A/N ARHGHARHAH!

The final part of the prologue!

Well Let's get this thing done!

~Prologue – EPILOGUE TO THE BEGINNING

Another 2 years after – Ruins of Konoha… Naru aged 18

"How dare you!?" Naru cried at the masked figure in front of her. She looked around the ware torn battlefield. The fourth shinobi war had finally happened. Kabuto, Orochimaru's slimy apprentice had joined forces with Akatsuki and together they had attacked all of the hidden villages for their jinchuriki. Brave shinobi had been resurrected with Edo Tensei and loved ones were pitted against each other. Sasuke and Itachi, who had somehow planned ahead for this, managed to stop Kabuto's jutsu but it was too late as the damage was already done. The Konoha 11, Sand siblings, all of the Kages, shinobi and civilian alike everyone had died.

What a fool, Kurama uttered, what is the point of world domination when you've destroyed half of it?

Naru and looked to the man at her feet who had died taking a killing blow meant for her. His face was pulled into a loving smile despite the fact he had two large holes drilled into his torso. His once silver gravity defying hair was dull and matted with blood, falling limply around his face. "Kakashi." Naru brought a hand to touch the ring which hung around her neck, brushing past Tsunade's necklace in the process. A plain band of metal made from melted parts of her father's Hiraishin kunai and Sakumo Hatake's white light chakra sabre.

"What a shame," Madara said mockingly, "Was he you lover?"

"You piece of trash!" Naru growled, "How dare you talk about him like that." She was going to tear the zombie apart and feed the remains to feral animals.

I share your feelings. Kurama rumbled in his cage.

"Trash?" echoed the disillusioned man, "I'm a god! And as soon as I have the Kyuubi my Eye of the Moon plan will finally come to pass." Naru bent down and apologised to her former sensei and lover, pressing a final kiss onto his forehead before reaching for the chain she knew held his own ring of the matching pair. She slipped it off his head and onto her own before shifting into a fighting stance.

"You aren't a god." Naru said seriously, "You are a dead man." Madara merely laughed her off as his chakra began to swirl around him, forming the ever-formidable deity.

"Do you remember Susanoo?" He questioned, "He will be your end." She bristled at his haughty tone with her own chakra seeping from her skin.

"Let's go, Kurama!" A blast of angry, red chakra erupted from her, sending dust flying into the air and pushing back Madara a couple of inches. When the entire mess cleared it was a face-off between a living legend and the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"I have waited for this day." Kurama told her as the two of them sat together in her mind, remotely detached yet still focused on the fight.

"While I am here he cannot control you," Naru said pleased, "Like this I wonder if he can defeat you." The fox thrashed its tails, slamming the down where Madara had been only moments before.

"It's nice to see you again Kyuubi!" Madara greeted as Susanoo fired off black fireballs.

"Scum!" They both replied with an angry snarl. A ball of energy formed in the fox's mouth before it was ingested and brought back up as a large beam, completely obliterating the opposing fireballs. Madara purely blocked the oncoming attack with a sweep of Susanoo's sword.

"It's no use, I know every one of your abilities." The masked antagonist said in a snide tone. "You'd be better off just giving up."

"I've told you this before teme!" Naru snapped, "I'll never give up and I'll never run. I will defeat you and I never go back on my word. That is my nindo!" Madara sighed as if she was the most pitiful thing he had ever seen.

"And that's why fools like you die so early." He didn't even bother to dodge the next incoming swipe, letting go through him as if he was suddenly mist and reappearing beside the claw.

"Izanagi." Naru muttered with dislike. She thought of it as the cheat of the shinobi world. As long as the user had chakra, which Madara certainly had an abundance of, they were made virtually immortal as reality and illusion twisted to their will.

"In that case, you know what to do." Kurama said with a smirk, "But first, you need to get out of this form." The giant fox destabilized fading into a mist of chakra before condensing and lightening into a gold coloured shroud around the girl.

