Hi, the name is Rasha (named after my lead character in my fanfiction) and I, as you can all tell, am new to the forums. I am also new to the world of Uzamaki Naruto and writing fanfictions. Nonetheless, I am here to try my hand at what everyone else on this forum can do so well.

Here is the prologue for my story, if it is any good at all, please do not hesitate to tell me. If it sucks likewise.

Well, as we all know, the Village Hidden in the Mist used to implement the horribly gruesome "test" where Academy students were forced to murder a classmate in a fight to the death as an initiation into the savage world of shinobihood and ninja-goodiness. But Zabuza never really said why such harsh conditions were imposed upon such young cadets, did he? That is what my story explains and build off and up from...in a way.

By the way, everything included in the story may not be perfectly accurate to the geology, topography, chronological order of, and or anything else I forgot. I really don't feel like changing such little things

Prologue Part #1:

Haraka

Over one hundred years ago in the land of water a demonic spirit of shadow called Haraka dwelled in a black forest of giant trees. The woods were a forbidden area to all. No one was sure why the forest devoured people in its endless shadows or why no one ever returned from the forest alive; whispers of a dark shadow, blacker than velvet, that killed as quickly as it did silent, lingered on the lips of the few woodsmen that dared stray close enough to the forests edge.

Then one unforgettable night Haraka emerged from its black hold and turned its blood-red eyes towards the closest living populace, a small island not far away called, The Village Hidden in the Mist. With its stomach empty for the first time in history, Haraka's insatiable appetite for flesh drove it downwards; down into the rolling hills and water where it fell like a monsoon upon the unprepared village.

Less than thirty minutes later Haraka sank back into its diseased home leaving the mist-coded village devastated; close to half the population had been killed. As suspected, mass panic ensued in the misty town once those who had been spared discovered the fate of the other half of the island. Women, children, young husbands with families to feed; Haraka had spared none in its way.

Muzen-Kage, leader of the village, massed all of the remaining ninja, young and old. He summoned seven of the best ninja to him and ordered them and their young teams to do the unthinkable, the unimaginable, and the unbelievable; find and kill Haraka. The Kage remained to guard with the other ninja against any other attacks from neighboring villages that would chose this opportune moment to wipe out the Hidden Mist Village.

And so the motley group of ninjas journeyed into no-man's land, deep into the heart of the giant forest of shadow. Every step they took, they knew led them only closer to the demon in hell, waiting with open arms to greet them at the black gates. When some of the younger genin grew fearful, the shinobi's replied with these wise words,

"When your going through hell, kids, keep going!"

INTERMISSION: Get something to drink.

It was not long before the group came upon the center of the forest, Haraka's lair. In a large circular clearing, shadowed by the towering branches overhead, sat the devil itself. Haraka sat crouched, its massive jaws agape; a twisted smile of a demon covered in gleaming fangs. Its bone-thin, overly long forearms resting on its wiry bent legs. The ground was covered in the bones off the many unfortunate victims the demon had taken fallen upon over the past centuries.

And then there were the eyes.

Those rare few, those unimaginably lucky few, who have ever so much of caught a glance of Haraka and lived spoke of nothing but the demons eyes. Crimson orbs, slit in twine by black slits, like cat eyes. Large, shocking white veins branching out from the center that pulsed with surging power split the night. It is said that when Haraka looked at a person and the pair locked eyes, it felt like an iron vice had clasped itself around your very soul.

Since every inch of Haraka's eternal body was black, the shinobi and squads only reference to the demon's position in the clearing was by the location of its eyes. Two blood-red glass orbs that bobbed and weaved to the monster's breath pierced the silent night and locked onto the ninja. And so the battle in hell against the devil itself began.

The shinobi wasted no time with illusion jutsus, attacking in full force. Combining incredibly powerful jutsus together the ninja threw all they had at Haraka. But Haraka was in its element; the demon slithered and maneuvered around the attacks like liquid. The demon's animal senses and unfathomable speed allowed it to easily pervade the shinobi's best efforts. The ninja grew frustrated and enraged; it was like fighting a shadow in a shadow.

The younger ninja held their ground for a time, but Haraka was untiring. The demon, not having to use any chakra, moved unmatched against the fastest the village had to offer. Striking with its long serrated fingers it cut through flesh and bones in seconds. The monster's vicious claws cut down seven different chuunin's before a different idea gripped the ninja.

A chuunin lit a fire with his chakra, limiting the area Haraka could hide in and giving somewhat of a reference point to fight around. Other chuunin soon followed suet, lighting their own fires to hold of the growing darkness. Hope began to prosper in the hearts of the attackers; the fires ability to bite back at the shadows renewed their moral. But it was in vain.

Haraka was able to identify by the origin of the flame the chuunin responsible for creating it and kill him or her with seconds of the fires ignition. Swiftly as the fires had started they were extinguished, snuffed out along with the souls of their creators. The shinobi's chakra and vigor was waxing as they watched their students die. Haraka's gleaming teeth and vicious eyes taunted them from the darkness. Only the seven shinobi remained beneath its haunted glare.

The shinobi retreated and regrouped momentarily to catch their breath, hiding inside an illusion. They spoke quickly and briefly, about what options remained to kill the demon. Plan after plan was shot down; the demon had shown no sign of tiring, let alone any weakness. Desperation led to the final decision, suggested by one of the seven shinobi. The decision to go against everything they had ever been taught about order, structure, and chain of command in the Hidden Mist Village, the final decision to break the rules and to hell with the consequences.

So together they did the only thing they could, the only option left. Together they started out of the satanic woodlands and back home. Together they stole an orphaned baby, left parentless by Haraka, from the village they loved.

And together they went back into the forest with the mindset to do what only Kage's were allowed.

Together they would ruin an individual's life to save hundreds; condemning a innocent child to years of persecution to save their own necks.

And together they would end it. They would stop Haraka's endless slaughter and suppress the loathed creature using all of their power combined. Stop the senseless fear that gripped the land of water under Haraka's merciless reign.

Together and tonight.

I hope you guys like it.

Thank you for reading, Rasha