Across the ruined landscape of the decaying world that a vicious battle was raging in, a single light, amongst it all, stood strong and bright. Despite everything; including the ignorance and barbarity of the era it was born in.

That light represented truth.

That light represented civilization.

That light represented justice.

In spite of the efforts of those that wanted to quench that light, which, if allowed, would breathe new life into every universe in existence, it still survived.

No, it thrived.

Was this not the ultimate proof of the superiority of this light? Instead of falling, or even faltering under the intense pressure provided by the barbarians seeking to stop it, it has managed to thrive?

Truly, the grace of the gods was almighty, and he; Zamasu, was the one and only God in this universe now.

Feeling his face split in a messy grin, which was only made worse thanks to the mutation that had taken over the right side of his face, leaving a disgusting purple slime to replace the smooth green skin that he normally had marking his handsome features, he reveled in his victory.

His appearance was a small price to pay for true justice however. An insignificant price for the gods' final rejection of the ultimate mistake in all of existence.

Mortals.

Always barbaric, always flawed, always vicious, always sadistic, always disgusting.

Their mere existence had insulted the one true God of all for the last time, and he would make sure that this would, indeed, be the last time that they could resist his truth. His Gospel.

Inclining his head some, Zamasu narrowed his mismatched eyes at the downed forms of the two wretched saiyan mortals, both from the past in an alternate Earth.

Both crushed under his immeasurable power.

Even when they blasphemed and fused themselves to become that, admittedly, powerful warrior; Vegito, their feeble mortal bodies couldn't retain the fusion. As a result, they diffused, and left themselves wide open for him to destroy.

Sharp canines revealed themselves as an insane laughter took hold of him, beyond the scope of ecstasy as he realized that the mortals who had proved to be the architects of his near defeat multiple times were finally vanquished. They were finished.

He could cleanse all of the universes as he wanted. To be the light that destroyed injustice everywhere, once and for all.

By committing mass genocide against every mortal in existence. Every. Single. One.

No one could stop him now. Not the earthlings. Not the false gods. Not the saiyans. And most certainly not Son Goku.

Turning his head a bit to the side, his sick grin only grew wider when he took note that the rift through space and time, orchestrated by Goku Black with his scythe, still remained. Still pulsating, ready for him.

Perhaps...was this a sign? A rift that allowed the great and mighty Zamasu to cleanse the scourge of existence; mortals, from other dimensions and univereses?

It could be, and he would keep it in mind. But first, he should finish off the peons before him. Then, once and for all, be rid of this penultimate curse-

"Zamasu!"

The grin on the one who would bring light and truth to the universe fell apart, becoming an ugly snarl that belonged to the face of a demon, not a deity. Not one that stood for justice and truth at the very least.

Turning back to the two downed saiyans, he saw a new challenger emerge, standing between the fallen mortals stood the final barrier he needed to break through in order to make his dream a reality.

The boy that called the two saiyans to this future timeline to begin with, the one who had given Goku Black so much trouble, and still managed to survive despite being so thoroughly outclassed.

Trunks. The son of the saiyan prince; Vegeta.

"I..." the saiyan hybrid was clenching his fists tightly, his blue hair beginning to defy gravity as he took another shaky step forward, the earth underfoot rumbling in his growing power.

When he snapped his head up to glare at the self-proclaimed deity of the universe with righteous fury, his eyes shined with emerald green instead of his standard blue, and a wave of golden energy replaced his normal aura.

"I won't let you take my future!" Trunks roared, an explosion of ki expanding his power beyond the realms of the Super Saiyan, a blue aura within his flaring golden one. The power of Rage giving him the strength to face this overwhelming opponent.

Zamasu merely shook his head, tsking in essence at this mortal's insistence in challenging his betters, but still chose to descend towards the ground with a sick grin.

He was going to enjoy snuffing the last vestiges of mortal resistance.

Far and away from the contestants of that final battle for the future, the gigantic rift through space and time continued to hum ominously in the sky.

In another world, far and away from conflict between the saiyans and Zamasu, another battle was taking place. Another war for survival.

The Shinobi Alliance was barely holding out against the overwhelming power of the legendary Uchiha Madara, despite their recent gains against his co-conspirator; Uchiha Obito.

Just a few hours earlier that day, with the combined efforts of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Obito was defeated despite being the jinchūriki of the juubi, and the other biju were freed from his control as well, bolstering their overall combat strength.

With the reanimated Hokage fighting alongside them, and the power of these legendary creatures backing them up, they should've been crushing Uchiha Madara, there should'be been no chance for the man to win this war.

And yet, that was exactly what was happening. With the Uchiha patriarch from generations prior managing to not only retrieve all of the biju once again, but even managing to defeat Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke in the process.

To put insult to injury, one of the last members of the Uzumaki clan had his biju and comrade; Kurama, ripped from his seal, leaving him in a comatose state. Skating the line between life and death.

And now; finally, Uchiha Madara was combining his strength with the power of the juubi, becoming it's jinchūriki, giving him the power he needs to enact his final plan and realize his dream.

