Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air in the Ninja Academy classroom always felt too thin to Sasuke now. A week ago, it had been a place of potential rivalry with his brother. Now, it was a cage. He kept his gaze fixed on the grain of the wooden desk, ignoring the whispers that slithered through the room like snakes.

"Poor Sasuke-kun..."
"He looks so sad."
"He's still so handsome."

Before, the attention from the girls had been a background hum, an expected part of his day. Now, their cooing felt like a thousand tiny needles. It wasn't admiration; it was pity. Each syllable was a reminder of what he had lost, a branding iron on the fresh wound of his solitude. His small hands, resting on his knees, clenched into fists under the desk. A scowl, too deep for an eight-year-old, was permanently etched onto his face.

Across the room, Naruto Uzumami watched, a familiar, hot bitterness churning in his gut. He was used to being ignored, but he’d never get used to the way everyone fussed over that teme, Sasuke. Even now, when he was acting like a gloomy jerk, the girls couldn't shut up about him. Naruto wanted that. He wanted someone to look at him, just once, with something other than disgust.

"Alright, class!" Iruka-sensei's voice boomed, clapping his hands together. "Time for spars. Let's see... Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, you're up first."

A fresh wave of giggles and cheers erupted from the sidelines. "You can do it, Sasuke-kun!" "Show that dead-last Naruto!"

Sasuke walked to the center of the training hall, his movements stiff. Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet, a determined grimace on his face. This was his chance. He'd show them all. He'd show Sasuke.

"Begin!" Iruka announced.

Naruto let out a wild yell and charged, all flailing limbs and reckless abandon. Sasuke didn't move. He didn't even change his stance. As Naruto closed in, a single, precise motion—a shift of weight, a hand snapping out to catch Naruto's wrist, a foot hooking behind his ankle. It was over in a blink. Naruto landed on his back with a heavy thud, the air rushing from his lungs.

The girls cheered. Sasuke felt sick.

"Winner, Sasuke," Iruka said, his voice gentle. He walked over to the two boys. "Alright, you two. The rule of the sparring ground. The sign of reconciliation."

Sasuke and Naruto slowly got to their feet. Iruka gestured for them to form the unison sign with their hands—a symbol of harmony and the end of conflict.

They stood facing each other. Sasuke's dark eyes were pools of shadow, refusing to meet Naruto's blazing blue ones. Naruto glared, his cheeks flushed with shame and anger. The gulf between them was wider than the entire training hall. Neither moved to form the seal.

Instead, as if pulled by some unspoken, mutual understanding of their animosity, they both reached out. But not for a handshake. Their hands shot forward, grabbing a fistful of each other's collars, gripping the fabric so tightly their knuckles turned white.

Iruka sighed. "Boys..."

That was the final straw for Naruto. The humiliation of the defeat, the cheers for Sasuke, and now this silent, hateful stand-off. He released Sasuke's collar with a shove.

"You think you're so great!" he yelled, his voice cracking with the force of his emotion. "Just 'cause your clan is—" He cut himself off, the unspoken words hanging in the air, more cruel than any insult. Sasuke flinched, a barely perceptible twitch of his eye. "I HATE YOU!"

With that, Naruto spun around and ran, a blur of orange and loud misery, bursting out of the academy doors and into the sunlight.

Sasuke stood alone in the center of the room, the cheers of the girls now sounding hollow in his ears. He could still feel the heat of Naruto's grip on his collar, a brand of a different kind.

The rest of the academy day passed in a blur of hot, shameful silence for Naruto. Iruka-sensei had given him a stern talking-to after he’d slunk back inside, but the words barely registered. All he could feel were the eyes—Iruka’s disappointed gaze, the other boys' mocking smirks, and especially Sasuke’s empty, indifferent stare.

When the final bell rang, Naruto bolted, a solitary orange streak desperate to escape the confines of the building and the people in it. He didn't get far.

A group of girls, led by a fiery-blonde Ino with her hands on her hips, cut off his path near the training ground fence. Sakura stood just behind her, a conflicted frown on her face, and even the usually shy Hinata was hovering at the back, her head bowed, just wanting to be part of the group.

“What is your problem, Naruto?” Ino demanded, her voice sharp. “Yelling at Sasuke-kun like that after everything he’s been through! You’re so insensitive!”

“Yeah!” another girl chimed in. “He didn’t do anything to you!”

Naruto tried to push past them. “Leave me alone!”

It was the wrong move. Ino shoved him back, and the dam broke. They weren't skilled fighters, but they were a mob, fueled by righteous anger and a desire to defend their tragic prince. Punches—small, girlish, but stinging—landed on his arms and back. A kick connected with his shin. He covered his head, curling in on himself as their shrill voices scolded him.

“Stop it! Just stop it!” he finally yelled, pushing himself upright. A trickle of blood seeped from a cut on his lip, and a purple bruise was already blooming on his cheekbone. His clothes were dusty, and his pride was in tatters. But his blue eyes burned with a defiant fire. “I don’t care! I don’t care what any of you think about me!”

The raw, genuine hurt in his shout gave them pause. Ino blinked, taking a half-step back. Naruto didn’t wait. He shoved through the gap and ran, ignoring their calls, his vision blurring with unshed tears of frustration.

He ran without thinking, his feet carrying him up a familiar, wooded hill on the edge of the village. He just wanted to be high up, away from everyone. Gasping for breath, he reached the top and leaned against a tree, wiping his bloody lip with the back of his hand.

And that’s when he looked down.

Below, nestled in a clearing, was a small, serene lake. And sitting at its edge, perfectly still, was Sasuke.

Naruto’s first instinct was a fresh wave of anger. Of course, even here, he couldn't escape him. But he stayed hidden, watching.

Sasuke was just staring at his reflection in the water, his small shoulders slumped. Then, as if he’d sensed a presence, his head tilted slightly. His gaze shifted from the water, upward, tracing the line of the hill until it locked directly onto Naruto.

There was nowhere to hide.

Naruto braced for a smirk, a glare, more of that infuriating indifference. But what he saw on Sasuke’s face made his breath catch.

It wasn’t pity. It was something else, something quieter and more profound. Sasuke’s dark eyes, usually so guarded, were wide open. He was looking at Naruto’s bruised face, the torn jacket, his heaving chest. And on Sasuke’s face was a clear, unmistakable expression of sorrow.

In that single, silent moment, something clicked inside Sasuke. He saw the bruises inflicted by the very girls who showered him with empty praise. He saw the loneliness, the anger, the desperate desire to be seen that wasn't so different from his own. The village looked at Sasuke and saw a tragedy to be coddled. They looked at Naruto and saw a monster to be shunned. They were both in cages, just of different kinds.

Their eyes held across the distance, the lake shimmering between them. No words were spoken. None were needed. For the first time, they weren't the avenger and the dead-last; they were just two boys, alone, understanding the shape of each other's isolation perfectly.

The familiar, comforting steam of Ichiraku Ramen was the only balm Naruto could think of. He slid onto the stool, the wood creaking under his weight. The bruises on his face and arms throbbed dully.

"Teuchi-jiji," he mumbled, his voice thick.

The old ramen chef turned, his usual cheerful greeting dying on his lips as he saw Naruto's face. His eyes softened. "The usual, Naruto?"

Naruto just nodded, slumping forward onto the counter. He didn't have to ask for credit; Teuchi had never once denied him a bowl. The first savory sip of broth was a small, warm light in the cold, confused darkness inside him.

The stool beside him creaked. Naruto glanced over, expecting another customer, and froze. It was Iruka-sensei.

For a long moment, the only sound was the simmering broth. Iruka ordered a miso ramen for himself before turning to Naruto.

"Don't let them get under your skin, Naruto," Iruka said, his voice low and kind. "Their behavior... it's not right."

The kindness, coming after the harshness of the day, was too much. Naruto's grip on his chopsticks tightened. He kept his eyes fixed on his bowl, the steam fogging his vision.

"Why?" The word was a raw whisper, torn from deep inside. "Why does everyone always do stuff like this to me? What did I ever do to them?"

He finally looked up at Iruka, his blue eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears, begging for an answer.

Iruka's heart clenched. He looked at the boy—not a container, not a monster, but a lonely, hurting child covered in bruises from his own classmates. He opened his mouth, the truth hovering on his tongue. *It's because of the Nine-Tails. They fear what's inside you.* But the words wouldn't come. The Third Hokage's decree was absolute. The children were ignorant; they only mirrored the unspoken hatred of their parents, a prejudice they felt but didn't understand.

All Iruka could do was look at Naruto with profound sadness, a helpless pain in his own eyes. He reached out, his hand hovering for a moment before he placed it firmly, comfortingly, on Naruto's shoulder. He had no answer that wouldn't break the boy further.

At that moment, their quiet moment was broken by the sound of chattering voices. A group of girls, led by Ino, walked past the ramen stand on their way home. They were laughing, their fight with Naruto already a forgotten drama, a minor event in their sunny lives. Ino didn't even glance his way.

Naruto watched them pass, then looked back at Iruka's pained, silent face. The answer wasn't in words, but in that silence, in the gap between the easy laughter of the girls and the heavy weight on his teacher's shoulders. He was on the outside, and no one would tell him why. He lowered his head and silently continued to eat his ramen, the taste now as confused and bitter as he felt.

Chapter Text

The two years that passed had done little to sand down the sharp edges of animosity in the Ninja Academy. If anything, they had hardened. Naruto, now ten, was if possible, even more loud, more desperate to be seen. The girls' adoration for Sasuke had only intensified, a silent cult that Naruto found both pathetic and infuriating.

So, when Iruka-sensei called out, "Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanaka Ino. You're up for the next spar," a fresh wave of grim anticipation rolled through the class.

Naruto shot a glare across the training hall. Ino smiled back, a sharp, superior little smirk. He hated her. Not just because she was the head of the "Sasuke Fan Club," but because she embodied everything that excluded him: popularity, confidence, and a cruel kind of grace.

"The winner is the one who pins their opponent or forces a surrender. No excessive force. Begin!" Iruka announced.

Ino settled into a basic Academy stance, calm and collected. Naruto, as always, charged headfirst, a whirlwind of predictable motion. Ino didn't even break a sweat. She sidestepped his wild punch, using his own momentum to send him stumbling past her. As he tried to regain his balance, she swept his legs out from under him with a precise kick.

He hit the floor with a grunt. The expected laughter from the sidelines began, but it died in their throats as Ino didn't stop.

"Think you can just punch a girl and get away with it, dead-last?" she hissed, her voice low enough for only him to hear. She dropped a knee onto his back, pinning him, and then started punching him in the kidney—short, sharp, painful blows that wouldn't leave a visible mark but stole his breath.

"Get... off!" Naruto grunted, humiliation burning hotter than the pain.

Iruka took a step forward. "Ino, that's enough!"

But Naruto had had enough. With a raw, guttural yell, he bucked with all his strength, throwing her off balance. He scrambled to his feet, his chest heaving, his vision tinted with red. Before anyone could react, his fist flew.

It wasn't a skilled punch. It was pure, unadulterated fury. It connected solidly with Ino's shoulder, sending her staggering back with a cry of shock.

"You stupid PIG!" Naruto screamed, the insult echoing in the suddenly silent hall.

A profound silence fell. No one moved. Ino's face, once smirking and superior, was a mask of utter humiliation. Her eyes widened, then narrowed into slits of pure rage. The girls in class gasped. Sasuke, who had been watching with detached boredom, now watched with a faint, focused interest.

With a shriek of fury, Ino launched herself at Naruto. He was too stunned by his own outburst to properly block. She spun and delivered a powerful, full-force kick directly to his face.

There was a sickening crunch. Naruto's head snapped back. A sharp, searing pain erupted in his nose, and a moment later, warm, crimson blood gushed over his lips and chin, splattering onto the wooden floor.

"ENOUGH!"

Iruka was between them in an instant, his arms outstretched, holding them apart. His face was a storm of anger and disappointment. He looked at Naruto, blood streaming down his face, and at Ino, still trembling with righteous fury.

"This is completely unacceptable from both of you!" Iruka's voice boomed, leaving no room for argument. "My office. Both of you. After class."

The air in Iruka’s office was thick with hostility. Naruto sat slouched in one chair, a wad of bloody tissue paper stuck in his still-throbbing nose. Ino sat primly in the other, though her carefully crossed legs and tightly clenched fists betrayed her anger.

“Ino,” Iruka began, rubbing his temples. “This is very unexpected behaviour from you. You’re one of the top kunoichi in the class. What you did after the pin was excessive.”

“He called me a pig!” Ino burst out, her composure cracking as she pointed an accusatory finger at Naruto. “In front of everyone!”

“Because you are one!” Naruto shot back, his voice muffled by the tissue. “You were sitting on me and hitting me! What was I supposed to do?”

With a cry of rage, Ino launched herself from her chair at Naruto. Iruka’s arm shot out, catching her around the waist and pulling her back into her seat with a firm, “That’s enough!”

“He’s always like this, Iruka-sensei!” Ino seethed, tears of frustration now mixing with her anger. “He’s a complete nuisance! He annoys everyone in class, he never shuts up, and he has no respect for anyone!”

“Ino, stop saying things like that,” Iruka said, his voice stern.

“But she started it!” Naruto insisted, his blue eyes blazing as he looked at Iruka, pleading his case. “She kept punching me even after I was already down! You saw it! That’s not part of the rules!”

A sly, triumphant smirk twisted Ino’s lips. “So you admit it,” she said, her voice dropping to a condescending purr. “You admit you lost.”

Naruto stared at her, his expression not one of anger, but of sheer, exhausted honesty. “Yeah. I lost. You’re better than me at sparring. So what? It’s not unexpected.”

The smirk vanished from Ino’s face. She was prepared for more yelling, more denials, more of Naruto’s typical bluster. This blunt admission of defeat, delivered without a hint of his usual dramatics, completely disarmed her. She just blinked, confused by his lack of pretense.

Iruka saw the opening and took it. “Naruto is right, Ino. Your actions after his surrender were the root of this problem. However,” he added, turning to Naruto, “physical violence and name-calling are never the answer. Therefore, you will both apologize to each other. Now.”

A heavy silence filled the room.

“Sorry,” Ino muttered, staring at the floor, her voice barely audible.

“Yeah. Whatever. Sorry,” Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms and looking out the window.

It was far from sincere, but it was the best Iruka was going to get. “Dismissed,” he said with a weary sigh.

Ino stood up, shot one last, complex look at Naruto—a mix of lingering anger and unsettled confusion—and marched out of the office. Naruto waited a beat longer before slouching out after her, the bloody tissue still pressed to his face, the cycle of their animosity temporarily paused but far from broken.

Later that day, the simmering resentment boiled over. Naruto spotted Ino by the academy gates, laughing with her friends. The reluctant apology in Iruka’s office felt like a lie stuck in his throat. He marched right up to them, ignoring the way the girls’ laughter died.

“Yamanaka,” he declared, his voice tight. “Fight me. For real this time. No sensei to stop us.”

Ino glanced at him, her nose wrinkling in disdain. “Don’t be pathetic, Naruto. Go away. No one wants to play with you.”

The dismissal stung more than any punch. “I’m not playing!” he insisted, his voice rising. “Or are you too scared, you pig?!”

The word did it. The carefully reconstructed composure from Iruka’s office shattered. Ino’s eyes flashed with pure fury. In one fluid motion, she reached out, grabbed Naruto by his ear, and twisted.

“You have a death wish, you little idiot?” she hissed, pulling him forward. “Fine! You want a fight so badly? You’ll get one!”

He yelped and stumbled, but she didn’t let go, dragging him away from the startled gazes of her friends and down a path that led to a secluded training ground surrounded by trees. She finally released him with a shove, sending him sprawling onto the soft earth of a small, hidden clearing.

“Get up,” she commanded, falling into her clan’s signature stance. “You asked for this.”

What followed wasn’t a spar. It was a brawl. Naruto charged with everything he had, all his pent-up frustration and loneliness fueling his wild swings. Ino was precision and grace, deflecting his blows, landing sharp, stinging jabs to his ribs and shoulders. She was better, faster, and she knew it. For hours, the pattern repeated: Naruto would attack with brute force, Ino would evade and counter, wearing him down.

The sun began its descent, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. Sweat soaked their clothes, and both were breathing in ragged gasps. Naruto’s face was a map of fresh bruises, and Ino’s knuckles were raw. With a final, furious tackle, Naruto tried to break through her defense. Ino sidestepped, hooked his ankle, and used his momentum to slam him onto his back, the air leaving his lungs in a pained whoosh.

Before he could move, she planted her foot firmly on his chest, pinning him. “Give. Up.” she panted, her voice hoarse.

He just glared, his body screaming in protest. But as she stood over him, victorious, the last of her energy spent, her legs buckled. The fight had drained her completely. With a soft groan, she collapsed beside him, her chest heaving.

Silence fell, broken only by the sound of their ragged breaths and the evening crickets beginning their song. They lay there, side-by-side in the dirt, too exhausted to move, too tired to even continue their hatred. The forest clearing held them in a strange, weary truce, the fading light hiding the details of their battered faces. The fight was over, but nothing was resolved. They were just two exhausted children, lying in the quiet dark.

The deep blue of twilight settled over the clearing, the first stars pricking through the canopy. The only sounds were their ragged breaths slowly returning to normal and the chorus of crickets. The physical exhaustion had momentarily banked the fire of their anger, leaving behind a strange, hollow space.

Naruto turned his head on the cool grass, looking at Ino’s profile silhouetted against the darkening sky. "I hate you," he said. His voice was quiet, stripped of its usual bluster, leaving only a raw, weary truth.

Ino didn't look at him, staring up at the emerging stars. "The feeling is mutual, dead-last."

"It's not the same," Naruto continued, his voice low and steady. "You hate me for no reason. You and the others... you bully me for no reason."

Ino's head snapped towards him, her eyes wide with genuine shock in the dim light. "Bully you? I am *not* a bully!" The accusation felt like a slap. She remembered standing up to Ami and her friends when they picked on Sakura years ago. She was the one who protected people, not the one who tormented them. Naruto was just... Naruto. An annoying, constant nuisance who disrupted class and bothered Sasuke-kun. That wasn't bullying; that was just stating a fact.

"The way I hate you is different," Naruto said, his gaze unwavering. "To you, I'm just some random, annoying troublemaker. But to me... you're important."

Ino blinked, completely thrown. *Important?*

"You inflict pain on me," he said, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "And I'm sick of it. You can go home, talk to your dad, hang out with your friends, and sleep peacefully because I'm just one stupid thing in your life. But I don't have too many people. So when I try to sleep... I can't. I'm always thinking about you. Or Sasuke. About the stuff you say, the way you look at me, the way you all cheer for him."

His words settled over her, heavy and confusing. She wasn't important to him because he had a crush on her; she was important because her hatred was a defining force in his lonely life. The math of it was horrifying. Her actions, which she dismissed as minor irritants, were echoes that kept a boy awake at night.

A part of her wanted to understand, to ask what he meant. But a louder, more pragmatic voice screamed in her head. *Sasuke-kun. Sakura. The race.* Spending any more mental energy on Naruto Uzumaki was a distraction she couldn't afford. It would let Sakura get ahead. Understanding *him* wouldn't win Sasuke's heart. The best thing to do, the only thing to do, was to reassert the distance, to make him feel small again, to punish him for making her feel this confused.

She pushed herself up, her body aching. She looked down at him, lying broken in the grass, and forced her face into a mask of cold disdain.

"Stop being so dramatic, Naruto. No one cares about your sob story."

With that, she turned and walked away, not running, but with a deliberate, steady pace that felt far crueler than a sprint. She disappeared between the trees, leaving him alone in the moonlight.

Naruto watched her go. He had poured out a painful, honest truth, and her response was to call it a "sob story." He closed his eyes, the image of her walking away etching itself into his mind, another ghost to haunt his sleepless nights.

The walk to Ichiraku Ramen was supposed to be a retreat, a shuffling journey towards the only place that felt like solace. But Konoha’s streets, even in the deepening evening, held no safety for Naruto. A hand shot out from a narrow alley, grabbing the collar of his jacket and yanking him into the shadows.

He stumbled, hitting the opposite wall with a grunt. Ami stood before him, a lollipop stick poking from the corner of her smirk. Two of her friends flanked her, blocking the alley's entrance.

"Look what we found wandering around," Ami sneered. "The dead-last. Okay, Naruto, hand it over."

"Hand what over? I don't have anything!" Naruto snapped, his body still aching from the fight with Ino.

"Your wallet. You always carry one. Don't think we haven't noticed," Ami said, stepping forward and pinning him to the wall with a forearm to his chest.

"I don't have any money!"

"We'll see." Ami forced her hand into his pocket, her fingers digging roughly. She pulled out the worn, orange wallet. She flipped it open, pulling out the few wrinkled bills inside. "Pathetic."

One of her friends giggled. "He's so lame, but he's the only one in class who carries a wallet like some old man."

"Probably had to learn to be self-sufficient," the other added with a mean-spirited shrug.

Ami's eyes glinted with cruel amusement as she tossed the empty wallet to the ground. "Yeah. I bet you eat all by yourself too, don't you? No wonder you're the shortest in class. Your mommy never made you eat your vegetables."

The words, so casually vicious, hit a nerve so raw and exposed that Naruto’s defenses crumbled. The tears he’d held back through the spar, the lecture, and the fight with Ino now welled up in his eyes. "I... I don't have parents," he whispered, his voice cracking.

Ami’s smirk didn't falter. "Like I care. You yelled at me last week for tripping you. Nobody does that." She pulled the half-finished lollipop from her mouth, the candy glistening under the dim alley light. "Now you're going to take this. Consider it your punishment."

She moved the sticky candy towards his face. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the humiliating contact.

It never came.

There was a blur of movement, a sharp gasp from one of the girls, and a solid *thwack*. Ami cried out as a foot connected hard with her side, sending her stumbling into her friends.

Standing between Naruto and the bullies, his posture rigid and his face a mask of cold fury, was Uchiha Sasuke.

The girls stared, utterly bewildered. "S-Sasuke-kun? What are you...?"

"Get lost," Sasuke said, his voice low and dangerous. It held none of the aloofness he used in class. This was pure, undilated threat.

They didn't need to be told twice. Scrambling, they helped a whimpering Ami to her feet and fled the alley, their confused whispers—"Why would he defend *Naruto*?"—fading into the night.

Naruto slid down the wall, landing in a heap next to his empty wallet. He looked up at Sasuke's back, his own confusion eclipsing his relief. "Why...?" he breathed. "Why did you do that?"

Sasuke didn't turn around. He stood perfectly still for a moment, his own question hanging in the air. Finally, he spoke, his voice quieter now, laced with a genuine perplexity that mirrored Naruto's.

"...I don't know," Sasuke said softly. "My body just moved on its own."

And without another word, he walked away, leaving Naruto alone in the alley with his stolen money, his empty wallet, and a mystery that was far more confusing than any hatred.

Chapter Text

Another two years did little to bridge the chasms between the children of Konoha, though it did shift the landscape. They were twelve now, on the cusp of becoming genin. The childish brawls had mostly ceased, replaced by a more entrenched, silent understanding of social hierarchies.

Iruka-sensei’s assignment was simple: use a fresh flower to practice chakra control, attempting to make a leaf dance on its petal without damaging it. Simple for everyone else, perhaps. For Naruto, it was another hurdle.

He trudged towards the commercial district, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. A familiar, hollow feeling sat in his chest. His life was a short, stark list of people who had shown him kindness. The Third Hokage, from a distance. Teuchi and Ayame at the ramen stand. Iruka-sensei, sometimes, when he wasn't being too much of a nuisance. The list was pitifully short. He had no framework for the complex web of clans that formed the village's backbone. The word "clan" meant one thing to him: Uchiha. Because it was Sasuke's, and because it was gone.

He stopped in front of a well-kept shop overflowing with colorful blooms. "Yamanaka Flowers," the sign read. The name pinged in his memory, a vague echo. *Yamanaka... Ino?* Was that her last name? He never really paid attention to last names. Why would a person have a shop named after them?

Pushing the door open, a bell chimed. The air was thick, humid, and sweet with the scent of a hundred different flowers. It was overwhelming.

And there she was. Yamanaka Ino, her long blonde hair tied back, standing behind the counter and carefully trimming the stems of some purple flowers. She looked… different here. Not like the sharp-tongued queen of the academy, but focused, capable.

She glanced up, and her eyes widened in pure surprise. "Naruto?"

Naruto scowled, defensive by default. "What are you doing here?"

Ino raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "It's my family's shop. What's your excuse? Finally decided to get someone a gift besides yourself?" The old barb was there, but it lacked its former heat, sounding almost automatic.

"I'm not here for that!" he snapped. "Iruka-sensei gave us an assignment. We need a flower for chakra control."

Ino gestured vaguely at the displays. "Well, you're in the right place. Just pick a hardy one. A lily or a carnation. Something that won't wilt if you blast it with your clumsy chakra."

Grumbling, Naruto wandered through the aisles, feeling awkward and out of place among the delicate, vibrant life. He hated most girl stuff, and flowers definitely counted. But then a particular scent cut through the others—deep, rich, and intoxicating. He followed it to a bucket of roses, their velvety petals a deep, blood red.

He didn't know why, but the smell was impossible to ignore. It didn't just smell nice; it felt *important*. Without thinking, his hand reached out to pick one.

"Stop!"

Ino's voice was sharp, an order. Her hand closed around his wrist before he could touch the thorny stem. She pulled his hand back firmly.

Naruto yanked his arm back. "Hey! What's the big idea? I'm gonna pay for it!"

"It's not about money, dobe," Ino said, her voice lowering. She looked at the rose, then back at him, her expression unreadable. "You can't have that one."

Naruto’s eyes narrowed, the initial confusion hardening into anger. “Why? Why can’t I have this one? It’s just a flower!”

“Because,” Ino said, her voice dropping into a possessive, reverent tone that made his skin crawl, “these are for Sasuke-kun. I set them aside for him. He comes by for them sometimes.”

The statement was so absurd, so infuriating, that it short-circuited Naruto’s restraint. “For *Sasuke*?” he spat, the name like acid on his tongue. “Why would you save flowers for a guy who doesn’t even know you’re alive? He doesn’t care about you! He doesn’t care about any of you!”

The words struck a nerve deeper than any punch could. To have her devotion, her entire raison d'être at the academy, thrown back in her face by *Naruto* of all people—it was the ultimate humiliation. Her composure shattered.

“You shut up!” she snapped, her voice rising, losing its cultivated cool. “You don’t have the brain to understand why people like Sasuke-kun! You could never get it! Sasuke-kun is ten times the ninja you’ll ever be! He’s… he’s the sun, and you’re just the moon, reflecting his light because you have none of your own!”

The words poured out of her, a torrent of pent-up comparison she’d never voiced but had always felt. “Sasuke-kun is light. You’re just darkness. He’s heavenly ice, cold and perfect. You’re just… hellfire, burning everything you touch. He’s an immovable object, and you’re just an unstoppable force that does nothing but pester him! He has better goals, better looks, a better background… you have… you have…”

She trailed off, gesturing vaguely at him, at everything he was. She couldn't even find a finishing insult. The sheer, absolute negation of his entire being was so complete it was almost funny. A nervous, condescending giggle escaped her lips.

“Stop giggling,” Naruto said, his voice dangerously low.

Ino stopped, her laughter dying in her throat. She looked at him properly.

Naruto was trembling. Not with rage, but with a profound, soul-deep shudder that seemed to wrack his entire small frame. His hands, clenched into fists, came up to cover his face, his head bowing as if under a physical weight. He was trying to hide, to vanish into the floor, to escape the truth of every cruel word she had just hurled at him.

Ino’s breath caught. She had seen Naruto angry, screaming, defiant. She had never seen him like this. This wasn't the loud pain of a bruise or a failed spar. This was silent, utter devastation. She realized, with a sudden, cold clarity, that she hadn't just been mean. She had taken the core of his loneliness and his struggle and had systematically told him it was worthless.

“Naruto, I…” she started, her voice small, a genuine apology forming for the first time.

But it was too late.

He dropped his hands. His eyes, glistening with unshed tears, met hers for a split second, filled with a hurt so raw it was physically painful to see. Then he turned and ran. He burst out of the flower shop, the bell jangling violently in his wake, leaving Ino alone in the fragrant silence, surrounded by beauty and the chilling aftermath of her own cruelty.

The silence in Naruto’s apartment was a physical weight, pressing down on him until he felt he couldn’t breathe. The darkness was absolute, and Ino’s words echoed in the emptiness, louder than any shout.

*He’s the sun, and you’re just the moon... He’s light. You’re just darkness... You have...*

The sentence hung unfinished, but he knew what she meant. He had nothing. No family, no respect, no future. The loneliness wasn't just a feeling anymore; it was a cold, metallic taste in his mouth, a hollow ache in his bones. For the first time, the thought that had always lurked in the deepest, darkest corner of his mind surfaced, clear and terrifyingly simple.

*Maybe she’s right. Maybe I am useless. Maybe... ending it would stop the hurt.*

His eyes, adjusted to the dark, landed on the small kitchen knife lying on the counter where he’d made a sad, solitary meal. He slid out of bed and walked over, his movements robotic. He picked it up. The metal was cool against his skin.

He sat on the floor, his back against the cold wall. He pressed the tip of the blade to his wrist, right over the prominent blue vein he could see pulsing. A part of him screamed to stop, but the larger part, the part so tired of fighting, pushed forward.

He couldn't do it. His body, the very thing that always failed him, now rebelled against this final act. His muscles locked, refusing to draw the blade across his skin.

Frustration and self-loathing boiled over. "I can't even do this right!" he sobbed into the silent room.

With a guttural cry, he gave up on precision and stabbed the blade into his forearm, a brutal, angry motion. A sharp, searing pain made him gasp. He did it again. And again. Hot, wet blood welled up from the cuts and dripped onto the floor.

He stared at the wounds, waiting for the final release, welcoming the darkness. But it didn't come. The stinging pain began to fade, replaced by a strange, intense warmth. He watched, his tears drying in stunned disbelief, as the deep, bloody gashes began to knit themselves back together. The skin pulled together, the redness faded, and within moments, all that was left were a few faint, silvery lines that soon vanished entirely, leaving his arm perfectly smooth and unmarked.

The blood on the floor was the only proof it had ever happened.

Naruto stared at his unscathed arm, his mind reeling. The profound despair was suddenly eclipsed by a tidal wave of confusion and fear. Why couldn't he die? What was wrong with him? Even his own body wasn't truly his own. He was a prisoner inside it, denied even the escape of oblivion. He curled into a ball on the cold floor, more alone and terrified than he had ever been in his life.

Chapter Text

The dawn light filtering through his window felt like an accusation. Naruto woke with a gasp, drenched in a cold sweat, the fragments of his dream already fading but leaving behind a residue of profound terror. It wasn't just a nightmare; it had the weight of a memory, but one he knew he'd never lived.

He saw the colossal, nine-tailed fox, a monster of pure chakra and malice, its roar shaking the very foundations of his mind. He saw the Fourth Hokage—not the stoic stone face on the mountain, but a man with blurry, undefined features, moving with golden, impossible speed. A giant, toad-like creature loomed in the chaos. And a woman... a woman with vibrant red hair, her voice both stern and loving, yapping at him about eating his vegetables, about making friends, telling him to be strong. She knew his name. And a name echoed from her lips, a name that meant nothing to him: *Jiraiya*.

Why was there a giant frog in his dream? Why is there a red haired woman in his dream? Why is she yapping to him and telling him to do stuff like eating vegetables and making friends? How does she know his name? Who the hell is Jiraiya?

It was the scariest thing he'd ever experienced because it felt *real*. It felt like a part of him was screaming from a past he couldn't remember.

The confusion curdled into a familiar, hot rage. He hated this village. He hated the whispers, the glares, the pity from some and the pure contempt from others. He hated the stone faces that stared down at him, monuments to heroes in a place that had no use for him.

He burst out of his apartment, a can of paint in each hand. With a furious, wordless scream, he began. Splashes of bright orange and yellow defaced the solemn Hokage monuments. He ran through the streets, painting crude symbols on walls and pathways, a trail of vandalism and anger. Chunin gave chase, their shouts adding to the satisfying chaos.

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed the back of his jacket, yanking him off his feet. "NARUTO!"

It was Iruka, his face a mask of anger and deep disappointment. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Let me go!" Naruto yelled, struggling.

"Not a chance. You're going to clean every last bit of this up. Yourself."

For hours, Naruto scrubbed. The initial fury had burnt out, leaving him empty and exhausted. The bright paint now looked like pathetic, smeared stains under his scrubbing brush. Iruka stood watch, his arms crossed.

As Naruto worked on the Fourth's face, Iruka finally broke the silence, his voice quieter now. "The graduation exams are in a week, Naruto. You haven't been focusing at all. You're going to fail again if you keep this up."

Naruto didn't look up from his scrubbing, his shoulders slumping. The fight had gone out of him, replaced by a weary defeat that was far worse.

"What's the point?" he muttered, the words barely audible. "There's no one to teach me anyway."

The simple, stark truth of that statement hung in the air between them. It wasn't an excuse. It was the core of his reality. Iruka stared at the boy's back, the profound loneliness in those words striking him harder than any of Naruto's pranks ever had.

The day of the graduation exam arrived, thick with tension and the buzz of nervous students. Ino, sitting near the front, found her gaze drifting across the classroom to Naruto. He was slumped in his seat, more despondent than usual. As he fidgeted with a pencil, the cuff of his jacket rode up slightly.

Her breath hitched. There, around his wrist, were a series of faint, silvery lines. Scars. They were too straight, too uniform to be from a training accident or a fall. A cold dread pooled in her stomach as the worst possible implication—the one she had inadvertently pushed him toward with her cruel words in the flower shop—flashed in her mind. She quickly looked away, a strange, sour taste in her mouth, and forced herself to stop thinking about it.

"Alright, students," Iruka's voice boomed, calling the room to order. "The test for today is the Clone Jutsu. You must create at least three stable clones to pass."

Naruto groaned internally. This was it. The jutsu that always defeated him. The one that stood between him and his dream. When his turn came, he channeled his chakra, pouring all his frustration and hope into the technique. There was a puff of smoke, and a single, translucent, witless clone wobbled into existence before collapsing face-first on the floor with a pathetic squeak.

A few snickers echoed in the room. Naruto stared at the floor, his cheeks burning.

Later, as Iruka and Mizuki reviewed the results, Mizuki placed a comforting hand on Iruka's shoulder. "Come on, Iruka. He tried his best. Maybe we should let him pass this once."

Iruka's face was firm, though it pained him. "No, Mizuki. The rules are clear. Three clones. Everyone else managed it. Passing him when he clearly hasn't mastered the technique wouldn't be fair to him or the others. He's not ready."

The finality in Iruka's voice sealed Naruto's fate. Another failure.

Dejected, Naruto found himself alone on the familiar swing set, the chains creaking a sad, rhythmic tune of his misery. The world felt grey and hollow. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear the footsteps approach.

"Naruto."

He flinched, turning to see the tall, silver-haired figure of Mizuki standing behind him, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"Don't feel too bad about today," Mizuki said, his voice unusually gentle. "Iruka was being too harsh."

Naruto just shrugged, looking at the dirt.

"But you know," Mizuki continued, his tone dropping to a confidential whisper, "there's another way. A secret way you could still graduate... if you're brave enough."

The setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange and purple, casting long shadows across the balcony of Naruto’s apartment. Mizuki leaned against the railing, his expression a mask of gentle concern. Naruto sat on the floor, knees drawn to his chest, watching the colors bleed across the village he both loved and hated.

“You have to understand, Naruto,” Mizuki said, his voice soft. “Iruka-sensei… he does care about you. Deeply.”

Naruto scoffed, not looking up. “If he cared, why did he fail me? Again! Everyone else passed! Why is it always me who gets left behind?”

“It’s because he wants you to improve,” Mizuki explained, his tone patient, almost paternal. “He sees potential in you that you don’t even see in yourself. He knows that if he just passes you, you’ll never push yourself to become stronger. It’s a tough kind of love.”

Naruto fell silent, chewing on his lip. The words sounded right, but they didn’t dull the sting of failure. “I just… I really wanted to pass this time,” he whispered, his voice thick with a vulnerability he rarely showed. “I wanted to prove I could do it.”

Mizuki smiled, a warm, encouraging smile that reached his eyes. He moved from the railing and crouched down in front of Naruto, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I know you did. And I believe you can.” His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “That’s why, if you’re truly serious about graduating… there is another way. A secret way.”

Naruto’s head snapped up, his blue eyes wide, the despair momentarily replaced by a flicker of desperate hope. “A… secret way?”

“Yes,” Mizuki nodded, his gaze intense. “It’s not something we teach in the academy. It’s a special method, for those with exceptional determination. But it’s dangerous, and it has to remain our secret. Especially from Iruka. He would never approve. He’d think it was too much for you.”

The mix of flattery, secrecy, and the promise of achieving his dream was intoxicating. Naruto leaned forward, his heart pounding against his ribs. “What is it? Tell me! I’ll do anything!”

Mizuki’s smile widened, a predatory glint hidden in the fading light. “It all revolves around a single, forbidden scroll…”

The moon was high and full, casting long, skeletal shadows across Konoha. Naruto, his heart a frantic drum against his ribs, moved through the night with a stolen purpose. Mizuki’s words echoed in his mind: *The Scroll of Sealing. It holds forbidden jutsu that can guarantee your graduation. It’s in the Hokage’s tower.*

Sneaking past the guards was surprisingly easy; they were complacent, never expecting a genin-hopeful to breach the village’s most secure building. Inside, the corridors were silent and imposing. His small frame darted from shadow to shadow until he found it, resting on a stand in a secluded chamber—a massive, ancient scroll.

Just as his fingers touched the parchment, the air grew heavy.

“Naruto.”

He froze. Slowly, he turned to see the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing there, his face a mixture of profound disappointment and stern authority. There was no escape.

Panic seized Naruto. Without thinking, his hands flew through a seal he’d used a thousand times for pranks. *"Henge no Jutsu!"*

A cloud of smoke erupted, and in his place stood a stunningly beautiful woman with cascading blonde hair and a curvaceous figure clad in a revealing outfit. It was a transformation born of pure, desperate instinct.

Lord Hiruzen’s eyes bulged. His face flushed a deep crimson. A single, triumphant drop of blood dripped from his nose, and with a soft groan, the legendary God of Shinobi toppled over backward, knocked out cold by his own legendary peeping habit.

The transformation dissolved. Naruto stared, wide-eyed, at the unconscious Hokage. “It… it actually worked?”

He didn’t waste another second. Heaving the massive scroll onto his back, he fled the tower and vanished into the forest surrounding Konoha.

***

A short while later, a frantic knocking echoed through Iruka Umino’s quiet apartment. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Iruka opened the door to find Mizuki, pale and breathing heavily.

“Iruka! It’s terrible!” Mizuki gasped, feigning panic perfectly. “Naruto! He’s stolen the Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage!”

Iruka’s blood ran cold. The Scroll of Sealing? The repository of the most dangerous forbidden techniques in the village? The sheer magnitude of the crime was unimaginable.

“Why? Why would he do that?” Iruka breathed, his mind reeling.

“I don’t know! But we have to find him before he does something irreversible!” Mizuki urged.

Without another word, Iruka grabbed his forehead protector and shunshined into the night, his heart pounding with a terrifying mix of fear for the village and a desperate, protective worry for the boy he had come to see as a little brother. The hunt for Naruto had begun.

The mood in the Hokage's office was grim. Lord Third had recovered, though a faint blush of embarrassment still colored his cheeks. He was surrounded by a handful of chunin and jounin, their expressions stern.

"This is beyond a prank, Lord Hokage," one jounin stated, his arms crossed. "This is a breach of national security. The Scroll of Sealing contains jutsu that could destabilize the entire village if misused."

Hiruzen sighed, puffing on his pipe. "I am aware. Locate Uzumaki Naruto. Retrieve the scroll. But remember... he is one of our own." His order held an unspoken weight, a plea for restraint that some of the shinobi clearly disagreed with.

***

Deep in the forest, Mizuki moved with a predator's grace, a cruel smile etched on his face. *Perfect,* he thought. *The fool boy took the bait and the blame. Now, the scroll will be mine, and Naruto will be executed for treason. Two problems solved at once.*

***

Naruto unrolled the massive scroll with a grunt, his eyes scanning the complex seals and diagrams. He groaned in frustration. "Another clone jutsu? 'Shadow Clone Jutsu'? What's the difference? This is so lame!" But desperation drove him. He began to read, his brow furrowed in concentration, tracing the chakra flow diagrams with his finger.

***

After nearly an hour of searching, Iruka finally found a clearing where the moonlight illuminated a small figure hunched over a giant scroll.

