Year 41, of the ninja calendar.
...
One day, Vergil awoke in a body of a four year old, he was confused about his life, why?, because he was in a body of a child, at home, he was sat down playing DMC 5.
And whoosh, here he was, upon arriving, he had received a gift from the person that sent him here.
A letter, a template and Annihilation maker, a few days past, he was gradually getting used to this new world.
Though, he would occasionally clash with Dante over the tiniest things.
.
Near the Land of Fire borders, a year later.
.
Sakumo's sandals tore across the forest canopy as blood dripped from the arm of the shinobi slung over his shoulder.
Behind him, distant explosions echoed through the trees.
The ambush had been too perfect, too coordinated, too informed.
"Damn sand bastards…" one surviving jonin muttered weakly.
Sakumo's eyes narrowed, "No… this wasn't just them", his instincts screamed otherwise.
Someone had leaked the route.
Someone from Konoha.
But there was no time to think.
The White Fang pushed chakra into his legs and vanished through the trees again.
Meanwhile, Konoha, Hatake residence.
Vergil sat silently on the engawa outside the house while Dante lay lazily beside him eating crackers, Kakashi, still small enough to wobble slightly when walking too fast, was currently asleep against a pillow nearby.
The evening breeze was calm, too calm.
Vergil's eyes slowly opened, "…He's injured."
Dante stopped chewing.
"You felt it too?"
Vergil nodded once.
The demonic energy flowing through his body reacted strangely to emotional connections.
Weak now, but enough to sense the disturbance tied to Sakumo, Dante sighed and spoke, "Well… that sucks".
Vergil stared at the sky.
The clouds above Konoha were darkening.
[So it begins.]
The Third Shinobi War was nearing its final stages.
Meaning the events leading to Sakumo's downfall were getting close.
Vergil's fingers tapped lightly against the wooden floor.
Danzo, the elders, the villagers, the mission, the pressure.
All of it would eventually crush Sakumo Hatake, Unless…
"…Dante."
"Hm?"
"I'm leaving Konoha after the academy."
Dante blinked.
"That again? You serious?"
"Yes", Vergil's eyes sharpened, "This village rots from the inside", Dante frowned slightly.
Even he couldn't deny that something felt wrong about Konoha lately.
Too many shadows, too many masks, too many smiling people hiding knives.
Vergil continued calmly, "I'll build a nation beyond the reach of the Five Great Villages",
Dante snorted.
"You sound like a final boss."
"I probably will be."
"Great, just what I want"
Dante rolled onto his back dramatically, shaking his head, "My brother's already planning world domination at age five."
"It's called preparation."
"It's called being insane", Vergil ignored him.
Instead, he focused inward.
The blue transparent screen reappeared before his eyes.
Template Progress: 0.7%
Current Abilities:
Minor demonic constitution
Enhanced perception
Yamato synchronization: Locked
Mirage Edge: Locked (10%)
Perfect Evade: Locked (15%)
Force Edge: Locked (20%)
Annihilation Maker: Active Detection Seal: Active Danger Level: Minimal
Vergil narrowed his eyes at the final line.
Danger level.
Meaning the system itself judged his existence as a threat.
"Interesting."
Dante peeked over, "You looking at the weird screen again?"
"You can see it?"
"Yeah. Mine says I get rebellion later.", Vergil paused and replied, "…You have a template too?"
Dante grinned, "Obviously. You think old man god would leave me out?"
Vergil rubbed his forehead.
Troublesome.
Very troublesome.
Because if Dante gained his full power too…
The Naruto world was doomed.
Far beneath Konoha.
Root headquarters.
Danzo sat in darkness.
A masked shinobi knelt before him.
"Lord Danzo. The ambush succeeded, but Sakumo Hatake survived."
Silence.
Then—
CRACK.
Danzo crushed the teacup in his hand.
"…Unfortunate."
The Root shinobi lowered his head further.
"Should we proceed with phase two?"
Danzo's visible eye narrowed.
"Yes."
"If the White Fang cannot die on the battlefield…"
"…then we will kill him within the village."
The room grew cold.
Back at the Hatake residence.
Vergil suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Not fear.
Intent.
Killing intent.
His crimson-blue eyes slowly shifted toward the Hokage Mountain.
"…Danzo."
Dante sat up, "You know something?"
Vergil stood silently.
Then for the first time since reincarnating…
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Cold.
Sharp.
Inhuman.
"If Sakumo Hatake dies…"
"…then Konoha loses its right to keep us."
The air around him distorted slightly.
A tiny ripple of dark blue energy flickered for less than a second.
And somewhere deep beneath Konoha—
Several sealing arrays suddenly trembled.
.
Back on Sakumo's side.
.
[Someone leaked our route.]
The thought repeated in his mind over and over.
The squad had changed directions three separate times before reaching the border. Only a handful of people in Konoha knew the final route.
Yet the Sand shinobi had been waiting.
Not just waiting.
