Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto
Worth Dying For
0 reviewsMy name is Uzumaki Naruto. I am a shinobi by profession, an advisor by chance, and a warmonger according to my enemies. My story started with a death god, ended with an empire, and struck up a revo...
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Posted: June 22, 2012
Last Updated: April 28, 2012
Chapter WC: 543
Story WC: 543
Summary: My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I am a shinobi by profession, an advisor by chance, and a warmonger according to my enemies. My story started with a death god, ended with an empire, and struck up a revolution somewhere along the way. [No pairings.]
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Worth Dying For
Prologue
Memento Mori
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If there was one thing I have learned in my life, it is that the fear of death is what drives men.
I have seen good men rise and fall. I have seen new shinobi legends made and old ones crumble into dust. I have heard grand speeches about duty and honor and even given one or two myself. I know the doctrines, the oaths, the philosophies. I know all about duty and honor and sacrifice.
But I also know that it is a rare man who will choose death over life, sacrifice over loss—not when they are stared in the face and given that loss. It is only a great man who truly thinks not of himself, who willingly sacrifices himself for those he protects.
I am not a great man, despite what some may say. I have never stared death in the face, never sacrificed anything. I have never even been given the choice of sacrificing myself. I cannot say what I would do if I was. I cannot say that I would willingly give up my life for someone else.
I am not a great man.
But what I choose to do with the life I do have… That is all I have, and all I can give. For better or worse, I have devoted my life to fighting for what I believe in. I have maimed and killed in the name of my beliefs and though this knowledge weighs on my shoulders, I cannot bring myself to regret it. I cannot help but feel that if I regret even a moment of my life, it will invalidate everything—everything I’ve done, all the lives that have been lost, everyone I’ve ever hurt or helped.
I wonder if all mortal men get this philosophical before the end. In my experience most people tend to grow either frantic or enraged in the face of death. But I am not facing death, for I cannot die. Rather, I am facing an end. An end of purpose, an end of life—but not death.
Still, perhaps I should be more panicked. I wonder if they drugged my food. Had to have been a hell of a drug to have any lasting effect on me.
I tilt my head back against the cold stone behind me. The chakra repressing manacles that tie me to the stone wall are digging into my wrists uncomfortably, rubbing my skin raw. I absently wonder if I can at least ask them to loosen the chains.
A shadow shifts in the darkness of the cavern. I squint but can’t make out anything other than a vaguely human shape. How melodramatic. I suppose I should be thankful I am not surrounded by candles and chanting priests or something else out of a storybook.
I watch impassively as the shadow grows closer. A part of me wishes that I had at least been given the chance to sacrifice myself, instead of being forced to face the situation I am in. I want to know how I would react if given that choice, to see if I really could be a great man. I guess now I’ll never know.
My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and today is the day I die.
o-O-o
A/N: First and foremost, be aware this is going to be an action/adventure and slightly sci-fi story. I want to do something with Naruto that hasn’t been done before, something other than the usual struggles with Akatsuki and Madara. This story will span the entire shinobi continent and delve centuries into the past. It’s going to involve shinobi and samurai and daimyo and biju, and I’m having a hell of a time writing it =]
I started working on this story nearly a year ago and got about 35k into it before I realized I didn’t like how Naruto was turning out. So I played around with his character and dialogue for a bit and ultimately wound up completely changing his voice—which then meant that I went back and completely rewrote the story. Same basic events, but still a completely different story. The first version will never see the light of day xD As of right now I have about 70k of WDF written—with about half of that having been edited by a beta reader—which means that it’s about 1/3 to 1/2 done. Initially I didn’t plan to release this story until it was compete or nearly complete, but with how busy I am with real life right now I don’t know how long that’s going to take. So instead I’m posting it now for you to (hopefully) enjoy.
Happy reading!
-S.R.
Last Updated: April 28, 2012
Chapter WC: 543
Story WC: 543
Summary: My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I am a shinobi by profession, an advisor by chance, and a warmonger according to my enemies. My story started with a death god, ended with an empire, and struck up a revolution somewhere along the way. [No pairings.]
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Worth Dying For
Prologue
Memento Mori
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
If there was one thing I have learned in my life, it is that the fear of death is what drives men.
I have seen good men rise and fall. I have seen new shinobi legends made and old ones crumble into dust. I have heard grand speeches about duty and honor and even given one or two myself. I know the doctrines, the oaths, the philosophies. I know all about duty and honor and sacrifice.
But I also know that it is a rare man who will choose death over life, sacrifice over loss—not when they are stared in the face and given that loss. It is only a great man who truly thinks not of himself, who willingly sacrifices himself for those he protects.
I am not a great man, despite what some may say. I have never stared death in the face, never sacrificed anything. I have never even been given the choice of sacrificing myself. I cannot say what I would do if I was. I cannot say that I would willingly give up my life for someone else.
I am not a great man.
But what I choose to do with the life I do have… That is all I have, and all I can give. For better or worse, I have devoted my life to fighting for what I believe in. I have maimed and killed in the name of my beliefs and though this knowledge weighs on my shoulders, I cannot bring myself to regret it. I cannot help but feel that if I regret even a moment of my life, it will invalidate everything—everything I’ve done, all the lives that have been lost, everyone I’ve ever hurt or helped.
I wonder if all mortal men get this philosophical before the end. In my experience most people tend to grow either frantic or enraged in the face of death. But I am not facing death, for I cannot die. Rather, I am facing an end. An end of purpose, an end of life—but not death.
Still, perhaps I should be more panicked. I wonder if they drugged my food. Had to have been a hell of a drug to have any lasting effect on me.
I tilt my head back against the cold stone behind me. The chakra repressing manacles that tie me to the stone wall are digging into my wrists uncomfortably, rubbing my skin raw. I absently wonder if I can at least ask them to loosen the chains.
A shadow shifts in the darkness of the cavern. I squint but can’t make out anything other than a vaguely human shape. How melodramatic. I suppose I should be thankful I am not surrounded by candles and chanting priests or something else out of a storybook.
I watch impassively as the shadow grows closer. A part of me wishes that I had at least been given the chance to sacrifice myself, instead of being forced to face the situation I am in. I want to know how I would react if given that choice, to see if I really could be a great man. I guess now I’ll never know.
My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and today is the day I die.
o-O-o
A/N: First and foremost, be aware this is going to be an action/adventure and slightly sci-fi story. I want to do something with Naruto that hasn’t been done before, something other than the usual struggles with Akatsuki and Madara. This story will span the entire shinobi continent and delve centuries into the past. It’s going to involve shinobi and samurai and daimyo and biju, and I’m having a hell of a time writing it =]
I started working on this story nearly a year ago and got about 35k into it before I realized I didn’t like how Naruto was turning out. So I played around with his character and dialogue for a bit and ultimately wound up completely changing his voice—which then meant that I went back and completely rewrote the story. Same basic events, but still a completely different story. The first version will never see the light of day xD As of right now I have about 70k of WDF written—with about half of that having been edited by a beta reader—which means that it’s about 1/3 to 1/2 done. Initially I didn’t plan to release this story until it was compete or nearly complete, but with how busy I am with real life right now I don’t know how long that’s going to take. So instead I’m posting it now for you to (hopefully) enjoy.
Happy reading!
-S.R.
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