Chapter 1: Awakening in Konoha

"Speech"

*Onomatopoeia (Sound Effects)*

'Thoughts'

-Konoha Year 65 - October 10th-

In the eclipse of night, the forest of Konoha lays shrouded in darkness, broken only by the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the dense canopy above. A cool breeze rustled through the leaves, carrying with it the promise of a world teeming with unseen wonders. 

In the tranquil embrace of the moonlit forest, a distant roar pierced the silence, shattering the serenity like glass. Accompanied by a fierce gale, it whipped through the trees with relentless force, hurling splinters of wood in its wake.

In the midst of the commotion, there lay a middle aged man with an unhealthy complexion synonymous with one deprived of nutrition for many weeks— a single scar etched a path across his forehead and down his eyes, a silent testament to the trials of his past. A second scar, jagged and weathered, etched a path across his abdomen, reminiscent of an honourable death. In his hand lay an astonishingly long odachi covered in a black sheath that slowly released an ink coloured gas around its hilt. 

Startled awake by the thundering roar, Isshin Ashina's eyes shot open. Slowly he observed his surroundings, wondering where he had ended up, the towering trees spanning the distance of his vision around him was unfamiliar to Isshin as his knowledge of such a vast expanse of woodland present in Ashina was empty.

 As he sat up, a surge of rage washed over him, emanating from the terrifying sound. Its malevolence seemed to promise destruction to all who dared to face it. This familiar sensation made Isshin's blood run cold as he recognised this demonic presence. 

"Shura!?" exclaimed Isshin, unaware of how long he was asleep to have allowed the demon time to form. The presence of the monster made Isshin unconsciously clench his hand. 

'Kaimon?' thought Isshin as he gazed upon the blade that followed him on his journey as the sword saint. 'Old friend I need to borrow your strength once again', empowered by the presence of his most precious weapon Isshin got on his feet and steeled himself for the battle against the monster that once threatened the destruction of Ashina. 

Bursting into a sprint, Isshin made his way towards the demon's roar, exerting every ounce of energy he deemed excess for the coming fight. As Isshin reached the end of the forest, the sight of the monster lay bare before him. The creature he witnessed dwarfed all but the mountain before it as it towered over the land surrounding it. Its fur, a deep crimson hue, seemed to smoulder with an otherworldly fire, each strand crackling with raw power. Its nine tails, each as thick as tree trunks, lash out with deadly precision, leaving destruction in their wake.

Faced with the sight of the beast, Isshin was reassured once more of his duty in exterminating Shura. And so he ran once more till he found himself in front of a massive gate with the familiar characters あん (meaning hermitage or retreat) etched into the two doors whilst the top of the gate displayed the symbol 忍 (meaning shinobi) surrounding a stylized leaf symbol on both sides. 

'Leaf Shinobi? This land must be what lays beyond Ashina', pausing only for a moment at the gate before rushing through in the direction of the beast, as he rushed through the densely packed streets of this city, Isshin observed the empty streets, 'this land must have a strong military force for every street to be empty of civilians'. 

Suddenly, as Isshin made his way through these unfamiliar streets, a blinding flash of light seemed to follow from his side, anticipating an attack Isshin swept the odachi in his hands wide as he jumped back to view his potential assailant. However, what came into his view was not a human figure but that of 10 paper dolls, tattered and stained, the paper dolls followed Isshin before surrounding him and dissipating before his gaze.

'Spirit Emblems, Shura has already claimed casualties' thought Isshin as he gritted his teeth whilst remembering his last foe's use of the emblems. Bolstered by the thought of Shura causing more destruction, Isshin abandoned the idea of scouring the streets for survivors and made a great leap to climb the buildings around him and hasten his journey towards his mortal enemy. 

*CRASH* 

Leaping up to the nearest building, Isshin witnessed a stunning sight as he watched as the monstrous fox opened its maw and gathered a purple energy before condensing it into a ball and releasing it in a path that led to his right. Quickly glancing to his right, Isshin saw a man with golden spiked hair in the trajectory of the ball, and resolved himself before drawing his odachi from its sheath and summoning all his strength before releasing a sharp wall of wind that pierced the purple sphere at its core. 

*BOOM*

The energy ball froze in the air for a moment before displaying a perfectly even slice down the centre, a testament to Isshin's prowess with the sword. Finally, it imploded with the explosion destroying a part of the buildings that were initially spared from its path.

All eyes turned towards the sword saint as they observed the strength displayed by the new player in this battle. 

A/N: Hey guys, welcome to my new novel. Been a while since I started and idled and somewhat dropped my previous book but, I do hope to improve and actually write out this one and then maybe return to my previous ones along the way, especially the one that isn't public yet. Either way, hope you enjoy this first chapter and tell me what you guys think about Isshin keeping the mortal blade with him, kind of needed him to have it since he couldn't have fought against Kurama without a strong sword but, I need to think of the various interactions the blade will have with those in the Naruto world. Also, please inform me of any mistakes you find in the chapter along the way and the descriptions for the setting will be made with the help of ChatGPT so hope that it is descriptive enough for those that can create vivid imaginations of the setting of a story. 

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