1000 Years

Hey guys; so here I am with another story. If you've been following me since my old stories you're probably going to be thinking, "Oh no, here he goes again, starting too many stories and he'll get overwhelmed by work again!"

So basically this story is going to be a side project. Something I can write easier while I'm working out the kinks and writing the chapters for my other stories. Don't worry; I WILL continue those.

For now, this is a challenge I found by AndreZanu, it's pretty interesting so I hope you guys enjoy the premise of it. I think this'll turn out pretty cool!

Jutsu

'Thoughts'

Memories

~0~0~0~

One thousand years. That is how long the tradition has existed amongst the Uchiha and Uzumaki. One. Thousand. Years. It began at the end of the 4th Great Shinobi War with Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.

Their children were the first. And their children after that. Soon, as the clans began to reform, as both families became relevant factors in the Village Hidden in the Leaves once more, the reincarnation of the legendary chakra became an expected recurrence.

Those born in either clan with pieces of the legendary chakra became revered throughout the United Elemental Federation as fearsome warriors.

Much like the Jinchuuriki these masses of chakra took the forms of sentient, animalistic beings. Foxes for the Uzumaki and Dragons for the Uchiha.

It is needless to say the two clans became extremely sought after and important among the politics of the world. Everyone, rich, poor, of all lands, all professions and all Hidden Villages wanted a piece of the clans, if not to have one of the Foxes or Dragons for themselves then to marry their children to one.

The clans were not foolish with their power and did not siphon off their influence by marrying their precious warriors off to some noble in the Land of Iron or the Daimyo of the Land of Wave's child.

No, they took it upon themselves to become guardians of the world. They opened up clan bases across every country and every Hidden Village whilst still maintaining their clan compounds in Konoha as a Clan Headquarters of sorts.

The clans formed an agreement, the Uzumaki would be the face of the peaceful law the two families installed whilst the Uchiha would be the police of the world.

Thus the Uzumaki would largely remain in Konoha, performing ceremonies and celebrating the peace created by their ancestor while the Uchiha would spread out more, enforcing peace and reporting back to both main compounds of any suspicious activity they found while the rest of the world eagerly awaited the discovery of the new incarnations for each fox and dragon.

Sometimes it would only be a year or so after the former's death for the new incarnation to reveal themselves while other times it would take over a decade.

Regardless of the time it took for a new incarnation to be born, there were telling signs for each singular fox or dragon. Let us start with the Gorudo fox.

The Uzumaki entrusted with the power of the Gorudo Fox typically had a golden sheen to their hair. Most Uzumaki had the same spiky blond hair as their ancestor but the Gorudo Fox incarnate had truly 'golden' hair.

Another telling sign involved 'The Flicker', when a Gorudo Fox incarnate's emotions become intense, out of happiness, anger, or whatever other emotion they happened to be feeling intensely, the air within their personal bubble will begin to flicker with white energy. The energy will appear and rise all around them until their emotions become more stable. Sometimes this 'Flicker' will be apparent from birth, and other times, it will not appear until the Uzumaki had already traversed through years of their life.

The Fenneku Fox incarnate was always the easiest to spot. The incarnate was always much more quiet and cold than the rest of the boisterous Uzumaki clan.

They also had the strange ability to manipulate sand and bore a spear known as the Sabaku no Yari that is made, not surprisingly, of sand charged with the fox's special chakra.

The Ashen Fox also not surprisingly had a bit of an association with all things flammable. The often mischievous incarnate is always born with a resistance to flame and smoke whilst at the same time having an extraordinary ability to manipulate fire in all forms, whether it be lava, burning ash or the flames from a simple campfire.

The Stark Fang Fox was typically difficult to find. Incarnates of the Stark Fang had no special manipulation over the elements or telling personality traits as the other Uzumaki Foxes did. The only hints came in the form of a white streak of hair and abnormal physical abilities.

Both of these signs typically appeared later in the lives of the incarnate which is why they usually were the last to be anointed to the Guardian status. Only twice were these abilities present in an incarnate from birth and in both situations the abilities proved to be disastrous for the parents when their toddler would have a tantrum.

