Chapter 5: Scum, Ghosts, and Unknowns
After the makeshift lunch, the initial tension between the three genin had eased into a wary, confused sort of truce. Sasuke was still scowling, but he was no longer actively hostile. Sakura kept shooting Naruto looks that were a complicated mix of fear, awe, and utter bewilderment. Naruto himself had reverted to his usual nonchalant slouch, as if he hadn't just mentally dismantled his entire team and a legendary jounin.
Kakashi led them away from the training posts, his single eye unreadable. He stopped in front of a large, black stone obelisk carved with countless names. The mood shifted instantly from one of relief to somber reverence.
"This is the Memorial Stone," Kakashi said, his voice quiet, stripped of its earlier laziness. "The names of this village's heroes are carved here." He looked at the stone with a distant, pained expression. "My best friends are on this stone."
A heavy silence fell. Sakura looked down, abashed. Sasuke stared at the stone, his fists clenched, no doubt thinking of the names of his own clan.
"In the ninja world," Kakashi continued, his gaze still fixed on the engravings, "those who break the rules are trash. That's true." He turned his eye to them, a piercing, powerful look. "But those who abandon their comrades... are worse than trash."
The words landed with the weight of absolute truth. It was a creed, a core belief that defined him. Sakura nodded slowly, understanding dawning in her eyes. Sasuke's expression remained stoic, but the message clearly resonated.
Naruto, who had been observing the stone with a strange, detached curiosity, spoke up. His voice was soft, almost a murmur. "Yeah... abandoning your friends makes you scum."
Kakashi gave a slight nod of approval. It seemed the lesson had sunk in.
But then Naruto continued, his gaze becoming unfocused, as if he were looking through the stone at ghosts only he could see. "But tell me, sensei... what do ya call someone who's betrayed by their friends? Someone who has to watch their own comrades turn on 'em, right before their eyes?"
He didn't offer an answer. The question, laced with a weariness and cynicism that felt ancient, just hung in the air. Kakashi stared at him, the simple, powerful truth of his creed suddenly feeling incomplete, challenged by a hypothetical that felt disturbingly personal to the boy who'd asked it. Naruto just shrugged, turning away from the stone as if the conversation was over, leaving Kakashi and the others in a profound, unsettled silence.
Later that afternoon, Kakashi arrived at the Hokage Tower to deliver his report. As he approached the office, the door opened and Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi walked out.
"Well, if it isn't Kakashi," Asuma said, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "Finished already? So, another set of promising kids crushed under the heel of your impossible standards?"
Kurenai offered a wry smile. "Don't be so harsh, Asuma. I'm sure he let them down gently. How did the Uchiha prodigy take it?"
Kakashi just gave them his signature eye-smile, offering nothing. "Maa, you know how it is."
"He's never going to pass a team," Asuma chuckled, shaking his head as he and Kurenai walked down the hall. "He's looking for a squad that doesn't exist."
Kakashi watched them go, his expression unchanging until they were out of sight. Then, the lazy demeanor vanished. He straightened his posture and walked into the Hokage's office, his face a mask of grim seriousness.
The office was quiet, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, puffing calmly on his pipe.
"So," Hiruzen said, his eyes twinkling with warmth. "How did my least conventional team do? Do I need to prepare the Academy for their return?"
Kakashi stood before the desk, his single visible eye looking distant. "Lord Hokage," he began, his voice flat and professional. "Team 7 passes."
Hiruzen raised a bushy eyebrow. "I see. And the report?"
"Sasuke Uchiha is as advertised," Kakashi started, his tone formal. "A prodigy with excellent fundamentals and immense potential. However, he is arrogant, completely crippled by his individualism, and driven by revenge. He sees teammates as obstacles. He will need to have his pride broken down before it becomes a critical liability."
"And Sakura Haruno?"
"She has a sharp, analytical mind for theory. But she lacks confidence and her entire focus is on Sasuke, to the detriment of her own development. Her practical skills are well below par for a graduate. She has the potential to be a fine kunoichi, but she is a long-term project requiring significant guidance."
Hiruzen nodded, tapping the ash from his pipe. "That all sounds... standard. Which brings us to the boy you haven't mentioned. Naruto."
Kakashi was silent for a moment, the air in the room growing heavy. "Lord Hokage... my report on Naruto is... complicated. Everything we have on file for him is either a deliberate, long-term fabrication on his part, or it is completely and utterly wrong."
The Hokage's gentle expression hardened into one of focused intensity. "Explain."
