Unlimited
Prologue
If one had been unlucky enough to be in the large village of Konohagakure on that fateful day of October 10, they would have heard explosions and screams all around them. If they had looked in the direction that the mayhem appeared to be originating from, they would have seen a sight that only the most twisted peoples' nightmares would be able to produce. A large, towering beast composed of pure energy roared at Konoha. Each swing of its multitude of tails sent building after building crashing down. Blasts of various nature-attributed energies flew through the air and impacted the behemoth, sending shockwaves of force flying everywhere, but the creature just shrugged them off like bee stings. These blasts originated from the brave shinobi who had stood up and risked their lives in order to protect their home. However, men and women fell, one after another, as the beast ravaged the land. Even as their comrades fell around them, the warriors had one lingering hope.
"Just hold it back until the Fourth reaches here!" Unfortunately, words couldn't beat an opponent like this one. Slowly but surely, the creature advanced upon the central part of the village. Shinobi and kuniochi attempted in vain to impede the advance. Children cried. Women weeped. Men shook. There was no doubt about it. The village would be destroyed, and all of its residents would be slaughtered. With a loud screech, the monster began collecting energy in its mouth. As the beam shot forwards with the force of a falling star, everyone closed their eyes. It was all over. They were finished. And then it happened.
A golden flash lit up the world, erasing all doubt, worry, and fear in everyone's minds. The energy blast was gone, the only evidence of it having existed in the first place being a large noise and quake in the distance, A cheer began to arise.
"The Fourth is here! We are saved!" A large toad, competing with the fox monster's size, was sitting boldly and yet regally between the fox and the village's central area. A man with long, golden locks stood on top of the amphibian, wind making his cloak flutter. Another golden flash appeared, making the man, the toad, and the fox all vanish into the shadows of the dark night. What happened after that was ordered to be concealed to the public for eternity. All any of the residents of the partially destroyed village saw was a large column of death energy erupting in the distance, and the horrible shriek that signified the fox's pain. As a result, no one would know exactly how their beloved Fourth had died, and who the small, newborn baby with the golden hair was. That would change the life of what could have been a kind, innocent boy forever. The demon was dead, but in the eyes of the village, a new demon was born.
A young boy, seemingly about five years of age, stared sorrowfully at the other children playing in the local park. His long, golden locks fluttered about in the slight breeze, framing his childish face and accentuating his bright sapphire eyes. However, the clean, clear blue pools were shadowed by a hollow look; the boy had faced challenges and dangers that no one should. Despite this, the dominant expression on the boy's face was one of pure and utter loneliness. If he approached the other laughing and smiling children, they would immediately be escorted away for no apparent reason. The boy wasn't stupid; he knew that he was the problem. However the answer to exactly why he was such a disturbance evaded the boy's mind. He turned away. There was no point in contemplating his misfortune and increasing the severity of the pain. Shoving his hands into his pockets, the boy wore an expression much older than the features of his young face should have formed. Passing most other villagers in mutual abstention of recognizing the others' existence, he wandered through the streets.
"Demon…" The whispers never failed to come. The boy had already learned to ignore them along with the ones who formed the sounds. His vocabulary encompassed the term, but he failed to see how he came even close to its definition. The boy continued walking, lost in his own thoughts. He had long learned that acknowledging the existence of his surroundings would only cause more trouble and pain for him, so he put a part of his brain into autopilot. Meandering through the maze of streets, the boy realized that he had left the residential and commercial areas of the village and had entered the back alleyways. That wasn't good. Here, he was far more open to a discrete attack by some person with a vendetta that the boy had never caused. As he looked around, the boy realized that he didn't know which way he had come from. The sound of a falling can caught his attention. Whirling around, the boys spotted a cat skirting into another nearby alley. Relief momentarily overcame the boy, until a sharp blow caught him on his back.
"It's the demon! Ha! I'm in luck!" The attacker seemed to be aware of the boy's identity. The boy growled. He just wanted to be left alone! He sent a ferocious kick towards the attacker, who dodged easily. The boy stared intently, slowly reading his opponent's style. The other man's movements were far too fluid to be a civilian, which left only the possibility of a shinobi or another warrior. Either way, the man had to be trained in some specific style which used his strengths with maximum efficiency. However, the cost of this strength was making his movements predictable. As the two dodged and exchanged blows, the boy began to get used to his opponent's style. When the muscles in the forearms tightened, the boy read a blow to his shoulder. When the attacker crouched slightly, the boy jumped to avoid a sweeping kick. After the man had delivered a straight punch, the boy read an opening and delivered an attack of his own. However, his young, untrained muscles barely inflicted damage on the older, trained warrior. To top it off, the boy couldn't even use chakra! The man was panting lightly, but the boy was gasping with exhaustion. The man smirked in triumph.
