The morning air at the Sky Pillars cut like glass.
Wind howled through the spires—great stone monoliths piercing the heavens, draped in cloud and mist. Some were broad enough to host temples. Others barely allowed a single shinobi to land. Below, a bottomless abyss sang with the shriek of roaring gales.
Kazuki Arata stood at the edge of the precipice, his cloak whipping violently behind him. Before him, carved into the stone platform beneath his feet, the glowing emblem of the Raijin Clan pulsed like a heartbeat.
He knew this was the place. The Second Trial waited.
Footsteps echoed behind him.
"You really thought we'd let you go alone?" Tenten said, adjusting the scroll pack on her back.
Kazuki turned, eyes narrowing slightly.
"We're not done fighting for you," Ino added. Her voice was steady, but her fingers dug into her palms—nervous, resolute.
"I want to help," Hinata said softly, stepping forward. "No matter what happens in there."
Kazuki didn't protest.
He didn't have it in him this time—not with the storm pulsing in his bones, not with the emptiness still echoing from the last trial. And… something in his chest stirred.
They weren't just following him. They were choosing him.
And a part of him—tangled, tired, and afraid—wanted to choose them back.
The Descent – Entering the Trial
They leapt into the chaos.
Using chakra-infused steps and gliding ropes, they wove through the towers. Wind currents tore at their bodies, but they pushed forward, zigzagging through narrow gaps between stone pillars. Lightning crackled in the distance—wild and untamed.
Finally, they reached the central spire. Upon it stood a black stone monolith etched with the same Raijin symbol. Kazuki stepped forward, placing his hand on the mark.
A deep rumble rolled through the spire.
"Trial of Choice." a voice echoed from within the mountain.
"What you love most will either save you… or break you."
A cyclone of wind erupted—and the world disappeared.
Illusion World – The Heart's Mirror
Kazuki blinked.
He was no longer on the spire. No longer even on a battlefield.
He was in a village—quiet, sun-drenched, peaceful. The scent of grilled dumplings filled the air. Wind chimes tinkled softly from windows. Children laughed in the distance.
Beside him, Hinata giggled at a market stall, holding up a crooked scarf. Ino leaned against him, handing him a bag of groceries, their fingers brushing—her blush genuine. Tenten twirled a practice staff under the shade of a blooming sakura tree, sweat trailing down her neck as she smirked at him.
A normal life. A good life.
No pain. No trials. No Raijin.
Kazuki blinked again. His chest loosened.
Wasn't this what he wanted?
He felt his chakra dimming. His focus slipping. His legs heavy, eyes dull.
Stay here, the world whispered. Let go.
But something was… wrong.
Hinata laughed again—but the sound echoed too long. Ino repeated a question she'd already asked. Tenten's smile never flickered. No one blinked.
Kazuki's breath hitched.
This wasn't real.
Then, from behind, a voice.
"You can have this life, Kazuki... if you let go of the truth."
He turned—and froze.
There she was.
The girl from his visions. Violet hair now damp with tears, storm tattoos faintly glowing across her arms. The one he failed. The one whose village burned.
"Choose us," she pleaded. "Stay with me. Forget them. Forget the pain. We can be happy here."
The world slowed around him. The air turned heavy.
Kazuki clenched his fists. The ache in his heart grew unbearable.
He turned, looked back at the false girls before him—smiling, serene. In another life, maybe...
But then he felt it.
A pulse of chakra. Real. Raw.
A hand gripped his—warm, trembling.
Hinata.
The real Hinata.
"I know this isn't real," she whispered. "But I'd rather die with you in truth… than live with you in a lie."
Kazuki's breath caught. A storm sparked in his chest.
And then—
"RAAAAH!"
He roared, releasing a burst of storm chakra. Lightning exploded from his core. The dreamworld shattered like glass. The village, the sky, the voices—all torn apart by wind and truth.
Real World – Trial Complete
Kazuki collapsed to his knees atop the Sky Pillar. His chest heaved, his hands shaking.
A second Storm Mark now burned into his upper back—its shape like twin wings etched in lightning and wind.
The girls lay around him, slowly stirring from the illusion's grip.
Kazuki stood, unsteady but alive. He looked at them—really looked.
Tenten. Determined and fierce.
Ino. Proud and bright.
Hinata. Quiet and unshakable.
"Thank you," he said hoarsely. "For dragging me back."
He moved to Tenten first.
"You make me feel strong."
To Ino.
"You remind me how to be human."
To Hinata.
"You showed me how to feel again."
The wind was quiet now. The pillar peaceful.
Then Ino, cheeks red but eyes sharp, blurted, "Okay, no more vague crap. Are you into one of us or not?"
Kazuki blinked, caught off guard. Then—he laughed. Not a sharp, bitter sound like before, but something lighter.
"I don't know if I'm ready to love anyone the right way… but I want to learn."
He looked at all three of them.
"With all of you."
Tenten rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips.
Ino grinned. "Hmph. About time."
Hinata's face turned scarlet. She whispered:
"Then… let's figure it out. Together."
No one walked away.
Not yet.
Epilogue Scene – Stormblood Gathering
Far away, in the ruins of a forgotten monastery, a storm brewed unnaturally in the sky.
Beneath the thunderclouds, the masked figure knelt before a circle of flickering stormfire. His cloak fluttered as arcane symbols pulsed beneath his feet.
"He passed the Trial of Choice," he growled.
Before him, three warriors bowed low—each bearing a corrupted Raijin Mark, their bodies radiating unstable chakra.
One wielded wind-blades that oozed green venom.
Another's eyes shimmered with static illusions, warping the air around him.
The third stepped forward slowly.
Her violet hair was now black as storm clouds, her face unreadable.
The girl Kazuki once failed.
"She will break him," the masked one said. "He survived choice."
A pause. The storm flashed crimson.
"Now we make him fail the Trial of Loss."