"Naruto!" Iruka called out, his voice a mixture of relief and stern authority.

Naruto jumped, scrambling to his feet. He offered a nervous, lopsided grin. "I-Iruka-sensei! Look! I only learned one jutsu so far, but it's a really good one! If I demonstrate it, you'll let me graduate, right?"

Iruka's confusion cut through his anger. "What? Naruto, who told you that? Who told you stealing this scroll would let you graduate?"

"It was Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto announced proudly, oblivious to the danger. "He said it was a secret way to graduate! He said you'd never approve because you didn't think I was ready, but he believed in me!"

A cold dread washed over Iruka. *Mizuki...*

*Fwoosh!*

The air was suddenly filled with the whistling sound of kunai. Iruka's eyes widened as he shoved Naruto behind him, drawing his own kunai to deflect the barrage. The sharpened metal thudded into the trees around them.

Standing on a branch high above, silhouetted by the moon, was Mizuki. He smiled, but it was no longer the kind, encouraging smile from before. It was a mask of cold triumph.

"What a touching scene," Mizuki sneered. "But I'm afraid you're wrong about one thing, Naruto. I never said you'd *graduate*." His gaze shifted to Iruka, glinting with malice. "I just needed a stupid, gullible brat to steal the scroll for me. And now, to tidy up loose ends."

Naruto stood frozen, his small world shattering piece by piece. The kind Mizuki-sensei was now a sneering stranger. Iruka-sensei, who had just failed him, was bleeding on the ground in front of him. And the words... the words made no sense.

"Don't give him the scroll, Naruto!" Iruka grunted, pain lacing his voice as he struggled to his knees.

Mizuki's laugh was cold. "Still lying to him, Iruka? Naruto, don't you want to graduate? Don't you want to be acknowledged?"

"He's lying to you!" Iruka cried out, desperation in his eyes.

"Me? I'm the only one telling him the truth!" Mizuki shot back, his voice rising to a triumphant shout. "The whole village has been lying to you since the day you were born, Naruto! Every single person!"

Iruka's face went pale. "Mizuki, don't!"

"Why do you think they all hate you?" Mizuki continued, his eyes locked on Naruto's horrified ones. "Why do you think you're all alone? It's not because you're a prankster. It's not because you're loud." He paused, letting the silence hang for a cruel moment. "It's because on the day you were born, the Nine-Tailed Fox was sealed inside of you! You're the container of the monster that destroyed the village and killed so many people! You are the Fox!"

The world stopped.

Naruto's breath hitched. The Nine-Tails? The stories of the giant, terrifying beast... was inside *him*? The pitying glances, the furious glares, the parents who pulled their children away—it all clicked into a horrifying, monstrous picture. His eyes, wide and pleading, snapped to Iruka. The pained, guilty silence on his teacher's face was all the confirmation he needed.

A raw, guttural scream tore from Naruto's throat. "NO!"

It was in that moment of ultimate shock and vulnerability that Mizuki saw his opening. "Now, die with your secret, you demon!" With a roar, he hurled his giant fuma shuriken, the massive blade spinning directly toward the defenseless boy.

Naruto braced for the impact, squeezing his eyes shut.

But the impact never came.

There was a sickening, wet thud.

Naruto's eyes flew open. Iruka was standing over him, his arms spread wide. The giant shuriken was embedded deep in his back.

Time seemed to slow. Iruka staggered, coughing, but his arms remained outstretched, a shield between Naruto and the world that wanted to destroy him.

"Iruka...sensei...?" Naruto whispered, his voice trembling.

Iruka turned his head, a trickle of blood leaking from his mouth. But he managed a small, pained smile. "It's... okay now, Naruto."

Tears streamed down Iruka's face, mingling with the sweat and dirt. The pain in his back was searing, but the need to make Naruto understand was greater.

"He's lying about one thing, Naruto," Iruka gasped, his voice strained but firm. "You're not alone. I... I know how you feel. More than you know."

Naruto stared, his own shock momentarily eclipsed by Iruka's words.

"My parents... they died during the Nine-Tails' attack," Iruka continued, each word a painful effort. "After they were gone... no one paid me any attention. My grades started slipping. My classmates... they made fun of me for being an orphan. So I started acting out. I caused trouble, just for a little recognition, even if it was negative. It was... a miserable, lonely place to be."

Iruka locked eyes with Naruto, his gaze filled with a profound, shared understanding. "That's why I know how you feel. The pain, the loneliness... because I've felt it too. There's no one to look after you..."

The words struck a chord deeper than Mizuki's lies ever could. But the moment was shattered.

"Touching lies!" Mizuki snarled, his patience gone. He sprinted towards them, a fresh kunai in his hand. "You're just coddling the beast!"

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto cried out.

"RUN, NARUTO!" Iruka commanded, his voice cracking with urgency and pain.

Paralyzed for a second longer, Naruto finally turned and fled deeper into the woods, the massive scroll bouncing on his back. Mizuki altered his course, easily bypassing the wounded Iruka to chase after his real prize.

Gritting his teeth against the agony, Iruka reached behind him. With a guttural roar, he wrenched the giant shuriken from his own back, dropping it to the forest floor with a heavy clang. Clutching the bleeding wound, he ignored the dizzying wave of nausea and forced his legs to move, stumbling after the two figures disappearing into the darkness. He wouldn't let Mizuki hurt his student. Not now. Not ever.

Back in the Hokage's tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared into his crystal ball, his weathered face etched with deep concern. The scene unfolding in the forest was more dangerous than a simple theft. Mizuki hadn't just stolen a scroll; he had violently torn open the deepest wound in a child's soul. *"Revealing the truth like that... in such a malicious way... The shock and despair could destabilize the seal,"* he thought, his knuckles white as he gripped his pipe. *"If the Nine-Tails is released because of this..."*

***

In the woods, Iruka ran, each jolting step sending fresh fire through the wound on his back. His mind raced faster than his feet. *Mizuki is cunning. He'll know I'm following. He'll try to trick Naruto by using a Transformation Jutsu to look like me.* A desperate, crazy plan formed in his mind. *If he becomes me... then I'll become the one he's hunting.* He formed the seals. *"Henge no Jutsu!"* In a puff of smoke, Iruka vanished, replaced by a perfect copy of a panicked Naruto Uzumaki, still clutching his bleeding back but now disguised as the boy's orange jumpsuit.

He didn't have to wait long. Another Iruka—Mizuki in disguise—emerged from the trees ahead, his face a mask of fabricated concern.
"Naruto! There you are! It's me, Iruka! Give me the scroll, quickly! We need to get it back to the Hokage!"

The disguised-Iruka-as-Naruto hesitated, playing his part. "I-Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes! It's me! Now hurry!"

But as the false Iruka reached for the scroll that wasn't there, the real Iruka saw the cold calculation in his eyes—a look his friend would never direct at a student. With a surge of adrenaline, the Iruka-Naruto lunged forward, not with a kunai, but with a fierce, close-quarters headbutt directly to the false Iruka's forehead.

"UGH!" Both figures tumbled to the ground in a heap.

The Transformation Jutsu on the attacker dissolved, revealing Mizuki, who clutched his head in pain and shock. He glared at the "Naruto" who had outsmarted him. "How... how did you know that I wasn't Iruka?!"

A puff of smoke answered him. The "Naruto" figure also dissolved, revealing the true Iruka, panting and pale from his injury, but with eyes burning with defiance.

"Because," Iruka gasped, " I'm Iruka."

From behind a thick oak tree, the *real* Naruto watched, his hands clamped over his mouth to silence his breathing. He had seen the entire exchange. He had seen Iruka, wounded and bleeding, transform into *him* to act as a decoy.

Mizuki spat on the ground, a mix of blood and contempt. "Why, Iruka? Why do you care so much about *that*? You should hate him! He's the reason your parents are dead! That thing inside him killed them!"

From behind the tree, Naruto flinched as if struck, his heart cracking. It was the truth he had been fearing, the reason he believed he deserved the hatred.

"I know it's easier to see it that way," Iruka said, his voice trembling not from pain, but with conviction. "To see a monster to blame. It's simple. And you're right about one thing, Mizuki. Naruto *is* a lot like me."

Mizuki's lips curled into a smug smile. "See? He's alone, angry, and now he has the power to get revenge. He'll run away with that scroll, get stronger, and come back to destroy this village that tormented him! It's what any of us would do!"

Naruto's breath hitched. Was that his future? Was that all he was destined to be?

Iruka took a shaky breath, and his next words cut through the night, gentle but unyielding. "I agree."

For a moment, the world went silent for Naruto. His last hope shattered. Even Iruka saw him as a monster.

But then Iruka continued, his voice firming, filling with a warmth that thawed the ice in Naruto's veins. "That *is* what a monster would do. That is what someone consumed by hatred would choose." He looked not at Mizuki, but past him, towards the tree where he knew Naruto was hiding, as if speaking directly to his soul. "But Naruto isn't like that. He's not a monster."

Tears, hot and uncontrollable, welled in Naruto's eyes and streamed down his face. They weren't tears of sadness or pain, but of a profound, liberating relief. For the first time, someone saw past the fox, past the pranks, past the loneliness, and saw *him*.

"Enough of this sentimental garbage!" Mizuki snarled, his patience gone. He raised a kunai, aiming for the defenseless Iruka. "I'll just kill you and take the scroll from the brat myself!"

He lunged.

But his attack was met not with yielding flesh, but with a furious, orange blur.

***THWACK!***

A sandaled foot connected with Mizuki's jaw with a satisfying crack, sending him spinning to the ground. He looked up, dazed, to see Naruto Uzumaki standing protectively over Iruka, his small body trembling not with fear, but with rage. His eyes, blue and blazing, were narrowed into slits.

"Listen here, you bastard," Naruto growled, his voice low and deadly serious, a tone none of them had ever heard from him before. "If you dare to lay another finger on my sensei... I'll kill you."

The forest fell utterly silent. The promise hung in the air, not as a childish threat, but as a vow.

Mizuki pushed himself to his feet, wiping blood from his lip. A cruel, disbelieving laugh escaped him. "You? Kill *me*? What can a failure who can't even make three clones do against a Chunin?"

Naruto didn't answer with words. Instead, his hands flew through a series of seals—the very same seals he had painstakingly memorized from the Scroll of Sealing. He poured every ounce of his chakra, every bit of his pain, his loneliness, and his newfound, fierce desire to protect into the technique.

***"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"*** (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!)

The forest exploded. Not with one, or two, or three clones. But with hundreds. The entire clearing, the surrounding trees, every available space was suddenly filled with a determined, orange-clad Naruto. The air hummed with their collective presence.

Iruka's jaw went slack. The shock was so complete it momentarily overshadowed the pain in his back. *H-how? The basic Clone Jutsu... I failed him for it for years. And yet... this is a Forbidden Jutsu, an B-rank technique that requires immense chakra reserves! He's created an army!*

Mizuki's smug confidence evaporated, replaced by pure, unadulterated terror. He took a stumbling step backward. "Im-impossible!"

The real Naruto, standing at the head of his legion, pointed a finger at the traitorous Chunin. His voice was a low, unified growl from hundreds of throats.

"Here I come!!"

What followed was not a fight. It was an avalanche. A tide of righteous fury. Mizuki screamed as he was engulfed by the swarm of clones. Punches and kicks landed from every direction, a relentless, overwhelming storm of retribution. He managed to knock a few dozen away, but for every one that dissipated, two more took its place. The sounds of impact and Mizuki's pained cries echoed through the woods until the first light of dawn began to tinge the horizon.

When it was over, the clones vanished in a series of soft puffs. Naruto stood panting, his body trembling with exhaustion, his knuckles raw and bloody. In the center of the clearing, Mizuki lay in a battered, unconscious heap.

Iruka, using a tree for support, slowly pushed himself upright. His vision swam, but his focus was entirely on the boy. "Naruto..." he called softly.

Naruto turned, his fierce expression softening into concern. He walked over to his sensei.

"Come closer," Iruka said.

Naruto complied, kneeling beside him. Iruka's hands were trembling as he reached up. "Close your eyes."

Confused but trusting, Naruto did as he was told. He felt Iruka's hands at his forehead, the familiar feel of the Konoha headband being tied securely around his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw Iruka smiling at him, his own forehead bare.

"You passed," Iruka said, his voice thick with emotion. "Congratulations on your graduation, Naruto."

The meaning of those words, the weight of the metal plate on his brow, the sight of Iruka's proud, tear-filled eyes—it was all too much. With a choked sob, Naruto threw his arms around Iruka, burying his face in his sensei's flak jacket, holding on as if he'd never let go. Iruka winced from the pain in his back but hugged him back just as tightly, finally giving the lonely boy the acknowledgment he had craved his entire life.

Chapter Text

From his crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the scene in the clearing unfold. He saw the army of shadow clones, the decisive victory, and the tender moment of Iruka bestowing the headband. A slow, proud smile spread across his face. He walked out onto the balcony where a tense contingent of jounin and chunin awaited orders.

"Stand down," the Third Hokage announced, his voice calm and authoritative. "The situation is resolved. Naruto Uzumaki is returning the Scroll of Sealing as we speak."

***

Seven hours later, the classroom hummed with the nervous energy of new graduates. Sasuke Uchiha sat in silence, his usual brooding demeanor in place. His eyes, however, flickered with a hint of confusion when the door slid open and Naruto strode in, a noticeable swagger in his step.

Ino, who was preening nearby, spotted him immediately. "Naruto? What are you doing here? You failed again, didn't you?" she said, the old habit of dismissal coming easily.

Naruto stopped, turned to her slowly, and pointed a thumb at his forehead. There, gleaming proudly, was the Konoha headband. "Open your eyes, pig. I graduated."

A ripple of murmurs went through the room. Everyone had noticed Mizuki's absence, and the pieces began to click into a mysterious, unspoken puzzle.

Just then, Iruka-sensei walked in, his movements slightly stiff from his bandaged back. He offered the class a warm, tired smile. "Congratulations to you all on your graduation. You are now genin of Konohagakure. Now, for your three-man teams."

The room fell silent. This was the moment that would define their careers.

"First up, Team 7," Iruka began, reading from the scroll. "Will consist of... Uzumaki Naruto..."

Naruto puffed out his chest.

"...Yamanaka Ino..."

Naruto's face fell into a mask of pure horror. Ino, who had been shooting daggers at him before, also felt the same.

"...and Uchiha Sasuke."

The reaction was instantaneous. Ino's joy doubled, her hands clasped together as if all her dreams had come true. Naruto, however, shot to his feet, slamming his hands on the desk.

"WHY?!" he yelled, pointing a trembling finger at a bored-looking Sasuke. "Why is a great ninja like me stuck with that teme?!"

Sasuke didn't even look at him, merely clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Tch. Just don't hold me back, dead-last."

Iruka sighed, the sound of a man who had already endured far too much. "The teams are decided based on a balance of skills to create well-rounded units. Now sit down, Naruto. We have more teams to announce."

The three new genin of Team 7 sat in a tense triangle of silence within the otherwise empty classroom. The initial excitement of team assignments had curdled into awkward anticipation.

Ino fidgeted, her eyes darting between her two teammates. Sasuke was as still as a statue, his gaze fixed on the window, radiating an aura that was both alluring and utterly impenetrable. *How am I supposed to talk to him?* she thought, her confidence wilting. Then her eyes would drift to Naruto, who had, astonishingly, slumped over his desk and fallen asleep. Her gaze snagged on his wrists, where the faint, silvery lines of scars were just visible below his cuffs. A cold knot of guilt tightened in her stomach. Her cruel words in the flower shop echoed in her mind, now followed by a terrifying new question: *Did I cause those?*

Sasuke was bored. This was a waste of time. He analyzed the situation coldly: a loudmouthed idiot, a fangirl, and a sensei who couldn't even be punctual. It was beneath him.

Naruto snored softly, dreaming of ramen and heroic feats, momentarily free from the tensions of the waking world.

Suddenly, the door slid open with a soft *whoosh*.

A man stood there, tall and lean, with spiky silver hair that defied gravity. A slanted Konoha headband covered his left eye, and a dark mask concealed the lower half of his face. He held a small orange book in one hand, seemingly engrossed.

"My, my," he said, his single visible eye crinkling into a smile. "You three certainly look like a handful."

Naruto jolted awake, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He took in the man's casual posture, the fact that he was reading, the sheer audacity of being so late. All of his pent-up frustration from the wait, from being paired with Sasuke and Ino, exploded.

"YOU!" Naruto yelled, jumping to his feet and pointing an accusatory finger. "Where have you been? You're late! You're our sensei and you're super late!"

The man slowly lowered his book. "Well, you see, a black cat crossed my path, and then I got lost on the road of life..."

"THAT'S THE STUPIDEST EXCUSE I'VE EVER HEARD!" Naruto roared, his face turning red.

Ino stared, wide-eyed. She was too stunned by the man's bizarre appearance and Naruto's immediate, brazen confrontation to even speak.

Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes, analyzing the jounin. *He's covering his left eye. An old injury? Or something else?*

The white-haired man sighed, a long-suffering sound that suggested he was already deeply familiar with this kind of drama. He tucked his book away. "Alright, alright. Meet me on the rooftop in five minutes. Don't be late." He gave a lazy wave and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto was left fuming, fist still clenched in the air. Ino was utterly bewildered. Sasuke had already stood up and was heading for the door without a word. Their first meeting with their jounin sensei.

The four of them reconvened on the sun-drenched rooftop. The man leaned against the railing, looking as relaxed as if he’d been there for hours.

“Alright,” he began, his visible eye curving into a smile. “Let’s get to know each other. Tell me your names, your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future. You can start,” he said, gesturing vaguely at the trio.

Naruto crossed his arms. “You first! You barely told us anything!”

The man shrugged. “Fair enough. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I’ve never really thought about my hobbies… I don’t particularly like or dislike anything… and as for my dreams,” he paused, looking at the sky, “I’m not really sure.”

Ino stared, bewildered. *He told us absolutely nothing! What kind of sensei is this?*

“My turn!” Naruto declared, thrusting a thumb at his chest. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto! I like the ramen at Ichiraku, and I dislike the three minutes it takes for them to make it! My hobby is comparing ramen shops and giving them ratings! And my dream is to become the Hokage, so the whole village will have to acknowledge me!”

Kakashi gave a noncommittal hum. “Okay. Next.”

Ino sat up straighter, smoothing her hair. “I’m Yamanaka Ino. I like flowers and floral arrangements. I dislike pests that eat the petals. My hobby is helping out at my family’s flower shop.” She then glanced nervously at Sasuke, who was staring off into the distance. She took a quiet breath. “And my dream is… to become a strong kunoichi who can protect this village.” It was a safe, noble answer, a far cry from her true, Sasuke-centric dream she’d voiced so openly before.

Finally, all eyes fell on Sasuke. He didn’t even turn his head. “Uchiha Sasuke. I don’t have hobbies. There aren’t many things I like. There are a lot of things I dislike.” He paused, and the air grew cold. “And my dream… is to kill a certain man.”

Ino froze, her blood running cold. The boy she idolized was consumed by something so dark, so violent. It was terrifying.

Kakashi, however, didn’t even blink. “I see.”

Naruto, meanwhile, had to clamp his jaw shut to stop the laugh that threatened to burst out. He remembered Ino’s voice, sharp and condescending in the flower shop: *“Sasuke-kun has better goals!”* *This* was his better goal? A murder quest? The irony was so rich and bitter he could taste it. He managed to control himself, but a smug, internal smirk settled in his heart. The perfect Sasuke wasn't so perfect after all.

Naruto slumped onto his bed in his empty apartment, the day’s events swirling in his head like a chaotic vortex. Team 7. With *Sasuke* and *Ino*. It wasn't just that he disliked them; it was that they were constant, living reminders of everything he wasn't. Sasuke was the top rookie, cool, skilled, and effortlessly admired. Ino was popular, confident, and came from a respected clan. And he was... the dead-last. The class clown. The one who barely scraped by. A cold knot of insecurity tightened in his stomach. How were they supposed to work together? Would they just ignore him? Would they team up against him? The thought of being the weak link, the burden on a team that already seemed destined for failure, was a special kind of torture.

***

Across the village, Ino picked at her dinner, her expression distant.

“You’ve been quiet, Ino,” her father, Inoichi, remarked, setting down his chopsticks. “I thought you’d be over the moon. It’s your first day as a genin, and from what I hear, you got placed with the Uchiha boy. Isn’t that what you and your friends are always going on about?”

Ino sighed, pushing her food around her plate. “It is, Dad. But… he’s different up close. He’s so… closed off. And today, when we introduced ourselves, he said his dream was to kill a certain person.”

Inoichi’s face remained carefully neutral, though a flicker of understanding passed through his eyes. He knew exactly who Sasuke meant. Itachi Uchiha. But that was a burden a child like Ino didn’t need to carry. “Sasuke-kun saw his entire clan wiped out, Ino,” he said gently. “He’s carrying a trauma most of us can’t even imagine. Words like that… they come from a place of deep pain. Don’t take it lightly, but try not to be afraid of him because of it.”

Ino nodded slowly, but her mind was already racing to the other, more pressing issue. As her father left the room, her thoughts zeroed in on Naruto. The faint, silvery lines around his wrists. She’d seen them clearly when he’d been asleep at the desk. They were healing, but they were there—straight, deliberate marks that spoke of a despair she now feared she had fueled. And he’d fallen asleep in class. The hyperactive Naruto, who could bounce off the walls for hours, had been so exhausted he passed out. That meant he hadn’t slept.

Then, the pieces began clicking together with a chilling clarity. Last night, her dad had been called away on an urgent, unscheduled mission. He’d looked grim. And today, Mizuki-sensei was just… gone. No explanation. No substitute.

Naruto’s sudden graduation, his exhaustion, his scars, Mizuki’s disappearance, and her father’s emergency mission—it was all connected. She didn’t know how, but a deep, unsettling certainty told her that the boy she had bullied and belittled had been at the center of a storm she knew nothing about. And the guilt, which had been a nagging whisper, now screamed in her ears.

The dawn light was pale and cold when Naruto, Ino, and Sasuke arrived at Training Ground 3. The air was crisp, and the only sound was the chirping of birds. By 6:05, Naruto was already tapping his foot impatiently.

"He's late again!" he grumbled.

Sasuke leaned against a tree, eyes closed, conserving energy. Ino fidgeted, her mind still a tangled web of guilt and anxiety from the previous day.

Four long, frustrating hours later, Kakashi appeared in a casual stroll, a lazy wave accompanying his greeting. "Good morning, my adorable little genin! I got lost on the path of life—"

"WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR FOUR HOURS!" Naruto exploded, charging at Kakashi before skidding to a halt in front of him.

He held up a small bell, its jingle sounding ominously loud in the quiet clearing. "Your task is simple. You have until noon to take these two bells from me." He dangled a second one. "Whoever fails to get a bell... gets no lunch. They'll also be tied to that stump," he pointed, "and watch the others eat."

Naruto's stomach growled at the mention of lunch.

"But there's a catch," Kakashi's voice lost its lazy edge, becoming serious. "There are only two bells. Which means at least one of you will fail. And to get them..." his gaze swept over them, "...you'll have to come at me with the intent to kill. Otherwise, you'll never lay a hand on these bells."

Naruto burst out laughing. "Yeah, right! You want us to try and kill you? Old man, you've got no talent for this!"

Kakashi's single eye narrowed slightly. "In my experience, the one who acts the toughest and laughs the loudest is often the weakest link. The one who drags the whole team down."

The words struck a nerve far deeper than Kakashi could have known. They echoed every insecurity Naruto had felt since the teams were announced. With a furious yell, Naruto forgot about the official start time, drew a kunai, and launched himself at Kakashi.

It was over in an instant. Kakashi didn't even drop his book. He sidestepped, grabbed Naruto's wrist, and used his momentum to flip him neatly into the air. Naruto landed flat on his back with a pained *umph*, the kunai skittering away.

Kakashi looked down at the winded boy, then at a stunned Ino and a watchful Sasuke. A slow, almost genuine smile crept into his visible eye.

"You know... I'm starting to like you guys," he mused. "That wasn't half bad. It almost felt like... killing intent." He tucked his book away. "Alright. The test begins now. Try to take these bells from me."

In a puff of smoke, he disappeared. The three genin were left alone in the clearing, the weight of the impossible task and their own fractured dynamic settling heavily upon them.

Chapter Text

The bell test began in a way that perfectly encapsulated Team 7's dynamic. While Sasuke and Ino immediately melted into the shadows of the surrounding foliage, opting for stealth and observation, Naruto stomped right out into the open, planting himself in front of Kakashi with a confident, almost foolish grin.

Kakashi didn't even look up from his new book, *Make Out Tactics*. "Something on your mind, Naruto?"

"I'm gonna get that bell, believe it!" Naruto declared.

"By all means, proceed. You'll lose anyway," Kakashi said, turning a page.

Enraged, Naruto lunged. A flurry of straightforward punches and kicks were effortlessly blocked or dodged by Kakashi, who continued reading. Naruto leaped back, his hands forming a familiar seal. *"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"*

A small army of Narutos—dozens of them, all solid—popped into existence, charging with a unified roar.

From the bushes, Sasuke's eyes widened. *Solid clones? Since when could he do that?* Ino gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth. *That's not the Academy's Clone Jutsu...*

Kakashi's visible eye flickered with recognition. *So this is the jutsu from the scroll. The one he used on Mizuki.* Just as the swarm was about to overwhelm him, he formed a single hand seal. *"Kawarimi no Jutsu!"* (Substitution Jutsu). In his place, a log was instantly pummeled to splinters by the clones.

The real Kakashi was gone. Naruto dispelled his clones, panting. His eyes then caught a glint of metal on the ground. A bell! "All right! I got it!" he cheered, rushing to grab it.

The moment his fingers touched the cold metal, a rope snare snapped tight around his ankle, hoisting him unceremoniously into the air to dangle upside down from a tree branch.

Kakashi appeared from behind another tree, shaking his head. "Sigh... you fell for the oldest trap in the book. A basic snare. You let your guard down completely the moment you thought you'd achieved your goal. A fatal mistake for a shinobi."

As Kakashi lectured the dangling, struggling Naruto, a volley of shuriken suddenly whistled through the air from a dense thicket. They thudded with deadly accuracy into Kakashi's back.

Ino let out a shocked cry from her hiding spot. Naruto stared, horrified. "SASUKE! ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU KILLED HIM!"

But the "Kakashi" impaled by the shuriken dissolved into a splintered log that clattered to the ground. The real Kakashi was now perched on the very stump where failures were to be tied, his book in hand.

"Tch," Sasuke clicked his tongue from the shadows, annoyed but impressed by the seamless substitution.

Kakashi's eye crinkled. *Sasuke: skilled, opportunistic, and willing to strike a seemingly defenseless teammate to eliminate a target. Ino: shocked by the brutality, hesitant. Naruto: powerful but reckless, easily tricked. This is going to be... interesting.*

With Sasuke having silently relocated, Kakashi's focus shifted to the remaining occupant of the bush. Ino, realizing she was now alone, felt a fresh wave of panic. *He just left me here?*

Before she could decide her next move, the world around her warped. The green foliage melted away, replaced by a grim, monochrome version of the training ground. And there, in the center, lay Sasuke, his body battered and still, a pool of dark blood spreading beneath him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino screamed, her training forgotten in a surge of pure horror. She rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside the illusion, her hands trembling, unable to even touch the gruesome sight.

While Ino was trapped in her nightmare, Sasuke had found a new vantage point. Confident in his superiority, he saw Kakashi standing near the center of the field, seemingly distracted. *This is my chance.* He took a deep breath, weaving the familiar hand signs. *"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"* (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

A massive orb of flame roared towards the unsuspecting jounin, engulfing him.

But there was no cry of pain, no smell of burning fabric. The fireball passed through empty space.

"Looking for me?"

Kakashi's voice was calm, right behind him. Sasuke's eyes widened. He tried to spin around, but it was too late. The ground beneath his feet turned to liquid mud. With a sickening lurch, he was dragged down, the earth swallowing him whole in an instant until only his head was left protruding from the grass, a human flower bulb.

Kakashi stood over him, looking down with his infuriatingly placid eye.

"The Sharingan may grant you perception," Kakashi stated, his voice devoid of mockery, simply stating a fact. "But you relied solely on your own eyes and your own power. You didn't even consider what your teammates were doing. You left one trapped in a genjutsu and wrote the other off as a lost cause. In a real mission, your arrogance would have gotten all three of you killed."

He then glanced toward the bushes where Ino was still sobbing over the illusory Sasuke. "And she was so worried about you. A shame you didn't return the concern."

With that, he vanished again, leaving Sasuke buried and fuming, and Ino lost in her terror. The test was proving to be a brutal lesson in their individual failures.

Sasuke, his head the only part of him visible above the earth, glared up at Kakashi. "Do you condemn me for using lethal force?" he ground out, the soil pressing tightly against his chest.

"Not at all," Kakashi replied, his hands in his pockets. "I explicitly told you to come at me with the intent to kill. You were the only one who actually followed that instruction. I can't fault you for listening." His tone was neutral, but the implication was clear: Sasuke had the right mindset, but the wrong strategy.

Meanwhile, Naruto had finally managed to wriggle free from the snare, dropping to the ground with a thud. Rubbing his sore ankle, he spotted the three lunch boxes sitting tantalizingly by the stump. His stomach growled louder than any summons. With Kakashi seemingly occupied, he saw his chance. *He said the ones who get bells get lunch... but he didn't say I couldn't just take it!*

He crept toward the lunches, a greedy grin on his face. Just as his fingers brushed the lid of a box, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Kakashi chided, having appeared soundlessly behind him. "That's for the successful genin, Naruto. And since you've all failed, this is now my lunch." In a flash, Naruto found himself bound tightly to the central wooden stump, unable to move.

At the stroke of noon, Kakashi called an end to the test. He released Ino from the genjutsu—her vision clearing to show a perfectly healthy, albeit buried, Sasuke—and dug a fuming Sasuke out of the ground. The three genin stood before him, bruised, humiliated, and utterly defeated. Naruto was tied to the stump, Sasuke was covered in dirt, and Ino's face was streaked with tears.

"To put it simply," Kakashi announced, his eye sweeping over them. "You all fail."

He pointed at Naruto. "You were reckless, fell for the simplest trap, and tried to break the rules." His gaze shifted to Sasuke. "You have skill, but you work alone. You abandoned one teammate and ignored the other." Finally, he looked at Ino. "And you were paralyzed by fear and illusion, unable to adapt or support your team."

"Not a single one of you understood the true purpose of this test."

He then sat down comfortably in front of the tied-up Naruto, opening one of the lunch boxes. The aroma of food filled the air. "Well, I'm starving. Enjoy the view, you three."

Sasuke, his head the only part of him visible above the earth, glared up at Kakashi. "Do you condemn me for using lethal force?" he ground out, the soil pressing tightly against his chest.

"Not at all," Kakashi replied, his hands in his pockets. "I explicitly told you to come at me with the intent to kill. You were the only one who actually followed that instruction. I can't fault you for listening." His tone was neutral, but the implication was clear: Sasuke had the right mindset, but the wrong strategy.

Meanwhile, Naruto had finally managed to wriggle free from the snare, dropping to the ground with a thud. Rubbing his sore ankle, he spotted the three lunch boxes sitting tantalizingly by the stump. His stomach growled louder than any summons. With Kakashi seemingly occupied, he saw his chance. *He said the ones who get bells get lunch... but he didn't say I couldn't just take it!*

He crept toward the lunches, a greedy grin on his face. Just as his fingers brushed the lid of a box, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Kakashi chided, having appeared soundlessly behind him. "That's for the successful genin, Naruto. And since you've all failed, this is now my lunch." In a flash, Naruto found himself bound tightly to the central wooden stump, unable to move.

At the stroke of noon, Kakashi called an end to the test. He released Ino from the genjutsu—her vision clearing to show a perfectly healthy, albeit buried, Sasuke—and dug a fuming Sasuke out of the ground. The three genin stood before him, bruised, humiliated, and utterly defeated. Naruto was tied to the stump, Sasuke was covered in dirt, and Ino's face was streaked with tears.

"To put it simply," Kakashi announced, his eye sweeping over them. "You all fail."

He pointed at Naruto. "You were reckless, fell for the simplest trap, and tried to break the rules." His gaze shifted to Sasuke. "You have skill, but you work alone. You abandoned one teammate and ignored the other." Finally, he looked at Ino. "And you were paralyzed by fear and illusion, unable to adapt or support your team."

"Not a single one of you understood the true purpose of this test."

He then sat down comfortably in front of the tied-up Naruto, opening one of the lunch boxes. The aroma of food filled the air. "Well, I'm starving. Enjoy the view, you three."

Kakashi finished his first lunch box and stretched. "You know," he mused, "I'm feeling generous. I'll give you one more chance this afternoon. But first, more fuel for me." He gestured to the two remaining lunch boxes. "Sasuke, Ino. You may eat. But the rule stands: do not feed Naruto. The one who does will automatically fail and be sent back to the academy."

With that final, cruel stipulation, he vanished in a shunshin, leaving the two toppers with their food and the failure tied to the stump.

Sasuke and Ino sat on the grass, opening their lunch boxes. The smell of rice and grilled fish was torture for Naruto, whose stomach growled loudly. He turned his head away, trying to hide his humiliation and hunger.

As Sasuke ate, his eyes, sharp and observant, caught the light on Naruto's wrists. The faint, silvery lines stood out against his skin. A flicker of confusion crossed Sasuke's face. *Scars?* The thought that someone as seemingly simple and loud as Naruto could harbor such profound despair seemed illogical. But then, Sasuke's mind coldly supplied the evidence: the constant isolation, the vitriol from the other children, the fact that no adult ever intervened. He had seen the aftermath of the massacre in Naruto's eyes during their childhood encounter at the lake—a different kind of pain, but pain nonetheless.

He finished his meal, his decision made. He stood up and walked over to Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?" Ino asked, her voice nervous. "He said we'd fail!"

Sasuke didn't look at her, his gaze fixed on Naruto, who stared back in defiant confusion. "He also said we needed to work as a team to pass," Sasuke stated, his voice flat and pragmatic. "He's weak from hunger and demoralized. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. If we want any chance of getting those bells, we need him in top shape. This is a tactical decision."

He then held a rice ball up to Naruto's mouth.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

Ino watched, her own hunger forgotten. She saw past Sasuke's cold logic. She saw the boy who had been buried alive for his individualism now making the first conscious act of teamwork. He was defying a direct order from a Jounin, risking his own dream of vengeance, for the loudmouth he claimed to despise. It was more powerful than any speech.

Her own guilt, a constant companion since the flower shop, flared. She stood up, her decision clear. "He's right," Ino said, her voice firmer than before. She picked up her own unfinished lunch. "We're a team. All of us."

Together, Sasuke and Ino fed the tied-up Naruto. It was the first time he hadn't been left behind by one of his classmates.

A shadow fell over them. Kakashi stood there, his arms crossed, his single eye narrowed into a stern, disapproving glare. The air grew heavy.

"Care to explain yourselves?" His voice was low and dangerous. "I gave a direct order. The one who fed him fails. By my count, that's both of you."

Sasuke met his gaze, his own eyes unwavering. "You set an impossible task. Two bells, three people. You wanted us to see each other as rivals. But a team that fights itself will fail. We need to work together to win."

Ino, her heart pounding, found her voice and raised it. "He's right! You said this was a team test! How can we be a team if we let one of us starve and get sent away? That doesn't make any sense!"

Kakashi's stern look held for a long, tense moment, his gaze sweeping over Sasuke's defiant logic and Ino's passionate outburst, before finally settling on Naruto, who was watching with a mixture of fear and hope.

Then, the sternness melted away. Kakashi's eye curved into a warm, genuine smile that reached its corners.

"Congratulations," he said, his voice now light and cheerful. "You pass."

The trio stared, utterly bewildered. "Huh?!" they exclaimed in unison.

"You... you're not mad?" Naruto stammered.

"Of course not," Kakashi said. "This was the real test. The bells were a set-up. I've had genin teams before. They were all skilled. They were all obedient. They followed the rules perfectly. And they all failed because when faced with the choice between the mission and their teammate, they chose the mission. They would have let a comrade starve."

He walked over and untied Naruto with a single, deft movement.

"But you three... you figured it out. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true." He helped a wobbly Naruto to his feet. "But..." His voice grew solemn, imbued with the weight of hard-earned experience, "those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

The words sank deep, washing away the last of their confusion and filling them with a dawning sense of purpose.

"From this moment on," Kakashi announced, his smile returning, "you are Team 7 of the Hidden Leaf Village. Let's do our best."

The team was finally, truly, formed. Not just on paper, but in spirit.

Chapter Text

The euphoria of passing the test carried Naruto all the way to his street, a rare, genuine smile on his face. The weight of the forehead protector on his brow felt like a promise.

"Naruto!"

The voice, sharp and familiar, cut through his reverie. He turned to see Ino, her expression unreadable, standing under the glow of a streetlamp.

"Wha— Ino? What do you—"

"Just come here." She grabbed his arm, her grip surprisingly firm, and pulled him into the narrow, dimly lit alleyway between two buildings. The sudden intimacy of the space, away from prying eyes, made Naruto's heart thump nervously. He was confused, a little scared, and felt a strange, fluttering feeling he couldn't name.

"Ino, what's—"

"Your wrists," she interrupted, her voice trembling. She didn't let go of his arm, her gaze fixed on the faint, silvery lines. "Tell me the truth. What are these?"

Naruto tried to yank his arm back, to hide the evidence of his weakest moment. "It's nothing! Just a training accident!"

"Don't lie to me!" Ino snapped, her voice cracking. The sound echoed in the confined space. "I'm not stupid, Naruto! Just tell me!"

The fight drained out of him. His shoulders slumped, and he looked at the ground, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I... I tried to... kill myself."

The confirmation was a physical blow. Ino recoiled, her hand flying to her mouth. Her worst fear, the guilt that had been gnawing at her, was true. "After... after what I said? At the flower shop?"

Naruto gave a slow, miserable nod. "It wasn't... just that. But your words... they felt true. They confirmed everything I already thought about myself."

Ino shook her head, horrified. "No. No, that's... I was horrible, I was a monster, but... you're twelve. People say horrible things all the time. There's no way you... just because of what I said..."

Naruto finally looked up at her, his blue eyes filled with a pain far older than his years. "You've only ever seen the surface, Ino. The loud, annoying kid. There are people... adults... who look at me with pure hate. Just for existing. Every day....."

The sheer, bleak loneliness in his confession left her speechless. She had been playing at social dramas and crushes, while he had been fighting a war for his own soul.

"Why?" she finally breathed. "Why do they hate you?"

Naruto just shook his head, a sad, knowing look on his face. "I don't know. They just do." He lied.

He then managed a small, wobbly smile. "But... thanks. For today. For the food. Even if you probably only did it because Sasuke did... it meant a lot."

He was giving her an out, absolving her of genuine motive, and that somehow made it hurt worse.

"Don't worry about it, okay?" he said, his voice slightly bright. "I'm... I'm feeling better now. Really."

He gave her one last, unreadable look before slipping past her and out of the alley, leaving Ino alone in the dim light, her mind reeling, the image of those scars and the weight of his confession seared into her memory. The boy she thought was simple was a labyrinth of pain, and she had, without knowing it, been pushing him toward the center.

The walk home was a long, quiet journey through a village that suddenly felt different. Ino’s mind, usually buzzing with gossip, fashion, and Sasuke, was now occupied by a tumultuous, uncomfortable storm of thought.

*Sasuke.*
The mystery around him was obvious, almost theatrical. The dark hair, the brooding silence, the tragic past—it was the kind of mystery that drew girls in, a romantic darkness she’d been captivated by for years. But now, the darkness felt less romantic and more… real. His goal wasn’t to become Hokage or a legendary ninja; it was murder. He had taken Kakashi’s lesson on killing intent and embodied it. And yet, that same boy, consumed by a personal vendetta, had been the one to make the logical, yet fundamentally human, choice to feed Naruto. It was a contradiction that confused her.

Then her thoughts shifted, inevitably, to *Naruto.*
His mystery was entirely different. It wasn't painted on the surface for everyone to see. On the surface, he was exactly what everyone said: bright orange, louder than a thunderclap, perpetually grinning or shouting. She, like everyone else, had written him off as simple, even… retarded. Someone who couldn’t possibly grasp the nuances of pain or loneliness because he was too busy demanding attention.

But she had been wrong. So terribly wrong.

Naruto’s mystery was a deep, hidden well of pain. He claimed to be hated for merely existing. He had scars on his wrists from a suicide attempt. He carried a weight in his eyes that she had only just learned to see. He wasn’t simple; he was complex in the most tragic way. He understood rejection and hatred on a level she could barely comprehend.

