Chapter 1: Visitations
- In which the blood-soaked blades of a lone assassin change Naruto's life forever.
Disclaimer: Dead horse. That is all.
-++++- Fuujin -++++-
Village of Konohagakure, November 28, Year X241. 0100 hours.
The sounds of frantic footsteps and rasping metal blades echoed through the still, midnight air of Konohagakure.
A ten-year-old Uzumaki Naruto bolted through the streets and into dark alleyways. If anyone was out in the street that chilly November night, they would have witnessed the terror in the boy's movement; almost curling in on himself as he ran, clutching a black book whose cover displayed a solitary cloud etched in gray. Anyone brave enough - or stupid enough - to try and jeer at the village pariah as he scurried past would have been summarily cut down by the dark-skinned, partially masked figure tailing the boy. Two tantō were strapped at his hip and a burlap sack was slung across his back. At a second glance, an astute observer could tell that the assailant's hitai-ate sported the same symbol as the one on the book.
It was a shame that most people wouldn't get the chance for even a first glance, much less a second.
The man could not - would not - let a simple child escape him in a moment of hesitance. The brat had pilfered important documents, ones that would bring the entire operation crashing down around his head if they were brought to the Hokage's eyes. Too much time, too much effort, too much energy masquerading as a bumbling Kumo diplomat - too much of everything had been funneled into the newly-christened Bloodline Procurement Project, just to be stopped cold by the dumb luck of a damn street urchin.
The masked man did not want to think of the slow death he would receive at the hands of Konoha's interrogation corps. Especially not at the hands of someone as infamous as Morino Ibiki. The things he did to men made even seasoned genjutsu specialists uneasy.
Even if he did retrieve the documents, there was the chance that the boy had enough presence of mind to memorize some of its contents. The only option left would be to neutralize the child, but even that would cut away at the precious little time he had left. Any moment now, ANBU would be on his tail, and he was uncomfortably aware that his skills were not enough to evade an entire squad of elite trackers after his hide. The entire debacle was growing ever more convoluted, and he couldn't suppress the shudder that went down his spine.
He caught himself in his mounting panic. Unacceptable.
He was a jounin of Kumo. Kumo-nin most certainly did not quake in fear.
Despite - or perhaps because of - his increasingly morbid thoughts, his muscles flexed and his highly-trained eyes locked in on the blond child in tattered clothes, darting in and out of vantage points like an insect. A vague corner of his mind was impressed; the child was quick on his feet, could turn on a dime and took every opportunity to deceive the man behind him. It was evident that the boy had had ample practice.
For one so outwardly young, he'd taken very well to the life of the homeless, even in a place as placid as Konoha. Perhaps, under different circumstances, he would've made a good ninja.
But now was not the time to dwell on could-haves or would-haves.
The Hyuuga girl would be delivered, the mission would succeed, and the boy who dared cross Kumogakure would die. Simple as that.
-++++- Fuujin -++++-
Hyuuga Compound, November 28, Year X241. 0102 hours.
Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared with a barely noticeable shunshin at the front doors of the imposing abode of the Hyuuga, awake and bristling. He had received a rather frantic chakra pulse from the emergency response seals mere seconds ago. "...and when I was sound asleep, no less," the Hokage grumbled to himself. He had taken thirty seconds to arrive (a touch longer than it should have taken, but he was asleep when he got the call), decked in his always-worn, but seldom-shown ANBU commander combat gear.
Absently, Hiruzen frowned at how infrequently he had the liberty of dressing in his personal gear, rather than the overly large Hokage robes. It was placating to the civilian population to show their leader as a human rather than a soldier, but needless clothes were needless openings for attack, should he be accosted in his own office. There was protocol to follow, naturally, but he'd never heard of protocol becoming a safety hazard.
Perhaps it was time he changed that. But for now, more pressing matters awaited.
Pushing the political tripe to the back of his mind, he focused his gaze upon Hiashi Hyuuga and what seemed to be an impromptu task force of Hyuuga jounin. They stood with a rigidity that may have been their deference to their Hokage, or simply Hyuuga etiquette. It did not matter, so long as they were ready. He turned to Hiashi, who seemed impassive in the face of a potentially serious breach in security. Then again, for a man with near-statuesque emotional control, he could probably look impassive while his legs were being chopped off.
