004 Kakashi-sensei? - Naruto’s POV

  Stuff were moving—fast.

  Hinata blurred in and out of sight, her strikes were precise and her movements were like a flowing river. Naruto heard impacts, saw fshes of movement, ahe rush of dispced air. But beyond that? Nothing.

  Something was there, he knew something was there, but his eyes—his mind—refused tister it.

  Naruto narrowed his eyes, fog. It was frustrating. If he squinted just right, he could see… vague outlines. Faint, shifting distortions, like shadows cast by something unseen. His gut told him they were monsters.

  He felt something deep inside him shift.

  It was strange—an awareness of a mass of something resting within him, flowing like liquid yet dense like stone. He instinctively moved it—like shifti between his feet—except this time, he sent it to his eyes.

  The world sharpened.

  The distortions gained more form. No longer mere outlines, but grotesque figures, hunched and deformed, their bodies made of something foul and shifting.

  Naruto exhaled sharply. "What are these monsters?"

  Hinata didn’t answer right away. She was too busy fighting.

  She moved in a blur, her fists striking the creatures with pinpoint accuracy. Each impact sent chakra c through their bodies, exorg them in bursts of disrupted energy.

  Naruto watched, mesmerized. His body tensed, and something clicked.

  He could do it too.

  He didn’t know how he knew—he just did.

  His legs moved before he could even think. It wasn’t as graceful as Hinata’s movements, but he zoomed. A blur of motion, like muscle memory awakening from deep within him.

  One of the creatures—oh a grotesquely stretched fish-like head—turs hollow eyes toward him.

  Naruto’s fist shot forward.

  The impact ected with the monster’s face.

  A resounding boom echoed as the creature’s head exploded.

  The moment the fish-headed creature exploded, the remaining monsters recoiled.

  They twitched, their grotesque bodies jerking unnaturally, before frantically dispersing in every dire. It was as if they had just realized something—something terrifying. They fled, phasing through walls and slipping into the darkness like is scurrying from light.

  Naruto barely noticed.

  A suffog bloodlust surged through him, coiling around his body like a living thing. His fists trembled, his breath came ed, and his fingers curled into cw-like shapes. A reddish hue flickered over his knuckles, dark and sinister, pulsing with something… hungry.

  More.

  Naruto’s body moved on its own. He chased.

  One of the creatures barely mao phase through the doorway before Naruto on it. His hand shed out, his fingers sinking into its shifting form. With a violent jerk, he ripped it apart.

  The monster shrieked. Its body twisted, filed—then vanished.

  A rush of something seeped into Naruto’s body. The strange, distorted energy the monsters gave off—the yin chakra Hinata had mentioned—was flowing into him, whether he wa to or not. It was intoxig. It made his skin tingle, his muscles burn with restless energy.

  He wanted more.

  He bolted after the creatures, driving his fists into their twisted bodies, relishing in the destru. His ughter echoed as he tore through them. He was strong. He had power.

  And he e.

  But then—

  A flicker of white caught his eye.

  Naruto stilled.

  Hinata was standing a few feet away, her bid. Her sungsses y on the floor, knocked off at some point. Her pale, pupil-less eyes were wide—not with . Not with relief.

  With fear.

  No.

  It was more worry, than fear.

  Naruto's breath hitched. His mind raced, trying to uand. In his frenzy, in his reckless, maddened pursuit… he had hit her.

  A sharp chill settled into his gut.

  The bloodlust drained from his limbs. The red hue on his fists faded. The exhirating high of destru ebbed away, leaving only cold reality in its wake.

  For the first time since waking up in this strange world, Naruto felt genuinely uled.

  Hinata's expression shifted.

  The worry in her gaze didn’t linger for long—she was steady, posed. There was ation wheepped closer, determinatioling in her posture.

  “How much do you remember?” she asked.

  Naruto opened his mouth, closed it, then sighed. His shoulders sagged, and his fists loose his sides. "I... dunno," he admitted. "It kinda just happened."

  Hinata studied him for a moment, then turned away, walking toward a et tucked against the far wall. She opened one of the drawers and pulled something out. Wheurned, she held a small, circur hand mirror.

  She held it up for him to see.

  Naruto blinked, fused at first—then he saw it.

  His refle wasn’t quite his.

