Yakumi POV


Yawning, I get out of bed and begin dressing. Today is an important day and I can't afford to slack off. Looking around the room, I take note of the cots that will never once again be filled by those who died in the most recent mission. By my count, there should have been 9 deaths, which means the teams with missing members will have to be reconstituted, which should bring the total number down from 17 to 14 teams.

I then notice three other beds empty, which is surprising given the early hour.

Kagami-san, Tekka and Hikaku, huh? Our resident Sharingan trio. I wonder how common the rates of Sharingan awakenings are for the Uchiha clan within the Leaf Village... Hopefully the new materials Danzo is gifting me include some more information on either the Uchiha clan or the Sharingan itself.

Getting dressed in the standard black sandals, shorts, and shirt, I leave the barracks, in search of Kagami. As always, his skills will be vital to our team's success.

I wonder if his decision not to make such a bold request until everyone else had made theirs was a method of determining whether Danzo would accept the request or not, by seeing his response to each of ours... He can be rather intelligent sometimes, after all.

Making my way through the woods, I come out into the vast plains, upon which I spot Kagami-san almost instantly. Sitting by the spot where... Setsuna's body rejected him.

Clearing my head of that haunting scene, I approach my comrade. As I get closer to him, I begin to slow down, shocked by his state. I've seen him wrathful before. I've seen him prideful before. I've even seen him melancholy before. But... I've never seen this.

Rocking back and forth, he covers his eyes with his hands, trembling uncontrollably as he does so.

"No more. No more... Please, no more."

Any words I had planned die in my choke, as I consider the possibility that he has suffered from a defect making its presence known. Few probably remember this, but two years ago the defects that resulted in the... disposal of our brothers were mostly brain damage.

"Kagami-san?"

"No more. Please."

Moving towards him, I call his name once more.

"Kagami-san."

This time he stops his muttering, pulls his hands from his eyes, and stares up at me in something approximating recognition.

"I..." My words trail off as I gaze into his bloodshot eyes - Bloodshot isn't the correct word, there's far too much red for that. My immediate concern is that he has popped blood vessels in his eyes.

"oh... it's yakumi." His face contorts into what must have been an attempt at a reassuring smile.

"Perhaps we should visit the infirmary, together." I hold out a hand for him to accept.

"no, no. i will be fine. i just need. to collect myself."

I almost snort at the ridiculousness of such a statement, but I choose to sit down beside my miserable comrade.

"What happened?"

He remains silent for several minutes, but that's okay, I can endure silence.

Glancing up a the slowly brightening sky, Kagami breaks into a short, manic laugh, before looking back at me with more clarity in his eyes than he had before.

"Tell me. Do any of your textbooks include the detailed operation of an eye removal?" His voice is weak and lower than usual, and strangely monotone, but it is at least stronger than it was before.

Taken aback by the seemingly random question, I think back to everything I've read so far.

"A book or two have made passing comments regarding such a thing, but they were nothing more than footnotes. Why do you ask?"

Staring off into nothingness, his breathing hitches for a second. "Well, I happen to be very intimate with such a process." This time the self-mocking grin is more real.

"How so?"

"The brilliant Sannin Orochimaru-samaaa himself showed me the process, I caught every second of it with my Sharingan."

"Hmm. What does this have to do with your current state?"

He just shakes his head, as if I wouldn't understand it, even if he explained it to me.

We spend what must have been half an hour together, in total silence, as a range of emotions crosses Kagami's twitching face.

"Come on... Let's go. The dear instructors will be detailing the new mission, this morning."

He shakily gets to his feet, pulls his goggles down over his eyes, and starts walking back towards the barracks.

Sitting still for several moments, I contemplate everything that I had just experienced. How could an eye operation reduce him to this? Even if he saw every small detail of such a thing, that wouldn't affect him so greatly.

After a small internal debate over whether I should report this to the instructors, I decided against it. For now, I shall just have to keep an eye on Kagami-san.

Following after Kagami, I notice movement from the corner of my eye, but when I turn my head to look there is no one to be seen.


MC POV


Still shaking, I manage to mostly clear my head as I walk back towards the barracks. Focusing on little else but my breathing helps. However, the feeling of having the muscles around my eyes cut, of having my eyes pulled out of their sockets, that still refuses to go away. At this point, I'm afraid it never will.

