A few weeks had passed, and on the surface, everything seemed normal. The streets were still busy, shops opened at the same hours, children ran near their homes, and shinobi moved around with that same controlled urgency as always. Konoha was good at pretending nothing was wrong.
But Naruto saw it.
He didn't need obvious clues, public announcements, or a dramatic sign in the sky. The tension was in the details: in the way the members of Konoha's police force—made up exclusively of the Uchiha clan—patrolled with stiffer shoulders; in how they stared at people half a second longer than necessary; in the restrained aggression, that urge to pick a fight just to release something that had nowhere else to go.
They weren't just irritated. They were cornered.
Naruto walked through the streets toward the Academy, hands in his pockets, expression neutral, head lowered just enough to look like nothing more than another child going to class. Inside, his mind calculated, connecting the dots with the cold clarity of someone who had already seen how this story ended.
*Looks like it won't take long before the night of the massacre arrives. I need to stay alert so I don't miss the chance.*
He couldn't afford to miss that window.
It wasn't morbid curiosity, nor a desire to "see it with his own eyes." It was opportunity—and opportunities in that world were rare. The difference between a leap forward and a fatal stumble was often just being in the right place at the right time.
Even if something went wrong, he had an escape. Naruto could already use Hiraishin no Jutsu as a real means of retreat. Not perfectly—not like Minato did in the legends—but enough to vanish before anyone could catch him.
*Even if I run into Obito, I can still get away.*
The Academy came into view, its gate open, the courtyard filled with children arriving in small groups.
Naruto slowed his pace, letting his posture relax, become less "adult." Most people didn't notice details—but some shinobi did. And he didn't want attention for any reason.
At the entrance, he spotted Ino arriving almost at the same time. She walked with that lively step, that natural energy that never seemed to run out, and wore an easy smile that made the world feel lighter than it actually was.
Naruto waited for her.
"Good morning, Ino." He smiled lightly, genuinely, like someone who really did feel a bit better seeing a familiar face.
"Good morning, Naruto." Ino replied in her usual cheerful tone, as if this were just another ordinary day.
They started walking together, chatting about small things. Things that didn't matter, but worked well as camouflage. Ino talked about some clan gossip, about someone who had made a funny face in class, about how Iruka had gotten way too serious when someone caused a disturbance.
Naruto answered naturally, keeping pace with her, neither forcing the conversation nor getting lost in it.
Inside the classroom, Hinata was already seated. Quiet, discreet posture, eyes lowered, but with that silent attentiveness Naruto had learned to respect. She always seemed to be listening more than she spoke.
"Good morning, Hinata."
Naruto and Ino greeted her at the same time, and Hinata lifted her gaze for a brief moment.
"Good morning."
The rest of the period passed without incident. Normal lessons, simple exercises, children complaining about homework, the sound of chalk against the board, Iruka trying to maintain some order amid the natural chaos of a classroom.
Naruto stayed alert the entire time, even when he appeared relaxed. Not because he expected an attack inside the classroom, but because he had learned that the world rarely warned you before changing gears.
And it only happened when it was time to leave.
Iruka clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and spoke with the tone of someone eager to wrap things up.
"Class, today we'll be having an extra lesson."
The classroom exploded.
Complaints, dramatic groans, protests as if the world were ending. Children were experts at turning small inconveniences into apocalypses.
Naruto didn't complain.
Naruto froze.
For a brief instant, the noise of the classroom faded away. His mind moved faster than any physical reaction, assembling the pieces as if completing a hand seal.
The recent tension in the police force. The year of the massacre. The fact that they had scheduled an "extra lesson" specifically today.
Everything lined up.
And when everything lined up, it meant the clock had started ticking.
Naruto stood up too quickly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. Ino and Hinata flinched at the sudden movement, and a few other children looked over, curious.
"Iruka-sensei, may I go to the bathroom?"
Iruka looked at him for a moment, as if trying to read the urgency hidden beneath the request. But Naruto already wore the perfect mask: serious, but not desperate; the posture of a child who simply needed something basic.
"You may, but don't take too long."
Naruto nodded and left quickly—without running, but with firm steps.
"He must really need to go," Ino muttered, and Hinata nodded in agreement without making a sound.
Inside the bathroom, Naruto locked the door, took a deep breath, and acted.
He formed a hand seal and created a shadow clone.
