Reincarnation of Asura
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…sadly.
Chapter 1: Introduction
'Thinking'
"Talking"
"Bijū / Summons Talking"
"Jutsu (Technique)"
- Backstory -
The Shinobi World was a world born out of violence and bloodshed. For generations the people of the Elemental Nations fought over food, water, resources, and land. Great armies rose up as wars were waged across the land, the people of the world fighting with swords and bows during a simple time where samurai reigned supreme under the guidance of their Daimyō.
Then everything changed…when a man known only as the Rikudō Sennin (Sage of Six Paths) began traveling throughout the massive continent that made up the Elemental Nations. Everywhere the sage went, ordinary people were suddenly gifted with a source of energy that allowed them to manipulate the very fundamental elements of the world.
That energy source, which the Rikudō Sennin thought would help bring people together, was called Chakra. An internal power cultivated by the physical and spiritual energies within a person's body, strengthened through meditation and training.
The man had hoped that chakra would act as a connection to bring the people of the Elemental Nations together through his teaching of Ninshū, a religion focused on helping people to better understand themselves and those around them in the hopes of creating a world of peace and harmony.
He never imagined that it would be his own sons who would turn such a gift for peace, into weapons of war.
His two sons, Indra and Asura Ōtsutsuki, were both extremely gifted in their own rights when it came to understanding chakra.
The eldest son, Indra Ōtsutsuki, understood better than anyone else the power that chakra would provide oneself, and became the first person to manipulate it into one of five basic elements using his creation of hand signs.
In doing so, the teachings of Ninshū were forever changed into what would be known around the world as Ninjutsu.
With his understanding of chakra as a power to understand oneself, Indra began developing new techniques and abilities which would further enhance his beliefs. This would one day lead to what his descendants, the Uchiha, would call: the Curse of Hatred.
Because of his better understanding of himself, Indra's emotions were far more powerful than others, allowing him to love certain individuals more deeply than anyone could understand. But that intensity of emotion, especially love, came with drawbacks…Should the source of his love ever be killed, then that love would manifest itself as hate, and would eventually turn even the best of his descendants to a lifetime of destruction and hatred.
That passion, which led Indra to hatred and creating a never-ending cycle of reincarnation, would manifest itself in his reincarnation as the power of Fire through the use of his father's dōjutsu, the Sharingan. A burning black flame, known as Amaterasu (Heavenly Illumination), which would warm only himself, and devour all others in its path.
The younger son, Asura Ōtsutsuki, understood the power of chakra in a different way than his elder brother. To Asura, chakra was a way to better understand the world around him; creating a connection not just with people, but with nature as well.
This understanding of chakra allowed him to connect with others in ways that Indra never could. While his elder brother had very few connections that ran incredibly deep, Asura was able to connect with dozens as easily as breathing, creating a vast group of friends and followers who backed the younger brother's ideals over the two companions that followed the elder brother.
When the time came for the Rikudō Sennin to decide which of his two sons would take his place in guiding others through the teachings of Ninshū; it was Asura who was chosen. The sage believed his younger son better understood what chakra was meant to be more than his older son, and ignored the rights of the elder sibling to inherit the parents' legacy, as was common at the time.
Unfortunately, his choice would lead his older son down the path of hatred, eventually causing the murder of Indra's two closest friends and the beginning of the Curse of Hatred.
When Indra attacked his father's village, hoping to destroy everything his father had built, Asura stood up to face him; despite being far weaker than his older brother.
It looked as if there was no hope of stopping Indra's destruction of the ways of Ninshū, when Asura's own powers finally awoke within him. And just as his understanding of chakra allowed the younger son to connect with others and nature, so too did his power manifest in that way.
Unlike his brother's destructive power of Fire that burned away all life, Asura's power manifested as a way to create life through the birth of Mokuton (Wood Release), a new form of Ninjutsu which allowed him to build forests and manipulate nature for growth and protection.
The two brothers, now with full control of their opposing powers, waged a mighty battle against each other that ravaged the landscape.
