~ Just a quick note before the chapter. I've been on a bit of a translation craze lately, so I wanted to try out translations for some phrases that previously only came in Japanese. Specifically in this chapter, I translated Jinchuuriki as "Tailbearer". I think it sounds cool, but let me know what you all think. If it doesn't stick, I'll revert back to jinchuuriki in the next chapter.

Also, for anyone wondering why I updated the chapter, a kind reviewer pointed out that I made Naruto grossed out by females, and I realized I left a few lines of dialogue in from an earlier draft. That was not supposed to be there.

I don't know why I got comments saying I'm not using the Shadow Clone Training method... Anko literally has him make 100 clones for training purposes in this chapter

Finally, it seems I've failed in conveying an important plot point, so I apologize. Naruto can transfer back to gennin at any time he pleases, that's why Anko keeps telling him to do it. Neither she nor Dragon want him in the ANBU. However, if he transfers out, he has to give Mordred to someone else, which he is unwilling to do and which is why he puts up with all of Anko's abuse without going Nine-Tails mode.

Hope that clears it up! ~

Chapter Four — Hellfire

~ A lost soul drifts among the cinders, and the scent of ash fills the air ~

Heat rose around him in an inferno blazing across the earth. Ash drifted over the ground like the corpse of a world burning in flames. Smoke billowed into the heavens, and maniacal laughter bellowed through the forest. Trees burned around him, brown bark blackening to black as a demon's heart. Leaves crackled and crinkled, shriveling into cinders and ash.

Psycho-sensei grinned at him from the other side of the blaze, teeth gleaming like knives.

Naruto landed on another tree trunk. "What the fuck, Psycho-sensei? That one almost killed me!"

"What was that, brat?" She threw another kunai at him. "I couldn't hear you over the sound of you being a little bitch."

He jumped away.

~ Boom ~

Ash swirled through the air, powdery and choking as sand flying in the desert wind. Stones scattered across the air like arrows smashing upon the battlefield. The ground lurched beneath his feet, a sickening wave of nausea rising in his throat. A deafening roar filled his ears, a monstrous, hungry bellow that instantly drowned out all other sound. The world dissolved into a blinding flash, white-hot and all-encompassing.

Naruto's feet smashed onto another tree.

'She's insane...'

"How the fuck am I supposed to keep dodging these, Psycho-sensei?" He glared at her. "I only learned tree climbing yesterday!"

"Oi!" ~ Throw ~ "Your clones did that. Give credit where credit is due, brat!"

~ Dodge ~

~ Boom ~

"Why did you have to make them explode?!" He jumped to another trunk. "Weren't regular kunai enough?!"

"This is fuckin' ANBU training, brat! There is no 'enough'!" ~ Throw ~ "Quit yapping and keep dodging!"

"Damn it, Psycho-sensei! You're not helping—"

"Oi, brat." ~ Throw ~ "You don't like it, transfer out." ~ Throw ~ "Otherwise..." ~ Throw ~ "Shut your mouth hole and dodge!"

~ Boom ~

~ Boom ~

~ Boom ~

Naruto fell through the air.

The ground rushed up at him, looming above him in an ocean of brown. Mosses and mushrooms spread over it, vines and weeds crawling through the dirt like snakes slithering upon the earth. Rocks lined the soil, jagged and jutting like bones protruding from flesh.

He slammed his hands down on a log.

~ Crack ~

His palms cut into it, splinters digging into his skin like needles pricking flesh. Warmth spread over them, blood oozing out of them like nectar flowing from a flower.

He jumped to another log.

~ Boom ~

Blood, metallic and sharp, swirled in his mouth as the force of the blast ragdolled him against a fallen tree trunk. The impact squeezed the air from his lungs in a single, brutal expulsion. Stars exploded behind his eyelids, swirling in a disorienting flash of light and colors.

Psycho-sensei jumped on her feet on the other side. "You dead yet, brat?"

'Damn it...'

'I'm tired of this!'

