Beneath the Surface of Konoha – 02:37 AMIt started with a whisper.
Not in his ear. Not even in his mind.
It echoed in his blood.
Each pulse thrummed like a coded message—soft at first, like a dream trying to resurface from the depths of his fragmented memory. The system's usual alerts had gone silent. Instead, something older than the Shadow Enlistment had taken root, nudging his body forward, guiding him past familiar streets and through forgotten alleys.
He stopped at a broken wall behind Training Ground 10. An overgrown tree loomed there, roots curling around a stone slab like gnarled fingers.
It wasn't just a tree.
It was a door.
He knelt, pressing his palm against the moss-coated stone.
Nothing happened.
But the pulse in his veins intensified.
[Shadow Enlistment Sync Error: Unknown Seal Matrix Detected]
Legacy Command Line Recovered: "Phase Null - Initiate Descent"
Suddenly, the ground beneath him shimmered.
An invisible seal activated. The earth groaned as ancient chakra coils unwound, revealing a spiral staircase plunging into darkness.
No guards. No alarms.
Just silence.
He didn't hesitate.
He descended.
Subterranean Depths – Access Level: BlackoutThe staircase seemed to descend forever. Lightless. Soundless.
Yet he could feel something here.
A memory trying to wake.
He reached the base after what felt like an hour.
The room was circular. Old tech lined the walls—scroll-screens flickering in and out of existence, arcane chakra tech merged with data consoles from a time that predated anything Konoha should've had.
In the center was a pool of still water, black as ink.
[Access Point Located – D-12 Vault Node: Null-Class Operations]
Bio-lock required. Initiating blood resonance test...
A sharp sting. He flinched as a thin wire lanced into his fingertip.
The moment the drop of blood hit the water, the entire room shifted.
The pool drained in a spiral. Stone walls peeled open like the iris of an eye. A stairwell emerged beneath.
[Genetic Key: Phantom // Null-Class Operative 00]
Clearance Level: Absolved
Welcome Back.
He stared into the darkness.
Then stepped into it.
Vault D-12 – The Mirror RoomIt wasn't just a chamber.
It was a memory capsule.
Two dozen mirrors floated in the air, each rotating slowly, each reflecting a different version of him—some younger, some older, some in masks, some bloodied.
Only one mirror—tall, cracked, and flickering—showed his current self. Behind his reflection shimmered a ghostly image of a young Danzo, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a woman he didn't recognize.
She wore no village insignia.
But her voice echoed through the system as if waiting.
"You are not a boy. You are not a name. You are not even a soul."
"You are the solution."
He staggered.
[System Override Detected: Memory Echo Initiating...]
Recovered File: S-00 Initiation Protocol // Null-Class Program
[Memory Fragment – Initiation: Year Unknown]Darkness.
He knelt on a cold obsidian floor.
Around him, ten children stood at attention. Silent. Starved. Eyes blank.
A woman walked between them.
She stopped at him. Lifted his chin.
"You're the anomaly. The one born without time."
She handed him a kunai.
"Your first mission: erase the one who remembers you."
He didn't understand.
But he obeyed.
He found the boy. Small. Fragile. Blonde hair wild. Laughing with ramen broth on his chin.
Naruto.
And he hesitated.
PresentHis breath hitched.
The room grew colder as the memory washed away.
He'd been here before.
He'd tried to kill Naruto.
But someone—something—stopped him. That moment of hesitation had erased his mission, his memory, his timeline.
And now… the system was reawakening the suppressed protocols.
[Code Phantom: Tier 1 Re-activation Possible]
Core Skill Tree Unlocked: [Timebound Erasure Techniques]
First Skill Recovered: [Shadow Lapse: Reverse Consciousness Insertion]
His reflection in the cracked mirror stared back—older, eyes colder, whispering words he didn't want to hear.
"You are not his friend. You are his fail-safe."
He reeled backward.
No. No, something was wrong. He wasn't a weapon anymore. Was he?
System Alert: Emotional Inconsistency Detected
Do you wish to overwrite current identity to restore mission parameters?
His hands trembled over the command line.
He didn't press it.
Elsewhere – Root Deep ArchivesSai watched the system logs update in real-time.
Lines of red scrolled down like a bloodtrail of secrets.
"Danzo-sama," he whispered, "his memory core… it's starting to bypass our suppressors."
Danzo didn't move.
"He remembers the room," Sai added, more forcefully. "If he recovers the full sequence…"
Danzo's voice was iron.
"Then let him remember. The Phantom's dilemma has always been whether he obeys programming or becomes the anomaly."
Sai frowned. "And if he becomes neither?"
Danzo's eyes narrowed.
"Then we kill the glitch—and erase this timeline again."
Back in the Vault – Cracked Mirror RoomHe stood alone now.
The system offered him a choice.
Unlock Tier 1?
Abandon Shadow Enlistment's morality locks?
Activate Oblivion Protocol Reinstatement?
But even as the prompts hovered, his mind flickered to Naruto.
The kid training alone.
The one who offered him food once.
Who smiled like he'd never been broken.
A part of him wanted to protect that smile.
Even if the code said otherwise.
[Command Suspended – User Deferral Accepted]
Next Thread Activation Scheduled: "Fractured Bonds"
The lights dimmed.
The mirrors flickered.
And somewhere beneath Konoha, a system cursed in digital rage—because the Phantom had chosen, once again, not to become a weapon.