Land of Fire, The Dead Woods:
October 10th
The woods were silent in the night. Not a single thing breathed louder than a whisper. From the birds shivering in the trees to the field mice cowering in their dens, not a peep was made by any living thing. They could all feel it. The oppressive, predatory presence around them weighing down like the sky was falling on their shoulders. The humans avoided this place for that very reason. The neighboring towns never ventured far in here for lumber or food. The world itself advised against it. Plenty of legends surrounded this place, all of them bad. Stories that ranged from the new farmer who cleared a section of trees having his livestock all die of fright to the young boy who vanished between the leaves chasing a butterfly never to return all held a grip on this land. With good reason.
Deeper into the woods, at the heart of the sea of darkened trees, lay a single clearing. No wider than a small shack, it stood out like a sore thumb around the oppressive darkness of the land. The trees around it all bent inwards, reaching out to try and reclaim the wild from the man who had cleared it so many years ago. No grass grew here, not even a single weed sprouted from the dry, cracked earth. The stone pedestal that jutted from the ground like a spire gleamed in the still moonlight. No taller than a man, it was made of white, pure marble and marked with a ringed eye. Such an ordinary thing in the world of shinobi, yet it pulsed an equally oppressive chakra into the earth. This was an embodiment of order, order against the beast held at bay. This pillar had seen the rise and fall of civilizations, observed the events of mankind itself. It was a testament of its maker's will and desire.
Yet that same will could be undone.
The balance of the night was suddenly broken by a third presence. Dark and vengeful chakra rolled across the land, emanating from the south towards the shinobi village Konoha. This chakra was unlike anything produced by man. It was far older and spiteful, like an animal trapped in a cage that was finally free. The woodland creatures scattered, fearing for their lives as they ran out of the woods. The trees themselves seemed to shiver at the malice.
Then the ground shivered. Shivered…and trembled. The pillar that stood there suddenly glowed bright, the unmarked surface showing an immensely complex sealing matrix. The sealing characters all lit up as chakra pulsed through them. The shaking worsened, the earth rumbling like an earthquake was fighting back against the seal. The pillar shone as bright as it could, but it was far too old now to do much else. The years had weakened the seals, once proud characters degraded by wear and the charka stored within was almost completely used. It gave one final effort, the characters glowing as bright as the sun…before it faded and the stone became nothing more than that: a simple stone.
The ground buckled and heaved, trees being sent flying as what was trapped beneath began to move for the first time in millennia. The earth churned as something burst forth: a black chain link the size of a horse, broken and bent beyond all use. The beast dug itself free, casting off lengths of sealing chains the size of cities as it shook itself awake. The land around flexed and buckled as this ancient creature, the size of a mountain dug itself from the forest that had been its prison for so long. A bloody red eye opened in the darkness of the night, nictitating membrane sliding across a reptilian pupil.
The beast blinked, neck twisting around as its tail swung back and forth apprehensively behind it. It wasn't fully awake yet…running completely off its ingrained instincts, instincts that had been awakened by the wave of chakra. Its head tilted, turning around to face the source of this power. A memory sparked in the fogginess of its brain. It…it knew this chakra. This knowledge sparked something else…rage. It knew this chakra and hated it. It had fought this charka before. Massive jaws parted a crack, revealing wicked, crooked teeth like a crocodile irregularly set along its jaws. Air flowed through these jaws as the beast sucked in a breath, turning its head skywards and letting out a shrill screeching roar that echoed across the land: a declaration…and a challenge. It did not wait for a reply, charging ahead without abandon. Each footstep shook the ground like an earthquake, ripping apart the land as it ran. It wasn't thinking now. All its memories were clouded behind a fog of primal rage and predatory anger.
It was a hunter…thus it would have its hunt.
Konoha
Minato Namikaze had seen death before. As a veteran of the Third World War, he was accustomed to large scale battles and engagements with enemy shinobi strong enough to alter the landscape. He'd fought entire armies and men who were basically one-man armies such as Killer B and Roshi of Iwa. He'd learned to compartmentalize himself as a leader, a teacher, a soldier, and a killer, picking any one when the situation called for it and leaving the rest behind. But now? Now all he could feel was worry…and anger.
