Hey, guys. it's Master XIII back after long time away from writing fanfiction. i know that i have contacted a few of my readers about fics that i may or may not write just to get opinions on the concept of the story. what i present to you now is not a story i have discussed with anyone but something that i have had on the back burner for a long time. this is a complete rewrite of the concept of a bloodline based off of the crow, which the first movie of as i write this. so, without anymore gilding the lily, and with no more ado, i hereby present my new story: Naruto: Karasu.

Prologue:

Dark beginings.

A long time ago, people beleived that when someone dies, a crow would carry their soul to the afterlife, guiding them across the endless desert sands to paradise. there were the few times, however, that a soul would refuse being led to the afterlife in order to return to the earthly plane of existence to gain revenge for those that caused their tragic deaths.

Their guide would return them to a temporary state of life in order to set the wrong things right. each one to come back would wear a mask that was to represent death, sorrow, justice, and sacrifice. there was however one who came back to life and refused to return to a paradise he had only glimpsed at.

Instead of spending eternity with his deceased love, he stayed in the living world, a protector and a guardian in the night to all those who had need of him. in doing this, he was granted a second life, one where his abilities were kept and passed on to his children and his children's children.

Down through the millenia were his powers passed until, after centuries upon centuries, from civilizattion to civilization. Now, we watch as his last descendant lives a life in poverty, torture, and sadness. his mother, by whose side is he gifted with the pure blood of his ancestors, was murdered less than two years before the current time. his greatest freinds unable to remeber the times spent together or the abilities they had gained. he was considered lucky in that respect as he was unable to have such memroies sealed away due to his 'tenant'. he was however, the only one able to reveal their history to them.

To his old freinds, he was known as The Sorrow. always sad about how his mother was treated because of his was the wittiest, the fastest, and the most trusted of their group, being called The son of the Boss, seeing as his mother was 'The Boss.' she was more of a mother to them than their families were. each had their own traits that were looked down upon by everyone else in their village.

For now, however, we take a step back into the past. a few years only, but in the minds of these, now fourteen year old teens, a whole lifetime.

It was raining. not a heavy rain, but a cold, soul peircing rain that fell with the wind in harsh sheets. the seven children stood under the great trees just outside their village. six of them stood in a semi-circle around a blonde one. two of them were girls and five of them were guys, one boy holding a liitle puppy against his chest, all of them sniffling somewhat.

"why does this have to happen, Sorrow?" the blonde girl asks the only other blonde of their little group. he doesn't reply, simply walks over to her and wraps his arms around her. one of them decides to speak anyway.

"The adults we should call our 'parents' beleive that since the seven of us were the closest ones to the boss, we would only grow up to take revenge on those that killed her and this pathetic village." says a brown haired boy with his hair pulled into a spiky ponytail. the blonde boy gives a curt nod in response.

As soon as he nods, a group of men and women with small swords on their backs and masks mimicn gthe faces of animals appear around them, one walking towards each child, a peice of paper in the hands of each one. the blonde girls shivers slightly, as if just then realizing that it's still raining.

"I hate the rain." she says, snuggling closer into the blonde boy's chest, sighing as his warmth spreads to her. he was seldom ever warm, physically or emotionally.

"It can't rain all the time, Pain-chan. remeber that." he whispers into her ear before all of the men and wemon around the group move forward, pressing the papers to the backs of six of the children's necks. the papers burn away, leaving marks at the tops of their spines. all six of the unmarked children fall to the ground unconcious as a man in a broad-brimmed hat walks towards the blonde boy.

"You know they'll still be aware of what's going on when they wake up, just a different personality. Are you sure you want it this way, Naruto?" he asks as the blonde boy's face comes into veiw with a single flash of lightning in the distance. his blue eyes were void of any emotion but sorrow and his lower face was covered in bandages, stained red with blood where his cheeks are hidden.

"Yes, jiji. This way i know that thier still in there, somewhere."

The Blonde teen opens his eyes as he stares at what his best freinds have become. today was the day that they would graduate from the shinobi academy. today was a day that they had hoped would be spent together when they were little. now, he acted the idiot in order to not stand out to them in any way, shape, or form that would bring back memories that they could be killed for having.

instead of black clothes like he used to wear, he wore a hideous orange jumpsuit. his hair was still a sunkissed blonde, but his eyes showed incrediblly fake emotions. and where his cheeks used to be unmarked by anything, there were three scars acrossed each cheek. a horrible reminder of the night his mother was murdered in front of his own eyes.

" Uzumaki Naruto." his teacher says loudly, not knowing that this young man could easily passs the test he was going to be given. but, he had plans for this night. he would don his old style of dress, where the same mask of the shadow's smile his ancestors have worn, and his vengeance would start.

-that night-

The silver-haired chunin sped through the trees at amazing speeds for someone of his rank, a large scroll braced at his back. He was almost there. Just a little further and he would be able to get the forbidden scroll to Lord Orochimaru.

A loud cawing, like that of a crow, resounded around him as he hit the ground in a clearing. the sound of it stopped him dead in his tracks, as if it was boreing it's way into his soul.

"Going somewhere, Mizuki-sensei?" a familiar voice sounds from behind him. turning quickly, he sees the last person he thought he would ever see. Naruto Uzumaki.

he was dressed completely different than what he was expecting, however. his orange jumpsuit was replaced by a pair of black jeans with a black belt at his waist, a dagger with a crow's head for a pommel in his hand, the silver, wickedly curved blade contrasting with his black T-shirt. that wasn't the oddest thing about him at the moment, however. his face was painted white with black make-up around his eyes in tears going down and spikes going up, a black, forsaken crucifix on his forehead. his lips were painted black with a black 'smile' reaching out from the corners of his mouth, mimicing the wicked smile already adorning his face.

"What do you want, Demon?" the silver-haired one snaps, only to scream as the blonde teen dashes forward and swipes the blade smoothly across the man's wrists, causing him to start bleeding heavily as he falls to the ground, Naruto standing over him.

"You were one of thirty people that participated in the death of my mother, Mizuki. for that, you now die, the first of that group of dead men to go to hell." the masked teen tells him with a smile on his face before he quickly cuts his throat open.