(Start of Flashback)
The morning after Kakashi-sensei announced the Chūnin Exams, the air in Konoha didn't yet feel heavy with the impending tragedy. For Naruto, it was a respite, a last precious chance to hold on to normalcy before the world he knew, the one he had worked so hard to build, shattered to pieces.
And normalcy, for Naruto Uzumaki, smelled unmistakably of pork broth, fresh noodles, and the warm steam of Ichiraku Ramen.
"Old man Teuchi! Another bowl! And make it the biggest one you've got!"
Naruto's voice boomed through the small stand, making the entrance curtain sway. He was perched on his usual stool, a tower of two empty bowls stacked in front of him and a grin that seemed to take up half his face. The morning sun filtered through the awning, giving the steam rising from the kitchen a golden hue. It was a moment of peace so perfect it felt fragile.
"A shinobi can't go to war on an empty stomach, and I'm telling you, these exams are a war!" he proclaimed, slapping the counter with his palm for emphasis.
Sakura, sitting beside him, rolled her eyes. The gesture, however, was no longer loaded with the sharp irritation of the past. Now it was an expression of familiarity, of an affectionate resignation that had grown between them since the brutal mission in the Land of Waves. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"For you, ordering a bowl of ramen is a war, Naruto. I don't get how you have room for so much. It's physically impossible."
Naruto slurped a noodle with a loud noise, a habit Sakura had long given up trying to correct. He spoke with his mouth half-full, splashing a bit of broth.
"It's a secret talent! The four-dimensional stomach! Like your monstrous strength, Sakura-chan, or Hinata-chan's super speed! Together, we're invincible!"
Hinata, sitting on Naruto's other side, blushed violently at the compliment, a deep red flushing up to her ears. But she didn't hide. She didn't look away or nervously tap her fingers together. Instead, her gaze met Sakura's for an instant, and she shared a small, knowing smile—a gesture that spoke of a newfound confidence. She was no longer the shadow sitting at a distance; she was an essential part of their secret team.
"I-it's not super speed," Hinata murmured, though her voice was surprisingly clear, almost devoid of the stutter that had defined her for so long. "I just… take advantage of the spaces others don't see."
"And man, do you take advantage of them!" Naruto exclaimed, finishing his third bowl with a final, loud slurp. He set the bowl on the stack with a satisfying clack. "Teuchi-san! Hurry up with that fourth bowl, or I'll start eating the chopsticks!"
Ayame peeked her head out from the kitchen curtain, a playful smile on her face, a cloud of steam framing her hair.
"If you keep this up, Naruto, you'll run us out of stock before the exams even start. Shouldn't you guys be training or something? Throwing kunai, running through trees?"
"This is training!" Naruto defended himself, patting his stomach soundly. "Strategic refueling! A well-fed ninja is a dangerous ninja. And I plan on being the most dangerous of all, believe it!"
The camaraderie was warm, easy. The jokes flowed with a naturalness that would have been unthinkable months ago. Hinata's laughs, once a barely audible whisper, were more frequent now. Sakura's replies lacked their former hostility, replaced by a playful sarcasm.
"Speaking of the exams," Sakura interjected, resting her chin on her hand. "Have you thought about the other teams? I'm worried about the one from the Sand. They seem… intense. Especially the kid with the gourd."
Naruto paused, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. "Gaara," he said, his tone a little lower. "Yeah, he's strong. But so are we. Besides, we've got Shikamaru. He's lazy, but his brain is scary. And Chōji can be a tank if he wants to be. Ino is… well, she's Ino, but her jutsu is useful."
"Kiba-kun is also very skilled," Hinata added with analytical seriousness. "The combination of Kiba-kun and Akamaru is hard to predict, and Shino-kun… his insects are a perfect defense and offense."
"Bah! We can take 'em!" Naruto dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand. "What I'm wondering is where the heck Sasuke is. He should be here, eating ramen and planning how we're going to crush everyone!"
A brief silence fell over the group. Sasuke's absence was a tangible void.
"He's probably training alone," Sakura finally said, though her voice lacked conviction. "You know how he is. Always trying to get ahead of everyone."
"Yeah, but… it's different now, isn't it?" Naruto mumbled, more to himself than to them.
Teuchi arrived just then, sliding a steaming, overflowing fourth bowl of ramen in front of Naruto. The aroma was heavenly.
"Here you go, future Hokage. With extra naruto."
"Thanks, old man!"
Naruto's smile returned, but as Teuchi served him, something in his eyes shifted. The sparkling light dimmed, absorbed by a somber depth and replaced by a seriousness that didn't fit the lively ramen stand. He stared at the fish cake swirl in the center of his broth and, for a moment, was lost in it.
