"It's only one man! We can win this!" They came as an endless wave, thousands of men and woman, blades at the ready. They were the best of the best, the Jounin shinobi of the five great nations.

And he picked them apart like a bento box.

Those demonic red eyes the last sight many would ever see. With but a glimpse, men dropped to their knees, crippled by a web of hellish illusions that smashed their minds to pieces and reduced skilled warriors to quivering lumps. His fists moved like lightning, shattering anything they touched. Even armor was no protection, a glancing strike cut like the legendary Chidori of Hatake Kakashi. Skin, bone, steel, all of it gave way beneath a barrage of perfect strikes. His legs surged like tidal waves, cleaving through men no matter how many stood in his path. A trio rushed his unguarded back, hoping for a lucky strike. Praying for the good grace of Kami to guide their hands as they gave their lives for a single chance at wounding the demon before them. They carried swords, each blade a legendary edge, honed to perfection in countless battles, bathed in the staining red of human blood.

Then they fell away, each man cleanly bisected at the waist. Their swords shattered, their flak jackets pulped, shards of bone whistled away to land in the bloody sands. All killed with a single kick.

Madara Uchiha never even turned around. He had never felt so strong. So vibrant. Such power! It was euphoric. He had never felt anything close to this in life. He was immortal, all powerful, and a blasphemer of the highest order. The chakra of the underworld coursed throughout his veins, drinking deep of the Shinigami's power.

With a simple palm strike, he turned insides to jelly. With but a kick, he tore souls from the plans of petty gods, and cast them into the underworld.

The Shinigami was fuming. Madara could feel it's soul-rending eyes upon him.

He laughed, It could look all it wanted. He was unkillable. The Legendary Edo Tensei, a technique that mocked the gods and all their plans. Through his link to the underworld, he could even see their fates… Looming over their heads like butchers knives.

Madara crushed the throat of an Iwa shinobi, the man who would have gone on to marry the Tsuchikage's granddaughter. Had he lived, he would have brought Iwa to the forefront of trade, diplomacy, and peace. One blessed personally as a child by Ame-no-Uzume, Goddess of Dawn and Revelry, The Heavenly Female. He could hear her snarling in his ear, trying to force her way onto the mortal plane and end his existence.

"Now that's not very feminine." He whispered under his breath, and Uzume's divine efforts redoubled. There was something beautiful about taunting the gods. Madara carved through a half-dozen people to reach his target, a Kiri shinobi who looked ready to piss himself.

The son of a rice farmer, and a child prodigy in the shinobi arts. He was still unknown internationally due to the Kiri civil war, but this man would rise through the ranks before revealing an entirely new Kekkai Genkai. He would be the first of a generation, and his son would someday be Mizukage. The blessing of Hachiman, earned through years of backbreaking training.

Madara grabbed a handful of his hair, tearing his head off with a flick of the wrist. The god of war was howling in the underworld, raising a bloody ruckus.

The Shinigami sat there. Watching. Waiting for something.

"What are you waiting for, you decrepit band of blessings? You have nothing left. You cannot touch me. None of your chosen will ever survive to challenge me. I have toppled the gods. I am divine upon this plane of existence!" This he shouted, and it carried over the battlefield. The men around him, tired of being slaughtered, fell back to attempt a ranged attack. Their kunai, shuriken, and jutsu barrage was easily avoided.

But why should he dodge it? The fire jutsu's singed his flesh. The boulders broke against his skin. The water techniques soaked him. The lightning crackled onto his skin, before fading. The wind did nothing more than style his hair. Countless metal blades stuck out of his skin at every angle, but fell out when his immortal ash body healed.

"Do you see it now?! Do you know fear?! You cannot hurt me. You blades cannot scratch a god!" Madara weathered the storm of their attacks… But now he was bored. And a bored god is a dangerous foe.

"Y- you aren't a god!"

