Chapter 6
I stood there for a moment, the quiet hum of the workshop in the back of my mind as I debated what to do.
It didn't take long. A few minutes, really, for the raw ingredients to combine and turn into something better, something closer to home. I didn't need to think twice about it—the Workshop did the hard part. It just… knew what to do.
I set a plate of freshly baked bread and warm stew down on the counter.
I didn't say anything at first, just set it down in front of them.
The man blinked at it for a second, and I could see the tension in his shoulders start to ease. The kid was still on edge, but their eyes kept darting between the food and me. They were hungry. I could tell.
The man took a slow bite of the bread, his eyes widening. "This… this is real food," he said, almost like he didn't believe it. "You didn't have to do this."
I shrugged.
"Thank you." He continued.
The kid didn't wait. They dug in, tearing into the bread like they hadn't eaten in days. Then the stew. They were messy, but they didn't care. They just ate, like this was the first real meal in forever.
I nodded, leaning back in my chair. "Eat. Rest. Tomorrow, you figure out what comes next. But for tonight, you're safe."
Outside, the rain kept coming down, but inside, it was just a little bit easier to breathe. Even if it was just for a few hours, it felt like things could be okay again.
I'll be damned if I let myself become like those cold heartless ninjas.
I could see them both finally relaxing. The man wiped his mouth, glancing at his kid, and then at me, like he was weighing whether he should say something or not.
He sighed, deep and tired, and finally broke the quiet.
"I'm sorry again," he started, voice rough. "I never meant to intrude like this. We—we've been running for a long time, you know? Ever since the war... everything changed." He looked down at his kid, who was still eating, their eyes focused more on the food than anything else.
Kaito's gaze lingered on her for a moment, his expression softening. He cleared his throat before speaking again.
"I'm Kaito," he said, giving a little half-smile, tired but genuine. "This is Yumi." He gestured to the kid, who looked up briefly, offering a timid nod.
I nodded back. "Tatsuya."
"Is this your house?"
"Yeah," I nodded.
"This is a good place," Kaito muttered, more to himself than to me. "Not many houses like this around here anymore."
"You live here alone?"
I nodded.
"Alone, huh? Must be tough... especially with the way things are now."
I didn't exactly have a good answer for that. Tough? Yeah. But I wasn't complaining.
"It's not bad," I said, keeping my tone neutral. "I've got enough to keep me busy."
He studied me for a second, like he was trying to figure me out. I didn't blame him; I probably looked a bit off, not your typical twelve-year-old. But hey, looks can be deceiving.
Yumi fidgeted with her empty bowl, not really looking at either of us. I could tell she wasn't fully comfortable yet, her little eyes darting around like she was expecting someone to burst in at any second.
Kaito's face softened when he noticed. "It's not much," he said, "but thank you again. For the food, and… for letting us stay."
I shrugged. "It's fine. You've got a kid. I'm not heartless."
He gave me a grateful nod. "Still, it means a lot."
There was a pause. Then he asked, "So, what's your plan? You planning to stick around here, or…?"
I thought about it. The truth was, I didn't have a plan- at least not a clear one. I was just trying to get by and build my strength, but that was it.
"For now, yeah. I'm not really going anywhere." I glanced over at the window, where the rain continued to fall. "What about you?"
Kaito didn't respond right away. His gaze turned distant.
For a moment, I thought maybe he hadn't heard me, but then he spoke, his voice quieter than before.
"To be honest, I don't know," he said, his words slow, weighed down by something heavy. "Rika…Our house... it was destroyed. By the war."
I didn't ask for details. I already knew, judging by his voice and the weariness in his eyes.
"I guess I want to escape this hellish place... with Yumi," Kaito said, his words slow, as if even thinking about it was a heavy burden. "But now that I think of it… everywhere's the same, isn't it? With this damn war."
I didn't say anything right away. There was nothing I could say. He was right. This was a world at war. No place was truly safe. Every country was locked in some kind of conflict, and the battlefield was drawn across the weakest, the ones who had no voice in the matters of great shinobi nations.
There were exceptions, sure, but the safety of those few was never guaranteed.
"Yeah," I muttered, leaning back in my chair. The weight of his words hung in the air like the rain outside. "Doesn't matter where you go,"
"It'll follow you," I continued, "War's like that. It doesn't care about where you're from or who you are."
The words settled between us, the truth too heavy to avoid. I could see the flicker of recognition in Kaito's eyes. He'd figured it out long ago, but it didn't make it any easier.
In a way, I'd already seen this world be consumed by this never-ending cycle of bloodshed and hatred. And the worst part? This wasn't even close to the end.
Naruto's world was one of constant conflict. There would always be another war, another skirmish, another battle. The fighting would never stop as long as humans held the power to destroy each other.
And then there were the bigger threats—Obito, Madara, Kaguya, and the Otsutsuki clan.
It was hard to look forward when the world felt so broken, when you knew things would only get worse before they got better, if they ever did. The real war, the one that shaped everything, wasn't just against nations. It was against the very idea of peace itself.
In a way, Madara was right; His method, though? That was where he went wrong.
Peace can't be achieved by an illusion. No matter how grand or convincing. Peace has to be earned, and it can only be achieved by strength.
Only with true strength.
The world was a mess. A never-ending fight for survival, and yet, there was this faint glimmer of something better. Maybe it's hope, or maybe it's just a stupid dream, but I believed it. If I could get strong enough... If I could somehow gather enough people...
That was it, wasn't it?
It was a foolish thought, probably. But it was the only one I had.
To unite the world. To stop the fighting. To show people there's more to life than just killing each other over scraps.
To take down the assholes who keep making war their playground. The ones who start conflicts for power, for control, leaving everyone else to pick up the pieces. That's what I needed to do.
But to do that, I needed more than just a good plan. I needed serious power. The kind that makes people sit up and listen. The kind that could finally break this cycle of chaos. Luckily for me, I had the tools to make that happen. I wasn't about to sit around waiting for some hero to swoop in and save the day.
No one was coming. It was on me to fix this.
The world was a mess, and I wasn't about to just watch it burn.
I glanced at Kaito and Yumi, sitting quietly, exhausted from everything they'd been through.
I stood up, letting that realization hit me. The road ahead? It was going to be rough—long, bloody, and full of people who'd try to stop me. But that's what real strength costs. And once I had it, once I had enough power to change the game, I wasn't just going to reshape the world. I was going to make everyone see it my way.
By any means necessary.
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Author's note;
I've had this idea for a long, long time now.
And here it is. Hope you guys enjoy this.
Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts! Let's see where this goes.