Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This story is written with no profit in mind. I make no money from it.

Altered Story

Prologue: Shattered Dream

=AS=

The last day of the Fourth Shinobi War

Konoha

"Troublesome blonds..." grumbled Nara Shikamaru. Konoha's Jonin Commander coughed a glob of blood from his ruined lungs and laid still. He died frowning at the cooling corpses of two of his best friends, one of whom was the Sixth Hokage of Konoha.

Shika's passing remained unnoticed by a black haired man.

Uchiha Sasuke had eyes for only one person. A crop of shot hair, bearing the color of thousand cherry blossoms framed her face. Blood stains marred her beautiful features, which were forever frozen in a sad smile. She had died trying to protect the woman he loved. The woman at whom he couldn't bare to look.

What a fool he had been. Only now, when she was gone, and he had lost everything, Sasuke understood. He admitted it to himself.

He loved her.

A furious daemon roared, breaking his vigil. Cold fury engulfed his entire being. Sasuke snapped his head to the right, where the Nine Tailed Fox was facing off with Uchiha Madara. Naruto's last act as she laid dying next to two of her best friends was to release the beast she had contained for her entire life.

Yet, it wasn't going to be enough. Kyuubi, the mightiest of the Buju, stood no chance against the cursed eyes wielded by Sasuke's ancestor.

Around them, Konoha laid in ruins, destroyed for the second time. Tens of thousands of cooling corpses were strewn around the burned out husks of buildings, and this time there was no Nagato to bring them back.

This was the final act of the Fourth Shinobi war. A war that was already lost before it truly began. For Obito was no fool. He didn't kick off the conflict before it was too late to stop him. Even now, when that traitor was death, Madara, who once again lived, had taken his place.

All the Allied Shinobi Nations could do was slow the inevitable. They all fell, one after another, crushed by waves of clones or the unleashed might of multiple tailed beasts.

Konoha was the last to fall, and with it died the remains of the Allied army.

Sasuke could feel it all around him. Death.

There were only few still living, critically wounded men and women, who were expiring in quick succession.

Soon only three would remain. Two Uchihas and the Kyuubi.

The Demon Fox roared in fury, shattering the husks of immolated buildings all around what used to be Sasuke's home. His eyes narrowed, exploding in a star burst pattern. His eternal Sharingan fell upon Madara, who was glaring at the fox.

It won't be long. Even the Kyuubi couldn't resist the power of those cursed eyes.

Sasuke moved, leaving after image in his stead. His sword left its sheath with a hiss. The chirping of thousand birds could be heard as the former Konoha genin channeled a Chidori in his blade.

Sasuke struck the architect of his downfall like a lighting, almost catching him off guard.

Madara parried the strike with a kunai buzzing with Electrical Chakra. Despite that, the blow threw him away, sending him tumbling through the half demolished rubble of an apartment building.

For a moment Sasuke stood still. He turned his head to the left, looking Kyuubi in the eyes.

Madara's retaliation strike, a wave of burning, half-melted kunai, went unanswered.

"Tsukyuomi!" whispered Sasuke.

He found himself on a familiar corpse filled field. The world of his Genjutsu had only one significant difference. A pissed off, nine tailed fox was glaring at him. The demon was smiling at Sasuke with tooth filled grin. Each of those razor sharp teeth were larger than the middle aged man.

"Uchiha!" roared Kyuubi. The monstrous beast was ready to pounce.

"Oh, cut the theatrics, fuzzball," snapped Sasuke.

The orange Buju huffed in indignation.

"It's your fault!" rumbled the fox. "You and that blonde idiot!" Kyuubi grumbled.

"Indeed," confirmed the Uchiha. For a moment his features contorted in fury when the damn Buju insulted the woman he loved.

Then he smirked. A look of melancholy passed through his face.

"I need your help," stated Sasuke.

"My help, little traitor?" Kyuubi sniffed in derision.

Sasuke answer was a knowing smirk.