Sakura was the first to notice. Her Analytical Eye, now an instinctive and almost subconscious part of her perception, caught the micro-expression, the subtle change in the tension of his shoulders, the way his grip on his chopsticks loosened for a split second.
"Naruto?" she asked quietly. "Are you okay? Did the third bowl not sit right?"
He blinked, snapping back from wherever he had gone. The smile returned to his face, but it was a poor imitation of the previous one. A little forced, a little fragile around the edges.
"Huh? No way! I'm perfect! This bowl looks even better than the last one! It’s a work of art!"
He picked up his chopsticks again but didn't start eating. Instead, he set them down beside the bowl with unusual care. His gaze moved from Sakura to Hinata, pausing on each of them.
"Hey…" His voice was lower, devoid of its usual boundless energy. The change in tone was so abrupt it silenced the conversation immediately, even drawing the attention of Hinata, who was about to sip her tea. "This has been great. Really. But… can we go to the cave afterward? There's something really important we need to talk about. Just the three of us."
The request hung in the steam-filled air. The cheerful, carefree atmosphere dissipated, leaving behind a cold, sharp sense of foreboding. Hinata’s smile vanished, her face now reflecting immediate, unfiltered concern. Sakura frowned, her mind already racing, analyzing the possible reasons for his sudden gravity.
They knew this wasn't about a new training plan. It wasn't one of his jokes. The way he said it, the shadow in his eyes, told them without words that their normalcy had just ended.
The rest of the meal passed in a tense, uncomfortable silence. Naruto ate his fourth bowl, but he did so without his usual joy. He ate with the methodical focus of a soldier before a battle. The delicious taste of the ramen seemed to not register on his face.
He paid the bill, thanked Teuchi and Ayame with a nod more formal than they had ever seen from him, and then led the girls out of the stand. He didn't stop to chat with anyone. He guided them away from the busy streets, away from prying eyes, toward the familiar depths of the forest surrounding Konoha.
The path felt longer than usual. The sun filtering through the canopy of trees created patterns of light and shadow on the ground but offered no warmth. Sakura walked a step behind Naruto, watching his rigid back. Hinata walked beside her, her hands clasped in front of her, an old nervous habit resurfacing in the face of uncertainty. They exchanged a look. The fear was mutual, a silent current passing between them.
Finally, they reached the entrance hidden by vines and undergrowth. Naruto pushed the leaves aside with grim efficiency and stepped inside.
The light filtering through the thick foliage painted the interior in shades of green and gray, creating a solemn atmosphere.
Naruto didn't joke. He didn't run or shout. He walked in and sat cross-legged in the center of the stone floor. He waited, his face a mask of calm that barely concealed the storm raging inside him.
Sakura and Hinata followed in silence. They sat across from him, facing each other, forming the triangle that had become so familiar during their rituals. The arrangement was the same, but the energy was completely different. It wasn't the anticipation of new power, but the weight of an impending truth.
Naruto looked at them both, one by one, with a gravity that deeply unsettled them.
"The exams aren't the real problem," he began, and his low, serious voice seemed to be absorbed by the surrounding stone. "They're a trap."
A shiver ran down Sakura's spine. Hinata sat up straighter, her eyes wide.
"They're an excuse," Naruto continued, "for an enemy to infiltrate the village. A monster. A monster named Orochimaru."
The name hung in the silence, heavy and ominous. Sakura gasped, a choked breath. She knew the name. One of the three Legendary Sannin, a genius turned traitor, a horror story told to children to make them train. A nightmare come to life.
"He's going to come here. During the exams. And if we don't do something… if we don't do exactly the right thing…" He paused, and the pain on his face was so genuine it broke their hearts. "Gramps Hokage will die."
The statement was so direct, so brutally unadorned, that Hinata choked back a small cry, bringing a hand to her mouth to stifle it. Tears
"Sasuke… Sasuke will almost die," Naruto went on, each word seeming to cost him visible physical effort. "And the village… the village will be devastated. There will be fire, deaths… it will be hell."
He explained everything. He told them about the invasion from the Sand and the Sound, the purple barrier on the stadium roof, the Kusanagi sword emerging from a snake's mouth, the life fading from the Third Hokage's face. He omitted no detail. They needed to understand the scale of the catastrophe looming over them.
Sakura, was the first to recover from the initial shock. Her mind, though overwhelmed and screaming in denial, was already working, searching for the logical solution.
"Naruto… if all of that is true… if even half of it is true…" Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to continue. "Why don't we tell the Hokage? Or Kakashi-sensei? We have to warn the higher-ups! The ANBU! Someone!"
