The Academy training grounds felt hollow in the fading evening light, most students having departed hours ago to return to their families and warm dinners and the comfortable routines of normal childhood. Naruto sat alone on one of the practice logs, his legs dangling, his expression troubled in ways that went beyond typical pre-adolescent concerns about tests or social dynamics.
Three weeks had passed since the initial chakra incident, and if anything, his control had gotten worse rather than better. The red chakra leaked more frequently now, responding to emotions he couldn't quite suppress—frustration during difficult exercises, anger when Neji made dismissive comments about predetermined fate, even excitement during particularly intense sparring matches with Sasuke. Each leak left him exhausted and disturbed, feeling like something else was using his body without permission.
The restrictions had intensified accordingly. Hiruzen had forbidden any solo chakra practice. Asuma supervised his physical training with the kind of careful attention usually reserved for handling explosive tags. Even his evening meals at the compound were monitored, as if someone feared he might spontaneously combust during dinner if left unwatched.
And tomorrow was the final graduation examination—the test that would determine who became genin and who remained Academy students for another year. For most of his classmates, this was exciting. For Naruto, it was terrifying. What if his chakra went out of control during the examination? What if that red energy emerged in front of everyone and he hurt someone? What if he failed not because of lack of skill but because his own body had become an unpredictable weapon he couldn't safely wield?
"Naruto-kun?"
He looked up to find Mizuki approaching—one of the Academy's assistant instructors, someone who taught supplementary classes and helped Iruka with administrative tasks. Mizuki had always been friendly in a way that felt slightly off, his smiles a bit too wide, his encouragement a bit too effusive. But he'd never been overtly suspicious, just... carefully pleasant in ways that made Naruto's instincts prickle without being able to articulate why.
"Oh, Mizuki-sensei. I was just thinking about tomorrow's exam."
Mizuki sat down on the log beside him, his expression sympathetic. "Nervous? That's understandable, especially given your recent... difficulties with chakra control."
The way he said it—acknowledging the problem while making it sound almost conspiratorial—made Naruto simultaneously grateful for the recognition and uncomfortable with the tone.
"Yeah. I'm worried I'll lose control again. What if it happens during the test? What if I hurt someone?"
"I've been thinking about that," Mizuki said, his voice dropping to something more confidential. "And I believe I might have a solution. But it requires... discretion. And perhaps bending a few rules that, quite frankly, shouldn't apply to someone in your unique situation."
Naruto's attention sharpened. "What kind of solution?"
Mizuki glanced around as if checking for eavesdroppers, then leaned closer. "The Scroll of Seals—you've heard of it?"
"The forbidden scroll that contains really advanced techniques? Grandpa mentioned it once when teaching me about village treasures, but he said it was too dangerous for students to access."
"Precisely. But Naruto, your situation isn't typical. You have massive chakra reserves that are somehow being contaminated by an external source, creating instability. The standard techniques we teach at the Academy aren't designed for someone with your capacity. They're like trying to empty an ocean with a teaspoon—fundamentally inadequate for the scale of the problem."
That... actually made disturbing sense. Naruto had been trying to manage his enormous reserves using techniques designed for average students. Maybe that was part of why his control kept deteriorating?
"The Scroll of Seals contains advanced chakra manipulation techniques," Mizuki continued. "Methods for splitting and distributing massive energy reserves across multiple vessels, for channeling overwhelming power into controlled applications. Techniques that were classified as forbidden not because they're evil, but because they're dangerous when used by those without sufficient reserves to safely power them."
"You think something in the scroll could help me control my chakra?"
"I don't just think it—I know it. I've studied the scroll's contents during my time as an instructor. There's a technique specifically designed for shinobi with abnormally large reserves who struggle with standard control methods. It allows you to divide your chakra among multiple constructs, reducing the concentration you're trying to control at any given moment. Your grandfather taught you the basic Shadow Clone, correct?"
"Yeah, but that's not—"
"Not the same as what's in the scroll. What he taught you is the standard version, modified for safety. The scroll contains the true technique—the one that can create ten of such clones simultaneously, distributing your reserves so widely that controlling individual portions becomes exponentially easier."
Naruto's heart had started beating faster. A technique that could solve his control problems? That could let him participate in tomorrow's exam without fear of losing control and hurting someone?
"But it's forbidden. Grandpa would never let me access it."
