In the darkness, within his dreams, sinking deeper and deeper into his memories. There were voices, sensations, and blurry images intertwined beyond comparison; a meaningless collection of experiences piercing every particle of his broken soul like sharp needles.
Suddenly, he found himself standing at the top of some place wrapped in dreamlike white. The wind was pleasant, and so was the sunlight, but not the horrible emotions invading his heart.
Then, a thought emerged: "There was something I used to wish for."
And a question followed: "What was it that I used to wish for?"
Finally, the hard concrete, where his blood splattered, welcomed him with a cold embrace. As one voice called out from the sky and others cried out desperately through screams, Asahi Toru woke from his dream.
He suddenly sat up in bed, his eyes wide open. He inspected his surroundings before looking at himself, searching for blood. There was nothing. It had only been a dream, a painful and mysterious dream.
"What... what was that?" he wondered in confusion.
There was no answer.
For several seconds, he kept staring at the sheets, thinking about what he had seen. It had been so brief that he could barely consider it a dream, but after a while, he sighed, sitting on the bed and looking at the clock.
"The time is..." He frowned slightly. "It's already today... We can finally resume our missions."
A week had already passed since that ghost village. Hinata had recovered, there was no trace of poison left in Toru's body, and Ino... she was still acting strange for some reason. Aside from the cut she had received, which had already disappeared thanks to the skills of the shinobi doctors, there wasn't much else to mention.
Pushing aside all his doubts, Toru got out of bed. It was what he always did, since nightmares were something he had already grown used to, and wandering thoughts were part of his everyday life.
—A Few Minutes Later, Somewhere in Konoha—
With his back against a tree, Yamato crossed his arms and closed his eyes. As usual, he was waiting for his students, but his mind was occupied with other things.
'She has Jounin-level abilities...'
Miroku, also known as the Lunar Spider. As strange as it seemed, she was the same age as Yamato: twenty-two years old. It was just that this sensei acted like an old man, which made him seem a little older than he actually was.
Either way, Yamato and Kakashi had been the ones in charge of evaluating Miroku's abilities.
'We should keep a closer eye on her, just in case,' Yamato thought, but then Toru appeared.
"Hello, sensei."
"Good morning, Toru."
Seeing him again, Yamato realized that he had neglected his students. That night, Toru had been forced to kill in order to survive. Remembering the way the boy had stared at Yasu's corpse sent a chill down his spine, and he felt that they needed to talk about it.
"The girls still aren't here..."
"We should give them a little more time," Yamato said, though he was already impatient to begin.
He paused before speaking.
"Toru."
"Hmm?"
Yamato made a brief gesture with his hand, telling him to come closer. Curious, Toru obeyed, and two wooden logs instantly appeared as seats. Yamato sat down and motioned for Toru to do the same. Once they were both seated, the sensei spoke.
"How are you feeling?"
"How am I feeling? Normal, I guess."
Looking out at the scenery, Yamato felt a little uneasy.
'Asahi Toru is a child who rarely shows strong emotions. That's what I've seen. I need to get him to be honest before Ino and Hinata arrive.'
Yamato shook his head.
"That's not what I mean. How do you feel about what happened that night? You killed someone. No one is prepared for that."
"That night... I don't really know. I felt like I lost control of myself, but I also felt that it was necessary for survival. That's why I didn't stop stabbing him until I was sure the enemy had been neutralized."
"...That..."
Toru stared into nothingness, his face completely expressionless, as if he were nothing more than a doll. That unsettled Yamato; no, it scared him, and it also made him a little sad. The stupid thought that this kid would make a good ANBU shinobi crossed his mind, but then he remembered Kakashi and his comrades, all broken by war.
"That's not right," the sensei whispered. "Didn't you feel anything else? Didn't you see something else? Before, during, or after killing him..."
"See something, huh..."
Toru lowered his gaze. His hand trembled for an instant.
"Yes. I saw something and... someone."
"Could you tell me?"
"I saw... blood... corpses..." He paused, his bangs covering his eyes. "And among all of that... I saw Itachi."
Toru's doll-like face had twisted into a slight grimace, as if he were trying to suppress everything he was feeling at that exact moment.
"Itachi...? I see. That's good. It proves that you're still human. Pain, sadness, and despair. As shinobi, those are the things we often end up feeling, but that isn't right either."
Yamato raised his hand and placed it on Toru's head. He gently stroked his hair with a comforting smile.
"Remember that beyond all that suffering, there are also friends and comrades who can be there with you during the happy moments. Not everything is gray."
Yamato stood up while Toru remained seated, silently watching him.
'Not everything is gray...' he thought, but he also remembered that moment from his dream. Even so, he looked toward the horizon, reflecting in silence.
Yamato-sensei was a good sensei...
"Good morning, Yamato-sensei and Toru-kun," Hinata said, finally appearing.
"Good morning, Hinata. Are you feeling better?" Yamato asked.
"Yes, I'm fine now. And... I'm sorry for the trouble I caused."
"You don't need to apologize, Hinata," Toru said, making Hinata feel confused.
