For the Official Art for this chapter, copy the following link into your URL box and remove the spaces on either side of deviantart. This site is ridiculous in that it doesn't allow normal links.

genesis-dragon. deviantart .com/art/Of-Gods-and-Kings-Origin-149877206

Black1nferno – Thank you for pointing out my error is the spelling of "Jasin" and that it is actually "Jashin" I went back and corrected all of them in Chapter 1.

Crazyefra – Thanks! I hope it continues to stay interesting for you, also thanks for being the first review to my story!

Thedormin – I'm defiantly going for a darker feel to this story, my last few were heavily romance driven. Not to say there wont be romance, just expect a longer story this time with darker elements leading up to the warm fuzzy.

Dbzgtfan2004 – Long live NaruSaku! You should check out my deviantart gallery, link is in my profile, I've got a slew of NaruSaku fanart in there.

xNINJABLADE45x – Thanks for the review!

Zaisuro – Thank you, that means a lot to me. I often find it difficult to come up with original plotlines that 10 billion other people haven't already written about, so I hope it continues to be unique and interesting for all of you.

Lady Stormfeather – Oh geeze I have regulars now, I know you! It's good to see you again and to know that you're still following me, so thank you! I assure you this story will be even more exciting than my other ones. I promise I'll try to update more often…I know I slack off a lot when I have a lot to do in school and whatnot. Nonetheless thanks for reviewing, can't wait to hear from you again.

There is so much talk about the origin of all things. Some speak of a divine creation and others of a grand explosion which created the heavens and the earth. Some cultures even go to speak of a sword dipped into the ocean and land was born from the drops that fell from the blade. The origin of this tale does not stem from swords or gods, but from the heart of fire itself. Whether or not this stems from the primal desires of the heart or simply the inferno of the desire to kill is unknown. We can only appreciate the events that have transpired as relics of a time which is no longer our own, and exist for the memories of our past. No matter how painful or broken our past may be, we cannot simply live as product of the past, but as tools for the future.

Chapter 2

Origin

Sakura wiped the sand from her eyes as they cracked open to meet the thin stream of light shooting from the wall. The air was stale and it was difficult to breathe. She realized that she must have passed out from exhaustion the night before after they made refuge in the small desert cave. Judging from the fact that they were still alive and for the most part uninjured, the Jashin warriors had not discovered them while they slept. Luckily the sandstorm the night before likely removed any trace of their tracks as they made their escape. Nonetheless they were not in the clear yet; for all intensive purposes they were still fairly close to the Jashin outpost and patrols could still be in the area searching for them. Carefully poking at the small opening to the outside world, Sakura peered through the hole from the sand that had piled in over the night. From what she could see there was no one out there, nonetheless she clutched a kunai in her hand and she slowly dug at the sand, slowly emerging from the cave. Carefully looking around, she spotted no one in sight and let out a sigh of relief.

The desert air was hot and dry, but it still felt better in her lungs than the stagnant air that had been sitting in the cave all night long. Crawling back inside, she found Naruto; checking his pulse and chakra levels. He was still frail, but the lack of exposure to the chakra draining spell had done him some good and the natural healing from the Kyuubi had kicked in. Still, touching his chest with the green glow, Sakura devoted as much Chakra as she dared to spare into helping along his injuries. When she was done she reached into her pack and pulled out a canteen, taking a sip herself before pouring some past Naruto's cracked lips and into his mouth.

They needed to move quickly, there was no telling when the Jashin patrols would be nearby. Heaving the still unconscious Naruto on her back and slinging the cloak over the both of them to block out the sun. Sakura stepped out of the cave and focused chakra at the base of her feet. It was a modified version of the water walking technique that would allow her to walk across the sand without leaving footprints, a technique originally developed by the black ops of Suna for stealth missions. Checking her position from the direction of the sunrise, Sakura made her way towards Suna. Naruto dozed on her back, groaning in his sleep, Sakura could only imagine what he was dreaming about.

---

5 Years Prior

The attack didn't come under the cover of darkness or from a secret passage under Konoha's walls. The 12 attackers simply walked up to the front gate and asked for Konoha to surrender, claiming to be from the True Race of the Jashin. The guards more or less laughed at them and told them to go back home. This was the last thing those guards ever said. When word of their death reached central command, Tsunade immediately ordered a squadron of 24 Anbu to eliminate the threat as quickly as possible. They never returned.

