Chapter 11 - The Night It All Begins Again

Rain fell on the ruins of Konoha.Flames still smoldered, illuminating the night with a reddish glow.Rescue teams ran through the rubble, calling out to survivors, while ANBU tried to maintain order.The Black Moon still shone brightly over the village.An abnormal moon, perfect, motionless.As if silently observing the chaos it had unleashed.---1. The Emergency CouncilIn the still-intact underground levels of Konoha, the five Kage were gathered.Tsunade, her face etched with fatigue, opened the meeting in a somber voice:"This wasn't just an assault. It was a show of force."Beside her:Gaara, motionless.Ay, arms crossed, seething inside.Chōjūrō, worried.And Kurotsuchi, visibly shocked by the enemy's identity."Are you sure?" she asked."Yes..." replied Tsunade. "The witnesses recognized him. The analyses did too. It was definitely him."Gaara's hands trembled slightly."Naruto... Uzumaki."A morbid silence filled the room.There was no longer any doubt. The hero, the one who had carried the light during the Great War, now stood in the darkness.---2. The ApparitionSeveral kilometers away, on a cliff overlooking the ruins of Konoha, a figure observed the scene.His black cloak billowed slightly in the rain.On his back, a new symbol: an immense black crescent moon, the symbol of Kurayami.Naruto pulled the hood tighter around his face.His Rinnegan opened slowly, like an eye from another world."The world has fallen asleep in a lie."Another figure joined him, thinner and masked."We struck hard. It will take time for the villages to recover.""This is only the beginning," Naruto replied. "The Kurayami era has only just begun."The masked man bowed."Chief Naruto... what are your orders?"The wind rose, and Naruto answered without the slightest hesitation:"Form the units. Position our spies. And prepare for the next phase."His eyes fixed on the Black Moon, which had just turned a crimson hue."The world must understand that peace does not come from the light... but from the shadows." »---3. The SurvivorAmidst the rubble, Shikamaru held a broken Konoha headband between his fingers.He gritted his teeth."Naruto... why?"He gazed at the sky.That dark moon... it seemed alive, pulsating, almost conscious."If you think we're going to just stand here and do nothing... you're wrong."He stood up, wounded but determined."We'll come for you. Wherever you are."---4. In the Shadow of KurayamiIn a hidden fortress, at the heart of a sealed mountain, the members of Kurayami knelt before a stone throne.Naruto entered.They all bowed.Among them:Forgotten former ninja.Banned prodigies.Broken survivors who had found a new path in him.Naruto raised his hand."Today... we reminded the world of its fragility."His Rinnegan glowed, shining like a cursed sun."From now on, we move to Phase Two."Kurayami's members straightened, dark energy swirling around them."For the Black Moon.For the rebirth of the shinobi world."They all repeated:"FOR KURAYAMI!"The ground vibrated.The entire fortress seemed to resonate with the same cry. Naruto closed his eyes."The dawn of darkness begins."