Above a bed, the blonde infant awoke from his sleep, screaming as usual.
"Baby bodies are terrible."
"Anyway… System, where am I?"
[Accessing Memory Book to determine host's location…]
[Host is inside the Third Hokage's residence.]
"Good, I'm still here. At least I'll spend some time before they transfer me to the orphanage."
Naruto thought to himself while scanning the room. It was dimly lit, shrouded in darkness, but a small window allowed sunlight to slip through, spreading warmth and dispelling the gloom.
"This atmosphere is comforting for babies. My body feels like it's getting tipsy…"
"System, how long will my body stay awake?"
[Host's body will remain awake for 4 hours before falling asleep again.]
[Alert: Host must eat. Alert.]
"Eat? Right, I haven't eaten since I was born. But how do I get food? Should I try crying? (Of course, 'food' here means milk.)"
The baby's cries intensified, and after a few minutes, a woman in her forties entered. She appeared aged, but she was gentle with the baby—contrary to Naruto's expectations.
"Either she doesn't know I'm the Nine-Tails' host, or she's an acquaintance of my parents."
Naruto thought as he looked at the approaching woman.
She picked him up and brought a milk bottle to his mouth. Naruto lunged toward it eagerly.
After finishing the entire bottle, Naruto felt full.
Seeing this, the woman smiled and left the room after placing him back on the bed.
[Host has returned to a stable condition.]
"Alright, now that I've satisfied my hunger, I should resume my chakra training."
[New mission created. Tap to view details.]
"Display it."
[Side Mission: Chakra Training
Sense your chakra and circulate it through your entire body using the provided diagram before the day ends.
Rewards:
– Chakra Control Skill (F)
– 5 Stat Points
– Rare Chest]
"What are the chest tiers?"
[Displaying Chest Tiers:
– Common Chest
– Silver Chest
– Rare Chest
– Gold Chest
– Epic Chest
– Diamond Chest]
"Alright, let's start. Pull the chakra diagram from inventory and display it in a window."
[Displaying Diagram…]
"Oh… I get it. I actually understand it really well. Is this because of the Memory Book skill? Amazing."
Naruto closed his eyes, sensing a warm energy at the center of his stomach. With more focus, he felt himself diving into that faint energy.
Eventually, he reached the core and was surprised by what he saw—
a sea of warm chakra moving randomly.
All he had to do was gently guide it along the path shown in the diagram, not control it. That way, he'd harmonize with the energy, making it a part of himself.
After 4 hours, he completed half the circulation route.
The other half, he'd attempt after sleeping and waking again.
[Alert: Host's body is about to fall asleep.]
"Yeah, I know. I'll finish after I wake up."
Naruto fell into a deep sleep again, though this time it was more of a nap.
About two hours later, he woke up and immediately resumed his training.
This training was like guiding someone down the correct path.
This time, it took him half the time to finish the remaining half, because the path was already familiar—just mirrored.
So he completed it much faster.
[Host has completed the mission.]
[Acquired: Chakra Control Skill (F)]
[Acquired: 5 Stat Points]
[Acquired: Rare Chest]
[Do you want to open the chest? Yes / No]
"Whoa, so many windows. I got the skill I needed, and I can now improve it with this body."
"As for the stat points, I'll save them. I can't accelerate my growth overnight—people would get suspicious."
"Now, what's in the chest?"
[Opening Rare Chest…]
[Obtained:
– Chakra Affinity Identification Paper
– 20 Gold
– Substitution Jutsu Scroll]
"Nice. Can I convert gold to ryo?"
(Ryo is the currency used in the Naruto world.)
[Yes, host may do that.]
"So how much is 1 gold in ryo?"
[Processing…]
[1 Gold = 20 Ryo]
"What? That's a lot! Looks like I'm going to be filthy rich."
"Back to training… System, how do I level up the chakra control skill?"
[Since you're a baby, the only suitable training is reducing the time it takes to complete one full chakra circulation through your body.]
"Got it. Let's begin."
Naruto closed his eyes again, focusing on his belly to witness that beautiful scene once more—
a sea of warm chakra, more organized than before.
"Initially, it took me 6 hours to complete one cycle. Now, I'll try to beat that."
"Let's go."
After 5 and a half hours, Naruto finished circulating chakra through his body.
"System, how long did I take?"
[Host took 5 hours.]
"Good."
"Now let's study my tenketsu points. System, is there a book about that in the store?"
[Yes.]
"Show it."
[Basic Tenketsu Book —> 2 Gold]
"Buy it and display its content."
[Purchased (-2 Gold)]
[Displaying Book Content…]
"Alright, I'll start reading."
One hour later…
"What? I'm done? I thought it would take me longer. Is this because of the Memory Book skill?"
[Yes.]
"Let's summarize:
The human body has many tenketsu points.
Each controls the chakra flow in part of the body.
They can be seen with the Hyūga clan's Byakugan.
And with their Gentle Fist style, they can temporarily seal these points to stop an opponent's chakra flow."
"Are they like chakra seals?"
[Yes. You can think of them that way. But unlike seals that can be broken, once tenketsu points are closed, they remain sealed for a time.]
"Ah, I see. Now the important question—can I learn Gentle Fist taijutsu?"
