[Because Frieren is not yet finished, the plot of the Naruto world is more extensive than that of the Frieren world; at the same time, the Frieren plot will end before the Imperial Arc.]
[Because the settings and worldviews of the two works are different, I will try my best to conform to the original settings; where there are differences, this book takes precedence, including the timeline.]
[Naruto is not a Naruto who has returned from the Magic World, but one who constantly travels between two worlds; therefore, he will grow slowly at first, but there will be no abuse of the protagonist, no deliberate suppression of combat power, and Naruto’s growth will also be rapid.]
[He will not stay in Konoha; after the Uchiha Clan Downfall, Naruto will leave Konoha and begin to establish his own power in the Ninja World.]
[No female lead.]
[As a new author, I hope to get everyone’s support; your support is the greatest motivation for me to update.]
…
Year 54 of Konoha.
Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
Three years have passed since the Nine-Tails Incident.
Naruto sat in his dirty, cluttered home.
Being lonely every day and shunned by the villagers, he had accumulated quite a bit of gloom in his heart.
Looking at the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who often came to give him living expenses every month, he remained silent for a long time before asking the question he had always wanted to know.
“Why don’t I have any parents…
Hokage Grandpa.”
The Third Hokage was the first ‘acquaintance’ Naruto had known since he became sensible.
He was also the one who brought him his living expenses every month.
Moreover, according to Naruto’s observations, his status was highly respected throughout the entire Village.
Putting down the envelope containing the money, the Third Hokage, who was about to leave, paused and said indifferently:
“Didn’t I tell you a long time ago?
Your parents…”
Naruto raised his voice slightly and interrupted, “It’s that Demon Fox attacking the Village again, and my parents sacrificed themselves because of it, but…”
“That’s not what I want to hear!”
“I want to know who my parents were and what kind of people they were.”
Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly.
This was not the first time Naruto had asked this question.
He also knew he couldn’t use the same answer every time.
But he had reasons he had to keep secret, so he could only turn around and say indifferently, “What difference would it make if you knew?
The dead won’t come back to life.”
Not giving Naruto a chance to continue questioning, the Third Hokage walked quickly out of Naruto’s home.
The room became quiet again.
Naruto sat where he was, staring at the closed door for a long time, before slowly standing up.
He walked to the table and picked up the envelope.
Inside was a stack of banknotes, his living expenses for the month.
Naruto took out a few of them, put the rest back on the table, and planned to go out to buy some food.
…
The street was lively.
Sunlight shone on the road; some people were chatting, some were hawking their goods in front of their shops, and children were playing.
But as soon as Naruto appeared, the voices changed.
“It’s him…”
“Don’t look at him, walk faster.”
“That Demon Fox…”
The voices were low, as if they were afraid of being heard, or perhaps as if they wanted Naruto to hear them on purpose.
Naruto lowered his head, pretending not to hear.
He was already used to it.
He skillfully walked along the roadside, avoiding eye contact with anyone.
While passing by a small clearing, a soccer ball rolled to his feet.
Naruto paused for a moment, then bent down to pick up the ball.
Standing in front of him were a few panting children about his own age.
Naruto smiled and held the ball out.
“Here, your ball.”
The children looked at each other, but none of them moved.
A boy ran over, snatched the ball from Naruto’s hand, and turned to run away.
The others followed him.
“Don’t play with him…”
“Mom said it’s bad luck to touch him…”
Naruto’s hand remained in mid-air.
The smile froze on his face.
He slowly withdrew his hand, watching the backs of the group of children running away.
Naruto lowered his head and continued walking toward the shop.
When the shopkeeper saw the blond boy enter, the smile on his face immediately vanished.
If it were before, he would have kicked Naruto out directly.
But ever since he discovered he could sell expired food at a high price to this ‘monster’ who didn’t know any better, the most he did was treat Naruto poorly.
“Pick what you want quickly.”
Naruto looked at the dazzling array of goods on the shelves, then at the shopkeeper’s expression.
“I’ll just buy some milk and cup noodles.”
The shopkeeper took out the long-expired milk and cup noodles from a corner.
“Same as before, one box, that’s enough, right?”
Naruto nodded and handed over the money.
The shopkeeper pinched the money with two fingers, as if afraid of touching his hand.