In this desperate time, Naruto's teammate, Haruno Sakura, was barely able to stop the tears from trailing down her cheeks, forced to manually pump his heart just in an effort to keep her blond comrade alive.

"Come on...!" she whispered, desperation cracking her voice as she continued to literally grip the heart in the palm of her hands and put pressure onto it, knowing that she couldn't keep this up forever. "Come on...!"

"Sakura." the strained voice of the Godaime Kazekage; Gaara, came from behind her. "Is he...?"

"Come on!" the student of Tsunade pleaded, exerting pressure onto his heart with her hand deep within the blond's chest, doing her utmost to ignore the sinking feeling within her heart.

His heart was failing. His body was shutting down. And there was absolutely nothing she could do except delay the inevitable.

Uzumaki Naruto, her closest friend and teammate, was dying.

Behind her Gaara narrowed his eyes at the unmoving form of the one whom he counted to be his closest friend, and the one who changed his life for the better. Turning away as he himself ignored the sinking feeling as well, he focused unerringly on his task.

Using the sand to transport the three of them, the Kazekage was focused on finding the bearer of the Yin half of the kyuubi; the Yondaime Hokage, before all was lost.

All he could do until then, was hope that his old friend was doing his best to cling to life.

"How do you feel, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto raised his head, his spiky blond hair jumping a bit when he moved. "Like I'm dead."

That statement that Uzumaki Naruto posited was given to the floating form of the elderly man in front of him, and was given with a blank stare, of all things.

Despite the flat tone of his voice, this managed to earn a ghost of a smile in the old man's severely wrinkled features. "You're not quite there yet, I assure you. But that wasn't my question; how do you feel?"

Blue eyes narrowed faintly, at least before their owner swiveled his neck to glance behind him, his eyebrow twitching at what he saw.

What was once, probably, a serious and stoic spirit hanging behind him in the form of a young man with spiky brown hair and sharp dark eyes, was now casually waving at him with a cheesy smirk.

Bastard was like him more than he'd care to admit.

"Like this is all some weird dream." Naruto finally admitted, turning to face the ancient sage. "But...this isn't, right?"

"Indeed, it isn't." the sage nodded gravely, all traces of humor gone. "I've already informed you about the story of my family, and about the threat that Uchiha Madara poses to your world by following my mother's footsteps...but I have yet to hear what you want to do."

The whiskered shinobi tilted his head, puzzled. "What do you mean, old man? Why do you need to know that, of all things?"

Taking the insulting way that the young man referred to him with in stride, aware that he meant nothing by it, he elaborated a bit. "It will help me to decide how I should proceed. Please, it's important."

Huffing, the spiky-haired youth took a step back to consider the question, lips tightening together.

"Well..." he started. "With all of the shinobi villages like this, isn't this the best time to try and focus our energies to make the shinobi world a better place? I mean, there should be a lot of goodwill after everyone has fought shoulder-to-shoulder like this. And if Madara has proved anything, it's that even the best and most powerful will start a war in an effort to change the worst aspects of it. I mean, I'm sure that there's more to it, but those issues might actually get resolved if we all tried, ya know?"

The sage didn't miss a beat. "So you wish to promote peaceful dialogue between the nations?"

"Yeah, kinda." blue eyes flew to meet the god-like eyes of the Rinnegan. "I'm not singing Madara's praises or anything, but this war brought us all together, might as well take advantage of it, right? While we are still shinobi instead of Konoha, Suna, Kiri, and more. We're empathetic to one another for the first time...like ever. I say we do as much as we can with it dattebayo!"

Flinching, the blond's cheeks grew hot as he turned away. "Damn it, kaa-chan..."

Behind him, the spirit of Asura eagerly nodded his head towards his father, eyes as wide as his smile. Displaying his approval.

Hagoromo cracked another small smile at his son's exuberance.

Throughout the ages, following the deaths of the both of his sons, their wills had been passed on from generation to generation within their respective clans.

However, the spirit that they embodied were passed onto specific individuals throughout history, carrying the weight of their ideals in their lives.

They weren't reincarnated, each one of these individuals were their own person who lived their own lives, and had their own versions and interpretations of their ancestor's ideaologies.

Most of them never reached their pinnacle, as what would be expected during the overwhelmingly dangerous Warring States era, where children were thrown into battle with little-to-no preparation or training.

Men and women, boys and girls alike beared the will of Asura and Indra, and all of them hoped to change the world for the better, into one that coincided with their ideaologies.

Only one generation has actually managed to reach full maturity. And, as expected, their influence had changed everything.

Hashirama and Madara, the last generation's inheritors of the wills of Asura and Indra.

All anyone needed to do was look at the war that was raging outside of Naruto's mindscape to see just how powerful their influence was.

Now a new generation has followed in their footsteps, and the sage had to make a choice.

Even now, after a little bit more than a millennium, the old man still couldn't agree to Indra's philosophy. If anything, he felt that his oldest son's influence had done more harm than good to the world. Even if it harmed him to admit to his own son's faults.

