Chapter Four: Prophet

Land of Fire: Prehistoric

"Wait up, Sodi!"

"Well, if you'd hurry up, Haniel, I wouldn't have to wait!"

The first boy groaned and hurried along the path after his friend. They looked about the same age, though one had dirty blonde hair and the other had an almost ginger tint to his. Sodi, the blonde, hurried upward on the path while Haniel struggle behind. He was thinner and paler than his friend, who was muscular and his skin was kissed by the sun.

Sodi stopped atop the cliff and opened his arms wide, smiling widely. "I win again, Han!"

Haniel came to stand beside Sodi, pouting slightly. "You cheated," he grumbled, sitting down with his knees pulled to his chest.

"A head start isn't cheating, Han," Sodi chided. He stared out at the valley below and sighed. Soon it would be time to start the harvest festivals.

"I wish you didn't have to go," Haniel muttered. Sodi looked down at his friend and frowned.

"It is my trade," he said. "I will be back when the leaves return."

"That's six moons from now!" Haniel complained. "Why did you have to born to merchants?"

"For the same reason you have to be born into the chief's family. It's just how the gods intended." Sodi sat beside his friend and smiled softly. "You'll be so busy training to take your father's place that you won't even know I'm gone, Han."

"I don't care, So! It's dangerous!"

Sodi frowned and nodded. His uncle had been killed on his last route. He turned back to the rolling fields of crops. Hunters were returning with the meat that they would prepare that night, and the skins that the tanners would commission them to sell. "Nothing's going to happen to me, Haniel. I'll be back before you know it. I don't even leave for a few more days!"

Haniel nodded and stood, starting down the path. "The festival's tonight. We should get ready, right?"

"Yeah." Sodi followed the red-haired boy and smiled softly. They stayed silent while they walked through the gates of their village. Those who noticed them bowed to Haniel as they walked passed. Sodi kept his own head down as they walked together. It was bad enough that the son of the chief and the child of merchants hung out together, but to walk side-by-side as equals was unheard of. Sodi knew this, and he knew that when he returned from his first trade route, their friendship would never be the same.

They had grown up together and had bonded over the years. They were an unlikely pair, but Sodi's parents so it as useful and Haniel's parents saw it as harmless; but as they grew, things changed. Haniel's parents no longer saw it as harmless. Sodi clenched his fists. His friend was naive to the inner workings of their village, but he would learn, and with that knowledge, their time as friends would end. They were from different worlds; worlds that could never be merged. He shook his head.

It's not fair… he thought angrily. He didn't care that his parents were poor and Haniel wasn't. He didn't care that some people were born more fortunate than others. He only cared that society told them they couldn't be friends based solely on their parents. He shook his head.

"What's wrong, So?"

"Nothing…"

Present

Day Two: Hour 13

"Naruto?"

"I'm in a village," Naruto answered. He looked around as the people walked around him in slow motion, leaving ghosts behind them. He started forward. "It's ancient. The buildings are old."

If Sakura answered him, he didn't hear it as he headed towards the house he had met the brunette last time. He wasn't sure what to expect this time and he didn't know what he'd ask, but he wasn't going to leave the house until he got some answers.

The man was waiting for him. "You have returned," he whispered.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked. He didn't have much time for pleasantries.

The man walked again to the window. "It is too early," he said quietly. "Datenshi has found you, I assume."

"Yes he has! Tell me what's going on!"

"That is not my place."

"Who are you?!" Naruto shouted, annoyed. Why would no one answer his questions?

The brunette turned to Naruto and smiled softly. "You are frustrated."

"Of course I am!"

He sighed and moved to a jug on a crudely made table. He poured Naruto a glass of water and offered it to him. Naruto declined. None of this was real anyway. "Your eagerness will get you nowhere, child," he grumbled. "I wish I could help, but the gods control your fate."

"I can't accept that!" Naruto snapped.

"I am sorry."

"No you aren't!"

