What if Naruto Had Power Like Akira (AKIRA) Naruto’s mind unlocks terrifying psychic potential

# Chapter 1: Awakening

The autumn sunset bled crimson across Konoha's skyline, casting long shadows that stretched like accusing fingers through the village streets. Seven-year-old Naruto Uzumaki trudged along the dirt path, shoulders hunched against the weight of another day's isolation. His sandals scuffed against the ground, kicking up small clouds of dust that swirled and vanished like the friendships he couldn't seem to form.

"Just one bowl," he mumbled to himself, fingers clutching the handful of coins he'd saved for weeks. "Old man Teuchi never looks at me like that."

The marketplace buzzed with end-of-day activity—merchants haggling, children laughing, families gathering for evening meals. Smells of grilled fish and steamed rice wafted through the air, making Naruto's stomach growl with painful intensity. He quickened his pace, weaving between adults who seemed to instinctively shift away from his approach.

A woman yanked her daughter aside as Naruto passed. "Don't get too close," she hissed, loud enough for him to hear.

Naruto's pace faltered. Something hot and tight coiled in his chest.

"Look who it is," came a sharp voice from his left. Three older boys blocked the narrow alley—his shortcut to Ichiraku. The tallest one, with a bandana tied around his forehead in mock-shinobi style, stepped forward. "My dad says you shouldn't even be allowed in the marketplace."

"I'm just going to get ramen," Naruto said, attempting to sidestep the group.

The boys moved in unison, cutting off his path. The smallest one snatched the coins from Naruto's hand with practiced ease.

"Hey! Give those back!" Naruto lunged forward, fingers grasping at air as the boys tossed his savings between them.

"What are you gonna do about it, monster?" The words sliced through the air, landing like physical blows.

Naruto froze. "I'm not a monster."

Something shifted in the atmosphere—subtle, like the moment before a lightning strike. A few pebbles near Naruto's feet trembled against the dirt.

"My mother says you are," taunted the bandana-wearing boy, shoving Naruto's shoulder. "Says you're the reason a lot of people died."

"That's not true!" Naruto's voice cracked, tears welling in his eyes. The coins clattered to the ground, forgotten, as the smallest boy backed away, suddenly uneasy.

"What's happening?" he whispered.

The air around Naruto began to waver, like heat rising from summer streets. His entire body trembled, blue eyes wide with confusion and hurt. "I didn't do anything to anyone!"

On a nearby vendor's cart, fruit began to roll against gravity, oranges hovering inches above wooden surfaces. A woman screamed as her shopping basket lifted from her arm, contents suspended in mid-air.

"What the—" The tallest boy's taunt died in his throat as he too began to rise, toes scraping desperately against dirt that fell away beneath him.

Panic erupted in the marketplace. Parents clutched children, merchants abandoned wares, and civilians pressed themselves against buildings as loose objects—vegetables, signs, small tools—orbited the small, trembling boy at the center of the chaos.

"Make it stop!" Naruto clutched his head, tears streaming down whisker-marked cheeks. "I don't know what's happening!"

The levitating objects began to spin faster, caught in an invisible cyclone. Windows shattered in nearby shops, glass shards joining the whirlwind but somehow never cutting the boy at the center. A cart splintered apart, wooden planks circling Naruto like protective arms.

"ANBU! Contain the situation!" The Third Hokage's voice cut through the chaos as he landed on a nearby rooftop, pipe forgotten in his hand. His weathered face registered something beyond shock—recognition, perhaps, of a power he'd seen somewhere before.

Black-masked figures materialized around the disturbance, hands flashing through seals.

"Careful!" the Hokage barked. "He's not doing this consciously!"

An ANBU with a cat mask approached the maelstrom, chakra visible around her hands. "Naruto," she called, voice deliberately calm despite the strain. "You need to breathe. Focus on my voice."

Naruto's eyes locked onto the mask, tears still flowing freely. "I can't make it stop!" he sobbed. "Everyone hates me and I don't know why!"

The objects spun faster, some beginning to deform as if being crushed by invisible hands. The earth beneath his feet cracked in a perfect circle.

"His brainwaves are disrupting the physical plane," reported a bear-masked ANBU, hands pressed to the ground in a sensing technique. "It's unlike any chakra pattern I've ever seen."

The Hokage leapt down, approaching the edge of the disruption. "Naruto," he called, his voice cutting through the boy's panic. "No one is going to hurt you. I promise."

For a moment, everything intensified—the spinning, the levitation, the pressure that seemed to bend reality around the small, sobbing figure. Then, as suddenly as it began, the telekinetic storm collapsed. Objects dropped from the air, clattering to the ground as Naruto's eyes rolled back in his head. The cat-masked ANBU lunged forward, catching his small body before it hit the ground.

Silence fell over the marketplace, broken only by the distant sound of a wooden sign creaking on its hinges.

The Third Hokage stepped forward, taking in the destruction. Market stalls reduced to splinters. Fruit pulverized into colorful smears. Faces of villagers pale with shock and renewed fear.

"Lord Hokage," began a jōnin who had arrived during the chaos. "What was—"

"Take him to the secure medical facility beneath the hospital," the Hokage interrupted, his voice leaving no room for questions. "Cat, Bear, stay with him at all times." He turned to address the gathering crowd, eyes hard as flint. "What happened here today is now an S-class village secret. Anyone discussing this incident with unauthorized personnel will face immediate consequences."

As ANBU disappeared with the unconscious boy, the Hokage cast his gaze toward the Hokage Monument, where stone faces watched over the village. "So it begins," he murmured. "Minato, your son carries more than just the Nine-Tails. Heaven help us all."

Behind him, villagers whispered, their fear palpable. The boy they had feared as a vessel had just become something else entirely—something that made even the Nine-Tails seem comprehensible by comparison.

# Chapter 2: Containment

White light sliced through Naruto's consciousness like a kunai, forcing his eyelids to flutter open against their will. The antiseptic smell hit him first—sharp and clinical—nothing like the earthy, ramen-scented air of his tiny apartment. His fingers twitched against cool metal, then scraped across what felt like paper-thin sheets stretched tight over an unyielding surface.

"He's awake," announced a voice, clipped and professional.

Naruto bolted upright, or tried to—thick straps across his chest, wrists, and ankles held him firmly to the table. Panic surged through his small body like electricity.

"Let me go!" His voice bounced off walls he couldn't fully see, the room swimming in his vision as his eyes adjusted to the harsh fluorescent glare.

A medical ninja in a white coat appeared at his side, clipboard clutched to her chest like a shield. "Easy, Naruto. You're safe. These are just precautions."

The room materialized around him—windowless, sterile, with gleaming metal surfaces and walls lined with equipment he'd never seen before. Screens flashed with incomprehensible patterns and numbers. Tubes and wires snaked toward him from humming machines, connecting to patches stuck to his temples and chest.

Through a large glass partition, figures in lab coats and ANBU uniforms huddled around monitors, their faces masks of concentration. One looked up, locked eyes with Naruto, and immediately pressed a button on the console.

"What happened?" Naruto demanded, memories swirling like leaves caught in a storm wind. "Why am I tied down? Where is this place?"

Before the medical-nin could answer, a door hissed open. The Third Hokage strode in, pipe absent, his weathered face etched with lines deeper than Naruto remembered.

"Release the restraints," he commanded.

"Lord Hokage," protested a white-coated man with thick glasses, "our readings suggest he's still—"

"I said release them." The old man's voice carried the weight of mountains.

The straps retracted with metallic whispers. Naruto sat up, rubbing his wrists, blue eyes darting from face to face.

"Old Man..." he started, voice small against the clinical backdrop. "What did I do?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled a stool closer, its legs scraping against the polished floor with a sound that made everyone wince. He sat, bringing himself eye-level with the boy.

"What do you remember, Naruto?"

Flashes of memory sliced through Naruto's mind—the marketplace, the bullies, the coins scattering like stars. Then... terror, rage, and something else—something vast and electric expanding from somewhere deep inside him.

"Things were... flying? And I felt like I was going to explode." His small hands balled into fists. "Am I in trouble?"

A flicker of movement caught his attention—a pencil on a nearby desk rose an inch off the surface, wobbled, then clattered back down. Every adult in the room tensed.

"Fascinating," breathed a scientist, furiously scribbling notes. "The phenomena appears directly linked to emotional states, just like the Yamanaka scans suggested."

"Enough," the Hokage snapped. He turned gentle eyes back to Naruto. "No, you're not in trouble. But something is happening to you that we don't fully understand."

"Is it... is it because of what's inside me?" Naruto whispered, one hand unconsciously moving to his stomach.

The room temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. Through the glass, ANBU straightened, hands drifting toward weapons. The Third Hokage shot them a warning glance before facing Naruto again.

"You know?"

Naruto's laugh was brittle, devoid of his usual sunshine. "I hear the whispers. 'Monster.' 'Demon.' I'm not stupid, Old Man."

Something that might have been shame flickered across the Hokage's face. "No, you never were." He sighed, aged hands folding in his lap. "What's happening may be connected to your... tenant. But it's unprecedented."

The door hissed open again. A broad-shouldered figure with a wild mane of white hair filled the frame, arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, well. Looks like the little troublemaker is finally awake," boomed a voice that seemed too big for even the spacious lab.

"Jiraiya." Relief colored the Hokage's tone. "Your timing is impeccable."

Naruto's eyes widened at the newcomer—the massive scroll on his back, the red lines trailing from his eyes, the confident stance that radiated power without effort.

"Who's the weird old guy?" Naruto blurted.

A vein pulsed in Jiraiya's forehead. "Weird old—? Listen here, brat! You're addressing the legendary Toad Sage, master of ninjutsu, terror of—"

"Jiraiya is a seal master," the Hokage cut in, "and one of the most powerful shinobi Konoha has ever produced. He's also your godfather."

Two beats of stunned silence, then—

"MY WHAT?" Naruto's shout reverberated through the chamber. Every loose object in the room—pens, papers, instruments—shot upward as if yanked by invisible strings, hovering three feet off their surfaces.

"Remarkable," murmured the scientist with the glasses, apparently oblivious to the pen suspended inches from his eye. "Look at the symmetry of the telekinetic field!"

Jiraiya stepped forward, unfazed by the floating equipment. "Calm down, kid. We've got a lot to talk about, but first—" He placed a large hand on Naruto's head. "You need to breathe."

Something about the weight of that hand—warm, solid, real—anchored Naruto. The objects gradually drifted back down, settling with tiny clatters and rustles.

"How... how did I do that?" Naruto whispered, staring at his own hands like they belonged to someone else.

Jiraiya exchanged glances with the Hokage. "That's what we're going to figure out." He pulled up another stool, metal legs squeaking against the floor. "I need to examine your seal."

Twenty minutes later, Naruto lay back on the table—voluntarily this time—his shirt raised to expose his stomach. Jiraiya's fingers, surprisingly gentle for their size, pressed against his skin in precise patterns.

"Channel chakra," the Sage instructed.

Naruto screwed up his face in concentration. The familiar spiral pattern bloomed across his stomach, black ink swirling like a galaxy against his skin.

Jiraiya hummed low in his throat, eyes narrowed in concentration. "The Fourth's work is still holding firm, but..." His fingers traced the outer edges of the seal. "There's something else happening here. The seal was designed to gradually blend your chakra with the Nine-Tails', but this energy signature..." He shook his head. "It's neither human chakra nor bijuu chakra."

Behind the glass partition, machines beeped frantically. A researcher rushed to the window, pressing a readout against the glass.

"The patterns match what we recorded during the incident!" she called through the intercom. "It's like his brain is generating a third type of energy altogether!"

"Psychokinetic potential," offered the bespectacled scientist. "Similar to reports from certain Yamanaka clan techniques, but exponentially more powerful and externalized rather than internalized."

Naruto's head swam with unfamiliar terms. "Can someone tell me what's happening in normal words?"

The Third Hokage laid a weathered hand on his shoulder. "Your mind appears to be developing abilities beyond normal chakra use, Naruto. You can move things without touching them, possibly more."

"Like a kekkei genkai?" Naruto's eyes lit up. "Like the Hyuuga or the Uchiha?"

"No," Jiraiya said, still studying the seal. "This isn't genetic. My theory? The Nine-Tails' chakra has been seeping into your system since birth. That foreign energy forced your developing brain to adapt in ways no human brain has before."

A chill skittered down Naruto's spine. "So I'm becoming like it? Like the monster?"

"No!" The force of the Hokage's response startled everyone. "You are Naruto Uzumaki. Nothing can change that." He softened his tone. "But you will need training to control these abilities."

"We'll need to run more tests first," interjected the medical-nin who'd been monitoring Naruto's vitals. "His brainwave patterns show spikes unlike anything in our records."

Naruto's shoulders slumped. The lights above flickered in response.

"How long do I have to stay here?" he asked, voice small in the cavernous room.

Jiraiya ruffled his hair, the casual gesture so unexpected that Naruto nearly flinched. "Not a second longer than necessary, kid. I promise."

---

Across Konoha, in a chamber so deeply buried that sunlight had never touched its walls, Danzo Shimura studied the report before him, lone visible eye narrowed in calculation.

"Show me the footage again," he commanded.

A Root operative bowed silently, hands moving through a sequence of signs. The wall before them shimmered, revealing a projected image—the marketplace, Naruto at its center, objects swirling in defiance of natural law.

"Pause." Danzo rose from his seat, bandaged arm held unnaturally still beneath his robes. He approached the frozen image, studying the boy's face—twisted in pain, yes, but showing not a hint of the Nine-Tails' influence. No red chakra, no feral features. "This power manifested independently of the bijuu."

"Yes, Lord Danzo," confirmed the operative. "Our sources in the research facility report that while the fox's chakra may have triggered the latent ability, the psychokinetic energy operates on principles entirely separate from normal chakra systems."

A thin smile cut across Danzo's face like a blade. "The perfect weapon." He turned away from the projection. "Sarutobi will waste this opportunity with talk of control and protection. He'll see only the boy, not the asset."

"What are your orders?"

Danzo returned to his desk, fingers brushing across a sealed folder marked with a single kanji: War.

"We watch. We wait. And when the moment is right..." The smile returned, colder than before. "We secure the future of Konoha."

---

Night fell over the underground facility, emergency lights casting blue-green shadows across the room where Naruto tossed in uneasy sleep. Monitors beeped softly, tracking brainwaves that spiked and plunged like mountain ranges.

In his dreams, Naruto stood waist-deep in water, dark corridors stretching endlessly before him. Pipes ran along ceiling and walls, some leaking crimson chakra that hissed when it hit the water.

"Hello?" His voice echoed, distorted and strange. "Is anyone here?"

A growl rumbled through the dreamscape, so deep he felt it in his bones rather than heard it. Drawn forward by curiosity stronger than fear, Naruto waded through the water until he reached an enormous chamber.

Bars stretched from floor to ceiling—a cage large enough to imprison a mountain. In the darkness beyond those bars, something massive shifted. Two eyes opened, burning red like hateful suns.

"So," purred a voice that scraped against Naruto's soul, "my jailer finally pays a visit."

"You're the Nine-Tails," Naruto whispered, frozen in place.

The creature's laugh sent waves rippling across the water. "And you're the pathetic vessel they trapped me in." It pressed against the bars, enormous teeth gleaming in the half-light. "But something's changed. I can feel it—your mind is... evolving."

The Fox's chakra swirled around the bars, probing, testing. When it touched Naruto, blue energy crackled across his skin in response—not chakra, something else, something new.

"Interesting," the Nine-Tails hissed, drawing back slightly. "It seems my presence has awakened something unexpected in you, boy."

Naruto found his courage. "What's happening to me?"

"Your feeble human mind was forced to adapt to my power." The Fox's smile was terrible to behold. "And now it's becoming something... more. Neither human nor bijuu."

Fear spiked through Naruto. "I don't want to be a monster!"

The Fox slammed against the cage, roaring with rage that shook the entire dreamscape. "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF MONSTERS, CHILD!"

Naruto stumbled backward, terror clawing at his throat—

—and woke with a strangled cry, body rigid on the hospital bed. The scream died in his throat as he registered his surroundings: the sterile room, the beeping monitors, the concerned face of the ANBU guard who had materialized beside him.

"Bad dream?" asked the Cat-masked operative, voice gentler than expected.

Naruto nodded, throat too tight for words. Then he noticed—everything in the room was shaking. Not just small objects this time, but furniture, equipment, even the heavy steel door rattling in its frame. Cracks spiderwebbed across the observation glass.

"I can't—I can't make it stop," he gasped, panic rising.

The ANBU placed a steady hand on his shoulder. "Focus on my voice, Naruto. Breathe with me. In... and out."

Naruto locked eyes with the painted cat face, forcing air into lungs that felt squeezed by invisible hands. Gradually, the shaking subsided, objects settling back into stillness.

"Thanks," he whispered.

The ANBU nodded once, then stepped back to her post. Through the cracked observation window, Naruto could see scientists frantically recording data, their earlier clinical detachment replaced by poorly concealed fear.

He stared at his hands in the half-light. What was he becoming? Not just a jinchūriki, but something else entirely—something that made even hardened shinobi nervous.

In the corridor outside, urgent whispers filtered through the damaged door:

"—can't contain this level of power indefinitely—"

"—need to consider village security—"

"—if he can't control it—"

Naruto pulled the thin blanket over his head, shutting out the voices, the fear, the uncertainty. But he couldn't shut out the new awareness humming beneath his skin—the sense that the very atoms around him were now his to command, if only he knew how.

Outside his cocoon of hospital linen, a clipboard lifted silently from a desk, spun once in midair, and settled back exactly where it had been.

No one noticed except Naruto, who felt the movement like an extension of his own breath.

# Chapter 3: First Steps

Dawn spilled across the Forest of Death in golden rivers, burning away the night mist that clung to ancient trees like spectral shrouds. Six months had passed since the marketplace incident—six months of tests, theories, and whispers that followed Naruto like shadows.

"Again." Jiraiya's voice cut through the morning stillness, brooking no argument.

Naruto stood in a clearing ringed by ANBU guards, their masks gleaming in the early light. Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down temple to chin despite the cool air. Before him, ten kunai lay scattered across trampled grass.

"I'm trying!" Naruto's frustration vibrated in the air. The nearest kunai trembled, then rose an inch before clattering back to earth. "It was easier yesterday!"

Jiraiya circled him, sandals crushing fallen leaves with each deliberate step. "Your emotions are leaking into your focus. The power responds to feeling, not just will." He flicked Naruto's ear, earning a yelp. "Stop trying to force it like regular chakra."

"Then how am I supposed to—"

"Feel it." Jiraiya's voice softened, rough edges worn smooth like river stones. "Close your eyes. The kunai are extensions of yourself, not objects to be controlled."

Naruto exhaled, shoulders dropping as eyelids fluttered shut. The forest disappeared, replaced by a universe of sensation beneath his skin. Where chakra felt like fire in his veins, this newer energy hummed with electric possibility, less a resource to be tapped than a dimension to be explored.

One heartbeat. Two. Three.

The kunai rose in perfect unison, hovering at chest height like metallic birds caught mid-flight.

"Good," murmured Jiraiya, circling behind him. "Now, placement. Precision."

Without opening his eyes, Naruto visualized the targets—crude wooden circles nailed to distant trees. The floating weapons trembled, then aligned their points toward their respective destinations.

"Steady," Jiraiya cautioned as the kunai began to drift. "Don't overthink."

Too late. Naruto's concentration fractured, splintering like glass as doubt crept in. Half the kunai dropped immediately, thudding into soft earth. The remaining five shot forward with cannon force—three embedding themselves into targets with enough impact to crack the wood, one sailing harmlessly into the forest, and the last veering wildly to the right, stopping inches from an ANBU's throat.

The guard didn't flinch. Naruto imagined the cold sweat beneath the mask anyway.

"Sorry!" he blurted, eyes flying open. The kunai dropped to the ground as his concentration shattered completely.

Jiraiya sighed, scratching his chin. "You've got the power, kid, but finesse..." He shook his head. "It's like watching a bull navigate a pottery shop."

Naruto's shoulders slumped. "I keep thinking about how I'm doing it, and then—"

"That's the problem." Jiraiya tapped Naruto's forehead protector—newly earned, worn with unmistakable pride. "Regular shinobi learn to channel chakra through discipline and practice. Your ability works backward. The more you analyze, the weaker your control becomes."

