The sky above Konoha was unusually quiet. No birds, no wind, just the distant hum of life from the streets below. Ryo stood on the rooftop of his small apartment, looking out at the village that still felt too peaceful for what he had seen last night.
His wrist itched faintly where the mark lay hidden under the bandage. Every few seconds, it pulsed once, like a steady heartbeat that wasn't his.
"Still there, huh," he muttered.
He didn't tell Sarada or Mitsuki about the man he saw in the alley. Not yet. Even thinking about it made his stomach twist. The man's words echoed in his head again.
You're the one who took my place.
What did that even mean?
He took a deep breath, trying to shake the thought away. The sun was rising over the Hokage Monument, casting long shadows across the rooftops. It should have been a normal morning. But deep down, Ryo felt it, the air itself felt heavier, as if something was pushing against the world from the other side.
---
By the time he reached the training field, Sarada and Mitsuki were already waiting.
"You're late," Sarada said, arms crossed. "Again."
"Sorry," Ryo replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't sleep much."
"That's what you said yesterday," Mitsuki noted with a faint smile. "Are you sure you're fine?"
Ryo nodded, but it was an automatic lie. His head was still pounding from the surge of energy last night.
Konohamaru arrived a moment later, carrying a scroll. "Alright, team. We're assigned to an investigation near the outskirts. Some villagers reported strange light flashes in the forest. It might just be leftover chakra residue, but we'll check it out."
Sarada's eyes narrowed. "Light flashes? What kind?"
Konohamaru shrugged. "Unclear. The patrol nin said it looked like distortions in the air. Probably nothing."
Ryo felt his stomach drop. He already knew it wasn't nothing.
---
They left the village soon after, following the dirt road that wound into the forest beyond the north gate. It was quiet at first, just birds and the sound of leaves brushing against their feet.
Ryo stayed near the back, keeping his eyes on the trees. Every now and then, he caught a flicker of light between the branches. It wasn't sunlight. It was something else, a faint shimmer, like glass reflecting from the wrong angle.
"Something's off," he muttered.
Sarada glanced at him. "You sense something?"
"Not chakra," Ryo said quietly. "More like… static."
Konohamaru stopped ahead, raising a hand. "Stay sharp."
The air started to hum. Leaves lifted slightly from the ground, drawn upward as if gravity forgot how to work.
Then the light appeared, a crack in the air itself, glowing white with streaks of blue. It pulsed once, then opened wider.
"Everyone back!" Konohamaru shouted.
But it was too late.
The crack expanded, tearing through the trees with a sound like breaking glass. From within, a figure stepped out, tall, humanoid, but its skin shimmered like fractured mirror shards. Its eyes glowed pale blue, and its voice was a distorted echo.
"Subject located," it said, voice overlapping with itself. "Primary anomaly: Ryo Kazehara."
Ryo froze. His chest tightened.
Konohamaru moved fast, forming a seal. "Sarada, Mitsuki, formation B! Ryo, stay back!"
The creature turned its head toward Konohamaru, its body flickering. "Irrelevant variable."
A burst of energy shot from its hand, slamming into the ground. Dirt exploded upward, forcing everyone to scatter.
Sarada activated her Sharingan, eyes glowing red. "What is that thing?!"
Ryo stared at it, heart pounding. The mark on his wrist burned so hard it felt like fire under his skin.
"I think… it's here for me," he said.
---
Konohamaru launched forward, weaving signs. "Fire Style: Great Flame Bullet!"
A wave of fire roared across the clearing, engulfing the creature. For a moment, it vanished behind smoke and heat, but then a crackling sound echoed.
The creature stepped through the flames unharmed, its body rippling like liquid light. "Physical damage: ineffective."
Sarada threw a kunai with an explosive tag. It detonated with a sharp blast, sending shards flying. Again, no effect.
"It's absorbing chakra attacks," Mitsuki said quickly. "We need to cut off its energy source."
Ryo gritted his teeth. The mark pulsed faster, reacting to the creature's presence. He could feel it calling to him, a pull deep in his chest, urging him to move.
He took a step forward.
"Ryo, don't!" Konohamaru shouted.
But Ryo had already lifted his hand. The glow spread from his wrist, forming a faint circle of light around him. The air shimmered.
The creature tilted its head. "Synchronization detected. Resonance beginning."
Suddenly, the world blurred. Colors twisted. Ryo's vision warped as if the ground itself was bending toward the creature. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Images flashed, the man in the alley, the glowing eyes, the same mark mirrored on his other wrist.
It's you, the voice whispered in his head. You brought me here.
Ryo clenched his teeth. "I didn't ask for this!"
The mark flared. A wave of energy erupted outward, colliding with the creature's barrier. The shockwave sent dirt flying and cracked several nearby trees.
Sarada shielded her eyes. "Ryo!"
The light faded for a second, revealing Ryo standing in the center, panting, his hand glowing faintly. The ground beneath him was scorched in a circular pattern.
The creature's body had fractured, parts of its chest were missing, but the damage healed instantly. It raised its hand again. "Resonance unstable. Termination required."
It moved faster than before, a blur of light. Ryo barely dodged, feeling the air split beside his face. He countered instinctively, swinging his arm forward, and for the first time, the light obeyed.
A blast of raw energy struck the creature, sending it crashing through a tree. The sound echoed across the forest.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Ryo stared at his hand, chest heaving. "What... was that?"
Konohamaru ran to him. "You just released pure chakra without forming any seals."
"I didn't" Ryo stopped, realizing he didn't even know how he did it.
