DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

PROLOGUE

Naruto Uzumaki had always been a dreamer. From a young age, he had imagined himself becoming the Hokage, a powerful ninja who would protect and lead the Hidden Leaf Village. But as he sat in the Hokage's office, gazing out the window at the village he loved, Naruto's heart was heavy with disappointment.

Konoha was different now, almost unrecognizable to the village it had once been. The village was a shadow of its former self, its people and spirit decimated by the Fourth Shinobi War. The streets were practically barren, the shops closed, and the buildings empty. Only a few hundred people remained in the village, all of them civilians. The silence was deafening.

Naruto stood up from his chair and walked towards the window. The sun was setting, casting a golden hue over the destroyed buildings and rubble. He closed his eyes, and he could almost hear the sound of the leaves rustling as they swayed in the breeze.

It had been a year since the Fourth Shinobi War, and the world was forever changed. The battle against Obito, Kabuto, Madara, and Kaguya had been brutal and devastating, and Naruto still carried the scars of that conflict. Everyone had lost friends, family, and comrades-in-arms, but it wasn't until the very end of the war that the world was changed forever.

{FLASHBACK START}

"Sasuke!"

The battlefield went silent, except for Naruto's ragged breathing as he stared at the bone sticking out of Sasuke's leg like a jagged blade. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. They had fought so hard, beaten Kaguya, sealed her away. All he had to do was throw Black Zetsu back to his mommy and it would all be over. Or so he thought.

So why is Sasuke dying? Naruto dropped Black Zetsu as Sasuke started to crumble, bone turning to dust. He took a step forward, determined to save his friend from a fate like Obito's. Sasuke couldn't end up like Obito, Naruto wouldn't let him.

He knew he had to act fast, but then two more bones shot out from the twisted deformed blob that was Kaguya's body. Naruto had no choice but to dive out of the way, his body rolling across the ground.

When he picked himself up, he saw that the bone in Sasuke's leg was gone and his friend's entire knee was beginning to crumble.

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice came from behind him.

Sakura! Naruto twisted around and his heart plummeted as he saw Sakura's pained face, her hand clutching the bone that protruded from her stomach. Kakashi was at her side on his knees, his face twisted in agony, a bone piercing his shoulder.

Kaguya hadn't been aiming for him.

Naruto felt the world spin as he took in the scene before him. He couldn't let this happen. He had to do something, anything. "Sakura, Kakashi, hold on!" he shouted, his voice breaking.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "Kill me!"

"What?" Naruto's heart raced as he looked back at his friend. Black Zetsu had taken over half of Sasuke's body, and Naruto felt a surge of fear and anger course through him. Why was everything going so wrong?

Sasuke's arms moved stiffly as he began to weave signs for a jutsu, his fingers shaking uncontrollably. Naruto hesitated for just a moment, the weight of Sasuke's plea hanging heavy in the air. He had trained for years to bring Sasuke back to the Leaf Village alive, to fulfill the promise he had made to himself and Sakura. It had been a promise of a lifetime, how could he really betray that promise now?

"I'm not in control!" Sasuke's once cool and calm demeanor had been replaced by a desperate, almost manic energy. "You need to kill me, Naruto!" he shouted, his voice hoarse and strained.

Under Black Zetsu's control, Sasuke's clapped his hands together. Black Zetsu laughed, a cold and cruel sound that cut through the chaos of the battlefield. Naruto's resolve hardened as he saw the malicious glee in the creature's eyes. He could feel the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox coursing through him, and he knew what he had to do. He couldn't let Sasuke be consumed by this evil.

He charged forward, his body glowing with an otherworldly aura. And then he was there, standing before Sasuke. "I'm sorry," Naruto whispered, his voice tight with emotion.

With a surge of strength, he threw Sasuke at Kaguya. Sasuke looked resigned to his fate as he hurtled toward the enemy, but Black Zetsu kept laughing, and he kept laughing all the way up until a massive block of earth crushed Sasuke's body, trapping them both in the Chibaku Tensei.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto blinked as in an instant, he was transported from Kaguya's dimension back to the place where he had fought Obito and Madara. But the relief he felt at being back on familiar ground was short-lived as he realized that Sakura and Kakashi-sensei were not with him.

The air was thick with tension as Naruto stood in the middle of the battlefield, his eyes focused on the Sage of Six Paths who was floating in front of him. The ground beneath his feet felt unsteady as if it could crumble away at any moment. The reanimated Hokage stood around him, their eyes downcast and their faces etched with grief.

"Why didn't you bring Sakura and Kakashi-sensei back?" Naruto's voice was filled with frustration and desperation.

The Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo, looked down at Naruto with pity in his eyes. "You know why, Naruto," he said, his voice heavy with regret.

Naruto's fists clenched at his sides, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He looked around at the reanimated Hokage, hoping for an explanation. But their faces remained impassive, and they avoided his gaze.

"I could have saved them," Naruto said, his voice trembling with emotion. "I have the power to do so much, I could have—"

"Done nothing!"

Naruto flinched at the sudden outburst. Since he'd met him, The Sage of Six Path's had never seemed to be affected by what was going on. Hagoromo was always calm and collected.

Hagoromo sighed heavily, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "My mother's All-Killing Ash Bones are absolute," he said, his voice low. "When her bones pierce a living organism, the bone, and the target start to deteriorate at a molecular level, disintegrating the victim and reducing their bodies to nothing more than a pile of ash. There was nothing anyone could have done to stop them."

Naruto felt a cold knot form in his stomach at Hagoromo's words. He knew that the All-Killing Ash Bones technique was a deadly jutsu, capable of reducing their victims to ash in a matter of seconds. But the thought of Sakura and Kakashi-sensei being lost to him forever was too much to bear.

"What am I supposed to tell everyone?" he asked, his voice breaking. "We've lost so much already."

Hiruzen stepped forward and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, but he could feel the young ninja's body trembling with grief. It was a heavy burden for anyone to bear, let alone a teenager who had already lost so much in his life.

Tobirama, the Second Hokage, spoke up, and his words cut like a knife. "Kaguya killed everyone under the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

Hashirama and Hiruzen glared at Tobirama. "That was too blunt, Tobirama," Hashirama said.

Tobirama ignored his brother. "I could sense what was happening from here. All of the shinobi who fought with us are dead."

Naruto shook his head. "You're lying. You have to be. I can't be the last person alive!"

"There are still people alive. You and Sasuke sealed my mother away before she could absorb everyone's Chakra." Hagoromo said, before Tobirama had the chance to answer.

Naruto's heart leaped with hope, but it was short-lived/

"She started with the strongest," Hagoromo said. "The people with the most Chakra were absorbed first."

Naruto stuttered, his voice barely audible. "W-who survived?" he asked, almost afraid to even speak the words.

No matter who was still alive, he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Only civilians were spared," Hagoromo said. "People with the bare minimum amount of Chakra in their body."

The weight of the situation hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. His friends, the shinobi he had fought alongside, were gone. All of them. The people he had grown up with, trained with, laughed with...all of them were now just memories.

"This was my mother's revenge for being sealed away again," Hagoromo said, his voice heavy with sorrow.

Naruto looked up at the moon hanging in the sky, feeling as though the world had come crashing down around him. "It's the end of the Shinobi Era," he whispered, feeling the weight of those words like a physical blow.

{FLASHBACK END}

Naruto sighed deeply, his breath misting in the cool night air.

He knew that the only reason he was Hokage was that he had survived when others had not. When Kaguya had absorbed the chakra of everyone trapped in Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi, she had effectively killed all the shinobi in the world. The only ones who survived were people who didn't have enough chakra to perform jutsu.

The wind blew through the open window, sending a chill down Naruto's spine. He reached up and adjusted the Hokage's hat on his head, feeling the weight of his responsibility as the leader of the village. He knew that he had to keep the village safe, but the thought of doing so without the help of his friends was daunting. He felt a sense of isolation and loneliness like he was the only person left in the world.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked out at the empty streets once more. His thoughts drifted to his fallen friends and allies, the memories of their bravery and sacrifice still fresh in his mind. He knew that he had to honor their memory by carrying on their legacy, by being the best Hokage he could be.

And to be the best Hokage he had to save the village.

With a deep breath, Naruto turned away from the window as the reanimated first Four Hokage entered his office. They were a stark contrast to the emptiness of the village, their presence imbuing the space with a sense of history and tradition.

"Are you ready, Naruto?" asked Hashirama, the First Hokage.

Naruto nodded, his resolve firm. He had been dreading this moment, knowing that it would mark the beginning of his most important mission yet. Ever since the war, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had been pressuring him to expand the Land of Fire's borders. Naruto knew this was not the answer, that there had to be a better way to bring peace to the world.

He had been working on a plan, something that had consumed his thoughts ever since he had become Hokage and was given access to all of Konoha's secrets. He was going to use the Karasuki to travel back in time and change the past.

However, there was one big problem with his plan that he needed to fix before

"Did you find someone?" Naruto asked, looking at the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The old man had been Hokage the longest and knew more about the people living in Konoha than any other Hokage. If anyone could find the perfect vessel it was him. Hiruzen looked at Naruto, the wrinkles on his face seemed deeper now, and handed Naruto a white file.