"Datenshi is a misguided prophet," the brunette muttered, sipping the water from the cup. "I need not explain this to you."

"What does the poem mean?" Naruto asked, deciding he might get a better answer if he asked a better question.

"We are born what we are," the brunette answered, shaking his head. He held out his hands. "Hyuuga, Uchiha, Uzumaki… We cannot deny our lineage, just as we cannot deny our fate." He poured the water onto the sandy ground. As it hit, the water turned to blood. "Blood is thicker than water, child. We must make sacrifices in order to maintain order."

"So that's it? We're meant to roll over and die because some deity told us to?" Naruto asked, staring at the blood in the dirt. "What's the point of living if our lives are not our own?"

"You have already fulfilled one prophecy."

"I was meant to save the world, not destroy it!"

"Why? Because a man told you so?" The brunette closed his eyes and shook his head. "We are nothing more than fate's playthings." He stood. "That is all."

Naruto clenched his fists. "How is the world going to end?!"

"You can't stop it."

"I don't care! Tell me!"

"I doesn't matter. Datenshi has already started the process." He walked to Naruto and sighed sadly. "I wish I could help you… I truly do."

"Then help me!" Naruto begged. "Tell me how to stop him!"

"The only way to stop it is to kill him."

Naruto swallowed. "How do we kill a man who can't be killed by weapons?"

"He is immortal. Strike him down and he will continue to rise." Naruto shook his head. "The answers you seek are not here, child. They are elsewhere… The scrolls you need are hidden away; buried beneath centuries of earth."

"Where are these scrolls?"

The brunette pointed to the floor of the home. "Here."

Naruto gasped and opened his eyes. He was back in the interrogation room with Sakura staring worriedly at him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Naruto muttered. "Get me out of these restraints. We have to move."

"What did you learn?"

"There are scrolls detailing this or something and we have to find them."

Sakura moved to remove the restraints as Kakashi, Ino and Hinata came into the room. "I'll go with you," Sakura said.

Kakashi shook his head. "No. We have to start a full scale evacuation of the village. I need all medical ninja on hand." He turned to Hinata. "You, go with Naruto. I'll set up a small team. We can't afford a full scale search on a vision."

"M-me?" Hinata whispered.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, you. Your tracking abilities will be helpful. Meet me in my office in an hour you two and then we will begin."

Naruto nodded. It made sense, but he'd rather go now instead of wasting time gathering a team. "Yessir," he muttered.

Kakashi turned to Sakura. "I need you to set up teams of medical ninja and prepare all patients for transport. I want everyone moving underground within the next six hours. Understood?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei!" She then took off and Kakashi left with Ino, leaving Naruto and Hinata together in the interrogation room.

"I guess we should get going," Naruto said. Hinata nodded slowly. "But I don't even know where to look." He sat down in the chair and buried his face in his hands. Fighting Obito was easy. Heck, fighting Kaguya was easy compared to this. When he was fighting them, he knew who the enemy was. He could see what he was punching and what he was facing. Now he didn't see anything. It didn't even seem like Datenshi was an enemy; he was merely misguided.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked. Naruto laughed softly. She knew very well what was wrong. The world was ending! But instead of lashing out, he smiled.

"I thought the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the biggest threat I would face," he said quietly. "But this… This doesn't make any sense. Two days ago we were at peace, and now we have less than six days before heaven knows what happens to the world and I'm apparently part of this. I don't understand what I'm supposed to do. All we have are vague visions and a scroll."

Hinata pulled up a chair and sat opposite of Naruto. He could tell she was slightly nervous. Despite their interaction during the war, she was still shy around him. Her face was blushed slightly and he resisted the urge to smile. It was cute. "That's not all we have. We have hope, Naruto. We have the peace of mind that we've come out the other side of tunnels like this. We have you, Naruto." Naruto smiled. That didn't make him feel much better, but he didn't want to tell her that. Hinata stood. "The Hyuuga are the oldest Clan in the village. We have archives detailing the history of the Clan lineage, since the time before chakra. We should start there. There's no point in wasting time while Lord Hokage gets our team ready."

