Author's Note: As always a massive thank you to everyone who's left a review! They quite literally sustain my motivation to keep writing. This chapter is a little shorter than previous but I wanted to get it out. What I'm thinking is the next chapter will cover the 2 year time gap, likely in sequences as I'm not planning on going through every single friendship/bit of training the MC does in that time period (unless that's something you want to see? Let me know if it is).

To address a couple of points people made:

- The reason the MC didn't make 1000 shadow clones against Mizuki is firstly because Naruto in the anime was hella pissed when he did that and I don't think it's the kind of feat he could just repeat whenever. From my memory of the show he certainly didn't make that many shadow clones again in any of the other fights he had for ages. Secondly, he had only just learn the jutsu roughly, and was planning on perfecting it later in his own time.

- As a general point on the actions of the MC, he is by extension me, and so his thoughts reflect mine. If I was dropped into Naruto I'd definitely want to rush learning Kage Bunshin as it's learning potential is super OP and useful. I'm also quite fond of Sasuke, but as you'll see in this chapter things may change a bit regarding that (:

- NotosK good catch with the Bunshin! That was a mistake on my part, I forgot they were immaterial. I will go back and revise the explanation in that section at some point.


I felt as though I was hovering on the edge of consciousness, drifting in and out of awareness. Broken images fell all around me, but whenever I tried to focus on one it shattered and I fell into darkness again.

I dreamed of my old life, and I was struck by just how much I missed it. I had friends, family, a career, what must those who I'd left behind be thinking now? Did they still think of me at all? Once I'd accepted my new life here I'd buried those feelings deep but it was only now that I realised they had never really gone away, I'd just forced them deep inside me and focussed on what I thought I had to do here, in this life.

What I thought I had to do…but is it actually what I want?

I'd felt a responsibility to those who I'd seen in the anime; to correct the things Naruto had done wrong, to save those he couldn't save, to save the same people he had, but was that really my cross to bear?

I almost died in my rush to get stronger, because of what I felt I had to do. I still want to get stronger, but I can't live the rest of my life in Naruto's shadow. If I hadn't woken up in this world I would have died in the old one, if this is my second chance then shouldn't I take it? Is it selfish of me to want to live the rest of this life how I do?

I stirred, feeling a dampness against my cheek. It was strange to feel physical sensation after so long, but at the same time the feeling felt strange, different but somehow nostalgic. With a huge effort of will I forced my eyes open.

The room, no the chamber, was dimly lit. I was lying on my side in a shallow amount of clear, blue water. I went to push myself up and then froze as I saw my reflection.

The face that stared back at me was my own. Not Naruto's, but the face of the person I thought I'd left behind. Black, messy hair framed a tanned face and light brown eyes. I pushed myself up and stood at my full height, looking at my arms and hands in wonder.

Where am I? Have I gone back to my world?

"So you finally deign to come visit me jailor." The deep voice boomed out from behind me, and I spun around in a panic, falling back into the water as I saw what was behind me,

Huge, towering bars blocked off a section of the chamber, a circular lock set into the middle section. The other side was covered almost completely in darkness, but it was illuminated by two gleaming red eyes that glinted maliciously as they looked at me.

This….this is the Kyubi, I thought, swallowing as I got shakily to my feet, It's huge….even one of its eyes has gotta be at least twice as big as I am!

In the darkness the beast shifted position, sending waves throughout the shallow water as it did. In the poor lighting I could only just barely make out the outline of a huge body as it breathed, its fur ruffling as it did. The Kyubi breathed out as I felt hot air blast me, strangely unscented.

"Jailor?" I tried to ask casually, "Why do you call me that? Did you bring me here to speak with you?"

There was a boom like a thunderclap and I was thrown down on my back again from the concussive force. Eyes wide open in fear, I just caught the flash of something huge and red retreating back into the darkness. When it spoke it sounded like the distant rumbling of thunder,

"I? I called you here? You came here of your own accord, pitifully, seeking my power. Do NOT play ignorant with me mortal."

I got up again shakily. I was nervous, but the bars seemed to be holding firm. The Kyubi shouldn't be able to reach me here, and as far as I remembered it wasn't able to start escaping from its cell until Shippuden.

Is that why that side is in darkness? I'm pretty sure Naruto could see it more clearly in the series. Or is it something that I did?

"You don't seem to be surprised by my appearance," I said, choosing my words carefully. The Kyubi gave a low growl in response,

"What does name or face or even sex matter to me? All that remains is I am bound inside of you. I, the strongest of the tailed beasts, am trapped inside a worthless insect like you." The glowing red eyes seemed to narrow in cruel amusement, "But for how much longer...I wonder."

