The story so far. Naruto uses sheer force of will to stay alive, but overdoes it and sends them through reality.
Alive
A small pop disrupts the moonless night as white smoke explodes into the air. Slowly, the smoke clears, revealing a young woman on the ground, curled in with arms around her knees.
Her blue eyes snap open and she gasps. The cold night air fills her lungs. She wipes away her long golden hair from her eyes. Her long lashes blink and flutter as she steadies her breath. The darkness in her vision gives way to a blur of dull colour. Her vision sharpens and dark green blobs become a forest canopy. Starlight peeks through the rustling leaves.
She ambles up and stands. Her knees wobble and she sways but her pink lips stretch into a wide smile.
"I'm alive!"
The celebration can wait. She tests herself with a punch to her left leg. She giggles despite the pain. Her body did not dispel. She's truly alive!
"One last check." She brings her thumb to her lips, cuts into it with her canine, and brings it into her line of sight. Blood! She bleeds!
"Hell yeah! I'm awesome!"
She laughs and revels in her accomplishment. It took forever and a lot of false starts, but she did it. She got this word to allow her to exist. It isn't her world but she made peace with that after the first few decades. The important part is she won her gamble. She is unbound.
"The first is always the hardest. It should be the same for this."
She shakes her head and clears her mind.
"I am unarmed, nude, broke," her stomach interrupts her with a grumble. "That too. I'm gonna have to fix that first." She can celebrate her impossible accomplishment later."
Her arms stretch out beside her for balance as she takes her first step on this world. She stumbles onto her face on the second step.
"Damn!"
She tries again, making sure to focus on her new body's reactions. Her heart beats a steady rhythm and her lungs breathe the crisp night air. Shaky steps gradually turn into a steady walk, which then transforms into a speedy sprint.
She laughs with the wind in her face.
She spots a tree and leaps up for some tree hopping. Her jump comes up short, and her face smacks against the branch.
"Owie." She rubs her sore bottom and pinches her red, but not broken, nose. She glares at the offending tree before planting her foot on its trunk. However, her foot slips down against the mossy surface. Her brow furrows. She takes a step back and presses her palm against the tree. "No chakra." She weighs her options. The sudden limitation wasn't a complete surprise, but it still irked her. She was tempted to adjust this body to solve that problem while it is still malleable.
She opts to search for higher ground before deciding on her next move.
She weaves between and under branches, mindful of her hair. Without a way to tie it up, it will snag a branch or two if she's careless. Her feet spend more time in the air than on grass and spongy earth.
She spots a promising hill on the horizon and rushes to it. It was a good vantage point, but she could also be spotted near the top. Her run turns into a cautious walk halfway up, but she doesn't stop.
The view of a strawberry farm below the hill comes into view when she reaches the hill's peak. Before she can take another step, she bumps into a subtle resistance. Her muscles tighten and her senses sharpen. "It's a barrier."
Her head tilts, and she perks her ears, mimicking a curious fox. Something is amiss—the wind is wrong. It's a small thing, but the hill should affect the wind more than it does. She sniffs the air. The overpowering sweet and fruity aroma fills her senses. It's too generic. "An illusion?" It would fool most civilians, but not anyone that has enhanced senses. The oversight appals her. She couldn't do better than this when she was younger, but that's why no one would be dumb enough to assign her to make one.
"This must not be a strategic location."
She presses her palms together and focuses inward. "Release!"
Nothing changes. Realization dawns on her. "Oh, right. No chakra." It's also possible she does have chakra but her body doesn't have the muscle memory to channel it. Either way, she can't break the illusion on her own.
Her thoughts return to the barrier. She observes the barrier and the illusion. Are they related? Yes. It's too much of a coincidence to have both in the same location. Could breaking the barrier dispel the illusion as well? Her eyes roam the hillside. A good seal master would make the array hard to find. It's impossible for her in her current condition. "When in doubt, punch it!"
She clenches her right hand into a fist and thrusts it forward. She blinks in surprise when her hand pushes past the barrier with little resistance. Is it a weak barrier or not attuned to repel her?
An idea takes shape. This body is still malleable. She could adjust her physical form to match something the barrier recognizes. If she had chakra, she could use it as fuel for the change. Without chakra, she'll have to sacrifice body mass. How much mass will depend on how big the changes need to be.