A branch snapped in the forest beyond their training ground. Every ANBU tensed, hands reaching for weapons before a messenger appeared at the edge of the clearing.

"Lord Jiraiya," the chūnin called, bowing slightly. "The Hokage requests Naruto's presence for the chakra control assessment."

The Toad Sage waved acknowledgment, then turned back to his student. "Remember what we practiced. When they ask for standard jutsu, try to keep the," he wiggled his fingers dramatically, "*extras* under wraps."

Naruto's grin flashed bright as summer lightning. "I've been practicing the Clone Jutsu every night! I might actually pass this time."

Jiraiya's answering smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

---

The examination room beneath Hokage Tower hummed with anticipation and unease in equal measure. Iruka stood beside the Third Hokage, clipboard clutched in white-knuckled hands. Two ANBU flanked the door, their presence unusual for a simple academy assessment.

"Enter," called the Hokage as knuckles rapped against wood.

Naruto bounded in, energy radiating from him like heat from sun-baked stone. His orange jumpsuit was smudged with dirt, blonde hair wild from the morning's training. Jiraiya followed at a more measured pace, massive frame filling the doorway momentarily before he stepped aside.

"Naruto," the Hokage greeted, pipe absent as it had been for all official interactions since that day. "How are you feeling?"

"Ready to ace this test, Old Man!" Naruto's confidence rang hollow to those who knew him well—a bell with a hidden crack.

Iruka stepped forward, professional demeanor firmly in place despite the anxiety tightening his features. "This is a standard assessment, Naruto. We just need to evaluate your progress with basic chakra control techniques."

"No problem, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto bounced on his toes, hands already forming the first seal. "What do you want to see first?"

The scarred chūnin consulted his clipboard. "Let's start with the Transformation Jutsu."

Naruto nodded, hands flowing through practiced signs. Chakra swirled around him, visible even to untrained eyes—but something else swirled with it, something electric blue that crackled at the edges of reality.

"Transform!"

Smoke billowed, white and thick. When it cleared, a perfect copy of the Third Hokage stood before them—down to the liver spots and the subtle sag of aged skin around the eyes.

"Well?" asked Naruto-as-Hokage, the old man's gravelly voice reproduced with uncanny accuracy. "How's that for control?"

The real Hokage chuckled, genuine amusement briefly eclipsing concern. "Quite impressive, if somewhat disrespectful of my advanced years."

Naruto released the jutsu with a puff of smoke, grinning wider than before. "I've been practicing! Wait till you see my clones!"

Iruka made a note on his clipboard. "That's next, actually. The Clone Jutsu has been... challenging for you in the past."

Naruto's smile dimmed fractionally. "Not anymore!" His hands flew through signs, determination etched into every line of his small body. "Clone Jutsu!"

The change was immediate and catastrophic. As chakra surged through his system, the blue energy—what Jiraiya had taken to calling his "psychic signature"—flared in response. The two forces collided like opposing storms, chakra and psychic energy fighting for dominance.

Three clones appeared, perfect in every detail—then began to warp. Their faces stretched like melting wax, limbs elongating to impossible proportions before dissolving into puddles of shadow that slithered across the floor with apparent sentience.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya barked. "Control it!"

The boy's face contorted with effort. "I'm trying! They won't listen!"

The shadow-clones rose up, no longer even remotely human-shaped, becoming columns of darkness that rippled with strange patterns. Every loose object in the room began to tremble—papers, brushes, the Hokage's hat hanging on a peg. The windows rattled in their frames.

"Enough." The Third's voice cut through the chaos. He made a single hand sign, and chakra-suppressing seals activated along the room's perimeter, glowing faintly blue.

The shadow-clones collapsed, dissipating like smoke. Naruto fell to one knee, gasping as though he'd run miles.

"I'm sorry," he wheezed, frustration burning behind blue eyes. "I don't know what happened."

Iruka crouched beside him, concern overriding protocol. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Naruto's laugh was brittle, sharp enough to cut. "Just embarrassed. All that practice for nothing."

The Hokage exchanged glances with Jiraiya over the boy's head. "Not for nothing, Naruto. We've learned something important today."

"Yeah," Naruto muttered, rising to his feet. "That I still can't do a simple Clone Jutsu without everything going crazy."

Jiraiya stepped forward, massive hand landing on Naruto's shoulder. "Kid, your psychic abilities are interference. Like two radio signals fighting for the same frequency." He squeezed gently. "We need a different approach."

The Hokage nodded, thoughtful. "Perhaps the solution is not to separate the energies, but to harmonize them."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, hope flickering behind the frustration.

"I think," Jiraiya said slowly, "it's time you learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Iruka's eyes widened. "That's a forbidden technique! The chakra requirements alone could—"

"Kill an ordinary genin," Jiraiya finished. "But Naruto isn't ordinary, and he's got chakra to spare." His eyes narrowed, calculating. "More importantly, it's a physical manifestation, not an illusion. It might bypass the interference."

The Hokage rose, decision made. "We'll reconvene tomorrow. Jiraiya, make the necessary preparations." He turned kindly eyes to Naruto. "Sometimes our greatest challenges point the way to unexpected strengths."

Naruto nodded, not entirely convinced but willing to hope—his most stubborn quality.

---

Academy grounds buzzed with afternoon activity—students practicing shuriken throws, reciting shinobi rules, competing for attention and approval. Naruto watched from beneath a tree, separated by more than just physical distance.

Six months ago, he'd been desperate to join them. Now, their normalcy seemed as foreign as another country's language.

"So you're back."

The voice sliced through Naruto's thoughts, precise as a surgeon's blade. He turned to find Sasuke Uchiha leaning against the tree trunk, arms crossed, dark eyes unreadable.

"Just visiting," Naruto replied, tension coiling in his gut. Every interaction felt dangerous now, balanced on knife's edge between control and catastrophe.

Sasuke studied him, seeing beyond the bright clothes and brighter smile to something altered beneath. "They say you're getting special training."

Leaves rustled overhead without wind to move them. Naruto forced his breathing to slow, feeling the psychic energy settle in response.

"Something like that."

"With one of the Sannin." It wasn't a question.

Naruto shrugged, aiming for nonchalance but landing somewhere near defensive. "Pervy Sage is okay, when he's not being a total weirdo."

Sasuke pushed off from the tree, closing the distance between them with measured steps. His face remained impassive, but something hungry lurked in those obsidian eyes—ambition, perhaps, or envy, or both twisted together like snakes.

"What makes you so special, dead-last?" The question should have been cruel, but curiosity blunted its edge.

The world slowed around Naruto as anger flared—bright, hot, dangerous. A pencil dropped by some student rolled toward him, then began rotating in place, spinning faster and faster until it blurred.

"Don't call me that," Naruto said quietly, struggling for control.

Sasuke's eyes flickered to the pencil, then back to Naruto's face. The faintest hint of surprise crossed his features before vanishing behind practiced indifference.

"So the rumors are true." He stepped closer, voice dropping. "What else can you do?"

Something strange happened then—as Sasuke's eyes bored into his, Naruto felt a connection snap into place, like puzzle pieces finding their match. Suddenly, he wasn't just looking at Sasuke; he was experiencing him. Grief and rage poured through the connection, memories falling like dominos:

A street littered with bodies, moonlight painting everything silver and red. A brother's eyes, spinning with terrible pattern, voice flat as he spoke unspeakable words. Hours spent training until hands bled and muscles screamed, because pain was preferable to dreams.

"Get out of my head!" Sasuke stumbled backward, horror breaking through his carefully constructed mask.

Naruto gasped, the connection severing as abruptly as it had formed. "I didn't—I wasn't trying to—"

"Stay away from me." Sasuke's voice shook, hands curled into fists at his sides. "Whatever freakish thing you've become, keep it away from me."

He stalked away, back rigid with fury and fear. Students parted before him like water around stone, sensing the dangerous current of his mood.

Naruto watched him go, isolation settling over him like fresh snow—cold and heavy and silent.

---

Sunset painted the Hokage's office in shades of amber when Naruto arrived for his demonstration. Jiraiya stood beside the Hokage's desk, unusually solemn. Two ANBU flanked the windows—Cat and Bear, his most consistent shadows these days.

"Come in, Naruto." The Hokage smiled, but caution lingered beneath the warmth. "Jiraiya tells me you've made remarkable progress today."

Naruto straightened, pride temporarily eclipsing the afternoon's disaster with Sasuke. "I got it on the third try! Way faster than Pervy Sage thought I would."

"Show us," Jiraiya encouraged, moving to stand beside the Hokage's desk.

Naruto took a deep breath, centering himself as he'd been taught. His hands formed the cross seal, chakra swirling visibly around him—but this time, instead of fighting the psychic energy that rose to meet it, he welcomed the collision.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The energies merged, blue and electric-blue spiraling together like twin hurricanes. Smoke billowed through the office, and when it cleared, five perfect Narutos stood in formation, each solid enough to cast a shadow.

"Look!" they chorused, identical grins splitting identical faces. "Real clones!"

The Hokage leaned forward, genuine amazement replacing practiced caution. "Remarkable. Not only has he mastered a jōnin-level technique in a single day, but the psychic interference..."

"Totally gone," Jiraiya confirmed, circling the clones with professional interest. "The physical nature of the jutsu provides an outlet for both energies. Instead of competing, they're cooperating."

Naruto—the original—beamed with unrestrained joy. Success tasted sweet as summer fruit after months of bitter failure.

"I can do more!" he declared, high on achievement and acceptance.

"Naruto, wait—" Jiraiya started, but too late.

The boy's hands flashed through the sign again, chakra surging like a tidal wave. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Twenty clones appeared, then fifty, then a hundred—filling the office until there was barely room to stand. The air crackled with psychic energy, papers lifting from the Hokage's desk, furniture beginning to vibrate.

"Too many!" Jiraiya shouted above the rumble of objects rattling against walls and floor. "Dispel them, now!"

"I—" The original Naruto's face contorted with concentration. "I can't! They're not listening!"

The clones seemed to operate independently, some examining the floating papers with interest, others looking as panicked as the original. One poked at a suspended brush, sending it spinning like a propeller.

The ANBU moved in, hands forming seals, but the Hokage raised a hand to stop them. "Naruto," he called, voice steady despite the chaos. "Don't fight for control. You're not commanding servants; you're directing parts of yourself."

Naruto closed his eyes, face screwed up in concentration. Parts of myself. Extensions, not objects.

The clones froze mid-motion, turning as one to face the original. A strange synchronicity rippled through the crowd, a hundred blue eyes blinking in unison.

"Better," the Hokage encouraged. "Now, release them gradually, not all at once."

Naruto nodded, sweat beading on his forehead. One by one, the clones began to disappear in small puffs of smoke. The floating objects descended slowly, settling back onto surfaces with gentle clicks and rustles.

Until only one clone remained.

"I did it!" Naruto exclaimed, turning to grin at the adults.

The last clone didn't disappear. Instead, it tilted its head, a strange expression crossing its face—curiosity mingled with something darker.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya's voice held warning. "The last one."

"Right!" Naruto formed the release sign, but the clone remained, solid as reality.

The clone's mouth curved in a smile that didn't belong on Naruto's face—knowing, almost cruel. When it spoke, its voice carried harmonics that raised goosebumps on every arm in the room.

"I'm not ready to go yet," it said, echoes layering beneath the words like distant thunder.

The ANBU moved with lightning speed, one on either side of the clone. It laughed—a sound like breaking glass—and raised a hand. The ANBU froze mid-stride, suspended in air as though time itself had stopped for them alone.

"What's happening?" Panic edged Naruto's voice. "That's not me! I mean, it is, but I'm not doing that!"

The Hokage rose slowly, chakra gathering around him like a storm cloud. "Jiraiya."

The Sannin was already moving, hands flashing through seals too quick to follow. "On it."

The clone turned toward them, expression shifting from amusement to fury in an instant. "Always controlling, constraining, CONTAINING!" Its voice rose to a shriek on the last word, and every window in the office shattered outward in an explosion of glass.

Wind howled through the sudden openings, papers swirling like autumn leaves. The clone's form wavered, features blurring as though seen through heat-shimmer.

"I just wanted to be separate," it said, voice suddenly small, achingly familiar. "To be seen."

Naruto stepped forward despite Jiraiya's shout of warning. "I see you," he said simply.

The clone's eyes—his eyes, yet somehow older—met his own. Understanding passed between them, silent as shadow.

"Not yet," the clone whispered. "But soon."

It dissolved, not in the usual puff of smoke but in motes of blue light that hung in the air momentarily before winking out like distant stars. The suspended ANBU dropped to the floor, catching themselves with the practiced grace of elite shinobi.

Silence filled the office, broken only by the evening wind whistling through shattered windows.

"Well," the Hokage said finally, surveying the destruction with remarkable calm. "That was unexpected."

Naruto sank to his knees, exhaustion sweeping through him like a physical blow. "I don't understand what happened."

Jiraiya crouched beside him, concern etched into the lines around his eyes. "Your psychic energy created something beyond a normal clone—a fragment of consciousness given temporary form."

"A split personality?" the Hokage asked, the question directed at Jiraiya rather than Naruto.

The Sannin shook his head. "More like... a possibility. A version of Naruto that might exist under different circumstances." He glanced at the boy, then back to his former teacher. "The implications are..."

"Concerning," the Hokage finished quietly.

Naruto looked between them, frustration building despite his fatigue. "I thought I was getting better! I controlled the regular clones, didn't I?"

The Hokage's smile returned, genuine despite the worry lingering in his eyes. "You did, Naruto. And that is progress worth celebrating." He gestured to the shattered windows, moonlight now streaming unimpeded into the office. "Though perhaps with less property damage in future demonstrations."

Naruto managed a weak laugh, but the truth settled on him like a weighted cloak: what lived inside him now was more complex—and perhaps more dangerous—than even the Nine-Tailed Fox.

As Jiraiya helped him to his feet, he caught the ANBU watching him—not with the usual wariness, but with something new.

Fear.

# Chapter 4: Academy Days

Morning light slashed through classroom windows in golden blades, illuminating dust motes that danced like miniature constellations across the Academy room. Naruto fidgeted at his desk, fingers tracing the edges of the suppression seals hidden beneath his orange jacket sleeves. The characters pulsed faintly against his skin—a constant reminder of the power they barely contained.

"Today we'll review the fundamental principles of chakra control," Iruka announced, chalk scratching against the blackboard in precise strokes.

Thirty pairs of eyes followed his movements—twenty-nine with varying levels of interest, one with barely concealed dread.

Naruto slumped lower in his seat. Chakra control. His personal nightmare. Six weeks back at the Academy, and still the simplest exercises sent his seals burning hot against his wrists. The constant fight for control left him exhausted, hollow-eyed despite his determinedly cheerful facade.

Beside him, Shikamaru Nara cast a sidelong glance. "You look like you haven't slept in days," he murmured, voice pitched just below Iruka's hearing threshold.

"I'm fine," Naruto flashed a grin so bright it could blind. Another lie in a growing collection.

"Right." Shikamaru's drawl dripped skepticism. "And those aren't suppression seals on your wrists."

Naruto's smile froze. "What are you—"

"My dad works in Intelligence." Shikamaru yawned, the casual gesture at odds with the shrewd calculation in his half-lidded eyes. "I recognize seal work when I see it, even hidden ones."

Blood rushed in Naruto's ears, his heartbeat a war drum beneath his ribs. The pencil on his desk twitched, rolling a quarter inch before he slammed his palm down to stop it.

"Mr. Uzumaki." Iruka's voice cracked across the classroom. "Since you're so engaged in today's lesson, perhaps you'd like to demonstrate the leaf concentration exercise for the class?"

Snickers rippled through the room. Naruto's stomach plummeted into his sandals.

"Sure thing, Iruka-sensei!" He bounded to his feet with manufactured enthusiasm, ignoring Shikamaru's measuring stare.

The walk to the front of the classroom stretched like a march to execution. Each step brought fresh anxiety, fresh awareness of twenty-nine sets of eyes tracking his movement. The blackboard chalk rose an inch off its ledge before Naruto clenched his fists, forcing the energy back down.

Iruka handed him a bright green leaf, their fingers brushing momentarily. The teacher's eyes held a question Naruto couldn't answer.

"Remember," Iruka said, voice gentler than his usual classroom tone, "focus only the necessary amount of chakra to keep the leaf adhered to your forehead."

Naruto nodded, swallowing hard. The leaf trembled between his fingers as he brought it to his forehead. Just chakra, he reminded himself. Not the other energy. Just chakra.

The leaf stuck. One second passed. Two. Three.

A collective exhale whispered through the classroom. Even Iruka's shoulders relaxed fractionally.

Then Sakura Haruno sneezed, a delicate sound that shattered Naruto's concentration like a kunai through glass. The careful separation between chakra and psychic energy collapsed.

The leaf didn't just fall—it disintegrated, green fragments swirling upward in a miniature cyclone before spontaneously combusting into emerald flames that danced across Naruto's palm without burning him.

"What the hell?" Kiba Inuzuka's voice cut through the stunned silence.

Naruto closed his fist, extinguishing the impossible fire. "Oops?" He offered a weak smile to Iruka, whose face had gone chalk-white.

"Class," Iruka's voice remained steady despite the pallor of his skin, "open your textbooks to page ninety-four. Read silently while I speak with Naruto outside."

Iruka's hand clamped around Naruto's upper arm with gentle firmness, steering him toward the door. Only years of teacher's discipline kept him from running.

The hallway seemed too bright, too exposed after the classroom's sheltering shadows. Naruto leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted.

"The seals aren't working anymore, are they?" Iruka's question came soft as falling leaves.

Naruto shook his head, shame burning hotter than the emerald flames had. "They still help, but..." He held up his wrists, pushing back orange sleeves to reveal characters that glowed an angry red against his skin. "They burn all the time now. Pervy Sage says I'm adapting too fast."

"Naruto..." Iruka crouched, bringing himself eye-level with his student. The simple gesture—treating him as an equal, not a problem—unleashed something warm and tight in Naruto's chest. "Why didn't you tell me it was getting worse?"

"Because I just want to be normal!" The words tore from him, raw and ragged. "I want to sit in class and complain about homework and pull pranks and be a regular kid for five minutes without everyone looking at me like I'm about to explode!"

A water fountain down the hall gurgled, then erupted in a perfect column that twisted like a living thing before crashing back into metal basin. Neither of them acknowledged it.

"Listen to me." Iruka's hands settled on Naruto's shoulders, steady as mountain stone. "You have never been 'just a regular kid,' even before this started. You've always been extraordinary."

"Not the good kind of extraordinary." Naruto's bitter laugh held no humor.

"That's not true." Iruka's scarred face creased with a smile that reached his eyes. "You're the most determined, resilient student I've ever taught. These changes—" he gestured to the still-dripping water fountain, "—don't change who you are at your core."

Something eased in Naruto's chest, a knot of tension loosening for the first time in months. The seals on his wrists cooled from angry crimson to a softer amber glow.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei." He managed a smile—smaller than his usual grin, but more genuine.

"We'll figure this out." Iruka straightened, teacher-mode reasserting itself. "I'll speak with the Hokage about modifying your exercises. For now, observation only during chakra practice, alright?"

Naruto nodded, relief washing through him. "I can still do physical training though, right? I've been working on my taijutsu with—"

The classroom door burst open, Kiba's head poking through. "Iruka-sensei! Choji and Shikamaru are arm wrestling, and Choji just broke a desk!"

Iruka sighed, squeezing Naruto's shoulder once before turning. "We'll continue this later."

As the teacher disappeared back into classroom chaos, Naruto stared at his reflection in a nearby window—blonde hair, whisker marks, blue eyes that sometimes felt like they belonged to someone else now. Behind him, the faint reflection of an ANBU operative shimmered on a rooftop across the street, ever-present, ever-watching.

He raised his hand in a mock salute. The ANBU vanished.

Some things, at least, remained predictable.

---

"Again."

Sasuke's command cut through afternoon training ground quiet. Sweat plastered dark bangs to his forehead, shirt sticking to his back in damp patches.

Naruto crouched opposite him, breathing hard but grinning. "Getting tired, Uchiha?"

