Sarada's eyes fluttered open. Groggy. Disoriented.
Her hand brushed something—black, irregular bumps, mask-shaped. "What...?"
"Gas mask." Mitsuki's voice drifted from nearby. "Found it under a bed in the last house. You're alive because of it."
She turned. Toneri lay unconscious a few feet away. A small snake—emerging from Mitsuki's sleeve—had its fangs buried in Toneri's shoulder.
Sarada bolted upright. "What are you doing?!"
"Relax." Mitsuki didn't look up. "Extracting toxins from his system."
Toxins. Sarada scanned their surroundings. Large boulder at their backs. Purple fog—stopped just meters away. A smoking scientific ninja tool car sat nearby, engine dead.
The safe zone.
Memory clicked. I passed out in that house. The fog should've— Her breath caught. Mitsuki got us out.
She studied the gas mask in her hands. Shallow poisoning. That's why I woke first.
"Mitsuki." Her voice came out quieter than intended. "Why aren't you affected?"
"Ryūchi Cave sage snake venom—diluted." He adjusted the snake's position on Toneri's shoulder. "The fog's made from it. I've got... connections to the Cave. Built up resistance."
"Only works early on, though. Later stages get nastier. Eventually even I'll drop. And when the final poison hits?" He nodded at her mask. "That thing's useless."
Sarada's fingers tightened on the mask. "Why give this to me? Toneri's stronger. More useful."
"If Toneri were awake, he'd have given it to you." Mitsuki's tone stayed matter-of-fact. "I'm just respecting his choice."
Something twisted in Sarada's chest. She crouched beside Toneri, eyes narrowing at Mitsuki. "You two met today. How can you possibly know what he'd choose?"
Mitsuki's gaze went distant.
A year ago. Night.
Brutal training—another day identical to the last thousand. Mitsuki stared at the moon. His eyes held nothing.
Orochimaru knelt beside him, tending his wounds with careful hands.
"You were meant to be a clone," his mother said softly. "But circumstances gave me the privilege of bearing you myself."
"I've cultivated your shinobi talents. But there's one thing parents can never teach."
"The bond between friends."
Mitsuki pulled on his shirt. Accepted the photograph Orochimaru offered.
One glance—he couldn't look away.
The boy in the photo had his eyes. That same strange detachment, like the world existed behind glass.
"Who is he?"
"Uzumaki Toneri." Orochimaru's hands disappeared into opposite sleeves. "You share the same potential. The same cold, solitary nature. Two matching moons."
"Moons..."
"The moon is cold." Orochimaru gazed upward. "Its light comes from the sun's illumination."
"But one-sided illumination is selfish. This time, I want you to warm each other. Grow together." A smile ghosted across pale lips. "Become each other's sun."
"Mitsuki. Mitsuki."
He blinked. Sarada was waving a hand in his face.
"Can't answer that question yet." He pivoted smoothly. "But I can tell you about Toneri."
Sarada's curiosity flared. "Then talk!"
"Last year. Rain Village spring outing. An organization called the Violent Gang attacked. The supervising ninja died—badly. Toneri's sister Himawari was so scared she cried."
Mitsuki's voice stayed level. "That's when Toneri awakened his Sharingan. No training. Pure instinct. He killed every single one of them."
Sarada's stomach dropped. "So when he said he'd killed people... he was protecting the other kids?"
"Yes." Mitsuki's expression darkened. "But afterward—except for his sister and aunt—almost no one would go near him."
"Why not? He saved them!"
"Power frightens people. The idea that Toneri was different made them keep their distance." Mitsuki met her eyes. "If you want to get close to him, you'd better be ready for that."
Sarada's thoughts churned.
"Ugh..."
Toneri's eyes opened. He sat up slowly, taking in their surroundings.
"Area D. Thirty li from the house." His gaze landed on the smoking car. He pushed that hard to get us here.
"With your abilities," Toneri said quietly, "why bring us along?"
"We're comrades." Mitsuki's smile was genuine. "How could I abandon you?"
Silence stretched. Then: "You seem trustworthy."
"Maybe." Mitsuki's smile turned sly. "Or maybe I'm playing the long game. Earning your trust so I can stab you in the back later. Happens all the time."
Toneri's lips quirked. "That requires motive. I'm not valuable enough. And if you wanted access to my father, you wouldn't need me—Aunt Orochimaru's already close to him. Why bother?"
Mitsuki extended his hand. "Figured it out, huh?"
Toneri clasped it. Let Mitsuki pull him up.
These two are making me feel like a third wheel, Sarada thought.
HUM!
Sound from above. Loud.
"The bomber's back?!" Sarada's voice cracked.
Mitsuki shaded his eyes, squinting upward. His shoulders relaxed. "No. Supply drop. Guess we earned some luck."
HUM.
The aircraft screamed overhead. A parachute-equipped crate dropped—
CLANG.
—directly onto the boulder above them.
HISS HISS HISS!
Red smoke erupted. Shot skyward like a beacon.
Everyone within miles just saw that.
Mitsuki's voice went flat. "Toneri. Do you know Wood Release?"
"A little."
"Use it. We're about to have company."
Toneri's hands came together. Chakra surged.
"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨patreon.com/DarkGolds]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━