NARUTO: DARKHEART by coso

AUTHOR'S DISCLAIMER : I don't own Naruto, that's Kishimoto's story and I believe that everyone knows who is responsible for the fantastic world of Star Wars. Not me that's for sure. I am borrowing the broad concept of the Force from Lucas's brilliant universe, but none of his characters. Naruto, well I'm changing him for the sake of my story.

SUMMARY: What if Naruto was Force sensitive and had a teacher who could show him how to use the Force? And if that teacher was the spirit of a Sith Lord? Akatsuki, watch out!

CHAPTER 1

On unknown planet in a galaxy far, far away...

Fires raged amidst the rubble of the ancient city, lightning flashed and thunder boomed and skies were a rolling blackness that obscured the sun. The ruins were thousand years old and not much remained standing, not after so much damage caused by plasma and blaster fire and powerful bombs used by the marching armies of sentients at war among themselves. It was just one of many battles waged between the armies of Sith and the Republic. No matter how hard they fought, the Republic forces led by valiant Jedi Knights never managed to fully extinguish the Sith Lords. But today, the Jedi were to be victorious.

Two shapes moved in the rubble, both just shadows in the dark. Ordinary person would need a vision enhancer to see anything, let alone navigate the treacherous ensemble of stone, metal and other composite materials. But these two weren't ordinary, they were Force users of high skill and great power.

The Force was a mysterious energy field that is said to encompass the whole galaxy and all things within, binding them together, penetrating them – and making it all one living wholeness of massive, unimaginable power. Many people studied it for many lifetimes, until the start of the entire order of mystical scholars devoted to understanding of the Force. They came to realize that many seemingly magical feats like mind reading, telekinesis, healing and others were just various uses of the Force. These scholars came to develop means of training young minds to better understand the Force and use it. They became the Jedi Order, protectors of the galactic civilisation and knowledge.

As the ages passed, the Jedi grew more powerful and knowledgeable. They came to realize that there was a dark aspect of the Force, Bogan. Later they called it just the Dark Side and chose not to study it because they sensed great power and danger within that current of the Force. But as it usually is, some Jedi thought they could do more good by studying the wholeness of the Force, which meant the Dark side too. They chose to let go of the restraints of the Order, they actively sought ways to increase their powers in the Force. They believed it was wrong to limit oneself from reaching their maximum potential. That thinking led them to believe that if one could do something, why shouldn't he?

Eventually these revolutionaries were discovered as they openly started to try and convince their fellows to abandon security for the sake of unlimited knowledge and understanding. It led to an open schism in the Order, and the first Jedi internal war. The Dark Jedi lost, because their numbers and powers were lesser than those of their former brethren. But the seed of hatred was sown and it grew strong, fueled by the passion and anger of the former Jedi who felt betrayed even though they were the traitors who struck first. They were exiled out of the known territories of the galaxy to roam alone and never return.

The exiles were few. In time they stumbled upon a world full of strong Dark Side practitioners. They called themselves the Sith. The exiles saw great potential in those people and a hope for themselves. They conquered these people who viewed them as their gods who descended from heavens wielding awesome powers. In time the exiles and the Sith became one race separated in castes, but the leaders were descended from the exiles (who were mostly human) and were the strongest Force users. They became Sith Lords led by one supreme Sith Lord. They spread to several other worlds and formed their Sith Empire, but it was tiny when compared to many worlds of the Republic.

In time the Sith found their way back to the Republic and it started a long sporadic series of Sith emergence and wars with the Republic and the Jedi. The Sith always caused massive devastation and deaths as living servants of the malevolent Dark Side of the Force. Each time they would be defeated and yet never completely. Their knowledge remained behind in many forms, ready to corrupt those who would stumble upon it and dare to learn.

And so it happened again. A lone and curious Jedi Knight Tyrion Sorell discovered accidentally a lost Sith holocron on his journeys and he studied it since he was fascinated by the history of the Jedi dark brethren. The device was very powerful, much more than Tyrion suspected and it's Dark Side energy corrupted the Jedi slowly, so subtly he never even saw what was going on with him. As the old saying went, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Tyrion used gained knowledge to accomplish some of his Jedi tasks and saw nothing wrong with that. So he sought more knowledge wanting to do more good. And his fate was sealed. In time he forgot his old self and caution and greedily immersed himself in the Sith lore thus becoming what he stared into for too long- a new Sith Lord was born, Darth Avariss. And Darth Avariss did as many Sith before him, he started a war to conquer the galaxy under his rule, for he believed he could rule better than some ordinary mortals. He worked long and in secret created a sect of Force sensitive followers who were seduced by his promises of power, justice and greatness. But again, the Jedi proved too numerous and too strong to be defeated and Darth Avariss was on the run.

