Fierce winds whipped against Naruto's face as he rode within Kaido's massive dragon claws. Through the gaps between those enormous talons, he could see endless blue ocean stretching across the horizon beneath white clouds.
The sunlight shimmered on the water, seagulls soared, and occasionally massive Sea Kings breached the surface. The vast sky and boundless ocean, stretching for thousands of miles, made Naruto stare in wonder.
"It's really beautiful."
He'd never seen anything like this in Konoha. The village was surrounded by forests and mountains, landlocked and isolated. But this? This was freedom. This was adventure.
Naruto closed his eyes to feel the wind on his face. When he opened them—
He saw a ceiling.
A slightly unfamiliar ceiling covered in water stains and cracks.
"What...?"
Naruto sat up, rubbing his eyes frantically. He'd just been in Kaido-sensei's claws! How did he end up here?
The small messy room. Scattered ramen cups. Expired milk containers. His apartment in Konoha.
Memories that had been dormant for a year crashed over him.
"This is Konoha. I'm back?"
After a moment of stunned silence, Naruto pinched his own cheek hard.
"Hiss! Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!"
The pain was sharp and very, very real.
"It's over. This isn't a dream. I really came back." Naruto's voice cracked slightly. He slumped down onto the floor, sitting cross-legged amid the mess of his apartment. "But then... was that side just a dream? Was Kaido-sensei...?"
He looked around desperately. The expired bread and milk from a year ago—or yesterday?—sat where he'd left them.
Looking out the window, Naruto could see the sun rising over Konoha. Only one night appeared to have passed.
"Could it really have just been a dream?"
"No, that's wrong!" He shook his head violently. "No dream could be that real!"
Frustrated, Naruto clenched his fist and punched the floor, using just a portion of his strength.
BOOM!
The entire room shook. The wooden floor cracked and splintered outward. Dust fell from the ceiling. From the apartment below, he could hear angry shouting.
"What the hell?!"
"Keep it down up there, you brat!"
"Some of us are trying to sleep!"
Naruto stared at his fist, then at the destroyed floor.
"The power I trained for came back with me! But my body hasn't changed—I still look six." He examined his skinny arms, feeling the strength coiled beneath. "That's so weird!"
A grin spread across his face. "If the power came back, then it definitely wasn't a dream! Which means..." His expression turned serious and determined. "I need to find a way to get back to Kaido-sensei's side!"
Grumble grumble...
His stomach interrupted his thoughts. Naruto opened the sad, nearly empty refrigerator. Inside sat expired milk and instant ramen.
He remembered the fresh roasted meat from the island. Looking at this expired food felt wrong—like wearing clothes that no longer fit.
Grabbing just the instant ramen, he headed out.
-----------------------------
The morning sun had barely risen, but Konoha was already awake. Shopkeepers were opening their stores, ninja were heading to their assignments, and civilians were going about their daily routines.
Naruto had walked maybe ten meters before he heard it.
"Look, that damned monster is out again. Why hasn't he died yet?"
The voice came from a middle-aged woman sweeping in front of her shop. She wasn't even trying to whisper.
"Exactly! The Third Hokage is too lenient, letting this monster live here," her companion agreed, a man arranging vegetables on a stand. "He should be locked up somewhere far away from decent people."
Naruto's steps slowed. A year ago—or yesterday, depending on how you looked at it—these words would have hurt. Would have made him want to run and hide.
Now they just made him angry.
This place felt like a cage. A cage full of malice and hatred, devoid of the freedom he'd experienced on the island. No matter how strong he became, to these people, he'd always be a monster.
Whoosh!
A stone nearly hit him. Naruto spun around. A kid about his age stood there smugly, parents behind him making no move to stop him.
Before the kid could throw another, Naruto's hand shot out and caught it mid-air. His reflexes made it look effortless.
Then, without meaning to, Naruto released his killing intent.
Just a fraction of what he'd accumulated from hunting countless beasts. But for a civilian child, it was overwhelming.
The bloodlust washed over the kid like a wave. In his mind, he saw hundreds of beasts all lunging with murderous intent.
"WAAAHHHHH!"
The kid's scream was piercing. His eyes rolled back and a wet stain spread across his pants.
"Jiro! What's wrong?!" The mother rushed forward. "You damned monster! What did you do to him?!"
