The reason the man looked somewhat similar to Shino was simple.
Both of them wore high-collared clothing that covered most of their bodies, concealing their skin and form as if deliberately minimizing their presence. The difference lay in the details. Shino's face was hidden behind dark sunglasses, his hands bare. The man standing at the classroom door, however, wore black gloves, and the upper half of his face was obscured by a mask that left only his eyes exposed—eyes that were cold, measured, and utterly devoid of warmth.
Inside Naruto's consciousness, Lock narrowed his focus.
Aburame Torune…
The name surfaced with quiet certainty.
A member of the Aburame clan, yes—but more importantly, a shinobi of Root. One of Danzo's hidden blades.
Why is he here? Lock wondered. Why now?
Kakashi Hatake should have been the one standing there. That was how this day was supposed to go. The lazy jōnin, the late arrival, the bell test—everything that followed should have unfolded according to a familiar rhythm.
Instead, Kakashi was absent.
And Root had stepped onto the stage.
That alone was enough to confirm it: something had already gone wrong. Or rather, something had changed.
Danzo was moving earlier than expected.
Outside, Naruto tilted his head, studying the masked man standing at the door.
"Uh… are you our team teacher?" he asked, scratching his cheek.
Before the man could answer, Sakura had already stood up, irritation flaring across her face. She turned and smacked Naruto lightly on the forehead.
"Idiot," she snapped. "If he wasn't our team teacher, how would he know we're Team Seven and where we're sitting?"
She crossed her arms, clearly still upset from earlier.
"What an unobservant, lying, annoying orphan who doesn't even know basic manners."
Her words came sharp and careless, fueled more by lingering anger than thought.
Naruto winced and held his head, forcing a sheepish grin.
"Sorry…" he muttered, not really arguing back.
Compared to the curses he heard every day from the villagers, Sakura's words barely registered. They stung, but they didn't cut deep enough to leave a scar.
Sasuke, however, stiffened.
The word orphan landed like a blade.
He stood up slowly, stepping past Naruto until he was directly in front of Sakura. His voice was low, controlled—but cold enough to chill the air between them.
"No one chooses to be an orphan," he said. "No one chooses to grow up alone, with no one to tell them what's right or wrong. And no one deserves to be hated for it."
Sakura froze.
Sasuke's eyes, dark and sharp, locked onto her face.
"You don't understand that loneliness," he continued. "And yet you throw it at someone like an insult, just because you're angry."
He paused, then added quietly, with unmistakable disgust, "You make me sick."
The words echoed in Sakura's ears long after he finished speaking. Her face drained of color, her body stiffening as if she'd been struck.
Naruto stared at Sasuke, stunned.
For the first time, he felt something unfamiliar twist in his chest—not rivalry, not irritation, but understanding.
He gets it, Naruto realized. He really gets it.
For a brief, terrifying second, Naruto found himself thinking that Sasuke didn't seem so annoying anymore.
The thought alarmed him so badly that he hurriedly looked away, shaking his head as if trying to dislodge it.
Inside, Lock watched the exchange with quiet interest, committing every reaction to memory.
The man at the door finally spoke, his voice calm and emotionless.
"I am your team leader," he said. "Aburame Torune."
He gave no acknowledgment to the tension he'd just witnessed.
"Stop wasting time," Torune continued. "All of you, follow me. Now."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out.
Sasuke frowned slightly at the impatience, but he didn't question it. He followed.
Naruto hesitated only long enough to grab Sakura's sleeve gently, pulling her along when she failed to move on her own.
Once outside the academy building, the sounds of rapid movement and the faint clang of metal echoed from nearby rooftops and tree lines.
Naruto flinched, instinctively alert.
Before he could speak, Torune explained flatly, "Anbu training exercise. Offensive and defensive maneuvers to maintain village security."
The explanation came easily, rehearsed.
From a distance, masked figures really were darting through the shadows. The sight matched his words closely enough to ease suspicion—for Sakura, at least.
"Keep moving," Torune said. "Don't interfere."
He increased his pace into a light run.
The streets grew narrower as they moved farther from the academy. The crowds thinned. Familiar shops and training fields passed by without comment, none of them used as a stopping point.
Lock's warning cut sharply through Naruto's mind.
This is wrong.
"There is a Root facility inside the Forest of Death," Lock said calmly. "If he leads you there, do not follow."
Naruto's steps faltered.
His heart began to pound.
"We're almost there," Torune said without turning around. "Why did you stop?"
Naruto instinctively took several steps back as Torune approached him, widening the distance between them.
"Why are you bringing us toward the Forest of Death?" Naruto demanded, his voice tight.
Sakura blinked, finally noticing the tension.
"Naruto, what are you doing?" she asked. "Sensei said we're almost there. Stop messing around."
She looked tired—emotionally drained—and just wanted the day to end.
Before Naruto could respond, Sasuke stepped forward, placing himself beside Naruto.
"He's right," Sasuke said coldly. "This doesn't make sense."
Torune stopped.
Sasuke continued, eyes never leaving the masked man. "It's the first day. If this were just a meeting or a test, there were multiple training grounds we passed. You didn't even glance at them."
His gaze sharpened.
"You brought us here on purpose."
Sakura's breath caught.
She hurried to stand closer to Naruto and Sasuke, unease finally settling in her chest.
Torune exhaled slowly.
"…Tch."
Straightening, he stretched his shoulders, abandoning any pretense.
"You noticed more than I expected," he said. "That's unfortunate."
His killing intent leaked out, subtle but unmistakable.
"Wouldn't it have been easier if you'd just followed quietly?"
In a blur, Torune moved.
Sasuke barely had time to react before a brutal kick slammed into his abdomen. The impact lifted him off the ground, sending him crashing backward as bile spilled from his mouth.
Sakura screamed—
—and was silenced instantly.
Torune's palm struck her forehead with precise force. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed without even a chance to cry out.
It happened in seconds.
Naruto's world went red.
"Sakura! Sasuke!"
The air around him seemed to vibrate as rage surged upward, drowning out fear and reason alike.
He stared at Torune, his eyes burning with pure fury.
"I'll kill you," Naruto growled.
Inside, Lock felt the shift—the emotional pressure spiking sharply, the familiar threshold approaching.
Good, he thought coldly. Let it rise.
Naruto slammed his hands together.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Chakra exploded outward as dozens of Naruto clones burst into existence, filling the narrow path in an instant, all of them turning toward Aburame Torune with murderous intent.
---
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