And then there was the final, chilling piece of the puzzle: Mizuki.
His sudden, unexplained absence from the academy wasn't a coincidence. It was connected to Naruto. She felt it in her bones. The emergency mission her father had been sent on, Naruto’s sudden graduation, the exhaustion, the shadows under his eyes—it was all tied together. Naruto hadn’t just had a bad week; he had been at the center of a shinobi-level incident.

Lying in bed that night, Ino stared at the ceiling. Sasuke’s darkness was a raging fire; you could see it from miles away. But Naruto’s was like still, deep water—calm on the surface, but hiding unfathomable depths and unseen currents that could pull you under. And for the first time, she was terrified of the water, not the fire.

Meanwhile, Sasuke walks back to his home. The silence of the Uchiha compound was absolute, a heavy blanket that smothered sound and soul alike. Sasuke sat on the engawa, the wooden porch cool beneath him, staring into the oppressive darkness where his clan once lived and laughed.

His mind, sharp and analytical, dissected the day. *Kakashi-sensei.* There was no denying his strength. The way he'd neutralized all three of them without effort, the flawless substitutions, the earth-style jutsu... he was a true Jounin. A valuable resource. Sasuke saw him as a stepping stone, a means to acquire the power necessary to achieve his goal. He would learn everything he could from this man.

Then his thoughts, unbidden, turned to *Naruto.*

It was an irritating puzzle. The dead-last. The class clown. The boy with abysmal grades and less tactical sense than a rock. Yet, he had performed a jutsu from the Forbidden Scroll—the *Tajuu Kage Bunshin*. Dozens of solid clones. A feat of chakra reserve and control that Sasuke, the top rookie, could not replicate. The disparity was illogical. Naruto had been humiliated by a simple snare trap, yes. But Sasuke himself had been buried alive, rendered completely helpless. In the end, their performance against Kakashi had been equally futile. The thought was... unsettling.

His mind, against his will, conjured the image of Naruto’s wrists. The faint, silvery lines. They spoke of a despair so profound it sought oblivion. What could drive someone to that? The loud, obnoxious Naruto, who seemed to feel nothing but anger and exuberance? It didn't align. Just like his inexplicable power didn't align with his failure.

And then there was Mizuki’s absence. A Chunin instructor doesn't just vanish. Naruto graduates under mysterious circumstances, Mizuki disappears, and Naruto knows a forbidden jutsu. The connections were there, hovering just out of reach.

*Why am I thinking about this?* Sasuke scowled, irritated with himself. *Why does he matter?*

Naruto was a variable he hadn't accounted for, an anomaly that disrupted the clear hierarchy of strength he believed in. He was a distraction. A noisy, orange, confounding distraction.

He stood up abruptly, the movement sharp in the silence. "Enough," he muttered to the empty night. His goal was clear. His path was singular. It led to one man, and one man only. He would use Kakashi, tolerate Ino, and ignore Naruto. That was the most efficient path to power.

But as he lay in bed, sleep evading him, the image of those scars and the phantom sound of a hundred shadow clones popping into existence lingered in the darkness behind his eyes. The dead-last had, without even trying, carved a space in Sasuke's meticulously guarded thoughts. And for an Uchiha who prized control above all else, that was perhaps the most humiliating defeat of the day.

Naruto slept in his apartment. The nightmare clung to Naruto like a cold sweat. He saw himself tripping during a crucial pursuit, his clumsy footfalls alerting the enemy. He saw Sasuke’s look of pure contempt and Ino’s sigh of resignation as they were forced to abandon a mission because of him. He was the anchor dragging them down into failure. He woke with a gasp, the phantom feelings of inadequacy sharp in his chest.

But then, the memory of the previous day washed over him—the taste of the rice ball, the defiance in Sasuke’s eyes, the unexpected solidarity from Ino. *They didn't leave me behind. They chose me over the rules.* The dream was just a dream. He wouldn't let it be reality. With renewed, stubborn determination, he threw on his jumpsuit and headed out for Team 7's first official mission.

***

Later that morning, they found themselves assembled in front of the Hokage Monument. A photographer with a large old-fashioned camera was directing them.

"Alright, Team 7! Look lively! This is for the official records!" the man chirped.

The moment they tried to pose, the fragile truce shattered.
"Move over, dead-last, you're blocking the view," Sasuke muttered, his voice a low grumble.
"YOU move over, you teme! I was here first!" Naruto shot back, shoving his shoulder against Sasuke's.

Ino stood between them, her hands fluttering nervously. "Guys, please! Can't you just stand still for one picture?"

It was Kakashi who moved, a blur of lazy efficiency. He placed a heavy hand on top of Naruto's spiky blond head and another on Sasuke's neatly styled black hair, pushing them both down slightly with an unyielding, gentle pressure.

"Now, now, children," he said, his voice a placid drone. "Play nice."

Both boys instantly stilled, though they continued to glare at each other from the corners of their eyes, identical pouts of frustration on their faces. Trapped under their sensei's hands, they had no choice but to comply. Ino, seeing them subdued, offered the camera a strained, nervous smile, caught perfectly between her two quarreling teammates.

The photographer, seeing his chance, quickly squeezed the bulb.

*Click.*

The photo that would be filed away in the Konoha records captured it all: Naruto and Sasuke, forced into proximity, sulking like chastised children; Ino with a smile that didn't quite reach her worried eyes; and Kakashi behind them, his single visible eye curved into a cheerful crescent, the very picture of a sensei who had everything perfectly under control. It was chaotic, unbalanced, and far from perfect. But it was undeniably, uniquely, Team 7.

The walk back through Konoha's streets was markedly different from any Sasuke or Ino had experienced before. It wasn't the casual disregard Naruto usually received; it was a palpable wave of hostility. Shopkeepers' smiles would vanish as he passed. Adults would pull their children closer, their eyes hard and cold. The cheerful noise of the marketplace seemed to dampen in their immediate vicinity.

Sasuke, accustomed to attention himself, recognized this as something else entirely. This wasn't admiration or pity. This was pure, unadulterated contempt, directed solely at the boy walking beside him. He'd seen Naruto get picked on by other kids, but this... this was a systemic, adult hatred. It was unnerving.

Ino’s stomach churned. *This is it,* she thought, her eyes darting from one scowling face to another. *This is what he meant. Hated for just existing.* But the "why" was a gaping, terrifying question mark in her mind. What could a child, an orphan, have possibly done to earn this?

Naruto kept his head down, his shoulders slightly hunched, trying to make himself smaller. The joy from the team photo had evaporated, replaced by the familiar, heavy cloak of isolation. He could feel their eyes on him, and worse, he could feel his teammates noticing.

"Hey..." Naruto mumbled, breaking the tense silence. His voice was uncharacteristically small. "Can... can we go to Ichiraku? For ramen?"

Sasuke, after a moment's pause, gave a curt nod. "Hn." It was a neutral sound, but an agreement nonetheless. He was curious, and the charged atmosphere demanded a retreat.

Ino, too preoccupied to think about food, simply nodded.

They slid onto the stools at Ichiraku's counter. The warm, steamy air was a relief. Teuchi, the owner, beamed at Naruto. "Naruto! Back so soon? And you've brought... friends?" he asked, his kind eyes taking in Sasuke and Ino.

Naruto hesitated, his gaze flicking between his two teammates. Sasuke was looking at the menu with feigned interest, and Ino was studying her hands. "...Yeah," Naruto finally said, the word tentative but hopeful. "These are my friends."

Sasuke didn't correct him. He internally dismissed it as a necessary lie Naruto told to save face, but the word didn't spark the annoyance he expected.

Teuchi’s smile widened. "Wonderful! The usual for you, then?"

As Naruto eagerly dug into his miso ramen, Sasuke quietly ordered a simple noodle dish with extra tomatoes. Ino, citing a diet, just asked for water, her mind too busy racing to consider food. She watched the two boys eat—Naruto with loud, joyful slurps, Sasuke with silent, precise movements—sitting side-by-side in the warm, fragrant haven of the ramen stand, a temporary refuge from the glares of the village outside. The picture was bizarre, but it was theirs. And for the first time, Ino wondered if "friends" was maybe, just maybe, not a complete lie.

Weeks bled into one another in a monotonous stream of D-rank purgatory. Team 7 had weeded gardens, painted fences, and, on one particularly memorable day, spent eight hours chasing the notoriously agile Mrs. Shijimi’s escaped cat, Tora. Now, standing in the Hokage’s office covered in scratches, the scent of defeat and cat dander hanging heavy in the air, Naruto finally reached his breaking point.

“This is stupid!” he exploded, stomping his foot. “When are we gonna get a real mission?!”

“Naruto, show some respect!” Ino chided, though her heart wasn’t entirely in it. Even she was growing weary of the endless, mundane tasks.

Lord Third Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, observing the team. He saw Naruto’s raw eagerness, Sasuke’s thinly veiled boredom, and Ino’s fraying patience. A small, C-rank mission, something outside the village, might be the necessary test to either forge this team together or reveal its fatal flaws.

“Very well,” Hiruzen said, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Since you’re so eager, I have a C-rank mission for you. You are to escort a client to the Land of Waves and ensure his safe arrival.”

Naruto’s eyes lit up like twin suns. “YES! A real mission! This guy must be a daimyo or a super-important merchant! We’re gonna fight enemy ninja! Believe it!”

The door to the office creaked open. The man who shuffled in was the absolute antithesis of Naruto’s heroic vision. He reeked of cheap sake, his clothes were rumpled, and a half-empty bottle dangled from his hand. He looked at the three genin with blatant disappointment.

“These are the bodyguards?” he slurred, his voice rough. “They’re just snot-nosed brats.”

Naruto’s triumphant pose deflated instantly. His shoulders slumped. “Him?”

“The name’s Tazuna,” the old man grumbled, taking a swig from his bottle. “I’m a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. Don’t get me killed, you hear?”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed slightly, analyzing the client. *A bridge builder needing a C-rank escort? Unlikely. He’s hiding something.* Ino forced a professional smile, though internally she was sighing. This was not the glamorous first C-rank she had imagined.

Kakashi, who had been leaning against the wall, pushed himself upright. “Alright, Team 7. You heard the Hokage. We have a mission. Pack supplies for a week-long journey. We leave from the main gate in two hours.”

As they filed out of the office, the initial excitement had been replaced by a mix of apprehension and dull resignation. They were going to the Land of Waves, not to escort a dignitary, but to babysit a drunk old man. Naruto kicked at a pebble on the path, his dream of epic battles momentarily replaced by the grim prospect of keeping a bridge builder from stumbling into a river.

The journey started with Tazuna's grumbling as a constant, unpleasant soundtrack. "Useless... sending children... my life in the hands of brats..."

Kakashi, however, wasn't listening to the client. His visible eye scanned the road ahead, lingering on a couple of puddles that seemed out of place after days of sunny weather. "Hmm," he hummed softly to himself.

It happened in a flash. From the puddles, two figures erupted in a whirl of mist and chains. They moved with deadly intent, their spiked chains lashing out and wrapping around Kakashi's body before he could react. With a brutal wrench, they seemingly tore him apart.

Naruto's blood ran cold. *Kakashi-sensei!*

Before he could process it, the two assassins, their faces hidden behind mist-covered masks, lunged past him, their metal gauntlets aimed for Tazuna, who was cowering behind the genin.

Naruto froze. His body locked up, the training field feeling a million miles away. The assassins' gauntlets struck him hard in the shoulder as they shoved past, the impact sending a jolt of pain through his body, but it was the shock of the real, killing intent that truly paralyzed him.

"Out of the way, brat!"

Seeing Naruto struck and stunned, Sasuke's mind, honed for combat, clicked into gear. *They discarded the chains after the initial attack.* In one fluid motion, he threw a kunai, not at the assassins, but at the length of chain trailing behind one of them. The knife pinned the chain securely to a nearby tree, yanking the attacker off-balance for a critical second.

It was all the opening needed.

Just as the assassins were about to reach Tazuna, a hand landed on each of their shoulders.

"You'll have to forgive my students," Kakashi's lazy voice drawled from behind them. "They're still new to this."

*Thump. Thump.*

With two precise chops to the neck, the assassins crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Kakashi stood over them, completely unharmed. He had used a substitution at the very last second.

Naruto clutched his throbbing shoulder, staring at the scene. Kakashi was fine. Sasuke had acted. And he... he had just stood there. He’d been so scared he couldn't move.

Sasuke walked over, his expression cool and condescending. He looked down at Naruto, who was still rubbing his injury. "What's the matter, scaredy-cat?" Sasuke asked, his voice dripping with mock concern. "Are you hurt? It's just a little scratch."

The words weren't about the physical pain. They were a blade aimed directly at Naruto's pride, twisting deep into the wound of his own perceived uselessness. Naruto could only glare back, his face burning with a mixture of shame and fury, unable to form a single word in his defense.

Kakashi knelt beside the unconscious assailants, his easygoing demeanor gone. "Their gauntlets were tipped with poison," he stated, his voice grim as he examined the spikes. He looked at Naruto, who was still clutching his bleeding shoulder. "The mission is compromised. We have to turn back. A poisoned genin is a liability, and our primary duty is to your safety."

Ino let out a soft, disappointed sigh. It wasn't malicious, just the sound of dashed hopes after finally getting a real mission.

That sigh was the final straw for Naruto. The shame of freezing, the sting of Sasuke's words, and now the thought of being the reason they failed—it was unbearable. With a sudden, desperate cry, he drew a kunai and, before anyone could stop him, stabbed it deep into the palm of his uninjured hand.

"NARUTO!" Ino shrieked.

"I've come too far to quit now!" he yelled, his voice raw with emotion, blood now dripping freely from two wounds. "I won't freeze up! I won't run away! I won't let my... my friends... down again!" The word "friends" stumbled out, awkward and unpracticed, but held a ring of desperate sincerity that silenced the clearing.

Kakashi was at his side in an instant, grabbing his wrist. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"

"I'm bleeding it out!" Naruto declared, his face pale but determined. "The poison! I'll force it all out with my blood!"

Kakashi stared at him, his single eye wide with a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. "Naruto... that's not how poison works. All you're doing is bleeding. A lot."

The reality of his own stupidity crashed down on Naruto. He looked at the blood pooling in his hand, the sharp, throbbing pain registering fully. "Oh," he mumbled, his bravado evaporating. "Uh... oops?"

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered, but even his usual scorn lacked its full force, replaced by sheer bewilderment at the act.

Ino, shaking off her shock, rushed forward with her basic medical kit. "Hold still, you moron!" she said, her voice trembling as she applied a pungent antiseptic ointment to the deep gash. But as she reached for a bandage, she stopped. "W-what the...?"

The bleeding had stopped. Not slowed, but stopped completely. The wound itself, which had been gaping moments before, was now a thin, red line that was visibly closing before their eyes. Within seconds, all that remained was a faint pink mark, which then faded to nothing, leaving his palm perfectly smooth and unblemished.

Naruto stared at his hand, a cold dread washing over him. He had seen this before. On the worst night of his life, in the darkness of his apartment, with a kitchen knife.

Ino stared from Naruto's healed hand to his face, her mind reeling. "How...?"

Sasuke's analytical mind was racing. *Rapid cellular regeneration? A bloodline limit? Impossible.*

Kakashi was the only one who understood, the pieces clicking into place. *The Nine-Tails' chakra. It's already healing him, subconsciously. He doesn't even know he's doing it.* He let out a long, weary sigh. The mission was far more complicated than a simple escort.

"The mission continues," Kakashi announced, his voice leaving no room for argument. He turned to a stunned and silent Tazuna. "But I think it's time you told us the truth. Who exactly is after a simple bridge builder?"

As Tazuna began to confess, Naruto curled his perfectly healed hand into a fist, the memory of that night and the terrifying, unknown power inside him casting a long shadow over the path ahead.

The tension on the forest path was thick enough to cut with a kunai. Kakashi’s gaze remained fixed on Tazuna, his usual laziness completely absent.

“Those two weren’t random thugs,” Kakashi stated, his voice low and firm. “They were the Demon Brothers, missing-nin from Kirigakure. Chunin-level. The moment ninja are involved, this is no longer a C-rank mission. It’s a B-rank, at minimum. Now, tell us the truth. Who is trying to kill you, and why?”

Tazuna paled, the last of his drunken bravado evaporating under the Jounin’s intense stare. He swallowed hard. “Alright, alright! I’ll tell you everything. But not here. It’s not safe.”

***

Later, they were on a small, rickety boat, being poled through an unnaturally thick fog that clung to the water’s surface. The silence was broken only by the dip of the oar and Tazuna’s weary voice.

“The Land of Waves… it’s been strangled,” he began, his eyes fixed on the grey haze ahead. “A shipping magnate named Gato moved in. He’s a monster with the wealth of a small country. He used his money and thugs to seize control of all sea routes and imports. He taxed everything into oblivion until the country went bankrupt. Now, he owns us.”

Kakashi knew who Gato was.

Naruto listened, his earlier bravado replaced by a simmering anger. This sounded familiar—a powerful person bullying the weak.

“The only way to break his hold is my bridge,” Tazuna continued, a flicker of defiance in his eyes. “A bridge to the mainland will allow free trade. The people can be self-sufficient again. But Gato can’t have that. If the bridge is completed, his monopoly ends. So, he’s hired ninja to kill me and stop the construction. I… I didn’t have the money for a B-rank mission. I lied because I had no other choice.” He bowed his head, awaiting their judgment.

Ino felt a pang of sympathy, imagining the desperation that would drive a man to such a risk. Sasuke analyzed the information coldly; a wealthy employer meant potentially stronger, more numerous enemies.

Kakashi was silent for a long moment, his gaze scanning the impenetrable fog. He then sighed, a sound of resignation that wasn’t about giving up, but about accepting a heavier burden.

He looked at his three genin—Naruto, fists clenched with righteous fury; Sasuke, watchful and alert; Ino, nervous but determined. They were children, but they were Konoha shinobi.

“The mission parameters have changed,” Kakashi announced. “But our objective remains: protect Tazuna and ensure the bridge is built. We’ll see this through.”

A wave of relief washed over Tazuna, so potent he nearly crumpled.

Naruto grinned, punching his healed palm. “Yeah! We’re gonna take down that guy!”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Sasuke countered, though his eyes held a sharp glint. “We’re up against professional assassins now. This is real.”

As the boat emerged from the fog, the skeletal outline of the half-built bridge became visible in the distance, a symbol of a nation’s struggle against a tyrant. Team 7 was no longer on a simple escort mission. They were walking into a war.

Chapter Text

The boat slid silently onto the muddy shore of the Land of Waves. The place was shrouded in a damp, gloomy haze, a stark contrast to the sunny vibrancy of Konoha. The tension from Tazuna's confession still hung heavy in the air.

Trying to emulate Sasuke's cool composure from the earlier fight, Naruto suddenly whipped a kunai from his pouch and hurled it with a dramatic flourish into a nearby bush. "Hah! Thought you could sneak up on us?"

His teammates immediately dropped into defensive stances, kunai drawn, hearts pounding.

After a tense moment of silence, it became clear the bush was empty.

"Ino rounded on him, her fear instantly converting to fury. "You idiot! You can't just throw weapons randomly! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Naruto, embarrassed but defensive, scowled. "I was just being vigilant!" Still trying to save face, he threw another kunai at a different thicket. "See? Gotta check everything!"

This time, Ino didn't hesitate. She reached out and yanked hard on his ear. "Will you stop that?!"

"Ow! Let go! I'm serious!" Naruto yelped, swatting her hand away. "I really did sense something that time! I swear!"

As if on cue, a small, pure white snow rabbit hopped out of the thicket, startled by the second kunai, and bounded away into the mist.

Sasuke let out a derisive "Tch." Ino rolled her eyes. "A rabbit. You were scared of a rabbit."

But Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. He didn't reprimand Naruto. Instead, he stared at the spot where the rabbit had vanished. "A snow rabbit... in this climate? That's... unusual."

His instincts, honed by decades of battle, screamed a warning. The unnatural fog, the out-of-place animal... it was a setup.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" Kakashi roared, shoving Tazuna to the ground.

The air split with a deafening *WHOOSH* as a massive, grotesquely shaped sword, larger than a man, spun horizontally through the space where their heads had just been. It slammed into a giant tree trunk behind them with a sickening *THUD*, embedding itself deep into the wood.

Silence descended, broken only by the ragged breaths of the genin. Then, a figure appeared, standing casually on the upright hilt of the gigantic sword. He was a mountain of a man, with bandages covering the lower half of his face and a slashed Kiri headband on his forehead.

Kakashi slowly straightened up, his hand moving to pull down his headband, revealing a scarred Sharingan eye that began to spin with a malevolent red glow.

"I know you," Kakashi said, his voice cold and flat, devoid of all its earlier laziness. "Zabuza Momochi. The Demon of the Hidden Mist."

Kakashi then adjusts his headband to reveal his left eye. The revelation of Kakashi's Sharingan sent a jolt through the team, but for different reasons.

Naruto just blinked. "Whoa, a red eye? Is that a contact lens, sensei?"

Ino looked confused. "What's so special about it?"

Sasuke, however, was frozen, his own dark eyes wide with utter disbelief. "That's... the Sharingan," he breathed, the words laced with a mixture of awe and violation. "A kekkei genkai dojutsu of the Uchiha clan. It's a bloodline limit. How... how does a non-Uchiha have it?!" The sight of his clan's most sacred treasure in the eye of another was a profound shock.

Zabuza's chuckle was a low, rumbling sound from behind his bandages. "The Copy Ninja Kakashi... I've heard the stories. But this little history lesson is over."

*"Kirigakure no Jutsu!"* (Hidden Mist Jutsu)

A thick, chilling fog erupted from the water and the very air itself, swallowing the bridge and the surrounding area in an impenetrable white blanket. Visibility dropped to mere feet.

"Form a protective circle around Tazuna! Don't let him out of your sight!" Kakashi's voice was sharp, cutting through the disorienting mist.

Suddenly, a massive silhouette materialized from the gloom, the executioner's blade raised high. Zabuza was charging directly at the huddled genin.

"Too slow," Kakashi's voice came, calm and close. He appeared in a flash, kunai held reverse-grip, and plunged it deep into the charging Zabuza's stomach.

But there was no resistance, only a splash. The figure dissolved into a torrent of water, soaking the ground. A water clone.

"A clever trick," Zabuza's voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once. "But it seems I'm not the only one who uses them."

The real Zabuza emerged from the mist behind Kakashi, his massive sword already in a wide, horizontal swing meant to bisect the Jounin. The blade cut through Kakashi's body with a sickening swish.

And again, there was only a splash. Kakashi's form melted into a puddle at Zabuza's feet.

From the heart of the mist, the real Kakashi emerged, his Sharingan glowing ominously. "You're right," he said. "It was a very clever trick. Your Water Clone Jutsu, to be precise."

Zabuza's visible eyes widened slightly behind the bandages. The sheer speed of the analysis was inhuman. *He saw me make the hand seals in the mist... and copied it instantly? No... he predicted my movements and created his own clone before I even attacked. This is the power of the Sharingan.* The fight had just escalated from a simple assassination to a deadly game of predictive chess, and Zabuza felt the first cold trickle of doubt.

The mist coiled like a living thing, and in its heart, the battle turned in an instant. Just as Kakashi assessed the situation, another Zabuza solidified directly behind him, powerful arms locking around the Jounin in a crushing hold. The first Zabuza, the one Kakashi had been speaking to, dissolved into a puddle with a smug finality.

"The real one," the holding Zabuza grunted, his voice a low rumble against Kakashi's ear. With a tremendous heave, he hurled Kakashi through the air. Kakashi hit the surface of the nearby lake with a heavy splash.

As Kakashi struggled to stand, waist-deep in water, Zabuza was already upon him. "Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu!" (Water Style: Water Prison Technique) A massive sphere of water encased Kakashi, trapping him completely. He floated, immobilized, inside the watery orb.

"Now," Zabuza said, forming a one-handed seal. A second water clone rose from the lake and began marching towards the terrified genin and Tazuna. "Deal with the children."

"Run!" Kakashi's muffled voice came from the prison, strained but urgent. "This is a B-rank mission now! Your priority is to protect the client and retreat!"

Naruto's fists clenched, his knuckles white. The memory of freezing up against the Demon Brothers flashed in his mind. Not again. Never again.

"No way!" Naruto yelled, his voice cutting through the mist. "We're not leaving you!"

"Idiot, we can't win against that!" Sasuke snapped, though his own feet remained rooted to the spot.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Dozens of Narutos erupted into existence, swarming Zabuza's clone. The clone merely swung the massive Kubikiribōchō in a wide, careless arc. The weapon cut through the clones like paper, dispelling them in a series of puffs.

But the real Naruto used the distraction. He pulled a massive Fūma Shuriken from his back and shoved it into Sasuke's hands. "Sasuke! Now!"

Sasuke's eyes met Naruto's for a split second. He saw the plan in Naruto's determined gaze—a reckless, stupid, potentially brilliant plan. Without a word, Sasuke hefted the large shuriken, took aim at the real Zabuza maintaining the prison, and hurled it with all his strength.

Zabuza saw it coming. "A futile effort!" He easily leaned to the side, letting the shuriken sail past him. But his visible eyes widened marginally as he saw it: a second, smaller shuriken, hidden perfectly in the shadow of the first.

*A double throw? Clever, but predictable.* He simply leaped vertically to avoid it.

It was exactly what they had hoped for.

In mid-air, the second shuriken transformed in a puff of smoke—into Naruto himself. "You looked up, you bastard!" he roared, already hurling a kunai with pinpoint accuracy straight at Zabuza's head.

Trapped in his leap, Zabuza had no choice. To avoid the kunai, he was forced to let go of the hand seal maintaining the water prison. The massive sphere of water exploded, releasing a soaking but furious Kakashi.

Zabuza landed a distance away, his bandaged face twitching in rage. The Copy Ninja was free. And it was all because of two brats who had actually managed to work together.

Kakashi landed lightly on the water's surface, his Sharingan spinning wildly, a new, deadly seriousness in his posture. "My turn," he said, his voice a low promise of vengeance.

The surface of the lake became their battlefield. Zabuza, enraged and humiliated, wove a series of complex hand signs, his chakra causing the water to churn violently. "You may have copied my clone, but let's see you copy this! *Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!*" (Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu)

A colossal dragon, sculpted from the very water of the lake, erupted forth with a silent roar, charging at Kakashi.

Kakashi stood perfectly still, his Sharingan spinning, capturing every minute detail of Zabuza's chakra flow and hand seals. His hands moved in a perfect, synchronized mirror. "*Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu.*"

An identical water dragon rose to meet Zabuza's, the two colossal constructs crashing together in a monumental explosion of water that drenched the entire area.

Zabuza's eyes widened in fury and disbelief. "He's not just predicting... he's perfectly replicating the jutsu itself!"

The battle became a futile echo. For every water technique Zabuza unleashed—water sharks, violent waves, piercing projectiles—Kakashi met it with an identical one a split second later, the Sharingan's predictive power allowing him to launch his counter even as Zabuza's was still forming.

"You're fighting yourself, Zabuza," Kakashi stated, his voice calm despite the chaos. "The Sharingan sees all. It's over."

With a final, flawless mimicry, Kakashi channeled the chakra for Zabuza's own most powerful water blast and unleashed it a hair's breadth faster. The concussive force of water struck Zabuza full in the chest, throwing him backward like a ragdoll. He smashed against the thick trunk of a tree with a sickening crunch and slid to the ground, his body broken, the Kubikiribōchō clattering from his grasp.

Kakashi walked across the water, his approach slow and deliberate, a kunai now in his hand. The intent to eliminate the threat was clear in his single, glowing eye.

But before he could reach the downed ninja, there was a whisper of air. Two senbon needles, moving faster than the eye could follow, embedded themselves with surgical precision in Zabuza's neck.

Zabuza's body jerked once, then went completely still.

Team 7 and Tazuna had rushed to the water's edge, watching in stunned silence. Kakashi's head snapped up, his gaze locking onto a figure standing on a distant tree branch—a masked individual wearing a Kiri hunter-nin mask.

"A hunter-nin from Kirigakure," Kakashi explained, his voice tight as the masked figure landed and hoisted Zabuza's body over a shoulder. "Their role is to track down and eliminate missing-nin, and to dispose of the body to protect their village's secrets."

Naruto stared, a hot flash of jealousy mixing with his confusion. "A hunter-nin? But he looks like he's only fifteen! He gets to just... kill people and take bodies? That's so cool!" The thought that someone just a few years older had such power and authority grated on him, a twelve-year-old who still struggled for the most basic recognition.

Without a word, the hunter-nin vanished into the forest with Zabuza's body, leaving behind a silent, rain-soaked clearing and a team grappling with the brutal, abrupt end to their first real combat against an S-rank threat. The immediate danger was gone, but the ominous presence of Gato still loomed over the Land of Waves.

The walk to Tazuna's home was a somber, waterlogged affair. The brief, violent encounter with Zabuza had left them all shaken, even if they wouldn't admit it. They arrived at a modest house perched near the water, where a weary-looking woman and a young boy with a defiant blue hat were waiting.

"Father!" the woman cried, rushing forward to help Tazuna.

The boy, Inari, just stared at the ninja with open hostility. "Huh? Who are these guys?"

"These are the Konoha shinobi who saved my life," Tazuna announced, his voice full of gratitude. "They're going to help us stand up to Gato."

Inari's small face twisted into a scowl. "More strangers coming to get themselves killed," he spat, his voice trembling with a anger that seemed too old for him. "You're all just gonna die! Heroes don't exist! Brave people just end up dead, and nothing ever changes!"

With that, he turned and stomped back into the house, slamming the door behind him.

Naruto, already on edge from the fight and the soaking, felt a familiar heat rise in his chest. "What's his problem?!"

"Just... ignore him," Tazuna sighed, his shoulders slumping. "He's been through a lot."

As they stepped inside, the strain of the battle finally caught up with Kakashi. He staggered, leaning heavily against the wall. "Using the Sharingan... more than I'm used to..." he mumbled, before his legs gave out completely. He slumped to the floor in a dead faint.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Ino yelped.

They managed to get him to a futon, where he lay unconscious, completely drained.

***

A few hours later, the house was quiet. Kakashi was still out cold, and Tazuna and his daughter, Tsunami, were talking in hushed tones in another room. Naruto sat by the window, staring out at the perpetually grey sky of the Land of Waves.

Sasuke and Ino exchanged a look. The question about Naruto's clones had been burning in both of them since the fight. Ino, driven by a mix of guilt and burgeoning curiosity, decided to be the one to break the silence.

She walked over and sat near Naruto. Sasuke lingered a few feet away, pretending not to listen, but his entire posture was one of focused attention.

"Naruto," Ino began, her voice softer than usual. "Back there... against that Zabuza's clone... and before that, during the bell test... those clones of yours. They weren't illusions. They were solid. How... how can you do that?"

Naruto turned from the window to look at her. His eyes were guarded, shadowed by a history they didn't understand. He then glanced past her at Sasuke, who was now looking directly at him, his dark eyes intense and clearly waiting for an answer.

The attention from both of them, without a trace of mockery for once, was unnerving. They were looking at him like he held a secret, like he was someone worth understanding. He opened his mouth, then closed it, the words stuck in his throat. How could he explain the Forbidden Scroll, Mizuki's betrayal, and the long, lonely night that had led him to that power? The secret felt too heavy, too tangled with pain and the village's hatred.

He just stared back at them, the unspoken answer hanging heavily in the air between the three genin.

Naruto opened his mouth, a familiar, defensive bluster ready. "I just trained a lot! I learned it, that's all!"

Ino's eyes narrowed. "That's a lie. You failed to make a single stable clone at the graduation exam. Then, two days later during the bell test, you created an army of solid ones. You didn't 'train a lot' in two days. You learned it almost instantly."

Naruto forced a wide, idiotic grin, a mask he'd worn for years. "Maybe I just have a hidden talent I didn't wanna show off before! Yeah, that's it!"

Sasuke's voice cut through, cold and analytical. "The Naruto I know would have bragged about that power to the entire village the second he learned it. You wouldn't have hidden it. You wouldn't have been able to. Which means you didn't know the jutsu on graduation day, but you did know it for the bell test."

Naruto's grin faltered. A flicker of fear crossed his eyes. They were piecing it together too fast.

Ino leaned forward, her gaze intense. "So how *did* you graduate, then? If you failed the clone jutsu..."

"Of course I was meant to graduate!" Naruto snapped, latching onto the technicality. "The clone jutsu was required, and I made clones! Solid ones! Dozens of 'em! Iruka-sensei passed me because of that!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew it was a mistake.

Ino's eyes lit up with triumphant clarity. "So you're saying Iruka-sensei passed you *because* of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Which means you already knew it by the afternoon of our team assignments." She calculated swiftly. "The graduation exam was in the morning. You were on the swings by afternoon. If you learned it between failing and meeting Mizuki... that means you learned a legendary, Forbidden Jutsu in less than ten hours. Probably much less, assuming you slept that night."

She let the implication hang in the air, her detective work complete. "No one learns a jutsu like that that quickly, Naruto. No one."

Naruto swallowed hard, his throat dry. He looked from Ino's piercing gaze to Sasuke's silent, expectant one. He was trapped. The walls he had built around his secrets were cracking, and for the first time, someone was looking past the loudmouth facade and seeing the impossible contradictions lurking beneath. Ino wasn't just a fangirl anymore; she was a sharp, relentless investigator, and she had him cornered.

Sasuke’s gaze shifted from Naruto to Ino, a flicker of analytical curiosity in his eyes. *Why is she pushing this so hard?* He’d noticed her changed demeanor around Naruto lately—less outright hostility, more a persistent, probing concern. It was... unusual.

Naruto, meanwhile, felt the ground crumbling beneath him. Ino’s deduction was too precise. "How... how did you know I met Mizuki after the test?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"I saw you," Ino said simply. "From the classroom window. You were on the swings, and he approached you." It had been a fleeting glance, a minor detail at the time, but now it was a critical piece of evidence.

Defeated, Naruto knew he had to give them something. A version of the truth, stripped of its most painful parts. He took a deep breath.

"Alright, fine! There's... there's a forbidden scroll. The Scroll of Sealing. I stole it." He puffed out his chest, trying to recapture his bravado. "Turns out, there's always been a secret test to graduate! You have to steal the scroll and demonstrate at least one jutsu from it! That's what I did! I learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu from it! That's why Iruka-sensei passed me!"

He carefully framed it as a secret, sanctioned test, expertly omitting Mizuki's manipulation and the fact that he had been an unwitting pawn in a treasonous plot. He sold it with a wide, confident grin, the same one he used to hide every other hurt.

Ino studied his face. The explanation was outrageous, but it fit the facts. The sudden power, the graduation, Mizuki's involvement and subsequent disappearance—it could all be explained by a secret, ultra-difficult graduation exam. She let out a sigh, the tension leaving her shoulders. "A secret test... I guess that makes sense. It sounds way harder than the normal one, though. No wonder you were so exhausted."

She bought it.

Naruto’s grin became a fraction more genuine, a wave of relief washing over him. "Yeah! It was super tough! But I aced it!"

Sasuke, however, said nothing. His dark eyes remained fixed on Naruto, seeing past the boastful expression. The story was neat, too neat. It explained the "how," but not the "why." Why a secret test? Why a forbidden scroll? Why Naruto?

The immediate interrogation was over, but the mystery of Uzumaki Naruto had only deepened for one of them. As Ino stood up, seemingly satisfied, Sasuke made a mental note. The dead-last was a vault of secrets, and he intended to find the key.

Naruto’s relief was short-lived. Sasuke’s voice, cold and logical, cut through the air like a kunai.

“There’s still a problem,” Sasuke stated, his eyes narrowing. “If you stole the scroll at night and demonstrated the jutsu for the team assignments the next afternoon, that means you had, at most, a few hours. How does someone who failed to create a single basic clone for years suddenly master an advanced, Forbidden-level version of it in one night?”

Naruto’s bravado vanished. He was cornered again. The truth was, he *had* learned it in under an hour, a fact that was as terrifying as it was inexplicable, even to him. Desperate, he grasped at the only straw he had—a sliver of the truth.

“I… I didn’t sleep that night, alright?!” Naruto yelled, the memory of that long, painful night flashing in his eyes. “I stayed up! I practiced all night! It’s not my fault if you guys need beauty sleep!”

It was a weak defense, and Ino pounced on the new opening immediately. Her investigative instincts were fully engaged now.

“You didn’t sleep at all?” Ino repeated, her voice dropping. “Then… you must have seen it. You must have been awake during the village emergency that night.”

Naruto’s blood ran cold. “E-Emergency? What emergency?”

“The one that made my dad, a Jounin Commander, get called out on a sudden, urgent mission in the middle of the night,” Ino said, her gaze intensifying. “The same night you were supposedly alone, practicing a jutsu. Something big happened in the village, Naruto. Something involving a stolen Forbidden Scroll. And you’re telling me you didn’t see or hear anything?”

Naruto stood frozen, his mouth agape. Every lie he told was building a cage around him, and Ino was methodically locking the door. She had connected the scroll, his all-nighter, Mizuki’s disappearance, and her father’s mission. The web of events was tightening around the one, central point he could not, and would not, explain: the Nine-Tails.

He looked between their expectant faces—Ino’s sharp suspicion and Sasuke’s cold analysis—and felt the walls closing in. The secret he’d carried his entire life felt like a weight about to crush him.

“I… I can’t…” he stammered, taking a step back. The mask of the loud, oblivious fool was gone, replaced by the raw panic of a cornered animal. “It’s… it’s not what you think!”

“Then what is it, Naruto?” Ino pressed, her voice softening slightly, sensing his genuine distress but needing to know. “What really happened that night?”

Naruto’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. He was trapped between the truth that would make them see him as a monster, and a lie that was rapidly falling apart.

Just as Naruto’s panic threatened to boil over, a groggy voice cut through the tension.

“Will you three keep it down? Some of us are trying to recover from chakra exhaustion.”

Kakashi was sitting up on his futon, rubbing his visible eye. He looked pale and drained, but his gaze was sharp, taking in the scene instantly.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto gasped, his voice a mixture of relief and fear.

“Naruto,” Kakashi began, his voice slow and deliberate, “is built different.”

Sasuke and Ino turned to him, confusion overriding their interrogation.

“What does that mean?” Sasuke asked, his tone demanding.

“It means his chakra reserves are… abnormally large,” Kakashi explained, leaning back against the wall as if discussing the weather. “For a genin, they’re monstrous. The basic Clone Jutsu requires fine, precise chakra control—like threading a needle. Naruto’s chakra is more like a firehose. He can’t thread a needle with a firehose, so he failed.”

He then looked pointedly at Naruto. “But the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu… that’s different. It doesn’t require finesse. It requires raw, brute-force chakra output. A massive amount of it. For someone like Naruto, who has chakra to burn, it’s actually *easier* to create a hundred solid clones than a single, stable illusion. It’s a question of volume, not skill.”

Ino’s brow furrowed. The explanation made a strange kind of sense, but it didn’t address everything. “That still doesn’t explain what he was doing on the night of the emergency. If he was practicing a jutsu all night, he would have seen something.”

Kakashi’s eye crinkled into a faint smile. “I was awake most of the night myself, dealing with Hokage-sama. I didn’t see Naruto anywhere. You must be mistaken, Ino.”

His tone was final, leaving no room for argument. He had just provided a Jounin’s authoritative account that directly contradicted her theory, effectively shutting down that line of inquiry.

Ino looked from Kakashi’s placid face to Naruto’s visibly relieved one. She understood. This wasn’t just an explanation; it was a shield. Kakashi was deliberately bailing Naruto out. Pushing further would mean challenging their sensei, and the haunted look in Naruto’s eyes told her she’d already pushed too far.

“Dinner is ready!” Tsunami’s voice called from the other room, a blessed interruption.

“Excellent,” Kakashi said, pushing himself to his feet with a slight wobble. “I’m starving. Let’s continue this… fascinating discussion about chakra theory another time.”

The moment was broken. The interrogation was over. As they filed out of the room, Ino cast one last, thoughtful look at Naruto’s back. The mystery was far from solved, but she had her answer for now: some secrets were protected by a Copy Ninja, and she knew better than to dig any deeper. For today, at least.

Chapter Text

The dinner was a quiet, tense affair. The food Tsunami had prepared was simple but hearty, a stark contrast to the luxury of Konoha. Inari ate in stony silence, his eyes fixed on his plate, and the moment he finished, he pushed his chair back and vanished into his room without a word.

Tazuna sighed, setting down his chopsticks. "Why are you still here?" he asked, his voice heavy with a mix of guilt and gratitude. "After I lied to you... put you in such danger... why are you still helping us?"

Kakashi, picking at his food with less than his usual energy, didn't look up. "A shinobi's duty is to complete the mission. The parameters changed, but the client's need didn't. We'll see it through." It was a simple, professional answer, but it carried the weight of Konoha's will.

