1 Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Naruto watched the sky as it rained down on him. He and Sasuke had just fought, and they came out dead even. It was kind of ironic he thought. He'd spent so much time chasing Sasuke, and when it finally came down to it, he couldn't save his friend. He coughed out some blood and when he glanced down, he could make out that his right arm was severed.

He was losing blood, and he knew that he didn't have long to live. He glanced over at Sasuke, his left arm was gone and he was just barely hanging on as well. Looks like he was right, if they fought, they would both die. Though in the end, he wished it hadn't come to this.

"Oi, Naruto, don't go dying on me now." a deep growl came from within his mind.

"Sorry Kurama, but I don't have much of a choice right now." He apologized.

"Hmph, figures, just when I was starting to not mind being around you, you have to go and die." Kurama fumed.

"Haha, my bad Kurama, but hey, you know what, if we get a chance to meet in the afterlife, let's be friends. Okay?" Naruto grinned.

"Hmph, I suppose I can be your friend." Kurama grinned back.

Naruto looked towards the sky again. This was it, after finally beating Kaguya Otsutsuki. He was forced to fight Sasuke, and in the end, they were going to die. He didn't have too many regrets though, except he never did achieve his dream. He also wouldn't get to eat anymore Ichiraku ramen, and he wouldn't be able to see his friends anymore.

Naruto bagan to cry as his thoughts drifted towards everyone he'd be leaving behind. Well, looks like I'll be joining you soon Neji, he thought. Naruto then closed his eyes for the last time.

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Kakashi and Sakura had been running as fast as they could. But when they got there, they realised they were too late. They jumped down towards where Naruto and Sasuke were.

Sakura went to her knees as she began to cry her heart out. If only she'd been faster she thought. She hated how weak and helpless she felt at this very moment. She hugged Naruto's and Sasuke's heads in her lap as she wept. Kakashi stood behind her silently as tears streamed down his face. He placed his hand on her shoulder while covering his face with his other hand.

He thought back to when he first met his students. All the missions they had as team 7. All the hardships they faced. He wept for Sasuke, but deep down, his tears were more for Naruto. Afterall, Sasuke had left the village, and while he regretted being unable to save his student, that was his choice to follow.

After the two calmed down enough, they picked up the bodies and went to where everyone else was. Once there, all of Naruto's friends began to cry. Rock Lee was bawling his eyes out as he wept for Naruto, as well as Hinata, Choji, and Ino. Shikamaru was also in tears, but like Kakashi, he was more silent.

Later, once events started to calm down, a funeral was held for Naruto. After everything he'd done, many people from all the villages were present. As if the heavens were also weeping, it rained during the event. The clouds were dark and heavy as was the atmosphere. A second funeral was held for Sasuke, but it was a more close-knit event, and only the people who knew him showed up for it. Sasuke was still considered a criminal afterall. Eventually, the villages and people began to move on with their daily lives.

-------------------- 4 years earlier -----------------------

Naruto woke up with a gasp from his bed. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes.

"Am.. am I alive? I thought for sure I was dead.." He said aloud.

He then began to look around, and noticed that he was inside his old apartment. The place was a mess with clothes and trash thrown all over the place. He then looked down at his hands. He then began to think to himself with his arms folded and eyes closed.

Hmm? Did I get saved afterall? He thought, then he looked down at his hands.

Wait, why do my hands look small? Feeling a sense of dread he quickly ran to the mirror in his room and looked at himself.

"Why am I 12 again?! What's happening?!" He yelled.

Naruto then began to run in circles trying to wrap his brain around the bizzare situstion he found himself in. How had things come to this? The last thing he remembered was the battle with Sasuke and then dying from blood loss. He then looked at his right hand that he remembered losing. He clenched his fist and gulped. Does this mean I've somehow went back in time? Naruto started feeling excited. If everything happening right now wasn't some kind of dream, and he really had gone back in time. Then he could change what happened.

As long as he prepared himself for what was to come, he wouldn't be caught off gaurd when the events happened. But he had to make sure some events didn't happen like they did before. He then thought about the time when Sasuke left the village. He would make sure that this time, that doesn't happen. He then thought about the times when he faught the different members of Akatsuki. Naruto would make sure things played out very differently this time. Then he thought about something else.

What day is it? He ran over to his callender and checked. Today was the 15th, the day he graduated from the academy. He then checked the time and realised he was going to be late. He rushed to get ready. grabbing simple black pants, a white t-shirt, his blue sandals, his forehead protector, and his kunai pouch. He then jumped out his window and from rooftop to rooftop, made his way to the academy.

On his way there, Naruto pondered over the events that took place. He still had no idea why he was in the past. But that did give him a chance to make things better. The only question was how he should go about doing that. The events that started us down this road have already happened, which means the war is inevitable at this point, Naruto thought. Which means my goal right now should be to train myself up so that I'm more than ready to take it head on.

I should probably train to eliminate my weaknesses too, but how should I do that? He tilted his head in thought as he traveled, until his eyez brightened up when he came up with an idea. That's it, I should use my shadow clones to train and gather experience, just like when I trained with Kakashi-sensei to create my Rasenshuriken jutsu. He then crossed his fingers and created 4 clones. This should be good to start with. While I go to the academy, they can go to the woods and train in chakra control and manipulation.

He then sent his clones off to the woods while he continued on his way towards the academy.

When he finally arrived at the classroom he was a little out of breath. After calming himself down, he opened up the door with a determined look. when he looked inside, he saw everyone he knew, minus Lee, Tenten, and Neji. Then he walked in wearing a stupid grin on his face, and found a place to sit down by Shikamaru. Everyone gave Naruto a weird look when he walked in. Other than his outfit being different, there didn't seem anything else unusual, but what made them look was the fact that he was here. Didn't he fail the exam? They thought.

Kiba then walked up to Naruto and looked down at him. "Hey Naruto, why are you here? This is only for those who passed the exam."

Naruto glanced up at Kiba and grinned. "Then why do I have a leaf shinobi protector as well?"

The classroom started laughing as Kiba became red from embarrassment. But before he could retaliate, Iruka walked in and call the classroom to attention. So Kiba walked back to his seat grumbling to himself.

At this point, Naruto started thinking to himself. He knew who would be in what teams, so he didn't need to worry about that. But he did need to think about his training from now on. Because while his mind may be that of his future self, his body was still how it was when he was a kid. It was basically like a master swordsman with a rusty knife. He wouldn't be able to fully put his skills to use until he trained his body more.

But that was for the future, he thought. He then looked up as team 7 was called out, with a fire in his eyes.