Ryo adjusted the headband on his forehead for the third time that morning. The metal plate still felt strange against his skin. It wasn't even an official one, just a spare Konohamaru had lent him so he would "look the part."
The training field was quiet except for the sound of wind brushing through the trees. Sarada and Mitsuki were already there, both standing in front of their sensei. Konohamaru leaned casually against a post, arms folded, eyes sharp even when he smiled.
"So this is our new teammate," Konohamaru said. "Ryo Kazehara, right? I heard the Hokage himself approved this arrangement."
Ryo gave an awkward bow. "Uh, yes sir. I'll do my best."
Sarada crossed her arms. "He's not exactly a ninja," she said quietly, glancing at Ryo from behind her glasses. "But Naruto said he has... potential."
Mitsuki tilted his head. "Potential? Or something else entirely?"
Ryo scratched his cheek, unsure how to answer. "Honestly, I'm not sure what I have either."
Konohamaru chuckled. "Fair enough. You'll figure that out once you start working with the team. Today, you'll join them on a simple mission."
He handed a small scroll to Sarada. She opened it and read aloud. "Escort delivery merchant to the outskirts of the Fire Country. Low threat level, classified as C-rank."
"Sounds easy enough," Mitsuki said. "Though C-rank missions rarely stay that way."
Ryo blinked. "Wait, we're going outside the village already?"
"Relax," Konohamaru said with a grin. "It's not far. Think of it as a field trip... with potential danger."
Sarada sighed. "You're not helping, Sensei."
Konohamaru ignored her. "You'll leave in an hour. Ryo, stick close to them and observe. Don't try to be a hero. Just follow their lead."
Ryo nodded. "Got it."
---
An hour later, the team gathered at the village gate. The merchant they were escorting was a short man with a large pack and nervous eyes. His cart was filled with bundles of dried herbs that gave off a sharp, earthy scent.
"Alright," Sarada said, adjusting her gloves. "Formation stays simple. I'll take point, Mitsuki on the left flank, and Ryo, you stay near the merchant."
"Understood," Ryo replied.
As they walked through the open countryside, Ryo kept glancing at the forest surrounding them. The sounds were so vivid, birds chirping, insects buzzing, wind passing through leaves. Nothing like the city noise he used to know.
He could feel the dirt under his sandals, smell the sun-warmed grass. Every sense felt sharper here. Too real to be a dream.
Sarada glanced over her shoulder at him. "You walk like someone who's never carried gear before."
"Because I haven't," Ryo admitted. "I used to... sit a lot."
She sighed. "You'll need better balance if you plan to last as a shinobi."
"Noted," he said, trying not to trip over a root.
Mitsuki smiled faintly. "He's learning. That's something."
They continued for hours, crossing narrow streams and rocky paths. Sarada often raised her hand to give silent signals, which Ryo tried to mimic even if he didn't fully understand them yet.
When they stopped for a short break, Sarada opened a map. "We're halfway there. If we keep this pace, we'll reach the drop-off point by sunset."
Ryo leaned against a tree, wiping sweat from his forehead. "You make this look easy."
"That's because it is," she replied, glancing at him. "You'll get used to it."
Ryo looked at his hands. "I hope so."
---
They resumed walking, the afternoon sun filtering through the canopy. Everything felt calm... until it didn't.
Sarada suddenly raised her hand, signaling a halt. Her Sharingan flashed briefly. "Something's moving ahead," she said quietly. "About thirty meters."
The merchant froze, clutching his pack. Mitsuki stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "Three chakra signatures. Not villagers."
Ryo felt his heartbeat quicken. "Enemies?"
"Bandits, probably," Sarada said. "Stay behind us."
She barely finished the sentence when three figures leapt out from behind the trees. They wore torn vests and carried kunai that glinted under the light.
"Well, well," one of them said. "A bunch of kids on escort duty. Easy pickings."
Sarada didn't respond. She dropped into a defensive stance, Sharingan spinning faster.
"Get back!" she shouted to Ryo and the merchant.
Before Ryo could react, one of the bandits rushed forward, swinging his kunai. Sarada parried with precision, twisting her wrist to disarm him. Mitsuki appeared behind another, his movements fluid and quiet like a snake, knocking the man unconscious with one blow.
The third bandit charged straight at Ryo.
Ryo froze. His instincts screamed to move, but his body refused. The man's blade came down, and in panic Ryo raised his arm to block.
Something pulsed inside him.
A shock of light rippled from his palm. The air around him vibrated, sending the bandit flying backward. The ground cracked under Ryo's feet as if struck by invisible force.
Everyone froze.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Ryo stared at his hand, trembling. "What... was that?"
Sarada ran to his side. "You just released chakra," she said slowly, her eyes narrowing. "But... that wasn't normal chakra."
"I didn't mean to," Ryo said, voice shaking. "It just happened."
Mitsuki crouched beside the unconscious bandit. "He's alive. Just... out cold."
Konohamaru's voice echoed in Ryo's head, Don't try to be a hero. Just observe.
