" You?" Came the monster's surprised voice. Its headless and oval face watching the redhead in front of it with something akin to surprise. Naruto peered at the teeth protruding out of its mouth with curiosity, his right eye training on the beast's face. Its feathery wings tried to flap and escape into the air but Naruto raised his hand and chains erupted from the ground, keeping the monster in place as it struggled to try and find a way out. To Naruto, the swirling whirlpools that surrounded the two of them made him feel at home and gave him greater control of his own thoughts and emotions than he thought was possible. He turned to look at the monster fully and narrowed his ice-cold gaze at the monster.

" Satori. It had been a few years." Naruto spoke calmly, with none of his usual cheer and joyful tone present in his voice. "I see that the Box has kept you confined pretty well."

" You!" Satori repeated, this time angrily as it struggled against the golden chains that wrapped around its body. "Why? Why have you returned? Sealing me back into that infernal box wasn't enough?! Taking Muku away from me wasn't enough?!"

" Muku was never yours to begin with." Naruto shot back with force. "He was Ryuzetsu's. And Mui's."

Naruto took a deep breath, reining in the anger that threatened to bubble underneath his skin. It would not be good to lose control over his emotions in front of a monster such as Satori itself. "But, I am not here to bring up old grudges, Satori. I need your help."

" Everyone needs my help." Satori sneered, its headless head watching Naruto with contempt as it continued to flail around in the chains. "Everyone wants the help of the Box and its servant – me. To think that even you succumbed to my whispers is disappointing, sage."

Naruto shook his head ruefully. "I have no wish that you can grant me other than knowledge. I know what my dreams are. I know how to make them a reality. I do not need your false whispers, fiend. I only require the knowledge."

Satori stopped flailing around and stilled. Turning itself with the waves, Satori turned to face Naruto fully. Its massive mouth opened into a grin that radiated hate and contempt. "You? Need my knowledge? Truly you jest slayer of Kaguya."

" I am tired of your stalling Satori. You know just as well as I do that you must answer me. Remember your oath to Hagoromo." Naruto stared at Satori with emotionless eyes. However, his voice hid a tone of warning and foreboding as even a monster such as Satori shivered slightly. Satori's wings flapped in a mixture of anger and despair before settling down.

" How does it feel, to know that if you just asked back then, I would have been forced to go back into the Box of my own free will? That Ryuzetsu and Mui would still be alive?" Satori scorned hatefully before it shrugged. "Senju, Hyuga, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Kaguya and Hagoromo. These six clans have always held dominion over me. Especially due to what Hamura and Hagoromo did to me. Ask."

Naruto ignored the pang of pain that threatened to erupt in his chest. It was true, after all. Back then, during the entire Blood Prison fiasco, it would have been nice to know that he could have simply commanded Satori back into the box. It was a tragedy of the highest order, and Naruto didn't want to remember his past mistakes, even the ones he had committed by mistake. "What exactly are you? I know Hagoromo Otsutsuki and Hamura Otsutsuki defeated you in the past and bound you to their bloodlines. But beyond that, I don't know much about you."

Satori remained quiet for a few minutes. Its tilt of the head conveyed its contemplative mood. Twitching the beast answered Naruto's question. "The Box predates Kaguya and predates the modern iteration of Chakra itself. The Box was built during the time when even the Gods walked among mortals. When Izanagi rejected Izanami for lording over the Purelands, Izanami created the Box as a means of vengeance against Izanagi. Through duplicitous means, the Box and thus I fell into the hands of humans. Into the hands of Emperor Jimmu of the Kusa Empire. Demigod as he was, Jimmu managed to control me, and thus the infamous Kusa Empire spread its wings over the continent. His line ruled with my aid, each ruler being more human than God, thus slowly eroding their power over me. When I was released, I enacted my vengeance. But my timing coincided with the emergence of Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki. They defeated me and sealed me back into the Box and buried it deep within Kusa."