"How pitiful. Did you really think you could beat me? You scum, you killed my wife and destroyed my ability to mold chakra. You must suffer for all you have done. DIE!" The man swung his fists at the boy who was far too tired to resist. Blow after blow connected with the five-year-old, until his consciousness began to fade. The man drew back his fist for a finally strike; this one would end it all.
"What do you think you are doing?" An old, wizened man had appeared behind the boy's opponent, hunched on his cane. The aged creature gave off a feeling of utter brittleness, as if one touch would tear his veined skin and shatter his bones. This picture was ruined by the fact that the old man had stopped his younger counterpart's fist with one finger hooking it.
"W-what?! Who are you?" The younger man lashed out at the boy's savior, who simply blocked all of the attacks with no effort whatsoever. This display of implied power served its purpose; the younger man was clearly becoming enraged. Finally, the old man seemed to have enough.
"Stop." A piece of paper with symbols arranged in a complex design was stuck onto the attacker's chest. The man barely had any time to look down in surprise before he collapsed. Naruto's shoulders sagged slightly in relief, but the old man stayed alert.
"Keep up your guard, child." Naruto barely had any time to react before a hail of shuriken shot towards him. The old man quickly pulled him out of the way. A blast of fire shot at the duo, but the old man clutched Naruto's shoulder and they vanished in a swirl of leaves. After reappearing in another alley, the old man let go of Naruto and tapped the walls. A ripple of blue energy spread out.
"We aren't done yet!" Somehow, the assailant had managed to follow them to that very spot. The old man faced his opponent.
"It seems that you have no idea of exactly how grave your situation is. I can see through your disguise." The attacker flinched slightly before chuckling, then transitioning into an insane bout of laughter.
"I should have known better than to think that I could have tricked you." Suddenly, the average-looking man distorted slightly. Naruto recognized it as a henge being removed. The new appearance of the opponent was a reasonably tall male figure wearing a black cloak with a red-cloud pattern. His face was hidden by a spiral-patterned orange mask.
"Tobi…" The old man growled. The newly identified Tobi began to blur out of existence, almost as if he was blending into the air. The old man quickly held up a circular object with a spiral pattern embossed on it. Tobi stopped blurring.
"Wha…"
"This is the dimension lock seal. Although it is incomplete, you won't be able to use your space-time techniques with it active." Tobi growled.
The old man smiled and continued. "Additionally, I've rigged this area with dozens of explosive tags. Unless you wish to blow yourself up, I suggest you disappear."
"You fool! It'll kill you too, and the boy!"
The old man shook his head. "I am an old man, and my next breath could be my last. I have no fear of dying, unlike you. As for the boy, his death would be as much of a loss to you as it would to me." Once again, Tobi growled with frustration.
"You have merely delayed the inevitable. I will return and fetch the boy, simply after you can no longer protect him." With that, the masked man vanished in a pillar of flame.
The boy's savior looked at the young boy behind next to him.
"Are you okay?" A tone kindness like the boy had never heard directed towards him before reached him and warmed his insides.
"Y-yes. Thanks you for saving me." The old man crinkled his eyes and stretched his lips into a wide smile.
"It was no problem." He slowly returned the spiral object, which Naruto now identified as some kind of a golden pendant, into his pocket.
"What is that? Is that how you're so strong?" The boys eyed the man's pocket greedily; information on any power that he could attain would prove to be invaluable. The old man laughed.
"It is indeed. This is called a seal. It can allow even an old geezer like me to fight!" He noticed the boy's interest in the object. The old man had heard of him before. The demon who wore the Fourth's appearance was standing before him. Yet, the man felt no animosity. This boy had suffered enough to make up for any misdeeds he had committed. Also, he knew that there was another relation, one that he couldn't disclose until the boy was old enough to understand. The man decided then.
"I will offer you the chance to learn the art of sealing." The boy's head shot up. Cool, blue eyes stared disbelievingly into a pair of warm brown ones.
"Why should I trust you? What do you want out of this?" The man chuckled softly. The boy knew the man's intentions, and vice versa.
"In exchange, you must continue using and evolving those techniques. I am an old man, and I will die soon. I need to pass on my knowledge to another before I vacate this world. I have no one else to choose, while you have nowhere else to go. Sealing is a versatile power. If you use it correctly, it can grant you practically unlimited power. You will be able to change everything. Now, tell me. Will you accept this offer?" The boy deliberated. On one hand, he could continue his wretched life the way it had been until now. Otherwise, he could step into an entirely different world and perhaps change things for the better. The choice was obvious. The boy nodded in affirmation. The old man smiled.
"Good. Now, boy, will you tell me your name?" The boy stared suspiciously, but decided there was no harm. This man would be his teacher, and he needed to put at least a little trust into him.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
This is a new story that I'm planning on beginning and continuing for quite some time. This is only the first chapter/prologue, so chapters from this point forwards will be longer. Please read and review! Any constructive criticism and advice will be gladly accepted and taken into account when writing future chapters. I hope to continue this story for a long time!
Edit: 8/8/13: Modified chapter