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Prologue: Unwelcome Change

Perhaps he should've known things wouldn't be so easy. Hell, he should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

The chirping noise was what saved his life; had he not heard them, he most likely would've been stabbed in the heart from behind and killed. With the warning, however, he had managed to substitute himself with one of the rocks that littered the scarred earth. The sound of the rock being sliced apart let him know that he had nearly been stabbed with a sword.

Stumbling backwards, his chakra still feeling buggy and slippery, he nevertheless steadied himself and leveled a glare at the culprit.

The young man that stood before him was someone he had once called 'brother'. Even now, as his eyes shone with hatred and his blade shrouded with deadly lightning, there was still that ache within him at how low his teammate had fallen. He had thought, hoped that he had returned to the person he once was during the course of the war.

And, like all dreams, he could say that he knew it was too good to be true.

"Sasuke…" His voice was low, yet heavy with resignation. Once again, he bitterly acknowledged that the others were right; he had been too idealistic, too optimistic about Sasuke's return. The others had been wary of the traitor, bar Sakura and himself, but they had needed all the help they could get to overcome the Uchiha.

It didn't help that he had arrived with Orochimaru, the Leaf's greatest traitor and murderer of the Sandaime.

Sasuke said nothing, though he closed his left eye. There was a lull in the moment, an extended period where they stared into each other's eyes. In that instant, Naruto understood everything.

The time for words had long since passed. Physical force was the only thing Sasuke would listen to at this point. There would be no explanation of his ideals, no attempts to reach out and try to steer him back. They had both made their choices.

Now they would have to deal with the consequences.

He winced as his chakra spiked suddenly, sending a wave of power rushing through his body. He could feel her raging inside him, her screams faintly registering in his mind, battering against the seal that kept her stuck within him.

Shit. The seal needed to be stabilized, soon. If he left it for too long, she'd just take over his body and come back.

Sasuke launched himself forward, his body streaking across the battlefield like a bullet. Naruto cursed when he saw the Uchiha cover half the distance within a moment.

"Naruto, just deal with the Uchiha as fast as you can! The others and I will try and keep her distracted!"

He grit his teeth as the chakra surge receded somewhat, just in time to meet Sasuke's charge head-on. Coating his arms with chakra, he swatted the descending slash aside and blocked the follow-up punch. Just as he threw his own punch, prepared to crush Sasuke's throat, Sasuke opened his left eye.

The Uchiha vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Naruto surprised for a moment. The next thing he knew, a large mass of chakra slammed into his back, flinging him towards the Shinju. As he careened in the air, his eyes caught the large mass of purple chakra that towered towards the heavens.

'Oh crap…'

Righting himself immediately, he barely managed to form a counter when the Susano'o fired its arrow towards him. Like lightning it sped through the air, slicing through the air as it streaked towards him.

It disappeared the moment it made contact with his defense, a large blanket of black nothingness that he had managed to bring out. Seven balls made of the same black chakra hung at his back, suspended in midair.

Hastily shifting the makeshift shield into two swords, Naruto substituted to avoid the volley of chakra shuriken that Sasuke shot at him. Explosions razed what little of the earth that remained, kicking up clouds of dirt and further scaring it.

Appearing a meter away from Sasuke, Naruto went through a sequence of hand-seals. "Kokuo, help me out a little! Futton: Kōmu no Jutsu (Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique)!"

He exhaled a cloud of corrosive mist, sending it coiling round his general direction. Even though Sasuke would more than likely remain at a distance and fire projectiles at him, the corrosive mist would at least ensure that he didn't try any surprise attacks from behind.

The surge of chakra that hit him was unlike the others. It flooded his pathways with reckless abandon, the intense pressure sending sharp stabs of pain through his arm. His muscles twitched once, then exploded in a geyser of blood as large bone protrusions speared through.

Naruto tried to hold in the scream that wanted to come out. Gripping his left arm, the one which was now wrecked, he swore as he noticed flecks of chakra gathering at the fingertips.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Naruto swore again when the Susano'o breathed a huge fireball towards him, large enough to seem like a small meteor.

"Shit! Naruto, aim it at the Uchiha! Hurry!"

With a clenched jaw, Naruto aimed the rapidly forming Bijuudama at the approaching fireball. The two attacks met for a moment, the roaring chakra of the Bijuu colliding with the intense flames of the Uchiha, only for the former to spear through the fireball like it was nothing.