Darth Avariss managed to evade the Jedi for some time, but one Jedi remained on his trail and they were now on this ancient planet doing battle with each other. Massive pieces of stone and metal were flung around telekinetically, lightning attacks were repelled by the Force shield and lightsabers hummed and twanged loudly whenever they clashed. Red versus azure blue cast eerie light around uncovering the fighters. One was a man in his forties, n black clothes and armour, his face snarling and his eyes yellow and crimson. He was the mighty Sith lord. His enemy was a huge hairy Wookie, Jedi Master Dewbacc whose great strength was a massive addition to his exceptional Force powers.

"Surrender now Tyrion, and the Jedi Council may show leniency." Dewbacc's translator said as the Jedi kept his guard.

Darth Avariss hissed at hearing his old name that meant nothing to him anymore. "Never! I shall win and return at a later time to prevail against the Republic and you fools. The power of the Dark Side can't be denied!"

But Avariss wasn't a fool. His enemy was sixty eight years old and still vigorous as if he was twenty. And Dewbacc was a famous swordfighter whose strength and speed were legendary, and his Force powers were great as well. Old Tyrion Sorell wouldn't stand a chance. But not Darth Avariss who possessed a great knowledge of the Sith powers. Sadly he didn't have time to master them all, but one technique jumped in his mind – it was truly his last resort. He unleashed a barrage of lightning and debris at the Wookie and retreated whilst focusing his immense hatred and anger. He rediscovered an ancient dark side power to to warp the very fabric of space and time, a way to unleash the hyperspace storm. It was a monstrous technique able to raze whole fleets of ships or cities at once. Or one could use it to fling objects across the interstellar distance, depending how good their control was. It was nearly impossible to control such things, yet at the moment Darth Avariss considered it an acceptable risk.

He nearly laughed at the sight of the blue gray vortex of energies he summoned. He was doing it! Then something caught his attention – it was a white blue shaft of energy protruding from his chest. He stared at it realizing he was mortally wounded by Dewbacc's lightsaber while said Jedi Master was rapidly retreating considering his ever shrinking figure in the distance.

Avariss had only enough time to swear loudly as the vortex descended and collapsed causing a massive explosion that was visible for kilometres around. Avariss's last thought was that at least his killer would die with him and it didn't make him as happy as he would have liked.

Ten minutes after the explosion, a large pile of rubble exploded and bleeding Master Dewbacc crawled out coughing and roaring happily. He managed to jump in a large hole and cover it with much debris to protect himself from the blastwave and his Force shielding helped too. He patted his dirty fur and begun to trek towards his ship. He sighed, he lost his lightsaber. It would be difficult to make another that was as good.

Several kilometres from Konoha, a blinding flash of light pulsed and died too quickly to be seen by anybody. Something dropped on the grassy ground. It was a corpse, blackened and misshapen giving an impression that something fried it and then stepped on it for fun. It wasn't impossible in the world of ninja, not with all those jutsus and summons. But to the former inhabitant of said corpse it wasn't known and he didn't really care. Darth Avariss's invisible spirit hovered over his charred flesh marveling at the fact that he somehow survived the blast and the lightsaber stabbing. But he had no time to think, his spirit needed a place of power to nourish it's preternatural existence and so he cast his mind around to sense the Force.

To his luck he found it only a short distance away, a small settlement of humans and there was a lot of hate and fear there. Also, he could sense a dark, malicious presence there, a focal point that might suit his needs. He flew across the eddies of the Force, which was somehow different here, but not enough to matter to him.

He was quick to notice a strange barrier around the village, it held some presence in the Force but not enough to stop him or even react to his presence. He focused his senses and flew across the primitive settlement only to find a lone human child of six years. It was strange how dual the boy's presence was. He was sad and lonely, yet in him Darth Avariss sensed a massive hate and destructive instinct. The blond boy was also quite strong in the Force, his mind was naturally blocking out his hate and anger. Darth Avariss saw a great potential here so he studied the boy closer. He saw it then, a flash of the strangest image he ever encountered. There was a massive energy based entity within the child, a prisoner who was actually a source of the massive hate he sensed. He licked his non material lips and dived within the boy who shuddered at the sudden cold in his stomach.

Darth Avariss was surprised to find himself in front of the huge cage with some strange symbols on it. Then two large eyes appeared within the cage and they blasted Avariss with massive dose of angry killing intent. Avariss just stood there and took it without blinking. He waved his hand and the feeling subsided.

-WHO ARE YOU INTRUDER?-The voice shook the chamber. Darth Avariss wasn't impressed, but he chose to be careful and be polite.

"I am Darth Avariss, the Dark lord of the Sith! Forgive me on my intrusion but I was curious about your presence within the child that caught my attention. I wasn't aware it was possible for something so vast and powerful to exist within a human."

Kyuubi no Kitsune blinked at the apparently dead human, who somehow appeared inside the seal and was able to talk to him even though he obviously didn't speak human tongue. He sensed an opportunity here and chose to restrain his impulse to blast the spirit away.

