One wrong mission, a tale many dead shinobi would find similarities to. I had never seen war, though I knew thoroughly what it meant. Four years ago when more than half of the clans shinobi left, I had a vague idea of the cause.
I was just a normal clan-born genin, with basic chakra control, a fire-style jutsu, and a superb talent in shuriken jutsu. Things that the civilian-born shinobi would have never had, I admit that when I realized the advantages I had and compared myself to others, the war didn't seem so terrifying anymore.
I was dead wrong.
My very first mission was a supply run, a week's journey to deliver supplies to the Sunagakure front to which Lady Tsunade was the commander. The current state of the war was beyond me but my Jonin sensei gave us a few pieces of information during our travels.
It was a war between healers and poisoners. The Chiyo siblings against The first Hokage's granddaughter, a battle between who could create an incurable poison against someone trying to find that cure.
There were a few other big names at play on that front, Sakumo Hatake and a dangerous man that could control iron sand named Russo were quickly becoming household names themselves. Luckily their Kage was guarding the North. Their close borders with the land of Earth made it impossible for the Second Kazekage to join the fight against the Leaf.
Fuza Ackimichi sensei was under the impression that this war front was the most under control, Lady Tsunade's valiant efforts being the main factor.
He most likely said that to stop the constant twitching and the fearful look all his genin had. I admit I was fooled just as well as my other teammates.
War wasn't something that could be 'controlled', it was chaos incarnate. I also quickly learned that a Jonin sensei wasn't a staunch protector we were led to believe in the academy. He was just a man who survived a few years longer than us. Thus he could teach us how to survive the way he did.
He was the first to fall after all.
We had just passed the border between the land of Fire to the land of Rivers.
We passed a few boulders as we ran through the area, right into a field of paper bombs. The last thing I saw was Fuza sensei's body being blown to smithereens, it was shocking. Luckily I didn't have time to freak out as I along with my other two teammates were blown back.
I was reawakened by the sound of crying and begging, barely opening my eyes. My stomach drops as I realize my situation.
To my left was another clan shinobi, Tibia Inuzuka, she was laid across one of the boulders we passed. Her head hung at an awkward angle while her limbs were bent in different directions. My shinobi training quickly told me she died on impact and felt no pain. It seemed her partner was flung even further and was probably dead as well.
'Lucky girl' I thought bitterly as I noticed my other team member being surrounded by shinobi dressed in white turbans. Rika seemed to be the luckiest in terms of injuries, a few scuffs but nothing major. Until the shinobi put a kunai through her crying visage.
The rational part of me wanted to thank them, worse destinies would have awaited a captured Kunoichi. It was honestly merciful and I could respect that.
The other part of me was pure rage, these girls wern't my friends, we just started as a team together after all. But I grew up with them, we were in the same classes. Trained and failed together, I thought I'd be with them for at least a few more years.
Something burned in my eyes, it was quickly forgotten as I realized it was because I was crying for them.
'Alright, just take one out. You can do it Taketsu, avenge at least one of them!' I raged slightly as I tried to move my arms to my kunai pouch.
It was when I realized I made no progress that I got a good look at my body. I didn't have any limbs, I was the closest to Fuza sensei at the time.
After that realization, the shinobi left, obviously not noticing the still-alive limbless kid.
I was going to die after all, no reason to waste a shuriken on a future corpse that consisted of a teenage torso and head.
'Could've at least let me die on impact, shit luck. Sorry Mikoto…..' I said goodbye though I knew she couldn't hear, felt horrible about leaving her alone in this world but what could I do?
On a more morbid note, death from blood loss was odd. It didn't hurt particularly, I'm pretty numb. But at this point, I feel like I'm shirtless in winter.
[Would you like to live?]
'Obviously, who would want to die at twelve?' I said in my mind as I noticed a transparent blue box in front of me. Quickly assuming it was a hallucination, I was glad to play along as it distracted me from the growing coldness I felt.
[Will you complete a mission?] The screen changed as it began to resemble a scroll that floated mid-air.
