Sealing Disturbance? The Third Hokage's Shocking Theory

The atmosphere in the Hokage's Office was so heavy it felt like water could be wrung from it.

Iruka was practically collapsing. Those few minutes of reporting had exhausted him more than ten years of being a ninja ever had.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage hailed as the "Professor of Ninjutsu," wore an expression uglier than if he had eaten ten-year-expired Soldier Pills.

He stared fixedly at the crystal ball, his clouded old eyes wide as bells, as though he wanted to bore a hole straight through it.

Inside the crystal ball, Naruto Uzumaki was walking down the main road back to the village with both hands in his pockets, looking utterly carefree.

He was humming some wildly off-key tune that no one could identify, and there was not a trace of the usual dejected air of a dead last in his stride.

He was practically striding like a dragon and prowling like a tiger, bursting with vigor!

Even through the crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi could feel that overwhelming vitality, as though it were about to burst through the screen!

His blood and life force were as robust as those of a humanoid Tailed Beast!

An illusion!

It had to be an illusion!

Hiruzen Sarutobi could even faintly hear the roars of tigers and dragons. The sound made him shudder, and he nearly threw the crystal ball in his hand.

"Th-this is Naruto?"

The Third Hokage viciously pinched his own thigh. Only after grimacing in pain did he confirm that he was not dreaming.

His first thought was—the Nine-Tails!

There was a problem with the seal!

That was the peace of the Hidden Leaf that the Fourth Hokage had bought with his life. It was also the final promise he had made to Minato!

If something went wrong with the seal, how could he face his disciple's son in the afterlife?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze instantly sharpened like an eagle's, locking onto Naruto's abdomen in the crystal ball—the place where the Nine-Tails Demon Fox was sealed!

However—

Nothing!

There was none of the ominous, violent, icy red chakra he had expected—not even a trace of it!

The seal on Naruto's abdomen was completely intact, even more stable than it had ever been before!

"How strange... Why hasn't it gone berserk?"

The Third Hokage snatched up the pipe on his desk and took a hard drag. The pungent tobacco smoke rushed straight into his head, forcibly cooling down his CPU, which was on the verge of burning out.

His brain raced at an unprecedented speed as countless pieces of intelligence and possibilities collided, analyzed, and recombined in his mind.

No, that's not right!

The Third Hokage suddenly jolted awake, a terrifying gleam erupting in his eyes.

This chakra... is far too pure!

Pure to a terrifying degree!

It was a primal force that seemed to originate from the deepest depths of life itself, brimming with endless vitality and vigor. It was the complete opposite of the Nine-Tails' dark chakra, which was steeped in destruction and hatred!

They were not even on the same level!

A bold speculation, so bold that it made even his heart pound in alarm, flashed through the fog in his mind like lightning.

Could it be... that brat Minato left something else inside Naruto besides the Nine-Tails Seal?

Some stronger secret seal that I don't know about, which happened to be released by chance?!

Once that thought appeared, he could no longer suppress it.

The more the Third Hokage thought about it, the more plausible it seemed!

With Minato's peerless talent and genius, it was entirely possible for him to make such an arrangement that defied common sense!

Or... perhaps it wasn't Minato's doing?

Another, older and more distant legend surfaced in his mind.

It was Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki!

Could the ancient bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, said to rival the First Hokage's Sage Body, have... fully awakened within him?!

Hiss—

Hiruzen Sarutobi sucked in a sharp breath, feeling as though the pipe in his hand had become too hot to hold.

No matter which possibility it was, both pointed to a fact that excited and terrified him at the same time—

Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's greatest "unstable factor" and greatest "jinchuriki nuclear bomb," had completely evolved into an entirely new species beyond his expectations and control!

Was this a good thing or a bad thing?!

At that thought, an unprecedented resolve and ruthlessness flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's old eyes.

He turned toward the darkest corner of the office and barked in a deep voice, "ANBU!"

Whoosh!

Two figures wearing animal masks appeared before him like ghosts, soundlessly dropping to one knee.