Eventually, their fighting came to a draw as neither could overcome the other. Which only fueled the hatred of the older brother, who promised that not even death would keep Indra from destroying their father's work, and that he would reincarnate over and over again until he succeeded.
Asura, refusing to allow his brother to undo their father's work, would also reincarnate himself every time his brother did, and would always be there to stop Indra.
This cycle of reincarnation between the two brothers continued on throughout the generations in the brothers' descendants, the Uchiha and Senju Clans. The two most well-known reincarnations -despite no one ever realizing it- were the two strongest shinobi of the Warring Clans Era: Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.
Indra's reincarnation Madara Uchiha, who (unknowingly) fully embraced the elder brother's ideals of chakra through his love of his younger brother Izuna, eventual awoke of his own Curse of Hatred when that same younger brother was later killed in battle with the younger brother's descendants, the Senju.
Asura's reincarnation, Hashirama Senju, was a man who believed in the same ideals as Asura and hoped to bring others together and create a world of peace, unknowingly following in the teachings of Ninshū.
For a time, it seemed as if the brothers' cycle of reincarnation had ended when Madara and Hashirama joined together to create the first hidden village, known as Konohagakure no Sato (The Hidden Leaf Village). A tentative peace had been established between the two reincarnations…until the people of Konoha named Hashirama as their leader instead of Madara, echoing the past when Asura was chosen to lead the teachings of Ninshū over Indra.
This action reignited the spark inside of Indra's reincarnation, and Madara went on to restart the brothers' cycle of reincarnation when he tried unsuccessfully to kill Hashirama.
After the latest reincarnations died, the brothers' souls once again sought out new vessels.
Indra reincarnated himself in a member of the Uchiha Clan's main family, Sasuke Uchiha. He had originally wanted to reincarnate in the elder brother, Itachi, who was in many ways so much like himself.
But Itachi believed in the same ideals as Asura, forcing Indra to abandon his reincarnation through the elder brother, and settling for the younger brother Sasuke. Though his momentary attempt to reincarnate in the elder brother manifested in the awakening of Indra's black flames, Amaterasu, in one of Itachi's eyes.
And just as Indra struggled to find a worthy reincarnation, so too did Asura.
Most of his descendants, the Senju, were killed in the course of three Shinobi World Wars. That left his only option to come from the branch family of the Senju, the Uzumaki Clan; who had so few members left scattered throughout the Elemental Nations that only one was a suitable choice…Naruto Uzumaki.
As the soul of the Rikudō Sennin, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, watched on while the souls of his sons reincarnated once again; he wondered if there would ever come a time that their cycle of reincarnation ended.
- Konoha: Night of the Kyūbi Attack-
"Keep up the attack!" The aged voice of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage (Third Fire Shadow) of the Hidden Leaf called out to the shinobi forces gathered around him. "Don't let it into the village!"
All around him, the great forest that surrounded Konoha was in equal parts ruin and flames. A brilliant orange glow lit up the sky as the gathered shinobi tried unsuccessfully to stop the rampaging Bijū (Tailed Beast) from destroying their beloved village, which had already seen a fair amount of destruction when the beast had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of village.
Unfortunately for the shinobi of Konoha, the Bijū they were facing was the strongest of the nine, known to the world as the Kyūbi no Kitsune (The Nine-Tailed Fox). Its massive orange-furred tails destroyed miles of forest with a single movement, and its deadly, acidic red chakra burned the flesh of any who dared to get too close.
As the Kyūbi gathered a massive ball of chakra in front of its opened jaws, the Sandaime and his gathered shinobi forces watched helplessly as the Bijūdama (Tailed-Beast Ball) flew overhead, racing towards the Hokage Monument; a large mountain overlooking the village with the faces of each Hokage carved into the side.
Before the massive ball of chakra could reach the Monument, a massive sealing script appeared in front of the mountain, seemingly absorbing the Bijūdama before it disappeared. Moments later, an enormous explosion when off in the distance.
"It's the Yondaime!"
