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Prelude III


c3 dxc3


The Elemental Nations was a lone continent in a sea of blue. Whether there were any other people or places outside of it, no-one knew, and no-one dared to find out. Not even three dozen kilometers out to sea and the waves turn treacherously dangerous, and no ship that has gone beyond that invisible circumference has returned, intact or not.

And the continent itself is not lacking in interesting composition either.

With a densely vegetated hill-land full of rich soil in the center known primarily as the Fire Nation (Hi no Kuni), which is surrounded by more desolate regions such as a vast desert (Wind Nation – Kaze no Kuni), a rocky and forested plain region (Earth Nation, Tsuchi no Kuni), an elevated mountainous peninsula (Lightning Nation – Kaminari no Kuni), and a scattered ocean archipelago (Water Nation – Mizu no Kuni). These nations share borders with each other at one point or another, despite the handful of small nations in between them, barring Mizu no Kuni, and thus warfare required only basic strategic planning of attacking, defending, and travel. What this would entail for the future...

Well, that would become apparent soon enough.


Hi no Kuni - Kaminari no Kuni Border (Fire and Lightning Nations' Border)


"We're under attack! Get into formation, now!"

Tongues of flame licked from all the surrounding trees and buildings. The entire area was lit aflame, and the culprits were nowhere to be seen.

The shinobi of Konohagakure, mainly teams of chūnin and genin led by a few jōnin, were immediately dispersed into a panicked mess from the sudden attack. They were sent to be stationed at the border of Kaminari no Kuni, keeping an eye out for any possible enemy attacks and movements. However, barely half a day had passed since they arrived, and the shinobi were already under attack.

The border was in a dense, lush forest that despite appearing very aged and weather, still stood strong. The trees stood tall and proud, like guardians of the land. Nested within these trees were sentry observation towers, that acted both as a defensive and potential offensive measures.

These sentry towers were aged and tall, composited out of cheap wood beams/workings and stone coverings, hastily constructed to fend off Kumo armies in the Third Great Shinobi War. Minutes before the chaos started, if the jōnin had been more attentive, they might have spotted a few of their genin and chūnin quietly slip away, after which the fire soon started.

If one was there, they could've seen each of the slipped-away shinobi quietly release their henges, each transforming into a wildly different person, but all with the same headband engraved with the same symbol upon it: the one representative of Kumogakure. They simultaneously spun the same hand signs, and breathed out eruptive streams of white-hot flames, which quickly engulfed the inner workings of the dilapidated towers.

As the Konohagakure forces ran around, reorganizing, the Kumogakure shinobi did the same. The shinobi of Konoha were no forces, by now it was readily apparent that this was a surprise attack by Kumo. With the opposing forces were openingly standing before them(though seemingly without a leader) with their hitai-ates gleaming ferociously under the brilliant crimson flames, even a fool would be able to figure out this was orchestrated by their enemies.

It really was ironic that an army of Fire Nation shinobi guarding the border would fall victim to a planned incendiary attack, in broad daylight, no less.

No one – perhaps except for the Hokage, who had told the teams to be on constant vigilance as A was an unpredictable piece – had expected an attack the day they arrived at the sentry stations. A few silent users of fire-release sneaked inside with henges, lit the places on fire, and now the first battle of the Fourth Great Shinobi War has officially begun.

Or it would've if not for Hatake Kakashi.

"Kumo Shinobi!"

Kakashi descended from the heavens almost like a deity, the impact leaving a small crater and clouds of dust, with a person firmly captured underneath his arm.

"Here I have your leader. Will you stand down, or continue to put up a meaningless fight?"

Inwardly, he sighed. He specifically instructed them to be on the lookout for enemies, to be careful and report everything, and the moment he turned away to discuss future plans with Sarutobi Asuma, his comrade (friend was probably stretching it), they let this mess happen.

"You are outnumbered, in enemy territory, and without a leader. I'd suggest you surrender; but I know you're not going to. So," Kakashi handed the unconscious and restrained adult shinobi (who happened to be the former ambassador of Kumo) to Asuma and turned back to Kumogakure forces.