"Whatever it is, I will complete it" It felt odd so readily agreeing to this, but I had no choice. I had to make it home to my little sister. Not even to mention every other dream I wanted to accomplish myself.
[Kill Hiruzen Sarutobi during the third shinobi world war. Do you agree?]
".....yes" I said with my dying breath. Thoughts of treason barely registered in my mind.
"Ahhhhh!" I yelled as my heart began to beat once more, I lifted myself and began looking around at the site of the massacre.
"What the hell is going on" I said in exasperation as I looked down at myself. I was in perfect health, even my clothes were repaired besides a few blood stains.
-
{Quest Accepted}
War supplies
Objective: Retrieve the scroll from Fuza Akamichi's remains, and deliver the scroll to the Sunagakure war front.
Rewards: Chakra paper, 5 stat points.
(Hint: Status)
-
The yellow translucent scroll appeared again and I began shaking in unadulterated fear. I agreed to kill the Hokage.
'Damnation...….. and it's not like I can back out now. Whatever can regenerate limbs and restart my heart could obviously complete the opposite. Does it even track my 'progress'?' I debated as I looked over the 'Mission page' with blatant fear and suspicion. It even rewards me for things I would've done anyway.
Lord Hiruzen might not even live that long, a third war? We're still in the second, it's highly unlikely he'd live that long. It was the life of shinobi after all, let's just forget about that part for now, not like I'll ever be strong enough to topple the current 'God of Shinobi'.
'Status?' I read in my mind as I was curious about what could be a hint.
-
Level 5 (120/2000)
Name: Tometsu Uchiha
Chakra: 200/200
Title: Konoha Genin (10% boost to fire-natured jutsus)
Strength:10
Dexterity:15
Agility: 13
Endurance:11
Intelligence:20
Stat points:5
-
"What the hell is this? Does the scroll gauge my strength and speed? Well, I'd like to be faster" I debated aloud as I put the five points into agility. My muscles burned like hell for five seconds. 'There's no way I'm faster, just from a scroll. Well it did revive me, it seems I've stumbled on something that is way beyond my scope'
Testing it out I dashed towards where the paper bombs went off. I noticed that in fact, I was faster, a decent amount.
A problem quickly occurred though, my sensei's body blew into hundreds of pieces. How could a storage scroll even hope to survive that?
Luckily something in my brain clicked as a transparent yellow line rose into the air a few feet away.
Expecting it was an attack I crouched low and withdrew a kunai.
After waiting a few minutes I decided it was prudent to check it out, I almost threw up as I discovered a chubby arm with a tattoo on the shoulder.
'That's not a tattoo... it's a sealing matrix!' I realized as I quickly supplied chakra to the seal and a large scroll about half as tall as me appeared. Luckily it came with a shoulder strap as I had no idea how to seal it on myself.
"I'm sorry" I said with a sad smile as I picked up Fuza's arm and took it over to my other teammates.
I didn't have time to dig a grave and protocol dictated that I take a certain path. Eventually, I had all three of my squadmates next to each other, a tear slipped from my eye as my hands flew through a sequence of seals.
'It was nice, I would've liked to stay with you guys a little longer. Fire style: Fireball jutsu' I said goodbye as my teammate's bodies caught fire, a few seconds later they were just a pile of ash.
I sighed as I took one more look at my squad and jumped into the nearest tree. Luckily the land of rivers was a rather small nation; a trained shinobi could make the journey in only six hours if they ran at full speed.
"How am I supposed to explain being alive while my squad died….. I don't even have any injuries" I realized a few hours later as I kept running at full speed. 'Damnation…...'
Sighing I debated my options, without a better solution I decided a bit of lying was in order. Stopping near a decent-sized clearing I threw two kunai in an arc. They ricocheted off each other as I turned around.
"Fuck!" I said aloud as a kunai stabbed into my right shoulder. 'Ok, my sensei ordered me to take the supplies and run. In the process, I took a kunai to the shoulder and kept running until I collapsed at the base.'
