Kazuki sat beneath the carved faces of the Hokage Monument, legs crossed, eyes closed. The cold stone at his back matched the stillness of his breath. Above, storm clouds moved lazily, echoing the dormant power flickering across his shoulders—his storm chakra, calm but awake.
Tsunade's voice lingered in his memory.
"The Third Raijin Trial isn't in this world. It's inside you—buried in what came before."
He had to return to the place where it all started. Not in this lifetime, but in another. A battlefield turned tomb. A temple turned wound. The Shinkai Ruins.
And only one person could walk with him into the past.
He opened his eyes.
At the village gate, the air felt heavier than usual. The three of them were already waiting.
Tenten leaned against the stone wall, arms crossed, pretending she didn't care—but her jaw was tight.
Ino stood with her arms folded, foot tapping, her gaze sharp and impatient.
Hinata stood still, hands clasped in front of her, staring at the dirt like it might offer clarity.
Kazuki approached, every step measured. The words in his mouth tasted like metal.
"Only one of you can come with me."
A silence fell, stretched thin and tense.
Ino was the first to break it.
"Why not take the one who's already haunting your dreams?"
Tenten's eyes narrowed. "Maybe he should go alone. Figure out who he really is without us in the way."
Hinata looked up. Quiet, but steady. "I'll go," she said softly. "Because I don't want him to face his pain alone."
Neither Ino nor Tenten objected. But they didn't agree either. Their silence said everything.
The journey to the Shinkai Ruins took a day. Kazuki and Hinata barely spoke. The road twisted through misty forests and forgotten trails until they reached a place sealed by time. A stone gate half-swallowed by vines loomed ahead, carved with faded Raijin seals.
Lightning cracked in the distance.
The temple pulsed with dormant chakra.
Kazuki stepped through first. The air changed—denser, charged. As soon as Hinata entered, a glowing seal beneath their feet activated. Symbols lit up in arcs around them.
Then the world spun.
Kazuki blinked—and he was no longer himself.
He stood taller. Stronger. Cloaked in black and silver, the Raijin crest etched into his armor. This was his past self—Kael, the Heir of Storm.
Beside him stood Rin.
Violet hair, clear eyes, soft laughter. She wasn't a ghost here. She was alive. Whole.
They trained together on the temple grounds. Fought side by side. They touched fingertips, shared whispered words under the stars.
And then—
"Why, Rin?" he heard himself say, his voice hoarse.
She stood with trembling hands, kunai clenched. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Because they promised me you'd live," she whispered. "Even if it meant I had to die inside."
Then the kunai plunged into his back, through the storm seal. A sealing jutsu ignited. Kael—Kazuki—screamed.
The vision shattered.
Kazuki collapsed to the stone floor of the temple, gasping. Lightning crackled around him, uncontrolled. The pain of betrayal lived again in his bones.
Hinata knelt beside him, gripping his hand.
"It's okay," she said, pulling him close. "You're not him anymore."
He shook, clutching her sleeve. "I loved her… and she gave me up. I don't know who I am without that pain."
Hinata didn't flinch. She held him tighter.
"You don't have to be Kael," she whispered. "You're Kazuki Arata. You've made new bonds. You've been forgiven. You've changed."
He looked at her, eyes wide with raw emotion. Her voice was steady, her presence like cool rain on burning skin.
And then, without planning to, without even thinking—
He kissed her.
It wasn't perfect. It wasn't clean. But it was real.
When they returned to the village, the air felt different. The sky clearer. But the tension had only deepened.
Ino and Tenten were waiting.
Hinata walked beside Kazuki, her fingers still loosely brushing his.
Ino's eyes flicked to their hands, then to Kazuki's face. Her expression twisted into a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"So," she said, voice flat, "you remembered the girl who betrayed you… and kissed the one who stayed."
Kazuki opened his mouth—but Tenten had already turned away.
Ino followed her, the scent of frustration trailing behind.
That night, Kazuki couldn't sleep.
The storm in his chest had gone quiet, but a different kind of weight pressed on him.
And then—she came.
In his dream, the masked woman stood under a dead tree. The wind howled. Her cloak fluttered like torn wings.
He stepped forward.
"Rin…?"
She nodded slowly, removing her mask. Her eyes were older now. Harder.
"I've been reborn too," she said. "But not like you. I wasn't blessed with new bonds. I came back with only pain."
She touched his face. Her fingers were cold.
"You'll have to choose one day," she whispered. "Love and power… rarely coexist."
Then she vanished, dissolving into a shimmer of stormlight.
The next morning, Kazuki stood before Tsunade's desk once more, his team behind him.
Tsunade's eyes were grim.
"The Fourth Trial is beginning. This one… is different. You won't be fighting outsiders. You'll be facing yourselves."
Kazuki's storm seal burned, white-hot.
He stepped forward.
"Then we'll face it," he said, turning to Hinata, Tenten, and Ino.
Their expressions were guarded. But they stood behind him.
United—for now.
And that would be enough.