RE: Chapter 1: A Different Fate (1), Born With a Different Fate.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto, please support the original work.
End Banner has something to say: Hello readers! This is the rewritten chapter 1 of Naruto: The Last Fuinjutsu Master. More rewritten chapters are coming, I hope you enjoy them.
Over the horizon, the sun starts to climb over the mountains and fortresses of old, wizened trees. Its red sunbeams rained down on the ninja world, plunging the world into a red ocean that filled people with hope or dread.
Another day dawns and man open their eyes with a smile or with a frown, either welcoming the rays of life with wide arms or fearing the start of a new day.
Inside a tall tower painted in deep red, a man wearing a white hat sat with furrowed brows, his wrinkled face showing the passage of time and his deep frown showing his chaotic thoughts. His gaze locked upon the door made with light brown cedar wood.
TICK—TOCK. TICK—TOCK. TICK—TOCK.
The old man sits for a minute, his gaze dimming and brightening from time to time.
. . .
Then, one minute turns into ten, and ten minutes turns into one hour.
"Haa…"
The old man let out a sigh, intending to stand up.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
Before he could straighten his knees, a series of knocks rang from behind the door. "Come in," the old man said, loud enough so that the person behind the door can hear his voice.
CREAAAK—
The old door creaked as it opens, revealing a man with bronze skin and short, brown hair. The man's face is covered by a white, cat-shaped mask, and a peculiar fire symbol is tattooed on his left shoulder. The man knelt, and on his arms was a bundle of white cloth with a baby sleeping soundly inside.
"Lord Hokage, here is the child you are looking for," he said with his head bowed, showing respect and loyalty for his master. Then, he lifted the sleeping child over to a wooden cradle that was prepared before he came into the office.
The old man behind the desk glanced at the child before waving his hand, promptly dismissing the ANBU ninja. "Good work," he praised, "you may go," he ordered.
"Yes, lord Hokage." After bowing to the old man, the village's hokage, the ANBU left, making no sound as he close the door. The hokage's gaze lingered on the cedar wood for a moment before he let out a sigh he'd been suppressing for a while. When his gaze landed on the boy who was sleeping peacefully, he selfishly felt envious before shaking his head.
"Kushina," the Hokage mumbled, "your son looks just like you."
Looking over the boy's blood-red hair with streaks of golden yellow and the whiskers that grew on the child's cheeks, he smiled before looking down and closing his eyes, using his hands to rub his temples.
"What a wretched fate," the old man mumbled. He doesn't hate the child, he hates the thing inside the child. "Minato, what have you done?" The old man questioned, not expecting an answer. Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage, was supposed to lead the village to prosperity, but expectations often end in disappointment. After leaving behind a child who imprisoned the world's most wicked beast, Minato's soul jumped straight into the God of Death's stomach.
That's right, the child is a jinchuriki. He is the jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox, more commonly known as Kyuubi no Youko, the harbinger of hate and destruction.
"Damn it, why do you have to die so early?"
Even now, he still can't get over the fact that his successor died young and fresh, he didn't even have the chance to have another child. He knows that living into elderhood as a ninja is like picking up a treasure at the end of the rainbow, so although he lamented Minato's death, he didn't blame him.
Luck is an elusive thing, you can't just have it because you want to.
Turning his gaze into the window, the old man felt a headache brewing. As the Hokage, he has the power to decide the child's fate. But the question is, does he have the heart to do so? For the first time in his life, the Hokage wished he wasn't wearing the white hat with the emblem for fire.
His responsibility is to ensure that the village is prosperous and powerful so that the seeds of war inside the other great ninja villages don't bloom, and that means that he has to turn this child into a weapon. It was the child's fate, as his mere existence breeds fear inside people's hearts, but as a father who saw many of his son's deaths, he found it heavy on the heart to mold the child into a walking weapon, yet his mind reasoned that he should.
He wishes to give the child a normal happy life, even though reality dictates that it is impossible.
"Ha…" Hiruzen found himself unable to make a decision. He became the Hokage at a young age and was very wise and decisive at his peak, but now that he was old, he can't even make a simple decision regarding the village's strongest asset. Hashirama may have comforted him, but his sensei would surely reprimand him.
"What to do… Should I give him to Danzo? Danzo had been searching for young talents lately, and his ROOT shinobi shows some potential…"
KNOCK—KNOCK.
As he scratched his chin in search of enlightenment, a sudden knock at the door woke him up from his dark thoughts. "Come in," he said after getting out of his daze.
"Lord Hokage." When the door opened, it revealed a silver-haired youth wearing a dog-shaped ANBU mask. "Inu, what brought you here?" Looking at the ninja who entered the office and knelt, Hiruzen felt his heart throbbing with guilt.
Did he really consider giving the child to Danzo? 'How stupid,' he wanted to punch himself. Doing so was effectively the same as giving his enemy a knife when he was unarmed with his hands tied on his back. He might as well give the boy to Orochimaru while he's at it.
