Summary: Naruto Uzumaki, the 7th Hokage of Konoha, Jinchūriki of Kurama, hero of the elemental nations, and good friend from many, died from a mysterious illness. Never in his imagination would he have thought to open his eyes inside the body of someone who looked exactly like himself when he was around 18 years old. "Now that's unexpected."

"Speech."

'Think.'

Magic/Technique/Jutsu

Flashback/Events of the Past

Warning: English isn't my native language.

Disclaimer: I don't own any material used in this crossover fanfiction.

Naruto looked at the figure, which seemed to be a manifested shadow. He couldn't describe his feelings, seeing this special person after so many years. Over two decades passed since he met the person who was the very reason he found his ninja way.

The very first challenge he had to overcome in his pursuit of his dreams. The person who taught him the most important lesson in his life.

"If you have something to protect, you will become stronger."

Those words clung to him like a metal to a magnet. The first real mission to wave was the starting point of his ninja way of never giving up. Before he met the demon of the mist and his "tool", which he called Haku, he was just a fresh genin without any knowledge of how dangerous the world really was.

The first mission was where he truly felt terrified by Zabuza's intent to kill. Naruto was completely paralyzed, and hadn't it been for Kakashi and Sasuke in the first fight against Zabuza, he would have died the moment Zabuza appeared.

He thanked the duo for many things. He was never able to repay the lessons they taught him during their encounters—especially Haku… the one who gave him the resolve he needed to never waver from his path.

Naruto couldn't help but smile even when this imitation from Haku wasn't the real one. He was happy to see him after so many years. He still couldn't believe how feminine Haku looked. He looked at the screen, which was still hovering beside him.

'I should be able to finish this quickly. If Haku is as strong as he was back then, then I should be able to deal with him quickly,' thought Naruto.

The restriction he had only allowed him to boost his physical abilities with chakra. Besides this, he couldn't mold chakra in any specific way. He wasn't allowed to use any sort of complicated chakra manipulation. Basic chakra usage was everything he was allowed to do for the next three opponents.

He accepted the extra quest that was given. He didn't know the rewards yet, but since he accepted the quest, he couldn't step out of it. There was something that would happen if he didn't stick to the quest and used advanced chakra techniques.

[If you break the rules or can't finish this Quest, your heart will stop, and you will die.]

Not something Naruto had in mind. He wasn't concerned about that since even if he was only allowed to use basic chakra usage to boost his physical abilities, he still had Taijutsu, where he didn't need advanced chakra techniques to defend himself. During the earlier days of his Ninja career, he wasn't good at Taijutsu at all. He relied solely on his absurd number of Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones) to overpower his opponents.

Over the years, he trained in many different Taijutsu forms. The most prominent style he was taught was the Toad Style, a toad summoner who was also proficient in Sennin Mōdo (Sage Mode). Naruto became one of the best Taijutsu users in the entire world. It was apparent when he could go up against god-like beings like the Ōtsutsuki when they invaded the planet, and he only used Taijutsu in certain scenarios because more of those God-like beings could absorb Ninjutsu. So he had to rely on brute strength to finish them, and that was his Taijutsu.

Even after he became Hokage, he refined his Taijutsu more than ever since the most dangerous people he had to fight were beings that could make his Ninjutsu basically useless. In combination with his Rikudo Sennin Mōdo (Six Path Sage Mode) combined with KCM2, he was a force to be reckoned with.

There was some weight behind words from a god-like being when they call Naruto a monster in return. Well… he basically was a demi-god since him being the reincarnation of Ashura and his progress as a Shinobi.

He wasn't called the strongest Shinobi of his time for nothing. He was the third to be called the God of Shinobi after Hashirama and Hiruzen.

To make it simple… even without Ninjutsu or advanced chakra techniques, he was able to defend himself with Taijutsu alone. He even created new Taijutsu techniques over the years as he was Hokage and didn't have much to do besides his work, training, and once fighting Momoshiki when he invaded with his partner Kinshiki.

He had thousands of clones training for him while he was working over the day, and afterward, he joined his clones to become stronger.

If he hadn't died because of the illness, he would still be alive and at the top of the Shinobi world. Only his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha, could be compared to him. But Sasuke was basically a demi-god as well, being the incarnation of Indra and having the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the Rinnegan.

'I miss you, old friend. But now I can't think about you. I have a challenge to overcome,' thought Naruto.

The shadow who imitated Haku didn't move so far. He was curious how strong this shadow would be. Would he be as strong as Haku was back then, weaker than him, or even stronger? He would wait and see.

Naruto had wide eyes when he felt his body begin to pulsate. He gasped and fell to both knees, feeling a strange and intense pain in his entire body. It was like his chakra was fighting against something that wasn't supposed to be there.

He could feel how his chakra pathways were attacked by an unknown force. He had never experienced something like this in his entire lifespan so far, and he already experienced many things, even how a limp of himself got blown up.

He looked up with effort and saw how the shadow, who looked like Haku, looked up from the ground toward Naruto as if the shadow had waited for this scenario. Naruto frowned, seeing how the shadow began to walk toward him.

'Don't…' Naruto's body began to tremble from the immense pain he felt. Naruto saw how the shadow began to smirk, seeing Naruto in such strong pain. 'Don't you…' Naruto's muscles began to flex in an unnatural way when Naruto breathed in the air.

It was like his entire system was being flooded with too much oxygen. 'DON'T DARE TO MOCK ME!' thought Naruto, jumping up, even when he still felt this unimaginable pain. He dashed forth at a speed no one thought someone could move at with the pain the person felt.