Cheers went up from the shinobi, their hopes restored by a familiar yellow flash signaling the appearance of a blonde-haired man in blue long-sleeve shirt and pants, with a green flak jacket and a short-sleeved long white haori over the top. The haori he had on was decorated with red flames at the bottom, and the kanji for Yondaime (Fourth Hokage) written on the back.
This was Minato Namikaze, the current Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, and a man feared around the world as the Kiiroi Senkō (Yellow Flash).
He had earned his feared reputation after killing an army of one-thousand Iwagakure no Sato (Hidden Stone Village) shinobi with his signature jutsu, the Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God); a Jikūkan (Time-Space) technique that allowed him to instantly teleport to a marked location with a yellow flash.
Staring at the massive form of the Kyūbi with a grim face, Minato knew what he had to do in order to save Konoha.
A Bijū was not some simple beast that could be pushed back or killed; it was a gigantic sentient construct made of chakra that would reform every time it was destroyed, and would only serve to further anger the beast.
He wished that he could use his Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) to teleport it somewhere far away, but the chakra cost alone would kill him before he could even get the Kyūbi a mile away from the village. That left him with the only option of sealing it into someone.
Unfortunately, the Kyūbi could not be sealed into just anyone like the other Bijū…only an Uzumaki, who had the longevity to survive its near-limitless poisonous chakra, could hope of acting as the Jinchūriki (Power of Human Sacrifice) for the beast. And there were only two Uzumaki's left in Konoha, his wife Kushina and his newborn son, Naruto.
Kushina had already been the previous Jinchūriki for the Kyūbi, so in theory she would be the perfect choice. But after having just given birth, attempting to seal the beast inside of her after she had already lost so much chakra would spell death for her.
And while she would take the Kyūbi with her upon her death, allowing Konoha to enjoy a few years of peace before the Biju would reform…it would also mean that Konoha would be without a Jinchūriki to act as a deterrent to keep the other Hidden Villages away.
As much of a loving father as Minato was…he was a loyal shinobi of Konoha first.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" A voice called out, drawing the gathered Konoha shinobis' attention to the massive plume of smoke before a giant orange toad fell from the sky on top of the Kyūbi's head.
"WHAT THE-… AM I SITTING ON THE NINE-TAILS?" The gigantic toad's booming voice called out, shock and terror mixed in its tone as it stared down into the glaring red eye of the Kyūbi. "MINATOOO!"
Appearing on top of the toad's head, Minato kneeled down to placate the toad boss before it unsummoned itself. "Gamabunta-dono! I need you to distract the Kyūbi until I finish getting everything ready to reseal it… I just need a few moments!" He pleaded, having to use chakra to stick onto Gamabunta's head as the Kyūbi started trashing.
Jumping away from the enraged Bijū, Gamabunta grunted in acceptance. "FINE! JUST MAKE IT QUICK, MINATO!"
Drawing the massive tanto strapped to its back, the toad boss jumped into battle with Kyūbi while Minato flashed away to prepare for the ritual. It was only a few minutes later that a web of golden chains spread out over the battling titans, trapping Gamabunta and the Kyūbi within Kushina's sealing barrier.
In that short span of time, the toad boss Gamabunta was already bleeding from several large wounds all over his body, and his one massive tanto had be shattered at the hilt from blocking the Kyūbi's tails. Seeing Minato was ready, Gamabunta sighed with relief. "I'M OUT OF HERE MINATO, THE REST IS UP TO YOU!"
A large explosion of smoke signaled Gamabunta's departure as he returned to the toad summons land of Mount Myōboku to recover from his wounds.
Too focused on his task to reply, Minato went through the hand seals necessary to summon the one being capable of helping carry out his plan…the Shinigami (Death God).
As much as he wished to seal the entirety of the Kyūbi in his son Naruto, a child's chakra coils (even an Uzumaki's) could not contain all of the beast's chakra, and would need to split the Kyūbi in half…keeping one part sealed inside of Naruto, and taking the other part with him to the grave until his son would grow old enough to combine the two halves.