Mizuki's expression became earnest, concerned. "Naruto, your grandfather means well, but he's approaching your problem with excessive caution. He's so worried about potential dangers that he's overlooking the actual solution right in front of him. Tomorrow you face an examination that could determine your entire future as a shinobi. You deserve every tool that could help you succeed, especially tools specifically designed for your exact situation."
"I don't know..."
"I'm not asking you to steal it permanently. Just borrow it for a few hours tonight. Learn the advanced technique. Master it enough to stabilize your chakra for tomorrow's test. Then return the scroll before anyone even knows it was missing. Simple, straightforward, and it solves your problem without requiring you to wait for bureaucracy and excessive caution to maybe, eventually, consider allowing you access."
The logic was seductive. Mizuki was right that Hiruzen was being overly cautious. And it was just borrowing, not stealing. Learning one technique to solve a genuine problem. What was the harm?
"Where is the scroll kept?"
Mizuki's smile widened fractionally. "In the Hokage's private study, behind the far bookshelf. There's a hidden compartment with a simple lock that—and please don't ask how I know this—can be opened if you know where to apply pressure. Tonight, while your grandfather is in the council meeting that runs late every third Thursday, you could access the study, retrieve the scroll, learn the technique in the forest outside the village where you won't be interrupted, and return it before he even knows you were there."
"And you're sure this will help?"
"Naruto, I've been teaching at this Academy for five years. I've seen dozens of students struggle with various chakra issues. I've never seen someone with your potential being held back by something so easily solvable. Trust me—this technique will change everything."
That night, Naruto found himself standing in his grandfather's private study, moonlight streaming through windows, heart pounding with a mixture of guilt and determination. The council meeting was indeed running late—he could hear distant voices from the council chambers discussing trade agreements or border security or whatever important things adults debated while children made terrible decisions.
The bookshelf Mizuki had described was exactly where he'd said it would be. The hidden compartment opened with pressure in exactly the right spots. And there, wrapped in protective cloth and sealed with the Hokage's personal mark, lay the Scroll of Seals.
It was larger than Naruto had imagined, as long as he was tall and heavy enough that carrying it required both arms. The cloth was old, the seal intricate, and breaking it felt like crossing a threshold from which there might be no return.
But his chakra had been acting up all day, small leaks of red energy that left him exhausted and afraid. Tomorrow's examination loomed. And Mizuki's logic kept echoing in his mind—this was the solution, this would fix everything, this was his right as someone who needed it.
He broke the seal. Took the scroll. Slipped out of the study through the window like he'd done hundreds of times before when sneaking out for midnight training with Lee or Sasuke. By the time anyone noticed the scroll was missing, he'd have learned the technique, solved his problem, and returned it. Simple.
The forest outside the village was dark and quiet, moonlight barely penetrating the canopy. Naruto found a clearing, unrolled the massive scroll across the grass, and began reading by the light of a small lamp he'd brought.
The techniques within were incredible—jutsu that could level buildings, manipulate minds, summon creatures from other dimensions. Each technique carried warnings about chakra costs and danger levels that would have made most shinobi hesitate. But Naruto wasn't looking for destructive power. He was looking for the advanced Shadow Clone technique Mizuki had described.
He found it three-quarters through the scroll: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique—Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. The description noted it as forbidden due to the enormous chakra cost and potential for death if performed by someone with insufficient reserves. But for someone with abnormally large capacity, it offered exactly what Mizuki had promised—a method to distribute massive reserves across hundreds of constructs, each carrying a fraction of the total.
Naruto practiced the hand signs, felt his chakra respond, began molding energy for the technique. This version was more complex than what Hiruzen had taught him—additional seals, more intricate chakra manipulation, the requirement to deliberately split consciousness across multiple bodies rather than creating simple duplicates.
He was so focused on the scroll, so absorbed in understanding the technique's mechanics, that he didn't hear the approaching footsteps until they were almost upon him.
"Excellent work, Naruto." Mizuki's voice came from the trees, but its tone had changed entirely—no more false friendliness, no more careful concern. Just cold satisfaction. "You've saved me considerable trouble by retrieving the scroll yourself."
Naruto spun around, hands instinctively moving to defensive positions. "Mizuki-sensei? What are you doing here?"
"Taking what I came for." Mizuki stepped into the clearing, and Naruto saw he was armed—kunai in hand, his posture that of someone prepared for combat rather than instruction. "The Scroll of Seals contains techniques that could make me incredibly powerful. Techniques that villages would pay fortunes to acquire. And you, the Hokage's naive grandson, have done all the hard work of stealing it for me."
