Naruto sprawled on the grass in his secluded forest clearing, his chest heaving from hours of training. Three wobbly shadow clones stood around him, flickering like bad copies of himself—one had a lopsided grin, another's whisker marks were too long. "Man, you guys look pathetic," he said with a forced laugh, keeping up the act even alone. If anyone stumbled across him, they'd see the same old Naruto, goofing off. But the truth was in the sweat soaking his jacket and the burning resolve in his gut. The shadow clone jutsu was his ticket to power, and power was his path to the truth.He'd been at it for days, sneaking away from the Academy with fake excuses—stomachaches, oversleeping, even a dramatic "I lost my favorite pencil!" that earned him an eye-roll from Iruka. Each night, he pushed his chakra to its limits, trying to make the clones stable. They were getting better, but not fast enough. The sealed scroll in the Hokage Tower, the one the jounin had mentioned, was his goal. It held answers about the Nine-Tails' sealing, about why the Fourth chose him. But getting to it meant sneaking past elite shinobi, and for that, he needed more than a few shaky clones.Naruto dismissed the clones with a wave, the puffs of smoke fading into the evening air. His mind drifted to the Nine-Tails itself. If he was its Jinchuriki, its power was inside him—raw, untamed, waiting. He'd felt that flicker of heat during training, like a fire deep in his core. If he could tap into it, control it, he wouldn't just sneak into the tower; he could demand the truth. But the thought scared him as much as it thrilled him. The Nine-Tails was a monster, and he wasn't sure what using its power would cost.He stood, brushing dirt from his pants, and forced a grin. "Time to be the best ninja ever!" he said to the empty clearing, practicing the mask he wore for the village. No one could know how much he'd changed, how the kid who once craved attention now craved answers. The Hokage, Iruka, even Anko—they were all part of the lie, keeping him in the dark. Trust was a trap, and he wouldn't fall for it again.As he headed back to the village, his eyes caught a flicker of movement in the trees. He froze, his grin widening to cover the spike of adrenaline. "Yo, who's there? Come out and face the future Hokage!" he called, his voice loud and brash. No one answered, but he felt watched. Maybe it was a shinobi, maybe just his paranoia. Either way, it was a reminder: he had to be stronger, smarter, untouchable. The truth was out there, and he'd claw his way to it, one clone at a time.
