The air in the Forest of Death was thick with the smell of rain-soaked earth and old blood. Team 7 was losing. The Sound Ninja had cornered them, their leader, a pale-haired boy named Kaguro, wielding a dark, pulsing mark on his neck—the Curse Seal of Heaven.
You could beat him, the seal whispered. You could save them. Not with the Fox’s rage… but with your own cunning. Your own speed. Take it. naruto curse seal
And then he remembered Iruka-sensei’s words: The difference between a weapon and a ninja is the heart that wields it. The air in the Forest of Death was
He pressed his palm to Naruto’s forehead. A cold, serpentine chakra seeped in. It wasn't the fiery, malevolent rush of the Fox. It was something else—slick, ambitious, whispering promises. You could beat him, the seal whispered