KURAMA, THE WITNESS of ten thousand summers, finds themself at a loss. They have been called many things by many beings -- a cataclysm, a source of power, and even a divine deity -- but never has anything capable of complex thought considered them to be useless...and yet, as Naruto Uzumaki weeps into an empty sky, they can't seem to think of any way to help.

And how awful the sound of Naruto's cries are, grating coarsely against Kurama's ears. They are one with their host now, and so they feel every shred of agony that surges through his body -- the way his fingers curl into the barren earth, the way his form trembles with exhaustion, the way his mind whirls in distress, it's all so profoundly real that it nearly brings Kurama to tears.

How horrible it is to be mortal. Too many emotions for too tiny an existence. Kurama, ancient and unconquerable, is nearly brought to tears. They can't cry now, however, not when Naruto needs an ally with a clear head. Instead, they ponder and ponder and try not to focus on how completely hopeless the situation is. So, as Naruto mourns his fallen comrades, Kurama thinks, and as Naruto trudges through the wasteland that was once the world, Kurama still thinks, and as Naruto slowly loses hope of finding a single living being wandering the empty plains, Kurama continues to think.

It's hard to keep thinking when they start to feel the tendrils of rage and resentment that bubble up inside of Naruto, emotions aimed specifically at Kurama, because Kurama's powers have made him just as immortal as any chakra beast. It's even harder to think when Naruto finally, finally lets all of the resentment drain away, admitting quietly that he just wants this all to end, and his sorrow at not being able to end it himself.

Naruto's sorrow, however, is the first clue. Naruto was certainly not always happy, but his willpower was something Kurama had always admired. For him to give up mere hours after defeat is absolutely out of character, even if the likelihood of a triumphant return is abysmal. The next clue is the earth, parched desert-dry, stubbornly choking out every tendril of life in its clutches. No humans, no bugs, not even the corpse of a plant -- from Kurama's calculations, the final battle had dragged Naruto all the way to the Land of Fire, so for there to be no vegetation at all is impossible.

It's Naruto's shuddering breath that finally sparks recognition in Kurama's brain. What emerges is a faint memory, murky from being dragged through the fabric of space and time, but it is enough for Kurama to immediately roar, "Naruto, cover your mouth and nose!"

Naruto acts on instinct, promptly tearing a strip of cloth off the sleeve of his shirt and covering the bottom portion of his face. "Kurama?" he asks, uncertain. The confusion is justified considering there is no substance that can harm him.

"The air is not suitable for you to breathe," Kurama explains, desperately trying to dredge up more details of their memory. "Take as few breaths as you can."

They almost feel Naruto's tired smile of reassurance as he assures, "Poison doesn't work on me anymore, remember? Honestly, I've always had a good tolerance for it, even before Pervy Sage messed with the seal." His thin pretense of stability wavers at the mention of his late mentor, but Kurama did not have the time to care about that.

"You cannot die but chemicals can still affect you, and no amount of tolerance can withstand several hours of inhaling tainted air with no protection. Cover your mouth and nose while I think of something."

Naruto, small and shaky, says, "I can help."

"No," Kurama denies immediately, "your cognitive abilities have already been compromised. Take care of your breathing, I am perfectly capable of thinking of a solution to this problem on my own."

Ignoring any protests Naruto may have had, Kurama tugs harder and harder on their memory, willing it to dislodge and reveal to them its secrets. They must work quickly, or else Naruto's condition will continue to worsen until he's completely hysterical. Eventually, the effects might even creep into Naruto's abstract thought and infect Kurama, which would mean they're both screwed. However, surfacing such a far-off memory is no easy feat -- it requires a single-minded dedication, a sinking of (metaphorical) claws, and a considerable amount of time. Finally, after what feels like hours but absolutely could have been seconds, Kurama remembers.

"Naruto," Kurama says, "find a body of water and submerge yourself."

Naruto, sluggish and mildly alarmed, responds, "I can't see any water!"

"Walk eastward for three hours."

"Will I make it?"

To be honest, they don't know. If they're doing the calculations correctly, Naruto realistically has about three days before his willpower finally withers away, and perhaps two more days before his cognitive faculties cease entirely. It is true that Naruto will not die, but there are fates worse than death, and losing any meaningful association with consciousness for the rest of eternity may very well be one of them. With their luck, though, Kurama may have calculated wrong. Perhaps Naruto has even less time than they expect. Quite frankly, they don't know.

Naruto accepts their silence with resignation. "Okay," he says, "I'll do it. I'm facing eastward right now, right?"

As if he needs to ask. "You are."

"Good."