The explosion that rocked the battlefield was incredible. Even from where he stood, the tremors still managed to send him stumbling about like a drunkard.

Focusing on the seal, Naruto flooded the construct with the chakra he had received from the Sage. When they had received the chakra, Hagoromo had instructed them on how to seal the Progenitor away…however, what he had left out was the fact that she would be sealed inside the descendant with the most potential to house her.

As a result, the Infinite Tsukuyomi was still in effect and he had no idea how to cancel it.

He tensed and swung his blade, which met Sasuke's and easily sliced through the lightning coated blade. Glaring at the unique Rinnegan that stared angrily at him, he bashed his head against Sasuke's.

"Naruto, she's-!"

His hair came to life, growing several times longer in the spans of an instant. It latched onto them both, tying their limbs and preventing them from escaping.

"Shit!" Naruto struggled as hard as he could, but he could feel the seal deteriorating further. It was taking all he had just to keep her locked inside him, and he still didn't know how much time he had left.

Sasuke grit his teeth, focusing chakra into his left eye. Madara had been able to do it, so it stood to reason that he could also utilize Sharingan techniques with his stronger Rinnegan. Empowering the jutsu with the chakra he had received from the Sage, he focused entirely on the person he had once called a friend. "It's over, Naruto! I've won! Amaterasu!"

As he prepared to cast the mighty eternal flames, unknown to the last shinobi in the Elemental Nations, something strange happened.

Optimistic and idealistic as he was, Hagoromo was not a fool. There was a reason he had bestowed chakra to Naruto first, as well as why he had changed the seal from encasing the Progenitor in the Chibaku Tensei to sealing it within the one with the most potential between the two.

Indra had been his pride, the son he had always envisioned having; he had inherited special eyes and chakra, took to his teachings like a fish to water and had been the one who shone brighter. Ashura had shown him that he was wrong, and impressed him enough to receive his blessing and be named his successor.

He had seen how Indra had reacted. Watched for generations as their descendants continued the mad cycle of fighting. Understood and hated how the Uchiha and the Senju had become.

So, when he appeared before the current incarnation of Indra, he had taken a few precautions this time around.

Sasuke screamed as his chakra was inexplicably sucked out of his body, travelling through the prehensile hair that held him down into Naruto. His eyes, wide and blazing, watched with horrified fascination as his body began to disappear, drifting apart as flecks of chakra that were integrated within Naruto.

"No…NONONONONONONONOOOOOOO!"

Naruto screamed as the Yin chakra surged into the seal, strengthening and quickly stabilizing it. Still, even though the chakra was ultimately saving him, he felt as though he was dying; the chakra raged and lashed out within him, destroying, healing and destroying his body and chakra pathways in a never-ending cycle of regeneration and destruction.

"Naruto, try and bear with it! If you give up now, this will all be for nothing!"

Even as he howled his agony to the empty world, the screams of his traitorous teammate gradually ceased as he was absorbed by the seal. The bones that had sprouted from Naruto's arms retracted back to his flesh, which sealed itself up the second it was done. His hair receded, returning to its usual shoulder length, but was now a silver colour.

Finally, as he fell to the soft earth, darkness slowly stealing his sight away, he felt his chakra stabilize.

She narrowed her eyes as she stared at the young man resting on her lap, the heavy thrum of his chakra enveloping her. Even as she continued to stare at him, idly tracing the whiskers that marked his face, the young girl's expression never changed.

"…Interesting."

For him to continue to exist, even within the uninhabitable void that was the Dimensional Gap, meant he was strong. From the feel of his chakra, which was rather strange and different from what Kuroka had demonstrated to her, he would make a splendid addition to her ranks.

But first he would have to heal and wake up. She couldn't be bothered using her power to revive him; if he couldn't wake up on his own power, then she wouldn't waste any time trying to recruit him.

Opening a portal to Earth, she carelessly tossed him inside. As the portal closed, she smiled when the silence returned.

A/N: Was inspired to do this by 'Naruto the Human Among Devils' and 'The Shinobi Transmigrant'. Hope it goes smoothly.

Soooo…this was something I didn't like about Hagoromo: he knew that Sasuke was gonna turn on Naruto, but still gave him a portion of his power? Yeah, they needed it to keep up with Madara (which they did…for a while, anyway) but he had no contingency plan at all? This is what my head came up with, which will be fully explained when Hagoromo shows up again.

Exams are starting on 2nd December, so I'll be taking a break until they end, which will be the 10th.

Read and review,

MaelstromBankai.