Two days had passed since Koharu disappeared. For those two days, Uzumaki Naruto had barely slept. When dawn broke, he ran. When dusk fell, he kept running. Relying on the sighting information Tsubaki brought, he tore through the back alleys of the village's north district, the warehouse district to the south, the clusters of abandoned buildings along the outer wall—he ran through every single place. But everywhere was the same. Not even a trace of human presence. Just empty space stretching endlessly. He was still running now. Naruto sprinted at full speed through an alley on the village's east side. Sweat seeped into his forehead protector. He could see the dark circles under his own eyes. He couldn't even remember when he'd last eaten Ichiraku's miso ramen. As he rounded a corner at full speed, he nearly collided head-on with the tofu shop lady. "[sarcastic]It's this kid again... How many times is it today?" "[serious]Sorry, coming through!" The old lady waved her hand in exasperation. Naruto passed right by her. He couldn't laugh. He couldn't laugh because Naruto was truly desperate. Every time Tsubaki gave him information, the next lead came just as he finished investigating the previous one. It was as if his movements were being read. But he had no time to doubt. Koharu might be scared somewhere. With that thought, his feet moved on their own. New information came. "Central warehouse district, warehouse number 3, human figure spotted." Naruto changed direction. He ran again. ——The warehouse was empty. --- Past noon, when Naruto reached the central shopping district, a crowd caught his eye. People were gathered in front of a bulletin board. Naruto stopped. A single sheet of paper was posted there. The letters were large. Readable even from a distance. *'To the residents of the Leaf Village. Uzumaki Naruto caused the Nine-Tails' power to run rampant in the Valley of the End, resulting in chakra contamination spanning a 50-kilometer radius. The seal is on the verge of collapse. With the next rampage, the Leaf Village will repeat the tragedy of twelve years ago—Sensing Stone record data attached.'* Naruto couldn't move. *(Sensing Stone...)* He understood what it meant. The Sensing Stone doesn't lie. It was a fact that the Nine-Tails' chakra leaked in the Valley of the End. So he couldn't say it was a lie. Voices reached his ears. "I knew it... I was always worried about this..." "With children around... you know..." "If it really becomes like twelve years ago..." A mother holding a child turned away from the bulletin board and hurried over to someone nearby, whispering something. Her gaze grazed past Naruto. Naruto stood there, staring at the paper. He had a vague sense of who posted this. But right now, his mind couldn't move beyond that. --- Evening came. Naruto found himself in front of Ichiraku Ramen for the first time in a while. The noren curtain swayed. Voices came from inside the shop. He could see in. The old man Teuchi was talking to a middle-aged regular customer with an awkward expression. The man's voice reached him. "...If that kid comes today, I'll..." That was enough. Naruto stopped his hand as it reached toward the noren. He turned his back. He sensed Teuchi turn around, but Naruto was already walking away. There was no time to stop him. He didn't think Teuchi chose not to stop him. His feet just wouldn't stop. He entered an alley with no foot traffic and leaned his back against the wall. He looked up. The sky was red. Sunset. Two days of desperate running. Finding nothing. The entire village pushing him away. *(...Koharu)* Just calling the name in his head made his throat tighten. A voice came. "[serious]...Are you really okay?" Shikamaru stood at the entrance to the alley. He was a shinobi from the Nara clan, someone who had attended the same academy as Naruto. He always wore an annoyed expression, but not now. His eyes showed genuine concern. He wasn't blaming him. Because Naruto could tell that, it hurt even more. Naruto tried to smile. His mouth twisted. He couldn't smile properly. "[serious]...I'm fine" Shikamaru stared at Naruto silently for a while. He seemed to want to say something. But he said nothing. Naruto couldn't say anything either. The two parted without another word. --- Night fell. When he returned to his apartment, the hallway window was broken. Marks from a stone thrown during the day. He carefully avoided the glass and entered his room. He locked the door. The