The days after Naruto's accident passed slowly.
The sky outside his hospital window shifted from blue to gray to golden every day, but inside, time felt frozen. The white walls smelled of medicine and disinfectant. Nurses came and went, checking his bandages, writing notes, giving him meals that tasted like paper.
Naruto hated it.
He wanted to run again. He wanted to hear the wind, to see the sun, to eat ramen at Ichiraku. But every time he tried to move, his head throbbed and his vision blurred. The bandage around his right eye itched terribly, and the doctors wouldn't let him remove it.
Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he heard a faint whisper — like a voice calling from somewhere deep in his chest.
It wasn't scary exactly, but it made his skin crawl.
"Naruto…"
"The seal has chosen you…"
He didn't understand what it meant, but he tried to ignore it.
He told himself it was just a dream, just a weird echo from the night of the accident.
Iruka's Visit
A week later, Iruka came to see him again. He carried a small bowl of hot ramen and a bright smile.
"Morning, Naruto," Iruka said warmly. "You look better today."
Naruto sat up quickly. "Sensei! You brought ramen again?!"
Iruka laughed. "Of course. You heal faster when you eat well."
Naruto took the bowl and slurped loudly. "Mmm! This is the best! Way better than hospital food."
Iruka chuckled. "I'll tell the Hokage you said that. He paid for it."
Naruto grinned through his noodles. Then his smile faded a little. "Sensei… everyone's talking about me again, right? About what happened that night?"
Iruka's smile faded too. He set his bowl down. "Don't worry about them, Naruto. People will always talk. But you're safe. That's what matters."
Naruto frowned. "But I… I felt something. When I was in that place. It wasn't a dream. I heard a voice… and there were lights, and pain in my eye."
Iruka looked uneasy. "You were hurt badly. The doctors say you hit your head hard. It's normal to have strange dreams."
"But it felt real," Naruto said quietly. "Like something inside me woke up."
Iruka placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then whatever it was, we'll deal with it together, alright?"
Naruto nodded slowly. "Okay."
The Bandage
That night, when everyone had gone and the nurses had dimmed the lights, Naruto lay awake staring at the ceiling.
The whisper had returned — clearer now, like someone speaking right beside his ear.
"Remove it…"
Naruto's hand trembled. "Who are you?" he whispered.
"Your eye… is not lost… it has changed…"
He sat up slowly. The hospital was silent except for the soft beeping of a heart monitor in the next room. He hesitated, then reached for the bandage.
"Just a peek," he murmured, carefully unwrapping it.
The bandage came loose, falling into his lap. He took a deep breath and turned toward the window, where moonlight shone across the glass.
For a moment, everything looked normal — then his reflection blinked back at him.
One blue eye.
One red eye.
Naruto froze. The right eye glowed faintly, not like the Sharingan's spinning tomoe he had seen in books, but a deep scarlet iris with a golden circle in the center. Thin black markings stretched from it like cracks across his cheek.
He gasped and covered his face. "W-what is this?!"
The voice inside him spoke again, steady and calm.
"You carry the Seal of the Abyss. A gift and a curse. The eye sees what others cannot."
Naruto's heart pounded. "Why me? What did I do?!"
"You entered the forbidden place. You woke me. Now we are bound."
He stumbled back from the window, shaking. "This isn't real! I'm dreaming!"
But when he blinked, the room around him shifted. The walls seemed to ripple like water.
He could see faint symbols glowing behind them — ancient runes forming circles and lines, like invisible seals covering the entire hospital.
"What is this?" he whispered.
"You see the hidden world," the voice said. "The world of spirits and seals. Few humans can. You are chosen."
Naruto covered his ears. "Stop! I don't want this!"
The glow faded slowly, and the voice went quiet. The world returned to normal.
Naruto collapsed back onto the bed, trembling. He wrapped the bandage around his eye again, breathing hard.
"Chosen…? Why does that always sound like trouble?" he muttered, then slowly drifted into uneasy sleep.
Morning Rumors
The next day, the hospital was busier than usual.
Villagers whispered as they passed Naruto's room. Nurses avoided looking at him directly. When he walked down the hall for checkups, conversations stopped mid-sentence.
Naruto noticed it all but said nothing. He kept his head down, pretending not to care.
But deep inside, it hurt more than anything.
"Why does everyone look at me like that?" he muttered, kicking at the floor as he returned to his room.
"Because they fear what they don't understand," said a deep voice behind him.
Naruto turned. It was the Third Hokage, standing at the doorway with his hands behind his back. His eyes were kind but tired.
"Lord Third!" Naruto said, bowing quickly.
"Relax, my boy," Hiruzen said, smiling softly. "How are you feeling?"
Naruto shrugged. "Better, I guess. My eye still hurts though…"
Hiruzen studied him for a long moment. "You have been through much. Rest is important. And… try to keep that bandage on for now."
Naruto frowned. "So you know something happened, don't you? What was in that old house?"
Hiruzen sighed. "Some places hold memories too powerful for children to touch. The Senju compound is one of them. Your body reacted to old magic—ancient chakra seals that predate even the First Hokage."
"Magic?" Naruto repeated. "I thought only chakra existed."
The old man smiled faintly. "There are things beyond chakra, Naruto. Forces that even the sages feared to name. But worry not — you are still you. The power you touched has chosen to live within you, but what you do with it… will be your choice."
