BEYOND THE WALLS: THE TITAN JINCHŪRIKI

The darkness beneath Wall Sina pulsed with secrets. Torchlight cast monstrous shadows across stone walls never meant to be seen by common eyes, the flickering flames illuminating a tableau of desperate science and forbidden knowledge. At the center of the cavernous laboratory, a metal table gleamed coldly under harsh lantern light, its surface occupied by a squirming bundle wrapped in white linen.

An infant's cry pierced the hushed murmurs of the assembled figures.

"Silence him," ordered a tall man whose face remained obscured by shadow. His voice carried the unmistakable weight of authority—the kind that bent spines and broke wills. "The walls have ears, even this far below."

Dr. Grisha Yeager stepped forward, his spectacles catching the torchlight as he approached the table. The baby's cries intensified, tiny fists punching through the swaddling cloth. Blond wisps of hair clung to his damp forehead, and peculiar birthmarks—three whisker-like lines on each cheek—flushed red with his screams.

"Your Majesty," Grisha began, his voice low but steady despite the weight of the moment, "are we certain this is our only option? The serum is still experimental, and this child—"

"Is the perfect subject," King Fritz interrupted, finally stepping into the light. His eyes, hollow with the burden of terrible knowledge, fixed on the infant. "The parents' bloodwork showed compatibility unlike anything we've seen before. If anyone can survive the procedure, it's this child."

The king's gaze drifted to a wooden chest guarded by two silent men in black coats bearing the unicorn insignia of the Military Police's Interior Squad. One of them produced a key, unlocking the chest with ceremonial solemnity.

"Proceed, Dr. Yeager."

Grisha hesitated, sweat beading on his brow. His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the chest. Inside, nestled in velvet cushioning, lay a syringe filled with luminescent fluid that seemed to shift and swirl of its own accord—spinal fluid harvested from the Founding Titan itself, the most precious and dangerous substance within the Walls.

"The fate of humanity rests on far more fragile foundations than this child's life," the king added, perhaps sensing Grisha's reluctance. "His parents understood that when they volunteered their unborn son for this project."

A sharp intake of breath from the corner drew their attention. A slender woman with auburn hair stepped forward, her Scout Regiment uniform stained with fresh blood.

"They didn't volunteer him," she said, her voice brittle with barely contained fury. "They died believing their sacrifice would buy him safety, not turn him into an experiment."

"Commander Uzumaki," the king acknowledged coldly. "Your presence was not requested at this procedure."

Tsunade Uzumaki's eyes flashed dangerously. "I made a promise to Kushina. Her son would be protected."

"And so he shall be," the king replied. "Protected by becoming our salvation."

The baby's cries had subsided to whimpers, his tiny chest heaving with exhaustion. Minuscule fingers grasped at nothing, searching for comfort in a world suddenly bereft of warmth.

"His name is Naruto," Tsunade said, as if the name itself were a shield she could place between the child and what was about to happen. "Naruto Uzumaki."

Grisha's hands had steadied as he prepared the injection site—the soft skin of the infant's belly. The laboratory had gone silent save for the distant drip of water against stone and the soft wheezing of an elderly man in a military uniform adorned with more medals than seemed possible to earn in one lifetime.

"The seal preparations are complete," announced a thin man with silvery hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face. His fingers traced complex patterns in the air above the child, completing a ritual whose origins predated the Walls themselves. "The binding jutsu will activate upon introduction of the Titan essence."

"Jutsu?" King Fritz raised an eyebrow. "Your eastern mysticism has no place in this procedure, Kakashi."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Kakashi bowed slightly, his single visible eye betraying nothing. "Old habits from a world long forgotten. I meant to say the binding ritual."

Grisha positioned the needle, its point hovering just above the infant's navel where intricate markings had been painted in a spiral pattern. The baby—Naruto—had fallen unexpectedly quiet, his blue eyes wide and staring directly at Grisha with an awareness that seemed impossible for a newborn.

"The parents were both of noble lineage," whispered one of the observers to another. "The father from the lost Namikaze clan, the mother a direct descendant of the Uzumaki royal family that ruled the eastern provinces before the Titans came."

"Silence," commanded the king.

Outside, far above them, thunder cracked across the sky. The timing felt ominous, as if nature itself protested what was about to occur.

"Begin," ordered King Fritz.

Grisha pushed the needle into the infant's abdomen. Naruto's body went rigid, his blue eyes widening impossibly as the luminescent fluid entered his tiny system. For one terrible moment, nothing happened.

Then chaos erupted.

The markings on the child's stomach began to glow with an otherworldly light, the painted spiral pattern burning away to reveal something else entirely—a seal emerging from within the infant's own flesh. Naruto's scream transcended the merely human, the sound ricocheting off stone walls and shattering glass vials throughout the laboratory.

"What's happening?" demanded the king, shielding his eyes from the increasingly brilliant light emanating from the child.

"The serum—it's being contained!" Grisha shouted over the din, his face a mask of scientific awe and horror. "The seal is somehow encapsulating the Titan power instead of allowing transformation!"

The light from Naruto's belly coalesced into visible patterns, forming what appeared to be an elaborate spiral seal with intricate formulaic symbols around its edges. Blood seeped from the infant's navel, but rather than spreading, it was drawn back into the emerging seal pattern as if magnetized.

"Impossible," breathed the king.

"No," Tsunade stepped forward, her eyes wide with recognition. "It's the Uzumaki bloodline. They were always rumored to have been containers—vessels capable of housing powers beyond human comprehension. In the old world, they called such vessels 'jinchūriki.'"

"The old world is dead," snapped the king. "Swallowed by Titans."

Kakashi had moved swiftly to the child's side, his hands forming unfamiliar gestures over the convulsing infant. "The seal is stabilizing, but it's incomplete. Without proper anchoring, the Founding Titan's essence will eventually break free—and when it does, either the child will become a Titan, or the power will seek a new host."

"Complete it," ordered the king. "Whatever eastern sorcery you must employ, do it now."

Kakashi's hands blurred with speed, and he slammed his palm onto the infant's stomach. "Hakke Fūin!"

The seal flared once more, then settled into the infant's skin like an elaborate tattoo before fading to what appeared to be nothing more than a slight discoloration around the navel. Naruto's cries gradually subsided to exhausted whimpers.

"It is done," Kakashi said, stepping back. Sweat drenched his silver hair, and he seemed to have aged years in moments. "The Founding Titan is sealed within him, neither fully integrated nor separate. He is now what my people would call a jinchūriki—a human sacrifice, a power container."

Tsunade pushed past the others to gather the infant in her arms, her medic's eyes assessing every inch of him for signs of damage or transformation. "His body temperature is stabilizing. Heartbeat returning to normal." She looked up, her gaze hard as steel. "What happens to him now?"

The king approached, studying the now-quiet child with calculating eyes. "He will be raised under strict observation. If the power can be controlled, he may become humanity's greatest weapon against the Titans."

"And if it can't?" Tsunade demanded.

The king's silence was answer enough.

"No." The voice came from the back of the room, where an elderly man stepped forward. Commander Hiruzen Sarutobi, his Scout Regiment uniform bearing the marks of decades of service, moved with the deliberate steps of someone accustomed to being obeyed. "This child is not merely a weapon to be locked away until needed. If he is to control this power, he must understand humanity—what he's fighting for."

"Careful, Sarutobi," the king warned. "Your distinguished service grants you unusual latitude, but there are limits to my patience."

Hiruzen stood his ground. "With respect, Your Majesty, I have seen what becomes of weapons divorced from purpose. They fail when needed most." His weathered hand reached out to touch the infant's cheek. "This child needs a home, not a cell. I will take responsibility for him."

A tense silence filled the laboratory. The king's advisors exchanged nervous glances, but no one dared speak.

"You propose to raise a Titan shifter among normal citizens?" the king finally asked, incredulity evident in his voice.

"I propose to raise a child who may one day save us all," Hiruzen answered calmly. "But he cannot save what he does not love."

The king's eyes narrowed, calculating possibilities, weighing risks against potential rewards. "Very well, Commander Sarutobi. The child will be placed in your custody—under certain conditions. He will remain within Wall Rose. His nature will remain secret, known only to those in this room. And at the first sign that the power is emerging uncontrolled, he will be brought to me immediately."

Hiruzen bowed stiffly. "Agreed, Your Majesty."

Tsunade carefully transferred the now-sleeping Naruto to Hiruzen's arms. As she did, she whispered, "Kushina would be grateful. Keep him safe, old man."

Hiruzen nodded once, then turned to leave, the infant secure in his grasp.

"Commander," the king called after him. "Remember that child carries the future of humanity within him. His life serves a greater purpose than his own happiness."

Hiruzen paused at the doorway, his back to the room. "With respect, Your Majesty, it is precisely his happiness that will determine whether humanity has any future at all."

With that, he ascended the stone stairs, carrying Naruto away from the shadowed laboratory into a world that would fear him if it ever discovered what he contained.

Five years passed like a summer storm—swift, turbulent, and leaving permanent changes in its wake.

Wall Maria stood resolute against the morning sun, its massive shadow stretching across the Shinobi District—a neighborhood within Trost that had earned its nickname from the peculiar fighting styles and customs maintained by its inhabitants, most of them descendants of eastern refugees who had fled behind the Walls generations ago.

In a modest two-story house with peeling paint and a sturdy oak door, Naruto Uzumaki awoke screaming.

Hiruzen was at his bedside in moments, moving with a speed that belied his advancing years. "Naruto! Wake up, boy. It's just a dream."

The child's eyes snapped open, brilliant blue and dilated with terror. His small body trembled violently, sweat plastering blond hair to his forehead. The whisker-like marks on his cheeks seemed darker, more pronounced in the dim light of dawn.

"They were eating everyone," Naruto gasped, clutching at Hiruzen's nightshirt with desperate fingers. "Giant people with no skin, just teeth and eyes and hunger. They were breaking the Walls, and I was—I was—"

"Shhh," Hiruzen gathered the boy into his arms, feeling the racing heartbeat gradually slow. "Just dreams, Naruto. The Walls protect us. They have for a hundred years."

Naruto pulled back, his eyes suddenly sharp with a clarity no five-year-old should possess. "It wasn't a dream, Old Man. It was a memory. But not mine." His small hand drifted unconsciously to his stomach, pressing against the seal hidden beneath his pajamas. "Something inside me remembers."

Hiruzen's breath caught. These episodes had been increasing in frequency and detail over the past months. The seal was supposed to prevent the Founding Titan's consciousness from affecting the boy, but clearly, something was bleeding through.

"Would you like some milk?" he asked, deliberately steering the conversation toward normalcy. "I think we still have some of that sweet bread from yesterday too."

The distraction worked. Naruto's face brightened immediately, the terror receding like mist under sunlight. "With honey?"

"Just a little," Hiruzen agreed, standing and offering his hand. "Then we need to prepare for your first day at the children's academy."

Naruto's enthusiasm dimmed slightly. "Do I have to go? The other kids don't like me."

Hiruzen sighed internally. Despite his best efforts to give Naruto a normal childhood, the whisker marks on his cheeks made him instantly recognizable as different. Children could be cruel about such things, and adults often reinforced those cruelties with their own suspicions and whispers.

"Knowledge is the strongest weapon against fear, Naruto," he said, leading the boy downstairs to their small kitchen. "Both yours and theirs."

The kitchen was sparse but functional, warmed by morning sunlight streaming through east-facing windows. Hiruzen moved with practiced efficiency, heating milk in a small pot while Naruto clambered onto a wooden chair, his legs swinging freely above the floor.

"Did my parents go to the academy?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Hiruzen nearly dropped the honey jar. These questions had been coming more frequently too—questions about his origins, about the parents Hiruzen spoke of only in the vaguest terms.

"Yes," he answered carefully. "Your father was exceptionally brilliant. Always the first to solve any puzzle. Your mother..." he smiled despite himself, "well, she preferred solving problems with her fists when her brain took too long."

Naruto grinned, revealing a missing front tooth—lost just last week in a tumble from a tree he'd been expressly forbidden to climb. "I'm like her then!"

"More than you know," Hiruzen murmured, setting a mug of warm milk before the boy. As Naruto eagerly reached for it, his sleeve rode up, revealing a small bruise on his forearm. Before Hiruzen could comment, the bruise visibly faded, disappearing entirely within seconds.

Another reminder of what lay beneath the surface of this seemingly ordinary child.

"Old Man," Naruto said through a mouthful of bread, "if the Titans come, I'll protect you. I'm not scared of them."

The simplicity of the statement hit Hiruzen like a physical blow. "There's no need for such talk," he said, more sharply than intended. "The Walls protect us all."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly, perceiving the evasion with that uncanny intuition he sometimes displayed. But he said nothing more, focusing instead on creating an impressive milk mustache.

