Naruto: Blood and Iron
Prologue: Skips Across Time
Tragedies, much as one wishes otherwise, are a common thing. For all that those involved are scarred, the day after begins the same, regardless.
The sun rises.
And so it did this day, over Konohagakure, The Village Hidden In The Leaves. The great wall of the ninja village was crushed in one area, and inside were the ruins of many a building that had suffered the wrath of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine-Tailed Fox.
By all accounts though, the village came off rather light for suffering an attack from one of the dreaded Tailed Beasts. After all, it stood for the most part, and there still existed a populace to mourn the fallen.
One of said fallen lay in state, covered by a white sheet in the Konoha General Hospital's morgue. Once the Hokage, leader of the village, he had given his life in the ultimate sacrifice, to seal the Kyuubi away.
Next to the table on which the corpse laid sat the current Hokage, robed in a red haori and donning the symbolic Kage hat, a diamond-shaped headpiece with a hanging fabric that covered everything but the face. all but a quarter of it was red, the single white quarter above the wearer's face bearing the symbol for fire.
The Hokage sighed, rising, as he lifted the sheet back, revealing the tanned, wizened face of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"You didn't need to do that Hiruzen," Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage of Konoha, said, "But thank you, regardless."
Minato bowed his head low over the body, making a prayer for Hiruzen's soul, before replacing the sheet and moving to check on his wife and children in the hospital.
"What do you mean his chakra system is damaged?"
The medical ninja's expression remained calm, albeit his complexion notably paled and he gulped as unobtrusively as possible as the Fourth Hokage, despite speaking in the calmest, most reasonable manner, radiated an aura of general unpleasedness.
"As far as we're able to determine, Naruto was exposed to the Fox's chakra at some point." Minato winced then, a memory coming to his mind, of a small blond child clinging to his mother's legs as an enormous claw burst through the figure of Hiruzen shielding the Namikaze family. "The results...well, it's caused damage that I can only describe as malicious. His tenketsu, his coils...they've all been damaged in such a way as to completely destroy his ability to use chakra in any manner whatsoever. He's only able to naturally generate and store enough to live, if barely that."
"Damn that Fox." Minato swore. He looked over, away from the med-nin and into the room they were standing at the door at. There were two beds in that sterile room, one holding his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, and the newly born twins. The other hosted his young son, five-year old Naruto.
Despite the horror of the previous night, Naruto seemed to be resting peacefully.
"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but there's nothing we can do. Frankly, I doubt even Tsunade would have any ability to help Naruto, given the nature and severity of the damage."
"I know." Minato sighed. "But it doesn't change anything for him…"
Other than the birth of his new siblings, beginning his ninja training was what Naruto had been looking forward to the most. To now be told that it wasn't going to happen, ever...
It was going to destroy him.
One Year Later
"But why do you want to learn Taijutsu?" Minato asked. Here he sat, in the Hokage's office at the top of the Hokage's tower, desk virtually covered with paperwork of all types, and before it stood his son, Naruto.
"So I can help." His son stood there, declaring his intent with an air of determination and confidence. Minato studied his son, noting the stiff posture, tiny fists clenched at his sides, and the forceful, focused expression fixed upon him.
Is this how Jiraiya saw me, all those years ago?
"Naruto…"
"Menma and Natsumi." The boy clarified, before his father could continue what promised to be a long lecture. "They might be able to become the best ninja...they might be able to get stronger, faster, and tougher than me...than I can dream...but until then...I want to help them." Father and son stayed there, gazing at one another for a long moment, before Minato just sighed, then chuckled. "Dad?"
"Go home Naruto. We'll talk more about this when I get back." Naruto's shoulders slumped slightly, as he nodded and turned, walking out the door with a downcast air. Minato just watched him until the door closed, then turned to one of the shadowed corners of the office. "Send a message to Might Gai to report to me soon."
It impressed him, and warmed his heart that Naruto, even after what happened to him, was still so caring towards his siblings. Still, it would be even more impressive if he was able to put up with Gai's 'youth' to fulfill his desire.
Another Year Later
"Come on, doesn't the little princess want to play?"
