Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains, spilling over the room in a warm golden haze. Naruto stirred beneath his blanket, the tip of his cone-shaped sleeping hat drooping over his face as he groaned softly. His long crimson hair spilled out beneath it, tangled from sleep.
He cracked one eye open, blinked at the ceiling for a few seconds, then sighed. "Ugh… morning already?"
Oscar was curled up at the foot of the bed, limbs twitching slightly as he dreamed. Naruto carefully swung his legs over the side, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He stretched his arms and yawned, but his left arm didn't move quite right.
It felt… numb.
"Did I sleep on my arm again?" he muttered, shaking it. It tingled, heavy and slow to respond. Shrugging it off, Naruto stood and shuffled toward the bathroom, his slippers making soft squeaks on the wooden floor.
When he leaned over the sink and grabbed his toothbrush, he noticed faint pulses of pain along his back. Without thinking, he activated his palm eye and saw Oscar's handiwork from the night before: thin scratch marks running along his shoulder blades where the little lizard had clawed him in his sleep.
"Guess you were dreaming of fighting again, huh, bud?" Naruto said, spitting out the toothpaste foam. The boy was about to brush his tongue when he noticed something strange.
Right there, on the palm of the hand holding the toothbrush, was a thin slit.
"Wait a minute…" Naruto whispered, lowering the brush.
He slowly outstretched both hands in front of him.
Each palm had a slit, faintly glowing, and as he stared, both of them opened.
Two eyes blinked back at him.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A rapid pitter-patter echoed through the hallway as Oscar came bounding into the bathroom. He stopped at the doorway, blinking at the sight before him.
Naruto stood there in his pajamas, toothpaste still dripping down his chin, holding out his hands like he was showing off a prize.
"I GOT A NEW EYE ON MY LEFTY!"
Oscar chirped.
"I don't know!" Naruto blurted out. "I just woke up and it was like this!"
Oscar hopped closer, examining the eyes curiously, chirping something that sounded vaguely like a question.
"Yeah," Naruto said, glancing at his left hand, "it does kinda look like the ring of the Evil Eye."
He looked down at his finger where the cursed ring once sat. The gem was gone, the band dull and empty.
"I guess that explains it," Naruto said slowly. "I absorbed the Evil Eye into myself somehow."
Oscar gave a tired, unimpressed chirp, turning around and padding out of the bathroom.
"Don't walk away from me when I'm mutating!" Naruto called after him, exasperated. "This is serious!"
Oscar responded with another chirp that sounded suspiciously like a groan before jumping up onto the windowsill to nap.
Naruto sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he leaned over the sink again. "Sorry for scaring you, bud."
He continued brushing his teeth, staring at the new eyes with reluctant acceptance. Through his soul sight, he could see the Evil Eye attached to the palm of his soul. It pulsed faintly, like a second heartbeat that didn't belong to him. It reminded him of the hawkeyes—how another soul had been grafted onto his own, leaving behind a fragment of its power. This felt the same. Someone else's essence, bound and repurposed, now living inside him. The thought was unsettling, but strangely, it didn't feel wrong. It just felt like another part of him that had been waiting to wake up.
He continued brushing his teeth, staring at the new eyes with reluctant acceptance. Through his soul sight, he could see the Evil Eye attached to the palm of his soul. It reminded him of the hawkeyes—how another soul had been grafted onto his own, leaving behind a fragment of its power.
"How did this even happen…"
That was the same question Team 7 asked when Naruto proudly showed them his new eyes.
Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know, I was really hoping that now that we're back in Konoha, mornings with you would finally get normal. But nope. Not even close."
"Heh, yeah… sorry about that."
"So what happened this time?" Sasuke asked flatly, hands in his pockets.
"I think the soul of that Darkbeast I mentioned... yeah, the one from the ring was still inside it. And I guess I, uh… absorbed it unconsciously," Naruto said, scratching his cheek.
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as he turned toward Kakashi. "Can you explain this?"
"Don't look at me like I'm supposed to understand whatever nonsense he's mixed up in. I stopped trying three disasters ago."
Oscar, perched on Naruto's shoulder, gave a sympathetic chirp as if agreeing with the sentiment.
"So," Kakashi said after a moment, "any clue what your new eye does?"
"Well, the ring said it absorbs HP from enemies I defeat," Naruto replied. "So I guess it can heal me when I fight."
"HP?" Sakura repeated, confused.
"It's basically your vitality," Naruto explained, waving it off.
"Does that include chakra?"
"I don't know," Naruto admitted.
Sasuke's Sharingan spun to life. "Let's find out."
Naruto looked around, then used telekinesis to pull a small cicada out of a nearby tree and into his hand.
"Don't crush it," Sakura warned.
Naruto immediately crushed it.
A faint pinkish-purple glow pulsed from his left hand before the remains turned to dust, scattering in the wind.
Everyone stared at Sasuke, who looked genuinely unnerved. Sweat rolled down his temple as he spoke quietly. "You… absorbed the cicada's chakra."
"What does that mean?"
"All of the chakra the cicada had... is flowing through your own network now," Sasuke said, voice tight with disbelief.
Sakura's eyes widened as she realized what that meant. "Wait… does that mean Naruto could permanently increase his chakra reserves by killing shinobi?"
Kakashi immediately cut in, his tone serious. "That's a terrible idea."
"How so, Sensei?"
"There's a C-rank jutsu called the Chakra Absorption Palm," Kakashi explained. "It lets shinobi drain chakra from others and add it to their own reserves, slowly. It's a basic technique. Many genin and chunin know it."
"Then why didn't I learn it?"
"Because," Kakashi continued, "the boost it gives is minimal, and shinobi who rely on it for decades develop a disease that prevents them from using their own chakra. Tsunade hypothesized that absorbing foreign chakra contaminates your chakra network, the same way a smoker damages their lungs."
Naruto frowned. "So with my Eye of Evil, I'm basically doing chakra absorption but on a higher level. And I could get the same disease debuff, right?"
"Yes."
Naruto hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess I'll only use my second eye in emergencies then. I wonder if I can heal the disease with one of my miracles—"
"Naruto, no!" Team 7 and Oscar shouted in unison.
Oscar smacked him in the face with his tail for emphasis.
"What? I was just thinking out loud!"
"And that's the problem."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
For the rest of the day, Team 7 trained with Kakashi's shadow clones, or as Naruto called them, budget senseis. The afternoon air was warm, and every so often one of the clones popped out of existence with a loud puff after being tackled, kicked, or punched into chakra exhaustion. By the time they stopped for lunch, everyone was sweaty, starving, and sprawled out in the training grounds.
"Alright, you three," Kakashi said. "I'll be back in a bit. While I'm gone, I want you to talk among yourselves. The Rasengan is pure chakra in motion, so… how would you each use it in your own fighting style?"
Before anyone could respond, he flickered away in a puff of smoke, leaving Team 7 blinking after him.
"Okay, Sakura, hear me out! You know how your barrier techniques focus on keeping people out using dense chakra layering? What if you use the Rasengan's rotational force to make those barriers spin like a barrier version of the Hyūga clan's Rotation! You know what they say, the best offensive is a great defence."
