Inside the Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, slowly exhaled a thin ring of smoke. The pipe in his hand clicked softly as he set it aside and walked over to his desk.
With practiced hands, he formed a hand seal.
A moment later, a crystal ball suspended in front of him shimmered to life, displaying a live image of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Within the glowing orb, Team 7 was in the middle of a familiar scene: chasing after a cat.
"Stop right there, you dumb furball!" Naruto huffed and puffed as he darted through the trees, reaching out toward a plump orange tabby that weaved through the underbrush with surprising agility.
He grumbled loud enough for his teacher to hear. "Why are we always stuck with missions ?! I'm gonna be Hokage one day—catching cats isn't helping at all!"
Kakashi trailed behind at a relaxed pace, his single visible eye curved into a crescent beneath his mask. "D-rank missions are still missions, Naruto. Every Genin starts from the bottom."
"Hmph…" Naruto pouted, clearly dissatisfied, but didn't slow down.
With a final leap, he threw himself forward and tackled the cat, scooping it up in both arms. "Ha! Gotcha!"
The cat let out a shrill yowl of protest as it flailed in Naruto's grip.
Hakimi flailed his claws in protest, swiping wildly and leaving several bright red scratches across Naruto's face.
"OWWW!" Naruto yelped, staggering back as he struggled to keep hold of the furious feline. "Why are you so mean for a cat?! I'm trying to help you!"
Despite the pain, he held on tightly, refusing to let go.
Back in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled at the sight, a rare smile tugging at his weathered face as he watched from afar through the crystal ball.
After a few more moments of quiet observation, the old Hokage noticed something—Naruto's mood. He seemed... brighter. More focused. More energetic.
Despite chasing a cat through the woods, the boy looked more alive than he had in recent weeks.
So the dream didn't harm him... In fact, it may have helped, Hiruzen thought to himself, nodding slowly. He's changed. More determined... more joyful.
With a wave of his hand, the image in the crystal ball dissolved into mist.
As Kakashi had reported, Naruto had shown no unusual behavior since the incident. No breakdowns, no sudden bursts of power, no odd chakra fluctuations. Everything appeared normal—on the surface.
The Third Hokage walked to the window and clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes lifting to gaze at the towering likeness of the Fourth Hokage etched into the stone face of the Hokage Rock. The sunlight caught on the chiseled features of Minato Namikaze, casting long shadows across the mountain.
A somber line etched itself deeper across Hiruzen's brow.
"An unknown technique, manipulating dreams in such detail... Who are you, hiding in the shadows?" he murmured, his voice grave. "And what is it you seek?"
He stood there for a long time, unmoving.
Then, with a tired sigh, Hiruzen turned away from the window and returned to his seat.
The day was nearly over.
And night... was just beginning.
"Ugh… I'm wiped out…"
Naruto dragged his feet down the empty street, his head hanging so low it looked like it might fall off. His usual energy had drained away completely, replaced by sheer exhaustion.
Team 7 had spent the entire afternoon completing several village-issued errands: catching cats, pulling weeds, cleaning riverbeds—every single one of them low-level D-rank missions.
No bandits. No rival ninja. Not even a single punch thrown.
For someone as full of fire as Naruto, this was more crushing than losing a spar.
"Tch… another totally useless day!" he muttered bitterly, kicking a loose rock along the roadside. "At this rate, I'll be an old man before I ever become Hokage…"
His grumbles echoed down the street as he shuffled home.
By the time he reached his apartment, the sun had already dipped behind the rooftops, casting long shadows through the narrow hallway.
The moment he opened the creaky front door, silence greeted him.
A familiar, suffocating silence.
Naruto stepped into the tiny, dimly lit room and dropped his forehead protector and jacket onto the worn-out couch. He didn't even bother turning on the lights. He was used to this emptiness. Too used to it.
Without a word, he trudged to the bedroom, opened a drawer, and pulled out two familiar objects.
One was a thin, water-filled rubber ball.
The other—a heavier, solid rubber orb.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, clutching the water balloon in his palm. His eyes narrowed with determination as he took a deep breath and began to focus his chakra.
The Rasengan training... wasn't over yet.
The water balloon burst with a splash, spraying cold droplets all over Naruto's hands and the wooden floor.
"Phew… that one went better."
He wiped his hands on his shorts, tossing aside the ruptured balloon. It was progress—clear proof that he'd mastered the first step.
Now came the real challenge.
Naruto sat cross-legged again and placed the second item—the solid rubber ball—carefully in front of him. With both hands hovering around it, he shut his eyes and tried to recall the scene from last night's dream.
His father's warm voice echoed in his mind.
"Let your chakra rotate faster, tighter, and keep it contained. Steady, not wild."
"Concentrate the chakra… make it spin faster…" Naruto mumbled under his breath, adjusting the flow of energy in his body as best he could. His fingers pressed firmly on either side of the rubber ball, palms beginning to hum with power.
A light vibration tickled his hands.
The surface of the ball shivered—just barely. Then came a soft buzzing sound, like a distant swarm of bees.
His heart leapt with excitement. He was just about to increase the chakra flow when suddenly, everything unraveled. His control slipped, the chakra scattered, and the resonance vanished in a puff.
The ball bounced back to its original shape and rolled lazily across the floor.
"Ugh, come on!" Naruto growled, slamming his fist into the wooden boards. The sting shot up his knuckles, and he winced. "It didn't seem this hard in the dream!"
Frustrated but undeterred, he got back up and fetched the ball again, gripping it with both hands.
But he'd already been at it for hours.
His arms ached. His fingers trembled. The chakra in his system was running dangerously low. He pressed harder, teeth gritted, sweat streaming down his brow.
No spin, no hum, no dent—just an exhausted kid with a stubborn heart.
With a final sigh, Naruto collapsed backward onto the floor, his chest heaving. Big droplets of sweat dripped from his chin onto the wood beneath him.
His vision blurred at the edges. His limbs were heavy, his body sore from head to toe.
"That's it for today…"
He rolled onto the bed and yanked the thin blanket over his chest. His arms fell limp at his sides as the last traces of chakra faded from his fingertips.
But before he drifted off, a small, stubborn hope flickered in his chest.
If I see Dad again in tonight's dream… I'll ask him how to do the second stage properly.
His breathing slowed. His body relaxed. And with a soft exhale, Naruto sank into a deep and dream-filled sleep.
And the Dream Theater opened once more.
In the vast, dark, and silent theater, a faint ripple stirred the still air.
Moments later, three hazy figures emerged in the front row.
Kakashi was the first to adjust to the low light. His visible eye scanned the surroundings briefly, but his posture remained composed. Recognizing the familiar dream space, he showed no alarm or tension. Instead, he walked calmly to the center of the front row and sat down, as casually as if he were in his own living room.
Resting his chin on one hand, Kakashi looked at the dark screen ahead with a relaxed gaze.
At this point, he wasn't surprised.
Since he'd already reported everything to the Third Hokage, and the matter was now being investigated at the highest level, there was no need to overreact. With Lord Hiruzen himself looking into it, it wouldn't be long before the truth came to light—whoever or whatever was orchestrating this dream world.
With that thought, Kakashi leaned back in his seat, eye half-lidded, and quietly waited for the "movie" to begin.