Understanding crashed over Naruto like cold water. "You lied. About the technique helping me. About all of it."
"Obviously. Though I must say, you made it remarkably easy. So desperate to solve your little chakra problem that you never questioned why an Academy instructor would know about hidden compartments in the Hokage's private study, or why someone supposedly trying to help you would suggest stealing a forbidden scroll. Really, Naruto, I expected better from someone training under Sarutobi Hiruzen himself."
Mizuki moved with speed that belied his usual careful instructor persona, closing the distance between them faster than Naruto could react. A kick caught Naruto in the ribs hard enough to lift him off his feet and send him crashing into a tree. Pain exploded through his chest—ribs cracked, possibly broken—and he tasted blood.
"Now, hand over the scroll and I might let you live long enough to explain to your grandfather how you stole his most valuable treasure. Or resist and I'll kill you here and blame it on bandits who stumbled upon the theft."
Naruto's hand moved toward the scroll, not to surrender it but to use it as leverage to pull himself upright. "You won't get away with this. Grandpa will hunt you to the ends of the earth."
"Only if he knows who to hunt. By the time anyone realizes what happened, I'll be in another country selling these techniques to the highest bidder. Your body will never be found."
Mizuki lunged again, but this time Naruto was ready. The months of training with Guy and Lee had built reflexes that operated independent of chakra, pure physical conditioning that let him dodge even injured. He rolled, came up near the scroll, and—
The world exploded with killing intent so intense that Naruto's vision whited out. When it cleared, Iruka stood between him and Mizuki, the scarred instructor's expression absolutely murderous in ways Naruto had never seen.
"Mizuki." Iruka's voice was flat, dangerous. "Step away from my student."
"Iruka! What a pleasant surprise!" Mizuki's false cheer was back, but strained. "Just collecting a student who got himself into trouble. You know how Naruto is—always pushing boundaries, always—"
"I know exactly what's happening here. I felt the Scroll's seal break and came to investigate. Found you threatening a child and attempting to steal village property." Iruka's hands moved through seals faster than Naruto could track. "I'm arresting you for treason. Surrender now and face judgment, or—"
Mizuki attacked without warning, his speed revealing combat skills far beyond what he'd ever displayed at the Academy. The fight that followed was brutal and desperate—two chūnin-level shinobi fighting without restraint, techniques designed to maim and kill rather than subdue.
Naruto, still reeling from cracked ribs and the shock of Mizuki's betrayal, could only watch as his teacher fought to protect him. Iruka was skilled, but Mizuki fought with the desperation of someone who had nothing to lose, and gradually, inevitably, Iruka began losing ground.
A kunai caught Iruka's shoulder. A fire technique burned his left arm. Poison-coated senbon embedded in his leg, making movement difficult. And still Iruka fought, maintaining position between Mizuki and Naruto, refusing to yield.
"Just give up, Iruka!" Mizuki snarled, breathing hard. "You can't win this! You're already half-dead from poison!"
"Then I'll fight half-dead." Iruka's voice was strained but unwavering. "You're not touching that scroll or my student. Not while I'm breathing."
But breathing was becoming difficult. The poison was spreading, Iruka's movements slowing, his responses delayed fractions of seconds too long. A kick caught him in the chest, sending him crashing beside Naruto.
"Go," Iruka gasped, blood on his lips. "Take the scroll. Run. Get to your grandfather. Protect the scroll, Naruto. Don't let him—"
Mizuki's hand shot out, grabbing the scroll. "Finally. Now, which of you dies first? The traitor student or the pathetic teacher who—"
"Neither."
The voice that interrupted Mizuki wasn't quite Naruto's—it carried an undertone, a resonance that suggested something vast and angry speaking alongside him. Red chakra leaked from his body in visible wisps, responding to fury and fear and desperate need to protect someone who'd sacrificed everything to keep him safe.
Mizuki's expression shifted from triumph to wariness. "What is that chakra? It feels wrong, corrupted..."
"Naruto, no!" Iruka tried to rise despite the poison. "Don't use that power! It's dangerous!"
But Naruto barely heard him. His hands moved through the seals he'd just learned from the scroll—the Multiple Shadow Clone technique, but powered by both his natural reserves and the red chakra that leaked freely now in response to emotional extremes.
