Notes:
Hello!
I intended for this to only be posted on AO3, but due to some messages and requests I've received, this will now be posted on here as well. :D
If y'all have been reading my fics for a while, you would probably know of Eternal. Back in like 2020, I was editing the existing chapters because I became unsatisfied with how I'd written the story. I got to about 6 chapters and never continued and essentially discontinued the fic entirely.
But I love the plot too much to let it go. So instead of silently changing the existing chapters and then updating once it's complete, I've decided to start completely from scratch. While I love the original, there's so many things I wish I expanded upon and did differently.
The original fic will still be up, but I am making changes to the story. As a whole, the themes and main plot points remain the same, but I wanted the execution and pacing to be done differently.
To those that hoped Eternal would be continued, here it is. It will take a bit to catch up from where the original left off, but we will get there! I've finished a few chapters, and the plan is for an update every week.
Without further ado, here is the prologue!
iterum
again, a second time, once more
palingenesis
a concept of rebirth or re-creation.
She has never seen anything like this.
As a Shinobi, she'd experienced and witnessed her fair share of violence. It comes with the territory. And if she is to ever fulfill her dream to become Hokage, this violence would not only be the norm, but she would also have to lead the village and in turn, permit certain acts of violence for the sake of village. She's known this.
But violence like this? Against or for Konoha, should never be brought into the world.
Bodies littered the ground like leaves in autumn, painted red instead of the russet tones she'd loved seeing beneath her feet every mid-October morning. Bodies piled on top of each other, lumped together like garbage to be discarded, as if the lives that had just inhabited them were of no value. Replacing the crisp fall breeze, the blistering heat of destruction weaved through the village she called home, leaving nothing but flames and anguish in its wake, wails of sorrow and despair filling the spots where disaster had not.
With chakra concentrated on her closed fist, her knuckles meet skin and the mindless soldier flies into the air. Another one conjures up behind her and before it can even touch her, she sends it to the same fate.
One after another, it's never-ending. Soldiers from who knows where with blackened eyes and seemingly soulless continue their rampage on the village. Boulders aflame continue to plummet at high speeds, diving from where they were from high above down to her beloved village, as those still breathing scream for aid. Misery is indisputably in the air. Explosions erupt all throughout the village, taking with it both the innocent and those with ill intent. It seems like no one will be spared.
At that moment, the air in her lungs feels as though it's been depleted.
Their chakra…
Why can't I sense them?
She could easily sense them when the fighting began. Their combined might is too powerful to ignore. She felt the earth move; the wind blow in the direction against where blows were made. But while she's been on her own battles, she failed to notice it's disappearance.
Panic catches in her throat, and she struggles to calm herself. A soldier seizes the opportunity and lands a blow on her side, reeling her back. Blood drips onto the ground.
Sarada clutches the open wound, red seeping from her fingers, staining her skin.
No.
They're strong. They're okay.
They have to be.
Frustrated at the barrage of lifeless soldiers, she focused more chakra onto her fist and punched, the force from the thrust of her hand sent numerous of them flying, giving her the time to run.
And run she does.
Past the others, past the rubble of buildings she used to frequent, past the carnage. Her own wounds ignored when doubt sinks its claws into her skin, piercing her with a venom that quickly poisons her brain, seeding thoughts of the worst possible outcome.
No.
As fast as she can, she heads to where she sensed them last, where the fighting should be most intense. But it's an eerie quiet now. She doesn't see powerful blows from where she is. No change of wind direction. No sparks of lightning or fire. No ground shaking activity.
She tries to calm herself, breathing deep and slow. But her lips quiver, and tears prick at her eyes at the mere thought.
Papa must have transported them somewhere.
That's it.
They just took the worst of the fighting away from the village.
They'll be okay.
She reaches what's left of the village's outer walls, reduced to rubble. There's a stretch of the forest that's been cleared, trees uprooted, the grass looking to be either burned off or never having been there to begin with. She's in the right place. But no one's around.
Her eyes scan the area, searching, hoping, pleading for a sign that her unease is uncalled for.
"Sarada!" Boruto appears beside her. "Where are you going? We need to finish off those zombies a-"
His eyes trail to her side, where her ensanguined hand still grips her injury. "You're hurt! We need to find Mitsuki.
"Something's wrong." She ignores him off before she runs off again, following the trail of the cleared forest.
