Chapter 1 - Prologue
Submitted February 20, 2010 Updated March 2, 2010 Status Incomplete | Plagued by dreams and driven by instincts only he can understand, Naruto finds himself on a new adventure, going solo. What he doesn''t know is that a greater power is guiding his efforts, leading him on a new destiny to save a world that''s not his own.
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Chapter 1 - Prologue
Chapter 1 - Prologue
Naruto stood in the bare space of his room, feet cold against smooth floorboards, surrounded by dusty light and his personal belongingsa backpack, a bedroll, minimal rations, weapons pouch. He had no need for med-kits; his confidence in his healing factor bordered on arrogance, but he would have to be proven otherwise before he lost faith in his body.
[/i]
Wind pushed against his face. Heavy and moist, like steam. Thickening, congealing&until an atmosphere of clouds encased him.
At seventeen, with no terrorist organization coveting his body and no childhood promises tying him down, he could afford to be more flexible. He didnt care if his apartment sold in his absence, it didnt matter how long he was gone. Excess possessions began to upset him, and he couldnt understand why. Without trying to, he washed himself of everything he didnt need, accepting money for what he could, disposing of the rest.
[/i]
The thick white air suffocated him. His lungs rejected the burning, foreign clouds with violent output, again and again. His throat fought back against the survival reflex; his mouth continued to inspire the strange ether.
Looking around once more, Naruto acknowledged that, despite spending the better part of his life calling the modest living space home, he felt oddly detached about his departure. He felt oddly detached from many things these days, like what really mattered to him shifted into something unknown. Something he had to discover, or he would never feel whole again.
[/i]
He had to breathe itthis mortal miasma.
He first thought his dreams came from the trauma situating around the recent Akatsuki business. Because he stupidly got more involved than he had to, relating to the other Jinchuuriki, befriending delegates of other countries. Because he lived, while so many others died.
[/i]
He refused to breathe anything else.
[/i]
Night after night, the dreams only grew in potency, blossoming into visions, always the same endless experience of deadly mist and absolute solitude.
[/i]
Even if it killed him.
Always, he would suffocate. Always. And the lingering compulsions of urgency became impossible to ignore after every nightly, stifling death.
[/i]
Eventually, he could not escape the dreams even in his waking hours. Hed find himself at a loss of breath with a steady pulse. Hed fall into a daze, wandering towards the forest, or pressing his hand against the ground...only to feel disappointment. Disappointment in what, he didnt know. In the world? In his life? In Konoha?
[/i]
Naruto was never a man who allowed blind faith to dictate his life. He held faith in others, in the human race, especially those most undeserving, with a rare, foolish optimism. Yet, when it came to his own fortune, he wanted concrete substance for proof before he took action. Following the path of a reoccurring dream made no sense to him, even now, as he shouldered his pack.
[/i]
Instincts, on the other hand, he knew how to follow. He hated the Kyuubi, he hated the way its malicious existence tainted his body and stigmatized his name. He hated how it converted him into an impurity against nature, no matter how many good deeds he aimed to perform in his lifetime. Though, looking past this, Naruto could not deny that it helped him survive his choice of lifestyle. He could recognize when it was time to let go of logic and trust all that was out of his control; he knew when to take gambles and when let things play out. This was one such time.
[/i]
Necessity. Duty. Providence. This was meant to be.
[/i]
He told Tsunade this trip was necessary to complete his sage training; he told her he was rushed from Mount Myouboku to save her ungrateful @$$, and that she owed it to him to let him finish following Jiraiyas legacy. He wasnt Akatsukis most wanted anymore. He wasnt defenseless.
[/i]
Apparently he wasnt tactful about his argument either, and she had him summon Fukasaku.
[/i]
There is a reason toads were the practitioners of Senjutsu; one hard stare and Fukasaku knew to go along with it, even if the summon couldnt comprehend why his student felt the need to travel to the ends of the Earth for a dream.
[/i]
Though she agreed in the end, Tsunade could hardly understand his need to do this, to interpret his dreams. She ended up laughing and calling it his spirit journey . Kakashi couldnt understand it, Sakura couldnt understand it, Sai sure as hell couldnt understand it.
[/i]
Jiraiya couldwouldhave, had he been around, and Naruto found that more upsetting than anything else. Despite all the recognition he garnered throughout his dealings with the Akatsuki, Naruto felt utterly alone. Not in the sense of companionship or proximity, but the alien feeling that he did not, and would never, belong. Though arguably charismatic in his own, unique way, he could not seem to make anyone understand how important it was to go there, to the place in his dreams.
[/i]
To the Anesidora Mists. The Dead Zone. The Beyond.
[/i]
Well beyond the northernmost borders of Lightning Country, everyone knew of the Mists, having been taught about them in civilian and ninja schools. Uninhabitable by any living creature, they marked the end of the world. Each year, hundreds of people would travel there to take pictures, to say theyd been there, that they traveled the lengthy journey to the end of the Earth. But none would dare encroach upon the territory. It represented the border between worlds; nothing lay beyond that point but death.
Nothing but miles upon miles of toxic atmosphere.
