61

On a decrepit island, surrounded by thick suffocating dark fog, a desolate figure roams around. His feet make an echoing sound on the pebbly shore of the island, his hand carrying a pitch-black sword.

The fog gathered up so quickly that it covered his figure inside.

The beautiful island was once covered in the bodies and dried blood of Uzumakis killed by the three nations combined. Now, with his arrival, it's even worse, the path has become something that devours all who tread its sacred grounds.

This is where he came, from the east, to train his squad to its full extent, they didn't dare venture forth freely for fear of a monster they call "leader"

When all stay together, there is nothing to fear — or is there? He is not just training them. He is also pushing their minds and bodies to the very limit itself...! It was hellish indeed, but they had no choice, it was only then they were ready to take on this monster.

When the squad came onto this island everyone was somewhat excited. But with each passing day, things became increasingly worse due to him driving them crazy. Their training was nothing sort of torture for their bodies and minds.

They were tired, worn out, depressed, and angry at times; they wanted to run away back to the village, yet he continued to drill them. This went on for 5 months straight.

He lingers on, his steps as light and soft as a child's, his body moving effortlessly across the island as Ghost reached the makeshift huts they made before he stopped dead still.

The makeshift huts didn't stand a chance as he blow them in a gust of wind, the sound, and the shockwave was enough to wake up the tired squad from their much-needed sleep...

Some had their lips trembling to watch him standing in front of them, 'Just kill us already' they thought, as their eyes continued to stare at their leader with intense expressions.

"What are you all waiting for, start running...", His piercing gaze kept all at bay.

Some might have already fallen unconscious if they are not trained assassins who are used to it...! But even to them, this is just... Gritting their teeth the squad moved at a swift pace around the island, running until they felt like puking blood. "He is a monster", someone uttered under their breath.

After they reached their finish line, they were all ready to vomit their heart out...!

"Aghh...!" (Breathless) "I can't do this anymore..."

(Someone fell) "I can't either..."

It wasn't hard for Ghost to notice they had finally reached their limits, their minds could not take any more. Now, if he tried to push it, they would fall right in front of him...

He looked at the youngest two of the group, Itachi and Shisui Uchiha almost passed out like the rest, and nods his head...

Itachi and Shisui were both very young and extremely talented. They would definitely grow up to be the best one day.

Walking in front of everyone he looked at his squad members one by one.

"The basic training is over, Hyuga Arikurin tops the training. Good job. You get to be in charge of the next training session. As for everyone else you all could go and rest for the remainder of the night, tomorrow there will be no guarantee that either of you will survive," he said.

The squad members were dumbfounded.

Arikurin Hyuga blinked, he is in charge of the next training session?! And from the leader's tone, it seems like...

"why is everyone afraid?!", Itachi asked whispering Shisui...

Shisui trembled, "It means tomorrow we are doing the survival exercise", He looked at Itachi, "Survival is the worst"

"Even worse than what we are currently doing?!", Itachi asked

"Oh, the naivety of a rookie. How I missed it", Shisui patted Itachi's shoulder and was nearly crying.

Itachi looked at everyone near him, they all were afraid, it was pretty evident by their body language, the young boy was confused, why is everyone so afraid of something as simple as a survival exercise?

It can't be worse than the hellish training they are going through right now, right...?!

Shisui noticed his friend's pure gaze and shook his head with a sigh, "Poor you, you shouldn't have taken his offer to join us. I bet if you know what's gonna come tomorrow you might just lose it in an instant", Shisui said

Others looked at the Hyuga with envious eyes, he gets to be in charge of the survival, which means he would get to be the raider tomorrow...

Ghost finished his speech soon enough, "Stop looking at him like that..! It was a fair competition, and it's only fair that he gets what you all could not, now you are on your own from this moment, do whatever you want until morning; I will see you tomorrow", The assassin said and blurred out of existence before anyone could say anything...

The young boys started to talk amongst themselves, "Since we are gonna go through torture for some time now, we should try to get some rest before morning!", Shisui said to Itachi...

"Yes, that sounds good!"

Everyone just found some haystacks and huddled themselves up against the grass, it was impossible to fall asleep so they continued to chat about the training session in the upcoming morning...

Night falls fast on this desolate island and the moon shines bright and full in the sky, everyone except Itachi was nervous; he still couldn't understand. What was gonna happen tomorrow?! What kind of horrible thing was gonna be done to them?

With such thoughts in mind, Itachi fell asleep soon enough. Tomorrow, they were about to face their first real test. A nightmare that could never be forgotten no matter how much you wanted to...!

...

On the other hand, Ghost walks into the middle of Uzushio, where he saw a ridiculously large structure. Limitlessly sturdy, boorish, and glass smooth stones were stacked up to make the fortress, but what really made it stick out was that it was the only structure still in one piece among the countless rubbles.

