Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: (READ!) Hello readers. This is a new story I have created for your reading pleasure. Now, this story is about Naruto dying and then starting over from the beginning again with knowledge of his past life and the abilities he had learned over the years. This story will stick to canon for a while, (With a few variations here and there) then take on its own direction. There will be flashbacks here and there that will detail Naruto's final moments in battle and with his friends in his past life. Naruto won't be completely overpowered, but he will be far stronger than he was before as a kid and he will mess with people's heads a lot. Other characters will also regain memories of their past life eventually, so it won't just be focusing on Naruto all the time. I don't want to spoil too much of the story, but I really want people to read this fic. I am very proud of how its turning out for me. So treat this story with the same respect you treat my other fics with. Enjoy!

Prologue

They say that the last moments of a person's life are the longest. Until now, Naruto had always thought that notion had been ridiculous. He had always believed someone's final moments were quick and short.

If he could, he'd laugh at how wrong he was.

Time seemed to slow down and freeze. All he could feel was the wetness that soaked his chest. Naruto took this time to ponder this strange feeling. He had wondered what it would feel like when he died. He imagined pain, sadness, but also relief at the thought he would achieve everlasting peace. To tell the truth, he felt the exact opposite.

He didn't feel any pain. There was no sadness or relief.

Naruto felt regret.

His life played like a slideshow in his head, from his harsh childhood, to getting his headband, to meeting his team, to the mission in Wave, Sasuke's depature, training with Jiraiya, fighting with the Akatuski… everything.

Pathetic…

None of those things mattered at this point. Nothing did. Naruto regretted everything. There had been so much he missed, so much time wasted. There was only one thing that mattered now, and the harsh truth was the one thing he truly regretted.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Things were supposed to turn out differently. But no, destiny had seen it fit to stomp on his efforts to save the world and keep him from fulfilling the numerous promises he had made and, in his dying state, just broken. Naruto could see the blackness crawling around the borders of his vision. He dropped to his knees.

Dammit… this was NOT meant to happen…! This can't happen…!

Yet it had happened.

He had failed to stop Madara. He couldn't protect his friends, many of whom had been killed before and during the battle against the ancient Uchiha. He had failed in keeping Madara from acquiring the Kyuubi. He didn't fulfill his promise to Sakura either. He didn't get through to Sasuke, his former best friend's sword sticking out of his chest and through his back.

Behind him he could hear Madara's cackling voice, though he couldn't see his unmasked face. The new jinchuriki of the ten-tailed demon beast laughed as he projected his sharingan onto the moon. Sasuke stood in front of him with a triumphant smirk, looking up as the moon was starting to be consumed by Madara's eye. The Kyuubi's roar sounded miles away, the demon now nothing more than a puppet for Madara, wrecking havoc on the untied army of the ninja villages. The other demon beasts roared with the fox, slaughtering anyone who was fighting against Madara.

Scarlet drops fell, gathered, and pooled beneath him. Naruto's mouth was salty with his own blood. His vision got darker. Some prophecy child he turned out to be. He had let everyone down. He had tried his hardest and failed when he had promised to succeed.

Naruto almost smiled as he remembered his friends. He remembered Kakashi's broken body after fighting Madara. He remembered watching the light fade from Sakura's eyes when Sasuke punched a hold through her chest with the Chidori. He remembered witnessing Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba and Lee's final moments as they held back the Akatsuki who had somehow been brought back from the dead. He remembered Hinata giving her life to protect him from an undead Pain a second time. He remembered each of his loved ones fall. Naruto wondered if he'd catch a glimpse of them on his way to hell. There was no way he'd be forgiven for the amount of lives he had failed to protect.

His knees failed him as the longest moments of his life bled away. He closed his eyes, waiting for his body to settle itself in the pool of his blood and his soul to taken by the Shinigami. The last thing he heard was Madara's maniacal, triumphant laughter. The last thing he saw was Sasuke pulling his sword out of his chest. Naruto closed his eyes and felt the last of his strength leave his body. He slowly fell until he hit the ground, succumbing to the black abyss.

His final words…

"It's over…?" Naruto whispered, not believing the words he knew were true. It was all over…

…But then someone answered.

"Not yet, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He weakly raised his head as he felt someone lift him up. He felt another hand on his. It was soft and warm, its caress gentle and loving. Naruto recognized the person holding him tightly to her chest.

"...Mom…?" Naruto said softly his eyes full of surprise and disbelief.

