What if Naruto inherited a Namikaze Kekkei Genkai?

# Chapter 1: Shadows of Legacy

The morning sun blazed over Konoha, casting long shadows across the village's dusty streets and illuminating the four enormous faces carved into the mountainside. The stone visages of the Hokages watched over their domain with eternal vigilance—particularly the Fourth, whose stony gaze seemed to follow a small orange-clad figure darting through the marketplace below.

Naruto Uzumaki raced through the crowded streets, his heart hammering against his ribs. He was late—again—and Kakashi-sensei had specifically warned them about punctuality today. Not that their perpetually tardy teacher had any right to lecture anyone about being on time, but still. Today was different. Today they might finally get a real mission.

"Outta the way!" Naruto shouted, weaving between villagers who scowled as the boy passed. Some muttered under their breath; others simply stepped aside, their cold eyes following his progress. He was used to those looks, but they still stung.

The training ground came into view, and Naruto spotted his teammates already waiting. Sasuke leaned against a tree, arms crossed, emanating his usual aura of practiced indifference. Sakura paced nearby, pink hair swaying with each agitated step.

"You're LATE!" Sakura's voice cut through the morning air the moment she spotted him. "Kakashi-sensei said six o'clock sharp!"

"Yeah, but he's not even here yet!" Naruto protested, skidding to a stop and sending up a small cloud of dust. "So technically, I'm early!"

Sasuke scoffed, not even bothering to look in Naruto's direction. "Idiot. Being less late than Kakashi doesn't make you on time."

"What'd you call me?" Naruto squared his shoulders, fists clenching at his sides. Something hot and electric buzzed behind his eyes—a sensation he'd been experiencing more frequently lately. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear it.

"You heard me." Sasuke finally turned, his dark eyes narrowing. "Or do I need to say it slower for you to understand?"

"That's it!" Naruto lunged forward—only for his fist to meet empty air as Sasuke sidestepped with infuriating ease.

"Stop it, Naruto!" Sakura grabbed his jacket collar, yanking him backward. "Why do you always have to pick fights with Sasuke-kun?"

The buzzing intensified, and for a split second, the world around Naruto seemed to slow. He could see the individual dust particles hanging in the air, caught in the slanting morning sunlight. He could count the beads of sweat on Sakura's forehead, see the minute shift in Sasuke's weight as he prepared for another potential attack.

Then, like a rubber band snapping back into place, everything returned to normal speed. Naruto staggered, momentarily disoriented.

"What's wrong with you?" Sakura asked, her annoyance giving way to confusion. "You look weird."

"Nothing! I'm fine!" Naruto rubbed his eyes. "Just... didn't have breakfast."

A soft poof announced their teacher's arrival before Sakura could press further. Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves, his visible eye curved in a smile that suggested he felt not the slightest remorse for his tardiness.

"Good morning, my cute little genin," he said cheerfully. "Sorry I'm late. A black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way around the village."

"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison.

Kakashi chuckled, seemingly unfazed by their accusation. His gaze lingered on Naruto for a moment longer than necessary, something calculating flashing in his exposed eye before it vanished behind his usual mask of indifference.

"Today we'll be reviewing the basics of chakra control before our mission," Kakashi announced, producing three leaves from his pocket. "I want each of you to focus on keeping these leaves suspended above your palm using only your chakra."

Naruto groaned. "More boring exercises? When are we gonna do something awesome?"

"Mastering the basics is the foundation of becoming a great shinobi," Kakashi replied, his tone light but carrying an undertone of steel. "Or would you rather continue chasing lost pets and pulling weeds?"

That shut Naruto up. The last week had been a blur of menial D-rank missions that tested his patience more than his skills. Yesterday, they'd spent three hours retrieving a merchant's escaped ferret, which had led them on a merry chase through half of Konoha before Sasuke finally cornered it.

"Fine," Naruto grumbled, snatching the leaf Kakashi offered. "But after this, we better get a real mission!"

---

The exercise proved more difficult than Naruto anticipated. While Sakura managed it almost immediately and Sasuke after only a few attempts, Naruto's leaf either shot into the air like a rocket or crumpled under excessive chakra pressure.

"Concentrate, Naruto," Kakashi instructed, crouching beside him. "Visualize your chakra as a gentle stream, not a raging river."

"I'm trying!" Naruto clenched his teeth, glaring at the leaf as if it had personally offended him.

The buzzing sensation returned, prickling behind his eyes. The world shifted again—colors becoming sharper, movements clearer. He could suddenly see the faint blue glow of chakra flowing from his palm to the leaf. Instinctively, he adjusted the flow, thinning it to a delicate thread.

The leaf rose, hovering perfectly above his palm.

"I did it!" Naruto exclaimed, then winced as his concentration broke and the leaf fluttered away. The enhanced perception faded as quickly as it had come.

Kakashi's eye widened fractionally. "Interesting approach," he murmured, more to himself than to Naruto. "Let's try again."

For the next hour, Kakashi drilled them relentlessly, occasionally pausing to make minute adjustments to Naruto's stance or hand position. Each time the jonin touched Naruto's shoulder or wrist, his fingers lingered a heartbeat longer than necessary, as if searching for something beneath the boy's skin.

By midday, all three genin were drenched in sweat, their chakra reserves significantly depleted. Kakashi finally called a halt, his eye crinkling with what might have been genuine approval.

"Not bad. You're all improving—yes, even you, Naruto." He clapped his hands together. "Now, let's head to the mission assignment desk. I believe you've earned something more... substantial than yesterday's ferret hunt."

Naruto punched the air. "Finally! I hope it's something dangerous! Maybe we'll have to protect a princess, or infiltrate an enemy village, or—"

"Don't get your hopes up, loser," Sasuke cut in, wiping sweat from his brow. "We're still new genin. The most dangerous thing we'll face is probably a temperamental house cat."

"Yeah, well, a guy can dream!" Naruto retorted, falling into step beside his teammates as they headed toward the Hokage Tower.

---

The Hokage's office smelled of pipe tobacco and ancient scrolls. Shelves lined the walls, laden with texts and artifacts from Konoha's storied history. Behind the broad desk sat the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, his weathered face creased in a gentle smile as Team 7 entered.

"Ah, Kakashi. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten your appointment," the Hokage said, tapping ash from his pipe into a small ceramic dish.

"Never, Lord Hokage." Kakashi bowed slightly. "My team is ready for their next assignment."

Naruto's gaze wandered around the room as the adults spoke, eventually settling on a cabinet partially hidden behind the Hokage's desk. Unlike the other furniture in the room, this cabinet was sealed with multiple paper talismans, their edges yellowed with age. Through the glass door, Naruto glimpsed several scrolls bearing an unfamiliar crest—a spiral surrounded by what looked like lightning bolts.

Something about that symbol tugged at his memory, though he couldn't recall ever seeing it before.

"Naruto!" Sakura's sharp elbow in his ribs yanked him back to the present. "Lord Hokage is speaking to you!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "What were you saying, Old Man?"

The Hokage chuckled at the informal address that would have earned anyone else a stern reprimand. "I was asking if you felt prepared for more challenging missions. Kakashi speaks highly of your team's progress."

"He does?" Naruto blinked in surprise, then puffed out his chest. "I mean, of course he does! We're awesome! Especially me!"

"Indeed." The Hokage shuffled through the papers on his desk. "Well, I believe I have something suitable here. A C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves."

Iruka Umino, who had been quietly organizing mission scrolls in the corner, looked up sharply. "Lord Hokage, are you certain? They've only been genin for a few weeks. Perhaps another D-rank would be more appropriate."

"Hey! We're totally ready for a C-rank!" Naruto protested. "Come on, Iruka-sensei, don't baby us!"

The Hokage raised a placating hand. "I understand your concern, Iruka, but Kakashi will be with them. And the mission parameters seem well within their capabilities." He turned toward the door. "You may enter, Tazuna-san."

The door slid open to reveal an older man with gray hair and a weathered complexion. He clutched a bottle of sake in one hand and swayed slightly on his feet, the sharp smell of alcohol wafting from him.

"These are the ninja protecting me?" Tazuna's bloodshot eyes swept over Team 7 dismissively. "They're just a bunch of snot-nosed kids. Especially the short one with the stupid face—he looks like he couldn't protect a rice ball from being eaten."

"Who's the short one with the stupid face?!" Naruto demanded, looking from Sasuke to Sakura before realization dawned. "HEY! That's me you're talking about, you drunk old geezer!"

He lunged forward, only to be caught by Kakashi's firm grip on the back of his jacket. "Now, now, Naruto. We don't attack the clients we're supposed to be protecting."

"I don't care if he's a client! Nobody talks to the future Hokage like that!"

Tazuna took another swig from his bottle. "Future Hokage? That's a good one. You don't look like you could lead a line of ants to a picnic."

As Naruto struggled against Kakashi's restraining hand, that now-familiar buzzing sensation flared behind his eyes—stronger this time, almost painful. The room seemed to tilt, sounds becoming muffled as if he were underwater. For a moment, everything moved in slow motion: Sakura's exasperated eye-roll, Sasuke's contemptuous head-turn, the slow drip of sake from Tazuna's bottle to the floor.

Then something else happened—something that had never occurred during these strange episodes before. His vision changed, colors inverting briefly before settling into an altered state where he could see... more. Faint blue lines of energy coursed through everyone in the room, brightest around their hearts and heads. Kakashi's left eye glowed with an intense crimson energy unlike anyone else's. And the old Hokage... his entire body pulsed with chakra so dense it was almost blinding.

Naruto gasped, the sound strangely distorted to his own ears. The Hokage's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing as they locked onto Naruto's face. For a heartbeat, alarm flashed across the old man's features.

Then the world snapped back to normal, leaving Naruto dizzy and confused.

"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked quietly, his grip on Naruto's jacket changing from restraining to supportive as the boy swayed on his feet.

"Y-yeah. Just got angry." Naruto blinked rapidly, trying to clear the lingering traces of that strange vision. "I'm fine now."

The Hokage leaned forward, his pipe forgotten in his hand. "Naruto, your eyes..."

"What about them?" Naruto rubbed at his face. "Something in them?"

An unspoken communication seemed to pass between the Hokage and Kakashi. After a moment, the old man leaned back, his expression carefully neutral.

"Nothing important. Now, regarding this mission. Tazuna-san is a master bridge builder from the Land of Waves. You will escort him home and protect him until his bridge is complete. Potential threats include bandits and highway robbers—nothing a competent genin team can't handle with proper supervision."

Tazuna shifted uncomfortably, his gaze darting away from the Hokage's penetrating stare.

"We accept the mission," Kakashi said, his hand still resting on Naruto's shoulder. "When do we depart?"

"Tomorrow morning. That will give you time to prepare and rest." The Hokage's gaze lingered on Naruto. "I suggest a good night's sleep for everyone. The road to Wave can be... unpredictable."

As they filed out of the office, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something significant had just happened—something beyond receiving their first C-rank mission. The buzzing sensation had faded, but in its place was a strange hollow feeling, as if some dormant part of him had briefly awakened and then retreated back into slumber.

That night, Naruto dreamed of flying through darkness at impossible speeds, golden light trailing from his fingertips. And somewhere in the void, a voice that seemed achingly familiar whispered his name—not with the contempt he was accustomed to from the villagers, but with a father's pride.

When he woke, tears streaked his face, though he couldn't remember why.

# Chapter 2: Mist and Revelation

Dawn broke over Konoha's massive gates in a burst of crimson and gold, the morning air crisp against Naruto's face as he adjusted the straps of his backpack. His dreams had left him restless, fragments of golden light and whispered words still clinging to the edges of his consciousness. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Today wasn't about weird dreams—today was about proving himself on their first real mission.

"You're actually on time," Sakura remarked, surprise evident in her voice as she approached, her own pack neatly organized and significantly smaller than his bulging rucksack.

Naruto grinned, bouncing on his heels. "Couldn't sleep anyway. Too excited! This is gonna be awesome!"

"It's a simple escort mission," Sasuke said, materializing from the shadows with silent footsteps. "Don't get your hopes up."

"Good morning, my eager little genin," Kakashi called, appearing beside Tazuna in a swirl of leaves—shockingly punctual. "Everyone ready for your first venture beyond the village walls?"

Tazuna, looking considerably more sober than yesterday, grunted. "Let's just get moving. The sooner we reach Wave, the better."

As they passed through the massive gates, Naruto couldn't help but cast one final glance back at the village—at the Hokage Monument where the Fourth's face seemed to watch their departure with particular intensity. Something twisted in his chest, a strange blend of excitement and melancholy he couldn't quite name.

---

The forest road stretched before them, dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy overhead. Birds called from hidden perches, and the occasional rustle in the underbrush sent Naruto's hand flying to his kunai pouch, earning eye rolls from Sasuke and giggles from Sakura.

"Relax, Naruto," Kakashi drawled, his nose buried in his ever-present orange book. "If we were under attack, you'd know it."

"How?" Naruto demanded, frustration building as he tripped over a root while trying to scan the forest for threats. "I can't see everything at once!"

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in what might have been amusement. "A true shinobi uses all their senses, not just sight. The forest has a rhythm—learn to feel when that rhythm changes."

Naruto scowled, watching Sasuke move with effortless grace beside Tazuna. Everything came so damn easily to him—the perfect student, the perfect shinobi. Meanwhile, Naruto couldn't even walk without stumbling over his own feet.

"Sensei," Sakura called, breaking Naruto's brooding, "could you tell us about some of your previous missions? For educational purposes, of course."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, finally tucking his book away. "I suppose I could share a few stories. There was a particularly interesting escort mission I ran with the Fourth Hokage, back when I was about your age..."

Naruto's ears perked up instantly.

"The Fourth led a small team of us into the Land of Rivers. A simple escort mission on paper, much like this one—until we encountered a squad of Rock ninja still bitter about the war." Kakashi's voice took on a distant quality, his gaze fixed on the horizon. "We were outnumbered three to one. The client was frozen with fear. I was certain we were finished."

"What happened?" Naruto asked, suddenly walking closer to Kakashi, his previous frustration forgotten.

"The Fourth happened," Kakashi replied simply. "One moment, he was beside me. The next—" He snapped his fingers. "Eight enemy ninja were down before I could blink. All I saw was a golden flash as he moved."

