What if Naruto had dragon king instead of kurama

PROLOGUE: THE SEALING OF RYUUJIN

Blood-red scales gleamed in the moonlight as the massive dragon soared over the Hidden Leaf Village, its serpentine body twisting through storm clouds that crackled with thunder. Lightning flashed, illuminating the beast's enormous form—a creature straight from ancient legends, with horns like polished obsidian and eyes that burned like twin infernos. Each beat of its vast wings sent hurricane-force winds sweeping through the village streets, toppling trees and ripping roofs from buildings.

The Dragon King had come.

"Hold the line until the Fourth arrives!" a jōnin shouted, his voice nearly lost in the cacophony of destruction.

Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, stood atop the Hokage monument, his white cloak snapping in the violent winds. In his arms, he cradled his newborn son, his face etched with determination and grief. Beside him, Kushina Uzumaki knelt, her bright red hair whipping around her face, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"Are you sure there's no other way?" she whispered, reaching out to touch their son's cheek.

Minato's blue eyes hardened. "Ryuujin is too powerful. The regular sealing techniques won't work—he's not like the other Tailed Beasts. He's something older. More primal."

The dragon roared, and the sound shook the very foundations of the village. Its massive tail swept across a row of buildings, reducing them to splinters in an instant.

"He's not a bijuu at all," Kushina said, her voice barely audible. "The legends say he existed before the Sage of Six Paths, before the Ten-Tails. He's from a time when gods walked the earth."

"Which is why we need a special seal," Minato replied, his fingers already forming complex signs. "The Eight Trigrams Seal alone won't hold him. I'll need to use the Reaper Death Seal to bind his consciousness, and then the Eight Trigrams to contain his chakra."

He looked down at their son—at Naruto, with his whisker-less cheeks and shock of blond hair. Unlike the attack of the Nine-Tails in another reality, this was something different, something unprecedented. The Dragon King wasn't a tailed beast but an elemental force that predated human civilization.

"He'll be a hero," Minato whispered, kissing his son's forehead. "But I fear his burden will be even greater than we imagined."

The dragon's massive head swung toward them, as if sensing their intentions. Its eyes—ancient, knowing, filled with a primordial intelligence—fixed on the small family.

"YOU CANNOT CONTAIN ME, HUMAN," the dragon's voice boomed, not just in sound but in their minds, a psychic pressure that made nearby shinobi clutch their heads in pain. "I AM RYUUJIN, KING OF DRAGONS, FIRSTBORN OF THE ELEMENTAL NATIONS. I EXISTED BEFORE YOUR KIND LEARNED TO HARNESS CHAKRA."

Minato's expression didn't change. "Perhaps. But I'm not just any human. I'm the Fourth Hokage, and I will protect this village even at the cost of my life."

He handed Naruto to Kushina and flashed through a series of hand signs. The air around them grew heavy, charged with an otherworldly energy.

"REAPER DEATH SEAL!"

A ghostly figure materialized behind Minato—the Shinigami, god of death, with its horrifying visage and prayer beads clutched in one spectral hand. The temperature plummeted, frost forming on the stone beneath their feet.

The dragon's eyes widened in recognition. "YOU WOULD SUMMON THE DEATH GOD? FOOLISH MORTAL!"

Ryuujin inhaled deeply, his chest expanding to twice its size, and then exhaled a stream of blue-white fire that turned the night to day. The flames didn't just burn—they consumed, erasing matter itself, leaving nothing but void in their wake.

Minato's hands blurred through another sequence of signs. "FLYING THUNDER GOD TECHNIQUE!"

The family vanished in a yellow flash, reappearing on the other side of the village. But even this momentary reprieve wouldn't last long.

"I need to get closer," Minato said, his breathing labored. "The Death God can only reach so far."

Kushina's chakra chains erupted from her back, golden links that shot toward the dragon, wrapping around its massive form. The dragon thrashed and roared, but the chains—infused with Kushina's unique chakra—held fast.

"Go," she said, blood now flowing freely from her nose and mouth, the strain of restraining such a powerful entity taking its toll. "I can't hold him for long."

Minato nodded, taking Naruto back into his arms. "I love you," he said simply.

"And I love you both," she replied, her violet eyes filled with tears and resolution. "Make sure he knows that."

Minato disappeared in another flash of yellow, reappearing directly above the dragon's head. The Shinigami followed, its spectral arm extending toward the thrashing beast.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Minato whispered to his son. "The village will see you as a hero, but I fear they will also fear you. The Dragon King is not like the other tailed beasts. His power is different. Ancient. But you are my son, and you will master it."

The Shinigami's arm plunged into the dragon's body, grasping its spiritual essence. Ryuujin let out a roar that shattered windows throughout the village, the sound filled with rage and, surprisingly, fear.

"YOU CANNOT BIND ME FOREVER, NAMIKAZE!" the dragon's voice thundered in Minato's mind. "I AM ETERNITY ITSELF!"

"You don't need to be bound forever," Minato replied calmly. "Just long enough for my son to learn how to work with you, not against you."

With his free hand, Minato's fingers danced through the signs for the Eight Trigrams Seal. On Naruto's stomach, glowing symbols began to appear, spiraling outward from his navel.

The dragon's essence, pulled by the Shinigami, began flowing into the infant. As it did, Naruto's eyes flew open, and for a brief moment, they were not blue but gold, with vertical pupils like a reptile's.

"NO!" Ryuujin raged. "I WILL NOT BE IMPRISONED IN A HUMAN CHILD!"

But it was too late. The sealing was nearly complete. Kushina's chains began to weaken, her life force fading.

With the last of his strength, Minato poured his remaining chakra into the seal, adding an extra layer of protection. He could feel the Shinigami claiming his soul as payment, but there was one last thing he needed to do.

"I'm leaving a trace of my chakra in the seal," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "And Kushina's too. So that someday, when you need us most, we can see you again, Naruto."

The dragon's physical form began to dissolve, scales turning to particles of light that swirled into the seal on Naruto's stomach. With a final, earth-shaking roar, Ryuujin's body disappeared entirely, leaving only the devastation he had caused as evidence of his existence.

Minato fell to his knees, still clutching Naruto. He could feel the Shinigami pulling his soul free of his body, but he held on just long enough to look into his son's eyes, which had returned to their natural blue.

"You are the Dragon Child now," he whispered. "The vessel of Ryuujin. But never forget—you are also Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Fourth Hokage and the Red-Hot Habanero. And you are loved."

With those words, Minato Namikaze's spirit departed his body, claimed by the Shinigami as payment for the sealing. Across the village, Kushina's chains dissipated as she too succumbed to her fate.

In the arms of his dead father, baby Naruto began to cry, the seal on his stomach glowing with an otherworldly light. Where another Naruto in another reality might have had whisker marks on his cheeks, this child's skin remained unmarked—save for nearly imperceptible scales that caught the moonlight when he moved, glittering like diamonds.

The Third Hokage, rushing to the scene with a contingent of ANBU, looked down at the orphaned infant with a mixture of sorrow and apprehension.

"The Fourth succeeded," he said quietly, lifting Naruto from Minato's lifeless arms. "But at what cost? The Dragon King is not like the Nine-Tails or any of the tailed beasts. He is something else."

One of the ANBU, a man with silver hair and a dog mask, knelt beside Minato's body. "What will happen to the child?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed down at the infant, whose cries had subsided into quiet whimpers. For a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of gold in the baby's eyes.

"He will be protected," the Third said firmly. "And his burden will remain a secret. The village has seen enough tragedy tonight without adding the fear of a dragon to it."

As if in response, clouds parted above them, moonlight illuminating the destruction around them. The Third Hokage looked to the heavens, a sense of foreboding settling over him.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he murmured. "Child of prophecy, vessel of the Dragon King. What future awaits you, I wonder?"

In his arms, baby Naruto slept, unaware of the power that now resided within him—a power more ancient and terrible than any tailed beast. A power that would shape his destiny in ways no one could predict.

Twelve years passed like a dream—or perhaps a nightmare.

Naruto Uzumaki stood atop the Hokage Monument, the wind tousling his spiky blond hair as he surveyed the village below. Unlike the Naruto who had grown up with the Nine-Tails sealed inside him, this boy's face bore no whisker marks. Instead, when the sunlight hit his skin just right, you could see the faintest shimmer of scales, like diamond dust embedded in his flesh.

"They'll acknowledge me today," he whispered, clutching a spray can in his hand. "One way or another."

With a mischievous grin that hadn't changed across realities, Naruto leapt down the face of the monument, paint spraying in wild arcs as he defaced the stone visages of the previous Hokages. But where another Naruto might have drawn silly expressions and crude decorations, this one painted elegant, serpentine dragons coiling around the stone features.

The artistry was surprising—beautiful, even—but it was still vandalism.

"NARUTO!" The shout echoed up from the streets below. "Get down from there this instant!"

Iruka Umino, chunin instructor at the Academy, stood with his hands on his hips, face red with exasperation. Beside him, a squad of genin looked up with a mixture of awe and disapproval.

Naruto's laugh rang out, clear and defiant. "You'll have to catch me first, Iruka-sensei!"

He leapt from the monument, soaring through the air with inhuman grace. For a heart-stopping moment, it looked as though he might fall to his death—but then, almost imperceptibly, the air around him shimmered with heat, creating updrafts that slowed his descent. He landed lightly on a rooftop and took off running.

"That kid," Iruka muttered, shaking his head. "He's getting worse, not better."

One of the genin, a girl with pink hair, squinted up at the vandalized monuments. "Those dragons they're actually kind of beautiful."

"Don't encourage him, Sakura," Iruka sighed. "Let's split up. We need to catch him before the Hokage sees this."

But it was too late. In his crystal ball, the Third Hokage had already observed Naruto's handiwork with a mixture of irritation and concern. The dragons Naruto had painted weren't just artistic flourishes—they resembled, with unsettling accuracy, the Dragon King who had attacked the village twelve years ago. A creature few living shinobi had seen, and none had ever described to Naruto.

"The seal is leaking," Hiruzen murmured to himself. "More than I anticipated."

An hour later, Naruto sat bound with rope in the Academy classroom, a defiant pout on his face as Iruka lectured the class.

"Thanks to Naruto's little stunt this morning, we're going to review the Transformation Jutsu," Iruka announced, prompting groans from the assembled students. "Everyone line up! Transform perfectly into me!"

As his classmates formed a line, grumbling about the unexpected drill, Naruto's mind wandered. Inside him, he could feel a stirring—a presence that had grown more pronounced over the years.

"They treat you like vermin," the voice whispered in his mind, ancient and resonant. "Yet you are the vessel of Ryuujin, King of Dragons. You should be revered, not reviled."

Naruto had grown accustomed to the voice, though he'd never told anyone about it. Not even the Third Hokage, who sometimes asked probing questions about how he was feeling or if he'd experienced anything "unusual."

"I don't need to be revered," Naruto thought back. "I just want them to see me. To acknowledge that I exist."

A mental sound like scales sliding against stone—Ryuujin's equivalent of a scoff. "Humans are blind creatures. They cannot see the fire that burns within you."

"Naruto! You're up!" Iruka's voice snapped him back to reality.

Stepping forward, still bound by rope, Naruto grinned wickedly. His hands formed the necessary sign despite his restraints.

"Transform!"

A cloud of smoke engulfed him, and when it cleared, where Naruto had stood was now a voluptuous, naked woman with strategically placed wisps of smoke. But unlike his standard "Sexy Jutsu" that might have appeared in another reality, this transformation had an otherworldly quality—her skin shimmered with iridescent scales, and her eyes were vertical slits of gold.

"How's this, Iruka-sensei?" the transformed Naruto purred, her voice carrying an echo that seemed to reverberate in the listeners' minds rather than their ears.

Blood erupted from Iruka's nose as he toppled backward. The rest of the class reacted with a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and—in the case of a few of the boys—poorly concealed admiration.

"CUT THE STUPID TRICKS!" Iruka roared, recovering quickly. "THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"

Naruto transformed back, laughing uproariously, but there was a hollow quality to the sound. Inside, Ryuujin's voice continued its whispered commentary.

"See how easily you affect them? A mere illusion, and they lose all composure. Imagine what you could do with my real power."

"Shut up," Naruto thought back. "I don't need your power. I'll become Hokage on my own."

After class, Naruto found himself scrubbing the Hokage Monument clean, supervised by an irritated Iruka.

"You're not leaving until every last bit of paint is gone," Iruka called up from where he stood watching.

Naruto scowled, scrubbing vigorously at a particularly stubborn dragon he'd painted across the Fourth Hokage's face. "Like I care! It's not like I have anyone waiting at home for me!"

The words hung in the air, raw and honest, causing Iruka's expression to soften. He saw himself in Naruto—another orphan, desperate for attention.

"Hey, Naruto," Iruka called after a moment of silence. "When you finish, I'll take you out for ramen. How does that sound?"

Naruto's head snapped up, his eyes widening with genuine surprise and joy. "Really? You mean it, Iruka-sensei?"

"I mean it. But you have to do a good job cleaning this up!"

With renewed vigor, Naruto attacked the paint, working twice as fast. Inside him, Ryuujin stirred again.

"He offers food like you're some stray dog to be placated," the dragon sneered. "You deserve feasts laid at your feet, not charity ramen."

"Shut up," Naruto thought fiercely. "Iruka-sensei is the only one who's ever nice to me. Don't talk about him like that."

The dragon's presence receded, but Naruto could still feel its disapproval like a hot coal in his gut.

Later, at Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto slurped his noodles with characteristic enthusiasm, while Iruka watched with an amused expression.

"Naruto," Iruka began, his tone growing serious. "Why did you vandalize the Hokage Monument? Don't you know who the Hokages are?"

Naruto swallowed a mouthful of ramen. "Of course I know. They were the strongest shinobi of their time, right? Especially the Fourth Hokage, who saved the village from the Dragon King." He paused, his eyes briefly flashing gold before returning to blue—a phenomenon Iruka pretended not to notice. "One day, I'm going to be Hokage too, and then everyone will have to acknowledge me!"

