Naruto: Game On

Chapter 5: Interlude - Through the Cracked Mirror

A/N: I live! Anyway...this is that little bonus chapter I promised a while back. Waaayyy off schedule but I digress.

This is basically a "history of the world" type thing but in my opinion, there isn't anything groundbreaking with this one. Simply because I want to keep a few things close to the chest for the next few arcs.

Not sure how often these will come but I think one every few arcs will be nice. FYI we are halfway through Arc one as of now.

On another note, my grandfather died yesterday. We had a strained relationship but I've been around him my whole life and he's lived with us for the past 3 years. So it's gonna take me a little while to wrap my head around the situation. But I guess it does give a semi-valid excuse for what I have to say next.

Chapter six, which will pick up where chapter 4 left off, most likely won't be out for at least 2 months or so (not that it really matters with my current update consistency…not proud of that...). There are 3 reasons for this. 1. I just mentioned. 2. There is something I want to do next chapter and it will require me to rethink some of the current and planned mechanics for the gamer system I've come up with. 3. School is back in full swing for me and I can't afford to fuck over my gpa this year. So a lot of my time will go towards that.

Sorry, I hope you all understand. Hopefully, my update schedule will become consistent in the coming months

Well anyway, I hope that you guys enjoy and I that managed to write something to make you all look forward to the future of the story!

Inferno'sLegacy out!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the mentioned works.

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Long ago, there was a covenant that rested far above the world, beyond the distant stars. They sat in their thrones and observed all that was below.

They watched as all the creatures in the realm of mortals fought to survive and found amusement in their struggles.

The covenant would laugh and place bets on would perish and who would cling to life. All while sowing their seeds of chaos and creation across the worlds.

When they grow bored of watching, one would descend upon a world to reap and make their wrath known once more.

This was the cycle for thousands of lifetimes and it would continue for a thousand more. However, time can rip all….

N:GO

(Age 700)

He was in pain...

Wait...scratch that.

He was in fucking agony!

His back felt like it had been broken, which it probably was, and grounded in to dust. The power contained in that death ball was frightening. Then again, there was a reason why it was listed as an A-Rank Jutsu.

Honestly, he didn't know what he expected out of a fight with his sensei like that.

Oh wait, that's right...he didn't even plan on fighting him!

Sneak into Konoha, Locate the Jinchuriki, Distract the Fourth, Extract the Kyuubi, Possibly Destroy Konoha

It should've been easy, or that's at least what Obito told himself.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't expect his sensei's damned wife Kushina to be so stubborn. It took far too long for him to remove the Kyuubi from her and that lead to Minato catching up to them. The ensuing fight even made him lose control over the beast!

"This was a damn waste! The only remotely good thing about this was the damage the Kyuubi will do to Konoha," he growled in a pained voice as he rapidly fled from the land of fire. As angry as he was, he knew it was his own fault. He had grown too confident of his own power and thought it smart to challenge the only SS-Ranked shinobi alive. "A damned idiot is what I am! I should've fled with the Kyuubi the moment I had control over it!"

Obito's sharingan flared in rage before fading from sight.

Shaking his head, he continued to beat a hasty retreat out of The Land of Fire. He was swapping between on foot travel and his kamui to cover as much ground as possible while saving as much of the little chakra he had left.

He was near the border when the pain simply grew too much, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Aaggh! Dammit, this is unbearable! I would've already been dead if not for my enhanced body. To hell with you Minato-sensei!" Obito growled out through grit teeth.

His sharingan flared weakly once more before fading, "This isn't good. I can't even Kamui anymore." Obito tried to push himself up before falling prone to the ground again. He groaned out in pain before simply lying there. After a minute or so he had forced himself bite down the pain enough to focus again and his trained ears picked up on commotion to his northwest.

It sounded like a horse and carriage. A road maybe?

It was a stretch and Obito would expose himself but given his current state he deemed it worth the risk.

Taking his last stores of strength, he forced himself to his feet and painfully limped three dozen or so feet in the direction of the sound he heard. It put all of his pain resistance training to the test, but he managed to make it to the edge of the forest before collapsing yet again.

After laying there for a moment Obito tried to get up again but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his body to agree with the idea of moving. The only part of himself he had any control over his head.

Using that to his benefit Obito looked up to see where he now found himself stuck at and was greeted with a...town?

