naruto uzumaki. who was he? he was.. a strange boy. a strange, strange child who never knew just how far he could really go... born without blood ties, without friends, without many people to turn to if at all... merely a few hours old and he already had the stains of his parent's blood on his chain of fate, his endless mirror of destiny one of the very few to be cracked so harshly and severely that he could be affected by other universes... but what am i saying, you all already know this. you know the tales of the blond shinobi, the partner to kyuubi and even the 7th hokage... so how about i tell you a new story. one of.. strength.. one of courage.. one of friends lost and found, lovers hearts broken by mere words... and it all started, with a single drop of blood.
this. is my story...this.. is the rise of a god... and maybe something MORE.
8AK (after kyuubi), ninja academy
the ninja academy, a reletively small building within the ninja village of konoha, the shinobi village of the leaf, and the birthplace of each new generation of ninja, gennin bound for life or legends like those of minato namikaze or the legendary 3.. also current location of the "demon" of the village, the boy currently being forced to stay on the receiving end of a brutal assault from one of his classmates in a sanctioned "spar". the blond haired boy cried out in pain as the fist of his opponent impaxted his gut, lifting him off the ground only for a boot to lash him across the face right after, sending him sprawling across the ground.
the sound of clapping halted the approaching student, causing naruto to raise his head and stare at the group with his blurred sight, watching as the bastard mizuki came forward and congratulations the student on his utter beatdown. "well done sasuke, your brother would be proud. as for you naruto, dreadful.. truly horrible, i can tell you haven't been paying attention OR studying on your technique. you can go, I have no place for failures in my class". the poor child simply nodded as he stood, not letting the class see his tears as usual. this was what always happened at the academy, undertaught and then punished for not being taught how to fight.. he didn't notice he had left the academy grounds until he was already in the next District, ironically the one that he was most comfortable in.
the red light district
now, due to his age, it was obvious that the boy didnt come to this district for the more adult parts of entertainment, no. he came here for one simple reason "OH ITS NARU-CHAN~!", "OVER HERE WHISKERS". the maidens that took over the streets of this area seemed to be very fond of him, for reasons he just didn't know. but he did hear whispers of calling him cute and handsome so he just assumed it was because of that switch in the minds of all woman that automatically made them all lovely around something they found cute. "ahah look at this boys, it's the blondie! watch it kid, the hunters are looking for the fox!". nodding with a thankful smile, naruto broke off into a sprint as he waved to the store owner. due to being so accepted in this district, the patrons had come up with a code to warn him if the villagers were out to get him.. not that he cared, he just wanted to deal with that bastard sasuke, and for that he needed to train.
hopping the fence into his favourite abandoned training ground, closed off due to unstable earth, naruto sighed as he let his mask drop.. in more ways than one. 9 foxlike tails dropped out of his tailbone, twin pointed ears emerging from his scalp but strangly, these limbs were a jet black and coated in suspect bone plating with red markings. oh he already knew about the fox, it was even discovered that the soul had been stolen from him by the death god and poor naruto was left with the beast's chakra to run rampant in his system, changing his body from the inside out. when this was actually discovered, even the hokage felt fear for the small boy before composing himself... no one seemed to have any answers about what happened, or what he was, only old murals and tomb markings about great animal warriors, strangly all in writing that was unrecorded in any system.
shaking his head of these memories and the past that held them, naruto had to hold back a smile as he walked around the clearing and examined the markings of his past training... old spikes from rusted weapons stuck in trees, dried blood on bark and grass, tuffs of the eart missing from their spots. "HEY!". turning in surprise, his eyes would widen in fear as his azure eyes locked onto the form of a fat drunk, holding a butchers knife in his grasp as he smirked "so the demon 'HIC' shows 'is true colours eh? lets see how much those tails can sell as scarfs!". the drunk ran forward as fast as his cankles could carry him, naruto's eyes shaking in fear but not for himself. the grounds were unstable and this heavy man was just barging onto them, who knows what could happen. the drunk soon found out what would happen, the ground cracking and shattering underneath him as he panicked, grasping onto the ridge of stone that he had been standing on seconds before, only for his alcohol soaked grip to slip from the ledge.
"NO!". the drunk however was surprised to see 9 tails, the same tails he had just been threatening to skin and stuff, wrap around his arm as the "demon child" clung onto the edge in an attempt to...save him? the fear, the sadness, the strain, it was all shining in the boy's dark blue eyes as he struggled to hold him up. "j-just hold on! i'll pull you out!". of course... the stupid fucking drunk didnt understand the danger he was in, only seeing that the demon child was DARING to touch him with his dammed tails. "AWE HELL NO KID, IF IM GOING DOWN, YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!". In a surprising show of strength, the man wrapped his hand around naruto's tails and pulled himself up, wedging his knife into the boy's shoulder.. and resulting in making both of them fall to the dark abyss below.