Spiral red eyes flickered towards the unfortunate speaker, trapping him in a gaze that promised naught but swift and painful death. The man was a Suna chunin, a man so far out of his depth that he was practically a sparrow at the bottom of the sea.

The blessing of Kuninotokotachi hung above him, and the young man wore it like a shroud. This was a man with the blessing of the Fate-Breaker. He had no future, no grand destiny. His destiny was his to wield, as whatever blade he wished. Even as Madara's murderous eyes stared him down, the young man felt… something. Something settled upon his shoulder like a comforting hand. He knew he had to keep speaking.

"The gods are powerful! So powerful that they would never kill everyone just so they could prove a point! You're just a frau-" A stone the size of a fingernail hit the young man's face at speeds nearing the laser techniques of Kumo. His head turned inside out, before it simply exploded.

Madara's red eyes scanned the crowd apathetically. "You were saying?" He gestured towards the corpse. "No no, I'm not going to interrupt you. Keep going. What was it you said about me?"

A plucky shinobi spoke up, this one bearing the blessing of Fujin. "He said you were a fraud!" Before the words had left his mouth, another stone tore through his skull.

"I am a god. I am divine. I am immortal. And if you do not fear me…" Madara looked around the crowd, his eyes now a ripple-marked purple. "Then I shall show you the true power of a god. You will all die before me!"

The cloud layer broke, and a massive shadow covered the battlefield. A meteorite surged forth from the skies, hurtling towards the earth. Larger than hokage monument, it covered the entire battlefield and all of the allied shinobi forces.

"FEEL MY WRATH!" Madara cried, his voice reaching the ears of every terrified shinobi. This was it! His moment of supreme victory! After this, nobody would ever again challenge his godhood! The world was his for the taki- "Shinigami? Why are you smiling. You don't smile."

The primordial god of death was grinning, showing off a massive maw of jagged teeth. But it said nothing.

"You can't smile. I've won. Don't you see? Your precious world is mine. You have lost. Give up. Scream. Cry. Shout. STOP SMILING!" He was raging at the grinning death god, but nothing was changing. "I will gut every single one of your worshippers. I will slaughter your blessed children. I will mock you in every nation of this pitiful world! YOU HAVE NOTHING I CANNOT TAKE FROM YOU!"

Then the death god moved. While the other gods cursed and raged and fumed at the human that was systematically destroying everything they held dear, only the god of death could see the truth. With a single bony finger, it pointed up.

With his Rinneagan activated, Madara looked up into the sky. The shadowed sky. Because of the meteorite about to impact the earth within the next few seconds. The one right on top of him.

10,000 tons of rock came screaming into the Earth, wreathed in fire as it hit the sandy desert. The Shinobi alliance was vaporized in an instant. The shockwave carried around the world, and the fires followed. The continent shook.

Madara, for all of his abilities, could only watch as his own Jutsu struck in slow motion. All the speed in the world could not save him from this. He saw the impact, as the fires spread, and felt his body burn away bit by bit. The heat turned the ash body into vapor, and the vapor into nothingness.

As the last part of his body burned away, he heard the voice of the Shinigami hissing in his ear, "I wonder what your liver tastes like… Well. We have all of time to find out, little god…"

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

The fires spread across the continent, burning away any hope of life. The shinobi nations were torn apart, demolished, and utterly destroyed. It was an extinction level event. The world would never be the same, but life would always be stubborn. In the various ninja villages, countless civilian evacuation shelters remained intact, riddled with the last of humanity.

A final gift from Izanagi and Izanami. A final blessing. The meteor destroyed much, but even it's destructive impact could not claim everything. And thus, life went on for the people of the elemental nations. The lucky few. But there were hero's yet to be rewarded. Hero's that had given everything in their attempt to fix a mistake of the gods. And just as the Shinigami was due for a reckoning with the self-proclaimed god Madara Uchiha, so too did Amaterasu owe a reckoning to the human Hero's who lost their lives before they could even see the battle.

