A/N: New story by me! I love naruto, and I definitely need to write a good naruto fic. Gallant Jinta has been scrapped, and I feel that this will be much better! Don't worry though, Fallen Messiah won't be abandoned.

Prologue

They called me prodigy. A once-in-a-generation genius.

They were wrong, because there were two of us.

We were twins, identical in appearance and ability.

In the Academy, we lost to no one one but each other. The others looked at us with hatred, fear, and jealousy in their eyes. We paid them little attention. The views of the weak did not matter to us.

They moved us up the grades, and we were scheduled to become genin after two short years at the unprecedented age of five. The ages of the other candidates were all in the double digits. They did not like us - they felt intimidated, even if they would never admit it. But they were not stupid and kept their hands to themselves. They knew a lost battle when they saw one.

We breezed through the trials of the Academy, tied first in all aspects. It was an open secret that we were slated to become the leaders of the next generation of Kirigakure Shinobi. That theory became solidified when the Sandaime Mizukage came down personally to watch our graduation ceremony.

Glorified murder, as we called it. That was the process of becoming a Shinobi here. Killing a classmate was a rite of passage for anyone that donned the symbol of the Hidden Mist. It exposed us to the harsh realities of the Shinobi world before we went out, and crushed any last remnants of naivety and immaturity any candidate might have had.

And then, the first match was announced.

The whole arena went silent.

Karatachi Yagura vs. Karatachi Kagura.

I would be fighting him, my own twin brother. We understood from the very start that there was a chance of this happening, no matter how slim the possibility. We had even anticipated it, and discussed things the night before. We had come to a conclusion fast.

'No hard feelings, okay?'

Yagura's face remained neutral. Above me, the other candidates in the gallery broke out in smiles when they realized none of them would be dying to the 'Devil Twins' today, as we had come to be known as.

I let out a small sigh. What a shame. One of Kiri's brightest would be dying today. An utter waste of potential and talent. No doubt if we lived to survive we would have achieved S-rank classification sooner or later. With the Third Shinobi War in full swing, Kiri needed every decent Shinobi it could get.

The examiners above broke out into discussion. They had not expected this; an oversight of theirs. Clearly they shared my concerns. The two of us could have wiped out every other candidate in the room. It was uneconomical. It was inefficient. It was just... not smart. As they argued, Yagura and I stared at each other. There were no tears, not even a hint of sadness. Only a respectful nod as we ran through each others strengths and weaknesses in our minds and began to form our own respective strategies.

Blood ties and familial bonds meant nothing in Kiri. We recognized talent and strength alone. This was not Konoha, where clan abilities and Bloodline Limits were an automatic key to success. Only those who were worthy became Shinobi here.

"Enough." We looked up. The Sandaime was standing up and looking at us now. We knelt. "The match will proceed. Luck is just important a factor to a Shinobi as skill. Clearly one of you brothers here has failed in that regard."

Luck? Ill-fortune was nothing more than an excuse the unprepared and the incapable gave when they failed. But I held my tongue, because talking back to a Kage was never a good idea.

"Yes, Mizukage-sama," we said together.

"Begin," he commanded.

We fought.

The fight was close.

Too close to call it a proper victory or defeat.

Yagura was standing across me, clutching a bleeding arm. He was in terrible shape. His childlike and flawless face was nearly cleaved into two, and his left eyeball dangled out where its socket had split down his cheek. Blood spilled out the wound, and his whole body was peppered with gashes and cuts. He would bleed to death in just under ten minutes.

Too bad I had a kunai stuck in my chest.

I lost the ability to breathe. One of my lungs had collapsed; the other was filled with blood. My vision became blurry and black spots started to blink in and out of existence. My whole body began to suffer from oxygen deprivation and my legs crumbled from weakness.

I tumbled backwards and slammed into the ground face-up. The examiners and candidates were watching me with morbid curiosity. Was this the end of the match?

Of course it was. I couldn't even move anymore. By the skin of his teeth, Yagura had beat me. He used to joke he was stronger than me because his ten-minute head-start in the world gave him an edge over me.

I would have laughed if I could. Instead blood spilled out my mouth in red frothy bubbles.

Bad luck indeed.

"Winner, Karatachi Yagura," somebody announced.

I was losing my hearing. Or maybe there was just no applause.

Either way, the last sensation I felt before blacking out was somebody carrying me.

Damn, I knew I should have spiked his drink in the morning.

