Author Notes
Here's installment of one of my favorite written stories. I decided to leave out that last piece last chapter for later. Thank you guys for the support and liking the story. But remember if the story does not suit you, then I kindly ask that you refrain from reading my story. Speaking of which, this story has a total of four arcs and an epilogue which means that progression will be slow at times.
All sword stances and such are real and have been heavily researched to ensure validity. Also, if any other author's ideas happen to end up in this story, it is purely coincidental. If they wish for me to recognize their idea and/or work then I will do so.
Lastly, this chapter might not be what one usually expects for a new arc opening so I advise reading about three to four chapters in before deciding to continue or not. This story came at a time where my writing style was changing and I did my best to edit the missed details, bad grammar, sentence structure, etc. I thank you for the time for reading this AN. Without further ado, I present to you Kuroi Kenshi, The Black Swordsman.
Chapter 1 : Prologue { Arc : 1 }
Yuki no Kuni
Underground Hideout
After the all these years he's finally did it , he's finally found something powerful enough to over take his brother and lead the Land of Snow to glory in his image. He looked at the dark purple leech with a serpent-like body. On its face, it wears a blank white coloured mask that has the kanji for "zero" on it, which is tan in color and five red hair-like strands sprouting from it four at the top and one at the bottom. The Zero-Tails showed to be capable of distorting its mask to resemble expressions. It also has a mouth that can open very wide, and it contains large molars.
He walked towards the demonic beast until he was stopped by one of the many religious fools that resided within the estate.
"Master Doto.. one who willing walked through this hall of hell made his choice. To cast off God himself in favor of power from the demons." The older man said
Doto Kazahana looked at him uncaring and said nothing confirming the suspicions of the older man. The old man continued
"I see.. it is futile to try and stop you. But hear me one last time." He said turning around slowly "Master Doto to cast off God is to walk the path of evil, it is to no longer to be human. If you cross this line only hell waits to embrace you on the other side."
Doto continue to stare at him amused this time. "You foolish priest, we're living in hell already.. the holy path of God you merely worship does not exist on this plane of reality."
The old man shook his head in disappointment "There shall be consequences for this act of treachery.."
"I care not" Doto stated firmly
Silence permeated the room until suddenly the old man tried to run to activate the seal that destroys the whole room but he wasn't fast enough and got ruthlessly cut down. He was bleeding out on the ground and yet he still smiled.
Sword still in hand, Doto narrowed his eyes but didn't said anything because the old man spoke again. "I th-thank you master Doto, this will be my sa-salvation. This world is indeed hell just as you say , the prayer seem more and more pointless.. my greatest fear is that one day I'll doubt myself and lose my faith.. I'm happy to die before that day happens but young master please stay away from the demon you so seek.. do not let yourself fall for evil even if the power it offers is enticing as it seems for the moment." He said with his last breath.
"No priest it is too late..."
He sat in front of a shrine as the small candle lit the room slightly.
"Demon.. I am Doto Kazahana brother of the King of the Land of Snow. I serve as the future Lord of this land, that man doesn't have what it takes to be a leader.. let alone a King. I don't bow to anyone I deemed less than me, because of the Gods made this my fate I will never have the power that I crave.. until I've met you. My ambitions will remain a mere dream but I refused to rely on the Gods, I do not offer you a prayer.. prayers often goes unanswered but I seek a bargain. If you give me the power to rule and protect these lands I will give your freedom, you'll be sealed into me and see what I see. We can be kings and take over the lands together! Do we have a deal?"
"Very well mortal"
Suddenly Doto screamed permeated throughout the room as a seal etched onto his stomach and dark evil chakra invaded his system. When the pain stop he looked at his hands in wonder never feeling the much power before, he smiled menacingly
"Hehe.. HAAHAHAHAAHAA"
Few Years Later
Born on a blissfully cold, dark, moon etched night, he entered this world with a brother. Beautiful auburn red hair sat atop one boy while the younger had black, both possessing the same birthmark in different places, their mother smiled as she looked over her new joys. The forest was warmer than before even with all the snow. The wind whispered a melody of memories, hopes, dreams.
Though as the world was not a kind realm, this calm did not last. Her husband had drawn apart the doors in a bang, a scowl befitting of a madman across his face.
Their mothers smile had vanished in an instant, now keeping her head down and trying desperately to hide her children. '' Woman, I asked for an heir. '' Doto spoke through gritted teeth.
"My love, I have given you two beautiful boys..'' she responded timidly.
