AN: Quick shoutout to BlackBerserker for pointing out something important from the previous chapters, And also Soleus i appreciate the support bro!
Guys, I am extremely happy with the progress of the fic, we have hit 100k+ views on webnovel close to 120k by the time I'm writing this. Man all i got to say is Thank you guys!
<3
One of the Root operatives shouted "For Konoha!" before dying, and the question was why BOLT or Antares did not bring that up immediately.
That is a fair point, and I'll be addressing it in this chapter.
The simple answer is that BOLT did not forget that, Me your favorite author-sama forgot lmao.
Thanks again to BlackBerserker for catching that detail. Comments like that help me tighten the story and expand the worldbuilding. Now back to the chapter.
Chapter 14 - The Weight of Survival
Morning came to Kumogakure with smoke still hanging over the mountains.
The village was alive.
Damaged, but alive.
Across the higher districts, shinobi moved over broken bridges and cracked stone paths with ropes, tools, and sealing tags in hand. Chunin led rescue squads checked collapsed houses, while sensor ninja swept through damaged shelters for anyone trapped beneath the rubble. Medical teams moved between temporary stations, treating burns, broken bones, smoke inhalation, and chakra exhaustion.
The lower districts had suffered the least.
The outer mountain paths had not been as lucky.
Three residential routes were still closed. Two training fields had been torn apart. One section of the western cliff road had completely collapsed, leaving a jagged wound in the side of the mountain.
Still, Kumogakure moved.
People carried wood. Shinobi lifted stone. Sealing teams stabilized cracked foundations and fixed broken seals. Civilians who could still stand helped those who could not.
The village did not stop because it had been wounded.
It simply bled while rebuilding like patching up its wounds.
Inside a secured medical command room near the hospital, Ay listened to the reports with his arms crossed.
He had not slept. No one was foolish enough to mention that to him.
Shiden stood before him with three scrolls tucked under one arm. His mask was pushed to the side of his head, revealing a tired face and eyes that had spent the entire night looking at death, damage, and reports.
Ikazuchi stood beside him, silent as usual.
Amai was there as well, her white and gray medical haori stained with ink from hospital records. She looked as exhausted as everyone else, but her voice had remained steady through every medical update.
Ay looked at Shiden.
"Report."
Shiden opened the first scroll.
"Reconstruction is underway. Civilian shelters held better than expected because of Lady Misaki's emergency barrier seals. Three outer mountain districts remain unstable. The western cliff road is closed until stone release reinforcement teams finish repairs. Bridge teams estimate two days for temporary passage and one week for proper restoration."
Ay nodded once and questioned "The civilians?"
"Confirmed civilian deaths remain low," Shiden said. "Injuries are high, but manageable. Most came from falling debris, panic during evacuation, and smoke. Rescue teams are still searching collapsed structures, but sensor sweeps suggest most survivors have already been extracted."
Ay's jaw tightened. Low did not mean none.
Families would mourn later. For now, the village still needed him standing.
"And the border?" Ay asked.
Shiden's expression shifted.
That was enough for Ay to understand the next report would not be simple.
"Reports from our western and southern intelligence routes came in before dawn," Shiden said. "The Land of Wind and Amegakure have increased skirmishes near the Rain border. Small clashes for now. Patrols disappearing. Supply caravans being struck. Sand shinobi have been seen moving more aggressively near Rain territory."
Ikazuchi looked toward Shiden. "Did Amegakure respond yet sir?"
"Yes," Shiden replied. "Hanzo's forces are retaliating. Nothing large enough to be called war yet, but the pattern is worsening."
The room grew quiet.
Ay stared at the map on the table.
The Land of Rain always had the misfortune of standing where greater nations liked to bleed each other. Fire, Wind, and Earth all had reasons to watch it. None of those reasons were good for the people living there.
Ay exhaled through his nose. "The world smells blood."
Shiden nodded. "The 8 tails incident will spread. Even if we control the details, other villages will hear that Kumo suffered internal damage."
"And they will test if we are weak," Ikazuchi added
Ay's eyes hardened conviction flashing in his eyes. "Then we show them we are not."
Shiden opened the second scroll.
"There is one more matter."
Ay looked at him.
"Speak."
"Witness testimony from the surviving BOLT operatives has been collected."
Ikazuchi's hand tightened slightly at her side.
Ay noticed.
