Man does not know everything, sometimes there exists a mystery shrouded in such darkness that it may appear foreign to the average layman. The universe is vast, so big in fact, that we may exist in a small pond that has yet to experience the entire ocean. In this timeline, we explore something different – something so bizarre that it may appear entirely impossible to the canon timeline. Just one change will result in the entire story that we all love and know as Naruto to cease to exist.
The moonlight shone down through the forest, lighting up the scroll that was laid out in front of the hyperactive blonde ninja, Naruto Uzumaki. As instructed by his teacher, Mizuki, he could have a chance of finally graduating if he learned a technique from the scroll that he stole from the Hokage's Mansion.
"Okay, let's see… the first technique in the scroll is the Multiple Doppelgangers. Man! My least favorite art, and suddenly, it's turning up all over!" Naruto cried out in frustration. Out of desperation, his eyes darted for another technique, however all were too complicated in their jargon for him to understand a single word. Suddenly, he spotted something strange but legible written on the scroll.
"Do you desire power that no mortal can ever achieve solely? When worn in unison by a selected pair of individuals, each on the opposite ear, will result in the ultimate warrior of any world. The earrings of the gods themselves are the deciding factor of any dead end road." Naruto read in interest. Below it was a seal, and the request of blood and chakra to be applied to it.
"Well, I guess it won't hurt too much." Naruto said before biting his thumb hard, drawing some blood with a bit of wincing to go along with it. Doing as he read, he swiped across the seal while applying chakra as best as he could. The seal lit up in response, before a small poof of smoke flooded the boy's vision. Coughing and swatting it away, Naruto would look down to find a pair of round golden earrings.
"Eh? Is that supposed to be a big joke? Well I guess I can give these to Sakura so she can fall in love with me he-he." The knucklehead giggled cheekily as he imagined the entire scenario in his head; albeit with impossible exaggerations being added to the mix.
"Well I guess I'll have to learn that stupid Shadow Clone technique since that's all I can understand here. Time to get to work!" This small detail would seem practically unimportant to the rest of the story, and initially it was. Things carried on that night the same way it did in Canon, with Mizuki being defeated and Naruto earning the respect of Iruka as well as his official recognition of being a Genin. However, things would get much interesting later on.
[Land of Waves]
"Aw man… Sasuke! We've gotta stop reacting and take back the initiative!" Naruto screamed to his comrade as he stared down the multiple ice mirrors that formed an impenetrable barrier around him and his teammate.
"Shut up and get on your feet! I can't fight him and watch out for you, too! We're both wounded, but we have to suck it up and go on. We'll be fine as long as he does not kill one of us! There must be a limit to his chakra. His attacks have been getting weaker!" Sasuke shouted in response as he remained on his guard, a kunai being the sole defense that barred his enemy from potentially killing him at any moment.
Suddenly, this sparked a memory in Naruto as he heard Sasuke's words, "We'll be fine as long as he does not kill one of us!" Those words brought back memories that he subconsciously suppressed this entire time.
"When worn in unison by a selected pair of individuals, each on the opposite ear, will result in the ultimate warrior of any world." The earrings, he remembered taking them with him and carrying them around for no particular reason. However, he never mentioned them to anybody, not even the Hokage when asked about what he learned from the forbidden scrolls. He just thought of them as a symbol of good luck that documented the night of his first step in becoming a ninja.
"Sasuke, I have an idea! I don't know if it will work but please just trust me on this one!" Naruto yelled to his comrade, while simultaneously narrowly dodging a needle thrown towards his leg; Sasuke mimicking his action, but not being as lucky since his leg got pierced.
Grunting, Sasuke looked over in frustration, "What is it this time? Don't just stand there and have me guessing… just hurry up and say it, we don't have time!"
"Well, I have a pair of earrings that can help make us become the ultimate warrior! I just need you to put this on your left ear!" Naruto said as he attached one of them to his right ear, a feint glow emanating in response to being worn. Haku looked on in interest, temporarily halting his defense as he continued to watch on.
"What the hell are you on about, loser? This isn't the time for one of your stupid jokes! How are a pair of earrings going to do anything but make us look stupid as we die!" The boy went off in anger, seething at how ridiculous his comrade could be in a time like now. Naruto winced at the tongue lashing, but shook his head and decided to hold his ground.
