Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't screw it up like Kishi-baka has. I don't own Flame of Recca, though I do bow down to how awesome its creator has made it.

Chapter 1

Awaken! The Legendary Flames!

The village was in flames. The daimyo and his troops had finally arrived to destroy them and steal their power for himself. She could hear the sound of horse's hooves, as she ran through the forest. She had to be quick, she had to get away from them. For her son. For his life.

She finally reached the clearing in the center of the forest. She was far enough away by now. The samurai would not catch up in time to stop her from sending her child to safety. The woman looked down at the child in her arms. For years, her and her husband, the leader of the village, had prayed to the kami to bless them with an heir. And now, only a few weeks after being weaned, their child's future was in danger.

She ran a finger down his right arm, tracing the silver and black imagery of the Tekkou. Even as small as he was, the armband covered his forearm and would grow with his body. It was a symbol of his legacy, of the power he inherited from his father.

Tears filled her eyes, as she carefully shifted her beloved burden to her left arm, her right flashing through the handsigns for the Forbidden Jutsu. As she finished, a rift appeared in the air, forming a portal. Lifting her son, she gently pushed him through. The portal would take him far away, even she did not know where. As the portal closed, she caught one last glimpse of her son's face, of a tuft of blond hair and small whisker marks on his cheeks.

Tears ran down her face, as the last traces of the portal faded. She knelt there, taking joy in the knowledge that her son was spared the fate that had befallen their village and would soon be upon her. She resigned herself as the samurai and their horses finally reached her.

"Die witch!" One of the samurai shouted, as he impaled her upon his spear.

Her eyes begin to dull, as her life flowed out of her. "Goodbye, my son." She whispered, as she collapsed to the ground

The present

Naruto ran as fast as his legs would carry him, laughing all the way. This was his greatest prank ever! "Naruto! Get back here!" The ninja behind him yelled. "You'll pay for what you did to the Hokages' faces!"

This only made him laugh harder, as the image of the defaced faces came to mind. That would show them! He was going to be the greatest of the Hokage and surpass them all!

Naruto put on the breaks, as he realized he had taken a wrong turn, into a dead end. He turned around, preparing to run back out of the alley. However, the ninjas had blocked the alleyway. "You're not getting away now, brat!"

Smiling, he reached into a pouch on belt, pulling out a trio of small black orbs. He hurled them against the ground, causing them to explode into a cloud of dust. "Grab him! Don't let him get away! He's in here somewhere! I got him!"

The voices yelled as the smoke began to clear. As the smoke disappeared, they stared at what they had grabbed. They had captured... a log of wood.

A mile away, Naruto laughed as he lept across the roof tops. Oh, if only he could see their faces now!

Suddenly, he was grabbed in mid jump, hanging over the roof tops. "That was a well done kawarimi." Naruto stiffened, his head slowly turning towards the voice. "If only you performed that well in class."

"Um... Ohayo, Iruka-sensei... What a surprise, running into you here." 'Oooo... busted...'

Far away, a woman stared at the black orb in front of her. The surface reflected a scene of a young boy in an orange jumpsuit, scrubbing paint off a set of stone faces. The fading sunlight reflected off a silvery armband, with a black flame blazed across it. A delicate nail traced its way across the image, over a set of whisker marks.

"Finally, after 400 years," she whispered. "I have finally found you. Naruto"

"YOU FAILED!"

The words echoed in Naruto's head as he sat on the swing, staring at the Ninja Academy. Parents were there, celebrating their childrens graduation into Genin. And once again, he had failed.

'It always had to be THAT jutsu, doesn't it?' he thought to himself. It was always there on the test. The Bunshin. His worst jutsu and they just had to include it on every fricking test! If it had been anything but THAT jutsu, he would have passed by now, instead of spending an extra year and a half in the academy.

A shadow fell over Naruto as someone sat down in the swing next to him. "Ohayo, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked up. "Oh. Ohayo, Mizuki-sensei."

"Naruto, please don't be angry with Iruka. He wants you to graduate just as bad as I do."

Naruto stood, kicking the sand at his feet. "I know. Its just... why does it always have to be bunshin?"

Mizuki grinned as he patted Naruto on the back. "You know... there is another way to graduate..."

Naruto gasped for breath as he stared at the fallen Mizuki. It had all been a lie. There was no alternate way to become a Genin. It had all been a trap, so that Mizuki could get his hands on the scroll of forbidden jutsu. And he had fallen for it. Growling, he gave the traitor another good kick, before turning towards his other sensei.

Iruka had saved his life. Mizuki had hurled that massive shuriken of his right at Naruto. If Iruka hadn't shove him out of the way, he'd most likely be dead. Instead, Iruka had taken the blow meant for him.

Carefully, to avoid being cut, Naruto removed the shuriken, inspecting the wounds. The edges had gone straight through Iruka's right shoulder and had slice open his leg. Naruto winced. Quite a bit of blood had been lost. "Don't worry, Iruka-Sensei. I'll get you to a hospital."

"Sorry to interupt, but I can't let you leave here."

Naruto stared, as the shadow began to converge. From the center, a woman appeared. She was beautiful, in an eerie and dark way. Her purple hair flowed down her face, past her shoulders. Her light blue eyes stared at him, drinking him in. A black dress covered her shoulders, reaching down to mid calf. In her hands was a strange globe with a clawed hand on top, glowing with a creepy aura. "I have searched for you for 400 years. Long enough to drive most people insane. And at last, through the use of the Eikie Gyoku, I have found you."

"Listen lady, I don't know what you want but-"

"I am Kagehoshi," the woman interuppted, slipping the orb into her dress. "And as for what I want, that is is simple. I want you to show me your 'flames'. The power of your legacy, as an Enjutsushi."