The father stepped forward, face red with rage. "I'm reporting this to the Third Hokage! You'll be driven out, you monster!"
They spoke to him like he wasn't a six-year-old child. Like he was some unforgivable demon.
A year ago, Naruto would have apologized and run away. Would have blamed himself even though he'd done nothing wrong.
But that was before he'd met Kaido. Before someone had told him that his power wasn't something to be ashamed of. As they say you will only notice something, when you no longer have them. Compared to open acceptance from Kaido, Naruto couldn't bring himself to accept such treatment so quickly, when he could still feel the freedom from then island fresh in his mind.
Naruto's expression hardened. Without a word, he pulled his arm back and threw the stone he'd caught.
Whoosh
The stone became a blur. It grazed the husband's cheek, drawing blood, flew several more meters, and embedded deep into a stone wall. Cracks spread outward from the impact.
Silence fell over the street.
Everyone stared at the wall, then at the blood on the man's face, then at the small six-year-old boy who'd just thrown a stone hard enough to crack solid stone.
"Ah... AH! The monster's going to kill someone!" The wife's scream shattered the silence.
Chaos erupted. People scattered, screaming in panic. Within seconds, the street was nearly empty.
Naruto looked at the scene he'd caused. Part of him felt guilty—he hadn't meant to scare everyone that badly.
But another part of him, the part that had survived a year in hell, felt nothing but contempt.
"Tch. Boring," he muttered, turning away from them.
He identified the direction of the forest next to the village—the same forest where he used to catch fish when he was desperate enough.
"Time for a real meal. Meat, here I come! Hehe!"
With that, Naruto took off running, leaving the panicked villagers behind.
---------------------
Knock, knock.
"Enter."
An ANBU member wearing a tanuki mask stepped inside, kneeling. "Third Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork. "Oh, it's you, Tanuki. What brings you here?"
He set down his pen, already suspecting what this visit was about. The ANBU assigned to watch Naruto only reported when something unusual happened.
"Is there something going on with Naruto?"
"Yes, Third Hokage-sama. The Jinchūriki's behavior today has been... somewhat abnormal."
"Oh?" Hiruzen picked up his pipe and tapped it against his desk, signaling Tanuki to continue. "Explain in detail."
"Yes, sir!" Tanuki straightened slightly. "This morning, the Jinchūriki had an altercation on the main street. A civilian child threw a stone at him—normal harassment, nothing unusual there. But the Jinchūriki's response was different than before."
"Different how?"
"He caught the stone mid-flight with reflexes I've only seen in trained Genin. Then he... released killing intent."
Hiruzen's eyebrows rose. "Killing intent? From Naruto?"
"Yes, sir. It was unfocused and raw, but definitely real. The civilian child was traumatized by it—he's still recovering at home. Then the Jinchūriki threw the stone back. It moved fast enough to be barely visible and had enough force to embed itself deep into a stone wall after grazing the father's face."
Tanuki paused, letting that sink in. "The news has already spread throughout the village, Third Hokage-sama. The civilians are frightened. They're saying the monster is losing control, that he's becoming dangerous."
"And what do you think, Tanuki?" Hiruzen studied the ANBU carefully. "Should we temporarily confine the Jinchūriki?"
"I..." Tanuki hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with the question. "That decision is above my authority, Third Hokage-sama. But the civilians are demanding action."
"That's not what I asked. I asked what you think."
There was a long silence. Hiruzen continued to watch Tanuki, his expression unreadable.
Finally, he spoke. "There's no need for confinement. I will handle this matter personally. Now, continue your report. What did Naruto do after the incident? Where did he go?"
"He went to the forest on the village's eastern border, sir."
"Fishing, I assume? That's where he usually goes when he's hungry."
"Not exactly, sir. He... he went hunting."
"Hunting?" Hiruzen smiled slightly. "Well, that's not so unusual. The boy's resourceful—"
"He killed an adult wild boar, Third Hokage-sama. Built a fire on his own, roasted the entire animal, and ate it by himself."
Hiruzen's smile faded. "He hunted a wild boar? Are you certain?"
"Yes, sir. I observed the entire process."
"Tanuki..." Hiruzen leaned forward, his pipe forgotten. "Are you telling me that a six-year-old child, who has received no formal combat training, killed an adult wild boar? By himself?"
"Yes, Third Hokage-sama."