Once the meal was over, Kakashi returned to his futon, the strain of using the Sharingan against a foe like Zabuza still evident in his pallor. He didn't lie down to sleep, though. Instead, he sat propped against the wall, his single eye sharp in the dim light.

"Everyone, listen up," he said, his voice low but clear. "Zabuza's 'death'... it was a performance."

The genin, who had been settling in for the night, immediately snapped to attention.

"A hunter-nin's primary duty is to dispose of the body on the spot, to eliminate all traces of their village's techniques," Kakashi explained. "They don't carry the body away. And senbon... while lethal if placed correctly, are an unusual choice for a swift, guaranteed kill. They're more often used for precise, non-lethal strikes to disable muscles or nerve clusters."

He let the implications sink in. "The most logical conclusion is that the hunter-nin was an accomplice. The senbon placed Zabuza in a state of suspended animation, simulating death. They took his body to recover. Zabuza is alive, and he will be back. Stronger, angrier, and prepared for my Sharingan."

A cold dread filled the room. They had barely survived the first encounter.

"Therefore," Kakashi continued, his gaze sweeping over their worried faces, "we cannot afford to be idle. Starting at dawn tomorrow, I will be training the three of you. We have very little time. Rest well tonight. Tomorrow, we begin preparing for a real fight."

The statement hung in the air, a grim promise of the hardship to come. The brief respite was over. The shadow of Zabuza Momochi still loomed over the Land of Waves, and Team 7 was all that stood between him and his target.

The morning air in the Land of Waves was damp and cold, but it did little to cool the determination—and frustration—of Team 7. Kakashi, leaning on a single crutch, had led them to a dense part of the forest behind Tazuna’s house.

“Today’s training is fundamental,” he announced. “You will learn to climb trees.”

Naruto blinked. “Climb trees? We can already do that! We’re ninja!”

“Not with your hands,” Kakashi clarified. “Using only your feet. By focusing chakra to the soles of your feet, you can adhere to the surface. It’s the most basic form of chakra control, and the most vital.”

“That’s impossible!” Naruto declared.

Without a word, Kakashi tossed his crutch aside. He took a single, limping step towards the nearest tall, straight tree, placed his foot on the trunk, and then his other foot. Defying gravity, he walked vertically up the bark, standing sideways as if it were solid ground. He looked down at their stunned faces. “It seems perfectly possible to me.”

The challenge was on.

Naruto charged at the tree first with a yell, only to be repelled instantly, landing flat on his back. “What the?!”

Sasuke observed coolly. *It’s about control. Not force.* He approached his tree calmly, focused his chakra, and took his first step. He managed two more before his foot slipped, gouging a chunk of bark out of the tree as he fell back. He’d used too much, too violently.

Ino, meanwhile, took a deep breath. This was familiar. The principle wasn't so different from the delicate chakra control she used for her family’s flower techniques, coaxing a blossom to open rather than forcing it. She placed her foot on the trunk, feeling for the right balance. With a steady, gentle flow, she began to walk. One step, two, three… She didn’t stop until she was standing high among the branches, looking down with a small, triumphant smile.

“Wha— How?!” Naruto sputtered from the ground.

Sasuke’s jaw tightened. He, the top rookie, had been effortlessly shown up. The humiliation burned.

For hours, the forest echoed with the sounds of their efforts. The *thud* of Naruto hitting the ground. The *rip* of bark under Sasuke’s overpowered steps. Ino watched from above, occasionally offering a quiet tip to Sasuke, which he pointedly ignored.

Finally, bruised and covered in dirt, Naruto looked up at Ino, who was now sitting on a lower branch. His pride warred with his desperation. “...Hey, Pig,” he grumbled, not meeting her eyes. “How… how are you doing that?”

Ino was surprised he’d asked. She saw the genuine frustration on his face, the same look he’d had when cornered about his past. The old insult didn’t even sting anymore.

“You’re thinking about it like a punch, dobe,” she said, hopping down. “You’re trying to *force* your chakra out. You have to let it flow. It’s like… water. You don’t smash water against a wall; you let it coat the surface.” She placed her hand on the tree trunk, demonstrating a steady, constant emission of chakra. “Just enough to stick. Not so much that you blast the tree apart.”

Naruto listened, a rare look of concentration on his face.

“I think they’re in good hands,” Kakashi said, appearing beside Ino. He had retrieved his crutch. “Let’s head back, Ino. I need to discuss the area’s security with you. These two need to find their own rhythm.”

Ino nodded, casting one last glance at the boys. Sasuke was already back at his tree, recalibrating his approach with furious focus. Naruto was staring at his own feet, muttering to himself about “stupid water.”

As Kakashi and Ino disappeared through the trees, the two rivals were left alone in the clearing, united not by friendship, but by a shared, stubborn refusal to be beaten by a tree. The sound of their repeated failures was, in its own way, the first true sound of their teamwork.

Later, as Ino walked with Tazuna through the muddy paths of the Land of Waves, her Konoha-born sensibilities were struck by the profound poverty around her. Ramshackle huts dotted the landscape, children with hollow eyes played with scraps, and the air was thick with the smell of decay and despair. The cheerful, vibrant world of her family’s flower shop felt a million miles away. A deep, uncomfortable empathy settled in her chest. *This is what Naruto meant about people suffering. This is why the bridge is so important.*

Back in the forest, the struggle was of a different kind. The sun began its descent, painting the sky in hues of fire, and both Naruto and Sasuke were covered in dirt, sweat, and scratches. They were both improving, but imperceptibly slowly.

Sasuke, breathing heavily, noticed something. Naruto, who had been plummeting instantly just hours before, was now managing to hang onto the trunk for a full second or two before peeling off. It was a minuscule improvement, but for someone who started at zero, it was a leap.

Gritting his teeth, his pride warring with his desperate need to excel, Sasuke spoke without looking at Naruto, his face flushed with a mixture of exertion and embarrassment. "...What did she tell you?" he ground out. "What was Ino's advice?"

Naruto, panting as he picked himself up from another fall, shot a glare at Sasuke. A part of him, the competitive, jealous part, wanted to hoard the knowledge. *I can beat him! I can figure this out first!* "Why should I tell you, teme? Figure it out yourself!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, a spark of genuine anger flashing in them. He turned back to his tree, channeling his frustration into another attempt. He managed five steps—a new record—before his chakra flared uncontrollably and he was thrown back, landing hard on his back.

Naruto watched him fall. He saw the sheer, unwavering determination on Sasuke's face, a mirror of his own. They were rivals, yes, but in this moment, they were also the only two people in the world understanding this specific, grueling failure. The mission against Zabuza was more important than his petty desire to one-up Sasuke.

"Tch... Fine," Naruto muttered, kicking at the dirt. He didn't look at Sasuke either, addressing a nearby tree instead. "She said... don't think of it like a punch. Don't force it. You gotta let the chakra flow out steady, like water coating the tree. Just enough to stick. Not so much you blow the bark off."

Sasuke was silent for a long moment, processing the simple, elegant advice that had eluded him. His "firehose" approach, as Kakashi had put it, was all about force. This was about finesse.

Without a word of thanks, Sasuke stood up and approached his tree again. He closed his eyes, focusing. This time, when he placed his foot on the trunk, the chakra was a gentle, constant stream, not a violent burst.

He took a step. Then another. He didn't slip.

Naruto watched, a grudging respect in his eyes, before turning to his own tree with renewed focus. "Yeah, well... I'm still gonna beat you to the top, believe it!"

The two rivals continued their training as the stars emerged, the sounds of their efforts now punctuated by slightly longer periods of adhesion before the inevitable fall. They weren't working together, but for the first time, they were no longer working entirely against each other. A single, crucial piece of knowledge now flowed between them, as vital as chakra itself.

The moon was high when two exhausted figures stumbled out of the woods and toward Tazuna’s house. Naruto and Sasuke, too drained to maintain their usual proud distance, were leaning on each other for support, their arms slung over each other’s shoulders just to stay upright.

Ino, who was keeping watch by the door, stared in sheer disbelief. “What happened to you two?”

“We did it,” Sasuke said, his voice hoarse but devoid of its usual arrogance.

“Yeah! We climbed the stupid tree!” Naruto added, a tired but genuine grin splitting his dirty face. “At the same time!”

Kakashi, looking significantly better, appeared in the doorway. His visible eye crinkled. “I see. Good work.” The simple praise meant more than any grand speech.

***

Dinner was a quieter affair than the previous night. The team was exhausted but buzzing with a sense of accomplishment. Inari, however, remained a storm cloud at the table. Throughout the meal, his eyes kept drifting to a torn, faded photograph on the wall—a picture of a smiling, strong-looking man with his arm around a much younger, happier-looking Inari.

After Inari had retreated to his room once more, Ino’s curiosity got the better of her. “Tazuna-san… that picture Inari keeps looking at. Who is that man?”

Tazuna’s face fell, the weight of the memory pressing down on him. He took a slow drink. “That… was Kaiza. He wasn’t Inari’s father by blood, but he was the only father the boy ever knew. He was a true hero to this entire country.”

He began the story of Kaiza—a ordinary man with the heart of a giant, who stood up to Gato’s thugs, protected the weak, and gave the people of the Land of Waves a flicker of hope. He told them how Kaiza had been falsely accused and publicly executed by Gato, forced to walk the plank into the stormy sea while the entire village, including a young Inari, was forced to watch.

“Gato made sure everyone saw,” Tazuna finished, his voice thick with grief and rage. “He wanted to prove that heroes don’t exist. That courage only gets you killed. And Inari… he believed him.”

The room was heavy with silence. The poverty they had seen, the despair—it all made sense now.

Naruto listened, his food forgotten. The story struck a chord deeper than any lesson Iruka or Kakashi had ever taught. It was a story about a man who fought for others, even when it cost him everything. A hero.

As soon as the meal was over, Naruto stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. His eyes burned with a new, fierce light.

“Where are you going?” Ino asked.

“To train,” Naruto said, his voice low and determined. “I’m gonna get stronger. Not just for me. I’m gonna prove it to that little brat… I’m gonna prove that heroes *do* exist!”

He slammed the door behind him, leaving the others in the quiet house. Ino watched him go, the image of Kaiza’s kind face in her mind, and for the first time, she didn’t see a loudmouthed idiot in Naruto’s retreating back. She saw the stubborn, impossible outline of a hero in the making.

The first rays of dawn filtered through the canopy, painting the forest floor in streaks of gold. Naruto woke with a start, not in his bed, but curled up at the base of the tree he'd been desperately trying to climb the night before. His muscles screamed in protest.

A shadow fell over him. A figure knelt nearby, a basket of herbs in hand. It was a girl with delicate, almost ethereal features, and kind, dark eyes. For a fleeting, terrifying moment, Naruto saw her hands twitch towards his throat, a hunter's instinct in her gaze. But it passed, replaced by a gentle curiosity.

"You're going to catch a cold sleeping out here," she said, her voice as soft as the morning mist.

Naruto scrambled to his feet, brushing dirt and leaves from his jumpsuit. "I, uh... fell asleep. I was training."

The girl's eyes drifted to the Konoha headband tied firmly around his forehead. "I see. You're a shinobi, then."

Naruto puffed out his chest. "Yeah! The best there is! ...Well, I will be!" He looked at her, this strange, peaceful girl collecting herbs. "How'd you know?"

She smiled, a small, knowing thing. "Your headband. It gives you away." She continued picking herbs, her movements graceful. "What does a shinobi dream of? What is your goal?"

Naruto didn't even have to think. "I'm gonna be the Hokage! The strongest ninja who leads and protects the whole village! Everyone will have to acknowledge me!"

The girl paused, a leaf between her fingers. "The Hokage... that is a great dream." She looked into the distance, her expression turning wistful. "My dream is simpler. I want to be strong enough to protect the one person most precious to me. I believe... a person's true strength doesn't emerge when they fight for themselves, but when they fight to protect someone else."

Naruto stared at her, Kaiza's story flashing in his mind. A hero who died protecting others. This girl's words echoed that same, powerful truth. It felt right. "Yeah..." he said, his voice quieter now, sincere. "Yeah, I think you're right."

The girl stood, her basket full. "I must go."

"Wait!" Naruto called out. "What's your name?"

She turned back, offering one last, enigmatic smile. "My name is Haku." A slight pause, then the gentle correction. "...And I am a boy."

With that, Haku turned and melted into the forest, leaving Naruto standing alone, utterly bewildered, the profound wisdom of the conversation mingling strangely with the complete shock of the revelation. The encounter felt like a dream, but the new resolve burning in his chest was undeniably real.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Sasuke found Naruto, not asleep this time, but staring intently at the tree trunk with a strange, determined look on his face.

"Took you long enough, teme," Naruto grumbled without turning around.

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke replied, but the usual venom was absent. It was replaced by a simple, stark need to succeed. "Let's go."

And so they trained. The entire day bled away, marked only by the shifting patterns of light and shadow through the leaves. There were no grand speeches, no arguments, only the relentless cycle of focus, effort, and failure. The sounds of the forest were their accompaniment: the sharp intake of breath before a attempt, the scuff of a foot losing purchase, the heavy thud of a body hitting the soft earth.

Sweat soaked their clothes. Muscles they didn't know they had screamed in protest. Sasuke's hands were scraped raw from catching himself on the bark. Naruto's forehead was smudged with dirt and grime.

But they were improving. The seconds of adhesion stretched into minutes. The frantic, explosive bursts of chakra became a steady, humming flow. They didn't speak, but they watched each other from the corners of their eyes, each small success from one driving the other to try harder.

As the last light of day faded, surrendering to a deep blue twilight, something clicked for both of them at the same moment.

Naruto, with a final, guttural shout, charged up the trunk of his tree, not stopping until he was standing triumphantly on a high branch, looking down at the world.

Sasuke, with silent, fluid grace, walked up his own tree until he stood at an equal height, his chest heaving but his expression one of cold, satisfied victory.

For a long moment, they just stood there, perched high above the ground, looking at each other across the clearing. A faint, tired, but genuine smile touched Naruto's lips. Sasuke didn't smile back, but the rigid line of his scowl softened almost imperceptibly. It was enough.

Exhaustion hit them like a physical wave the moment they descended. Their legs were jelly, their chakra reserves utterly depleted. As they stumbled out of the woods and onto the path to Tazuna's house, they had no choice. Naruto's arm found its way over Sasuke's shoulder again, and Sasuke, after a moment's stiff resistance, accepted it, leaning back just enough to keep them both upright.

They hobbled through the door in this state, a single, four-legged creature of pure fatigue.

Ino looked up from sharpening her kunai, her eyebrows rising. Kakashi, reading his book by the lamp, peered over the top of it.

"We... did it," Sasuke managed, his voice raspy.

"All the way to the top!" Naruto croaked, though his triumphant declaration was somewhat undermined by the way he was clinging to Sasuke to remain vertical.

Kakashi's eye curved into its familiar crescent smile. "I never had any doubt," he said, though they all knew that was a lie. He marked his page and closed his book. "Get some rest. You've earned it. Tomorrow, we prepare for Zabuza."

Inside, the scene was familiar: a warm meal, a weary Kakashi, a nervous Tsunami, and a sullen Inari. As the two boys slumped into their seats, clearly on the verge of collapse, Inari finally broke.

He slammed his small hands on the table, tears welling in his eyes. "Why are you even trying?! You're just going to die! Gato's men will still kill you all! Nothing will change!"

The room went quiet. Naruto, whose head had been drooping over his bowl, slowly lifted it. He wasn't angry. He just looked tired, and older than his twelve years.

"Stop it," Naruto said, his voice low but clear, cutting through Inari's sobs. "Stop crying and acting like a brat."

Ino gasped. "Naruto, that's too—"

"There are people out there who've lost everything," Naruto continued, his eyes locked on Inari. "People who have no family, no home, no one who even cares if they live or die. People who get hated just for being born. And they don't sit around crying about it all day. They keep going. So you... you who still has a family who loves you... you need to stop being a coward."

The words, born from Naruto's own profound loneliness and suffering, landed with the force of a physical blow. Inari's face crumpled. With a choked sob, he fled the room, the sound of his crying echoing down the hall.

Ino turned on Naruto, her eyes flashing. "That was too harsh, Naruto! He's just a child who saw his father get murdered!"

Naruto didn't look at her. He just stared down at his uneaten food, his own words hanging in the air, a stark reminder that while they were all on the same team, the depths of their personal sorrows were oceans apart. Sasuke, for his part, said nothing, but his silence felt like an agreement. In the world they lived in, harsh truths were often the only kind that mattered.

***

Outside, Inari sat huddled against the wall of the house, weeping into his knees. The sound of soft footsteps approached. He looked up to see Kakashi standing over him, his expression unreadable in the moonlight.

"He was too harsh," Kakashi said quietly, not as an apology, but as a statement of fact. "But he wasn't entirely wrong."

Inari sniffled, glaring at the ground.

"Did you know," Kakashi continued, leaning against the wall beside him, "Naruto has no parents? He never knew them. He has no family name to be proud of. For most of his life, he had no friends. Very, very few people have ever felt sorry for him. Most... actively hate him."

Inari's tears slowed. He looked up, confused. "Hate him? Why?"

"That's a story for another time," Kakashi said gently. "The point is, I have never, ever seen Naruto cry over his own life. Not once. I think... I think he just got tired of it. Tired of crying for himself. He decided to stop looking backward and only look forward, no matter how much it hurt."

He let the words sink into the quiet night. "That boy in there, who yelled at you... he probably understands your pain better than anyone else in this country. Because he's lived with a pain just like it, all alone, his entire life."

Inari stared into the darkness, Kakashi's words reshaping the image of the loud, obnoxious blond boy in his mind. The anger and self-pity began to slowly drain away, replaced by a dawning, awe-struck understanding. The person who seemed the most insensitive to his pain was, in fact, the one who understood it most deeply. He wiped his tears on his sleeve, a new, fragile thought taking root in his heart.

Chapter Text

The next morning, a deliberate quiet filled the house. Naruto was still dead to the world, sprawled on his futon and snoring loudly, his body utterly spent from two days of relentless training. "He needs the rest," Kakashi said softly, observing the sleeping genin. "His chakra system is still developing, and he pushed himself to the limit. The bridge should be quiet today. We three can handle the escort." Sasuke gave a curt nod, though a part of him was irrationally annoyed that his rival wouldn't be there to witness his improved skills. Ino simply agreed, a thread of worry for Naruto weaving through her focus. *** The absence of Naruto’s loud presence was palpable as Kakashi, Sasuke, and Ino escorted a nervous Tazuna onto the half-finished bridge the next morning. The silence felt heavy, ominous.

“Where are the workers?” Ino asked, her voice echoing in the vast, empty space.

They soon had their answer. Huddled near the entrance were a few of Tazuna’s crew, bruised and battered, their tools scattered around them. “He… he came ,” one man stammered, his face pale with terror. “The …”

As if summoned by the word, a thick, chilling mist began to roll in from the sea, swallowing the bridge whole. The familiar, disorienting blanket of Zabuza’s Hidden Mist Jutsu.

“Protect Tazuna!” Kakashi ordered, his hand already moving to uncover his Sharingan.

From within the gloom, a massive silhouette charged directly at Sasuke, the executioner’s blade a blur of deadly intent. It was Zabuza, his murderous aura suffocating.

Sasuke’s heart hammered against his ribs. The memory of his last failure, of being buried alive, flashed before his eyes. But this time, something was different. The hours of grueling tree-climbing, the exhausting focus on chakra control, had honed his reflexes and his nerve. Instead of freezing, he met the charge. He sidestepped the horizontal slash and, fueled by adrenaline and newfound resolve, delivered a powerful kick to the attacker’s side.

There was no solid impact. Only a splash as the figure dissolved into water, soaking the bridge deck.

“A clone,” Sasuke panted, his eyes wide. He’d stood his ground.

“Well done, Sasuke,” Kakashi said, his voice calm as he dispelled two more water clones that had lunged from the mist with identical, effortless movements. “But the real one is here.”

The mist parted, and Zabuza Momochi stood before them, whole and unharmed, the massive Kubikiribōchō resting on his shoulder. And beside him, standing silently with a serene, almost sad expression, was the masked hunter-nin.

“Just as I suspected,” Kakashi said, his Sharingan spinning, taking in the duo. “The ‘hunter-nin’ who supposedly killed you is your accomplice. The senbon were just to put you in a temporary death-like state to fool us.”

Zabuza’s laugh was a low, brutal sound. “You’re as sharp as they say, Copy Ninja. But it won’t matter. This ends today.” He gestured with his head toward the masked boy. “Haku. The boy and the girl are yours. I’ll handle Kakashi.”

Haku nodded silently, pulling a long, sharp senbon from his sleeve. His dark eyes, visible through the mask, held no malice, only a resolute determination.

The battlefield was set. With Naruto absent, the odds had never been worse. Sasuke and Ino stood back-to-back, facing an enemy whose true abilities were a complete mystery, while Kakashi prepared to once again stare down the Demon of the Hidden Mist. The mist grew thicker, the silence more profound, broken only by the rhythmic drip of water and the pounding of their own hearts.

Back at Tazuna's house, the silence was shattered by the sound of the door splintering inward. Two of Gato's brutish thugs shoved their way into the home, their eyes locking onto Tsunami, who gasped and pulled a terrified Inari behind her.

"Gato sends his regards," one of them sneered, advancing.

But before they could take another step, a small figure darted out from behind his mother. Inari, his entire body trembling, stood with his arms spread wide, shielding Tsunami. His heart was a frantic drum in his chest, but the words of the blond ninja—the one who never cried—echoed in his mind.

"G-Get away from my mom!" he yelled, his voice cracking but loud.

The thugs laughed, a cruel, grating sound. "Look at the little hero. Gonna die!?" One of them drew a wickedly curved knife, raising it high. Inari squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the pain.

It never came.

Instead, there were two simultaneous cries of "Believe it!" as orange-clad figures dropped from the ceiling. Two of Naruto's shadow clones delivered devastating kicks to the thugs' heads, sending them sprawling across the room. Before they could recover, the real Naruto landed in a crouch between them and Inari, his eyes blazing.

In a blur of motion, he had the stunned thugs tied up with ropes from Tsunami's kitchen, gagging them with rags for good measure.

He turned to Inari, who was still standing frozen in his protective stance. A wide, proud grin spread across Naruto's face. "Hey, not bad! You stood up to them! That was seriously brave!"

The adrenaline faded, and the reality of what just happened crashed down on Inari. He began to tremble, hot tears spilling down his cheeks. He furiously wiped at them, ashamed. "I-I'm sorry... I'm crying again... even though you said... not to be a crybaby..."

Naruto's grin softened. He walked over and placed a hand on Inari's head, ruffling his hair. "It's okay to cry sometimes, stupid. Especially when you've been brave." He looked toward the bridge, his expression turning serious. "Real heroes aren't people who never get scared. They're the ones who get scared, but do the right thing anyway."

He gave Inari one last nod. "I gotta go. My team needs me."

With that, Naruto vanished in a shunshin, leaving Inari and his mother safe. Inari stood there, the warmth of Naruto's hand still on his head, the words "real heroes get scared too" mending a piece of his broken heart. He was still crying, but for the first time since Kaiza died, they weren't just tears of sadness. They were tears of relief, of pride, and of a newfound hope, fiercely delivered by a boy who understood pain better than anyone.

***
The battle on the bridge was a scene of chaos and desperation. Kakashi and Zabuza were locked in a deadly dance, a whirlwind of water clones and lightning-fast taijutsu, the air crackling with their clashing chakra.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Ino were fighting for their lives against the masked hunter-nin, Haku. His speed was incredible, a blur of graceful, fluid movements. At one point, Haku feinted towards Sasuke before pivoting with impossible speed, his senbon aimed directly at Ino's exposed shoulder. Sasuke, moving on pure instinct, shoved her aside, taking a shallow graze from the needle on his own arm instead.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun!" Ino gasped, a hot blush instantly coloring her cheeks despite the danger. Her crush had just saved her.

"Focus!" Sasuke snapped, his eyes never leaving Haku. But even he was tiring, his body pushed to its limits to match Haku's pace.

Zabuza, noticing the stalemate, growled in frustration. "Haku! Stop playing with them!"

A shift occurred in Haku's demeanor. "Forgive me," he said, his voice soft yet carrying across the bridge. He formed a series of hand seals. "*Makyou Hyoushou!*" (Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals)

Instantly, rectangular mirrors of solid ice formed in a dome, trapping Sasuke and Ino inside. Haku stepped into one of the mirrors, his reflection appearing in all of them simultaneously.

From within the mirrors, he became an unstoppable barrage. Senbon rained down on the trapped genin from every angle. Sasuke, with his newly honed reflexes, managed to dodge and deflect many, but sharp needles still found their mark in his arms and legs. Ino cried out as one embedded itself in her thigh, her movements slowing drastically.

"Explosive tags!" Ino yelled, throwing a volley. The tags detonated against the mirrors with a deafening roar, but when the smoke cleared, the ice was unblemished. "They didn't even scratch it!"

Just as despair began to set in, a familiar, furious yell cut through the air.

"GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!"

A Naruto shadow clone dropped from above, a kick aimed directly at one of the mirrors. Haku, surprised by the attack from outside his formation, was forced to solidify and block it, giving Sasuke and Ino a precious second to breathe.

The real Naruto landed with a triumphant pose. "I'm here to save the day, believe it!"

Sasuke's mind, ever tactical, saw an opening. "Naruto, you idiot! Stay out there! You can attack the mirrors from the outside while we keep him busy in here! It's our only chance!"

But Naruto, seeing his teammates bleeding and trapped, didn't listen. With a roar of pure, unthinking solidarity, he charged straight through a gap in the mirrors and into the prison with them.

The dome sealed shut behind him.

Sasuke and Ino stared at him in utter, disbelieving horror.

"You... you complete and total moron!" Sasuke yelled, his tactical plan shattered.

"Ino screamed in frustration, "We just told you to stay OUT! Now we're ALL trapped!"

Naruto blinked, looking at the encircling mirrors and the three of them now standing back-to-back. "Oh. Yeah. I guess that... wasn't the best plan."

Haku's voice echoed from all around them, calm and resolute. "It seems your loyalty has only hastened your end. Now, none of you will leave this place."

They were all together, just as Naruto had wanted. But they were together in a cage of certain death, with a foe who could strike from any direction. Naruto's heart had overruled his head, and it might have just doomed them all.

***

The world inside the dome of ice mirrors narrowed to a desperate struggle for survival. Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino moved in a frantic, defensive triangle, their breaths coming in ragged gasps as Haku’s senbon whizzed past them, drawing blood and shredding their clothes. Their focus was split between protecting themselves and shielding Tazuna, who cowered in the center.

Haku, a phantom in the ice, watched with a calm, analytical eye. He wasn’t just trying to kill them; he was searching for an opening, a split-second lapse in their defense around the bridge builder. He found it when Ino stumbled, a senbon having pierced her foot. For a moment, Tazuna was exposed.

Haku materialized from a mirror, arm extended, senbon aimed directly at the old man’s heart.

But Sasuke was faster. His body moved before his mind could fully process the threat. He shoved Tazuna hard, sending the man sprawling to the safety of the bridge deck. As he turned, his eyes met Haku’s through the mask.

And they were red.

Two tomoe spun in each of his crimson eyes, tracing Haku’s movement with preternatural clarity.

“The Sharingan…” Ino breathed, her pain forgotten in her awe. She had only ever seen one in Kakashi. To see Sasuke, her teammate, awaken the legendary doujutsu of his clan was both terrifying and breathtaking.

Haku recoiled slightly, his serene composure cracking. “So you’ve awakened it… This complicates things.” He could feel the battle shifting. The Uchiha boy could now see, and therefore predict, his movements. The swift, decisive end he had planned was slipping away. He had to finish this, now.

He changed his target. If he couldn’t get the bridge builder, he would break their spirit. He focused his entire barrage on the most unpredictable, most emotionally volatile member of the team: Naruto.

A storm of senbon shot from every mirror, a converging hailstorm with Naruto at its center. There was no time to dodge, no space to run. Naruto could only brace for the impact, his eyes wide with defiance and fear.

But the impact never came for him.

A blur of black and blue shoved him aside with brutal force. *Thwip. Thwip. Thwip-thwip-thwip.*

The sound of sharp metal piercing flesh was sickeningly loud.

Naruto stumbled, catching his balance and whipping around. “Sasuke!”

Sasuke stood rigid for a moment, his back to Naruto, before his knees buckled. Dozens of senbon jutted from his back and shoulders, pinning his clothes to his skin. It was the alleyway with Ami all over again—Sasuke, inexplicably, putting himself between Naruto and harm.

“Why…?” Naruto choked out, his voice a raw whisper. “Why would you… for me…?”

Sasuke coughed, a trickle of blood tracing his lips. “Shut up…” he muttered, his voice strained. He managed to turn his head, his Sharingan fading back to black, and offered Naruto a weak, pained smile. “Why do you… always have that stupid look on your face…?”

He collapsed backward, and Naruto scrambled forward, catching him before he could hit the ground. Sasuke felt terrifyingly light in his arms.

“You idiot!” Naruto screamed, tears welling in his eyes, his hands hovering uselessly over the forest of senbon. “You can’t die! You promised! You said you had to kill that certain someone! You can’t die here!”

Sasuke’s eyes were glazed, his breathing shallow. “It was… just an instinct… That’s all…”

His body went limp in Naruto’s arms.

A profound, deafening silence fell, broken only by the drip of water and Naruto’s ragged, disbelieving breaths. The world narrowed to the weight of his teammate in his arms and a cold, rising fury that began to burn away his grief, his confusion, and every last shred of his doubt.

***

A scream tore from Ino’s throat, raw and shattered. "SASUKE-KUN!" She stumbled to his side, falling to her knees, her hands trembling over his motionless form. The senbons looked like cruel, metallic feathers sprouting from his back. The boy she had admired for so long, the one she thought was invincible, was lying lifeless in Naruto's arms. The romantic daydreams she’d woven around him evaporated, replaced by the brutal, cold truth of the shinobi world. Heroes died. And it hurt more than she could have ever imagined.

This moment of collective grief left Tazuna utterly exposed. Seeing his chance, Haku materialized from a remaining shard of ice, his arm drawn back, a single, decisive senbon aimed at the bridge builder's throat. It was a clean, merciful kill shot.

But before the senbon could leave his fingers, a low growl rumbled through the air. It was not a human sound. It was the sound of a cage rattling, of something ancient and furious stirring from its slumber.

The growl became a roar. A wave of visible, crimson chakra erupted from Naruto, slamming into Haku with physical force and deflecting the senbon. The air grew heavy, thick with a malevolent pressure that made it hard to breathe.

Ino looked up, her tears freezing on her cheeks. Naruto was still kneeling, but he was changing. A fiery, red aura cloaked him, his eyes had bled into a vicious scarlet, and his canine teeth had elongated into fangs. His fingers curled, nails sharpening into claws that scraped against the bridge's surface.

Haku stared, his serene composure shattered, replaced by pure, uncomprehending horror. "What... what are you?"

Naruto threw his head back and roared again, a primal scream of grief and rage that held no trace of the boy he was. The sound wave hit the dome of ice mirrors, and they didn't just crack—they exploded outward into a million glittering shards, the prison obliterated in an instant.

The battle between Kakashi and Zabuza froze. Both Jounin stared, stunned. "No... Naruto!" Kakashi's blood ran cold. *The seal is weakening!*

Haku, desperate to regain control, flashed through hand signs to reform his mirrors. But Naruto was already a blur of red. He moved faster than sight, closing the distance between them in an instant. Haku had just enough time to raise his arms in a cross-block before Naruto's fist, wreathed in that destructive red chakra, connected.

There was a sound like shattering porcelain. Haku's mask exploded into fragments, revealing the face beneath.

Naruto's feral snarl died in his throat. The red chakra flickered, his rage momentarily stunned into confusion.

Staring back at him, with kind, sorrowful eyes now wide with shock and pain, was the delicate, androgynous face of the boy he had met in the woods. The boy who had spoken so wisely about protecting someone precious.

It was Haku.

***

The violent red aura around Naruto flickered and died, the fangs and claws receding as if they had never been. The primal rage drained from his eyes, replaced by a storm of confusion and hurt. He stared at the unmasked face before him.

"You... it's you," Naruto breathed. "From the woods. Why... why are you here?"

Haku met his gaze, his expression one of profound sadness. "Zabuza-san... is the precious person I spoke of. The one I must become strong to protect. My purpose is to be his tool."

"Tool?!" Naruto yelled, the betrayal sharp in his voice. "How can you protect a guy like that? A murderer!"

"My story is not a happy one," Haku said, his voice soft but steady. He spoke of a childhood torn apart by fear of his own power, a Kekkei Genkai that made him a monster in his own village. He spoke of his own father raising a blade to kill him. "I was alone, with nowhere to go. Then Zabuza-san found me. He gave me a reason to live. He acknowledged my existence. My life only has meaning if I can be of use to him."

He looked past Naruto, toward where Kakashi and Zabuza were fighting. "And now, I have failed. I could not defeat you. I could not secure his victory. A broken tool is useless." He spread his arms, a gesture of surrender and invitation. "So, please. Finish it. Kill me."

Naruto's hands trembled. He didn't want to. This was the person who had given him such kind advice. But Sasuke was... Sasuke was... Gritting his teeth, tears mixing with the rain on his face, he let out a furious cry and charged, kunai in hand, aiming for Haku's heart.

*Meanwhile...*

Kakashi's ninja hounds had Zabuza pinned, their teeth sunk into his limbs. The Demon of the Mist struggled, but he was held fast. Kakashi's hand crackled with a thousand birds chirping, the Chidori gleaming with deadly light. "It's over, Zabuza!"

He lunged, the lightning blade aimed for Zabuza's heart.

Haku's eyes widened. He saw it all in that instant: his failure, his master's imminent death, and his one remaining purpose.

In a final, desperate act of devotion, he vanished from in front of Naruto. Using the last of his speed, he reappeared directly in the path of Kakashi's charge.

There was no time for Kakashi to stop.

*SZZZT-CHUNK.*

The sound of the Chidori piercing through flesh was horrifically final. Kakashi's hand erupted from Haku's back, crackling with fading lightning.

Time seemed to stop. Zabuza stared, dumbfounded, at the boy who had thrown himself in the way. Naruto skidded to a halt, his kunai falling from his numb fingers with a clatter. Ino could only watch in silent, open-mouthed horror.

Haku coughed, a spray of blood coloring the air. He looked up at Zabuza, a single, serene tear tracing a path through the grime on his cheek.

"Zabuza...san..." he whispered. "I'm... sorry... I couldn't be... of more use..."

His body went limp, held up only by Kakashi's arm still buried in his chest. The ultimate sacrifice for the one person he cherished had been made. The tool had broken itself to save its master.

Chapter Text

Naruto’s head snapped around at the sound of the fatal impact. He saw Haku’s body, Kakashi’s arm still buried in his chest, and his world tilted. The betrayal, the confusion, it all curdled into a new, icy horror.

And then Zabuza laughed. A cold, hollow sound that held no mirth, only contempt. "The useless fool." He hefted his massive sword. "Getting in the way right to the end."

As Zabuza swung the executioner's blade to clear the area, Kakashi wrenched his arm free, leaping back with Haku's body and laying it gently on the rain-soaked bridge. Zabuza pressed his attack, but Kakashi, fueled by a cold fury, met his kunai with Zabuza's sword. With a precise throw, he embedded another kunai deep into the muscle of Zabuza's only working arm, disabling it. The Demon of the Mist was now completely immobilized, his own sword lying uselessly beside him.

It was then that the sneering voice of Gato cut through the tension. "Well, well! Looks like everyone's all tired out!" He swaggered onto the bridge, surrounded by a small army of hired thugs. "Plans have changed. I'm not paying anyone. I'll just kill the old man myself and be done with it!"

His eyes then fell on Haku's corpse. A cruel smirk twisted his face. "And what's this? The little freak is already dead? Good riddance!" He stomped on Haku's unmoving form, kicking him like a piece of trash. "Worthless waste of space!"

"STOP IT!" Naruto screamed, his voice cracking. He looked frantically from the desecrated body to Zabuza, who stood impassively. "Hey! Are you just gonna stand there?! He died for you! He loved you!"

Zabuza didn't even look at Haku. "He was my tool. Tools break. That's all. In the end, ninja are just tools for battle. Feelings have nothing to do with it. Haku lost his use to me and now I am of no use to Gato."

Naruto’s fists clenched so tight his nails drew blood. He took a step forward, his voice dropping from a scream to a low, trembling intensity that carried across the silent bridge.

"You're wrong. He wasn't just a tool... He was a person! He was always thinking about you! He told me... he told me his dream was to protect the one person precious to him! Haku lived for you! He died for you! And he never even got to hear you say you cared! He died thinking he was just a broken tool to you!"

Naruto was crying now, tears of pure, helpless rage streaming down his face. "He was a better person than you'll ever be! He had a heart! And you... you're just an empty shell!"

Zabuza stood frozen. Naruto's words, simple and brutally honest, did what Kakashi's Chidori could not. They bypassed all his defenses, all his cynicism, and struck directly at the core of the one, hidden, human part of him he had buried long ago.

A single, hot tear welled in Zabuza's eye, cutting a clean path through the blood and grime on his face. His shoulders began to shake.

"You... you brat..." Zabuza's voice was a ragged, broken thing, barely a whisper. "Your words... they cut deep....deeper than any blade."

The facade of the unfeeling demon shattered. The weight of Haku's sacrifice, the purity of the boy's devotion, and the crushing realization of his own ingratitude finally broke him. He stood there, a broken man, finally understanding the value of the precious person he had just lost.

***

With a savage twist of his head, Zabuza tore the bandages from his face, revealing a grimace of pure, unadulterated rage and grief. His arms were useless, but his will was not. He bent down, his teeth closing around the hilt of a fallen kunai.

Gato, seeing the immobilized ninja as easy prey, sneered. "Get him! He's finished!"

His thugs surged forward, a wave of crude weapons and brute force.

Zabuza met their charge, a whirlwind of death driven by desperation. He moved with the last of his legendary speed, the kunai in his mouth a blur, slicing tendons and arteries with every pass. He was a demon unleashed, cutting a bloody path straight toward Gato, ignoring the blows that landed on his own body.

A thug found an opening, driving a sword deep into Zabuza's back.

Zabuza didn't even flinch. He didn't slow. The physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in his heart.

He reached Gato, who stared up at the bleeding, monstrous figure in terror. "Y-you! You'll be with that boy of yours soon!"

"Haku..." Zabuza rasped, blood bubbling at his lips. "His heart was too pure... too innocent. He won't be in the same place as me." He raised the kunai, his final act one of vengeance, not for himself, but for the boy he failed. "But you... you will be coming with me. In hell!"

With a final, explosive effort, he slashed the blade across Gato's throat. The tyrant gasped, clutching his neck, before stumbling back and plummeting over the side of the bridge into the churning water below.

His purpose fulfilled, Zabuza's strength vanished. He dropped the kunai, his body swaying. He turned, his vision blurring, and took a few stumbling steps.

"Haku..." he murmured, the name a prayer and a curse on his lips. "Haku..."

He collapsed beside the boy's body, his own massive frame coming to rest next to Haku's slender one. His hand, trembling, reached out one last time, before falling still. The Demon of the Hidden Mist was gone, finally at rest beside the only person who had ever truly cared for him, united in death as they never truly were in life. The rain began to wash the blood from the bridge, cleansing the scene of its violence, but not its sorrow.

***

The world swam back into focus for Sasuke in a haze of throbbing pain. Every point where a senbon had struck him burned like fire. His vision cleared to see Ino’s tear-streaked face hovering over his, her expression shifting from despair to disbelieving joy.

“Sasuke-kun! You’re alive!” she cried, and before his addled brain could process the breach of his personal space, she threw her arms around him in a tight, desperate hug.

Sasuke froze. No one hugged him. No one dared. It was an alien sensation—warm, tight, and utterly disarming. For a split second, his body remained rigid, then, almost imperceptibly, he leaned into the contact, too weak and too relieved to be alive to push her away.

Ino pulled back, her face flushed, and turned to shout across the bridge. “Naruto! He’s alive! Sasuke’s alive!”

Naruto, who had been staring in grim silence at the bodies of Zabuza and Haku, whipped his head around. The weight of grief and fury on his young face lifted, replaced by a wave of pure, unadulterated relief. A wobbly smile broke through. “Sasuke... you bastard...”

But the moment of respite was shattered.

The remaining thugs, seeing their paymaster dead and the ninjas seemingly defeated, regrouped with a new, ugly purpose. “Gato’s dead! The town is ours for the taking!” their leader roared. “Let’s loot it and get out of here!”

