Chapter Four: A Seed Beneath Stone
The morning after the incident in the woods, the village was quiet — too quiet. Not in sound, but in spirit.
Whispers moved faster than shinobi.
A patrol had vanished. A survivor was found unconscious near the riverbank. And a fog, unnaturally thick, had crept through the forest hours before sunrise.
No one said Akari's name. But they were all thinking it.
---
Inside the Hokage's office, Tobirama stared at a map of the village, fingers steepled.
Across from him, stood a silent figure — Akari, calm as ever, robes immaculate despite what he'd done the night before.
"You were seen," Tobirama finally said.
"I neutralized the threat."
"You exposed Yami Doku," he replied, voice clipped. "That technique is classified. Dangerous. Misunderstood."
"I used it because it worked."
Tobirama looked up sharply. "You used it because something in you wanted to."
Akari didn't deny it. He couldn't.
There was a long silence. Then Tobirama turned away and muttered, "It seems the Uchiha boy was involved too."
Akari tensed. "He wasn't the target."
"Maybe not now. But you've linked yourself to him. Publicly."
Akari knew what that meant. In Konoha, alliances were liabilities.
"From now on," Tobirama said, "you're on observation. No solo missions. You'll be assigned a partner."
Akari's voice remained calm. "Who?"
---
Raien adjusted his gloves as Akari approached the training grounds.
"Took you long enough," the Uchiha muttered.
"I didn't choose this."
"I did," Raien said, activating his Sharingan with a flicker. "Let's see what kind of ghost you really are."
What began as a spar turned into something closer to understanding.
For every swift Sharingan dodge, Akari countered with unpredictable movements — fading, vanishing, striking from mist that wasn't there. Neither aimed to hurt, but both pressed close to the edge.
And for the first time, Akari wasn't alone in the fog.
When they paused, breathless, Raien chuckled. "They say you don't have a clan. But I think you carry one inside you — and you're terrified of what it means."
Akari looked at him. Not angry. Just tired.
"I don't fear it. I remember it."
Raien raised an eyebrow. "Then let's start remembering together."
---
(Elsewhere – Unseen)
Deep beneath the village, behind stone walls older than the Hokage Rock, something stirred.
A voice whispered in a language long buried.
A pair of hands, burned and tattooed, placed a scroll on a stone altar.
On its cover: the crest of the Senju.
But its chakra was nothing like the Will of Fire.
It pulsed — dark, ancient, and awake.