The once-proud Uchiha compound lay in silence.
The bodies had long since been taken away, but the outlines remained white chalk traces marking where each life had fallen. Rainwater drizzled down from the gray skies, smearing the chalk and diluting the crimson stains. Slowly, the marks of tragedy blurred and vanished, as though the heavens themselves wished to wash away the past.
But no amount of rain could erase the memories of what had happened here. The clan that once shook the entire shinobi world was now reduced to history.
Naruto walked beside Sasuke as they stepped into the boy's family home. The air inside was heavy with silence. On the wooden floor of Fugaku and Mikoto's bedroom, two human-shaped chalk outlines remained.
Sasuke's eyes reddened. His hands clenched into fists as he bit back the tears threatening to fall.
"Come on," Naruto said gently, forcing a smile. "Let's clean this place up. We've got to look forward, right?"
Sasuke nodded stiffly, his voice caught in his throat. Without another word, the two boys picked up brooms and cleaning rags. Together, they swept, scrubbed, and wiped until the house looked less like a tomb and more like a home again. When they reached Fugaku and Mikoto's room, Sasuke insisted on working alone. Naruto didn't argue.
Time, merciless as ever, pressed onward.
Five years passed in the blink of an eye.
At the edge of the Uchiha compound, on a secluded training ground, three figures clashed at blinding speed.
From the sidelines, Kakashi stood with his headband lifted, his Sharingan exposed, while Guy watched with a wide grin and arms crossed. Their eyes followed the intense spar unfolding before them.
Naruto faced Sasuke and Hinata together, the two of them moving in perfect sync. Both had unlocked the powers of their respective bloodlines Sasuke's Sharingan glimmered with two tomoe in each eye, while Hinata's pale Byakugan radiated its piercing gaze.
The trio fought hand-to-hand, each blow landing with explosive force, their speed so sharp that afterimages flickered in the air. Yet even though Sasuke and Hinata worked as a team, they were slowly being pushed back.
Naruto fought as though he had more than two arms his strikes and counters came from every angle, overwhelming them.
"Tch." Sasuke gritted his teeth. He knew exactly why. Naruto was simply faster.
Blue veins bulged on his forehead as he forced open the Gates of Opening and Rest, breaking through the body's natural limits and drawing upon forbidden reserves of power. His speed and strength spiked dramatically.
Hinata, catching on, followed suit. She mimicked his stance, opening her own gates to keep up.
If they didn't push themselves now, there was no way they'd stand a chance.
Naruto, however, only smiled. His body surged with even greater power, but unlike them, there were no strained veins or signs of forced effort. He hadn't opened any gates at all. He had simply been holding back.
In base form, he was already more than enough to pressure them both.
Kakashi's Sharingan spun faster, analyzing every detail. Beside him, Guy's grin faded into serious focus.
Damn… Naruto's physical strength is monstrous. If they keep matching him head-on like this, Sasuke and Hinata will collapse sooner or later.
Sasuke's Sharingan and Hinata's Byakugan granted them superior vision, allowing them to track Naruto's movements. But their bodies simply couldn't match his speed.
"Hinata!" Sasuke shouted. After a quick exchange with Naruto, he leapt back, weaving hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Hinata surged forward, chakra bursting from her palms in the shape of roaring lion heads. Together, they closed the gap, not giving Naruto a chance to evade.
But without Sasuke by her side, Hinata couldn't match Naruto's taijutsu. He sidestepped her strike, seized her arm, and tossed her aside with ease.
The massive fireball roared toward him like a blazing house. Without hesitation, Naruto swung his arm down. A gust of slicing wind burst from his palm, splitting the fireball in two.
"Impressive wind release," Kakashi muttered, his visible eye widening.
Guy only smiled knowingly, saying nothing.
"How many gates can Naruto open now?" Kakashi asked, his voice low.
"Six permanently," Guy replied, rubbing his chin. "He can maintain them without damage. And if he pushes for a short while, he can even open the Seventh."
Kakashi inhaled sharply. "That kind of talent is terrifying."
Guy shook his head. "It isn't just talent. He trained harder than anyone. Day after day, year after year, he pushed his body to the breaking point. This is the fruit of that effort."
When Naruto had finally reached the required physical standard, Guy had taught him the secret of the Eight Gates along with refined taijutsu techniques. With Naruto's natural resilience, even his fists and kicks had become lethal weapons.
And when Sasuke and Hinata joined him in training, Guy didn't turn them away. One sheep or a whole flock it didn't matter. He trained them all together. Kakashi, too, joined in when he could.
"Let me show you what true fire release looks like, Sasuke!" Naruto laughed, clapping his hands. "Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
Unlike the ordinary technique, this one birthed a colossal dragon of flame, writhing in the air with glowing scales and jaws wide open. It roared and lunged toward Sasuke, alive with fury.
Eyes widening, Sasuke rolled aside, but the dragon twisted in midair, chasing him as though it had its own mind.
Hinata darted back into the fight. Slamming her foot down, a green trigram spread out beneath her, enclosing her and Naruto.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms!" she cried.
But before Naruto could react, Hinata's figure vanished.
His eyes widened. What ?
The next instant, a flurry of strikes pummeled his back.
"Behind me?" he thought in shock. "When did she ?"
Kakashi's Sharingan whirred violently. He had been watching closely, yet even he hadn't seen how Hinata had moved.
Guy's expression hardened. He didn't know either.
"Space-time ninjutsu," Kakashi whispered. The image reminded him of his late teacher, the Fourth Hokage, who could teleport instantly with the Flying Thunder God Technique. A style so fearsome, enemy nations had once given standing orders: if you encounter Minato Namikaze, retreat immediately.
Hinata's palms struck one after another, her movements faster than the eye could follow. In seconds, she completed all 128 strikes, sealing every chakra point on Naruto's body.
"Your chakra is sealed, Naruto," she said, smiling faintly.
Her shyness had faded over the years. With Naruto constantly pushing her, she had grown braver, stronger.
Before Naruto could reply, Sasuke charged in, his clothes singed from the earlier fire. Lightning sparked across his body as he unleashed his jutsu.
"Lightning Style: Ground Walk!" Bolts arced toward Naruto.
"Lightning will paralyze your muscles," Sasuke smirked. "You've lost, Naruto."
But Naruto only turned his head, grinning. A puff of smoke erupted as his body vanished.
"Shadow Clone?!" Hinata and Sasuke gasped in unison.
"When did he cast it?" Sasuke muttered in disbelief. With the Sharingan and Byakugan watching him, neither had noticed.
Suddenly, two hands burst from the ground beneath their feet, seizing their ankles and yanking them down into the earth. Hinata's eyes widened, but she was too late to react.
"Back when you threw that fireball," Naruto's voice said cheerfully as he crouched before them, grinning like a fox.
He pulled them free from the ground just as Kakashi and Guy began clapping, walking forward with approving smiles.