" Naruto, remember not to be picky with your food. Eat well and grow up strong... Take a hot bath every day, and don't let yourself get cold... Also, don't stay up late. Get plenty of sleep..."
A beautiful woman with long red hair was gently giving him instructions. Behind her stood a handsome young man with blond hair.
What was going on?
Wasn't I dead?
When I opened my eyes, this was the scene before me.
Where... was this?
Was it a dream?
He raised his arm and looked at his palm. His little hand was soft and pale, just like a newborn baby's.
I-I really had transmigrated!
Just as he was rejoicing at being given a new life, a "drop of water" suddenly fell onto his face.
Was it raining?
No, it wasn't rain...
Looking closely, he found the source of the "drop."
It was a gigantic claw, its tip incredibly sharp, piercing through the bodies of the red-haired woman and the blond man.
Blood dripped down the claw and onto his face.
"Naruto, what Dad wants to say... is the same as what your nagging mom said..."
Naruto?
Was that my name now?
Then they...
Looking at the man and woman before him, he understood who they were and realized his current predicament.
The Nine-Tails Incident. His parents had died right from the start.
He'd been an orphan in his previous life, and now he was an orphan again. Was he cursed to bring misfortune to those around him?
He—no, Uzumaki Naruto—felt a little upset.
But he was only a baby. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could change.
Wait!
Didn't I have a cheat— the Rinnegan?
Naruto had died in a car accident in his previous life. After his death, he'd had the good fortune to meet some unknown deity.
The deity said he liked the look of him, granted him a new life, and even gave him a chance to draw a prize.
Naruto hadn't held back. He'd struck it lucky and drawn the Rinnegan.
But... could the Rinnegan change the situation?
Naruto thought about it for a while with his still-developing brain, then sadly came to his answer.
It seemed... not, unless he used Samsara Heavenly Life, trading one life for two.
That was setting aside whether he was willing to do it...
All right, actually, he wasn't.
After all, he'd only just met them. He wasn't that attached to them.
Even if they grew close in the future, he might not be willing... He was just an ordinary person, after all. Sacrificing himself for others was hard.
At least he didn't have to suffer the pangs of conscience now.
Because his cheat hadn't arrived yet!
And so, the world line converged, and everything returned to the starting point.
After saying his final goodbyes, Minato Namikaze gazed at Naruto with pity. Then, without further hesitation, he formed Hand Seals.
—Eight Trigrams Sealing Style!
"Waaahhh..."
Three years later.
Inside an old house, Naruto sat cross-legged on the floor, diligently doing eye exercises.
He was pondering a question: was the Rinnegan ever going to arrive?
Three years, and then another three years... It had already been three years. Had the deity forgotten?
Sigh, he hadn't even left any way to contact him. There was no way to hurry him along.
Knock, knock, knock.
Hearing someone at the door, Naruto continued his eye exercises as he said, "Come in."
As expected, it was the Third Hokage.
Seeing Naruto, the Third Hokage asked curiously, "Little Naruto, what are you doing?"
"Protecting my eyesight from a young age, so I don't get farsighted when I'm older."
Maybe if he did enough eye exercises to improve his eyesight, the Rinnegan would awaken.
How could protecting your eyesight still lead to farsightedness?
It was probably just a slip of the tongue. The Third Hokage didn't think much of it. He waited quietly until Naruto finished his eye exercises, then spoke kindly.
"Naruto, you're all grown up now. Starting today, no one will bring you meals anymore. You need to learn to live independently. I believe you can do it... Here, this is your living allowance for the month..."
Have a heart. He was only three, and the Third Hokage was already making him fend for himself. Where was his conscience?
Uzumaki Naruto stood up and took the living allowance, counting it.
400 ryo... Was that enough?
He wasn't too familiar with prices in Konoha, but judging by the original Naruto's experience of going hungry, it probably wasn't enough.
Naruto looked up at the Third Hokage. "Double it. 800 ryo!"
There was no way Kushina and Minato's inheritance couldn't cover even 800 ryo.
The Third Hokage shook his head. "No. 800 ryo is too much, and you don't need that much money. 400 ryo is enough to cover your living expenses."
Naruto asked suspiciously, "Are you sure that's enough?"
The Third Hokage nodded. "It'll be enough if you spend it carefully."
No matter how foolish he was, the Third Hokage wouldn't deliberately let a Jinchuriki go hungry.
And besides, he owed Minato.
Not much, but he did.
"I can't give you 800 ryo, because the village's policy is 400 ryo. The village treats everyone equally, and there are many children like you. Their combined expenses add up to a lot, and the village can't afford it. But..."
He pulled a hundred-ryo bill from his pocket and smiled warmly. "Grandpa can personally give you another hundred ryo. Does that make you happy, little Naruto?"
Happy... my ass. First he puts me down, then he builds me back up. Don't think I don't know—you're just manipulating me.
"I'm happy. Thank you, Grandpa."
I, Uzumaki Naruto, give this performance a hundred points. I'm not afraid to be proud of myself.
"By the way, Grandpa, will I get this hundred ryo every month?"
"Every month."
Great, now get lost.
But he was under someone else's roof, so he couldn't be too blunt. Naruto waved. "Goodbye, Grandpa."
"..."
Who taught you to take the money and then turn your back on me? Actually, no one taught you... Could it be natural talent?
The Third Hokage left, feeling dejected.
Naruto looked up at the clock on the wall. It was past ten. There was still time before lunch, but once he factored in the time it would take to buy groceries, he'd better get going.
"Perfect. It's my first time, so I'll go get familiar with the market."
He picked up a bag of pebbles from the corner and walked out.
Konoha was prosperous and beautiful, and its villagers wore happy smiles.
But when a child appeared in their sight,
their smiles vanished in an instant. They stared at Naruto with coldness, disgust, and even hatred.
After Naruto had gone some distance, they began to whisper.
"Damn Demon Fox. Why is it still alive?"
"Look, that monster's carrying a bag of stones. Looks like it wants to attack us again."
"The injury on my head still hasn't healed..."
"Serves him right. If the Anbu weren't protecting him, he'd have been beaten to death long ago."
"Exactly. Who knows what Lord Third Hokage is thinking..."
"Shh, don't say that. It's a forbidden topic."
Hearing the faint insults behind him, Naruto sneered. "Pathetic trash who can only mock people from behind."
This wasn't his first time going out. On his previous trips, people had mocked him to his face.
Now... they'd made tremendous progress by only talking behind his back.
Of course, that certainly wasn't because the villagers had improved their manners.
Those unruly people didn't have anything like manners!
The real reason was Naruto's own effort: anyone who dared insult him to his face got a rock to the head!
He was a transmigrator, and his personality was nothing like the "idiot" in the original timeline.
Before you continue