"We are finished. I am almost out of Chakra, and you won't be able to resist his eyes for much longer."

If he expected the Kyuubi to roar and froth at the mouth in denial, Sasuke would have been sorely disappointed. Instead, the fox only glared at him.

"Damn Uchiha's," grumbled Kurama.

=AS=

Training ground 44 "The Forest of Death"

Konoha

Sakura stood frozen by waves of unreal Killer Intent. She helplessly watched as Sasuke and Naruto faced that Kusa freak to no avail. He, or was it a she?! That monster was toying with them!

She shuddered in revulsion when the enemy's tongue lashed out, becoming a long thick rope made of muscle, which caught Naruto and slammed him in the trunk of nearby tree. Then that freak pulled up the blonde girl's jumper and slammed his fingers in her gut.

"Sasuke! Hurry! Do something!" Sakura shrieked in desperation.

At that moment everything changed.

A tendril of crimson Chakra exploded from Naruto. It was a bubbling tentacle of pure evil, which twisted around for a second or two, surprising the Kusa nin, before it shot straight at Sasuke.

A flash of light, with the color of blood. A thunderclap echoing through Konoha and beyond.

Sasuke screamed like a damned soul in the depths of hell.

=AS=

Chapter 1: Second Chances

Part 1

"The Forest of Death", Konoha

The child that was Uchiha Sasuke screamed as he was absorbed by his much older, future counterpart. It was a single moment of unbearable agony, that lasted eternity.

His eyes snapped shut, then reopened, revealing the lazy spinning commas of the Sharingan. His gaze met Naruto's, and he saw the influence of the Kyuubi draining out of her. The crimson bled out of the blonde's eyes, leaving behind two stunning azure orbs, which were huge with shock.

Orochimary's hand lazily ransacked Naruto's pouch and came back holding their Haven scroll. Then he threw the girl away as if she was a useless piece of garbage.

A primal grow emanated from Sasuke's throat a split second before he blurred, appearing in front of Naruto. The Uchiha caught her a moment before her unresposnsive body hit a nearby tree.

"Not this time. Never again!" he growled too low to be heard.

Sasuke made a one handed sign and two Shadow Clones appeared next to him. He gently handled Naruto to one of them and nodded towards Sakura. The second one looked at the pinkete and disappeared, only to appear behind her and grab her before vanishing again.

The Uchiha smirked when Orochimaru frowned at him. The pair of clones were getting Sasuke's teammates away, to safety, leaving him to face the Sannin without a worry in the world.

He stretched, reinforcing his younger body with Chakra. While his younger self was physically neither as strong nor fast as he used to be, Sasuke was far from helpless. The damn snake wanted to test him, see how much he had advanced, before giving him that accursed seal. That was something he was going to use to his advantage. Besides, if he wasn't mistaken, the proctors should know that something was wrong. After all, Orochimaru had boasted once on twice about how he had toyed with his former apprentice, Anko, after giving him the seal. So she should be somewhere nearby.

After everything that had happened in the future, one thing that Sasuke had finally learned, was that he didn't have to do everything alone. Too bad that he learned that lesson too late.

Sasuke shot from the three trunk on which he was standing, heading straight at the Sannin. While in mid air, he threw a spread of six kunai at the man that would have been his master.

Orochimaru evaded the weapons easily and met the Uchiha with a grin. They clashed in a short bout of taijutsu. The short engagement served only as a confirmation to the snake summoner, that Sasuke's abilities were above average.

The Sannin disengaged, moving around the Uchiha too fast to see. Or so he thought. He wanted to see how perceptive the boy's eyes were, as well as test his speed.

Just as he had done in another time-line.

Sasuke was ready for it. He let it play just like the last time. For few moments at any rate.

The time traveler jumped away from a kick strong enough to shatter bones and sent a stream of fire at the older man. The Katon Jutsu, which had an impressive power for something used by a thirteen years old boy, was not enough to even faze the old snake.