room was still in disarray. Since the night Koharu was abducted, he hadn't had the will to clean it up. On the table sat Koharu's cup. The cup she'd started using right after coming to the apartment. Small and white. No one had touched it for two days. Naruto stared at it and slowly slid down to sit on the floor. His body felt impossibly heavy. Keeping his eyes open was difficult. Two days without proper sleep. Without eating. His mind felt hazy. His consciousness drifted away—— --- In murky water. When Naruto realized it, he was standing in a long corridor. Water submerged his feet. The ceiling was high. Before him stood a massive iron gate. Beyond the gate, crimson eyes narrowed. The Nine-Tails. The mental world within the seal——he'd been here several times before. But the Nine-Tails tonight was different. It was quiet. Not roaring or raging, just staring down at Naruto. "[cold]...Look, brat. The villagers have abandoned you" Naruto said nothing. "[cold]That Koharu girl is probably somewhere right now, blaming you and crying" Those words pierced him from a distance. He couldn't deny them. "[cold]Release all my power. Then you can get that woman back. We'll crush those villagers beneath our feet" The voice was quiet. Because it wasn't a roar, it sank deeper into his mind. "[cold]If you're a monster as they say——then act like one" It was a sweet temptation. Naruto understood that. And yet his heart wavered. He wanted to get Koharu back. That was true. The villagers didn't matter. If he used all this power—— Then. A voice seemed to reach him. *'I don't think you need to be afraid. You yourself are not frightening.'* Koharu's voice. She'd said that on the night they first met. No one had ever said such a thing to Naruto before. That voice alone was the only anchor holding him back tonight. But tonight, that wasn't enough. --- He returned to reality. His right arm was burning. Red-black chakra wrapped around it. His nails had grown. Naruto stared at his own hands. His fingertips had changed. Sharp. The window glass shards on the floor reflected his face. His eyes had turned red. ——Two tails' worth of chakra was leaking. The seal groaned. His body was burning. His own voice felt distant. "[whispers]...Koharu..." The words wouldn't form. The door opened. Light from the hallway spilled in. It was Kodachi. Black hair with red streaks, cut short. Pale gray eyes looking straight down at Naruto. Not the face of the usual inconspicuous aide. Cold, quiet, and resolute. "[cold]As expected, you are dangerous" Naruto froze. "[cold]The Kagenui Council's judgment was correct. Jinchuriki should be eliminated" Kagenui Council——the name echoed in his mind. A secret organization lurking within the village. Three days ago, a masked shinobi had said, "Jinchuriki, your place will soon be gone," before vanishing. Was that person from this organization? Still leaking red chakra, Naruto looked at the man before him. Kodachi. The aide who brought Tsunade's orders. The one who came with Tsubaki, who taught him breathing techniques. He'd thought they were trustworthy. Naruto forced out a trembling voice. "[scared]...Was Tsubaki too?" Kodachi didn't answer. But his eyes did. They confirmed it. The night Koharu was abducted——Tsubaki had helped. Kodachi's silent eyes admitted everything. Something shattered inside Naruto. Rage. Sorrow. The shock of betrayal. It all crashed down at once, and the Nine-Tails' chakra within his body pulsed. It threatened to rampage. But he couldn't explode. If he did, he would break. His body, this seal——he knew better than anyone it was already at its limit. His knees gave out. He collapsed to the floor. He slammed his fist against it. A dull thud. He hit again. Nothing changed. Koharu was gone. The village rejected him. The guards he'd trusted were all enemies. Naruto looked up. "[crying]...Who am I supposed to believe anymore...!" It wasn't a roar. It was the cry of a child asking while tears fell. Kodachi stared down at Naruto in silence. His pale gray eyes flickered slightly. Was it hatred? Pity? Or something else? Naruto had no capacity to see it tonight. The Kagenui tattoo on Kodachi's left hand was faintly visible in the dim light of the room. Red chakra continued to pulse unstably. Naruto lay collapsed on the floor, unable to move. Koharu's cup sat on the table. Untouched. The seal groaned. His body burned. This was Naruto's darkest night. If dawn would ever come——there was no sign of it yet.