Finally! After two months of procrastination, I have completed the Prologue of Purge. This is the first story I've written, actually, so I don't know what to expect. I already have most of the later chapters planned out, but the difficult part will be getting from here to there. Let's hope everything turns out alright. Now, let me say some things about the Prologue. First, yes, I know there's a lot of skipping going on. All of these events happened on October 10th, the date of the Kyuubi attack. Some of them happened within an hour of each other, and I tried to cover all of them. In most stories, the focus is the actual sealing of the bijuu into Naruto. I tried to be unique, showing what the other villages were thinking when the sealing took place. There, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review!
The Disclaimer: I deny ownership of Naruto. In case anyone doesn't yet know, Masashi Kishimoto created the glorious series. All non-believers shall be executed. No exceptions.
Purge
Prologue
A lone man, age 22, walked down the hallway, the soft pattering of his feet the only sound keeping him company. Najime Yoshirou was a figure of 6' 2", with short brown hair, dark green eyes, and a slim build. His clothes consisted of a black muscle shirt, brown shinobi pants, a pair of black fingerless gloves, and standard-issue shinobi sandals, though by this point they were quite worn from years of use. Covering the muscle shirt was a standard green, unzipped jounin vest, also quite worn.
He had always hated this place. It was too dismal, too depressing. The dampness never affected him, though, and he was surprised by that. He figured he should have caught colds on multiple occasions. Apparently being a ninja had its benefits.
Yoshirou had received orders to report directly to his leader upon hearing the news, which was shocking in itself. Who had known that man would die so suddenly, and without warning? It must have been a painful death, being sucked into the belly of the Shinigami.
The man reached his destination, the room in which his leader resided. He approached the large desk in the back of the room. His leader sat in his chair, his face shrouded by the shadows. Kneeling down on one knee, eyes staring at the ground, Yoshirou delivered his report.
"Leader-sama, we have just received a report that the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato has successfully sealed the Kyuubi no Yoko inside a newborn child. He died during the sealing, and the Sandaime Hokage has been reinstated," he rattled in an emotionless voice. The man known only as Leader-sama stood and walked over to the only window on the left side of the gray room. His dark brown eyes scanned the vast forest surrounding the compound. In the light his face was clearly visible, showing a battle-scarred man in his early forties with short, near-black hair. A long, thick scar, the most profound one out of about four others, ran from the middle of his left cheek down to the edge of his jaw. It appeared to be a wound from a sword he had received in combat. The fact that he was still alive proved that the man was a capable warrior.
"Send out reconnaissance teams to the four other Kage villages. It is time to see what everyone thinks about this sudden change in events. Based on their opinions, it may be time to put our plan into action," Leader-sama ordered in a fairly deep voice, turning to his subordinate. "And whatever they do, don't let them reveal themselves to the outside world. Not yet. This organization was created in secret, and we need to make sure it stays that way."
"Hai Takehiko-sama, but what about Konoha?" Yoshirou asked.
"The Kyuubi is quite a beast, and Konoha is undoubtedly recovering from their encounter with it. Their opinion does not matter, considering it is their jinchuuriki we're talking about. Oh, and we discussed the usage of my name, correct Yoshirou?"
Yoshirou immediately bowed, quickly voicing, "M-my sincere apologies, Leader-sama! It will not happen again!"
The older man dawned a soft grin, showing compassion alongside his stern words, "It is quite alright. We never know if someone is looking in on us, and a slight error may cost us valuable information."
His counterpart gave a slight nod, relieved, and quickly exited the door from which he entered.
The Raikage looked out the window in the general direction of Konoha. The malicious chakra which had so recently assaulted his senses had all but died away, leaving a surreal peace throughout the area. All of the shinobi, even the genin, had felt the chakra, and it had put everyone on edge. The Raikage had even ordered a standby of all ninja currently in the village, despite the fact that Kumo was quite a ways away from Konoha. Better to not take any chances.
