Chapter 4 Blood in the Water

Setting: Year 2 of the Academy, Age 10 – Late Autumn]

The leaves were dying again. Reds and golds drifting down from the tall trees that bordered the village rooftops. The scent of smoke clung to the air — not fire, just cooking pits warming up for the morning. The wind had that brittle edge only October brought in the Hidden Leaf.

Satoshi was ten.

Mid-second year in the Academy.

By now, most students had chosen their path — weapon specialist, taijutsu brawler, genjutsu theorist. But Satoshi remained unclaimed by the molds.

Not weak.

Not strong.

Undefined.

[Curriculum Board – Academy Room 4A]

A list written in chalk beside Iruka's desk:

Academy Year 2 – Autumn Term Curriculum:

• Chakra Control Training (Leaf balancing, water walking)

• Ninjutsu Foundations (Transformation, Clone, Substitution)

• Weapon Handling (Shuriken, Kunai, Explosive Tags)

• Basic Trap Design & Escape

• Tactical Reading (2x weekly — led by Asuma)

• Mission Simulation Prep

• Village Law & Ethics

Graduation Requirements:

• Demonstrate proficiency in all three basic jutsu

• Pass a live field simulation ranked D or higher

• One-on-one combat evaluation

• Final written exam covering tactics, chakra theory, and loyalty codes

[Scene: Supply Stand — West Market Strip]

Satoshi knelt by a tool stand, inspecting kunai.

They weren't standard black steel — these were second-hand, chipped at the hilt. He could afford three. Barely. He rolled up a few coins in his hand. 9 ryo total. Earnings from part-time work cleaning training dummies in the ANBU reserve hall.

He didn't complain.

He needed gear, not comfort.

Behind him, Naruto bartered loudly with the vendor next stall over for a new ramen bowl.

Satoshi glanced over, faintly amused.

[Scene: Academy Training Yard – 1400 Hours]

Asuma stood before the class in his flak vest, lazily spinning a kunai around his finger.

Asuma: "Alright, today's scenario. You're in enemy territory. Your squad leader's wounded. You're down to one chakra burst and a smoke bomb. Show me how you survive and extract."

Each student ran simulations in rotating teams.

When it was Satoshi's turn, Asuma watched with interest.

He didn't rush.

He studied.

When he moved, it wasn't flashy. He used terrain, mimicry, and planted false trail markers with a water clone so convincing even Asuma lost track for a moment.

Asuma (after): "You're not the strongest here, Satoshi. But you fight like a ghost that's already won."

[Scene: Satoshi's Apartment – Night]

It was small. One futon. One desk. A wall of borrowed scrolls from the archives. A pouch of ryo tucked into a cracked jar. Next to it — the black dragon scale, still warm from its fusion weeks ago.

He removed his shirt and stared at the scar it left near his shoulder blade — a mark etched into his chakra flow like a second circulatory system.

He lit incense.

Opened the Ryūketsu Scroll.

Wrote his daily records:

• "Ninjutsu: Clone jutsu now stable under 50% chakra.

• Trap reaction test: Improved. Caught motion shift 0.3 sec earlier than last time.

• Still weak in raw sparring. Must rely on precision, not force.

• Kunai grip style #3 better for wrist torque.

• Power won't come overnight. Build from bone."

He closed the scroll.

Then whispered to the fragment:

"Show me again. What I'm meant to become."

It didn't glow. Not this time.

[Cut to: ANBU HQ — Interrogation Room]

Danzo reviews a photo — grainy, black and white. Satoshi walking near the old Ryūketsu shrine ruins.

Danzo: "He's reconnected with the fragment."

Root Operative: "Orders?"

Danzo: "Observation for now. But if he begins summoning…"

He pauses.

Danzo (darkly): "…we take the heart. The dragon can't rise without a soul to fuel it."

[Scene: Hidden Leaf Outskirts — Unofficial D-Rank Mission]

Satoshi volunteers to help a retired shinobi with trap clearing.

He's alone.

While disarming an old pressure tag, a cloaked figure attacks — kunai slashing through the trees. Fast. Too fast.

He dodges once. Gets clipped on the shoulder.

Rolls back behind a tree.

Bleeding. Heart pounding.

Satoshi (thought racing):

"Height advantage. Tag in the moss. Line between rock edges — misaligned. Hidden trip wire—no, trigger wire. He's pushing me into a blind spot. Smokescreen—not enough chakra."

He breathes slow.

Thinks.

Then triggers a trap on purpose — redirecting the force to collapse a tree in front of his attacker. The figure stumbles.

Satoshi moves in — not to strike.

But to seal.

Ryūketsu Style: Binding Glyph – Whisper Lock

He traces three fast kanji into the soil, pushing chakra with shaking hands.

The seal catches.

The attacker freezes.

A ROOT agent — sent to test his readiness.

Too close for a child.

Too dangerous to leave unchallenged.

[Final Scene – Hokage's Tower]

Hiruzen reads the mission report silently.

Kakashi leans against the wall.

Kakashi: "You can't keep playing both sides, old man. Either protect the boy — or let Danzo make him a weapon."

Hiruzen closes the scroll.

Hiruzen (softly):

"He's not ready for the truth. But soon… he'll be the one deciding what weapon this village becomes."

Outside, Satoshi walks home alone beneath the falling leaves.

A bruise on his shoulder. A cut on his hand.

But in his eyes?

Fire.