Wind blew across the rocky outcropping in the back mountains before dawn. It was still dark. The eastern sky had only just begun to turn a faint gray, but the sun hadn't risen yet. Uzumaki Naruto remained on the rock, hugging his knees. His body ached in several places. The words Kodachi had spoken last night still circled endlessly in his mind. ——"Jinchuriki should be eliminated." Tsubaki and Kodachi. They'd been enemies from the start. All of his guards—people he'd trusted—were members of the Kage-Nui faction. Koharu was somewhere now, terrified. He'd felt the Nine-Tails' power beginning to rampage, and he'd collapsed to the floor. (Who... who am I supposed to trust anymore?) He couldn't believe that scream had come from his own voice. It was pathetic. He was weak. Naruto placed a hand against his cheek. Dried mud clung to it. He couldn't even remember when he'd fallen. "...It's cold." He muttered to no one in particular. Footsteps sounded. Not quite footsteps—or rather, almost no sound at all. The way the grass was being stepped on was different from a normal person. He knew who it was. It was Kakashi. Wearing his usual vertical-striped jonin vest, mask still raised, he sat down silently beside the rock. There was none of his usual carefree atmosphere. His left eye—the one hiding the Sharingan—remained closed, while only his right black eye gazed at the dark sky before dawn. "...Sensei." "I thought you'd be here." He answered briefly, then fell silent. He didn't blame Naruto. He didn't comfort him. He simply sat beside him. For a while, neither of them spoke. Only the sound of wind. Kakashi slowly opened his mouth. "[serious]Can I tell you something?" Naruto didn't lift his face. But he listened silently. "[serious]When I was thirteen... I let a teammate from my generation die right in front of me on a mission." Naruto's body stiffened slightly. "[serious]After that, my best friend. And finally... my teacher. One after another, I lost them all." His voice was quiet. Not because he was suppressing emotion. Simply quiet. A quietness that had taken a long time to achieve—the kind of quietness that came from finally being able to speak about it calmly. "[serious]Back then, I was far worse than you. I was afraid to trust people, and I could only think about missions. The guilt of being the only one to survive meant I couldn't even eat properly." Naruto's grip on his knees tightened. "[serious]The reason I was able to stand up again was... because I chose to believe in the bonds that remained." There was a brief pause. "[serious]There is a Nine-Tails inside you. That's true. But—that's not you. You are you, Naruto." Those words pierced straight through his chest. They sank deep inside. (You are you.) No one had ever said it that way before. Those who called him a monster, those who pitied him—both had seen him as "the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki." But Kakashi had just said, simply, "You are Naruto." A single tear streamed down his cheek. Naruto wiped it away roughly with his sleeve. "[serious]...So you had nights like that too, Sensei." "[serious]I did. Even now, I remember sometimes." Naruto exhaled deeply. He tried to stand. A numbness shot through his right leg. "Wh—" He stumbled. Just as he was about to fall off the rock, Kakashi grabbed his shoulder. "[gentle]You alright?" "[excited]I'm fine! My leg just fell asleep! I was sitting weird! I'm not weakened at all!!" Kakashi exhaled softly. Whether he was laughing was impossible to tell behind the mask. But his eyes narrowed slightly. "...I see." That "I see" felt somehow warm. ——Then. A small seal in Kakashi's pocket glowed. A direct communication technique from the Hokage—from Tsunade. Kakashi read it quickly. His expression changed. "[serious]Naruto." "What is it?" "[serious]The Anbu's independent investigation has identified the Kage-Nui faction's hideout. Underground level three of the old Anbu training facility in the northeast district of the village—code name Nenokuni. Koharu's survival has been confirmed." Naruto's body jolted. "[excited]I'm going!!" He tried to run off immediately. Kakashi grabbed his shoulder. "[serious]Don't charge in alone. It'll be full of traps." Naruto stopped. He clenched his teeth. But he knew Kakashi was right. "[serious]I've already called them. We're heading to the assembly point." At the assembly point in the eastern district of the village—an empty lot away from the old Anbu facility—two people were already waiting. It was Shikamaru. From the Nara clan, always looking like something was a bother, but said to have the sharpest mind in the village. Today, those troublesome eyes were serious. Beside him stood Sakura. A fellow student who had mastered medical ninjutsu, her pink hair tied back. She held her fists loosely clenched and looked at Naruto. "[serious]We're definitely getting her out." Normally he might have felt embarrassed. But the current Naruto simply nodded with a serious expression. Koharu's voice echoed in his mind. ——"I don't think you need to be scared. You yourself aren't scary." His clenched fist tightened. Shikamaru began speaking while running his finger across the ground. "[serious]I have the facility's layout. The entrance to the underground is beneath the floor of a warehouse that's officially closed. Kakashi will create a diversion and suppress the guards at the entrance. I'll handle the traps in the corridor with shadow binding. Sakura will wait in the rear with medical ninjutsu ready. Naruto will charge into