It was supposed to have been a simple night. Kushina had gone into labor a few hours ago and had been taken to the secure location Hiruzen had set up for her to give birth. His job was to make sure her seal was secure and that the Kyuubi didn't escape. By the morning, he'd hoped to have her and little Naruto home and start his new life as a father. He'd even left Shikaku Nara with orders to run the village for a few weeks while he and Kushina spent time with their son.
Why couldn't things have gone according to plan for once?
He slipped by another blow from the masked man, twisting his body to avoid the chains that threatened to bisect him. Their fight had been going on for two minutes now, far longer than he wanted it to. This man, Tobi's, attacks were unorthodox and strange. That coupled with the strange space-time jutsu he used were making it hard to land a killing blow. Twice already he'd almost been caught by the man, forcing him to reevaluate his strategies and attack plans.
He winced as another crash sounded over the horizon, accompanied by the frenzied roaring of the Nine Tails.
"Give up."
He looked across the clearing to the masked man.
"With the Nine Tails unleashed, your village will be rubble in a few minutes," he said. "There is no hope."
He scowled and lifted his hand, calling a Hirashin kunai into it from a seal on his wrist.
It comes down to speed, he thought, running through scenarios in his head. He needs to be physical to attack me, but if I move now he'll turn intangible again. I need an opening.
He lifted the kunai and crouched. Tobi did the same, the chains on his wrist jingling. The two of them stared across the clearing…watching…waiting.
The night was shattered as a roar broke the air, a roar louder than anything he'd ever heard before. It put the Kyuubi to shame, shrill and proud in tone. His ears rang and for a moment he thought he'd gone deaf, slapping his palms over them to try and save what was left of his hearing.
What is that?! He wondered, wincing as the sound rolled across the land. Wait…
Tobi was also distracted, hands over his ears as the roar deafened and disoriented him. Without thinking, he flicked his wrist and hurled the kunai across the clearing, watching at it pierced Tobi's gut. The masked ninja grunted and dropped to his knees, blood dripping from the wound as he grasped at the handle. Minato's eyes widened as his body automatically moved, chakra channeling through the sealing formula inscribed on himself. With a blink, he was right in front of Tobi, Rasengan formed in his hand.
He smashed the spiraling ball of chakra into the man's stomach, destroying the kunai and slamming the masked ninja into the ground. He channeled his chakra once more and marked him with a Hirashin seal before standing up and running through three hand seals before slapping his chest. Sealing characters spiraled out and glowed before fading away on the man's clothing.
"Contract Seal," he announced. "The Kyuubi is no longer yours."
The air swirled around the man as he began to distort. "I'll…concede this match," he coughed out, a trickle of blood rolling from underneath the mask. "But my…plans…aren't over."
A dark chuckle rang out from behind the mask. "I'll get my hands on the…Nine Tails eventually."
The distortion swallowed him up and he was gone. Minato sighed and let the tension out of his body. It was over. He hadn't been forced to use the Hirashin Level Two, meaning he had plenty of chakra to find the Kyuubi and seal it away. But that man…he would most definitely be a threat soon.
The darkness of night was suddenly pushed away by a flash, brighter than the sun and an explosion which bent back the trees. Heat washed over his face and forced him to shut his eyes. He could hear the Kyuubi roaring in the distance, accompanied by that same new roar that had distracted Tobi. It sounded further away now…further away from the village. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, trying to locate the Nine Tails. He felt it immediately, the dark chakra was a suffocating presence, accompanied by an equally powerful chakra that felt more…volatile if he had to pick a word. They were far away…far away from the village…but they were close to…oh dear.
"No!" he cried out, locking onto his wife's Hirashin seal and teleporting away.
Konoha Outskirts
Secure Location
"Kushina!" he yelled out, appearing next to his wife and tackling her out of the way as an orange tail crashed down where they had been. With another burst of chakra, he teleported them to an auxiliary marker a mile away from where the cabin had been. "Kushina, are you alright?"
"…no," his wife panted out, arms tightly wrapped in front of her chest, cradling Naruto close to her. The baby was crying out, which was understandable considering what was going on. "Minato…what…what's going on? What is that…thing?"
He looked back at the safehouse and felt his eyes widen as he looked across the ravaged landscape.
"I…I don't know."
