I don't own Naruto
Ninety Minutes
Chapter One
Konoha. The largest city of the Fire Country
. Twelve million souls lived their everyday lives inside it's colossal ancient walls. It housed soldiers, traders, politicians and athletes. It was the center of world trade, the place where the fate of other billions was decided.
. It's origins are unknown, it is the oldest known human settlement in the world, dated back to eight centuries ago. Some suggest that there was once a larger, greater and more developed world, a world of diversity, of conflicts, of opposing religious factions, a world that consumed itself in greed, terror and wars. A world out of which nothing remained.
Well, not exactly nothing…
One thing was preserved throughout the ages, a thing that united people that would otherwise be fighting, a thing so spectacular, so magnificent, that at one point it was named ' The King of all sports.'. Played in so many styles, so many ways, full of incredible acrobatics, dependant of team-work and breathtaking. Ninety minutes of magic, ninety minutes of… Football
The Greenleaf Stadium. Ninety thousand seats. Three levels. Forty-five thousand security cameras. Four general stores. Two restaurants, Headquarter of three professional clubs, with gyms, medical centers, lounges, garages and a heliport. A city within a city.
The West Leaf United, The FC Green Knives and FC Golden Leaf, the three most succesfull clubs in the Fire Country internal championship, The Shodai League. Each of them were founded at the same time by a trio of twins, football legends of the country, each wanting to promote the expansion and competitive spirit of the sport. They named the clubs after distinctive landmarks of the original home-stadium, the thing the best represented the club and it's reputation. As one can guess the direct matches between the three instantly became derbies and attracted thousands and thousands every day. And with a football club coming to town, a firm was expected right after it.
Unlike the firms before them, the Firms of the Magic Trio were more aggressive, especially to each other, in an attempt to show the world how good they were not only on the pitch but also in the street. Alley brawls and local incidents quickly turned into full scale battles on the eve of a game, filling the hospitals and police stations with people varying from twelve to sixty years old, men and women alike. A derby meant the mobilization of a few hundred policemen, Special Forces and sometimes the army, in order to stop the angry mobs looking for revenge from a defeat of their team, of over-joyed ones, looking to show off.
Extreme cases, where people refused to eat in order to make their team win, or threaten to kill someone in order to see a long awaited, appeared sometimes. Usually they ended up tragically but for the Firms it didn't matter. The Team was on the first place. No matter the consequences. The best known case happened twenty years ago, when the lot, coach, training staff and manager of West Leaf had to be located to a military base following a disastrous game against the Green Knives- 0-5 -. The club Firm, The Shadow Walkers, issued 'signed death warranties' for every man responsible of the loss, and planned to carry it out, with car-bombs, night-raids and burning of the headquarters. Eventually one hundred and twenty two were arrested and given the life sentence, and another group of three hundred- twenty years of highly secured prison and a lifetime ban from the Greenleaf.
But that's history now, let's focus on the present…
It was a nice, warm sunny day, possibly one of the last that year, the last day of August, and the start-off of the Shodai League, with a match between the W.L.U. and a provincial club, FC Tanzaku. The streets were empty, the shops were closed. The hospital was silent, the schools had entered a special break, everyone was either watching the game on TV either on the Stadium, cheering their lungs out. In contrast to the ghost-town appearance of Konoha, the stadium was a massive entity full of life, filled with indistinguishable sounds and cries, a great engine powered by the bodies of almost one hundred thousand fans.
The twenty-two men on the pitch were all that mattered now, they could bring either joy or despair in the stands. They controlled the actions of the entity, they were the core of it. A spherical object of otherwise no importance , one had to be blind and could still see it, one could be deaf and he could still hear it, one could lack all senses in his body and he could still perceive the vastity of life, constantly moving, constantly changing. And all over a ball.
Just outside the stadium gates, with the guards vanished for obvious reasons, a young man carrying a small back-pack containing all his belongings, admired the colossal building and listened to the varying sound of the people inside. For him it was incredible, a crowd of such proportions, a sound of such magnitude the it made the earth vibrate and the windows shake. He imagined how it would be to stand on the pitch, to have all those cheers dedicated to you, and suddenly a feeling of fear overwhelmed him. But he wasn't going to turn back, no, because he also fell something apart from fear, that mixed with it, anxiety.
He took a deep-breath and made a shaking step towards the stairs. He mentally slapped himself' C'mon Naruto, don't do this now. This is your big chance to accomplish your goal and you start shaking like a kid.' Gaining some courage he kept moving up the stairs and into the main lobby, which looked like it could contain a pitch itself. The floor was polished so neatly that he could see himself in a mirror in detail, more than even in a crystal one.
He was mid-height, wearing orange and black clothes along with a black cap. His coat was unzipped, revealing a t-shirt with a fox design on it. Unlike many in his profession he didn't wear ear-rings, piercing, tattoos, flashy jewelry or any other ego-centrist, rebel symbol. He had spiky blond hair that almost touched his shoulders, cerulean blue-eyes and three sets of whisker marks that he had since birth. From his appearance one could see humbleness, a trait he had since he had know how to walk.
After analyzing a map of the complex he made his way to one of the elevator on the right side of the huge lobby and moved up to the fifth floor. As soon as the doors opened he was hypnotized by a world of white and green. Flags, shops, pavement, walls, windows, even trees! All was painted in the two colors of the W.L.U. It was almost impossible to discern any shape at all and for a few seconds he considered the mental state of the people who designed it. He walked to a large glass door that slid instantly as he entered. A large sign representing a green lion surrounded by a white Chinese dragon greeted him.