Naruto shook his head, a bitter, weary smile curving his lips. It was the smile of someone who had already explored that path a thousand times in his mind.
"And what am I supposed to tell them, Sakura-chan? That I have memories of a life I haven't lived? That I watched our future play out on some kind of magical screen?
I already told Kakashi-sensei. He’s aware of the danger facing the village. He told me to trust him, that he would handle it, but he also warned me to be ready for what's coming.
I’m the one who asked him not to act, though. There’s nothing he can do right now without them branding him a traitor for interfering with the exams.
And everyone else? They’d think I’m crazy. Or worse, a spy trying to sow chaos. They'd have me in an interrogation room with Ibiki so fast I wouldn't have time to say 'ramen.' And in that moment, we'd lose our only real advantage: the element of surprise."
His logic was flawless and depressing. They were completely on their own. Three genin against a dark legend and an invading army. The idea was absurd.
"But… what can the three of us do?" Hinata asked, her voice a whisper laced with fear, but beneath the fear was a current of determination. She wasn't questioning the need to act, but the feasibility. "The three of us against a Sannin… and an invasion?"
That's when Naruto's expression changed. The desperation in his eyes was replaced by a faith so absolute it seemed to change the mood in the cave. He leaned forward, his intensity almost physical.
"It won't be the three of you. It will be the two of you," he corrected, and the statement left them frozen.
"What?!" Sakura's shout was sharp, a mix of disbelief and outrage. She got to her knees, her fists clenched. "You're leaving? Now? After everything you just told us? That's insane, Naruto! That's cowardly!"
"It's not cowardly!" he retorted, his voice rising for the first time, not with anger, but with a wounded passion. "Don't call me a coward, Sakura-chan! It's strategy! It's the only play we have! The only one that gives us a chance to actually win, not just survive!"
He stood up, unable to stay still, and began to pace.
"I've seen what you can do. I've been there. I've watched your power grow. Hinata," he stopped abruptly and looked at her. "Your Byakugan doesn't just see through things. It predicts. You can anticipate an attack before it happens, see the intent in the flow of chakra. You're the best defense this team could ever dream of. You're our radar, our shield. No one can surprise you as long as you're watching. No one."
He then turned to Sakura, who was still staring at him with a mixture of fury and confusion.
"And you, Sakura-chan. Your mind… your Analytical Eye. It's not just for books. You see the flaws in a jutsu, the inconsistencies in a movement, the weakness in a defense. And your threads… you can control an entire battlefield without anyone realizing it. You're not the brute force; you're the brains. You're the puppeteer pulling the strings from the shadows. Together, you're the best defense, infiltration, and containment unit I could ever want. You're perfect."
He paused, letting his words sink in. They weren't empty compliments to appease them. They were tactical assessments, delivered with an unwavering faith that disarmed them.
"I trust you to survive the forest. I trust you to keep Sasuke safe… even from himself," his expression darkened for a moment. "But surviving isn't enough. We have to win the war that comes after. And for that, I need to go find our secret weapon. Our decisive advantage."
He stopped in the center of the cave again, his expression now that of a commander laying out his boldest, most desperate plan.
"There's another Sannin. Tsunade Senju. The best medical ninja in the world. Her strength, they say, can change the landscape with a single punch. She's the only one who can minimize the casualties during the invasion. She's the only one who might have a remote chance of healing the curse mark Orochimaru will put on Sasuke. And she's the only one," his gaze locked on Sakura with an intensity that made her hold her breath, "who can teach you how to use that monstrous strength of yours to heal, not just to destroy. To save lives."
"She's our only real hope. While you contain the threat here, hold him off, I'll go find her. I'll find her and bring her back. It's the only way. We divide to conquer."
The plan was insane. It was an all-or-nothing, epic-scale gamble. Leaving them alone to face the immediate danger while he embarked on a nearly impossible quest for a legendary ninja who had abandoned the village years ago.
"I can't leave you blind," Naruto said, his tone shifting back to practical and urgent. He knelt and pulled a piece of parchment, a small brush, and an inkwell from his pack. With swift, surprisingly precise strokes, he drew a simple map of the Forest of Death. "While I'm gone, this is your battle plan."
He spread the map on the stone floor. The two girls knelt beside him, their faces pale but their eyes fixed on the drawing.
"Step one: Orochimaru. He'll show up on the first day, probably disguised as a genin from the Grass. Don't give him a chance to talk. Don't hesitate. The person you see, no matter how friendly they seem, is not human. It's a monster. Attack with the intent to kill."
The phrase hit them. Kill. Not neutralize, not incapacitate. Kill.
