Uzushiogakure woke beneath a silence that did not belong to sleep.
Mist clung low to the stone streets and spiral towers, hanging in slow ribbons that swayed like fabric breathing in time with something unseen. The air was cool, but not calm—charged with the kind of stillness that came before something ancient chose to move.
Raizo Uzumaki sat alone on the cliffside ledge, legs dangling over empty space.
The stone beneath him was cold through the soles of his feet. Wind brushed his skin without direction, hesitating instead of flowing. He breathed slowly, carefully, the way Akane and Riku had taught him—counting each inhale, releasing each exhale with deliberate control.
The mist did not follow his breath.
It shivered instead, recoiling slightly with every exhale, as if unsure whether to obey.
Raizo frowned and pressed a hand over his chest.
His heartbeat came in layers now.
One rhythm was his own—small, quick, familiar.
The other was deeper, heavier, echoing through blood that felt older than he was. It thudded like a distant drum beneath his ribs, steady and patient.
Behind him, soft footsteps approached.
"Good morning, little storm."
Akane's voice was gentle, but careful. Raizo didn't turn to look at her.
"The sea feels… worried," he said quietly.
Akane's breath caught. She knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, grounding, warm. She didn't argue. She never did when he said things like that.
"Worried about what?" she asked.
Raizo shook his head slowly. "It keeps pulling back. Like it wants to hide."
Akane followed his gaze toward the ocean, watching the way the waves hesitated before breaking. She swallowed.
"Let's take today slowly," she said.
Raizo nodded once. Then, softer, "It's not me."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"It's her."
The village knew before the elders announced anything.
People watched from doorways and windows as Raizo walked the stone paths beside Akane. Conversations died when he passed. Some adults bowed too deeply, too fast. Others turned away entirely, unsure how to meet his eyes anymore.
Children stared, curiosity tangled with fear.
Hina did neither.
She came at him like a thrown kunai.
"RAAAAIZO!" she shouted, slamming into his side and grabbing his wrist. "Why is everyone acting like you're about to explode!?"
Raizo blinked. "…I might."
"WHAT!?" Hina squawked.
Akane coughed sharply. "He's joking."
Raizo looked down. "No, I'm—"
Akane covered his mouth instantly. "He's joking."
Hina narrowed her eyes suspiciously, then nodded. "Good. Because if you exploded, I'd kick the explosion back."
"That's… not how explosions work," Raizo muttered once Akane released him.
"It is if you believe hard enough," Hina said confidently.
Raizo considered that.
Belief had been doing strange things lately.
Before he could respond, pressure slammed behind his eyes without warning. The mist convulsed violently, rippling as though the sky itself had been struck.
Raizo staggered.
Hina froze. "Raizo…?"
He clutched his temples, breath hitching. "It's loud."
Akane was at his side instantly. "What do you feel?"
Raizo swallowed hard. "Everything."
Heartbeats overlapping like drums underwater. Footsteps behind walls. Voices far away. The deep hum of Uzushio's barrier seals shuddering as something enormous drew closer.
Riku appeared beside them, expression sharp.
"She's close," he said.
Raizo didn't ask who.
His blood already knew.
They reached the training cliff once the pressure eased enough for him to walk.
Fallen leaves lay scattered across the stone—but not naturally. The wind pushed them in two opposing directions at once, tangling the air with conflicting intent.
Riku knelt in front of Raizo, placing both hands firmly on his shoulders.
"Only breathing," he said. "Nothing else."
Raizo nodded.
He inhaled.
He exhaled.
The leaves lifted gently at first, spinning in soft spirals around him.
Then the motion sharpened.
The spiral collapsed inward, compressing into a tight vortex. A piercing sound cracked inside Raizo's skull, like glass fracturing under pressure.
The world changed.
For a heartbeat, everything was color and motion—chakra threads weaving through the air like living lines. Riku's heartbeat glowed bright in his chest. The ocean twisted into massive blue spirals layered with ancient seals. The mist vibrated with pink, red, and white currents overlapping in chaotic harmony.
Raizo gasped.
Then the vision snapped shut.
Pain exploded behind his eyes. He collapsed forward, hands trembling against stone.
"Enough," Riku snapped, catching him instantly. "We're done."
Raizo shook violently. "Papa… everything changed."
Riku held him tight. "I know. You're safe."
But Raizo didn't feel safe.
He felt like something inside him was tearing itself open faster than he could learn how to hold it together.
Mito Uzumaki arrived with the sound of a cane tapping stone.
The mist parted around her like a bow.
Her presence quieted the air instantly, sealing the chaos without force. Akane stepped protectively in front of Raizo even as her legs trembled.
"Mito-sama," Riku said respectfully.
She didn't bow.
Her eyes fixed on Raizo.
"Bring him to me."
Akane hesitated only a moment before guiding Raizo forward.
Mito rested her hand against his forehead.
Warmth flowed into him—steady, ancient, controlled. The noise in his head dulled instantly. His breath smoothed. His heartbeat settled back into one rhythm.
"There you are," Mito murmured.
"It hurts," Raizo whispered.
"I know," she said gently. "Your blood is expanding faster than your understanding."
She withdrew her hand, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Much faster."
Riku frowned. "Is his body failing?"
"No," Mito replied. "It's adapting."
Akane's voice broke. "To what?"
Mito tapped her cane lightly. "To the world."
Raizo looked up. "Because of me?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "Your chakra does not behave like a child's. It pulls. It echoes. It calls."
He swallowed. "Is that why I hear the chains?"
Silence fell.
Mito nodded slowly. "You hear what binds me."
Akane covered her mouth.
"The Nine-Tails," Mito continued. "You will not awaken it. But you feel its presence."
Raizo whispered, "It's angry."
"It always is," Mito said softly. "You must learn to breathe beneath that tide."
When the elders confronted her, Mito did not yield.
"If you suppress him," she said coldly, "you will kill him."
"If you push him," an elder snapped, "foreign nations will notice!"
"If you neglect him," Mito replied, "he will become exactly what you fear."
Silence followed.
Riku bowed. "She has our support."
Akane bowed beside him.
At last, the head elder exhaled. "Training may continue. Under watch."
"Then watch," Mito said. "And learn."
That night, Raizo sat by the tide pools with Hina.
She didn't ask questions. She didn't stare at his eyes. She just kicked the water until a crab pinched her toe and yelped loudly.
"OW!"
"…Are you okay?" Raizo asked.
"No," Hina said cheerfully. "But I'll live."
She leaned against his shoulder.
"Everyone's scared," Raizo whispered.
"Yeah," she replied. "So what?"
"I'm scared too."
"Then I'll be scared with you."
The words anchored him more than anything else had.
Later, alone on the tide wall, Raizo breathed slowly.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The wind matched him at last—soft, respectful, steady.
The chain-sound echoed faintly in the distance. Still frightening. Still heavy.
But manageable.
"I can breathe under it now," he whispered.
The world did not answer.
But the wind listened.
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