The Child and the Council

Chapter 5: The Child and the Council

Kakashi carried Naruto away from the Academy while the battle continued behind them.

The boy felt lighter than he should have.

Too light for someone who had fought six trained shinobi, broken two suppression formations, controlled a one-tailed cloak, and formed a Bijū Bomb powerful enough to destroy half the surrounding district.

Blood ran from Naruto’s shoulder where the metal rod had struck him. Dark bruises covered his arms, and several sealing marks still crawled faintly across his skin.

Yet even unconscious, his breathing remained steady.

A thin layer of red chakra moved beneath his wounds.

Not enough to form a cloak.

Only enough to keep his body stable.

Kakashi noticed immediately.

The Nine-Tails was healing him.

Not violently. Not instinctively.

Carefully.

Deliberately.

“Kakashi.”

An ANBU wearing a bird mask landed beside him.

“The hospital has been secured. Medical teams are waiting.”

“What about Hokote?”

“The Hokage has ordered him captured alive.”

A violent explosion shook the rooftops behind them.

Kakashi glanced back.

A black barrier surrounded the Academy courtyard. Hiruzen’s staff crashed through one side while ANBU units sealed every possible escape route.

Hokote stood at the center of the battlefield.

His six subordinates were already injured, but their leader had not yet been touched.

“His sealing techniques are unfamiliar,” Bird continued. “Three operatives lost access to their chakra after making physical contact.”

“Then don’t touch him.”

Bird looked toward Naruto.

“And the boy?”

Kakashi’s grip tightened slightly.

“He protected the Academy until we arrived.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed.

“He is nine years old, wounded, and unconscious. That is all the hospital needs to know.”

Bird remained silent.

Kakashi disappeared across the rooftops before the ANBU could ask another question.

⸻

Naruto woke inside darkness.

For one terrifying second, he thought the suppression formation was still active.

He could not feel the hospital bed beneath him. He could not hear the medic moving outside his room.

He could not hear Kurama.

Naruto sat up inside the mindscape.

“Kurama?”

The vast chamber remained silent.

Water rippled around his bare feet.

The gate stood ahead, but no enormous figure waited behind it.

Naruto ran forward.

“Kurama!”

Something moved within the darkness.

Two red eyes opened.

Kurama lay at the back of the cage, his head resting upon his paws.

“You are loud even while unconscious.”

Naruto stopped.

His shoulders dropped.

“You’re here.”

“Where else would I be?”

“I couldn’t hear you.”

“The suppression seals damaged the connection between our chakra networks. It is repairing itself.”

Naruto approached the bars.

Kurama’s fur appeared darker than usual. Several black marks clung to one of his forelegs like chains made from ink.

Naruto pointed at them.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing.”

“That doesn’t look like nothing.”

“The formation affected me more directly than it affected you.”

Naruto’s expression changed.

“You’re hurt.”

“I have experienced worse.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

Kurama raised his head.

Naruto placed both hands against the gate.

“Did I do that by using too much chakra?”

“No.”

“Then Hokote did?”

“The seals were designed to separate a jinchūriki from the tailed beast within him. They attempted to close the pathway between us.”

Naruto stared at the marks.

“Can they do it permanently?”

Kurama did not answer immediately.

Naruto’s fingers tightened around the bars.

“Kurama.”

“Not with those seals.”

“Those seals?”

“The man called Hokote possessed knowledge he should not have.”

Kurama rose and walked closer. The black markings restricted one leg, but they cracked each time his chakra pressed against them.

“He knew how to suppress my chakra without disrupting yours. He knew where your seal was weakest. More importantly, he knew that we could communicate.”

“He said they wanted proof that the container was ready.”

“Yes.”

“What does that mean?”

“I do not know.”

Naruto looked down at the water.

“We should have captured him.”

“You were moments away from being captured yourself.”

“I could’ve beaten him if Kakashi hadn’t stopped the Bijū Bomb.”

“No.”

Naruto looked up sharply.

Kurama’s eyes narrowed.

“You could have destroyed the Academy. You could have killed Hokote’s subordinates. You could perhaps have wounded Hokote.”

His voice became heavier.

“But you could not have defeated him.”

Naruto remembered the pressure of Hokote’s chakra filling the courtyard.

The way he had stepped through the barrier.

The way every one of his men had immediately lowered their heads.