They turned, not towards the ninja, but towards the end of the bridge that led to the vulnerable village, their weapons raised.

Team 7 was exhausted. Kakashi was drained from the Chidori and his fight, Sasuke could barely stand, Ino was injured, and Naruto was emotionally spent. They watched, helpless, as the wave of thugs began their charge toward the town.

*FWWWWIP!*

A single, perfectly aimed arrow sliced through the air, embedding itself in the wooden planks of the bridge directly in the path of the lead thug. He skidded to a halt, staring at the vibrating shaft in shock.

Everyone turned.

Standing at the entrance to the bridge was Inari, his small body trembling, but his face set in a determined scowl. He held a child’s hunting bow, already notching another arrow. Behind him, the entire population of the Land of Waves emerged from the mist—fishermen with gaffs, carpenters with hammers, mothers with kitchen knives. Their faces, once etched with despair, were now filled with a fierce, defiant light.

“You’re not taking anything from us!” Inari yelled, his voice high but clear. “This is our home!”

A roar of agreement rose from the crowd. They surged forward, a tide of ordinary people finally fighting back.

Naruto watched, a real, genuine smile finally spreading across his face. The hero he wanted to be wasn’t just about flashy jutsu. It was about inspiring others to find their own courage. As the people of the Land of Waves charged past him to defend their future, he knew Kaiza’s spirit, and the bridge he died for, would finally live on.

***

The thugs, faced not with weary ninja but with the furious, united front of an entire people, lost their nerve. Their greed was no match for the villagers' desperation to protect their homes. Blows from gaff hooks and hammers rained down upon them. The clatter of their dropped weapons was soon followed by their cries of panic as they scrambled for the boats they’d arrived on, fleeing back across the water, defeated not by ninja, but by the very courage they thought they had crushed.

***

Days later, the bridge stood as a symbol of their hard-won peace. Team 7, patched up but still bearing the marks of their ordeal, stood at its edge, ready to depart.

"Thank you," Tazuna said, his voice thick with emotion as he shook Kakashi's hand. He looked at the three genin. "All of you. You gave us back our future."

As the Konoha shinobi turned to leave, one of the workers called out, "Tazuna! What will we call the bridge?"

Tazuna didn't hesitate. He smiled, looking directly at the boy in orange. "We'll call it the Great Naruto Bridge! To always remember the strength you gave us, and the hero who helped us find our own!"

Naruto's eyes widened, his cheeks flushing a brilliant red. He was too stunned to even form his usual "Believe it!"

As they began their journey home, Naruto walked alongside his team. His gaze drifted over them. To Sasuke—the rival he'd envied, who had thrown himself in front of a killing blow for him. To Ino—the girl who had mocked him, but who had fought by his side and whose sharp mind had pieced together his pain. To Kakashi—the sensei with his aloof attitude, who had put his life on the line for his students and trusted him with a mission far beyond his rank.

They were no longer just a random assignment. The shared trauma, the desperate fights, the moments of sacrifice and understanding—it had forged a bond. For the first time in his life, Naruto Uzumaki didn't just feel tolerated. He felt accepted. He was a part of Team 7, and as they disappeared into the mist of the road home, he knew, with a quiet certainty that settled deep in his heart, that he would never truly be alone again.

Chapter Text

A week back in Konoha, surrounded by the familiar sights and smells of her family’s flower shop, should have been a comfort to Ino. But her mind was a whirlwind, replaying every strange moment from the Land of Waves.

She was grateful, truly. They were a team. They’d survived. But the mysteries surrounding her teammates had only deepened, transforming from minor curiosities into glaring, unanswered questions.

First, there was the Sharingan. Kakashi-sensei, a legendary Jounin, possessed one—a single, powerful red eye that wasn't his by birth. Then, Sasuke, a genin, had awoken *two*. The math didn't add up. How could a genin manifest a fuller version of the legendary doujutsu than his Jounin sensei? And Sasuke had been very clear: it was a Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan. So how did a non-Uchiha like Kakashi have it? The only logical conclusion was unsettling: Kakashi had acquired it from a fallen Uchiha. The thought sent a cold shiver down her spine.

Then there was Sasuke's sacrifice. Her heart fluttered thinking about it—her precious Sasuke-kun, revealing his kind and noble heart by protecting his teammate. But the romantic image was frayed at the edges. He and Naruto bickered constantly; their relationship was built on rivalry and insults. Yet, in that critical moment, Sasuke had moved without hesitation. It was more than kindness; it was an instinct so deep it overrode his own self-preservation. Why? What had he seen in Naruto that was worth dying for?

Which brought her to the biggest, most frightening puzzle: Naruto himself.

Her own investigation—piecing together his graduation night—pointed to something impossible. He had learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a Forbidden technique, in under an hour. That very same night, an emergency had occurred, Mizuki had vanished, and her father had been called away. Kakashi had deliberately shut down her questions, providing a convenient but flimsy excuse about chakra reserves.

And then... the bridge. The memory was burned into her mind. The red, malevolent chakra. The fangs. The claws. The roar that shattered solid ice. That wasn't a jutsu. It was a transformation. It was something... primal.

She wondered, staring out her window at the bustling village, if Naruto belonged to some hidden, feral clan. A clan that could produce such bestial features. But if that were true, why was it such a secret? Why did the village, on some unspoken level, seem to hate him for just existing?

The boy who had once been just a loud, annoying nuisance was now at the center of a web of secrets involving her sensei, her crush, and the highest levels of the village itself. Team 7 was her team, and she was fiercely loyal. But as she arranged a bouquet of lilies, her hands steady but her mind racing, Ino Yamanaka knew one thing for certain: the surface had been scratched, and the truth lying beneath was far darker and more complex than she had ever imagined.

***

The silence of the Uchiha compound was, as always, absolute. But for once, Sasuke’s mind was louder than the silence. He replayed the battle on the bridge, frame by frame. The senbons striking his back. The world going black.

Then, waking up. Ino’s tearful relief. The scene before him: Zabuza and the masked hunter-nin, both dead.

The pieces didn't fit.

Kakashi had been occupied with Zabuza. He himself had been unconscious. Ino was capable, but breaking that specific ice jutsu? Defeating an opponent who had moved faster than his awakened Sharingan could initially track? It was inconceivable.

His analytical mind, cold and precise, arrived at the only possible conclusion. *Naruto.*

It was an impossible answer. The dead-last. The clown. But it was the only variable left. He had been trapped in that dome with Naruto and Ino. When he fell, they were all in peril. When he awoke, the threat was eliminated. The logic was inescapable, yet it defied everything he believed about hierarchy and power. What had happened in the moments after his sacrifice? What had Naruto *done*?

***

Across the village, Ino decided on a more direct approach. She found her father, Inoichi, organizing mission reports in his study.

"Dad," she began, trying to sound casual. "That emergency mission you had the night of my graduation... was it about Mizuki-sensei?"

Inoichi looked up, his expression turning grim. He set down his papers. "I see word gets around. Yes. Mizuki attempted to steal the Scroll of Sealing. He was apprehended and is now in prison for treason."

Ino felt the floor shift beneath her. The kind, encouraging Mizuki-sensei was a traitor. The betrayal was a cold splash of water, but it was immediately followed by a chilling realization.

*The Scroll of Sealing.* The very scroll Naruto claimed he was *supposed* to steal for a "secret test." Naruto's story was a lie. He hadn't been on a sanctioned mission; he had been an unwitting pawn in Mizuki's treason. He had stolen the scroll for a criminal.

Her voice was barely a whisper. "Did... did my teammate Naruto have anything to do with it that night?"

Inoichi’s face did something strange. The usual calm, knowing demeanor of the Jounin Commander flickered, replaced by a visible discomfort. He averted his gaze for a fraction of a second, a tell so subtle she would have missed it before her training.

"Naruto?" he said, a little too quickly. "No. He didn't do anything." He then seemed to genuinely process the rest of her sentence. "Wait... Naruto Uzumaki is on your team? With Sasuke?"

The pieces of the puzzle, once scattered, were now flying together at a terrifying speed. Mizuki's crime. The stolen scroll. Naruto's impossible jutsu mastery. Her father's discomfort. Kakashi's protective lies. The village's hatred. The monstrous red chakra.

It was all connected. And the common thread, the dark, swirling center of every mystery in her new life, was the boy she had dismissed as a simple-minded fool. Her father's reaction wasn't just about a crime; it was about a secret. A secret so big that the jounin were complicit in keeping it.

And she was now standing right in the middle of it.

***

The morning sun filtered through the leaves of Konoha, a stark contrast to the perpetual gloom of the Land of Waves. Naruto arrived at the usual training ground, finding Sasuke already there, leaning against a tree. Ino stood between them, looking exasperated.

As usual, Naruto and Sasuke immediately averted their eyes from each other, a silent, childish standoff.

"Will you two ever grow up?" Ino sighed, the sound heavy with a newfound weariness that hadn't been there before.

Naruto, instead of retorting, tilted his head and looked at her. "Hey, Ino... why've you been so weird lately?"

Ino blinked, caught off guard. "Weird? What are you talking about?"

"You're not... as loud," Naruto said, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "And you're not all over Sasuke like you used to be. Did you hit your head or something?"

A faint blush dusted Ino's cheeks. It was true. The fangirl persona felt hollow now, a costume she'd outgrown on that bloody bridge. "I could say the same about you, dobe. You're not yelling every five seconds. It's almost peaceful."

She took a breath, her gaze dropping to the ground for a moment before meeting his again, her expression sincere. "And... I feel guilty. For what I said at the flower shop. I didn't know... I didn't realize my words could make someone feel so... hopeless. I misjudged you. You're actually a pretty nice person." The admission was soft, but clear.

Naruto was stunned into silence. An apology from Ino was something he'd never imagined.

Before he could form a response, a puff of smoke announced Kakashi's arrival. "Good morning, my adorable students! I see you're all... communicating." His eye crinkled, taking in the unusual scene.

"Today's mission," he announced, holding up a scroll, "is to clean up the streets around the commercial district. Litter patrol. Let's see if you can work together as well as you did on the bridge."

The three genin looked at each other. After facing down demonic ninja and a tyrant, picking up trash felt absurdly mundane. But as they collected brooms and bags from the supply shed, a quiet understanding passed between them. The bickering was still there, the mysteries were still unsolved, but the foundation of something stronger had been laid. They were a team, scars, secrets, and all. And for now, cleaning the streets of the village they all called home was a mission they could handle together.

***

Naruto, eager to be done with the menial task, formed a hand seal. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A dozen clones popped into existence and scattered, grabbing brooms and rakes with comical enthusiasm.

The cleanup was proceeding at a breakneck pace until one of the clones, running backward with a full bag of trash, slammed hard into a passerby.

"Hey! Watch it, you idiot!" the clone yelped, before a swift, precise strike to its head made it vanish in a puff of smoke.

The real Naruto, along with Ino, rushed over to the source of the disturbance. They found two figures: a girl with four blonde pigtails and a large fan on her back, and a boy in a black hoodie with strange purple face paint and a grimace.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Naruto scoffed, pointing at the hooded boy. "A raccoon? You look stupid!"

The boy's face twisted in fury. "You little—!" He charged at Naruto, fist pulled back.

*Fwip!*

A small stone shot through the air, striking the boy precisely on the knuckles of his clenched fist. He yelped in pain, stopping short and clutching his hand.

Everyone looked up. Sasuke was perched casually on a tree branch, tossing another pebble in his hand. He closed his fist, and with a soft crunch, reduced the stone to dust that sifted through his fingers.

"Foreign ninja shouldn't be so hostile to their hosts," Sasuke stated, his voice cool and level. "It's poor form."

The hooded boy was seething, his pride wounded. "You'll pay for that!" he snarled, reaching back to unwrap the large, bandaged object strapped to his back.

"Kankuro. Stop."

A new voice, flat and devoid of emotion, cut through the tension. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He turned his head to see a third figure, a boy with intense red hair and heavy, sleep-deprived eyes, hanging completely silently from a branch right behind him. *I didn't even sense him...*

The red-haired boy dropped to the ground without a sound. Sasuke landed gracefully opposite him. The two prodigies sized each other up.

"I'm impressed," the redhead said, his gaze flicking to the dust still falling from Sasuke's hand. "To crush a stone so effortlessly requires fine chakra control."

Ino, recovering from the shock of the redhead's sudden appearance, stepped forward, trying to inject some diplomacy. "Who are you people? What village are you from?"

The girl with the fan answered, her tone pragmatic. "We're shinobi from Sunagakure. We're here for the Chunin Exams."

As the trio from Suna turned to leave, Sasuke's eyes remained locked on the redhead. "What's your name?"

The boy paused, glancing back over his shoulder, his gaze as desolate as a desert. "Gaara." His name was a statement, a warning.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke replied, the name hanging in the air between them like a challenge.

With that, the Suna ninja vanished into the bustling street, leaving Team 7 with a palpable sense of foreboding. The Chunin Exams had just become very, very real.

***

The air in the Hokage's office was thick with tobacco smoke and the weight of impending decisions. Jounin and Chunin filled the room, their faces a mix of anticipation and concern. Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood before them, his hands clasped behind his back.

"The Chunin Exams are upon us once again," he announced, his voice echoing in the hushed space. "It is a time for our village to showcase its future, and for our genin to be tested in the fires of competition."

Kakashi, leaning against the far wall with his usual nonchalance, was the first to speak. "I'm entering my team. Team 7."

A slight murmur rippled through the crowd. They were rookies, fresh from their first major mission.

From beside him, Kurenai Yūhi straightened. "Team 8 will participate as well. Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino are ready."

Asuma Sarutobi, puffing on a cigarette, gave a lazy grin. "Count Team 10 in. Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji could use the challenge."

Hiruzen's eyes crinkled with a mix of pride and concern as he looked over the three Jounin. "Three teams of rookies... You all have great faith in your students."

***

Later, at their usual training ground, Kakashi found his genin waiting. Naruto was trying to balance on one hand, Sasuke was sharpening a kunai, and Ino was watching a butterfly, her thoughts seemingly elsewhere.

"Good news, team," Kakashi said, materializing in his signature puff of smoke. "I've signed you up for the Chunin Exams."

Sasuke's head snapped up, his dark eyes alight with a fierce fire. A slow, confident smirk touched his lips. "Good. I'll get to fight that Gaara guy." The memory of the red-haired boy's intense, empty gaze was a challenge he was eager to meet.

Naruto pumped his fist into the air, nearly falling over. "Yes! Finally! This is where I show everyone what I'm made of! Believe it!"

Without another word, the two boys turned and began walking away, already consumed by their own ambitions and rivalries.

Ino was left standing alone for a moment, watching them go. A cold knot of fear tightened in her stomach. The Chunin Exams were infamous. People died. The teams from Suna, especially that Gaara, felt dangerously different from any opponents they'd faced before.

But then she straightened her shoulders, lifting her chin. She was a Yamanaka. The heiress to a proud clan. She had stood on the Great Naruto Bridge and fought for her life. She had seen Sasuke fall and Naruto transform. She would not be left behind. She would not let her team down.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Ino Yamanaka took a determined step forward, then another, following her teammates into the greatest test of their young lives.

***

The air in the academy hallway was thick with tension and the suppressed chakra of hundreds of genin. Team 7 stood before a door marked "301," watching as two older, aggressive participants from another village brutally kicked a trio of Konoha genin—a boy with impossibly long eyebrows and his quiet teammates—down the stairs, declaring them unworthy.

"Pathetic," one of the attackers sneered. "If you can't even see through this, you don't belong here."

Ino's eyes, sharpened by her recent training with her father, narrowed. She wasn't just looking; she was *seeing*. The chakra flow around the door, the slight shimmer in the air... it was subtle, but it was there.

"It's a genjutsu," she stated, her voice cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. "This isn't the third floor. It's the second. They've cast an illusion to make people think they've arrived, to weed out the less perceptive."

Sasuke's Sharingan activated for a brief second, the tomoe spinning as he confirmed her analysis. A flicker of respect for his teammate crossed his features before his expression hardened into cold anger at the two bullies. He moved with sudden speed, appearing before one of them, his hand snapping out to grab the wrist of the one who had spoken.

"Apologize," Sasuke demanded, his voice low and dangerous.

But before the situation could escalate further, a green blur intercepted them. It was the bushy-browed boy who had been kicked, now standing firmly between Sasuke and the other genin.

"Please, stop!" he said, his voice earnest. "Fighting here is against the rules! We must save our strength for the exams!"

The two bullies, momentarily stunned by the boy's surprising speed and strength, scoffed and backed away, melting into the crowd.

One of the browed boy's teammates, a pale boy with pupilless eyes, now looked at Sasuke with keen interest. "Your speed and those eyes... Who are you?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

The pale boy's lips curved into a slight, intrigued smile. "An Uchiha... I see. I am Neji Hyuga." He and the quiet girl with them turned and walked away, heading for the real third floor.

But the bushy-browed boy remained, his gaze locked on Sasuke with an intensity that was both unnerving and sincere. He pointed a determined finger at Sasuke.

"You are strong! I can feel it! My name is Rock Lee! Before the exams begin, I challenge you to a fight! I wish to test my taijutsu against your famous Uchiha abilities!"

Sasuke, never one to back down from a challenge and still riding the high of his newfound power, didn't hesitate. "Fine. You're on."

"Ino, go on ahead," Sasuke said, not taking his eyes off Lee.

Naruto, for once, was speechless, his head whipping between the strange, energetic boy in green and his confidently accepting teammate. Ino simply sighed, a mix of apprehension and resignation on her face. The Chunin Exams had barely begun, and Team 7 was already diving headfirst into conflict.

***

The spar began in the courtyard, and to Ino's growing horror, it was a one-sided rout. Lee was a whirlwind of green, his speed and fluidity overwhelming. Sasuke, even with his Sharingan active, could only barely track the attacks. Every punch, every kick, was blocked at the last second, the impact still jarring Sasuke's bones. A powerful kick finally sent him skidding backward across the dirt.

*He's too fast!* Sasuke thought, his pride stinging. The Sharingan could see the movements, but his body couldn't keep up.

Ino watched, hands clenched into fists. *Sasuke-kun... his Sharingan is amazing, but that boy... he's a monster!*

Lee didn't let up. "Your eyes can see, but your body cannot follow! Now, I will use my ultimate technique!" he declared, beginning to unwrap the bandages from his arms. "Primary Lotus!"

But the bandages only unspooled a few feet before a shuriken *thwipped* into the wall, pinning them in place. A small turtle stood where the shuriken had come from.

"LEE!" a voice boomed. In a puff of smoke, the turtle was replaced by a man who was, impossibly, even bushier-browed than Lee. He struck Lee on the head, sending him crashing to the ground. "How many times have I told you not to use that move so recklessly?!"

"Guy-sensei! Forgive my youthful indiscretion!" Lee wailed, springing to his feet and bowing deeply.

What followed was a display of such dramatic, tearful hugging and proclaiming of "springtime of youth" that Team 7 could only stare in comical, unified disgust.

Guy then turned his shining gaze and triumphant thumbs-up to them. "You must be Kakashi's students! I am Might Guy, his eternal rival! I have won 50 matches against him to his 49!"

As Guy and Lee prepared to leave, Lee turned back to a humiliated and seething Sasuke. "I fought you to test my own strength. The one I truly wish to defeat is Neji Hyuga. He is the strongest genin in Konoha." With that final, crushing blow to Sasuke's pride, he began rewrapping his bandages.

Naruto, who had been silently fuming, finally exploded. "Hey! What's the big idea, you bushy-browed freak?! You can't just beat up my teammate and then say he was just practice!" The sight of Lee so easily handling Sasuke—the same Sasuke who had thrown himself in front of a killing blow for him—felt like a personal insult.

But as Lee rewound his bandages, Naruto's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of his palms. They were a mess of raw, red scars and fresh calluses, a testament to brutal, relentless training. The angry words died in Naruto's throat for a moment, replaced by a flicker of grim understanding.

Ino, however, felt no such sympathy. She marched up to Sasuke, her face flushed with protective fury. "Are you okay, Sasuke-kun? That... that *creep* in green! How dare he! He has no right to treat you like some stepping stone!" Her anger was hot and immediate, a fangirl's devotion transformed into a teammate's fierce loyalty.

Sasuke didn't answer her. He just stared at the spot where Lee had stood, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. The humiliation burned, but deeper than that was a cold, hard realization. The Chunin Exams were filled with monsters, and he was not at the top of the food chain. The name "Neji Hyuga" was now etched into his mind, a new target, a new benchmark for the power he so desperately craved.

Chapter Text

The air in the classroom on the real third floor was thick with a different kind of tension—the nervous energy of dozens of genin, and for Team 7, the familiar friction of old rivalries.

They spotted Team 10 immediately. The moment Ino locked eyes with Sakura, the air crackled.

"Ino-pig," Sakura greeted, her voice a saccharine sneer.

"Forehead-girl," Ino shot back, just as sweetly.

Naruto groaned internally. *Great. Just what we need.* He scanned the room, his gaze landing on Shikamaru and Choji. A familiar, cold resentment bubbled in his gut. *Team 10. The lazy genius and the always-eating fatso. Two more people who never had a clue.*

As if reading his mind, Shikamaru looked over, his expression one of utter boredom. "What's your team doing here, pipsqueak? This seems like way too much trouble for you."

The comment, so casually dismissive, made Naruto's skin crawl. They were all so oblivious, living in their comfortable little worlds with their clans and their friends. A part of him knew his loud, obnoxious act kept them from seeing the real him, but another, angrier part blamed them for never looking past it.

Then Team 8 arrived. Naruto's eyes skimmed over them. Hinata, the shy heiress, he barely knew. But the other two... *Shino. Another quiet, brooding type. A Sasuke wannabe. And Kiba. A guy who rolls around with a dog. Disgusting.*

Kiba, catching Naruto's glare, smirked. "What are you staring at, dead-last? Lost again?"

"That's it!" Naruto roared, his pent-up frustration from Lee's humiliation and years of feeling invisible exploding. He lunged at Kiba, fists flying.

Before they could connect, a calm, authoritative voice cut through the chaos.

"I would advise against that."

Everyone turned. Standing in the doorway was a tall, silver-haired genin with glasses. He looked older, probably around nineteen, and carried an air of weary experience that set him apart from the teenagers in the room. His gaze swept over them, lingering for a moment on Naruto and Kiba, who were frozen mid-lunge.

"The Chunin Exams have not yet begun," the older genin said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Starting a fight now would be... premature. And foolish."

A hush fell over the classroom. The petty squabbles were forgotten, replaced by a new, unsettling presence. This wasn't another rookie; this was someone who had been here before, and his calm demeanor was more intimidating than any shouted threat. Naruto slowly lowered his fists, his anger momentarily banked by the sudden shift in the room's atmosphere. The real test, it seemed, was already beginning.

***

The older genin, Kabuto, gave a friendly, almost paternal smile. "It's a harsh reality. Many will fail. To help, I've compiled data on some of the participants." He fanned out a set of strange, chakra-infused cards on the floor.

Naruto, ever eager, shoved his way to the front. "Yeah! Show me mine!"

Kabuto hummed, selecting a card. A phantom image of Naruto appeared above it. "Let's see... Uzumaki Naruto. Mission record: 7 D-ranks, 1 C-rank."

Naruto blinked. "The Land of Waves was way harder than a C-rank!"

"On paper, that's what it remains," Kabuto said with an apologetic shrug.

Sasuke stepped forward, his voice cool. "Show me mine."

Kabuto placed Sasuke's card. The image flickered, displaying the exact same statistics: 7 D-ranks, 1 C-rank.

Kiba let out a low whistle. "Whoa, Sasuke, you've already been on a C-rank? That's so cool!"

Naruto's eye twitched. *I can't believe that dog-breath prefers Sasuke's identical card to mine!*

"But you haven't seen anything yet," Kabuto said, his tone shifting. He displayed another card. "Rock Lee. 23 D-ranks, 11 C-ranks."

A collective gasp went through the Konoha genin. Sasuke gulped, the memory of his humiliating defeat fresh in his mind. "Impressive. Very nice," he muttered, forcing composure. "Do you have a card on Gaara of the Sand?"

Kabuto's friendly demeanor vanished. His face paled. "Gaara..." he said hesitantly, fingers trembling slightly as he pulled a specific card. He placed it down as if it were a live explosive.

The data flickered above it. Sasuke's eyes widened, his cool facade cracking. He stared, his mind reeling. *Look at the data on the card. The 8 C-ranks... and... oh my god.* His breath hitched. *It even has a B-rank on it.*

Ino, watching Sasuke closely, saw a bead of sweat trace a path down his temple. He was rigid, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. "What is it? What's wrong? You're sweating."

Sasuke didn't answer. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the card, from the cold, hard numbers that spelled out a level of experience and lethality far beyond his own. The red-haired boy from Suna wasn't just a rival; he was a predator, and the exams had suddenly become a hunting ground.

***

The tension in the classroom was already at a breaking point when Kabuto’s words inadvertently lit the fuse. "Of course, many powerful villages are participating... but one is a particular mystery. The new village, Otogakure..."

A low, buzzing sound filled the air. From the corner of the room, Team Dosu, the trio from Oto, moved as one. Their leader, Dosu, shot forward, his sound-based gauntlet aimed directly at Kabuto's face.

"Who are you to speculate about our village?" Dosu hissed.

Kabuto, caught off-guard, managed to twist his body just enough to avoid a direct hit. But the shockwave from the gauntlet was enough to shatter his glasses and send him stumbling to his knees, clutching his face.

Before the conflict could escalate further, a cloud of smoke erupted at the front of the room. When it cleared, a formidable-looking shinobi with a scarred head and a stern expression stood there, flanked by other proctors.

"Enough!" Ibiki Morino's voice boomed, silencing the room instantly. "The first exam has not yet begun. Save your fighting for when it matters."

Dosu immediately bowed his head. "My apologies. It won't happen again."

Ibiki's gaze swept over the terrified genin. "Good. Now, sit down. All of you. The first test... will be a written exam."

Naruto's blood ran cold. *A... written test? No... no, no, no!* This was his absolute worst nightmare. He slumped into a seat, his mind already spiraling into a panic.

As the papers were distributed, Ibiki laid out the brutal rules: a test of ten questions, you needed to get at least one right, but if you got even one answer wrong, you and your entire team would fail. And to make it worse, you started with ten points, and lost points for every incorrect answer.

Naruto stared at the first question. It was a complex chakra theory problem that looked like complete gibberish. His vision blurred. Sweat dripped from his brow onto the paper. *I'm finished. We're all finished! I'm gonna fail and get Sasuke and Ino kicked out!*

He glanced to his side and saw Dosu, his head tilted, subtly copying answers from a nearby candidate based on the sound of their pencil scratching against paper. *He's cheating!*

A few rows away, Sasuke watched the same scene, his mind working coldly and logically. *This is impossible. These questions are at a Chunin-specialist level. No genin could answer them all.* His Sharingan activated with a faint red glow, the tomoe spinning as he began to copy the frantic, precise movements of Sakura's pen from across the room. *The test isn't about knowledge. It's about intelligence gathering. The real challenge is to cheat without getting caught.*

He saw others employing their own methods: Hinata using her Byakugan, Shikamaru using shadow reflections. Ino, sitting a few seats away, had already formulated a plan to use her Mind-Body Switch Technique if necessary, but was waiting, observing the proctors' patterns first.

Naruto, however, was trapped in a prison of his own fear, the kanji on the page swimming before his eyes, each one a taunting monument to his academic failures. He was completely alone, with no way to cheat and no knowledge to draw upon. The weight of his team's fate pressed down on him, and for a terrifying moment, he was just the academy dead-last all over again.

***

The final minutes of the exam ticked down like a death knell for Naruto. He’d spent the entire time in a cold sweat, his paper nearly blank, the weight of his team's future crushing him. He saw Ino, using some kind of mysterious jutsu to copy from Sakura. He saw Sasuke, his Sharingan spinning as he absorbed answers from every corner of the room. He was the only one not cheating, because he had no way to cheat. He was utterly, completely alone.

Then Ibiki spoke again, his voice cutting through the tense silence. "Now, for the tenth and final question. Before I present it, there is a special rule."

He explained the ultimatum: choose to take the question, but if you get it wrong, you are banned from ever taking the Chunin Exams again. Forever.

A wave of pure terror swept the room. One by one, hands shot up. Genin, pale and trembling, stood and left, their teammates staring after them in betrayed horror. The sound of the closing door behind each dropout was like a nail in a coffin.

Naruto’s hand trembled on the desk. *This is it. I can't do it. I'll be a genin forever...*

Ino watched him from behind. Her heart ached. She knew Naruto couldn't answer this. She wanted to turn around, to tell him it was okay. *Just raise your hand, Naruto. We'll try again next time. It's not worth your whole future.*

But he didn't. He just sat there, shaking.

A terrifying thought then occurred to Ino. *If Naruto doesn't quit and he fails... he'll be stuck as a genin forever. But if I quit now... I can save him.* Her eyes flicked to Sasuke, sitting resolute and confident. Her precious Sasuke-kun, who was surely destined to pass. To raise her hand now would be to sacrifice his chance, to betray the crush that had defined her for years, all for the boy she used to bully.

Yet, looking at Naruto's trembling back, the choice felt startlingly clear. Her hand, almost of its own volition, began to lift from the desk.

But then, Naruto’s own hand shot into the air.

Ino froze, her heart leaping into her throat. *He's... he's giving up?*

But Naruto didn't stand. Instead, he slammed his palm down onto the desk with a crack that echoed through the silent room. Every eye turned to him.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK ME!" he yelled, his voice raw but unwavering. He stood up, pointing a finger directly at a surprised Ibiki. "I'M NOT QUITTING! I'M NOT TAKING THE EASY WAY OUT! I'LL TAKE THE TENTH QUESTION! AND IF I GET IT WRONG, I'LL BECOME A GENIN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE IF I HAVE TO! BUT I'LL BECOME HOKAGE EVEN IF I'M STILL A GENIN, SO I'M NOT SCARED OF YOUR STUPID RULE! BELIEVE IT!"

The silence that followed was absolute. Ino’s half-raised hand slowly lowered back to the desk, her mouth slightly agape. The fear in her heart was instantly replaced by a surge of awe so powerful it stole her breath. She had been ready to sacrifice everything for him, and in turn, he had just thrown down a gauntlet for his entire future.

A slow, genuine smile spread across Ibiki's scarred face. "Interesting." He looked out over the remaining genin. "Congratulations. You all pass."

He explained the true nature of the test—the need to gamble in the face of impossible odds, to have the courage to press on even when the stakes were ultimate. The tenth question was a test of will, not knowledge.

As the reality of their pass set in, Ino looked at Naruto, who was now grinning like an idiot, completely oblivious to the profound choice she had almost made for him. She hadn't needed to save him. He had, as he always did, saved himself. And in doing so, he had saved all of them.

***

A wave of collective relief washed over the room, so potent it was almost audible. They had passed. But Ibiki wasn't finished.

"Oh, and one more thing," he said, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. "To assist those of you who realized the true purpose of the test, we placed three undercover Chunin in the room with the correct answers. They were here for you to cheat from."

He gestured, and three genin stood up, their postures shifting from nervous candidates to confident Chunin.

Naruto's jaw dropped. One of them had been sitting right in front of him the entire time. "WHAT?! You mean I coulda just... I spent the whole time... AGGGHHH!" He grabbed his hair in frustration, the irony physically painful.

From his seat, Sasuke allowed a small, genuine smile to touch his lips. He looked at Naruto's dramatic display. *Of course he wouldn't quit. He's too stubborn for that.* The dobe's idiotic courage had, once again, proven to be their greatest asset.

Just then, the classroom door creaked open. Kankuro slunk back in, trying to look nonchalant. "Uh, sorry, bathroom break."

Ibiki fixed him with a deadpan stare. "The exam is over. You're a little late."

Kankuro paled. "I-I can explain!"

**SMASH!**

The window behind Ibiki exploded inwards, shattering into a thousand pieces. A woman stood framed in the broken window, a wide, manic grin on her face. She wore a long trench coat and radiated chaotic energy.

"So this is the sorry lot that passed, Ibiki?" she said, her voice a teasing sing-song. "You've gone soft! Letting so many through? I'm disappointed!"

She leaped into the room, landing with a flourish. "I am Anko Mitarashi! And I am your proctor for the second exam! Everyone who passed, meet me at Training Ground 44 tomorrow morning! Don't be late!" She licked her lips, a predatory gleam in her eyes. "Or you'll be sorry!"

With that, she vanished as dramatically as she had appeared, leaving the genin in a state of renewed terror and anticipation.

As the participants filed out, buzzing with a mixture of exhaustion and anxiety, Team 7 regrouped.

"Training Ground 44..." Ino murmured. "That's the Forest of Death."

Naruto, still grumbling about the undercover Chunin, pumped his fist. "Who cares! We passed! And we're gonna pass the next one too! Believe it!"

Sasuke simply nodded, his mind already racing ahead to the new threats the forest would hold—Gaara, the Oto ninja, and whatever horrors Anko had in store. The written test was just the beginning. The real fight was about to start.

Chapter Text

The air at Training Ground 44 was thick, humid, and heavy with the scent of decaying vegetation. The imposing wall that encircled the forest seemed to swallow the sunlight itself. Team 7 stood among the other surviving genin, listening as Anko Mitarashi laid out the brutal rules of the second exam.

"The Forest of Death," she announced with a vicious grin. "Your task is simple. Survive for five days and reach the tower at the center with both a Heaven and an Earth scroll. We've given each team one. You'll have to... *acquire* the other from another team."

Naruto, ever the loudmouth, puffed out his chest. "Heh! Sounds easy! This forest doesn't look so tough!"

In an instant, Anko was a blur of motion. A kunai whistled past Naruto's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. Before he could even gasp, she was behind him, her hand on his shoulder, her tongue darting out to lick the blood from his face.

"Don't get cocky, little boy," she whispered in his ear, her voice dripping with menace. "People die in here all the time."

Naruto stood frozen, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow. The reality of the situation crashed down on him.

Suddenly, another figure appeared behind Anko—a genin from Grass with impossibly long, dark hair. "You dropped this, ma'am," he said, his voice a sibilant hiss. His neck elongated grotesquely, his tongue slithering out to offer her the very kunai she had thrown, handle first.

Anko's playful malice vanished, replaced by sharp suspicion. She took the kunai, her eyes narrowed. "That's quite a trick... I'll be keeping my eye on you."

After the tense confrontation, Team 7 received their scroll—Heaven. With a final, deep breath, they passed through the gate and into the oppressive gloom of the forest.

The change was immediate. The world outside vanished, replaced by a twilight realm of giant, twisted trees and unnerving silence. The air hummed with the buzz of giant insects and the distant cries of unknown creatures.

Ino shuddered, pulling her jacket tighter. "This place is... awful."

Naruto, trying to regain his bravado, marched ahead. "C'mon! We gotta find a team with an Earth scroll and beat 'em up! Easy!"

But as they moved deeper, Ino's eyes kept drifting to Naruto's back. The memory of the kunai grazing his cheek, the brief glimpse of blood, sent a different kind of chill down her spine. It wasn't fear of Anko, but a recollection of something far more terrifying.

*That red chakra... the fangs...* she thought, her mind flashing back to the bridge. *If this place pushes him to that point again... what will we do? What will he become?*

She looked at Sasuke, who was scanning their surroundings with cold, analytical precision, and then back at Naruto, who was now loudly complaining about a bug. They were a team of contradictions and secrets, walking directly into the heart of the darkness, both around them and within one of their own. The hunt for the scroll had begun.

***

The deeper they went into the Forest of Death, the more oppressive the silence became. The only sounds were the squelch of their feet on the damp earth and the distant, unnerving calls of the forest's inhabitants.

"Hey, guys, hold up," Naruto said, shuffling awkwardly. "I, uh... I really gotta go."

Ino rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Hurry up, dobe. And don't wander off!"

Naruto ducked behind a thick cluster of ferns. Sasuke leaned against a tree, his arms crossed, while Ino kept a wary watch on their surroundings.

A moment later, "Naruto" emerged from the bushes, adjusting his pants. "Alright, let's go! We gotta find that Earth scroll!"

He took a step forward, and Sasuke's hand moved in a blur. A kunai flew directly at "Naruto's" head.

Ino gasped. "Sasuke-kun, what are you—?!"

But the "Naruto" didn't flinch or yell. Instead, with swift, unnatural precision, his left hand snapped up and caught the kunai by the handle mere inches from his face.

Ino stared, utterly confused. "Naruto? How did you...?"

"This isn't Naruto," Sasuke stated coldly, his eyes narrowed. "The real Naruto had a cut on his right cheek from the proctor's kunai. This one's face is perfectly clean." He took a step forward, his voice dropping. "And the real Naruto is right-handed. He would have fumbled to catch that with his dominant hand, or more likely, just gotten hit. You caught it too smoothly with your left."

The impostor's form wavered, then dissolved in a puff of smoke. In his place stood a shinobi from the Village of Rain, a grimace on his face. "Tch. Sharp eyes, Uchiha."

The Rain ninja lunged, but Sasuke was ready. They exchanged a flurry of taijutsu blows, the sound of their impacts sharp in the quiet forest. The Rain ninja was skilled, but Sasuke's speed and the predictive power of his Sharingan were too much. After a brief, intense exchange, the impostor, realizing he was outmatched, threw down a smoke bomb and fled into the dense foliage.

Just as the smoke cleared, the real Naruto came stumbling out of a different part of the bushes, still fiddling with his zipper.

"Hey! What was that explosion? Did I miss a fight? Believe it!"

Ino let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, her heart still pounding. She looked from the clueless, real Naruto to the composed Sasuke, who was already scanning the trees for further threats. Once again, Sasuke's cold logic had saved them, and once again, Naruto's... Naruto-ness had left them vulnerable. The Forest of Death was already testing them in ways they never expected.

***

The oppressive darkness of the Forest of Night had fully descended, and Team 7 had taken refuge in the hollow of a giant, gnarled tree root. The air was cold, and every rustle of leaves sounded like an approaching enemy.

"We need a password," Sasuke stated, breaking the silence. His voice was low and serious. "In case we get separated again. To ensure no one uses a Transformation Jutsu to infiltrate us."

"Good idea, Sasuke-kun!" Ino agreed immediately.

Naruto just groaned. "A password? Do we have to? Can't it just be 'ramen' or something?"

Sasuke ignored him. "The password is: 'A ninja must see underneath the underneath.' The question is: 'When does a ninja strike?'"

Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion. "What does that even mean? That's way too complicated!"

"It's to ensure it's not easily guessed," Sasuke said firmly. "Memorize it."

Naruto grumbled but fell silent, muttering the phrase under his breath.

A few hours later, as they took turns on watch, a sudden, unnatural gust of wind howled through the trees, strong enough to tear leaves from branches and send debris flying. It was over in seconds, but when the dust settled, the three genin were separated.

"Ino! Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, stumbling through the undergrowth.

After a frantic few minutes, Sasuke and Ino regrouped at a pre-designated landmark. A moment later, a disheveled Naruto came crashing through the bushes, panting.

"Naruto! Thank goodness!" Ino exclaimed.

Sasuke, however, didn't move. His eyes were narrowed, his body tense. "Stop," he commanded. "What's the password? When does a ninja strike?"

Naruto blinked, then a look of understanding crossed his face. "Oh, right! A ninja strikes... when the opponent's back is turned!"

Ino looked at Sasuke, confused. "He got it right, Sasuke-kun. It's him."

But Sasuke's expression only grew colder. A kunai slid into his hand. "No. It's not." His voice was like ice. "The real Naruto isn't a bookworm like you, Ino. He couldn't memorize a philosophical answer like that. He'd forget it in two seconds. He'd give a simple, straightforward answer like 'at night' or 'by surprise.' The fact that you recited it perfectly proves you're an impostor who read his mind."

The "Naruto" before them stared for a moment, then a slow, sinister smile spread across his face. His form melted away, revealing the long-haired Grass ninja who had returned Anko's kunai with his tongue. His neck seemed to stretch unnaturally.

"My, my," he hissed, his voice no longer trying to disguise its predatory nature. "What a sharp little Uchiha you are. It seems the prey in this forest is more interesting than I anticipated."

A killing intent so dense it felt like physical pressure washed over them. They weren't facing a fellow genin. They were facing a predator, and they were his next meal.

***

Meanwhile, trapped in the absolute darkness and suffocating heat of the giant snake's stomach, Naruto was in a panic. The air was thick with the smell of acid and decay. He fumbled in his pouch, pulling out a wrapped rice ball, his last bit of food. But his trembling hands betrayed him, and the rice ball slipped from his grasp, vanishing into the acidic muck below.

"No! My food!" he wailed, the loss feeling like a final blow. He was alone, in the dark, and being digested.

