Ten years ago
Cradled around a fire deep within the forest, a group of people huddled together, their bodies wrapped in nothing but rags.
The great calamity that had struck over a decade ago still haunted this land. Much of it had been flattened, forcing the surviving humans to migrate eastward.
But the existing communities rejected the newcomers — there wasn't enough food and water to share.
Thus, the outsiders chose to leave and build their own settlement near the river. Yet just as they were about to settle, trouble found its way to them.
"Boss, there's trouble by the gate!"
A skinny man with his hair tied behind him came running toward a giant man with a scar down his cheek.
"Itachi, what's going on?" the man asked, picking up his spear as he moved toward the gate.
"It's the samurai! They killed Sato and Yoshi — they're demanding we leave and go back west," Itachi said, following closely behind.
Raijin — the leader of the refugees — arrived at the gate to find his men surrounding two samurai, who sat atop the headless corpses of Sato and Yoshi.
"Why did you kill them?" Raijin asked calmly, resting his hand on the spear strapped to his back.
One of the samurai lifted the severed head of a woman and casually tossed it toward Raijin's feet.
"This land belongs to Lord Daigo," the smaller-built samurai said loudly, mocking them. "We didn't slaughter those savages just so your kind could replace them. But Lord Daigo is a merciful man. Hand over your women and leave — and we'll let you keep your lives."
Without hesitation, Raijin pulled out his spear. In one swift motion, he beheaded both samurai.
Turning to his people, he spoke:
"Pack your belongings. We're moving."
"Was it really wise to kill them?" an elderly man asked, voice tight with worry. "They'll send more samurai after us now."
"By the time they send reinforcements, we'll be long gone," Raijin replied.
Then, glancing at Itachi, he said, "Take Sato and Yoshi's bodies and bury them somewhere close. The rest of you — get ready to leave."
With that, Raijin made his way back to the settlement and entered his house.
Inside, his wife — Ryoko — looked up from where she sat, her bulging belly cradled in her hands.
"Did something happen?" she asked softly.
Raijin leaned his spear against the wall and nodded.
"Yes. A pair of samurai came and killed our people. We have to move again."
Ryoko's eyes saddened, her hand stroking her stomach.
"That's unfortunate. I only hope that by the time this child is born, he won't have to witness such things."
"He?" Raijin asked, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know it's a boy?"
"Call it a mother's intuition," Ryoko said with a gentle smile.
Raijin smiled faintly back. He said nothing more, moving instead to gather their possessions and load them into the wagon outside.
…..
Two weeks later
The group had moved deeper into the forest, camping by a thin river.
Itachi, who had taken the first watch, suddenly rushed into Raijin's tent, panting.
"Boss… there's someone near the river," he said in a low voice.
Raijin grabbed his spear and stepped out into the cold night. The others followed behind, weapons in hand.
The river was covered in mist, thicker than any they'd seen before. And in the middle of it stood a shadow — a crouching figure, half-buried in the earth.
"Who are you?" Raijin called out.
There was no response.
As they stepped closer, the figure shifted. A thin, black mass — almost like mud — slowly rose from the ground, taking a twisted human shape.
It had no eyes, no mouth. Only a faint ripple of movement, as if it were studying them.
Then — it turned its 'head' slightly, looking past Raijin, past the armed men, straight toward the campfire where Ryoko sat resting.
Raijin narrowed his eyes.
He gripped his spear tighter.
"You've got the wrong camp," he said calmly.
For a long moment, the shadow remained still. Then, like smoke caught by the breeze, it dissolved into the mist and vanished completely.
The mist began to lift almost immediately after.
Itachi looked around nervously. "What the hell was that…?"
Raijin didn't answer. He looked back toward Ryoko, who was now clutching her stomach and breathing heavily.
"Double the guard tonight," he ordered.
That night, Raijin didn't sleep.
And he wasn't the only one.
Hidden deep underground, far from the camp, a sliver of Black Zetsu wriggled through the earth, whispering to itself.
"I felt it… it's the same feeling I sensed back then."
…..
*Three months later*
Ryoko's labor began at midnight. What should have been a natural birth spiraled into horror.
"It burns! It burns!"
Ryoko's screams tore through the house. Her skin flushed a feverish crimson, steam pouring from her body. Her tears evaporated before they could fall.
Raijin stood outside the room, knuckles white around his spear.
The midwife inside shouted prayers and curses, but nothing could stop the screams.
The air grew thick, suffocating.
And then — silence.
The newborn's first cry pierced the skies, high and clear. But it was not the cry of an ordinary child.
When Raijin entered, he staggered back.
The room was a grave.
Ryoko's body had been reduced to blackened ash, her figure crumbled like burnt paper. The midwife lay collapsed nearby, her skin shriveled, hair ghost-white.
At the center of the devastation, a child floated above the floor, wreathed in searing blue flames.
Raijin stood frozen, breathless. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
Then a sudden crack split the skies.
A bolt of lightning tore through the roof, striking the infant with a deafening roar.
The blue flames screamed — twisted — and coiled into the boy's left eye like a river of fire.
Now the child cried and collapsed into Raijin's arms.
Raijin stared into the newborn's face.
One eye burned with unnatural blue fire. The other shone a vivid green.
In his chest, Raijin felt something dark bloom: terror… and the faint, terrible flicker of ambition.
He tightened his grip around the child and spoke:
"Yato. That is the name your mother chose for you."
…..
A/N: [ I kept thinking about what I want to do with this fan-fic— now I have a clear idea about what to do.
I will commit a bit more time to this project of mine, if you enjoyed the chapter please leave a comment.]