Shiden continued.
"One of the attackers shouted something before detonation."
The room felt colder.
Ay's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Shiden looked down at the scroll.
"Two survivors confirmed the same words."
Ay did not speak.
Shiden's voice became flatter.
"He shouted, 'For Konoha.'"
Silence filled the room.
For a moment, even the distant sounds of reconstruction outside seemed quieter.
Ay's fingers curled against his arms.
"Show me."
Shiden nodded.
One of the BOLT operatives stepped forward from the corner of the room. His left arm was wrapped in bandages from shoulder to wrist, and one side of his mask had been cracked during the battle. He lowered himself to one knee despite Amai giving him a sharp look for moving too quickly.
"Lord Raikage," the operative said.
Ay looked down at him.
"You were there?"
"Yes, sir."
"Speak." Ay commanded wanting answers.
The operative lowered his head.
"The room was full of smoke. Lady Misaki's lightning clone had already engaged two of them. One of the attackers had lost his left arm and was burned across the chest, but he kept moving. I saw him reach beneath his cloak."
The operative's voice remained steady, but his bandaged fingers twitched. "He had a trigger seal beneath his cloak"
The room faded in Ay's mind as the report became a memory shown with Genjutsu
Smoke.
Burning wood and blood across the broken floor.
A masked shinobi with no village symbol forcing himself forward while lightning burns crawled across his body. His arm was gone below the elbow, but his remaining hand still moved with purpose.
A BOLT blade cut across his side.
The Root operative did not stop.
He smiled beneath the blank mask.
Then his fingers pressed against the seal beneath his cloak.
"For Konoha!"
White light swallowed the room.
Boom.
The memory ended.
Ay stared at the kneeling operative and asked him to confirm.
"And this was heard by two survivors?"
"Yes, Lord Raikage."
"What about Antares?" Ay asked wondering if Antares also heard about it.
The operative hesitated.
"He may have heard it, sir, but Young Lord Antares was under severe stress and later suffered chakra backlash from what I've heard. I cannot confirm what he understood at that moment."
Ay said nothing for a moment.
Then he looked toward Shiden.
"This was not in the first report."
Shiden bowed his head.
"The first report was made during emergency containment. We listed confirmed material evidence first. Masks, poison capsules, suicide seals, explosive vests, combat behavior, and the captured operative. The testimony came after the survivors regained consciousness and were stable enough to speak clearly."
Amai stepped forward.
"That is correct. Two of them were in critical care. I did not allow BOLT to question them until they could breathe without blood in their lungs."
Ay accepted that.
Amai would have fought him if he objected.
Ikazuchi spoke next.
"The shout confirms what we already suspected, but it is not enough for a public accusation."
Ay's eyes moved to her.
Ikazuchi did not flinch and explained to the room, this was more for formalities since she knew her Raikage and the people in the room understood the politics of how each village operate.
"A dying shinobi can shout any village's name. It could have been a confession. It could have been bait. It could have been part of a false flag in case the mission failed."
Shiden nodded.
"Danzo Shimura is known for using shadows inside shadows. If we accuse Konoha publicly with only a dying shout, they can deny it. They can claim rogue shinobi. They can claim another village was framing them."
Ay's mouth twisted. "They can claim many things."
"Yes, sir," Shiden said. "That is why the prisoner matters."
Ay's eyes sharpened.
The captured Root operative.
He is Alive, currently unconscious but sealed so he doesn't attempt any suicide acts.
A problem for Konoha but a weapon for Kumo.
Ay said. "The prisoner will tell us what we can prove about that incident"
Shiden bowed his head.
"Yes, Lord Raikage."
Ay turned toward Ikazuchi.
"Prepare the interrogation chamber beneath the tower. Triple layer suppression seals. I want his mouth, tongue, hands, feet, chakra, and stomach restrained and sedated."
"Check his teeth again, his blood, his eyes. Check every scar on his body for hidden formulas or any seals he may have hidden. I want him alive till we can figure out a way to extract the information safely." He finished his orders to her wanting to get the exact information from the prisoner.
Ikazuchi nodded. "Already underway, sir."
"Good."
Ay looked at Shiden again.
"Expand surveillance on the Land of Fire border, quietly. No open movements that give Hiruzen an excuse to call us aggressive since we still have that no aggression treaty we have with Konoha."
"Yes, sir."