Sakura blinked, half a rice ball in hand. "That's… actually not a bad idea. Better than what I was thinking, anyway."
"And what were you thinking?"
"...Nothing important."
"C'mon, Sakura, don't be shy. I'm sure Sasuke's idea is worse!"
Without missing a beat, Sasuke said flatly, "My idea was to use the Rasengan for taijutsu."
Naruto and Sakura both froze.
"I can't make one yet," Sasuke added before Naruto could mock him, "but theoretically, if you could form the Rasengan in the instant before impact, the chakra would detonate on contact. It'd multiply the force of a punch exponentially in an outward explosion."
There was a short silence before Naruto grinned ear to ear. "That sounds awesome! Let's test it!"
Before anyone could stop him, Naruto charged at a nearby boulder, shouting, "Rasengan Hook!" He swung hard before his hand sank into the stone with a crunch.
Sasuke snorted, covering his mouth to hide a smirk. "Real smooth."
"Shut it! It's not like forming an A-rank jutsu in a split second is easy!"
"So you're admitting defeat?" Sasuke said in that smug, calm tone that made Naruto's eyebrow twitch.
"No! I'm saying I'll get better at it and then steal your idea. How you like them apples?"
Sakura sighed. "You two are hopeless." She lifted her hand, and to both their shock, a small, perfectly formed Rasengan no bigger than a marble spun gently at her fingertip.
"WHAT?! HOW?!"
Sasuke leaned forward. "You actually formed it? With that size?!"
Sakura smiled, modest but proud. "It's not a full Rasengan. I visualized the chakra flow as threads constantly spinning inward. It's stable, but not powerful. I figured I could control it with chakra strings and use it like a projectile."
"A throwable Rasengan? Sakura, that's genius!"
"It's more practical than mine, that's for sure. Her chakra control's perfect for it."
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said with a small blush, while Naruto tried to form a mini Rasengan for the next hour.
Through trial and error, Naruto figured to use a shadow clone to assist. Together, they formed a standard Rasengan before Naruto focused with his other hand, compressing it tighter and tighter until it was the size of a golf ball.
"Whoa…" Sakura breathed, shielding her face slightly as the air pressure rippled around them.
The other clone, grinning, used telekinesis to yank the miniature Rasengan out of Naruto's hand and flung it across the courtyard. It flew about ten meters before fizzling out in midair with a quiet pop, scattering harmless chakra sparks into the breeze.
"Okay," Naruto muttered, rubbing his hands. "So, mini Rasengan can work. But if I throw them, they only last a few seconds unless they hit something."
That simple discovery sparked another round of brainstorming between the trio. They sprawled out on the ground, surrounded by notes, half-eaten lunches, and a whiteboard Naruto had mysteriously conjured from somewhere.
By the time Kakashi strolled back into view, hands in his pockets, Team 7 was gathered around a messy drawing of what looked suspiciously like a coordinated formation—or possibly a three-person wrestling move.
"What are you three doing?"
"We're making the Team 7 Rasengan!" Naruto declared proudly, spinning the whiteboard around to reveal their masterpiece.
The drawing showed Sasuke crouched in front in a striking pose, Sakura standing right behind him with her hands outstretched as if channeling chakra, and Naruto looming dramatically over both, arms extended like a conductor directing the entire performance.
Kakashi stared at it for a long, silent moment. "...What is this? What am I looking at?"
Naruto grinned, undeterred. "It's teamwork! I make the Rasengan, Sakura wraps it in a barrier so it holds shape, and Sasuke launches it with his speed! Boom... Team 7's ultimate combo attack!"
"Well… I've seen worse ideas. You could probably practice that after this mission."
"Mission?" Sasuke asked, frowning. "I thought we were training for the Chūnin Exams."
"You are. But every team needs a minimum of fifty D-rank missions and at least two C-ranks to qualify for nomination. Paperwork, unfortunately, doesn't fill itself."
Sakura frowned, tilting her head. "But the Wave mission was classified as S-rank, right? Shouldn't completing something like that automatically qualify us for the Chūnin Exams?"
"Technically, yes. The Hokage already approved your eligibility. But between training, near-death experiences, and your charming teamwork dynamics…" Kakashi glanced at Naruto and Sasuke, who were glaring at each other mid rice-ball duel. "…I figured a low-stakes mission might do you some good to relax once in a while."
"Feels like a waste of time."
Before Kakashi could respond, the bushes behind them rustled violently. A tabby cat bolted out, sprinting across the training grounds; hotly pursued by a determined Oscar, who was chirping triumphantly and snapping his little jaws.
Naruto blinked. "So that's where he was. Look at him! He's playing with a cat."
"More like bullying it."
"Sasuke, have some shame," Naruto said with mock offense. "Do you really think someone as cute and innocent as Oscar would bully anyone?"
Sasuke just stared blankly at Oscar, who at that exact moment made an evil-sounding chirp and lunged, causing the cat to yowl and sprint faster.
"...Yeah," Sasuke deadpanned. "Completely innocent."
"Team focus. Since you're clearly energized, why don't you try this D-rank mission? Think of it as stress relief."
Kakashi tossed a scroll toward Naruto.
"Fine," Naruto muttered, catching it and scanning the mission description. His expression fell flat as he groaned aloud. "You've got to be kidding me."
"What is it?" Sakura asked.
Naruto held out his hand as the tabby cat froze mid-run and was suddenly lifted into the air by an invisible force. Oscar gave an indignant chirp as his prey was stolen.
"Here you go," Naruto said smugly, floating the struggling cat into Kakashi's arms. "Mission accomplished. We captured Tora the cat."
There was a beat of silence.
"This… is not what I had in mind when I said to take it easy, Naruto."
"Relax, sensei, I feel totally calm."
"Really."
"Yeah!" Naruto grinned wider, forming a quick hand seal. His crimson hair began to writhe and extend unnaturally, snaking across the air until it wrapped around the struggling tabby cat in a silky cocoon. The creature yowled indignantly, its tail thrashing as it was completely engulfed.
"Lion's Mane Jutsu! Mission accomplished."
Sakura blinked, impressed despite herself. "I'm actually kind of jealous he can do that…"
"I can copy it for you," Sasuke offered without missing a beat, his tone deadly serious.
"Eh, no thanks."
Naruto looked over the scroll again, squinting. "Sensei, is this really the mission? Because I swear we already caught Tora before. Like, multiple times."
Sakura laughed softly. "You're forgetting Madam Shijimi, Naruto. She's obsessed with that cat. Treats it better than some nobles treat their heirs. But every time, Tora still escapes."
"Why?"
"No," Kakashi said flatly.
"…No what?"
"I know that look on Naruto's face. It's the I'm about to do something reckless and justify it as heroism look. And I'm not emotionally prepared for it today."
"Come on, sensei," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "I was just gonna say… maybe we report that Tora 'died' and just, you know, free him from his captor. The cat clearly doesn't want to go back there."
Sasuke groaned, rubbing his temple. "Here we go…"
"Naruto. It's not that simple."
"Then make it simple."
