Uzumaki Naruto had it rough.
Or rather, the soul that had transmigrated into him had it rough.
(As for what the transmigrator’s name had been in his previous life, let’s not bring it up.
The author joked that every name he came up with got roasted anyway.
Readers can just imagine themselves instead.)
He had never imagined that, in the end, he would starve to death.
To be more precise, even the shrewd Third Hokage could never have imagined it.
He had ordered the ANBU to send Naruto to the hospital, yet the hospital staff somehow convinced themselves that the baby was the reincarnation of the Demon Fox.
How in the world did they arrive at that conclusion?
In any case Naruto’s breathing finally came to a stop.
He died.
Quite literally he starved to death.
A baby only one day old was simply that fragile.
In fact, human infants were probably the weakest newborns of any animal.
A newborn fawn could already run within hours of birth.
That was the cruelty of nature.
If they couldn’t, they would die.
Humans were different.
A human child required well over a decade to fully grow.
Just as Naruto’s soul was about to be drawn into some unknown place.
A sudden flash of light filled his vision.
The next moment, his soul appeared within a mysterious space.
“Actually, this is your own spiritual world.”
An unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed through the void.
Only then did Naruto notice that someone else was standing before him.
Instinctively, he looked over.
Then he froze.
The man had light reddish-brown hair, with an extraordinarily long beard reaching his chest.
He wore a white robe and sat cross-legged in midair above several slowly orbiting black spheres.
Seeing that figure, Naruto blurted out,
“The Sage of Six Paths?”
That’s right.
Standing before him was none other than the Sage of Six Paths himself.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
The Sage looked at Naruto with mild surprise.
In fact, he actually tilted his head upward to meet Naruto’s eyes before asking,
“You know who I am?”
Naruto nodded instinctively.
Then another realization struck him.
“Wait.
I can talk?
And.
why am I so tall?”
After spending two days as a baby, well, one day and two nights to be exact, he suddenly realized he’d regained the body of his previous adult self.
However, the moment he noticed it his body began changing rapidly.
He had briefly returned to the appearance from before his transmigration.
But now he rapidly shrank.
In the blink of an eye, he became the same newborn infant he currently was in reality.
He flopped face-first onto the ground, unable even to stand.
Naruto stared blankly at the Sage of Six Paths.
Speechless. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
The Sage’s serious expression twitched slightly.
“That wasn’t my doing.”
He quickly clarified himself.
It really wasn’t.
After struggling for a while, Naruto finally managed to sit upright.
Speaking with the tone of an old man, he said,
“You should probably update the way you talk.”
Apparently, he found the Sage’s archaic speech a little too old-fashioned and troublesome to listen to.
The Sage’s eyelids twitched.
This little brat.
He’s practically starved to death and he’s still acting cocky.
“Ahem.”
Clearing his throat, Hagoromo reluctantly changed his manner of speaking.
“Since you know who I am, then you should also know your own identity and origins, correct?”
“Of course.
I’m Uzumaki Naruto, son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.
I’m also Kurama’s Jinchūriki.”
Then Naruto suddenly paused.
“Wait.
I just remembered.
Damn it!
Doesn’t that make me your son’s reincarnation?
Hold on.
then who exactly am I?”
“Am I the transmigrator I used to be?”
“Or am I Ashura’s reincarnation?”
By the end of his rant, Naruto was clutching his head with both hands, thoroughly confused.
He had finally remembered.
Naruto himself possessed perhaps the greatest cheat of all.
He was the reincarnation of Ashura.
And Ashura was none other than the youngest son of the Sage of Six Paths standing before him.
Not to mention the Uzumaki Clan itself was descended from Ashura’s bloodline.
They were distant relatives of the Senju Clan.
And even distant relatives of the Uchiha Clan.
But that only made Naruto even more confused.
Who exactly was he?
Was he Uzumaki Naruto?
Was he the transmigrator?
Or was he Ashura reborn?
His thoughts had become a complete mess.
Even the corners of Hagoromo’s mouth and eyes twitched.
Finally, he explained,
“Stop overthinking it.”
“You are merely the reincarnation of Ashura’s chakra.”
“You are not Ashura himself.”
“Your soul is entirely your own.
Ashura’s chakra has simply attached itself to you.”
In reality, Naruto wasn’t Ashura.
Other than sharing the same bloodline, the two had no direct connection.
However, because Ashura and Indra’s conflict had continued across generations.
Their chakra repeatedly attached itself to descendants, allowing their rivalry to continue.
Simply put, Naruto possessed only Ashura’s chakra.
His soul was never replaced by Ashura’s.
He was still himself. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Still the transmigrator.
He had simply become the Naruto of this world.
“But.”
The Sage suddenly changed the subject.
“You’re about to die.”
Naruto stiffened.
Then his shoulders slumped helplessly.
“So what?”
He pouted.
“It’s not like I can suddenly stand up and feed myself.”
“My parents died protecting both the village and me.”
“But after losing their protection and care.”
“I, a newborn who’s only one day old, am about to starve to death.”
“Tell me.”
“Is that fair?”
The Sage remained silent.
Instead of answering, he stared deeply at Naruto.
It was as though he had noticed something.
Naruto looked back in confusion.
“What are you looking at?”
The Sage frowned slightly.
“You may bring about changes beyond anything I can foresee.”
Naruto shrugged.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“I’m already dying.”
The Sage slowly shook his head.
“I won’t allow you to die so easily.”
“The reason I appeared before you is to awaken the Ashura chakra within you.”
“Ashura inherited my Sage’s Body.”
“Once it awakens, your physical vitality will no longer fail so easily.”
Naruto’s eyes immediately lit up.
Then, almost reflexively, he asked,
“And.
you’ll give me Six Paths Power too, right?”
The Sage’s face instantly darkened.
In the original story, Hagoromo had indeed bestowed his own Six Paths Power upon Naruto and Sasuke.
That power wasn’t merely the Yin and Yang Seals used to perform Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei.
Those seals were only a one-time sealing technique and disappeared after use.
The true Six Paths Power Hagoromo granted them, however, was permanent.
But that power wasn’t part of Ashura’s or Indra’s chakra.
It was something Hagoromo personally bestowed.
To be honest Naruto was being a little shameless.
“Ashura’s reincarnation no matter whether you become a harbinger of change, or choose some other path.”
“I wish to see what road you ultimately walk.”
“And I’ll leave Kurama to you.”
In the end.
The Sage of Six Paths did not grant Naruto his own Six Paths Power.
Instead, he merely awakened the Ashura chakra residing within him.
“.Cheapskate.”
Naruto couldn’t help muttering under his breath.