In another part of the forest and along a long forgotten dirt road there was a small village that (in more prosperous times) had made its trade selling growing and selling daikon along what was known (in more prosperous times) as the Vegetable Road. The Vegetable Road was a stretch of highly fertile land that in ancient times had attracted farmers and traders, each setting up villages around a particular product and bartering with each other and later the rest of Konoha. Though never as wealthy as the more centralized trading capitals, the villages of the Vegetable Road were, nonetheless, well-to-do in the way that successful agrarian villages sometimes are. Each village, for example, could afford their own decorated shrine and well support their priests and nuns who would, kindly, pray to whatever kami would guarantee a good harvest. The carrot village prayed to the carrot kami, the buckwheat village prayed to the buckwheat kami, and the daikon village, with its two giant stone daikon carrying spears at its entrance, worshiped the daikon kami.

The people of the daikon village were simple, but not without their own language and character. It was common to hear an old daikoner declare "this daikon is my child" when tasting a particularly good daikon-based dish or to exclaim "what is this spy doing in my ramen" whenever they might come across a bit of cabbage, for the daikon and cabbage villages had been rivals for generations. Within the daikon village, this amounted to daikoners sometimes planting cabbage in their fellows' food as a practical joke, declaring them a spy for the cabbagers, but once a season the two villages would come together and compete against one another in the "Vegetable Games", followed by a two day holiday and festival. Brawls were few, but anyone caught fighting would be dropped in an enormous vegetable soup in the middle of the village.

The village came to an abrupt end on a night when the village chief, the daikon priest, and their local constable were sitting around a table eating grilled daikon with mushrooms and tofu, daikon clams and potato hotpot, and daikon and mackerel. Each sipped their tall mug of daikon beer and discussed the strange news of shinobi in the local area and even the Daimyo's men occupying the taro village. It was a darker and quieter night than was customary for the summer season and a heavy atmosphere permeated the whole village. Even the cicada would not sing.

"What if the Daimyo's men come here", demanded the constable, who had not yet touched his food and nursed his daikon beer anemically. He was younger than the others, only just entering middle age and had celebrated the occasion by growing a mustache and wearing a hat to hide the evidence of the war he was losing with his hairline. No one mentioned his hat.

"Then we will have to afford them the courtesy of the daikon. We aren't cabbagers", said the village chief, a man with a much more prestigious mustache, long and silvery and reaching his neck. He had the benefit of having a very hairy mother and his head was a garden of silver fluff, which he had to tame in a knot. It made the constable very uncomfortable, and he never met the chief eye to eye, instead drifting his gaze a few inches higher accidentally.

"And if they want our crops", the constable retorted, "Will we let them take them? I don't have the manpower to resist samurai."

"Why would they take our crops? We aren't at war", the chief replied, sipping his beer furrowing his brow, but the constable did not seem convinced. He raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger in the air to underscore his next point.

"You forget. There are shinobi on the move as well. It could be Leaf business."

"Well...", sighed the chief, "It could be. What do you think, Kannushi?"

Both men turned to the priest who had been silent up until that point. He stroked his long white beard, scratched his bald head, looked into his beer glass, and then stated with studied authority, "There was a maggot on the offerings this morning."

Both the constable and the chief looked intently on the priest and then seemed to nod in unison. A few seconds later, the constable his head slightly towards the priest, as if to ask for permission to speak again, frowned, and then said, "I am only suggesting that we-"

But whatever his suggestion was was interrupted by a loud scream from outside. The constable was the first to respond, grabbing the club from his belt and dashing out and looking around madly for whatever the trouble was. His eyes fell on a giant shadow looming in the night getting closer and closer. The constable did not hear a second scream and in a moment, there weren't any screams at all.

And that was the end of the village, its people, and the Vegetable Road. The Juubi's rampage had wiped out everyone and the ground had been blackened and seethed with a virulent hatred that most animals and even insects avoided instinctively. Nothing but twisted pallid trees and the most stubborn and hardiest of fungus grew here now. The daikon village was no more, forgotten in times, a footnote in a record book. Even the daikon temple, the pride of the village, was empty. There were no maggots. There were no insects. There were no bodies-

Except one.

