Copyright: Take what you will from this, but I own nothing...sadly...
Long ago at the dawn of the Shinobi Era...
There was constant war between men and shinobi, warriors and soldiers...
Death reigned supreme in this age of chaos...
An armored warrior fell to the battered soil, blood flowed from the slit in his neck. The victor, a man with black flowing hair and wearing armor as scarlet as his eyes, ran over his kill and created a series of handsigns amidst a expansive battle upon this field of fire. When he finished, the shinobi blew out a great dragon of fire that consumed a line of his enemy's. From the smoke, several serpentine dragons emerged and wrapped themselves around the dragon of fire and cancelled out both of their existences.
Amidst this chaos, two pacts warred against one another in bitter hatred...
One of these pacts of brotherhood were led by the Clan of a Thousand Hands, the Senju...
Against them fought their bitter rivals led by the Clan of the Fire Fan, the Uchiha...
The Uchiha folded his arms over his chest, unsurprised at the arrival of the two brothers standing before him. The Senju heir wore armor reminescent of the Uchiha's while his brother's armor was indigo blue. Though easily told apart by their appearances and their abilities, facing one alone was a challenge for any shinobi. But facing both of them together would be more difficult than it was worth.
Equal in skill, unmatched by all others, their conflict forged many legends of blood and hell...
For wherever the Uchiha went, the Senju would be summoned to defend against them...
Wherever the Senju were summoned, the Uchiha came to counter them...
Fire, Earth and Water roared in all directions of the field. Though they came from different entry points, the field was crowded and mingled with equal numbers of Senju and Uchiha warriors using any means necessary to kill and survive. Every second, a body fell pierced by one or many knives and arrows. Every minute, found a medic desperately healing one comrade only for five more to appear with their lives on the taxed medic's shoulders. In the middle of this clash, Two Spectral Beings fought a deadly duel with each other, one born of hatred and blood and the other born of Wisdom and Dedication. Nearby, The Uchiha Leader clashed with the Senju Heir in a duel of illusion, strength, ability and fortune.
Every confrontation ended in bloodshed and death...with hatred fanned into the next battle...
For the Uchiha, while proud, did not hesitate to call upon the aid of clans whom they had defeated...
Of these servant clans, three were acknowledged as worthy to be equals to the Uchiha...
Within the mountains of snow, the war of the two clans fought once more with death victorious regardless of which clan had more claim to it. Chaos was added to the boiling cauldron as reinforcements arrived to the battle. The Senju Brothers watched with concern as the unburdened allies of their sworn enemy closed the distance between themselves and their outside forces. Many fell to heavy blades, berserk bloodlust or a swift and gentle palm before the tide of the battle turned against them.
Cold warriors of steel and determination who were sworn to silence, the Shinkan...
Ronin who craved and were empowered by the blood lust and death of war, the Ryuchi...
Wielders of the all-seeing eye were the lords of the rising sun, the Hyuga...
Princess of the Hyuga, the woman easily swept aside an armored summoner and dealt a swift palm to the back of his head. Killed in that instant, the shinobi's summons faded from existence as she spied the younger of the two Senju brothers and leapt for him. He dodged her fatal palm and sank his blade into her arm, causing lightning to flow through her body. She pulled her arm to break contact between it and the sword and made a quick hand sign before her head was decapitated. The body fell away into white doves that flew towards the Senju's feet and caused the ground under him to turn into mud. Trapped in the mud, the Senju remained calm as a heavily armored silent warrior leapt down with a great halberd. In an instant, the Senju was above the warrior before he struck the mud where he was originally trapped.
Their clashes were legendary and the scars from those conflicts were scared into the landscape...
The Senju were aided many times by the clans of their pact, fellow clans whose loyalty was unshakable...
Of these clans, three were regarded alongside the Senju for their skill, ability and bravery...
His oakenshield broken, the Senju Heir dealt a heavy punch into the jaw of his opponent. Though the warrior bled, the Ryuchi smiled as if mad and continued his assault as though he was not mortally wounded. The Senju Heir didn't move when a spiral seal appeared under the Ryuchi and spread throughout his legs. The warrior felt fear as his legs stiffened and the Senju Heir slashed his sword through the warrior's neck. Relieved but not proud, the Senju Heir smiled at the red-hair woman that stood behind him. Two warriors appeared and knelt before him in respect as the allies of the Senju arrived.