Something hummed in Naruto's blood, a strange resonance that made the hair on his arms stand up. "That's why they called him the Yellow Flash, right?"

"Yes. Though it wasn't just his speed that made him legendary—it was his mind. The Fourth could analyze a battlefield in seconds, identifying weaknesses no one else could see." A subtle softness entered Kakashi's voice. "He was brilliant, compassionate, and utterly fearless when protecting his comrades. Konoha has never known a finer shinobi."

Naruto's chest swelled with unexpected pride, though he couldn't understand why. "He sounds amazing."

"He was," Kakashi agreed, his eye shifting to Naruto with an unreadable expression. "In many ways."

The conversation drifted to other topics as they continued walking, but Naruto remained unusually quiet, turning Kakashi's words over in his mind. Something about the story felt important—personal, even—though he couldn't articulate why.

---

They'd been traveling for hours when Naruto noticed the puddle.

It hadn't rained in days. The ground was bone dry, dust puffing up with each step—except for that single, innocuous puddle in the middle of the path.

Naruto opened his mouth to point it out, then caught Kakashi's subtle head shake. The jonin had seen it too. Understanding crashed through him: ambush.

His heart hammered against his ribs. They kept walking, deliberately casual. Five steps past the puddle. Ten.

The attack came without warning—water exploding upward, transforming into two figures wrapped in spiked chains. The metal links whipped through the air, encircling Kakashi before he could react.

"One down," hissed one of the attackers, and the chains constricted with a savage jerk.

Kakashi's body separated into bloody chunks.

Sakura screamed. Tazuna stumbled backward. Sasuke was already moving, shuriken flying from his fingers toward the chain.

Naruto stood frozen, horror washing through him as reality seemed to warp around him. His sensei—dead? Just like that?

One of the attackers materialized beside him, metal gauntlet raised with poison-dripping claws. "Two down," the ninja growled.

The world... slowed.

Naruto could see every detail with crystal clarity: droplets of poison suspended in air, the attacker's eyes widening fractionally behind his mask, dust particles floating in the slanting sunlight. Even sound distorted, the attacker's voice dropping to a deep, otherworldly growl.

Move, Naruto commanded his body, but his limbs responded as if underwater—too slow, too heavy. His enhanced perception had outpaced his physical ability to react.

The claws inched closer, and with them came a flash of memory:

The Academy training yard. A practice kunai flying toward his face during a sparring session. That same strange slowdown, allowing him to see its trajectory with perfect clarity—but his body wouldn't respond fast enough. The blade grazing his cheek while Iruka-sensei looked on with disappointment. "Your reaction time is terrible, Naruto! You saw it coming but froze up again!"

The memory vanished as quickly as it had surfaced. The poison claws were millimeters from his face now.

Then—movement. Sasuke appeared in his peripheral vision, launching himself between Naruto and the attacker. Time snapped back to normal speed as Sasuke's kick connected with the enemy's wrist, deflecting the deadly claws.

"Wake up, loser!" Sasuke shouted, already turning to face the second attacker.

Shame and anger flooded through Naruto. Useless again! He'd had the perfect warning and still froze!

With a roar, he threw himself into the fight, determined to redeem himself. The battle became a blur of movement—Sasuke neutralizing the chain with perfect precision, Naruto tackling one attacker with sheer reckless force, the two genin somehow managing to coordinate despite never having fought together seriously.

Just as they gained the upper hand, a blur of motion ended the fight. Kakashi reappeared, effortlessly subduing both attackers with a casual display of jonin-level prowess.

"Good work, Sasuke, very smooth," Kakashi said, tying up the unconscious enemies. "You too, Sakura. Excellent job protecting Tazuna." His eye shifted to Naruto, who stood trembling with adrenaline and frustration. "Naruto... we'll talk later."

Mortification burned through Naruto's chest. He'd frozen. Failed. Again.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Kakashi asked, his tone deliberately casual. "Those claws were poisoned."

"I'm fine," Naruto muttered, then realized with a start that he wasn't. A small scratch on his hand was already turning an ugly purple around the edges. "Actually..."

What followed was a blur of pain and determination as Naruto, refusing to be seen as weak again, stabbed his own hand to drain the poison. Kakashi's worried reprimand, the bandaging of his wound, and the subsequent revelation that the mission was far more dangerous than advertised barely registered through his haze of self-recrimination.

The Demon Brothers had been after Tazuna. This was no simple C-rank. There would be more attacks, more skilled enemies.

And he'd been utterly useless in the first encounter.

---

"We should go back," Sakura insisted as they huddled in council after the attack. "This is clearly a B-rank mission now, maybe higher. We're not prepared for this."

Naruto's head snapped up. "No way! I'm not turning back!"

"This isn't about your wounded pride, Naruto," Sasuke said coldly. "It's about completing the mission successfully."

"It's about more than that," Tazuna interjected, his weather-beaten face solemn. He explained the dire situation in Wave—the poverty, the tyranny of shipping magnate Gato, the bridge that represented their only hope for freedom. "If you abandon me now, I'll die before I reach home. The bridge will never be completed. But don't feel bad about that—my grandson will only cry for a few days. My daughter will only hate Leaf ninja for the rest of her life."

"That's emotional manipulation," Kakashi observed mildly.

"That's the truth," Tazuna replied, unrepentant.

Naruto clenched his fists, the wound in his hand throbbing. "We're continuing the mission."

"We need to be practical—" Sakura began.

"I won't run away!" Naruto's voice cracked with emotion. "I won't freeze up again! I swear it on this wound!" He held up his bandaged hand. "I'll protect the old man. I'll complete this mission. That's my ninja way!"

A moment of silence followed his outburst. Then, surprisingly, Sasuke spoke. "I agree with Naruto. For once."

Kakashi sighed, his one visible eye studying each of his students in turn. "Very well. But from now on, we proceed with extreme caution. The next enemy won't be chunin-level like the Demon Brothers. They'll send jonin."

---

The mist rolled in while they were crossing the narrow strait to Wave Country, thick as cotton and eerily silent. The boatman cut the engine, propelling them with a pole to avoid detection.

Naruto sat rigid in the boat, every sense hyperalert. His hand no longer hurt—the wound had already healed to a faint scar, something Kakashi had noticed with narrowed eyes before saying nothing. But the memory of his failure burned fresh in his mind.

I won't freeze again, he promised himself. Next time, I'll be ready.

The shore materialized through the mist like a phantom, trees and twisted driftwood taking shape in the gray haze. As they disembarked, the sense of being watched prickled along Naruto's spine.

They moved in tight formation through the fog-shrouded forest, Tazuna at the center with the genin forming a protective triangle around him and Kakashi leading the way. Every rustle in the underbrush, every shift in the mist set Naruto's nerves jangling.

When he threw the kunai at what turned out to be a startled snow rabbit, Sakura's scathing rebuke barely registered. Something was wrong about the rabbit—its white coat in the wrong season...

"GET DOWN!" Kakashi's shout split the air.

Naruto moved instinctively, tackling Tazuna as something massive whirled overhead with a sound like a hurricane. A gigantic sword embedded itself in a tree trunk, and atop it appeared a figure that radiated deadly intent.

"Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi said calmly, though his posture had shifted to combat readiness. "Demon of the Hidden Mist."

The shirtless ninja, face half-covered in bandages, exuded lethal confidence. "Kakashi of the Sharingan. Hand over the old man, and I might let your little genin live."

"Protect Tazuna," Kakashi ordered, lifting his headband to reveal a red eye with three swirling tomoe. "This one's beyond you."

What followed was a lesson in true shinobi combat. Kakashi and Zabuza moved with devastating speed, transforming the peaceful forest into a battleground. Water clones materialized from the mist, jutsu collided with explosive force, and killing intent saturated the air like a physical weight.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura maintained their defensive formation around Tazuna, kunai drawn, watching the deadly dance with wide eyes. This was jonin-level combat—beyond anything they'd ever witnessed.

The tide turned when Zabuza trapped Kakashi in a sphere of water, his water clone advancing on the genin with murderous intent.

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

"No way," Sasuke replied, sliding into a combat stance. "That became impossible the moment you got caught."

Naruto nodded, determination hardening in his gut. "We're not leaving you behind."

The water clone lunged, moving faster than their eyes could track. One moment it stood yards away; the next, it was upon them, massive sword sweeping in a horizontal arc that would decapitate all three genin in one stroke.

"MOVE!" Naruto screamed.

The buzzing sensation exploded behind his eyes like lightning. The world shifted.

Everything slowed to a crawl—the sword's path visible in excruciating detail, water droplets from the clone's form suspended in the air, Sasuke's eyes widening as he realized he couldn't dodge in time.

But this time, something was different. Naruto's body responded to his commands with perfect synchronization, his enhanced perception and physical movement finally aligned.

He moved.

Not with conscious thought, but with pure instinct. Chakra surged through his system in unfamiliar patterns, supercharging his muscles. He launched himself forward, scooping Sasuke around the waist mid-stride.

The world blurred around him, colors smearing like wet paint. He felt his body moving at impossible speed, a sensation of displacement as space itself seemed to bend slightly around him. One heartbeat, he was beside Tazuna; the next, he was twenty feet away, Sasuke clutched against his side, a trail of golden light lingering in the air behind them.

The water clone's sword sliced through empty space.

Naruto skidded to a stop, his sandals carving furrows in the soft earth. The buzzing in his eyes intensified, his vision shifting to that strange state where chakra became visible—blue energy swirling through Sasuke's stunned form, the denser concentration in Kakashi's Sharingan, the churning mass inside the water prison.

"What... the hell... was that?" Sasuke whispered, eyes wide with shock.

Naruto had no answer. His body hummed with unfamiliar energy, his senses hyper-sharpened to the point of pain. He gently released Sasuke, turning to face the water clone that was now regarding him with narrowed eyes.

"Interesting," the clone said, voice identical to the real Zabuza's. "You move almost like—"

It never finished the sentence. Sasuke, recovering from his shock, launched a shuriken attack that forced the clone to defend. Naruto created shadow clones that swarmed the water construct. Sakura maintained her position guarding Tazuna, kunai ready.

Through coordinated teamwork—Naruto's clones providing distraction, Sasuke's precision attacks creating openings—they managed to destroy the water clone and execute a plan to free Kakashi from the water prison.

The battle's momentum shifted once more. Freed from his trap, Kakashi turned the tables on Zabuza, mirroring his jutsu with the Sharingan's power and overwhelming the missing-nin with his own techniques.

As Kakashi prepared the final blow, senbon needles flashed through the air, striking Zabuza's neck with surgical precision. A masked hunter-nin appeared, claiming to have been tracking Zabuza for weeks.

The confrontation ended with the hunter-nin disappearing with Zabuza's body, leaving Team 7 exhausted but alive.

Throughout the exchange, Kakashi's mismatched eyes had repeatedly flickered to Naruto, a calculating intensity in his gaze that made Naruto distinctly uncomfortable.

---

"Impressive teamwork," Kakashi said as they helped him limp toward Tazuna's house, his chakra exhaustion evident in every labored step. "You've all exceeded my expectations today."

"Naruto," Sasuke said abruptly, eyes fixed straight ahead, "what was that technique you used?"

All eyes turned to Naruto, who shifted uncomfortably. "I... don't know. It just happened."

"You moved faster than I could see," Sakura said, awe and confusion mingling in her voice. "And there was this strange light..."

"Golden light," Kakashi murmured, his tone carefully neutral. "Like a flash."

Naruto's stomach twisted. "I don't know how I did it. I just... needed to move fast, and suddenly I could."

Kakashi seemed to sway slightly, though whether from chakra exhaustion or shock, Naruto couldn't tell. "We'll discuss it later. For now, let's focus on reaching safety and resting."

---

Tazuna's house was modest but comfortable, his daughter Tsunami welcoming them with concerned hospitality. After a meal and medical attention for Kakashi, the genin were shown to a small room they would share for the duration of their stay.

Night fell, but sleep eluded Naruto. Every time he closed his eyes, he relived that moment—the surge of power, the sensation of space bending around him, the golden trail he'd apparently left in his wake.

Had it really happened? It felt dreamlike now, though Sasuke's lingering glances and Sakura's whispered questions confirmed that whatever had occurred, it hadn't been his imagination.

Carefully, silently, he slipped from his futon and padded outside into the moonlit yard. The air was cool against his skin, heavy with salt from the nearby ocean. He stood in the center of the yard, closed his eyes, and tried to recapture that feeling—the buzzing behind his eyes, the surge of chakra, the shift in perception.

Nothing happened.

Frustration gnawed at him. He tried again, pushing chakra into different pathways, focusing on speed, on movement, on the desperate need he'd felt when Sasuke was in danger.

Still nothing.

"It doesn't work that way."

Naruto whirled to find Kakashi leaning against a tree, moonlight silvering his hair. Despite his apparent weakness earlier, the jonin moved with silent grace as he approached.

"What doesn't?" Naruto asked, feigning ignorance.

Kakashi's mismatched eyes studied him intently. "Whatever you did today. It's not something you can force. It's triggered by emotion, by necessity."

"You... know what it was?"

A long pause followed. "I have suspicions," Kakashi finally said. "I've seen something similar, once before."

The hair on Naruto's arms stood up. "When?"

"During the war." Kakashi's voice grew distant. "My sensei moved like that. The same speed. The same golden trail."

The Fourth Hokage. Naruto didn't need to hear the name to make the connection. Kakashi had been the Fourth's student—everyone knew that.

"But that was a technique," Naruto said, confusion evident in his voice. "The Flying Thunder God thing. I didn't use any technique. I didn't have special kunai or seals or whatever it needed."

"No," Kakashi agreed. "You didn't." He stepped closer, crouching to meet Naruto's eyes directly. "That's what makes it interesting."

Something in Kakashi's scrutiny made Naruto's chest tighten with an emotion he couldn't name—something between hope and terror. "What are you saying?"

"I'm not saying anything. Yet." Kakashi straightened. "Get some rest, Naruto. I suspect Zabuza is still alive, which means we'll need to prepare for another confrontation."

He turned to leave, then paused. "One more thing. Did your eyes feel strange when it happened? A pressure or buzzing sensation?"

