Time has buried most things. Years, decades, centuries, even millenniums have passed since the ultimate battle between the Six Paths Sage and the Rabbit Goddess. The battle had set back the human race almost putting it into extinction. Unfortunately, the Six Paths was not able to completely restore the world to what it once was. Yet he was able to bring back just enough to at least repopulate the world albeit slowly. This time however, the human race along with the rest of the animals had been given a gift; a cursed gift. The Sage believed that this gift of essence will allow his mother to see the good in the world. The gift is chakra.

The Six Paths made it his role in life to show humans and animals alike as to use and manipulate chakra. He went to villages, caves, mountains, deserts, and any place that had signs of life. He taught them about peace and the nindo to live by. He taught them to use their abilities to get food, water, create shelters and to live with one another. He gave them hope. They said they would believe in him and follow his teachings.

He was wrong!

When he was on his deathbed where he could no longer pass on his word, the groups of people started to fight each other once again. This time it was in his name! They fought over who were his favorite and whom he blessed. He felt his mother's darkness and hatred slither into his new utopia. He knew he could not stop it by himself. He knew that he needed his two bright sons to go and bring peace in his name. His oldest son was the most talented out of the two but his mind and arrogance often blinded him even when he was given the eyes of the sage. The youngest was the one who struggled but always thought outside the box and was servant to the people. This act of serving the people further influenced the Sage to break up the ten-tails into 9 separate, independent beings.

He had hoped that his sons would come together and bring about once again. It was not meant to be as the oldest needed full control of his supposed bloodrite. He gave the oldest son a tablet of the history or chakra and how to unlock its potential. The Six Paths made the reluctant younger brother the leader of the new world. The Six Paths gave the ninth blade and final blade to his youngest son in the hopes that it will never be used again. He hid the others across the world hoping that they will never be found and put back together again. Unfortunately for the old wise sage, the world that he built was destroyed by the one he trusted the most.

His oldest son gained a dark hatred toward his brother. His eyes had finally gained a veil as he learned how to use the "Eyes of the Sage". He used his father,s precious eyes to control the Tail Beasts his father loved so much against his brother. There was despair that filled the land. Fortunately, the youngest son used the blade of his father to bring the bloodied wars to stalemate.

Fortunately there was still hope. The sword did not fully make the youngest it's master. That meant that there was one who could bring about the peace he had taught. This individual will be able to unite the world in peace and harmony. He or she will be able to destroy all perceived connotations of the human race and finally bring his mother to peace. For now he had to wait.

The years have long since passed. The Sixth Path's story has become a fairytale. The world has been divided into countries. Over time, 5 consistent countries have expanded and grew into the 5 main countries. They are Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire), Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning), Tsuchi no Kuni (Land of Earth), Kaze no Kuni (Land of Wind), and Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water). Within these countries exist militant nations whose sole purpose is to defend the country and expand it for their Daimyo.

These nations learned how to access and harness chakra into an advanced state. They were able to combine their chakra with the use of nature's elemental chakra. This allowed their ability to increase to become even better than before. Yet, the world of the Sixth Paths once created was now in shambles. People became bloodthirsty, greedy, and worst of all corrupted. It had tainted the souls of all that inhabited the world. But once again there was hope. One last hope.

Blue eyes had awaken to see an enormously, oak tree. He stood up and dusted himself off as he searched his surroundings. The forest again he thought. For as long as he could remember, the villagers had chased him and wanted to do unspeakable things to him. He didn't know the reason why but it was instinctual for to run. Today wasn't any different. The villagers went on a hunt after he "stole" some bread. One of the places no one dared to go was this forest. From what he had heard, this place held some of the most dangerous and vicious animals in the world.

While he didn't know if it was true or not, it was a much better option than dealing with those people. He shook his head he wondered around in the forest. His thoughts went wild as his body went on autopilot. It was more like his body was being controlled by someone or something. The wind blew around him as the animals and beasts around the area hastily retreated. He questioned to himself as he didn't have any weapons or all that much training to defend himself. Before he could get deeper into this situation, a reddish black fox bumped into him.

His heart nearly stopped as it looked like he hurt the poor fox. He bent down and checked on the little fox. The fox wrapped its unusually long tail around its face. The fox's golden eyes looked at the boy with a hesitant fear. Naruto held his hand out and said, "Its okay little fella. I'm Naruto and I'm not going to hurt you." He lightly touched the fox's red and black head. The fox's eyes instantly filled with warmth as he rubbed against the boy's hand. Naruto smiled happily until the fox bit him.