" Then you are a minion of the Shinigami," Naruto observed, hiding his interest in the tale that Satori had weaved. Naruto hadn't been one for religion when he was young, but being the lone human alive on the planet gave way to a contemplative mood, and Naruto found himself far more religious than his younger self would have liked. "That's why you were fixated upon me when we fought. You could feel the Shinigami's seal on me."

" Of course I could!" Satori crowed with a heave that flailed against Naruto's chains. "My creator's mark still twists around you, Naruto Uzumaki. So, does this answer your question?"

" It does, slightly." Naruto nodded as he sat down, molding chakra on his lap. As he sat calmly atop the whirlpools that would suck in and kill any unfortunate soul, Naruto looked at absolute peace. Satori growled internally. The very thought of this irritant being calm irked him. "My second and last question is thus. How do I travel in time and save everyone?"

Satori grinned. Now that was a question that he could answer whilst still dealing pain to Naruto. With a toothy grin, he answered the redhead's question. "Everything begins and ends with the Rinnegan."

Understanding flooded Naruto's face as he suddenly sat upright and rigid. His cold eyes surveyed Satori for any hint of deception as his hands clenched and his chest ached at the familiar pain. His mind flashed to the eye of the Samsara which was hidden in a place that only he knew. Naruto gritted his teeth at the flash of anger that tore through him before he managed to regain his emotional control. Taking a deep breath, he stood up on the whirlpool and then looked at Satori with a flash of danger in his ice-cold eyes. "Then I have no more need of you now."

" Going to seal me back into the Box?" Satori growled with a challenging tone in his voice.

" No." Naruto eyes bared down on Satori. Satori flinched slightly at the cold shivers that now broke out underneath him. "I may have killed Shibai, but I am not sure that there aren't any other Otsutsuki coming here. I cannot afford for them to find you. It would be counterintuitive to let Demigods wield their power over you once again. No, Satori you are going to die."

" I cannot be killed!" Satori roared back as the winds picked up. Satori's roar was so loud that it threatened to raise the waves as well. "It is the will of Lord Shinigami that I will be immortal forever! To blaspheme against the chosen of Lord Izanagi forever!"

" Die blasphemer." Was the last thing that Satori ever heard. As black rods of chakra protruded from the ocean like a black forest of death racing towards the immobilized Satori, the immortal being stilled as he felt his being returned to the Box of Ultimate Bliss. With that, the monster of the Box lost consciousness. Outside, Naruto looked on impassively as he watched the Box of Ultimate Bliss explode into a million pieces. As pieces of the unholy box were swept away by the waves, Naruto sighed and turned to the side, ignoring the pain that the seal on his gut was creating. Naruto chuckled hollowly. "Even in death, Sasuke, it seems that I have need of you. Bastard. Don't know how you knew. But thanks. Thanks for entrusting your Rinnegan to me. It shall create our new beginning. Believe it."

The three Ame ninjas immediately adopted defensive stances as they heard Naruto's comment about Nagato's Rinnegan. Yahiko slid out a kunai and held it in his right hand as his orange hair fluttered in the evening wind. Konan immediately raised her arms, molding her chakra and getting ready to attack with her chakra papers. Nagato's eyes flashed violet as his Rinnegan gleamed at the evening glow. Naruto raised his arms in a calming gesture once more. Naruto's eyes swept over the three as he sighed internally. Nagato stepped forward and spoke up with a tight voice. "How do you know about my eyes?"

"The concentric rings around the eyes." Naruto pointed out with a deadpan voice as he looked at the three with a comical face. Sweat drops formed on the back of the three Ame ninjas trained by Jiraiya. "I mean come on. I have eyes too you know."

A tic mark formed on Yahiko's head as he moved forward beside Nagato. "You know what I mean you menace! Very few know about Nagato's eyes! The Rinnegan isn't so easily identified or recognized!"

Naruto turned his deadpan stare at Yahiko. "You do realize that Nagato's hair hides his eyes? Most don't see his eyes. And those who do…..well, I can guarantee that many among them recognize the eyes. I mean, you do remember the old folk tale right?"

