Iruka crossed his arms as he leaned against the training post at Ground Eight, watching Naruto attempt upside-down tree climbing for the fiftieth time that morning. Sweat beaded on the boy's forehead as he gritted his teeth, trying to maintain balance. It lasted a solid seven seconds before he lost focus and fell back-first onto the ground with a soft thud.
"Better," Iruka muttered under his breath. "But still... something's off."
There was no denying it—Naruto had improved dramatically. His chakra was richer, more fluid. He no longer had the brittle flow of someone who grew up with malnutrition and a mangled seal. But underneath it all, Iruka could still sense turbulence. Something interfering.
He narrowed his eyes, focusing inward.
System, he asked silently, can I go into Naruto's subconscious? You know, where the Nine-Tails is sealed?
A calm pulse of thought answered immediately.
[Yes. But only with the host's permission. The seal protects itself by design—but with Naruto's conscious acceptance, and your link through the system, you can enter with no resistance.]
That was all Iruka needed to hear.
Later, while Naruto took a break—guzzling water like a dehydrated puppy and flopping onto the grass with a sigh—Iruka walked over casually, hands in his pockets.
"Hey, Naruto."
The boy glanced up mid-sip. "Mm? What's up, Sensei?"
"I want to check something."
Naruto tilted his head, squinting. "Like what?"
Iruka crouched down next to him. "You remember the pill I gave you a few days ago?"
"Yeah!" Naruto sat up quickly, energized. "That thing was awesome! I've been feeling way stronger lately! And food started tasting better too!"
Iruka gave him a look. "That's because it corrected your malnutrition, restructured your chakra pathways, and removed some of the damage caused by the way the Nine-Tails was sealed inside you. It also made it easier to access and control your chakra."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically, crossing his arms and closing his eyes like he was some wise old monk. "Ahh, naruhodo ne. I see. I see."
Iruka stared at him, deadpan. "You don't get it, do you?"
Naruto opened one eye and grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Ehehe… not really. But I get that it helped. And chakra control! Yeah, that's… still hard."
Iruka sighed, standing up. "Naruto, listen. There's still interference in your chakra control. It's the Nine-Tails—he keeps messing with the flow. You're constantly leaking chakra, even if you don't notice it."
Naruto flinched at the name, gaze dropping slightly. "Oh… yeah. Him."
"Don't get discouraged," Iruka said quickly, softening his tone. "We already found the solution. But I want to take a look at the seal—personally. To make sure he's not still tugging at the strings."
Naruto hesitated, looking uncertain. "Sensei, are you sure that's safe? Should I even… I dunno…"
Then he shook his head, exhaling. "Fine. What do I do?"
Iruka smiled. "Nothing complicated. Just sit down and meditate. I'll guide your breathing and send a bit of my chakra into your system. Since you took the pill, it'll let me pass through easily."
Naruto straightened up, brushing dust off his pants. "Alright! I'm ready!"
They moved to a shaded patch under one of the tall trees nearby. Naruto sat cross-legged, eyes closed, while Iruka stood behind him, placing two fingers gently against the back of his neck.
System. [Ready.]
Iruka inhaled slowly, synchronizing with Naruto's breathing, then sent a thin thread of chakra through Naruto's spine. It wasn't forced—it was like dipping into a river already flowing. Their energies linked naturally, effortlessly.
The world around them wavered.
And then—
They were somewhere else entirely.
It was not what he expected.
They arrived not in darkness, nor in chaos—but in beauty. Frozen beauty.
They stood atop a mirror-like plain of ice, so smooth and pristine it reflected the sky above like polished glass. Snowflakes drifted lazily from the heavens—each glowing faintly with chakra, delicate as feathers.
Frosted trees lined the edges of a wide crystalline forest. Their branches shimmered with a faint silver-blue light, bending gently beneath the weight of snow that never melted. Pillars of crystal jutted up from the ground like frozen monuments, refracting the light into rainbow patterns across the landscape.
But the strange part?
It wasn't cold.
Naruto stepped forward, blinking. "Wha…?"
The air wrapped around them like a blanket. It was warm. Safe. The kind of warmth you felt under a kotatsu in winter. The kind of warmth you remembered from a hug. Even though the world looked like ice, it radiated peace and stillness.
Naruto looked around in wonder. "This… this is inside me?"
Iruka took a breath. The chakra in the air was immense—yet calm. It pulsed in harmony with Naruto's heartbeat.
"This is your subconscious," Iruka said, nearly breathless. "Your inner world."
Naruto turned in a slow circle. "It's… kinda beautiful."
"It's you," Iruka said softly. "This is who you are."
A path of glowing frost led forward, winding between crystal trees and quiet pools of liquid light. At its end, rising from a wide platform of snow-white marble, stood a shrine.
It was unlike anything Iruka had ever seen.
Tall torii gates, sculpted from translucent jade, stood like sentinels. The shrine itself glowed from within, its walls made of glass-like stone, its roof dusted with soft snow that shimmered but never fell.
No chains. No iron bars. No prison.
This was a sanctuary.
Sacred. Serene. Alive.
Soft bells chimed in the windless air, and from within the shrine came a warmth that didn't belong to this icy world. It radiated life. Power. Purpose.
Naruto stepped forward, drawn. "Is that… where he is?"
Iruka said nothing for a long moment.
Then—
His senses flared.
His body froze.
Not one… three.
Three presences.
Not weak. Not distant.
Present. Aware. Watching.
Iruka's Observation Haki pulsed like a storm warning. One was a violent inferno, curled and vast. The second… radiant, calm. The third… storm-like. Protective. Fierce.
His eyes widened.
"...Shit."
Naruto turned. "Huh?"
But Iruka wasn't looking at him anymore.
He was staring straight at the shrine.
To be continued....
before you all say what am I thinking the pill was eaten by Naruto and the Kurama inside Naruto is only the yang half he was also split he was not supposed to be like that. At least that's what here I am going to say. And gg guys I survived the day T_T.