Naruto: Shy Fox Chronicles

Shy Fox Chronicles

We do not own Naruto or any copyright content. All copyright content goes to their respective owners. All OCs are owned by us.

Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky and Monsterhuntergod

Prologue Part 3: The Tides of War Shift

Outwardly the shinobi of Mist, Cloud, and Stone braced and readied jutsus, but nothing could mentally brace them. Digging heels deep into the soft mist cloaked earth, the great senior warleader of these strange forces raised but a single hand. Then, like the flag at the start of a horse race, he lowered it, and his voice rang out like the start pistol.

"CHARGE!!!!" he roared, as if proclaiming the order to the heavens.

Muscles released the energy tightly coiled in them, and with the force of a raging storm the front ranks surged forward. With a roar that sounded through the battlefield like thunder, the strange shinobi surged forward in a charge. Blades and weapons of all kinds at the ready, more than willing to tear into the enemy's forces. It was at this moment that the coalition of Cloud, Stone, and Mist collected themselves.

"Don't just stand there, you maggots! Rain hell down on these bastards!" the Kumo general roared out.

The ranks of Cloud shinobi moved forward, going through hand seals for elemental Ninjutsu of some kind. However, before they could go through more than a few, some of the mysterious shinobi held their hands up to the sky as they charged. As they did, the heavens seemed to open up as the rain began to pour down especially hard on the Kumo ranks, the sound of ozone crackling was heard as the clouds lit up. As the coalition's forces looked up in confusion, the mysterious ninja brought down their hands as a massive bolt of lightning screamed down from the sky like a bright, white hot demon out of hell, crashing down into the Cloud ranks of the coalition and breaking up their formations.

"What the hell!?" the Kumo general called out in disbelief over the screams of his subordinates and the roar of the storm, unable to believe that such an unnaturally powerful bolt of lightning would come down upon their forces at such a time.

More screams could be heard as the surrounding coalition forces were blown back by the thunderclap of another lightning bolt hitting the ground. As the coalition tried to rally, more of the mysterious shinobi made motions with their hands as water began gathering together from the rain. Soon, a tsunami wave of water swept across the landscape, crashing into the coalition and sweeping some of them away with the mysterious tide.

"What's going on!? How are they doing this without hand seals!?" the Kiri general yelled in a panic.

As the veritable tidal wave subsided, the wind began to pick up. The wind whipped across the battlefield with the force of a hurricane as more members of the mysterious reinforcements backing up the Uzumaki spread their arms wide. They raised their arms, bending them at the elbows as they twisted their hands up into claw formations. Once they did this, the hurricane winds mysteriously shaped themselves into massive tornadoes, the great cyclones roaring across the coalition's army and causing absolute bedlam for the combined force.

"What are they!? It's as though the very spirits and forces of nature themselves serve their every whims!" the Iwa general screamed out in fear.

It was at this moment that the mysterious force of shinobi crashed into the coalition's army like the very tidal wave they had summoned against them. Fists burning with great flames or crackling with powerful lightning punched forward, launching waves of super-heated death into the ranks of the coalition. The ground shook and cracked beneath their feet as great spires of rock shot out of the ground, impaling coalition shinobi away and launching them away. Great waves of water crashed down into the forces of Cloud, Stone, and Mist as bolts of lightning struck the ground and cyclones of wind swept across the battlefield.

The forces of the coalition were in a fearful disbelief at what was happening. They had no idea who or what these people were. No… not people. No humans could do something like this. These people were monsters, through and through.

"Hold the line! Keep them back!" the Stone General roared, relaying the orders to the troops.

"The flanks are failing! We don't have the reserves to hold them back!" one of his officers yelled back.

"If we retreat to the other coast, we'd have a better position." the Lightning General posed.

"We can't retreat now! We will lose our position and never be able to attack these islands again! It will give the Uzumaki time to recover and dig in!" the Mist General yelled angrily.

"We have no choice. We have to preserve our forces at all costs now. I will not risk all our men's lives just to kill some random army!" the Lightning General roared, making the general direction of the forces clear.

"Engage a fighting retreat! Begin to disengage! Get the men in the rear back to the beachheads and use the front lines to hold them off!" the Stone general roared to his officers.

The order however, in spite of its good intentions, had the opposite of the intended effect. The sheer force and awe struck power of the attacks being slung at the forces was overwhelming. Nothing in their wildest nightmares could compare. It was as if the gods themselves had come to punish them. Hearing a retreat was ordered… the will to fight was sucked away like the battlefield blood in the coming rain.

In the rear the specialist shinobi, the medics, and other logistical personnel moved as fast as possible. In some cases too fast, leaving supplies and equipment behind. There simply were not enough officers to maintain discipline back there or time to properly organize it. Like a virus, however, this disorder and chaos spread. Through the channels of communication, it made its way closer and closer to the front line. Teams, units, regiments one by one began to disengage in a similarly chaotic and disorderly fashion. Until, finally, it reached the front line.