Iruka smiled faintly. "Is that why you were drawing dragons all over their faces?"

For a moment, Naruto looked uncertain, almost vulnerable. "I I dream about dragons sometimes. Big ones with scales like jewels and fire that can burn away the world." He fidgeted with his chopsticks. "They seem important, somehow."

Iruka's smile faltered. The Third Hokage had warned all the teachers about this—signs that the Dragon King's influence might be seeping into Naruto's consciousness.

"Well," Iruka said carefully, "dreams are just dreams. What matters is what you do while you're awake." He hesitated, then added, "By the way, Naruto why are you so determined to become Hokage?"

Naruto's expression grew serious, a rare sight on his usually playful face. "Because nobody in this village looks at me like I'm a person. They either ignore me or they look at me like like they're afraid of me, but they don't know why." His fingers unconsciously brushed his stomach, where the seal lay hidden beneath his clothes. "If I become Hokage, they'll have to see me for who I really am."

"And who are you, really?" Ryuujin's voice whispered in his mind. "Do you even know, little vessel?"

Naruto ignored the voice, focusing instead on Iruka's sympathetic expression.

"Naruto," Iruka said gently, "becoming Hokage isn't just about being acknowledged. It's about protecting everyone in the village, even the ones who don't appreciate you."

"I know that," Naruto replied, surprising Iruka with his sincerity. "That's why I have to get stronger. Strong enough to protect everyone, no matter what."

Iruka studied the boy before him—the vessel of the most powerful and ancient being ever to threaten the Hidden Leaf, yet also just a child hungry for connection. "The graduation exam is tomorrow," he said finally. "Are you ready?"

Naruto's confidence wavered visibly. "It's the Clone Jutsu again, isn't it?" He groaned. "That's my worst technique!"

"Because you have too much chakra," Ryuujin commented, unbidden. "My presence makes your reserves vast, but your control minimal. Like trying to fill a teacup from a waterfall."

"Well, you'd better practice tonight," Iruka advised, unaware of the internal dialogue happening in Naruto's mind. "I know you can do it if you focus."

Naruto nodded determinedly, but inside, uncertainty gnawed at him. The Clone Jutsu had always been his weakness—every attempt resulted in pale, sickly duplicates that collapsed within seconds.

"Let me help you," Ryuujin offered, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "Just a touch of my power—enough to stabilize your clones."

"No," Naruto responded firmly. "I'll do it myself. I don't need your help."

The Dragon King's laughter echoed in his mind, a sound like distant thunder. "Stubborn child. You'll come to me eventually. You always do when you're desperate enough."

As they finished their meal, Naruto smiled brightly at Iruka, giving no outward sign of the battle of wills taking place within him. Tomorrow would be the graduation exam, and he was determined to pass—with or without the Dragon King's help.

What he didn't know was that darker forces were already in motion, watching him from the shadows, awaiting their opportunity to exploit the power he carried within.

The Academy classroom buzzed with nervous excitement as students waited their turn for the graduation exam. Naruto sat at his desk, fingers drumming an agitated rhythm, his usual boisterous confidence notably diminished.

"When I call your name, proceed to the testing room," Iruka announced from the front of the class, clipboard in hand. One by one, his classmates disappeared through the door, returning minutes later with forehead protectors that gleamed in the afternoon sunlight.

In the back row, Sasuke Uchiha observed Naruto's obvious anxiety with cool detachment. Unlike in other realities, this Sasuke had developed a wary fascination with Naruto rather than dismissive rivalry. He'd noticed things about the blond troublemaker that others missed—like how sometimes, when Naruto got truly angry, the air around him seemed to waver with heat, or how his shadow occasionally appeared to have wings.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Iruka called at last.

Naruto stood, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. As he walked to the testing room, he felt Ryuujin stir within him.

"Let me help you," the dragon offered again, his voice a seductive whisper. "Just this once."

"I told you, I don't need your help," Naruto shot back, though his mental voice lacked conviction.

Inside the testing room, Iruka and another instructor, Mizuki, sat behind a table strewn with forehead protectors.

"Alright, Naruto," Iruka said, his expression neutral but his eyes encouraging. "Create three functional clones to pass."

Naruto's hands trembled slightly as he formed the necessary seal. He closed his eyes, concentrating harder than he ever had before.

"Clone Jutsu!"

Chakra surged through him—too much, as always. He felt it escape his control, wild and untamed. When he opened his eyes, a single clone lay on the floor beside him, its features distorted, its coloring sickly.

Disappointment crashed through him like a physical blow.

"Fail," Iruka declared, though the word clearly pained him.

Mizuki leaned forward, his voice sympathetic. "Iruka-sensei, he did create a clone, and his physical abilities and determination are excellent. Perhaps we could make an exception?"

Hope flickered in Naruto's chest, but Iruka shook his head firmly.

"Mizuki-sensei, every other student created three functioning clones. Naruto produced only one, and it's practically useless in combat. I can't pass him."

The hope died, replaced by a familiar hollow ache. Behind it, Naruto felt Ryuujin's presence grow warmer, almost comforting in its rage.

"This is why you need me," the dragon said, his mental voice uncharacteristically gentle. "They set you up to fail because they fear what we could become together."

For once, Naruto didn't argue.

Later, Naruto sat alone on the swing outside the Academy, watching as parents congratulated their children, expressions bright with pride. No one approached him, though many cast furtive glances his way, their whispers carrying on the breeze.

"That's him—the one who failed."

"Good thing too. Can you imagine if they made him a ninja?"

"My husband says there's something not right about that boy."

"Shh! We're not supposed to talk about that."

Naruto hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself smaller, invisible. Inside him, Ryuujin's anger burned hot enough that Naruto could feel sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool evening air.

"Listen to them," the dragon hissed. "They speak of you as if you're diseased."

"They're afraid," Naruto thought back, surprising himself with the insight. "They don't know why, but they're afraid of me."

"They should be."

A shadow fell across him, and Naruto looked up to see Mizuki standing there, his expression kind.

"Don't take it too hard, Naruto," the chunin said. "Iruka is tough because he wants you to be strong."

Naruto scuffed his foot in the dirt. "But I really wanted to graduate this time."

Mizuki glanced around, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Well, I shouldn't be telling you this, but there is another way to pass."

Interest sparked in Naruto's eyes. "Another way?"

Inside him, Ryuujin went suddenly still, alert and wary.

Moonlight filtered through the trees as Naruto crouched in a forest clearing, the Scroll of Sealing open before him. Sweat poured down his face, his breathing labored from hours of practice.

"Let's see," he muttered, scanning the scroll. "I've already mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu. What's next?"

His finger traced down the scroll, stopping at an ancient-looking diagram unlike any jutsu he'd seen before. The symbols formed a complex pattern around a central figure that looked like a dragon devouring its own tail.

"Dragon's Breath Technique," he read aloud, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet forest. "A forbidden jutsu that channels elemental chakra through the user's respiratory system, converting it to dragon-fire that can burn through any substance."

Inside him, Ryuujin surged forward, his presence suddenly overwhelming.

"NO!" the dragon's voice thundered in his mind. "Do not attempt that technique! It was created to imprison creatures like me—it will destabilize our seal!"

Startled by the vehemence of Ryuujin's reaction, Naruto pulled his hand back from the scroll. "Okay, okay! Geez, no need to shout."

"That technique is not what it appears," Ryuujin continued, his mental voice calmer but still urgent. "It's a trap. The human who waits for you in the shadows—he reeks of deception."

Naruto's head snapped up, scanning the darkened forest. "What are you talking about? Mizuki-sensei told me about this test."

"And you believed him?" Ryuujin's mental tone dripped with disdain. "Use your senses, little vessel. Smell the air. Listen to the forest. Someone approaches, and their intent is not pure."

Frowning, Naruto closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, something he'd learned to do when Ryuujin's senses bled into his own. To his surprise, he detected a faint scent of sweat and metal, the unmistakable odor of a human trying to move silently through the woods.

Before he could react, a familiar voice called out, "Naruto!"

Iruka landed in the clearing, his expression a mixture of anger and concern. "What do you think you're doing? The whole village is looking for you!"

Naruto jumped to his feet, a grin spreading across his face. "Iruka-sensei! I found you! Or I guess you found me, heh. But now I can show you the awesome jutsu I learned and you'll have to let me graduate!"

Iruka's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Mizuki-sensei told me about the special test," Naruto explained eagerly. "If I learn a jutsu from this scroll, you have to let me become a genin!"

Understanding dawned on Iruka's face, quickly followed by alarm. "Naruto, there is no special test. The Scroll of Sealing contains forbidden jutsu that could be dangerous or deadly. Mizuki tricked—"

The whistle of flying kunai interrupted him. With reflexes honed by years of training, Iruka shoved Naruto aside, taking several blades in his back as they thudded into the tree behind him.

"I'm impressed you found him so quickly, Iruka," Mizuki's voice called from the branches above. He stood there, two giant shuriken strapped to his back, his friendly demeanor replaced by cold calculation.

"I told you," Ryuujin said. "Deception."

Naruto scrambled to his feet, confusion and betrayal written across his face. "Mizuki-sensei? What's going on?"

Mizuki's laugh held no warmth. "I needed the scroll, Naruto, and you were the perfect pawn to get it for me. No one would question why the village pariah had stolen it—they'd assume you'd finally snapped."

"Run, Naruto!" Iruka gasped, pulling a kunai from his thigh. "Take the scroll and go!"

But Naruto stood frozen, his mind reeling from the revelation that he'd been used.

Mizuki's smile turned cruel. "Do you want to know why everyone in the village hates you, Naruto? Why they whisper when you pass and keep their children away from you?"

"No, Mizuki! It's forbidden!" Iruka shouted.

"They hate you because twelve years ago, the Dragon King attacked our village," Mizuki continued, ignoring Iruka's protest. "The Fourth Hokage couldn't kill it—dragons are immortal, after all—so he did the next best thing. He sealed it inside a newborn baby." His grin widened. "Inside you, Naruto."

The words hit Naruto like physical blows. His legs gave way, and he sank to his knees in the dirt.

"You are the Dragon King, Naruto," Mizuki declared. "The destroyer who nearly burned our village to ash. That's why no one will ever accept you!"

"Half-truths," Ryuujin growled in Naruto's mind. "I am sealed within you, yes, but you are not me, any more than a scroll is the kunai sealed inside it."

But Naruto barely registered the dragon's words, his world collapsing around him. Suddenly, all the cold glares, the whispers, the isolation—it all made terrible sense.

"And now," Mizuki continued, reaching for one of the giant shuriken on his back, "I'll do what should have been done twelve years ago. I'll kill the Dragon's vessel and take the scroll for myself. I'll be a hero!"

The shuriken spun through the air, a deadly blur aimed directly at Naruto's heart. Too shocked to move, Naruto could only watch as death approached.

But the blow never landed. Iruka threw himself forward, covering Naruto with his body. The shuriken embedded itself in Iruka's back with a sickening thud, drawing a pained cry from the chunin.

"W-why?" Naruto stammered, staring up at his teacher's face contorted in pain.

Blood trickled from Iruka's mouth as he smiled down at his student. "Because we're the same, you and I. When my parents died, I became the class clown, just to make people notice me. It was so painful " Tears mingled with the blood on his face. "You must have been in so much pain too, Naruto. And I'm sorry I didn't do more to help you."

Something broke open inside Naruto—not just his heart at Iruka's words, but something deeper, more primal. He felt Ryuujin surge forward, the dragon's presence no longer contained by his usual mental barriers.

"Now, little vessel," Ryuujin's voice echoed in his mind, louder than ever before. "Now you see the truth. Now you understand why you need my power."

For the first time, Naruto didn't resist. "Yes," he whispered aloud. "Show me."

Mizuki, preparing his second shuriken, faltered at the change in Naruto's demeanor. The boy slowly rose to his feet, gently moving Iruka aside. When he looked up at Mizuki, his eyes had transformed—no longer human blue but reptilian gold, with vertical slits that seemed to burn with inner fire.

"If you touch my sensei again," Naruto said, his voice overlaid with a deeper, ancient tone that made the trees themselves seem to tremble, "I'll kill you."

Mizuki's confidence wavered, but he quickly recovered, sneering. "Big words from a failure! What can you do against a chunin like me?"

Naruto's hands formed a cross seal, one he'd learned from the scroll just hours earlier. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The clearing exploded with smoke, and when it cleared, Mizuki found himself surrounded by not just three or four clones, but hundreds—all with the same golden, reptilian eyes, all emanating a palpable heat that made the air shimmer around them.

"Impossible," Mizuki whispered, taking an involuntary step back.

"You hurt Iruka-sensei," the Narutos said in unison, their voices carrying that same otherworldly echo. "Now I'm going to hurt you."

They attacked as one, a wave of orange and gold descending on the terrified chunin. But what happened next diverged dramatically from what might have occurred in another reality with another entity sealed inside Naruto.

As the clones struck Mizuki, their fists left not just bruises but burns—sizzling imprints that smoked on contact. The chunin's screams echoed through the forest as hundreds of burning hands pummeled him from every direction. When finally the clones dispersed, Mizuki lay unconscious on the ground, his body covered in hand-shaped burn marks, his clothing singed and smoking.

Naruto stood over him, his eyes slowly fading back to blue, his breathing ragged. The surge of power left him dizzy, his knees weak.

"Naruto," Iruka called weakly from where he lay propped against a tree. "Come here."

Still dazed, Naruto made his way to his teacher's side.

"Close your eyes," Iruka instructed.

Naruto obeyed, feeling Iruka's hands at his forehead, then a weight and pressure as something was tied in place.

"You can open them now."

When Naruto's eyes fluttered open, he saw Iruka smiling at him, his own forehead now bare.

"Congratulations, graduate," Iruka said warmly. "You've more than earned this."

