The Legend of the Maelstrom

by Afrosage3178

A tiny change can alter the essence of a story. What happens when a child whos to grow in ignorance learns the truth just a tad earlier? What happens when his bad habits are corrected before they become a character trait? What happens when a old man realizes his mistake before it's too late? Watch as an old monkey takes of the weights holding down a young fox to free the maelstrom

1. Prologue

Prologue

Fear; that is all he could feel. No not fear. That was too flimsy a word, terror that's what he felt. A deep, and mindless terror encompassing his very being. He was trained from a young age to overcome fear and had lived a life facing it every day, yet he could not move. He had killed, fought in wars and faced near-death situations countless times and never had he faltered. But nothing like this. Never had he felt so helpless, never had he felt so hopeless, never had he felt so vulnerable when facing a single foe. For a single enemy it was that attacked his home and crushed his self-belief as it had crushed tens of his friends, his mates, his fellow shinobi beneath its massive paws as it rampaged through their home; konohagakure no sato: The village hidden in the leaves. The ninja had watched helpless and paralyzed with fear as his teammates were stepped on, swatted away, and bitten in half by the massive beast that attacked, terror halting his movements as he watched the legends proven true. A swing of its tails flooded plains, a wave of it mighty arms leveled mountains and its roar caused countless hurricanes, this was the kyuubi, the mightiest of demons. This calamity came in the shape of a massive fox with nine tails, each a representation of the mighty power held within. Its power was so encompassing that nothing it seemed, could stop its rampage.

"no I can't falter here" the ninja thought" if I do who will protect my kin" he grimaced and tightened his grip around the kunai in his hand "I am a shinobi damn it and today, it's time to prove it"

His heart bolstered but his body still trembling. He leapt to the rooftops to face the mighty beast. Two minutes later he lay upon the floor, his body broken, his spirit shattered his breathing labored as he watched his death approach. The last thing he saw, apart from the paw descending to crush him, was an old man standing on the rooftop of one of the few still standing buildings in this area wielding a massive Bo staff. He wore black battle gear and seemed ready to face the creature many times his size.

The man's last coherent thought was "Ah… maybe we do have hope afterall…"