Inside Naruto's House…
The soft hum of a happy tune floated through the room.
Naruto sat on his worn-out sofa, legs pulled up loosely, his head bobbing to the rhythm he was making.
A towel hung loosely around his neck, drying off the last traces of the day's mission.
Outside, his orange jacket flapped gently on the clothesline, catching the last warm breeze of the evening sun.
The whole scene was calm—quiet, even… peaceful.
Naruto's fingers tapped against his knees as he hummed louder, almost like the little song was a way to hold onto this rare, content feeling.
His eyes sparkled faintly in the fading sunlight, and his mouth curled into a soft smile.
He had something to look forward to tomorrow.
Ramen. With everyone.
That thought alone made him feel warm.
Then… the room grew quieter.
The hum died out.
His smile lingered for a second too long, like a candle flickering before it goes out.
Something tightened in his chest.
His body stilled.
His breathing—shallow.
Like a switch had been flipped… and the warmth started to fade.
Darkness crept in—not outside, but inside. Like a wave of cold ink spilling across a bright canvas.
His vision blurred—not with tears, but with memories. Old. Buried. Unwanted.
A boy—small, dirty, alone—stood in the middle of the street.
Whispers turned to glares.
Glares turned to curses.
Curses turned into stones.
"Monster."
"Get out of here."
"Why is it still alive?"
Naruto's humming was gone now.
Only silence remained.
His body started shaking—softly, almost imperceptibly—as his breathing quickened.
"Huff… huff…"
He snapped out of it, gasping like he'd been pulled from underwater. His eyes darted around the room, heart pounding in his chest.
His hand trembled slightly as he looked down at it, fingers curling unconsciously.
The warmth from earlier was gone.
Stolen by a ghost he never asked to carry.
"…Tch." He turned away, squeezing his eyes shut. "Why now…?"
He tried to shake it off.
Tried to forget.
But the truth was—even when he smiled… even when he laughed and shouted and joked…
Somewhere inside, that little boy still cried in the dark.
Still wondered why.
Still remembered.
Naruto leaned back against the sofa, breathing slowly now. Tired. Heavy.
He stared up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come—though it never really felt like rest.
Outside, the moon began to rise.
Inside, the house was quiet again.
But the silence no longer felt peaceful.
Later That Night
After lying in silence for a while, Naruto slowly sat up.
His eyes, still a little hazy from sleep, blinked a few times—then a spark of realization lit up in his mind.
'Oh right…'
He raised his hand and focused his thoughts. Within a second, a golden shimmer sparked into view.
A familiar screen opened, flashing directly to the development tab.
[Development Panel]
Progress: 61.246%
Time Remaining: 8 months, 5 days, 3 hours
"Woah…"
Naruto stared at it, surprised.
'I forgot to check this the past few days… it's gone down again. Nice!'
Though the increase was just around 1%, it still made him smile.
Progress was progress.
And the more missions he completed, the faster it would shrink.
With that encouraging thought, Naruto dismissed the panel. He leaned back into the couch and let out a long, tired breath.
Peace finally settled back into his chest.
This time, he drifted off into a proper, uninterrupted sleep.
The Next Morning
Naruto jolted awake, his golden hair sticking out in all directions like a haystack.
He glanced toward the clock, then suddenly froze.
Sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.
"AHH! I'm late again—!"
In a panic, he rushed through his morning routine.
With a toothbrush dangling from his mouth, he flailed around gathering clothes—only for a memory to strike mid-sprint.
"…Wait. ."
He paused mid-brush, blinking at his reflection.
"Kakashi-sensei said… I'm off today."
He stared blankly for a few seconds before groaning.
"Uhh… how could I forget that?!"
Slowing his pace, Naruto finished brushing, then collapsed back onto the bed like a sack of potatoes.
Now what?
He stared at the ceiling, blinking lazily, letting the weight of free time wash over him.
Then he remembered something
Naruto's eyes lit up.
He sprang to his feet, his energy renewed.
He remembered the two powerful techniques passed on to him by the Third Hokage.
"Alright… let's try practicing those today!" he said, flames of motivation burning in his eyes.
He closed his eyes, focusing first on the cooler-sounding one—
Flying Thunder God Technique.
It had the name of a legend, after all. Why not start with something flashy?
But as the contents returned to his memory…
"…"
He was speechless.
Although he could recall the text and diagrams, none of it made any sense.
Even the first page hit him like a textbook full of math and chakra theory—completely unreadable.
"This wasn't a jutsu—this was a math exam!"
After an hour of trying to understand it, he could only clutch his head in defeat.
"I feel like my head's been cooked…"
Still, Naruto wasn't entirely hopeless. He had a basic grasp of what the technique did, and what kind of requirements it needed.
But execution?
Completely out of his league right now.
Sighing, Naruto muttered to himself, "I guess I'll have to actually study more to get it…"
He rolled his eyes.
"Even after graduating… I still have to study to use jutsu properly? That's so unfair!"
Grumbling, he flipped to the second technique.
Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Now this was something he could handle.
He'd already practiced the standard Clone Jutsu endlessly—this one felt like a natural progression.
Sure, the seals were different. The chakra split was heavier. But the foundation?
Totally familiar territory.
Naruto grinned.
Even if it didn't work at first—he'd just grind it out. That's how he learned everything else.