The lone boat sailed across the sea for half a day before Uchiha Hikaru finally saw the massive, slowly moving shape of Turtle Island rising ahead of them.
Samui eased the boat in and stepped off the dock beside him. Together they moved forward, passing through the Falls of Truth, then along a stone walkway lined with weathered headless statues on both sides, until they reached a sealed, pure-white chamber.
The moment Hikaru pushed open the door, he saw Naruto sitting cross-legged in the center of the room, wrapped in the raging cloak of the Tailed Beast. Killer Bee stood over him, brows tightly knit with worry.
Hearing the sound of the stone door, Killer Bee turned his head instinctively. When he saw who had arrived, a grin instantly replaced the tension on his face.
"Yo~!"
"Hikaru bro, long time no see—Naruto's training hard!"
"We'll catch up later!"
Naruto's face twisted repeatedly in pain, groans escaping between clenched teeth. Even Killer Bee—usually carefree, always rapping—couldn't maintain his relaxed persona. His entire body was tense like a drawn bowstring.
To keep Naruto from being consumed by the Tailed Beast Chakra, Bee forced him awake at the critical moment each time the cloak overtook him.
Uchiha Hikaru stared silently at the scene, then closed his eyes, using the Dragon Vein chakra to sense Naruto's emotions.
Despair. Rage. Isolation. Endless loneliness.
A flood of negative emotions crashed into him—far deeper than he expected.
A few minutes later, Naruto roared. His eyes snapped open—his bright blue irises vanished, replaced by red vertical pupils filled with violence and killing intent.
Killer Bee's right arm instantly expanded, entering a partial transformation. The massive crimson fist smashed down on Naruto's forehead.
Boom!
Naruto's eyes rolled white as consciousness slipped. In that split-second opening, Bee poured his own Tailed Beast Chakra into Naruto, forcefully suppressing the Nine-Tails.
Normally, the Eight-Tails could never overpower the Nine-Tails.
But Naruto carried the Eight Trigrams Seal, layered from two Four Symbols Seals—one of the strongest human-host seals in existence.
The sliver of Nine-Tails chakra leaking from the seal's tiny gap was crushed down in under five minutes.
"Whew~" Killer Bee exhaled heavily.
"Good thing we made it. A whole year of training and Naruto still can't fully control the Nine-Tails…" he muttered. "If this keeps up, even I won't know how to help him anymore."
Hikaru frowned. In the original timeline, Naruto mastered the Nine-Tails far faster under Bee's guidance. But now, a year had passed, and Naruto still couldn't resist the chakra's corrosion at all. Something was fundamentally different.
This shouldn't be happening…
"Your big brother—the Raikage—told me the Falls of Truth on Turtle Island greatly help Jinchūriki gain control over their Tailed Beasts," Hikaru said quietly. "Did Naruto fail to overcome his darkness there?"
Samui silently stepped aside, realizing she wasn't meant to hear the upcoming conversation. Even as a Special Jonin and the one assigned to assist Hikaru, anything involving Jinchūriki was strictly confidential, known only to top leadership.
"Master Bee, Lord Hikaru, I'll go outside to prepare supplies."
She slipped out through the stone gate.
Only after she left did Killer Bee speak freely.
"Naruto passed the Falls test himself," Bee said. "And he passed it in one try. I was shocked too."
"I thought he'd master the Nine-Tails' power faster than I did. But that's when things got strange."
"Even after passing the test, Naruto has zero resistance to the erosion of the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"At first I thought he was too young—maybe he didn't have enough chakra volume yet."
"But then I watched him create hundreds of shadow clones at once… so now I've got no explanation at all." ｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡
Bee spread his arms wide like an exasperated teddy bear, signaling utter helplessness.
"What did you mean earlier," Hikaru asked, "when you said that if Naruto can't hold out for another year, you won't be able to help him train as a Jinchūriki anymore?"
Bee sat cross-legged, expression serious.
"Jiraiya told me Naruto's seal is two Four Symbols Seals overlapped to form the Eight Trigrams Seal. That leaves a tiny opening so the Nine-Tails' chakra can leak out little by little."
"There's supposed to be a chakra plug blocking it. But as the Nine-Tails keeps eroding that opening, the plug becomes too small to hold back the pressure. Eventually, more and more chakra leaks… until even I won't be able to suppress it anymore."
"And someone forcibly tore the seal open once before. That area is dangerously weak."
The moment Bee said it, Hikaru remembered the culprit.
Danzo.
That bastard had ripped the seal open by force.
At that moment, Naruto stirred weakly, opening his eyes. He rubbed his burning forehead and sat up, lowering his head.
"Brother Bee… did I fail again?"
His voice trembled—full of shame and disappointment.
Bee hooked an arm around his shoulders and shook him playfully.
"You brat! How many times do I gotta tell you—don't call me 'uncle,' call me brother! I'm not that old!"
"Besides, look who's here!"
Naruto blinked, looked up—and froze. Then he launched forward, throwing his arms around Hikaru in a fierce hug.
"Brother Hikaru!! What are you doing here!?"
Hikaru looked at him—taller now by at least five or six centimeters—and ruffled his wild spikes of hair roughly.
"You've grown a lot. Half a year and you're already taller than before."
"How've you been? Getting used to life here?"
He didn't ask about the Jinchūriki training.
No matter what Naruto carried, Hikaru still saw him as a kid—not yet fourteen.
Naruto scratched his cheek shyly.
"I'm getting used to it… but sometimes I miss everyone back in the village."
"And I haven't had Ichiraku Ramen in half a year. I almost forgot what it tastes like."
"By the way, Brother Hikaru—how are Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei doing now?"
He looked up hopefully, eyes bright and anxious.
(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
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