"Let's get this over with quickly."

Then he was gone. In a burst of speed, body wreathed in a shroud of crackling white.

His form was no more than a bolt of lightning that tore asunder the Kumo shinobi. Before they could even react, they were all paralyzed by a powerful shock of electricity and fainted unconscious.

Kakashi stood behind the fallen ranks, now looking down at his own hands.

They bore no crimson. They bore no crimson.

He froze. He was no longer a killer like he used to be, and he didn't know what to think of that.

He turned around and scowled, hoping to relief his own internal confusion by virtue of distraction, "What are you idiots doing? Restrain them and send them back!"

They finally awoke from their shock at seeing one of Konoha's top shinobi dismantle an entire squadron in mere seconds, and quickly got to work, mumbling among themselves and sending the occasional, not-so-sneaky glance at him.

Kakashi sighed. This was going to be an uphill battle, leading these people into battle. It'd be a wonder if they followed even half his directions.

Asuma lazily strolled up to him, "Not used to working with lower level, non-ANBU shinobi, eh?"

Kakashi only glared at him half-heartedly. "So? They need to be able to handle themselves better to live through this war."

The Hokage's son sobered up. "True. This battle is going to be nothing but easy. Don't know why my old man even decided on this course of action, our village is weak enough as it. Our forces have been cut by half already."

Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Sarutobi, have you no sense of politics? If not for war, then we would be no more than a footstool to the other villages. What do you think would happen then? Mass outrage, pushing for war, but with other villages already weakening us it would be nigh impossible to win. At this point, not only would we be down half of our shinobi forces, but we'd also be deprived of any possible way to regain our power. Hokage-sama understood the importance of striking first and took this opportunity to give us a different future, be it bright or dark."

Asuma smiled thinly. "It seems that I understand my father less than everyone else. Well, fair enough." He reached for a small package within his verdant vest and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Kakashi eyed them disdainfully, but Asuma only chuckled at his expression, lit one with a small breath of flame, and put it between his teeth. He inhaled, and a plume of smoke was exhaled.

"Not a fan, eh?"

"Not at all. Of all the things you could've inherited from your father, why did that have to be the one?"

Asuma's face contorted slightly, making the shadows pierce into his features. "Careful there, Hatake. I don't really care, but if you're not, then you might actually anger someone that you can't afford to with that uncaring callousness."

Kakashi snorted. "And?"

"And you might not have any friends anymore."

"You say that like Obito and Rin and still alive."

Asuma winced. "Okay, maybe I should rephrase that. Maybe then you won't make any new friends."

"Do I need to?"

"Do you want to?"

"Why would I want to?"

Asuma snorted. "Because that's what any person would want for their friend after they die? You think you're honoring Rin and Obito's deaths by cutting your own support structures and pitying yourself to death?"

Kakashi was sick of this conversation. It brought up too many bad memories, too many recollections of the past that he'd been working to leave behind. That he will continue to leave behind, to forget, for the sake of being a better future guardian for his sensei's legacy.

He left without another word.

That night, it rained. A heavy downpour came out of nowhere.

Torrents of raindrops fell like mercury from the crying heavens. It was a dark and lonesome sight, that would make anybody recall their most memorable experiences, and sit there to bask in the nostalgia, pain, and comforting embrace of night.

It was no different for Kakashi. He sat there, and memories of his tumultuous childhood came to him in short, disorderly flashes. Emotions thought long gone, tears thought long dry, came to him in torrential floods once again, and his heart beated with the blood of life once again, after it had gone dry so long ago.

Perhaps he really was getting soft, and the fact that even gloomy weather was able to affect him like this was testament to that.

Not that it was a bad thing. However, could it be good?

Kakashi didn't know. Growing up, he was hailed as a genius, rising through the ranks at an unprecedented speed, and yet despite being a genius of warfare, of fighting, of killing, of tactics...

He was the equivalent of a cripple in emotions and people.