Orochimaru halted the inferno before it could actually reach him and submerged into the massive tree branch on which they were standing. He dashed at his prey through the tree itself, leaving behind a trail of splinters and shattered bark.

Sasuke smirked. A Thousand birds chirped in the forest, which had been silenced by their battle. The sannin, who was about to attack his future body from below, had one moment of stunned realization, before a lighting encased hand plunged through the tree branch, straight in his chest. It shattered his breastbone, ruptured both his lungs and finally its fingers severed his spine. All the while, the lightning was frying him from within.

Then the Sannin's corpse exploded, covering Sasuke in chunks of steaming mud.

"I knew it couldn't be that easy," The Uchiha muttered to himself. After all, this was a hale Orochimaru, not the broken, handless man he had killed in his time.

Sasuke substituted with a nearby broken branch, avoiding a spread of kunai, which rained on his former position.

A madly smiling Sannin appeared in front of him and engaged him using taijutsu.

"You've grown, Sasuke-kun!" giggled the snake. "This is incredible! You already know the Chidori! You'll make a great vessel!" Orochimaru almost moaned in anticipation.

"Dream on, freak!" hissed Sasuke.

He jumped backwards, gaining a second of reprieve. His hands blurred, busy making signs and two clones popped into existence at his flanks. The three of them lasted no time in attacking the mad scientist.

Sasuke smirked, when Orochimaru' send a kick his way. He let the blow land and throw him away. The old snake's eyes widened. The missing nin was already committed, striking the clones to dispel them.

The Sannin almost got away. If he was facing clones made by a thirteen years old, he would have. Instead, one of the doppelgangers managed to grab him before Orochimaru substituted with a log. Then it exploded the moment both of them appeared in the crown of a nearby tree.

The scorched, smoking body of the Sannin was falling to the ground. He was missing his left hand, and the ribs on that side of his chest were a shattered wreck, piercing his organs. That however, was far from enough for Sasuke. He sent a spear of lighting at Orochimaru, nailing him to the trunk of nearby tree.

The snake master screamed as his body ignited from within.

Sasuke summoned another spear of electricity, ready to nail the Sannin when he shed his skin.

Long, pale fingers grasped Orochimaru's jaws from within and wrenched them open. He slithered out of the ruined corpse and stared at the Uchiha with fascinated look in his eyes.

The second lighting spear never arrived.

Sasuke was on his knees, gasping for air. He had overestimated how much Chakra his young body could handle.

"Such mastery over the Sharingan and lighting! At such a young age! You are simply magnificent, Sasuke-kun!" Orocimaru's words sent shivers of disgust down the Uchiha's spine. "You are a true Uchiha after all. Almost as good as your brother was at that age. If anything, your eyes are keener than his. Oh, yes. You'll do nicely."

Sasuke bit off a curse. He needed few more moments to gather his strength.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" he shouted, feinting ignorance.

He paid no attention to the snake's monologue. Sasuke was too busy considering and disregarding plans. He was low on Chakra and unless he was able to rest soon, his body was going to give up on him.

Sasuke almost smirked. Despite all, he was going to get one more opening. The damn pedophile was about to give him that bloody hickey.

Orochimaru made a two handed sign and his neck extended, rocketing straight at Sasuke. The Uchiha's right hand darted in his kunai pouch, retrieving a blade. A moment before the Sannin's teeth could sink in his skin, Sasuke stabbed the lower jaw of his attacker. A kunai sparkling with lighting Chakra pierced the snake's brain, releasing its charge into it.

Sasuke fell, panting. His muscles were shuddering due the strain he put them through. His Chakra network was flooded, ready to burst, yet his reserves were almost depleted.

While Sasuke was laying helpless on the tree branch, Orochimaru shed his skin for a second time. Now, he glared at the Uchiha. The kid almost got him the second time. If he wasn't paying close attention to the boy after his surprising display of advanced abilities, the Sannin could have gotten himself killed. By a kunai, no less.

