"Mitarashi-san!"
Shorai arrived at her side in a blur, his palm already glowing with the soft emerald light of the Mystic Palm technique.
"Sh-Shorai..." Her voice, thick with pain, reached his ears. She shifted into a half-kneeling stance, breathing heavily, one hand clenching the side of her neck where the seal throbbed. "My condition is... beyond a medical ninja's help."
"Perhaps," Shorai replied, holding his palm close to the mark. "But I can at least ease the pain. Your endurance is remarkable... most would have lost consciousness by now."
"I was his chosen... after all." Anko forced her eyes open and glanced at his focused, frowning face. "Did the Hokage arrange your participation? Whose squad are you really from?"
"Sorry, Proctor. I am a genuine Genin participant," Shorai replied calmly.
"Bullshit. Tell those tales to your friends. You can't fool me." Anko took a shuddering breath as the cooling sensation of his chakra began to take effect. "T-thank you. Whatever you did... the pain is fading."
"The Cursed Mark," Shorai said matter-of-factly.
"Y-yeah... you know of it?"
"I got familiar with the concept about an hour ago," Shorai replied nonchalantly.
"The Uchiha kid is marked, then. If so... he might not live past midnight." Anko trembled again. "Where is he?"
"He is safe. I believe he will live through it. After all, vengeance is a powerful motivator, wouldn't you agree?" Shorai's lips pulled into a thin, knowing smile.
Anko's brows furrowed. "Don't. Don't smile like that."
"Why not?"
"It's exactly like that man... the one I used to call Sensei." Anko groaned and looked away.
"Understood. If it makes you feel better, I'll stop." Shorai regained his stoic composure. "Now, we need to get you to safety. I'll escort you to the perimeter so you can report this to the Hokage."
"I'll go on my own. You're a participant. The moment you step outside the fence, you're disqualified. And his subordinates are still out there..."
"I've already handled the logistics," Shorai whispered, pulling out the special scroll given to him by the ANBU. He sent a chakra-charged intent through the seal. "The ANBU will pick you up at the border gate. Let's move."
As Anko leaned on him, Shorai flared his chakra and shot through the trees. They arrived at the gate in record time, where two shadows landed silently before them.
"F— Shorai!" Boar nearly slipped on the code name.
"The Proctor is injured. We encountered him," Shorai said shortly.
"Orochimaru?" Eagle's voice trembled with a mix of shock and fury as his gaze dropped to the seal on Anko's neck. "We must take her to the Hokage immediately."
"Take me to the Center Tower," Anko argued. "I'll explain everything there. Summon the Hokage to meet us."
"Shorai, we'll take it from here," Eagle interjected. "Get back to the exam. You still have scrolls to find."
Shorai smirked, reaching into his bag and producing both the Heaven and Earth scrolls. "I have everything I need. All that's left is to reach the tower."
Anko's face twitched—half from pain, half from sheer surprise. "Already? You entered without a team and you've already..."
"What can I say?" Shorai placed a hand on his hip, glancing at the masked ANBU. "Some find me quite entertaining."
—
By 9:00 PM, Shorai returned to Team 7's camp.
"Shorai!" Sakura's eyes shone with desperate hope.
"The Heavenly Prince has returned," Shorai said with a faint wave. He checked the two boys. "Still out?"
"Sasuke seems uneasy... but both are unresponsive."
Shorai looked around the camp, noticing the traps Sakura had set. "You did well. These preparations... this is the mark of a real ninja. I'd trust my life with you."
"Don't say that!" Sakura snapped, her voice cracking. "My hands are full. I don't need another friend laying unconscious beside them!"
As she spoke, Shorai's vision blurred slightly. The contours of the forest began to stretch and melt.
'Poison?'
His hand went to the scratch on his neck from the Grass ninja's hidden blade.
[45% chakra reserves remaining.]
'Stone analysis. What is happening to my body?'
[Host has contracted a slow-acting venom. The process has been accelerated by the Host's chakra flow.]
'How lucky of me... today I'm collecting all the jackpots...'
"Fuck," he hissed. He sat down cross-legged and unrolled a medical scroll. "Sakura, I need your help. I've been poisoned."
"W-what? Don't scare me like that, Shorai-kun!"