"Yeah, come on moon eye, why don't you hang around with us? Unless…"
"You think you're too good for us!"
"N-no, that's not-"
"Yeah, little stuck-up Hyuga princess doesn't think we're good enough to play with her!"
Among the winter snow, in one of the sparse copses of trees that could be found in Konoha, a blue-haired girl was surrounded by a trio of boys. The girl, small and delicate-looking, was dressed in a warm maroon coat and blue pants, with a beige scarf, while the three boys were dressed in an assortment of gray and black colors.
Why are they so mean? Thought one Hinata Hyuga, heiress of the prominent Hyuga ninja clan.
"I-it's not that I don't want to, but my father is enrolling me into the academy and will be done soon..s-so I can't -"
"Yeah right! You're just too stuck up to want to hang out with us!"
"Or maybe you three are just a bunch of dumb mean brats!" At that, the jeers stopped as the three boys turned to the newest participant in this drama. He was around the age and height of the others, with wildly spiky blond hair, dressed in an orange-and-white jacket, yellow shirt, tan pants, and a red scarf wrapped around his neck.
"What's it to you twerp?" The biggest of the three sneered, his buddies forming up beside him as he stepped towards the newcomer.
"It's not right to pick on her!" The blond declared, raising an accusing finger at the three.
"So? What are you gonna do about it?" The lead boy chuckled, cracking his knuckles while his two friends tried to make themselves look bigger. The blond boy swallowed, looking nervous for a moment, before taking a deep breath, straightening his back, and assuming some kind of stance.
"I'll beat you up!" At that, all three of the bullies laughed, and the leader stepped forward, arm out to push the blond down. In an instant, the his arm was grabbed, as the blond twisted around and threw the bigger boy behind him before reassuming his stance facing the other two. For a moment, the two boys just stood there, jaws gaping, before shaking themselves and rushing the blond with two combative shouts.
Hinata, frozen in place since the blond had arrived, could only watch the fighting. The blond moved in a strangely familiar way, smoothly stepping around the two boy's attacks or pushing their fists away instead of solidly blocking. He seemed to be in complete control of the fight, despite not launching a punch or kick himself.
Then the bigger boy came back. A solid punch knocked the blond off his feet, and the three bullies piled on him with brutal noises that made Hinata wince and shrink into herself. For what seemed to be forever, the three boys continued to beat the blond until the leader finally drew back.
"Alright guys, that's enough. I think blondy here's learned his lesson!" And with that, the trio sauntered off, apparently forgetting completely about Hinata in their post-victory smugness. Hinata, cautiously watching them until they were gone, turned and stepped towards the blond boy, who was laying face-first in the snow.
"Um...are you alright?" She asked, and when no answer came, she timidly squatted down and poked the boy's head.
"Ow!" The boy's head darted up, and Hinata dropped back on her butt with a squeak. "Owowowowow!" The boy's mouth just streamed sounds of pain as he sat up and started feeling around his head and face. The bruises were already becoming visible, including a very large and obvious black eye. "Ah, man that hurts. Well, at least they left you alone. Still, glad Gai-sensei's not here. Can't believe I forgot about that guy…" For a moment, the two just stared at each other, before the blond got a look of realization, and bolted to his feet before bowing sticking his hand out. "I'm Naruto by the way, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze!"
"Ah! Um...Hinata Hyuga." Hinata replied, bowing slightly as she was taught. Naruto looked at her questioningly before another realization made him withdraw his hand and bow as well. "Namikaze...are you…"
"Yeah, the Hokage's my dad." Naruto interrupted, rolling his eyes in a manner that showed how much weight he put on that fact.
"Oh...So are you going to the academy too then?"
"Nah, I'm in the civilian school." At Hinata's curious look, Naruto grimaced. "I...well, I can't use chakra." An awkward silence filled the air then, Hinata and Naruto fidgeting quietly before a thought occurred to Hinata.
"Um...Isn't the civilian school in session right now?:
"Well, yeah, but I decided to skip today." Naruto explained, his hand going behind his head to rub it as he sheepishly grinned. "I mean, the teacher there is sooo boring! He just stands there and talks at everyone for forever -"
"NARUTOOOOOOO!" At the howl of motherly rage and concern that echoed throughout the village, both children twitched, Naruto getting a fearful expression.
