Chapter 3: Revelation

I was six years old when the final piece of my reincarnation puzzle came into place. I had been left in the alter room with the great statue of Buddha when it hit me. A blinding pain the in the back of my skull slowly made its way to every crevice and pore in my body. The purest embodiment of agony, so much so that I was not able to scream out, only withering mutely.

Pages from a book, a book made of pictures were the first thing to come to light.

Manga

Manga?

That's what it was called manga. The Japanese form of creating comics.

Japanese?

Comic?

On the front was a boy with blonde hair and six whiskers. A boy with a sad past.

What?

A boy that looked an awful lot like me. A boy with something special in him. A boy who made friends. I boy who had a sensei. A boy who became a ninja.

Stop…

A boy who trained with a master. A boy who had a dream. A boy who fought a war.

Please stop!

A boy who was betrayed.

STOP IT!

Another boy, no two. Both with the same dream, but different paths. One of darkness one of light. One who made a village and one who destroyed it. A fourth boy, one who found love and lost it, at the hands of a comrade.

A boy who destroyed his clan and another who avenged it.

Sharingan

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE STOP!

Ten, ten tails? A sage, a mother, brothers, a fruit. Ninja, chakra, jinchuriki, genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu.

War, suffering, death, rival, blood, family, clan, sacrifice, loneliness, monster, love, caring, belief.

Naruto

ITHURTSPLEASESOMEONEMAKEITSTOPPLEASE!

Me

Who was I?

As the pain subsided I couldn't sit there and stare at the statue of Buddha looking down on me. Standing up my legs wobbled just the slightest before I was flying out the entrance of the shrine, using the wiggling worms- no chakra- to propel myself forward. I heard several shouts as I zig zagged my way into the nearby forest.

My bare feet slapped against the slightly damp ground, every now and again a sting of pain would remind me of the fact I didn't have my sandals on, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was getting away from that place. A place so perfect in a world so imperfect.

Soon enough my young six year old body collapsed under a particularly large gingko tree. My breathing coming in and out at a rapid pace. My head still throbbing, I placed it between my two scrawny knees. Trying to grasp the situation.

I finally remembered. I remembered the place where I was from, or should I say dimension? I remembered the technology, the literature, the reality of it all; my reality, but I couldn't remember me. Who I was, what I liked, my face, my voice, my past, my name. None of it came to me. Not even how I died. But clearer than anything I remembered that name.

Naruto

The manga? No, more specifically the person, but not everything from that story was coming to me, only certain bits and pieces. The fact that he was a blonde haired male version of myself. That he lived in Hi no Kuni, in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, that he was a container.

Suddenly my head snapped up and my hands went to my abdomen, did that mean..?

"So your soul finally completed its decent into this world?" the all too familiar voice of the Shinigami rang out in the forest, his ghastly form appearing, "Good, I have been waiting long enough for your comprehensive mind to finally form, now we can truly begin your mission, brat."

That's right, a mission to save this world, but doesn't it get saved? By my look alike?

I tried to make the vision in my mind clearer but it simply faded to black.

"Don't force all the visions at once your mid can not handle it," Shinigami-sama stated, "Plus the Heavens don't need you seeing too far ahead, thinking you can just change things willy nilly."

"Change things?" I finally voiced

"Yes change things. The version of this world that you read was written by a man who happened to glance a brief glimpse of this world in a sort of dream, and so the popular manga Naruto was born in your world," yeah, so that's where I got the name, a flash of random pages shifted though my mind, "But that timeline is not a correct depiction of this world, in fact this world has been through many time lines, each one having a different journey, but ultimately that same end; complete and utter annihilation."

My eyes widened eve further, Shinigami-sama's form somehow growing even larger.

"The Heavens have chosen you correct this wrong, you will make sure that this world remains on the time line that the Heavens have written out for it. To ensure that you have the optimum opportunity to save this world you were placed into this specific time frame," breathing deeply he sighed, "Although it would seem that you have already been steered off course due to that meddling clan."

Clan?

Uchiha

My mind supplied

Noticing my hand shakily grabbing my abdomen Shinigami-sama commented.

"Yes, you are the container for half of the Nine Tail's chakra," seeing my panicked face he grew even more frustrated, "You will be fine brat, I have tried several time to tell you this but your previous mind set was not stable enough to grasp it. In reality we have been over this conversation several times, you should have retained some of it."

He was right, I remember him slightly, explaining my purpose in this world and what I was meant to do, but something felt off.

"If I am supposed to be close to the original time line then why am I in a completely different area?" I whispered to him.

"It would seem that the powers that be have sensed your presence and are doing everything in their power to rid themselves of you, this world recognizes that you are an anomaly that does not belong in this equation," I stared into those pits of pure gold, " I am only able to help you so much, the same goes for the Heavens, but something needed to be done about this world, this is the final time line for this dimension and if its becomes desolate and corrupt as well it will ripple into other worlds and disturb their fate and final plan."

