Prologue.

BANG!

An explosive tag grazed the infant's cheek and detonated beside the person in front of him. The man was thrown back by the blast, yet he held the infant in his arms, shielding him with his own body.

"Urgh..."

He pulled the infant from his back into his arms, his body slamming directly into a tree with a pained groan.

"Konoha is almost here. I have to hold on!"

Cough... cough.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, then sprang from the ground and leaped onto the trees, sprinting forward at top speed as four masked ninjas pursued him with lightning pace.

He shifted the infant back onto his back, his hands weaving seals in a blur before he turned and leaped backward.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball erupted toward the four masked figures. They scrambled to dodge, and taking advantage of the opening, the man carrying the infant continued his desperate sprint.

After passing through a dense forest, the gates of Konoha finally came into view.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow River!" Just as he reached the perimeter, one of the masked ninjas behind him finished a seal. The ground beneath the man's feet turned into mud, flowing like a river and dragging him back toward the four pursuers.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, nearly losing his footing and falling to the ground.

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!" Lightning crackled in his hand as he thrust it directly into the mud beneath him. The flow halted, and he leaped out of the mire, his feet already bloodied from his own technique.

"Urgh..."

He gritted his teeth against the pain and continued running toward the gates of Konoha.

"We can't catch him now." The four masked ninjas stopped in the woods, watching the man sprint toward the gates.

The four exchanged a glance. "Retreat," one of them commanded, and they vanished in a flicker of movement.

"Who goes there!" As the man reached the gates of Konoha with the infant on his back, four ninjas—appearing to be Chunin—blocked his path.

"Help..." Seeing them, the man finally reached his limit and collapsed to the ground.

The infant on his back stared at the gates of Konoha, his eyes slightly open and unmoving. From start to finish, he had not cried once.