There was blood on his hands.
Not fresh. Not real.
But old.
Echoes.
It seeped through the cracks of his fingers like water slipping through a broken dam. Phantom stared down at them, standing in the silence of the woods outside Konoha. Around him, the world was still.
Too still.
[System Syncing with Memory Cache: 32%]
[Caution: Memory Desynchronization Detected]
[Fragmented Echo Found – Activating Sensory Recall Protocol]
The message burned across his vision, and then everything went white.
Flashback
He was on a rooftop.
Rain slicked down his mask. He knelt over a corpse—ANBU, neck severed. The scent of iron was thick, mixing with the static in the air. Konoha was asleep behind him, the walls lit by faint lanterns.
Another body dropped behind him.
He turned.
Another mask.
It was his own.
Or rather—a version of it.
Not cracked. Not worn. But pristine. Untouched. The version of him that had never failed. Never hesitated.
The mirror Phantom looked down.
"No emotion. No deviation. That was the mission."
And then the rooftop crumbled beneath him.
Phantom gasped, blinking as the memory shattered like glass. He staggered forward and caught himself on a tree.
Another memory fragment recovered. But more questions emerged.
Who was the ANBU in the memory?
And why did it feel like... he had killed himself?
The village streets were beginning to fill as he entered Konoha's outer edge. The usual chatter returned. But Phantom felt none of it. His gaze wandered across familiar landmarks—training grounds, vendor stalls, academy walls.
All triggering flickers.
Images of the past that wasn't his—yet burned like they were.
A group of Genin ran past him, tossing a ball back and forth. One of them accidentally bumped into him.
"Ah, sorry, nii-san—!"
The boy's eyes widened. "You're... the new kid in the Academy, right? You're scary quiet."
Phantom managed a nod.
Then, the boy whispered, "Some of the others say you're from Root."
That made him freeze.
"Who told you that?"
The kid backed up. "I—I didn't mean anything by it! Sorry!"
He took off running, leaving Phantom to stare after him.
The rumors were spreading.
[System Ping: Surveillance Threads Activated]
[Warning: Network Interference Detected]
[External Observation Source: Hyūga Compound]
[Unauthorized Scan Attempt Blocked]
The corner of Phantom's eye twitched.
The Hyūga Clan was probing his chakra network.
Not even subtly anymore.
Later that evening, Phantom stood atop the old watchtower near the east gate—his unofficial perch since arriving in the village.
He watched as the stars blinked to life one by one.
Each one reminded him of something he couldn't name.
A promise.
A death.
A mission.
They swirled in his head like broken code, tangled in a web of contradictions.
Then, footsteps behind him.
He didn't turn. He didn't need to.
"Haruno," he said.
Sakura stepped into view. "You know I've been tailing you?"
"Sloppily."
She frowned. "I wanted to talk. You disappeared after Wave."
He remained silent.
Sakura hesitated. "You're different. More distant. I know missions change people, but you were barely gone for a week."
Phantom didn't answer.
Because he wasn't sure what she wanted to hear.
That he'd fought a mirror of himself in a glitched sub-dimension?
That a cosmic observer gave him a black tile that hums with death?
That he doesn't even know his real name?
"You ever feel like your memories don't belong to you?" he asked quietly.
Sakura blinked. "No..."
He looked up at the stars.
"I think someone rewrote mine."
Elsewhere—beneath Konoha's roots, in the hidden vault of the Black Archive, Danzo stood before a frozen chamber.
Inside: a coffin-shaped stasis pod.
Within it—another Phantom.
Not moving.
Eyes closed.
The real one?
A backup?
Danzo's thoughts remained unreadable.
Beside him stood Sai.
"You saw him. You faced him. Your evaluation?"
Sai hesitated. "He's unstable. But adaptive."
"Would he turn?"
"If he learns the full truth, yes."
Danzo placed a hand on the glass.
"Then we'll ensure he only sees fragments."
Back in the tower, Phantom finally turned to Sakura. "Why are you really here?"
She opened her mouth—then stopped.
And then, softer: "Because I see you looking at people like you're not one of us."
Phantom didn't reply.
He couldn't.
Because she was right.
Then her voice shifted. Stronger. "If you ever need someone to remind you you're still human... come find me."
And with that, she left.
Leaving Phantom under the stars, his thoughts spiraling.
[Memory Fragment Integrated – File Name: "Sakura_Anchor"]
[Emotional Lock Level Reduced: 2%]
[Warning: Emotional Drift May Compromise Subprotocols]
He sighed.
Even his system was warning him not to feel.
Later that night, in his room—hidden under loose floorboards—he retrieved the obsidian tile again.
The Gamekeeper's gift.
It pulsed faintly.
And he knew that using it would unlock a layer of power tied to his forgotten protocols.
But it would also bring them closer.
[System: Mirrorstep – Install?]
[Note: This will accelerate identity collapse.]
[Proceed? Y/N]
He stared.
Then his finger moved—
Paused.
Footsteps outside.
Then... a knock.
He tensed instantly.
No one visited him.
He opened the door to find Sasuke waiting.
His Sharingan spun.
And his expression was unreadable.
"We need to talk."