I Became Naruto

Land of Fire, Hidden Leaf Village.

Twelve-year-old Naruto walked down the street, stepping forward amidst gazes full of hatred.

"Look, that little brat again."

"Disgusting Demon Fox, why don't they just kill him."

"Keep your voice down, don't let him hear you."

Disgusted whispers came from the side, like poisonous needles piercing the heart, making one feel a chill deep within.

Naruto walked in silence, stepping past those rejecting glances until he reached the entrance of a fruit shop.

"Boss, I'll take some oranges." Naruto smiled.

"None left."

A cold reply came from the shopkeeper. Naruto raised his eyes to look at the shopkeeper's disgusted expression, then glanced at the piles of oranges inside the store.

He said nothing more, instead turning to walk away into the distance.

The moment he turned and left, out of the corner of his eye he caught two figures on the rooftop, the ANBU ninjas responsible for monitoring him.

Hah, can't even feel safe buying oranges on the street?

Naruto lowered his head slightly, a cold sneer curving at an angle others couldn't see.

As a transmigrator, being able to reincarnate and be reborn should have been a good thing, but only after his rebirth did he realize that he had actually become Naruto, had become a lonely and helpless Naruto.

With no family, no relatives, enduring cold gazes, loneliness, indifference, rejection, surveillance, and even having food and survival become problems,

it was fair to say that Naruto's childhood was pitch black, an abyss without a trace of light.

As a transmigrator, he wanted to change the status quo, at least to have enough food like ordinary people and ensure his body's nutrition.

So, relying on his skills from his past life, he drew some manga, intending to make some money in this world to supplement his household expenses.

However.

When he took these manga out ready to sell them, what greeted him was obstruction from the ANBU.

Those manga he had drawn with painstaking effort were ruthlessly torn to pieces right in front of him, and even his act of drawing provoked even stricter monitoring by the ANBU.

That moment.

He thoroughly recognized reality, beginning to hide everything about himself and surviving in a low-profile manner in accordance with the original trajectory of life.

He did not ask where the legacy left behind by the Fourth Hokage was, or why he hadn't inherited it.

Nor did he ask why they taught him to refine chakra so late.

And he certainly didn't ask why the ANBU monitored him every single moment.

Because bringing up these questions would very likely lead to his death.

After all.

He was no longer the original Uzumaki Naruto; from birth, he was a new Naruto.

Let's check the next fruit shop. I really want to eat an orange.

Naruto looked up at the sun on the horizon, gazing at that warm sunlight. The cold sneer on his lips gradually turned into a fake smile, continuing to hide himself amidst cold gazes and surveillance.

Tap, tap, tap!

Rhythmic footsteps sounded with Naruto's pace. Soon he walked to another shop to buy oranges, but the result he got was still a cold refusal.

What a pity. I just wanted to eat a few oranges. Why refuse?

Disappointment leaked into Naruto's voice. He hadn't eaten oranges for a long time and really wanted to eat one, but unfortunately things rarely went as one wished.

Forget it, let's head to the small river. It's almost lunchtime anyway, there should be a surprise today.

Naruto didn't continue to other shops, instead turning to leave, but a small figure not far away caught his attention.

It was a little girl with the Hyuga Clan crest on her clothes, wearing her black hair in a blunt bob and possessing a petite, exquisite figure.

Her cute little face carried a trace of rosy blush, and her round, beautiful eyes were white, as pretty as white jade. It was safe to say this figure was exceptionally good at catching Naruto's attention.

Seeing this small figure, Naruto's smile became much more genuine.

Because that figure was the only person in this world worth him smiling for, and also the greatest change he was able to make after transmigrating into this world.

This person was none other than the well-behaved and cute Hinata, and also his only friend right now.

Ever since he got to know Hinata from a very young age, Naruto often interacted with her, chatting together, and the two had become very good friends.

It was just that Hinata was too prone to shyness; even though the two of them were friends, every time Hinata saw him, she still wore a bashful expression.

Take right now, for example.

Hinata's pair of soft, delicate hands were moving, her two index fingers pressing against each other in a timid posture.

Looking at the shy Hinata, Naruto walked over with a smile, but a blue air bubble floating around her caught Naruto's attention.

"Hinata, what a coincidence."

Naruto greeted her and looked closely at the blue air bubble, discovering that the words Experience Orb were written on this orb.

"So... what a coincidence."

A crisp, melodious voice interrupted Naruto's thoughts. Naruto looked at Hinata and found that she was lowering her head shyly, not daring to look at him.

Seeing such a cute Hinata, Naruto felt extremely warmed as well, yet the Experience Orb floating around her left him very puzzled.

[Experience Points+1]

A line of black text suddenly appeared, and at the same time, that blue Experience Orb trembled slightly.

"Hm?"

Seeing this, Naruto looked around calmly. Finding that no one else noticed this, he vaguely formed a guess.

To figure out the exact reason, Naruto began chatting with Hinata next.

Although it was mostly Naruto doing the talking while Hinata listened with her small head lowered, Naruto quickly figured out the general situation of this Experience Orb.

He discovered.

This Experience Orb was only visible to him and invisible to others, nor could it be touched by hand. However, interacting with Hinata for a while would display Experience Points+1, which was obviously his cheat.

Such an unexpected joy made Naruto ecstatic. To figure out the ins and outs of his cheat, Naruto interacted with Hinata again.

[Experience Points+1]

Another line of black text drifted up from Hinata. That blue Experience Orb trembled and faintly shrank a bit, making it very obvious that the experience points had been acquired by Naruto.

Such a change caused Naruto to become even more certain of the idea in his heart.

He conversed calmly with Hinata, his peripheral vision occasionally glancing over a certain rooftop, which was the surveillance position for the ANBU.

[Experience Points+1]

The black text appeared again, and Naruto's eyes flashed, though he did not want to stay here too long, otherwise it would easily arouse unnecessary suspicion, so he smiled and said.

"Hinata, have you had lunch? Have lunch with me."

"Ah? Th-this... I..."

Hinata was obviously flustered, not knowing how to answer. Especially such close-range conversation made Hinata so shy she wanted to faint, and the item she had originally prepared to give out was something she no longer dared to take out.

[Experience Points+1]

Looking at the experience points that once again emerged on Hinata's body, joy flashed in Naruto's eyes.

He issued the invitation again, saying, "Hinata, come with me to the brook, my treat."

"Mm, o... okay."

Hinata answered foolishly, following Naruto away in a daze, completely losing her own judgment.

During this process, Naruto had been observing that Experience Orb, discovering that as he chatted with Hinata, the blue Experience Orb was shrinking bit by bit, gradually diminishing just like a deflating balloon.

Clearly, he only needed to converse or interact with Hinata to obtain experience points. As for the function of these experience points...

[Experience Points+1]