Wake up

Jin found himself standing in a desolate wasteland, shrouded in shadows. The air was thick with an oppressive silence, broken only by the distant echo of his own footsteps. Anxiety gnawed at his insides as he scanned his surroundings, feeling a growing unease. And then, emerging from the darkness, a figure materialized before him

...

..

.

It was an adult version of himself, clad in tattered and blood-stained clothes. This apparition, the embodiment of Jin's past failures, wore a malevolent grin that sent a chill down his spine.

The adult Jin's voice cut through the silence like a blade. "So, you think you can change your fate, little Jin? You're nothing but a failure, doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again." The demonic visage of his future haunted him with the wide unflinching smile that adorned his monstrous visage.

Fear and self-doubt gripped Jin's heart, but he refused to back down. Summoning his courage, he took a step forward, his voice trembling but resolute. "I won't let you define me. I am not the same person I once was. I will carve out my own path, my own destiny."

The apparition laughed, a hollow sound that reverberated through the barren landscape. "You're deluded, Jin. No matter how hard you try, you'll always be shackled to your past. You're destined to fail, just like before."

The taunting words struck Jin like a physical blow, threatening to overwhelm him. But deep within his core, a spark ignited—a flicker of determination that refused to be extinguished. He had come too far to let his past consume him once again.

Drawing strength from his resolve, Jin met the gaze of his tormentor, his voice steady. "I may carry the weight of my failures, but they will not define me. I will learn from them, grow stronger, and prove that I am capable of greatness."

The apparition's face twisted into a look of pure anger and disgust his demonic voiced spewed out with nothing but contempt "You don't get to just forget about what you did, you need to face the truth yourself".

In an instant, Jin was sent back, back to the battlefield where hundreds of bodies dropped dead and he and the small squad he led were making a charge on a small platoon of white Zetsus.

Jin's squad rushed the Zetsus but the sheer amount of them overwhelmed the small four-man squadron. At that moment Jin figured that he could use a storm release jutsu he had been working on to take out the entire platoon and save his squad but the inherently unstable nature of combining water release and lightning release improperly to form storm release led to him losing control over the jutsu and frying his squad mates alive.

The moment repeated and Jin could only watch helplessly as the moment played on repeat in his mind. The smell of their flesh as they were shocked, the agonizing screams, and the hurt on their faces as their leader killed them all because of his stupidity.

Jin didn't even notice when the memory faded and he returned to his demonic adult self.

The demon watched with amusement as Jin broke down and wallowed in his failures. "Do you get it yet, You're just a failure playing at being a shinobi. You have no idea what true power entails."

"I don't care" Jin's hollow voice responded quietly.

"Huh" was all that the confused demon could respond to.

"I don't care that I'm weak and I don't care that I failed because with this life I have the strength and willpower to do what needs to be done and be a great shinobi that can protect others" Jin voiced as every word out of his mouth rejuvenated him and brought him back from the brink.

Jin's eyes narrowed as he summoned his willpower. "True power isn't measured by the strength of my jutsu or the breadth of my knowledge. It lies in my unwavering determination, my unwavering resolve to protect those I hold dear and make a difference."

The demon looked taken aback before a loud and gutter demonic laugh rippled from his throat "HAHAHAHAHAHA!, do you honestly believe that I care about your will power, no make no mistake child you could be as great as the first Hokage but I will never let you forget what you have done and maybe out there in the real world you live in a perfect fantasy, but I promise you that as long as you sleep you will never know a night's peace".

Jin wanted to fight back against it but he could feel himself waking up

With a wide toothy grin the demon smiled and waved "Goodbye for now Jin, I'll see you tonight".

Jin sat up his breath shaky and erratic, he reached to his face and felt tears streaming down his face and he couldn't understand why he felt so happy to feel the hot tears on his face.

"Jin-kun did you have a bad dream?" his mother asked him as she sat next to his bed. Jin only turned to his mother who he just realized was next to his bed watching over him. He gave her his best smile and said: "No kaa-san I was dreaming about an old friend".

Miyuki gave him a radiant smile back before chopping him on the head "Don't act like such an old man Jin-kun it'll give you wrinkles"

"Okay, Kaa-san I won't act like an old man"

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I know the last chapter I asked about the honorifics but this chapter was written before I added that part to the last chapter.

Plus not gon hold you the honorifics is a little cringe to me but that's just my opinion.