DISCLAIMER
I do not own the anime or manga Naruto in any way, shape or form!
A Few Words
Thank you for reading this prologue. This idea was inspired by one of deltabeta26's challenges and a some talks we had. I am posting this ahead of time, as currently I am also writing another story, but I would really like to know what you readers think about it; I plan to continue this, but I don't think it will be my main focus until my first story is finished.
Prologue: The Living Fire's Will by Vorgonaz
A blond haired figure stood atop one hill; Right below him, carved into the stone to be remembered for eternity, were four faces depicting four very different yet similar men. The young man had his back turned to the view the privileged position offered; His focus was instead on something different, something that brought rays of light to the village even in its darkest hours; Even now.
A bitter smile formed on his face at one of the memories he had of this place.
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" Why do we have to do this every single day, Sensei? Can't we just skip it just for today?", a young girl wearing a light blue dress whined as she looked at her teacher, a white haired young man with two red lines starting from the bottom of his eyes and going along his cheeks. He rubbed the back of his head as they continued to walk to their destination. " You know it's an important part of being a Konoha shinobi that can't be skipped, Akane-chan."
A brown haired boy next to her sighed as he added. " Besides, the view from up there is breathtaking... I thought you always liked it Akane... Right on top of the carved statue of the Great First Hokage Senju Hashirama, overlooking the entire village.", he said, mainly in an effort to reason with her.
" Yeah, that's true but watching the same thing everyday becomes boring fast, Jin...", she trailed off before starting to pout. The blond boy on her other side smiled softly at his team mate's antics; He knew that expression on her face pretty well; It only meant one thing: ' Please, don't start with the same story again'. Of course, there was only one thing he could do now.
'Start with the same story again!', he inwardly laughed as he opened his mouth to say a single phrase.
" Jiraiya-sensei, do you mind telling us about the founding of Konoha again?". He could sense the girl glaring daggers at him, but he had to get back at her for pranking him the other day.
" Minato, I'm going to KI-", she waved her fists at the blond boy, but their teacher cut in with a tone reserved for the retelling of his adventures.
" Glad you gakis are interested in some history! Now where to begin...", he murmured as his hand reached for his chin and began to rub it unconsciously. After a few moments he flashed a smile. " But of course, with the..."
' First Meeting!', all three of his students thought before the white haired man finished his sentence; They really had almost learned it by heart now; After all, hearing the exact same thing for months has that effect on everyone.
" Before this village and country were formed, ninja clans were individual groups of families that sold their strength to the highest bidder; Many were considered strong, others weak: Each had their own traditions, skills, beliefs and ideals. Yet all of them had one thing in common: Their need to be recognised as the strongest.". Glancing back to make sure he had their undivided attention, he continued.
"In those troubled times, countries were built and destroyed every day, each tasking a single clan to protect it. This was done out of necessity , of course, since at the time, to ask a clan to cooperate with another was met with a kunai in the heart, no questions asked. But even then, two clans eventually emerged, climbing up the countless bodies they had slain to stand above all others; To claim the title of the strongest. Those were...", The older main waited for his students to answer.
" The Uchihas and the Senju, Sensei.", they all said in chorus, one visibly bored, another irritated, and the last one a tad excited.
"Right! The Uchihas with their unique ocular powers concentrated in their special red eye, the Sharingan, and the Senju who, even though had no special feature about them as a group, were considered to be the most fearsome of warriors, skilled and well-versed in all aspects of being a shinobi. Both clans were in a league of their own, as no other clan could resist them, and only one could counter the other. And so they fought for years, the Uchihas led by a man called Uchiha Madara, who despite his young age at the time, he somehow obtained a version of the Sharingan even stronger than the common one and bested all his clansmen in combat. The Senju ,on the other hand, were led by the one we know as Senju Hashirama, a man of unique talent. He was the only man alive to be able to combine his water and earth chakra natures, unleashing attacks made of wood."
" You forgot to mention his ability to control the Bijuus Sensei!", the blond boy reminded him discretely.