Naruto's hand reached up to touch the metal plate of the forehead protector, his fingers tracing the Leaf symbol etched into its surface. Emotions welled up inside him—joy, pride, relief, all tangled together in a knot he couldn't begin to unravel.

Inside him, Ryuujin had retreated to his usual place, a warm presence in the back of Naruto's mind rather than the overwhelming force he'd been moments ago.

"So begins your true journey, little vessel," the dragon murmured. "Remember this night. Remember what the humans did when they learned what you contain."

Naruto didn't respond, too overwhelmed by the weight of the hitai-ate on his forehead and the warmth of Iruka's approval. But as dawn broke over the trees, casting long shadows across the clearing, he couldn't help but wonder what his future as a ninja—as the vessel of the Dragon King—would hold.

In the depths of his consciousness, Ryuujin waited, patient as only an immortal could be, for the day when Naruto would fully embrace the power that slumbered within him.

The morning sun streamed through the windows of the Academy classroom, illuminating the rows of newly graduated genin eagerly awaiting their team assignments. Naruto sat at his desk, proudly adjusting his forehead protector for what must have been the hundredth time since Iruka had given it to him.

"Would you stop fidgeting?" Shikamaru Nara grumbled from the seat behind him. "It's too troublesome to watch."

Naruto twisted around, grinning broadly. "You're just jealous of how awesome I look as a real ninja!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of amusement in his expression. Unlike many of their classmates, the lazy genius had never treated Naruto with fear or contempt—merely the same mild exasperation he showed everyone.

"I still don't understand how you passed," a pink-haired girl commented from a few seats away. "You couldn't even create a decent clone during practice."

Before Naruto could respond, the classroom door slid open, and Iruka entered, a clipboard in hand and fresh bandages visible beneath his vest—reminders of the previous night's confrontation with Mizuki.

"Settle down, everyone," Iruka called, and the room gradually quieted. "Today you begin your journey as shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. You will be divided into three-person teams, each led by a jōnin instructor."

As Iruka began reading off the team assignments, Naruto's attention drifted inward, where Ryuujin had been unusually quiet since their shared moment of power against Mizuki.

"Hey, dragon," he thought tentatively. "You still in there?"

A mental rumble, like distant thunder. "Where else would I be, little vessel? The seal binds me to you until your death—or until you choose to release me."

"About last night " Naruto hesitated, unsure how to articulate the question burning in his mind. "What happened to me? Those clones they didn't just hit Mizuki, they burned him."

"You channeled a fraction of my essence into your technique," Ryuujin explained, a note of satisfaction in his ancient voice. "My fire flows through your chakra network now, changing it, enhancing it. The more you draw on my power, the more pronounced these changes will become."

The implication sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. "Is that good?"

A mental sensation like scaled coils shifting. "That depends on your definition of 'good,' little vessel. Power is neither good nor evil—it simply is. How you wield it determines its nature."

"Team Seven," Iruka's voice cut through Naruto's internal dialogue, dragging his attention back to the classroom. "Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto's head snapped up, his eyes darting first to the pink-haired girl—who looked simultaneously thrilled (at being paired with Sasuke) and dismayed (at being stuck with Naruto)—and then to the dark-haired boy brooding by the window, whose only reaction was a barely perceptible narrowing of his eyes.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto protested, jumping to his feet. "Why does an awesome ninja like me have to be on the same team as that stuck-up Sasuke?"

Iruka sighed, clearly having anticipated this reaction. "The teams are balanced based on your Academy rankings. Sasuke had the highest scores among the graduates, while you, Naruto, had the lowest."

Laughter rippled through the classroom. Naruto's face burned with embarrassment.

"Irrelevant metrics," Ryuujin scoffed in his mind. "They cannot measure your true potential."

Sasuke's cool voice cut through the laughter. "Just don't get in my way, loser."

Naruto whirled to face him, fury bubbling up from that deep place where Ryuujin's essence mingled with his own. For a moment, the world took on a golden tint as his eyes began to change.

"Careful," Ryuujin cautioned. "The Uchiha is watching you more closely than you realize."

With effort, Naruto reined in his anger, blinking rapidly until his vision returned to normal. When he looked at Sasuke again, he found the other boy studying him with an intensity that suggested he might have noticed the momentary transformation.

"After lunch, you'll meet your jōnin instructors," Iruka continued. "Until then, you're dismissed."

The roof of the Academy offered a panoramic view of the Hidden Leaf Village, peaceful under the midday sun. Naruto sat cross-legged on the warm tiles, unwrapping the rice ball he'd brought for lunch. Alone, as usual.

"You should find your teammates," Ryuujin suggested unexpectedly. "The pink-haired girl and the Uchiha survivor. If you are to function as a unit, you must establish communication."

Naruto paused, rice ball halfway to his mouth. "Since when do you care about me working with others?"

A sound like a derisive snort echoed in his mind. "I have existed for millennia, little vessel. I have seen countless wars, countless battles. Even dragons understand the value of the pack when hunting dangerous prey."

Before Naruto could formulate a response, a shadow fell across him. Looking up, he found himself staring into Sasuke's inscrutable dark eyes.

"We need to talk," the Uchiha said without preamble.

Naruto blinked in surprise. "About what?"

Sasuke glanced around, confirming they were alone, then crouched to bring himself eye-level with Naruto. "Last night. The Scroll of Sealing. Mizuki."

A chill ran down Naruto's spine. "How do you know about that?"

"My house is near the forest. I heard the commotion and followed it." Sasuke's voice was low, almost a whisper. "I saw what you did to Mizuki. I saw your eyes change."

Naruto's heart hammered in his chest. Inside him, Ryuujin stirred, suddenly alert.

"The Uchiha is more perceptive than I gave him credit for," the dragon commented. "Interesting."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto lied, trying to sound casual despite the panic rising in his throat.

Sasuke's expression didn't change, but something in his eyes hardened. "Don't insult my intelligence. Mizuki called you the vessel of the Dragon King. That's what's inside you, isn't it? Not a tailed beast like the others, but something else. Something older."

For a long moment, Naruto said nothing, weighing his options. Denial seemed pointless—Sasuke had clearly seen and heard enough to piece together the truth.

"What do you want?" he asked finally, abandoning the pretense.

A surprising question flickered across Sasuke's face—not fear or disgust, but a calculating interest. "I want to know what you can do. What it can do, through you."

"He seeks power," Ryuujin observed. "The stench of vengeance hangs about him like a shroud."

Naruto frowned. "Why? What does it matter to you?"

Sasuke's gaze drifted to the distant horizon, where the Uchiha compound stood silent and mostly empty. "I have goals. Ambitions that require strength greater than what normal training can provide." His eyes, when they returned to Naruto, held a chilling intensity. "If you can tap into the power of that creature inside you, it could be useful."

Before Naruto could respond, the roof access door swung open, and Sakura emerged, her green eyes immediately locking onto Sasuke.

"There you are, Sasuke-kun!" she called, hurrying over. Her smile faltered slightly when she noticed Naruto. "Oh, and Naruto too. I've been looking everywhere for both of you. It's almost time to meet our new sensei."

Sasuke straightened, the moment of rare openness gone, his mask of indifference firmly back in place. "Hn."

As the three made their way back to the classroom, Naruto's mind buzzed with conflicting thoughts. Sasuke knew his secret—or at least part of it—and rather than fear or rejection, he'd shown interest. Calculating, self-serving interest, perhaps, but still preferable to the alternative.

"Be wary of the Uchiha," Ryuujin warned. "His bloodline has a history with beings like me. Those eyes of his they can evolve to control creatures of chakra."

Naruto frowned. "You mean his Sharingan? But he hasn't even awakened it yet."

"Yet," the dragon emphasized. "Remember, little vessel—your paths are now intertwined, but that doesn't make him your ally. The Uchiha serves only himself and his vengeance."

As they entered the classroom, Naruto cast a sidelong glance at Sasuke, wondering what the stoic boy really wanted from him—and from the ancient power he carried within.

Three hours later, Team Seven still sat waiting in the empty classroom, their patience wearing increasingly thin.

"Where is this jōnin?" Naruto complained, pacing restlessly near the door. "Everyone else is gone!"

Sakura, who had initially maintained a composed demeanor, now repeatedly checked the clock with growing irritation. Even Sasuke showed signs of annoyance, his fingers drumming a slow rhythm on the desktop.

"A test," Ryuujin mused in Naruto's mind. "Your new mentor is measuring your patience, your reactions to tedium."

"By making us wait for hours? That's just mean!" Naruto protested.

A mental sensation like a shrug rippled through his consciousness. "Humans have strange teaching methods. In my day, hatchlings were simply thrown from the nest. Those who flew, survived."

An idea struck Naruto, bringing a mischievous grin to his face. He grabbed an eraser from the board, dragged a chair to the door, and carefully wedged the eraser in the gap at the top.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked, her tone disapproving despite the spark of amusement in her eyes.

"That's what he gets for being late!" Naruto declared, jumping down and admiring his handiwork.

"Like a jōnin would fall for such a simple booby trap," Sasuke scoffed.

As if on cue, the door slid open, and the eraser dropped with perfect accuracy onto a shock of silver hair. The man who entered—tall, lean, with most of his face obscured by a mask and his forehead protector slanted to cover his left eye—paused, regarding the fallen eraser with his single visible eye.

"Hmm, how should I put this?" he mused, his voice deceptively casual. "My first impression of you all I don't like you."

The three genin stared back, varying degrees of shock on their faces.

"Meet me on the roof in five minutes," the jōnin continued, then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Hatake Kakashi," Ryuujin said unexpectedly, the name carrying an odd note of recognition. "The Copy Ninja. He bore witness to my sealing, though you were too young to remember."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "You know him?"

"I know of him," the dragon clarified. "He was the Fourth Hokage's student—the man who sealed me inside you. Interesting that you would be placed under his tutelage."

On the roof, Kakashi lounged against the railing, an orange book in hand that he closed unhurriedly as the three genin assembled before him.

"Alright, let's begin with introductions," he suggested. "Names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future—that sort of thing."

"Why don't you go first, Sensei?" Sakura proposed. "Show us how it's done."

Kakashi shrugged. "Very well. My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future never really thought about it. As for my hobbies I have lots of hobbies."

Sakura leaned toward Naruto, whispering, "So all we learned was his name."

"You, pinky," Kakashi pointed at Sakura. "You're up."

Sakura straightened, a blush coloring her cheeks. "I'm Sakura Haruno. What I like—I mean, the person I like " She glanced at Sasuke, her blush deepening. "My hobby is " Another glance at Sasuke. "My dream for the future is " A barely suppressed giggle as she looked at Sasuke yet again.

"And what do you hate?" Kakashi prompted.

"Naruto!" she declared without hesitation.

"Hey!" Naruto protested.

Kakashi's visible eye curved in what might have been a smile beneath his mask. "Next, broody."

Sasuke's hands were clasped in front of his face, his expression intense. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone."

A heavy silence followed his declaration.

"The stench of vengeance," Ryuujin repeated in Naruto's mind. "It will consume him if he's not careful."

"Lastly, blondie," Kakashi said, turning to Naruto.

Naruto adjusted his forehead protector, a grin spreading across his face. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, believe it! I like instant ramen, and I really like the ramen Iruka-sensei buys me at Ichiraku. I hate the three minutes you have to wait after pouring the water in the cup. My hobby is trying different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my dream "

He paused, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to shimmer with an inner light.

"Tell them," Ryuujin urged unexpectedly. "Let them hear your ambition."

"My dream is to become the greatest Hokage ever!" Naruto declared, his voice ringing with conviction. "Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody important!"

Kakashi studied him for a long moment, his single eye revealing nothing of his thoughts. "Interesting," he said finally. "Each of you is unique and has your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

"What kind of mission?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"A survival exercise," Kakashi answered.

Sakura frowned. "But we did survival training at the Academy."

"This isn't like your previous training," Kakashi clarified, a hint of something dark entering his voice. "Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be accepted as genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This exercise has a failure rate of over 66%."

Shock registered on all three faces.

"That's crazy!" Naruto exclaimed. "Then what was the graduation test for?"

"That? It was just to select candidates who might become genin." Kakashi's eye curved again in that unsettling smile. "Anyway, tomorrow I'll determine whether you pass or fail. Bring your ninja equipment and meet at Training Ground Three at 5 AM. And don't eat breakfast—you'll throw up."

With that ominous warning, he disappeared in another puff of smoke, leaving the newly formed Team Seven to contemplate their uncertain future.

As they dispersed, Sasuke caught Naruto's eye, the message in his gaze clear: Don't forget our conversation. Later.

Naruto nodded slightly, but inwardly, uncertainty gnawed at him. What did Sasuke really want? Could he be trusted with the knowledge of Ryuujin? And what would happen if Kakashi discovered that Naruto was already beginning to tap into the Dragon King's power?

"Rest, little vessel," Ryuujin advised, his voice unusually soothing. "Tomorrow brings challenges that will test not just your skill, but your resolve. You will need both my power and your own wits to prevail."

For once, Naruto didn't argue with the dragon's counsel. As the sun began to set over the Hidden Leaf Village, he made his way home, his mind filled with visions of fire and scales, and the growing sense that his path as a ninja would be unlike any other.

Dawn barely colored the eastern sky when Naruto arrived at Training Ground Three, bleary-eyed but determined. His stomach growled in protest against Kakashi's no-breakfast rule, but he'd obeyed, wanting to prove himself ready for any challenge.

Sakura and Sasuke were already there, the former sitting beneath a tree trying not to doze off, the latter standing alert with arms crossed. Neither looked particularly pleased to see Naruto, though Sasuke's gaze lingered on him with that same calculating interest he'd shown the day before.

"Morning," Naruto mumbled, dropping his pack beside Sakura's.

She merely grunted in response, too tired for her usual barbs.

Minutes stretched into hours. The sun climbed higher, its warmth doing little to improve their collective mood. By the time Kakashi finally appeared in a swirl of leaves, it was nearly ten o'clock.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura accused in unison.

