"I… I haven't lost…"
Mizuki forced the words out through blood-filled lungs.
His body lay mangled and broken against the forest floor, eyes wide and unfocused, staring into nothing. Even as life slipped away, that stubborn, ugly desire to live still clung to his gaze.
Then his breath stopped.
Silence reclaimed the clearing.
Inside the shared consciousness, something heavy settled—and then dispersed.
A faint surge rippled through the darkness.
Lock felt it clearly.
The satisfaction of revenge.
The completion of violence.
The quiet aftermath of a life ending.
It was brief.
But real.
And it fed the depths.
Naruto's consciousness stirred violently.
The numbness that had swallowed him during Mizuki's confession finally broke, and awareness rushed back in all at once. He felt the corpse at his feet. The blood on his hands. The lingering echo of cruelty.
Relief came first.
Then horror.
"What… what did you do!?" Naruto's voice rang out inside their mind, panicked and shaken. "Lock You killed him!"
His thoughts were chaotic, fear and confusion crashing together.
"You killed Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto shouted. "You promised me—you promised you wouldn't use my body to kill people like this!"
The image of Mizuki's end replayed against Naruto's will: the deliberate cruelty, the drawn-out torment, the way Lock had played with him.
It terrified him.
Not just because someone had died—but because of how easily it had been done.
And because, deep down, Naruto could feel it.
That strength.
That terrifying control.
Did I always have this? Naruto wondered in horror. Was this power inside me the whole time?
Fear twisted tighter around his heart.
If Lock could do this once… what would stop him from doing it again?
Naruto didn't want that.
He didn't want Lock to become a monster.
He didn't want to lose the only person who had ever truly stood on his side—because of blood.
"I didn't kill recklessly," Lock replied calmly.
His tone was even, detached.
"Mizuki was a traitor. Whether I acted or not, the village would have eliminated him sooner or later."
Naruto's breath hitched.
The logic made sense.
That was the worst part.
"…Still," Naruto said weakly, "you didn't have to do it like that."
Lock didn't answer.
He stepped over Mizuki's corpse and reached down, unfastening the Scroll of Seals from the man's back. Blood soaked into the cloth as he lifted it free.
Naruto felt a reluctant sense of acceptance settle over him.
"…Fine," he muttered. "You saved us. I'll… I'll forgive you this time."
For a brief moment, something cold flickered through Lock.
Forgive me?
His expression tightened, then smoothed over just as quickly.
He said nothing.
Naruto, oblivious to the shift, suddenly realized something far more urgent.
"The jutsu!" he exclaimed. "I didn't finish learning it!"
Before Lock could respond, Naruto's will surged forward.
"Give me my body back!"
There was no negotiation.
No hesitation.
A powerful pull seized Lock's consciousness, dragging him downward as Naruto rushed upward. The world inverted—darkness swallowing sight as control shifted violently.
In the next instant—
Naruto was back.
He staggered slightly, then straightened, eyes wide with amazement.
"It worked!?" he laughed breathlessly. "I just thought about it, and I switched back!"
This was different from before.
This time, it had been his decision.
His control.
The realization sent a thrill through him.
Then guilt struck.
"Ah—sorry, Lock!" Naruto said quickly inside his mind. "I didn't mean to force you back! I promise I'll let you out again after I get home!"
He paused, then added seriously, "Right now I really need to finish learning that jutsu and return the scroll."
Deep within the darkness, Lock exhaled slowly.
"So you can pull me back whenever you want," he said. "Interesting."
He wasn't angry.
In fact, he was satisfied.
Control that could be taken back… could also be given up again.
"Fine," Lock continued. "I'll remember your promise."
Naruto nodded to himself, reassured.
The forest clearing felt different now—quieter, emptier, heavier with consequence.
Naruto knelt, unrolled the Scroll of Seals once more, and focused.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
He formed the hand seals carefully, chakra surging in volumes he had never dared use before. This time, there was no hesitation, no confusion.
The technique clicked.
Perfectly.
The moment understanding settled, Naruto felt it—clarity, mastery, certainty.
He slammed his hands together.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The clearing exploded with sound.
Smoke burst outward as dozens—then hundreds—of Narutos appeared, filling the forest in every direction. Branches creaked under sudden weight. Leaves scattered wildly.
Naruto stared in awe.
"So… strong," he whispered. "This is incredible!"
He laughed, exhilarated.
"I feel like I could beat two Mizuki-senseis right now!"
Inside, Lock watched silently.
The technique had taken root cleanly.
Too cleanly.
Monstrous chakra reserves, he noted. Just as expected.
Naruto was still basking in his success when a startled voice rang out from above.
"Naruto!? Why are there so many of you!?"
Naruto spun around.
"Iruka-sensei!?"
Iruka stood frozen on a tree branch, eyes wide, staring at the countless clones crowding the clearing.
"…Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu," Iruka breathed. "You actually learned it?"
Naruto grinned proudly.
"The Third Gramps sent you, right?" he said cheerfully. "But it's fine! I already learned a jutsu!"
He tossed the Scroll of Seals upward without hesitation.
"Here! Take it back and give it to him! Mission complete!"
Before Iruka could react, Naruto turned and bolted.
His original body sprinted away as dozens of clones surged forward, deliberately blocking Iruka's path.
As Naruto ran, his voice echoed back through the trees.
"Oh, and Mizuki-sensei betrayed the village! He tried to kill me and steal the scroll!"
"I stopped him!" Naruto shouted. "I'm pretty strong now, so I killed him! Sensei, remember to tell the Third Gramps!"
Iruka's face drained of color.
"…Killed him?"
He snapped out of his shock and leapt down, trying to chase—but the clones swarmed, forcing him back.
Then the clones parted.
And Iruka saw it.
Mizuki's corpse.
Mangled.
Broken beyond recognition.
Iruka froze.
A chill crawled up his spine as fear took hold—not fear of Mizuki's betrayal, but fear of how he had died.
He slowly turned his gaze back to the remaining Naruto.
For a fraction of a second, something ugly flickered in his eyes.
Fear.
Unease.
The memory of the Nine-Tails twelve years ago.
The clones noticed.
They all did.
Their expressions darkened at once.
So Mizuki had been right after all.
Iruka realized his mistake immediately.
"No—Naruto, that's not—" he began desperately.
But it was too late.
The clones vanished in a chorus of soft pops.
Naruto was already gone.
Iruka stood alone in the clearing, the Scroll of Seals clutched in his hands, dread pooling in his chest.
"I have to explain," he muttered. "I have to find him—"
A presence emerged behind him.
An ANBU operative stepped from the shadows, mask expressionless.
"There's no need," the ANBU said flatly. "The mission Hokage-sama assigned to you has already failed."
Iruka stiffened.
"Return the Scroll of Seals," the operative continued. "Hokage-sama will decide what happens next."
"I—I was just startled!" Iruka protested. "I didn't mean to look at him that way!"
The ANBU didn't respond.
He lifted Mizuki's body with practiced efficiency and vanished.
Left alone, Iruka stared in the direction Naruto had fled.
"Naruto…" he whispered.
For a long moment, he hesitated.
Then he turned away.
The image of Mizuki's ruined body wouldn't leave his mind.
Fear smothered sympathy.
In the end, Iruka ran in the opposite direction.
And just like that—
The one teacher who might have reached Naruto…
chose not to.
---
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