Konoha was slowly waking up, still buzzing with rumors from the day before. In the streets, people whispered about a clone that had summoned a barrier, about a fight ended with a single move, about a gaze that had stopped a chūnin in his tracks. Others claimed that Naruto Uzumaki had effortlessly surpassed the Academy's elite.
But at the Academy, the usual order had resumed.
Or so it seemed.
The students were already seated, their eyes fixed forward, waiting for the team assignments to begin. Whispering echoed across the room. Everyone was looking at Naruto differently now.
He sat calmly at the back. His gaze passed over the others, not with judgment, but with quiet observation. He analyzed. His Shinkugan, dormant to the naked eye, remained quietly alert in the background.
Iruka entered. He gave a brief greeting, then unrolled a scroll.
"As you know, starting today, you are officially Genin. You will be assigned to teams of three under the guidance of a jōnin."
Sakura whispered:
"If they put Naruto with Sasuke... the world might explode."
Sasuke said nothing. But his gaze was fixed on Naruto—cold, focused. A bead of sweat slid slowly down his temple.
Iruka read out the names.
"Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno... Naruto Uzumaki."
Silence. Tension. Then a collective breath.
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Interesting," he said simply.
Sakura spun toward Naruto.
"What?! Why am I not with Ino? And why him?!"
Naruto stood slowly.
"If you can't adapt, you're not fit to be a kunoichi."
Sakura opened her mouth, but no words came out.
It wasn't an insult. It was a naked truth—cold as a blade.
Iruka cleared his throat, uncomfortable.
"You'll be under the supervision of jōnin Kakashi Hatake. He'll come for you in one hour."
Meanwhile, in the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen was receiving a full report on Naruto. Several ANBU were present, along with two special jōnin from the Council.
"Hokage-sama, we must be clear: Naruto Uzumaki is too advanced to be placed on a standard Genin team. He should be placed in special training, under ANBU watch, or even—"
Hiruzen raised a hand.
"No. You want to trap a dragon in a bamboo cage. This boy is not a threat. He is a rupture in the established order."
He rose slowly.
"But you are right about one thing. He must not walk a normal path."
In the Dimension of Infinity, Elwynha watched the scene through a mirror of suspended water in a violet sky.
Beside her, Azerion spoke in a low tone.
"It's time to show him what lies ahead. The games of humanity are merely a prelude. His team will be a seed. But the world won't survive what it will become if it follows the usual path."
Elwynha replied:
"Then break the cycle, Azerion. Send him the call."
An hour passed. Kakashi still hadn't arrived. The three future members of Team 7 waited alone in a silent room.
Sakura, tense, stared at the door. Sasuke, arms crossed, gazed into the void.
Naruto, meanwhile, closed his eyes... and opened an inner portal.
He heard Azerion.
"Listen, Son of Infinity. You were not meant to obey. You were meant to lead. You cannot follow the path that humans lay before you. But you can use it."
"The jōnin who comes to you is worthy. But he must understand... you are no ordinary Genin."
Naruto opened his eyes again. His pupils shimmered for a moment.
Sasuke frowned.
"What did you just do?"
Naruto smiled.
"I remembered who I am."j
The classroom was silent. Sunlight streamed softly through the windows. Sakura nervously tapped her fingers on the desk. Sasuke, as usual, kept to himself—silent, focused, lost in thought. Soon, he stood up and left the room "to get some air."
Naruto and Sakura were alone.
A heavy silence settled.
Naruto, ever calm, turned his head slightly toward her.
"You're tense."
Sakura flinched slightly.
"Huh?! Me? Not at all!" she said, crossing her arms.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
"You glance at the door every three seconds. You're fiddling with your fingers. And you've blinked fourteen times since Sasuke left."
She stared at him, caught off guard.
"How… how do you know all that?"
"Observation. And a little instinct."
She looked away.
"Do you always do that? Watch everyone?"
Naruto answered after a short pause.
"I had to learn. When no one speaks to you sincerely, you learn to read the silences."
That sentence struck Sakura. She bit her lip.
"You know… I said some pretty mean things about you. Before."
Naruto remained silent.
Sakura lowered her eyes.
"I thought you were loud, annoying, unbearable… I never saw that you were actually…"
"Different?"
"Yeah."
She looked at him, and for the first time, she saw what few ever had: the quiet melancholy in his eyes, the restrained strength, the pain he had mastered.
Sakura spoke for a long time. She opened up—about her loneliness, her obsession with Sasuke, her fear of not being good enough. She thought all of it would make her look weak in Naruto's eyes. But he listened.
No interruptions. No judgment.
When she finally went quiet, he simply said:
"You have a strong spirit. You just lack confidence."
She looked at him.
"You think so?"
Naruto nodded.
"You feel more than you admit. But you hide it behind smiles or anger. I used to do the same."
Their eyes met—longer this time.
Sakura felt a strange warmth in her chest. A feeling she had never experienced with Sasuke: the sense of being understood. Completely.
"Naruto… why are you always alone? Even now that everyone sees your worth… you still keep your distance."
Naruto closed his eyes.
"Because if I get too close, and fate strikes… I might lose something too precious."
She placed her hand slowly on the table.
"And what if I refuse to let you stay alone?"
Naruto fell silent for a moment. His gaze drifted far away. A breeze passed through.
Then he whispered:
"You want to know why I avoid bonds? I'll show you what I saw. What I did."
And he placed two fingers gently against Sakura's forehead.
The night was black. Screams echoed. Blood stained the walls. Masked figures moved in the shadows. The ANBU were powerless. The Uchiha were dying one by one.
But on the edge of the district, a 9-year-old Naruto stood, his Shinkugan awakened, his hair floating under a pale light. He hadn't hesitated. He had walked straight into hell.
He followed the threads of destiny, the temporal fractures only his unique eye could see. He saw Mikoto's and Izumi's deaths before they happened. And he chose to act.
In a narrow alley, he faced Itachi Uchiha.
"You're early, Naruto," Itachi said calmly, his Sharingan active.
"I won't let you kill them."
"This doesn't concern you."
"It concerns humanity."
The fight erupted. Lightning, illusions, flames—collided in fury. Naruto's Shinkugan shattered Itachi's genjutsu, rewrote four seconds of time, and teleported Mikoto and Izumi into a temporary pocket of the Infinite Dimension.
Itachi attacked seriously.
But Naruto didn't hurt him.
He placed his hand gently over Itachi's heart.
"You're doing this for the village. But that's no reason to sacrifice the innocent."
And at that moment, Itachi saw something in his eyes—something older than the Sharingan.
He left. Without finishing the job.
Sakura stepped back, tears in her eyes.
"You… you saved Mikoto-sama… and Izumi?"
Naruto nodded slowly.
"I never wanted anyone to know. But you deserved to understand."
She stood. Walked closer.
And for the first time, she gently placed her hand over his.
"You're not alone. You never were. You just refuse to believe it… but I'm here."