THE FIREBIRD

Prologue

It is common knowledge for many, that the nine Tailed Beasts are the strongest beings on the planet. Not many realise that these nine creatures are only portions of one truly devastating monster known as the Ten-Tails, this beast left devastation wherever it travelled as it had the power to destroy a continent. But what absolutely no one knows, is that long before any of the Tailed Beasts existed, there was an entity of absolute and incomprehensible power, once said to be the creator of all life and matter. This being of legend was said to have created everything in one massive explosion of power, a blast so powerful it will never stop moving or creating until the end of time.

Other tales of this being told of its death, some tell of the creature dissolving over earth and spreading its power amongst the living, some told of the being giving off an intense heat creating the magma and volcanoes of earth while also sacrificing its life to all of nature. But no matter the story, what was always the same was that this entity was the source of all chakra in the world and that it had left a prophecy hinting its return.

Although the history of this being may be lost to the current civilisation of Monks, Shinobi, Samurai and civilians, there are still remnants of this ancient creature in lost cities, temples, tombs and the like. In these lost civilisations, the records of the entity all give it different names; Bennu, Huma, Hō-ō, but all these civilisations refer to the being as a massive flaming bird with bright fiery feathers. This being is more generally known as the great Fire-Bird.

And now it is time for its rebirth.


Part 1

Chapter 1

She moves one way day and night.
Far from her parent, eldest of her siblings.
She holds the key to an entity.
Beneath a white coat, her heart resides.
Defended by a wall of water.
She will grant you access,
When the year is brightest.

She will assess your quality.
If you pass, the entity shall be summoned,
Your life renewed of any condition.
All at the price of the demon lord's soul.
But should you fail, you shall burn for eternity
A fate worse than Hell's wrath.

"Whoever translated this did a terrible job of it." A young boy shroud in shadows commented, lowering the book on ancient myths to the table where he was seated. The book was old and torn, a fossil just waiting to collapse into dust.

The book now stationary resting on the table is neighboured by multiple stacks of books containing titles such as 'Quantum Mechanics: Concepts and Applications', 'The History of Civil War in Kirigakure' and 'Fuinjutsu: Application of Advanced Theory' and many others from a wide range of topics.

The previously mentioned boy rose from his chair, moving into a beam of light that had managed to make its way through a gap in the shutters covering the window.

Now that his face was illuminated, the boy was shown to have dirty blonde hair that would probably be a bright yellow colour if it wasn't covered in filth. Hidden behind his hair, were two dull blue eyes that showed intelligence and a weariness only found in those who had been betrayed so many times they couldn't trust anyone anymore.

The child's cheeks displayed six marks that gave the indication of whiskers. Between the cheeks was a mouth that seemed to be devoid of the presence of a smirk, grin or simple smile in its life.

His clothes could barely be called rags as torn and worn as they are they would provide no warmth in the cold of night.

The child picked up the books from the table, books that most men wouldn't even be able to read nor be able to understand the content. He carried them back to where they belonged and returned them.

Just as he put the last of his books back, he heard a door open through the silence. The boy quickly hid behind one of the bookshelves then slowly and quietly as to not draw any attention to himself he peeked around his cover.

He knew from experience that if anyone ever saw him, it would mean tremendous pain for him. That was one of the reasons he spent all his time in this library. Officially it was still running but nobody worked here and only rarely will someone actually come to the library.

It is probably because it is located in the part of the village that was most effected by the attack from the Kyuubi, effectively creating the Leaf Village's slums. The slums was an area where poverty run rampant through the ruins people still lived in. While inhabited, the slums was only home to those who most people avoided. People like alcoholics, addicts and the insane.

The boy was rightfully surprised and fearful when he hear a slurred voice from the entrance. "A-Are you shure this is the place? Why would a demon use a lir… a libar… a place for books?" one of the four men who walked through the entrance asked, slurring his words.

The hiding boy gasped lightly as he knew who they were talking about, before muffling himself with his hand. "But I've always made sure no one has been following me" he murmured lightly, while a confused and worried expression crossed his face.

Once again hushing himself he continued to listen to the group that had now made it to the table he had been sitting at earlier. "Yes I'm sure and how should I know what the demon is up to in here. Now just hurry up and get this over with." Another man spoke in sober voice.

The boy kept watching as each of the men picked up a bucket and moved to the closest bookshelf. The child almost had a heart attack when he realized what it was they were pouring all over the books. His books!

He tried to force himself to move, to stop them from destroying the only joy in his life. But no matter what he tried he could not push past his fear of being beaten again. He had frozen. He didn't move for ten minutes but when he did he realised the library was already burning. The child quickly ran to the exit, ignoring the burns he received from the fire.

When he was outside, he turned to watch as the building collapsed to ruin. His legs turned to jelly as tears poured down his face, his burns already healing just as they always did.

Dusk turned to evening and the boy just lay there in front of the ruins of the only place he cared about. Rain started to cascade down, reflecting the boy's feelings.

Nobody came to save the library. Nobody came to save the closest thing to a home the boy had. The child was numb, it was as if he couldn't feel anything anymore. When dawn finally came, the boy got up, he glumly hobbled down the side streets and alleyways, keeping to the shadows and making his way to the abandoned paper store where he resides. All in the way asking himself 'why me? What have I done to deserve this?'

None of the people in the village knew the boy's name, they only recognised him as a 'demon'. But even though they do not know his name, the boy knew it and he cherished it as it was the last thing he had left for him to prove his existence. He held onto it as all his hope had now been placed in that one name and he knew that if it was forgotten he would not be able to go on with life any longer.

His name was the last thing he had to cling to. "I am Naruto!"


This is my first story, so any critical reviews would be appreciated. I have already planned this story out and have been doing so for the past few weeks. part 1 of this story is loosely based off the story 'Chakra Collector' by Gazz Uzumaki. My story will be made up of 3 parts and I do hope you can stand my writing, I don't think it is too bad but nearly failing English in year 12 last year says otherwise. oh and I'm not great at writing riddles so don't bother me about that. I also like stories that are on the depressing side, so my writing may reflect that soon enough