Night rains over Konoha.
Not heavy.
Just enough to blur the streetlights.
He walks alone.
Hands in pockets.
Mind heavy.
Too many thoughts.
Too many questions.
The Mist assassin.
The evolving eye.
The seal.
That jutsu…
"Kaigan no Kōen."
He didn't learn it.
He didn't create it.
It… used him.
Like he was a vessel.
He clenches his fist.
He needs answers.
Back home.
He locks the door.
Lights off.
Sits on the wooden floor.
Cross-legged.
Breathes in.
And closes both eyes.
Deep inside his consciousness—
A door waits.
Black. Iron.
Unmarked.
Unmoving.
But—
Tonight, it's open.
Slightly.
His eye pulses.
He steps in.
A vast black space.
Floating lights.
Symbols in the air.
Ancient characters.
Circles. Scripts. Maps.
A voice echoes.
Not loud.
Just… close.
"Protocol 3: Memory Drift Fragmentation—Stabilized."
He sees images flash.
A battlefield.
Bodies.
His hand… soaked in blood.
A single figure standing against him.
A girl.
White hair.
Tears in her eyes.
A name…
Almost remembered.
But then—
A shatter.
Pain in the head.
He opens his eyes.
Back in his room.
Sweating.
Heart racing.
His nose bleeds.
The next morning.
Academy continues.
As if nothing ever happened.
Iruka doesn't mention the attack.
Neither does Naruto.
Sasuke just stares more often now.
Suspicious.
Curious.
But silent.
They're all pretending.
Trying to act normal.
But the tension grows.
And then—
He gets a letter.
No name.
No stamp.
Just a folded paper in his locker.
He opens it slowly.
One line.
"You are not the only one."
His pulse spikes.
The back of the note—
A symbol.
A circle with three lines piercing through.
Like a broken eye.
After class.
He walks alone again.
Finds a quiet alley.
Waits.
And she appears.
A girl.
Red eyes. Dark cloak.
About his age.
She doesn't introduce herself.
Just speaks.
"You've seen it too."
He doesn't reply.
She continues.
"The Broken Dojutsu."
That name again.
"You awakened it recently," she says. "Didn't you?"
Still, he says nothing.
But she smiles anyway.
"I felt the signal. When you used the Seal of Fire."
He narrows his eyes. "Who are you?"
She steps closer.
But not threatening.
"Someone like you. An echo."
"What do you want?"
"To warn you."
She looks up.
The clouds thicken.
"Others have awakened the eye before. They all died."
Silence.
"Why?"
"Because it's not a gift. It's a curse. It burns your soul each time you use it."
He stays still.
She pulls up her sleeve.
Her arm.
Scarred.
Burn marks.
Strange patterns etched into the skin.
"I used it too much," she whispers.
"And now I have three months left."
The words hit hard.
She turns to leave.
But says one last thing.
"Don't try to control the eye. Listen to it. Or it will consume you."
The next week passes.
He doesn't use the eye.
Trains with Naruto.
Studies with Iruka.
Sparring with Sasuke.
Pretending.
But every night—
The dreams return.
Visions.
Of battles in deserts.
Men with glowing eyes.
A temple submerged in water.
And that same voice.
Always whispering.
"Protocol 4: Harmonization Pending…"
Each morning, he wakes up weaker.
Palms sweating.
Eye aching.
And then—
On the seventh night.
He receives another letter.
This time in blood.
Written on skin.
Real human skin.
"Awaken the Sixth Layer before they do."
No name.
Just the same broken eye symbol.
The next day.
He visits the Hokage tower.
Requests the library key.
Sarutobi watches him closely.
"You're searching for something."
He nods.
"I don't know what yet."
The Hokage gives him the key.
And a warning.
"Some truths cost more than ignorance."
He spends the next five hours underground.
In the forbidden section.
Untranslated texts.
Scrolls bound in chakra seals.
Dust of decades.
He finds one scroll.
Hidden beneath the pile.
The symbol matches.
Broken eye.
Title:
"The Doctrine of the Shattered Sight"
He opens it.
Diagrams.
Of a dojutsu unknown to any clan.
A timeline.
Thousands of years ago.
An ancient user.
The "First Vessel."
Name unreadable.
But drawn in red ink.
Below that—
Seven Protocols.
Each unlocking a new piece of the eye.
Each with a cost.
1. Instinct Flash
2. Mist Disruption
3. Memory Drift
4. Harmonization
5. Blood Recoil
6. Time Fracture
7. Origin Return
His hand trembles.
He's already triggered three.
And each one nearly killed him.
He doesn't know what "Time Fracture" means.
But it doesn't sound survivable.
Then—
A line at the bottom.
Written in old script.
Barely visible.
"Only one vessel can hold all seven protocols. The rest will break."
He slams the scroll shut.
Breath heavy.
Mind reeling.
Then he senses it.
A presence.
Watching him.
Behind the shelves.
He moves instantly.
But—
Too late.
A dart hits his neck.
Poison.
Fast.
Strong.
His knees give out.
Vision blurs.
Before darkness claims him—
He sees a figure step forward.
Wearing the same cloak as the girl.
But taller.
A man.
Half his face covered in tattoos.
He leans down.
And whispers.
"Protocol 4 begins now."