"Oho?" This new form certainly piqued his interest until he caught her eyes. The blue that could have been likened to the ocean was gone and in place were the furious red of the Sharingan. "Why do you have those eyes?" His tone was calm yet undoubtedly menacing. The girl was no Uchiha and he didn't take kindly to thieves. Naru stayed silent, refusing to him the satisfaction of knowing. "No matter. In the end I will merely have to rip them out of your skull."

"Just try it!" She dared flashing through a series of hand seals, "Hyoton – Gekido Hiryu!" The air shimmered as water molecules condensed before a frigid ice dragon bust out, rushing towards him.

"That's something I haven't seen before." Madara commented, following through with the same seals. A copy of the dragon shot out, clashing heads with Naru's. They tore each other apart before their remains misted into the air.

"Che," She spat at the ground, "I should've guessed an ordinary jutsu wouldn't have worked. "Well then, a battle of the cursed eyes it is." Naru summoned up the black flames which consumed his body. But he simply stepped through them without a care.

I feel like we'll be here all day if he continues to change fate. Kurama muttered, voicing his displeasure.

"Izanagi. The Uchiha clan's ultimate technique." Madara spread his arms wide as Susanoo's sword came swinging down on her, "Death cannot catch me and I have power beyond belief in my control. I decide my own fate. What else could I be other than god?"

A fool?

"Trash?" His response was to send more fireballs towards her, obviously not pleased. Naru dodged them with ease, the added speed of the shroud making it a fair bit easier. Now how was this supposed to work? She thought whilst keeping her distance and rolling out of harm's way. Ah, I had Weasel explain it once but it's no good, I forgot…

You are lucky that I am here then. The fox commented. I will pass on my memory but you will have the trouble of recreating it. It was as if she had an epiphany as the answer popped into her head.

"Thanks." She muttered. Naru looked at the looming figure behind Madara, it would probably be best to get rid of it first. First she created two well-made clones, sending them out to distract him while she charged up. She concentrated her chakra into the palm of her right hand, forming a simple Rasengan before adding more and more elements to it. "This is Arashi no Rasengan," The blonde explained, "My most destructive version of the Rasengan. I haven't tried it out before so be glad you'll be the first.

"I'm honoured." He answered sarcastically. She didn't hold back at all, charging him with the miniature storm in the palm of her hand. She slowed a few steps before him and threw the jutsu before jumping back as far as possible. The ball seemed to float in front of him, unleashing blades of wind in all directions as it slowly expanded. Strangely enough it enveloped the battlers and Madara didn't feel any of the expected pain. "What is this?"

"Arashi no Rasengan." Naru panted, "Right now were in the eye of the storm. The range is a lot bigger than I expected."

Our defence may not be enough. Kurama intoned. It doesn't matter, Naru answered.

"It's beginning." Small sparks appeared in the air before the force of the attack came crushing down on the two of them.

"Impressive." Madara commented. His guardian deity took the brunt of the force for him but he wasn't exempt and found himself forced to his knees.

"How does it feel to kneel before me?" Naru asked, struggling to stand herself. "And this is just the start." He soon realised she wasn't kidding as he felt the condensed power of the storm tear into him. The earth shook and as the attack cleared up there were two bodies left in a crater the size of Konoha.

How do you feel kit? Kurama asked as she struggled to stand.

"Why even bother asking?" She responded, "But at least it got rid of his Susanoo."

"I commend your effort." Madara began, standing up to face her, "But it looks like it took a lot of effort to perform."

"Hah! You kidding?" Naru put up a false pretence, "I could do this all day long!"

"I don't understand why you keep fighting," His mask was cracked but still managed to stay on his face, "What do you even have left to fight for?" Naru gritted her teeth, jumping in to engage in close combat. The active Sharingan in both their eyes made the battle impossible to follow as they continuously reacted to each other's predicted moves.

"Gah!" His arm flashed forward and caught her neck, dangling the smaller woman in front of him.

"This has gone on long enough. I'll be taking the fox back now." He placed his hand flat on her abdomen before curling his fingers, digging them into her flesh.