"I have a request, lord Hokage," the silver-haired ANBU looked up, locking eyes with the old man. "And what is it?" The old man questioned, his voice calm, devoid of any emotions. Inside his mind, the old man was amused.
The name of the white-haired ANBU is Kakashi, and he is known for being professional, if you ignore his tardiness, never making a single mistake, and having a nearly perfect record. Long story short, Kakashi Hatake is an elite and his strength borders that of a kage. He is known for never asking unnecessary questions and never making any requests. What made him change his mind today?
"I wish to adopt the Fourth Hokage's son," Kakashi stated, his demeanor solemn and his gaze unwavering. The old man was shocked, albeit only for a moment. Kakashi's sensei is the Fourth Hokage, so it's understandable that he would want to protect his mentor's legacy.
There is just one problem.
"You can't," the old man said, his heavy tone leaving no room for discussion. Even if he was willing on letting Kakashi foster the boy, the village heads will never agree, especially a certain war hawk. "If you're worried about the boy's safety, then you are underestimating me," the old man glanced at the child sleeping in the wooden cradle. "I can guarantee his safety."
Hearing the Hokage's promise, Kakashi became silent. After a few breaths, he spoke up. "I thank the Hokage for his benevolence," Kakashi stood up and bowed before leaving through the cedar wood door.
After watching Kakashi leave, Hiruzen turned his gaze back on the sleeping child.
"!"
Inside the cradle, vibrant lavender eyes stared right into his brown eyes. The hair on his arms went straight, and a shiver ran through his spine. Seeing the boy's unblinking eyes, he stared back before realizing that he was being silly. He stood up, secretly watching as the boy's eyes followed his every move. It gave him the feeling of being judged, but he killed the idea as soon as it arose.
"What the hell am I thinking? That's just a newborn child. I'm way too old for this shit."
Four winters came and went. The mighty village hidden in the leaves experienced change and hardships, but the thought of giving up never went through their minds.
Although one major event happened not too long ago.
Inside a massive sandbox, a boy with red hair quietly sat, his hands slowly and carefully carving a four feet tall sandcastle. His crystal-like, lavender eyes focused on the tiny door frame at the very bottom of the sandcastle, and sweat rained down on his forehead.
The castle was intricately built, and details were painstakingly carved into every corner of the sandcastle, giving off the feeling that it was made by a skilled sculptor, yet this masterpiece was carved by a single child.
"Haa..."
The boy let out a sigh after carving the castle door. Looking at the perfection in front of him, the boy chuckled and sat back, wincing when he felt a sharp pain in his butt. He quickly stood up, looking down at the culprit, a small bucket. Annoyed, he kicked the bucket, not expecting the bucket to hit the sandcastle he'd been working on for hours.
"Tsk," the boy clicked his tongue. After a long day of hard work, the sandcastle fell just like that. He couldn't express how annoyed he feels right now. Bored, he looked around. There were no other children around, but he got used to it after a month. On his fourth birthday, his life experienced a sudden change.
Everyone avoided him, and when he came into the playgrounds, the parents would take away their children with haste, glancing at him from time to time with disgust and hate. He tried to ask them if he did something wrong, but all he got was cold shoulders.
"Hmm? Is that a ninja?" When he saw a man standing idly by a closed shop, his eyes widened. The man is wearing a forehead protector on his neck, so he quickly realized that the man is a ninja. The man's left hand was tucked inside his pants, while his right hand was holding a small book with a red cover.
Suddenly, the man's face twisted, and he could almost hear the man sneering as he threw the book away. The book landed on a nearby light post, and the man walked away without looking back.
The boy tilted his head, "Why did he throw the book away? Doesn't he know that books are precious?" His favorite hobby was reading, so when seeing someone treat a book so harshly, he became a little irritated.
"Whatever. Since he threw it away, I can pick it up, right?" The boy looked around. "I'm not stealing, I'm just picking up a book. One man's trash is another man's treasure!" The boy laughed to himself before running toward the fallen book. After picking up the red book, he turned and ran toward his apartment as if he just stole the Hokage's hat.
When he saw the orange building not too far away from him, a smile formed on his face. Thankfully, he made it home safely.
"BARK!"
The boy's shoulders straightened, his soul jumping up to the clouds. While gripping the red book tightly with his small hands, the boy rushed toward his room and yanked the door open before slamming it shut after entering the room. "Hehehe," his shoulder trembled and a bright smirk appeared on his face. His hands slowly opened the book, and light seem to come out from the book, lighting up his face with a flash of golden brilliance.
"Woah…" The boy's mouth gaped, and his breathing stopped. His eyes darted from right to left, repeating the process dozens of times before he remembered to breathe. "What's this? It's so good, why did the ninja throw it away?"
Confused, he closed the book with reluctance and flipped it over to read the book's title. Titling his head, the boy, Naruto Uzumaki, read the book's title aloud. "The Art of Fuinjutsu."