~~~
October 10th, 1987
A year that no one that existed in the current time would be ever to forget. It was the year that the entire world changed.
Whether it was for the good or bad was something up for debate. But such a year had engraved itself into the history of man, inserting itself to become something even greater than anything anyone had ever known.
It was the year the Continents and Countries converged.
And the year that jump started new history.
~~~
Where it All Began... 70 Years Ago
"RUN!" Someone yelled, running as two inhumane entities dashed forward, clashing with such raw intensity. With the wind around them distorting, many citizens flew away due to the rupture.
"AHHHHHH!" Many screamed and screamed, and many cries were heard. But none paid attention to such cries; because there was merely a simple thought running across their minds.
To survive.
They wanted to live and survive; not be engulfed by the thrashes of the two entities that had appeared on the street of Japan.
Many people had their bodies severed from the cars that had been thrown away as though they were mere play toys to them.
Many may not have heard it, but those who did, seemingly understood who those two are.
Shinobi.
They had spoke to each briefly before entering a barrage of attacks that were blurs to their eyes. The citizens ran as their hearts had beaten out of their chest.
As sweat poured down, their minds were alluded with tyranny.
Survive.
Survive.
Survive.
They must live and see through everything. They held no disregard for others as they continued on. But while many fled, some were not so fortunate.
Many had been forced to hide amongst the cars that were both in ruin and in fine condition - they were the unlucky few.
"H-help me..." One plead to the overwhelming entities. Those around him that had been hiding had picked up on these words.
But the man held no disregard.
Picking him up by the back of the head, the man hoisted him up, making him act as though he was simple meat shield that was destined to protect him by sacrificing his life to him.
*SPLAT!*
The apathy on his face did not change; and he only kept moving forward as they fought with such evenness. The others tried moving, but they couldn't help but hesitate.
They had been poisoned by fear.
The electricity of the poison ran up their veins, stunning them for all eternity. They didn't want to end up like them-- the people who died by their hands.
So a fearful result came to life.
They continued to hide, bundling up as they hid behind the ruined cars. The heat flickered down their necks as they had been consumed by the fear of dying.
Soon, they had entered the building; and they had continued to fight. They saw this as a chance and ran away and found the necessary safety that they had desired so desperately.
But those who did not act quick enough, had suffered greatly. As the building came down, debris flew and the torsos of many were torn off with such unspoken delicacy.
That was their fate.
Death.
Electricity ran through he area, and they only continued to fight. Many injuries were sustained as flying spikes of earth were destroyed and thrown towards the streets.
Cries.
Screams.
The blood and insides of the dead.
That was what existed in this nasty world that they had managed to engulf themselves in. They held their heads tightly as they breathed quickly and nastily.
The intent of those beings were suffocating, almost deathly so.
They got on their knees as they cried and cried. Seemingly, they had thought this was the end of their lives-- and they weren't so far-fetched to think so.
As their bodies were dyed in pools of blood, the metallic scent met their nose as they continued to quiver even further.
As the flames raged on, they heard the chirping of a thousand birds. And soon enough, a thud clacked with the rough ground.
Quiet.
There was no onslaught of attacks; nor were there any other sound other than the raging fires that seemed to have no real end.
Albeit slowly, the civilians got up from their terrified positions.
Their eyes swept through the area; and saw a ring of fire entrap two people. They knew it was wrong of them, but they felt relieved when they saw the condition of those two people.
Dead.
They were dead.
And they were relieved by such a revelation.
Their cries stopped as they saw the hand of one of them slowly raise. With a slight tear, he held a small smile on his face.
He truly died afterwards.
His body had begun to become particles of divine light; and, for a moment, they were mesmerized by such a sight.
But they suddenly froze.
The light had froze in the air, suspending itself as it floated under the Moon's gaze. Their heart began to rapidly beat once more.
Their minds screamed to run.
But they couldn't move.
Their bodies were frozen in fear.
The energy of light molded into one orb; and before they knew it, a massive wave of unimaginable energy entered the atmosphere.
But the energy did not harm them; but the intensity was there. And it brilliantly made them fearful of such things.
Many had said that the energy was almost akin to the theory of the Big Bang. The idea that the Universe had began from a singular point; and had expanded to such an extent.
The energy not only engulfed the entire Earth, but the Universe as well. It devoured it whole as something new came to life.
They had gained tremendous abilities that were the same as those two beings.
They had later called such a phenomena: Chakra.
And a select few - most notably the many that had been forced to hide among the littered cars - had been granted special abilities for their survival.
That was how Clans were formed.
~~~
Present Period
"And that's how Clans were formed; and also the concept of Chakra being introduced to us," Eiji-san had told us how everything had originated up until this point.
But there was a slight problem.
Most were babies.
And the only one that could understand was me. Miu-san had quickly came to berate him with a deep sigh that escaped her lips.
"You do know they can't understand what you are saying." Eiji-san turned to her with a tired smile as the light of the candle flickered in the dimness of the darkness.
Older kids were surrounding and hounding him as they listened attentively; and the babies alongside I were somewhat hearing attentively.
