Konoha felt quieter than usual.
The markets were open. The streets alive. Laughter drifted from food stalls. But to Hyuk Haruno, the village was wrapped in a thin veil of noise. Dull. Faint. Like listening underwater.
He kept to the rooftops now. Avoided the training grounds. Avoided Sakura. Avoided Kakashi.
And especially avoided mirrors.
The Thorn Vein wasn't just awakening—it was spreading.
Sometimes it pulsed without him calling it. His chakra would flare unpredictably. Leaves curled at his feet when he walked through the woods. Animals avoided him. The faint black lines along his forearms had thickened slightly. Still faint. But growing.
Each time it happened, he reminded himself:
"Control it. Don't let it control you."
But sometimes… he wondered if it already had.
---
That night, Hyuk slipped into the outer forest beyond Training Ground 3.
He had picked this place carefully: no other shinobi patrolled here, and the trees were thick enough to mask chakra movement.
He knelt and opened a scroll he had hidden days ago—taken from the archives, one no one was supposed to read.
Vein Transmission: Stage One - Needle Bloom
The scroll described a practice ritual—focus chakra into your bloodstream, then extend it through small wounds to "infect" the air around you with thorns made of chakra. A hybrid form: part medical, part genjutsu.
He unwrapped a cloth and took out a single senbon needle.
With precise control, he pricked the inside of his wrist. Blood welled instantly.
Then he breathed in.
Focused.
Push. Not out. Not through. Within.
Black chakra rippled from the wound, veins glowing faintly beneath his skin like webbing. The blood lifted unnaturally, floating and curling like smoke.
Then it sharpened.
It bloomed.
Thorns burst from his arm like chakra vines, laced with blood—delicate, beautiful, and deadly. They floated in the air around him like black petals caught in the wind.
And then—
He heard something behind him.
A branch creaked.
He turned, instantly dismissing the vines, kunai drawn.
A man stood ten feet away.
Hooded. Cloaked in a long, charcoal-gray robe embroidered with thorns. A porcelain mask covered half his face, the other half showing pale skin and a jagged scar that ran down his jaw.
Hyuk didn't move. "You've been following me."
The man tilted his head.
"You've bloomed faster than expected," he said, voice smooth like silk across glass.
Hyuk gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"
"I was once like you. Rootless. Quiet. Poisoned by the village's lies. Then I remembered what our blood was meant for."
Hyuk narrowed his eyes. "You're from the Thorn Vein."
The man nodded slowly. "We are not extinct, Hyuk. Merely patient."
A pause.
Hyuk didn't lower his blade. "You said 'our' blood."
The man removed his hood.
Pale pink hair. Faded, nearly silver now.
"I knew your father," the man said. "Kenji Haruno. He was one of us. Until he turned his back on what we could become."
Hyuk's stomach turned.
"Liar."
The man only smiled. "Ask your mother what happened to Kenji during the Third Shinobi War. Ask her why the Haruno clan sealed their own records."
Hyuk lunged.
The kunai struck—but only air. The man blurred and reappeared behind him, silent as smoke.
"Easy," the man murmured. "You're strong. But not ready."
Hyuk turned, vines flaring from his sleeve, slashing upward.
This time, he nicked the man's cloak—just barely.
The figure chuckled. "Good. You're beginning to use it properly."
"I'll kill you if you get near my team," Hyuk said, voice low.
"I'm not interested in your team," the man replied. "I'm interested in you."
Another step back. The man raised his hand—and black petals erupted around him, spinning like a cyclone.
When they cleared, he was gone.
Only a single object remained on the grass:
A scroll. Wrapped in cloth.
Hyuk picked it up slowly.
It had no seal. But on the front, scrawled in jagged script, was a name:
> "To the son of Kenji: Your inheritance awaits."
---
The next morning, Hyuk sat at his desk, staring at the scroll without opening it.
Sunlight filtered through the window. Outside, children laughed. Wind brushed past the rooftops.
But inside his apartment, silence ruled.
Sayuri knocked once before stepping inside.
He didn't look at her.
"Why didn't you tell me about Father?" he asked.
Sayuri was quiet. Then, softly: "Because he didn't want you to become him."
Hyuk finally turned to face her.
"Then why did he leave this for me?"
She stared at the scroll in his hands. Her breath caught.
"You weren't supposed to find that."
Hyuk's voice dropped.
"He was Thorn Vein. Wasn't he?"
Sayuri hesitated—then finally nodded.
"Yes. But he turned away from it. He died protecting people from it."
Hyuk's grip on the scroll tightened. "Or because of it."
"Don't let that power decide who you are, Hyuk," she said, her voice trembling. "Don't follow him into the dark."
But Hyuk had already decided.
---
That evening, Team 7 was summoned to the Hokage's Tower.
"There's been a series of disappearances on the western border," Hiruzen said, frowning. "Six people gone. No sign of struggle. No signs of forced entry."
Sasuke leaned forward. "A kidnapping ring?"
"Possibly. Or something worse."
Kakashi glanced at Hyuk, but said nothing.
"You're to scout and report. Do not engage unless provoked."
Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Tch. If someone's messing with our people, we will provoke."
Sakura nodded beside him. "We'll be careful."
Hyuk said nothing.
But as he walked beside them, his fingers brushed the scroll tucked inside his jacket.
Because somewhere beyond the borders…
The Thorn Vein was calling.