Kakashi looked up at the sky as though silently praying for patience. "Madam Shijimi isn't some random civilian. She's the Fire Daimyō's wife. If we report her cat as dead or missing, that becomes a national problem. She'll throw a fit, the Fire Lord gets angry, and then we all have to deal with an angry Daimyō. And trust me, politics is uglier than any mission you'll ever go on."
Naruto stared at him. "You're telling me the entirety of Konoha has to bow to a fat cat lady?"
"Pretty much," Kakashi said dryly. "That cat's probably listed in the Fire Daimyō's treasury records as a 'national treasure.' So if it's just a cat, stop what you're doing, hand it over, and let her shower it with her terrifying version of love until it inevitably runs away again. It's the circle of bureaucracy."
"You can't seriously call that okay. The way she grabs and squeezes it... it's like she's choking it with affection! That's animal abuse!"
Kakashi closed his eye for a moment and inhaled deeply, the kind of breath teachers take when counting to ten to avoid committing a crime. "Alright, fine. What's the plan, then, genius?"
"Alright, Oscar, get me a deer. Sasuke, find a rat. Sakura, grab some rat poison."
"Why a deer?"
"You'll see," Naruto said, looking way too confident for everyone's comfort.
Kakashi immediately sat down, opening his book. "You know what? I'm done asking questions. Proceed."
"Don't worry, sensei," Naruto said brightly, tightening the cocoon around the cat as it mewled. "I've got the perfect plan. Not only will I save Tora, but I'll make sure Madam Shijimi never abuses another animal again!"
"Uh-huh. Just try not to start an international incident this time."
"Oh, and I'll be showing off something I brought from Lordran!" Naruto added proudly.
Kakashi gave a lazy thumbs-up without looking away from his book.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
A few minutes later, Sasuke and Sakura flickered back into the clearing. Sakura held a small glass vial of powdered rat poison between her fingers, looking faintly uncomfortable, while Sasuke carried a limp, dazed field rat by the tail.
"What did you do to it?"
"Genjutsu."
Sakura glanced at him, wrinkling her nose. "You know, I can't decide if I'm impressed by how efficient that was or disgusted that you're casually holding a rat like that."
Before either could reply, the ground began to tremble faintly. The rustle of grass grew louder until, from the treeline, Oscar bounded into the clearing in his ravenous crystal state. In his jaws hung a small deer, completely limp but otherwise unharmed.
Sakura's jaw dropped. "What… the hell…"
Sasuke's Sharingan flickered open instinctively, watching as Oscar proudly trotted forward, tail swishing. The crystal lizard dropped the deer at Naruto's feet like a dog presenting a gift, then roared.
Naruto patted the large crystal forehead. "Good boy, Oscar!"
The deer chose that exact moment to jolt upright and bolt for freedom.
"Genjutsu," Naruto said casually, and Kakashi, without even looking up from his book, flicked a single hand seal. The deer froze mid-step, eyes going glassy as if caught in invisible threads.
Sakura blinked, still trying to process what she'd just seen. "Since when can that little guy do that?"
"Since the Wave mission," Naruto replied proudly, showing off Oscar. "You should really keep up, Sakura."
"No thanks, being your teammate already shortens my lifespan enough."
Naruto smirked. "Then let's get to work."
Sasuke, meanwhile, was eyeing everything warily. "Work? What kind of plan involves a cat, a deer, a vial of poison, and a rat?"
"Is this area secure?" Naruto asked, ignoring him.
Kakashi sighed and formed a brief string of seals. Heat shimmered through the air, folding and twisting into a mirage that blanketed the clearing. To anyone outside, the place would just look like an empty patch of road distorted by summer heat.
"There. A barrier," Kakashi said. "No one's seeing whatever insanity you're about to do."
Naruto grinned and slipped on a dark, weathered ring engraved with the mark of a dragon. "Good. Because you're about to see something straight out of Lordran."
"Hn."
Sakura clapped her hands together nervously. "Woo. This should be… safe."
"Relax," Naruto said, flexing his fingers. "Don't freak out."
He formed a single seal with one hand. The air around him shimmered. It thrummed like a distant gong underwater, resonating through bone and skin alike. Then, before their eyes, Naruto's body shifted. His skin rippled as if turning translucent, light bleeding from every pore. Strands of flesh and light peeled away, not vanishing but reforming beside him.
It wasn't the clean puff of a shadow clone; rather, it was like watching a human perform plant fission. The light coalesced into shape, knitting muscle, skin, and hair until another Naruto stood beside the first.
Sakura's face went crimson as she spun around, hands over her eyes. "Put some clothes on that thing!"
Even Kakashi was stunned into silence, his anger melting away into caution. "What… the hell did I just see?"
Sasuke's jaw tensed. "That's not a shadow clone."
"Oh, that? Yeah, that's my Soul Clone."
"…Your what?"
"My Soul Clone," Naruto repeated proudly. "Basically, I split a tiny fragment of my soul and shaped it into a physical body."
There was a long silence.
"That's…"
"Insane," Sakura finished for Sasuke.
"That's practically a forbidden jutsu," Kakashi cut in sharply, standing now, his tone serious. "Naruto, you can't just divide your soul! How are you even—"
"With magic."
Sakura rounded on him instantly, grabbing him by the collar. "No. Nope. Absolutely not. You don't get to just say magic! Explain!"
Naruto blinked. "No, seriously... it is magic. Soul magic. This ring amplifies the strength of my spells, and it seems to make all my jutsu stronger."
The clearing fell silent again. Even Sasuke looked rattled by the scale of what he was hearing. So despite being ridiculously strong as it is, Naruto could upgrade his impressive jutsu arsenal into something else with that ring.
"So why use something like that now?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto shrugged. "For the Tora plan, and..." he paused, the grin fading into a more thoughtful look, "...a little experiment."
"Experiment?!"
Naruto gestured to his Soul Clone. "Watch."
The clone walked toward the still-genjutsued deer. It crouched beside it, raised a single finger, and without hesitation, pressed that finger into the deer's skull. The sound was like wet parchment tearing. The finger slipped in effortlessly, as though the flesh had become intangible. The deer gave a faint twitch, then went completely limp.
A faint pinkish-purple glow pulsed from the clone's Evil Eye. Slowly, the deer's flesh began to shrink and tighten around its bones, the skin crackling and sinking in as if the air had been sucked out of it. The fur dulled, the muscles shriveled, and in seconds it was nothing more than a dry, shrunken skeleton wrapped in a paper-thin layer of hide.
The clone stood up shakily, its breathing labored. It swayed once and coughed up a thick splatter of blood that hit the ground.
"So?"
Sasuke's Sharingan was spinning faster and faster. "Your clone's chakra network has been contaminated by the deer's chakra."
"Yeah... I got the chakra disease debuff," the clone replied.
[ You have been inflicted by the status: Residual Chakra Toxicity ]
The clone's skin was already paling, veins darkening beneath the surface. Its chakra flickered like a candle guttering in the wind, each pulse weaker than the last. The once-steady hum of its life force sounded strained and uneven.
Sakura asked, "Oh my god, why are you doing this to him?"
