Morning in Konoha always came with motion—vendors setting up stalls, genin on early patrols, the clang of training weapons echoing from the academy grounds. But even in that flow of energy, Akio walked unnoticed.
At least, that's what he tried to do.
A thin black mask covered the lower half of his face, soft fabric stitched with a chakra-weave mesh. His snow-white hair had been brushed back and held with a band, and the cool gray hoodie and loose cargo jeans he wore draped lightly over his frame, custom-made by a retired shinobi tailor with no fashion sense but perfect hands.
A single, faint insignia shimmered near the shirt's left shoulder—a sigil unique to the Tengetsu Clan: a central star flanked by twin crescent moons. Most wouldn't notice it.
Most didn't know what to look for.
But people noticed other things. They always did.
"Who's that?" a kunoichi whispered from behind a flower stand.
"Is he… from one of the noble clans? That hair—"
"Must be Tengetsu. Look at his eyes—wait, are those purple?"
"No way, he's too young. But also… wow."
Akio sighed.
He wasn't being watched out of suspicion. Not today. Today, it was attention of a different kind—the kind that drifted toward his hair, his eyes, the unnatural harmony in his features. The way his clothes looked like something from ten years in the future.
He hated it.
Not because he disliked people, but because this kind of attention made people act strange. Distant. Awkward. Worshipful, sometimes.
And Akio had no patience for that.
He slipped into the academy classroom through the side door, nodding faintly to Iruka-sensei, who offered a relaxed wave.
"You're early," Iruka said.
"Better than late."
Akio removed the mask once seated, tucking it into a hidden side pocket. His face beneath was unmarred, clean-skinned, and annoyingly symmetrical. It was the kind of face people remembered, which made it especially inconvenient for someone who preferred to observe from the background.
He kept his expression neutral, his gaze low.
By the time the other students arrived, he was already sketching in his notebook.
"Yo!"
Akio turned slightly.
Naruto dropped into the seat next to him, grinning wide. "You didn't wear your mask yesterday. You trying to break hearts again today?"
Akio blinked. "You say that like it's a good thing."
"People like you. You should use that."
"People don't know me. They like the version they make up."
Naruto paused, then frowned. "That's… weirdly smart."
Akio raised an eyebrow.
"Smart for a kid," Naruto corrected. "You read too much."
"And you talk too much."
Naruto laughed.
Somehow, their friendship had taken root without either of them trying. Maybe it was that Naruto never treated Akio like a prince or a freak. Maybe it was that Akio never looked at Naruto like he was a joke.
They existed on different ends of a line, but the line was the same.
As class began, Iruka launched into a chakra theory lecture, and Akio's mind drifted just enough to notice the shift in the room's atmosphere.
Sasuke had arrived.
The air around him was different from Naruto's stormy chaos. Sasuke's chakra felt controlled, dense, and always held back. Like a dam built for a flood that hadn't come yet.
Akio studied him out of habit.
Not envy. Not admiration.
Just curiosity.
Because even if they hadn't spoken yet, Akio sensed something in Sasuke's gaze that mirrored his own: an unspoken understanding that being talented only made you more alone.
Their paths hadn't crossed deeply yet.
But they would.
During sparring drills, Akio was partnered with a girl named Amika, a Yamanaka cousin with a sharp tongue and a sharper jab.
"You're lucky I don't break your nose," she said as they faced off.
Akio shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time someone tried."
She blinked, then laughed. "You're kind of cold. I like that."
Their spar was brief. Akio didn't rely on his Uchūgan during academy sparring—too much risk, too many questions. But even without it, his reflexes were above average.
Amika landed a few hits.
He let her.
Not to flatter her—but to learn her rhythm.
Afterward, while wiping sweat from his brow, Akio noticed someone watching.
Ino Yamanaka.
She stood near the edge of the training circle, eyes narrowed, chin tilted. Her gaze lingered a second too long before she turned away, flipping her hair.
Akio tucked the moment away, unreadable.
Later that day, Akio found himself on the roof of the academy, where wind moved freely and the city stretched far into the distance. From here, the Tengetsu compound was a tiny silver thread, far beyond the southern ridge.
He was not alone.
Sasuke leaned against the far railing, arms folded, eyes scanning the horizon.
They said nothing for a while.
Eventually, Sasuke spoke.
"You don't use your real strength in class."
Akio didn't flinch. "Neither do you."
Sasuke glanced at him. "Why?"
Akio considered. "I watch."
"That's not an answer."
Akio looked at the sky. "If you hit too hard, people don't hit back. If you see too much, people stop showing you who they really are."
Sasuke was silent for a long moment. Then: "Hn."
It wasn't approval. But it wasn't dismissal, either.
It was acknowledgment.
Back home, Riku met Akio in the courtyard for evening drills.
"Still using the academy as observation?" Riku asked, handing him a pair of weighted gloves.
Akio slipped them on. "They're useful. Everyone's honest when they don't think you're paying attention."
Riku raised an eyebrow. "You know who used to say that?"
"Grandfather?"
"Your father."
Akio looked up.
He didn't remember his father. Not clearly. Not since the war that had taken him and his mother both. They'd said Akio was lucky to have survived at all. Born during a time of blood and steel.
But he didn't feel lucky.
He felt… repurposed.
That night, as stars bloomed across the sky, Akio sat under the cedar tree again, fingers idly tracing chakra patterns in the dirt.
He didn't activate the Uchūgan.
He didn't need to.
The world moved slowly enough for now.
But deep inside him, something stirred. Something old. Something distant.
He wasn't special yet. Wasn't feared. Wasn't known.
But one day—
They would see the universe in his eyes.
And they would remember.
[End of Chapter 5]
Guys if you like this story, can you leave a comment so I at least know you find it interesting and if possible, can you drop a stone? Although I don't know what the stone does, it will motivate me knowing you guys are still interested the more stones I get.
See you in the next chapter.