He had no idea how to interact with people, how to identify their emotions, how to identify his own emotions, and that led to many things that he wished to avoid from happening again.

Asuma's words, unknowingly, struck a deep chord within his heart, and it was a sore one.

Perhaps, when this war is over, instead of training everyday, he'll try to socialize and learn how to be a part of society again.

Kakashi chuckled at the image. Maybe he was better off just talking to Gai a bit more.

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

This rain is perfect concealment for an attack. If anyone were to die, he wouldn't even hear it. And no one except for stupid powerhouses would be keeping up their chakra sensing every waking hour. And if they were as sentimental as Kakashi had been...

He rushed out, his left eye uncovered and Obito's final farewell gift visible, gleaming underneath the dim moonlight refracted by an uncountable number of raindrops.

He sent his chakra out in a spherical pulse, and he counted the number of familiar and friendly signatures. It seemed that most if not all of his allies were safe and well, but...

He also sensed a large number of foreign signatures approaching.

So, a sneak attack in the middle of the night. Good thing he had the thought to check. A few more minutes later, and who knows what would've happened.

Asuma stepped out. Kakashi's weak pulse of chakra was enough to alert him.

"What's going on?"

"Sneak attack. Northwest, about five hundred troops. Similar composition to our force here, but with a few more jōnin."

Asuma grimaced. "Well, I'll go wake the others."

"Careful not to startle them. Chaos will not be useful here."

Asuma lazily made a mock salute, "Aye aye, captain." He went around the tents and soon enough, in under three minutes, all Konoha's four hundred shinobi were awake (though still foggy with thoughts of sleep) and at attention.

Kakashi shouted, using chakra to project his voice into the rain. "Listen carefully, and whatever you do, do not panic. There's an army of enemy shinobi approaching numbering about 500. Jōnin, direct your long-ranged fighters to the remaining towers, frontal assault groups to me, and join in where-ever you see fit. Medics, stay behind in the camp. We may be outnumbered, but with my presence, they would not dare to rush head-first into battle."

Kakashi paused for a moment. "This is the first battle of the war, and we will not let them win! We are shinobi of Konohagakure, and we will overcome all odds to protect the future of the village!"

Echoes of his sentiment rang throughout the forest, and with boosted morale, they charged.

The two forces soon met head on, and with nearly a thousand voices all crying out in a unanimous battle cry, the first major battle of the Fourth Great Shinobi War (later to be known as the Battle of the Guardian Forest, named after the trees at the border) started.

With this downbeat, a new symphony of chaos had begun.

Omake (But not really):

Hiruzen groaned. His back was killing him.

Taking care of a three-year-old bijū host was harder than he'd expected, though it shouldn't have been surprising in the least.

At a mere 38 months of age, Uzumaki Naruto had enough energy to keep running around the room without stopping for hours at a time, all while shouting nearly indecipherable things at the top of his lungs. He might go and tell the orphanage to fire whoever took care of him, who forgot to teach him what an "inside voice" was. Though...

His face darkened. He wasn't sure if anybody really did take care of Naruto, with his mistake of announcing the young boy's status of jinchūriki. He was really starting to regret this decision, as now every person that entered or left the village needed thorough background checks and occasional mental probes. Such vital information cannot be leaked, but with the entire village knowing it...

Perhaps it really was the best that he took care of Naruto. He might be the only one besides his absent students that can safely protect him from the assassins that were sure to come sooner or later.

Hiruzen sighed. Whether he liked it or not, it was greatly due to his own actions that Naruto will now never have a chance at a normal childhood. However, he would try his damn hardest to let him live until one day, he could be rid of all this chaos, uncertainty, and prejudice in his life.

Maybe he should take his own advice. Look to the future, not the past, eh?

He temporarily gave up on chasing Naruto. The sun was bright, and he simply stood by the sun, allowing the azure blue of the sky and blinding white of the sun seep into his very being, just for a moment.

This was the calm before the storm, and he would make sure to enjoy it before its imminent end.