CAVERNS
groaning as he pulled himself to his feet, the boy blinked as he tried to focus on his surroundings. the dull throb in his head suggested he had hit something on the way down which slowed his fall, and the knife on the floor beside him meant the man who pulled him down here was in a similar or worse state than him. sadly however, he couldn't see anything worth noting in the cavern other than the red splatters of his own blood due to the moonlight..wait. moonlight? damn.. how long had he been down here? breathing deeply to try and focus, he quickly picked up the knife and a nearby piece of flint, striking the two together to create sparks.. only for him to throw up seconds later after successfully lighting some dry grass alight. the man who had dragged him down was impaled on a group of stone spikes, his face frozen in a silent laugh as his eye, heart and entrails were forced into the air on the peaks of the spikes. finally wiping the drool and bile from his lips, naruto sent the man a silent prayer before turning, his eyes scanning his surroundings due to new light.
the cavern, if he could call it that, was nothing like what he expected.. instead of caves and such, there sat a large metal door with the picture of a red rose inscribed onto it, a broken light in the middle of what seemed to be the handle. "well naruto... there's no way up, only way left is forward..". walking towards the door, holding the torch in his tails, he examined the door before finding a crack between it and its frames, groaning in strain as he pulled the door open with the sounds of rusted gears filling the air before a deafening boom as something gave way, the door slamming open. "damn...". walking into the room revealed, his eyebrow rose to see it was truly just that. a room. a long dead flower on a shelf, a bed caked in dust and a small computer in the corner, a pulsing light coming drom it. "what? but.. how is there power down here...?". saving his questions for later, he stepped forward only for the door to seal shut behind him, all of the light being shut out for a few seconds as he began to panic, the room turning a dark red as a strange device lowered from the ceiling only for the room to flash with light.
staring at him with strange silverish, shimmering eyes, was an elderly woman with a kind smile, around her neck a red cape and black gothic clothing. she didn't seem to be any older than 50, surprising naruto due to the strangly... cute, appearence to her. when she began to speak however, he went still, like a child being told a story.
Recording number 1,733. today is my birthday! hehe, so um.. yeah, happy birthday to me! but um... heh... i'm scared to admit this is gonna be my first birthday alone... they finally got weiss. salem herself took her out and now.. it's just me. its.. kind of wierd doing this, talking to Myself.. but i guess i better get going with this.
naruto watched as the girl, smiling with a few tears dripping down her cheeks, moved into a more serious position before straightening her expression.
we failed. the Grimm have won.. ozpin is gone as is Oscar, my sister yang and her girlfriend blake fell fighting the black fang, team JNPR fell when that bitch salem revived pyrrah as a grimm like she did for cinder... i'm all thats left, ruby rose.. 29th headmistress of beacon academy. and now? i'm trapped... salem has found me and i fear that my food supply cannot outlast her attempts... and neither can i. so i'm recording this for the next world, the ones who will follow after us... young hunter, whomever... or whatever you may be, be warned... the darkness never rests and neither does it's agents. soon, i will be a standing... well.. not standing example of the fact that evil CAN win... so I'm doing something that is going to break the very rules given to me by my uncle and professor ozpin. i'm going to use my silver eyes to cause a cataclysmic extinction event... maybe then i can be forgiven by ending the suffering of mankind. in doing so, i will trap the essence of the Grimm AND aura, and trap it inside a single tree, where it will no doubt escape into the world once again. young boy.. or girl... i can only hope you have made it here in a great enough condition to do what i ask of you next. my time is over, my world's protectors are gone... please.. carry us one. on my workbench i have placed a manual on unlocking one's semblance and two unique weapons called the hands of the maker.. in them are every recorded weapon used by the warriors of my time, please.. use them well.. and remember the code of the huntress. 'for it is in passing we achieve immortality, for we never fight alone as there is always someone waiting for us on the other side'... never forget those who are waiting for you.
naruto couldn't help but wipe at the tears streaking down his eyes, listening to the utter heartbreaking words and tone this woman spoke with, her smile never leaving her damned cute face the entire time. he jolted as he heard something hit the doors in the recording, forgetting it was only a recirdig as he rushed forward "NO! RUN RUBY!!!". but his voice went wasted, his eyes in shock as ruby's own eyes began to glow... a silver colour covering his own azure eyes.
it seems my time is up... hehe... sun.. Neptune.. wiess, blake, jaune, pyrrah, nora, ren, yang, mom, dad, raven.. ozpin.. Oscar.. professor port, miss goodwitch, oobleck.. qrow... monty... everyone... i love you all... goodbye.
naruto broke down in tears as a pained.. agonized scream escaped ruby's lips, a pure platinum shimmer escaping her eyes as the recording flickered out of existence, shutting off as the soft violet light returned to the room. as he stood again, his eyes caught glimpse of the gloves ruby had mentioned as well as the journal... he smiled softly, still crying as he donned the pure white metal gauntlets and pocketed the book, his eyes widening as he spotted a singular item in the corner.. an old... tattered crimson cloak. he didn't hesitate to walk over to it, kneeling down as he grasped the soft fabric in his hand, tears of silver dripping down his cheeks with a sad smile "ruby..how long you must have laid here.. even your bones subcomming to time... i promise i wont let you down.. i hope wherever you are, you're smiling down at me... and i know you'll be waiting for me to finish my own fighting.. i'll do my best to have a story worth telling. goodbye.. and rest in peace" standing slowly, he wrapped the cloak around his own shoulders, the fluttering of old... old petals of the dead rose on the shelf drifting from their perch and flying out the now open hatch in the roof, moonlight shining like a beacon of white into the room.. the boy taking one shaky step before gripping the ladder with the cloak, donning a confident smirk as his tails flared beneath him along with his silver eyes... missing a pale etheral hand pushing him forward with a childish giggle.
"so hes my reincarnation..? i expect great things from you naruto.. and i know you'll keep your word on that story. i look forward to listening to it..". and with that, the hatch closed one final time.. the last remnants of a forgotten age fading into legends... and one boy's memeories.