'Fuck the rules, I'm kicking her ass!'

Naruto glared at her. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Dozens of clones appeared around him.

She cracked her knuckles. "Oh, someone wants a beating."

Naruto ran toward her, clones rushing beside him.

They clashed like a flood smashing against a cliff.

Clones attacked in a blizzard of metal, slashing and striking like a hurricane of steel. They jumped around her in a storm of gray, flickering in and out of the shadows. Kunai and shuriken flew around them, blades whirring through the air like wind howling through the mountains. Smoke billowed around them, thick and gray as iron flowing from a forge.

She laughed.

Kunai flashed in her hands like silver lightning, glimmering in her grasp with the gleam of a serpent's skin resting under the sun. She spun around them, slashing and striking with the fury of a whirlwind blowing through a field of flowers.

~ Slash ~

A clone vanished in a cloud of smoke.

She spin-kicked two more out of existence and elbowed a third.

~ Slash ~

She slashed and stabbed, thrust and pierced, parried and attacked. She twirled through them, and chakra smoke piled into a cloud.

~ Boom ~

Another explosion boomed behind him.

Naruto gritted his teeth and rushed in to take an opening.

"You think you can sneak up on me?" She side-kicked him in the stomach. "Stupid brat."

He bent over and threw up.

She walked up to him and kicked him into a tree.

He gasped and slumped against it, arms trembling to hold him upright. Pain throbbed through him, aches and agony pulsing with liquid fire raging from a volcano. Blood dripped down his head, salty and hot as lava bubbling from a furnace. Every breath scraped through him, bruises rippling through his lungs.

She approached and punched him in the face. "What did you think 'no clones' meant, brat?"

The back of his head smashed into the bark.

The forest swirled around him, browns and greens mixing into ribbons.

"You think this is a game?" ~ Punch ~ "You think you get to disobey orders?"

He panted as blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

"You want to play ninja?" ~ Punch ~ "Transfer back to gennin!"

"S—" He choked. "Saber..."

"Oh, he's not helping you." ~ Punch ~ "He understands discipline."

~ Punch ~

His nose cracked.

"But I get it." She grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up. "Brats get cranky when they miss nap time, and I did only give you four hours of sleep."

Naruto choked and heaved for air.

"Have some rest." She smirked. "You've earned it."

Her fist collided with his head.

He tried to move, and his body screamed in protest. His muscles quivered, and a wave of nausea rolled through him. He forced his eyes to open and blinked rapidly against the harsh sunlight. The world wavered before him, a blurry mess that slowly came into focus. Damp earth beneath him. The stench of decay tinged with the metallic tang of blood. The squelching sound as he shifted his weight. Grit and blood slithered on his tongue, a metallic tang that mingled with the foul odor of the mud.

'Ugh…'

'Everything hurts…'

He took a deep breath.

"You awake, brat?"

He turned his head.

Psycho-sensei sat in the shade of a tree, eyes closed and legs crossed. "Morning."

Naruto groaned and looked away. "Fuck off."

She chuckled. "You gotta watch that temper of yours."

"I have a temper?! You beat me up so bad—"

"I'm training you." She opened her eyes and stood up. "Next time you disobey my orders, I'll do worse."

"Are you for real?!" He glared at her. "I only slept for four hours, I still haven't had any food, and I only learned tree climbing yesterday! How the fuck was I supposed to keep dodging explosive fucking kunai while only sticking to trees?"

"You done complaining?" She stretched her arms over her head.

"These aren't human conditions!"

"But you're not human, are you?" She approached to crouch next to him. "Tailbearer."

"What...?" His eyes widened. "How do you...?"

"You think I'd get to train you without knowing who you are?" She leaned into his face. "I may look like a psycho bitch, but I'm not giving you more than you can handle. Why do you think Demony over there isn't interfering?"

He glanced at Mordred, who stared from beneath a tree a few feet away.

"Like I said, he gets it." Psycho-sensei sat in front of him. "He doesn't like it, but he understands."

