Red Eye
Begin author's note:
What? Sabaoth made another story? Why can't he finish any? I will explain. Here's the reason. My first fics were a disaster. Granted, one was a spin-off from which I lost control, and another a pointless indulgence. But the last, Enter Night, was the Havok. It was my first foray into a fandom I knew nothing of. In fact, after a year of learning about the anime that is Naruto, I was horrified. I had created a monster! As of now, that story is deleted. Gone. Done. Over. It was a crossover. That doomed it. Most crossovers were, and are, attempts by various egos to put together two liked things, which should never mix. To my folly, I believed I could do it. I now know I can't. It was foolish to attempt. So now I begin with a clean slate. A Naruto story. If you have read through all 149 words, thank you for hearing me out. You have reached the story.
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Kazama Arashi was dying. He could feel it, the Shinagami's pull on his soul. He smiled at the Sandaime and Jiraiya-sensei. He couldn't see them very well, nut he knew they were there, with his son. His son, who would carry the Kyuubi through his life. His son, the true hero of Konoha.
"Sarutobi, Jiraiya... He is the true hero... protect him... honor him... please..." he gasped, finally slipping into merciful oblivion. It would be short. After all, inside the Shinagami cannot be a pleasant place, no?
The crying boy quieted. He looked up, curious, at Jiraiya as the quirky Sannin picked him up. His good humor was gone now, replaced by somber brooding that he quickly masked with a soft smile. "Hello, Naruto-kun!" he said to the boy. The diminutive blonde cooed and pulled at one of the 'author's' odd hair spikes.
Jiraiya laughed with the Sandaime, even as he turned to the man. "Where will you keep him?" he asked.
The Sandaime smiled at the Yondaime's Legacy, telling Jiraiya that he would be keeping the boy under ANBU guard, as they respected him and the Yondaime's wish the most, unaware that a shadowy meeting would make him rue the day he didn't guard the boy himself...
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In a shadowy chamber near a snowy mountainside village...
"Kyuubi-sama has been sealed."
"So we are aware."
"What do you plan to do about this, Janus?
The newly identified Janus smirked, knowing that it was invisible in the darkness of the council chamber.
"We will take him from Konohagakure, and he will be trained as Akagan."
"A bold plan. How do you know the Kyuubi will not resist? He, after all, would not like our clan to usurp him, after all."
"The Shikkifuujin seal is masterfully designed. It cannot be broken, and the only way Kyuubi-sama could attack us is if the vessel chose to do so with his free will."
"I see. Can it be altered?"
"Yes. Saraki believes he can induce a force merger with Kyuubi-sama's chakra. If he is correct, then the vessel will be ten times as powerful as he already has the potential to be."
"Hm. Who is the vessel?"
Janus allowed his smirk to develop into a full-fledged grin. "Raiha has that information."
The aforementioned man went pale as the supposed leader's eyes turned to him. "Well?"
"Ano... I am assured he is... the Yondaime's child..." A slight leak of killing intent made him even paler.
"Why have you not informed me of this earlier?"
"You were meditating, Cyrus-sama..." he gave a barely perceptible sigh of relief, as the terror weakened and disappeared. Thank Kami-sama...
"I see. Janus, you may proceed."
"With your permission, I will deploy one of our best squads to capture the gaki. Then, we can train him to be the best of the Akagan."
"Heh." The man called Cyrus laughed. "The best of the best. Very well. Carry out your plan. One of our best teams, however. We cannot allow any mishaps on this operation."
"Hai, Cyrus-sama."
One by one, the shadowy figures faded from the room.
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The Sandaime gently laid the sleeping baby in a crib. He was in an apartment near the Hokage tower, so Sarutobi could easily check on him if he wanted. He turned to the four-man ANBU squad that was to guard the boy. He left with a pair of simple words.
"Protect him"
Before he disappeared, he heard a chorus of, "Hai, Hokage -sama!"
The Anbu taichou moved to his position near the crib, with his squad moving to preassigned positions. They were prepared for anything.
Well, almost...
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In the southwestern area of Fire Country, the leaves began to swirl. A spinning tornado formed, with leaves blocking the view of the eye. A tiny leaf burst aflame, and another, and another, until the entire thing was a tornado from hell. The whirling flames finally flickered out, with nothing left to burn. In the area where the eye had been, four people stood.
They weren't what many would call normal, even in the ninja world.
Their clothes were normal enough. The four wore a simple black shinobi shirt and pants, with black boots that covered up to the bottom of the pant legs. The shirtsleeves were long, long enough to cover up to the wrist. All but one wore fingerless gloves, and the one wore full gloves. Metal plates were stitched onto the backs, to protect the hand. They all had on a black cloak that looked like a rectangular piece of cloth wrapped around their bodies and fastened, with sleeves. Black cloth veils hid all of their faces but their eyes. Their red eyes. Red eyes with slit pupils, not unlike those of a cat.
Normal definitely ends at that.
The sole woman of the group grumbled. "Stupid burning things...knows I'm allergic to smoke..."
The tallest one, a giant of a man, laughed. "Oh come on Miya, you know that's how my teleport jutsu works."
"Shut up Kaizen."
"You!"
The third member, a pale, white-haired man cleared his throat. "May we please stop bickering like children? I have things to do back at home, you know."
The fourth gave an abrupt snort. "Things? Like hair grooming. Ne, Nanashi?"
Nanashi irritatedly tossed his head. "Silence Tsurugi. This mission is of paramount importance. Janus-sensei thinks we are best qualified for the job. Let us prove that to him."
Akagan no Tsurugi grinned. "No worries there. The Akagan can't be beaten!"
Akagan no Kaizen chuckled. "Burning time?"
Akagan no Miya nodded. "Burning time."
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Translation list:
Akagan- I am mostly sure it means red eye.
Shinagami- death god
taichou- captain
ANBU- a technical acronym meaning ANatsu Senjutsu Tokubetsu BUtai. Normally, it would be ASTB, but ANBU sounds so much cooler. Oh, and it means assassination tactics special squad.
Ne- comes out to a 'so', or 'right?' Example: Ne, billy... So, Billy...
-sama, -sensei, san, etc- these are all designations. For example, sama means Lord, while sensei means master, which literally translates to teacher. -kun and -chan are ways to refer in an affectionate manner, like to your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband... you get the idea. -kun and -chan are mostly used for males and females respectively. -San is used to politely refer to someone. Saying a name, sans -san, is equivalent to saying you dislike them or have a problem with that person. Other things can be used as well, like -taichou, or -teme. (Bastard)
Hokage- Do I really need to explain this?
Note that many of these translations are formed through observation of word usage. I am NOT a native speaker. I claim no command of the language Japanese. If you have a valid argument towards a correction, please note this in your review. An "I think it's this way!" will not cut the mustard. I am willing to take all polite and valid criticisms into account. I will ignore any flames.
Later.
Sabaoth