The classroom is quiet.
Too quiet.
Iruka stares at the board as he draws chakra diagrams with a piece of chalk. His voice is low, steady, full of patience.
You try to listen.
You really do.
But your mind is too loud.
Your clones died two hours ago.
Their knowledge is fresh. Raw. Like hot metal in your brain.
You see numbers behind your eyelids. You feel chakra flow like blood through a new network of coils you built yourself—expanded, fortified, weaponized.
You glance down at your hands.
They look the same.
But they're not.
There's power humming in your fingertips. Unstable. Wild. Like a storm trapped in skin.
Kurama shifts inside you.
"You're pushing too hard."
You don't answer him.
He already knows you won't stop.
Later, when class ends, you're the last to leave.
You stay behind to help Iruka clean up. He doesn't ask you to. You just do it.
Maybe it's habit. Maybe it's guilt.
Or maybe… just maybe… a part of you hopes that if you do enough, say enough, be enough—he'll look at you and not see the demon in your belly.
Just the boy.
Just you.
Iruka smiles at you while wiping the blackboard.
"You did okay today, Naruto."
You grin. "You sure? My clone jutsu was terrible."
He laughs a little. "It always is."
You laugh too, but inside you feel… tired.
Of pretending.
Of shrinking.
Of holding back everything you are.
After school, you walk past the training grounds.
Sasuke's there, alone, practicing fire jutsu.
You watch from behind the trees.
His movements are clean. His chakra control is sharp. He's fast. Angry. Focused.
You respect that.
You understand it.
The way he trains like the world is watching, even when no one is.
You wonder if he's like you.
Hiding something.
Chasing something.
Burning from the inside.
You almost step out.
Almost say something.
But you don't.
Because deep down, you know—he still sees you as dead last.
And until the day comes when you can stand in front of him without a mask… you'll stay in the shadows.
That night, you don't go home.
You go to the woods.
To your place.
A circle of stones. A log you've punched hollow. A carved stump with sealing marks you made yourself. This is where the real training happens.
No one watches.
No one judges.
You stand in the center of the seal.
Close your eyes.
And release it.
The Crimson Ascendancy.
The Uzumaki technique passed down in fragments—modified, rebuilt, and made into something new.
Your chakra swells.
Not like a stream.
Not like a river.
Like a tsunami.
Trees sway. The air warps. Birds fly away in fear.
Your hair lifts. Your heartbeat slows.
You feel everything.
The insects in the grass. The moisture in the leaves. The heat of your chakra pushing against the seal.
Kurama roars.
"FOOL! You'll break your body if you keep this up!"
You grit your teeth.
"Then I'll rebuild it stronger."
His voice lowers.
Not angry. Not mocking.
Just tired.
"You're just a child."
You open your eyes.
"No."
You raise your hands. The chakra spins.
"I'm the only one who can carry this."
You train until your legs give out.
Until your skin bleeds.
Until the clones collapse and your body screams.
Then you lie there, gasping, smiling, chest burning, tears in your eyes.
Because pain means you're alive.
Pain means you're changing.
And if pain is the price to be seen—truly seen—then you'll pay it every day.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Kurama is quiet for a long time after that.
When he speaks, his voice is soft.
"You'll destroy yourself, Naruto."
You whisper back.
"I have to become strong enough to protect them."
"Them?"
You think of Iruka's smile.
Of Hinata's stutter.
Of Sasuke's lonely back.
Of the village that still looks at you like you're something wrong.
"Everyone."
"And when they finally accept you… what then?"
You don't answer.
Because you don't know.
Because part of you is afraid they never will.
But for now—
—you rise.
Bleeding.
Exhausted.
Smiling.
Because you're not done yet.
Because tomorrow is another day to grow.
Another day to hide the truth behind the mask.
Another day to inch closer to the legacy you were born to reclaim.
Not just as a ninja.
Not just as an Uzumaki.
But as Naruto.
The one they'll never forget.
End of Chapter 2