"Just... calm down. It's fine. Everything will be fine." Lying to myself is an old pastime of mine, sometimes it works.

Trying to distract myself from the constant screams of pain from my eyes, from the phantom pain, I begin thinking.

I've never seen or heard of such a thing happening in Naruto before. It wasn't a genjutsu... it was a dream! But... I've been reliving that dream for hours. And... how did I relive that "traitor"'s experience? No, no... that's not right, he didn't experience all of that, he was put asleep.

"Maybe... my Sharingan recorded... no, I activated it right before the... the..."

"Ugh. Always more mysteries to solve."

"I need to stop this. I can't be so pathetic. This pain is nothing. It's nothing when compared to the pain here." I grip my chest as if to distract my focus on the pain to somewhere else.

"Hey. It's Kagami." A vile voice calls out casually.

Shifting my eyes upwards, I begin to hear the heavy rush of blood in my ears and the strong pumping of my heart from my chest as my hairs stand up on end and heat spreads throughout my body.

Tekka

Inabi

My breathing becomes low, as my Sharingan rapidly spins into place and I clench my fists, ready for a fight to the death.

"Niisaaaan!"

And in an instant, it all evaporates. That killer intent, that overwhelming rage, it all just melts and the familiar agony in and around my eyes returns.

"Agh..." I cover my eyes with a hand, as they return to their natural onyx.

"Oniisan, are you okay?"

I pull my hand away from my goggles, to be greeted by the worried, sweet face of Izuna.

Offering a small smile, I poke him in the forehead. "Of course! Why would I be anything else?" Continuing my walk, I nod towards Tekka and Inabi and stand somewhat to the side of them. Most of the other clones are already assembled here by now.

"I suppose that's true! What do ya think we'll be hunting, now?" He asks excitedly.

So foolish... Getting so excited over having to play a game of life and death.

"The instructor said that the next beasts would be ones that work in teams. My guess would be wolves. They are rather famous for teamwork and are quite different opponents from the Boxing Kangaroos - More vicious when in a fight, faster and quite different in terms of physique, so our training so far won't be of much use, we will have to re-learn everything from the ground up. Not to mention they have good senses of smell, so we would have to be more mindful of that."

"Wolves would be my bet, yes." I glance over at Yakumi and he stares back at me, before looking away.

"Yes! That would be great. Then we could have wolf fur outfits!"

"Do you even know how to skin a wolf and treat its fur?" Tekka asks his brother.

"Well... no."

"I do. But, if you want me to teach you, I'll expect your cooperation again." Yakumi smiles, as he offers this extremely beneficial exchange.

"Well..."

"Sure thing. But, we want more than just that, if we're going to work together again. We want part of the spoils for whatever we help catch."

"Of course! I wouldn't expect anything else, Tekka-san," Yakumi instantly responds.

Already negotiating alliances.

Orochimaru's face flashes in my mind, looking down at me with hunger and joy.

Shaking my head, I search through the small crowd, spotting Hikaku among his flunkies... Except this time, he's also wearing similar goggles that were given to Naka and I. He glances towards me, and in that second I put on a wide grin and give him a thumbs-up, tapping at my goggles with my free hand. He harrumphs and looks away.

If nothing else. At least, I can still frustrate that imbecile.

Continuing my search, I see Naka standing with two other boys. It's weird - I never even considered the fact that of course, he would have a team of his own. By the looks of them, they seem to revere him, styling their hair after him, mimicking his behavior, and obediently following his every order.

Two instructors appear in front of the assembled group, the Yamanaka and the Hyuga.

As soon as they appear, everyone ceases their conversations and stands at attention.

"You seem to all be here. Good." Yamanaka-sensei nods towards Hyuga-sensei.

"As I currently speak, 14 packs of wolves are being released into the training grounds. These wolves go by the name of Triple-Clawed Wolves. The conditions for rewards are different than they were for your previous assignment. This time, you shall only be rewarded if your team is able to hunt and turn in an entire pack. Additionally, Danzo-sama will not be able to reward you personally this time - I will be responsible for rewards."

I'll be damned. Yakumi was right.

After the Hyuga instructor finishes his words the Yamanaka instructor takes over.