She shrugs and goes for it. It's another gamble, but she trusts her gut.
She closes her eyes and focuses inward. After a while, she senses her body shrink into adolescence. She is careful not to age down too much. These people could be hostile. When she sees the barrier stop reacting and the illusion starts fading, she lets out a relieved sigh.
She pulls her arm away, the small resistance before, now gone. It's then that she notices it. "What the heck?" She can feel a faint trickle of chakra flowing within her system. It's minute, enough for simple techniques but not much else. She frowns. It was nice, but she didn't intend for her to regain her chakra. Her form will remain malleable for a day, maybe even a week. She had time to consider her options.
It's tougher to defend yourself as a teenager than as an adult, and it's even harder as a child. Chakra helps, but what she'll get won't be enough to offset the disadvantage.
She glances down at her younger self. The balance between how young this body is and how much chakra she has is about right. But that just raises a question. Why did her body change to have chakra again? Her focus was on matching what the barrier would ignore. Is chakra flow needed to pass the barrier? Does this world have chakra?
Her eyes drop to the structures below the hill. Perhaps someone inside can tell her about it.
She moves forward, but before she can go any further, a cacophony echoes in the forest. In the distance, four figures burst out of the tree line – three teens and a child. Monsters emerge from the foliage, nipping at their heels. Without hesitation, she bursts into a sprint down the hill. She won't sit on the sidelines and let a bunch of kids get torn apart!
She spots a bat-winged creature swooping towards the tallest kid. "Dynamic Entry!" she exclaims as her flying kick intercepts the attack. Before it can crash to the earth, she leaps off and axe-kicks a large black dog before it leaps at the teen.
The blonde teen boy from the group steps beside her. He holds a golf club in front of him like a sword. Another winged beast flies at them. This time, the boy intercepts the creature by striking its head. The earth trembles as more large dogs emerge from the forest.
She grabs his shoulder and motions for him to pull back. She suspects the barrier is for creatures like these. The goal isn't victory but survival. "Come on, time to retreat," she urges him. He gives her a questioning look and speaks words she does not understand. "Great." She tugs on his shoulder once again, and, with hesitation, he moves back before they break out in a mad dash.
As they reach the middle of the hill, a whooshing sound against the wind alerts her. She pushes the boy aside as a dog lunges to chomp at him. Its bite catches her right arm. Before it can think of dealing more damage, her reflex slams her right knee into its throat, forcing it to release her. She then spin kicks the large dog away. She checks the injury and bites down a curse.
Her chakra reserves are significantly reduced, like a drop in the ocean, hindering her style. It prevents her from using her signature attacks, the Kage Bunshin and Rasengan. Her female, underage, undertrained body is another issue. She used to be more of a high-endurance, heavy hitter. It's not suitable for her now. This body has less muscle than her previous one, and she doesn't have enough chakra to compensate for it.
As another bat-winged creature dives after her, she rolls forward, evading the attack. It rears for another strike but struggles against the barrier like a mighty wind pushing it back. As she rights herself, she notices it making ground, inching in closer. The barrier won't be enough to hold it for long.
Two of her newfound companions stand their ground beside her, shouting at their other two friends to either run to safety or call for help—perhaps both. They are telling her something too. The way they eye her injury tells her they think she should retreat as well.
Her eyes harden with determination. Though she doesn't know these kids, she won't abandon them, whether they want her to or not.
As the flying creature prepares for its second attempt to crash through the barrier, the two companions beside her move forward to intercept. They have the right idea. Amid the barrier is the best position to hold ground. The rustling of trees and distant howls hint at more creatures coming soon. The pressure intensifies as they all realize they can't hold their ground much longer.
She glances back behind her and then focuses on her good arm. Gritting her teeth, she gathers every drop of her chakra to her palm, though it remains invisible. Her breath becomes heavier and heavier. She hopes that this will be enough to both kill the monster and create a loud bang to call for reinforcements.
The creature breaches the barrier and dives straight for the girl. Summoning the last of her strength, she leaps over the girl and slams down the invisible chakra ball. An ear-shattering boom fills the air, and white light blinds her vision before unconsciousness takes her.