The creature rose again, body flickering more violently now. "Resonance incomplete," it said. "Secondary link required."
Then it vanished into thin air.
---
The silence that followed was heavy.
Mitsuki knelt beside the spot where the creature had disappeared. "It didn't die. It just retreated."
Sarada turned to Ryo, eyes sharp. "You need to explain what that was. Right now."
Ryo opened his mouth, then stopped. He didn't even have an answer.
Konohamaru looked toward the trees. "We're heading back to the village. Naruto needs to hear about this immediately."
Ryo just nodded, still staring at the faintly glowing mark on his wrist. It pulsed one last time before fading.
And for a brief second, just before it disappeared, he saw text flash across his vision, faint, white letters floating in the air.
[New Objective: Discover the Source of Resonance]
---
They returned to Konoha before sunset, the forest behind them still scarred by what happened. No one spoke during the walk back. Even Sarada, who usually filled the silence with short comments, stayed quiet.
Ryo walked behind the group, his eyes fixed on the bandage around his wrist. The mark underneath had stopped glowing, but he could still feel it, a faint warmth pulsing under his skin like something alive.
When they reached the Hokage's office, the guards immediately recognized Konohamaru's urgency. Naruto was already inside, standing behind his desk when they entered. His expression shifted the moment he saw Ryo.
"You felt it too, didn't you?" Naruto asked quietly.
Ryo froze. "Felt... what?"
"That surge in chakra earlier today," Naruto said. "Half the sensory units picked it up. It was like a ripple through the entire village."
Konohamaru stepped forward. "It wasn't just chakra, Lord Seventh. It was some kind of distortion. A creature appeared, it knew Ryo by name."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "By name?"
Sarada nodded. "It called him an anomaly."
The word hung in the air for a moment. Ryo felt his throat tighten. "It attacked us first," he said. "And when it got close... it said something about 'resonance.' Then my mark reacted."
Naruto circled the desk slowly, eyes sharp but calm. "Show me."
Ryo hesitated, then unwrapped the bandage. The black symbol gleamed faintly even under the office light, circular lines forming a pattern that almost resembled a seal.
Naruto studied it closely. "That's not any curse mark or summoning seal I know." He crossed his arms. "But the pattern feels... familiar somehow."
Before anyone could speak, the window behind them rattled. The blinds shook as a wave of chakra pressure swept through the room.
Shikamaru burst through the door. "Naruto, we've got a problem. The anomaly reappeared near the east barrier."
Naruto's face hardened. "It's after Ryo again."
Ryo swallowed. "Then let's end this."
---
The air outside the village walls shimmered like heat distortion. Several jonin were already there, forming defensive seals to stabilize the barrier. The creature stood beyond it, flickering in and out of existence, its body glitching like broken glass.
"Subject still active," it said, voice layered with static. "Link incomplete. Proceeding with retrieval."
Naruto landed beside Ryo, his cloak fluttering slightly. "Stay close to me. Don't let it draw you in."
Ryo nodded, his heartbeat quick but steady.
The creature raised its hand, and the barrier split open like thin paper. A rush of energy surged forward, twisting the ground. Naruto's chakra flared instantly, golden light wrapping around him as the power of Kurama filled the air.
"Everyone, fall back!" Naruto shouted. "I'll handle the front line!"
The jonin obeyed. Ryo didn't move. His mark pulsed again, faster, stronger, reacting to the energy around the creature.
Naruto glanced at him. "Ryo! What's happening to you?"
"It's calling me again," Ryo said through clenched teeth. "But this time... I think I can answer it."
He raised his arm. The mark spread up his forearm like living ink, branching into glowing lines. The air around him vibrated.
The creature extended its own hand in the same motion, as if mirroring him.
Naruto saw it immediately. "It's syncing with you!"
Ryo gritted his teeth. "Then I'll break the connection myself!"
He slammed his hand forward. Light exploded outward in a blinding flash, colliding with the creature's core. The shockwave shook the trees, tearing through the soil. Naruto moved in at the same moment, launching forward with Rasengan.
The glowing sphere smashed into the creature's chest, combining with Ryo's burst of energy. The explosion tore through the air, creating a crater that glowed with residual chakra.
For a second, everything stopped. The sound, the wind, even the light seemed frozen.
Then the creature's body fractured completely, splitting into shards of white light that scattered into the sky.
Naruto landed beside Ryo, panting slightly. "Nice timing."
Ryo tried to smile, but his vision was already fading. "I didn't... mean to time it. It just... happened."
His knees buckled. Naruto caught him before he hit the ground.
"Hang on, kid. We'll get you checked out."
But before Ryo could respond, a whisper echoed in his head again, soft, distorted, but clearer than before.
The resonance is only the beginning.
Then everything went black.
---
When Ryo opened his eyes, he was in the hospital. Sarada sat by his bedside, arms crossed, pretending not to look worried.
"You really know how to cause trouble," she said.
Ryo blinked slowly. "Did we win?"
"Sort of," Sarada said. "That thing disappeared again. But the Hokage's barrier team said the distortion didn't close completely. Something's still out there."
Ryo stared at the ceiling. "Great. Just what we needed."
Sarada hesitated for a second, then looked at him. "Whatever that mark is... it's changing you, isn't it?"
Ryo didn't answer. His wrist still felt warm, like the mark was quietly pulsing under his skin.
He turned his head toward the window, watching the sunset over Konoha. The village looked peaceful again. Too peaceful.
Deep inside, he knew this wasn't over.
---