Naruto's mind trembled, drowning in the storm of emotions pouring from the Nine-Tails. He suddenly remembered the countless gazes from the villagers of Konoha those eyes filled with contempt, suspicion, and rejection. He saw the cold sneers, the whispers behind his back, the laughter that cut deeper than blades.
For so many years, he had pretended to ignore them. He had laughed louder, shouted brighter, and trained harder, convincing himself that none of it mattered. But under the weight of the Nine-Tails' malevolent chakra, all the pain he had buried surged up like a flood breaking through a dam.
Resentment. Agony. Fury.
His heart screamed, and with it came a thought that terrified even him.
Destroy everything.
Naruto's blue eyes lost their shine, dulled to a lifeless void. His voice, flat and cold, echoed through the seal. "Destroy it all. Maybe I was never strong enough to ignore them. Maybe I've only been lying to myself… just shoving everything into a dark corner of my heart."
In the sealed space, half of his body was already engulfed in the Nine-Tails' crimson chakra. But the terrifying truth was that the corruption didn't stop at the spiritual level. It was leaking outward, bleeding into reality.
The violent, seething chakra surged through the house like a tidal wave.
In the next room, Sasuke jolted awake, his instincts on edge.
On Naruto's bed, Lily trembled uncontrollably. Her breathing quickened as her heightened senses picked up the overwhelming malice in the air.
"This… this chakra… it's pure evil!"
Her perception was sharper than most. That was her strength and now her curse. The malice pouring from Naruto was so strong it wasn't just something she could feel. It was pressing against her very spirit, clawing at her mind like a demon's hand reaching straight into her chest.
If she allowed it to continue, if she let that hatred sink into her thoughts, her sanity would shatter.
Without hesitation, Lily forced her own consciousness to shut down, knocking herself unconscious before the madness could consume her.
Meanwhile, Sasuke burst into Naruto's room, the sight before him making his chest seize. Naruto's body was writhing, chakra bubbling out of him like boiling magma. His face twisted in torment, his features half-shadowed by the beast's crimson energy.
"Damn it! Why? How did the Nine-Tails suddenly start overwhelming him like this?" Sasuke's voice cracked with alarm.
He bit his thumb, forming a hand sign. "Shadow Clone!"
The clone disappeared in a flash, sent to alert Hinata immediately. Sasuke's real body knelt beside Naruto, his Sharingan already spinning violently in his eyes.
"This chakra… this hatred. What happened to the seal?" His heart pounded so violently it hurt. If Naruto fell now, if he was lost to the Nine-Tails, Sasuke wasn't sure he'd survive it himself.
He ripped open Naruto's shirt, his eyes narrowing. The sealing formula was glowing, jagged symbols crawling across his skin like chains about to snap.
"Sharingan!" Sasuke pushed his ocular power to the limit, forcing his spirit into Naruto's seal.
The world shifted.
A second later, he was standing on the border of Naruto's inner world. But the familiar grassy plain was gone.
Half of the landscape still shimmered with clear blue skies and soft clouds. But the other half… was devastation. Scorched earth stretched endlessly, crimson rivers cutting through fissures, dripping like wounds that would never heal.
Sasuke's heart clenched. "This… is Naruto's sealed space?"
For a moment, he faltered, overwhelmed by the contrast. But then he steeled himself, scanning the horizon until he found them Naruto and the Nine-Tails.
He rushed forward, stopping at Naruto's side. His best friend's face was twisted in anguish, eyes lifeless, body half-consumed. Sasuke's fists clenched. He turned sharply toward the massive beast towering over them.
"What did you do to him?" His voice was razor-edged with fury.
The Nine-Tails grinned, revealing rows of gleaming fangs. "Hah. Those cursed eyes… You must be Uchiha Sasuke."
It knew him. Thanks to the loosened seal, the fox could sense fragments of the outside world, and Sasuke's existence was not unknown.
"Answer me!" Sasuke roared, his Sharingan whirling so fast it seemed like a single circle of scarlet. "What happened to Naruto?"
The fox's tails swayed lazily. Its crimson gaze held no remorse. "As you can see, brat, my chakra is flooding into him. He's drowning in it."
Sasuke's teeth ground together. "Why? With his strength, he didn't need to risk this! What are you forcing him into?"
He wanted nothing more than to unleash his strongest technique, to hurl lightning itself at this monster. But this was Naruto's inner space. His physical chakra meant nothing here. He was powerless again.
The Nine-Tails' deep voice rumbled. "No one forced him. He made his choice. He told you, didn't he? To stand as my perfect jinchūriki, he must face this trial. Only those with absolute strength can endure it."
Sasuke's breath hitched. His nails dug into his palm until blood welled. Once again, he hated himself. Once again, he wasn't strong enough.
He remembered his brother's hand soaked in blood, the night the Uchiha clan had fallen because Sasuke was too weak to stop it.
And now, because of that same weakness, Naruto was paying the price, gambling his life against the Nine-Tails' malice.
"Damn it!" Sasuke's voice broke, his body trembling. "If Naruto fails… what happens?"
The fox's reply was chillingly calm. "He will lose his mind. And then, he will die."
Sasuke's breath caught. He looked at Naruto's twisted face, the pain etched in every line, and blood tears welled in his eyes. His chest burned, torn open by the thought.
He turned back to the Nine-Tails, his Sharingan glowing brighter than ever, his voice hoarse yet resolute. "If Naruto dies, I'll drag you into the grave with him. I swear it."
For the first time, the Nine-Tails hesitated. Those eyes staring at it were no longer ordinary Sharingan.
Sasuke had crossed a threshold.
His devotion to Naruto, his only bond, his only light had pushed him beyond the limits of his bloodline. In that instant, the hatred and love twisting inside him birthed something new.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
But Sasuke didn't care. His awakening meant nothing to him compared to Naruto's life. All that mattered was his friend.
Meanwhile, far away, Hinata sat in meditation, her breathing steady as she trained her spiritual focus. But the sudden surge of chakra tearing through the village walls jolted her eyes open.
"What is happening?"
Outside, shouts echoed, and guards rushed through the Hyūga compound.
In the next moment, Sasuke's clone appeared outside her room.
Hinata activated her Byakugan at once. Her gaze locked on the figure and recognized it instantly.
"Sasuke?"
The clone's voice was urgent, cutting through the night. "Naruto's in danger. Come to my house. Now."
Before she could respond, the clone dispersed.
Hinata's heart slammed in her chest, her pupils tightening. Naruto… in danger?
A surge of power tore out of her body in an uncontrolled burst, splintering the floorboards and cracking the ceiling beams.
"Eight Trigrams Teleportation!"
Her figure vanished in an instant.
Back at the Hyūga compound, Hiashi rushed to Hinata's quarters only to find the room empty, her chakra trail blazing like a beacon across the village.
"Send every available shinobi to track Lady Hinata's whereabouts!" he barked, his usually composed voice trembling with urgency.
This was not the first time his daughter had been targeted. Years ago, Cloud shinobi had tried to steal her bloodline limit. She had barely been saved. And now, she was gone again.
His jaw clenched. Someone would pay.
Meanwhile, Hinata streaked through the village like a comet, her teleportation techniques sending shockwaves of chakra with every jump. The ANBU and Konoha police force picked up on the disturbances instantly.
"Who's there?"
Masked figures darted across rooftops, trying to intercept her. But Hinata's speed was overwhelming. None could keep pace.
"Damn it, too fast. You follow her, I'll alert the higher-ups!" one ANBU snapped.
"Got it!"
But Hinata didn't care who noticed. Every pulse of her chakra screamed one thing: she had to reach Naruto before it was too late.
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