"Aaaand that's my mom, well, see you around Hinata!" With that, he turned on his heel and dashed into the forest. Hinata stood and looked after him for a moment, before noticing a splash of color in the white snow at her feet.
Kneeling, she picked up the red scarf Naruto had been wearing, having come off his neck at some point during the fight and getting torn in the melee. Hinata stood there quietly, looking at the scarf, and then folded it up and hid it in her jacket.
Later, when she got back home and her father dismissed her, she went to her mother.
"Mama, can you teach me to sew?"
"Yes dear...but why?" With that, Hinata pulled out Naruto's scarf and explained, after which, her mother smiled at the blushing girl and began to teach.
October 10th, Two Years Later
"- And let us have a moment of silence for those who fell in our defense...and now, let us celebrate our victory!" With the roar of the cheering crowd, Minato stepped down from the podium, allowing the festival of the Fox's defeat to officially begin.
"Dad! Can I take Menma and Natsumi to the Ramen stand?" Minato looked down, seeing his son Naruto clinging to his haori, flanked by his younger siblings, all three looking up at him with pleading eyes. Minato paused, staying silent for a moment as the two sets of blue and one set of violet eyes seemed to grow bigger and wetter, before finally laughing and ruffling Naruto's hair.
"Of course you can, just make sure to stay in the open areas where your guards can keep an eye on you."
"Yeah! Let's go guys!" Naruto led his siblings off, all three chattering excitedly as they ran, Minato chuckling and watching them carefully, noting the ANBU darting along the nearby rooftops to keep guard on the children.
"Hokage-sama." Minato turned, his gaze falling upon a man with coal-black eyes.
"Fugaku-san." He bowed his head slightly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"This is regarding the matter you asked me to look into...about four years ago." Fugaku replied, before gesturing aside, to a nearby building where several of the Konoha Police - all Uchiha Clan members - stood guard. Minato nodded, following Fugaku into the building. Shortly after the door closed, seals flashed around the perimeter of the room, ones Minato noted as various sound-cancelling and observation-blocking seals, all simple, but functional by his standards.
"We've been making better progress than last year in going through our records." Fugaku began as the two seated themselves at a table in the center of the room. "The...sensitive nature of these documents and the methods used to secure them have slowed us, as well as our own desire for precision. But, as yet, we have no records regarding any technique similar to that you described. The best we can determine is that, of the nature and power shown, it would at least require the awakening of the Mangekyo."
"As I suspected." Minato said, nodding.
"Yes, but this has made the other facet of our investigation...complicated." Fugaku continued, a slight grimace settling on his face. "Of the Uchiha lost in the past few decades, very few have gone truly missing - a fact possible in no small part due to your efforts during the last war, Hokage-sama. The most likely candidates in recent times are Hachirou, reported dead by ambush during a sortie in the Land of Rivers. Kouki, reported MIA with his entire team during patrol in the Land of Hot Water. And Obito," At that name, Minato sighed, remembering the determined boy on his team during the Third Shinobi World War..and his fate, "reported dead during a mission in the Land of Grass. Of these listed, only Kouki had managed to activate his Sharingan...but as he was about thirty centimeters shorter than your assailant, and specialized in taijutsu, it's deemed unlikely, yet not impossible that he is the culprit." Both men sighed.
"Four years, and we still haven't come any closer…"
"I am glad, nevertheless, that you hold no rancor towards us. If it weren't for your support, the common villagers would no doubt have even more mistrust towards us than they already do."
"Of course I support you. The Uchiha clan has been a strong presence in Konoha for generations now. There may have been Uchiha of malicious intent in the past - and apparently, the present - but such is true of many of Konoha, sad to say." At that, the two drifted into a companionable, if frustrated silence, before Minato spoke again. "What if he really was Madara Uchiha?"
"That's impossible. Madara hasn't been seen in over a century. He must have died by now."
