Millenia ago, the southernmost coast of the modern day Land of Fire.
"General!" Lilith bellowed in rage while glaring at the blonde-haired woman cradling a blood covered body in the distance. She could feel her lips still slick with blood, blood that she licked off with her purple tongue before bellowing out towards the blonde-haired General once again.
The demon queen's body was wrapped tight by glowing chains that ripped out of the chests and backs of the men and women surrounding her. Not only did the chains wrap around her, holding her down on her knees on the softened blood soaked ground, they also penetrated her normally impervious skin and armour. From the corner of her eyes, she could see a robed figure chanting away while holding a thick leather-bound book. She turned her head towards the figure whose hood covered his face in shadow, and raged, "you think this will seal me and my children away!?"
Lilith growled as she bared her fangs at the robed figure before turning her head towards the other men and women standing in a circle around her. With her enhanced hearing, she then heard a quiet sob in the distance before she stared at the General who laid down the body of her dead daughter and wiped her own eyes. A smile formed on the blood-stained lips of the demon as her blood red eyes focused onto the anguish on the General's face.
And Lilith yelled out once again, "she lies within me, General! Her soul is within me! And I will enjoy the souls of her, her lover, and all these people you hold dear! They will nourish me for years upon years!"
"Silence, creature!" the robed figure commanded.
Lilith snapped her head towards the robed figure and snarled. However, the robed figure stood his ground as he raised his head. Lilith could see his eyes, a deep blue with parts of his red hair peeking out from under the hood. The man spoke with authority, "you will speak no more. You will walk on this world no more after this day. And you will no longer be able to…"
"You stole this way of sealing me away by using the blood of my own children to enhance your puny bodies," Lilith growled at the robed figure before she turned her head towards the blonde-haired General making her way towards her. The General was holding a blood-stained sword made from the same steel as the ones jutting out from the men and women who held Lilith down.
And make no mistake, the demon queen was trapped. She had no access to any of her more 'savage' abilities and she couldn't even feel her body. Her arms were held tight against her body by the links of the glowing chains that wrapped around her while she was continuing to lose blood from the wounds caused by the various razor-sharp ends of the chains that went through her body and dug into the earth.
"You killed so many, monster," the General whispered after stopping a few steps away from Lilith before motioning her arms towards the people around them. She then pointed at the chains as she continued, "but it is the blood of your demons that formed the basis of these new gifts."
"I am very aware," Lilith snarled.
The General's eyes went back to staring at the creature wrapped tightly in the glowing chains, "it was a stroke of luck that the blood transfusions from your dead demonic children into these volunteers succeeded."
The General then looked down at her sword before enraged eyes looked up into the pit of nothingness and despair that were Lilith's reddish orbs, "and the metallic chains that formed from some of your despicable children were melted down and used to create this sword and several more bladed weapons."
Lilith looked away from the General and watched in the distance, all around her, as more and more of her children were cut down screaming in pain and rage by warriors wielding weapons forged from the same metal. She then turned her head towards the General who growled, "you will be trapped here for all time. We will watch over you, we will guard the world against you, we will ensure you are never brought back to this world."
At this, Lilith sneered before closing her eyes and opening them after a few moments while the robed figure continued to whisper. This time he put the book away and then reached inside his robe before taking out a bottle of pale blue liquid.
While he unscrewed the bottle, Lilith growled at the General, "You may have won this time, General." Lilith snarled, causing a chill to go up and down the spines of everyone while a corner of her lips raised upwards, "but I am a god. I have seen alternative fates… alternative futures, and I can say that in every one of them I will return."
The General glared at the monster in front of her before saying, "you never saw your defeat, did you?" A smile then formed on the General's face, "you never saw your own defeat. Which means you can be wrong, that you are not infallible. Why would any of your so called alternative futures occur now that you are to be sealed away?"
Lilith chuckled at the blonde-haired woman who continued speaking as she put her sword into the scabbard on her left hip.
"We of the Uzu are masters of sealing, capable of feats that have trapped lower demons and creatures of darkness for centuries. You are not the first to have come here, demon. And you are not the first so-called god we have trapped." The General crossed her arms over her ample chest, her lips pressed together in restrained anger before she continued with a growl, "although you are the one who caused the most pain and destruction."