"In your dreams, dead-last." The insult lacked its former edge, transformed through weeks of sparring into something approaching camaraderie.

Six students remained in the Academy yard—Sasuke and Naruto locked in their daily taijutsu practice, Shikamaru cloud-watching on a nearby hill, Choji methodically working through a bag of chips beside him, and Ino and Sakura honing their shuriken throws at the target range.

Naruto launched forward, feinting left before dropping into a leg sweep. Sasuke leapt over it with practiced grace, countering with a palm strike that Naruto barely blocked.

"Faster," Sasuke grunted, pressing his advantage with a flurry of strikes. "You telegraph your moves."

"Like this?" Naruto twisted unexpectedly, landing a solid hit on Sasuke's ribs.

Sasuke staggered back, surprise flickering across his face before satisfaction replaced it. "Better."

The strange détente between them had begun after The Incident, as Naruto mentally labeled it—that moment of accidental telepathy that had given him a glimpse into Sasuke's nightmares. Instead of avoiding Naruto entirely as threatened, Sasuke had approached him two days later with a proposition:

"Spar with me."

No explanation, no pleasantries. Just three words and expectant silence.

When Naruto had hesitated, Sasuke added four more: "Your power stays out of it."

And somehow, it worked. In the controlled context of taijutsu practice, Naruto found an outlet for physical energy that helped contain the psychic energy. The seals burned less during their matches. His control improved.

"You're holding back," Sasuke observed now, circling Naruto with predatory focus.

"So are you." Naruto rolled his shoulders, tension crackling between them like lightning.

Truth hovered unspoken: Sasuke never activated his Sharingan, and Naruto never tapped the energy that hummed beneath his skin like bottled lightning.

Their unacknowledged limitations gave them common ground—a twisted form of understanding that somehow worked when nothing else did.

Across the yard, Sakura lowered her shuriken, turning to watch their match. "Sasuke's going to win again," she called to Ino. "He always does."

"I don't know," Ino replied, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Naruto's getting better."

"Not better than Sasuke." Sakura's devotion remained unshakable, but curiosity tinged her voice. "But different than before. Have you noticed?"

Shikamaru's voice drifted down from his hilltop perch. "Everyone's noticed."

Choji nodded, crunching through another chip. "The instructors watch him all the time now. And there's always ANBU nearby."

Naruto pretended not to hear, focusing instead on Sasuke's footwork, the minute shifts in weight that telegraphed his next attack. Their audience faded to background noise, irrelevant to the dance of limbs and calculated strikes.

Until Sakura's voice cut through his concentration.

"Is it true what they're saying? About what happened in the marketplace?"

Naruto faltered, foot slipping on packed earth. Sasuke's kick connected with his sternum, sending him sprawling onto his back, air punched from his lungs in a painful whoosh.

"Match over," Sasuke declared, extending a hand toward his fallen opponent. "Your focus is garbage today."

Naruto accepted the help up, mind racing. The marketplace incident was classified—the Hokage himself had declared it so. But rumors, like water, found cracks in even the tightest security.

"What exactly are they saying?" he asked, voice carefully neutral as he brushed dust from his orange pants.

The training ground fell silent, even Shikamaru sitting up to watch. Naruto felt it again—that skin-crawling awareness of being not just seen but studied, like a specimen under glass.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, suddenly regretting her question. "Just... strange things. About things flying without being touched. About you."

"And the Hokage declaring it a village secret," Ino added, twirling a kunai around her finger. "My dad was on duty that day. He wouldn't tell me anything, but he came home looking... scared."

"Scared of what?" Naruto challenged, something dangerous flickering behind his eyes.

No one answered immediately. The silence stretched, pulling taut as wire.

Sasuke broke it, voice flat as stone. "Of you."

The simple truth hung in the air between them, impossible to deny. The suppression seals burned hot against Naruto's wrists, responding to the surge of emotion those two small words unleashed.

"Is it true?" Choji asked quietly, chip bag forgotten in his lap.

Five pairs of eyes fixed on Naruto, waiting. Even Sasuke, who knew more than he admitted, watched with barely concealed intensity.

Naruto's laugh sounded hollow even to his own ears. "What, that people are scared of me? Old news, believe it."

"That's not what I asked." Choji's normally gentle voice held surprising firmness.

The ground beneath Naruto's feet trembled, a subtle vibration no one else seemed to notice. He closed his eyes briefly, forcing the energy back down, back in, back under control. When he opened them, decision crystallized: truth, or a version of it.

"I can do things," he said finally. "Things that aren't normal, even for a shinobi."

To demonstrate, he held out his hand, palm up. Concentrating, he lifted a small stone from the ground, letting it hover six inches above his open palm. Unlike his usual training exercises, he kept the display small, controlled, deliberate.

Sakura gasped. Ino's kunai slipped from suddenly nerveless fingers. Choji's chip froze halfway to his mouth.

"Telekinesis," Shikamaru murmured, face lighting with fascination rather than fear. "Actual psychokinetic manipulation. The chakra cost must be—"

"It's not chakra," Naruto interrupted, letting the stone settle gently back to earth. "That's why they've got me wearing these." He pushed back his sleeves, revealing the suppression seals fully for the first time.

The characters pulsed with soft amber light, etched into his skin like living tattoos. Sakura stepped closer, medical curiosity overcoming natural caution.

"Those are high-level containment seals," she observed, years of academic excellence evident in her confident assessment. "The kind they use on—"

"Monsters?" Naruto supplied, old bitterness creeping into his voice.

"On dangerous techniques," she corrected firmly. "Jōnin-level jutsu too risky for general use."

"Like the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Sasuke said, eyes narrowing. "That's what you used during the joint training exercise last week, isn't it? The one Kakashi-sensei supervised."

Naruto nodded, surprised by Sasuke's perception. "It's the only clone technique that works for me now. Regular clones get... weird." He shuddered, remembering the shadow-things his failed Clone Jutsu had produced.

"Can you do other stuff?" Ino asked, curiosity displacing initial shock. "Besides moving things?"

Naruto hesitated, boundaries of classified information blurring in his mind. "Some things. I'm still figuring it out."

"He can read minds," Sasuke stated flatly, crossing his arms. "He got into my head once."

Shocked gasps rippled through the group. Naruto shot Sasuke a betrayed look, receiving an unrepentant shrug in return.

"It was an accident!" Naruto protested. "I didn't even know I could do that until it happened!"

"You read Sasuke's mind?" Sakura looked horrified and fascinated in equal measure. "What was he thinking about?"

"Nothing!" Naruto backpedaled frantically, loyalty to their fragile bond outweighing honesty. "Just, you know, boring Sasuke stuff. Training. Being grumpy. Normal things."

Sasuke's minute nod of approval didn't escape Shikamaru's notice, but the Nara heir kept his observations to himself.

"That's why they watch you all the time," Choji concluded, nodding toward the Academy rooftop where a hawk-masked ANBU made no effort to conceal their surveillance. "They're worried about what you might do."

"Or become," Shikamaru added, thoughtful rather than accusatory.

A cloud passed over the sun, momentary shadow sweeping across the training ground like an omen. In that brief darkness, Naruto glimpsed how the others saw him now—not just the class clown or the dead-last or even the mysterious jinchūriki—but something new, something unpredictable, something potentially catastrophic.

"I'm still me," he said quietly, hating the plea in his voice. "I'm still just Naruto."

"Are you?" Sasuke's question held no judgment, only genuine uncertainty that somehow hurt worse than accusation.

Before Naruto could respond, chakra flared at the edge of the training ground—a signature as familiar as his own reflection. Kakashi Hatake materialized beside the target posts, orange book conspicuously absent for once.

"Having a nice chat?" the jōnin asked, lone visible eye curved in a smile that didn't reach his voice.

Six genin froze, guilty expressions confirming his suspicions. His gaze settled on Naruto, noting the exposed seals with a frown.

"Naruto," Kakashi's casual tone fooled no one, "the Hokage would like to see you. Now."

The implied urgency sent ice through Naruto's veins. "Did something happen?"

"Just a routine adjustment to your training schedule." Kakashi's lie sat transparent between them. "The rest of you—training's over for today. Head home."

No one moved until Sasuke turned abruptly, heading for the exit. "Tomorrow," he said to Naruto, not quite a question.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, gratitude warming his chest. "Same time."

The others dispersed with varying degrees of reluctance, casting glances back at Naruto that ranged from concerned to calculating. Only when they'd vanished from sight did Kakashi's posture shift from casual to alert.

"You told them." Not a question.

Naruto squared his shoulders. "They already knew something. I just... confirmed it."

"With a demonstration." Kakashi sighed, hand rising to rub his masked face. "The Hokage won't be pleased."

"I'm tired of secrets," Naruto shot back. "Aren't you?"

Something unidentifiable flickered in Kakashi's visible eye—a shadow of old pain, quickly suppressed. "Secrets keep people safe, Naruto. Sometimes even from themselves."

"Not anymore." Naruto pushed his sleeves back down, hiding the seals that did less each day to contain what grew inside him. "They were going to find out eventually. Better from me than..."

He trailed off, unable to articulate the alternative—a public catastrophe, a loss of control too complete to hide.

"From experience," Kakashi finished, understanding coloring his voice. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, grip light but steady. "Come on. We shouldn't keep the Hokage waiting."

As they leapt toward Hokage Tower—Naruto matching Kakashi's pace with ease born of months of intensive training—neither noticed the ROOT operative melting back into forest shadows, intelligence gathered, mission complete.

---

Rain lashed the Hokage Tower windows in silver sheets, droplets racing down glass like tears. Naruto stood before the Hokage's desk, arms extended as a medic-nin carefully removed the old suppression seals. The process sent pins and needles through his nerves, skin tingling with released pressure.

"How long have the current seals been failing?" The Third Hokage's question emerged from a cloud of pipe smoke, his face grave in the storm-dimmed office.

Naruto exchanged glances with Kakashi, who leaned against the wall, posture deceptively relaxed. "A couple weeks," he admitted finally. "I didn't want to worry anyone."

"Three weeks and four days," the medic-nin corrected, not looking up from her work. "The degradation pattern is consistent with prolonged overexposure."

The Hokage sighed, pipe smoke curling around him like living fog. "You should have reported it immediately."

"I thought I could handle it," Naruto countered, wincing as the last seal peeled away. The sudden absence of constraint made his head swim, power surging through newly opened channels like a river breaking through a dam.

Books on nearby shelves trembled, then settled as Naruto fought for control.

"Apply the new seals," the Hokage instructed, watching Naruto's struggle with sharp eyes.

The medic-nin nodded, unrolling a scroll containing characters that pulsed with strange, cold light. Unlike the previous seals' amber glow, these burned ice-blue, complex patterns spiraling in configurations Naruto had never seen.

"These are S-rank containment seals," the medic-nin explained, preparing to apply the first. "Significantly stronger than the previous set. They may cause discomfort initially."

"Discomfort?" Naruto eyed the seals warily.

"Pain," Kakashi translated bluntly. "They're going to hurt, Naruto."

"Great," Naruto muttered. "Just what I need. More—AAGH!"

The first seal burned cold as liquid nitrogen when pressed against his wrist, agony lancing up his arm in electric jolts. His knees buckled, vision whiting out momentarily. Only Kakashi's sudden grip on his shoulders kept him upright.

"Breathe through it," the jōnin instructed, voice steady in Naruto's ear. "Focus on my voice."

The pain receded to a dull throb, leaving Naruto gasping. "That's... some discomfort."

"Seven more to go," the medic-nin informed him without sympathy, preparing the next seal. "Both wrists, both ankles, shoulders, and center of chest."

Naruto steeled himself, jaw clenched. "Let's get it over with."

The application continued, each seal bringing fresh waves of arctic fire. By the sixth, Naruto's consciousness wavered, darkness encroaching at the edges of his vision. Strange, distorted images flickered through his mind—the Nine-Tails' massive form, the strange clone from weeks before, Tokyo buildings crumbling beneath an expanding sphere of destruction—

Wait. Tokyo? Where was that? What buildings?

"Last one," the medic-nin announced, pulling Naruto back to the present.

The final seal pressed against his chest, directly over his heart. Pain transcended physical boundaries, becoming something pure and white and absolute. Naruto screamed, the sound tearing from his throat like something alive.

Every object in the Hokage's office rose simultaneously—furniture, scrolls, brushes, even the massive desk lifting six inches off the floor. For three terrible seconds, everything hung suspended, caught in the psychic backlash of Naruto's agony.

Then the new seals activated fully, glowing characters connecting in a network across his body. The objects crashed back to the ground as Naruto collapsed to his knees, gasping.

"Remarkable restraint," the medic-nin observed, making notes on her clipboard. "Previous subjects exhibited significantly more destructive responses."

"Previous subjects?" Naruto wheezed, struggling back to his feet with Kakashi's assistance. "You've done this before?"

The medic-nin and Hokage exchanged glances.

"Not with these specific seals," the Hokage admitted carefully. "But Konoha has contained powerful abilities before, when necessary."

Something in his tone, in the careful selection of words, raised Naruto's hackles. "You mean you've sealed people like me before? People with... powers?"

"Not like yours," Kakashi interjected. "Your abilities are unprecedented."

"But similar enough that you had these ready." Naruto gestured to the seals now throbbing coldly against his skin. Anger bubbled beneath his exhaustion, tamped down only by the new seals' fierce constraint. "What aren't you telling me?"

The Hokage leaned forward, pipe forgotten in his hand. "Naruto, there are aspects of Konoha's history, of the shinobi world's history, that remain classified for good reason. What matters now is ensuring your safety and the village's security while you continue to develop."

The non-answer sat bitter on Naruto's tongue. He opened his mouth to press further, but a crack of thunder split the sky outside, momentarily silencing all three shinobi.

In that instant of perfect stillness, a raindrop outside the window froze mid-fall. Then another. Then all of them, suspended in air like glass beads on invisible strings.

Naruto felt it happen, felt the unconscious extension of his will into the storm. The new seals flared painfully in response, forcing his influence back, confining it once more to his physical form. The rain resumed its natural fall, the momentary impossibility gone as quickly as it had appeared.

But all three ninja had seen it. All three understood the implication.

"The new protocols take effect immediately," the Hokage said into the heavy silence. "Naruto, you'll continue Academy attendance but with modified exercises. Kakashi will oversee your taijutsu training exclusively until further notice." He fixed Naruto with a penetrating stare. "And no more demonstrations for your classmates."

Naruto flushed, shame and defiance warring across his features. "They deserved to know. They're my friends."

"They're children," the Hokage countered gently. "As are you, despite everything. This knowledge places a burden on them they shouldn't have to bear."

"With respect, Lord Hokage," Kakashi interjected, "the secret is already out. Better they hear controlled truth from Naruto than exaggerated rumors elsewhere."

The Hokage considered this, aged fingers tapping thoughtfully against his desk. "Perhaps. But the extent of his abilities remains classified. No further demonstrations without authorization."

Naruto nodded reluctantly, the new seals pulsing in cold rhythm against his skin. They were stronger, yes—he could feel the difference, the heavier constraint—but already his consciousness pressed against their boundaries, testing, seeking weakness.

How long until these failed too?

The thought must have shown on his face, because the Hokage's expression softened with something like compassion.

"We will find a more permanent solution, Naruto. I promise." He rose, signaling the end of the meeting. "For now, go home and rest. The new seals will need time to properly integrate."

Naruto bowed stiffly, muscles protesting every movement, and turned to leave.

"And Naruto?" the Hokage called after him. "Remember you're not alone in this struggle."

The words were meant as comfort. They landed like prison sentence.

---

Moonlight spilled across Konoha's secretive underground, illuminating a chamber where darkness usually reigned supreme. Danzo Shimura stood with his back to the single window, bandaged face half-turned toward the kneeling ROOT operative.

"Report," he commanded, voice dry as ancient parchment.

"The target demonstrated telekinetic abilities to five Academy students this afternoon," the operative recited tonelessly. "Minimal display, maximum control. The Copy Ninja intervened within eight minutes."

"And the new seals?"

"Applied at 18:42 hours. S-rank restriction matrix, eight-point configuration."

Danzo turned fully now, lone visible eye gleaming with cold calculation. "Effectiveness?"

"Temporarily complete, but evidence suggests rapid adaptation already beginning. During application, the target manipulated weather patterns for approximately three seconds before the seals asserted control."

"Weather patterns?" For the first time, surprise colored Danzo's voice. "Elaborate."

"Suspended rainfall mid-air across approximately forty square meters surrounding Hokage Tower."

Silence stretched as Danzo processed this information, its implications rippling through his carefully constructed plans like stones disturbing still water.

"Accelerate the timeline," he decided finally. "Phase one begins tonight."

The operative bowed lower, awaiting specific instructions.

"Plant the evidence as discussed. Ensure it appears to originate from Cloud, not Stone as originally planned." Danzo moved to a cabinet, retrieving a sealed scroll marked with blood-red kanji. "And arrange for our asset in the hospital to access Uzumaki's medical file. I want complete brainwave analysis, especially the anomalies recorded during seal application."

"And the extraction plan?"

Danzo's mouth curved in what might generously be called a smile. "Postponed. Recent developments suggest we may benefit more from observation than acquisition, for now." He handed the scroll to the kneeling figure. "This contains modified orders for all operatives assigned to the Uzumaki surveillance detail. Memorize, then destroy."

The ROOT agent accepted the scroll with gloved hands. "Time frame for Phase Two?"

"When the boy breaks these seals as well," Danzo replied, certainty heavy in his voice. "And he will break them, sooner than even Hiruzen fears." He turned back to the window, moonlight casting his bandaged form in silver and shadow. "A weapon that cannot be controlled must be redirected. We will provide the path of least resistance."

The operative vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving Danzo alone with his thoughts and the cold light of the moon—the same moon that shone on a small apartment where a boy with whisker marks and too much power dreamed fitfully of destruction he didn't understand and cities he'd never seen.

# Chapter 5: Team Formation

Dawn painted the Hokage Tower in watercolor washes of amber and gold, sunlight refracting through lingering mist that clung to Konoha like reluctant dreams. Inside the circular office, heated voices shattered the morning calm.

"Absolutely not." Iruka's palm slammed against the Hokage's desk, scattering mission scrolls. "He's not ready!"

The Third Hokage regarded the academy instructor with implacable calm, aged fingers steepled beneath his chin. "It's not a question of readiness anymore, Iruka. It's a question of containment."

Across the room, leaning against the wall with deceptive casualness, Kakashi Hatake flipped a page in his orange book. "The Academy can't contain him," he observed, lone eye never leaving the text. "Yesterday's graduation exercise proved that much."

Iruka's shoulders stiffened. "That wasn't his fault! The explosive tags were—"

"Inert," the Hokage finished. "Training grade, minimal charge. Yet they detonated with enough force to destroy half the practice field."

"He was protecting Konohamaru," Iruka insisted. "The boy ran into the test area, and Naruto's instinct was to—"

"To create a telekinetic blast that amplified the explosive power tenfold." Kakashi snapped his book shut, eye finally meeting Iruka's. "His control is slipping again, despite the S-rank seals. Better he slip under my watch than yours."

Silence descended, heavy with implication. Iruka's fists clenched at his sides, knuckles bleaching white.

"What about his teammates?" he asked finally. "Who will you sacrifice to this experiment? Whose lives will you gamble with?"

The Hokage sighed, suddenly looking every day of his advanced age. "The assignments aren't experimental, Iruka. They're calculated." He slid a folder across his desk. "Team Seven: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno."

Iruka's eyes widened as he scanned the contents. "You're placing him with the last Uchiha? Are you insane? If Naruto loses control—"

"If Naruto loses control," Kakashi interrupted smoothly, "the Sharingan may be our best chance to subdue him without lethal force."

"You're using Sasuke as a failsafe?" Iruka's voice cracked with disbelief.

"I'm using everyone as a failsafe," Kakashi corrected, steel underlying his casual tone. "Myself included."

The Third Hokage rose, robes rustling like autumn leaves. "The decision is made, Iruka. Naruto graduates with his peers. Team Seven forms under Kakashi's supervision." His eyes softened momentarily. "Your concern for the boy does you credit. But we must consider the safety of the entire village."