"That is all of the information you will be given, regarding this assessment. Those teams that are missing members as a result of the previous assignment will stay behind and be reconstituted before they are allowed to participate. The rest of you are dismissed."

Most of the assembled clones disperse, leaving in their groups, hoping to track down the packs of wolves.

"What are we gonna do, Kagami-oniisan! We should get out there and find some wolves, quick!" Izuna's voice brings me back to reality - As I look towards him I try to come up with the best plan of action, but with the constant pain and the lack of sleep, it's hard to think things through. He cocks his head, waiting for my response.

"I think it would be best if we waited for Tekka's team to reform until we make our move. Izuna, you should go follow one of the other teams, maybe Kagen's team? I need to go collect something in the eastern woods, but I'll be back in a few minutes."

Saying this, Yakumi strolls off eastwards.

Glancing at me, to see if it's okay for him to go, I give him a nod with a small smile.

"Okay! I'll see you soon, niisan! They're not gonna know a thing!" he declares as he dashes off into the woods.

Left alone, I close my eyes as if that would soothe the pains.

"Maybe..."

Maybe this is one of the consequences Morgan mentioned?

Shaking my head, I once again survey the area, trying to distract myself. Trees, trees, and more trees. Such a beautiful, bloodstained land.


Tekka POV


Ugh... Yashiro. Why'd we have to be teamed up with him? Setsuna was much... Eh, forget it.

Rolling my eyes at the sudden intrusive memory of my former comrade, I stare at the newcomer to Team 13. Yashiro's always been stupid loud and stupidly arrogant. Still, with the loss of his two teammates, he seems to have become more bearable. That's good.

"Are you good at anything?"

"Of course! When it comes to tracking prey, there is no one better!"

"Oh yeah? I bet I could track prey way better than you!"

I'm surrounded by idiots.

Resisting the urge to facepalm, I glare at Inabi before quickly entering the conversation again, before it spirals into a stupidity contest.

"Anything else?"

"Well... Not really. The other tasks were left to..." His face becomes solemn for a moment.

"Great. Well, maybe you can be of use. We're gonna be teaming up with Team 17, again."

Strolling away from the two, I spy Kagami waiting around, by himself.

Tch.

I haven't really thought much about my new relationship with that annoying guy. Not much need to. He is strong, I am not. If he can help me become stronger, then I'll stick around. Pretty simple, all things considered. Still, I can't help but be a little freaked out by the way he acts around me, sometimes.

The way he oozes bloodlust and looks like he can barely control himself. But, he's always been a weird one.

Catching up to me, Inabi sees where I'm headed and scowls instinctually. He's always been... a little bit simple, but he's my brother.

"Hey there Kagami." I wave to the boy in ridiculous goggles. I've longed for the Sharingan ever since that Izumi killed that obnoxious instructor with theirs, but seeing those mandatory goggles makes me question whether it's really worth it.

Stupid. Of course, it's worth it.

"Is he your new team member?" Ignoring my greeting, his attention is squarely on Yashiro.

"Yeah, that's him. He's-"

"I'm Yashiro! Nice to meet you, Kagami-senpai!"

Standing still for a second, Kagami lets out a small laugh, muttering "Tekka, Inabi, and Yashiro? Hahaha"

"Wha...What did I say?"

Shaking my head, I glance over at the brownnoser, "He's always been like this. Strange. Just ignore it."

Losing his smile unnaturally fast, the boy begins to speak again, "Have you not gotten your equipment yet?"

"Ah. Me and Inabi were just about to go get it. Do ya think people will try and steal it from us?"

Taking a second to respond, he twitches a little and then opens his mouth. "Probably not right now. They're all too busy hunting the wolf packs."

"Right. Well, if we do get attacked for it, I expect you to help us."

"Me?" He turns his body away from me, head tilted up, looking at the sky.

"We're allies. The stronger we are, the stronger you are."

"That's true..." He mutters.

"Right... Inabi, with me. Yashiro, you stay here and talk to Kagami-senpai."

Turning around, Inabi and I both head towards the barracks.

"Ugh, do we reallly have to team up with that idiot?"

"It's a pain, but shinobi do not get to choose their teammates. So just suck it up."

Retrieving our equipment, we both leave the building with an extra spring in our step.

