Naruto: Chronicles of the Lost Library

Naruto stumbled through the archway like a pissed-off dog that had just been kicked too many times. His leg still ached from the last trap, dried blood caked to his shin like a badge of stupidity. His clothes reeked of smoke and sweat, and his patience was three seconds away from exploding.

The hallway ended in a square stone room.

Nothing fancy. Just a pedestal, a weird black mirror, and a body.

The corpse was fresh. Too fresh. The skin was still pink, the eyes wide open, like he'd just seen God and told Him to fuck off. Symbols were burned into his chest — a Flame-Bearer mark, twisted and wrong.

Naruto crouched next to him. A faint breath? No. Just heat. The bastard was still warm, but dead all the same. In his hand was a note.

"The Ember waits in the mouth. Don't let it speak. It remembers names."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Naruto muttered. "Poetic cult bullshit."

He turned to the mirror.

It was jagged, like someone had tried to punch through it but failed. Its surface pulsed with dim red chakra. Not a loop. Not a scroll. Just... presence.

Naruto looked into it.

And the reflection wasn't him.

It was Raian.

Younger. Maybe sixteen. Hair shorter. Eyes sharper. Not smiling, but not cruel either. Just... curious. A kid who hadn't snapped yet. A Raian who didn't look like a war criminal.

Naruto leaned in. "What the fuck is this?"

The reflection blinked.

And then spoke.

"You think I wanted this? You think I asked to remember every fuck-up this world ever made?"

Naruto flinched. The voice didn't echo — it dug. It slammed straight into his chest like a punch.

"You look at me like I'm the villain," the reflection spat. "But you? You're just a cleaner. You sweep up ashes after the fire. I am the fucking fire."

Naruto snarled. "You're not real. Just some chakra hallucination."

"Keep telling yourself that."

The mirror cracked.

And from the broken shard, something stepped out.

A girl. No older than Naruto. Long burnt-orange hair. Half her face melted like wax. Her eyes wide, furious, feral. She screamed and lunged.

Naruto barely dodged as her fist exploded with chakra.

She moved like a damn wild animal — no rhythm, no form, just fury. Screaming something that sounded like Latin and pure hate. Naruto blocked a kick, countered with a punch to the ribs, but she didn't flinch.

"What the hell's wrong with you?!"

She laughed. Blood in her teeth.

"You talk like him! You smell like him! I should rip out your tongue and shove it down the Library's throat!"

Naruto headbutted her.

Hard.

She stumbled, dazed. He grabbed her by the collar and slammed her into the wall.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"One of the Ember," she hissed. "We waited. We watched. We listened to every lie. You think you're new? You think you're fucking chosen? You're just another repeat."

Her hand lit up an explosive seal.

Naruto let go and dove.

Boom.

Dust. Fire. Stone screaming. Debris rained down like chakra-fueled hail.

Naruto coughed through the smoke. His hands were bleeding. His shoulder burned.

The girl was slumped against the wall. Still breathing, but fading fast.

He approached, wary.

"You... talk like him..."

She coughed blood.

"You'll end like him too. Flame-Bearers don't die heroes. They die forgotten."

"Kazuki," Naruto muttered.

She smiled. Weak. Sad.

"That name still burns."

Then she died.

No final scream. No drama. Just quiet.

Naruto stood there, staring at her corpse.

Then back at the mirror.

Raian's image was gone.

His own reflection returned.

Bloodied. Bruised. Pissed. Tired.

He spat on the ground.

"Keep your secrets. I'll break every fucking mirror in this tomb if I have to."

The chakra flared.

The mirror shattered.

And behind it was a tunnel.

Lit with dying embers.

Still warm.

Still breathing.

Still waiting.

Naruto stepped forward.