NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT YET READ AND LET THE CHAOS COME, READ IT FIRST AS THE PREQUEL TO THE TRILOGY OF KAMI NO NARUTO. OTHERWISE, CONTINUE READING THE STORY.

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Shinigami's Warrior

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The night became tainted and shadowed with a presence, as the Kyuubi glanced up in fear and defiance. A figure lifted a hand and thrust it through the abdomen of a mortal, eliciting a scream of pain yet a shout of joy.

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Prologue

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Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, stared in horror and awe, head curved upwards so as to be nearly horizontal, at the majestic deity that he had summoned.

The Shiki Fuuin had been planned by the Shodai, originally; indeed, the concept of a way to summon the majestic God of Death had existed for centuries. It was not until a sealing genius of Minato's caliber, though, that such an idea could be put into practice.

He'd only finished the seal itself a night ago: a last act of desperation dug out from a closet of old projects, and, as if by a miracle, had set the parameters right at last to bring forth the might of the Lord of the Grave. But nothing could prepare him, nor the surrounding shinobi, for the sensations that came next.

It began as a trickling feeling, falling down his spine until the blond Hokage grew paralyzed with fear as a deep and dark presence grew behind him. He mentally cheered in one small corner of his rational mind, knowing that he had succeeded. However, the rest of his mind and spirit were busy trying to fend off the taint of the touch of death that was breathing down his neck.

The Yondaime was a shinobi, and as such was not afraid of death. He had laughed openly in the face of danger, only gritting his teeth in determination when his loved ones were on the line- as they had been when the Kyuubi attacked.

The feel of the deity's presence spread, cloaking the land in shadows and covering the area as the wildlife and fauna not already destroyed by the fox curled up and died, life force gone and wasted. The shadow behind breathed and their souls fled.

It was then that Minato began to realize what he'd summoned.

Towering over the blond, the Shinigami stood erect, hovering with arms spread wide with a ritual dagger clenched in its mouth. Its pale skin was a poisonous red, tinged with grey, as if a representation of the rot settling into a corpse. Minato shuddered and felt fear once more.

The moon dimmed and the darkness itself seemed to glint off the knife, bringing a cruelty and indifference enough to topple the most steadfast spirit. The god's horns grew and twisted into a crescent, a mockery of the light the moon provided. Instead of reflecting light, the figure of the Shinigami seemed to draw in the light, not absorbing it, but vanishing it, clothed in utter blackness with a field of decay spreading out from the sides.

And then Minato screamed.

Pale, rotting hands engraved with seals and symbols of tongues long forgotten thrust themselves through has abdomen, the seal of the Shiki Fuujin already begin to appear on his navel.

Searing, tearing pain blossomed in the Yondaime's stomach and he twisted, feeling wrongness spreading through him like a sort of disease, like an infection. A cancerous growth that was spreading throughout him.

And in his spirit, though, Minato welcomed it, knowing that without this sacrifice, the village was doomed to death, and so he knew he would willingly give his own life. His own son, at least, was worth that.

The Kyuubi itself was thrashing on the ground, foaming at the mouth as empty black chains tore themselves from the earth and wrapped themselves around its gigantic body, even its gargantuan size dimming in comparison to the aura of power radiated by the Shinigami. The fox screamed, a terrible sound, tearing into the minds of all who heard, scarring them with the shriek of a captured demon.

And so the hands shot out and grasped the Kyuubi by the shoulders, and yanked, grabbing onto the mighty beast from afar and pulling towards their owner, who stood still, a sickly expression on its face. A thing of light, yet poisoned by swirls of twirling black, flew out of the fox and was pulled toward the Yondaime who stood in shock and grim apprehension, awaiting the end.

And then the Shinigami opened its mouth and took hold of the dagger lying inside.

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The Death God, upon flying through the portal, had been prepared to watch and wait, preparing for whatever task his master and brother had set for him. But, much to his surprise, he found himself drawn inexplicably to a specific location, behind a blond haired man who stood stone-faced as he faced off against a huge fox the size of a mountain.