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
The clearing exploded with bodies. Not the dozen clones of standard technique, but hundreds. They filled the space, surrounded Mizuki, created a sea of orange-clad copies all wearing expressions of absolute fury.
Mizuki struck at them frantically, dispelling clones with each hit. But for every one destroyed, three more were there to take its place. The overwhelming numbers made precision irrelevant—eventually, inevitably, enough clones landed simultaneous strikes to overwhelm any defense.
When the technique finally dispersed and the clearing showed only two clones restraining a battered, barely conscious Mizuki, Naruto collapsed beside Iruka, the red chakra dissipating and leaving him utterly exhausted.
"That was..." Iruka's voice was weak but carried something like pride. "Incredible. Naruto, you..."
"I'm sorry." Tears were running down Naruto's face, mingling with blood from a split lip. "I'm sorry I stole the scroll. I'm sorry I believed Mizuki-sensei. I'm sorry I—"
"The demon fox." Mizuki's voice interrupted, weak but venomous. "That's what you felt, Iruka. The Nine-Tails. He's its container. The village's greatest shame, carrying the beast that killed our families, destroyed our homes. And you're protecting it."
The words hung in the air like poison more deadly than any physical weapon. Naruto's world tilted, understanding crashing over him in waves of horrified comprehension.
The Nine-Tails. The beast that had attacked the village seven years ago, killed hundreds, nearly destroyed everything. It was inside him. Had always been inside him. The chakra control problems, the red energy, the foreign presence he sometimes felt—all of it made terrible sense now.
"He's a monster wearing human skin," Mizuki continued with cruel satisfaction. "A weapon the Fourth Hokage created by sealing the fox into an infant. You're not human, Naruto. You're a container. A cage. And everyone who knows the truth hates you for—"
The slap that cut him off came from Iruka, who'd dragged himself close enough to strike despite his wounds. "Shut up. You don't know anything."
"Iruka-sensei..." Naruto's voice was small, broken. "Is it true? The Nine-Tails is really inside me? Is that why my chakra keeps—"
"Yes." Iruka's honesty was gentle but unflinching. "The Fourth Hokage sealed the Nine-Tails inside you when you were a newborn. But Naruto, listen to me. You are not the Nine-Tails. You're the cage that contains it, yes, but you're also Naruto—my student, the boy who never gives up, who protects his friends, who works harder than anyone I've ever taught. The beast is inside you, but it doesn't define you."
"But everyone knows? Everyone hates me because of it?"
"Some know. Most don't—it's been kept secret to protect you. And those who do know... their feelings are complicated. Fear, yes. But also gratitude that you carry this burden so they don't have to. And anyone worth your time recognizes that you're a person, not just a container."
Iruka reached up with trembling fingers and untied his forehead protector—the metal plate bearing the Hidden Leaf symbol that marked him as a shinobi of Konohagakure. "Naruto Sarutobi. You stole a forbidden scroll, yes. But you also learned an A-rank technique in hours, defeated a traitor chūnin, and saved both me and the scroll from being stolen. You've shown courage and skill beyond any Academy student I've taught."
He pressed the forehead protector into Naruto's hands. "I'm graduating you early. First in your class. This is yours now. Wear it with pride."
"But the Nine-Tails—"
"Is a burden you carry," Iruka said firmly. "Not who you are. Never forget that distinction. The beast is inside you, but you are Naruto. And Naruto is someone I'm proud to call my student."
As ANBU operatives arrived in response to the chakra flares and combat, as Mizuki was dragged away unconscious and Iruka was rushed to medical treatment, as Hiruzen materialized with an expression caught between fury at the theft and profound relief that Naruto was alive, Naruto sat in the clearing holding the forehead protector and feeling his entire understanding of himself fracture and reform.
He was a jinchūriki. A container. A cage for a demon that had nearly destroyed his home.
But he was also a genin now. A shinobi. Someone strong enough to protect others despite the beast within.
The contradiction would take years to fully resolve. But tonight, exhausted and injured and reeling from revelations that would shape the rest of his life, Naruto made a choice.
The Nine-Tails was part of him. But it wouldn't define him.
He would define himself through his actions, his choices, his determination to protect the people who'd seen him as Naruto rather than just as the fox's container.
Starting with tomorrow, when he'd face his classmates wearing this forehead protector and prove that cages could become shinobi just as surely as anyone else.
The beast was inside him. But Naruto was so much more than its cage.
That truth, more than anything else, would carry him forward into whatever trials lay ahead.
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