The sun rose over Konoha as the members of the new "special" team gathered at Training Field Number 7. The group was unusually large: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, his sister Satsuki, Naruto's two younger siblings (Arashi and Hikari), with Kushina as support and Kakashi as the official leader.
The atmosphere was tense. Naruto remained silent, while his siblings, Arashi and Hikari, watched him with disdain.
"Why is he here?" Arashi huffed, crossing his arms.
"Dad only let him in out of pity. He doesn't even have chakra," Hikari said with an arrogant smile.
Satsuki let out a snicker. "Pathetic… are you really his brother?"
Naruto didn't look at them. He was focused on himself, on his energy, on Draegor's deep voice echoing inside him like a protective resonance.
Kakashi closed his orange book.
"All right, pay attention. Today we'll do a simple test… retrieve one of these two bells," he said, holding them up.
"Two bells? But there are eight of us!" Sakura protested.
"Exactly. Not everyone will pass."
Eyes sharpened. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask.
"You have until noon. If you don't get the bells, you return to the Academy. Oh, and no one eats if they fail. Start… now."
In a flash, everyone disappeared.
Satsuki, Sasuke, Arashi, and Hikari paired off to launch a frontal assault. They believed themselves superior, and their arrogance prevented them from cooperating with the others.
"I'll handle Kakashi," Arashi said confidently.
"And I'll take Mom," Hikari added, activating a wind jutsu.
Sakura hesitated. Kushina and Kakashi observed from strategic positions.
Naruto, hidden in the forest, took a deep breath. He felt the flow of different energies: chakra, ki, mana, and magic. The mystical energy whispered to him like a calm river.
"Draegor, lend me your strength," he whispered.
A purple aura tinged with gold surrounded him, and he vanished with incredible speed.
He first intercepted Satsuki, just before she could launch an electric attack.
"You? Bothering us again?"
She charged a fist of fire. Naruto deflected it with his palm wrapped in mana and struck her stomach with an energy technique that drained her strength. Before Sasuke could intervene, Naruto sent him flying with a wave of ki.
Then he went for Arashi and Hikari.
"Coming to get in our way again?" Arashi growled, throwing fire-infused shuriken.
Naruto evaporated them with a magical barrier. With a jump and two fluid movements, he rendered them unconscious with precise, gentle strikes to the neck.
"Don't hate me. You started this," he whispered.
Meanwhile, Kakashi entertained himself by dodging Sakura. The real challenge appeared when Naruto emerged from the trees like a shadow.
"Hello, Kakashi-sensei," he said calmly."I've come for the bells."
Kakashi smiled. "Try me."
The fight began at lightning speed. Naruto moved with a combination of mystical steps, dodging and counterattacking with precision. Every move was measured and polished—more a dance than a battle.
Kushina tried to intervene.
"Naruto! Show me what you've learned!"
Naruto glanced at his mother for a moment, then channeled part of his energy into his hands.
"I will," he said seriously.
With a swift motion, he conjured a chain of pure magic that gently restrained Kushina's arms without harming her. Then, in a flash, he appeared before Kakashi, who barely had time to react.
"Now you'll see the power of Draegor's chosen."
Naruto summoned an ethereal projection of Draegor, the great dragon, which enveloped his body like a spectral armor. The field shook.
"Heavenly Dragon Finisher!"
Naruto unleashed a series of blows, empowered by draconic energy, ending with an upward kick that sent Kakashi several meters into the air. Then he appeared above him and brought him down with a punch wrapped in purple flames, which dissipated just before impact.
Kakashi hit the ground, unharmed but breathless.
"You've earned one of the bells!" he said, laughing hoarsely.
Naruto calmly took it. Everyone watched in silence.
Later, the group regrouped. Some were injured, others humiliated. Kushina looked at Naruto with a mix of pride and sorrow. His other children, still stunned, could barely meet his gaze.
Kakashi spoke:
"The test was about teamwork. But today we learned something more important: power without discipline is arrogance… and being forgotten doesn't erase talent."
He looked at Naruto.
"You passed with honors."
Kushina approached her son.
"I know we're not what you expected… but I want you to know I'm proud."
Naruto didn't respond. He simply walked toward the exit.
"Thank you… Mrs. Uzumaki," he said calmly.
The words hung in the air like a dagger.
Minato, observing from afar, frowned. The boy he once loved… had become a stranger.
A chosen one… yes.
But also a wounded soul.
And a warrior.