Prologue pt. 1: The Family 'Tree'

In the ninja world, there are 10 villages in all. The public villages were the Leaf, Sand, Cloud, Mist, and Rock Villages; they are run by the "Gokage." The other 5 were the Beach, Mine, Ice, Cosmos, and the Tree Villages run by the "Secret Kage," or we were known as that. After the attack on the Hidden Leaf Village by Orochimaru, the elders of the different lands made our presence known to the Gokage in hopes that we and our villages would aid the public villages in future attacks.

I am the Third Mokukage and the protector of the Hidden Tree Village, but I am not originally from the village. I am a special shinobi; I have the authentic bloodlines of the Senju and the Uchiha clan, but I also contain a faint power from the Hyuga. It started back when my great-great grandfather (before he became the First Hokage) had an affair with an Uchiha woman; they had a son that was named Kyo. Kyo was an ordinary Uchiha, so no one knew his father was the First Hokage. After becoming a ninja for the Leaf, Kyo was sent on a mission to retrieve stolen Byakugan eyes from an enemy. Kyo pursued the thief alone…as he found the thief, he found out it was a female shinobi from the Cloud Village. She gave up, ready for a death punishment, but Kyo could not kill her. They left their villages and started a secret life together. They had a daughter together who they raised with love . . . the leaf and cloud became suspicious of what happened to their shinobi, so they sent search groups to look for them. This forced the family on the run. They eventually left their daughter in the middle of the forest, fearing she would be caught on the crossfire of an inevitable battle . . . An old man found this little baby and took her back to his home: The Hidden Tree Village; he was the First Mokukage. He raised the little girl like his own daughter. When she became of age, he had her become a shinobi, and she eventually became the Second Mokukage . . .

I belonged to the Tree as long as I can remember. The second Mokukage had been looking after me and training me in the ninja way. She told me that she was my grandmother, and I believed her; I could tell by the way her eyes were. Our training was no easy task…she gave it her all against me, like she was trying to awaken some sort of power in me. I would later find out that she was awakening my Joushingan eyes…a Kekki Genkei that ran in our bloodline….

"Grandmother, I'm tired.*huff* Can we please stop for a bit? I mean…I have unlocked the eyes…" I told her one day after training. She looked at me and chuckled a bit before motioning me to follow her to a tree. After training sessions, we would sit down and have tea to relax. As I started to sip my tea, she started to speak.

"My grandson, have you ever felt like there was something inside you?" she asked me out of the blue.

"Since you mentioned it, my chakra does fill funny when it gets low…like something is trying to feel it up. Also, I also heal faster than other ninjas…" I responded to her; I knew that she knew what was going on with me.

"Please, listen to the story that I'm about to tell you, but do not get angry. Do you understand?" She looked at me with a serious face. I shook my head in agreement because I was too afraid to say anything. "When you were a little baby, you lived with your mother and father in a cabin in the woods. One day, 2 ninja kidnapped you…they were Orochimaru and Sasori from an organization called Akatsuki. Orochimaru…he…he…used you for an experiment. He had collected the chakra of the fabled tailed-beast. He created an artificial one and infused the creation into you. Your parents…they came to your rescue, but the 2 ninja overpowered them. From what I can tell…your father…he decided to take on the 2 while your mother took you to safety. She was discovered by one of my shinobi who she told to bring you to me…I was sadden by my daughter's death, but I was glad you were ok. With this in mind…you must not grow the seed of revenge, your parents would not want you to do that…do you understand?" she looked at me after telling me that story, but I could not say anything…all I could do is clutch to her and cry. I knew that seeking revenge would not bring my parents back, but I could not let Orochimaru get away with what he did…after I had cried, I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked at my grandmother.

"I don't want to kill Orochimaru, but I want to bring him to justice for all the wrong he has done…him and the other evil shinobi in the world. I want this place to be as peaceful as it can be," I calmly told her. She smiled at me and rubbed my head before telling me more stuff.

"With that answer, I know that I can make you my successor. When the time comes, you will be the Third Mokukage, but it will call for the most extreme training while you aren't with your squad. Do you think you can handle it?" she asked me; I nodded as I gave off my most confident look…

I was a Genin (10 years old) at the time of that conversation. I had done missions with my squad members: Wiroo and Toshio and our leader, Susumu. Toshio was a boy around my age who was full of himself and thought he could take anything on. Wiroo was a young girl who was level headed and reserved. Our leader, Susumu-sensei, was a young lady that always pushed us to do our best. She was also a medical ninja. Over the course of 4 years, I was promoted the Chunin. I, then, took the Jonin exam and was promoted.

One day, our team was sent on a steak out mission; we were to spy on a group of rouge ninja that were outside of our village. We set up a small camp and scouted the area to make sure the ninja did not locate the village. I was walking along the western boundary of the village when I saw to people talking; I jumped into the trees to spy on them. One of them was dressed in all-black attire, and I could not see the person's face. The other one was a young man that wore glasses and had a headband with a music note on it. The young man smirked as the other person must have told him something. I left to report back to Susumu-sensei about what I had seen. When I arrived to our camp, there were some from the Vanguard unit (our stealth group of the village) waiting at the site. They told me to come with them back to the village, so I followed them.

When we returned to the village, I could see all of the shinobi running around like they were looking for someone; I knew something was wrong. The Vanguard led me in the direction of the hospital…I began to shake; I knew something bad happened to my grandmother. I hesitantly walked into the hospital. There was more of the Vanguard there to lead me to a hospital room. As I walked inside, I could see my grandmother lying down in a bed; she looked very weak. As I approached her I could see that her eyes were dim, and her skin was pale. She gave a faint smile as I stood in front of her.

"My grandson….I'm glad you made it…I am afraid that my time has run out. You must…now take my place…*cough*…I have told my most trusted elder that you will become the Mokukage…" her voice started to fade off while I started to cry.

"Grandmother, it's not my time to become Mokukage. I have so much I need to learn; I need to learn it all from you…w-what happened to you? You were doing well before I left for my mission," I tried to say more, but my face was flooded with tears. My grandmother slowly raised her hand to grip mine.

"I…have only one more lesson to teach…always remain…peaceful…never succumb to hatred or…vengeance, and with that…you can become…the Third Mokukage…I love you…my precious grandson…" her grip slowly weakened as her eyes closed…her hand let go of mine.

"Grandmother…? Grandmother…? GRANDMOTHER? Please…don't go…I need you…" I said over and over again; I just wanted it all to be a terrible dream, but I knew it was real. The last of my blood family was gone…mother…father…grandmother…I felt so alone…

A few days later, a memorial service was held for my grandmother. I stood there in the front row as rain fell down; my eyes were red from all the tears I had shed. I looked around to see other shinobi there along with the citizens. I realized that they missed her as much as I did…we were all a family, and I was given the task to protect my family…this village. I could feel a slight beam of the sun shining through the clouds. I was ready to step into the footsteps of the Mokukage.

"I shall be strong and take your place. I promise you that I will be the best Mokukage that I can be…" I vowed as I looked up to the sky.