"And ate the entire thing?"
"Yes, sir. The whole animal."
Hiruzen and Tanuki stared at each other for a long moment. The wild boars around Konoha, influenced by the First Hokage's residual chakra, grew unusually large and aggressive. Even a typical Genin would struggle with one. A six-year-old should have been killed instantly.
Hiruzen stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Tanuki, do you think I should increase Naruto's living expenses?"
Tanuki's eye twitched behind his mask. You should have done that years ago, sir.
Out loud, he said, "That decision is entirely up to you, Third Hokage-sama."
"Mm." Hiruzen nodded absently, already thinking about the implications. "You may leave."
"Yes, sir." Tanuki stood and bowed, turning toward the door.
"Wait."
Tanuki stopped.
"Call Shikaku Nara here. I need to speak with him about something."
"At once, Third Hokage-sama."
After Tanuki left, Hiruzen sat back in his chair, puffing on his pipe thoughtfully.
I need to inform the Ino-Shika-Chō families. Tell them to have their children interact more with Naruto. If the boy is developing this quickly, we need to make sure he bonds with the village properly before—
BANG!
The office door slammed open without ceremony.
An old man walked in—his right arm and right eye wrapped in bandages, leaning heavily on a cane. His visible eye was cold and calculating.
"What do you want, Danzo?" Hiruzen didn't even look up, continuing to examine the document in front of him. "I'm quite busy."
"Don't play games with me, Hiruzen. I heard about the incident this morning."
"What incident? Things happen in the village every day."
"The Jinchūriki." Danzo's voice was sharp. "He's showing signs of losing control. Using killing intent on civilians? Attacking them with thrown weapons? This is exactly what I warned you about!"
"Naruto defended himself from harassment. Hardly losing control."
"He traumatized a child and nearly killed a civilian! This is unacceptable!" Danzo slammed his cane on the floor. "I told you years ago, Hiruzen—hand him over to me. Let Root handle his training. I will turn the Jinchūriki into the most obedient weapon this village has ever seen."
"And I told you years ago that's not going to happen." Hiruzen finally looked up, his eyes hard. "Naruto needs bonds, Danzo. He needs connections to the village that make him want to protect it, not training that turns him into a mindless tool."
"So you've said. And look where your soft approach has gotten us! The boy is dangerous, unpredictable—"
"The boy is six years old and finally learning to stand up for himself. I will not punish him for that."
"You're being naive, Hiruzen! Do you not understand what we could accomplish if you would just let me train him properly? With the power of the Nine-Tails under our control, we could surpass all the other villages! We could ensure Konoha's dominance for generations!"
"Enough, Danzo!" Hiruzen slammed his hand on the desk and stood up. He radiated an overwhelming sense of authority that filled the room. "I will not hand Naruto over to you! Not today, not ever! Do you understand me?"
Danzo glared at him, breathing hard. For a long moment, the two old men faced each other in tense silence.
"You've changed, Hiruzen," Danzo finally said, his voice cold. "You weren't like this before. You used to understand what needed to be done."
"I haven't changed. I've simply refused to lose sight of what's truly important."
"Hmph!" Danzo's expression twisted with frustration. "Fine. If you won't give me the Jinchūriki, then at least give me Sasuke Uchiha. Root needs to replenish its personnel, and the boy has potential—"
"Sasuke is out of the question!"
"Why?! He's an orphan with nowhere else to go! He could serve the village—"
"Sasuke Uchiha is the village's sole surviving Uchiha bloodline," Hiruzen said firmly. "Beyond that, have you forgotten about that man, Danzo?"
Danzo's expression immediately darkened at the mention of Itachi Uchiha. His jaw clenched, and his visible eye narrowed with barely suppressed anger.
"You will regret this, Hiruzen," Danzo said coldly, turning toward the door. "Both these decisions. Mark my words—you will regret them."
"Perhaps. But they're still my decisions to make."
Danzo stormed toward the exit.
BANG!
The door slammed shut behind him with enough force to rattle the walls.
Hiruzen sighed and sat back down, suddenly feeling every one of his years. He relit his pipe and took a long draw, staring out the window at the village he'd sworn to protect.
Naruto, what exactly happened to you? Where did you get that kind of power?
And more importantly—was it going to be a blessing or a curse for the village?
Only time would tell.