Prologue

In a small clearing in the woods, with his head down and his eyes covered, stood a young man of medium height. His face, hidden by a half-mask of cloth, was calm and focused, his chest moving smoothly in time with his breathing, and his violet hair standing upright, rippling in the faint breeze.

Inhale, outhale.

He jerked his head sharply up, raised his arms, and began to staple at lightning speed the seals of technique he'd been practicing for the last few months.

Bull - Rabbit - Monkey.

An electrical discharge erupted at his fingertips, and after a few moments it took on the form of a narrow blade that wrapped around his outstretched palm. The lightning emitted bright light, and its appearance was accompanied by a bizarre sound, as if a thousand birds were flying past at once, flapping their wings furiously and screaming at the top of their little throats.

- Raiton: Raikiri! - The boy's figure broke off in a swift dash, turning into a blurry silhouette for the onlooker, if there was one.

He chose as his target the thick trunk of a centuries-old tree a couple of dozen paces ahead, reaching almost a meter in girth. A good target to test the power of the new technique on. The impact was crisp, hitting the tree right in the center. The impact sent splinters sputtering out to the sides, almost immediately incinerated by the lightning. Not not noticing the resistance of the material, the hand plunged into the wood up to the elbow, stopping, but the destructive energy surrounding it went even further, piercing through the target and erupting in a cascade of electric discharges.

A second later, it stopped. Gone was the soul-piercing sound, the blinking light, leaving only the sight of a smoldering hole in the tree where you could stick your head safely through, and a young man breathing heavily, wiping sweat from his forehead. He leaned against the trunk, resting and panting for half a minute before he was back on his feet.

- Yes! - He did a double back somersault with a triumphant cry, landing on his knees with his fist up in front of his head. - I did it!

With his back to the soft grass, he admired the sky peeking through the trees, whistling a merry tune through his mask. He had much to be happy about, for all the hard work and grueling training he'd put himself through was finally paying off in a meaningful way. But he didn't let himself be idle for long.

- All right, time to go home," he muttered from beneath his mask as the young man rose from the ground. - My mom will be pissed I was late for lunch again.

The boy clasped his hands together, crunched his fingers together well, and then ran, picking up speed with each step. We need to get home in time.

***

Joy and satisfaction overwhelmed me as I raced the overhead tracks home for lunch. I was finally able to perform a Raikiri. It wasted a third of my reserve, and it wasn't perfect, but it was! Now I finally feel like I'm ready to start fulfilling my dream.

What is that dream, you ask? Simple: my dream is a world. A world where humans and monsters would live without enmity or conflict, solving all problems without the use of violence. Naive as crazy, you might say, and I would even agree, if I hadn't seen with my own eyes the life of someone who has witnessed something like that.

It all began with the death of my father. He was a hero who also wanted to achieve peace, but he strayed from the path, gave himself to revenge, made a lot of mistakes and made enemies who caught up with him at the most unexpected moment, when he had already retired from business, married, and was raising a five-year-old son. My mother and I were heartbroken and mourned him for a long time; it was then that I made a promise to myself that I would definitely become a hero and do what he couldn't.

It was around this time that I started having dreams...

At first they seemed to me to be just bizarre pictures that were for some reason too vividly stored in my mind. But the next day I dreamt again about the same boy as the last time. Gray, almost gray hair, and a mask on his face that hid a rather handsome face. His name was Hatake Kakashi.

He was a shinobi, or rather, was just about to become one at the time. Every day I saw the future ninja's story from the sidelines. Any attempts to somehow influence or interfere in the events ended in failure, so I just had to watch in silence.

In one dream I could sometimes live a month, or even several months, of Kakashi's life, but in the most morally difficult moments the time dragged on for a very long time. The death of his father, his best friend, the girlfriend he promised to protect, his teacher, and his wife. All of this hit me just as hard as it hit him. Even my mother noticed my lousy state, but I managed to talk myself out of it by saying that I was still grieving for my father. Not that that wasn't true.

