Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

As he left the village with a rather large group of genin, Tatsuya thought about his experiences in the past months.

He had returned to Konoha, thinking it would be the best place to grow. However, he witnessed first-hand how the village had undergone several changes at around the same time.

Hiryu Suguru's disappearance should've been a sign. The sudden flooding of monstrous chakra had been another.

Luckily, Tatsuya was acquainted with Hiruzen. However, his instincts always told him to avoid visiting the Hokage's office for some unknown reason. Whenever he even looked at the building, the feeling of meeting his doom would erupt in flames.

His stomach would burn and his skin would be riddled with goosebumps.

Tatsuya thus had his suspicions.

Had the village not been unnervingly calm, he would've fled long ago. It was only now, when chaos was on the precipice, that Tatsuya felt the need to flee.

However...

Just as the group picked up their pace...

—Zip!

Cutting through the air were dozens of shuriken, flying from every direction.

'An ambush!' Tatsuya's eyes shrank as he hurriedly shifted directions.

—Clack, clack, clack!

It was the dull thuds of several shurikens hitting the tree stump just a few branches away. The deadly sheen of ninja steel gave Tatsuya the chills. Feeling the dire situation, he poured chakra into his eyes.

'Sharingan!'

His eyes snapped to the side, already glowing a deep crimson. Two black tomoe markings swirled into existence as he dodged an oncoming kunai.

—Fwhip!

The projectile slashed a cut across his cheek, and a line of blood appeared. However, Tatsuya could not be bothered by such a small wound.

A masked shinobi appeared before him, with his tanto already in motion.

An arc was cut through the air, aiming to slice Tatsuya's throat. Luckily—

—Thwack!

Already expecting the threat to his life, Tatsuya followed his instincts. All those months of training were not about to go to waste.

His fist had shot forward, striking the Anbu shinobi's elbow. A short gasp escaped them, forced out by the struck nerve.

Tatsuya then followed with a spinning axe kick, slamming the Anbu shinobi at the side of their head. Unfortunately, that attempt would be blocked. A wrist had come between his heel and his target.

—Thud.

All the Anbu shinobi had to do was hold their arm up. With their superior physique, there wasn't much weight that Tatsuya could put into his attack.

However...

'I'm not done yet!' Tatsuya finished weaving his hand signs. His cheeks bulged and his chest expanded.

'Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!'

—Vwhoom!

Spitting out a large ball of flames, Tatsuya used this opportunity to flee. Simply from the first volley of shuriken, he knew that the Anbu shinobi was not alone. While the others were still culling his fellow genin, Tatsuya had no choice but to use them to buy time.

After forming a seal, his body disappeared in a blur of shadows.

Tatsuya flickered away with his life still in his hands.

***

Unfortunately for Tatsuya... he was not as fast as Suguru.

Just as he reappeared, a blur of movement caught his eye. The deadly gleam of a katana made his hair stand on end.

The wind whistled, seemingly indicative of his death.

Luckily, he saw through the attack with his Sharingan. Observing the attack's trajectory, he tilted his head to the side and countered with a slash of his kunai.

The katana seemed to read his movements and it struck his kunai to parry his blow.

—Clang!

Tatsuya felt the force of the blade transmitted to his own. The sheer force numbed his wrist and whitened his knuckles. Left with no choice, he powered through and leaped back.

With his free hand, he threw a volley of shurikens to deter the subsequent pursuit. 

Unforunately...

All of the shuriken were struck down with merely a few swipes of the blade. This new Anbu shinobi gave chase without flinching. His blade moved faster than what Tatsuya could react to.

'Shit—!'

Tatsuya's life flashed before his eyes as his brain desperately searched for a way to escape.

Nothing came to mind.

All he could feel was the approach of death.

It was then—

The katana suddenly halted, inches away from Tatsuya's neck. The Anbu shinobi staggered, their eyes seemed lost.

Upon noticing the abnormality in their body, Tatsuya realized what happened. Someone had trapped them in a powerful Genjutsu.

"What..."

Shocked, Tatsuya was frozen in place. A hand had fallen on his shoulder. Two figures had appeared, standing right behind him. One had a mask he could not recognize, while the other had fame known far and wide.

Long, spiky white hair, and a forehead protector with the symbol for 'oil' carved upon its gleam. It was clear to Tatsuya who this was.

"The Toad Sage..!" Tatsuya's eyes widened, surprised by who he was seeing. "J-Jiraiya-sama... It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hoho, so it seems like the kids these days have done their homework!" Jiraiya guffawed, "Come with us, kid. There's someone who wants to see you."

Tatsuya nodded and his Sharingan flashed. "Could it be... Lord Hokage?"

Hearing this, Jiraiya shook his head. His expression seemed grim. "No,"

A bombshell would thus fall upon Tatsuya to confirm his suspicions.

"A lot of people still don't know this but... Lord Third is no longer the Hokage."

***

Tatsuya flickered through the forest, following his two guardians. The masked individual hadn't said a word this whole time. However, Tatsuya could feel his subtle gaze.

If not for Jiraiya actively engaging Tatsuya in conversation, the whole trip would've passed in awkward silence.

"...You mean to say that Elder Danzo has been leading the village for the past several months already?" Tatsuya could not hide the incredulity in his tone. "How come no one was informed?"

"It's complicated," Jiraiya patiently replied. "There were a lot of schemes happening at that time. Sensei had no choice but to take a step back."

"Otherwise..." Jiraiya sighed, "Konoha would have to face a civil war."

"Just like Kirigakure?" Tatsuya asked.

Jiraiya simply nodded in reply. "In a sense."

As those words fell, the three Konoha-nins arrived before a makeshift base, hidden in the ground. Someone was already waiting for them at the entrance.

"Lord Third..."

It was Tatsuya's first time seeing Hiruzen in casual clothing.

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