The Situation He Had to Recognize (Please Bookmark)

Time flew by, and five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Year 53 of Konoha. On the top floor of a somewhat rundown apartment building on the village's western side, a small red-haired boy sat upright on a high platform. Facing the newly risen sun and bathed in the first rays of dawn spreading over the land, he gazed at the Hokage Rock atop the distant heights. Beneath his seemingly calm expression, a faint trace of mockery flickered in his pupils.

Has it really been five years since I came to this world? Uzumaki Menma... What an incredibly ironic name. Different, yet damn it, it's all the same!

Namikaze Minato.

Uzumaki Kushina.

Those were the names of the red-haired boy's parents in this life. That was right—he was not native to this world. He came from a planet called Earth, carrying the memories of his previous life with him. Even he could not say whether he had transmigrated as a soul or been reincarnated.

All he knew was that he had dozed off during a class in his previous life. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Minato and Kushina, his parents in this life, dying before him.

It had to be said that the sight had shaken him deeply.

At first, he thought he was Naruto.

Only later did he realize that he was not Naruto.

Yet he was Naruto as well.

Because his surname was Uzumaki, and the Nine-Tails was sealed inside him. However, he was neither blond-haired nor blue-eyed, nor was he named Naruto.

He was Uzumaki Menma, whose features bore a thirty-to-forty-percent resemblance to his father Minato's, yet who had inherited his mother's red hair and gray eyes.

Meanwhile, that blond-haired, blue-eyed boy named Naruto bore the surname Namikaze!

They had clearly been born from the same mother.

Namikaze Naruto lived in the home Minato and Kushina had occupied while they were alive, enjoying the love and support of the entire village as the Fourth Hokage's orphaned son.

And him?

He lived in this rundown apartment building as an adopted ordinary orphan, a container for the Nine-Tails, and the monster everyone spoke of!

He had reminded himself more than once that Naruto had nothing to do with this. The ordinary villagers had merely been deceived by the higher-ups, and they truly had lost loved ones five years ago. It was only natural that they would easily vent their anger on him.

But who could understand the loneliness, resentment, jealousy, and pain in his heart!?

We clearly have the same father and the same mother!

Uzumaki Menma looked at the Hokage Rock bearing his father's face, his small hands clenching involuntarily.

Even though he had lived two lives, he had only been an ordinary college student in his previous one. Mental fortitude? Willpower?

Give him a break!

He was just an ordinary person, a human being capable of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, a person with the full range of human emotions and desires.

Yet he also understood clearly that all of it had to remain buried in his heart. Or rather, he could feel dejected, unwilling, or even miserable, but he absolutely could not reveal the slightest hint of resentment or fury.

Because that was the only way he could survive and retain even his pitifully limited freedom.

After all, through five years of interaction, Menma had come to understand Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, to some extent.

The Third Hokage was not as dark, filthy, and evil as some Naruto Fans in his previous life had speculated, but neither was he as righteous, kind, and understanding as the Original Work portrayed him to be.

He was simply an ordinary leader of a powerful organization, someone who held the village's greater good in his heart but also possessed personal selfish desires. In his younger days, he had indeed accomplished many commendable things. He had truly saved Konoha in times of crisis and led Konohagakure to its peak.

But as he entered old age, the strengths in his character had gradually diminished while his flaws had steadily grown more pronounced.

The current Third Hokage still possessed justice and fairness in his heart, but not much of either remained!

He only wanted to preserve his power as long as the village's greater good, peace, and overall interests were not compromised. As for everything else, the Third Hokage would no longer consider it.

Especially after he returned to the position of Hokage.

If he discovered that Menma harbored malice and hatred toward Konoha, how did he think the Third Hokage would deal with him!?

Even if he truly softened and spared Menma out of consideration for Minato and Kushina, he would certainly have the Tailed Beast forcibly extracted from Menma. Then, he would watch Menma fend for himself; if he survived, he would be imprisoned forever.

Therefore, before he truly possessed the strength to protect himself, Menma would not act recklessly, nor did he dare to.

One step at a time, then. It's time to head out today as well.

Menma gave a light jump and returned to the balcony. He then entered the stairwell and headed down the steps. He wanted to leave while there were few people around in the early morning, reducing the chance of encountering ordinary villagers along the way.

As for his destination, it was a mountain range a thousand meters away from his apartment. It lay within Konohagakure's territory, and for more than two years, it had been Menma's place to relax, train himself, and obtain extra food.

Sarutobi Hiruzen certainly would not starve him.

The subsidies he received were distributed according to normal orphan standards. There was no possibility of Menma going hungry. The ninja assigned to look after him were all Sarutobi Hiruzen's trusted subordinates, so nothing overly melodramatic was likely to happen.

But that was all.

No shop on the streets was willing to sell him anything, and nearly everyone looked at Menma with disgust and hostility. Those things were all real.

Once he turned three, Menma had consciously begun training his body. Although he had yet to obtain a method for extracting Chakra and therefore could not wield this world's unique power, he believed it was still necessary to train his body in advance.

Do not think he was too young for it.

That was an idea from his previous life, not common sense for people in this world.

If it truly were unsuitable, then how had Kakashi graduated from the Ninja Academy at five?

Therefore, Menma was genuinely not worried about that. But training meant additional expenditure, and the human body needed more energy to replenish itself.

Without any other means of obtaining it,

Menma could only fend for himself!

Fish and shrimp from the streams, as well as fruit and wild vegetables from the mountains, were all viable targets.

Splash!

After finishing today's training, Menma arrived at the edge of this familiar river.

Then he plunged straight in.

After swimming around for a while, he began his great fishing operation.

Already highly skilled at it,

Menma easily pulled up today's seafood ingredients from the river, relying on a body that was only five years old in this life yet already nearly matched that of an adult from his previous life.

"Ah! Winter swimming really is pretty exhilarating."

It was already December.

A light snow had fallen just a few days ago.

The coldness of the stream

made Menma shiver lightly twice.

However, when he saw the abundant harvest in his basket, a satisfied smile appeared on Menma's face.