Edit: made some major changes to update the chapter to current standards. Hope yall can give the story a second chance. For those of you coming back, welcome. For those of you who are new, welcome to the fall of konoha, I've saved you a seat, here, at the end of the world.
The leaves fall on a fresh spring morning, as a lone figure strolls leisurely through the woods. Sunlight streams through the trees, shining down on the figure, garbed in a black t-shirt, a blue waistcoat and gray pants. The figure has jet-black hair and coal eyes. His name is Sasuke Uchiha. As he walks, he hums a tune to himself making his way to a large border wall. As he approaches the oak wood gates a pair of men, both wearing a green flak jacket, shout to him,
"Who goes there?" their voices slightly muffled by the wind carrying the fallen leaves away. Sasuke stays silent in response and continues past them, the guards recognizing the 'prince of konoha' easily enough. Quickly correcting themselves,
"apologies uchiha-sama. I didn't recognize you."
"Whatever." The boy of only 16 years responded flippantly. He continued past the walls, towards a bustling village. From the Uchihas vantage as he walked along the dirt path, he could see silhouettes leaping across the wooden beams of the village roofs. Continuing along the dirt roads of the village, Sasuke strolled right through the busy market place, where many people of all color, and cultures could be seen keeping pace with their busy lives. Markets alongside the village houses sold fresh fruits and salted meats, to keep fresh. Yen is exchanged for clothes and fine jewelry, as well as for restaurants selling hot food. Sasuke paid no mind to the crowded markets and busy streets as he continued forward to the seat of power in the village. The Hokage, or fire shadow, who led the village and maintained the military force of said village.
Among the many villages in the world five of these villages held more power than any other. These villages held the power of Ninjutsu, the power within individuals that can be harnessed and used to inflict untold damage to people and the environment. Utilizing elements, concepts and even living creatures at times, ninjutsu was taught, studied, developed and utilized in each of these five villages. The military, made up of highly trained ninjutsu users and instituted to protect the will of fire, often left the village to complete jobs and assignments for the betterment of the village. These individuals who could harness ninjutsus power were called ninja. Konoha currently led the most powerful military force in the elemental nations and had countermeasures not been instituted by other villages, konoha would be uncontested in military combat. However war was costly and while konoha could win, they were made up of rather peace loving people.
Sasuke, however, cared little for peace. He too was a ninja instated in the military and currently he was on his way to speak with the hokage, current head of the village and his father. Indeed Fugaku Uchiha was the hokages name and sasuke was his youngest son. The other, Itachi, infamous prodigy and super genius of konohas most recent academy graduates, fled the village after assassinating the previous hokage and murdering the heads of each of konohas major military departments. This left sasuke with a deep hatred for his brother and a despise for his father, who he thought too weak to take real action against his brother. Sasuke and fugaku had a strained relationship due to fugaku being both his father and his superior, in addition to the aforementioned weakness sasuke saw in his father. However this peaked when news of kiri's civil war reached konoha's leaderships ears. Kiri, another of the major military powers of the world, and konoha's rival in terms of political economy, began a civil war, rumored to have been started because of totalitarian leadership at the hands of their most recently instituted mizukage. Sasuke believed this to be the perfect time to strike at a major political enemy while fugaku shot down his ideas at every turn. Disappointed in his son's war mongering, Fugaku sought to turn his son away from village politics by sending him on missions outside the village's walls whenever possible. Sasuke, however, saw through his fathers attempts to silence him and began to hate him all the more for it. He made his way past the front desk and into his fathers office, and saw his father sitting behind his desk.
"Lord hokage" sasuke said, venom for the title dripping from his words, "assignment completed, the land of rice no longer has disappearing livestock. The source was wolves."
"Very good, send in a mission report at the front desk, you're dismissed." Sasuke bristled at the quick dismissal.
"I hear rumors in the village that Mizukage supporters have begun to request aid from other villages." Sasuke began, his tone feigning interest in small talk.
