Morning.
His eye wouldn't stop hurting.
Sharp pulses. Every five seconds.
Like something behind it was alive.Trying to get out.
He wrapped it again. Tighter.
Didn't work.
Still, he walked to the Academy.
Normal day. Supposedly.
But the wind felt off.
Too quiet.
Like even nature was holding its breath.
In class—Iruka entered. Looked tired.
Too tired.
"Today," he said, "we cover genjutsu basics."
The scrolls handed out.
Same paper. Same ink.But something on his scroll felt… wrong.
His fingers traced the seal drawn at the bottom.
It shimmered for a second.
No one else noticed.
He closed the scroll.
Didn't open it again.
At lunch, Naruto dragged him away from the crowd.
Sakura followed. So did Sasuke.
Under the trees, far behind the Academy.
Naruto looked serious. Rare.
"You remember that kid who fell from the tree last week?"
"Yeah."
"He's gone."
"What?"
"Disappeared. Mom said five other kids are gone too."
Sasuke added, "And a chunin."
They waited for him to say something.
He didn't.
Because he already knew.
The Broken Circle was taking them.
And no one else could see the signs.
Not yet.
Training ground 5.
He stood still.
One kunai in hand.
Twenty targets lined up.
He threw.
Kunai moved… slow.
Then fast.
Then blinked in and out of place.
Each target hit.
Bullseye.
He wasn't even trying.
Behind him, Neji approached.
"You're seeing ahead now."
He didn't answer.
"You know what that means?"
He nodded.
"Precognition."
Neji narrowed his eyes.
"That's not all, is it?"
No answer.
The wind blew harder.
Chakra in the air shifted.
Something was coming.
Neji turned to leave.
"Careful," he said. "Fourth crack is never kind."
That night.
The mirror again.
He removed the bandage.
Looked into his eye.
The glyph had multiplied.
Now two of them.
One spinning slowly.
One still.
His heart raced.
Suddenly—
Flashback.
A child. Crying.
Tugging at his sleeve.
"Brother, wait up!"
Then—
Screams.
Fire.
A room collapsing.
He covered the child with his arms.
Dust.
Silence.
His own voice… whispering.
"I'll come back for you."
But he never did.
Back in the mirror—
Tears on his face.
He didn't remember her name.
He didn't even know she existed.
The dojutsu had erased her.
The Fourth Crack was here.
And it had stolen something precious.
3:33 AM.
His eye glowed.
Room cold.
He couldn't move.
Shadow hands held him down.
A figure stood at the foot of the bed.
White cloak.
Face hidden.
"Why do you fight the evolution?"
He tried to speak.
Mouth wouldn't open.
"You were made for this," the figure whispered.
"The cracks are not damage. They are doors."
The cloak dropped.
Underneath…It was him.
But older.
Eyes broken.
One arm missing.
One wing—yes, a wing—made of chakra.
"I'm what you become if you stop resisting."
He finally spoke.
"I'll never be like you."
The older self laughed softly.
"That's what I said too."
Then vanished.
Morning.
He walked through the village in a daze.
Saw posters on walls.
Missing people.
More than before.
He stopped at Ichiraku.
Naruto waved him over.
He sat.
Didn't eat.
Naruto leaned closer.
"You okay?"
"I think I lost someone."
Naruto frowned. "Who?"
"I don't remember."
Sakura and Sasuke joined.
Naruto tried to lighten the mood.
Failed.
Sasuke just stared at him.
"You're changing," he said.
He didn't reply.
He couldn't.
Afternoon.
Back at his apartment.
Scroll on his desk.
One he didn't recognize.
Old. Burned edges.
No sender.
He opened it.
Inside—A map of the village.
Drawn in blood.
And a message:
"The Hollow Moon rises. Beneath it, the Fifth Crack opens."
"Come alone."
"Midnight."
No signature.
Just a symbol.
Same as the glyph in his eye.
He stood on the rooftop of the Hokage monument.
Midnight.
Full moon above.
Faint red hue.
He looked down at the village.
Lights flickering.
People sleeping.
Unaware.
Then—
Movement.
To his left.
A figure approached.
Girl. Tall.
Eyes pale blue.
She bowed slightly.
"You brought the eye here. That was a mistake."
"Who are you?"
"Yurei," she said.
"Of the Lost Line."
"You have five minutes before the others arrive. Ask what you must."
He asked.
"What is the eye?"
Her response:
"It's not from here."
"What does it do?"
"Breaks the rules."
"What do they want from me?"
"They don't want you. They want what's inside you."
"What's inside me?"
She paused.
Then answered.
"Something that should never wake up."
He clenched his fist.
"Then I'll kill it."
She looked sad.
"You don't understand."
"The thing inside you... is you."