Naruto: Who Needs Rasengan When You Can Morph Into a Monster?

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The Hokage's office was eerily quiet as Naruto crept through the shadows, his heart pounding with excitement rather than fear. This was it—his first real mission, his chance to prove he was hero material. The moonlight streaming through the windows cast everything in silver, making the whole scene feel like something out of his dreams.

"Okay, Scroll of Seals," he whispered to himself, scanning the room. "Where would an old man hide something super important?"

His eyes landed on a massive scroll mounted on the wall behind the Hokage's desk. It was easily as tall as he was, with intricate seals covering its surface. "Bingo! That's gotta be it."

With surprising agility for someone who'd just failed the Academy exam, Naruto scaled the wall and carefully lifted the scroll from its mounting. It was heavier than expected, but he managed to sling it over his shoulder.

"Phase one complete," he grinned. "Now to find a good spot to study this thing."

He made his way to a secluded clearing in the forest outside the village—a spot he'd discovered during his many solo adventures. As he unrolled the scroll, his eyes widened at the incredible techniques written inside. Shadow Clone Jutsu, Flying Thunder God Technique, Eight Trigrams Seal...

"Whoa," he breathed. "This is some serious hero-level stuff."

He decided to start with the Shadow Clone Jutsu—it seemed like an upgraded version of the regular Clone Jutsu that had given him so much trouble. As he practiced the hand signs, something strange began to happen. The dreams he'd been having for years started flooding back with crystal clarity.

*A boy with brown hair and green eyes, wielding a strange watch-like device...*

*"It's hero time!"*

*Transformations into incredible alien creatures, each with unique powers...*

*A green flash of light, and suddenly he was someone—something—else entirely...*

"What the hell?" Naruto paused, his hands still positioned for the jutsu. The memories felt so real, so vivid. It was like he'd actually lived through them, but that was impossible. Those were just dreams, right?

As he pondered this, a rustling in the bushes caught his attention. Iruka-sensei burst into the clearing, looking frantic.

"Naruto! What are you doing here? And is that the Scroll of Seals?!"

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto jumped to his feet, genuinely happy to see his teacher. "Perfect timing! I was just about to master the Shadow Clone Jutsu for my make-up exam!"

"Make-up exam?" Iruka's eyes widened in horror. "Naruto, there is no make-up exam! Someone's been lying to you!"

Before Naruto could respond, another voice cut through the night air.

"Well, well. Looks like the demon brat figured it out."

Mizuki stepped into the clearing, but gone was his friendly demeanor. In its place was a cold, calculating expression that made Naruto's skin crawl.

"Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto's confidence faltered for the first time. "What's going on?"

"You want to know the truth, demon?" Mizuki's voice was filled with venom. "You want to know why everyone in the village looks at you with such hatred?"

"Mizuki, don't!" Iruka stepped protectively in front of Naruto.

"Twelve years ago," Mizuki continued, ignoring Iruka's warning, "the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked our village. The Fourth Hokage didn't kill it—he sealed it away. And do you know where he sealed it, Naruto?"

Naruto's world tilted. The dreams, the whispers, the looks of hatred—suddenly it all started making a horrible kind of sense.

"He sealed it inside you!" Mizuki snarled. "You are the Nine-Tailed Fox! You're the monster that killed Iruka's parents, that destroyed so many lives!"

The words hit Naruto like a physical blow. For a moment, his characteristic confidence cracked, and he felt something dark and angry stirring within him. But then something else stirred too—a warm, pulsing energy that seemed to wrap around his left wrist like a protective embrace.

"No," he whispered, then louder, "No, that's not who I am!"

"Face reality, demon," Mizuki pulled out a large shuriken. "You'll never be anything but a monster. You'll never be a hero. You'll never be anything but—"

"SHUT UP!"

The shout came from Naruto, but it was different somehow. Stronger. More determined. As he yelled, something incredible happened. The orange and blue colors of his jacket seemed to pulse with an inner light, and there was a brief flash of orange around his wrist that neither Iruka nor Mizuki noticed in the heat of the moment.

But Naruto was too focused on protecting Iruka to notice anything else.

"You know what?" Naruto looked up, and his blue eyes were blazing with determination. "Maybe I am the Nine-Tailed Fox. Maybe I am a monster. But you know what else I am?"

He stepped forward, placing himself between Mizuki and Iruka.

"I'm someone who protects the people I care about!"

"Foolish words from a dead demon," Mizuki snarled, hurling the giant shuriken at Naruto.

