This time, they were wrong about Kakashi.
Normally he arrived right on time—or an hour or two late—then spun some ridiculous excuse without blinking.
But today was different.
Yes, Kakashi was still late, but not because he was being lazy.
In fact, he'd gotten up earlier than ever before.
At dawn, he'd gone straight to the Hokage Tower.
At the door of the top-floor Hokage office, he knocked without hesitation.
"Come in," an old yet commanding voice answered.
Kakashi opened the door.
Behind the desk sat an elderly man with an old-style pipe, looking like a kindly grandfather next door.
The current ruler of Konoha, acclaimed as the "Professor of Ninjutsu," master of countless techniques—
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen's eyes flickered with surprise when he saw Kakashi.
He set down the document in his hands and looked up through the curling smoke, asking warmly, "Oh? Kakashi. You're here so early—what's the matter?"
He was puzzled.
By all logic, Kakashi should've been leading Team Seven on basic commissions today.
Why would he come here instead?
Kakashi didn't bother with small talk. His expression was grim—so serious it was almost severe.
He stepped to the desk and spoke formally. "Third Hokage-sama, forgive the interruption. I've encountered something… bizarre and unexplainable. I need to report it immediately."
Seeing Kakashi this solemn—something almost unheard of—Hiruzen's heart tightened.
He knew Kakashi well.
The boy looked lazy and detached on the surface, but he was meticulous and sharp. He wouldn't lose composure without reason.
If Kakashi used the word "bizarre," then it was no trivial matter.
"Sit down and tell me slowly," Hiruzen said, gesturing to the chair. He set his pipe aside, focus sharpening. "What happened? Don't rush—explain clearly."
"Yes, sir."
Kakashi sat down, gathered his thoughts, and then reported the unbelievable events of the last two nights in full.
"…That's the situation."
"Since the night before last, whenever I fall asleep, my two students—Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura—and I are forcibly pulled into a dim space like a screening room. We can't move freely, and most jutsu won't work. We can only sit like an audience and watch the huge screen in front of us… showing Uzumaki Naruto's dream."
"Watching… Naruto's dream?" Hiruzen frowned hard, disbelief in his eyes. "Such a thing is possible?"
"Yes." Kakashi nodded firmly. "And all three of us see the exact same dream. After waking, we compared details. It wasn't three separate hallucinations—it was a shared experience. But Naruto himself seems completely unaware. When he wakes, he remembers only some… well, very Naruto-ish dreams."
Hiruzen fell silent.
He took a deep drag on his pipe, brows knitting tighter as he processed the report.
Forcibly dragging multiple minds into a shared space… playing a specific person's dream… with the target unaware…
It sounded like a fairy tale.
But this was Kakashi speaking.
Hatake Kakashi—calm, rational, brilliant from childhood, a decorated shinobi he trusted deeply.
Hiruzen knew he wouldn't lie or joke about a mission.
So it had to be true.
"What exactly was in the dream?" Hiruzen asked sharply, voice heavy with seriousness.
His greatest fear was that someone was using the dream to do something to Naruto—or to probe the Nine-Tails' secret.
Kakashi's body stiffened slightly.
Here it was—the most critical question.
Images from last night flashed through his mind.
Kushina-senpai's gentle smile. Minato-sensei's warm gaze. That home so cozy it felt unreal…
Naruto's expression—happier than Kakashi had ever seen him…
And Sakura's naïve little comment…
Kakashi swallowed, his heart churning.
How do I say it? Do I tell the Third that in Naruto's dream we saw the Fourth and his wife alive? That we saw the sealed-off house? That Minato-sensei taught Naruto Rasengan?
After weighing it, Kakashi took a breath, faced Hiruzen's razor-keen gaze, and answered as steadily as he could, trimming away the most sensitive parts:
"The dream content was… pretty outlandish. Naruto imagined beating Sasuke, becoming the strongest in Team Seven, getting confessed to by Sakura, being adored by the villagers… basically a bunch of absurd wish-fulfillment dreams typical for his age."
He paused, then added, "Even if the content seems harmless—almost comical—the ability to forcibly drag others into a shared dream space is extremely dangerous and abnormal. And the caster's target is clearly Naruto. I'm worried…"
Hiruzen listened without interrupting.
