A thousand of you...to hold the line against the darkness. To save everything.
He could only watch as the village of Konoha burned. The sound of screams and wailing filled the smokey night.
This the fate that will befall all worlds...everything will be razed to the ground. He has no soul left, no mercy.
Naruto Uzumaki could only watch in horror as a massive black and red ball of pure chakra slammed into the center of the village, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move his body at all, he was powerless to do anything as his beloved home was destroyed in the space of less than a minute.
"Who did this?!" He screamed to the sky as a massive black shadow towered over him. He saw a pair of blood red eyes above a mouth filled with hundreds of sharp teeth that glistened as the dying fires surrounded the crater that had once his home.
"W-What are you?"
He is what his world made him. A man who once tried to become a person his world would respect, a man they would admire. But they never acknowledged the hero he had become. Instead they saw him only as a monster that had once tried to destroy their home.
Naruto shook his head as a mental image of Hinata flashed through his mind. But she looked different from the last time he had seen her. Her hair was longer, and her face was filled with tears. He had never seen her so sad.
There was only one in his world that believed in him. A woman who had watched him for years upon years, silently praying that one day the village would acknowledge his heroics, but they never did. She kept her feelings a secret for so many years until finally one day when the man was powerless...she saved his life.
Naruto couldn't speak as the area around him turned totally white until it looked like he was in some sort of endless white void. When the day came that the Leaf Village needed a hero, despite all that the villagers had put him through, he fought for those who despised him. He fought with all his might until finally his strength gave out.
He suddenly saw the ruins of the hidden leaf village once again, but this time he recognized it. "This was the day that Pain attacked the village." He said quietly to the empty battlefield. "This was the day that I stopped him...the day that Hinata saved my life. When she was attacked by Pain I lost control...The seal that kept the fox inside was nearly broken...I almost let the nine-tailed fox loose."
Yes...but in this world events took a much more tragic turn. A thousand nearly insignificant factors changed the fate of the world here.
Naruto watched as a group of figures slowly appeared on the battlefield. He recognized them all. He saw himself laying down on the ground, pinned by Pain's chakra rods, he could see Hinata standing in front of him in a fighting stance. And he could see Pain's Deva patch watching the two of them. No...something was different: The cloak's colors were reversed.
Another world...another set of possibilities. A world that hates the man who risked everything to save them.
He could see the Naruto that was pinned on the ground yelling at Hinata, telling her to run away as fast as she could. And than heard Hinata's answer. The words that still echoed through his mind at night, the words that had made him realize a truth that had changed his world for the better.
"I used to always cry and give up... I made many wrong turns... But you... You helped me find the right path... I always chased after you... I wanted to catch up to you... I wanted to walk beside you all the time... I just wanted to be with you... You changed me! Your smile is what saved me! That is why I'm not afraid to die protecting you! Because... I love you..."
He could only watch in horror as once again Hinata Hyuga's fists began to glow with blue chakra and two lion's heads appeared. She began to run at Pain and Naruto could only watch as once again, her attack failed. He screamed a scream that could not be heard as Pain stabbed Hinata.
"This is just like...how my parents were killed by Konoha ninja, right before my eyes." Pain spoke as he looked over at the Naruto who was pinned by the rods. He could see a red aura beginning to form around the other Naruto.
"Do you know Pain?"
"Wait...that's not how it went. He...He said something else."
Another world, another set of possibilities. A world can be changed by only a single word.
Pain looked down at Hinata and saw that she was barely breathing. Pain raised his blade once again and brought it down on her again.
Or by a single action.
Naruto could only watch in horror as the other Naruto began to glow with as a red mist of chakra surrounded his body. He could hear his other self screaming as he began to transform. He watched as Pain's eyes suddenly widened in surprise as a solid wall of chakra surrounded the other Naruto.
"You killed Hinata..." A growling voice echoed across the battlefield. A voice that was filled with rage and grief and muffled sobs. "Someone...the only one who ever cared about me."