Naruto at the time was training with Kakshi in field 12-6, developing a new jutsu that was less self destructive than the Rasen Shuriken, when the message for Kakashi arrived. It only took one word to turn his pale visage even whiter, Jashin. He had read the Nara report a few years back about an encounter with the immortal man from Akatsuki named Hidan who hailed to the Jashin faith; the very same man that took Asuma Sarutobi's life. An investigation was ordered after the incident but no trace of the Jashin religion or its followers existed and it was believed that Hidan was the last of his kind. Obviously they were wrong.

"Hey Kakashi, what's the note say, and what's wrong with your face?"

Kakshi turned to face his pupil, careful to keep his composure, "It seems I forgot to properly fill out a mission report and the Hokage is pissed. I need to go take care of it right away. I'm not sure how long it'll take so stay here, I don't want you to get caught up in the situation"

"Situation?"

"If Tsunade-sama tries to beat me for screwing up, hah hah…"

Naruto groaned "Yeah, Baa-chan has been really crabby lately; watch out for her left hook, I think I've lost more than one tooth to that thing."

Kakashi nodded, "I'll keep that in mind. Now stay here." And the Copy Ninja was gone.

It was not long before Kakashi arrived at the Hokage tower.

"Don't tell me what to do Nara, I need to go down there personally," roared a voice as Kakshi pushed open the double doors into Tsunade's office.

"You don't understand Hokage-sama, if they're anything like Hidan then…"

"I read your report, I know their potential abilities. But right now they're demanding to see me and I refuse to throw more lives into the blender! ….Oh Kakashi you're here, Shikamaru, brief him"

Shikamaru sighed and turned, "12 assailants claiming to be Jashin followers forced their way into the front gates approximately 11 minutes ago. They killed the guards in the area. In response we dispatched 24 Anbu to deal with the situation, but they were also killed with no enemy causalities."

Kakashi's eyes widened, "No casualties? How could they possibly kill 24 Anbu without a scratch?"

"We're not sure exactly, all we know is they're making their way through the village towards this tower, killing anyone in their path. They're demanding to see me and won't stop until they find me."

"If they're at the level they seem to be, we can't afford to wait any longer without gathering more information about what they want and what they're capable of."

"Finally someone who understands!" roared Tsunade, "Good then, lets go Shisune, Kakashi; Shikamaru, fetch Sakura, I want her to be around to deal with any wounded." Shikamaru nodded reluctantly and sped out the window, "Also Kakashi, where is Naruto?"

"I told him to stay at the training grounds while I came here."

"Did you tell him why?"

"I told him I had to fill out some paperwork. I thought it best to keep him as far away from this situation as possible."

"Hmm probably the best choice. There has been no outward indication that they're part of Akatsuki, but I don't want to take any chances of Naruto falling into the wrong hands."

"Lets just hope word doesn't spread too quickly, I don't want him jumping in and getting himself captured or killed. Let's go."

Naruto quickly became bored of waiting and went off in search of Kakashi, figuring he might need some backup is Baa-chan really did go ballistic. Last thing he needed was his former teacher to end up dead or worse. Though as he sprinted through the training field towards the village, it because quickly apparent that something was up. Smoke could be seen rising from the main path to the Hokage Tower, and an ominous feeling was tugging at his stomach. Double his pace, he sprinting towards the rising smoke.

One he was on the streets it was apparent that chaos was underfoot. People were screaming and running away as other ninja darted across the rooftops towards the smoke. Within minutes Naruto cleared the final corner to witness hell on earth. The area was completely engulfed in flames and the smoke burned his eyes and lungs. A group of men and women, clad in black were standing near the center of inferno, seemingly uncaring of the surrounding ninja forces. Jounin surrounded the group, and in the front stood Tsunade and Kakashi.

Suddenly a large pair of hands covered Naruto's mouth and held his hands behind his back, pulling him back into the alleyway. He struggled to get away but the grip held fast. "Naruto, I'm going to let you go but you must be silent, do you understand?" Naruto nodded slowly and was released. Whipping around he realized his "assailant" was Yamato.

