Chapter 1: Naruto's Death: Rebirth in the Ninja Era

Konoha Year 85,

In the Hidden Leaf Village, the settlement had lost its former vitality; surrounding the village were dozens of craters, large and small. The seven Hokage stone statues, once the pride of the villagers, were gone, leaving only the Seventh Hokage's head, and even that was half-destroyed.

At the village center, where the Hokage's office building once stood, there was now nothing but a crater over a hundred meters deep.

Clearly, a earth-shattering battle had taken place here. Lying in the great crater were two figures. One had pale skin, eyes bearing the Byakugan passed down through generations of the Hyuga clan of the Hidden Leaf Village—a source of their pride—and a Rinne-Sharingan growing on his forehead. He resembled Erlang Shen from Chinese mythology, yet now he lay utterly motionless, clearly dead.

The other figure had short golden hair, azure eyes, bandages wrapped around his right hand, and distinct whisker-like markings on his cheeks. This was none other than the Seventh Hokage, whose statue had been half-destroyed: Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto was clearly severely injured; his face was pale, his breathing erratic, and his body covered in blood. Had he been an ordinary person, he would have died long ago, but the Uzumaki clan was renowned for their formidable vitality. With timely treatment and a few days of rest, such injuries would heal for them!

Unfortunately, within a hundred li of the Hidden Leaf Village, not a single person could be found, nor even any animals! Naruto Uzumaki lay quietly there; the wounds on his body did not hinder his thoughts, and at this moment, his mind was exceptionally clear.

Reviewing his life: from birth, when his parents made him a jinchuriki, sealing the Nine-Tails within him; through his youth, mocked and treated with cold indifference; to his best friend's defection, his master's death, saving Konoha, and becoming the praised hero of the Hidden Leaf! Later, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, he defeated Obito Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, and Kaguya Otsutsuki, reconciled with Sasuke to become heroes of the ninja world, married Hinata, fathered Boruto and Himawari, and ascended as the Seventh Hokage.

Because of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the ninja world had changed; villages understood one another, large-scale wars ceased, and nations communicated more frequently. The Five Kage Summit, intermarriages, joint Chunin Exams, and exchanges became increasingly widespread. It seemed everything was heading in a positive direction!

Who could have expected good times to be short-lived? The Otsutsuki clan arrived once again. In one battle, Sasuke lost his Rinnegan, and the Nine-Tails sacrificed himself to aid Naruto! Stripped of the Nine-Tails and under pressure from the Otsutsuki, Naruto could only rely on his Uzumaki chakra and Shadow Clone Jutsu, constantly learning until he had mastered nearly every nation's ninjutsu!

Sadly, even this could not change the tide of battle! To save Konoha, Sasuke sacrificed himself. Before dying, he transplanted his Sharingan into Naruto. Watching Sasuke's face filled with reluctance before death, Naruto silently accepted this responsibility, dedicating everything to complete what Sasuke could not.

With the Sharingan, Naruto gained Yin-nature chakra, causing his power to surge once again. Yet the enemy arrived too quickly and too fiercely; this foe was even stronger than the last. Before Naruto could familiarize himself with the Sharingan, the enemy unleashed a devastating technique that wiped out everyone in Konoha in a single strike!

Yes, everyone. Because Sasuke had sacrificed himself, the village was in a state of emergency, and even the Fifth Hokage Tsunade and Kakashi had returned to take command, only to be killed instantly by that single move. Enraged, Naruto's Sharingan evolved into the Rinnegan! Through a reckless, all-out assault, he finally slew the enemy!

But what did it matter? His family and friends were gone, and the feeling of loneliness returned to Naruto Uzumaki once more!

"I can only use that technique," Naruto muttered to himself. Reincarnation Rebirth was a forbidden jutsu invented by Orochimaru; it allowed the soul and memories of a designated person to return to a random location. The technique's potency depended on the caster's chakra; with Naruto's current chakra reserves, he could randomly resurrect everyone who had participated after the Fourth Great War to a single point.

This technique seemed powerful, but its cost and risks were extremely high. Using Naruto's Six Paths power as a medium, he would sacrifice his own life and soul, meaning he himself could not be reborn. Furthermore, the target had to be someone already deceased, and the resurrection location was random. If they arrived in the future and the designated person had not yet drawn their last breath, they could simply recall this life and perhaps find a more peaceful end.

However, if the designated person had already passed away and their soul and memories failed to locate their body, they would dissipate. If the time was too early and the designated person had not yet been born, the soul and memories would gradually consume chakra, vanishing completely in about a year.

Even if one was fortunate enough to succeed, their descendants would essentially be different people! For instance, if Naruto and Hinata were resurrected to a time around the Chunin Exams, even if they married again, the children they bore would likely not be Boruto and Himawari! After all, every birth is a miracle, and such miracles are nearly impossible to replicate.

Due to its instability, Naruto did not wish to use it unless absolutely necessary, but the ninja world was already destroyed!

Because Naruto, Sasuke, and the other four Kage had repeatedly thwarted the Otsutsuki clan's plans, the clan had grown impatient. Abandoning their idea of planting a God Tree in the ninja world, they decided to destroy the planet outright. Amid the Otsutsuki's reckless slaughter, the Kage and ninja of every nation had essentially perished...

Thanks to the strength of Naruto and Sasuke, Konoha could still dispatch Tsunade, Kakashi, and other ninja to support other nations. However, Tsunade, Kakashi, and the others had limited power; under the Otsutsuki clan's desperate assault, no nation could withstand them. In the end, they could only have Konoha's ninja escort the descendants of the hidden villages to Konoha, while the Kage of each nation and their respective ninja stayed behind to hold the line, expending their final breaths to perish alongside their villages at the hands of the Otsutsuki clan!

Tragically, the orphans left behind by the various nations also perished in Naruto's recent battle... Now, the ninja world was virtually devoid of ninja. The last thing Naruto could do was to carry the souls of countless ninja and gamble his life on one chance.

Naruto slowly rose, sealing his memories from after the Fourth Great War to entrust them to someone. Although he himself could not be reborn, someone needed to inform the others of what had happened to prevent panic. If successful, he hoped they would seize this opportunity to alter this despairing future.

The person he chose was his father, Minato Namikaze. Naruto slowly formed hand seals with both hands; the seals resembled those of the Reaper Death Seal, but included a few additional signs. As Naruto completed the seals, all his chakra surged forth. Immediately, his life force began to drain rapidly; his originally golden hair turned white, and wrinkles multiplied across his face. With a loud shout,

Naruto slowly collapsed. Strangely, his body gradually dissipated into the wind, vanishing from this land as if he had never existed in this world at all!