Haggard and dirty, what could have been a young woman sat leaning against the corner of the room. She wore a filthy kimono that was more rags than silk. It could have been beautiful at one time but so ripped and ruined stained and muddy was it that whatever it may have been before, it was ugly now. The young woman herself breathed slowly and intentionally, as if counting the seconds of each breath. Every exhale, a quiet growl. She was battered and bruised with blue on her cheek and bloodstains on her sleeves, on her side, mixing with mud to form a wholly unpleasant and foreboding color. Her matted hair stuck to her face and she wiped it out of her wild eyes, which darted, on occasion to the window as if asking "was that a falling leaf or something... else?"

In fact, the only things about her that weren't despoiled were her teeth, which were brilliantly white and clean, and the massive sword that was leaning against the wall next to her. How she had gotten the giant thing there was a mystery, but whenever she found her eyes darting to the window, she seemed to instinctively put her hand on its blade, as if checking to see it was still there. Then, she'd look around the room and inspect the near invisible wires stretched taught everywhere. She'd check each one in a sort of pattern... but she couldn't seem to focus for long and her eyes would glaze over in exhaustion.

The daikon village had not existed for a long time.

Stepping backwards, Hiro avoided death by the narrowest of margins, his opponent's thin sword flashing by him almost too quickly to see, and mere moments later, was followed up with a barrage of thrusts and slashes aimed at cutting out the Hyuuga's heart. Nearby, chaos ensued. Toshio, a whirling dervish of fire and sword, struggled valiantly against four shinobi, each covered head to toe in dark clothing, their faces obscured, and each wielding some sort of claw weapon. They rushed in and out like a tide, striking and then fading back into smoke. Toshio scowled and then plastered a cocky grin on his face... which was typical of Toshio.

"Is that the best you can muster? Typical trash. I can do this all day..."

The mission had begun seven days ago. As always, at the beginning of training, they'd been called together and given their assignments. Unlike previous missions, however, this one was different. It was not assigned by his usual sensei, but jounin with faces hidden behind animal masks with a serious air. Killers.

"Hyuuga Hiro", said one of the men in a bear mask, "your record indicates you've led many missions. Can you handle leading the main forces?"

"Yes sir", he'd replied with a deep bow. Already, the situation was strange, but that was no excuse to back down and shirk responsibility.

"You've worked with Uchiha Toshio in the past. Do you wish him as your second or would you prefer someone more suited to the mission", asked the masked man pointedly.

"I am suited to any mission", replied Toshio, stepping out of line.

"Excuse me", said Hiro, interrupting Toshio's inappropriate tirade, "But I believed that I would be selecting my own team for the mission."

"No, Hyuuga. You will not be", replied the bear-masked shinobi. Hiro's brow furrowed unintentionally.

"Then I would like to work with Uchiha-san as my second", he said firmly. The bear nodded.

"Naturally", Toshio interjected, crossing his arms, pursing his lips, and sticking his nose in the air.

"In that case, Sarutobi Tama, you are being promoted to leader of the secondary team", the bear continued.

"I-I am? Yes sir", replied the Sarutobi with several quick and very serious bows. Hiro clenched his teeth. Were they separating out his entire team?

"Abarame Suzu, you will be her second, if it pleases her."

Yes. They were separating them.

"Now, the rest of you may open your envelope. You will find your assigned team in them. Gather together and move out immediately."

Hiro gave a quick sly glance to the rest of the group and opened his own envelope, which contained the names of his assigned team. It was large, larger than what he was used to, and filled with the same sort of ninja that he rarely spent time on. These were not the more subtle and strategy-minded members of the famous 3rd Battalion, but the hammers.

--------------------

These rogue ninja groups had begun springing up during the tense political climate between the villages. They were well-funded, well-equipped, and seemed to be well-trained. These were not some minor village specialists (they were too competent, far too competent, and powerful) and the 3rd Battalion had been tasked with routing and capturing them. Hiro had been the natural choice to lead the main team, which pleased him, though he thought it vulgar to show it. In his mind, it was only natural that he would lead. Even if he hadn't been a Hyuuga, his flawless record spoke for itself. He'd put together a few hand-picked

, but was not able to choose either of his usual back ups to his team... No, they made up the leadership of the second team, the stealth and support team. It was a lesson to him. It was a lesson to him, but it made him uncomfortable. He supposed that after having people with whom he worked regularly, he'd formed bonds with them, sentimentality. A weakness? It was unimportant.