Naruto didn't panic. Instead, he reached into his inventory with mechanical calm and tossed a folded cloth at the clone. "I'm using this opportunity to experiment. Also, put these on. You are not dying while being butt naked."
"You're oddly calm for someone watching his own face melt," Sasuke noted.
"Comes with experience," Naruto said, pretending to check his nails.
"That's not comforting, Naruto. What exactly are you doing?" Kakashi said as his anger was completely forgotten by now.
Naruto smiled, the kind of smile that usually made his teacher's stomach twist. "Simple. I'm going to see if I can heal the chakra disease, just in case."
"You are aware that this is something medical-nin barely understand, right?"
"Then it's a good learning opportunity," Naruto replied. "Here. Clone, drink this."
He tossed an Estus Flask. The clone caught it, sniffed it, and then drank in one go. The glow from within briefly illuminated its throat as golden light spread through its veins. For a brief moment, it looked healthier, the flickering chakra stabilizing. Then it started shaking again.
"Still dying," the clone said cheerfully, coughing blood onto the ground.
"Could you not sound so happy about it?"
Naruto ignored his pink-haired friend, rubbing his chin. "Okay, that's not it. Try a Heal miracle."
His palm held the Thorolund Talisman, glowing with holy light, brushing over the clone. The light sank in and steadied the breathing, but the dark veins didn't fade.
"Great Heal, then," Naruto said, his tone all business. The second, stronger light filled the field like sunlight through fog. For a moment, the clone stood still, eyes closed. When the glow faded, it was still sick.
"Holy crap," Naruto breathed, blinking sweat from his eyes. "Sensei, you weren't kidding when you said this disease is nasty."
"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually experiment on yourself to research this further."
"Sensei, I have my Evil Eye. If something goes wrong, I can absorb vitality and heal myself. It's better than staying ignorant. Knowledge comes with risks, right?"
"That's a dangerous kind of wisdom, Naruto," Kakashi said quietly. "You're not wrong, but the line between learning and self-destruction is thinner than you think."
"You're the one who taught me that being a shinobi means walking dangerous lines. I'm just… walking mine a little differently."
Kakashi's visible eye softened for a moment, then dimmed. Outwardly, he looked as unbothered as ever, but inside, his stomach was sinking. There was something deeply unsettling about how steady Naruto sounded, how at peace he was with things that should have made anyone else hesitate.
He'd wanted to help the boy grow, to see him mature and to learn to think before he leapt. But now, watching him calmly discuss splitting his own soul, manipulating life and chakra as if they were puzzle pieces, Kakashi realized Naruto had matured in a way he hadn't expected or wanted.
Naruto's stubbornness wasn't the childish defiance he'd once shown. It had evolved into an absolute, immovable conviction in his own moral compass. He didn't question if something should be done; only how to make it work.
And that terrified Kakashi more than he cared to admit.
This wasn't just youthful recklessness. This was a boy who would burn himself to light the path forward, smiling as he did it because he truly believed it was right.
Kakashi's hand tightened slightly around his book, though his expression remained neutral. He forced himself to breathe evenly as he watched Naruto jot down notes.
He's too comfortable with this, Kakashi thought grimly. Too used to sacrificing pieces of himself in the name of progress.
And the worst part wasn't that Naruto reminded him of Orochimaru. It was that Naruto reminded him of someone else... someone with the same quiet resolve to do whatever it took, even if it meant walking alone into darkness for their ideals.
Sakumo.
Kakashi swallowed hard, pushing the thought away.
"Okay, new test." Naruto pulled out a bundle of purple moss and its thicker variant. "These things work on all kinds of toxins in Lordran. Give them a try."
The clone shoved a clump in its mouth and chewed. It grimaced, face scrunching. "They taste worse than usual."
"Results?"
"Still dying."
Naruto wrote a note in his small leather book, murmuring as he wrote. "Observation: purple moss ineffective. Blossom variant also ineffective."
"Dobe?"
"You're wondering how the infection spread so fast, right?"
"That's part of it."
"Well," Naruto replied to Sasuke, "the clone only has a small fraction of my chakra. That makes its chakra network smaller and weaker. The deer's chakra was able to infect it almost instantly. It's like pouring ink into a cup of water instead of a river. And before you ask, yes, that was intentional."
"That's surprisingly logical and disturbing."
Sakura scratched her head. "So let me get this straight. You're okay with experimenting on yourself and killing a deer for science, but you draw the line at rescuing one spoiled cat?"
Naruto looked up. "I'm experimenting on a piece of me. Not someone else. And the cat isn't the problem. It's the owner."
"You mean Madam Shijimi?"
"Yeah," Naruto said. "That woman treats Tora like a doll, not a living thing. Last time we caught him, I didn't even think about it. Now I can't ignore it. The cat's trying to escape. Over and over. Maybe it deserves freedom."
"So it's guilt then."
"Nope. It's not guilt. I just do what I think is right."
Kakashi watched him for a moment, then said softly, "Sometimes those two things look the same."
Naruto didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out a small glass bottle that shimmered with holy light. "All right, one last thing. The Divine Blessing. If this doesn't work, nothing will. And I am blowing you up."
The clone sighed. "Bottoms up, I guess."
The liquid touched its tongue, and the change was immediate. Light burst from its pores, warm and golden, spilling across the clearing. Everyone shielded their eyes as the brightness built to a brilliant flare.
When it faded, the clone was standing tall, skin restored, color back, eyes clear. It flexed its hand, then laughed. "It... worked."
Sasuke's Sharingan spun as he examined it. "The deer's chakra has completely merged into your system. The foreign traces are gone."
"Integration complete," Naruto said, already scribbling in his notebook. "That means Divine Blessings can purify chakra contamination. Good to know."
"That's good to know, but can we get on with the plan already? We still don't even know what's happening."
"Oh, okay, sure," Naruto said cheerfully. He turned to Sakura. "Sakura, feed the rat the poison. And you..." he pointed at his clone, "...are going to die."
"You know, can I at least get some ramen before I die?"
"Sure," Naruto said casually, rummaging through his inventory and pulling out a cup of instant noodles. "Here, eat up."
"I still don't get what this plan is supposed to be."
Naruto replied. "Well, it's simple really. You see, similar to my soul clone, magic allows me to make my Transformation Jutsu an actual shapeshift." He handed his clone the Bellowing Dragon Crest Ring. The clone slipped it on, its body rippling and twisting like melting wax before reforming into the perfect image of Tora the cat.
Everyone froze. Then, almost simultaneously, it clicked.
Naruto's clone would shapeshift into Tora, eat the poisoned rat, and die. The team would deliver the "dead" cat back to Madam Shijimi, letting her believe the mission was over, while the real Tora would be freed somewhere safe.
"Wait, wait, wait," Sakura said, holding up her hands. "We're faking the cat's death? That's your big plan?"
"Yup. And the best part? Nobody gets hurt. Except, you know, my clone."
Sasuke said, "You're disturbingly okay with your clone dying."
"Death gets boring after the first dozen times," Naruto said. "It's fine. Besides, this clone volunteered."
"A noble death in service of eating ramen."
Kakashi sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if you come up with these plans sober."
"Yup," Naruto replied.
