Beginning Anew (Naruto Fanfiction)

Prologue

A few points before we begin. 

1) None of the pictures or videos I may upload are mine. They all belong to their respective owners.

2) I have no uploading schedule. I could upload multiple chapters in a day or I could take weeks for just one.

Thank you for your understanding. 

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Everyone rejoiced at the end of the 4th Shinobi War. The relief and joy of the bloodshed coming to an end replaced the grief of losing thousands to achieve this result. With the nations united stronger than ever, the shinobi world took its first step towards peace.

Loved ones were mourned, the survivors celebrated and relationships were rebuilt. All seemed to be going so well. So, Naruto wondered, where had it all gone wrong?

They had failed. Black Zetsu had found a loophole in Kaguya's imprisonment and while the world celebrated, he went to work. Soon the 5th Shinobi War initiated. Kaguya, now knowledgeable about the young heroes strengths and weaknesses, listened intently to her son and revived various beings to help act out her plans. Many of them being redeemed souls such as Obito and even Madara.

The world quickly fell into chaos. The villages were first attacked as it was the most efficient way to destroy the opposing force. Naruto was forced to become the 7th Hokage at the age of 20 as both Kakashi and Tsunade left to fight on the frontlines. They did not survive for long.

More and more died each passing day, leaving Naruto frustrated as no matter how much he tried, he was unable to reach Kaguya. They were like dominoes. One went down after the other. A continuous chain no one knew how to stop.

The war raged for 5 years, Kaguya refusing to let herself be known until the shinobi were near extinction. The fight with the reincarnations of her dearly loathsome sons during the 4th shinobi war had left her with a feeling she couldn't comprehend. Fear. Her patience and caution was soon rewarded as only three human souls remained.

Sasuke sat against the broken rubble of his destroyed home. He let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes. Every fibre in his being was screaming in agony but he chose to ignore it like most of his problems. He listened on silently as his Hokage sat down next to him. 

A third figure joined the two dejected men but chose to remain standing, a cigarette lit in his mouth. To put it simple, they looked like shit. Covered in blood and dirt, skin as pale as that of a corpse, eyes sunken with eyebags that could rival Gaara's. They had also lost quite a lot of weight, barely managing to eat the required rations for survival amidst the constant battles.

However, even with the circumstances so grim, their eyes held a spark. Hope. They still had one last trick up their sleeves.

4th year into the war, Naruto found himself on his knees as he screamed his lungs out in pure anguish. Everyone in a 5 mile radius had heard his heart-wrenching screams and found themselves on the verge of tears. Their kind and devoted Hokage, whose smile was brighter than the sun itself, was long gone. All that was left was a broken man full of fury and despair.

Sasuke and Shikamaru grit their teeth, his scream shaking them to very core. They made an attempt to calm the blonde male down but froze when the screams were replaced with maniacal laughter. Their eyes widened as they looked on with a puzzled expression. Had Naruto finally lost it?

Tears of joy, of hope, cascaded down Naruto's cheeks as Kurama informed him of a newfound solution. Ever since the the world had collapsed, Kurama found himself flashing through the memories of his siblings and father in hopes of finding anything that could possibly help his kit end this chaos. Kurama finally had a home and he refused to lose it too. After a year of searching, he had found the answer! A forbidden jutsu that could send one back in time. The only drawback was that it would take Kurama months to accumulate the chakra required for this jutsu. 

As Naruto informed Sasuke and Shikamaru of this ace, they too let the tears flow. Well Shikamaru did while Sasuke simply hid in his cloak. They once more had something to fight for and so they did. 

"It's time."

Naruto's body straightened as his eyes sharpened, "Took you long enough."

"You should be thanking me brat," Kurama growled playfully, rolling his eyes at his kit, "I've done the preparations. Mark yourself and the other two."

When was the last time Naruto had even remotely smiled? Clearly it had been too long as the bright grin on his sickly pale face made the two males falter, their eyes wide in disbelief. They half expected the blonde to go maniacal on them again. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at how dumb they looked but his face soon became serious as he motioned them to come closer.

"The jutsu is ready. These marks are going to make sure that all three of us go back to the same instance in time, although I'm not sure where, or rather when, we'll end up. According to Kurama, our current soul and mind will replace our old ones. Our abilities and knowledge will remain with us but we'll have to build up our strengths to what they are today. The current world will cease to exist. We'll, quite literally, rewrite history." Naruto explained as he drew the required symbols on both males arms with his blood, proceeding to do the same on his own. 

"Well, hopefully we won't fuck up this bad the second time." Shikamaru joked, settling down next to Naruto. Sasuke smirked at his words while Naruto sighed, a smile gracing his features. 

"Hn. If we manage that, we may as well retire from being shinobi." Sasuke entertained the joke, leaning back on his available arm. The other two couldn't help but laugh lightly at his words. At this point, they were all tempted to retire and spend the rest of their days on a private beach. Sadly, reality had other plans. 

"Ready?"

"Hn."

"Got nothing better to do."

"Lets do this then. Believe it!"

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