Naruto stood and followed Hinata out of the room. He tried to ignore the widespread panic as they walked through the streets. People called out to Naruto, but he tried to ignore them. Hinata ushered him through the blood red streets and into the compound. Naruto hadn't been to the Hyuuga's new compound since they returned from the war. Any time he wanted to see Hinata, he would meet her out in town.

"Sister!" Naruto turned to see Hanabi running towards them. She looked worried, as she should. She stopped in front of them. "And Naruto." She bowed.

"Good afternoon, Hanabi," Hinata said. "Where is father?"

"In the main hall," Hanabi answered. "What's happening, Hinata?"

Hinata smiled. "Nothing you have to worry about," she said, patting her sister on the head.

Hanabi looked at Naruto. "Are you two on a mission?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, and everything will be fine, Hanabi, but you need to make sure you help with the evacuations, okay?"

The young girl nodded and started down the hall. Naruto followed Hinata into a large room with a single table in the center. An elderly Hiashi was kneeling before the table, eating slowly. Hinata stopped before crossing onto the straw tatami mats. "Good afternoon, father."

The Hyuuga looked up and offered his daughter a weary smile. "Good afternoon, Hinata," he said. "What brings you two here? I would imagine Naruto would be trying to stop this mess."

"I am."

"But we may need something here," Hinata interjected. "We need to see the archives."

Hiashi stood and nodded. He didn't ask questions. Instead he led them through the halls into a room that he unlocked. "Not much was salvaged after Pain's attack," he explained, pointing at the walls. "But the scribes have been able to document what was left. There aren't many original scrolls here."

Naruto looked at the books and scrolls. Hardly any of them seemed old enough to be what they wanted. "I need the location of a town," he said. "An ancient village somewhere in the Land of Fire." He tried to remember details from the visions, but he only really remembered that one street.

Hiashi sighed and moved down the line of books and scrolls. "Do you know the name?" Naruto shook his head. "There are a couple documented villages from the Pre-Sage of Six Paths Era, but not many." He stopped and rested his hand on a book. "There was a village, long ago. There wasn't much special about it, but it used to stand not far from here. We haven't had too many digs there, so we don't know a lot about it, but from what I gather, it was situated about six kilometers south of Konoha."

He picked up a book and handed it to Naruto, opening it to a single page. Naruto looked down at it and was dismayed to see only a map pinpointing the location of the ancient civilization and a single paragraphs saying that the village was a trader's outpost. "That's all?"

"We don't deal much with archeology here," Hiashi said. "However, we have reason to believe that part of the Hyuuga lineage may have come from that village, so we have information on it."

"Well, that's helpful enough," Naruto said. "Thank you, Lord Hiashi." He bowed and returned the book.

"Keep it." Naruto nodded and they turned to leave. "Naruto!" The boy stopped and turned. "Good luck you two." He turned his gaze to his daughter. She nodded and the two left the room.

An hour later Naruto was standing in Kakashi's office with Sai, Tenten and Hinata. "You four are in charge of finding out what you can from Naruto's vision. They have been briefed on the situation." Kakashi addressed the three in the room whose names did no start with N. "Do not let Naruto out of your sight. If Datenshi or the children come to him, do not engage. Naruto, that means you. The less we interact with them, the better, I'm guessing."

"That's a pretty heavy gamble," Naruto grumbled. "What's it based on?'

"A hunch," Kakashi admitted. He looked up as the door opened and Minato stepped inside. "Good afternoon, sensei. Can I help you?"

Minato looked at the man, then to his son. "I'd like permission to go with my son."

Naruto and Kakashi exchanged a look, and Naruto nodded, against his better judgement. "Very well."

Kakashi sank into his chair once his office had been cleared of the ANBU and various other parties. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned to a wall of monitors, turning them all on. It took about twenty minutes for the other to sign in to the call.

