“Stop!”
In the blink of an eye, winter had arrived.
On the frozen river, Naruto—who had just finished catching fish through holes cut in the ice—encountered, as if by fate, the girl who would one day become his wife: Hinata Hyūga.
Without hesitation, he dropped his bucket and charged forward with a loud shout.
Before the biggest and strongest of the bullies could react, Naruto tackled him to the ground and immediately began raining punches on him.
Thanks to the Uzumaki Clan’s naturally strong physique, being the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, and the fact that he had been supporting himself and eating far better than the Naruto of the original story, Naruto was already as strong as an ordinary five- or six-year-old boy.
After only a few punches, the boy—who was two or three years older than Naruto—burst into tears.
Seeing their toughest companion beaten until he cried, the other two, both much skinnier, were completely terrified by Naruto’s ferocious expression.
Neither dared to fight back.
They cried out, “Mom!” and fled in panic.
Even Hinata stood frozen in astonishment.
“Apologize!”
At last, only the sobbing chubby boy remained.
Naruto forced him to apologize to Hinata.
“S-Sorry…”
His face bruised and swollen, the boy cried with tears and snot streaming down his face.
“Get lost!”
Naruto shouted.
The boy immediately scrambled to his feet and ran away.
Only then did Naruto turn toward Hinata.
“Are you okay?”
The moment he looked at her…
He almost melted.
He had to admit that three-year-old Hinata was unbelievably adorable.
“I-I’m fine.”
“Thank you…”
Hinata thanked him softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Wait here.”
Naruto went back to retrieve his wooden bucket.
“Come on.
I’ll walk you home.”
“O-Okay…”
Hinata replied shyly.
Soon, following Hinata’s directions, the two arrived outside the Hyūga compound.
“All right.”
“I’ve brought you home.”
“I should get going.”
Naruto waved casually and prepared to leave.
After all, both he and Hinata were still little children.
Talking about love at this age would be ridiculous.
“W-Wait…”
“Um…”
“Y-Your…
n-name…”
Summoning all her courage, Hinata asked in a stammer.
“My name is Uzumaki Naruto.”
Naruto stopped and smiled.
“And yours?”
“H-Hyūga…
Hinata.”
She answered with a blushing face.
“Got it.”
“I’ll remember.”
“See you.”
Naruto waved one last time before turning and walking away.
“…Uzumaki Naruto.”
Hinata gazed after his departing figure.
Silently, she engraved his name deep within her heart.
________________
After returning home and putting away the fish, Naruto headed to the marketplace.
“I’d like to buy twenty jin of rice.”
“Two hundred ryō.”
Recognizing Naruto, the rice merchant answered with an extremely unpleasant expression.
If not for the Hokage’s order, he wouldn’t have sold Naruto anything at all.
Naruto didn’t waste words.
He handed over the two hundred ryō, slung the sack of rice over his shoulder, and left.
Throughout the marketplace, countless cold gazes continued following him.
Naruto paid them no mind.
As long as they didn’t interfere with his life, he couldn’t care less how coldly they looked at him.
After all…
If they could look at him with icy eyes, why couldn’t he return the favor?
________________
“Oh?
Little Naruto, you’re back.”
“And you even bought rice.”
When Naruto arrived home, he found Hiruzen waiting for him.
“Grandpa Third!”
Naruto exclaimed in feigned delight.
“When did you get here?”
Ever since their first meeting half a year ago, Hiruzen had begun visiting Naruto from time to time.
“Haha.”
“I’ve come to bring you this month’s living allowance.”
Hiruzen smiled kindly.
Naruto accepted the money.
“…Still only one thousand ryō.”
His face immediately filled with disappointment.
“Little Naruto.”
Hiruzen patiently explained,
“Precisely because I’m the Hokage, and because everyone in the village is my family, I have to be fair.”
“All of the village’s orphans receive one thousand ryō each month.”
“Although I’m very fond of you, I can’t show favoritism by giving you more.”
“That wouldn’t be fair to the other orphans.”
“Oh…”
Naruto nodded blankly.
“Haha.”
“While I can’t use my authority as Hokage to favor you…”
“…since you’ve started calling me Grandpa…”
“I can still give you a New Year’s present.”
“A present?”
Naruto’s eyes lit up with exaggerated excitement.
“What kind of present?”
“You wanted to become a ninja, didn’t you?”
Hiruzen smiled.
“And to become a ninja, you first need chakra.”
“So the gift I’m giving you…”
“…is the Chakra Extraction Technique.”
“That’s great!”
Naruto excitedly accepted the scroll.
But as soon as he opened it, he frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
Hiruzen asked.
“…I can’t read.”
Naruto answered honestly.
“Haha!”
“I already thought of that.”
“I even brought you a dictionary.”
“Come.
I’ll teach you how to use it and learn to read.”
“Okay!”
Naruto nodded enthusiastically.
________________
Chakra was the combination of spiritual energy and physical energy.
Those two forms of energy did not naturally merge on their own.
Which meant that even descendants of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline—such as the Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, and Hyūga Clans—would never possess chakra unless they first learned the Chakra Extraction Technique.
To be honest…
Naruto felt no gratitude toward Hiruzen.
Recently, he had become increasingly sensitive to the malice directed at him.
There was no doubt that the Nine-Tails’ chakra had gradually begun leaking through the seal.
Teaching Naruto how to refine chakra had therefore become unavoidable.
Only after Naruto learned chakra extraction could he use his own chakra to suppress the Nine-Tails’ chakra once again.
After all…
The Eight Trigrams Seal had only developed a tiny crack.
Once Naruto generated his own chakra, it would naturally plug that gap, restoring the seal’s stability.
After teaching Naruto how to read, Hiruzen carefully explained the Chakra Extraction Technique in detail.
Then they had dinner together.
Afterward, Hiruzen returned home.
As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto’s aptitude as a shinobi needed no explanation.
Combined with the immense vitality granted by being a jinchūriki, refining chakra went exceptionally smoothly.
Less than twenty minutes after Hiruzen left…
Naruto had already succeeded.
The instant he completed his first chakra extraction—
The malice he could sense from the two ANBU watching outside the window slowly faded away.
Clearly…
The influence of the Nine-Tails’ leaking chakra had once again been sealed beneath his own chakra.
Having successfully refined chakra…
It was time for the next step.
Without revealing anything, Naruto slowly opened his eyes.
He scratched his head, deliberately putting on the appearance of someone who had failed.
Then he picked up a clean change of clothes and headed into the bathroom for a bath.
Thinking about it…
Naruto almost felt grateful for the Nine-Tails’ leaking chakra.
At the very least, it had earned him the Chakra Extraction Technique.
It had also allowed him to identify the weakest point in the ANBU’s surveillance.
The bathroom.
No normal person would focus their full attention on a naked little child taking a bath.
And now that he had successfully refined chakra…
It was time for Naruto to find a way to meet the Nine-Tails.
ADD TO COLLECTION.