***

Outside, Sasuke and Ino were frozen, not by a jutsu, but by the sheer, overwhelming killing intent radiating from the Grass ninja. It was a palpable weight, pressing down on their lungs and making their limbs feel like lead. The aura this "genin" emitted made Zabuza's bloodlust feel tame, almost amateurish in comparison.

The impostor didn't even look at them as he casually produced a scroll from his robes and began to... eat it. The paper crinkled and tore between his teeth, a display of such bizarre power that it only heightened the terror.

"Run!" Sasuke finally choked out, shoving Ino forward as the Grass ninja finished his snack and turned his hollow gaze back to them.

A gust of wind, sharp enough to slice through tree trunks, erupted from the man's mouth. *"Fūton: Daitoppa!"* (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)

Sasuke and Ino dove for cover, the wind shearing branches and leaves around them. They scrambled through the undergrowth, their hearts hammering against their ribs. Finally, they hauled themselves up into the high branches of a massive tree, gasping for breath.

For a fleeting moment, Sasuke looked at Ino, her face pale but determined, refusing to leave his side even as they fled for their lives. He'd always dismissed her as a frivolous fangirl, but in this moment of genuine peril, her loyalty was unwavering. He never thought he'd come to value her presence.

Ino, for her part, saw the fear in Sasuke's eyes—a rare crack in his cool facade—and knew she wouldn't abandon him. This was real.

Their respite lasted mere seconds.

The tree trunk beneath them shuddered violently. A section of the bark exploded inward as the head of the same giant snake that had swallowed Naruto burst through, its maw wide open. And standing calmly in the center of its throat was the Grass ninja, his long hair framing a face that was no longer human, his eyes glowing with a yellow, serpentine light.

"The scroll, little Uchiha," he hissed, his voice now a dry rasp that seemed to slither into their minds. "Give it to me. It will be far less painful that way."

He raised a hand, his finger pointing directly at Sasuke's forehead. The killing intent focused into a laser point, paralyzing the boy completely. Sasuke could only stare, helpless, into the eyes of the monster.

***

Trapped in the suffocating, acidic darkness, Naruto felt his strength waning. *Is this it?* His mind raced. *I saved Iruka... Kakashi-sensei trusts me... Ino... she's actually kinda okay now...* His thoughts lingered, confused and tangled, on Sasuke. The rival who’d saved him, the teammate he couldn't stand but would die for.

*No. I'm not dying here!*

With a raw, guttural scream that tore from the very depths of his being, he poured every ounce of his chakra into one final, desperate technique. *"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"*

The snake's stomach bulged grotesquely. From the inside, a hundred Narutos screamed in unison, and with a sickening, wet roar, the giant serpent exploded, showering the forest in gore.

The real Naruto landed unsteadily on a tree branch, panting, covered in slime. He saw the scene below: Sasuke and Ino, cornered, and the terrifying Grass ninja looming over them.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, his voice hoarse. "What's the password?!"

Ino looked up, her face a mask of relief and terror. "Forget the password, you idiot! Just help us!"

Sasuke, his body trembling under the oppressive killing intent, slowly reached for the Heaven scroll. "I'm... I'm giving him the scroll." The words were ash in his mouth.

Naruto's eyes widened. "What? Why, teme?! We can't just give up!"

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sasuke snapped, his voice cracking with a fear he'd never shown before. "You don't understand what he is!"

Enraged, Naruto launched himself from the branch, not at the enemy, but at Sasuke. His fist connected with Sasuke's jaw, knocking the scroll from his hand. "Stop being a coward! We're a team!"

The Grass ninja merely swatted Naruto away with a casual backhand, sending him crashing through the foliage. "Annoying gnat."

He then turned back to Sasuke, a giant snake materializing from his sleeve and striking faster than a whip. Sasuke could only watch, paralyzed, as the fangs rushed toward his face.

But Naruto was there again. In a blur of motion, he interposed himself between Sasuke and the snake, crossing his kunai to block the monstrous jaws, the force of the impact grinding his feet into the bark.

He glanced back at Sasuke, and for a split second, his blue eyes flashed a vicious, bloody red.

"What's the matter, scaredy-cat?" Naruto grunted, a feral edge to his voice as he strained against the snake. "Are you hurt?"

The Grass ninja's eyes widened infinitesimally, a flicker of intense, predatory interest replacing his boredom. *That chakra...*

***

Ino watched in horror from a distance as Naruto’s eyes flashed that terrifying red. A cold dread, different from the fear of the Grass ninja, gripped her. *Not again. Please, not here.*

Before Naruto could do anything, the Grass ninja’s tongue, long and prehensile, shot out like a whip, wrapping around Naruto’s torso and lifting him into the air.

“You are an interesting variable,” the ninja hissed, his voice a dry rustle. “The son of the leader of the opposing party… how amusing.” The words meant nothing to the genin, layering more confusion onto their terror.

With his free hand, the impostor lifted Naruto’s jacket and slammed his palm onto Naruto’s stomach. A complex, dark seal glowed for a moment before sinking into Naruto’s skin. Naruto’s eyes rolled back into his head, the faint red glow extinguished instantly, and he went completely limp.

The Grass ninja discarded him, throwing his unconscious body through the air like a piece of trash.

“Naruto!” Ino screamed. Acting on pure instinct, she threw a kunai. It wasn’t aimed to kill, but to save. The blade neatly pinned the fabric of Naruto’s jumpsuit to a thick tree trunk, stopping his fall and leaving him dangling precariously, but safe from a fatal drop.

She then turned on Sasuke, her fear transforming into a hot, desperate fury. “Why are you just standing there?!” she yelled, her voice cracking. “You’ve been frozen like a coward ever since he showed up! At least Naruto tried to fight! What happened to the Sasuke Uchiha who wasn’t afraid of anything?!”

The words struck Sasuke like a physical blow. He was being called out, humiliated, by the one person he’d always seen as shallow, as just another fangirl. And she was right. The weight of his shame was crushing. He had let his teammates down. Ino, who had refused to leave him. Naruto, who had thrown himself into danger for him, again and again.

*If I can’t even stand against this monster… how will I ever stand against the one I want to kill?*

The thought was a spark in the darkness of his fear. The memory of his clan’s massacre, the face of his brother, the driving force of his entire life—it all coalesced into a single, burning point of resolve. The paralyzing fear began to recede, burned away by the hotter fire of humiliation and a rekindled will to live, to fight, to become stronger.

His head lifted. His trembling stopped. His Sharingan, which had been dormant in his terror, ignited once more, the twin tomoe spinning with a new, fierce light. He wasn’t just looking at the Grass ninja anymore; he was *seeing* him.

The fake Grass ninja watched the transformation with mild interest. “So the little Uchiha has found his spine. Let’s see if it’s enough.”

***

Sasuke moved like a demon unleashed. The humiliation, the fear, the rekindled rage—it all fueled his every move. He dodged a swipe of the unnaturally long arm and delivered a powerful kick to the Grass ninja's side, forcing him back a step.

*"Fūton: Daitoppa!"* Another gale-force wind blast erupted. This time, Sasuke didn't try to outrun it. He let it carry him, twisting in mid-air to grab onto branches, using the momentum to swing and land, skidding but stable. He was adapting, learning the rhythm of this monster's power.

With a desperate, acrobatic maneuver, he swept the ninja's legs, sending him tumbling head over heels to crash against the base of a giant tree.

But the man simply stood up, his neck cracking back into place with an audible snap. There wasn't a scratch on him. "Is that all?"

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke feinted a frontal assault before veering off, his wires—pre-set during his evasions—snapping taut. In a flash, the impostor was bound tightly to the tree trunk.

"Now! *Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!*" A massive fireball roared from Sasuke's lips, engulfing the trapped figure in searing flames.

Ino watched, her heart leaping with a flicker of hope. *He did it!*

But as the flames died down, the hope turned to ash. The figure was still there, charred but very much alive. The heat had melted his Grass headband, revealing the symbol of Otogakure beneath. His skin was peeling away, revealing something pale and inhuman beneath.

With a sound of tearing flesh, his neck stretched across the clearing, his head snapping forward like a serpent to sink his fangs deep into the base of Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke screamed, a sound of pure agony, as a strange, three-tomoe mark burned itself into his skin. He collapsed to the forest floor, convulsing before falling still.

"SA-SASUKE-KUN!" Ino shrieked, rushing to his side. She looked up at the monstrous shinobi, her voice trembling with terror and fury. "What did you do to him?!"

The man—the creature—stood tall, his form shifting, his true, pale and androgynous features becoming clear. A cruel, reptilian smile played on his lips.

"My name," he hissed, the sound slithering through the trees, "is Orochimaru."

Ino stared, confused. The name meant nothing to her, but the aura of absolute, ancient evil that accompanied it made her blood run cold.

"He will be mine," Orochimaru continued, his yellow eyes gleaming with possession as he looked at Sasuke's unconscious form. "That mark is my gift. The pain, the power... it will fester in him. He will crave it. And he will come to me, seeking it."

With a final, chilling glance, Orochimaru dissolved into the earth, leaving Ino alone in the silent, terrifying forest with her two unconscious teammates, the weight of a Sannin's curse now hanging over them all.

Chapter Text

Ino’s breath came in ragged, silent sobs as she half-dragged, half-carried her teammates deeper into the oppressive gloom of the forest. Every shadow seemed to writhe, every rustle of leaves sounded like that monster’s slithering tongue. She found a narrow crevice hidden behind a curtain of thick vines, a small, defensible space.

With trembling hands, she set up a makeshift shelter from a rain cloak and laid Sasuke and Naruto side-by-side. She spent the next hour setting every trap she could remember from her clan’s training: subtle tripwires connected to kunai, concealed pits, and noise-makers. It was a futile gesture against a foe like Orochimaru, but it made her feel slightly less helpless.

Terror was a cold stone in her gut. She was alone, guarding the two most volatile and injured genin in the exam, in a forest designed to kill them.

She tended to them as best she could. Naruto was ice-cold, his breathing shallow, the strange seal on his stomach pulsing with a dark energy she could almost feel. Sasuke was burning up, the cursed mark on his neck an angry, inflamed red. As night deepened, Naruto began to thrash, a low growl rumbling in his chest. His eyes snapped open, glowing with that same horrific red chakra, his features sharpening. Ino recoiled, her heart hammering. *What is he?* The question was now a screaming mantra in her head.

And Sasuke… her crush felt like a childish fantasy from another lifetime. The boy lying here was broken, cursed, and yet, in his moment of ultimate failure, he had started to see her as a person, as a teammate. It was a horrible, bittersweet realization.

She didn’t sleep a wink. Every sound was Orochimaru returning. Every shift in the darkness was another giant snake.

When dawn finally broke, painting the forest in weak, grey light, the tension had stretched her nerves to their breaking point. A squirrel scampered across a branch nearby. Ino jumped, a kunai flying from her hand on pure, terrified instinct. It thudded into the tree, missing the creature entirely. The squirrel chattered angrily and fled.

“Get a grip, Yamanaka,” she whispered to herself, slumping against the rock wall and burying her face in her hands. She was coming apart.

That’s when she heard the voice.

“What do we have here? A little bird, all alone in her nest?”

Ino’s head snapped up. Standing at the edge of her makeshift camp, having bypassed her outermost trap with casual disdain, were the three Sound ninja: Dosu, Kin, and Zaku.

Her eyes locked on the headbands they wore. The same stylized musical note. The same symbol that had been revealed beneath Orochimaru’s disguise.

Her blood ran cold. They weren’t just random competitors. They were *his*.

Dosu took a step forward, his bandaged gauntlet humming with a low, threatening frequency. “You have something we need. And it seems you’ve already had a visit from our… master.”

***

"Stay back!" Ino yelled, her voice trembling but firm. She positioned herself between the Sound trio and her unconscious teammates. "I know you're with him! With Orochimaru!"

A blur of motion. Kin appeared behind her in a shunshin, yanking her head back by her long, blonde ponytail. Ino cried out, forced to her knees.

"Feisty," Kin sneered. "Zaku. Kill the Uchiha. He's the priority."

Zaku grinned, cracking his knuckles as he strode toward the defenseless Sasuke.

Tears of frustration and terror streamed down Ino's face. *I'm weak. Useless! What have I ever done for Sasuke-kun? For any of them?* She was a flower shop girl playing at being a kunoichi, and it was about to get her team killed.

"Looks like you should've spent less time on your hair and more on your training," Kin taunted, giving her ponytail a cruel tug.

Something in Ino snapped. Her hand, still holding the kunai she'd thrown at the squirrel, shot up. But not toward Kin.

*Snip.*

The sound was shockingly loud in the clearing. A thick lock of her beautiful, prized hair fell to the forest floor. Freed from Kin's grip, Ino spun on her knees and, with a desperate cry, thrust the kunai backward into Kin's thigh.

"AGH! You little—!" Kin shrieked, stumbling back in pain and surprise.

The commotion stirred Naruto. He groaned, his eyes fluttering open, blurrily taking in the scene: Ino on her knees, her hair chopped short, a kunai in her hand, a girl from Oto bleeding nearby.

"Wha...?" he mumbled, disoriented.

Zaku, seeing his teammate injured, abandoned his approach to Sasuke and charged at Ino instead. "You're dead!"

But Ino was already weaving hand signs, the ones her father had drilled into her for just such a desperate moment. *"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"* (Mind Body Switch Technique)

Her body went rigid and then collapsed to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

Naruto's eyes widened in horror. "INO!"

But Zaku had stopped his charge dead. He stood frozen, his body twitching. A strange, vacant look was in his eyes. Then, he spoke, but the voice that came out was Ino's.

"Stay away from my team, you creep!"

"Zaku's" body then turned and unleashed a blast of pressurized air directly at a stunned Dosu. Dosu barely managed to dive out of the way, the airwaves shredding the tree behind him.

"What is this?!" Dosu yelled, scrambling to his feet.

Inside Zaku's mind, Ino fought for control, but Zaku's will was fierce. With a roar of pure rage, he drove his own fist into his stomach, the pain and shock violently expelling her consciousness.

Ino's spirit snapped back to her own body. She gasped, a raw, hacking sound, as she returned to a world of pain. She found herself lying in Naruto's arms, his face a mask of confusion and panic.

"W-What was that? Ino, are you okay?!"

Across from them, Zaku stood, panting, a trickle of blood at his lips from his self-inflicted blow. His eyes burned with pure, unadulterated hatred, first at his own injured leg, then at the collapsed form of the Yamanaka girl.

"You..." he seethed, his voice a low, dangerous growl. "You are going to pay for that."

***

Zaku lunged forward, his rage overriding all caution. "You're finished!"

"Ino, weakly pointing to a nearby tree, gasped, "Naruto... the rope!"

Naruto's eyes darted, saw the taut vine, and without hesitation, his kunai flashed, severing it. A heavy log, rigged with sharpened stakes, swung down directly at Zaku's head.

But Dosu was faster. His gauntlet hummed, and a single, concussive sound wave blasted the log into splinters. "Enough games!"

Zaku, now unimpeded, aimed his palms. "Zankūkyokuha!" (Decapitating Airwaves) The twin blasts of pressurized air slammed into Naruto and Ino, throwing them backward into the dirt.

It was then that a new presence made itself known.

A low, guttural growl emanated from the crevice. Sasuke was on his feet, his body trembling, but not from weakness. His eyes were dark, his face a mask of cold fury. The cursed mark on his neck pulsed like a second, malevolent heart.

"Who," he hissed, the word dripping with venom, "dares to hurt my comrades?"

Zaku, arrogant even now, sneered. "I did! What are you gonna do about it, Uchiha?!"

Dosu's single visible eye widened. "Zaku, wait! Something's wrong with him!"

It was too late. Sasuke's hands flew through seals with unnatural speed. "*Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!*" A fireball, tinged with a darker, more aggressive chakra, roared toward Zaku.

Zaku crossed his arms, unleashing his airwaves to hold back the inferno. "You'll have to do better than that!"

But Sasuke was no longer in front of him. In a blur of shunshin, he appeared behind Zaku, his hands like vices on the Sound ninja's outstretched arms.

"These arms," Sasuke whispered, his voice chillingly calm, "are a nuisance."

A sickening, simultaneous *CRACK-CRACK* echoed through the clearing. Zaku's scream was cut short as he collapsed, his arms bent at impossible angles.

Sasuke stood over him, panting, the dark energy receding as quickly as it had come. The strain and the backlash from the curse mark hit him all at once, and his legs gave way, sending him crumpling to the ground.

Dosu rushed to Zaku's side, then to Kin, assessing their injuries. His gaze then fell on the unconscious Sasuke, specifically on the cursed seal branding his neck. The pieces clicked into place with horrifying clarity.

*Orochimaru-sama... you never intended for us to kill him. You used us. We were just whetstones to sharpen his new blade.*

A profound sense of futility washed over him. He looked at Naruto and Ino, who were struggling to sit up, their eyes fixed on their fallen teammate.

He reached into his pouch and tossed his Earth scroll onto the ground between them.

"We hold nothing against you," Dosu said, his voice flat with defeat. "This was never our fight. It was his."

Hoisting a moaning Zaku over his shoulder and helping a limping Kin to her feet, Dosu and his team vanished into the forest, leaving Team 7 with their hard-won scroll and a terrifying new mystery.

Naruto and Ino crawled over to Sasuke. He was stirring, his eyes fluttering open, filled with confusion and pain.

"What... what happened?" Sasuke mumbled, looking at his own hands as if they belonged to a stranger. "I... I broke his arms..."

Ino placed a hand on his shoulder, her own body aching, her hair shorn short. "You saved us, Sasuke-kun," she said softly, though her eyes held a worry that went deeper than the physical injuries. They had the scroll, but the price had been a darkness now rooted in their teammate, a darkness they didn't understand.

***

The three of them moved through the forest in a heavy silence, each step a small victory against their exhaustion and injuries. The encounter with the Sound ninja and the shadow of Orochimaru hung over them like a shroud.

Sasuke, leaning against a tree to catch his breath, finally noticed. His dark eyes, still clouded with pain from the curse mark, focused on Ino. "Your hair," he said, his voice rough. "What happened to it?"

Ino's hand instinctively flew to the uneven, shorn ends that now brushed her jawline. She looked away, a flush of embarrassment mixing with the residual adrenaline. "I... cut it. One of them grabbed my ponytail. It was the only way to get free."

Naruto, ever oblivious to nuance, grinned. "Hey, it doesn't look bad! You still look like the same old Ino! Believe it!"

Ino blinked, surprised. A faint pink blush colored her cheeks. She wasn't romantically interested in Naruto, not in the slightest, but after everything, a simple, genuine compliment—even from him—felt strangely good. *If only Sasuke had said that,* she thought with a quiet sigh.

Sasuke, however, just gave a curt nod, his mind already moving to their next problem. "We need food. And water."

They pushed on, their senses strained for any sign of threat or resources. Finally, the dense foliage opened up to reveal a small, clear pond, its surface dappled with sunlight filtering through the canopy. It was an oasis in the oppressive green hell.

Sasuke's sharp eyes scanned the water. "There are fish." He turned to his teammates, his expression all business. "We stop here. We need to eat, and we need to rest properly before moving toward the tower."

For the first time since entering the forest, a sliver of normalcy—or at least, a desperately needed respite—seemed within reach. They had a scroll, water, and a chance to regain their strength. But as they settled by the pond's edge, the memory of broken arms and a serpentine smile ensured that none of them could truly relax. The Forest of Death was still watching.

***

The relative peace by the pond was a stark contrast to the chaos they’d just endured. Without a second thought, Naruto ripped off his orange jumpsuit, down to his shorts, and plunged into the cool water with a loud splash.

"Fish for everyone! Believe it!" he yelled, splashing around enthusiastically.

Ino, gathering dry twigs for a fire, couldn't help but sneak a glance at Sasuke, who was meticulously sharpening a stick into a makeshift spear. A small, deeply buried part of her felt a flicker of disappointment that he wasn't the one taking his shirt off. She quickly shook her head, scolding herself for the frivolous thought after everything that had happened.

As she built a small pyre, Sasuke's voice broke the silence, his tone low and serious. "Ino."

She looked up. "Hm?"

"That Grass ninja... the one who... did this." His hand unconsciously went to the cursed mark on his neck. "I was unconscious after he bit me. You were the only one left conscious. What happened? How did you make him leave?"

Ino froze, a twig snapping in her hand. The memory of Orochimaru's slithering voice, his terrifying presence, made her blood run cold. She took a shaky breath.

"He... he wasn't a Grass ninja, Sasuke-kun. His headband was a fake. He said... he said his name was Orochimaru."

Sasuke's brow furrowed. "Orochimaru?" The name meant nothing to him, but the way Ino said it, the sheer terror in her eyes, told him everything he needed to know. It was a name of power and malice. "I'll have to ask Kakashi or the Hokage about him," he murmured, storing the information away.

Just then, Naruto emerged triumphantly from the pond, holding up three large, wriggling fish impaled on a sharpened branch. "Dinner is served!"

They skewered the fish and placed them over the carefully arranged wood. Sasuke took a deep breath, formed a single hand seal, and exhaled a precise, controlled stream of fire. *"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"* A small, focused fireball—nothing like the massive one he'd used in battle—ignited the kindling perfectly. The flames crackled to life, and the scent of cooking fish soon began to mix with the damp forest air.

For a few precious moments, sitting by the fire with food, Team 7 allowed themselves to feel a semblance of safety. They were battered, cursed, and hunted, but they were together, and for now, that was enough. The mystery of Orochimaru loomed, but it was a problem for the future. In this moment, there was only the warmth of the fire and the simple, vital need to eat and survive.

***

The fire crackled, the last of the fish bones picked clean. Sasuke stood, his movements still slightly stiff. "I'm going to scout the perimeter. Don't do anything stupid," he ordered, his gaze lingering pointedly on Naruto before he melted into the trees.

The moment he was gone, Ino's practical mind turned to their mission. She pulled the Heaven scroll from her pouch, the one they'd been given at the start. Her eyes widened. "It's no good," she said, her voice tight. "The seal is damaged. It must have happened during the fight with Zaku's airwaves."

Naruto groaned. "What?! So we went through all that for nothing? We still need a Heaven scroll? But we've got the Earth one from those Sound freaks!" He rummaged frantically in his own pouch, pulling out a handful of other, non-exam scrolls. "Maybe... maybe we can fix it! Or make a new one! I can re-draw the seal!"

"Ino stared at him, aghast. "That's cheating, Naruto!"

"Cheating is a shinobi's work!" Naruto retorted, parroting something he'd probably heard Iruka-sensei say once. "But first, I gotta see what the original one looks like to copy it!" He reached for the damaged Heaven scroll.

Ino's hand shot out, grabbing his wrist. "Naruto, no! It's forbidden to open the scrolls! The proctors said so!"

"No one's watching!" Naruto argued, his curiosity and desperation overriding the rules. "It's just you and me! We'll just take a quick peek!"

A tense silence fell between them. The forbidden nature of the act warred with their desperate need to complete the mission. Slowly, hesitantly, they both placed their hands on the scroll. They took a synchronized, deep breath, bracing themselves for the unknown consequence of breaking the rules.

Just as Naruto's fingers began to tug the seal open, a hand clamped down on his shoulder from behind.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you."

Naruto and Ino jumped, spinning around to see Kabuto standing there, his glasses glinting in the dappled forest light. He had appeared as silently as a ghost.

"Kabuto-nii-san!" Naruto yelped, clutching his chest. "Don't scare me like that!"

Kabuto gave them a weary, kind smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Opening that scroll before you reach the tower would have been a very, very bad idea. It's not just a rule; it's a trap for the impatient." He released Naruto's shoulder. "It's a good thing I happened to be passing by."

***

Sasuke emerged from the treeline, his sharp eyes immediately taking in the scene: Naruto and Ino looking guilty, Kabuto standing between them with a placating smile.

"What's going on?" Sasuke's voice was flat, dangerous.

Ino flinched. "Sasuke-kun, we... we were about to open the scroll. The Heaven scroll is damaged. Kabuto-san stopped us."

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose. "It's a good thing I did. The consequences would have been... severe. There's not much time left in the exam. Your team had better find a replacement scroll quickly." He gave a slight bow, turning to leave.

It was then that Sasuke's gaze, honed by the Sharingan's perception, caught it. Tucked neatly in the open flap of Kabuto's thigh pouch was a scroll. A Heaven scroll.

"Wait," Sasuke commanded.

Kabuto paused, glancing back. "Yes?"

"Fight me."

The clearing went silent. Even Naruto stared, dumbfounded.

Kabuto blinked, his friendly expression faltering into genuine confusion. "Fight you? Why?"

"If I beat you," Sasuke stated, his voice cold and logical, "I take your Heaven scroll."

Kabuto didn't look threatened; he looked... analytical. "That's one way to do it. But if your goal is the scroll, why declare a fight? You could have just tried to steal it. You're an Uchiha. Stealth and deception are in your blood. A direct challenge is... inefficient."

Sasuke felt the words land like a physical blow. Kabuto had seen right through him. The scroll was just an excuse. After the humiliations against Lee and the terrifying power of Orochimaru, a part of him was screaming for a measurable victory. He wanted—no, *needed*—to test his current strength against a known quantity, against someone who seemed skilled and experienced. Becoming a Chunin was a secondary objective; proving he was getting stronger was everything.

He stood there, exposed, unable to form a retort.

Seeing the conflict on the young Uchiha's face, Kabuto's expression softened into something akin to pity. He sighed. "There's no need for that. I'm not your enemy. In fact..." He looked at the three of them, a tired but determined team missing one crucial component. "I'll accompany you. I can help you find another team that has a Heaven scroll. It will be faster and safer than you stumbling around in the dark."

The offer hung in the air. It was a lifeline, a practical solution that completely bypassed Sasuke's prideful challenge. Sasuke gave a curt, almost imperceptible nod, the fight draining out of him, replaced by the grim acknowledgment that his personal quest for validation would have to wait. The mission, and his team, came first.

Chapter Text

The journey through the dense undergrowth was tense and quiet, save for the occasional direction from Kabuto. His knowledge of the forest and the remaining teams was unsettlingly precise. Finally, he held up a hand, signaling them to stop. Through a break in the foliage, they saw a trio of shinobi from the Rain Village. Among them was Oboro, the very ninja who had impersonated Naruto earlier.

"There," Kabuto whispered. "They have a Heaven scroll. But they're alert. A direct assault will be noisy and draw others."

Naruto's eyes lit up with a familiar, reckless gleam. "Leave it to me! I've got a plan! Believe it!"

Before Sasuke or Ino could protest, Naruto formed a hand seal. *"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"* A small squad of shadow clones popped into existence. Then, with a series of puffs of smoke, they transformed. One became Sasuke, another Ino, a third became Kabuto, and the last became Naruto himself. The four fake Team 7 members burst noisily from the bushes on the opposite side of the Rain team, shouting and making a deliberate racket before fleeing deeper into the forest.

"After them!" Oboro yelled, taking the bait completely. The Rain team gave chase, abandoning their defensive position.

The moment they were gone, the real Naruto—who had hidden himself during the distraction—sprang from his concealment directly into the Rain team's now-undefended camp. He moved with a speed and precision Sasuke had never seen from him before, a whirlwind of taijutsu and feints. He disarmed one genin with a sharp kick, used a clone as a decoy to confuse another, and delivered a solid punch to Oboro's jaw, sending the leader sprawling. In less than a minute, all three Rain ninja were unconscious on the forest floor.

Sasuke watched from the shadows, his Sharingan passively recording every movement. The efficiency, the raw power—it was undeniable. The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place in his mind. *It was him. On the bridge. When I was unconscious... he's the one who broke those mirrors. He's the one who defeated Haku.* The realization was a cold shock, forcing him to recalibrate his entire understanding of the loudmouthed boy he called a rival.

Ino quickly searched the fallen team, finding a pristine Heaven scroll tucked in Oboro's pouch. "We got it!" she whispered, holding it up.

With both scrolls now in their possession, Team 7—with Kabuto still quietly in tow—turned and began the final, urgent trek toward the central tower. The goal was in sight, but the forest had irrevocably changed them. Sasuke stole another glance at Naruto, who was now bragging loudly about his "awesome plan," and knew nothing would ever be the same between them. The dead-last was a lie, and the truth was something far more formidable.

The massive doors of the central tower groaned shut behind them, sealing out the oppressive humidity and constant threat of the Forest of Death. The interior was cool, silent, and vast. Team 7, along with Kabuto, stood catching their breath in the main hall. Almost immediately, two other genin—Yoroi and Misumi—approached, nodding at Kabuto, who seamlessly rejoined his team.

Before them, displayed prominently on the wall, was a large scroll with a riddle:

*"When two heavens revolve around each other,*
*The true path is revealed without another.*
*If you lack the courage to open the door,*
*You will never know what you are fighting for."*

"It's time," Sasuke said, his voice echoing in the quiet hall. He held out their newly acquired Heaven scroll. Ino produced the Earth scroll from Dosu.

Taking a deep breath, they simultaneously broke the seals and unrolled them.

A massive puff of smoke erupted, and when it cleared, Iruka Umino stood before them, a warm, proud smile on his face despite the stern scar across his nose.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto yelled, leaping forward with uninhibited joy. "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm here to congratulate you," Iruka said, his voice full of emotion. "You've passed the second stage of the Chunin Exams." His expression then grew serious. "But this is also a warning. Had you opened these scrolls before reaching the tower, you would have been trapped in a powerful genjutsu, rendering you unconscious and easy prey for any other team. You would have failed instantly."

Naruto's face paled. He swallowed hard, the gravity of their near-disaster sinking in. He turned to look at Kabuto, who gave him a small, knowing nod from across the room. "Th-thanks, Kabuto-nii-san," Naruto mumbled, a rare show of genuine gratitude.

It was then that Ino, her own relief overshadowed by a more pressing terror, stepped forward. "Iruka-sensei," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Something happened in the forest. We were attacked by a shinobi... he was disguised as a Grass-nin, but he was from Otogakure. He called himself... Orochimaru."

The name hung in the air like a poison. Iruka's warm expression shattered, replaced by pure, unadulterated shock and fear. His eyes darted to the cursed mark visible on Sasuke's neck, then to Naruto's pale face, and finally to Ino's worried one.

"Orochimaru... here?" Iruka breathed, the color draining from his face. He placed a firm hand on Naruto's and Sasuke's shoulders, his grip tight. "This is beyond the scope of the exams. All of you, stay here. Do not move. I must report this to Lord Hokage immediately."

With one last, grave look at the three genin he cared for so deeply, Iruka shunshined away in a swirl of leaves, leaving Team 7 alone in the silent tower. They had passed the second exam, but they had brought a nightmare out of the forest with them, and now the entire village was about to be put on alert.

The atmosphere in the main hall of the tower was thick with a mixture of exhaustion, triumph, and simmering tension. The surviving genin stood in a ragged group before the Third Hokage, who was flanked by a stern-faced assembly of Konoha's Jounin, including Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma. Hiruzen's eyes, heavy with the unspoken knowledge of Orochimaru's intrusion, swept over them.

"Congratulations are in order," Hiruzen began, his voice echoing with authority. "You have surpassed the second stage. However, the number of participants remaining is still too great for the final tournament. Therefore, we will hold preliminary matches here and now to reduce your numbers."

A wave of murmurs and anxious glances passed through the genin.

A man with a persistent cough, Hayate Gekko, stepped forward. "I am the proctor for this preliminary round. The matches will be one-on-one, randomly selected. The rules are simple: victory by knockout, surrender, or death." His calm delivery of the last option sent a chill through the room. "If you are in poor condition, you may withdraw now without penalty."

Ino, her eyes fixed on Sasuke's pale face and the angry, inflamed curse mark on his neck, leaned close. "Sasuke-kun," she whispered urgently, "you should withdraw. That mark... you're in no condition to fight."

Sasuke's head snapped toward her, his eyes flashing with cold irritation. "Mind your own business," he said, his voice low and sharp.

Ino flinched as if struck, recoiling back into line, her cheeks burning with a mixture of hurt and embarrassment.

Sasuke's gaze was fixed ahead, burning with a singular intensity. "I don't care about the promotion. All I want is to fight strong opponents. To test my strength." The memory of his powerlessness against Orochimaru and his humiliation against Lee was a fire in his gut.

Naruto, standing on Sasuke's other side, scowled. "Hey, she's just worried about you, you jerk!"

Sasuke didn't even look at him. "Shut up, Naruto," he retorted, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper meant only for the blond's ears. "You're one of the strong ones I'm talking about. Don't pretend you don't understand."

The declaration hung between them, a challenge and an acknowledgment all at once. Naruto fell silent, stunned. Ino stared at the back of Sasuke's head, her concern now warring with a fresh wave of hurt. He valued Naruto's strength enough to see him as a rival, but her concern was merely an annoyance. As Hayate called for the first match to begin, the fractures within Team 7 felt wider than ever, the bonds forged in the Forest of Death straining under the weight of Sasuke's consuming ambition.

A stunned silence fell over the hall. Of all the people to withdraw, the experienced, seemingly unflappable Kabuto was the last anyone expected.

"Kabuto-nii-san? Why?" Naruto blurted out, his voice loud with disbelief.

Kabuto offered a pained, apologetic smile, one hand gently cupping his ear. "I'm sorry, Naruto. My ears... they haven't stopped ringing since that encounter with the Sound ninja before the exams. I can barely maintain my balance. I'd be a liability in a serious fight." He gave a slight bow to the Hokage and the proctors before turning to walk away.

As he passed his teammate, Yoroi, he paused for the briefest moment, leaning in. His lips moved, uttering words too quiet for anyone else to hear. Yoroi's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly before he gave a single, sharp nod.

Hiruzen's aged eyes followed Kabuto's exit, a knowing glint in their depths. He leaned slightly towards a frowning Anko. "That one... he has withdrawn six times before this. He is a perennial participant, yet never advances." The unspoken question—*why?*—hung in the air between them.

Suddenly, the large electronic board flickered to life, churning before settling on two names:

**UCHIHA SASUKE vs. YOROI AKADO**

The other genin were ushered up to the spectator balconies that overlooked the combat floor. As Sasuke moved to take his position, Kakashi appeared beside him in a whisper of movement.

"Sasuke," Kakashi's voice was low and urgent, his single visible eye deadly serious. "Listen carefully. You are not to use any ninjutsu or genjutsu in this fight. Do you understand? Not even the Sharingan."

Sasuke's head whipped around, his eyes wide with shock. "How did you—?"

"I know," Kakashi interrupted, his gaze flicking to the cursed mark on Sasuke's neck. "That mark is a dangerous thing. Using chakra will only fuel it. This fight must be taijutsu only. It's the only way to keep it contained."

Before Sasuke could protest further, Kakashi was gone, leaving him with the chilling order.

On the opposite side of the arena, Yoroi Akado cracked his neck, his expression hidden behind his high collar, but his stance was one of predatory confidence. He raised his hands, which were encased in strange, mesh-like gauntlets that seemed to hum with a faint energy.

The proctor, Hayate, stood between them, his hand raised. "The match between Uchiha Sasuke and Yoroi Akado... begins!"

Sasuke settled into a basic taijutsu stance, his mind reeling. No ninjutsu. No Sharingan. He was being forced to fight with one hand tied behind his back, all while the dark brand on his neck throbbed with a promise of power he was forbidden to touch.

Yoroi began to advance, his steps measured, his gauntleted hands held out like a wrestler seeking a grip.

The fight was a brutal lesson in deprivation. Yoroi was not a flashy opponent, but his technique was insidiously effective. Every block, every grapple, sent a sickening pull through Sasuke's body as the mesh gauntlets siphoned his chakra away. He felt weaker with each passing second, his movements growing sluggish. The curse mark on his neck burned, whispering promises of instant power if he would just let it flow.

*No. Kakashi's right. I can't.*

Gasping for air, Sasuke's mind flashed back to the courtyard, to the whirlwind of green that was Rock Lee. The sheer, overwhelming power of pure taijutsu. He had no weights, no Lotus, but he had the Uchiha's gift for mimicry.

As Yoroi lunged for another chakra-draining grab, Sasuke dropped low, mimicking the opening movement of Lee's Primary Lotus. He kicked upwards, catching Yoroi under the chin and sending him staggering back. Without a moment's hesitation, Sasuke launched himself into the air after him.

The curse mark flared, a wave of dark agony and seductive power washing over him. He gritted his teeth, forcing it down. *This is my strength! Not his!*

He spun in mid-air, driving his heel into Yoroi's ribs with a sickening crack. As they fell, Sasuke twisted, delivering a final, devastating axe kick to Yoroi's chest that slammed him into the stone floor. Sasuke landed in a crouch beside his opponent's motionless form, chest heaving, his body screaming in protest but his will unbroken.

Hayate coughed. "Winner: Uchiha Sasuke."

Before the announcement fully faded, Kakashi was at his side. "That's enough. You pushed it to the limit. It's time to deal with this." His hand rested on Sasuke's shoulder. "We're leaving." In a shunshin, both teacher and student vanished from the arena.

The electronic board flickered once more, new names appearing:

**ABURAME SHINO vs. ZAKU ABUMI**

As the insect-controlling Shino and the arm-broken but vengeful Zaku took their positions, Ino's gaze drifted from the combat floor to the spectator's gallery where the Jounin sensei stood. Her eyes landed on the leader of the Sound Village team, the man who had accompanied Dosu, Zaku, and Kin.

A cold jolt shot down her spine.

The pale skin, the long black hair framing a gaunt face, the sharp, predatory features... it was different, yes. The hair was tied back, the expression was neutral. But the resemblance was uncanny, striking a chord of primal fear deep within her.

*That face...* she thought, her blood running cold. *It's not the same, but... it's so close to Orochimaru's.*

***

As Shino and Zaku began their match, Ino’s focus wasn’t on the fight. Her eyes were locked on the Jounin standing with the other senseis in the spectator’s gallery. She nudged Naruto sharply.

“Naruto, look. The Sound Jounin. The one with Team Dosu.”

Naruto squinted. “What about him? He looks kinda creepy.”

“Creepy? Naruto, look at his face!” Ino whispered urgently. “Don’t you see it? That’s him. That’s Orochimaru.”

Naruto’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Orochimaru? Who’s that again?”

“The Grass ninja! The one in the forest who turned into a snake and bit Sasuke!” Ino said, her voice trembling with frustration. “He had a Sound headband under his disguise!”

Naruto’s eyes widened as the memory finally connected. The long tongue, the stretching neck, the terrifying presence. “That guy?! But… that was a genin!”

“He was never a genin! He was pretending!” Ino insisted, her voice dropping to a terrified whisper. “And that man up there… his face is almost the same. The Sound genin work for Orochimaru, and that Jounin looks just like him. He has to be—”

As if sensing their scrutiny, the Sound Jounin’s head turned slightly. A faint, cold smile touched his lips before he dissolved into a swirl of leaves, vanishing from the gallery.

Naruto and Ino flinched back, a shared chill of fear running down their spines. Their suspicion had just been met with a silent, mocking confirmation.

Their attention was wrenched back to the arena by a collective gasp from the crowd. They turned to see Zaku cornered, his one good arm held uselessly at his side as a swirling, black mass of Aburame beetles covered his body, crawling over his skin and clothes.

“Ugh, that is so gross!” Naruto gagged, clutching his stomach. “I think I’m gonna be sick!”

From the center of the insect swarm, Shino’s calm voice emerged. “Your chakra is being consumed. You cannot win. Surrender.”

A strained, gurgling laugh came from Zaku. “You think… this is enough?”

To the shock of everyone watching, Zaku’s other arm—the one Sasuke had brutally broken—jerked upward. The splint and bandages around it splintered and fell away. The arm was purple with bruising and swollen, but it was moving.

“He… he can move it?” Ino breathed, her theory about Orochimaru momentarily forgotten.

Naruto stared, his nausea replaced by stunned disbelief. “But Sasuke broke both his arms! How is that possible?!”

Zaku grinned through the pain, his eyes blazing with manic fury as he forced his damaged arm into a familiar seal. “You bugs are nothing! I’ll blast you and this whole room to dust!”

***

In a secluded, windowless chamber deep within the tower, the air was thick with the scent of ozone and iron. Kakashi knelt over Sasuke's unconscious form, his own blood tracing a complex, glowing seal around the cursed mark on the boy's neck.

"It is done," Kakashi murmured, his voice hoarse with strain. "This Evil Sealing Method will suppress the mark. But listen to me, Sasuke... it is a cage whose lock is on the inside. The seal will only hold if you choose not to use its power. If you ever willingly draw on that cursed chakra, the cage will shatter, and nothing will be able to stop its spread."

As the final symbol faded into Sasuke's skin, a voice, dry and sibilant as scales on stone, slithered from the shadows.

"My, my, Kakashi. You've grown into such a diligent watchdog."