"Beware the eyes of the Samsara…. for they bring ruination and beginning to all." Konan quoted as she moved beside Nagato as well, her blue hair fluttering. "Yes, we do. But that is beyond the point. What do you want with Nagato? Just because you are kin to him doesn't give you a right to his visual prowess."

"Don't you dare insinuate that I would ever use my relationship with anyone to steal their prowess. I saved you lot from Hanzo and got Hanzo to speak with you. I helped you. So don't you dare…." Naruto's voice lost its cheerful quality as it tightened with every word. Konan stepped back as Naruto's eyes, which were so warm froze over like a glacier in the Land of Snow. "Never mind. The fact is, I speak about Nagato's Rinnegan for his safety. Nothing more and nothing less."

"What about them?" Nagato asked quietly, his stance loosening a bit as he watched Naruto with an inquisitive gaze.

Naruto's eyes turned to Nagato. The two redheads stared at each other for a few seconds as Naruto brought a finger to his chin, watching Nagato carefully. Clasping his hand, Naruto spoke up. "Nagato. When you tap into the powers of the Rinnegan how do you feel? And I don't mean the basic powers of the Rinnegan. Not the gravity manipulation. I mean the deep surge of Yang and Yin inside of you. How do you feel?"

'How does he even know about that in the first place?' Nagato wondered aloud in his head as he met Naruto's gaze head-on. Nagato tilted his head deep in thought at the question as Yahiko and Konan shuffled next to him uncomfortably at the question. Feeling the hours of fatigue and tiredness that occurred rarely in the past, Nagato turned back to Naruto and answered the question in a quiet voice. "When I pull at the Rinnegan's chakra too deeply…. I tire out very quickly. It's like my stamina is being sucked in by a vacuum cleaner. My chest hurts and my blood pressure rises exponentially."

"Great power comes at great cost." Konan pointed out beside Nagato before Naruto could answer. Naruto nodded sagely but then shook his head softly at the remark.

"Do you know about Eye Thieves?" Naruto asked, folding his arms as he watched the three ninjas carefully. The term seemed to be recognized by Yahiko whose eyes widened slightly before it narrowed.

"Are you calling Nagato a thief?" Yahiko questioned a defensive tone in his voice. "I've known Yahiko since we were kids. He didn't steal the eyes from anyone. He couldn't have. Eye Thieves of the Sharingan, Byakugan, and Ketsuryugan during the Warring States Era were killers and bloodline stealers. Nagato is neither."

Nagato's eyes narrowed at the insinuation and Konan bristled at the very thought. Naruto widened his arms and shook his index finger.

"I apologize if I insinuated that." Naruto shook his head and rubbed his forehead, deep in thought. "But no. I am not insinuating that Nagato stole the Rinnegan from someone. No, I am insinuating that someone implanted them into Nagato when he was very young. Between the limbo period when Nagato's mother gave birth to him and when the nurses handed him back to Nagato's parents."

'No, that's not possible. Not at all.' Nagato's eyes flinched before it narrowed. "That's not possible. I was born with these eyes."

"Now, I know for sure that they were implanted." Naruto pointed out calmly, ignoring the rising bristling anger of the three Amegakure ninjas. "The Rinnegan cannot form at birth. It must be evolved at a later date. The Sage of Six Path's tale talks about him unlocking the eyes when he was older. It cannot be formed at birth. That plus, the signs of extreme fatigue and pain when using it points towards Nagato's Rinnegan having been implanted inside of him."

"It is true that the legends speak of the Sage awakening the eyes much later in life." For the first time during the conversation, Konan looked unsure. Her golden eyes flickered between Naruto and Nagato in deep thought. Yahiko shook his head, unwilling to even entertain the notion that Naruto was bringing in front of them. Yahiko moved forward and pointed at Naruto angrily.

"Even if Nagato's eyes were implanted into him, what do you want anyway? The eyes can't have been yours. You're younger than us." Yahiko muttered angrily as his eyes flashed. Yahiko was a normally emotionally stable man, but when it came to Konan and Nagato, he had a soft spot. And he hated if anyone invaded that spot. 'He wants the eyes. I'm sure of it!'