Might be slightly paranoid but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Another two hours later of constant full-speed running I finally made it to the encampment. A large wall made of earth jutsu separated the entire encampment from the desert.
"Name, shinobi ID, mission parameters" a grizzled voice spoke from behind me as I came to a stop in front of the military camp.
"Tometsu Uchiha, 54069. Supply delivery" I spoke quickly as I fell to my knees completely exhausted. Honestly happy to be among my comrades after what I went through.
[Constant training +2 Endurance] 'Not the time, possibly evil scroll!'
"Your squad?" The man asked as I turned around and realized it was a man with silver hair and a strong chin. A saber over his right shoulder and a Jonin jacket. I realized that he wasn't much older than me, maybe seventeen or eighteen if I had to guess.
"D..dead, ambushed at the border of the land of Rivers. They sacrificed themselves to send me ahead, I barely made it sir" I reported as I carefully removed the large scroll over my shoulder and handed it to the jonin.
"Sorry about that kid, head into the encampment. On the west wall is the medical tent, have them fix that wound. I'm Sakumo Hatake, come find me after you're done resting." The newest 'war hero' said to my shocked expression. He grabbed the large scroll and pointed me toward a row of large white tents before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
'He seemed cool, definitely strong'
-
{Mission Complete}
War supplies
Objective: Deliver the supplies to the Sunagakure war front.
Rewards: Chakra paper, 5 stat points
(Physical rewards are automatically stored in the user's inventory)
-
Once again the scroll appeared in front of me but it was quickly disregarded as I walked into the camp. It had been the worst day of my life and I was in a hurry to end it.
However, calling it a camp didn't do it justice. It was about three kilometers wide and faced the land of rivers, while a giant wall separated it from the land of Winds desert. It almost looked like a rather large village, if you disregard the hundreds of armed shinobi who walked through fulfilling separate objectives.
'Well, this does look pretty controlled. I guess the supply lines are the problem.' I debated over my sensei's parting wisdom.
'This looks like the place' I opened the tent flap to a rather gory sight, rows of shinobi groveling on the ground in pain as a squad of medical nin bounced all over the place. Almost all of them were missing something from the war, limbs, eyes, some were even missing ears.
"What do you need?" A lady asked from my right as she noticed me standing at the entrance frozen at the sight.
"Uhhh, can I just have some bandages, I took a kunai to the shoulder" I said as I felt slightly stupid for bothering them when they had a few hundred people on the floor with career-ending injuries.
"Come here, lose the shirt." The older woman said with a sigh as she pointed towards a stool in front of her.
Shrugging I walked over and took my shirt off. Showing incredible skill she washed and treated the wound and had it bandaged in less than two minutes.
"Dodge next time" she said with a smile as she smacked my back. I jolted in surprise but chuckled when I understood what she said.
"Thank you for the help, you wouldn't happen to know where I can find Sakumo Hatake, would you? I'm supposed to report to him after my wound was treated"
"Should be in the commander's tent, he is the acting commander while Lady Tsunades in the field" The medical ninja told me as she left to go check on a few of the shinobi, plenty worse off than me. 'Why the hell was the guy watching the encampment if he's the boss'
'Well off we go, hopefully he sends a few guys back to the village with me. It'd suck to make that journey by myself, I'd probably die'
Obviously, the commander's tent was the biggest one in the center with a large fire emblem on the front.
Walking into it was a disaster, people with stacks of paper running about. People screaming to each other and a lot of men standing around separate detailed maps of the land of Wind.
"Place sucks huh? Wish I kept myself from the limelight, always stuck in here when I'm not in the field, work seemingly doubled." A man sighed from behind me, scaring the shit out of me.
"Why do you keep doing that?" I asked in annoyance as I turned around to greet the commander. 'Seems like he doesn't do much besides sneak around.'
"Come on kid, got your orders from the higher-ups" Sakumo said as he led me toward a separate part of the tent. He opened the flap and I followed after him, a basic room with a large desk, and hundreds of papers stacked to the ceiling.
"I understand that this was your first mission?" Sakumo asked as he took a seat in the chair. He seemed to become stoic as we talked over shinobi matters.
