Bonds and Burdens

[Wolfthunder7]

After so much time, the silence no longer felt like a suffocating void as it once had, but rather a hard-won achievement.

For centuries, the world had been plagued by an endless cycle of destruction, fear, hatred, curses, and death. But now, everything was calm, something that had always seemed impossible, yet he could feel the miracle now.

Itadori Yuji, the strongest sorcerer in history, even in his current state,sealed within a single object: a shriveled, blackened finger, could feel, or rather, could no longer feel cursed energy. He could also sense, by his side, the remains of Panda's soul departing, finally completing the circle.

Panda… he had been the last one. His last friend and the final memory of a youth tinged with blood, exorcisms, and bonds that were invaluable to Itadori.

At that moment, Itadori felt something within himself; it was as if his own spark of life began to flicker. His time was up. Strangely, he felt neither fear nor resentment; all he could feel was a profound relief.

Yuji had lived a long life, longer than all his friends and relatives. He had fought more curses than any other sorcerer and had lived to feel the end of the cursed cycle, with all cursed energy finally drained from the world.

"Grandpa… Everyone… I think I've finally had a proper death now…" he thought, feeling the darkness gently enveloping him.

And suddenly, he opened his eyes.

Yuji felt his lungs burning, as if he had held his breath for a long time before letting out a cough. He fell to his knees, using his hands to steady himself as tears streamed from his eyes. While trying to regain control of his body, the realization suddenly hit him… He had a body!

Hesitantly, Yuji sat back on his heels and looked at his hands. They looked young, though they were missing two fingers. He moved them tentatively, still in shock to be upright, before bringing them to his face, feeling his nose, his scars, his eyes.

It was undeniable: he was alive and corporeal again.

He then noticed he was wearing the last set of clothes he had on before being sealed: his hoodie, pants, and sneakers. Looking around, he realized he was in a sort of white void stretching in every direction, much like Tengen's domain.

"Where…" His voice sounded hoarse, likely from disuse. "... am I?"

"Itadori Yuji." A voice called out to him. The tone was melodic and calm, yet it carried a strange weight to it.

Immediately, Yuji spun around, ready to fight if necessary or use Dismantle, but what he saw made the strongest sorcerer in history freeze.

A few meters away, sitting on a tatami mat that seemed to float in the void, was a woman of supernatural beauty. Her skin was a pale gray, almost like incense ash, and her dark hair was pinned up in an impeccable traditional style. What was most striking, however, was her attire: a Yukata whose patterns were not fabric, but constant, hypnotic flows of pure Cursed Energy, moving like smoke against the wind.

She smiled gently at him. Despite the cursed energy surrounding her, she seemed devoid of any malicious intent, something Itadori had never encountered before.

"Please, have a seat." She gestured to a tea set in front of her. "We have matters to discuss, Yuji-kun."

Yuji stared at her for a few seconds before approaching. He gave a brief, polite bow and sat across from her.

"Shitsurei shimasu. It is an honor to meet you. My name is Itadori Yuji." he greeted her. The woman smiled.

"The pleasure is mine, Yuji-kun. Please, feel free to address me simply as Yami." she replied before filling two cups with tea, which smelled wonderful to Yuji.

He accepted the cup with both hands in a gesture of respect.

"Itadakimasu." he murmured before taking the first sip. His eyes widened slightly. "This ocha… it is without a doubt the best I've ever tasted in my entire life. It's comforting."

Yami smiled, an expression of serenity that seemed to brighten the empty void. "Your words are very kind, Yuji-kun. I am immensely flattered that you appreciate this small hospitality."

Yuji let the cup rest in his hands, his expression turning pensive, though his eyes sparkled with a relaxed curiosity.

"You know… if I may be so bold, Yami-san… Is that really your name?" He tilted his head slightly. "And, well, I've been thinking. You don't look like a Curse, but you're not human either. Are you… I don't know, some kind of alien?"

Yami let out a melodic laugh, a sound like small wind chimes. She seemed genuinely entertained by the question.

"You have a very vivid mind, Yuji-kun." she replied, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Regarding my name… 'Yami' is not the designation I was originally given, but I ask that you do not interpret that as a sign of disrespect or lack of trust. It is simply a way to facilitate our interaction. As for what I am… the concepts of 'Curse' or 'alien' don't exactly apply to my existence. They are definitions far too limited for the truth of what I am."

She then looked him in the eye with an expression of deep admiration. "But we are not here to discuss my nature, Yuji-kun. I would like to express my sincere recognition for everything you have done. Your work on Earth, the burden you carried alone to purify that world and end the cycle of suffering… It was magnificent work. You went beyond what anyone could have expected. Gokuro-sama."

Yuji felt a warmth in his chest at the praise, lowering his gaze slightly. "I… I only did what needed to be done. But thank you, Yami-san. However, if the cycle is over and I could finally rest… why am I here now?"

Yami's expression shifted subtly. Her spark of amusement gave way to a shadow of sorrow and apology.

"I am sorry, Yuji-kun. But I'm afraid they still have a task that requires your strength and your heart." Yami said, giving a brief apologetic bow.

Yuji frowned, confused. "They? Who are 'they,' anyway?"

"I beg your pardon, but that is an answer I am not permitted to grant. My sincere apologies for not being able to be clearer." Yami lowered her face slightly in a gesture of withdrawal.

Yuji huffed, passing a hand through his pink hair. He was frustrated, but he didn't lose the composure that time had granted him. "Alright, I get it. Secrets are secrets. So, what is this 'task'? If I have to fight again, I'd like to know what I'm up against."

Yami sighed, and for the first time, genuine sadness and a touch of regret showed on her face. She looked down at her tea, as if seeing painful memories reflected on the surface of the liquid.

"It concerns Ryomen Sukuna." she began, and the name seemed to make the air around them vibrate. "He was an aberration far worse than Jujutsu society was ever capable of comprehending. Sukuna was something that should never have existed. It took us many, many years to correct the deviation he caused; it was necessary to interfere directly with the balance of the world to contain his stain. The births of Satoru Gojo, Okkotsu Yuta, Kugisaki Nobara, your own, Yuji-kun, and many others… We orchestrated and manipulated the fates of countless people so that you all would be born... and unfortunately, we will have to do it again."

"Hearing you talk like that... it's as if you created us specifically to deal with Sukuna." Yuji remarked with a scowl, remembering the many horrific battles he had fought in, especially the devastation of Shinjuku.

"Indeed, we did... but the place where Sukuna's soul has been reborn is more difficult for us to act upon or manipulate." Yami declared sadly. "That is why we needed to contact you directly."

"...Continue your explanation. I need more information." Yuji requested, his expression grim.

"The soul of Ryomen Sukuna went through the process of reincarnation and was reborn in another reality." Yami explained in a serious tone. "And although his soul is currently dormant and different from the King of Curses you remember, he is about to tread the path that earned him his infamy once again. The imbalance he represents, if he truly becomes the curse he once was… the consequences would be catastrophic, not just for that world, but for all of them."

Yuji fell silent for a few seconds, reflecting on this. "How would he be a problem for other worlds?"

