Literal rust. The kind that tasted like blood when Naruto licked the air. Every wall was a dark metal now—no stone, no wood, no warmth. Just iron. Cold, lifeless. Fucking iron.
A giant plaque above the next vault door read:
"CAGE ROOM: OBSERVATION LOGS — TERMINATED SUBJECTS"
He stared at the words. Blinked. Didn't move.
Terminated.
Not "healed." Not "freed."
TERMINATED.
"You fucking joking with me right now?" he whispered.
He pushed the door open.
It hissed like a living goddamn thing. Inside: dim lights flickering. Thousands of scrolls in glass cases. Each one tagged. Dated. All of them red stamped: DECEASED.
Each case showed chakra users. Not criminals. Not monsters. Just… people.
"Subject 031: Female, aged 9, spontaneous chakra burst. Disposed."
"Subject 144: Clanless, chakra leak during sleep. Limbs melted. Disposed."
"Subject 728: Refused obedience training. Disposed. Burned."
Naruto stumbled back. His heartbeat hammered like a war drum in his skull.
Nine years old?
They'd killed a fucking kid over chakra?!
He roared. Fists slamming the wall so hard it cracked. A scream tore out of him—animalistic, human, brutal.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAVE I BEEN FIGHTING FOR?! A LIE? A FUCKING FAIRYTALE??!"
He grabbed a scroll and smashed it on the ground. Then another. And another. Glass shattered like bones breaking.
He read more—couldn't stop.
"Subject 990: Self-immolated during chakra experimentation. Notes lost."
"Subject 1012: Uzumaki—voluntary containment. Escaped. Status unknown."
He froze.
Uzumaki?
He felt vomit rise in his throat. A bitter sludge of betrayal and bile.
Had they done this to his clan? His bloodline? Had they caged them too?
"FUCK YOU," he spat at the wall. "FUCK ALL OF YOU. SENJU. UCHIHA. WHOEVER THE FUCK STARTED THIS— FUCK.BASTARD RAIAN YOU."
His hand trembled as he grabbed a panel on the wall, ripping it off. Wires sparked. Didn't care. He slammed a kunai into the circuit. Lights dimmed. Sparks flew.
Nothing felt real.
Not Sasuke. Not Jiraiya. Not Kakashi.
Did they know?
Or were they blind too?
Flashback.
Jiraiya, grinning with that stupid laugh.
"You'll change the shinobi world, kid. I believe in you."
Liar.
Kakashi, that quiet nod.
"Sometimes, following the rules isn't right. But the world needs peace."
Peace fuck built on corpses?!
His vision blurred.
Kurama stirred inside, but said nothing.
Even that bastard was quiet.
Naruto stared at his hands.
Hands that had saved people. Killed people. Protected a world that lied to him since birth.
He slammed a scroll into the wall. Red mist filled his vision.
He wasn't a hero. He was a fucking idiot in an orange jumpsuit playing knight in a burning kingdom.
A cage.
That's what chakra made you.
A soldier. A fucking obedient cage.
Then—
Click.
Something shifted behind him.
Metal grinding. Not like a vault. Like... legs.
He turned.
The wall behind him breathed. A mechanical panel slid open. Cold air rushed out.
Inside: darkness.
A hallway made entirely of black steel.
No scrolls. No torches.
Just a single red word glowing over the entrance:
ORIGIN – SUBJECT 0
Naruto stared at it. Breathing hard.
His fists clenched again.
He was done being a fucking tool.
"...I'm going to burn this whole fucking lie down," he growled.
And stepped inside.