"And the Sand and Rain reports?"
"We continue monitoring," Shiden said. "If the skirmishes grow, the great nations will be pulled toward Rain."
Ay's gaze returned to the map.
Fire.
Wind.
Rain.
Stone.
Kumo.
The pieces were moving.
Not yet in open war.
But close.
The world was shifting, and someone had chosen that exact moment to reach into his home and try to kill his wife and sons.
Ay's chakra flickered once across his shoulder.
Bzzzt.
Everyone in the room felt the pressure.
No one moved.
"I want to make sure Konoha understands one thing." Ay said with fury and passion radiating from him
He looked toward the hospital hallway beyond the command room.
"They failed."
The next day, Antares hated being awake.
Being unconscious had been much easier.
Unconscious Antares did not feel like his bones had been filled with hot sand.
Unconscious Antares did not have chakra coils that cramped every time he breathed too deeply.
Unconscious Antares did not have to listen to Amai explaining that he was banned from using chakra until further notice.
Awake Antares had many complaints.
Unfortunately, his body did not have enough energy to voice them properly.
He lay in the hospital bed with a blanket pulled up to his chest, staring at the ceiling like it had personally wronged him.
Misaki sat beside him, reading a scroll with one hand while the other rested on his blanket. She had refused to leave him for more than a few minutes at a time. Even after Amai ordered her to rest, Misaki had simply moved from one chair to another and called that resting.
Unruly Ay slept in the other bed, snoring lightly despite the bandages wrapped around his ribs and shoulder.
Antares turned his head slowly.
The movement hurt.
He hated that too.
'This is pathetic.'
The thought came sharper than expected.
He had known this world was dangerous.
He had known it since the moment he realized he had been reborn into Naruto. Child soldiers. Hidden villages. Tailed beasts. Bloodlines. Wars. Assassins. Danzo. Root.
He knew the names.
He knew the future.
He knew enough to understand that peace in this world was often just the pause between graves.
But knowing was different from feeling.
Knowing was a thought.
Feeling was waking up in a hospital bed because masked men had entered his home to kill him and his mother.
Feeling was seeing Misaki's hands shake while she touched his face.
Feeling was seeing his brother wrapped in bandages because he had stood between Antares and death.
Feeling was remembering the white flash inside his own body, the way his chakra tore through him like something had broken open.
This was not a story anymore.
It had not been one for a while, but a part of him had still treated it like one.
A dangerous world, yes.
But a world he could plan around.
A world where future knowledge gave him an advantage.
A world where he could grow slowly because he knew what threats were coming.
He had been wrong.
The threats were not waiting for canon.
They were already here.
His fingers curled beneath the blanket.
Pain shot through his hand.
He ignored it.
'If I cannot use chakra, then fine.'
A memory from another life flashed through his mind.
Green jumpsuit.
Bowl cut.
Weights dropping and cracking the ground.
A boy who had no talent for ninjutsu but trained until his body became a weapon sharp enough to make geniuses bleed.
Rock Lee.
Antares almost laughed.
It came out as a weak breath.
'If my chakra is hampered, I will train like Lee.'
Not exactly.
He was still a child. His body was small, injured, and under medical watch. If he tried to do anything stupid, Misaki would probably seal him to the bed herself.
But there were things he could do.
Grip strength.
Breathing.
Flexing.
Control.
Hand Seals
Memory work.
Seal theory.
If his chakra coils needed time, then his body could still learn discipline.
If his body could not move much, then his mind could be sharpened.
If he was forced to crawl, then he would crawl properly.
Antares shifted beneath the blanket.
Slowly and carefully.
'Bad idea.' His ribs immediately complained in protest of the moments.
His arms felt like someone had filled them with wet sand, and the moment he tried to move his stomach, a sharp cramp ran through his chakra coils.
He froze.
Misaki's eyes stayed on the scroll.
Good.
Antares took a slow breath.
'If Lee could train without chakra, then I can at least do this much.'
He pushed the blanket off his chest and rolled onto his side.
That alone felt like climbing a mountain.
His breath hitched.
His fingers dug into the mattress.
For a moment, he almost stopped.
Then he remembered the Root operative.
The blank mask.
The killing intent.
His mother's shaking hands after I was captured.
His brother wrapped in bandages.
Antares grit his teeth and forced himself onto his stomach.
His arms trembled beneath him.