Naruto's breath caught. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"Intuition," Kakashi replied, and Naruto could hear the frown in his voice. "Don't mention what happened to anyone outside our team. Not until we understand it better."

With that cryptic warning, he vanished into the shadows, leaving Naruto alone with questions multiplying in his mind like shadow clones.

---

In the days that followed, Naruto pushed himself to exhaustion with training. While Kakashi instructed them in tree-walking techniques, Naruto created dozens of shadow clones, driving himself harder than ever before. Partly to master the exercise, partly in hopes of triggering that strange power again.

His dreams grew more vivid each night—dreams of racing through star-filled voids at impossible speeds, of a man with golden hair and eyes that shifted from blue to a clock-like pattern that mirrored what Naruto had glimpsed in his own reflection during that moment with Zabuza.

He woke each morning with pounding headaches and heightened senses—sounds too loud, colors too bright, smells overwhelming. His body was changing somehow, adjusting to whatever had awakened inside him.

On the third night, Kakashi disappeared into Tazuna's small study with a blank scroll and ink. He emerged hours later, sealed the scroll with a blood thumbprint, and summoned a small dog that vanished with the message tucked into its vest.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked, catching Kakashi in the hallway.

Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile that didn't quite reach his voice. "Just updating the Hokage on our mission status."

"And the other thing? About what I did?"

A moment of silence stretched between them. "Yes, Naruto. About that too."

Something in his tone suggested finality, and Naruto knew better than to press further—for now. But as he returned to his futon, a strange certainty settled in his bones: whatever had awakened in that moment against Zabuza, it wasn't just some random fluke or unexpected surge of the Nine-Tails' power.

It was something else. Something that belonged to him. Something connected to the Fourth Hokage in ways he couldn't yet understand but desperately needed to.

As sleep claimed him, golden light swirled behind his eyelids, and a voice that seemed to echo from the past whispered: _It's time you knew who you really are, Naruto Uzumaki. The legacy of the Yellow Flash awaits.

# Chapter 3: Echoes of the Past

"Focus, Naruto!"

Kakashi's voice cut through the coastal mist like a thrown kunai. The silver-haired jonin sat perched on a low branch, his posture deceptively relaxed despite the intensity radiating from his mismatched eyes. Below him, Naruto stood before a towering pine, his face scrunched in concentration, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool morning air.

"I'm trying!" Naruto growled, channeling chakra to his feet. The energy swirled visibly for a moment—too much, too wild—before he lunged at the tree. Three steps up the trunk and his control slipped. Bark splintered beneath his sandals as he was violently repelled, tumbling backward in an ungraceful heap of orange and blonde.

Nearby, Sasuke had already made it halfway up his tree, kunai marks charting his steady progress. Sakura sat smugly on an upper branch of her own tree, legs dangling, having mastered the exercise almost immediately.

"This is stupid!" Naruto slammed his fist into the ground. "Why can't I get this right?"

"Your chakra flow is different today," Kakashi observed, his voice deliberately casual. "It's not just excess chakra causing the problem. It's... fluctuating. Like waves crashing rather than a steady stream."

Naruto pushed himself to his feet, brushing dirt from his jumpsuit. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Kakashi said, flipping his book closed with a snap, "that something's changed in your chakra network. Since our encounter with Zabuza, your pathways seem to be... reconfiguring themselves."

Sasuke paused in his ascent, dark eyes narrowing at this revelation. Sakura leaned forward, medical curiosity overriding her usual dismissiveness toward Naruto.

"Reconfiguring?" Naruto repeated, a spark of excitement cutting through his frustration. "Like, to do that fast-moving thing again?"

Kakashi's gaze sharpened. "Perhaps. Try again, but this time, close your eyes first. Feel your chakra before you channel it."

Naruto nodded, squaring his shoulders. He closed his eyes, reaching inward as he'd been taught at the Academy, though he'd rarely had the patience for such exercises. At first, there was only darkness and the distant roar of the ocean. Then—a flicker of awareness. His chakra wasn't flowing in the familiar paths he'd struggled with for years. It was carving new channels, pulsing with a rhythm he'd never noticed before.

Behind his closed eyelids, the buzzing sensation returned—gentler this time, more like a hum than the electric shock he'd experienced during combat. When he opened his eyes, the world had shifted into that strange state of heightened perception. He could see the chakra flowing through the tree before him—a living network of energy threading through bark and leaf.

"I can see it," he whispered, awestruck. "The tree's chakra. It's... alive."

"What?" Sakura's voice seemed to come from a great distance. "Naruto, your eyes..."

But he was already moving, adjusting his own chakra to match the tree's natural flow. He stepped forward and placed one foot against the trunk, then another. The repulsion force disappeared completely as his energy harmonized with the tree's. He walked—not ran, but walked steadily—up the vertical surface as easily as strolling down a street.

Sasuke's kunai clattered against a branch as it slipped from suddenly slack fingers.

Naruto reached Sakura's branch and continued past her, climbing all the way to the thin upper branches where the tree swayed gently in the ocean breeze. Looking down at his teammates from this height, he grinned triumphantly—until the perception shift abruptly faded. The world snapped back to normal, his chakra control wavered, and with a yelp of surprise, he began to fall.

Instinct took over. His hands formed the shadow clone seal without conscious thought. Three clones materialized in mid-air, creating a chain that caught him and swung him safely to a lower branch.

"Show-off," Sasuke muttered, but there was something new in his voice—a grudging respect mingled with unease.

Kakashi was at Naruto's side in an instant, tilting the boy's face toward the light. "Your eyes," he said softly. "They changed again."

"I could see everything," Naruto said, his voice hushed with wonder. "Not just chakra points like Hinata's Byakugan thing. I could see how it all... flows. Like water currents or something."

Kakashi's expression remained carefully neutral, but his grip on Naruto's shoulder tightened fractionally. "We need to continue this training, but privately. Sakura, Sasuke—keep practicing. Naruto, come with me."

---

In Konoha, dawn painted the Hokage Monument in shades of amber and gold as a small pug raced through the empty streets, a sealed scroll clutched in his vest. The dog's nails clicked against stone steps as he ascended to the Hokage Tower, bypassing the usual guards with a series of practiced movements that spoke of long familiarity.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was already awake, pipe smoke wreathing his weathered face as he gazed out over his village. When the window creaked open and Pakkun landed on his desk, the old man didn't seem surprised.

"Kakashi's report?" he asked, taking the scroll without looking away from the village panorama.

"Special delivery," Pakkun confirmed in his gruff voice. "He said it's urgent, but private. For your eyes only."

The Third Hokage's expression remained impassive as he dismissed the ANBU guards with a subtle hand gesture. Only when the room was empty did he unseal the scroll, his weathered fingers moving through the release sequence with practiced ease.

Kakashi's precise handwriting filled the page. As Hiruzen read, the pipe slipped from his fingers, forgotten.

"So it's begun," he murmured, his eyes lifting to the stone face of the Fourth Hokage visible through the window. "Earlier than we expected, Minato."

He stood abruptly, moving to a painting of the village founders that hung on his office wall. With a pulse of chakra, the painting swung outward, revealing a hidden safe. From within, he withdrew a wooden box sealed with intricate fuinjutsu markings—the spiral of Uzumaki work interwoven with the distinctive lightning pattern of the Namikaze clan.

Placing the box on his desk, Hiruzen pressed his palm against the seal. "Blood of the covenant," he intoned, his voice dropping to a ritual cadence. "The shadow honors the flame."

The seal flared with blue-white light, recognizing the Third Hokage's chakra signature. The box opened, revealing a collection of scrolls, each bearing the Namikaze crest.

Hiruzen lifted the topmost scroll—older than the others, its edges yellowed with age. The title, written in faded ink, read simply: "The Temporal Eye: Origins of the Namikaze Bloodline."

"Tenzō," he called, and an ANBU with a cat-like mask materialized from the shadows. "Summon Tiger. I have a special assignment for him."

---

ANBU Tiger moved through the abandoned Namikaze estate like a ghost, his masked face revealing nothing of the emotions churning beneath. Dust motes danced in the shafts of morning light that penetrated the sealed compound—untouched since the night of the Nine-Tails attack nearly thirteen years ago.

The garden had grown wild, once-manicured shrubs now twisted and overgrown, strangling the stone paths. The main house stood silent and forlorn, powerful preservation seals keeping it in perfect stasis despite the years of abandonment.

Tiger's hand trembled slightly as he pressed his palm against the front door, channeling chakra into the seal matrix. The door recognized his ANBU clearance, glowing briefly before swinging inward with a whisper of displaced air.

Inside, time stood frozen. A half-empty teacup sat on a low table, the liquid within prevented from evaporating by the preservation seals. Books lay open on desks, scrolls half-unrolled—evidence of a life interrupted mid-sentence.

"It's like they just stepped out," Tiger murmured to himself, voice distorted by his mask.

He moved through the house methodically, following the Hokage's instructions. The master bedroom revealed nothing unusual—just the heartbreaking normalcy of a couple preparing for their child's arrival. A crib stood in the corner, never used, tiny clothes folded neatly in a dresser.

The study was where Tiger's search intensified. Minato Namikaze had been a fuinjutsu master second only to the legendary Uzumaki clan. His work space reflected this—walls covered in seal diagrams, shelves lined with reference texts, a desk buried under research notes.

Tiger pressed his hand against the floorboards beneath the desk, channeling chakra in the pattern the Hokage had specified. The floor seemed to ripple, seals appearing in spiraling patterns before a section slid away, revealing a hidden staircase descending into darkness.

Cool air rushed up from below, carrying the scent of ink and paper. Tiger descended cautiously, chakra ready in case of traps. The hidden chamber below was smaller than he'd expected—more of a reinforced closet than a room—but what it contained made his breath catch.

The walls were covered in complex seal work unlike anything he'd seen before. Not the swirling patterns of Uzumaki seals, nor the more geometric Konoha style, but something that seemed to bend the very space within the room. At the center stood a pedestal supporting a single scroll sealed with blood-red wax bearing the Namikaze crest.

Tiger approached reverently, his experienced eyes scanning the seal matrix surrounding the pedestal. These weren't just security measures—they were space-time barriers, similar to but distinct from the Flying Thunder God technique that had made the Fourth legendary.

Following the Hokage's instructions precisely, Tiger performed a series of hand signs, channeling specific chakra patterns into the seal matrix. The barriers shimmered and parted, allowing him to lift the scroll from its resting place.

The moment his fingers touched the parchment, a flash of golden light erupted, momentarily blinding him. When his vision cleared, spectral characters hung in the air before him—a message activated by his touch:

"To the one who reaches this place: The legacy of our bloodline must remain sealed until the heir is ready. The Temporal Eye was both gift and curse to our clan. In the wrong hands, it could tear the fabric of reality itself. Guard it well. When the heir's eyes awaken, the blood will call to blood."

The message faded, leaving Tiger alone in the silent chamber with the scroll clutched in his trembling hands.

---

Back in Wave Country, Naruto sat cross-legged in a secluded clearing, eyes closed, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool morning air. Across from him, Kakashi watched intently, his Sharingan exposed to observe the subtle changes in Naruto's chakra network.

"Try again," Kakashi instructed. "Focus on that sensation you described—the buzzing behind your eyes."

"I'm trying," Naruto growled through gritted teeth. "It's like... trying to grab smoke."

"Don't force it," Kakashi advised, his voice softening. "The harder you grasp, the more it slips away. Let it come naturally."

Naruto exhaled slowly, shoulders slumping. "How am I supposed to use this in battle if I can't even turn it on when nothing's happening?"

"Most bloodline abilities begin this way," Kakashi said carefully, testing the waters with his word choice. "They manifest in moments of extreme stress before the user learns conscious control."

Naruto's eyes snapped open. "Bloodline? You think this is a kekkei genkai?"

Kakashi hesitated, weighing his words. "It has many of the characteristics. The changes to your chakra pathways, the visual effect, the inherited—" He stopped abruptly.

"Inherited from who?" Naruto demanded, leaning forward. "Kakashi-sensei, if you know something about my family—"

"I've said too much already," Kakashi sighed. "The Hokage will need to decide how much you should know."

"That's not fair!" Naruto exploded, jumping to his feet. "It's MY ability! MY family! I have the right to know!"

Anger flashed hot and bright inside him. The buzzing sensation returned with sudden intensity, exploding behind his eyes like lightning. The world shifted into that now-familiar state of heightened perception—but stronger than before. He could see Kakashi's chakra network in perfect detail, the concentrated power swirling in his Sharingan, even the residual nature energy clinging to the trees around them.

"Naruto," Kakashi said cautiously, "your eyes..."

But Naruto wasn't listening. The anger had triggered something new. Not just perception this time, but memory—foreign memory, flooding his consciousness like a broken dam.

A laboratory filled with scrolls and seal diagrams. A man with golden hair bent over a desk, brush moving in precise strokes as he designed a complex seal matrix. A woman with vibrant red hair watching from the doorway, concern etched on her beautiful face.

"The bloodline is becoming active again," the man said without looking up. "I can feel it. The Temporal Eye hasn't manifested in three generations, but something about our chakra combination..."

"Is it dangerous?" the woman asked, one hand resting protectively over her swollen belly.

"Not to him," the man replied, finally looking up with a gentle smile. "But others might find it very dangerous indeed. If certain parties learned of a resurgent Namikaze bloodline..."

"Then we seal it," the woman said decisively. "Until he's old enough to protect himself."

"Yes," the man agreed, returning to his work. "A secondary seal, layered beneath the main one. It won't harm him, just... delay the awakening until the time is right."

The vision shattered as Naruto felt Kakashi's hand on his shoulder, shaking him back to the present.

"—you hear me? Naruto!"

Naruto blinked rapidly, the strange perception fading as his eyes returned to normal. "I saw..." he began, voice trembling. "I saw them. My parents. They were talking about me, about sealing something inside me—not the Nine-Tails, something else. A bloodline called the Temporal Eye."

Kakashi's visible eye widened in alarm. "You saw this? Just now?"

Naruto nodded, his throat tight with emotion. "The man had hair like mine. And the woman was so beautiful—red hair, like blood but brighter." Tears welled in his eyes. "They were protecting me. They wanted to keep me safe."

Kakashi's hand tightened on his shoulder. "Naruto, listen to me carefully. What you saw—what you're experiencing—is extremely sensitive information. We need to continue your training, but you cannot speak of this to anyone. Not Sasuke, not Sakura. No one."

