Hiruzen sighed as he signed another paperwork. He couldn't believe it had been six years

since the Kyuubi's attack. The village was rebuilt, and the danger of their enemies invading

was thrown off by their spy master, Jiraiya. But what was worse was that Hiruzen's fears

were fulfilled.

While rebuilt, the village still hated the demon that rampaged through it, and everything that

could be portrayed as somehow connected to it was the object of their hate. So, every fox in

the vicinity of Konoha was either killed or was waiting to be killed. No one could even talk

about foxes, as though saying the word would bring Kyuubi back.

And Naruto, who had whisker marks similar to those of a fox, was at the end of receiving the

hate, too. There were multiple attempts to hunt the child down, villagers thinking that Kyuubi

tried to hide itself among the humans.

Are they that stupid? thought Hiruzen as he shook his head. But the attempts were always

thrown off by either his ANBU or Root agents, who were always in the boy's shadows. While

that was good, it showed Hiruzen that Naruto's life wouldn't be as easy as he wanted it to

be.

He hated to admit it, but Danzō was right, Naruto needed to be trained. But he wanted the

boy to make friends among his peers. Shaking his head, Hiruzen was wondering what he

should do about the boy.

Just then, a chakra signature flared in the village. Normally, that wouldn't be strange in a

shinobi village, but this one belonged to Uzumaki Naruto. Instantly standing up, Hiruzen

looked worried. What's going on? Naruto shouldn't have his chakra unlocked yet. So, how

did he expel it? thought Hiruzen as he looked in the direction and saw smoke fill the air.

Shaking himself from the shock, Hiruzen quickly disappeared in shunshin towards the

location where he felt the chakra.

Meanwhile

Elsewhere in the village, unaware of the storm gathering around his name, Naruto walked

with a wide smile on his face. Clutched in his arms was a tattered, secondhand book he had

found in the trash—a beginner's guide to writing. For him, it was treasure. The first thing

anyone had ever thrown away that made him feel proud.

He didn't know why, but flipping through the pages made something stir in him. Maybe, just

maybe, if he learned how to write the right words… people would finally listen. For a brief

moment, he let himself believe things might get better. Then he turned a corner, and

everything shattered.

"There he is!"

Naruto froze. A man pointed directly at him, his face twisted in rage. Behind him, others

gathered quickly, faces Naruto had seen in passing, now boiling with hate.

"That damn demon!"

"He's mocking us again—with that book!"

"Kill it before it transforms!"

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. The book tumbled from his arms and hit the ground. He

turned and ran. He sprinted down the street, into a maze of alleys he knew by heart. His legs

pumped wildly, sandals slapping against the pavement. He could hear them behind

him—shouting, yelling, screaming for his death. No one stopped them. No one helped him.

All for a reason he didn't even understand. Tears blurred his vision. He just wanted to go

home. He just wanted to be left alone. He darted into a side alley, heart pounding, only to

find himself in a dead end. "No, no, no…" he whispered, spinning around.

Too late.

The mob poured in, blocking his only escape. "You finally cornered, you little monster," a

burly man snarled, stepping forward. He pulled a kitchen knife from his belt, glinting in the

sunlight. Naruto stumbled back, hands raised, voice cracking. "P-Please, I—I didn't do

anything!"

"You think we care?" another woman spat. "We lost family. You're just biding your

time—waiting to finish what you started."

"You should've died with that beast!" someone shouted. The man stepped closer, lifting the

knife high. Naruto screamed. I don't want to die.

The world snapped. Heat surged outward like an explosion without sound. The air

shimmered. The alley lit with an unnatural glow. Flames roared into existence.

In a heartbeat, the man holding the knife was gone—swallowed by fire before he could even

react. The blaze spread instantly, searing across the ground and licking up the alley walls.

One by one, the mob vanished into cinders. They didn't scream. They didn't run. They

simply ceased to be.

And at the center of it all stood Naruto—unharmed, shaking, eyes wide in disbelief.

His right hand glowed faintly. Flames curled and flickered just above the surface of his skin,

tracing delicate patterns, spiraling like a second, spectral hand. The fire didn't hurt him. It

felt… warm. Familiar. As if it knew him. He stared at his hand, horrified. "I didn't… I didn't do

anything…"

That was the scene Hiruzen came to. He looked at the horrifying scene before him, and

when he saw Naruto, he was at his side instantly. "Naruto-kun! What happened here?"

asked Hiruzen. It was then he noticed a fire making a slight outline along the boy's hand.

What's going on? thought Hiruzen.

Naruto looked at him and said. "I-I-I-I d-don't kn-know, jiji. *sniff*" When the Hokage heard

the boy crying, he looked at him with a sad look.

To be so young and already see death. thought Hiruzen sadly.

He shook his head from the thoughts and picked up the boy. "Come, Naruto-kun. Let's go to

my office," said Hiruzen and started to walk from the alley. The moment they left, he looked

into the shadow, and it was as if the shadow nodded to him. Hiruzen then disappeared in a

swirl of leaves.

Hokage's office

Hiruzen set Naruto down on his couch, noticing that the boy was sleeping. Sighing at the

events that occurred in the last few minutes, he cursed as he saw Danzo opening his doors.

