The Merchant of Fireworks:
Naruto Uzumaki sped up the hills as quick as he could while still keeping the paint buckets in his hands. Between his teeth was clenched a paintbrush, and he had big plans for it. Even so, as he came to the top of the monument and saw the four heads, he halted.
Because over on one of the heads was a blonde man in ordinary clothes. His hair was tied up above his head like Ino. He looked to be fiddling around with some tubes with a fuse and noticed Naruto. Not sure who he was, Naruto hadn't seen him before; he put down his paint and took the brush from between his teeth.
"Hi!" called Naruto as he ran up.
The man looked up in irritation. "...Great.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Um, are you planning on pulling a prank too?" asked Naruto.
The man sighed in exasperation, though now that Naruto was up close, he realized he was only a few years older. "Listen kid, I'm Deidara, an artist. And this is not as easy as it looks, so I'd appreciate it if you'd give me some space."
Naruto saw that there were many tubes like the one Deidara was working on. They were all over the place, and he seemed to be measuring the projector by inches. "Artist? You mean like you're carving stone and stuff?"
"Something like that," said Deidara.
"What's the something?" asked Naruto.
"Fireworks," said Deidara.
"What?" said Naruto in surprise.
"I make and I create fireworks displays. It's my art," said Deidara.
"So you sell fireworks?" asked Naruto.
"Sometimes," said Deidara. "I do commissions. I was hoping to make a career of it. But there isn't much of a market for fireworks except around New Years'. So I do freelance mercenary work with my skills on the off hours."
"Wait, so you're a ninja!" said Naruto. "Wow! I'm gonna be a ninja someday too! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna be Hokage of the Leaf! Then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and treating me like I'm somebody!"
"Yeah, as if," scoffed Deidara.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Naruto.
"Nothing," said Deidara, before hooking his foot under several fireworks at his feet. With a deft motion, he sent the pile toward Naruto, who barely caught them. That was cool. "Look, could you hold this? I have to set these explosives upon the head over there."
And he went over.
"Really? Why are you doing that?" asked Naruto, who was just glad to not have someone shun him.
"I'm making art, obviously," said Deidara. "I'm about to unleash a barrage of art like nothing this puny town has seen before! Then all will give my art the admiration it deserves!"
"So did you get the Hokage's permission?" asked Naruto.
"Did you get the Hokage's permission to paint the Hokage monument?" asked Deidara flatly.
"Um... I wasn't gonna do that," said Naruto.
"Oh really?" asked Deidara. "Then were you carrying buckets of paint."
Naruto thought up an excuse. "I um... like carrying buckets of paint for... training."
"Ugh, you're obviously new at this, so I'm gonna give you a tip," said Deidara. "If you're going to do a covert mission, make sure you've got a credible alibi lined up ahead of time. If someone stops you, you want to be able to get them to let you pass."
"So, what's your alibi?" asked Naruto.
Deidara hesitated. "I don't need to explain myself to you! I am a misunderstood genius!"
"You don't have one, do you?" asked Naruto.
"Shut up, your clothes are orange," said Deidara. And he kept working. Naruto took this as a yes.
"So uh... what's this display you're putting up? You're not gonna hurt anyone, are you?" asked Naruto.
"Please," said Deidara. "True art is meant to enrich the lives of those who behold it. If my display killed anyone, everyone would focus on death. Instead of what they should be focusing on, the art itself.
"Most people just don't have their priorities, so I have to come down to their level."
"But what's the display?" asked Naruto.
"Leaf Village history, obviously," said Deidara. "I thought it might appeal."
"So this is like... history class?" asked Naruto. He'd never liked history class.
"Maybe. But a lot more interesting than that," said Deidara with a smirk. "The display is going to have five different stages to alert people. Each one is based on one of the heads. The first display will be an entrance. It'll get everyone out of their beds watching the show. Then, the next four displays are going to each deal with a major scene for each Hokage. A defining moment in their lives."
"Wow, that's pretty cool. So what are the moments?" asked Naruto.
Deidara seemed to enjoy having an audience, so he shrugged. "Tell you what. Once I set this charge, we'll head somewhere we can watch it. Then I'll narrate as they go."
"But how do you know they'll go off right?" asked Naruto.
"Art is spontaneous, Naruto," said Deidara. "A true artist understands that the imperfections in his work are part of the appeal. Maybe some of these fireworks won't go off, or maybe they'll go off wrong. Maybe I aimed a few wrong.
"I'm pretty sure I've set it up well.