It takes two hours for Naruto to get to the lake due to Kurama coaxing him into a running pace. The water reflects the brilliant cerulean sky which stretches endlessly into the horizon, not a cloud in sight, but Naruto pays it no mind. Instead, he starts the slow sink into the water, following Kurama's instructions to breathe in the liquid, shoving the urge to cough and gag deep down within himself. Kurama spares a single second for mourning Naruto's sorry state before focusing on the problem at hand.

"Naruto," they say, "the water should stop the poisoning for now. The composition of the air has changed and you were feeling the effects."

"How?" Naruto demands.

"It happened naturally over the last few million years."

"What?" Naruto asks. The water is slowly washing out the remaining gas in his system and, slowly, his mind returns to its normal self. "It hasn't been a million years --"

"It has," Kurama denies. "At the very end of your battle with Kaguya Otsutsuki, I performed a desperate technique, remember? The intent was simply to put distance between the two of you, but..."

Naruto finishes, "It ended Kaguya. And just about everything else." He pauses and glances out of the corners of his eyes, noticing the aquatic flora and fauna surrounding him. "Or...most of it, I guess."

Kurama chuckles. "I didn't end anything. I did exactly what I intended to: I put distance between you and Kaguya...about five million years of it."

"That's not how that works," Naruto says faintly. "That's -- time is not a distance, Kurama!"

"On the contrary, time is very much a distance. Mortals may not consider it as such because it is always constant to you, moving endlessly forward, but beings such as me can wade through it as easily as you walk across a plain. Chakra, by its very nature, exists in every space at all points of time, and as long as chakra exists, I will exist. I simply took advantage of that and brought you along with me."

"So, time travel," Naruto finishes. "You performed time travel, Kurama!"

"I suppose."

"Take us back," Naruto says, his stubborn resilience finally having returned. "Kaguya is still destroying everything --"

"Kaguya is still doing nothing," Kurama snaps. "Anything she did ended five million years ago. I don't know if she has managed to last this long, but if she is, she has certainly lost interest in a dying world. This is past tense, not present."

"Then take us back, we can change it!" Naruto says.

"That is what I'm trying to do," Kurama responds. "Please allow me some time to figure out the calculations. The last time I attempted this, I put us so far into the future that the climate of the Land of Fire is unrecognizable. I need to concentrate so that I don't fling us back before humanity ever existed."

"Or before you were created, I guess," Naruto says.

"I have always been, and I will always be. The Sage of Six Paths merely shaped me into a being."

Naruto chooses not to respond to that, and Kurama cannot blame him. Instead, they continue their calculations. In all honesty, they have no way to fine-tune this technique, at least not on a scale as short as singular years. Taking the both of them five million years into the past should be easy enough, but sending Naruto to the exact moment they left? Or even before that, at the start of the battle? That level of precision seems absolutely impossible. Unless...

"Naruto," Kurama says, "I may have to send you there on your own."

"What?"

"This requires a level of precision I did not anticipate, and sending two beings to such an exact instance will be much harder than sending a single one. Do not worry, I will follow soon after, it's simply that you'll be making the journey before I do."

"That sounds insane," Naruto breathes, eyes squeezing shut as he focuses intensely on his own mindscape. "I'm in."

Of course.

"This will be jarring," Kurama says, "so be warned."

"Wait, we're doing it right now?"

"I have gotten as close to the timeframe as I can. All that's left is performing the technique." Well, that's not exactly true, but every time Kurama attempts to further fine-tune it, they only succeed in making it worse, and they are not exactly a patient being. "Are you ready?"

"No -- er, yes? Maybe?"

Close enough. "I will see you on the other side, Naruto. Until then."

"Until then!"

Kurama seals their eyes shut and steels themself. Then, with a powerful pulse of chakra, Naruto vanishes into thin air, leaving Kurama finally free. It's a bit cramped in the lake, and the fish seem absolutely terrified of them, but Kurama pays it all little mind. Instead, they focus intently on the same time period that they have sent Naruto to. Every second outside of Naruto's body, though, causes nothing but disturbances. Suddenly, they are bombarded with real sensations, not just ones filtered through a mortal body. Every current of the lake, every brush of the aquatic plants, every ridge in the lake bed, it's all a distraction. Kurama -- the witness of a thousand summers -- is just as impatient as ever, so when it finally feels right, they launch the technique.

It's only mid-disintegration that they realize how off they were. As the environment disappears around them and their vision turns dark, they only manage to conjure a single thought...

Oh no.

---

Uhhh hi. Idk if anyone will actually read this but if you are, please note that this is just me trying to get out of writer's block. Don't expect much from this, but i will be trying out some (hopefully) new concepts in this fic. 

Also, if anyone reading this has also read the gambler the thief and the black market boss, im really sorry about that and i promise I've been working on it. idk if ill ever publish the next part, but it is still in my docs, waiting for inspiration.

Anyway, i hope you enjoyed this. feel free to stick around, and drop a vote <3