"Yes, I graduated from the academy a month ago," I answered.
"Damn…..sorry to say kid but your team was set to be stationed here for the foreseeable future," Sakumo said with a sigh along with a frown as he read over a specific piece of paper.
"What? My sensei sai.." I asked in confusion before I was interrupted. 'We were sent to the front lines a month after graduating? Killing lord Hiruzen is starting to have a nice ring to it'
"Don't worry though kid, there are a few other Uchiha stationed here. I'll station you with them, at least you'll be among family" Sakumo said with a small smile as he tried to smooth over my obvious shaking, whether it was fear or rage was never specified. 'I haven't even killed anyone yet and they sent us to the front. I'm just an extra meat shield at this point.'
I had to admit that Sakumo proved what Fuza Sensei thought of him, for a hardened shinobi he was a decent man. He seemed to feel for me as he frowned at a sheet of paper that I was sure described the contents of the delivery mission.
"You seem strong, I'd rather fight with you. You don't have a genin team do you?" I asked as he dropped his paper in response. He seemed to look at me like I was crazy before thinking it over.
"My 'team' focuses on search and destroy along with recovery. How would your skill set correlate with that" Sakumo asked me seriously.
"I'm a speed-focused melee combat fighter. Though I'm ready to change that if necessary." I said with renewed vigor, I had to get stronger if I wanted to make it home.
"I could make you whatever the squad could need. What I need to understand is why. You could join your Clanmates and they could teach you the exact way they were taught. So why do you want me?" Sakumo asked as he eyed me dangerously.
"I know very little of the war, none of my clansmen have made a name for themselves on this war front from what my sensei told me. You're a war hero that's less than a decade older than me, figured you know what you're doing." I answered with resolve. Granted I wouldn't mind being protected by my clansmen if I'm forced to join the front, they would train me. The chance to be trained by an S-rank shinobi? Something I couldn't pass up if I had the chance.
"You know what, fine. I kind've like you kid. Now I'll have a reason to get out of this damn tent. You will listen to everything I say from now on, get it Toketsu?" Sakumo said as he stamped a paper in front of him.
"Yes, but sir, my name's Tomet…"
"I'm your sensei from now on, report here tomorrow at dawn. Now go find a bed in the barracks Tomeku" Sakumo said as he waved me off and continued to go through his stack of papers.
I debated trying to correct him again before I left, the thought of a decent bed after running for days on end sounded too delightful to waste time arguing.
'I need to send a messenger hawk to Mikoto. I told her I'd only be gone for a week or so. At least my mission checks arrive at the house, so there's no way she'll go hungry. Well, she's eight now, she should be fine. I was pretty much-taking care of both of us when I was eight after all, that was when the war started and my parents were called to arms' I debated as I walked towards the barracks I had a fellow shinobi point towards.
Finding the first cot that didn't look lived in, I dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Author Notes- If you are a Naruto fan you are aware of how absolutely busted and inconsistent the timeline really is. To try and remedy that I made a few changes, mostly being ages. This is an Alternate Timeline because of Tometsu's survival, so changes to the story will only pile up to begin with. A few plot points will still exist because of where the changes began.
Disclaimer: I am in no way discrediting Kishimoto, he's a genius artist and creator. But even the greatest things have their flaws.
Ages of important Characters
Tometsu Uchiha-12
Sakumo Hatake-21
Tsunade Senju(along with the other two Sanin)-25
Mikoto Uchiha-8
Nagato Uzumaki-10
Minato Namikaze-8
Hiruzen Saurtobi-42
Onok(Third Tsuchikage)-43
Rasa (Gara's dad/Russo's Son)-11
A (Son of Third Raikage)-14
Killer B(Current Eight tails Jinchuriki)-10
Russo of The Iron Sand (Third Kazekage?)-29
Madara Uchiha-78
We are about twenty-eight years from what would've been the start of part one.(episode one of the anime/ Chapter one of the manga) The leaf village was founded fifty-two years ago.