Slowly, night fell over Konoha and the forest.
The light of the campfire danced along the walls of hell. The scent of the fish, no longer roasting over the flames, had wrapped the desolate place in an almost pleasant warmth.
Artoria rested her head on her hands and silently watched Naruto sleep.
His small chest rose and fell peacefully. He had curled himself tightly into the cloak, as though his body feared losing the warmth again at any moment.
Then his eyes slowly began to move beneath his eyelids.
A moment later, he stirred, stretched slightly—and returned from the realm of dreams to life.
But the instant he opened his eyes, he jolted upright. The cloak slipped from his shoulders, and his gaze fell directly on Artoria.
His eyes grew wide.
Artoria had imagined many first words.
But not these.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked in a trembling voice. Then he forced out the next words as though they were something deeply rooted inside him. "I am a monster."
Artoria's brows drew together.
For a heartbeat, she said nothing.
Then she slowly raised her hand and carefully reached out toward him.
Naruto flinched back and hurriedly pressed himself against the wall.
"Please..." he managed. "What did I do wrong?"
Something inside Artoria broke at those words.
Her voice, when she spoke, was gentle and soft, and yet it seemed to make the whole dark space brighter.
"You did nothing wrong," she said calmly. "Nothing at all."
Slowly, she bent down a little toward him, without crowding him.
"The blame does not lie with you. Others betrayed your parents' trust. And you..." Her gaze softened even more. "You are only a little child being kept in ignorance because others want it that way."
Naruto stared at her.
Artoria crouched a little lower until her blue eyes were level with his and could meet his gaze.
"My name is Artoria Pendragon," she said quietly. "And I hope I may become your mentor."
A tender expression touched her face.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki."
Carefully, she placed her hand on his head and gently stroked his blond hair.
Naruto's eyes widened even further.
"How...?" His voice was barely more than a whisper. "My name is Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki?"
Artoria nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Then she let her hand remain on his head a moment longer.
"And you are not a monster."
Before they could continue, Naruto's stomach growled loudly with hunger.
For a moment, he blinked in alarm, as though his own body had betrayed him.
Artoria could not suppress the faintest smile. Then she took one of the fish and held it out to him.
"Here," she said calmly. "It is no longer completely warm, unfortunately, but it will satisfy your hunger."
Naruto did not hesitate for even a second.
In record time, he devoured the first fish, then the second, and shortly after that the third as well. Only then did it seem to occur to him that one was still left.
He looked at the last fish in his hand, then lifted his gaze to Artoria.
"Big Sister..." he said carefully, holding it out to her. "This one is for you."
For a moment, Artoria's gaze softened.
Then she slowly shook her head.
"No," she said gently. "You may keep it. I do not need to eat."
Naruto blinked.
"Why not?"
Artoria leaned back slightly.
"Because I am no longer human, little one."
The moment the words were spoken, Naruto nearly dropped the fish in shock.
"W-What are you then?"
Artoria slowly lifted her gaze toward the ceiling of hell, as though she first needed to sort her own words.
"A long time ago, I was a human," she finally said. "Just like you. I was the leader of my people... but I was walking the wrong path."
Her voice grew quieter.
"Then I died in battle. After that, I wandered between worlds for a very, very long time."
Naruto stared at her with wide eyes.
"And with time," Artoria continued, "I developed into something one might call a Divine Spirit."
She looked back down at him.
"When my spirit finally awakened again, I was sent to you."
Naruto frowned so hard that Artoria almost laughed.
"Big Sister... I don't understand."
The completely honest, helpless expression on his face actually made her laugh. Not loudly. Not mockingly. But warmly.
"Yes, I thought as much," she said with a faint smile.
Then she leaned forward a little.
"Simply put: I am a kind of spirit that can take on a body. I can be visible or invisible." She gestured lightly toward herself. "For the next few days, only you can see and hear me."
Naruto still looked at her as though he were trying to catch every single word.
Artoria's expression grew serious again.
"And I want to find out what exactly is happening here," she said calmly. "With you. With this place. And with the people who treated you this way."
"Lord Hokage. The target has not left the forest in the last few days and has remained in the clearing. We have determined that he repeatedly speaks to himself. Several times, phrases were heard such as: Big Sister, did I do that right? or Big Sister, next time I will do it better."
The ANBU paused briefly before continuing.
"In addition, over the past few days he has learned how to catch fish and make fire. We also observed him drawing symbols into the ground that resemble simple written characters."
Hiruzen sat still behind his desk and listened to the report without interrupting the ANBU.
Only after several seconds did he raise his gaze.
"Are you certain that no one entered the clearing over the last few days?"
The two ANBU answered in unison.
"No one was on the clearing, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen's gaze grew heavier.
"I see."
For a moment, he was silent. Then he made a small hand gesture.
"Return and continue keeping an eye on the boy."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The next instant, both vanished without a sound.
Silence returned to the room.
Hiruzen leaned back slightly and closed his eyes for a moment.
"Mmh... how is that possible?" he murmured softly.
Slowly, he rose and stepped toward the window. His gaze moved over Konoha.
"It seems we pushed him too far..."
There was something thoughtful in his voice. Perhaps even regret.
"If it really has already become this bad, then Inoichi Yamanaka will likely have to rebuild his mind."
He remained by the window and silently looked out over the village.