2 Years after the Death of the Sandaime…
Within a spacious cavern completely devoid of life, nine cloaked figures stood, waiting patiently for something. The nine cloaked figures each bore the same cloak, darker than black, with many blood-red clouds scattered throughout the cloak. The ensemble also came with large conical shaped hats, with white streamers hanging from the edges,concealing each of their faces.
They were the Akatsuki, the group of 9 ninjas that controlled the entire elemental nations and were easily among the strongest men alive. Men and ninja alike feared them, and just whispering their name caused widespread panic and a single sight of the infamous black cloak with red clouds was the sight that all men dreaded and feared above all else, even the face of the Death God itself.
They were the Akatsuki, the Red Moon and the tyrants of the world.
9 ninjas, their names were legends and their power was unrivaled. Their own individual power was said to be capable of destroying an entire ninja village and all nine united together was something that no one could even fathom.
Gathered within a single spacious room in a cavern were the 9 most feared ninja alive, and perhaps one of the strongest forces in all of the elemental countries.
"The meeting will now begin." One of the cloaked figures said, his voice monotone and emotionless.
"Heh, how long has it been since all 9 of us have been gathered here like this?" a man said in a rough voice, full of malicious intent.
"About a few years, yeah." Another Akatsuki said. The others nodded slowly, agreeing with him.
"Has the Kyuubi jinchuuriki been found?" the same monotone voice that spoke first came forth once again.
"No, I can't find any traces of the boy or any clues as to where he is. But he is alive, you can be sure of that. Otherwise, we would have to delay our plans another century before the Kyuubi would reincarnate." A snakelike voice spoke this time in an venomous tone, every syllable poisonous. Arrogance, danger, and fear was inscribed in his voice, so similar to a snake.
"Hah, I would have found that boy years ago. You're just damn lazy." Another voice came and the already massive killing intent within the chamber raised another notch.
"Then perhaps, you'd like to try then." The snakelike voice shot back. The killing intent in the area was now so high that the very jaws of death seemed to clamp down on the cavern.
"Enough. We have more important matters to discuss." Another monotone voice said, even more emotionless than the man who spoke first. There was a brief moment when a pair of red eyes flashed before the darkness returned to normal. With this, the surroundings quieted down a bit, but still seemed rather dangerous.
"Have we acquired enough funds?" a new voice spoke this time.
"Soon. Money isn't that easy to get these days." Another voice replied.
"All of the preparations on my side have been made already." A large odd shaped man said in a gruff deep tone.
"Heh, like hell I'd trust that. Someone like you couldn't finish that if you had a thousand years." Immediately, the evil aura in the air elevated to a level where a fight was imminent.
"ENOUGH!" All anger was quelled immediately at the voice. "We have no time for your squabbles. We will now begin the ritual."
"Then let's start. I got to go through my daily rituals soon." Another Akatsuki said, hefting his enormous 3 bladed scythe. The others nodded reluctantly, still distrustful of each other and formed their own handseals and yelled "KAI!"
The cavern was immediately illuminated in a bright blinding light. What happened next was impossible to tell, as the light blocked off all and any view. When the light finally subsided, a single Akatsuki member, grinned and whispered
"Soon…soon we will achieve our true goal."
A single boy stood at the edge of a peaceful looking clearing in front of a large black stone. He stood, his expression unreadable and solemn, his head bowed in respect and his eyes lowered.
"It's been two years since I've been here. I'm sorry, I haven't visited you." Uzumaki Naruto silently whispered. It had been too long since he had been here, when he buried his first precious person. Here in this clearing, the wind blew gently and the leaves rustled in the trees.
"Ojii-san, one day, I'll restore Konoha, the village that you loved and the village that I swear to protect in your name. I promise, I will not fail." Naruto whispered. Naruto stared at the tombstone for just a while longer before turning around and leaving. He didn't look back.
The wind blew hard again, and petals from the nearby trees started falling down. On the black rock, which now decorated the grave of the Sandaime Hokage, was carved the symbol for the leaf, which resembled the swirl of a hurricane. Underneath the symbol, words were carved, words that Konoha had been based on.
When the Leaf falls,
The Will of Fire will awaken,
And we will fight to protect our loved ones, our homes, our honor and pride
Until we die, to protect those we hold dear to us,
So they may live to carry our will and memories
Thus the Will of Fire is passed on- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Udon had been playing with his long time friends Kaede and Moegi as usual, when he first encountered the silver haired man that stood before him, laughing evilly as he grabbed the ice cream cone that Moegi had been eating and throwing it onto the ground.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" Udon yelled at the man. Moegi and Kaede both yelled things as well.
"Hey you over there! What are you doing, picking on little kids?" A nearby woman screeched and ran forward. Within moments, an enormous crowd of townsfolk surrounded the silver haired man.
