Hokage's Office.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and set his pipe aside.
He walked up to the desk and pressed his hands together to form a hand seal.
A crystal-clear orb hovered before him, revealing a real-time projection of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Inside the image, Team 7 was in the middle of a mission—chasing a cat.
"Damn cat! Stop running!"
Naruto dashed through the woods, panting heavily. He lunged toward a fat orange cat darting through the underbrush, grumbling as he glanced back at Kakashi.
"Why are we always stuck with these lame missions? I'm gonna be Hokage someday! Catching cats doesn't help with that!"
Kakashi, his masked face as unreadable as ever, let his visible eye curve into a lazy crescent.
"D-rank missions are still missions, Naruto. Every new Genin has to start from the basics."
"Ugh..." Naruto pouted but kept up the chase.
He launched himself with a burst of energy—bam!—finally tackling the flabby feline and pinning it tightly in his arms.
"Ha! Gotcha!"
"Mreeeow!!"
The cat—Hakimi—furiously flailed its claws, scratching several bright red lines across Naruto's face.
"AAAH—dammit! Calm down!!"
Watching from afar, Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle.
He observed them for a long while through the crystal ball. Strangely enough, Naruto looked more energetic than usual—more focused, more driven, almost... radiant.
Could that mysterious dream actually have helped him? Instead of damaging his mind, it seemed to have made the boy more motivated.
Hiruzen gave a subtle nod, reassured.
With a wave of his hand, the image inside the crystal ball faded into mist.
Just as Kakashi had reported, Naruto showed no signs of instability. But still...
The Third Hokage turned, clasping his hands behind his back, his gaze resting on the distant stone face of the Fourth Hokage carved into the mountain.
Even with his years of wisdom, a shadow lingered in his expression.
"A secret technique unlike any I've ever heard of..." Hiruzen murmured, eyes glinting under his white brows.
"The one lurking in the dark—what is your true goal?"
After a long silence, he exhaled and returned to his chair.
Sunset. The mission day was finally over.
"Ughhh... I'm beat..."
Dragging his feet down the quiet village street, Naruto looked like his soul had left his body.
Team 7 had completed several village errands that afternoon—cat chasing, weed pulling, riverbank cleaning... all of them petty D-rank tasks.
Not a single real enemy. Not even a shadow of a proper battle.
For Naruto, that was more demoralizing than failing a jutsu.
"Seriously, another day totally wasted!" he growled, kicking a pebble into the bushes. "When are we gonna get some badass missions?! At this rate, I'll be old and wrinkly before I even smell the Hokage seat!"
He eventually returned to his small apartment.
Opening the door, he was greeted by... nothing. Just the same dim, empty silence he was used to.
He tossed his forehead protector and jacket onto the couch and headed straight to the bedroom, pulling out two familiar training tools.
One was a rubber water balloon filled to the brim. The other, a solid rubber ball—denser, heavier.
Gripping the water balloon, Naruto inhaled deeply and focused his chakra.
Pop!
The balloon exploded in his hand with a splash.
"Whew. Not bad."
Shaking the water from his fingers, he casually tossed the ruined rubber aside.
Now came the real challenge.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, setting the solid rubber ball before him. Placing both hands on its surface, he closed his eyes and recalled his father's demonstration from the dream the night before.
"Focus the chakra... make it rotate... faster, tighter..."
He whispered to himself, adjusting the chakra flow in his body.
One second... two...
A subtle vibration began beneath his palms. The ball's surface dented slightly and gave off a faint hum.
"That's it...!"
Just as he was about to push harder, the chakra spiraled out of control—wild and unstable. Boom! It burst from his palms like a snapped cable.
The ball rebounded back, rolled across the floor, and came to a stop.
"Damn it!" Naruto slammed a fist on the floor in frustration, flinching at the sting. "Why does this feel ten times harder than it did in the dream?!"
He retrieved the ball and tried again.
But hours of non-stop training had drained him. His chakra reserves were nearly empty, and his muscles were trembling with fatigue.
No matter how hard he tried, the ball didn't so much as budge.
"Haa... haa..."
Collapsing onto the floor, Naruto gasped for breath, sweat dripping like raindrops onto the wooden boards.
That's enough for today...
His vision swam with darkness. As much as it hurt to stop, he couldn't go on.
He dragged himself into bed and yanked the blanket over his body.
Before his eyes closed, a single thought echoed in his heart:
Please... if I can dream of Dad again tonight... I have to ask him how to master the second stage...
Sleep swept over him like a tide, and soon, his breathing steadied. He fell into a deep slumber.
Dreamscape Theater.
Within a colossal, silent theater, ripples suddenly spread through the darkened air—like concentric waves in a still pond.
Three blurred figures materialized near the front row of the audience.
Kakashi adjusted to the lighting first. As soon as he recognized this eerie, familiar space, he didn't even flinch.
He strolled to the center seat of the front row with calm, casual ease, like he was back on his own couch.
Resting his chin on one hand, he gazed toward the dim screen ahead.
So it's happening again.
Since he'd already reported everything to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen himself would soon uncover the source behind this anomaly.
With that thought, Kakashi leaned back—and waited for the movie to begin.