With a yelp of unexpected pain, Naruto pulled his hand away. There was only two bite marks on his hand. They weren't deep but stilled had a bit of blood bleeding out. He sucked the blood to try clot it. Or what he had heard to do in that situation. He looked at the fox with a bemused smile. The fox on the other hand was smiling hugely. Naruto could see the his blood on the foz teeth and lips. Before he could say anything the fox coughed. It caught Naruto off guard as the fox suddenly cleared his throat.

"Ah yes! I finally tuned my voice to that of humans."

Naruto had a shrilling feeling coming down his back. Foxes were not supposed to speak! Well not human anyway! He backed up slowly as the fox moved closer to squeaky voice was not obviously helping the fox's case as it sounded so weak. He absolutely hated weakness. He coughed as he fixed his throat. Naruto was about to take his tail out of hear. Before he could he run the fox yelled, "Wait!" The fox smiled as he thought 'Got the voice down. Nice!' Naruto on the other hand stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a gruff voice instead of squeaky voice. He turned around as his saw the fox once again sitting. He looked at the boy with a cock of his head.

"W-who are you?"

The fox smiled as he said, "Oh, I'm sorry Naruto-"

"How do you know my name?!"

"...You told me it a bit earlier. Remember? Any way, I am Kousa Kuriomaru. Just call me Kurio. I have lived for thousands of years. Maybe even more than that. Well anyway, I was sent here to find a specific person. Since I don't know who it is, I'm going to assume its you. So Naruto-san, come with me so you can meet my master." The fox grabbed on to the boy's bright, orange pants leg and tugged him.

Naruto rattled his leg free by tearing his pants leg. He said with a suspicious tone, "Kuriomaru-

"Kurio"

"Yeah Kurio,whatever, who is your master? Why should I follow you? After all, the last time I trusted you, you bit me! So why in Kami's name should I even trust you. Look at my hand! Look at it!" Naruto put his hand close to the fox's face. Of course the fox was shocked to see the marks were gone completely off the boy's hand. THe fox tried to "test" the boy's hand before the boy pulled back. Naruto exasperated, "See what I mean?! Why oh why would I trust a sly fox?"

The fox smiled at him and said, "Well Naruto, you see you really don't have a choice in the matter. You see at this point you have reached a place where you can't get out of. This place cannot be found by the outside world. It like a bubble that can't be popped. So essentially, you are stuck here. Sorry but it is what it is." Kurio somehow or another shrugged at the boy. What could he do? Naruto was not going to have any of that. He didn't ask to be placed in this, this bubble. He was going to break it even with all his might!

He said with determination in his eyes, "i'm going to get out of here and you are not going to stop me!" He ran into the an open portion of the forest. He was free! He was free?

Plop!

Naruto fell on his butt as he rubbed his head. The fox was amused by such actions. Naruto got up and tried to get through. He once again fell on his butt again, again, and until what felt like the 200th time, he fell flat on his back. He panted as his head was throbbing. Sweat was pouring off his body. Kurio said more to himself than the boy, "That boy does have some type of determination. I'll give him that. He's hard head as Kami knows what but still persistent." He quickly trotted over to the boy who was nearly down for the count.

The boy slowly turned his head over to the amused fox. He said with a sigh of defeat, "You don't have to look so smug about it Kurio. I guess I am at your mercy. Can you at least tell me who your master is? What does he want with me?" The fox could see the boy was about ready to pass out as his words started to slur. smirked at the boy as he tugged onto the boy's pants leg. He said to the boy,

"You'll see when we get there."

A fire flickered in a dark lit cave. Naruto's eyes wandered around as he heard the fire cackle. All he could remember was that damn fox, Kurio and that forest. The bubble dome or whatever this place was. But that doesn't matter at all at the moment. He didn't know where he was now and how could he plan to escape. He searched his surroundings and saw only one entrance of getting out. The problem was that it was a bit far and it was dark outside. That brought up the question of why was he here in the first place. He didn't know who this master guy was but he had a feeling he didn't want to.

"Ahh so you are awake, Naruto-kun."