"But why?" Naruto demanded. "If this is my bloodline, my heritage—"

"Because," Kakashi said grimly, "your father had enemies. Powerful enemies who would stop at nothing to eradicate his bloodline—or worse, capture you to obtain it for themselves."

The implication hung in the air between them, unspoken but clear: Naruto's parentage was a dangerous secret, one that had been kept from him his entire life. Not out of cruelty or neglect, but protection.

Before Naruto could press further, a familiar voice called from the forest edge.

"There you are!" Sakura emerged from the trees, brushing leaves from her hair. "Tsunami-san sent me to find you. Lunch is ready, and she says you need to eat before you collapse from training."

Kakashi's demeanor shifted instantly, his serious expression replaced by his usual mask of lazy indifference. "Maa, we wouldn't want to worry our host. Coming, Naruto?"

Naruto stood frozen, mind reeling from revelation and interruption. Finally, he nodded, forcing a brittle smile. "Yeah. Starving!"

As they followed Sakura back toward Tazuna's house, Kakashi leaned down to whisper in Naruto's ear, "We'll continue this discussion later. In the meantime, focus on controlling your emotions. It seems strong feelings trigger your ability."

Naruto nodded, his thoughts a chaotic whirlwind. For the first time in his life, pieces of his identity were falling into place—but each answer only spawned more questions.

---

The final confrontation on the bridge came sooner than any of them expected.

A thick, unnatural mist rolled across the massive construction project, bringing with it the unmistakable chill of killing intent. Workers scattered in panic as Zabuza's sinister laugh echoed through the swirling vapor.

"Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi barked, shifting into battle stance as he uncovered his Sharingan. "Diamond formation, now!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura moved with practiced coordination, surrounding the bridge builder with weapons drawn. The mist thickened, reducing visibility to mere feet.

"Back for a rematch, Kakashi?" Zabuza's disembodied voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "I won't underestimate you this time. And my tool won't fail again either."

Senbon needles flashed through the mist, aimed with deadly precision. Sasuke moved with blinding speed, deflecting the projectiles with a kunai while Naruto created shadow clones to widen their defensive perimeter.

The masked hunter-nin—Haku, as they'd learned during Naruto's forest encounter—materialized from the mist like a wraith. "I do not wish to kill you," he said, voice soft behind his mask. "But for Zabuza-sama's dream, I will eliminate my heart and become a true shinobi weapon."

"We won't be eliminated so easily," Sasuke replied, sliding into an offensive stance. "Naruto, stay with Tazuna. I'll handle this one."

"Like hell you will!" Naruto protested. "We'll take him together!"

But Haku was already moving, hands flashing through seals faster than untrained eyes could follow. "Secret Technique: Crystal Ice Mirrors!"

Water from the mist condensed and froze, forming a dome of ice mirrors that encircled Sasuke. Before Naruto could react, Haku stepped backward into one of the mirrors, his reflection appearing simultaneously in every panel of ice.

"This is my bloodline limit," Haku's voice echoed from every direction. "No one has ever escaped this technique."

Naruto launched himself forward, determined to reach his teammate—only to be intercepted by a water clone of Zabuza that materialized from the mist.

"Your fight is with me, brat," the clone growled, massive sword cleaving the air where Naruto's head had been a moment before.

Inside the mirror dome, Sasuke's screams mingled with the sound of senbon striking flesh. Through gaps in the ice, Naruto caught glimpses of his teammate's increasingly battered form, blood staining his blue shirt crimson.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, desperation clawing at his chest as he battled the water clone. Every attempt to break through to the ice prison was thwarted, every shadow clone dispatched before it could reach the mirrors.

From somewhere in the mist came the sounds of Kakashi's battle with the real Zabuza—jutsu clashing with explosive force, metal striking metal, grunts of pain and exertion.

"I need to reach him," Naruto thought frantically. "I need to MOVE!"

The familiar buzzing sensation built behind his eyes, but sluggishly—too slow to help. He could feel the ability trying to activate, responding to his emotional state, but something was blocking it, like a dam holding back a river.

Inside the ice prison, Sasuke collapsed to his knees, body riddled with senbon.

"Your friend fought well," Haku's voice drifted through the mist. "He even awakened his own bloodline in his final moments. The Sharingan is truly impressive... but it wasn't enough."

"Final moments?" Naruto repeated, ice flooding his veins. "What do you mean, final moments?!"

Dispatching the water clone with a desperate flurry of attacks, Naruto finally broke through to the ice mirror dome. He slid beneath a gap in the mirrors, coming face to face with Sasuke's still form sprawled on the bridge surface.

"I arrived too late," Haku said from within his mirrors. "His vital points have been struck. He died a warrior's death, protecting those precious to him. You should be proud."

Something snapped inside Naruto. Grief and rage exploded through his system like wildfire, burning away all restraint. The dam within him shattered completely.

Red chakra erupted from his body, swirling around him in caustic waves. Beneath it, something else awakened—the buzzing behind his eyes intensifying to a deafening roar as his perception shifted violently.

"I'll kill you!" Naruto snarled, his voice distorting as the Nine-Tails' chakra merged with the surging bloodline energy.

The world around him didn't just slow—it nearly stopped. Ice crystals hanging in the air, water droplets suspended like tiny diamonds, Haku's movements reduced to a glacial crawl.

Naruto moved.

Not with the Nine-Tails' bestial speed, but with something else entirely—a controlled, deadly precision that bent space itself around his form. Golden light trailed from his fingertips as he launched himself at the nearest mirror, fist connecting with the ice surface.

The mirror shattered explosively, fragments hanging suspended in the air as Naruto pivoted, already targeting the next one. Haku attempted to move between mirrors, but to Naruto's enhanced perception, the masked nin might as well have been wading through molasses.

"Impossible," Haku gasped as Naruto appeared before him in mid-transit, golden afterimages trailing behind the blonde shinobi. "No one is this fast!"

Naruto's fist connected with Haku's mask, shattering it on impact. The force sent the older boy flying backward, crashing through his own ice mirrors as the technique collapsed around them.

As Haku hit the bridge surface, Naruto stalked toward him, the dual chakra signatures creating a visible phenomenon around his body—red, caustic energy intertwined with threads of pure golden light. His eyes had transformed completely: deep blue irises now patterned with clock-like markings, pupils contracted to pinpoints.

"Those eyes," Haku whispered, blood trickling from his lips as he stared up at Naruto. "What are you?"

Naruto stood over his fallen opponent, fist raised for a killing blow—when the bloodline perception revealed something else. The chakra signatures of Kakashi and Zabuza had converged at the far end of the bridge. Lightning chirped and crackled, the sound carrying through the thinning mist.

Chidori. Kakashi's assassination technique.

Haku's eyes widened in the same realization. "Zabuza-sama," he whispered, somehow finding the strength to rise despite his injuries. "I must be his tool one final time."

Before Naruto could react, Haku disappeared in a swirl of ice and mist, using the last of his chakra to perform a teleportation jutsu toward his master.

The sight snapped Naruto from his rage. The Nine-Tails' chakra receded, though the bloodline enhancement remained active. With his heightened perception, he watched the tragic scene unfold at the bridge's far end—Haku materializing between Kakashi and Zabuza, taking the lightning blade meant for his master.

Time seemed to resume its normal flow as Naruto's bloodline ability began to fade, the mental and physical strain finally taking its toll. His vision blurred, the clock pattern in his irises dissolving as his eyes returned to normal. He staggered, suddenly light-headed, and would have collapsed if not for a hand gripping his shoulder.

"Steady," came Sasuke's strained voice. The Uchiha was pale, senbon still protruding from his body, but very much alive. "What... was that, Naruto? Your eyes..."

Before Naruto could respond, the standoff between Kakashi and Zabuza was interrupted by a new arrival. Gato appeared at the far end of the bridge with an army of mercenaries, betraying Zabuza and revealing his plan to eliminate all the ninja once they'd weakened each other.

What followed was a blur of violence and redemption. Zabuza, freed from his contract by Gato's betrayal, embarked on a final, bloody charge through the mercenary ranks to reach the corrupt businessman. Despite dozens of swords and spears impaling his body, the Demon of the Mist fulfilled his final purpose, taking Gato's head before collapsing beside Haku's body.

By the time the remaining mercenaries fled—driven off by the combined threat of Kakashi's jutsu, Naruto's shadow clones, and the village's newfound courage—the mist had cleared completely, revealing the carnage wrought upon the bridge.

In the aftermath, as they tended to their wounds and prepared to return to Tazuna's house, Kakashi pulled Naruto aside, his expression grave despite his physical exhaustion.

"We need to talk," he said quietly. "What happened on the bridge... it confirms my suspicions."

"About what?" Naruto asked, though he suspected he already knew the answer.

Kakashi reached into his vest pocket and withdrew a kunai—not a standard-issue weapon, but one with an unusual three-pronged design and a seal formula wrapped around the handle. The metal gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, the symbol etched into the blade matching exactly what Naruto had seen in his vision.

The Namikaze clan crest.

"About your father," Kakashi said softly. "And the legacy he left you that goes far beyond the burden you've carried all these years."

Naruto stared at the kunai, his heart hammering against his ribs. "My father...?"

"Your father had more secrets than just the Flying Thunder God, Naruto." Kakashi's voice was barely above a whisper. "And it's time you learned the truth about who you really are."

The world seemed to slow around them—not from bloodline activation this time, but from the weight of a revelation thirteen years in the making.

Naruto Uzumaki: orphan, troublemaker, container of the Nine-Tails.

And now, apparently, heir to a legendary bloodline and a legacy he'd never imagined.

# Chapter 4: Bloodline Awakened

The gates of Konoha loomed before them, massive wooden doors thrown open to welcome returning shinobi home. Sunlight glinted off the metal Leaf emblems as Team 7 approached, their shadows stretching long across the dusty road. The journey from Wave had been unnaturally quiet—Naruto, usually bursting with energy and chatter, had barely spoken three words since their departure.

His mind churned with fragments of revelation: a three-pronged kunai, clock-like patterns swimming in his vision, golden light trailing from his fingertips, and that single, earth-shattering sentence from Kakashi.

Your father had more secrets than just the Flying Thunder God, Naruto.

The words echoed in his skull with each footstep toward the village. Father. Secrets. Legacy.

"Stop scowling," Sasuke muttered, falling into step beside him. "You look constipated."

Naruto's head snapped up. "I'm not scowling!"

"You've been scowling for three days," Sakura chimed in from his other side. Her green eyes held something new when they regarded him now—curiosity mingled with caution. "Ever since the bridge."

"I'm fine," Naruto insisted, forcing his features into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Just thinking about ramen. I'm gonna eat, like, twenty bowls when we get back!"

Kakashi, walking ahead with his nose buried in his book, glanced back over his shoulder. The jonin's visible eye crinkled in what might have been sympathy or warning—Naruto couldn't tell which.

"Hokage Tower first," Kakashi reminded them. "Mission report takes priority, even over ramen."

The guards at the gate waved them through with practiced efficiency, though Izumo did a double-take as Naruto passed.

"Hey, did you do something different with your—" the chunin began, only to be silenced by Kakashi's subtle head shake.

Naruto's hand flew to his face. "Different with my what?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kotetsu intervened smoothly. "Welcome back, Team 7. Successful mission?"

"Very," Kakashi replied, steering Naruto forward with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "The bridge builder sends his regards."

The village streets bustled with midday activity—merchants hawking wares, children darting between market stalls, shinobi leaping across rooftops on unknown errands. It all felt surreally normal to Naruto, as if the village should somehow reflect the seismic shift in his understanding of the world.

But nothing had changed here. The villagers still eyed him with that familiar mixture of wariness and disdain. The Hokage's stone face still gazed impassively from the mountain. Konoha carried on, oblivious to the fact that Uzumaki Naruto now knew the first piece of a truth that had been hidden from him his entire life.

---

The mission report was mercifully brief. Kakashi did most of the talking, his lazy drawl belying the precision of his account. He mentioned the confrontation with Zabuza, Haku's ice mirrors, and the final showdown with Gato's mercenaries—but conspicuously omitted any reference to Naruto's abilities.

The Third Hokage listened intently, pipe smoke curling around his weathered features, his sharp eyes occasionally flicking to Naruto's face. When Kakashi finished, Hiruzen set his pipe down with deliberate care.

"Well done, Team 7. The mission parameters changed significantly, yet you adapted and succeeded. Tazuna has already sent a messenger hawk expressing his gratitude." The Hokage smiled warmly. "You've earned some rest. Sakura, Sasuke—you're dismissed. Naruto and Kakashi will remain for a supplementary report."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed fractionally. "Supplementary report?"

"Standard procedure," the Hokage replied smoothly. "Nothing to concern yourself with."

"But we were all there," Sakura protested. "Shouldn't we—"

"Dismissed," Kakashi repeated, his tone gentle but brooking no argument.

When the door closed behind the departing genin, the Hokage's demeanor shifted. He rose from behind his desk and moved to the windows, activating a complex series of seals that shimmered briefly across the glass before fading.

"Privacy barriers," he explained, returning to his desk. "What we discuss now cannot leave this room."

The air felt suddenly heavier, charged with anticipation. Naruto's heart hammered against his ribs.

"Naruto," the Hokage began, his voice softer than the boy had ever heard it, "Kakashi's message indicated that your... inheritance... has begun to manifest."

"You mean my father's bloodline," Naruto said, the words feeling strange on his tongue. "The Temporal Eye thing."

Hiruzen exchanged a glance with Kakashi. "You've told him?"

"Not everything," Kakashi replied. "Just enough to explain what was happening to him. The rest should come from you, Lord Hokage."

The old man sighed, shoulders slumping slightly beneath the weight of his robes. "I always knew this day would come, though I'd hoped for more time." He fixed Naruto with those penetrating eyes that seemed to see straight through to his soul. "What do you know of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto?"

The question caught him off guard. "He was the village hero who defeated the Nine-Tails and saved everyone. He was super strong and really smart and invented awesome jutsu. And..." Naruto swallowed hard. "And he was my father."

Saying it aloud made it real in a way that nothing else had. His legs suddenly felt weak, and he sank into the chair across from the Hokage's desk.