Outside the window, oblivious to the debate that would shape his future, Naruto Uzumaki stood atop the Great Stone Face, arms spread wide as morning wind whipped through blonde spikes. The village sprawled below him like a living map, people moving through streets in patterns he could almost feel through the soles of his sandals.

Freedom tasted sweet as summer peaches on his tongue—graduation achieved, hitai-ate gleaming proudly against his forehead, future stretching before him like an unwritten scroll. For one perfect moment, standing between earth and sky, he allowed himself to believe that everything might work out after all.

The thunder that rolled across clear morning skies went unnoticed by everyone except him.

---

"Team Seven," Iruka announced, voice carefully neutral as he read from his clipboard. "Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto straightened in his seat, blue eyes shining with barely contained excitement. The S-rank seals pulsed cold against his skin, a constant counterpoint to his racing heart.

"Sakura Haruno."

Pink hair bobbed as Sakura turned, surprised eyes finding Naruto in the row behind her. He grinned, receiving a tentative smile in return—progress from the wariness that had characterized their interactions since The Demonstration.

"And Sasuke Uchiha."

The temperature in the classroom seemed to drop ten degrees. Sasuke, brooding by the window, gave no outward reaction save a slight narrowing of obsidian eyes.

"Your jōnin instructor will be Kakashi Hatake."

Naruto's smile faltered. The name conjured memories of stern supervision, of watchful mismatched eyes cataloging every slip, every surge of power. Of seals burning against his skin while the Copy Ninja observed with scientific detachment.

Around him, the classroom erupted in chatter as other teams were announced. Objects on Iruka's desk began to vibrate subtly—pencils rolling against wood grain, papers rustling without wind to move them. Naruto clenched his fists beneath the desk, forcing control. The seals flared painfully in response, icy fire racing up his arms.

A sudden weight settled beside him—Sasuke, sliding onto the bench with predatory grace. "Control it," he muttered, voice pitched for Naruto's ears alone. "Your little light show is attracting attention."

Naruto exhaled slowly, objects settling as his focus sharpened. "Thanks."

Sasuke's grunt might have been acknowledgment. "If you're going to be on my team, keep your freak powers in check. I won't have you jeopardizing missions."

"My freak powers might save your life someday," Naruto shot back, irritation spiking. The lights above them flickered once, twice.

"Stop it!" Sakura hissed, appearing suddenly before them. Her green eyes darted nervously to the ceiling, then back to Naruto. "Everyone's watching."

She was right. Half the class had fallen silent, attention fixed on the subtle phenomena surrounding their table—the pencil now spinning lazily, the pages of Sasuke's notebook flipping as though caught in a breeze.

Naruto closed his eyes, drawing on months of Jiraiya's training. Breathe in. Contain. Compress. Breathe out.

The disturbances ceased. When he opened his eyes, Sakura was studying him with clinical interest rather than fear.

"How do you do that?" she asked, sliding into the seat in front of them. "The control part, I mean. Is it like chakra meditation?"

"Sort of." Naruto's surprise at her genuine interest overshadowed his lingering irritation. "But backwards. Instead of directing energy out, I'm... pushing it in?" He grimaced. "It's hard to explain."

"Fascinating." Sakura's academic curiosity overcame social caution. "The seals on your wrists—are they storage-type or restriction-type?"

"Both," Sasuke answered before Naruto could, eyes never leaving the window. "Modified Uzumaki containment matrix with Five Elements suppression overlay."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "How do you—"

"I have eyes." Sasuke's tone dripped disdain. "And unlike most people in this village, I can read."

"Four-Eyes is right," came a new voice—deep, lazy, immediately recognizable. "Though he missed the soul-binding component."

The three genin jolted, heads whipping toward the classroom door where Kakashi Hatake lounged against the frame, orange book conspicuously present. His visible eye curved in what might have been a smile.

"Team Seven," he drawled. "Rooftop. Five minutes." He vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke was first on his feet, moving with efficient purpose toward the stairs. Sakura followed a half-step behind, torn between professional promptness and lingering caution around her new teammates.

Naruto rose last, the weight of destiny settling across his shoulders like a familiar cloak. As he passed Iruka's desk, the academy instructor caught his sleeve.

"Remember what we talked about," Iruka murmured, concern etching lines beside his scar. "Control is—"

"—not just about power, but about trust." Naruto finished with a lopsided grin. "I remember, Iruka-sensei."

The teacher nodded, reluctantly releasing his grip. "Good luck, Naruto."

Luck, Naruto reflected as he bounded up the stairs after his teammates, had nothing to do with what came next. He'd need something far stronger to survive what waited on the Academy rooftop.

He needed a miracle, or perhaps, a catastrophe.

---

"I hate you all."

Kakashi's cheery declaration hung in the afternoon air like a kunai suspended in motion. The three genin seated before him blinked in unison, varying degrees of shock registering across their faces.

"Excuse me?" Sakura found her voice first, indignation overriding natural deference.

"Just getting that out of the way." Kakashi eye-smiled, flipping his book closed with a snap. "Saves time on the traditional getting-to-know-you nonsense." His gaze swept across them, calculating beneath the façade of boredom. "I know all about you already."

"That's not fair," Naruto protested, leaning forward on the stone bench. "We don't know anything about you!"

"Correction," Sasuke interjected coldly. "Hatake Kakashi. Jōnin. Called the Copy Ninja for his Sharingan eye, acquired under classified circumstances. Known to have mastered over a thousand techniques. Chronically late. Suspected pervert."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose fractionally. "Impressive research, though you missed my favorite food and blood type." He slouched against the rooftop railing. "Fine. My name is Kakashi. I have many likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Never thought about it. Hobbies? I have several."

"That told us nothing!" Sakura protested.

"Precisely." Kakashi's eye curved again. "Now, normally I'd give you some ridiculous test involving bells and teamwork, but circumstances have forced a deviation from tradition."

The air around them grew heavier, charged with unspoken significance. Naruto felt his teammates shift subtly—Sakura straightening her spine, Sasuke's fingers interlacing before his face.

"Tomorrow we begin specialized training," Kakashi continued. "Sakura, your analytical skills and chakra control show promise for genjutsu and medical applications. Sasuke, your taijutsu and ninjutsu base need refinement, but your bloodline offers unique advantages." His eye settled finally on Naruto, all pretense of laziness evaporating. "And you, Naruto, need to master the fundamentals before your... secondary abilities overwhelm your primary chakra network."

The S-rank seals throbbed against Naruto's skin, a painful counterpoint to his rising indignation. "I've been training non-stop for months! I can do Shadow Clones, and—"

"And nothing else," Kakashi cut in brutally. "One high-level technique doesn't make you a shinobi, especially when it's fueled by abnormal reserves and accidental psychic enhancement."

Naruto flinched as though struck. Beside him, Sakura shifted uncomfortably while Sasuke's eyes narrowed to calculating slits.

"You're being deliberately cruel," Sakura observed, surprising everyone with her defense. "Naruto graduated fairly. He earned his place here."

"Did he?" Kakashi's challenge hung in the air. "Or did the Hokage advance him because keeping him in the Academy became too dangerous?"

Silence fell like an executioner's blade. Naruto's hands trembled in his lap, seals pulsing faster as emotion surged against their constraints. The stone bench beneath him began to vibrate, fine cracks spiderwebbing across its surface.

"Enough," Sasuke's voice cut through the tension. "This serves no purpose except to antagonize him." He fixed Kakashi with a cold stare. "Unless that's your intention. To provoke a reaction."

Kakashi's eye widened fractionally—the barest acknowledgment of surprise before his mask of indifference slipped back into place. "Perceptive."

The cracks in the bench stopped spreading. Naruto exhaled, control reasserting itself beneath the storm of emotions. "You were testing me," he realized, voice hollow with betrayal. "Seeing how much it takes to make me break."

"I was establishing a baseline," Kakashi corrected, not unkindly. "If we're going to function as a team, I need to know your triggers and limitations." He straightened, hands sliding into pockets. "Consider it passed. You maintained control despite deliberate provocation."

"Barely," Sasuke muttered.

"Progress, not perfection," Kakashi countered. "Now, let's discuss actual expectations. Team Seven will operate under modified protocols. Standard missions, but with contingency measures for... unexpected developments."

"You mean for when I lose it," Naruto translated bitterly.

"For when your abilities manifest unexpectedly," Kakashi amended. "Which brings me to ground rules." He held up one finger. "First, Naruto's condition remains classified. What you know stays within the team."

Sakura raised her hand as though still in the Academy. "Question. Why is everything about Naruto classified? First the Nine-Tails, now these powers. It seems excessive."

Naruto's head snapped toward her, shock written across his features. "You know about the Fox?"

She rolled her eyes. "I can read between lines, Naruto. The way adults talk about you, the seal on your stomach that shows when you use chakra, your birthday coinciding with the attack... it wasn't hard to figure out."

"Perceptive indeed," Kakashi murmured. "And exactly why this team composition was chosen. Intelligence, bloodline advantage, and raw power—balanced, in theory."

"In theory," Sasuke echoed skeptically.

"Second rule," Kakashi continued, ignoring the interruption. "Training exercises will sometimes separate you. This isn't punishment; it's specialization. You each have unique needs."

"And third rule?" Naruto prompted when Kakashi fell silent.

The jōnin's eye fixed on him with uncomfortable intensity. "No unauthorized use of psychic abilities. Not for pranks, not for training, not for showing off. If you feel something building, you tell me immediately." His voice dropped, deadly serious. "Breaking this rule isn't just about discipline, Naruto. It's about your survival."

The weight of those words settled across Naruto's shoulders, heavier than all the village's expectations combined. For the first time, he glimpsed the truth behind the constant supervision, the escalating seals, the classified protocols—they weren't just afraid of what he might do to others.

They were afraid of what his powers might do to him.

"Understood," he managed, voice steadier than he felt.

Kakashi nodded once, satisfied. "Training ground seven, tomorrow, 0600. Bring overnight gear. This week, we learn to function as a unit." His eye swept over them one final time. "Dismissed. Except you, Naruto. A word."

Sasuke and Sakura hesitated, united momentarily by reluctance to leave their teammate. Naruto waved them off with forced cheer. "Go on. I'll catch up."

When they'd disappeared down the stairs, Kakashi's posture changed—subtle shift from lazy slouch to military precision.

"Show me the seals," he commanded, all pretense gone.

Naruto pulled back his sleeves, revealing the complex patterns that pulsed with cold blue light against his skin. Kakashi knelt, examining them with critical expertise, fingers hovering just above the surface without touching.

"The degradation is accelerating," he observed, voice clinically detached. "How long since the last adjustment?"

"Two weeks." Naruto fought the urge to pull his arms back, to hide the evidence of his body's ongoing rebellion against constraint. "They're supposed to last a month."

"They should," Kakashi agreed, standing. "Your adaptation rate exceeds projections. Again."

"Is that... bad?"

Kakashi's hesitation spoke volumes. "It's concerning," he admitted finally. "These seals are S-rank for a reason, Naruto. There aren't many alternatives above this level that remain... humane."

Ice slid down Naruto's spine. "What happens when these fail too?"

"We cross that bridge when we come to it." Kakashi's eye crinkled in what was likely meant as reassurance. "For now, focus on fundamentals. The more you stabilize your chakra network, the less your psychic abilities will interfere."

"And if they keep growing anyway?"

The jōnin's silence was answer enough.

---

Moonlight splintered through summer leaves, casting dappled shadows across the private training ground behind the Uchiha compound. Naruto landed in a crouch beside the still pond, chakra suppressed to near imperceptibility—a trick he'd learned from watching ANBU shadows for most of his life.

"You're late," Sasuke's voice sliced through darkness, irritation evident despite his quiet tone.

"Had to dodge patrols." Naruto straightened, taking in the training equipment Sasuke had arranged—target posts, training dummies, and what appeared to be pressure plates embedded in the ground. "Nice setup."

Sasuke emerged from shadow, dark clothes rendering him nearly invisible except for pale skin that seemed to capture and hold the scattered moonlight. "You're sure about this?"

Naruto nodded, determination setting his jaw. "Kakashi-sensei won't teach me properly until I master basics, but I can't master basics while these—" he gestured to his suppression seals, "—interfere with my chakra. It's a perfect trap."

"So you want to bypass the trap entirely." Sasuke's eyes gleamed with something approaching respect. "Learn to use the psychic abilities directly, without chakra as an intermediary."

"Exactly!" Naruto's enthusiasm bubbled over, a nearby stone skittering across grass in response. He forced it still with visible effort. "But I need someone to spot me. Someone who can shut me down if things go sideways."

"With this." Sasuke held up a small scroll marked with familiar characters—the same suppression matrix that decorated Naruto's skin, miniaturized and condensed. "Emergency containment seal. One-time use. Where did you get it?"

"Borrowed it from Pervy Sage's research notes." Naruto's grin turned sheepish. "He'll notice eventually, but..."

"But by then, you'll have made progress." Sasuke tucked the scroll into his sleeve. "Smart. Risky, but smart."

The unexpected compliment warmed Naruto's chest. "So you'll help me?"

Sasuke considered him in silence, moonlight catching the precise angles of his face. "On one condition," he said finally. "You tell me everything. No more classified nonsense. If I'm risking my neck as your safety measure, I deserve full disclosure."

Naruto hesitated, the Hokage's warnings echoing in his memory. But this was Sasuke—rival, reluctant ally, and now teammate. If anyone could handle the truth, it was the boy whose eyes had already seen more horror than most shinobi twice his age.

"Deal," he agreed, extending his hand.

Sasuke regarded the offered handshake with typical Uchiha disdain before briefly clasping Naruto's palm. "Let's begin with something simple. Controlled telekinesis, minimal objects." He gestured to small stones arranged in a circle. "Lift them one at a time, in sequence."

Naruto nodded, centering himself as Jiraiya had taught him. He extended his hand, focusing on the first stone—small, smooth, dark as night against pale grass.

Rise.

The stone trembled, then lifted smoothly into the air, hovering at eye level. The suppression seals burned cold against his skin, fighting his effort, but he pushed through the discomfort.

"Now the second," Sasuke instructed, Sharingan activating to observe the energy patterns. "Maintain the first while lifting the second."

Sweat beaded on Naruto's forehead as he focused on the next stone. It rose more slowly, wobbling as it joined the first in midair.

"Your chakra isn't flowing to the objects," Sasuke observed, eyes tracking invisible currents. "It's something else entirely. The air itself seems to bend around your focus points."

"That's... what Pervy Sage said too." Naruto's voice strained with effort as he lifted a third stone. "Not chakra manipulation... reality manipulation."

The fourth stone rose, then the fifth. Naruto's arms trembled, suppression seals burning blue-white against his skin as they fought to contain the expanding energy.

"Enough," Sasuke decided, noting Naruto's struggle. "Release them gently."

The stones descended in perfect unison, settling back into their circular arrangement without a sound. Naruto released his breath in a rush, knees wobbling slightly.

"Again," Sasuke commanded, relentless as winter. "This time, move them in a pattern."

They trained for hours, pushing boundaries with methodical precision. Stones became kunai, kunai became training dummies, distance increased from inches to yards. Each success built upon the last, Naruto's confidence growing alongside his control.

Until the final test.

"Attack me," Sasuke instructed, sliding into defensive stance.

Naruto balked. "What? No way! If I lose control—"

"That's the point," Sasuke cut in. "Real combat isn't controlled conditions. You need to know your limits under pressure." His Sharingan eyes narrowed. "Unless you're afraid."

The taunt hit its mark. Naruto's competitive spirit flared, seals pulsing in response. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you!"

He reached out with his mind, grasping at the practice weapons scattered around them. Three kunai rose simultaneously, orienting toward Sasuke with deadly precision.

"Predictable," the Uchiha scoffed, spinning into motion.

The kunai launched forward, cutting through night air with lethal intent. Sasuke dodged the first two with contemptuous ease, deflecting the third with a casual flick of his own weapon.

"Is that all you've got?" he taunted, circling Naruto like a predator. "Academy students throw better than that."

Frustration sparked through Naruto's system. The suppression seals flared painfully as more weapons rose—shuriken, senbon, even a practice sword lifting from its stand.

"Better," Sasuke acknowledged as the weapons began to orbit Naruto like deadly satellites. "Now, show me what you can really do."

The challenge ignited something deeper than frustration—a desire to be seen, acknowledged, respected. Naruto's focus narrowed to laser precision, the weapons around him moving faster, their orbits tightening.

With a gesture that was half instinct and half calculated demonstration, he sent them flying toward Sasuke in staggered waves—impossible to dodge completely, designed to force continuous motion until exhaustion created an opening.

Sasuke's eyes widened fractionally before his body blurred into defensive patterns, Sharingan tracking every projectile with preternatural clarity. He dodged and deflected with increasing difficulty, forced to expend chakra on a substitution when three senbon converged from different angles.

"Not bad," he called from his new position, breathing slightly elevated. "But still too conventional. You're thinking like a shinobi. Think like... whatever you are now."

The words struck deeper than intended. Whatever you are now. Not quite human. Not quite monster. Something in between, undefined and uncharted.

Something inside Naruto shifted, a mental barrier dissolving like sugar in rain. The suppression seals blazed with sudden agony as power surged through his system, no longer content with controlling mere objects.

The air around Sasuke distorted, visible as heat-shimmer in winter cold.

"Naruto?" Uncertainty colored Sasuke's voice for the first time that night. "What are you—"

The words cut off as Sasuke's body rose six inches off the ground, suspended by invisible force. His eyes widened in genuine shock, Sharingan spinning frantically as he tried to analyze the technique.

"Put me down," he commanded, voice steady despite his precarious position.

Naruto stared at his suspended teammate, equal parts horrified and fascinated by this new expression of his ability. "I'm not sure I know how," he admitted, concentrating on maintaining the field rather than releasing it. "I've never tried with a person before."

"Well, figure it out," Sasuke's calm was fraying at the edges. "Now."

Naruto nodded, focusing on the energy suspending his teammate. Lower. Gently. Like setting down glass.

Nothing happened. If anything, Sasuke rose another inch, the air around him compressing visibly.

"Something's wrong," Naruto gasped, panic edging into his voice. "I can't control it!"

Sasuke's hands flashed into a seal sequence, fingers nimble despite his suspended state. "Release the emergency scroll! Right sleeve, chakra pulse to activate!"

Naruto fumbled for the scroll, fingers clumsy with rising fear. The suppression seals on his wrists burned like liquid nitrogen, fighting a battle they were rapidly losing. As he withdrew the scroll, a new sensation washed over him—something vast and electric expanding from somewhere deep inside his mind.

The training ground blurred, reality overlaying with somewhere else, somewhere impossible—massive skyscrapers, neon lights, a city vaster than any he'd ever seen. For one disorienting moment, he existed in two places simultaneously, two times, two realities.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke's shout snapped him back to the present. "DO IT NOW!"

Naruto slammed chakra into the scroll. It exploded into a web of sealing characters that swarmed over him like living ink, wrapping around his limbs and torso before contracting with brutal force. Pain lanced through every nerve ending as the emergency suppressors activated, cascading power through the existing matrix.

Sasuke dropped unceremoniously to the ground, landing in a graceless heap.

"What," he demanded, rising with as much dignity as possible, "was that?"

Naruto lay curled on his side, aftershocks of pain still rippling through his system. "I don't... know," he managed between gritted teeth. "It felt like... being in two places at once."

Sasuke crouched beside him, Sharingan still active, cataloging the fluctuations in Naruto's energy field. "Your eyes changed," he observed clinically. "Not like the Fox. Different. The pupils expanded until there was almost no blue left."

"Oh good," Naruto laughed weakly. "Another weird thing to add to the list."

Sasuke's hand settled on his shoulder, the unexpected contact shocking both of them into momentary silence. "We should report this to Kakashi."

"No!" Panic gave Naruto strength to push himself upright. "If they know the seals are failing again, they'll just make stronger ones. Or worse."

"Or they'll finally tell you the truth about what's happening to you," Sasuke countered, rare concern bleeding through his usual detachment. "This isn't just chakra evolution, Naruto. This is something else entirely."

The night air hung heavy between them, filled with unspoken questions and half-formed fears. In the distance, a night bird called—three notes descending into silence.

