Chapter I

Shadows in the Night

As I was about to compose the signs of my next technique to immobilize my opponent, he suddenly freezes in place and I notice blood pouring from his eyes, his nostrils and his mouth. Glassy and empty irises, he falls to the ground with a muffled sound. Nevertheless, I remain on my guard and I wait for the time of a breath. It is only after a silence that I deign to jump on him to put two fingers on his carotid artery and I count the seconds.

Nothing.

There can be no doubt.

His heart stopped.

I frown and I try to figure out what just happened. After a few exchanges of kunai, no injury; he dropped dead. A picture goes back to memory and this explains the cause of his passing; an almost imperceptible tongue movement before the teeth snapped something that was already in his mouth cavity. In action, I thought it was an army pill, but given the state of his swollen skin and the scarlet fluid still leaving the body, it must have been a drug … at first glance, powerful and immediate. This confirms some doubts I had.

I scan the surroundings and I do not feel the presence of any soul around. Despite our brief fight, the noise attracted no one and yet, even though it was late and the sky was completely dark as clouds were hiding the moon, we were only a few hundred metres away from the nearest homes. I do not know the mission of this shinobi, but it is obvious that it is of absolute discretion to the point of having to cover up with suicide in case of being captured and thus, not having to speak and betray the reasons for his coming. He realized he was no match with only a few punches and I didn't see a hint of hesitation in his gesture. However, one thing is certain: he is not alone and they have separated to avoid attracting any attention.

The most disturbing part is how they get in Konohagakure without anyone noticing them or that the ninjas in charge of the barrier did not give the alert of any invasion. From his frontal headband with the engraving of three intertwined triangles, these shinobis come from a village or a group unknown to us. Since I seem to be the only one in action and that no one appears to be joining me, they managed to enter and bypass our security system. How? I would like to know… However, the immediate thing to do is to warn Godaime…

As I was about to get up and leave, an object catches my attention. In one of his pockets, the corner of a piece of paper sticks out briefly; if it weren't for my keen vision—besides my Sharingan—I probably wouldn't have noticed it or thought it was just some blank parchment. I take the folded item and unfold it to see what's on it…

A missing heartbeat, a dark worry and a cold sweat.

This is a drawing of a person. My eye opens wide when I recognize the portrait of my student there.

Their target is Naruto.

No time to waste; it's only a matter of minutes before they find him. From the mystery of how they entered, with difficulty or not, I fear the worst! I can't even warn the Hokage. Without losing a second, I abandon the individual's body and run and jump across the rooftops in the direction of Naruto's apartment. I want to fall on someone to accompany me on the way, but above all, I hope to find him before these intruders. My intuition tells me to hasten the pace, my pulse quickens. It is very likely that they are much better at silent assassination than face-to-face combat.

'What are you thinking, Sasuke?' Naruto wondered, lying nonchalantly in his mattress while staring at the ebony sky.

Although it was late and it had been a while since bedtime, the sapphire-eyed boy could hardly sleep; he hadn't even bothered to put on his pyjamas or take anything out of his usual attire. Besides, his backpack was still on the floor of his room near the bed. He had just returned from a mundane B-rank mission as interesting as ramen without pasta or meat. But his pout and nostalgia were explained by the fact that he had come across a shinobi from the hidden village of Kiri who was the perfect lookalike of Sasuke. As a result, by the disturbing resemblance, Naruto had frozen; if it wasn't for Sakura, he could have been seriously hurt. Fortunately, there had been more fear than harm. Even though the teenager kept and took everything to himself, it still upset him a bit to the point of refusing to eat at Ichiraku's once back, under the pretext that he was exhausted from his trip. Since returning, he had lain down and lost himself in his thoughts and memories of when Team 7 was complete.

Staring at the window, Naruto didn't notice the strange shadow behind him materializing into human form. Slowly, in the darkness, the blackish figure rose from the ground without the slightest sound in an eerie silence. Gradually, he took on the appearance of a masked man in obsidian clothes where only his orange eyes contrasted, as well as the headband that adorned his forehead. When his left hand accompanied by thin needles was tangible, in an icy breath wringing a shudder of dread from the boy, his whispers were those of a voice from beyond the grave:

"Found you."

His hairs stood up on his neck and Naruto barely had time to turn his head when the slim weapons were thrown in his direction at close range. Five similar sounds echoed as the projectiles reached the window behind, crashing into it, cracking the glass. The blond had skilfully dodged them by getting up, leaning over, and using a kunai to deflect them despite the metre that separated the two ninjas… However, under his mask, the man displayed an evil smile.

One of them had hit the teenager on the cheek; a thin cut that made a scarlet drop bead.

"Who the heck are you?!" Naruto snarled, frowning as he stared at the enemy as he finished coming out of the shadows entirely.

The individual ignored the verbal request and just let out a sneer—something that enraged the sapphire-eyed boy.

"May I know what makes you laugh?!"

Once again, the intruder turned a deaf ear … yet, despite the first assault, he wasn't doing anything but standing there. The difference was that he had stopped chuckling and seemed to be waiting now. His luminous irises stared at the bluish ones in front of him.

Unanswered, Naruto gritted his teeth and leaped forward, kunai in hand. However, the weapon passed through the enemy as if he did not exist. Strangest of all-in doing so, the man had vanished like an undulating shadow blending into the darkness.

'A genjutsu?,' the teenager wondered as he passed through.

In his fall, Naruto was preparing to land on his feet to take a combat or riposte posture… Instead, he fell on his left shoulder which took the hit of his own weight—snatching a groan. As he tried to get up, his body was a slave to incessant tremors, his now-heavy limbs were number to the point of being unable to stand except on all fours; even doing so required a commensurate effort. Jerky gasp, the heart racing, the blond struggled to understand what was happening to him. Certainly, his thoughts—also victims—became more and more muddled, and thinking was just as hard as not collapsing to the ground. The more seconds passed, the more difficult breathing was; a feeling of being locked in his own ribcage possessed his whole being.

When he painfully turned his head to look behind him, he saw the intruder in the silhouette of a shadow materializing back into his true form. He stretched an arm towards the window and just as mysterious as his abilities, drew the previously thrown needles to his palm to absorb them and make them disappear.

"The longer you resist, the more the pain will increase," the man whispered before slowly approaching his prey, one step at a time, staggering right then left. "My venom is already flowing through your veins. You are at my mercy."

Naruto swore to himself, constantly telling his body to get up, his legs to stop shaking, but it didn't change anything. He struggled to crawl one arm after the other in front of him to keep the distance… The breathing was unbearable to the point of suffocating under his own gasp. Then, he reached the wall at the same time as the individual grabbed his golden mane. The man forced him to look at his amber irises that shone in the obscurity.

The young boy froze and his eyelids grew heavy.

Without offering the slightest resistance, Naruto fell unconscious in spite of himself.

Along with the dark abyss came a short thought.

'Stay awake and fight.'