It has been a while since I've done this. I've put this on hiatus for a long time, and since then deleted almost every version of the original copies. As if I'd ever forget. This story was my first. Coming out of a medically induced sedimentary state, my work was choppy. It was a patchwork without the cloth.
It's early. Perhaps a tab bit premature, but my only other work at present is dedication. There are still some kinks to work out, and of course what with the virtualization of the modern world, it's been a busy few months. I've got time to kill, an urge for overpowered speculation, and this story that never quite made it's full potential. I have progressed heroically in the last few months, and there's only so much I can call BS before there's something to show for it.
If this can become an extremely active story, I'll settle for minigun chapters. Call me out if I'm off point, Shout out if you find something that got ya rolling. I'm still one heck of a crude writer, but I'm gonna make it work for something.
(New: 10/14/20) Warnings. Regardless of story rating, please review these, and confirm that you are prepared to face them in a setting of context. Be wary of these issues IRL.
- Substance abuse.
- Intense situations.
- Moral ambiguity, vandalism.
- Torture, physical violence.
- Trauma, emotional violence.
- Mature themes.
- Oppression, bullying.
- Stalking (alluded or themed.)
- Crude language.
It's not a short list, and may not be complete as of the latest chapters. This list will be updated as the story goes on. Viewer discretion is advised.
Pseudo styles project - Punk of flames
===Chapter 1===
It had been a nightmare for anyone to bear witness. A catastrophe to anyone involved.
Blood spattered across the ground. Decorating the ground as the breath of two was forcibly driven out. Flashes of the explosion, a life of pride, chaos, loss and above all, hope. Once and forever, that they might yet have a chance to make better for it, the future forged of strife and sacrifice.
It was that pivotal moment for both, when they would nurse within their own home a life to see it furthered. Each day, every adversity, and something ultimately precious to fight for.
This was the will of Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki. And in that one moment most sacred, their prized moment was split in two. Razed from the ground up, and divided between them. The claw impaled through their navel a testament to just how devastating the evening had been for either of them.
A testament to both, the heart of their child remained unharmed for all of it. It was all they could do to condemn him, but these final moments would be the greatest gift they could ever offer.
The cursed seal of human sacrifice, and the paradigm of oblivion.
"Make sure you get plenty to eat. And the three vises, money, power… I guess I wouldn't know where to start about women. Oh an above all else, find people to fill your heart. They don't have to be many, or soulmates like me and Minato. Just people you can stand by." Tears streaked across her face in longing. Words would never be enough, "I'm sorry Minato. I took so much of your time."
"It's fine. Your words spoke plenty for both of us." He gazed on the boy fondly, "Be strong Naruto. I know you will."
Rallying the remainder of his chakra, Minato prepared the seal that would end this horrible nightmare.
"I thank you, Kamikaze san. But this is as far as you go."
With all of his being, Minato bore the brunt of the Kyuubi presence, channeling it like a man possessed. The Shinigami was an immutable force. He put everything into driving that to the fullest effect.
He watched through hazy eyes as a light flickered over the boy's forehead. The blonds struggled faltered, and his sputtering softened into slumber.
"The ultimate sacrifice of the fourth song. Central ring of the heart and chest. The arc of unconditional love." A gloved hand shifted through the boy's locks. Alighting on what few trails of light the Hokage could see of him, "I felt this moment should remain unmolested, despite myself."
It strung the chord of fear, albeit within unrivaled determination. His focus was on the child and the sensation of his chakra closing to the world around him.
"With that peace said-" A blade was drawn. It caught the moonlight with an unnatural etherium.
Minato's chakra seized, wrapping the shell of the seal around himself like a shield. It would change nothing. This was his final commission as Hokage.
The shell formed of black ink and sacred texts gave way to a piercing light. The sword bisected his focus, cold night air struck him down as mercilessly as his fading pulse. Collapsed against the earth, the ethereal glow was far too sinister in his renewed clarity.
"You can't." The words warbled through his lips like a brook, and he barely recognized their familiar tune.
Fair skin and blue eyes turned to the distance. Sarutobi and the shinobi corps had arrived. I had seriously considered leaving instructions for the retired Hokage. However, my tendency to play to my ego was meritless to the wizened legacy. I could trust the third. Hell, I'd strike for any of them at the breath of the ghost.
Glancing down I trued the sacred blade. My time is limited. It's already late tonight, "I tire of the sacrifice of heroes. Hijack; Of death melodies, sacred hollows, and the twin harbors."
The silver of chains, the tear of wretched chakra, the love, the agony, the stubborn tick and every fragment of these two I could frack from history, "On pain of death, so be damned, but this is not the end for you Hokage."
The form of the tailed beast shimmered and faded on the wind. From the Yondaime, A golden sword tore from the man until his body had nothing more to offer. Blank against the darkness of night, A crude distortion sank the husk of the other.
With the sealing complete, the barrier keeping the corps at bay fell. Sunken in the cradle, and bathing in candle light. So it begins anew.
