Changing the River of Time

The End...?

The war was horrible. Countless lives, lost. Memories, shattered. Sanity, crushed. Naruto knew he was running out of steam. He knew he was tired- so... so tired. But he also knew the war was coming to a close. By victory or death, he didn't care anymore- he just wanted everything to end. He didn't care how anymore- hell, he never really cared if he thought about it. But now he really didn't have anything to fight for; everyone else was dead, after all. And he wasn't really anyone without his bonds.

But end, it did. With the man driven mad with power dead at Naruto's feet, without bringing the blond the closure he needed. It didn't bring his friends back, didn't bring the sun out from behind the ash and dust, didn't bring nature back from when it was poisoned with toxic chakra. So, Naruto wandered. He looked for purpose, for something worth staying for. 

(A voice scarily similar to his two late spouses' chided him. "You're hesitating, Dobe." 

"Sasu's right, Naru. You gotta pull up your britches and get after it. What did we fight for? What did we die for, if not this chance? Take the risk, Naru. Accomplish the mission. We put our faith in you, Lord Seventh.")

He traveled the barren wasteland, searching for any hints of life. Animals, plants- Naruto didn't dare let himself hope for people. But no matter where he went, all that greeted him was the wasteland his war- it stopped being everyone else's when they died- with Madara created. No plants grew from Zetsu's toxic chakra, and all the water had long since been evaporated thanks to Naruto, Sasuke, and the mad man himself thanks to their flashy, overpowered jutsu. Accidentally, of course (on Naruto and Sasuke's parts), but it still happened. 

He only survived on the seal he created on his hand (which took water molecules from his sweat and the little that remained in the air, filtered it, then sent the water straight into his system) and Kurama's chakra. 

... It didn't remove the ash in his mouth or the barrenness of his throat or the hunger in his thin, starving body.

Finally, after two weeks of wandering, Naruto stopped. He immediately plopped onto the ground, not caring about how dirty he was or the dust the action kicked up. He was covered in grime and dried blood and ash, anyway. What was a bit more dirt and dust going to do? He sat up, sighing and rubbing his face. 

Don't do this. Sakura would yell at you before forcing you to get a move on.

With that thought in mind, Naruto straightened his back and slapped his cheeks. He needed to get it together. Especially if he was going to get through their plan.

He allowed his thoughts to wander while he meditated, chakra gathering in abused coils. But that turned out to be a mistake, as his mind immediately showed images of the war, blood and fighting reigning behind his eyelids.

He was helpless to the flashbacks that followed his spirit.

The usually bright blond had an... air around him. One that promised tears and bad news. He had a horrible feeling that another of his family would die, and as a war-worn shinobi, he knew not to ignore his instincts anymore. Those instincts were the only reason he was alive at that moment, after all; surviving first the angry villagers of his youth, then the trials he faced as a shinobi.

Choji, Ino, Sai, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Kakashi, Tsunade, Kurenai, Gai-sensei, Anko, Shizune... They and many others already perished thanks to this pointless war. This endless bloodshed, eternal suffering. For even if the fighting stopped, the shadows that clung to their minds and spirits ensured pain for the rest of their days.

The only bright side was that all the nations bound together to fight Madara and Obito.

...It wasn't worth the sacrifice and suffering that accompanied it.

The Seventh Hokage rushed through the battlefield, his instincts screaming for him to hurry. For his legs to move faster, for his body to appear wherever it needed to immediately. Shikamaru, his head strategist, was on a recon mission. The last Nara wasn't in a good place mentally after the deaths of the rest of his teammates and friends, but if the mission went well... the Allied Shinobi Forces would learn where Madara's home base was and how to destroy it. It was too important a mission to give anyone else, and only a Nara could respond to anything that might come up fast enough. 

But the mission was pointless if it didn't go well. If they sacrificed more than they gained...

Naruto's feeling only got worse. He sprinted as fast as he could to the squad's position, careful not to waste any chakra or lead the enemy forces straight to him like he would have in his youth.

He hoped he wasn't too late... Prayed to any god or spirit listening that his best friend was still alive.

When he arrived, he pushed his emotions to the darkest corner of his mind. The entire squad was dead, including his head strategist and ex-boyfriend. Blood soaked the ground beneath their corpses- it wasn't a quick or painless death. The bastard drew their suffering out and just barely ended it. Naruto could still sense the perpetrator- the sick pleasure retreating quickly. He vowed, neither for the first nor last time, to make things right.

Then, he doubled efforts on the seal. Sleep no longer existed to the young Kage- all that mattered was making things right.

Naruto blinked, startled out of his meditative state. After forcefully relaxing his body, he tuned into his sensing- a habit from the war- even though there wasn't anyone or anything left alive. 

He barely remembered where Hokage Monument was supposed to be, the mountain being the first Madara- or, rather, Obito- destroyed as a political statement, announcement of war, and attempt to crush all sense of comradery. A way to say, "Your heroes can't save you now. No one can."

He had been right, in a sense, but none of them believed it until after the first two years.

Naruto knew he had enough chakra, now. He and Kurama spent the past few days saving energy for their seal. A- hopefully- time-traveling seal.

With his blood, he quickly and efficiently drew out the large, complicated seal on the ground. As he did so, he charged his blood with chakra- both his and Kurama's. He wanted his tenant to go with him, after all. (He knew he'd never make it alone, between the panic attacks and flashbacks. His sensei had had enough of those at Obito's face for Naruto to know that fact. Not to mention the hours Sakura spent drilling the most likely scenarios into his head, making sure he knew what he'd be getting into.) Hours later, he sat back to look over the seal with a critical eye (though he knew it didn't have any mistakes. None of his seals did- not anymore. He couldn't afford mistakes after his friends started dropping- after he took the hat). Finding not even a speck of dirt out of place, Naruto tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Kurama... it's ready.

Are you?

It doesn't matter if I'm ready or not. We HAVE to do this.

Be careful, Kit. Have you packed everything? Double-checked the plan? Double-checked the seal? We can't have any mistakes.

I know, you grumpy old fox. Everything is as good as it's gonna get.

Then let's go stop a maniac and a weed.

Naruto nodded to himself and poured every bit of his and Kurama's remaining chakra into the seal. It glowed purple, and soon there wasn't any trace of the 20-year-old Hokage ever existing.