A/N 2: I'm sorry that this chapter was severely lacking in some areas. Work has kept me busy the last couple of weeks, and my schedule's getting constantly changed because some of my coworkers are quitting left and right. I'll try to do a better job on the next chapter.
A/N: Hello, one and all! Welcome, welcooooome!
As some of you may already know, Blade of Olympus has officially been discontinued and now being rewritten. In my honest opinion, there were too many OCs to keep track of, and I felt that the plotline was starting to deviate from where I wanted. Keep in mind - there IS a different parentage for Naruto, so unfortunately while it won't be Hestia, it also won't be any less controversial.
So while this is technically a new story, there will be scenes of what I had once planned in the previous one - albeit as flashbacks, now!
This takes place just right after the Fourth Ninja War, so there is no Kaguya to deal with.
Though I must warn you: some aspects of this story...are not for the faint of heart.
There will be bloodshed, betrayal, and other numerous atrocities committed by various parties involved.
Read this impromptu first chapter in full if you wish, but if you cannot stand the sight of a beloved character being driven to do what he feels is necessary - to such lengths! - then I suggest you LEARN TO DO SO NOW.
Alright, the OFFICIAL re-write of Blade of Olympus is here!
A new start! A new story!
Get ready to read...!
The Ghost of Konoha...
Chapter One: From The Ashes, I Rise
*GASP!*
A blond young man awoke with a startled cry, having awoke from what he could only assume was a nightmare. Shocks of pain wracked across his body as he gripped the side of his head before starting to cough. Feeling himself lying atop his chest, he tried to stand...only to fall atop something soft. His vision was blurry, but was slowly starting to clear with given time as he found himself lying on a giant pile of white flaky powder.
'No, not powder...' The young man thought to himself as as slowly but surely recognized the substance. 'Ashes...'
Taking in his surroundings, he came to find that he was standing in the ashen remains of what was once a massive battlefield of sorts. Charred corpses either impaled on spikes through their skulls, or left to lay out on the ground like cattle.
They were the corpses of various shinobi, based on the uniforms - most of which he could recognize.
Just then he heard screams in the distance. Terror-filled screams. Struggling to his feet from what felt like fatigue, the young man was finally able to shakily stand up before making he was over east - towards the remnants of the entrance gates. Wading through the battlefield, he kept walking only to stumble and fall to his knees in agony as pain once more wracked his body. Groaning in agony, he tried to get back up only to having to resort to crawling on his hands and knees towards the gates.
It was only when he looked at his arms that he noticed they were cut up and scarred; the palms of his hands bearing a healed circular scar as though someone had deliberately hammered a large nail through it. Looking around in shock, he tried to find a means of getting back to his feet. But suddenly-!
"Look here! Another poor soul..."
Hearing voices coming from his right, he turned to see a couple of men gathering around him - no more than fifty or sixty. Their clothing seemed worn and patched together, and were brandishing weapons that at first glance seemed damaged from battle as though plucked from a battlefield. Add in the dirt-creased skin, and the young man could only come to one conclusion.
"Bandits..."
The supposed group leader grinned maliciously. "Oho, seems we've made a name for ourselves, haven't we boys? And look at that - he's a shinobi..." Getting a round of laughter and jeers, the older male crouched down his chosen victim. "Look here," he told the young man, his unshaven mouth widened into a grin showcasing his rotted teeth. "and listen up! All this land here is up for grabs - anyone and anything for the taking! You don't seem to have much, so we'll take your life. I think that's fair enough, right?!"
"But...why?" The young man asked, starting to feel his body regain it's bearings. But before he could move, he felt a sharp metal blade beneath his chin. It was held there long enough for one of the other bandits to swiftly kick him in the ribs.
"Does it really fuckin' matter?!" The leader laughed out, an ugly sound as he then moved the sword to his forehead. "All that matters is that I'm bored, and that you're gonna fuckin' die soon. We're the Kuroinu Bandits, fucker! We rape and pillage every town we see, and there ain't nothing that can stop us now!"
*cough!* "Well if that's true, you'd have plenty of shinobi on your ass by now..."
*POW!*
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, BITCH!" The bandit leader oh-so politely reasoned with his fist. "Look around you: the shinobi are done for - all dead and gone! The hidden villages, too! Goddamn shame, if you ask! I could've had fun with some prime kunoichi fuck-meat, but NO!" Another kick to the ribs. "You bastards had to go and die off, like the pieces of shit you are!"
Blue eyes snapped up in a hateful piercing glare. "Watch your tone. The shinobi serve the people and the daimiyo themselves! You have no right-!"
"SAYS WHO, SHINOBI SCUM! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Came the rebuttal. "Your kind are no more than criminals now, by orders of the daimiyo!" Grinning, the bandit leaned in to the young man's face. "Guess all that 'loyalty' was just bullshit in the end, boy!"
"No..NO!" The shinobi desperately argued, not believing what he'd just heard. "You're lying!"
"No, the fuck we ain't!" Another bandit shouted back, this one closer to his age than the others. Reaching into his tattered cloak, he threw a scroll at the downed young man. "Here, shinobi! Read this!"
Quickly grabbing the thrown item, the blond scanned its contents before his face began to pale. "No...this..." He muttered. "It can't be..."
"Read it out loud, BOY!"
Gritting his teeth, the blond then read: "By order of the Daimiyo...all shinobi - active or otherwise - are hearby and forevermore disavowed traitors of the Elemental Nations...and should be killed on sight, or captured for either slavery or public execution. All assets are to be...liquidated, all hidden villages...razed to the ground...effective immediately. The Age of Shinobi...shall be no more..." Letting the scroll fall from his fingertips, a distant look became certain on his face. "After all we did for them...for the people!"