Hiro's team was tasked with finding and engaging immediately, to defeat and capture or at least hold them off. It was infantry, heavy assault, and that made him uncomfortable as well. In the past, he'd led small strike teams of people he was familiar with, that he knew he could rely on; he and his chosen few would carry out quick and quiet attacks which overwhelmed the enemy before they even knew what hit them. Now... He didn't have that luxury. The famously persnickety and guarded genin had to lead whoever he was assigned, people that knew him only from a distance, who could not anticipate or coordinate with him naturally. He had been at a loss.

As they'd traveled, he'd looked for more people to delegate to, perhaps diamonds in the rough to carry his orders to the others, make them understand... But his lot was very rough. It was a team handpicked for frontal assault.

Konoha is enjoying a time of peace under the watchful eye of Hokage Hyuuga Seiji whose stewardship began after end of the Third Shinobi World War and which saw the end of the Nine-Tail's rampage across the land ten years prior. But while they've achieved a fragile peace, seeds of its destruction have already been planted and must be weeded out. The Leaf's alliance with the Village Hidden in the Sand is unsettling to some of the other villages who view this pairing as an unbalancing of power. Some have even made overtures of arms-building, just in case the Ninja of the Leaf turn their great power upon them. Meanwhile, a former Missing-Nin from the Leaf has founded their own rogue village in the Land of Sound where they host criminals and other rogue shinobi for unknown purposes. Still more unnerving is the rumor of a group of elite shinobi wreaking havoc in several high-level outposts leaving not even the most powerful alive. Can the fire of Konoha survive?



Welcome to Fire from Embers! I'm your host, Desdamin, and I absolutely hate summaries, so I'll get right to what you can expect. I generally have a very simple framework, but have a whole heckuva a lot of plot going on behind the scenes, which I allow characters to become privy to or not. It's my intention to give you guys a good mix of plot and freedom to do as you please and create your own stories. This means that what you see in the above description of the plot is going to necessarily be a thin veneer covering only what I can without giving anything away. Okay! Let's get on with it!



This is an Alternate Universe RP that begins at the beginning of the Naruto Timeline and, which while it shares many similarities with the original, is not the same. There are, for example, very few canon characters aside from historical figures and the even then events may not have proceeded in the same way nor ended in the same way.

Some important things to note...

-Power Levels will not reach the ridiculous heights that the originals got to. Not even close.
-No Rinnegan. Sharingan is limited to its abilities from the beginning of the show pre-Shippuden.
-The Swords of the Mist aren't exactly the same.
-The Uchiha Massacre hasn't happened.
-Most of the power canon moves were developed by and are being used by characters other than who had done so originally.
-I will not allow any Genjutsu that would essentially be an instant kill. If you want Genjutsu, be warned.
-The origin of Chakra is the cycle of life and death. There are no moon men.
-Any specific question can be directed towards me, the thread lead, and I'll update as needed.



I'm not going to spend a lot of time making a lot of rules. I'd rather treat y'all like adults, so...

-Keep your posts readable, grammatical, and thought through. Certainly don't ignore other players' posts or character agency.

-Don't cause drama, obviously. If you've a problem with the rp or a player, take it up with me before you cause some big thing.

-I vet kind of hard and you can expect me to be critical of almost everyone's profiles, at first. This is to save trouble later. I'm willing to work with you, usually, to find something that can work. If, for some reason, you want to play a canon character, you'll be held to a higher standard.

-I don't expect one liners or novels. Give people enough to actually respond to and try for a bit of meat. If you really can't think of much, perhaps do a collaborative post to get a lot out quickly. Try to keep collaborative posts from a single perspective for readability.

-I reserve the right to kick out anyone for any reason whatsoever. My rules aren't technical and I won't be rules-lawyered into changing my mind. Act right.

Here, I will list the Player Characters and link to their profiles in this thread.



Here, I will list the teams and link to the profile in this thread. I will add more as needed.





Here I will list all Bijuu taken and link to their jinchuuriki's profile. If they aren't listed here, they aren't taken.



Here I will list all Seven Swords taken, what they are and do, and link to their owner's profile. If they aren't listed here, they aren't taken.