However, he couldn't help but feel that the choice to make Asura his heir was exactly what sparked this brotherly feud, and thus, this spiritual feud in the modern day.

If he gave Uzumaki Naruto his favor now, like he did Asura, would he continue this feud into the future?

Or...should he give his favor to the both of them?

Stuck in indecision for a moment, the sage was about to question the young man in front of him about his opinion in regard to the one whom Indra had passed his will to.

At least right until he snapped to head up, sensing something in the outside world that genuinely made his skin crawl.

An energy, every bit as sick and twisted as his mother's ever was, but in terms of power...was beyond even her own.

Hagoromo shivered.

Just what was going on out there?

How? How was this possible?

Zamasu couldn't believe what was happening to him, he refused to.

And yet, as the bright blue blade carried by Trunks finished slicing through the center of his face, he knew it to be true.

Especially when his body began to disintegrate into energy, losing his physical form under the weight of the ki flowing through Trunks' blade.

Where? Where did he receive this power from!?

The deity couldn't understand it!

Right before his eyes lost it's form, they swiveled towards where the last traces of spirit energy was flowing from, eyes widening at what he saw.

The rift through space and time, still wide open like a terrible maw, had spirit energy emerging out of it like millions of fireflies, falling upon them snow.

Even as the last bit of his body disintegrated, he could now feel the well wishes embedded within every bit of energy, giving power when there was none.

Some was given willingly, some was given through sheer solidarity, as if they had unconsciously given it to someone who was going through what they were.

And this made Zamasu furious.

When he was about to eliminate all of the mortals in this realm once and for all, the mortals from different worlds and times stopping him from completing his noble duty!?

With a scream of rage, the last physical vestiges of Zamasu was no more, and Trunks took a step back and gasped, releasing the energy that he had garnered with a smile.

"Thank you..." he whispered to the wind, smiling towards the rift.

However, even as the other two saiyans finally recovered enough to regain consciousness and congratulate the future warrior on his victory, the entity known as Zamasu was still in existence.

Immortality had granted him sentience, even when his physical body was no more, and it was planning on vengeance.

Already infecting the world with his energy, his hatred wasn't just aimed at the mortals of this world, but also at the mortals in the next.

He had learned his lesson; where there were mortals, there were beings who would oppose him. And that must be retified.

To solve this, a piece of his immortal self slipped into the rift that had saved Trunks, evil intent within that energy as well as sentience.

He would travel to one of these worlds and find a new body, conquer it with his indomitable will, and use it to begin his extermination in that very dimension.

And he would start with the dimension that provided solidarity, unconsciously giving small parts of their energy to Trunks in his time of need.

This meant that they were undergoing, at the very least, a time of conflict. Typical for mortals, but perfect for him; their judge, jury, and executioner.

With ill intent, Zamasu's dark energy slipped into the rift, aiming for the genocide of all. Not minding or caring for the fact that the rift sealed behind him.

Determined that this time, nothing would stop him.

"Hey, old man, you alright?"

Naruto looked at the silent sage, unsure why he went quiet, or why he looked so concerned.

Asura looked concern too, but who cared about him.

Finally raising his head from the ground, the blond shinobi swore that he saw the ancient being in front of him grow several hundred years older in the blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry."

That was all he said, and Naruto felt a chill go down his spine at the sheer...finality of it. "What are you-?"

"Please..." the sage pleaded, voice thick, so unlike his stoic demeanor earlier. "Be strong."

Then, Naruto felt it.

If the teenager wasn't so thrown off by the sudden and twisted feeling in his stomach, he would've screamed. But he could do nothing, even afterwards, such was the pain that came after the initial jolt.

What was going-!?

'Weak.'

'As I thought, no matter where I go, mortals are still as deplorable and weak as in my own dimension. Nothing has changed.'

Naruto grit his teeth, trying to push through the pain. "Who...are...you-!?"

'Fool.' the voice seemed to sneer. 'You aren't in any position to demand anything, let alone from a deity, can't your feeble human mind understand this? I'm not here to negotiate, I'm here to take. In this case, I'm here to take your body.'

The shinobi gasped audibly, squirming at the idea, unable to do much else with the pain distracting him as it was. All else was drowned out, leaving him unable to concentrate, no matter how hard he tried.

'Your resistance to my control is in vain, mortal! You have no one to blame but yourself for leaving yourself wide open to my exalted self!' the voice rang, coming within and without, his influence surrounding him effortlessly. 'The massive energy gap within you is wide enough for me to settle in quite comfortably! Even now, a bit of my DNA is embedding itself within you so that my ki will become one as soon as I take control! It's over, human!'

A scream echoed in the small expanse of the room, growing louder and more desperate as Naruto fell to the floor, writhing in pain and anguish, unintelligible words emerging from his mouth. A series of pleas to make the pain stop. To make it go away. For an end.

But all he received was a cruel laughter. 'Once I have control over your body, I will end the scourge that is humanity in this world! All will end! As should have happened long ago! They were nothing but cruel and heartless creatures that have nothing positive to add to life. Good riddance to their existence!'

