The Summer of Konoha's Sixtieth Year

The Gobi Desert.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but devastation and desolation. Such a sight was not uncommon in the ninja world; every country was the same.

Ten years ago, after the Seventh Hokage, who had kept this ninja world under control, passed away, the ninja war that had been suppressed for over a century finally erupted in full force over resources.

Perhaps the signs had appeared even earlier, but Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha's power had barely kept the chaos at bay. Yet after the two of them died one after the other, the ninja world could no longer maintain its balance.

Hatred that had accumulated for over a century...

The war continued to this day, and there were hardly any ninja left in the entire ninja world...

A White Snake suddenly poked its head out. After looking around, it abruptly opened its jaws and spat out a human body.

His sharply defined face was marked by unmistakable exhaustion and haggardness. He desperately gathered the chakra within his body and barely formed a hand seal. "Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"

A coffin rose from the ground!

The person inside reached out and pushed open the lid, revealing a conspicuous head of blond hair!

He raised his head in confusion, exposing a face covered in cracks. Forcing a smile, he said, "Orochimaru, I didn't expect I'd still have to rely on you in the end..."

"Naruto, there's no time for nonsense!"

Orochimaru calmly shook his head and tossed him a scroll with one hand. "Hurry up and memorize the jutsu inside! Then I'll send your will back into the past!"

"This is an S-rank Forbidden Jutsu developed from the Rinnegan and Samehada Sasuke left behind before he died: Sealing Art: Devour!"

"There's no need to make this so complicated! I have enough chakra!" Naruto Uzumaki, reincarnated through Impure World Reincarnation, shook his head and clenched his fist. "As long as we unify the ninja world, we can eliminate war..."

"Idiot!" Orochimaru cursed under his breath before shouting sternly, "I can't guarantee what era I'll send you to!"

"During the journey back through time, in order to make you compatible with your body, the jutsu used to transmit your soul will seal your brain, preventing you from recalling everything you experienced!"

"In the end, only your will can reach the past. You won't be able to carry many memories at all! Sealing Art: Devour is the only jutsu I'll carve into your will!"

"Every chance to increase your strength matters... Sealing Art: Devour is enough to make you a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. Never give up any opportunity to grow stronger, understand?!"

"I understand... Then... let's begin!"

Naruto Uzumaki, under Impure World Reincarnation, glanced at the scroll and nodded calmly. More than a century of life experience had already taught him the value of power.

So-called courage, willpower, and bonds...

Before true power, none of them had room to survive...

A dazzling aurora appeared in Naruto Uzumaki's vision. It was the forbidden space-time jutsu Orochimaru had painstakingly developed.

Because space-time paradoxes were too complicated, Orochimaru, who had already achieved immortality, naturally had little desire to risk himself... But Naruto Uzumaki decided to take a gamble.

After the aurora came a wave of darkness within his consciousness...

"I hope Granny Tsunade's spirit in heaven will bless me and let me return to the day I became the Seventh Hokage! Please!"

"Idiot, you're praying to the wrong person!"

"..."

The darkness gradually faded...

Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes. Only after feeling the immense life force within his body did he let out a soft breath. He had indeed successfully returned to the past.

After a long while, he lowered his head and looked at his shabby clothes, skinny arms, and thin legs. He sighed softly. "I am... Uzumaki... Naruto?"

"Become Hokage, become the strongest ninja..."

"Be acknowledged by others, even if it means using force..."

"Peace in the ninja world requires unifying the Five Great Nations..."

"Sealing Art: Devour, devour the strongest chakra!"

The two wills in his mind were continuously merging...

The memories within his body gradually revived in full...

Only after his two wills had completely merged into his body did Naruto rise from the bed, open the window, and gaze out at the old village beyond.

It was the summer of Konoha's sixtieth year, and it felt as though he had had a dream...

Naruto Uzumaki turned around and looked at the brand-new Forehead Protector on the bedside cabinet. He reached out and stroked the spiral engraving on it, unable to stop a faint smile from appearing on his lips.

But when he turned and looked at the calendar hanging on the wall, his voice unconsciously lowered. "Today... is October 10th?"

Somewhere 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 passage through time and space.

He gradually recalled what had happened to this body yesterday. Unable to graduate, he had been deceived by Mizuki-sensei into stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Seals.

Then, he used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu he had learned from the Forbidden Scroll of Seals to defeat Mizuki-sensei. He gained Iruka-sensei's recognition and received permission to graduate.

"The Forbidden Scroll of Seals feels strangely familiar..."

"Naruto, are you awake?"

Just as he was still thinking, a ninja suddenly jumped in through his window. He casually tossed down a pack of Small Bucket Ramen, then saw him by the table and stepped forward to touch his forehead. "I came to check on you..."

"Iruka-sensei!"

Naruto Uzumaki instinctively grabbed his sleeve, then slowly released it with an odd expression. "Why are you at my house at this time?"

"Huh? I almost forgot!"

Umino Iruka scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I forgot to tell you yesterday. There'll be a graduation briefing at the academy on the fifteenth, so don't be late!"

After saying that, he thought for a moment, took out a pen, and circled the fifteenth on the calendar, adding a note: 'Graduation Briefing.'

"That day, all graduating Genin will be divided into teams of three according to standard ninja operational procedures, so don't be late!" Umino Iruka ruffled his blond hair and said quietly, "Once you become a ninja, work hard, Naruto!"

"Got it!"

Naruto Uzumaki tilted back his head, a gleam flashing through his eyes.

The happiness and joy he had felt upon seeing Iruka-sensei vanished completely the moment Naruto stepped back onto the street.

"Those hateful looks..."

Naruto Uzumaki helplessly patted his forehead, a bitter smile on his face. "Even after becoming a ninja, I'm still the Nine-Tails Fox everyone in the village fears! But how am I supposed to meet the Nine-Tails... hmm?"

The Sealing Space.

Inside the dark water prison.

The constant drip of falling water was unbearably irritating.

"...This feels familiar..."

Naruto Uzumaki's body had instinctively appeared here, as though he had come here countless times before.

He watched the red chakra continuously drifting from within the water prison. It was negative energy carelessly released by the Nine-Tails. His childish hand stretched out. "Sealing Art: Devour!"

The red chakra fell into his palm and was completely devoured by his spiritual form. The oppressive atmosphere throughout the Sealing Space instantly dissipated.

Naruto Uzumaki walked step by step to the deepest part of the water prison and stared at the enormous creature hidden within. "Hey, you monster... are you the Nine-Tails?"

"..."

The Nine-Tails Fox slightly raised its eyes and glanced at Naruto Uzumaki outside the cage.

Though it did not know how this brat had entered, that did not stop it from hating the existence of Jinchuriki.

The Nine-Tails snorted angrily and spat out a single word through clenched teeth. "Get lost!"

"You'd better not speak to me in that tone..."

Naruto Uzumaki stared through the bars at the Nine-Tails Fox inside the cage, his tone gradually turning serious. "Hey, Nine-Tails, give me your chakra and help me unify the entire ninja world... If I'm not mistaken, that should be how I'm supposed to talk to it, right?"

"Get lost!"

"..."

His first conversation with the Nine-Tails had not gone very well.

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Before Tsunade died: "Naruto, I'll leave Orochimaru in your care..."

Before Sasuke died: "Naruto, I'll leave Orochimaru in your care..."

Before Naruto died: "Nine-Tails, I'll leave Orochimaru in your care..."

Orochimaru: Something feels off...