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Shikamaru had the idea while talking with his father at the table, while doing some planning for the war.
“Dad, what happens if we lose?”
“I… our villages will be destroyed, and most likely a good amount of people we know will die. I just - I don’t know. Well, more like I don't want to think about it. I'd probably be dead by then anyways, considering I'm an important figure in the war. There's no use ruminating about it, if I want to spare myself some peace in all of this.”
They couldn’t lose the war. But what if they did? What would they do?
“I wish there was a way to turn back time. To prevent this mess. We don’t know who exactly we are fighting, but surely there’s a way to stop him?”
Shikaku looked at his son, a smile on his face. It was small, yet laden with hope. “That’s what we’re trying to do, Shikamaru. Kakashi and I are discussing every single day with the other kages and council to make sure our plans are settled, that every division knows their jobs.”
Shikamaru looked at the scrolls his father held. Then he realized.
“Hey, if there are seals to travel into space, can there be seal fortime-travel?”
Shikaku looked at him like he had said the stupidest thing ever. “Time-travel. Shikamaru, come on. Let’s try something actually doable.”
But the next day, when Shikaku came back from the Hokage’s office, he had a couple of scrolls the Fourth had left behind.
“I told your stupid idea to the Sixth, and he took these out. We studied the scrolls the whole day. Kakashi thought we could look into trying to see if it’s possible to time-travel, as a very last resort. With the Kyuubi’s chakra, maybe we can. If we find out how to make the seal first, of course.”
It took them months, but they ended up succeeding in having a seal that could work. Just in time for them to go on the battlefield, at the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War. Kakashi, Shikamaru, Shikaku and Naruto all had a scroll with them. If they needed it as a last resort , as long as Naruto was alive, they’d go back in time. They just didn’t know when exactly. Kakashi had figured Naruto would have to be alive, as he’d activate it. But not only they were involved in craeting it, the entirety of the Konoha 12, and the Sand Siblings had been involved too, using their chakra. After all, it was Temari who thought Shikaku and Kakashi being added was wise. “If we go back in time too close to Naruto’s birth, none of us will be able to act before a few years, we’ll be too young.”
The fight didn’t go well. They were losing a large number of ninjas from all lands. Temari was still at Shikamaru’s side, but plenty of his friends had perished. His father, Ino, Neji, Kakashi, Gaara. There were corpses everywhere, and they didn’t see the end of it. The enemies were too strong. Even Naruto, the eternal optimist, was exhausted and didn’t want to fight anymore, doubting victory was within their reach. Then, Shikamaru felt something going through his chest.
“Shikamaru! No!” Temari screamed in horror. That’s the last thing he heard before falling to the ground. Everything turned to black.
When he woke up, he felt like he was surrounded by liquid. He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn’t really see. It was dark, and Shikamaru felt like he had been blinded. But the weird thing is for a moment, he felt at peace, even if he didn’t feel like he was breathing. Then, something pressend against him as if he was being crushed, but it wasn’t painful, and it didn’t last, before it started up again. It was a grounding sensation, amidst all the confusion. He then felt like he was being moved toward some sort of light. Was it what it felt like to be dead? Is this how you leave the Earth for some heavenly place? Surely not.
He felt something grab him by the head, and suddenly, he passed through that tight place. He felt the liquid that surrounded him disappear, and something rub his body. He was suddenly cold and gasping for air. As if his lungs remembered to work again. The light was blinding, but even with his open eyes, he could barely see anything. He started to panic, trying to understand what was going on. He felt the presence of other people, he could hear them talk. Even if he heard them talk away, he couldn’t figure out what they said. It was mostly whispers and cries. But it didn’t seem to be Temari’s horrified cries. It felt… joyful. He heard someone ask about his name. Shikamaru wanted to reply, but as he tried to speak, only a coo left his mouth.
“We’ll name him Shikamaru,” a voice announced. Shikamaru started to become emotional, but tears couldn’t fall off. It was his father’s voice, however shaky. But his father was dead. Shikamaru couldn't remember a time where his father's voice sounded like that, but if he died moments before joining Shikamaru in the afterlife, then perhaps that was why?
Trying again to talk, he instead started to cry.
“Shhh. I know it’s hard being brought up in the world like this, you were fine in the warmth of my belly, but you’re here now and you’ll grow up to be a fine man.”
It was his mother’s voice now. He recognized her easily enough. Why did she talk to him like he was a bab-?
Shikamaru suddenly realized what had happened. He wasn’t dead. The seal! Naruto probably activated it after Shikamaru passed away on the battlefield.
He was a small baby just born only a few minutes ago, but with a conscious mind of an adult, and his memories alongside it. He needed to start all over again. What a drag.