"Aarhg!" Naru felt the beginning of the soul removal and struggled frantically. She leaned in and gave him a vicious bite to his collarbone, tearing off a large chunk of flesh. Her efforts were rewarded as Madara withdrew his hand and tossed her aside, examining his wound.

"That hurt you little whore!" Naru laughed and spat out the blood from her mouth. She slowly staggered back up into standing position.

"It's not like you tasted great." She flicked through more seals.

"Another original jutsu, aren't you creative?" He replied mimicking her.

"Suiton – Nejibana!" A thick rope of water snaked out towards him, splitting and dividing. His own jutsu stayed in a single whip like form, "What's the point of copying a jutsu you don't know how to use?" Each individual tendril either pierced the ground in front of him or latched onto a limb. He tried to pull a particular one off his arm but as he touched it a shard like flower grew, piercing both his hand and arm. It wasn't long before he was bound by the constricting jutsu though as soon as he should have been impaled he vanished and appeared behind Naru, sending her flying with a well-aimed kick.

"It was a nice trick, but something like that won't affect me." He explained. Naru flipped in the air, landing neatly on her feet.

"It was worth a try." She sighed and brought her hand out in front of her, "Enton – Kagutsuchi."

"Hm?" He watched as the black flames of Amaterasu appeared before, condensing and combining to for a blade. He figured the only thing that made it possible for her to hold was the gold coloured chakra shroud. The blonde let out a worthy war cry, dashing towards him, sword in hand. He didn't dare try to mimic her, knowing exactly how devastating the everlasting flames could be.

"Hyah!" She swung low and he flipped back, making sure nothing on his person touched the blade.

"That's a dangerous weapon you have. I have never though you could use Amaterasu in such a way." He mentally stored the information away for future use. She dashed in again and he was allowed to witness the true effect of the blade. A small nick on his waist burned, infecting the nearby area and eating away at his flesh. "A truly frightening blade." In another lifetime he would have loved to have the girl as his right hand, but now she was just the last barrier between him and his goals. As he was about to counter she jumped back, maintaining a safe distance. She continued to swing wildly at him, diving in and them retreating when he looked about to retaliate. More than anything it was frustrating. She aimed for his left knee and once again, to evade, he flipped back. He would have fired back with his own jutsu, his hands already raised in the beginnings of a seal, but the look on her face stopped him. The cold, calculating eyes of his own clan that stared straight at him combined with a chilling and victorious smirk.

"What?" He asked, feeling the unease. He looked down at his waist and felt the dread at the realisation. "Izanami." He uttered.

"I win." She stated, stepping back from the man trapped in her genjutsu. Dispelling the sword and shroud, Naru took a look around, wishing that the scenery were a genjutsu too.

Even if he knows about Izanami, it is another matter to escape it. Kurama said with a foxy smirk so wide it threatened to split his face. For someone who believes that everything they do is right and within reason, well he'll be trapped there for eternity.

"Yeah." Naru stepped back, it was unnerving to see the man just standing there, staring blankly at the wasteland of a battlefield.

I would love to spend my days sitting here as he slowly rots, but considering how the fool managed to stay alive for so long I am not so sure anymore. There was a slightly movement behind him which appeared to be wagging tails. Either way I am content. Thank you kit, for fulfilling your promise.

"No, not yet," Naru smiled lightly and used the blood from her hands to draw a seal on the ground. It mimicked the same seal on her stomach with small additions around the border. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu – Shuuseihan." The seals trembled and swirled before producing a large puff of smoke. Once cleared sitting in front of Naru was a small one-tailed version of the Kyuubi.

"Kit,"He said in a surprisingly high voice, "What is this?"

"I was actually looking up ways to release you from the seal, albeit with some limitations, and it was supposed to be a gift for helping me out all the time." Naru said with an empty tone, "You're still connected to me and I have control over you powers but, you have a body. It's an end of war gift."

"Can I have the honours then?!" Kurama asked excitedly like a small child.

