Lurking Darkness

By: Orpheon

AN: This story began as a mere escapade to menial tasks in every day life and soon developed to something I would like writing.

Any help is appreciated in the relationship between characters since I honestly suck at sentimentalism but I'll try to make it good.

This is the prologue please help with constructive criticism, I'll appreciate your invested time.

Also the name of the Sandaime is my invention since I couldn't find a source. If you find the actual name please inform me.

Update: Friday, May 23rth, fixed some minor mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto but I do own this story.

Prologue:

This world is defined by the energy we either call God, Allah, Karma, Jave, etc. But this energy is the thing that binds our nature, that defines us, makes us, gives us hope, gives us strength, but you see the humans the (arguably) smartest creatures on earth seem to bee naturally predisposed for violence this created the Armageddon a climatic battle between the nations, in which the old world suffered greatly while the humans were plunged into darkness.

A thousand years have passed since then, and with the knowledge of the old world we survived and discovered a great deal of things about our nature. Unfortunately the peace was not to be. 700 years ago the first clans were created, the clans were formed of soldiers of great might, capable of manipulating the elements of Ka, Sui, Do, Fuu, and Rai (fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning). Then from the ashes of the old war, greater clans emerged, with some capable of not only controlling the 5 natural elements but also master the insanely intricate methods or techniques to do so, others capable of bending their bodies to the limits of reason and imagination at will. While others even claimed the ability to control plants themselves, all of these clans often went for advise to the one who emerged first of them all a sage now fabled as legend worthy of the heavens memory who's eyes had multiple rings around the pupil.

About a hundred years ago the clans settled in agreements of union and after some negotiation with the different daimios the first hidden villages were created….

Konohagakure no Sato 1015 A.A (After Armageddon)

Saturday, October 10th

Night of the disaster

3 nights ago a squadron of ANBU reported a heavy presence of youki, and traces of a recent rampage during a sweep of the village's frontier after been ordered to search for specifics only roughly 20 minutes after returning. 3 hours later, only 1 ANBU came back, with severe injuries and psychological trauma and before collapsing only managed to say:

"Kyuubi".

That had happened 3 nights ago, now in a huge clearing 2 creatures faced each other towering over the forest and scorched acres of forest; one was a huge fox with eyes that glowed with such a malice and anger that the air around them almost froze the white of the eyes or what should've been white seemed to extend into the ears and with its huge mouth twisted in a deformed grin, threatening to engulf everything in it's darkness, along with it's red fur that resembles the color of blood but with a ethereal glow giving it and it's nine tails a truly frightening appearance, in front of it stood a toad also red but it was lesser than the one of the creature's fur almost like wine, it was wearing huge haori blue in color with a red circle in the back that had a symbol made unrecognizable by the clouded night and smoke rising from the fires in the once prosperous market district, in it's back there was a tanto ready to use if necessary, standing in the top of it there was a blonde man no older than 30 dressed in a joonin outfit, over it there was a white cloak with red flames at the bottom, his eyes were blue radiant with a fire of pure determination, he was the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato, the yellow flash of konoha;

Namikaze Minato

It had been a valiant fight but victory by normal means was not to be since the great beast healed faster than he could create wounds, finally in he decided to use his trump card:

- Gamabunta! Please stay clear of attack for a few seconds! I need to use my final technique!

- Ok, but hurry, I don't know how long I can evade those blasts.

And so he began an intricate sequence of hand seals at insane speeds….

Meanwhile in a clearing with an altar and a crib in the center was a blonde baby that resembled Minato, with his blonde hair and a pair of eyes that glowed like a pair of Sapphires.

The altar end crib where covered in an intricate system of seals, covering six square feet around the crib, all of this being illuminated by a set of evenly placed torches.

