Chapter Text
Naruto was in a predicament.
Actually screw that, he's in a big fucking problem.
Firstly, where is he?
He seems to be in a big forest, with the usual Konohan Redfire trees growing everywhere, so clearly he's still in the Hi no Kuni. But he's not sure where in Hi no Kuni he is. He could be in the border and he wouldn't know. Although he's definitely not in Konoha's nearby forest, he knows those forest inside and out. This forest is unfamiliar.
Secondly, how did he get here?
He very, very, clearly remembers being in his office, slaving away as he does paperwork. And then blank. Nothing. Nada! Not only that, he woke up in the forest, downsized with one shit headache that's comparable to a hangover.
(Somewhere in the back of his mind he wonders if Bolt had spiked his coffee or something.)
Which leads him to his third question of : Why the fuck is he small?
He's young again, probably twelve or maybe younger. There's dirt smudged onto his face and hair, and he's wearing his old tracksuit jacket. Actually, he's wearing his old genin attire, just more tattered and worn.
His hair is cut short, longer than his usual length.
His hands look small, scrawny as he examines himself. There's hardly any muscle on him. Naruto scowls, hating how weak and frail this young body is. But then again, if it's just his body being reversed, he was pretty scrawny back then. It's chakra reserves are smaller than he remembers.
Wait.
Where is Kurama?
Where is Kurama?
Panic rushes through his body as he tries to open his mindscape, or even reach Kurama's chakra. Only to be met by nothing. Suddenly, his mindscape is empty with nothing but water and his thoughts.
It's so silent.
"Shit." He needs to find out what happened, where he is, and where the fuck Kurama is.
There's no way for Bijuu to just die without prior explanation, so there's no way Kurama is dead. He would just.. Poof back into existence after a few years anyway.
Calm, calm. Naruto breathes, inhaling deeply through his nose and letting out an equally deep exhale. Think of water, slow and unmoving. He opens his eyes, walking forward. He doesn't know where he is, it would be a good start to try and find a village.
He's wandering mindlessly, Naruto realizes. The trees all look the same and he wonders if he's going in the direction of civilization like he planned or if he's just going deeper into this huge ass forest.
As he walks (not runs, because if he runs he'd just ended up wasting his stamina. Can't use chakra either, same problem), he comes up with two possible but very wild conclusions to his predicament.
One, he got his age reversed. Which would imply someone managed to jump him and smack some age-reversal jutsu and dropped him off in the middle of nowhere. This would be plausible.
But it doesn't explain Kurama. Or rather the lack thereof.
Or two, he time travelled. The logistics of how the fuck he time travelled is still up in the air. But it would explain the Kurama issue.
If he was sent back in time far enough that Kurama would not be sealed inside him, then it would make sense. But why would he be in genin body? Could it be because he's not born yet and can't possess the body he would have been in?
This begs the question of: when is he?
His footsteps leave a light crunching sound as he walks through grass and fallen leaves. He's been walking for god knows how long. He's tired, hungry and pissed. He should stop soon and look for food...
Just as he's about to sulk and maybe lie down to sleep, the trees in the far distance start to thin. As if he's near the edge— He's in the edge of the forest!
Finally, something!
He walks towards it, faster. Maybe he could finally find a village or something!
As he walks further and further towards the thinning line of trees, a trail makes itself clear. It's old but it seems fairly used, judging the markings of wheels. Naruto smiles. It ain't much but it's a start.
He stops when he reaches the trail, looking in all directions.
"Ugh... Which way do I go though?" His face scrunches up, he sighs and picks a random direction. Well not really, it's either left or right. He chose right.
He wishes he could use Sage Mode but unfortunately his abilities have been all turned to mush. Except his taijutsu. Maybe he could pick up kenjutsu.
He can't really afford to mess around right now if he did in fact time travel. Naruto has three priorities; one, find out where he is. Two, find out when he got sent back to. Three, try to find konoha or at least some help.
"God dammit." He groans. He could have been finishing his paperwork. And maybe he could've been able to go home and finally spend some time with his family so they'll be happy.
Times like these he hates being Hokage.
Maybe he shouldn't this time, if he did travel in time.
The trail is unbearingly long.
Fuck it, he's gonna sleep. The sun has dipped into the horizon. Which means he's going east. So he might've been dropped in the western parts of Hi no Kuni then.. Which minor villages were in the west side?
He tries to remember if this trail was familiar. It could possibly be one of the more hidden trails that shinobi and non-civilians used, most civilian trails and roads are more defined.
Or it could just be a trail to an obscure village.
Naruto tired now, he yawns as tries to look for a tree to rest in. Preferebly one whose trunk is hollow. There'll be bugs but he's had worse.
Update: he didn't find a hollow tree. But he did find one with a very comfortable branch. Guess he's sleeping there for now.
He lies down on the branch. Hoping to god his battle senses are still the same and he stays still like he was trained to. It's uncomfortable, of course it is. But it's better than sleeping in the dirt where he could be spotted.
It's not that he's opposed to being spotted, it's just who spots him is the issue.
Well. He'll have to make due.
The moon has risen. It's moonlight being comforting. The breeze is cold, of course. Naruto closes his eyes and dreams of home and warm ramen. And a very soft bed.
Somewhere in Konoha, a young Uchiha opens his eyes in surprise. The hidden rinnegan in his left eye activating for the first time in weeks.
Sasuke Uchiha sits up in his bed. Staring into the moon that shines beyond his window.
"The idiot's here too, huh?" He smirks.