Three years passed slowly and heavily beneath the persistent gloom hanging over the shinobi world and the shadow of Las Noches.
In the spring of Konoha Year 54, the Ninja Academy welcomed a new class of students.
Among these children, Naruto Uzumaki was undoubtedly the one who drew the most attention.
Spiky blond hair, eyes as blue as a clear sky, and six faint whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
And that perpetually ill-fitting, slightly oversized orange tracksuit-all of it gave him a strong resemblance to the beloved Fourth Hokage.
Yet the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
Perhaps because he had borne such heavy expectations from the beginning, Naruto Uzumaki had been somewhat resistant to training since childhood.
Because of a certain person who "stood above the heavens."
Many things had already changed, but one thing remained just as it had been in the original story.
Naruto's favorite place was still Ichiraku Ramen.
"Today we're practicing the Clone Technique! The hand seal sequence is Ram-Snake-Tiger! Did everyone get a good look?"
At the front of the classroom, the Chunin instructor Umino Iruka slapped the blackboard hard.
His gaze, however, involuntarily drifted toward the blond boy in the back row, scratching his head in frustration.
For someone the villagers had placed such high hopes in, this legendary Child of Prophecy's performance in his class was...
"Yeees," the children answered in drawn-out voices, forming hand seals.
"Clone Technique!"
Pop! Pop! Pop!
More than a dozen clones instantly appeared in the classroom, some solid and others indistinct, amid the children's excited laughter and comparisons.
"Look at mine! I can make two!"
"I made three!"
Iruka nodded in satisfaction, until his gaze fell on the last row.
Naruto Uzumaki's face flushed red with effort as he clumsily twisted his hands together.
His hand