---
Chapter 1 – The Night of the Crimson Moon
The crimson moon hung heavy over Konoha, its glow drowned by fire and chaos. The Nine-Tailed Fox, the Kyuubi, towered over the village like a living calamity, its roar tearing through the night. Each sweep of its tails shattered homes, crushed families, and sent shockwaves that split the very earth.
But this disaster wasn't natural.
High above the battlefield, a man cloaked in black stood on a rooftop, a swirling mask concealing his face. A single Mangekyō Sharingan glowed from the eyehole, crimson and cruel.
"So… this is Konoha's might? Pathetic. Burn, under the power of the Uchiha."
His hand lifted, and the Kyuubi's massive body lurched, chains of chakra binding it, dragging it closer to the village.
Then, in a golden flash, he appeared.
Minato Namikaze—the Fourth Hokage. His white cloak with flames at the hem billowed in the night air, his eyes sharp as he faced the masked intruder.
"You…" Minato's voice was calm but deadly. "You're the one controlling the Kyuubi."
The masked man chuckled, his tone mocking. "Hokage… so fast to arrive. But not fast enough."
In an instant, he lunged. His body blurred, his hand reaching for Minato's throat—
—and phased through him.
Minato leapt back, kunai raised. "So you can slip through solid matter… Space–Time Ninjutsu."
The masked man tilted his head. "You won't survive this night. Konoha will fall, and with it… your legacy."
---
Clash of Shadows and Light
Kunai clashed against chains. The masked man's movements were strange—half solid, half illusion—slipping through Minato's strikes as though he were made of mist.
Minato's eyes narrowed. He's not untouchable. There has to be a timing… when he attacks, he must become real.
The masked man surged forward again, his hand stretching for Minato's chest. "Die, Yellow Flash!"
But Minato vanished in a flash of light—Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
Behind him, Minato reappeared, kunai ready, slashing at the enemy's back. For a split second, the blade met resistance, but then phased through.
"Tch," Minato muttered, landing lightly.
The masked man laughed. "You can't win. Not even the Yellow Flash can fight a ghost."
"Ghosts can bleed," Minato countered, his hand tightening on a special marked kunai. "And when you reach for me again… I'll cut you down."
---
The Decisive Moment
The masked man extended chains of chakra, whipping them toward Minato. Minato weaved between them, his golden hair glowing in the moonlight. With a flick of his wrist, he planted his Flying Thunder God kunai into the ground.
The masked man rushed him again, intent on grabbing his head and crushing it.
Now.
Minato vanished at the last instant, reappearing right behind the masked man. This time, his kunai found its mark—slicing across the intruder's shoulder. Blood sprayed.
The masked man staggered back, surprised. "Impossible…"
"You made yourself solid to grab me," Minato said coldly. "That's your weakness."
Without hesitation, Minato weaved hand signs. "Sealing Jutsu: Contract Seal!"
His palm slammed against the masked man's body. A surge of sealing chakra erupted, severing the man's control over the Kyuubi.
The beast roared in rage, no longer bound. The masked man stumbled back, clutching his wound.
"You've won this battle, Hokage…" he said, voice low and venomous. "But the war… has only begun."
With a twist of space, he vanished into a swirling vortex.
---
The Hokage's Sacrifice
Now alone, Minato turned to face the Kyuubi head-on. The beast's massive tails whipped toward him, but in flash after flash of golden light, Minato appeared, teleporting civilians away, saving lives one after another.
But it wasn't enough. The village was in ruins. The monster had to be stopped.
His jaw tightened. He knew what he had to do.
When the sealing jutsu was complete, Minato lay dying, his son crying in Kushina's arms before she, too, passed. The Kyuubi's Yin half sealed within Minato's body; the Yang half sealed into his newborn son—Naruto Uzumaki.
The Hokage fell, and the night grew silent.
---
The Orphan
In the aftermath, the survivors gathered in bunkers. Among them was a small boy with brown hair and black eyes.
Kirito.
Only five years old, yet his gaze carried the weight of lifetimes.No one noticed the storm inside him, nor the old soul behind those eyes.
He remembered another world, another life cut short by disease. He remembered his mother's last breath in this one, shielding him from the falling rubble.
Tears slipped down his cheeks silently.
When news spread that the Fourth Hokage had died to save them, the villagers wept with confusion and despair. But Kirito knew the truth. Naruto Uzumaki, the crying baby, was the new jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
---
The New Beginning
The weeks blurred together—funerals, shelters, rebuilding. Kirito found his mother's grave among the sea of markers. He found her body himself, digging through piles of remains, a grim duty for a child.
Later, he was given a small apartment. Inside, he salvaged a photo frame, his father's old diary, some gear, and scrolls. He pushed aside the belongings of the dead family who once lived there and sat on the bed. For the first time since the memories had returned, he cried freely.
When the tears dried, resolve remained.
"I'll become a shinobi. Stronger than anyone. In this world… only the strong survive."
He cooked his first meals—burnt disasters at first, then better with practice. He ran laps through the forest until his legs ached, trained his stamina from the pages of his father's diary.
To the villagers, he was just another orphan. Ordinary. Forgettable. Safe from suspicion.
But in truth, the boy was preparing. Waiting.
The night of the crimson moon had taken everything from him. Now, he would take everything back.
---