After breakfast, Hiruzen helped Naruto dress in his new academy clothes—sturdy brown trousers, a white shirt, and a blue jacket with the crest of Trost emblazoned on the left breast. The clothes had been carefully chosen to cover Naruto's abdomen completely, even during active play.

"Remember what we practiced," Hiruzen said as they walked through the gradually awakening streets of the Shinobi District. Vendors were setting up market stalls, and the smell of fresh bread wafted from the bakery on the corner. "If you feel strange, or angry, or if your stomach begins to feel hot—"

"Find a quiet place, take deep breaths, and think of flowing water," Naruto recited dutifully. "I know, Old Man. You tell me every day."

"Because it matters every day," Hiruzen replied, his tone gentle but firm.

They rounded a corner, and the academy came into view—a large stone building with a fenced yard where children already gathered, their excited voices carrying on the morning air. Naruto's steps slowed perceptibly.

"Will you tell me more about the outside world when I get home?" he asked, a familiar negotiating tactic when facing something that frightened him.

Hiruzen smiled. "Perhaps. If I hear good reports from your teachers."

Naruto squared his small shoulders, a determined expression transforming his face. "I'll be the best student ever! Believe it!"

With that declaration, he darted forward, racing toward the academy gates with the boundless energy that both delighted and concerned his guardian. Hiruzen watched him go, the smile fading from his weathered face as worry lines deepened around his eyes.

A figure materialized beside him, seemingly appearing from nowhere. "He's getting stronger," Kakashi observed quietly, his visible eye following Naruto's progress across the yard. "The seal still holds, but there are fluctuations during his sleep cycle."

"Can it be reinforced?" Hiruzen asked, not looking at his companion.

"Not without drawing attention. The king has spies everywhere, especially around the boy. If they report that the seal is weakening..."

The implication hung in the air between them. The king's conditions for allowing Naruto to live a relatively normal life had been explicit—and the consequences for violation equally clear.

"How much time do we have?"

Kakashi shrugged, the gesture deliberately casual despite the gravity of the situation. "Years, perhaps. The seal was designed to gradually allow integration rather than permanent separation. Eventually, Naruto and what's inside him will need to come to terms with each other."

"He's a child," Hiruzen said, a rare edge of anger in his voice.

"He's a jinchūriki," Kakashi corrected gently. "Perhaps the first in this world, but in the world before—the one some of us still remember—children like him carried similar burdens."

Hiruzen finally turned to face the younger man. "And what became of those children, in your remembered world?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled slightly, suggesting a smile beneath his ever-present mask. "Some became monsters. Some became saviors." He looked toward Naruto, now cautiously approaching a group of children near the swing set. "But all of them changed the world."

"I didn't bring him here to change the world," Hiruzen said. "I brought him here to save him from becoming a mere tool."

"Those goals may not be as contradictory as you think," Kakashi replied. Then, with a slight nod, he stepped back and seemed to fade into the crowd of parents and merchants, his silver hair the last thing to disappear from view.

Hiruzen lingered a moment longer, watching as a dark-haired boy with serious eyes approached Naruto in the yard. The two appeared to exchange words, neither hostile nor friendly, simply assessing. Then the dark-haired boy offered what might have been the ghost of a smile before turning away.

A beginning, perhaps. Hiruzen finally turned and made his way toward the military headquarters where his duties as a commander—officially retired but still actively consulting—awaited. He had reports to review, strategies to consider, and increasingly troubling news from the Scout Regiment's latest expedition beyond Wall Maria to contemplate.

But his thoughts remained with a small blond boy carrying an impossible burden—a boy who smiled like sunshine while housing darkness beyond imagining within him.

The academy classroom buzzed with the nervous energy of thirty children experiencing their first day of formal education. Wooden desks arranged in neat rows faced a large chalkboard where a stern-faced woman wrote her name with precise strokes: INSTRUCTOR KURENAI YUHI.

Naruto sat near the back, partly by choice and partly because the seats near the front had filled quickly. The dark-haired boy from the yard—Sasuke, he'd curtly introduced himself—sat two rows ahead, already focusing intently on the blank notebook before him.

"Settle down," Instructor Yuhi called, her voice cutting through the chatter instantly. The room fell silent. "Welcome to your first day at Trost Children's Academy. You are here to learn the knowledge and skills necessary to become productive citizens within the Walls."

She paced slowly before them, red eyes scanning each face as if memorizing them. When her gaze fell on Naruto, it lingered for a heartbeat longer than on the others, something unreadable flickering across her features.

"Our curriculum focuses on practical knowledge: mathematics, engineering principles, agriculture, and history. Those who excel may qualify for advanced training in specialized fields or military preparation courses."

A hand shot up from the front row. A girl with pink hair tied back with a red ribbon practically bounced in her seat with eagerness.

"Yes?" Instructor Yuhi acknowledged.

"Will we learn about life before the Walls? Or what exists beyond them?" the girl asked, her voice bright with curiosity.

A subtle tension spread through the room. Even at their young age, the children recognized they had ventured into forbidden territory. Instructor Yuhi's expression remained neutral, but her hands clasped tightly behind her back.

"What is your name?"

"Sakura Haruno, ma'am."

"Well, Sakura, there is nothing of value to learn about times before the Walls, as any reliable records were lost during the chaos of humanity's retreat. As for what lies beyond..." Her gaze swept the room once more. "Only death awaits outside our protection. The Scout Regiment's casualties prove this with depressing regularity."

Naruto's hand rose before he could stop himself.

"Yes? Your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," he said, suddenly aware of the eyes turning toward him, the whispers already beginning at the sight of his marked cheeks. "If there's only death out there, why does the Scout Regiment keep going outside?"

The classroom fell so silent that the distant sounds of military drills in the town square could be heard through the windows. Instructor Yuhi's expression softened almost imperceptibly.

"Hope, Mr. Uzumaki. Some believe that understanding our enemy is the first step toward defeating it." Her tone shifted, becoming brisker. "However, such philosophical discussions are better left for advanced studies. Today, we begin with something more fundamental: the geography of the world within the Walls."

She turned to the chalkboard and began sketching the concentric circles representing the three Walls—Maria, Rose, and Sina. Naruto tried to focus, but a strange sensation had begun in his abdomen—a warm pressure that ebbed and flowed like a tide. He pressed his hand against his stomach, taking deep breaths as Hiruzen had taught him.

Flowing water, he thought desperately. Think of flowing water.

The warmth receded gradually, but left behind something new—a whispering at the edge of his consciousness, too faint to discern words but unmistakably present. Naruto glanced around frantically, wondering if anyone else could hear it, but the other children were focused on Instructor Yuhi's lesson.

"...and these districts serve as both defensive bulwarks and commercial hubs," she was saying, marking the gate-towns on her map. "Trost District, where we are now, guards the southern gate of Wall Rose."

The lesson continued, but Naruto found his attention repeatedly drawn to the rendering of Wall Maria's outer territory. Something about those spaces called to him, a yearning he couldn't articulate but felt in his bones. The whispering grew momentarily louder when he stared at the vast empty regions marked simply as "Titan Territory."

A sharp pain lanced through his temple, and suddenly, superimposed over Instructor Yuhi's simple map, Naruto saw something else entirely—a different map, showing lands beyond the Walls. Lands with names like "Marley" and "Hizuru," coastlines and mountains and forests extending far beyond the tiny circle that contained all of known humanity.

The vision lasted only seconds before dissolving, leaving Naruto dizzy and confused. He gripped the edges of his desk, knuckles whitening with the effort to remain present.

"Are you unwell, Mr. Uzumaki?" Instructor Yuhi's voice cut through his disorientation.

Naruto looked up to find her standing beside his desk, concern evident in her expression. The entire class had turned to stare at him.

"I—" he began, then realized with horror that a thin trickle of blood had leaked from his nose. He wiped it quickly with his sleeve. "Just excited about learning, ma'am."

A few snickers rippled through the classroom. Instructor Yuhi raised an eyebrow but returned to the front of the room, resuming her lecture. The moment her back turned, a wadded paper ball struck Naruto's cheek.

"Freak," hissed a voice from nearby.

Naruto kept his eyes forward, but his hands clenched into fists beneath his desk. The warm pressure in his abdomen returned, stronger this time, pulsing in rhythm with his quickening heartbeat. Something stirred within him—something ancient and powerful and angry.

Flowing water, he thought desperately. Flowing red water, sweeping them all away—

He caught himself, horrified by the violent turn of his thoughts. That wasn't him. It couldn't be.

When the midday bell finally rang, signaling lunch break, Naruto was the first out the door, nearly running in his haste to escape the confines of the classroom. He found a secluded spot beneath a large oak tree in the far corner of the academy yard and sank down, back against the rough bark, breathing heavily.

"You're him, aren't you?" a voice asked. "The one they whisper about."

Naruto looked up to find a boy about his age standing before him. The boy had spiky black hair gathered in a ponytail and an expression of lazy curiosity on his otherwise unremarkable face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto replied warily.

The boy shrugged and dropped to sit cross-legged on the grass nearby. "Troublesome. I'm Shikamaru Nara."

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto replied automatically, then frowned. "What do they whisper about me?"

Shikamaru seemed to consider whether answering was worth the effort. "My father works with the Military Police," he said finally. "I've heard him talking with my mother when they think I'm asleep. They say there's a boy in Trost with marks on his face who isn't entirely human."

Ice flooded Naruto's veins. "That's stupid," he managed to say, though his voice sounded hollow even to his own ears. "I'm just a normal kid."

Shikamaru's eyes, sharp despite his languid demeanor, studied Naruto's face. "Maybe. But normal kids don't make the Military Police nervous. And they're definitely nervous about you."

Before Naruto could respond, a commotion erupted across the yard. A group of older boys had surrounded Sakura, the pink-haired girl from class. From this distance, Naruto couldn't hear what was being said, but her distress was evident in her posture and the way she clutched her lunch pail protectively to her chest.

"Typical," Shikamaru sighed. "The fifth-years always target first-years on opening day. Establishes the hierarchy."

Naruto was on his feet before he'd made a conscious decision to move. "That's not right."

"What are you going to do?" Shikamaru asked, not bothering to rise. "There are five of them, and they're all bigger than you."

Naruto was already striding across the yard, a strange calm settling over him. The whispers in his mind had quieted, replaced by a steady pulse of determination. He reached the group just as one of the boys snatched Sakura's lunch pail from her hands, holding it high above her head as she jumped futilely to retrieve it.

"Give it back," Naruto said, his voice steady despite the hammering of his heart.

The older boys turned as one, expressions shifting from amusement to something darker when they saw the marks on Naruto's cheeks.

"Well, look who it is," said the tallest of them, clearly the leader. "The whisker-freak himself. My father says you should've been drowned at birth."

Something hot and dangerous flared in Naruto's stomach, but he forced it down. "I don't care what your father says. Give her back her lunch and leave her alone."

The older boy laughed, nudging his companions. "Or what? You'll scratch me with your whiskers, freak?"

Before Naruto could respond, one of the boys shoved him hard, sending him stumbling backward. He caught himself before falling, but the impact sent a jolt through his system that resonated with whatever lay sealed within him. The warmth in his abdomen flared into searing heat.

No, he thought frantically. Not here. Not now.

But it was too late. As the leader of the group advanced on him, fist raised, Naruto felt something inside him tear—not physically, but something more fundamental, as if reality itself had ripped along a seam only he could perceive.

Time seemed to slow. Naruto watched with detached fascination as tendrils of steam began to rise from his skin. The older boy's expression shifted from cruel amusement to confusion, then to the first flickers of fear.

"What the hell—" he began, but never finished the sentence.

Naruto's right arm erupted in a flash of light and heat. Muscle and sinew burst from his skin, his limb transforming in an instant into something massive and inhuman—an arm belonging to a creature ten times his size, steaming and rippling with raw power.

The transformed limb smashed into the ground where the older boy had stood a split second before, cratering the earth and sending tremors through the academy yard. The boy had thrown himself backward just in time, his face pale with terror.

Screams erupted across the yard. Children scattered in panic. Through a haze of steam and confusion, Naruto saw Sakura staring at him, her green eyes wide with a mixture of fear and something else—wonder, perhaps, or recognition.

The massive arm felt both foreign and familiar, as if he'd always known it was there, waiting beneath his human skin. He tried to lift it, but the weight and proportion were all wrong, leaving him half-sprawled on the ground, anchored by a limb designed for a giant.

"TITAN!" someone screamed. "TITAN IN THE YARD!"

