Chapter 1: Year 4
Devastation. That was the only word to describe the scene before him. As Naruto took in the scenery, a rain of fire engulfed buildings, trees, wildlife, and far more. Amidst the chaos, two figures stood firm, staring each other down—clothes tattered, bodies worn, cuts marking every inch of their skin.
The war had dragged into its fourth year, and many had lost friends and family. Nonetheless, this conflict had finally managed to unite the Hidden Villages, forcing them to set aside their differences. With this alliance, the war initially leaned in their favor until the third year, when the Akatsuki found the body of a horrible man from the past. With his resurgence, the tides of war shifted dramatically, and the Shinobi Alliance began losing its troops by the thousands each week. Leading up to the present standoff.
"It's over..." Madara began to speak. His face bore an eye peculiar and terrifying—purple with rings that formed all the way to the iris. Long, spikey white hair ran down his back to his waist. He wore what used to be a white robe, now left in tatters from the mid-section up, revealing his pale skin. His trousers were the only piece of clothing keeping him somewhat covered. "Everyone you fought for and loved is dead... There is nothing left for you to fight for anymore," he continued. A black orb he held transformed into a staff-like weapon as he took a fighting stance.
"... but I'm still alive! And as long as I'm alive, I will continue to fight for what we believe in. I will not stop until I kill you, Madara!" Naruto responded, picking up a shiny object off the ground with his only arm. This person had blonde hair, blue eyes, and whisker-like marks on his cheeks. He no longer wore his infamous orange jumpsuit, instead opting for black Anbu-style trousers and a long-sleeved black jacket with a hint of orange. The once-neat ensemble was now a tattered mess. He slid the shiny object around his neck and was suddenly engulfed in orange flames. A toad-like eye with a slit appeared, signifying his readiness for battle.
"If it's a fight you want, Naruto, then a fight you shall have," Madara sneered, charging forward.
Naruto unsheathed a sword given to him by a lost comrade—a friend he had spent most of his life trying to bring back—and blocked Madara's strike. Three clones appeared out of thin air and moved to attack Madara.
In mere seconds, the clones were extinguished, and Naruto was sent flying back toward a boulder by an invisible force. However, an orange hand made of flames intercepted the boulder before he could hit it. Regaining his balance, a clone grabbed his legs, swung him towards Madara, and aimed his nature chakra-enveloped sword at Madara's heart, making it all the more deadly.
Madara anticipated the move and transformed a floating black orb into a staff, launching it at Naruto mid-flight. He smirked, confident that his dream of peace through the Infinite Tsukuyomi would soon be realized.
Naruto's eyes widened in shock, realizing he couldn't create a clone fast enough to take the brunt of the attack. He was too exhausted, his chakra dangerously low.
"You could have lived in peace within the Infinite Tsukuyomi, living the life you've always wanted... but you chose to oppose the peace I offer... and now you must die," Madara declared, closing his eyes as the staff made contact with Naruto's body.
Madara celebrated his victory, but then he felt a rumbling beneath his feet and was met with a fist straight to his jaw.
Naruto quickly formed a Giant Rasengan and plunged it at Madara. "This is the last of it... I'm all out of chakra... Kurama is out of chakra... everyone is gone... please... please stay down... I'm tired of this endless fighting... please, just die."
Naruto dropped to his knees and onto his back, barely able to move. He closed his eyes.
But Madara was still alive...
He laughed maniacally, "Is this all you can do?! You pathetic excuse of a hero! Your friends gave their lives to save you and you can't even finish me off!" He continued laughing and walked towards Naruto's downed body. "Die, scum," he said, plunging a black rod through Naruto's chest.
Everything turned white.
Naruto felt light, like he was floating without any ground beneath him. He opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by nothing but whiteness. He walked around aimlessly until a bright orb of light appeared before him.
Startled, he reached for his sword, but it was gone. He looked down and noticed his clothes were no longer tattered.
"Looking for this?" the bright orb said as a hand extended from it, holding his sword along with all his shinobi gear.
Naruto was alarmed and took a fighting stance. "Who the hell are you?!" he demanded, attempting to enter chakra mode but finding he couldn't.