Two giants faced each other across the broken forest. The Kyuubi stood in front, legs bent and tails whipping about in a frenzy. Its growling filled his ears as it looked on at its opponent. He had seen many creatures in his time as a Shinobi, from summoned animals to Orochimaru's twisted experiments. But nothing like this. It was the size of the Kyuubi, standing tall and proud despite the fox's aggression. It reminded him of a lizard, but this creature walked on two powerful legs. A long tail swung rigidly behind it, flexing and bowing as it shifted its weight from foot to foot. Its hands were splayed in front of it, yes hands. Three long fingers, each tipped with a sickle-like claw and a thumb that looked eerily human finished each arm at the wrist, the digits flexing and scraping claw against claw. Its head was reptilian, with massive jaws parted showing crooked teeth set irregularly along the jawline. The body was covered in dirty white scales, with the back of the creature's neck covered in bony quills and spines. Along its spine were a row of scutes, not unlike that of a crocodile. But what he noticed most were its eyes. Set underneath a pair of short bony crests, a pair of crazed amber-red orbs glowed in the dark. There was no evidence of higher thought in those eyes…only rage. Pure and primal rage shone from those eyes, something that not even the Kyuubi had shown.
The Kyuubi roared and charged forwards. The creature screeched and did the same, crouching into a charge and meeting the tailed beast head on. The two titans crashed together, falling into a brutal scrap. The mere shockwave from their bodies crashing together blew his hair back. The white lizard bit at the Kyuubi's neck, ignoring the fox's blow to its ribcage as it tried to wrestle it into the ground. The fox roared and fired off a concentrated beam of chakra straight to the creature's stomach. To any other animal, that kind of attack would have blown it to pieces. But the creature only screeched in pain and released its grip on the fox's neck. It stumbled back, hissing in anger as it suddenly raised its jaws skywards. Minato felt himself swallow as he saw the Kyuubi get up and do the same, all nine tails arching forwards towards its mouth.
"Minato…" Kushina coughed, a pair of golden chairs forming from her back. A small blue barrier formed between the links as the chains wrapped themselves around the three of them. "Hold…hold on."
Minato said nothing, watching in awe as red and blue chakra began gathering around the fox's mouth. The Tailed Beast Ball. One of the most devastating techniques in existence, with the power to change the landscape in a split second. In front of the fox, the white creature's mouth stretched open impossibly wide as a spark formed in the gap between its jaws, a white flame that began swelling with intensity. Heat washed over them, even inside Kushina's barrier he could feel the heat. Outside, the trees closest to the creature shriveled and ignited. The spark grew even further, swirling into a ball of white flame that warped around the beast's teeth. Without a single sound, the two beasts lowered their heads and fired. The ball of black chakra exploded across the ground as the white ball left a burning trail behind it. They struck each other at the halfway point and detonated. The blast was immense, beyond anything he had ever dreamed of. The world turned white and he threw himself over Kushina as the shockwave hit them. He could hear his wife screaming as her barrier warped and flexed under the blast, her already destroyed body being tested even further. But she did not fail.
The dust cloud settled, the two monsters still facing each other as they began to circle. The Kyuubi snarled and the white creature responded with a challenging bark. Fury blazed in their red eyes as they clashed again, falling to the ground biting and scratching at each other. The Nine Tails fired another beam of chakra blindly into the air as the white creature scrambled to get on top. Its hands slammed into the fox's neck, leaning forwards as if trying to strangle the Biju. The fox roared and lashed out, its tails striking blindly into the night as it destroyed the land without second thought. The white creature doubled down, pushing against the fox as it shoved it back the across the ruined and burning forest.
"They'll destroy the village at this rate," he whispered, looking past the Kyuubi to where Konoha was.
His mind began spinning as he tried to come up with a solution. There had to be a way out of this, a way to separate the creatures before they reached the village and destroyed it with their battle. The Kyuubi could be teleported away, he had the necessary seals to do it…but this other creature…teleporting it away from the Kyuubi would require more chakra than he had left. He couldn't teleport both creatures at the same time, since they would obviously keep fighting and could destroy who knows what else. Perhaps he could-
"MINATO!" a sharp slap connected with his cheek, knocking him out of his thoughts and right on his ass.
"Y-yes, dear?" he mumbled automatically, rubbing his face.