"Go ahead. Restriction level 2 release." Naru formed a one-handed tiger seal as a small portion of the Kyuubi's powers were restored. He was now roughly the size of a small house and had three tails. "Actually, wait a second." She walked up to the frozen figure and used the handle of a kunai to smash through the mask. What greeted her was an ominous surprise. "Who…who is he?" She had read enough history books and visited the Valley of the End enough times to recognize Uchiha Madara's face, but this man, was not him.

"…I do not recognize him." The fox replied. "I can guarantee you this is the same man that destroyed your village but this is not the man that controlled me."

"Then, is Madara still alive?" Naru asked with a steely tone. If she had to she would go to the ends of the earth to hunt him down.

"Those eyes are Madara's eyes. I assure you." Kurama confirmed, "It is possible he conspired with this man but without his eyes he is as good as dead. This kind of revenge, it will have to do." He was disappointed but there was little he could do about it now. Without further questioning the fox tore into the stranger's throat, slowly devouring the trapped man. While he was feasting Naru made her way back to Kakashi, who still laid dead on the bloodstained earth.

"Kashi." She knelt beside him and propped his head on her lap, finally shutting his eyes with a sweep of her hand. "Did you see? I avenged you and everyone else so now you can all sleep peacefully." She didn't move from her spot until the fox came padding up to her, his already red muzzle died with his enemy's blood. Only now that she was sure the masked male was dead, did she dare drop her dojutsu.

"It feels strange to have eaten after so long." He nudged her arm with his snout, marveling at the fact he could do so, "And even stranger that I can touch you."

"So that time when I was five-"

"Illusion." He answered, "Your father wouldn't have made it that easy for me to kill you." She shook her head in disbelief, so all those years she had been afraid when he actually couldn't harm her. "Now kit, how about I give you a gift as well?"

"Well, I could kill for some ramen right now." Naru joked.

I have something much better in mind." He dipped his tail into a pool of Kakashi's blood and began drawing a series of character's and seals on the ground. Naru even though she was proficient in fuinjutsu had no idea what the fox was writing.

"What are you doing?" the blonde asked.

"It is a surprise. I will need some time and a lot of blood," He looked at the battlefield, "We have plenty of blood but this will take roughly forty-eight hours." Naru nodded.

"I'll wait then and use this time to give everyone a proper burial." She summoned hundreds of shadow clones and sent them off to bury the dead while she personally attended to the bodies of her friends.

The sun had set and risen twice by the time Kurama had finished and all of the casualties had been buried leaving a blood-soaked, barren wasteland.

"Kit," Kurama waved Naru over while she inspected the seal. It was about fifty metres in diameter and each part of it was filled with swirls of blood. "This is my gift to you." It was beautiful in a way only a seal master could appreciate.

"What does it do?" Naru asked.

"It sends us back to the past." Kurama explained.

"Back?" Naru looked exhausted.

"We will go back and become new people," He paused, "Well, you will become a new person, and I will still be a fox."

"What good does going back do?" Naru asked frustrated, "We'll just have to go through this pain all over again."

"But you have the power to change it." Kurama continued. Naru looked up at his with dwindling hope in her eyes, "When we go back you won't be Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze anymore. You will be a stranger in that timeline. You will need a new identity."

"I'm tired." She admitted, slumping down to her knees, "Going back would waste their sacrifice, and I don't know if I'll be able to handle losing them again."

"What a strange thing humans are." The fox walked over and sat itself in front of her, "If you go back no sacrifices would have been made. If you cannot lose them then protect them. Though this of course, is of your own choosing. I will stay by your side but here, in this world, you will be lonely. If you are content to leave this behind and search for a peaceful life, that is fine, no one would dare blame you for it, but isn't that the same as giving up?" The girl's eyes seemed to sharpen as she listened, "Only once you know you have tried everything can you be content. It is in your nature."

"…Can I have some time?" She asked quietly. The fox nodded and laid his head on his paws. She didn't move from her spot, spending several hours just sitting in thought. "How far can we go?" Naru finally asked, feeling strange after such a long silence, "And will there be any side effects?"