Naruto clenched his fist.

“Then I’m still too weak.”

“Yes.”

The answer was immediate.

Naruto waited for the insult that usually followed.

None came.

Kurama lowered his head until one enormous eye rested level with the boy.

“But you survived.”

Naruto looked at him.

“You fought opponents trained specifically to capture someone like you. You protected the Academy, disrupted their mission, and delayed them until reinforcements arrived.”

Kurama’s tails shifted behind him.

“You also dismantled the Bijū Bomb when ordered.”

“That part was easy.”

Kurama’s gaze hardened.

“It was not.”

Naruto fell silent.

“Creating power requires force,” Kurama continued. “Releasing power requires intent. But stopping it after committing to both requires control.”

Naruto slowly smiled.

“So I did good?”

“You behaved recklessly, ignored several direct orders, entered a battle alone, and nearly allowed yourself to be captured.”

The smile disappeared.

“Oh.”

Kurama pushed the rubber ball between the bars.

It stopped against Naruto’s foot.

“But you did well.”

Naruto stared at the ball.

Then at Kurama.

The fox looked away.

Naruto picked up the ball and held it tightly against his chest.

“Say it again.”

“No.”

“Come on! You’ve only said it once!”

“You heard me.”

“I might’ve still been unconscious.”

“You are currently unconscious.”

“Then it doesn’t count.”

Kurama turned his back.

Naruto threw the ball.

It bounced against Kurama’s shoulder.

One of the fox’s tails returned it.

Naruto caught it, grinning.

Then he remembered the hospital.

His smile faded.

“They know now.”

Kurama did not respond.

“They saw the cloak. They saw the Bijū Bomb. Kakashi heard me say your name.”

“Yes.”

“What will they do?”

Kurama looked toward the distant darkness beyond the mindscape.

“What humans always do when they encounter something they cannot control.”

Naruto’s hand closed around the ball.

“They’ll be afraid.”

“They already were.”

⸻

In a chamber beneath the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen stood before a reinforced glass wall.

Hokote sat on the opposite side.

Sealing chains bound his wrists, ankles, chest, and neck. Four ANBU guarded the room, while an entire second unit waited beyond the door.

His cracked mask had been removed.

The man beneath it appeared older than Kakashi had expected—perhaps fifty, with pale gray eyes and sealing symbols burned into both cheeks.

Hokote showed no concern.

Three interrogation specialists had already attempted to enter his mind.

The first collapsed immediately.

The second forgot his own name for six minutes.

The third discovered a seal inside Hokote’s memories that destroyed everything it touched.

Now no one approached him.

Hiruzen placed one hand upon the glass.

“Who sent you?”

Hokote smiled.

“You already asked.”

“And you did not answer.”

“You call yourself the Professor. Surely you can construct a theory.”

“We identified no village markings, no recognizable equipment, and no records matching your chakra.”

“Then perhaps your records are incomplete.”

“You knew Konoha’s patrol routes.”

“So do many people.”

“You knew the location of the Academy’s jinchūriki records.”

“Those records were never our objective.”

Hiruzen’s eyes sharpened.

“Then why attack the Academy?”

“To measure the child.”

Silence settled over the chamber.

Kakashi stood in the shadows behind the Hokage.

Hokote’s smile widened slightly.

“You believed no one had noticed?”

“Noticed what?”

“The Nine-Tails no longer fights against its container.”

Kakashi’s hand tightened at his side.

Hokote leaned as far forward as the chains allowed.

“You watched the child for years. You saw his wounds heal. You saw his chakra fluctuate. Yet not one of you realized the creature inside him had begun teaching him.”

“What do you know about their relationship?” Hiruzen asked.

“Only what tonight confirmed.”

Hokote looked directly toward Kakashi’s position in the shadows.

“The boy trusts it.”

Kakashi stepped forward.

“Him.”

Hokote’s eyes moved toward him.

“What?”

“The boy calls him Kurama.”

For the first time since his capture, Hokote’s smile vanished.

The reaction lasted less than a second.

But Hiruzen saw it.

Kakashi saw it too.

“You recognize the name,” Hiruzen said.

Hokote leaned back.

“You are asking the wrong questions.”

“Then provide the correct one.”

The prisoner’s pale eyes returned to Hiruzen.

“You should ask why the Nine-Tails chose to trust the son of the man who imprisoned it.”

