The Uzumaki have a myth that they pass down to the head of the clan, generation after generation. They say that Kami, before the time of the sage, battled Death. Death had determined that humanity wished to die, and it ventured to grant its wishes. Kami, the true God, stopped it by sealing Death with Her divine spear, throwing it to the planet creating an eternal whirlpool. It is said that the Uzumaki were gifted the knowledge of this event and entrusted with overseeing Death, lest humanity obtains power beyond its interests to posses. I was told that this story is a fabrication. I agree that it is, however, I often wonder if there was truly no truth to the story I was so often regaled with as a child. The world of the Shinobi is a world that is shrouded in secrecy, but it is the history beyond the birth of Shinobi that truly eludes me. (Uzumaki Asahi, The Truth of the Shinobi World)

Naruto and the others looked at the result of the Infinite Tsukiyomi and gaped. Madara's plan had succeeded. The entire world had fallen under the influence of an eternal illusion. A landscape that had just been filled with the cries of battle, then by the rising wood needed for the Infinite Tsukiyomi, was ominous in its total silence. Even though the entire world united, a few people were all was left standing between Madara and his plan.

Naruto's attention snapped to Black Zetsu when he let out a cry of pain, wade even more striking by the sudden silence.

"Madara, what are you doing…?" Zetsu choked out, shocked at the turn of events.

"Did you believe I wouldn't notice you approaching me with killer intent? Pitiful," Madara said as Obito's body exploded in a torrent of blood, grasped in the hand of a Susanoo that seemed to form instantaneously.

"No!" Zetsu cried desperately. "Kaguya must come back! I've worked for so long!"

"If that's how it was, it's your fault for stumbling at the finish line. This is your punishment for defying Madara Uchiha!"

Several black orbs floated in front of Madara and he motioned with his hand in silent command. He sent several Truth-Seeking Orbs directly into Zetsu and Obito, bound together as they were, causing both to evaporate into a cloud of black dust.

Kakashi winced. "Obito…"

Naruto could only watch in disbelief. "They had a falling out at this stage?"

"No," Sasuke said. "He mentioned Kaguya. That's the person the sage mentioned. She was the Sage of Six Paths' mother."

Had Zetsu tried to betray him for this 'Kaguya' person? But Madara saw it coming because he sensed killing intent. That may be his countless battles giving him a sensitivity to bloodlust, or maybe he recently obtained the Kyuubi's ability to sense negative emotion. The last thing he needed was for him to start inheriting the Jinchūriki abilities.

Madara shifted his gaze to then and they all took an involuntary step back.

"Come now, have you all lost your nerve?" Madara taunted.

Sakura, baited by his words, charged Madara again, hoping to create an opening.

"Sakura, wait!" Sasuke demanded, taking off after her alongside Naruto.

Madara appeared in front of her at incredible speed and stabbed her through the heart with a sword made from a Truth-Seeking Orb. Almost immediately, her body began disintegrating.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as Madara waved his hand, sending black spears at him and Sasuke.

Naruto batted the spears away and Sasuke did the same, but they weren't fast enough and Kakashi took a lethal blow to the heart, stabbed by the hand of Madara's Limbo. Kakashi choked on blood and fell backward as Madara's Limbo Clone pulled his hand out of his chest with a sickening sound.

The world seemed to slow down. Naruto reeled as two of his most precious people died right in front of him. His eyes narrowed and he felt an incredible fury build. "Kakashi-sensei!"

"Calm down, Naruto! You have to keep your head on straight if you want any chance to survive," Kurama advised.

Naruto clenched his fist.

"You bastard!" Surprisingly, the emotional response didn't come from Naruto, but from Sasuke.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and saw emotional agony etched across his features.

"Hahaha…HAHAHAHAHA!" Madara laughed uproariously. "I'm done playing with you both. It's time I demonstrate how outclassed you really are."

Madara made one simple hand seal. "Wood Style: Multi Wood Clone Jutsu."