Prepared.
Explosive tags buried beneath the trees. Wind-style users positioned on elevated cliffs. Puppet users blocking retreat routes.
It had been a slaughter.
Sakumo clenched his jaw.
"Damn it…"
The surviving jonin on his shoulder coughed weakly. "Captain… leave me…"
"Quiet."
Sakumo leapt across another canyon.
"You're not dying."
Back in Konoha, the atmosphere was far calmer.
Too calm.
Inside the Hatake residence, Dante was upside down on the couch balancing a cup on his forehead while Vergil sat silently nearby reading an academy textbook.
Dante glanced over.
"You've been reading that for an hour."
"I finished it thirty minutes ago."
"Then why keep staring at it?"
Vergil closed the book slowly.
"…I'm thinking."
Dante narrowed his eyes immediately, "That usually means trouble."
Vergil ignored him and looked out the window.
The village was peaceful on the surface, but he could already feel it.
[This place will eventually destroy father.]
His fingers tapped lightly against the table.
[And Kakashi.]
Dante suddenly sat upright, "You're doing that face again."
Vergil raised an eyebrow. "What face?"
"The 'I'm-about-to-commit-a-crime' face."
"I always look like this."
"Exactly!"
Before Dante could continue arguing, both boys suddenly paused.
Their enhanced senses picked up a familiar chakra signature approaching the house.
Weak.
Unsteady.
The front door slid open.
Sakumo entered slowly, his clothes torn and stained with blood.
Drip.
Drip.
Little Kakashi, who had been sleeping in the corner, immediately woke up.
"Father?!"
The room went silent.
Even Dante stopped joking.
Vergil's eyes sharpened instantly as he noticed several things at once:
The blood wasn't all Sakumo's.
His breathing rhythm was slightly uneven.
There were burn marks from explosive tags.
And most importantly…
Sakumo looked angry.
Not outwardly.
Not loudly.
But cold.
Like a storm being restrained.
Sakumo set the injured jonin down carefully before kneeling slightly.
"Kakashi… get the med-kit.", Kakashi hurried off immediately.
Dante walked closer. "You got ambushed?"
Sakumo glanced at him in surprise before nodding once.
Vergil spoke calmly, "The route was leaked."
The room became still.
Sakumo's eyes narrowed slightly, "…Why do you think that?"
Vergil met his gaze without fear.
"You changed routes multiple times. You're alive, meaning the enemy wasn't trying to annihilate your squad instantly."
"They were waiting in prepared positions..."
"That means they knew where you'd be beforehand."
Dante blinked, "…Okay that's actually creepy.", Sakumo stared at Vergil silently for several moments.
[This child…]
He already knew Vergil was intelligent, but sometimes the boy's observations were unnervingly precise.
Sakumo eventually sighed.
"…Don't repeat that outside this house.", Vergil nodded once, but internally, his thoughts deepened.
[So it begins.]
The Third Shinobi War.
[If I want freedom…]
[Then I need more power.]
That night, after everyone slept, Vergil quietly opened the template interface again on reflex.
Template Percentage: 0.7%
Abilities Available:
Minor demonic constitution
Enhanced perception
Accelerated growth
Locked:
Mirage Edge — 10%
Perfect Slice — 15%
Force Edge — 20%
Vergil stared at another section of the interface.
Annihilation Maker.
A black-and-gold symbol pulsed slowly.
[Create.]
[Destroy.]
[Rewrite.]
Even at only 0.7%, he could already feel fragments of impossible power sleeping inside it.
Vergil walked outside into the backyard silently.
Moonlight covered the training ground.
He extended one hand.
"…Let's test the limits."
A dark ripple spread through the air, for a moment, space distorted.
Then—
Clink.
A single gold coin fell into his palm, Vergil examined it carefully.
Perfect craftsmanship.
Not chakra-made.
Not illusionary.
Real.
Dante's voice suddenly came from behind him, "…You're definitely planning crimes."
Vergil didn't even turn around.
"You were pretending to sleep."
Dante walked beside him, hands behind his head.
"I got curious."
His eyes landed on the coin, "…That wasn't chakra."
"No."
Dante's teasing expression faded slightly.
"What exactly did that god give us?"
Vergil looked up at the moon.
"…A chance."
Far away beneath Konoha…
Deep within the darkness of Root headquarters…
Danzo Shimura slowly opened one eye.
A Root operative knelt before him, "Lord Danzo. The ambush failed."
Danzo's fingers tightened against his cane.
"…I see."
The operative hesitated.
"There is another matter."
"Speak."
"For a brief moment tonight… an unknown energy signature appeared near the Hatake residence."
Danzo's visible eye narrowed.
"Unknown?"
"Yes. It disappeared almost instantly."
Silence.
Then—
"Continue observing them."
Far above the village, hidden beyond mortal sight…
A certain god watched everything while eating popcorn.
"Ohhh, now this is getting good."
.
Template 0.7%
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