The forest was absolutely silent. Even a pin drop could be heard from dozens of meters away. Under the heavy atmosphere, dozens of eyes silently scanned their surroundings with the sharpness of hunters searching for prey.
In the shadows of a large tree, high on one of its branches, Sakura and Naruto carefully surveyed the area.
"It's not here." Sakura sighed in disappointment.
"Damn it! Where did Iruka-sensei hide those flags anyway?" Naruto scratched his head in frustration. They had been searching for an hour and still hadn't seen even a shadow of the goal.
"Is it possible that we've gone the wrong way?"
Naruto's question made Sakura frown. Thinking about the path they had taken, she shook her head. Impossible. They had gone straight most of the time, and the training ground wasn't exactly massive.
There were only so many places where the flags could be hidden. Perhaps the issue wasn't the path… maybe it was the way they were searching? For example, would a flag look exactly like a flag, or would it be hidden in plain sight?
…
On the other side of the forest, conflict had already taken place.
Sparks flew in the air as two kunai clashed and bounced away.
"Now!"
At the shout, shadows on the ground twisted and wriggled. Before the pair of kunoichi could react, their shadows stretched unnaturally and froze their bodies in place.
"No!" one of the girls cried, but her body locked stiff. No matter how much she struggled, every single muscle refused to obey.
"Heh, you fools. You fell for my trap." Ino's voice rang from behind them. She emerged from cover, scuffed and dirty but very much alive, eyes sharp with anger.
Not far from her, a crude trap dangled uselessly from a tree branch, a sharpened log tied up with rope. Further back, kunai littered the trunk of another tree.
She shivered when she thought about how close she had been to getting caught. If Shikamaru hadn't seen through the ambush, she wouldn't even know how she had died.
Before the girls could react, she lunged forward and delivered two powerful kicks, knocking them out cold.
"Couldn't you go easier? What a drag… we're definitely getting scolded once this ends." Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his temple.
"Hmph! What do you know! They set such a dangerous trap in the forest. What if another group had come by? They'd be mashed potatoes right now." Ino complained angrily.
Just as she said this, not too far from them, the sound of an explosion rang out, followed by a tremor that shook the ground.
At the foot of a mountain, by a large stone wall, a giant palm print was splattered across the rock. Inside it, a boy with black hair slumped unconscious, his clothes tattered and his body injured. His eyes had rolled back in his sockets.
"Well done, Choji-san." A calm, collected voice praised.
"Hmm, munch, munch… it's nothing." Choji nodded with hidden pride in his eyes, not forgetting to take another bite of his chips.
Looking at his partner, he wasn't too surprised to see him carrying another boy. Unlike the one Choji had flattened, this one seemed unharmed on the surface, but the bite mark on his neck clearly showed what kind of torture he had suffered.
They picked up the flag dropped on the ground and left in a hurry.
After more than four years of academy training, these students could no longer be seen as normal children.
Regardless of age, they were true shinobi in the making, already carrying ruthlessness in their blood. Even bleeding a little wasn't a big deal to them.
For those who could traverse harsh terrain, shatter trees and rocks with their bodies, and wield strange powers through chakra, this exercise had long left the realm of what ordinary people could imagine. That was why they fought like this, without hesitation.
Of course, they still held back consciously. Nobody here wanted to kill a classmate by accident.
But for some, results mattered more than the process.
"Hinata, have you found anyone?"
High in a tree, Sasuke and Hinata lay quietly on the branches, waiting in ambush.
Hinata formed a seal, the veins at the corners of her eyes bulging as her vision spread out hundreds of meters.
She swept through her surroundings, crossing out targets one by one until only one remained.
"Sasuke-kun, at eleven o'clock. Three hundred meters. A duo seems to have found a flag. What should we do?"
"Oh?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "Since someone's so kind as to deliver it to us, why should we refuse? Let's go. We'll take them down in one strike."
Hinata nodded shyly and followed behind him.
…
Three hundred meters away, Naruto was hopping around in excitement. "Ahaha! We did it, we did it! Sakura-chan, you're so smart!"
Although she was used to hearing compliments, Sakura didn't mind. In fact, she wished people would say it more often. Raising her chest proudly, a small smile adorned her lips as she stared at the flag in her hand.
Just moments ago, while searching, she had recalled Iruka-sensei's lessons and considered the possibility of genjutsu being used in the exercise.
And sure enough, after carefully examining the area, she had spotted an odd pile of rocks.
They were nothing but an illusion, hiding the flag beneath.
"You're welcome," she said. "Now let's take this and get out before someone shows up."
"Okay, Sakura-chan!"
They set off toward the entrance of the forest, unaware of the eyes tracking them from afar.
When they reached a narrow stretch of trees, there was no time to react.
The only warning was the whistle of wind.
Swish!
Blood erupted in an instant, staining the ground red. Eyes widened in disbelief at the figure standing before them, dark hair, blue shirt, the Uchiha fan crest burning on his back.
Before Naruto could even process it, Sakura collapsed, motionless. The flag rolled from her hand, coming to a stop beside a mound of dirt.
Again came the whistle of air, this time, Naruto managed to jump aside. Shuriken slammed into the trees where he had just been, burying themselves deep in the bark with enough force to splinter wood.
Naruto turned back toward Sakura, and froze.
Her arms, legs, abdomen, even her neck, all bled heavily, shuriken lodged deep in her flesh.
"S…Sa…" The word stuck in his throat. His whole body trembled. Sakura was down, and he couldn't do a thing to stop it.
Pain unlike anything he'd ever known struck his chest. His blood roared like lightning, and chakra surged wildly, spilling out of him.
In some unseen abyss, a pair of slit red eyes opened, gleaming with bloodlust. A mouth of fangs curved into a grin, as if some demon enjoyed the scene.