" I was just about to say it! Anyway... The Uchihas and Senju fought many times, in many different battlegrounds and the results of them were mixed, no clan was able to secure the upper hand for long. In time, they wanted to stop the endless killing that characterized the relationship between them. Being more reasonable, the great Hashirama offered a truce along with an offer to cooperate in defending a new land. After a lot of pressure by his clansmen, Uchiha Madara unwillingly accepted. The place they validated their alliance was the exact spot we are visiting now."
" Come on sensei, get to the interesting part already! I swear, each time it takes longer for you to finish!", the visibly angry black haired girl commented.
Smiling widely, the older man continued.
" There, right in front of everyone in their two clans, Hashirama joined his hands together and used his unique ability to grow a huge tree, which to the Senju was the symbol of prosperity and stability. The Uchiha recognised it for what it was and welcomed his gesture. It was then that something happened that would mark the new era of the Shinobi world." . The older man stopped there and looked at them, the most grave expression on his face.
" All the tree's leaves were suddenly on fire; The Senju were surprised by that and immediately reached for their weapons, thinking that the Uchiha had already betrayed them. As everyone observed them closely, however, they noticed something unprecedented: This!", He pointed with his right hand behind him; A huge tree with hundreds of branches of various sizes etching towards every direction, each filled with countless green leaves. On top of each leaf was a small white flame, quietly dancing to the rhythms of the slight breeze.
" It is said that the Fire spoke to their minds, saying that it had observed mankind for many years; That their effort to be the first ones in a long time with the desire to bring peace to the world should be rewarded. At that, one of the leaves separated from the tree and was carried to Hashirama by the wind; As it touched his bare palm , he did not react as a man whose skin was burned would. Later, he would write in his personal accounts of the event that the fire felt warm, yet familiar, strong yet gentle and soothing... As if it was a part of his own body. That the flame spoke to him alone, and told him its name and how to use it..."
" Seika... Sacred Flame... The fire that burns only what its user wants, leaving everything else unharmed... The fire that cleanses the body and soul... The mark of the one who follows the Will of Fire; The Hokage! And the Seika Tree, the symbol of our noble intentions!", Stated the blond in an excited tone, as he looked behind his sensei, watching the small fires tremble again, numbering in the thousands.
Jiraiya smiled as he concluded, " And so it was decided that the country should be named as the Fire Country and the the village protecting it Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden under the Leaves; Reminding the world that sometimes fire and leaves, Uchihas and Senju, can exist together peacefully, that the impossible can in fact happen!"
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A firm feminine voice brought him back to the present. Turning to his side, he saw a battle-ready ANBU member looking at him through her cat resembling mask.
" Hokage-Sama, your son has been delivered...", she briefly paused to give him time to understand what she was saying." Your wife is resting... She barely made it, Minato-Sama, but the doctors say she will be fine."
Nodding slowly, Minato knew that as the Hokage there was no time to cry from joy, cheer and spend time with his family. Not when his people needed him; He had made that choice since he accepted his position; Minato was a Hokage first, then a husband and father...even a person.
" What is the situation with the beast, Neko?", the emotionless tone even surprised the woman next to him.
" It is only a few miles away from the main gates of the village, Sir; At its current speed, it will reach Konoha within the hour. Sandaime-Sama is fighting together with the Jounin, but it seems that not even the Seika can soothe the Monster."
' Then there is only one option left...I am sorry my son, but the village's survival is more important than my life or your happiness...I know Kushina-chan will take very good care of you even without me...'
" Take the back-up teams and reinforce the Sandaime's forces; Tell him I will be there shortly, I need to make some preparations."
The ANBU only nodded and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Looking back at the tree, he smiled bitterly as he thought that he would never see that unique sight again.
Mimicking his subordinate, he vanished, but in a yellow flash, heading to the hospital.
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-MEANWHILE, A FEW MILES AWAY FROM KONOHA-
A horrific howl covered the voices of many ninjas who were attacking the beast with the hardest hitting long range techniques they had; The Nine Tailed Fox was very resistant to weapon attacks, making all of Konoha's close range specialists useless against it. The long range shinobis did not do much better; Even when combining their attacks into one, nothing could do even some minor damage to the Fox.
Many looked up, as a thunderous voice filled the battlefield.
" Shinkaton: Hashira-en!"