"Immediately! At once! Send more men and establish a Special Surveillance Squad!"

The Third Hokage's voice held no emotion, cold and stern. "Conduct twenty-four-hour, all-weather, blind-spot-free covert surveillance on Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Remember!"

He stressed each word. "You may only observe from afar. Under absolutely no circumstances are you to alert him! Every single move he makes, what he eats, who he sees, what he says—even what his farts smell like—I want to know immediately!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

The two ANBU ninjas did not dare delay in the slightest. They instantly turned into two afterimages and vanished from the office.

Only Hiruzen Sarutobi remained in the empty room.

He slumped back into his chair and stared at the boy in the crystal ball, still humming as though nothing had happened, falling into a long silence.

Konoha's skies were probably... truly about to change.

The next day, at the Ninja Academy.

In yesterday's graduation comprehensive exam, Naruto had passed thanks to his terrifying performance in the taijutsu test, where he crushed the entire field, along with a barely passing written score. The only thing giving Iruka a headache was Naruto's Clone Technique test, which had been disastrously awful, but considering his taijutsu score was enough to offset ten failing grades, the review committee made an exception and let him pass.

The entire classroom was as noisy as a marketplace. Everyone was wildly discussing the earth-shaking news from yesterday.

"Hey, hey, did you hear? Naruto Uzumaki took out Neji Hyuga with one kick!"

"No way! Seriously? That genius the Hyuga Clan only gets once in a century?"

"Absolutely true! My cousin's classmate's neighbor was there! They said Neji got kicked flying like a ragged sack and passed out on the spot!"

"My god! Since when did that dead last get so strong? Wasn't he only good at pulling pranks?"

In a corner of the classroom, Sasuke Uchiha rested his chin on his interlocked hands. Nothing could be read from his expressionless face, but gloom and confusion churned in his dark eyes.

His gaze was like two poisoned blades, fixed fiercely on the blond figure who had just entered the classroom.

Yesterday, right in front of him, that dead last he had always regarded as an ant had sent that idiot Kiba Inuzuka spinning through the air like a top with a single slap.

That decisiveness, that absolute power...

It was enough that Kiba Inuzuka had not even dared come to school today!

"Sasuke~"

A sickeningly sweet voice interrupted Sasuke's thoughts. Sakura Haruno fluttered over like a flower butterfly, her hands behind her back and her face flushed with lovestruck excitement. "When they split us into teams later, we absolutely have to be assigned to the same team!"

Sasuke could not even be bothered to raise his eyelids. He merely gave a cold "Mm."

Meanwhile, the undisputed protagonist of the entire incident—Naruto Uzumaki—seemed like a complete outsider.

He walked straight to his window-side seat and sat down. From beginning to end, he did not spare even a single glance for his former "rival," Sasuke Uchiha.

Complete disregard!

That feeling was even more unbearable for Sasuke than getting into a fight with him directly!

It was as though... Sasuke Uchiha was no longer worthy of being his opponent.

"Ahem! Quiet down, all of you!"

At last, Iruka walked onto the podium carrying a stack of documents. He cleared his throat, and the classroom instantly fell silent.

Everyone's hearts rose into their throats as they anxiously awaited the verdict that would decide their fates.

Iruka swept his gaze across the familiar yet unfamiliar faces below, his heart filled with complicated feelings. When he looked at Naruto in particular, his expression became incomparably conflicted.

He took a deep breath and began announcing the team assignments.

"Team 1..."

"Team 2..."

As one name after another was called, some people rejoiced while others worried.

Finally.

"Next is Team 7!"

Iruka paused. His gaze moved back and forth between the three of them before he finally forced himself to read the names aloud.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Sakura Haruno..."

Before he could finish, a shrill scream suddenly tore through the classroom's silence!

"Ahhhh—!!!"

Sakura Haruno completely broke down. Clutching her head with both hands, her expression twisted as though the world were ending.

"Why?! Why do I have to be on the same team as this eternal dead last?!"

"My youth... my youth is over!!!"