I don't own Naruto. What a pity.

Prologue-1

'Get that thing out of my face.'

'But wouldn't you like to leave a message Hokage-sama? This might be our last chance'

'No. And what have I told you about calling me that, Tenten'

'Forgive me, Lord. I'll go.'

To those who still live…

Heed now the Testimony of the Scions of those that hid in the Leaves…

We have all experienced tragedy or disaster in our short lives but it is a combination of these that has given rise to the great catastrophe that has befallen our world.

'Kankuro! Report!'

'It's far too quiet topside Sasuke. And a blanket of fog is rolling in from the northeast.'

'So? That's normal for this time of year.'

'Hanabi can't see through it.'

Shit. Oh Shit. Shit shit shit. 'Very well. Sound the alert. Send Shino, Lee and Tenten to me. Then send a runner to Hinata and Jiraiya asking for a status report. Oh and find Konohamaru too. Tell him to begin lock-down protocols.'

'At once, Hokage-sama!' The scarred man dashed off.

'I've warned you about calling me that before!'

21 years ago, the Nine Tails attacked the Hidden Leaf and by the selflessness of the Forth Hokage it was sealed in the newborn Uzumaki Naruto. After facing many hardships growing up Naruto became a ninja at 12 and walked the path of a Shinobi proudly. Others in the village would not see past the Youma he bore and he was shunned and ignored but in times of great need Naruto found he could utilise the mammoth chakra of the Demon Fox to protect that which was important to him. This power and his noble usage of it caused him to rapidly change the people's opinion of him and he rose through the ninja ranks quickly, becoming a jounin at 17.

Kankuro's head disappeared as the hatch eased back into it's resting position. Hyuga Hanabi slid the 7th rotting tatami mat back into its place on the far right side of the now derelict Main Nanako River shine and soundlessly leapt to her place among the rafters. Looking out through a hole in the ceiling she could see the mist now covered most of the ruins of Konoha and was visibly advancing on her position. Internally, she debated whether to try to use her Byakugan again. The headache from her last attempt had only just dissipated. Finally, she decided not to. When she looked at the fog through her byakugan it seemed to flow through it into her brain causing dizziness and an uncontrollable trembling.

'I believe I'm going to need a clear head for this' she reasoned.

So using her normal vision she scanned the haze for the things that were coming. When they did come Hanabi vowed she would know where they were before they knew where she was.

'How is the weather up there, Hanabi?' Said a voice that hit her like a cold, clammy caress across the face.

Hanabi mentally cursed and surveyed the speaker through the back of her head while remaining flawlessly still. The fetid stench of carrion wafted to her position- a warm stench the relieved the chill of the evening.

Soon after, he was accidentally killed during an ambush by SS-class criminals. Though his comrades defeated their assailants the body disappeared during the battle. A great sadness was felt in the Leaf and Naruto's name was inscribed on the Cenotaph along side other lost Nins.

'Hanabi, where are you manners? Come down here and greet your cousin like a true Hyuga heiress.'

In a heartbeat, Hanabi had leapt from the rafter, landed and charged the thing that had been…

She thrust her right palm, now coursing with blue Chakra, towards its heart in classic Jyuuken style. Only to have her wrist clamped in a vice grip that nothing Human could manage. Ignoring the pain, she swung her free left hand in a horizontal arc attempting to strike its neck with a chop. That too was blocked and the Hyuga found herself being pulled face-to-face with her opponent.

Sometime later, the slaughters began and the people sighed and tutted and blamed it on renegade Ninja and rationalised that they were only small backwater towns. And theydid nothing. Then the minor ninja villages. Grass, Waterfall, Rain, Sound and Mountain fell to, according to survivors, 'an dead army led by a crimson hell beast'. Scouts found the carnage, the bodies and the blood but no sign of what had been reported. For a time a nervous peace settled but the annihilation of the ninja villages left small but significant holes in the fabric of the worlds power balance. Boarder disputes, clashes of scouts, invasions and counter-invasions between the five great powers followed causing an appalling chain reaction that ended in the fourth ninja world war. Wave after crippling wave withered the Leaf and after the Sand fall at the hands of the Stone, Leaf found itself alone. Stone smashed Sand, Lightning melted the eroded Stone, Mist silently slaughtered the distracted Lightning and then came for the Leaf.

'Such mediocre techniques. You are going to have to do better that THAT.' It whispered-sounding like a snake on gravel.

Hanabi had no choice but to look at its face directly. The foul, cracked skill. The warm, putrid breath. The rotting teeth. The bleeding gums. The Curse seal. And worst of all-the empty eye sockets filled with Hellfire. She resisted the urge to gag and stared defiantly back. Whatever reason the thing had for holding her in such a manner evaporated in an instant and she was flung away to the floor.

'Don't you know who I am?' It drawled.

/snap/ 'Yes.' Hyuga Hanabi declared, rising to her feet and massaging her wrists. 'I know you. You are that THING that the Abomination plucked from the deepest cesspool in Hell and defiled the body of Hyuga Neji with! You are the THING that took away his honourable death! You are the vile, cowardly, disgusting PARASITE that corrupted his corpse and murdered my father and the rest of the clan!'

Hanabi exploded into the Hyuga stance and blasted her Byakugan on to its maximum.

'AND YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR IT A THOUSAND TIMES OVER RIGHT NOW!'


Wow! That's part one of the prologue. Lots more action and background to follow. Plot too! Please leave feedback. 'Tis helpful!