As the sun and moon circled in their eternal cycle, more than five years had passed since the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village sacrificed his life.
They say time is the best medicine for pain, and under the leadership of the Third Hokage, the Hidden Leaf had been slowly rebuilding and recovering. Bit by bit, the village emerged from the shadow of the fear and grief caused by the Nine-Tails' rampage and invasion… but one thing hadn't faded with time. In fact, thanks to certain people fanning the flames in secret, it had only grown stronger with each passing day.
"Hey, did you see that brat again? Still bouncing around like nothing happened…"
"Hah? He's not dead yet? I heard it was his fault the Fourth Hokage had to give his life. How can he live so carefree in this world?"
"Can't be helped. After all, he's the Ni—"
"Shh! Have you forgotten the Third Hokage's decree? That matter must never be revealed to him."
"Tch, yeah yeah. Still don't get why the Third would protect that damn brat… Honestly, we should've just killed him. It'd save us from another disaster…"
"Alright, that's enough. Quiet—he's coming this way… Hurry, go get the kids inside! Who knows what that monster might do—don't give him the chance to hurt them!"
That was the hatred and discrimination directed at the reincarnation of the Nine-Tails, Naruto Uzumaki.
"Ahh, the villagers are as warm and friendly as always, huh…"
Now three years old, Naruto had grown stronger with each passing year. Hands behind his head, he strolled leisurely down the street, casually observing the villagers' unabashedly hostile glares out of the corner of his eye. His lips parted slightly as he mumbled to himself.
"Born the child of a hero, yet treated like a monster… No wonder Gaara turned into a bloodthirsty killer when he first showed up. It's idiots like these gossip-hungry villagers that drove him to it… Man, now I'm really curious how the original Naruto managed to survive twelve whole years of this hell."
If the villagers had heard such mature words coming from a toddler's mouth, they'd probably be utterly baffled—just chalking it up to childish nonsense. But if Danzo had heard it? His eyeballs might've popped out of his skull.
Because those simple words—"child of a hero"—meant that Naruto, at just three years old, already knew about his true lineage! Every effort made to conceal it… wasted.
As for how Naruto found out? Well, that was easy. He had watched it happen.
To be exact, back in the home he used to live in, he'd watched everything unfold—both the Nine-Tails' attack and all the future plotlines—through anime episodes playing on his computer.
"Binge-watching the movies all night and then suddenly waking up here… as Naruto himself, no less. Stuff like that only happens to novel protagonists. Never thought it'd actually happen to me."
Letting out a silent sigh, Naruto had no intention of continuing to act like a circus monkey for the gawking villagers. Quietly picking up speed, he jogged toward a narrow alley where few people passed and disappeared from sight.
"That's enough face time for today. First things first—gotta fill this belly."
He weaved through familiar turns and paths until he reached the forest edge of the wilderness survival training grounds. There, he slipped through a hole in the chain-link fence he'd discovered long ago—worn down over years of disrepair.
Though Naruto lived alone now in the top-floor apartment that once belonged to Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, with the Third Hokage secretly covering rent and utilities, he still had to solve one major problem on his own: food.
It wasn't that the Third Hokage didn't also send groceries and living expenses regularly. Naruto just didn't trust it. He constantly worried that the ever-shadowy Danzo, hidden away in the darkness, might do something insane like slip poison into the food without the Third knowing.
"Better safe than sorry."
In the anime from his past life, the bright and clueless Naruto did grow up safely until twelve. But when he thought about Danzo—the kind of man who'd ally with Orochimaru or even the Akatsuki just to become Hokage—Naruto couldn't bring himself to take any chances. Better to play it safe.
That's why he always ate at Ichiraku Ramen or came out here like this to gather ingredients himself. As for the groceries delivered to his door, he'd hide some of them before going home, making it look like he'd already eaten everything to avoid raising suspicion.
Of course, food wasn't the only thing Naruto was hiding.
He had an even bigger secret: a precious gift left by his father during their final farewell—delivered alongside the Nine-Tails. A treasure that absolutely couldn't fall into Danzo's hands.
The method for mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique, the fearsome jutsu the Fourth Hokage had used to dominate battlefields and terrify his enemies!
Naruto remembered it clearly: after Minato Namikaze's death, only three other ninja had ever used this technique—and even then, only by combining their strength. That either meant they lacked talent… or Minato had never passed on the full technique to begin with.
Even so, the jutsu was so powerful that it was forbidden from being used unless absolutely necessary.
Now imagine Danzo finding out that, even as a powerless child, Naruto held the complete, improved version of the Flying Thunder God Technique—refined by Minato himself using all his experience and insight?
The threat and temptation it posed to Danzo would be hundreds of times greater than just having the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki under his control.
Especially with all the chaos Konoha would face in the years ahead—the Uchiha massacre, Orochimaru's invasion, and more…
"No way I'm relying on protagonist plot armor and that overpowered Talk-no-Jutsu nonsense to make it through."
In a ninja world where strength is everything, mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique as fast as possible was his only shot at survival—and maybe even dominance.
"A broken jutsu and future knowledge… I've got such a huge head start. I still don't get how I ended up in this world, but there's no way I'm wasting this chance."
Slowing his little legs, Naruto came to a stop beneath a tree, sitting down to catch his breath. As he looked up at the lush green forest, his mind raced—gradually picturing the faces of those who had once smiled before their tragic deaths.
"Asuma-sensei, the Pervy Sage, Itachi, Neji… Everyone, just wait. Once I'm strong enough…"
Remembering those heartbreaking endings that once made him cry in front of a screen, Naruto clenched his tiny fist and slowly raised it into the air. His lips moved with a quiet whisper, but his eyes burned with determination. A bright smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
"I swear, I won't let any of you die again… Never."
"The lives of my comrades… I, Naruto Uzumaki, will protect them!"