Pain took a step back as a massive skeletal foot broke through the chakra wall. But instead of stopping, muscle and flesh began to appear on the foot followed by orange fur. A roar that was filled with rage and grief echoed across the battlefield as the fully transformed fox broke through the chakra wall.
"My pain...is greater then yours." Naruto couldn't help but notice that Pain suddenly didn't sound as sure as he had earlier. He watched in amazement as a massive ball of chakra began to form in the fox's mouth.
Pain watched nervously as the ball was launched from the fox and brought his hand up to attempt to deflect it only to have it break right through his defenses and hit him directly. Naruto winced as he heard Pain scream in pain as his body was quickly vaporized bit by bit.
The fully transformed fox turned towards the remaining village area and one of it's tails slammed into the ground, creating a shock wave that flattened most of the remaining village. Naruto watched in terror as the fox held it's head high and let out a massive roar that shook the ground beneath it.
"This can't be right...I stopped him...I spoke to my father and he managed to restore the seal" Naruto muttered in disbelief. "Why is it different here?"
In this world he gave himself to the fox. The one person who cared was gone, what else did he have to live for? He ended up destroying everything, growing stronger and stronger as he fought until he was strong enough to cross between worlds. Now he threatens everything. He has already destroyed a number of worlds and he grows stronger still with each life he takes.
"But why? Why is he still fighting? He killed everything here!"
Because he knows nothing else. Many of us doubt there is any humanity left to him anymore. He willingly released a force of nature unto his world and did not attempt to stop it.
Naruto suddenly saw two figures appear on the distant battlefield. They were wearing white hooded robes and each of them had a single kunai knife on their belt. "Who are you? And how do you know all this?"
We are the guardians of all worlds. We are those who act when others fail to. But even we have been powerless before this threat. All of our defenders have fallen before this creature. He simply feeds on battle and rage. He has already wiped out a number of worlds and we could not find a way to stop him. But then a suggestion was made: We need someone who knows our enemy better then we do. That is why you and the others are here.
"Others?"
There are countless realities. Countless other versions of you. Each is different in their own way. We believe that the key to finally stopping this version's rampage across the multiverse lies within you.
As Naruto watched, the battlefield faded away and the white void appeared. But this time it wasn't empty
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. At first he didn't believe it. But the more he stared the more it became apparent that what he was seeing was really happening.
The white void was rapidly filling with what looked like people who looked exactly like him. But the more of them that appeared, the more he noticed that there were some minor differences: One of them had black hair, one had on a different colored cloak and one had green eyes instead of blue.
There were some with major differences as well: One of the versions was armed to the teeth with kunai knives, One was covered in blood and bruises and was wearing the same clothes that he had been wearing when he fought Pain.
There was one individual however that made him take a second look: This one was was holding an unmoving female figure. He could see tears streaming down his face. He looked a bit older then Naruto was at the moment. As he got closer, Naruto could see why this version was crying.
The woman he was holding with Hinata Hyuga, and she had a gaping hole in her chest. "Sasuke...I promise you I'll make Sasuke pay for doing this to you...Please Hinata, Please wake up."
He was about to reach out and place a hand on the older Naruto's shoulder when two figures from earlier appeared in front of the masses of Alternate Narutos.
You have all seen what it is capable of, what he will do to your worlds if he is not stopped. You are all here because we have seen your inner natures, you believe as much as we do that this corrupted version of you must be stopped. We are sending you to where we believe he will attack next. You must not fail if the multiverse is to survive.
A bright white light filled the void and a moment later the void was once again empty except for the two figures.
They must not fail. All worlds depend on their success.
He has destroyed countless other versions of himself. I still believe that the second option has merit. No one is beyond redemption, you of all should know that. Perhaps the one that he used to love will in the end be the one who could save him. Perhaps in the end, the one he loved will be the one to save the multiverse.