"I don't want the eyes Yahiko," Naruto spoke softly, as he looked at Yahiko with a soft gaze. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward, meeting Yahiko's eyes. Yahiko moved back a little to create space as Naruto continued to speak. "As an Uzumaki, it is my duty to make sure that any other Uzumaki that I come across is safe and sound. Even if they don't want to come back home with the current Uzumaki Clan Head. Added to that, I have a vague idea as to who implanted the eyes."

"Who?" Nagato asked, matching Naruto's soft tone. 'Eye thieves…the old scrolls talk about how implanted visual bloodlines fatigued users a lot. Rumors of the Kiri ninja who possesses the Byakugan talk about how sparingly he uses it. Old tales from the Land of Lightning also talk about bloodline thieves of the Chinoike Clan feeling extreme pain during the closing days of the Warring States Era. Could it be…...? My symptoms match them word for word.'

"I don't know his name." Naruto sighed and leaned back on the pole behind him as he folded his arms. 'I do. But can't tell you.' "But I know of him. There are whispers of an old man with a minion dark in color following him around. Manipulating people, and conducting experiments with anyone he can get his hands on. This entire thing smells of his doing. It is his modus operandi, so to speak."

"And how do you even know of this individual?" Konan muttered under her breath as she observed Naruto carefully. Fortunately, Naruto heard the question as he tilted his head. A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.

"I know for certain that this man was involved in the Fall of Uzushiogakure, the home of the Uzumakis," Naruto answered the blue-haired kunoichi's question quietly. 'When I found out that Madara had manipulated even that event…. I almost reanimated him simply for the sake of socking him in the face again… Who am I kidding? I can't lie to myself. I did reanimate him and bash his skull in.' "So I make it my business to know everything I can about the man."

Yahiko flinched slightly as he listened to Naruto's answer. If he had known about the people who had murdered his own family during his youth, Yahiko would have probably done the very same thing. It would have been hypocritical of him to accuse Naruto of doing the same thing that he would have. Taking a deep breath and collecting his thoughts, Yahiko glanced at Nagato, who looked rooted in place. His face was paler than normal and he seemed to be deep in thoughts. Seeing his companion unable to talk, Yahiko exchanged a look with Konan. As unspoken words passed through them, Yahiko nodded slightly and turned back to Naruto. "Fine. You saved us. You helped facilitate our talk with Hanzo. We owe you. So we'll give you the benefit of the doubt and agree with you. This old man implanted the eyes with Nagato. So what do you want to do about it then? Take them out and implant normal eyes within Nagato?"

"No." Naruto shook his head again. "That's impossible. Because the Rinnegan was implanted when Nagato was so young, it is rooted in Nagato's chakra system. If I took the eyes out and implanted normal eyes, the chakra nerves in Nagato's ocular region would simply fail to work and render Nagato blind."

"Then what do you want to do with them?" Nagato asked, having regained his bearings, as his Rinnegan flickered between Yahiko and Naruto. "I can't become blind. Even if I wasn't a Shinobi that would not be an option."

"And it isn't." Naruto agreed, nodding his head earnestly. "Robbing you of your sight would be horrendous. Especially, in this line of work that we share. No, what I wish to do is simple. A seal. A seal grafted on Nagato's body will seal the more strenuous parts of the Rinnegan. Nagato will still be able to use the elements, the gravity manipulation and have a complete balance of his Yin and Yang chakras. But the other powers of the Rinnegan will be sealed away. Permanently. A warning component will also be included. If the man I suspect who is after all of this comes back and attacks you, all Nagato will need to do is mold his chakra over the seal, and I will be reverse-summoned to him to help you out."

"That isn't a bad deal." Yahiko acknowledged reluctantly with a tilt of his head and a sigh. Konan nodded beside Yahiko, agreeing with Yahiko. 'All of the abilities he retains will still allow Nagato to be a powerful Shinobi. It's the crux of what he uses anyway.'

Yahiko pinched his nose and then turned to Nagato. "It's your call Nagato. It's your call."