"Yes," Hiruzen confirmed. "Minato Namikaze was your father. And Kushina Uzumaki, one of our finest kunoichi, was your mother."

Tears pricked at Naruto's eyes. "Why? Why didn't anyone tell me? I grew up alone, hated, thinking I was nobody! But all this time, I was the Fourth Hokage's son?"

The accusation hung in the air, raw and painful. The Hokage didn't flinch from it.

"To protect you," he said simply. "Minato had powerful enemies, both outside the village and within it. After the Nine-Tails attack, those who knew his bloodline feared it might manifest in you someday. Combined with the Fox's power..." He shook his head. "The risk was too great."

"So you lied to me my whole life?" Naruto's voice cracked.

"We did what your parents asked of us," Kakashi interjected quietly. "Their final wish was for you to grow up safely, away from those who would exploit your heritage."

The Hokage reached beneath his desk and withdrew a wooden box covered in complex seals. He placed it on the desk between them and pressed his palm against the lid. The seals glowed briefly before fading away.

"These belonged to your father," he said, opening the box to reveal a collection of scrolls, each bearing the same lightning-encircled spiral that Naruto had seen in his vision. "They contain the history and techniques of the Namikaze clan."

With trembling hands, Naruto reached for the topmost scroll. The parchment felt warm beneath his fingers, as if resonating with his touch. When he unrolled it, the characters seemed to swim before his eyes, rearranging themselves into readable form.

"It's responding to your blood," the Hokage explained. "These scrolls are keyed to the Namikaze chakra signature. Only those of the bloodline can read them fully."

Naruto stared at the opening lines:

To my son,

If you are reading this, then the bloodline has awakened within you, and the safeguards I placed have been lifted. Know that everything I did—everything your mother and I sacrificed—was to protect you and give you the chance to grow strong enough to bear this burden.

The power flowing through your veins is both gift and responsibility. The Temporal Eye has shaped our clan's destiny for generations, though few outside our family ever knew of its existence...

Tears blurred Naruto's vision, making it impossible to continue. He clutched the scroll to his chest, his father's words burning into his heart.

"The seal that contained the Nine-Tails wasn't the only one Minato placed on you that night," the Hokage continued softly. "He created a secondary seal to suppress the bloodline until you were ready—a failsafe designed to dissolve gradually as you matured and faced life-threatening danger."

"The encounter with Zabuza accelerated the process," Kakashi added. "Each activation weakens the suppression seal further."

Naruto wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "So what exactly is this bloodline? What's happening to me?"

The Hokage retrieved another scroll from the box and unrolled it on the desk, revealing diagrams of the human chakra network with unusual pathways highlighted in gold ink.

"The Namikaze Temporal Eye," he began, "is a dōjutsu unlike the Sharingan or Byakugan. Rather than copying techniques or seeing through objects, it alters the user's perception of time and space. In its initial stage—what you've experienced so far—it accelerates your perception, allowing you to see the world in extreme slow motion."

"But I moved faster too," Naruto pointed out. "On the bridge, I was actually moving at super speed, not just seeing things slowly."

"That's the second stage," Kakashi explained. "As the ability develops, your body learns to match your perception. Your physical speed increases to incredible levels, even beyond what the Body Flicker technique can achieve."

The Hokage nodded. "The final stage, which your father mastered, allows limited manipulation of space itself around the user. Not teleportation like the Flying Thunder God—that was a separate technique Minato developed—but rather, a warping of space-time that creates what he called 'temporal pockets.'"

Naruto's head swam with the implications. "And this is... mine? By blood?"

"Yes," the Hokage confirmed. "The Namikaze were never a large clan, but they were respected for their unique abilities. Over generations, the bloodline became diluted and dormant in most family lines. Minato was the first in three generations to manifest the full Temporal Eye."

"And now me," Naruto whispered.

"And now you," Kakashi agreed. "Which means you need to learn to control it before someone realizes what's happening."

"Who would care?" Naruto asked. "I mean, besides me and my friends?"

The Hokage's expression darkened. "There are those who collect bloodlines, Naruto. Who would stop at nothing to obtain the Temporal Eye for themselves—either by capturing you or by... extracting it."

A chill ran down Naruto's spine at the implication. "That's why my dad kept it secret?"

"Partly," the Hokage nodded. "The Namikaze were hunted nearly to extinction during the Second Shinobi War precisely because of their abilities. Those who survived scattered and hid their heritage. Minato was one of the last to carry the name openly, and only after he became powerful enough to defend himself."

"And now I'm walking around with the same target on my back," Naruto realized, a knot forming in his stomach.

"Which is why," Kakashi said, closing the scroll and returning it to the box, "we begin your training immediately, in absolute secrecy."

---

The training ground lay hidden deep within the Hokage Monument itself, a cavern carved into the living rock beneath the Fourth's stone visage. Ancient seals covered the walls, dampening sound and masking chakra signatures from outside detection.

"My father trained here?" Naruto asked, running his fingers along the smooth stone walls in wonder.

"Sometimes," Kakashi confirmed, setting down a stack of scrolls in the center of the space. "This chamber was created during the village's founding for Hokage training. The seals were Uzumaki work, designed by your mother's clan."

Naruto absorbed this new connection to his parents with quiet awe. For thirteen years, he'd had nothing of them—no memories, no keepsakes, not even their names. Now history unfurled around him, rich with their presence.

"We'll start with the basics," Kakashi said, rolling out a training mat. "Meditation techniques to help you access the bloodline consciously rather than only under stress."

Naruto groaned. "Meditation? That's so boring! Can't we skip to the super-speed part?"

"Impatient as ever," Kakashi chuckled. "Just like your mother. But no—we do this properly or not at all."

The next hours passed in grueling concentration as Kakashi guided Naruto through visualization exercises designed to help him access the unique chakra pathways associated with the Temporal Eye. Progress was frustratingly slow.

"I can't feel anything," Naruto complained after the fifth failed attempt. "Just the regular chakra paths I've always had."

"Because you're trying too hard," Kakashi observed. "The Namikaze paths aren't separate from your normal network—they're integrated within it, like threads of gold woven through blue fabric."

Naruto closed his eyes again, trying to visualize his internal energy as Kakashi described. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the effort of sustained concentration—something that had never been his strong suit.

"Stop forcing it," Kakashi instructed. "Just breathe and listen to your body."

Breathing. Listening. Naruto's least favorite activities. He exhaled slowly, trying to quiet the constant buzz of thoughts in his mind. Gradually, the distractions faded—the hard stone beneath him, Kakashi's watchful presence, the weight of expectation.

In that moment of perfect stillness, he felt it—a subtle current within his normal chakra flow, pulsing with a rhythm slightly out of sync with his heartbeat. Golden energy, just as Kakashi had described, threading through his pathways like hidden streams beneath a forest floor.

"There," he whispered, afraid that speaking too loudly might break the connection. "I can feel it."

"Good," Kakashi's voice seemed to come from very far away. "Now follow that current. Don't try to control it yet—just observe where it leads."

Naruto traced the golden energy through his system, fascinated as it converged behind his eyes in a complex network he'd never noticed before. When the energy pooled there, the familiar buzzing sensation began—gentler this time, more controlled.

"It's gathering in my eyes," he reported. "Should I let it activate?"

"Yes," Kakashi said. "But slowly. Ease into it rather than plunging."

Naruto inhaled deeply, then gradually released his restraint on the golden energy. His perception shifted—not the violent jolt he'd experienced in combat, but a smooth transition, like adjusting the focus on a telescope.

The world around him slowed, details sharpening with crystalline clarity. He could see the individual fibers in Kakashi's mask, count the dust motes floating in the shaft of light from a high window, track the slow blink of his teacher's visible eye.

"I'm doing it," Naruto said, his voice sounding strangely deep and distorted to his own ears. "Everything's super slow!"

"Excellent," Kakashi replied, his words stretching like taffy. "Now try to maintain it while standing up."

The simple act of rising to his feet proved challenging. His perception and body weren't synchronized—his thoughts raced at heightened speed while his limbs responded with normal delay. The disconnect made his movements clumsy, like a puppet with tangled strings.

"This is weird," Naruto complained, nearly toppling over. "I can think super fast but move regular speed."

"That's the challenge of the first stage," Kakashi explained, his words still elongated in Naruto's perception. "Your father called it the 'observer phase'—heightened perception without corresponding physical enhancement. You need to train your muscles to respond at the same accelerated rate."

For the next hour, Naruto practiced basic movements while maintaining the perception shift—walking, then jogging, then simple taijutsu forms. Each repetition grew smoother as his body began adapting to the altered state.

"The key," Kakashi instructed, demonstrating a simple blocking technique, "is channeling the same golden chakra into your muscles that you're sending to your eyes. The Temporal Eye isn't just visual—it's a whole-body transformation."

Sweat poured down Naruto's face as he attempted to redirect the energy flow. His control was crude at best, resulting in bursts of enhanced speed followed by awkward stumbles.

"It's like trying to fill a water balloon with a fire hose," he panted after a particularly spectacular failure sent him crashing into the wall. "I can't control how much goes where."

"That's why we train," Kakashi replied, helping him up. "Your chakra reserves are massive, which makes fine control more difficult. But you're making progress."

By the session's end, Naruto could maintain the heightened perception for nearly five minutes before exhaustion forced him to release it. His movements remained uneven, but occasional flashes of coordination showed promise.

"Enough for today," Kakashi decided, noting the chakra fatigue evident in Naruto's slumping shoulders. "Your pathways need time to adjust to the new flow patterns."

"But I barely did anything cool," Naruto protested, though the words were undermined by a massive yawn.

"Mastery takes time," Kakashi reminded him, gathering the training scrolls. "Your father spent years perfecting his techniques. The Flying Thunder God alone took him nearly a decade to develop fully."

"Years?" Naruto groaned, dragging himself toward the chamber exit. "But what if I need the cool stuff now? What if someone attacks the village tomorrow?"

"Then you'll use what you know," Kakashi said simply. "And trust your teammates to handle the rest. Speaking of which—what will you tell Sasuke and Sakura? They've both noticed something's different."

Naruto paused at the doorway, considering. "I can't tell them everything, right? About my dad and stuff?"

"Not yet," Kakashi confirmed. "The Hokage will lift those restrictions when the time is right. But you can tell them you're developing a new ability that requires special training. It's not uncommon for shinobi to discover unique talents as they mature."

Naruto nodded, processing this. "So I just say I'm getting special training because I'm awesome, and they'll buy that?"

"I wouldn't phrase it exactly that way," Kakashi chuckled. "But essentially, yes."

---

Across the vast forests separating Fire Country from Earth Country, a figure stood atop a rocky outcropping, gazing toward the distant outline of Konoha on the horizon. Wind whipped his long, ash-blonde hair around sharp features that might have been handsome if not for the cold calculation in his pale blue eyes.

Kazama Seto lowered the spyglass through which he'd been observing border patrols and tucked it into his equipment pouch. His attire—a sleeveless gray tunic over mesh armor, with loose-fitting pants tucked into bandaged ankles—bore no village insignia or identifying markers.

"Report," he commanded, not turning as a shadow detached itself from a nearby boulder.

"The rumors are confirmed," the shadow-figure rasped, keeping his face concealed beneath a hood. "Witnesses from Wave Country describe a young Konoha genin moving with impossible speed, leaving golden afterimages. During the battle on the bridge, his eyes reportedly changed pattern."

Seto's fingers tightened around the hilt of the tanto strapped to his lower back. "Description?"

"Blonde hair, blue eyes, approximately thirteen years old. Wears an orange jumpsuit with the Uzumaki spiral. Identified as Naruto Uzumaki."

A thin smile curved Seto's lips. "Uzumaki, is it? How very interesting. And convenient." He turned at last, revealing eyes that momentarily flashed with the same clock-like pattern described in the report. "It seems my dear cousin Minato left behind more than just a legacy of heroism."

"There's more," the informant continued. "The boy is also the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."

Seto's eyebrows rose fractionally—the only indication of his surprise. "Now that is unexpected. The bloodline and the beast in one vessel?" He chuckled, a sound devoid of warmth. "How ambitious of Minato. I wonder if he considered the consequences of such a combination."

"Your orders?"

"Continue surveillance," Seto decided after a moment's consideration. "But no direct contact yet. I want to know everything about this boy—his routine, his abilities, his weaknesses. And most importantly, how far the bloodline has developed."

The informant bowed and melted back into the shadows, leaving Seto alone with the panoramic view and his thoughts.

"After all these years," he murmured, eyes fixed on the distant village, "the bloodline returns. Not extinct after all, just... waiting." His fingers traced an old scar that ran from his temple to his jaw. "How fitting that it should emerge in your son, Minato. The son you died to protect... and the bloodline you deemed me unworthy to inherit."

His eyes shifted fully into the clock pattern, the world around him slowing as his perception accelerated. A bird's wingbeat froze mid-flap; a falling leaf hung suspended in the air.

"Let's see if your precious son proves more worthy than I was."

---

Weeks passed in a rhythm of regular team training, secret bloodline sessions, and gradual progress. Naruto learned to activate the perception shift more consistently, though the physical enhancement remained frustratingly elusive outside moments of extreme stress.

"It's like my body knows what to do when I'm in danger," he complained during one training session, "but forgets as soon as I try to do it on purpose."

"Muscle memory," Kakashi explained, circling him with analytical precision. "Your body recorded the sensation during combat but can't replicate it without the same stimulus."

"So what, I need to be nearly killed every time I want to use this?" Naruto threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Not necessarily." Kakashi adopted a thoughtful pose. "We need to trick your body into believing it's in danger without actually endangering you."

This led to increasingly creative—and occasionally painful—training scenarios. Kakashi would launch surprise attacks throughout the day, forcing Naruto to activate his bloodline reflexively. Shadow clones were deployed en masse to create artificial combat pressure. Even basic chakra control exercises were modified to include elements of risk—walking on water above hungrier and hungrier fish, for instance.

Slowly, incrementally, Naruto's control improved. The buzzing sensation became familiar, almost comfortable. He could maintain the perception shift for longer periods without exhaustion, and brief bursts of enhanced movement became possible through conscious effort rather than just instinct.