For the first time since the pain first came to him, the shinobi managed to open a single eye through this torture, only to dilate at he took in his own metaphysical presence within his own mindscape. His body was bleeding openly through cuts and gashes, all of which were just formed, revealing just how much damage this intruder was giving his psyche.

But through it all, a part of him latched onto what he had just heard. "W-What...?"

For the first time, the voice hesitated, but came back with a vengeance with that pompous and blatant sense of superiority against him. 'What? Didn't you know just how evil your kind are? Surely you must've seen it? Your kind has destroyed the natural beauty of the planets that you have inhabited for your structures, all without a hint of self-awareness. Not only that, but your cruelty among your own kind is legendary! There are no redeeming factors to you mortals whatsoever!'

In his mind's eye, several instances of such cruelty flashed through the blond, memories of his youth, where the actions of powerful men and women conspired to make the lives of others a living hell.

To make his own life a living hell.

Uchiha Obito's machinations would bring the Akatsuki to fruition, bringing forth an organization that would hunt and kill jinchūriki, a group of people that already was being mistreated and shunned for simply existing, and would bring death and destruction to whomever they came across.

The villagers of Konhagakure, who would sing the praises of the Hokage and the Will of Fire, but leave nothing but scorn and hate for the orphan of the greatest Hokage in recent memory and it's newest jinchūriki.

That was only in his childhood. Gaara, Neji, Hinata, and Sasuke all faced horrible circumstances thanks to the actions of others as well, and yet, throughout the world, he had no doubt that there were tragedies being carried out like theirs, even as he contemplated it.

And that hurt to think about.

Gazing quietly at the arm laying down next to his face, seeing the blood ooze out and paint the water he was in red, the open eyelid slowly slid shut, a stillness falling onto his form.

From within, Zamasu grinned, pleased that the resistance he was facing before crumbled as flashes of the boy's personal tragedies were recalled from the depths of his memories, proving that his words were correct, without even a doubt in his mind.

Inside the mindscape, where the fallen form of the shinobi continued to bleed out, Zamasu's body began to materialize, his handsome features intact as he brushed his long and gravity-defying hair, as well as smoothing out the dark clothes of the kais to make himself perfectly presentable.

It wouldn't do to destroy the human who's body he was about to steal without being as presentable as a deity of his caliber should be.

Peering down at the downed teenager, Zamasu smirked. "Good. Stay down. And become the catalyst for this world's destruction."

From behind the arrogant deity, Hagoromo watched the happenings with a critical eye, holding the black staff within the palm of his hand warily, ready, willing, and able to step in if need be.

He needn't had bothered, as right at that moment, for the first time since this critical juncture, the young man raised his head.

Every movement he made, every twitch of his muscles, every twist of his joints gave him unimaginable and indescribable pain. Like nothing he has ever felt. It was as if molten lava was pouring through his body and melting him from the inside out, leaving nothing but a constant haze in his head.

But one thing pierced through the haze, giving him enough focus to push through the pain.

One thing and one thing alone.

"...-it back."

Zamasu raised an eyebrow, amused if anything. "Hmm? What was that, mortal?"

Naruto raised his head enough to meet his gaze, standing up again, shaking violently with effort, doing the impossible with sheer willpower. "Take...it back!"

Even this proved too much though, and he faltered, nearly falling over again, coughing out blood in a hacking fit. Yet, as soon as he finished, he continued, while ignoring the blood trailing down his mouth. "Humans...they're cruel, deceitful...callous, bigoted, and...selfish."

The deity frowned then, befuddled. "Then you should agree with me. Their kind needs to be destroyed-!"

"But..." Naruto ground his teeth together, fist clenching so tightly that they were biting into his palms. "They're also kind, honest, conscientious, understanding, and selfless! For every horrible thing that a human has done, I have seen so much more good!"

Images assaulted the deity then, catching him flat-footed at the sudden influx of information.

A portly man offering him a warm bowl of ramen, beckoning him inside, away from the cold rain outside.

A man with a scar on the bridge of his nose, rubbing his head affectionately with a proud smile.

An elderly man wearing long red and white robes, smoking a wooden pipe as he smiled kindly at him.

A young-looking busty woman sliding her necklace over his head, a sense of almost motherly care as she gazed warmly at him.

The casual manhandling of a large hand ruffling his hair, coming from a man with long white hair and a massive grin.

And finally, the calm and collected stare coming from dark eyes framed by hair as dark as night, a slow cocky grin etching onto pale features.

'I want to fight you too.'

Zamasu took a step back involuntarily by the sheer weight of those memories, and from the words that echoed, understanding what they meant on an instinctual level.

Acknowledgement.

This falter was what gave Naruto the chance to forcefully take a step forward, calling upon every bit of his mental fortitude to close the gap between the two men, ending with him grabbing the deity by the collar with a snarl.