"To begin, he is not a 'dead-last'. He is lethally competent," Kakashi stated plainly. "His kenjutsu is unorthodox, playful , and highly effective. His speed is deceptive; it's not the explosive Body Flicker Technique. It's more akin to a seamless transition of space. He simply ceases to be in one place and appears in another. But the primary issue, the reason the test unfolded as it did, is due to a technique I cannot categorize."
He paused, clearly struggling to find the right words. "He wields a simple wakizashi. Upon speaking a two-word command—'Collapse Sakanade'—the weapon completely reformed its physical structure. The pommel of the sword became a large ring, and holes appeared along the blade. I have never seen or heard of a weapon behaving this way. It's not a summoning, and it's not a mechanical trick."
Hiruzen leaned forward, his pipe forgotten. "And its abilities?"
"The transformed blade emits a faint, sweet-smelling mist," Kakashi continued, his eye narrowing at the memory. "Upon entering the mist's area of effect, the target is subjected to what I can only classify as a perfect, unbreakable genjutsu. My Sharingan could perceive the effect, but it could not dispel it or see through it. It was as if a fundamental law of physics had been altered within that space."
"My sense of direction was completely inverted. Up was down, left was right. Any attack I perceived was coming from the opposite direction. My hearing was affected; his voice would come from different directions, and at one point, he spoke in reverse. It was total sensory chaos. Sasuke and Sakura were rendered completely helpless the moment they entered its range."
"The Kyuubi's chakra...?" Hiruzen asked, his voice sharp.
"No," Kakashi said immediately. "I am familiar with its signature. This was something else. An energy that felt… foreign. It wasn't chakra as we know it. It felt immense. And Naruto was completely immune, in total control."
He looked Hiruzen directly in the eye. "And then there's the psychological component. He told me the rules. He explained the inversion effect to me mid-battle. At first, I thought it was arrogance, a child's boast. I was wrong. It was a calculated psychological tactic. Revealing the ability wasn't generosity; it was the core of the attack."
Kakashi took a breath. "By explaining the rules, he forces the opponent to try and consciously compensate, to fight against their own honed instincts. This is a trap. I believe his goal was to trigger this exact effect: 'No matter how powerful the opponent, especially if one is accustomed to fighting, their body will not be able to adapt due to their reflexes preventing proper reaction, which causes them to continuously succumb to the power's effect.' He turns a warrior's greatest asset—their experience—into their greatest weakness."
"But that isn't the most concerning part, Lord Hokage," Kakashi pressed on. "His power is an enigma, but his intellect is what truly sets him apart. He saw through the objective of the test from the very beginning. He didn't just understand it; he found it trivial. He deliberately neutralized his teammates to force them to listen to him, then explained the test's true meaning to them himself. He didn't pass my test. He forced his team to pass his version of it."
A heavy silence filled the office.
"When I asked him when he figured it out," Kakashi finished, his voice barely a whisper, "he told me... 'When you were still in your mother's womb'."
Hiruzen sank back into his chair, the smoke from his now-cold pipe curling towards the ceiling. The mischievous orphan boy he had watched from afar, the lonely child who lived on ramen and painted monuments for attention... that was a mask. A perfectly crafted illusion hiding something—or someone—else entirely.
"Keep a close eye on him, Kakashi," the Hokage said finally, his voice heavy with the weight of this new reality. "He is no longer just the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Naruto Uzumaki is the single greatest unknown variable this village has seen in decades. Nurture him, guide Team 7... but be prepared for anything. We have no idea what he truly is."
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Chapter 5.2: Rules of an Inverted World
A week of D-rank missions had thoroughly frayed the nerves of Team 7. They had wrangled rogue laundry, painted an entire fence (twice, after Sasuke and Naruto disagreed on the definition of "a single coat"), and, of course, captured Tora the cat. The demonic feline had taken one look at Naruto's lazy, predatory grin and surrendered immediately, a fact that had irritated Sasuke to no end.
Now, they stood on Training Ground 3, the air crisp and clean, a welcome change from the dust and cat fur of the past few days.
"Alright," Kakashi said, his ever-present book tucked away for once. "Now that we've experienced the thrilling life of a handyman, it's time for your first real team training session. But before that, let's talk about our little exercise the other day. Specifically, individual strengths and liabilities."
He looked at Sakura first. "Sakura. You have a good theoretical understanding of shinobi arts. Your liability is your physical ability and a lack of confidence in practical application. You hesitated."
Sakura flushed but nodded, accepting the critique.