"Yes, but you can't deny the people of that generation were a breed apart, considering all the stories around them. And so much knowledge has been lost, some of it never recovered...is there the slightest chance that Madara somehow lived long enough to make another attempt to finish carrying out his grudge?" An uneasy silence followed the question. "At any rate, I suppose the identity of our enemy doesn't matter at this point. What we really must do is plan to counter his possible movements - whatever else, we know he needs the Kyuubi, so I will have to begin training Menma and Natsumi soon. I ask of the Uchiha clan to begin looking into techniques and strategies to counter the Sharingan - to be used by yourselves against this enemy." Minato added, assuaging Fugaku's unvoiced worry. As he began to continue, Minato felt a small ping of chakra, and in near the same instant, recognized it.
A Hiraishin marker.
Specifically, the one on the kunai he'd given Naruto as a safety measure.
An icy feeling ran down his spine, as he activated Hiraishin without so much as a word to the Uchiha clan head, ripping through space and time to teleport instantly to his son.
The real world emerged around him, and the sight that met his eyes turned him paler than a corpse.
Naruto, standing statue-still, blood covering his body as his siblings shivered behind him.
Minato's focused vision and attention noted the blood, the stillness, and the lack of wounds on any of his children.
Around, a small, dead-end alleyway.
Turning, he saw behind him his special tri-pronged kunai, Hiraishin technique formula scribbled on its grip, central blade embedded deeply into the jugular of a man -a civilian, going by his clothes.
The instant passed, the man gurgling as he fell to his knees, and then fell over onto the ground, his blood pooling around his expiring body.
"Oh...Naruto…"
"D-dad I - he - h-he wanted Menma and Natsumi - said t-they were the F-Fox." Naruto, no longer still, but shaking, sunk to his knees, gaze going to the blood that drenched his clothes, his hands. Minato went to hug his son, the twins coming around to join in despite their fear.
"Shhh...shhh...It's alright…" Minato murmured, absently noting the arrival of the ANBU guards and setting aside their punishments for later.
Now, his children needed him.
A Year Later
"...and don't forget to make friends, friends will get you through the worst parts of it." Naruto was saying as he walked his younger siblings to the academy. "Plus, they can really help with some of the bigger pranks, like that one I showed you with the lemons and the paperclip. Now, what do you do if someone picks a fight with you?"
"Punch their faces in!" Natsumi, the blonde twin-tailed, blue-eyed little sister, shouted, throwing her little fists in the air.
"Get a teacher." Menma, red-haired, violet-eyed, and unusually deadpan for a boy his age, stated.
"Hm. Well, not wrong, but not quite right either." Naruto judged, earning himself a pout from his little sister and a roll of the eyes from his little brother. "Just let it go...until the next day, where you line their route to the academy with pranks. If you need help, you can get ahold of Hinata - come to think of it, I think she has a sister starting this year too, she might be in your class...try to get her, the Byakugan is dead useful for...well, everything involved in pranking, really."
"Like we haven't heard you talking about it before." Menma, dryly, pointed out.
"Yeah, you talk about Hinata-nee enough that it's like Daddy with Mommy when they're talking about Takara." Natsumi added. "Oh yeah, ANBU here."
"Yeah, I know." Naruto was already slipping out of his jacket as the ANBU grabbed the collar, darting off the moment he was loose, tailed by three other ANBU. The dog-masked ANBU sighed, turning to Natsumi.
"You couldn't wait just two seconds?" Natsumi seemed to think for a moment, before shrugging and turning back to walk towards the academy gates. Menma paused just long enough to get up on his tiptoes and pat the crouching ANBU on the shoulder before following his twin. The ANBU sighed, tidily folded up the jacket and tucked it under his arm before continuing pursuit of the school-skipping Namikaze son.
Ahead, Naruto ducked under several grasping swipes from the ANBU, slipped into a thin gap between planks in front of a boarded up alleyway, and turned the corner.
The ANBU team followed closely, and found the dead-end around the corner curiously empty of a certain blond child. A quick study of the alley revealed a patch of wall that was strangely cleaner than the rest, which was quickly tested, found as a sheet of cloth colored and textured to resemble a wall, and then torn away.
Behind it lay a hole in the wall, dark and foreboding.
"Aw man, not again." One of the ANBU, mask resembling a squirrel's visage, moaned. "Last time he did one of these, I went in and came out smelling like a fishwife for three weeks."