Through it all, he devoured the contents of his father's scrolls, learning the history of a clan he'd never known existed and techniques developed over generations. The Namikaze had never been numerous or politically powerful, but their unique abilities had made them valued as scouts, messengers, and specialized combatants throughout the Warring States period.

"Why did they die out?" Naruto asked one evening, rolling up a historical scroll with careful reverence.

"Fear," Kakashi replied simply. "Fear of what they could do. During the Second War, rumors spread that the Namikaze could manipulate time itself—stop it, reverse it, step outside its flow. None of it was true, of course, but perception became reality. Villages ordered their shinobi to target Namikaze clan members with extreme prejudice."

"That's horrible," Naruto whispered.

"That's war," Kakashi corrected gently. "Bloodlines have always been coveted and feared in equal measure. The survivors changed their names, hid their abilities, scattered across the nations. Your father was one of the few who reclaimed the name after the war ended, once he'd become powerful enough that few would dare target him directly."

The implication wasn't lost on Naruto. "And I'm not that powerful yet."

"No," Kakashi agreed, "you're not. Which is why discretion remains essential."

---

Despite their precautions, rumors began to circulate. Subtle at first—whispers among the genin about Naruto's improved reflexes, questions from Academy instructors who noticed his altered training schedule, curious glances from senior shinobi who recognized the pattern of specialized instruction.

Sasuke grew increasingly suspicious, his dark eyes tracking Naruto's movements during team exercises with analytical intensity. Sakura's curiosity manifested in research—Kakashi once caught her in the library archives, poring over obscure texts on chakra mutations and emergent abilities in adolescent shinobi.

"They're getting close," Kakashi warned the Hokage during a progress report. "Sasuke especially. His Sharingan activated during the Wave mission, and he's beginning to notice the chakra patterns when Naruto uses the bloodline, even at low levels."

Hiruzen puffed thoughtfully on his pipe, gazing out over the village bathed in evening light. "Perhaps it's time to provide a distraction. Something to redirect their attention and energy."

"What did you have in mind, Lord Hokage?"

The old man smiled cryptically. "I believe the Chunin Exams are approaching. It would be... educational... for our rookie teams to participate this year."

---

The announcement came the following day during Team 7's regular training session. Kakashi appeared in his customary swirl of leaves, his visible eye curved in what passed for a smile.

"I've nominated you three for the Chunin Selection Exams," he announced without preamble, producing three application forms from his vest pocket. "They begin in one week."

Sakura's eyes widened. "But we've only been genin for a few months! Isn't it too soon?"

"I've assessed your capabilities," Kakashi replied with a casual shrug. "You're ready. Or at least, you have the potential to be ready, with proper preparation."

Sasuke accepted his form with barely concealed eagerness, dark eyes scanning the requirements with intensity. "Individual and team combat trials," he noted. "Perfect."

His gaze flickered to Naruto, a subtle challenge in the glance. Since Wave, their rivalry had taken on a new edge—Sasuke's Sharingan awakening versus Naruto's mysterious new abilities creating a silent competition neither would acknowledge aloud.

Naruto clutched his own application form, conflicting emotions churning in his gut. Excitement at the opportunity warred with anxiety about controlling his bloodline in such a public, high-pressure environment.

"The decision is yours," Kakashi continued. "Participation is voluntary. If you choose to compete, submit your forms to Room 301 at the Academy by this time next week."

After dismissing the team, he held Naruto back with a subtle hand signal.

"This complicates things," Kakashi said once they were alone, his tone serious. "The exams will put you under precisely the kind of stress that triggers involuntary bloodline activation."

"I know," Naruto acknowledged, folding the application form carefully. "But I can't skip it. Not when Sasuke and Sakura are competing."

"Then we intensify your training," Kakashi decided. "Focus on conscious activation and deactivation rather than raw power. Control is what you'll need most."

"And if I lose control? If everyone sees?"

Kakashi's expression softened fractionally. "Then we adapt. But remember, Naruto—what most people will see is simply a genin moving very fast. Without knowledge of the Namikaze bloodline, few would connect it to anything beyond exceptional skill."

Naruto nodded, trying to take comfort in that thought. "I'll be ready," he promised, though uncertainty lingered in his voice. "I won't let my team down."

As he turned to leave, Kakashi added one final, sobering warning: "Be especially careful during the second phase—the Forest of Death. It's designed to push candidates to their limits, and surveillance is minimal once you're inside. If someone were hunting for evidence of your abilities, that would be the perfect opportunity to observe undetected."

The implication hung in the air between them: the exams wouldn't just test Naruto's skills as a shinobi, but his ability to protect the dangerous secret he now carried.

His father's legacy—both gift and burden—would face its first true public trial.

# Chapter 5: Trials of Time

Morning sunlight slashed through the academy windows, cutting golden rectangles across worn wooden desks where anxious genin fidgeted with pencils and dreams. The examination room buzzed with tension—dozens of candidates from villages across the Five Nations eyeing one another with expressions ranging from casual disdain to barely concealed hostility.

Naruto wiped sweaty palms against his orange pants for the fifth time in as many minutes. Around him, the pressure of competing chakra signatures pressed against his newly heightened senses like a physical weight.

"Would you stop bouncing your leg?" Sakura hissed from the seat beside him. "You're making the whole bench shake."

"Sorry," Naruto whispered back, forcing his leg to still. "Just excited, you know?"

But excitement was only part of the maelstrom churning in his gut. The week of intensive training with Kakashi had left him ragged, chakra pathways raw from repeated activation and deactivation of his bloodline. The jonin had drilled control exercises relentlessly—the ability to trigger his enhanced perception without the accompanying physical acceleration, to maintain it for precise durations, to shut it down instantly when necessary.

"The first test is always written," Kakashi had warned. "And they're always watching for cheating. Your bloodline gives you an advantage—and a vulnerability. One slip, one golden flash, and you'll draw exactly the kind of attention we've been avoiding."

Across the room, Sasuke sat with his usual mask of indifference, though the subtle tension in his shoulders betrayed his own anticipation. The last Uchiha had watched Naruto like a hawk during their final team practice sessions, dark eyes narrowing whenever Naruto's movements showed hints of unnatural speed.

A sharp crack echoed through the room as Ibiki Morino, the imposing head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force, slammed his palm against the instructor's desk.

"Eyes forward, maggots!" he barked, scars twisting across his face as he surveyed the assembled genin. "The first phase of the Chunin Selection Exam begins now."

The proctors distributed test papers with military precision. When Naruto flipped his over, his stomach plummeted. Complex cryptography questions. Mathematical calculations that made his head spin. Tactical scenarios requiring analytical skills he'd never bothered to develop.

I'm so screwed, he thought, panic rising in his throat as he scanned the nine impossible questions.

Ibiki's voice cut through the collective murmur of dismay. "You have one hour. Begin."

Pencils scratched against paper as candidates tackled the exam. Naruto stared at his blank sheet, desperately wracking his brain for answers that simply weren't there. Around him, he sensed others facing similar struggles—and some who weren't struggling at all.

That's when the realization hit him: this test wasn't about knowledge. It was about information gathering. About cheating without getting caught.

The familiar buzzing sensation tingled behind his eyes, responding to his emotional state. Naruto closed his eyes briefly, centering himself as Kakashi had taught him. Control, he reminded himself. Not power.

When he opened his eyes again, the world had shifted into that now-familiar state of heightened perception. Colors sharpened, movements slowed, and—most importantly—he could see with crystal clarity what candidates three rows ahead were writing.

Perfect. He could copy their answers without anyone noticing.

Naruto raised his pencil, then froze, ethical dilemma warring with practical necessity. Using his bloodline this way felt... wrong. This wasn't combat. This wasn't protecting his teammates. This was using his father's legacy—a power people had been hunted and killed for—to cheat on a test.

The pencil trembled in his hand.

Across the room, Ibiki's gaze suddenly locked onto him, the scarred proctor's eyes narrowing fractionally. Naruto immediately released the bloodline enhancement, his perception snapping back to normal with a disorienting lurch.

Had Ibiki noticed something? The man's expression revealed nothing as he continued his predatory circuit of the examination room.

Naruto stared back down at his blank paper. The bloodline would make cheating easy—too easy. But was that the kind of shinobi he wanted to be? One who took the easy path at the first sign of difficulty?

What would my father have done?

The question surfaced unbidden, striking him with unexpected force. The Fourth Hokage—brilliant, principled, renowned for his intellect as much as his speed. Would he have cheated?

With sudden clarity, Naruto made his decision. He wouldn't use the bloodline—not for this. He'd pass or fail on his own merits.

The minutes ticked by in agonizing slowness. Naruto managed to puzzle out partial answers to three questions through sheer determination, but the rest remained incomprehensible. When Ibiki announced the final, all-or-nothing tenth question, Naruto clung to its strange rules as his last hope.

"If you choose to answer and get it wrong, you'll remain genin forever," Ibiki declared, killing intent radiating from his scarred frame.

Candidates began dropping out, the pressure too intense to bear. Naruto's hands clenched into fists beneath the desk. Beside him, Sakura's pencil hovered indecisively over her answer sheet.

He couldn't quit. Not now. Not ever.

Naruto's hand shot up, trembling not with fear but with barely contained determination. The room fell silent, all eyes turning to the orange-clad genin whose arm quivered in the air.

Then he slammed his palm against the desk, the crack echoing through the stunned silence.

"Don't underestimate me!" he shouted, azure eyes blazing with conviction. "I don't care if I'm stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still become Hokage someday! I'm not afraid of your stupid question!"

A heartbeat of stunned silence followed his outburst. Then, unexpectedly, Ibiki's scarred face cracked into the ghost of a smile.

"In that case... everyone still here passes."

The collective shock that rippled through the room was almost palpable. As Ibiki explained the true purpose of the test—gathering information under pressure and maintaining resolve in the face of intimidation—Naruto sagged back in his seat, relief washing through him in dizzying waves.

He'd passed. Without cheating. Without betraying his father's legacy.

From across the room, Sasuke caught his eye, offering a barely perceptible nod of acknowledgment. In the Uchiha's economy of expression, it was practically a standing ovation.

The moment of triumph shattered as the classroom window exploded inward in a shower of glass. A purple-haired woman in a tan trench coat burst through the improvised entrance, unfurling a banner behind her with theatrical flair.

"No time to celebrate, maggots!" Anko Mitarashi announced with predatory glee. "The second exam begins now! Follow me to Training Ground 44—better known as the Forest of Death!"

---

The massive trees of Training Ground 44 stretched skyward like ancient pillars supporting a cathedral of leaves and shadow. Naruto stood with Sasuke and Sakura before the chainlink fence encircling the forest, the wire mesh vibrating with occasional impacts from unseen creatures within.

"This place gives me the creeps," Sakura murmured, eyes tracking the movement of something large slithering through the underbrush beyond the fence.

Sasuke surveyed the terrain with analytical precision. "Dense cover, limited visibility, abundant natural hazards," he assessed clinically. "Perfect for ambushes."

Naruto, however, wasn't listening to his teammates. His attention had fixed on something else entirely—a subtle, persistent pressure against his developing sensory abilities. The forest seemed to pulse with malevolent chakra, concentrated in pockets throughout its vast expanse.

"Something's not right," he muttered, squinting as if that might sharpen his perception. "There's weird chakra all over the place."

"Of course there is," Sakura replied, misunderstanding. "There are dozens of teams about to enter."

"No, it's different." Naruto struggled to articulate what his senses were telling him. "Like... something hiding. Waiting."

Sasuke's attention sharpened at this, dark eyes studying Naruto with renewed interest. "Since when can you sense chakra at this distance?"

Before Naruto could formulate a response, Anko's voice cut through the murmur of competing teams, explaining the rules of the survival exercise. Each team would receive either a Heaven or Earth scroll, then spend five days in the forest attempting to acquire both types and reach the central tower.

"Oh, and one more thing," Anko added with sadistic cheerfulness, "try not to die. The paperwork's a real pain."

When Team 7 received their Heaven scroll, Sasuke immediately took charge.

"I'll carry it," he declared, tucking the scroll into his equipment pouch. "Naruto's too obvious a target, and Sakura needs her hands free for medical techniques."

"Who made you team leader?" Naruto bristled instinctively.

"The person with a plan," Sasuke shot back. "Unless you have a better strategy than 'rush in and hope for the best'?"

The barb struck home, deflating Naruto's objection. Tactical planning had never been his strong suit.

"Fine," he conceded grudgingly. "So what's the plan, oh great leader?"

Sasuke crouched, drawing a crude map in the dirt with a kunai. "We move in a triangular formation—I'll take point, Sakura on the right flank, Naruto on the left. Stay within visual contact but maintain enough distance that a single trap can't catch all three of us."

Sakura nodded approvingly. "And our target priority?"

"Weaker teams first," Sasuke decided. "Preferably from other villages so we don't create unnecessary friction with Konoha allies. We observe before engaging—confirm they have an Earth scroll before wasting energy on combat."

The plan was solid, Naruto had to admit. "And if we get separated?"

"Head to high ground and use this signal." Sasuke demonstrated a distinctive bird call. "No shadow clones unless absolutely necessary—they'll just drain your chakra and reveal our position."

Naruto scowled at the last directive, but recognized the tactical sense behind it. "Got it."

Team 7 lined up at their assigned gate, tension vibrating between them like a plucked wire. When the signal flare burst overhead, they surged forward into the shadowy embrace of the forest.

The first hour passed in watchful silence as they penetrated deeper into the training ground. The canopy thickened overhead, filtering sunlight into dappled patterns that shifted hypnotically across the forest floor. Massive insects buzzed lazily between gnarled branches, while unseen creatures rustled through the underbrush.

Naruto's senses remained on high alert, the weight of unknown chakra signatures pressing against his awareness like atmospheric pressure before a storm. Something about this forest amplified his perceptual abilities—whether from the ambient natural energy or simply the heightened danger, he couldn't tell.

The attack, when it came, was almost a relief after the mounting tension.

Three Rain ninja materialized from the shadows, moving with the fluid coordination of a practiced unit. Water bullets sliced through the air where Sasuke had been standing a fraction of a second earlier, the Uchiha already in motion, hands flashing through seals for a counterattack.

"Formation beta!" Sasuke called, unleashing a fireball that forced their attackers to scatter.