Supplementary notes
Hijack - A unique ability that allows the user to absorb part of a technique cast upon them, and enable further manipulation of it. Capable of wresting control of a technique, breaking down the technique, and even recouping the immediate effects.
Word of wisdom: Even if you were provided the antidote at the same time, there is no changing the fact that you were poisoned. You can make the best of everything that comes from it, but you are not unchanged. With everything you take in, you cede something. Fortunately, even in dying, we are given the opportunity to become something else. Choose to take up a change, or at least understand that there are more to things than you realize.
G'night. May there be another scene tomorrow.
There was much to be done. Trouble is always just over the horizon. It's simply a matter of where you're going and how long before you crest the wave before it. For me, I had months - maybe a year if I kept all my cards in play - before the next wave would come upon me.
I made a promise. I'd make sure these kids saw their chance to see choices they might not have realized until later. But more than that, I protect the benefit of a doubt, and the grounds for altruism. Anyone who would reap that in vain will find themselves zeroed in my crosshairs.
Already, I digress…
As far as my capabilities go, I cannot simply undo the cause of nature. Naruto was born of one of the strongest links in terms of Uzumaki vitality. That didn't suddenly make him a prodigy in that regard.
As things stood that night, he could only shoulder half of the Kyubi's chakra. I robbed the Hokage of his means to divert the Kyuubi by half. It wasn't without credence. I tapped the shinigami, the reaper's power to utterly retain the beast.
That said, It was all I could do to keep the boy from a world of hurt. By half, he would have been in some mild discomfort for a bit, but ultimately, he would adjust soon after.
It took a very extensive amount of chakra to keep the boy's body in check, and suspend the effort to absolve the biju. His first night was hell balanced on a knife edge and battered like a dingy in a hurricane.
I had hoped I wouldn't displace that precious moment, and that I would honor that memory that did so much in tempering the boy's will of fire. But by the time dawn came around, I really just had to hope for the best intentions.
Eight hours, I held the boy's chakra gates open. Fatal to most who knew what they were doing, his life force was sprawled apart from him. Similar to Minato's late efforts, I felt my world boiling down to something that was less than human.
I wasn't about to give up my life for this kid, but I knew what needed to be done and what it would take to get something of that caliber to happen. Keeping him alive was my conscious focus. The rest, a game of the gods.
Outside in the world, Naruto was wrapped in blankets. The first dawn of his life casting light across the walls. His breathing labored, but steady. What concerned the room largely was that his energy was blatantly unstable.
A shroud of hazy energy surrounded him. Even in bringing him here, The Hokage had observed manifestations of it at length. A black tendril here, oscillating stardust there, and more than once he felt like a piece of his soul was in a dance with death, material manifestations aside.
He was dangerous. Moreso than any conscious jinchuriki would be on a bad day. For the first few days, the boy would be kept in controlled isolation, and under steady watch. As damn near impossible to feed safely, a few courageous eventually saw to it the boy got what was necessary to be kept alive.
Thankfully, by the fourth day, the aura was weakening. Their veteran sealmaster arrived to assess the seal, and sure enough it was a solid piece fitting of his prodigy's work. Still the immense presence had him guarded. The boy's chakra saturated the room, and at times, others even outside the confines of his room fell ill.
Sensors and specialists felt this effect strongest. When the aura retreated beneath the surface almost two weeks later, it was with a general sigh of relief.
In all that time, it was decided that the jinchuriki would not be harbored by conventional means. The attack drew the eyes of the other nations, and at this stage he would have to be held close.
For the better part of four years, that boy, Naruto, was kept apart from anyone resembling his age group. Not out of malice or some feat of condition, but for effort it took to ensure he and everyone around him were safe.
There were close scrapes, to be sure, however the circle around him was tight and well maintained. There's alway something to go wrong, but until the day he's ready to stand on his own two feet, there's not much more I can do.
The spymaster has left the village, and three weeks later, it's high time I move on as well. The appearance of the biju has galvanized other predators. It is my ambition to see those challengers met to match. I am no longer satisfied to meet these characters at their epoch. By now, I am eager to see the course of history skinned alive.
Far be it from my role to micromanage a child's upbringing.
===Chapter end===
Okay, I don't know exactly where the confusion stemmed from, but i came back to this chapter to clarify. During the sealing, there are four individuals (Five including the biju). Naruto, Kushina, Minato, and SI-AU original character.
There has been some confusion regarding which character is piloting the scene. First person is always from the lead original character's perspective. Almost all dialogue for other characters, canon cast and minor characters is done in second and third person, with a bit of character insight thrown in. This remains the case throughout the opening 18 chapters (or it should have.)
First person perspective shifts are not yet viable to my style. There are cases where I shift between pilot characters, whereas I try to introduce the background or names of characters as soon as possible. If it's not obvious, assume they are placeholders, or extras.
If it's a character know from canon, I will make that very clear following the lead-up, although there may be a scene or two that was written in the rough. If you see one or notice and area where the phrasing doesn't line up where you can make sense out of it, please let me know. On occasion, I need to go back and do some troubleshooting and clear out the cobwebs.