Naruto stood in the marketplace, haggling loudly with a vendor over a bruised apple. "C'mon, old man, it's practically rotten! Gimme a discount!" His grin was wide, his voice carrying over the crowd, drawing annoyed glances. Perfect. Let them see the clown, not the kid who'd spent the last week sneaking into alleys and forests to train until he could barely stand. His body ached, but his resolve was iron. Power was his path to the truth, and he was done waiting for answers to fall into his lap.The vendor relented, tossing him the apple with a scowl. Naruto caught it, winking, but his eyes darted to a group of jounin nearby, their conversation low and guarded. He'd learned to eavesdrop while keeping up his act, and today, he was hunting for anything about the Nine-Tails or the Fourth. He took a loud bite of the apple, leaning against a stall to listen."...Hokage's still got that old scroll locked away," one jounin said, his voice barely audible. "The one about the sealing. Says it's too dangerous to unseal."Naruto's heart thudded, but he kept chewing, laughing as if he'd heard a joke. A scroll about the sealing? That could be it—the key to understanding what the Fourth did to him, why he was the Jinchuriki. But "locked away" meant it was in the Hokage Tower, guarded by shinobi far stronger than him. He needed more than sneaky tricks now; he needed the strength to get past them.That night, in his apartment, Naruto added to his hidden notes: Sealing scroll. Hokage Tower. Guarded. He stared at the words, his mind racing. The tower was a fortress, and he was just a kid with shaky chakra control and a few basic jutsu. Even if he tapped into the Nine-Tails' power, he didn't know how to control it. Last night's training had been a bust—another flicker of heat, then nothing. But he wasn't giving up. Power wasn't just chakra; it was cunning, too. He'd learn to be both strong and smart, a shadow behind his goofy grin.The next day, he skipped Academy practice, claiming a stomachache with an exaggerated groan that made Iruka sigh and wave him off. Instead, he headed to the forest, a stolen Academy scroll tucked under his jacket. It was basic—shadow clone jutsu, something he wasn't supposed to touch yet—but if he could master it, he'd have an edge. Clones could scout, distract, even fight. They could get him into places he couldn't go alone.In the clearing, he unrolled the scroll, his hands steady despite his pounding heart. The jutsu was complex, but he was desperate. He formed the hand signs, pouring chakra into the attempt. Nothing happened at first, but he tried again, then again, each failure fueling his resolve. Finally, a puff of smoke appeared, and a wobbly clone stood before him, its face a distorted version of his own.Naruto laughed, loud and fake, as if someone might hear. "Not bad, huh?" he said to the clone, but inside, he was electric with possibility. This was a start—real power, not just dreams. The scroll, the tower, the truth—they were closer now. He'd keep up the act, let the village underestimate him, but every step, every jutsu, every sleepless night of training was bringing him closer to forcing the answers out of those who'd lied to him his whole life.