"Who do you think you are, outsider?" a town elder asked the man, trying to look intimidating but failing miserably. The man laughed arrogantly, and pulled off the enormous cloak that he wore to reveal a set of black clothes under a black vest with red designs. At the sight of the uniform, the people all gasped in shock.
"Who am I?" the man grinned, " I'm Mizuki, official of the administrative department of Akatsuki." The people around him paled visibly. "In other words, I am a government official."
"If you want proof, I can show you this." Mizuki held up a badge, depicting a blood red crescent moon. People stood rooted to the spot, fear completely preventing them from moving.
It was a common reaction in the towns at seeing an Akatsuki official. The only time that Akatsuki officials ever visited towns was for inspections, which usually ended in a pile of rubble and a mound of corpses.
"W-w-what is an official of Akatsuki doing here? We payed our taxes! We payed for our lives already!" The elder sputtered out, his hands visibly shaking. Akatsuki forced its entire people to pay ridiculous taxes, for nearly everything, including their own lives. For those who couldn't pay, not only they were killed, but also their entire town was demolished and destroyed, an act carried out from Akatsuki's tax collectors and officials, who were actually all shinobi rather than government officials.
"You think that's enough?" Mizuki sneered "I don't care if you paid the damn tax or not, your little broken down piece of shit you call a town failed my inspection. So I'm afraid we'll have to demolish your little town here." The townsfolk all gasped.
"B-b-but why?" the old man asked desperately, falling down on his knees.
"Che, your little shit town deserves to be destroyed. It's only a broken down crap town, so it's not big deal. You're not making enough money for Akatsuki, so we don't need your useless town." Mizuki sneered and walked up to the elder and kicked him mercilessly.
Cries of outrage and barely restrained anger came from the people but no one dared to move, or show their anger outwardly. Mizuki gleefully laughed, gloating at this almost complete control over the people.
"You have 1 hour to get your belongings and get out of this town. You are all to gather right outside of the town gates for personal inspection from officials. Any people left in this town will be killed as we demolish the town, no exceptions." Mizuki said in a more business like tone, as he obviously had done this many times. "Be thankful that Akatsuki gives you time to leave, if I had a choice, I would have just killed you all right now."
Mizuki smirked arrogantly once more "Hurry your ass up or else you'll die along with this pitiful town." Mizuki turned around to leave.
"Wait! I won't let you destroy this town! I won't let you destroy my home!" Udon yelled, angry at the stranger who just walked into his town and just declared they were to leave the only home that he had. He charged at the man. Yells of "Stop!" and "Wait!" came from everyone, but Udon ignored them all. He didn't think that he was only a small child, not even 8 years old yet, taking on a full grown man, and an Akatsuki official at that. No, all he wanted to do, was to protect his home, in whatever little way he could.
Udon raised his fist to strike the older man before Mizuki turned around and caught his fist easily and squeezed hard. There was a loud crunching sound as Udon's hand was crushed to powder. He screamed painfully and loudly, and tears flowed from his eyes from the pain. Mizuki smirked and let go of the crumpled hand, which dropped to the floor.
"Stupid kid." Mizuki harshly called out and held the boy up by his neck, and tossed him aside like a child would a toy. Udon was tossed back toward the crowd, where he lied in a fetal position, cradling his crushed hand, tears falling from his eyes.
"Udon!" Moegi cried and ran over to his side, soon to be followed by the other townsfolk.
"Stupid kid. Attacking me, an Akatsuki official, like that. This town deserves to be destroyed." Mizuki arrogantly said and walked forward toward the boy. The crowd that had gathered at his side immediately dispersed. Akatsuki had driven fear into the corner of everyone's heart; even the most boldest of men wouldn't dare to go against any of Akatsuki's men, for they would always meet a cruel and grisly demise.
"Idiot boy. You better save that anger for later, cuz' all you and your little friends are going to sent to the camps." Mizuki said, this time with a slight quiver of fear at mentioning "the camps." Akatsuki, had long since decreed that all newborn babies would be turned over to them, inspected to make sure they were healthy, and then trained to be the perfect killers from a young age. Of course, several babies avoided being taken at birth, but even then, they would eventually be caught and sent to the training camps, where Akatsuki took all the children and trained them to be ideal shinobi, perfect emotionless killing machines who would become Akatsuki's army of shinobi, ensuring their continued power and dominance.
"Isn't that right, boy?" Mizuki sneered and picked up Udon by the collar and held him up "Now obey my commands and quiet down, brat."
Udon struggled uselessly before opening his eyes and gritting his teeth in determination "Never." He spat in Mizuki's face and punched Mizuki right on the side of the face with his one good hand.
"Y-you BRAT! I'LL KILL YOU!" Insanity gleamed in Mizuki's eyes. His face was red, shaking with anger.
"UDON!" Many people cried and immediately rushed back toward Udon, but it was useless.
"YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD BRAT!" Mizuki roughly threw Udon to the ground and held up a kunai in his hand. "I'll make you die nice and slow, painfully."