A myriad of emotions flew through Nagato's face. Anger, fear, resentment, but also hope and wanting. Taking a deep breath, Nagato turned to Naruto and watched him closely. Those eyes that had earnestly proclaimed Nagato family stared back with nothing but familial love and care. Nagato smiled slightly, feeling the warm words of his old sensei, Jiraiya filter inside his head. 'Like you said, sensei. It seems that I must take a stand again. For myself and my family.'

"We're family aren't we?" Nagato rasped slightly as he leaned forward, watching Naruto carefully. "If we are, share your chakra with me. I know little of my Uzumaki heritage. My mother was taken away from me when I was very young. But the lessons she did impart, I remember them, as they are close to my heart. You must know what I mean if you are also truly an Uzumaki."

Naruto smiled softly as well, meeting Nagato's gaze with a resolute face of his own. He leaned forward giving his right hand to Nagato. Nagato grasped the offered hand with his own and both Uzumaki's flared their chakras. Peace and serenity flooded Nagato almost immediately. 'This chakra…it reminds me….it reminds me of you, mother. So much like you mother. It seems our family truly does continue to live.'

Beside the two Uzumakis, Yahiko watched the event in front of him with a clueless face as he turned to Konan with a questioning look. Konan answered him with a playful sigh. "Nagato told me about this. Uzumakis often shared their chakra with each other. Often, as a sign of trust and sharing their emotions. It was a cultural practice of the clan. Nagato wishes to find out Naruto's true intentions, whatever they are, on a familial level, I wager."

"Ah." Yahiko nodded in understanding. Whilst Konan and Nagato had both come from Shinobi families, Yahiko himself had come from humble civilian upbringings. He didn't have a Shinobi familial background and honestly, sometimes the traditions that Shinobi clans liked to maintain made Yahiko shudder with an ick tumbling from his mouth. He didn't even want to think about all the cousin marriages that happened within so-called noble Shinobi clans like the Uchiha, Hyuga, and others. Sometimes, Yahiko was happy to have no shinobi familial history. It suited him just fine. But as a soft smile erupted on his face, watching the two Uzumaki share their chakra, on rare occasions like that, it made Yahiko feel envious. On the other hand, it would be nice to have some kind of family culture and tradition to fall back upon. But as Yahiko gazed softly at the scene and Konan, Yahiko already knew one universal truth, and that was the fact that he already had a shinobi family.

Nagato let go of Naruto's hand and opened his eyes. Naruto looked at him with a gentle smile on his face. Nagato chuckled as he covered his right eye with his hand. "Very well cousin. It seems that I will have to take a chance and trust in my family again. Place your seal on me."

Naruto's hands flashed through the horse and tiger hand seals as his right hand's fingertips glowed blue with deepening chakra. Raising his right hand, Naruto looked at Nagato and said, "Open your shirt and present your stomach to me. I must warn you as well, this will hurt a bit."

Nagato opened his flak jacket and rolled his shirt up before biting his teeth in anticipation of the pain. Nodding, he signaled to Naruto to get on with it. Naruto slammed his right hand's fingers onto Nagato's stomach, getting an 'oof' out of Nagato as he stumbled back. In front of Naruto, Yahiko, and Konan, the Uzumaki swirl formed on Nagato's stomach before it was kept in place by the chakra forming kanji around the swirl. Naruto then shifted his hand onto the dragon hand seal and pushed chakra into his seal. The seal on Nagato's stomach burned blue for a second before settling down into the normal black color of sealing ink. At the same moment, the pain building in Nagato's gut disappeared as well. Nagato let out a sigh of relief and rubbed some of the sweat forming on his forehead away. He looked up to Naruto and nodded. "Thank you."

Naruto leaned down and offered his hand to Nagato to help him up. Nagato took it gratefully and pulled himself to his feet once more. Naruto smiled as he dusted off Nagato's clothes, helping the man regain his bearings. "Remember, if you are in trouble, simply mold your chakra over the seal. And of course, if you ever come to Konoha, do visit. The Uzumaki Clan Head would love to meet you."

Nagato chuckled as he nodded with a soft laugh. "I shall."