"Because in this new world, there are other forces and powers that would theoretically be capable of tearing the veil between realities... if Sukuna became the monster he once was again, it would only be a matter of time before he learned how to do so and began his reign of terror on a much larger scale than before." Yami explained. She sighed, looking directly at Yuji, before suddenly performing a dogeza, prostrating herself before him.

"Itadori Yuji, on behalf of myself and all the other representatives of various worlds, we implore your help. You are the only one who possesses the bond and the nature necessary to deal with Ryomen Sukuna a second time."

The impact of seeing an entity like Yami perform a dogeza left Yuji momentarily breathless. He stood up quickly, hands outstretched in an instinctive gesture for her to rise.

"Please, Yami-san, raise your head!" Yuji pleaded, his voice heavy with genuine discomfort. "Someone like you shouldn't bow like that to someone like me."

Yami hesitated for a moment before returning to a seated position, though her eyes remained downcast in shame.

"I could do no less, Yuji-kun. To confess that we manipulated your life, your pain, and your bonds to serve as a counterweight to a calamity... it is a sin we will carry forever. You deserved the rest you earned."

Yuji let out a long sigh, sitting back down. He looked at his own hands… hands that looked young again, yet carried the weight of centuries of struggle.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't upset. Finding out that whole hell was planned by you... it hurts." He clenched his fists slightly, but soon relaxed. "But if Sukuna really is this threat that can destroy other realities, I couldn't rest in peace knowing I ignored it. I am a Jujutsu sorcerer, after all. Our job is to ensure people have proper deaths, isn't it?"

A small spark of hope appeared in Yami's eyes. "Your resilience is admirable, Yuji-kun."

"So, how is this going to work?" Yuji asked, his tone turning practical. "If he reincarnated, is he a baby? Or did he get his memories back? And where am I going?"

"Not exactly. At least nine years have passed since Sukuna was reborn and the cycle began." Yami explained, standing up. "I will open a portal for you to go there, but we cannot assist you as much as we would like. We will send you as close as possible to the young Sukuna, but... most of the work will be yours. You may act however you see fit; we trust your judgment. But you must know that the boy has already unlocked the cursed energy within himself. In doing so, he has already begun to unbalance that world; soon, Curses and sorcerers will be born there."

"I see... Well, I'll deal with the problems as they come." Yuji sighed before standing up and stretching slightly.

"It's almost funny. Once again, I'll have to stop Sukuna." Yuji began to smile playfully before looking at Yami. "It seems I really was right about being truly linked to him, wasn't I?"

"Indeed. And although I cannot interfere much, I will be watching, and within what I am allowed, I will assist you as best I can." Yami promised. She moved her arm to the side, causing a swirl of darkness to appear.

Yuji nodded, waving to Yami as he disappeared into the shadows of the portal.

---

(Konohagakure no Sato, 9 years after the Kyuubi attack)

Nine years had passed since the sky of Konohagakure had been stained by the crimson of hatred and the colossal tails of the Kyuubi no Yoko.

On that fateful night, the village stood on the brink of annihilation, saved only by the bravery and sacrifice of its leaders. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, faced the calamity head-on. It was Hiruzen who, in his final act of service, invoked the dreaded Shiki Fujin, offering his own soul to the Reaper to seal the beast's power.

The chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox was divided: the Yin side was confined within Menma and the Yang side within Mito, the newborn children of the Yellow Flash.

Since then, Konoha's history had followed a course of unprecedented glory. Menma and Mito were elevated to the status of "Saviors of Konoha." the Jinchuuriki who guaranteed the village's peace and supremacy. Under the leadership of Minato, who remained in the position of Hokage, and the strength of Kushina Uzumaki, the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan flourished astronomically. The fusion with the remnants of the Senju clan solidified the group as the most powerful bloodline in the Land of Fire.

The family's prestige was absolute. Kushina, now the head of the clan, commanded with an iron fist and a warm heart, while legendary figures like Tsunade Senju and her assistant Shizune brought the weight of tradition. Around them, the circle of loyalty was unbreakable, including Jiraiya the Toad Sage, Kakashi Hatake, and Rin Nohara, who became members of the family in every sense but blood.

At the present moment, the clan manor was bathed in light and laughter. It was the ninth birthday of the "Prodigy Twins." Menma, with his confident smile, was the spitting image of his father with blond hair and blue eyes, featuring three whisker marks on each cheek. Mito, with her graceful posture, was identical to her mother with red hair and violet eyes, also sporting three marks on each cheek.

Both were the center of attention for a village that adored them. Among the guests, little Natsumi, the younger sister, ran between the legs of her parents and the allied clans celebrating the prosperity of the Namikaze-Uzumaki-Senju family.

However, far from the glow of the lanterns and the sound of the flutes, the forest surrounding the estate whispered a different song.

Where the party's light did not reach, the air was heavy, thick with the sound of panting breath and the crack of striking wood. Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, the third of the triplets, was not at the party. He was there, alone, under the pale light of the moon.

Naruto was almost identical to Menma; however, though both had blond hair and blue eyes, the similarities ended at the hairstyle. Naruto kept his hair swept back in a wild fashion, and he lacked the whisker marks found on all his siblings.

But the main difference was his personality. Unlike his siblings, Naruto possessed a greater sense of malice and a rage that seemed endless most of the time, like now.

The boy was covered in sweat and dirt, a scowl of pure frustration marking his young face. Before him, a heavy wooden training dummy displayed deep cracks and impact marks. Unlike his siblings, who had the benefit of being trained by their family to become ninjas, Naruto had none of that, being constantly steered away from training and the very idea of becoming a shinobi. It wasn't that he even wanted to be a ninja in the first place, but the way they treated him irritated him to no end.

While his siblings overflowed with the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto had been born with his chakra pathways completely destroyed, a lingering injury from the beast's escape during childbirth. To the ninja world, he was a dud, incapable of molding or creating chakra, incapable of being a shinobi.

He looked at his own hands, which trembled from pure physical exertion, devoid of any blueish glow of chakra. The image of the party, of the warmth of a family that seemed to forget his absence, burned in his mind.

"Damn it…" he hissed, his voice cracking from exhaustion.

He hated it, being considered weak, being less important than his siblings. It wasn't that they treated him poorly, but they always kept him at a distance, as if he were dangerous. Sometimes they simply stopped paying attention to him; there were weeks when he didn't even see or interact with anyone from his "loving" family.

This lack of importance, this lack of… anything, irritated him more and more. It was as if he didn't matter. And it wasn't just his family and clan; the entire village seemed to forget he existed. Worse still were those foolish enough to treat him like a bad omen because of his lack of chakra and constant anger, believing he was the reincarnation of the Kyuubi itself.

It infuriated him.

The silence of the forest seemed to mock his limitations. Naruto clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. With a cry of fury that tore through the tranquility of the night, he threw himself at the wooden dummy again.

There was no ninja technique, no style of Taijutsu; it was just raw strength, hatred, and a desperate desire to prove that his existence was not a mistake. His blows hammered the wood with a violence no nine-year-old boy should possess, each impact sending a wave of pain through his arms that he welcomed gladly, if only to drown out the void where his chakra should have been.