She has a special bond with her parents. No matter the distance, there's this tether that links her to them and them to her. It's something she's learned during her first foray out of the village in search of her father. Young and too curious for her own good, her misconceptions led her to him and, eventually, clarity. Clarity on who she is, on who her family is, and what keeps them together despite every obstacle thrown their way.
As she grew, it became more evident, and she became more aware. It's in the way her mother works so hard for the hospital and the Children's Therapy Center she helped create. It's in the way her father continues to take missions outside of the village. All of it born from an all-encompassing love.
"There's an old saying." Sarada's thoughts recall an old conversation with the Sixth Hokage. "That no other clan treasures love more than the Uchiha."
Initially, she thought he was teasing. After all, she'd heard from her mom that he tends to poke fun at his old students. But his words, even then, rung true to her. Her parents love each other in a quiet and subtle way, but to her, it's loud and glaringly obvious. With their lasting stares, as if they're engaging in a conversation in a language only they speak, she'd almost feel uncomfortable witnessing it. Because she knows them, and she loves them just as fiercely.
Boruto chases after her as they pass the rest of the forest debris until the clearing ends and the forest begins again.
Then, she stops.
And lets out a blood curdling scream.
As a Shinobi, she should assess the situation first before acting on her own.
As a Shinobi, she should be used to violence and loss.
As a Shinobi who wants to be Hokage, she should focus on protecting the village.
But her feet move on their own. Her thoughts jumbled in disbelief and denial. Because that couldn't be them. This couldn't be happening.
Tears erupt from her eyes, and the world burned into a bleary mess of colors.
Rose colored hair splayed on the grass, her mother's face pale and dirty, and her eyes shut. Her arms stretched out on either side of her, her left hand covered by her father's right. As if reaching out to her, her father laid face down, his clothes torn. Both laid in a pool of crimson.
Sarada Uchiha is a Shinobi.
But at this moment, she's just a human being, a young girl kneeling between her beloved parents' lifeless bodies.
"Mama? Mama, wake up!" Her own wounds long forgotten; she reaches for her mother's shoulders in an attempt to shake her awake. She ignores the missing rhombus shape on her forehead. She ignores the long cut across her mother's forehead. She ignores that her mother's head is barely attached to the rest of her body.
Her attention turns to her father. Slowly, her eyes drift from their joined hands to her the back of her father's head. "Papa, we have to help mama."
Another scream escapes her as she cradles her father's head, belligerently sobbing, calling out to her parents only for it to fall on deaf ears.
Boruto can't move from where he stands, witnessing his teammate, his closest friend mourn. Sarada is usually the most levelheaded of their team. To see her in this way, something in his chest hurts.
But it isn't just that. There's a change in Sarada's eyes. Her Sharingan looked different. Her bloodied tears leaving a trail of red on her face as her heart breaks.
If this is the fate of Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, where is his father?
The Uchiha couple were two of the best ninja in the village. His own father's former teammates that fought with him against a god in the war. So to see them defeated, to see his mentor unmoving and defeated, it's another devastation.
Hopelessness begins to weigh down on him.
Destruction continued to rain down on the village. One by one, the stone faces of past Hokage was hit and destroyed. The debris from the mountain descending onto the village, destroying everything in its wake. The lifeless soldiers continued their assault, attacking everyone they came across.
The situation is dire for Konoha.
Just as he wanted. Just as he planned.
Watching it all standing atop the last remaining Hokage stone monument, he witnesses his dream come to fruition.
The End of Shinobi.
With a smile, he takes a few steps to the edge.
And falls.
Right as the monument gets hit by a fiery blaze, and the stone face of Naruto Uzumaki crumbles.
Konoha is no more.
Notes:
I love the original prologue, but like I'd mentioned in the end notes there, it was my first time back to writing something that wasn't a school essay, and in my opinion, parts of the prologue felt too essay-like.
This prologue, I think, helps with the story narrative and plot more, while also retaining the core theme of what I want this story to be without being so in your face and preachy about it.
And of course, I had to add the dramatics. I love the Uchiha and boy, do they bring the drama, haha.
But I must add that I really have not caught up with Boruto lore and plot developments aside from seeing Sarada's timeskip design. Nothing really against the new gen characters, but I do feel as though the potential with them is not being met, and they're also not utilizing the old cast in a way that would be impactful or helpful to the plot either. But that's my opinion.
Please tell me your thoughts in the comments! I'd love to hear it.