[/i]
This was where he needed to be. There was something inside the mysterious barrier that called to him. Receiving realistic and reoccurring dreams about the Mists was not to be ignored, and every instinct as a sage, Jinchuuriki, and as a man told him under no circumstances was he to ignore this.
[/i]
His personal instinct, an instinct belonging to the being that was Uzumaki Naruto, told him under no circumstances was he to die in the process.
[/i]
After all, he didnt exactly tell his Hokage that he planned on going into the Mists
[/i]
Wind pushed against his face. Heavy and moist, like steam. Thickening, congealing&until an atmosphere of clouds encased him.
At seventeen, with no terrorist organization coveting his body and no childhood promises tying him down, he could afford to be more flexible. He didnt care if his apartment sold in his absence, it didnt matter how long he was gone. Excess possessions began to upset him, and he couldnt understand why. Without trying to, he washed himself of everything he didnt need, accepting money for what he could, disposing of the rest.
[/i]
The thick white air suffocated him. His lungs rejected the burning, foreign clouds with violent output, again and again. His throat fought back against the survival reflex; his mouth continued to inspire the strange ether.
Looking around once more, Naruto acknowledged that, despite spending the better part of his life calling the modest living space home, he felt oddly detached about his departure. He felt oddly detached from many things these days, like what really mattered to him shifted into something unknown. Something he had to discover, or he would never feel whole again.
[/i]
He had to breathe itthis mortal miasma.
He first thought his dreams came from the trauma situating around the recent Akatsuki business. Because he stupidly got more involved than he had to, relating to the other Jinchuuriki, befriending delegates of other countries. Because he lived, while so many others died.
[/i]
He refused to breathe anything else.
[/i]
Night after night, the dreams only grew in potency, blossoming into visions, always the same endless experience of deadly mist and absolute solitude.
[/i]
Even if it killed him.
Always, he would suffocate. Always. And the lingering compulsions of urgency became impossible to ignore after every nightly, stifling death.
[/i]
Eventually, he could not escape the dreams even in his waking hours. Hed find himself at a loss of breath with a steady pulse. Hed fall into a daze, wandering towards the forest, or pressing his hand against the ground...only to feel disappointment. Disappointment in what, he didnt know. In the world? In his life? In Konoha?
[/i]
Naruto was never a man who allowed blind faith to dictate his life. He held faith in others, in the human race, especially those most undeserving, with a rare, foolish optimism. Yet, when it came to his own fortune, he wanted concrete substance for proof before he took action. Following the path of a reoccurring dream made no sense to him, even now, as he shouldered his pack.
[/i]
Instincts, on the other hand, he knew how to follow. He hated the Kyuubi, he hated the way its malicious existence tainted his body and stigmatized his name. He hated how it converted him into an impurity against nature, no matter how many good deeds he aimed to perform in his lifetime. Though, looking past this, Naruto could not deny that it helped him survive his choice of lifestyle. He could recognize when it was time to let go of logic and trust all that was out of his control; he knew when to take gambles and when let things play out. This was one such time.
[/i]
Necessity. Duty. Providence. This was meant to be.
[/i]
He told Tsunade this trip was necessary to complete his sage training; he told her he was rushed from Mount Myouboku to save her ungrateful @$$, and that she owed it to him to let him finish following Jiraiyas legacy. He wasnt Akatsukis most wanted anymore. He wasnt defenseless.
[/i]
Apparently he wasnt tactful about his argument either, and she had him summon Fukasaku.
[/i]
There is a reason toads were the practitioners of Senjutsu; one hard stare and Fukasaku knew to go along with it, even if the summon couldnt comprehend why his student felt the need to travel to the ends of the Earth for a dream.
[/i]
Though she agreed in the end, Tsunade could hardly understand his need to do this, to interpret his dreams. She ended up laughing and calling it his spirit journey . Kakashi couldnt understand it, Sakura couldnt understand it, Sai sure as hell couldnt understand it.
[/i]
Jiraiya couldwouldhave, had he been around, and Naruto found that more upsetting than anything else. Despite all the recognition he garnered throughout his dealings with the Akatsuki, Naruto felt utterly alone. Not in the sense of companionship or proximity, but the alien feeling that he did not, and would never, belong. Though arguably charismatic in his own, unique way, he could not seem to make anyone understand how important it was to go there, to the place in his dreams.
[/i]
To the Anesidora Mists. The Dead Zone. The Beyond.
[/i]
Well beyond the northernmost borders of Lightning Country, everyone knew of the Mists, having been taught about them in civilian and ninja schools. Uninhabitable by any living creature, they marked the end of the world. Each year, hundreds of people would travel there to take pictures, to say theyd been there, that they traveled the lengthy journey to the end of the Earth. But none would dare encroach upon the territory. It represented the border between worlds; nothing lay beyond that point but death.
Nothing but miles upon miles of toxic atmosphere.
[/i]
This was where he needed to be. There was something inside the mysterious barrier that called to him. Receiving realistic and reoccurring dreams about the Mists was not to be ignored, and every instinct as a sage, Jinchuuriki, and as a man told him under no circumstances was he to ignore this.
[/i]
His personal instinct, an instinct belonging to the being that was Uzumaki Naruto, told him under no circumstances was he to die in the process.
[/i]
After all, he didnt exactly tell his Hokage that he planned on going into the Mists
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