Yes, he was most certainly at the edge of a town. The numerous wooden houses were a dead giveaway.

It was most likely one of the many small villages and towns that sprinkled the land of fires border.

If Obito could have, he might just have smiled. This, while not ideal, was certainly better than a road.

He could see a fair few people walking back and forth about a dozen feet in front of him. Now he just had to pray someone saw him.

Now..if only...he could...keep...his...eyes...open…

N:GO

Obito regained consciousness at the feeling of being shaked.

"H..a...kay?"

Was that a voice?

"He...r...u..ay? Loo...hurt."

That was definitely a voice. It sounded light...a woman perhaps?

"Hey...okay? You...hurt."

It was cleared this time around. Most certainly female.

"Hey are you okay? You look hurt."

Obito's only visible eye snapped open, blatantly scaring the person over him.

"Oh! Well, you're most certainly still alive. That's a relief," said the stranger while sighing.

Obito's trained mind instantly took to observing. The first thing he noticed was that he was able to stare at this newcomer. That implied they flipped him onto his back. The dull stinging he felt from the added pressure confirmed this. The second thing he noticed was that his "helper" was indeed female and a civilian one at that.

Good.

Taking a moment further, he observed the girl. She had a lithe, healthy frame, looked about his age and stood at about 5"2 with short brown hair and green eyes. All in all, she was a rather attractive female. Her choice of dress implied her line of work may have relied on that.

However, in that moment Obito couldn't have cared less about any of that. He just need her help.

She leaned in close to him once more and inspected his condition. Noting his battle worn state and the various weapons on his person.

She spoke again in a soft voice, " Yeah, you're really injured. You have to be one of those shinobi I always hear about." The girl then leaned in even closer and reached for Obito's mask. He would've grabbed her hand, but he still could hardly move. She spoke as she removed the object from his face, "I wonder what you could've done to hurt yourself this bad though?"

She must have seen the slight look of panic on his uncovered face as she quickly flashed a stunning smile before saying, "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter for a cutie like you. All you need to know is that my name's Miko and I'm going to patch you up Shinobi-san!"

So, she was going to help him and didn't plan on asking questions. Kami was his luck turning around for once!

Surprisingly, she took a finger and started to trace his scarred eye. Obito visibly flinched from the contact before relaxing at taking the moment to more carefully observe her face more closely.

She kind of reminded him of….

'NO! No, she doesn't...no one does…"

The young woman suddenly realized what she was doing before pulling back and apologizing with a light blush.

"Forgive me! I got a little lost there… Let me take you to my house to patch you up! I'm no doctor but I know enough," she said as she placed his mask back on. Then in a surprising feat of strength she lifted him up and put his arm around her shoulders before practically dragging him in the direction one could only assume she stayed in.

Obito could only let out a silent scream as pain flared once more in his grievously injured back due to the rough treatment.

As he was pulled along Obito couldn't help but wonder if this was a blessing or a curse in disguise.

Oh well, he could always kill her afterwards...

N:GO

(Age 708)

Fifteen-year-old Itachi was many things.

A son.

An older brother.

A shinobi.

An Anbu Captain.

An Uchiha.

The list goes on.

The one thing Itachi Uchiha was not was a traitor.

It was a well-known fact he was deathly loyal to both his clan and his village.

It was for this exact reason he now found himself emotionally split and on the verge of insanity.

His clan, his family that he loved and admired with all his being, had made to turn on the very village they helped found. The very same village he had pledged his undying loyalty to.

The Uchiha clan planned on doing a terrible thing. They sought to attack the heart of their own creation. Win or lose they would throw Konoha into chaos and hundreds would die. Not to mention there was a real chance of inciting another war due to Konoha's infighting.

On the other hand, the whole reason his clan wanted to rebel was due to them getting improper treatment from those in power within the village. So, in truth they were both in the wrong. Who was worse was up for debate.

What drove a stake further in his heart was the punishment handed out to the Uchiha clan.

Total extermination.

The original order given by the hokage had been simple: Kill only the leaders of the coup.

The third had even been nice enough to offer to have someone else do it. As much as it pained Itachi he insisted it should be him to do it. It took a short while, but he made peace with it and was prepared to do what must be done.