The word cut through Naruto's confusion like a blade. Titan. The monsters from his dreams—from the memories that weren't his. The devourers of humanity.

No, he thought desperately. I'm not one of them. I'm not a monster.

But the evidence steamed before him, undeniable. His arm—no longer human, no longer his.

Footsteps pounded across the yard. Through the dissipating steam, Naruto saw men in Military Police uniforms racing toward him, rifles raised. Behind them came more soldiers, these bearing the Wings of Freedom—the Scout Regiment's emblem.

"Hold your fire!" shouted a commanding voice. A tall, blond man pushed through the line of rifles, his intense eyes fixed on Naruto. "The boy is conscious. This isn't a mindless transformation."

"Commander Erwin," one of the Military Police officers protested, "protocol demands immediate neutralization of any Titan threat within the Walls."

"That protocol assumes mindless Titans," the blond man—Erwin—replied calmly. "This is something else entirely." He approached Naruto slowly, hands raised to show he carried no weapons. "Can you understand me, son?"

Naruto nodded, too terrified to speak. The massive arm had begun to feel heavy, almost painful where it joined with his shoulder.

"Good. I need you to focus on returning to human form. Picture your arm as it normally is. Can you do that?"

Naruto tried to concentrate, but panic made it difficult. The whispering in his mind had become a roar, incomprehensible voices shouting over one another in languages he didn't understand. Steam continued to rise from the transformed limb, but it showed no signs of reverting.

"The seal is compromised," said a new voice. Kakashi appeared at Erwin's side, his visible eye narrowed in concentration. "The containment is failing."

Erwin nodded grimly. "Options?"

"Limited," Kakashi replied. "And none of them suitable for public execution."

By now, a crowd had gathered at the periphery of the yard—academy staff, older students, and curious citizens drawn by the commotion. Among them, Naruto spotted Hiruzen pushing his way forward, his aged face a mask of controlled alarm.

"Old Man," Naruto called, his voice breaking. "I didn't mean to—I tried to stop it—"

"I know, Naruto," Hiruzen replied, his calm voice a lifeline in the chaos. "You did nothing wrong."

A ripple passed through the transformed arm, and suddenly, with a hiss of steam, it began to disintegrate—muscle and bone breaking down and evaporating into the air. Within moments, Naruto's normal arm had returned, though the sleeve of his jacket had been completely destroyed.

The sudden transformation left him exhausted and disoriented. As darkness crept at the edges of his vision, Naruto became aware of being lifted, strong arms carrying him away from the murmuring crowd. The last thing he saw before unconsciousness claimed him was Hiruzen's face, lined with worry but resolute.

"It will be alright," the old man said, though whether to Naruto or himself was unclear. "I promised your parents I would protect you, and I will."

But even as darkness enveloped him completely, Naruto couldn't shake the memory of those terrified screams, or the single word that had defined him more clearly than any other:

Titan.

Naruto awoke to the sound of urgent voices. He kept his eyes closed, instinctively sensing that remaining "asleep" might yield information adults would otherwise withhold.

"...unprecedented," a deep voice was saying—Commander Erwin, Naruto recognized. "Partial transformation with full cognitive function maintained. Not even the Warriors of Marley have demonstrated such control on their first manifestation."

"It wasn't control," Kakashi countered. "It was the seal. It's preventing complete transformation but failing to fully contain the power. The worst of both worlds."

"Can it be repaired?" This voice belonged to Hiruzen, tense with barely controlled fear.

A heavy silence followed. Naruto felt his heart pounding so loudly he was certain the adults would hear it and realize he was awake.

"Yes," Kakashi finally answered. "But not by me alone. We need someone with knowledge of the old arts and royal blood. There are few such people left within the Walls."

"The king—" began Erwin.

"Will execute the boy if he learns the seal is failing," Hiruzen interrupted sharply. "You know the terms of our agreement."

"The terms assumed the seal would hold until adulthood," Erwin replied. "We're facing a new reality."

Naruto couldn't maintain his pretense any longer. He opened his eyes, blinking against the harsh lamplight. He lay on a narrow cot in a stone room he didn't recognize. The walls were bare except for a faded tapestry depicting the three Walls in concentric circles. No windows suggested they were underground.

"Where am I?" he asked, his voice small and hoarse.

The three men turned to him immediately. Hiruzen moved to his side, a gentle hand resting on his forehead. "A safe place, Naruto. How do you feel?"

Naruto considered the question. His right arm tingled strangely, as if fallen asleep and now awakening, but otherwise he felt physically normal. Emotionally was another matter entirely.

"What happened to me?" he asked, though part of him already knew the answer.

The adults exchanged glances, a silent conversation passing between them. Finally, Erwin stepped forward, his imposing figure softened somewhat by the genuine concern in his eyes.

"You experienced a partial Titan transformation," he said directly. "Your arm transformed while the rest of you remained human. This is... unusual. Special."

"I'm a monster," Naruto whispered, the words heavy on his tongue.

"No," Hiruzen said fiercely. "You're exactly what I've always told you—a boy with a special burden."

Naruto sat up slowly, his eyes moving from Hiruzen to Kakashi to Erwin and back. "You all knew. You've always known what was inside me."

It wasn't a question, but Hiruzen nodded anyway. "Yes. From the beginning."

"What is it?" Naruto demanded, a flicker of anger sparking through his confusion. "What's inside me?"

Again, that silent exchange of glances. Then Erwin pulled a wooden chair close to the cot and sat, bringing himself to Naruto's eye level. Despite his intimidating presence, there was something reassuring about the commander's directness.

"What I'm about to tell you is known to only a handful of people within the Walls," Erwin began. "It is information that many would kill to possess or suppress. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded solemnly.

"Inside you is the power of the Founding Titan—the original Titan, from which all others descend. It is the most powerful of the Nine Titans, with abilities beyond the others."

"Nine Titans?" Naruto repeated, confusion evident in his voice.

"Nine humans who can transform into Titans while maintaining their human consciousness," Erwin explained. "Unlike the mindless Titans that roam beyond the Walls, the Nine possess intelligence and purpose. The Founding Titan is the most significant, with the power to control other Titans and even alter the memories of those with Eldian blood."

Naruto's head swam with information that simultaneously felt foreign and familiar, as if he'd always known it but had forgotten until this moment.

"Why me?" he asked finally. "Why put it inside me?"

Hiruzen moved closer, sitting on the edge of the cot. "Your parents were special, Naruto. Your mother came from a bloodline—the Uzumaki clan—known for exceptional life force and unique abilities. Your father was a brilliant scientist working on Titan research. When they died during a Titan incursion, you were an infant. The power had to be contained, and your lineage made you uniquely suited to be its vessel."

"We call such vessels 'jinchūriki' in the old language," Kakashi added. "It means 'power of human sacrifice.' In the world before the Walls, such vessels contained different powers, but the principle was the same—human containers for forces beyond normal comprehension."

Naruto's hand drifted to his stomach, feeling the skin beneath his tattered shirt. "The seal..."

"Is designed to contain the Founding Titan's power while gradually allowing you to access it in controlled ways," Kakashi confirmed. "But today's incident suggests the integration is proceeding faster than anticipated."

"What happens now?" Naruto asked, looking from face to face. "Will they kill me because I'm a Titan?"

"No," Erwin said firmly. "What happened at the academy has been contained. Witnesses have been told it was a Scout Regiment demonstration gone awry. Those who saw too clearly have been... reassigned to outposts where their stories will find little audience."

The implications of this made Naruto uneasy, but he pushed the feeling aside. "Can I go back? To school, to normal life?"

Another uncomfortable silence.

"No," Hiruzen said gently. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but that's no longer possible. The risk is too great, and too many questions have been raised."

Tears welled in Naruto's eyes, but he fought them back. "So I'm a prisoner now."

"Not a prisoner," Erwin corrected. "A recruit. The Scout Regiment has facilities and expertise to help you understand and control your abilities. You'll train with us, under careful supervision."

"But I'm just a kid!" Naruto protested.

"A kid with the power to change the course of humanity's future," Erwin replied, not unkindly. "Age is irrelevant in the face of such potential."

Naruto looked to Hiruzen, silently pleading for intervention, but the old man's expression was resigned. "It's the best option, Naruto. I'll remain with you as your guardian, but Commander Erwin is right. You need training that only the Scout Regiment can provide."

Betrayal flashed across Naruto's face. "You promised my parents you'd keep me safe."

"I am," Hiruzen said, his voice steady despite the pain in his eyes. "Safe doesn't always mean comfortable or normal. Sometimes, it means facing your nature rather than hiding from it."

Naruto turned away, unable to look at any of them. His mind raced with questions and fears, but one thought dominated all others: he would never be just Naruto again. From this moment forward, he would always be something more—and something less—than human.

"There's one more thing you should know," Erwin said after a moment. "The power of the Founding Titan isn't merely contained within you—it's bound to your lifespan. According to our research, Titan shifters live no more than thirteen years after inheriting their power."

This information struck Naruto like a physical blow. "Thirteen years? But I've had this since I was a baby..."

"Since you were days old," Hiruzen confirmed, his voice thick with emotion. "Which means—"

"I'll die when I'm thirteen," Naruto finished, the words hollow in his mouth. A strange calm settled over him as the full implications sank in. Not even a full decade of life remained to him.

"Unless we find an alternative," Kakashi interjected. "The seal that contains the Founding Titan is unique—a fusion of ancient arts and modern science. It may have altered the traditional parameters of Titan inheritance."

Hope flickered briefly in Naruto's chest, then faded. Even at five years old, he recognized the thin comfort of uncertainty. "Or it might not have changed anything."

"We'll find answers," Hiruzen promised, reaching for Naruto's hand. "Whatever time you have, we'll make it count."

Naruto allowed his hand to be held, but a new coldness had entered his heart—a space where childhood should have been, now occupied by the weight of terrible knowledge. He thought of Sasuke and Sakura and Shikamaru, children with futures stretching before them like endless roads. His own path had just collapsed to a narrow trail with a cliff's edge visible in the near distance.

"I want to see outside the Walls," he said suddenly, surprising even himself with the declaration. "Before my time is up. I want to see the ocean."

"Ocean?" Erwin repeated, eyebrows rising. "Where did you hear of such a thing?"

Naruto frowned, uncertain himself. The word had simply appeared in his mind, accompanied by an image of endless blue water stretching to the horizon. "I just... know it exists. A huge body of water, bigger than anything inside the Walls. Salt water that stretches forever."

Kakashi and Erwin exchanged significant looks.

"The memories are bleeding through," Kakashi murmured. "Ancestral knowledge from previous holders of the Founding Titan."

"Can you access more of these memories?" Erwin asked, leaning forward with sudden intensity. "Information about the world beyond the Walls could be invaluable to the Scout Regiment."

"Erwin," Hiruzen warned, "he's just learned his life has an expiration date. Perhaps we could allow him time to process before exploiting his condition."

The commander straightened, nodding once. "Of course. Forgive my eagerness, Naruto. Rest now. Tomorrow will bring new challenges, but you won't face them alone."

Erwin stood, gesturing for Kakashi to follow him. They moved toward the door, speaking in hushed tones that Naruto could barely discern—something about "royal blood" and "awakening the full power."

As the door closed behind them, Naruto was left alone with Hiruzen, the weight of silence pressing down between them.

"You should have told me," Naruto said finally, his voice small but steady. "All this time, you knew what I was. What was inside me. That I was going to die young."

Hiruzen sighed heavily, suddenly looking every one of his advanced years. "I wanted to give you a childhood, Naruto. Perhaps it was selfish or misguided, but I believed you deserved to know joy and normalcy before the burden of knowledge descended."

"Knowledge doesn't make the burden heavier," Naruto countered with surprising wisdom. "It just makes it clearer."

A sad smile touched Hiruzen's lips. "When did you become so insightful?"

"When I realized I only have eight years left to live."

The blunt statement hung in the air between them, too stark for comfort, too true for denial. Hiruzen reached out, gently tousling Naruto's blond hair as he had countless times before.

"Eight years is time enough for a lifetime of meaning," he said softly. "And who knows? Perhaps Kakashi is right about the seal changing the rules. Hope remains while possibilities exist."

Naruto nodded, not entirely convinced but willing to let the matter rest for now. His mind was already turning to what lay ahead—training with the Scout Regiment, learning to control the power within him, preparing for a future both limited and limitless.

"Will I get to use the ODM gear?" he asked, a flicker of boyish excitement breaking through his somber mood. The Omni-Directional Mobility gear used by military personnel to navigate three-dimensionally had always fascinated him during military parades.

Hiruzen chuckled, grateful for the momentary return to childhood concerns. "Eventually, I suspect. Though your training will likely focus first on controlling your Titan abilities."