"Sakumo Izuno...hm."

The photo attached to the file showed the face of a still-young teenager. The eyes that stared back at Naruto, however, contained an anger that belied their owner's age.

Hiruzen nodded slightly, and spoke in a grave tone. "All involved reported that he was below average during his time at the academy. He failed the graduation exam twice before passing on his third attempt and then failed his Jonin sensei's test."

Listening with a sour look, Naruto picked up where the former Hokage left off. "Sakumo was regulated to the Genin Reserve Corps and he died a few months later on his first C-Rank mission outside the village."

"You will be saving his life, Naruto." Hirzuen continued. "Sealing yourself inside Sakumo will make his life better, not worse."

Naruto closed the folder. The old man was right, but even if he wasn't, this was still the only course.

"We should get started."

|NARUTO|

Hours later, Naruto sat amidst the dense foliage of the forest, his body completely in tune with the nature around him. The forest around him was silent, except for the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind. He had spent months training for this moment, perfecting his chakra control.

In front of him lay an ancient scroll, its aged parchment and weathered edges a testament to the many years it had survived. On top of the scroll lay Karasuki, a turtle-like artifact belonging to the Ōtsutsuki clan and the key to saving the Shinobi World.

Naruto took a deep breath, feeling the coolness of the air as it filled his lungs. With a soft exhalation, he began channeling his chakra into the scroll, focusing his energy on the symbols and patterns etched upon its surface.

As he channeled his chakra into the scroll, the ancient symbols on its surface glowed with a soft, ethereal light.

Naruto could feel the power of Karasuki flowing through his veins, coiling like a serpent in his belly, waiting to be unleashed. The weight of history seemed to press down on him like a heavy cloak, the weight of all the lives that had been lived before him, and all the choices that had been made. But he was ready.

The paper pulsed with a faint luminescence, its inscriptions exploding with a flash of ethereal brilliance.

With a deep breath, Naruto let go and allowed the power of the jutsu to take over. He felt his body twisting and contorting as he was hurled through the vortex of space and time. The sensation was like plummeting down an endless, twisting tunnel, the world around him spinning and blurring into a whirlpool of colors until he lost all sense of direction. The sound of rushing wind roared in his ears, drowning out everything else.

And then, just as abruptly as it had started, the journey ended. Naruto opened his eyes to a familiar place, but one that he hadn't seen in years. He was back in the Hidden Leaf Village, but it was not the village he had left.

After the village had been destroyed by Pein during the Akatsuki leader's invasion it had been rebuilt bigger and better than ever. Now the streets were unpaved again, and the buildings were made of rough-hewn wood and stone that couldn't compare to the wood Yamato-sensei could produce using the First Hokage's Wood-Release.

Naruto stood there, taking it all in, realizing the gravity of what he had done. He had traveled back in time. His heart raced with excitement and fear. He had a rare opportunity to change the course of history, to right wrongs, and to prevent tragedies.

Suddenly, his body convulsed with agonizing pain, a thousand fiery needles piercing his skin. The weight of temporal energy was suffocating him, and he felt as if his bones were melting like wax under a blazing sun. His healing factor was a mere band-aid on a festering wound, offering only temporary relief. He knew his days were numbered, and the thought of succumbing to the disease before he could complete his mission filled him with dread.

Naruto clutched his chest, feeling the pain intensify. He knew that time travel was fatal, that the temporal energy was a poison that he couldn't fight, a curse that would consume him. But he refused to give up. He would not let the disease defeat him, not when he had a chance to make a real change.

With a fierce determination, Naruto pushed himself to his feet, his body trembling with the effort. The pain was still there, gnawing at him like a rabid animal, but he had to push through it. He had a mission, a purpose, and he was not going to let anything stand in his way.

He was the Sixth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, and he would do whatever it took to save his village.

Each step he took was like a battle, his muscles straining against the weight of his own body, but he refused to falter, refused to give up. Naruto had seen the horrors of the future, felt the weight of its tragedies on his shoulders. He would not let the past dictate the future, not when he had the power to reshape the course of history, to prevent the tragedies that had befallen his home.

And he was ready to pay the price for that change, no matter the cost.

Time-Travel Naruto Fanfic with a bit of a twist!

Originally, this was a Self-Insert Story that I posted but I hit a writer's block on that and didn't know where to take the story. While trying to figure out what to do next, this story popped into my head and I couldn't get it out.

I thought this dynamic would be a little more fun than just a Self-Insert!

Leave a review if have a comment or suggestion!

Thanks for reading!