Before Sasuke could move again, Naruto lunged like a bullet.
The air burst around him like a balloon popping.
His eyes had changed, no longer blue, but red, slit, feral.
"I WANT YOU TO DIE!" The roar ripped through the forest, filled with killing intent like a demon's howl.
Not just the students, even the instructors monitoring from afar froze in shock.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood abruptly, his expression grave. "Damn it… this chakra. It's the Nine-Tails!"
He clenched his fists, staring into the crystal ball with a pale face.
"Eagle, Wolf!"
Two ANBU appeared instantly, as if stepping out of the shadows.
"Hokage-sama!" they knelt.
"Bring the sealing squad. Now. We move immediately!"
"Yes!"
The command had barely left his lips before the earth shook again, a pulse of chakra rippling outward like a shockwave. Birds exploded from the trees, the air vibrating under the weight of it.
In the forest, Hinata gasped. Her Byakugan showed her everything, and what she saw made her entire body lock in terror.
"Wh-what is that…?" she whispered. Chakra was always visible to her, but what poured out of Naruto now wasn't chakra.
It was a storm. Boiling, violent, monstrous.
Her breath caught as the silhouette of a beast loomed behind him in her vision, fangs, tails, burning eyes.
Terrifying.
Her hands shook as she gripped the bark for support. "This isn't… human…"
Below, Naruto charged again. Red chakra flared around him like fire. Every step split the earth beneath his feet.
Sasuke caught his blow, the impact rattled his bones. His legs nearly gave out, dirt flying as he slid back. Pain shot up his arm, metallic blood filling his mouth as he bit his lip.
Impossible. He was losing.
His eyes widened, locking on Naruto's. Red. Slitted. Ferocious. For an instant he froze.
Is that the Sharingan?
But no, his clan's eyes were sharp, precise, alive with clarity. These were drowned in bloodlust. Cold. Animal. Hungry.
Not Sharingan. Something worse.
Naruto's blows came wild, brutal, unrelenting. He took hits without flinching, Sasuke's elbow, his knee, everything. The monster inside him only grew stronger.
"You hurt Sakura-chan!" Naruto's roar cracked the trees. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
His fist crashed into Sasuke's chest, hurling him into a tree. Bark exploded outward as Sasuke slid to the ground, gasping.
"Stop it!"
Iruka burst into the clearing, his flak jacket flashing in the light. His eyes darted, Sakura bleeding, Sasuke stumbling, Naruto cloaked in something monstrous.
"Enough, Naruto!" Iruka shouted, racing through seals. He slammed his palms to the ground. Earth surged upward, wrapping around Naruto's limbs.
The bindings shattered instantly. Red chakra tore them apart like paper.
Naruto lunged again, faster, stronger, his roar shaking the trees.
Iruka braced himself, but the wave of chakra slammed into him like a wall. He was hurled across the dirt, coughing blood as he hit the ground. Still, he forced himself to his knees.
"Naruto! This isn't you!" he cried, desperate.
But Naruto wasn't listening. His world had narrowed to one target, Sasuke.
The clearing thundered with their clash. Naruto's feral howls, Sasuke's pained grunts, fists striking flesh.
Then, the ANBU arrived, dropping into the branches with masks gleaming.
"Target confirmed!" one barked.
"Contain him!" another snapped, hands weaving seals.
Sasuke staggered back, panting, pride burning hotter than his wounds. Those eyes glared at him, seared into his memory.
Naruto crouched low, chakra flaring, his voice ragged. "I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER AGAIN!"
He lunged, but the ground erupted in black light. Symbols writhed across the soil like living things, crawling up his legs, arms, torso. Black kanji snaked around him, binding tight, squeezing with every thrash.
Naruto roared, thrashing violently. The kanji glowed, twisting and tightening, but every surge of chakra strained them to the limit.
"Hold him!" an ANBU shouted.
Another dropped beside Sakura, green chakra glowing at their hands. "She'll live," the medic said tersely.
Naruto's head snapped toward her unconscious body. His heart twisted.
"Sakura-chan…" His voice softened, almost human.
Then the Hokage arrived, robes heavy, staff in hand. His face was grim as he looked on.
"Enough, Naruto."
The boy's red eyes flickered uncertainly.
Hiruzen's chakra surged. More seals crawled from the ground, black kanji writhing like snakes. They coiled around Naruto, lashing tighter, dragging the red cloak inward.
Naruto roared, but the chains didn't let go. Each seal burned into his skin, forcing the demon back inside.
Slowly, painfully, the monstrous aura receded.
Naruto collapsed to his knees, blue eyes flickering back into place. Tears streaked his dirt-stained cheeks.
"Sakura…"
He crawled forward, reaching out with trembling fingers. "Please… don't leave me…"
The medic caught his wrist gently. "She'll recover. She's strong."
Naruto's shoulders shook. Relief and guilt poured out of him.
Sasuke leaned against a shattered trunk, chest heaving. He had been defeated. By Naruto.
And those eyes, burned into him.
Not Sharingan. Not human. Something else.
His nails dug bloody crescents into his palms. His glare smoldered with venom.
"I don't believe it," he whispered. "Yes… that's right. If I had those eyes, there's no way I'd lose to him!"
For an instant, the figure of a red eyed shadow flickered across his mind, anger and hatred bursting from his heart followed by a helplessness dragged out from the depths of his childhood, of that day covered in blood. His pupils suddenly glowed crimson, a single tomoe spinning.
Hinata stood frozen, Byakugan deactivated, eyes wide and wet. She had seen too much. Too much hatred, too much power. She looked between Naruto kneeling over Sakura and Sasuke trembling with rage, and a cold dread settled deep in her stomach.