In his past life, the personality had formed as a defense mechanism—a fragment of his mind created to endure when life became unbearable. A part of himself which Kazeo wasn't even aware existed.
But now, in the world of Naruto, where emotions can take form through chakra, that buried fragment had begun to grow—taking shape and gaining strength. It was tied to his Yin chakra, gradually developing its own "personality" as it fed on his grief, anger, paranoia and sorrow.
Had Kazeo not possessed such high Yin chakra, this personality might never have gained the strength to influence him the way it did. This was the same issue that haunted clans like the Uchiha and Kurama. Their bloodlines didn't just pass down talent, they also passed down vulnerability. The stronger the Yin chakra in a person, the easier it became for emotions to take on a life of their own. Their bloodlines acted as amplifiers, giving them chakra and in turn, their darker emotions—an avenue to grow more intense, more overwhelming.
Kazeo, however, lacked such a bloodline. That was why he could subdue the voice—not because of some grand "talk-no-jutsu," but because his chakra lacked the inherited pathways that would have allowed the personality to evolve further.
Had he accepted the voice, embraced it fully, and followed its urges, it could have become something far more dangerous. There was a real possibility it would evolve into an autonomous personality—a chakra-born shadow, much like Yakumo Kurama's demon of illusion. Left unchecked, it might have solidified into a second consciousness—something that might challenge him from within, steal control of his body, cloud his focus when he needed clarity the most or twist his emotions in moments of weakness.
That's why it was vital to erase it now—not through violence, but through understanding and acceptance, which Kazeo was sure he couldn't, if he hadn't talked with Kaori yesterday.
Because in the end, it wasn't a monster—it was his pain, given shape from the part of him that couldn't endure. And only he could choose… to chain it again, or finally set it free.
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The two-week academy break was almost over. Just one day remained before everything returned to normal.
Kazeo quietly stepped out of his apartment, the morning air still cool against his skin. His footsteps led him to a familiar path—one that veered away from the heart of the village, toward a place most people avoided unless they had reason to visit.
The cemetery stood on the north-western edge of Konoha, distant from the noise and life of the inner districts. The entire cemetery was split into two sections: one for civilians, and one reserved solely for shinobi. Even within the shinobi section, the graves were carefully arranged—segregated by rank and legacy. Genin, Chunin, Jounin... even the graves of fallen Hokage stood in solemn pride. Each area was guarded, watched over by shinobi, usually of Genin or Chunin rank, tasked with protecting the resting places of the dead.
Because not everyone who came here came to grieve. There were those who dug up graves—not out of malice, but out of greed.
Grave robbing wasn't unheard of. Some people believed that the most precious possessions of the deceased should be buried with them—gold, gemstones, unique weapons, and in rare cases, even chakra-metal forged items. It was an old belief that the dead could carry these items with them to the afterlife—as long as the possession weren't living beings. Friends or relatives often honored that wish. A foolish superstition maybe, but one held deeply by many. And so, those guarding the cemetery stood between respect and desecration.
The first time Kazeo came here, two weeks ago—he was too overwhelmed to notice any of this. But after visiting the cemetery for the last two days in a row, he began picking up on the details after asking the ninjas near the cemetery.It didn't shock him much; after all, ancient civilizations like the Egyptians had similar burial practices back on Earth.
Eventually, he arrived at the civilian section and stopped in front of Kaori's grave. Her name etched into the stone still didn't feel real. It was strange… seeing a name that once laughed with him, scolded him, hugged him, now reduced to cold letters carved into rock.
He knelt down slowly, placing a bouquet of fresh flowers at the base of the grave—each one carefully picked, not for their beauty, but for the memory they carried. Lavender, her favorite. She used to keep them in a little vase by the window. For a moment, he just sat there. The silence wrapped around him like a blanket, neither comforting nor cold—just… there.
He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and whispered, "I don't know if it was really you that night, Grandma… But thank you."
His voice wavered, barely audible, the lump in his throat tightening. The last two times he had come, he hadn't spoken a word. He had simply sat there, letting the weight of everything press into his chest until the silence became unbearable, and then quietly walked away.
But today… today, he needed to speak.
"If you hadn't come, I might still be drowning in that darkness. That thing inside me… it was feeding on my pain, my grief for you. But your warmth… even in death, it reached me."
He placed a hand on the ground, fingers brushing against the dirt as if trying to reach her just a little closer.
