2 Chapter 2

Naruto had heeded Kurama's advice.

But he felt would've done it even if Kurama had said nothing.

Because for one thing, Konoha was there.

It was there.

As in, it was in one piece. There was no giant crater caused by what people dubbed the pain invasion. There was no sign of struggle or damage caused by the war.

There was nothing.

Nothing wrong with Konoha.

And it gave Naruto chills.

'What…what in Kami's name is happening?'

On the cliff face he saw from the distance, a face was missing from the Hokage monument. The face of Lady Tsunade.

Naruto's gut was tap dancing in a pool of confusion.

'This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.'

Naruto snuck in through the gates, simply by using his dialled sage senses and jumping over the walls when he felt that no one was watching him.

He wished he could have said that it was a difficult task to infiltrate his beloved village but it was far easier than he'd have liked it to be. Perhaps that was why Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame simply walked in that one time. With Itachi's sharingan, it would have been even easier than what he just did.

It was understandable that Konoha cared less about guarding the walls as the enemy was likely rooted out at the nation's borders through its border patrol squad.

But still…this was sort of embarrassing.

Naruto had disguised himself with a simple henge to look like a regular civilian. He walked around observing this and that and so far, no one had batted an eye. He oddly found the technique easier to execute than before.

'Perhaps it was because I no longer held Kurama's enormous Chakra capacity? No it can't be.'

Even his own natural capacity was almost just as large as Kurama's–an absurd fact that was almost blasphemous to even think about. Having as much chakra as a bijuu. Perhaps it was his Uzumaki bloodline or perhaps he'd developed it over extended use of his shadow clones. Either way, even in his weakest base form, he was like a walking chakra battery.

So there must be some other reason he found moulding chakra easier. He wasn't magically just better at manipulating chakra for no reasonable explanation. Maybe it was because of the Rinnegan?

Maybe it's because…

Or perhaps even…

Naruto stopped his train of thought and sighed, knowing he was just trying to distract himself, trying to ignore the reality around him.

He felt…scared. Not in the way he had for a long time. It was not terror caused by facing an enemy far above his league like he did against Orochimaru as a kid. Or even fear for the lives of his loved ones.

It was the uncertainty…the confusion that he had that scared him.

It was like he actually failed in the war and was in an infinite Tsukuyomi, but he knew without a doubt that that wasn't true. He wasn't about to question the reality he was living in. To do so would be madness.

All he could do was just accept it. No matter how absurd it seemed.

Naruto looked around, observing.

The faces of these villagers…it wasn't like the hardened resolve one had after war, or even during the rebuilding of Konoha. He…he did not know these people.

He needed more data, as Shikamaru often said, more information.

So, following his gut, he went to the one place where he was most familiar.

A few moments later, he stood in front of his favourite stall.

Ichiraku Ramen.

He stepped in, and was greeted by the welcoming visage of Ayame and Teuchi.

The moment he caught sight of them, he almost cried in relief. At the very least these two were well and okay. They weren't just some random people that changed as much as what he saw around him did.

"Welcome! Please have a seat!" Teuchi said, his voice the same nostalgic tone of a caring father.

"Thanks," Naruto responded, not letting the emotions show in his speech.

He quickly ordered one of his favourites…10 bowls of shio ramen. Everything was sort of a favourite to him, especially the miso ramen. He decided to keep it simple rather than going with his number one pick.

He devoured them, inhaled them, gobbled them up like the noodles were air. Whichever way you wanted to say it, Naruto was just grateful that, at the very least, Ichiraku ramen still served the food of the gods the same way it always did.

"My my," Ayame said as he finished his last bowl. Yet another voice that evoked many feelings within him. "I've never seen anyone inhale all that ramen like that before. You just might become our best customer."

At that the hairs on Naruto's arm stood on end. There was that sense of uncertainty again.

That wouldn't be something she said…if…if they knew him. If they knew a Naruto that ate out their stall time and time again on a regular basis.

He decided to take a gamble and air out his suspicions.

"Say, do you guys know where Naruto is?" he asked, still in his henge and playing the role of an unknown civilian.

"Naruto? Do we know a person of that name?" Ayame asked, looking towards Teuchi.

Naruto's heart dropped, his suspicions coming alive.

"No, I can't say we do. It would be a name we'd remember if we did. Naruto is a name after my own heart! Hahaha," Teuchi said, gesturing to the fishcake topping.