Naruto looked down and sighed. "I'm tired."

"Well, that's what happens when you defy orders, brat." She shrugged. "If you can't handle it, transfer out."

"I'm not quitting."

"Then shut your mouth and suffer in silence."

'Fuck this bitch...'

"I'm glad we could sort things out." Psycho-sensei cracked her neck. "Now, you have one more chance to hunt something for dinner before we spar."

He stared at her for a few seconds before sighing and forcing himself to his feet.

"By the way, you may only move on tree trunks." She laid on the ground and closed her eyes. "Enjoy your hunt, brat."

'Great...'

He jumped to a tree.

~ Caw ~

He glanced up.

A crow sat on a branch above him, feathers as jet black as soot flowing from a fireplace. Red eyes gleamed at him, rubies shimmering in the sun like jewels shimmering in the ocean. Beak glinted in the sun, bronze gleaming like liquid gold flowing from a treasure chest.

'That...'

'That's perfect...'

He leapt at it.

It flew away.

He chased.

The forest sprawled around him.

The dense canopy, a chaotic labyrinth of interlocking limbs and emerald foliage, blocked his path at every turn. Thick vines, as resilient as cables, snagged at his clothes. Gnarled branches, reaching out like skeletal fingers, forced him to contort his body in impossible angles. The air resisted his progress, thick with the humid breath of the forest. It clung to him like a damp cloak, sapping his already waning strength. With every leap, every desperate scramble, his lungs burned, and his muscles screamed in protest.

"Agh..." Naruto rubbed his forehead. "My head is pounding..."

'I am gonna get her for this...'

The bird flew high above him, black against the sky like ink staining parchment. Wings flapped through the air, black as night swirling through the heavens. Red eyes gleamed at him, blazing with the intensity of a monster's eyes gleaming in the dark.

He threw a kunai at it.

It dodged and flew higher.

~ Caw ~

Another crow joined it from the canopies.

Two became three.

Three four.

More and more birds surrounded him, a swirling vortex of ebony feathers and glinting red eyes that erupted from the dense foliage like a tempest unleashed from the underworld. Their wings beat a frantic rhythm against the still air, the sound of a thousand drums pounding a melody of war.

They swarmed down at him.

"Holy shit!" Naruto dodged one's claws. "I only tried to kill one of you!"

They dove at him from all sides.

"Get off me!" He dodged and blocked. "I'm just hungry!"

~ Caw ~

"Saber! Help!"

"It's time to face the facts, Master." Mordred leaned back against a tree and chuckled. "You suck at hunting."

"Damn it!" He ducked under another set of talons. "I need help!"

Mordred smirked. "You can do it."

"What?! You can't just watch me get clawed to death!"

"This makes two."

~ Caw ~

"Screw you!" Naruto dodged and ran up a trunk. "Damn birds..."

His stomach growled.

'Damn it...'

'Damn it...'

'Why am I even running away?'

'I can kick some bird ass!'

He turned around and jumped into the cloud of feathers.

'You wanna mess with me?'

He slashed and sliced.

Wings sliced through the air with the calculated precision of a well-oiled machine. Each black form moved in concert with the others in a dance of feathers and beaks. None of his attacks found a target. The crows cawed in a chorus of sharp, urgent clicks, a language as precise as their movements. The cacophony of noise took on a predatory tone, the song of soldiers entering battle. Black wings brushed against him, and shivers trickled down his spine. His armor deflected the most brutal attacks, but the flurry of beaks and talons found every chink in his defenses, each peck a searing pain that drew a hiss and from him. The crows anticipated his movements, shifting and swirling just out of reach before launching another assault.

He stabbed at one with his kunai.

It caught his wrist in its beak.

He gasped and dropped it. "Ow! Get off me!"

~ Caw ~

A crow tugged on his hair.

"What the—" He swatted it away. "Get off!"

Another dug its claws into his arm.

"Ah!" He shook his arm around. "Fuck off!"