The muffled thud of the impacts continued to echo through the clearing, an irregular rhythm of rage and weariness. Naruto struck the wood so hard that blood began to stain his knuckles, but he didn't stop.

"If you keep punching like that, you'll break your wrists before you break the wood."

Naruto jumped back, startled, spinning around quickly with his fists raised clumsily. From the shadows of the trees, a figure emerged. The man wore a hood that concealed most of his face, but his posture was relaxed, almost nonchalant.

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto shouted, his voice cracking with rage and shock. "What are you doing here, you idiot? Get lost!"

The stranger was unfazed by the insult. He took a step forward, ignoring the boy's aggression, and pointed to the training dummy.

"You're only using the strength in your arm. That's why it hurts." the calm but firm voice said. "You need to pivot your hips and let the energy flow from your base. Imagine that your fist doesn't stop at the surface of the wood, but that it needs to pass through to the other side."

Naruto growled, ready to snap another insult, but something about the man's presence made him hesitate. There was a weight to him, a silent authority that Naruto had never felt from his instructors or family.

"As if you know anything…" Naruto grumbled, but almost by instinct, he adjusted his stance according to the man's words. He took a deep breath, pivoted his body, and fired a straight punch, concentrating every ounce of his frustration into that single point.

To Naruto's surprise, the sound of the strike was different. It wasn't the sound of flesh hitting hard wood, but the sound of something shattering. When the boy pulled his hand back, his eyes widened. There was a jagged hole right through the center of the training dummy.

"I… I did it!" A genuine, wild smile broke across the boy's face. He looked at the stranger, his anger momentarily forgotten. "Hey, thanks! That hit was incredible!"

The hooded man only nodded slightly.

"You're welcome. But tell me… why is a boy like you out here all alone, destroying a training dummy in the middle of the night?"

Naruto's excitement withered instantly, replaced by a bitter scowl. He kicked a root on the ground.

"It's my siblings' birthday, the 'Prodigy Twins' of the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan." he spat the words with venom. "Everyone is over at the manor sucking up to them. Nobody gives a damn where I am or if I even exist. I'm just the chakra-less brother."

"That sounds very lonely." the man commented.

Naruto felt the blood rush to his face. He thought he was being mocked.

"Lonely? Don't give me that pity crap, you bastard! You don't know anything!" Naruto grit his teeth, ready to storm off. "Get lost before I use that punch on you!"

The man let out a low sigh and a short laugh, though it wasn't one of derision.

"You're actually different from what I imagined, kid. You're noisier… and you have much more fire inside you."

"What do you mean by that?!" Naruto turned back, irritated. "I already told you to beat it!"

"I was thinking…" The man began, ignoring the protest. "Do you want to be my friend?"

Silence fell over the forest. Naruto froze, the words dying in his throat. He blinked several times, processing what he had just heard.

"What?" Naruto asked, his voice small. "Say that again."

"I asked if you want to be my friend." the stranger repeated, taking a step forward. "Real friends don't abandon each other, no matter what the rest of the world says. They share the burden."

Naruto took a step back, suspicious. The concept of friendship was something he viewed from afar, something his siblings had in abundance, but for him, it was like a myth.

"Why would you want to be friends with a loser like me?" Naruto asked, his voice trembling between hope and the fear of being the butt of a joke.

"Right, I can see how this might be a bit strange, so how about this…" The man said, his voice gaining a newfound seriousness as he raised one of his hands, a strange energy emanating from it. "How about we make a Binding Vow? It's a promise the soul cannot break. We'll be friends no matter what happens. I won't leave you alone, and you won't leave me. What do you think?"

Naruto looked at the ground, his eyes stinging.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, almost in a whisper. "Why do you care? I don't even know you, and you don't know me!"

The man reached for his hood and pulled it back. Naruto saw the face of Itadori Yuji, with his pinkish hair and eyes that carried a sadness so deep, yet so gentle, that the boy lost his breath.

"Because I also know what loneliness feels like, kid." Yuji said, giving a melancholy smile. "I know how it hurts to feel like the world moved on without you. And believe me… it's much better to go through this hell with someone by your side than alone."

The barrier Naruto had built around his heart over the last nine years simply crumbled. He looked at Yuji, seeing the reflection of his own pain in the stranger's gaze. The boy's lips trembled, and the first tears began to fall, tracing paths through the dirt on his face.

"Are you… are you serious?" Naruto sobbed, his voice breaking. "Can we really… be friends?"

"Yes." Yuji affirmed with unshakable conviction.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He let out a choked cry and threw himself at Yuji, burying his face in the man's chest and gripping his clothes tightly, as if his life depended on it. He cried like he had never cried before, not from physical pain, but from the relief of finally being seen by someone.

Yuji didn't pull away. He wrapped the small Naruto in a protective embrace, resting a hand on the boy's blond hair and allowing him to release centuries' worth of pent-up solitude.

"It's okay now." Yuji whispered, looking up at the moon above them. "I'm here."

"And I won't let you walk down that path again… Sukuna."

That night, under the sky of Konoha, a new bond was sealed, a shared burden that would change the fate of two worlds.

 

[The_DragonWolf_ST]

A good beginning.

 

[Wolfthunder7]

If Yuji were asked what he missed most after being sealed, the first thing he would say would certainly be all the friends he had lost to time. However, there were also the sensations his senses could perceive, such as the sound of crickets, the fresh scent of trees and wet grass, and the gentle whisper of the wind.

He smiled briefly before tilting his head to the side, opening his eyes to see Naruto's body passing by him, foot extended as if he were going to kick him exactly where his head had been a second before.

The boy sailed through the air before hitting a tree, leaning close to it for a moment, but then Naruto lunged toward Yuji, using the trunk itself as a platform. As soon as he reached him, Naruto threw a punch that Yuji easily parried.

Soon, Naruto began unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks, trying to land a hit on Yuji, who seemed to dodge every strike with ease. Suddenly, Naruto went for a sweep, forcing Yuji to jump, but the boy quickly pushed himself up and raised his fist. Surprised by the boy's speed, Yuji had to move his hand to block the strike, shoving the fist back.

After that, Yuji took a short leap backward, putting some distance between himself and Naruto. They stood in silence for a moment before a sigh escaped the older sorcerer's lips.

"Alright, that was a good session, Naruto." Yuji declared proudly, while Naruto offered a more arrogant smirk.

"Of course it was! You finally used one of your arms; I actually made you block, sensei!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

Yuji simply nodded, feeling a certain pride in the boy. It had been a few months since they had met and formed their binding vow, becoming friends. During all this time, Yuji had begun training Naruto as a Jujutsu sorcerer, and the results were surprising. Considering his starting point and the bad habits in his fighting style, it had taken a while to mold the boy's movements, but Yuji had succeeded.

Now, Naruto was capable of facing any Grade 4 curse and was approaching a low Grade 3 level, an impressive improvement for a nine-year-old boy.