Naruto took a shaky breath, trying not to freak out.

Think rationally, Naruto. What would Shikamaru do?

"I–I see," Naruto rescinded, "well, here's for the bill. You can keep the change."

Naruto handed them far more than ten bowl's worth of ramen, to their surprise, and got up to leave.

"Wait! Sir!" Ayame called out, "We can't take this! This is far too much to be considered a tip!"

Naruto smiled at the kind hearted people. At the very least, even if they didn't remember him for some odd reason, they were still the gentle-natured people he knew.

"Keep it," He said, "That was the best tasting ramen I've had in my entire life."

With that, he body-flickered away, to Ayame and Teuchi's shock. "W–was that person a ninja? I didn't see a headband…"

Teuchi shrugged. "If he liked noodles, then he can't be all that bad right? Must be an off-duty anbu."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Naruto made his way back to his old apartment complex.

Only to find out that it wasn't old…nor was it an apartment complex at all!

Somehow it turned into a building that would fit in the redlight district seemingly overnight. He could see half dressed civilian women, trying to woo potential clients that walked by.

If Naruto was suspicious before, he was downright sure of it now. If it wasn't made obvious by the fact that old man Teuchi didn't know who he was…

Either he travelled back in time or…

…He was in a different world. A different reality. A different Konoha from all the changes he'd observed.

He was, once again, truly questioning whether he was in a Rinnesharingan-induced illusion right now. Though the fact that he was even questioning it made it doubtful. No infinite tsukuyomi would purposely allow his knowledge of its existence or even his questioning of reality itself, right? It would make it such that he was oblivious, no matter the cost.

…or would allowing him to question his reality make him second guess himself like this and buy more into the fake world that was casted before him?

No, he couldn't think of it this way.

He will not doubt.

He was Uzumaki Naruto and he had kicked Kaguya's ass. He felt it to be true in his bones.

If this wasn't real, then nothing ever truly was.

He will not go into an existential crisis no matter how messed up reality was.

That tale that his late godfather made up as a thinking exercise–something about living in the matrix–can go to hell.

Naruto glanced around him once more, putting his doubts of reality to rest once and for all.

He was in Konoha.

It was still a world he knew.

But so many things have changed.

There was a much stronger possibility that occurred to him.

What had Shikamaru mentioned in conversation that one time when they were cloud gazing? Alternate universes? Parallel worlds?

Naruto couldn't remember the details but dreaded that this was what Shikamaru had meant. It was entirely possible that the implanting of his Rinnegan eye could cause such a reaction, or the fact that Kurama mentioned Hagoromo dabbling in his fate. It was entirely possible that he was placed here on purpose.

"This…this is so weird…" Naruto muttered. Now, he knew, he was officially screwed. "I wish Kurama hadn't left…"

'Okay, don't freak out. One thing at a time. First, a place to stay.'

He had money to spare in his back pouch, especially from how much Tsunade paid him.

Enough to survive. Enough to adapt. Else he'd just survive off the land in the forest of death or something.

Considering the fact that Teuchi of all people didn't know who "Naruto" was, he suspected that either this world's Naruto went by a completely different name…or didn't exist at all.

He didn't know how to feel about the latter option.

This…this almost felt like a fresh start…

'Yeah…actually that's a good way to look at it…' He thought.

He could see himself hating the fact that he lost all his friends–or at least the friends that know him–but he was just happy that there was a possibility that some of his friends were still alive.

'Ero-sennin, Old-man Hokage, Neji…'

He felt like his many burdens were lifted off of him, but he was also disappointed that he couldn't see the fruits of his labours in his old world.

'Would there be peace at last? Had his, Jiraya's and Nagato's dreams succeeded?'

He suspected that he would never know.

Alas, there were things he could and couldn't control. So he chose to focus on the good things about his current situation.

He was free.

He was always one thing or the other. The Pariah. The Hero. The Monster. The Saviour. He'd never had the opportunity to be normal. There was always so much on his shoulders.

Did he really mind no one knowing who he was?

He didn't know.

He'd always said that he wanted to be the Hokage but that was just for recognition and acknowledgement. Once he had it as a hero…he found that it was almost too much for him to bear.

As he said to Kurama, he was tired of it all.

Was it so wrong to just…kick back for a tiny bit?

Naruto shook his head.

'One thing at a time.'

'Actually, I remember there being an Inn in this direction…hopefully it's still there…'

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The inn was still there, thankfully.

