Three days passed.
But Hyuk didn't sleep once.
When he closed his eyes, he didn't see darkness—he saw veins crawling over glass, twisting like roots beneath skin, pulling his reflection into someone else's.
So instead, he trained. Silently. Obsessively.
From dusk until dawn, he practiced alone at Training Ground 11—far from where Kakashi and the others might find him. Kunai drills. Chakra flow repetition. Shadow step movement. Over and over. Again and again.
But nothing burned off what was inside him.
Because it wasn't just trauma or paranoia or fear.
It was influence.
---
It began subtly.
At first, it was just small things—sounds sharper than normal. Reflexes faster than he remembered. Then came the temperature shifts: warmth when there was no sun. Cold in his spine even as sweat dripped down his neck.
By the fourth morning, Hyuk stood in front of a wooden training dummy. Breathing heavy. Pulse fast.
He extended his fingers. Focused.
Just enough chakra to disarm.
But when he struck, something else came with it.
A vine—black, thorned, and alive—exploded from his palm, latching onto the dummy's chest.
It coiled once, pulsed, then crushed it with a loud snap of splintering wood.
Hyuk staggered back, eyes wide.
The vine retracted into his arm like a serpent vanishing into water.
He looked at his hand.
His veins were glowing faintly now—black and violet, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
"…It's happening."
---
Elsewhere in the village, Kakashi sat on the roof of the Hokage's Tower, arms crossed, watching the clouds drift.
"You felt it too?" Hiruzen asked beside him, pipe in hand.
"Yeah. It was faint, but definitely chakra-based. And not natural."
Hiruzen exhaled slowly. "Was it Hyuk?"
Kakashi didn't respond at first.
"I don't know what it is yet," he finally said. "But it's waking up."
Hiruzen looked toward the mountain. "Keep watching him. Don't let him fall off the edge."
---
Later that afternoon, Team 7 was gathered again—but this time, not for a mission.
Training ground. Open sky. Grass swaying.
Kakashi stood in front of them with his usual half-lazy posture.
"We're doing two-on-two sparring drills," he said. "Real combat only. No holding back."
Naruto beamed. "Yes! Finally!"
Sakura looked unsure. "We're fighting each other?"
"Exactly," Kakashi said. "It's important to understand your teammates' strengths... and weaknesses."
"Teams?" Sasuke asked.
Kakashi's eye curved.
"Hyuk and Naruto versus Sasuke and Sakura."
Naruto groaned. "With him?"
Hyuk was silent.
Sasuke smirked. "Tch. This'll be over quick."
---
They took positions on opposite ends of the field.
"Ready…" Kakashi raised a hand. "Begin."
Sasuke moved first—quick and clean, rushing at Naruto with tight footwork and a shuriken already flying.
Naruto blocked it with his kunai and charged with a wide swing. "C'mon, teme!"
Hyuk didn't move yet. He stood at the back, analyzing. Watching.
Sakura came toward him, hesitant but prepared. "Let's go, Hyuk!"
She launched a barrage of basic strikes—quick, textbook form. He dodged without effort, slipping past her punches with graceful, calculated ease.
But then something shifted.
She overextended slightly. Just a half-step too close.
And that was when it surged.
His left palm flared—chakra pushed forward before he could stop it. Black veins swelled from his wrist to his fingers.
A thorned tendril burst out, aiming straight for her chest.
Hyuk's eyes widened.
He twisted his hand, redirecting it at the last second.
The vine whipped beside her head, slamming into a tree behind her and carving a gash deep into its trunk.
Sakura stumbled back in shock.
Kakashi moved instantly, appearing beside them in a blink. "Enough!"
The chakra vanished as quickly as it appeared. The vine retracted like smoke, and Hyuk fell to one knee, breathing hard.
Naruto ran up. "What the hell was that, man?! You almost hit Sakura!"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "That wasn't normal chakra."
Sakura clutched her chest. She wasn't hurt—but she was rattled. "Hyuk…"
Kakashi turned toward the others. "Training's over. Go home."
"What?!" Naruto snapped. "We didn't even—"
"Go. Home." Kakashi's voice was cold.
One by one, they left.
All except Hyuk.
He sat in the grass, head down, his own hand trembling slightly.
Kakashi stood over him. "That was the Thorn Vein, wasn't it?"
Hyuk didn't answer.
"You're losing control."
"I didn't mean to hurt her," Hyuk said quietly.
"I know," Kakashi replied. "But the next time, it won't wait for your permission."
---
That night, Hyuk returned to the Haruno estate.
The old dojo was empty. He walked to the center of the tatami mats, knelt down, and opened the floorboards.
A box.
Sealed. Hidden.
Inside: letters. Scrolls. A pendant carved from obsidian. And a small vial of dried, blackened blood—labeled only with a single name.
HYUMA.
Hyuk held the vial in his hand.
The last known Thorn Vein before the clan severed all ties.
You left something behind… and now it's in me.
He held the vial tighter until it cracked in his palm, a small sliver of dried blood brushing against his chakra flow.
And the moment it did, he saw the face again.
Hyuma, smiling through glass.
"We bloom in silence. We bleed in power."