The boy had also grown well; he seemed more cheerful than before, despite still being quite surly. Naruto also appeared to have changed his look slightly, now wearing an orange hoodie similar to Yuji's, along with pants and... those shoes with openings for the toes.

That was something Yuji still hadn't quite understood about this world, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Indeed you did, your progress is truly impressive." Yuji praised, making Naruto smile as he crossed his arms. "And how is your control training coming along?"

At the question, the boy's smiling face shifted into a scowl.

"Not so well, sensei." Naruto commented with a frown, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I can feel the Cursed Energy when I meditate, but I still can't quite touch it."

Yuji sighed, but he didn't seem disappointed. He reached into a small pouch at his waist and pulled out a simple object that emanated a strange aura: a dark wax candle with no apparent wick.

"In my time, we used complex devices to train constant flow. Since we don't have those here, I made this for you myself." Yuji said, holding out the candle.

It was a small lie, of course, but not one Naruto needed to know. The candle was something he had created with the help of Yami, who had recently managed to get in touch to check on his progress.

It had been a surprise to her how Yuji had decided to handle Sukuna's reincarnation, but to Yuji, it was the most logical path. Naruto's birth had unbalanced the world; Cursed Energy could be felt forming everywhere. From time to time, Yuji noticed curses appearing around Konoha, or even inside the village, which he dealt with silently.

But he was still just one person, regardless of all his power. Yuji couldn't be in two places at once. The current plan was to train Naruto to be a sorcerer and then find more candidates so they could recreate the system from Yuji's home world.

"It's a candle..." Naruto remarked with a deadpan look.

"Yes, but this is a special candle. It's not just wax; you see, it burns with Cursed Energy." Yuji explained, concentrating his energy to make a small flame ignite atop the wax. "It can be lit with fire or by channeling a bit of energy into it. You must keep the flame lit by controlling your own emotions, keeping them constant. The moment you lose your emotional balance, the flame will go out."

Yuji handed the candle to Naruto, who took it with a skeptical expression.

"The training now is quite simple, but also difficult." Yuji continued, crossing his arms. "From today on, you won't go anywhere without it. You'll eat with the candle by your side, study with it, carry it while you run, and keep it lit while you talk to people... you will continue until you can keep that flame alive for at least six full hours."

Naruto looked at the small flame, which immediately flickered as he felt a pang of irritation at the idea of using it while talking to people. He really only talked to Yuji.

"Take this home? People will think I'm some kind of weirdo!" Naruto complained, the flame growing and shrinking erratically.

"They already think you're a bad omen, don't they?" Yuji said in a calm but challenging tone. "Let them think what they want. But if you can keep this light burning in the middle of the chaos of that house... then you will have truly mastered yourself."

Naruto gripped the base of the candle. He looked at the small but resilient light and gave a lopsided smile, that stubborn grin that was his trademark.

"Alright, sensei. I'm going to keep this damn thing lit even if it's the last thing I do."

Yuji smiled before placing his hand on Naruto's head and ruffling his hair. "I know you will."

"Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, embarrassed, pulling away from Yuji as the flame dimmed slightly.

---

Naruto passed through the gate of the Namikaze-Uzumaki estate with measured steps. The imposition of the mansion in front of him always seemed greater than the wooden and stone walls suggested; to him, it was a physical reminder of everything he could not have.

Upon entering, he sat in the genkan and removed his sandals with slow, deliberate movements using only his left hand. In his right hand, he held Yuji's candle, which glowed with its steady flame.

As soon as he stood up to head into the interior of the house, a high-pitched scream from the backyard broke the silence of the hallway.

"Again, Menma? You are so slow even a turtle could hit you!" Mito's voice echoed, heavy with childish mockery.

Naruto stopped for a moment, feeling a knot form in his stomach. He walked to the porch overlooking the family's private training field. There, Menma was getting up from the ground, wiping dust off his clothes with an expression of pure annoyance, while Mito laughed and pointed at him.

Before Menma could fire back with words, a blur passed behind Mito. Kakashi, with his usual relaxed tone of voice, touched the girl's shoulder while, with a subtle leg sweep, sending her directly to the grass next to her brother.

"It is not very kind to mock other people's training, Mito-chan." Kakashi commented, closing his book for a second. "If you drop your guard to laugh, you end up on the ground too."

Menma, seeing his sister fallen with an expression of shock, let out a loud laugh, pointing back at her.

"Who is the slow one now, huh? Thanks, Kakashi-nii-san!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sight, the ease with which they interacted, the fact that they had an elite ninja like Kakashi Hatake dedicated only to them... all of it was like fuel thrown onto an internal bonfire.

However, he soon noticed the temperature in his hand decrease. Looking down, he saw that the candle flame was shrinking drastically, becoming a tiny and flickering dot, almost disappearing with his irritation.

"Control yourself..." Yuji's voice echoed in his mind. "Do not let them dictate the pace of your energy."

Naruto closed his eyes and forced a deep breath, feeling the air enter his lungs and the anger being pushed to the back of his mind. Slowly, the flame began to grow again, regaining its firm and steady glow.

He said nothing. He did not draw attention to himself, nor did he wait to be noticed. He turned his back on the scene of family happiness and headed to his room on the upper floor.

"Damn..." he grumbled to the empty walls of the hallway while staring at the candle in his hand. "This is going to be much harder than I imagined."

---

Yuji's stroll through the streets of Konoha was accompanied by a calm and mundane rhythm, the kind of peace he had learned to value more than any Special Grade technique. As he crossed the threshold of a local grocery store, the bell tinkled softly, and he emerged carrying a brown paper bag filled with fresh ingredients: vegetables, spices, and some grains.

A year ago, when Yami sent him to this world, his entrance into the village had been surprisingly simple. To the reception ninjas and Konoha's sensors, Yuji Itadori was just a young civilian without a single drop of chakra in his body, an anomaly for a shinobi, but a common sight among ordinary citizens. With no suspicious bloodlines or detectable energy, he was registered as a refugee from distant lands without any major issues.

With the little he brought and what he earned in his first few months, he secured a small apartment in a simple residential area. It wasn't luxurious, but it was his sanctuary.

However, that space often ceased to be his alone; Naruto frequently showed up, sometimes escaping dinner at the mansion or simply looking for someone to listen to him, or perhaps he just wanted to be away from his family after not seeing them for a while. The living room sofa or the modest guest room had already become the blonde boy's resting territory, to the point where Yuji was already considering letting the youth redecorate both for himself.

To support himself, Yuji found a niche that took advantage of his absurd physical strength without raising suspicion: he became an informal supplier of meat and fish. Every now and then, he would venture into the deep forests or follow the most distant rivers to hunt wild animals and catch fish that few could reach. His market stall was known for the quality of the product and the honesty of the pink-haired seller. It was also a cover for the training he gave Naruto without attracting attention.

As he walked toward his district, Yuji passed a group of men and women sporting the fan symbol on their backs: the Uchiha Clan. They walked with a rigid posture, exchanging sharp glances and whispers laden with a latent irritation toward passersby.

Yuji narrowed his eyes, but not at the men.

