Before the Hidden Villages, before the Five Great Shinobi Countries, before shinobi altogether. The world was at war. People had banded together and formed Tribes, a society that shared philosophy, belief, and interest. These tribes fought over resources, land, differences. Everything had given reason to battle. They grew in power and the chaos grew as they pushed forward for more power and influence accordingly. Some lands were left barren, bodies littered the fields and weapons were scattered throughout the landscapes.
"I don't think you understand what we're telling you. We've been down on our luck recently and your 'donation' of everything you have will be greatly appreciated." He said exposing the clunky metal gauntlets worn on his right arm. The bladed tips of the fingers were covered with a thin green tinted film, poison to paralyze their targets. He used his open left hand to adjust the headband across his forehead. The other thief stood to the left of his counter-part and shifted the gauntlet on his right arm, their facials expressions hid by the masks. "By the looks of you, you're foreigners. So we'll introduce ourselves." He said with chuckle. "I'm Gozu, my brother here is Meizu. We're the famous demon brothers. So give us the stuff and we can all just walk away."
The pair they challenged stood quietly, examining their assailants. A solemn expression on the taller foreigners face, one that showed an apathetic countenance. The one of average height showed no fear, not even a hint of worry. He displayed excitement, an eagerness for something. The slightly hyper eye movement and tightening of his fists showed this and the taller one sighed upon noticing the signs. "This isn't why I came here." He groaned.
"This is the only reason why I'd bother with this shit!" He said. The knuckles in his fingers popped as they closed together. A smirk spread across his face, expectations ran rapid in his mind and out of anxiety his adrenaline began to pump through his veins. The younger was dressed in black clothing, a large coat that trench coat with a golden lion design on the back, massive pants with oversized pockets held up by a belt, red gloves, and thick boots.
The older shifted his position in distress, a stone gray vest, black pants of average appearance, grey boots. They both had a light brown complexion of skin, eyes the color of a pure ruby, the older with black hair that hung by his neck in thick dreads, the younger with shorter hair, streaked red.
It was during this time, that one man had risen to power. As he journeyed throughout the war-torn land, he had gained followers. These followers all sought out his protection and his teaching and he had provided them. It did not take this one man long, he soon held most of the land in his teachings and had began achieving his goal of peace amongst them all.
"Aye, I don't know what you're planning but it's not going to work. Trust me. Don't try anything stupid, we don't got a problem killing the both of you." Meizu exclaimed as he raised up the gauntlet and pointed the hole towards the foreigner. The agitation in Meizu's voice was from the streak of bad luck him and his brother had come across. He hoped that the chance would come when he was able to take out his frustrations, and he saw the time as now. "You should be happy Gozu gave you a chance to walk away from here, this is our road."
"Where are we?" The taller foreigner asked. He noticed that his partners stance was unmistakable, he was ready for combat and there was nothing to dissuade him from that decision. He came to the conclusion that he might as well get something out of this encounter. The Demon Brothers prepared their weapons, mutually deciding to take what they needed from their prey.
"This is Amegakure, but it's not going to matter much longer to you anymore though. You took too long!" Meizu shouted thrusting forward his palm. Instantly, the shuriken chain that was bound within the gauntlet shot forward towards the younger traveler who seemed prepared to fight. Meizu's actions were brash though, they specialized in coordinated attacks and his individual assault wasn't apart of the plan.
This man, was the Sage of Six Paths. The Founding Father of the Shinobi. He had taught his followers of chakras and jutsu, he showed them how to summon spirits and use the elements. But as his power grew, so had the oppositions. They had seen the Sage as protector of the weak and the leader of a rebellion against the most powerful tribes at the time. To combat him, another like him had arrived.
"What the fuck?" The younger foreigner said as he saw the shuriken come his direction. Meizu grinned hearing his opponents response and prepared his footing to dash forward once he whipped the chain around his target. "Is this it!" He heard the foreigner shout afterwards which made his heart skip a beat out of confusion. He began to push forward not willing to take the risk, flicking his wrist causing the chain to arch across with a slashing motion instead of the original trap he planned as a precaution.
