Chapter 1: Jungle Showdown
Huff… Huff…
A five-year-old Kyosuke gasped for breath, his small back pressed against a large boulder. He desperately tried to recover his rapidly depleting stamina while cautiously scanning his surroundings.
Swish!
The sharp sound of something slicing through the air came from directly in front of him. Startled, Kyosuke threw himself forward in a desperate dive.
The instant he moved, a kunai flew past where he had been standing, drawing a thin line of blood before embedding itself deep into the rock behind him.
"Kids these days are getting bold," a young man with a grim face sneered as he stepped out from behind a tree. He watched Kyosuke's frantic escape and chuckled to his partner. "Daring to transport goods to Takigakure at his age. He must have a death wish."
The man's companion emerged from the woods as well, though he was far more cautious. Ignoring his partner's taunts, he scanned the area warily. Only after a long moment, when he was sure there were no hidden threats, did he let out a sigh of relief.
"Don't get careless," he warned. "Let's finish him off quickly, grab the cargo, and meet up with the others."
The grim-faced man's smirk vanished. He nodded, and together, they followed the trail left by the fleeing Kyosuke, disappearing into the dense forest.
Kyosuke lay low in a patch of tall grass, pressing a piece of cloth from his shirt against the gash on his chest. He watched carefully as the two men slowly approached.
There was nothing remarkable about their appearance; they had the kind of faces you'd forget in a crowd. The only distinguishing feature was the strange emblem on their forehead protectors. It was an unsealed, arrowhead-like pattern, almost like a road sign. It certainly didn't belong to any of the five great ninja villages.
Another child his age might not have recognized the symbol, but Kyosuke, who was familiar with the "original story," knew exactly what it represented: Takigakure, the Village Hidden by a Waterfall.
And these two were rogue ninja from that village.
Takigakure was different from the villages of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. It was a settlement concealed behind a massive waterfall. Despite being surrounded by four different countries, its unique geography had kept it safe from invasion. Kakuzu of the Akatsuki had hailed from this very village.
Kyosuke's mission had been to deliver a shipment of unknown goods to this hidden village. However, during his journey, he had been ambushed by these rogue ninja. After a brief struggle, he was overpowered and forced to flee, leading to the current chase.
Though "rogue ninja" sounded impressive, these two were, at best, at the Genin level. And because of their limited resources, they were a far cry from the Genin who graduated from Konoha's Ninja Academy. This was obvious from the fact that they had only used kunai and basic taijutsu since the fight began.
But to the five-year-old Kyosuke, they were still formidable opponents.
Even if they didn't know any ninjutsu and their kunai-throwing skills were mediocre, they were still a threat. Perhaps a version of Naruto who hadn't yet learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu could have handled them, but that was the problem.
Kyosuke wasn't skilled in those areas either.
If he had to make a comparison, his proficiency with a kunai was on par with theirs—pathetically inept. The only reason they were overwhelming him was the simple physical advantage they held as adults.
Since a direct confrontation was out of the question, Kyosuke knew he had to think of something else.
"Boss, look," the grim-faced man nudged his partner, jutting his chin toward a dense clump of bushes.
His companion gave a slight nod, and they casually began moving toward the spot. Within minutes, while pretending to search for Kyosuke, they had secretly surrounded the bushes, ready for the final, decisive strike.
"Heh heh, little brat. Remember to be smarter in your next life," the grim-faced man sneered. He spun around, facing the bushes he thought Kyosuke was hiding in, and raised his arm to throw his kunai.
His partner mirrored the action. For a moment, it seemed there was no escape for Kyosuke.
But just then, the distinct snap of a taut rope breaking echoed from the bushes.
Suddenly, the air around the two rogue ninja filled with the whoosh of flying objects. Kyosuke had used his escape to set up a simple trap. It was a basic trigger mechanism, but it was more than enough to deal with these two.
Squish!
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh reached Kyosuke's ears. At the same time, he leaped up from his real hiding spot and charged toward the grim-faced man.
"You're asking to die!" The injured rogue ninja, who had already considered Kyosuke a dead man, became enraged that the boy would dare to attack him.
But what happened next made his blood run cold.
In his fury, he lashed out, but the small boy effortlessly dodged every one of his wild attacks.
"Five…" Kyosuke silently counted down.
"Damn you, you…" The rogue ninja was about to shout something, but the sight before him froze him in place.
Staring back at him was a pair of eyes glowing with an ominous light. Within each crimson iris, a single black tomoe spun slowly. Even in the dim light of the forest, the man could see those eyes clearly, and he could feel the faint, yet unyielding, killing intent radiating from them.
"Four…" With his Sharingan activated, Kyosuke's expression was blank as he plunged his kunai into the enemy's chest. He continued his silent countdown.
"Damn it!" Seeing his partner fall, the second rogue ninja lost his composure. In a fit of panicked rage, he unleashed a volley of kunai and shuriken toward Kyosuke.
But with his current throwing skill, he posed no threat to Kyosuke.
Although Kyosuke's Sharingan only had a single tomoe, the rudimentary "dynamic vision" it granted him was enough to evade the attacks with ease. The paths of the kunai and shuriken appeared before his eyes with perfect clarity. With a slight smile and a few simple movements, he dodged the projectiles and closed the distance to his opponent.
"Before these eyes, all your techniques are useless." The famous words of the Uchiha brothers flashed through Kyosuke's mind.
Of course, even as his mind wandered, his hands moved with deadly precision.
Once he was close, Kyosuke parried the enemy's kunai thrust. Then, twisting at the waist, he used his body's momentum to deliver a powerful kick to the man's chest, which was left wide open after his failed attack.
With his remaining strength, Kyosuke threw his last kunai.
The man tried desperately to dodge, but Kyosuke had already predicted his movements. In the end, he could not escape his fate.
"One…"
Seeing his second enemy fall, Kyosuke smiled faintly and deactivated his Sharingan.
Instantly, his body swayed, and he slid down the trunk of a nearby tree, collapsing to the ground. The Sharingan was a powerful tool, but with his meager chakra reserves, he could only maintain it for about five seconds. Any longer, and he would have suffered more than just exhaustion.
"Strange…" Kyosuke clutched his throbbing head, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a strange feeling.
Suddenly, the sound of a blade cutting through the air came from a distance.
This time, in his weakened state, Kyosuke couldn't react at all.
A spray of crimson blood painted the air, splattering against the tree trunk behind him like a grotesque oil painting.
Kyosuke lay on the ground, his body convulsing violently. He clutched the fatal wound, desperately trying to lift his head to see who had killed him. But for a five-year-old, the injury was far too severe.
He never found his answer.
And so, after masterfully using his Sharingan to eliminate two rogue ninja, Kyosuke was killed by a third, unseen assailant.
He died at the age of five.