Above the heads of some of those Uchihas, he could see them: small Curses, deformed and pale, likely Grade 4 but on the verge of evolving into Grade 3. They clung to the ninjas' shoulders, their tiny, slimy hands covering their eyes or whispering into their ears. To anyone else, they were just proud and moody men, but to Yuji, they were vessels being fed by their own negativity.

He let out a heavy sigh, adjusting the weight of the bag on his arm.

"Those things... they are growing again." he thought, observing how the curses seemed denser than last month. "The hatred and resentment here are creating a full feast. If this continues to build at this rate, it will become a serious problem soon."

He looked away and continued on his path, a shadow of concern crossing his face. He hoped, from the bottom of his heart, that the imbalance Yami mentioned wasn't as dark as what he was beginning to see bloom in the shadows of the village.

---

Naruto furrowed his brow while staring fixedly at the candle in his hands, concentrating on keeping it lit with his cursed energy. He tried to stay active, pacing back and forth and sitting in different spots of the bedroom before finally coming to a stop, seated on top of the bed with the candle in his hands.

The flame was steady, a testament to his effort... until the violent crack of the door hitting the wall nearly shattered his concentration.

"NARUTO-ONIICHAN!"

Naruto's eyes widened, the shock making the flame flicker dangerously and almost go out. He felt his blood boil, but he managed to calm himself by remembering Yuji's lessons on emotional balance; with that, the boy forced his shoulders to relax and stabilized the light before turning around with an irritated expression.

Standing in the doorway was Natsumi Namikaze-Uzumaki, his younger sister. At five years old, she was almost a mirror image of Minato, but with the long, bright blonde hair she had inherited from her mother, as well as the violet eyes. She radiated a childish and practically infinite energy as she stared at him.

"Natsumi..." Naruto hissed, clearly displeased by the girl's appearance. "Have you ever heard of knocking?"

"I just got back!" she exclaimed, ignoring his tone and skipping into the room with joy. "Mom and I went shopping and she bought so many cool things! You have to see the new scrolls that Menma-niichan got and..."

"I don't care, Natsumi." Naruto cut her off, trying to turn his back to her. "Get out of my room. Now."

The girl stopped, giving a small pout, but her curiosity was stronger. She stepped closer, craning her neck to look at the candle in her brother's hand.

"What is that? Why are you holding a candle?" Natsumi asked curiously, reaching out toward the candle, prompting Naruto to pull the object away from the girl.

"Don't touch that!" Naruto growled, looking at the girl who once again seemed unfazed by his outburst. "This isn't a toy and it's none of your business. Now get out of here before you end up burning yourself by accident."

Even though the candle functioned through Cursed Energy, Naruto could feel the heat of that flame, meaning it was very likely Natsumi could get burned by it. And even though she was an annoying brat and someone he almost never interacted with, she was still one of the people who spoke to him the most and she was still his sister... Naruto really didn't want to hurt her if he could avoid it.

Natsumi puffed out her cheeks, clearly upset by his bluntness, but soon a smug and excited smile crossed her childish face. She crossed her small arms, rocking back on her heels.

"Fine, you grumpy thing. I only came to tell you some news that you're going to love. Dad and Mom talked today... they're going to release my chakra next week!" Natsumi exclaimed excitedly. "And I'm going to be enrolled in the Academy early, just like the twins! I'm going to be an amazing ninja too, Naruto-oniichan!"

Despite the girl's excitement, what Naruto felt was something completely different; his eyes widened as he heard those words, feeling as if the world were slowing down. Those words his sister said, that they were going to release her chakra and enroll her in the ninja academy, likely meant training for her too, more attention and care... and he would once again have to be alone.

Fury, hot and dense, bubbled in his chest. The candle flame began to dance violently, becoming erratic and giving off black sparks.

"Being a ninja..." Naruto let out a dry laugh, pure malice in his voice, which Natsumi finally seemed to notice as she saw how different her brother looked now. "You think that's a big deal? It's just complete nonsense!"

Natsumi took a step back, frightened by the dark tone and the growl that escaped her brother's throat.

"Naruto-oniichan..."

"Get out of my face." he ordered, brushing past her.

He grabbed his orange hoodie and left the room, the candle in his hand now reduced to a tiny, flickering dot, struggling not to go out under the weight of his hatred. As he went down the stairs and headed for the main exit, a voice stopped him.

"Naruto? Where are you going in such a hurry?" Kushina asked, emerging from one of the rooms with a few shopping bags in her hands. She looked at her son, noticing the tension in his shoulders.

"I'm going out." he answered without stopping, without looking back.

"But dinner will be served soon and..."

"I'm not hungry!"

BAM!

The main door was closed with such force that the pictures on the wall shook.

Kushina remained there in silence, looking at the wood of the door as a long, tired sigh escaped her lips. She looked sadly at the door, feeling the abyss between her and her third child grow a little wider every day, not knowing how to fix it.

---

Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha with an irritated expression while kicking every stone he found on his path, grumbling words that either of his parents would certainly disapprove of, but it wasn't as if he cared now.

"Unfair... it is simply unfair!" he hissed, clutching the base of the candle. "First Menma and Mito, now Natsumi. They are going to take the last person who still talked to me in that house and turn her into just another ninja. That spoiled brat..."

He distanced himself as much as he could from the Namikaze-Uzumaki estate, feeling that the air there was far too thin. His steps led him to a public park on the outskirts of the village, a place that was usually empty at that hour.

Stopping under the shade of a large tree, Naruto looked at his hand and felt his heart skip a beat. The flame was reduced to a dying spark, nearly invisible.

"Damn it, no!" He closed his eyes, forcing his shoulders down and concentrating on the rhythm of his breathing, exactly as Yuji had taught him. "Forget Natsumi, forget the chakra. Focus on the cursed energy..."

Slowly, the flame regained its vigor, stabilizing into a steady cerulean glow. Naruto let out a sigh of relief and sat down between the tree's roots, keeping the candle in a circular motion to resume his stability training.

"What is that you're doing?"

Naruto jumped, but managed to keep the flame lit by pure reflex. He turned sharply, finding a girl his age standing just a few steps away. She had deep, dark hair and large, curious eyes, with a mole below her chin on the left side. She wore a navy blue tunic with the Uchiha clan's fan symbol proudly emblazoned on the back.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked with his habitual bluntness, narrowing his eyes.

The girl didn't seem to mind his tone. She drew closer, tilting her head to the side as she observed the candle.

"I'm looking at your candle." she replied with a sweet smile, yet one that carried a strange intensity. "It's pretty."

Naruto huffed, trying to ignore her presence and returning to moving his hand in a circle. "Don't you have anything better to do, Uchiha? Go train your eyes or whatever it is your clan does."

"My name is Rika! And no, I don't have anything better to do." She laughed, sitting on the grass in front of him. "Don't you want to play with me?"

"Play?" Naruto looked at her as if she had two heads. "I am training; this is serious. Go away."

"Training is boring. Playing is much better!" Rika insisted, drawing even closer, her eyes shining with a stubbornness that rivaled Naruto's. "Come on, just a little!"

"I already said no!"