The young foreigner leapt forward towards Meizu, dipping to his right and reaching upwards towards the chain with his left. They all saw it, but Meizu had the unfortunate chance to experience it first hand. An arc of electricity surged around his arm, jumping from fingertip to the next. As his hand grasped the chain, Meizu felt his entire body seize up, he twitched erratically and smoke began to rise up from the holes in his gauntlet from the searing flesh underneath the metal.
"Brother!" Gozu shouted as he took a risk by striking the electrified chain with his own gauntlet. At the speed he did, the chain shattered underneath his strike and he only suffered a minor zap. But Meizu remained on the dirt trail, groaning in pain of his hand being nearly destroyed. He slowly rose up, stumbling in his attempts to stand without using the hand that was injured, his breaths slow and skin burnt raw in some places. "You bastard!" Gozu stepped away from his brother, brandishing the gauntlet and lunged forward towards the youth that quickly approached them.
"Fuck off!" The youth continued after seeing Gozu's reaction to Meizu's injuries. Gozu stabbed towards at the youth with his fingers together attempting to harpoon his enemy. His attacked missed, and the feeling of an orb being smashed into his stomach stopped his momentum. He felt it expand and with a pulse of force, shoot him backwards with a power that shot the air out of his chest and an excruciating pain, possible from the shattering of ribs.
A youth upon the arrival of the Sage, Hachiman was raised within a small and powerless tribe. It became the target of Shinobi as the Sage grew in power and was wiped out like all others that didn't follow his methods. Hachiman escaped and grew to detest and hate Shinobi. There was nothing in existence that he had hated more than the Sage. As he grew and survived he had developed the power to combat Shinobi, a style of his own that he used to defeat the followers of the Sage. Soon, the tribes took notice of Hachiman and he became the Sage's only competition.
"No, Gozu!" Meizu roared as his adrenaline forced his body to respond and ignore the pain of swinging the claw at his assailants back. He clumsily swung his weapon, not bothering to use any bit of the training he had learned out of desperation. He hadn't noticed the sudden turn on the heel or the other leg being brought into the air. The collision with the black boot and his shoulder was painful for the older traveler that watched from a distance to see, he blinked and missed most of the impact. Gozu flew aside and landed on the ground, groaning from the pain of his arm.
"Hurry this up, we don't much time, Keijiro." The older said to the younger known as Keijiro. Keijiro placed both feet on the ground and sighed, looking at Meizu who returned to his position of rolling on the ground and Gozu, who was attempting to stand after his attack. "We have to get to the..." The older pulled out a piece of paper and read over the script as a reminder. "Leaf Village, it should be farther east."
"Shut up, Koji. These assholes started it, not me. So don't blame me for this." Keijiro shouted back. He took his eyes off Gozu and Meizu for a moment, and hadn't noticed Meizu give Gozu a signal, or the fact that Gozu was standing erect. His hands together forming multiple seals. Koji looked passed Keijiro and raised an eyebrow at what it was the opponent was doing. Keijiro looked down at Meizu and saw the evil smirk on his face through the charred mask. "What's so funny?" Keijiro asked before looking towards Gozu. "And what the fuck are you doing with your hands?" That statement made Meizu pause for a moment.
"What the hell? What kind of ninja...?" He began to say before being interrupted by Keijiro with an annoyed glance and a powerful stomp to his ribs.
"We are not, Shinobi. We are Hitokiri, the Hachiman." Keijiro said to Meizu angrily. On their journey east, Keijiro and his brother, Koji had constantly been mistaken as Shinobi. Keijiro had hated it and the individual that made the mistake each and every time, Koji didn't particularly care. "Now seriously, what the hell is that guy doing?" Keijiro said referring back to Gozu.
"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet !" Gozu shouted as water from a nearby pond sprouted upwards and raced through the air towards Keijiro. Meizu dived towards Keijiro using his gauntlet to attempt to leave a gash across his calves, preventing Keijiro from avoiding the attack. He raised up the gauntlet and stretched forward to meet a display of something he didn't understand, nor would he have the chance.