"He got me with a paint trap. I had to requisition a new uniform."
"Itching powder. Lasted four days. Nearly scratched off my ID seal."
"Cats. Chased. Everywhere."
With that, the ANBU team regarded the hole warily, mentally comparing the threat of this dank, dark hole in the side of a building with that of the Hokage's wife's wrath.
A deep, communal sigh was shared before they darted into the hole.
As the cacophony of ruthless pranking sounded, the wall across from the hole was ripped away from behind, Naruto discarding another, more realistically patterned sheet, holding his jacket. Slipping his jacket on, he nonchalantly strode to the end of the alley and popped open a fake wooden manhole cover, replacing it above him as he descended, whistling all the while.
Down below lay Konoha's sewer system. The First Hokage was renowned for growing many of Konoha's oldest and sturdiest buildings, as well as the wall that enclosed the village, but it was his brother, who would later become the Second Hokage, that would take note of the ungodly smell the enormous gathering of people exuded, and thus endeavor to dig out and mold the sewage and overflow tunnels, press-ganging any and all ninja with the slightest capability to move a decent amount of earth into the effort, and thus contribute Konoha's well-being for all time.
And, it was said, burying a number of the Senju clan's political opponents and potential trouble-makers in the process.
Naruto, in his travels over the past two years, had yet to find any long-dead mummified ninja, but had discovered quite the collection of graffiti from others who had found their way down there.
Striding along the walkway with a small ramen-scented cloth wrapped around his face and a flashlight in his hand, Naruto followed a memorized route, navigating around the nigh-endless corners and turns of the sewer system, until he reached a collapsed wall, behind which lay a decently-sized chamber, decorated with a campfire and a stone block with an old, ratty comforter thrown over it.
Here was the place Naruto had spent his time when he wanted to be alone, as Menma and Natsumi grew, as Minato was drawn deeper into his duties as Hokage, as Kushina raised the newborn Takara.
Here he spent time alone, all but brooding, as Hinata grew ever stronger in the Jyuken as well as other ninja arts.
Here, where he could try and forget the face of the man he killed last year.
Kindling the fire using a method he'd read from a book and practiced on many a skipped school day, Naruto turned off the flashlight and let the jumping, jittery glow of the flames and the mad dancing shadows draw him into long, dark thoughts.
Eventually, his thoughts grew too turbulent, drawing him to his feet and into a slow, measured pace around the fire. Here, he let himself relax his emotional grip, focus on the internal rather than the external.
And so, he missed the signs. The slight tremor in the floor when he passed a certain spot in the cavern, or how he still had plenty of oxygen despite the blazing fire, or where the smoke was going, or what was causing the breeze he felt but did not acknowledge.
Thus, when he turned and kicked a part of the wall in a fit of pique, he was unprepared when the ground roared, crumbled and fell apart beneath him.
Mercifully, free fall was quite short, and Naruto found himself rolling off of one ledge or another, desperately scrabbling for a grip to halt his rapid descent.
After what felt like a terrible eternity of falls and sudden, heart-jolting stops, Naruto finally reached the bottom of this shaft.
He laid there for a moment, catching his breath and trying to remember the exercises Gai-sensei had taught him to control his heart rate, to prevent himself from descending into a full-blown panic. Soon enough, his heart slowed from the beat of a bee's wings to a more steady drum-like tempo, and Naruto slowly climbed to his feet, hands out to feel around as he couldn't see in the pitch darkness of the deep cavern.
Slowly, he crept forward, hands reaching out until they met a smooth metal surface.
Lights flashed into existence then, bright, burning blue spotlights that blinded Naruto, his hands darting instinctively to cover his eyes. As he blinked the spots from his vision, a strange-sounding voice called out.
"Ceci est la Shelter Installation Souterraine Bastille, contrôlée par la Sapient Intelligence Artificielle Joyeuse. Qui es-tu?"
"H-hello? Who's there?" Naruto called, hands still covering his eyes as he backed away from the lights. "I-I'm warning you! I'm the son of the Hokage! You do anything to me and y-you'll regret it!"
