Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only this restless idea that just won't stop ruining my sleep.
Opening: To Stare at Death and Follow its Path.
A boy with hair as bright as the sun explored The Woods which lay at the foot of a large mountain. On the mountain's side, three faces were carved with masterful skill; the sunrise slowly caressing their ageless and imposing features as if Light itself venerated it. Called the Fire Shadow Monument, it was made to pay homage to its namesake, glorifying the brave leaders that have shaped the fate of the village that lay beyond The Woods.
Not many people know, though, that it wasn't just a mountain.
It was also a terrible cage.
The boy continued to wander; eyes alight with curiosity only a child could muster. To him, it looked as if everything outside were flawed reflections of The Woods. His head endlessly swiveled back and forth, trying to commit to memory the beauty of every tree, every branch, and every shaded canopy. The leaves were greener and larger, and not one had a speck of yellow or brown in them. Each step was like walking on mattresses, for the grass and moss that carpeted the forest floor rivaled the finest rugs. The trunks were thicker and the bark looked as if it was painstakingly carved by a master sculptor; patterns and figures dancing in the cracks that were there one moment and gone the next.
All of these the little boy saw, but his childish innocence missed one crucial detail; something that hung over The Woods like a grim and haunted veil.
Aside from the plants, there was no other form of life in The Woods.
Yet The Woods is alive in the most literal sense. The rumblings of the forest were easily disguised by the sea-like sounds of the swaying leaves. The whole woods creaked and groaned, like an ancient jar that was trying its hardest to contain what is sealed inside.
What's more dangerous is that The Woods is like a spider web; all of the paths are interconnected. No matter which path one would take or how much one would try to avoid it, one would always end up at the center.
As the day continued on, the little boy wandered deeper and deeper into The Woods until; finally, he broke the forest line and found himself before the jaws of a gigantic chasm.
It looked as if the earth itself was ripped asunder by a terrible force, so sharp and so jagged the cliff lines are. It had an aura that pulled you into it, an unseen force that gently but surely drew anything into its horrifying depths.
With careful steps, the boy inched closer and closer to the jagged cliffs. His heart pounding frantically inside his chest, the boy peered into the chasm itself.
And saw a gigantic pair of eyes that glowed like burning blood.
The boy bravely met the stare with eyes as blue as the greatest sea yet as innocent as a child's can be.
That one simple act, the boy's look that neither judged nor feared, containing only innocence and genuine curiosity, changed the destiny of humanity itself.
Half of the village lay in Ruins.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked sadly from the window of his office, one of the few buildings that were relatively unharmed by the disaster that has struck the village. At a ripe age of fifty-six, Sarutobi was one of the oldest in the village. During his youth, he has served as the village leader; heralded as the Third Fire Shadow. During his tenure, his battle prowess and intelligence earned him the moniker "The God of Ninjas," a title that was actually a modest representation of his otherworldly skill.
He himself isn't sure if he could still live up to that lofty name after so long; his graying hair and wrinkled hands serving only as punishing reminders of his impending mortality.
The aged leader tried to assess the extent of the damage, grimacing as he did so. Almost the entire commercial and residential district lay in desolation; houses and buildings burned down or flattened by what seemed like a gigantic force. Ninjas and civilian volunteers alike explored the wreckage, looking for things to salvage or corpses to bury or cremate.
No one held even the faintest hope that anyone who had not gotten out of the way had survived the onslaught.
The trail of destruction continued on to the Eastern Walls, which have been completely blasted apart amidst the chaos. Beyond the smoldering walls, the forest was completely burned or flattened; not unlike the wasteland right inside the village.
It was unsettling how in just a few short hours, Sarutobi's office now had an unobstructed view of a few hundred miles east outside his village.
"Somewhere there," thought Sarutobi grimly, "is the body of Minato."
The man had no illusions to the contrary; Minato is dead, another Fire Shadow claimed by that unholy demon; its nine horrifying tails laying waste to anything it touches. So far, three of the four Fire Shadows: the First, the Second, and the Fourth; have been killed either directly or indirectly by that fiend.