Orochimaru was torn between amusement and fury. His snake like eyes tried to bore holes in Sasuke. At that rate, the boy might one day surpass his brother. He needed to have his body before that happened.

The snake Sannin had no intention of facing a second Itachi. The first was bad enough.

Orochimaru was about to try marking the boy again, when he looked to his right, and smiled.

"Anko. It's been a while."

The expression never reached his eyes. Konoha's ANBU were unlikely to be far behind his former apprentice, and the two "rebirths" forced by Sasuke, had taken their toll on his Chakra reserves.

"So, you are after the Uchiha."

"Hn," muttered the said man.

"It will be fitting that I'll be the one that will take you down, Orochimaru. S-class missing nin of Konoha. After all, you are the one who taught me everything, right Sensei?" Anko sneered at her former teacher.

Sasuke found himself grateful for the crazy Kunochi's intervention. At the very least she would buy him a bit of time.

While master and apprentice were locked in a mortal combat, the Uchiha forced a trembling hand in one of the pouches he was carrying. He pulled out a couple of soldier's pills and swallowed them, grunting with the effort he had to exert for even such a small action.

Sasuke returned his attention to the battle, only to find that Anko had her former master pinned to a tree. Her left hand was nailed to Orochimary's right, and she held his other one, making the sign for... Was that a double suicide jutsu?

"Crazy snake lady..." he mumbled.

He already was feeling the medicine's effect. His Chakra levels were steadily rising and the cramps locking his muscles were receding. In few hours he would pay for the way he was abusing his body, but by then, one way or another this battle would be long over.

Orochimaru appeared behind the Kunochi, raising from the bark of a tree branch. A look of horror passed over her face when she understood that her former mentor had substituted with a mud clone.

She tore out the kunai nailing her hand to the tree trunk and whirled around, sending it straight between Orocimaru's eyes. He easily caught the bloody weapon and leered at the woman.

A one handed hand-sign later, Anko was on her knees, writhing in pain.

Sasuke grimaced. The freak had activated her cursed seal. That thing bloody hurt.

"Ah, that little mark. I'm going to give it to this young man, over there..." Orochimaru pointed at the Uchiha's location.

"Sound's like you want him badly," Anko sneered. Her eyes looked for the boy and she frowned. There was no one there.

"Oh, you aren't jealous, are you, little snake? Are you afraid that I'm going to trow you away for..." another lighting spear interrupted his words. It demolished the part of the tree branch where he was standing. Only a hasty substitution saved Orochimaru from dying for the third time that day.

Sasuke appeared in front of the kneeling Kunochi, with kunai in each hand. He threw the weapons at the older man, who simply twisted, so they passed around him.

Instant later, Orochimaru's eyes widened, when he saw the ninja wire attached to the kunai. In the next moment, a torrent of liquid fire leaked over the twin wires, heading straight at him.

"Excellent, Sasuke-kun!" exclaimed the Sannin. He simply had to have that boy!

"Sorry, I'm not swinging that way," Sasuke deadpanned.

Behind him, despite the agony wracking her body, Anko giggled.

"I like you, gaki," whispered the Kunochi.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. That was all he needed, the snake mistress of Konoha finding him interesting and going after him.

Orochimaru looked to the right and grimaced. He could sense multiple powerful Chakra signatures, which were fast approaching. ANBU. They would be here shortly, and he wasn't confided that he would be able to mark the Uchiha before they got here.

"Well, I'll have to give you my gift another day, Sasuke-kun. Tell Sarutobi that if he stops or interferes in the exams I'll burn Konoha to the ground."

With those parting words, Orochimaru disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Bloody freak!" muttered Sasuke. The bastard got away.

At least he wasn't forced to reveal his trump cards this early in the game. Besides, he would have another chance to take out Orochimaru during the invasion in a month time.

Sasuke glanced at the Kunochi, who tried to stand up but fell back to her knees with a groan.

"I'm going after my team. The ANBU should be here any minute." b

"Nonsense, brat! You'll wait for the ANBU right here and we are getting you away from the Forest of Death! We can't risk Orochimaru getting his slimy hands on you!"

