Konoha Year 66 — December Night, Cold and Silent
The moon rose behind a curtain of mist.
Rafael Gojo stood alone on the edge of the village's northern rooftop district, chakra coiling within him.
The Proto-Rasengan, now at Stage 3.3, spun faintly in his palm like a half-born star.
But tonight… it wouldn't save him.
Because Danzo Shimura had run out of patience.
---
ROOT STRIKE — Ambush Begins
Without warning, a flurry of kunai rained from three different angles.
Boom!
The rooftop exploded where Rafael had stood.
He burst out from the smoke, muscles taut, breath sharp.
> "Assassination attempt?"
Wrong.
Capture.
From the shadows, four masked Root operatives emerged—Elite Chūnin-class. Their chakra signatures weren't wild like Jōnin, but solid, honed, and deadly.
> "Too coordinated for Genin. These are killers."
---
Enemy Skill Manifestation — ROOT Tactics
The first agent weaved hand signs fast.
"Doton: Earth Clone!"
Rafael cursed. The clone lunged as the real one repositioned.
Another agent followed up—
"Suiton: Chaotic Water Wave!"
A surge of water flooded the battlefield, trying to disrupt footing and set up combo attacks.
> "They're combining elements—forcing terrain control."
The third attacker struck with:
"Katon: Phoenix Fire Technique!"
Three small fireballs whistled through the mist.
He dodged right—only to get caught in a trap.
"Doton: Earth Flow Barrier!"
A wall surged behind him.
He backflipped onto it—only to find a kunai millimeters from his eye.
---
«Cosmic Perception» Activated
> Bookmark Access: Hiashi Hyuga
Ability Access: Cosmic Perception
Duration: 60 seconds
Mode: Combat Awareness
Rafael stopped moving.
And began seeing it.
Not just movement—the flow of intent.
Pressure from the left. A signature spike from behind. That chakra tremor—wind nature preparing jutsu.
He twisted, ducked low, threw two shuriken mid-flip—
Direct hit. A clone popped.
"Got you," he whispered.
---
Combat Escalation — ROOT Unleashes
The Root Squad Leader stepped in.
Taller. Colder. More chakra.
"Fūton: Vacuum Sphere!"
The blast came too fast to dodge.
Rafael activated Plot Armor—
The jutsu tore the ground behind him instead of vaporizing his torso.
> "One hit would've ended me. Rank B Wind Jutsu… terrifying."
The squad leader appeared behind him—
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Two shadow clones flanked him instantly.
> "Elite Chūnin. All of them."
---
Rafael's Response — Tactical Mastery
He responded by dropping three flash bombs and retreated into the smoke.
Then—
Proto-Rasengan: Stage 3.3 spun silently in his hand.
He charged one clone.
It dodged—but the Rasengan blew apart the tiles and launched a fire clone into the second.
BOOM!
Smoke cloud.
He used the opening to leap up—
But the Squad Leader was waiting above.
"Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!"
A lightning chakra beast formed and chased him mid-air.
Rafael fired shuriken to confuse it, but the beast split and wrapped his legs.
Crash! He slammed to the ground, winded.
---
Reflection: Narutoverse Power Hierarchy
> "This world… this reality…"
"Academy Students here are superhuman. My six-year-old body is already denser than Earth soldiers."
"Genin are deadly. Tools of war with transformation, clone, and substitution mastery."
"Chūnin? Veterans. Tactical minds. B-rank techniques and battle-hardened instincts."
"Jōnin? Reinforced bodies like Captain America. Chakra monsters."
"Kage? World-level threats. Jutsu mastery. Forbidden arts. Impossible to kill."
"Super Kage… they reshape landscapes."
"Six Path-levels and above? That's divine warfare."
He coughed blood.
> "I'm not there yet. Not even close."
---
Final Clash — Rafael's Last Stand
One final move.
He triggered his only seal trap, hidden under the ground.
A chain of explosive tags rippled upward—
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—!
The squad scattered.
Rafael, bruised and panting, charged the squad leader head-on.
"Stage 3.3 — Rasengan!"
The blue orb blazed in his hand.
He drove it forward—
And met an Iron Palm.
The Rasengan fizzled, his hand snapped at the wrist.
Pain exploded through his nerves.
Then—Danzo arrived.
---
Danzo Shimura — Arrival of the Predator
A dark shadow descended.
Calm.
Cold.
Like an executioner from myth.
Danzo appeared beside the squad leader.
"You've done well," he muttered.
He looked down at Rafael.
"Still not ready."
Rafael lifted his head, blood in his mouth.
"Go… to hell."
Danzo merely raised a hand.
A pulse of pressure struck Rafael like a hammer.
Black.
---
Captured — Danzo's Underground Facility
When light returned, it wasn't the moon.