"You are judging a group of people by the actions of some, painting all of them as the problem, a way of thinking that has ensured that my childhood was as shitty as it was! As a jinchūriki, you actually think that I'm going to let you do the same for an entire species!?" the shinobi snarled, baring his sharp canines, raising the self-proclaimed god off of his feet with his grip in his collar.

Fury shot through the kai, disturbed and beyond livid at the idea that this insignificant not only rebounded entirely, but also had the gall to lift him up by his collar.

Calling upon the energy which he had bestowed upon this vessel of his, he waited to feel the ki building in his body, strengthening it to impossible heights so that he may crush this pest's head like a watermelon.

Zamasu waited.

And waited.

And waited.

An icy feeling of fear shot through him. Where was his power? Why wouldn't he feel it yet!?

It should've adjusted to this being's body by this point, and for all intents and purposes, they were of one body. There were simply two spirits inhabiting it.

So why couldn't he-!?

"Get out."

His question remained unanswered as a right hook smashed into his cheek, ripping his collar as he was sent flying towards the other end of the room. Crashing into it with enough force to create shockwaves from his impact.

Sliding down the wall, Zamasu groaned and tried to stand up, only to feel his legs give out on him.

Raising his head as blood leaked out of the side of his mouth, he met with the fierce blue eyes of an opponent that stood over him.

And he realized this in a rush, that this man didn't stand head and shoulders over him because of power, or intelligence, or even ideology.

He stood up to him because of his sheer will, which had, incidentally, stripped him of everything.

Because, as the blond raised his fist to prepare for the blow that would banish him from his mindscape, he saw a thin outline of ki empower his strength to levels he hadn't even believed possible until then.

Zamasu's ki.

"Get out."

Through sheer will, this mortal had just expunged all control of the power that was initially his own, and had unconsciously, partially at least, taken it for his own.

And so, with blue eyes dilated to merely a pinprick, and his fist slowly coming down on him with an arc, Zamasu would hear one more thing before his spirit was completely expelled from this body.

"Get out." Naruto hissed dangerously. "And never come back."

Hagoromo was impressed.

No, he was beyond impressed, he was practically gobsmacked.

That being said, his physical features didn't reflect his actual feelings of the matter, and had retained his stoic demeanor as the inheritor of Asura's will had finally expunged the madman's influence over his psyche.

And with it, had unintentionally kept his power.

More than that however, the ancient man couldn't help but listen to the ramblings of the man that nearly destroyed the boy, finding it distasteful to say the least.

That wasn't what had his focus though, rather, it was the manner where Uzumaki Naruto emerged victorious.

This boy had conquered a pure and adulterated evil that could only be compared to the sage's mother, as neither Madara or Obito could compare to this 'Zamasu'.

For him to accomplish such a thing...could it be that maybe...just maybe...

"It seems that you don't need the power of Asura anymore." Hagoromo remarked calmly, jolting Naruto from studying his hands. "I'm not entirely sure who that was, but his power has become your own after he tried to steal your body. This power should be more than enough to deal with Madara."

The younger man gazed at him, wide-eyed. "R-Really? So I'm strong enough now? So, wait, does that mean that even without Kurama, I'm still going to survive as well?"

"No." was Hagoromo's flat response. "You're still dying."

"Ehhhhhh!?" Naruto fell into shock, eyes bulging comically out of his sockets.

After facing unimaginable pain, getting challenged by someone's ideology, and nearly getting his body stolen, he was still going to die!?

How was that even fair!?

"Unlike most of your kind, you have received not only Kurama as your biju, but you've also been made into a jinchūriki when you were a newborn." the sage explained patiently. "Your chakra is entirely intertwined with his to the point that your body essentially sees Kurama as a part of you. It's as if you just lost a major organ. It's actually quite impressive that you've even lasted as long as you have."

Even with the praise, the whiskered teen still deflated. "Well...that sucks."

Behind him, the spirit of Asura patted his back in understanding, as if he himself had faced such a situation.

Naruto was glad that someone here understood his pain.

Turning away from the moping child, Hagoromo inclined his head, smiling slightly.

He knew that his comrades among the living would bring him back, and when he woke up, he'd be able to defeat the great threat at hand.

All without having to force Asura's and Indra's powers to be awoken.

Now he could study them, and allow them the chance to grow into those powers themselves, and allow them to determine the course of this world.

He only hoped that they would choose wisely without his interference.

Silently though, deep in his heart, he hoped that his decision to leave Asura as his proper heir was correct, and in turn, that leaving Naruto as his heir would bring the peace that he so desperately desired.

He could only hope...and have faith in the heir of his son's will.

It didn't take much longer for Gaara to take the small group he was escorting with his sand towards their objective, or rather, the man who contained their objective.

Namikaze Minato, the resurrected Yondaime Hokage, bearer of the Yin half of the kyuubi, and the father of Uzumaki Naruto was rushing towards the incoming group. Eyes wide in horror and desperation at the scene that no father should ever have to witness.

The pale and lifeless body of his son, carefully dropped onto the ground once the grains of sand dissipated to give him clear access to him, barely holding to life.