Sakura scratched her head. "Hold on, back up. You said your transformation is actual shapeshifting? How does that even work?"
"Honestly? I don't really know. Magic, probably."
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "Does it involve nature energy?"
"Nope."
"What are the limitations of this 'magic shapeshifting,' then?"
"I can only shapeshift into things that are roughly my size and weight."
Sakura pointed at the clone-Tora, who was maybe one-tenth his size. "That's definitely not your size or weight."
"Yeah," Naruto admitted, "but I found out that I can shapeshift into smaller things, just not bigger ones. When I shrink, my extra mass turns into chakra."
"That's highly dangerous, Naruto. If you lose that chakra, you might not get it back. You'd be cutting off part of your mass."
"Yeah, that's why I don't use shapeshifting in battle."
Sakura suggested, "Wait, what if you reversed it? You know... convert chakra into mass instead? Then you could shapeshift into something bigger."
Kakashi added, "In theory, turning chakra into matter is possible. Nature does it all the time; it's how life forms in the first place. The problem isn't if it can be done, it's how. You'd need a jutsu capable of massively expanding and compressing chakra at will, something like the Akimichi clan's Multi-Size Technique, but on a far more refined scale. Without that kind of control, the energy would just disperse before stabilizing into matter. And even then, good luck convincing the Akimichi to hand over one of their secret clan arts."
Sakura huffed. "Well, you have to admit it's a good idea in theory."
"I'm writing it down," Naruto said, already jotting notes into his battered journal. "Never know when an impossible idea might become possible."
"All right, professor. But how long does the jutsu last after... well, death?"
Naruto looked up. "Until the chakra runs out. So about a few hours."
Everyone turned to look at the clone, who was now dramatically rolling around in the grass, foaming at the mouth as it died.
"That's disturbing," Sakura said flatly.
"Effective," Naruto corrected.
Kakashi looked from the clone to Naruto, then brushed his hair back, wondering if he should do something.
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Madam Shijimi's cries echoed through the Hokage's office like the wailing of a banshee. Her voice was thick with mucus and grief, trembling so violently it bordered on feral. Her dark brown hair looked wild and frizzed as she rocked back and forth, clutching the small wooden box in her bejeweled hands.
"My baby! My sweet, precious baby!" she sobbed, snot dripping onto the lid. "Why, why would the world take you from me?"
Her rings clinked against the wood as she shook the box, wailing louder, the kind of crying that turned to hiccups and then back into screaming. The sound made even the seasoned Anbu at the door wince.
For a fleeting second, Team 7 actually felt guilty. Sakura lowered her head, Sasuke looked away, and even Kakashi sighed softly behind his mask.
But the sympathy evaporated the instant Madam Shijimi hugged the "corpse." The hug was so crushingly tight that the team swore they heard a crack of the ribs.
"Madam, please," her butler pleaded, bowing deeply. "This behavior is unbecoming of the wife of the Daimyo."
"Unbecoming? My baby is dead, and you want me to behave? You heartless, stone-faced fool!"
Naruto stepped forward before the situation spiraled any further. "Tora wouldn't want to see you like this," he said softly.
The room fell silent for a moment. Madam Shijimi turned toward him, red-eyed and furious. "What did you just say, boy?"
Naruto didn't flinch. His voice was gentle, calm, and deliberate. "I know you're angry. I know it feels like everything inside you has been ripped out. You're sad, confused, and empty all at once. That feeling of losing someone who's always been there... someone who depended on you, and it makes the world feel smaller."
Something in his tone disarmed her. Madam Shijimi blinked, tears catching in her lashes. "I… I just don't understand why. He was always running away, but... oh, why did it have to end like this?"
Naruto stepped closer, resting a comforting hand on her arm. "Sometimes, love makes us hold on too tight. But I don't think Tora ever doubted you cared for him."
She broke down again, burying her face into Naruto's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. "I tried! I really tried! I fed him, brushed him, gave him everything! Why did he keep running away from me?"
Naruto gently patted her back. "Because sometimes, madam, love doesn't mean keeping something. Sometimes, it means letting it be free."
Hiruzen, who had been silently observing from behind his desk, sighed softly. "Naruto…"
But the boy continued. "Madam Shijimi, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. And as someone from the Uzumaki clan, I have a special connection with souls."
The woman blinked at him through her tears, confused. "Souls? What do you mean, child?"
Sasuke whistled, sending a sound genjutsu to Hiruzen, who spoke up. "It's true. The Uzumaki are descended from the ones said to have met the god of death himself."
Madam Shijimi's trembling hands tightened around the box. "Then… why are you telling me this?"
"Because I can see Tora's soul," Naruto said softly, lowering his gaze. "It's still clinging to you."
"H-he's… still here?"
Naruto nodded solemnly. "Yes. But he can't move on if you keep holding on to him like this. The pain you're feeling... it's keeping him here, trapped between this world and the next."
Madam Shijimi's lower lip quivered. "But isn't that good? Doesn't that mean I still have him?"
"No, madam. It means he's suffering. Every soul needs to rest. And Tora… he's waiting for you to let him go."
Her face crumpled as she fell to her knees, clutching the box to her chest. "Then what am I supposed to do?" she whispered.
Naruto knelt beside her. "You let him go by being strong. You live your life to the fullest. You smile for him. Any pet, any friend, would want their loved one to keep living happily. Tora was happy with you, even if he sometimes ran away. But it's time for him to rest now. For both your sakes."
Madam Shijimi looked at him for a long moment before nodding slowly, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "You're right… you're right. I know just the place to bury him. A quiet little hill behind our estate. He loved napping there in the sun."
She rose to her feet, wiping her eyes, and looked to Naruto. "Would you come with me? I… want to make sure his spirit passes on peacefully."
"Of course, madam. I'll help you."
As she turned to leave with her butler's support, Naruto watched her go, a faint pang of guilt twisting in his chest. The plan had worked, but he couldn't help thinking how real her love had been.
Just because you love something doesn't always mean you're what's best for it. Naruto exhaled softly and followed her out.
As the door to the Hokage's office closed, the muffled sobs of Madam Shijimi faded down the hall. The silence that followed was heavy, until Hiruzen exhaled a long stream of smoke from his pipe and said calmly, "Naruto's ability to act has certainly improved."
Team 7 nodded in perfect unison.
"Good," Hiruzen continued. "Because one of you is going to explain to me what exactly just happened."
There was a beat of silence. Sasuke and Sakura immediately took one synchronized step backward.
Kakashi let out a long, suffering sigh behind his mask. "Well, you see, Hokage-sama…"
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An hour later, Team 7 sat in a dango shop. The atmosphere was strangely relaxed for a group that had just emotionally manipulated a Daimyo's wife. Naruto was happily munching through his third skewer, talking through a full mouth.
"And before she could actually bury Tora, I swapped out the box with a new one and reabsorbed my soul clone," Naruto explained cheerfully. "Then she started asking about Tora's soul, so I convinced her not to get another pet. Said it might make Tora jealous in the afterlife."
Sakura buried her face in her hands. "You guilt-tripped the wife of the Daimyo."