  His eyes, normally bright and blue, had turned into beast-like slits, dark and predatory. His es, though always sharp, now protruded slightly, resembling fangs. His face still looked like him—but at the same time, it didn’t.

  A strange, creepiion crawled up his spine.

  “…That’s me?” Naruto muttered, his voicertain.

  There was something off about the refle. It wasn’t just the physical ges—it was the feeling behind the eyes staring back at him. Something malicious lurked there, something f familiar.

  Yet, oddly enough, Naruto felt… calm. His heart wasn’t rag, and his breathing was even. It was as if his bnized this state, as if it belonged to him.

  But in the back of his mind, a quiet fear began to take root.

  Was this really him?

  Slowly, he forced himself to take a deep breath. He rexed his hands, letting go of the tension in his fingers. His heartbeat slowed. His mind cleared.

  As he exhaled, the beast-like slits in his eyes softened, fading bato familiar o-blue. The fangs receded, his face returning to normal.

  Hinata watched in silence, l the mirror.

  Naruto swallowed. “…What the hell was that?”

  “It has something to do with your memories,” offered Hinata weakly.

  Of course, Naruto was curious. He narturally wao ask, but there was a bigger …

  Naruto stared at the scattered remnants of the creatures, his fists ched. Even if they were gone for now, he couldn’t shake the unease creeping into his thoughts.

  “What if they caught a civilian?” he muttered, voice tinged with . “I mean… those things were attag us, but what about normal people? What if—”

  Hinata gave a small nod, as if she had already thought of the same thing. “That’s why I po hunt them down,” she admitted. “At least clear enough of them around our pce.”

  Naruto g her, surprised. “Hinata-, are you going to be okay?”

  Hinata didn’t answer right away, instead adjustiand dusting off her sleeves. “They’ll keep ing otherwise,” she said simply. “I’ll be fine, Naruto-kun.”

  Naruto took a moment to sider that. A part of him still didn’t fully uand what these creatures were, but he did know that letting them run loose felt wrong. “Then I’m ing too.”

  Hinata looked at him, studying his expression. There was ation in his voice, only determination. She exhaled softly, then nodded. “Alright.”

  With that, the two of them left their building, stepping onto the quiet streets.

  —

  As they moved through the area, Naruto kept his senses sharp, trying to pick up on any strange movements. The earlier rush of power had faded, but the memory of it lingered in the back of his mind.

  Then, as they passed a dimly lit stretch of sidewalk, Hinata slowed her steps.

  “I will take care of this.”

  Hinata moved quickly. Her strikes were accurate and effit. The st few monsters didn’t stand a ce against her flurry of attacks. Their malformed bodies flickered, dissipating into nothingness.

  She exhaled, l her stahey dispersed the moment you drew on your Kyūbi chakra,” she murmured. “However, there are still a few lingering around.”

  Naruto frowned. “Kyūbi… chakra?” The words felt f familiar, like an echo from a half-remembered dream.

  Hinata’s eyes softened. She took a deep breath, as if steadying herself.

  For the first time, Naruto truly saw her eyes.

  Wide, pale, and nearly colorless, her gaze carried an iy that was both striking and inhuman. He blihere was something about them—something that felt important—but he couldn’t grasp it.

  “…Your eyes,” he said.

  Hinata’s lips parted slightly in realization. “Ah,” she murmured. “This is probably the first time you’re seeing my Byakugan in a after you lost your memories.”

  Naruto frowhe word stirred something in him, but he couldn’t put a finger on what.

  “…Is it strange?” she asked quietly.

  Naruto tilted his head. “No,” he said simply. “It’s beautiful. Like a white lily.”

  Hinata blinked, surprised. Then, slowly, she gave him a small, rueful smile.

  She turned slightly, motioning toward a nearby bench. “e on. Sit down,” she said.

  Naruto followed her gaze—and for the first time, he realized where they were.

  They had wandered closer to Sugisawa Municipal High School.

  Silence lingered between them as they sat on the bench. The streets around Sugisawa Municipal High School were quiet, the eerie stillness broken only by the occasional rustling of leaves. The monsters had fled. The rush of battle had passed. But Naruto’s mind was still clouded with unease.

  He shifted unfortably, gng at Hinata. His gaze flickered to her face, then to her hands resting on her p. Then, finally, to the broken sungsses lying beside her on the bench.