Kakashi was on his feet in an instant, a kunai in his hand, his Sharingan exposed and spinning. The form of the Sound Jounin melted away like wax, revealing the true, pale visage of Orochimaru, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Orochimaru," Kakashi breathed, his body tensing like a coiled spring. "What do you want here?"

Orochimaru's smile was a ghastly thing. "I am merely... checking on my future vessel. Ensuring he is being properly cared for."

He took a slow, deliberate step forward.

The air crackled. A thousand birds shrieked to life in Kakashi's palm, the Chidori's electric blue light casting sharp, dancing shadows across the walls. "Take another step," Kakashi said, his voice deathly calm, "and one of us dies here."

Orochimaru paused, his amusement only deepening. He made a show of looking at the pulsating lightning in Kakashi's hand. "So dramatic. You always were Anbu's most loyal hound." His gaze drifted back to the unconscious Sasuke. "It doesn't matter. He will come to me. The hunger for power always wins in the end."

"Aren't you concerned about your other... investments?" Kakashi bit out, trying to divert him. "Your pawn, Zaku, is fighting for his life right now."

Orochimaru waved a dismissive hand. "Guinea pigs are meant to be sacrificed. Their struggles only serve to reveal the data needed to secure the main dish."

With a final, lingering look at Sasuke, Orochimaru's form dissolved into a swirl of darkness, his mocking laughter echoing in the chamber long after he was gone. Kakashi let the Chidori die, his hand trembling slightly, the weight of the Sannin's threat pressing down on him. The battle in the arena was a distraction; the real war was for the soul of the boy lying at his feet.

***

Back in the arena, the tension was shattered by two simultaneous, wet explosions. Zaku screamed as his own decapitating airwaves, blocked by the bugs Shino had secretly infiltrated into the tubes of his palms, backfired catastrophically, mangling his hands. He collapsed, writhing in agony.

"Victory goes to Aburame Shino," Hayate announced, his voice calm amidst the gruesome scene.

Shino, impassive as ever, adjusted his glasses and walked back to the spectator balcony. His teammates, Hinata and Kiba, greeted him with quiet congratulations.

Naruto scowled, crossing his arms. "Tch. Show-off. He's just desperate to be all cool and mysterious like Sasuke."

Ino, standing beside him, let out a light chuckle, the first hint of amusement she'd felt in hours. "What's this, Naruto? Are you Sasuke's fanboy now? Getting jealous of anyone else who's strong?"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled, his face turning bright red. "I am not! I'm gonna beat him myself!"

Before their bickering could continue, the electronic board flickered once more, displaying new names:

**KANKURO vs. MISUMI**

The lanky Suna genin and the contortionist from Kabuto's team took their positions on the floor below. The fight began with Misumi using his unique ability, wrapping his limbs around Kankuro's body like a python, squeezing the air from his lungs.

"Whoa, he can stretch like that? That's actually kinda cool!" Naruto admitted, his previous anger forgotten.

"Give up," Misumi hissed, tightening his grip. "Or I'll snap your spine."

Kankuro's voice, muffled but defiant, came from within the hold. "...Fuck off!"

There was a sickening *CRACK* that echoed through the silent hall.

A collective gasp rippled through the spectators. Naruto's eyes widened. "He... he killed him!"

But on the Suna side of the balcony, Gaara didn't even blink, his expression one of utter boredom.

Misumi, a triumphant smirk on his face, twisted Kankuro's head around to face him. But instead of a face contorted in death, he found himself staring into the painted, wooden visage of a puppet—Karasu.

Before he could process the horror, the puppet's own arms snapped shut around him, holding him in a crushing grip of its own.

From the pile of bandages that had seemed to contain the puppet, the real Kankuro emerged, smirking. "My turn. Now, you're going to tell the proctor you give up, unless you want my little friend here to pop you like a grape."

Trembling and defeated, Misumi choked out the words of surrender.

As Kankuro recalled his puppet and swaggered back to his team, Naruto could only stare, a new kind of respect and wariness dawning on him. These Sand genin weren't just strong; they were clever and ruthless. His eyes drifted from Kankuro to the impassive Gaara, a cold knot tightening in his stomach. The finals were going to be a nightmare.

Chapter Text

Kakashi reappeared on the spectator balcony with his characteristic quiet poise. Ino immediately turned from watching Kankuro's retreating back, her expression tight with worry.

"Kakashi-sensei! Is Sasuke-kun alright?"

"He's fine," Kakashi reassured her, his visible eye crinkling slightly. "The medics are with him. He's resting." His gaze then flicked towards the central board. "You should look."

Ino followed his gaze. The electronic board flickered, the names settling with a final, decisive beep:

**YAMANAKA INO vs. HARUNO SAKURA**

A jolt, equal parts dread and grim determination, shot through Ino. Across the hall, she saw Sakura from Team 10 staring at the same board, her own eyes wide before they narrowed with a familiar, competitive fire.

Without a word, the two former friends turned rivals made their way down to the combat floor, taking their positions opposite each other. The air between them was thick with years of shared history and recent bitterness.

Sakura's eyes immediately scanned Ino from head to toe, a critical frown on her face. "What happened to your hair, Ino-pig?" she asked, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Did you finally have a nervous breakdown? Sasuke-kun would never look twice at you with a messy chop-job like that."

Ino didn't flinch. She met Sakura's gaze head-on, her hand rising to touch the short, uneven ends that framed her jaw.

"I cut it because an enemy grabbed it in a life-or-death fight," Ino stated, her voice calm and clear, carrying across the silent arena. "It was a liability. I know what it means to be a kunoichi now, Forehead-girl. It means making the hard choice so you can protect your teammates and complete the mission. Something I wouldn't hesitate to do again."

The words landed like a well-aimed kunai. Sakura's smug expression faltered, a flicker of uncertainty and something akin to shame crossing her features. While she had been worrying about what Sasuke might think of her appearance, Ino had been in the Forest of Death, fighting monsters, cutting her hair to survive, and standing by his side when he fell. The superficial ground upon which their rivalry was built suddenly felt very, very shallow.

***

The fight began with a flurry of motion. Sakura, determined to prove herself, threw a volley of kunai. But Ino, her senses sharpened by the Forest of Death, didn't dodge. She snatched them from the air with practiced ease and sent them whistling back, forcing Sakura to scramble aside.

They closed in for taijutsu. The difference was stark. Ino’s movements were sharper, more decisive, her strikes carrying the weight of recent, brutal experience. She blocked Sakura’s clumsy punches effortlessly, landing stinging jabs to her ribs and shoulders. Up in the stands, Neji Hyuga watched with open disdain, muttering about "a girly slap-fight."

Ino saw an opening. She sidestepped a wild swing, her fist pulling back for a decisive blow to Sakura's jaw. But as her arm tensed, a memory flashed: a younger, shy Sakura, hiding behind her, as Ino stood up to the bullies for her. Her fist froze mid-air.

But then, other images superimposed themselves: Zabuza’s massive sword, Orochimaru’s serpentine smile, the feeling of Naruto’s unconscious body in her arms. The ninja world wasn’t a playground. Hesitation got people killed.

Her fist completed its arc, connecting solidly with Sakura’s cheek and sending her stumbling back.

"You witch!" Sakura spat, clutching her face.

"That's right, I am!" Ino shot back, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and pain. "I was the witch who stood up for you when no one else would! Without me, you'd still be that crying little girl too scared to become a ninja! And you threw our friendship away over a boy?!"

Sakura flinched, the truth of the words hitting home. Tears welled in her eyes, but they weren't just from the punch. "That's not it!" she cried out. "I... I never stopped seeing you as a friend, Ino! But being with you... I was always in your shadow! I felt like I couldn't do anything on my own! I just... I wanted to be your equal. I wanted to stand beside you, not behind you. That's all I meant when I said I wanted to be your rival!"

Ino stood frozen, her fighting stance faltering. All this time, she had interpreted Sakura's declaration as a malicious betrayal. She never saw the desperate plea for self-respect hidden beneath the surface.

The silence between them stretched, heavy with unspoken understanding.

Sakura wiped her tears, a new, determined light in her eyes. "So let's finish this. Not for Sasuke-kun. Not to prove who's better. But to push each other further than we've ever gone. To show everyone—and ourselves—what we're really made of."

A slow, genuine smile touched Ino's lips for the first time since the fight began. The anger drained away, replaced by a fierce, proud respect. "Alright, Forehead-girl," she said, her voice firm. "Let's do this."

They settled back into their stances, but the energy between them had completely transformed. The pettiness was gone, burned away in the crucible of their confession. This was no longer a catfight over a boy. It was a duel between two kunoichi, ready to forge each other in combat.

***

The fight between Ino and Sakura intensified, but in a way that was utterly foreign to Naruto. It was a flurry of slashing kunai, deftly dodged or met with the sharp clang of metal on metal. There were no grand fireballs, no shadow clones, just raw, gritted teeth determination.

"Ugh, no offense, but this is kinda... embarrassing to watch," Naruto muttered, scratching his head.

Kakashi, standing beside him, didn't take his eye off the fight. "They may not have the most dazzling techniques, Naruto. But what they have right now is a will stronger than any jutsu. Don't underestimate it."

As the two kunoichi clashed again, the tie holding Ino's already-short hair finally gave way, causing the blonde strands to fall loosely around her face.

Naruto’s gaze fixed on her untied hair. For a split second, his vision blurred. The short locks seemed to grow, elongating into a long, flowing mane of blonde hair. Then, the figure shifted entirely. The girl in the arena was no longer Ino, but a woman with vibrant, fiery red hair, her kind eyes filled with a stern love. It was the same woman from his most painful nightmare, the one who had spoken to him on the night he tried to end his life.

He clutched his head as a sharp, fleeting pain lanced through his temple. "Ah...!"

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked, his voice laced with immediate concern.

Just as quickly as it came, the vision vanished. Naruto blinked, and Ino was back, her short hair disheveled, locked in combat. He shook his head, bewildered. "I... I'm fine."

Down in the arena, Sakura saw her opening. While Ino was momentarily adjusting to her loose hair, Sakura's hands flew through a series of hand signs. *"Genjutsu: Henge Maboroshi!"* (Illusionary Transformation)

Ino's world warped. The tower, the crowd, Sakura—everything melted away, replaced by the terrifying, mist-shrouded bridge in the Land of Waves. Before her stood Zabuza Momochi, his massive executioner's blade raised high, his killing intent a physical weight crushing her lungs. She was back in her worst nightmare, utterly powerless.

A gasp of pure horror escaped Ino's lips. She was trapped.

***

Up in the stands, Naruto slammed his hands on the railing. "INO! FIGHT IT! IT'S NOT REAL!"

Down below, trapped in the genjutsu, Ino saw Zabuza's blade descending. But Naruto's voice, along with the memory of the real terror she'd already faced, cut through the illusion. With a guttural scream of defiance, she did the one thing that could shock her system back to reality—she drove her own fist hard into her stomach.

The pain was blinding, but effective. The misty bridge shattered.

Just as the real world snapped back into focus, she saw Sakura charging her, fist pulled back for a final, victorious strike.

But Ino's hands were already moving, forming a single, intricate hand sign—the index and middle fingers of one hand pressed together, surrounded by the other hand—a seal unique to her clan.

Naruto, watching, blushed and looked away. "W-What's that? Some kinda love sign? This is so embarrassing!"

Kakashi's single eye widened. "That's not a love sign, Naruto. That's the hand sign for the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique: the Mind Body Switch Jutsu. I didn't expect her to have mastered it already."

Before Sakura's punch could land, Ino's body went rigid and then collapsed to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Naruto gasped. "INO!"

But then, "Sakura" stopped, frozen mid-punch. A strange, distant look came over her face. She lowered her fist and spoke, but the voice was Ino's, echoing from Sakura's lips. "I withdraw."

A puff of invisible energy, and Ino's consciousness snapped back to her own body. She pushed herself up from the floor, breathing heavily.

Sakura, now back in control of herself, stared at her own hands, then at Ino. The realization that she had been so completely overcome, that her best effort had been countered by a technique of such a high level, was too much. Tears of frustration and exhaustion welled in her eyes and streamed down her face.

Ino walked over, not with a victor's swagger, but with quiet empathy. She pulled her former rival, her once-best friend, into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," Ino whispered. "I'm sorry I misunderstood you. I thought you were just being mean." She pulled back, holding Sakura by the shoulders, a proud, tearful smile on her own face. "But you have, Sakura. You've truly bloomed into a beautiful and strong flower, all on your own."

Upstairs, Naruto let out a whoop of joy. "SHE DID IT! INO WON! BELIEVE IT!"

Kakashi allowed a small, proud smile to show beneath his mask. "Well done."

On the other side of the balcony, Asuma sighed, a soft, sympathetic sound. Choji stopped eating his chips for a moment, and even the perpetually lazy Shikamaru looked down at the scene with a rare, thoughtful expression. "What a troublesome outcome," he murmured, though it was clear he felt bad for Sakura's very real pain.

The fight was over. The rivalry was transformed. And Ino Yamanaka had taken her first, definitive step out of the shadows and into her own power.

***

Ino returned to the balcony, her body aching but her spirit lighter than it had been in weeks. The silent nod from Kakashi and Naruto's wide, approving grin were all the recognition she needed.

Before the moment could settle, the electronic board flickered once more, its mechanical whirring drawing every eye.

**TEMARI vs. TENTEN**

The two kunoichi descended to the arena floor. Neji, who had been observing with detached boredom, now leaned forward slightly, his Byakugan-activated eyes narrowing as he watched his teammate, Tenten, take her stance. A faint crease of concern appeared on his brow.

Tenten launched her assault with breathtaking speed, a whirlwind of precisely thrown senbon, shuriken, and kunai that filled the air like metallic rain. It was a display of flawless weapon artistry.

But Temari didn't move. She simply unfurled her massive iron fan, its surface gleaming.

"*Fūton: Kamaitachi!*" (Wind Style: Sickle Weasel Technique)

A single, casual swing. A monstrous gust of wind erupted, catching Tenten's entire arsenal and hurling it back at her with terrifying force. Tenten cried out as her own weapons pelted her, and the concussive blast lifted her off her feet, sending her crashing onto the broad surface of Temari's still-extended fan.

The fight was over in seconds.

Temari looked down at the stunned Tenten sprawled on her fan. With a contemptuous flick, she dumped the Konoha kunoichi onto the hard floor, right in the midst of her own scattered, useless weapons.

Before Tenten could land on the sharp steel, a green blur intercepted her. Rock Lee, moving with his signature speed, caught her gently in his arms.

"You should not treat a defeated opponent with such disrespect!" Lee declared, his voice firm as he glared at Temari.

Temari merely raised an eyebrow, utterly unimpressed. "I won. What I do with the loser is my business."

Lee's jaw tightened, his stance shifting into a fighting pose. "Then I shall—"

"LEE!" Guy's voice boomed, his hand landing on his student's shoulder. "Your passion is admirable, but this is not the time! Control your youthful vigor!"

Lee reluctantly relaxed, bowing to his sensei. "Yes, Guy-sensei!"

The board flickered again, moving the proceedings along.

**SHIKAMARU vs. KIN**

Shikamaru trudged down to the arena with a heavy sigh, his hands in his pockets. "What a drag..."

Kin, the kunoichi from Otogakure, smirked. "This will be easy." She immediately wove hand signs. "*Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Stinging Darkness!*"

Shikamaru's world went black, filled with the phantom sensation of a thousand needles piercing his skin. But his mind, always several moves ahead, was already working. He had subtly unraveled a length of shadow-stitched wire from his sleeve during his walk down.

As Kin confidently approached to finish off the "paralyzed" boy, Shikamaru's shadow, amplified and guided by the hidden wire, lashed out along the floor, merging with Kin's own.

"*Kage Kubishibari no Jutsu!*" (Shadow Neck Bind Technique)

Kin froze, her body now under Shikamaru's complete control.

"What? How?!" she gasped.

"Too easy," Shikamaru mumbled. He made her throw a kunai high into the air above them. As it fell, he forced her to lean back dramatically to "dodge" it. Her head snapped back and connected with the stone floor with a solid *thunk*, stunning her. The brief moment of disorientation was all he needed. He released the jutsu, lunged forward, and pressed a kunai to her throat.

"You're gonna say 'I give up,'" he said, his voice bored. "Because if you don't, this is going to become a huge drag for both of us."

Trembling, her vision swimming, Kin whispered the words of surrender.

Hayate coughed. "Winner: Nara Shikamaru."

Shikamaru released her, turned, and shuffled back towards the stairs, muttering about the troublesome women he had to deal with. The preliminary rounds were proving to be far more eventful—and bothersome—than he had ever anticipated.

***

The electronic board hummed and flickered, its digital display cycling before locking in with a decisive finality.

**UZUMAKI NARUTO vs. INUZUKA KIBA**

A wide, eager grin split Naruto's face. "Finally! My turn! And I get to knock that dog-breath around!" He practically vibrated with excitement as he bounded down the stairs.

Kiba let out a loud, relieved laugh, his confidence surging. "YES!" *He was scared he'd get stuck with Gaara or Neji! But he gets the dead-last!* "This is gonna be a walk in the park, Akamaru!" The small white puppy on his head yipped in agreement.

They took their positions on the combat floor, the air crackling with their contrasting energies. Kiba opened his mouth, no doubt to unleash one of his trademark taunts, but Naruto spoke first.

"Hey, Kiba!" Naruto said, his voice unusually calm and direct. "Sorry, but I'm gonna have to knock you out of this tournament."

The words, delivered not with a shout but with a simple, almost matter-of-fact certainty, caught Kiba completely off guard. His smirk vanished, replaced by a flush of anger. "You little—! I was gonna say the same thing, but I was gonna be way meaner about it!"

Naruto just scowled. Kiba had always been different. While others like Shikamaru and Choji simply ignored him, Kiba had always gone out of his way to compete with him, to beat him at everything in the academy, and then rub his face in it. Naruto's existence was a negative benchmark for Kiba—a constant, loud reminder that he himself was better.

Meanwhile, Kiba studied Naruto, a flicker of doubt entering his mind for the first time. *He's different. He's not just yelling blindly. How much has this idiot actually improved since graduation?*

Naruto's eyes then drifted to the small, furry dog perched on Kiba's head. He pointed at Akamaru. "Hey, Proctor! Why's he allowed to bring his dog? This is supposed to be one-on-one!"

Hayate Gekko coughed into his hand. "Dogs are considered tools and weapons for the Inuzuka Clan. It is permitted."

Naruto threw his hands up in exasperation. "Oh, come on! That's not fair! He gets a whole other fighter! And what the hell is Inuzuka clan!?"

Kiba grinned, his confidence returning. "Life's not fair, dead-last. Get ready to lose!" He dropped into his signature stance, Akamaru growling in sync.

Naruto clenched his fists, a familiar, stubborn light igniting in his blue eyes. He was done being anyone's easy win.

***

A collective gasp, then a wave of disappointed murmurs, rippled through the spectator balconies. The fight was over almost as soon as it began.

Kiba and Akamaru lunged as one, a coordinated blur of fangs and fists. Naruto, in a panic, tried to form his signature hand seal for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. But a dark, painful spark flared in his gut—the Five Elements Seal reacting violently. Instead of an army of clones, a massive, uncontrolled puff of smoke erupted, obscuring the entire area.

When the dust settled, Naruto was flat on his back, seemingly knocked out cold. Standing triumphantly on his chest was Akamaru, who stuck out his little pink tongue in a canine smirk. Strangely, the dog clutched a small, fuzzy white ring in his front paws—an accessory he'd never worn before.

"It's over," Kurenai stated, a hint of pity in her voice. "I knew that boy couldn't beat Kiba."

"Totally expected," Shikamaru sighed from beside Choji, who nodded sadly through a mouthful of chips.

Ino's heart sank. She gripped the railing, hurt and frustrated that Naruto had lost to someone as obnoxious as Kiba.

Only Kakashi remained silent, his single visible eye crinkling slightly. He'd seen the real Naruto fight. He knew this wasn't right.

"Alright, Akamaru! Good boy!" Kiba called out, striding forward with a victorious swagger. "We showed that dead-last his—OW! HEY!"

As Kiba reached down to pet his partner, "Akamaru" suddenly snarled and bit his hand hard, drawing blood. Kiba yelped, shaking his hand wildly to dislodge the suddenly feral dog.

"AKAMARU! WHAT'S GOT INTO YOU?!"

With a yelp of his own, "Akamaru" was flung off. But in mid-air, the small white dog dissolved into a puff of smoke. The "fuzzy ring" in its paws also poofed, revealing the real, tiny, and very dizzy Akamaru, who landed with a confused whimper.

Standing where the impostor dog had been, now grinning from ear to ear, was Naruto.

"GOTCHA, BELIEVE IT!" he roared, pointing a triumphant finger at the stunned Kiba.

The "defeated" Naruto on the ground also vanished in a puff of smoke—a simple Shadow Clone he'd managed to create in the initial confusion.

The entire hall erupted into chaos. Ino gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock and delight. Shikamaru's lazy eyes widened in genuine surprise. "No way..."

Kiba stared, first at the real, trembling Akamaru, then at the utterly unharmed and smug Naruto. His face turned a brilliant, humiliated red. He'd been fooled. Completely and utterly fooled by the one person he'd never taken seriously.

"You... you tricked me!" Kiba seethed, clutching his bleeding hand.

Naruto's grin was feral. "A ninja must see underneath the underneath, dog-breath! You and your mutt aren't the only ones who can play dirty! Now, let's have a real fight!"

***

Kiba stared, his brain struggling to process what had just happened. *Transformation? That level of precision?* The memory of Academy Naruto, who couldn't even maintain a basic transformation into the Hokage, clashed violently with the cunning ninja before him.

Before he could formulate a new strategy, Naruto darted forward and scooped up the dazed Akamaru.

"Let him go!" Kiba snarled, his hand flying to a pouch and pulling out a single, ominous-looking soldier pill. "Put him down, or you're gonna see a terror you can't even imagine!"

To Kiba's—and everyone else's—shock, Naruto immediately complied. But not gently. He hurled the small, white dog across the arena. Akamaru yelped as he smacked into the far wall with a sickening thud before sliding to the floor.

A collective gasp of horror echoed through the hall. Even random Konoha chunin number #69420 stared in disbelief.

Kiba's rage momentarily eclipsed by concern for his partner, he stuffed the pill back into his pouch and lunged at Naruto with a feral scream. He fought with pure, unrestrained fury, his fangs and kunai slicing through the air. Naruto, caught off guard by the ferocity, could only barely dodge and block, new cuts and bruises appearing on his arms and face.

Seeing an opening, Kiba leaped onto Naruto, trying to pin him. But Naruto, with a surge of strength, managed to heave him off, sending him tumbling directly toward where Akamaru was shakily getting to his feet.

It was the perfect alignment. In a flash, Kiba pulled the soldier pill again and shoved it into Akamaru's mouth.

A cloud of chakra smoke erupted, and when it cleared, two Kibas stood side-by-side, snarling identically.

"*Gatsūga!*" (Dual Piercing Fang!)

They became two spinning tornados of claws and fury, crisscrossing the arena and shredding everything in their path. Naruto was caught in the whirlwind, crying out as the attack tore through his clothes and skin, leaving him bleeding and battered on the ground.

Up in the stands, Team 8 cheered. "He did it! Kiba won!" Kurenai allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.

But Kakashi's visible eye crinkled. He saw it. The way Naruto was pushing himself up, his shoulders shaking not with pain, but with... laughter.

A low, mad chuckle escaped Naruto's bloody lips as he rose to his feet. The deep gashes on his arms and face visibly knitted themselves back together, the blood ceasing to flow as new, pink skin formed over the wounds in a matter of seconds. The Five Elements Seal had locked away the Fox's overt chakra, but it couldn't stop the demon's innate, passive power from healing its container.

He pointed a trembling, yet defiant finger at the two stunned Kibas.

"Heh... hehehe....HAHAHAHAHA!... You're not dealing with the average ninja anymore, Kiba."

His eyes blazed with a mix of pain and exhilaration.

***

A stunned silence gripped the arena, broken only by Naruto’s ragged breaths. The sight of his wounds closing on their own was unnatural, terrifying. It defied every law of shinobi combat they knew.

“What… what is he?” Kankuro whispered from the stands.

Enraged and desperate, the two Kibas—the real one and the transformed Akamaru—spun into another *Gatsūga*, becoming twin tornados of destruction aimed straight at Naruto.

But Naruto didn’t dodge. Instead, he bit his thumb, slammed his hands together, and created a massive, obscuring cloud of smoke right in front of him.

The two Kibas plowed through it, shredding the area to pieces. When the dust settled, there were three Kibas standing in the arena, panting and looking around in confusion.

The real Kiba’s nose twitched. His heightened sense of smell immediately identified the imposter. “There!” he yelled, lunging at one of the three. “You can’t fool my nose, dead-last!”

He struck with full force, only for the “Kiba” he hit to yelp in a high-pitched yowl and dissolve into a puff of smoke, revealing a dazed and confused Akamaru.

“Akamaru?!” Kiba stared in horror. He whirled on the other impostor. “Then you—!” He attacked again, and again, the form dissolved to reveal a second, equally stunned Akamaru.

“What kind of trick is this?!” Kiba screamed, utterly bewildered.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder from behind. “The kind that works,” Naruto’s voice growled.

Before Kiba could react, Naruto slammed him to the floor and rained down a series of furious punches to his face. “YOU ATTACKED YOUR OWN DOG! YOU JERK!”

Kiba, fueled by adrenaline and humiliation, managed to throw Naruto off. He scrambled to his feet, spitting blood. “I’LL KILL YOU!”

Naruto was also getting up, a wild, confident laugh escaping him. “Heh… I don’t know how, but… I feel like I can do it! My ultimate move!”

“Your ‘ultimate move’?” Kiba mocked, his voice dripping with scorn. “Don’t make me laugh!” He charged.

And Naruto delivered.

*“Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”*

Seven more Narutos poofed into existence around the real one, surrounding Kiba in an orange-clad circle.

Kiba’s nose still worked. “I can still smell the real one, you idiot!” He lunged directly at the original Naruto.

But he never reached him. Four of the clones intercepted him, grabbing his arms and legs, holding him fast.

“Wha—? Let go!”

The real Naruto stepped forward, a determined glint in his eyes. “Naruto… Uzumaki…” He drove a fist deep into Kiba’s gut, then followed with an uppercut to his jaw that snapped his head back.

“…BARAGE!”

On cue, the four clones holding Kiba used all their strength to hurl him vertically into the air. As he flew up, three other clones leaped from the ground, using the shoulders of the first four as a launching platform to soar even higher, delivering a synchronized triple kick to Kiba’s midsection that sent him spinning higher.

At the apex of the arc, the real Naruto soared above all of them, a blond avenger against the ceiling lights. He spun and delivered a final, devastating axe kick to Kiba’s ribs, slamming him back down to the arena floor with a earth-shaking *CRACK*.

Kiba lay motionless in a small crater. The clones vanished.

The real Naruto landed lightly beside him, chest heaving, his fist raised in triumph.

Hayate coughed. “Winner… Uzumaki Naruto.”

The silence that followed was louder than any cheer. The dead-last had not only won; he had invented a combo move on the spot and utterly annihilated a clan heir in front of a stage. The landscape of the exams had just been violently rearranged.

Naruto stood panting over Kiba's unconscious form, the adrenaline slowly receding. A twinge of guilt pricked at him. *He's a jerk, but... was I too brutal?* He'd never unleashed that much controlled fury on a fellow Konoha ninja, especially not someone he'd known since the Academy.

Medics rushed in, carefully loading Kiba onto a stretcher. Akamaru, whimpering and still dazed, tried to nuzzle his master. Naruto scooped him up with a scowl. "You shouldn't have a owner like him, I guess" he muttered, but there was no real heat in it. He handed the small dog over to the medics with a surprising gentleness before turning away.

As he trudged back up the stairs, Ino met him with a bright, relieved smile. "Naruto! That was amazing!" she said, her voice low but fervent. *For years, he always looked down on Naruto, just like herself. The way Naruto beat him... it was so satisfying to watch.*

Naruto gave her a half-hearted grin, but his attention was elsewhere.

Across the arena, a pair of sunken, tired eyes were fixed on him with an intensity that felt physical. Gaara was staring, his usual apathy shattered. His eyes were wide, his breathing slightly quickened. The sheer, unrestrained force Naruto had displayed, the visceral brutality of the final barrage, had stirred something within him.

Temari and Kankuro exchanged a worried glance. They knew that look. The placid sand that usually coated Gaara's emotions was shifting. "Gaara?" Kankuro ventured nervously.

Gaara didn't respond. He just watched Naruto, a silent, predatory interest now awake and hungry.

The electronic board flickered, pulling everyone's attention away.

**HYUGA NEJI vs. HYUGA HINATA**

A murmur ran through the balcony. "They're cousins.." Naruto heard Kakashi whisper. The tension between the two Hyugas was palpable as they took their positions. The fight was a brutal, one-sided affair. Despite Hinata's desperate efforts and newfound resolve, Neji's prodigious skill and his bitter, fatalistic philosophy overwhelmed her. He systematically shut down her chakra points, lecturing her all the while on the futility of fighting against a destiny she was born into.

Naruto watched, his fists clenching silently. He saw the pain and determination in Hinata's eyes, the way she kept getting up even as Neji's words cut deeper than his Gentle Fist strikes. He understood that feeling—of being told you're nothing, that your place is fixed. He said nothing, but a fierce, silent vow solidified in his heart.

*Just you wait, Neji. I'm gonna beat you someday. I'll prove you wrong about destiny.*

As Hinata finally fell, defeated and broken, Naruto's earlier guilt and triumph were forgotten, replaced by a hot, steady anger.

Chapter Text

The air in the tower grew heavy and silent after Hinata's defeat, a silence that was utterly shattered by the next match.

**GARA vs. ROCK LEE**

It began as a brutal display of futility. Lee's incredible speed and taijutsu were rendered useless against Gaara's Absolute Defense: an autonomous shield of sand that moved faster than thought, blocking every kick and punch. Gaara, untouched and bored, threatened to crush Lee with his sand.

Then, Lee dropped his weights.

The resulting craters and the shockwave that followed marked a shift. For the first time in his life, Gaara was struck, his sand failing to protect him completely. Lee followed with his Front Lotus, a move of breathtaking speed and power, only to discover he had captured a mere sand clone.

Driven into a corner, his body pushed beyond its limits, Lee made the fateful decision. "*Ura Renge!*" (Reverse Lotus) He opened the Inner Gates, one after another, pushing past the threshold of pain until he reached the Fifth Gate. The power that erupted from him was monstrous. He executed the Reverse Lotus, a technique so devastating it seemed to defy gravity itself, slamming Gaara into the arena floor with cataclysmic force.

He should have won.

But as the dust cleared, Gaara was revealed to have used his gourd as a last-second cushion, his body protected by a shell of packed sand. Bleeding, but far from defeated, Gaara's eyes held a psychotic gleam. With a guttural snarl, he trapped Lee's arm and leg in a (Sand Coffin), and began to squeeze, the sound of cracking bone echoing horribly in the silent hall.

"LEE!" Might Guy's roar was one of pure anguish as he flashed into the arena, stopping the fight and preventing Gaara from delivering the killing blow.

Naruto was already rushing down the stairs, his face a mask of horror and fury. "LEE!"

The medics arrived, their faces grim as they assessed the damage. One of them looked up at a distraught Guy, his voice low and sorrowful. "His arm and leg are shattered... the chakra damage from the Gates is severe... his career as a ninja... may be over."

"No... That's not true!" Naruto yelled, refusing to accept it. "He can't... he can't be..."

Kakashi appeared beside him, a firm hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, come on. There's nothing more you can do here." He guided the stunned and protesting boy back to the balcony.

The final match of the preliminaries was a swift, almost anticlimactic affair. Choji used his *Nikudan Sensha* (Human Bullet Tank), but Dosu, with his superior speed and analytical skills, easily dodged and used his sound-based jutsu to disrupt Choji's rotation, deflating him and securing a quick victory.

And so, the finalists were decided. As the names were called, they descended to the main floor to stand before the Third Hokage: Dosu, Naruto, Neji, Ino, Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, Shikamaru, and Shino.

One name was conspicuously absent. Sasuke Uchiha was still in the medical bay, his fate, and the cursed mark upon him, a dark cloud over the proceedings.

Lord Third looked over the nine genin before him, his expression unreadable. "Congratulations on passing the preliminary rounds. The final stage of the Chunin Exams will be a public tournament, held in one month's time. You will have that period to train and prepare. Dismissed."

The words were formal, but the atmosphere was electric with unspoken threats and rivalries. Naruto's gaze was locked on Gaara, who stared back with those hollow, sunken eyes. The real fight, he knew, was only just beginning.

The tension in the tower began to dissipate as the reality of the next month settled over the finalists. Before they were dismissed, Hayate handed each of them a small slip of paper.

Ino looked down at hers. The number **7** was printed neatly in the center. Her eyes scanned the room, mentally matching numbers to faces.
Dosu held **8**. Naruto, vibrating with restless energy, clutched the paper marked **1**. Neji, cool and detached, had **2**. Temari had **9**, Kankuro **5**, the terrifying Gaara **3**, Shikamaru **10**, and Shino **6**.

A vacant space hung in the numerical order. The absent fourth spot belonged to Sasuke.

A chart was displayed, showing the bracket for the final tournament. Naruto’s eyes lit up as he saw the path. To face Neji, the one who had lectured Hinata on destiny, he would only need to win his first match. The opportunity to prove that idiot wrong was now a tangible goal.

Ino’s blood ran cold as she traced her own path. To advance, she would have to defeat Dosu. The memory of his team’s brutality in the forest, of Zaku’s mangled hands and Kin’s bleeding leg, flashed in her mind. She took a deep, steadying breath, squaring her shoulders. *I won’t run. I can’t.*

With their fates temporarily sealed, the genin dispersed with their Jounin senseis, the tower emptying out.

***

The next morning, the sun was barely over the horizon when Kakashi led a sleepy Naruto and a determined Ino to a secluded, tranquil lake on the outskirts of Konoha.

“The finals are in one month. Your opponents are strong, and some are lethal,” Kakashi stated, his hands in his pockets. “You need to improve your chakra control. Today, you learn to walk on water.”

He demonstrated effortlessly, strolling across the lake’s surface as if it were solid glass. “It’s the same principle as tree climbing, but more delicate. Water is less forgiving than bark.”

Ino went first. She placed a tentative foot on the surface, focusing her chakra. She sank immediately, soaking her leg to the knee. She tried again, calibrating the flow, letting it coat the surface rather than force its way through. After several attempts and about thirty minutes of concentrated effort, she managed to take five steady steps before her concentration broke and she plunged in with a splash.

Naruto, meanwhile, was having a much harder time. His first step resulted in a full-body submersion. He came up sputtering. “It’s impossible!”

“Your chakra is a firehose, Naruto,” Kakashi called from the shore. “You need to learn to turn it into a steady stream.”

For hours, the scene repeated itself. Ino practiced her stability, walking further each time. Naruto created massive splashes, his control sporadic and violent. He was drenched, frustrated, and exhausted. But he didn’t stop. The image of Neji’s condescending face and Lee’s broken body drove him forward.

Finally, as the afternoon sun cast long shadows, something clicked. Naruto placed his foot on the water, and for the first time, it held. He took a step, then another. He didn’t sink. A wide, triumphant grin spread across his face.

“I DID IT! BELIEVE IT!”

Ino, now able to traverse the entire lake, offered him a small, genuine smile from the opposite shore. They were both drenched and tired, but they had cleared the first hurdle. The path to the finals was long, but they had taken their first, crucial steps together.

***

The tranquil surface of the lake, which had been the focus of their intense concentration, was shattered by a sudden, suspicious rustle from the direction of the women's hot springs. Ino, balanced precariously on the water, wobbled and fell in with a splash. Naruto, who had been managing a semi-stable stance, whipped his head around.

Kakashi's single visible eye crinkled into a sharp, knowing glare. "Wait here," he commanded, his usual lazy drawl gone, replaced by the steely tone of a jonko on a mission. He vanished in a flicker of Shunshin.

A moment later, there was a loud *THWUMP* and a grunt of pain. Naruto and a sopping-wet Ino exchanged a worried glance before sprinting towards the sound.

They found their sensei sprawled unconscious on the ground. Standing over him was a massive, grumpy-looking toad, and on its back sat a towering, white-maned man in green robes and a red haori, who was dusting off his hands with a sigh.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, rushing to his teacher's side. He glared up at the stranger, his blue eyes blazing with a protective fury that surprised even Ino. "Hey! What did you do to him, you pervert?! And what were you doing peeking at the hot spring?!"

The man chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound. He struck a dramatic pose, one hand on his hip. "Such impertinence from a snot-nosed brat! You stand in the presence of the Sannin, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, the Great—"

"Toad Sage...?" Naruto muttered, the anger in his eyes momentarily replaced by wariness. This guy had knocked out Kakashi with one hit from his toad. He was *strong*. Seriously strong. A dangerous, powerful, lecherous sage. An idea, brilliant and desperate, ignited in Naruto's mind. If he was going to face Neji and the others in the finals, he needed to get stronger fast. And this man, for all his flaws, represented a shortcut to power.

"Train me!" Naruto blurted out, bowing his head deeply.

Jiraiya blinked, taken aback. "Hah? No. I don't have time to babysit genin. I have... important research to conduct."

But Naruto was a force of nature when he set his mind to something. For the next several hours, he became Jiraiya's shadow, a persistent, orange-clad ghost. He followed him through the streets of Konoha, pestering, pleading, and promising.

"Please, Ero-Sennin!"
"I told you no!"
"I'll be the best student ever!"
"Go away!"
"I'm not leaving until you agree!"

The final straw came when Jiraiya was attempting to charm a pair of young women with tales of his "literary genius." Naruto, thinking they were bothering the sage, marched over and loudly accused them of harassing his "new master," scaring them off.

Jiraiya watched his prospects for a delightful afternoon vanish. He rounded on Naruto, his eye twitching. "Fine! You want training so badly? Bring me 'melons'! The ripest, most magnificent 'melons' you can find! Then we'll talk!" He shooed Naruto away, a sly grin on his face, expecting the boy to fail this simple, perverted test.

Twenty minutes later, Naruto returned, arms laden with three large, green, actual watermelons from a street vendor. "Here! The melons you wanted, Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya stared, dumbfounded. "You... you idiot! These are not the melons I meant!" he roared, snatching one of the fruits. He then proceeded to smash it open on a nearby rock and eat it in furious, messy bites, muttering about "dense children" between mouthfuls.

Unseen in the branches of a nearby tree, a now-conscious Kakashi watched the entire spectacle, his Icha Icha book forgotten in his hand. A small, amused smile played on his lips beneath his mask. This was getting interesting.

Seeing Jiraiya's frustration, Naruto was more confused than ever. "What other kind of melons are there?!"

Exasperated, Jiraiya gestured broadly at his own chest, then pointed emphatically towards the direction of the hot springs. "MELONS! The kind that bounce! The kind that bring joy to a man's heart!"

Comprehension dawned on Naruto's face, followed by a look of extreme determination. "Oh! *Those* melons!" There was a puff of smoke. When it cleared, standing in Naruto's place was a stunning, buxom, blonde-haired girl wearing a seductive smile and a very familiar orange jacket. "Like this?" the girl asked in a high-pitched, flirty voice.

Jiraiya's jaw dropped. A fountain of blood erupted from his nose, and he staggered back. "Y-Y-Yes! Exactly like that!" he stammered, his eyes wide. "The training... it's yours! But you have to stay in that form for the entire duration!"

Another puff of smoke, and Naruto was back, scowling. "No way! That's a stupid condition!"

Jiraiya sighed, wiping the blood from his nose. He looked at the boy—really looked at him. He saw the same fierce determination, the same stubborn will he'd seen in his own student, Minato. And he saw the raw, untapped potential swirling within him. The Kyuubi's chakra.

"Tch. Fine," Jiraiya grumbled, crossing his arms. "You've got spirit, kid, I'll give you that. And you're more clever than you look. Alright. Meet me at Training Ground 44 at dawn tomorrow. Don't be late." He turned to leave, then paused, glancing back at the tree where Kakashi was hiding. "And tell your sensei he can stop pretending to be asleep now. His reading material is rubbish compared to my works."

With that, the Toad Sage and his summon vanished in another cloud of smoke, leaving a bewildered but ecstatic Naruto.

***

The morning mist still clung to the edges of Training Ground 44, the "Forest of Death," giving the arena a suitably solemn atmosphere for the legendary training about to commence. Naruto, having arrived at an uncharacteristically early hour, was already standing on the surface of a large pond, his face screwed up in concentration. Yet, just like the day before, his feet stubbornly sank beneath the water with a frustrating *plop*.

