The man known as Genzo!

This is the first chapter in the fanfiction serie Naruto: Different Paths. It contains the introduction arc and explains Genzo Netsuishi's life up until that point.

Information
Before we start, let's make this clear. I do NOT own any of the original Naruto characters, series or anything related to it. Masashi Kishimoto owns all that stuff and i am not realted to him in anyway.

Now that's out of the and i also want to note that while writing this, i will use the english dub names on techniques and things alike. Thus, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique becomes "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu" and Konohagakure becomes "The village hidden in the Leafs" or "The hidden Leaf Village". Some of the techniques used may not have been shown in the dubbed anime and in those cases i will try to make it go along with the rest of the translations anyway.

Word = Jutsu

( Hand seals ) = Hand seals for a jutsu

Word = Thinking

"Word" = Speaking

ENJOY THE STORY!

Story
The wind blew over the midnight sky. The full moon were shining over the cairns and boulders in the Land of Rocks. On a big boulder, a lone man is sitting and watching the stars in the sky. His black cloak makes him hides him well in the shadows on the big dark boulder. If it weren't for the red clouds covering the cloak, he would almost be invisible in the darkness. The wind blows down and wipes his gray hair out of his face, revealing a pair of blue eyes. They don't show any emotions at all, giving a cold impression. They keep the same empty look as they switches their focus from the stars in the sky to the moon, which casts its cold light over the earth.

Just like back then, Genzo thought for himself.



It was a night almost just like in the present. The morning sun is rising over the hills. The eyes of the seven years old Genzo Netsuishi slowly raises, but keeps their tired look. He looks around while trying to stifle a big yawn. When his eyes reaches his brother's bed, he quickly wakes up. It was empty. He really flew out of the bed and went out to search for his lost brother. After he had ran around almost the whole village, he was forced to see that his brother must have went outside the village. Immiedietely after running through the main gate, Genzo could feel the air around him change, becoming more intense and heavy.

As he thought back to it, the moment he reached his brother were re-played as in slow-motion. Upon reaching the top of a hill, he saw his brother, talking to a shinobi from their village. Just when he started to relax, the man signaled for his accomplices and a second later, his brother was thrown back from an explosion caused by the three Iwagakure shinobi. Genzo remembered the fierce rage he felt back then. Running down from the hill, he reached his dead brother as he fell to the ground.



Genzo closed his eyes at the memory of his dead brother. When the war had subsided, he was reached by the information that his parents had gotten killed as well. After this, Genzo had began to take his studies more seriously. Six years later, these studies had saved his life during the Battle of Yosuga Pass. Especially during the last clash with that Kirigakure kunoichi, Mimi Terumi.



The rain caused Genzo's hair to fall down in his face, almost covering up his sight. At the cliff in front of him, a young kunoichi from Kirigakure stood with an angry facial expression. Her brown hair was fluttering in the strong wind. Her blue eyes met Genzo's as she roared:

"I won't let you get away with this!"

"What are you going to do about it? You're the only one left." Genzo answered.

She glared angry at him, her face showing that she was close to flipping.

"I may be the last, but i alone shall bring victory to my village!"

"Don't be foolish! There´s nothing you can do. Even if you kill me, there will come others. Even you can´t take us all down!"

Genzo look the girl in the eye. Her eyes were filled with hatred. They told him that she would never forgive him for what he had done here, that she would never forget the pain of losing her comrades in battle. Suddenly she charged forward without warning. Seeing her hand signs, Genzo started to wave signs for his own technique.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

Slamming his hand onto the ground beneath him, he felt the ground shake as a wall o earth raised around him. Mimi's water dragon hit the wall, but the power of the crush caused it to be shattered to pieces. Using the Body Flicker, Genzo appeared behind his opponent. Swinging his hand downwards, he hit her on her ankle, causing her to fall to the ground. However, she was quick to recover and pierced him in the chest with a kunai before he could react. Smiling in victory, Mimi let her guard down and that moment of carelessness should cost her the battle. The Shadow Clone popped, revealing the real Genzo who had been hiding in it's shadow jumping into the air.

(Tiger - Monkey - Boar - Horse - Tiger)

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The enormous sphere of fire rushed down on the earth below like a meteor, striking the spot where Mimi was sitting. A cry of pain could be heard from the girl as it hit the ground. When the smoke had cleared, Genzo looked down at his fallen opponent, who was lying on the earth. The rage in her eyes couldn't be more obvious, but at the same time, there was a glims of sadness. She had been unable to protect the people she cared for and now, she knew she had been defeated. Awaiting her last moment, Mimi watched as Genzo turned his back to her and started to walk away from her. Shocked, she sat up and shouted:

"Just where do you think you're going? You won! Finish it! You know i would have killed you if it was me!"

Genzo stopped a few meters away. He still didn't turned back his face to look her in the eye, but he did answear her question.

"I don't want to kill anymore than absolutely nescecarily. But my comrades won't be as forgiving. GO!"

Mimi stared at the back of her enemy. Then she felt the rage rise inside her again.

"I don't need any sympathy from my opponent. Why would you allow me to live? Is it because i'm A GIRL?!"

Genzo sighed and turned around. When his eyes met her's, she immedietely regretted having said it. His eyes wasn't filled with rage or hatred, but with sorrow.

"That has nothing to do with it. It's because i know the pain of losing someone dear. If I kill you know, your relatives and friends who are still alive will mourn your death. They will hate me for what i've done and they may even come after me to avenge you. If they find me, more blood will get spilled. That would mean that more people will be forced to endure the pain of losing the people most dear to them, just like I was."



As a cloud covered the moon, Genzo closed his eyes. The last words he had told her wasn't all that there was to it. He probably would have killed her but something held him back. Back then, he had felt a connection to the girl somehow. Hearing someone step onto the rock he was sitting on, he opened his eyes again. Another man wearing a cloak with red clouds appeared.

"Genzo, Shien is summoning us. He says that he has an important mission for us." said Sasuke Uchiha.