"I'll be the best Titan shifter ever," Naruto declared, a shadow of his usual exuberance returning. "And the best Scout! I'll help protect everyone inside the Walls until we're ready to take back the outside world. Believe it!"

Hiruzen's smile faltered slightly, hearing echoes of Kushina's determination in her son's voice. The resemblance was painful in its perfection. "I believe it," he said softly. "Now rest. Tomorrow begins your new life."

As Hiruzen dimmed the lamp and moved toward the door, Naruto's voice stopped him once more.

"Old Man? Do you think my parents would be proud? Or would they be afraid of what I am?"

Hiruzen turned, his silhouette framed in the doorway. "Minato and Kushina knew exactly what you would become, Naruto. They gave their lives not despite that knowledge, but because of it. They believed in you before you drew your first breath."

With that, he closed the door, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts and the stirring presence within him—the ancient power that both defined and confined his existence.

In the darkness, Naruto placed his hand over his stomach, feeling the subtle warmth emanating from the hidden seal. "I'm not afraid of you," he whispered to the entity within. "And I won't let you make me a monster. We're going to protect people, you and me. We're going to see the ocean."

No response came, at least not in words, but the warmth beneath his palm pulsed once, as if in acknowledgment. It was enough for now.

Naruto closed his eyes, surrendering to exhaustion. His dreams that night were not of Titans devouring humanity, but of vast blue waters stretching beyond the horizon, of lands he'd never seen but somehow remembered, and of a future waiting to be written in the brief, precious time allotted to him.

Eight years. It would have to be enough.

Morning arrived with harsh fluorescent light flooding Naruto's underground chamber. He blinked awake to find a Scout Regiment uniform laid out at the foot of his cot—a child-sized version with the Wings of Freedom emblem emblazoned on the jacket. The sight provoked mixed emotions: pride at being associated with humanity's most courageous defenders, and dread at the circumstances that had led to this moment.

As he dressed, Naruto examined his right arm carefully. No visible trace remained of yesterday's transformation, yet he could feel a difference—a latent energy thrumming beneath the skin, as if his body had awakened to new possibilities and could never return to innocent ignorance.

A knock at the door preceded Kakashi's entrance. The silver-haired man carried a tray of breakfast—simple fare of bread, cheese, and tea.

"How did you sleep?" Kakashi asked, setting the tray beside Naruto.

"I dreamed of places I've never been," Naruto replied, reaching for the bread. His appetite, at least, remained unaffected by recent revelations. "A city by the sea with strange tall buildings. People flying in machines that weren't ODM gear. Was that from... from it? From the Titan inside me?"

Kakashi considered the question carefully. "The Founding Titan carries the memories of all who've possessed it before you. Those memories sometimes manifest as dreams or visions, especially in times of stress or transition."

"Are they real places? Real memories?"

"Some, perhaps. Others may be fragments, distorted by time and transfer." Kakashi sat on the wooden chair, studying Naruto with his single visible eye. "The lineage of the Founding Titan stretches back nearly two thousand years, to Ymir Fritz herself. What you're experiencing may be echoes from across centuries."

Naruto absorbed this information while devouring his breakfast. "Who's Ymir Fritz?"

A slight hesitation. "The original Titan. The source from which all Titan powers flow." Kakashi leaned forward. "Naruto, what I'm about to tell you is not commonly known, even among those aware of the Nine Titans. Our world—the world within these Walls—is not the only world that exists or has existed."

Naruto paused mid-bite. "What do you mean?"

"The memories you're accessing may come from different times, but also from different... realities. The power within you transcends not just time but dimensions. In some of those dimensions, humanity developed different technologies, different powers. In the world I originally came from, people harnessed an energy called chakra instead of developing ODM gear to fight."

Naruto's eyes widened. "That's crazy."

"No crazier than a five-year-old boy with the power to transform into a fifteen-meter giant," Kakashi replied with a slight eye-crinkle that suggested a smile beneath his mask.

Before Naruto could ask further questions, the door opened again, and Commander Erwin entered, accompanied by a shorter man whose intense expression and military bearing marked him as someone of significance despite his stature.

"Naruto, this is Captain Levi," Erwin introduced. "He'll be overseeing much of your training."

Levi regarded Naruto with cool assessment, neither friendly nor hostile. "So this is the Founding Titan," he said, his tone flat. "Doesn't look like much."

Naruto bristled. "I'm more than just a Titan!"

A flicker of something—approval, perhaps—crossed Levi's impassive features. "Good. Remember that. The moment you start thinking of yourself as a Titan first and human second is the moment you become a liability rather than an asset."

Erwin stepped forward. "You'll begin training today. Nothing strenuous yet—we need to establish baselines for your physical capabilities in human form before attempting to work with your Titan abilities."

"Will I get to transform again?" Naruto asked, both excited and terrified by the prospect.

"Not immediately," Erwin replied. "Controlled transformation requires mental discipline you haven't yet developed. We'll focus first on understanding what triggers your transformations so you can prevent unintentional incidents."

Naruto nodded, relieved. The memory of terrified screams from the academy yard remained fresh in his mind.

"Where's the Old Man? Where's Hiruzen?"

"Commander Sarutobi has gone to retrieve your belongings from your home," Kakashi explained. "You'll be living here for the foreseeable future."

"Here?" Naruto looked around the spartan chamber with dismay. "Underground?"

"For now," Erwin confirmed. "Until we can be certain of your control. The Scout Regiment headquarters has a secure facility where you'll eventually be housed. It offers more comfort and access to training grounds, while still providing necessary containment should... incidents occur."

The way he said "incidents" made Naruto's stomach clench. They were afraid of him—these battle-hardened veterans who routinely faced Titans beyond the Walls feared what might emerge from within him.

Levi, seeming to sense Naruto's distress, spoke up. "Don't mistake caution for fear, kid. I've killed more Titans than you've had hot meals. If you lose control, I'll cut you down without hesitation." His tone was matter-of-fact, almost reassuring in its directness. "But I don't think it'll come to that. You've got good eyes."

"Good eyes?" Naruto repeated, confused.

"Eyes that want to live, not just survive." Levi turned to Erwin. "I'll take him to the training room. Hange is waiting with the equipment."

Erwin nodded. "Very well. Kakashi, a word before you join them."

As Erwin and Kakashi stepped outside, Levi gestured for Naruto to follow. The short captain moved with efficient grace, leading Naruto through a series of underground corridors lit by gas lamps. Naruto struggled to maintain his bearing, but the identical stone passageways quickly destroyed his sense of direction.

"Where are we?" he finally asked.

"Military detention facility beneath Trost," Levi replied. "Repurposed for our needs. Few know it exists, which makes it ideal for housing someone with your... peculiarities."

"I'm a prisoner," Naruto said flatly.

Levi glanced back at him. "Everyone inside these Walls is a prisoner, kid. The only difference is you might actually have the power to do something about it."

Before Naruto could process this statement, they arrived at a set of double doors. Levi pushed them open to reveal a large chamber equipped with various training apparatus—weights, balance beams, and strange devices Naruto didn't recognize. Standing amid this equipment was a figure so energetic they seemed to vibrate with enthusiasm.

"THERE HE IS!" the person exclaimed, rushing forward to examine Naruto with scientific fervor. "Our little Titan shifter! Oh, the things we're going to learn together! I'm Section Commander Hange Zoë, and I've been DYING to meet you!"

Naruto took an instinctive step back, overwhelmed by Hange's intensity. Their glasses gleamed in the artificial light as they circled him, making observations aloud.

"Physically unremarkable in human form, though the facial markings are distinctive. No visible signs of the partial transformation from yesterday. Fascinating! Tell me, can you feel the Titan within you? Is it like a separate consciousness, or more of an instinct? Do you hear voices? See visions? Feel compelled to eat humans?"

"Oi, four-eyes," Levi interrupted. "You're scaring him."

"Nonsense! We're going to be great friends, aren't we, Naruto?" Hange beamed, finally pausing their frantic examination. "After all, we both want the same thing—to understand Titans!"

Despite his unease, Naruto found himself warming to Hange's genuine enthusiasm. "I don't want to eat anyone," he clarified. "And I don't hear voices exactly... more like whispers I can't quite understand."

"FASCINATING!" Hange exclaimed, scribbling notes furiously. "The containment seal is evidently mediating the consciousness transfer that typically occurs in Titan inheritance. This could revolutionize our understanding of Titan biology!"

Over the next several hours, Naruto underwent a battery of tests—physical examinations, endurance measurements, cognitive assessments. Hange recorded everything with meticulous attention to detail, occasionally conferring with Levi or Kakashi, who had joined them midway through the session.

By midday, Naruto was exhausted but also intrigued. The tests had revealed several anomalies: his endurance far exceeded that of normal children his age, his wounds healed at an accelerated rate (demonstrated when Hange accidentally scratched him during a reflex test), and his body temperature ran consistently higher than human baseline.

"You're not fully human anymore," Hange explained bluntly as they reviewed the results. "But you're not a Titan either. You exist in a unique state between the two—a true jinchūriki, as Kakashi would say."

"Is that... bad?" Naruto asked, uncertain how to feel about this clinical assessment of his existence.

"Bad? It's EXTRAORDINARY!" Hange replied with characteristic enthusiasm. "You represent an evolutionary bridge we never knew could exist. The implications for humanity's future are staggering!"

"Enough, Hange," Levi cut in. "He's a kid, not a laboratory specimen."

Hange adjusted their glasses, momentarily abashed. "Of course, of course. Forgive my scientific excitement, Naruto. Rest assured, we see you as a person first, a subject of study second."

"And a weapon third?" Naruto asked quietly.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. It was Kakashi who finally broke it.

"That depends on you," he said. "A sword can be used to slaughter or to protect. The distinction lies not in the blade but in the hand that wields it."

Naruto considered this. "But I'm both the sword and the hand."

"Precisely," Kakashi nodded, pleased with Naruto's understanding. "Which is why your training will focus not just on your abilities, but on your character. The power you contain could save humanity or destroy it. The choice will ultimately be yours."

The weight of this responsibility settled over Naruto like a physical burden. He was five years old—an age when most children were learning to write their names and count to a hundred. Yet here he sat, being told the fate of humanity might rest on his shoulders.

"I didn't ask for this," he said, a tremor in his voice.

"Few who change the world ever do," Levi replied. "But here we are."

Before the conversation could continue, the training room doors opened, and Hiruzen entered, carrying a small pack. His eyes immediately sought Naruto, relief evident when he found the boy unharmed.

"I've brought your things," he said, setting the pack down. "Clothes, your favorite books, and this." He pulled out a stuffed fox with worn orange fur—Naruto's cherished bedtime companion since infancy.

Naruto flushed with embarrassment at having his stuffed animal revealed before Levi and the others, but Hiruzen simply placed it in his hands without comment.

"There's something else you should know," Hiruzen continued, his expression grave. "While retrieving your belongings, I was approached by several parents from the academy—including the Uchiha family."

"Sasuke's family?" Naruto perked up at the mention of his almost-friend.

Hiruzen nodded. "Word has spread, despite the military's efforts at containment. The official story is that you've been recruited for a special military program due to exceptional aptitude, but rumors persist. The Shinobi District, in particular, harbors suspicions closer to the truth."

"Which means security concerns have increased," Erwin said from the doorway, having entered silently during Hiruzen's report. "We're accelerating the timetable. Naruto will be transferred to Scout Regiment headquarters tonight, under cover of darkness."

"So soon?" Hiruzen frowned. "He's barely had time to adjust to these revelations."

"Circumstances don't afford us the luxury of gradual transition," Erwin replied. "The longer he remains in Trost, the greater the risk of exposure. The Interior Military Police are already asking questions we'd rather not answer."

Naruto looked between the adults, frustration building. "Don't I get a say in any of this? It's my life!"

"A life intertwined with matters beyond your understanding," Erwin said, not unkindly. "Naruto, what you contain isn't merely power—it's knowledge. The Founding Titan holds secrets about the world outside these Walls, secrets that certain factions would kill to protect or possess."

"What secrets?" Naruto demanded. "Tell me!"

Erwin studied him for a long moment, then made a decision. "The world is not as we've been taught. Humanity is not extinct outside the Walls. Other civilizations exist—advanced societies that view us not as fellow humans to be saved, but as devils to be contained or eliminated."

This revelation stunned Naruto into momentary silence. All his life, he'd been told that humanity's last remnants sheltered within the three concentric Walls, that nothing but mindless Titans roamed the world beyond. To learn otherwise shattered foundations already cracked by yesterday's events.

"How do you know this?" he finally managed to ask.