"One week," Naruto bargained, desperation edging his voice. "Give me one week of real training. If I can't show improvement by then, we tell Kakashi everything."

Sasuke considered him in the moonlight, calculation warring with something that might have been compassion. "Three days," he countered. "And we bring Sakura in. Her analytical skills might help identify patterns we're missing."

"Deal." Naruto extended his hand once more.

This time, Sasuke took it without hesitation.

---

Morning mist clung to Training Ground Seven like ghostly fingers, reluctant to relinquish their hold on dew-soaked grass and ancient trees. Team Seven assembled in its center—Sasuke and Naruto conspicuously avoiding each other's eyes, Sakura watching them both with analytical interest.

"You're hiding something," she observed quietly, intelligent gaze flicking between them. "Both of you."

"Mind your business," Sasuke muttered, adjusting the straps of his overnight pack.

"We're a team now," she countered, newfound confidence straightening her spine. "Your business is my business."

Before either boy could respond, wind swirled at the edge of the clearing, heralding Kakashi's arrival—two hours late, yet still earlier than his established pattern would suggest.

"Good morning, my cute little genin," he called, orange book nowhere in sight for once. "Ready for your first team exercise?"

"You're late," Naruto accused automatically, the familiar complaint almost comforting in its normalcy.

Kakashi's visible eye curved in mock apology. "A black cat crossed my path, forcing me to—"

"Save it," Sasuke interrupted. "What's the exercise?"

If Kakashi was surprised by the uncharacteristic impatience, he didn't show it. "Survival training, with a twist." He withdrew three slips of paper from his vest pocket. "Chakra nature assessment. Before we can build coordination, we need to understand your elemental affinities."

Sakura accepted her paper with academic interest. "I've read about this. The paper reacts differently depending on your primary chakra nature, right?"

"Correct." Kakashi handed papers to the boys. "Channel a small amount of chakra into the paper. The reaction will reveal your affinity."

Sakura went first, brow furrowed in concentration as she directed chakra into the slip. It crumbled to damp fragments between her fingers.

"Earth nature," Kakashi observed. "Solid, stable, excellent for defense and supporting techniques."

Sasuke channeled chakra with practiced ease. His paper wrinkled, then burst into flame at the edges.

"Primary Lightning with strong Fire secondary," Kakashi nodded. "Consistent with Uchiha heritage, though the Lightning dominance is interesting."

All eyes turned to Naruto, who stared at his paper with uncharacteristic hesitation. "What if... what if it reacts weird because of my... you know." He gestured vaguely at himself.

"Only one way to find out," Kakashi prompted gently.

Naruto nodded, focusing on directing the smallest possible amount of chakra into the paper, careful to keep his psychic energy contained behind the damaged suppression seals.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the paper began to glow—faint blue light emanating from its surface before it split in half. But instead of falling, the two halves hung suspended in midair, swirling around each other in a graceful dance before dissolving into fine ash that scattered in a non-existent breeze.

Silence stretched across the clearing, broken only by birdsong from distant trees.

"Well," Kakashi said finally. "That was... informative."

"What does it mean?" Sakura asked, scientific curiosity overriding apprehension. "I've never read about that reaction."

"Primary Wind nature," Kakashi explained, eye fixed thoughtfully on the dissipating ash. "The split is standard for Wind. The rest..." He shrugged. "Non-standard."

"Like everything else about me," Naruto muttered, dejection coloring his voice.

"Actually," Kakashi's tone turned suddenly brisk, "this is good news. Wind nature explains your difficulty with basic Academy techniques, which primarily utilize Earth and Fire principles. We can adapt your training accordingly."

Hope flickered in Naruto's eyes. "So I'm not just bad at everything?"

"Oh, you're still bad," Kakashi eye-smiled. "But now we know why, which means we can fix it."

Sasuke snorted, the sound almost approximating amusement. Sakura hid a smile behind her hand.

"Now then," Kakashi continued, "today's exercise is simple. Survival basics, buddy system. Sakura, you're with me for the first rotation. Naruto, Sasuke, establish camp by the river. We rendezvous at sundown."

The dismissal was clear. As Kakashi led Sakura toward the western edge of the training ground, Sasuke and Naruto exchanged loaded glances.

"Did you tell her yet?" Naruto asked when their teammates disappeared into the treeline.

"No," Sasuke replied, shouldering his pack. "But she knows something happened. She's not stupid."

"Unlike me?" Naruto's attempt at humor fell flat.

Sasuke's expression softened fractionally. "Your paper shouldn't have done that," he observed, changing subjects with characteristic abruptness. "I was watching with the Sharingan. Your chakra flow was normal, controlled. The reaction wasn't."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it wasn't just your chakra affecting the paper." Sasuke started toward the river, forcing Naruto to follow. "It was responding to both energies simultaneously."

"So?"

"So the seals are failing faster than we thought." Sasuke's voice dropped, deadly serious. "They're no longer separating your energies. They're just containing the total output."

The implication hung between them, heavy as storm clouds. If the seals could no longer differentiate between chakra and psychic energy, then controlling either became exponentially more difficult. Every jutsu, every technique, would carry the risk of psychic contamination—of buildings crumbling when he meant to make a simple clone, of allies being thrown across battlefields when he attempted a basic substitution.

"Three days," Naruto reminded him, desperation edging his voice. "You promised."

Sasuke's eyes met his, black pools reflecting calculation and something that might have been concern. "Three days," he confirmed. "But if something like last night happens again—"

"It won't," Naruto swore with more confidence than he felt. "I'll be more careful."

The river came into view, sunlight fracturing across its rippling surface like scattered diamonds. As they began setting up camp in practiced silence, neither boy noticed the pink-haired figure observing from shadowed branches, green eyes narrowed in thoughtful analysis.

Sakura Haruno might not know what her teammates were hiding, but she intended to find out.

---

Twilight painted the Land of Waves in watercolor strokes of lavender and indigo, sea mist rising from choppy waters to embrace ancient forests along the shoreline. Two weeks had passed since Team Seven's formation—two weeks of specialized training, of cautious progress, of secrets kept and suspicions grown.

Now they crouched in maritime pine shadows, watching their client's house through obscuring fog.

"This doesn't feel right," Sakura whispered, kunai clutched in white-knuckled grip. "Tazuna lied about the mission parameters. We should have turned back."

"Too late for that," Sasuke murmured, Sharingan active, scanning the mist for chakra signatures. "They're already here."

"Who's here?" Naruto demanded, frustration evident in his tense posture. The suppression seals glowed visibly through his orange jacket sleeves, their light pulsing faster as his agitation grew.

"Zabuza's apprentice," Kakashi confirmed, appearing beside them with characteristic silent efficiency. "And likely Zabuza himself, recovered from our last encounter."

Naruto's fingers drifted unconsciously to the reinforced suppression seals at his wrists—fresh additions applied after their disastrous first clash with the Demon of the Hidden Mist. He'd lost control when Kakashi was trapped in the Water Prison Jutsu, psychic energy surging through failing seals to create a localized whirlwind that had nearly drowned both combatants.

Kakashi had been monitoring him with increased vigilance ever since.

"What's the plan?" Sakura asked, analytical mind already calculating variables and outcomes.

"Protect Tazuna and his family," Kakashi replied, mist swirling around his angular form. "I'll handle Zabuza." His mismatched eyes settled on Naruto. "You maintain control at all costs. Use only approved techniques."

Naruto bristled. "I've been training! I can help!"

"You've been training for two weeks," Kakashi countered, steel beneath his casual tone. "Zabuza has been killing for decades. This isn't the place to test boundaries, Naruto."

Before Naruto could argue further, the mist thickened—unnatural, chakra-laden, reducing visibility to arm's length in seconds.

"He's here," Sasuke breathed, tensing beside Naruto.

Kakashi vanished into the fog, his final order hanging in the damp air. "Diamond formation around Tazuna. Move!"

They sprinted through obscuring mist toward the bridge builder's house, wood and paper construction materializing like a ghost ship through fog. Inside, Tazuna and his family waited, unaware of approaching death.

"I sense two signatures," Sasuke reported as they reached the porch. "One stationary near the house. One moving—fast."

"The apprentice," Sakura guessed, taking position at the front door. "Hunter-nin mask, remember?"

Naruto nodded grimly, memories of senbon and false death fresh in his mind. "Sasuke, you take the moving target. I'll hold position here with Sakura."

Surprise flickered across Sasuke's face at Naruto's tactical assessment. He nodded once before disappearing into dense fog.

"That was... unexpectedly sensible," Sakura observed, adjusting her grip on her kunai.

Naruto managed a weak grin. "I have my moments."

Inside the house, Tazuna's daughter shouted something unintelligible. Glass shattered. A child—Inari—screamed in terror.

"Go!" Naruto shoved Sakura toward the door. "Get them out the back. I'll hold here!"

Sakura hesitated only a heartbeat before nodding, ninja practicality overriding concern. "Be careful," she warned, disappearing inside.

Alone on the porch, Naruto centered himself as he'd practiced with Sasuke during their covert training sessions. The damaged suppression seals burned against his skin, fighting to contain what surged beneath—a power growing daily, hourly, evolving beyond even Jiraiya's projections.

Mist parted like theater curtains as a figure emerged—tall, bandaged, massive sword slung across broad shoulders.

"Well, well," Zabuza's voice rasped like steel across stone. "The little orange runt, all alone. Where's your Sharingan babysitter?"

Naruto's hands formed the cross seal, chakra surging through pathways that felt increasingly foreign to his own body. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Twenty duplicates materialized around him, solid and combat-ready. Inside his mind, he reached for the separation technique Sasuke had helped him develop—the mental barrier that kept psychic energy from contaminating his chakra constructs.

The barrier held. Barely.

"Cute trick," Zabuza chuckled, mist thickening around his imposing form. "But quantity doesn't equal quality, brat."

The massive sword blurred into motion, impossibly fast despite its size. Three clones popped into smoke before they could even register the attack. Four more fell to a water dragon that materialized from the fog, jaws crushing solid shadow into nothingness.

"Where's Kakashi?" Naruto demanded, remaining clones forming defensive rings. "What did you do to him?"

Zabuza's bandaged face twisted in what might have been a smile. "Your sensei is... occupied. My employer brought insurance this time." The sword swung in lazy arcs, dispersing fog in hypnotic patterns. "But don't worry. You'll be dead long before he finishes with Hatake."

"You talk too much!" Naruto and his remaining clones charged in coordinated waves, kunai flashing in the dim light.

Zabuza moved like water given form, flowing between attacks with contemptuous ease. Clones disappeared in puffs of smoke, their memories flooding back to Naruto with each defeat—every failed angle of attack, every opening missed, every counter too slow to execute.

Within thirty seconds, Naruto stood alone again, breathing hard.

"Pathetic," Zabuza growled, advancing with predatory intent. "Is this really the best Konoha produces these days? Academy students with headbands?"

Anger flared hot in Naruto's chest, the suppression seals burning in response. The porch beneath his feet began to tremble, wood vibrating with sub-audible frequency.

Control it, Sasuke's voice echoed in his memory. Channel, don't release.

Naruto exhaled slowly, drawing on their secret training. Instead of fighting the psychic energy, he directed it—focusing it inward rather than outward, enhancing his physical capabilities rather than affecting the environment.

The world slowed around him as his perception accelerated.

Zabuza's next strike—lightning-fast to normal eyes—seemed almost leisurely now. Naruto sidestepped with unnatural grace, body moving with speed that surprised even him.

"What the—" Zabuza's exclamation cut short as Naruto's fist connected with his bandaged jaw, enhanced strength sending the larger ninja staggering backward.

"Not so pathetic now, am I?" Naruto grinned, blue eyes flecked with something electric that hadn't been there before.

Zabuza recovered quickly, massive sword whipping around in a horizontal slash that should have bisected the boy. Naruto leapt, psychically enhanced muscles carrying him higher than physically possible, flipping over the blade with centimeters to spare.

"Interesting," Zabuza murmured, reassessing his opponent. "You're not just a normal brat after all."

"You have no idea," Naruto landed in a crouch, the suppression seals now glowing visibly through his orange jacket—no longer blue but white-hot with strain.

Inside his mind, the barrier between energies began to crack. Power leaked through, different from the Nine-Tails' chakra yet equally wild, equally hungry. The mist around them started to swirl, responding to his unconscious influence.

"Careful, kid," Zabuza warned, experienced eyes recognizing the signs of imminent catastrophe. "Whatever you're doing, you're losing control of it."

"I don't need control," Naruto snarled, something feral entering his voice. "I just need you gone!"

He thrust his hand forward in a gesture that was pure instinct, unleashing psychic force like a physical blow. The air between them distorted, compressing into a visible shockwave that slammed into Zabuza with freight-train intensity.

The missing-nin flew backward, sword torn from his grasp, body crashing through the side of Tazuna's house in a shower of splintered wood and paper. Inside, Sakura screamed in surprise.

"Naruto!" Sasuke's voice cut through the fog as he materialized beside his teammate. "What did you do?"

"I don't know," Naruto gasped, staring at his hands in shock. The suppression seals blazed white-hot against his skin, characters beginning to warp and distort as they failed under impossible strain. "It just... happened."

Sasuke's Sharingan cataloged the psychic aftermath with scientific detachment. "The energy pattern is evolving," he observed, voice clinically precise despite the urgency of their situation. "It's not just telekinesis anymore. You're manipulating space itself."

Before Naruto could process this revelation, a guttural roar erupted from the Tazuna house ruins. Zabuza emerged, bleeding from multiple lacerations, killing intent radiating from him in palpable waves.

"You little monster," he spat, hands forming seals faster than civilian eyes could track. "Let's see how you handle this! Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"

The sea beside Tazuna's house responded to his command, water rising in a massive spiral that towered over the structure. Chakra-infused and deadly, it hung suspended for one terrible moment before rushing toward the genin with tsunami force.

"Naruto, move!" Sasuke shoved his teammate aside, hands flashing through fire jutsu seals—a futile defense against such overwhelming water chakra.

Time slowed again for Naruto, perception stretching as the water wall descended toward them. Sasuke beside him, hands still forming useless seals. Sakura visible through the shattered wall, eyes wide with horror as she shielded Tazuna's family with her body. The massive vortex, tons of seawater bent to Zabuza's murderous will, moments from crushing them all.

Something inside Naruto snapped—the final barrier between chakra and psychic energy dissolving like sugar in rain. Power flooded his system, no longer contained, no longer controlled. The suppression seals shattered, ink boiling away from his skin in wisps of steam.

He reached out—not with hands but with mind—and grabbed the water vortex.

It stopped in midair, droplets hanging suspended like glass beads on invisible strings. The entire jutsu, massive and chakra-laden, held motionless by will alone.

Zabuza's visible eyes widened in shock. "Impossible," he breathed, hands still locked in the final seal. "No one can interrupt a jutsu mid-execution!"

Naruto's eyes blazed electric blue, pupils expanded until only a thin ring of iris remained. When he spoke, harmonics layered beneath his voice, creating unsettling resonance.

"I'm not interrupting it." He made a twisting gesture, fingers curling as though grasping something physical. "I'm taking it."

The water vortex reversed direction, structure intact but purpose inverted, surging back toward its creator with redoubled force. Zabuza had only time to cross his arms in desperate defense before his own jutsu slammed into him, carrying his body out into the churning bay beyond.

Silence fell, broken only by the drip of water from shattered eaves.

"Naruto?" Sasuke's voice sounded distant, underwater, though he stood right beside him. "Can you hear me?"

The world tilted sideways, colors bleeding into one another. Naruto felt his knees hit wooden planks, body suddenly leaden, consciousness receding like tide from shore.

"Get Kakashi," he heard Sasuke command, voice fading into echoing distance. "Tell him the seals are completely gone. Tell him... tell him Naruto just bent reality."

Darkness rushed in, sweet as release, bitter as failure.

---

"We can no longer contain him through conventional means."

Kakashi's report fell into Hokage Tower silence like a stone into still water, ripples of implication spreading outward. The Third Hokage stood at his window, aged back to his visitors, pipe smoke forming melancholy shapes against twilight sky.

"The mission report confirms his powers are evolving beyond our projections." The old man's voice carried the weight of mountains. "First telekinesis, then telepathy, now space-time manipulation. Where does it end, Kakashi?"

"That's assuming it does end, Lord Hokage." Kakashi stood at military attention, mission fatigue evident despite his rigid posture. "The Uchiha boy's observations suggest Naruto's abilities are still expanding, adapting to each new constraint we impose."

"Where is he now?"

"Hospital containment wing, under ANBU guard. Jiraiya is examining him personally." Kakashi hesitated, choosing his next words carefully. "He was asking for Sasuke when he regained consciousness."

The Hokage turned, shrewd eyes narrowing beneath bushy brows. "Oh?"

"They've been training together secretly," Kakashi admitted. "The Uchiha has been helping Naruto develop control techniques using his Sharingan to analyze energy patterns."

"Without authorization?" The Hokage's voice sharpened.

"With remarkable success," Kakashi countered, defending his students despite protocol. "Naruto maintained control during the Zabuza encounter longer than anyone predicted. When the seals failed, he could have leveled everything within half a kilometer. Instead, he directed the energy precisely, saving his teammates and the clients."

The Hokage sighed, age settling visibly across his shoulders. "Small comfort if we cannot replicate such control consistently." He returned to his desk, fingers tracing the embossed leaf symbol upon its surface. "The council is calling for more aggressive measures."

"Danzo," Kakashi surmised, voice flat with distaste.

"Among others." The Hokage met his jōnin's mismatched gaze directly. "They've proposed removing him from active duty entirely. Permanent facility containment until research provides answers."

"They want to cage him." Anger colored Kakashi's usually impassive tone. "Study him like a laboratory specimen."

"They fear him," the Hokage corrected gently. "As do I, increasingly."

Kakashi's visible eye widened fractionally. "Lord Hokage—"

"Not Naruto himself," the old man clarified. "But what he represents. Power beyond kekkei genkai, beyond tailed beasts, beyond anything in our recorded history." He leaned forward, voice dropping to near-whisper. "Power that answers to no village, no kage, no system of control we've established over centuries."

Understanding dawned in Kakashi's expression. "The shinobi world order itself is threatened by his existence."

"Precisely."

Silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken implications. Outside, stars emerged one by one, distant and cold against deepening night.

"What do you intend to do?" Kakashi asked finally.

The Hokage's smile held no warmth. "What I must, to protect both the village and the boy." He withdrew a scroll from his desk drawer, sealed with marks Kakashi recognized with immediate concern.

"The Forbidden Archive?" The jōnin couldn't hide his surprise. "You're authorized a restricted technique?"

"I've authorized research only, for now." The Hokage handed him the scroll, weight of responsibility transferring with the physical object. "Take this to Jiraiya. Tell him to focus on Section Seven, Cases 12 through 18."

Kakashi's encyclopedic knowledge of Konoha's classified history supplied the reference immediately. His hand tightened around the scroll, tension radiating through his lean frame.

"Those cases all involved psychic aberrations," he observed carefully. "Subjects who manifested abilities outside normal chakra parameters."

"Yes."

"All of those subjects died, Lord Hokage."

The Third Hokage turned back to the window, effectively dismissing his subordinate. "Let us hope history need not repeat itself entirely, Kakashi."

Moonlight spilled across the village like silver paint, illuminating a hospital window where a blonde boy sat awake despite sedation, blue eyes fixed on distant stars as unseen energy crackled around him like living lightning.

In his mind, buildings fell. Cities burned. Reality itself bent to his unconscious will.

And somewhere deep in memory or premonition or somewhere in between, a red motorcycle skidded through Neo-Tokyo streets, carrying a boy with power too vast to comprehend toward destiny that transcended worlds.

# Chapter 6: Chunin Exams Begin

Sunrise painted Konoha in strokes of crimson and gold, light spilling across rooftops like molten metal. In the Hokage Tower's west wing, behind doors sealed with protective jutsu and guarded by elite ANBU, the council of elders gathered in emergency session.

The atmosphere crackled with tension thick enough to choke on. Council members shifted in hard wooden chairs, exchanging wary glances and half-whispered theories. At the center of the oval table, a mission report lay open—its contents replacing sleep with cold dread in every eye that had reviewed it.