Kakashi's eye curved in that familiar, inscrutable smile. "Sorry about that. A black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way around."

Before they could express their disbelief, Kakashi produced two small bells attached to red strings.

"Your task is simple," he explained, tying the bells to his waist. "Get these bells from me before noon. Anyone who doesn't get a bell by then gets no lunch and will be tied to those posts while I eat in front of them." He gestured to three wooden posts at the edge of the training ground. "Also, the person who doesn't get a bell fails and goes back to the Academy."

Naruto's stomach chose that moment to growl audibly, suddenly understanding the warning against breakfast.

"But there are only two bells," Sakura pointed out, her analytical mind quickly grasping the implication.

"Precisely," Kakashi confirmed. "At least one of you will definitely fail. You'll need to come at me with the intent to kill if you hope to succeed."

"A test of teamwork disguised as competition," Ryuujin observed in Naruto's mind. "Clever. Your kind often fights better when united against a common enemy."

Naruto frowned inwardly. "But he said only two can pass."

A mental sensation like embers stirring. "Consider why a squad consists of three genin, not two. Consider why he would deliberately set you against each other when your strength lies in unity."

Before Naruto could fully process this insight, Kakashi raised his hand. "Begin!"

Sasuke and Sakura immediately leapt away, disappearing into the surrounding forest. Naruto, however, remained rooted to the spot, Ryuujin's words echoing in his mind.

"You know," Kakashi commented, pulling out his orange book, "compared to the others, you're a bit weird."

That snapped Naruto out of his contemplation. "The only weird thing here is your haircut!" he retorted, charging forward with fist raised.

Kakashi moved with effortless grace, sidestepping Naruto's punch without even looking up from his book. "Shinobi lesson number one: Taijutsu," he drawled, suddenly behind Naruto. "Let me demonstrate."

His hands formed the Tiger seal, and Sakura's voice rang out from the bushes. "Naruto! Get out of there! He's going to destroy you!"

Too late, Naruto realized the danger—but instead of a devastating jutsu, Kakashi simply jabbed his fingers into Naruto's backside with far more force than necessary.

"Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

The undignified yelp that escaped Naruto as he was launched into the nearby lake would have been humiliating enough, but as he plunged beneath the water, he felt Ryuujin's presence surge forward, indignant rage washing through him.

"He makes a mockery of you," the dragon hissed, its voice like steam over hot coals. "Show him your true power."

The water around Naruto began to heat, tiny bubbles forming on his skin as his inner temperature rose. His fingers formed the now-familiar cross seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Beneath the lake's surface, dozens of clones materialized, their eyes gleaming gold in the murky water. They launched themselves upward in perfect unison, breaking the surface like orange torpedoes.

Kakashi looked up from his book, his single eye widening slightly as the small army descended upon him. "Shadow clones? And so many Interesting."

What happened next was not what Kakashi had anticipated. As the clones struck, their hands left scorch marks on whatever they touched—the ground, trees, and would have left them on Kakashi had he not been quick enough to evade. Steam rose from their feet when they landed, grass withering beneath their sandals.

"Fire nature already?" Kakashi murmured, dodging a particularly aggressive clone whose punch left a smoldering crater in the earth. "No, this is something else "

From the treeline, Sasuke watched with narrowed eyes. He'd suspected Naruto possessed unusual abilities, but this confirmation of raw power—so soon after graduation—only intensified his interest.

Sakura, concealed on the opposite side of the clearing, gaped in disbelief. This wasn't the dead-last failure she'd dismissed throughout their Academy years. This was something else.

The clone assault continued, each near-miss raising the ambient temperature of the clearing. Kakashi, despite his apparent nonchalance, had put away his book and was now exclusively focused on evading the increasingly dangerous attacks.

"You've improved, Naruto," he acknowledged, deflecting another clone with a precise strike. "But you're still thinking like an individual, not a team member."

Naruto, the real one, surged from the lake, water streaming from his jumpsuit. "I don't need them! I'll get those bells myself!"

"No, you fool!" Ryuujin interjected. "This is exactly what he wants—to divide you!"

But Naruto's competitive spirit had overwhelmed the dragon's counsel. He charged forward, only to find himself ensnared by a simple rope trap, dangling upside down from a tree branch.

Kakashi sighed, dispatching the remaining clones with efficient movements. "Thinking before you act is also an important shinobi skill," he lectured, bending to retrieve a bell that had seemingly fallen to the ground.

As his fingers touched it, the bell transformed into another Naruto clone, its hands wreathed in visible heat shimmer. It grabbed Kakashi's wrist, smoke immediately rising from the point of contact.

"Gotcha!" the clone crowed.

Kakashi's eye widened in genuine surprise before his body dissolved into a log—a substitution jutsu executed at the last possible moment.

From his upside-down position, Naruto spotted the bells lying beneath a nearby tree, glinting in the sunlight. "There!"

Before he could free himself, a blur of dark blue rushed past—Sasuke, moving to seize the opportunity. But he too had fallen for Kakashi's trap, and the bells vanished the moment his fingers brushed against them.

"Genjutsu," Ryuujin identified. "The Copy Ninja excels in deception."

Frustration boiled in Naruto's stomach—or perhaps it was just hunger. He twisted, swinging his body upward to grab the rope binding his ankle, and with a surge of chakra-enhanced strength, snapped it.

As he landed, his gaze met Sasuke's across the clearing. For a moment, something unspoken passed between them—a grudging acknowledgment that perhaps neither could succeed alone.

"Now you begin to understand," Ryuujin murmured. "Even dragons hunt in formation when the prey is formidable."

"Sasuke," Naruto called, his voice low but urgent. "We need to—"

A feminine scream cut through the forest—Sakura, presumably caught in another of Kakashi's traps.

Sasuke's expression hardened. "I don't need your help. I can get a bell on my own." With that, he disappeared into the trees, leaving Naruto alone in the clearing.

"Stubborn Uchiha," Ryuujin grumbled. "Pride will be his downfall."

Naruto hesitated, torn between following Sasuke and searching for Sakura. Before he could decide, the ground beneath him shifted, hands erupting from the soil to grasp his ankles.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu," Kakashi's voice announced as Naruto was dragged underground, leaving only his head exposed.

Kakashi crouched before him, eye curved in that maddening smile. "Shinobi lesson number two: Ninjutsu. You seem to have some interesting variations on the standard techniques, Naruto, but you're still thinking like a lone wolf."

With that cryptic comment, he vanished again, leaving Naruto quite literally stuck.

"Shall I help you escape this predicament?" Ryuujin offered, amusement coloring his ancient voice.

"And how exactly would you do that?" Naruto demanded, struggling uselessly against the compacted earth.

"My chakra burns hotter than any human's," the dragon explained. "I could superheat the soil around you until it turns to glass, then shatter it with a surge of strength."

Naruto considered this, then shook his head. "No. I need to figure this out myself. And I think you were right before. About needing to work together."

"Growth," Ryuujin observed, something like approval in his tone. "Perhaps there is hope for you yet, little vessel."

With renewed determination, Naruto focused his chakra, not drawing on Ryuujin's power but his own, creating a dozen shadow clones above ground. They immediately set to digging, freeing him within minutes.

By the time Naruto extricated himself, the morning was waning. In the distance, he heard the sounds of combat—explosive tags detonating, the crackle of fire jutsu, the clash of kunai against kunai.

"Sasuke must have found him," he muttered, brushing dirt from his jumpsuit.

A weak groan from nearby caught his attention. Following the sound, he discovered Sakura lying beneath a tree, apparently recovering from whatever genjutsu Kakashi had trapped her in.

"Sakura!" he called, kneeling beside her. "Are you okay?"

She blinked up at him, disoriented. "Naruto? Where's Sasuke? Is he alright?"

Of course her first concern would be for Sasuke. Naruto suppressed an eye roll. "I think he's fighting Kakashi-sensei. Listen, Sakura, I think we've been going about this all wrong."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"The bells," Naruto explained, the pieces finally clicking together in his mind. "There are two, but there are three of us. Why? Because we're supposed to be a three-person team!"

Sakura sat up, rubbing her temple. "But Kakashi-sensei said—"

"He said at least one of us will fail," Naruto interrupted. "But what if that's just to make us compete instead of cooperate? Think about it—have you ever heard of a two-person genin team?"

Understanding dawned in Sakura's green eyes. "So the real test is "

"Teamwork," they concluded in unison.

A distant explosion rocked the training ground, followed by a plume of smoke rising above the treeline.

"We need to find Sasuke," Sakura said, struggling to her feet.

Naruto nodded, offering her his hand. "And then we need a plan to get those bells together."

As they raced toward the source of the explosion, Naruto felt a grudging respect emanating from Ryuujin.

"Perhaps you are not as dense as you appear, little vessel," the dragon conceded. "Though convincing the Uchiha to cooperate may prove more challenging than defeating the Copy Ninja."

They found Sasuke buried to his neck in the ground, just as Naruto had been earlier, his expression a thundercloud of rage and humiliation.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like he got you too, huh?"

"Shut up, loser," Sasuke growled.

Sakura immediately set to freeing him, while Naruto kept watch for Kakashi's return.

"Listen, Sasuke," Naruto began once the Uchiha was extracted from his earthy prison. "We've figured out the real test. It's about team—"

"Teamwork," Sasuke finished unexpectedly. "I realized it when he buried me. He's too strong for any of us individually."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "So you'll work with us?"

Sasuke's dark eyes met his, that calculating look returning. "I don't have a choice if I want to pass. But this doesn't change anything. I still have questions for you after."

The unspoken reference to Ryuujin hung between them, but Naruto simply nodded. "Later. Right now, we need a plan to get those bells."

"I have one," Sakura interjected, her strategic mind already mapping possibilities. "But it will require all of us working in perfect coordination."

As she outlined her strategy, Naruto felt a growing excitement. For the first time, he was part of something—a team, a unit with a common purpose. Even Ryuujin seemed intrigued by the plan's potential.

"Clever little humans," the dragon commented. "Let us see if your collective ingenuity can match the experience of the Copy Ninja."

With less than fifteen minutes until noon, Kakashi stood in the center of the training ground, orange book in hand but senses alert for any approach. His visible eye flickered toward the memorial stone nearby, thoughts momentarily drifting to fallen comrades.

A flurry of shuriken announced Sasuke's attack, the projectiles curving through the air with deadly precision. Kakashi deflected them with a kunai, pivoting to block the Uchiha's follow-up kick.

"Still trying the direct approach?" he asked mildly, countering with a palm strike that Sasuke barely avoided. "You're running out of time."

"Who said I'm trying to get the bells right now?" Sasuke replied with a smirk. His hands flashed through seals. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive sphere of flame erupted from his mouth, engulfing Kakashi's position. When the fire dissipated, the jōnin was gone—exactly as anticipated.

"Sakura, now!" Sasuke called.

From the treeline, Sakura emerged, her hands completing a genjutsu. "Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique!"

The landscape around Kakashi, who had reappeared several meters away, subtly shifted—not enough to be obvious, but enough to distort distances and directions by crucial inches.

"Genjutsu?" Kakashi mused, forming the release sign. "Clever, but—"

He broke off as dozens of Naruto clones swarmed from every direction, their movements coordinated this time rather than chaotic. Unlike before, these clones weren't superheated—they were a distraction, pure and simple.

As Kakashi dispatched them with efficient movements, his spatial perception still slightly skewed by Sakura's genjutsu, the real Naruto burst from the ground directly beneath him—the same Headhunter Jutsu that had ensnared both him and Sasuke earlier.

Kakashi leapt away, but the momentary distraction was enough. Sasuke's hand darted out, fingers brushing the bells—not trying to grab them, but to cut the strings with a nearly invisible wire.

The bells dropped, and Sakura was there, diving to catch them before they hit the ground. She rolled to her feet, a bell clutched in each hand, just as the alarm clock rang, signaling noon.

For a long moment, Kakashi stared at his three students—Sakura holding the bells, Sasuke standing with arms crossed, and Naruto grinning triumphantly beside a small hole in the earth.

"Well," he said finally, his voice revealing genuine surprise, "it seems you've managed to get the bells. Sakura, who will you give the second bell to? Remember, whoever doesn't get a bell fails."

Sakura looked from the bells in her hand to her teammates, her expression torn. Then, with sudden resolution, she walked to Naruto and Sasuke and held out the bells.

"Neither," she declared. "Either we all pass together, or we all fail together. That's what it means to be a team."

Sasuke nodded, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "The mission was to get the bells from you. We accomplished that through teamwork."

"And if one of us goes back to the Academy," Naruto added, "then what's the point of having a three-person team in the first place?"

Inside him, Ryuujin rumbled with approval. "Well reasoned, little vessel."

Kakashi's expression was unreadable for a long moment. Then, slowly, his eye curved into what seemed like a genuine smile. "You pass."

"What?" Naruto blurted.

"You pass," Kakashi repeated. "All of you. You're the first squad that ever succeeded in this test. The others did exactly what I expected—they fell into the trap of competing against each other."

He walked toward the memorial stone, his posture suddenly more solemn. "In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

A breeze rustled through the training ground, carrying the scent of upcoming rain. Kakashi turned back to them, his demeanor lightening. "Team Seven begins its first mission tomorrow. Be ready."

As their new sensei disappeared in a swirl of leaves, the three genin exchanged glances—triumphant, relieved, and for the first time, united.

"We did it," Sakura breathed, still clutching the bells.

"Hn," Sasuke acknowledged, but there was no dismissal in his tone. His gaze shifted to Naruto, the unspoken question still there: We'll talk later.

Naruto nodded, both to Sasuke and in answer to Sakura. "Yeah, we did it. Together."

As they left the training ground, the beginnings of friendship tentatively forming between them, Naruto felt a curious warmth that had nothing to do with Ryuujin's fire. For the first time in his life, he belonged somewhere—he was part of something larger than himself.

"Enjoy this moment," Ryuujin advised, his ancient voice uncharacteristically gentle. "Bonds between humans are fragile things, easily broken when power enters the equation."

