It had been a normal day for Enji, his mother had overseen his training like usual, nothing extraordinary just bodyweight workouts,some running,the same boring routine. He had expected flashy jutsus and ninja techniques when his mother,a retired shinobi,a former chunin had agreed to train him. But all he was made to do was these monotonous exercises that he found challenging, more mentally than physically. But he was diligent,as his mother was nowhere near 'motherly' when she was training him.After weeks of the same boring training,his mother had given him some money so that he could have some treats from the market. It was already late into the night but konoha was a shinobi village,the streets were still busy, the shops still open,but with fewer civilians and he could see some shinobi with their headbands with the leaf symbols,some leisurely and relaxing inside the shops, some with their family, some rushing to who knows where.
Lanterns glowed softly along the market streets,casting their warm light, swaying with the gentle breeze. The air carried the scent of grilled skewers and fresh-baked sweet buns from the food stalls, along with the faint sound of music and chatter. Enji found his favourite dessert shop and bought whatever he could with his money and was returning to his home when it happened.
A sudden rumble was heard and enji felt the ground vibrate, he stopped in his tracks and looked around to see all the civilians, as clueless as him but the ninja beside him had an expression of utter terror on his face. Enji had no idea what was happening but he knew something serious was happening and he had to hurry to the safety of his home. The ninja who had been terrified earlier, came back to his senses and started shouting and warning everyone to take shelter. The civilians immediately started rushing while the ninja started moving towards the hokage tower. All Enji could see was blurry shadow flickering towards the hokage tower.
Enji,amidst the panicked civilians ,started running towards his home when his body froze, his legs gave out and he planted his face onto the ground.
He tried to push his body up with his hands, but he felt his arms were as heavy as iron, he felt his hair stand on is end as charged with electricity, his skin had goosebumps,then he heard the guttural roar that made his breath stagnate. The glass windows shatered, people fell like dominoes ,some unconscious ,some struggling still to make it to safety. Enji heard the roar again, but this time it was cut short by a ringing in his head and sharp pain in his ear.The pain jolted him awake, and he struggled to pick himself up and started moving towards his home. While limping,helooked over his shoulder,towards the direction of the sound and all he coulde see was smoke and flashes of light ,and tiny black shadows flashing around a huge mountain like orange mass of something terrifying.
It had a huge body, many tails and a fox head. Tiny ant like shadows flickered around it and bombarded it with jutsus but it didn't even scratch the huge monster. It swung one if it tails at the shinobi surrounding it ,like swatting some flies.
Enji managed to not freeze again in sheer terror and contiued scampering away when a tail was swung in his direction. The tail swept everything in its path and turned it to rubble.
Even though Enji was at a great distance from the monster, the shock wave hit him and blasted him into the building next to him along with the rubble.
Enji felt like an elephant had slammed into his back and flung him into a wall. The rubble had buried him. He felt like he was being crushed into a paste under all the rubble. But surprisingly he was not injured significantly and his limbs were intact . His whole body was aching, he was struggling to breathe and his ears were bleeding but he was not greviously injured.
He managed to crawl into a space amidst the rubble and catch a breather. For a moment he couldn't move, then he felt something or some presence around him. He felt himself stiffening in terror.
Heat. Pressure. Something… alive seeping into him through the cuts in his skin, crawling along his veins. It wasn't fire—fire burned on the outside. This was inside, coiling and twisting like it was searching for something. He felt like molten metal was coursing through his body. The pain was unbearable. His vison darkened,his body nearing unconsciousness, but he knew from his training that losing consciousness in an emergency like this was not good, he had to stay awake, so he endured. His heartbeat stuttered, then raced. His vision swam. Then came the piercing headache along with images—blurry, fragmented—that flashed through his mind. Places he'd never been. Faces he'd never seen. Screams, battle cries, the clash of steel. They weren't dreams, they felt like memories. They weren't his, he thought.
As more and more images or memories flashed the headache grew worse. He felt his head would split if it continued. It was getting harder to not lose consciousness. He was at the verge of giving up and succumbing to his fate when a change happened.The molten metal like sensation he felt throughout the body ,now felt like it split into two streams of calm soothing energy,one passing through his body and other to his brain.
He felt his headache lessen and clarity regaining.
He could feel no pain in his body but a sensation of soaking in warm water.
Every sound outside—the crackle of fire, the groan of broken wood, the distant roar of the beast—was suddenly sharp, as if the world had turned the volume up.He felt his vision improve, and he could now perceive the presence of the beast, so malicious and filled with hatred ,it felt like searing iron branded all over his body.
He tried to move the rubble away, but his strength still insufficient,all he could do was waiting to be rescued. As time passed by the sound began to still and he could hear no more of the beast's roar or the malevolent presence it exuded. He felt ,the relief flooding his body, the adrenaline rush had worn off, he was tired and battered. Once his body relaxed, he bagan to slip slowly into unconsciousness, buried under the rubble waiting to be rescued.
The sun rose over Konoha, but it brought no warmth.Sunlight spilled across a village of broken houses,streets littered with blood and gore , revealing what the previous night entailed. The air still held the bitter tang of smoke, and every breath carried the taste of ash.
Search teams moved through the wreckage, their voices low and urgent. They rummaged through the fallen debris ,pausing only to listen and sense faint cries beneath the rubble.
An Inuzuka shinobi crouched near the edge of the ruins, one hand resting lightly on the neck of a towering ninken was searching the market place or whatever remained of it.
"Alright, Koma," he murmured. "search this area."
The hound dipped its head, nose twitching. A low growl rumbled in its throat—not in warning, but in focus. Then it moved, muscles rippling under its fur as it padded over broken tiles and jagged wood. Every few steps, it paused, inhaling deeply, until its ears pricked forward.
Koma froze. His head turned toward a collapsed stall where burnt cloth hung like torn sails. He sniffed again—more sharply this time—then dug.
Dust billowed as claws raked at the debris. The Inuzuka joined him, pulling away planks and stone, his hands quick and sure. Then, under a beam blackened by fire, they saw it—an arm, pale beneath the soot.
"Got one!" the shinobi called out, his voice ringing through the ruin.
The ninken stepped back as more hands joined the effort, lifting the beam, clearing the rubble. Beneath it all was a boy—small, barely breathing, his clothes scorched and torn, small scratches and burn marks on his skin, but no apparent severe injuries.
Koma sniffed him once more, then gave a short, sharp bark. The shinobi checked the boy's pulse.
"Alive," he said surprised, gathering the boy into his arms. "Hurry,to the hospital " and flickered away.