I knew I was somehow still alive when I felt warmth.

Did the match not end?

Even opening my eyes took substantial effort. When I had managed to achieve such a simple task, I was stunned. I was not alone. The Mizukage was leaning over me, his long hair tied into a ponytail behind him. His hands hovered above my stab wound, green chakra covering his palms and fingers. I immediately recognized the signature technique of Medical Ninjutsu.

"I did not know you knew iryo-ninjutsu," I whispered hoarsely. Speaking was painful, but my curiosity took priority over what little health concerns I had.

"It will be our little secret then," he chuckled.

I could not tell if he was being serious or if he was joking. The bigger question was, why share it with me? I was supposed to be dead.

"You look confused," he said as he closed the wound.

My airway felt clear. I could breathe without a problem now.

"That's because I am. Was it not supposed to be a death match? I lost. I should be dead. Yet here you are healing me, Mizukage-sama?"

"You did lose. And you did. Karatachi Kagura died today. That much is true."

"I... do not understand." I was trying to wrap my head around what the Mizukage just said. Was he covering my death? Did that mean that... I could live?

"Wipe that hopeful expression of your face," he said sternly, "you are most going to die."

How careless of me. I let my emotions get the better of me. "I apologize, Mizukage-sama. I did not mean to get my hopes up. But I would appreciate if you could explain that last statement. Why heal me if I am going to die?"

He paused for a while. He was thinking about whether or not to answer me. Finally, he sighed. "I saw it on your face during the battle. You didn't want to die that way, did you? A pointless and fruitless death. Your training and talent wasted. A potential asset for Kiri gone down the drain because he pulled the short straw."

I nodded.

"Many of us feel the same way. You are too capable to die such a stupid death. The other failures did not even come close to the promise you showed. So you can live for another few weeks, Karatachi Kagura. And you can die serving Kiri in earnest."

I tilted my head in puzzlement. Die serving Kiri? Could I possibly have been given... "A mission?" I asked.

The Mizukage nodded, "a suicide one."

I tried to suppress the joy that rose up. A death like that was... acceptable. Much more fulfilling that my original fate.

"It is very last minute. We are still finalizing the details. We had already set up another plan but your sudden match with Kagura gave us an excellent opportunity to devise another strategy with a higher success rate."

"Can I ask the nature of this mission?" I asked.

The Mizukage smiled, "you are going to single-handedly destroy Konoha, Karatachi Kagura."

The Mizukage left shortly after, not letting anymore information about the elusive plan slip. I was tasked to recuperate.

They left me alone in an isolated room for a whole week. They fed me well, saying that my body needed to be at peak operational capacity for what was to come next. I took that as an order to regain my physical strength as well. My days were filled with strenuous exercise, all done within the confines of my unofficial cell.

During my breaks, I meddled with my chakra. It was still something new to me. Yagura and I only managed to start manipulating it a few months ago, but we had managed to learn the necessary jutsus required to graduate.

I created a Mizu Bunshin and for shortest of moments, I mistook my clone for my twin. I dispersed it immediately. Now that he was an official Shinobi of the Mist, he would have been sent to the front lines already. I wondered if I still lingered in his mind. Did he want to see my body? Give me a final farewell?

He wouldn't. Yagura was far colder than I was, and sentiment was not something I had to spare in the first place.

I wondered if he would be sent to the same team as our parents, or if they were even still alive. They wrote to us occasionally, and remarked in one of their letters they could not wait to fight alongside us one day. I wondered if they had even considered the scenario that one of us would have been killed by the other.

Probably not. My parents were uncharacteristically optimistic for Kiri-nin.

Would they mourn for me? Definitely not. At their cores, they were still Ninja, and they would not let petty things like emotions and sentiment affect their performance.

I knew that the Mizukage had spared some thought for my welfare the moment I spotted the clock next to the rudimentary bed. The inability to keep track of time created psychological fractures I would rather not have.

Exactly one month after my fight with Yagura, they finally released me.

I knew just how vital the mission was when the one escorting me out was wearing a porcelain mask that bore Kirigakure's symbol.

ANBU. Their identities were kept a secret, but the organization itself was as notorious as the Seven Swordsmen.

They were the elite. The best. And in times of war, they were rarely found in the village.

They were needed outside, not at the frontlines, but behind it, deep in enemy territory. For the Mizukage to have dispatched a squad to oversee what was coming next... it only spoke of how critical it was.