Actual high-quality ninja tools. "Whenever we're not hunting the wolves, we'll practice with these."

"Yep, yep." Inabi nods excitably.

Coming up to where we left Kagami and Yashiro, we are met with the scene of the latter kneeling before the former.

"What...?" And here I thought he had more pride than that. Guess I was wrong.

"Tekka. Deal with your new teammate."

"Hey! Don't yo-"

Kicking my brother in the shin, I shut him up before he can spout his mouth off.

"Yashiro. Get up." I stride over to him and pull him up by an arm.

"No! I must have Kagami-senpai train me!"

"If you don't get up right now, I'll stick this here blade into you and you'll be too busy in the infirmary to be trained by anyone!"

"I..." The boy gulps, as he sullenly stands up.

"Good. Next time, I won't be nice enough to threaten you, first."

Walking up beside Kagami, I look out to where he's staring, seeing Yakumi walking towards us.

"Are we gonna start our hunt when he gets here? Actually, where's that Iz-"

"Don't."

"R-right." Shaking my head, I can't help but wonder if maybe Naka would be easier to work with, for all his eccentricity he should still be less... murderous.

Yakumi finally steps in front of us and smiles when he sees that me and Inabi have gotten our equipment.

"That should come in handy." Turning his attention to Kagami, he pulls him to the side and hands him a small pouch, making hand gestures to his eyes after doing so.

"Well, let's get going, shall we? Izuna should be keeping track of Team 11 as we speak. I saw them go eastwards, so let's follow."

Kagami nods and they both begin to move eastwards.

Strange. Usually, Kagami is much more involved in the decision-making and more vocal. Ah, whatever.

"C'mon Inabi. You too Yashiro."


Instructor Hyō POV


Standing atop a tree, the area is surveyed with this Byakugan of mine. To the west there lay nothing but forests, to the north several streams and a river stretch out, to the south rolling plains sprawl across the area, and to the east? More forests.

But I am not here to survey the environment. I am here to monitor the progress of the test subjects. There.

Focusing my eyes on a particular spot in the eastern forests I observe a battle taking place. Three test subjects, Kagen, Rai & Taiko. A moderately talented squad, with each member, specialized in one area. Kagen is the trap master, Rai is the scout & Taiko is the fighter. However, each of the three is skilled at fighting. They have been practicing with one another since they were four years old. Much more proactive than certain test subjects.

Kagen stands on a tree branch, with one hand on some rope and the other holding a makeshift spear with a rusty kunai embedded as its tip.

Practical use of the tools at their disposal.

Rai runs towards Kagen, four wolves on his tail, just able to evade and outrun them by using the trees as a means of slowing their pursuit down.

Strategic use of the environment.

Taiko crouches beneath a bush to the left of Kagen's position, lying in wait for the moment to make his move.

So, they positioned themselves according to the direction of the wind, understanding that wolves in general have an excellent sense of smell.

Mere meters away from his comrades, Rai jumps into the trunk of a nearby tree and conceals himself by moving bark into place over the entrance.

The wolves run right past Rai's location, before coming to a stop. Twisting their heads around, both searching for Rai with their eyes and with their noses.

Kagen then jumps down off his branch, holding the rope, which also has a rock the size of a human head attached to the bottom of it. Three wolves are caught up in a net, hanging in the air, immobile, but struggling. It won't be long before they tear the ropes to shreds.

Rai then exits the tree trunk he was just hiding in and approaches the wolves with several small spears that have bone tips. As he heads towards the currently captured wolves, Kagen charges the fourth wolf with his spear, yelling as he does so.

The wolf rushes to meet Kagen's challenge, only to be charged from the side by a boy wielding a stone axe. Confronted with a new, deadlier threat, the wolf tries to turn mid-sprint but is instantly punished by a spear landing on its neck, piercing it, but not gravely wounding it.

Taiko spares no moment and instantly slams his axe onto the wolf's head, once, then twice, then three times, until finally, the only movement left from the wolf is the small twitching of a recently killed animal.

Wasting no time reveling in their victory, the pair then rush towards their comrade, Rai, to assist him in his task. However, instead of finding him killing the trapped wolves, all they find is a boy spasming on the floor with two sharp, glossy black claws jutting out of his throat, causing him to gasp repeatedly as he desperately tries to breathe.