Yeah. Too late for that.
Sarada exhaled and looked around. "Area's clear. Let's move before more show up."
Ryo nodded, still staring at the small cracks in the dirt. They continued down the path, the merchant now walking a little farther from him.
For the rest of the trip, no one spoke much. Even Sarada's usual composure seemed slightly off. Mitsuki kept glancing at Ryo from time to time, as if analyzing him.
When they finally reached the client's destination, a small herbal outpost by the border, Sarada handled the delivery papers while Ryo waited near the gate. He tried to focus on breathing, but his chest still felt tight.
That wasn't normal chakra. He didn't even know how to mold chakra properly, yet his body had reacted on its own.
He remembered the first time that mark appeared on his wrist, and the message it had shown: Welcome, Main Character.
Was this part of it?
Sarada approached him, pulling off her gloves. "You did well," she said. "Sort of."
He blinked. "Sort of?"
"You saved the merchant, but you could've hurt yourself. Or worse."
Ryo looked down. "I know. I didn't mean to use... whatever that was."
She softened slightly. "Just don't lose focus next time. We watch each other's backs here."
He nodded. "Got it."
---
As the sun dipped below the horizon, they began their return journey. The forest around them turned gold and orange, shadows stretching long.
Sarada and Mitsuki talked quietly ahead while Ryo followed behind, lost in thought. Every rustle of leaves made him alert now.
He wasn't sure what was happening to him, or why that energy felt so familiar. But deep inside, he could feel something stirring, something that didn't belong to this world.
When they finally reached a small camp clearing for the night, Sarada handed him a canteen. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Ryo said, though he didn't sound convincing. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
He stared at the flickering campfire. "What if I don't belong here?"
Sarada looked at him for a long moment before answering. "Then make yourself belong."
Her tone was calm, confident. Ryo smiled faintly. "You sound like your dad."
"I get that a lot," she said, settling beside him. "Now get some rest. Tomorrow we report to the Hokage."
Ryo lay back on the grass, watching the stars above the trees. The forest hummed quietly, alive with small sounds.
He touched his wrist, half expecting the strange mark to glow again. Nothing happened.
Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something, or someone, was watching him.
---
Far away, deep within the woods, a cloaked figure stood on a branch, observing the fading light of the campfire.
"So he's finally awakened," the figure murmured. "The resonance has begun."
The night wind carried the voice away, leaving only silence and the faint rustle of leaves.
---
The night was quiet, too quiet for Ryo's liking. The campfire had burned low, leaving only red embers glowing faintly against the dark. Mitsuki was on the first watch, sitting cross-legged on a rock while Sarada slept beside her pack.
Ryo lay on his back, staring at the sky. The stars here looked impossibly bright, like someone had polished the whole sky clean. He could hear crickets and the faint whisper of the wind. It should have been peaceful, but his chest still felt heavy.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that burst of light from earlier, the way the ground cracked, the way the air itself seemed to bend.
That wasn't normal chakra. Even someone like him, who barely knew how chakra worked, could tell.
He turned his wrist over, tracing the faint mark that had once glowed there. It was gone now, but he could still sense something under his skin, like a pulse that didn't belong to him.
"Still awake?" a quiet voice said.
Ryo turned. Mitsuki was watching him, eyes reflecting the firelight.
"Yeah... couldn't sleep," Ryo admitted. "Too much going on."
Mitsuki nodded. "You're not used to this world yet. Your body still thinks like a civilian."
Ryo gave a small laugh. "Guess that's true."
For a moment, they both stayed silent. Then Mitsuki tilted his head slightly. "That power earlier... it wasn't chakra from this world."
Ryo froze. "What do you mean?"
"I've trained under Orochimaru," Mitsuki said calmly. "I've seen many forms of energy, natural chakra, senjutsu, even experimental ones. But yours... it felt different. Like a rhythm out of place."
Ryo tried to find words but couldn't. "I didn't do it on purpose. It just happened."
"I know," Mitsuki said. "But be careful. Power that acts on its own often has its own will."
Ryo didn't answer. The thought of something inside him having a will of its own made his stomach twist.
A breeze passed through the camp, and the embers flickered. Sarada shifted slightly in her sleep but didn't wake up.
After a while, Mitsuki spoke again. "You should rest. We have a long walk back tomorrow."
Ryo nodded. "Right... thanks."
He turned to his side, closing his eyes. But sleep didn't come easily. The forest whispered too much, and the unease inside him wouldn't fade.
---
He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he heard it, a faint crunch of leaves, heavier than footsteps of an animal. Ryo's eyes snapped open.
The fire was almost out. Shadows danced faintly across the clearing.
Someone was out there.
He sat up slowly, scanning the treeline. Mitsuki was gone from his post.
Ryo's pulse spiked. "Mitsuki?" he whispered.
No answer.
He reached for the kunai Sarada had given him earlier, just in case. His hands felt clumsy around it, but holding something made him feel less useless.