"I wish you were still here. Not just because I miss you… but because I still need you."
He swallowed the ache and sat in silence again, letting his emotions settle for some minutes, the breeze ruffling his hair gently. For the next half hour, he poured out his thoughts to her, more than he used to compared to when she was alive. And then, after checking the area with his chakra field and confirming he was alone, he shared something he hadn't shared with a soul.
His past life.
"I don't know if the real you can hear me... or if I'm just talking to stone. But I want to believe you're listening. Somewhere, somehow."
He stood up, dusted off his pants, but lingered. Leaving wasn't easy.
"Alright... I think I've talked your ear off today," he said with a soft chuckle. "I hope you weren't bored. I'll be back again soon."
Then his smile faded.
His eyes hardened. His fists clenched.
"And Grandma… I swear, I will kill Danzo. Not Sasuke. Not anyone else. Me. I'll be the one to make him pay for what he did to you. Even if it takes years, I'll become strong enough. I promise."
He stood still for a moment longer, letting the weight of his words hang in the air—then turned and began the walk back home, the fire in his heart burning hotter than ever.
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Kazeo was sitting in the academy's training ground, fiddling with a piece of wire between his fingers. He had been replaying the fight or whatever that encounter with Mantis was—over and over again in his mind, and a few things just wouldn't stop bothering him.
The first was, "How did Mantis know I was in that closed alley? I'm sure he couldn't sense me because of my presence concealment and Cloak of Invisibility. But he still knew I was there as he kept checking with his sword even after his teammate asked him to return."
The second was, "Why did Mantis attack the exact spot I was hiding in? The moment I dropped the cloth... if I'd been even a second late, I'm sure I would've been injured—or worse, dead. In both situations, I hadn't made a single sound that could've revealed my position."
After thinking it through, Kazeo realized the most likely reason was that he had used chakra to access his storage scroll. That small flare of chakra might have given away his location. As for the precise final attack from Mantis, it was probably because Kazeo had coated his wires with chakra.
While he couldn't have avoided the second issue, it was necessary for the attack—he could definitely prevent the first from happening again. So he decided, from now on he would always carry a kunai tucked behind his T-shirt and a wire hidden in his pocket. That way, he wouldn't need to rely on chakra in critical moments like that.
Another thing he realized was that, during the fight, in that one terrifying moment of panic and fear, he hadn't checked their ranks using his chakra field. That was a critical mistake. He needed to train himself to stay calm and aware, even under intense pressure.
However, a new concern crept into his thoughts. What if the remaining ROOT ninjas had been a sensory-type ninja? They could've easily detected his clone and seen through his Transformation Jutsu. For a skilled sensor, those kinds of illusions were simple to break. But since there was no solution to that right now, he pushed that thought aside for the time being.
At first, he believed it was just dumb luck that the remaining two ROOT ninjas weren't sensors. Otherwise, he would have been caught. But the more he thought about it, the more it cleared that those three might have been a team. And in most standard Konoha teams, there's usually only one sensor. Aside from the Yamanaka clan, most other clans or civilian ninjas didn't typically have the chakra field needed for sensory abilities. The other clans like Hyuga and Inuzuka used their special characteristics for sensing.
So, based on that logic, it was likely that only one of the three ROOT operatives was a sensor and Kazeo had taken him down first. That seemed to be the only reason he was still alive.
After thinking about the incident and the mistakes he made for some more minutes, his thoughts drifted towards the third-year final exam. He decided to aim for first rank this year and ask for a reward that could benefit him in the long run. As for becoming top of the class, he planned to shift his focus away from Taijutsu for now and give his all in the other exams, as no matter how much he practice, he won't get first or second rank. He usually ranked in the top 7 during sparring sessions, that was mostly due to his superior body strength. The others were slowly catching up, but he estimated it would still take a few more years before they reached his level of physical strength.
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Days kept passing—training, classes and again training. Kazeo had also started using half of his Sundays for more training now. As he couldn't afford to fall behind when every small edge could matter later.
Before long, the third-year exams arrived.
The format hadn't changed much. Clone Jutsu was mandatory for everyone this year. Same as previous year, students were given a chance to earn extra credit by performing either an E-rank or D-rank jutsu of their choice. For performing E-rank jutsu, more than twenty students came up but for D-Rank jutsus, only five kids stepped up.