-YOU SPEAK WELL FOR THE ONE WHO DIED! I AM MIGHTY KYUUBI, THE NINE TAILED FOX. I CAN CAUSE MOUNTAINS TO CRUMBLE, SEAS TO RISE AND STORMS TO WREAK HAVOC AND DESTRUCTION. I AM IMMORTAL.-

" I see, well I'm honored Kyuubi."

-CEASE THE HUMAN PRATTLE, LET US HEAR WHAT IS YOUR INTEREST WITH MY HOST?- Kyuubi growled narrowing his eyes. He was very possessive of his container as he was already preparing it to serve his purpose.

Darth Avariss grinned evilly. "Oh nothing much, I thought to possess him and take his body as mine, but then you are here and his mind is already pretty powerful. But I need a nexus of hate and anger to latch onto to survive somehow. I'd like to stay with you and survive. In turn I will help your host to become so powerful that no one will be able to stand in his path and survive. In doing it, I sense you would gain your revenge. Am I right?"

Kyuubi growled as he thought about it. The spirit was in his domain, at his mercy and it was offering to train his host to become powerful. Maybe strong enough to kill that filthy Uchiha?

-WHAT POWERS CAN YOU TEACH TO MY HOST? I HAVE A STRONG ENEMY, SOMEONE WITH CHAKRA EVEN MORE EVIL THAN MINE.-

Darth Avariss shrugged. "In theory he could learn to do anything he wants to, if he has the strength and patience. He will be able to see future, past and present. He will learn to move things with his mind, to create illusions that seem real. In time he will be able to kill with just a thought and much, much more. He is strong in the Force, more than I was when I was just a Jedi."

Kyuubi liked what he heard, but this spirit was obviously evil, maybe even more so than that Uchiha. But for now, it was weak and in his power. And if his host became so strong, well that was good, and very bad for the Uchiha vermin!

-YOU MAY STAY SPIRIT! AND TEACH MY HOST TO BE STRONG.-

Darth Avariss bowed and grinned in response. "Oh I will make him strong, there is no doubt about that."

-GOOD, I NORMALLY DON'T LIKE HUMANS AND I WOULDN'T CARE AT ALL IF YOU POSSESSED THIS ONE. BUT SINCE HE IS MY HOST I CAN'T ALLOW THAT. SO MARK MY WORDS O DEAD ONE! IF YOU DO TRY TO TRICK ME OR MY HOST THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!" Kyuubi said while exuding a mssive killing intent that made the boy who contained both entities shiver violently.

" I understand you perfectly Kyuubi," Darth Avariss said with smirk. "I will keep my word and do my best to make your host strong. And I will not posses him."

With that being cleared, Avariss faded from the cage and found himself staring at the blond child who gazed at the moon with longing and sadness that made Avariss sick. He had grown numb to such feelings and considered them weaknesses. He focused on the boy and his thoughts and he smiled cruelly at what he saw there. His name was Uzumaki Naruto and he was hated by everyone in Konoha for no apparent reason, and he had no friends except for the old leader of the village. He hated being bullied by older kids and he hated being ignored and alone. But he couldn't do anything to change that, so he was just sad and lonely, yet the hope still lingered in his heart. Someday, he would be famous and respected, like Hokage was!

Darth Avariss chuckled, this boy was perfect candidate for becoming his apprentice! He focused his energy and the boy gaped at his presence. He sent waves of calm and controlled the boy's reactions.

"Relax boy, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Wh..what are you?" Naruto said feeling very afraid. He heard many scary ghost tales.

"I'm a spirit sent to help you Naruto."

Naruto panicked. It was a ghost!

"I said I'm here to help you boy!" Darth Avariss growled. "So stop being scaredy cat and talk to me. Or I'm never returning."

Naruto grew scared he would lose this one being who acknowledged his existence. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised. Please, don't go!"

"All right, relax I won't go away. Tell me, are you happy?"

Naruto grew sad again and shook his head.

"You're alone and nobody likes you, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"And would you like to change that?"

Naruto nodded vigorously again, not trusting himself to speak.

" How?"

"I dunno, I guess I wanna be strong and wise like the old man. He is the Hokage and everyone likes him!"

"Ah, so you want to be strong and respected. I can help you with that, but it won't be easy or fast."

"I'm not afraid of hard work." Naruto stated staring at the spirit hard for the first time. His eyes grew steely, determined. There was power in his voice now. Darth Avariss nodded in satisfaction. This one was not afraid.

"Then I shall take you as my apprentice Naruto. " Avariss said and showed to Naruto his black clad form and his glowing yellow red eyes. Naruto didn't blink, Konoha was full of red eyed freaky ninja.

"I accept!" Naruto said and Avariss laughed sending shivers down Naruto's back.

"Welcome to the Sith Order Naruto. I will be your Master , call me Master Avariss."

And in distance one masked man stood up as the rain showered his black cloaked form. He was suddenly very worried about something. But the moment passed and he focused on his next destination, Konoha. He had a student to educate on finer points of the genjutsu casting with the Sharingan. He was a promising one, but not exactly in the way he expected. Perhaps his brother would be worth watching as well. He vanished.