Exactly what it sounds like. Below is the Profile Skeleton. Please use the correct formatting. Send it to me or post it in the OOC. Once approved, I'll ask you to post it in the Profile section.

I expect people to observe power levels, which are not super high in this.

Genin: I will assume your character knows all the academy jutsu (since they're mostly required to graduate). Aside from that, 2 to 4 unique jutsu of not incredible will be the norm. Maybe a few more, if you're using non-chakra related taijutsu. Maybe on the lower side if your jutsu are particularly powerful and specialized.

Chunnin: Around 4 to 8 unique jutsu seems appropriate. Chuunin get to participate in jounin missions and genin missions (especially as substitutes for jounin away on their own missions), though they don't have a regular role and shouldn't expect to have one, necessarily.

Jounin: I'm not setting a hard limit here, but know that I will moderate your power level. I'll also expect jounin level players to take some measure of responsibility for plotting, some of the higher end story stuff and they may even run their own missions with their genin or others, if they like. With power comes great blah blah blah...

[center][img]YOUR CHARACTER IMAGE[/img][/center]
[center][color=slategray]╔══════════════════════╗[/color][/center]
[indent][color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] N a m e
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert name[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] A g e / B i r t h d a y
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert age / Birthday[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] G e n d e r
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert gender[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] B o d y T y p e
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Skinny, tall, short, muscular? Up to you.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] V i l l a g e
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert village[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] C l a n
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert clan name and description[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] F a m i l y
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Father:
Mother:
Siblings:
Others:[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] R a n k
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert rank/team (Ex: Jounin//Battalion 1)[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] T a i l e d B e a s t
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert tailed beast (Delete section if none.)[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] S p e c i a l S t a t u s
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert any special titles, or if you are apart of some organization (The seven swordsman of the mist, and which sword, for example.) Delete Section if none.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] T i t l e s / N i c k n a m e s
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert any nick names or Title your character may go by. (Ex: Kakashi of the Sharingan , Pervy Sage.)[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] P e r s o n a l i t y
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert Personality.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] L i k e s
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor][color=slategray]✖[/color] - Insert likes in a list, you don't have to fill them all out, but some would be nice.
[color=slategray]✖[/color] -
[color=slategray]✖[/color] -
[color=slategray]✖[/color] -
[color=slategray]✖[/color] - [/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] D i s l i k e s
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor][color=slategray]✖[/color] - insert in a list, you don't have to fill them all out, but some would be nice.
[color=slategray]✖[/color] -
[color=slategray]✖[/color] -
[color=slategray]✖[/color] -
[color=slategray]✖[/color] - [/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] N i n d o
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert your character's Ninja way.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] B i o g r a p h y
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert biography, at least a paragraph.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] K e k k e i G e n k a i
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert Kekkei Genkai, describe if made up, send naruto wiki link if canon, though you may be questioned as to why your character has a specific Kekkei Genkai. (Delete section if none.)[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] N a t u r e s
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert nature release(s). You will be limited to a maximum of three here, but please be reasonable, I don't want to see everyone with more than two. If you have any question, please ask me.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] T a l e n t s
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert any natural or trained talents or skills that aren't summed up within specific techniques. Such as swordsmanship, enhanced hearing, or an impressive affinity for cooking.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] J u t s u
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert all of your jutsu here. No Wiki Links, make your own descriptions[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] W e a p o n s A n d T o o l s
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert any special or common tools that your character carries with them.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] F i g h t i n g S t y l e
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]describe fighting style[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] T h e m e S o n g
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Link to your themesong. (Optional)[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=slategray] ✖ ‖[/color] P l a y e d B y
[indent][indent][indent][color=yourcolor]Insert your username.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[/indent]

Away from the classroom and in the hokage's office, Seiji Hyuuga sat in a simple chair behind a simple desk and pored over a crystal ball. In it, images of shinobi, one by one, returning home appeared and disappeared into the next. Everyone was arriving back, as they should. Many of these young ninja would soon be receiving assignment as jounin instructors, leading teams of genin, some of them for the first time. It was the same every year; the jounin would return and receive a summons to his office, where they'd receive their next assignment and a file for each of the newly exalted shinobi. Seiji had, as he had done year after year, read the files and conducted his own examination of the young hopefuls and their prospective instructors. It was his responsibility.

