🌒 Location: ROOT Substation 3 – Beneath the Archives
Danzo Shimura stood still as stone. Around him, three ROOT operatives knelt, heads bowed low, shadows flickering across their masks from the dim paper lamps.
"Repeat the sighting," Danzo ordered.
The center ninja responded, "Unregistered chakra flare. Pattern resembles rudimentary afterimage displacement. Brief activation of a custom style—non-academy taijutsu with chakra enhancements. Technique user is a civilian male, possibly the orphan—Masaki."
Danzo's single eye narrowed.
"A civilian… creating a taijutsu style?"
The ninja hesitated. "It's not conclusive, but he's teaching Uchiha Obito without reporting to any jōnin. The boy's chakra control has tripled in six days."
Danzo turned slowly. "The Uchiha line is volatile. And easily… diverted. Watch them both. But do not engage."
A long pause.
"Yet."
---
🏫 Next Day – Ninja Academy, Afternoon Lecture Hall
Masaki sat in the back, hood up, pretending to nap as the instructor droned on about the Second Hokage's leadership. He wasn't even enrolled in this class—he was "auditing" under the excuse of helping the orphanage kids.
In truth, he was watching Obito.
Obito, who sat two rows up, now quietly performing chakra string tricks behind his book. Small, elegant manipulations of chakra into looping shapes—well beyond what he should be doing.
But what caught Masaki's attention was the boy next to him.
Hatake Kakashi.
Still. Cold. Eyes narrowed.
And watching Obito's fingers.
---
Later, after class, Masaki caught up with Obito outside.
"You need to stop showing off in public."
Obito scratched the back of his head. "It's just string tricks. Nothing serious."
"Kakashi noticed."
Obito frowned. "So what? He's always judging me."
Masaki crouched. "And he will definitely report it if he thinks you're a threat. That's how he was raised. Trust me—be subtle. Flash gets you attention. Progress in silence gets you freedom."
Obito kicked a rock, but nodded.
---
👁️ Location: Hidden Chamber, Eastern Outskirts of the Nara Forest
Elsewhere, deep underground, the masked figure they had encountered stood before a dimly glowing sphere of corrupted chakra. The cage was gone. The room smelled of burning sage and iron.
A shadowy voice echoed from the walls.
> "You were seen. A mistake."
"I was outnumbered," the masked figure rasped. "One of them used a technique with echo displacement. Amateur, but unpredictable."
> "Amateurs don't steal sealed summons. Or touch roots of fate."
The masked figure knelt. "Shall I remove them?"
> "No. Observe. The false disciple grows too quickly. If he awakens the deeper system… his soul may be usable."
The masked figure bowed lower.
> "The next phase begins with the next full moon. When the cat returns to the shrine."
The corrupted chakra pulsed, sickly and violent.
---
🧪 Later That Night – Masaki's Hidden Base (Cellar)
Masaki stared at his system screen, concern growing.
> Fate Ripple: 'Obito has been noticed by Hatake Kakashi'
Status: Suppressed for now. Likely reactivation on Team Assignment Day.
"Of course," Masaki muttered. "Canon wants them together—but too much change might force a correction."
He sat back. "And that bastard we fought wasn't just a rogue. His chakra felt… distorted. Like it came from outside the natural cycle."
> System Commentary:
"User encountered a Fate Divergent – entity not registered to timeline. Source unknown. Designated: [The Veilburner]."
Danger Level: B to A (variable)
Objective: Do not engage alone.
Masaki exhaled slowly.
"So we've got corrupted chakra, a rogue fate-walker, and a secret war starting beneath Konoha's feet… and I'm a low-chakra civilian with a teaching addiction."
He glanced over at Obito, sleeping on a scroll with his mouth open, dreaming of being Hokage.
Masaki smiled slightly.
"…Yeah. We'll be fine."