the deepest level. That's it." "[serious]No problem." "[serious]Understood." He answered briefly. The four of them moved. ——— The old Anbu training facility—officially closed as a warehouse—was located at the edge of the northeast district of the village. Weeds covered the walls, and the windows were boarded up. It was a place no one approached even in daylight. Kakashi moved first. The guards at the entrance—two masked shinobi—suddenly stopped moving. A genjutsu from the Sharingan. Silent. The work of an instant. Shikamaru opened the trapdoor to the underground. "[serious]Let's go." The underground passage was dimly lit. The faint glow of torch embers barely illuminated the walls. The air was humid, carrying the smell of earth. "[serious]There's detection wire on the floor. And above." He whispered. The three of them froze. Shikamaru's shadow crawled across the floor. Shadow binding—Shikamaru's unique ninjutsu that manipulated shadows to completely immobilize an opponent—extended into the depths of the passage. Movement stopped. Naruto's shadow clones flew in silently. A dull thud. The enemy collapsed. "[serious]False door, left wall. Two of them." The Sharingan—the left eye of Copy Ninja Kakashi, said to have copied ten thousand techniques—saw through the wall. Naruto's shadow clones were already moving. The wall shattered. The two in ambush were subdued before they could even cry out. They passed through the corridor. As Naruto ran, he thought: this was different from back then in the third training ground. Kakashi, Shikamaru, Sakura—with these three here, strength returned to his body. The three of them stopped before the heavy iron door to the deepest level. Shikamaru looked at the door and spoke. "[serious]The path ahead is too narrow. We can't fit through the structure. You go, Naruto." "[serious]Go." It was brief. That was enough. Naruto kicked the door. Zuaaaan——!! The iron door flew open. ——— A vast chamber. High ceiling. Several torches stuck in the walls, flickering. Earthen floor. Crumbling pillars. And——standing in the center, one figure. It was Tsubaki. Deep purple hair tied back. 175 centimeters tall. Black combat uniform. A deep sword scar on her left cheek. Sharp crimson eyes staring directly at Naruto. The gentle smile he'd seen in the fourth episode was completely gone. "[cold]I knew you'd come." She drew a kunai from her pocket. Her fingers spun it deftly. "[cold]Twelve years ago—the Nine-Tails killed my little brother. He was seven years old." Her voice was quiet. Not shouting. But that quietness was heavier than any shout. "[cold]As long as you exist, that tragedy will repeat. So—I'll erase you. The mission will be carried out." Tsubaki moved. Fast. Anbu-trained taijutsu—the Leaf Village's Anbu was a special unit that only elite jonin-class shinobi could enter—erupted. The kunai slashed across Naruto's right arm. "Gh——!" Searing pain shot through him. His sleeve turned red with blood. The next instant, wire wrapped around his body. Arms, torso, tightening. He couldn't move. His knees nearly buckled. But——a voice echoed in his mind. Koharu's voice. "I thought you'd come," Koharu might say. Frightened, but waiting with faith. Somewhere in this facility, still alive. (I have to go.) Not anger. Not fear. Simply wanting to protect Koharu. That was all. Something stirred in the depths of Naruto's being. Nine-Tails' chakra. Red chakra enveloped his entire body. His surface glowed red. But——his eyes remained blue. His pupils didn't turn red. He was drawing it out by his own will. Controlling it. That "chakra drawn out by the desire to protect" that he'd practiced with Kakashi in the third training ground. Red chakra burned through the wire. Jijiji——!! The wire melted and snapped. Naruto stood up. Tsubaki's crimson eyes narrowed slightly. "[serious]...Not rampaging?" "[angry]I understand your feelings! I'm scared of the Nine-Tails too! But——" Chakra gathered in both hands. Spinning at high speed. Compressing. Forming a sphere. Rasengan—an A-rank ninjutsu developed by the Fourth Hokage. Chakra spun at high speed in the palm and compressed to its limit in a single strike——howled in Naruto's hand. "[angry]I'm not a monster!! I am Uzumaki Naruto!!" Tsubaki crossed both arms in defense. ——Zudobooon!!! The impact spread through the chamber. Dust rose. The torch flames wavered. Tsubaki's body was slammed against the wall. Cracks spread across the stone. Tsubaki collapsed. Blood dripped from her mouth. Slowly, she tried to stand again. But before that——Tsubaki's crimson eyes met Naruto's. They wavered. Beneath the hatred, there was something else. Naruto's scream had touched something. Perhaps the face of her seven-year-old brother who had died flashed through Tsubaki's mind. Whatever emotion that was, Naruto couldn't know. But it was definitely wavering. That instant—— A heavy sound. The ground shook. The cracks in the walls spread. Sand fell from the ceiling. The entire facility was shaking. "[cold]...Situation assessed. Beginning demolition." Kodachi's voice echoed from far away. The remaining forces were moving—they were going to destroy the entire facility. Naruto ran. Tsubaki couldn't stand yet. But he hadn't finished her off. But there was something more urgent. Koharu was here. Still in the back room. Rocks fell from the collapsing ceiling. Dust blocked his vision. The ground shook beneath his feet. Naruto kept running. (Wait for me, Koharu.) Red chakra still burned inside his body. Blue eyes unchanged. Not rampaging. This was——my power.