He took a deep breath and relaxed his brow, which had been pulled knit, and allowed his face to stray from the ball to the small tea cup his wife had poured him earlier. In the quiet of his largely bare office, with only the steam of the tea and gentle glow of the crystal ball on his face, he could almost hear the rumble of the children of the academy, the din of the streets farther out, the birds in the trees... and out and out and out. The Byakugan came with it many gifts, not the least of which was an early understanding that even in emptiness, there was so much fullness. The tea was given to him by his wife Haruka and its steam warmed the air, just as the warmth of her still lingered in the room, and he could feel the echoes of her, though she was gone, and the echoes of hokage past, each having left their mark, a reflection of a reflection. Much like this crystal ball left by the Third, they were a window. They hung in the air and followed him, trailing behind as he imagined he in turn trailed behind and would some day echo to someone else.

No more tea.

The Byakugan revealed so much and so did age and so did wisdom and he was wise enough and he had lived long enough to know the difficulty and value in not knowing. He didn't know his son, not as he knew his classmates. He was a subject with which he'd adopted a policy of mystery. Instead, he'd pass duties around him to his most trusted friends. He would, instead, rely on their expertise, would not inquire... His duty as a father demanded his ignorance, lest he bend him. Hiro must be true.

Still, in this instance, he knew much more than he'd have liked. By virtue of knowing everyone else's team, he couldn't help but know Hiro's as well, though he'd no knowledge of who his jounin would be. And yet... he'd know soon enough. Like every other jounin, they would be called into his office and he would hand them their files and then... perhaps he'd know too much. His eyes softened, then flattened, and then his face hardened and he wrapped the crystal ball in soft and dark fabric that protected it from the outside world and the outside world from its vision. This was a difficulty he would have to put out of his mind. Anticipation interfered with the here and now and any jounin may arrive. Seiji clasped his hands and rested his elbows on the desk.

He was ready.

Even without a traditional set up, Yue had found herself placed in an Ino-Shika-Cho set up and she found this very annoying. Her name wasn't Shika-something nor Ino-something, but they'd gone and done it anyway. It was probably because Chotzu had a "Cho" in his name and they wanted to salvage what they could of their traditions. If his name had been Dumpling, she wondered if they'd have even bothered. It wasn't as if Yue disliked Chotzu any more than she disliked most other people, he was what you'd expect from an Akimichi... only much shorter and either hyperactive or completely asleep; it was the principle of the thing.

"Ah! Teuchi-sama! Your ramen is fantastic as usual! Do I detect a hint of some fresh wild flowers, today", asked Remi, cheerful and carefree as always. Yue rolled her eyes.

"Good catch, young Haruno, I found the last plum blossom petals of winter in the cupboards. They were hiding!"

"That must be why it's so refreshing on a sunny summer day like today, just a little taste of winter...", continued Remi chuckling to himself and lifting a single noodle to his mouth, "Chotzu seems to appreciate it too!"

"Ahm-lom-mom-blom-top-blotch", said Chotzu between huge spoonfuls. He then picked up the bowl and poured the entirety of the contents into his mouth. What he lacked in height, he seemed to make up for with voracity of appetite. Yue couldn't say that it was helping her own appetite, though. Watching him wolfing down all that food while Remi waxed poetic, practically flirting with the ramen vender just made her feel incredibly self-conscious. She turned away from them and tried to act as if she were just sitting there alone. She shouldn't have come, but Remi wouldn't take angry glares for an answer and Chotzu insisted that all the tension of being genin had made him too hungry to function, so here she was... whether she liked it or not.

Moments later, a rather loud and rude man entered with another man, a foreigner by the outfit, in tow, demanding their own ramen. Village business they said. Yue looked at her bowl and tried to listen in. It had to be more interesting than the vapid musings of her overly sunny companion or the endless void that was Chotzu. Village business, it sounded like... the son of the Raikag-

"Yue! You haven't touched your ramen! You're... not a vegetarian, are you? I should have guessed when you'd said miso ramen... Of course! How rude of me! With your family being so in touch with-"

"...not a vegetarian..., she murmured, her cheeks turning a bright red as she sank into her overcoat.