Silence settled over the shattered chamber—not peaceful, not calm, but the tense silence that follows a storm too big to understand.
Dust hung in the air. Flickers of failed sealing tags sparked weakly on the floor. Alarms blared somewhere down the hallway, but here… it was just breathing. Labored. Uneven.
Kiyoshi's.
Rei steadied him, one hand gripping his arm, her chakra still intertwined with his. Daiki leaned against a fallen support beam, chest heaving, trying to look casual but failing miserably.
ANBU formed a circle around them, weapons drawn—not attacking, but ready. Too ready.
One mask stepped forward—the same one who had escorted the relic earlier.
"Team 16," the ANBU said coldly. "Step away from the Chinoike."
Rei's eyes narrowed. "If you lay a hand on him—"
"Kiyoshi," another ANBU interrupted, "what was that manifestation? Was it summoned? Did you lose control?"
Kiyoshi lifted his head slowly. His Ketsuryūgan still glowed faintly, like smoldering embers.
"No," he said. "I didn't lose control."
He swallowed. "I took control."
The ANBU didn't like that answer.
---
The Hokage Arrives
A rush of wind and distortion of space signaled the arrival of the Hokage herself. She appeared beside the ANBU, cloak settling around her feet like falling flames.
Her eyes scanned the room once—calculating, assessing, judging.
"What happened here?" she asked quietly.
Miya stepped forward, shaken but uninjured. "Hokage-sama… the relic reacted to him. More than any recorded affinity. It… it tried to bond with him."
The Hokage's brows lowered. Concern. Not surprise.
"And?" she pressed.
Miya gestured to the cracked walls, the scorched floor, the remnants of the crimson construct. "He resisted. And then… overpowered it."
The Hokage's gaze landed on Kiyoshi—heavy, unreadable.
"You are forcing my hand, Kiyoshi Chinoike."
Daiki tensed. "Hold on—he didn't ask for thi—"
The Hokage raised a hand. Daiki fell silent. Not out of respect—for once—but because her chakra presence pressed against them like a weight.
"Kiyoshi," she said, "you've reached a point where concealment is no longer an option."
Kiyoshi looked up, wary. "What do you mean?"
"You need supervised training. A specialist. Someone outside the regular chain of command."
Her eyes hardened. "We cannot risk another incident."
Rei stepped closer, protective. "He's not a threat."
"That is yet to be determined," the Hokage replied calmly. "But his potential is undeniable. And dangerous."
---
The Root of the Problem
Before anyone could respond, a faint echo pulsed through the room—the same cold, lingering whisper Kiyoshi had felt in the mirror.
Not a voice.
Not chakra.
More like… intent.
His eyes widened. "Something else is here."
The Hokage stiffened. ANBU spread out, scanning every corner.
Miya's face paled. "Residual chakra?"
"No," Kiyoshi said, shaking his head. "It's watching us."
The Hokage turned sharply. "From where?"
Kiyoshi swallowed.
"I don't know. But it's the same presence that manipulated the relic… and the guardian… and me."
A ripple of unease spread through the ANBU formation.
Rei's grip tightened on his arm. "So this isn't over."
Kiyoshi nodded.
"It's just beginning."
---
A Shadow in the Data
Later—after the area was secured and Team 16 escorted out—the Bureau's analysts combed through the ruins.
One intern pulled a shattered tablet from under debris.
"Chief, I found something."
The data was corrupted, but one frame was readable—a still image captured during the containment breach.
A silhouette, faint, blurred, standing in the far corner of the chamber—a place no one noticed, a place no one stood.
Not ANBU.
Not Team 16.
Not staff.
Just a shadow.
Humanoid.
Watching.
And gone.
The image auto-deleted moments later.
But the intern swore… just before it vanished…
the shadow's eyes glowed crimson.
---
The Hokage's Decision
That evening, the Hokage stood alone in her office, moonlight spilling across her desk.
She spoke to someone unseen.
"Bring him," she said.
A figure shifted in the shadows behind her—not ANBU, not a known face.
The Hokage continued:
"Kiyoshi Chinoike's training cannot be delayed. Not after this. He is too important… and too dangerous."
The figure nodded quietly.
"And the presence we detected?" the Hokage asked.
The shadow bowed its head.
"It's connected to the Chinoike," the figure said. "And to something far older."
The Hokage exhaled slowly.
"Then we are truly running out of time."