Day 1: Purgatory Reboot
"…"
"…"
"…Ugh…what the…"
"…Oh great…I'm back here again…"
Naruto hops to his feet after regaining continuousness.
He was indeed right back in Purgatory.
He had died yet again…or did he?
"Hey, Mr. Disembodied Voice, what happened now?! I don't think I was killed this time, so what gives?"
"You are correct. You were not killed this time around like previous incidents. I summoned you here on my own terms."
"But why now?! We were just about to deal with some imposter that looked like Hinata!"
"I understand that, Naruto. You and your two friends encountered quite the anomaly back in the living would just moments ago. It was for the reason I pulled you here. It was for your own good."
Naruto crosses his arms in a huff.
"For my own good, huh? Well, what did you find out on your end?"
"For starters, that fake Hinata you encountered was the result of the fabric of time breaking within your world. As I had mentioned in the past, repeated trips to your timeline to undo any mistakes could potentially lead to adverse changes to your reality's sense of progression."
"So, that fake Hinata we encountered is due to me overusing my retries already?! At this rate, my entire first day will no longer resemble itself!"
"Perhaps. However, I have found a temporary fix for the chain of events that have transpired so far. There is a way to undo the adverse changes to the timeline, but it will require a bit of clever thought."
Naruto thought for a moment. He'd be willing to do anything to undo the mess caused so far.
"All right, what's your brilliant idea now?"
"First, I'll need you to return the necklace I have loaned out to you. I hypothesize, that you wearing that necklace upon repeat trips back to your dimension is something that your reality originally didn't account for. You were never meant to have this object in your possession, and for that I do apologize. I aim to make some modifications and return it to you upon your return visit."
"So you want me to give it back, huh? Makes sense, this thing doesn't seem to be helping me all that much right now."
Naruto takes the necklace off from around his neck and sets it on the ground in front of him. It promptly disappears, signaling that it had returned to its owner.
"Very good. Now, I'm going to send you back to the very beginning of your first day once again. With your newfound knowledge you have retained from the moment you woke up until the dinner encounter at the Ramen Shop, you will need to, again, evade death. You should see that any previous alterations to your reality should revert back to normal. Once you reach the critical moment that evening, I will make my move and aid you in your encounter with the false Hinata. Is everything clear?"
Naruto nods.
"Yeah, I got it. Things better be back to normal…or as normal as it can get…"
"Good. Now, be off then, and I will see you soon. Remember, do not do anything brash, you should be fine."
A large familiar gate opens behind Naruto, which he turns around to face and walks through.
It was time for Naruto to re-attempt his day yet again.
When would this cycle end?
Please review and keep watch for the next chapter!