This man became known as the King of Eight Powers, the First Hitokiri or Manslayer. Like the Sage, he also had power that none other could believe and taught them to his followers. His methods differed from the Sages, he taught that by understanding what makes one exist, their own nature, instincts, emotions. It allowed them to control the power within. The techniques became known as the Hachiman Arts. Two tribes had produced the most powerful of Hitokiri, the Mishima and the Hakkai. These two tribes soon became the most powerful forces behind Hachiman and the most well known names amongst Hitokiri.
He felt like he collided with a wall, but one that surged with power. The power that swelled up within it expelled him, launching him off at an intense speed. He would have been safe, if he hadn't flown in the direction of Koji, who simply caught Meizu with one arm. The sudden jolt breaking his neck. Koji let the corpse drop and resumed his previous stance.
"Die!" Gozu shouted unsure of his brothers fate. He ignored the spherical figure that spiraled around Keijiro. He didn't understand whatever it was, but he thought his jutsu would break through the defense. Keijiro stood erect with one hand forward, his palm outwards as the source of the sphere. A smirk on his face showed confidence in his tactic. The water in the air jetted towards Keijiro rapidly in a spinning motion capable of splitting the trees and tearing apart the roads. Gozu stood stationary, controlling one of his most powerful jutsu hoping it would be effective against this trap that went wrong.
Soon after, he dropped down to one knee. His eyes red from the strain and his body heaving from the blows earlier. His chakras nearly depleted and Keijiro still stood not even fazed by the attack. The pool of water formed a puddle around his position, Gozu looked at the still body of his brother and panicked. He needed a plan, he had to retrieve his brothers body that he hoped was still alive, and escape. Continuing this fight was no longer an option, they made a bad choice and it was going to cost them. He considered using the chain, but as Keijiro just proved, that would be useless. And the problem of Koji standing in the distance patiently was unnerving. He stalled, his last move.
"Damn, shinobi." Keijiro growled. The sphere that surrounded him rapidly retreated to his palm as a compressed glowing form of what it was. An orb, about the same size as his palm materialized in his grasp. As his fingers wrapped around it, flames churned out from between them. The flames grew more rapidly and reached higher, the heat increasing along with the sadistic grin on its wielders face. "You better not be the best of them." Keijiro released the flames from his hands and they shot forwards, rapidly expanding as they move forward.
Gozu couldn't avoid the assault, he attempted to flee into the water. But his attempt failed and the raging flames engulfed is back and covered the rest of his corpse.
The King eventually stood before the Sage, equal in every way. Shinobi against Hitokiri. The battles would rage on and casualties would be heavy on both sides, yet the Hitokiri had the advantage. The Sage wanted to bring about peace, not be a prominent figure in a war. Hachiman also took pride in this, the Hitokiri promoted power and strength, a warrior mentality. One built around the ideals of battle contrasted to that of the stealthy Shinobi approach.
Hours later, Keijiro and Koji continued on their journey east. Walking quietly down a dirt path, silently. The battle was miles behind them and the sun began to set in the distance, they saw the border to the Land of Fire in the distance but paid it no mind. They were simply heading the direction and anything that came in the path was an obstacle that was either to be removed or gone over. But as they journeyed towards the Leaf Village, the events within the Leaf continued as if they nothing had happened in the distance.
"Come on, let's leave quickly." Naruto said as he pushed Sakura and Sasuke out of the exam room quickly. He occasionally glanced back at Ibiki Morino in hopes that he didn't notice his attempts to escape and not receive any comments about the empty exam paper. With one hand on Sakura's back and the other on his Uchiha partner, they quickly left the room allowing Naruto to take a breath that he truly didn't deserve. He wiped the sweat off his brow and stood up proudly, he escaped the first test and was able to move on to next challenge.
"You idiot, don't touch me. Some of us actually put effort into that." Sasuke grumbled as he brushed Naruto's hand off of his clothing upon exiting the building. Naruto secretly flipped him the bird while Sakura badgered on about how Naruto should respect Sasuke's personal space, something he believed she didn't do herself. Kakashi watched them from a distance, separated by a window and nearly a mile of distance. He watched the from the window paying partial attention to their behavior, but keeping perfect track on the conversation of importance.