Udon closed his eyes tightly and held his hands up in front of himself automatically, in a last-ditch attempt to defend himself. He waited for death to come, but the cold metal of the kunai never came.
There was a cling sound as metal came into contact with other metal.
A stranger, one that no one recognized, blocked the kunai with his gauntlet covered right arm. He was dressed with a long black cloak over a horrendous ugly orange jumpsuit with various designs. His right arm bore a large silver gauntlet that blocked the kunai while his left arm was bare. He had spiky blonde hair, wild and untamable, with deep blue eyes.
"W-who the hell are you?" Mizuki growled angrily, as he tried to push the kunai harder. The boy didn't yield a single bit, and kept up his own hand. The two struggled to overpower each other until Mizuki finally disengaged and jumped away.
"Hey kid, are you alright?" the boy asked Udon, who gently cradled his injured hand, still sniffling. The boy kneeled downward and examined the injured hand quickly, before wrapping it gently in a bandage that he produced from nowhere.
"The fuck is your problem, kid!" Mizuki growled once more and charged at the blonde boy, who braced himself for the oncoming attack. "I'll kill you!"
Mizuki unslung his enormous windmill shuriken from his back and held it by the enormous handhold in the middle. He swung the giant shuriken wildly.
The stranger jumped back to avoid the first swing and leapt into the air, but that was what Mizuki was waiting for. As the boy was in the air, Mizuki used the force from his first swing and threw the shuriken, this time with more obvious skill and proficiency of a shinobi.
"Heh! It's over!" Mizuki shouted as the shuriken neared the boy. Just before the shuriken hit, a burst of cloud appeared and a log replaced the boy, which became impaled by the enormous shuriken.
"Kawarimi?" Mizuki whirled about to see the blonde stranger, who had reappeared behind him. "I see…you can use ninjutsu? Who the hell are you? A shinobi?"
"Ah, that's right; I never introduced myself." The boy indicated himself "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it, cuz I'm the one who's gonna beat you up!"
Mizuki looked down and laughed quietly "Beat me up? Huh… DON'T THINK THAT HIGH OF YOURSELF, YOU SHITTY BRAT!" Mizuki roared and charged at Naruto, pulling out a kunai and gripping it tightly. Mizuki swung his kunai repeatedly in many slashes. Naruto dodged each slash with ease, jumping back with each slash.
"I'll kill you!"
One slash from the kunai came dangerously close to Naruto, but that was all he needed. Naruto immediately ducked under and pushed Mizuki's kunai wielding hand out of the way. Within an instant, Mizuki was being forced back, using his arms to block the many punches and kicks sent at him.
When Mizuki finally regained his stance, Naruto suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Mizuki with a blur and aimed a kick directly in the center of his back.
"GAH!" Mizuki spat out blood as the impact from the kick struck with an enormous amount of power. He shot away, the force of the kick amazingly powerful and enforced with chakra.
He crashed right into a tree, splintering the wood and crushing it. Naruto breathing was only slightly heavy, as he began to walk forward toward the fallen Mizuki.
"I'll give you one warning. Get out of here and never show your face here again, or I'll give you my word that you'll regret it. And I don't go back on my words." Naruto dangerously said, his voice a little more than a whisper. For the first time in a long time, Mizuki felt fear, a creepy cold feeling rushing down his spine, preventing all possible movements.
A fear that could not be broken, one that shook him to his very core and would shock his soul for an eternity. His body was frozen in place, unable to move and the sheer amount of killing intent rolling off of the boy was enough to make Mizuki shake in unrestrained fear.
Mizuki tried to bring himself up to stare in the eyes of the demon before him, but he couldn't. His own body refused to meet the eyes of the boy that was now releasing a massive killer intent. Killer intent was said to be the aura that a person would give off, depending on the murderous intent they had and the amount of kills they have made.
And right now, the thousands of people the boy had killed could felt in the very aura surrounding him.
The killing intent was directed at Mizuki directly, so as to not let the townsfolk feel its effect. Mizuki's body shook for what seemed to be an eternity before he shakily stood up, his body hardly responding to the commands his own mind gave him. Mizuki's throat closed involuntarily, and his breathing nearly stopped. Mizuki just squeaked a little and immediately turned around and ran away, running for his very life. As soon as he turned around, the effects of the killing intent disappeared and Mizuki returned to normal.
"I won't forget this, brat!" Mizuki called back, trying to save his face in the crowd of people. Right now, it was time to get some reinforcements. Mizuki sprinted as fast as he could, toward the encampment where he knew he could get the forces he needed to take down the blonde boy or it could be to get out of the boy's presence. "I'll definitely get back at that kid…. Uzumaki Naruto…I'll fucking kill him."
Back at the town, Naruto observed the quickly fading silhouette of Mizuki. After the figure had disappeared from the horizon, Naruto turned around and began to walk his own way.
"Wait!" a town elder called out "Where are you going boy? Who are you?"