"So I'm supposed to help stop the destruction of this world? But doesn't that happen in the manga?

"The Heavens believe in a sort of insurance plan, a plan B, should anything go wrong," his voice dropping an octave, "It is not above worlds to veer of their fated paths into oblivion."

This conversation seemed to be coming too rapidly, too hastily from nowhere, but all these years he had been informing my of what I was, and what I needed to do, but nothing ever stuck. Why was I panicking? I knew this whole time that I was a recycled soul crammed into a body that was not my own, but it was?

I knew from the jump that I was Menma, but I wasn't. I was anomaly sent here from another world…

That reminded me

"Who was I?"

"What brat?"

"Who was I before I came here?" I voiced again, "I can't remember who I was, what I looked like, the people in my life, how I… died. Nothing"

"That is done for a reason brat, a soul cannot bear the weight of two identities, you were permitted some memories from your past life, which is more than most."

"That only because I'm a tool!" I snapped back

"While that is true you and every other soul reincarnated; whether they have memories or not, are ever permitted to know who they were in their past life, that is a violation of one of God's most sacred rules," he growled to me, "You are no exception to that rule"

"Then why should I help you or the Heavens?!"

"Because at this very moment you could be rotting away in nothingness you ungrateful, imputed brat, but instead you were given the chance at a new life and the opportunity to help an entire world," his voice taking on a steel edge, sending my back as straight as a board, "You, out of billions of souls, were chosen for this task, so put this childishness aside and do as you are told!"

I shrunk my small body even further down as to avoid the acid glare I was receiving from Death himself. Turning his back to me he began to fade away into the shadows of dusk.

"I will give you a week to mourn yourself and fully absorb our conversations once and for all, and at the end of this week I expect you to be obedient and prepared to train for you mission."

And with that I was left in the thick shadows of the forest feeling a sinking lump of emotions I had never felt before in this world.

Loneliness

The day of my seventh birthday was fast approaching and this would mark my able to serve as a young priestess in the shrine, so naturally it was turning into a huge production, even the village people wanted to be in on it. Even with all these happy faces surrounding me the loneliness was slowly creeping its way back into my heart. None of these people knew what I was.

Who I was

Were there people missing me at the moment, did they cry for me? Did they miss me? Was I ever old? Young? Did I ever fall in love?

Somehow more of these question just kept popping up, leaving me no solace or joy, but despite the nagging thoughts, I smiled for these people. My new family. My new life.

I truly was naïve

It was the night before my birthday and all the preparations were complete, it would seem that the temple and even the village stilled into dreamlike night. Only the sounds of the forest could be heard in this stillness.

Until it happened

It felt like an instant, one moment I was peacefully dreaming the next I was woken up to flames and screams. Iyako-nee-sama was covered in dirt and cuts, her once serene hazel eyes were now wide with panic and fear. Another high pitch scream shock me out of my staring, Iyako-nee-sama was saying something.

"Listen little one, there isn't much time, you need to take this," she handed me a small sack, grabbing my hand as she quickly shuffled me out of my room in into the now chaotic night air, "and run south toward the Land of Fire, they won't harm you."

She was dragging as fast as she could, looking down I saw that she was limping and something red was staining her once white night robe. She was hurt. Finally finding my voice I whispered to her, trying to be as quiet as I could.

"W-what's happening nee-sama?" my voice trembling as I formed the words, "Why is there so much screaming? Why is the temple on fire? Why are we running!?"

Once we reached the tree line of the forest she fell to her knees and took my small face into her warm trembling hands. Tears were welling at the corners of her eyes.

"Listen well, I will not speak softly about the situation, I know you can understand my words clearly, though I wish I did not have to say them," taking a deep breath tears started rolling down face, " it seems as though our village has become a target for bandits and rouge ninjas, the head priest and a few village men are trying to keep them at bay, but that will only last for so long. You need to take this ouch and run, if nothing else you must live on."

I couldn't breathe, I really couldn't. It was all slipping away! The new life I had, a new family to make me forget the one I would never remember. I was losing it all.

"No matter where this path takes you, you will always be Menma of the Inari Shrine," She wiped the tears I hadn't realized started to run down my face, "You will always be our gift, even if we have to watch you grow from the world beyond this one."

For a moment we just stared at one another, but the scene was broken by a manly shout. Quickly looking over we saw a scruffy man point in our direction as a group of men started heading our way. Iyako-nee-sama reached into her robe's sash and pulled out a wakizashi.

"Go Menma! And remember we will always love you! You are never alone!"

With that I started sprinting in the opposite direction, as the forest became denser I heard Iyako-nee-sama's battle cry. Not faulting in my steps I ran through the tears, the pain of my bare feet and the agony in my heart. Dodging the low hanging branches and the protruding roots, I kept running.

