::
3rd Person POV
"Thank you for your purchase! Have a good day, miss!"
Naruto found himself with in the hustle and bustle of the busiest part of Konohagakure— the marketplace. The young Uzumaki weaved through the hectic crowds with ease as he avoided loose kunai knives from visiting shinobi and flying apples, stashing away some loose apples into whatever pockets he could fit them in.
He gave most apples back though when some passerby's
noticed a small hand grabbing their loose apple off the ground. With a sheepish grin and an awkward laugh, Naruto sent a quick wink before stumbling his way into the crowd with a snicker.
Naruto remembered these parts like the back of his hand. Sure, he wasn't welcomed anywhere much due to the Nine Tailed Beast sealed within him, but he certainly found short cuts and secret passage ways thanks to it. Racing the others for a bowl of ramen was a breeze back then.
"This necklace is half off! And so are these!"
He felt his eyes crinkle at that thought, these were times where every day was a new leisure activity. Playing in the park, exploring a forest nearby, play some pranks on unsuspecting victims. His list could go on and on as he strolled through the crowd.
Though, with each step he took with his head lifted and his chest puffed, he didn't see the village people carrying smiles on their faces and hear their laughter echoing anymore; all he could hear were screams.
Screams filled with only anguish and pain.
The loud and lively marketplace began to dissolve before his very eyes, replaced by something he had wished to forget.
He blinked his eyes closed and then opened them.
Ash. He stared at his open hands as he watched ash descend upon his dirt coveted hands. His face was smothered with soot, his eyes burning from the smoke that still lingered within the air but that became the least of his worries.
He swore that he would protect them— all of them. Even the old, senile man who would throw rocks at him. He swore that he would defend them with his life, no harm would reach them. As he closed his eyes to blink away the ash that threatened to fall into his eyes, why was it that he was the one who stood above their unmarked graves?
Their screams of help and desperation still rang through his ears. The air around him grew thick, his chest tightening. His lungs clawed for air, his shoulders shaking as they wrecked with broken sobs.
"Stop." he whispered softly under his breath, his hands lifting towards his ears,"S–Stop. I was.. I swore that I-I.. that I.." Naruto's voice cracked with each word, his chest heaving with each sob that began to silently leave his mouth.
"I–I'm sorry.. please... just stop.."
Unknowingly, he reached to cover his ears and hang his head low.
He wasn't some five year old boy fighting for scraps and recognition anymore. Uzumaki Naruto was a 20 year old man now, he was no longer a child. He saw the world through his eyes as if it were a challenge to conquer, but now that he looked at it, the piece called "life" began to overcome him and take the lead.
And all Naruto could do was watch.
"Ma'am! Ma'am! Your wallet!"
"Oi! Watch your step there buddy! My sister's expecting!"
"What would you like to eat, dear?"
Blinking away tears that brimmed at the corner of his eyes, he frantically looked at his surroundings to confirm that this wasn't all a dream and that he wouldn't wake up in a bunker.
His eyes clawed for anything and everything, any sign that this was real and that it wasn't a blissful dream, an illusion, a Genjutsu, anything to signify that this was his past and only that.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew throughout the pathway, his blonde hair tousled in all directions. He hadn't expected a wind current to blow through the path, but as he brushed away the hair that glided over his eyes, the sun's light rays began to shower down onto the scene in front of him. His heavy breathing began to lessen and closing his eyes to feel the breeze.
Naruto felt at peace.
He wasn't certain why he felt calm as the breeze blew through his hair, but maybe it had been the sign he so desperately asked for, maybe it was the sign he needed in order to know that this wasn't a mistake.
As he looked around him, he no longer envisioned a worn out battle field. He was in a marketplace, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of it all.
He engraved each villager that walked a few feet away from him and how they all had a role in this village. He engraved the sounds of children laughing and vendors yelling their best sales. He engraved each and every footprint that left their imprint in front of him. He engraved every laugh and smile he could catch and engraved it into his mind.
That's right, he wasn't in the past anymore. He was leading his, everyone's life, towards another future— a better one.
A future that was rid of the Fourth Shinobi World War and Madara. He was going to make sure of it.
::
I'm so sorry for the late update! I'll try to update more often!
Thank you again for reading and I hope you have a blessed day! Bye!
YOU ARE READING
We'll Change It All
Hayran Kurgu"We have one mission, and one mission only." They weren't sure how they were going to do it, but they just knew that they had to do it. Everything was at stake here and their future counterparts depended on it. They had to stop him, and if they didn...
