Idiocy

After months of tinkering, Naruto finally let out a whoop of triumph. The last several weeks of extreme frustration and sleepless nights slipped from his mind as he looked down at the scroll in front of him with a smug smirk.

Uzumaki Naruto, Tokubetsu Jounin by day and Hunter-nin in the shadows, had an epiphany four months ago when the third missing-nin shattered his third Hunter-nin mask in three consecutive solo missions. Knowledge of his identity may have followed each target to the grave, but it was hell to explain how he lost another mask while most ANBU and Hunter-nin were able to keep theirs intact for years. It must have been the third 'Tsunade Ba-baa Death Punch' to the jaw that slammed him into a eureka moment (and the wall).

He just needed to make sure those incidents couldn't happen.

So, the most reckless Seal Master in history gathered his arsenal of Sealing knowledge and holed himself up in Konoha's ANBU Library to invent his next outrageous but ingenious Fuuin. Over those long four months, Naruto only emerged from the library for missions, ramen, and showering, spending the rest of his free time with his clones on a seal to prevent the inevitable fourth broken mask.

What he created should have been called the Idiocy Prevention Jutsu, but Naruto called it the Jikan Makikaeshi (Time Rewind) no Jutsu.

When activated, the seal would take the user back several moments so they could 'redo' those few moments, technically erasing and rewriting time. It took an enormous amount of chakra to activate, but required delicate chakra control to determine the duration. The more chakra pumped into the seal, the more time rewound. The chakra requirement for the initial activation made it impossible to use by anyone else aside from other jinchuuriki and several S-rank shinobi.

Naruto had tested the final product, and it had worked perfectly. One minute he was walking towards the Obscure Ninjutsu section of the library, and a moment later he was back at the Medical Jutsu section ten seconds ago.

Hell yeah! Sasuke is going to be sooo jealous!

All he needed now was a mission to test it out.

Naruto jumped through the forest to his A-Rank mission sporting his pack, two daishou swords, a brand new seal tattooed on his hip, and a moronic grin. He barely noticed the passing scenery as he sped towards Kusagakure where the target had been spotted.

Within three hours, he had located and engaged the target in a fight.

"This is exhilarating," the missing-nin's deep voice boomed. "I have the honor of killing Konoha's Crimson Spiral, Akamaki."

Naruto growled behind his mask of red swirls originating from its center, "Kanzai, the Roaring Giant of Kiri. Prepare to die." The two A-rank shinobi crashed through trees into a small clearing, caught in an intense taijutsu battle with neither gaining the upper hand. Kanzai whipped out his long sword from behind his broad back and sliced at his executioner. Naruto parried the attack with his wakizashi, slipping under the large enemy's thick arm and delivering a chakra-backed blow to his side. Unfazed, Kanzai charged again with his powerful form. The sound of metal striking metal rang through the clearing. The giant accentuated each blow with a roar while Naruto twisted silently around his enemy's body.

Fuuton: Kamikaze!

Naruto released a powerful gust of wind as soon as he saw an opening. Two tornadoes rushed at the missing-nin, sandwiching him. The wind tore at Kanzai's sword arm until a thick log replaced his giant form. He reappeared behind Naruto to deliver a violent gash to his back. Naruto grunted in pain before forming seven Kage Bunshin to pummel Kanzai and buy him time to prepare his next attack. Naruto somersaulted a few paces away, landing in a crouch, and reached to pull an explosive note from his pack.

Suddenly, from under the Naruto clones, Kanzai roared:

"Suiton: Gousuiwan (Great Water Arm) no Jutsu!"

The clones were blown away as the missing-nin's arm swelled and pounded into the bodies. Before Naruto could throw the explosive tag, Kanzai charged and smashed his giant fist into his side. He felt a rib crack as he flew across the clearing into a tree.

Fuuton: Senpuuken (Whirlwind Fist)!

Naruto retaliated with a giant whirlwind which flew into Kanzai's leg, snapping the bone with a loud crunch. Naruto winced as he rose to his feet, clutching his side. He charged at Kanzai's kneeling form to deliver a critical blow.

Rasengan!

"Suiton: Suihachi (Water Wave Palm)!"

Kanzai raised his engorged arm to shoot a powerful jet of water at Naruto's incoming blue sphere. The Rasengan drilled effortlessly through the core of the geyser and into the large open palm. On impact, the bloody hand snapped closed on Naruto's arm like a clawed animal trap, and he was thrown head-first into the ground nearby, causing his vision to momentarily black out. Ignoring the broken leg, the giant painfully hefted his bloody form to the younger man, sword raised to stab the incapacitated body, but suddenly multiple Kage Bunshin popped up around the clearing and the blond performed a kawarimi. Kanzai spun around but couldn't pull back in time to block a kick to his unbroken leg. Roaring in pain, he rolled backwards to dodge Naruto's explosive tag detonating under him. Naruto leapt after the giant and grabbed his wakizashi which had fallen to the ground earlier. His blade slipped below Kanzai's defending punch and sliced upwards across the wide chest. But instead of recoiling, Kanzai brought his own sword up and stabbed through his smaller opponent's side with his sword. In return, Naruto speared the missing-nin's stomach. They froze for a second, then both ripped their swords out of flesh and backed up, panting in pain.

"You little shit! I am going to rip you apart!" Kanzai roared and the two men reengaged in a battle of swords and taijutsu. Blood splattered the ground as their bodies suffered vicious attacks and exhaustion.

Naruto jumped back just in time to avoid a direct blow to the face. Not the mask! Why is it always the mask? He seethed as a small piece of porcelain chipped off the edge, showing how close he had been to having his face sliced off.

Kanzai forced out a half-hysterical, guttural laugh as he leapt forward with his last burst of energy. "Don't run away, boy. I want to see your face, the mysterious face that no one has ever seen and survived to tell the tale. I want to see it twist in agony as I gut the infamous Akamaki!"

"That is where you're wrong, bastard," Naruto snarled in growing fury. Ignoring his protesting body and the alarmed voice of his more rational mind, Naruto's face broke into a feral grin behind his mask – the mask which had thick, spiraling lines everyone mistook for swirls, which were actually nine blood-red, spiraling tails painted on white. "It's not Akamaki. It's Akashiori, the Crimson Tails! You are going to pay for damaging my mask!" Red mist engulfed the demon vessel's form as he furiously pumped angry red chakra into the seal on his hip and shouted:

"Jikan Makikaeshi no Jutsu!"

His world twisted and warped into red before losing consciousness.