The room became completely still.

Kakashi’s chakra changed.

Hokote noticed.

“So that part remains secret,” he said quietly. “Even from the child.”

Hiruzen’s expression turned cold.

“If you speak of Naruto’s parentage again, this conversation will become considerably less comfortable.”

Hokote laughed.

“You still believe secrecy protects him.”

“Remove him,” Hiruzen ordered.

The ANBU guards stepped forward.

Hokote did not resist as they pulled him upright.

Before leaving, he looked over his shoulder.

“The world feared the Nine-Tails when it hated humanity.”

His eyes shifted toward the ceiling, as though he could see Naruto sleeping several floors above them.

“You should be far more afraid now that it has found one human worth protecting.”

The door closed behind him.

Hiruzen remained in front of the glass.

Kakashi waited.

Finally, the Hokage spoke.

“You assessed the technique?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“It was a Bijū Bomb.”

“At what strength?”

“I cannot determine an exact measurement. The sphere was small, but the compression was extremely dense.”

“The boy claimed forty percent.”

Kakashi looked at Hiruzen.

“He told you?”

“While drifting in and out of consciousness. He repeatedly warned the medics not to touch his stomach. Then he told someone named Kurama that they had stayed beneath forty percent.”

Hiruzen turned away from the glass.

“Could it have destroyed the Academy?”

“Yes.”

“The district?”

“Possibly.”

“And you believe Naruto could control it?”

“I watched him dismantle it.”

“That was not my question.”

Kakashi remembered Naruto’s empty palm.

The chakra had not exploded or leaked outward. It had separated into two streams—one returning into the seal and one dispersing through Naruto’s own network.

“I believe they could control it together.”

Hiruzen’s face seemed to age.

“That answer will terrify the council.”

“The council was terrified of Naruto before he could walk.”

“And now they possess evidence supporting their fear.”

“No,” Kakashi said. “They possess evidence that he protected the village.”

Hiruzen studied him.

“You sound certain.”

“I inspected the battlefield. Naruto sent a clone to warn you before engaging. He interrupted the barrier. He moved the fighting away from the sleeping district whenever possible. Most of the damage came from the attackers.”

“He still entered a battle without authorization.”

“He is nine.”

“That makes the decision worse, not better.”

“It makes our failure worse.”

Hiruzen became silent.

Kakashi looked toward the door.

“A nine-year-old Academy student detected seven intruders before the barrier team, the patrol division, or ANBU. He fought them alone because no one came.”

“You believe we failed him.”

“I believe this village has been failing him for nine years.”

⸻

The council assembled before sunrise.

Homura and Koharu sat on either side of Hiruzen. Several senior jōnin stood along the chamber walls.

Danzō remained near the darkest corner.

Kakashi hated that he had been invited.

“The situation is simple,” Danzō said. “The jinchūriki has developed an unauthorized relationship with the Nine-Tails.”

“Naruto is not military equipment,” Hiruzen replied.

“He is Konoha’s jinchūriki. His abilities concern the security of the entire village.”

“He used those abilities to protect the village.”

“This time.”

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed.

Danzō continued.

“The Nine-Tails attacked Konoha nine years ago. Now it can communicate with its host and provide chakra without disrupting his consciousness. We cannot assume its intentions have changed.”

“It saved Naruto’s life before tonight,” Hiruzen said.

“According to the child.”

“According to the medical evidence. The chakra inside his wounds responds protectively.”

Koharu folded her hands.

“That may simply be self-preservation. If Naruto dies, the Nine-Tails temporarily dies with him.”

“Then why train the boy to survive without its chakra?” Kakashi asked.

Several council members looked toward him.

Danzō’s gaze became colder.

“You are here to report, not speculate.”

“I am reporting. Naruto fought without the cloak until the suppression formations threatened to capture him. His movements, clone coordination, and chakra control were trained independently of the Nine-Tails’ power.”

Homura looked toward Hiruzen.

“How long has this continued?”

“We do not know.”

“That alone is unacceptable,” Danzō said. “The child concealed a matter of village security.”

“The child concealed his only friend,” Kakashi replied.

No one spoke.

Danzō slowly turned toward him.

“You presume to understand the Nine-Tails?”

“No. I understand why a lonely child might hide the one person who speaks to him.”

Hiruzen closed his eyes briefly.