Wood grew from Madara's body at a worrying rate, breaking off and forming many Clones of Madara. One by one the Clones formed, as Sasuke and Naruto watched in silent horror until Madara had created a small army. At least 100 wood Clones scattered the battlefield.

Naruto and Sasuke began sweating nervously, each trying desperately to think up a way to win.

Madara saw their reaction and smirked. "You still don't quite understand. They all have access to my abilities."

Almost simultaneously, the Clones produced their own Perfect Susanoo. Naruto, in a rare moment of weakness, felt all the hope drain from him.

"If he has all of his abilities…" Naruto said fearfully.

"You caught on, Naruto," Madara said, sounding impressed. "They can all use my Rinnegan abilities and…they can also use Limbo."

Sasuke fell to his knees, realizing the futility of the battle ahead. "No way. Even though we gained so much power…"

Madara developed an expression that teetered on boredom but had an underlying pity. "I'll only make you fight…let's say five at a time. There's no reason to make this battle unsportsmanlike."

Five Susanoo stepped forward. They began marching forward, the distance between them and their targets short and growing shorter.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted hurriedly.

Sasuke stood, a face of concentration marred by anger and doubt; an expression mirrored on Naruto's face. "I know."

They separated and gained enough distance from each other to unleash their respective full power. A mass of purple shot out of Sasuke as he created his own Perfect Susanoo, and the Kyuubi's chakra created a massive construct around Naruto in the form of a giant fox; his Tailed Beast Mode.

Dense chakra gathered in front of Naruto as he fired several Bijudama at the two Clones coming for him. Both Susanoo cut through one Bijudama each but the last hit the Susanoo on the right. A spherical explosion engulfed the chakra giant and the Clone on the left continued his pursuit unabated.

The Susanoo stopped in front of him and he prepared to dodge the sword it levied. A blue explosion rocked Naruto, making him lose concentration long enough for the Clone in front of him to lop off the left arm of his Tailed Beast Mode.

Naruto grunted and gasped when he saw the sword cut through one of Kurama's legs. The Susanoo punched Naruto into the air, flinging him back a decent distance.

Naruto, thinking on his feet, broke down his Tailed Beast Mode and quickly reformed it standing upright with all its limbs intact. All four sets of claws dug into the ground to slow Naruto's velocity. After a few seconds, Naruto had stopped completely. He saw what caused the blue explosion: The fifth Susanoo that had been fighting Sasuke switched its target to him, shooting several Yasaka Magatama at him. It ripped his Kurama imitation up, entire pieces of it missing.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and grimaced. The purple Susanoo that belonged to Sasuke had collected an assortment of cuts and explosion damage. One of its wings was completely gone.

At this rate, they would never win. They needed to push themselves to their absolute limits. But how could they…?

A stroke of brilliance. "Sasuke, get ready! We have to combine again! I've got an idea! Hold them all off for a few seconds!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in doubt but decided to trust him. Naruto had a strange ability to pull hat tricks in the midst of combat. He gathered an incredible amount of chakra around his Susanoo and the air began to heat. "Susanoo: Chidori Nagashi!"

A Chidori formed in the Susanoo's right hand and it smashed its hand into the ground. Lightning ripped the ground apart, creating massive craters in front of Sasuke. The Chidori traveled through the ground, hitting all five Susanoo and scorching the earth a striking red.

While this happened, Naruto made a cross handseal and his Kurama construct mimicked him. Two Clones of the entire construct poofed into existence with a cloud of smoke. They all three floated into the air, crossed their legs in a meditative position, and began circling each other in a synchronized swirl.

The forms of each became indistinguishable from each other as they combined in a flash of yellow light. Out of the light emerged one Kurama construct with six arms and three heads. "Asura Kurama!"

