The air in the Hokage's Tower was still, but not calm. Scrolls littered the table where Hiruzen Sarutobi stood, arms crossed, face grim. Before him, the latest ANBU report confirmed what Kazuki had feared deep in his bones. The triskelion symbol recovered from the ruins matched perfectly with the images that haunted his dreams—visions not just of a past life, but of a life stolen.
Fire. Lightning. Screams. A woman calling his name as the village burned around her.
Not just a reincarnation.
A survivor.
The Raijin Clan had not been erased cleanly. They had left echoes—fragments of their legacy embedded in ruins and bloodlines. The world had tried to forget them. But the storm was stirring again.
Tenten Enters the Story
The next day, the Academy organized a field trip for select students to explore an ancient shrine straddling the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. Officially, it was to study pre-Uzumaki seal techniques. Unofficially, it was to investigate the Temple of Stormsong.
Kazuki volunteered instantly.
Joining him were Tenten, a sharp-eyed weapons specialist fascinated with seals; Ino, who insisted she had no ulterior motives; and Hinata, who quietly watched Kazuki with unreadable eyes.
When they arrived, the shrine loomed from the earth like a scar—black stone, warped by time, humming faintly with dormant chakra. The air was thick, unnaturally still.
"These aren't Uzumaki seals," Tenten whispered, her eyes scanning the carved glyphs. "They're older. Aggressive. Like they were trying to bind something alive."
Kazuki didn't respond, but he felt it. The pulse of the place. The echo in his bones.
Tenten nudged him. "You should talk more. The whole brooding thing? Getting kind of old."
"I talk when I need to."
"You should need to more often."
Kazuki blinked. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled. Just a flicker.
Ino, meanwhile, groaned loudly. "Why am I stuck with Miss Scrolls and Scrolls? Someone save me from this nerd fest."
Hinata remained quiet, her pale eyes focused on the temple—yet her shoulders slumped ever so slightly.
The First Real Threat: The Rogue from the Mist
It happened as Kazuki approached a raised stone altar, its surface etched with the storm triskelion. The moment his fingers brushed the carved lines, the seal pulsed.
Wind erupted. Lightning crackled through the humid air. Ancient chakra stirred.
And from the shadows, a figure emerged—tattered Mist gear, twisted chakra, metal plates fused into scarred skin.
"So it's true," the rogue hissed. "The heir of Raijin lives."
He attacked.
Tenten moved first, hurling a storm of kunai marked with explosive tags. The rogue dodged, fluid and brutal. But Kazuki was already charging, his hands sparking.
"Storm Pulse: Thunder Arc Fang."
A spiraling lance of electrified water burst from his palm. He collided with the rogue midair, blasting him backward—but not stopping him.
"You don't even remember, do you?" the rogue snarled. "Your clan tried to tame the sky. They paid in fire and blood. You will too."
Bonds Under Fire
Amid the chaos, students panicked. But not Hinata.
She stood firm, using the Gentle Fist to create a shield around the younger kids, deflecting debris and shockwaves with shaking arms. Fear clawed at her chest, but she did not run.
Ino, adrenaline pumping, formed the seal for her clan's technique.
"Mind Body Switch!"
For a breathless moment, her consciousness collided with the rogue's, just long enough to disrupt his next move. She collapsed, nearly unconscious—but Kazuki caught her.
She looked up, breath shallow. "Don't… let anyone hurt you, dummy."
Kazuki said nothing—but the blush across his face said enough.
Tenten, relentless, activated a sealing scroll mid-run, binding the rogue's arm in chakra chains. Kazuki finished the job, lightning blasting from his palm, knocking the rogue unconscious.
Silence fell.
But the shrine still pulsed.
Emotional Fallout & Growing Ties
Night fell. At the field camp, the mood was subdued.
Hinata stood by the river, rinsing blood and dust from her bruised hands. In her mind, she replayed every movement, every moment she could have done more.
Tenten sat under a tree, sharpening her blades with rhythmic focus, sneaking glances at Kazuki when she thought he wasn't looking.
Ino, her wrist bandaged, lay on a sleeping mat, mumbling to herself.
"Stupid brooding lightning guy... Why'd I have to fall for the dangerous type?"
Kazuki sat at the cliff's edge, watching the stars. The rogue's words echoed in his mind. He didn't just feel different—he was. A relic of a forgotten war. A weapon shaped by bloodlines and buried sins.
Tenten joined him.
"You gonna tell me what that Mist guy meant? 'Heir of Raijin'?"
Kazuki didn't answer right away. She didn't press.
"You're not like the others," she said. "You carry something. Heavy. But I don't think you're dangerous. Just… tired."
He finally looked at her.
"I'll tell you. One day. When I can."
She nodded. No judgment. Just understanding.
Moments later, Hinata and Ino arrived—each carrying blankets, eyes flickering with hesitation. Kazuki shifted.
"There's room."
They sat together. Four silhouettes against a sky of stars. No words, but warmth in the silence.
And behind them, deep in the ruins, the altar still hummed.
Something was waking.
Final Scene: The Storm Awakens
The rogue, restrained and bloodied, was taken into Konoha custody. Before he vanished into the shadows with the ANBU, he muttered one last thing to Anko:
"You're too late. The Stormblood is rising again. The clans will burn—just like before."
Far away, beneath earth and stone, an ancient storm totem cracked open. In the dark, a masked figure knelt before it.
"The heir walks among them. Let the trials begin."