– Prologue – 'The other boy who lived...'

[Small Details Matter, Lore Friendly (Except for the crap I need - like the Otsutsuki and the Four Horsemen... but Death was already Canon, so enjoy... I suppose), Realistic, No Sasuke/Magic World Bashing, If there is a fight I will not downgrade the true power of a character, IN CHARACTER AT ALL TIMES, SHIP ALL YOU WANT BUFFET]

This story is a slow burn, so forgive me. But to appreciate this Fanfic, I implore you; wait patiently for what is to come. (Also, I'm a slow uploader... I'm Australian and lazy as hell)

*Read at your own pace, absorb the plot points properly - I'm not American, so I don't repeat stuff 100 times like in a documentary*

*Warning, this fanfiction contains disturbing scenes and extreme psychological violence, sexual violence and violence in general. It will contain mild coarse language later down the line. Rating is T during the first parts until the verse is ready to mature. I do like my lemons. I do not have rights for Harry Potter or Naruto so please don't sue me, lol.*

"I told him that he had undone me by his obstinacy and that I would not favour... in any sort, his former folly..." – Sir Walter Raleigh on the El Dorado Expedition.

It had been a while since alarms had sounded in the Hidden Leaf Village, so when the nearby Patrolmen lazed around on the long bendy roads of Konoha, exchanging small talk and greetings – the sound of a bell, took them by surprise.

"IT'S THE UCHIHA DISTRICT! ROUND UP THE ANBU!" a tactless male voice cried out, belonging to a guard who desperately pushed past, a small crowd of worried, whispering onlookers – clogging the path the man needed to head down. All eager to understand the root of the problem.

Save one, who parted from the excitement, noiselessly. When he saw no one looking, he jogged to turn the bend – halting to a trot and then a slow walk.

Rain – Itachi could feel it, loud and blossoming on the concrete, further ahead; little timid flowers of water dispersed in intervals, like the drag of percussion drum.

Tiredly, the Uchiha glanced up at veils of thunder. He walked slow heavy steps down the side of the road, right along the shadows edge; the stalls empty in the shopping district. Mostly silent. But not quite, not with the ruckus stirring everyone up.

Though late at night, the lights were still on for a few of the families, with haughty cheers and drunken laughs spouted amongst the distant booms of lightning, and screams of Ninja running about – still yet, the rain had not caught on, not to him at least. His still red eyes watched gloomily, as the road – not too far in front of him, dotted with the distant wet... came closer and closer. He dragged his hood over the bloodily beaten armour of the ANBU black ops, just before the pour hit him.

Just before his tears hit the ground.

He peeked back sadly; already missing the time he could embrace his brother with love, and comfort. Missing the time, where his parents would support him, and nothing was wrong with his small little village world. Where he could spar, with his cousin Shisui – and pretend, like nothing was going to change.

Peeling off his Konoha headband – a symbol of his affiliation and loyalty, he tearily snatched a kunai from his side – staring long and hard at the decision that was made for him. 'Sorry, Sasuke... maybe next time.' he promised... before stabbing away at the metal – sparks flying, as he ripped away from his bond with the village.

Then silence...

'First... I'll meet with the Hokage...' he growled hatefully, 'then Madara.' he decided, thoughts turning grim, his mind wary of the already long night.

And off he went with a flicker...

Morning

It was a dread-filled day, with cognac leaves storming the ground, as a tempest of rain pillaged the streets of Konoha. The storm struck dumbly against the concrete. Its echo booming in the ears of the village.

For some, this was the perfect, beautiful day. For others, an ugly nightmare.

Hiruzen, the Third Hokage and leader of the village... was the latter; his normally tan face a pale ghost white – his visage a gaunt midnight sheen, probably from the fact that one of his clans had been virtually wiped off the face of the earth.

He often found himself wandering the office aimlessly, thinking about why the second Hokage had chosen him as a successor. Because of him, he had to look Itachi dead in the eyes, and tell him that, "This was the only way."

Fuck that. That was not the only way, and now, clan Uchiha was lost to him. At least almost...

He gathered his thoughts, stabbing his lit pipe with the tip of his pinky, wordlessly breathing a fire jutsu to keep the smoke alight, just for a little while longer.

With a single puff, he strutted to the oak door of his office, finally letting in a bit of light in his life. He needed it.