A pillar of white flame formed around the Red Beast, gently warming the exhausted bodies of the shinobi present there, but causing excruciating pain to the Fox.
' Thank the Will of Fire we have Sandaime-Sama with us... If it wasn't for him, the Kyuubi would probably be inside Konoha by now.', one silver haired masked ANBU member thought as he heard a howl of agony coming from inside the Sacred fire. They all knew this was a temporary measure and the fox proved them right as it sped through the flame , its nine tails covering its face and body, ready to spread more carnage and destruction to the land.
Moving a few branches forward, Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth; It was a rare occasion for him to show any sign of frustration, much less anger. His anger though came from the one conclusion he had verified for the umpteenth time that night; He could not stop the Fox, no matter what he used against it. And yet , there was one thing he could not understand at all.
'Why can't I control it? I have done it in the past with other Bijuu, but why not now? Why not the Kyuubi?'
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As Minato entered the room his unofficial wife was in , he could barely hold the tears that struggled to leave his eyes; She was sleeping peacefully, a large smile on her face, as her hand was reaching to a very small crib next to her bed, where he saw his little boy moving. Coming a few steps closer, he observed the boy carefully; He had not seen any other newborns in his life, but the father inside him insisted there was no cuter baby in the world. When the infant opened its eyes, he could swear he saw his own eyes in the mirror, looking straight at him. With a fond smile on his face, turned to his wife.
He knew that if everything went according to plan, he would never see any of them again. Wanting to leave something behind for them to remember him by, he slowly removed his white haori with red flames at the bottom, and placed it on a nearby chair., together with his Konoha shinobi headband on it.
' These I leave to you my son..'
Putting his arms behind his neck, he removed a whirlpool-shaped blue necklace, the first gift Kushina had given him, and touched it with his right index finger and whispered one word.
" Shinkaton"
The whirlpool-shaped metal flashed with a white fire warm to the touch. Gently grabbing the hand that was with Naruto, he placed her gift inside her palm and closed it slowly.
' This is for you Kushina... I'll understand it if you never forgive me...', he thought before giving her one last kiss, revelling in the last time he felt her lips against his.
Breaking contact, he moved to his son and picked him up, enveloping him in a soft hug as he disappeared once more, as suddenly as he had come.
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Hearing a familiar voice, Sarutobi smirked at the timing; It was about time the next generation took care of their times' problems.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
' What took you long Minato-sensei?', thought the silver haired masked man before forming hand seals with renewed hope again; Everyone around him did the same, smiles of their faces even when in front of them stood death incarnate.
"Hmmm... What's up this time Minato? What did you get me into?", asked a Toad of comparable size to Kyuubi, as he reached for his blade with his right hand.
The serious tone of the blonde's voice made him understand how grave the situation was. " I am sorry for bringing you into this Gamabunta but I need you to distract him long enough for me to stop him permanently!", he said confidently, his son in his hands.
The giant Toad silently nodded as it unsheathed its blade and grinned at the Red Beast. " Let's see what you've got, Little Fox!"
Spotting the Sandaime, Minato jumped down to him to share his battle plan with him; Glancing at Naruto and back to the older blond, he waited for an answer; The young Hokage did not disappoint him.
" This is my son Naruto... I have brought him here because he is a vital part of my plan...", the sadness betrayed in his voice did not make it to his face, which remained calm and confident. The young boy cried at the loud noises of battle and gore taking place mere meters away from them.
Sarutobi's brows borrowed " There must be another way, Minato-kun... My Shinkaton may not work , but yours might...",
"No, you are wrong Hokage -sama", the Namikaze cut in, " We all know you were the one blessed with the strongest Seika of all the Hokages to date; Me included... If you cannot subjugate it, then neither can I.. I would not be doing this if I had another choice, believe me Sarutobi-sama..." The elder only titled his head in agreement.
Handing the boy over to the older man, he only added in an almost pleading voice. "Hokage-sama... Please take care of Naruto and Kushina-chan for me... At least until they can take care of themselves."
With that, the blond man jumped to a nearby branch and started running towards a direction that would allow him to prepare for the Beast's sealing inside his one and only son.
