Flashback — The ground cracked beneath her feet, and a violent explosion of energy ripped through the air.
Buildings shattered, and cries of panic echoed as the village trembled.
One of them sneered, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. “Pathetic. You were meant to be a weapon, but you’re nothing more than a failure.”
The moment she realized her failure, her heart shattered, and the villagers’ cold rejection echoed in her mind. Exiled, tossed aside like a forgotten tool. —
The gravel crunched beneath her feet, the path growing darker as the setting sun dipped below the horizon. She paused, a bitter realization hitting her like a cold wind. She never had a life of her own. It had all been expectations—forced exams, cruel experimental treatments. Even her parents... never once had they looked at her with the warmth of a loving guardian. Instead, she had always been nothing more than a tool to be used.
It’s cold tonight…
A chill ran down her spine. She rubbed her arms, continuing her march, when suddenly, the wind picked up, and with it, a foreign chakra. Not good.
She immediately sprang into the nearby trees, her body moving with practiced precision as she hid among the branches. She was strong—yes—but her control was fragile, like a storm on the verge of breaking. The last thing she wanted was to cause that again.
The chakra she sensed was overwhelming—powerful, almost suffocating. Was it a Sannin? A JinChūriki? Or even someone from the Otsutsuki Clan? No... it didn’t feel quite like any of them.
She pressed a hand over her mouth, heart racing as she heard footsteps approaching, the presence materializing on the path in a flash.