The Beginning of Transmigration

Where is this? Why is it so dark? Why can't I move?

Hello?

Is anyone there?

Let me out!

"Fourth Hokage, if you don't want your child to die, then get away from here!"

Eh? Fourth Hokage? Huh?

What is this?

Why can't I make a sound?

"Clang!?"

I'm so dizzy, stop spinning!

I can't see anything!

"Hahaha! Come forth, Nine-Tails!!"

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Nine-Tails? Huh? A scream? Why is it so shrill?

"Damn you, I will never forgive you."

"Rasengan!!"

"Boom!!"

What is this now? Why is the shaking so violent!?

Rasengan?

Why does it feel so familiar?

"Damn you, Fourth Hokage, did I still underestimate you!?"

"Don't think you can escape!"

Escape? Why escape? Who is trying to escape?

What on earth is happening?

"No!!!"

What is "no"?

Aaaaaah!

It hurts, something feels like it's trying to get inside!

What is going on!?

Why still can't I move!

Why is it so pitch black!!

Get out! I want to get out!

Let me out!

"Must it be this way?"

"I'm sorry. For the sake of the village, and for Naruto, we must believe in our child!"

Eh? Naruto? Fourth Hokage? Nine-Tails?

Could it be!?

So painful! So unbearable! What is this thing!? Is it the Nine-Tails? No, this is?

No!

Let me out!

It felt like a primal shock from the deepest part of the soul.

As if space had been torn open in an instant, a brilliant radiance flashed across the sky.

The dark curtain was dispelled.

The scene presented before me.

In that fleeting moment.

A scene interwoven with intense gold and blood-red.

Like a sky frozen forever in that instant.

Just a moment of trance.

Another massive force struck, and the darkness that swept back in shrouded the entire sky once more.

Leaving behind only a low, mournful cry.

"Sorry, Naruto..."

And it was at the very moment he plunged back into darkness.

He realized that he seemed to have arrived in a truly extraordinary world.

Land of Fire, Konohagakure, Year 53 of the Konoha era. This place was the center of the entire continent. As the only ninja village in the most prosperous nation, Konohagakure was, at this stage, the undisputed leader among all ninja villages. Even after enduring three Great Ninja Wars and various other incidents that had severely weakened its strength, its profound foundations and the continuous support from the world's greatest power—the Land of Fire—still allowed Konoha to remain, at least in name, the head of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Yet, in this seemingly peaceful land.

There existed a figure who stood in stark contrast to it all.

A blond boy of about five years old walked with his head down along the busiest street in Konoha. As he passed, the other villagers of Konoha would one after another step aside, each of them casting looks of extreme disgust, fear, and even a faint, hidden murderous intent toward the blond boy.

The boy, however, remained unmoved, as if he were long accustomed to it. He simply kept his head down and walked with small steps toward his destination. After turning a corner, he arrived outside a bustling restaurant. Smelling the aroma wafting from within, the boy's stomach let out a few pathetic growls. He pressed against the window, gazing at the various dishes inside, his pupils uncontrollably revealing a look of intense longing.

Just then.

It seemed the restaurant owner noticed the blond boy. A faint trace of murderous intent flickered in the depths of his eyes. The next second, he waved his hand, and a middle-aged man with a scar on his left cheek and a vicious expression stepped out, carrying a lunch box.

"Hmph, this is for you. Take it and get lost!"

He shoved the lunch box onto the blond boy with great force.

The box flipped open instantly, and the rice and side dishes spilled out.

The blond boy immediately crouched down, hurriedly and carefully scooping the spilled food back into the container. He then meticulously closed the lid. Watching the boy's actions, the middle-aged man's eyes filled with a very direct and obvious look of disgust and resentment.

If not for the fact that someone in the village leadership had ordered that this blond boy must be provided with food on time, this man would have slaughtered him long ago, let alone fed him. The faint, cold murderous aura radiating from the man was no joke; it was real and palpable!

"Damn monster! Why don't you just die already!"

The words, though seemingly muttered, were spoken at a volume loud enough for the boy to hear.

The boy's entire body trembled uncontrollably. Biting his lip, he kept his head down. After securing the lunch box, he held it with both hands, turned away from the restaurant, and walked along the shadows of the street toward another direction.

Along the way, the boy tried his best to avoid crowded areas.

Taking a winding path through some very secluded alleys, the boy arrived in front of a dilapidated apartment building. This was his home. He lived on the third floor. Originally, there had been other tenants, but after the Third Hokage arranged for the boy to move in five years ago, the other residents had all moved out.

So, in reality, the boy lived in this building all by himself.

After returning to his room on the third floor, the boy went to his kitchen as if by habit. He stood on a small stool, carefully portioned out the rice and side dishes from the box, picked out the dust that had stuck to the food, rinsed it with clean water, removed the parts that had clearly gone sour, and then skillfully reheated the remaining meal.

"What a truly terrible place. Has it already been five years since I came to this world? Uzumaki Naruto? What a mocking name that is."

The boy looked at the food heating up before him, a look of sarcasm that did not belong to his age appearing on his face as he spoke in a low voice.

That's right, the boy's name was Uzumaki Naruto.

But this Uzumaki Naruto was no longer a simple five-year-old child.

He was a child whose soul was intertwined with over twenty years of memories from another world.

Of course, what that world was or who he had been in his past life.

For the boy, it no longer mattered.

On that night five years ago, when he arrived in this world, he immediately realized what kind of existence he had become.

Uzumaki Naruto.

The world of Naruto.

When he fully grasped how cold and cruel a world he had arrived in, and especially when he realized how dire his own situation was, he couldn't even force a fake smile. Yet, there were many moments when he had to play the part of a naive child.

The feeling of wearing a mask.

The hostility of the environment and the hatred of almost everyone around him.

Not to mention the entities that constantly monitored him from the shadows.

All of this had forced him to endure immense mental pressure over these past five years.

Although, when he had watched the original series in his past life.

He had understood that the original Naruto's childhood was extremely miserable.

But the original story hadn't gone into such excruciating detail.