This is my first attempt at a fanfiction. I hope anyone who reads this enjoys it. The people in the world of Naruto consider the Tailed Beasts to be demons. But I have always considered the Shinju to be the closest thing the Naruto world has to a God, this would make the Tailed Beasts the pieces, or fragments, of a God. I wondered; how would this affect the story? We will just have to find out. The next chapter will be uploaded within two weeks. [Edited 19/06/2016]

In the age before man, Gods roamed the world. Beings of such tremendous power, that it could not be imagined by the primitive humanity. These great entities shaped the world, reforming the continents and oceans as if they were clay. In time, however, these beings drifted away to unknown places, only a few remaining in the land. Most of these beings left mere whispers of themselves, and remained as shadows that affected the land in subtle ways. But there was one Godlike creature that did not leave, but chose to become a part of the world itself.

This Deity was the Shinju, a great tree, and it was the most powerful thing in this world. For eons it had rested upon the land, immobile and unaffected by everything surrounding it. Over time, humanity evolved and as they grew more advanced religions were formed. These religions were all different in some way or another, but all of them had one thing in common; the Shinju was a central figure in their worship. How could it not be? Even before humans gained the knowledge of chakra, they could feel the power rolling off of it. The Tree was impossibly high; it reached into the clouds and almost seemed to touch the moon. Its awe inspiring figure ensured that it was worshipped like the God it actually was.

The Shinju was worshipped, and as several sects of different religions all wished to claim the land surrounding it as their own, an era of war began. But it was not just for religion that these wars were fought. The lands surrounding the Shinju were enriched with its ambient power, and so they were the most fertile lands to be found; entire wars were started so one side could have the best farmland. These wars brought about ambitious men and women who desired to rule over all others, armies rallied behind them and wars were fought to stroke their ego. These wars created resentment between the various factions, and so more wars were started to soothe the seething hatred various sides had towards each other.

Endless cycles of war, almost all of which centred on the Shinju. But the Shinju did not care. Why should it? The struggling of the insects at its feet was beneath its notice. Its attentions were directed towards things that humanity could not understand.

This cycle of war continued for longer than any living memory or historic record could tell. And it may have been that is how it would always be. Except one day, a woman decided to commit the greatest of blasphemies, she decided to climb the Shinju.

Every religion spoke of the same legend, that every millennia the Shinju would sprout a fruit that if eaten would grant the one who consumed it untold power. These legends have spurred many, many people to attempt to climb the great tree, all of whom fail. The tree's tremendous height caused most people to tire and fall to their deaths. Oddly enough, most of the people who attempted to climb the tree were slain by an opposing faction who did not wish an enemy to gain this legendary power for themselves.

Warriors and heroes, conquerors and villains; everyone who has ever attempted to climb the tree has failed. So it was for that reason that no one expected that a young woman would succeed in this impossible feat. But succeed she did.

This young woman managed what no one had ever done before; she was able to climb to the top of the great tree. This young woman would be the first human to lay eyes on the Shinju's summit.

Her name was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, a young noble girl whose only desire was to end the wars that ravaged the world. She was a beautiful woman, with delicate features and long pale hair that would almost reach to her feet if it were not tied up to prevent her tripping while she was climbing. She wore a rough tunic and breeches, a stark contrast to her usual formal robes which were far more befitting of her noble status.

Not a moment since she had placed her feet onto the summit, a change had occurred within the Shinju. For the first time in its existence a mortal had set foot upon its most sacred area, this required a response.

Before the young noblewoman's eyes, a shadow seemed to coalesce in front of her. This shadow took the shape of a man. This 'man' had no facial features to speak of, and the human shape it had formed was rough and ragged, as if it were a sketch on a piece of paper. However, before the lady Kaguya could comprehend what had just formed in front of her, the shadow spoke.

"You should not be here." The shadow's voice sounded as if it were a whisper from far away.

"Are, are you the Shinju?" said the lady Kaguya. She struggled to keep the fear from her voice, she had sacrificed too much to reach this place, and she would not falter now.

"I am… a sliver, a fragment of fragments. It was this fragment that felt you climb us. It was this fragment that felt you disturb us. It was this fragment that itched in the same way you would if a fly were to crawl on your arm. Why are you here?" The shadow's voice maintained its whisper. It felt nothing towards the mortal that had arrived at the Shinju's core, and could not understand the efforts she went to arrive there.

