Living a Second Life (Mistake) and the Power of Longing

"Naruto, don't be picky with food. Eat your fill every day and grow up strong.

Remember to take a hot bath every day. And don't stay up late—make sure you get enough sleep.

Also, make friends. It's okay if you don't have many; a few trustworthy companions are enough.

Even though your mom wasn't very good at it, you need to study hard and learn to control your ninjutsu properly.

But everyone has things they're good at and things they aren't. Even if your studies don't go smoothly, there's no need to hang your head.

Naruto, from now on, you'll encounter many hardships and pains.

Hold fast to your principles, keep your dreams in your heart, and work hard to make them come true.

Have faith in yourself...

I still have, I still have... so many things I want to tell you.

I still want to live with you. I love you..."

"Naruto, what Dad wants to say is the same as what your nagging mother said..."

Naruto Uzumaki's memories seemed forever frozen in that moment. His parents' final words of advice lingered in his mind, never to be forgotten.

He walked blankly through the streets and alleys of Konohagakure, while the countless curses and resentments he had grown used to hearing since childhood rang in his ears.

"Look, it's that fox demon. He's the one who got the Fourth Hokage killed!" "Why doesn't the Third Hokage order him executed?" "So many people in Konohagakure died because of that fox demon!" "Why doesn't that fox demon brat just die?"...

Naruto lowered his head and looked at his body, far smaller than it had been in his memories. Indifferently, he let those curses and resentments pass by his ears. The him who had lived a second life was no longer the same as the him from his first.

That was right. After Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki died, he had not escaped this strange Konohagakure. Instead, he had entered baby Naruto's body and begun his second life anew!

At first, he had been furious and hateful. The Nine-Tails Chakra within him went berserk countless times along with his emotions. But little Naruto, unable to control the Nine-Tails inside him, had been far too weak. The ninja guarding him easily discovered and subdued him, then reinforced the seal.

Gradually, Naruto learned to disguise and conceal his emotions. From a tiny infant who would lose control the moment he saw the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he slowly grew into a child capable of temporarily burying his emotions and hatred deep within his heart.

Facing a child who had been tightly monitored since infancy, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave it little further thought and gradually relaxed the restrictions on his movements. This was exactly what Naruto had hoped for.

Today, Naruto Uzumaki was heading to Konohagakure's public library to read, which meant he had no choice but to pass through several busy streets. Normally, he avoided crowded places whenever possible. If he could stay home, he went out as little as he could.

Though he no longer cared much about those insults, hearing fewer of them was always a good thing!

"That fox demon brat is here again. So disgusting, so annoying!"

"If it weren't for the Third Hokage's orders, our library wouldn't want to receive him at all!"

"Forget it. We've already carefully checked him as ordered. We only have ordinary books here, nothing related to ninjutsu!"

Naruto Uzumaki had long since grown accustomed to others' discriminatory attitudes. He found a book on Ninja World History that he had not finished last time, sat in his usual seat, and quickly immersed himself in it.

He had always kept his mother Kushina Uzumaki's final instructions firmly in mind and followed them as strictly as he could. At first, he could not focus on any book at all. Then he forced himself to read, until he slowly began to immerse himself in the world of knowledge.

The process had been painful, practically torture. But Naruto Uzumaki might have lacked many things, yet the tenacity and persistence he had tempered since childhood—the stubborn refusal to ever give up—were rare indeed.

He had persevered! And he had changed himself!

The sun gradually sank westward. At noon, he had made do with the dry rations and water he carried for lunch. Little Naruto spent the entire day reading in the library.

After turning the final page, Naruto Uzumaki closed his eyes in thought. His short, thin body unexpectedly carried a faint air of scholarly elegance. He had not merely read the book; he had truly thought about it.

After a long while, Naruto closed the book, intending to put it back. He had finished another book, and his mother Kushina Uzumaki's smiling face appeared before him once more.

"Every time I finish a book, I think of you, Mom..."

Bone-deep longing and pain could bring about a complete transformation in a person!

"You actually kept it up? That's beyond my expectations!"

Suddenly, as a voice rang out, every person and object in the library froze. Dust drifting in the sunlight beyond the glass windows, birds spreading their wings in the sky, droplets falling from the fountain in the plaza... everything, the entire world, fell into a state of frozen stillness.

Daren Yi, the "creator of this world" and "director of the set," who had asked the question, personally appeared within this "world." All things between heaven and earth came to a halt with a single thought from him.

"How incredible! So this world really is a dream or an illusion? But it's this realistic... living an entire life here would be no different from living one in the real world, would it?"

Naruto Uzumaki did not leap up and shout in alarm. Instead, he carefully examined the book he had yet to return, stretched his neck to look outside, and observed the other motionless people. The surprise and curiosity in his eyes were impossible to hide.

"The way you are now, you barely resemble the Naruto Uzumaki I know at all."

Daren Yi clicked his tongue in amazement at Naruto's change, then explained,

"This is one of the genjutsu I created based on the research notes of Uchiha Shirabe, the senior who created the Uchiha clan's ultimate genjutsu, Izanami. I call it—

Genjutsu: Memory Kill!

It is far inferior to Izanami and has no real destructive power. It merely allows someone to live their life over again within a dream of memories.

And its duration is limited. At most, it lasts only seven months. I altered your perception of time, which is why you had the illusion of having lived here for several years."

Naruto Uzumaki only half understood, but silently committed it all to memory. Then he seriously asked the question he had pondered for a long time. "Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

"Take a guess!"

Daren Yi smiled wickedly. Only after seeing Naruto's frustrated expression did he continue,

"You must have guessed a little already, right? My name is Daren Yi, also known as the Ancestor of Shamate. Haven't you always wanted to meet me?

As for why I'm helping you, and how all this was done, that's a long story. Want to hear it from the beginning?"

"Of course! Over these years—no, these past few months—I've read and figured out some things, but there are even more questions I want answered!"

His parents' faces appeared before Naruto once more. He struggled to suppress his emotions, but still lost control somewhat. His heart was filled with mixed feelings: pain and despair from witnessing the tragedy with his own eyes yet being powerless to stop it; happiness and hope from his parents' earnest expectations and affectionate instructions...

Daren Yi snapped his fingers. The vast library before them folded and transformed, becoming a ramen shop Naruto knew well in the blink of an eye.

"Uncle Ichiraku, two bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen... Come, Naruto. We'll talk while we eat. You once wished to Lord God for ramen, and now Lord God is granting your wish..."