tobirama

12 (later)- Hiruzen's team all receive chuunin promotions (no chuunin Exams yet)

13- Madara returns with the Kyuubi but is defeated (assumed dead). Mito becomes the first jinchuuriki

14- Kagami's team all receive chuunin promotions

15- Hiruzen becomes a jounin

16- Tobirama becomes the Nidaime Hokage. Hashirama is noticeably weakened from fight with Madara .

18 (early)- First Shinobi War begins

18 (late)- Kagami's mother dies.

19- Naruto arrives from the future

59- Cannon begins

The rest will be added as the story moves along, just to help you guys understand since this time period never received much mention.

Thanks for reading,

Jiraiya out