He sported his usual uniform. The customary hat and Haori with a red, full-length kimono tied with a white sash. Too hefty to be any practical. Perhaps that was why he felt so weak all the time, particularly in stints of crisis. The clothing was creased because he slept in it... he hardly ever removed himself out of it, unless in the case of washing the article.

Hiruzen made a strange face at the thought of it - the hygiene had never bothered him until he thought about it. Which meant, he would have to stop thinking about it. He gave a weak little huff, his hands clenched tiredly as he ambled off towards the bathroom, outside his office.

Each day he spent at the Hokage monument – cooped up in his dark little room, staring out at the village perimeters, made him often wonder at what age he would die; the candles he lit in his office, left him staring at them, as they melted and waxed - each time hoping that the end of their lives would indicate the end of his own. It only gave him more reason to hate his role as leader of Konoha.

"There's nothing good about being Hokage." he murmured with a sigh, sucking another puff from his pipe, as he bowed his head in acknowledgement of the Shinobi guards patrolling the building innards - catching him leaving the restroom, which he hoped they hadn't heard what he said. Their low respectful mutterings of 'Lord Third' reaching his old ears.

There were the ceremonies, the politics of the elite clans and the Hyuga with their god-forsaken inbreeding. He had to deal with the porting of agriculture and industry – all 'very' fun things indeed. He just wanted to sit back and relax, and to be a proper old man – enjoying what little exultations he could.

Instead, he sat in his office, doing paperwork – with absolutely no items of interest to entertain him. At least, none of a happy nature.

For instance,

The clan massacre – another blemish on his old soul.

To be completely honest, the "God of Shinobi" (The Third Hokage's honorary nickname) was at first dejected, yet relieved at the outcome of the clan massacre. The Coup d'état was no stress-free situation to elucidate. There was no simple way of dealing with a plotting group of traitors.

Subsequently, he'd have it no other way – at least, that's what he'd have liked to think. But there was this moral integrity, biting him in the ass each and every time he made some wrong move. Like that time, when he met with Danzo – one of the three village elders 'helping' him with his task of leadership.

"A terrible loss I'm sure." Danzo had said to him in private, a grin splitting his face as he balled the lifeless eyes of the civilian corpses. What the village elder had said, as opposed to what he was thinking was vastly different. Hiruzen knew this but paid it no mind – because what was the point in arguing something beyond his clutch?

There was no point. Yet that didn't make it any easier.

There was no reason for Shisui Uchiha to run away. He had proposed the idea of using Kotoamatsukami, his Mangekyou Sharingan's unstoppable genjutsu (illusion jutsu) - as a method of brainwashing the Uchiha clan back into submission. When the police force realised the disappearance of the young adult, only one face came to mind for the Hokage. That of Danzo, the power-hungry hypocrite.

Hence, another grey hair would join with his scalp.

'Honestly, fuck this job.'

Danzo and the other elders pranced about like victorious war heroes as if they'd thwarted some evil plot to overthrow the government. Yet only half of that was true. None of the hate, persecution or resentment towards the Uchiha clan, was ever made public towards the other civilians. Only, "they were wrong... so we dealt with it".

That is what it meant to be a hidden village in the elemental nations, a politic ridden horror show. Half of it was noble shinobi, great ninjas – the other, old shits ruling puppet over a small bunch of murder clans.

'No wonder the second Hokage gave me this job... it's fucked, he wanted to kill himself.' the Third Hokage mused, agreeing wholeheartedly with his imaginary sentiment.

Hiruzen scratched gently at the liver spots on his face, sighing tiredly at the things time had wrought upon him – he'd remember one morning an age past his prime, where he'd woken up, and in the mirror was his ghastly dark sight, now he was used to it. Used to being old that is.

He came to reality once he realised he was at the door of the building – he would finally be out of this dark place.

He put on his best fake smile. He waved his secretary good morning. He said hello to all the people, greeted children as they ran off to the academy.

He also made the mistake of going through the market sector, where he'd have to deal with the smell of dead fish for a good while. Yet it was worth the trouble since he could walk by the blistering autumn trees, still being peppered with heavy rain. 'Sort of beautiful', he thought - as he kept an arm over his face to see clearly.

The sight of all this reminded him of why he wasted his life away. To protect. His people. This sight. This village. This beauty.

The walk would have helped calm his poor old soul, if not for what he'd spot next.

A boy. The old man squinted slightly in disbelief, his hand muffling his bearded chin as he groaned painfully in despair.

