Day 1: In Purgatory
"…"
"…"
"…Ugh…"
"…W-where…where am I?"
Naruto wakes suddenly in a limbo-like dimension. Around him are strangely angled objects: old decrepit statures of famous shinobi from history, several burned scrolls, and other scattered objects not worthy of note.
"What the? What's going on? What the hell happened me? Am I dead?" Naruto questions, standing to his feet and trying to familiarize himself with his surroundings.
"Yes, Naruto..."
"What?! Who's there!? Show yourself!" Naruto shouts out toward the direction of the voice.
"How does it feel to be dead, Naruto?"
"That's enough! Who are you? Are you making fun of me?" Naruto demands.
"Not at all. I beg your pardon if I've offended you. You are strongly fated today. You see, you are destined to die."
"What!? That's bullshit! What do you mean destined to die?!" Naruto snaps back.
"But if you have the will somehow to reverse that fate by yourself, I can lend you some measure of strength. How about it? Will you deal with me?"
Naruto crosses his arms in immediate dismissal of the shady offer.
"Thanks, but no thanks. Sounds too good to be true," Naruto responds, his tone stern and final.
"Why? Can't you trust me?"
"Why the hell should I trust a faceless person who toys with my from the shadows? Look, I get it. You're the evil one, the devil. 'In exchange for your immortal soul' and all that crap, am I right?" Naruto interrogates.
"Your soul? Oh please, in this day and age? Well if I do have an agenda, it's that you survive."
Naruto was silent for a moment, taken aback at the voice's dismissal of evil intent.
"Let me think it over a bit," Naruto finally says in a low voice.
"Of course, of course, go ahead. But don't keep me waiting. I don't much like to be left hanging. I mean... what reason is there to procrastinate? You can just die here and now, or you can end it. It's that simple. What have you got to lose? I'm sure you've been through worse humiliation in recent weeks, no?"
"Okay okay! I'm sorry I called you the devil. I can't afford to die, not until I achieve my dream of being Hokage. So, please help me out," Naruto says, giving in to the offer.
"Alright, but I want you to remember something: You have to understand that the destiny that awaits you is a potent one, which means that just because you manage to avoid death once doesn't mean you're free of the threat. Unless you tear out its very root, destiny cannot be cheated."
"Fair enough. So coming back to life isn't the hard part, huh?" Naruto responds.
"You're right, unless you are fine with being brought back by Reanimation Jutsu. But… that's also where your own strengths come in. Are you ready? I'm going to give you some of my time-shifting powers. I'm going to give you this magic necklace. Please use it well."
A gold-colored necklace with a strange black gem in its center suddenly materializes in front of Naruto's Face. The blonde-haired shinobi reaches out and grabs hold of it.
"But it's not as though you can use it any time or anywhere you want. This will respond to phenomena that have some relevance to you as its user. You can't solve the real problem by just using it when you're about to die. It's better to make use of it to remove the underlying cause of your death. Oh, and one more thing."
"Something else I should know?" Naruto asks.
"Yes, and it's very important. If the response begins in the time-space you've traveled out to, please come back immediately. Other people and objects can be left in another time and stay intact, but that isn't true for the user. If it starts to respond, you need to come back quickly or you won't be able to get back at all. Just be careful of that. It looks like time is something even more serious than I know. Good luck."
A large gate opens behind Naruto, which he turns around to face and walks through.
It was time for Naruto to re-attempt his day once again.
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