Naruto smiled sincerely as he watched Nagato take his place beside Konan and Yahiko. "You three should also at least write a letter to Jiraiya you know? The old fart misses you three a lot. It would do him a world of good to know what's been going on with you three."

"We will Mr. Uzumaki." Konan's voice, unlike the last day, was respectful. As Nagato seemed alright, Konan did acknowledge the help that Naruto had given them.

Naruto smiled blindingly. "See you around Akatsuki. I am sure that when we meet again, Amegakure will have flourished into a prosperous village once more. Invite me some time."

Naruto's seal burned as he doubled over in his bed, trying to grit through the pain. Two weeks after the showdown with Hanzo, the Amegakure's leader's intelligence about Suna and Iwa teams within the Land of Wetlands had proven to be useful for Squad 20. Without the burden of having to hide from Hanzo, Naori had led the squad against several Iwa and Suna teams and had sent them running back. If Naruto wasn't mistaken, his own name was already within the Bingo Book now, with Hanzo's assigned moniker being his epithet. Within a few weeks, Hanzo's retirement would be official and Yahiko would step up as the Fourth Village Head of Amegakure. But all of those things were far behind in Naruto's mind as he struggled within the confines of his own bed, trying to stay awake from the sheer pain that the seal on his belly, assigned to him by his father at first inflicted on him.

"What-?!" Naruto crowed in anger and pain as he tried to sit up before the seal flared and sent another jolt of pain through him. His nerves felt like they were on fire and his blood felt like they were being boiled in lava. Naruto felt intimately reminded of Kaguya's Lava Dimension, where he had been sent swimming by one of Kaguya's more powerful attacks many years ago. Gritting his teeth and fighting through the tears of pain that formed, Naruto pulled himself to the upright position. His neck felt like it was being throttled by a ghost as he gasped and let out another silent scream just to remain upright.

Gasping, Naruto rolled his shirt up and looked at his seal. The normal blank ink of the seal was burning deep red in a color that reminded Naruto of Kurama's chakra. Narrowing his eyes and biting his teeth to stop a verbal scream from erupting from his mouth, Naruto flared his own chakra and molded it over his seal.

"That will not work." Came a raspy and thin voice. Naruto stilled. He recognized that voice very well. Fighting through the pain that threatened to boil him from the inside, Naruto turned to the side. In the dark corner of the room, where the shadows stood prominent, and hid the enchanting blue color embroidery, Naruto could make out two red eyes within a purplish sclera watching him. "This was not the deal, Uzumaki."

"I didn't breach our deal, you –" Naruto cut himself as he felt another gasp of pain escape him. Taking a deep breath and flaring his own natural chakra to come himself down, Naruto watched the eyes carefully. "I didn't breach the deal. I would ask why you're doing this."

"Sealing the Eyes of the Samsara wasn't a part of the deal." The red eyes sharpened and the raspy voice grew even more raspy, if that was even possible.

"The deal was simple. The deal meant that I was going to save everyone. That was it. There was no other wording." Naruto gritted out as he pointed an angry finger at the shadows of the room, where the eyes watched him curiously.

"You are interfering in events that should not be interfered with. That I have allowed you to do so is already stretching my hospitality and gratitude towards you." The eyes muttered furiously in a silent whisper. "But now, you are interfering with the Eyes of Divinity? Have you fallen so low, Uzumaki?"

"I have done nothing to break the deal," Naruto repeated back, this time maintaining a steely gaze at the eyes that sharpened towards him. "Anything else that I do, are things that I do for the betterment of everyone. Nagato is saved from the adverse effects of those eyes. Madara will not be able to claim the eyes either. Even if he somehow eliminates me and kills Nagato – the chances of that happening are slim – the seal I grafted on Nagato will deactivate the Rinnegan completely the moment it leaves Nagato's eye sockets or if Nagato is reanimated."

The shadows swayed in the night moonlight that seeped inside from the window. Naruto maintained his steely gaze at the red eyes which watched on neutrally. "And for that matter, what I am doing in the end helps you out as well doesn't it? So why are you protesting against it?"