Lilith smirked before she chuckled. Stopping a few seconds later, Lilith then continued speaking while glaring at the General.
"After we help any survivors on the mainland, we will return home and rebuild our own home," the General finished.
Lilith twisted her face in rage at the smug look on the General's face before barking out, "in six months, we have enslaved, eaten, and simply killed millions upon millions of humans across the mainland and on your island before you pushed us back."
Lilith stopped herself, took in a breath, and then said, "I will return. My children will return, and we will feed." She then laughed for a few moments before continuing, "My children and I will return, and when we do… I will have a prince by my side. I have seen it… we will eat and destroy everything living before moving on to the next world."
The General then glanced at the people surrounding them before her eyes shifted back towards Lilith once again, "even if you happen to return; whether it be tomorrow, hundreds of years from now, or millennia in the future, my people will be there to defeat you once again." She then glanced at one of the chains before reaching out for one of the links. The General brushed her fingers along the smooth metal making up one of the links and then turned her head towards Lilith once again.
"For centuries, my people had this power within them… a power we were simply born with thanks to the ancient purpose of the island… to entrap demons through our gifts," she spoke, her arms still folded across her chest while her heart continued to race at the thought that this monster murdered so many people. She took another step towards Lilith while saying, "we discovered it was only us, we searched the mainland for others with similar abilities and skills as ours, but there were none. We often wondered why we had this skill," the General stopped talking and remembered the first time she was able to use an inner force, along with her martial skills, to even shatter rocks with a punch. And now, the transfused blood from demons had given many of her people more unique abilities that aided in the final push against the demonic horde that simply appeared one day in a brilliant flash of light on the far side of the mainland.
Lilith scoffed before spitting blood at the General's feet.
"That boost in our natural skills helped defeat you and your children," the General said, "we won."
"I have seen your fall, General," Lilith growled as she glared at the General, "I have seen your people forget what transpired here, I have seen the coming of a being that calls itself a goddess, I have seen a tree bearing a fruit bestowing powers to her, I have seen the coming wars." She smiled darkly at the General, "it is a power that will be freely given to the human race, similar to power in the blood of my children. The same blood that you ingrates have put into your own bodies to heighten your abilities and create new ones."
"We will be ready," the General said as she took several steps back while the robed figure spilled the pale blue liquid onto the ground, "and you? Well, your body and very soul will be trapped for all time." The General heard Lilith chuckle while she continued, "there will be someone who will always watch this seal in both peace and war."
'Where will they be when this place is destroyed by your enemies?' Lilith thought to herself as the General drew her sword once again. She sneered at the General before the blonde-haired women swung her sword. The last thing that Lilith saw before her head was cut off her shoulders was the robed figure slamming his hand onto the ground. Lilith's head fell on the ground in front of the now headless body with a 'thump', the eyes staring at the General.
"Seal!" the robed figure exclaimed after slamming his hands on the ground. The General and the others watched as the liquid moved on its own along the bloodied ground creating a thick circular border. It encircled the trapped Lilith before the liquid began crating symbols all on its own within the thick border. A few seconds later, a circular wall of blue light surrounded the body of the dead Lilith as the chains that held her trapped retracted back into the bodies of their users. The circular symbol glowed bright blue before the body itself vanished in crackles of lighting and smoke.
All that remained was the symbol on the ground and the dead bodies of humans and demons piled all around them. The war was over, and it was time to rebuild.
"General Azumi."
The General turned towards the robed figure who continued, "this site must be protected at all cost. Lilith was powerful, much more powerful than the monsters our people have sealed away." The General nodded her head at the figure, signalling at him to continue, "after her death, I felt her spiritual energy trapped within the seal as well."
"Something as powerful as her would continue to live on, even in death," the General whispered as she glanced at the other warriors around them. Their clothes were torn in places thanks to the chains that protruded from their bodies earlier, but they still went back onto the field of battle to kill any remaining demons that were present. The General then turned back towards the robed figure, one of the High Priests of the island, and continued, "and if the seal is ever broken, then her spiritual energy will escape."
"And the world will pay for it."
"Find people you trust who are still alive, Ashiki," the General told the robed priest, "drill into them that this seal and its protection is their singular duty… as well as the duty of their descendants… from now until the end of time."