"But, I'll just have to try and it and hope for the best. Now come on, the timers started." And he lit the fuse.
Naruto and Deidara quickly made their way down into the village and scaled up onto the roofs. Unfortunately, the sun had not yet begun to rise, and clouds were covering all but the moon from this angle. It was thus a very dark night, though Naruto could see pretty well in the dark for some reason.
"So uh, are you sure it's going to work?" asked Naruto.
"The timer is set to go off when dawn starts to creep in," said Deidara. "Now quiet, I'm trying to observe."
"So," said Naruto. "Deidara is a stone village name, right?"
"Yes," said Deidara. "Now shut up, here we go."
The sun's first light crept in from the west, but it was still utterly dark beyond. And then, there was a crackle and roar of fireworks as the first wave of them went high into the twilight. Explosions of green and blue resounded as people rushed out of their homes to see what was happening.
Naruto stared in awe as so many great spheres of flame filled the sky. "Wow, that's amazing."
"What is all this?!" said Sakura, rushing out of the building below. The pink-haired girl stared up as Ino came out as well. "Do you see that?"
"Yeah, Sakura do you know what's going on?" asked Ino.
"No," said Sakura.
Then Ino saw Naruto. "Naruto, is this your fault somehow? Where did you get the fireworks!"
"Hey, come on, Ino, Sakura! I didn't do anything this time! I'm just along for the ride!" said Naruto.
"Well, what are you doing on the roof of my house? I-" began Sakura.
"Shut up. My art is in progress," said Deidara. "All these flashy displays are meant to get the attention, lots of colors bursting in the air."
The two looked up at them.
"... They're beautiful," said Ino.
"You haven't seen anything yet," said Deidara. "And here we go."
A new wave of fireworks took to the twilight sky, and as they did, they took on the form of two massive creatures. The nine-tails, clad in violet armor, dueling with great wooden beasts. Naruto stared at the figures.
"What's that?" asked Naruto.
"That's Hashirama battling Madara Uchiha in single combat," said Deidara. "I based it off some pictures I saw in a number of shrines. No idea if they're accurate, but they were both contenders for God of the Shinobi.
"You see, Madara and Hashirama were both contenders to rule the Leaf and become the First Hokage. They were very near in power, but Hashirama was much more popular and was chosen above him. Jealous, Madara attempted to destroy the Leaf and was cut down in a cataclysmic final battle."
"How did you... how did you get this kind of color?" asked Ino.
"A friend of mine had a debate with me," said Deidara. "He thought that art must be long lasting and eternal. Meanwhile, I felt it was only meaningful because it was there for a moment and gone. We debated it a great deal, but I realized he had a point.
"This is my attempt to merge the two styles."
"So you're creating a fireworks display that shows off history?" asked Sakura.
"Quiet, the next one is coming," said Deidara. The waves of light formed another picture now. It was a meeting of many people, bearing the symbol of the Shinobi Nations. Hashirama and Madara stood by, and Tobirama, white-haired, was there.
"Tobirama," said Deidara. "I had trouble with this one. He didn't rule very long, so I instead decided to show a scene from his time supporting Hashirama. This is him standing in support of Hashirama as the first peace between the Five Great Nations was made.
"Hashirama was the figurehead, but Tobirama took care of a lot of the negotiations to get to that point. It's why Hashirama beat Madara so soundly."
"And the next one?" asked Naruto.
It changed, and the vision showed the Old Man, but younger, fighting hordes of demonic ninja. With him was a pale, dark-haired man, a white-haired man in red, and a blonde woman. They were routing them. "That is Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, purging the armies of Jashin. During his first reign, there was an uprising by a blood cult called Jashinism. They practiced human sacrifice and lived for death.
"But, they were crushed, and their religion nearly wiped out. And the land was made safe from them."
And last of all, came a vision of a great nine-tailed fox facing a man on a great toad. He was blonde and clad in white robes.
"That's the nine-tails up there," said Naruto. "That's the Fourth Hokage! I've seen his pictures!"
"Yup, that is Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, giving his life to defeat the Nine-tailed Fox and seal it away... wherever," said Deidara.
Cheers echoed from the streets of the Leaf Village, far and wide. It grew to greater and great levels as the sun rose above, even as the last of the fireworks faded. Naruto stared up as the sun dawned and felt for the first time like he belonged somewhere.
But when he looked up again, Deidara was gone.
And nobody could tell him where or when the ninja had departed. But Naruto found a note on the roof.
'Remember;
'True art is something you remember.'
It was a memory Naruto would treasure.