He Shunshinned away, without saying anything else, leaving behind a confused Anko.

=AS=

Part 2

A Cave in the "Forest of Death"

Konoha

Sasuke's clones deposited an exhausted Sakura on the cool ground next to unconscious Naruto. The pink haired girl had been questioning the pair of doppelganger during their hours long run, however, the only answer she god was an irritated grunt, the typical "Hn.", or a thoughtful frown.

When they reached their destination, the clones carefully placed the girls on the ground. One of them started checking them for injuries, while the other jumped out and began surveying the area for the best places to start laying traps.

That was not to be. A concentrated blast of air blew him in a nearby three. The clone hit it and dispelled. The reason for that was simple. First, as a Shadow Clone, it had only part of it's original's abilities, which were also diminished as a result of the time travel. To make things worse, the clone hadn't really considered how badly the fact that he was in a kid's body would affect him.

His original was able to mostly get around the problem by overloading himself with Chakra, but that was not an option for the copy.

"Keep Naruto-chan safe, Sakura," ordered the second clone, before disappearing from sight.

=AS=

The "Forest of Death"

Konoha

Sasuke stumbled in his run, barely avoiding an inconveniently placed tree. He received the memories of one of his clones, which had been attacked by Dosu. Those three Sound Shinobi weren't supposed to attack Team 7 for at least a day, damn it all!

He channeled even more Chakra in his legs and sprinted forward.

Kilometers from his location, Sasuke's second clone, was playing hide and seek with the enemies. It was all the doppelganger could do, to keep them away from the cave. It knew that it's only chance was to stall for time, for Sakura as she was, would be unable to protect Naruto from a whole enemy team. Even worse, there wasn't even time to set up traps.

A deadly dance was played between the trees. Four trained killers were maneuvering for advantage, in a game where even the tiniest mistake could mean the difference between life and death.

The clone appeared for a fraction of the second, threw a kunai, then melted back in the dense foliage. So far, it's adversaries were able to avoid each attack. It was almost enough to distract the Sound ninja.

"Kin, go take care of the girls. We'll hold him off!" ordered Zaku.

Said Kunochi huffed in displeasure, but followed the order and disappeared in a swirl of distorted air.

"God damn it all!" growled the clone.

The remaining pair of enemy shinobi were moving in loose formation, just close enough to be in mutual support range of their ranged attacks, but not close enough to be taken out with a single Jutsu. The clone might be able to take out one of them, but the other would dispel him.

It was locked up in this game of cat and mouse, leaving Sakura alone.

=AS=

Kin smiled confidently when she saw her targets. A pink haired girl was crouched in front of an unconscious blonde. Both looked worse to wear. The Sound Kunochi could see fear and desperation in the eyes of the awake enemy. This was going to be easy.

She sneaked close to the cave's entrance and wove a genjutsu, sending it at the Kunochi wanable who had a pink hair of all things! To her surprise, the girl fell for it all too easy.

The black haired ninja sauntered calmly to her targets and with a deftly grabbed Sakura's right hand, twisting it behind her back. The confused Konoha genin screamed in pain and dropped the kunai she was gripping for dear life. Kin kicked it out of her first victim's reach and grabbed the girl for her long hair. She pulled Sakura's head back, exposing her throat.

Kin drew a kunai from her belt and prepared to slit her target's throat. In her excitement, she never sensed the girl behind her stir.

=AS=

Usually experience is something very useful. It could be decisive in combat. However, in few rare cases, it could be your undoing.

Take Sasuke's clone for example. It "knew" its abilities. It had decades of experience to back up almost unnatural amount of skill.

In the end, that was what spelled its failure.

In the heat of combat, it saw it's enemies making a mistake. Then, before it could consciously make a decision, it acted on a combination of training, instinct and experience.