Their distant cousins, the spirited guardians of the Spiral Pools, the Uzamaki...
Their insightful brothers in arms, the black sheep of the shinobi, the Kuromuton...
And their small numbered, yet wise masters of the monkey jump, the Sarutobi...
An armored warrior had his helm broken open when a roaring ape punched it and transformed into a claymore. A young warrior gripped the claymore and wildly swung, throwing back the Shinkan warrior and slaying his escorts. At that moment, a woman appeared in front of the boy and vanished a second later. When she appeared before the unaffected Uchiha Leader, thirty of his warriors fell dead before they even hit the ground. The woman charged at the Uchiha but was encompassed by a ball of water at the same time that a serpent of fire attempted to encoil her. The Younger Senju Brother held her in his arms before she rolled her eyes and stepped onto the ground as the Uchiha Leader smirked.
The two pacts waged a silent war against one another that claimed many lives and many generations...
Soon the pacts even forgot why they ever began fighting and accepted it as a way of life...
Until the birth of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara...
Another battle concluded, now was the time to collect and mourn their dead. The Uchiha Leader sat satisfied with the results of today's battle, but he felt the animosity that his younger clan members looked at him with. Many of whom had likely lost a friend, a brother, a sibling, a parent, a lover or even a child unborn. His eyes tattooed with Eternal Might, the Uchiha Leader felt contempt for the faltering resolve of his people. Whether victory or defeat, they looked as though they had been defeated.
By the time they succeeded their fathers, Senju Kameyama and Uchiha Senka, constant warfare had worn upon the pacts...
Indeed...this constant state of war between the many clans cost them greatly with little to compensate...
Entire generations were lost for a conflict that was fought only because it was a custom...
The Senju Heir held a crying mother whose daughter had been found dead and worst. He looked to his brother, who remained solemn in spite of the emotion that the elder saw in the younger's eyes. Many had died upon this day and no one honestly knew why. Even their own father had failed to speak of why this constant war had to be waged. Behind him, the Senju Heir watched as a child laid a broken katana upon the chest of his father while his mother loudly mourned. Was this all that his own children would have to look forward to?
Hashirama saw the state of his clan and how wearied they were of war...and he too was weary...
Though Madara was already hardened to pain and weariness...his clan grumbled to him and in time...he too saw their weariness...
In secret and accompanied by only a handful of companions, Madara and Hashirama met to discuss the end of their feud...
Against his own advice, the Uchiha Leader had agreed to this meeting. Now they stood alone, though the Uchiha expected the Senju Heir to have his brother and other two students nearby...just as the Uchiha had a squad of his best men hidden as well. The Senju stepped towards him and the Uchiha mirrored the movement. They had afterall, fought many times in the field of war. Though those clashes, the two men had come to know each other as well as family members...a twisted irony that always made the Uchiha Leader smirk.
Rivals Eternal, both held no naivety towards the other as their discussion concerning their strife began...
But both were ready for it to end...for they themselves had no knowledge of how or why their conflict was sparked...
Madara came willing to accept a truce on behalf of his war-weary clan, but Hashirama had more in mind...
The Senju Heir watched the Uchiha's eyes while they spoke. The Uchiha's face betrayed nothing, but the Heir could tell that his proposal was not immediately dismissed. For his own reasons, the Uchiha Leader had come to the same conclusion that he had. This constant feud between would serve no purpose for anyone involved. It would in fact, make them weaker...
Guided by what he termed as the Will of Fire, Hashirama believed that the clans should unite as one power and strengthen one another...
With this strength, they would teach and guide the next generation, spreading the enlarging flame with each passing generation...
Though he did not share Hashirama's vision, Madara decided to accept the Senju's proposal and shook hands as comrades for the first time...