Even as a professional shinobi that has seen countless and gruesome deaths during his career, this sight nearly broke his professionalism and forced him to his knees, wishing nothing more than to hold his spawn close to his chest. To pray for and search for life and to protect him from the dangers of this horrible war.

But the hard steel that made up his soul, which was forged in the fires of the tumultuous Third Shinobi War had given him the strength to retain his calm frame of mind in this situation. Enough of it to recognize that what his son needed wasn't tears and hugs, but the kyuubi.

Reaching the fallen blond, Minato shut down the golden cloak that he had kept on this entire time, silently conversing with the biju inside his seal, slowly extending his hand towards Naruto's own seal to begin the transfer.

Gaara and Sakura watched the hand reach with baited breath and unflinching eyes, praying without words that this procedure would go off without a hitch.

Unbeknownst to all however, under Uzumaki Naruto's form, was the hidden and dark shadow of Black Zetsu, a being that served Uchiha Madara and worked for his ambitions.

And he was about to sabotage this little revival attempt, recognizing the danger that the jinchūriki posed to the Uchiha partiarch's plans, as well as...other things.

Better to keep the boy dead, lest he prove to be a bigger thorn than even he initially estimated.

Which was why he was shocked, to say the least, that his big moment wasn't coming to fruition.

As soon as he was going to make his move, the blond that he was so close to and hiding under suddenly...pulsed with power. With a foreign power.

It was like nothing that the dark entity ever felt before, but whatever it was, it had completely destroyed Black Zetsu's equilibrium, preventing him from simply slipping out from the youth's back and blocking the hand that was inching towards Naruto's stomach.

Above the blond, Sakura snapped her gaze at him, eyes widening at the strange sensation he was emanating, not sure of what to make of it.

Whereas, Gaara didn't seem nearly as concerned, but still narrowed his eyes warily.

Minato didn't give a fuck, and slammed his hand against the seal, an orange chakra cloak enveloping his arm, sliding from his body towards Naruto's.

Gnashing it's teeth, Black Zetsu slinked away carefully, it's body spasming uncomfortably due to the close proximity that it was in when that pulse of power was released, knowing damn well that Madara needed to be informed.

This threat needed to be dealt with. Now.

Uchiha Madara was close. He was so close.

His dream was right at the cusp of his grasp, and he had little to stand in his way now.

The jinchūriki and the sole Uchiha of this era had been the biggest threats to his goal, and they were both knocking on death's door. So there was nothing else left to really stand in his way.

Not even Hashirama could stand up to him now, especially now, as the jinchūriki of the juubi.

Armed with a single Rinnegan, the Uchiha was well aware that he still needed another Rinnegan before he could activate the Mugen Tsukuyomi, the infinite dream world that would bring everlasting peace to the world.

It wouldn't be much longer now. All he needed to do was to get past these two Konoha jonin that have seen it fit to stand in his way.

A pathetic last stand, for a tired shinobi world.

It couldn't have been more poetic for the ancient shinobi.

His opposition; Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, were both grim faced as they kept themselves poised and ready to move at an instant's notice, aware that they were the only ones able to hold off the might ancestor at bay.

Might Guy in particular was considering a more...permanent solution.

But before he could reach his decision, the slimy form of Black Zetsu had slithered across the field and reformed next to Madara, gasping and out of air, as if he had been rushing to get there. "M-Madara! There has been an unfortunate...development."

Scowling distastefully at the casual way that he was addressed, he nevertheless raised a brow at what he had heard. Not one to ever discount a threat, despite his well-earned arrogance. "Explain."

If Black Zetsu was able to swallow saliva, it would have. "I-It's the kyuubi jinchūriki, he has revived! He's gotten the Yondaime Hokage's kyuubi, and he's no doubt planning to return to the battlefield as we speak!"

The god in-all-but-name had his Rinnegan narrow in his single eye socket, considering the information.

Initially, he was going to dismiss this information, recalling how the blond shinobi could only match him with his abilities while he wasn't the juubi's jinchūriki. Madara was now in an entirely different class altogether.

Even if the boy's prowress at such a young age was impressive, especially with his mastery over his biju's powers, it was still nowhere enough to even pose a threat to him.

But then...in the back of his mind, there was this sense of...foreboding.

Battle-honed instincts that have saved his life throughout his time in the living was now blaring at him, giving him a warning that something big was incoming.

And he never ignored those instincts.

Flicking his single eye towards the area in-between the two jonin facing him, Madara glowered. "We will see whether Uzumaki Naruto will prove to be a dance partner in a moment, now won't we?"

The manifestation of his will couldn't respond, too distracted as he was by the force that suddenly slammed into it by a blur that crashed right behind Kakashi and Guy.

Both Konoha shinobi turned around, relief painting their features at the familiar face that had joined the battle.

"Good to see you conscious again, Naruto." Kakashi remarked with an eye smile, pleased to see his student alive and well. "Want to sit this out a bit before you join in?"