"Gah! Why is this so hard?!" he grumbled, pulling his sopping leg out for the dozenth time.

Jiraiya observed from the bank, his arms crossed. He'd been quiet, more serious than the lecherous clown from the previous day. His gaze was analytical, piercing. "Your chakra control is abysmal, kid. It's like you're trying to blast a hole in the water instead of gently caressing its surface." He paused, tapping his chin. "There's a blockage. An inconsistency in your flow. Take off your jacket and shirt."

Naruto blinked. "Huh? Why? You some kind of weirdo?"

"Just do it!" Jiraiya barked, his voice losing its usual teasing tone.

Blushing slightly, Naruto complied, shucking off his bright orange jumpsuit top and the black shirt underneath, standing bare-chested in the cool morning air. "Happy?"

"Now, try again. Focus."

Naruto took a steadying breath and placed a foot on the water. He pushed chakra to his sole, but the result was the same—a disruptive surge that broke the surface tension. As he strained, something unexpected happened. A complex, seal-like pattern, dark and intricate, bloomed across his stomach.

Jiraiya's eyes, which had been half-lidded with boredom, snapped wide open. He surged forward, his large hand clamping onto Naruto's shoulder, his gaze locked on the boy's abdomen.

There it was. The masterwork of his beloved student, Minato Namikaze. The **Eight Trigrams Sealing Style**, perfectly crafted to contain the Nine-Tails. A wave of profound grief and pride washed over the Toad Sage. *'Minato... Kushina... So this is your boy. The one who carries your legacy and your burden.'* He would not speak of it. The boy's parentage was a secret for a reason, and now was not the time.

But his trained eyes saw more. Overlaying the beautiful, precise symmetry of the Fourth's seal was another, cruder, more malicious pattern. A **Five Elements Seal**. It was like a rusty spike driven into a fine watch, jamming the gears. Orochimaru's work. It wasn't just suppressing the Kyuubi's chakra; it was actively disrupting the flow of Naruto's *own* chakra, making it wild and unstable.

"So that's the problem," Jiraiya muttered, his voice a low rumble. "That snake... he... he crippled you, too."

"Wha? What is that? What's on my stomach?" Naruto asked, a note of panic in his voice.

"Nothing for you to worry about. Yet," Jiraiya said, his expression grim. "Hold still. This might feel... strange."

He formed a series of hand signs—Ram, Boar, Snake, Dog, Bird—his fingers moving with a speed and precision Naruto could barely follow. A faint, five-colored aura glowed around Jiraiya's hand as he slammed his palm flat against Naruto's stomach. "**Five Elements Unseal!**"

A shockwave of pure energy erupted from the point of impact. Naruto gasped, his eyes flying wide open. It was as if a static he'd never known was there had suddenly been silenced. The world felt sharper, clearer. The constant, low-level struggle to control the raging river of his chakra eased into a manageable flow. For the first time, he felt a sense of balance within himself.

"Whoa... What did you do, Ero-Sennin?"

"I fixed the mess that Orochimaru left you with," Jiraiya stated plainly, taking a step back. "Now, stop gawking and get on the water. Try again."

Naruto, still feeling the bizarre and wonderful new sensation of internal calm, turned back to the pond. He took a tentative step onto the surface, distributing his chakra as Kakashi had taught him. This time, it was different. The chakra didn't erupt or sputter; it flowed smoothly from the sole of his foot, creating a perfect, stable platform. He took another step, and then another. Soon, he was standing firmly in the center of the pond, the water perfectly still beneath his feet.

A wide, brilliant grin spread across his face. "I'm doing it! I'm really doing it! Look, Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya allowed a proud, paternal smile to touch his lips, hidden by the shadows. "Good. Took you long enough. Now, the real training begins. Water-walking was just the warm-up. I'm going to teach you something that will make every jonin in that stadium sit up and take notice."

***

Jiraiya led Naruto out of the dense, oppressive atmosphere of the Forest of Death to a more secluded, rocky clearing. The silence between them was heavy, charged with unspoken truths. Finally, Jiraiya stopped and turned, his expression uncharacteristically grave.

"Naruto," he began, his voice low and serious. "There's something we need to talk about. You know about the fox inside you, don't you?"

The vibrant, triumphant energy that had been radiating from Naruto just moments ago vanished, snuffed out like a candle. His shoulders slumped, and he stared at the ground, his bright blue eyes shadowed. "Yeah," he mumbled, the word barely audible. "I know."

He scuffed his foot against a rock. "The adults... they all look at me like I'm the fox. But my teammates... Ino, Sasuke... the other rookies... they don't know. Iruka-sensei told me it was a secret."

"It was the Third Hokage's decree," Jiraiya explained, his gaze drifting towards the Hokage Monument. "He hoped that by keeping the younger generation in the dark, they wouldn't inherit their parents' hatred. That you could be seen for who you are, not what you contain."

Naruto turned his back to Jiraiya, his small frame tense. "It was a stupid idea," he whispered, his voice thick with a lifetime of lonely ramen dinners and silent, hostile glares. "It didn't stop anyone from hating me. It just meant I never knew why."

Jiraiya felt a sharp pang of sympathy for the boy. He let the silence hang for a moment, allowing the pain to be acknowledged before steering them toward purpose.

"Listen, the past is what it is. What matters now is how you use what you have." Jiraiya's tone became analytical, like a master craftsman assessing his material. "Tell me, when you've been in a real fight, pushed to your absolute limit... have you ever felt a foreign influence? A surge of power that isn't your own? Especially when you're angry or afraid."

Naruto's head snapped up. His mind flashed back to the Land of Waves—to Haku's ice mirrors. The feeling of cold, red rage flooding his veins, his wounds closing on their own, his speed and strength multiplying exponentially. He remembered the forest, facing down Orochimaru, the same crimson energy boiling forth to protect him.

"My body... it felt hot. And everything looked... red," Naruto admitted, his voice hesitant. "It was like I was watching myself from inside, but I wasn't the one moving. It was scary."

"That was the Kyuubi's chakra leaking out," Jiraiya stated bluntly. "Your seal is designed to let a trickle through, mixing with your own chakra. That's the source of your incredible stamina. But I believe we can draw on it more directly." He crossed his arms, a plan forming in his mind. "Think of your body as a cup filled with your normal chakra. If we empty the cup completely, what's left to fill the space?"

Naruto looked confused for a second, then his eyes widened in understanding. "The fox's chakra?"

"Exactly. It will be forced to come out to sustain you. So, the first step is to completely exhaust your own reserves. Got any ideas?"

A familiar, determined grin spread across Naruto's face. It was an idea he was very, very good at. "Yeah. I've got one."

He formed the cross hand seal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

With a series of loud *pops*, the clearing was suddenly filled with dozens, then over a hundred identical Narutos, all cracking their knuckles and grinning.

"Alright, listen up!" the original Naruto yelled. "We're gonna spar! All of us! No holding back! The last one standing gets extra ramen!"

A chaotic roar of agreement rose from the crowd. Immediately, the clearing erupted into a massive, sprawling brawl. Narutos were tackling each other, throwing wild punches, dispersing in puffs of smoke only to be replaced by others leaping into the fray. It was a whirlwind of orange and blond hair, a perfectly efficient method for the original to burn through his monstrous chakra reserves at an astonishing rate.

Jiraiya watched the spectacle, a small, approving smirk on his face. "Good. Very good." He settled onto a large rock, keeping a vigilant eye on the original Naruto. He was waiting for the moment the boy's chakra bottomed out, and the sinister, crimson energy of the Nine-Tails began to rise. The real test was about to begin.

Chapter Text

The sterile, antiseptic smell of the hospital did little to calm the unease prickling at the back of Ino Yamanaka's mind. She'd brought flowers—a simple get-well gesture for her teammate—but when she slid the door to Sasuke's room open, she found only an empty, neatly made bed. The window was slightly ajar, the white curtains fluttering in the breeze.

"He's gone?" she whispered to the silent room. A cold knot of worry tightened in her stomach. Where would he go in that condition?

***

High on a sheer cliff face overlooking the village, a figure in a blue jumpsuit and a jonko vest scaled the rock with a terrifying, one-armed grace. Kakashi Hatake didn't use chakra adhesion; this was pure physical strength and brutal endurance. Just as he hauled himself over the summit, he found a visitor waiting for him, breathing heavily but standing with defiant pride.

"Sasuke," Kakashi remarked, not even slightly winded. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"What are you doing?" Sasuke countered, his dark eyes taking in his sensei's sweaty, dirt-stained state.

Kakashi stood and dusted off his vest. "A man with very poor literary taste stole my other student for the month. Since I suddenly found myself with free time, I thought I'd do some one-armed mountain climbing." His lone visible eye crinkled into a smile, but it didn't reach the intensity of his gaze as it swept over Sasuke. "But it seems my schedule has just been filled again. That Orochimaru... he marked you with something dangerous, didn't he? And now you're feeling left behind."

Sasuke's jaw tightened, a silent admission. The weakness he'd felt in the Forest of Death, the gap between himself and the monster that was Orochimaru, was unbearable. Now Naruto was off training with some legendary sage?

"Seeing as you're fit enough to track me all the way out here," Kakashi said, his voice dropping its lazy cadence, "it's time for your training to begin. We're going to ensure that what Orochimaru gave you becomes a weapon for you, and not a cage."

***

Back at the hospital, Ino sank into the chair beside Sasuke's empty bed, the flowers resting forgotten in her lap. Her thoughts churned, circling back to the biggest enigma on their team: Naruto.

She remembered the Preliminaries with crystal clarity. Kiba's brutal attacks, Akamaru's tearing fangs... Naruto should have been down and out. But then, the wounds had *smoked*. She'd seen it with her own eyes—the deep gashes sealing themselves shut before the next blow even landed. It wasn't normal regeneration. It was something else.

She had tried to find answers. She'd asked Naruto directly how he'd managed to graduate after failing the Clone Jutsu for years. His answer had been a typically loud, "I showed Iruka-sensei my awesome Shadow Clones and he passed me! Believe it!"

But that had just led to another question. When she'd casually wondered how he had the chakra for a jutsu that high-level, Kakashi-sensei had smoothly, almost too smoothly, interjected. "Naruto simply has… vastly more chakra than the average shinobi. It's why his control is so poor."

The answer had been a placeholder, a way to shut down the conversation. She'd even asked her father, Inoichi, head of the Yamanaka clan and the Intelligence Division. She'd brought up the night of the graduation, mentioning the scandal about Mizuki trying to steal the Scroll of Sealing. Her father's face had gone carefully, professionally neutral.

"It was a troubling incident," Inoichi had said, his tone measured. "Mizuki betrayed his station."

"And… did it have anything to do with Naruto?" Ino had pressed.

The shift in her father's demeanor had been instantaneous and telling. A subtle wall went up. "The details of that night are classified, Ino. For your own safety, it's best not to pry."

*Classified. Safety. Don't pry.*

Everyone was hiding something. Kakashi-sensei with his vague explanations. Her father with his classified secrets. Naruto's inexplicable healing, his bottomless chakra, the mysterious scars on his wrist she'd noticed on their first day as a team—scars that spoke of a depth of pain she'd never imagined the loudmouth idiot possessing.

It all pointed to one, inescapable conclusion: Uzumaki Naruto was at the center of a secret so big that the highest levels of Konoha's leadership were involved in covering it up. And as the guilt over her role in his pain gnawed at her, Ino's resolve solidified. She wouldn't just stand by. She would find out the truth, one way or another.

***

The air atop the cliff crackled with a sound like a thousand birds screeching. A ball of brilliant, white-hot lightning coalesced in Kakashi's palm, casting sharp, dancing shadows across the rock face. The raw power of it made the hairs on Sasuke's arms stand on end. This was a jutsu of assassination, of pure, focused killing intent.

"This is the Chidori," Kakashi stated, the light dying down as he dismissed the technique. "It requires the user to move at high speed, and the Sharingan's predictive sight to track the target and avoid a counterattack. With your natural Uchiha eyes, mastering it will be far easier for you than it was for me."

Sasuke's Sharingan had been active, greedily recording every detail of the chakra formation. But his mind was on something else. This was the moment. The question that had burned in him since he first saw this man years ago.

"Kakashi," Sasuke began, his voice unusually hesitant. "How? Why do you, an outsider, possess the Sharingan?"

Kakashi went very still. The casual slouch vanished from his posture, replaced by a weary tension. He was silent for a long moment, his gaze turning inward, towards a memory filled with rain and rubble.

"During the Third Shinobi World War," he finally said, his voice low and stripped of all its usual artifice, "my team consisted of myself, Rin Nohara, and an Uchiha... Obito Uchiha."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He knew that name from the clan memorial stone. A name listed among the dead.

"On a mission, Obito was crushed by a massive boulder. His right side was completely destroyed." Kakashi's hand unconsciously went to his covered left eye. "But before he died, he... he gave me a gift. He had awakened his Sharingan in the heat of battle. He asked Rin, our medic, to transplant his remaining eye into my damaged socket."

Sasuke processed this. A gift? "So you... you carved out your own original eye to put his in?" The thought was grotesque, a level of dedication to power he could barely comprehend.

"No," Kakashi corrected sharply, the memory a fresh wound even after all these years. "I had lost my left eye already. Stabbed out by a Stone ninja. The socket was empty. Obito's gift... it was not just a weapon. It was his will to protect comrades, his dream of becoming Hokage. He gave me his very sight."

The weight of that statement hung heavily between them. It wasn't a story of stolen power, but one of inherited legacy and profound loss. For the first time, Sasuke looked at Kakashi not just as a powerful jonin, but as a man carrying the ghost of an Uchiha on his shoulder.

***

Meanwhile, in a different training ground, the last of Naruto's shadow clones poofed out of existence in a cloud of smoke. The original Naruto collapsed onto his back, chest heaving, every muscle screaming in protest. He was utterly, completely drained.

"Finally," Jiraiya grunted, looking down at the exhausted boy. "Your cup is empty. Now, for the main event." He bit his thumb, swiped a line of blood across his palm, and slammed it onto the ground. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**"

A massive plume of smoke erupted, and when it cleared, a grumpy-looking toad the size of a small house sat there, armed with a giant, wickedly sharp fork.

"Jiraiya, you old fool! This had better be important!" the toad croaked.

"Just a demonstration, Gamagoro. Stand by." Jiraiya then turned to Naruto. "Your turn. This is the Summoning Jutsu. It's the key to accessing the power of the toads of Mount Myoboku. Form the hand signs, channel your chakra—the *real* chakra that's starting to stir inside you now—and slam your blood-signed hand on the ground."

Gasping, Naruto pushed himself up. He bit his thumb, copying Jiraiya's signs—Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram. He focused, feeling not his own depleted energy, but a deep, simmering, red-hot well of power beginning to bubble up from his core. He put everything he had into the call.

"**KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!**"

There was a puff of smoke, far smaller and less impressive than Jiraiya's. When it dissipated, a single, wriggling, green tadpole, no bigger than Naruto's thumb, lay flopping on the grass.

There was a long, deafening silence.

Gamagoro the giant toad stared. Jiraiya stared. Naruto stared.

Then, a throbbing vein bulged on Jiraiya's forehead. His eye twitched violently.

"A... a tadpole?" he sputtered, his voice a mixture of utter disbelief and profound exasperation. "After all that buildup, you summon a *tadpole*?! Even your *potential* is a knucklehead!"

The tadpole gave a helpless little flip. Naruto scratched his head, a goofy, embarrassed grin on his face. "Well... at least I summoned something, right, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya sighed, the sound of a man whose patience was being tested by destiny itself. This was going to be a very long month.

***

The Yamanaka Clan's mind-training dojo was silent save for the soft rustle of clothing and the focused breathing of its two occupants. Ino and her father, Inoichi, sat cross-legged opposite each other, their minds lightly brushing in a practice session of the clan's signature jutsu. But Ino's focus was fractured.

Behind her closed eyelids, she wasn't focusing on her father's mental defenses. She was seeing *him*.

Sasuke.

The boy she'd had a crush on since the Academy. The cool, talented, handsome prodigy. But the image that surfaced wasn't the aloof, attractive classmate. It was the memory of his voice on their first day as Team 7, cold and flat as a grave marker: *"My dream is to kill a certain man."*

The words had sent a chill down her spine then, and they still did now. She saw him again during the Bell Test, lunging at Kakashi with a kunai, his eyes blazing with genuine, unnerving killing intent. She remembered the Forest of Death, the sickening crunch as he methodically broke Zaku's arms without a flicker of emotion, his Sharingan spinning coldly.

A wave of disappointment washed over her, not at Sasuke, but at herself. She had spent years swooning over a facade—the "Uchiha genius," the "coolest boy in class." She realized with a jolt that she knew nothing of the darkness that festered beneath that calm exterior, the pain that fueled that all-consuming goal. She was supposed to be a kunoichi skilled in understanding the hearts and minds of others, yet she had failed to see the most crucial parts of her own teammate. How could she ever hope to connect with him, to truly be on his level, if she only saw the surface?

"Ino," her father's calm voice cut through her turmoil, his eyes opening. "Your mind is scattered. You're not here with me. You're thinking about the Uchiha boy again."

Ino flinched, her own eyes snapping open. She couldn't deny it.

***

Elsewhere, the air was filled with considerably less introspection and considerably more frustration.

"**KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!**"

Another puff of smoke. Jiraiya peered through the dissipating cloud, his expression a mixture of dying hope and simmering rage. Lying on the grass was another miniscule creature. This one, however, was slightly less tadpole-like.

"Naruto..." Jiraiya began, his voice dangerously low.

"Wait! Ero-Sennin, look!" Naruto insisted, pointing excitedly. "This one has legs! See? Little tiny legs!"

It was true. The small, wriggling amphibian now sported two pathetic, underdeveloped hind legs.

Jiraiya's eye twitched violently. "Give it a head and two arms, and I'll train *it* instead!" he deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It might have better chakra control than you!"

"Hey! I'm getting better! It has legs now! That's progress, believe it!" Naruto protested, his hands on his hips.

"Progress? This isn't progress, this is an insult to the entire Toad Sage lineage!" Jiraiya roared, gesturing wildly. "My summons are mighty warriors who have fought tailed beasts! Yours is a potential appetizer for a seagull!"

But Naruto, as always, was immune to despair. For days, he continued. He would drain his chakra in massive clone spars, feel the red, foreign energy surge within him, and attempt the summoning. The results were a series of heartbreakingly insignificant amphibians: a slightly larger tadpole, a froglet with three legs, one with a misshapen head.

Each failure was met with a fresh wave of Jiraiya's theatrical fury and Naruto's stubborn, unshakeable determination. The cycle repeated—exhaustion, the surge of Kyuubi chakra, the hand signs, the puff of smoke, and the disappointing plop of a creature that was, at best, a vague suggestion of a toad. The wall between Naruto and the power he needed felt immense, but the boy was too stubborn to stop throwing himself against it.

***

After what felt like an eternity of humiliating failures, a final, determined shout of "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" was followed by a puff of smoke that, for once, didn't dissipate to reveal a pathetic wriggle. Instead, a small, orange-tinted toad, roughly the size of a small dog, stood on the grass, blinking.

"Whoa! A real one!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fist in the air. "I did it, Ero-Sennin! A real toad!"

The toad looked around, unimpressed. "Hey, what's the big idea, summoning me like that? The name's Gamakichi. You the new guy?"

Naruto grinned wildly. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!"

Gamakichi shrugged. "Well, my big sis Gamatatsu is waiting for me. Don't summon me for boring stuff." With another puff, he was gone.

Jiraiya let out a long, weary sigh. It was progress, but it was minuscule. Gamakichi was a child, barely more useful in a fight than the tadpole. Time was running out, and the boy needed a breakthrough, not incremental improvements. A dangerous, reckless idea began to form in the Toad Sage's mind. It was a gamble with the highest possible stakes, but it had worked for another jinchuriki he'd known long ago.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said, his voice losing all its theatrical annoyance, becoming deadly serious. "We're out of time for baby steps. I have a... shortcut. But it will put your life on the line. Are you willing to risk everything for power?"

Naruto's eyes widened, but not with fear. They shone with a fierce, unyielding light. "I'll do anything to get stronger! To prove myself to everyone! Let's do it!"

Without another word, Jiraiya led a confused but excited Naruto back into the heart of Konoha. "Tell me, Naruto," Jiraiya asked as they walked, "what do you do when you have free time? What brings you the most happiness?"

"Ramen!" Naruto answered instantly, his face lighting up. "Especially from Ichiraku! It's the best in the world!" He pointed eagerly to the familiar ramen stand.

"Good," Jiraiya said, a plan solidifying. He marched Naruto inside, slapped a hefty stack of ryo on the counter, and told Teuchi, "Give him whatever he wants! As much as he can ea!. He should eat like it's his last meal!"

Naruto, thinking this was the best training method ever invented, didn't need to be told twice. He slurped down bowl after bowl, his belly growing round and full, a blissful smile on his face.

Once Naruto could eat no more, Jiraiya led him to a secluded training ground that bordered one of Konoha's deepest, most jagged cliffs. The sun was beginning to set, casting long, ominous shadows.

"Are you ready, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, his back to the boy.

"YES!" Naruto shouted, striking a pose. "I'm ready for anything! What's the—"

His words were cut off as Jiraiya spun around with shocking speed, his foot connecting solidly with Naruto's chest. The force was immense, utterly unlike their previous sparring. Naruto was launched backward through the air, his eyes wide with pure, uncomprehending horror. He flew over the edge of the cliff.

The world became a terrifying blur of sky and falling rock. The wind screamed in his ears. The blissful warmth of ramen in his stomach turned to a cold, hard stone of fear. *He actually kicked me off!* This wasn't training; this was a death sentence!

*I'm going to die!*

As the ground rushed up to meet him, a different kind of darkness swallowed him whole. Not the darkness of impact, but a sudden, wet, and oppressive gloom.

The screaming wind ceased. The sight of the rushing cliff face vanished.

Naruto blinked, his heart hammering against his ribs. He was no longer falling. He was standing on a shallow layer of stagnant water that reflected a dim, eerie light. He was in a massive, cavernous space that looked like the inside of a giant... sewer. A long pathway stretched before him, lined with giant metal grates, and at the end of it, looming in the shadows, was an enormous, rusted cage. Pinned to the cage's bars was a paper seal that read "SEAL."

And from within the darkness of the cage, two malevolent, blood-red eyes slit open, fixing on him with ancient, bottomless hatred.

A low, guttural growl, the sound of grinding mountains and crumbling civilizations, echoed through the chamber.

**"Well, well... Look who finally decided to visit."**

***

The sight that greeted Naruto within the sewer was the stuff of his most primal nightmares. The colossal creature, a mass of burning red fur and suffocating malice, was far more terrifying than any storybook illustration. Its very presence was a weight crushing his spirit.

He screamed.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune let out a low, rumbling chuckle that vibrated through the water beneath Naruto's feet. **"What's the matter, brat? Scared of your own tenant?"** its voice was a physical force, dripping with centuries of contempt.

Naruto stumbled back, his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest. But deep within, a spark of that trademark Uzumaki stubbornness flickered to life, fanned by sheer desperation. "Y-You... you live inside me!" he shouted, his voice trembling but loud. "If you're gonna live in my gut, you should pay rent! Give me your chakra!"

A deafening roar of laughter echoed through the chamber. **"RENT? You insolent gnat! I am your curse! Your prison!"** A massive, clawed paw swiped through the bars of the cage with shocking speed, the air pressure alone sending Naruto tumbling backward onto the wet floor. The message was clear: the bars were the only thing keeping him from being shredded.

Terrified but with no other options, Naruto scrambled to his feet, glaring at the monstrous eyes. "I need it now! Or we both end up as a stain on the rocks!"

The Kyuubi's laughter died down to a sinister hum. The boy was in true mortal peril. And a dead jinchuriki meant a temporary, inconvenient death for the Kyuubi as well. More than that, it sensed the boy's raw will. There was a perverse curiosity in seeing what this vessel could do with a taste of real power.

**"Very well, brat. Take it. But remember, every time you draw on my power, you invite me in. You become more my vessel, and less yourself."** A torrent of thick, crimson, bubbling chakra erupted from the cage, slamming into Naruto.

***

In the real world, the wind still screamed past Naruto's ears. The ground was terrifyingly close. But his eyes, now snapped open, glowed with a faint red hue. The fear was still there, but it was now eclipsed by a surge of power so vast it was dizzying. He bit his thumb, not with hesitation, but with a feral determination.

"**KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!**"

The smoke cloud that erupted was not a puff. It was a thunderous explosion that consumed the space where Naruto was about to land. When it cleared, a toad of monumental proportions now sat at the bottom of the cliff, so large that Naruto was standing safely on its head. It was Gamabunta, the Toad Boss.

The giant toad took a drag from his massive pipe, his expression one of profound irritation. "What's the big idea, summoning me to a place like this?" he grumbled, his voice like grinding boulders. He looked around, then with an effortless leap that defied his size, he launched himself up the cliff face, landing with a ground-shaking *thud* next to a wide-eyed Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya! This had better be good," Gamabunta rumbled.

Naruto, still buzzing with alien chakra, stared in awe at the creature he'd summoned. "Whoa... You're huge! Thanks for saving me, mister toad!"

"Tch. It's Gamabunta, kid." His eyes scanned the area. "Where's Jiraiya? That pervert never knows when he's caused enough trouble."

Naruto's head cocked to the side in genuine confusion. "Jiraiya? Who's that?"

Gamabunta blinked his large, lidded eyes. "The Toad Sage. The man who trained the Yondaime. The one who's supposed to be training *you*. White hair, red haori, always peeking at women?"

The description clicked, but the name did not. "Oh! You mean Ero-Sennin!"

But as he said it, a cold shiver, entirely separate from the Kyuubi's chakra, ran down his spine. *Jiraiya*. The name echoed in the darkest corner of his memory. The night of the suicide attempt. The nightmare that had haunted him. In that dream, a kind-faced woman with vibrant red hair had spoken to him, her voice full of love and sorrow. And she had mentioned a name... a name he'd forgotten until now. She had said, "...and Jiraiya-sense will look after you..."

His face paled. The world seemed to tilt. A part of that horrible, fragmented nightmare was real. The man training him wasn't just a random powerful pervert; he was connected to a ghost from a dream, to a woman he felt he should know but didn't. The confusion was overwhelming, eclipsing even his triumph. Who was Jiraiya? And who was the red-haired woman who knew his name?

Chapter Text

Gamabunta's monumental leap carried him from the cliff base to the solid ground of the training area in a single, earth-shaking bound. Jiraiya, who had been watching the edge with a tension he rarely showed, let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. His visible eye widened slightly, not just in relief, but in genuine, unadulterated shock. The kid hadn't just summoned *a* toad; he'd summoned the boss of them all.

"Jiraiya!," Gamabunta's voice boomed, his glare shifting to the Toad Sage. "Where are you!? Explain this recklessness. I was in the middle of a nap."

Before Jiraiya could answer, a triumphant shout came from above. "Hey! I did it! I summoned you, you big, awesome toad!" Naruto was still standing on Gamabunta's head, hands on his hips, beaming with pride.

Gamabunta's eye twitched. "You? A snot-nosed brat like you couldn't summon a fly. It was Jiraiya's chakra I felt, mixed with... something else. Now get off my head. It's disrespectful."

"No way!" Naruto yelled, stomping his foot. "It was me! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna be your summoner! Believe it!"

The sheer audacity of the child was astounding. Gamabunta let out a smoky snort. "Hah! You couldn't handle me if your life depended on it."

"Then prove it!" Naruto challenged, his eyes blazing with that familiar, stubborn fire. "If I can hold on to you until sunset, you have to agree to be my summon! No take-backs!"

A profound, irritated silence fell over the clearing. Jiraiya facepalmed, muttering, "He never does things the easy way..."

Gamabunta was, for a moment, too insulted to speak. Then, a low, dangerous growl rumbled in his chest. "You have a death wish, child. Fine. I'll give you a lesson you won't forget."

What followed was an hour of pure, chaotic spectacle. Gamabunta bucked, twisted, and shook with the force of a small earthquake. He tried to scrape Naruto off against the cliff face, but Naruto, fueled by leftover Kyuubi chakra and inhuman tenacity, clung on like a burr. He sprinted across Gamabunta's broad back, dodging the toad's attempts to swat him with his own massive limbs.

Naruto grunted, his fingers gripping a fold of Gamabunta's tough skin.

"Never! You insolent pest!" Gamabunta roared, executing a sudden, violent roll.

The sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. Naruto's strength, both his own and the borrowed power, was finally at its limit. As Gamabunta made one final, mighty leap into the air and twisted, Naruto's grip failed. He was flung from the toad's head, tumbling through the air unconscious before he could even hit the ground.

In a flash of movement, Jiraiya was there, catching the boy effortlessly in his arms. He looked down at Naruto's peaceful, exhausted face, a complex mix of pride and concern in his eyes.

He then looked up at Gamabunta, who had landed and was staring at the fallen boy with a grudging, newfound respect.

"The brat has spirit, I'll give him that," Gamabunta grumbled, taking a long drag from his pipe. "He's stubborn as a rock and has no manners, but... he's got guts."

"That he does," Jiraiya agreed softly. He then produced a large, ancient scroll from within his robes. Unfurling it, he revealed the Toad Summoning Contract. "I think he's earned the right to sign it, don't you?"

Gamabunta gave a slow, single nod. "Let him. I'm curious to see what kind of chaos this one will bring."

Using Naruto's still-bleeding thumb, Jiraiya carefully guided the boy's hand, pressing his fingerprint onto the scroll and writing "Uzumaki Naruto" in bold, kanji beside the names of Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya himself. The contract was sealed. A new, unpredictable bond between a boy with a demon's power and the sage toads of Mount Myoboku had been forged.

***

The world came back to Naruto in pieces. First, the sterile smell of antiseptic. Then, the stiff feeling of starch-heavy hospital sheets. Finally, the blurry sight of blonde hair framing a face he never expected to see so close to his.

Before he could even process it, Ino surged forward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight, trembling hug. "You idiot!" she whispered into his shoulder, her voice thick with tears. "You were out for three days! Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

Naruto froze, his brain short-circuiting. This was Ino. The same Ino who had once looked down on him, whose words had cut deeper than any kunai and driven him to a desperate, dark place. Now, those same eyes that had held scorn were spilling tears of relief for him. He could feel the genuine tremor in her arms. A confusing lump formed in his own throat, and he had to blink hard to fight back a sudden, unexpected sting in his eyes.

The moment broke as Ino pulled back, sniffling and quickly wiping her face, a hint of her usual pride returning. "The nurses found you in the street with a... a giant toad footprint next to you. What kind of insane training was that?"

"T-Three days?!" Naruto yelped, the information hitting him like a physical blow. He threw the covers off, scrambling out of bed. "I can't be lying here! I've gotta train! The finals are—"

"In a few weeks, you knucklehead!" Ino said, grabbing his arm to steady him as he wobbled. "You're no good to anyone if you collapse again. Look, if you're so restless, come with me. I was going to check on Lee. He's... not doing well. It might do him good to see a familiar face."

The mention of Lee's name sobered Naruto. He remembered the boy's fierce determination and the horrific injuries he'd sustained at Gaara's hands. He nodded, letting Ino lead him out of the room and down the hall.

They reached Lee's room, and Ino gently pushed the door open. The scene inside sent a jolt of ice through both of them.

Standing silently at the foot of Lee's bed, his back to them, was a figure with reddish hair and a gourd on his back. The air in the room grew heavy and cold.

"Gaara!" Naruto roared, all his fear and fury erupting at once. He lunged into the room, his fist connecting solidly with Gaara's cheek, sending the boy stumbling back a step. "What the hell are you doing here?! Haven't you done enough to him?!"

Gaara slowly turned his head back, his cold, light-blue eyes devoid of any emotion. A trickle of sand dribbled from a small cut on his face, but he made no move to attack. He simply stared at Naruto, his expression unreadable.

Ino stood frozen in the doorway, her hand flying to her mouth in horror. She saw the monster who had brutally crushed Lee now standing over his broken body, and Naruto, who had just been unconscious for days, was already squaring up against him.

The air crackled with lethal intent as Gaara's deadened voice filled the silent room.

"I felt his pain," Gaara stated, his gaze shifting from Naruto to the heavily bandaged, unconscious form of Lee. "I came to understand it."

***

Ino's fear was momentarily eclipsed by sheer, bewildered outrage. "Understand it? What are you even talking about? You're the one who put him in that bed!"

Gaara clutched the sides of his head, his fingers digging into his temples as if trying to silence a voice only he could hear. "You wouldn't understand. You are... normal. You have bonds." His voice was a low, strained monotone. "I am not like you. My father... the Fourth Kazekage... he loved me. He spoiled me. He gifted me with the ultimate defense... a sand spirit named Shukaku. The spirit of a lonely old man, sealed in a tea kettle."

Naruto and Ino exchanged an uncomfortable glance. The description was unnerving, a twisted fairy tale.

Then Gaara's head snapped up, his eyes wide and unfocused. "He tried to kill me." The statement hung in the air, stark and horrifying. "Six times. Since I was six years old. I began to realize... his love was a lie. I was not a son. I am a weapon."

Naruto felt a cold knot tighten in his stomach. The words echoed in the hollow places of his own soul. The lonely nights, the hostile glares from the villagers—it wasn't the same as assassination attempts from a parent, but the core feeling of being unwanted, of being a monster, was a language he understood fluently.

"I want to die," Gaara whispered, and the raw, simple honesty of it was more terrifying than any roar. "But Shukaku will not let me. My sand protects me even from myself." His gaze shifted to Naruto, and for a split second, Naruto saw his own reflection in those tormented eyes—the reflection of a boy on a bridge at night, looking down at the dark, rushing water, his own unnatural healing already sealing the vertical cuts on his wrists.

"So I live only for myself," Gaara continued, the dead calm returning to his voice. "I fight only for myself. And since I am forced to exist, I have found my purpose. The only thing that confirms I am alive... is the act of killing others. The pain of my enemies is my proof of existence."

The sand in the gourd on his back began to stir, rising into a swirling, menacing cloud that crept towards Lee's motionless form. "Now... let me enjoy my life."

"NO!" Naruto yelled, stepping forward, but he was still weak from his ordeal.

Ino stood paralyzed, her mind screaming but her body refusing to move.

Just as the sharpened grains of sand were about to touch Lee's bandages, a green blur shot into the room with hurricane force. A powerful kick, too fast to see, met the swirling sand head-on, dispersing it with a concussive *WHOOSH*.

Standing protectively between Gaara and Lee's bed, his body radiating a palpable, fiery aura of fury, was Might Guy. His usual exuberant smile was gone, replaced by a look of grim, unshakable resolve. His teeth were gritted, and tears of sheer rage streamed down his face.

"You," Guy said, his voice low and vibrating with emotion, "will not lay a single grain of sand on my precious student. Not ever again."

***
"Whatever", Gaara stated, irritated by the intervention. "Just you wait! I'll kill you all someday", Gaara mutters before leaving.
A chilling silence lingered in Lee's room after Gaara's departure, broken only by Guy's heavy, controlled breathing. The green-clad jonin slowly unclenched his fists, the tears of rage still tracing paths down his cheeks.

"I have seen many things in my life," Guy said, his voice uncharacteristically soft and grave, "but I have never seen a child of twelve with eyes so full of... nothing." He turned to Naruto and Ino, his expression shifting to one of deep concern. "Are you two alright? That was... a dangerous encounter."

Ino could only nod mutely, her face pale. Naruto, however, was staring at the doorway where Gaara had vanished, his own hands clenched. The other boy's words had struck a chord that was still vibrating painfully within him.

***

Elsewhere, the air crackled with a different, more focused intensity. Kakashi watched as Sasuke, his Sharingan active, held a hand aloft. A discordant chirping of birds erupted from his palm, and a few wild arcs of lightning flickered around it before sputtering out. Sasuke gasped, dropping to one knee, his chakra depleted.

"It's no use," he panted, frustration etched on his face. "Gathering that much chakra and converting it to lightning nature... it's too difficult."

"Your chakra reserves are smaller than Naruto's," Kakashi stated matter-of-factly. "This jutsu demands precision and control, not just raw power. Again."

As Sasuke forced himself to his feet, ready to try once more, Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed. He didn't turn, but his posture shifted subtly into a defensive stance.

"You can come out," Kakashi said, his voice flat. "I felt you the moment you arrived."

From behind a large boulder, Gaara emerged, his expression as vacant as ever, his gaze locked solely on Sasuke. The sand in his gourd whispered ominously.

"Sasuke..." Kakashi prompted, keeping his own position between his student and the threat.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke demanded, unnerved by the intense, predatory stare.

Gaara's lips barely moved. "You're my prey..."

A cold shiver ran down Sasuke's spine. "Stop it," he snapped, a nervous edge to his voice he couldn't quite conceal.

"I want you to come at me," Gaara continued, his monotone voice giving the words a terrifying weight. "In our fight. I want you to come at me with the intent to kill me."

Sasuke's eyes widened. The casual way Gaara spoke of murder was horrifying.

"That is when humans reveal their true potential," Gaara explained, as if discussing the weather. "When they are trying to kill one another. That is what I want to see." Having said his piece, he turned and walked away, the sand slithering back into his gourd.

Sasuke stood frozen, the encounter leaving him feeling cold and exposed.

Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, breaking his trance. "He's a piece of work. But you have your own monster to slay, don't you?" Kakashi's voice was low and intent. "If you can't master this, if you can't get past a boy like him, then you will never have the strength to kill Itachi."

The name hung in the air like a guillotine's blade. Sasuke flinched as if struck, then his entire body tensed. The fear and unease vanished from his eyes, burned away by a rekindled fire of pure, undiluted hatred. His Sharingan spun violently.

"Again," Sasuke growled, his voice now steady and cold as steel. He raised his hand, and with a furious, focused will, the chirping of a thousand birds erupted once more, louder and sharper than before, the lightning in his palm glowing with a deadly, brilliant light.

***

Naruto felt the ground crumbling beneath him. Ino's question hung in the air, a trap he had no way to escape. His mind raced, but every possible path led back to the Nine-Tails, to the truth that would change how she looked at him forever. He opened his mouth, a desperate, half-formed lie on his lips, when a booming voice cut through the tension.

"Because the Uzumaki name is one of legendary vitality and chakra!"

Might Guy stood in the doorway, striking a dramatic pose, his teeth gleaming in a brilliant smile. Naruto and Ino stared, utterly bewildered.

"Uzumaki... clan?" Naruto repeated, the words feeling foreign on his tongue. He'd always thought "Uzumaki" was just his name, like "Hatake" was for Kakashi. He never imagined it connected him to a whole clan.

"Ino-shōjo! Naruto-kun!" Guy declared, pointing at them. "The Uzumaki of Uzushiogakure were famed across the nations! Their life force was so immense, their chakra reserves so vast, they were masters of fuinjutsu and could survive wounds that would kill any other shinobi! It is no wonder that Naruto, as their scion, possesses such a formidable, youthful chakra pool!"

Ino's eyes widened, fascinated. This sounded like a legend from a history book. "Really? I've never heard of them."

"Ah!" Guy's enthusiasm was carrying him away. "It is a tragic tale of a destroyed village, but their legacy lives on! Why, they were also known for their vibrant, fiery red—"

Guy's words cut off abruptly as his brain finally caught up with his mouth. His smile froze, his eyes darting to Naruto's very blond hair. A single, comical sweatdrop rolled down his temple. *'Youthful folly! I have almost revealed the connection to the Fourth Hokage's wife!'*

"...Red... red-hot determination!" he finished, lamely, his voice losing its steam. "Yes! A fiery will of fire that burned brighter than any hair color!"

The save was clumsy, and both genin noticed. Ino looked from Guy's suddenly nervous expression to Naruto's completely bewildered one. The Uzumaki clan explanation was satisfying enough; it was a logical, historical reason for his strange chakra, and it conveniently wrapped up the loose end of the Scroll incident. Her curiosity, for now, was sated. She wouldn't press Naruto further.

"Okay," Ino said, a small, accepting smile on her face. "That makes sense, I guess. A famous clan. No wonder you're such a monster when it comes to chakra."

Naruto nodded mutely, but his mind was reeling. *A clan? My clan?* It was the first time anyone had ever suggested he came from *somewhere*. That he had a history. But Guy's slip-up echoed in his head.

*'Vibrant, fiery red...'*

The image from his nightmare, the kind-faced woman with the long, beautiful red hair, flashed before his eyes. Her voice, so full of love, telling him about... about Jiraiya.

The pieces were all there, swirling in a confusing vortex: a legendary clan he knew nothing about, a red-haired woman in his dreams, and a Toad Sage who was connected to it all. The secret of the Fox was still safely buried, but in its place, a new, deeply personal mystery had erupted. Who was he, really?