AN: High everyone and thanks for picking up this fiction. I hope you enjoy it. It is on a seperate storyline all together than Home Again. Dont worry, i will be sequeling that eventually, but right now i wanted to try something new. Let me know how you feel about it.
BTW, if you like cloti from ff7, makorain is a great fluff author. Check it out. Its good stuff. :-)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters.
A rank stench of death was the only aroma that had settled upon the weary land. There was no smell of bread being pulled out from fresh bakeries nor the sweet scent of flowers that would decorate any normal village. No this village was one whose time was veiled in darkness and evil as the armies of its enemies continue its long scale attack against it.
For nearly 8 years the ragtag forces from the Hidden Village of Sound have laid siege against its nemesis just so one scorned man could finally seek his vengeance. Their minds were filled with an unnatural bloodlust that forced them to continue fighting long after they forgot the reason for engaging in such a war.
They would not rest, they would not relent until the last shinobi of Konoha had fallen and their blood ceased to flow. Only one man was demented enough to act upon the most evil of intentions. He had been denied his position and so he would claim his vengeance by making the innocent feel the full force of his wrath.
It was one of the sannin, students of the 3rd Hokage. Orochimaru.
It was for him that so many ninja from the sound village willingly gave up their lives for a cause they failed to understand. It was because of him that so many ninjas from the fire village had lost their lives in order to protect an ideal that was their home.
The ninja of Konoha had fought bravely for so long in order to protect what was theirs alone. Many had given up time away from their families and loved ones in order to put up a sturdy defense. Many had died in serving their comrades as the bloodshed increased with each passing day.
It was in the first year of battle alone that the greatest warrior the village held, its pride and joy and the one sworn to protect all that was precious to Konoha, was felled in battle by the very person he had taught so many years ago. The 3rd Hokage and teacher of the greatest shinobi to ever walk this planet lost his life in a trap set by his trickster of a student.
His death was a demoralizing blow to the village, but from the fire that left nothing but his ashes raised a new hope to claim the hearts and minds of the villagers. Their estranged princess had finally returned after years of self-inflicted exile. One who had willing left the village had finally been forced to return at the hands of a grey haired hermit with a stoic expression on his face.
The next Hokage of the Hidden Village of Konoha, Tsunade.
It was through her power and might that the warriors of the village rallied once again after the fall of their leader and decided to honor his name by making sure no harm should fall upon the land and the people he had cared so much for.
With great beauty and unparalleled strength did she reform the front lines of defense as she lead. Hope and faith have fallen upon the lands but their situation still looked as bleak as ever.
They had defeated the armies from the Hidden Village of the Sand and sent those troops running back to their homeland once Orochimaru's deception upon them had been revealed.
But it wasn't enough to win. The Sound ninjas remained.
For several years more would they village struggle to maintain life against a foe that existed for no other reason than to extinguish it. The future was bleak, and now the Hidden Village of Konoha was coming upon its darkest hour.
The sound had come across unforeseen reinforcements and had now released upon the defending village one last assault to end the struggle once and for all. It was in this darkest hour would the village find an ember of hope glazed in orange. It was in this darkest hour would the village reveal that it held a dark secret, one that should have been forgotten with the passing of the fourth.
In the Hokage's tower Tsunade sat behind her desk with her hands folder in front of her as the casualty reports poured in with the force of an angered flood. ANBU after ANBU ran in and out of her room to do the scattered task of holding the defending ninjas together, but the surge of Sound nin was a force they could not handle much longer. Drastic measures were about to be taken.
"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" A familiar jounin with a habit of chewing upon a weed stumbled into the room. His body held scattered wounds though only a few had the luxury of being bandaged. One arm was held in a makeshift cast until he could find time enough for a medic to heal it, but there was an important matter at hand.
Tsunade looked up with weary eyes though she was eager for any news that had nothing to do with the deaths of her ninja. "What is it?"