What was once a solid, if bending, front line turned as porous as a sponge. Even the bonds of teams broke down as it was every man and woman for themselves. The ghosts of the Warring Clans Era seemed to have risen from the dead, and said dead instincts took hold. After a certain point the mysterious shinobi stopped fighting and let them disengage, seeing the state of them. This was a rout, yet they did not chase. This confused Oda and the Uzumaki, but they were not gonna punch their savior horse army in the mouth.

"Fucking finally, someone got off their asses to save us for once! I thought that was the end for a second!" Oda yelled gratefully.

"Did you really think that, sir?" one of the few Uzumaki officers asked.

"No, that was probably wishful thinking on my part." Oda let out a sigh.

It was at that moment that the Uzumaki defenders began to realize what had happened. The battle was over. They had survived. They were saved! It was then that the surviving Uzumaki shinobi began roaring with cheers at the sight of their mysterious saviors.

As the strange, mysterious shinobi began to calm down, they smiled as they marched to greet the Uzumaki. The towering red haired man who had led this strange force was marching at the head, his staff in hand with the biggest smirk on his face. Catching sight of him from a distance, Oda pulled out a spyglass and tried to get a closer look. As soon as he saw who was at the head of the army, a smile crossed his face.

"Seishin, you little youthful shit! I knew you didn't hate me after I drank your clan's sake reserves dry! Come here, you big bastard!" Oda yelled in joy as the spry old man hugged him and gave him a noogie.

"Hey, hey, easy there, you old fossil!" Seishin replied with a smile as he gently pushed the elderly Uzumaki off of him.

"Fossil? At the rate shinobi are going these days, no one's gonna put me out of my misery. I'd pray to the shinigami, but at this point I think they're just out to lunch on that front." Oda said in full rebuke.

"Well, at least you're still full of energy, old friend." A shorter, elderly man who looked like a smaller and older version of Seishin said with a mirthful smile as he walked up to Oda with a walking stick in hand, stroking his long white beard.

"Oh great, the fun police have arrived." Oda groaned, "Can't you let us have some enjoyment of survival once, Kodai?"

The elderly man, now identified as Kodai, chuckled at that. "As tempting as that would be, we still have much to do. We need to gather up the dead and do a headcount of the survivors." he replied to his old friend. 

"Why are you always so god damn right and logical every time…?" Oda sighed.

"Because one of us has to be, you wild, old codger." Kodai replied playfully, a smirk on his face.

 "You heard the man, hop to it men! We got shit to do!" Oda roared, and shinobi on both sides got to work.

With that, both the mysterious shinobi army and the Uzumaki began traveling across the battered and ruined village. They searched high and low for casualties of the battle, still living wounded to treat and dead to be given proper burials. Any bodies not bearing the spiral crest of the Uzumaki clan and Uzushio were chucked over the walls into piles to be studied or burned later. Meanwhile, the three great elders of the combined force began looking for a still intact place to speak in private.

"So what is it that you need to speak with me about, you two? Aside from the obvious." Oda asked simply.

"We sought permission from Konoha to come to your aid in exchange for an audience with young Hiruzen. We would have come anyway, but we also saw this as a good opportunity to get favors from one of the Five Great Nations for it." Kodai replied to Oda as they sat down in a barely standing bar and rifled around for some surviving sake.

"Well, good for you guys. What does that have to do with us? We kinda have our hands full as you can see." Oda said, motioning to the destruction all around.

"Old man, look at your village. It's barely standing after this battle and will take generations to repair and get back up to what it once was. You Uzumaki may have survived, but Uzushio has fallen." Seishin pointed out, motioning down at the barely recognizable ruins of what had once been the Whirling Tides Village.

"This will have to be something that will have to be discussed with the council, but I see your point. Though my personal opinion has always been this. I care more about my clan, the people I worked so hard to unite and make whole, than any group of buildings calling itself a village." Oda answered solemnly.

"Worry not, old friend. Hiruzen-chan gave us the order to make sure that as many of you make it into Land of Fire territory as possible so that the Leaf can help you." Kodai told his old friend.

"I always knew that boy would grow up to be a great man. Gods, I remember when he was in diapers. Feels just like yesterday. That could just be the age in me talking though. Hard to tell anymore really." Oda said with a chuckle.

"So what do you say, old man? Are you up for sailing to the Land of Fire once the storm Susanoo-sama sent to aid us in this battle starts to die down?" Seishin asked the ancient Uzumaki.

"I think I can make that case to the council. You don't live as long as I have, and not stack the deck near completely in your favor." Oda answered with a smile.

"We're glad to hear it, Oda. Now then, I propose a toast." Kodai said, pouring them some sake in cups, "To a hard fought, but well won battle and many years to come."

"Can't we for once just toast to someone finally killing me? This is getting really annoying." Oda asked, taking the cup.

"Then how about a toast to a hard fought, but well won battle and a glorious future for both our clans?" Seishin asked the ancient fellow redhead.

"Eh, I can accept that." Oda said, and raised his cup.

The three older men then drank and began to enjoy the night relaxing after the battle. They knew that the next day would be long and hard, but it was necessary. They had a future to prepare for and people to sail to the Land of Fire. They would need to unwind while they could.