"Good afternoon," Kakashi greeted the Kage.

"Is it Sasuke?" The Raikage demanded without a formal greeting. Kakashi sighed, though he had expected as much.

"I can safely say it is not Sasuke," he answered evenly.

"But you do know what it is, right?" the Mizukage asked.

"It is a plague. Surely you have all received my messages."

"We have," the Tsuchikage said, "but it doesn't make sense. How can one man destroy the world in seven days?"

"We're not sure," Kakashi answered truthfully. "They came here looking for Naruto, that's all we know right now."

"Is there really a deadline?"

"Is the sun red?" Kakashi retorted. "We've begun a wide scale evacuation and I suggest you do the same."

"What did they want with Naruto?" Gaara asked.

Kakashi frowned. He knew they had every right to know what was happening, but telling them about Naruto's seeming involvement would only end is disaster. "There are three of them," Kakashi explained carefully. "They keep referring to Naruto as the Fourth; the one they've been waiting for. Apparently they need Naruto for one reason or another."

"Have you tried locking him up?" Onoki asked.

"Naruto is, as of now, looking for a solution," Kakashi retorted.

"If the boy is a part of this-"

"He is not!" Kakashi cut off the Mizukage angrily. "Naruto has nothing to do with this."

"It sounds like he has everything to do with this," A retorted. "Do you know the extent of his involvement?"

"It's not willing, if that's what you're asking," Kakashi growled dangerously.

"That's not what he's implying, Kakashi," Mei said, trying to calm him. "He wants to know how important Naruto is to the overall scheme of this."

Kakashi bit his lip and was thankful for the mask that was hiding his frown. "Datenshi, the ring leader of this madness, said that Naruto was pivotal." He took a long pause, knowing what his next words would do to this meeting. "His apocalypse cannot happen without Naruto."

The four Kage remained silent for a time. Kakashi watched their faces. Mei and Onoki were seemingly pondering the next words to come out of their mouths and Gaara looked instantly troubled; for good reason. Only A seemed set in his answer. "Then there is only one solution," he said.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "That's not a solution," he snapped.

"It is and you know it," A snapped.

Kakashi clenched his fists, but it was Gaara who answered. "That seems like a last resort," he said calmly to the Raikage. "Surely we of the alliance can come up with a better solution that doesn't involve crucifixion, yes?"

"You are bleeding hearts! What's one life compared to the millions that could be saved?" A snapped back.

"That is a bit cruel," Mei grumbled. Onoki shrugged and leaned back into his chair in thought.

"Ask the boy!" A continued. "You know he would do it in a heartbeat, Kakashi!"

Kakashi nodded. He would. Naruto would do anything to save the world; which was why he wasn't even going to bring it up to Naruto.

"We're not killing Naruto."

Kakashi turned to the door to see who had chimed in. "Sasuke?" he breathed. "I told you not to come."

"It's a good thing I did," Sasuke snapped.

"There's the Uchiha. Are we certain it's not he who is causing this mess?" A asked.

"I already told you it wasn't," Kakashi groaned. "Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Sasuke opened the door wider, revealing his mother. "I see."

"What is the meaning of this?" Sasuke snapped.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Kakashi answered calmly. He turned back to address the Kage. "My advice is sound. Evacuate your cities, get everyone underground and let us handle our own shinobi!"

Three of the Kage nodded and signed off the call, leaving just Kakashi and the Raikage. "You know I will do anything to ensure my village's survival," A said.

"I am aware."

"If Naruto is truly as important as you say, then you know what much be done, Kakashi."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "We're not killing Naruto," he said. "There must be other ways to end this. I will lock him in chains if I have to, but I won't stoop to murdering him."

A narrowed his eyes. "Very well, Kakashi. I do hope you know what you're doing…" He signed off, leaving Kakashi alone with Sasuke and Mikoto.

He turned to his Uchiha guests and smiled warily. "I hope so too."

Author's note: And there you go! All the destruction will come shortly!