Smiles We Paint

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ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ʙʏ ᴋɪᴍ
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⚠️ Trigger Warnings / Content Warnings ⚠️

This story contains heavy and potentially distressing themes, including:

•Depression & self-harm (smoking, drinking, cutting)
•Hallucinations & mental instability
•Trauma & PTSD
•Sexual assault / non-consensual situations
•Violence & emotional distress
•Addictive behaviors and self-destructive coping mechanisms

Reader discretion is strongly advised.
Please take care of yourself, your mental health matters more than any story. 💕

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Smiles we Paint | Naruto Fanfic Description |

The world still sees him as Konoha's brightest light - loud, reckless, always smiling.

But that smile is a lie.

After losing Jiraiya... after nearly watching Tsunade, Kakashi, and countless others die during Pain's attack... something inside Naruto Uzumaki finally broke.

No one knows about the cigarettes hidden behind his window.
Or the bottles under his bed.
Or the scars on his arms he swears were "training accidents."

Worse than the addictions are the nights.

He wakes in cold sweats, gasping for air as hallucinations haunt him - Jiraiya cracking jokes like he never died, Minato ruffling his hair, Kushina humming lullabies he's never heard.

Dreams so real he wishes he never woke up.

When he's assigned what appears to be a simple mission, Naruto thinks he can handle it. He's handled worse... right?

But everything goes wrong.

People start reminding him of those he's lost. Familiar voices echo from unfamiliar mouths. New wounds threaten to drown him - wounds deeper and darker than anything he's faced before. Some physical. Some emotional. Some forced upon him.

How much pain can a hero endure before he finally stops pretending?

And when the smiling mask shatters... who will Naruto become?