Sarutobi, as the Third Fire Shadow, grimly thought if he would meet the same end.
Banishing that morbid thought to the darkest corner of his psyche, the Third finally addressed the other person in the room.
"Did Kushina have any plans for her child?"
The person was laying against the wall in silence, allowing the natural darkness of the early morning to hide him. From what the light could touch, though, were gigantic muscles that looked as if it could crush boulders without much thought.
Sarutobi actually saw that happen on multiple occasions.
The person didn't look up at the question, his gaze unmoving on the swaddled babe resting peacefully against massive chest and forearm. "Reyna has... had gone great lengths to keep her pregnancy secret, lolo. The Demonyo's assault was completely unexpected. Hence, she was not prepared for anything like this." Bits and pieces of the man's native tongue popped up here and there inside his speech. Sarutobi had a vague grasp of the man's foreign language. He was relatively sure Reyna pertained to Kushina while demonyo was demon.
He wasn't sure if lolo pertained to him or was actually an insult.
With Kushina... indisposed for an unknown length of time, ensuring the child's wellbeing and safety are now his top priority; but with the reconstruction of the village and the massive influx of orphans, it was an understatement that matters would slightly be more complicated.
"Do you have anyone in mind that could take the child?" asked the aged leader.
It was a double-layered question. Will you able to take care of her child?
The other person kept silent. Sarutobi granted the other time to think, knowing that the man had suffered a greater loss than he.
After a while, the man spoke, "Someone betrayed us, lolo, someone dear to Reyna. I plan to hunt him or her down. There are not many of us left and I plan to keep those remaining have their honor untarnished and intact."
The man gently, almost reverently, laid the bundle on the little crib on top of the office's desk. He then placed a kiss on the baby's forehead and murmured a few words that Sarutobi didn't try to hear.
He turned to Sarutobi, "Ina could take of him, at least, until he is old enough to start his training. Bagsik could teach him his mother's techniques when the time is right."
Sarutobi nodded, grateful for the other's advice.
The man gave Sarutobi a respectful bow, though the aged leader noted that the man still kept his eyes on him during the whole action.
"He has known me for fifty-six years," He thought somberly. "And yet he still doesn't trust me,"
The man moved towards the window, casually dropping thirty stories down like it was four feet off the ground.
"It must have been a hard to choice to make," reflected Sarutobi as he watched the man confidently walk off. "To care for the child himself and risk failing his duty and letting his race's traitor go or to leave the child to someone you do not entirely trust."
Yet another thought he banished to the darkest corners of his psyche. He was starting to grow worried about the amount of thoughts banished.
From the depths of his robes, he pulled out a small pellet of nicotine gum and methodologically started to chew. He was fairly sure that he was going to break his abstinence and restart his smoking vices once he retakes the Fire Shadow's position, an addiction he had not indulged in for five long years.
Settling into the desk's chair, the aged leader started to prepare the papers that would put Naruto, Kushina's child, under Ina's care.
A fox, with nine limp and unmoving tails, lay broken in a rusted cage, surrounded by filth and grime. Its vision was starting to darken around the edges; its limbs growing heavier and heavier with each passing moment.
The fox's will, though, was far from broken.
Harnessing the last dregs of its chakra, it shot a feeble red pulse at a slip of paper that served as a lock for its dingy cage. The pulse connected and the writings on the paper lazily morphed. The pulse was almost too weak, barely containing enough power to change a single character.
The fox knew, however, that that single character's change was enough to give it a miniscule chance at surviving the dangers that lie ahead.
The fox allowed itself a small, satisfied grin.
Thoroughly spent, it closed its eyes and surrendered itself to sleep.
It woke up only after six years.
Author's Notes: Reviews and Criticisms are most welcome. Note that I am entirely at loss as to who I should pair Naruto with, so please drop your ideas.
Update: Had to correct some minor grammatical errors. Also, can someone help me with italics? FF seems to find some perverse pleasure in undoing mine.