He tumbled down. "Damn it! Saber!"

Mordred shook her head. "No, Master, I am not coming to save you."

"Saber!" He rolled on the ground. "Help me!"

~ Caw ~

"Please..." She put her hands on the back of her head and smirked. "I had it worse for my fifth birthday."

"That's messed up!" He fought off a crow on his left shoulder. "Help me!"

~ Caw ~

"Remember Master..." She chuckled. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"What didn't kill you made you more of an ass!" He shook his head and kicked away another crow. "Saber!"

~ Caw ~

"Saber!" He punched a crow in the face and slammed it into another. "They're going to peck my eyes out."

~ Caw ~

He could hardly breathe, let alone move. A weight pooled into his stomach, and his insides burned. Blood pumped through his veins like lava flowing through the earth. The crows scratched and bit at him, leaving him battered and torn and covered in welts and wounds. The swarm surrounded him, a tornado of ebony feathers and glinting crimson eyes that left him stumbling blindly in its chaos. A sharp pain burst in his ear, and his hand flew to it. Blood seeped through his fingers and dripped onto the ground beneath him.

He collapsed on the ground.

"...struggling... hard..." A woman's voice. "...beautiful..."

A sheen of sweat covered Naruto's body. Pain throbbed through him, aches and agony pulsing fire screaming from a forge. His hands trembled and twitched, limbs shaking as if attached to an electric current. His head swam in a haze, and his thoughts drifted through the fog. The sickening and thick scent of burning flesh billowed through the air. Phantom voices hissed from all sides, giggles and snarls echoing from every angle. Shadows twisted in an amorphous mass waiting to consume him.

"S-Sab-r..." His teeth chattered, and his words were lost in a numb groan. "He-l-p..."

'Am I going to die?'

"Uzumaki Naruto..." A booming voice exploded in laughter. "Weak."

"Who...?" His hands scraped across the ground, striking against earth and tiles. "W-wh-ere...?"

"You were born weak, boy." Laughter echoed from all directions. "That will never change. Not without me."

The lower half of his body lay in water, then on the ground, then in water. "Sh-ut-u-p..."

"...do... it...?" A man's voice. "...love..."

"Without me..." The booming growled. "You are nothing."

Pounding filled Naruto's ears. Pain throbbed through his head, and light pierced against his closed eyes. Every muscle quivered, and every bruise and cut across his body burned like a dagger sinking into his flesh. Sweat beaded on his forehead, cold and sticky like frost glistening on stone. A layer of grit clung to him, dust and blood caked onto his skin like paste smeared upon a canvas.

He groaned and opened his eyes. "My head..."

The canopy of trees shifted above him, green leaves swaying in the breeze like curtains floating in the wind. Trees extended in every direction, an ocean of brown trunks extending into the heavens. Lush vines hung between them, interweaving with each other like garlands of flowers. A frog croaked in the distance.

"Master." Mordred approached him with Psycho-sensei following behind her. "Are you okay?"

Naruto blinked and rubbed his eyes. "I can't tell if this is real or not..."

Mordred knelt beside him. "Master."

"Not in the mood to joke, Saber?" Psycho-sensei snorted. "Get up, Weasel. It's training time."

Naruto sat up. "What happened?"

"You took on an army of birds and lost." Psycho-sensei snickered. "Pathetic."

"Shut up!" He rubbed the back of his head. "I had that fight in the bag!"

"Yeah? Is that why you kept going 'Saber, help me, I'm to pathetic to fight myself'?"

"I—"

"Here's some advice for you, brat." She helped him stand up. "Just because your opponent looks like an easy target, doesn't mean they won't rip your throat out."

"It was a bird." He patted down his uniform. "I killed them all the time on the Academy exercises, I don't understand—"

"Yeah, but this was a Forest of Death bird."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"All Forest of Death animals fall into one of three categories. Super Big. Super Smart. Both. The—"

"Then how the fuck do you expect me to hunt for food?!"

