The Great Wasteland.
As far as the eye could see, there was only devastation. This kind of desolate scenery was not uncommon in the ninja world; most countries looked like this now.
Ten years ago, the Seventh Hokage, who had single-handedly suppressed the entire ninja world, passed away. After his death, the Great Ninja War—a conflict that had been simmering for over a hundred years—erupted in a brutal struggle for resources. The signs of war had appeared much earlier, but the overwhelming power of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had been just enough to keep the chaos at bay. After they both passed away, the world could no longer maintain its fragile balance.
A hundred years of accumulated hatred had finally boiled over. The war continued to this day, leaving so few ninjas that the entire profession was on the brink of extinction.
A small white snake suddenly poked its head out of the sand. After a quick look around, it opened its mouth wide, and a man's body was spat out onto the ground.
The man's chiseled face was filled with an unconcealable exhaustion. He desperately gathered the last of the chakra in his body and barely formed a hand seal. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A coffin rose from the ground.
The lid was pushed open by the person inside, revealing a striking full head of yellow hair. He raised his head in a daze, his face covered in the cracks of reanimation, and forced a smile. "Orochimaru, I never thought I'd have to rely on you for help in the end..."
"Naruto, we don't have much time for nonsense," Orochimaru said, calmly shaking his head. He threw a scroll to Naruto. "Hurry and memorize the jutsu inside. Then I will send your will back to the past."
Orochimaru continued, "This is an S-rank forbidden jutsu developed from the Rinnegan and Samehada that Sasuke left behind before his death: Sealing Jutsu: Devour."
"There's no need for all that trouble! I have enough chakra," the reanimated Naruto Uzumaki insisted, shaking his head and clenching his fist. "As long as I unify the ninja world, I can end the war..."
"Idiot!" Orochimaru cursed under his breath, then shouted sternly, "I can't guarantee which era I can send you to! On the way back to the past, the jutsu used to transport your soul will seal your brain to make you fit into the body. You won't be able to recall everything you've experienced!"
He leaned in, his voice urgent. "In the end, only your will can arrive; it's impossible to carry too many memories! The only thing I can do is carve Sealing Jutsu: Devour directly into your will. Every possible opportunity to increase your strength is important. This jutsu is enough to make you as strong as the jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails. Do not give up any chance to become stronger, understand?"
"Understood... Then... let's begin," the reanimated Naruto said, looking at the scroll and nodding calmly. A hundred years of life experience had taught him the true value of power.
Courage, will, bonds... in the face of true power, he knew there was no room for any of that to survive.
A dazzling aurora appeared in Naruto's vision. It was a space-time forbidden jutsu that Orochimaru had painstakingly researched. Given the complexity of space-time paradoxes, the immortal Orochimaru was naturally unwilling to risk his own life, but Naruto was willing to take the gamble.
After the aurora, his consciousness was flooded with darkness.
I hope Grandma Tsunade's spirit in heaven can bless me. Let me return to the day I succeeded the Seventh Hokage! Please!
A faint voice echoed in the void. "Idiot, you're praying to the wrong person."
"..."
The darkness gradually dissipated.
Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes. Feeling the majestic life force surging through his body, he let out a soft sigh of relief. He had successfully returned to the past.
After a long moment, he lowered his head to look at the worn-out clothes on his body and his own thin arms and legs. He sighed softly. "I am... Uzumaki... Naruto?"
Two wills were constantly merging in his brain. Fragments of thought and memory began to surface.
Become Hokage, become the strongest ninja...
Be recognized, even if it means using force...
For peace in the ninja world, the five great nations must be unified...
Sealing Jutsu: Devour. Devour the strongest chakra!
-----
After the two wills completely merged into his body, Naruto got up from the bed. He opened the window and looked out at the old-fashioned village.
The summer of Konoha, year 60. It felt like he had just woken from a long dream.
Naruto turned around and looked at the brand-new ninja headband on his bedside table. He reached out to touch the spiral engraving on it, a faint smile appearing on his lips. However, when he turned his head to look at the calendar on the wall, his expression fell. "Today... is October 10th?"
In his subconscious, he felt that October 10th was a very important day. It was just that those memories had been completely destroyed by the time travel.
He gradually recalled what had happened to this body yesterday. Because he couldn't graduate, he was tricked by his teacher, Mizuki, into stealing the Scroll of Seals. Then, he used the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu he learned from the scroll to defeat Mizuki and received recognition from Iruka-sensei, finally earning permission to graduate.
"The Scroll of Seals... that feels familiar..."
"Naruto, are you awake?"
Just as he was thinking, a ninja suddenly jumped into his house through the window. He casually tossed down a small tub of ramen and, seeing Naruto at the table, came forward to touch his forehead. "I came to see you..."
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto subconsciously grabbed his sleeve, then slowly let go with a strange feeling. "Why are you at my house at this time?"
"Oh? I almost forgot!" Iruka Umino scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I forgot to tell you yesterday, there will be a briefing for graduates at the academy on the 15th. Don't be late!"
After speaking, he thought for a moment, took out a pen, and drew a circle on the 15th on the calendar, writing a line of text: 'Graduate Briefing'.
"On that day, all graduating genin will be divided into three-man cells. Don't be late!" Iruka rubbed Naruto's yellow hair and said in a low voice, "After becoming a ninja, you have to work hard, Naruto!"
"Understood!" Naruto lowered his head, a glint flashing in his eyes.
The happy feeling from seeing Iruka-sensei completely dissipated the moment Naruto walked out onto the street.
"Such disgusting gazes..." Naruto helplessly patted his forehead, a bitter smile on his face. "Even though I've become a ninja, I'm still the 'Nine-Tailed Demon Fox' that makes everyone in the village pale. But... how can I see the Nine-Tails... hmm?"
He found himself in the sealing space. In the dark water prison, the dripping sound of water was annoyingly distracting.
"...This feels familiar..."
Naruto's consciousness had appeared here instinctively, as if he had been here countless times before. He watched the red chakra constantly drifting out from within the water prison. It was all negative energy unintentionally released by the Nine-Tails. He stretched out his small hand. "Sealing Jutsu: Devour!"
The red chakra fell into his palm and was completely devoured. The oppressive atmosphere of the entire sealing space immediately cleared.
Naruto walked step by step into the deepest part of the water prison, looking at the behemoth hidden within. "Hey, you monster... are you the Nine-Tails?"
"..."
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox slightly lifted its eyes and glanced at the boy outside the cage. Although it didn't know how this kid got in, that didn't stop it from hating the very existence of a jinchuriki.
The Nine-Tails snorted angrily and spat out a single word from between its teeth: "Scram."
"You'd better not talk to me with that attitude," Naruto said from the other side of the bars. He looked at the Nine-Tails inside the cage, his tone growing serious. "Hey, Nine-Tails, give me your chakra. Help me unify the entire ninja world... If I'm not mistaken, this is how I should talk to it, right?"
"Scram."
"..."
The first communication with the Nine-Tails was not very smooth.