"Langue inconnue détectée. Échantillon obtenu. Analyse ... tenter contact." There was a pause, and then the voice spoke again, somewhat more understandable. "The Subterranean Shelter Facility Bastille, this is, controlled by the Sapient Artificial Intelligence Joyeuse. You, who are?"
"N-naruto Uzumaki Namikaze!" Naruto replied, after a brief hesitation.
"Naruto, You doing here, what are? You get down here, how did?" Another pause, as Naruto worked through the unusual grammar.
"I uh, I fell when the cave collapsed around me. I fell for a long time it felt like...um, do you know how deep we are?" Pause.
"Located approximately 4.2 kilometers below sea level, this facility is." A long pause followed this, as Naruto paled. "However, only about two kilometers deep, the entrance here is."
"Phew! That means I only feel...what, 300 meters? Heh. Heh." There was no humor in his forced chuckle. "Oh man, how in the world am I going to get back up?" A long silence greeted him, as he finally took his hands away from his eyes and looked around the cavern. The bright lights lit up every crevice in the rock around, laying bare all the areas the light reached, and casting deep shadows in the places it did not. In front of him, the lights blared from the top two corners of a set of gates that made Konoha's main gates look positively miniscule, a two huge doors that seemed to be made entirely of metal. Feeling less frightened, Naruto moved closer to the doors, studying them.
"What were you doing over one and a half kilometers underground Naruto?" The voice called out finally, after almost three minutes. It's grammar had drastically improved, and Naruto was collected enough to note it sounded strangely bland so far as tonation, and had a sort of metallic flanging sound to it.
"Um, well, Konoha's about 300 meters under the sea level anyway, so I was really only a little over a kilometer underground. As for what I was doing there...well, it was a nice secluded spot. I could just think to myself without anyone bothering me…"
"Why would you need to be alone Naruto?"
"There's just some stuff that's been bugging me - um, hey, you wouldn't happen to know a way back to the surface, would you?"
"I do. But, Naruto, what's bothering you?"
"Just some stuff, but could you tell me the way up? I really need to get back soon. I mean, I don't mind skipping school, but my brother and sister are going to be let out of the academy soon, and I don't want to miss picking them up from their first day, you know?"
"You have siblings?:
"Yeah, the twins and my newborn little sister, now look, um, Joiez, right?"
"My name is pronounced Joyeuse."
"Right, whatever, could you tell me the way up please?" At this point, it was rather obvious that Naruto was a bit more than ticked off. He was gritting his teeth, his hands were clenched into fists, and without a firm target, he just glared at the doors.
"There is a linear elevator in Sector 117 that exits at a guard facility in the mountain above this location. That facility has a camouflaged exit to the surface."
"Great! Would you mind letting me in so I can use the elevator then!?"
"I cannot."
"WHY THE HELL NOT!?"
"You are not authorized to access this facility." At that Naruto broke, yelling out obscenities that he had learned through numerous bouts of eavesdropping, a fusillade of slurs and insults at the doors and the voice, before finally he walked up and kicked the doors, only achieving a remarkable pain in his foot and ripping further swears from his lips.
After the outburst, he laid against the doors, slowly sliding down them until he was sitting, and cried.
"I am sorry Naruto. My directives are quite clear on this matter." Joyeuse said, earning another swear from the boy. "Now, about your siblings…" Then the voice started to question Naruto. Initially, the blond remained stubborn, either staying silent or firing off another round of curses at the voice, but eventually, with nothing better to do, he started answering the questions, telling Joyeuse about his life, Konoha and, apparently most interesting to it, chakra.
With nothing but the lights and the shadows of the cave, Naruto couldn't tell how much time passed when the voice finally fell silent again.
For a moment.
"I believe I can help you Naruto." The voice instantly drew his attention with those words. Naruto sprung to his feet and whirled around, staring at the doors.
"You're not screwing with me are you?"
"No. However, in order for me to help you, you're going to have to swear something to me."
"What?"