In a palace of gold in the highest peak of the skies, a smiling feminine face greeted a handful of the blessed. Those who had no chance of survival as close as they were to the impact, though they had never even seen the battlefield. Still unsure of what happened, they entered her palace, as she addressed their leader.

"Greetings… Naruto."

Her face was sculpted of the purest porcelain, lacking any blemish or mark. Her eyes were the stars, infinite and limitless, with a sense of infinite distance between them and those she saw. Robes of the richest colors adorned her bodies, and despite the manly urge to ogle a goddesses bust (Out of respect for his mentor of course!) Not one pair of eyes in the room could drop from her face.

An air of peace had covered the room when she spoke, and her bruised and bloody travelers dared not break it. The words of a goddess had a magic of their own. A magic that no human would rush to follow up. Anything they said would simply sound… Childish. Ignorant. Feeble-minded. In the face of a voice that carried an eternity of wisdom, a whistful sigh became the grandest of philosophical considerations.

They could have sat there in limbo forever. Her waiting for one brave enough to speak. The group waiting with eager hearts for the next sparkle of brilliance to slide free of those perfect lips. Fortunately, there was one man willing to look like the greatest fool in the world. A child of Kuninotokotachi.

"Er… Lady what are we doing here?! I've got to save everyone!" He was shouting at a goddess, to the distraught/horrified looks of his companions.

Amaterasu shook her head slowly. A cloud of dust was no way for one such as this to lose his life. She could feel the power pouring off the child. He could have been amazing. He could have changed the world. But in the face of such failure… Would he do it all again? That was the real question. Mulling over her next words evidently took too long for the impatient boy.

"Lady?! HEY! What are you doing?! Come on everyone, we have to go! Somebody has to stop…" His voice trailed away, after Kakashi set a hand on his shoulder. "Kakashi… No… You can't just give up. They need us…"

Another hand was set on his shoulder, this time the delicate hand of Hinata. The shy girl offered only a sad smile and words blurred by a choking sob. "It's o-okay N-naruto… You did your b-best."

Another soft hand, the fingertips calloused from countless games of Shogi touched his back. "It's troublesome, but true. You know what happened."

Kiba's hand, clawed fingertips and all, touched him. Shino's hand joined the others. Then Choji. Rock Lee. Neji. Ino. Tenten. Naruto looked around at all of them, as vertigo swirled about his head.

"No… Guys! We have to keep trying…" Sakura's fingertips covered his mouth, tears spilling down her eyes. "Naruto." She whispered, as a lone teardrop gathered on her chin before spiraling to the floor.

While the hearts around him shattered, Naruto could only look at the floor. He remembered the winds. The steaming, fiery, burning winds. He was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, the hardest being to kill in the entire elemental nations. He could still feel his nerves burning as they tried desperately to heal. Of course he knew he was dead. But if near-death hadn't stopped him before, why would death?

Tears spilled from his own eyes, joining the falling sorrows of his friends and companions. They had given up. Naruto could feel it. The loss, the sorrow, the tragedy, flowing off them like a fog. And it made him really damn angry.

"YOU!" He spun, pointing an accusing finger at Amaterasu. "YOU HEARTLESS BITCH! How could you let this happen?! All of this! These were good people! How could you just let things end like this! You murderer! You Monster! YOU DEMON!"

"Me." Amaterasu whispered, and her voice flowed like a comforting wind across the heartbroken band of shinobi. "This was not our plan for you Naruto. This was never our plan. You were to be… Well, it doesn't do any good now. What do you care what your future held. Let me get to the point-"

"NO WAY LADY!" And the fish hopped on the bait she had dangled. Amaterasu let a smile grace her perfect features, a smile that lessened the sorrows of those around her. "You have to tell me what happened! I need to know!"

Her chuckle carried the very warmth of the sun she embodied, and suddenly the sorrows of a tragic and fiery death melted away. "Of course, child of prophecy. Come here. All of you, come here. There are things I must share with you… As well as an opportunity, should you wish for it."