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A figured veiled by the shadows watched on as the young Hokage made his way onto the forest, heading for the directly opposite direction than the Beast. He knew what he was capable of, one of his position's weaknesses was the exposure his personal abilities got. Sealing was a rare art even among Shinobi, so the news of a new seal master, the youngest man to be named Hokage spread like with lightning fast speed.
' But I won't let him have things go his way..', he thought happily as a red eye suddenly shone, distinguishing itself from the rest of the shadowed man.
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" Shinkaton: Kasai Bakuhatsu!", Sarutobi's voice was heard yet again, followed by a blast of white flame that covered the entire front side of the Fox, who quickly tried to use its tails to remove it from its face, giving Gamabunta the opening he had so desperately needed all this time. Having already tried using his blade, the Toad boss had come to the same conclusion the Konoha shinobi previously had: Blades did not work against his opponent.
Bringing his two hands into a hand seal, his stomach filled with water, which he then threw at high speed, accompanied with a yell.
" Suiton: Teppodama!"
Being focused on the flames burning it, Kyuubi got hit directly by the attack, stumbling backwards a few steps before finally losing balance for good. The Konoha nins who still had enough chakra left, used all of it in their last attack, while the rest looked on and prayed to the Fire that their ordeal was over. In a moment , many battle shouts were heard, all repeating the same sentence.
" Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"
Everyone hopefully observed as tens of fireballs formed around the Red Beast, hitting it everywhere, leaving no place intact. A few newly mint Jounin started to cheer, while the more experienced ones stood silent, in full alert.
A loud growl confirmed the latter ones' suspicions, as the Nine Tailed Demon stood up and sped to a direction opposite the village of Konoha. Only Sarutobi's eyes widened as he realised what that meant.
' It is following Minato-kun... Someone is controlling it! But who has enough power to do it?', was his only thought as he hastily jumped from one branch to another in order to keep up, Naruto safe in his grasp; The one moment he let him go to execute his technique was the longest one of his life; He would be damned if he did it again.
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The young Hokage had almost finished the preparations he needed to make; He had drawn a sealing circle on the ground to allow his technique to instantly force Kyuubi's chakra into the seal and was now in the middle of a very long hand seal sequence; Even though it required a significant amount of time to make, it would cost him far less chakra with the hand seals working as buffers; He knew he would need every bit of his available chakra to manipulate the chakra made beast.
It was then that he felt it; The horrible sensation associated with the vile being told him only one thing; It was coming for him.
' I'm not nearly ready yet! Fuck, I need to do the whole sequence, I can't risk an unsuccessful sealing!', he gritted his teeth as the earth began trembling due to the beast's dash. Looking up, Minato saw something that surprised him, but was logical if one sat and thought about it: The Kyuubi's eyes were a red with three tomoe around the now round pupil.
'A Sharingan? And it can control Kyuubi so effectively that even Sarutobi-sama's Seika won't work against it? Impossible!'
Spotting him, the Red Beast moved three of its tails over him in order to squash him like a harmless bug. Namikaze Minato was far more agile than that; He had more than enough time to dodge and get some safe distance, his sequence nearly half complete. Letting out another menacing growl that promised a painful death, Kyuubi once more attacked, this time using Four tails. Having to cover more distance than before, the young Hokage was a bit more pressured but dealt with it admirably, his face calm as ever . He was inwardly smirking, however, as his hand seals were almost all performed. Dodging yet another blow, he help on to one last handesal as he started to speak with a triumphant look on his face.
" Fuuinjutsu: Shik-", he was interrupted by the cry of a baby.
During his time in combat situations, he had learned to shut out everything distracting around him; Cries for help from his injured beyond salvation allies, cries for mercy from his enemies; But this cry was one he would never allow himself to shut out; His son's. That moment of distraction was all he cunning fox needed. With a piercing howl, it sent all nine of its tails after him, blocking him from every possible way.
Minato cursed his own luck; His seals were not one way portals like many of his compatriots liked to think; They were expendable, one use seals that burned all the chakra they were infused with to guide the user to the place they were placed. Having placed no seals on the surrounding area in order to finish the sealing process faster, Minato did the only thing he could now: Tried to complete the sealing. As he was about to call out his technique again , he felt a very sharp pain in his stomach, signalling he was out of time.
