Naruto : The ultimate Troublemaker

Year 66

Shikai stood on a rocky hill, a cigarette hanging from his lips. His appearance had changed significantly in five years. His hair was cut short, with a layered style, and a scar striped his left eye, a silent testament to his battle with Shisui. He was dressed simply in a white shirt, baggy pants, and a dark cloak draped over his shoulders. He drew the smoke into his lungs slowly, his thoughts lost in a past that refused to let him be.

Ino, now sixteen years old, approached him gently and sat down beside him. She embraced him with familiarity. She had grown into a beautiful and elegant young woman, despite the headband covering her right eye, which she had lost on a mission. Her long, blond hair flowed gently in the wind, and her delicate features bore a new maturity, far from the carefree days of childhood.

"I don't like seeing you like this, sensei," she said softly, her voice trembling slightly with sadness.

Shikai exhaled a cloud of smoke, his gaze fixed on the sky, his eyes distant. "When did it all start?" he murmured almost to himself.

Ino tightened her embrace, trying to dispel his dark thoughts. "Don't think about it, sensei. Leave the past behind."

But Shikai, lost in his memories, continued, "Did it all begin the day I fought Shisui? When he died because of me? Or was it that cursed day when Itachi massacred his entire clan? I found him standing over Izumi's body. That bastard..."

Ino lowered her head, knowing these memories haunted Shikai more than anything. With a boldness tinged with pain, she whispered, "But I'm here, sensei. You said I resembled her... I can replace her."

Shikai averted his gaze, refusing even to glance at her. "The last time... it was a mistake. That kind of thing won't happen again."

Those words struck Ino like a blade. She still remembered everything: Orochimaru's attack on the village, the chaos, and the moment when Shikai had saved her. She had lost her eye in that battle, and it was Shikai who, in a desperate act, had transplanted Izumi's eye to replace hers. The eye had been given to him by the dying Izumi, and he had kept it with him instead of transplanting it into his missing eye. But when it was his disciple who was in trouble, he did not hesitate to use it.

It was a precious memory for her, and she had started to develop feelings for her sensei... but for him, it was a constant reminder of his failure.

She whispered, her voice trembling, "I understand, sensei."

But Shikai seemed distant, his memories flooding back. "I've failed at everything... I caused them to turn on each other when I didn't know the true reason behind the massacre. I'm a poor sensei. Everything I touch crumbles. Maybe you should go back to Konoha alone. I... I'm not sure I have the courage to face that village again."

Ino stared at him intensely, refusing to let his despair consume him. "Don't say that, sensei! You've protected this village your entire life. You're a genius, a mentor, the one who trained some of the greatest shinobi of our generation. Without you, Konoha would have fallen many times. You saved me, and you made me into who I am today."

Shikai gave a bitter smile. "Really? Then where is Minato-sensei? Where is Jiraiya-sensei? And where is Sasuke?"

Ino hesitated before answering, "He... he's still in detention for his crimes, but—"

Shikai cut her off brutally. "And Neji? Where did he go after murdering Hiashi Hyuga? It was my fault that fueled his hatred."

A heavy silence fell. Ino knew the memory of Neji weighed heavily on him. After killing his uncle and several members of the Hyuga clan, Neji had disappeared without a trace. His act had broken Hinata and ignited Hanabi's hatred, an insatiable hatred that would never bring peace.

"And Naruto?" Shikai murmured, his voice broken. "My sensei's son... I couldn't protect him."

Ino averted her eyes, unable to find the words to ease his pain. But she didn't know what else to say.

Neji, her mission companion, the child prodigy who became a Chunin, broken by his destiny as a slave, had eventually freed himself from his curse, becoming a master of fuinjutsu. But his actions had caused chaos within his own clan, as he killed his uncle.

Sasuke, his talented student, whom he had trained with raiton and Katon jutsu, as they shared the same goal of avenging Itachi. But he had completely fallen into a spiral of vengeance. The truth about the massacre of his clan had consumed him, driving him to destroy the elders of Konoha, Danzo, and even the Hokage, under the fire of his eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

And Naruto... His protégé, to whom he had taught the secrets of the Uzumaki and the Rasengan. After returning with Jiraiya, the accidental discovery of painful secrets had pushed him to leave the village. Despite Shikai and Kakashi's desperate efforts to find him, the Akatsuki had captured him, ripped away Kyubi, and condemned him to an inevitable death.

Shikai threw the cigarette to the ground, crushing the ember with his foot. His gaze wandered back to the horizon.

But suddenly, Ino furrowed her brows, her expression changing completely.

"Sensei!"

He turned his head towards her, alerted. "What is it? What's happening?"

"We must leave now! My father contacted me. Madara has appeared before the Kage Council... He has declared war!"