It should be obvious that the Uzumaki were thankful to Mattaku for taking her time to reincarnate.

Lastly, the Kogane no Hono or the Fox of the Golden Flame. Incarnates hold the ability to produce golden flames from thin air and wield the Taiyo no Ken, a fiery golden blade made of pure light. The age of revelation for these incarnates varies, but it always comes as a surprise when suddenly a golden blaze erupts around the feet of the incarnate and they begin to leave a sizzling golden trail behind them where ever they go.

Whilst the Uzumaki Foxes choose when to fully reincarnate into their chosen Guardians the Uchiha's Dragons reincarnate in a much different manner.

The Dragons always leave a symbol of power on the body of their incarnates and pass down special weapons birthed from their chakra to each incarnate.

The Dragon of Shadows leaves behind three contoured claw marks and a double scythe connected via a chain to claim his incarnates.

The Amethyst Flame Dragon always, without fail marks her incarnates with a purple diamond with a circle in its center on the upper forehead. The weapon of choice is a collapsible, double tapered bo staff.

The Dragon of Storms leaves two identical marks on either temple extending back to the scalp, underneath the traditional dark hair of the Uchiha clan. The weapon its incarnates wield is a silver katana.

The Thunder Dragon leaves behind a silver bulls-eye mark and an obsidian ninjato infused with his chakra.

And lastly, Hiroya the Immortal Flame. His mark is the depiction of the unholy flames of Amaterasu and he has left behind a black chokuto.

As it stands today, all of the prior generation of incarnates have been announced and anointed to the status of Guardians. All except for the Immortal Flame and the Fox of the Golden Flame.

But the heads of both clans believe that the two shall soon reveal themselves…

~0~0~0~

Kieshi Uzumaki was many things. He was a loser amongst his clansmen. He was extremely determined to break away from that status. He was extremely annoyed when his two younger brothers consistently taunted him about their superior mission record over his own. He was not the reincarnation of the Kogane no Hono.

Or at least he wasn't until today.

Kieshi was kneeling in front of seven of his clansmen. The Council of Geezers as he affectionately called them. They were the collective group in charge of all clan activities and the like; as of now they were staring down at him from their raised platform with hard eyes.

"You…you er, you're kind of scaring me right now, Gramps," Kieshi said with a nervous grin.

The man in the center, Kieshi's grandfather, exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. "Kieshi," he began, "You don't need to worry; this is simply an inconvenience and nothing more."

Kieshi frowned and stood up where he was previously kneeling. "But Gramps! If what that guy they just carried out of here said is true then I gotta help! I am the reincarnation of-"

"Kieshi! Listen to your grandfather…this is none of your concern, we'll convene with the Uchiha later, for now go with Kiyoko to organize the details of your anointment ceremony," the man on the left ordered.

Kieshi frowned and nodded, reluctantly following the woman that had been seated to his grandfather's right out of the room.

~0~0~0~

"This is so unfair! I just know they'll tell the others to go with the Dragons to investigate! I don't care if I don't know how to use my abilities yet! I want to help!" Kieshi whined.

"Kieshi," Kiyoko said with a chastising glance, "Grandfather and the others all agreed you simply aren't ready to participate in Guardian level activities, and I'm sorry but I agree."

Kieshi glared down at her, "You always agree with Hideaki! Just because you two are engaged doesn't mean you should go along with everything he says…" he mumbled.

Kiyoko turned a shade of light pink, "That's ridiculous! You know well that I don't agree with everything your brother says!"

Kieshi chuckled, "Oh yeah? Aren't you the same girl that agreed that Gramps' gross lasagna that he brought to Kaori's anointment ceremony was delicious after Hideaki said the same thing to spare his feelings?" he asked.

Kiyoko looked away from her soon to be brother-in-law with her arms folded. "Maybe I wanted to spare his feelings too! You can be such a pain Kieshi!"

"Everyone else seems to think so," Kieshi said with a grimace.