Naruto walked towards her, not intimidated by her massive golden throne and robes that spoke of endless wealth. Up close he realized that Amaterasu was a good bit taller than him, and that despite the dainty robes she met his eyes and gave him a friendly smile. She might be rich and all powerful (On this plane of existence anyways) but Naruto could tell that she was a down to earth person.

Amaterasu ran her fingers through his sunburst-yellow hair, and her eyes found distant visions of a past that should have been. "Oh Naruto... We had such great things in store for you. Such beautiful, wonderful, incredible things. A child, wisdom tempered in loneliness. Determination crafted from painful isolation. A dream, forever longing, never within your reach-"

Naruto felt something in the smile she gave him. Something beside the pleasant warmth that rolled off of her whenever she gave even the slightest inkling of happiness. It felt like the same warmth, only… Inside of his body. It was familiar. But where? Her fingers tangled his hair, drawing a reactive chuckle out of the warrior without equal. "Hey! Stop that, it tickles!"

"-Until you had already soared past it. Naruto. You could never be the Hokage."

In an instant his happiness had shriveled up and died. Just like his body on earth. Naruto's sad gaze began to fall, only stopped when pale fingers traced his chin, raising his head with an astonishing level of strength.

"Do not lose hope so quickly. The dreams of a child and the dreams of a man have many differences. In fact… You would marry the Hokage in your Twenty-Seventh year of age, after many long years of courtship. The love between the two of you had bloomed for many years, and it was only after bringing peace to the Elemental Nations that you could join in union without the power-base destabilizing. In fact, your love story would carry on for a thousand thousand years. Until even your name was forgotten, and all that remained was the simple story of the scared princess with a heart of steel, and the orphan boy with the sun in his heart."

In the corner, one Hyuuga Princess could feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest! But still the goddess spoke, and despite the heart-stopping news, she could not bear to ignore anything this fair woman said.

"You would never be Hokage. For the Hokage would rule Konoha. You were the Hinode-Kage. The leader of all touched by the sun. The first man to unify the Elemental Nations, and to keep them free from the dark taint of war."

Naruto found himself unable to speak. There was so much to say, but the words dried up within his mouth. The water stolen by tears now running along his whisker-marked cheeks. Not all of his party were suffering from the same mysterious "dust-in-my-eye" ailment though.

"WOOO! Go Naruto! Do you hear that?!" Kiba, ever the loudmouth, was cheering. Shikamaru gave a cool thumbs-up. Kakashi a trademarked eye-smile. Lee bent back, howling proudly about Naruto's ever expanding fires of youth! The rest were too dumbfounded to react.

Except for one lonely girl with pink hair, who had never felt so insignificant in her entire life. Who had lost the only man she had ever loved. And who found herself thinking, in the far-flung traitorous corners of her mind, that maybe Naruto wouldn't have been such a terrible leader.

"But the tale does not end there, young Shinobi. You did not think things would end so soon? No. You would travel the world, both body and shadow, seeing all their is to see. You would watch your children grow, always, and spoil them rotten. Some of them grew lazy. Others jealous. A few even resentful. And in the end, when they had gained their bruises and scars, their broken bones and lost comrades, you would welcome them back with open arms. You never forgot them. Not even one. Your descendants, for a thousand years would uphold your legacy, the Uzimaki name known far and wide once more.

Not for sealing. Or longevity. But for honesty. Fairness. Compassion and love. The most noble bloodline in all the land. Even when it was the poorest. A fine legacy. A legacy that anyone would gladly claim, correct?"

Blue eyes looked up at her, and the big beaming smile on Naruto's face could not be denied. But there was a burr in his heart. A problem that itched at him, until the smile faltered. The goddess was all to quick to spot it, and she waited patiently for Naruto to ask the question she had always known he would ask. Not from prophecy, or foretelling. But from a simple understanding of a human she had a unique fondness for.