However, all of that changed in the early hours of the morning when he was suddenly summoned by the Hokage's advisors. As it turns out they decided their leaders course of action was all too light of heart.

The three forcefully ordered him to go beyond the parameters of his mission under threat of prolonged harm to his loved ones if he disagreed. In an uncharacteristic manner he raged against them for what felt like hours before he finally accepted under one condition.

They had only granted him half.

It was that conversation that made him wander aimlessly around the village for hours before finally find a secluded place to vent in one Konoha's many forests.

He couldn't turn to the Hokage for help. He had no solid proof and he had long since learned that when it came to those three the Third was slow to act. That was time he didn't have, and his family would pay the price for it.

Itachi clenched his fist so hard blood dripped through and painted the ground below.

Those bastards would pay. He'd make sure of that

His evolved Sharingan roared to life as proof of his hate.

His brother's face then flashed across his mind. The ghost of a weak smile appeared on his lips for a brief moment.

'At least I can save you.'

Then another face, his mother's, popped into his head. Itachi felt his eyes begin to sting.

A third. That of a young Uchiha girl filled with childlike innocence. He began to sob.

Slowly the weight of recent events sunk in and he slumped to the floor. In that moment, he was no longer Itachi-The Genius of the Uchiha or Itachi Uchiha-Konoha's Prodigy. He wasn't the elite Anbu captain Weasel or even a shinobi at the point.

In that moment he was just a kid cracking under the weight of the challenge he faced.

In life there are points where we as people breakdown and need someone to pick us back up and give us some advice or even a kind word. That small thing can be what determines if someone grasps on to life or falls off the edge.

In Itachi's moment of weakness he would have no one.

So, there in that forest, Uchiha Itachi cried. He cried more than he ever had or ever would.

By the time darkness fell Itachi's tears had run dry and he had gone numb. With a heavy heart he rose and slipped on the mask all shinobi wore in times of pain before walking towards what would be his last mission as Konoha Shinobi.

N:GO

(Age 709)

Tenten Higarashi closed the door to her father's shop with a sigh. Today had already been fairly eventful and was still rather early. First her father leaves her a note saying he'll be gone for the next few days. Then she had to go do his job and get ransack the training grounds for broken weapons before quite literally running into a blond ball of energy.

Naruto…

For some reason he seemed familiar to her, but she was almost positive they had never met before. Maybe she had heard his name or glanced him at the academy?

It was a minor detail for sure, but it kept annoying Tenten like a fly that wouldn't buzz off.

Tenten put the last of the scrap bags in their designated place before letting out a sigh. "Kami do I hate making scrap runs!" As she made her way to the back of the shop, which was connected to her house, she couldn't help but be glad that it was over.

"I would've still been hauling those bags through the heat if Naruto didn't show up. I really owe him one for that. I'd still like to know why he seemed familiar though," she said as she reached her room.

Opening the door, Tenten took a moment to observe her domain. The walls were littered with dozens of different weapons and scrolls as well as few posters of her idol, the Slug Sennin Tsunade. Directly over her bed was a piece of torn orange fabric in an ornate frame that was flanked on the left by a replica Hiraishin kunai that was angled down and to the left. To its right was an elegant katana that was broken midway down the length and angled down and to the right.

Pleased with the condition of her room, Tenten walked in. She idly ran the fingers of her right hand along her dresser as she made her way to a chest in the corner of the room. Only stopping for a scant few moments to let her eyes linger on a photo of her mother.

"I still miss you," she whispered.

Tenten's parents were actually adoptive. Her father found her on the streets in a critical state when she was very young. Being the kind soul he was, he brought her to their home and they nursed back to health. After she was better his wife was all too happy to keep her around because she couldn't have kids of their own.

Tenten quickly took interest in her father's business and weapons in general but she always took time to be with her adoptive mother. She got to be the daughter the women always wanted, and her mother got to be the female role model she needed.

She didn't get to know her for long, but Kami did she miss her.

Blinking the mist from her eyes Tenten knelt down to the chest and opened it, "Well if I'm going to be giving that kid some pointers then I better make sure my aims up to snuff. It wouldn't do for me to embarrass myself!"

The girl grabbed several scrolls containing more weapons than any normal person would care to count before exiting both her room and then the shop as a whole. With her goal in mind she made her way towards one of Konoha's many training grounds.

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