"The Wave mission confirms our worst fears," Koharu Utatane's voice cut through the murmurs, sharp as a freshly honed blade. "The Uzumaki boy's abilities are evolving beyond any predictable pattern."

"Beyond any containment we can devise," added Homura Mitokado, fingers steepled beneath his chin. "The S-rank suppression seals shattered like glass."

The Third Hokage sat motionless at the head of the table, weathered face carved from stone. Only the slight tremble of ash from his forgotten pipe betrayed any emotion. "And yet, when the seals failed, he saved his team rather than destroying everything around him. Control is improving alongside power."

"Coincidence, not control," Danzo Shimura countered from the shadows at the far end. Bandages obscured half his face, but his visible eye gleamed with calculation. "You place too much faith in the boy's good intentions, Hiruzen. Power corrupts. Absolute power..." He let the ancient adage hang unfinished.

"What of the Chunin Exams?" A jonin commander broke the heavy silence. "Participants arrive in three days. Do we withdraw Team Seven?"

The question electrified the room. Heads turned toward the Hokage, awaiting the decision that would reverberate across the Five Great Nations.

"Withdraw our strongest genin team weeks after they completed an A-rank mission that should have killed them?" The Third's voice remained measured, belying the steel beneath. "What message would that send to our allies? Our enemies?"

"A message of caution," Danzo suggested, shadows playing across his bandaged face. "Or perhaps wisdom."

"Wisdom would be watching the boy where we can see him," the Hokage countered, "rather than driving him to resentment through unnecessary restriction." He rose, robes whispering against aged wood. "Team Seven will participate. With additional precautions."

"What precautions could possibly contain him if S-rank seals failed?" Koharu demanded, knuckles whitening against the table's edge.

The Hokage's smile held no warmth. "Not containment. Supervision." He gestured toward the shadows beside the door, where a white-haired figure had materialized without anyone noticing his arrival. "Jiraiya will oversee from the shadows. His new seal matrix is... innovative."

Jiraiya stepped into the light, uncharacteristically solemn. "The boy's no threat to Konoha. I've been working with him daily since the Wave incident. What happened there was defensive, not aggressive."

"And when other villages witness these abilities?" Homura challenged. "When they realize what walks among our ranks? The political fallout alone—"

"Is why we won't withdraw him," the Hokage interrupted with finality. "Better they see Konoha's strength under our apparent control than suspect we fear our own weapon."

The word 'weapon' hung in the air like poison gas, tainting everything it touched.

"I have one condition," Danzo spoke into the uncomfortable silence. "My operatives observe all stages of the exam. At the first sign of uncontrolled manifestation, we intervene."

The Hokage studied his old rival, reading the currents beneath the reasonable request. "Observe only," he emphasized. "Any intervention comes through the proper chain of command."

Danzo's head dipped in acquiescence, satisfaction glinting in his lone visible eye.

"Then it's settled." The Third gathered his robes, signaling the meeting's end. "Team Seven enters the Chunin Exams. May the Will of Fire guide us all."

As council members filed out, tensions temporarily subdued but far from resolved, none noticed the tiny sand eye dissolving in the room's shadowed corner, its message already racing across miles to waiting ears.

---

"They're staring again," Sakura muttered, green eyes flicking toward the cluster of foreign ninja gathered at the training ground's edge. "Sand. Grass. Rain. They've been watching us all morning."

Team Seven moved through combat drills with practiced precision, their formations tighter than most chunin teams despite their genin rank. Sasuke led an attack sequence, his movements fluid as quicksilver, kunai flashing in the midday sun.

"Let them watch," he replied, voice pitched for teammates' ears only. "Psychological warfare starts before the exam does."

Naruto caught the thrown kunai mid-flip, redirecting it toward a target dummy with enhanced accuracy. The weapon embedded itself precisely between painted eyes. "It's not us they're watching."

Truth hung unspoken between them. Word had spread through whispers and rumors, growing with each retelling—tales of the orange-clad Konoha genin who stopped a water jutsu mid-execution, who threw a missing-nin through solid walls without touching him, whose eyes sometimes glowed with impossible power.

"Ignore them," Kakashi instructed from behind his ever-present orange book. "Focus on the sequence. Again."

They reset positions, moving with coordinated efficiency that spoke of endless practice. Six weeks had passed since the Wave mission—six weeks of specialized training, of new seal matrices painted across Naruto's skin each morning, of nightmares that left him gasping in cold sweat with visions of cities he'd never seen burning under his unconscious command.

Six weeks of learning to live with power that grew despite every effort to contain it.

The foreign ninja continued their observation, hunger evident in their stares. A red-haired Sand genin stood apart from the others, arms crossed over his chest, killing intent rolling from him in waves that raised goosebumps on sensitive skin.

"That one," Sasuke murmured during a water break, "he's different."

Naruto wiped sweat from his forehead, adjusting the headband that concealed the newest seal—a spiral pattern etched into skin with chakra-infused ink, centered on his forehead like a third eye waiting to open. "I know. I can feel him... watching. Not with his eyes."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"He has something inside him," Naruto explained, voice dropping to near-whisper. "Something that recognizes what's inside me. Not just the Fox. The other thing."

"Your abilities aren't a 'thing,' Naruto," Sakura corrected gently. Academic curiosity had transformed her initial fear into fascination over recent weeks. "They're an evolutionary adaptation of your chakra network responding to the Nine-Tails' presence."

"Tell that to the nightmares," Naruto muttered, blue eyes momentarily distant.

Sasuke's attention remained fixed on the red-haired observer. "Gaara of the Desert," he identified, recalling intelligence briefings. "Rumors say he's never been injured. Not once."

"Every shinobi bleeds," Kakashi interjected, appearing beside them with characteristic silence. His visible eye flicked toward the foreign contingent. "But some are definitely worth avoiding until necessary." He closed his book with a snap. "Enough observation. Let's move to chakra exercises."

Naruto tensed visibly. Despite weeks of practice, precise chakra control remained his greatest weakness. The new seal matrices helped separate his energies, but perfect balance eluded him like morning mist through grasping fingers.

"Relax," Sasuke muttered as they moved to the practice area. "Remember the visualization."

Naruto nodded gratefully. Their clandestine training sessions had evolved rather than ended after the Wave mission—now tacitly approved by Kakashi, who recognized the Uchiha's Sharingan analysis as invaluable for developing control techniques.

"Tree-walking first," Kakashi instructed, gesturing to the massive oaks lining the training ground. "Full height, maintain position for five minutes, then kunai mark at your highest point."

The exercise began smoothly enough. Sakura ascended with textbook precision, chakra perfectly modulated against rough bark. Sasuke followed with the fluid grace that made female academy students swoon, his control nearly matching Sakura's after weeks of intensive practice.

Naruto approached his tree with visible determination. The seals beneath his jacket sleeves pulsed with subtle blue light as he formed the necessary hand sign, concentrating on directing pure chakra—untainted by the psychic energy that constantly pushed against its boundaries.

Visualize separation, he reminded himself, drawing on Sasuke's training methods. Chakra flows like water. The other energy is electricity. They cannot mix without your permission.

His foot connected with bark, adhering perfectly. Then the second. Relief flooded his system as he began the vertical ascent, steps careful but increasingly confident. Halfway up, he passed Sasuke, offering a quick grin that his teammate acknowledged with a competitive grunt.

Three-quarters to the top, rhythmic movement established, focus locked—and then the whispers reached him from below.

"That's him." A foreign voice, pitched to carry. "The freak from the marketplace incident."

"Doesn't look so special to me," replied another, contempt dripping from each syllable. "Bet those stories are just Leaf propaganda."

"I heard he can kill with his mind." A third voice, female, tinged with fear poorly disguised as skepticism. "That he murdered his own classmates when he was seven."

Naruto's concentration wavered, foot slipping against suddenly unyielding bark. The seals flared hot against his skin as unwelcome energy surged through his system, responding to emotional distress rather than conscious command.

Control it, he ordered himself fiercely. Don't let them win.

He regained his footing, continuing upward with renewed determination. The whispers faded, replaced by his own heartbeat drumming in his ears. Almost there. Almost—

"My father says he's not even human anymore." The words drifted from below, sharp as senbon. "That they should have put him down years ago, like a rabid dog."

Something snapped inside Naruto—a momentary fracture in mental barriers constructed through months of painful practice. Psychic energy surged through the breach, invisible but palpable, disturbing air molecules around him with subtle vibration.

The tree beneath his feet shuddered, bark cracking in spiraling patterns that raced from roots to crown in seconds. Leaves rustled without wind, branches swaying as though caught in localized earthquake.

"Naruto!" Kakashi's voice cut through his spiral, sharp with warning rather than anger. "Focus!"

The command anchored him, giving his fractured concentration a target. Naruto inhaled deeply, forcing the energy back behind mental walls reinforced by desperate will. The tree's movement ceased, though hairline fractures remained etched into its surface like accusing fingers.

Not now, he pleaded with the power coursing through his veins. Not here.

The foreign ninja had fallen silent, wary calculation replacing mockery in their stares. Only the red-haired boy—Gaara—continued his unblinking observation, something like recognition flashing across his otherwise empty features.

Naruto reached the treetop without further incident, kunai marking his achievement with trembling hands. As he descended to rejoin his teammates, Kakashi appeared beside him, voice pitched for privacy.

"That was well handled," the jōnin acknowledged, surprising Naruto with unexpected praise. "Six months ago, that tree would have exploded. Progress."

"They're trying to provoke me," Naruto observed, frustration evident despite his control. "Testing my limits before the exam."

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled slightly. "Of course they are. You're the most dangerous piece on the board." His hand settled briefly on Naruto's shoulder—touch light yet reassuring. "Remember, their fear is their weakness, not yours."

The wisdom in those words settled into Naruto's mind, temporarily calming the storm behind his eyes. As they reached the ground, Sasuke and Sakura materialized beside them, solidarity evident in their synchronized arrival.

"Those Rain ninja are asking for trouble," Sakura muttered, green eyes flashing with protective fury. "Want me to genjutsu them into thinking their skin is melting off?"

Naruto couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up—genuine, bright as summer sunshine. "Thanks, Sakura-chan, but I think that might violate some diplomatic something-or-other."

"International incident protocols," Kakashi supplied helpfully. "Which we're trying to avoid, not create."

"Speaking of incidents," Sasuke interjected, dark eyes fixed on the eastern training ground entrance. "We have company."

A procession approached—chunin examiners flanked by ANBU, led by a scarred man whose bandana headband couldn't fully conceal old torture marks. His presence radiated authority and barely restrained violence.

"Morino Ibiki," Kakashi identified, straightening slightly. "Head of Torture and Interrogation. Interesting choice for exam proctor."

The foreign ninja scattered like leaves before strong wind, disappearing into surrounding trees with various degrees of stealth. Only Gaara remained momentarily, aquamarine eyes locking with Naruto's across the distance—challenge and recognition flowing between them like electric current before he too vanished in a swirl of sand.

Ibiki reached their position, acknowledging Kakashi with curt nod before his gaze settled on the genin. When he spoke, his voice rasped like kunai against whetstone.

"Team Seven." He studied them with professional assessment, lingering longest on Naruto. "The Hokage sends instructions. Report to Examination Room 301 at 0800 tomorrow. Standard equipment only." His scarred face twisted into what might have been a smile. "And Uzumaki?"

Naruto straightened instinctively. "Yes, sir?"

"New protocols authorized for the written portion. Special seating. Special proctoring." His eyes flicked meaningfully to the seal visible at Naruto's collar. "Special containment if necessary."

The implied threat hung between them, deliberately public, deliberately humiliating. Around the training ground, hiding foreign ninja absorbed every word, every implication.

Naruto felt his teammates tense beside him—Sakura with indignation, Sasuke with cold fury. Before either could speak, he squared his shoulders, meeting Ibiki's gaze without flinching.

"Understood," he replied, voice steady despite the turmoil beneath. "Any other special instructions I should know about? Maybe a bell around my neck? A sign saying 'dangerous'?"

Ibiki's expression didn't change, but something like reluctant respect flickered in his eyes. "Just be there, kid. On time." He turned to leave, then paused. "And Uzumaki? Those restraints they're preparing? They're not just to protect others from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura demanded, stepping forward despite Kakashi's warning hand.

Ibiki glanced over his shoulder, scars distorting with grim satisfaction. "They're to protect him from what some of the foreign villages have planned." With that parting revelation, he strode away, examiners falling into step behind him.

Silence descended on Team Seven, heavy with implication.

"Well," Naruto broke the tension with forced cheerfulness, "at least now we know why everyone's staring. They're trying to figure out how to kill me before the exam even starts."

"Not funny, Naruto," Sakura scolded, though worry rather than anger colored her tone.

"Wasn't trying to be." He turned to Kakashi, blue eyes suddenly serious. "Is it true? Are they really coming after me specifically?"

The jōnin considered his student, weighing truth against protection. "Intelligence suggests several villages have... special interest in your abilities," he admitted finally. "The rumors from Wave reached farther than we anticipated."

"Great," Naruto muttered. "So instead of just fighting for promotion, I'm fighting for my life against special assassination squads?"

"Welcome to being valuable, Naruto," Kakashi's eye curved in what passed for a smile. "Some would consider it a compliment."

"Some have terrible taste in compliments," Naruto grumbled, but his shoulders relaxed fractionally.

Sasuke, silent through the exchange, finally spoke. "We should adjust our strategy. Naruto's the primary target now, not me."

The simple acknowledgment—Sasuke recognizing that his Uchiha bloodline was no longer the most coveted prize in the exam—struck Naruto with unexpected force. Six months ago, such admission would have been unthinkable.

"Team defense," Sakura suggested, analytical mind already formulating patterns. "Triangle formation, Naruto at center, Sasuke and I rotating perimeter positions based on threat assessment."

"With one modification," Sasuke added, dark eyes finding Naruto's. "If containment becomes necessary, I take point. The Sharingan can still interrupt his energy patterns better than anything else we've found."

The casual discussion of his potential loss of control—as though discussing weather patterns or lunch options—simultaneously irritated and comforted Naruto. They weren't denying the danger he posed; they were planning for it, integrating it into team strategy without fear or judgment.

"Aren't you supposed to be competing against each other?" Kakashi observed mildly, though approval lurked beneath his casual tone.

"We advance together or not at all," Sakura declared with unexpected conviction.

Sasuke nodded once, the gesture containing volumes.

Something warm expanded in Naruto's chest—not the familiar burn of psychic energy threatening release, but something older, more fundamental. Belonging. Despite everything—the power, the danger, the whispers—they stood beside him, with him, for him.

"Alright then," Kakashi straightened, slipping his book into his vest pocket. "Let's run those formations before sunset. If everyone's hunting Naruto, you'll need to make them regret the attempt."

As they moved into position, Naruto caught Sasuke's eye across the training ground. The Uchiha's nod was nearly imperceptible, but the message crystal clear: Whatever comes, we face it together.

For the first time in weeks, the constant pressure behind Naruto's eyes eased, if only slightly.

---

Examination Room 301 pulsed with killing intent and nervous energy, genin from a dozen villages eyeing each other with varying degrees of hostility. Conversations shifted between languages, dialects, and coded phrases, the air thick with schemes and size-up chatter.

Every conversation stopped when Team Seven entered.

Naruto felt the collective attention like physical weight against his skin. Whispers erupted immediately, rippling through the crowd like wind through summer wheat:

"That's him."

"—the one who can stop jutsu with his mind—"

"—killed Zabuza Momochi without touching him—"

"—eyes glow blue when he's angry—"

Sasuke stepped closer to Naruto's right, Sakura closing ranks on his left—triangle formation established without conscious thought. Their synchronized movement sent another ripple through the watching crowd.

"Well, well, look who decided to show up!" Kiba Inuzuka's voice carried across the room, deliberately normal in the tension-charged atmosphere. He approached with casual confidence, Akamaru perched atop his head. "Thought maybe they'd keep you on a special leash, Naruto."

"The day's still young," Naruto replied with a grin that almost reached his eyes. "How's Akamaru? Still taking all the brain cells in your partnership?"

The familiar banter cut through some of the room's tension. Other Konoha genin drifted over—Shikamaru and Choji, followed by Ino, then Team Guy with their green-clad sensei's mini-clone leading the charge.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Lee exclaimed at volume that made several foreign ninja wince. "THE RUMORS OF YOUR YOUTHFUL TRANSFORMATION HAVE REACHED EVEN OUR TEAM'S EARS!"

"Inside voice, Lee," Tenten sighed, twirling a kunai between deft fingers. Her eyes assessed Naruto with professional curiosity. "Though he's not wrong. People are talking."

"People always talk," Neji Hyūga observed coldly, pale eyes studying Naruto with uncomfortable intensity. "Though for once, their observations may contain elements of truth. Your chakra pathways have... evolved."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably beneath the Byakugan's penetrating analysis. "Yeah, well, puberty hits some people harder than others," he deflected with forced humor.

Neji's eyes narrowed. "This is no natural development. Your entire chakra network has been reconstructed, with secondary pathways that don't conform to any known—"

"That's enough, Neji," Shikamaru interrupted with uncharacteristic sharpness. "Exam room full of foreign ninja isn't the place for this conversation."

The Hyūga prodigy fell silent, though his pale eyes continued their assessment.

"You might want to keep it down generally," offered a silver-haired Konoha genin approaching their group. Glasses caught the light as he pushed them up his nose. "You're attracting rather intense attention."

He wasn't wrong. The room's atmosphere had shifted from wary observation to focused hostility, particularly from the corner where Sound ninja gathered in predatory cluster.

"Kabuto Yakushi," the newcomer introduced himself with disarming smile. "Seventh attempt at the exams, so consider me your senior guide to this troublesome process."

"Seventh?" Ino's eyebrows rose skeptically. "Either the test is impossible or you're spectacularly bad at it."

Kabuto laughed without apparent offense. "A little of both, perhaps." His gaze settled on Naruto with intensity belying his casual demeanor. "Though this year presents unique variables."

Before Naruto could respond, the examination room doors slammed open. Ibiki Morino strode in, flanked by chunin proctors whose stern expressions could curdle milk.

"Seats, now!" he barked, killing intent washing over the room like arctic wind. "Assigned positions only!"

Genin scrambled for chairs, several colliding in their haste to avoid the interrogator's wrath. Amid the chaos, Ibiki's scarred face found Naruto with unerring precision.

"Uzumaki! Special seating, as discussed."

Every eye tracked Naruto as he was directed to an isolated desk at the room's center, surrounded by empty seats in all directions. The arrangement couldn't have more clearly marked him as different, dangerous, requiring containment.

Subtle as a paper bomb, Naruto thought bitterly, settling into the chair that hummed with embedded suppression seals. The desk surface bore familiar characters—restriction matrices disguised as ordinary examination material.

Across the room, Sasuke's eyes flashed red momentarily—Sharingan activating long enough to confirm what Naruto already felt: he sat within a web of chakra-dampening techniques, visible to Uchiha eyes as glowing filaments connecting proctor to desk to chair.

"Now then," Ibiki's voice cut through remaining whispers. "Welcome to the first phase of the Chunin Selection Exams. Over the next hour, you will complete a written test consisting of nine questions. The tenth will be provided verbally after time expires."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd as papers were distributed. Naruto received his from Ibiki personally, the scarred man leaning close enough to whisper:

"Special paper for you, Uzumaki. Try not to incinerate it when you realize you don't know any answers."

Naruto bit back the reflexive retort, focusing instead on the exam before him. The questions swam into focus—cryptography problems, advanced physics calculations, theoretical chakra equations that would challenge most jonin.

They're setting me up to fail, he realized with sudden clarity. To lose control when frustration peaks.

The insight brought unexpected calm. If they wanted him to explode, he'd do the opposite. Meeting Ibiki's watchful gaze, he picked up his pencil with deliberate slowness, focusing chakra through the seal matrix Jiraiya had helped him develop—the one that momentarily dampened psychic energy while enhancing cognitive function.

Around the room, other genin attacked their tests with varying strategies. Sasuke's Sharingan activated subtly, copying a neighbor's pencil movements. Sakura bent over her paper with academic confidence. Hinata's Byakugan pulsed beneath her bangs.

Twenty minutes into the examination, the first incident occurred.