"W-what happens to all of that now? The peace. The love. Dammit… The Elemental Nations would have been free from all this if I had just… My friends would still be ali-"

"IDIOT!" A slender fist struck his head from the side, knocking the tangled mop of blonde hair out of the goddesses fingers and sending him sliding across the floor. Naruto groaned, looking up at his fuming teammate as she cradled a hand with at least two broken knuckles.

"S-sakura? Why-" He looked into her eyes, the tear-stained, make-up dripping pools of endless sorrow, each carrying an intensity to rival even the hate-filled orbs of the 9 tailed demon fox.

"Because you're an idiot that's why! Oh boo-hoo-hoo! My friends wouldn't have died if I could just stop the most powerful jutsu ever created by anyone! How the hell were you supposed to stop that?! Stop blaming yourself for everything! Bad stuff happens from time to time! Learn to live with it, get over it, and stop crying onto Amateras-"

Her face turned from angry, to shocked, to scared, to horrified, to fearful, then back to shocked, in the time it took to blink. Sakura realized that she had just interrupted a moment between the Queen of the Gods and her chosen champion. Bowing immediately as the apologies tumbled free of her mouth, she retreated as fast as possible (While still being polite) and the mortified mortal decided then and there to remain silent and inactive for the rest of the meeting. Hopefully Amaterasu would forget to turn her into a pile of ash.

Naruto just laughed, hopping back up to his feet. "Thanks Sakura. I needed that. Now miss goddess lady-"

"Amaterasu O Mi Kami."

"Bless you, that's some cold you got. Anyways, lady." Naruto walked right up to her throne, sitting down right in front of it, and meeting her gaze perfectly. After all, he had experience staring down immortal gods with enough power to annihilate him with a stray fart. "What happens now?"

"Well…" She paused, looking straight into the fiery eyes of the young man before her. "That depends. On you, and your friends. You see, Madara was a fate-breaker. The chosen of Kuninotokotachi just as you were Naruto. A man of his own destiny, with the power to shape those of others. Then something happened. The powers he called upon were powers given to him by gods from another realm, eager to corrupt our world. Had he not killed himself with his own technique, he would currently be corrupting everything we have painstakingly created. We would like to strike back at these foul gods. Beings of chaos and murder, slaughter and death."

She set a hand upon Naruto's shoulder, and he could feel the determination flowing through her veins. "We gods do not have children Naruto. But we have the children we bless. They are ours, and we love them all the same. I have lost seven hundred and eighteen children today Naruto. I am hungry for my pound of flesh. I will take my pound of flesh." A discernible bloodthirst settled in her eyes, so fierce it actually made Naruto fairly uncomfortable. The rest of the rooms residents were sweating up a storm as divine killing intent cut through their bodies.

"This is not your problem Naruto. You have earned whichever afterlife you desire. All of you have. So! Without any other rambling from an old woman who let everyone down, what would you all like?" Stopping on a dime, the killing intent vanished, and her warmth returned.

As a whole, the group of shinobi took a moment, eyes connected for fleeting moments of silent agreement… And then they looked to Naruto.

A bemused Naruto, who had no idea why everyone was looking at him. "Uh… Guys? This is your afterlife. It's your choice. Tell her what you want."

Neji stepped forward, stopping a few feet from Naruto. "When you met me, I was a child blind with rage. I thought of nothing but murder. But through you, I have become the man I am today. A man leaps and bounds above my previous self. I cannot see everything, not even with these eyes. But if I could grow so much in a single lifetime of knowing you, imagine what I could do with a second? Where you go, I will follow. Not for revenge, but for friendship."

"YOSH! Never could I have said such youthful words! Neji, the flames of your youth are soaring high! I swear that mine shall rise to match them, or I will perform six-thousand one finger hand squats!"

"Troublesome. But I suppose anything's better than being dead. That sounds so troublesome…"

"Shikamaru, If you're going, I'm going. You still owe me a bag of chips, remember?"

"Really? We just got aced by a meteor and you're all ready for more? Well… I suppose somebody has to watch your backs… If I'm not around, who would watch Neji's blind spot?"

