The mission board buzzed with low-ranked requests—pet retrievals, fence painting, lost scrolls, all cluttered into dull rows.
Hyuk stared at them with half-lidded eyes.
"Still nothing worth the air we breathe," he muttered.
"Speak for yourself," Naruto shot back. "I like breathing. We've been stuck on D-Ranks for weeks!"
Sakura giggled beside him. "Yeah, well… maybe the Hokage thinks you need practice holding a broom, not a kunai."
"Hey!"
Sasuke ignored the bickering entirely, arms crossed, leaning against the wall with practiced disinterest.
Kakashi walked in a moment later, hands in pockets, eye crinkled from under his hitai-ate.
"You've all grown stronger," he said casually. "Even you, Naruto."
"Even me?!"
Hyuk's eyes narrowed. This tone... something changed.
"Which is why," Kakashi continued, "we're taking a C-rank mission today."
Naruto practically launched himself into the ceiling.
"YES! Finally! Something real!"
Sasuke's eyes flickered with interest. Even Sakura straightened.
Hyuk didn't move — but his body tensed.
"What's the catch?" he asked quietly.
Kakashi turned to the door.
"Come in."
A tall, hunched man stepped through, carrying a jug and reeking faintly of old rice wine. His eyes were sunken. His expression unimpressed.
"This is Tazuna," the Hokage's voice echoed from the hall. "He's a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. You'll be escorting him home safely."
Tazuna grunted. "Safe, huh? Long as these kids can swing a blade and not trip over themselves."
Naruto stepped forward. "Hey! I'll have you know I'm gonna be Hokage someday!"
Hyuk tilted his head. Bold words for someone who can't walk in silence.
The Hokage folded his arms. "Be ready by morning. You'll leave at dawn."
---
That night…
Hyuk stood once again by the koi pond, the air damp with mist.
He felt the silence wrap around him — not like a threat this time, but like an old companion.
The Thorn Vein had not stirred in three days.
No whispers. No pulses. No black veins crawling up his arms.
But it wasn't gone.
Just quiet.
Just… watching.
He stared into the water, seeing a flicker of his reflection — and for the first time, it didn't frighten him.
---
Dawn.
Team 7 gathered at the village gates.
Sasuke had a new set of shuriken strapped at his thigh. Naruto had overpacked again, fumbling with a huge scroll on his back. Sakura carried field rations and a smile she clearly practiced in the mirror.
And Hyuk?
Hyuk came in silence. No bags. Just his blade and his sealed scroll tucked beneath his cloak.
The morning sun crested over the rooftops as Tazuna stumbled out from the inn, still groggy.
"All right, little heroes," he said, wiping his mouth. "Try not to get me killed."
---
The Land of Fire's borders stretched wide and green, the forest whispering with wind and birdsong. Hours passed with nothing but footsteps and light chatter.
But Hyuk's eyes kept darting forward — and back.
Something's wrong.
The breeze shifted.
He paused.
Kakashi turned slightly. "You felt that?"
Hyuk gave the faintest nod.
Sasuke stepped closer. "Trap?"
"No," Hyuk murmured. "But someone was here."
Then—
Snap.
A kunai flew past Naruto's head, embedding itself into a tree.
Everyone dropped into combat stances.
Two figures burst from the underbrush — cloaked in gray armor, masks shaped like fangs, claws spinning on chains.
The Demon Brothers.
Kakashi moved instantly — blocking the first with a kick and disabling the second with a perfectly timed elbow to the ribs. Clean. Efficient.
But not before one claw grazed Naruto's arm.
Naruto froze — his eyes wide, breath sharp.
"Y-You—"
Blood welled up from the cut.
The boy trembled.
Hyuk stepped forward, silent.
He didn't say "move."
He didn't ask "are you okay?"
He simply lifted Naruto by the back of his collar and shoved him behind a tree.
Then, in a blur of movement, he threw a kunai into the first brother's leg before Kakashi even finished binding them.
The masked enemy screamed.
"You froze," Hyuk said to Naruto flatly.
Naruto trembled, knuckles white.
"I didn't— I just—"
"You're not ready to protect anyone," Hyuk added coldly. "Not even yourself."
Naruto's fists clenched. He turned away.
Kakashi bound the attackers with wire and stood tall. "We continue. But stay sharp. This wasn't just a robbery."
Hyuk's voice was like steel. "They were aiming for Tazuna."
Tazuna swallowed hard.
He looked away.
---
Later that evening, the group set camp beside a small river. The fire crackled. No one spoke for a while.
Sakura handed Naruto a wrap for his arm.
Sasuke sat sharpening his blade.
Hyuk stood on the far edge of the clearing, watching the mist roll in again.
Then Kakashi approached.
"You noticed their movement first," Kakashi said.
Hyuk didn't respond.
"You're colder than usual," the jōnin added. "Even for you."
Hyuk's jaw tightened. "Because he hesitated."
"And you never have?"
Hyuk didn't answer.
"Fear is human," Kakashi continued. "So is growth."
Still, Hyuk kept staring at the river.
"If he hesitates again," he said quietly, "someone dies."
---
But that night, as the mist thickened and the forest darkened around them, a single thought returned to Hyuk's mind — uninvited.
This isn't over.
The Thorn Vein may be dormant.
But in the heart of the Land of Waves…
A demon in the mist waits — and it has no interest in restraint.