He looked at her and narrowed his eyes. Black hair.. it seems that the demon has influenced my child, no matter. He thought. "You have given me weakness, competition. I will only raise and provide for the first,'' the pause between his words cut through the air, even the midwife and servants had not expected the cruel words that came next, ''The extra can starve for all I care. Cast him out into the world.''
He took one look at the babies before him and saw only strength and weakness to his bloodline. A crack in his home. His wife would not look at him, tears gathering at her eye line, the servants feeling terrible for both her and the child, already abandoned.
Throughout all of this the eldest cried as long as his small lungs could hold out, the second however did not shed a single tear nor let out one whimper. She believed the small baby knew to keep quiet. She only hoped he would continue to do so…
One of the lady servants took the little boy despite the crying and pleading mother. The older women took the new born and wrapped him up in blankets and walked outside towards a creek. It was odd the little one still haven't made a sound, she shook her head this boy are such a young age is showing even greater strength then most. She look down at the baby boy and he was staring back at her, "I have no idea what's could've caused this and unfortunately child you're going to a live a life that's worse than any death.. " she grabbed a wooden crate and put the baby in "do you child has the disire to live? The rest is up to you.. may God be on your side." She said as the boy floated away.
Mount Myoboku
"Hmmm?" questioned a massive, ancient toad resting near a pond.
This got the attention of a much smaller, but only slightly less ancient, toad who was nearby. "What is it, honorable sage?"
The great toad sage looked puzzled for a moment, before he replied. "The future... I can no longer see it."
His smaller companion, Fukasaku, boggled at the thought. "What does that mean?"
The sage sighed, not sure what to make of the situation. "The child of prophecy has escaped the path he was forced onto at birth. Destiny itself lies shattered." He brought a finger to his mouth.
"It is quite fascinating. The future is in flux, and will be for some time. I have no idea what will happen now. Nobody does."
He sighed and closed his eyes wondering on things can come.
Tetsu no Kuni
The crate that the black haired baby boy is in floated slowly throughout the river passing the border of Land of Iron. He's been floating for some hours now until he finally landed next to someone who's been in hiding for a while now.
Mukai Kohinata was a broken man who've lost everything. His wife , his children, his master and now his purpose. He was sitting near the creek bed smoking a cigarette surrounded by bottles of alcohol. It was the only way to forgot about the past and move on. The brown hair man paused in his thought process when he spotted a suspicious wooden box floating towards him. He added chakra in his left eye and activated his Byakugan and realized in great shock that it was a baby in the box. He reached slowly towards the boy picked him up, the boy was pale from lack of nutrition, had black hair and a flame like birthmark on the left side of his face. Makai looked at him shocked "how can you be alive.. y-you wish to live don't you?" He said tears flowing down his face.
He sat there, back baby in hand remembering what his old master words.
Flashback Start
The young 27 year old ninja turned samurai stood kneeling at his dying master's side.
"Mukai you have been chosen to be the successor of the Niten Ichi Ryu style of swordsmanship."The old man said in an eerily calm voice of those who are staring death in the face.
"Master I am not worthy of such an honor!" the young man said.
"Do not say such things you have done remarkably well for your young age and you will only get better. Listen very well for this is your final lesson from me"
"Hai sensei"
"Words, titles, honorifics and the like, they mean nothing in this world. We long for fame, fortune and aggrandizement and yet it all comes to nothing in the face of death. We seek all these things because we are not complete within ourselves, we are not at peace. We have lost our connection to nature. In my death I finally understand what Yagyu Sekishusai sensei said that night when I was poised to take his life"
"What did he say?" asked the young man knowing full well that this man was one of his fiercest rivals
"My Sword is one with Heaven and Earth" that is what he told me.
"My Sword is one with Heaven and Earth?"
"Yes, the ultimate ideal of the swordsman develops in three stages. The first stage begins with the unity of man and sword; in this stage cannot distinguish between man and sword for they are the same. Even blade of grass is the deadliest weapon is such a man's hand. The second stage is when the sword exists in a man's heart and in this stage even without his sword the swordsman is a formidable opponent. The final stage is when the sword exists neither in the man's heart nor hand; he is at peace with himself and the worlds and seeks to bring peace to mankind."
The young man was speechless. Those words were burned into Mukai's soul.
"I have had a strange dream my boy; the world will be thrown into a great turmoil once again and a war will begin the likes of which we could never dream of."
"A great war?"
"In the final years of your life will meet a child with a great burden, far greater than any of us could dream of. He will be your student.
"What!" my student?" was the young man's startled reply.
