Where is this place?
Why is it so dark?
Why can't I move?
Hey?
Is anyone there?
Let me out!
"Fourth Hokage, if you don't want your child to die, then leave this place!"
Huh? Fourth Hokage? What?
What's going on?
Why can't I speak?
Clang!?
So dizzy… stop spinning!
I can't see anything!
"Hahaha! Come forth, Nine-Tails!!"
"Ahhhhhh!!"
Nine-Tails? Huh? That scream… Why does it sound so full of despair?
"Damn it, I will never forgive you!"
"Rasengan!!"
Boom!!
What's that? Why is the whole world shaking?!
Rasengan?
Why does that sound so familiar?
"Cursed Fourth Hokage! Did I still underestimate you!?"
"You won't escape!"
Escape? Who's trying to escape? Why?
What's happening here?
"No!!"
No? No, what?
Ahhh!
It hurts—like something is trying to force its way inside me!
What's happening to me!?
Why can't I move!?
Why is everything still pitch-black!?
Let me out! I want out!
Somebody, let me out!
"Must it be this way?"
"Forgive me, but for the sake of the village, and for Naruto… trust our child!"
Eh? Naruto? Fourth Hokage? Nine-Tails?
Could it be…!?
So much pain! What is this thing? The Nine-Tails? No… this feeling…
No!
Let me out!
It was like a blow straight to the very core of his soul.
As though space itself had been torn apart in an instant, a dazzling light flashed across the sky.
The curtain of darkness was driven away.
What unfolded before his eyes—
that brief, frozen instant—
was a sky dyed gold and crimson,
as if eternity had been captured in a single frame.
And then, just as quickly, an overwhelming force struck again.
The darkness surged back, swallowing everything.
Only a faint, sorrowful whisper remained—
"Forgive me… Naruto…"
And in that moment, as he sank into the blackness once more,
he finally realized—
he had come to a world of no small consequence.
Land of Fire, Konohagakure, Year 53.
Here, at the very heart of the continent, stood the village hidden in the leaves—the sole shinobi village of the most prosperous nation. Despite having suffered terrible losses through three great shinobi wars and countless other upheavals, Konohagakure, backed by the vast resources of the world's foremost nation, the Land of Fire, still held its position—at least in name—as the foremost of the Five Great Villages.
And in this seemingly peaceful country…
there walked a figure utterly at odds with its harmony.
A blond boy, no more than five years old, made his way along the bustling streets of Konoha. Yet, whenever villagers caught sight of him, they shrank back at once, retreating as though from a plague. Their eyes held disgust, fear… even a faint killing intent.
The boy, however, seemed utterly unfazed. He had long since grown accustomed to this treatment. With his head bowed, he walked steadily toward his destination. Turning a corner, he stopped before a thriving restaurant. The aroma wafting from within set his empty stomach rumbling loudly. He pressed his face against the window, eyes fixated on the steaming dishes inside, his gaze brimming with barely contained longing.
At that moment—
the restaurant's owner caught sight of him. A flicker of killing intent flashed in the man's eyes before he waved a hand.
A scar-faced, brutish-looking middle-aged man emerged, carrying a lunchbox.
"Hmph. This is for you. Take it and get lost!"
With a vicious motion, he hurled the box at the boy.
The lid flipped open, scattering rice and vegetables across the ground.
The boy immediately crouched down, carefully scooping the spilled food back into the box. With painstaking care, he closed the lid once more.
Watching him, the scar-faced man's eyes blazed with raw hatred and loathing. If not for orders from above—that this boy must be given food at regular intervals—he would have killed him long ago, let alone bothered feeding him. The murderous aura he exuded was no idle threat.
"Damn monster! Why won't you just die already?"
Though muttered under his breath, the words were pitched just loud enough for the blond boy to hear.
His body trembled despite himself. Clenching his lips tight, he lowered his head and, after tidying up the box, carried it in both hands. Without a word, he turned and left, slipping into the shadows at the edge of the street.
He kept to side alleys, avoiding crowds whenever possible, winding his way through the backstreets until he reached a dilapidated apartment building.
This was his home.
The boy lived on the third floor. Originally, other tenants had resided here, but ever since the Third Hokage had assigned him this place five years ago, they had all moved out.
Now, the entire building was his alone.
Once back inside, he headed straight for the kitchen. Standing on a small stool, he unpacked the lunchbox, dividing the rice and vegetables with practiced care. He washed off the grains and scraps that had fallen into the dirt, picked out anything spoiled, then reheated the rest with deft familiarity.
"…What a wretched place. It's already been five years since I came to this world, hasn't it? Uzumaki Naruto… what an ironically fitting name."
Gazing at the food as it warmed, his face twisted into a mocking smile that seemed far too old for a child.
That's right—
The boy's name was Uzumaki Naruto.
But the Naruto of today was no ordinary five-year-old child.
He carried within him the soul of another—a man of over twenty years from a different world.
As for what kind of world it had been, or who he had been before—
none of that mattered anymore.
On that night, five years ago, when he had first awakened here, he had understood at once the kind of existence he had become.
Uzumaki Naruto.
The world of Naruto.
The moment he realized where he was—and what kind of cruel, blood-soaked world he had entered—despair had gripped him. Especially when he understood the miserable environment into which he'd been thrust.
He couldn't even bring himself to fake a smile.
And yet… he was forced to wear a mask, to act the part of a naive and innocent child.
The suffocating hostility around him.
The countless eyes that seemed to watch his every move.
Five years of relentless pressure had weighed on him, body and soul.
Yes—he'd known, from reading the original story, that Naruto's childhood had been tragic.
But never in such detail.