  “…I hit you.” The words came out heavier than he expected. His hands ched at his knees. “I—uh, I didn’t mean to. I got caught up ihing, and I—”

  Hinata tilted her head slightly, then followed his gaze to the sungsses.

  “Oh.” Her expression remained unreadable for a moment before she exhaled lightly. “You don’t have to apologize.”

  Naruto frowned. “Of course I do! I—”

  “They were just sungsses.” Hinata gave a small shrug. “I buy another pair.”

  Naruto fell silent at that. He wasn’t sure why, but the way she brushed it off made him feel even guiltier. His grip on his kightened before he hesitantly asked, “…Are you mad?”

  Hinata shook her head. “I’m just gd you calmed down.” Then, after a brief pause, she asked, “You don’t feel any… lingeriions, do you?”

  Naruto blinked. “Huh?”

  “Anger. Hate. Rese.” She watched him carefully. “Anythiive?”

  Naruto thought about it. He wasn’t sure what he had felt back then—it wasn’t anger, ly. It was more like… hunger. Like something had takewisting his instincts. But now?

  He shook his head. “Nah. I don’t feel anything like that.”

  Hinata’s shoulders rexed, and for the first time in a while, she smiled. It was small and fleeting, but it was there.

  “Good,” she murmured.

  Naruto exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “… you at least tell me what the hell that was?”

  Hinata’s expression turned ptive. “It’s… a long story.”

  “I’ve got time.”

  Hinata g him, then gave a slight nod. “Alright,” she said. “The me start from the beginning.”

  She took a breath, posihoughts, before speaking again.

  “A long time ago, there was a monstrous fox—oh ails.”

  Naruthtened slightly, feeling a strange sense of familiarity with the words.

  “The Kyūbi,” Hinata tinued. “It was a being of immense chakra, capable of leveling mountains with a single swing of its tails. The vilge feared it. And so, to protect everyohey sealed it away…”

  She trailed off.

  Her shoulders tensed.

  Her eyes sharpened.

  Hinata’s Byakugan activated.

  Naruto blinked, startled by her sudden ge in demeanor. “Oi—what’s wrong?”

  Hinata didn’t respond immediately. She was staring past him, her white eyes locked onto something in the dista the school.

  Naruto followed her gaze, but all he saw was the empty campus, dark and still uhe night sky.

  Hinata’s voice was hushed. “There are people fighting.”

  Naruto stiffened. His first instinct was to get up. “We should—”

  “It’s already over.”

  Naruto froze.

  Something about her tone uled him. She sounded… uneasy.

  He turned back to her. “Hinata?”

  She didn’t answer right away. Her lips pressed together, and after a brief hesitation, she whispered, “He stared back at me.”

  A chill ran down Naruto’s spine.

  He didn’t know why, but those words put him on edge.

  Before he could ask what she meant—

  Something dropped from the sky.

  Naruto barely had time to react before a figure nded lightly in front of them, feet toug the pavement with unnatural grace. A man—tall and lean, with messy white hair—straightened himself. He wore a dark high-colred jacket, his hands tucked casually into his pockets. A blindfold covered his eyes.

  Then, with a smile that sent a prickle of unease down Naruto’s back, he said,

  “Oh my~ Seems like we have a peeping tom here.”

  Strange didn’t even begin to describe it.

  Naruto’s first instinct was to take a step back. Something about the man—his presence, his sudden appeara him on edge. It wasn’t just that he had dropped from the sky without a sound. It wasn’t just the way he stood there, too rexed, too casual. It was the blindfold.

  Who the hell wore a blindfold at night and still moved like that?

  Yet, despite the unfamiliarity, something about him triggered a memory. A fsh of silver hair. A mask. One eye, sharp and unreadable.

  Naruto narrowed his eyes. “…Kakashi-sensei?”

  The white-haired man tilted his head, as if sidering the hen, with an exaggerated shake of his head, he grinned.

  “Nope.” He straightened, one hand raising in a dismissive wave. “It’s Gojo-sensei to you kids.”

  Naruto blinked. “…Huh?”

  Gojo cpped his hands together. “So,” he said, tilting his head slightly, “do you kids want to bee Jujutsu Sorcerers?”

  A Jujutsu Sorcerer?

  Naruto exged gnces with Hinata, who looked just as perplexed as he felt.

  What the hell was even that?