Chapter 1: The Boy Without Destiny
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The mist hung over Kirigakure like an eternal veil, suffocating and oppressive, hiding the secrets and sins of those who inhabited the village. Among its narrow, damp streets, a boy walked silently, with the weight of uncertainty hanging on his shoulders. His name was Yuta, and for as long as he could remember, his life had been a constant struggle to survive.
The streets of the village, cobbled and slippery from the humidity, were covered in shadows. The houses, built with aged wood and cold stone, seemed to give way under the weight of time. There, in the Village Hidden in the Mist, no one trusted anyone. It was a place where fear lurked in every corner, where betrayal and death were part of everyday life. In Kirigakure, compassion was a weakness that only fools exhibited.
Yuta had grown up in the Mist Orphanage, a grim place on the edge of the village, where homeless children were left to fend for themselves. It was not a safe haven, but rather a repository for those without family, a place where survival was a daily challenge. The walls were moldy, the beds hard and cold. Food was scarce, and the caretakers, far from being kind, treated the children with indifference or brutality. Only the strongest could bear it.
From a very young age, Yuta learned not to depend on anyone. He didn't talk much to the other orphans, knowing that any relationships he formed could vanish in an instant. Sometimes, children disappeared without a trace. Some were adopted, but others simply vanished, victims of the village's dark experiments or the brutality of their own peers.
At the age of seven, Yuta was sent to the Kirigakure Ninja Academy, where the village's future shinobi were trained. For children from other countries, the academy was a place of learning, of growth, where bonds of friendship were formed. But in Kirigakure, it was a different story. The academy was a trial by fire. Only the fittest survived.
The training was merciless. Classes not only taught ninjutsu and taijutsu, but also instilled a cruel code:
—The weak die. Only the strong are worthy of being called shinobi.
From day one, the instructors made it clear that they would not tolerate weakness. Fights between students were not only allowed, but encouraged. The fights were so brutal that some children ended up seriously injured… and sometimes, they never got up again. Yuta saw it with his own eyes in his second week at the academy, when an older student shattered another's arm in a test match. No one did anything to stop him.
But the worst came at the final exams. The infamous Blood Graduation Test was a terrifying event. In other places, students had to pass written tests or simulated combat. But in Kirigakure… they had to fight each other to the death.
Yuta knew it. He had seen it. Every year, students were forced to face their own peers in real combat, with no chance of surrender. It didn't matter if they had been friends for years. Only one would come out alive. Yuta, who had always tried to stay out of the way, understood that eventually, his time would come.
One afternoon, during a combat test in a field of thick fog, Kirigakure's brutality manifested itself once again. The students were sent in groups to a training area where visibility was almost zero. The objective was clear: locate and eliminate the enemy.
The instructors watched from a distance, hidden in the fog, waiting to see who stood out and who didn't deserve to live.
Yuta crept forward, his body tense, his senses heightened. He had learned to move undetected, to read the sounds of the fog, to avoid unnecessary attention. Until now, he had survived without drawing attention, but that day something changed.
A muffled cry filtered through the mist. It wasn't a battle cry, but one of desperation.
Yuta turned his head, trying to locate the sound. In the shadows, he saw two older students cornering a younger girl. One of them held her arm, while the other raised his kunai.
In Kirigakure, it was normal for the stronger to abuse the weak. Interfering was madness. But for some reason, Yuta couldn't keep walking.
Before he knew it, his body moved on its own.
He leapt between the attackers with the precision of a predator, his kunai glinting in the dim light. A sharp blow to the jaw of one of the attackers sent him reeling, and a quick twist allowed Yuta to cut off the other's arm with his weapon.
They both fell to the ground, surprised by the sudden offensive. They had not expected anyone to interfere.
The girl, tears in her eyes, looked at him in disbelief.
"Why…?"
Yuta didn't know what to say. His own instincts had betrayed him. He was supposed to stay out of it, he was supposed to let the weak die. But he didn't.
The bullies struggled to their feet, but Yuta was already prepared. With quick movements, he knocked them down again. This time, they wouldn't get up.
Silence returned. The fog swallowed the echoes of battle.
Yuta turned his gaze to the girl. He shouldn't have gotten involved. Now, he had shown weakness. Now, the instructors would remember.
But something in the girl's eyes kept him from regretting it.
"Survive. No matter what it takes."
She nodded, wiping away her tears. From that day on, Naruko followed him everywhere.
He was persistent, talked too much, and smiled even when he had no reason. But for some reason, Yuta never told him to go away.
Over time, he realized something disturbing:
For the first time in his life, he wasn't completely alone.
Kirigakure was still a village of death, of betrayal, of war. But in the midst of the eternal fog, in a place where compassion was seen as a weakness, Yuta had found something he never thought possible: a bond.
And with it, his destiny began to change.
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Author's Note: This is not some love at first sight story!
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Author's Note: This is not some love at first sight story!