"GYAHAHAHAHA! Where's your fucking bravado now, ya little brat?! Looks like you're a fugitive, now" The bandit leader goaded, prompting the blond shinobi to grit his teeth in anger as he made to stand. "Oh, no. No! None of that, now!" He jeered, slashing his chipped sword at the young man's back to halt his movement. "I told ya: we're gonna kill ya because I'm fucking BORED! Get it, ya no-good criminal?! HAHAHAHAHA, it does me good to say that! Hey, tell me somethin': can I go with you to Hell and fuck your dead mommy in front of you?! I love it when they fuckin' beg~!"
"Damn you...bastard!"
*POW!*
"SHUT! UP!" This time the leader didn't relent in kicking the shinobi repeatedly. "You fuckers got what you deserve! The Fourth Ninja War was fought by punks and losers that couldn't even fight off a simple virus! Less than half the remaining shinobi and kunoichi were sold off as sex slaves or in forced labor camps; the rest are rotting out in the open fields! They don't deserve funerals, and neither do you! The Daimiyo can't even do shit to stop us! And it's all thanks to our special partners!"
And as one, the Kuroinu Bandits chanted: "FOR THE NEW REGIME! FOR THE NEW GODS! FOR THE TRIUMVIRATE!"
"...!"
And then everything stood still. Even thefresh, breezing wind quickly made itself scarce.
The bandits - so proud and confidant - were now shifting back and forth on their feet; unnerved by the sudden pressure that seemed to flood their senses.
"What did you say...?"
They soon found that the battered and tired shinobi had somehow gained a second wind, slowly rising up to his feet and cracking his neck as a pair of fiery cobalt orbs glared into their eyes. "No, please..." The newfound fugitive continued. "You'll need to forgive me, because I could've SWORN that you all said that the Triumvirate helped you..."
The bandit leader found himself gulping. 'What the FUCK?! This brat was on his last legs just a second ago! And what the hell is that voice?!' "Yeah, what's it to ya fucker?!" He answered. "It's not like you'd know what they are!"
"Oh, but I do!" Wisps of steam emitted from his forearms, healing him of his open wounds. "Not that most of you'll live long enough to know, anyways..."
Suddenly, one of the bandits took a good look at the young man's face...and gasped. "N-no...you're alive? How are you alive?!"
Cocking his head to the side, the young man's eyebrows raised in curiousity. "You know me...?" Shrugging his shoulders, He nonchalantly added: "Meh, not surprising. Wasn't exactly the most subtle of my class, anyways."
"B-boss! We need to get outta here! NOW!" The panicking man all but screeched to his leader, who then turned to him with a bewildered look. "Please! That's-that's not just any shinobi!"
"Eh? The hell are ya talkin' about?!" came the reply. "He's just one man! The virus cancelled out his chakra, so we can take-!"
*SQUELCH!*
The bandit leader's eyes bulge as a something sharp cut his throat open, rendering him unable to speak as a geyser of blood jetted out from the wound. He looked to find the shinobi standing before him, eyes full of rage. Hell, even those whiskers on his face made the boy even more feral-
'Wait...!'
"Nha-nha-!" The dying leader, in blind desperation, attempted to scream out the name of his killer. But alas he crumpled to the ground in front of his men, shocking them all.
The shinobi cocked his head to the side, his left hand weilding a bloodied tri-pronged kunai within an iron grip. He looked around him and saw the faces of his opposition - bewildered and scared.
"Well, what're you waiting for?!" The aggravated blond roared out in a challenge as he leapt at the charging masses. "I'm just one man, aren't I?! COME AND GET SOME!"
One Hour Later...
"Hey, are you sure this was where they took him?" A voice - feminine in nature - had asked her companion as they traversed their way through the battlefield.
"'Course it is! I tailed the bastards myself!" Another answered - this time male, albeit younger. "No way I'm letting them get away with what they've done!"
The pair of travelers were currently making their way through a dense forest in search of their missing friend.
As they kept traversing the woods, they soon heard the brutal yet familiar sounds of battle. The pair braced themselves, knowing what was to come. Brandishing their weapons, they charged forth into what they expected was of battle...only to find a more gruesome sight.
For no sooner had they halted their advance, than to find their feet inches away from the first corpse they could find...and it wasn't the only one.
There was a trail of dead bandits leading out of the woods and into an open battlefield, where naught but carnage awaited them. Bodies piled into mounds; entrails rotting into open air as rivers of blood seeped into the earth. Closely the pair traversed, until they came upon two figures within the fog of battle - a blond shinobi holding a kunai at the throat of a very young bandit, who was sweating profusely at the imminent threat to his life.
"...tell me what you know!"
"I-I swear! I j-just joined them a few days ago! Never did any of those slavery trades! Pl-please, you have to believe me!"
"The other shinobi! The ones who survived! Where are they keeping them?!"
"K-Konoha! At the Konoha Ruins-!"
"Ruins?! That's my HOME!"
The blond shinobi was about to slit his throat, when suddenly-!
"Naruto!"
"Son of Hera!"
Confused, the shinobi turned his blood-spattered face and wild-eyed gaze upon two people:
One that he knew personally. "Konohamaru..."
But the other was a face he'd thought he'd never see again.
"...Thalia?"
-End-Chapter-
A/N: Well, this is it. The first chapter of the rewrite. I know it's not much - and I apologize for it! - but I promise, the next chapter will be much better written to the best of my ability. Blade of Olympus will be up for awhile, but whether or not it's getting any new chapters remains to be seen.
Anyways, lemme know what you guys think in the PMs or reviews.
CIAO FOR NOW~!