Naruto stuck to his training plan with the resolve of someone far beyond his years.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Then a week passed.
Every morning, just as the sun began to rise over Konoha, Naruto could be seen running through the quiet streets, his breath ragged but his pace unbroken. The Anbu ninja assigned to observe him remained hidden in the shadows, growing increasingly astonished with each passing day.
"This kid… he's still at it?"
Even for a trained adult ninja, Naruto's chosen training routine—one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run—would be respectable. But for a three-year-old child?
It was insanity.
At first, the Anbu was convinced that Naruto wouldn't last three days. But now, seeing him persist, day after day, drenched in sweat, trembling from fatigue, and still pressing forward with gritted teeth, the man began to feel a reluctant admiration.
Most children Naruto's age cried when they scraped their knees. Naruto trained until his limbs gave out.
"Ridiculous…" the Anbu murmured. "But impressive."
Inside his mind, Naruto kept up his own inner dialogue, his lips often moving in whispers as he pushed through each painful repetition.
"Not too much… This is what it takes to become strong."
"Bao Jian Feng Cong Mo Li Chu," he muttered to himself, reciting the old adage he'd learned from somewhere deep inside his dreams. "A sharpened blade comes from bitter grinding."
"A real man… doesn't give up."
Despite his small stature and trembling arms, Naruto completed his final squat and fell to the ground in a heap, panting heavily. His clothes were soaked through, sticking to his skin, and his face was flushed red with exertion. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
He could feel it—he was getting stronger.
But it confused him, too. Despite repeating the same training every day, it never seemed to get easier. His body didn't adjust the way he expected it to. Every push-up still burned. Every squat still made his legs feel like jelly. The ten-kilometer run felt as impossible as the first day.
"It must be the effect of the statue," Naruto thought, glancing down at the sapphire pendant hanging from his neck.
The mysterious statue that had appeared beside him one morning after a strange dream. Since then, he'd discovered that it granted wishes—small ones, nothing too grand. Wishing for wounds to heal or for training advice seemed to be within its power.
And most importantly, it had given him this training method.
"The Saitama Training Method," he called it.
A divine plan that would make him the strongest in the world.
Naruto smiled faintly. "Good. That's how it should be. If it were easy, it wouldn't be worth doing."
With that, he forced himself up, wobbling slightly, and opened his door. The sun was just beginning to dip behind the rooftops of the village. The streets were mostly empty, and the air carried the scent of baked bread and distant wood smoke.
Naruto ran.
His small legs carried him down back alleys and side streets, far from the busy markets where villagers might throw insults or rotten fruit. He didn't want to deal with their stares or their hatred—not today. He needed focus. Determination.
Sweat poured down his brow and stung his eyes.
"Don't stop… keep going…"
His body screamed at him to rest, but his heart roared louder.
Eventually, the ten kilometers were up. Naruto stumbled to a stop, his knees shaking.
"Huh?"
A warm pulse spread across his chest. Naruto blinked and looked down at the sapphire statue.
It was glowing softly. Heating up.
"What's this…?"
Naruto frowned and adjusted the rope around his neck. The statue's warmth grew stronger the more he moved in a certain direction.
"It's guiding me?"
Driven by curiosity and instinct, Naruto followed the pull. He weaved through the alleys, drawn deeper into the quieter areas of Konoha.
Then he saw her.
A small girl with indigo-tinted black hair and two long strands framing her face, wandering aimlessly with a lost, worried look. Her eyes—pale lavender like polished moonstone—were wide with confusion.
The moment Naruto saw her, something inside him shifted.
A strange sense of familiarity. Of destiny.
He stepped forward, chest still heaving from his run, and called out.
"Hey!"
The girl froze, startled. She turned slowly to face him.
Naruto stared at her, awestruck. Her presence stirred something in the back of his mind—fragments of images, a fleeting dream. She felt… important.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he said, stepping closer and giving her a confident grin. "The 'Uzumaki' of the whirlpool, the 'Naruto' of the maelstrom."
"What about you? What's your name?"
The girl hesitated, her cheeks flushing pink. She opened her mouth but no words came out at first. Eventually, she whispered, "Hyūga… Hinata."
Her voice was so soft it was almost drowned by the breeze.
"Hinata?" Naruto repeated, smiling wider. "That's a beautiful name."
He reached out and took her tiny hand in his.
"Now we're friends, Hinata! It's official!"
Hinata's face turned crimson. Steam practically poured from her ears. She looked as if she might pass out from embarrassment.
Naruto tilted his head. "You okay?"
"I—I'm fine…" she squeaked, staring down at her shoes.
Naruto chuckled. She was kind of adorable.
"Where's your home? I'll walk you back. It's not safe to be out here alone, you know? Especially with all the creeps around."
Hinata pointed timidly toward the Hyūga compound.
Naruto nodded and began leading her in that direction, still holding her hand. His grip was gentle but firm, like he was afraid she'd disappear if he let go.
Strangely, being around Hinata calmed him. Like her presence filled a hole he didn't know he had.
As they approached the massive gates of the Hyūga estate, Naruto slowed down.
"Wow… your house is huge."
There was a slight tinge of envy in his voice, but he quickly smiled again.
"This is where we say goodbye, huh?"
The gates creaked open, and a tall, composed man with the same pale eyes as Hinata stepped out. His expression was gentle, but firm.
"Hinata, where have you been? We were worried."
"Uncle Hizashi…" Hinata said softly, shrinking behind Naruto.
"I got lost," she added, barely audible.
"I see," the man—Hyūga Hizashi—nodded. "You must be careful. It's good that someone was with you."
His eyes turned toward Naruto.
Naruto stared back, curious.
Then something strange happened.
A sudden phrase popped into Naruto's head like a whisper from another world:
Dark clouds cover the top… The appearance of death has already arrived.
Naruto blinked, startled by the thought.
"Where did that come from?"
He quickly shook it off. It wasn't right to think something like that about Hinata's uncle.
Still, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling.
"I should go," Naruto said with a smile. "Bye, Hinata!"
He gave her a quick wave, turned on his heel, and jogged off, trying to ignore the weird thought lingering in his mind.
Behind him, Hizashi watched the boy go, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Jinchūriki of the Nine Tails…"
"Uncle?" Hinata looked up at him. "What did you say?"
Hizashi smiled and ruffled her hair.
"Nothing. Let's go inside."
As she stepped into the compound, Hinata turned one last time to look at Naruto's retreating figure, her heart fluttering without knowing why.
Naruto, meanwhile, ran back toward his apartment under the setting sun, his heart light. He had made a new friend—a very important one, he was sure of it.
But his instincts told him something was coming.
Something serious.
And maybe, just maybe… someone was going to die.