Sasuke turned and threw his Susanoo's blade in the direction of Naruto. Madara's Susanoo both cut into Sasuke's, cutting bisecting it at the waist, but Sasuke used his Rinnegan to teleport what was left of his Susanoo to the position of the sword he threw.

Naruto caught his Susanoo and it dissolved as Sasuke jumped to Asura Kurama's head to join Naruto.

"When did you learn something like this?" Sasuke wondered after reaching Naruto.

"I just kind of did it. Just like when I healed Kakashi's eye."

Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh and created a Susanoo armor for Asura Kurama. The entire Bijuu imitation was coated in purple, ethereal armor. Its heads had ornate samurai-Esque closed helmets, with only the middle one being open.

Before Madara could react, the middle arm on Asura Kurama's left side held a Rasengan while the other two arms shaped it and imbued it with wind chakra. A massive Rasenshuriken formed while powerful Bijudama formed in the mouths of all three heads, the armor on the left and right head opening.

"What are you planning, exactly?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto, as quickly as he could, told Sasuke his part in the plan. His eyes lit up with understanding. "I got it."

"Let's do this!" Naruto said.

Two purple swords formed in the top two arms of Kurama's right side and a Chidori formed in the bottom arm's hand. The bottom arm threw its sword at the five Susanoo they were fighting.

The front Susanoo casually dodged the thrown weapon as Madara wondered where the attack was going. The sword vanished without warning, replaced by Asura Kurama's intimidating figure. The bottom-right arm pierced the ground with its Chidori as Sasuke called out "Chidori Nagashi!"

While the five Susanoo were hit by a wave of electricity, Asura Kurama slashed in a circle, cutting through the heads of the Susanoo and killing the Clones inside. In an instant, all five Clones were destroyed, leaving Madara to whistle in appreciation.

But the attack was far from over. Naruto and Sasuke threw their last sword in the direction of the horde of Susanoo, teleporting long before the sword ever reached them. It constructed a second Rasenshuriken that was mixed with a Bijudama and threw both. Right after the throw, Sasuke created a sword and encased it in Amaterasu.

"Rikudou: Cho Odama Rasenshuriken!" (Six Paths: Ultra Big Ball Rasenshuriken)

The two Rasneshuriken attacks met in the center of Madara's Clone army and combined to create a gargantuan explosion that easily covered all the Susanoo in a fiery blaze. Naruto and Sasuke shot the three Bijudama at the original Madara and used the time he took deflecting them to get close and swing the Amaterasu covered sword.

'Tch, these children. That whole show just to get a shot at me,' Madara thought as he dodged to the side. He was shocked as another blade came for him from the direction he was dodging in.

'They created another sword after they shot the Bijudama!'

"Almighty Push!"

Madara used his Almighty push to deflect the blade so he could create some distance. "I've been too soft on you!"

The few Clone Susanoo that remained gathered around Madara while he created his own Perfect Susanoo. "I'll show you my power. The power of God!"

His Susanoo morphed and grew, changing its features to become more sinister. Its mouth leaked blue chakra, appearing as flames, almost as if it was breathing fire. Six blue swords grew from its back and a third red eye formed on its forehead. Instead of a sword, it formed a three-pronged trident.

"Susanoo-no-Okami!" (Great God Susanoo)

Naruto and Sasuke were almost crushed in the presence of the Susanoo. Even with the amped Asura Kurama, fighting that monster seemed hopeless. They were both already pushing past their limits, which made it even more disheartening when the Limbo Clones created their own Perfect Susanoo. They probably lost their chance when they caught him off guard with their attack.

"So, is he going all out yet?" Sasuke joked without any humor in his voice.

"This is the Susanoo that rules all others," Madara said. "Your time inconveniencing me is at its end."

They both tried their best to keep up with the Perfect Susanoo as they all attacked at once, but it was impossible. Blades, some visible and some not, cut through Asura Kurama despite the Susanoo armor slowing them down somewhat. A Rasengan formed in one hand, drilling into a Susanoo, as a Chidori formed in another only for the arm holding it to be lopped off.

