"Lord Hokage!"
Two masked ANBU stepped out of the shadows, dropping to one knee before the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood silently, eyes lifted to the second-floor window of Naruto's small house. Long before he arrived, he had already sensed it, an oppressive, violent chakra rolling out like a storm.
This chakra was not just familiar. Every soul who had survived that night five years ago would recognize it instantly. The Nine-Tails.
"What happened?"
A shadow clouded Hiruzen's expression. Just that morning, he had finally made progress by sending Shikamaru to approach Naruto. By evening, there were signs of the Nine-Tails breaking loose. His mood soured. He had planned to visit his grandson Konohamaru later that night.
"Since noon, the target hasn't left the house. He appeared briefly on the balcony in the afternoon, no more than two minutes. Everything seemed normal until just minutes ago. Suddenly, he erupted with the Nine-Tails' chakra without warning."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, then flicked toward the ANBU at his side.
Six masked shinobi leapt into position, hands flashing through seals.
"Barrier! Seal!"
A web of translucent walls rose, locking Naruto's house within a glowing hexagon.
"Lord Hokage, the barrier is complete. The jinchūriki hasn't moved. Should we"
Boom.
The wall beside the second-floor door exploded outward, showering dust and splinters.
Every shinobi turned their eyes toward the gaping hole.
A small figure emerged in tattered pajamas. Naruto.
Hiruzen's face darkened, his expression like stone. Naruto's body was swathed in crimson chakra, eyes burning with slit pupils, two tails flicking restlessly at his back.
"Lord Hokage, why are you all here?"
Hiruzen blinked. "Naruto? You're still conscious?"
Naruto had calculated this moment carefully. He had to appear calm, controllable. So he kept his tone natural, even curious.
"What do you mean?"
Hiruzen's mind spun. A jinchūriki in tailed-beast form, yet still lucid? Impossible. He forced a smile. "Naruto, what is going on with this chakra around you?"
"I don't know."
To deceive others, you must first deceive yourself. Naruto spoke as if confused, his voice uncertain.
"You don't know? Then how did it appear?"
Naruto lifted his claw-like hands, feigning wonder. "I made a friend today. He's from the Nara clan. I was really happy, so I came home right away. After lunch I kept refining chakra upstairs. Tonight, when I started to feel drowsy, I suddenly heard a voice calling my name."
The shinobi around him exchanged baffled looks. He was happy to have made a friend… so he went home alone?
Still, everyone's attention sharpened at the last part.
"What voice?" Hiruzen pressed, his gaze hard.
Naruto's expression turned puzzled. "It sounded like… a fox?"
"What kind of fox!"
"I couldn't see clearly. Just a huge face. It called me to a dark iron gate. Red chakra flowed out at my feet. It said it was a reward for meeting it so young. Then my body… became like this."
In the seal, Kurama's eyes gleamed. The brat's lies actually suited him.
Hiruzen exhaled, his mind racing. The Nine-Tails had lured Naruto deeper into the seal. That explained the eruption. But then he frowned. "Naruto, why did you smash your own wall?"
Naruto's face twisted in anger. "It wasn't me!"
"What?"
Even the ANBU looked dumbfounded behind their masks.
"It wasn't me!" Naruto pointed to the two tails thrashing behind him. "It was them. They smashed my furniture, and when I tried to open the door, they broke the wall too."
Hiruzen's face remained skeptical. In every record of jinchūriki, once the cloak appeared either the host controlled the chakra or the beast did. But here Naruto was conscious and yet claimed no control at all. No precedent, no logic.
He forced a smile. "Naruto, come down. We'll help you learn to control it."
"All right."
Naruto leapt lightly from the balcony, landing before the Hokage. The ANBU circled, tense and ready.
"Can this really be controlled?" he asked.
"Of course," Hiruzen replied warmly. "Naruto, open your shirt and let me check."
"Why?"
"Don't be afraid. I just want to make sure your body hasn't been harmed. Like the checkups at the hospital, remember the medical ninja?"
Naruto lowered his head as if uncertain. "Oh. Okay."
He slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Behind the calm mask, bloodthirst flickered in his eyes. He crushed it down. This chakra cloak stirred his darkest emotions too easily.
Hiruzen squatted, examining the seal glowing on the boy's stomach. "The Eight Trigrams Seal… still intact. Just as the Fourth intended. A dual Four Symbols Seal, allowing the Nine-Tails' chakra to leak into Naruto as his own. That explains it. He keeps his mind, but the cloak runs wild. The Fourth really thought far ahead."
He pressed his palm to the seal, frowning as he sensed the chakra within. His pupils contracted.
Naruto's chakra reserves already rivaled a jōnin's. At only five years old. And with the Nine-Tails' chakra added on…
A thousand calculations raced through his mind. Then he smiled. "Naruto, your body's fine. But if you ever hear that voice again, ignore it. It's an evil monster. Now hold still. I'll help you seal this power away."
Naruto's pulse spiked. He kept his face blank, eyes closed, and gave a tiny nod.
Hiruzen's fingers flared with chakra. Five points of light burned at his fingertips.
"Five Elements Seal!"
His hand slammed onto Naruto's stomach, etching a fresh layer of binding atop the Eight Trigrams Seal.
The crimson cloak collapsed in an instant, roaring chakra surging back into the seal. Agony ripped through Naruto's soul.
"I'm doing this for your own good…"
Hiruzen whispered kindly as Naruto's body crumpled. His teeth clenched, stifling the scream clawing at his throat. Darkness swallowed him, and he fell unconscious.
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