Well, i guess it was me who was listening.
"Hm? Then what about Naruto? He seems to be listening quite nicely." He pointed towards me amongst the many babies that were in their cribs. Now the attention was on me.
Heads turned as I felt many eyes bore into my infant body.
My eyes twisted down, seeing my hands clench and wrap around the fencing of the crib with a slight tenseness.
"Well... he's an odd case. We still don't understand him." Truthfully, I do think that's the case. I had been here for a few days now, and they have been trying to see why I did not act like a regular baby.
A pretty baby that held an apathetic look on his face - that's what they had said one time. And I guess I was flattered by such compliment.
The kids had a puzzled look as they turned back to Eiji-san.
They weren't interested enough to ask for any information on me.
But from the story that they had told us, it seemed I was in one of the Universes - Omniverses - that I had created.
More specifically, the Omniverse that Madara and I fought for the very last time. It confirmed my thoughts previously.
I had been confused on where I was.
Was I in the future?
Or was I in a place somewhere entirely different.
But this story had given me a straightforward answer-- I was in an entirely different realm. The place I had originated from was too far away.
And, if I'm correct, since it's been 70 years here; It can be assumed that 70 years have passed at the former Elemental Nations.
70 long years.
I've been dead for 70 years.
Well, maybe this was a form of reincarnation in some way or shape. I still looked the same; and I probably still have my abilities from before.
But, living as Uchiha Naruto was never easy. Even if I had these abilities, there must be some sort of downsides I have yet to see.
A notable downside would be this body of mine.
All of the abilities that I had obtained and grown comfortable with had been used with a developed body that had undergone an intense amount of training.
This body simply doesn't have that experience.
If I try and pull anything beyond my limit in this body, I could die from a simple Mangekyou technique. I inwardly sighed as I continued to listen.
The Clans that had been formed were the same as back in the realm that I had originated from. Any clan that existed at the Elemental Nations-- it existed here as well.
But there were even more clans than that.
Many clans had appeared all around the world. While scattered, had managed to seek one another out and form various Clans under various surnames.
But such a thing meant one thing.
Chakra had evolved into something far stronger and potent than what it had been during my time in the Elemental Nations.
What kind of power can regular people have access to now?
And, if I was correct, what kind of power do the Uchiha have access to now? They have always been one step above a lot of others, and it was safe to assume they were also steps beyond others in this world as well.
How far upwards was the ceiling of strength now?
I could only begin to imagine what kind of dangers this world was going to offer me. But I knew that, somewhere deep inside this world, I had something else to do.
An unfinished business.
I felt a strong premonition that lingered from behind, as if calling me to continue on with the same amount of effort I had put into my previous one.
"But don't you think this story is unfit for them? They're way too young to be learning about such a gruesome story." Eiji-san sighed. He agreed, but they couldn't have such wishful thinking.
"This is mandatory for these kids. The world seems to be heavily in favor of having kids know how the world of Chakra started." They didn't indulge further and continued to read aloud.
"A prominent clan that is widely known as the strongest in all of Japan are the Uchiha." Ah, there was the world that I needed. The Uchiha still seems to be one of the strongest.
No-- they might still even be the strongest.
I didn't know how much they had progressed in the past 70 years, but the power of an Uchiha was something that needed more delving. And the Sharingan was one of the keys to access the Rinnegan.
But this was a mild ignorance.
I didn't what other clans could exist now.
"Then there exists another clan that only contains a valley of swordsman." A clan that only contains swordsman. I wondered if this was Mifune, but I decided against it.
If it was indeed Mifune, then Eiji-san would've mentioned the fact that Mifune was a person who led an army of Samurai under his wing.
So, if I was correct, it was either this clan replaced such a thing; or Mifune was still leading an army of Samurai and these swordsman were simply another group that was independent and did their own thing.
The latter seemed far more plausible to me.
"They call themselves Nobu. While unorthodox, they had said it was based off of the famed Oda Nobunaga that had been involved in the Sengoku Era. The recruit anyone above the age of 18; and whether you are a foreigner does not matter. What they want is your talent in swordsmanship."
It seems they had forgotten that he was telling this to a bunch of kids; and the words he was saying it to were young and couldn't understand everything.
But I'm sure he'll repeat this story an uncountable amount of time in the future.
But during the present, I'll use this as an opportunity to learn more about the world. As Eiji continued telling the compelling tales of the olden world, Miu-san just stayed by the side and smiled.
I could tell that they held a deep love for each other.
Inwardly, I looked away from such thoughts and continued listening. The Naruto that once lived as a tyrant amongst the Shinobi was over.
Only the baby known as Uzumaki Naruto existed in this world.
I wanted to know more about everything. This was a world that had been created because us; but it seemed as though I didn't have any knowledge of the contents of such.
I didn't know why I was acting like this.
Like a reckless teenager when I was only a little baby now-- but I didn't matter. I knew what I wanted to do.
I wanted to see the world.