"It is Danyo, he wishes to speak with you. He says he has news that could turn the tide of the war." With his message delivered, the great ninja's legs gave out from underneath him as exhaustion overtook his body. His body was gathered by one of the Hokage's assistants before it could completely fall to the ground and taken out to one of the many makeshift medic camps for much do healing. He had served the Hokage well.
"Shizune! Get Danyo in here! Now!" The weary leader's body had found new strength as any news to save Konoha was a welcome blessing upon her weary ears. Even if the news was to come from one as underhanded and twisted as Danyo. Even through the agony of war did he try and take the seat of Hokage. His selfish desires had more than once almost led to the permanent downfall of the village as the Hokage now too had an inner demon to fight. Yet he was a man of many resources with radical ideas and so there was no delay in bringing him to the Hokage.
The battered former ninja walked in unescorted by his guards with a smirk upon his face. His body still remained badly beaten from the wars past that he had a hand in, but his health and his physique showed signs of one who did not suffer an impoverished life due to the scarcity of food in a hidden village fighting a war.
"Hokage-sama" He bowed his head ever so slightly to show what little respect he had for the village's current leader. There was no doubt in his mind that if he was to lead, the siege would have ended long ago. The council was foolish to have elected one of the sannin to lead in his place.
"What information do you have for me." Tsunade had not the patience nor the time to deal with this man's insufferable personality.
Fortunately the leader of Root too knew that he must be brief or be forced to face the wrath of an angry Hokage. He was no fool. While Danyo cared little for her ability to lead, he wasn't foolish enough to question the power of her impacts.
"The demon child. It lives" And it yearns for battle. It yearns for its freedom to escape the prison it has been confined to for so long.
"Impossible…the sealing failed and the child died shortly after the Kyuubi was contained within him.." Though she had walked away from Konoha all those years ago, she was still familiar with the horrors that occurred to her homeland while she was gone.
An evil smirk graced across his face as his smile resembled the one her fallen comrade often held. "He lives and was trained in the ninja arts by those you would least suspect, Hokage-sama."
"The child cannot be controlled! The Kyuubi would have too much influence over him! It would betray us all!" While she wasn't there, Tsunade had heard about the devilish laughter that escaped the mouth of the 'innocent' child. It was proof the Kyuubi roamed freely within the child's body and that the seal hadn't imprisoned it as completely. The demon was supposed to have killed the soul of the child and thus doomed itself along with it. Yet somehow it had survived.
"How…when did you…." Danyo must have had a hand in faking the death of the demon container. No tactic was too low or barbaric for one of his moral code.
"That hardly matters right now Hokage-sama. The child is tamed and it can fight. It is under my control but I will not release it without your permission." This time Danyo bowed lower than before to signal his increasing respect for the Hokage.
But Tsunade was no fool. She knew exactly what her rival had planned. Should the release of the child go well, Danyo would be perceived as a hero with a powerful weapon on his side. Her role as Hokage would surely be challenged. Yet if the demon child became the curse it was known to be, she would be blamed for releasing such an unholy plague upon the visitors in the midst of war. It was a lose/lose situation for her. But it gave Konoha a chance. That was all she needed to know in order to make her decision.
Her eyes were downcast and her voice was solemn though her order was still heard by all in the room. "Do it."
One could almost here the ominous evil laugh that seemed to echoes throughout the village with the issue of that order. It might just be the biggest regret of her life.
In a forgotten portion of the ninja village lay a cell with a single prisoner to occupy it for the past twenty years. There was no natural light to enter the hidden domain though a single light bulb hung above providing what little illumination that could be provided. Inside in a far corner huddled up was a single boy not quite yet a man, with his flowing chakra tails wrapping up against themselves.
The single door that led into the damp room was opened only to let in more darkness as familiar footsteps echoed throughout the walls. Having been stirred by the sounds of someone entering, the fox child quickly perked up and directed his eyes to the one who entered his 'home'. "Sensei…?"
