Naruto: The Fate of Beasts

The forest was a labyrinth of shadows, its ancient trees towering like sentinels over the snow-dusted ground. Jiraiya moved with the practiced ease of a shinobi, his breath misting in the frigid air, but his steps slowed as he glanced over his shoulder at the boy trailing behind him. Kaito's small frame was dwarfed by the thick traveler's cloak Jiraiya had scrounged up, his face hidden beneath the black bandana. He walked like a ghost—silent, unsteady, and impossibly fragile.

*Kid's barely holding it together*, Jiraiya thought, his jaw tightening. He'd seen that hollow way before, in soldiers who'd lost comrades, in survivors who'd outlived their purpose. But this was a child. A child who'd buried his entire clan.

"You keeping up back there Kaito?" Jiraiya called, forcing a lightness into his tone he didn't feel.

Kaito didn't answer. His head tilted downward, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Jiraiya sighed and stopped, turning to face him. "Look, kid, if you need to rest—"

"I don't," Kaito snapped, his voice sharp but brittle. He stumbled over a root, catching himself on a tree trunk. The bandana slipped, and for a heartbeat, Jiraiya glimpsed the faint glow of his eyes—white as moonlight, burning with a pain too deep for words.

*Damn*, Jiraiya thought. *Those eyes…* He'd interrogated spies, fought rogue ninja, and bargained with beasts, but nothing unsettled him like the raw, untamed power simmering beneath that bandana.

"Suit yourself," Jiraiya said gruffly, resuming his march. "But if you collapse, I'm not carrying you again. You're heavier than you look."

A lie. The boy weighed next to nothing.

By nightfall, the temperature plummeted. Frost clung to the trees, and the wind howled like a wounded beast. Jiraiya set up camp in a shallow cave, igniting a small fire with a flick of his chakra. Kaito sat as far from the flames as possible, his knees drawn to his chest, his bandana pulled taut.

"Hungry?" Jiraiya tossed him a strip of dried meat.

Kaito caught it mechanically but didn't eat. His gaze stayed fixed on the fire, as if the dancing flames held answers only he could see.

Jiraiya leaned back against the cave wall, studying him. "You gonna tell me what happened back there?"

Silence.

"The attackers—red and white cloaks. You know who they were?"

Kaito's hands trembled. The dried meat crumpled in his grip.

"Kid, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

"I don't need help," Kaito whispered.

Jiraiya snorted. "Right. Because wandering alone in the woods with a death wish is a solid plan."

The boy flinched. For a moment, Jiraiya thought he'd gone too far—then Kaito's head snapped up, his bandana slipping to reveal eyes blazing like twin stars.

"You think I want this?!" Kaito surged to his feet, his small frame shaking. "You think I asked to survive when everyone else—when my—" His voice broke. He clawed at his bandana, as if to tear out his eyes behind them. "These eyes… they're a curse. I should've died with them. I deserve to die!"

Jiraiya moved faster than Kaito could blink. He gripped the boy's wrists, forcing his hands away from the bandana. "Stop it," he growled. "You don't get to throw your life away. Not after what you survived."

Kaito struggled, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. "Let go!"

"Make me."

The challenge hung in the air. Kaito's eyes flickered, the glow intensifying—and suddenly, the fire roared, twisting into a vortex of flames that licked hungrily at Jiraiya's sleeves.

*What the—?!*

Jiraiya released Kaito and leapt back, extinguishing the flames with a water jutsu. The cave plunged into darkness, save for the faint glow of Kaito's eyes.

"Kid…" Jiraiya stared at him, equal parts awed and alarmed. *He manipulated the fire without seals. Without even trying.*

Kaito crumpled to the ground, his breathing shallow. The glow faded, leaving only the sound of his choked sobs.

Jiraiya relit the fire, his mind racing. *Natural energy? A bloodline limit?* Whatever this power was, it was eating the boy alive.

"Listen to me," Jiraiya said, crouching in front of him. "You're not cursed. You're alive. And that means you've got a choice: let your pain destroy you, or use it to protect what's left."

Kaito didn't look up. "There's nothing left to protect."

"Then find something."

——

Dawn came too soon. They'd barely trekked a mile when Jiraiya felt it—a shift in the air, a whisper of chakra. He halted, raising a hand.

"Get behind me. Now."

Kaito froze. "What's—"

The first kunai struck the tree beside his head.

Six figures dropped from the branches, their red and white cloaks flaring like bloodstained wings. Their masks were carved into grotesque smiles, their eyes hollow and cold.

"Well, well," their leader drawled, twirling a serrated blade. "The little beast survives. How… disappointing."

Kaito's breath hitched. "You… You're them. The ones who—"

"Killed your clan?" The man laughed. "Oh, we didn't just kill them. We purified them. Filthy beasts, thinking they could hide from the world."

Jiraiya stepped forward, his chakra flaring. "You've got three seconds to run."

The leader smirked. "You think we fear a washed-up hermit and a broken child?"

He lunged.

Chaos erupted. Jiraiya parried the blade, slamming his palm into the man's chest with a swift strike. Two more attackers closed in, their movements synchronized, but Jiraiya was a tempest—swift, brutal, and unrelenting.

Kaito backed against a tree, his heart pounding. *Run. Hide. You'll just get in the way.* But as he turned, another attacker materialized behind him, a kunai aimed at his throat.

"Going somewhere, beast?"

Kaito stood still. The air around him -warped-, and the attacker staggered, his limbs suddenly heavy.

*Gravity manipulation?* Jiraiya thought, stunned.

Kaito didn't hesitate. He grabbed the man's wrist, twisting until the bone snapped, then drove a knee into his gut. The attacker crumpled, but two more took his place.

"Jiraiya!" Kaito screamed, his voice raw with panic.

Jiraiya was already there. He hurled a barrage of shuriken, forcing the attackers back, and grabbed Kaito's arm. "We're leaving. Now!"

They ran, the forest blurring around them. Behind them, the leader's laughter echoed.

"You can't outrun fate, beast! We'll find you. We'll *always* find you!"

Night found them at the edge of a sheer cliff, the valley below shrouded in mist. Kaito sat with his back against a boulder, his bandana askew, his eyes dull. Blood seeped through his sleeve where a kunai had grazed him.

Jiraiya tossed him a canteen. "Drink."

Kaito obeyed mechanically.

"You fought well back there," Jiraiya said.

"I didn't fight. I… I just reacted."

"That's what fighting *is*, kid. Reacting. Surviving."

Kaito's hands trembled. "They called me a beast."

Jiraiya sat beside him, staring into the mist. "People fear what they don't understand. Your power… it's not a curse. It's a weapon. And weapons can be mastered."

"How?"

"Training. Discipline. Time."

Kaito laughed bitterly. "Time won't bring my family back."

"No," Jiraiya said quietly. "But it might give you a reason to keep living."

The boy didn't answer. Below them, the mist swirled, hiding the depths of the valley—and the dangers yet to come.