The Academy classroom buzzed with pre-test jitters, but Naruto slouched at his desk, doodling spirals in his notebook to keep up his carefree facade. "Man, this test's gonna be a breeze!" he declared, loud enough for Shikamaru to groan and roll his eyes. Inside, though, Naruto's mind was elsewhere. The training from yesterday had left his muscles sore, but it had also sparked a new clarity: strength wasn't just about muscles or jutsu. It was about leverage, about being someone the village couldn't dismiss.He'd spent the night thinking about the Nine-Tails. If he was its Jinchuriki, that power was his to claim. But the village's secrecy meant no one would teach him how to use it. The Hokage's orders, the redacted scrolls—it was all designed to keep him weak, ignorant, controllable. The realization made his stomach churn with anger, but he buried it behind a grin as Iruka called the class to attention.The test was on chakra control, a skill Naruto struggled with. As his classmates walked across the classroom walls with ease, Naruto's attempts were clumsy, his chakra flaring unevenly. Iruka sighed, offering pointers, but Naruto barely listened. He didn't need Iruka's pity or his lessons. He needed real power, the kind that could force the Hokage to tell him why he'd been chosen as the Nine-Tails' vessel.After class, Naruto lingered, pretending to struggle with his shoelaces as Iruka tidied the room. "Hey, Sensei," he said casually, "ever hear stories about the Fourth Hokage? Like, how he beat the Nine-Tails?"Iruka froze, his expression tightening for a split second before softening. "Naruto, that's old history. Focus on your studies, okay?" He turned away, but the hesitation in his voice was enough. Iruka knew something, and he was hiding it.Naruto's grin didn't waver. "Sure thing, Sensei!" he chirped, but his eyes were cold. Iruka's dodge was proof: the truth was locked behind power, and Naruto was still too weak to demand it. He left the classroom, his mind racing. The Nine-Tails' power was his best shot, but tapping into it meant understanding what it was. He couldn't ask Iruka or the Hokage—they'd lie or worse. He needed to experiment, to push his limits alone.That evening, in the same secluded clearing, Naruto sat cross-legged, trying to feel his chakra. The books had mentioned Jinchuriki drawing on their Tailed Beast's energy, but it wasn't like flipping a switch. He closed his eyes, focusing inward, searching for something—anything—different. For a moment, he thought he felt a flicker, a deep, burning heat in his core, but it vanished, leaving him frustrated and exhausted.He punched the ground, his facade cracking in the privacy of the forest. "I'm not weak," he muttered, his voice low. "I'll figure this out. I'll make them tell me." Power was the answer—power to break through the lies, to stand tall against the village's hate. He'd train until his body gave out if he had to. No one would hand him the truth; he'd take it.
