Retitled! And changed summary, because I finally know which direction to take... Mostly... Don't worry about it.
This story AU of a book in the dream of someone reading said book which has nothing to do with them... Yeah, don't worry about that, either.
"You brought this upon yourself… You broke my foundation for peace… a mission passed on for generations in my clan… Now, you will be nothing more than a mere tool for me to use… Just be glad that you will become a stepping stone for the world of peace!"
Prologue: Escape
When he regains his consciousness, he grit his teeth, eyes tightening from the sensation in his skull. There is a pressure building up in his head, making him grit his teeth even harder. As he tries to move, he is met with resistance. His arms are behind him, bound in place, leaving him stuck on his back. The binding has a rough texture to it and, as he tests its durability, he finds that it is made from a very solid material.
A memory resurfaces from his mind. An open palm strike, hand impacting wood. His head pounds from the memory, so tries to move to a more comfortable position, but he finds that his body would not listen to his will. With his movement currently unavailable, he focuses on opening his eyes.
He cracks one eye open. His right eye doesn't seem to be responding. The moment he opens his eye, he is met with darkness. There is a great void at his current location. He looks around, seeing that he is in what looks to be a densely packed 'village', for the lack of a better word, made of concrete slabs with varying heights. Beyond is even more of the dark void.
'Where am I..?'
Soon, the pressure on his skull fades enough so he could think without pain. He has no memory of how he got here or who took him here. All he can remember is that he is a ninja, though he couldn't remember which village he hails from. Before he could think further, however, his eye starts to close, vision becoming blurrier as time passes.
'Why… do I feel like I am getting weaker..?'
He couldn't tell at first, but his body is progressively getting weaker. Over time, it just feel heavier. As if his body is telling him to rest. But, as he tries to focus, he notices that his chakra is flowing strangely from how it should. They are flowing towards his arms, leaving his body the same way blood leaves the body as a leech sucks them out. This binding is slowly draining him of his chakra. His heart starts to beat faster, adrenalin pushing his exhaustion aside.
With all his might, he tries to break the bindings apart, finding that his strength is just not enough to even crack them. His breathing becoming shorter and shorter as he keeps trying and failing to free himself.
'I need to calm down and think this through…'
With that thought in mind, he takes deep breaths to steady his pounding heart. Using his new found calm, he digs deep in his memories to try and find something he is capable of doing that can free him. A memory surfaces of him creating small portals to entertain a young child.
'Better than nothing...'
He focuses his chakra at his bindings, trying to replicate the sensation from his memory. A small part of binding vanishes, giving him enough room to free his arms. A short distance away, the missing piece falls from a small portal, which vanishes as quickly as it came. He rises to a sitting position. He didn't notice earlier, but his hair is long, reaching almost to the middle of his back. Either it's always been like that, or he's been imprisoned for a long time.
He takes deep breaths, formulating a plan for escape. With no visible exit, he decides to use the same technique that he used to free himself from his bindings. He concentrates on the space in front of him. The portal he eventually forms is small, but it is large enough for him to have a glimpse at his destination. What he sees on the other side is a forest. He expands the portal to fit a person, using up a lot of his remaining chakra, then he jumps through the portal before it closes.
He lands on the ground, panting hard from using too much chakra. When he regains his breath, he looks around him. No one else is in sight. He takes a deep breath before running off to the direction in front of him. It takes him a while until he encounters another person at a small clearing. The person is wearing a grey armor with black standard shinobi garb underneath. From where he is standing, he could tell that they are wearing a mask. ANBU. They are on their knees, focusing on the damage that forms the small clearing. They are distracted. It is a perfect chance to strike them down to steal their supplies and clothes to blend in.
With a goal set, he readies himself to approach the other person. Once he is near enough, he strikes, pulling the other person in a choke hold. Having been so absorbed in their investigation, they had no time to react. They won't go down without a fight, however. Using what little mobility they had, the ANBU strikes him. They are at a disadvantage, though. He can feel the ANBU ready the strikes, giving him the opportunity to prevent the attack. Soon, the ANBU lost consciousness from oxygen deprivation. He drops the ANBU, turning them around. The mask they wore bore a very familiar symbol.
'Kirigakure, huh? At least I know where I am…'
He brings the ANBU's body away from the clearing, switching clothes with them, taking the supplies in case he is forced to fight. Among the weapons is a ko-wakizashi, which will come in handy in a close fight. He takes a kunai from the pouch, starting the process of cropping off his long hair.
Once he finishes, he performs several hand signs, placing his palm on the unconscious ANBU's chest. Black symbols with a purple glow starts to wrap the ANBU's body as he absorbs their chakra. He only takes enough so he can use the trees for travel. He has no intention to kill the ANBU, though this will cause them to stay unconscious for some time longer. Soon he finishes and then he grabs the mask. It is white with a red lining following the lower eye slits with two red dots on each brow. He wears it and heads off to find the edge of the island.