EPISODE 12: Visions in the Darkness

Jim awakened and all he could see was a dark void, just like empty space in the cosmos itself.

He couldn't feel his body, but his consciousness was alive. The black and empty realm felt timeless, but very familiar nonetheless. He didn't know where he was, and for a moment, he thought he was probably dead and this was what it looked like; but soon, that didn't matter much anymore…

He began to have quick flashbacks of his life, until he reached the last day that he had lived. He was seeing the images in front of himself, rather than just in his mind. They all stopped, and the absolute blackness returned when they reached the time of his last battle with Zet and Su.

Then, another image appeared: it was Maida, but he was seeing her from a point of view that was far above her, and her face was not visible. He also saw himself close to her on the ground, but his face wasn't visible either. She did something to him and then, she just fell down and remained there, at his side. The vision was too far away for him to notice the details, but it was clear that those were Maida and him in-between the remainders of what used to be the village. And it was clear that she had used some sort of powerful technique on him. The whole place around them was in ruins, so it seemed like this was after his battle with Zet.

Everything went dark once again. He felt anxious because he wanted to see more. He wanted to know if Maida and the others were alright, even if all the odds were against it. However, what he saw next was completely unexpected, and it had nothing to do with them.

When the images of light returned, they showed a young blonde woman that he had never seen before. She was using a headband from one of the large clans, but the sign on it wasn't clear in the vision. She was inside her house and, apparently, she was preparing something for someone else there, but that other person was not shown. Even though he had never seen her, she looked very familiar. It made no sense for him though.

These new visions were not about him—at least, that's what he thought.

Next, he started to have visions about a young blonde boy. The boy was called Naruto. He was hopeful and energetic, but a little sad at the same time. Naruto had great dreams and goals for his future. He wanted to become a Hokage—the leader of The Leaf—and he shared the same dream as Jim. Despite their different personalities, Naruto also wanted to bring peace, justice, and happiness for their world when he became Hokage.

He didn't know this boy, but as the visions continued, Jim became more and more interested in knowing more about him.

Suddenly, the view changed from the young boy to a teenager. Jim could see how Naruto used an interesting wind-based jutsu that formed a ball of wind and chakra on his hand. The boy had grown, physically and as a ninja.

The vision changed to Naruto wearing some strange clothes at a completely different place. His eyes were also different. For a second, they reminded Jim of Zet's eyes when he went into his earth sage mode. Was Naruto a sage like Zet? The place where Naruto was at also had various giant toads. Jim had never seen that strange foreign world before, and he definitely had never seen toads that huge.

The vision was starting to look silly, until it changed to years later and showed Naruto as an adult. He was wearing the vest of the Kages, and the red color of his hat represented the Land of Fire and The Leaf's clan, meaning that… Naruto had become the Hokage of The Leaf.

What Jim saw next left him astonished:

The other four Kages of the other parts of the continent were all there. And all the five Kages extended their hands and united them at the center of the summit. They looked like friends, rather than rivals or mortal enemies. Their big clans and the people throughout the continent were living in peace; there were no wars, conflicts, or rivalries. Everyone was happier than ever before, and lives were lost to nature's course, rather than to conflicts and hate.

Naruto's dream and Jim's dream had been achieved. And it looked like this "Naruto" guy had been the pillar at the center of making it all a reality. Even though these were just visions, Jim felt a great surge of happiness. He realized that fulfilling his grand dream was quite possible.

Then, the five Kages, including Naruto, prepared themselves for what looked like an upcoming confrontation; and Jim could see that a white snake was moving towards them. Apparently, there was some kind of threat left, despite the union among the grand clans.

However, Jim's vision returned to the darkness before he could see anything else. He had mixed feelings: these visions had given him doubt, happiness, and worry at the same time. Were they real or was this just part of his imagination? They felt very real!

The visions came back one last time, and they seemed unrelated then.

First, he saw a young boy with black hair and sharingan eyes, just like Maida, but his eyes were not active at all times. He saw a pink-haired girl calling this boy Sasuke. Then, he saw a man with the Hokage's vest and a large and robust ape beside him. The ape seemed human-like because he had clothes on and was standing on his two legs. Jim couldn't see their faces because they were facing the other way. He didn't hear what they were talking about either.

Next, he saw another young boy, but this one didn't seem to have anything special like Naruto and Sasuke. He had brown hair and looked normal. The boy was holding a couple of books and looked a little puzzled. There were two adults close to him, but the visions didn't show their faces.

Suddenly, the scenario changed to a large field of sand that looked like a desert. And there was a mighty-looking figure standing at the center. It was a man with a long vest and a unique staff-like weapon. He seemed ready for a battle with someone. He looked dark. Nothing about him was fully visible, except the abnormally large amounts of chakra that were coming from him. Clearly, it was a very powerful shinobi, and someone that Jim had never seen—yet.

Why was he having these visions?

Were they the future?

What was his connection to all of them?

He didn't know the answers yet. He had no idea that most of those were visions of the future at his Human Realm, and that he would play a central role in it.

However, the sudden vision that he saw next wasn't unknown for him:

He saw Zet again. Zet was getting ready for a battle with someone who had just arrived. Whoever it was had to be powerful because Zet looked concerned about his next battle…

In the vision (which did not show the adversary) Zet talked:

"I see… so it was that guy after all. He was the missing link… I will need to use my most powerful sage mode to fight him," said Zet, and his eyes started to turn yellow, with a violet color surrounding them as well.

Then, the last visions changed quickly to the same white snake that had been shown before, with Naruto and the other Kages. There was something truly evil about that white snake. It felt as if a bottom-less menace was hiding within it. The snake kept coming closer and closer. Then… it attacked!

It was just a vision, but it seemed very real. Jim Namikaze even dodged to the side when he saw the snake coming forward in the vision…

After that, the darkness embraced everything again, and a strong and evil laughter was heard. Somehow, it reminded Jim of the same white snake that attacked, but it was a human laughter. It felt like a bad omen without a doubt.

The visions in the darkness stopped after that. Peace returned to the black void, but Jim couldn't feel quite in peace after seeing that white snake for the first time. Seeing Zet again wasn't soothing either. However, the multiple visions about this guy named Naruto were like a light of grand hope in an abyss. The other guys were also unknown, but none of the visions had more impact on Jim than those of Naruto and the snake. They were like polar opposites. Naruto made him feel hope and the snake brought a feeling of despair.

After all the visions were gone, Jim began to feel sleepy and, little by little, he felt that the black void was getting farther and farther away from him. It was as if some force was bringing him back to life. He could feel it.

Then, he lost all consciousness…

NEXT- Episode 13: Death and The Leaf