He checked in with the name Yuki Naru, inspired from one of his first adversaries, Yuki Haku. He wondered if in this world he was still alive.

When he considered kicking back, it didn't mean that he would do so just yet. He had too many things to fix. If this truly was an alternate world to his own, he had to check on his friends. Whether they're all doing okay. Is Neji alive? Is Gaara still suffering from insomnia? Did Sasuke defect like he did last time? How about Sakura, Hinanta, Lee, Shikamaru? And so on…

Not to mention the tailed beasts still stuck in their containers.

He had much to do. That was for sure.

Why did Hagoromo want this for him?

What was he meant to do here?

"That's a good question," A voice said from beside him.

Naruto jumped off his bed in surprise. He recovered quickly and stared at the man who somehow broke into his room.

Then he just stood there, stunned, as he realised who it was.

"Old man Hagoromo?" Naruto queried. "What are you doing here? How did you even get here?"

Hagoromo chuckled, "I simply wished to speak with you, and now I am here."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "That's…a great answer, sir."

"Indeed."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched once more. Then he sighed.

"What is going on here?" He asked.

"You've figured it out haven't you? This world is different from your own. I won't tell you how, as that is what you'll eventually find out in time."

"So you placed me here?…why?"

"Why, indeed? Perhaps you have been put here to do whatever you wish. To live your life as you please."

Naruto looked at him sceptically. "...So there's no purpose behind all of this? What happened to meddling with fate?"

Hagoromo shook his head as if he was speaking to an ignorant child. Perhaps Naruto was to him, with his centuries of existence. "One does not simply meddle with fate. Either it is as it always meant to be, or it isn't. You being here is no exception. You are here for a reason, though you may never know what that reason is."

Naruto paused, digesting his words. "So you're saying that my so-called 'fate' is just to go with the flow of things? I can just do whatever I want?"

"Yes, that is exactly what fate is for everyone. An invisible design that sometimes bends and twists, but will remain the same as it always had. An infinite ball of yard that slowly unravels into a single string."

For some reason, the old sage seemed more…happy than when Naruto last met him. It was like he was glad that things were turning out the way it was.

"You came all the way here to tell me that?" Naruto shook his head in disbelief.

"No I came to give you this," Hagoromo said, then he placed a wrapped bundle on the table in his room.

…a wrapped bundle that was in the shape of an arm.

"That's…an arm?" Naruto queried.

"Yes. For you!" Hagoromo cheered. "If you weren't caught up in all of this, you'd have received it eventually. Perhaps you'd have found ways to regrow it yourself but I believe that you'd prefer having this. It's made from the cells of the late founder of this village."

Naruto was ever the more confused. For one thing, he had no clue how to regrow an arm, much less his but he put that aside for now.

"You mean this arm belongs to Senju Hashirama?" Naruto asked, surprised, almost implying something ridiculous.

Hagoromo, with all his wisdom, caught on to Naruto's train of thought.

"It's made and grown from his cells, not chopped off from his dead body, boy," Hagoromo rolled his eyes. "It would serve you well."

Naruto was relieved to hear that. He didn't know how to feel about having one of the Shodai's of the universe prancing around without an arm just so he could have one.

"How am I even supposed to attach–" Before Naruto could even finish his sentence, he blinked and the arm disappeared from the table. "Huh? Where did it–oh"

Naruto gaped as looked at himself. Where nothing but a stump used to be, an arm was now attached to his body. He now had two arms again…except one was wrapped in these weird bandages.

"You'd best not remove the cloth wrapping boy," Hagoromo advised, "it's there out of necessity for reasons I can't be bothered to explain. Just treat it as you would with your skin."

"...oh," Naruto responded intellectually, "right…"

"Also here," Hagoromo handed Naruto a small notebook. "For your eyes…"

Naruto dutifully received the book and read the title.

'Ways to use your Rinnegan by Hagoromo Otsutsuki.'

"That's…convenient…and don' you mean my 'eye' as in singular?"

"Hm," Hagoromo responded, whether he was annoyed by the correction and chose not to answer, Naruto did not know.

"Wh–why did I receive this eye in the first place? Why did this even happen?"

Hagormo raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you receive 'just' an eye?"

Naruto raised his eyebrow in return. "Well, yeah…"

"Tell me…did I ever give Sasuke just an eye?"