He'd noticed the faint hesitation in Kakashi's eyes while describing the dream.
From long experience, he could tell Kakashi was holding something back.
But he didn't expose him on the spot.
Hiruzen raised his pipe again and tapped it softly. Smoke drifted between them as his eyes narrowed, a sharp glint passing for a moment.
After a beat, Hiruzen asked, "Even your Sharingan couldn't detect any clues?"
Kakashi shook his head, decisive. "No. From the moment we enter that space, I keep my Sharingan active. But the environment and the screen show no chakra flow at all—no trace of genjutsu. No ninjutsu works there. It's like the space itself enforces special rules that seal our abilities."
"Last night after the mission, I went to the ANBU archives and checked everything related to genjutsu, mental techniques, space-time jutsu, even forbidden arts involving dreams and souls… but found nothing. There's no known technique that explains what we're experiencing."
Hiruzen went even quieter, sinking into deeper thought.
Kakashi's description truly exceeded his understanding.
A shared dream space… multiple minds dragged in… no chakra trace… even Sharingan can't pierce it…
Hiruzen combed through his lifetime of knowledge and old records in his mind—ninjutsu, kinjutsu, even ancient legends…
And found nothing that matched.
"Could it be a new bloodline limit? A mental art stranger than genjutsu? Some power from the age of the Sage of Six Paths?"
Guess after guess came—and was dismissed.
Even the "Professor of Ninjutsu" felt at a loss.
At last, Hiruzen exhaled slowly. "It is indeed extremely strange. I have never heard of such a technique either."
He took another long pull from his pipe, then looked up sharply. "What about Naruto himself? You said he's unaware. Has he shown any abnormalities these two days? Fatigue? Chakra disruption? Changes in mood and behavior caused by the dream?"
That was what mattered most.
Whatever the unknown being wanted, as long as Naruto was safe, there was still room to maneuver.
"No," Kakashi answered immediately. "Naruto is completely normal."
Then he added, "Aside from being a bit more excited than usual—probably because he had a nice dream—there's nothing wrong. His chakra is stable, his mental state is fine."
That in itself was another unsettling mystery.
What did the caster actually intend?
"I see…" Hiruzen's brows eased a fraction, a quiet relief washing over him.
As long as Naruto was unharmed, that was something.
He fell back into thought.
This was too unknown, too dangerous to act rashly without understanding the enemy.
"Kakashi. This matter is of the highest importance. Since we haven't detected clear hostile intent so far, and the target seems to be Naruto alone… you will not spread this."
"Continue leading Team Seven on daily missions, but keep a close eye on Naruto's every move. Also monitor whether that dream theater appears again, and what new changes occur. Remember—observe quietly. Do not alert whoever is behind this."
"As for investigation…" Hiruzen's eyes sharpened. "Leave it to me. I will use every resource available to uncover what's truly happening."
"Yes, Third Hokage-sama!" Kakashi stood and accepted the order.
Even without an answer yet, the Hokage personally stepping in was far better than Kakashi stumbling alone in the dark.
He turned to leave.
But as he reached the doorway—
"Wait, Kakashi."
Hiruzen stopped him.
Kakashi paused and looked back.
Hiruzen had risen and moved to the window. With his back to Kakashi, he stared at the Fourth Hokage's great stone face on the Hokage Rock. His shoulders looked heavy, almost lonely.
After softly tapping ash from his pipe, he turned around, eyes narrowed with gravity.
"Kakashi, when I say 'do not spread this,' that is not a suggestion. It is an order. This must not be known by anyone besides you and me—especially anything you saw in the dream that made you uneasy."
Hiruzen didn't know what Kakashi had omitted, but he could feel instinctively that it was the real key.
"Once you return, you will issue a strict gag order to Sasuke and Sakura. They are to forget these two nights entirely. They must not speak of it to anyone—not a single word."
"Konoha may look peaceful, but the currents beneath are dangerous. If certain people learned of this, they could exploit it and cause harm—to Naruto and to the village."
"Yes." Kakashi lowered his head. "Understood."
-------
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