The proud elder ninja watched as his student stirred from his slumber and stood up to great his teacher. The toad hermit watched with careful eyes as Naruto put upon a characteristically familiar expression on his face. How one could remain so positive when held in such a desolate place was behind the aging sannin, but it was not his job to question it. He needed only to train the boy.
"Yes Naruto, It is me." It pained him what Danyo had done to the child. The criminal behavior he was given ate at the very heart of the toad hermit, but there was little he could do. For reasons unknown to all but Danyo, Jiraiya was unable to free the child from his cell. All he could do now was teach him. And care for him like a father would a child. It was the only thing Jiraiya could do to honor….him….
"What's the matter sensei? You haven't visited me in days. I thought I had upset you.." The boy's downcast eyes were their normal blue human selves. He looked up again to stare upon his teacher once more with a bit of hope in them, wishing that it would be enough to be forgiven for whatever crime he had committed.
"You have done nothing wrong my boy." It hurt the hermit to see the boy feeling so sad, so lonely. But there wasn't time for that. A more serious threat was upon them. "Tell me Naruto…this village. Would you protect it?" Jiraiya had found out what was to be this boy's fate. But before the child could be released within the village, he had to know if Naruto's presence would indeed be beneficial.
A bright smile that seemed to shine enough to enlighten the compound came upon the hopeful boy's face as he looked upon one he considered family. "With my life sensei! I will protect this village! They let me live!"
Somehow the demon child had gained an unnatural and unknown love for the people that had imprisoned. It was some twisted form of logic that made him protective of the people that thought he was just a memory. The irony of it all? Naruto had never stepped foot outside his cell before. The world he knew was merely the stories passed down from sensei to student through the years. It was all Naruto needed to fall in love with the people of his village.
"Then do it." With a swift sequence of hand seal, a barrier was released from around the prison and a few scattered paper seals fell away. As if it acted on its own will, the door to his cage slowly creaked open and thus the demon container was granted freedom for the first time in its short twenty years of life.
With a speed not seen in the village for years, Naruto had exited the village in a swift flash step that took him through the compound and out into the wide open view of the war torn village. Despite the fires that ravenged the ruined buildings and the markings of blood that was strewn about, it was by far the most beautiful sight the boy had ever lay his eyes upon. It was his village. It was his home. And someone dared to attack it.
The tails that had created so many nightmares and the eyes of the beast had come to be seen once again. The invaders would know his anger.
At the outer wall of the village the remaining healthy ninjas were feeling the full force of the battle before them. It was here that the brunt of the Sound's renewed attack was being focused. The Konoha nin that bravely fought to defend this installation were growing wearier by the minute, but they would not relent. Not while there was still breath left in their lungs
A kunoichi who is as dangerous as she is beautiful had cast aside her duties as a medical ninja and took up the forefront of battle as the need for her strength was dire. With her fist she sent enemy after enemy pummeling back as the strength from her fists matched that of her sensei's. It was ironically perfect that the last thing such evil men should see before being sent to the depths of hell, was the face of a woman with an angelic glow about her.
But Sakura's muscles too grew weary and her senses began to relax as the battle prolonged. She never had the vast stores of chakra that she always hoped and trained for and the constantly decreasing force of her punches showed it.
Her tired state failed to alert her to the ninja that appeared just behind her. The enemy sound ninja unsheathed his blade and turned it toward the pink haired ninja. The sound of the blade coming slashing down was the only warning she got that her end was near. Sakura had time enough only to turn around and see the soulless eyes of her attacker as the sword was merely now inches away from striking into her skin. Her emerald green eyes closed to shut out the pain leading up to her death.
But it never came. When seconds had passed and no injury had befallen her, she quickly shot open her eyes to see her unexpected savior standing in front of her with a kunai in his hands.
"Kakashi-sensie!" The famous sharingan Kakashi stood in front of Sakura with that reassuring smile on his face that always inspired courage within her. Somehow, her former sensei had always been able to make her have hope.
"Don't worry Sakura. Help is on the way. Trust him. Just…Trust him." With that simple statement, the copy ninja had vanished into the midst of the fight where he could be of use, though Sakura was not as alone as one might suspect.