Time seemed to slow. Naruto could see the spinning blade coming toward him, could see Iruka's horrified expression, could feel that strange warm energy pulsing more intensely around his wrist. But he didn't look down. He just moved.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The words came out of his mouth without conscious thought, and suddenly the clearing was filled with dozens of Narutos—not the pathetic, half-formed clones from the Academy, but perfect, solid copies that moved with his will.

"What?!" Mizuki's eyes widened in shock as the clones swarmed him, easily dodging his shuriken and tackling him to the ground.

"How is this possible?" Mizuki gasped as the clones pinned him down. "You couldn't even make one clone before!"

"Guess I just needed the right motivation," Naruto said, his confidence fully restored. "Turns out being a hero isn't about perfect technique—it's about having something worth fighting for."

Iruka stared in amazement at the sea of Narutos, then at the original who stood protectively in front of him. "Naruto..."

"You know what the funny thing is, Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked, his voice calm and collected. "Even if I am the Nine-Tailed Fox, even if I am a monster, I'm still going to be a better hero than you'll ever be a ninja."

The clones dispersed in puffs of smoke, leaving Mizuki unconscious on the ground.

"The Shadow Clone Jutsu," Iruka said softly. "That's a jonin-level technique. How did you...?"

"I guess I had a good teacher," Naruto grinned, then grew more serious. "Iruka-sensei, about what Mizuki said..."

"It doesn't matter," Iruka said firmly, stepping forward to place a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You're not the Nine-Tailed Fox. You're Naruto Uzumaki, and you're going to be a great ninja."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, then filled with genuine warmth. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei. That... that means a lot."

"Come on," Iruka said, looking at the unconscious Mizuki. "Let's get this scroll back where it belongs and deal with this mess."

As they walked back toward the village, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed tonight. Not just the revelation about the Nine-Tails, but something else. Something that made his left wrist feel warm and slightly heavier than before.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei," he said as they reached the village gates, "about that graduation exam..."

Iruka looked at him—really looked at him. At the boy who'd just faced down the revelation that he was the village's most hated monster and responded not with anger or despair, but with determination to protect others. The boy who'd somehow mastered a jonin-level jutsu in a moment of need.

"I think," Iruka said slowly, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a leaf-green headband, "you've already proven you're ready to be a ninja."

Naruto's grin could have lit up the entire village. "Really? You mean it?"

"Really," Iruka smiled, tying the headband around Naruto's forehead. "Congratulations, Naruto. You're officially a genin of the Hidden Leaf Village."

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Later that night, back in his apartment, Naruto flopped onto his bed with a contented sigh. It had been the most incredible night of his life—discovering the truth about the Nine-Tails, mastering the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and finally becoming a real ninja. He was officially one step closer to being the hero he'd always dreamed of becoming.

As he stretched out on his bed, something caught his eye. There, on his left wrist, was something that definitely hadn't been there that morning.

"What the hell?" he sat up, staring at the device in amazement.

It was sleek and sophisticated, like something from his wildest dreams. The main body was orange and black, with a stylized hourglass symbol glowing softly in the center. It looked like it had grown out of his wrist, fitting perfectly against his skin.

"Okay, this is officially the weirdest day of my life," he said, poking at the device experimentally. "First I find out I'm some kind of fox demon, then I graduate from the Academy, and now I've got some kind of... watch thing?"

The device pulsed with orange light at his touch, and suddenly his mind was flooded with images. Not the vague dreams he'd been having for years, but clear, crystal-clear memories of another boy, another world, another version of this very device.

*Ben Tennyson. Age 10. Wielder of the Omnitrix.*

*"It's hero time!"*

*Transformations into incredible alien creatures, each with unique powers and abilities.*

*A green flash of light, and suddenly he was someone—something—else entirely.*

"No way," Naruto breathed, his eyes wide with wonder and excitement. "No freaking way."

He looked at the device with new understanding. This wasn't just some random piece of technology—this was the Omnitrix. Or at least, a version of it. And if his dreams were right, if those memories were real, then this thing could transform him into...

"Alien heroes," he whispered, his voice filled with awe. "I can become alien heroes."

He raised his hand, looking at the device with a mixture of amazement and anticipation. This was it. This was what he'd been dreaming about his whole life. The power to be a real hero, to save people, to be something amazing.

"Tomorrow," he said to himself, his characteristic confidence returning in full force, "tomorrow I figure out how this thing works. And then..."

He grinned, and the device pulsed with orange light as if responding to his excitement.

"Then Naruto Uzumaki, hero extraordinaire, officially begins his real adventure."

He lay back down, still staring at the device on his wrist. Outside his window, the village slept peacefully, unaware that their newest genin had just gained the power to become something truly extraordinary.

The real story was just beginning.

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*To be continued...*