Now back in his room, alone again, Naruto ran a hand through his messy hair, eyes wide open despite his exhaustion.
"…I didn't mean to kill him," he whispered.
But the thought that scared him the most was that part of him didn't feel bad about it. Not completely.
He could still see Iruka bleeding. Hear Mizuki laughing. Feel the clones surging out of him, responding to that pain.
And beneath all of that… something else stirred.
Potential.
The Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu was more than just brute force. He remembered every movement, every reaction. Every lesson his clones had learned, he now understood too.
The Hokage had warned him:
"Don't abuse that power, Naruto. It can be dangerous, even to yourself."
But Naruto wasn't thinking of shortcuts. He was thinking of survival. Of becoming strong enough to protect the people who believed in him—and to stand against the ones who didn't.
He yawned suddenly. Sleep tugged at his limbs, though his mind refused to settle.
He was afraid of what he'd see if he closed his eyes.
Blood. Screams. Mizuki.
But exhaustion won the battle, and his body finally gave in, sinking into sleep.
And that's when it happened.
A faint blue light shimmered into existence above his bed.
Silent. Ethereal. Waiting.
A white progress bar hovered beneath glowing text:
[System initializing… 64% complete…]
The screen flickered in and out like a dream that hadn't quite decided whether it wanted to be remembered.
Naruto stirred in his sleep, his brow twitching at unseen memories.
Blood.
Clones.
Mizuki's voice echoing, "You are the
Nine-Tails!"
He whimpered softly, curling into himself on the thin mattress. The system waited silent, unjudging—floating like a ghost above his bed.
[68%...]
[72%...]
Outside, Konoha slept soundly. The village had no idea what had happened. Not really. Mizuki was gone. The Forbidden Scroll was back. And the jinchūriki, the vessel of the Nine-Tails, had killed his first man.
But no one spoke of that.
No one would.
Behind the scenes, the Third Hokage sat in his office long into the night, reading a report written with trembling hands. Iruka had filed it himself—refusing to let anyone else touch it.
"…He didn't mean to kill him," Iruka had insisted, voice shaking. "He panicked. Mizuki was mad, Hokage-sama. He would've killed us both."
Hiruzen sighed through the smoke of his pipe. "I don't doubt it. But the burden remains."
He looked out toward the dark horizon. Somewhere out there, Naruto was sleepin —probably restlessly.
"Let's hope this doesn't break him," he murmured. "Because the village still won't accept what it doesn't understand."
Back in the apartment, the screen shimmered.
[83%...]
Naruto didn't stir. His breathing slowed. Peaceful, for now.
The screen continued its silent countdown.
[91%...]
[100% – System Initialized]
Then, the light steadied.
[Initiating System Protocol...]
[Cosmic Ninja System Detected.]
[Host Candidate: Uzumaki Naruto]
[Requesting Permission to Bind.]
[Will you accept the Cosmic Ninja System?]
[Yes / No]
A small twitch of his finger. A whisper of movement as his eyelids fluttered.
Naruto's eyes opened, blinking at the glowing screen in confusion.
Then, slowly… he smiled.
It wasn't a happy smile.
But it was real.
"…Guess today's not over after all."
And he reached out—
[YES]