He was a boy with raven black hair and a recently acquired look of dishevelment. He had a fair girlish face, that could no longer learn how to smile. He looked thinner than he was supposed to. Though that probably came from the rain sticking his clothes to his petite structure. It was an awful sight. A normal person would avoid the boy, yes, "avoid this strange... stupid child - staring soullessly into the rain".

But...

He. Was. Not. Just. Any. Boy.

That was Sasuke Uchiha.

That was Sasuke Uchiha, not in the hospital.

That was Sasuke Uchiha, whose clan had been wiped out last night.

Sasuke… was walking to the Uchiha compound, where the massacre had occurred - though Hiruzen doubted any of the bodies would remain, he'd dealt with it last night.

Hiruzen sighed. The boy was in denial. He had to be in denial, why else would he walk back there, to confirm his loss?

His heart sunk, as no ounce of compassion could infer the pain and suffering that the child was feeling at every waking moment.

His family was dead. His mother, father, uncle… every living thing that he'd grown to love, hate or even know had disappeared – with exception to one… his brother. The brother who had done the foul deed. Hiruzen couldn't even begin to imagine what it felt like, to have been betrayed by a loving family – to such a degree.

The third Hokage moved to approach the young boy and to take him back, but found that he couldn't… not really.

Because a lone thought invaded his frail, old mind.

'He has no home, and you did this to him.'

'I'm disappointed in you Sasuke…'

'I'm so very disappointed…'

'I wonder what Dad said about me to Mom…'

'You're so weak.'

'…one day… when you have the same eyes as I…'

'…climb over the wall…'

'…come before me!'

"…"

and die...

...

Blood decorated his knuckles, with the faint drip-drip of gore rolling down the sides of his left arm. Sasuke bore the face of a statue, unaware, uncaring and despondent.

His cold exterior held the hottest of interiors, as a roaring red hatred bubbled within his eyes.

They stared darkly up at a gloating gibbous moon, following closely, the dark clouds of shapeless things, their bellies glowering from the bright village lights below.

He hadn't moved for hours, he couldn't, not with the murder tape behind him.

The lights morphed, slowly and steadily until…

The village fell away… he would at least try to remember it...

...

His mind sent him back, far back. Deep into the crevices of his past.

There were only vast stretches of darkness, punctuated by dimly struck lamps; he stood on strange ground under an unfamiliar sky.

A full moon, similar to the one from before competed for his attention, a bloodily toned atmosphere, but the monochromatic stone of the Uchiha district gave the impression of warring waves suddenly frozen at the whim of some godlike artist.

'It is necessary…'

The warbled notes of his parent's screams topped his ears like a shrieking banshee – with the shadowy figure of his brother topside over their corpses.

The mad "idiot god" laughed gleefully over their deaths, his sword plunging into their bodies over and over – gushing with pleasure as he covered every stopped organ with perforations.

The image played for what seemed like hours, as tears streamed down the young boy's face – standing paralyzed in the dazzling starlight, with no idea what he wanted to feel about the brother who had betrayed him... and no idea where to eat... no idea what to do next.

No idea if he should give himself a 'next'.

What a wonderful-wonderful life…

The next morning...

Naruto was not as clueless as he made himself out to be, 'dattebayo!'

So, when it was another day in the classroom when the academy was roaring with rumours and gossip, naturally the hyperactive ninja would want to at least 'chip in' on all the action. Just typical that his verbal punching bag Sasuke wasn't around for him to capitalize on it.

And it was just that.

Sasuke wasn't around. Moreover, to Naruto's far from perfect – but working – memory, Sasuke had never before missed a class. The perfect little Uchiha cool kid always made Naruto angry, therefore, he'd have to deal with his crap – for at least the next few years in the ninja academy.

Naruto was a short kid, shorter than most at the academy – stemming from his malnutrition and lack of money. Times were hard and his clothes looked harder. He wore a green t-shirt, orange pants and a pair of goggles – something he'd found at the rearward of some back-alley restaurant on the other side of the village. His shinobi sandals were worn but functional, and his face had one or two bandages tapering its sides – from all the scratches he got pulling off his little pranks.

The blonde gifted Iruka a look of confusion, with his tanned teacher frowning, before attempting another soothing of the classroom. 'He looks a little too busy to ask right now...' Naruto thought.

Knowing that nobody would tell him the ins and outs of the latest gossip, he decided to sleep on the already frantic classroom; he didn't think he'd be missing much.

One day went by.

Two days went by.

Heck… three.

