Kazuki Nara didn't particularly like using the technique he had dubbed "Kotodama."
Every time he uttered one of its syllables, he felt an inexplicable unease—like something distant brushing its gaze across him. Like wearing damp clothes that hadn't fully dried—clammy, suffocating, wrong.
But the power was undeniable. Each time he activated it, the result was the same: forced silence, control, and disorientation. The strength of the effect seemed to depend on things like distance, willpower—almost like a tabletop RPG.
Everyone rolls a Will check when I speak.
If your will was high enough, you'd shrug it off. But if not? Silence. Confusion. Control.
There might be other effects, too—he hadn't used it enough to test.
But now wasn't the time for theorycrafting. Kazuki stepped forward and began his twisted ritualistic dance, shadow writhing unnaturally behind him.
Rōga Nadare's pupils turned glassy, vacant—then widened in full-blown panic.
"AAAAAARGH!"
The scream pierced the veil of silence hanging over the battlefield, snapping everyone else out of their daze.
Kazuki frowned.
That had never happened before.
Rōga Nadare began to glitch—his body trembling violently, like a corrupted frame stuttering across a broken animation.
Kazuki's stomach lurched just watching it, but he continued the ritual dance.
Kakashi's gaze turned hollow.
Dotō Kazahana's pupils rolled white.
Guy stood frozen in place, unmoving.
Kazuki completed the dance. Or rather, the dance completed him. Rōga was no longer even reacting—he was phasing in and out of visibility like a stuck image flickering through rapid cuts.
As Kazuki's final step hit the snow, the world buckled—and he collapsed, breath caught in his throat.
The last thing he saw before unconsciousness was the snowfall, paused midair as if someone had pressed pause on reality. The storm above Snow Country shimmered unnaturally, as if the sky itself had blinked.
"What... what just happened?"
Kazuki stirred awake, body freezing cold.
He was lying in a thin sheet of snow. He must've been out for a while.
He remembered using Kotodama—uttering that sound, then dancing.
He looked to where Rōga Nadare had stood—only snow.
Clean, untouched snow.
Kazuki's head throbbed.
Then—
[真]
A single character, glowing, appeared in his mind.
Kazuki blinked, confused. It matched the style of the first word he'd spoken with Kotodama. Now he understood: that first phrase had two syllables. The second was this one—
"Truth".
Which meant the full phrase was "There is truth."
Kazuki felt a flicker of joy. He was decoding the language. Understanding it.
"Wait, what the hell am I so happy about?!"
Everything about what had just happened screamed wrong. Had he triggered some kind of metaphysical proximity alert? Were They beginning to take notice?
He glanced around.
Everyone was still here. Kakashi. Guy. Even Dotō Kazahana… unconscious.
Time to clean house.
Without hesitation, Kazuki drove his blade through Dotō's heart.
It was precise, surgical.
As Dotō died, it was like the world unpaused. Kakashi and Guy snapped out of their stupor just in time to see Kazuki's sword buried in Dotō's chest.
"What just happened…? I feel like I'm forgetting something."
Kakashi rubbed his temple. They were now seated on the steam train heading toward the Snow Country capital.
"Yeah, I kind of zoned out too."
Guy nodded.
Kazuki scratched his head.
"Same here. I blacked out right after finishing the battle."
He hadn't, of course. But how could he explain what really happened?
Crawling chaos. Nyarlathotep. No thank you. Not today.
He'd rather keep a safe distance. Kazuki didn't want to get on any eldritch radar.
Receiving distant blessings = nice.
Seeing true forms = lifelong psychosis.
"Anyway, problem solved. That's what matters."
Kazuki changed the subject quickly. Kakashi looked like he still had questions but didn't press further. Deep down, he didn't want to know.
And with good reason.
Still, when talk shifted to the mission's rewards, even Kakashi cracked a small smile.
Sōsetsu Kazahana had survived. Though visibly conflicted upon seeing Dotō's body, he didn't lash out or question Kazuki's actions. Instead, he warmly invited them to the capital and promised a generous reward.
"Honestly, I'm more interested in this thing…"
Kazuki patted the train seat beneath him.
The steam engine was what had his full attention. Economically? Technologically? Revolutionary.
"You mean this 'steam train' thing?"
Kakashi studied the compartment curiously.
Guy shifted uncomfortably.
"Seats are kinda bumpy."
"Yeah, it's not fast, but the hauling capacity…"
Kazuki had already toured the cargo area. That alone was enough to drive profits through the roof.
He was already scheming—maybe even broker a deal with Sōsetsu to export the technology. Who cared about chakra when you had infrastructure?
Outside the window, a small town peeked through the snowy hills.
There were splashes of green beneath the frost—signs of geothermal use, maybe. The capital of the Land of Snow.
It reminded Kazuki of the hot spring towns around Konoha—only more exotic, more northern.