"Get good, brat."

"I hate you."

She laughed. "Alright, enough screwing around. Give me all the clones you can make."

He gathered his chakra and made a hundred clones.

'Is this really my max?'

'What the fuck is going on with my chakra?'

"Alright, brats." She made three clones. "Divide into equal groups of four. Three with my clones, the fourth with Demony over there."

"What?" Mordred stood up. "What am I supposed to do with them?"

"Teach them some swordsmanship, I don't know..." Psycho-sensei yawned. "Get creative."

"I'm not teaching him anything."

"Isn't he your Master?"

"I'm a Servant, not a teacher."

"But isn't it the knightly thing to do?"

Mordred summoned her sword. "I am going to stab you."

Psycho-sensei smirked. "Whenever and wherever, handsome."

"Ugh..." Mordred sighed. "Fine..."

"Thanks, Demony." Psycho-sensei clapped Naruto's back. "See, brat? He's not so bad after all."

Naruto glared at her. "Don't touch me."

Psycho-sensei smirked. "Transfer out?"

"Just... just get on with teaching."

She chuckled. "Come on, follow me."

She took him to the riverbank.

Fish rushed through the water, fins rippling through the air like silk flowing from a woman's hair. The river surged against the shore, waves crashing upon it like a dragon roaring in the sky. Mud squished beneath his feet, cool and damp as slime slithering on the ground. Grass rippled with the breeze, blades shimmering in the sunlight like steel shining in the heavens.

"Alright, brat." Psycho-sensei sat down next to the water. "Sit down."

He did so.

"Usually, I'd have you do conditioning. That's the only thing your clones can't do for you."

"Not today?"

"No. Today is Talking Day."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Talking Day?"

She nodded. "Meditation trains your mind. Talking Day preserves your spirit."

"What are you talking about?"

"ANBU see some messed up shit in the field, brat." She tapped her temple. "You need to develop a strong sense of self and a willingness to confide in others to keep yourself sane in the field."

"Um..." He scratched the back of his head. "Aren't ANBU missions super classified?"

"Yes." She grinned. "But there are ways around that."

"Why?"

"Because ANBU missions take a toll on you, brat." She stretched her arms over her head. "Even if you don't want to admit it, they fuck with you."

"But—"

"Every time you kill someone, a little piece of you dies too." She leaned back. "You need to figure out how to live with that or you'll break down."

He blinked. "Oh..."

"So..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Tell me about yourself."

He stared at her for a few seconds. "I'm not talking to you."

"I'm the sexy and single Mitarashi Anko! You really—"

"You beat the crap out of me! You punched me in the face! Repeatedly!"

"Oh, grow up."

"Fuck you!"

She smirked. "Transfer out?"

He sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Why are you so hell bent on not transferring out?"

"Are you seriously—"

"No, no." She pulled out a dango stick. "If Dragon couldn't get you to leave, I'm not giving it a shot. That man is persuasive."

They both shuddered.

"No, I just want your perspective."

He sighed and looked down at the river. "I want to prove to everyone that I can do this. I want to show Konoha that I am not just a demon locked up in a cage, but a ninja protecting the village. I want to become Hokage someday. I want to be seen as someone strong, someone people can look up to. Someone that inspires hope in others. And I guess..." He looked up. "I guess I want to find out who I am. I want to understand what it means to be the host of the Nine Tails, and how I can use that to help Konoha."

Psycho-sensei stared at him for a few seconds before chuckling and shaking her head. "You really are something, brat."

"What?" He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You remind me of someone..." She took a bite out of her dango. "Someone I knew a long time ago."

He tilted his head. "Really? Who?"

She smiled. "A friend of mine."

"Can I meet them?"

"No." She shook her head. "He's dead."

"Oh..." Naruto looked down. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She munched on her dango. "C'mon, your turn."

"I get to ask a question?"

"Of course." She winked at him. "It's only fair."

"Okay..." He frowned. "How come you don't have a mask?"

