Amidst the bustling commercial center of Konohagakure, two figures were walking together. "Hey, Kakashi, let's race to Ichiraku Ramen with our hands tied behind our backs. It's been a long time since we competed," said Guy, who was wearing a strange green shirt, angrily.
"Hey, how about rock-paper-scissors?" Kakashi replied lazily.
Cold.
That was the first thing Hatake Kakashi felt. It wasn't the chill of the night, or the blowing wind. But a bone-chilling cold that came suddenly and froze everything around him. He stopped abruptly in the middle of the bustling Konoha street, still bustling despite the late hour.
"Hey, Kakashi!" shouted Might Guy beside him, stopping and staring at him with an annoyed expression. "What are you doing? We were competing to see who could reach Ichiraku Ramen first with our hands tied behind our backs, remember? Maybe you've already given up because you know you'll lose to your Eternal Rival!"
Kakashi didn't answer. His usually lazy eyes, now sharp behind his mask, scanned his surroundings. The bustle of the fairground, the laughter of children, the conversations of ninjas... everything was still the same. But something was wrong. The air felt heavy, filled with something evil and ancient.
"It's not that, Guy," Kakashi muttered, his voice low and serious, a far cry from usual. "Don't you feel it?"
"Feel what? All I feel is your sudden coldness, which is destroying our burning competitive spirit!" Guy replied, his fists clenched. But then he saw Kakashi's earnest expression. "What... is wrong, Kakashi?"
"There's something wrong," Kakashi replied curtlycurtly "The air feels colder"
"It's your attitude that's cold, since joining ANBU your attitude has gotten colder"
***
On the edge of the Uchiha clan's territory, a five-year-old boy sat alone on the wooden balcony of his house. Uchiha Itachi gazed at the full moon hanging perfectly in the sky, illuminating the village with its cold silver light.
Suddenly, a strange gust of wind blew. It was no ordinary wind. It carried with it a massive chakra vibration, so frightening and foreign that it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Itachi frowned, an instinctive sense of alarm washing over him.
In his lap, his baby brother, Sasuke, who had been sound asleep, had suddenly woken. The baby felt the same thing—an inexplicable, primal fear. His cries broke out, loud and panicked.
Itachi immediately picked his little brother up, clutching him tightly to his chest. He gently patted Sasuke's back, though his eyes were still fixed on the moon, as if he could see an invisible threat coming from that direction.
"Don't cry, Sasuke," Itachi whispered, his voice soft but confident, trying to reassure himself and his little brother. "No matter what happens, Onii-chan will protect you."
He uttered that promise into the crying baby's ear, an oath that would determine the course of his life.
***
Inside the Hokage's study, filled with ninja books and scrolls, the atmosphere had also changed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was smoking his old pipe, the smoke curling into intricate patterns in the still air. Suddenly, his hand stopped. The pipe was suspended in midair, just before it touched his lips.
He felt it. A tremendous pressure, a chakra presence so immense and evil it was almost unbelievable. It was like a tidal wave slowly approaching the shore, bringing destruction.
He turned his head slowly, looking through the small ventilation window that revealed a sliver of the night sky and a bright full moon. However, the moonlight tonight felt sinister. As if hiding a monster beneath its calm glow.
Hiruzen's usually wise and calm face was now filled with deep worry. As an experienced ninja, his premonitions were rarely wrong.
"Something terrible is approaching," Hiruzen hissed.
***
In the middle of the densely populated village, a figure descended from the roof of a second-story house into a narrow, deserted alley. He wore dark robes and a mask that covered his entire face except for his right eye. The mask was yellow and tiger-patterned. He touched the ground, "Kuchiyose no jutsu."
Poof, whoosh
White smoke rose high into the silent night sky, yes, silent.
.
.
.
"eh"