Her first sensei has long gone but she could sense a strong presence of chakra behind her, one she couldn't recognize. It didn't bear that familiar signature that emanated from the enemy sound nin that was ripe with the smell of Orochimaru. No this signature was far more…wicked.
The chakra was…scary. For one who has experienced so much tragedy through the past years, the ability to fear was supposed to have been long gone. Yet now Sakura's body seemed to be frozen with terror as she was almost too afraid to turn around and see what fate awaited her. With what ounce of strength she had, she forced her head to turn around to look upon a sight she certainly did not expect.
Standing behind her with a curious look upon her face was not a man, but not quite a demon either. It was a boy close to her age though he was surrounded and nearly engulfed by the radical reddish orange chakra that seemed to burn away at everything near it. The boy had 3 engraved marks on either cheek with eyes that flickered back and forth from being red to blue. The canines on the boy had grown unnaturally long but the most distinguishing feature upon his face were the fox like ears that seemed to protrude. But all of this paled in comparison to the nine wicked tails that flapped about as if each held a mind of its own.
She should have run. She should have feared him further after setting her emerald green eyes upon this deadly beast. Yet something comforted her, told her that it was here to help and not to hurt. It was a goofy grin upon his face that seemed to say 'hello'.
Suddenly the nine tails perked up and shot towards the young kunoichi who once again experienced total fear as saw the spear like objects shoot towards her. That silly smile it wore upon his face quickly changed to one that was angered and ferocious and dripping with malicious intent. Sakura immediately brought up her hands to shield her from the harm to come, but was surprised when the tails reached beyond her and stabbed at several enemy ninja that was heading her way while she was too distracted to fight.
Once she looked upon the man/beast again he was smiling rather dopily again though he remained rather stoic. It was almost like he didn't know what to do or what to say. Could it be he was socially retarded?
Well, considering its radical demeanor, it wouldn't be surprising to see it didn't have many friends. All this brought up a rather interesting question. Just what was it? Scratch that. It looked like a man. Who was he?
Having once again regained control of her senses, Sakura opened her mouth to speak and voice her concerns. "Just who are-"
Her mouth was immediately shut when the form in front of her disappeared faster than her eyes could track, only to reappear just in front of her, with his lips pressed against her own. Her eyes opened wide at the shock of such rash behavior in the midst of a battle, leaving her unable to shove away the one who pushed himself upon her. It was clumsy and awkward, though it served a refreshing twist from the conflict they were fighting
Her hand steadied to slap away his face with great force but instead all it met with was air as the one who stole a kiss from her had already flash stepped just beyond her till he was standing at the edge of the wall.
The shinobi war continued to rage on just beyond that wall and into the forest as various explosions sent minor shockwaves in their direction. Naruto's hair flapped around wildly with the force of wind and added a feral look to the boy.
"My name's Naruto. Will you be my friend?" For one who looked so evil, his voice was uncannily cheery and almost…childlike.
Before Sakura could answer, dozens of Naruto's all appeared to be standing side by side with that overemphasized smile on each of their faces. With a salute it spoke once more before jumping into the void before. "Sorry. Got to go now. Need to save the village. I'll talk to you later friend!" With that the clones plus the original itself scattered to the far corners of the battle
Sakura ran towards the edge of the wall that contained Konoha with a storm of thoughts attacking her mind. What was going on. How could one ninja possibly hope to turn back the swarm of invaders that were at their doorsteps? Only the Hokage would have the answers.
So what do you guys think? Is it any good? I hope you all like it, but please leave me a review with some comments, questions, and anything else you would like to say. It provides great inspiration and i love responding to them. :-)
Also, i am still unsure about Sasuke's role in this. Meaning whether he is a missing nin, a faithful konoha nin, dead, on orochimaru's side, or a good guy or whatever. Lemme know what you guys think. It will help me decide. Also if you have any questions, feel free to ask and i will try to answer.
Thanks again guys. Until next time, take care. :-)