This is where Ghost lived, away from the village, away from everyone. This was his eternal home, a place to return to, which had been deserted since the Uzushio was destroyed at the hands of the three nations.

A massive structure like this, covering the whole island, with no one living inside, is scarier than a scary house.

"… Hah…", Ghost sighed and strode towards the castle like a lost boy searching for a place to rest. He stopped by a big damaged door, opened it slightly, and went inside.

"My good old home…"

He sat down on the floor and stared out the window at the sea of mist. This room was once the heart of Uzushio, and now it's the hall where all of Ghost's works were put on display, even though the entire place is just filled with bare stone walls covered with dust and spider webs.

It's been 5 months since the elders' demise and peace returned to Konoha, people and units returned to their regular routine after a brutal fight to clean the village. The elders' dark dealings were also told to the general public, so many became angry and sought justice but that was a story for another time.

He went to a separate room and picked up the hard military ration, before laying down on the ground... A bird flew in with a letter on its leg, and stood at Ghost's shoulder making the assassin frown, is there a problem in the village?!

Opening up the letter, he took a glance at it.

Ghost sighed and burned the letter after reading it... He was being summoned...

...

Somewhere near the land of the earth, Jiraiya was sitting while leaning against the tree, looking through his scrolls.

The five elemental nations are in an uproar since Konoha's elders' brutal death. The spies of the opposing nations are spreading the information quite fast.

"They finally showed their true colors," Jiraiya said to himself, "Sigh, I was hoping they would redeem themselves, but I hoped too much I guess"

He didn't say a word after that. He continued reading the scrolls, one by one until he noticed the strange aura of someone behind him. He laughed softly at the shadow of the assassin that was still visible from the corner of his eyes.

"Are you here to visit your old sensei now", Jiraiya amusedly said to Ghost who was standing behind him.

"If it wasn't for your message", Ghost said in a flat voice, "I wouldn't have come"

"You could have said otherwise", Jiraiya chuckled, "Even if it's just to keep my spirits up"

Ghost said nothing as he sits beside Jiraiya silently, "What is it..?!"

"Here", Jiraiya said and threw the scroll, "Your very own summoning scroll..."

Ghost read the contents of the scroll in silence before he went on, "Is this why you called me..?!..."

"This one was hard to get", Jiraiya cut Ghost off, "I heard it's the only scroll of its kind."

The young man was staring at the scroll in silence, "I wasn't really looking for such a thing..."

"Oh! You will for sure...", Jiraiya said with a grin and continued, "Besides, I am pretty sure you are the only one that can actually sign a contract with these guys. They are very... demanding of their needs..."

"And should I care..?!", Ghost states while rolling his eyes.

Jiraiya nods, "The Hungry Ghosts is what these guys are called. Legend states that their home is in a realm of suffering, starvation, and thirst beyond..."

"Starvation?", He raised his brows

"Hm. They are called the spirits who are always in a state of eternal woe, never to be satisfied"

"Cannibals..?! Is that it? I would have to be extremely desperate to sign such things as my summoning partners, Sensei...", Ghost said with a sigh.

"They are not cannibals. Their hunger goes beyond the need for flesh and blood, I have been told these things are known to eat Natural Energy and chakra in an infinite amount", Jiraiya says.

"..."

The Old man chuckled, "They are just like you, no, they are better in terms of eating...So, how about it? Are you interested now..?!"

Ghost stayed silent for a long time before nodding his head silently, "Yes. Thank you for the scroll...",

The old man smiled at Ghost, "One more thing, you will have to continuously feed them a huge deal of chakra for them to actually work with you. But given someone like you, it should be a piece of cake..."

Jiraiya said and Ghost nods his head.

"Now the thing I called you for. Academy is starting next month..."

A slight shock then a small smile crept on the young assassin's visage, "Then I guess I should start my preparations..!"

"Good luck..."

"Yes...", Ghost stood up, "Take care of yourself..!..."

Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively and laughed. "Oh.! I am not done yet, little boy!!" he said with a menacing laugh, "You see, I have been through a lot to get you that summoning scroll for you..."

Ghost sighed, "What do you want..?!"

"You see, I am in dire need of an assistant writer", Jiraiya said chuckling.

"We have had this talk countless times already. I am not gonna write your eroge novels"

"You sure are a stubborn child, aren't you?! And I was hoping we could use our skills to help each other out..."

"I am most definitely not talented in writing erotic stories old man", Ghost answered.

Jiraiya pouted at that, "Well, even if you say so, you will have to work with me, I think I earned that much, right?"

"..."

"So..?!..."

"Fine... There is a condition though..."