The words struck harder than Kakashi intended.

Or perhaps exactly as hard.

Danzō stepped toward the center of the chamber.

“The seal must be reinforced. Access to the Nine-Tails’ chakra should be blocked until the boy can be placed under controlled supervision.”

Kakashi’s chakra sharpened.

“If you alter that seal without Naruto and Kurama’s agreement, you prove Hokote right.”

Danzō paused.

“What did the prisoner say?”

“That we should fear the fox because he has found someone worth protecting.”

A low murmur spread through the chamber.

Danzō did not appear disturbed.

“Then separating them is even more necessary.”

“No,” Hiruzen said.

The room fell silent.

The Third Hokage opened his eyes.

“We will not alter Minato’s seal.”

Danzō’s cane struck the floor.

“You would risk the village based upon the emotions of a child?”

“I will not respond to an alliance by committing betrayal.”

“It is not an alliance. It is manipulation.”

“Then we will determine that by observing them—not by attacking them.”

Hiruzen looked toward Kakashi.

“You will conduct the assessment.”

Kakashi’s brow lifted beneath his mask.

“Me?”

“You interrupted the technique. Naruto allowed you to touch him while he held enough power to kill everyone in that courtyard.”

“He was exhausted.”

“He still listened.”

Danzō’s expression darkened.

“And if Hatake determines the Nine-Tails is manipulating him?”

Hiruzen’s gaze remained fixed upon Kakashi.

“Then we will act.”

“And until then?”

“Naruto returns to his life.”

Danzō laughed without humor.

“You believe his life can return to what it was?”

Hiruzen did not answer.

They all knew it could not.

⸻

Naruto opened his eyes to a white ceiling.

Sunlight passed through the hospital curtains.

His entire body hurt.

He tried to sit up, but a hand pressed gently against his shoulder.

“Don’t.”

Naruto turned.

Kakashi sat beside the window, still wearing his ANBU uniform and mask.

“You.”

“Me.”

“You grabbed my arm.”

“You were holding a Bijū Bomb inside an Academy.”

“I was aiming outside.”

“That is not as comforting as you think.”

Naruto examined the room.

Two ANBU stood outside the door. He could sense three more on the roof and another chakra signature below the window.

His stomach tightened.

“Am I under arrest?”

“No.”

“Then why are there six ANBU watching me?”

Kakashi looked mildly impressed.

“You can sense all six?”

Naruto realized his mistake.

“Kurama can.”

Kakashi leaned back.

Naruto waited for fear.

It did not appear.

“Is he awake?” Kakashi asked.

Naruto frowned.

“Why?”

“I would prefer not to speak about him as though he cannot hear us.”

Inside the mindscape, Kurama opened one eye.

Naruto stared at Kakashi.

No adult had ever considered that before.

“He’s listening.”

“Good.”

Kakashi placed a small notebook on the table.

Naruto immediately became suspicious.

“What’s that?”

“My assessment.”

“Of me?”

“Of both of you.”

Red chakra briefly flickered across Naruto’s fingertips.

The ANBU outside shifted.

Kakashi did not move.

“What are you going to do to Kurama?” Naruto asked.

“Nothing.”

“Are you going to change the seal?”

“No.”

“Separate us?”

“No.”

“You answered too fast.”

“They asked the same questions downstairs.”

Naruto became still.

“And?”

“I gave them the same answers.”

Inside the mindscape, Kurama watched through Naruto’s eyes.

Kakashi rested one arm upon the chair.

“The council is afraid of what happened.”

Naruto looked down.

“So Kurama was right.”

“Yes.”

Naruto had not expected honesty.

Kakashi continued.

“They are afraid you can communicate with him. They are afraid you can use his chakra. They are especially afraid because you remained conscious.”

“Are you afraid?”

Kakashi considered the question.

“Yes.”

Naruto’s head snapped up.

“But not because you spoke to him,” Kakashi added. “I am afraid because you entered a battle alone. I am afraid because seven intruders reached the Academy without being detected. And I am afraid because a nine-year-old believed no adult would arrive in time to help him.”

Naruto did not know how to respond.

Kakashi leaned forward.

“Hokote’s group knew about you. They possessed seals designed specifically for jinchūriki. We need to understand what you can do so we can prepare for another attack.”

“So you want our techniques.”

“I want your cooperation.”