Kazeo was one of them. If he wanted that top rank, he had to go all in. He chose to perform Mud Wall, a basic D-rank Earth Style jutsu.
The teachers exchanged glances. His chakra nature was supposed to be wind. Learning a jutsu outside of your chakra nature—and performing it cleanly—wasn't common, especially for an academy student who was already trying to maintain top grades across the board.
One of the teachers, Iruka-sensei, couldn't help but murmur, "Hmm… so he's dabbling in dual nature training already? Interesting."
It wasn't flashy, but it told them something important. 'This kid might also be talented in Earth nature.'
When the results came out the next day, Kazeo found his name at the top. First Rank.
He wasn't surprised. For the last three months, he and his clones had gone all-in on shuriken throwing, calligraphy, and even butchering practice.
In taijutsu, he came in fifth—it was not bad, especially since he'd been focusing more on theory and skill-based exams. His consistency across all subjects, combined with his earlier half yearly scores, sealed the result.
As he stood near the notice board, quietly reading the list, one of the boys from his class muttered under his breath, "He came first again, how?"
There was no envy in his tone—just genuine confusion. After all, several clan kids were in the same class, and for a civilian to top the rankings wasn't exactly common.
What they didn't know was that Kazeo had been training relentlessly for the past two years, using shadow clones every single day. With that kind of constant repetition and feedback, it was only natural that he'd gain an edge far beyond the norm.
Some minutes after the Hokage's speech, when Hiruzen asked Kazeo what reward he wanted for securing first rank, he calmly replied:
"I'd like access to Earth-nature training, just like I have for Wind—including the chakra crystals and resistance rooms."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and paused, thinking it over, then recalled the report from the academy about Kazeo performing a D-rank Earth Style jutsu during the exams.
He didn't outright reject or accept the request. Granting a few extra earthbound crystals each month wasn't a big deal—especially since they were more abundant, albeit lower in quality than the ones ANBU used.
Still, Hiruzen looked at him seriously and asked, "Are you sure you can handle it? To fully benefit from the crystals, you'll need to meditate at least one hour a day with both the wind and earth crystals. Plus, three days a week in both resistance rooms. That's a heavy load."
Kazeo didn't hesitate. "I can manage it."
The Hokage smiled and gave a small nod. "Fine. I'll allow it—but on one condition. You'll need to prove your Earth affinity first. I'm giving you two weeks. In that time, you must learn a new D-rank Earth Jutsu and demonstrate it to your homeroom teacher. If you succeed, you'll get access to the training rooms and crystals for Earth. If not… we'll revisit your reward. Understood?"
Kazeo nodded without missing a beat. He had already learned more than six Earth-style D-rank jutsus on his own.
Neither the teachers nor the students were particularly shocked by his request. Just last year, Hyūga Kaito had asked for the same thing. Everyone knew because when they returned from the holiday break, the class had crowded around him, eager to hear what reward he chose.
"My parents told me to ask for access to the elemental training rooms and crystals," Kaito had explained. "Helps boost my affinity and resistance for a second element. It's more useful long-term than just learning a jutsu."
That was the general trend among top students from the third to sixth year—always thinking a few steps ahead.
A few minutes later, the bell rang. The holiday break was officially announced. The classroom erupted in cheers, and the students rushed out, chattering excitedly about their plans. After reaching home, Kazeo sat down, deep in thought.
"I can't afford to neglect taijutsu anymore. I might have a physical advantage now, but that won't last forever. Once the others catch up, it won't matter how strong I was before."
He knew he needed someone to teach him—someone truly skilled in taijutsu. The first name that came to mind was Might Guy, but he shook his head almost instantly.
"No way… I can't handle living like Lee for even a day."
While Guy was undeniably a master of taijutsu, his over-the-top energy and eccentric behavior just didn't sit right with Kazeo. More importantly, Guy would probably be too busy with missions right now. Both he and Kakashi would only become more available after Naruto and his batch graduated.
He spent nearly an hour racking his brain, going over every shinobi he knew or heard about. But none seemed to fit. Just when he was about to give up, a name finally came to him—someone who could actually match Might Guy's level in pure taijutsu. Convincing him would be tough, no doubt about that, but if it worked…
"Yeah… he's the one."
A determined glint returned to Kazeo's eyes. The hassle would be worth it.
(To be Continued...)