Inside the mirrored world, Naruto clashed with Konoha's so-called gatekeepers, Izumo Kamizuki in front and Kotetsu Hagane at his back.
"Water Release, Syrup Capture Field!"
Izumo spat a sticky torrent that spread like liquid glue, flooding the ground and surging toward Naruto.
Naruto twisted aside, his body agile as a fox. His eyes locked on Kotetsu, who had just summoned his massive shell hammer. With rapid steps Naruto closed in, one hand flicking shuriken that spun from impossible angles. His other hand blurred through seals.
"Fire Release, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Kotetsu barely raised his hammer in time to block the shuriken before a roaring sphere of fire, more than three meters wide, consumed him in an inferno.
Naruto knew he was out. Turning sharply, he set his gaze on Izumo, but before he struck, Kurama's voice echoed.
"Naruto, your homeroom teacher looks ready to explode. He has called your name three times already. That kid Shikamaru in the front row is signaling you. If you keep ignoring him, Iruka might drag you out himself."
"I hear you."
Naruto's mind snapped back to reality. His consciousness slid into his body just as a furious shout thundered across the classroom.
"Uzumaki Naruto! Stand up!"
Naruto rose calmly, face smooth, no trace of panic.
"What is it, Iruka-sensei?"
Iruka's voice ground like stone. "It is your turn for self-introduction!"
When Iruka had first learned Naruto would be in his class, he wanted to resign. But the Third Hokage had persuaded him otherwise. Even so, seeing Naruto show such disregard on the first day reopened the wound of his parents' death to the Nine Tails. His eyes darkened with hatred.
Naruto looked straight into that gaze without a ripple in his heart. His voice was even. "I am Uzumaki Naruto."
Then he sat down.
The simplicity of it, the lack of respect, fanned Iruka's anger further.
"That is not an introduction!"
Naruto stood once more, eyes like deep water, words cutting the air. "Why would I need to introduce myself? Does this village not already know who I am?"
"You… at least speak of your hobbies, your dreams."
Iruka's voice wavered, his heart chilled by that unblinking gaze.
Naruto's answer was quiet, yet it fell like a hammer. "I have no hobbies. I do not dream. Dreams are pointless."
The room erupted.
"Bastard! My dream is to be Hokage, and he calls it pointless?"
"Yeah! I will become a hero who protects the village. How dare he?"
"Hmph. Someone like him is not worthy of dreams."
"Shh… they say he is the demon fox. Of course he has no dreams."
The murmurs swelled until Iruka forced himself to speak again, his tone trembling. "Why do you say this?"
Naruto's gaze swept across the classroom. At the back he caught two pairs of eyes fixed on him, eyes that gleamed with strange intensity. Uchiha Sasuke. Hyuga Hinata. Both looked at him not with scorn, but with a spark of excitement.
Naruto's lips curled faintly. "Because if one has no dreams, one has no desires. No chains. Is that not the same as being free of worry?"
The classroom froze. Even Iruka was struck silent.
Dreams. The word meant the deepest longing of the human heart. A man with no dreams desired nothing. Was that freedom, or emptiness? Could a life without dreams hold meaning? Iruka could not answer. His fury dissolved into helplessness. He sighed. "Sit down."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
Naruto sat once more, calm as ever. The class went on, other children speaking of their dreams. Naruto listened, thoughtful.
Time flowed swiftly. A year passed. The day of his official entry into the Academy arrived.
Since marking the cliffs by the Naka River with his Flying Thunder God seals, he had monitored Shisui's chakra every day. Then, early in the new year, Shisui left the village on a mission. He had yet to return. Naruto could only wait, the hunter watching the snare.
During that year, inside the seal space, he trained daily with his father, exploring ways to simplify hand seals or even eliminate them entirely.
Minato taught him that while some jutsu like the Rasengan and Flying Thunder God could be cast without seals, most techniques required them. Seals were reminders to the body, guiding the refinement of chakra from physical and spiritual energy. Each gesture was a command, every movement a code.
Even bloodline users could not truly bypass this process, though their kekkei genkai made it appear effortless. For others, even simplifying seals to one hand was an immense challenge.
Naruto persisted. Every day. Until finally, today, in the mirrored world, he unleashed a Fireball with a single hand seal.
The bell rang. The first day was over. Just registration and introductions.
Naruto gathered his things. The year ahead had only just begun.
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