"Listen carefully. I'm going to focus on slowing the toxin's spread to my organs. You need to treat the entry point." He laid out herbs and medicine. "I know you only learned the theory at the Academy, but I'm going to talk you through it. I need you to be my hands."
As Sakura began the delicate work of cleaning the wound, Shorai sat on the ground, closed his eyes, and centered his chakra.
'Can the Stone heal this? Can I isolate myself from its effect somehow?'
Before he could answer, the world spun. The darkness behind his eyelids turned into a swirling drain, pulling his consciousness inward.
—
He awoke in a dark expanse. Before him was a swirling black-and-white void, and at its center radiated a dark crimson light.
'Here again,' he muttered.
Then a strange sensation came from his clenched hand. He looked down and found a black ingot with a crimson tinge resting in his palm. In the next moment, a hollow, twisting darkness stretched from the center of the void toward his hand, like smoke or liquid drawn by an unseen force.
'Reality Stone...' He murmured. 'Create an intelligent construct at my side. Act as an interface.'
Then a fog-like wisp rose from the black floor, turning into a watery texture before forming a humanoid body. It stared at him with empty sockets.
'What is this place?' Shorai asked.
'A space of the host's spiritual signature,' a robotic, hollow voice came from the dark body.
'My soul resides here? Is that black-and-white mass inside me? Or is this some different kind of space?' His eyes widened in shock as he looked around.
'A projection of a solid higher-dimensional space,' the voice explained. 'The host is subjected to multiple layered spiritual divisions. What the host calls a visible mass is a product of the brain's deconstruction and reconstruction activity.'
'Is it just that? Anything else here, beside my... soul?' Shorai blinked, his eyes wandering across the vast dark expanse before him.
'Analyzing: two signatures detected,' the voice replied.
'Who... what are they?' Shorai's eyes darted back to the construct.
'Familiarity marks persist,' the voice replied. 'Known to host as Naruto Uzumaki and Ino Yamanaka.'
Shorai's heart skipped. 'Marks? You mean Ino's mind-transfer and the Mind Stone's clash with Naruto left permanent imprints on my soul?'
'Analysis: correct. The host acted as a crucible, preserving the marks.'
Shorai looked around the void. 'Can I interact or do anything in here?'
He paused as a funny idea came to mind. 'Can I... do something like train here? Does time flow differently?'
'The host can influence the space and interact in various ways. Training here is possible. Time-space calculation: one hour in mind-state equals thirty minutes outside. Methods can be simulated here before physical implementation.'
'A soul-forge,' Shorai whispered, a plan forming. 'And the poison?'
'The vessel can rest while the mind remains active.'
'Oh, really? Then am I dreaming? How different is this state from a dream? I could die from an unintended and chaotic will.' Shorai was now completely skeptical.
'Analyzing host activity. Focused and ordered awake state versus spread and chaotic sleeping state. Verdict: current state is viable. Extrapolating danger level to host's life: same as awake.'
'How nice... basically a vivid dream-space where my mind is focused and controlled by my will.' Shorai smiled.
'What about chakra flow? Outside, I was detoxifying myself. Any change?' Shorai remembered what was currently happening.
'Vessel state confirmed. Detoxification is maintained. Warning: a thought altering current flow will affect the vessel.'
'Well... I learned something good today.' Shorai, almost by instinct, scratched the back of his head. 'But for now... this is like a prison for my mind. Anyhow, let's not break the process.'
—
At some point, Shorai's perception distorted again. As if shoved backward by an unseen force, he snapped back to reality. The forest was no longer silent.
He opened his eyes to see a nightmare. Sakura was bruised, her hair hacked short. Ino was leaning on Shikamaru, blood trickling from her lip. And standing in the center was Sasuke—or something that looked like him.
A wild, purple, agonizing energy oozed from Sasuke's body. Dark, flame-like tattoos crawled across his skin.
"S-S-Sakura..." Sasuke's voice was cold and detached. "Who did this to you?"
Shorai stood up, his own eyes burning with a cold light. He ignored the Sound Genin and walked straight to Ino. He saw the blood on her lips.
"Shikamaru," Shorai said, his voice a low, lethal vibration. "Who hurt Ino?"
"It was me! Heh!" Zaku, one of the Sound ninja, smirked, stretching his arms.