"Hiashi-san. Details."
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Hiashi started. "The Kumo diplomat sent to discuss further cessation of hostilities between Kumo and Konoha has conducted the murder of three of my Clan, one of which was your ANBU under the codename Snake-45. Furthermore, the agent has kidnapped my eldest daughter, Hinata." At this, Hiashi's normally stoic face split into a snarl; he did not take kindly to attacks against his family, much less direct family. "I must also inform you that one Uzumaki Naruto has managed to subvert the assailant's efforts somewhat by intercepting and coming into possession of their identification papers and mission orders. The agent has since traveled in pursuit of Uzumaki."
Throughout Hiashi's explanation, Hiruzen's expression steadily grew somber, until Naruto's involvement was brought to focus. In an instant, his muscles tensed dangerously. Naruto was easily the last person he wanted to see in the enemy's hands. The boy's nine-tailed tenant went without saying, but he would sooner fight the infernal fox mano-a-mano than let the son of Minato Namikaze perish because he and his ANBU were even two seconds too late. He sent a hard glare towards Hiashi.
"Does the enemy know of Naruto's status?" Hiruzen queried - no, commanded.
"Highly unlikely, Hokage-sama. If it were the case, I would assume my daughter would be but a secondary objective." After all, which village could resist a brand-new jinchuuriki, even over the likes of a child with a vaunted bloodline?
"I see." Hiruzen turned back to the trees, and rapidly coursed through a series of ANBU hand signs: Squads 2 and 5, follow ally detail. Squads 1, 3, 4, pursue target. Victim safety top priority. Attempt non-lethal. Infuriated though he was at Kumo's diplomatic about-face, he would not have the death of one of their ninja used as a bargaining chip against him. It wasn't past the Raikage to stoop that low, especially considering Kaminari no Kuni's desperate shortage of ninja forces after the war.
"Hiashi-san, please provide my squads with any tracking information that may help. Time is of the essence." He flashed through a series of hand-seals before placing two fingers, now wreathed in faint blue chakra, against his temples.
Exhaling deeply, the wizened old Hokage extended his senses across Konoha in a series of chakra pulses, letting the echolocation jutsu pick up any and all chakra signatures in its path. Several of the Hyuuga present hissed in pain and shut off their Byakugan; to chakra-sensitive eyes, a chakra pulse as large as the Hokage's had much of the same effect as a point-blank flashbang tag.
Soon, a detailed chakra signature map of Konoha was formed in his mind. Inwardly, he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer size and vivacity of Konoha, even in the dead of night. The faint flickers of civilians, with just enough chakra to survive, and the budding embers of genin and genin-to-be dotted his mindscape in a muted conflagration of light, constellations of life to rival the stars in the sky.
Amongst those flickers and embers were the men and women graduated from the maturing genin ranks, true ninja - the steady flames of the village's plentiful chuunin ranks, the measured, intimidating blazes of the jounin, and the silent, yet undeniably white-hot coals of the perfectly disciplined ANBU.
Amongst these innumerable fires of life, Hiruzen Sarutobi could pick out any ninja, and even some civilians despite their near-uniform signatures. But those skills mattered not when the object of his determined search may as well have lit a bonfire atop the Hokage's Tower.
In a city of mere flames, Uzumaki Naruto was an unbridled inferno. His mere presence was nearly enough to blot out the jounin-level signature just behind him. Consequently, it was impossible to search for the signature of a kidnapped Hyuuga child near that overflowing pillar of chakra.
Hiruzen sorely hoped that the Kumo-nin would underestimate Naruto. It was enough of a saving grace that the enemy was unaware of Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki, but that wouldn't stop them from trying to cut him down if he proved to be an obstacle. Best case scenario, ANBU caught up in time.
Worst case scenario, the enemy nin would escape after dealing grievous harm to Naruto, if not killing him outright. Hiruzen couldn't help but feel a twinge of equal parts boiling rage and primal terror at the thought.
