The Evisceration of Innocence Prelude: Chapter 1: "Why"
AN: After much lurking, I finally decided to give writing my own story a shot. Just want to make it clear that this is extremely AU similar to how "Battlestar Galactica" was given a "reboot". I'm borrowing characters, potentially touching canon events, and utilizing certain other facets of canon Naruto. However, this overall storyline is of my own creation with credit given to the movie "Battle Royale" and actual historical events that led up to World War 2. As this story is extremely AU, the first chapter will be establishing setting and relevant backstory.
Premise: Alternate Universe or Alternate History is all about asking "What If?". It is established in canon that the Mist is known for its brutal exams where Academy students are forced to kill each other off. What if events developed that caused Konoha to do the same for their own exams?
Disclaimer: blah blah blah don't own Naruto blah blah blah
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Despite obviously objective claims made by various notable scholars of history throughout the Elemental Nations, it was, however, more generally agreed that given the post-war repercussions, there was no real winner of the Third Great Shinobi War.
It was also widely agreed, if only with a certain degree of snide bitterness, that the only actual result derived from said conflict was that the world would clearly not survive a Fourth Great Shinobi War.
With the resolution of the war remaining unclear, it was not uncommon for many war-weary shinobi upon return from fields of battle to physically and mentally wounded families, shattered homes, and fallow jutsu-scarred lands to, despite any pithy ageless adages about how "theirs is but to do or die" notwithstanding, ask themselves the singularly simple question, "Why?".
While one might think such an expression of introspection to be innocently innocuous, as anyone who ever had to deal with young children at some point could attest, "Why?" is oftentimes the progenitor of a veritable Pandora's box brimming with a multitude of dark and horrific things unleashed by said innocent and innocuous question.
However, in this particular instance, "Why?" became the hardy seed that took root (no pun intended) in the desolate ruins of an exhausted land in social and economic shambles.
Parched for some semblance of order and normalcy, extremist movements and organizations thus flourished in the post-war aftermath as this malignant growth came to age from the mere kernel of "Why?". Hateful embers sown in bloodstained plains continued to smolder uneasily as everyone had their own answer to that basic question which quickly became less and less innocuous by the second.
Partisans and strident fanatics cloaked in platitudes such as "order" and "for the good of the people" quickly rose to prominence typically by shouting the loudest and having a quick and easy solution to the question, "Why?", which usually involved blaming someone or something other than themselves.
Such reactionary schools of thought were typified by the Root Movement which originated in Konoha, first as a direct-action ANBU-based paramilitary unit created by "elder advisor" Danzo Shimura to pursue his vision of "for the good of the people", and later as a more wide-spread social movement.
Espousing peace and order through carefully calibrated covert military actions to maintain a geopolitical balance of power, rigid social/political control, and the emotional suppression and conditioning of the younger generation, these ideas gained traction in fearful times especially to those who saw the need to restrain unruly youths that became shinobi whose aggressively exuberant natures, immature passions, and inability to "see the bigger picture" could easily spark conflict anew.
Steadily spreading beyond the borders of Konoha, branches of Root grew in power throughout the rest of the Elemental Nations on the wings of a war-exhausted populace willing to sacrifice freedom on the altar of the almighty god of national security in exchange for even the merest illusion of peace.
Naturally, Kyuubi's appearance and subsequent rampage only served to exacerbate the already prevalent fear and panic especially in Konoha. Danzo, in a swift and opportunistic manner, gleefully took advantage of the resultant hysteria and all but sidelined the Sandaime Hokage who, upon the Yondaime's death, had taken the helm of Hokage once again.
The ailing Hokage, strong in spirit but weak in age, knew which way the proverbial wind was blowing, essentially shrugged and ceded nearly all power to the ascendant Danzo and his pet Civilian Council, who quickly placed the blame for the amount of death and damage done by Kyuubi on the recklessness of the younger shinobi.
The civilian populace, desperate to point their fingers at someone, readily swallowed this logically flimsy excuse which claimed that had the younger shinobi been more disciplined (read "Root-conditioned") instead of enthusiastically charging in jutsus at hand, the threat would of been contained in a quicker, more organized, and less destructive fashion.
Unable to accept or admit their own culpability in causing the war as well as private guilt over their own lack of preparation against Kyuubi's assault, it was easy for those in power to point their fingers at the younger generations. Consequently, their proceeding knee-jerk reaction was to enact drastic and draconian measures upon them such as a complete revamp of Academy curriculum to ensure such situations would never occur again.
However, there were those who saw a different answer to the question, "Why?" and were horrified by the rise to power of ideals spawned by fear, wrought by anger, and steeped with cold cynicism.
Spurred by this desperate impetus, an underground youth movement that in a fit of irony likewise originated in Konoha emerged in, shall we say...a "dynamic fashion", diametrically opposed to everything Root stood for as being "not youthful", and instead, offered an idealistic vision of peace through platitudes such as "hope", "change", and of course, "the flames of youth".
Led by charismatic jonin, Maito Gai, his movement, colloquially known as the "Youthful Flames", was quickly labeled as a terrorist organization by those in power. Said heavy-handed reaction to a perceived threat to the status quo quickly began to tear Konoha apart as life-long comrades became foes, shinobi squads tore themselves asunder in fits of acrimony, and entire families and clans divided themselves across lines of near-imminent conflict. All because of the question, "Why?".
Desperately fighting against the encroaching darkness and insurmountable odds, the remaining surviving members that comprised the revolutionary sub-unit cell groups of Konoha's Youthful Flames battled to win over hearts seemingly already hardened against their beliefs.
Harried and hunted by ruthless squads of Root ANBU, they struggled to make their voices heard at the brink of the yawning abyss, not realizing that the near-certain guttering of their "flames of youth" would be the catalyst of the greater story to come.
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Postscript: Like it or not, do give me input. Irrelevant flames will be ignored as such, though I would like to point out that one does not incinerate the established Naruto universe without proper application of flames. As I am new to all of this, I'm not quite sure what is the accepted or generally desired wordcount for chapters, but as this prelude was just meant to establish setting, I decided not to ramble too much with a final note that the next chapter will be actual story development/plot and will be much longer.