Kaguya paused, unsure of how to reply to this… creature that stood before her. It was not the Shinju, but a part, a small part, of the being that she was raised from birth to worship. But deity or not, she had to press on for the sake of her quest. She cleared her throat to speak, her voice clear of any fear.

"O fragment of the great Shinju. I have travelled far and risked much in order to claim the legendary fruit that is said to grow within you. I wish to consume this fruit so that I may bring peace to the people of the world. I beseech you, please grant it to me."

The shadow cocked its head to one side after hearing the noblewoman's plea, as if considering giving her a response at all. After what felt like an age, the creature spoke.

"You seek the fruit of the Chakra. This fruit could grant even a mortal power enough to gain notice amongst the Divine. With the power the fruit could grant, nothing a mortal could wish for would be beyond your grasp." The shadow's whispers grew with intensity, as if even speaking of this fruit added weight to the ethereal creature's existence.

The young noblewoman's eyes alit with triumph. The legends were true after all, if they were not, her quest would have ended in vain.

"Yes! This is the fruit I seek. I beg of thee, o Shinju, grant me this gift."

The shadow seemed to recoil before it regained its composure. "Gift? This is not a gift. There will be a price for what you seek. For what you ask, the price will be high."

She took a moment to consider the creature's words. But after coming this far, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's only desire in the world was to bring about peace. No price would be too high for her.

"I care not what this price will be. I must have this fruit to save the world."

If the shadow could laugh it would have. "Save the world? Mortal, your short-lived species is nothing to this world. You mortals could destroy each other again and again and the world will not be moved. The Shinju will not be moved. This fruit will not save the world, but it will change it. That is the price."

The noblewoman's lovely face contorted into a frown. "I… do not understand."

The Shadow continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Consuming this fruit will grant you the power you seek. But this power is a portion of the Shinju's power; in consuming this power, you will be connected to us. You will be forever changed. If you take this fruit, you will become a part of the Shinju and the Shinju will be a part of you. This power could save your species now, but may condemn it in the future as the Shinju's eye will finally take notice of your race."

Kaguya paused, she had no desire to save her people now only for them to be destroyed later. However, she quickly grasped onto something that the Shadow had said. "You said 'may'; it is not guaranteed that the Shinju will cause my people's destruction."

The shadow spread its incorporeal arms in a conciliatory gesture. "Nothing is absolute. Your mortal race was presumed to be beyond hope, and guaranteed to destruction. But here you are; a mortal hero who is one step away from changing that fate. Perhaps there are other remarkable insects that will do the same in the future? The chance is slim, but it is there."

The young noble took a breath to ready herself. "This is the only way to save my kind now, and with the power of the fruit, more options will bloom in the future. I beseech thee, fragment of the Shinju; grant me this."

Without another word, the shadow dissipated. But before Kaguya could call after it, a small plant not unlike a bean-sprout sprouted next to her. Within moments, the plant had grown until it reached waist height of the young noble. On the tip of this strange plant was a single white bud that slowly bloomed, which revealed a blue fruit the size of a plum.

As soon as the fruit was revealed to her, the whispering of the Shadow could be heard echoing around the Shinju's sanctum. "This is the fruit you seek. Take it, and the price will be paid."

Reverently, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki plucked the Chakra fruit from the stem, taking no notice as the plant withered and died. She stared at the fruit for a moment, before taking it to her lips, and swallowing it whole…

And that was the beginning of a new legend, the legend of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. The mortal who climbed the back of a God and came down something more…

While she had climbed up the great being, with the power of Chakra coursing through her, she had no need to do climb down to reach the ground. To return to the earth she simply jumped from the great height of the deity, the fall would not harm her as she was now. The few retainers she had waiting for her return at the base of the tree were gladdened to see their mistress return, but there was fear in their hearts as well. For their lady was no longer truly human; and her appearance confirmed it.

While she still maintained her delicate beauty. Her eyes had changed, her pupils were gone and her eyes had become a pale lavender in colour, it was the first Byakugan. The most startling change in her appearance, however, was the emergence of two horns on either side of her head, and the third eye filled with red concentric rings that opened between them.

Unknowing, or uncaring for her retainers' fear she merely spared them a significant glance and a single sentence.

"Come, we have much work to do."

And work was indeed done. The wars ravaging the land had continued on and off for centuries, maybe even millennia. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki quelled them all within weeks. Such was her power.