And then it was all missions, lots of death and blood, and the empty life of a morally broken man. Until one day everything changed when Kakashi became the jounin mentor of team #7. It was that moment that was the turning point for both of us. The dream of a funny and very noisy guy in an orange suit named Naruto was very similar to mine. And the way he walked towards his goal, ignoring any obstacles, instilled hope and confidence in Kakashi's heart, literally starting his life with a clean slate. Eventually, he saw the kid's dream come true. That's why I, too, believed I could accomplish something seemingly impossible. Monsters and humans... The long feud between these two species has lasted so long that no one will remember its beginning. But I will put an end to it. Seeing such an example before my eyes, I just can't fail.

Living the same life with someone was an unusual, sometimes very painful experience, and at some point I developed a strong sympathy for the gray-haired shinobi. He was the one who showed me all the facets of human actions and their consequences. I could say that Kakashi became my brother, or even my father. Not physically, but spiritually. He was also very strong. And, as you know, it always takes strength to fulfill any dream, no matter how stupid and naive. The desire to be like my idol made me try to learn to wield chakra like him. In my head was the knowledge that Kakashi had collected throughout his long life. From how to awaken the hearth, to how to control chakra, to how to harden my own body.

I made my first attempts without much hope of success. I was not very hopeful of success when I first attempted it. I was surprised when I succeeded - I felt a cool and familiar and unfamiliar energy flowing through my body at the same time. But the sensation disappeared as soon as I stopped concentrating. From that moment on, the constant training away from my village and my mother's eyes began. I didn't want to explain to my mother how and where I got my abilities. I just said that I was going to train and ran away into the woods so that no one would see what I was doing. The woman who watched her son recover from the loss of his father, finding something to do, didn't need much more.

Day by day my strength and skills grew. I had all the experience and knowledge of the Great Copying Ninja of Konoha with me, and it helped me to progress quickly: I avoided dead-end ways of development beforehand, thus not wasting unnecessary time at a young age.

Five years passed at this pace, until one unfortunate day disaster struck our family again. An unknown disease struck the village, half of the inhabitants caught the disease and immediately fell ill, weaker and weaker every day, approaching death. My mother was among them. No amount of praying to Elias or going to the temple to the priests helped, and soon the first dead appeared. I was torn up inside, wondering what I could do. In my panic, I did not immediately remember the medical techniques. To use them was to open myself up, but I didn't care. It was either that or my mom would die. Abandoning all other training, I learned how to use the mystical hand right at home, without leaving my mother's bedside. It is impossible to count how many fish and chickens fell victim to training, but I achieved my goal. It would have been a little too late, but I made it.

Mom was on the mend. After her, the rest of the village got help. Everyone who was still alive.

Our family was not well liked, because my mother's beauty led the villagers to believe that she was either a witch or a monster. No one accused her of anything directly, but I noticed the stares and whispers all the time, especially after I learned how to use my chakra. But after the epidemic, everything changed. The distrust evaporated, and now we were always welcomed on the street, treated to delicious treats and even offered to help with household chores. It was very pleasant to feel their gratitude, and it only made me more convinced of the correctness of my goal.

My mom's attitude toward my, ahem, secret also made me feel good. When things calmed down, we talked. I expected a lot: that I would be scolded, reprimanded, or otherwise punished. But instead they just hugged me against their chest and whispered in my ear: "I'm so proud of you, son..."

At that moment, I froze in my mother's arms, and then I cried without holding back my emotions. And I realized what a fool I had been, hiding from the only dear person in the world. I told her everything as it was. And I got the support I didn't realize I needed.

Eight years had passed since then. Today, on the eve of my 21st birthday, I finally reached the bar of strength I set for myself, and now I'm rushing home to brag. And a delicious meal.

When I reached the edge of the forest, I headed straight for home. At first the people of Ilias, seeing me running in and out of the woods every day like a nasquipid, were a little frightened, but in time they got used to me and now waved and greeted me affably.

In a couple of minutes I was already on the doorstep and opened the front door, shouting joyfully:

- "Mom, I'm home!"

"Welcome home, Luca." - greeted me a beautiful woman with a slender figure, silky golden hair reaching my shoulder blades, and sky-blue eyes. Lucifina. My mother. She was dressed in a simple dress with an apron over it and was setting the table. The smell of baked meat and boiled potatoes was pleasant in the room. - I suppose congratulations are in order?

- "Yes, Mother. I'm ready to be a hero."