The world kept turning at its slow, steady pace.
Seasons passed over Konoha like quiet sighs of wind,
and no one noticed the yawning chasm of starlight silently opening
in the depths of Naruto Uzumaki's eyes.
They said it had been three years.
But for him, millennia had passed.
For deep within—beyond chakra, beyond seals—
he had discovered the Infinite.
An energy without beginning or end,
drawn not from body, nor nature, nor the gods.
A sea of raw existence,
where time stretched and space bent to his will.
In that dimension, where one hour equaled a hundred,
Naruto had immersed himself—body, mind, and soul—
forging in silence what no one could have ever imagined.
---
On the outside, he grew.
Not too fast, not too slow.
But perfectly.
At the academy, his grades were unmatched.
His name appeared on every report like a line of balance.
Reading, tactics, shinobi calligraphy, chakra theory—
he excelled in all,
without ever shining too brightly.
But what his teachers mistook for prodigious chakra control...
was actually just a threaded stream of the Infinite Energy.
He channeled it through his chakra network
like water trickling through ancient, forgotten canals—
just enough to avoid suspicion.
But infinitely more stable, more pure, more fluid.
---
The basic jutsu?
To him, they were no longer techniques.
They were natural movements,
extensions of will.
Bunshin no Jutsu?
He didn't split his chakra—
he wove threads of the Infinite,
creating clones more precise, more "alive"
than what classical ninjutsu could ever allow.
Even Iruka had sensed the uncanny clarity,
as if the clones weren't illusions—
but real, breathing echoes.
Henge no Jutsu?
The Infinite responded to thought before his body even moved.
He didn't transform—he became.
Voice, weight, breath, even simulated chakra:
everything was perfect.
He could embody anyone,
even after a fleeting glance.
Kawarimi no Jutsu?
While others flinched to dodge an attack,
Naruto redrew space.
A mere whisper of the Infinite
slid him elsewhere—
in the fold of a moment—
so subtly, no one could tell what had happened.
---
But he stayed cautious.
He knew this energy had no place in a world still asleep.
It belonged to no shinobi, no god, no demon.
It belonged to him.
And through it, he belonged to something
far greater than the ninja world.
So he measured it.
He mimicked the motions expected of him.
He let himself be tested like the others,
subtly disguising the source.
His feet remained in the sand,
but his mind floated among the stars.
---
The calm he radiated,
the patience in his movements,
the silence in his eyes—
everything about him now exuded
a mastery that disturbed those who had once known him.
Iruka didn't speak of it,
but he noticed.
Naruto's gaze had changed.
He no longer craved approval.
He already knew his worth.
Other students began to feel something…
though they couldn't name it.
Hinata bowed slightly when he passed,
as if sensing a hidden depth.
Shino avoided his gaze—
not out of awkwardness,
but instinct.
Sasuke frowned,
retreating into silent frustration.
He hated what he couldn't understand.
And Naruto…
he didn't understand Naruto.
---
But Naruto, for his part, sought nothing.
No battle.
No glory.
No revenge.
He watched the world with that quiet compassion
known only to those who have seen beyond what eyes can hold.
And when the day came—
the day of the final exam—
he knew the moment had arrived.
Not to reveal the Infinite—
that would come later—
but to allow a spark to escape.
Just enough to earn his forehead protector.
Just enough for the world to finally
begin to speak to him
as an equal.