It happened when Naruto was in the forest outside the Hidden Leaf Village. Rumors had spread of a special kind of wild boar roaming the area—one that could pose a threat to innocent passersby. To deal with it, a group of Genin and their tutor had been sent on a C-rank mission to capture the beast.
What they didn't know was that an overqualified Genin—Naruto—had also joined the hunt.
Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, had promised Naruto a special bowl from a secret family recipe if he could capture the boar. That was reason enough for him to throw himself into the mission.
Hundreds of Naruto's shadow clones swarmed the forest, combing every path and clearing. Eventually, one of them stumbled upon the boar—locked in a tense standoff with a red-haired man, who had a sword in his right arm and no arm on his left shoulder.
Naruto didn't recognize him, but the man's stance spoke of skill. And he wore no headband.
"Mister," Naruto's clone called out, "did you lose your arm fighting that boar? Let me help you."
"No," the man replied without looking away from the beast, "but I can tell just by looking that this wild thing would be delicious. I'm afraid I'll have to capture it for myself."
Any water-style chakra user might have sensed the faintest trace of water gathering in his mouth, as if he was already savoring the taste.
"I'm sorry, but that beast is mine," Naruto said, shifting into Nine-Tails mode. The orange chakra flared around him, glowing like the only working streetlamp in a blackout city. He blitzed toward the boar, arms outstretched to grab it—only to watch, shocked, as his extended arm was sliced clean off.
Poof! The shadow clone vanished in a puff of smoke.
The stranger had moved so fast that even Naruto's enhanced speed couldn't track it. The stranger exhaled slowly, turning toward a new figure approaching through the trees.
"This is the real you," the man said, eyeing the approaching figure of Naruto, now fully in Nine-Tails mode, his expression far more serious.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked, concern etched into his voice. Anyone who could move that fast, cut off an arm, and do so without a headband was potentially dangerous.
"I am no threat. In fact, I am not from here," the man said, still watching the boar, which stood frozen, unsure where to run. The man's mere presence seemed to have stunned the boar. "I knew it was one of your clones—that's why I used my sword. I would never do such a thing to the real you. I mean you no harm, but I do want to keep the boar, if you don't mind."
"This time it's not my clone," Naruto said, cracking his knuckles. "And I've withdrawn the other hundred clones I sent out. This is the real me, at full force, and that boar is mine."