Naruto recognized the code from their pre-exam strategy sessions. He immediately created three shadow clones, sending them charging forward as noisy distractions while he circled left, kunai drawn.

The Rain ninja were good—chunin level at minimum—but Team 7 moved with surprising cohesion. Sakura disabled one with a precisely targeted flash bomb followed by a sweeping kick to the knees. Sasuke engaged the leader in a taijutsu exchange that showcased his Sharingan's developing abilities.

Naruto cornered the third ninja against a massive tree root, his shadow clones converging from multiple angles. The Rain shinobi's hands blurred through seals for a water technique—until Naruto's perception suddenly shifted.

The buzzing intensified behind his eyes, the world slowing to a crawl around him. He could see individual droplets forming in the air as the enemy's jutsu began to manifest, could track the minute adjustments in the ninja's stance that telegraphed his next movement.

Without conscious thought, Naruto adjusted his approach angle, slipping past the water needles before they fully materialized and driving his knee into the enemy's solar plexus with perfect precision. The Rain ninja collapsed, air driven from his lungs in a single explosive gasp.

"Check for the scroll," Sasuke ordered, having dispatched his own opponent with efficient brutality.

Sakura quickly searched the fallen ninjas, her expression falling. "Heaven scroll. Same as ours."

"Take it anyway," Sasuke decided. "Removes potential competition and gives us a bargaining chip if necessary."

They secured the unconscious Rain team with wire and prepared to move on. As Naruto turned to follow his teammates deeper into the forest, he caught Sasuke studying him with unnerving intensity.

"What?" Naruto asked defensively.

"That final attack," Sasuke said, eyes narrowed. "You moved differently. Saw the jutsu forming before it was cast."

Naruto's heart rate spiked. Had his bloodline activation been that obvious? "Just got lucky with the timing," he lied, avoiding Sasuke's penetrating gaze.

The Uchiha clearly didn't believe him but mercifully dropped the subject as they continued their journey toward the forest's center.

---

By the second day, they'd established a makeshift camp in the hollow of a massive fallen tree, taking shifts to keep watch while scouting nearby teams. Despite encountering several more groups, they had yet to find an Earth scroll.

"We need to be more aggressive," Sasuke insisted as they shared a meager breakfast of soldier pills and purified water. "At this rate, the strongest teams will reach the tower before we find what we need."

Sakura nodded reluctantly. "The competition is thinning out. I heard screams from the eastern sector all night."

Naruto had heard them too—and sensed the chakra disturbances that accompanied each elimination. Something predatory was moving through the forest, something that didn't feel like ordinary genin competition.

"I think we should avoid the east side," he suggested, uncharacteristic caution creeping into his voice. "Something weird is happening over there."

"Weird how?" Sasuke pressed.

Naruto struggled to articulate what his developing senses were telling him. "Like... really strong chakra. But twisted somehow. Hungry."

His teammates exchanged concerned glances. Before their discussion could continue, Naruto's head snapped up, senses suddenly screaming in alarm.

"Get down!" he shouted, diving toward his teammates as a massive gust of wind tore through their hideout, ripping away the natural camouflage they'd constructed and exposing them to the forest beyond.

The pressure that hit them next wasn't physical—it was pure, undiluted killing intent, so thick it momentarily paralyzed all three genin where they crouched. Sakura made a choked sound of terror, while Sasuke's face drained of color, his body trembling visibly despite his desperate attempts to move.

Only Naruto, protected by some combination of the Nine-Tails' influence and his awakening bloodline, managed to maintain partial motor function. His vision wavered between normal perception and enhanced clarity as his body struggled to process the overwhelming threat.

A figure emerged from the shadows, moving with uncanny fluidity. A Grass ninja, tall and slender, with long black hair framing a feminine face that somehow projected wrongness with every subtle expression.

"Well, well," the ninja purred, voice sliding over them like oil on water. "What interesting prey I've found. The last Uchiha and his little friends."

Naruto felt something inside him fracture under the pressure of that killing intent. The buzzing behind his eyes exploded into searing pain as his bloodline forcibly activated in response to the mortal threat. The world jerked into heightened clarity, time stretching like taffy around him.

In that expanded moment, he saw what others couldn't—the Grass ninja's chakra network writhing with unnatural patterns, a secondary face seemingly superimposed over the first, eyes gleaming with ancient malice.

"You're not a genin," Naruto gasped, the words emerging in slow motion to his own ears. "What are you?"

The Grass ninja's eyes widened fractionally, head tilting with reptilian curiosity. "My, my. You see more than you should, little fox."

With that cryptic statement, the attacker launched forward with blinding speed—yet to Naruto's enhanced perception, the movement came just slowly enough to track. He managed to shove Sasuke aside moments before a kunai would have pierced his teammate's throat.

The action broke whatever paralysis had gripped the Uchiha. Sasuke's hands flashed through seals, unleashing a dragon-shaped fireball that momentarily illuminated the shadowy clearing. Sakura, still fighting the effects of the killing intent, managed to fling a smoke bomb that provided momentary cover.

"Run!" Sasuke shouted, grabbing Sakura's wrist and dragging her toward the denser underbrush. "We can't fight this one!"

For once, Naruto didn't argue. The wrongness radiating from their attacker transcended ordinary danger. This was something else entirely—something that shouldn't exist in a chunin examination.

They fled through the forest in desperate silence, branches whipping past their faces, roots threatening to trip them with every stride. Behind them, they could hear the leisurely pursuit of the Grass ninja, unhurried and confident, like a predator toying with cornered prey.

"We need to split up," Sasuke decided, Sharingan active and scanning for escape routes. "Confuse the trail."

"Bad idea," Naruto countered. "That's no ordinary genin back there. Separated, we're dead for sure."

"Then what do you suggest?" Sasuke snapped, frustration edging his voice.

Before Naruto could respond, a massive snake erupted from the canopy above, its jaws wide enough to swallow a genin whole. The beast struck with impossible speed, separating the team as they scattered in three directions to avoid its fangs.

Naruto tumbled down a steep ravine, brambles tearing at his jumpsuit as he fought to control his descent. He landed hard in a shallow stream, the impact driving air from his lungs in an explosive gasp.

For a disorienting moment, he lay stunned in the cool water. Then survival instinct kicked in, forcing him upright despite protesting muscles. He had to find his teammates, had to warn them—

The thought cut short as he sensed movement behind him. Turning slowly, he found himself facing another massive snake, this one coiled around a tree trunk, its unblinking eyes fixed on him with hungry intelligence.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto growled, drawing a kunai with one hand while the other formed his signature seal. "Shadow Clone—"

The snake struck before he could complete the jutsu, its massive body moving with impossible speed for something so large. Naruto leapt sideways, but the creature's tail whipped around, catching him mid-air and sending him flying into the trunk of an ancient tree.

Pain exploded through his ribcage. Something had definitely cracked on impact. He slid down the rough bark, fighting to remain conscious as the snake advanced for the killing strike.

Deep within, something stirred—the familiar caustic chakra of the Nine-Tails responding to his peril. Red energy bubbled from his skin, forming a protective shroud as his canines lengthened and nails sharpened into claws.

"I'm not your lunch!" he roared, voice deepening to an inhuman register.

The Fox's chakra surged through his system, amplifying his strength and speed as he launched himself at the giant serpent. His fist connected with the snake's snout with bone-shattering force, sending the creature reeling backward in stunned pain.

But something unexpected happened as the Nine-Tails' energy flooded his pathways. The dormant golden chakra of his bloodline responded, intertwining with the crimson power in strange, unpredictable ways. His perception shifted violently, the world around him not simply slowing but fragmenting into overlapping images, as if multiple timelines were briefly visible at once.

"What the—" Naruto gasped, disoriented by the visual distortion.

The snake, recovering from his initial blow, struck again. This time, Naruto's body reacted with the full combined power of both chakra sources. He didn't just dodge—he seemed to shift position in space, leaving a golden-red afterimage where he'd been standing as his body rematerialized two meters to the left.

The snake's jaws snapped shut on empty air, confusion evident in its reptilian features.

Naruto stared at his hands, which glowed with the intermingled energies—crimson and gold swirling together like oil and water, never fully merging but creating patterns of strange beauty in their interaction.

"This is new," he murmured, flexing his fingers experimentally.

A slow clap interrupted his wonder. The Grass ninja stood atop a nearby branch, watching him with undisguised fascination.

"Most interesting," the stranger purred. "When I came seeking the Sharingan, I never expected to find something equally... unique."

Naruto tensed, the dual chakras swirling more aggressively around his form. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"You may call me Orochimaru," the ninja replied, abandoning the Grass disguise as the false face peeled away to reveal chalk-white skin and serpentine yellow eyes. "As for what I want..." He smiled, the expression utterly devoid of warmth. "Let's just say I collect rare specimens."

The name triggered a flash of recognition. Orochimaru—one of the legendary Sannin, alongside Jiraiya and Tsunade. But also a defector, a criminal, a monster in human form who had conducted unspeakable experiments on Konoha citizens.

"You're supposed to be banned from the village," Naruto growled, the Fox's influence making the words emerge as a near-snarl.

"Technicalities," Orochimaru dismissed with a languid wave. "Now, show me more of that fascinating ability. The golden trails you leave behind... reminiscent of another shinobi I once knew. The Fourth, perhaps?"

The casual mention of his father sent a jolt of protective rage through Naruto. This monster knew—or at least suspected—the source of his abilities. The danger Kakashi had warned about wasn't theoretical anymore; it stood before him in the form of one of the most dangerous missing-nin alive.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto lied, frantically trying to think of a way to escape and find his teammates.

"Come now," Orochimaru chided, his long tongue sliding out to lick his lips in a grotesque parody of anticipation. "There's no need for modesty. That space-time manipulation is quite distinctive. A bloodline, perhaps? How delicious."

He stepped forward, killing intent radiating in suffocating waves. "I wonder... can it be extracted? Transplanted? So many fascinating experiments to conduct."

Terror and rage crashed together in Naruto's mind. The dual chakras responded, flaring so brightly they momentarily illuminated the forest clearing like daybreak. His perception splintered again, the world around him seeming to shatter into crystalline fragments of slowed time.

Orochimaru lunged, hands forming seals for some unknown jutsu—but Naruto was already moving. Not with conscious thought but pure instinct, his body flashing sideways in a spatial shift that left golden-red afterimages hanging in the air.

The Sannin's eyes widened in genuine surprise as his attack connected with nothing but dissipating energy. He spun, searching for his target, only to find Naruto reappearing twenty feet away, looking as startled by the movement as Orochimaru himself.

"Magnificent," the snake Sannin breathed, eyes gleaming with covetous hunger. "The bloodline alone would be prize enough, but combined with the Nine-Tails' power... the possibilities are endless."

Naruto backed away, desperately searching for an escape route. He needed to find Sasuke and Sakura, needed to warn them about the infiltrator. But his chakra control was slipping, the conflicting energies of the Fox and the bloodline creating unpredictable surges and ebbs in his abilities.

"Stay back," he warned, raising his hands defensively. "I don't want to hurt you."

Orochimaru threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing unnaturally through the forest. "Hurt me? Child, you have no concept of what I am. But don't worry—I won't kill you. Not when you carry something so... collectable."

The Sannin's neck suddenly extended, stretching impossibly as his head shot forward with fangs bared. Naruto's perception caught the attack in agonizing slow-motion, giving him just enough time to wrench his body sideways in another spatial shift.

The movement saved him from the bite but left him disoriented and vulnerable. Orochimaru recovered instantly, hands blurring through seals faster than even Naruto's enhanced perception could track.

"Five-Element Seal!" the Sannin called, fingers glowing with purple fire.

Naruto tried to dodge, but his control slipped at the crucial moment. The conflicting chakras stuttered, leaving him momentarily frozen as Orochimaru's palm slammed into his stomach. Pain exploded through his system as the seal overlaid the existing Eight Trigrams containment, disrupting both the Nine-Tails' chakra and, unexpectedly, the flow of his bloodline energy.

His vision snapped back to normal with jarring suddenness, the enhanced perception vanishing as both chakra sources were forcibly suppressed. Naruto collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath as darkness encroached on the edges of his consciousness.

"Fascinating reaction," Orochimaru observed clinically, studying him with the detached interest of a scientist examining a specimen. "The seal affects your bloodline as well? How unexpected. The chakra pathways must be more intertwined than I realized."

Naruto struggled to rise, to fight, to do anything—but his body refused to respond. The last thing he saw before consciousness slipped away was Orochimaru turning disinterestedly from him, apparently satisfied with what he'd learned and now focused on other prey.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered, and then darkness claimed him.

---

He awoke to the sensation of someone shaking his shoulder. Groggily, he opened his eyes to find Kabuto Yakushi, the silver-haired Konoha genin they'd met before the exam, crouched beside him with concern evident behind his round glasses.

"Finally," Kabuto sighed, sitting back on his heels. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't wake up."

Naruto struggled to sit upright, his body protesting every movement. "My team," he croaked, throat dry as sand. "Have to find them."

"Easy," Kabuto cautioned, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. "You're in no condition to be moving around. That's some seal you've got there—I've never seen anything quite like it."

Naruto's hand flew to his stomach, suddenly aware that his jacket and shirt had been pulled up to expose the seal. The original spiral pattern now appeared disrupted, five additional marks overlaid atop the original design.

"You were examining me?" he demanded, suspicion cutting through the fog of disorientation.

Kabuto raised his hands defensively. "Medical training," he explained. "I could tell something was wrong with your chakra flow. I was trying to help."

Naruto tugged his clothing back into place, instinctively protective of both seals. "Where are my teammates?"

"I don't know," Kabuto admitted. "I found you unconscious while my team was scouting. They're waiting nearby." He pushed his glasses up his nose, light glinting off the lenses. "What happened to you? That seal disruption is serious business."

"We were attacked," Naruto answered cautiously, unsure how much to reveal. "Someone way too strong for a chunin exam. Called himself Orochimaru."

Kabuto's expression shifted subtly—a flicker of something unreadable passing behind his eyes before concern reasserted itself. "Orochimaru? The S-rank missing-nin? That's... disturbing. We should report this to the proctors immediately."

"No time," Naruto insisted, forcing himself to his feet despite the vertigo that accompanied the movement. "He was after Sasuke. I have to find them first."