"Yes your student and he will be the greatest of us all"
He will have to fight many battles because of it. However, he will become a warrior like none this world has ever seen. He will be the focal point of this war and many lives will depend on him."
"How will I know that I have found this child?"
"You will not find him, he will find you"
"Such a great burden!" Am I able to train such a warrior?"
"Do not doubt yourself; doubt is a deadly feeling for a warrior"
"H-Hai sensei"
"Now my time is almost here my son. As my successor I give to you the things I valued most in my life: My teachings of Dokkodo, Go Rin No Sho, and my sword : A Katana named Enma ( King of Hell ) forged by one of the greatest sword smiths ever Masamune."
The young man could not utter a word; this is a veritable treasure in the samurai world.
His master's parting words were…
"We are all a part of nature and we cannot escape it, do not struggle."
His master, the great Mushashi Miyamoto died with a smile in his face.
Flashback End
Mukai stood there holding the baby " Master words was right! I can't believe it! " He smiled genuinely finding another chance in life , " I finally have a chance to right my wrongs.. I shall name you after my first son. Welcome to my family.. Naruto.
Author Notes
I'm taking a new approach to the story , hopefully you his like the AU Naruto verse. Hopefully you guys enjoy. I'm going to leave some details and character summaries down below to read if you want to get background information about them.
Dotō Kazahana (風花ドトウ, Kazahana Dotō) was the leader of the Land of Snow, and was the primary antagonist of Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. Dotō began the revolt in the Land of Snow whilst searching for a treasure, which resulted in him killing his brother, Sōsetsu Kazahana who was the daimyō at the time. His niece, Koyuki Kazahana, fled from the Land of Snow, and became an actress named Yukie Fujikaze.
Dotō repeatedly proved to be cruel, arrogant, cold, ambitious and utterly ruthless, not shying away from murdering his own relatives if they stood in his way. Usually he was shown as being calm, this, however, could turn into murderous rage if he was thwarted in reaching his goals. He proved a highly cruel person, laughing maniacally as people were being killed at his command. Dotō's greedy and ambitious nature, is revealed by him not being content with the Land of Snow and ultimately intending to take on the Five Great Shinobi Countries.
Zero-Tails (零尾, Reibi) is a malevolent spirit, created by the dark thoughts and feelings of the downtrodden people, sealed within the Land of the Sky. Like Kurama, the Zero-Tails has the ability to sense negative emotions, which it uses to seek out and possess anyone who is emotionally unstable.
Afterwards, it begins to feed upon the darkness within one's heart and allows the spirit to create dark chakra (闇のチャクラ, yami no chakura). The dark chakra produced by the Zero-Tails grants its host a great source of power equal to its targets darkness , giving them access to high-level techniques without needing to form hand seals while negating any potential drawbacks those techniques may otherwise bring, as well as powering up the entire floating fortress.
So long as there is darkness in one's heart within the Zero-Tails' vicinity, it can continuously produce dark chakra at an unlimited rate. However, as with normal chakra, it requires proper control to use beneficially, and a disruption in the control flow can cause severe backlash that can ruin the user's body, as Shinnō heavily deteriorated when Sasuke Uchiha struck his tenketsu.
Mukai Kohinata (小日向ムカイ, Kohinata Mukai) was a jōnin and Anbu of Konohagakure. Mukai's family split off from the Hyūga clan several generations before his birth. Many assumed this meant his bloodline was too diluted to possess the Byakugan, but Mukai did in fact have a Byakugan in his left eye; he preferred to keep this a secret from anyone he wasn't close with. Once he became a Konoha-nin, Mukai led an accomplished career, ultimately joining the Anbu at the same time that he was promoted to jōnin.
Although his membership in the Anbu had to remain a secret from most, Mukai's performance was nevertheless stellar enough to earn the trust of the Third Hokage. Mukai eventually married and had two children. But when one of his children, a son, became sick, Mukai struggled to afford his treatment. In order to make the needed money, he began spying on Konoha for Kirigakure.
Mukai was a smoker as well as an alcoholic and would indulge in these vices whenever he had the opportunity. Despite this, Mukai was a capable ninja and confident in his abilities, even willing to compromise the mission in order to display his abilities for the famed Itachi Uchiha. In battle, Mukai showed that he could be merciless, attacking the leader with a full Eight Trigrams technique, despite the fact that a single blow would have sufficed, not wanting to let the leader of the enemy team escape unscathed. His love for his family led him to betray his village, and at his death, he confessed everything to spare them from paying for his crimes.