Naruto turned his head around and called out "I'm hungry. I'm gonna go get some lunch. You want some?"
"OI! This isn't the time for that!" a man called out. "You just hit an official of Akatsuki! We're doomed!"
"Why the hell did you do it? Now they won't let us escape with our lives!"
"You fool! Do you think you can defeat Akatsuki? You've ruined us! We can't-" any further complaints from the people were interrupted by the blonde, who coolly lifted up a hand and feigned ignorance.
"So what? If they come, then I'll just beat them all. So, if you'll excuse me, my stomachs calling. Oh, and you might want to get a doctor, for that kid over there."
The blonde turned and went his own way, leaving behind a crowd of astonished people. A doctor quickly rushed out from the group and tended to the crying Udon, who was being comforted by Moegi.
"That brat…who the hell is he?" a similar thought ran through the minds of everyone present.
It had been about 4 hours since Mizuki's fight against Naruto. Mizuki rested on a folding chair within a ragged camp, full of old and weary tents. A fire was lit in front of him, giving off only minimal warmth.
Seated across from the silver haired chuunin was a group of ninja, all of them wearing a similar uniform, a black vest over black clothes, with blood red designs scattered throughout.
"So you're saying this brat beat the hell out of teichou?" A rough looking man said, his anger evident in his quivering voice.
"That fucker. I'll kill him!" several shinobi voiced similar things.
"This Uzumaki Naruto…he knows ninjutsu…he performed the kawarimi with proficiency." Mizuki said sharply "He's not that much of a threat. With us against him, he'll be taken care of easily. He should be around D or C class level shinobi." Mizuki didn't mention that he had been defeated easily.
"Then let's get over to that town and kill that bastard, along with everyone else."
A roar of approval rang throughout the encampment.
"We'll show everyone that nobody stands up against us! Officials of Akatsuki's Shugaki. Let's go kill that brat!"
Their voices were full of bloodlust and eagerness. The sun had already set and hid its face, creating a world of shadows. A world that was the natural environment for any shinobi.
The shinobi dispersed, and dark shadows raced throughout the trees that night.
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto cheerfully called out, and split his chopsticks apart. He immediately went to work on the bowl of ramen set before him, slurping up noodles like it was the end of the world.
"Umm… aren't you eating a little too fast?"
The bar owner looked on in fear as the blonde kid completely devoured the bowl within seconds. In fact, many bystanders just stopped their, staring at the ravenous boy before them.
Naruto finally finished and held out his bowl with a cheerful and contented grin plastered onto his face. "Seconds!"
"Uh?" the bar owner looked confused but he took the customer's order. It turned out to be quite a mistake.
Within the time frame of about 20 minutes, every drop of broth and every scrap of ramen in the entire stand had disappeared into the mouth of Naruto, and sent off to who-knows-where.
"Ah! That was good. Thanks for the meal. Got any more, ossan?"
"HELL NO! You cleaned me all out! Here's the bill!" the owner seemed shock that such a short kid could eat so much and still want more. He handed the slip of paper toward the boy.
"Hmm…. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Naruto screamed in shock as he stared at the bill before him. "That's not right! I only had one or two bowls!"
"YOU ATE EVERY BIT OF RAMEN WE HAVE!" the owner glared at the boy, astounded that he could forget that. The enormous pile of empty bowls next to the boy was proof of his gluttony.
"B-b-but, I don't have enough money…" Naruto pulled out a frog wallet and opened it, where a single lone coin fell out.
"HEY! That's not enough to buy a single bowl! Y-you!" The owner shrieked and looked ready to strangle the chuckling blonde boy sitting before him.
"I'll pay for him." Another person walked into the bar, a man with long brown hair tied into a ponytail and a long scar across his nose.
"Ah! Iruka-kun! How's it going these days, at school?" the bar owner immediately changed attitudes, and became much more pleasant.
"Fine. It's a little hard these days, especially with everyone sleeping in the middle of class."
Iruka was the sole teacher of the school in town, and was quite a well-loved man in the community. He was well known for his kindness, especially to children. No one knew about the enormous scar that cut horizontally across his face and no one asked.
Naruto cheerfully made his perpetual grin even wider and held up a hand in thanks "Thanks! I owe you one! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet ya."
"Nice to meet you to Naruto-kun. I'm Iruka, the teacher at the school here."
"Ah! Then you're Iruka-sensei! Well, thanks for paying for my meal, I owe you big time! Umm…let's see…" Naruto pondered over something in his mind while Iruka softly chuckled.
"Naruto-kun, what brings you to this town? I'm sure that I've never seen you here before." Iruka asked curiously, while accepting a cup of water from the bar owner.
"Me? I'm just here to visit an old friend I haven't seen in a while." Naruto said, his eyes closed in remembrance.
"Then…why did you attack those Akatsuki?" Iruka asked, with a more serious expression on his face. Naruto kept up his perpetual grin.