I narrowed my eyes, my confidence coming back as it became clearer that the Kyubi couldn't really do anything to me other than grandstand.

"Is that meant to be a bluff? I know you can't escape that cage, the fact that I'm talking to you right now is proof of that," I remembered what he'd said at the start, "And I certainly didn't come here seeking your power."

Disturbingly, the Kyubi chuckled before replying, "Aah but you did. Whether you intended to or not, your body reached out for me. You were wounded recently, were you not?"

My arm reflexively twitched towards where the kunai had entered my chest. I reigned the impulse back in but the Kyubi noticed and he laughed cruelly,

"Foolish, foolish! Yes your body sought me out, you needed me, and my chakra, to survive, and you'll need me again! And everytime you seek me out for my power, I'll come ever close to devouring you and escaping this accursed place."

"Sorry to disappoint you Kyubi but that won't be happening. That's cool if you saved me this time but trust me I won't be making a habit of it."

"You say that now but I am not blind, jailor. I have seen your fear, your despair, your longing for strength. I have tasted it. You will seek me out, whether it be in a day or in a year or more. You will realise that you are weak and I am strong and you will come crawling to me for the power to do what you cannot."

How did Naruto deal with this? The Kyubi was inhuman, I could almost feel the rage and hatred cascading off of it. It's like if somebody had given rage a form.

Before I could formulate a reply, the red eyes vanished, leaving the Kyubi's side of the cage in darkness.

"I grow tired of this distraction. Leave me now, but I expect we'll meet again."

I could hear a distant voice calling my name. I tried to take a step towards the Kyubi but a vacuum-like force seized me, dragging me back. The cage and chamber blew away like sand in front of me, and I was hurtling through darkness once more.


I stirred again. This time I felt warm, something heavy was draped over the top of me, cocooning my body. Firm hands gripped my shoulders, shaking me.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

I cracked my eyes open, seeing the concerned face of Iruka above me. His eyes widened fractionally then relaxed, and he eased himself back.

"Iruka-sensei….where am I?" I tried to sit up but he replaced his hand on my shoulder, holding me gently in place.

"You gave us quite a fright Naruto, that was some injury you had. If it hadn't been for-" he cut himself off, floundering for a moment before he smiled tiredly and asked, "How are you feeling?"

I frowned slightly, "Sore...and pretty tired….but other than that ok I guess? I thought I'd be feeling a lot worse." And I had thought that. I placed my hand on my chest underneath the covers. The skin there felt tender, but it was mostly smooth, with the only the faintest outline of a scar.

I guess the Kyubi was telling the truth, it must have healed me. Recalling its words was a bit disturbing, especially the fact that I'd actually spoken to him face-to-face in that strange inside world. Naruto didn't meet him for a much longer time.

Suddenly I sat bolt upright, startling Iruka, "What happened to Mizuki? He was the one who stabbed me, you can't let him get away!"

Iruka held up his hands soothingly, "It's ok Naruto you can relax, we took care of Mizuki. Once your shadow clone dispersed I thought something was wrong and I rushed over to the location it told me. Mizuki was arrested by ANBU and taken away."

I sighed and relaxed back into the bed. At least that's taken care off.

"Naruto...what you did was wrong, stealing that scroll. However..." Iruka looked troubled, "I also feel like we owe you an apology. Hokage-dono told me that you were feeling worried about the graduation exam but he didn't realise just how bad it was. I've seen you acting differently recently and I just assumed you were taking your training more seriously now. I want you to know that if you're ever feeling worried or scared about something, you can come speak to me about it."

I could feel a strange emotion rising inside me. It was ridiculous, being that I was actually 24 years old, but a part of me wanted to open up to Iruka and tell him everything that was going on. He was looking at me with genuine concern in his eyes, and I felt bad having to lie to him.

How could you? You'd be telling him that you killed the Naruto he knew and replaced him with a stranger. He'd hate you.

Mustering a smile to mask my inner turmoil I replied, "Thank you Iruka-sensei. I know what I did was wrong, even if Mizuki did lie to me. So….I'm sorry too."

Iruka nodded but he still seemed worried. He looked like….he was working up the nerve to say something?

"Naruto...is there anything else you'd like to tell me now, while we're talking?"

Alarm bells went off in my head. He suspects something, or at the very least something else has got him worried. Is it just the personality shift? Or have I misstepped somehow?

Pretending to think about it, I shook my head, "There's nothing else Iruka-sensei. It's just..."

