Chapter 9 – The Price of the Bloodline
The night was quiet.
Too quiet.
Michel had learned to recognize the rhythms of the village—the sighs of wind between buildings, the far-off pulse of chakra, the whispers of dreams.
But tonight… there was silence.
A stillness too deliberate.
And then—
A scream.
It came not from the Silver World, nor the Grey, but from the real world, piercing and terrified.
Hinata.
Michel flared awake, from his meditation. He could not move in the flesh, but his presence surged like fire through their soul-bond. He felt the sharp snap of terror in her chest, the cold sting of foreign chakra wrapped around her tiny frame.
"No—what is this?"
He reached out. His silver threads pulsed, trying to stabilize her body, to ease her lungs and slow her panicked heart.
But the danger was real, and close.
<<<< o >>>>
In the compound's outer wall, a masked ninja from the Cloud Village attempted to flee under cover of night, a small bundle in his arms.
That bundle screamed again.
But the attacker had miscalculated.
He wasn't alone.
From the shadows, Kuro launched herself—fur bristling, teeth bared. The little black dog tore into the intruder's arm with a fury born of pure loyalty.
The ninja snarled and struck back.
A flash of chakra. A shriek of pain.
Kuro hit the ground, blood on her face, one eye clouded and red.
She tried to rise again.
But her legs failed.
<<<< o >>>>
Hiashi Hyūga arrived in a flash of cold rage.
There were no words.
Only a strike.
A hand glowed white.
A chakra point collapsed.
The assassin crumpled—dead before he hit the ground.
Michel felt the change instantly.
The soul of the attacker, severed violently, twisted in the air—and was claimed.
Not by a Shinigami, not yet.
Because Michel hit him with a punch that threw him straight to the shinigami's door... before he could manifest himself to finish claiming this soul.
Michel did not follow it.
He turned inward, toward Hinata—trembling, unconscious, and placed gently in her father's arms.
Beside her, Kuro whimpered weakly.
<<<< o >>>>
The following days were a storm of silence.
No shouting. No cries.
Only formal words behind closed walls.
Diplomacy layered in poison.
Michel listened from within.
The Cloud denied everything. Demanded justice.
The Leaf responded with cold calculation.
In the end, a single decision settled the matter:
Someone from the Hyūga must die to satisfy the demand for balance.
Hiashi stood to offer himself.
But the clan did not accept.
<<<< o >>>>
Michel watched with heavy stillness as a man who looked like Hiashi—his twin, Hizashi—stood quietly before the elders.
"It will be my honor," Hizashi said, bowing. "Let the world believe it was Hiashi. The secret will protect us."
"It will mark my son," he added, "but such is the fate of our branch."
Michel felt the moment the seal on Hizashi's soul pulsed, preparing for the coming end.
It wasn't just binding. It corroded. Twisting the soul with obedience masquerading as duty.
<<<< o >>>>
Hinata did not understand.
She asked her father where Uncle Hizashi had gone.
Hiashi told her gently, but with formality. There were no tears.
Neji stood alone by the training posts, fists clenched, his eyes unreadable.
He didn't answer when Hinata called his name.
<<<< o >>>>
Michel saw it all—saw the way threads dissolved.
The one between Neji and Hinata, once faint but whole, now frayed.
Not anger. Not hate.
But something colder, resentment in silence.
The bond was not cut, but… it no longer reached out.
Michel could not undo it.
"Why can't I hold them together?" he whispered into the mists of the Silver World.
"Why do they keep breaking?"
No answer came.
Only the familiar pressure… the echo of a presence far deeper than this world.
Shikashi was watching.
<<<< o >>>>
Weeks passed. The clan moved forward.
But Hinata… shrank.
She spoke less.
Played less.
Smiled only in dreams.
Kuro stayed close—now with one eye cloudy, but still vigilant.
Still hers.
And Michel, more than ever, felt the pull of destiny… and its cruelty.
<<<< o >>>>
Then one day, it happened.
A routine stroll in the inner streets of Konoha.
A rare outing for Hinata, accompanied by a bored woman from the branch family—meant to watch her, meant to keep her safe.
But the woman turned away to speak with another servant, and Hinata, curious, wandered.
She didn't go far.
But far enough to be seen.
<<<< o >>>>
Three boys stood at the edge of the street. Aged 7 or 8, a few years older.
They stared at her—at her pale, pupil-less eyes.
"Creepy," one muttered.
"Is she blind?" asked another.
"Maybe she's cursed."
They moved closer.
Michel felt the spike in her pulse. Her hands curled into small fists, her knees locked.
She didn't speak. Couldn't.
They laughed.
One of them shoved her.
She stumbled.
Another yanked her sleeve.
Kuro barked, growled—but one of the boys grabbed her by the neck, hoisting her just off the ground.
She kicked, snapped, struggled—but couldn't reach.
Michel surged, silver threads flaring in panic.
"Stop. Please, someone—!"
Then came the shout.
"HEY!"
The boys turned just as a blur of yellow and orange slammed into them.
Naruto Uzumaki—filthy, loud, and wild—plowed into the lead bully and knocked him over.
"Pick on someone your own size, jerks!"
He stood in front of Hinata, arms out, teeth bared like an alley cat.
Michel paused.
There was no chakra flare.
No technique.
Just… raw emotion.
It wasn't just wild. It was focused, like a beam through the fog. Untrained. Untamed. But unmistakably… a soul that would move the world.
The boys scattered. One of them cried. Another threatened to tell a teacher.
Naruto turned around.
"You okay?"
Hinata looked up, wide-eyed.
She nodded slowly.
He grinned, scratched his head, then sprinted off before anyone could scold him.
The boy who had held Kuro dropped her and ran.
The little dog limped to Hinata's side and growled into the empty air, tail low but still defiant.
Michel watched them both.
"He is chaos," he thought.
"But he is light."
He looked at Hinata—still frozen, her cheeks red, her eyes wide and glistening.
And for the first time in many, many nights…
She smiled in the real world.
[KURO IMAGE]