"Why wouldn't I attack them? They hurt a small kid and attacked people from this town. It's my honor and duty to fight against those who pick on the people weaker than them. After all, I promised to get rid of Akatsuki forever, and I never go back on my words." Naruto nonchalantly said, picking at his teeth with a toothpick. Iruka laughed, thinking it was a joke. After all, who could think that such a young boy would even dare to stand up against Akatsuki?
"That's a nice dream you got there, Naruto-kun. But I'm surprised, for such a young man as yourself to be able to utilize ninjutsu and defeat a man larger and older than you, let alone a shinobi of Akatsuki." Iruka said, evidently interested in the blonde.
"That man was definitely not a shinobi." Naruto said, his grin fading a little. "Shinobi aren't like that."
"Really, Naruto-kun? How would you decide that? He does work for Akatsuki, and all they hire are shinobi."
"If a tiny kitten said he was a lion, would it be true? Just because he said it, it doesn't mean he's a shinobi. A true shinobi…" Naruto looked up into the night sky, his eyes closed in remembrance "is something someone becomes when they wish to protect those precious to them."
Iruka stared at Naruto in shock "I've heard those words before. Naruto-kun, where did you learn those words?"
"An old friend. He taught me that shinobi aren't just mere tools of killing. They aren't just strong people who know ninjutsu and can throw a few punches or weapons. A shinobi is one that protects their precious people, and live with pride and honor to fight to protect people. That man can never be a shinobi, for he neither carries the spirit of a shinobi or fights to protect." Naruto said, his eyes directed away and a peaceful expression on his face, a genuine smile decorated on his face.
"Y-you…" Iruka asked astonished. He had never heard such words like this in a long time. No, the last time someone spoke of things like this…was during the time of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
"Naruto-kun, I haven't heard words like that in a long time. You remind me…of the former Konoha shinobi, the proudest warriors of their time."
"Oh? You know about them?"
"Yes. I was only a small boy when Akatsuki took over." Iruka's eyes slightly glazed over, his memories surfacing.
"I see." Naruto nodded sympathetically "Well then, thanks for the meal. I've gotta go now. It's getting kind of late." Naruto stood up and took his leave, disappearing into the blackness of the light.
Iruka relaxed in his seat, his eyes closed and his smile in contentment. He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out something that resembled a blue headband and grasped it tightly in his hand.
I see…so the Will of Fire and the Shinobi Spirit still lives on…"We're here." A figure dressed completely in black with his face covered by a traditional ninja mask whispered, his movements fluid and quiet.
"The kid has blonde hair and 3 whisker marks on each cheek. Don't underestimate him, he's obviously had shinobi training." The figures that were expertly hidden in the shadows of the bushes nodded.
"We move in, undetected and secure all strategic points in the town. All exit gates must be covered, as well as any common gather places. Don't forget about setting up traps and bombs. Let no one leave the town alive. Let's move." The shinobi acknowledged the leader's commands and jumped out of place, charging quickly but silently in the town. The leader was the silver haired Chuunin that was only here earlier today.
"I'll get my revenge, Uzumaki Naruto." Mizuki whispered evilly, and pulled out an enormous windmill shuriken that he had strapped on his back. It was folded to be shaped into a single blade. "Let's roll!"
Each shinobi of the twenty-man squad went their own separate ways, each of them keeping a distance away from each other so as to not run into each other paths. They charged, quickly and quietly to the areas that they were ordered to. They ran, shinobi-style, in a stealthy but quick fashion and went virtually undetected. Until one man happened to chance outside for a late night stroll.
"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?" the man called out, as he saw the figure dressed completely in black run towards him.
The figure chose not to respond, but pulled out a few shuriken and tossed it quickly. The man fell to the ground, silenced forever.
"All teams, we are in position. Let's let them have it." A voice burst from the headset radio that all of the shinobi had.
"Understood." A voice came from the frequency and in unison, 20 ninjas from all across the town formed a hand seal and several exploding tags that each shinobi had dropped while they sneaked in, erupted in a hailstorm of smoke and fire. Within moments, half of the entire town erupted in flame.
Screams were heard all around town, only to be muffled by thunderous roar of explosions. Carefully placed traps fired hundreds of shurikens, kunai, poison gas bombs and explosive notes at those who were unfortunate enough to step on the hidden strings located throughout town. The few that managed to reach the exit had tripped a trap that set off numerous exploding tags, destroying everyone that crossed the exit gates.
It was a massacre. People were killed left and right with no mercy. Twenty dark shadows jumped all around town, killing people left and right, be it children, men or women, they were all killed mercilessly, with their blood splattering all over the ground. Bloody kunai, swords, and fists were their weapons, stained with the blood of hundreds of innocents.
They hurled specially created bombs and threw kunai with explosive tags attached to maximize damage.
