Naruto:A Failures Dream

"Clang! Clang!" The sound of katanas and kunais clashing together echoed across the battlefield as shinobi fought for dominance. I thought to myself, How did this happen? I thought the Leaf Village and Sand Village were allies, so why the heck are they invading us with the Sound Village?

As Shippai Kin pondered this on the battlefield littered with fallen shinobi, a thought nagged at the back of his mind How did I become so weak, hiding behind my fellow shinobi so I wouldn't get hurt? But what could I expect? I became a chunin at 12 years old. That sounds impressive, but wait there's more to it. After I became a chunin, I stayed a chunin for 20 years.

How did that happen, though? I left the academy at the top of my class. I'm the head of the renowned Kin clan, known for our exceptional chakra control from the moment we gain consciousness. Hell, I was supposed to lead our clan, but no I had to be a loser. My little brother became the head instead. All I wanted was to stay popular, keep all the babes, and live a good life. And yeah, I had the cliche dream of being Hokage.

Shippai was jolted awake when a kunai grazed his cheek. He looked up to see a Sound ninja and a Sand shinobi descending on him. Before he could even draw his own kunai, an Anbu Black Ops member intervened, kicking the Sound ninja away and beginning a fight with him.

Drawing his kunai, Shippai focused all his chakra into the blade. He went blow-for-blow with the Sand shinobi. After twelve exhausting minutes, battered and battle-worn, Shippai finally delivered the finishing blow, downing the Sand shinobi.

"I wonder where my brother is," Shippai thought. As clan head, he has to be on the battlefield. Then again, there's no need for me to worry. He can take care of himself. For all I care, he could die.

Shippai spotted a house nearby and was about to run to it to rest and hide. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother fighting two Leaf shinobi—a jonin and a chunin.

What the hell? Why is he fighting Leaf shinobi? Am I seeing things? No, I'm pretty sure this is real. Has he betrayed us? No, no way! They must have attacked him.

Izono, Shippai's brother, finished cutting down the Leaf shinobi. As he stood, a group of Sound ninjas surrounded him. Shippai thought to himself, Are they going to kill him? But then, Izono stepped out from the center of the group, completely unscathed. The cold, harsh realization dawned on Shippai as he saw the Sound shinobi headband on his brother.

"You traitor! How could you?!" Shippai charged toward Izono, but four Sound shinobi blocked his path, forcing him to fight them. Shippai focused chakra into his limbs and fought until he had almost no chakra left, his body aching and riddled with wounds. He managed to take down all but one of the Sound ninjas. Using his Lightning Bolt Jutsu, he temporarily stunned the last one before charging at Izono, thinking to himself, I got stronger; I took them all down.

But...the cold, hard reality slapped Shippai in the face. Before he could land a single blow on Izono, he realized why Izono was clan leader and not him. Shippai felt a dagger go straight through his chest, leaving him shocked, bewildered, and gasping for blood and air.

As Izono looked down at Shippai, he sneered, "Foolish older brother. You should've just run and hidden, but you had to stick your neck out for someone that despised you."

Shippai blacked in and out, struggling to stay alive and conscious. Using what little energy he had left, he tried to charge at Izono, but he blacked out before his body could even hit the ground. The four shinobi he thought he had defeated rose and drove their katanas into him, keeping Shippai down for good.

Moments later, Izono, too, was slain by the Anbu Black Ops. He died begging for mercy, crying out for his older brother to save him.