Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Gears of War
Alright, let's get straight to it.
Chapter 1: The Coming Storm
Ten Years Later:
The world is on the brink of war.
It has been twenty-two years since the end of the Third Shinobi World War and the Kyuubi no Kitsune's attack on Konoha.
Twenty-two years of peace.
But, ten years ago, a single action has set the world on an imminent march to yet another shinobi world war.
What caused this, you may ask?
The disappearance/death of one Naruto Uzumaki.
He had been declared dead but, despite the fact that no one have possibly survived that cave in, no body was ever recovered, leading many to believe that he was still alive.
Alive or dead, it didn't matter. The repercussions have reached further than anyone could have predicted.
Konoha was the first to be affected. After the blonde jinchuriki was officially declared by the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade Senju, most of the village had celebrated almost non-stop for finally being free from the threat of the Kyuubi.
This celebration was to be short lived.
While he had few friends left in Konoha, he had plenty of friends outside of it's walls.
Powerful friends.
The Fire Daimyo, ruler of Fire Country, where Konoha was located, had been given the official reasons for Naruto's arrest.
Attacking a fellow leaf shinobi with the intent to kill, treason, and, after escaping the village, desertion.
The Fire Daimyo was satisfied with these reasons.
Naruto's allies outside Fire Country were not.
Wave Country and Spring Country had been outraged by these accusations, claiming Naruto Uzumaki was a loyal friend and a hero.
The Fire Daimyo was confused; he had received reports from Konoha about the actions of Team 7 in these countries that stated that Naruto had contributed the least towards the completion of these missions, that he had slowed his team down and nearly got them killed several times while the rest of the team had to pick up the slack. Sasuke Uchiha, in particular, had been credited with defeating Haku in Wave and saving Spring's new daimyo, Koyuki Kazehana, from her treacherous uncle.
When the Fire Daimyo had explained this to representatives from each nation, only to have their outrage increase ten-fold.
The daimyo's of both countries provided irrefutable proof that Naruto had, in fact, been the one who did the most work had had brought about the freedom of both countries.
The Fire Daimyo had demanded an explanation from Tsunade and the village council, but there was nothing they could say that would undo the damage that had been done.
Both countries revoked their alliances with Fire Country and sent missions to other villages.
This had been a devastating blow for the people of Fire Country.
Wave had been Fire Countries primary trade partner and brought the most of its goods to the village even before Wave had been liberated from Gato; while Spring had delivered weapons and armor. They had even considered giving Fire Country the secrets to their advanced technology (kunai launchers, chakra armor, locomotives, and airships) as a way to thank them for returning their daimyo and saving them from tyranny.
Sadly, Konoha's betrayal had destroyed any chance of this.
Coupled with this was Sunagakure turning their backs on Konoha.
Suna had long been Konoha's chief ally for many years an alliance made stronger after they were fooled into attacking them with Otogakure over ten years ago after it's leader, Orochimaru, had killed their previous kage and impersonated him.
The newly elected Kazekage, Gaara of The Desert, had been a close friend of Naruto Uzumaki and Konoha's actions had caused him to sever Suna's alliance with the treacherous village.
When these nations cut ties with Konoha, it created a noose around the village's neck.
Konohagakure had lost their biggest trade partner with Wave, any hope of advanced technology from Spring, and military support from Suna.
Other villages allied with Wave, Spring, and Sunagakure had also refused to do business with Konoha for fear of losing their allies.
The Hokage and Fire Daimyo had pleaded with their former allies to reconsider, but the damage had been done.
Konohagakure and the rest of Fire Country was on their own, clinging to what little power they had left.
Even after helping to rescue Gaara from the Akatsuki three years later, Suna still refused to reopen negotiations with Konoha.
With its economy tanked, Konoha had entered a depression worse than any other in the history of the Elemental Nations.
The village was weaker than it had ever been and this made it a target.