"Make him pay," Shorai said, turning to Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't need to be told twice. He moved with a speed that defied physics, his two-tomoe Sharingan spinning maniacally. He caught Zaku in a brutal hold, pinning the Sound ninja's arms behind his back.
"You seem to be fond of these arms of yours," Sasuke whispered with a terrifying smile.
CRACK.
A sickening scream echoed through the forest as Sasuke brutally broke Zaku's arms.
Ino flinched at the scream, her eyes opened for a moment.
"Sasuke..." Sakura whispered, horrified, while Shikamaru and Choji stared in stunned silence.
Sasuke slowly turned his gaze toward Dosu, the Sound leader, who stepped back in genuine horror.
"Sasuke, stop!" Sakura rushed forward, throwing her arms around him from behind. "Please! That's enough!"
Sasuke silently glared at her. The moment stretched on and on.
"Please?" Sakura's eyes streamed with tears as she pleaded. Then there was a shift. Sasuke's marks receded, and the madness faded.
Dosu, still trembling and realizing he and his team were outmatched, surrendered their scroll in exchange for their lives.
Shorai knelt by Ino, his hands glowing. He didn't look at the retreating Sound team. He only looked at the bruise on Ino's face, his jaw tight.
He whispered to himself, "Next time... I won't be late."
[80% chakra reserves remaining.]
"S-Shorai-kun?" Ino's eyes trembled as she opened them and focused on his face while he healed her.
"I'm here, Ino. It's over. You can relax." He smiled and rubbed her hair.
"I'm glad." She smiled back, slowly rising. "Is Sakura alright?"
Ino found Sakura sitting beside Sasuke, who was clutching his trembling arm with his other hand.
"Sakura-chan! Don't worry... I'll save you..." A voice drew Shorai's and Ino's attention.
Naruto was moving and turning with his eyes closed.
"Eh? What's with that fool?" Shikamaru and Choji moved to wake him up.
In the meantime, Ino clung to Shorai's chest. "What happened to you? Sakura said you were poisoned?"
"Yes. I got this small scratch when I tried to save them. But now I'm safe." Shorai rubbed her back. "You seem to have done a lot too. You and your squad protected me and Team 7. Thank you."
"Of course, Shorai. We couldn't sit and watch friends get hurt." Shikamaru looked back at Shorai as Choji hit Naruto awake.
"Ah!"
"What happened?"
The blonde boy began shouting, looking puzzled by the surroundings.
"S-Sasuke? Shorai? Lee..." Naruto blinked, looking at everyone.
Shorai sighed, subtly stretching his hand toward Sakura's direction. 'Remove the reactive layer presence.'
Then he shut down the Reality Stone and turned back to Ino. "How's your team doing? Passed?"
"No..." she replied dejectedly. "Still missing... what about you?"
Ino blinked curiously.
"Oh right, Shorai. You were on your own." Shikamaru looked puzzled.
"Got mine alright. See you in the tower soon." Shorai smiled.
"What a drag. We're at the bottom of the bottom... even the lone candidate managed to win over a whole team." Shikamaru stared at the sky, suddenly feeling tired.
"Heh! Of course, Shorai-kun would pass this test!" Ino gave her teammate a side glare. "We'll have to do better, then!"
"I bet you will. You're strong. Your techniques work great together!" Shorai smiled and reassured them.
Soon, Neji's team left, as Lee gave a final remark about how he would be much stronger the next time they met. Shikamaru's team lingered for a bit as Ino went to fix Sakura's cut hair, then also left. Shikamaru was adamant about doing it on their own without Shorai's assistance, as Ino tried to argue.
"That's alright, Ino. I trust Shikamaru. You'll make it through just fine. It's part of proving yourself, remember?"
With final words of goodbye and a brief hug, Team 10 left.
Shorai looked over at Team 7. "Now that the two of you have recovered, do me a favor and be more careful. No matter how strong Sakura is, carrying everything on her shoulders is tiring."
"Leave this matter to us, Shorai." Sasuke gave him a firm stare.
"Right! Sakura-chan, Shorai! This time we will not lose to anyone!" Naruto declared, patting his chest.
"Good to hear." Shorai nodded. "I'll be going now. Sakura, you are becoming a great kunoichi. Trust yourself more."
With those last words, he waved at them and left toward the center tower.