"Listen, Sasuke. I got this from the forbidden scroll of secrets, along with my Shadow Clone Jutsu. If this really was a joke, it would not be so heavily guarded. We do not have any other options, we're basically on a losing streak. At least if we try this, we can know for sure that we exhausted all available options and just continue on fighting it out like true warriors. For now, just set your pride aside and work with me for once! I hate to beg, especially someone like you, but we clearly have no other choice! Kakashi, Sakura, Tazuna… They're all out fighting to the death while clearly putting their trust in us to defeat this guy, so let's not disappoint anyone!" Naruto retaliated as his eyes burned nothing but honesty and integrity to match his words.
Sasuke was visibly taken aback, honestly having no form of argument against what he heard. For the first time, he honestly felt a glimpse of respect toward his teammate. However, he shook his head. It was no time to be sentimental, he just had to put his trust into this idea working out. Extending his hand out, he signaled toward Naruto to bring it.
"Alright, I guess I'll have to go along with your plan. Left ear you said? Hmm, well if this does not work out, I'll just have to be the one to finish you off for making me look stupid. Now hurry up and give me the damn thing!" Sasuke said begrudgingly with a snarl. Naruto simply grinned and tossed it to him; Sasuke catching it in sync without missing a beat.
"You know Sasuke, we make a good team when you're not being a hard ass about everything." Naruto remarked as he watched his comrade put the earring on with some difficulty, but achieving the objective not long after. The earrings began to glow furiously as Sasuke looked in confusion, with his face being replicated by Naruto.
"Now what?" The two asked in union, before a magnetic pull suddenly began to bring the two toward each other at alarming speed, slamming into one another. Haku could only look on in utter shock as a bright ball of light began to expand, illuminating the area in a blinding flash.
"What is going on?" Kakashi muttered as he jumped away from Zabuza, looking on at the barrier of ice mirrors that surrounded his two students. Even Zabuza had no idea of what was taking place, going by how shocked he too looked. He never felt anything such as that before, the sheer pressure that suddenly began to surge. Even Sakura and Tazuna looked nauseous from the event.
Haku began to tense as he felt the pressure point-blank range, trying to figure out what was going on. Earrings, ultimate warrior, merging… what exactly was all of this? He even tried to see if he somehow caught into a Genjutsu, but quickly found out that was not the case. Cursing under his breath, the masked ninja sprang into action by leaping from his ice mirror toward the source of light.
"Too slow." A voice rang from out, as Haku would suddenly double over in pain before being flung back; crashing into an ice mirror. Holding onto his solar plexus, the hired mercenary would look on in shock as the light began to die down slowly but surely.
There stood an attire of a blue jacket with an orange striped zipper in the middle, along with matching orange short sleeves. The pants were blue, reaching to the ankle, with a ninja pouch attached to the right thigh with tape. The there were multiple bandages wrapped just around the ankle, in between the pants and blue sneakers. Finally, more features were shown. Spiky black hair that stood upright on top, but began to get shaggier and fell around the sides of his face. Three whisker marks were displayed prominently on either side of his face.
Golden earrings dangling, and a smirk beginning to form on his face, the young man pointed out a finger towards his adversary, "That was just me stretching my leg, no need to go down when I haven't even applied any force yet." The voice rang in unison of duality as blue eyes peered brilliantly the moment he opened them.
"By the way, since I'm the result of Naruto and Sasuke merging into one being, I will be going by the name of Sasuto," The boy cheekily announced as he pointed to his back. There held a symbol of a white fan, with the top half being nearly covered in a red swirl of a whirlpool, "Since I don't want to get butchered, I'll leave the surnames be and just announce myself as Sasuto Uzumaki-Uchiha."
'What's going on? I've never heard of anything like this before. Two people merging to become one? This can't be an illusion, I've already tried disrupting a potential one, and it's clear as day that those two boys could not be capable of conjuring something powerful enough to trap me in one. Whatever, the two of them could not face up against me while I was suppressed, so there's no chance their fusion will stand against me, especially if I get serious.' Haku thought as he stood back up before leaping into the mirrors once again.
Sasuto simply grinned and closed his eyes, crossing his shoulders in a relaxed and easy-going manner, "Well since you'll be the first person to face off against me, I guess I'll have you showcase your true strength against me. I'll give you one minute to see if you can put a single scratch on me."