The Hyuuga visibly twitched at Tenten's pinpoint accurate words. Oh how he mourned his no-longer-a-secret shame. This afterlife could not possibly be more humiliating.

Until Naruto misheard. "What?! Neji's got a bald spot?!"

While Neji took his stoic fuming to an entirely new level of passive-aggressive glaring, another Hyuuga had already made her choice. She was about to loudly proclaim her support, when Kiba beat her to the punch.

"Yeah! Naruto, we're all with ya! Shino, Hinata and I. We'll follow you right into whatever world is next! Right guys?"

Hinata nodded slowly, sad that her moment had been lost. But Shino Aburame shook his head.

"I am not going with you. I cannot feel my Kikaichu. I need them back. In another world, I would have no chance at finding them again, and reincarnation is too risky. I will be rooting for you all. As much as I am able."

Nobody had ever heard Shino say that much, and for a moment they forgot about his words as they marveled at his speaking! Shino sounded… Surprisingly young. Like a ten year old boy. His characteristic gruff voice was gone, vanished now that his bugs were no longer living inside of his flesh. Then, all that he had said settled in on his companions.

Kiba suddenly realized what was wrong. "Hey wait a sec guys! Where's Akamaru?! Miss… God lady…"

A raised hand stopped him. "Fear not for your companion Kiba. For though he misses you, he is at peace in the land after-death." From her fingertips, a glowing field spread out. It filled their air with a rainbow of colors, before slowly clearing. Everyone could see a shining field of the greenest grass, full of butterflies and deer. The grass was tall, and in an instant, a trio of massive white canines had lunged out, rending the deer into so many fleshy lumps. Kiba recognized Akamaru, but also Hanakura and Toshi. All three were dogs from the Inuzuka kennels.

"See? Akamaru is at peace, joined by his brothers. All is well. All is happy. Kiba, if you so desire, you may live among them. Your families joined forever in the eternal hunt."

Kiba looked at the happy picture, Akamaru licking blood off of his muzzle, chewing on a massive chunk of deer antler. He looked so happy… "Are you kidding lady? I already told Naruto I'd go. So I'm going! I ain't just gonna leave my friends to fight on their own!"

Still, he did look at the image longingly.

Amaterasu snapped her fingers, and the vision stretched down to the floor. "Very well Kiba, I know your mind has been made. But you may visit until the time to depart arises. All of you will have the opportunity to say your goodbyes. Simply step through the field."

As Kiba left, Hinata looked towards Shino. "Are you sure you won't reconsider? We will both miss you Shino… You were a good friend. And a great teammate."

Reflective glasses hid the wetness of his eyes. "I am sure Hinata. You were one of the finest companions an Aburame could ever hope to find. But I could not become someone new. It terrifies me. I cannot conquer my fears a second time. Please forgive me."

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and Shino slowly moved his arms around her waist. The hug was awkward, but strangely comforting. "I understand Shino. Enjoy your eternity. Everyone understands…"

"Even Kiba. And that is saying something." Shino finished, a dry chuckle rolling off his tongue.

"Goodbye Shino. I will miss you, your bugs too. Tell them I said hello."

A shimmering portal opened in front of him, and the bug using shinobi walked through.

Amaterasu broke the silence that was rapidly settling over the gathered shinobi when she clapped her hands and thunder struck outside. "Well! Let me tell you all about what will happen. I'm sure there will be more of you who opt to join the afterlife, so do not finish your goodbyes just yet. Come closer children, and I shall tell you about the future…"

They crowded around her, breathing in the faintly spicy aroma of a goddess. The very air around her felt purer, and a spell of relaxation covered their bones as she began to speak-

"Oh! Before It slips my mind. Come back to us Kiba." The portal appeared above their heads, and the feral-looking ninja fell out onto the hard marble floor.

