Testing the Sheep Talisman

In the woods behind the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi delivered his final judgment.

"Tonight's incident was a plot by the rogue ninja Mizuki."

"The Scroll of Seals has been recovered without any loss. I'll handle everything that follows personally."

"Root is not to interfere again."

"You...!" Danzo trembled with rage. He stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression, which made it clear that the matter was settled.

He looked at Naruto, standing behind Iruka with a gleaming forehead protector on his brow.

It felt as though Hiruzen had trampled all his plans and warnings underfoot, dismissing them with the authority of the Hokage and the laughable excuse of a "prank."

Danzo had struck with all his might, only for the blow to land on cotton. Worse, Hiruzen had turned it to his advantage and helped that Demon Fox brat. The fury in Danzo's chest nearly exploded.

But Danzo knew that, openly at least, he could not defy the Hokage's decision.

In the end, he could only glare at Hiruzen Sarutobi for a long moment with his baleful eye. A cold snort of anger and resentment rose from deep in his throat.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret your foolishness and mercy today!"

He forced the words through clenched teeth, then spun around. With a furious flick of his robe sleeve, he vanished into the darkness, seething with resentment.

The two Root ninja immediately released Naruto and disappeared as silently as they had arrived.

Only then did Iruka finally breathe easy. His legs nearly gave out beneath him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Naruto. The boy was still shaken, with tear tracks and traces of anger on his face. Hiruzen's expression grew complicated before he let out a deep sigh.

He stepped forward. Instead of scolding Naruto, he reached out and gently ruffled his bright blond hair.

"It's all right now, Naruto."

After a lecture from Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto came to understand just how wrong he had been and was sent home.

And just like that, Hiruzen Sarutobi brushed aside the grave crime of stealing the Scroll of Seals.

Every ninja who had ever been punished for stealing the Scroll of Seals would have had just one thing to say: What the hell?

The streets of Konoha were deserted late that night. Naruto walked home alone.

The night breeze brushed past him. The cool forehead protector against his brow constantly reminded him of everything that had happened.

He touched it without thinking. The feel of the metal reassured him a little, easing some of the terrifying pressure Danzo had left behind.

"I'm home."

Naruto pushed open the familiar, shabby door and called out to the empty room, as he always did.

The room was just as messy as when he had left it, yet the sight filled him with the relief of someone who had survived a disaster.

He threw himself onto his little bed and let out a long breath. Every bone in his body felt ready to fall apart.

Excitement and exhaustion washed over him at once. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep for three days and nights.

But as he rolled over to find a more comfortable position, something hard in his clothes dug into his side.

"Mm... what's this?" Naruto mumbled sleepily. He fumbled inside his clothes and soon pulled it out.

Under the dim light, the hexagonal Sheep Talisman lay quietly in his palm.

Naruto sat bolt upright, most of his drowsiness vanishing in an instant.

"Oh, right! This thing!" He stared wide-eyed at the little object he had pocketed on a whim, his heart sinking.

"Oh no, oh no! I was so caught up with the Scroll of Seals and graduating that I forgot all about it! I took this from Grandpa Third's place too!"

Guilt struck him hard.

"Maybe I should sneak it back tomorrow?" He scratched his head, hesitating. But curiosity quickly won out.

"What does it even do?" He held the talisman up to his eyes and examined it from every angle.

"It looks important. If Grandpa Third kept it in his room, it can't be anything ordinary, right? Maybe it's some incredibly powerful Ninja Tool?"

At the thought of a powerful Ninja Tool, Naruto's eyes lit up again.

He remembered how it had felt to use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. He loved that sense of power surging through him.

"Why not try it? Just once! If it really does something, I'll tell Grandpa Third tomorrow. If it doesn't, I'll put it back without a word!"

Having found the perfect excuse, Naruto was eager to begin.

And so, late that night, Naruto Uzumaki began "testing" the Sheep Talisman.

First, he clasped it tightly between his hands as if forming a hand sign, closed his eyes, concentrated, and shouted, "Ninja Art! Activate!" Nothing happened.

Next, he pressed the talisman to his forehead and tried to awaken its power like some kind of Kekkei Genkai, straining until his face turned red. Apart from making his forehead hurt a little, it did nothing.

He tried feeding Chakra into the talisman. It vanished without a trace, and the talisman did not so much as glow.

He set it on the floor, backed up several steps like he was preparing for a long jump, then charged forward and poked it with a finger, imagining he might trigger some hidden mechanism. Instead, he fell and nearly knocked out his front teeth.

He even whispered a wish to the talisman: "Let me eat a hundred bowls of ramen tomorrow!" The room stayed quiet. All he could hear was his own breathing.

After nearly an hour, Naruto had tried everything he could think of: dripping blood on it to claim it, soaking it in water, leaving it under the moonlight, and even trying to bite it.

But the Sheep Talisman remained as unresponsive as an ordinary stone. No matter what he did, it seemed to quietly tell him he was wasting his time.

"What the heck? It's just a useless piece of junk!" Naruto collapsed onto the floor, panting. "And I got all excited thinking I'd found a treasure."

Then sleepiness surged over him again, stronger than before.

All that fruitless effort had drained the last of his energy.

Naruto did not even have the strength to climb into bed. He lay sprawled on the floor, still clutching the unresponsive Sheep Talisman.

"Tomorrow... gotta remember... give it back to Grandpa Third..." he mumbled. His eyelids fell shut, and his breathing grew slow and even.

Yet the moment Naruto sank into his deepest sleep, the Sheep Talisman in his hand, which had shown no response before, suddenly gave a faint flash.

Naruto smacked his lips unconsciously in his sleep. His body felt strangely light, as though every burden had fallen away. It felt wonderful.

Then he rolled over and saw something impossible.