Naruto’s thin, small body carried the relatively heavy two boxes of items, walking back unsteadily.
A family was walking in front of Naruto on the road.
A man was holding a little girl’s hand, and a woman was smiling and saying something beside them.
The little girl was holding her father’s hand with one hand and her mother’s with the other, skipping along.
Naruto slowed down a bit, watching the little girl for a long time, then lowered his head to look at the bags in his hands.
He was all alone.
Back home, Naruto put the milk and cup noodles aside, having no appetite.
Then he lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
The room was very quiet, so quiet that he could hear his own breathing.
Today was the same as every other day.
The people on the street, the shopkeeper, those children.
No one was willing to come near him.
Naruto blinked, his eyes blurring.
Tears slid down from the corners of his eyes.
Naruto didn’t wipe them away; he just lay there, looking at the ceiling, tears streaming down.
He didn’t know how long it had been, and he just fell asleep like that.
…
A forest outside the Holy Capital.
An elderly man wearing glasses was slowly holding the hand of a little girl with purple hair, walking toward his home.
“Heiter…”
The little girl pointed to the unconscious blond boy by the roadside.
Heiter had also long noticed the child who had suddenly appeared near his home.
“Was he attacked by a monster?”
Heiter frowned slightly and murmured.
But on second thought, this was clearly impossible.
Moreover, there were no signs of injury on the other person.
However, regardless of the reason, Heiter still walked up quickly to check the other person’s injuries.
“Hmm…
he’s just asleep.”
Heiter let out a long sigh of relief.
The little girl on the side was curiously examining the unconscious blond boy and the whiskers on his cheeks.
…
Two hours later.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes; what met his gaze was not the familiar ceiling.
“You’re finally awake…”
Heiter revealed a kind smile.
Naruto slowly sat up and looked at the strange old man and the little girl in front of him, scratching his head in confusion, “Old man, where is this place?
And who are you?”
“I have the same question as you.”
Heiter kept his smile, “This is the Holy Capital, and she is Fern, an orphan after the war in the Southern Nations, now adopted by me.”
“I see…”
Naruto lowered his head slightly.
The Holy Capital, the Southern Nations—these were all terms he had never heard of.
Seeing Naruto lost in thought, Heiter asked, “Then it’s time to answer my question.
What is your name?
Why were you unconscious near my home, and besides, where are your parents?”
Naruto saw that the other person, like the Third Hokage, was a kind old man.
So he answered honestly, “My name is Uzumaki Naruto, from Konoha Village in the Land of Fire.
I don’t know why I was unconscious near your house either.”
“I only remember that I seemed to have fallen asleep at home.
Also…
I don’t have any parents.
My parents sacrificed themselves when the Demon Fox destroyed the Village.”
Hearing this, both Heiter and Fern were stunned.
Fern didn’t expect that the boy in front of her would have a similar experience to her own.
The Demon Fox must be some kind of monster, right?
And Heiter fell into deep thought.
Land of Fire?
Whether it was the Southern Nations, the Central Nations, or even the Northern Nations, there didn’t seem to be any country named the ‘Land of Fire’.
Konoha Village was even more unheard of.
But years of experience told him that this child named Naruto was not lying.
Therefore, Heiter could only respond calmly, “I am very sorry, but as far as I know, there is no country named the Land of Fire on this continent, and as for Konoha Village, I have never heard of it either.”
Naruto widened his eyes and asked back unwillingly, “How is that possible…
The Land of Fire is the most powerful country in the world!”
This knowledge was all told to him by the Third Hokage.
Heiter shook his head, “The most powerful country in the world is not called by that name either.”
Hearing the other person’s words, Naruto fell into complete confusion.
How could this be…
He had only slept, and the Land of Fire and Konoha Village were already gone.
Not only his parents, but even the Village was gone?
Seeing Naruto’s dejected expression, Heiter asked, “It seems you are homeless.
Would you be willing to stay at my house for a while?
During this time, I will also help you look for your country and Village.”
Naruto stared blankly at the old man in front of him who was kind to him, besides the Third Hokage, and asked, “Why…
why are you so kind to me?”
“Why?”
Heiter revealed an even kinder smile, “If it were Hero Himmel, he would definitely do this.”
Naruto blinked, hearing the unfamiliar term and name again, and could only murmur, “Hero…”
“Himmel?”