Rika let out a mischievous giggle. Before Naruto could react, she lunged toward him, closing her fingers around the candle and pulling it from his hand.

"Hey! Give that back right now!" Naruto shouted, leaping to his feet.

"Only if you catch me!" Rika exclaimed, already running toward the park swings, clutching the candle as if it were a treasure.

"You're crazy! If that flame goes out, my Sensei is going to kill me!" Naruto bolted after her, his fury replaced by panic.

---

Meanwhile, inside his apartment, Yuji Itadori stopped abruptly in the middle of his dinner, his chopsticks frozen halfway to his mouth. He could feel it thanks to some mechanisms he had built into the candle with his own energy, and he realized the flame had gone out.

"... Four hours? It could have been better, but it wasn't bad for a first attempt." Yuji reflected, despite his concern.

Regardless of all the anger built up inside him, Naruto was a fairly well-balanced boy, which made it difficult to make him truly explode or lose control.

"Did he have a fit of rage? Or did one of those curses I saw around the village attack him?" Yuji thought with a hint of worry.

Yuji wasted no time; he moved with a speed no civilian should possess, leaping across rooftops and through alleys toward his student's energy signature. Upon reaching the vicinity of the park, Yuji stopped atop a tree, ready to intervene. His eyes scanned the area, but what he saw left him completely perplexed.

There was no curse. What was happening there was far more unprecedented than that.

Down below, Naruto was chasing a little Uchiha girl. He was red-faced from running, shouting for her to return the candle, while she laughed out loud, dodging him with agility. For the first time in a year, Naruto did not have the hateful scowl he usually gave everyone else. He was... smiling.

He was laughing between one protest and another, something Yuji had only seen when Naruto was alone with the older sorcerer. The candle was out in the girl's hand and the control exercise was a total failure, but Yuji felt a different kind of warmth in his own chest.

He saw Naruto trip and fall onto the grass, and the girl stopped to help him up, both laughing at the situation. Yuji relaxed his posture, a genuine smile spreading across his face.

"Today's training was a disaster, kid..." Yuji thought, starting to pull away silently so as not to ruin the moment. "But I think you just learned something far more important than controlling cursed energy."

Satisfied with what he saw, Yuji moved away, leaving Naruto to live as the child he deserved to be.

 

[Wolfthunder7]

It was official, Rin really hated her alarm clock.

She had been having a beautiful dream about the past, back when her team truly had three members, featuring her dear old childhood friend, at least until the alarm shattered the silence of the bedroom. Though annoyed and groggy, Rin reached out, fumbling across the nightstand until her fingers found the button, finally silencing the incessant noise.

Rin lay motionless for a few seconds before rolling over in bed to stare at the ceiling, letting out an exhausted sigh before getting up.

Once again, she dove into her routine: brushing her teeth, feeling the freezing water wake up her face, and watching the strong aroma of coffee fill the small kitchen while she prepared a simple breakfast, along with a few separate packages.

Afterward, Rin quickly returned to her room, stopping in front of the closet. Her fingers hesitated for a brief second before reaching for a dark blue top with vibrant orange lines. She slipped it on, feeling the fabric against her skin before looking at herself in the mirror.

Rin was a beautiful woman, tall, slightly muscular, and having filled out in more than one area. Her brown hair framed her face, having grown a bit longer now, reaching her shoulders, while the purple markings on her cheeks remained exactly the same. She soon finished getting dressed, putting on her black pants and open-toed boots, and for a moment, she closed her eyes.

The image of a cocky grin and a pair of goggles flashed in her mind with painful clarity.

"I really miss you in the mornings, Obito." she whispered to the empty room, a wave of longing tightening her chest.

With that, Rin turned away, picking up a pair of orange-tinted glasses and adjusting them on her face, just below her headband. She fixed her brown hair, took a deep breath to push away the melancholy, and grabbed a bag of fresh food from the table.

The path to the Uchiha District was familiar, but the atmosphere there always felt a bit heavier than in the rest of Konoha. Rin walked with purposeful steps, ignoring the rigid stares of some clan members, until she reached a specific residence. Without hesitation, she pulled a key from her pocket, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

"Rika-chan? I'm here!"

To her surprise, the welcome was noisier than usual. Rika appeared in the hallway almost at a run, her eyes shining with a liveliness that Rin hadn't seen in a very long time.

"Rin-san! You won't believe it!" the girl exclaimed, bouncing slightly on her feet.

"Good morning to you too, Rika-chan." Rin chuckled, leaving the bag on the entryway counter. "What happened? You seem more excited than usual."

"I made a friend!" Rika declared, breaking into a wide, genuine smile. "A real friend! He's a bit grumpy, but he's really nice!"

Rin felt a wave of genuine relief warm her heart. She knew how isolated Rika felt within that clan, especially with the pressure that grew day by day.

"That's wonderful, Rika! I'm so happy for you. Having someone to play with makes all the difference."

Rin began to unpack the food, but then, in a casual tone, she asked:

"And your parents? How are they doing today?"

Upon hearing the question, the spark in Rika's eyes vanished, replaced by a dull, distant expression. The smile that had seemed so firm collapsed into a tight, straight line.

"They're in the kitchen." Rika replied, her voice losing all its previous excitement, turning mechanical. "I... I have to go now. I promised to meet my new friend again. I don't want to keep him waiting."

Before Rin could say anything or try to comfort her, the girl rushed past her and darted out the front door, leaving a trail of uncomfortable silence behind.

Rin stood frozen in the entryway, staring at the closed door for a long time. She looked in the direction of the kitchen, feeling the heavy weight of that house, and let out a sigh laden with an old sadness.

"You really are just like your older brother, Rika-chan…" Rin murmured, adjusting her orange glasses. "Hiding the pain behind a stubborn smile."

---

The gentle sound of the river rushing over the stones was the only noise competing with Naruto's concentrated breathing. He moved with precision, the candle steady in his hand, its flame burning without a single flicker, even as he leapt between the exposed tree roots along the riverbank.

Leaning back against a tree, Yuji held a makeshift fishing rod, his hood casting a shadow over his face. He seemed to be dozing off, but his senses were entirely tuned to the flow of energy emanating from the boy. After a few seconds of an almost meditative silence, Yuji slowly sat up, setting the rod aside.

"You did it, Naruto." he said with a smirk.

Naruto stopped instantly. The tension left his shoulders and he let out a shout of victory, thrusting the candle toward the sky.

"Finally!" the boy exclaimed, his face lit up with genuine excitement. "I couldn't take it anymore! This training was way more boring than the others, Sensei! My head was already throbbing from trying to keep this flame alive!"

Yuji let out a hearty laugh, stretching his arms and adjusting his fishing rod. "Control is the hardest part, but it's what keeps you from killing yourself in the middle of combat. Now that you know how to control your energy flow, the next step will be much more interesting."

Seeing that he had Naruto's full attention, Yuji extended one hand, letting his cursed energy coat his fist.

"I'm going to teach you how to manifest cursed energy in its raw form, and soon, we'll move on to jujutsu techniques."