"You're wrong," Naruto countered silently. "These bonds will make us stronger, not weaker."

The dragon offered no reply, but deep in Naruto's consciousness, Ryuujin wondered if perhaps, after millennia of existence, this unpredictable human child might teach him something new about strength, connection, and the curious resilience of the human spirit.

It was, the ancient dragon mused, a possibility worth observing—for now.

Three weeks into their life as Team Seven, Naruto was ready to claw his eyes out with boredom. Another day, another D-rank mission that involved neither danger nor glory—just tedium and, in today's case, dirt under his fingernails.

"Target located," Sasuke's voice crackled through the radio earpiece. "Ten meters ahead in the grove."

"I'm in position," Sakura confirmed.

"Roger that," Naruto responded, crouching lower in the underbrush. "Moving in on your signal."

Despite the militaristic coordination, their target was neither a dangerous criminal nor a valuable artifact, but a cat—specifically, Tora, the infamous pet of the Fire Daimyo's wife, who apparently escaped on a weekly basis.

"Hunting a house cat," Ryuujin grumbled in Naruto's mind. "How the mighty have fallen. In my day, dragons hunted creatures that could level mountains with a roar."

"Yeah, well, in my day, genin start with D-rank missions," Naruto countered, though he shared the dragon's frustration.

"Now!" Sasuke commanded.

The three genin converged on the target simultaneously. Naruto dove forward, hands outstretched to grab the feline—only to receive a faceful of claws for his trouble.

"GAH!" he yelped as Tora transformed from docile pet to whirling dervish of fur and fury. "Someone grab this demon cat!"

Sakura smoothly intercepted the escaping feline, her movements precise where Naruto's had been overzealous. "Gotcha!" she proclaimed, securing the cat in a firm but gentle hold that minimized scratching potential. "Ribbon on the right ear, brown fur—we've confirmed it's Tora."

"Mission accomplished," Kakashi's bored voice sounded over the radio. "Return to the Hokage Tower for debriefing."

Naruto rubbed his scratched face, muttering curses under his breath. No wonder the cat ran away so often—its owner practically smothered it with unwanted affection. In an odd way, he sympathized with the creature's desire for freedom.

"You identify with a common housecat?" Ryuujin scoffed. "You, who bear the greatest of dragons within you?"

"I identify with wanting to escape a life you didn't choose," Naruto replied, the thought unexpectedly profound.

The dragon fell silent, perhaps struck by the insight.

"Congratulations on retrieving Tora," the Third Hokage said, shuffling through a stack of mission scrolls while the Daimyo's wife crushed the unfortunate cat in a smothering embrace. "Now, for your next assignment, we have several options: babysitting the council elder's grandson, helping with potato harvesting, or—"

"No!" Naruto interrupted, forming an X with his arms. "No more boring missions! I want a real mission—something challenging and exciting!"

Iruka, seated beside the Hokage, frowned. "Naruto! You're just a rookie. Everyone starts with simple duties to gain experience and prove themselves."

"But we've been doing chores for weeks!" Naruto protested. "How am I supposed to become Hokage by pulling weeds and finding lost pets?"

Kakashi sighed, placing a hand on Naruto's head. "I apologize for my student's outburst, Lord Hokage."

But the Third's gaze lingered on Naruto, something unreadable in his aged eyes. After a moment, he chuckled softly.

"Very well," he said, surprising everyone in the room. "If you want it that badly, I'll give you a C-rank mission: escort duty to the Land of Waves."

Excitement surged through Naruto, temporarily eclipsing even Ryuujin's constant presence. "Really? Who are we protecting? A princess? A feudal lord?"

"Don't be so impatient," the Hokage admonished. "Send in our visitor!"

The door slid open to reveal an elderly man with a gray beard and a sake bottle clutched in one hand. He looked thoroughly unimpressed with the team assembled before him.

"These are the ninja who'll protect me?" he groused, taking a swig from his bottle. "They're just a bunch of snot-nosed kids, especially the short one with the idiotic look on his face."

Naruto laughed, looking around to identify the insult's target—until realization dawned. "I'll demolish you, old man!" he shouted, lunging forward only to be restrained by Kakashi's firm grip on his collar.

"You can't demolish the client, Naruto," the jōnin sighed. "It doesn't work that way."

The old man took another drink, then introduced himself. "I'm Tazuna, a master bridge builder. You'll be escorting me back to my homeland and protecting me while I complete a bridge that will change our nation's future."

There was something in his tone—a gravity that belied his gruff exterior—that gave even Naruto pause.

"He reeks of fear," Ryuujin observed unexpectedly. "And deception."

Naruto blinked, surprised by the dragon's insight. Now that it had been pointed out, he could see it too—the way Tazuna's eyes darted nervously, how his fingers gripped the sake bottle too tightly.

"How can you tell?" Naruto asked silently.

"Dragons sense intent," Ryuujin replied. "An ancient survival mechanism. His heartbeat quickens when he speaks of protection. He anticipates danger greater than he reveals."

Naruto studied the bridge builder with newfound wariness, but kept his observations to himself. If this mission might offer real action, he wasn't about to jeopardize it by voicing suspicions.

An hour later, Team Seven assembled at the village gates, packs filled with supplies for their journey. For Naruto, this marked a momentous occasion—his first time leaving the Hidden Leaf Village.

As they set out on the road to the Land of Waves, Sakura engaged Tazuna with questions about his homeland.

"Your country has no ninja village, correct?" she asked.

Tazuna nodded, his earlier irritability somewhat subdued. "The Land of Waves is a small island nation, poor in resources but rich in water. We have no need for shinobi—or rather, we cannot afford them."

"Then who protects you from invasion or criminals?" Sasuke inquired, his usual taciturn nature giving way to practical curiosity.

A shadow passed over Tazuna's face. "We manage," he said evasively. "That's why this bridge is so important. It will connect us to the mainland, bringing trade and prosperity."

Naruto, walking at the front of the group, was too busy reveling in his first mission beyond village borders to pay much attention to the conversation. The world outside Konoha was vibrant and new, every bird call and rustling leaf an adventure.

"Focus, little vessel," Ryuujin chided. "Your enthusiasm blinds you to potential threats."

"What threats?" Naruto scoffed. "This is a C-rank mission. The worst we'll face is maybe some bandits."

The dragon's mental equivalent of a snort rippled through his consciousness. "The bridge builder's fear suggests otherwise. Keep your senses sharp."

Though skeptical, Naruto found himself scanning their surroundings more carefully as they continued down the path. It was because of this heightened awareness that he noticed the puddle on the roadside—a detail he might otherwise have overlooked.

"Strange," he thought. "It hasn't rained in days."

"Not water," Ryuujin confirmed, suddenly alert. "Deception. Chakra disguised as moisture."

Naruto glanced at Kakashi, wondering if the jōnin had noticed the anomaly as well. The silver-haired ninja gave no indication, continuing to stroll casually with his nose buried in his ever-present orange book.

Should he say something? Before Naruto could decide, the puddle erupted into action.

Two ninja emerged from the false water, their movements a blur as they launched their attack. Barbed chains unfurled between them, wrapping around Kakashi before he could react.

"One down," one of the attackers growled as they pulled the chains tight, seemingly shredding Kakashi into bloody pieces.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed.

Naruto froze, shock rendering him momentarily immobile. The attackers didn't hesitate, changing direction to target him next.

"Two down," the other ninja declared, chains whistling through the air toward Naruto's vulnerable form.

"MOVE!" Ryuujin's roar in his mind jolted Naruto from his paralysis—but too late to dodge.

In that split second of mortal danger, Naruto felt something change inside him. A barrier—thin and tenuous, but always present—gave way, allowing Ryuujin's essence to flow into his chakra system with greater freedom than ever before.

Heat surged through his body, gathering in his lungs and throat. As the chains wrapped around him, Naruto opened his mouth, and what emerged was neither scream nor jutsu—but a blast of concentrated flame that burned with unnatural intensity.

The blue-white fire struck one of the attackers directly in the chest, melting through his protective gear like it was paper. The ninja screamed, a sound cut short as the dragon-fire consumed him, leaving nothing but ash drifting to the ground.

The surviving attacker stared in horror, his chain now connected only to a pile of smoldering remains. "What the hell?" he gasped, stumbling backward.

Naruto stood motionless, equally shocked by what had just erupted from his throat. Smoke curled from his lips, and for a brief moment, his entire body was outlined in a shimmer of heat.

"Dragon's Breath," Ryuujin explained, his mental voice tinged with surprise. "I didn't expect you to manifest it so soon, or so dramatically."

The remaining ninja recovered quickly, detaching his chain and charging with a poisoned gauntlet raised. "You monster!" he snarled, hatred replacing his initial fear.

Before he could reach Naruto, Sasuke intercepted, kunai clashing against the metal gauntlet. Sakura positioned herself protectively in front of Tazuna, kunai drawn and stance defensive.

The ninja disengaged from Sasuke, changing targets to the seemingly more vulnerable Sakura and Tazuna—only to be stopped cold as Kakashi reappeared, catching the assailant in a chokehold that rendered him unconscious within seconds.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed. "You're alive!"

"Of course," Kakashi replied, nodding toward a pile of splintered logs nearby—evidence of his substitution jutsu. His gaze shifted to Naruto, who still stood motionless, wisps of smoke occasionally escaping his parted lips. "Though I'd planned to observe how you'd handle the situation before intervening. I didn't anticipate that."

The unspoken question hung in the air between them. What exactly had Naruto done? How had he incinerated a chunin-level ninja with a breath technique no genin should possess?

Tazuna broke the tense silence, his face ashen. "What what was that?"

Naruto finally seemed to snap out of his daze, raising a trembling hand to his mouth. "I don't know," he lied, though his eyes conveyed his genuine shock. "It just happened."

Inside him, Ryuujin stirred with what felt almost like concern. "The seal weakens faster than anticipated. That technique should have been beyond your reach for years yet."

"I killed him," Naruto thought numbly. "I burned him to nothing in an instant."

"Yes," the dragon confirmed, neither gloating nor apologetic. "My fire does not merely burn flesh—it consumes essence. It is not a technique meant for use against humans."

Kakashi approached Naruto carefully, his visible eye sharp with assessment. "Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded mechanically, unable to find words.

"We need to talk," Kakashi said quietly, before turning to address the group. "These were the Demon Brothers, chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. They're known for continuing to fight no matter the cost."

His gaze shifted pointedly to Tazuna. "Their target was clearly you, Master Bridge Builder. Care to explain why assassins are hunting a man who hired ninja for simple escort duty on a C-rank mission?"

Tazuna's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I I couldn't afford the cost of a B-rank or A-rank mission," he confessed. "Our country is impoverished, controlled by a shipping magnate named Gato who has bled us dry. The bridge I'm building is our only hope of breaking his stranglehold on our economy—which is precisely why he wants me dead."

Kakashi's expression hardened. "You've endangered my team by withholding critical information. This mission is now at least B-rank, possibly higher."

"We should return to the village," Sakura suggested, still shaken by the sudden violence of the encounter. "This is far beyond the scope of our capabilities as genin."

"No way!" Naruto protested, finding his voice at last. The shock of what he'd done was gradually being replaced by determination. "We accepted this mission, and we'll see it through! Right, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha's dark gaze shifted between Naruto and the pile of ash that had once been a ninja. "I agree with Naruto," he said after a moment. "We can handle this."

But his eyes lingered on Naruto with newfound wariness mixed with that ever-present calculation. He had witnessed firsthand the power Naruto contained—power that could reduce a trained chunin to ash in seconds.

Kakashi sighed, weighing his options. Protocol dictated they return to the village, but abandoning Tazuna meant sentencing him—and possibly his entire country—to further suffering.

"We continue," he decided finally. "But from now on, no more secrets. The next enemies we face will likely be jōnin-level threats, not mere chunin."

As they resumed their journey, the mood considerably more somber than before, Kakashi fell into step beside Naruto.

"That technique," he said quietly, ensuring only Naruto could hear. "It wasn't ninjutsu or a kekkei genkai. It came from what's sealed inside you, didn't it?"

Naruto hesitated, then nodded. "I didn't mean to use it. I was afraid, and it just happened."

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Has this happened before?"

"No," Naruto admitted. "Not like that. Sometimes I can make things warm, or my shadow looks weird, but never fire."

"Dragon's fire," Kakashi corrected, his voice barely above a whisper. "The Fourth sealed not just the Dragon King's chakra in you, but its essence—its very nature. I'd hoped the seal would prevent such manifestations until you were older, more prepared."

Guilt and fear twisted in Naruto's stomach. "Am I dangerous? To the team, I mean?"

Kakashi considered the question with appropriate gravity. "All power is dangerous when uncontrolled," he answered finally. "But you're not a ticking paper bomb, Naruto. The Fourth designed the seal to allow you and the Dragon King to eventually harmonize—unlike some of the other jinchūriki seals, which are meant purely for containment."

"He speaks truth," Ryuujin confirmed unexpectedly. "Your father intended for us to become partners, not prisoner and jailer. A naive hope, perhaps, but a sincere one."

"My father?" Naruto echoed, the word striking him like a physical blow. "The Fourth Hokage was my father?"

The dragon's mental presence shifted uncomfortably. "I should not have revealed that. The knowledge was meant to be withheld until you were older."

"Naruto?" Kakashi's voice broke through his internal dialogue. "Are you listening?"

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled, mind reeling from Ryuujin's accidental revelation. "What were you saying?"

Kakashi studied him for a moment, then continued. "I said we'll need to work on controlling these abilities. When we make camp tonight, I want to test the extent of your connection with the Dragon King."

Naruto nodded, trying to focus on Kakashi's words while his thoughts whirled with the implications of what he'd just learned. The Fourth Hokage—the legendary shinobi who had saved the village from the Dragon King—was his father. Which meant he had deliberately sealed Ryuujin inside his own son.

"Why would he do that to his own child?" Naruto asked silently.