It is unknown how she accomplished this task, but as long as she lived there was no conflict, all wars ceased, a peace never before known had dawned on humanity. And while many grumbled about her heavy-handedness, no one raised their voices against her. For some it was because of the gratitude they held for her, but for many others it was due to simple fear. The end result was the same, Kaguya was unchallenged by any mortal.

Throughout all of her deeds however, the Shinju's eye was upon her. For the first time in eons, the Shinju had turned its gaze away from the heavens and returned it towards the earth it was rooted to. One cannot explain why the Shinju took such an interest. Perhaps it was curious about what a mortal would do with a portion of its power; but no one will ever truly know what it thought of the situation, as no mortal would be able to understand the answer.

One thing that had been hypothesized, however, was that it probably expected the power it granted Kaguya to return to it after she had passed away. For while Kaguya's lifespan was far longer than a regular mortals; it wasn't even a blink of an eye compared to the Shinju's perception of time.

That is what is believed to have finally angered the Shinju. For while it had offered its power to Kaguya, it had no agreements or deals with her sons. Who inherited the power their mother had received.

And so it came to pass that when Kaguya Ōtsutsuki left the mortal plane, the Shinju (or at least a large part of it) reformed itself into the visage of a ten-tailed monster and personally sought to reclaim the power of Chakra that the sons of Kaguya inherited.

The apocalyptic battle between the two sons of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and the Shinju (hence known after this battle as the Jūbi) was long and fierce. Very little is known about this legendary event, as no civilization from that time survived the battle. But by the end, the world was changed. Maps had to be completely redrawn and charted, and human society had to be reformed from the pieces left behind. The man who oversaw this reformation was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, eldest son of Kaguya and the man who had sealed the Shinju into himself.

The other son, Hamura Ōtsutsuki, vanished from all historic records, but his brother Hagoromo still had a part to play in the shaping of the world. Without Kaguya's influence, the shattered remains of civilization began warring with each other once more, all of them seeking to claim the remaining pieces of civilization for themselves. Hagoromo witnessed all of this, and like his mother before him, could not stand for such a thing to continue.

Hagoromo had no desire to be as heavy-handed as his mother, and instead of forcing his will onto the frightened populace, he took a far more pacifistic stance. He spent many years guiding and teaching all who would listen to him, and while he did not abolish war, he ensured that civilization could and would be rebuilt. However, his greatest accomplishment, and the one he is known for, would be the sharing of Chakra.

Hagoromo believed that his mother's shock and awe approach to be morally wrong, and so he sought to spread the power of Chakra to the people. It was his hope that as all living things would share the energies of Chakra, they draw closer together through a shared spiritual bond. Of course that would not be the case, after receiving the powers of Chakra, many people soon learnt of its use as a weapon and soon began using it to wage more violent forms of war, much to Hagoromo's displeasure. He could have acted to prevent this, he chose not to. It was not for him to decide how the power would be used.

Despite his failures with Chakra; after many, many years Hagoromo, now known as the Sage of the Six Paths would perform one last world changing act. Aware of his dwindling years, and having no desire to release the Jūbi to ravage the world in its fury; he used his power to split the Jūbi into nine parts.

Hagoromo's last great act would be to fragment a God.

It has been a long, long time since the shadow was formed to converse with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. But after many years, the fragment that was once the shadow had been dragged out into its own form once again. But… something was different this time.

The shadow… was no longer a shadow; it now had a form of its own. It had a real head, which could look down to examine its real claws. It could feel the wind on its face, it could see, smell and taste the world like no feeble incorporeal existence ever could. It was no longer an it, but a he.

He looked around with his corporeal eyes, taking in sights that were only abstract concepts before. Beside him were eight other beings, all of them fragments such as himself, all of them had tails like himself, all of them looking at each other in wonder. He could feel their power; he knew they were all of the Shinju, as he was. And then he realised that he was the most powerful one of them all. To go from a sliver of consciousness to the largest fragment of the Shinju was… awe inspiring.

He looked down and beneath him he saw a man, this man looked so much like Kaguya did so long ago, when he influenced the bargain she struck…

"Children," spoke the wizened old man, "my name is Hagoromo, I am the one who has given you new life; life beyond that of the Shinju. You are no longer simple pieces of a puzzle. You are all unique and therefore, as new and unique beings, I shall give you all names so that you never forget this fact."

The Sage of the Six Paths looked straight into his eyes. "Your name… shall be Kurama."

And so began the legend of the Tailed Beasts; the fragments of the last great God.