Naruto: Wait, I’m Toneri?!

Toneri hummed, tilting his head slightly with a small, knowing smile.

"Ara, ara… It's still early for you. I guess that could wait a little longer. After all, you're young."

His gaze flickered toward Itachi before adding—

"Both of you."

Itachi, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

"You're not much older than us."

Toneri blinked, caught off guard.

"Huh?"

"Your features, the way you speak… You can't be much older."

Toneri chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward expression.

"Well… I'm actually older than you think."

He quickly did the math in his head—23 years from his current life plus 16 from the former Toneri's. That made him 39 years old in experience. He was, technically, much older.

But saying that outright wouldn't help.

"…Let's just say I'm old enough," he settled on with a smirk.

Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, unconvinced but choosing not to press further. Shisui, on the other hand, didn't react much—until Toneri's gaze fully settled on him.

Only now did Toneri truly notice the exhaustion on Shisui's face.

Dark circles clung faintly under his eyes. His cheekbones were sharper, his jawline more defined—not as a mark of age but from overwork.

Had he been so caught up in the excitement of meeting these two that he overlooked something this obvious?

A small part of him felt guilty.

For all his amusement, he had only added to Shisui's burden today.

This time, his voice lost its air of mystery. Instead, it softened.

"You look really tired, Shisui."

Itachi, hearing the remark, turned his gaze toward his friend—only now fully noticing the signs himself.

Shisui blinked, caught slightly off guard by the shift in Toneri's tone.

Toneri exhaled lightly before speaking again.

"You bear such a burden at a young age. I suppose it can't be helped…"

Then, with a small, almost mischievous smile—

"I guess that means it's time for my little magic."

Shisui's grip on his kunai didn't waver.

"What do you mean?"

Toneri tapped his cheek thoughtfully before shrugging.

"You'll see."

Then Toneri slowly raised both hands, a soft glow radiating between them as an orb of light formed. The glow wasn't harsh, but it carried a warmth that spread through the air.

Both Shisui and Itachi instinctively kept their distance, staying on guard—but then, they felt it.

The weight in their limbs, the dull ache of exhaustion—it vanished in an instant.

A subtle lightness replaced the fatigue.

Their eyes widened in surprise.

Shisui's fingers twitched. The exhaustion he had long since grown used to was simply gone. Itachi exhaled slightly, his body lighter, the ache in his limbs erased in an instant.

At that moment, Toneri spoke.

"You two will be caught between your village and your clan."

His words felt like an undeniable.

Silence followed.

For some reason, neither of them could bring themselves to react with hostility anymore.

They didn't understand why, but there was no sense of harm from him.

Yet, every word he spoke was either sharp or utterly unbelievable.

Then, Toneri continued, his voice even.

"I have a solution."

Shisui's lips parted slightly before he even realized it. His instincts screamed to stay on guard, but something in him needed to ask—

"What do you mean?"

But then it hit him.

Why was he even asking?

How did this man—a complete stranger—know about the conflict tearing Konoha apart from the inside? How did he know the village's deepest fractures?

Shisui's expression hardened.

Even Itachi, usually silent and calculating, narrowed his eyes. He had already come to the same conclusion.

Toneri, however, remained unfazed. He simply sighed—as if he had expected this reaction.

Then, with the same unsettling calm, he said:

"Be wary of Danzo."

A single name.

No explanation. No elaboration.

And then—

He vanished.

No sound. No movement. Just… gone.

Shisui and Itachi remained frozen in place.

The wind howled through the cliffs, but their thoughts were far louder.

A lot of questions and a name that neither of them had expected to hear.

Danzo.

Shisui clenched his fists. Why warn them about him?

And Itachi—

No one could tell what was going through his mind.

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Okay, guys, it's time to set my goals: 50 Power Stones = a new chapter. Don't forget to add this fiction to your collection!

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