Johan stood above the trees, his eyes cold and unreadable. Concealed in shadow, he moved toward the child without a sound.
He found the boy curled in a corner, arms and legs bound tightly with rope. Bruises marked his pale skin. He was unconscious.
Johan looked at him.
There was no pity in his gaze. No flicker of mercy. No warmth. Only silence.
He turned away and walked deeper into the camp, searching for the leader.
He found him in the inner hideout, slumped against crates of stolen supplies, reeking of sake. The man mumbled incoherently, eyes dull with drink.
When he saw Johan enter, he scoffed.
"Who're you, boy? You wanna die?"
Johan said nothing.
A subtle motion, then the bandit's mind was ensnared in a genjutsu.
Moments passed. Johan got everything.
Pathetic.
Lowly criminals with no shinobi among them. Thieves and killers. Looting merchants, silencing survivors with blades. No loyalty. No honor.
And the merchant killed the night before… had ties to a minister of the Fire Daimyō. A powerful connection. That's why they spared the child. The leader, drunk on ambition, wanted ransom. A way out of this life.
Fool.
Johan pulled a kunai from his pouch and stepped forward.
A swift slice.
No hesitation.
The man gurgled and fell, lifeless.
Johan returned to the child. He didn't check his pulse, he already knew the boy lived.
Then, one by one, he moved through the camp.
He killed them all.
No shouting. No struggle. No remorse.
Just silent work.
When it was done, he summoned fire, casting it into the corpses, the tents, the crates. The entire camp was consumed in red and ash.
Later, Johan returned to Owl. The boy was slung across his shoulder, unconscious but alive.
Owl stood waiting. Silent as stone.
"I told you to kill everyone," he said flatly. His eyes fell on the boy. "What is this?"
Johan answered calmly, without emotion. He explained everything, who the boy was, why he had been spared, and what the leader planned.
Owl listened, unmoving.
When Johan finished, Owl walked forward, took the boy from him, and turned without a word.
Johan looked back once.
The smoke curled high into the grey sky, black and thick.
Something in it felt familiar.
Then he followed.
A single line burned in his mind:
"Mercy is a luxury I never had."
---
Owl's POV
I wanted to test the boy to see if what he showed was real… or just a mask woven from trauma and pretense.
So I gave him a cruel order, eliminate them all. Men, women… even the child.
I watched from the shadows.
And he carried it out.
Every target was neutralized.
Efficient. Clean. Unflinching.
Except one.
He saved the boy.
Not out of hesitation. Not from weakness.
He knew the child wasn't one of them. Knew he had value, connected to the Fire Daimyō's court. A political asset.
He made a calculated decision.
Was it kindness? Or strategy?
No one will know.
As we walked back through the trees, I studied him.
His face was unreadable. But something stirred beneath the surface, thoughts I couldn't grasp.
Was he disturbed by the killing? Or lost in something deeper?
I don't know.
And that unsettles me.
This is the first time I've failed to read someone fully. That boy…
He's a genius.
Brilliant. Dangerous.
Konoha could thrive with someone like him guarding its shadows.
But if he ever turns…
It will shake the very core of the village.
I'll have to keep watching him.
---
After coming back…
Owl turned to Johan, his gaze lingering for a moment. "Take the day to rest," he said calmly. "You'll officially join the ANBU tomorrow."
Johan gave a small nod, said nothing, and walked toward the barracks with the same silence he had carried through the mission.
Owl—Shinji—watched him disappear into the shadowed corridor, then turned and headed to the Hokage's office, the weight of unspoken thoughts pressing against his chest.
---
Knock knock…
From inside, a calm yet commanding voice answered, "Come in."
Shinji stepped into the room and immediately dropped to one knee before the desk.
The Third Hokage looked up from a stack of reports. A warm smile touched his lips. "No need to do that, Shinji. Stand up."
Shinji removed his mask, revealing his face. Steady. Reflective.
"Lord Hokage," he began, "Johan's training is complete. He's ready to be officially inducted into the ANBU."
Hiruzen's brow lifted slightly in surprise. "So soon?"
Shinji nodded. "Yes. He learns at a rapid pace, faster than anyone I've ever seen. He absorbs everything. Every tactic, every principle. I've never trained someone like him."
A genuine smile formed on Hiruzen's face. "Good, good… You've done well this time, Shinji."
But then, the smile faded. His expression hardened, eyes narrowing with quiet concern. "Did you find anything… troubling?"
Shinji hesitated.
A silence settled between them, heavy and thoughtful.
"I can't say for certain, Lord Hokage," he admitted finally. "But… something about him feels off. Not wrong exactly, just… unreadable. It's the first time I've trained someone I couldn't fully understand. Even after a month with him."
Hiruzen's eyes darkened, the weight of memory folding into his posture.
"Tell me everything," he said quietly.
And Shinji did. Every detail, from the first encounter to the final mission. Nothing was spared. Nothing embellished. Just the truth, laid bare.
When he finished, the room went still.
Hiruzen leaned back and took a long, deep puff from his pipe, the smoke curling upward like memories resurfacing from the past.
"…Geniuses tend to walk their own paths, Shinji," he said slowly. "I've met many in my lifetime. The kindest, the cruelest… sometimes both in the same soul."
His voice dropped, solemn.
"I taught Orochimaru. I was close to Minato. I've watched Kakashi, and I've seen Itachi rise and fall under the weight of brilliance. And now…"
He looked out the window, where the village shimmered under the early dusk.
"Now there's Johan."
Shinji stood quietly, watching him.
"But there's one thing I know," Hiruzen continued. "He truly loves his brother. Naruto."
That made Shinji's eyes narrow, thoughtful.
Hiruzen exhaled another stream of smoke. "Even if he's mature beyond his years… he's still a child. A child shaped by pain, by neglect, by shadows."
His voice grew softer.
"Maybe he holds some resentment for how the village treated them. I wouldn't blame him."
He turned back to Shinji, the old fire returning to his gaze.
"But love… love has the power to change everything. His love for Naruto, that might be the one thing anchoring him. Keeping him from becoming something else."
A long pause. Then Hiruzen smiled.
"I just hope… that he can become a pillar of this village. Like the Fourth once was."
Shinji gave a small nod, the tension in his shoulders unmoving.
I hope you're right, Lord Third, he thought silently, watching the smoke rise and vanish into the ceiling.
Because if you're wrong…
We might be building our future on a blade's edge.