Finishing the hand signs, Minato clapped his hands together as he called out, "Fūinjutsu: Shiki Fūin (Sealing Technique: Dead Demon Consuming Seal)!"
As the spectral form of the Shinigami rose up behind him, he worked quickly to carry out his plan, knowing that time was of the essence. With a silent command, he has the Shinigami grab hold of the Kyūbi before severing it chakra in half, sealing the Yin-half in himself and leaving the Yang-half for the next part of his plan.
"Fūinjutsu: Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Sealing Technique: Eight Trigrams Sealing Style)!" As the Kyūbi was slowly dragged to the crying form of his newborn child, Minato couldn't help but feeling awed by the Uzumaki Clan.
The two techniques he had just used, were both created by the Uzumaki Clan who were masters of Fūinjutsu that surpassed anything he could ever hope to create. It was Kushina who had actually taught him the seals, though neither of them thought there would ever come a time when they would have to use them.
Spotting the Kyūbi trying to kill Naruto with a claw, Minato raced to block the blow with his body, too weak from the powerful sealing techniques to use any other jutsu. Reaching the spot just in time, he was horrified to see that his wife Kushina had the same thought as him, and now both of their bodies were used to block the Kyūbi's claw.
As the parents stood there, dying from the fatal wound piercing their chests, Kushina gave her last words to their son as Minato finished sealing the Yang-half of the Bijū.
With a final proclamation of love for their newborn baby boy, Minato and Kushina died as heroes. Leaving Naruto to suffer the burden of being a Jinchūriki…But there was an unknown benefit to sealing the Yang-half into Naruto that even Minato could not have foreseen.
Most of the Shinobi World knew very little about Yin (In) and Yang (Yō) chakra, the closest they would ever come to understanding and utilizing it were through the creation of Genjutsu (Illusion Techniques) and Iryōjutsu (Medical Techniques) respectively.
Yin chakra was made up of spiritual energy, controlling imagination and granting form to nothingness. Whereas Yang chakra was made up of physical energy, controlling vitality and granting life to things that had none.
Some Shinobi Clans, like the Nara and Akimichi, would subconsciously use these chakra natures in their own techniques, but would never be able to fully utilize the two natures beyond what they already knew. For instance, the Nara Clan wielded Yin chakra to stretch and manipulate their shadows in a multiple of ways; while the Akimichi wielded Yang chakra to fill their bodies with vitality, drastically increasing their size.
If used together the two chakra natures allowed one to access the power of life and death, which had only ever been seen in the hands of the Ōtsutsuki. But with the Rikudō Sennin's children inheriting half of his power each, the Uchiha gained control over Yin chakra, and the Senju gained control over Yang chakra.
More importantly, Yang chakra was one of the main components for awakening the Mokuton (Wood Release) in Asura's reincarnations… And Naruto was just given a massive supply of Yang chakra through the Kyūbi sealed inside him.
- Timeskip: 7 Years Later -
Staring out of the window of his office that overlooked Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, sighed as his eye caught a glimpse of damaged parts of the city that still had yet to be fixed after the Kyūbi's rampage 7 years ago.
The past few years had been a horrible time for the Hidden Village.
With the death of their Yondaime Hokage, Hiruzen was forced to come out of retirement and take up the mantle of Hokage once again, leading Konoha through the aftermath of such destruction while trying to keep the moral of the village up despite the sadness and ager permeating throughout the villagers and shinobi.
After all, half of Konoha's active shinobi force was killed by the Kyūbi in their attempts to drive the Bijū out of the city.
Thankfully, the younger generations were kept out of the fighting, ensuring that Konoha's future was safe to flourish. But the loss of so much life meant Hiruzen had to stretch his remaining forces thin to keep the other Major Hidden Villages from thinking that they could invade Konoha during its time of weakness.
It was in thinking about such difficulties, that a proud smile blossomed on the Hokage's aging face.
The younger generation had come through spectacularly, taking up every mission they were given with a fervor, going above and beyond their duties to save their home and ensure that their parents and comrades' sacrifices were not in vain. It also did wonders to help cool off their anger and sadness towards the Kyūbi.