'One push-up.'
That was all.
One.
Not a hundred.
Not a thousand.
Just one.
His palms pressed into the mattress.
His elbows shook.
His body screamed at him to stop.
Antares ignored it.
He pushed.
His chest lifted barely an inch before pain shot through his arms, shoulders, and stomach all at once.
His chakra coils cramped like someone had twisted hot wire through his body.
"Ghk."
The sound escaped before he could stop it.
Misaki's scroll lowered.
"Antares."
He froze.
His arms were still shaking beneath him.
Misaki stared at him.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
"What are you doing?" she questioned her tone not discerning what she thought exactly
Antares looked up from the mattress.
His face was pale.
His arms were trembling.
His pride was currently dying in front of his mother.
"Training."
Misaki's expression went flat.
"Why are you doing push ups?" She questioned him again, placing the scroll she was reading down on the side table.
"Mom, I am attempting just one push-up." Antares mentioned like it was nothing while his trembling arms showed otherwise.
"You are in a hospital bed." she said pinching the bridge of her nose
"That makes it harder." Antares said acting oblivious not wanting to get in trouble
"That is not the point." Said Misaki wrapping her head around her son's antics.
Misaki stared at him for a long moment.
Then she moved the scroll farther away from her with dangerous calm.
"Antares."
"Yes, Mother?"
"You are not training while injured."
"I am not using chakra."
"Your body disagrees, you need to recover." she said to him trying to convince him farther away from his foolish actions.
"My body is okay, just a bit of pain." Antares tried to act tuff.
Misaki stood.
Antares immediately realized he had made a mistake.
Not a tactical mistake.
A survival mistake.
She walked over, placed one hand on the back of his shirt, and lifted him just enough to turn him over without letting him resist.
He landed on his back with a soft thump.
Pain went through him.
He hissed.
Misaki's eyes narrowed. "Exactly."
Antares looked away. "I almost had it."
"You almost reopened every injury Amai told you not to disturb."
"I was being careful mom." he winned acting like a child
"You were trying to do push-ups one day after nearly dying." she stated, trying to get her point across to get through his dense head.
"That sounds worse when you say it." Antares pouted and crossed his arms, ignoring the small jolt of pain that action caused him.
"It is worse, Antares" she said and grab onto his ear and pulled on it.
"Ahhh Ahhhh" said Antares suffering the worst pain that all mothers do to discipline their unruly kids.
Unironically, Unruly Ay made a sound from the other bed.
It might have been a laugh, since his shoulders were shaking and you can hear rustling coming from his side of the room.
Misaki's eyes snapped toward him.
He immediately pretended to still be asleep.
Antares would have respected the survival instinct if he was not busy being caught.
The door opened before Misaki could begin whatever lecture she was preparing.
Ay stepped inside.
This time, he was alone.
No Ikazuchi, Shiden Or BOLT.
Just his father, bandaged and tired, but standing like the mountain outside had decided to walk into the hospital room, his tall and muscular frame barely able to pass through the door.
Misaki turned toward him.
"He is trying to do push-ups." She accused Antares, saying it in a way so Ay can back her up to lecture their son and his stupid actions.
Ay looked at Antares.
Antares looked back.
There was no point lying.
"I attempted one push-up," he said.
Ay said nothing.
Misaki looked between them. "Do not encourage him."
Ay's mouth twitched. "I have not spoken."
"You are thinking loudly." said MIsaki, crossing her arms under her bust.
Ay grunted.
Antares watched them for a moment, then forced himself to speak before the small warmth in the room made him forget what he wanted to say.
"Father."
Ay looked at him properly now.
The room quieted.
Antares swallowed.
His throat felt dry. He hated how weak his voice sounded before the words even left him.
"I want to become stronger."
Ay's face did not change.
Misaki's hand tightened slightly over the blanket pooling on the side of the bed after Antares removed it from himself.
Antares continued with more conviction behind his words now. "I do not mean later. I do not mean when I am old enough for the Academy. I mean after I recover, I want to train properly."
Ay walked closer to the bed. "Why?" he questioned his youngest son.
The question was simple.
Too simple.
Antares knew the answer, but saying it out loud made it heavier as it brought memories of the recent happenings.
"So that never happens again."
No one spoke.
Antares looked down at his small hands beneath the blanket.