“And if we say no?”

Kakashi glanced toward Naruto’s stomach.

“Then I write that you refused.”

Nothing else.

No threat.

No order.

Naruto closed his eyes.

Inside the mindscape, he stood before Kurama.

“What do you think?”

“He is dangerous.”

“He saved us.”

“He stopped you from destroying the Academy.”

“That counts.”

Kurama studied Kakashi through Naruto’s senses.

The silver-haired shinobi’s chakra remained calm. But beneath it, Kurama could feel guilt—old, deep, and directed toward Naruto.

“He knows something,” Kurama said.

“About Hokote?”

“About you.”

Naruto opened his eyes.

Before he could question Kakashi, the hospital door opened.

Hiruzen entered alone.

The ANBU outside closed it behind him.

Naruto’s expression hardened.

“Old man.”

“Naruto.”

Hiruzen looked at the bandages covering the boy’s arms.

“I was told you would recover.”

“Kurama heals me.”

The name was deliberate.

Hiruzen noticed.

“So I have learned.”

Naruto watched him closely.

Hiruzen pulled a second chair beside the bed.

“How long have you been speaking with the Nine-Tails?”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed.

“His name is Kurama.”

Hiruzen glanced toward the seal beneath Naruto’s hospital clothes.

Then he lowered his head slightly.

“My apologies.”

Both Naruto and Kurama became still.

Hiruzen spoke again.

“How long have you been speaking with Kurama?”

Naruto looked toward Kakashi.

The masked shinobi gave no signal.

No command.

The decision remained Naruto’s.

“A little over a year.”

“And he has been training you during that time?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you hide it?”

Naruto’s answer came immediately.

“Because you would’ve tried to take him away.”

Pain crossed Hiruzen’s face.

“You believed I would do that?”

“The village hates him.”

“The village fears him.”

“They hate me too, and I didn’t even do anything.”

Hiruzen had no answer.

Naruto pulled the blanket tighter around himself.

“When everyone thought Kurama was only a monster, nobody cared that he was locked alone in the dark. When everyone thought I was useless, nobody cared that I went home alone.”

Kakashi lowered his gaze.

Naruto’s voice shook, but he continued.

“We talked to each other because neither of us had anyone else.”

Hiruzen looked older with every word.

“If you change the seal, I won’t forgive you.”

“We will not change it.”

Naruto searched his expression.

“Promise?”

Hiruzen hesitated.

Inside the mindscape, Kurama growled.

Naruto heard it too.

“If Kurama attempts to take control—” Hiruzen began.

“He won’t.”

“Naruto, I am responsible for every person in this village.”

“And I’m one of them!”

The words struck the room like a thrown kunai.

Naruto’s breathing became uneven.

A faint red shimmer appeared around his shoulders, not from anger but fear.

Kakashi rose slowly.

Hiruzen raised one hand, signaling him to remain where he was.

The Hokage looked directly at Naruto.

“You are right.”

The red chakra stopped moving.

Hiruzen placed both hands upon his knees.

“You are a citizen of Konoha. You are a child under my protection. And I should have remembered both before tonight forced me to.”

Naruto stared at him.

Hiruzen continued.

“I promise that no one will alter the seal or attempt to separate you from Kurama unless your lives or the village face immediate danger.”

Naruto frowned.

“That promise has too many extra words.”

“It is the most honest promise I can make.”

Inside the mindscape, Kurama’s ears moved.

“He speaks the truth,” the fox said.

Naruto slowly nodded.

“Fine.”

Hiruzen stood.

“There is one condition.”

Naruto groaned.

“There’s always a condition.”

“You will train under supervision.”

“I already have a teacher.”

“I did not say Kurama would stop teaching you.”

Naruto looked up.

Hiruzen turned toward Kakashi.

“Hatake Kakashi will assess your abilities and help prepare you for enemies who possess anti-jinchūriki techniques.”

Naruto stared at the masked shinobi.

“He’s ANBU.”

“For now.”

Kakashi looked toward Hiruzen.

That was apparently new information to him as well.

Naruto crossed his arms.

“What if I don’t want him?”

Kakashi picked up his notebook.

“I also find you troublesome.”

Naruto pointed at him.

“See? He doesn’t want me either.”

“I did not say that.”

“You called me troublesome!”

“It was an observation.”