"Various sources," Erwin replied carefully. "Scout Regiment expeditions that ventured further than officially reported. Historical documents preserved by certain families. And..." he fixed Naruto with an intense gaze, "the memories of previous Founding Titan inheritors, fragments of which you've already begun to access."

"The ocean," Naruto whispered. "The strange cities. They're real places."

"Yes. And the power within you could potentially unlock the full knowledge of these places—knowledge that could either liberate humanity from the Walls or ensure our final destruction."

Naruto's head swam with implications. The burden of his abbreviated lifespan suddenly seemed overshadowed by the weight of this new knowledge.

"I want to know everything," he declared, a newfound determination steadying his voice. "If I only have eight years, I want them to mean something. I want to help free everyone."

A smile—rare and genuine—curved Erwin's lips. "Then we are aligned in purpose, Naruto Uzumaki. Rest now. Tonight, we begin the journey that will determine humanity's future."

As the adults dispersed to make preparations, Naruto sat alone on the training room floor, clutching his stuffed fox to his chest. The life he had known was gone, transformed as surely as his arm had been in the academy yard. Ahead lay uncertainty, danger, and the looming shadow of his abbreviated future.

Yet within that shadow, a strange light had begun to grow—purpose, clarity, and the first fragile shoots of hope. If the power within him could change the world, perhaps the price of his shortened life was not too steep after all.

"We're going to see the ocean," he whispered to his fox, a promise to himself as much as to the stuffed toy. "We're going to see everything."

From within him, as if in response, came not whispers this time but a single clear thought that seemed both his own and not his own:

Beyond the Walls lies freedom.

Seven years vanished like smoke through fingers.

The Shinobi District sprawled beneath the looming shadow of Wall Rose, a tangled labyrinth of narrow streets and mismatched buildings where the poorest citizens of Trost scraped by on government rations and stubborn resilience. Dawn light sliced between cramped structures, illuminating hanging laundry and the occasional face peering from shuttered windows.

Naruto Uzumaki vaulted across a gap between buildings, his balance perfect despite the treacherous footing. At twelve, he moved with the unconscious grace of someone who had spent years refining his body into a weapon—lean muscle corded beneath sun-bronzed skin, reflexes honed to preternatural sharpness. The whisker marks on his cheeks had darkened with age, three perfect symmetrical lines on each side that caught the morning light as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

"You're late again, Uzumaki!" a voice bellowed from the street below.

Naruto skidded to a halt at the roof's edge, grinning down at the red-faced Military Police officer. "Sorry, Instructor Mizuki! Extra training ran long!"

"Extra training, my ass," Mizuki muttered, just loud enough to be heard. "Get down here. Your escort's waiting."

Naruto's smile faltered for a fraction of a second before reasserting itself with defiant brightness. He backed up three steps, then launched himself from the roof in a perfect arc, somersaulting midair before landing in a controlled crouch on the cobblestones.

"Show-off," Mizuki spat, though a flicker of unease crossed his features. Like most who interacted regularly with Naruto, he maintained a careful distance—close enough to monitor, far enough to escape if necessary.

Around the corner waited Naruto's "escort"—a Scout Regiment soldier named Iruka who, unlike most adults, treated Naruto as a person rather than a potential catastrophe. His kind eyes crinkled at the corners as Naruto approached.

"Rooftop running again?" Iruka asked, falling into step beside him. "Commander Erwin won't be pleased if you break your neck before official ODM training begins."

"Can't break my neck," Naruto replied with casual certainty. "Tried once. Healed before they could even set it."

Iruka's smile vanished. "That's not funny, Naruto."

"Wasn't joking." Naruto shrugged, his eyes tracking a group of children who had spotted him and were now crossing to the opposite side of the street, whispering behind cupped hands. "Besides, what's the point of having freakish healing abilities if I can't test their limits?"

The bitterness in his voice wasn't lost on Iruka, who placed a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You're more than your abilities."

"Tell that to them." Naruto jerked his chin toward the retreating children, then toward the adults who instinctively drew back as he passed. "Or them. Or literally anyone in this district."

Seven years of whispers had hardened something in Naruto that should have remained soft in a twelve-year-old. The Scout Regiment's decision to house him in the Shinobi District rather than their headquarters—a "compromise" to allow him some semblance of normal childhood while keeping him under strict surveillance—had backfired spectacularly. Children were perceptive; they recognized when someone was feared by adults, and they mimicked that fear with the casual cruelty unique to the young.

"Ignore them," Iruka advised. "Focus on today's training. I heard Captain Levi himself will be overseeing your hand-to-hand combat assessment."

This successfully diverted Naruto's attention. "Really? But I thought he was on an expedition beyond Wall Maria!"

"Returned last night. Apparently, your progress reports have piqued his interest."

Pride swelled in Naruto's chest. Captain Levi's approval was rarer than titans inside the walls. The diminutive captain had overseen fragments of Naruto's training over the years, but direct instruction from humanity's strongest soldier remained a coveted experience.

They turned onto a wider street that served as one of the main thoroughfares of the Shinobi District. Market stalls lined both sides, vendors hawking everything from fresh produce to scavenged pre-Wall artifacts of dubious authenticity. The crowd parted before them—not for Iruka in his Scout Regiment uniform, but for the boy with whisker marks whose presence invariably dampened the market's bustling energy.

"Monster," someone whispered, not quite softly enough.

Naruto's enhanced hearing caught the word easily. His steps faltered, but he forced himself forward, chin raised, eyes fixed straight ahead. He'd learned long ago that showing weakness only invited more cruelty.

A flicker of movement caught his peripheral vision. Three boys around his age had detached from the crowd, trailing behind at what they clearly thought was a discreet distance. Naruto recognized them immediately—Hibachi and his cronies, self-appointed tormentors who had made Naruto their special project over the past year.

"We've got shadows," Naruto muttered to Iruka.

Iruka glanced back, his expression darkening. "Again? Want me to handle it?"

"And confirm I need protection? No thanks." Naruto forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Besides, we're almost at the training grounds. They won't follow us there."

The training grounds occupied a former warehouse at the district's edge, requisitioned by the Scout Regiment and converted into a facility specifically designed for Naruto's unique training needs. Heavy steel doors—thick enough to withstand a battering ram—guarded the entrance, opened only for authorized personnel.

As they approached, the doors swung inward to reveal a tall, thin man with silver hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face.

"You're late," Kakashi observed mildly, his visible eye curving in what might have been a smile or a grimace.

"Blame Mizuki," Naruto replied, ducking past him into the cavernous interior. "He spent ten minutes lecturing me about proper respect for military authorities before Iruka rescued me."

Kakashi exchanged glances with Iruka, a silent communication passing between them. With a nod, Iruka departed, leaving Naruto in Kakashi's care.

The training facility's interior bore little resemblance to its warehouse origins. The vast space had been divided into specialized zones: a hand-to-hand combat ring, an ODM gear simulation area with massive wooden pillars mimicking trees, a weight training section, and most ominously, a sealed chamber at the far end with walls of reinforced steel—the "containment zone" where Naruto practiced partial Titan transformations under strict supervision.

Standing in the center of the combat ring, arms crossed and expression dour as ever, waited Captain Levi. Despite his diminutive stature, his presence dominated the space, an almost palpable aura of lethal competence radiating from his compact frame.

"Captain!" Naruto exclaimed, genuine excitement breaking through his carefully maintained indifference. "Iruka said you'd be assessing me today."

Levi's steel-gray eyes assessed Naruto with clinical detachment. "You've grown," he observed flatly. "Still scrawny though."

Coming from Levi, this qualified as effusive praise. Naruto grinned.

"I've been practicing the kick sequence you showed me last time," he offered eagerly. "The one where you use the opponent's momentum against them."

"Show me," Levi commanded, stepping into the ring and assuming a ready stance.

Naruto hesitated. "You want me to spar with you? Directly?"

"Problem?" One eyebrow raised a fraction of a centimeter.

"No sir!" Naruto stepped into the ring, adrenaline surging through his system. Sparring with Captain Levi was both an honor and a guarantee of spectacular bruises, regenerative abilities notwithstanding.

They circled each other slowly, Levi's expression betraying nothing while Naruto struggled to contain his nervous energy. Without warning, Levi attacked—a lightning-fast strike that should have caught Naruto squarely in the solar plexus.

But Naruto wasn't there.

Some primal instinct—perhaps the Titan power sensing danger—had sent him twisting sideways a fraction of a second before impact. Levi's fist caught empty air as Naruto pirouetted away, surprise flashing across his face at his own unexpected speed.

Levi's eyes narrowed. "Again."

What followed was the most intense sparring session of Naruto's life. Levi attacked relentlessly, each strike precise and controlled yet carrying enough force to incapacitate if landed cleanly. Naruto found himself operating on pure instinct, his body responding to threats before his conscious mind fully registered them.

"Enough," Levi finally called, stepping back. Not a drop of sweat marred his brow, but something in his expression had shifted. "Your reflexes have improved."

Naruto, panting and disheveled but exhilarated, bowed slightly. "Thank you, Captain."

"Don't thank me yet," Levi replied. "Today isn't just an assessment. Command has authorized the next phase of your training."

A chill ran down Naruto's spine despite the heat of exertion. "The containment chamber?"

"No." Levi's gaze flicked toward Kakashi, who had been observing from the sidelines. "Something new."

Before Naruto could question further, the facility's doors swung open. Commander Erwin Smith entered, accompanied by an unfamiliar figure—a girl about Naruto's age with pale blonde hair and eyes that seemed to contain secrets older than the Walls themselves.

"Naruto," Erwin greeted with a nod. "This is Historia Reiss. She'll be joining your training sessions from now on."

Historia stepped forward, her movements graceful despite evident nervousness. She extended a slender hand toward Naruto. "It's nice to finally meet you," she said, her voice soft but steady. "I've heard a lot about you."

Naruto stared at the offered hand as if it might transform into a snake. It had been years since anyone his age had willingly approached him, let alone touched him. Suspicion warred with desperate hope in his chest.

"Why is she here?" he asked Erwin directly, ignoring the hand until it awkwardly withdrew.

"Historia possesses unique insights into certain aspects of your condition," Erwin replied carefully. "Her family has connections to the royal lineage and access to historical knowledge that may help you better control your abilities."

The way Erwin emphasized "royal lineage" sent warning bells clanging in Naruto's mind. He'd learned enough over the years to understand that the Founding Titan's power interacted differently with those of royal blood.

"She's bait," Naruto realized aloud. "You think her blood might trigger more complete access to the Founding Titan's abilities."

Historia flinched slightly, though whether from his bluntness or accuracy remained unclear.

"It's more complex than that," Erwin countered smoothly. "Recent developments have accelerated our timetable. The Warriors of Marley are moving. We need you combat-ready sooner than anticipated."

"Warriors of Marley?" Naruto repeated. "You mean the other Titan shifters? The ones beyond the Walls?"

A tense silence fell over the training facility. Naruto had been given only carefully curated information about the world beyond the Walls—enough to understand his importance, but not enough to piece together the full picture. This mention of "Warriors" suggested imminent threats Erwin had previously downplayed.

"Yes," Erwin finally confirmed. "Our intelligence suggests Marley has dispatched at least three Titan shifters toward the Walls. Their intentions remain unclear, but history gives us little reason for optimism."

Naruto's mind raced. Three enemy Titan shifters approaching—and here he was, still struggling to maintain control during partial transformations. The implications sent a cold wave of dread through his stomach.

"You want me to fight them," he said flatly. "But I can barely transform my arm without losing consciousness afterward."

"Which is precisely why Historia's assistance is crucial," Erwin replied. "Her presence may help you access more of the Founding Titan's abilities without the risks of full transformation."

Naruto turned to Historia, really looking at her for the first time. She met his gaze steadily despite her evident discomfort. There was something in her eyes—a familiar loneliness that resonated with his own.

"Did they give you a choice?" he asked her directly.

A flicker of surprise crossed her features, followed by something harder to define. "More choice than you had," she answered quietly.

The honesty of the response caught Naruto off-guard. He'd expected evasion or platitudes, not this direct acknowledgment of his circumstance.

"Well, that's something, I guess." He managed a lopsided smile, the first genuine one since entering the facility. "Fair warning though—training with me isn't exactly safe. Ask anyone."

"Nothing inside these Walls is safe," Historia replied with unexpected steel in her voice. "At least this danger serves a purpose."

Kakashi stepped forward, breaking the moment. "We should begin. The synchronization exercises require daylight for optimal monitoring."

"Synchronization?" Naruto questioned.

"A technique from the old world," Kakashi explained. "Before the Walls, jinchūriki learned to communicate with the powers sealed within them through meditation and controlled confrontation. Historia's presence may facilitate this process for you."