A Rain genin three rows back suddenly stood, clutching his head as blood trickled from his nose. "Something's in my mind!" he shrieked, wild eyes fixing on Naruto with terrified accusation. "He's in my head!"

Ibiki appeared beside the panicking ninja with eerie speed. "Control yourself or be eliminated," he commanded, voice pitched to intimidate.

"But he—" The Rain genin's protest died as Ibiki's killing intent focused entirely on him.

"Resume your exam," the proctor ordered. "Or leave."

The genin subsided, trembling visibly as he returned to his paper. Suspicious glances targeted Naruto from all directions—some fearful, others calculating, a few openly hostile.

Naruto kept his eyes on his own paper, but inside, confusion warred with growing suspicion. He hadn't attempted telepathy—hadn't even considered it—yet the Rain ninja's accusation felt too specific to be random. Someone was setting him up, manufacturing incidents to isolate him further.

Focus on the test, he reminded himself, pushing aside the distraction. The suppression seals in the desk hummed against his skin, unusual comfort rather than restriction. They actually helped moderate the constant pressure in his mind, creating a buffer zone where concentration came easier.

Halfway through the allotted time, the second incident unfolded.

A pencil flew across the room like a thrown senbon, embedding itself tip-first into a wooden beam with enough force to sink half its length into solid oak. The weapon had passed within centimeters of a Stone genin's eye, close enough that the breeze of its passing had ruffled her hair.

Every head swiveled toward Naruto.

"It wasn't me!" he protested, hands raised to prove they held only his own pencil.

"Silence!" Ibiki's voice cracked like thunder. "Next outburst means disqualification!"

Naruto subsided, anger simmering beneath forced calm. The setup became increasingly obvious—someone was using his reputation, creating telekinetic incidents he'd be blamed for automatically.

Three more incidents followed in quick succession—a chair tipping over with no apparent cause, exam papers rustling without wind to move them, water glasses vibrating on proctor tables. Each time, hostile stares targeted Naruto, intensifying with each unexplained occurrence.

Through it all, he maintained rigid control, focusing on the exam despite the mounting tension. By the time Ibiki called the hour complete, Naruto had answered seven of the nine questions—not through cheating but through applied knowledge gleaned from months of specialized training.

"Eyes forward for the tenth question," Ibiki commanded, scarred face surveying the remaining candidates with predatory assessment. "Before I give it, understand this: you may choose not to receive it. Leave now, try again next exam cycle. But if you stay and answer incorrectly, you will be barred from future Chunin Exams permanently."

Protests erupted immediately. Ibiki silenced them with a wave of killing intent that made several genin gag.

"Decisions have consequences," he continued, voice deceptively soft. "Just as power without control brings destruction. Some of you..." his eyes lingered on Naruto, "...represent threats beyond your own understanding. This question determines whether you're ready for that responsibility."

Hands began to rise around the room—genin choosing to withdraw rather than risk permanent failure. Teams departed in ones and twos, tension thickening with each exit.

Through it all, Naruto remained motionless, blue eyes locked on Ibiki's scarred face. He recognized the psychological tactic for what it was—another pressure test, another attempt to break his concentration.

Not today, he promised himself. Not ever again.

When nearly half the participants had withdrawn, Ibiki's focus returned to the center desk. "Uzumaki," he called, voice carrying to every corner of the silent room. "Final chance. Your... condition... makes you uniquely vulnerable to sudden pressure. Perhaps you should reconsider your participation."

The public challenge hung in the air like drawn steel. Every remaining eye fixed on Naruto, waiting, judging, expecting him to crack beneath the scrutiny.

To everyone's surprise, he laughed—not the nervous giggle of someone about to break, but genuine amusement that brightened his features like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.

"Nice try, Scarface," he replied, voice carrying easily through the shocked silence. "But if you think a little psychological torture is going to make me lose control, you clearly haven't read my file thoroughly enough."

For a heartbeat, the room froze in collective disbelief at his audacity. Then Ibiki's scarred face cracked into something approximating a smile.

"All remaining candidates," he announced, tension dissipating from his posture, "pass the first examination."

Confusion rippled through the room, quickly replaced by relieved exclamations and celebratory exchanges. As Ibiki explained the true purpose of the test—information gathering, decision-making under pressure—Naruto felt the weight of constant observation temporarily lift from his shoulders.

The respite lasted approximately sixty seconds.

The examination room windows imploded in a shower of glass as a black bundle crashed through, unfurling mid-air to reveal a banner proclaiming "THE SEXY AND SINGLE SECOND EXAMINER: ANKO MITARASHI!"

The purple-haired kunoichi landed in dramatic crouch, dango stick clenched between teeth, trench coat revealing more than it concealed. Her entrance silenced the room instantly.

"Alright, maggots!" she crowed, wild eyes scanning the remaining genin. "Too many of you passed, Ibiki! You're going soft!"

"Or they're stronger than you think," he countered, unperturbed by her theatrical arrival.

Anko snorted, attention settling on the room's center where Naruto sat surrounded by empty seats. Her expression shifted subtly—professional assessment replacing manic persona.

"So that's him," she murmured, just loud enough for those nearest to hear. "Doesn't look like much."

"Neither did the Fourth before he developed Flying Thunder God," Ibiki replied quietly.

Anko's eyes narrowed fractionally before her manic grin returned full-force. "Listen up, worms! Second examination begins at Training Ground 44 in one hour! Special protocols in effect!" Her gaze locked with Naruto's across the room. "Especially for you, Whiskers. I've got something extra special planned."

The ominous promise hung in the air as she vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving stunned silence in her wake.

As genin filed out, excitement and apprehension mingling in equal measure, Naruto remained seated—the suppression seals in the desk offering momentary sanctuary from the constant scrutiny. Only when the room had nearly emptied did he rise, stretching muscles cramped from enforced stillness.

"Interesting performance," Kabuto commented, materializing beside Naruto's desk with disturbing silence. "You handled the provocations well."

"Wasn't me they were trying to provoke," Naruto countered, blue eyes sharp with sudden suspicion. "Someone was creating incidents deliberately. Testing reactions, maybe. Or setting me up."

Kabuto's smile remained fixed, though something calculating flickered behind his glasses. "Perceptive. The chunin exams have always been as much about politics as promotion." He adjusted his glasses with practiced gesture. "Though I suspect your case presents... unique considerations."

Before Naruto could respond, Sasuke and Sakura appeared at his sides, their arrival precipitating Kabuto's immediate departure with a casual wave.

"Something's off about him," Sasuke observed, watching the silver-haired genin's retreat. "His chakra fluctuates unnaturally."

"Everyone's chakra seems unnatural to your eyes lately," Sakura countered, though her own gaze followed Kabuto with analytical assessment. "Did you notice the incidents during the exam? Someone was creating telekinetic disturbances."

"Not someone," Naruto corrected grimly. "Something. I felt it—like echo of what I can do, but...wrong. Artificial."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Someone's replicating your abilities?"

"Or someone has similar abilities naturally," Sakura suggested, mind racing through possibilities. "The power might not be unique to Naruto, just extremely rare."

The implication sent ice through Naruto's veins. If others possessed similar gifts—if his condition wasn't unique to his status as jinchūriki—then Konoha's obsessive containment efforts took on new dimensions.

"We need to move," Sasuke interrupted the spiral of speculation. "Training Ground 44 is twenty minutes from here, and Anko doesn't strike me as the patient type."

Naruto nodded, forcibly shifting focus to immediate concerns. As they exited the examination room, he felt the absence of the desk's suppression seals immediately—psychic pressure returning behind his eyes like gathering storm.

The Forest of Death awaited, and with it, challenges that would test not just their ninja skills, but the very limits of what Naruto's evolving powers could withstand.

---

Training Ground 44 loomed like a primordial nightmare given form—twisted trees reaching skyward in tangled canopy, darkness pooling beneath interlocking branches despite the midday sun. Ancient wooden gates encircled the perimeter, warning signs proclaiming deadly dangers in faded red lettering.

"The Forest of Death," Anko announced with disturbing cheerfulness, arms spread wide as though showcasing paradise rather than hunting ground. "My favorite playground and your home for the next five days!"

Assembled genin shifted nervously, many eyeing the massive forest with open apprehension. Stories of Training Ground 44 circulated throughout the Five Nations—tales of carnivorous plants, mutated insects, and predators evolved beyond natural parameters.

"Each team receives either a Heaven or Earth scroll," Anko continued, holding up examples of each. "Your mission: obtain both, then reach the central tower within the time limit. How you acquire the opposing scroll..." her grin turned feral, "...is entirely your business."

Understanding rippled through the crowd—this was battlefield simulation, with real weapons, real enemies, and potentially lethal consequences.

"One last thing," Anko added, voice dropping to serious register that snapped everyone to attention. "Special protocols are in effect for this examination phase." She raised a hand, and ANBU materialized from surrounding shadows. "Four containment units will patrol the forest. Their presence is non-interference unless specific triggers activate."

Her eyes found Naruto unerringly amid the crowd. "You know who you are and what circumstances qualify for intervention. Don't test the boundaries."

The warning couldn't have been clearer had she shouted Naruto's name through megaphone. Once again, foreign ninja assessed him with renewed calculation, many now openly displaying hostility.

"Perfect," Naruto muttered to his teammates as they collected their Heaven scroll. "Nothing says 'target me' like ANBU specifically assigned to watch one participant."

"They're not just watching you," Sasuke observed, dark eyes tracking the masked operatives with practiced assessment. "Those aren't standard ANBU. The mask patterns indicate ROOT division."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "ROOT was disbanded years ago."

"Officially," Sasuke agreed, voice dropping further. "Unofficially, they operate under Danzo Shimura's direct command, outside normal ANBU protocols."

"How do you know that?" Naruto demanded, surprised by Sasuke's uncharacteristic information sharing.

Something dark flickered across Sasuke's features. "My brother was ANBU. I... observed more than people realized."

The rare personal revelation hung between them, significant in ways none fully articulated. Before they could pursue the subject, teams were directed to assigned gates around the forest perimeter.

"Gate 12," Sakura identified, leading them toward the western boundary. "Optimal position for direct approach to the tower, but likely higher competition density."

"We're not going direct," Sasuke decided, falling into tactical planning with natural ease. "South first, loop around counter-clockwise. Target weaker teams early, acquire the Earth scroll before nightfall."

Naruto nodded agreement, attention only partially engaged as another sensation demanded notice—a prickling awareness at the base of his skull, like being watched by something ancient and hungry.

His eyes found Gaara across the assembly area, the Sand genin standing utterly motionless amid the preparation chaos. Their gazes locked, and something passed between them—recognition beyond conscious understanding, primal acknowledgment of shared burden.

He's like me, Naruto realized with sudden clarity. Not the psychic stuff, but... he has something sealed inside him too.

The insight vanished as quickly as it had formed, replaced by more immediate concerns as proctors directed teams to their starting positions. At Gate 12, a chunin examiner affixed explosive tags to the massive lock—insurance against early entry.

"Two minutes to commencement," he announced, backing away with clipboard in hand. "Standard rules apply. Deaths will not pause the examination. Surrender is indicated by flare signal only."

"Comforting," Sakura muttered, adjusting her weapons pouch with practiced efficiency. "Any last-minute adjustments to the plan?"

Sasuke activated his Sharingan briefly, scanning nearby gates where other teams waited. "Initial vector remains optimal. First target acquired within thirty minutes, defensive perimeter established by sunset."

"And if we encounter special interest parties?" Naruto asked, euphemism thin disguise for the assassins rumored to be hunting him specifically.

Sasuke's expression hardened. "We eliminate the threat."

"Permanently?" Sakura's question contained no judgment, only tactical clarification.

"If necessary." The Uchiha's flat statement left no room for debate—this was survival, not academy exercise.

Naruto studied his teammates with sudden intensity, struck by how much they'd changed in recent months. Sakura—once focused on appearance and Sasuke's approval—now calculated kill strikes with clinical precision. Sasuke—cold, distant, obsessed with revenge—now integrated team defense into every strategy, prioritizing collective survival over individual glory.

And himself? The dead-last prankster transformed into walking weapon, into target, into something shinobi from a dozen villages simultaneously feared and coveted.

We've all evolved, he realized as the one-minute warning sounded. Just in different directions.

"Remember," he said suddenly, drawing his teammates' attention. "Whatever happens in there... we're still us. Still Team Seven."

Something softened briefly in Sasuke's typically impassive expression. Sakura's smile held unexpected warmth.

"As if we'd let you forget it," she replied, punching his shoulder lightly.

The explosive tags on the gate detonated with controlled precision, massive doors swinging inward to reveal green-black darkness beyond. A siren wailed across the training ground, signaling examination commencement.

Team Seven crossed the threshold together, shadows swallowing them as ancient trees closed ranks behind their passage—guardians or jailers, depending on perspective.

The Forest of Death had welcomed them into its embrace. Whether it would release them again remained to be seen.

---

Sunset painted the forest canopy in blooded gold, light filtering through interlaced branches to create dappled patterns across the small clearing where Team Seven had established temporary camp. Three hours into the examination, they had encountered only minor resistance—a team from Rain dispatched with embarrassing ease, their Heaven scroll useless duplicate of Team Seven's own.

"We're being avoided," Sasuke observed, Sharingan scanning the perimeter for approaching threats. "Three teams have altered course specifically to bypass our position."

"Can't imagine why," Naruto replied dryly, adjusting the seal matrix visible at his collar. The forest's oppressive chakra atmosphere had accelerated the usual deterioration process—what should have lasted days showing signs of failure after mere hours. "It's not like I'm walking around with a sign saying 'potentially unstable human weapon, approach with caution.'"

"Their caution works to our advantage," Sakura pointed out, spreading their map across a fallen log. "Less combat means energy conservation and reduced risk of injury." Her finger traced their planned route. "We maintain current heading until dawn, then adjust northeast toward the tower periphery."

"Assuming we acquire an Earth scroll by then," Sasuke reminded her, deactivating his bloodline to conserve chakra.

Sakura's confident smile revealed unexpected predatory edge. "We will."

The certainty in her tone raised Naruto's eyebrows, but before he could comment, familiar pressure built behind his eyes—the warning sign he'd learned to recognize through painful experience. Somewhere nearby, chakra shifted in patterns that triggered his increasingly sensitive detection abilities.

"We're being watched," he murmured, careful not to look directly toward the presence he sensed. "Northeast quadrant, approximately fifty meters. Single observer, chakra level..." he hesitated, focus narrowing, "...jonin-class at minimum."

His teammates showed no outward reaction to the warning, maintaining casual conversation while hands drifted toward weapons with practiced nonchalance. Sasuke's Sharingan activated beneath half-closed eyelids, confirming Naruto's assessment with microscopic nod.

"Options?" Sakura asked, voice pitched to carry no further than their immediate vicinity.

"Retreat not viable," Sasuke replied, crimson eyes tracking the invisible observer. "They've been following for approximately twenty minutes. This is deliberate stalking, not accidental encounter."

Naruto's fingers brushed the seal at his collar, feeling the subtle vibration that indicated imminent failure. "If this turns ugly, I'm working with degraded containment," he warned. "The forest's natural energy is interfering with the matrix stability."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed fractionally. "How long?"

"Hours, not days." Naruto forced casual shrug despite the ice sliding down his spine. The consequences of complete seal failure in current circumstances didn't bear contemplating. "I can maintain separation as long as emotional triggers remain minimal."

"So we just need to avoid mortal terror, homicidal rage, or extreme emotional distress while being hunted by elite assassins," Sakura summarized with false brightness. "Totally manageable."

"Optimism becomes you, Sakura-chan," Naruto managed a genuine grin despite the tension coiling through his system.

The banter died as killing intent washed over their clearing like arctic wave—so powerful that nearby insects fell silent, small animals fled through underbrush, and even ancient trees seemed to shrink away from its source.

"My, my," came a voice from the shadows—sibilant, amused, dripping with malice sweeter than honey. "What interesting prey I've found. The last Uchiha and Konoha's little psychic experiment, delivered right to my doorstep."

A figure emerged from between massive tree trunks—tall, unnaturally pale, features arranged in simulacrum of human expression that failed to conceal the predator beneath. Long black hair framed yellow eyes with vertical pupils that reflected surrounding firelight like polished gemstones.

"Orochimaru," Sasuke identified, body coiling into combat readiness as the name left his lips. "S-rank missing-nin. Forbidden technique specialist."

"How flattering to be recognized," the Sannin purred, reptilian gaze shifting between the genin with amused assessment. "Though I expected more visible alarm. Has Konoha's academy improved its psychological conditioning, I wonder?"

The killing intent intensified, pressure building like ocean depths threatening to crush lungs and collapse veins. Sakura staggered slightly, face paling beneath pink hair. Sasuke maintained rigid control, though sweat beaded along his hairline.

Only Naruto stood seemingly unaffected, blue eyes meeting yellow without flinching.

"Interesting," Orochimaru tilted his head like curious snake. "The containment seems effective, despite what my sources reported. Let's test its limits, shall we?"

His hands blurred through seals too quick for genin eyes to follow. "Summoning Jutsu: Twin Serpents!"

Two massive snakes materialized in explosive smoke, each larger than the clearing itself, scales gleaming like polished obsidian in the fading light. They struck with synchronized precision—one targeting Sasuke and Sakura, the other lunging toward Naruto with fangs longer than kunai.

"Move!" Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm, chakra flooding his system as he pulled her into desperate evasion. The snake's head crashed into their previous position with enough force to crater the forest floor, ancient trees splintering like matchsticks beneath the impact.

Naruto faced his own serpentine attacker with unexpected calm, hands forming familiar cross seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Twenty duplicates materialized around him, each moving with identical purpose—not to attack the massive predator but to form concentric rings around the original, human shield against more than physical danger.

"Oh?" Orochimaru's eyebrow raised fractionally. "A defensive strategy rather than offensive? Not what your reputation suggested, Uzumaki-kun."

"Reputations exaggerate," Naruto replied through gritted teeth, clones maintaining formation as the snake circled their position. The seal matrix at his collar hummed with increasing urgency, reacting to the adrenaline flooding his system despite his conscious control efforts.

Across the clearing, Sasuke and Sakura coordinated their defense with practiced efficiency—fire techniques from the Uchiha creating momentary barriers while Sakura's precision kunai targeted the serpent's sensitive eyes.

"Adequate teamwork," Orochimaru assessed, tone suggesting academic interest rather than genuine concern for his summoned creatures. "But ultimately futile. I didn't come to kill you, after all." His tongue extended to impossible length, flicking against pale lips. "Merely to... evaluate."

The declaration hung in the air for precisely two heartbeats before both giant snakes altered their attack patterns with terrifying synchronicity—no longer attempting to strike directly but instead coiling their massive bodies to constrict the entire clearing.

"Shit," Naruto muttered as tree trunks splintered beneath serpentine muscle, escape routes disappearing with each passing second. Through the chaos, he locked eyes with Sasuke across the diminishing clearing, silent communication flowing between them.

Standard counter? Sasuke's slightly raised eyebrow asked.

Too confined, Naruto's head tilt replied. Plan B.

Sasuke's imperceptible nod confirmed understanding before he turned to Sakura, murmuring instructions that transformed her expression from determination to momentary shock, then grim acceptance.

The snakes completed their encirclement, massive coils forming living walls that reached halfway to the forest canopy. Within this impromptu arena, Team Seven regrouped at triangular points, Orochimaru watching their movements with predatory amusement from his perch atop the largest serpent's head.

"Delightful," the Sannin commented, yellow eyes gleaming with unnatural light. "But I'm afraid playtime must progress to the next stage. I have experiments to conduct."

His killing intent redoubled, focusing entirely on Naruto with precision that stole breath and froze blood. The pressure built like physical weight, crushing reason beneath primal terror that bypassed conscious thought.

The seal matrix at Naruto's collar shattered with audible crack, ink fragments dissipating into the forest air like smoke from extinguished candle. Beneath his jacket sleeves, secondary seals flared with painful intensity as they struggled to compensate for the primary containment's failure.

"There we are," Orochimaru purred with visible satisfaction. "The first layer falls. Let's see what hides beneath, shall we?"

He formed a single seal, and the snake nearest Naruto struck with blinding speed—not to kill but to capture, massive jaws opening wide enough to swallow him whole.

What happened next unfolded with such rapidity that later accounts from forest patrols varied wildly.