"Hey, it worked. And look on the bright side... there isn't going to be another Tora running wild through the village."
"Well," Kakashi began slowly, "the Hokage heard about your… plan. While it worked, let's just say he's not exactly thrilled. We've been summoned to his office once he's done with another meeting."
Naruto nodded casually, slurping at his drink, completely unaware of the tense atmosphere that had settled over the table.
Sakura's hands were clasped tightly in her lap, her foot tapping beneath the table. Sasuke was staring out the window, jaw clenched in that quiet, brooding way that usually meant we're screwed. Even Kakashi looked like he was trying to savor his dango as if it might be his last meal.
"So, what do we do about Tora?" Naruto gestured toward the floor, where Tora sat proudly beside Oscar and Pakkun. Without his ribbon, he looked almost like any normal housecat.
"Tora's a house cat," Naruto explained between bites. "He wouldn't last a week outside. So, I say we take care of him. Give him a home, food, maybe some space to roam. He can live free, but still safe."
"What do you mean we?" Sasuke asked flatly.
"I mean, we decide who takes the cat."
Sasuke stared at him like he'd just declared war. "What's there to decide? You came up with this entire ridiculous plan. You're the one who emotionally manipulated a noble woman. You take the cat."
"I can't," Naruto said, waving a hand dismissively. "I already have Oscar. And Oscar doesn't share his space well."
Oscar chirped in confirmation.
Sasuke inhaled slowly through his nose and turned toward Sakura. "You take it."
"My mom's allergic to cats," Sakura said immediately, shaking her head.
Sasuke's glare shifted to Kakashi.
"I'm a dog person."
"That leaves you, teme." Naruto slapped the table, grinning ear to ear. "This is perfect! Tora wants space, and you don't know how to love anything. You're a match made in heaven!"
Sasuke's eye twitched. For a moment, he genuinely considered throwing his coffee at Naruto. "Why would I ever agree to this?"
"Come on, Sasuke, don't be a baby," Naruto teased. "Just take the cat."
Sakura leaned forward. "Didn't you say before that you were thinking of getting a ninja cat summon? Maybe this is fate. Tora could be your first feline comrade."
Sasuke glanced toward Kakashi, who exhaled slowly before saying, "Hold onto it for now. I'll explain everything once Naruto and I finish speaking with the Hokage."
"Fine. But let's ask Tora who he wants to stay with." Sasuke turned toward the tabby. "Oscar, translate what I say."
"Sasuke, I don't know if you've noticed, but Oscar is a lizard. Tora is a cat. They're completely different species. He can't translate for him." Naruto even used the slow, explanatory tone adults used with toddlers.
The look Sasuke gave him could have set the dango on fire.
"Okay, no fighting," Kakashi said firmly. "Pakkun can handle the translations."
The little pug huffed. "Yeah, sure, just make the dog talk to the cat. Totally normal day." Still, he turned toward Tora and began making an impressive series of cat sounds that were halfway between a growl and a meow.
Naruto and Sakura burst out laughing, clutching their sides, while Sasuke just stared in cautious anticipation.
Pakkun paused, cocked his head, and then said dryly, "The cat says he'll stay with the duck-looking guy..." He nodded toward Sasuke. "...as long as no one tries to hug him."
Sasuke groaned and dropped his forehead onto the table with a loud thunk.
"Congrats, teme. You're officially a cat dad."
Sasuke muttered something unprintable into the tabletop.
Sakura giggled behind her hand, then straightened with a smile. "Well, since Sasuke's in such a good mood, why don't I share some more good news?"
"Good news?"
"Yeah." Sakura smiled warmly. "My birthday's coming up this Friday, and I was wondering if you guys wanted to celebrate with me."
"Hn."
"That means yes! Count me in, Sakura-chan! Do you want anything special for a gift?"
"Oh, no, no," Sakura said quickly, waving her hands. "You guys coming is enough."
"She definitely wants a gift."
"Hn."
"I can see it in your eyes, woman, you want it all. Dattebayo."
Sakura rolled her eyes and gave Naruto a playful shove, laughing. "Just make sure you come back from this alive, idiot."
"Relax, Sakura, what's the worst that could happen?"
He found out the answer ten minutes later.
When Naruto entered the Hokage's office, the air felt heavy... almost suffocating. Hiruzen sat behind his desk, pipe untouched, his usual grandfatherly calm replaced with a silence sharp enough to cut through steel. Even Oscar, perched quietly on Naruto's shoulder, didn't make a sound.
The barrier seal flickered to life around the office with a quiet hum. Hiruzen exhaled, leaning back in his chair, and spoke in a voice far too calm for comfort. "Do you know why I've called you here, Naruto?"
Naruto blinked, trying to read the old man's expression. "Uh… you want to talk about my meeting with Danzo?"
Nothing. Not even a twitch.
"Right. Then maybe about my new magic eye?" Naruto said, opening his eye of evil dramatically. "Ta-da."
Still nothing.
"Okay, fine," Naruto said, scratching his cheek nervously. "Maybe it's about the new magic I picked up in Lordran?"
Hiruzen finally sighed, lowering his head into one hand before turning his gaze toward Kakashi, who stood quietly to the side. "Tell me, Kakashi… what exactly were you thinking letting this plan go as far as it did?"
Kakashi bowed his head immediately. "I take full responsibility, Lord Third. I should've intervened before it escalated. My apologies."
"Oi, hold on, old man... it's not Kakashi-sensei's fault. He didn't even know what I was doing until it was too late."
"Then whose fault is it, Naruto?"
Naruto hesitated before lowering his head. "Mine."
"And what do you expect me to do about it?"
"I don't know. I mean, everything worked out, didn't it? No one got hurt, Madame's convinced, and Tora's fine. So why are you so mad?"
The Third Hokage's hands tightened around his pipe. "So the ends justify the means. Is that it?"
"What? That's not what I—"
"That's the same excuse Danzo gave," Hiruzen interrupted. "When he revealed your status as the jinchūriki, do you remember what he told me? He claimed it was for the good of Konoha. That making you a scapegoat would unite the village through shared grief and hate and that he would protect you and mold you into the perfect shinobi for Konoha. Does that sound familiar to you?"
Naruto's jaw clenched, his voice rising. "Come on, you can't compare me to that bastard. I was trying to help!"
"To the Hokage's eyes," Hiruzen said quietly, "it looks the same. You created a situation that never needed to exist, manipulated the outcome to fit your ideals, and called it righteousness."
Naruto took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. "Fine. Then what's my punishment?"
Hiruzen's eyes softened slightly; not with kindness, but with the weary disappointment of a man who had seen this pattern too many times. "What's the point of punishing you?" he said. "You don't listen. You rush ahead, convinced you know best, and only afterward do you justify it because the results seem good enough. It's not justice, Naruto. It's recklessness wrapped in idealism."
The silence was thick.
Hiruzen leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk. "Do you even understand what it means to take responsibility for your choices? The Wave Mission which you turned from a potential A-rank into an S-rank through sheer disobedience. You're lucky everyone came back alive. And now this? A civilian wife of the Fire Daimyō, publicly and emotionally distraught over a mission you took upon yourself to 'fix.' Do you know what kind of political fire that could have started?"
