Naruto: Multiversal Shadows

Disclaimer: This story is 100% AI-generated fanfiction based on the Naruto universe. Characters, settings, and lore belong to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.

Naruto awoke to the smell of pine and damp earth. Sunlight filtered through the canopy above, dappling the forest floor where he lay. For a blissful moment, he thought it had all been a nightmare—the ash, the beast, Kakashi dissolving into nothing. Then he touched his cheek.

The scar pulsed faintly, its golden glow seeping through his fingers like trapped sunlight.

"Naruto!"

Iruka crashed through the underbrush, his face pale. He skidded to his knees, hands hovering over Naruto as if afraid to touch him. "What happened? You've been missing for three days—!"

"Three days…?" Naruto croaked. His throat felt raw, his body heavy as stone.

Iruka's eyes widened at the scar. "Your face… How did—?"

A guttural moan cut through the trees.

Mizuki lay sprawled nearby, eyes vacant, his fingers clawing grooves into the soil. "Golden eyes… golden eyes… it followed him back…"

"He's been like this since the night you disappeared," Iruka muttered, tightening his grip on a kunai. "The Third Hokage thinks he's been cursed."

Naruto staggered to his feet, bile rising in his throat. Cursed. Like me.

The Hokage's Office – Hour Later

The Third Hokage's pipe clattered onto his desk.

"Impossible," he breathed, leaning closer to examine Naruto's scar. The glow intensified under his scrutiny, casting amber shadows across the room. "This chakra… it's not the Nine-Tails. It's something older."

"Old like what?" Naruto asked, flinching as the Hokage's wrinkled fingers brushed the mark.

"Like your father."

The words hung in the air. Naruto's heart skipped. Father.

"Minato…" The Hokage traced a seal in the air, and a scroll materialized—its edges charred, marked CLASSIFIED. "He once theorized about bridges between worlds. We dismissed it as madness, but this…" He gestured to Naruto's scar. "He must have anchored something in you. A failsafe."

"A failsafe against what?"

The Hokage hesitated. "A threat even the Nine-Tails feared."

Konoha Hospital – Dusk

Naruto pretended to sleep as the medic-nin left. Moonlight pooled on his bedsheets, illuminating Kakashi's broken ANBU mask clutched in his hand. You already did… by being a better monster than it.

He traced the mask's cracks, tears blurring his vision. I couldn't save you. I can't even save myself.

The door creaked open.

"You're awake," Sasuke said, leaning against the doorway. His eyes flicked to the glowing scar. "What really happened out there?"

"None of your business," Naruto snapped, shoving the mask under his pillow.

Sasuke's smirk didn't reach his eyes. "The Uchiha archives mention spacetime jutsu. Golden eyes. Sound familiar?"

Naruto's breath hitched. "Why do you care?"

"Because whatever power you've stumbled into?" Sasuke turned to leave. "It's going to get us all killed."

Midnight – Naruto's Apartment

Naruto stared at the Hokage Monument through his cracked window. The stone faces gleamed under the moon—Hashirama, Tobirama, Sarutobi, Minato.

Wait.

Minato's face…

He squinted. Etched into the Fourth Hokage's forehead, nearly invisible, was a tiny spiral-and-crescent symbol.

"No…"

The scar flared, flooding the room with light. In the sudden glare, Naruto saw them—golden eyes reflected in the glass, staring back.

The reflection grinned, its voice slithering into Naruto's mind. "Found you."