Where was this? Why was it so dark? Why couldn't he move?
Hello?
Anybody there?
Let me out!
"Fourth Hokage, if you don't want your child to die, then leave!"
Huh? The Fourth Hokage? What?
What was this?
Why couldn't he speak?
"Clang!?"
He was so dizzy. Stop spinning!
Why couldn't he see anything?
"Hahahaha! Come out, Nine-Tails!!"
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The Nine-Tails? Huh? A scream? Why was it so agonized?
"You bastard, I'll never forgive you!"
"Rasengan!!"
"Boom!!"
What was that now? Why was everything shaking so violently!?
Rasengan?
Why did that sound so familiar?
"Damn you, Fourth Hokage! Did I underestimate you after all!?"
"Don't think you can get away!"
Get away? Why would anyone need to get away? Who was trying to escape?
What on earth was happening?
"No!!!"
What shouldn't happen?
Ahhhhh!
It hurt so much. Something seemed to be coming inside!
What on earth was happening!?
Why still couldn't he move?
Why was it so dark!!
Get me out! I want out!
Let me out!
"Does it really have to be this way?"
"I'm sorry. It's for the village, and for Naruto. We have to believe in our child!"
Huh? Naruto? The Fourth Hokage? The Nine-Tails?
Could it be!?
It was so painful! So unbearable! What on earth was this!? Could it be the Nine-Tails? No, this was—
No!
Let me out!
It felt like a primal shock from the depths of his soul.
As if space had split apart in an instant, a brilliant flash of light streaked across the sky.
The darkness was driven away.
The scene appeared before his eyes.
In that instant,
gold and blood-red hues intertwined in a vivid tableau,
the sky seemingly frozen forever in that moment.
He was dazed for only an instant.
Then another immense force struck, and darkness surged back, swallowing the entire sky once more.
Only a faint, low wail remained.
"I'm sorry, Naruto..."
And only when darkness fell over him again
did he realize that he seemed to have arrived in a rather extraordinary world.
The Land of Fire, Konoha, Year 53. At the very heart of the continent, Konoha was the sole ninja village in the most prosperous nation. The most powerful among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, it stood unrivaled at present. Even after three Shinobi World Wars and numerous other upheavals had severely weakened its strength, Konoha still held the foremost position among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, at least in name, thanks to its deep-rooted foundations and the unceasing support of the Land of Fire, the world's greatest nation.
And in this peaceful country,
there was a figure who seemed entirely out of place.
A blond boy of about five walked with his head bowed along Konoha's busiest street. The other villagers who crossed his path hurriedly steered clear of him, each looking at the boy with undisguised loathing and fear, and even a trace of murderous intent.
The blond boy, however, remained unmoved, as if he had long since grown used to it. Head lowered, he simply continued toward his destination in small steps. After turning a corner, he arrived outside a bustling restaurant. The delicious aroma wafting from within made his stomach growl. Leaning against the window, he gazed at the array of dishes inside, an unmistakable yearning in his eyes.
Just then,
the restaurant owner seemed to notice the blond boy. A faint trace of murderous intent even flashed deep in his eyes. The next moment, he waved a hand, and a middle-aged man with a scar on his left cheek and a vicious-looking face came out carrying a lunchbox.
"Hmph, this is for you. Take it and get lost!"
He flung the lunchbox at the blond boy with considerable force.
The lid flew open at once, and rice and dishes spilled out.
The blond boy immediately crouched down and carefully scooped the spilled rice and food back into the lunchbox. Then he closed it with great care. Watching him, the middle-aged man's eyes filled with naked loathing and resentment.
If someone higher up in the village hadn't ordered him to provide food to the blond boy on schedule, the man would have gladly killed him long ago. He certainly wouldn't have given him food. The faint killing intent radiating from him was no joke—it was very real!
"Damn monster! Why don't you just die already!"
The man seemed to mutter under his breath, but his voice was loud enough for the blond boy to hear.
The boy trembled uncontrollably, his lips tightly pressed together. Still keeping his head down, he finished packing the food, picked up the lunchbox with both hands, and left the restaurant. He walked along the shadowed edges of the street, heading in another direction.
Along the way, the blond boy did his best to avoid crowded areas.
After winding through several remote alleys, he arrived at a run-down apartment building. This was where he lived. His room was on the third floor. Other tenants had once lived here, but after the Third Hokage arranged for the blond boy to move in five years ago, they had all moved out.
So in reality, the boy was the only person living in the building.
After returning to his room on the third floor, the blond boy went straight to the kitchen, as if he had done it countless times before. He stood on a small stool and carefully sorted the rice and side dishes from the lunchbox. He picked out the bits that had just touched the dust and washed them clean with water, then removed the portions that had clearly gone bad. Finally, he reheated what remained in a pan, practiced and efficient.
"What a dreadful place. Has it really been five years since I came to this world? Naruto Uzumaki? What an ironic name."
The blond boy gazed at the food slowly heating in front of him, his expression carrying a sneer far beyond his years. He spoke in a low voice.
That was right. The blond boy's name was Naruto Uzumaki.
But this Naruto Uzumaki was no ordinary five-year-old child.
He was a child whose soul carried the memories of more than twenty years from a previous life, and who had come from another world.
Of course, what kind of world his previous life had been in, or who he had been, no longer mattered to the blond boy.
On the night he came to this world five years ago, he had immediately realized what he had become.
Naruto Uzumaki.
The world of Naruto.
When Naruto fully understood just how cold and cruel this world was, especially after realizing how wretched his own circumstances were, he couldn't even manage a fake smile. And yet, at many moments, he had no choice but to act like an innocent child.
It felt like wearing a mask.
The hostile surroundings, nearly everyone's animosity,
and the people who were constantly watching him from nearby
had put Naruto under immense mental strain over the past five years.
Although, when he had read the original story in his previous life,
Naruto had learned that the original character's childhood had been extremely miserable.
But the original story had never gone into much detail.