Chakra of red and malevolence. The pure white moon in the sky and the walls crumbling around under the trashing of Nine Tails whip like tails.
First memories that Ren Haruno had seen in this world. To see the desperation in people, the cry of pain as people tried to uncover from the rubble. His little hands trying in the daze to remove the stone and wood.
Not for any reason beyond the simple human compulsion to save others in danger. One thing was to see this on the screen, another to live it. Another to feel the pain of others as they were dejected, crushed like the little pebbles under the weight of pain, of loss.
He could do nothing, he was thrown way too close to the event and for what would come. Was it right for Ren to try to save others and change the future path?
Also the irony of his name wasn't lost, the family of Sakura, one of the people closest to Naruto.
Yet, so close but distant in the impact he could do. As he pushed the stones apart from the crumbled house, taking in his stuffed cat doll.
Screams and shrieks of pain.
A haunting roar from the Nine tails pierced through the veil as it raised its head in the air, those red eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
Ren gulped down and his pants were warm and wet. He stepped once, then twice and moved to the next crumbled down house.
His hands unable to raise the felled barn. Whimpers breaking through the cloak of dust. Please, just once, as his eyes were swelling with tears, once.
Arms hugged him tightly from behind, porcelain mask over the person, a subtle nod and a garbled voice said, "It will be alright kid, brave of you, very brave, but let's take you to your family."
He looked at the messed up area, a few other shinobi had children in their hands.
When he arrived in the hideout, only half of those children were brought up with him. Root, most probably…
Or hopefully they were sent to another hideout though he wasn't sure. To think of that now was useless.
His lips tightened and then looked at his family.
Were they alright? Should be, they were taken out faster than him.
In his shame he ran out of the house and tried, and failed to save someone.
Father a deadbeat genin and mother some puny merchant. His family was nothing special, petty civilians who were trying to live and provide a good life to them, one distant from shinobi life.
His sister green eyes rimmed with tears as she was screaming in terror in the mother's hands.
His father hugging them tightly in a silence unbecoming to the events going outside.
The chakra, this red chakra was evil, disgusting. Just the feel of it against his skin made it crawl. Like a miasma it was entering everywhere and made his throat parched, like a myriad of wind blades cut him inside.
Then a snuffing of little leaves and the rainbow of colours, emotions and sensations tied to a colour. Tied to a soul presence in the space interplayed over reality.
The calm yellow disappeared, followed by the red and boiling one. Minato and Kushina if Ren guessed right. Soon this nightmare would end, and the post horror would follow.
Heavy rumbles inside his head as he was caressing little Sakura. Because death and destruction were easy to make. Lives lost are gone forever, then the damages caused by the fight, the houses and clans, the infrastructure all important.
The prestige and importance of Konoha also would take a hit, missions would take a downfall and then the Hokage would be forced to accept those of shadier character.
Dangerous and that imply more bloodshed, for all the shinobi, not just some few jonin and Anbu.
The casualties will mount, followed by increased pressure to perform, that would explain the case of Root taking a more active force in canon, because Konoha's forces were not enough.
What about Uchiha clan? He had a few years, should he try to save them? Not possible, what, no one can just barge in and become friends with Itachi or catch his level to be put on the same team.
To not take in account the clan politics that were not shown enough on the screen for him to make an opinion or a direction to change a tragedy in making.
Grudges, enmities and the fear of power were not easily managed, and if to make a comparison. How would a political actor react to their neighbour and rival getting an easy hand to their nuclear reactors?
With war. How Nine Tails escaped would be the main question, who let the beast free from Kushina, since scare few knew about it.
Who betrayed the village if not the clan with most grudges gained against it, Uchiha. A clan who always vied for power and the title of hokage while never getting it. The power was maintained in the hands of Senju and their followers.
Or that was probably the main thought of Danzo. Probably because who knows who was in the head of that person. To not blame only Danzo, the hokage fully knew what was the village situation.
In the end he was a simple civilian who would join this year the academy. By free will or not, it would matter because an effective order would come full swing in. In times of strive where does the leadership gathers their military force to contend with the rivals?
From the peasants, give them weapons, train them enough to be useful and send them on the front.
Internally sighing, he couldn't blame the leadership because reigning over a village, though Konoha was more of an autonomous paramilitary with land, so basically a nation, was complicated. Sacrifice the few for the majority.
Cut where it was needed to let the sapling grow under a new light while the worms burrow in the shadows to fertilize the soil.
Sakura was sleeping soundly in his arms, touching those little cheeks and the pink hair growing already. To make a promise to himself and this girl who would one day decide the fate of world?
Promises were meant to be broken, and events change with the slight alteration to the layers of intertwined. He would not promise to save the world, neither people who are meant to die.
Nor would force himself to protect Sakura from what future prepares for her, neither be friends with Naruto or Sasuke.
He would simply try his best to be a human and to keep the innate feeling to save others when possible and realist.
How cruel it sounds now that he thinks of it. Another weary chuckle.
First steps. Join the academy, willingly before the order comes in, blitz through the academy in the early years since they needed manpower, hopefully end up becoming Jonin by the time Sakura would be team seven.
It was easy to plan though. Ideas forming into paths that he could walk on and embark on different twists and turns, but humans were not simple. Never simple enough to predict the actions of causations.
His father was grumbling and whispering to his mother, "I will be recalled back in the active force, honey…" pointing at Ren, "Maybe it's time you start to teach little Ren of the merchant ways?"
Akira, his mother with the eyes weary of stress and tears, "Good," lowering her voice to almost barely audible, "merchants have special clauses, able to be protected from joining up the academy."
Gripping Toshi's hand hard, "I can't imagine losing them. To get a missive from the hokage that my beautiful children ended up in a ditch. I can't," as she whimpered.
Ren stood there, frozen as his plans were slowly sinking down. His mother would be categorically against such move; to join the academy and become a shinobi, though the order would come in time, at worst next year.
Till then, he could dilly-dally around being a merchant till the moment comes and join in against his parents wishes.
His father pointed at some Uchiha forces, the blue flak jackets giving them away and those red eyes roaming like predators over the civilians.
"While the fourth fights against the beast, what do these so-called policeman do? Enforce peace, not like we live in a village full of shinobi who know how to protect ourselves. They are the fault, I am sure," Akira put a hand over his mouth.
"Shut it. Not now, later. Uchiha have their place. They are always fair and just when I had problems at the stand. Not like the usual rabble of shinobi," her terrifying glare mellowed Toshi.
With half a mouth he said, "Doesn't explain why they are here, and so many of them. Where were they when Ren was lost?" his voice growing stronger, "An anbu brought him. Not them. Never them, they were first here, to protect the bloodline and those damn special eyes."
Red eyes locked on Toshi. Sweat on forehead and a hesitant step back while Akira rebuked, "What if it's an enemy invasion? Honey, what if Kumo or Iwa attacked? They used these beasts locked in humans. Minato-sama fought them in the war. Our hero, again against them. Uchiha are police, their first duty is to protect us, the civilians," slapping his head and grabbing everyone from the family in another corner of the bunker.
Ren looked at this scene. His parents fought from the memories he parsed, always arguing about a thing or another. Of money, of how they will keep up with the costs of two children.
But never politics, he didn't hear them speak about the politics.
Politics are usually the domain of those with influence and power in a system that's not democracy.
His mother didn't have the means, and his father would not be respected being a simple genin.
He would wait for a few weeks till the situation restores and his family would be calm and the he would say what's on his mind. Academy.