Uzumaki Kushina gazed down at her son lovingly as she held him in her arms, a warm, motherly smile gracing her beautiful features.

"Don't worry, you're not dead." Kushina smiled, puzzling her son.

"Not yet anyway."

Another familiar voice resounded in his ears. Naruto's eyes widened when his father's form presented itself in front of them. Minato Namikaze smiled down at his son, a sympathetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry for all that's happened to you, Naruto. Past and present." Minato sighed wistfully.

"Mom, Dad… I… I failed." Naruto whispered, lowering his head in shame. "I'm so sorry…"

"Naruto, you have nothing to be sorry about." Kushina smiled sadly as she hugged her son. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"Mom, this isn't just some mistake." Naruto murmured. "I was killed… I couldn't stop Madara. I wasn't the hero everyone thought I was…"

"Son, I know things didn't turn out the way you wanted to, but…" Minato stood up. His eyes narrowed, determination flashing in his eyes.

Naruto recognized that determination.

"That's why I'm going to give you a second chance."

Naruto's eyes widened. He stared up at his father, confusion and wonder evident in his eyes. What did he mean by that?

The boy who had been killed suddenly noticed the Shinigami hovering above them. Its hannya mask stared down at the Uzumaki family, a bony finger pointing at the Yondaime.

"Minato…!" It hissed.

"Kushina, you know what to do." Minato spoke solemnly to his wife. He smirked up at the death god. "This isn't the first time I've tangled with a Shinigami."

"Yes…" Kushina nodded determinedly. She gently place Naruto's head on her lap then her hands on his chest. A green glow started to emanate from them, enveloping Naruto in a soft, green light.

"Minato… Minato…!" The Shinigami hissed angrily, clearly distressed by what was occurring. Minato drew one of his special kunai from his back pocket. He turned towards his son and wife.

"Take care, son." Minato smiled proudly at him, despite knowing he had failed. "I know you'll do things right this time."

"Dad…!" Naruto called out, feeling his strength slowly returning to him. He reached out desperately as his father seemed to get farther and farther away, slowly rising into whatever blackness they were currently in. His mother's presence slowly became fainter and fainter until he felt her gentle hands disappear.

"Good luck, Naruto. Become the hero everyone wanted you to be. I know you can do it!" His parents' voices echoed around him.

"MOM! DAD!"

The child of prophecy cried out and watched helplessly as the Shinigami let out a cry a fury and lunged towards his father. That was the last thing Naruto saw before the light blinded him and then everything turned black.

X.X.X.X.X

"Naruto, look out!"

Naruto's eyes widened as his vision came back, Iruka's pained expression being the first thing he saw. The man's back had a large shuriken sticking out of it, evidence of Iruka's effort to shield Naruto from it. Behind his teacher he could see Mizuki laughing manically. The demon container also took notice of the familiar weight on his back, surprised that the Forbidden Arts Scroll was strapped to his back. Not only that, he was back to being a kid again. Iruka's moving mouth and the words coming from it were slowly becoming more coherent to his ears. Gone were his mother and father, but they were replaced with this familiar scene…

He couldn't believe it. Time had reset! He was back at the beginning! The night when everything had started from him…

"Don't listen to him Naruto! I never hated you!" Iruka cried, tears streaming down his face. "Please, don't let Mizuki have the scroll! Just run! I beg you!"

For now, Naruto ignored his shock at experiencing the same scene twice and his sensei's words, gently pushing his teacher off of him and removing the shuriken from his back. He glared up at Mizuki, dropping the shuriken to the ground.

"Oh? Giving up, fox?" Mizuki sneered, reaching for the other shuriken on his back. "Or are you actually trying to fight back?"

Both Mizuki and Iruka were shocked when a smirk made its way to Naruto's face.

"Would you be surprised if I said yes?" Naruto smirked, making a familiar hand sign to perform his signature jutsu.

He didn't know what had occurred in the netherworld or what became of his parents. He didn't know why he was back in the past or what his parents had done to make this possible. There was one thing he did know though…

He had been given a second chance and there was no way in HELL he was going to waste it.

A/N: Yes. I like how this first chapter turned out. I really hope it had the hook I wanted to catch people's interest. This will probably become a Harem fic if enough people show interest in reading this story. Who else do you think will get their memories back?

Be prepared for more very soon. I have the first few chapters written up, so they'll be up soon. Give me a week to post the new chapter.

I hope you'll all review and share your thoughts on this new story. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Flames will be used to cook ramen.

Kiiam