Suddenly, all the Perfect Susanoo backed off and Susanoo-no-Okami entered a battle-ready stance. It vanished as both of Asura Kurama's legs were lost. It reappeared, two black orbs forming in front of it. The orbs sped forward and separated before contact, splitting into three spears each that annihilated the arms, along with a portion of the torso.

Susanoo-no-Okami leveled its trident and drove down onto the head. A flash of light followed as Asura Kurama lost its form completely. Naruto managed to get Sasuke out with quick thinking and Shadow Clones, but he lost his left arm in the process.

Naruto cradled the bloody stump where his arm used to be and winced in pain. He turned to Sasuke and saw him sporting a few new burns.

"We haven't been this over our heads since the Wave mission," Naruto commented nostalgically. Why did he think of that time again? He always found himself doing so. He promised himself that he would see Haku and Zabuza before he became Hokage.

"There's no Jōnin to bail us out this time, and no enemy that doesn't want to kill us," Sasuke said scathingly.

"There has to be a way out of this…The Sage? A seal for time travel? Seals can do pretty much anything, right?"

The disbelief that covered Sasuke's face might have made him laugh in any other situation. "You're resorting to science fiction to justify your stubbornness? We lost, Naruto. Unless you have another secret power I don't know about. He was stronger, so now it's his responsibility to shape the world."

"You can't be serious!"

"I'll join you soon, Brother…Father, Mother."

Madara swept the dust from his attack away. Upon seeing them, Madara and his clones sent a barrage of black spears at them. Naruto stood to get out of the way, but he flinched at the pain of his amputation; losing his chance to dodge.

He extended the chakra of the cloak on his arms to form a shield in front of him, but he knew it was useless. 'I'm sorry, everyone…'

He shut his eyes in anticipation of the pain that would follow. Hearing the attack's impact but not feeling anything, he opened his eyes and gasped; Sasuke stood in front of him protectively with a partially formed Susanoo that had been mostly destroyed. The Susanoo ribcage had large cracks where the spears had almost broken through and gaps where they had. Sasuke's body was riddled with black spears, his body already disintegrating.

"Why…?" Naruto asked bewildered.

"My body moved on its own." He coughed up blood. "Maybe you can still find some way out of this. I…could never change it…you have to…for me…"

Sasuke Uchiha died. He wasn't sure what he was trying to say. A familiar feeling struck him as Naruto sunk to his knees, finally realizing the truth. Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke were all gone. He desperately wished he could talk to them. Why did it suddenly feel like there were so many things he wanted to say? A sense of loss and hopelessness overtook him, much like when Neji died. This time, however, the feeling was far greater.

He could feel his cloak dissipate. Was Sasuke thinking about that mission too? 'My body moved on its own.' Naruto always relied on the strength of others, but everyone was gone; either dead or in a permanent illusion. He looked at where Sasuke was and looked to where Sakura and Kakashi were.

'At least Kakashi-sensei can still be buried. What would you say at a time like this, Haku? No, I already know. I still have precious things to protect and people to acknowledge me, right?'

"Naruto! After all this, are you giving up now? You heard that Uchiha brat, didn't you? He was entrusting his last hopes to you."

Naruto's eyes widened before he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Yeah. Who would have thought you'd be giving me pep talks, Kurama?"

Kurama gave an indignant 'hmph,' and looked upward. "All your wallowing, and he still hasn't attacked."

A pulse of power reverberated through Naruto's being. It seemed to course through the world. It was chakra…Actually, it was different. An old, unknowable energy. He tried to stand, but he didn't have the strength. He pushed his body to get up, but it simply refused to do as he asked. He looked up, wondering why he hadn't been attacked yet.

Madara hadn't moved from his previous position. "Did you hear it, too, just now? That thrum of ancient power. It must be what I've craved all my life."