"So I should've just looked away? Let things stay wrong because it's convenient?"
"A childish justification," Hiruzen said sharply. "There was no evil here, Naruto. Just a spoiled woman and her pampered cat. You didn't expose corruption or save a life... you created chaos over sentiment. You're not a hero every time you act. Sometimes… you're just a boy who doesn't understand the weight of his actions."
Naruto's fists tightened, but he said nothing.
The old Hokage exhaled slowly, his voice quieter now. "You remind me of your father. Too much heart for your own good. But Minato understood something you don't yet, that a Hokage must know when to act… and when not to."
Oscar chirped softly, an almost pleading sound. But Naruto's eyes were already stormy, his fists clenched at his sides.
"Oh please," he snapped, the words slipping free before reason could stop him. "You're the last person who should be talking about knowing how to act."
The air in the Hokage's office froze.
Kakashi closed his visible eye, muttering under his breath, Oh, this is about to go south fast.
"So that's how you see it," Hiruzen said. "Tell me then, Naruto... when you decided to 'act,' when you decided your way was better than everyone else's... would you have risked your teammates' lives for it? Would you sacrifice Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, all for your sense of righteousness?"
Naruto forced himself to meet Hiruzen's gaze.
"That's not what I—"
"It's exactly what you're doing," Hiruzen cut him off. "You act without restraint. You dive headfirst into danger without a plan, without thinking of what it costs others to clean up after you. You've been lucky... blessed... that no one has died because of your choices. But luck isn't a lesson, Naruto. And one day, when it runs out, you'll find your so-called 'righteousness' standing over the graves of your friends."
Naruto's face twisted, his nails biting into his palms. For a heartbeat, he stayed quiet, but then the anger boiled over.
"And how many graves already exist because you didn't act? How many people died because you were too blind to see what was happening right under your nose? Because you let monsters like Danzo rot this village from the inside while pretending you were protecting it?"
That landed like a kunai between them.
"You don't understand the burden of command yet," Hiruzen said. "One day, when the decisions you make mean life or death for the people you love, you'll see that 'acting' is the easy part. Living with the consequences is what breaks you."
Naruto's jaw set, trembling with words he couldn't say because deep down, he knew Hiruzen wasn't entirely wrong. But the anger burned hotter than reason.
"Then maybe it's time for your generation to stop telling us how we should live," he said, turning toward the door. "Because all your wisdom ever did was leave the next generation cleaning up the mess."
The barrier shimmered faintly, blocking his path. Naruto didn't turn. "Move it or I am blasting a hole through this building."
For a long moment, Hiruzen said nothing. Then, with a flick of his fingers, the barrier faded.
Naruto opened the door and stepped out, the sound of it slamming behind him echoing through the office like a thunderclap.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
"Well… I think that went beautifully," Kakashi said dryly. "Especially considering this all started because of a pampered pet of the Fire Daimyō's wife."
Hiruzen didn't answer. He just stared at the empty doorway, the pipe still resting between his fingers. His expression wasn't anger anymore. It was sadness.
Kakashi sighed, glancing toward the hall where Naruto's footsteps faded. "I'll go talk to him."
"Let him cool down first," Hiruzen murmured. "He's young. His heart is right, even if his method isn't. But if he doesn't learn soon… that heart will destroy him."
Kakashi paused in the doorway, his voice low. "Maybe. But it's also saved an entire nation of people from tyranny."
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A few minutes later, Kakashi walked out of the Hokage's office, the echo of Hiruzen's words still lingering in his head. The air outside felt thick, like the whole village had been listening in on the argument that had taken place inside.
He didn't get far before something cold and faintly trembling caught his wrist. Instinctively, he turned, half-ready for an attack, only to pause when he recognized the chakra signature.
"…Naruto," Kakashi said softly. "Invisible again, huh?"
There was no answer... only the sound of uneven breathing and a hesitant tug.
Kakashi didn't resist. He let the boy lead him through the side alleys and rooftops of Konoha, the faint shimmer of the invisibility spell flickering in and out of sight. They passed the familiar glow of lanterns and the chatter of the marketplace until they reached Naruto's apartment.
As they stepped past the door, the hidden body spell shimmered away, revealing Naruto's tear-streaked face. His hair stuck to his forehead, and his eyes were red and glassy. Oscar was wrapped tight around his shoulders, trilling softly, nuzzling his cheek like a worried pet trying to soothe its master.
Naruto didn't say anything... he just slumped down on the steps, shoulders heavy.
Kakashi wordlessly sat beside him. For a long moment, they just listened to the wind rustling through the trees.
Finally, Kakashi spoke. "You know," he said gently, "you're not the first person to walk out of that office angry."
"Yeah, well… probably the first one to get compared to Danzo."
Kakashi gave a quiet, humorless chuckle. "You'd be surprised."
Naruto didn't laugh. He just pulled his knees closer. "He doesn't get it. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I just wanted to do the right thing."
Kakashi didn't reply right away. Instead, he rested a gloved hand on Naruto's shoulder. The boy stiffened at first, then relaxed, leaning ever so slightly against him.
For a long time, neither of them spoke.
"You know… when I was your age, I used to think like that too. That the only way to protect the people I cared about was to handle everything myself."
Naruto looked up, blinking.
"I was part of a team once," Kakashi began. "Three genin. One sensei. We weren't extraordinary... at least, I didn't think so. Everyone used to call me the genius, said I was destined for greatness."
He gave a soft, bitter laugh under his breath. "And I believed it. Thought I was smarter, faster, better than everyone else. That if I just worked harder, trained longer... I could handle everything myself. Teamwork felt… unnecessary. A burden, even. I thought caring about others would slow me down."
His voice dropped lower, distant, almost hollow. "Then one day, my teammate died. And the next day, another did. And before I knew it, I was standing alone... with all that so-called genius, and nothing to show for it but regret."
Kakashi smiled faintly beneath his mask. "Please understand this... every time you act, there's a cost. You can't save everyone. You can't fix everything. The best you can do is know what you're willing to lose for what you believe in."
"…I thought doing something was better than doing nothing."
"It is," Kakashi said softly. "But doing something without thinking can cost more than you're ready to pay."
Naruto wiped his eyes on his sleeve, his voice breaking a little. "Then how do I know what's right?"
"You don't. That's the truth, Naruto. You don't know. You just live with the weight of your choices, and you learn from them. That's what responsibility really means."
Kakashi turned to the boy beside him, his voice quieting to almost a whisper. "Remember what you told me in the Wave? About taking responsibility for your actions?"
Naruto nodded weakly.
"Well," Kakashi said, giving his shoulder a light squeeze, "sometimes, responsibility isn't about saving others. It's about looking inward. Asking yourself why you act and if you can live with the answer."
Naruto went silent, staring at the ground. Then he whispered, "You think… I can figure that out?"
"I think you already started," Kakashi said, standing and brushing the dust off his flak jacket. "Maybe not here. Maybe not now. But somewhere... maybe even in that weird Lordran of yours... you'll find your answer."
Naruto gave a small nod, still staring ahead, lost in thought.
