The operating ward was thick with tension—a suffocating, choking silence was only broken by the frantic shuffle of tools and the sharp barks of medical orders. The ninja surgeons, drenched in sweat and nearing chakra exhaustion, had managed to reset Naruto's shattered limbs, bone by bone, tendon by tendon. But the internal damage was far worse as some organs were beyond repair. No healing jutsu could fully restore them. And as for his face—his poor, broken face—there would be no miracle, the boy's looks were gone.
After five excruciating hours under the scalpel, his condition finally seemed to stabilize.
And then... it began: necrosis.
First the skin blackened, then ruptured. Flesh leaked pus and blood, sloughing off in sickening layers. His bones freshly set began to crack, twist, and melt away again! The smell was unbearable. The sealing team moved into position. Even Danzo and Hiruzen—seasoned veterans of countless wars—stood stiff with dread, their composure cracking under the weight of what they were witnessing.
What had begun as a disaster was now devolving into a full-blown horror show.
More medical ninja were summoned. Cleaning tools, sterilization scrolls, chakra-infused antiseptics—all came in wave after wave, but nothing was enough. Naruto's body was shedding itself. Bit by bit. Piece by piece. Like a reptile sloughing off its scales. Like a crab tearing free from a dying shell.
But it didn't happen all at once—it was slow, relentless, nonstop. Every morcel of tissue. Every scrap of skin. Gone. And the worst part? The Nine-Tails' chakra wasn't leaking.There was no red aura. No demonic flare. Nothing but the grotesque normalcy of organic collapse.
Hours passed.
Three full surgical teams had to rotate in and out, collapsing from exhaustion as their replacements stepped over blood-soaked tiles. Naruto had to be maintained on multiple drips—nutrition, hydration, sedatives—but even the equipment rebelled. Veins necrotized within minutes. Every IV site got contaminated at a point. Every tool had to be thrown away as they would induce necrosis on healthy cells if they were used again. And still… it continued.
For over thirty-six hours, Naruto's body fell apart.
And then—just as suddenly as it began—it stopped.
Silence reclaimed the ward. The lights flickered above the ruined table. Blood dried in slow, crackling veins across the floor. Everyone present stood in stunned disbelief, too drained to speak.
And then they saw it.
Naruto's body—perfect. Restored. The crushed bones, pulverized organs, shattered teeth, ruptured eyes—all intact. Flawless. No bruises. No scarring.
Even his face... had changed. The skin was clearer. His features more refined, almost inhumanly symmetrical. The faint whisker-like marks that once branded him were gone.
For a moment, they dared to believe—maybe it wasn't for nothing.Maybe the boy hadn't suffered in vain, they didn't suffer in vain, he got better looks in the end right?
Then it struck.
A blast of murderous chakra tore through the room like a storm of knives.It was instantaneous—a pulse of pure hatred that paralyzed even the strongest among them.
The seal masters collapsed.Jiraiya clutched his chest, gasping.Hiruzen and Danzo fell to their knees, eyes wide, vision blurring.
The entire room—Hokage, Sannin, elders—was thrown into silence, drowned in a bloodthirsty pressure that spoke of slaughter and ruin. And just as quickly as it came... it vanished and everything was back to normal.
Except the surgeons. Their minds cracked under the weight of it and their already exhausted bodies couldn't bear the shock.They had to be hospitalized—every last one of them.
The sealing team and the Hokage stood in stunned silence.
After inspection they concluded the seal was untouched. It was intact and perfect. The Kyūbi had not broken free and was still locked deep within its prison.
And yet… something had changed. Something had happened.
There were no answers—only dread. No theories—only that shared, unspoken certainty: this was the Kyūbi's way of getting back at them. A retaliation not through brute force, but through something far more dark and insidious!
Even Hiruzen, as composed as he had always been, couldn't stop himself from muttering bitter curses under his breath once they returned to the tower. Words he would never have dared speak in front of others, aimed at his imbecile of student that caused all of this!
Root and ANBU mobilized immediately. Five squads of each were assigned to guard the Jinchūriki, forming a net around the boy's room and the hospital. The elders left in hushed urgency to think of excuses to delay the final exam. The Hokage dismissed all non-essential personnel and Jiraiya, face drawn, returned alongside his master to personally monitor whatever was going to happen next.
Because now, no one could afford to be careless.
If the Kyūbi broke free from its chains again—especially with the daimyōs soon arriving—it wouldn't just be a catastrophe: it would be the end of Konoha!
The very next morning, Naruto opened his eyes.
The machines monitoring his vitals beeped steadily. The chakra seals glowed faintly around the room. Hiruzen and Jiraiya stood at his bedside, rising as one when they saw him stir.
They stepped forward carefully, their voices tentative.
"How are you feeling?" the Third asked."Hey, kid… welcome back," Jiraiya said, trying to offer a weary smile.
Naruto's gaze shifted slowly toward them. His face was calm. Too calm.
He didn't blink. He didn't smile.
Then, in a voice colder than winter:
"Pervert Sage… please leave. I don't want to see you ever again."
He said it with no anger, without rising his voice and without tears.
Just a flat, emotionless decree—like a door slamming shut forever.
And just like that, the faint glimmer of hope Jiraiya had carried—the flicker of relief at seeing his godson awake—was extinguished and gone.
The words cut deeper than any blade. He stood there frozen, unable to speak, his throat tight with shame and grief. The weight of his failure crashed back down on him again like a collapsed sky. With his head lowered, shoulders slumped, he slowly turned and walked out of the room without a word.
Hiruzen watched the scene unfold, his eyes unreadable. Never in all his years would he have believed that another of his students would disappoint him this deeply.
And yet… here they were. He could not entrust the village to him, nor even consider him as a last resort canditate.
After a few minutes of silence, Naruto finally asked:
"Lord Third, do you think I can still fight for Konoha's prestige during the third trial?"
The question placed a gentle balm on Hiruzen's old heart.
"Due to your situation, I've pushed it back to next week. If your medical results are good, I'll allow you to participate. Don't worry about it." He replied calmly.
"Thank you, Grandpa…" said Naruto, offering a faint smile.
The Hokage left the hospital and called for another meeting—tired, but now reassured. Even after a near-death experience, Minato's son still carried the Will of Fire.
Naruto kept his eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Elias, however, was wide awake.
He detected forty-five ninja surveilling and patrolling the area, moving without notice. At least six of them were watching him directly. He now had a new body—one specially tailored to his needs. And if he ever needed to change its appearance, it would be easy using the Cosmos.
He had replaced every single one of Naruto's cells with ones he had crafted himself.This was no longer a regular human body, it was something very close to perfection.
He hadn't added the two parasitic chakras yet, though. He needed to test things first.Perhaps there was another specimen of their kind lurking nearby? If that was the case, he would find it—sooner or later.
He was no longer a tailed beast either as he had incarnated into this new body.What the Hokage had mistaken for the Kyūbi's chakra was just his own.
Now that a juicy piece of meat had presented itself at his door, he only had to wait for the right moment before devouring it. And until then… he no longer planned to leave Konoha, nor bury it.Not yet.
Later, a nurse woke him up and brought him for a medical evaluation. As he passed by a mirror in the corridor, a soft voice whispered from within—his dear friend, Jeremy Fischer:
"I wonder how she would look spread on the wall…"
Elias smiled.
A new body. A new identity.But his friends… were always there to keep things fun!