Though uneasy about the news, the clan leaders trusted the Senju Heir about the new truce and it's terms. Though verbally opposed to the idea, the Uchiha Leader left no room for those who opposed his decision and gave them a chance to depart and remain as their own clan. The Eternal Foes met once more within a barren field of fallen leaves facing each other on opposite sides as they always had. The Clan Leaders converged first and slowly afterwards, their clans followed as their masses became intermingled once more. Not for the manner of war and bloodshed, but to build and create something that had never been seen before...
The two Pacts ceased their warfare, using the talents which they honed through war to build a new home for themselves and generations to come...
Within a newly grown forest of leaves, the newly allied clans labored until their home was finished...
Konohagukure was established...
"What happened next! What happened next?"
"What do you think kid? That's how Konoha was established." The eleven year youth said to the excited blond six year old, "I'll you the rest of it when I get back, got it?"
"Okay..." Though excited, the boy did see that his guardian was about to leave soon, "So what happened to the clans? You know, those clans that were following Senju and Uchiha?"
"Long story short...it's complicated." The youth chuckled to himself as to how complicated it was, confusing the younger boy, "Some of them joined the new shinobi village and others struck out on their own. Some lasted longer than others, but if anyone is out there with those clans then you won't see many of them."
"Why, Satoshi?" The blond asked, "I thought those clans were some of the best! Can you imagine Sasuke's dad praising someone who isn't an Uchiha?"
"Or Lord Hyuga..." Satoshi added, his features mellowing from what he knew about the clan which gave Naruto his surname, "But...times changed Naruto. After Konoha was founded, other clans came up with the same idea and made their own ninja villages. After that, clans that were alone or had few allies were hunted down or simply faded out of the shinobi picture. Probably forswore the shinobi arts all together and became civilians."
"Hmmm..." Naruto thoughtfully pondered, "Didn't you say Uzamaki was a clan?"
"I did...didn't I?" Naruto's face brightened with that fiery excitement again, "Yeah...you're a member of one of Konoha's founding clans, go ahead and get out the gloating so you can go to sleep."
"Sorry..." Naruto bashfully rubbed the back of his head while still smiling, "That means that I've got as much talent as any Uchiha right?"
"Probably." Satoshi shrugged his shoulders, earning a scowl from Naruto, "But talent doesn't mean squat if you don't work to develop it, right?"
"Yeah..." Naruto answered while lying on his simple bed. Satoshi knew why Naruto didn't want to go to sleep, while it was true that every child fears their first day at the academy...that fear ran deeper for Naruto, "But what if I don't make any friends? What if nobody likes me?"
"Sasuke likes you."
"That's because his brother is friends with you." While not completely true, Satoshi saw Naruto's point, "But...it's better than nothing."
"What about that cute Hyuga girl? She likes you."
"No she doesn't...she runs away from me...like she's afraid to talk to me..." Before Satoshi was about to laugh and explain the truth of that little situation, he heard Naruto sniff under his covers...the poor boy was holding back tears, "Guess that's better than being thrown out of a store or...beaten because you had the curse of having that bastard fox sealed inside you..."
"It's rough for us orphans Naruto." Satoshi placed a hand on the shaking Naruto, "And...it's tougher for you and in ways that aren't fair. But before start counting what's wrong with your life and what you don't have...always remember...count what you do have."
"Stop being all mushy!" Naruto shouted while jumping out of the covers and was met with a dreaded counterattack, "Cut it out! Cut it out!"
"Shinri Style Tickle assault!" Satoshi poked and softly raked his fingers across Naruto's stomach and sides, causing the boy to laugh loud enough for half of the village to hear him. After twenty seconds, he ceased while Naruto gave out a final laughing gasp as the true affects of Satoshi's tickling kicked in, "Good...now you'll get tired and go to sleep already. And I better not hear about you being late or causing "lasting" damage to anything or anyone? Cause it all gets chipped from my stipend!"
"Alright Satoshi..." The drowsy Naruto replied as he succumbed to slumber, "Good night..."
"Night Shatei." Satoshi pulled the curtains up to Naruto's neck and watched him for a moment before turning off the light to the boy's room. Their single-floor apartment only had two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, but it was home enough for Naruto.