By now, Naruto knew something was up. Because the "idiot" hadn't been at the school for three days.

'That's three too many…' he thought, almost barking it out in the middle of a training session with Kiba. Who promptly continued to kick his ass.

He thought about asking Sakura for the info, but that probably wouldn't end up very well for him.

So naturally, he went to see the Hokage.

Naruto knew exactly where to find the old man. After all, he was always in the same place. The monument office. So naturally, Naruto went straight there.

It took a while, maybe a good ten minutes or so, but he eventually got there. It was directly under the stone carvings of the Hokage faces by the cliff edge, held over the entire village.

In Naruto's eyes. There were three main landmarks in the entire village. 1. Ichiraku Ramen. 2. The stone faces. 3. The Hokage Monument. (4. The toilet)

He ran up the many stairs, huffing as he went - before darting past the guards who glanced quickly at his face. Verifying his identity of course.

Hiruzen didn't look too good, almost a little sick if you were to ask Naruto – and he knew what sick looked like – especially in the mirror staring at himself after eating bad food (In front of the toilet). The third Hokage had become something like a father figure to young Naruto, guiding him around the village every once in a while, and giving him spare bits of advice whenever possible. The only other person to come close to the Hokage's level of care was Iruka, who always treated him to some ramen. Therefore, Iruka was also a top dog.

At the very sight of Naruto, the old man seemed to beam, the warmth returning to his face.

Also, in the room was an older looking man with thick black hair and a silk wrapped face covering one eye. He didn't look very inviting – and he didn't look particularly happy with Naruto's entrance. His clothing was a mix of two long dress like robes, one black and the other blue, the black part cut short in the middle to reveal the rest. The two elders sat in their respective seats, one the Hokage's, so naturally the comfortable looking one in Naruto's position - and the other, who sat in a dusty bamboo chair, despite the fact there were many other chairs with much higher quality.

The room had a fair few bookshelves too, with papers scattered around in filing cabinets that looked ready to explode.

Naruto was tempted to step back out, but Hiruzen waved him inside with a, 'come... come Naruto... here." before offering a chair.

The Hokage office was slightly dusty, though not as dusty as Naruto's abode. It smelt strongly of tobacco, and there wasn't much artificial lighting around. Let alone natural lighting.

"Who is this?" the other old man said tiredly, wrinkling his nose as he looked back to Hiruzen.

"Naruto Uzumaki…" the Third faltered, almost laughing, "you know the rest Danzo."

"And why have you invited him into the room during our discussion?" the one named Danzo hissed. His last words seethed a fit of veiled anger, and his eyes were shut tight, lips pursed in a way similar to a chef tasting his worst dish. His single uncovered eye fluttered back open, staring at the Hokage with murderous intent, and a look that said, 'you're not going to get away.' It was the same kind of look Naruto gave when he accidentally ordered the "worst" of the best ramen dishes in Ichiraku.

"But-"

"Why haven't you sent Kakashi to track him down already? He's only a boy, three days shouldn't be far! For 'Kami' sake, he's not even a Genin."

"Well, there is a problem with the tracker squadron and-"

"The Uchiha are a great asset to this village and I Hiruzen! We can't be losing this boy; the ramifications are unprecedented! There is a reason, I LEFT ONE UCHIHA! THE OTHER VILLAGES WILL COME FOR US SOON!" Danzo yelled, furiously – visible eye almost bulging.

Naruto gazed back and forth between the two elders, his gaze of confusion slowly transforming into one of dread.

Like an equation, the pieces all pulled together on their own – and realization dawned on the Uzumaki boy. For the first time ever, he regretted not listening to the gossip.

"-wherein the blazes could he have gone!?"

And that ladies & gentlemen, is the end of the prologue. It is deliberately short… dreadfully so, and some of the rewrites I'm doing at the moment are taking up 20k words per chapter so… yeah.

With my re-watch/re-read of the Harry Potter series, I fell back in love with the franchise – so I've decided to bite down hard and pump out a prologue to a story I've been piecing together in my head.

After reading HP, I've changed my third person writing style for this particular story… I don't like it… it's too sudden and abrupt. If you do end up seeing me writing the way I normally write in my soon to be released re-writes – then you'll get the idea.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed… it is small, but that's because there are a lot of characters and insignificant details that I want to get past.

The other chapters are gonna be my standard length of writing… and that'll come when it's ready… until then. Adieu!

P.S – that's the last time you'll be hearing from the other Shinobi in a long time.