By the time the three old men had woken up the next morning, the storm had subsided over the course of the night. The ground was still wet and muddy, but the sun was quickly drying things up. Other than the damage to the fields and village and spots of blood still in a few places, ine wouldn't think a massive battle had been waged there just the day before. The three elderly shinobi had already looked over the head count information of the dead, injured, and survivors before beginning preparations to evacuate the Land of Whirlpools.

Several Days Later - Konoha

It was a surprisingly bright and sunny day in Konoha. Word had spread like wildfire about the attack on the land of Whirlpools, as well as the mysterious clan that had routed the enemy and saved the Uzumaki. Rumors were flying around like bees in a beehive about this mysterious clan, some of them good and some of them… not so good. Despite Hiruzen and the council's best efforts to keep the information private, rumors had still spread.

Speaking of the middle aged Hokage, he was currently in his office. He was going over potential plans and strategies to implement for the future. This mistake had nearly cost them their greatest ally. He would do his damnedest to not make a mistake like that again.

It was at that moment that a knock was heard at the door. "Enter." Hiruzen told the person at the door, revealing his chief aid.

"Hokage-sama, an Uzumaki Oda is here to meet with you. He's come with some rather… 'interesting' friends." the aid told him, leaving Hiruzen surprised.

"They're here already? Then let them in. Send a message to the rest of the council." Hiruzen told his chief aid.

The aid bowed at this. "Of course, Hokage-sama." they replied before leaving.

Hiruzen sighed, feeling his age beginning to catch up to him. He had never thought of himself as old before now, but he was beginning to feel his years now more than ever. He only hoped this meeting went well. Once the council was gathered in a meeting room, it was in that moment that the door opened and in walked Oda, Seishin, and Kodai.

"Hiruzen-chan! I have some wonderful new guests to introduce you and these three worthless heaps to!" Oda yelled, arms widened out in a hugging fashion.

"Must you treat us so disrespectfully, Oda-sama? After all, we are the Konoha Council." Danzō grumbled a bit.

"How a worthless grub like you got anywhere other than you kissed this innocent little monkey's ass is beyond me. You wouldn't even be worth using as throw away chaff back in my day, boy. The other two of your flunkies might as well be civilians for all I care masquerading with stolen valor." Oda shot back, not even bothering to look at the other three.

"Your hurtful words cut deep, Oda-sama…" Koharu sadly replied.

"If that's all it takes to disarm you people, then this whole village system is going to crumble to dust. Now then, Hiruzen. Allow me to introduce Kamishini Kodai and Seishin." Oda said, stepping aside to reveal them.

What the four noted about the man they assumed to be Seishin was tall, easily standing at six feet tall. He had a mane of straight, wild red hair, stress lines showing his age, and a strong build with obvious muscle underneath his clothes. His garb of choice were ancient shinobi garb and armor dating back to the Warring Clan's Era. A black bodysuit with crimson red armor on the shoulders, waist, and backs of the hands with standard issue shinobi sandals.

The other man, Kodai they assumed, was a stark contrast. He was a bit on the short side, only around Hiruzen's height. He was nearly bald on the top of his head with tufts of hair above his ears and a long white beard, both as white as snow from age. He walked with a sturdy wooden walking stick, but was surprisingly spry for his age. He had a kind, grandfatherly smile that showed surprising wisdom. He wore black and crimson red robes, hiding what his physique was like underneath.

"Hello, Sarutobi-chan, Konoha Council members. Oda has told us so much about you four. His review of you was glowing, Sarutobi-chan, but he had… less than pleasant things to say about the others." The old man they assumed to be Kodai greeted them cordially.

Danzō's one visible eye twitched at that. "I do wish you would show us some respect, Kodai-san." He told the ancient Kamishini only to find himself bonked on the head with a hard wooden walking stick faster than he could react.

"Mind your tongue, you one -eyed brat! As the former head of the Kamishini, I was facing nightmarish things that would make you piss your bed just like you did when you were a toddler!" Kodai chided Danzō.

Danzō rubbed his sore head and looked at the former head of the Kamishini clan. "Forgive my disrespect, Kodai-sama." he grumbled out, earning him another swift, but less painful bonk to the head.

"Good. Better." Kodai responded before walking over to sit down.

Seishin sat down next to the older Kamishini and looked at Hiruzen and the council. "Now then, since we've brought as many of the surviving Uzumaki as we could like we promised, we would like to begin talking to you about our terms." he told them.

"Forgive me for any disrespect, Seishin-sama, but I believe that we will require more information about you before that can begin." Homura replied, trying to be respectful to avoid being bonked by Kodai like Danzō had been.

"I'm sorry, but is our damn near the entire civilian Uzumaki population not enough for you brat?" Oda asked indignantly.

"What we are trying to say, Oda-sama, is that we would like to know more about them before we begin talking terms. We need to know what we're getting into if we enter an alliance with them or anything of that nature." Koharu said, trying to placate the ancient Uzumaki.

"You little bitch, I ought to flip up your skirt and-" Oda began in a fit of rage, only to be stopped by Kodai.

"Peace, Oda. She has a point. It would be best for them to know more about us if we want any negotiations to go well. Get yourselves comfortable children, because this is going to be quite the long tale." Kodai said, getting comfortable himself…

To Be Continued...