"Nonsense, Kakashi!" Guy shouted, boisterous as ever, even in this dark moment. "Naruto is too youthful to sit on the sidelines! Come, Naruto! Bask in the youthful camaraderie that we have forged in this battle for the world!"

Behind the two older men, Naruto cracked a smile. "Thanks for the offers, both of you. But...I need to ask the two of you a favor dattebayo."

Making sure to keep a watchful eye on Madara with his Mangekyou Sharingan, the copycat ninja spared a look at his student. "What is it?"

The jinchūriki met his sensei's stare head on, expression serious. "I need you to back off for a minute. Let me handle Madara. Alone."

This time, Guy and Kakashi completely snapped their heads toward him, their eyes equally as wide as the other, though the scarecrow's expression was infinitely more priceless due to his general lax nature.

Naruto ignored their looks though, aiming all of his focus towards the Uchiha patriarch at this point, and nothing else.

Narrowing his sole eye, Madara gestured to Black Zetsu to move. "Come to me, I may need you shortly."

Best not leave anything to chance, anyone who left all of their plans and dreams to mere chance was a fool that allowed their arrogance to take control of their actions.

And whilst Uchiha Madara was arrogant, he would never allow it to dominate or trump his good sense.

Deforming into black ooze, Black Zetsu slid up Madara's black boots, waiting for further orders, trying to ignore the cold chips that were the blond's eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto." the juubi jinchūriki called out loudly, meeting his blue eyes with his single one. "You seem to have a penchant for foiling my plans and my longstanding manipulations. It seems that I have to personally finish you, lest you come back from the dead a second time."

"Heh." Naruto raised his open palm towards his eye level, clenching it shut with confidence. "Sorry to say this, Madara, but I'm a completely different person from last time! Right now...I feel like I can do anything!"

Madara allowed for a feral grin to adorn itself upon his face. "Then let's see how you dance, Uzumaki Naruto!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, he blinked.

And the second he opened his eye again, he saw a pair of well-worn knuckles right in front of his face, literally.

Head snapping to the side, Madara nearly lost his footing when the unexpected blow sent him sliding back, eye wide at the sheer speed he just witnessed.

Not one to take such a thing lying down, the legendary shinobi moved his black staff in front of his body in a defensive position, his senjutsu-enhanced senses screaming at him to do so.

He was glad he listened, as the blond blurred in front of him and slammed his arm against the rod, pressing the juubi jinchūriki into the ground, sending rubble flying all around at the sheer air pressure his blow had caused.

Narrowing his eye, Madara called upon the gudōdama behind him and sent it forward, priming it to blow to disintegrate his foe.

In a feat of pure speed and power; Naruto pulled back from Madara and grabbed the rod that he was holding along the way, jerking it and tossing the man around his body in a mighty swing.

Hopping right after him, he narrowly dodged the explosion that essentially made everything within it's radius void, sweating a bit at the close call as he soared after his enemy.

Ceasing his flight with his new-found ability to fly, Madara hang loosely up in the air, his eye narrowed.

How did Uzumaki Naruto get so strong-?

"What are we looking at?"

Spinning on a dime, lightning crackled in-between the ancient shinobi's fingers, prepared to release an overwhelmingly powerful jutsu that was as fast as-

A vicious blow sent Madara spiraling down to earth at breakneck speeds,, leaving him in an uncontrollable tumble that he couldn't control until he slammed into the hard soil.

Creating a human-shaped crater at his rough entry, the revived man pushed himself off of the ground, gritting his teeth as he spit out some blood.

How could this be? How could this child be so strong!?

Madara had achieved veritable godhood, and yet this child was able to out-power and out-speed him? Despite being his equal when he was naught but a walking corpse!?

There must be something else, some other factor that he hadn't considered. Regardless, with this unexpected wrench in his plan, he was going to need a moment to consider his options away from the battlefield.

He needed time to think, where he wasn't busy getting pummeled left and right.

His objective wasn't to win the physical battle, it was to enact the Mugen Tsukuyomi, and he could achieve this with a second Rinnegan.

But he couldn't figure out what to do until he had some space...

"Black Zetsu." Madara called, glaring at his own body. "I'm aware that you were born out my wish to enact the Mugen Tsukuyomi, but I am also aware that due to the unique circumstances that you were born from, that is to say, thanks to the energy of the Gedo Statue, that you have a unique perspective into the power of the juubi. And, in essence, the power of the juubi's jinchūriki. Are you aware of any power that could give me some space away from this meddlesome child so that I may consider my next move?"

At first, all he heard was silence, something that tried his patience, truly.

Especially when Madara was already a little bit suspicious of the being's actions as of late.

There seemed to be something...more to this entity than he had originally believed.

His thoughts on the matter came to a halt when Black Zetsu spoke up though. "I'm...not entirely sure, Madara-sama. But I do know that your third eye as special properties, and that anything that you may want to do with it, maybe possible. If you wish to leave this very plane of existence, then surely, it is a power within your grasp, Madara-sama."

Madara narrowed his single eye into a slit, even more suspicious than before now.