"We must write down what has transpired here so that our people remember what is at stake if Lilith is ever released again." Turning towards the seal, the General then spoke once again, "she cannot be released into the world... never again."
The General and her people would mourn the dead before the usually isolationist islanders travelled onto the mainland to destroy any other demons that still lived. Many of the warriors discovered humans who were kept as breeding stock and as food for those very demons – demons that were then killed by these warriors and the prisoners they freed. It would be another five years before the demons that followed Lilith to Earth were purged from the mainland. Soon after, the islanders returned to their home across the whirlpool laden sea; they only returned to the mainland when called to investigate and deal with creatures of darkness, such as demons.
The survivors on the mainland thrived for generation after generation and eventually forgot about the demonic horde that nearly wiped a continent. The mainlanders lived their lives, as did the islanders who returned saw a return to prosperity and peace. There were still small scale wars between small nations on the mainland, but nothing like the war against the demons.
One night, a few millennia after the demon horde's invasion, what would eventually be known as the divine-tree crashed onto Earth. The roots of the tree dug deep into the Earth; it was attracted to the blood, both demonic and human, that seeped deep into the ground of the continent millenia ago. Even blood shed by the small scale wars of the time were being slowly consumed by the mysterious tree. The power in the blood, as well as the blood itself, would eventually cause a bud to bloom into what would be known as the Chakra Fruit.
Then came Kaguya. She would eat the fruit of the divine tree. It was Kaguya who would be known later on as the progenitor of Chakra. The power in the blood of the long dead demons were finally given a name – a power that Kaguya's clan sought to collect and consume from one world to another.
And history went on as written in legends and songs of the Rabbit Goddess and how her sons warred with her. The occupants of the island, descendants of the General's people, looked on from a distance in fear and awe as three gods fought – the islander's only hope was that the powerful beings generating those massive explosions and changing the landscape around the world would not come towards them. The Guardians of the Seal were particularly fearful; they knew what would happen if a blast hit the island - the seal would break and Lilith would be freed.
When that war was finished and Kaguya sealed away, the islanders breathed a sigh of relief. Over time, the islanders grew in power and stature. They further perfected the sealing arts and, thanks to their relatively longer lives and durability, the islanders forged numerous alliances with the mainland in the ongoing wars that had already devastated the mainland and were threatening the island. By this time the islanders – except for the priests who watched over the seal, now with a non-descript building built around it – believed the war with demons were just stories.
The Islanders would eventually become close allies with the Senju Clan from the mainlaind. The Uzu Clan would, over time, become known as the Uzumaki Clan and their symbol of a swirling whirlpool would be honoured among the Senju when Hashirama founded the village of Konoha with the Uchiha Clan. And it would be Uzumaki Mito, the daughter of the clan head, who would be known as one of the first to live on the mainland as the wife of the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
Over the many skirmishes and wars after the founding of Konoha, the islanders on Uzu would be more and more involved in the wars on the mainland.
Over time, other nations were jealous of the island nation. Four nations attacked it while the third Shinobi War raged on the mainland. Calls for help were sent to their greatest ally, Konoha. But all the messages were intercepted before reaching the village, so the Hokage – the Sandaime Hiruzen Sarutobi – never knew about its eventual destruction until the final missive, just before the fall of the island, was sent out.
It was too late though. The coordinated attack on the island killed hundreds and thousands of people while many others escaped into exile. The attack destroyed the main village of Uzushigakure and the smaller villages. The island would be plundered, its secrets stolen by those who attacked and, later on, by the one who betrayed the alliance; Danzo.
Sarutobi never figured out why a warning from the island was never received until the last moment. But in the end, his investigations didn't come to anything. And that didn't matter. Nothing mattered really since the seal was cracked in the war. It was the first time Lilith's spiritual energy felt the rising power of her demonic children's essences all around her. But she was still trapped.
And then came the fourth shinobi war. A blast from the Jyuubi impacted the island and shattered the seal. While the Shinobi forces celebrated their victory over Kaguya and the Akatsuki, none realized that Lilith was awakened. And that she was freed.
And so, the end had come once again. This time, no one would realize it until it was too late.
Konoha; now.
Music was still playing as Sakura danced with her father. The man's strange hairstyle – as pink as a sakura flower and in the style of one as well – was humming along with the music while Sakura lay her head on his left shoulder. She could see Sasuke dancing with her mother, as well as several others dancing with their own partners. But the floor wasn't as crowded as before, with the tables and chairs that were once empty already had people seated. Many were eating, drinking, some even were rubbing their feet.