Jiraiya chuckled, "A condition...", He said mockingly, "You are so nice"

Ghost sighed and looked at the old man as he continued, "I need you to pick up a package for me..!", Ghost said, making Jiraiya look at him confused...

"Package?! Official..?"

"Personal...!"

Jiraiya chuckled, "Sure. But I would need you to come with me for research and stuff...! It's very important to be detailed in writing a book...!"

Ghost rolled his eyes again, "By research, you mean watching the girls' bath together, right..?! You are weird", he said sighing...

Jiraiya shrugged and laughed, "I'll be counting on you, kid!"

Ghost blurred in thin air, "My team is training in Uzushio, I want you to take over my squad for the time being. I have to make some preparations in the village for the upcoming academy session", he said with a nod.

Jiraiya smiled back at the young assassin before nodding in agreement, "Sure. I should head there then..!"

...

The first thing that greets Jiraiya's eyes as he enters Uzushio, is the sound of the wind howling and the eerie atmosphere. He was here again, after so long that he had forgotten what this place looks like.

Jiraiya sighed and enter deep into the abandoned village of Uzushio. The smell of the ocean filled his nostrils, and as he walks deeper in, the scenery changed to something else, something ghostly, resembling death itself.

He moved towards a large building and stop at the entrance. There were countless stone statues and paintings of the Uzumaki clan on the wall.

He remembered this island was once full of life, but now it is all gone. The only things left here are dust, rubble, and cobwebs.

He walked through a hole that was dug out and looked down at the bottom of the hole. It was a small diary, alongside a note...

Jiraiya read the note, 'The diary contains Uzumaki clan's sealing arts. Kushina sensei wanted her son to learn about their clan's heritage. That was her last wish, Can you please look after this diary for the time being, and teach Naruto the art of sealings when the time comes?!'

Jiraiya looked at the diary and flipped through the pages. It contained various seals used by the Uzumaki clan, the writing was very detailed and difficult to understand for the average person, but with Jiraiya's ninja skills, he was able to grasp the basics pretty fast.

The seals are extremely powerful, they can even destroy the world if used recklessly.

Jiraiya sighed, "That idiot, how could he..!!", Jiraiya said to himself with emotions. It was filled with secret techniques of the Uzumaki clan that only their clan members are entitled to practice.

The old man closed the book with a snap, such powerful symbols are not his to learn. They are clan secrets. Putting the diary into his breast pocket, Jiraiya left this scary-looking tower...

"Jiraiya sama..?!", Jiraiya turned his head back to see Itachi staring at him with big black eyes, "What are you doing here?"

Jiraiya smiled, "Yo. I am your new trainer..."

...

~Kirigakure~

The beautiful mist that bathed Kirigakure in its beauty, obscured the truth of its state. The scent of blood overwhelmed all other odors of earth and wood.

The killing intent in the air hung like a thick fog upon the lake; There was no sound but the cry of those that are brutally killed; there was no motion save a brave few that stood still against the endless number of Kiri shinobis.

And amongst those endless numbers of Kiri shinobi stood a shinobi who would be perceived as nothing but a child from afar.

However, on closer inspection, the young teen — clad in black pants as well as sandals of the same color, along with a flak jacket of Kirigakure, with the hat that had "Mizukage" inscribed upon it in kanji writing— was more than just a child.

He was once the glorious leader of the village that stood firm and was called the hero of Kirigakure. Now he is a mad demon, who is slaughtering every single bloodline user in Kirigakure.

Yagura Karatachi, the powerful Mizukage of Kirigakure has single-headedly killed more than 130 bloodline users without breaking a sweat. His madness only grew with the number of deaths he inflicted.

Yagura pointed at a woman's dead body bathed in blood, "Where is her kid?!", He asked those remaining few who are yet to be killed by him.

One of the rebels chuckled in disdain, "Haha! If you thought that we would give away the young miss position that easily then you are much more foolish than you look. Today, our blood will pave her way to greatness."

The other rebels laughed with glee as Yagura smirked, "We shall see about that! Kill them" he ordered.

Kiri shinobis charged at Mizukage's order and overwhelmed the enemies with their superior numbers.

At the moment when all of the Kiri rebels were killed except for one, Yagura turned to face the man, "This is the final time I ask! Where is the kid! Tell me and you shall be spared", He asked calmly.

The rebel laughed with blood caked smile, "I told you already, if you think that you have me so easily then you are more foolish than you look!"

"Then again,"—Yagura shrugged—"we shall see about that!" He said.

With one swift blow, blood splattered, and the rebel's head flew.

"Find her and kill her", Mizukage said as he strode toward the eastern side of the lake, where lays Mizukage's tower.

"Yes sir!" One of the shinobi replied.

...

~Konohagakure~

Unmasked Raizel sat in his home, preparing the training plan for Naruto during the academy session with a soft face as he sips his coffee...