Naurto thought about it, then his eyes widened. "N–no, you gave him half of your chakra. The yin half and his eye developed from then on."

"Chakra of which is now yours along with the yang half I gave to you during your medical procedure. Permanently this time. The eye is not transplanted, boy, it belongs to you now…amongst other things."

"What is that supposed to–"

Before he could finish, Hagoromo cut him off, his purple eyes losing its focus. "I have lost the reins on this universe, it has become forsaken to me…but you will be everything it needs. Goodbye boy. I imagine that you'll go on to do great things, just as you already have done to this point. Be free, my son, and remember, everything happens for a reason."

"Wait!" Naruto called out but it was too late as Hagoromo was already gone.

A moment passed as Naruto stared into the spot where the sage of six paths had been.

He didn't reappear.

"...great," Naruto said, pondering on his cryptic final message.

He had so many questions, and for some reason a feeling in his gut told him that it would be a long time before he got to see Hagoromo again. If he'd ever meet him again at all.

"Well shit," He swore, something he rarely did, wanting to be a good role model for the future generations and all.

He sat down on his bed, contemplating the interaction he'd just had as well as the path that laid before him. His thoughts were sort of in a jumble, with too many things happening all at once for him to think clearly.

He sighed and put it to rest for now.

He glanced towards his new arm and flexed it, testing whether each muscle functioned the way it should.

It did.

He tested its flexibility, mobility, strength and well everything, really. Honestly, he could practically feel no difference between his two arms aside from their appearances.

"At least I can cast jutsu again," He muttered, though it wasn't like he had a large repertoire of jutsu in the first place. He could cast shadow clones without the requirement of hand signs now so that was a moot point. Other than that…

Well Naruto can admit that he only knew very few things but the few things he did know, he was really, really good at. He'd mastered most of the skills he'd learned whether it was the various forms of the rasengan or the sage mode or whatever.

So having two arms again wasn't as groundbreaking as it would be for other shinobi who'd lost a limb during combat. Still, it was good to punch people in the face with a one-two again.

He sighed, laying back on the creaky bed. He stared at the ceiling.

'Whatever comes from here on out, hopefully it'll work out for the best.'

With that, the blond shinobi closed his eyes and lost himself to sleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Day 2

The next day, Naruto set out to explore the village. He had enough money in pocket to last him about a month or so. After that, he either needed to find employment or reenlist as a shinobi for Konoha to support himself monetarily. Then again, if his back was against the wall he could just escape into the wilds and get by that way. Though he would prefer it if he had somewhat of a decent presence of human interaction in his life.

Nonetheless, he was fully confident in his ability to survive, no matter the situation.

When he walked out this morning, he was glad the receptionist paid little attention to him yesterday–rudely having his nose stuck in a book–as surely he would have noticed the entire arm he'd somehow regrown overnight. Naruto could henge, but he doesn't know how to make one of his limbs invisible to the eye.

He had wanted to get started on the book Hagoromo had given him when he woke up but as he flipped open the first page there was a note that was wedged between the cover and the first page.

It read: Don't level Konoha by turning it into a crater on your first day. Take your time.–H

Blunt but Naruto had conceded the point.

So Naruto decided that it was best to leave it for later…preferably in a much safer space. He could easily handle himself as he was now. Just as he always did.

Naruto stored the book within a storage scroll and kept it on him at all times. Though it wasn't like it would be any use to anyone other than Pein should someone steal it.

He was now looking for a place to have breakfast. As much as he loved having ramen for three meals a day, something Sakura had said about having a balanced diet being good for your health convinced him to look for other options rather than his usual salty indulgence. You can never say that he didn't listen to his doctor if he went out of his way to not enjoy the food of the gods.

"Hm, guess this is as good a place as any," he said, staring at the yakiniku restaurant. He remembered this place being a favourite of team 10.

He stepped foot inside it and was greeted by a brunette waitress.

"Welcome!" She said cheerfully, "Is it just yourself today, sir?"

Naruto nodded.

"Table for 1 coming right up!" She said, "Just this way, please."

It didn't take long for the meat to arrive and he got to grilling them. Before he enjoyed his first bite though, a ring of the bell on top of the front door rang, signalling the entry of another customer.

Naruto almost dropped the meat between his chopsticks when he turned to see who it was.

It was Shikamaru, Choiji and Ino.

It was Team 10.

'…Speak of the Shinigami and they shall appear…'

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