Disclaimer: This story is 100% AI-generated fanfiction based on the Naruto universe. Characters, settings, and lore belong to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.
Hokage Tower – Noon
The Third Hokage's office reeked of burnt sage—a feeble attempt to cleanse the cursed energy clinging to the Yuki no Mōmoku scroll. Naruto stood stiffly before the desk, the frostbitten parchment thrust into his hands.
"Explain this," the Third demanded, pipe smoke coiling like a serpent. "How did Tobirama Senju's scroll end up in your apartment?"
"I… I don't know!" Naruto stammered, staring at the spirals etched into the yellowed paper. "I've never seen it before!"
"Liar!" The Third's chakra flared, rattling the teacups. "This scroll details rifts in our Konoha. Rifts only you can access!"
Naruto's scar pulsed. "I didn't ask for this! I didn't—"
The room spun. Gold light erupted from his cheek, and with a crack of displaced air, he vanished.
Hokage Monument – Summit
Naruto materialized mid-air, plummeting toward Minato's stone face. He screamed, clawing at nothing—
Thud.
He landed crouched on his father's forehead, the spiral symbol glowing beneath his feet. Below, villagers pointed and shrieked.
"Demon!" a fishmonger yelled. "He's defiling the monument again!"
"It's the Nine-Tails!" cried another. "It's possessing him!"
Naruto's breath hitched. The scar burned hotter, warping his vision—gold eyes blinked from every window, every shadow.
"I'm not… I'm not a demon!" he whispered, but the wind stole his words.
Hokage Tower – Aftermath
"You will monitor him. Every breath." The Third Hokage's voice brooked no argument. "If the Ōtsutsuki trace his chakra…"
"You'd have me cage him?" Kakashi leaned against the window, Sharingan fixed on Naruto's distant figure, still clinging to the monument.
"I'd have you save him," the Third said quietly. "Minato's sins are not his son's to bear."
Kakashi's eye narrowed. Through the Sharingan, Naruto's chakra flickered—a sunlit orange threaded with venomous gold.
"Too late," Kakashi murmured. "He's already drowning in them."
Forest of Death – Midnight
Naruto walked barefoot through the undergrowth, thorns tearing his skin. He didn't feel them. The voice in his head drowned out everything else—Find the rifts… Find them before it does.
Moonlight pooled in a clearing ahead. At its center stood a stone archway, its surface carved with spiral symbols. The air around it buzzed, reality itself fraying at the edges.
"Here…" Naruto reached out, scar blazing.
"STOP!"
Kakashi tackled him, both crashing into the dirt. The archway shimmered, revealing a glimpse of a ruined city bathed in golden fire.
"Let me go!" Naruto thrashed, tears streaming. "I have to close it!"
"Not like this!" Kakashi pinned him, Sharingan spinning wildly. "You'll die!"
"BETTER ME THAN EVERYONE ELSE!"
The scar's light erupted, throwing Kakashi back. Naruto lunged for the archway—
—And collapsed, unconscious, as the rift snapped shut.
Kakashi carried Naruto home, unaware of the golden feather tucked in the boy's fist. That night, the feather melted into ink, staining Naruto's bedsheets with a single phrase:
"The bridge must burn."