Ryuujin's response was unexpectedly gentle. "Because he believed in you, little vessel. Because he trusted no one else with such a burden—and such potential power."

The revelation should have filled Naruto with pride, or perhaps anger at the burden placed upon him. Instead, he felt a curious emptiness, a hollow space where emotions too complex to name should have resided.

As Team Seven continued their journey toward the Land of Waves, the landscape gradually changing from forests to coastal marshes, Naruto walked with a new awareness of the weight he carried—not just the ancient dragon sealed within him, but the legacy of the Fourth Hokage, his father, and the responsibility that came with both.

Behind them, the pile of ash that had once been a Mist ninja scattered in the coastal breeze, a grim reminder of the destructive potential that slumbered within the young genin with sunshine hair and, occasionally, eyes that burned like molten gold.

Mist clung to the surface of the water like a burial shroud, transforming the simple boat journey to the Land of Waves into something ethereal and foreboding. The boatman propelled them forward with a single oar, avoiding the motor to maintain silence as they approached the massive, half-completed bridge looming through the fog.

"That's quite an engineering feat," Kakashi remarked quietly, gazing up at the concrete colossus.

Tazuna's chest swelled with professional pride despite their precarious situation. "It's the bridge that will change our nation's destiny. Once completed, Gato's shipping monopoly will be broken forever."

Naruto, seated at the bow, barely registered the conversation. Since the encounter with the Demon Brothers—since the revelation about his father—he'd been uncharacteristically subdued, his thoughts turned inward where Ryuujin waited, a constant presence both comforting and terrifying in its ancient power.

"The seal continues to weaken," the dragon observed. "I can sense more of the outside world now, experience more through your senses."

"Is that good?" Naruto questioned hesitantly.

A mental sensation like scaled coils shifting. "It is inevitable. The Fourth designed the seal to gradually allow our chakras to mix, our consciousnesses to align. Whether this is 'good' depends on your perspective—and your control."

The boat bumped gently against a weathered dock, pulling Naruto from his internal dialogue. They had arrived at the Land of Waves, a place of stark poverty evident in the ramshackle houses built on stilts over the water and the hollow-eyed children watching their arrival from shadowed doorways.

"This way," Tazuna whispered, leading them onto a narrow footpath cutting through dense forest. "My house isn't far. We should be safe once we—"

"Get down!" Kakashi suddenly shouted, tackling Tazuna as a massive blade whirled through the air where their heads had been moments before.

The sword embedded itself in a tree trunk with a resounding thunk. Atop its broad handle appeared a shirtless man with bandages covering the lower half of his face and a slashed Mist headband tilted sideways on his forehead.

"Well, well," the newcomer drawled, his voice low and menacing. "If it isn't Kakashi of the Sharingan. No wonder the Demon Brothers failed."

Kakashi straightened, his posture shifting from casual to combat-ready in an instant. "Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist. A rogue ninja from Kirigakure."

Naruto tensed, instinctively moving into defensive formation with Sasuke and Sakura around Tazuna. This was no chunin like the Demon Brothers—the killing intent radiating from Zabuza was suffocating, a pressure that made it difficult to even breathe.

"Hand over the old man," Zabuza demanded. "Do that, and I might let you kids live."

Kakashi reached up, adjusting his headband to reveal his left eye—scarred and red, with three tomoe swirling around the pupil.

"Protect Tazuna," he instructed Team Seven. "This one's on a different level. Against him, I'll need this "

"The Sharingan, so soon?" Zabuza chuckled darkly. "I'm honored."

Naruto's gaze flickered to Sasuke, whose expression had frozen in shock at the sight of his clan's dojutsu in Kakashi's eye socket.

"The eye-thief," Ryuujin murmured. "I wondered when he would reveal his stolen power."

Before Naruto could question the dragon's cryptic comment, thick mist began rolling in, obscuring visibility until even Zabuza disappeared from view.

"Eight points," Zabuza's disembodied voice echoed around them. "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. So many choices for a killing blow."

The oppressive bloodlust intensified, freezing the genin in place. Sasuke, particularly, began trembling, the kunai in his hand inching toward his own chest in a desperate bid to escape the psychological torture.

"Sasuke," Kakashi called without turning. "Don't worry. I'll protect you all with my life." Though his back was to them, they could hear the smile in his voice. "I don't let my comrades die."

The reassurance steadied Naruto, who found, somewhat surprisingly, that Zabuza's killing intent affected him less severely than his teammates. Perhaps it was Ryuujin's presence, or perhaps it was the fact that he'd already faced death—and dealt it—during their encounter with the Demon Brothers.

"We'll see about that," Zabuza's voice hissed, suddenly among them, his massive sword already swinging toward Tazuna.

Kakashi moved with blinding speed, intercepting the blade with a kunai. For a moment, the two jōnin strained against each other, locked in a contest of strength—until Zabuza dissolved into water, a water clone dispatched with a single precise strike.

"Behind you!" Naruto shouted as the real Zabuza appeared at Kakashi's back, sword already in mid-swing.

The blade cleaved through Kakashi's body—which also collapsed into water.

"A water clone?" Zabuza growled. "He copied me in this mist?"

The dance of death continued, water clones dispelled, kunai deflected, neither shinobi gaining a decisive advantage. Despite the danger, Naruto couldn't help but be awed by the display of skill far beyond what he'd witnessed in the Academy or even during their training with Kakashi.

"This is true combat between seasoned killers," Ryuujin observed. "Memorize it, little vessel. There is much to learn here."

The tide turned when Zabuza managed to kick Kakashi into the nearby lake. As the Copy Ninja surfaced, Zabuza appeared behind him, hands flashing through seals.

"Water Prison Jutsu!"

A sphere of water engulfed Kakashi, solidifying around him like a liquid cage. Zabuza kept one hand inside the prison, maintaining the jutsu while creating another water clone to deal with the genin.

"Run!" Kakashi ordered from within his aquatic prison. "His water clone can't go far from his real body. Take Tazuna and escape!"

The water clone of Zabuza chuckled, the sound like stones grinding together. "Playing at ninja, are we? When I was your age, my hands were already stained with blood."

"The Demon of the Mist," Kakashi explained grimly. "In Kirigakure, students once had to kill each other to graduate. That practice ended when a child who wasn't even a student slaughtered an entire class. That child was Zabuza."

The revelation sent a chill through the genin, but Naruto found himself oddly unfazed. Instead, determination surged through him, banishing the fear that had momentarily paralyzed his teammates.

"We're not running," he declared, stepping forward. "Sasuke, Sakura—we can do this together."

Sasuke nodded, his initial terror replaced by the cool calculation that was his trademark. "I have a plan."

The water clone sneered, hefting its replica of Zabuza's massive sword. "Brave words from dead children."

It moved with devastating speed, a kick connecting with Naruto's chest that sent him flying backward, his forehead protector flying off to land beneath the clone's foot.

"Just pathetic little ninja pretending to be warriors," the clone taunted, grinding its heel into the metal plate bearing the Leaf symbol.

Something snapped inside Naruto at the sight—not fear or even anger, but a deeper, more primal emotion that resonated with Ryuujin's ancient essence.

"Pride," the dragon rumbled, approval coloring his ancient voice. "The most fundamental of draconic emotions. Now, little vessel, show him what happens when you wound the pride of a dragon."

Naruto rose to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, eyes flickering between blue and molten gold. "I'm going to make you pay for that," he said, his voice carrying an echo that hadn't been there before.

Ignoring Kakashi's continued pleas to flee, Naruto charged forward, dozens of shadow clones materializing around him. Unlike his previous encounter with the Demon Brothers, he maintained conscious control this time, channeling just enough of Ryuujin's essence to enhance his clones without triggering the devastating dragon-fire.

The water clone scoffed, dispatching the first wave of clones with casual sweeps of its massive sword. Water splashed rather than blood as each clone dispelled.

But the attack was merely a distraction.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, tossing a folded windmill shuriken to his teammate.

Understanding flashed in the Uchiha's eyes as he caught the weapon, immediately adding his own massive shuriken to create a shadow shuriken jutsu. With a graceful spin, he launched both weapons toward the real Zabuza—who remained stationary, maintaining the water prison around Kakashi.

"A shuriken won't work on me," Zabuza sneered, catching the first shuriken one-handed while jumping over the second.

But the second shuriken transformed in mid-air, revealing itself as Naruto, who had used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as a weapon. He twisted in the air, kunai aimed at Zabuza's extended arm.

"Take this!"

Zabuza's eyes widened in genuine surprise. Forced to choose between maintaining the Water Prison and avoiding injury, he reluctantly released the jutsu, pulling his arm back just as Naruto's kunai sliced through the space it had occupied.

"You brat!" Zabuza snarled, pivoting to swing his massive sword at the airborne genin.

Naruto, helpless in mid-air, could only watch as the blade arced toward him—until Kakashi, now freed from his prison, intercepted the blow with a kunai braced against his metal hand guard.

"Good work, Naruto," Kakashi said, water streaming from his sodden uniform. "You and Sasuke have created an opening. Now step back—I'll handle the rest."

Relief washed over Naruto as he splashed into the lake, quickly swimming back to shore where Sasuke and Sakura guarded Tazuna. The plan had worked perfectly.

What followed was a masterclass in psychological warfare as Kakashi, his Sharingan exposed, began copying Zabuza's jutsu with such precision that he completed the same hand signs simultaneously, even anticipating and initiating techniques before Zabuza could finish them.

"Can you see the future?" Zabuza asked, shaken by Kakashi's apparent precognition.

Kakashi's mismatched eyes bored into the missing-nin. "Yes," he answered coldly. "And your future is death."

Before he could deliver the killing blow, however, several senbon needles flashed through the air, striking Zabuza's neck with surgical precision. The Demon of the Mist collapsed, apparently lifeless.

A slender figure in a white mask decorated with the symbol of Kirigakure appeared on a nearby branch. "Thank you for your assistance," the newcomer said in a soft voice. "I've been tracking Zabuza for weeks."

"A Mist Hunter-nin," Kakashi identified, his stance relaxing slightly. "Here to collect the bounty?"

"And dispose of the body," the masked ninja confirmed. "His secrets must not fall into the wrong hands."

With incredible speed, the hunter-nin collected Zabuza's body and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Team Seven and Tazuna standing in stunned silence.

"Something is amiss," Ryuujin rumbled in Naruto's mind. "That hunter did not destroy the body on-site, as protocol demands. And those senbon "

Before Naruto could process this observation, Kakashi swayed on his feet, then collapsed face-first onto the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing to his side.

"Chakra exhaustion," Sasuke diagnosed after a brief examination. "The Sharingan must drain him significantly."

"We need to get him somewhere safe to recover," Naruto said, looking to Tazuna.

The bridge builder nodded. "My house isn't far. We can tend to him there."

As Sasuke and Naruto hoisted Kakashi between them, Ryuujin's words echoed in Naruto's mind. What had the dragon noticed that they had missed?

Kakashi's recovery took three days, during which Team Seven took turns standing guard at Tazuna's house. On the morning of the fourth day, he finally called them together for a team meeting.

"Zabuza is alive," he announced without preamble.

Tazuna nearly choked on his tea. "What? But we saw him die!"

"What we saw," Kakashi corrected, sitting up in his borrowed futon, "was a death-like state induced by precisely placed senbon. Hunter-nin are trained to know every pressure point in the human body. Additionally, true hunter-nin dispose of bodies on the spot, not carry them away."

"So the masked ninja was an accomplice," Sasuke concluded, his eyes narrowing.

Kakashi nodded. "Most likely. Which means Zabuza will return once he's recovered—and he'll bring his associate next time."

"How long do we have?" Sakura asked, her analytical mind already calculating scenarios.

"Given the severity of his injuries, about a week," Kakashi estimated. "Which means we have exactly that long to prepare you three for the rematch."

Despite the gravity of the situation, excitement bubbled in Naruto's chest. "So you're going to train us? Teach us some awesome new jutsu?"

Kakashi's eye curved in his characteristic smile. "Something like that. But first " His gaze fixed on Naruto, suddenly serious. "We need to address what happened during the fight with the Demon Brothers."

A heavy silence fell over the room. Though Sasuke and Sakura had been too preoccupied during the battle to fully register what Naruto had done, both had questions about the pile of ash where an enemy ninja had stood.

"What exactly did Naruto do?" Sakura asked, her voice small but determined.

Kakashi looked to Naruto, silently offering him the choice to explain—or not.

"They are your team," Ryuujin commented. "They should know what fights alongside them."

Naruto took a deep breath. "I I think it's time I told you guys about what's sealed inside me."

Over the next hour, Naruto explained—with occasional input from Kakashi to fill historical gaps—about the Dragon King's attack twelve years ago, the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice, and the nature of the seal that bound Ryuujin to him. He omitted the recent revelation about the Fourth being his father, still processing that information himself.

When he finished, the room was silent save for the distant sounds of the ocean outside.

"So that's why the villagers treat you like that," Sakura murmured, her earlier dismissive attitude toward Naruto visibly transforming into something more complex—a mixture of sympathy and reappraisal.

Sasuke's reaction was harder to read. His dark eyes revealed nothing, but his posture had tensed at the mention of the Fourth's sacrifice. "The fire you breathed," he said finally. "Can you control it?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not yet. It just happened when I was in danger."

"That's what we need to work on this week," Kakashi interjected. "All of you will be training to improve your chakra control, but Naruto needs special attention to ensure he doesn't accidentally incinerate an ally in the heat of battle."

"He fears me," Ryuujin observed. "As he should. My fire was never meant to be wielded by humans."

"But I'm not just wielding it," Naruto thought back. "It's becoming part of me, isn't it?"

The dragon's silence was answer enough.

The forest clearing echoed with the sounds of exertion as Team Seven practiced walking up trees using only their chakra—an exercise Kakashi had assigned to improve their control. Sakura, with her naturally precise chakra management, mastered it almost immediately. Sasuke and Naruto, however, struggled, their footprints gradually ascending the trunks with each attempt.