Momentarily shocked, Kagen stands still for just a second before shouting at Taiko and sprinting towards the net. It's too late. The wolves have already freed themselves, jumping down to the ground, baring their fangs at their would-be executioners.

The two test subjects shrink away in fear, as the wolves slowly approach, circling the boys, and toying with them.

Him.

All of a sudden, 6 shuriken fly forth and 4 of them sink their teeth into one of the wolves, causing him to shy away in pain. Two test subjects wielding small tip-less tantos charge forward, with another one wielding a bone-tipped spear backing them up from the center.

Another test subject creeps up on Team 11's dying member, checking on his condition and administering what aid he could.

The wounded wolf howls as a spear flies towards it, raising its left front paw and ejecting its claws at the incoming weapon, knocking it off course. The two tanto-wielding test subjects, Inabi and Tekka spring forth and slash their blades down, across the wolf's face, causing it to slump to the ground.

The two remaining wolves all stop their circling of the two members of Team 11 and retreat several meters away, all facing the newcomers. They both raise their two front paws and shoot their claws at the troublesome prey in front of them, sending eight deadly weapons hurtling through the air. In the instant they do this, fresh claws spring out of their paws, though smaller and less sharp.

At the very moment, the wolves use their signature attacks, a boy wearing goggles jumps in front of them, and throws a dozen shuriken in response, blocking 5 of the 8 claws, before using the bone blade he had ready to block 2 of the last 3. The final claw flies past him and thuds as it strikes a tree.

With his chest visibly rising faster than before, Kagami steps forward, swinging his bone blade to the side in challenge as he approaches the two wolves.

His body... those eyes of his...

Wolves are not stupid creatures. Quite the contrary. The two wolves back away, seemingly in fear of their superior opponent.

Yet, when Kagami takes another step towards them, both wolves spring forward as two other wolves enter the fray, one coming from the boy's left and another from the right. The remainder of the pack. Given Team 11's tactics so far, it is most reasonable to assume that they had temporarily trapped the two new wolves before luring the other four into this trap.

Quick on his feet, Kagami dives beneath the two wolves jumping towards him, twisting as he does so and slashing the underbelly of one.

Getting up as fast as he can, he then begins to run before suddenly crumbling to his knees, clutching his eyes.

The three wolves then catch up to Kagami, surrounding him as they warily keep watch in case of another surprise attack.

Team 11, 13, and 17 all begin to converge on Kagami's location, resulting in the three wolves deciding to escape, rather than risk getting caught up in another trick or trap.

"Hmm." Closing my eyes, I let the Byakugan fade, lest I waste more energy than necessary.

Team 11 performed quite well in several aspects.

Yelling as a form of distraction and a way to keep the wolf's ears from easily picking up on the sneak attack was good thinking. Each member had their specific roles & performed them well. There is good synergy, as one would expect from that trio. However, for all their considerations as to how to trap and kill a pack of wolves, they neglected to consider why they are known as "Triple-Clawed Wolves", despite them only having two claws on each paw. They also failed to do the proper reconnaissance to discover this ability the wolves possess.

By comparison, Team 17, as well as Team 13 performed very well. Using another team's attempts at wolf hunting as a means of learning what does and doesn't work, as well as why the wolves have such a strange name. Not only this, but they seized the opportunity that was the wolf's distraction with Team 11 to launch a surprise attack, both killing a wolf in the initial attack and saving their comrades' lives. Kagami-kun himself once again showed off his talents and was appropriately positioned and used when needed, no doubt the work of Yakumi-kun. Their overall teamwork was adequate, if not quite as good as Team 11's.

Kagami-kun's condition is troubling, though. His sudden fall was neither a result of chakra exhaustion nor Sharingan overuse.

Hopping over to another tree, I activate my Byakugan once more, to monitor the other teams and see how they fare with this new mission. Given Team 11's result, it would be reasonable to assume that some of the other teams have already been entirely defeated.


4 Hours Later


Sitting in the meeting room with two other instructors, I give my report as to what I observed during my shift.

"That concludes my report on the activities of Teams 11, 13, 17, and 6."

"Yes. Those results are sure to please Danzo-sama. It is also good that the weak and foolish are being weeded out early on." Dorime, my colleague from the Yamanaka clan states.