Inside the mindscape, Kurama released a low sound.

Naruto paused.

“Did you just laugh?”

“No.”

“You did!”

Kakashi and Hiruzen exchanged a glance.

Naruto’s eyes were open, yet he was clearly speaking to someone neither of them could hear.

For the first time, Hiruzen understood how natural the connection had become.

Naruto was not being haunted.

He was having an argument with his teacher.

Perhaps even his family.

Kakashi moved toward the door.

“Rest today. The assessment begins after you recover.”

Naruto looked suspicious.

“What kind of assessment?”

“Chakra control. Clones. Combat ability. Cooperation with Kurama.”

“No Bijū Bomb?”

“Especially no Bijū Bomb.”

Naruto fell back against his pillow.

“This is going to be boring.”

Kakashi opened the door.

“I heard the same complaint from your father.”

The words escaped before he could stop them.

Naruto sat up.

“My what?”

Kakashi froze.

Hiruzen’s eyes sharpened.

For one long second, no one moved.

Then Kakashi glanced over his shoulder.

“Your teacher,” he corrected. “Kurama. I assume he complains about your training.”

Naruto stared at him.

“That isn’t what you said.”

Kakashi disappeared through the doorway.

Naruto looked at Hiruzen.

The Hokage suddenly appeared extremely interested in adjusting his robes.

“Old man.”

“You should rest.”

“What did he mean?”

“We will speak later.”

“That means you’re hiding something!”

Hiruzen reached the door.

“Naruto—”

“Who is my father?”

The question stopped him.

Inside the mindscape, Kurama rose.

He could feel Hiruzen’s heartbeat change.

The old man knew.

Naruto saw the answer in his silence.

“You know,” he whispered.

Hiruzen did not turn around.

Naruto pushed aside the blanket and placed his feet on the floor despite the pain.

“You know who he is.”

The ANBU outside entered when Naruto stood, but Hiruzen raised a hand.

“Leave us.”

They obeyed.

Hiruzen closed the door once more.

Kakashi waited alone in the hallway, his back pressed against the wall.

He had faced assassins without hesitation. He had fought through war and watched friends die.

Yet he could not force himself to walk away.

Inside the room, Naruto waited.

Hiruzen looked at the nine-year-old boy—the same blue eyes, the same stubborn expression, the same refusal to lower his head when confronting someone far more powerful.

The truth had remained buried for nine years.

Hokote knew it.

Kakashi nearly revealed it.

And now Naruto understood that everyone around him had been keeping another part of his life hidden.

Hiruzen slowly returned to the chair.

“Your father was a shinobi of this village.”

Naruto’s hands trembled.

“Is he alive?”

“No.”

“My mother?”

“No.”

Naruto looked down.

Kurama moved closer to the gate but said nothing.

“What were their names?”

Hiruzen’s mouth opened.

Then the windows shattered.

A sealing symbol burned across the hospital wall.

Kakashi crashed through the door as black smoke flooded the hallway. The ANBU guards collapsed before they could draw their weapons.

Naruto felt the same cold chakra from the Academy.

Hokote.

A voice emerged from the smoke.

“You see, Lord Third?”

The mark on the wall split open like an eye.

Hokote’s pale gaze appeared within it.

“Secrets do not protect children.”

Hiruzen drew a kunai.

Kakashi positioned himself between Naruto and the seal.

Far beneath the Hokage Tower, alarms began ringing.

The prisoner’s chamber was empty.

Only broken chains remained.

Hokote’s image looked directly at Naruto.

Then he spoke the words Hiruzen had spent nine years trying to conceal.

“Ask them why the Fourth Hokage chose his own son to become the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki.”

The seal burned away.

The smoke disappeared.

Silence returned to the hospital room.

Naruto did not look at Hiruzen.

He did not look at Kakashi.

His eyes slowly lifted toward the stone face visible beyond the broken window.

The Fourth Hokage.

The hero who saved Konoha.

The man every villager admired.

Naruto’s father.

Inside the mindscape, the water began to shake.

Naruto’s voice was barely audible.

“My father did this to me?”

Kurama stood behind the bars.

For the first time since they had met, the fox possessed no answer that would not hurt him.

And somewhere beneath Konoha, Hokote walked freely through the darkness.

His mission had never been to capture Naruto.

It had been to break the trust surrounding him.

The first fracture had begun.

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