Absolute Control

If he had traveled back a few years earlier, landing in Naruto's body when he was five or six, seven or eight years old, that would truly have been beyond miserable.

Chronically malnourished, eating nothing but instant noodles or expired milk for all three meals, walking down the street while everyone stared at him like he was trash, with the occasional blind thug coming over to deliver a beating in the name of justice.

Naruto knew he could not be the kind of saint who could laugh off any amount of malice. He would not have been able to endure that sort of life for even a day.

And if he had traveled back to his childhood, he would have had to face two people: Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Danzo, Konoha's Root of Darkness, wanted nothing more than to keep the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki firmly under his control and turn him into a weapon of war that belonged solely to him.

Though the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, appeared kind and gentle on the surface, those cloudy yet sharp eyes of his were constantly watching the jinchūriki's growth.

Those old foxes were not people to be trifled with. The slightest inconsistency, a minor change in personality, or a sudden shift in habits would not escape their notice—especially not the Root shinobi under Danzo, who specialized in intelligence gathering and surveillance.

Naruto did not consider himself some Oscar-level actor. He could not flawlessly play the role of a naive, cheerful orphan under the watchful eyes of two old foxes.

Within three days, they would see through his identity as a transmigrator. Then, he would either be interrogated as a spy or surrounded by a sealing squad.

But this point in time was simply perfect.

First, he had already passed Kakashi's test and officially obtained Konoha shinobi status, a forehead protector, and a shinobi registration number. That meant he had the most basic guarantee of identity and a certain degree of say.

Shinobi could take missions, earn money, improve their lives, and purchase training resources.

As for the money he had had as a child... well, that was a painful subject.

Second, after the Land of Waves mission came the Chūnin Exams.

Following the plot, during the Chūnin Exams, Orochimaru would launch the Konoha Crush Plan. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would trade his life for theirs, using the Reaper Death Seal to seal the souls of the First and Second Hokage, as well as Orochimaru's hands, before finally dying from exhaustion.

By then, everyone's attention would be drawn to that tremendous upheaval. Konoha's higher-ups would fall into brief chaos and a transfer of power. No one would have the leisure to care whether a genin brat's personality had suddenly become a little more composed.

Once Tsunade returned to become the Fifth Hokage, things would be even better.

Tsunade had never met Naruto before. Everything she knew about him came only from other people's accounts and a file.

When the time came, he could interact with Tsunade using his true personality. Given Tsunade's forthright nature, she would never imagine something as absurd as body-snatching transmigration.

At most, she would think the kid was somewhat more mature and sensible than his file claimed.

"Pfft..."

Just as Naruto was thinking, a sharp yet muffled piercing sound rang out.

It was the sound of cold metal tearing through flesh and piercing a body.

There was not the slightest warmth to it, only naked killing intent.

Immediately afterward came a heavy thud—the muffled sound of a body crashing onto hard ground.

Naruto's eyes snapped open.

The sight before him made his pupils contract.

Sasuke lay in a blinding pool of blood.

His body had been pierced by countless slender Senbon, from his back to his arms, from his thighs to his waist.

Blood spread out beneath Sasuke, soaking through his blue short-sleeved shirt and into the dusty gray ground.

A sea of crimson reflected in Naruto's pupils. Then, a surging fury, like a lit powder keg, shot uncontrollably to his head.

Could this anger and hatred be the Nine-Tails' chakra?

Naruto immediately thought of the Nine-Tails inside his body. In its attempts to break through the seal, it had spent years continuously releasing its chakra, seeking an opportunity to escape.

Under the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto's vision began to turn red.

But at that moment, an indescribable sense of control quietly emerged from the deepest part of his body.

Just as he had done countless times in his previous life, Naruto instinctively made the slightest motion.

In an instant,

the excess adrenaline and violent emotional turbulence were gently pressed down by an incomparably precise force.

Like an invisible hand steadily guiding a flood about to burst its banks back into its riverbed.

His fury vanished in an instant, leaving behind absolute calm.

Naruto froze, then was overwhelmed with joy.

This feeling... Absolute Control!

His ability had transmigrated with him?

"Cough... cough, cough..."

At that moment, Sasuke's hoarse voice sounded. His face still carried the stubborn defiance of a boy unwilling to admit defeat.

He turned his head. His handsome face was covered in blood and mud, his lips pale and his eyes already beginning to lose focus, yet he forced himself to look at Naruto.

"You... super idiot..."

Sasuke spoke in broken fragments, each word seeming to take immense effort to force from his throat.

"What's with that look?"

"I obviously... hate you the most..."

His voice grew lower and softer, like a dying candle flickering in the wind.

"But my body... moved on its own and threw itself in front of you..."

As his words fell, Sasuke's eyes closed. Like a piece of wood drained of all strength, he collapsed into the pool of blood.

Watching Sasuke fall before him, Naruto's gaze sharpened.

Because he felt an astonishing surge of chakra erupt from within his body.

It was a dark crimson, tangible chakra aura.

Like magma pouring out of hell, carrying endless hatred and madness as it rose around Naruto's body.

The temperature in the air rose sharply. Gravel on the ground was scattered by the blast of chakra, and even Haku, standing within the Ice Crystal Magic Mirrors some distance away, took half a step back.

The violent and destructive will contained within the Nine-Tails' chakra was enough to make anyone lacking resolve lose their mind in an instant and become a beast that knew only destruction.

In the anime, Naruto had lost himself countless times under the impact of such chakra.

But at this moment, Naruto's face showed not the slightest trace of pain or madness.

Though the Nine-Tails was sealed inside him, on some level, its chakra was also part of his body.

And if it was part of him, then it was his to control.

Absolute Control.

Naruto silently recited it in his heart.

In an instant,

the violent Nine-Tails chakra seemed to have its throat seized by an invisible hand. After struggling a few times, it obediently calmed down like a tamed hunting hound.

The hatred that sought to devour Naruto's reason was firmly sealed away beyond his consciousness, leaving behind only the most immense chakra power.

The violent crimson aura became steady and dense, like a scarlet cloak of chakra draped over him.

Naruto rejoiced inwardly.

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