[Yes, host can learn it.]
"Great! I'll ask Hinata to guide me in the future."
"Now, the only obstacle is that it'll take a long time before I can walk, read, or write. I guess by the time I wake up, I'll be at the orphanage.
So the only thing I can do now is train chakra control.
After many months, I think I'll be able to complete a full cycle in just two minutes.
Don't you agree, System?"
[Yes.]
"Now for physical training—System, what's the appropriate age to start?"
[Seven years old.]
"What? So you're saying I won't be doing taijutsu training until I enter the academy?"
[No. I mean that intense and early physical training can harm vital functions—like growth.
The host can study jutsu techniques now and try to apply them when the time is right.]
"Yeah, you're right. I remember studying that in my previous life.
At age seven, a child's bones are ready and prepared for growth."
(Author's Note: Of course, I made all this up. I don't know if it's medically accurate. Anyway, let's continue.)
"Okay, I've reached my limit. I'm starving. I guess I'll eat and sleep. Seriously, baby bodies are the worst."
At that moment, Naruto began crying.
His cries echoed through the dim room, lit only by the faint moonlight streaming through the window.
The woman entered, responding to the infant's cries, holding a milk bottle in one hand.
She gently picked him up as if carrying her own child and began feeding him—Naruto drank eagerly and with excitement.
She smiled while looking at the blonde baby with love and tenderness.
After finishing the bottle, she carefully laid his sleeping body on the bed, where the moonlight reflected off the glass.
A new morning dawned.
Warm sunlight streamed onto the sleeping baby's bed.
Naruto felt its warmth and opened his eyes.
"What? I haven't been moved to the orphanage yet?"
Naruto was surprised. He had expected to wake up in a new place—but that hadn't happened yet.
"Wait… today—isn't it the day of my parents' funeral?"
[Accessing Memory Book skill…]
[No. The funeral is tomorrow. Today is the reappointment ceremony of the Third Hokage.]
"Oh yeah… So I guess I'll be moved after the council meeting."
Naruto's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of someone entering.
It was the woman—
or as Naruto now wanted to call her: the caretaker.
She walked in holding two bottles—
one with milk, as usual, and the other with water.
But Naruto didn't notice that.
He was staring at her face—marked by sadness and grief.
"What's wrong? Is she sad because I'm leaving?"
[Analyzing facial features…]
[Analysis complete. Woman appears sad because she won't see host again.]
"What? System, you never told me you had this feature."
[Host asked to skip the explanation.]
"Oh right… Once we're done, I want a full rundown."
[Affirmative.]
At that moment, the woman approached Naruto and fed him the milk bottle.
After five minutes, she gave him the water bottle.
Water is one of the most important elements for building the body and bones—he would need it in abundance.
"My medical knowledge is paying off. That's good—my past life wasn't wasted."
"Ms. Soko, it's time."
Both Naruto and Soko—the caretaker—heard a voice from behind the door.
"Anbu," Naruto thought quickly before Soko replied.
"Alright."
She picked up the baby from his bed and walked toward the Anbu behind the door.
"Here he is."
She handed Naruto to the cat-masked Anbu, who reached out to receive him.
"All of the child's essentials are in the bag."
Soko pointed to the bag on her left.
"Got it."
The masked man responded, took the bag, and disappeared from the house—leaving Soko whispering:
"Goodbye, Naruto. I'll miss you."
Outside, a man in a black vest with a cat mask, only his silver, broom-like hair visible, leapt across rooftops with the warm sunlight shining above.
He held a blonde infant in one arm, and a bag in the other.
Naruto stared at the man, wondering:
"Is this Kakashi? I had my doubts when I heard his voice, but up close, he really looks like him. What do you think, System?"
[Analyzing target…]
[Accessing Memory Book ability…]
[Match percentage: 91%]
"So it is him. That's reassuring—
Wait, no. He knows that the Nine-Tails that killed his teacher is inside me.
But he doesn't know I'm his son."
"That's bad… But on the other hand, he won't disobey the Hokage's orders.
Yeah, because he's the Anbu captain."
Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a large facility ahead.
It was massive—surrounded by playgrounds on all sides.
He also noticed a small forest on the opposite side of the entrance.
"System, what do you think? I'm thinking of using that forest as a training spot… until I get kicked out, of course."
[Yes, it's a good training location.]
Naruto couldn't examine the orphanage's exterior much—he was suddenly at its doorstep.
"Are we already here? Kakashi's speed is insane."
When they arrived, one of the caretakers greeted them with red cheeks, clearly flustered.
She walked up, took the bag and the baby from Kakashi, and placed Naruto in a crib inside one of the hundreds of rooms in the facility—his bag placed beside him.
"So, another chapter begins…
Damn it, how long will it take for my body to grow enough for me to walk? I want to explore the place."
"That woman's behavior is decent enough.
I guess rumors about me haven't spread yet."
"Give it a day or two, and I'll be suffering from hunger and pain throughout my stay here."
"I'm thinking about speeding up my plan to claim my parents' estate—but it's not up to me. It depends on the Hokage's visit."
"I guess that plan will take two years to execute."
(Looks like the next chapter will be a time skip…)