Perfect ⚡ Let's dive into Chapter 48.
Since Chapter 47 ended with
Darkness stretched again, but this time it was not sleep.
Ryuzen stood alone in a void where lightning forked endlessly through black clouds, every strike splitting the ground beneath him into glowing cracks.
His chest burned. The storm inside him clawed outward, desperate, feral.
[System Override Detected.]
[Initiating Memory Fragment Protocol…]
The voice echoed, faint and broken, like static.
[Warning: External Energy Source Compatible… 62% Match.]
Ryuzen grit his teeth. "What are you showing me?"
The storm answered with visions.
The First Bearer
A battlefield, older than his own war. Shinobi clashing, banners of clans he did not recognize.
At the center — a man cloaked in the storm. Black-blue lightning consumed his body, but unlike Ryuzen's sputtering chaos, it obeyed him completely, flowing like a second skin.
Every strike shattered earth, every step broke armies. And behind him, figures cloaked in obsidian armor moved in perfect unison.
The vision cracked, static breaking across his sight.
[Designation: Prototype… Stormbearer One.]
Awakening in the Chamber
Ryuzen jolted awake, chest heaving. He was still in the stone chamber, chains removed but the air heavy with the same oppressive energy.
The scar-marked leader stood before him, as if waiting.
"You saw it," the leader said calmly. "The first of us. The first to wield the storm. Long before your time. Long before the world was ready."
Ryuzen's fists clenched. "You're saying… I'm not the first."
"You are not even the second."
The words hit harder than any strike.
The Division's Origin
The leader stepped closer, his voice steady, carrying weight.
"When the Warring Clans tore each other apart, there were those who sought power not from bloodlines, but from the storm itself. We were their shadows, their failures, their survivors. When the First Bearer fell, we remained."
His gloved hand rose, faint arcs of storm-lightning dancing across it. The resonance in Ryuzen's chest was undeniable — the same current flowed in both.
"The storm is not yours, boy. It is ours. And you are merely its latest vessel."
Resistance
Ryuzen's storm sparked violently in response, his eyes burning.
"No. It's mine. I survived it. I carry it. Not you."
The leader tilted his head, as if humored. "We will see if you say the same when the storm shows you the cost of carrying it alone."
At his gesture, the obsidian warriors formed a circle around Ryuzen. Their chakra pressed down like a crushing weight, forcing him to his knees.
[System Alert: Host consciousness interference detected.]
[Directive: Endure.]
His vision fractured again.
Meanwhile in Konoha
In the war camp, tension grew.
"The boy is gone," one elder argued. "We cannot waste men chasing shadows while Iwa and Kumo press the borders."
"We cannot fight an enemy we don't understand," another countered.
Duy stood, fists trembling. "While you argue, he suffers!"
Sakumo placed a hand on his shoulder, grounding him. His gaze swept to Minato, who stood silent, eyes focused.
Finally, Sakumo spoke. "We search. Quietly, if we must. But we will not abandon him."
Minato nodded. His voice was quiet, but firm. "I already marked him once on the battlefield. If that trace still lingers… I can find him."
Hope flickered. Dangerous, fragile hope.
The Memory Trial
Ryuzen screamed as the storm visions returned.
The First Bearer again — this time falling, body consumed by his own lightning. His armor shattered, his screams swallowed by thunder.
Behind him, the Obsidian warriors knelt, their silence unbroken.
[System Fragment Detected.]
[Warning: Origin Code Incomplete.]
The leader's voice cut through the illusion. "He was stronger than you. And still, the storm devoured him. Do you understand now? You will break, as he did, unless you accept what we offer."
Ryuzen's breath came ragged, his fists pressed into the stone. His storm flared weakly, resisting, rejecting.
"I'm not him." His voice shook, but it did not falter. "And I won't be your puppet."
The leader's silence stretched. Then, faintly:
"…Good."
Hook Ending
The Obsidian warriors stepped back. The leader's storm-light dimmed, leaving only the echo of thunder in the chamber.
"You resist. You endure. That is why you may yet be worthy."
He turned away, cloak sweeping across the floor.
"But know this — every bearer before you has fallen. If you refuse our path, you will join them. And the storm will simply wait… for another."
Ryuzen's storm pulsed in defiance, faint but alive.
[System Directive Updated: Break the Chain.]
Author's Note
The storm's history is older, darker, and more dangerous than Ryuzen imagined. The Obsidian Division claims it as theirs, revealing that he is only one in a line of stormbearers — all of whom have fallen.
But Ryuzen is not them. His path is his own.
Next: Minato's Hunt Begins.