Madara shot a stream of purple lightning that left his mouth and hit Naruto's heart in the same second. Naruto's eyes widened and shut before he fell forward, taking his last breaths.

"Naruto!"

'That's it?' Naruto wondered. 'Why did it turn out this way? I never accomplished any of my dreams. Becoming Hokage, saving Sasuke, bringing peace…I let everyone down.'

Vaguely, he acknowledged that thrum of power returning. It was old and powerful to a degree that Naruto felt he could never grasp or understand it. As he died, he saw the world light up. The ground appeared as though it was evaporating into wisps of light. He thought he might be hearing the fading yells of an enraged Madara. Naruto chalked it up to the delusion of a dying man and closed his eyes.

For what seemed like much longer than his dying body should allow, he laid on the ground. Finally, he opened his eyes again to note that he was surrounded by darkness. Or maybe, he simply couldn't perceive what was in front of him.

"You lasted longer than I expected," an unfamiliar, masculine voice admitted.

Naruto snapped to where he thought the voice was coming from. "Who's there…? Am I dead?"

"You're not in Pure World," the man admitted. "This place exists far past the concepts of time, matter, or reality. You might consider it a place in between what is thought and what is real."

Through the darkness, Naruto spotted a middle-aged man with blond hair in a ponytail. He was wearing plain black robes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" This was all going way over Naruto's head.

"Most don't understand these things at first. Rest assured, you will become familiar with the feeling of this place. I have brought you here to ask you one simple question, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Huh? Who the hell are you? How do you know my name?"

"I am the God that will offer you a chance to go back and fix everything. I offer you the chance to set everything right." The man took a deep breath. "But none of that matters now. To all who come here I pose one question: Do you wish to live?"

The man extended his hand, appearing genuinely interested in his response. Naruto, in a daze, grasped his hand. "Of course."

Relieved, the man smiled. "Great! The contract is sealed."

Naruto paled and pulled his hand away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He didn't lose his smile. "It means everything and nothing. Though, you should note it will not restrict you at all. Your will to live is recognized. What you do now is up to you; Save the world, doom it, control it, or simply live in it. Although, this exchange itself has already made ripples."

"What are you talking about? Can't you just say somethin' straight!?"

The man had pity in his eyes as he sighed. "I'll send you back in time so you can save this sorry excuse of a timeline. Whether you do so, or whether you even try, is all up to you."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You expect me to believe that?"

The man chuckled. "That…does not concern me. It's time for you to return."

"I thought this place was beyond time?"

The man looked genuinely taken aback before he let out a bemused chuckle. "You caught me. I'm really just saying that I'm getting rid of you now."

"Wait!" Naruto demanded. "You never even said your name. How did you know who I was? Why are you doing this? How are you doing this?"

"My name is Jashin," the man said simply.

Suddenly, Jashin faded from view and Naruto could feel himself getting pulled violently. He screamed as his world lit up in an array of blinding colors, several of which he had never seen. An indescribable amount of energy pulsed, with a wave of vertigo he was seeing his world again, then he was on the ground in a body that was without pain.

"If anyone receives this message, this is Asahi Uzumaki. I'll make this brief: find the Truth at the center of Uzu. If you can hear this, you are a fellow Uzumaki that understands this world is not as it seems. They're already here…do not trust Konoha's lies.

He looked at his still-present arm with disbelief. Naruto tried climbing to his feet quickly, but his dizziness made it a difficult task. Again, he looked at his surroundings to see Konoha buildings. Buildings that shouldn't exist anymore, at least not the way he was seeing them.

He looked at the reflection in a mirror and noticed his far-too-young appearance. He had his headband, so he was a ninja already. His familiar old orange clothing was on him and he noticed he had a backpack on for the first time. He took it off quickly and gasped at what he saw; he recognized this particular selection. He remembered picking everything, so excited for his first 'real mission.'