During the last six years, Hiruzen and Danzo came to some kind of understanding between

them. They both knew—even if the man at the sealing had been bluffing—Naruto was still

too important to ignore.

And so they needed to make his life as safe as possible. So it was no wonder that Danzo

came there after Naruto's chakra signature was felt all around the village.

"What happened, Hiruzen? Everyone in the village felt the boy's chakra," asked Danzo.

Hiruzen sighed at that and rubbed his forehead. "Someone tried to attack the boy, and they

were incinerated. I don't know much, but it would seem that it was Naruto who did it," said

Hiruzen.

Danzo looked at Naruto and then back at Hiruzen with one question written over his eye. "Do

you think it was it?" asked Danzo. Hiruzen shook his head and said. "I tried to feel its

presence, but it was all Naruto. Nevertheless, it would seem we need to train him soon."

Danzo nodded his head and they went through the ways to break this over to Naruto and

how to train him. What they didn't know was what was going on with Naruto.

With Naruto

Naruto awoke on scorched earth, the smell of ash clinging to the air. Burnt trees surrounded

him, their blackened branches stretching like claws into the hazy sky. He blinked, confused.

The last thing I remember… I was in the Hokage's arms.

"So I was called first, huh?" a deep voice grunted behind him. Naruto turned quickly. A tall

man approached, wearing red armor that clanked softly with each step. His long, dark hair

had a faint blue sheen, and his onyx eyes stared forward without emotion. Something in his

presence made Naruto shiver.

"W-Who are you?" Naruto asked, voice trembling.

The man stared at him coldly. "You better pull yourself together, brat. I'm not here to train a

crybaby."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You… want to train me?" he asked, unsure whether to feel hope or

fear. No one had ever spoken to him without hate. Not like this. This man reminded him of

the masked visitor—silent, unreadable.

The stranger gave nothing away in his expression, but inwardly, he studied the boy's stance.

Why is a child this young so cautious? This isn't the Warring States era… He stepped closer,

recalling what a previous voice had told him. "If he comes here, you can access his

memories with a touch."

He reached out and placed a hand on Naruto's messy blonde hair.

In an instant, memories flooded into him—years of abuse, glares, isolation. The villagers

believed the child was the Kyūbi itself in human form. The man almost laughed. The mighty

Kyūbi… reduced to a frightened boy?

He stepped back and spoke. "My name is Uchiha Madara. And I'm here to help you with

that," he said, pointing at Naruto's hand. The boy followed his finger. A small flame flickered

above his palm. Instinctively, he smacked at it, trying to put it out. It didn't go away.

Madara muttered something under his breath. "Idiotic brats…"

"That's your power," he explained. "You can summon fire. But it's wild, uncontrolled. I'm here

to make sure you don't burn everything around you by accident."

Naruto looked at him in disbelief, then jumped to his feet. Before he could say anything,

Madara's gaze froze him in place. "Don't start with childish nonsense," he said coldly. "I'm

not here to babysit you. I'm here to train you."

Naruto slowly nodded, eyes wide. "Where… are we? This isn't Konoha." Madara allowed the

faintest smirk. Good. The kid was adapting.

"We're in your mind," he said. "And we'll be staying here until you finish your first fire control

exercise." He crossed his arms.

"Welcome to hell, brat."

Naruto gulped at Madara's words. The air around them shimmered with heat, the scorched

earth beneath him radiating warmth like coals beneath ash.

Before he could ask what that meant, Madara raised his hand. A single ember sparked to

life, floating in the air between them. It danced softly—like a firefly made of chakra. "Your first

task," Madara said, his voice cold and direct, "is to do nothing."

Naruto blinked. "What?"

"Breathe. Sit. Don't move. Don't think too hard. And don't let your chakra react. If this ember

flares, you fail."

The ember flickered gently. Harmless. Naruto sat cross-legged, nervous. Just stay calm, he

told himself. It's only a little flame. The ember pulsed. He frowned. It pulsed again. Then

burst.

Madara snuffed it out with a flick of his fingers. "Again." Another ember formed in front of

him. Naruto tried again. He kept his breathing slow, steady. He focused only on the flame.

Then a memory surfaced—the alley… the screams… His chakra spiked, and the ember

flared bright. Gone. "Again."

He tried harder. Harder than he had ever focused in his life. But the more he tried, the worse

it got. By the fourth attempt, he was shaking. By the sixth, sweat rolled down his temple.

The seventh failed before he even opened his eyes. "I'm doing what you said!" he snapped.

Madara's voice was calm and sharp. "You're fighting your fear. I said sit with it. There's a

difference."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek. He sat again. This time he didn't force calm. He let the

fear sit beside him. He breathed through the tension. He let his thoughts swirl—then fade.

The ember floated. It flickered—but did not burst.

Ten seconds.

Twenty.

Thirty.

It flared faintly… but held. Then his pulse jumped—and the flame vanished. Madara said

nothing for a long moment. He stepped forward and stared at the space where the ember

had been.

"You're not ready to control fire," he said. "But you've acknowledged it." He turned, his cloak

brushing the cracked stone. "When you return, we'll begin again. And next time, you won't

get to fail quietly."

Naruto's vision swam. His body felt heavy, like he'd trained for hours. Then the world around

him rippled, colors bending, sounds warping. And everything went black.