[Hi no Miyako — Dawn —Inn | House of the Flame Willow — Naruto's Room]
The first light of dawn cut through the heavy drapes.
Naruto was already awake.
Sleep had been light — sharpened by purpose. A shinobi's rest was never full when the mind worked as hard as the body.
Before him, spread across the low desk, lay the slim black-covered volume he had secured last night in the city's quieter markets:
"Binding the Body: Advanced Storage and Personal Seals."An old text — dense, intricate, not meant for beginners.
But Naruto wasn't a beginner anymore.
Fuinjutsu — it called to something in him. Discipline. Precision. Possibility.
And this seal — this was for more than theory.
A blade that moved as fast as the will.A sword not bound to scabbard — but to chakra.
No delay. No hand wasted. No weakness shown.
A seamless draw — from seal to strike.
Naruto had prepared everything:
A small pot of high-grade chakra-reactive ink.A fine calligraphy brush.Fresh water.A strip of clean cloth.His blade — the chokutō, chosen in the Capital's finest forge.
Until now, it had hung at his left hip.
No longer.
[The Work Begins]
Naruto stripped the right sleeve of his undershirt, exposing his forearm.
He sat cross-legged before the desk, breathing steady, mind sharp.
He reviewed the diagram again:
A central spiral array — the core of the seal.
Four folded containment runes — for stability and safety.
Two thin channel pathways — woven to the chakra network, ensuring smooth flow and release.
Mistakes here meant injury — or worse.But Naruto's hand was steady. His heart, focused.
He dipped the brush, began the work.
Stroke. Spiral. Curve. Bind.Each motion flowed with deliberate intent.
The faint scent of ink mixed with the sharp edge of concentration.
Minutes passed.Then an hour.
At last, the seal stood complete — an elegant spiral lattice of runes, ink drying against tensed muscle.
First, the bond.
Naruto pricked his thumb, pressed it to the heart of the spiral.
"Fuin."
A cold pulse spread outward — chakra binding ink to flesh, ink to coil, coil to will.
A faint glow flickered, then faded.
Naruto flexed his fingers — the arm felt… right.No pain. No wrongness. Just potential.
Then, the blade.
He lifted the chokutō. Ran his fingers along its edge one last time.
Then, centering his will, he pressed it to the seal.
"Bind."
Flash.The sword vanished — sealed into the matrix beneath the skin.
A deep breath.
Naruto rose to his feet.
Test it. Draw. Flow. Fight.
He set his stance — right foot forward.
With a flicker of thought — "Kai."
The blade appeared in his right hand — solid, sharp, ready.
Again. Again.
Each time — seamless. Instant.As natural as moving muscle.
He smiled faintly — rare, but true.
No more left-hip scabbard.No more wasted motion.Now — blade to hand by will alone.
[Preparation to Depart]
Naruto cleaned the brush. Packed the sealing book into his scroll case.
He adjusted his cloak. His left hip now bare — no sheath, no blade.That weight now lived beneath his skin, bound to chakra.
A sword for a shinobi — unseen until it struck.
At the window, he watched the waking city.
Soon — he would leave for Konoha.Changed. Sharpened.
Steel no longer carried.Steel now part of him.
He allowed himself a final breath, centering his thoughts.
Then he stepped from the room, into the light of a new day.
[Hi no Miyako — Morning — The Final Departure]
The first stirrings of morning had spread across Hi no Miyako.
Merchants raised shutters.Steam drifted from noodle carts.Samurai patrols stood at ease beneath crimson banners.
But not all eyes watched the streets.
Some watched the lone shinobi who walked them.
Naruto moved through the Capital in silence.
Cloak drawn close, hood low against the rising sun.No forehead protector shown. No clan crest displayed.Only a presence — sharp, measured, different.
Where once his sword had hung plainly at his side, now there was nothing.
Yet those trained to see — samurai retainers, shinobi hiding beneath the crowds — caught the subtle tension in his right arm, the faint shift of balance.
A weapon carried, yet unseen.
And more: a will forged harder than steel.
[Through the Gate]
The great Eastern Gate of Hi no Miyako rose ahead — stone and iron, banners fluttering in the early breeze.
Two guards stood watch, flanked by a samurai captain.
As Naruto approached, their gazes flickered with recognition.The Uzumaki boy — the one summoned by the Daimyō. The one whispered of in last night's reports.
Yet they said nothing.
When Naruto reached the gate, the samurai captain gave a small nod.
"Uzumaki."Not hostile. Not friendly. Acknowledging.
Naruto met the gaze with calm, left hand resting at his side, right hand loose, ready.
"I leave with no debts," Naruto said.His voice was low, steady."And no enemies—yet."
A thin smile touched the captain's lips.
"Travel well, shinobi of Konoha."
With that, the guards parted. The gate creaked open.
[Beyond the Walls — The Road Ahead]
Naruto stepped beyond the great walls.
Behind him, Hi no Miyako returned to its endless dance of politics and power.
Ahead — the long road back to Konoha.
But this was not the same Naruto who had entered the Capital.
Now:
Fuinjutsu flowed beneath his skin.
A blade lived within his chakra — drawn by thought, not hand.
His coin lay secured across the Land, no longer controlled by Konoha's grasp.
Books of sealing knowledge weighed in his pack — new tools for new fights.
And within his heart — the words of the Daimyō still echoed:
"Shinobi… must be more than blade or shadow. They must know that words hold power as great as blades."
Naruto's eyes narrowed beneath the hood.
"I will.""And I will be more."
He set his pace — fast, efficient, built for distance.
The road to Konoha awaited — and with it, new paths to carve.
For now, the sword remained sealed.But when next it sang — it would do so with purpose.