The sound came again. Closer this time.
Sarada stirred beside the fire, half awake. "Ryo... what's wrong?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but something moved in the dark. A blur of shadow burst from the trees.
"Get down!" Ryo shouted.
Sarada rolled aside just as a kunai struck the spot where her head had been. Sparks flew as the weapon hit a rock. Three masked men emerged from the forest, their chakra faint but sharp.
"More bandits?" Sarada muttered, standing quickly.
Ryo's grip tightened on his kunai. "They don't look like normal bandits."
The attackers moved fast, far more organized than before. One charged straight at Ryo, while the other two engaged Sarada from both sides.
Ryo barely had time to block. The clash of metal rang in his ears. The man's strength pushed him back several steps, his arms shaking.
"Not bad for a rookie," the masked man hissed. "But you're no ninja."
Ryo gritted his teeth. "Guess I'll have to fake it."
He ducked under the next swing and kicked out awkwardly. The man stumbled, just long enough for Sarada to intercept with a kunai strike that forced the attackers to retreat a few paces.
"Where's Mitsuki?" Ryo shouted.
"Already moving," Sarada said, activating her Sharingan. Her eyes glowed scarlet in the dark. "He'll flank them."
Almost as if on cue, one of the attackers was yanked back by a pale arm that appeared from the ground, Mitsuki's snake clone. The man hit the dirt hard, kunai clattering away.
But before anyone could react, the last masked ninja performed a quick hand sign.
"Scatter," Sarada said immediately.
Ryo dove aside. A burst of smoke exploded where they'd been standing, sending dust and sparks flying. Through the haze, Ryo saw one of the men run, not away, but toward him.
He raised his kunai, but the man was too fast.
A bright light flashed.
Then, silence.
When the dust cleared, the attacker was on the ground, unconscious. The air shimmered faintly around Ryo, like heat rising from the ground. His hands were trembling, and faint cracks spread across the dirt under him again.
Sarada stared at him, panting. "You used it again."
"I didn't... I didn't mean to," Ryo said, chest heaving. "It just came out."
She pressed her lips together. "Then learn to control it before it hurts someone."
Her tone wasn't angry, it was sharp, worried.
Mitsuki walked up, glancing at the fallen enemies. "They're not ordinary bandits," he said quietly. "They have strange chakra... unstable."
Sarada crouched and pulled one of the masks off. Beneath it, the man's skin had faint gray lines running across it, like cracks in porcelain.
"What the hell..." she murmured.
Ryo's stomach tightened. The mark on his wrist pulsed again, faint but noticeable. He covered it quickly, hoping no one saw.
Mitsuki frowned. "We should get back to the village. Now."
Sarada nodded. "Agreed. These people... something's wrong with them."
---
By dawn, they were already halfway back to Konoha. The forest looked calm again, but the team stayed on alert. Even the merchant, who had been half asleep on the way out, now walked in complete silence.
Ryo kept to himself, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the trees. He could feel Sarada's occasional glances, but neither of them spoke.
When the village gates finally came into view, he let out a quiet breath of relief.
"Mission complete," Mitsuki said softly.
Sarada gave a small nod. "Let's report to Sensei first."
They made their way to the mission office where Konohamaru was waiting, sipping from a cup of instant coffee. His eyes widened slightly when he saw their expressions.
"Back early. That's usually a bad sign," he said.
Sarada set the report scroll on his desk. "We were ambushed. Twice. The second group had unusual chakra, corrupted, maybe. We subdued them but didn't find out who they were."
Konohamaru's usual relaxed smile faded. "Understood. I'll inform the Hokage. You all did well."
Then his gaze shifted to Ryo. "And you?"
Ryo hesitated. "I... lost control again."
Konohamaru nodded slowly. "That's fine. You're not expected to have control yet. What matters is that you kept your team alive."
Ryo looked down. "I just don't want to be a problem."
Sarada glanced at him. "Then stop thinking like one."
He blinked. "Huh?"
She smirked faintly. "You're on the team now. Act like it."
Ryo couldn't help but laugh quietly. "Right. Got it."
Konohamaru leaned back, watching them. "Looks like you're fitting in already."
Maybe he was.
---
That evening, Ryo found himself walking alone through the streets of Konoha. The sunset bathed everything in soft orange light, and the air smelled faintly of grilled food from nearby stalls. Children ran past him laughing, chasing each other with wooden kunai.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt... grounded. Like maybe he had a place here, even if he didn't fully understand it yet.
Still, when he passed by a mirror near one of the shop windows, he noticed something.
For just a second, his reflection didn't move with him.
It stood there, still smiling, even after he had turned his head.
Ryo froze.
Then, the reflection blinked and aligned again like nothing had happened.
He rubbed his eyes, his heartbeat rising. "Great... now I'm seeing things."
But somewhere deep inside, he knew it wasn't just his imagination.
The mark on his wrist pulsed faintly under his sleeve, and a faint whisper echoed in his mind.
"Your story isn't written yet."
---