Night fell over the Forest of Death like a shroud.
Team 7 had taken shelter inside the hollow of a fallen tree, its interior deep and dry enough to serve as cover. Sakura had set up traps with wire, Sasuke kept first watch, and Naruto sat near the back of the shelter, arms crossed, his thoughts racing.
He couldn't sleep.
Couldn't stop thinking about Orochimaru's words.
> "Fracture... Nodes... Seeded Host…"
What did it mean?
Why did the System respond to Orochimaru?
Naruto opened his Status screen in silence.
---
> [SYSTEM INTERFACE – OPEN]
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Level: 17
Attributes:
STR: 16
DEX: 15
INT: 12
WIS: 14
VIT: 13
END: 15
CHA: 9
LUCK: 12
New Hidden Attribute: System Sync – 14%
Traits:
– Unrelenting Resolve (Passive)
– Clone Mastery (Passive)
– Instinct Override (1/day)
Quests Active:
– Chūnin Exams Phase II
– Hidden Truths of the System (???)
Perk Available: 1
Select new perk? [Yes] [No]
Naruto tapped [Yes].
---
> Choose One:
(1) Shadow Nexus: All Shadow Clones now retain 50% chakra from dispelled clones.
(2) Momentum Shift: Damage increases by 5% for every 10 seconds in combat without taking a hit.
(3) Echo of Instincts: Danger sense range increased. Enables sensing of intent, even through Genjutsu.
[Select One]
He picked (3) Echo of Instincts.
His eyes fluttered shut for a moment as a new sense awoke inside him. A thrum behind his ears. A chill that warned of malice before it formed.
He'd need it.
---
Sasuke shook him awake an hour later.
"Your watch."
Naruto blinked and crawled to the entrance. The forest was quieter now, but not calm. He could feel something off — like the woods were holding their breath.
He didn't like it.
That's when the System pulsed again.
> System Interference Detected
External energy merging with host
Tracing source…
Foreign Seal Located – Type: Cursed Seal
Origin: Orochimaru
STATUS: DORMANT
EFFECT: Unknown
Options:
[Seal] (High Risk)
[Suppress Temporarily] (Low Risk)
[Allow Analysis] (Risky)
Naruto swallowed.
"What the hell…?"
He chose [Allow Analysis].
His entire body jerked as the System began to scan the foreign chakra embedded in his neck.
> Analyzing…
Foreign chakra highly potent. DNA structure: Serpentine anomaly.
Mark will activate under stress. Intent: Manipulation.
Initial Countermeasure unlocked:
→ Chakra Firewall I
(Can block activation for 30 seconds under stress)
Naruto clenched his fist.
He couldn't let this thing control him.
He wouldn't be someone's pawn.
---
Dawn broke with a scream.
Naruto and Sasuke rushed from the shelter, kunai drawn.
Sakura was already ahead, chasing the sound.
They found the source: a Genin from Rain, slumped against a tree, convulsing. His teammates were nowhere in sight. His eyes were wide with horror.
"They… they weren't human," he gasped. "Red hair… sand… he didn't even blink."
Naruto stepped closer.
"Who?"
The boy didn't answer.
He just… stopped breathing.
The scent of blood was thick.
Sasuke turned slowly toward the treeline.
"Gaara," he whispered.
---
> System Note:
Threat Detected – Subject: Gaara
Chakra Status: Unstable
Nature: Jinchūriki
Advisory: Avoid confrontation unless prepared.
Naruto stared in the direction of the tower.
It was time to stop hiding.
"We need to move."
Sakura nodded. "We have the scroll. Let's finish this."
Sasuke agreed. "But if anyone gets in our way, we strike first."
Naruto summoned two clones and sent them ahead as decoys.
He wasn't going to take chances anymore.
---
Halfway to the tower, they were ambushed.
Three Genin from Kusa dropped from above.
Naruto didn't hesitate.
He triggered his perk — Echo of Instincts — and felt it immediately:
One of them wasn't real.
He pointed at the left attacker. "Clone."
The middle one blinked in shock.
Sasuke was already moving.
One kick.
One stab.
One down.
The clone dispersed.
The other two Genin looked panicked.
Naruto's clone tackled the second. Sakura knocked the third into a tree with a surprise explosive tag from her pouch.
It was over in seconds.
---
> Combat Result: Victory
Bonus: No injuries taken
+EXP Gained: 220
New Scroll Acquired: Earth
System Sync: 17%
Trait Progress: "Combat Synergy" – 67%
They had both scrolls.
All that was left now… was the tower.
But the deeper they went, the heavier the forest became.
The air thickened. The sky darkened.
And Naruto felt a chill on his skin that had nothing to do with temperature.
---
That night, he dreamed again.
But not of Orochimaru.
This time… it was the System.
He floated in an endless white void, surrounded by fragments of numbers, symbols, and light.
Then a voice echoed — not human, not demonic, but cold.
> "You are awakening, Naruto Uzumaki."
"The fracture is incomplete. But the bond is forming."
"Do you seek power… or freedom?"
He opened his mouth to speak.
But then he saw something else — a glimpse of himself… older, taller, wearing armor, covered in blood, surrounded by bodies.
Alone.
The image vanished.
> "Beware the cost."
Then he woke up.
Covered in sweat.
Sasuke was standing at the entrance of the hollow.
"The tower's in sight," he said. "Let's end this."