Chapter 1: The Death of Naruto and the Rebirth of the Ninja Era

Konoha Year 85.

In Konoha Ninja Village, the village had lost its former vitality; the surrounding area was riddled with dozens of craters, large and small. Of the seven Hokage stone faces that the villagers had once taken such pride in, only the head of the Seventh Hokage remained, and it had been half-destroyed.

At the center of the village, where the Hokage Building once stood, there was nothing left but a crater over a hundred meters wide.

Clearly, a cataclysmic battle had taken place here. Lying in the crater were two figures. One had pale skin and the Byakugan—the pride of the Hyuga Clan, passed down through generations—and on his forehead was a Rinne Sharingan, much like the Erlang Shen of Chinese mythology. He lay motionless, evidently dead.

The other person had short, golden hair, azure eyes, bandages wrapped around his right hand, and distinct whisker-like marks on his cheeks. It was the Seventh Hokage, whose stone face had been half-destroyed: Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto was clearly suffering from severe injuries; his face was pale, his breathing ragged, and his entire body was stained with blood. For an ordinary person, these wounds would have been fatal, but the Uzumaki Clan was famous for their tenacious vitality. With timely rescue and a few days of rest, they could recover from such injuries.

Unfortunately, within a hundred miles of Konoha, there wasn't a single person to be found, not even an animal. Uzumaki Naruto lay there quietly; the wounds on his body did not affect his mind, which remained exceptionally clear.

He reviewed his life: from being treated as a Jinchuriki by his parents at birth, with Kurama sealed inside him; to being mocked and treated with cold indifference in his youth; to his best friend defecting, his master passing away, saving Konoha, and becoming the hero of the village. Later, the Fourth Shinobi World War broke out, and he defeated Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara, and Otsutsuki Kaguya, brought Uchiha Sasuke back, and became a hero of the ninja world. Afterward, he married Hinata, had Boruto and Himawari, and became the Seventh Hokage.

Because of the Fourth Shinobi World War, villages had come to understand one another, large-scale wars had ceased, and there was increasing mutual understanding between nations. The Five Kage Summits, intermarriages, and joint Chunin Exams had made exchanges increasingly frequent. It seemed everything was moving in a positive direction.

Who would have thought that good times wouldn't last? The clan known as the Otsutsuki arrived once again. In one battle, Sasuke lost his Rinnegan, and Kurama sacrificed himself to help Naruto. Having lost Kurama, Naruto, under the pressure of the Otsutsuki, could only rely on his Uzumaki Clan chakra and the Multi Shadow Clone Technique to constantly learn, eventually mastering the ninjutsu of almost every nation.

Unfortunately, this could not change the outcome of the war. To save Konoha, Sasuke sacrificed himself. Before dying, he transplanted his Sharingan to Naruto. Watching the unwillingness on Sasuke's face before he died, Naruto silently accepted this responsibility, exhausting everything to complete what Sasuke had left unfinished.

Because he now possessed the Sharingan, Naruto gained Yin-style chakra, causing his strength to surge once more. But the enemies came too fast and too fiercely. This time, the enemy was even stronger than the last. Before Naruto could even familiarize himself with the Sharingan, the enemy unleashed a devastating blow on Konoha, killing everyone in the village in a single strike.

Yes, everyone. Because of Sasuke's sacrifice, the village was in a state of emergency; even the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, and Kakashi had returned to take charge, but they were all killed by the enemy's single strike. In a fit of rage, Naruto's Sharingan evolved into the Rinnegan. Fighting desperately without regard for the consequences, he finally killed the enemy.

But what did that matter? His family and friends were gone, and the feeling of loneliness had returned to Uzumaki Naruto once again.

"I have no choice but to use that technique," Naruto muttered to himself. Rinne Rebirth was a forbidden jutsu invented by Orochimaru. Using it could send the soul and memories of a designated person back to a random location. The strength of the jutsu was determined by the caster's chakra. With Naruto's current chakra reserves, he could randomly resurrect everyone who had participated in the Fourth Shinobi World War at a single point.

This technique seemed powerful, but the cost and risks were extremely high. Using Naruto's Six Paths Power as a medium, Naruto would have to pay with his own life and soul, meaning he could not be reborn himself. Furthermore, the targets had to be those who had died, and the resurrection point was random. If it were in the future and the target had not yet breathed their last, they could reflect on their life and perhaps pass away peacefully.

But if the target had already passed away and their soul and memories could not find their body, they would dissipate. If the time was too early and the target had not yet been born, the soul and memories would slowly consume chakra, and they would completely vanish in about a year.

Even if it were successful by chance, their descendants would essentially be replaced. For example, if Naruto and Hinata were resurrected and the time point was randomized to around the Chunin Exams, even if they married again later, the children they had would likely not be Boruto and Himawari. After all, the birth of every individual is a miracle, and such miracles are basically impossible to replicate.

Because of its instability, Naruto did not want to use it unless it was a last resort, but the ninja world was already destroyed.

Because Naruto, Sasuke, and the other four Kage had repeatedly thwarted the plans of the Otsutsuki Clan, they had grown impatient. The Otsutsuki Clan abandoned the idea of using the ninja world as a place to plant the God Tree and decided to destroy the planet directly. In the Otsutsuki's reckless slaughter, the Kage and ninjas of various nations were basically all dead.

Because of the strength of Naruto and Sasuke, Konoha had been able to send Tsunade, Kakashi, and other ninjas to support other nations, but Tsunade and Kakashi had limited strength. Under the desperate onslaught of the Otsutsuki Clan, no nation could hold them back. In the end, they could only have Konoha ninjas take the descendants of the villages to Konoha, while the Kage and ninjas of each nation stayed behind to hold them off, using their last breath to be wiped out by the Otsutsuki Clan along with their villages.

Unfortunately, the orphans left behind by the various nations also died in Naruto's final battle. Now, there were basically no ninjas left in the ninja world. The last thing Naruto could do was take the souls of the many ninjas and gamble once with his own life.

Naruto slowly stood up and sealed his memories from after the Fourth Shinobi World War, preparing to hand them to someone. Although he could not be reborn himself, there had to be someone to tell them what had happened to avoid panic. If successful, he hoped they could seize this opportunity to change this desperate future.

The person he chose was his father, Namikaze Minato. Naruto slowly formed hand seals with both hands; the seals were somewhat similar to the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, but with a few extra seals. As Naruto completed the seals, his entire body's chakra was mobilized. Immediately, his life force began to drain rapidly; his golden hair turned white, and wrinkles appeared on his face. With a loud shout—

Naruto slowly collapsed. Strangely, his body slowly dissipated with the wind, disappearing into the land as if he had never come to this world at all. ===== CHAPTER 3 =====