Upon arriving at the Island Turtle, Kuchibashi slowly descends and lands near the Waterfall of Truth. Jin and his team jump down from the giant hawk’s back and survey the surrounding area.

This is so cool, I may have to commit this to memory so I can draw this later. Jin thinks as he’s mesmerized by the island's ancient, mystic beauty.

“So… why are we here again…?” Ayanami asks after she kneels down and cleans her face with the water from the fall.

“Echo wants us to sit before the waterfall and face our true selves, the darkness in our hearts.” Jin casually answers. “This is where jinchuriki train to control their tailed beasts…”

“But we don’t have tailed beasts…” Rito chimes in as he looks on at the wildlife roaming the island.

“Before I help you all grind and level up, I need you all at your best--physically, mentally, and emotionally.” Echo finally replies as he points toward the platform at Waterfall of Truth’s base.

“You three sit on the platform, concentrate, and face your true self as they exit the fall…” Echo stoically continues. “...and Mecha-Naruto and I will protect you from the animals and any cloud ninja in the meantime.”

Feeling a mixture of excitement and anxiety, Jin walks over to the platform and sits down, with Rito and Ayanami following suit shortly after. The red-haired rogue closes his eyes and he is transported into the depths of his mind.

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“Hey you, didja call for me…?” Asks a familiar voice in a sneering manner.

Upon hearing the voice Jin opens his eyes and looks around at his surroundings only to find that he’s still at the Fall of Truth. The only differences are that the area is now covered in a mysterious fog and Jin is alone with the being that exited from the waterfall. After taking in the scenery, Jin finally faces his true self and stares into his red eyes.

“So you're me…? You’re the darkness in my soul?” Jin asks as he stands up and walks toward his true self.

“In the flesh… or spirit--you know what the fuck I mean.” Dark Jin says as he also walks toward Jin.

As the two Jins stand literally inches away from each other, Jin grapes Dark Jin by his cheeks and examines his face.

Huh, I never really looked at my reflection before, if it weren't for my hair being red, my eyebrows not being shaved, and having a light skin tone, I’d be a dead ringer for Indra. Jin thinks as he takes a closer look at his true self. Now I see why all the girls think I’m handsome…

“What the hell are you doing?! Step off!!” Dark Jin shouts as he shoves Jin away.

“Since you’re me you should already know what’s going to happen, right?” Jin asks, getting back up and dusting himself off.

“Yeah…” Dark Jin answers on a somber note. “Is there anything I can say to get you to join the dark side…?”

“Nope, but I accept that you’re a part of me.” Jin answers as he hugs his true self. “All I can do is try to be better than what I already am.”

“Heh.. very well, but you should be worried about our future-self…” Dark Jin warns as he fades away.

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“How long was I in there?” Jin yawns, stretching as he comes back to reality. “What. The. Fuck?”

Eyes widened with horror, Jin looks at his surroundings to see that nearly the entire area is filled with bodies of cloud ninja. Jin looks downward and sees that the plunge pool now has a red tint to it as the water flows down the stream. The red-haired rogue turns to face his future counterpart with rage and confusion festering in every fiber of his being.

“Just what the hell have you done?!” A furious Jin shouts at his ally from the future.

“They were in the way.” Echo answers with a calm and callous demeanor.

“Are you telling me that couldn’t have--oh, I don’t know, knocked them the fuck out and used our Mind Eater Jutsu to erase their memories?!” Jin continues.

“A waste of chakra.” Echo avows.

“I’m already a rogue ninja and an international criminal, I don’t need mass murder on my list of crimes!” Jin argues as he reaches for a rock in order to throw it at the masked time-traveller.

Growing tired of Jin’s outburst, Echo suddenly appears right in front of Jin and lifts him up by his shirt. Jin goes silent and his blood runs cold when he sees Echo’s eyes through his mask.

“Don’t you dare judge me, I will do what is necessary to change the future.” Echo orders as he throws Jin to the ground. “So get with the fucking program.”

“What made us into such a cold and ruthless asshole…?!” Jin asks in defiance as he gets to his feet.

“Enough talk, it’s time to continue our mission.” Echo says pointing towards Ayanami and Rito as they wake up from their own trials.

“AAARRGHH!!” Ayanami shrieks with fear.

“What the hell happened here?!” Rito asks with shock and horror as he sees all the dead bodies.

“There were too many and they wouldn’t back down…” Echo explains to the two. “They left Jin, Mecha-Naruto, and I no choice, but to do this. RIght, Jin?”

“Yeah… sure…” Jin answers despondently with his arms crossed. “We’ve faced our inner darkness, what now?”

“For the next part, I need you all to grab on to me.” Echo responds as he spreads his arms out.

Upon hearing this, Mecha-Naruto immediately walks up to Echo and grabs a hold of his right shoulder.

“Why? What for?” Jin asks with suspicion written all over his face.

“Just do it.” Echo sighs.

Ayanami walks towards Echo and places her hand on Echo’s other shoulder and Rito nervously puts his own hand on Echo’s left arm. They all look at Jin, waiting for him to do the same.

I can’t believe I’m doing this... Shit…! Jin laments as he walks towards Echo and grabs his right arm.

Once each member of the group has their hands on Echo, they instantly appear in a dark room with medical equipment very familiar to both Jin and Rito. Jin lets go of Echo’s arm and walks around the room to reminisce of his first year of training with Orochimaru and Sasuke.

So future-me knows the Flying Raijin technique? That means I will learn it from Edo Minato in the near future… Jin broods as he walks around Orochimaru’s old medical lab, passing a series of old, empty tanks.

“Uh, what is this place and why are we here?” Ayanami asks, breaking the silence.

“This place is one of Orochimaru’s old laboratories…” Rito whimpers as he trembles with fear over the trauma he suffered in this place.

“Echo is going to graft someone’s flesh on us so that we get more power and abilities.” Jin adds as he places a hand on Rito to reassure him. “Which begs the question, whose flesh is it…?”

“Shin Uchiha for his unique genetic make-up that will completely accept any new genetic material, be it tissue, organs or entire limbs, without a chance of rejection, allowing him to fully integrate it into his being.” Echo calmly explains to the whole group. “Doing so also allows him to make use of any genetic modification at its full potential.”

“And then I’ll graft the DNA of both Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha on top of that.” Echo continues with an unhinged smile, pointing at Jin, Ayanami, and Rito. “ To be clear, I’m performing these modifications on all three of you.”