He had just ordered a cancellation to the standby, seeing that the Kyuubi was apparently dead. The Raikage was a smart person, however, and he knew that Konoha had probably taken a different approach; they had probably sealed the Kyuubi. While Konoha and Kumo had no open hostilities towards each other, it was still unnerving to know that Leaf now possessed the most powerful of the bijuu. He would have to keep an eye on them in the future.
The Raikage's musings were interrupted by the appearance of one of his ANBU. The ninja wore the standard ANBU combat outfit, except there wasn't a ninjato strapped to his back. His mask was that of a wolf. He bowed to his leader before speaking, "Raikage-sama, all shinobi have reported no insecurities in the perimeter, and are currently withdrawing per your orders."
The leader of Kumo nodded in response, but soon caught that the ANBU operative was fidgeting, as if wanting to speak something on his mind. "You have something you want to talk about?"
The ANBU nodded gratefully before continuing, "I was just wondering what you think of the current situation, Raikage-sama. It would give me a better understanding of the rumors spreading concerning the Kyuubi being sealed by Konoha-nin. The whole village seems worried about this as well, and wants to know what your opinions are."
There was a pause as the Raikage thought of an appropriate answer. "I believe the best course of action would be to keep a watchful eye on Konoha. We haven't even confirmed the rumor that they indeed seal the Kyuubi. It will all depend on how they treat their new jinchuuriki."
"Do you wish for me to tell your decision to the villagers?"
"I don't see why that would cause an issue. Go ahead."
The ANBU nodded before shunshining away. Once outside and jumping across the various rooftops, Reiji Yuuto pressed a wireless communication device located in his left ear, whispering, "Did you get all that?"
There was some soft static, before a voice replied, "Loud and clear. One down, four to go."
A man dressed in a light brown cloak with spiky black hair and purple eyes stopped in front of his target, glancing up. Verifying his destination, Ikine Shou applied chakra to his feet, before easily stepping onto the Kiri administrative building. The Mizukage was currently having a meeting with Kiri's council, and this was the only time he would be giving a vocal opinion about the now dubbed "Kyuubi Incident".
Before the man reached the appropriate window, however, he formed several hand signs and whispered, "Suiton: Sagiri Fukashi no Jutsu." Mist surrounded his immediate vicinity, and he slowly began the trek up the wall. To any villager, the man appeared to be ordinary mist, something that was quite common in Kirigakure.
The mist-covered spy reached the window, and cautiously peered in while enhancing his hearing with chakra. Luck was on his side, because he immediately heard the Mizukage talking about the supposed sealing of the Kyuubi no Yoko.
"If Konoha is as foolish as we believe they are, then they will most certainly use that jinchuuriki as a tool of war once it comes of age. We must prepare ourselves for the possibility of war within the next decade!" There were some grumblings from the councilmen, mostly in agreement with the Mizukage's proposal.
The spy turned away from the window, slowly descending down to the street below. He reached to his left ear, pressing a button. "Well?"
"Transmission received and confirmed. That's two."
The Kazekage stood over on a balcony, overlooking the growing crowds. They weren't really worried about the "Kyuubi Incident", just... curious. Konoha and Suna had always been longstanding allies. Sure, they might have a new jinchuuriki, but then Gaara might have a playmate. The Kazekage raised his right hand, calling for silence. The crowds immediately calmed, allowing him to proceed.
"Fellow villagers of Suna, there is no need to fear the Konoha-nin for what they did. They were merely acting in self-defense. We are still allies, are we not? Konoha will use their new jinchuuriki to aid us, not hurt us." The crowds murmered in agreement, while a man with red hair and black eyes in a standard shinobi uniform silently stalked away from the commotion. Just like the others, he reached up and pressed a button on his left ear. "The opinion has been confirmed. Requesting acknowledgement."
A voice responded, "Got it. Two more, and the mission will be accomplished."
Akiche Kiyoshi stopped and glanced back at the crowds with a stoic expression, before turning into an alleyway and disappearing in a swirl of sand.
"Damn them!" The Tsuchikage roared. "Damn those Konoha shinobi to hell! Now that they have that jinchuuriki of theirs, we no longer have the advantage!" The window of the Tsuchikage's office was open, allowing all of his profanities and strings of curses to float down to the village below.
