[Naruto Shippuden AU story] The Last Heir
(PART 5)
Upon arriving at the village after their encounter with the infamous monster, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were strangely calm—much calmer than usual. For once, Naruto remained silent, even though he’s usually annoyingly loud. Sakura was still traumatized by the encounter; that night, she had a terrible nightmare about the attack by the Man-Eater Primeval Monster. As for Sasuke, he remained calm and said nothing, as he often did. But this time, his silence lasted longer. His eyes were fixed constantly on the forests surrounding Konohagakure. In class, their classmates noticed Team 7’s unusual quietness; it didn’t take them long to figure out why—hours earlier, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura had encountered the Demon Deer and survived. For his part, Kakashi gave his report to the Third Hokage; not only did he discuss their previous mission in the Land of Waves, but he also mentioned the encounter with the Man-Eater Primeval and noted that this creature is indeed capable of sensing the chakra of those who cross its path. Most concerning is that it can detect the presence of the tailed beasts within their hosts. However, when the beast realized that the Kyūbi was much stronger than it was, it chose survival and fled. They must have seen the fox demon as a dangerous rival they couldn’t face alone. As he listened to him, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his arms crossed, his eyes closed, serious, taking in every detail. The fact that the monster that has been lurking in the south of the country for some time now can sense the chakra of all kinds of individuals—including that of Jinchūriki—is indeed more troubling than he could have imagined. Especially since the latest update on the Man-Eater reveals that it is a human being—a woman, to be precise—who transforms into this creature by eating human flesh. Hiruzen tells Kakashi that the fact the Man-Eater Primeval Monster is actually a woman must remain a secret. He suspects that the person terrorizing the region might be the Shikagami sister whom Kumo tried to use as a weapon. If a group with malicious intentions were to try to capture the beast, she would be a dangerous asset to them.
After the grueling and intense Chunin exams, Naruto suddenly thought back to the Man-Eater Primeval Monster. Unable to keep it to himself, he openly asked his companions Sasuke and Sakura whether the creature they had encountered had once been human or had always been a beastly monster. Faced with this question, memories of the attack resurfaced in Sakura’s mind, and she told Naruto to stop talking nonsense, insisting that it was impossible. But at the same time, Naruto’s curiosity and his desire to understand the beast began to take hold in Sasuke and Sakura’s minds as well. They suddenly find themselves wanting to understand the monster that attacked them as well. Seeing his curious students, Kakashi tells them that it’s good to be curious about certain things, but advises them not to get too carried away. However, if they really want to understand the beast, it’s best not to arouse the suspicions of others. The Copy Ninja won’t tell them, however, that the beast is, in fact, a human. The next day, each on their own, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto conduct research on the Man-Eater Primeval, though for different reasons; Naruto wants to know if the deer-like creature was actually a human and why it attacks everyone. Sakura also wants to know if it’s a human, but she’s primarily looking into the medical aspects. And Sasuke is the same, but his motives are rather dark—he’s trying to figure out how to kill that monster. His secret goal of killing his brother, Itachi Uchiha, drives him to seek a way to defeat the Man-Eater Primeval Monster and become stronger. He and Sakura study at the library and in the archives, respectively, while Naruto—not being the sharpest tool in the shed—chooses to ask the elders questions about Konoha’s past and whether there was ever a technique capable of transforming people into a gigantic monster. During their respective research, the three genin uncovered the history of the Shikagami Clan—learning about their culture, way of life, taboos, and how they came to disappear. Team 7 realizes that the southern part of the Land of Fire once belonged to the extinct clan. But there’s a problem: if the Shikagami were all wiped out, why is the Man-Eater Primeval there? Like the village’s jonin, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura wonder if the monster is a survivor and is attacking travelers to take revenge on those who massacred its kind.
One day, news spreads throughout the Hidden Leaf Village: the Man-Eater Primeval Monster has disappeared. There are no longer any reports of disappearances in its territory, nor is there any trace of the monster. While everyone in the village—and indeed, the entire country—feels relieved that the creature will never again be able to devour everyone, others are baffled. Some are asking themselves: How? Like many wild animals, predators never leave their territory without a reason—unless they’re forced to. Team 7 and a few other teams are among those surprised by the monster’s mysterious disappearance. But two days later, a rumor began to spread throughout the village: shortly before the Man-Eater Primeval vanished, two men in black robes with red cloud patterns were spotted nearby, and the beast was never seen again. These two individuals were later identified as Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki; they are members of a mysterious organization called Akatsuki. At the time, the group’s true purpose was unknown, but all that was known was that it was an S-rank criminal organization composed of dangerous individuals who committed atrocities. For Naruto, it came as a shock—not long ago, he had already crossed paths with Itachi and Kisame. The shock gave way to anger. What had they done to Shikagami, the supposed last survivor? What do they want with them? Did they kill them? Or did they capture him alive? As far as Sasuke is concerned, that’s impossible—while no one else is capable of killing the beast, Itachi is strong enough to defeat it. A week later, an ANBU team searched the Shikagami Cemetery and the surrounding area where the beast had lived, looking for any signs of a struggle. Nothing. Not a single recent clue left by the creature, nor any from the two Akatsuki members, if a battle had taken place. The disappearance of the Man-Eater Primeval will remain an unsolved case—at least for a very long time. Everyone moves on.
Time passes, and Naruto and his friends had to put this matter aside to deal with other events. Team 7 went on many adventures. After the death of the Third Hokage, Tsunade—the granddaughter of the First Hokage—became the Fifth Hokage and the first woman to lead the Leaf Village, and the rivalry between Sasuke and Naruto intensified. Sasuke left the village to train under Orochimaru. Naruto, with the help of his friends Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka, and Neji Hyuga, set out to find Sasuke and bring him back to the village; four of them ended up in a weakened state. Others, such as Rock Lee and the three siblings from Sunagakure—Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara—joined them later. A battle took place between Sasuke and Naruto in the Valley of the End. Naruto left with Jiraiya to train seriously. Sakura took lessons from Tsunade. The two members of Team 7 would not reunite until two years later. But what they didn’t expect was that soon, the case of the Man-Eater Primeval Monster would resurface.