"They came into our home. They hurt Mother even if it was just her clone at the time. They hurt Brother. I could not do anything until my chakra lost control, and even then I did not choose to do it. I just collapsed."
His fingers curled again despite the pain.
"I do not want to survive because something inside me breaks open at the last second. I do not want to be saved every time because I am too small to stand. I know I am young. I know my body cannot do much yet. But I can do something."
Ay stared at him.
Antares forced himself to meet his father's eyes.
"I want to become strong enough to protect what is mine."
Misaki went very still at hearing her son's real thoughts.
Ay did too.
For a moment, Antares remembered another day.
A day before blood and smoke and Root.
He had been standing near one of the old Kaminari training grounds, watching his father strike the side of a mountain.
Not with a jutsu.
Not with a blade.
With his fist.
Bam!
The sound had rolled through the valley like thunder.
Stone cracked.
Dust fell.
Ay pulled his hand back. His knuckles were bloody, but his expression barely changed.
Young Antares had stared at him like he had lost his mind.
"Why are you punching the side of the mountain?" Antares had asked.
Ay looked down at him. "Training."
"That is not training, That is bullying a poor rock."
Ay laughed.
A real laugh.
Then he looked back at the cracked stone.
"The mountain does not care if I am tired. It does not care if I am angry. It does not care if I am talented, important, or born with strong blood. If my fist is weak, it hurts me. If my stance is wrong, it punishes me. If my resolve breaks, the mountain remains."
Antares had frowned.
"That sounds awful and more like torture."
"It is." Ay said, with a smile on his face looking at his curious son.
"Then why do it?" Antares questioned his father.
Ay had looked toward the village below as said.
"To be truly strong in this world, you need more than muscle and chakra. Those matter, but they are not enough."
Antares had tilted his head.
"Then what else?"
Ay had placed one massive hand on his son's head.
"Resolve. The will to protect what you love, and a dream strong enough to make you stand again when your body wants to stay down."
The memory faded.
The hospital room returned.
Antares looked up at his father.
"I understand now," he said quietly.
Ay's eyes narrowed, but not in anger.
"You understand part of it."
Antares nodded. "Then teach me the rest."
Misaki looked at Ay.
There was warning in her eyes.
Ay saw it.
He was not foolish enough to ignore it.
"You will not train until Amai clears you," he said.
Antares opened his mouth.
Ay raised one finger. "Do not argue."
Antares closed his mouth.
Ay continued.
"If you damage your chakra coils because of impatience, you will weaken yourself before you even begin. That is not resolve. That is stupidity."
Unruly Ay opened one eye and said to his father. "He gets that from you."
Ay turned his head slowly.
Unruly Ay closed his eye again.
"I am asleep." he said pretending he said nothing and closing his eyes.
Misaki covered her mouth and a small fufu came from her, but Antares saw the smile.
Ay looked back at Antares.
"When you recover, you will train."
Antares' heart beat harder.
"With you?"
"With me. With your brother. With your mother when it comes to chakra control and seals."
Misaki lifted an eyebrow.
Ay wisely added, "If she agrees."
"I agree," Misaki said. "But I will not allow either of you to break him."
Ay grunted.
Antares felt something inside him settle.
Not peace.
Not happiness.
But the fire of resolve is small, but real.
Ay placed his hand on Antares' head again.
This time, the weight felt different.
"Heal first," Ay said. "Then the mountain will be waiting."
Antares looked at him.
The mountain.
The place where his father had carved strength into stone with bloody fists.
The place where Unruly Ay would probably laugh at him, insult him, then drag him forward anyway.
The place where his body would hurt, his pride would suffer, and his excuses would die one by one.
Good.
He needed that.
Antares looked toward the window.
Outside, Kumogakure rebuilt itself beneath the clouds. Broken paths were being repaired. Damaged shelters were being reinforced. Smoke rose from wounded districts, but people moved through it anyway.
The village had survived.
Now it was rebuilding.
Antares understood.
Survival was not enough.
Survival was only the first breath after almost dying.
What came after was the choice.
His hand curled beneath the blanket again.
This time, he ignored the pain and held the fist as long as he could.
"I will recover," Antares said.
Ay nodded. "And then?"
Antares looked back at him.
"Then I train with all I got." Antares said with fire on his eyes
AN: I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter ill release another one later on today. This chapter was almost ready yesterday but i took a break from wirtting it and lauched it today.