Naruto glared at her. "I don't know what the hell you are blabbering about, but my friend here is hurt really badly. I don't have time to play mind games."

Reaching into his pouch, Naruto hurled several smoke bombs. As they exploded, he grabbed Iruka and prepared to make a run for it. Suddenly, a blade whirrled out of the smoke, cutting into his leg. He was forced to drop his sensei as he collapsed in pain. Gritting his teeth, he stood back up, turning towards the dissipating smoke.

"I told you, I can't let you leave. If you really can't create the flames, then I will have to force them out of you."

With that, Kagehoshi lunged at Naruto, forcing him to weave and dodge. Leaping away from a thrust, Naruto flipped backwards, landing on his injured leg. He hissed in pain, as he stared at the woman. "Fine, if thats the way you want it. KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Naruto had barely enought time to learn one of the Forbidden Jutsus before Iruka had found him, but it had been enough. Surprisingly, it was a more powerful version of THAT jutsu. Now, he watched as over a hundred clones filled the forest.

Shaking her head, Kagehoshi made a tsking sound. "Really child. Is that the best you can do? I would have expected better from someone of the Village of the Hokage."

"What are you gibbering about now Old Woman?" Naruto yelled as he and his bunshins attacked. "I'm from Konoha!"

Weaving through the attacking clones, Kagehoshi attacked, causing them to dissappear in a cloud of smoke. "No, you are from the village of the Hokage. 400 years ago, the village was destroyed by those seeking its power, the power of the greatest of ninjas. You were sent to this century through the use of a forbidden jutsu as a survior of the Hokage clan."

Naruto could only stare in shock as Kagehoshi decimate his clones, finally reaching him. She dodged his attack, rappidly jabbing her fingers into several places around his body. Naruto fell to the ground, his chakra draining from him. "What the hell did you just do to me?"

Kagehoshi smiled down at him. "I just sealed about 2/3s of you tenketsu. You should be barely able to move, let alone use your jutsus. The only way for you to win now, is to call upon your flame."

She kicked him, sending Naruto rolling into a tree. Walking around him, she began to play with her knife. "This is pathetic. " she sneered, walking towards the injured body of Iruka. "Perhaps I should put your sensei here out of his misery, so he won't have to watch you fail."

Naruto stiffened as he watch Kagehoshi approache the fallen body of his sensei. He had to stop her! Iruka was one of the only people who belived in him as he struggled through academy. He wouldn't not fail him! He couldn't not fail him.

Red wisps began to trail across the armband on his right arm, as he forced himself to get up. "No..." he said, watching as Kagehoshi pulled back her arm to stab Iruka. "NO!!!"

With a roar, flames rushed down the armband, enveloping Naruto's hand. Kagehoshi stared at them. "At last! You really are of the Hokage Enjutsushi bloodline!"

Naruto grimaced. 'What is this pressure? I... can't hold it back! Gotta... release it!'

With a scream, the flames exploded forward, engulfing Kagehoshi. Naruto could only stare as she dissappeared in the flames, only to reappear unscathed. "Such weak flames cannot harm me," she said, grinning as the fire licked at her body. "If you truly wish to kill me, you must become stronger."

With that, she suddenly collapsed through the ground. Deprived of their target, the flames began to die down. Naruto could only stare, as the ones surrounding his hand proceeded to dissappear also. Finally, the fatigue and pain from the fight was too much and Naruto collapsed to the ground, barely able to move.

With a rush of leaves, a group of ANBU appeared. One of them proceeded to check Iruka and Naruto, then gestured to his comrades. "Take them to the hospital. I'll inform Lord Hokage that they have been found."

Naruto groaned as he was lifted up. "Bout time... you guys showed up." he mumbled, before he fell into blissful unconsciousness.

Author's Notes

There's the first chapter in what will hopefully be a great story. Tell me what you guys think. C&C is always welcome, while flames will be ignored.

I would like to thank all those at the Fanfiction Forum for helping me out. May they be waited on hand and foot by a harem of virgin catgirls (or catboys for the ladies).

And now it's time for Zenaku's Madougu Explanations! This is the part where I explain the madougu (or mystic objects) used in this series. The information given has come from both my watching the anime, and the various websites out there. Note, the translations for the names come from a japanses dictionary. If the words have multiple meanings, I look for the one that makes the most sense.

Tekkou:

Translated: (a covering for the back of the hand and wrist)

Current Owner: Naruto.

Appearence: A silver armband, going from the elbow to the wrist on a grown teenager. A black flame decal-like image is on one side.

Description:Technically, this isn't a madougu. It only works for those who bear the flames and acts like a seal. The power of the Flames is so great, that a user will burn themselves out, or explode with out a Tekkou or similar sealing device. Only with a lot of training can a Flame user survive without wearing them. Doing so greatly increases their power. Legend has it that the Tekkou seals holds back more then just the Flame.

Eikie Gyoku:

Translated: Shadow Ball.

Current Owner: Kagehoshi.

Appearence: A black orb, with a clawed hand set on top. The orb pulses with an orangish light.

Description: The Eikie Gyoku grants its wielder the ability to travel through shadows and even to summon nearby shadows to travel through. It also acts as a crystal ball, showing its user events that are occuring in other places.

Next time:

Chapter 2

Legendary Ninjas! The Village of the Hokage!

Sarutobi: It was the survivors of that awful war who founded the Hidden Villages, and became the first Kages.

Hinata: Naruto-kun! If only I could be strong like you...

Kagehoshi: With this, you will have the strength to finally get Naruto for yourself.