Thinking about the village's anger towards the Kyūbi dropped Hiruzen's proud smile into a frown. While the shinobi force had finally moved past their anger towards the Bijū, the villagers had no such outlet to vent their emotions, and looked for something they could take it out on.
And Hiruzen had foolishly given them the very scapegoat they needed, when he revealed the name of Konoha's newest Jinchūriki.
"Hey Jiji (Old man)!" A child's voice called out energetically, the door to his office opening with a slam as Hiruzen chuckled amusedly at the complete lack of decorum. Hidden in the shadows of his office, Hiruzen's personal Anbu guard shook with silent laughter as they watched the child march up to Hokage like he owned the place.
Coming to a stop in front of the single desk in the room, standing before the leader of the village after so rudely entering his office, was a small boy with spiky blond hair and three whisker-like marks on his cheeks. He was dressed in a black shirt, with the red swirl of the Uzumaki Clan symbol on the front, and a pair of grey shorts; on his forehead were green goggles that glinted in the sunlight.
The child was none other than the Jinchūriki in question, Naruto Uzumaki. And Hiruzen struggled to keep the pain out of his eyes as he stared at the child of his former successor.
When the villagers learned of Naruto's title as Jinchūriki to the Kyūbi, they had transferred all of the hatred they had for the beast onto the boy. In doing so, they began screaming and calling out for the boy's death.
Seeing the hatred they had for the newborn, Hiruzen was forced to pass a law declaring the knowledge of Naruto's Jinchūriki status an S-Ranked secret, forbidding anyone from revealing the information under threat of immediate execution. It was his hope that the law would prevent the villagers from passing on the knowledge to their children, stopping the next generation from learning to hate Naruto as their parents do.
However, Hiruzen realized the folly of his plans when he saw the older generations instructing their children to stay away from the orphaned boy. While the villagers never broke his law, they got around it by telling their children Naruto was a bad person and pushing their kids if they tried to play with him.
As such, while Naruto was never physically harmed by the villagers -the first few attempts were ruthlessly (and publicly) stomped out by the Hokage, who made sure everyone knew that to do so again would result in their deaths- the boy was cast out as the village's pariah. No one who wasn't a shinobi would look at or speak to the boy, leading Naruto to develop a loud personality in the hopes of getting attention that all children craved.
Pushing aside his failing, Hiruzen stared down into the boy's bright blue eyes, sparkling with excitement as Naruto held out a tiny potted plant. "Look what I can do!"
Indulging the child that he had so horrendously failed, the Hokage's eyes widened in disbelief as the tiny plant grew larger with the flow of chakra Naruto was giving it. The plant's growth continued until it shattered the clay pot it was kept in, dropping to the floor of his office in a pile of dirt as the boy smiled happily, "Cool, huh!"
Silence filled the office as the Hokage and his hidden Anbu stared in shock as their eyes moved slowly from the small boy standing there as if nothing was wrong, to the fully-grown plant on the floor that had produced several vibrant-red and fully-ripened tomatoes.
As his aged mind worked furiously to understand what he had just seen, Hiruzen felt a small bit of hope at the thought that maybe…just maybe, his failings to the boy could still be fixed. And the first step to doing so, would require calling back his wayward student.
- Tanzaku-gai -
"Tsunade-sama!" A young girl's voice called out hurriedly, drawing the gaze of the person in question as they walked down the busy streets of Tanzaku-gai's gambling district.
The young girl in question was fair-skinned, with onyx-black eyes and straight jet-black hair cut around her chin, and a slender build that was covered in a long black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi. The low-heeled open-toed sandals clicking against the ground as she struggled to match the pace of the person she was calling out to.
In front of her was an older woman with equally fair-skin, brown eyes, and straight blonde hair parted at the forehead to reveal a purple diamond shaped seal.
