Morning came quietly.
No birds.No wind.Only silence.
He stared at the reflection again.
Same boy.Same face.Same eyes.
But something was different.
His eyes… weren't fully his anymore.
The letter still sat on his desk.The words etched into his mind."Next: Blood Recoil."
He didn't know what it meant.
But he would find out.
He stepped out.
Normal streets.
Normal people.
But everything looked sharper now.
He could hear their heartbeats.
Feel their stress.
Smell their fear.
Even the trees whispered something.
It was like… everything was too alive.
Too loud.
He blinked once.His left eye twitched.
The noise stopped.
All at once.
Just quiet.
Only his breath remained.
He realized—he had turned it off.
Or… maybe it turned itself off.
Classes at the Academy continued.
But nothing felt the same.
Iruka was talking about chakra flow.
Demonstrating how medical ninja can detect internal injuries by sensing disrupted flow.
Everyone watched with half-interest.
But his eye?
It saw more.
The chakra inside Iruka's body was… broken.
Like a clogged river.
Old injury, maybe.
He looked at Naruto.
Chakra chaotic.
Unstable.
Bursting out randomly.
He looked at Sasuke.
Sharp.
Controlled.
Clean lines.
And then—
He looked at himself.
His chakra wasn't flowing at all.
It was spinning.
Constantly.
Like a storm trapped inside a bottle.
Break time.
He sat alone under a tree.
Fingers twitching.
Heartbeat slow.
Breathing steady.
But his body felt like it was building pressure.
Too much pressure.
Something was off.
Something inside was shifting again.
"Yo."
Naruto's voice.
Loud.
Annoying.
Alive.
He sat down next to him.
"Hey, uh… sorry, but you were acting kinda weird yesterday."
He didn't respond.
Naruto shrugged.
"You okay?"
He looked up.
Saw Naruto's face.
For a split second—
He saw something behind his skin.
Another form.
Same face, but older.
Eyes of a beast.
Nine tails wrapped in chains.
Then blink.
Gone.
He stood up.
"I'm fine."
Walked away.
Naruto watched him go.Brows furrowed.
That night.
The dreams returned again.
This time, clearer.
He was inside someone else's body.
A battlefield.
Blood everywhere.
Screams echoing.
He activated the eye.
Same one.
Red spiral.
But something happened.
The blood on the ground lifted.
Formed spears in the air.
He moved his hand.
The blood obeyed.
One word formed in his head.
Blood Recoil.
A jutsu.
No hand signs.
Just thought.
It used blood in the air.Dead or alive.
He woke up with blood dripping from his nose.
The next morning.
Another letter.
Folded perfectly under his pillow.
"You unlocked it."
"But can you control it?"
Underneath—coordinates.
Location: just outside the Training Ground 44.
The Forest of Death.
He arrived by noon.
The sun hid behind clouds.
Forest was darker than usual.
He stood alone near the gate.
Until someone appeared.
Not the girl this time.
A boy.
Taller.
Face covered.
Only his left eye visible.
It was stitched shut.
"You activated Recoil."
Voice cold.
Almost robotic.
He didn't answer.
The boy stepped closer.
"I'm Protocol 5."
He raised his hand.
No warning.
A tree behind him split apart—cut clean through.
He looked down.
Blood.
In the air.
Spinning like blades.
The boy wasn't holding anything.
No weapon.
Just blood.
It moved like it was alive.
"Fight me," he said.
"If you live, you'll learn."
He activated his own eye.
Instantly—pain.
His veins lit up red.
He gritted his teeth.
Blood responded.
His own.
A small cut on his arm.
It lifted.
Formed a shield.
The boy threw another strike.
Blood shot out—spike-shaped.
He blocked it.
Barely.
Each hit stung.
His head throbbed.
The recoil of using the blood… it hurt.
It was like pulling chakra out of a wound.
He screamed.
But kept standing.
The boy moved faster.
Throwing knives—made of his own blood.
Every cut on his skin became a weapon.
The fight turned brutal.
But then—
He stopped.
The boy's blade inches from his neck.
"You'll die if you push more."
The boy pulled back.
"You're not ready yet."
He fell to his knees.
Sweating.
Breathing hard.
But alive.
"You survived your first Blood Recoil."
The boy handed him a small black pill.
"Take this. It'll stop the blood burning."
He swallowed it without question.
The fire inside him cooled.
Just enough.
"What is this eye?" he asked.
The boy stared for a moment.
Then replied.
"A prison."
That night, he sat on his bed.
Staring at the ceiling.
There was a knock on his window.
It opened slowly.
A letter floated in.
"Congratulations. You're ready for Phase Two."
No sender.
No seal.
No instructions.
Just those words.
He looked at his reflection again.
This time, the face smiled back.
And this time…
He smiled too.
But it wasn't the same smile.