Sarutobi Yuukaido, the Sandaime Hokage, was supervising the clearing but his thoughts were somewhere else --Minato I hope you know what you are doing leaving your son at the mercy of the hate he will doubtlessly receive from the village, I just hope it doesn't gets to that…

He was brought out of his musings by a cold chill and an energy that only 1 creature possessed and then it dawned on him. –He failed; he… broke his promise to Kushina…

He then looked in the sky and saw a black white feather blackened by the smoke land on the baby's forehead but what cached the Sandaime's attention was that the blackening made it look like it was half white half black.

Just then a huge amount of chakra was redirected to the clearing with the crib and in the battlefield there was a shout of -SHIKI FUUIN. Then in a huge flash of light that lasted a few seconds then when it died there stood Gamabunta in all it's glory rising the hopes of many of the shinobi below but then there was another flash of purple light in the smaller clearing and the cry of a baby could be heard, the light carried the power of the beast but it was toned down and there was a mixed feeling of human and demon in it, then Gamabunta said something that shook the core of all Konoha shinobi

-- It was an honor fighting alongside you… Yondaime.

Then he disappeared in a gigantic puff of the smoke and for an instant the silhouette of a men falling could be seen against the shining face of the moon…..

October 17th 1015 A.A

Hokage tower; Council chamber

2:15 a.m

It had been a week since the battle, the whole population shinobi and civilian alike were shaken to say the least the population had been reduced in a 46 percent with the civilians and shinobi losses were even greater reaching the 50 percent. Of the legions Konoha once possessed no a few thousand of the most skilled survived with gennin outnumbering the chuunin and joonin.

The council members were discussing what to do with the blonde boy in the crib sitting in the middle of the room but there was a strange seal on his navel and whisker marks on his cheeks, right now he was sleeping peacefully but, who knew how long that peace would last?

-I think we should keep the boy's heritage a secret for the sake of this boy and Konoha. Said Sarutobi who already had discussed these matters before with his councilors: Koharu Utane, Homura Mikotado, and Danzo, who reluctantly accepted leaving the boy alone, after proposing to educate him as a weapon.

-But, what about the sealing? The inhabitants of konoha have the right to know even if they don't respect the fourths wish. Hyuuga Hiashi, who after examining the seal along with the Hyuuga council they deemed the seal safe and the boy stable.

-He's right, besides, I can't hide the truth forever; I just hope the civilians don't get too harsh with him… Thought Sarutobi Yuukaido, -Council member Hayashi Taka, Is there a way to predict how is the population will react to these news?

- I'm afraid that's not possible, Hokage-sama, given the circumstances they could either hail him as a hero or scorn him as the demon.

-Hmm… I see, then we'll follow this route of action: If the people of Konoha see him as a hero we'll follow as we originally intended, but if they see him as a demon then we'll pass a law forbidding them to speak of these matters to any children born after October 18th instead making them believe that the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi at the cost of his own life. Now we'll vote who is in favor?

Immediately all the council members gave the approval and they followed that plan.

At 10 am that day the news were given, sadly almost immediately they started claiming the dead of the "demon brat" so they had no option but to leave him at the orphanage lest they wanted to attract the attention of other villages after showing any amount of preference to the young jinchuuriki, especially Iwa.

October 10th 1023 A.A

Sunday

8 pm

-No! Leave me alone! These are the shouts of a frightened boy no older than eight that is being chased by an angry mob of villagers and shinobi alike.

The boys' blonde hair was soaked in blood almost tuning his hair red, he had several burn marks all over his body that mixed with several scars that should be reserved for shinobi joonin or higher not a mere eight year old.

Then out of the blue the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the street and then the boy felt a searing pain, but before he lost consciousness he managed to hear two words:

"Hatake" and "Hokage"

Unbeknown to them there was a figure watching these events since the attack 8 years ago, it was a male with a black trench coat black leather pants (think Kuroro Lucifer from Hunter x Hunter w/o the belts) and long hair with two bangs covering the sides of his face and a sword twelve feet long and seven inches long, his eye were hidden in the shadows, but the most interesting part of him was the big yet thin black wing in his back. After a moment he whispered:

- In a few more years I might have a worthy apprentice…