Haku silently growled before readying the four needles between his knuckles, the mirage of himself replicating perfectly throughout every single mirror. In synchronization, they all threw it toward their target; the latter staying perfectly still with the smug look on his face. Silently, the dozens of needles filled the air with dread as they continued to advance closer to the ninja.
Suddenly, as if time stopped completely, they all fell simultaneously at the feet of the boy. As if he was patiently waiting, he broke out into a bigger grin while still keeping his eyes closed, "Those party tricks won't work on me. You've got to hurry up, you're already ten seconds down."
Haku blinked, not understanding what was going on. How did the boy counter the needles if he hadn't moved a single muscle this entire time? Repeatedly, Haku attempted to pierce through the boy with the needles, but he was thoroughly unsuccessful. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity of failure, the young fusion decided to speak up.
"Listen, since it appears that you're unable to follow what's going on, I'll explain. I've been using this kunai the entire time to knock away your needles. I'm probably going too quick for you to even register what's going on. I'm getting bored, so you have one last chance to do something before I end this." Sasuto explained as he spun a kunai around his index finger with his eyes closed, the smirk still present on his face; the combination creating the most smug look known to mankind.
"Don't you underestimate you!" Haku screamed, for the first time losing his cool, as he dashed towards the arrogant boy; his grin growing larger as Haku continued to close in the distance. In a slash, Haku aimed to decapitate the boy, but for all his efforts, he was parried with a Kunai as the boy turned to face him.
"Time's up, now the real fight begins!" Sasuto announced as he opened his eyes once again, but this time there was a notable change. Instead of the bright blue eyes that he once possessed, it was replaced with the blood red eyes of the Uchiha; the legendary Sharingan. The two tomoe in each eye began to spin furiously, "Surprised, huh? You're not the only person with a Kekkei Genkai!"
Haku gasped in response, letting his guard down temporarily – long enough for Sasuto to find an opening, and perform a leg sweep. Haku fell back, but soon regained his bearings, placing a hand underneath, before kicking up at his adversary. Sasuto would merely shift to the side before throwing a kick. Haku would growl in pain as it was caught in his ribs, the masked boy flying furiously from the impact into an ice mirror.
However, Haku would not stop there, and just before crashing; he would sink into the ice mirror. There, he would appear above the unsuspecting boy in a moment's notice; his needles ready to sink down into his temple as he rushed him unnoticed. The opportunity would not be ceased, as a figure would rush Haku mid-air and grab him by the mask. There, he would continue to be at the mercy of the opposition as they continued to fly through the air, all before crashing into the ice mirror.
With his mask beginning to crack, Haku would look on in a daze before seeing two identical figures of Sasuto rushing in with a jump kick. The former would try to raise his arms up, but he would be too late in doing so; the kick making impact with his mask. This would cause both him and the pair of Sasuto to crash through the ice mirror; finally breaking the hold of the barrier.
Kakashi, Zabuza, Tazuna, and Sakura would all look on in astonishment from the sudden crash as they would look on at the battered Haku laying down in defeat with Sasuto and his clone celebrating triumphantly in their newfound victory, "Oh yeah! You forgot that I could make clones, did ya?!"
However, this would all cease when Haku's mask finally shattered, revealing the effeminate face of his to his adversary. Sasuto would step back in shock, his clone vanishing in a cloud of smoke, as he pointed towards his defeated opponent, "Wait a second, you don't mean to tell me…"
Sakura and Kakashi would simultaneously look on in shock as they studied the boy in front of them; the three of them all exclaiming, "Who are you exactly!?"
A/N: Well, that's the prologue for this story. I decided that I'd make things interesting and implement the concept of Potara from Dragon Ball Z into the Naruto-verse. I'm not too sure whether or not I will be borrowing any more concepts past that point, so that's why I'm not going to be making this a crossover per say. Also, I'll be using the original concept of the Potara from Z, and not the retconned version from Super. This means that the Potara will indeed be permanent, so that will make things much more interesting going forward.
Also, I think I'll be uploading a chapter every week since this idea has been in the back of my mind for over a year now, so I'm pretty much interested in seeing how things will develop. Chapter lengths will be around 2500, barring Author Notes. Updates may be on the weekends; anywhere from Friday to Sunday.