"Hinata," he pointed to a spot on the map representing a dense area of trees. "You'll be the ambush. You're faster than anyone imagines. Use your speed for the first strike. Don't aim to kill; aim to create an opening. A distraction. A second of imbalance."
His finger moved to Sakura.
"Sakura, you're the hammer. The instant Hinata creates that opening, use your Chakra Enhancement in a single strike and finish him. Don't give him time to react, don't give him time to use his snake jutsu, don't give him time for anything. One hit, all your power. Understood?"
They both nodded, their throats too dry to speak.
"Step two: The Genjutsu," he continued, his voice now an urgent whisper. "It's likely the initial attack will fail. He's a Sannin. If it fails, he'll trap you in a genjutsu. He'll show you your own death. It will be horrifyingly real. Expect it. Remember my words in that moment: it's a lie. It's an illusion. It's a tool to break you. Don't let it."
He looked at Sakura. "Sakura, your Analytical Eye. Forget the image of death; look for the flaw in his chakra flow. There's always one. Find it."
Then he looked at Hinata. "Hinata, your Byakugan. Focus on the real chakra flow around you, not what the illusion shows you. Your Byakugan can see through genjutsu if you focus. Anchor each other. Use your presence to remind yourselves what's real."
"Step three: Sasuke and the Curse Mark. Despite everything, we might not be able to stop him from biting Sasuke. He's fast, and his main target is him. If that happens and he loses control to the mark's power… the containment plan activates. Sakura, your threads. Not to hurt him, but to immobilize him. Every muscle. Hinata, your Gentle Fist strikes. Not to break his bones, but to seal the tenketsu around the mark and stop the flow of that poisonous chakra. Understood? We capture him, we don't hurt him. Under any circumstances."
Every step was precise, every instruction a piece of a terrifying puzzle. Naruto wasn't improvising; he was handing them a survival manual written with the pain of a future only he had seen.
"Step four: Allies. Once Orochimaru retreats, find Team 10. Sakura, I know you have your history with Ino, but you need her. You need Shikamaru's mind and Chōji's strength. Form a proper alliance. The Sound team, Orochimaru's subordinates, will come for Sasuke, and you'll need all the help you can get to stop them."
"And step five: The Reinforcement," he said, looking at Sakura with a complex, almost apologetic expression. "There's a kid with bushy eyebrows, Rock Lee. He's… interested in you, Sakura-chan. He's strong, very strong, but impulsive. If the situation with the Sound team gets desperate, if you're against the ropes, make noise. Yell. Get his attention. His loyalty to you will make him the unexpected reinforcement you need."
He finished speaking. The map lay between them, a plan for the war that was about to begin.
The air in the cave was heavy, burdened with revelation and responsibility. Sakura and Hinata were pale, overwhelmed by the scale of the task, but their eyes held more than just fear. There was a new light, a fierce determination. They no longer felt like genin awaiting orders. They were soldiers receiving their most important mission.
Sakura was the first to move. With a hand that, to her surprise, wasn't shaking, she picked up the map Naruto had drawn. She looked at Naruto—not the loud, dumb kid, but the strategist, the leader who had emerged from him.
"Understood," she said, and her voice, though quiet, was as firm as the rock surrounding them. "Protect Sasuke and survive until you get back. Mission accepted… Captain."
The use of the word "captain" was half-joking, a remnant of their old dynamic, but it was laced with a deep, newfound respect. She no longer saw the class clown. She saw her leader.
Hinata, inspired by Sakura's firmness, placed her hand over hers on the map. It was a gesture of support, of solidarity.
"We won't fail, Naruto-kun," she affirmed, her voice clear and steady. "You have our word."
Naruto looked at them, at the steel resolve in their faces. A genuine, though weary, smile spread across his face. The weight on his shoulders hadn't vanished, but now, for the first time, he felt he wasn't carrying it all alone.
"I know," he said, his voice tinged with overwhelming pride. "That's why I can leave. You're the strongest team in Konoha. It's just that nobody knows it yet."
Their hands came together over the map—Naruto's on top of theirs—in a silent oath. A pact that would redefine their lives forever.
(End of Flashback)
The memory of the cave, so vivid just a second ago, was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass.
CRASH!
The sound snapped Sakura back to reality with the brutality of a physical blow. The smell of damp earth and the chill of the stone were replaced by the smell of chalk and the chaos of the present. The black banner waving, the wild figure of Anko Mitarashi standing amidst the debris, her challenging shout still present in her ears.
Sakura's gaze instinctively darted to the empty space beside her, the space where Naruto should be.
The promise made in the dim light of the cave manifested in her mind, as clear as Anko's voice.
I trust you.
They weren't a team of two dealing with an exam. They were three.
And their mission had just begun.