Naruto: Seishin – The Bond That Binds

Somewhere in a classified bunker – 04:03 AM

A gloved hand closed the file.

On the cover:

"N-1999: Emerging Threat – Red Priority."

The man's face remained in shadow.

But his voice cut through the silence like a blade.

— "We can't allow this to spread."

A nervous analyst replied:

— "S.H.I.E.L.D. has already classified the operation. Surface web footage has been scrubbed."

— "But not from people's minds."

He glanced at a monitor displaying Natasha Romanoff's face, then Naruto's—caught mid-jump, red energy radiating from him.

— "Romanoff has become a vulnerability."

Another agent spoke up:

— "We have a protocol ready. Precise. Silent. No visible blood."

The man was silent for a moment.

Then:

— "Execute it."

And the screen went black.

🗡️ 2. Shots in the Light

New York – Secured District – 5:46 PM

They walked together, hand in hand.

Not hiding. Not flaunting.

Just… together.

Naruto wore a dark hooded sweatshirt, Natasha an elegant black trench coat. She smiled slightly, as if she still doubted she deserved this simple moment.

He looked at her briefly. She looked away.

— "Do you feel it?" he asked suddenly.

— "Feel what?"

— "The chakra. It's compressing in the air."

She slowed. Field instinct.

— "Someone following us?"

He closed his eyes.

Then whispered:

— "No. Someone's waiting for us."

Bang—Bang—Bang.

Three sharp shots.

Naruto reacted before the bullets crossed half the street. The seal carved into his palm warmed instantly.

His hand opened.

And the world slowed.

A red barrier deployed—spherical, dense, silent.

The projectiles hit it, dissolving in a dying glow.

Natasha had instinctively turned, drawing her weapon, scanning for the source.

A rooftop. A silhouette. A fleeing shadow.

Naruto was already moving.

One second later, the assailant lay on the ground. Alive. Disarmed. Immobilized by roots.

Mokuton.

Naruto didn't even look back.

He returned to Natasha, hands trembling.

— "Are you okay?"

She nodded.

— "You just created a defensive jutsu… around me?"

He didn't answer right away.

Then:

— "It activates when your heart rate passes the panic threshold."

She stared at him.

— "You're monitoring my heartbeat?"

— "I'm guarding what it holds."

She punched his shoulder—gently.

But her eyes sparkled.

— "You're insane."

— "No. Just incapable of losing you."

🔍 3. The Traces Left Behind

S.H.I.E.L.D. Surveillance Tower – 6:17 PM

A technician stared at his screen.

— "We have a Class S chakra activation… in the heart of Manhattan."

Hill arrived silently behind him.

She observed the satellite image.

The red dome.

The roots.

The residual trace.

— "Where's the target?"

— "Romanoff is safe. Uzumaki too."

She remained silent for a long moment.

Then ordered:

— "Tell Coulson to pull them out of public view. Otherwise… the world will do it for us."

Secured Apartment – Just Past Midnight

Natasha stepped out of the bathroom in silence.

Her hair still damp. A towel draped around her shoulders like a forgotten cape.

Naruto remained seated on the floor, back against the bed, cross-legged.

His gaze fixed on the palm of his hand.

The mark still glowed. Pulsing. Red and gold, like a heartbeat beneath the skin.

She approached.

Knelt in front of him.

— "That seal…" she began. "It reacted… like it knew I was in danger."

He looked up at her.

A little tired.

Very honest.

— "It did know."

She raised an eyebrow.

— "I thought you just did… chakra. Techniques. But this—this was something else. It felt alive."

He nodded slowly.

Then placed his right hand on the floor, index extended.

He traced a straight line, then an arc. And in the air, the seal appeared.

Not bursting. Not demanding.

Just there. Like a vein of light.

— "I called it Shugosha no Kizuna. The Guardian Bond."

She shivered.

Not from fear.

But because the name sounded like a promise.

— "Explain it to me," she asked softly.

Naruto took a breath.

Then spoke—slowly, like every word mattered.

— "In my world… seals are tools. Weapons. Prisons. Containers. We use them to trap demons, hide secrets, manipulate time or even souls."

He touched the mark on his palm.

— "But this seal… I didn't forge it to destroy. Or to lock anything away. I wrote it like… a prayer."

She didn't move.

— "A prayer?"

— "Yes."

He continued:

— "It's connected to you. Not to your chakra. To your breath. To your vital frequency. It reads your emotions. Watches over your heart. If it senses extreme fear… or imminent death, it activates."

She frowned.

— "And what exactly does it do?"

Naruto drew a spiral in the air.

— "It forms a protective dome. Based on my chakra. Instantaneous. Solid. A cage… but reversed. Not to trap. To keep the world out."

— "You're sacrificing yourself."

— "Not really. The jutsu pulls from my reserves, yes. But…" He hesitated. "It's programmed to trigger even if I'm asleep. Even if I'm unconscious."

She cut in, sharply:

— "Even if you're… dead?"

Silence.

Naruto lowered his gaze.

— "If I die, it retracts. It can't exist without me. But as long as I live—it shields you."

She sat frozen.

For a long time.

Then asked, more gently:

— "Why?"

He lifted his head.

And smiled. A little sad. A little beautiful.

— "Because I came into this world with no purpose. And you gave me one."

She sat beside him.

Their shoulders touched.

She reached for his hand—the one with the seal.

— "Can I feel it?"

— "Close your eyes."

She obeyed.

He pressed their palms together.

A shiver passed through Natasha.

Not physical.

An impression.

As if something inside her had started watching.

A diffuse warmth. A vibration.

And in her chest… her heartbeat slowed. Regulated.

As if… it was dancing with his.

She opened her eyes. Breath short.

— "It's alive."

— "It's connected to me. But also to you. It's not a leash. It's a hand extended. Constantly."

She didn't answer at first.

Then:

— "If I were someone else, I'd call this insanity."

— "And you?"

— "I say it's the most beautiful thing anyone's ever given me."

Silence.

She rested her head against his shoulder.

— "You know I could die tomorrow. They could separate us."

He didn't move.

Then whispered:

— "Then they'll have to kill me a thousand times. And a thousand times, I'll come back."

She closed her eyes.

And in the darkness of the room, the seal between them pulsed once.

Gently.

Like a campfire.

Like a promise.