Naruto's shadow clones dispelled simultaneously, generating chakra feedback that momentarily illuminated the clearing with blue-white brilliance. Within that instant of artificial daylight, he reached not for kunai or shuriken but for the power that constantly pressed against mental barriers—the ability Jiraiya had warned him never to access deliberately.

Just this once, he promised the absent Sannin, blue eyes shifting to electric luminescence as psychic energy flooded pathways no longer constrained by broken seals. Just enough to survive.

The attacking snake froze mid-strike, massive body suddenly held in telekinetic grasp that transcended physical limitation. Muscle strained against invisible bonds as reptilian eyes widened with what might have been genuine surprise.

"Now!" Naruto shouted, voice layered with harmonics that vibrated through surrounding air molecules.

Sasuke and Sakura moved with perfect coordination—the Uchiha's hands flashing through fire seals while Sakura launched herself skyward using chakra-enhanced strength that belied her slender frame.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Sasuke exhaled precisely controlled flame bursts that targeted the second snake's eyes, temporarily blinding the massive predator.

Sakura descended from her leap with kunai gripped in reverse position, the blade glowing blue with chakra concentration. Her target: not the snakes but the scroll tube visible at Orochimaru's waist.

"Interesting strategy," the Sannin observed, making no move to evade her approach. "Though ultimately—"

His casual dismissal transformed to genuine surprise as Sakura's trajectory altered mid-air—her body suddenly accelerating at impossible angle, as though yanked by invisible wire.

Naruto stood with hand extended, face contorted with concentration as he divided his telekinetic focus between immobilizing the snake and redirecting Sakura's approach vector. Blood trickled from his nose, secondary seals burning white-hot against his skin as they fought to contain what had already escaped.

The gambit worked. Sakura's enhanced kunai sliced through the scroll tube's strap, momentum carrying her past Orochimaru before he could fully register the attack's true purpose. She landed in crouch atop a nearby tree branch, Heaven and Earth scrolls clutched triumphantly in bloodless fingers.

"We got what we came for," she announced, green eyes hard as jade. "Sasuke, Naruto—disengage!"

The command triggered their practiced escape protocol. Sasuke launched three smoke bombs toward the clearing's center while simultaneously throwing flash tags toward the canopy. The dual assault created momentary sensory chaos—vision and breathing compromised even for a Sannin-level opponent.

Naruto released his telekinetic hold on the massive snake, redirecting that energy to create concussive force directed straight upward. The forest canopy exploded outward, ancient branches splintering like matchsticks to create escape route where none had existed moments before.

"Go!" he shouted to his teammates, psychic energy bleeding into his voice with harmonic resonance that vibrated through surrounding air.

They didn't hesitate. Sasuke and Sakura launched upward through the newly created opening, chakra-enhanced leaps carrying them toward freedom and relative safety. Naruto prepared to follow—only to find his limbs suddenly immobilized by invisible force.

"Not so fast, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru's voice hissed directly behind him, inconceivably close despite no detected movement. "Our experiment has only just begun."

Paralyzing terror spread from Naruto's spine outward as the Sannin's killing intent focused entirely on him—no longer generalized threat but precisely targeted assault that bypassed conscious defenses to trigger primal fear responses.

"What do you want?" Naruto managed through locked jaw, fighting the paralysis with desperate will.

"To observe," Orochimaru replied, circling to face his immobilized prey. Yellow eyes studied him with scientific detachment, tongue flicking out to taste the air around Naruto's rigid form. "Your evolution fascinates me. Not quite jinchūriki transformation, not quite kekkei genkai. Something... new."

The secondary seals at Naruto's wrists flared painfully as psychic energy surged in response to fear and rage—power fighting for release against failing containment. Blood vessels ruptured in his right eye, the sclera flooding crimson as internal pressure built toward catastrophic release.

"There it is," Orochimaru breathed, genuine excitement coloring his normally controlled tone. "The threshold approaches. Tell me, Naruto-kun, what do you see when the barriers fall? What reality unfolds behind those interesting eyes?"

The question struck deeper than intended—touching memories of dreams that weren't quite dreams, visions of cities that had never existed in the shinobi world, of destruction that transcended even tailed beast capacity.

"Nothing you'll ever witness," Naruto growled, gathering fragmented concentration for one desperate gambit. The secondary seals at his wrists shattered simultaneously, containment failing as psychic energy flooded his system without restriction.

The forest floor beneath their feet cracked in perfect circle, fissures racing outward like frozen lightning. Rocks, fallen branches, discarded weapons—anything not anchored by roots or significant mass—rose into the air, suspended by telekinetic field that expanded with each passing second.

Orochimaru's paralysis jutsu faltered momentarily as he adjusted to the unexpected energy surge. "Magnificent," he murmured, yellow eyes wide with genuine fascination. "Raw psychokinetic manifestation without handseals or verbal components. Even Sasori's puppet techniques require more physical initiation."

The Sannin's academic interest provided Naruto the opening he needed. While Orochimaru observed the telekinetic display with scientific assessment, Naruto directed precision focus toward a single goal—not attacking the Sannin directly but creating targeted concussive force directly beneath his own feet.

The forest floor exploded upward, launching Naruto skyward with ballistic trajectory precisely calculated to intersect with his teammates' escape route. The sudden acceleration broke Orochimaru's remaining paralysis hold, momentum carrying him beyond immediate reach.

"Clever boy," the Sannin called after him, making no move to pursue. "But pointless evasion. I've seen what I came to evaluate."

Naruto crashed through remaining canopy branches, telekinetically deflecting the worst obstacles until he spotted Sasuke and Sakura waiting at predetermined rendezvous point fifty meters north. He landed beside them in graceless tumble, secondary containment completely failed, blood now streaming from both nostrils.

"Move," he gasped, struggling to his feet. "He's not following yet, but—"

"But he will," Sasuke finished, Sharingan active as he scanned the forest below. "Northeast vector, maximum speed, no stopping until full daylight."

They launched into desperate flight, racing through upper canopy with chakra-enhanced leaps that prioritized distance over stealth. Behind them, no pursuit materialized—a fact more unsettling than immediate chase would have been.

"He got what he wanted," Sakura observed grimly as they maintained punishing pace. "Information. We were never the targets—your abilities were, Naruto."

"Why?" Naruto demanded, voice rough with exertion and lingering terror. "What could Orochimaru possibly want with psychic abilities? He's already got more forbidden techniques than anyone alive!"

"Knowledge is his primary currency," Sasuke replied, leading their formation with unerring precision. "And unique abilities are his specialty. Your powers represent unknown potential—something unprecedented even in his extensive experience."

The analysis made logical sense, yet something about the encounter continued nagging at Naruto's instincts—some detail overlooked, some purpose unfulfilled. Orochimaru had seemed genuinely fascinated by the telekinetic display, but his scientific interest felt secondary to another agenda left unrevealed.

An hour passed in relentless movement, the forest growing darker as night claimed final dominance over twilight. When Sakura's chakra reserves approached dangerous depletion, they established temporary shelter within massive hollow tree trunk—natural fortress accessible only through narrow opening easily defended.

"Status report," Sasuke demanded once basic security perimeter had been established.

Sakura checked her weapons and supplies with efficient movements. "Chakra at thirty percent, no injuries, both scrolls secured." She held up the Heaven and Earth pair with grim satisfaction. "Primary mission objective complete."

"Secondary containment completely failed," Naruto reported, displaying his wrists where shattered seal fragments had burned into skin like bizarre tattoos. "Tertiary system intact but degrading." He gestured to his chest where the spiral-pattern seal—the final defense against complete psychic release—pulsed with ominous red light beneath his torn jacket.

"Estimated time until critical?" Sasuke's question contained no judgment, only tactical assessment.

Naruto closed his eyes, focusing inward to evaluate the familiar pressure building behind conscious thought. "Twenty-four hours, maybe less if additional combat becomes necessary." He reopened eyes that now contained subtle luminescence visible even in the shelter's dim light. "We need to reach the tower before tertiary containment fails completely."

"Agreed," Sasuke nodded, decision made. "Three hours rest, then straight-line approach regardless of encountered opposition. We have both scrolls—further engagement offers no tactical advantage."

Sakura produced soldier pills from her supply pouch, distributing them with practiced efficiency. "These will help with chakra recovery, but your psychic energy..." she studied Naruto with clinical concern, "...that's another matter entirely."

"I'll manage," Naruto assured her with confidence he didn't entirely feel. The pressure behind his eyes had intensified since Orochimaru's attack—constant throb that made focusing difficult, accompanied by fragmented visions that flickered at consciousness's edge.

A red motorcycle skidding across rain-slick streets. Skyscrapers crumbling like sandcastles beneath invisible force. A colossal explosion expanding over city skyline, mushroom cloud reaching toward stratosphere with hungry fingers...

He blinked hard, forcing the impossible images back into mental compartments constructed through months of painful practice. Whatever these visions represented—memories, premonitions, bleed-through from parallel reality—they threatened his fragile control more than any external enemy could.

"Take first watch," Sasuke instructed, recognizing Naruto's struggle without requiring explanation. "Focus on perimeter awareness. Active engagement helps stabilize the energy pattern."

Naruto nodded gratefully, moving toward the hollow tree's entrance while his teammates settled into recovery positions. Outside, the Forest of Death had transformed with nightfall—bioluminescent fungi casting eerie blue-green light across undergrowth, strange cries echoing from depths where sunlight never penetrated.

He seated himself in meditative posture Jiraiya had taught him, channeling psychic energy into sensory enhancement rather than physical manifestation. The forest bloomed in his awareness—chakra signatures of nearby teams moving like fireflies through darkness, predators stalking midnight hunting grounds, even the slow pulse of ancient trees drawing nutrients from soil rich with decades of spilled blood.

Among these signatures, one remained conspicuously absent—Orochimaru had vanished completely, suppressing his presence beyond even Naruto's enhanced detection range. The disappearance brought no comfort, only growing certainty that the Sannin's interest had merely shifted focus rather than dissipated entirely.

Midnight approached with glacial slowness, forest sounds rising and falling in natural rhythms that gradually synchronized with Naruto's breathing. The temporary harmony brought unexpected clarity—psychic pressure receding slightly as his conscious mind relaxed into awareness without attachment.

The reprieve shattered as chakra flared suddenly to his northwest—familiar signature approaching with determined purpose rather than random patrol pattern.

"Gaara," Naruto identified aloud, rising to defensive position as he reached into the shelter to alert his teammates. "Sand team approaching, three signatures, lead position matches the red-haired jinchūriki."

Sasuke and Sakura awakened instantly, years of academy training eliminating grogginess that civilians might have experienced. They flanked Naruto at the entrance, weapons drawn but not yet deployed.

"Aggressive posture?" Sasuke asked, Sharingan activating to penetrate surrounding darkness.

Naruto concentrated, focusing enhanced perception toward the approaching team. "No combat formation," he reported after moment's assessment. "Steady advance, no attempt at concealment. They know we're here and want us to know they're coming."

"Deliberate contact rather than ambush," Sakura concluded, analytical mind cataloging possibilities. "Negotiation or challenge?"

"One way to find out," Naruto stepped forward, placing himself slightly ahead of his teammates—tactical decision placing the greatest immediate threat (himself) in front line position where his abilities could be deployed without endangering allies.

The Sand team materialized from forest shadows like desert spirits—Gaara leading with arms crossed over his chest, flanked by his siblings whose names Naruto recalled from intelligence briefings: Temari with massive fan strapped across her back, Kankuro with bundled puppet secured behind broad shoulders.

They halted twenty meters from Team Seven's position, distance carefully calculated to allow conversation without entering immediate strike range. Moonlight filtering through canopy gaps illuminated their features with silver-blue clarity.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Gaara's voice carried easily despite its soft volume, desert rasp evident in each syllable. "Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Vessel evolving beyond its intended parameters."

The clinical assessment, delivered with empty affect that raised hairs along Naruto's neck, contained no question yet demanded response.

"Gaara of the Desert," he replied, matching the formal tone. "Jinchūriki of the One-Tailed Tanuki. Vessel never allowed to sleep."

Surprise flickered across the Sand siblings' faces—Temari and Kankuro exchanging sharp glances at information that should have been highly classified. Only Gaara remained impassive, pale eyes studying Naruto with scientific detachment reminiscent of Orochimaru's earlier examination.

"You are aware," he observed finally. "Most interesting. The containment protocols suggested your condition remained primarily unconscious."

"What do you want?" Sasuke interrupted, Sharingan spinning lazily as he assessed potential threats. "This isn't standard examination engagement."

Gaara's attention remained fixed on Naruto, ignoring the Uchiha entirely. "I came to see for myself what mother fears."

The declaration hung in night air, its significance obscured by delivery that suggested statement of fact rather than threat or challenge. Behind Gaara, his siblings tensed visibly—Temari's hand drifting toward her fan, Kankuro's fingers twitching with puppeteer's instinctive preparation.

"What Shukaku fears, you mean," Naruto corrected, instinctively understanding the distinction. "The Tanuki inside you senses what's happening to me."

For the first time, genuine emotion flickered across Gaara's features—surprise quickly suppressed but unmistakable in widened eyes and momentary parting of lips.

"You know its name," he whispered, something like wonder coloring his normally monotone voice. "You can distinguish between us."

"Of course," Naruto replied simply. "We're not our tenants, Gaara. We're the jailers, not the prisoners."

The statement—obvious to Naruto yet revolutionary in its implications—struck visible chord in the Sand jinchūriki. His rigid posture faltered momentarily, arms uncrossing as pale hands rose to clutch his head.

"No," he muttered, speaking to entity only he could hear. "He is not prey. He is like us but different. No, mother... NO!"

Sand erupted from the gourd on Gaara's back, swirling around him in protective cocoon that pulsed with visible chakra. His siblings backed away with practiced urgency, experience clearly indicating imminent danger.

"Gaara, control it!" Temari called, voice sharp with command that barely disguised underlying fear. "This isn't why we came!"

The sand continued its agitated movement, small tendrils extending toward Team Seven like curious snakes testing potential threat. Naruto felt Sasuke and Sakura shift into combat readiness, tension crackling between them like static electricity before summer storm.

"Wait," he commanded, holding up hand to forestall defensive techniques. "Let me handle this."

Before his teammates could object, Naruto stepped forward, reducing distance between himself and the increasingly unstable Sand jinchūriki. The psychic pressure that had built behind his eyes throughout the day found sudden purpose—not released in destructive burst but channeled into focused intent.

"Gaara," he called, voice layered with harmonic resonance that vibrated through surrounding air molecules. "Not Shukaku. Gaara of the Desert. Look at me."

The redhead's head snapped up, pale eyes wide with internal struggle visible in contracted pupils and tension lines etched across young features. "What... are you... doing?" he rasped, fighting for words against whatever howled within his consciousness.

"Showing you the difference," Naruto replied, continuing his advance until barely five meters separated them. The telekinetic energy he normally fought to contain now extended outward in controlled bubble—not attacking the sand directly but creating buffer zone where its movement slowed to visible crawl.

"I know what it's like," he continued, voice gentling as psychic influence stabilized. "The voice that never stops. The power that hurts to hold back. The loneliness of being feared instead of seen."

With each word, the sand's agitated movement calmed fractionally—not retreating but no longer actively threatening. Gaara's expression shifted through micro-adjustments, internal conflict evident in muscle contractions that suggested thousands of sleepless nights fighting for control that never fully came.

"But you're not alone anymore," Naruto extended his hand, palm up in universal peace gesture. "Neither of us is."

For one breathless moment, possibility hung between them—connection that transcended village boundaries, shared burden recognized across political divides that normally separated jinchūriki through calculated isolation.

Then something shifted in Gaara's expression—blank features suddenly contorting with rage that wasn't entirely his own. "LIAR!" he shrieked, voice overlaid with guttural growl that originated from something inhuman. "MOTHER SAYS YOU WANT TO DESTROY US!"

Sand exploded outward with concussive force, no longer defensive barrier but offensive weapon aimed directly at Naruto's unprotected form. The attack moved with impossible speed, faster than most jōnin could evade at such close range.

It never reached its target.

The sand froze mid-air, suspended in perfect tableau of arrested violence. Particles hung motionless, caught between Shukaku's murderous intent and telekinetic barrier stronger than any physical defense.

Naruto stood unchanged, hand still extended in peace offering that had transformed to power demonstration without conscious transition. His eyes glowed electric blue, pupils expanded until only thin ring of iris remained visible. Blood trickled from his nose in thin crimson stream, tertiary containment seal pulsing erratically beneath his jacket.

"Not today, Shukaku," he said quietly, voice resonating with harmonics that vibrated through suspended sand particles. "Go back to sleep."

With casual gesture that belied the enormous energy expenditure involved, he reversed the sand's direction—not with violence but with gentle precision that returned every grain to Gaara's gourd. The cork slid back into place with audible pop that echoed through stunned silence.

Gaara staggered backward, clutching his head as though physically struck. "Impossible," he whispered, genuine emotion breaking through his usual monotone. "Mother is... afraid. Truly afraid."

His siblings appeared equally shocked, combat readiness temporarily forgotten as they processed what they'd witnessed. Temari's analytical gaze shifted between Naruto and Gaara with recalculation evident in her expression—threat assessment parameters adjusting to incorporate new variables.

"We should go," Kankuro suggested, puppeteer's hands hovering near his wrapped bundle without quite reaching for it. "Mission parameters don't include this... situation."

Temari nodded agreement, attention never leaving Naruto as she addressed her youngest brother. "Gaara, we have both scrolls already. The tower is less than three hours from here if we move quickly."

The Sand jinchūriki remained motionless, pale eyes fixed on Naruto with expression that might have been wonder in anyone else. "You are not what I expected," he said finally. "We will meet again before this exam concludes."

The statement contained neither threat nor promise—simply certainty that transcended normal prediction. Without further comment, the Sand team melted back into forest darkness, leaving Team Seven surrounded by night sounds that had fallen momentarily silent during the confrontation.

"What," Sasuke demanded once the foreign ninja had moved beyond normal hearing range, "was that?"

Naruto swayed slightly, telekinetic exertion extracting physical toll despite his enhanced stamina. "That was me making friends with another jinchūriki," he replied, attempting humor that fell flat against his obvious exhaustion. "Didn't go great, but better than most of my social interactions lately."

"You controlled his sand," Sakura observed, scientific fascination temporarily overriding tactical concerns. "Direct telekinetic manipulation of chakra-infused material. That's... unprecedented." She studied him with renewed intensity. "The harmonic modulation in your voice when you addressed him—was that deliberate technique or unconscious manifestation?"

"Can we save the analysis for when we're not in hostile territory surrounded by people trying to kill us?" Sasuke interrupted, Sharingan scanning perimeter for threats attracted by the confrontation's energy signatures. "We need to move. That display likely drew attention."

"Agreed," Naruto nodded, fighting momentary vertigo as psychic backlash rippled through his system. The tertiary containment seal burned against his chest, final defense struggling against power that grew with each manifestation. "The tower should be primary objective now."

As they gathered supplies and prepared to move out, Sasuke paused beside Naruto, voice pitched for his ears alone. "That technique you used—controlling another jinchūriki's power. Could you teach it to me?"

The question carried layers beyond its surface—strategic application, tactical advantage, but beneath those, something more personal. Understanding dawned with surprising clarity: Sasuke wasn't asking for weapon acquisition but for insurance against future necessity.

He wants to know how to stop me if the containment fails completely, Naruto realized with unexpected relief. He's planning contingencies to protect everyone—including me from myself.

"It's not really teachable," he replied honestly. "But I have other ideas that might work better. When we get out of here..." He gestured vaguely at the surrounding forest, "...we'll figure it out."

Sasuke nodded once, message received and commitment acknowledged. Without further discussion, Team Seven launched into the canopy, moving with synchronized efficiency toward distant tower that promised relative safety from immediate threats.

None of them noticed the white snake observing from hollow branch above their former shelter, yellow eyes gleaming with scientific fascination as it processed everything witnessed before dissolving into smoke that carried information to waiting master.

The Chunin Exams had only begun, and already the board had been irrevocably altered—pieces moving in patterns no strategist could have predicted, toward conclusion that would reshape the shinobi world's fundamental understanding of power itself.