A/N: This story was originally without a prologue. But then I finally came up with one that was good. If you do not understand this prologue, then it's not a big deal, you can just go to Chapter 1. It's probably because you haven't read far enough in the manga that you won't understand this. It won't affect your enjoyment of this fanfiction though.

Prologue

Two figures stood in the middle of a forest clearing under the dead of night. Two blood red eyes swirled and stared down the single crimson eye opposite them.

"I cannot kill my little brother. Please allow me to spare him."

"Why the sudden change of heart? We had a deal already. We kill the clan, I spare the village."

"Your eyes may be eternal, and you may be immortal. But as you said before, you have yet to reach the level of the Sage of Six Paths. Without the Nine-Tails, even you could not defeat this entire village."

"Is your little brother really worth that much to you?"

"…"

The masked man chuckled slightly. "If only I had been like you. In the end, I can only regret that Izuna's sacrifice meant nothing to the clan and to this pathetic village that our clan foolishly agreed to found with the Senju."

"The new deal is you spare both the village and my brother, and I will take care of the rest of the clan."

"Hmhm, haha… hahaha! Very well. So be it. What will you do after you kill the clan? Why don't you join my organization of missing-nin, Akatsuki. Our goal is to create peace by capturing all of the Tailed-Beasts."

"…If I must."

"Good. Then when it's over, find the man in Amegakure who is known as a god. He possesses the Rinnegan and is Akatsuki's public leader. I'll be going now."

"Wait. Before you go, tell me this. Is there text on the Uchiha underground chamber's stone tablet that the normal Mangekyou cannot read? What does it say?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid that's a secret. You could find out by taking your brother's eyes."

"…"

"Anything else?"

"Are you going to capture the Nine-Tails today, if this Akatsuki means to capture all the tailed-beasts?"

"I see why you would think that. But no, I will not. In the first place, the Nine-Tails must be captured last. And secondly, that boy is the second last Uzumaki, after all. In the event that the Rinnegan I have under my control is destroyed before I take them for myself, then he will be become useful to me. Because of this, that boy must also stay alive for now, even if other half of the Nine-Tails' chakra is guaranteed to remain when he dies."

A moment later, the space around the masked man warped into a swirl and he disappeared.

A young Naruto was sleeping at his apartment when he suddenly woke up to see a man in a mask with flame-like patterns and one eye hole.

Suddenly there was a heavy feeling in the air, a certain deep pressure that weighed on young Naruto's whole body and mind.

"Wha-who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I am someone very powerful, Naruto-kun."

"Ho-how do you know my name!"

"Because I am very powerful, of course."

As if that were all the explanation needed, the man continued, "Do you want to be powerful too?"

The man walked closer to Naruto and bent down to match Naruto's eye level. From this range, Naruto could see clearly the single red eye that looked so demonic.

"…"Naruto stared at the man, unwilling to respond to this stranger.

"Of course you do. Then remember this-" the man suddenly stopped. He disappeared and reappeared behind Naruto, whispering to Naruto's left ear, "The true winner is he who looks to the future. So stay alive and grow strong…" and the voice trailed off before disappearing completely, the man disappearing with it.

And with that the heavy pressure disappeared too. But what replaced it was a strange vision. That red eye was staring at him. Not from the back, nor from the front, but from every direction. This was what he felt.

Everything became all dark, except the eye. And in this red eye, there was a circular black-colored pattern. It swirled viciously, making Naruto feel dizzy.

As Naruto clutched his head, he fell back down to his bed and tried to cover his ears with the blanket. But he couldn't block out the sound…the echoing voice that continued to repeat the words of the masked man.

"The true winner is he who looks to the future. So stay alive and grow strong…"

"The true winner is he who looks to the future…"

"The true winner…"

"…future…"

"…stay alive…"

For a long time, Naruto would wonder if that was just a dream. But those words he would never forget. Nor would he forget that blood red eye.

Even at his young age, he recognized the wisdom hidden in those words. He recognized the power hidden behind the eye.

And, most importantly, he recognized what he had to do to be strong.

And so he resolved to stay alive…grow strong…and win…by looking to the future.

A/N: Now read Chapter 1 for the real story.

Edit: Thanks goes to Cenright for seeing the weakness of the prologue's end. I think this edit sounds a lot better than the old one, don't you?