It was not yet 5 minutes in the ambush, and nearly half of the small town was demolished, and a third of its inhabitants were slaughtered. It was then, when Iruka emerged, dressed in a light green shinobi vest over a blue uniform. His hair was tied up and a Konoha forehead protector covered his forehead.
"I won't let you destroy this town, Mizuki!" Iruka roared and pulled out his kunai and immediately rushed into the fray, searching for the ninja. He tore through the scattered rubble and dashed past the bloodied corpses that littered the crowd.
Every sight of a dead body was a knife to his heart. Every burning building and spot of blood only served to fuel his rage, a rage that burned deep within him.
It was long since said that an enraged shinobi is the most dangerous one. Iruka was now a living proof of this, as his aura emanated darkness and hatred filled with unbridled fury.
"MIZUKI!" Iruka roared with hatred and charged through the ruins of his home. He was unstoppable, full of anger and fury.
"Unforgiveable…you're despicable, MIZUKI!"
As he charged recklessly, Iruka finally chanced upon one of the twenty ninjas attacking the town. With a roar, Iruka attacked him with surprising speed, his razor sharp kunai drawn in his right hand. The shinobi, surprised, blocked the attack with his own kunai.
The two clashed and struggled to gain a position of power. Iruka roared and pulled all of his own strength as well as his fury into his arms and forced the shinobi off balance. Iruka took the opening and charged forward, sending a furious barrage of punches and kicks at the shinobi, who was beaten back mercilessly.
Iruka raised his kunai bearing hand to deal the killing blow, until 2 more shinobi appeared behind him, wielding long katanas. They sliced at him while his back was exposed, but were only met by a smoke cloud and a log replacing Iruka. The two shinobi brushed the log aside, and searched for their target.
"HAAA!" Iruka sliced his kunai downward onto the two. However, they were already prepared, and turned around, swinging their swords through Iruka. They smirked, expecting blood and the horrifying sound of metal slicing deep into flesh, but only found that the Iruka they were slashing apart disappeared with a misty haze.
"A bunshin!" one of them cried out and whirled about, searching for Iruka, who appeared right where the log once laid.
"No way! That was a henge!" the shinobi managed to scream before Iruka kicked with both legs and knocked them out with ease. He was about to deliver the killing blow until he heard the metallic sound of a shuriken being thrown. He immediately jumped back and dodged the thrown shuriken.
As Iruka turned to face the attacker, he was quite surprised.
"It's been a while, Iruka-kun." Mizuki grinned and spread out the four blades of his giant windmill shuriken. Behind him, were four of his comrades, each of them heavily armed to the teeth.
"Mizuki!" Iruka snarled and braced himself.
"Why, I can't believe you were hiding out here in this town. You should have just joined Akatsuki when Konoha fell, along with me. Ah well, you did well, but what hope do you have against all 20 of us?" Mizuki chuckled and braced his weapon. "I'll give you one chance. Help us find a Uzumaki Naruto and take care of a few people here, and I'll let you walk away."
"Like hell I'd betray my home, bastard! I won't forgive you!" Iruka roared and charged forward at Mizuki.
"Well, if that's what you decide, old friend." Mizuki motioned and he and his comrades stepped forward. "I'll make sure your little town is blown to bits!"
Naruto awoke with a start from his perch on a tree, where he had been sleeping for the night with his cloak as a blanket. He yawned loudly, and ruffled his hair with his hand, still clearly tired.
"Maa…What to do today?" Naruto shrugged and leapt off from the branch "I guess I'll go get some ramen and get back on the road…"
Naruto cheerfully whispered and strolled along the long path to town. It was nearly an hour's walk back to the town, though why Naruto had to make his camp so far was unknown, even to Naruto himself.
As he finally arrived close enough to see the town, he noticed a long pillar of smoke arising from the town. He immediately dropped his cheerful attitude and leapt forward, running as fast as he could, with amazing speed. What he found was not pleasant at all.
The entire town was in rubbles, smoke rising from the blackened stone. Corpse after corpse was stacked on top of each other, forming an enormous mound in the center of the ruins.
Everywhere was dust and ash. Scorched bodies laid in wretched positions, the horror, pain, and anguish visible on their charred faces. Leftover blood stained the ground, wherever there was a space that was not occupied with a corpse or the leftover ruins of a burned out home or building. A few survivors stood, huddled or sat down in disbelief, their souls completely lost, their eyes empty and blank. Injured and non-injured, men and women, children and seniors, all of them struck with trauma and their movements slow and zombie-like.
For Naruto, his world had come to a stop. Everywhere, he saw red. Red of the blood that covered the area. The sky that seemed to be stained red as if the heavens themselves were bleeding. The bloodied survivors, covered in their own blood or the blood of the corpses. Everything was red, just like those days in imprisonment. The shock in Naruto's mind grew and grew until he lost all control of his thoughts and could only see the horror, the torture and anguish.
For a brief moment, Naruto's irises flashed red and the surrounding aura burned bright. He did nothing, his face pointed downward and hidden by his bangs. The entire world seemed to be shimmering, shaking.