'Which reminds me,' Sakura thought to herself, 'my feet hurt.' She wanted to laugh; this was the day she wished for her entire life – or at least when she first met Sasuke – and all she could do was complain about her feet hurting.
'I can take a break later,' Sakura thought to herself as the music tapered off and people stopped dancing. She kissed her father's cheeks – with her mother kissing Sasuke's cheeks, causing the man's face to flush red slightly – before stepping back. There was a roar of applause then before the Deejay on the raised dais spoke out saying that the friends and family of the wedded couple had a few things to say. Sakura turned her head towards her mother walking towards her with an arm around Sasuke's. Sakura reached out for her husband and gently grasping his free hand while her mother let him go, and then kissed Sakura on her cheek.
With Haruno Mebuki walking towards her husband, Sakura and Sasuke turned towards the raised dais when the Deejay exclaimed, "and the first well-wisher for the handsome couple, the current Hokage, Hatake Kakashi!" Everyone clapped as Kakashi walked up the steps which were a short distance away from the bar.
'Where's Shizune-senpai?' Sakura thought to herself as she turned her head towards the tables to search for her senior. She looked around, her eyes searching for the dark haired woman, before turning towards the dais when Kakashi tapped a spoon against the glass of wine in his hand, 'that's odd, where's Ino?' She looked around once again while Kakashi talked about how Team Seven were still his 'little genin' no matter what anyone said. That brought about laughter from the crowd while Sakura, her eyes going past Shikamaru, Temari, and Hyuuga Akane, then realized that Neji was missing as well, as was Choji.
'They probably went out to get some air,' Sakura thought as she turned her head back towards Sasuke who was staring at Kakashi telling an embarrassing story of the time when Sasuke and Naruto had their hands stuck together for a few days. Sakura noticed the worried expression on his face. It lasted for a few seconds before it was replaced with a huff as he looked away from Kakashi when the latter brought up the time he and Naruto accidentally kissed in the classroom.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled out, shaking her fist at the masked man while others simply laughed.
"But seriously," Kakashi said as Sakura lowered her arms, the stare she gave him sending chills up and down his spine, continued his speech, "these two have had their ups and downs…" Kakashi knew it wouldn't be right to bring about Sasuke's more 'darker' times, "… and yet, despite everything they've been through together and apart, here they are…" As he continued finishing his speech, he caught sight of the door at the other end of the reception hall opening.
He saw Tsunade walking into the hall, along with Neji; the both of them looked at him in worry when their eyes met. But Kakashi didn't stop the jovial tone of his speech before raising his glass to Sasuke and Sakura's health and happiness. Kakashi expected to hear news about Naruto, he just had hoped it wasn't going to be bad news based on the expressions on their faces.
Everyone cheered to Sasuke and Sakura's happiness before Kakashi walked back down the steps while the Deejay returned to the microphone. In an excited voice, while Kakashi was heading towards Tsunade and Neji, the Deejay called for Tsunade and her speech to the couple.
Kakashi saw Tsunade look at Neji and then mumble something before she changed direction and headed for the dias. He glanced at the worried look on her face changing to one of joy as she turned her head towards Sakura and Sasuke's direction.
"Hokage-sama," Neji said once he was close enough while Tsunade walked up the steps. Kakashi saw Tsunade whisper into the Deejay's ears for a second before the man dressed in the sparking grey suit and blue flared trousers nodded his head and then handed her the microphone. Kakashi turned back towards Neji before nodding towards the bar where Choji was standing next to Konohamaru transformed as Naruto.
As they walked, Kakashi then whispered, "what happened?"
"Naruto is dying," Neji whispered before Kakashi snapped his head towards him. The masked Hokage's eyes were wide open in surprise as Neji continued, "I used my Byakugan on him, only to see his chakra… as well as the chakra of the Kyuubi and the other eight tailed beasts… being sucked out of him."
"What?" Kakashi hissed out as he tried to keep his voice low. BY this time, they reached the bar where Choji and Konohamaru heard the surprise in Kakashi's voice. They turned towards Kakashi and Neji, the latter was nodding his head, "where?"