It was more of a statement than a question. Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around to see a man smoking a pipe. The said person was a tall and pale-skinned man, who had deep wrinkles in his elderly age. He wore a white, full-length kimono with a pattern of six black magatama around a high collar, beneath which he wore a necklace which was also made up of six magatama. On the back of his kimono was a larger Rinnegan-like marking with a pattern of nine magatama arranged in three rows of three beneath it.

He sat in a lotus position as he looked at the boy with a small smile. He moved the logs around to keep the fire going. He said in small but authoritative voice, "Naruto-kun, take a seat near the fire. It will keep you warm." Naruto's body went into auto pilot as he did exactly what the elderly man said. The old man continued, "Naruto-kun, we have so much to discuss such as why you are here and much more. Before I begin, I will allow you to ask you one question. So think wisely as to what you want to ask."

"Who are you?"

"Hmmm. That's a good starting point. My name has been lost in history after thousands of years. I am Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. My tale has become nothing but a legend, a fairytale that adults tell children. I am the Six Paths Sage, the creator of what people call jutsu." Naruto was in utter disbelief. Right in front of him is the Legend of Legends! His eyes became wide as he started to sputter random nonsense. Even though the Hagoromo knew every language, dialect and accent known to man and animal alike, he still couldn't comprehend a word of what Naruto said.

Naruto finally started to speak a language that the Six Paths could understand albeit with a stutter, "Y-You're the Six Paths! B-but how? You are supposed to old not that you don't look old but old, old. Like, like super old. You have to be over 8000 years old!"

Hagoromo interjected, "Over 9000 actually."

"Over 9000 years old! You are supposed to be you know a ghost! Wait- If you are a ghost and I'm here with you. Then that means that I am a ghost as well. It was the Kurio fox-teme! He must have bit me and ghostified me! I'm too young to become a ghost! I don't want to be like Casperamaru!"

The Sixth Paths quirked an eyebrow at the boy. The boy reminded him so much of his son, Asura. He had a very vivid imagination. He could tell that this boy was a descendant of his youngest son. It was extremely comical seeing the boy rambling on. But he need to move on. He coughed to get the boy's attention. He said, "Yes Naruto-kun, I am very old. No you are not a ghost. And No Kurio-kun, did not ghostify you. I sent Kuriomaru to search for a particular person. The way to check to see if it was the specified person, Kuriomaru had to taste their blood. Don't ask."

That was most certainly disturbing, Naruto decided he did not want to know that procedure. He did, however, want to see some proof of this supposed 'Six Paths'. He said, "How can I know you are telling the truth? You could be one of those stranger danger types of people. You could have done things to me while I slept."

The Six Paths shrugged as he said, "I can promise you I did nothing to you. I don't know exactly how to prove I am the Six Paths. How would you want me to prove it to you?"

"I...I don't know", Naruto admitted.

Hagoromo decided a way to show the boy the truth. He grabbed two slightly charred sticks and a piece of fur from a fox He held out his hands as they glowed red and blue respectively. He put his hands together and said, "Banbutsu Sōzō (Creation of All Things)!" Naruto shielded his eyes from the blinding light. When he moved his arms away from his eyes, he saw a creature cloaked in an ephemeral orb. In a few seconds, a small charred grey colored fox. It opened its eyes as it sneezed.

Naruto's eyes went wide in awe. This man created a fox out of two sticks and a piece of fur. This man was amazingly good. He was a god! Or at least godlike. Naruto was excited as he saw the fox starting to grow to at least 6 months of age in less than a minute. He said hesitantly, "O-Okay, I believe you. I mean thats incredibly awesome! But if you are indeed the Six Paths Super Sage, then why am I here and you are not out there you know whipping butt and saying something like 'I'm the best around! Nothing is ever gonna keep you down'?"

The world rests in his hands.

Six Paths have mercy on his soul.

"Naruto-kun, as much as I would love to go out there, it is not my time to do so. If I were to go there now, I would not be alive for much longer. I have a mission I must complete and thats where you come in."

Naruto whipped his head towards the man. He said with a mixture of confusion and excitement, "Why would you die? Why do you need me for? Why don't you ask Oji-san? He's the Hokage and very strong!" The Six Paths raised his eyebrow ever so slightly. Hiruzen, while his intentions have been good, has doomed tens of thousands of lives and caused hatred to spread throughout the shinobi nations. His heart was heavier than a dark cloud. He wasn't pure enough.

