"You're bleeding, Naruto!"
Minato's voice trembled with alarm. Even after his shock at Naruto's display, he still rushed to remind his son of the wounds on his body.
Naruto landed firmly on the stone platform. He drew in a deep breath, then reached back with steady hands. His fingers clamped around the kunai embedded in his shoulder, the hilt slick with his own blood. Sweat beaded across his forehead and dripped down, shining under the light.
The burning pain roared through his nerves like fire branding his soul. Yet Naruto knew—if he pulled too fast, he would rip muscle; if he pulled too hard, he would tear flesh.
His cerulean eyes darkened with bloodshot streaks. His fist clenched until his knuckles cracked, nails biting into his palm. Gritting his teeth, he slowly drew each of the three kunai out one by one, tossing them onto the stone with the ringing of steel.
"Quickly, Naruto! You have bandages and medicine in your pouch!"
Inside the seal, Minato's face twisted with both dread and awe. He had just watched his son transform from a sweating child wracked with agony into a calm, unflinching shinobi who wrenched the blades from his body without a sound of weakness.
Naruto's willpower was frightening. His endurance bordered on the inhuman.
But then—
"It seems I don't need them. The wounds… they're closing on their own."
"What?"
Minato blinked, stunned, as if he had misheard.
Naruto touched his shoulder. The gashes were sealing before his fingers, the blood drying into nothing. Within moments, the flesh was smooth, without even a scar.
He remembered this. In the original story, during Team Kakashi's first mission in the Land of Waves, he had stabbed his own hand with a kunai to prove his courage. Kakashi had prepared to treat the wound, only to find it already knitting shut in an instant.
Kakashi had believed it to be the Nine Tails' power.
But Naruto felt it now. This was not Kurama. This was his own body.
"Father, did Mother ever have wounds heal like this?"
"No," Minato admitted quickly. Then he hesitated, his face flushing with embarrassment. "Or maybe… she never had the chance. From the day Kushina arrived in Konoha, she was always chasing someone into a fight. I never actually saw her get injured."
A deep, rumbling voice broke in.
"Naruto. Your body reminds me of one man."
Naruto's heart gave a sudden thump. "Who?"
Kurama's red eyes gleamed as he spoke the name.
"Hashirama Senju."
Hokage's Office
"When do you plan to approach Naruto?"
The Third Hokage had just returned from the hospital. Smoke drifted lazily from his pipe as he turned his gaze toward Nara Shikaku. Then his eyes settled on the boy beside him.
"This is troublesome…"
The pineapple-haired child yawned and rubbed his eyes, his voice thick with lethargy.
"Shikamaru, mind your manners with the Hokage!" Shikaku hissed.
But Hiruzen only smiled gently. "It's fine. Shikamaru, months have passed. Have you thought of how to befriend Naruto?"
The boy's face shifted. His usual lazy expression hardened into a gravity far beyond his age. "It's not that I've delayed, Hokage-sama. It's that it's… difficult. I've studied his reports for months, and I have no opening. He leaves home and goes straight to the Uchiha training grounds.
As a Nara, I can't simply intrude. I tried planning chance encounters at the Ninja Tool Shop, but he always uses Transformation when he goes out. If I approach him, the flaws in my act will be obvious."
The Hokage's brows furrowed. Regret stirred in his chest. Why had he taught Naruto the Transformation Technique so early?
"You are right, Shikamaru. But let us see what Naruto is doing now."
He summoned the crystal ball from his drawer, calling Shikaku and Shikamaru closer. The surface shimmered to life, revealing Naruto walking out of the forest. His form had changed—he now appeared as a twelve-year-old boy.
Inside the seal, Kurama had just been explaining the resemblance between Naruto and Hashirama. At the same moment, Naruto sensed the Hokage hurrying back to his office. His mind raced. He packed away his tools and prepared to leave.
But then, he felt them. Two chakras approaching the forest.
Uchiha Sasuke's familiar spark—and another, sharp and strange.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
Sasuke burst into view, haughty as ever. Behind him, in a dark high-collared shirt, moved another figure, his presence radiating quiet strength.
Naruto's pupils shrank.
It was Uchiha Shisui.
"Who are you? Why are you trespassing in Uchiha territory?" Sasuke demanded, his voice dripping arrogance.
Naruto froze for half a breath, realization dawning. So this was Uchiha land. No wonder the ANBU had pulled back from tailing him.
"I just wandered here by accident," Naruto answered with an easy smile.
"Accident?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Did you see a blond kid in there?"
Naruto thought wryly. So you were looking for me all along. Aloud, he said, "No. I didn't."
"Sasuke. Is this the boy your brother mentioned? The one stronger than you?"
Shisui's calm voice carried a strange weight. His gaze fixed on Naruto, sharp and probing.
Naruto's instincts flared. He felt danger coil around him. Did Shisui pierce his disguise? But his Sharingan wasn't even active.
"No! This isn't that annoying guy!" Sasuke huffed. Yet his face softened with confusion. "But you… you feel familiar."
Naruto rolled his eyes inwardly. Familiar? You've only seen me once.
He gave Shisui a polite nod, then turned his back and walked away without hesitation.
Shisui's brow creased as he watched Naruto's figure fade into the distance. He could not place who this boy was. But he smelled it—faint, metallic, the trace of blood.
Hokage's Office Again
Shikamaru sighed. "You see, Hokage-sama? Even going home, he still hides behind Transformation. How can I reach him like this?"
But Hiruzen's eyes glinted. He chuckled softly. "Shikamaru, have you considered doing the opposite?"
Shikamaru frowned. "The opposite? What do you mean?"
"You do not need to know what face Naruto wears. You only need to befriend him. Why waste thought on appearances? The mask is meaningless. What matters is trust. Earn his trust, no matter the face he shows."
His tone carried a strange, almost unsettling weight.
Shikamaru's lips tightened. He wanted to object, but then he caught the subtle glance from his father.
"…Yes, Hokage-sama. I understand. Though whether I can succeed or not, I cannot say."
Hiruzen's smile deepened. "I believe you will. Remember, I have only spoken these words to you and your father. No one else."
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