The white walls of Konoha's hospital carried the faint smell of disinfectant, sharp enough to sting the nose. In one of the quieter wards, Sakura sat beside a bed, a notebook of medical diagrams open on her lap. Her green eyes held focus as she guided Naruto's hands over a pair of fish she had caught for practice.
"Remember," she said firmly, "medical ninjutsu isn't about forcing chakra. You have to mold it precisely, like threading a needle. Too much, and you'll damage the tissue. Too little, and nothing happens."
Naruto frowned, his hand glowing faintly green. The chakra sputtered, flaring unevenly. One of the fish twitched, scales shivering.
"Tch—again," Sakura said, clicking her tongue.
Naruto sighed, but didn't complain. He steadied his breathing, closed his eyes, and tried once more. He had fought enemies stronger than himself, with power enough to level mountains—yet holding a life steady in his palm felt harder than any battle.
Slowly, the glow of the chakra stabilized. The wound on the fish's fin began to knit.
Sakura blinked. "There—that's it. See? You're getting it."
Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh, guess I'm not completely hopeless."
She looked at him for a long moment, lips curving faintly. He was still clumsy, still reckless—but his determination burned with a steadiness that caught her off guard. This was not the same boy who once charged blindly into danger.
Before Naruto could attempt again, a knock came at the door. Shizune stepped inside, Ton-Ton tucked under her arm.
"Training will have to wait," she said. "Lady Tsunade wants you both in her office."
Naruto tilted his head. "Did something happen?"
Shizune's expression was grim. "Intel from Sunagakure. It concerns Akatsuki."
Tsunade's office was heavy with tension. Maps of the Great Nations lay spread across her desk, markers indicating recent sightings of Akatsuki movements. Shikaku stood at her side, arms folded, while Kakashi leaned casually against the wall, his single visible eye narrowed in thought.
Gaara's message sat open on the desk: reports of Akatsuki targeting other jinchūriki.
Naruto clenched his fists. They're moving faster than expected…
Tsunade's voice cut through his thoughts. "We can't afford to be complacent. Akatsuki isn't just after you anymore, Naruto. They're hunting all jinchūriki."
Shizune added quietly, "Word is… the Two-Tails has been targeted already."
Naruto's head snapped up. "What?!"
Shikaku exhaled heavily. "And that brings us to a separate problem. Danzō."
Kakashi's eye flickered with distaste at the name.
Far away, in the dense forests beyond the Land of Lightning, the ground shook beneath the clash of titans.
Yugito Nii, jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, fought with her body wreathed in blue fire, her movements quick as lightning. The flames took the form of snarling feline claws, lashing out at the masked man before her.
But Danzō Shimura was no ordinary opponent. His right arm pulsed with grotesque power, wrapped in bandages, lined with Sharingan eyes that opened and closed in eerie rhythm.
Yugito's claws tore through his chest—yet Danzō did not fall. His body flickered, then reappeared whole, one of the eyes on his arm closing in sacrifice.
"Izanagi," he muttered under his breath, voice hoarse.
Yugito's eyes narrowed. "You… you can rewrite death itself?"
Danzō lunged, wind chakra coating his kunai. His strikes came in relentless succession, each blow carrying the weight of his ambition. Yugito countered with the raw fury of the Two-Tails, firestorms scorching the battlefield, but no matter how many times she struck him down, Danzō rose again, consuming eye after eye to twist fate in his favor.
Still, Yugito did not yield. She released more of Matatabi's power, her body engulfed in the full form of the flaming cat. The roar split the night sky, flames devouring trees by the dozen.
Danzō staggered, cloak burning, but his glare remained fixed. "Power like yours belongs in my hands. For the sake of Konoha."
Before Yugito could crush him completely, white tendrils erupted from the ground. Dozens of White Zetsu emerged, swarming around her, dragging at her limbs, siphoning chakra.
She howled, fire blasting outward, but even Matatabi's might faltered under the endless numbers.
Danzō fell back, chest heaving, his stolen eyes nearly spent. Tobi appeared beside him in a swirl of distortion, mask gleaming.
"You overextended yourself," the masked man said coolly.
Danzō glared. "Give me more. Shisui's eye—where is it?"
Tobi's single eye curved with amusement. "Impatient, as always. That eye is not something I hand out lightly."
Danzō's teeth ground together. Without it… my dream of ruling the shinobi world slips further away.
The Land of Lightning was ablaze with outrage. Raikage's fist cracked the stone table in the council chamber, shards scattering across the floor.
"You let that rat live?" he roared at his subordinates. "Danzō dares to touch my people and walks away breathing?!"
Darui bowed his head grimly. "He escaped with help. But Yugito… she's been taken."
The silence that followed was heavy with grief and rage.
The Raikage's voice shook the chamber. "Then hear me well! Danzō Shimura is an enemy of Kumogakure. If Konoha shelters him, they share his crimes!"
Messengers were dispatched that very night, carrying the ultimatum across nations.
Back in Konoha, the atmosphere grew tenser by the hour. Tsunade summoned the village's top jōnin and clan heads; the Hokage's council chamber filled with sharp voices.
"Danzō's actions endanger us all," Tsunade said, fists clenched on her desk. "And with Akatsuki targeting jinchūriki, we can't waste time bickering."
Hiashi of the Hyūga spoke calmly, but his tone was iron. "If the Raikage demands blood, how do we answer?"
Shikaku exhaled slowly. "Troublesome as it is… We'll need to send forces after Danzō. Otherwise, war with the Cloud is inevitable."
Eyes turned to Naruto. He stood silent, gaze lowered, the weight of the room pressing on his shoulders.
In his mind, Kurama's voice rumbled. That old fool plays with powers he doesn't understand. If you mean to stop him, you'll need more than brute force.
Naruto's hand clenched over his stomach, where another secret lay waiting.
That night, beneath the quiet canopy of Konoha's forest, Naruto sat alone. The moonlight filtered through the leaves, pale against his face.
From his pouch, he withdrew a small, sealed vial. Inside, suspended in preserving fluid, floated a single eye—its tomoe spinning even in deathless stillness.
Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.
His reflection stared back from its surface, eyes narrowed with determination.
"This world won't wait," Naruto murmured. "If I want to protect them all… I can't hesitate anymore."
The forest whispered with the wind as he lifted the vial closer.
Tomorrow, he would no longer be the same.
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