Coming to terms with what had happened wasn't easy. Maybe it never would be.
Dying. Meeting God. Reincarnating in a different universe. Witnessing the purge the moment he awoke.
It was too much.
For hours, he had run, driven by sheer panic and the desperate need to escape. When the adrenaline finally burned out, exhaustion claimed him, and he collapsed into unconsciousness. But rest did not come. His mind, struggling to cope, forced him into a PTSD-fueled dream.
He felt awful.
The images seared into his brain ran rampant—the ones he couldn't push away no matter how hard he tried.
His family. His friends.
The smell of corpses. Their pained expressions.
The boy cleaved in hal—
'No. I need to get a grip on myself.'
He forced himself to take deep, steady breaths, trying to push the memories back.
Not everything had been bad.
Kaiza—the man he recognized from the show—had found him. At first, Hyouketsu hadn't been sure it was him. Kaiza was younger, unscarred, and had two children—children he never had in the original timeline. Had they died on the way to Wave? That was something Hyouketsu intended to change.
Despite his silence and obvious inner turmoil, Kaiza and his sons had welcomed him. They tried to distract him with small talk, treating him like a normal child rather than someone broken.
Renji, the eldest, was fourteen—outgoing and mischievous. Souta, his younger brother, was twelve and a half (he stressed the half while introducing himself). A kind and gentle kid.
But how was he supposed to protect them?
Realistically, he could protect no one. His body was at most seven years old. He was weak. Helpless.
"Are you feeling any better?"
Kaiza's voice pulled him from his thoughts. Hyouketsu looked up, shaking himself free of his spiraling doubts.
"I feel better than when you found me," he admitted. "Oh, and... thank you for the clothes. I was too out of it to thank you earlier."
Kaiza chuckled. "It's alright, Hyouketsu. You'll be staying with us for a while, and we can't have you wearing dirty, stinking clothes. That'd make us look like savages, wouldn't it?"
Hyouketsu almost smiled at the joke.
"So, kid… what's your plan?" Kaiza asked after a pause. "I don't know if I can take you with us to Nami. I'll try, but I can't promise anything. The Kiri ninjas are watching who boards the ships and who doesn't."
Hyouketsu knew he was right.
Yagura, a mere puppet of Obito at this point, wouldn't allow unchecked movement. Even if he managed to sneak onto a ship… where would he go?
Konoha? That seemed like the safest option, but if Danzo got his hands on him, he was screwed. Hiruzen was a good man, but he had grown too weak-willed after reclaiming the Hokage title. The elders walked all over him. If Konoha wasn't safe, then realistically, no village was.
But not being in a village left him vulnerable to bandits and rogue ninja.
None of his options seemed right.
One thing, however, was certain—he needed to start training. Learning to be a ninja. Learning to use chakra. But finding a teacher would be almost impossible.
"I'll make sure you find someone you can stay with if we can't take you with us," Kaiza promised, interpreting his silence as fear. "I swear."
Hyouketsu clenched his fists. He wasn't too far off, honestly.
"When will we arrive at the inn, Tou-san? I'm hungry!" Souta whined, breaking the heavy mood.
"We'll be there soon," Kaiza reassured him before turning to Renji with a silent gesture. "Till then, why don't you play a card game with Hyouketsu?"
Renji sighed but nodded, moving closer to him. "Alright, kid, let's see if you're any good."
---
By the time they arrived at the inn, dusk had settled over the village. The building was small, dimly lit, and a bit run-down—proof of Kirigakure's suffering economy, even before Obito's interference.
Still, the warm scent of food filled the air, mingling with the mustiness of old wood. It was a humble place, but to Hyouketsu, it felt like a luxury.
Kaiza set down a tray of food: bowls of steaming rice, dried fish, and a few vegetables. Simple, but filling. Souta immediately dug in.
"Finally!" he groaned, stuffing his face.
Renji smirked. "You're acting like we haven't eaten in days."
"It feels like it!" Souta shot back.
Kaiza chuckled. "Slow down, Souta. The food's not going anywhere."
Hyouketsu sat quietly, staring at his bowl. The sight of real food stirred something in him. His stomach ached, a painful reminder of how long it had been since he last ate. His hands trembled slightly as he picked up his chopsticks.
"You should eat, Hyouketsu," Kaiza said gently. "You need your strength."
Hyouketsu hesitated before taking a bite. The warmth of the food spread through him, grounding him. It tasted… real.
As they ate, Renji and Souta bickered over their card game. For a brief moment, things felt normal. Almost peaceful.
Then Kaiza turned to him. "I don't know why, but you remind me of someone I used to know."
Hyouketsu blinked. "Who?"
Kaiza exhaled, his expression unreadable. "My wife. She was a shinobi—a chūnin of Kirigakure."
Hyouketsu's grip tightened on his chopsticks. He hadn't expected that.
"She was strong," Kaiza continued, his voice distant. "Not just in skill, but in spirit. Even when the village earned the moniker 'The Bloody Mist,' she refused to become like the others. She wanted to protect people, not slaughter them needlessly—especially not her comrades."
A shadow passed over his face. His fingers clenched into fists. "She died trying to help bring an end to the inhumane practices of the village. I wanted to fight alongside her, but… I had my sons to think about."
Silence.
"I used to wonder if I was a coward," he admitted. "If leaving was the right choice."
Hyouketsu swallowed hard. He knew that feeling—the crushing weight of guilt. The lingering what-ifs.
Was it cowardice to survive?
He didn't know. But he did know that Kaiza had chosen his sons over a doomed fight. And if that was cowardice… maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
"You're not a coward," he said, quieter than he intended.
Kaiza glanced at him, surprised. Then, slowly, he smiled. "And neither are you."
Hyouketsu wasn't sure he believed that.
But for the first time since waking up in this world… he felt a little less alone.
Renji and Souta's game ended with the younger groaning in defeat.
"Rematch!" Souta demanded.
"Not happening," Renji smirked.
Kaiza chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright, time to turn in. We have another long day ahead of us."
As they finished their meal and prepared for the night, Hyouketsu found himself thinking about Kaiza's words.
He didn't have an answer yet.
But maybe—just maybe—he wasn't completely lost.