It felt like an eternity by the time I finally was unable to run any longer. In the distance I could see dawn fast approaching, but I couldn't move anymore. There was only so much this body could take, and even chakra couldn't help.

I had been calling for the Shinigami the whole time, but he wouldn't come. I wanted so badly to think of all the people in the village, to cry and mourn, but I couldn't, I needed to run. I had only taken a few wobbly steps when I heard it.

Stilling I listen and heard it again. A crunch in the trees. A sharp pang of fear ran through me as I took off again, but I didn't get far when a large weight hit me from behind.

"So the brat heard me, oh well, guess the jig is up," a scratchy laugh followed. Turning my head I saw him. The man- no ninja who had been following me. He was rugged, his kimono top soiled with dried brown spots and singed edges. His pale face was contorted into a sick smile. Hungry black eyes stared back at me, wild brown hair ruffled in the wind, there underneath his mop of hair was a headband. A jagged line that resembled grass was crossed out. A rouge ninja.

I tried pushing myself away from him, but all that did was result with a sandaled foot slamming into my skull. My head rebounded against the ground. All I did was let a small whimper out as he circled me.

"So this is the fucking brat all those good people died protecting huh?" he squatted in front of me, a sick grin staring me down, "They put up one hell of a fight you know? It was really bloody, and then there was that nice looking priestess, the one that saw you off-" he let out a low whistle, "She was a fierce one; All. The. Way. To. The. End." He emphasized each word as he licked his lips.

I gagged in the back of my throat

Iyako-nee-sama

Fury welled up inside of me, and just as the bastard looked off as though he was remembering a good memory, I grabbed a sharp rock nearby and smashed it against his twisted face. He cried out, but I had no time to admire my work. I sprinted through the nearest under bush, not letting up my speed, even as I heard a furious roar from somewhere behind me. I just needed to run!

But I didn't get very far

Breaking through the forest, I expected a field or maybe a road, but not a cliff. And there I was staring dumbly down at the raging river settled just below the crumbling edge of the cliff.

"Well it looks like you're out of places to run u shitty rodent," turning around I tried backing up, only I had nowhere to go, "Looks like I can finish you off nice and easy now."

He was holding the side of his face a smashed the rock in, I could see blood seeping through his fingers, and I let myself feel a small bit of satisfaction in the fact that I did that. That that was my last deed in this world.

Quickly reaching in the pouch on his thigh he conjured a very sharp looking kunai.

"Lucky for you I gotta be back soon, but if it wasn't for that fact I would have tortured and had some fun with your scrawny ass for quite some time rodent," and with that in two swift motions he brought the kunai down into an X shape onto my body, the momentum sending me backwards into thin air.

The cold burning slices were all I could feel before my body was enveloped by icy water

Then there was nothing

His eyes felt like lead. It took him a few tries with opening them, but eventually he accomplished it. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a hospital. The second thing he noticed was that no one was there. Going to remove the IVY in his arm, a black gloved hand stopped him. Looking up he was met with a dog mask.

"Wait for the doctor," a wavering deep voice said from behind the mask. He knew that voice.

"Kakashi?" his raspy voice whispered

"Minato-sensei"

The moment was cut short by the door banging open. There collapsed in a sweaty, huffing mess, was a bundle of yellow and orange. The bundle glanced up with his whiskered face, only to be met with the same shade of unbelievable blue.

"P-papa?" came the choked out question

In an instance the small child threw himself into the arms of the now awake man.

"Papa! It's really you! You're finally awake!" the sobs came at Minato faster than he could comprehend. For a moment he did nothing, but in a rare moment of weakness he allowed a few tears to shed as he wrapped his arms around the small warm bundle.

"Naruto," was all he got to whisper before the rest of his guest arrived.

The doctor quickly instructed Kakashi to take Naruto outside as he checked over Minato. He took this time to notice the slight muscle atrophy he was experiencing, but was grateful that it wasn't as bad as it could be, they must have been syphoning chakra from an outside source into his system to keep it up. He must have been asleep for a long time, if the sobbing six/seven year old child just outside his door had anything to say about it. Then it hit him.

Kushina, the Kyuubi, the masked man, the village, his….

A sturdy hand came down on his shoulder. Looking up into the tiered eyes of his predecessor Minato could only say one thing

"Menma"

The Third merely shut his eyes and turned his face away

That's all Minato needed to see

Obito was glancing over the wreckage of the once small, peaceful village. Not a single survivor found.

That truly was a shame.

He was beginning to really like that little mini Kushina.

Oh well

A/N sorry its taken so long to update, school is killing me and ive just been dealing with some personal things. So in this chapter we can see that Menma is no longer able to remain ignorant and has lost her home, while Naruto has gained a father! I will hopefully be updating my other Naruto fanfic Evening soon, so please have faith in me. Finals are kicking my ass.