It was the dull ceiling of a steel room.
Rafael was chained. Arms locked. Chakra sealed.
Danzo stood above him.
"Your skills are promising," he said simply. "But misguided."
Rafael tried to move.
Failed.
"You'll serve me. In time."
Danzo turned.
"Begin containment protocol. No scars."
---
Darkness.
It wasn't just the absence of light. It was the kind that settled deep into your bones, humming with silence and pressure—the type only found beneath Konoha, where even whispers died in the stone.
Rafael Gojo opened his eyes.
The chill of damp stone beneath his back told him he was underground. The pain in his limbs confirmed he had been captured. But most importantly, the quiet hum at the edge of his soul told him:
"The Save Point held."
He allowed a thin smile.
The Trap That Was a Plan
"I planned this," he thought calmly, sitting up as the iron restraints around his wrists dissolved—deliberately undone by the shinobi approaching.
Two masked Root operatives escorted him through winding tunnels. Rafael let his eyes absorb every wall, twist, and chakra seal they passed.
"This is exactly where I needed to be."
Root—Danzo's shadow organization. Where secrets, power, and forbidden knowledge pooled like blood.
And today, he would begin drinking from it.
Danzo Shimura
The old warhawk stood at the far end of a stone chamber, surrounded by masked guards.
"You are unremarkable," Danzo said.
Rafael stared back.
"Then why do you want me?"
Danzo's single eye narrowed.
"Because your growth defies logic. You learned chakra control, battle tactics, and even a high-level chakra manipulation technique in isolation."
"Enlightenment," Rafael lied without blinking. "Like the sages of old. I see patterns. I feel chakra."
Danzo observed him silently.
"He believes it."
The Protagonist Trait shimmered faintly in Rafael's soul, empowering the deception.
The Cursed Tongue Seal
"You will be marked," Danzo declared.
Rafael nodded.
The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal etched itself onto his tongue, an invisible brand meant to control and silence.
But as it settled, a golden ripple from within his soul responded.
[Plot Armor Activated] [Seal Effects Compromised: Loyalty Binding Nullified. Speech Restriction Active.]
He lowered his head to hide the grin.
"It can't control what I believe. Or where my true loyalty lies."
Training Begins – Six Months Underground
Danzo placed him in the deepest Root division: the Library Guard Rotation.
It was exactly what Rafael wanted.
By day, he performed drills, sparred with Root chūnin, and endured brutal endurance sessions. By night, he read scrolls under the guise of "record-keeping."
"Time to Bookmark."
He locked gazes with the first Elite Jōnin instructor.
[Protagonist's Bookmark Activated: Shinobi ID#339, Fire Affinity Specialist] [Extracting Experience: Fire Style: Great Fireball, Phoenix Flame, Dragon Flame Caterwaul]
Another instructor.
[Protagonist's Bookmark Activated: Shinobi ID#772, Lightning Affinity Specialist] [Extracting Experience: Lightning Style: Lightning Fang, Lightning Ball, Static Bind]
He trained in secret, refining the jutsu with near-perfect memory.
Wind Style Mastery – The Danzo Bookmark
Eventually, he stood once more before Danzo himself, offering to spar.
Danzo humored him.
Their blades clashed. Wind howled. Rafael took hits deliberately—memorizing Danzo's patterns.
Later that night, in solitude:
[Protagonist's Bookmark Activated: Danzo Shimura] [Extracting Experience: Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere, Vacuum Great Sphere, Gale Palm, Wind Cutter Blade]
Rafael's eyes glowed briefly as the essence of a Kage-level wind master flowed into his understanding.
"This... this is what it means to learn in this world."
Photographic Memory & Forbidden Knowledge
He combed the Root Library for hours each night.
"Chakra suppression. Cloaking seals. Explosive tag matrix theory..."
He memorized everything.
Then came something hidden deeper—a broken, half-burned section.
Orochimaru's Research Notes
Dissected genetics. Cloning theory. Dojutsu transplantation.
"So he already started experimenting before he defected... this data will be essential."
Rafael absorbed every diagram, formula, and hypothesis.
He wasn't just learning ninjutsu.
He was laying the foundation for empire.
Final Scene – The Watcher in the Mask
Six months later.
A masked Root operative sat within a concealed observation bunker on the outskirts of the Uchiha District.
The surveillance crystal showed two figures:
Fugaku Uchiha, strong and cold. Itachi Uchiha, solemn and sharp-eyed.
Rafael said nothing.
But inside the mask, his eyes were alert.
"The massacre will happen soon... but this time, I won't just watch." "I'll understand. I'll shape it."
His fingers crackled faintly with chakra. A Rasengan formed slowly in his palm—smaller, tighter, deadly.
"The roots go deep. But I'm growing beneath them."