"Repeat after me: I, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze -"
"Um... I, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze -"
"Do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Codices of the Federation of Sovereign States against all enemies, be they at our gates or in our homes -"
"Do s-solemnly swear that I will support and d-defend the Coditches of the Fedaration of Sovereign States against all enemies, b-be they at our gates or in our homes -"
"That I will be loyal and virtuous to the same - "
"That I will be loyal and virtus to the same - "
"And that I will, to the best of my abilities, perform the duties that I am sworn to."
"A-and that I will, to the b-best of my abilities, perform the duties that I am sworn to."
"May my ancestors bless my path."
"M-may my ancestors bless my path."
"Congratulations recruit number 9,999, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, on your acceptance into the Armed Forces of the Federation of Sovereign States." The doors, frozen still for so long, began to shriek, sliding into the walls on either side of them.
"Welcome to the Blood and Iron Corps."
Author's Note
Right. Well. It's been a while since I've posted...well, anything, on Fanfiction here, isn't it?
God, so many stories, so many ideas, characters and plotlines, just left to rot on the vine...Some I didn't like the way I did them, others I had ideas I just couldn't pull off, and then there's the ones that I just lost interest in (i.e., most of them).
I've tried to pick back up so many stories so many times, but I just couldn't force myself to do it. Heck, until now, I couldn't even muster the gumption to write a new story.
But, here I am now, and well, let's get on with it.
This is Naruto: Blood And Iron. It's going to be basically my take on the whole 'Naruto's family lives, but doesn't like him/notice him/love him' thing that permeates the whole Naruto section of Fanfiction. I've never really liked the concept, mostly because practically every single one I've read has been incredibly contrived, making Naruto's family horrendously negligent, stupid or just hateful for really no good reason, and then later on making them feel sorry when he inevitably gets his superpowerful bloodline or whatever. Ugh. It's basically just another wrapping for a power fic, like the "Godlike Naruto" ones or the ones where he gets the Sharingan. Speaking of which, I know it's a joke in parts of the fandom to call the Sharingan pinkeye, but given just how damn many fics there are of him getting the bloodline, it's spread almost like a particularly virulent strain of conjunctivitis. Can't people come up with something better? Like, original?...So yeah, I decided to take a shot at it.
Egh, enough ranting. The obvious and upfront changes to canon are shown right in the prologue you've hopefully read before coming down here and reading this, but there's going to be some more in the background that won't be apparent for a while.
And when I say some, I mean a whole lot. A whole damn lot.
One major one I'll get out of the way: That whole thing with Kaguya, the Sage, reincarnation and shit? That's not happening here. That was the dumbest, shark-jumpingest thing I've heard of since Dragonball GT (well, Dragonball Z in general, really), and I'm not going to deal with it. Just...no. The most of the canon villains we'll get to here is Zombie Madara, maybe. I don't know, I only have a rough outline so far, we'll have to see what happens when I get to writing those parts.
Anyway, this isn't a crossover really, but for the parts I'm adding I'm drawing a lot of inspiration from stuff like Gundam (Mostly Iron-Blooded Orphans this time), X-Com (The new ones, I never played the old ones), Full Metal Panic, Starship Troopers (Book), Patlabor, Metal Gear, and Halo, to mention just a few of the many sources I'm consciously and unconsciously tapping. So yeah, a more sci-fi-style Naruto story here.
Right then. Now, I'm well aware of my abilities as a writer at this point, so if anyone has anything they want to say, just hit the review button and drop a note. Or PM me if you don't want to up the review count, just keep in mind that my ability or desire to reply directly is...well, I've never been a social person really, and I've got shit to deal with and work to do. Apparently, financial advisers can't type. So yeah. Say what you want, point out errors, mention what you think about a part, if you don't like it and if so what could work better, and if you're the type of person to do so, drop a flame. I really don't mind.
If anyone's wondering about the cover image, that's a model I personally made with hours of blood, sweat, and tears in Blender Render, set against a generic forest image with some shading done in MangaStudio 5.0. I really tried to not make a Gundam-style head, but then it turned into Optimus Prime...so I just gave up and did what I liked. I'm probably going to keep toying with it, maybe make a full-body model (begins to internally weep at the thought of the time-sink and the work).
Anyway, here's me dipping my toe back into fanfic writing. Hi folks.
- Knightmare Gundam of Ni