~~~
I shuffled inside the crib. Eiji-san had ended the reading for about an hour or two. It was difficult to keep my conscience awake.
This infant body needed growing; and I was prone to sleepiness.
But I had no time for such a thing right now. I got up from my crib, making my plumpy body stand. I wobbled slightly, forcing me to clench the fencing of the crib to help me out.
Breathing through my nose, I readied myself.
Shooting Chakra down to the soles of my feet, I jumped upwards. I felt the resistance of the air. I couldn't help but widen my eyes as I descended down.
The flooring was wood; and the wood was prone to make loud creaks with even a tiny press. Holding my breath, I stretched my arm in front of me, catching the crib that I had been inside.
*PLOP!*
Fuck.
My hands couldn't keep themselves attached, and I crashed on the wooden flooring. It was loud, but not loud enough to wake up the others due to me reducing the impact by breaking my momentum slightly with the crib.
But people were stirring asleep.
Thankfully, after a moment of waiting, the people who threatened to wake up had put themselves back to sleep.
Standing up, I tippy-toe upwards a grabbed my blanket. Putting it on the floor, I spread it across as I plopped down on top of it.
The creakiness was heavily silenced.
It was there, but was very faint to the ears. I preferably would've tried walking, but it'd been far too hard trying to accomodate my footsteps with the blanket.
I was worried about falling due to me not used to such a fragile body.
Chakra was also a no-go.
I didn't know why, but my Chakra reserves were still about the same before I died. Kurama was supposed to be 'dead', but I had revived Kurama and placed all of the Bijuu in a separate dimension where they could live.
So why was my Chakra reserves still the same?
No use thinking of it any more. I thought, moving alongside the blanket that I moved alongside my legs and hands. I moved through the darkness with a silent ease.
I had made sure to form a pathway while Eiji-san was still here with the candle light tha was flickering brightly. I engraved it into my mind until this very time had came.
Within the darkness, I continued moving with quietness. After countless moments I finally made it to the door of the room. The door of the room had a small opening that could easily be opened by anyone.
They were thoughtful to short people. Musing, I continued crawling once I opened the door. Looking back for a moment, my eyes swept over the room.
For the past few days, I had observed how things were operated; and where things were located. This included the most important part of the orphanage that I appeared in.
The library.
I saw some kids go in there sometimes, but it was usually left to simply rot. But on most occasion, the older kids that ranged from the teenage ages go in there to have sex.
It was a place where most people don't go into; and if people do, it'd be only for a brief moment.
How do I know this?
I saw a few of them enter while holding hands while I was being carried and the caretakers weren't looking. But I wasn't worried much catching them doing the act.
They don't usually have sexual intercourse during these hours.
I observed enough to know that these kids didn't have the guts to have sex during this period of time. Plus I don't think they'd be able to keep quiet.
But I don't think they have realized that Eiji-san and Miu-san have already realized what these older kids have been doing.
As I kept moving about, I soon finally arrive at the front of the impending door of the library that I had been searching for quite awhile.
Just like the previous door, this door was also very thoughtful for kids who had a short stature. With the door already slightly opened, I snuck inside, with the blanket acting as a silencer for my heavy crawling.
In the pitch-black, I continued forward.
Crawling with my infant body I soon met a large shelf of books that were in an orderly fashion. Sighing, I read the titles of the books that were visible on the spine of each and every single one of them.
No. No. No. No. This word repeated in my head as I moved along the very bottom of the shelf. These books weren't the books I had wanted to see.
What I wanted was-- history.
Not the entirety of the world; but only the history that has had happened during the last 7 decades that have had completely went by under my nose.
The history of this world-- I was ignorant of it all.
With only a tiny bit of knowledge on this place I had created, I wanted more information that lurked behind these pages that hid from me.
Crave.
It was an obsessive craving.
And it could only be satiated by the extensive amount of knowledge that will fill my mind with endless thoughts. That's what I wanted.
To know everything about this world.
Well, not everything; but I wish to have more than enough knowledge on this world. It was a way of survival to me, almost an instinct.
Looking up, I saw the numerous rows of books that was far beyond my little height as a tiny infant. Moving to the side, I felt a chair brush against my arm, creating a resistance.
Standing up, I wobbled slightly before I stabilized myself.
Trusting in my ability, I grab hold of the chair and pulled it towards me with all of my strength. Staggering as I moved away with the chair, I stayed cautious of any trouble.
And once again, I stopped it and barely managed to climb the deep depths of the chair that towered over me like a tree to a regular human being.
Now with access to two rows of the shelves I continued to search for a book that will help me satiate with this problem of mine.
Moving the chair along, I searched and searched.
There. My eyes caught sight a book that held a title that piqued my interest greatly. For a moment I could feel a slight tug appear on my lips for a brief moment in time.
A promising book indeed this was.
"An Era. That is Chakra."
~~~
Done. I won't disclose much information for any future chapters, but I do have a lot planned for the next 50-60 chapters.
Bouta be a fun ride.
Thanks for reading Fallen Grace.
But until next time (next chapter in like an hour.)
CYA!