Naruto suppressed a shudder. The idea of deliberately confronting what lurked inside him—the consciousness that sometimes whispered in his dreams and occasionally seized control of his limbs—terrified him more than any external threat.

"And if something goes wrong?" he asked, unable to keep the tremor from his voice.

Levi patted the ODM gear at his sides, where specialized Thunder Spears had replaced the standard blades. "That's why I'm here, brat. One wrong move, and I send you to meet your ancestors."

The casual threat should have been chilling, but Naruto found it oddly reassuring. Levi would do what was necessary without hesitation—there was safety in that certainty.

"Fine," he conceded. "Let's try your synchronization thing. But not here." He glanced toward the open doors, beyond which lay the streets of the Shinobi District. "Somewhere else. Somewhere I won't hurt anyone if things go sideways."

Erwin nodded. "Arrangements have been made. A secure location in the forest beyond the district. We leave immediately."

As they prepared to depart, Naruto felt a strange mixture of dread and anticipation churning in his gut. Something fundamental was about to change—he could feel it in the way the adults exchanged guarded glances, in the way Historia watched him with those ancient eyes in a young face.

For seven years, he'd existed in limbo—neither fully accepted by humanity nor fully embracing the power within him. Today, it seemed, the universe had tired of his indecision.

The forest clearing lay ten kilometers beyond the Shinobi District, close enough to Wall Rose that the massive structure dominated the northern skyline. Ancient trees ringed the open space, their massive trunks ideal for ODM maneuvers should containment become necessary.

Naruto sat cross-legged in the clearing's center, Historia mirroring his posture an arm's length away. Kakashi had drawn intricate patterns in the dirt surrounding them—patterns Naruto recognized as modified versions of the seal on his abdomen.

"These amplification circles will help stabilize the connection," Kakashi explained, completing the final symbol. "Historia, remember what we discussed. If you feel any pain or discomfort, break physical contact immediately."

Historia nodded, her expression serene despite the tension evident in her rigid posture.

"And me?" Naruto asked, fingers drumming nervously against his knees. "What am I supposed to do exactly?"

"Close your eyes," Kakashi instructed. "Focus on your breathing. When I give the signal, Historia will place her hand over your seal. You may experience... unusual sensations. Don't fight them. Let the memories come."

"Memories?" Naruto frowned. "I thought this was about controlling transformation."

"Understanding precedes control," Kakashi replied cryptically. "The Founding Titan's memories may hold the key to mastering its power."

Naruto exhaled slowly, centering himself as he'd been taught. Around the clearing's perimeter, he was acutely aware of Levi and Erwin standing ready, weapons at hand. Their presence was both comfort and warning—a reminder of what was at stake.

"Begin," Kakashi commanded softly.

Naruto closed his eyes. Historia's cool fingers pressed gently against his abdomen, directly over the hidden seal. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the world exploded into light.

Naruto gasped as images flooded his consciousness—not the fragmentary glimpses he'd experienced in dreams, but full, vivid scenes playing at impossible speed. Cities of glass and steel. Oceans stretching to infinity. Mountains that breathed fire. And people—countless faces across centuries, some wearing familiar uniforms, others in clothing he couldn't recognize.

"There are too many," he choked out, body rigid with the effort of processing the deluge. "I can't—"

"Focus on the Titans," Historia's voice reached him, seemingly from vast distance. "Find the first one. Find Ymir Fritz."

The name acted as an anchor. The chaotic stream of images coalesced around a single figure—a girl with vacant eyes standing amid devastation, her body transforming into something monstrous yet divine.

"I see her," Naruto whispered. "The first Titan. She's... so small. Just a girl."

"Follow her path," Historia urged, her voice stronger now. "See what she became."

The visions shifted, showing the girl-turned-Titan reshaping the world—building bridges, cultivating lands, waging wars at the command of a shadowy king. Naruto witnessed the fracturing of her power into nine distinct Titans, the centuries of conflict that followed, the rise and fall of an empire called Eldia.

"So much blood," he murmured, tears streaming unnoticed down his face. "Endless war. Titans against Titans. Humans against humans."

Historia's grip tightened on his abdomen. "Look deeper. Find the connection between worlds."

Naruto's consciousness plunged through layers of memory, beyond Eldia's rise and fall, beyond the establishment of Marley, beyond even the construction of the Walls. He touched something ancient and terrible—a moment when reality itself had fractured.

"There was a war," he gasped, body beginning to tremble. "Not with weapons of steel but with powers beyond understanding. They called it chakra in one world and the Paths in another. Someone tried to merge them—to create ultimate power—"

Pain lanced through his skull, white-hot and blinding. The seal on his abdomen burned as if branded anew, visible now through his shirt as glowing lines spreading in spiral patterns.

"Naruto!" Kakashi's alarmed voice seemed to come from another dimension. "Your transformation is triggering!"

Indeed, steam had begun to rise from Naruto's skin, his right arm bulging and distorting as the Titan power responded to his distress. But he couldn't stop now—the memories had him in their grip, pulling him deeper into revelations too significant to abandon.

"The worlds were never meant to touch," he continued, voice distorting as his jaw began to elongate slightly. "But someone forced them together—created a bridge. The Nine Bijuu of the shinobi world became the Nine Titans of this one. The Kyuubi—the Nine-Tails—became the Founding Titan."

Historia's eyes widened. "The Nine-Tails? That's what you contain?"

"Not exactly," Naruto managed through increasingly inhuman vocal cords. "Its power, reshaped. The personality, fragmented. But the core—the core remembers being something else, something from beyond—"

The transformation accelerated suddenly. Naruto's right arm completed its metamorphosis into a massive Titan limb, fifteen meters long and corded with exposed muscle. More alarmingly, the left side of his face began to transform as well, skin peeling back to reveal the distinctive teeth and structure of a Titan.

"Control it, Naruto!" Kakashi shouted, backing away as the transformation expanded. "Remember who you are!"

But Naruto was lost in the flood of memories, drowning in revelations too vast for his twelve-year-old mind to contain. The Founding Titan—or whatever ancient consciousness dwelled within it—had awakened fully for the first time since being sealed, and it had no intention of retreating quietly.

Historia, displaying either tremendous courage or reckless disregard for her safety, maintained contact with Naruto's transforming body. "I see it too," she whispered, her eyes glazed as she shared the visions. "The worlds connected through the Paths. The merging of powers. The First King's lie about humanity's extinction."

"Get back, girl!" Levi barked, launching himself forward with ODM gear, Thunder Spears at the ready. "He's losing control!"

"No!" Historia's voice rang with unexpected authority. "He needs to see it through! The memories contain the key!"

Levi hesitated, suspended in mid-air by his cables, weapon poised. Erwin raised a hand, signaling him to wait.

"Thirty seconds," the commander decided. "Then we terminate the experiment."

Naruto's consciousness flickered between his own identity and the ancient entity awakening within him. Steam enveloped his form as more of his body transformed, the clearing trembling with the energy being released.

"There's a way back," he growled through massive Titan jaws that had consumed half his face. "A way to separate the worlds again. The Founding Titan knows how—"

His words cut off abruptly as his transformation reached a critical threshold. Naruto's body convulsed violently, throwing Historia backward. She landed hard several meters away, blood trickling from her nose.

"NOW, LEVI!" Erwin commanded.

Levi fired, the Thunder Spear streaking toward Naruto with deadly accuracy. At the last possible moment, Naruto's Titan arm moved with impossible speed, swatting the projectile aside. It exploded against a tree trunk, splinters raining across the clearing.

"Impressive reflexes," Levi commented, firing his second spear without hesitation.

This one detonated directly against Naruto's transformed shoulder, blasting away chunks of Titan flesh. The boy screamed—a sound that began human but distorted into something primordial and terrifying.

"ENOUGH!" The voice that erupted from Naruto's throat belonged to no twelve-year-old. It resonated with power that seemed to vibrate the very air. "I REMEMBER NOW. I REMEMBER EVERYTHING."

The partially transformed body rose to its full height—a grotesque hybrid of human and Titan proportions. Steam continued to pour from the massive arm and half-transformed face, but the transformation had stabilized, neither advancing further nor retreating.

"Naruto?" Kakashi approached cautiously. "Are you in control?"

The heterochromatic eyes—one blue and human, one massive and golden—focused on Kakashi. "Yes. And no." The voice had settled into an unsettling hybrid, layering Naruto's boyish tones with something ancient and other. "We are... cooperating. Temporarily."

Historia had risen to her knees, wiping blood from her face. "You've achieved synchronization," she observed with evident wonder. "You're communicating directly with the Founding Titan."

"With what remains of it," the dual voice confirmed. "The seal fragmented the consciousness, but the memories remained intact. I can access them now—all of them."

Erwin stepped forward, caution warring with scientific curiosity on his normally stoic face. "What have you learned about the Warriors approaching our Walls?"

The hybrid being turned its mismatched gaze toward the commander. "They seek what I contain—the Coordinate, the point where all Paths converge. They believe it will give Marley ultimate control over all Titans."

"Will it?" Erwin pressed.

"No. The Coordinate is not merely a power of this world. It connects dimensions. In the wrong hands, it could collapse reality itself."

This revelation sent a visible shock through even Levi's composed demeanor. "Collapse reality? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means," Historia interjected, rising fully to her feet, "that the stakes are higher than merely humanity's survival within the Walls. The Founding Titan—the Nine-Tails—whatever we call it—is a lynchpin holding worlds together."

Naruto's human eye widened at Historia's intuitive grasp of concepts he himself was struggling to articulate. The Titan consciousness sharing his body rumbled with something like approval.

"The girl understands," the dual voice confirmed. "Royal blood indeed. The memories flow easily to her."

"Can you maintain this state of synchronization?" Kakashi asked, circling Naruto's hybrid form with analytical interest. "It appears stable for now."

"Not indefinitely," came the reply. "The seal strains against the power. Without reinforcement, it will eventually fail."

"And then?" Erwin prompted.

"Then either I become a full Titan, or the power breaks free entirely. Neither outcome serves your goals, Commander."

The calculated way the dual entity addressed Erwin sent chills down everyone's spine. This was not entirely Naruto speaking—perhaps not even primarily Naruto.

"Bring him back," Levi ordered, addressing the Titan consciousness directly. "The boy. Now."

Something like amusement flickered across the hybrid features. "Your concern is noted, Captain. But unnecessary. The boy and I have reached an understanding. For now."

Steam suddenly engulfed Naruto's form again, the massive Titan arm dissolving rapidly along with the transformed facial features. Within moments, Naruto stood fully human once more—though with an altered presence that hadn't been there before. His posture had changed, gaining a centered confidence that made him appear older than his twelve years.

"I'm okay," he assured them, his voice once again entirely his own. "Better than okay, actually. I understand now."

"Understand what?" Kakashi asked carefully.

"Why I contain this power. Why it was sealed in me specifically." Naruto's blue eyes shone with new purpose. "My mother's bloodline—the Uzumaki clan—they weren't just nobles within the Walls. They came from the other world originally, crossing over during the great merging. They carried the ability to contain tailed beasts—bijuu—which translated to an ability to contain Titan powers in this world."

Historia approached him, apparently unafraid despite the recent display of power. "Did you see how to control it fully? How to access the Coordinate without transforming completely?"

Naruto nodded slowly. "It's not about fighting the power or surrendering to it. It's about partnership." He placed a hand over his abdomen, where the seal had returned to invisibility beneath his shirt. "The entity inside me isn't just a power source—it's a being with its own history and consciousness, fragmented though it may be. We need to work together."

Erwin exchanged significant glances with Kakashi before addressing Naruto. "This partnership, as you call it—can it be relied upon in combat? Against the Warriors of Marley?"

A shadow crossed Naruto's features. "Not yet. The synchronization is temporary, a product of Historia's influence and the amplification circles. To maintain it independently will require practice." He hesitated, then added with reluctance, "And possibly modifications to the seal."

"Modifications that only someone with knowledge of the old world's techniques could perform," Kakashi surmised. "My abilities in this area are limited, Naruto. The full sealing arts were lost generations ago."

"Not lost," Naruto corrected. "Hidden. There are others like you, Kakashi—survivors from the other world who crossed over, or their descendants who maintained the knowledge. The memories showed me."

This revelation clearly startled Kakashi. "Others? Where?"

"Scattered throughout the Walls. Some in plain sight, others in hiding." Naruto's gaze drifted to the distant outline of Wall Rose. "One in particular might help us—a woman named Tsunade. She helped create my original seal."

Erwin's eyebrows rose fractionally. "Commander Tsunade Uzumaki? She disappeared years ago, after disagreements with the military high command regarding Titan research."

