Naruto:Shadows of the Ages

**"The Perspective of Sora, Haru, and Yuki"**

Three little boys were just running around, playing. Any person who was on Earth would be in shock, as these three children were running at a speed that a normal person could develop while running. And then Sora stopped, looking at the sticks, and smiling, shouted:

— You two, let's fight with sticks!

Haru was so thrilled by this idea that he beamed, but Yuki, upon hearing it, began to think. After a few seconds, he said:

— This will be dangerous.

Haru, hearing this, seemed to deflate. Yuki, continuing to ponder, said:

— Dad will punish us.

After these words, it didn't seem so wonderful to Sora anymore.

— But this will bring him more problems from Mom, so why not?

Hearing permission from the most authoritative one, they beamed. Yuki, picking up the straightest stick and taking it with both hands by the end, said:

— I've wanted to show who is stronger for a long time.

With these words, all three smiled, and their eyes sparkled.

Yuki stood with a stick, trying to recreate the pose he had once seen in an illustration with a katana. He was a bit tense, holding the stick clumsily, but his gaze was focused. His legs were spread wider, one slightly forward.

Haru, picking up a similar stick, instinctively held it like a spear — one hand closer to the end, the other in the middle.

And Sora, taking an example from his brothers, picked up two crooked sticks that were closest to him, which resembled the weapon his mother held during sparring, but he couldn't figure out the pose and grip of his weapon. In the end, Sora held the stick easily and flexibly, instinctively. His movements were quick and precise, his body ready for maneuvers.

The three boys stood in a clearing, holding sticks in their hands that served as their weapons. This was not the real weapon they had seen in their mothers' training or in pictures in books. But for them, these sticks had become embodiments of swords, spears, and kusarigama.

— You don't think this will be easy, do you? — asked Haru with the spear, smiling slightly. They had often seen adults train, exchanging blows in fast duels, and always dreamed of trying it themselves.

— This is more than just a game, — quietly said the boy with the katana, his fingers tightening around the stick. He no longer thought that they were just boys playing. Now it seemed like something bigger.

— Don't worry, I'll manage, — shouted the boy with two sticks, which he held like a kusarigama, and rushed forward first. His movements were uncertain but daring. He twirled the sticks in front of him, trying to create something similar to what he had seen older shinobi do. But the lack of experience made his attacks chaotic.

Haru with the spear dodged, while Yuki with the katana took a step back, watching closely. He was still held back by the thought that this was still not a real battle. They were just learning. But something changed in him when he blocked his brother's first strike.

— Wow, you can really do this! — Sora with the two sticks smiled, but he gradually felt that the game was becoming more complicated. His brothers no longer looked like simple opponents. This was serious.

Haru with the spear attacked again, this time trying to thrust his spear forward. He felt determination within him, even though he didn't fully know how to move correctly. His stick touched the stick of the boy with the katana, but he immediately counterattacked, striking with more precision.

— You've always been calm! — exclaimed the surprised Haru, but he was already feeling the tension growing between them. Now each of them began to fight as if it were a real battle. Their movements became faster, the strikes stronger. They were no longer playing.

Yuki felt a fire igniting in his chest. It was a new feeling, as if something that had been dormant inside him was awakening. He no longer hesitated. The first strike was strong, but with each new movement his strength only grew.

— Now I'll show you what a real battle is! — he shouted, and his stick struck against his brother's stick, forcing him to fall to his knees. The boy with two sticks tried to spin, defending himself, but the boy with the katana effortlessly knocked the weapon from his hands.

— Is this… the end? — whispered Sora, lying on the ground and looking up at his brother, who stood over him, holding the stick like a real katana.

The boy with the katana looked at his brothers, breathing heavily. His heart was racing, and the fire of battle still burned in his eyes. But something had changed. He no longer felt like the boy who just watched the training. This was their first real fight.

He had won, but it was a victory that brought him no joy. Only a new understanding that the path of a warrior was just beginning, and this was the first step.

Suddenly, the entire world turned into shades of purple, and three figures appeared.

One emerged from the fog, the second came up from the ground, and the third, a mass of darkness, grew and took the form of a majestic figure. A tall, powerful silhouette with the head of a jackal gradually began to rise from the world of the dead. His eyes, red as blood, glowed in the deep darkness. ##### — the god of death, the one who guides souls through the realm of shadows, appeared before them. His face, beast-like, was both majestic and terrifying.

The second figure, or ###, the god of the underworld, appeared as a majestic, dark figure, surrounded by shadows and a sense of otherworldly power. He was tall and muscular, with a pale face that had a deathly white hue. His eyes were black, like bottomless abysses, with a faint fire glowing in their depths. His hair was thick and black, sometimes seeming to stir with shadows. He was dressed in a dark cloak that resembled the dead world beneath the earth, and on his head was a crown made of cold stone or black metal.

In his hands, ### held a scepter or the keys to the underworld, symbols of his power over the souls of the dead. His figure radiated calm but inevitable power of death and eternal rule over the shadows.

The second figure spoke first:

— Interfering in the affairs of mortals is forbidden!

The atmosphere became tense.

— This prohibition was signed by the gods with Prometheus!

The previously purple world began to change to gray.

— Prometheus signed this condition with the gods of Olympus, not with every god! — the jackal-like god spoke. — But even that does not change your place — death!

The fog-like figure just smiled like a maniac.

— I have long since crossed into the league of the all-powerful.

They have always feared me, and the fear of the gods after the appearance of ### only strengthened me. — Surprise first, then anger appeared on the faces of the gods. The second figure spoke with disgust:

— These Aesir have always been weaklings; only this tree protected them. — Death just laughed.

— And I have the support of many all-powerful gods; only two out of five do not support me. — Death continued with a threat. — And do not forget who gave the gods of Olympus immortality when ### emerged from your realm. — And in fact, very few of you can call yourselves a god; people remember you with disgust.

The atmosphere changed color again to gold, and the jackal-like god just frowned:

— Don't forget who you are! You have always been beneath us! Always and will be! Do you think you can control the souls? No one has given you that right! — Amid their dialogue, golden solar thunder and lightning shadows began to appear.

— Hey, hey, stop arguing, — said the lightning shadow. — There was no universal evil!

The jackal-like and the second were in shock. The jackal-like one said:

— She couldn't interfere! — he said in shock.

— And it wasn't her; they instinctively restored the first heart, although it is a unique case, but what can you do? No one intervened! — said the thunderous figure.

— I was curious where all the gods of death and three all-powerful gods went. I hoped for an interesting battle, but here is something more interesting. — Above him appeared the sun, and he looked at the three boys. — No, I don't see any energy from the gods. I think it was their own choice that restored the heart, but which one! Well, look at the heart of a pure warrior; the last one was ###; how long ago was that.