Minato was painstakingly clear about what would happen should Naruto die before he was of age.
-++++- Fuujin -++++-
Konohagakure Back Alley, November 28, Year X241. 0105 hours.
If Naruto had the time to swear up a storm, he figured now would be the best opportunity. As it was, he was too busy bolting like a panicked Nara deer to scream any of the words he'd heard slung at him from rich bastards and drunken idiots alike over the years. All he could manage to do, in spite of his jumbled thoughts and nearly suffocating panic, were two things:
One, keep the book away from him. If the man was going to chase him for it, it must have had something to do with the girl he stuffed into that burlap sack of his. Naruto was decidedly not a fan of the burlap sack, not after his own entirely-too-close encounters with the rough, nasty-smelling material.
Two, run like hell. If he'd learned anything from watching the creepy people with the animal masks train with their blades, it was that those things were not for show.
Spotting a bend down the street, Naruto dashed for it.
Focus your eyes on a different path. Two years of escape habits kicked in, and Naruto faked his interest in a different alleyway by tensing his shoulders and pointing his head and body towards it.
Never lose sight of your destination. Naruto's eyes, however, never left his actual path. With his head turned, the man wouldn't notice where Naruto's eyes were pointed. All the better for trying to shake him off before that sword found someplace painful.
Turn quickly and without warning. Without a single moment's notice, Naruto twisted his hips to the left and thrust his right knee forwards, finding a foothold against the edge of a fruit stand. Forcing himself forwards, he bolted off the wooden ledge and down the alleyway.
Distractions and obstacles are all around you. Use them. Naruto had had the idea to grab the mosquito screen draped over the front of the store. Spreading it out, he flung it behind him, hoping to catch the ninja in it. The rasp of a blade leaving its sheath and the soft shnk of thin cloth being shredded quickly dashed those hopes. God dammit!
Whatever you do, don't look back. Naruto remembered the old homeless man's last few sentences the best. Back was giving up. Back was risking your safety. Back was everything wrong with your life nipping at your heels, trying to pull you down into the goddamn pits of hell itself, and the only thing you could do was to make sure you never looked back.
They almost felt like parting words. To be honest, Naruto could never tell; the first and only time he'd met the hobo in person, Naruto had left just as quick as he'd arrived, sporting several large bruises and a nasty shiner from the senile bastard, who'd seen it fit to fly into an apoplectic rage at the mere sight of his face. It was almost impressive, seeing just how easy it was to hate someone on sight; he didn't figure homeless people had the energy to spare.
Instead, Naruto had to make do with listening in on the old man while he lent a kindly hand to the other homeless in the poorer districts of Konoha. He nearly scoffed at the whispers amongst them - how the man was such a saint, so knowledgeable, so benevolent - and went on his merry way.
He had no reason to talk with the man if it was far less painful to just eavesdrop on his impromptu 'sermons', of which he'd memorized every single sentence. Hypocritical old fogey or not, the man had wisdom to share, and Naruto was neither petty nor stupid enough to ignore him on principle.
Although, Naruto thought despondently, words of wisdom don't seem amount to shit if a ninja's trying to kill you. At least he isn't throwing kunai or senbon at me.
As if on cue, the ominous crackle of static rang from one of the man's blades, unsheathed from cutting the mosquito net. The man's other hand came up, two fingers pointed upwards in a handseal - Half-ram seal. Pretty sure I've seen that one before, Naruto's mind supplied. Wait, what the hell's he gonna d-
"Kai." Naruto barely heard the man speak.
A sudden jolt of... something hit Naruto, tripping him slightly. Silent in his bewilderment, he wondered why it felt like a haze had been lifted from him - hell, he hadn't even noticed it was there until the ninja had gotten rid of it.
Whatever it was, Naruto hadn't the time to dwell on it; the man was gaining on him. Reaching into his tattered pockets, his fingers closed around his latest spoils of theft. 'If there's even one ticket out of this mess,' Naruto hoped, whirling around to aim, 'it'd have to be -'
His frantic attack was harshly interrupted, replaced by sudden pain as a thin blade crackling with white-hot electricity pierced through his shoulder. The force of the thrown weapon violently dislocated the bone and propelled his now electrified, flailing body into a wall twenty feet away. The blade lodged deep into the brick and mortar, pinning him back-first against it.