But still, his advice had merit. So for now, he would focus on achieving his life-long dream, and then focus on this dark creature.

Raising his hand steadily towards the horn-like protrusion covering his third eye, gripping it and snapping it off with a flick of his wrist.

Then he raised his hands and formed the tiger hand seal, concentrating. Focusing on the single idea of getting away.

Meanwhile, up in the air, Naruto was gripping his arm with a tight hold. The veins popping out in his temple as well as the violent shaking of his body both acted as more than enough visible evidence of the stress that he was undergoing through.

What compounded on this fact was the simmering energy that was literally pouring out of his right arm, making everything within it to bulge out everywhere, as if something from within was literally trying to break out of his damn arm.

Gritting his teeth tightly enough to feel his gum rattle, Naruto slowly watched as the aura simmered down into nothing, fading away as if it had never existed to begin with.

Blowing out a sigh in exhaustion, Naruto murmured under his breath. "As I thought...this power is ridiculously unstable. If I don't learn how to use it properly, I'm gonna get myself killed with it..."

Snapping away from that, the kyuubi jinchūriki finally turned to face the downed Madara once and for all, determined to end this with this strange power.

What he saw made him pale.

Uchiha Madara was flaring a ridiculous amount of chakra into a jutsu, and he was performing the tiger seal as he was doing so.

Whatever he was about to do, it was going to be big.

Not even noticing that he was essentially floating in the air, the blond started falling down towards the ancient man, raising his fist once more, but with an explosive amount of that strange energy coating it this time around.

He descended quickly, earning the attention of the reborn shinobi himself, who smirked at the desperation in his face.

Madara knew that even if Uzumaki Naruto scored another hit, it wouldn't matter, the Uchiha would still escape, giving him time to plan out his next move properly.

Taking a single punch wouldn't be a big deal compared to that.

So he thought nothing of the fist that was about to connect to his stomach.

At least, until he saw nothing but red.

"Ah...ah!"

Madara could only try to speak, to shout, to say something intelligible.

But nothing could, not with what had just been done to him.

Naruto himself was horror strucken at what he had just done, not expecting the power he was wielding to do...this.

What he was referring to was the very fist that he was utilizing, which had not only connected with Madara's stomach, it had gotten through it and reached the other side, with his arm stuck inside the man's torso.

Blood splattered everywhere, and it was seeping into Naruto's clothes, painting him with the fluid that gave his enemy life.

The Uzumaki knew that he had to stop the Uchiha at all costs, but...the sheer brutality, and the manner in which he killed him was just...

Naruto couldn't say a word, all he could do was pull his arm out of his enemy's torso, watching him fall lifelessly to the ground.

And all of the chakra build up that he was holding...released.

At the spot that Madara formerly occupied, which was now inhabited by Naruto, the air distorted and simply...popped.

In an instant, the young man that had slain the enemy of the entire shinobi world vanished, without a trace or a word.

The jutsu that Madara had tried to use had a name, it was known as the Amenominaka, a jutsu that the genius shinobi had attempted to try for the first time ever to escape, and it's range was only big enough to transport the area he was standing on.

But the sheer amount of chakra he had poured into it, coupled with the lack of aim, sent the blond to a land far away, beyond Madara's expectations.

Neither Naruto or Madara could have known what that jutsu was, only Black Zetsu, the being that was currently slinking out of his master's corpse to hide away, could have known.

The fact of the matter remained; Uzumaki Naruto, had vanished.

Naruto fell flat on his face.

It was about as ungraceful as it sounded, with the shinobi tasting dirt, forcing him to spit out the foul taste that entered his mouth.

He raised his hand and nursed the headache that he had, groaning all the while.

It was only after he shook off the pang that was knocking against his head that he actually checked his surroundings.

He blinked, wiped his eyes, then checked again.

"...Where am I?" he wondered aloud, swiveling his head in a three-hundred and sixty degree angle.

It would take a little bit of searching, but Uzumaki Naruto would soon learn that he was on a planet that was in a realm called; 'Universe 6'.

Whatever the hell that meant.

Not that it mattered, because despite the shitty situation, he wasn't going to despair.

He had literally just faced worse than this, and he had already faced all of his inner demons and had come out on top.

This? This was practically a side quest on his road to finish the final destination of his main quest!

Naruto was gonna head back home, come hell or high water!

Count on it!

AN: Ok, just a prologue to get this out of my head. I blame a challenge that I saw a few days ago. I haven't been able to work on anything because of this thing.

Don't count on any update on this anytime soon, I got other shit to focus on. If I ever go on a temporary hiatus on my main story, then I can probably work on this part-time. We'll see.

Of course, there are still plenty of questions that need to be asked, and plenty more that need to be answered! And whenever I get back to this, I shall answer them! My little fanfiction notebook has all of the details. :3

Also, side note; this story is taking place a few months prior to the Tournament of Power in the DBSverse. So there will be some shit in-between then and now.

Anyway, just a small bit of fun on my part. Cya all later! :D

-RekkingPride