Goosebumps collected on his skin as tears gathered in his eyes. He broke into a sprint for the Konoha Gate. When he saw them, he skidded to halt. He had no idea what they thought, but the confused look in everyone's eyes made it obvious this wasn't the state they expected him to be in.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked mockingly. "Scared of your first real mission?"

To the shock of all present, Naruto didn't rise to the taunt and wiped away his tears. "I'm just…glad."

"Are you...doing alright?" Kakashi asked awkwardly.

Even Sakura looked concerned. They were all here, alive. He was back to that day. This was a chance to start over.

"Let's do this!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically, catching everyone off guard with his attitude shift.

Naruto excitedly ran out of Konoha's gate. He was laughing as his whole team looked on like he was crazy. Sasuke sighed and went back to his typically stoic attitude.

"What's with him?" Sakura wondered aloud. "He's weirder than usual. First, we had to wait because he forgot his stupid backpack, and now he's acting like a maniac!"

Kakashi just sighed and they followed Naruto out the front gate. He nearly sighed again when he realized who Naruto was about to see.

Naruto looked at their client and gave a big smile. "Tazuna-san, how are ya?"

Tazuna's mouth gaped. "Why the hell are you talking to me like we're pals, you brat? I can't believe I'm supposed to entrust my life to this little orange joke."

That made Naruto angrier than it probably should. He gritted his teeth and growled as he thought of all the great comebacks he could give.

"I'm a Jōnin," Kakashi cut in. "I'll handle anything they throw at us."

As they walked on, Naruto walked in silence. He unzipped his jacket and thought hard about what he should do. Telling anyone he was from the future was obviously off the table. There was little to no chance anyone would believe him; they would insist he 'get help.' In any case, there wasn't much to gain from telling anyone anyway.

Naturally, he should find out where that weird message came from. Asahi Uzumaki…He'd never heard that name before. He'd never been to Uzu either, which was a little strange now that he'd thought about it.

He had to stop himself from reacting when he saw the puddle on the ground. It was already at that point…

He stopped along with the rest of his group when 'Kakashi' was wrapped with sharp chains and torn to shreds. Sakura's screams were blocked out in his mind as he made a cross handseal, remembering to try and hold back appropriately.

He felt a familiar surge of chakra as the two attacking ninjas tried to rush him.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A puff of smoke, but nothing happened. The Jutsu felt all wrong. No, he couldn't manipulate his chakra the way he had a million times. He froze and gaped at the empty air. Sasuke threw a shuriken and a Kunai, binding the chain that connected both ninjas, but Naruto didn't even acknowledge what happened next.

'My Jutsu didn't work!'

Panicked, Naruto made another handseal and tried to create a clone. And he did it again and again to no avail. He snapped out of it when he heard a chain disconnect from their gauntlets. One of the ninjas charged straight for him and he pulled out a kunai on instinct. He deflected the attacks until Kakashi swooped in and took out both ninja out in a second.

Naruto stared at his hand, unwounded this time, in incredulity. 'My Jutsu doesn't work. I can't use it…I'm weaker than I was the first time we fought Zabuza and Haku! At this rate…

"Don't worry," Kakashi said, noticing his distress. "A lot of people can't work up the concentration to cast a Jutsu their first time in battle. You pulled out a kunai and fought when you needed to, so don't feel too bad."

He was wrong though. He wasn't panicking on his first mission; he was unable to mold his chakra. And he was about to face one of his biggest challenges without his greatest tools.

Author's Note: Phew! You might consider this a total reboot of my Demon Investigator story. And you'd be right! This won't be a Gamer fic though. That, of course, means that this is a crossover with Megami Tensei, which YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ABOUT. In fact, I'm counting on it. I'm hoping I might sway someone to the Megami Tensei games with this. Persona is probably the most famous Megami Tensei game in the verse, but you might also recognize Catherine. Also, this is a Naruto/fem Haku story. Kind of. She/he was a man in the original timeline which means she is trans! This will play a role later. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!