Her blonde hair was shoulder-length and tied back in two loose ponytails, trailing over a grass-green haori that was kept open to reveal a sleeveless grey kimono-style blouse held closed by a broad, dark blue obi that matched her pants. She preferred to keep her blouse closed low, revealing her sizeable cleavage that acted as a distraction to her opponents.
On her feet she wore open-toed, strappy black sandals with high heels on her feet, and red nail polish on her fingernails and toenails, further distracting her opponents with the bright color that left them unprepared for one of her deadly punches or kicks.
To complete the ensemble, she used a soft pink lipstick that had people focused more on her pouty lips than on what she was actually saying.
Despite what people would say about her choice of clothing, including her lecherous former teammate, the older woman was a shinobi to her core. And she knew how to use everything at her disposal to distract others and provide herself with the best chance at surviving the brutal Shinobi World.
The older woman, now revealed to be Tsunade, glanced back at her apprentice in confusion while coming to a stop. "What is it Shizune?" It was unusual for her apprentice to sound so hurried, and the way the younger girl sprinted towards her was worrying.
Tsunade, one of the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Three Ninja) and greatest medical ninja in the world, waited patiently for Shizune to catch her breath as she glanced over the young girl's body for any wounds.
"L-Letter from Hokage-sama!" Shizune panted out, handing over a small letter to her master.
Curiously, Tsunade took the offered letter, glancing at the official seal of the Hokage's office before pulling out the single sheet of paper.
"My student-
Your godson has awoken your grandfather's bloodline.
-The Professor"
Wide-eyed, she re-read the short message multiple times, understanding immediately what the message was trying to get across.
Her former sensei, known around the world as The Professor, just said that the godson she never met (and thought had died along with his mother) had awoken the Mokuton, the Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit) which made her grandfather famous as the Shinobi no Kami (God of Shinobi).
In her years since leaving Konoha to drink and gamble her sorrows away, her depressed mind had forgotten all about the child which her favorite young kunoichi had asked her to be the godmother to. Kushina had been a spitfire that warmed her heart after the passing of her family, and as an Uzumaki it made them distantly related. From what she could recall, Tsunade's grandmother Mito Uzumaki was also Kushina's great-grandmother.
It had been another stab to her already-broken heart when she learned of Kushina's passing after the Kyūbi's release. Part of her wanted to return to Konoha to say her goodbyes, but that was overshadowed by the depression at the death of what she thought was her last family member.
The memories of her time with Kushina, and the realization that she still had family out there, parted the clouds of her depression like a brilliant sun shining through the darkness.
Crumpling the note in her fist, Tsunade's brown eyes blazed with a fire that hadn't been seen in decades, sparing a glance at the curious face of her young apprentice. "Gather our things, Shizune…we're leaving." She ordered, turning on her heel to march back to their hotel room.
Quickly moving to catch up with her master, Shizune asked curiously, wondering what was in the letter to draw such a reaction from the usually depressed older woman. "Where are we going?"
"Konoha…" Tsunade replied, not once breaking her stride as Shizune tripped over herself in surprise.
"We're going home."
- Unknown Location -
A single, massive, red slit eye opened slowly to take in its surroundings.
What had once been a dark sewer with a thin layer of water covering the stone floors, had become a tranquil forest of soft green grass. The walls of its cage were now made up of massive trees that reached high above the beast, as a brilliant sun shone through the canopy of leaves overhead. Where there had been metal bars for a get keeping the beast contained, now there was a massive red Torii gate with thick wooden beams interlocking the space.
Reaching out an enormous orange-furred paw, the beast scratched at the wood.
Watching as its claws, which could easily rend multiple buildings in a single swipe, failed to scratch the gate or cause any sort of damage to the wood beams. Instead of getting angry, the beast merely curled back up, the soothing feeling of the forest lulling it back to sleep.
Before it's red-slitted eye closed, it growled out a curious sound. "Interesting…"
- END -
Author Notes:
And that's the First Chapter.
This is my first attempt at a Naruto story. Hopefully it turns out well, because I've got a lot more that I want to write based in the Naruto Universe.
Hope you are liking it so far! Thanks for checking out my story.