"Toru is right. You don't have to apologize. And besides, you did a great job. I'm proud of you," Yamato added.
Hinata was taken aback, but she soon understood. She smiled shyly as she looked down.
"I see. Thank you."
It was a nice reunion after everything that had happened, but Ino arrived in her usual loud fashion.
"I'm here!" Ino shouted, raising her fist into the air.
The three of them looked at her with confused expressions.
"Good morning, Yamato-sensei, Hinata, and... Toru..." she said, trying not to look at Toru.
Everyone found it strange that Ino had greeted Toru, even Toru himself.
"Well... now that you're all here, I have something very important to tell you," Yamato said. "Tomorrow, registration for the Chunin Exams begins."
"The Chunin Exams?" Ino asked.
In response, Yamato smiled confidently.
"As you should already know, ninja have ranks that define their abilities: Genin, Chunin, and Jounin," he said, crossing his arms. "You're still Genin, but you can advance to Chunin if you complete this exam."
"I've read about them," Toru added. "Ninja from different parts of the continent gather to complete a certain number of tests that challenge their abilities. Depending on a ninja's performance during the exam, the judges will decide whether they can advance in rank or remain a Genin until they can take the exam again."
"Exactly. That's why I'm telling you about this. You can enter the exam if you want, but it will be dangerous."
"What do you mean, sensei?" Hinata asked.
"There will be powerful ninja from all over the continent in this exam, each one with abilities you've never seen before. On top of that, the risk of death is quite high."
Hinata and Ino remained silent for several seconds as they thought about what Yamato had said. Toru, however, reflected on it deeply.
'Could it be possible for me...? I defeated a strong ninja, and I think I have what it takes. My jutsu...'
It was a gamble, but Toru truly believed he was capable of doing it. He had nothing to prove. If he did it, it would simply be to become stronger.
It wasn't a bad opportunity. If anything...
"I'll enter the exams, sensei," Toru said after thinking about it for a while.
Hearing Toru's words, Ino's eyes widened in surprise. Then she remembered the way Toru had handled everything that happened that night and felt something like a flame burning in her chest.
'You're not the only one who can act tough...'
Clenching her fists, Ino raised her head and spoke with a defiant smile.
"I want to enter the Chunin Exams too."
Hinata was surprised. Toru and Ino had already made their decisions. However, despite her nerves, she had something to prove as well. Hinata wanted to become strong, and she was getting there. This was her opportunity to explore new horizons. She had already made up her mind.
"I... I want to join too," Hinata said, raising her hand.
"I see," Yamato said. "If you all want to enter the exams that badly, I'm not going to stop you. As your teacher, I intend to support you. However, let me remind you that this is extremely dangerous, and if you feel like you can't continue, surrender immediately."
The three children nodded at the same time.
"Thank you, Yamato-sensei."
Yamato nodded.
"Registration is tomorrow morning. Don't be late," the sensei said.
A new stage in the lives of these rookies...
—The Next Day—
Toru was on his way to the Academy to register for the exam, but along the way, he saw something that made him stop.
'Those kids... Their forehead protectors aren't from Konohagakure.'
The way they dressed was also very different from the clothing normally worn in this village. The one who stood out the most was a boy with a giant gourd strapped to his back. His hair was red like desert sand, and he had a strange tattoo on his forehead.
The second was the boy who looked like he had a mummy strapped to his back. His entire outfit was black, and he had several purple markings on his face.
The last one was a very beautiful girl with blonde hair tied into four ponytails. Her eyes were a bluish-green color, and she had a large fan attached to the obi of her kunoichi outfit.
'They're obviously not from here. I guess they're here for the Chunin Exams too.'
Toru took another four steps. For now, those people had nothing to do with him. However, the girl with the fan noticed his presence and simply stared at him in silence.
Toru returned her gaze and sighed before disappearing without a trace. That surprised the mummy guy and the girl, but not the redhead; he remained silent and expressionless.
'The kid with the gourd... I have a feeling he's dangerous,' Toru thought as he watched them from one of the trees, but he shook his head and continued on his way. 'Not my problem. Not right now.'
The red-haired boy, however, looked in Toru's direction before turning away again as if nothing had happened.
—Somewhere Else—
"He's taking too long," Ino complained.
"Maybe something happened to him," Hinata added.
Suddenly, with a brief gust of wind, Toru appeared in the blink of an eye.
Just seeing him for a second was enough to make Ino angry.
"Hey! How dare you make us wait?!"
"Sorry. I ran into some really sandy-looking people, and they caught my attention. But I'm here now, aren't I? We're not late yet."
"That's true. Registration closes in thirty minutes," Hinata added.
Ino sighed.
"As long as you understand... Anyway, let's stop wasting time! We need to register already."
The three of them entered the Academy, but the moment they stepped inside, Sasuke came flying out as if someone had kicked him.
"I thought the Sharingan was stronger," said a boy with thick eyebrows. "I guess I was disappointed."
Dressed in green in a very strange outfit, the boy shook his head, but then his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the emblem on Toru's sweater.
"Well, what do we have here? Not only did I run into an Uchiha, but an Asahi as well."