Kiyoko snapped her head back in Kieshi's direction and slightly reached for his arm with her hand. "K-Kieshi you know I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever," Kieshi mumbled as he brushed her hand away and walked ahead of her further down the hall.

Kiyoko stopped in her tracks and watched Kieshi disappear behind a corner. "Oh Kieshi…"

~0~0~0~

Kisai Uchiha was having a…let's say interesting afternoon.

First he was summoned to the chambers of the main head of the Uchiha clan, Akira Uchiha, and was told he was the reincarnation of the Immortal Flame Dragon.

Apparently the chokuto of the Immortal Flame had been humming in his presence and when it was passed into his hands, the mark of the Immortal Flame appeared on his bicep.

He was informed that his old friend, Kieshi Uzumaki had been discovered to be the reincarnation of the Kogane no Hono early the same day and the two of them would have a double anointment ceremony and would be welcomed into the ranks of the Guardians.

He had many, many questions but the first was, where could he find Kieshi? It had been years since he had seen his friend. Kieshi's father was transferred to the Iwagakure branch of the clan after an increase in violent crime had been reported in the Village when Kieshi was eleven and he had been forced to move away from Konoha. He had only moved back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves two weeks ago and had spent the majority of the time unpacking and catching up with his clansmen and relatives.

Akira had explained to him that Kieshi was in the Uzumaki Clan's main compound preparing the anointment ceremony with the newest member of the Uzumaki Head Council. Kisai would be permitted to go to the compound after his meeting with Akira had concluded.

Akira also explained to him the disturbing news that a clansmen stationed in a small outpost in the Land of Water had passed onto them before immediately rushing to the Uzumaki compound to pass the same information to the Head Council.

He and his four comrades had been attacked by a group of masked individuals. They were outnumbered, subdued and knocked unconscious after a rag with a strange smelling substance was covered over their faces. When he awoke the Uchiha had been hanging upside down by ropes and faced an empty campsite towards a roaring flame. The most disturbing bit had been the discarded gear of his comrades burning in the flames along with very fresh looking bones. After glancing to either side of him the young Uchiha found pools of blood and discarded pieces of meat. It was at this moment he realized that his comrades had been killed and eaten. By who or what he didn't know or care. He gnawed through his ropes and sprinted as fast as he could away from the site. He passed his abandoned outpost and made a break for the Hidden Mist which was three miles south of his position. This is when he heard the howling from the direction of the campsite. His attackers had returned. The Uchiha went as fast as his legs could carry him and barely made it safely within the city before they caught up with him. As he rested within the city boundaries he heard the unholy howls from just outside the city begin to disappear into the night. From here he took a ship back to the Land of Fire and didn't rest until making it to Konoha.

Akira explained that they suspected that there were more campsites in the Land of Water and across the Federation. The Uzumaki and Uchiha were cooperating closely on several Guardian investigations in the Land of Water.

What the Uchiha Clan Head said next is what truly terrified Kisai. He told him that he truly believed that whatever attacked the now hospitalized Uchiha and his comrades were a threat not only to the small villages across the Federation but the state of the world as a whole.

Akira instructed him to take the chokuto and begin training with the other Uchiha Dragons as it was highly likely he would be summoned along with them to travel to the Land of Water.

Kisai asked him about the Uzumaki, specifically Kieshi. Would they also be going to the Land of Water? Akira responded vaguely, he said it depended on Kieshi's abilities and after staring at something somewhere else in space and time waved Kisai away and ordered him to the Uzumaki compound to plan the anointment ceremony.

That is where Kisai was now, traversing the halls of the Uzumaki compound. After turning down a short, dead end hall Kisai paused in front of the only door in the passage.

His friend, Kieshi was in there, waiting for him. It was now or never. So, with a bright grin across his features, Kisai opened the door and stepped inside.

~0~0~0~

So there you go! The first chapter of 1000 Years! What did you think? Good? Bad? I think this challenge will be fun to write! Let me know what you think! Suggestions, thoughts, criticism, I'll accept it all, see you again, have a great day.