"Yamato-sensei, what the hell is going on?"

"Naruto please keep your voice down, the village has been invaded by several very powerful ninjas. They're demanding we surrender or they're going to kill everyone. Everything we've throw at them doesn't seem to do anything, Hokage-sama has entered into "aggressive-negotiations" but has ordered that you stay out of the fight. We don't know if they're after the Bijuu or not, and we can't risk you being captured. Didn't Kakashi tell you to stay in the training field?"

The blond scoffed, "Like that matters now," peering around the corner to see Tsunade taking on what appeared to be the leader of the group, "Baa-chan needs our help!"

Yamato gripped Naruto's arm, "Naruto, stop, this isn't a laughing matter, a lot of people have already died and I don't want you added to the list! I'm taking you to a more secure location."

But a familiar scream pierced Naruto's ears, and he turned back to see a flash of pink. One of the invaders held a struggling kunoichi in the air by her hair, arms and legs struggling to break free. "Sakura!" he screamed as he broke from Yamato's grip. The Jounin tried to chase after the blond but it was too late.

"Well well well fresh meat! Look who joined the party!" called out the man who was fighting Tsunade

"Uzumaki Naruto. Age 22. Height 181 cm. 79kg. Blood Type B. Special Ability: Rasengan. Also a known Jinchuuriki, Kyuubi Class." Rattled off another warrior.

The leader raised an eyebrow "Ah so THIS is the kid Lord Valjean was talking about. Ugly little shit though, oh well, we gotta capture him alive."

Damnit. Naruto gritted his teeth and looked over nervously at Sakura who was still struggling in pain to escape her captor, tears flowing down her pale cheeks.

"Ah I see, you're worried about this bitch? Tell ya what, I'll tell Silas here to put her down if you come with my friends here. If you don't, you get to watch her die slowly. So what's it gonna be?" he leader chuckled.

"NARUTO RUN!" Sakura screamed

"Damnit Naruto, stand down that's an order!" roared a panting Tsunade, but it was too late. Naruto leapt forward and landed next to Silas who promptly tossed Sakura into a pile of broken crates a few meters away. Naruto turned to run to her but a sharp pain hit the back of his neck and he collapsed to the ground, his last vision of him reaching out to an unconscious Sakura before he too slipped into darkness.

He didn't know how long he had been unconscious when he finally woke up, and when he did he was already in a jail cell, his arms pinned and held by thick shackles which felt like they were draining any strength he managed to pull together. When his eyes finally began to focus in the dim light he looked up to a thin figure, clad in expensive cloth and armor.

Naruto's head was heavy but he managed to look the figure in the eye, "Who the hell are you?"

The man smiled and bent down, cupping Naruto's face in his hand, "You're new God, but you may call me Lord Valjean." Standing up he turned around and walked out of the cell, only pausing to look at another figure to say, "Break him."

The guard gleefully laughed, "I would be my pleasure, my lord." and then Naruto lost consciousness.

---

When Naruto regained consciousness, the only thing that filled his vision was a flickering light bulb directly above him. The ceiling was stone but not the same as his jail cell. Where was he? He didn't remember anything after….Sakura. Sakura? "Sakura?! SAKURA!" he screamed. Almost instantly a pink blur rushed into the room, "Naruto! Naruto I'm here, I'm right here!" she threw her arms around him and pulling him close, "I'm sorry I just stepped out for a moment. I'm here." She could feel the wetness from his tears on her shoulder and his entire body was shaking. Pulling him as close as she could without crushing him she stroked the back of his head, "It's ok, you're safe now, no one is going to hurt you anymore."

"W-wh-where are we?" he struggled.

"Underground Sunagakure. I'll explain everything later, you need your rest. Don't worry I'll stay here with you the whole time ok?" Naruto nodded weakly as Sakura laid him back down on the bed, gripping his hand reassuringly as he drifted back to sleep.

I know the whole flashback seems a bit fragmented but bear in mind most of it is from Naruto's point of view. I'll be revisiting various sections of the whole invasion flashback from different points of view so you'll get the whole story. Just wanted to let you all know before I get flooded with complaints -__- Thanks for reading!