Naruto gasped in agony as white flashes of light swam in his eyes, and the world seemed to blur and darken at the edges of his vision. He fought the blinding pain and the creeping darkness as the masked man walked up to him, his second blade drawn.
"Now," he said in a clipped, controlled tone, "I believe I'll be taking that back."
-++++- Fuujin -++++-
Konohagakure, November 28, Year X241. 0107 hours.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted nothing more than to promptly execute the man who dared infiltrate Konoha to pilfer a bloodline – by kidnapping a child, no less – and would have dealt the killing blow with a smile on his face. The only thing that stayed his hand was the fact that if he did kill the target, he'd have a diplomatic nightmare on his hands.
He should have expected this; in terms of manpower, Kumogakure was severely understaffed. At this point, desperate measures and brute force tactics would be par the course.
And if anyone was good at brute force tactics, it'd be A, the Fourth Raikage.
Hiruzen knew from personal encounters that A, for all his strengths and uncanny ability to lead, was a rather impatient man. Between his reportedly loose-cannon jinchuuriki brother and the flagging ranks of his own village, he would be hard-pressed to overcome these crippling problems while still keeping a level head. Although, if Killer B's bingo-book entry detailing 'constant, poorly-constructed attempts at rapping' held any truth, he'd be surprised if any leader could live through that and not develop a hair-trigger temper.
Hiruzen resolved to keep a closer eye on merchants coming in from the Outer Continents. This 'rap' trend had all but attached itself to Killer B, and it nearly drove the Raikage insane; he didn't want to think of what would happen if it spread past Kumo.
To that end, he hazarded the guess that the final straw may not have been his moral obligations, but rather personal obligations and incessant political pressure – in the form of the civilian council.
Hiruzen had to suppress a grimace at the thought of it. Kumo and Konoha were the only two major villages to hold onto the idea of a civilian council, if only for the supposed merits of more widespread trust in their leader and the benefits of democracy. Most, if not all, of the other villages had either dismissed the idea from the start, or disposed of it after attempting to create one. The Raikage was well aware of this upon the conception of the councils, but now, Hiruzen could safely assume that A felt the same way he did - that is, that the civilian council was getting them nowhere fast, and they wouldn't ever fucking shut up.
If Kumo's civilian council was as commandeering, persistent, and utterly short-sighted as Konoha's, Hiruzen figured this would be the first time he felt a certain commiseration with A. He could only imagine how close the Raikage was to blowing a blood vessel or ten from listening to their 'benevolent suggestions'. Sure, there were things like village food supply and general power balance between the affluent and middle classes to worry about, and civilian dignitaries were genuinely useful for that, but he couldn't help but doubt their input on purely shinobi matters.
Seriously, where in all the Nations did they find the gall to suggest personal jounin to deal with their 'bureaucratic problems'?
Sadly enough, that wasn't even the most egregious display of clueless power-slinging he'd bore witness to. That dubious honour went to the single most frustrating conundrum of his life: that of a young boy named Naruto, and the civilian council's never-ending petitions for his death.
'Demon incarnate', they claimed. 'Kill it before it attacks again!' Hiruzen felt that familiar, sickly anger simmer in his gut once more.
Did they doubt the Fourth Hokage, the man they claimed the whole village loved, so much that they'd believe he'd just turned a demon fox into a child, then up and died? Did they actually have the fucking brass balls to deny clothing, food and shelter to the one boy keeping them from becoming pools of molten slag at the hands of the Kyuubi? Did they not believe that two of the Nations' most accomplished seal masters could seal away a bijuu, all on the assumption of 'bah, how can a splatter or two of ink hold back a demon?' Did they so conveniently forget that many other villages have done the same fucking thing for decades? Hell, did they even remember the boy had a seal, through their thick, hatred-addled, shit-for-brains, UTTERLY FUCKING TREASONOUS -
Hiruzen caught himself in his rapidly boiling emotions.