"Where what?" Choji asked.
"Hokage-sama," Konohamaru said just as the guests cheered once Tsunade was done with her speech, "what's going on with Naruto-nii, and…"
"Our next, and final, well wisher for the couple is the hero of Konoha, and one of the four who sealed away Kaguya and saved the entire world; UZUMAKI NARUTO!"
Konohamaru paled as he snapped his head towards the dias where Tsunade was walking down the steps.
"You do know that Naruto was supposed to give a small speech, right?" Kakashi asked as he scratched the back of his head. He saw Konohamaru look back towards him as he continued, "just say things that you know Naruto would say."
"But…"
"Just don't anything too stupid or else Sakura will be punishing you after this is all done," Kakashi chuckled before grabbing his shoulders, turned him towards the dias, and then pushing him off just as Tsunade strode past while patting Konohamaru on the shoulder.
"Good luck, kid," she said. As Konohamaru, transfromed as Naruto, walked away mumbling about being unfair and being left out of the loop, Kakashi turned towards Tsunade who grabbed the bottle of Sake on the bar next to Choji and took a sip. She then sighed and whispered while eying Kakashi, Choji, and Neji. She then asked Neji, "you told them?"
"Choji doesn't know, not yet," Neji said before he glanced at Kakashi, "Hokage-sama knows."
"What happened to Naruto?" Choji whispered with a look of worry.
"Naruto is dying," Tsunade whispered. Choji stiffened, blood draining from his face as he stared at Tsunade before looking over Kakashi who had his eyes closed. Neji then told Choji of what he saw when he used his Byakugan before going on to explain that the chakra was being sucked into some kind of formless mass floating above Naruto's body.
Neji then shuddered, something he couldn't prevent as he remembered that terrifying face staring back at him, "I saw something. A face… the more chakra it was taking it, the more features seemed to form and…"
"The boss didn't see anything, and neither did Ino and Shizune," Tsunade said, "this isn't an attack, Kakashi. This… this is some kind of a possession by an entity we haven't encountered."
"What do you mean possession?" Choji asked in surprise before Kakashi could respond.
"Naruto was non-responsive until I saw that… that face," Neji said while suppressing another shudder, "then, a few seconds later, after that face returned to seemingly sucking chakra from his neck, Naruto spoke in a voice that was not his."
Kakashi froze; as did Choji.
"He… it… whatever this thing is… called itself Lilith, the Queen of Death and Darkness," Tsunade said while the other guests cheered at Konohamaru's toast towards Sakura and Sasuke. Kakashi turned his head towards Sasuke and Sakura's direction. Sasuke was staring at Konohamaru and Sakura was laughing and clapping. Kakashi looked away from the couple's direction and back towards Tsunade who said, "the original me recommends we inform Temari and Kurotsuchi, since this is not an attack by one of the other nations, we could ask them for any expertise about this Lilith entity."
"Kurotsuchi has been dancing with Sai… both have been kind of inseparable since the wedding," Choji said leaning to the side so that he could look behind Tsunade and towards the dance floor where Sai and Kurotsuchi were standing among the other guests, "and Temari's with Shikamaru." He then turned back towards Tsunade and Kakashi before saying, "and if Naruto's dying, then I think Sakura and Sasuke would understand the need to finish this reception early."
"The others should be notified too," Neji said, referring to what remained of the Konoha Eleven, "working together, we should be able to discover what this Lilith really is, and then eliminate her and cure Naruto."
"How long does he have?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm sure the original me has already begun measuring the rate of chakra loss," the clone Tsunade said, "until then, we can't be sure."
"Could this Lilith be what Ino saw in her vision?" Kakashi asked, referring to the information returning to his mind after his clone dispersed earlier.
"Probably," Tsunade replied as she looked over at the Deejay asking everyone to continue dancing. She then turned back towards Kakashi and continued, "and now?"
"Now we contact the other Hokage's and help Naruto," Kakashi said before turning towards Sasuke and Sakura who were walking up the steps to the raised dais, the pink haired girl holding onto Sasuke's hand, "and I think, given the situation, we need to tell Sasuke and Sakura now."
As Sakura was handed the microphone from the Deejay, Tsunade agreed with Kakashi.
'Don't give up, Naruto,' the clone Tsunade thought, 'do not give up.'
TBC