Morning.
Rain.
Soft, cold drizzle covered the Hidden Leaf.
Streets looked empty.
Shadows longer than usual.
He stood under the edge of a broken shop roof.
Watching people move with umbrellas and cloaks.
But not him.
The rain didn't touch him.
Not after the Third Crack.
Something about his presence repelled nature.
A child passed by. Slipped.
He reached out instinctively.
Caught the boy mid-fall.
But didn't touch him.
Only his shadow touched the child.
Still—The boy looked up in fear.
And ran away.
At the academy—
Class was quiet today.
Even Naruto wasn't being loud.
Iruka gave them scrolls.
Basic sealing theory.
He stared at his scroll.
Didn't open it.
Didn't blink.
His left eye burned beneath the bandage.
Neji looked at him from across the room.
Long stare.
No words.
Just understanding.
Something had changed.
Again.
Lunch break.
Naruto dragged him to the roof.
Sakura followed.
Sasuke was already there.
Silent as usual.
Naruto tossed bread to everyone.
They sat.
A moment passed.
Then Sasuke spoke.
"Something's wrong with the village."
Everyone paused.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke didn't look up.
"People are disappearing."
Naruto laughed.
"You mean mission casualties?"
Sasuke shook his head.
"No. Not shinobi. Civilians. Vendors. Children."
He looked directly at him.
"It started the night you woke from the coma."
He didn't reply.
But deep inside…He knew Sasuke was right.
Later—
He skipped afternoon class.
Walked through the quieter parts of the village.
Toward the slums.
Empty alleys.
Old buildings.
No chakra signatures.
No voices.
Dead silence.
He stepped into a house.
Abandoned.
Rotting walls.
Dusty air.
A child's shoe lay in the middle of the room.
He knelt down to pick it up—
Suddenly.
The air shifted.
Something was here.
A whisper.
Barely audible.
"Too late…"
He turned—
Nothing.
But his eye saw afterimages.
A shadow… dragging something away.
A small shape.
A child.
Blood drops frozen mid-air.
Time slowed.
And then snapped.
Back to normal.
He dropped the shoe.
His fists clenched.
Nightfall.
He returned to Training Ground 13.
Anko was already waiting.
Sitting on a tree stump.
No emotion.
Just exhaustion.
"You saw them," she said.
He nodded.
She got up.
"Then it's begun."
"What is it?" he asked.
She didn't answer directly.
Just stared at him.
"The ones behind your dojutsu."
"You know them?"
She looked away.
"I met one. Once."
"And?"
"I lived. But not all of me came back."
She took a deep breath.
"You've got three cracks now. That means they've marked you."
"For what?"
"To become one of them."
He looked at her.
Eyes sharp.
"Who are they?"
Anko whispered.
"The Broken Circle."
Somewhere far.
Underground.
Lit only by red lanterns.
The figures in red robes gathered again.
This time, eight in number.
A ninth chair stood empty.
They stared at the center of the room.
A mirror.
In the mirror—his face.
One of the hooded figures spoke.
"The Third Crack has awakened the fragment."
Another responded.
"But the host still resists."
The leader—tall, with glowing symbols carved into his scalp—raised a hand.
"Let him resist. It makes the binding cleaner."
The others nodded.
Phase One had begun.
The Binding would follow.
Midnight.
His dreams were violent.
Not his doing.
Forced visions.
A ritual.
Symbols on stone.
A boy—him—strapped to a stone pillar.
Eyes open.
Unmoving.
Chakra threads piercing through his skin.
Every thread had a name.
"Regret."
"Anger."
"Loneliness."
"Hope."
The threads kept pulling.
Stretching his body.
Ripping pieces of light from within.
And then—
Darkness.
He woke up.
Sweating.
Heart racing.
The clock showed 3:00 AM.
He wasn't alone.
Someone was in his room.
He didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Just listened.
Footsteps.
Soft.
Then… a whisper.
"You're changing faster than they expected."
He turned his head slowly.
A boy stood near the window.
Same age.
Black hair. Pale eyes.
Unfamiliar… and yet…
"You're not real," he said.
The boy smiled.
"I'm what's left when the real breaks."
"What do you want?"
"To warn you."
"About?"
"The Fourth Crack."
He froze.
"What happens?"
The boy's smile faded.
"You forget someone."
"Who?"
The boy stepped backward.
Vanished into dust.
Only one whisper left behind:
"Someone you love."
Next morning.
He didn't speak to anyone.
Not Naruto.
Not Neji.
Not even Anko.
He trained alone.
Practiced chakra control.
Tree climbing.
Water walking.
Shuriken throws.
All while the whispers got louder.
He learned to ignore them.
Mostly.
Until—
One voice cut through the rest.
A familiar one.
"Brother…"
He turned.
No one.
Just trees.
But the voice came again.
Soft. Shaky.
"Brother… where did you go?"
His eyes widened.
A memory tried to surface.
A face.
Small hands holding his.
A promise.
Then—white noise.
The memory faded.
He fell to his knees.
Gripping his head.
Pain stabbed behind his eye.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
That night…
He stood before the mirror.
Bandage off.
The eye stared back at him.
The ring in his iris had shifted again.
The cracks had begun to… spiral.
And in between the rings—
A faint glyph had appeared.
Unknown language.
But he understood its meaning.
"The Fourth is near."
He whispered to himself.
"…I'm running out of time."