In the fractions of a second that were between the arrival of the first tail and that of the other eight, only one thought flashed on his mind.
' Kushina-chan, Naruto... I love you...Konoha...I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you...'
As his eyes closed, darkness took him in its cold embrace.
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Sarutobi felt his legs failing him as he watched Minato get hit by Kuubi's tails; When he pulled them back, there was nothing left to suggest that the man was ever there, but the old Hokage could tell; His chakra had not moved from its place the whole time. There was no other explanation other than the obvious, but his heart could not believe it. Cold sweat covered him as he thought of the current situation; The Hokage who was about to seal the Kyuubi had just died.; Sarutobi himself also knew the same technique, being the Professor, but he had spent almost all his chakra into the Shinkaton attacks to buy time for the sealing to take place; His subordinates were all around him, but they were in worse condition than him, having fought the Beast for even longer than he did.
There was nothing to protect Konoha against Kyuubi's wrath.
Flashing his fangs to everyone in the vicinity, the Red Beast targeted the man nearest to it; Sarutobi and, by extension, Naruto.
Lowering its front legs, Kyuubi used only one tail against its victim, wanting to play with them a bit before killing them. The former 'God of Shinobi' was no more young and agile; He barely had time to move to the right avoiding the tail that slammed the ground, causing a mild earthquake. Naruto started crying non-stop, surprising the old Hokage with its stamina; Usually newborns tended to be too tired and powerless to even blink an eye, much less to start crying.
The sadistic fox now brought its tail into a sweeping motion, making the Hokage to jump in order to avoid it; Which is what it was aiming for from the start; Using another one of its tails , it went in to slam them head on, knowing it's impossible to miss in mid-air.
Sarutobi could do nothing but look at the tail too surprised and too exhausted to react in time.
' So this is the end? How shameful... For a mere beast and its master to defeat two Hokages in one night...'
All the Jounin and ANBU class ninja watched as their Hokage was about to be hit head on by the Beast. Even one of them who attempted a defensive earth jutsu would not make it in time. What happened next shocked everyone to their very core.
A minuscule blast of white fire was shot from Sarutobi's direction, its flames more white than anyone had ever seen; Even more than the ones located in the Seika tree, which were considered to be the purest form of Sacred Flame. The fox was equally hurt and surprised; It certainly had not braced itself for this kind of attack, which is partly why it worked.
' Was this...The boy?', The silver haired ANBU member silently considered as others around him had similar thoughts. ' It must be... I know Sarutobi-sama needs seals to use the Shinkaton...And its form is not nearly as pure as this one...'
Retracting its tail back, the Bijuu howled once more to intimidate everyone around it as it sent its eight remaining tails against the boy now. Sarutobi looked to his hands to check Naruto's condition; He was relieved to see that he was only sleeping from exhaustion and nothing more serious. With the attacks approaching though, it did not make much of a difference; Holding the boy tight in his lap, the older man braced himself for the blow.
It never came.
Landing on the ground safely, the Hokage was in for one more surprise; Right in front of him stood a being resembling a man in his late forties, with white hair and a small beard; His clothes were very similar to his own Hokage robes , only purely white: And the most important of all, he was engulfed in the Seika, the purest form which was comparable to the one the blond had released previously.
Sizing up his opponent, his facial expression did not change in the slightest; " So it is you the humans have been dealing with ... It seems that ever since you have been separated , you have been causing more damage than when you where whole...". The fox just showed its teeth and growled.
Turning his gaze to the far right, into the woods, he man spoke again. " So you lived after all...I honestly thought my first Student of Konoha had taken care of you ...Madara-san...Alas , it is not my place to kill you...".
The Hokage snapped out of his amazement first and asked the man in front of him.
" Who...Are you?".
" I have many names, depending on the age and the place...You, I suppose, know me as the Will of Fire, although Kagutsuchi is my personal favourite..."
"You mean you are the one..."
The man sighed, not amused by the dumbfounded looks on everyone's' face." I have come here because I wanted to satisfy my curiosity... Someone used a part of my purest form of power, without my consent no less. I assume it's the boy you are holding Sarutobi-san?"