At least better than what he had a year ago...
Upon Konoha's south-eastern wall, a single individual crouched casually with his gaze overlooking the seemingly endless forest that lied just outside of Konoha.
He wore a white mask with a single black feather upon it, one that had only two slits to give off the illusion of obscured sight. That couldn't be further from the truth for Itachi Uchiha.
"You're on time." The Uchiha Chunin responded to the individual that appeared next to him, "Telling Naruto more stories, Satoshi?"
"I hate it when you spy on me." The Anbu with a mask depicting a manned Lion replied, "Who told your brother that Uchiha founded Konoha by themselves?"
"My father of course." Itachi replied with unmasked annoyance, "I already corrected him on the matter, he won't offend your's or Naruto's clans again."
"Offend? The kid was acting on misinformation." Itachi's comrade replied with humor, "He's a kid Itachi, he still has that luxury."
"Did you when you were his age?"
"Did my father murder his mother?" Itachi dryly chuckled, even as friends and comrades, the stigma of their clans always loomed over them, "That was cold of me, what's the mission?"
"Shunshin has ordered Shishi and Karasu to rendzevous with Urufu in Ta no Kuni." Itachi relied his comrade noticed and picked up a scroll and quickly scanned it's contents before it combusted after the Anbu read the final page, "We're to investigate news regarding the movement of a Snake."
"Snake?" Itachi heard something in his comrade's voice, hope...desire...thirst for blood...he did not know for certain, "Is our trail marked?"
"Yes." Itachi specifically requested for the trail to be marked especially by Shunshin. The Snake had caught on to Uchiha Anbu and in fact was anticipating a chance to capture the Sharingan. "Lead the way."
"As you wish." Itachi watched as the Anbu held up two fingers together in front of his mask and gently pressed them against the Konoha wall. After several seconds, the Anbu wiped the fingers on the wall and returned his hand to his side, "Follow, quiet as the falling leaves."
And as quietly as they came, the two Anbu Agents disappeared into the night...
Author's Notes:
Here it is, Obu Kindachi Ken Kamigami: Of Kings and Gods
Originally I'd posted this story back in 2009 and then pulled it after four chapters. It took place right after Orochimaru died and Naruto and Sasuke were both setting out to find and take down Itachi. I was going to have this third organization that was allied with Akatski and had all of these amazing powers and then Itachi would join up with the good guys who now included Sasuke after he was captured by Shikamaru's group led by a new jonin sensei.
I kind of lost interest...
Actually, if I'd lost complete interest then I wouldn't have reworked the story into what you're reading now. True is, I just couldn't work with the timeline limitations. By that point in Naruto canon, too much has happened to really change the flow of the plot. Sasuke's already left, the time skip happened, Akatsuki revealed itself...yada, yada...so on and so forth. Plus, it seems like most Naruto stories that want to change something about the Naruto setting do so before the time skip.
And more often than not, this works out for the best.
Simply because everything in Part 1 sets up for what happens to the characters in Shippuden. Sakura being useless? Started in Part 1; Sasuke's revenge issues? Part 1; Nobody giving Naruto the time of day or acknowledging him feasibly with a promotion or not treating him like shit? Part! Part 2 had some pivotal stuff as well, but character-wise, Part 1 was the foundation.
And when you look at Naruto canon, it's a very shaky one.
I'll elaborate as I go on, but just read the story...hopefully you'll like it. Yes, this will have a few OC's due to some changes that I'm making to the story line, but they're mainly there to help flesh out and help develop the canon characters.
For the record, I'll also make some changes to the Naruto timeline. Nothing drastic, but if you compare data with some character's ages, a lot of things don't make too much sense. I'll explain as I go along.
Terminology: I won't pretend to be an expert in the Japanese Language so feel free to point out any mistakes if I make them.
Kuromuton - Black Sheep
Shikan - Silence/Silent
Ryuchi - Blood Dragon/Dragon Blood
Urufu - Wolf
Karosin - Crow
Shishi - Lion
Ta no Kani - Land of Rice
Konohagakure - Do I need to tell you this one?