"Maishu, did you observe any abnormalities within that one test subject, Kagami?"

Turning my head towards Uebu, my colleague from the Nara clan I respond after a moment of mock contemplation, "Besides his Sharingan? No, not at all."

"I see."

"How did Team 4 perform?" I ask Uebu.

"Hmm, quite well, as expected. The two test subjects other than Naka, though skilled, are nothing particularly noteworthy. Team 4 spent the first few hours observing other teams, but unlike Team 13 and 17, did not help those who struggled, and even watched as some perished. Quite peculiar, especially given none of the test subjects have undergone emotional elimination, such as normally happens with members of Root."

That is quite strange. From my understanding of him, Naka-kun seemed to care quite deeply for his fellow test subjects.

Moving on, I begin to discuss the number of casualties so far. "Eight dead. Four wounded. One was critically wounded. At this rate, the number of test subjects that will survive the training ought to be quite low."

"I-" Dorime's words are cut short, as another instructor abruptly opens the door.

"Message from Danzo-sama, for you to read Maishu-kaichou." Walking into the room, she hands me a sealed scroll.

Injecting my chakra into the scroll unlocks it, allowing me to read its contents.

"Danzo-sama wishes to rapidly increase the pace of the experiment. After this mission is completed, he wants us to begin training the test subjects in taijutsu and ninjutsu."

"Good. They are already older than academy students are when they begin being taught the fundamentals of taijutsu." Remarks Uebu.

"Yes. This is a wise decision from Danzo-sama." Dorime adds.

Perhaps this is a result of the projected lifespan of the test subjects. Danzo-sama wishes to make use of the test subjects as soon as possible, for as long as possible, and wishes to stop spending resources on a doomed project.

Sitting back in my chair, I contemplate what this means for the future of the project.


MC POV


"Thank you so much, again!" Kagen's teary eyes have long since gone red, as he bows to Yakumi and I.

"You can stop thanking us. It's only natural that we'd aid our brothers in times of distress." I pat him on the shoulder, as a show of familiarity.

"We are just fortunate that the Triple-Clawed Wolf's claws did not outright kill or cause him to choke on his own blood. The healers should be able to have him operating at 100% within the next day."

"Thank you!"

Taiko has to end up pulling his team's leader away from us, or else he will stay there bowing all night.

"Was that just an act of kindness from you? Deciding to rush to their aid?" I question my comrade.

"No action is ever entirely selfless. You should know this Kagami-san."

"Ha. True enough." I cannot help but grimace as my eyes throb, reminding me that the pain has not yet passed.

"How are you feeling?"

"The medicine you gave helped dull the pain, quite a lot. But... I think I'm getting used to it, anyway."

"I'm glad to be of service. Hmm, well hopefully you won't have to constantly bear the pain. That slip you made earlier, could have gone really bad for you if the wolves weren't incredibly wary of you and then threatened by the rest of us.

"I know, I know..." Waving my hand to him, I head towards the showers.

Stopping in front of a mirror, I pull my goggles up, admiring my own visage. Onyx black irises and pupils and blood-red sclera, with only the occasional small streak of white, as if the colors of a person's bloodshot eyes were reversed.

"I look like a fucking maniac. Thank god for those goggles... Never thought I'd say that!"

Suddenly, an image of the operation flashes through my eyes, but instead of the haunting, all-too-familiar perspective of the patient, I see it through my own eyes, watching on as Orochimaru does his work.

"Agh." Rubbing my eyes, I stop with the vanity project, undress, and step into the shower.

The cool water running down my face is bliss. I almost feel normal.

With this respite, with my cleared head, I am finally able to seriously ponder the things that have happened today.

What could have Danzo so busy? Maybe he's left Konoha? The only time I remember him leaving the village, other than leaving for the Five Kage Summit is... joining forces with Hanzo to destroy the Akatsuki. Which happened during the Third Shinobi World War. But, it can't be the Third Shinobi World War, as Orochimaru would be on the frontlines. So, it has to be before.

Hmm, Yamato is about Kakashi's age, which means the Hashirama cells project occurred around 13 years prior to the Third Shinobi World War... We must be around the same time, if not earlier than the Wood Style Project.

"About this... It must be one of the consequences, but..."