A loud roar escaped Kyuubi's mouth once again and Kagutsuchi took immediate action; Holding up his right hand, he pointed at the Beast's head with his thumb, index and middle finger extended. A Kanji appeared on the Kyuubi's forehead. which seemed to paralyse it.
" Fire.." , many of the shinobi around them whispered in awe. (AN: This is the Kanji : 火 )
" I have never met anyone that could manipulate my Seika without me granting him the power to do so...", said the man engulfed in flames," I think it's best that your original plan is carried out... I believe that the only one to be able to fully control it is this little boy... Maybe the greatest Seika manipulator after me..."
Stretching out his left hand in a similar manner as the right one and the same Kanji appeared on Naruto's right eye, which was closed now. Bringing his hands together, the shinobi and the 'God of Shinobi' watched equally amazed as the Kyuubi no Kitsune was sucked into the Kanji-seal, its power strong as the whole design was now aflame, doused in the Sacred Fire. A few moments after the whole creature was sealed, the fire on the seal began to fade slowly before disappearing out of existence completely, no evidence that it was ever there.
" I will go now... Sarutobi-san, take care of the boy in your arms... He might just be the one to change the future of the world..." And with those words he left , gone just like his Seika, in a flash.
The crowd slowly began moving cautiously towards the boy; They knew he held the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside him now, but that did not scare them at all; After all their Will of Fire performed the Sealing, and He could not fail. No, the reason they acted like they did was as not to wake the boy up, as a sign of reverence to his person.
As they gathered close to him, the one ANBU in the cat mask merely said. " He is kind of cute..", which sounded weird coming out with an emotionless tone.
As soon as the boy heard speech from so close to him, he opened his eyes to reveal two very different ones. One of them, the left one, was the exact copy of his father's, Minato , while the other was just like the one the Kyuubi displayed at first: A red slitted eye that was infinitely out of place considering the boy's smiling face.
Yet another one of the Jounin spoke, in a more formal manner. Looking at the boy fondly, he only said one simple thing, yet the hardest to say of all.
" Thank you for your Sacrifice...Blessed One."
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Author's Notes
Quick Japanese Mythology Lesson: Kagutsuchi vs the Mangekyo Three ( Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo)
Izanami no Mikoto and Izanagi no Mikoto were two beings summoned by the first gods; They had Children and one of them was Kagutsuchi (incarnation of fire), who during his birth killed his mother, Izanami no Mikoto. Izanagi no Mikoto went to the underworld to save her, and to cut long story short, she was beyond salvation. When he returned from the Underworld, he wanted to cleanse himself, so when he washed his face , three gods 'fell' from his face... Guess who?
Amaterasu- Left eye
Tsukuyomi- Right eye
Susanoo - Nose ( Yep, you heard that right!)
What is more interesting though is that the eyes corresponding to each god are the same as the ones Sasuke has as powers in his eyes, meaning that Sasuke's left eye controls the Amaterasu and right one his Tsukuyomi as opposed to Itachi who had them the other way around even though he is the first character to display those powers; It's a pity Susanoo isn't activated by the user's nose, it would be hilarious to see Sasuke asking Madara for a nose job along with the eye transplant.
Shinkaton : The reason behind the name.
Well, it's simple actually, Seika means Sacred Fire, but because Seikaton doesn't sound very nice to my ears, I decided to take the word Sacred , or Shinsei and took the first half of it and joined it with the canon Katon to make Shinkaton. I have to say at this point that my knowledge in Japanese is non-existent so anyone who sees something wrong with the translations would be truly welcome to point it out either in his/her review, PM or whichever way he/she wants.
About Naruto's appearance.
Yes, due to the different sealing method used Naruto does not have Whisker marks on his face! Sorry to anyone that liked them!
Instead, he has the Kanji( I hope I am saying the right type of Japanese writing!), for Fire on his Right eye - 火
Now to imagine exactly how it looks, think of it as a burn mark , and that it appears as a whole only when the eye is closed. The center of the three lines is roughly where his pupil is when he is looking straight forward, the three lines stretching on his upper cheek and his brow respectively. I hope it makes that clear! I honestly can't think of a better way to describe its placement!