"Naruto, something is blocking my chakra!" Kurama warned him.
"What did you do?!" Naruto questioned, demanding answers.
"Relax, my child. One question at a time," the orb responded. "I go by many names, but you humans know me as God..."
"God?" Naruto murmured. "There's no such thing as God... If there was, why haven't you stopped the war? Why did you bring this war to my doorstep? Why did you create the Akatsuki? WHY ARE MY COMRADES DEAD? ISN'T GOD SUPPOSED TO BRING PEACE AND HAPPINESS INTO THE WORLD?" Naruto broke down, screaming at God.
God looked down with pity, "My child, the answers will come to you in due time. You are not done with your assignment on Earth. If I had stepped into the war, it would have made it worse, and the enemy would have been even stronger than Madara," God explained.
"Who could be stronger than Madara?! Half of the world is destroyed, and the other half is stuck in a dream forever. What could be worse than that?" Naruto demanded.
"As I said, you will get your answer in due time," God ignored his questions and continued, "I will send you back to Earth, but it will not be the one you know. You will continue to struggle before you can achieve the peace that you seek. You and your tenant will not remember this moment; it will be like a dream. Now, it is time for you to go. Until next time, Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto lunged at God, but everything turned white again.
A few hours later, Naruto gasped, choking as he woke up. "What the hell was that?" he thought as he tried to remember the dream that felt so real. He suddenly remembered he was in the middle of a fight with Madara and assumed a fighting stance, looking around. He was not where he last fought Madara; instead, he was on top of a boulder in the middle of a forest.
Naruto sat down and entered Sage Mode to feel out Madara's chakra. "Weird... there's no sign of him." Moreover, there seemed to be more life around him than he remembered.
Suddenly, one chakra after another vanished. Naruto instinctively headed toward the direction of the disturbance and encountered a team of Genin from the Leaf Village being attacked by a group of Iwa Shinobi. He immediately went into protective mode and attacked the attackers, disregarding their village allegiance.
Naruto grabbed his kunai and flung it at the attackers, forming a shadow clone while rushing at them with his sword unsheathed. After fighting Madara, they were easy to defeat, like swatting flies in comparison. The fight ended as quickly as it started, and Naruto loomed over what used to be flesh before turning his attention to the team of Genin.
They had vanished, likely having fled during the fight.
The three Genin continued to retreat as instructed by their sensei. They were on a reconnaissance mission with the hope of stopping the war as quickly as possible.
"Who the hell was that?" a boy with brown hair and red eyes with two tomoes around his iris asked. He wore a high-collar blue shirt with a white and red fan symbol on one shoulder and the squad number seven on the other, along with a spiral on the back of his shirt. He donned white shorts, a kunai holster, and low black shinobi sandals.
"I don't know, but one thing I do know is that he is a very dangerous man. We must inform sensei about him," a girl with crazy wavy brown hair and onyx black eyes replied. She had two red markings in the shape of fangs on her face and wore a black long-sleeved tactical blouse with the same markings, minus the red and white fan symbol. She also wore long black Anbu trousers with a kunai holster and high shinobi sandals.
"I agree, Tsume, Fugaku, we must return to the rendezvous point and report this information to sensei," a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes said. He wore a white tracksuit jacket with a black t-shirt underneath, adorned with the same markings as the others but only the spiral symbol and squad number on his shoulder. Black tactical trousers, a kunai holster, and a pouch connected to his belt completed his outfit.
"Let's do this, Minato," Fugaku and Tsume said simultaneously as they sped up.
The journey of Naruto Uzumaki had taken yet another unexpected turn. In a new and unfamiliar world, he faced fresh challenges and adversaries. Yet despite the uncertainty and the relentless struggle, one thing remained constant: Naruto's unyielding resolve to protect those he cared for and to bring true peace to the world, no matter the cost.
END
A/N: Hello this is my repolished story of Time and Time Again, hope you like it. Check out my other stories: A Hero's Tale and Naruto: Reawakening. Review and critique whatever you want.
Ja-ne