"She's my relative," Naruto realized aloud. "And she's still alive. The Founding Titan can sense her—somewhere within Wall Sina."

A new tension filled the clearing as the implications of these revelations settled over the group. If Naruto could sense specific individuals through the Founding Titan's power, his strategic value had just increased exponentially.

"This changes our approach," Erwin decided. "Naruto must remain in the Shinobi District for now—his sudden disappearance would raise questions we can't afford while Marley's Warriors approach. But his training will intensify, with Historia's continued assistance."

"And Tsunade?" Naruto pressed. "We need her expertise with the seal."

"I'll locate her personally," Kakashi volunteered. "If she's within Wall Sina, I'll find her."

Levi, who had remained uncharacteristically silent through these exchanges, finally spoke. "The boy's control is still questionable. He deflected my Thunder Spear with reflexes no twelve-year-old should possess—Titan shifter or not."

"I sensed the danger," Naruto explained. "Or rather, we sensed it together. The partnership works both ways—I gain access to the Founding Titan's abilities, but its survival instincts can also take precedence in moments of immediate threat."

"Convenient," Levi remarked dryly. "And dangerous."

"All power is dangerous, Captain," Historia interjected with surprising assertiveness. "The question is whether the danger serves humanity's interests or works against them."

Levi studied her with new appreciation. "You're smarter than you look, girl."

"And you're exactly as intimidating as you look," she replied without missing a beat.

A ghost of a smile touched Levi's lips before vanishing. "We should return to the district before dark. The experiment has yielded results, but the boy needs rest. That level of transformation takes a physical toll, controlled or not."

Indeed, now that the adrenaline was fading, Naruto felt bone-deep exhaustion settling into his limbs. The synchronization had drained him more thoroughly than any physical training ever had. But his mind remained electric with new awareness—connections and understandings that had been blocked now flowing freely through his consciousness.

As they prepared to depart, Historia approached Naruto privately. "There's something you didn't tell them," she said quietly. "Something you saw in the memories."

Naruto glanced at her sharply. "How did you know?"

"Because I saw fragments too, when we connected." Her blue eyes held his steadily. "The Curse of Ymir. The thirteen-year lifespan of Titan shifters."

Naruto's throat tightened. According to that curse, he had less than a year remaining—a fact he'd been aware of since childhood, but which now pressed against his consciousness with renewed urgency.

"The curse might not apply to me exactly," he replied softly. "The seal changes things. And there's more—something about the connection between worlds offering a possible escape from the curse entirely."

Hope flickered across Historia's features. "You think you can break it?"

"I don't know. The memories weren't clear on that point." Naruto hesitated, then added, "But I'm not giving up. Not when I finally understand what I'm fighting for."

"And what is that?" she asked.

Naruto's gaze drifted toward the walls in the distance, then beyond them to the horizon. "Freedom," he said simply. "Not just from the Walls, but from all the cages—the curse, the hatred, the fear. Freedom for everyone."

Historia studied him with an unreadable expression. "That's a worthy goal, Naruto Uzumaki. I hope you live long enough to achieve it."

The blunt acknowledgment of his mortality should have stung, but Naruto found it oddly refreshing after years of people dancing around the subject. "Yeah," he agreed with a wry smile. "That would be nice."

The sun hung low over Wall Rose as they reentered the Shinobi District, casting long shadows across the narrow streets. Naruto walked between Levi and Kakashi, with Historia and Erwin following close behind. Their formation was casual to the untrained eye but strategically positioned to allow immediate intervention should Naruto's control falter.

The district seemed unusually quiet for early evening, the normal bustle of closing markets and socializing neighbors conspicuously absent. Naruto felt eyes watching from shadowed windows, a prickling sensation between his shoulder blades that set his newly heightened instincts on edge.

"Something's wrong," he murmured to Kakashi. "The district feels... hostile."

Kakashi nodded almost imperceptibly. "News travels fast in tight communities. Your departure with military escorts this morning did not go unnoticed."

"But that happens all the time," Naruto protested. "I've been training with you guys for years."

"Not with a royal-blooded girl and the Commander of the Scout Regiment," Levi pointed out. "People talk. Draw conclusions."

As they turned onto the street leading to Naruto's modest home—a small two-story building maintained by the military for his residence with rotating guardians—the source of the tension became apparent. A crowd had gathered outside, perhaps thirty people ranging from agitated adults to wide-eyed children.

At their forefront stood Mizuki, the Military Police instructor who had never bothered to hide his distaste for Naruto. Beside him, a heavyset man Naruto recognized as a local butcher brandished a meat cleaver with unmistakable menace.

"There he is!" the butcher called out, his voice carrying through the unnaturally quiet street. "The monster they've been hiding among us!"

The crowd's murmurs intensified, faces contorting with a mixture of fear and righteous anger. Naruto felt his stomach drop. Seven years of whispers and sidelong glances had finally crystallized into something more dangerous—open hostility.

"Stay behind me," Levi ordered, stepping forward to place himself between Naruto and the mob. Despite his small stature, the captain's presence radiated lethal capability that gave even the angriest citizens pause.

"What's the meaning of this gathering?" Erwin demanded, his commanding voice cutting through the tension. "Disperse immediately. Military curfew will commence in one hour."

Mizuki stepped forward, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "With respect, Commander, these citizens have legitimate concerns about the... individual... being housed in their district." He emphasized the word 'individual' with obvious disdain. "Particularly in light of today's incident."

Naruto stiffened. "What incident?"

A ripple passed through the crowd. A woman near the front—the baker whose shop Naruto had frequented since childhood—pointed an accusatory finger. "We saw the lightning! The same kind that appears when Titans transform! It came from the forest where you took him!"

"Military training exercises are not subject to civilian oversight," Erwin replied smoothly. "The Scout Regiment conducts various operations that may involve—"

"Stop lying to us!" the butcher interrupted, brandishing his cleaver. "My brother serves in the Garrison. He told me what this boy really is!"

Ice flooded Naruto's veins. His secret—the military's secret—apparently wasn't as contained as Erwin had believed. He glanced at Historia, noting the alarm in her blue eyes as she pressed closer to Erwin's protective presence.

"Whatever your brother told you is likely exaggerated or misunderstood," Kakashi interjected, his tone deliberately casual despite the tension radiating from his stance. "Rumors about military operations often—"

"He's a Titan!" shrieked a voice from the back of the crowd. "A monster they're keeping inside the Walls! My cousin saw him transform at the academy seven years ago!"

The accusation hung in the air like a physical thing, heavy and undeniable. Naruto felt dozens of eyes fixed on him—on the whisker marks that had always set him apart, on the body that had never quite belonged solely to him.

"Is it true?" asked a small voice.

Naruto looked down to find a child—no more than six or seven—staring up at him with wide, fearful eyes. The innocence of the question, devoid of the adults' venom but filled with genuine terror, struck deeper than any accusation.

"I—" Naruto began, but Levi cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"This discussion is over," the captain declared. "Return to your homes immediately, or face military detention. The Scout Regiment does not answer to civilian committees, especially not armed mobs."

The mention of "armed" caused several in the crowd to shift uncomfortably, suddenly aware of how their gathering might be perceived by military authorities. A few began to edge away, courage failing in the face of potential consequences.

Mizuki, however, stood his ground. "These people deserve answers, Captain. They've housed this... experiment... in their district for years, unaware of the danger he represents."

"The only danger present," Levi replied coldly, "is an unauthorized gathering interfering with military operations during a time of increased Titan activity beyond the Walls. Your duty as Military Police is to disperse this crowd, not incite it. Unless you're deliberately undermining the chain of command?"

The accusation—carrying implications of treason—struck home. Mizuki's smirk faltered, replaced by calculation as he weighed his personal vendetta against professional survival.

Before he could respond, a new voice cut through the tension.

"What a disappointment you've become, Mizuki."

The crowd parted as Iruka pushed through, his Scout Regiment uniform dusty from apparent hard riding. He positioned himself beside Naruto, a hand resting protectively on the boy's shoulder.

"These people trusted you to maintain order," Iruka continued, addressing his fellow instructor with obvious contempt. "Instead, you exploit their fears for your own agenda."

"I'm protecting them from a threat you've helped conceal," Mizuki shot back, though his confidence had visibly diminished with Iruka's arrival. The two had history—former friends whose paths had diverged when Iruka chose the Scout Regiment over the safer assignment in Military Police.

"The only threat I see," Iruka replied evenly, "is a mob being manipulated by half-truths and deliberate misinformation."

He turned to address the crowd directly. "Many of you have known Naruto since he was five years old. He's grown up in these streets, shopped in your markets, helped old man Teuchi deliver ramen on weekends. Has he ever—even once—harmed any of you or your children?"

Uncomfortable silence followed the question. Several faces in the crowd showed the first flickers of shame as Iruka's words penetrated the collective fear.

"Whatever you've heard about military experiments or Titan research," Iruka continued, "ask yourselves this: if the military truly housed a dangerous monster in your district, would they have allowed him to live openly among you? To form relationships? To walk unguarded through your streets?"

The logic began to sway some of the less committed members of the gathering. Naruto watched in amazement as Iruka—with words alone—accomplished what Levi's intimidation and Erwin's authority had failed to achieve.

"He's still one of them," the butcher insisted, though his cleaver had lowered slightly. "A Titan in human skin."

"He's a child," Historia spoke up suddenly, stepping forward despite Erwin's restraining hand. "A human child who never asked for the burden placed upon him. Would you punish someone for circumstances beyond their control?"

Her unexpected intervention—and the moral question it posed—further fractured the mob's unity. The crowd began to disperse in ones and twos, conviction wavering in the face of direct confrontation with their own humanity.

Mizuki, sensing his influence waning, made a final desperate play. "The girl's part of it too! Another experiment! Ask yourself why they brought royal blood to interact with the monster today!"

The accusation sent a jolt through the remaining crowd. Historia's royal connection wasn't public knowledge, but among those from the Shinobi District—many with distant ties to noble houses before the Walls—such claims carried weight.

Naruto felt something snap inside him—not the Titan power stirring, but simple human outrage. He stepped forward, shrugging off Iruka's restraining hand.

"Her name is Historia," he said, voice steady despite the anger churning in his gut. "Not 'the girl.' Not 'royal blood.' Historia. And she's braver than any of you—willing to help humanity while you cower behind rumors and mob mentality."

He faced the crowd directly, meeting their fearful gazes one by one. "Yes, I'm different. I always have been. These marks on my face aren't just birthmarks—they're signs of something inside me that you couldn't possibly understand. But that doesn't make me a monster. What makes monsters isn't what's inside them—it's what they choose to do with it."

A hush had fallen over the street, Naruto's words cutting through the collective fear with unexpected eloquence.

"I could have hurt any of you, any time, if I'd wanted to," he continued, a tremor entering his voice. "Instead, I've spent every day of my life trying to control what's inside me, to master it so that someday I could use it to protect people—even people who hate me for existing."

He turned to the small child who had asked the simple question earlier. Kneeling to eye level, Naruto spoke gently. "Yes, there's something scary inside me. But there's something good inside me too. Just like there's good and scary stuff inside all people. The important part is which one you choose to listen to."

The child stared at him with wide eyes, fear gradually yielding to curiosity. "Do you... eat people?" he whispered.

Despite everything, Naruto laughed—a genuine sound that broke the tension like sunlight through storm clouds. "No! Gross! I eat ramen, just like normal kids. Way too much ramen, according to my instructors."

A ripple of nervous laughter spread through the remaining crowd. The butcher lowered his cleaver entirely, looking somewhat foolish now as the mob mentality dissipated.

"Go home," Erwin commanded again, his tone gentler but no less authoritative. "Trust that your military is acting in humanity's best interests. If you have concerns, raise them through proper channels—not through unauthorized gatherings that could be mistaken for insurrection."

This time, the crowd dispersed in earnest, leaving only Mizuki standing defiantly in the street. His face had twisted with thwarted rage, eyes fixed on Naruto with undisguised hatred.

"This isn't over," he spat. "The truth about you will spread beyond this district. There are those in the interior who believe experiments like you should have been terminated years ago."

"That's enough, Mizuki," Iruka warned. "Return to your post before you say something that constitutes insubordination."

With a final venomous glare, Mizuki turned and stalked away, his rigid posture broadcasting the promise of future confrontation.

As the street emptied, Naruto felt the adrenaline drain from his system, leaving leaden exhaustion in its wake. The day's events—the synchronization with the Founding Titan, the flood of memories, and now this public confrontation—had depleted his reserves more thoroughly than he'd realized.

"That was well handled," Erwin observed, studying Naruto with newfound appreciation. "Your words reached them more effectively than our authority."

"Because they needed to hear from him directly," Historia said quietly. "Not about him."