After Sakura left to guard Tazuna at the bridge construction site, Kakashi pulled Naruto aside for specialized training.

"The Dragon's Breath you manifested is concerning," he began, leaning on a crutch necessitated by his lingering weakness. "Not just for the obvious destructive potential, but because it suggests the seal is weakening faster than anticipated."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Is that bad?"

"Not necessarily," Kakashi said, choosing his words carefully. "The Fourth designed the seal to gradually allow the Dragon King's chakra to mix with yours, granting you access to its power. However, the rate at which this is happening " He frowned beneath his mask. "It suggests external factors may be accelerating the process."

"The Uchiha bloodline," Ryuujin suggested unexpectedly. "Their chakra resonates with creatures like me. Being near the last Uchiha daily may be affecting the seal."

Naruto repeated this theory aloud, earning a thoughtful look from Kakashi.

"Possible," the jōnin acknowledged. "But regardless of the cause, we need to establish some control mechanisms. I want you to practice meditation techniques designed to help jinchūriki communicate with their tailed beasts."

"But Ryuujin isn't a tailed beast," Naruto pointed out.

"No," Kakashi agreed. "He's something older, possibly more powerful. But the principle remains the same—you need to establish conscious communication instead of reactive surges during moments of stress."

For the remainder of the afternoon, Naruto sat cross-legged on the forest floor, attempting to still his naturally hyperactive mind and reach the mental space where Ryuujin resided. The process was frustrating, like trying to catch smoke with his bare hands.

"Your approach is flawed," Ryuujin commented after a particularly unsuccessful attempt left Naruto nursing a headache. "You seek to enter my domain, but you should instead be inviting me into yours."

"What's the difference?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused.

"Intention," the dragon explained. "Instead of forcing yourself inward, extend an invitation outward. Dragons respond to respect, not demands."

Following this advice, Naruto adjusted his approach. Rather than trying to push his consciousness deeper, he imagined opening a door, extending a mental welcome to the ancient entity within him.

The effect was immediate and startling. The clearing around him faded from view, replaced by a vast, cavernous space unlike the sewer-like mindscape another Naruto might have encountered with a different entity sealed inside him. Instead, Naruto found himself standing in what appeared to be the interior of a dormant volcano—a massive chamber with walls of obsidian, veins of molten lava pulsing like blood vessels through the black stone.

And coiled in the center, larger than anything Naruto had ever imagined, was Ryuujin.

The Dragon King's scales shimmered like rubies in the dim, reddish light. His body was serpentine yet powerful, with four clawed limbs tucked against his flanks and enormous wings folded along his back. His head was adorned with horns that curved like polished ebony, and his eyes—twin orbs of molten gold—fixed on Naruto with an intelligence that spanned millennia.

Unlike the Nine-Tails in another reality, Ryuujin was not caged behind bars. Instead, glowing chains of pure chakra wrapped around his body at intervals, anchored to the chamber walls by sealing tags bearing the symbol of the Uzumaki clan intertwined with the emblem of the Fourth Hokage.

"Welcome to the borderlands, little vessel," Ryuujin spoke, his actual voice far more resonant and ancient than its mental echo. The chamber itself seemed to vibrate with each word. "The space between your consciousness and mine."

Naruto stood transfixed, awe momentarily robbing him of speech. Finally, he managed a single question: "Are you trapped?"

The dragon's mouth curved in what might have been a smile, revealing teeth like daggers. "Not trapped—anchored. Your father understood that a true prison would only breed resentment. These bindings allow me limited freedom while preventing me from overwhelming your consciousness."

"My father," Naruto repeated, the word still unfamiliar on his tongue. "The Fourth Hokage."

"Minato Namikaze," Ryuujin confirmed. "A human of rare insight. He did not fear me as others did—he respected me, understood that dragons are not evil by nature, merely elemental. Beyond human morality."

Naruto approached cautiously, studying the chains that bound the mighty dragon. "These are weakening, aren't they? That's why your power is leaking through."

"Yes," Ryuujin acknowledged. "As designed—though perhaps faster than intended. Soon, these bindings will transform from restraints to conduits, allowing you to channel my power consciously rather than reactively."

"And if that happens before I'm ready?" Naruto asked, a note of genuine concern in his voice.

The dragon's eyes narrowed, flames flickering in their golden depths. "Then you risk becoming more dragon than human. My essence is not like the chakra of the tailed beasts—it transforms whatever it touches. Already, you have begun to change in subtle ways."

Naruto thought of the Dragon's Breath, of the way his shadow sometimes appeared winged in strong sunlight, of how his body temperature ran noticeably warmer than his teammates'.

"I don't want to stop being me," he admitted quietly.

Something like compassion flickered across Ryuujin's ancient features. "Then we must establish balance, little vessel. A partnership, not a struggle for dominance. That is what your father intended."

"How do we do that?"

"Through understanding," Ryuujin replied. "You must learn of dragons—our nature, our ways. And in turn, I must acknowledge the value of your human perspective. The chains weaken regardless; how we adapt will determine whether you master my power or are consumed by it."

Naruto nodded slowly, resolution forming within him. "Then teach me. About dragons, about yourself. And I'll show you that humans aren't just prey or pests. We can be more—partners, like you said."

The Dragon King studied him for a long moment, then inclined his massive head in agreement. "Very well, Naruto Uzumaki. Let us begin."

In the physical world, Kakashi watched with interest as Naruto remained perfectly still in meditation, an unusual feat for the hyperactive genin. More unusual still was the faint shimmer of heat that occasionally rippled across his skin, causing the air around him to waver like a mirage.

"Well," the jōnin murmured to himself, "that's certainly progress."

When Naruto finally opened his eyes hours later, the sun was setting, painting the clearing in hues of orange and gold that matched the lingering glow in his pupils.

"I met him," Naruto said without preamble. "Ryuujin. We talked—actually talked, face to face."

Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly. "That's significant. Most jinchūriki take years to establish that level of communication."

Naruto rose to his feet, his movements possessing a new grace that hadn't been there before. "He's going to teach me about dragons. Their nature, their power. He says it's the only way I can control the abilities without being overwhelmed by them."

"And you trust him?" Kakashi asked carefully.

Naruto considered the question seriously. "I don't think it's about trust. We're stuck with each other. Either we become partners, or we destroy each other. He seems to prefer the first option."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "Just remember, Naruto—ancient beings like the Dragon King measure time differently than we do. His patience spans centuries. Don't mistake temporary alignment of interests for true alliance."

"I know," Naruto replied, and for a moment, he sounded older, wiser. "But I also think the seal my fa—the Fourth created is working the way it should. Ryuujin isn't fighting it anymore. He's working with it."

If Kakashi noticed Naruto's near-slip regarding his parentage, he gave no sign. "Good. Then let's see what practical control you've gained from this enlightening conversation."

For the remainder of the evening, Naruto practiced channeling minimal amounts of Ryuujin's chakra—just enough to enhance his physical abilities without triggering the more destructive manifestations. By nightfall, he could maintain a state where his eyes shifted to their draconic gold, his strength and speed nearly doubled, without the accompanying rise in temperature that had previously marked the dragon's influence.

"A beginning," Ryuujin approved as they made their way back to Tazuna's house. "But controlling the Dragon's Breath will require deeper mastery. That technique isn't merely chakra—it's my essence given form."

"One step at a time," Naruto replied with uncharacteristic patience. "We have all week before Zabuza returns. By then, I'll be ready."

That night, Naruto dreamed of flying over mountains and seas, massive wings catching thermal updrafts, the world spread beneath him like a tapestry. When he woke, the taste of smoke lingered on his tongue, and for the first time, the sensation didn't frighten him.

It felt like possibility.

A week passed in a blur of intensive training. While Sasuke continued refining his tree-climbing technique and Sakura began learning water-walking, Naruto split his time between these basic exercises and his specialized training with Ryuujin.

Each night, he would enter the volcanic mindscape where the Dragon King awaited, absorbing ancient knowledge about draconic nature. He learned that dragons were elemental beings, more akin to forces of nature than mere creatures. Ryuujin explained the fundamental aspects of dragon-kind: their pride, their territorial instincts, their innate connection to fire and air, and most importantly, their complex relationship with humans.

"We are not inherently hostile to your kind," Ryuujin had explained, his massive form coiled comfortably in the molten chamber of Naruto's mindscape. "But neither are we naturally aligned. Dragons view humans as we view all shorter-lived beings—as transient, their individual lives inconsequential against our timescale."

"Then why attack the village twelve years ago?" Naruto had asked.

The Dragon King's eyes had narrowed, flames flickering in their depths. "I was summoned, little vessel. Against my will, pulled from my domain by an ancient jutsu few humans remember. The one who called me sought to use me as a weapon against your village."

This revelation had shaken Naruto. "Someone summoned you? Who?"

"A human with eyes like blood and chakra that reeked of death," Ryuujin had answered, his voice rumbling with ancient anger. "He possessed a dojutsu that could bend creatures of chakra to his will. Before your father severed the connection with his sealing jutsu, that human attempted to control me as one might control a puppet."

The implications of this knowledge weighed on Naruto as he practiced channeling Ryuujin's essence under Kakashi's watchful eye. If someone had deliberately summoned the Dragon King to attack the village, then the tragedy that orphaned him—that caused the village to fear and shun him—had been orchestrated.

On the seventh day of training, as the deadline for Zabuza's predicted return approached, Naruto remained in the forest alone after Sasuke had returned to Tazuna's house. Exhaustion had finally caught up with him after a night spent in deep communion with Ryuujin, and he slept beneath the stars, dreaming once again of flight and freedom.

He awoke to the gentle touch of a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll catch cold sleeping out here," a soft voice admonished.

Naruto blinked awake to find a beautiful young person kneeling beside him, long dark hair framing a face of delicate features. They wore a simple pink kimono and carried a basket of herbs.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, sitting up groggily.

"Haku," the stranger replied with a gentle smile. "I'm gathering medicinal herbs for a friend who's injured. And you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" he declared, his usual exuberance returning. "I'm a ninja from the Hidden Leaf, training to get stronger!"

"Be cautious," Ryuujin's voice whispered in his mind. "This one's chakra is familiar."

Naruto tensed slightly but maintained his friendly demeanor as he helped Haku collect herbs, chatting about his dreams of becoming Hokage and earning recognition from his village.

"Do you have someone precious to you?" Haku asked after listening to Naruto's ambitions. "I believe that when a person has something precious to protect, that's when they truly become strong."

The question gave Naruto pause. Did he have someone precious? There was Iruka-sensei, of course, and perhaps the Third Hokage. More recently, his teammates—even Sasuke, with his brooding intensity—had begun to feel like something akin to family.

"I think I do," he answered honestly. "People I want to protect. People who see me, not just what's sealed inside me."

Something flickered in Haku's eyes—recognition, perhaps, or empathy. "Then you will become strong indeed, Naruto. Truly strong."

As Haku rose to leave, a breeze ruffled through the clearing, carrying the scent to Naruto's increasingly sensitive nose. A familiar scent.

"The hunter-nin," Ryuujin identified, fully alert now. "The one who took Zabuza."

Naruto stiffened, realization dawning. "You're with Zabuza," he said, not a question but a statement.

Haku paused, back turned. "The next time we meet, we will be enemies," they confirmed, voice no longer gentle but coolly professional. "But for now, I thank you for your help with the herbs. They will speed my precious person's recovery."

With that, Haku disappeared into the forest, leaving Naruto standing among the medicinal plants, conflicted emotions churning within him.

"Why didn't you attack?" Ryuujin questioned. "You could have eliminated a future threat."

"That's not who I am," Naruto replied firmly. "And besides, I understood what Haku meant about having someone precious. Even if that person is Zabuza."

The dragon's mental presence shifted, something like grudging approval emanating from him. "Perhaps there is wisdom in your restraint, little vessel. But when next you meet, there will be no such luxury."

"I know," Naruto murmured aloud, gathering his gear. "I need to warn the others. Zabuza is healed—they'll attack soon."

The attack came the very next morning. As Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura escorted Tazuna to the bridge, they found the construction workers unconscious—or worse—scattered across the incomplete structure. Mist began rolling in from the water, thick and unnatural, charged with chakra.

"He's here," Kakashi announced, uncovering his Sharingan. "Stay sharp. Protect Tazuna."

Zabuza's disembodied laughter echoed through the fog. "Still babysitting those brats, Kakashi? They're shaking again, poor things."

Water clones of the Demon of the Mist materialized around Team Seven, each wielding a replica of the massive executioner's blade. But this time, Sasuke moved without hesitation, his speed noticeably improved after a week of intensive training.

"I'm not shaking from fear," the young Uchiha declared, dispatching the clones with precise strikes. "I'm shaking from excitement."

Zabuza emerged from the mist, the masked hunter-nin—Haku—at his side. "It seems your brat has grown," he observed to Kakashi. "Haku might actually have to try this time."

"Sasuke, take the masked one," Kakashi instructed. "Naruto, Sakura—guard Tazuna. I'll handle Zabuza."

The battle split into two confrontations. Kakashi engaged Zabuza in a repeat of their previous encounter, but this time more prepared for the missing-nin's techniques. Meanwhile, Sasuke faced off against Haku, whose speed proved immediately challenging.

From his position guarding Tazuna, Naruto watched anxiously as Haku formed one-handed seals—a feat that shocked even Kakashi—and used a unique Ice Style jutsu to create a dome of ice mirrors surrounding Sasuke.

"Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors," Haku announced, stepping into one of the mirrors and somehow merging with it. Reflections of the masked ninja appeared in all the mirrors simultaneously.

Within moments, Sasuke was in trouble. Senbon needles flew from every direction, too fast to dodge completely. Though he managed to avoid fatal hits, the Uchiha was quickly becoming a human pincushion, blood spattering the bridge from dozens of small wounds.

"Your teammate will die if you don't intervene," Ryuujin observed dispassionately.

