Naruto stood outside his small apartment, his eyes shifting between the group of ANBU who had been assigned to escort him. Their masks hid any expressions, but their silent vigilance made it clear that they were there to ensure one thing—that he wouldn't be allowed to lose control.

"Let's go, Naruto," the lead ANBU said, his voice calm but firm.

Naruto's jaw clenched, and he nodded, fists tightening at his sides. He'd known the moment was coming; today, he was to join the academy, finally taking the first steps toward becoming a shinobi. It was supposed to be exciting, but as he walked between the masked ANBU agents, his stomach twisted with dread. He knew what awaited him there: more eyes, more whispers, more reminders that he was different.

They moved through the village at a measured pace. Villagers glanced at him, then quickly looked away, as though even meeting his gaze would somehow invite danger. The weight of their stares burned into him, their disdain obvious. He looked away, doing his best to ignore the heavy, hateful silence that followed him.

When they reached the academy doors, the ANBU took their places around the building, disappearing into the shadows but remaining close. Naruto felt their presence, even if he couldn't see them. They would be watching him at all times, ready to subdue him if he lost control again.

He took a deep breath, his hand resting on the academy door, and then stepped inside.

The classroom was already filled with students. Naruto felt every pair of eyes turn toward him as he walked in, each glance digging deeper into him, pricking his skin like needles. He froze in place, feeling his heart race as the whispers started, barely audible but unmistakable.

"That's him…"

"He's the one they keep under guard…"

"I heard he nearly destroyed half the village once…"

Naruto felt his chest tighten, his breath coming quicker. He glanced around, meeting Iruka's gaze at the front of the classroom. Iruka's face held no hostility, but Naruto couldn't focus on that. All he saw were the others—their eyes, filled with distrust and wariness.

Among them were two girls, their expressions mirroring the rest. One had bright pink hair, her brow furrowed slightly as she exchanged a look with a blonde girl next to her. Sakura and Ino—they didn't even know him, but their stares held that same judgment, that same dismissal.

Why are they looking at me like that? Naruto thought, his hands balling into fists. I didn't do anything!

He tried to tell himself to stay calm, to breathe, but the whispers didn't stop. The stares only grew, becoming harsher, colder. His heart pounded, each beat echoing in his ears as anger bubbled up within him. He could feel the Jugo blood beginning to stir, the familiar heat crawling across his skin as the darkness within him clawed to the surface.

"Stop… staring at me," he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. But no one heard him. The whispers and the glances continued, cutting into him like daggers. He felt his skin begin to shift, dark markings crawling up his arms and face, his vision tinging with red as the Jugo transformation began to take hold.

But this time, there was something else.

Deep within him, another presence stirred, a malevolent, suffocating energy that wasn't his own. Dark chakra seeped from the depths of his soul, wrapping around him like chains of pure hate. Kurama's chakra, the Nine-Tails' vicious power, began to mix with the Jugo transformation, amplifying his rage and strength. His skin darkened further, and a deep, guttural growl escaped his throat as his chakra flared around him in violent waves.

The entire classroom fell silent, students shrinking back in fear as the dark chakra filled the air. Naruto's body began to morph, his fingers sharpening into claws, his teeth elongating, and his eyes glowing with an unnatural, red intensity. His vision blurred, and the only thing he could see were the faces of those who had looked at him with hatred and disgust, their eyes etched in his mind as targets.

"STOP LOOKING AT ME!" Naruto roared, his voice distorted, a beast's snarl tearing from his throat.

Before he could unleash the full force of his transformation, a blur of movement appeared in the doorway. The ANBU were on him in seconds, moving with practiced speed as they pinned him down. One of them pressed a sealing tag to his forehead, and another wrapped chakra-suppressing chains around his wrists.

"Hold him down!" one of the ANBU ordered, his tone strained as he fought to contain Naruto's monstrous strength.

The seal on his forehead flared with a bright blue light, and the dark chakra began to fade, pulled back into the depths of his body. Naruto's vision cleared, the transformation receding as his skin returned to normal. He collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily, his body weak and trembling as the rage and power drained from him.

The classroom was silent, the students watching him with a mixture of fear and confusion. Naruto didn't dare to look at them. He kept his gaze fixed on the ground, his hands shaking as he tried to process what had happened.

Iruka approached, his face a mixture of concern and understanding. "Naruto… are you alright?"

Naruto didn't respond. He couldn't. All he could feel was shame, the weight of the villagers' whispers crashing over him like a tidal wave. He'd wanted so desperately to prove them wrong, to show them he wasn't a monster—but in the end, he had only confirmed their fears.

One of the ANBU stepped forward, addressing Iruka. "We'll be placing a more permanent suppression seal on him. For his own safety, and the village's."

Iruka's gaze softened as he looked down at Naruto. "He's just a kid… he doesn't deserve to be treated like this."

The ANBU nodded solemnly. "We understand, but the danger is real. His abilities are… volatile. The seal and chains will help him control it."

Naruto's heart sank as the chains tightened around his wrists, the cold metal biting into his skin. He felt a wave of helplessness wash over him as the ANBU led him out of the classroom, back into the silence of the hallway.

As they guided him through the academy doors, Naruto looked down, avoiding the stares of the other students and villagers. He didn't want to see their faces, to see the fear and judgment that would only feed the darkness within him.

For the rest of the day, Naruto sat in his apartment, the chains around his wrists a painful reminder of the power he couldn't control. He glanced at the Kabutowari in the corner, feeling a pang of longing and frustration. He'd hoped to become strong, to prove that he could be a hero like his father. But with each passing day, the gap between him and that dream seemed to grow wider.

That night, as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, a single thought repeated in his mind: I'll show them. I'll learn to control it. One day, they'll stop looking at me like that. One day, I'll be strong enough.

But as the darkness closed in around him, he couldn't ignore the sinking feeling that his greatest battle would always be within himself.