Amazed by the sheer sizes o the place and the opulent luxury he continued his journey in a straight line, passed by the empty receptionist lounge, the vacated guard posts and a number of doors, everything bearing the symbol of the club. After ten minutes of walking he turned right, into a hallway. Unlike the rest of the sector this one was painted in deep purple, and held a number of pictures on the walls, no doubt the Hall of Fame. Players of all kinds, holding trophies smiled at him, old team captains or star players. The dates on them were even two centuries old.
One of them particularly drew his attentions. It was taken forty two years ago, and had a gold written title above.' World Club Championship, 1968. The Sannin- Three Ninja' A blond woman, with a fierce look held a gold cup over her head. On her left a white haired teenager-' Must have been a stupid fashion back then' smiled while giving a 'V' sign to the camera. The last person in picture made the blond shiver- he looked almost like a snake, paled skinned, yellow eyes 'Contact lenses maybe?' and did not show any emotion. On his arm he had the white band reserved to the captain., indicating his position in the team.
Shrugging of the confusion regarding the strange man and the name o the trio, Naruto moved on, passing a hall filled with trophies of various years and significance and knocked on a wooden door with the club symbol carved into it, along with the kanji for 'Fire'. From the inside the voice of an old man answered him "Come in, it's not locked."
The office was small, with a desk, a book shelf and a mini-bar squeezed inside by some miracle. Stacks of papers were neatly arranged on the desk and floor.
In the chair, a man o about seventy years sat with a calm figure that inspired safety and occasionally took a sip from a cup o tea in his hand. He noticed the young man and with little effort remembered his name, his purpose there and the meeting he had with him two weeks ago." Ah, Naruto-san, it's good to see you. Have you had a pleasant journey"
"Greetings to you too, Sarutobi-san, and yes I have."
"You'll have to excuse us for the cold welcome but as you probably noticed it's game time now. You won't find a single person in town on the streets or in the shops."
"Is it always like this during a game? Complete shut down once a week?"
"No, just at the begging and ending of the championship, the important games and the World League games, groups and higher. You should see it during a final, that's the climax of it all. Wonderful thing to be a player out there. I'd give every remaining year of my life for at least one half of a game."
"You were a player too, sir"
"Yes, center midfield. Team coordinator and captain.. They used to call me 'The Professor', because I was a very technique-based player and had a habit of scolding my teammates whenever they did a maneuver wrong. Quite annoying , I believe. But where are my manners. Would you like something to drink- tea, scotch, vodka maybe?"
"No, thank you. I don't consume strong drinks. Makes me nauseous."
"I see. Maybe you'd like a cigar then. I've got a real nice collection of old tobacco made with a secret recipe but since I don't smoke it'll just go to waste."
"I don't smoke as well. Don't worry about me, I'm just fine."
"Well okay then. I've got the contract right here. "e produced a piece of paper from one of the stacks and gave it to the blond." As we agreed, a three year deal with the possibility of renewal at the expiring date.Do we agree on the financial terms?"
At that point the blond looked up from the paper, his eyes wide." Sir, are you sure this is the right sum?"
"Yes, it is. Are you displeased with somethingNaruto-san ? If you want to increase it we can do it right away."
"N-no,s-sir, I…it's more than I've ever…I don't think it's a fair deal on my side…I don't imagine myself such of a player to receive half a million ryu each year, along with a house and a car from the club."
"Nonsense Naruto-san. You're better than you think and I've had my doubts about giving you so little money but your salary will be increased every year you remain at the club, along with occasional awards or bonuses."
"I have no problem with it then, even I believe it exaggerated." He took a pen and signed on the bottom.
"Congratulations then! Uzumaki Naruto you are now an official player of the West Leaf United Football Association. Training schedule will be sent to you via a messenger later on today. "
"Thank you ,sir. It's an honor for me to play here."
"I'm glad you're enthusiastic about. But I'd also like to pass a warning to you." The blonde's face became curious at this change of tone." As you know this team has a few rivals in this city, and those rivals have fanatic fans. If you want to avoid any incident you should stay away from the Hoodville neighborhood and the eastern part o town. It's safer that way."
"I'll bear that in mind, sir."
"Good, now then if you'll excuse me I've got to take care of some boring buissness. I believe the match is over now and by songs I think we won. Yes ,definetly."
"One more thing, sir."
"What is it?"
"In the hall right out of your office there was a picture of three players called the Three Ninja. I was confused about that name and I thought you could shed some light on this for me."
"Many get confused I they never saw them play. That trio was coached by me back in the good days. The nickname came from their style of play."
"How so?"
"They had a set of maneuvers, really impressive actually, that enabled them to get past any defence line, no matter the formation. And they were never caught in an off-side."
"The pale man, with the captain band, who was he?" Sarutobi took a deep breath and looked out the window, starring at the sky. After a few seconds he answered." His name was Orochimaru. He was once a legend in our club but now he has fallen in disgrace."
"Why?"
"One year after that picture was taken we got to the final once more. Everyone was anxious about it because we played our great rival, Green Knives. Victory was expected but a few hours before the game, Orochimaru secretly signed a contract with the Knives. It was and still is legal to break and make a contract anytime you want, outside a game. Imagine the surprise of the fans when he appeared on the pitch with the opponents. We lost that game and he was blamed by it."
"Is he still alive?"
"Yes, he has a football academy and club of his own in Rice Country, FC Oto."
"Thank you for your time, sir. I'll see you tomorrow." With that he took off out of the office and back in the hall. He gave one last glance to the picture before turning away. When he did so he saw another picture, this time of a full team, all around a man holding a similar trophy. He had spiky blond hair and smiled happily at the camera, his captain band on his right arm. A note above it said.' 1988 World Club Championship, Namikaze Minato, Striker."
End of Chapter one.
Hope you enjoyed it. If you did you can leave a review, if you didn't then I'm sorry to hear that.
Alexander R out!