Naruto glanced at Sakura, who stood protectively before Tazuna, kunai drawn. "Can you handle this alone for a minute?" he asked.

She nodded, determination firming her features. "Go help Sasuke. I've got Tazuna-san covered."

Without further hesitation, Naruto charged toward the ice mirror dome, channeling a measured amount of Ryuujin's chakra. His eyes shifted to their draconic gold, his movements becoming fluid and predatory.

Rather than entering the dome and falling into the same trap as Sasuke, Naruto circled it, analyzing the structure. "Ice," he murmured, the word carrying a hint of draconic echo. "Ice melts."

Drawing deeper on Ryuujin's essence, Naruto felt heat building in his lungs and throat. He wasn't ready to use the Dragon's Breath again—the technique was still too unpredictable, too destructive. But there were other ways to use the dragon's elemental nature.

Focusing the heat into his hands instead, Naruto pressed his palms against one of the ice mirrors. Steam immediately rose from the point of contact, the mirror beginning to drip as his superheated touch undermined its structure.

"What?" Haku's startled voice echoed from within the dome. The masked ninja appeared in the melting mirror, throwing senbon at Naruto to break his concentration.

Naruto dodged, but maintained contact with the mirror. "I figured out your weakness," he called. "Your ice is strong, but nothing stands against a dragon's fire!"

Inside the dome, Sasuke's ears perked at Naruto's words. Dragon's fire? He'd heard rumors of Naruto's unusual abilities, but seeing him actively melting the ice that had resisted even fire jutsu confirmed that the blond shinobi possessed power beyond normal genin capabilities.

As one mirror began to collapse, Haku abandoned it, appearing in another to launch more senbon at Naruto. "Impressive," the masked ninja acknowledged. "But can you melt them all before your friend bleeds out?"

It was a valid question. Sasuke was already weakening from blood loss, his movements becoming sluggish. Naruto needed a faster solution than melting each mirror individually.

"The mirrors are connected by the user's chakra," Ryuujin suggested. "Disrupt that flow, and the entire structure becomes vulnerable."

Understanding dawned on Naruto. He needed to get inside the dome, where he could attack the chakra network linking the mirrors.

"Sasuke!" he called. "I'm coming in!"

Before Haku could prevent it, Naruto slipped through the gap created by the partially melted mirror, joining his teammate inside the deadly dome.

"Idiot," Sasuke grunted, pulling senbon from his arm. "Now we're both trapped."

But Naruto grinned, his elongated canines catching the light reflected from the ice. "Not for long. I need you to watch Haku's movements with those eyes of yours. Tell me which mirror holds the real body."

Sasuke stared at him, momentarily confused—until understanding struck. "My Sharingan," he muttered. "But I haven't—"

A barrage of senbon interrupted him, forcing both genin to dodge. Several needles found their mark despite their efforts, drawing fresh blood.

"Concentrate!" Naruto urged, deflecting senbon with a kunai superheated by his touch. "Your eyes are our best shot at tracking movement too fast for normal vision!"

Determination hardened Sasuke's features. He focused intently on the mirrors, willing his dormant bloodline to awaken. The stress, the danger, the desperate need to see what others couldn't—all catalysts pushing his Uchiha heritage to finally manifest.

Between one heartbeat and the next, Sasuke's perception shifted. The world slowed, details sharpening with preternatural clarity. He could see the faint blur of movement as Haku transferred between mirrors, could track the trajectory of each senbon before it was thrown.

"There!" he shouted, pointing to a mirror on the upper right. "That one!"

Naruto didn't hesitate. Drawing deeply on Ryuujin's power, he felt the now-familiar heat building in his lungs. This time, however, he moderated it, seeking control rather than raw destructiveness.

When he exhaled, what emerged wasn't the all-consuming white-blue flame that had incinerated the Demon Brother, but a focused jet of orange fire that struck the indicated mirror with pinpoint accuracy.

The ice cracked instantly, steam erupting as the concentrated heat bore through it. Haku leapt to another mirror, but Sasuke's newly awakened Sharingan—one tomoe in his right eye, two in his left—tracked the movement.

"Left side, middle mirror!"

Again, Naruto's controlled fire-breath struck true. With each mirror Haku abandoned, Sasuke tracked the movement, and Naruto's increasingly precise flames followed. The temperature inside the dome rose dramatically, steam filling the enclosed space, ice dripping from all sides.

Haku, realizing the technique was failing, made a desperate move. Instead of transferring to another mirror, the masked ninja emerged completely, charging directly at Sasuke with a senbon aimed at a vital point.

"Look out!" Naruto shouted, diving toward his teammate.

What happened next seemed to unfold in slow motion. Sasuke, his newfound Sharingan detecting the killing intent, pushed Naruto aside and prepared to counter Haku's attack. But at the last moment, something unexpected occurred—Haku diverted the senbon, aiming for a non-lethal point instead.

The needle embedded itself in Sasuke's shoulder rather than his throat, staggering but not killing him. Simultaneously, Naruto's momentum from being pushed carried him directly into Haku's path. His hand, still superheated from channeling Ryuujin's essence, connected with the hunter-nin's mask.

The porcelain cracked and fell away, revealing Haku's face—the same gentle features Naruto had encountered in the forest.

Both froze, recognition passing between them.

"You," Naruto breathed, the draconic fire receding from his eyes.

"I knew we would meet as enemies," Haku said softly, making no move to continue the attack. "Why did you not kill me in the forest when you had the chance?"

Naruto lowered his hand, the heat dissipating. "The same reason you just diverted your strike from Sasuke's throat. We're not just weapons. We're people first."

A sad smile touched Haku's lips. "Perhaps. But I have failed as Zabuza's tool. I can no longer protect my precious person." Their eyes hardened with resolve. "Kill me, Naruto. That is the way of shinobi."

But Naruto shook his head. "No. That's not my ninja way. There has to be another—"

He broke off as a sound like thousands of chirping birds filled the air, accompanied by a blue-white glow cutting through the mist some distance away—Kakashi's Lightning Blade, aimed at Zabuza.

Horror flooded Haku's face. "Zabuza-san!"

Before Naruto could react, Haku disappeared in a blur of movement, rushing toward the sound. The ice mirrors shattered in the hunter-nin's absence, raining crystalline fragments around Naruto and Sasuke.

"What's happening?" Sasuke demanded, clutching his wounded shoulder.

"Haku's going to sacrifice themselves for Zabuza," Naruto realized aloud. Without thinking, he took off after the ice-user, leaving Sasuke behind.

He arrived just in time to witness tragedy. Haku had indeed intercepted Kakashi's lightning-charged hand, taking the fatal blow meant for Zabuza. The Demon of the Mist stood frozen, his usual bloodlust momentarily eclipsed by shock as his devoted follower collapsed, a gaping wound in their chest.

"Is this the first time you've seen a comrade die?" Zabuza taunted Naruto, who had skidded to a halt nearby, his face a mask of horror. "This is the ninja world, kid. We're all just tools to be used and discarded."

Something snapped inside Naruto at those callous words. Rage unlike anything he'd ever experienced flooded through him, temporarily overwhelming the careful balance he'd established with Ryuujin.

"Tools?" he snarled, and his voice was no longer entirely human. "Haku loved you! Gave everything for you! And you call them a tool?!"

Heat exploded outward from Naruto's body, so intense that the mist evaporated instantly, leaving the bridge bathed in harsh sunlight. His hair lifted in an unseen wind, and when he raised his face to Zabuza, his features had begun to change—eyes not just gold but glowing, pupils elongated to slits, and along his jawline, the faint shimmer of scales breaking through his skin.

"Careful, little vessel," Ryuujin cautioned, though the dragon's own rage resonated with Naruto's. "Your emotions feed my fire. Control it, or risk consuming everything—friend and foe alike."

With tremendous effort, Naruto reined in the transformation, though the heat continued to shimmer around him. "Haku lived for you," he said, his voice steadier but still carrying that otherworldly echo. "Is that worth nothing to you?"

For a long moment, Zabuza said nothing, his cold eyes fixed on Haku's lifeless form. Then, unexpectedly, a change came over his harsh features.

"Kid," he said finally, his voice rough with suppressed emotion, "not another word."

To everyone's surprise, tears had begun to track down the Demon of the Mist's face, carving paths through the blood and grime.

"You talk too much," Zabuza continued, his gaze never leaving Haku. "Your words they cut deeper than any blade."

The moment of vulnerability was interrupted by slow clapping from the far end of the bridge. Through the dispersed mist appeared a short man in an expensive suit, flanked by dozens of rough-looking mercenaries.

"My, my, the great Demon of the Mist, reduced to tears," the newcomer sneered. "How disappointing."

"Gato," Tazuna identified, his voice thick with loathing. "The shipping magnate."

Gato prodded Haku's body with his cane, earning a growl from both Zabuza and Naruto. "I never planned to pay you anyway, Zabuza. Hiring missing-nin is expensive, and they have a bad habit of turning on their employers. Much easier to let you weaken the ninja, then have my men finish everyone off."

The mercenaries behind him chuckled, brandishing an assortment of weapons.

"Well," Zabuza said, turning to Kakashi, "it seems our contract has been terminated. I no longer have any reason to fight you, Kakashi."

The Copy Ninja nodded, lowering his stance slightly. "Indeed."

With surprising gentleness, Zabuza knelt beside Haku, brushing a strand of hair from the peaceful face. "You were right, Naruto Uzumaki," he said without looking up. "Haku was never just a tool. And I was a fool not to acknowledge it while they lived."

Standing, Zabuza unwrapped the bandages covering his lower face, revealing sharp, shark-like teeth set in a determined grimace. "Kakashi, I have a favor to ask. Lend me a kunai."

Understanding dawned in Kakashi's mismatched eyes. He flipped a kunai to Zabuza, who caught it in his teeth—his arms hanging uselessly at his sides, damaged by earlier attacks.

What followed was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. Zabuza charged into the crowd of mercenaries, cutting a bloody path toward Gato using only the kunai gripped in his teeth and sheer killing intent. Though repeatedly stabbed and slashed, he continued forward like an unstoppable force of nature, driven by grief and the need for vengeance.

When he finally reached Gato, the shipping magnate's terrified pleas fell on deaf ears. With a savage twist, Zabuza separated the corrupt businessman's head from his shoulders, then collapsed beside his corpse, his own life ebbing away.

"Hey kid," he called weakly to Naruto. "Come here."

Naruto approached cautiously, his draconic features having receded back to human appearance.

"Take me to Haku," Zabuza requested, blood bubbling from his lips. "I want to see them one last time."

Without hesitation, Naruto and Kakashi lifted the dying missing-nin, carrying him to where Haku lay. Snow had begun to fall—unusual for the season, as if the heavens themselves were mourning.

"Is that you, Haku?" Zabuza whispered as snowflakes melted against his skin. "Are you weeping? You always were too soft." With the last of his strength, he raised a hand to touch Haku's face. "I hope I can go where you've gone. I doubt it, though with all I've done."

His hand fell, and the Demon of the Mist moved no more.

The remaining mercenaries, recovering from their shock at seeing their employer decapitated, began to advance on the weary Leaf ninja. But before a new battle could begin, an arrow struck the bridge at their feet.

The villagers of the Land of Waves had arrived, led by Tazuna's young grandson, armed with whatever makeshift weapons they could find. Their faces were set with determination—a populace finally ready to stand against oppression.

Seeing the overwhelming numbers, the mercenaries retreated, diving off the bridge into boats waiting below.

As the villagers cheered their newfound freedom, Naruto stood quietly beside the bodies of Haku and Zabuza, the snow continuing to fall around them.

"They died as warriors," Ryuujin observed solemnly. "With purpose and for someone precious. Even dragons can respect such an end."

"Is that how it always has to be?" Naruto questioned, a deep sadness settling in his chest. "Violence and death, even when we start with good intentions?"

The dragon was silent for a long moment, considering. "Not always, little vessel," he said finally. "That is the hope your kind carries that dragons often lack—the belief that cycles can be broken, that paths can change. It is not without merit."

With gentle hands, Team Seven prepared the bodies of Haku and Zabuza for burial, laying them to rest on a cliff overlooking the sea. Zabuza's massive sword was planted as a marker, the setting sun casting long shadows across the freshly turned earth.

"Is that really the ninja way?" Sakura asked quietly as they stood before the graves. "To be used as tools until we break?"

"No," Naruto answered firmly. "I'm going to create my own ninja way. A path where we protect what's precious without becoming heartless weapons. That's my new dream."

Sasuke, his wounds bandaged and his newly awakened Sharingan once again hidden, studied Naruto with that calculating gaze. But now, there was something else mixed with the calculation—respect, perhaps, or recognition of a kindred determination.

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "A worthy dream," he said simply. "One the Fourth would have approved of, I think."

A week later, as Team Seven prepared to depart, the completed bridge stretched before them—a monument to courage and perseverance. The villagers had gathered to see them off, gratitude evident in every face.

"What should we name the bridge, Grandpa?" Inari, Tazuna's grandson, asked.

The old bridge builder smiled, watching as Naruto shared one last fist bump with the boy who had once been too afraid to hope. "How about 'The Great Naruto Bridge'? Named for the one who brought courage back to our land—and showed us that heroes still exist."

As Team Seven walked across the bridge that now bore his name, Naruto felt something shifting inside him—not just Ryuujin's presence, but his own understanding of what it meant to be a ninja, to hold power, to protect what was precious.

"You've grown, little vessel," Ryuujin observed. "In ways that have nothing to do with my power."

Naruto nodded imperceptibly, his gaze fixed on the path ahead. The mission to the Land of Waves had changed him, had begun to forge the boy who pulled pranks for attention into something more—a shinobi with purpose, a vessel learning the weight and responsibility of the ancient power he contained.

And as they crossed the threshold from the bridge to the mainland, Naruto Uzumaki, jinchūriki of the Dragon King, took another step toward becoming the person he was meant to be—neither fully human nor dragon, but something unique, something powerful, something with the potential to change the very nature of the shinobi world.