"Sasuke," Kakashi continued, turning to the Uchiha. "Your taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and raw potential are all top of your class, high genin level easily. Your liabilities are your arrogance, your inability to work with others, and your emotional volatility. You charged in blind and were taken out of the fight by your own pride."
Sasuke's hands clenched into fists, his jaw tight. "Hn."
Kakashi's gaze finally landed on Naruto, who was idly scratching his ear, looking bored. The other two braced for the laundry list of flaws they expected for the "dead-last."
"And Naruto," Kakashi said, and then paused. "During the test, you displayed an unpredictable and highly effective fighting style, exceptional speed, and a mastery of a playful kenjutsu style. Your ability to analyze the situation, control the battlefield, and employ psychological warfare to completely dominate your opponent and comrades was... impressive."
That was it. No criticism. No mention of liabilities. Just a statement of fact that sounded more like a field report on a dangerous enemy than a review of a genin.
Sasuke's head snapped towards Naruto, his eyes burning with a jealous fire. How could the dobe get praised while he, an Uchiha, was told he was a liability?
Kakashi, however, wasn't finished. "That being said, Naruto," he added, his tone becoming serious. "That ability of yours… Sakanade. While powerful, it seems utterly unsuited for team battles. Its indiscriminate effect took out your own teammates more effectively than it did me. In a real mission, that would get your comrades killed."
Before Naruto could reply with the lazy smirk that was already forming on his lips, Sasuke cut in, his voice sharp. "Forget that. Where did you get that sword? I've never seen a weapon like it."
Naruto turned his gaze from Kakashi to Sasuke, his expression unreadable. "Get it? I didn't 'get' it anywhere," he said simply. "Sakanade is a creation of my soul. I found a blank slate," he gestured vaguely, referencing the cheap wakizashi he'd acquired, "and I imprinted myself onto it. The blade took on my characteristics, and its abilities are a reflection of me. I'm the only one who can use it, 'cause it is me."
Sasuke and Sakura stared, completely nonplussed. A sword made from his soul? What did that even mean? It was a concept so foreign to the world of chakra and bloodlines that they couldn't even begin to process it. Sasuke's suspicion turned to frustration; how could he ever hope to copy or surpass a power that wasn't even a jutsu?
Naruto then turned back to Kakashi, addressing his earlier point. "And ya got it wrong, sensei. Sakanade isn't unsuited for team battles at all." A sly grin spread across his face. "I can choose who gets affected by the mist and who doesn't. I could've made it so only you were seein' things upside-down."
Kakashi's visible eye widened for a fraction of a second. "You can control the effect's targets?" A wave of professional relief washed over him. That made the ability a thousand times more viable as a strategic tool. Then, the full implication of Naruto's words hit him. He let out a long, weary sigh. "So, you chose to mess with them."
"Well, yeah," Naruto said with a shrug, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "They were gettin' in the way. Figured a little nap on the grass would do 'em some good."
"However," Naruto added, his tone becoming serious for the first time, "Sakanade's Bankai is indiscriminate. It'll affect friend and foe, no exceptions."
"Bankai?" Sakura asked, her voice small.
"It's the second state of my blade," Naruto explained, looking out at the sky. "The final release. It's not something I can use when you guys are around. It's for when I'm alone and need to fight an army." He didn't elaborate on its ability, but the gravity in his voice was chilling. "The Shikai is more than enough for most situations. It's better that way."
After a moment of letting his team process the existence of soul swords and second releases, Kakashi clapped his hands together, pulling them back to reality. "Alright. That's enough secrets for one day. Here's the plan. Sakura, your focus is on building your physical foundation. We'll start you on stamina exercises and a basic taijutsu kata. You need to be able to keep up."
"Sasuke, you need refinement. You'll work on a more advanced taijutsu style to compliment your Sharingan when you awaken it, and more importantly, you will learn to be a team player. You and I will have specific drills on emotional control in combat."
His eye finally landed on Naruto. "And Naruto. Your solo combat skills are… sufficient for now. Your training will be about integration. You will learn to fight with them. We'll start with basic team formations. Ino-Shika-Cho formations are famous because they work. We will develop our own. Naruto, you'll be our vanguard and wild card. Sasuke, you'll be our primary offensive striker. Sakura, until your skills develop, you'll be rear support. Your job is to watch their backs and analyze the enemy. Understood?"
Three very different expressions looked back at him, but they all nodded. For the first time, they weren't just three kids and a teacher. They were a team with a purpose, however strange and complicated that team might be.