But this war was short-lived. The concentration of death and power in the land had summoned a beast, one with ten-tails and more power than any could imagine. It threatened to destroy everything. The only way to counter it would be the cooperation of the Sage and the King, as reluctant as they were, it was formed. The Sage of Sixth Paths and the King of Eight Powers developed a plan to destroy the beast. While the King battles the beast to the last bit of his power, the Sage would perform a jutsu to finish the weakened and fatigued monstrosity.
"How long has it been since we've had any contact with them.." Kakashi asked. Sarutobi lowered his head and took a moment, his mind in thought, going back to his oldest memories. He had nothing, not a single hint of the existence of the subject at hand. The only reason these thoughts even graced his mind is because they were brought to his immediate attention. He took a heavy breath and stroked his beard out of stress.
"I wish I could tell you, but my memory isn't as good as it was years ago, Kakashi. But like I was saying, there will be another Jonin being recruited for this exact reason, he's a reasonable man and an old friend of mine. His arrival time, on the other hand, has yet to be determined. His students should be arriving tomorrow." Sarutobi had finished saying before he brought up two, rather improvised dossiers. They weren't like pages of a bingo book, or any kind of official government documents that they'd ever seen before. He slid them across his desk and the room of Jonin all leaned over to exam the details.
"The Mishima and Hakkai clans?" Kurenai asked as she noticed the difference between the terminology.
"No, Mishima and Hakkai Tribes is correct." Sarutobi stated.
But a Betrayal had taken place...
With the beast weakened and the King using all of his power, the Sage had taken in the beast and sealed it within himself. Using the power he had gained from becoming the first Jinchuriki, the Sage subdued the King, the Mishima, the Hakkai, and any other Hitokiri in the land. He demanded that they surrender and forfeit all the Hachiman Arts. The King had refused.
The Sage punished the Hitokiri, banishing them to the land in the West, away from the Shinobi and all that they knew.
"Why haven't we ever dealt with these people before. These Westerners." Might Guy asked. His question was justified, a society isn't just simply discovered over night. There had to have been some kind of history or expeditions which led to encounters with the Western people. The dossiers went over their body types, generalizations of their personalities and side notes. One of those side notes was an entire report on its own, which was hidden within the Hokage's desk.
"These questions will be answered when I can, many of these are issues that must be addressed to the Daimyo, and not to myself." The Hokage said rubbing his brow from more stress. "It seems as though the exams have just ended. Go and see how your teams performed." He finished in an attempt to earn himself some space.
Upon arriving in the West, the amount of resentment and power that seemed to radiate from the Hitokiri had summoned another demon as powerful as the previous. One that threatened to ravage the world and devour everything. This demon came to be known as the Orochi, the Demon of the West.
"How much longer do we have to go, fuck..." Keijiro grumbled. Their journey towards Konoha was coming to a close, but the daylight began to leave them. Even though Keijiro prefers to travel at night, Koji didn't trust the environment and would stubbornly drop down and rest, ignoring Keijiro's demands to continue moving forwards. "If you got off your ass for a minute, we probably would have been there already." Keijiro growled displaying his disappointment by pulling out a tomahawk that he contained underneath his coat. He launched it into a tree and retrieved it lazily.
"Shut up and sleep. The plan was to arrive in about two weeks of time, tomorrow is the day we get there." Koji said with his face in a pillow that was improvised from the bags they carried. He rolled over facing away from Keijiro and drifted off to sleep leaving the younger Mishima to stand in his boredom. "Now leave me alone."
"Bastard..." Keijiro grumbled.
As the story is told, it is said that the King of Eight Powers had devoured the beast. It tells of how the demons energy was passed down to the strongest of the Mishima or Hakkai. But this history was lost to the East as all of it took place before the birth of the first Uchiha or Senju and the Sage, out of fear of their curiosity, withheld information of the Western Manslayers from his children. The flow of fate would have gently ran its course if one mistake hadn't been made.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had attempted to rekindle connection with the long-lost people of the West. The decision was made that the Chunin Exam was offered to the West, and that two teams would compete. One comprised of Hakkai, the other of the Mishima. They would compete along side the rest of the genin teams participate as if the events of the times that passed had never happened.