Both wheels began spinning… whirrrrrrrrrr...
Little Naruto's blue eyes followed the motion with quiet curiosity. Suddenly, both wheels stopped.
[Congratulations, host, for acquiring Minato Namikaze's Chakra Control skill!]
[Congratulations, host, for acquiring Minato Namikaze's total money: 37 million Ryo!]
[Congratulations, host, for acquiring Kushina Uzumaki's Chakra Control skill!]
[Congratulations, host, for acquiring Kushina Uzumaki's Pure Uzumaki Bloodline!]
All items have been stored in the system inventory.
After hearing all the congratulatory notifications and their content, a smile bloomed on Naruto's small face. He felt genuinely happy for the first time in a long while. But suddenly, drowsiness hit him. His eyelids began to droop as sleep took over... and just before everything went black, he heard footsteps approaching.
"Minato... Minato..."
"Fourth Hokage... Lord Fourth..."
"Kushina... Kushina..."
He heard the names echo faintly—then he fell asleep.
Six Years Later
In a small apartment located in the heart of Konoha, Naruto lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Hmm… it's been six years," he murmured to himself.
"System, show me my status," he spoke inwardly.
[Ding! Yes, host.]
[Status Panel]
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Titles: Demon Fox Reincarnation, Asura Reincarnation
Age: 6
Bloodline: Pure Uzumaki Bloodline
Special Skills: Kagura's Mind Eye, Chakra Suppression, Life Force Sensing, Uzumaki Physique
Normal Skills: Cleaning, Kunai Throwing, Shuriken Throwing, Basic Taijutsu
Physical Strength: 9 (Normal Genin: 10)
Chakra Level: 89 (Normal Genin: 10)
Chakra Control: SS Grade
Jutsu: Rasengan
System Storage: 36.9 Million Ryo (cash), 100 Instant Noodles, 200 Big Ramen Bowls, 1 Fox Mask
A soft sigh escaped his lips as he read through the status panel. Almost everything in this life was the same as in the original Naruto timeline: the villagers insulted him, refused to sell him anything, and some kids even threw rocks at him. The Third Hokage acted like some mysterious old man at first, slowly revealing his identity and preaching the so-called "Will of Fire."
According to that philosophy, "Old leaves fall so that the fire can continue to burn and nourish the new leaves of the future."
Basically, it meant: sacrifice yourself for the sake of the village.
"Funny," Naruto thought dryly. "Then why is this fucking old man still alive and kicking?"
But none of that truly bothered him. Unlike the original Naruto, he was an introvert by nature. He didn't mind if no one played with him. In fact, the solitude was almost heavenly—he had peace and, more importantly, proper food.
Ramen, obviously.
Not only was it tasty, but according to the system, it was also healthy. In this world, all the ingredients were natural and organic, making it a well-rounded meal.
His monthly allowance from the village was 5000 Ryo, and a bowl of ramen cost 100 Ryo. But he didn't care much about that. He simply dipped into his father's money from the system storage. If the Hokage or anyone questioned where he got the extra cash, he'd just say he found it on the street—which was technically true. He'd ask the system to drop some Ryo on the ground, pick it up in front of the ANBU watching him, and boom—proof.
The Hokage believed some of the Fourth's supporters were helping Naruto in secret, but after multiple investigations, they found nothing. Very few people even knew Naruto was Minato's son.
But none of that was the real problem.
The real issue?
He never met Hinata.
In the original series, they met as kids. Not this time. Despite wandering in the snow several times like in the show, he never saw her. All he got were frozen fingers. That's when a thought struck him—maybe there was another traveler behind this problem. Maybe Hinata had been intercepted… or maybe she was the traveler herself.
Either way, it didn't matter.
Sure, Hinata was beautiful, a perfect housewife-type every man dreamed of, and in the original story, Naruto's wife. But if she was gone, then so be it. The real problem now was finding whoever messed with the timeline.
"They won't be safe for long," Naruto thought coldly.
Tomorrow, he'will finally join the Ninja Academy. That would make it easier to figure out who was who.
He grinned to himself while lying on the bed and silently activated Kagura's Mind Eye—one of the strongest sensory abilities in the world, known for its incredible range. He hadn't awakened it after just fusing with the Uzumaki bloodline—it came to life after merging both his parents' chakra control skills. That also explained why his chakra control was at such a high level, enough to master Rasengan secretly after just a few days of practice.
He hadn't tried tree walking or water walking, though. It was pointless. With his current chakra control, he could do those effortlessly. Besides, he didn't want to raise suspicion. Keeping a low profile and pretending to be the original Naruto was the perfect cover.
Swish... He got up from bed, casually scanning the area.
There it was—an ANBU operative hidden on his rooftop. He detected him easily but ignored it. He was used to the surveillance by now.
Naruto opened his door and stepped out onto the Konoha streets.
"Hu huhh hu hu hu hu…" he hummed a random tune with a leaf in his hand, completely ignoring the disgusted stares and whispered insults of the villagers.
"Isn't that the demon fox…"
"Ugh, bad luck. Now that I've seen him, my whole day is ruined."
"If that brat hadn't killed the Fourth Hokage…"
"Chiro, when you become a ninja tomorrow, slay that demon fox."
"Yes, mother!"
Naruto's expression didn't change. He'd long stopped caring about the hatred around him. But one comment did catch his attention—when a chubby woman instructed her son to kill him in the future. The boy stared at Naruto with fiery eyes, full of inherited hatred.
"Dumb bitch," Naruto thought with a small smile as he turned away and walked on, his chakra calmly flowing under his skin.
This woman really thinks that a child like me—who grew up surrounded by their curses—was the one who killed the Fourth Hokage? And honestly, it's not entirely their fault. Danzo was the one who started spreading those rumors. But even Danzo wasn't fully to blame. The Hokage allowed it to happen—just so I could be isolated and forced to rely on him.
But even he isn't entirely at fault.
My father, Namikaze Minato—one of the smartest people in the entire world—knew how a Jinchūriki is treated by the village. Especially after something as devastating as the Nine Tails attack. And yet... he still sealed the Nine Tails inside his own son.
But even he wasn't fully at fault, because...
To be continue.....