Naruto: Dream System

Kakashi rushed up to the Hokage's desk, forcing his heavy breaths into steadiness.

"Hokage-sama! I bring… very grave news!"

"Don't panic. Speak slowly."

Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe against the table, signaling Kakashi to collect himself.

Kakashi nodded, but his voice still carried urgency. "The one infiltrating Konoha may not be Orochimaru alone. There's another someone even more terrifying. The very culprit behind the Nine-Tails' Rebellion twelve years ago… he may have returned to Konoha!"

"I don't know if those two have joined forces."

"What?!"

Sarutobi and Jiraiya both shot to their feet, their faces darkening with shock. The Hokage slammed his pipe onto the desk, scattering ashes across the papers.

"Are you certain it's him?!"

"Yes! The same man who used the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails!" Kakashi's words came fast and sharp.

Sarutobi's hand instinctively pressed against his chest as a pang cut through him. Of course he knew who Kakashi meant the masked man who unleashed the Nine-Tails, who claimed the lives of Minato, Kushina, and his own wife, Biwako.

For twelve years, that shadow had loomed over Konoha, an unhealed wound.

"How dare he return to Konoha…"

Jiraiya's usual smirk was gone, replaced with hard resolve. Murderous intent flickered in his eyes.

Hiruzen's voice grew heavy. "Kakashi, is your information reliable?"

"Absolutely. This was revealed in the dream. In that dream, he already appeared in Konoha!"

The Hokage fell silent, recalling how the dreams had already foretold Orochimaru's presence with frightening accuracy. If this masked man truly lurked within the village, the danger was beyond imagining.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen exchanged grim looks.

"That man isn't ordinary. His Sharingan can command even the Nine-Tails," Jiraiya said in a low growl. "Old man, this proves my suggestion must be carried out. The threat is too great to ignore."

"Indeed." Hiruzen's pipe trembled in his hand. His eyes dimmed. "No wonder… no wonder Orochimaru's first target after sneaking into Konoha was Naruto. So that's why!"

If he had known this day would come, he never would have shown mercy when Orochimaru first defected. The regret weighed heavy on his heart.

But a Hokage could not stay mired in regret. Slowly, Hiruzen exhaled and opened his eyes. The hesitation was gone; in its place was the steel resolve of Konoha's leader.

"Kakashi! Listen well to my command!"

"Yes!" Kakashi straightened instantly, his usual languor nowhere to be seen.

"Issue a top-level emergency order!" Hiruzen's voice rang with authority. "All ANBU squads, no matter their mission, must abandon it immediately and return to the village! No mistakes are allowed!"

"Understood!"

Kakashi spun on his heel to leave, but the Hokage's voice cut sharply through the air.

"Wait!"

Kakashi halted. "Hokage-sama, more orders?"

A fierce light burned in Hiruzen's eyes. "Go to Root. Summon Danzo here."

The words struck like a thunderclap. Both Kakashi and Jiraiya froze.

Since taking the Hokage's seat again, Hiruzen had always kept Danzo at arm's length. He knew too well his old comrade's ruthless ambition. Calling him in now could unleash unpredictable consequences.

But the crisis was too dire. They could no longer afford restraint.

Yet in the next breath, Hiruzen's hand tightened on his pipe, and he shook his head. "No… forget it. I'll speak to him myself."

Elsewhere in the Tower

Morning light filtered through the windows.

Sasuke opened his eyes. The memories of last night's dream gnawed at him. He quickly dressed and stepped into the hall, intent on checking on Naruto.

That dream was too much of a shock. I need to see how he's holding up.

But the moment he opened his door, Sasuke froze.

A flash of pink caught his eye.

Sakura was already standing outside Naruto's room.

Sasuke's brows furrowed slightly. "Understand what?"

Naruto's fists tightened at his sides, the tremor of his anger still lingering in his body. His eyes, however, were no longer clouded with grief they were blazing with conviction.

"That masked guy… he's the one who caused everything that night! If it weren't for him, my dad and mom would still be alive. Konoha wouldn't have gone through the Nine-Tails' rampage. Everything started because of him!"

His voice trembled at first, but with every word his tone grew firmer, until it echoed through the small dormitory room.

Sakura bit her lip hard, her hand still on Naruto's shoulder. She wanted to tell him to calm down, but when she saw the fire in his eyes, she stopped.

Sasuke's expression darkened. He thought back to what they had witnessed in the dream, and to the man's Sharingan. His jaw clenched unconsciously.

Naruto's gaze locked onto him. "Sasuke, we both saw it. That power the Sharingan that could even control the Nine-Tails. If we don't become strong enough, we'll never stand a chance against someone like him."

For a moment, the room fell silent except for the pounding of their hearts.

Then Sasuke exhaled slowly, his voice low but steady. "…I understand."

His eyes narrowed, and for the first time since leaving the dream, there was no hint of cold detachment. Instead, his voice carried the same weight as Naruto's resolve. "I'll surpass him. No matter what it takes."

Sakura looked between the two of them, her chest tightening. The air in the room seemed to burn with a new, dangerous determination.

Naruto nodded fiercely. "Then it's settled. From now on, no matter what training, missions, even dreams I won't back down. One day, I'll find him… and end this with my own hands!"

Sasuke and Naruto's eyes locked, and neither boy looked away. For once, their rivalry was not about outdoing each other. It was about a shared enemy, a shared hatred.

Sakura clenched her fists in her lap. Though she said nothing, her heart whispered the same thought: If that masked man shows himself again… I'll fight too.

Obito froze, his breath catching in his throat. The candlelight in the cave flickered faintly, casting long shadows across the stone walls. For an instant, he felt as if those shadows were alive, twisting and reaching toward him.

"…Who's there?"

His lone Sharingan spun into focus as he scanned the darkness. The cave was still, silent except for the steady drip of water in the distance. No enemy revealed themselves.

Yet that feeling the primal, suffocating sensation of being hunted refused to fade.

Obito pressed a hand over his chest. His heart was pounding faster than he cared to admit. "Strange… this sensation, it's just like…"

His mind flashed back to the dream. To the moment when Kushina's golden chakra erupted and those chains lashed out at him. To Naruto's fiery gaze, burning with a hatred so pure it had nearly seared through the barrier of that dream world.

That boy's face, twisted with grief and rage, still lingered vividly in his mind.

Obito clenched his fists. "No… impossible. This is nothing but a dream. Reality belongs to me. The Eye of the Moon Plan will move forward, no matter what!"

But even as he spoke the words aloud, a cold sweat slid down his temple.

Because deep down, he knew the truth those dreams weren't normal illusions. They showed him things he should not have seen. And what unsettled him most was not Kushina's fury, nor Kakashi's defiance, but the unyielding light in Naruto's eyes.

It was the same look… as his.

The same reckless determination that once defined Obito Uchiha. Get full chapters from novel✶fire.net

For the first time in years, doubt crept into the cracks of his resolve.

"…Naruto Uzumaki," Obito whispered the name, his voice low, almost reluctant. "Could it be… you are the one standing in my way?"

The shadows in the cave loomed larger, and though no one was there, Obito could not shake the feeling that somewhere someone was watching him.

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