"Naruto-niichan!" A familiar voice rang out. It was Udon, his injured hand in a sling, while his eyes still bore the signs of trauma.
"Naruto-niichan!" he repeated, "Help! Iruka-sensei is in trouble!"
Naruto chose not to respond, but kept his head lowered. Udon continued, his voice frantic "He ran out of the village, and the rest of the ninja followed him! Naruto-niichan! You're a ninja right? You can do ninjutsu right? Please help him!"
Udon pleaded with tears beginning to fall from his eyes. Naruto remained perfectly still with the exception of his gauntlet-protect right hand, which he reached deep inside his trench coat pocket and pulled out a strip of black cloth. He slowly tied it around his forehead, each movement slow but fluid like flowing water.
Udon stared on, mystified, as Naruto tied the Konoha forehead protector around his forehead. Naruto slowly looked up, his face grim and set in determination. Without a word, Naruto slowly trudged out of the village, his face grim and determination set. Udon managed to yell out before he left.
"Where are you going?"
Naruto simply looked back over his shoulder, his face still full of determination " I gave him my word that if he showed his face here again, he would regret it. I never go back on my words, that's my way of the ninja." Naruto then continued on his way out of the burned village, the dawn of a new sun in front of him.
--------------------------------------------
"Heh, Iruka, I never expected you to last this long. Surely, retirement must have made you weaker?"
Mizuki stood in front of Iruka, who was beaten badly with blood leaking from his many wounds. The twenty ninjas in Mizuki's squad surrounded Iruka, all of them sporting only minor injuries. Iruka breathed heavily, and knelt down on one knee, his hand trying to stop the flow of blood from a particularly deep gash on his shoulder.
"You've led us on a long chance, bastard. But it doesn't matter, because once we kill you, we'll head back to what's left of your town and kill whoever's left, including that blonde kid." Mizuki hissed, his voice angry. Iruka, who was easily beaten by the twenty ninjas, had quickly escaped, leading the ninja squad on a wild goose chase throughout the remainder of the night, until his wounds finally succumbed and they caught up.
"Is that it? Is that what you call true strength? You wanted to protect your village but you couldn't do shit! That's the so-called true strength that you always talked about, to protect things precious to you? What a joke, you can't do shit. Why the hell do you still wear the Konoha forehead protector? That place has been destroyed long ago, fool." Mizuki spat in Iruka's face. Mizuki tore the forehead protector off of Iruka, and threw it into the ground, stomping on it with his foot.
Iruka looked up, his face beaten and bleeding. Damn…I don't have any strength left…this is my limit. But I hope it's enough, for everyone to get away. Especially Naruto-kun. Iruka's strength failed and his body fell even lower to the ground. That boy, he still carries the old spirit of shinobi. He might one day…one day…destroy Akatsuki once and for all. That's why…that's why…
Iruka fully collapsed to the ground this time, his breathing labored Uzumaki Naruto, you have inherited the Will of Fire, the spirit of Konoha. So go and live on, and fight to protect. Iruka's consciousness slowly faded away, his failing body no longer able to keep up. Mizuki said, "I'll give you one last chance, Iruka-kun, join us, or die."
"Never."
"THEN DIE!" Mizuki screeched and swung his folded windmill shuriken at the crumpled form of Iruka, who closed his eyes tightly and waited for his death. But the blow never came.
Iruka slowly opened his eyes and saw Naruto, blocking the enormous shuriken, with his…head? Blood leaked from Naruto's forehead and the windmill shuriken was sent backward from the impact. That was when Iruka saw what Naruto was wearing on his forehead.
A Konoha forehead protector? I see…he truly is…a Konoha shinobi…"Who the hell are you? And why the hell are you wearing that outlawed forehead protector?" one of the surrounding ninjas called out. Mizuki's eyes widened at the sight of the blonde, dressed in a black cloak over orange clothes, with the pride of a shinobi.
"You tried to hurt everyone." Naruto whispered in a dangerous way. "You killed people."
"So? What the fuck is that to you?" a shinobi yelled angrily.
"Because, it is my duty to protect everyone, from Akatsuki. That's why I won't forgive you. And then…" Naruto picked up the dirtied Konoha forehead protector that was on the ground, which was similar to his except with a blue cloth. "You desecrated this forehead protector."
"So what?"
"The forehead protector that a shinobi wears…IS THE PRIDE OF A SHINOBI!" Naruto roared "It tells the world that 'I am a shinobi, someone who is willing to die for people precious to me!' and it is the pride of every shinobi, the forehead protector that shows our home, the one we would die to protect, and who we are, and why we are shinobi!"
"Heh, what the fuck does that mean, it's only a head band!" Mizuki yelled, "Now stop with your moral lectures. I'll kill you now, UZUMAKI NARUTO!"