The Shinigami stared: at least he knew where Inari's subordinate was now. Though the idea of having one's lieutenant go berserk was anathema to the immortal god, there was the proof right in front of him.

As his aura spread across the landscape, he felt a disturbance in the Kyuubi's own aura, bloodlust and hatred surging with huge strength, as well as another ancient, but familiar power. One so much more tainted and evil than his own power that he was himself frozen as he recalled the battles with the forces of Yomi.

Then he saw the symbols surrounding his person: the physical manifestation of a ritual long forgotten. Evidently, some mortal had found it and had remade it in the way that it had first existed: a soul for a soul. An act of self-sacrifice, and, looking at the scene, the Death God was not entirely unsurprised at the situation.

And so, following the ancient guidelines set through the deal he had made with those who had first created the seal, he reached through the Hokage's stomach, the place where all chi of the body and spirit was made, and so the most spiritually active part of the body. Ignoring the man's scream of agony, Shinigami continued on his path, memories of his assignment currently pushed aside in favor of remembrance of an ancient ceremony.

It was only when he found himself moving to a new destination that the Shinigami found himself surprised once more. This man who had summoned him had evidently manipulated the seal so as to alter the performance of the ceremony. The Kyuubi, being a creature of Nature, possessed both Yin and Yang chakra, and so the Death God found himself separating them, taking one half of the energy while he guided the other half to the intended target: a bawling infant with a match to his own seal marked on his stomach.

Shinigami froze at the sight, as images assaulted his mind, thoughts and visions of a child, and of a boy who would be destined for greatness. This was the one he had been sent to find. But first, the prescribed task had to be completed.

Withdrawing his arms from Minato's abdomen, the man fell, the spiritual energy coming through after along with the hands that clenched them as the soulless beast itself fell and disintegrated into dust that was spread along the four winds to every corner of the Earth.

The Yondaime's soul came along as well, and the Shinigami deposited in a side bag made for such a summoning, musing that such a man might perhaps be a good idea for a secretary- death did have an impressive bureaucracy, after all. So rather than devouring the summoner's soul, as legend believed, the Death God merely set it aside, and made to complete the final step of the ritual.

Reaching forward towards the babe, whose icy blue eyes were staring curiously at the figure hovering before him, the towering shadow swirled into darkness and reformed into what appeared to be a man, wearing a simple suit, with a dark look in his eye as he looked at the child.

Shinigami snapped his fingers and the arms of his ghostly avatar (for that's what it was) sped towards the small blond and the child wailed as the spirit of the Kyuubi, still screaming in agony, was sealed into behind the navel of the infant, the seal already appearing where it had been left on the child's father not moments before.

Finally, the last act came. The Shinigami inclined his head and the arms disappeared, their task completed. The god reached out a single finger, making to touch the baby on the chest, and connected. Instantly, the baby went rigid and shivered, tanned skin paling and eyes growing an even colder blue.

A small spark of shadow passed between the two and Shinigami nodded, pleased at the acceptance of its gift. The child would now have a connection to the Underworld that all other mortals lacked, one that would enable him to call upon the energies of death later in life. Deep in the darkness, shades crowed, elated that their master had found a heir, and Shinigami smiled icily in satisfaction.

He turned to go, and catching the small name written in the seal array on the babe's stomach, the Lord of the Grave smirked. Indeed, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, we shall meet again.

And he disappeared in vortex of shadows and anguished screams- and was gone.

Minutes later, a battle-weary Sarutobi would come to find little Naruto and would know, sadly, that his beloved successor had sacrificed himself, using his own son as the receptacle. Inclining his head in respect as tears fell out of his eyes, the newly rechristened Sandaime Hokage leapt back to the village, newly unfrozen shinobi following in his wake.

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AN: This story goes along with fics Inari's Guardian and Kami's Messenger. What's more, if you haven't read the prologue, do it now.

(Small note- the secretary remark was a shout out to a hilarious fic I read where Minato becomes the Shinigami's personal secretary/assistant. Hilarity Ensues)

R&R, please!

-SoS, out!