"Really? That's what you're going to waste your first question on?"

He blushed. "It's just... It's been really bugging me."

"Well, if you must know, it's because I'm not ANBU."

"What? But, how can you—"

"I'm in the Torture and Interrogation Department. Separate division, but we work closely with the ANBU. They couldn't spare an agent to train you, so they asked me."

He snorted. "Yeah... figures..."

"That bother you?"

"Why should it?" He shrugged. "Nothing new..."

"Doesn't stop it from hurting though, does it?"

He looked down.

"It's okay to be hurt. It's okay to feel sad. Just remember..." She squeezed his shoulder. "Your actions define who you are. Your achievements define who you are. So when people treat you like shit... Kick their asses."

He glanced at her. "I don't think that's always a good idea..."

She winked at him.

He shook his head. "Whatever..."

"Your turn."

He took a deep breath. "What's it like to... um... kill...?"

"Killing sucks, brat. Plain and simple." She stretched her arms over her head. "It hurts like a bitch every time, and it will never get easier."

"Then how do you handle it?"

"You learn to live with it. You focus on the mission and the fact that you are doing it for your village. You accept that sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the greater good. You realize that killing doesn't make you evil, but it will make you hardened. You talk about it on Talking Day."

"Oh..." He looked down at his hands. "Do you ever..."

"Ever what?"

"Ever regret it?"

She chuckled. "We're ninjas, brat. Regret comes with the job."

He glanced at Mordred, who trained his clones a short distance away. "Do you ever wish you had made different choices?"

"Sometimes..." Psycho-sensei followed his gaze. "But I've made my bed, and I gotta sleep in it."

"I don't think I could ever kill..."

"Well, you better start getting used to it." She stood up. "ANBU missions involve a lot of it."

"I know..."

She tossed him a dango stick. "Have some rest, brat. You've earned it."

He woke up in a sewer.

Water flowed beneath him, damp and warm as flesh in the desert sun. The scent of iron stung in his nostrils, thick and heavy as smoke billowing from a fire. Boulders blocked off one section of the path, and pipes blocked off another. Vines and weeds crawled over the walls, green and brown rippling through the stone like ribbons flowing through the sky. Cobwebs draped over the ceiling, thin and white as a spider's silk floating in the wind. Metal glinted in the distance, silvery and bright as a dagger gleaming in the light.

Naruto frowned. "This... this looks familiar..."

~ Squeak ~

He glanced down. "A rat...?"

It glared at him and bared its fangs.

A wave of nausea rolled through his stomach. Shadows swirled in the sewers, black and menacing as cinders blazing across an inferno. Phantom whispers hissed around him, voices crawling into the crevices like worms crawling into soil. Chills trickled down his spine, shivers shivering through his flesh like tundra wind blowing over skin. Darkness surrounded him, looming over him in a haze as thick as night swirling through the air.

"Hm..." Naruto glanced down at the water again. "Can I pick you up?"

The rat squealed and ran off.

"Wait!" He ran after it.

~ Squeak ~

Fungi spread across the walls, fluffy and white as cotton flowing through the sky. Sponges latched onto the edges, moist and red as berries ripening in the sun. Mushrooms poked out of crevices, chunky and brown as pebbles lined in the shore. Moss and mud billowed into it, lush and green as sugar flowing from a honeycomb. The sewer narrowed, walls contracting like a serpent winding through the sand. A cluster of roots stuck out from the right, rough and rigid like an armored snail snaking along the beach.

The rat scurried between a cluster of boulders.

~ Splash ~

Naruto hopped on top of them and stopped.

An opening gaped below the sewers, extending like the mouth of the void bellowing a predatory roar. Water gushed into the gutter, streams swirling down a watery highway. Iron flashed across it, silvery and bright as diamonds gleaming upon the sea. Darkness pulsed below, a demonic force that rippled the air like black magic floating into the abyss. The scent of decay billowed from the abyss, stench and sick as waste flowing from a garbage bin. A wave of nausea rolled through Naruto's gut, churning and twisting with the force of a hurricane blowing across the earth.

