Naruto: Between the Earth and Sky

✦ Chapter 1: The Child Taken by the Sage

✦ Chapter 1: The Child Taken by the Sage

The night Konoha burned was the night everything changed.

The Nine-Tails was loose — rampaging across the village like a force of pure hate. Buildings were falling apart. The sky was red, lit by fire and screams. People were dying. It wasn’t just a disaster. It was like the end of the world.

But in a small, quiet place… a baby cried.

His name? Naruto Uzumaki.

He had no idea what was happening. He didn’t know that his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, had just died. Or that his father, the Fourth Hokage — Minato Namikaze — was already bleeding out beside her.

All Naruto did was cry. That’s all he could do.

Minato barely had the strength to look at him. His vision was blurry, but he still smiled at his son.
“You’re strong, Naruto… I know you’ll make it.”

Kushina’s voice was so weak, almost gone.
“Live… with love…”

They were trying to seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto. That was their last move — to protect the village… and him.

The seal activated. The beast was sealed inside the tiny baby boy. And then… silence.

Minato and Kushina died with peaceful expressions, like they believed in the future — in their son.

Naruto was left alone in the middle of a battlefield.

But not for long.

---

The wind suddenly stopped. Like literally just stopped.

And in that silence… something appeared. Not walked in. Not jumped. He just appeared.

A man. No — more like a god.

He had long silver hair, floating as if there was no gravity. Robes that looked ancient. His eyes… they weren’t normal. Purple rings — the Rinnegan. Behind him floated black orbs, like miniature planets orbiting him.

He looked down at Naruto with calm eyes. No emotion. Just deep, ancient focus.

“…So, it begins again,” he said quietly.

He glanced at Minato and Kushina’s bodies, then back to Naruto.

“The child of prophecy… and yet, still trapped in the cycle.”

He crouched down slowly, watching Naruto cry.

“You’re not ready for this world, little one. And this world… isn’t ready for you.”

Naruto’s cries faded as the man reached out and touched his forehead with glowing fingers.

And in a flash of light — they were gone.

No trace. Nothing left. Just the wind returning, and the fire continuing to burn.

---

✦ Somewhere Else… Not the Shinobi World

Naruto floated inside something like a crystal. He was safe, sleeping peacefully. Around him were stars… or at least, they looked like stars. But they moved strangely, almost like thoughts or chakra itself.

The man stood beside the crystal, hands behind his back. Silent.

“My name is Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki,” he said softly. “I created chakra… and gave it to the world. But all they’ve done is fight.”

He looked up at the glowing sky above, then back at the baby.

“I’ve watched from afar for centuries. I saw Indra and Asura’s hatred be passed down again and again. Madara. Hashirama. Obito. Nagato. So much pain.”

He placed one hand on the crystal.

“You… you are the last hope to break the cycle. So I will raise you. Away from hate. Away from war.”

Naruto’s small hand twitched, still sleeping.

Hagoromo smiled slightly. “We’ll begin… soon.”

---

And just like that — the world kept turning.

Konoha thought Naruto died that night. They buried two heroes. And life moved on.

But far beyond what anyone could imagine…
Naruto was alive.
And he was not going to be the same Naruto we all knew.

His story was just beginning.
And it wouldn’t be about being Hokage.
It would be about changing everything.

---

To be continued…

- Anch_Writes

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