Chapter Text
Kurama /Biju speak
Human Thought
Original Made: Sometime in December
Edited: 03/23/2020
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Rubble surrounded Naruto as he collapsed onto his back. Everything hurt, and Naruto's eyes closed. He was out of ideas. Madara was dead, but so was everyone else. Clouds hung overhead. It was never sunny anymore, and it hasn't been since the war started. Naruto knew it was a little off of him to wish for a little sun right at the end of his life.
He could feel dried blood clumping his yellow hair together, although it was more of a paler, less kill-me-yellow than it had been when he was a genin.
Everyone had died in front of him. Neji, Sasuke, Sakura, Gaara, Lee. Naruto had watched Kakashi go down after finally killing Obito. Everything they'd done hadn't been in vain, however. But, at the same time, they'd fought and died for nothing.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kurama's voice snapped him out of his pondering. Naruto's eyes snapped open, revealing deep pools of blue that held a dark, haunted look. They were more crystalized than usual, holding the terrors of war. Naruto could shield his emotions, but there was nobody around, so what was the point?
Naruto didn't want to move. His limbs were heavy and his eyelids were already drooping, a blackness at the edge of his vision. "Dying." He chuckled in a raspy voice. It sounded humorless and echoed over dead bodies buried in stone. Naruto had became the Seventh Hokage only to watch his village crumble to ashes. Everything he knew and loved just collapsed under piles and piles of rubble.
"Not on my watch." Kurama snarled at Naruto, but his voice held an odd tinge of kindness to it.
Naruto held up a weak hand, watching as fresh blood dripped down from it. The skin itself was pale, due to malnourishment and chakra exhaustion. Naruto hadn't slept lately, causing bags to stand out against his pale skin. He hadn't eaten except for a few soldier pills- the last of them- scarfed down yesterday. Or was it the day before that?
Naruto didn't really remember.
"What else am I supposed to do?" Naruto said dryly.
"Well, I may have a way to turn back time. The war wouldn't have happened yet. Maybe not even the Chunin Exams. It honestly depends on how long my chakra will last." Kurama said.
Naruto pondered over the words. "Wha- what? Kurama, you could've done this the entire time?!" He snapped out his question, anger bubbling inside of him
Honestly, Naruto was usually quiet and calm, a side effect from the war. He was only loud when he got angry, and Naruto had always been told he mumbled when he spoke. But there was nobody but Kurama to hear his screams, to see the world around them.
Bloodstains coated the rubble, and quite a few shinobi lay dead on the floor, kunai and rusted weapons sticking out of them. Some bodies weren't even left. Kurama ignored his outbust, moving on with his explanation.
"You would be back in this body still, so I think we might just be able to pull this off." Kurama said, clearly excited.
"We?! Kurama, answer me! What the hell are you going to do?" Naruto raged, ignoring the way his pain fluctuated to a higher rate the louder he got. His blue eyes filled with tears.
We could've come back the entire fucking time. The entire time?! We could've prevented the war- and, and...
Naruto's palms raked through his long hair. He hadn't had the time to cut it, and it flopped down to a few inches below his shoulders. He almost looked like Ino had after she'd cut her hair after a mission that went wrong.
"..." Kurama trailed off, clearly ashamed. "I'm sorry. I only just thought of the jutsu."
Naruto sighed, tugging at his hair a little. The jolt of pain brought him back to his calm self, and Naruto frowned. "How does it work?" He asked quietly, ignoring his swimming vision.
"I'll disappear after I use this jutsu." Kurama admitted, although his voice was still harsh and grating. "We'll basically fuse together. Nothing will really change, maybe your looks and attitude, but you won't start growing nine tails or anything. All of your summoning contracts will be lost."
"You'll be, how old are you? Twenty? Twenty-five? Anyway, you'll be whatever age you are now. Nobody will know it's you unless you tell the Hokage. If you don't, you'll have to work behind the scenes and pray that nobody notices you."
"The handsigns are rat, boar, monkey, rat, dog." Kurama finished. "Do this jutsu when I tell you that you can."
Naruto blinks, trying to absorb the information. "So, you'll fuse with me at my current age, I get a new look. Then I don't get a choice in even doing this jutsu and I might have to tell the Hokage, my choice If I don't, though." Naruto summarized.
"Yeah, essentially." Kurama says. "Remember the handsigns?"
"Rat, boar, monkey, rat, dog." Naruto repeated.
"Now. Do them now." Kurama demanded.
Naruto flashed through the seals in a lightning-fast pace, and a white-hot agony hit him.
Fire crawled up his spine, and Naruto screamed. His vocal cords and his lungs felt like they were being ripped apart one by one.
Pins and needles came after the fire, and black dots swam over Naruto's vision.
He barely heard Kurama's last words.
"Make sure to fix the world, and good luck." The last part was spoken with respect and wistfulness. "Naruto."
And with that, Kurama poured his chakra out of Naruto's body. His skin turned a dark red, his whisker marks growing thicker on his gaunt cheeks.
Then, with blinding pain, Naruto was gone from this timeline.
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H ello! This story is based off of other time-travel fanfictions that I've read. However, there are some major differences. My story is kinda darker- for the more serious people and such- and contains mature themes as mentioned in the description.
Thank you for reading the prologue. Feel free to comment on any of my mistakes as this is the un-edited verison. Just use constructive criticism, please.
This chapter barely scrapes over 1,000 words, but other chapters will usually be just around 1,500-2,000 words except for the first few.