Iwagakure had long held a deep hatred for Konoha since the Third Shinobi World War, especially after the Yondaime Hokage single handedly slaughter hundreds of Iwa Shinobi using his famed Hiraishin.
Since the end of the war Iwa had longed to avenge the deaths of their comrades and had been looking for a way to undermine Konoha.
It seemed they no longer needed to.
Iwagakure had also found an unexpected ally in the form of Kumogakure.
Kumo and Konoha had been at each other's throats for years. This escalated when Kumo's ambassador, on orders from the Raikage, tried to abduct a young Hinata Hyuuga in order to aquire the Byakugan, the legendary dojutsu bloodline of the Hyuuga clan. The attempt failed and the ambassador was killed. Kumo demanded the Hyuuga Clan head, Hinata's father, Hiashi Hyuuga be turned over for execution or else risk another war. Konoha appeared to agree, only to hand over Hiashi's twin, Hizashi, instead who had been branded with the Caged Bird Seal. This seal prevented Kumo from acquiring the Byakugan. Kumo learned of the deception too late and had been fuming ever since.
Iwa and Kumo had always been the most militarized of the hidden villages and, as such, had kept close tabs on each other, waiting for when one side would attack the other.
An alliance between the two seemed impossible, but both villages had agreed to have talks.
Konoha suspected an influence of another kind was behind this.
Orochimaru.
The snake sannin had long sought the destruction of the leaf village but knew his village of Oto would not be enough. Sending spies to infiltrate the two kages in circles to whisper words of conquest into their ears was something he was more than capable of doing. When the war ended he would be waiting to seize power.
It didn't matter what caused this unexpected change. Konoha and Fire Country had no allies and no support. They knew they couldn't survive a war against both villages. They outnumbered and outgunned, not to mention both villages had two jinchuriki each while they had foolishly thrown theirs away.
Konoha had sent spies to sabotage the peace talks and had been successful so far.
But how long would that last?
War would come eventually no matter how hard they tried to stop it.
The Elemental Nations were caught up in their own affairs, not realizing another power was plotting their downfall.
A force that the hidden villages, Orochimaru, and even the Akatsuki could not even begin to comprehend.
War was coming, but not the war they imagined.
Unknown Location:
A lone figure sat upon a throne tapping its fingers of one hand on one of the armrests, the dim torchlight not being enough to reveal its face.
Word had just come from the informants and spies planted across the Elemental Nations.
The time was finally right to strike.
Concentrating, the figure reached out with its power and found what it was looking for.
In a burst of dark energy (1), a transparent figure appeared before it. A projection to call on its allies no matter where they were.
The figure that appeared was a giant to say the least. It wore ornate heavy armor that covered most of its body. Its face was locked in a permanent scowl with razor sharp teeth visible through it. The projection was dark in color but, if it had been in person, the giant's scaly, chalk-white skin would be visible.
The projection kneeled before the figure on the throne.
"Your majesty" it said in a deep, rasping voice.
"General" the figure on the throne greeted before continuing, "Is everything ready?" it asked.
"Yes your highness, my warriors and I await your command" the general answered.
"Then begin the operation" the being on the throne commanded, "Once you have succeeded in your task, contact me for further orders."
The general nodded, "As you command."
The projection then disappeared.
The figure on the throne contemplated the chain of events that would transpire after the general had succeeded in this part of the grand plan.
Blood would be spilled into the water, the sharks would seek out the blood, and would leave their territories unprotected.
The figure allowed a sinister grin to appear on its face at this thought, showing it's sharpened canines.
It truly is good to be the king.
And that's the end of that chapter.
Sorry it's so short. The next one will be much longer, I promise.
I know Konoha being weakened by Naruto's departure has been used countless times before in more creative ways than this, but I needed to explain what had happened during the timeskip, how the villages were at each other's throats, unaware of the true threat lurking in the shadows.
It should suffice.
Read and review because, in the next chapter, the first step towards Emergence begins!