While only a few minutes had passed, to him it felt like days. He had visited Akamaru and his family, and scoured the endless hunting plains alongside his canine companion. A truer heaven could never be imagined, and yet… something was missing. There was no thrill. No risk of death. And without that, the endless hunt was just a children's game. In the end, Kiba was glad to leave, though he would always miss Akamaru. Falling hard on his ass was therefore, not what he expected. "GAH! OWWWW! What the, where tha- It's you. I shoulda known!"

"Yes you should have, now sit down and listen. You're all about to make a very dangerous decision." If there was one thing that could shut Kiba up, it was a promise of danger. Ignoring the bruise that would be forming on his backside, the feral ninja hopped to his feet and joined the Konoha 11. Now only ten.

"Now. Should you turn back there is no being in this world that will think less of you. Or your bravery. Or your sacrifice. You will not be called cowards. You have, and will always be, true heroes."

"Lady just get to the story!" Kiba, now wholly unaffected by the aura of wisdom hanging around the goddess, just wanted somebody to get to the damn point!

"Very well then. Madara Uchiha was a man of your world. A child of the gods even! But one fateful day he was tainted by a wicked magic that turned him into the monster that destroyed large swathes of the world. He was corrupted by divine magic…" With a wave of her hands, the image filled the air. A young Uchiha male, wearing standard warriors armor of red lamellar, crawling through the jungle as he desperately fled his pursuers. Then, his bleeding hand knocked a small bit of moss aside, exposing a strange runic marking. Instantly his black eyes swirled into life, the sharingan blazing evilly. The bloodbath that followed looked akin to a Jinchuuriki rampage.

The Konoha 10 looked pale, watching in horror as Madara tore through men with his bare hands. Sakura was shaking like a leaf. "S-so the sharingan came from those weird runes?!" All this time she had romanticized it. The eyes of Rikudo Sennin. A legend reborn. The truth was so much colder.

"Indeed. Magic from another world reacted with those of the UChiha bloodline, spreading this dark taint through their ranks. As blood was spilt, and brother turned on brother, the curse only grew more powerful. The Uchiha began to worship these evil deity's, and almost succeeded in bringing them here, if not for one fatal flaw…"

Naruto knew where this was going. "The Uchiha Massacre!" Or maybe he didn't.

"Not even close. Try two-hundred years before that. No, the Uchiha nobility, those with fully awakened Sharingan, grew too self confident. They rejected the very Gods who gave them power, believing themselves to be divinity. Their clan abandoned the dark beings that had made them great in the first place. There was a small resurgence until the Uchiha massacre stamped out the last embers of that cursed bloodline."

"The same Gods that so despoiled our world will do so to countless more, unless they are stopped. You ten, and a few of your lost comrades, will be sent back to the world of these Gods. You will inhabit new bodies, and destroy those monstrous deities from the ground up. For when they cast their power into this realm… They opened a portal that will only grow in time. If you do not stop these beings within One-Hundred years, they shall be free to send even more of their power into our realm, destroying any hope of peace these poor people could ever have."

"So, noble heroes. I ask you now. Will you cast aside the peace of the afterlife for a new life in a new world? Will you stamp out the seeds of evil that even now threaten the universe? Will you be the heroes you were destined to be?"

Naruto stepped forward, punching a fist into his hand. "Dattebayo!"

"You will receive new bodies, though your spirits remain the same. We believe in you, and know that you will succeed. Beware, the road ahead is dangerous… Take every opportunity you can. For the sake of every world hangs in the balance."

"Well what are you waiting for?! See you guys soon!" Naruto waved as his comrades, moments before the silver field enveloped them all.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Chapter 1 Is off to a slow start! Potential remake of course, but who knows where my inspiration will take me? I have some ideas for characters, and where they would go, but I'm always happy to take suggestions! Criticisms and the like are also quite valued, though I rarely get ones beyond the standard, "You suk, kill yourself." Compliments are also happily read, though I prefer ones that actually mention what you think I've done well.

Emotional impact, particularly portraying every character, was understandably difficult. Let me know what you thought.