Zaku had broken the line of sight between himself and his partner, making them vulnerable. In that moment, the clone sprang into motion. It threw itself at the Sound nin, moving too fast to be countered. Zaku felt something and tried to move out-of-the-way, however it was futile. A kunai slammed in his right shoulder, nailing him to the stem of a nearby tree.

The Sound Shinobi tried to raise his left hand for an attack, but he simply wasn't fast enough.

The last thing Zaku saw was the glint of a sun ray on the blade of a kunai. The weapon pierced his left eye and slammed into his brain, killing him on the spot.

That part of the clone's attack went flawlessly.

Then, just as it was killing its target, the world exploded in a wave of screeching sound. The clone screamed as resonating sound waves shredded its corporeal form.

=AS=

Naruto's Mindscape

A thirteen years old girl found herself in a sewer. She was standing in a cool, dark water, which was lazily splashing around her ankles.

Naruto looked around. She was within a corridor, shrouded by shadows. Rusty pipes were crisscrossing all over the walls and low ceiling. The genin felt strange. Naruto knew that she had never seen that place before, much less been here, yet it felt strangely familiar. Almost comforting.

She reluctantly strode forward, hoping to find an answer at the end of the tunnel.

She walked for what felt like hours, perhaps longer. One dark, wet corridor after another. Few times she had to backtrack, when she found dead ends, which appeared to have been sealed recently. She only shrugged at that and continued exploring this labyrinth. It wasn't like Naruto had anything better to do anyway.

She had lost her battle against that creepy freak and found herself in this, whatever this was.

Finally, the bored girl reached a long sewer tunnel, which had a bright light at its end. It took her minutes to emerge on the other side.

What Naruto saw there, took her breath away.

She was on the threshold of a vast expanse. The walls and ceiling all around her were covered by twisting pipes. Obviously, all she saw within the sewers led to this place.

However, that was a bit of trivia that was shoved at the back of her mind, going mostly unnoticed by the girl. Instead, she was staring at the center of a murky cave, which was barely lit up by torches hanging on its walls.

What took her breath away, was a wooden cell, which was huge beyond belief. It was a construct made by massive timber beams, which was placed in the middle of a small lake.

When she stopped staring and snapped shut her hanging jaw, Naruto took another look around. This time she noticed a middle aged woman. The stranger had her face hidden by bangs of long blond hair, which was identical in color to Naruto's own.

The woman was sitting in the water. She was leaning on one of the wooden beams making up the cell and hugging her knees to her chest.

Reluctantly, Naruto walked into the cave and headed towards the woman. As she approached, she could hear sobs and muttering.

"My fault..."

"I couldn't protect them..."

"Don't be foolish, kit," rumbled a monstrous voice.

Naruto froze in her tracks. Something shifted withing the darkness cloaking the insides of the cell. Then it appeared that a window opened withing the shadows and a single, giant eye blinked at her. In its center, Naruto could see an iris that was made of the deepest crimson she had ever seen.

"Hmm... That's unexpected. We have company, kit. Look up."

The woman raised her head, and two deep azure pools looked back at Naruto. The strange female gasped and was mirrored by the genin.

For Naruto, it was like looking at a strange, twisted mirror. This woman was like an older version of herself, down to the whisker marks!

"What did you do, Kurama?" snapped the woman. The accusation was clear in her tone.

"Gave us a second chance, kit. Though we have a little snag."

The woman grimaced and tilted her head to the left, studying Naruto. Then she beamed at the girl.

"You look a bit worse to wear, Naruto-chan. Come here, please. And don't mind him!" she pointed at the cell. "Kurama is a big softie once, he stops pretending to be this big bad demon."

"Don't push it, kit! I'm not in the mood for your usual sarcasm," grumbled the said demon fox.

Naruto frowned.

"What's happening here?!" she explained.

No one who really knew her, could accuse her of being an especially patient girl.

"We are having a friendly chat. Besides that, it's for Kurama to explain. All this mess is his fault."

"Ungrateful mortals. I save you, and this is how you replay me?" rumbled the nine tailed fox. "Fine, then! I'm going to take a nap. Figure it out yourself."

