Age Twelve
The Second Shinobi World War started on a Sunday.
I remember because I was eating breakfast with Kushina when the messenger arrived. He was a chunin from the outer islands, his clothes torn, his face pale, his chakra flickering like a candle in the wind.
"Kiri," he gasped, collapsing to his knees. "Kiri has declared war. They're already attacking the northern islands."
My father stood up from the table. His face was calm, but I saw his hand tighten on his cup. "How many ships?"
"At least thirty. Maybe more. We couldn't get a clear count."
"Casualties?"
"Too many." The messenger's voice cracked. "They're using a jinchuriki. The three-tails. Our barriers can't hold against it."
My father looked at me. "Get to the eastern wall. Take Kushina to the safe room."
"Father—"
"Now."
I grabbed Kushina's hand and ran. She was crying—she was only seven, and she didn't understand what was happening—but she didn't resist. I pulled her through the corridors, past panicked servants and shouting guards, until we reached the safe room in the deepest part of the compound.
The safe room was a small chamber lined with sealing tags. It was designed to withstand anything short of a tailed beast's direct attack. I pushed Kushina inside and started sealing the door behind her.
"Ren, no!" She grabbed my arm. "You're not coming in?"
"I have to fight."
"But you'll get hurt!"
"I'll be fine." I kissed her forehead. "Stay here. Don't come out until I come get you. Promise me."
"Promise me you'll come back."
"I promise."
I sealed the door and ran.
The battle was chaos.
The Kiri fleet had breached the outer whirlpools—something that should have been impossible, but the three-tails had simply plowed through them, its chakra disrupting the seals that kept the whirlpools spinning. The northern islands were already lost. The main island was under siege.
I joined the defenders on the eastern wall. My chains were out—all six of them, golden and blazing. I cut down wave after wave of Kiri shinobi, my Sharingan tracking every movement, every attack. But there were too many. For every one I killed, three more took its place.
And then I saw her.
The jinchuriki. A woman with dark hair and darker eyes, a swirling aura of purple chakra around her. The three-tails' chakra. It was dense and malevolent, pressing against my senses like a physical weight.
She looked at me. Her eyes were not her own. They belonged to the beast inside her.
"You're the heir," she said. Her voice echoed with something deeper. "The one with the golden chains."
"I'm the one who's going to stop you."
She laughed. "You're a child."
"I'm the heir of Uzushio."
I attacked.
My chains shot toward her, golden and blazing. She didn't dodge. She didn't even raise her hand. The chains wrapped around her arms, her legs, her throat—and then she flexed, and they shattered like glass.
"Impressive," she said. "But useless."
She moved faster than I could track. Her fist connected with my chest, and I felt ribs break. I flew backward, crashed through a wall, landed in a heap of rubble and blood.
My chains flickered. My Sharingan spun. The world was going gray.
No. Not yet. I can't die yet. Kushina needs me.
I pushed myself up. The jinchuriki was walking toward me, unhurried, confident. Behind her, the Kiri shinobi were pouring into the village. I could hear screams. I could smell smoke.
"You have potential," she said. "Surrender, and I'll let you live. Join Kiri. We can use someone like you."
"I'd rather die."
"That can be arranged."
She raised her hand for another blow. I saw the chakra gathering in her palm—enough to kill me ten times over. I saw the thread of consequence: her hand coming down, my skull caving in, darkness.
And then something else.
A flicker of gold in the corner of my vision. Not my chains. Something deeper. Something that had been sleeping inside me since the day my mother died.
It was the Mangekyo. I could feel it pressing against the back of my eyes, wanting to emerge, wanting to change the world.
But I didn't know how to awaken it. I didn't know what it would cost.
The jinchuriki's hand came down.
I closed my eyes.
And then I heard a roar.