"You're overthinking it," Kushina panted. "Seal that fox…in me."
He blinked and shook his head. "But that leaves the other one," he said, watching as it breathed a lance of pure fire from its jaws, chasing the Kyuubi further backwards towards the village.
"It's after the Kyuubi," she said, pointing at the white lizard as it tracked the Nine Tails across the landscape, its eyes never leaving its target or even glancing at the rooftops of Konoha in the distance. "Seal it in me…and I'll lead the other one away from you."
"Are you crazy!?" he snapped. "You're in no condition to-"
Kushina suddenly fell forwards, coughing hard as a trickle of blood flowed from her mouth. He darted forwards and caught her, taking Naruto from her arms and easing her to the ground.
"Hah…hah…hah," Kushina panted, her hands balled tight in his flak jacket. "I'm…I'm already as good as dead, Minato."
Had he been anyone else, Minato would have been thoroughly impressed with Kushina's life force and tenacity. To survive a Biju extraction and then protect three people from a blast that reshaped the land for a solid half-mile was nothing short of a miracle. But all he could do now was try not to cry for his beloved wife.
"He's…so small."
He looked down and saw Kushina had taken Naruto back from his arms, cradling the unconscious infant to her chest with a peaceful smile.
"I…I wanted to spend more time with him," she sighed, half delirious from exhaustion and pain. "We had…our lives planned out, didn't we, Minato? The three of us…together. I wanted to be…a mother."
He swallowed and pressed his lips to his wife's head. He had an idea. It was a very risky and bad idea, one that under normal circumstances he would have punched himself for thinking of it. But it was all he had.
"I know," he whispered. "Kushina…I know what I have to do."
"Minato?"
He smiled at his wife and summoned two Shadow Clones. "I'm sorry, dear," he said softly. "But it looks like…you'll have to do all of that without me."
Without words, he swapped places with one of the clones, standing beside the other one as he faced the still-fighting beasts.
"Minato?" Kushina cried out. "Minato…no, don't you dare!"
He let his head drop and allowed single tear to fall.
"I…I'm sorry," he said, looking over his shoulder at his wife and son. "Naruto…listen to your mother. Take care of her for me. Become a splendid shinobi. I just…I want you to know that I love you…son."
With that he vanished in a burst of speed, hoping that he would be far enough away to not hear Kushina calling out for him.
XXX
It was beginning to wake up now. It could remember more things than before. Images…memories? No, they were mere flashes of emotion sparking across the fog of its mind. Its body was aching for a fight. Wait, was it not already fighting? A roar echoed forth from its lungs as it lunged forwards, snapping its jaws at the Kyuubi's furry neck, missing by a mere inch as the fox jumped back. Ah, yes…this fight.
Kyuubi. It didn't know how it knew that word, but the thought of it sent a sliver of anger rushing through its mind. White hot anger and hatred bubbled underneath its scales as it counted the nine tails behind its opponent. Its jaws opened and it tasted the chakra in the air, dark and powerful. This orange-fox-yet not fox-thing was Kyuubi. Kyuubi needed to die. It slipped underneath a wild strike from the fox's tail and bashed its head against the fox's shoulder, a motion that was as natural to it as breathing, yet it didn't know why. But it didn't matter. It needed to fight.
Hunt, echoed in its mind. Kill.
It began pooling chakra in its jaws again, feeling the warmth of a sun wash over its scales as the Kyuubi began struggling to its feet, gathering that good-chakra and bad-chakra in its mouth. It began to condense the chakra tighter and prepared to let it expand when…
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
A tremendous weight crashed down on its back, knocking it to the ground. The ball of chakra in its jaws destabilized and evaporated. It squawked in surprise, pawing at the ground as it tried to fight its way back to its feet. The weight shifted slightly and it snapped its head over its shoulder, biting wildly at whatever was holding it down. A flash of black steel and something pinned its neck to the ground, sharp barbs scraping along its scales as it roared and struggled.
"Hold it there, Gamaken!" a voice shouted from the ground.
"I will try, Minato-sama," another voice croaked behind. "But please hurry. Whatever this thing is, it is very strong and I am rather clumsy."
Thing?! Another roar ripped through the night as it struggled harder. This amphibian had the nerve to call it a mere thing?! Wait until it got up, it would rip that slimy toad's legs off its carcass and devour them!