There is a time and place to vent, and it's neither now nor here, he reasoned to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. Lives are in danger. Naruto is in danger, and dare I think it…
A flare of chakra and the faintest of noises - human noises, Hiruzen realized - caught his attention, three districts away. He made a beeline for the disturbance, his dominant hand readying his bō staff. All the while, he couldn't help but acknowledge the growing lump of dread in his gut.
...if the worst comes to pass, all of Konoha is in danger.
-+++- Fuujin -+++-
Konohagakure Back Alley, November 28, Year X241. 0108 hours.
Naruto wasn't sure whether his vision was going white because of the sporadic arcs of lightning, or the gods-forsaken pain in his pierced shoulder.
Either way, things were not looking good for him.
The only thing left to defend himself with was sticking out of his shoulder, a foot deep in the wall behind him. It was all he had at his disposal, unfortunately. No pain, no gain, right?
Clasping his one good hand around the hilt of the blade, he attempted to tug it out. However, he nearly lost what meager food he had scrounged up today from the searing agony tearing through his veins, threatening to knock him out on the spot. The blade stayed put, still soaked in Naruto's blood.
"It'll only make the wound worse," the assassin continued, almost tonelessly. "Your nerves aren't made to handle that sort of abuse."
"You're the one who put a sword through my arm in the first place, jackass!" Naruto bit back.
"Language like that is unbecoming of a child."
"Fuckin' rich, coming from a pedo kidnapper." Speaking of which...
The ninja twitched, if imperceptibly. "I reap no personal gain from this."
"Whatever helps ya sleep at night, pedo."
Another twitch, a little more noticeable than the last. "Your comments are irrelevant. You are an obstacle on this mission, and distasteful though it may be, I must eliminate you and deliver the mission objective."
Naruto's eyes, in the meanwhile, had never left the man and his body bag. "What's so special about the girl anyways? Why send a ninja to kidnap her?" Bag's moving. She's awake. How the hell hasn't he noticed yet?
"She is of Hyuuga stock. She is important to my village. That is all."
"So you're taking her for her eyes? Must be pretty important." Hyuuga...they have the weird finger-stabbing moves and the clear eyes, right? Let's hope she can use them; I only have one shot at this...
"The Byakugan is an extremely powerful doujutsu, yes."
"Izzat so?" Naruto quipped. Without warning, he broke into a wide, childish grin. "Ne, ne, but your own eyes are more important, right?"
"...? What do you mean?"
Almost impossibly, Naruto's grin grew even wider. "I mean, how are you going to see her escape when your eyes are filled with TEAR GAS, BITCH!" A flick of Naruto's left hand later, the alleyway was filled with a billowing white cloud of mist, and the ninja instinctively covered his eyes, loosening his grip on the bag.
Thank all the gods I stole those tear gas bombs last week. Hey wait, is that...? Naruto caught a glimpse of a small, dark blue-haired head peek out of the poorly gripped sack, clearly in alarm. Then, the tear gas enveloped his vision as well.
"OI, HYUUGA-CHAN!" Naruto roared, as his eyes began to sting fiercely from the entirely-too-close explosion. "NECK! EYES! RETREAT!" Hit his neck, cover your eyes, and run. Hopefully she catches that.
All he heard in return was the furious cursing of the now incapacitated nin, and a strangled sob, followed by "B-but...I can't..."
Oh, for fuck's sake! Now Naruto was gritting his teeth, lost for solutions. If she doesn't move, we're BOTH gonna die! In his desperation, Naruto instinctually growled in displeasure.
What came out of his mouth was a gravelly, echoing rumble of almost bestial anger that stunned him into silence. It seemed to have worked, too, as he was immediately rewarded with a short "eep!" and a shuffle of motion.
Holy shit, what was that? Adrenaline rush? Quick, I gotta ride this out! With a deep breath, he bellowed.
"GET OUT! RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Naruto's thunderous roar of a command tore through the stinging mist and frozen midnight wind, its riotous echoes nearly deafening him.
A breathless grunt of exertion echoed soon after, followed by the pained yell of the assassin. Naruto heaved a sigh of relief as he heard the clicking of small, sandal-wearing feet hurriedly escaping.