Naruto nodded vigorously, his eyes gleaming with the promise of real power. He sat down next to Yuji on the bank, and for a moment, the two just stayed there, watching the reflection of the clouds in the water in a comfortable silence. But the silence didn't last long, as Yuji lightly nudged Naruto's arm with his elbow, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"So... what about that new little friend of yours? Looks like you finally found someone to tolerate your grumpiness at the playground." Yuji teased his young pupil with a grin.

Naruto's face instantly changed color. A deep flush crept up his cheeks, reaching all the way to his ears.

"W-What?! What are you talking about, you old idiot?!" Naruto yelled, though his voice cracked slightly. "I was training and she just showed up out of nowhere!"

Yuji laughed even harder, finding the boy's reaction priceless. Now he understood why Panda loved to tease him about Nobara so much; it really was fun to mess with someone like this.

"She seemed pretty persistent for someone who just showed up out of nowhere."

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms and turning his gaze back to the river, though an involuntary smile was trying to break through his lips.

"She's annoying... super annoying. She won't stop talking and she's always dragging me to do stupid things, but..." he hesitated for a second. "It's not that bad. It's fun playing with Rika."

Yuji, who was about to crack another joke, froze in place. The smile vanished from his face and he felt a chill run down his spine, a sensation he hadn't felt in decades.

"What did you say her name was?" Yuji asked, his voice suddenly serious, barely a whisper.

Naruto found the sudden shift in tone bizarre and stared at him, confused.

"Rika. Rika Uchiha. Why?"

Yuji sat motionless, his gaze lost in the river's current. In his mind, images of a distant, bloody past rushed back with full force. He remembered his old senpai, Yuta Okkotsu, and the overwhelming presence of the "Queen of Curses." the entity that protected him with a terrifying love.

Rika Orimoto.

He didn't fear curses or even some truly terrifying enemies he had faced for a time, but there were three people he was absolutely terrified of when they got angry at him... and one of them was Rika.

With that, Yuji looked at Naruto, the boy who was the reincarnation of Ryomen Sukuna's soul, and let out a short, disbelieving laugh at the sheer absurdity of it.

"Unbelievable..." Yuji muttered to himself. "What a twist of fate."

"What is it now?" Naruto asked, furrowing his brow. "What's so ironic?"

Yuji shook his head, regaining his composure, though the spark of shock was still present in his eyes. He thought about how, in the King of Curses' second life, the King and the Queen had met not as monsters, but as two lonely children playing on a playground.

"It's just... fate playing tricks, Naruto." Yuji said, patting the boy on the back.

"Fate? What does that mean? Just explain it, Sensei!" Naruto demanded with an even deeper scowl.

Yuji smiled enigmatically and picked up his fishing rod again.

"Someday, when you're older, I'll tell you the story of a man with a sword and a girl who loved too much. For now, focus on your energy. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

Naruto grumbled something about Yuji being an idiot, which simply amused the sorcerer before he ruffled the boy's hair.

"Sensei!"

---

(Some time later)

The late afternoon sun bathed the playground in an orange glow, casting long shadows across the sand. Sitting under the canopy of a leafy tree, Naruto and Rika watched a group of children a few yards away in silence. The boys ran back and forth, shouting the names of imaginary jutsu and brandishing wooden kunai.

To any other child in Konoha, that was the most popular game around, but not to the two sitting there, staring at the other kids with blank expressions.

"Naruto-kun..." Rika broke the silence, lightly swinging her legs. "Don't you wish you were over there? You know, playing ninja with them? If you want, I can play too. I might not be the best at being a ninja, but..."

Suddenly, Naruto let out a scoff, a laugh so full of scorn that it made Rika stop talking and stare at him.

"Playing ninja?" He spat the words. "What a stupid waste of time. I have no interest in pretending to be something as foolish as a ninja."

"Why do you talk like that?" she asked with mild curiosity. "You seem to hate the very idea of being a ninja."

Naruto clenched his fists over his knees, anger bubbling beneath his skin.

"Because I'm defective." he said, his voice raspy. "My chakra system is completely ruined. No matter how hard I try or how much I train using their methods, I'll never be able to mold a single drop of chakra. So why would I want to play at being one of them?"

Rika didn't look away. There was no pity in her eyes, something Naruto was internally grateful for. Instead, she seemed deep in thought, until she suddenly hugged her knees, drawing herself in slightly against the tree trunk.

"I see..." she whispered. "You know, I don't want to be a ninja either."

Naruto snapped his head toward her, his eyes wide with surprise.

"What? But you're an Uchiha. Everyone in your clan is born wanting to be the next genius or something like that." Naruto questioned.

Rika gave a sad smile, looking at the children who were still shouting in the distance.

"Yes, but I see the people in my clan... friends I used to have, who were kind and played with me, but as soon as they enter the Academy and awaken their chakra and the Sharingan, they change." For a moment, her voice seemed to waver slightly. "They become cold, obsessed with power and Uchiha pride. That change scares me, Naruto-kun... I don't want to change like them. I want to keep being myself."

She paused, and the spark in her eyes seemed to falter under the shadow of the tree.

"And then there was my older brother..." she continued, her voice barely a whisper. "The ninja life took him. He died as a shinobi."

Naruto felt a tightness in his chest. He didn't really know what it was like to lose someone, considering he had been alone for most of his life, but... He saw how Yuji got whenever he mentioned his old acquaintances, the deep sadness that seemed to plague him. It was something that hurt his sensei, and Naruto hated seeing that.

And now, hearing that Rika carried the same kind of pain as his mentor, it hurt him too.

"I'm sorry, Rika." he said in a softer tone that surprised her and cheered her up a bit.

"It's okay." she replied quickly, trying to regain her previous tone. "I never really got to know him. But his memory... what his death did to my parents... it always haunts me. It's like there's a darkness waiting for all of us who follow that path."

She then turned to Naruto, and suddenly, the smile that broke across her face was the most genuine he had ever seen.

It was radiant.

"But it's okay now, because now I have you."

Naruto's face instantly heated up. He averted his gaze, feeling his heart beat just a little faster.

"You're an idiot, Uchiha!" he grumbled, trying to hide his blush inside the hood of his sweatshirt. "Saying things like that out of nowhere..."

Rika let out a crystal-clear laugh, a melody that made Naruto smile involuntarily, even as he tried to hide it. She sprang up with an agile leap and extended her small, delicate hand toward him.

"No more sad talk!" she exclaimed, pointing to the other side of the playground. "The swings are open. Want to play with me before the other little kids come back?"

Naruto looked at her hand and then at the girl's hopeful face. He huffed but accepted her touch, letting her pull him away from the shadows of the tree.

---

Yuji was sitting on a wooden bench under the shade of a leafy tree, distractedly enjoying a skewer of dango. His attention, however, was not focused on the sweet, but rather on the thick, dark smoke of cursed energy emanating, almost invisibly to anyone else, from the Uchiha Clan compound in the distance.