The clone appeared beside him with the same controlled expression, as if it already knew what to do before any order was given.
"Go back to the classroom and act normally."
"Got it."
The clone left unhurriedly, just like the real Naruto would—ready to sit down, complain internally, and pretend life was simple.
Once alone, Naruto focused. He felt his chakra align, felt the anchor point respond to his call. There was no hesitation. No room for doubt.
A few seconds later, he vanished from the bathroom.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing in his own kitchen.
The transition was clean. The air smelled different—more familiar—wood, silence, a faint trace of stored food. Everything was in its place, as always.
"Now for the final preparations."
He didn't waste time admiring his own efficiency. Preparation was preparation—and preparation was the difference between walking away alive and becoming a corpse on the ground.
Naruto reviewed the basics first: tools, marked points, escape routes. He made sure he had more than one safe return point, not just his house. If something went wrong and someone discovered the anchor, he would need alternatives.
Then he selected what he would carry on his body, arranging it so it wouldn't make noise or hinder movement. Small, useful items. Nothing excessive.
This wasn't an official mission. It wasn't an order.
It was initiative.
And initiative had a cost.
When he finished, Naruto took one last breath inside the house, as if engraving that moment into his memory—then he moved.
Not long after, Naruto stood among the trees. Ahead of him, he could see the fences that marked the Uchiha compound. The place felt unnaturally quiet, as if even the forest understood that this was not an ordinary night.
Naruto took a deep breath.
"Let's begin."
He formed a hand seal and created fifteen shadow clones.
All fifteen appeared around him in silence, waiting for instructions, each with the same cold gaze of someone who understood the weight of what was coming.
"Spread out around the compound and collect as many Sharingans as you can. If you realize you're about to be caught, use Hiraishin and return home."
"Understood."
The fifteen moved at once, vanishing into the forest, each heading in a different direction, all aware that time was short.
Naruto stood still for just a second after they left.
*Let's go.*
He didn't waste time and moved as well.
The approach was made with extreme care. He didn't run, didn't make noise, didn't step on branches. His small body helped, but discipline made the real difference. Naruto didn't want to risk being seen by someone who might still be alive—or worse, by someone who was there for a specific reason.
As he moved deeper inside, the first houses appeared.
And with them, reality struck.
Bodies.
Blood.
That silence that wasn't peace, but absence. Absence of voices, absence of breath, absence of a future.
Naruto passed several houses and saw the expressions. Some had tried to fight and died with their faces twisted in effort. Others never even had the chance and died without understanding why.
He didn't stop at every one of them. Not because it wasn't heavy—but because every second there was a risk. If he started looking too much, absorbing too much, he would lose his rhythm.
Even so, in one house, he stopped.
It was a little girl, about four years old. Too small to have done anything. Too small even to be considered a "threat." She lay on the floor under the same brutal injustice the world imposed when it wanted to.
Naruto stood there in silence, looking at the body.
There was no sound. No wind. Just him and that.
"In the end, without strength, you're at the mercy of others' whims."
He said it quietly—not as poetry, but as a fact. As a rule that had already proven true in more than one life.
Naruto forced himself to move again.
He walked to a window, checked inside, took what he had come for, and moved on. Not hurried, but efficient. The objective was clear: collect as much as possible before the situation changed again.
Time felt distorted inside the compound. Long seconds, short minutes. His mind registered details he didn't want to register, while ignoring everything that wasn't necessary.
A few minutes later, he felt he had enough.
*That should be enough. I got 13 Sharingans. Now let's go back and see how many the clones managed to collect.*
He adjusted his stance, ready to activate Hiraishin and leave in the very next instant.
But at the exact moment he was about to teleport, he heard it.
The sound of blades clashing.
Metal against metal. A clean, sharp impact, followed by another. It wasn't something falling. It wasn't an accident.
It was combat.
Naruto remained still for a second, assessing.
The risk wasn't worth it. The objective had already been achieved. Any extra step here would be greed—and greed killed.
It wasn't curiosity, nor the desire to see.
It was instinct—pure and simple—like a warning crawling up the back of his neck, telling him he needed to move now.
He hesitated just long enough to avoid being reckless, then made his decision.
In the end, he followed his instinct.
Naruto advanced toward the confrontation, moving fast but still silent, like a shadow crossing its own destiny.
*I hope I don't regret this.*
(Early access chapters: see the bio.)