"You can't take on all of us! We'll kill you a thousand times over!" the shinobis charged at Naruto, their fists and weapons raised.
"So what? Then I'll return that pain…a hundred times over!" Naruto formed a hand seal in the shape of a cross with both hands. "Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
An enormous smoke cloud covered the area, and a loud noise sounded through the foggy area. The shinobis all coughed as they tried the breath the air, but only ended with fog within their lungs. Slowly but surely, the cloud of smoke lifted and whatever happened was completely visible.
"W-w-what the hell is going on?" Mizuki shouted as he gaped at the scene before him. Mizuki's comrades were also stunned, their mouths agape and their bodies as still as the night.
A countless number of Naruto's clones, each perfectly identical to the one standing next to him. All of them set in different poses with varying expressions on their faces, but all of them with varying degrees of aggressiveness, from closed fists to snarls of anger.
"Now then…" hundreds of them said.
"LET'S GO!" the rest of the enormous army of Naruto's clones roared and leapt forward, their fists bared. Mizuki and his men stood there, scared to death and could only moan and scream for their lives as they were pummeled by the army of clones.
Iruka looked on the scene in shock, his mind hardly believing the images that his eyes were sending it. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, a kinjutsu that creates actual clones made from chakra rather than creating a mass of chakra formed to make an illusion! For this kid to know such a high level forbidden technique…and to be able to create so many clones. He must have an enormous amount of chakra. This kid…who is he?
The Akatsuki officials were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of clones, and they were beaten with thousands of punches and kicks. Soon, they were all on the ground, easily beaten and unconscious. Naruto dispersed the remainder of the clones, and they all went out with puffs of cloud.
Iruka could only gasp with shock, staring at the scene with absolute disbelief. Naruto reached down to pick up something and handed it to Iruka. It was his forehead protector.
"Here you dropped this."
Iruka glanced at the forehead protector for a moment and grabbed the forehead protector slowly, with importance in his movements. He held it for a moment before he tied it around his forehead. For a moment, the two Konoha shinobi stared at each other as equals, their forehead protectors shining brightly and proud. Iruka smiled and looked back up "Arigato, Naruto-kun. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it."
"Mmm." Naruto grunted his response "Oh, by the way, I'm sorry about your town. If you need a place to stay, I know of a place, one where Akatsuki's rule doesn't reach. Now then, let's go."
Iruka nodded and stood to leave, along with the blonde boy, as they slowly trudged back to the burned town together. As they strolled, Iruka grinned.
"I'll look forward to the day when you destroy Akatsuki."
Naruto laughed and grinned "Yeah." Iruka turned back, and looked up at the new dawn, the sun shining through the dark clouds of the empty night.
-
That was how I met him, and from that moment, I knew that the boy was destined to do something important. He carried an air around him, a special aura that I had never felt in a long time. He was like the old Konoha shinobi, proud warriors willing to die to defend everyone.
And from that moment, I instinctively knew that he was the person who would save us all. He was the boy who would give us a new hope, a new life, and a new dawn, from which we could start over our lives anew. He carried a hope, one that I and all others who would come to know him would come to recognize as his greatest strength.
He was Uzumaki Naruto, the boy, no man who would one day bring us all freedom.
A/N That was slightly longer than I expected. This chapter isn't exactly important to the storyline or anything. I just wrote it to build some character and make a nice side story. I hoped you guys liked it. I'll write some more soon, and gradually, more characters from the Naruto canon will appear. The next chapter will be a little more important to the storyline, not just a sidestory sort of thing.
I'm not too proud of this chapter, but I was preoccupied with other things, so I couldn't put all of my effort into writing this. I thought it got a little rushed especially at the end there. I'll try to devote more effort into the next chapter.
Oh and here is a glossary for Japanese terms. I don't bother to list the small things, such as honourifics. You can annoy all of that. I simply wrote it just because I think the Japanese makes the dialogue much better. Though I don't like it when there's too much of that...authors trying to show their terrible Japanese...
Shugaki – Writing in Red. I don't know if there is a figurative meaning for this word. It's a name of an Akatsuki organization that I'll explain later.
Hitai-ate – forehead protector. I'll be using this more and more, because its quicker to type.
Kawarimi no Jutsu – (Body Replacement technique) a ninjutsu that a replaces a ninja with an object. Technical explanation in the episode with Kakashi's survival training episode (Episode 2? Or was it 3? Or maybe 4…or 5….) But basically, the ninja grabs an object and replaces himself at the last moment. I think.
Henge no Jutsu – (Transformation technique) – the ninja's temporarily transforms into the image of another object. No clue how this works.
Bunshin no Jutsu – (Clone technique) creates an identical illusion of the user, which can be used for distractions.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – (Shadow Clone technique) creates an actual clone of the user, which is actually solid and has its own chakra system. But it's usually destroyed after being hit once. Later uses will be explained.
So, please give any suggestions/comments/criticisms and let me know how I'm doing. Please review. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time then.