He pondered in silence: was it really worth going over there and exorcising that curse right now? On one hand, he could resolve the situation with a single snap of his fingers before it became too problematic, judging by how it was growing, it could pose a real threat in two years or even less. On the other hand, a purification of that magnitude would draw the eyes of the village's entire shinobi elite straight to him, and consequently, to Naruto. At the moment, that kind of attention would be far more damaging to the boy than any minor curse lingering around the outskirts.

A slightly dim, melancholic smirk tugged at Yuji's lips as he thought of the blonde kid. It was ironic how, in just a few months, he and Naruto had grown so close. The grumpy, noisy boy had practically become a younger brother for him to watch over.

"Is this... how Gojo-sensei felt about me and the others?" Yuji thought, looking up at the blue sky, feeling the heavy weight of nostalgia tighten his chest.

"Excuse me... is this seat next to you free?"

The sound of a female voice snapped Yuji out of his thoughts. He turned his head casually to answer, but the second his eyes focused on the silhouette of the young woman in front of him, his heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened in pure shock.

"Nobara?..." The name escaped his lips in a startled whisper, his voice trembling from the sudden rush of memories and pain.

The girl blinked, taking half a step back, staring at him with a mix of confusion and awkwardness.

"Huh?... I'm sorry, I think you're mistaking me for someone else." she said, pointing to herself with a sheepish smile. "My name is Rin. Rin Nohara."

Yuji blinked repeatedly, processing the information as he took a better look at the girl. He shook his head quickly, feeling his face flush with embarrassment, and scratched the back of his neck, trying to laugh it off.

"Ah! I'm so sorry, really! From afar, you... you really look like an old friend of mine." Yuji apologized, forcing an embarrassed smile. "And yes, the seat is completely free. Please, sit down."

"Thank you." Rin said, letting out a long, heavy sigh as she sank onto the wooden bench. "You have no idea how much I struggled to find an open spot to sit today, especially after finally managing to leave that hospital."

Yuji glanced at her with a curious look upon hearing that. "Do you work there? Are you a doctor?"

Rin nodded, adjusting the orange-tinted glasses she wore on her forehead, just above her headband.

"Yes, I'm a med-nin." Rin nodded, adjusting the orange-tinted glasses she wore on her forehead. "What about you? I usually know almost everyone who frequents this area, but I've never seen you around here."

"That's not a surprise." Yuji replied casually, taking another bite of his dango. "I'm just a civilian, not a ninja. We belong to different social circles."

Rin looked at him for a moment, processing the information, and gave a sympathetic nod, trying to make him feel comfortable.

"Ah, I see. Well, the ninja life definitely isn't for everyone."

Sensing an opportunity to investigate more about his pupil's home life, Yuji decided to subtly prod the wound.

"In my case, it wasn't exactly a choice." he commented, keeping his tone light but casting a sidelong glance at her. "As it turns out, I don't have chakra, so my body simply can't generate it at all."

The effect of Yuji's words on Rin was immediate and devastating.

The friendly spark in her brown eyes vanished, replaced by an expression of deep, painful guilt. Yuji, with his sharp sorcerer's perception, watched her negativity condense in real time: a small, misshapen, grayish curse manifested in the air and settled right onto Rin's shoulders, using them for support.

Yuji narrowed his eyes, glancing at the curse. It was something he had already suspected, but it seemed that chakra somehow amplified cursed energy, or at least its effects, like the creation of curses.

"I... I'm so sorry to hear that." she said, her voice suddenly dropping, heavy with emotion. "I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you to live in a place like this..."

"Ah, don't worry about it, it's fine... I made peace with my situation a long time ago." Yuji tried to wave it off, a lie wrapped inside a truth, since he had made peace with being an immortal a long time ago.

At that moment, she interrupted him, shaking her head.

"No, it's not fine." Rin insisted, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap, while the curse on her shoulders seemed to snuggle deeper into the weight of her sadness. "I really am sorry. It's just... I know a boy who is going through the exact same thing."

She seemed to hesitate, keeping her gaze fixed on her lap. "We... We are his family, and we try to protect him from the dangers of the world since he can't defend himself like we can, but sometimes I wonder if the way we're doing it ends up hurting him more. I just wonder if we're really doing the right thing, because sometimes he seems so..."

"Lonely." Yuji finished for her, making her nod.

The two sat in silence for a while until Yuji glanced sideways at the creature on her shoulders and then toward the horizon, absorbing Rin's words. He knew exactly who she was talking about.

"You know, before my grandfather passed away, he told me something..." Yuji began, his voice taking on a mature, calm tone that contrasted with his youthful appearance. "He told me to help as many people as I could so that when my time came, I'd die surrounded by people I love, so I wouldn't end up alone... like him."

He paused briefly, finishing the last piece of dango.

"At the end of my journey, I ended up seeing almost all of my friends die before me. I was completely alone for a very long time. And I can tell you one thing... sometimes, loneliness and the feeling of being excluded can be far more dangerous and painful than any physical threat we can imagine."

Hearing this, Rin cast her eyes downward, the weight of his words echoing in her mind. On her shoulders, the small curse flashed a bizarre, jagged grin, feeding on the medical ninja's suffering and remorse.

Yuji realized he had said enough. He stood up from the bench, wiping his hands on his pants.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Nohara-san, but the day isn't over yet and I need to get moving." Yuji declared as he got up from the bench.

However, before taking his first step, he paused and looked at Rin one last time.

"But you know one thing I've learned, Nohara-san... it's never too late to do what you truly believe is right. Sometimes, we just need a little nudge."

With that, Yuji made a subtle and incredibly swift movement with his right hand, a gesture that Rin, despite being an experienced kunoichi, was completely unable to track.

At the exact same time, Yuji channeled a microscopic fraction of pure cursed energy directly into the creature haunting her, unleashing his technique.

"Dismantle."

There was no sound to reveal what had happened, but Yuji watched as the curse was pulverized, instantly dissipating into thin air.

The moment it happened, Rin gasped, her eyes widening as an overwhelming sensation of lightness washed over her shoulders. It was as if an invisible, physical burden, a dead weight she had been carrying for years without realizing, had been ripped from her body all at once. Even the air seemed easier to breathe.

Suddenly, her mind flooded with memories of Naruto, Kushina and Minato's son, whom she had kept at a distance for so long. She remembered how he used to ask to train alongside Mito and Menma, but she and everyone else had always denied him anything of the sort. She remembered how sad and angry he used to get, to the point where she couldn't even recall the last time she had spoken to him.

She couldn't help but think about how Obito would have pestered Naruto until the boy finally opened up and returned to their orbit… Rin's eyes widened before she clenched her fists.

Obito was no longer there, but she was, and all it took was talking to a stranger to realize that.

In that instant, she spun around quickly, her heart racing, about to question Yuji. "What... what did you…"

However, the question died in her throat as she realized the bench beside her was completely empty.

Rin looked left and right, scanning the street with her eyes, but the hooded young man had vanished completely into the crowd, leaving behind not a single trace of his presence.

She furrowed her brow, resting her hand on the shoulder that now felt so light, overcome by an immense sense of perplexity.

"What a strange guy..." Rin muttered to herself, letting out a confused chuckle before a sudden realization hit her. "Come to think of it... I didn't even ask for his name."