Naruto's eyes widened. "So… I'm not cursed?"
Hiruzen's smile deepened. "No, my boy. You're gifted. But gifts can be dangerous if not used with care. Remember that."
He turned to leave, then added softly, "And one more thing… never let Danzo or his men know about your eye. Promise me."
Naruto blinked. "Danzo? Why?"
"Because some people seek power only to control it."
The old Hokage gave him a gentle nod and walked away, leaving Naruto more confused than ever.
Back to the Village
After two more days, Naruto was allowed to leave the hospital.
He stepped out into the sunlight, breathing deeply. The village looked the same — busy streets, laughing children, colorful banners — yet he felt different, like the world itself had changed.
As he walked through the market, people still stared and whispered.
"That's him, the boy from the haunted house…"
"I heard his eye burned with red fire…"
"Maybe the demon fox has awakened again."
Naruto kept walking, pretending not to hear. His hand touched the bandage lightly. "They don't know anything," he murmured.
At Ichiraku Ramen, the old owner Teuchi greeted him with a warm grin.
"Well, if it isn't Naruto! You gave us quite a scare, kid. Come on, sit down!"
Naruto's mood lifted instantly. "Teuchi-ossan! You're the best!"
Ayame laughed from behind the counter. "Same as always, Naruto? Extra miso?"
"You know it!" he said, hopping onto a stool.
As he ate, he finally felt normal again — just a hungry kid with a bowl of ramen and people who didn't treat him like a monster.
But halfway through his third bowl, his vision blurred suddenly. He blinked and froze. The chopsticks in his hand glowed faintly, thin lines of energy tracing their shape. When he looked up, faint red outlines shimmered around everything — people, tables, even the steam.
He gasped and dropped his bowl. "Wha—?!"
"Naruto?" Ayame said, startled. "Are you okay?"
He forced a smile. "Yeah! Just… hot soup! Too hot!"
He rubbed his covered eye quickly, and the strange vision faded.
He sighed. "What's happening to me…"
The First Dream
That night, Naruto dreamed again.
He stood in a vast empty field under a black sky. The ground was made of white stone, carved with hundreds of glowing symbols. In the distance, a tall door stood alone, covered in chains.
As he stepped closer, the chains rattled and a deep voice echoed.
"You return, bearer of the seal."
Naruto looked around. "Where am I?"
"Between worlds," the voice replied. "The place where your spirit and mine meet."
The air shimmered, and the shadowy figure from before appeared — tall, cloaked in darkness, with golden eyes glowing like small suns.
Naruto took a step back. "You again…"
"You fear me still."
"Of course I do! You hurt me! You burned my eye!"
The shadow tilted its head. "Pain is the price of awakening."
Naruto clenched his fists. "I didn't ask for this!"
"Nor did I ask to be sealed for a thousand years," the figure said quietly. "But fate does not ask. It commands."
Naruto hesitated. The voice didn't sound evil this time — just tired. Sad, even.
"What are you?" he asked softly.
"A remnant. A spirit of the old world. They called me Shax, the whispering demon of knowledge. I was bound long ago by your ancestors… until you broke the seal."
"Shax…?" Naruto repeated the name carefully. "You're saying I released you?"
"Not fully. My body sleeps still. But through you, I may see the world again. And through me, you may see what lies hidden."
Naruto crossed his arms stubbornly. "I don't want your help. I just want to be normal."
The shadow chuckled, the sound deep and echoing.
"Normal is a lie, Naruto Uzumaki. Even before me, you were never normal."
Naruto frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You will learn soon enough. For now, rest. The eye will show you truth — whether you wish it or not."
The dream began to fade, the ground crumbling beneath him.
Naruto shouted, "Wait! What do you mean truth?!"
But the voice only whispered one last time —
"When the red moon rises, seek the ring…"
Then everything went dark.
The Awakening
Naruto woke up gasping. Sweat covered his face. He touched his bandage again — it felt warm. He threw off his blanket and ran to the small mirror above his sink.
He hesitated for a long moment, then pulled the bandage off completely.
The red eye stared back at him, glowing brighter than before.
But this time, he didn't see his reflection — he saw the world behind it. The air shimmered with faint threads of energy. Every object glowed with its own aura. The walls had hidden seals burned into their surfaces. Even his own body had faint lines running through it — veins of chakra and something else… something older.
He raised his hand, and the symbols in his eye moved — spinning slowly like gears.
"Is this… what you meant?" he whispered.
"Yes," said the voice calmly. "You now see the flow of life. The seals, the lies, the energy of all things. The eye is your key."
Naruto took a deep breath. For the first time, he didn't feel scared. He felt powerful — and curious.
"What do I do now?" he asked aloud.
"Learn," the voice replied. "And listen."
Naruto looked out the window toward the Hokage Monument. The village was asleep, peaceful and unaware. He smiled faintly.
"Then let's start," he said.
The red glow in his eye dimmed, fading back to normal as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon.
Far away, on the edge of the forest, the old Senju compound stood silent once more — but in one of its deepest chambers, something stirred.
A single mark glowed on the floor where Naruto had fallen days ago — the same symbol now hidden behind his eye.
The seal had chosen its bearer.
And the world would never be the same.