"Isn't there something to be said for keeping the flow of time as it is? To maintain predictability?" The hovering shadows and the red eyes questioned Naruto curiously as some of the pain it inflicted on Naruto gradually seeped away.

Naruto shook his head away and shrugged. "You know just as well as anyone that I am not one for sitting on the sidelines and interfering only when it is right. No, this way I save more people and this way I get to destroy that accursed future. This way I prepare everyone for the calamity that is going to come. This way I prevent deaths."

"I suppose trying to get you to conform to my view would be an impossibility wouldn't it Uzumaki?" The red eyes asked, its raspy tone turning into a demonic one. The screeching voice ached Naruto's eyes but Naruto stood firm, looking at the red eyes without fear. "Ah. Those eyes which felled even Gods themselves. I see. I was mistaken in coming here in person then. I cannot control you, despite the deal we made. It seems."

"You know better than to try and control me." Naruto pursed his lips as he glared at the hovering pair of red eyes. Flaring his chakra, Naruto let loose a torrent of chakra that made it nearly impossible for anyone in the vicinity of Naruto to even breathe. Cracks appeared on the concrete floor and the room darkened even more. "I defeated you once. I can do it again. Want a rematch? I can bash your head in again if you want, believe it!"

"I suppose not." The red eyes declared curtly, clearly unhappy at having been reminded of its defeat. "Very well. If you want to continue this course of action, Naruto Uzumaki, then I cannot stop you. I will have to content myself with having warned you. Time, time is like a river. You can alter its course, for sure. But it will always correct itself. Do not let yourself be swept away during that time. It will not be beneficial for either of us. Be careful. The others are watching."

With that said, the red eyes vanished from sight, and the remaining pain that Naruto felt disappeared with it. Naruto let out a breath of relief as he slumped against his pillow. As cold relief seeped back into his bones, Naruto felt his room's door sliding open. Purple hair peaked in as Naori looked around. "Naruto were you speaking with someone?"

Naruto grunted and shook his head, standing up and letting the blankets fall to the wayside. "No. I was muttering to myself Ms. Naori. It's healthy behavior to self-reflect out loud you know?"

Naori shook her head, a resigned smile on her pretty face. Shaking her head, she turned around and said, "Well, anyway, get ready Naruto. We've sent the last squad running back to their homes so that concludes our mission. We're going back to Konoha now. We move in an hour."

With that said, Naori left the room, leaving Naruto alone. Naruto absentmindedly started to pack his bags and clean the room. As he stuffed his clothes and food inside his standard issue sealing scrolls, the red eyes' warning rang in his head. Naruto went over the warning over and over again as he continued to pack his bags. Taking the broom and cleaning the room, Naruto's head continued to churn. Taking a deep breath, he took his backpack and slung it over his shoulders as he swept his view over the room one last time. As he stepped out of the room, Naruto clenched his fists with determination. 'I don't care what you or the others think Lord Shinigami. If the River of Time tries to correct itself, then I will destroy it and reshape it according to my wishes. To save everyone, I will not bow down to anyone's wishes. Not even yours. Not even the Gods.'

Deep within the confines of the place known to mortals as Takamagahara, the bells began to chime.

Author's Notes: And that ends the Hidden Rain Arc! Thank you all for the support and keep them reviews coming! Nagato's Rinnegan is secured in this chapter. Even without the Six Paths, Gravity Manipulation, and total mastery over the 5 elements and Yin and Yang will allow Nagato to become a very strong Kage Level Shinobi if he wants without endangering himself in the future. Yahiko and Konan are there beside to help him as well and Naruto encoded fail safes within his seal. Like I mentioned in a previous chapter, I love worldbuilding and Naruto is basically a blank canvas with the amount of worldbuilding that Kishimoto forgot to give. So I'm expanding upon it by also expanding Naruto's past here. Remember, the story follows canon until Kaguya emerges out of Madara, and changes after that, so flashes of Naruto's past is very important for me to stabilize his goals for the future. What are your guy's predictions? Keep em coming!