POV: Edara
Cold.
It was cold.A black mist covered everything.So thick I couldn't even see myself.
And I started to remember.
My clan.My sensei.My first teammates.Everyone I loved was there, somewhere in the fog of memory.It was beautiful.
It was beautiful to remember them.
Because everything he loved... was dead.
Shikiro Edara, the young prodigy who became a chūnin at the age of nine.With enormous potential, already being talked about by Iwa's elders as a future elite jōnin.But that future never came.
After my clan's death, something in my head snapped.I didn't sleep. I didn't talk. I didn't train.I froze.And in this world, a frozen shinobi... is a useless shinobi.
Iwa's higher-ups realized it.I was no longer valuable.No longer THE prodigy.So they did what Iwa does with broken weapons:They threw me to the front lines.
First, with my original team and my sensei.They died.
Then they reassigned me.Four months with a new team. I got used to them. I even liked them.They died.
Three more team changes.Three more body bags.The last team lasted the longest.Two weeks.
They died on this mission.
I'm tired.
The fog got thicker.My eyelids weighed down like they carried my whole past.My body stopped feeling anything.And for a moment... I felt peace.
Finally... rest.
But something felt off.Something told me this wasn't right.That I shouldn't be here.
Am I dead...?
NO. NO. NO.I don't want to die.I'M NOT GOING TO DIE!
The fog started to thin out.Very slowly.I felt my toes. Then my arms.My eyelids, heavy as bricks, began to lift.
And I saw it.A white ceiling.Canvas.A tent.I made it.Not only did I survive an Uchiha... I killed him.
My entire body screamed in pain, but it didn't matter.Pain meant I was alive.Pain meant I'd won, no matter how narrow the margin.
An iryō-nin, sitting nearby, noticed I was awake and rushed over.
—"You survived, huh? Impressive. Your heart stopped for nearly four minutes. We had to... well, let's just say it wasn't pretty."
I barely heard him.My ears were still messed up, all I could hear was a soft ringing.The blood was clogging my eardrums.
He noticed and went silent for a second.
—"Looks like you can't hear too well yet. I'll keep it short.""One good news... and one bad."
—"The good news: somehow, none of your nerves or vital organs were permanently damaged. With time and a decent medic —like me— you'll be functional again."
He sighed.His face changed.
—"The bad news… the jōnin commander of this camp found out you killed an Uchiha chūnin.""And she wants to know how the hell you did it.""You've got a meeting with her... in three days."
He left.Off to deal with other patients.
And I stayed.Staring at the ceiling.With a knot in my gut.
Maybe dying would've been the better option.
I really don't want to talk to that sadistic masochist who doesn't even try to hide it.
Yeah, I knew her.An expert in torture.With a history of interrogating even her own allies if she gets suspicious.Will she suspect me?Think I'm a traitor?Or does she just want some fun?
Doesn't matter.
I'd like to believe the worst is over...But I'm not that naive.
A few hours passed.I couldn't sleep.The pain was bad, but the memories were worse.Their faces kept coming back.Team after team.Names I couldn't forget even if I tried.
One of them had a sister.She used to send him drawings.I still remember the last one. A cat, clumsily drawn, holding a flower.He kept it in his pouch.I buried it with him.
Another was a joker.Bad jokes. Really bad.Once he laughed so hard at his own joke he fell into a trap we were setting up.He lost a tooth.We all laughed about it.
Now, there's no one to laugh with.
Another one was scared of frogs.Actual, literal frogs.He once almost blew up a pond because one jumped near him.He tried to lie about it. Said it was a "tactical misfire."
I could've killed him.But it made us laugh.And I miss that.
Now?Now there's just silence.And pain.And a very psicho jōnin waiting to interrogate me.
Staring at the white canvas above me, I muttered with all the bitterness I had left:
—"Useless teammates... Why the hell did you die so fast...? You ruined my month."
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Sorry for the translation isn't good, english is my Third language, so I use ChatGPT.
Next chapter interrogation.Would be longer, like 1000-1200.
This ep was an introduction of MC.
The main history starts at 6-8 chapter
Bye jerks!
:P