The shadow dashed forth to meet Naruto. The shadow seemed to be impressed with Naruto's sudden seriousness, which he had displayed on his face. It wasn't from the laid-back, good-natured, and happy Naruto. It was the face of someone who once stood at the top of the world. The eyes were so focused one would think they could look through every trick, illusion, or attack someone might throw at them.

The experience someone needed to get such eyes was so high that many living beings never even got the chance to obtain such focused eyes. Naruto's entire body screamed at him to stop his movement because of the pain he felt, but he wouldn't stop. He already felt how his chakra began to win over this unknown force that tried to fight his chakra inside his body.

The chakra he possessed in his second life wasn't as potent and strong as the chakra he had in his previous life, but it didn't matter. It was the way his body and chakra reacted to Naruto's unbreakable will. His chakra refused to give up when it felt like this endless inferno in Naruto's soul. An inferno so strong that it could never be distinguished. It was so massive and full of power that it could turn the world upside down and change destiny itself.

That was how the body and chakra perceived the burning in Naruto's soul and his unbreakable will made out of a material that hadn't been invented yet.

Naruto and the Shadow met with their fists clashing, letting both start a quick fight over their bodies. Both exchanged a few blows before Naruto had to duck under a spinning kick. He rolled to the side to dodge the downward blow from the shadow, which looked like Haku.

The Shadow charged after Naruto in one swift movement, making multiple hand signs with its hands. Naruto stood up after he came out of his roll, seeing the hand signs of the shadow. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. He could feel how the temperature fell a little around him.

"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō!" (Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death) Naruto saw how hundreds, if not thousands, of thin little needles out of ice appeared around the charging shadow who looked like Haku.

The shadow jumped into the air and pointed one hand toward Naruto, letting all the deadly objects out of ice shoot forth at neck-breaking speed. It was clear Naruto wouldn't be able to dodge this many thin needles of ice with his current condition. If he could use his chakra normally with advanced chakra techniques, he wouldn't have a problem.

But right now, his chakra was fighting an unknown force inside of his body, so Naruto had to come up with something else. The Shadow was allowed to see how Naruto clenched both hands into fists before he went into a special stand, thrusting both arms toward the upcoming rain of thousands of ice needles.

'Fūken!' (Wind Fist) Naruto unleashed a gust of wind from both fists that blew the deadly weapons from the shadow away that would have pierced his body. It was a Taijutsu inspired by Might Guy's Sekizō (Evening Elephant), which he used during his fight against Madara when he was the Jinchūriki (Power of Human Sacrifice) of the Jūbi (Ten Tails).

It wasn't nearly as strong, but it was useful when someone had to defend themselves against little projectiles that could be blown away with a gust of wind. The gust of wind was barely strong enough to blow the needles away, but it was enough for this situation.

Naruto was lucky enough to have developed something like that during his reign as Hokage. This Taijutsu didn't need any sort of chakra and, therefore, wasn't against the restrictions he had to work with.

He prepared himself for the next move by the shadow, who looked like Haku. The ice needles that weren't blown away by Naruto's Taijutsu were sticking all around him in the ground. The shadow was still in the air when it suddenly flickered out of existence.

'Shunshin no Jutsu! (Body Flicker Technique) So, this imitation can use all of Haku's techniques. Well… I will see it soon enough if my suspicion is true,' thought Naruto. He had to step to the side to dodge a kick when Haku appeared out of nowhere beside Naruto.

'Hmm?' Naruto saw something at the edge of the shoe that just missed his body by an inch. He wondered why he felt a different kind of pain besides the pain that still was raging inside his body from the fight between his chakra and the unknown force. At the edge of the shoe was ice formed like a blade. The ice had made a little wound on his chest. The shadow instantly rotated and tried to hit Naruto with another kick.

Naruto jumped back a little to make some distance between himself and the imitation of Haku. He saw how the imitation of Haku placed her leg on the ground, looking at Naruto.

"Please…"

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw something changing in the eyes of the Shadow. This was the first time he heard the shadow talking. "Naruto… please kill me." The eyes of the shadow began to shine blue once again, letting the body of the shadow calm down before it went into a fighting position again.

Naruto gritted his teeth, realizing something. He thought this imitation, which looked like Haku, was just something this omnipotent being who tested him here created. After all, the message he got told him he would face opponents from his past. It all looked like those "opponents" were the real people he faced. Not just imitations who looked like them with the same skills and move sets.

It could also be a trick, but this voice, the way this person before Naruto said his name, pleading to kill the person… it was just like over two decades ago. Naruto began to hate this trial. So far, he had hoped for a good fight after a very long time, but now, he guessed the souls of the people he once faced as an enemy were used to summon them as this weird shadow-like person to test Naruto.

The most fucked-up thing about all of this was that the personalities were suppressed forcefully, just like with the Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu) in the fourth war. Naruto growled, looking at Haku. He wouldn't call the person before him an imitation anymore. He was convinced that this was the real Haku. Even when Haku wasn't out of flesh and blood anymore, he was still the real deal.

Naruto and Haku dashed forth before they jumped up, and Haku produced some senbon from somewhere. The senbon looked out of shadowy energy. Haku threw them at Naruto. Naruto twisted his body and performed multiple acrobatic maneuvers to dodge the senbon that would have hit him otherwise. When he came out of the twisting, he thrust his fist forth to meet Haku's leg. There was a moment when Naruto and Haku looked into each other's eyes, in their position, with connected limps.

'Haku…'