Okay good, that's one down. Maybe that'll give Jiji time to send the mask-guys over, Naruto thought, his mind travelling a mile a minute. But now, neither of us can see two feet in front of us, he's gonna be pissed with a capital...however you spell it, and he still has one sword. What the hell do I do now?
"Daitoppa!" A rather angry voice growled out, followed by a heavy gust of wind, clearing all the tear gas out of the cramped space.
Panicking! Panicking sounds like a great thing to do right now! PANICKING!
It was only when the mist fully cleared that Naruto managed to calm down a little, if only enough to assess the state the enemy was in.
The ninja's right eye was red and inflamed, while he had a hand over his left eye. Naruto could spot a nasty bruise on the side of the man's neck, and a long stream of blood escaping from the covered eye. Bruised his neck AND stabbed out his eye? Hot damn, you kicked some ass, Hyuuga-chan!
"I was going to make it painless at first," the ninja intoned, a little too emotionlessly. "But it seems that offer is off the table."
"Whatever, bastard. You failed, and I won."
"...You're right about that, at least. Still, I can just cut my losses right here." The assassin took a step forward.
"Cut your losses? You already-" Naruto began, cut off by his own gasp. The assassin's hand had shot forward, the silvery glint of his blade flashing once in the moonlight. Naruto almost didn't register the new jolt of pain. Looking down, he could only gape in shock as the man's second blade found its way straight through his heart. Unbidden, a wet cough erupted from his throat, spilling dark blood on the dirt.
"F-...fu-..." Even the energy to curse failed Naruto, as more blood bubbled to his lips and the sight of the alleyway swayed dangerously in his eyes.
Is...is this how I die? Alone in the dead of night? ...No. NO! Fuck that! Not a chance! Naruto's mind fought feverishly against the oncoming darkness, the sickening quietude at the edges of his consciousness.
"NARUTO!" The voice was familiar, although it sounded very far away.
Jiji? Anyone? Help me, HELP ME! I'm not dead yet! I don't wanna die! Someone help! HELP! HELP HELP HELPHELPHELP-
Naruto's mind melded his one request together into an incoherent noise, a dull roar of desperation and pain and were those tears, finally? and sheer, heart-gripping terror, until it all went silent...and a voice, the same terrifying tone from before answered back from the silence.
"Sleep. You will live. We need to talk."
And the entire world surged red and blue, for a single, searing second.
Naruto buckled harshly as a rapid, terrifying torrent of energy and force coursed through every nerve in his body. The world flooded blue once more. It was as if a floodgate deep inside him was blown apart, and everything he thought he could possibly feel, his very essence, came endlessly pouring out, as swirls of deep, deep red joined the blue.
The exhilaration, the sheer rush of strength ended just as quickly as it had come, leaving his body like it was physically torn from him. Vaguely, Naruto could sense another person, a startlingly familiar presence, closer to him than even the assassin was.
It was all Naruto was able to register as he pitched forward in exhaustion, his vision drenched in red, red, red...and finally, even that faded to nothing.
Author's Notes:
Ooh, the eponymous 'fade to nothing!' Anywho, hope you liked the first chapter. What better way to end than on a cliffhanger, right?
If you're wondering why Naruto is ten years old instead of about three, which is when the Hyuuga Kidnapping occurs in canon, I have decided to move it seven years in the future. Half of the reason I did this is because I need a plot device to start the story. The other half of the reason is that I need a catalyst.
You may ask me, "A catalyst for what?" Well, where's the fun in just telling you? All in due time... or maybe, not until it's too late.
Gotta give my thanks to winterspersephone for beta-reading this chapter. She's got a good, developing story you may find intriguing: an Attack on Titan + Fullmetal Alchemist crossover called Alchemy Inside the Wall.
For the rest of y'all, I only ask that you read and leave a review. Every review helps, and I'd love to read what people have to say about a story that's been stewing on at least five different Google Drive documents for a few weeks now.
Next time on Dragon Ball Z: Kurama, revelations, and a whole new world. (A new fantastic point of view!)