"Hey! None of that!" the woman jumped on her feet almost faster than Naruto's eyes could follow. "Kurama! You're being mean!" whined the woman.

A rumbling chuckle shook the cave.

"Those puppy eyes don't work on me, kit. "

Naruto growled. She believed that was her mind. Right? So, what were those two doing here?!

"Someone explain to me what is happening! Now!" she shouted.

A pair of huge eyes, who were too old for the woman's apparent age, and a single crimson orb turned towards Naruto and fixed her with a critical stare.

"Ah. I might have brought us back a bit earlier than I intended..." mumbled the fox. "How old are you, kit? Twelve?"

Naruto glared fiercely at the strongest of the Buju.

"I'm thirteen damn it!" she grumbled.

"What were you doing before you came here?" asked the woman.

Her voice was gentle, yet firm. It held a core of steel, which demanded to be obeyed. It reminded Naruto for the few times when the Old man had been really serious. She gulped and answered, almost on reflex.

"It was during the Chunin Exam! That Kusa freak attacked us! Sasuke and Sakura just froze, the bastards! I had to handle him myself, but he was only toying with me," she grumbled. "He hit me in the gut! It really hurt and then I ended up in this damn sewer!"

"Orochimaru..." muttered the woman. "It's not the best place to end up, but it's far from the worst."

"It's actually a great part of the time-line kit. What are we going to do with her?" asked Kurama and pointed a single, massive claw at Naruto, who went pale and took a step back.

The woman, who was wearing a battered ANBU style outfit, pursed her lips and walked towards her much younger counterpart. When she came near the girl, she knelt and smiled gently.

"Come, here Naruto-chan. It will be all right." she extended a hand towards the girl, who frowned at the gesture. "You already know who I am, don't you?"

Naruto frowned. Yeah. She knew. Somehow. She just had trouble believing it.

"You are me. But how?!"

"Thank the fuzzball over there."

"Hey! I'm the mightiest of the Buju's! Not some kind of stuffed animal!" grumbled the fox.

'This girl, no, woman, who had managed to earn his respect, could be so irritating at times. Mortals!' thought Kurama.

"Did I become Hokage?!" Naruto was eager to hear the answer, even if this was a figment of her imagination.

"Yes, we did, gaki. We did," the woman gave her a sad smile.

"Yay me!" Naruto started bouncing, splashing stale water all around her. She had done it!

The woman, this older Naruto stood up and came closer. She placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder and leaned forward, until they were face to face.

"I'm sorry for this kid. I hope it works."

Naruto froze at those words. The woman leaned even closer, until their foreheads touched.

Naruto's world exploded in a kaleidoscope of light. Blurred images flashed in front of her eyes. Too fast to follow. There were sounds, scents. Feeling of a gentle touch upon her skin. Tearing pain. Cold and hod. Bliss. Agony beyond belief.

Decades of memories and experiences were dumped within her mind in the span of a second. She screamed and blacked out.

The woman caught her body and gave her a hug. The older Naruto picked up her younger self and brought her to the cage, where he placed her on the ground, so she could lean up to a post from which hanged a paper seal.

"Take care of her, Kurama," said the older Naruto.

The great fox looked with sadness at the woman who had gained his respect. She was fading. Her body was becoming transparent, while the mind projection of the younger Naruto was visibly aging, growing.

"I will kit," Kurama's voice was almost gentle. If one knew him well enough, the sadness in it would have been apparent.

The woman who was the Sixth Hokage of Konoha gave a wan smile to her old friend and looked at the unconscious girl.

"May your story turn better than mine child. May you never lose as much as I did!" with those words, her body vanished from the mindscape.

The soul of Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the last Hokage of Konoha and supreme commander of the Allied Shinobi Nations, merged with that of her younger self.

In his cage, Kurama let out a single, piercing howl filled with pain and regret.

Sometimes being an immortal concentration of Chakra sucked.