Well, hmm. I assume being born as an unstable clone, enslaved to Danzo is the Uchiha clan consequence. This means that this must either be a consequence of my high chakra or... my space-time ninjutsu choice... If so, I just need to worry about one more.

"Ugh... I am really starting to regret those choices."

The memory of being operated on by Orochimaru flashes in my mind again, and I begin to hyperventilate.

"Calm down, calm down. Just think of important things, your goals."

The loving sister from a lifetime ago surfaces in my mind. The limp, bloody body of Setsuna surfaces in my mind. Izuna's cheerful smile surfaces in my mind.

"Right. I can't afford to just give in to this. I need to keep moving forward. Need to keep getting stronger. Need to keep apprenticing under Orochimaru."

Turning the shower off, I promptly dry myself, get dressed again and exit the shower room, heading to bed. Once again, I slump onto it, completely exhausted.

Unfortunately, I am unable to rest, as Izuna practically trips over himself sprinting towards me, "Niisan, niisan! You need to come outside!"

"Ugh, do I really?" I mumble, already half-asleep.

"Yes! It's Naka! He's hunted an entire pack of wolves, all by himself!"

"What?" So shocked by the news, I immediately jump up and march towards the door, followed by Izuna and all of the other clones who were in their beds.

Stepping outside, I am greeted by the image of 7 wolf carcasses, mauled and bloodied, all slumped together. In front of them, there he stands. Naka. Covered in blood, some of which I assume must be his, along with filthy, torn clothing, he poses proudly, arms behind his back, as the two other members of his team stand to the sides of the wolf pile.

A small crowd forms around Naka and his trophies, mostly full of people in shock, but some people like my own Team 17 and Team 13 frantically gossip, while others like Hikaku scowl and mutter about this or that.

I find myself walking toward my rival, unconsciously.

"Kagami!" His lips instantly turn upwards in a broad smile. "Do you like my handiwork?"

"Did you... kill all of them, by yourself?"

"While you may have claimed the first two rewards, I can not simply stand by and let you take all of the glory!"

Before I can respond, someone else's voice rings out across the courtyard.

"Most impressive, Naka-kun. Certainly a feat no lesser than the one managed by the joint efforts of Team 13 and 17 in the previous mission."

The Hyuga slowly walks up to Naka, stopping just beside me.

"In fact, one could even consider it a superior feat, given you defeated all of them by yourself."

So he did actually do that. How?

"Now, as for your team's reward, let's talk of it inside the instructor meeting room."

"I want to fight you."

"Is that so? Well, that can be arranged for another day, if that is truly your desired reward. You are already exhausted."

"That is..." His soft voice and lowered expression seem to indicate his disappointment that he cannot just fight the instructor there and then. "Understandable. I wouldn't want to waste my chance to fight you."

"Of course, Naka-kun. As for your teammates, I shall reward them appropriately, myself." The Hyuga then flickers away, not saying another word, leaving a crowd of hushed people in his wake.

Turning around, I walk back to the barracks without another word. I need to get stronger. To get stronger I need to get good sleep.

Passing my fellow clones by, I once again enter the barracks, walk towards my bed, fall into it and begin to drift off to sleep.


"Itachi is clearly the coolest!"

"No, he's not! Are you an idiot? Minato is obviously the coolest character in Naruto!"

I lay afloat in a pool of pure white, as far as the eye can see. Hmm, haven't been here for a while. The scene playing out in front of me is one I know well, it's a fond memory of mine.

"Who are you calling idiot?" The girl jumps forward and bonks the boy on the head.

"Itachi sacrificed himself to save the village and his brother! He's got the coolest abilities, too!"

"Ow. Itachi could have saved both without doing that! In the end, everything he tried to do, he failed in! Minato can teleport!" Rubbing his head, the older boy glowers at the girl.

"That's the whole point! He's not perfect! He's just like Jiraiya! Well, teleporting doesn't mean much when you're caught in Itachi's genjutsu before you can even react!"

"Bah! Whatever, sis." Rolling his eyes, the boy ignores his sister and continues watching the show.

Drip.

Suddenly, a drop of blue water hits the pool and spreads out in a ripple, transforming the entire space into a deep blue lake. There is nothing left, but peaceful serenity.

Better days.