'What the fuck is that?'

'This...'

'This has to be a dream...'

He took a step back.

Water rippled beneath his feet.

"I..." He gulped. "I have to get—"

"A Weasel..." A gravely voice boomed from the abyss.

Naruto jumped back and down. "Who—?"

"A pitiful existence, is it not?" Red eyes blazed from the abyss. "Innocents that fall to circumstances far beyond their own control. Warriors, trying to change a destiny the gods have already carved into stone. Thinkers, believing their own thoughts to be a manifestation of their own intellect when the very power of their mind is a gift from a being so infinitely complex as to defy their comprehension."

"Weasels..." His heart pounded in his chest. "Weasels don't—"

"No indeed."

Ropes extended out of the abyss like seaweed flowing through the ocean. Black strands hung down the walls, darkness flowing over it like shadows swirling across the night sky. Each tendril ripped the water and stench out of the gutter, each movement bringing forth the scent of metal. Each one pushed and pulled against his armor as if seeking a way in.

~ Rip ~

Chakra pulsed into him.

'What—?'

"You needn't fight." The ropes glowed with a scarlet light. "You may struggle. You may fight it. You may shout your defiance to all the universe to hear. It changes nothing. You belong to me."

"I... No..." His muscles tensed, and he panted. "I'm not—"

"Your birth has defined your fate." Red eyes blazed from the pit, crimson, scarlet and blood, wilder and more beautiful than a sea of rubies. "Your life is as short as a star blinking into existence and fading into nothingness within an empty universe. Your mind is a fleeting flower breaking into petals flowing on the breeze."

Naruto hunched over and threw up.

"Let go. Rest..." Voices and images flowed into his thoughts. A black tail pierced a woman's chest. Black hands burned her into a crisp. "I will guide you through all the challenges life has given you."

Naruto screamed and stepped forward.

"Yes..." The voice slid as silk over skin. "Reject the charade of self you are clinging onto as if the identity of man defines all reality. Release your true potential as the incarnation of wrath and malice unleashed on an unsuspecting universe to terrorize and destroy."

The world pulsed around him.

~ Thud ~

The abyss rippled.

~ Thud ~

Currents surged around him.

He screamed.

An invisible force slapped his cheek.

"Brat!" Psycho-sensei's voice.

'Where is she?'

~ Thud ~

~ Slap ~ "Snap out of it!"

'Psycho-sensei...'

'Help me...'

The world trembled. The sewer walls quivered, cracking and breaking apart like buildings in an earthquake. Metal shrieked as pipes buckled against the pressure. Chunks of concrete broke free from the roof of the sewer, shards as sharp as broken glass flowing from a mirror.

Naruto's shoulders shook.

"Damn it, brat, wake up!"

~ Crack ~

Reality shattered.

Naruto gulped in breath, and jumped up.

Psycho-sensei crouched in front of him. "Brat? You good?"

"What—?" His hand trembled. "What just happened?"

"You tell me."

"I..." He threw up. "I saw—"

'It...'

'No, that was real.'

'There's...'

'There's a sewer.'

'It wasn't a dream.'

He clutched his chest.

An echo of a beast's roar exploded through the forest and disappeared.

That's a wrap for Chapter Four.

Hope you had as much fun with it as I have.

Let me know what you thought about it. Let me know what you liked and disliked. Let me know about any questions you might have. All three preferably in the reviews, I read all of them.

Usually, I'd tell you to check out Chapter Five at my p. a. t. r. e. o. n. at: user?u=53437875 (just paste that after p. a. t. r. e. o. n. / (don't forget to remove the spaces)), but I can't since it's not ready yet, since I'm working on multiple stories. However, do check it out for exclusive polls that decide what additional content I write for these stories, and which stories get priority update. All stories will get updated of course, but the poll decides which goes first.

Otherwise, see you at Chapter Five!

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