Madara Uchiha, after living through decade after decade of war, suffering, death, famine, and betrayal, finds himself utterly dissillusioned with the world and its people. He begins to believe that even the Infinite Tsukuyomi he had envisioned and planned for, wouldn't be enough to cleanse this wretched world of it's sin. Instead, he searches unfalteringly throughout the land, intent on finding a path out from this world. His search brings him to the ruins of Uzushiogakure, the once proud and stalwart village of Fuinjutsu Masters now destroyed, submerged beneath the raging whirlpools that once coined it's name. He stumbles upon a scroll of incomprehsible power, the grand fuinjutsu promising to transport one to a new plane, marred only by it's apparent inability to be cast. After years of failed experiments trying to use the scroll, he comes to an enlightment on it's main ingredient. "Perhaps 'Gathering my own blood' means something different than what I had first thought." ****** SPOILERS BENEATH (FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT A NO-NONSENSE SUMMARY) ****** AU (Alternative Universe) fanfiction where the cast of Uchiha that we know and love are transported into a xianxia-like world. I won't claim to be a Naruto lore scholar, and I'm sure some of the things I write will be wrong. This will be a rational-minded fic to the extent that I am able. 'Why?' you might ask. I believe that the general plot of Naruto, and the more in-depth storytelling surrounding it, became woefully underdeveloped, especially toward the end of the series. I believe that deep and nuanced characters that strive for redemption in the face of their countless sins, deserve more storytelling than Itachi's "You died, so you're forgiven." Or Oroachimaru's "You're a good guy now. Why? Even we don't know." The world of Naruto is a heartless and unforgiving world where child soldiers frequently sacrifice themselves for the village they serve. I want to take a more in-depth look at that life and the trauma that it creates. I want to show, perhaps even to myself, that there is a way out of even the deepest pit. Why a Xianxia world? Two reasons. One, I absolutely love the genre, the massive scale and scope of the worlds, and two, it is a genre that all too frequently is written to a very poor standard. Many western authors have fallen in love with Xianxia, and due to the lack of many truly good Xianxia novels, attempted their own. Now it's my turn. :D