The smell of grilled fish filled the Mizutans' small kitchen. Ren was sitting at the table, watching his mother prepare dinner, when a familiar sequence of knocks at the door jolted both of them.
"That's him," Yuki smiled, heading for the doorway.
Toshiro entered, his uniform still damp from Kirigakure's constant fog. Despite the obvious weariness on his face, he smiled broadly when he saw his son.
"Tadaima," he said, hugging Yuki and ruffling Ren's hair.
"Okaeri, Tou-san," Ren replied, studying his father carefully. He noticed small wounds on his hands, now bandaged, and a slight limp in his left leg.
After changing and freshening up, Toshiro joined the family for dinner. "It looks like the war is coming to an end," he said between bites. "Konoha is suffering heavy losses."
Ren listened carefully. ' Too vague as information, if Konhoa is losing it means Minato has not yet taken action.'
"The other nations?" asked Yuki, serving more rice.
"Iwa is getting more and more pressing, and Suna is also gaining ground," Toshiro sighed. "As for us... we are actively entering the war."
'This information is important,' Ren reflected. 'We are in the midst of the Third Ninja War. The yellow lightning has yet to gain notoriety and Rin's incident hasn't happened yet, but they will happen soon most likely. And after that...'
"Ah, I almost forgot!" Toshiro stood up, reaching into his backpack. "I brought something special for us."
He pulled out a small object wrapped in a dark cloth. Ren carefully opened it, revealing two identical pale blue crystals the size of a coin.
"They are raw chakra crystals," Toshiro explained.
"I found them during a mission. They are not pure enough to be used in weapons or ninja tools, but I thought of making two identical pendants out of them-one for you and one for me." A gentle smile lit up his face.
Ren observed the crystal with genuine interest. 'It might be useful for me to practice chakra control when it manifests.'
"Thank you, Tou-san," he smiled, as his father helped him hang one of the crystals on a lanyard he would wear around his neck. Toshiro did the same with the other crystal.
"They change color when exposed to chakra," his father added, absentmindedly stroking his own pendant.
That night, in his room, Ren reflected as he played with the crystal. The moonlight made it glow faintly.
'I have to prepare myself. Unfortunately, the time is not the best for quiet development, but I might take the opportunity to explore mist techniques more by combining it with my knowledge of Naruto.
He thought back to the techniques he knew from his previous world.
'Kirigakure no Jutsu, the Hidden Fog Technique, will be fundamental. But I could combine it with other elemental natures. Wind to make it sharp, or perhaps...'
'Lightning Release. Electricity conducts through water and fog. It's hard to specialize in electrical techniques in Kirigakure. That could be my advantage. He stood up, approaching the fogged-up window. The fog outside seemed thicker than usual. 'It's a pity I won't be able to have access to the forbidden techniques like Minato's Flying God or Edo Tensei... I really would have liked to learn them, but still, I can try to develop Rasengan on my own.''
'First, however, I have to survive what is about to happen. The yellow flash, the incident with Rin, the rise of Yagura, the purge of the kekkei genkai... Kirigakure is about to enter its darkest period.'