Chapter 10 Sleepers & Ashes

Ashes

(64 Days Before Graduation Exam — Late Autumn | Canon Era: Naruto & Team 7 Begin Missions)

Word count: 1,315

"Chakra is not just energy.

It's will, bruised into shape."

— Third Son Doctrine: The Flame Beneath the Flesh

[Opening Scene – Eastern Plateau, 0530 hours]

The air stung with frost, the kind that made the lungs burn slightly on inhale. Wind moved across the rocky rise above the Leaf like a slow blade, dragging dead leaves in thin spirals. It was here — before most villagers stirred — that Satoshi trained.

Not loudly. Not with spectacle.

Barefoot, shirt off, breathing slow. His body bore signs of discipline, not natural strength — calluses forming where gloves hadn't helped, bruises up his ribs from repeated blunt trauma testing, chakra burn on both wrists from overstrain.

Before him: a ring of torches.

A test of control.

Satoshi stood in the center with one hand pressed to the ground.

Internal Monologue:

"Wind chakra is too unstable to mold into form without elemental affinity. But if I can reverse the chakra flow through earth release—slow it, stabilize it… then feed flame into that structure—"

He exhaled.

Earth chakra pulsed beneath him. It shifted the rocks around the base of the nearest torch.

Then… fire.

A stream of it, too fast — no traction.

BOOM.

The entire circle flared with raw combustion, blowing one torch off its base.

Satoshi flew backward, skidding through the dirt.

He didn't scream.

Just coughed out smoke and whispered:

"Too much fire. Not enough shape."

He grabbed a water flask, poured it over his forearms to stop the burning itch.

[Flashback – 3 Days Earlier, with Iruka]

Iruka (stern): "You have affinity for Earth and Fire, right? Combining elements is not required at this level."

Satoshi (calm): "The curriculum doesn't train us for war. Only missions."

Iruka: "You're not in a war."

Satoshi: "Not yet."

The silence after said more than either wanted.

[Back to Present]

Satoshi repositions.

Breathes in.

Focuses again — slower now. This time, he lets the earth chakra move wider, creating a spiral of friction dust, instead of compressed vibration. Then trickles fire into it. Not a burst. A whisper.

The ring smolders.

No explosion.

But heat radiates — sustainable.

He lets it burn.

Internal:

"Balance. That's the difference. I don't need to be powerful. I need to be right."

[Scene Transition – Hidden Leaf Mission Board, 0800 hours]

Naruto grumbles under his breath as Team 7 is once again assigned a D-Rank mission: helping the Yamada family repair their fencing.

Naruto: "Man, this sucks! What happened to being a hero?!"

Sasuke stays silent. Sakura offers a weak smile.

Satoshi, standing nearby, watches quietly. He's not assigned to any mission this morning. His Squad 4 still hasn't been fully activated.

Shikamaru (approaching): "Hey. Ryūketsu."

Satoshi turns. Slight tension.

Shikamaru: "Asuma-sensei asked about you. Wants to know if you can observe our formation drills tomorrow. Says your reaction tracking's ahead of schedule."

Satoshi: "Why?"

Shikamaru (shrugging): "Says learning how you observe might help some of us move smarter."

Satoshi (internally):

They're watching my methods now. That means I'm visible. Time to redirect the focus.

Hide work behind insight. Let them underestimate the hands while watching the head.

[Scene: Forest Trail – Afternoon]

Satoshi walks a dirt path away from the village, carrying a scroll strapped across his back — today's focus: chakra flow diagnostics using handmade seal paper. It's not glamorous. It's essential.

He reaches a small, moss-covered alcove where a stream feeds into an old training pond. Settles in. Begins his work.

One sheet.

Ten chakra pulses.

Three element tests: earth, fire, lightning.

The paper crackles — his fire is dominant.

Lightning, however? It refuses to split. His chakra coils shiver violently whenever he channels it. Like his body remembers something else.

Flash of a memory:

White-robed monks. A crying child. An iron seal closing.

He clutches his ribs.

The chakra backs off.

Internal (shaken):

"There's something in my coils… resisting lightning. Not incompatible. Just… guarded."

He logs it.

[Scene: Hokage Office – Late Evening]

Kakashi reports in quietly.

Kakashi: "He's not building power. He's building understanding. Fire through earth. Grounded forms. He's failing more than he's succeeding, but he's learning from each one."

Hiruzen (thoughtful): "Good."

He places down a letter.

Hiruzen: "Because Team 7's next mission will take them beyond the border.

And the boy may need to move… from observer to protector."

[Scene: Satoshi's Apartment – Midnight]

He sits with his notes. Every page labeled with time, seal formula, chakra pulse intensity, chakra type ratio.

There are over 40 pages now. None labeled "complete."

His arm aches. His side is still bruised from the morning's fire recoil.

He eats rice quietly.

Then he sharpens his kunai — not for need. But to keep his hands busy while his mind plays the memory over and over.

The one with Jigen.

The false monk.

And the child.

He realizes something.

"That wasn't just a vision.

That was a memory in my body… from before I knew myself."

He writes it in his log.

Lightning rejection is not elemental incompatibility.

It is memory seal interference.

Test delayed release with heat-core activation + fuinjutsu suppression seal.

He caps his pen.

Sleeps sitting up.