Levi snorted. "Pretty speeches won't matter if his control slips even once. Public sentiment turns ugly faster than a three-meter Titan."

"Then we ensure his control doesn't slip," Kakashi replied. "The synchronization exercise showed promise. With Historia's assistance and proper training—"

"We don't have time for a gradual approach," Erwin interrupted. "The Warriors of Marley won't wait while we perfect his technique. We need results immediately."

Naruto, despite his exhaustion, bristled at being discussed as if absent. "I'm right here, you know. And I just proved I can handle pressure without transforming."

"A mob is one thing," Levi countered. "A coordinated attack by experienced Titan shifters is another matter entirely."

Before Naruto could respond, a messenger in Scout Regiment uniform appeared at the street's end, riding hard toward their position. The soldier dismounted in a fluid motion, saluting Erwin crisply.

"Commander! Urgent report from the Forward Observation Post at Wall Maria! A breach has been detected in Shiganshina District! The Colossal Titan has appeared!"

The news struck like physical impact. Wall Maria—humanity's outermost defense—breached by the same Titan form that had been theoretical until this moment. The implications sent ice through Naruto's veins.

"Casualties?" Erwin demanded.

"Unknown, sir. Communications are fragmented. The Armored Titan has also been reported, attacking the inner gate. If it succeeds—"

"Wall Maria will be completely compromised," Erwin finished grimly. "Levi, assemble your squad immediately. Kakashi, alert the Garrison that all available ODM-qualified personnel are being conscripted for evacuation assistance."

The commander turned to Naruto and Historia, decision crystallizing in his eyes. "You two will return to Scout Regiment headquarters with Iruka. This is not a situation where we can risk—"

"No," Naruto interrupted, an unfamiliar steel in his voice. "You need me there. The Armored and Colossal Titans are shifters—Warriors of Marley, like you said. Regular soldiers don't stand a chance against them."

"You're untested in actual combat," Erwin replied. "Your transformation is unpredictable, and after today's synchronization—"

"I'm stronger because of today," Naruto insisted. "The Founding Titan and I reached an understanding. I can control partial transformations now—enough to make a difference."

Historia stepped forward. "I should go too. My presence stabilizes his abilities."

"Absolutely not," Erwin said flatly. "Your safety is non-negotiable for reasons beyond this immediate crisis."

Naruto understood the subtext—Historia's royal blood made her too valuable to risk, particularly if rumors about her heritage were already circulating. But he couldn't back down, not when everything he'd trained for was suddenly relevant.

"Commander," he said, meeting Erwin's calculating gaze directly, "you've spent seven years preparing me for exactly this moment. If I can't help now, what was the point of any of it?"

A tense silence followed as Erwin weighed options with the cold pragmatism that defined his leadership. Finally, he gave a single, sharp nod.

"You'll deploy with Levi Squad as a special asset. Transformation only under direct order from Captain Levi or myself. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Naruto's heart raced with equal parts terror and exhilaration. This was it—his first real combat, his chance to prove that the power within him could serve humanity rather than threaten it.

"Historia returns to headquarters with Iruka," Erwin continued. "Non-negotiable."

The girl opened her mouth to protest, but something in Erwin's expression silenced her. She nodded reluctantly.

"Prepare immediately," Erwin ordered. "We move out in fifteen minutes. Civilian evacuation is priority, followed by containment of the Armored Titan if possible. Do not engage the Colossal Titan under any circumstances—its size and steam emission make it unsuitable for your abilities at this stage."

As the group dispersed to prepare, Iruka pulled Naruto aside, concern etched deeply in his scarred face.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked quietly. "There's no shame in requiring more preparation."

Naruto managed a confident smile that belied the knot of anxiety in his stomach. "I've been preparing my whole life, Iruka-sensei. Besides," he added with attempted humor, "if the thirteen-year curse is real, I've only got months left anyway. Might as well make them count."

Iruka flinched at the blunt reference to Naruto's abbreviated lifespan. "That's not funny."

"No," Naruto agreed, his smile fading. "But it's true. And it means I don't have the luxury of waiting until I'm 'ready.' No one ever feels completely ready for their first battle, right?"

Something like pride flickered across Iruka's features, though sorrow lingered in his eyes. "When did you get so wise?"

"Probably around the time I realized I had an ancient Titan sealed inside me and a civilization of enemies beyond the Walls," Naruto replied dryly. "Tends to mature a kid pretty fast."

Iruka embraced him suddenly—a gesture so unexpected that Naruto froze momentarily before returning it awkwardly. Physical affection had been rare in his life, confined mostly to necessary medical examinations and combat training.

"Come back alive," Iruka said fiercely. "That's an order, understand?"

Naruto nodded against his teacher's shoulder. "I will. I promise."

As they separated, Historia approached, her expression resolute despite the fear evident in her posture. "Be careful," she said simply. "The synchronization we achieved today is still fragile. If you push too hard—"

"I know," Naruto interrupted gently. "One step at a time. Partial transformations only, under direct orders."

She studied him intently, seeming to search for something in his expression. "There's more," she said quietly. "Something the memories showed us both but that you haven't shared with the others."

Naruto tensed. During the synchronization, countless fragments of knowledge had flowed between them—some too complex or troubling to articulate immediately.

"The Ackermans," Historia continued, voice barely above a whisper. "Captain Levi's bloodline. They were created to counter Titan powers if necessary. He's not just dangerous because of his skill—he's biologically engineered to kill Titans. To kill you, if required."

This confirmation of something Naruto had sensed but couldn't articulate sent a chill through him. Levi's inhuman fighting abilities suddenly made perfect sense—he wasn't merely humanity's strongest soldier by training, but by design.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Naruto asked.

"Because you need to trust him completely in battle," Historia replied. "The Ackerman bloodline makes him immune to memory manipulation by the Founding Titan. If things go wrong—if you lose control—he won't hesitate. That makes him the perfect partner for you."

The cold logic of this arrangement struck Naruto with new clarity. Levi hadn't been assigned as his combat instructor by chance, but as his potential executioner.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he muttered.

Historia's expression softened unexpectedly. "It's not about confidence. It's about balance. Every power needs a counterbalance to function properly. You and Levi—you're two sides of the same equation."

Before Naruto could respond, Levi's voice cut through their conversation. "Time to move, brat. Gear up with full ODM equipment. You've been cleared for independent operation."

Naruto's eyes widened. After years of training with ODM gear only under direct supervision, the authorization for independent use represented an unprecedented vote of confidence.

"Really? My own gear?"

"Don't make me regret it," Levi replied curtly. "Standard blades only—no Thunder Spears for you yet. Your primary function is reconnaissance and emergency response. Transformation only as absolute last resort."

"Understood, Captain." Naruto straightened, suddenly feeling the weight of the moment. This wasn't a training exercise or controlled experiment—real lives hung in the balance, dependent on his performance.

As he hurried to the equipment shed where his custom-fitted ODM gear was stored, Naruto felt the Founding Titan's presence stirring within him—not fighting for control, but aligning with his purpose. For perhaps the first time, their goals were perfectly synchronized: protect humanity within the Walls from the threat approaching from without.

We can do this together, he thought toward the presence. My will, your power.

The response came not in words but in a surge of strength flowing through his limbs—the Titan's acknowledgment of their temporary alliance.

Within minutes, Naruto stood fully equipped, the familiar weight of the ODM gear's harness embracing his body. The specialized version designed for his unique biology included reinforced attachment points to accommodate potential partial transformations without catastrophic equipment failure.

Levi inspected him with critical eyes, adjusting a strap here, tightening a buckle there. "Remember your training," the captain said, voice uncharacteristically subdued. "Horizontal traversal before vertical. Gas conservation is priority in extended operations. And most importantly—"

"Stay out of your way," Naruto finished with a nervous grin.

The ghost of a smile touched Levi's stern features. "You're learning."

Scout Regiment horses waited in the street, their stamina and speed essential for the journey to Shiganshina District. Naruto mounted his assigned gelding—a sturdy bay he'd trained with occasionally—and took his position in the formation assembling under Erwin's direction.

As the scout Regiment prepared to depart, Naruto caught sight of faces watching from windows and doorways—the same district residents who had formed a mob against him hours earlier, now witnessing his deployment as a soldier in humanity's defense. Their expressions had transformed from hostility to something more complex—fear still, but mingled with hope and dawning respect.

The small child who had asked if Naruto ate people stood on a doorstep, eyes wide with wonder rather than terror now. Naruto offered him a confident salute, earning a hesitant wave in return.

"SCOUTS, MOVE OUT!" Erwin's command rang through the street.

Hooves thundered against cobblestones as the formation surged forward, green cloaks billowing like wings behind them. Naruto rode between seasoned veterans, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and exhilaration. Seven years of isolation and controlled training had culminated in this moment—his first mission, his first chance to prove that the power sealed within him could serve humanity rather than threaten it.

As Trost District fell behind them and open country stretched ahead, Naruto felt something he hadn't experienced in years: belonging. Despite his abnormal nature, despite the whisker marks on his cheeks and the ancient entity sharing his consciousness, in this moment he was simply a Scout—one soldier among many racing toward danger while others fled from it.

The sun set behind Wall Rose as they rode, casting long shadows across the land. Ahead, barely visible on the horizon, a column of smoke rose from the direction of Shiganshina District—physical evidence of the catastrophe unfolding at humanity's outermost defense.

Naruto's enhanced vision caught movement in the distance—massive, lumbering forms approaching from the breach site. Titans, freed from their confinement beyond Wall Maria, advancing toward more populous territories.

"Captain!" he called to Levi, who rode several positions ahead. "Multiple Titans advancing from Shiganshina! Five... no, seven visible at current distance!"

Levi glanced back, reassessing Naruto's utility with this demonstration of enhanced perception. "Classification?"

Naruto focused, drawing on knowledge imparted during years of theoretical training. "Mostly five to seven meters. One aberrant, moving faster than the others!"

Levi relayed this intelligence to Erwin, who adjusted the formation accordingly. Scouts with greater combat experience moved to forward positions, preparing to engage threats before they reached evacuation routes.

As they thundered toward the looming confrontation, Naruto felt the Founding Titan's consciousness pressing closer to the surface of his mind—not fighting for control, but offering its power more directly than ever before.

Today we fight together, Naruto acknowledged silently. Today we protect humanity, not just from ordinary Titans, but from those who would use Titan powers to destroy rather than defend.

The response came in a surge of strength flowing through his muscles, a heightening of his senses, and knowledge filtering into his consciousness—combat techniques and tactical insights from centuries of warfare.

For the first time in his life, Naruto embraced his nature fully—not as a burden to be contained or a weapon to be wielded, but as a partnership with purpose. The outcast child of the Shinobi District was riding into battle not as a monster or an experiment, but as humanity's defender.

Wall Maria grew larger on the horizon, the massive breach in Shiganshina District now clearly visible. Beyond it, illuminated by flames from burning buildings, stood the towering form of the Colossal Titan—sixty meters of skinless muscle and bone, steam rising from its exposed tissues as it surveyed the destruction it had wrought.

"Holy shit," Naruto breathed, the true scale of their enemy registering for the first time. Training diagrams and theoretical discussions hadn't prepared him for the visceral reality of the Colossal Titan's presence.

Levi, hearing his reaction, pulled alongside momentarily. "Remember your orders. Reconnaissance and evacuation assistance only. Do not engage Titan shifters without direct command."

Naruto nodded, though a new determination had settled in his chest. The Warriors of Marley had brought this destruction to innocent civilians—people like the shopkeepers and children of his own district. Whatever happened in the coming battle, he would not stand aside while humanity suffered.

As they approached the outer settlements surrounding Shiganshina, the first screams reached their ears—civilians fleeing before the advancing Titans, belongings abandoned in the desperate race for survival.

Erwin raised his arm, the signal to deploy ODM gear and begin the operation. The formation broke, Scout Regiment soldiers launching into three-dimensional maneuvers with practiced precision.

Naruto took a deep breath, hand hovering over his ODM controls. Seven years of training for this moment. Seven years of isolation and suspicion, of whispers and fear. Seven years as an outcast, neither fully human nor fully Titan.

Today, finally, he would show everyone exactly what that unique existence was worth.

With a decisive motion, he triggered his gear, cables shooting outward to anchor in a nearby structure. Gas hissed as he launched skyward, the familiar sensation of momentary weightlessness giving way to the controlled fall that defined ODM mobility.

Behind him, the Shinobi District and its prejudices faded into insignificance. Ahead lay battle, purpose, and perhaps—if fortune favored him—redemption.

Naruto Uzumaki, jinchūriki of the Founding Titan, soared toward destiny with a hunter's grin splitting his whiskered face.