"It is a complicated thing Naruto that you do not need to understand. Well not yet anyway. I do not need Hiruzen-kun's help with this. He has played a role in this but the torch is being handed from me to you. The Will of Fire grows in you. Your mission is something that will be developed over time. In the not so distant future you will be faced with the biggest threat this world has ever seen. You are going to be the leader of this battle. However you are not ready. Nowhere near. You do not have the resources to face her."

"So what do I need? Can't I train with the Hokage or something?"

"Not particularly. He can't help you in this training per se. I will be giving you the weapon to help defeat this threat. This blade is a sentinel. That means it is alive. The blade is made to be bonded with you. As you grow older and stronger so does it. This blade will connect with nine other special blades. The weapon is the strongest power of all the sentinel weapons. The weapon has many abilities that have yet to be unlocked. It has never accepted anyone as a true master."

"What makes the weapon so strong?"

"The blade has many secrets include that of time and space. It cannot be destroyed by any means. It is how you say the King of Blades. The final thing that makes it strong is the synchronization. Once it becomes strong enough, you will be able to fuse with the sword to create a new identity stronger than ever before.

Naruto's eyes went wide at this. HE said with excitement, "But what if the blade does not consider me its master? And who or what is this threat? What's its name. "

"Simple all of this will be erased from your memory. I guess I should explain it a bit better. You are in a different realm. This is the Pure Realm where the world is not corrupted by evil and darkness. The fire that you see in front of you is the amount of corruption that you have instilled in you. That includes hatred and destruction. At this point, it is dimly lit. That is very good but still a bit high for a child so young."

"But why is it so high? I do not have hatred for anything. "

In response the fire grew a bit bigger with a roar. It scared Naruto for a bit. The Sixth Path Sage simply moved the logs around. He said with a simple tone, "Naruto-kun, we all have darkness and corruption. It is not my place to deal with such matters. You are not ready to confront what is darkening your soul. One day you will confront it and either you will embrace it or be consume it. That it is your choice. For now, the threat's name cannot be said. If it's name were to be said in this place, it will corrupt this place absolutely. It is the entity of corruption."

Naruto was of curious about this entity but nonetheless kept his mouth shut. The Sage closed his eyes in meditation. continued,"You must be prepared for the fight. Unfortunately, I cannot train you for this fight. But do not fret my child. There will be seven people that will prepare you in their arts and techniques."

Naruto was bouncing up and down. He was going to have someone to train him? They would give him the attention he craved. Someone wanted him. Someone wanted to train him. Someone would care enough about him to actually help him. Maybe this would not be so bad. He looked at the Sixth Paths clasp his hands together. In an instant, A sword appeared in a bright orangish light. Naruto couldn't truly see the sword but only the shape. Even that was hard to see. The was soon dispersed into an orb that floated onto the Sixth Paths fingers. He placed the orb underneath Naruto,s rib cage at his heart. Sixth Paths said, "Naruto-kun, I am giving you one last gift. This is the Ninth and final blade of sentinel weapons. Be the savior of this world. It will not be easy. You will meet betrayal, death, darkness and evil. But you will bring and be given life, hope and peace."

Naruto nodded at the sage. He had known that it wasn't going to be easy but his heart and drive was in full swing. The fire was burning brightly in him. But wait what would he say to the Hokage? 'Yeah, I talked to the Creator of Ninjutsu and I'm going to be trained. So yeah lets kick butt.' That should go over well. Would he even remember this event? He asked softly, "Will I remember this? Any of it?"

The Sage shook his head with a soft, sad smile. He said with slight regret, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun. This is a pure land. This land is not meant to be touched by those who have been corrupted.", 'Or alive for that matter', the Sage thought. "To reach it at this this stage of your life is nearly impossible. As such, the taintedness will cloud a lot of you have learned. So once you go back, things will become a dream of sorts. You will remember bits and pieces but it will be blurry. Hopefully, we will meet again just here. Be safe. Be strong. Good luck."

Before Naruto can say anything, the Sixth Path Sage blew out the fire. It caused Naruto disappear from view. The Sixth Path Sage sighed as he hoped that he got this one right. Because ready or not, his Mother was coming back with a vengeance.

AN: Hey guys this is the final prologue to the story. Here was a bit of foreshadowing and setting things up. The 7 Swordsmen will be coming and Naruto better get ready.

Please review and enjoy the story.

JK10 out.