My stomach began to tie into knot. I did not know when the last time I felt nervous was. Suddenly a genin-failure like me was going to play an integral role in Kiri's war effort. I should have felt honor, but unease crept up on me instead.

I was unaware of what was going to happen next. There was no point in asking the ANBU following me. I was supposed to be on a suicide mission, one that involved the destruction of Konohagakure, a Shinobi village so powerful and self-assured that they never even bothered keeping their location a secret.

With their many Bloodline Limits and Doujutsu, as well as a suspected sensory barrier, a sneak attack on the Leaf was near impossible.

It made me wonder just what trump card the Mizukage had that made him feel so confident.

I was led into an underground cavern. It was massive, enough to fit a small town inside. The ceiling was supported by giant pillars with strange inscriptions carved along their lengths. I spotted the picture of a turtle, one with three tails. A layer of water that covered the ground forced me to practice water walking, an essential skill that all ninjas in Kiri had to learn before they could even graduate.

Then I realized we were not alone. One... two... three... four ANBU squads stood on the water, surrounding a large porcelain jar. My escort Shunshin-ed in a shower of water to take his place with his brethren. I tried to my best to hide my surprise. There was enough firepower in the room to turn the tide of a large battle.

And they were all looking at me.

"Kagura," the Mizukage walked into view from behind the pillar. The ANBU knelt in reverence, and I followed their lead. "Are you ready?"

I did not know what was to come, but I nodded anyway. An unprepared ninja was a dead ninja, and I had already been given a death sentence anyway.

He walked over to the large jar, which was taller than me and thrice my width. He placed a hand on its lid, and pretended to uncap it.

Immediately the ANBU tensed.

Just what was in it?

"Do you know what this is?" The Mizukage asked.

I shook my head. "Forgive me, Mizukage-sama, I do not."

He smiled, "it is not your fault. A Sealing Jar is far beyond the scope of an Academy Student or even a Genin. Most Chunin won't know either, unless they specialize in Fuinjutsu."

"A Sealing Jar?" I repeated.

"It is exactly what it sounds like. It seals things and stores it inside."

I gulped, "and what exactly is inside of that one?"

"A Bijuu."

I did not know what that was. The Mizukage looked slightly disappointed at my lack of reaction.

"A Tailed Beast. Legendary creatures composed entirely of chakra, capable of destroying a country by itself. This contains the Sanbi, the Three-Tailed Turtle. It has been in Kiri's possession since the First Shinobi War but we never found a way to utilize its power effectively."

"I see," I nodded. So that was how the Mizukage planned to destroy Konoha. "And what do I have to do?"

He tapped the jar. It sounded hollow. "The Jar is difficult to transport around. Movement disturbs the seal, and the Sanbi can be unleashed at any moment, killing all who are near it."

"You want me to carry it?" I asked.

"I want you to break it."

I blinked, letting his words sink in. Wouldn't that just release the monster?

"Now?" I asked.

"Yes."

I was baffled. "Wouldn't that just unleash the Sanbi in the middle of Kiri?"

"Yes it would. That is why we had this underground cavern built. It is reinforced with seals. It will withstand the attacks of the Sanbi for a while. So we have to stop it fast. "

"So you want me to stop it?"

The Mizukage actually laughed. Even the ANBU looked up in surprise.

"Such confidence. No. You are nowhere near that level. I will stop it. Assisted by the ANBU, of course. Even I am no match against the strength of a Bijuu alone."

"Then... where do I fit in?"

The Mizukage pointed at the Sealing Jar. "You will become the next Sealing Jar. Your body will host the Sanbi, and you will infiltrate Konoha and release it there when we ask you to. That process however, will kill you. That is how you are going to die, Karatachi Kagura. A more valiant way to go, agreed?"

I paused. A suicide bomber. That was what I was going to be. I was giddy with an excitement. Infiltration. Sabotage. Destruction. All the skills I spent years honing would actually be employed.

The Mizukage must have seen my excitement, because he gave a nod of approval.

"So, Karatachi Kagura. Are you ready to become a Jinchuuriki?"

Naturally, I said yes.

A/N: I think I might actually focus on this alongside Fallen Messiah if the reception is good. Focusing on one story is kind of tiring, to be honest, and alternating between the two gives me alot more energy and motivation.

Anyway, do review, fav, follow and let me know your thoughts on this!