"Yes, I've heard the same." fugaku responded, "pay the rumors no mind. Your worries are not to be in the goings on of other villages."
"So you'll do nothing?! You're just going to send me off on another mission as you let our competitors gain footing to hasten the end of their war? To let fly this opportunity?" Fugaku suddenly stood from his desk,
"Competitors?! Opportunity?! Have I taught you nothing? These people are not our enemies. They are simply business rivals. We will not go to war with them for the sake of power. Or is that truly all you care for?" Sasuke's rage suddenly sparked,
" Have you no pride for your village? That you would let a chance such as this go to waste when we could destroy them, without so much as a drop of blood of ours on there soil, as they panic in there time of weakness.`` Fugaku raised his voice,
"And how many lives of theirs would we end in the process? One-thousand? Ten-thousand? Have you no heart? Where have I erred so that your will of fire would burn so hot, and yet understand nothing of kindness? We have no need for more power, sasuke. Now go home and rest or I just might do something I'll regret. It'll do you good to have some time off." Sasuke huffed as he marched out of the office slamming the door behind him. Fugaku slumped in his chair. Looking at the pictures of the previous kage on the wall he quietly pleaded for patience.
Mikoto looked to the door as it creaked open, her youngest son sasuke walking in.
"You're back from your mission. How did it go?" Sasuke simply walked past her to the couch and slumped on it.
"Did you have another fight with your father?" Sasuke remained silent.
"Y'know your brother used to fight with fugaku all the time."
"I told you not to talk about him." Sasuke said the word with loathing from his voice.
"You used to look up to him. Even now I think you still do. Deep down anyway."
"What do you know about it?!"
"Sigh, You're more like him than you think, your brother may have done truly horrible things but he too was young and naive once." Mikoto left to the kitchen after, leaving sasuke to stew in his thoughts. Leaving the house to practice martial arts in their private training ground, sasuke took his anger out on the dummies in the field.
"Bad day again?" A voice called out from across the field. This was Negi Hyuuga, Sasuke's best friend and rival.
"Yeah." sasuke answered simply.
"They won't interfere y'know? Though we may be trade rivals that does not extend to the battlefield. We will not fight them." The hyuuga had much political sway within the village. Of those born with the ability to effectively use ninjutsu, clans made up 80% of that number. There were a total of 7 clans within konoha; the uchiha, the hyuuga, the aburame, the yamanaka, the nara, the akimichi, and the inuzuka. The hyuuga however were one of the founders of the village allowing them special treatment and sway in politics. Negi was one such hyuuga.
"What's your point? I already know all that."
"Hokage-sama may not want the village to get involved, but that doesn't mean we can't involve ourselves."
"You mean to suggest we go alone?! Are you crazy, father would seriously kill me. Besides, what could we do ourselves? This is a war, not some A-rank mission we can take when we're bored."
"You underestimate us. We are jounin and strong. We will sneak in, take out priority targets and influence the war to our favor. All we need is to ensure that the village destroys itself and nothing rises from the ashes."
"You talk as if that's child's play. Our presence will be noticed. We are both worth millions dead or alive. Once they realize konoha is trying to pull strings, the other villages will get involved. We could spark war, negi."
"Konoha is the strongest village. We will win that war. We are not children, we can become ghosts and shadows, if we desire. They will not realize our presence. They are too busy destroying themselves."
"I am unsure of this negi."
"would you rather wait until another village jumps on this opportunity?"
"fine but only because you've clearly thought this out. But if this gets us killed or worse-"
"then we'll have nothing left to worry about."
"have you always been this… headstrong?" Negi ignored him in favor of shunshining to get prepared. A note fell to the ground as he left.
"Tomorrow we leave at dawn. Through the village eastern wall." Sasuke returned inside and began to pack, his mother watching in worry.
'That boys about to do something stupid, I just know it.'
An.) a little short but, i've got adhd and can't really write 8000 words or something. This story has a plan and will probably end up going very differently then some of you might imagine. Can't wait to see how you react to the plot twist.