It paused and blinked. Toad…how did it know this? Another sensation flickered across its mind…apprehension. Toads were something to be cautious around. But why? Why couldn't it remember? The frustration came to a head when it finally heaved its body again, slashing backwards over its shoulder to try and catch the toad's leg and force it off. But the moment it moved, sharp pain lanced through its body. It screeched out, looking on as a sword impaled its hand, the hilt of said sword grasped by another toad.
"You alright there, Hiro?" croaked a deeper voice.
"Just fine, Boss," the greenish-blue toad replied. "This thing ain't going nowhere."
"Good," the first voice croaked. "Because I've got my hands full with fuzzball here."
It looked from the corner of its eye to see another toad, this one bigger than the others and colored a dull, rusty red with a coat on. It was currently sitting atop the Kyuubi, hands pinning fox-thing to the ground as it struggled.
"I'm sorry to do this, Bunta," said that smaller voice from the ground.
"Eh, no harm done," croaked the red toad atop the Kyuubi. "Just…do what ya need to. We all understand."
It craned its head from between the tines of the sasumata pinning its neck to the ground and looked. A human stood before it. It knew humans…knew them well. This one was blonde and had blue eyes, nothing like that other human from before when…it…it couldn't remember. Frustration…anger…hate…all bubbled up again as it lashed out towards the tiny creature. A blow struck its head as it lashed forwards, pushing against the sasumata. Barbs bit into its neck, but it didn't care. The human would die, the toads would die, and then the Kyuubi. Nothing else mattered anymore.
"Fuinjutsu: Shiki Fujin."
The night turned ice cold. The white hot anger feeling in its brain evaporated as it stared on. Another thing had arrived…this thing human-but-not-human. White hair-purple skin-red horns-not human. Fear. It felt fear. It didn't know this thing, but this thing was bad. Run. Run-get away-flee. It tried to move, but found it was paralyzed. Something…something was wrong. The purple not-human was touching it now…its hands were cold…things were getting cold.
"Damn, you Yondaime!" the Kyuubi roared out. "I will not be sealed again!"
Seal? Seal was bad. Very bad. This purple not-human was going to seal it? It was confused. So much going on. So much that it almost didn't notice the arrival of another yellow haired human and two more smaller humans. They were…talking. Strange. Did they not see the not-human thing there too? Or were they not afraid of it? Humans…strange creatures. Things were…going dark. It shook itself, but the darkness did not go away.
"I WILL NOT BE SEALED LIKE THIS!" the Kyuubi roared, tearing its arm free of the toad and lashing out towards the small humans.
Instincts took over and it shoved itself free, shaking off the toad with a single burst of motion, it lunged forwards, going on its hands and feet as it snapped its jaws into the Kyuubi's hand. The fox-thing roared in pain as it felt the toad jump back on its back and wedge its head deeper into the earth. Rage focused in the dimming light of the moon. Kill the Kyuubi. Kill the Kyuubi.
"Hakke Fuin!"
The words of that yellow human were accompanied by a sudden tug on every sense. It was being pulled now...pulled backwards into…the tiny yellow human? Oh no…seal…prison…escape, it had to escape! A shrill screech escaped its jaws as it scrambled to get out from under the toad. Escape. Escape. Escape. But it couldn't get free.
It threw its head backwards locking eyes with the yellow human. It looked weaker now…its not-skin was burned away and there was a seal on its stomach. Similar to the seal on the tiny yellow human. A moment of clarity broke through the haze in its mind as it looked on at the yellow human. Words…human words that it knew. With its last moments, it sucked in a breath and spoke its first words in thousands of years.
"I hate you!"
And with that, the night was gone.
So yeah, this is my return to writing. I deleted a bunch of other stories because I wanted to start fresh here.
Welcome to Not A Fox. I know a few people will be confused here by this opening, but trust me, this gets explained soon enough and I think people will be pleasantly surprised. Each chapter will be between four and five thousand words, meaning it'll take me some time to get them out with my current schedule. As for content I will lay it out for you all right now:
No, this will not be a harem.
I can't think of any other questions people might have at the moment, so if you do have any questions, just put them in a review and I'll get back to you. Thank you all for reading and I will see you on the next one!