"You're in no condition to fight," Kabuto pointed out reasonably. "Let me help. My team has both scrolls already—we're just waiting for the right moment to approach the tower. We can assist you in finding your friends."

Naruto hesitated, instinct warning him to be cautious. There was something about Kabuto that felt... off. Not threatening exactly, but not entirely trustworthy either. But with his chakra disrupted and body weakened, he had few options.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "But we move now."

They rejoined Kabuto's teammates—two nondescript Konoha genin who greeted Naruto with cool nods before falling into flanking positions. The group moved through the forest with practiced efficiency, Kabuto occasionally consulting a hand-drawn map that marked territories and danger zones throughout the training ground.

"Your teammates would likely head for high ground after being separated," Kabuto reasoned. "There's a rocky outcropping about two kilometers northeast that offers good visibility."

Naruto nodded, though his attention was divided between their journey and his internal state. He could feel both chakra sources struggling against Orochimaru's seal—the Nine-Tails' energy bubbling against the suppression like water at a simmer, while the golden pathways of his bloodline pulsed weakly, seeking alternate routes through his system.

Experimentally, he tried to access the enhanced perception. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, like water finding cracks in a dam, a trickle of the golden energy slipped past the seal's influence. The world shifted slightly—not the full slowdown he'd experienced before, but a subtle enhancement of detail and clarity.

Kabuto's eyes cut toward him sharply, as if sensing the change. "Everything alright? Your chakra just fluctuated."

"I'm fine," Naruto lied, allowing the minor activation to fade. "Just tired."

Kabuto studied him for a moment longer before returning his attention to their path. "We should reach the outcropping within the hour. Hopefully your friends will be there—or will have left some sign of their passage."

The forest grew denser as they progressed, massive trees giving way to tangled underbrush that slowed their advance. Strange sounds echoed through the canopy—the cries of unfamiliar creatures and, occasionally, the distant screams of other exam participants meeting unfortunate ends.

They were crossing a narrow ravine when Naruto's developing senses pinged a warning. Chakra signatures—three of them—moving into position around their group with predatory intent.

"Ambush," he warned, voice low and urgent. "Three ninjas, coming in from the east."

Kabuto's eyebrows rose fractionally. "You can sense them from this distance? Impressive."

Before Naruto could respond, shuriken whistled through the air from multiple directions. Kabuto's team scattered with practiced coordination, while Naruto's weakened body responded sluggishly. A throwing star would have embedded itself in his shoulder if not for Kabuto's quick deflection with a kunai.

"Sound ninja," one of Kabuto's teammates identified as their attackers emerged from concealment.

Three shinobi wearing musical note insignias surrounded them, moving with aggressive confidence. The apparent leader—a hunched figure with a fur-covered back and bandaged face—tilted his head curiously.

"Well, well. The rumors were true," he rasped, single visible eye fixed on Naruto. "The Nine-Tails brat, separated from his pack. Lord Orochimaru will be pleased."

The name sent ice through Naruto's veins. These weren't ordinary exam participants—they were Orochimaru's agents, likely placed specifically to observe or capture targets of interest.

"You know Orochimaru?" Kabuto demanded, shifting into a defensive stance.

The Sound ninja laughed, the sound muffled by his bandages. "That's none of your concern, Leaf trash. We're here for the blonde."

"You'll have to go through us," Kabuto replied calmly, though something in his tone struck Naruto as performative rather than genuine.

What followed was a brief but brutal skirmish. The Sound ninja employed unusual techniques involving manipulated sound waves that bypassed traditional defenses. Kabuto's team fought with surprising skill for genin, though their leader seemed to take an unusual number of hits despite his apparent combat experience.

Naruto, still hampered by the Five-Element Seal, contributed what he could with basic taijutsu and the few shadow clones he could manage. The effort drained him rapidly, his chakra control fractured by the competing seal systems.

In the end, it was the arrival of another team that turned the tide—Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino bursting from the underbrush with perfect timing. The Sound ninja, unwilling to face expanded opposition, retreated with obvious reluctance.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, surveying the battlefield with his characteristic blend of laziness and tactical acuity. "We heard the fighting and thought it might be Sasuke's team."

"Have you seen them?" Naruto demanded, hope flaring.

"Not since the exam started," Ino replied, studying Naruto with evident concern. "You look terrible. What happened?"

Before he could answer, a familiar bird call echoed through the trees—the signal Sasuke had designated for their team. Naruto's head snapped up, relief washing through him in a dizzying wave.

"That's them," he confirmed, already moving toward the sound's source despite his exhaustion. "I have to go."

"We'll accompany you," Kabuto offered, adjusting his glasses. "Safety in numbers, especially with those Sound ninja still lurking about."

The combined groups made their way toward the signal, eventually discovering Sakura and Sasuke sheltered in the hollow of a massive tree. Sakura's once-long pink hair had been roughly cut short, and both genin bore the marks of recent combat.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, genuine relief in her voice as she spotted him. "You're alive!"

Sasuke's reaction was more subdued, a subtle relaxation of his shoulders the only indication of his relief. But Naruto noted with alarm that something was different about the Uchiha—a strange, malevolent chakra signature pulsed from a mark visible on his neck.

"What happened to you?" Naruto asked, eyes fixed on the mark.

Sasuke's hand rose unconsciously to cover it. "Orochimaru," he said simply. "He... marked me somehow. Said I'd seek him out eventually for power."

The implications chilled Naruto to the bone. Orochimaru hadn't just been testing them—he'd been shopping for vessels, for abilities to collect. And he'd left his brand on Sasuke while suppressing Naruto's chakra with the Five-Element Seal.

"We need to get to the tower," Kabuto interjected. "I have medical supplies there that might help both of you."

"Do you have an Earth scroll?" Sakura asked, hope evident in her tired eyes.

Kabuto smiled enigmatically. "As it happens, my team has a spare we'd be willing to trade—for an alliance until we reach the tower."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That's unusually generous."

"Consider it an investment in Konoha's future," Kabuto replied smoothly. "Besides, with Orochimaru involved, none of us should be traveling alone."

The logic was sound, though Naruto couldn't shake his unease about the silver-haired genin. Something in the way Kabuto had reacted to the mention of Orochimaru—a flicker of recognition too complex for a simple genin—kept nagging at his instincts.

Nevertheless, with both scrolls now in their possession and their team reunited, they set course for the central tower. The journey passed in tense silence, each genin processing their own traumas from the forest's trials.

When they finally reached the tower on the fourth day, Naruto pulled Sasuke aside while the others prepared to enter.

"That mark," he whispered urgently. "We need to tell the jonin instructors about it right away. And about Orochimaru being in the exams."

Sasuke hesitated, conflict evident in his dark eyes. "He offered power, Naruto. Power I might need to achieve my goals."

"At what cost?" Naruto demanded. "You felt his chakra—that's not normal power. That's something twisted."

Before Sasuke could respond, Kabuto approached, his perpetual smile firmly in place. "Everything alright? The others are ready to enter."

"Fine," Sasuke replied curtly, moving past both of them toward the tower entrance.

Kabuto's eyes lingered on Naruto for a moment longer than necessary. "That seal on your stomach," he remarked casually. "And the golden light I glimpsed during the Sound attack. Most unusual combination."

Ice spread through Naruto's veins. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course," Kabuto agreed easily, pushing his glasses up with one finger. "My mistake."

As the silver-haired genin walked away, Naruto couldn't shake the certainty that he'd just confirmed something for Kabuto—something the other ninja had already suspected.

And somewhere in the shadows of the Forest of Death, unseen by participants and proctors alike, Orochimaru received a message from his spy, yellow eyes gleaming with scientific curiosity at the confirmation of his observations.

"A Namikaze bloodline survivor," he mused, long fingers stroking his chin thoughtfully. "How utterly fascinating. And combined with the Nine-Tails' power... such potential."

He smiled, the expression devoid of humanity. "I came for the Sharingan, but perhaps I should expand my collection."

---

The preliminary matches began the following day, a necessary elimination round due to the unexpectedly high number of teams that had survived the Forest of Death. Naruto stood with his fellow genin in the massive arena beneath the tower, his body still weakened by Orochimaru's seal but his spirit unbroken.

From the balcony above, the Hokage observed the assembled candidates with sharp eyes that missed nothing—including the suppression seal visible through Naruto's chakra signature and the curse mark marring Sasuke's neck.

The electronic board randomized the match-ups, names flashing across its surface before settling on the first pair: Sasuke Uchiha versus Yoroi Akado, one of Kabuto's teammates.

As the matches progressed, Naruto divided his attention between the fights and his own internal struggle. The Five-Element Seal continued to disrupt his chakra flow, limiting his access to both the Nine-Tails' power and his bloodline abilities. If his name appeared on that board, he'd be fighting at less than half strength.

When Kakashi appeared beside him during Sasuke's match, Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Sensei!" he exclaimed. "Where've you been?"

"Around," Kakashi replied vaguely, his visible eye focused on Sasuke's battle. "I see you've had an... interesting experience in the forest."

"Orochimaru," Naruto confirmed in a whisper. "He knows about my... you know. Called it a space-time manipulation. Said it reminded him of..."

"I know," Kakashi cut him off gently. "The Hokage's been briefed. We'll discuss it later." His eye shifted to Naruto's stomach. "That seal is interfering with your chakra control."

"Can you remove it?"

"After the preliminaries," Kakashi promised. "For now, if you're selected to fight, stick to basic techniques. No enhancements, no Fox chakra, and definitely no bloodline activation. We don't need to give Orochimaru's spies more to report."

Naruto nodded grimly, watching as Sasuke finished his match with a borrowed technique inspired by Lee's taijutsu. The Uchiha's victory came at a cost—the curse mark visibly spreading before Kakashi intervened, escorting Sasuke away for immediate treatment.

The matches continued in rapid succession. Shino defeated Zaku. Kankuro overpowered Misumi. Sakura and Ino fought to a mutual knockout. Temari demolished Tenten with brutal efficiency.

When Naruto's name finally appeared on the board opposite Kiba Inuzuka, a mixture of relief and apprehension washed through him. Kiba was strong but straightforward—a taijutsu specialist whose techniques Naruto knew well from Academy days.

"Try not to embarrass yourself too badly," Kiba taunted as they faced off in the arena center. "This'll be over quick."

"Bring it, dog breath," Naruto shot back, falling into a basic stance that wouldn't draw attention to his chakra difficulties.

The match began explosively, with Kiba and his ninken partner Akamaru immediately employing their Fang Over Fang technique. The spinning vortexes of claws and fangs tore toward Naruto with devastating force.

Under normal circumstances, Naruto might have enhanced his perception to track and counter the attack. Now, with his bloodline suppressed, he was forced to rely on basic shinobi training and hard-earned instinct.

He dodged the initial pass by a hair's breadth, feeling the wind of Kiba's rotation tug at his jumpsuit. Landing in a crouch, he formed the shadow clone seal, pushing through the resistance of the Five-Element Seal to create five duplicates.

The effort cost him more chakra than it should have, leaving him momentarily light-headed. Kiba capitalized on the weakness, dispersing three clones with ruthless efficiency before Naruto could recover.

"What's wrong, dead last?" Kiba laughed, circling for another attack. "You're even slower than usual today!"

The taunt stung precisely because it contained a kernel of truth. Naruto was operating at a fraction of his potential, the seal holding back abilities that could have ended this match in seconds.

But perhaps there was opportunity in that limitation.

"I don't need special tricks to beat you," Naruto declared, deliberately positioning his remaining clones in an apparently sloppy formation that actually concealed a tactical advantage. "Basic ninja tools work just fine!"

When Kiba and Akamaru next attacked, Naruto was ready. Instead of attempting to match their speed—impossible in his current state—he lured them into a prepared trap. Smoke bombs detonated, flooding the arena with thick gray clouds that neutralized Kiba's enhanced sense of smell.

Within the concealing smoke, Naruto executed a classic Academy maneuver—the Transformation Technique—with a uniquely Naruto twist. When visibility returned, three identical Kibas stood in the arena, leaving the real Inuzuka unable to identify Akamaru.

"What the—" Kiba sputtered, momentarily confused by the ploy.

That moment of hesitation was all Naruto needed. As Kiba attacked what he thought was a transformed Naruto, the real one struck from behind with a perfectly executed combination that culminated in an uppercut sending Kiba skyward.

The victory, when it came, was messier and more difficult than it should have been—but perhaps more satisfying for exactly that reason. Naruto had won without relying on either the Nine-Tails or his newly discovered bloodline, using only the basic skills any genin might possess.

As the proctor declared him the winner, Naruto caught the Hokage watching him with unmistakable pride. The old man nodded once, acknowledging what Naruto had accomplished despite his handicap.

But it was Kabuto's gaze from the balcony that sent a chill down Naruto's spine—calculating, assessing, like a scientist observing an experiment's progress. When their eyes met, the silver-haired genin smiled and offered a small, knowing nod before mysteriously withdrawing from the competition due to "chakra exhaustion."

Later, as the final match-ups for the tournament were announced, Naruto found himself pitted against Neji Hyuga in the first round. The Hyuga prodigy regarded him with cold disdain, clearly considering him unworthy opposition.

"Fate has determined the outcome of our match already," Neji informed him with aristocratic certainty. "You cannot escape your destiny as a failure."

Under different circumstances, Naruto might have exploded at the insult. Instead, he simply smiled, thinking of the bloodline legacy waiting to be unleashed once Orochimaru's seal was removed.

"You know what, Neji? I've never been big on fate," he replied with unexpected calm. "I prefer to make my own destiny."

As the preliminaries concluded and the genin dispersed to prepare for the finals one month away, none noticed the unfamiliar diplomatic aide observing from the shadows—a man whose ash-blonde hair and cold blue eyes would have seemed strikingly familiar to anyone who had known the Fourth Hokage's extended family.

Kazama Seto watched the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki with particular interest, having witnessed just enough of the boy's suppressed abilities to confirm his suspicions. The bloodline had indeed awakened in Minato's son, just as his spies had reported.

"So the rumors were true," he murmured to himself, eyes momentarily shifting into their clock-like pattern as he activated his own fully-developed version of the Temporal Eye. "The Namikaze legacy lives on."

His lips curved into a predatory smile. "How convenient that the final tournament will create the perfect opportunity to acquire it."