Right where a man stood, eyebrow raised. Matsuni Akio was 19 years old, with sandy blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He was 5' 11", wearing a hood-less, crimson cloak. Attached to his back was a large dual-bladed scythe.
He turned away, casually walking into the village; he pressed the button in his left ear, chuckling, "Well, that was easy."
"That man either needs medication or some serious anger-management therapy," the person on the other end sighed.
"Tell me about it."
Takehiko silently leaned forward in his chair, hands folded over his mouth. He was pondering the recently acquired information regarding the Kages' various responses towards the "Kyuubi Incident". Suna was with Konoha, which wasn't that surprising. Kumo was neutral as usual, while Kiri and Iwa were against. He smirked, all of them were playing into his hands. The only real factor was Kumo, since they could take a stance with Konoha and Suna if he acted too soon. But they would be dealt with in time. He got up and once again walked over to the lone window, overlooking the green foliage.
"Soon, the village will be resurrected. And then it will begin."
"Indeed."
Takehiko looked back across the room to see Yoshirou enter through the door. "Ah, Yoshirou. What a surprise," he said. "Just the man I was looking for, too. I have a mission for you."
Yoshirou nodded, waiting for orders.
Takehiko continued, "I want you to go to Konoha and watch over the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Make sure no harm comes to him. He will be instrumental to our plans for the future." Yoshirou nodded once again in response, before disappearing in a blur. Takehiko smiled, knowing full well who was standing in the shadows. "Are you happy now?"
"Yes. Thank you for doing that, I was worried about the villagers' future reactions to him. One can never take too many precautions," the man replied. He sounded in his early twenties, his pale blue eyes barely visible in the shadows. "I wonder... what will you do when he learns of the overall plan?"
Takehiko frowned, not entirely sure this conversation was going in the right direction. "By then he will know of his role, and he will execute it flawlessly. Nothing will come in the way of the Purge."
The shadow-lurker nodded once, before vanishing.
A small, blond-haired infant lay in a crib in a small apartment, his even breathing the only noise one could hear.
Such innocence. Too bad, he probably doesn't even know what's roaring in his stomach. Yoshirou put his hand over Naruto's seal, before performing a single hand sign and channeling chakra. But he will soon enough. He's going to become strong, this one. That much is certain. The brown-haired man finished his peculiar jutsu, only to hear the door open. Quickly, he jumped up to the sealing, using chakra to stay attached.
Five villagers armed with kitchen knives and clubs barged into the room, shouting things like "Damn demon!" and "We'll have our revenge!" They rushed towards the crib, preparing to dispatch their target.
A thud from behind stopped their movement. They whirled around, preparing to take care of any fool that might try to aid the demon. Yoshirou was standing on top of an unconscious villager, staring at his body with piercing green eyes. The other villagers snarled before rushing the ninja. The one closest took a swipe with his kitchen knife, only for Yoshirou to grab his forearm and punch him in the gut, breaking several ribs and knocking the wind out of the unfortunate man. The shinobi then vaulted over the villager's hunched form before delivering a punishing kick to another man's face. The two remaining men surrounded Yoshirou. Both were armed with clubs. They rushed him at the same time, raising their weapons to take a swing. The shinobi merely jumped up, allowing the men to hit each other in the face, rendering both unconscious.
Yoshirou looked down at their bloody and bruised forms before glancing at the newborn baby, still asleep even after all that commotion. "Despicable," he sneered. "How can people think to hurt the one that saved their miserable lives?" The one good thing that came out of the encounter was that Yoshirou was successfully able to finish his jutsu before the interruption. He could only hope that it worked.
As he left the apartment through the window Yoshirou took a moment to look at the Hokage Mountain. The faces etched into the rock looked emotionless, yet Yoshirou knew otherwise. He headed towards his own apartment, preparing to set in for the duration of his mission. In the morning he would apply for acceptance into Konoha's ninja ranks. After all, the Kyuubi had attacked only hours before, so the village would probably take any shinobi it could get.
This would be interesting, to say the least.