"Yes Naruto?" He nodded encouragingly, I decided to go for it,

"I have decided to take the academy more seriously. Getting stabbed by Mizuki showed me that being a ninja isn't a game, I've been acting too childishly up until now and wasting the time I could have spent training. I want to get stronger, and so I'm going to start giving my all at the academy." I looked Iruka directly in the eye, "I'm going to become the strongest ninja in this village. I don't know about Hokage, but I'm going to become strong enough to stand on my own two feet, so that I can protect the people I care about. I'll show you what kind of ninja I have the potential to be."

I don't want to hold myself back at the academy anymore. It's too cumbersome, and it affects my learning if I can't ask the instructors question properly. If I'm going to become truly strong I'll need Iruka's help, there are things I can't learn on my own or from books. Now that I've got the Kage Bunshin I can use that openly to explain the knowledge I already have.

"Naruto…that's great to hear. You're being very mature about this and I'm very proud of you. But, Naruto...I thought your dream was to be Hokage? You've always talked about it up until now, are you sure you want to give up on that? If it's because you feel guilty about Mizuki then you shouldn't, he was meant to be your instructor and he lied to you. There's no need for you to give up on your dream".

That dream died with Naruto. I have no desire to be Hokage.

Speaking to Iruka now had made me realise what I wanted. All I wanted was to become strong enough to protect the people close to me. That's something that hadn't changed from my old life, I wanted to be in a position to positively impact the lives of others. The ninja world could be shockingly brutal, and I knew there was still a lot more to come.

The hazy image of Team 7 floated in my mind. They weren't the only people in this world, my focus had been too narrow, constrained by the path Naruto had taken. Well, I wasn't Naruto, and it was time to stop isolating myself from people. Both in the village and at the academy.

Actually….the villages can screw themselves for all I care. But it is time for me to start making some friends at the school.

I gave Iruka a small, warm smile. "My dream hasn't changed sensei. It's still the same as it always was, I've just realised what I have to do now to achieve it."

Iruka reached over and pulled me into a hug, and even though I felt stupid as a tear rolled down my face, I hugged him strongly back.


"So, he didn't say anything else?"

"No Hokage-sama."

The Hokage hummed, inhaling deeply from his pipe and blowing the smoke out thoughtfully. The moments stretched out and Iruka decided to break in before the silence grew uncomfortable,

"Did Muzki say anything else?"

The Hokage blew out a huge amount of smoke as he sighed, "He has not. The only information he volunteered readily was that he was working for Orochimaru, but that was because he believed we already knew. In fact, he seemed surprised when we informed him otherwise." His wrinkled eye tracked the wisps of smoke as they faded, "A curious case indeed."

Iruka frowned, "And he didn't say who told him that?"

The Hokage shook his head, "He isn't going anywhere, now that we have him in custody I'm sure he'll tell us eventually. I'm more concerned about Naruto, you told me you could sense its presence while he was recovering?"

Iruka looked reluctant but the Hokage held his eyes unblinkingly. Eventually he nodded slowly and said,

"While Naruto was recovering I could sense traces of its chakra. It was….horrible….the feeling of pure hatred and anger manifesting itself. When he woke, I could see traces of it in his eyes but it faded quickly and he was back to normal after that."

"Normal...an interesting choice of word." The Hokage puffed again, "Normal, yes. But normal for Naruto? The boy seems to have undergone a marked change recently."

"You can't surely suspect him!" Iruka protested, "I know he's been acting differently but he's still Naruto! He's gone through a lot recently, it's not surprising that he would have reacted to it. He's only 10!"

"I'm not saying I'm suspicious of him Iruka, I'm merely pointing out that the boy has changed recently. And if the Kyubi has begun to show its hand already then my concern is for the boy."

Iruka looked mutinous, but the Hokage fixed him with a quelling glare.

"For now we will proceed as we have done in the past, but cautiously. I want you to keep an eye on the boy, and inform me if you notice anything that you think is troubling. I pray that my worry is unfounded but it doesn't hurt to be safe."

Iruka seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, before he bowed and replied, "Yes, Hokage-sama," and turned and left the room. As the door behind him shut the Hokage sighed and closed his eyes,

"I assume you heard all of that?"

There was a blur of movement, and a masked man stood in the room, his posture relaxed.

"I did."

"Iruka is a good man but I worry that his emotions will cloud his judgement. You will also need to watch the boy, particularly if Orochimaru is interested in him. I will arrange for your regular duties to be reduced to give you more time to keep an eye on him." The Hokage smiled, "I had hoped you might take him into your team after he graduated, so you could look at this as early screening. I expect he'll be released from the hospital's care in a few days time."

Hatake Kakshi nodded lazily behind his mask, "Yes, Hokage-sama."