What Could've Been

Chapter 1

"Uh," the man rubbed the back of his head. "Kurama told me he wanted to talk to you. I don't know why."

The boy narrowed his eyes. What could the nine-tailed beast want with him? "Why?" Naruto shrugged, still avoiding Boruto's gaze. The boy sighed, opening the door to allow his father in.

Naruto stepped inside quickly, quietly closing the door behind him. He hesitantly walked over to the bed, turning around and easing himself onto it. The man looked like he was about to say something, before he clamped his mouth shut and let it be.

Soon enough, red chakra swirled around him, and ocean eyes turned blood red.

Boruto's eyes widened. "Kurama?" Narrowed eyes and a slight nod was all he got in return.

A moment of silence passed, and Boruto nearly jumped when the man started talking. A deep, velvety voice boomed across the room.

"Listen kit. I'm about to tell you something that will most likely change your whole life. I heard everything you screamed at your parents."

The boy gritted his teeth. Was the fox going to lecture him?

Noticing this, Kurama sighed. "I'm not going to scold you. In fact, I think you're right on many points."

"Naruto's been digging his own grave from the moment he agreed to date Hinata. As you can already tell, he married her mostly out of a sense of obligation."

"Then wha-"

The man held out a hand for him to stop. "Let me finish. As of right now, your father cannot hear the conversation we are having. I have sealed him into a mindscape so we can talk uninterrupted."

"I also came to you with an offer. One that your father will most likely disagree with."

Boruto cocked his head, pursing his lips. "Continue."

"There is a forbidden jutsu that only I know of. When I had first found it, I used it to erase everyone's memory of it except myself in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands."

Kurama looked up at Boruto almost expectantly. "Your father has made many mistakes in his life. In this world, it's impossible to make amends without causing irreversible damage."

"What are you suggesting?"

"The jutsu I am about to give you will allow you to travel back in time, though there are many limitations that you must be aware of beforehand."

Boruto widened his eyes, shocked. Was the fox really suggesting that he try to change the past?

Blinking out of the haze he was in, Boruto wasted no time. "What are the limitations?"

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Will you accept the mission?"

Hastily, the blonde replied with a yes.

"Alright then. Rule number one: you are only allowed to be in the past for two years. Once those years are up you will die of a heart attack and be sent back to this time. Rule number two: your actions have consequences that could result in people dying, or never being born in the first place, including yourself."

Boruto nodded, soaking up this information. "What else?"

"If you do still exist in this world when you come back, keep in mind that people you interacted with will remember you, but only you, me, and one other person will have memories of the life before you changed it. No one else will know unless you tell them, and even then I doubt they would believe you."

"Who is the one other person?"

Wordlessly, the man pulled out a bottle out of thin air, handing it to Boruto. "Here. I invented this a while ago." The boy took the bottle silently, admiring as the liquid inside changed colors.

"Whoever drinks this bottle will automatically remember everything that they had forgotten when you time traveled. It is useful if you need someone's help and they don't believe you. I only have one, so use it wisely, and don't tell anyone you are from the future, got it?"

Boruto nodded, still entranced by the potion. "Alright then, are you ready? Your father is getting impatient and we need to send you off before he can stop you."

Boruto hesitated. "Wait shouldn't you tell me more about what to do once I get there? All I know about the past is how there was a huge war, and that no one likes to talk about it."

Kurama gave him a sad look. "There's no time. But you're a smart kit, more or less. You'll figure it out eventually."

Boruto nodded once again and watched as the red eyed man began to go through a number of hand signs. "Are you ready? I'll be sending you to the time when your father was about twelve. Good luck, kit."

Before the boy could nod he felt a tug on his chest, knocking the air out of him. "I'm almost finished, just a l-" The fox gasped as Naruto took back control.

The man gazed at his son, shocked, and tried to grab him before he got tugged into the past. Boruto gasped as he felt a sharp yank and then nothing.

Here, the adventure begins.