Kakashi turned to leave, pausing at the gate. "Just don't forget," he said softly, "you don't have to carry it all alone. Even when you think you do."
Naruto didn't answer. He just sat there, Oscar curling tighter around his neck, watching the last rays of sunlight fade into the horizon.
And for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel angry... just quiet. Because somewhere deep inside, Kakashi's words had settled like a seed... one that would only bloom when Naruto was ready to face himself again.
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Author Note: Q & A Time
1 - Why did you give such importance to Tora?
Alright, before I answer this, I should probably explain how this whole Tora the Cat subplot even came to be.
So originally, I stumbled across a Reddit comment joking about how funny it would be if Naruto ended up saving Tora from her supposedly abusive owner, Madam Shijimi. You know, that classic fanon trope which is the idea that Tora keeps running away because Madam Shijimi mistreats her. It's a fun concept that's been floating around fan circles for years.
But if we look at canon realistically, there's nothing that actually confirms Madam Shijimi was abusive. She appears for like, what, three pages? It's literally a single D-rank mission in the manga, and that's it. There's no real evidence that it's a recurring mission or that Tora keeps escaping over and over again. It's just fanon layered on top of fanon.
Still… I couldn't help but love the potential of it. The imagery of Dark Souls Naruto getting worked up over a cat's well-being, dragging Team 7 into some overblown rescue operation was hilarious. It shows his moral extremes, that same recklessness that makes him Naruto, but filtered through his DS mentality of righteousness and obsession with doing what he thinks is right.
It also gave me a chance to explore the dynamic between him and Kakashi and Hiruzen while grounding it all in something small and funny, like a cat. Sometimes, small actions reveal bigger truths about a character.
And yes, giving Sasuke a cat (Tora) afterward was absolutely intentional. You've got this brooding avenger walking around with a cat that probably ignores him half the time. But it also gives me an excuse to introduce cat summons for Sasuke later on, which I think would be a really fun contrast to the traditional snake or hawk summons.
Let me know what you think, and more importantly, how do you imagine DS Sasuke using his cat summons? Personally, I'm leaning toward something practical rather than flashy. I don't see Sasuke as the type to use them for big summoning battles like Naruto does with toads. Instead, I think he'd use them in a way that fits his personality.
Maybe the cat summons serve as reconnaissance units, slipping through shadows to gather intelligence, or as silent assassins that use chakra suppression and illusionary techniques to take down targets before they even realize what's happening. Imagine black-furred summons that blend into the night, each one capable of channeling lightning chakra through their claws.
Maybe Naruto captured the big cats of Lordran for Sasuke?
But I'd love to hear your ideas on this.
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2 - What is the Chakra Absorption Disease?
So, this concept came to me while I was trying to figure out how Naruto's Evil Eye would logically work within the Naruto universe. In Dark Souls, the Evil Eye (or Ring of the Evil Eye) restores health by draining HP from defeated enemies — straightforward enough. But in Naruto's world, HP isn't a simple, isolated stat; it's directly tied to chakra.
That raised an interesting question: if the Evil Eye works by absorbing life force, then in the Naruto world, wouldn't it absorb chakra instead? And if that's the case… what actually happens to someone who takes in too much of another person's chakra?
Canon gives us plenty of examples of chakra absorption: Kisame's Samehada, the Aburame clan's kikaichū, Jirōbō's absorption barrier, Yoroi Akadō's palm technique, and of course, the Zetsu variants. But the key detail is that almost all of these require a medium — a weapon, a jutsu, or a creature. No one (except god-tier beings like Madara) can just freely absorb chakra without serious risk.
That got me thinking about Orochimaru's line when he calls Yoroi's ability unholy. It's such a throwaway detail in canon, but it's also intriguing. What exactly did he mean by unholy? What if he was referring to the biological and spiritual backlash caused by taking in too much foreign chakra?
That's where the Chakra Absorption Disease came from — a kind of corruption or contamination that happens when you absorb too much of another's chakra. Each person's chakra carries their personality, emotions, and even their elemental balance. Taking in too many different types of chakra without purification would overload and damage your tenketsu system, disrupting your body's natural chakra flow. Over time, it could mutate your own chakra, cause mental instability, or even start eroding your physical form from within.
This is why certain tools and bloodlines like the Rinnegan or Samehada are able to absorb chakra safely: they act as filters. They don't just drain chakra; they process it. Normal people or even most shinobi lack that ability, which makes raw chakra absorption dangerous and, in Orochimaru's words, unholy.
Now, what does this mean for Naruto's Evil Eye?
Well, no, it's not useless. The Evil Eye still functions perfectly in Lordran, since that world uses souls as the foundation of existence instead of chakra. But in the Naruto world, things are trickier. Naruto can't freely drain chakra without risking corruption or backlash. He'll need to learn how to refine and purify the energy he absorbs — maybe through magic, fuinjutsu, or a deeper understanding of how chakra interacts with the soul.
Don't worry, I already have plans for how Naruto will eventually overcome this limitation. But I would love to know any idea you have on this.
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3 - Can you extrapolate on Hiruzen and Naruto's conflict?
So, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the argument between Hiruzen and Naruto because that scene was never just about the cat or even the mission. It's about ideology, legacy, and leadership.
Hiruzen and Naruto represent two generations of shinobi who both want to protect people, but they go about it in completely different ways. Hiruzen is the embodiment of the Will of Fire — a man who believes in maintaining balance, order, and protecting the village as a collective whole, even when it means making ugly choices. He's pragmatic, and at this point in his life, deeply cynical about what doing the right thing actually costs.
Naruto, on the other hand, is still idealistic but in a Dark Souls way. His ideals aren't childish; they're stubbornly human. He sees suffering and refuses to accept that the system or the greater good justifies letting it continue. To him, if he has the power to fix something, he has to act even if the world says not to. That's the heart of his character in this version: not naïve optimism, but dangerous conviction.
The conflict between them is more than just a scolding; it's a philosophical clash. Hiruzen sees Naruto as repeating the same pattern that produced men like Danzo — those who believed their moral compass alone could justify any action. Naruto sees Hiruzen as a hypocrite, a man who hides behind wisdom and bureaucracy to avoid responsibility for the pain his order allows.
This wasn't written to make either of them right or wrong. Hiruzen isn't some villain who wants to crush Naruto's will, and Naruto isn't a reckless fool who ignores consequences. They're both right and both wrong. That's what makes this scene important.
This was also a crucial moment for DS Naruto's character growth. The argument plants the seed that leadership isn't just about being right — rather, it's about understanding the weight of your actions. This is the first real step in his evolution toward becoming the Uzumaki Clan Head.
I wanted this moment to mirror the Dark Souls theme of introspection — how every choice has consequence, how conviction can both save and destroy you. Hiruzen and Naruto's conflict isn't the end of their relationship. It's the beginning of Naruto's reckoning with what doing good truly means in a broken world like Lordran, and broken in its own way, the shinobi world.
Let me know what you guys thought of the confrontation. Do you think Hiruzen was too harsh, or was it necessary for Naruto's growth?
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That's it for this Q&A!
Until next time, don't you dare go hollow, my friends.
— Adam