"For the amount you travel back, your age will be reduced by half that. We have enough chakra for a little less than two decades, meaning you will likely find yourself in you eight year old body." He explained, "Your lifespan will also be reduced. I can't say how much for certain due to your exceptional healing abilities and vitality in general, maybe it won't affect you at all, or maybe it will take the greatest toll."

"I see." She went back to thinking. A shorter life didn't worry her too much, she was a shinobi after all, in fact it was amazing the Sandaime managed to hold on for as long as he did. "Alright," Naru stood tall for the first time in a while, coming to a final answer, "Let's go then. There's nothing left for me here."

"Good choice." A grin made its way onto his face, "It would have been rather boring here."

"But at least everyone's at peace." Naru scoured the landscape, "With this the age of the ninjas is finished. I wonder how the survivors will carry on but that life is not for me."

"Is there anything you wish to bring? It has to be able to fit in my mouth though."

"What an odd requirement." She handed him her three necklaces which he dutifully placed in his jaws.

"I suggest you start thinking of a name." The fox advised as they made their way to the very centre of the seal. "Remember that while doing this you are giving up your identity, your right to exist as your current self."

"I know. I guess my current name would cause quite a stir." She admitted with a small laugh.

"Indeed." Kurama agreed.

"It has to be awesome then. And I'll have an epic title to go with it!" She looked more excited than she should be.

"…Why not Yoko?" He caught the way she halted her steps, and subconsciously brought a hand to her abdomen.

"No, that name is not for me." She answered slowly and deliberately with a sad look. "How about we think about it once we get there?" She spared the battlefield one last look before leaving it all behind.

A/N Yeah! And now we can get rolling onto the actual story.

I realize when I'm typing i put in little facts and sentences which make complete and total sense to me but then again I know exactly whats happening so it might be harder for others to pick up...

Her's a couple more jutsu;

Name: Hyoton – Gekido Hiryu (Raging Ice-Dragon)
Classification: Ninjutsu
Rank: A/S-rank (Depending on how much chakra used)
Class: Offensive
Range: Mid to Long
Summary: An original technique by Naru. A large frozen dragon is created from the water vapours in the air (or from available water source) and homes in on the target. Upon contact, ice begins to form from wherever the dragon has touched or bitten spreading along the target. Varying levels of chakra are needed depending on if water is readily available, the targets rough distance, the intensity of the freezing bite desired. Though, no matter what the attack requires an enormous amount of chakra.

Name: Arashi no Rasengan (Storm Spiralling Sphere)
Classification: Ninjutsu, Kinjutsu
Rank: S-rank
Class: Offensive
Range: Close range but effects a large area
Summary: Created by Naru and is currently her most powerful attack. It incorporates the elements Water, Wind and Lightning into a Rasengan making a miniature storm. If hit by it, the target will undoubtedly be destroyed (shredded, ripped into pieces, blasted into oblivion). Naru creates a clone to help her add elements to a Rasengan she creates. The attack is then thrust at her enemy. It is known to create a crater the size of Konoha when aimed at the ground and takes up monstrous amounts of chakra.

Name: Nejibana (Twisted flower)
Classification: Ninjutsu
Rank: A-rank
Class: Offensive
Range: Mid to Long
Summary: Water forms in the air and vines snake along to entrap the enemy. It constricts and winds around the enemy, blooming flowers of ice at any point to pierce them. Another of Naru's creations, it was named after the deceased Neji.

Name: Kuchiyose no Jutsu – Shuuseihan (Summoning Jutsu – Revised)
Classification: Ninjutsu, Space-Time Ninjutsu
Rank: S-rank
Class: Offensive, Defensive, Supplementary
Range: -
Summary: Created and used by Naru to summon the Kyuubi from inside the seal. Its effect is permanent bringing the Bijuu into the outside world. The jinchuriki still has control over the beast and limits the amount of power available to it.

As always thanks for reading. I will try to update regularly but it's probably not going to be a 100% on-time-all-the-time thing.