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As the tiger lunged with a growl sharp enough to startle even a seasoned shinobi, Naruto moved purely on instinct.
His knee met the beast's face with a brutal crack, sending it flying through the underbrush. Leaves scattered. Dust kicked up in a thick cloud. The trees trembled in the wake of the force.
Naruto blinked, staring at his leg.
I didn't even think… I just moved.
But before he could fully register it, the tiger growled again, its massive frame limping back into the clearing, blood dripping from its jaw but its eyes still full of rage.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and raised his hand again—this time, not with instinct, but with purpose.
He focused on that strange, swirling power inside him. Not chakra. Something else. He tried to mix it with chakra, to guide it as he'd read in the old scrolls... but it rejected the fusion violently.
Fine… then just on its own, he thought.
The moment he isolated the power and funneled it into his palm, a strange pressure built up around him. His fingers snapped forward—and with that single flick, a thin beam of raw, soundless energy lanced through the air.
There was no explosion. No flashy blast.
Just pure force.
The tiger was sent flying—this time across an entire section of the forest. Trees snapped. The earth buckled. Silence fell.
Naruto stood there for a moment, his breath steady, though his eyes were wide.
The wind moved around him unnaturally—like it feared him.
"…That was new," he whispered, staring at his hand again.
There was no burn, no injury. But the power was terrifying.
His eyes, dark and void-like for a moment, slowly returned to normal. He turned, sensing a few approaching chakra signatures.
He didn't even need to try—he could see them through the forest.
Several chunin were dashing through the trees, their movements fast by shinobi standards.
But to him… they were moving in slow motion.
He leapt into the air effortlessly, gaining height far beyond normal jumps. Mid-air, time seemed to slow even more.
He could see it all.
The sweat trickling down a chunin's face. The subtle shift in another's footstep. The rise and fall of their breath. The way their muscles moved beneath their armor.
It was all… too slow.
I shouldn't be able to see this.
Naruto didn't stop. He twisted mid-air and blurred forward with such unnatural speed that he outpaced sound. His body responded like it had done this a thousand times before. A few afterimages flickered in the wind—shadows of a child moving faster than thought.
By the time the shinobi reached the clearing, there was nothing left.
Now far from the forest's edge, Naruto emerged in a quiet district of the village.
He walked calmly along the streets, his cloak fluttering gently. People were around—merchants, civilians, a few off-duty shinobi. But something was off.
Their steps were slow.
Too slow.
Naruto tilted his head. One man raised a hand to wave at someone across the street. Naruto blinked. The hand was still rising.
Another step. Another moment.
He realized that even their breathing was delayed compared to his perception.
If they took a single step… he could've taken a hundred.
This world is moving in slow motion.
He clenched his fists. The strange energy was flowing through him again—quietly, rhythmically, like a second heartbeat.
He focused on his center.
Lower it… reduce the output… slow down…
The sensation of overwhelming time and perception began to recede. The world started moving again—first like molasses, then like honey, then water, then finally…
Normal.
But then—a sharp spike of pain.
His head throbbed. His vision blurred slightly.
"Urgh…"
He steadied himself against a nearby wall, the cold stone grounding him. As his vision cleared, he noticed several villagers staring at him.
Not with fear. Not with curiosity.
Though a few villagers cast strange glances his way—most likely because they hadn't seen the boy appear from anywhere—they quickly dismissed it. Just a kid, they thought. No threat. No presence. Just another face in the crowd.
Naruto sighed quietly, shaking his head. I should go home, he thought, stuffing his hands into the sleeves of his oversized shirt. I'll figure this power out later…
And with that, he slipped away, the world returning to its normal pace—unaware of the growing storm nestled in the soul of the quiet child they never bothered to know.
Three Years Later.
Time passed, and so did the seasons.
In those three years, Naruto began learning more about his strange power. Slowly, cautiously, he tested it in secret—far from the village's eyes, deep in the forests, atop cliffs, beneath waterfalls. No one knew. No one cared.
And Naruto had long stopped hoping they would.
Even his parents… never once asked where he went. Never noticed the bruises he came home with. Never saw the subtle glow in his eyes or the mysterious flickers of energy around him at night.
They were far too busy.
Flashback. Naruto, age five.
The Hokage's residence was bustling with celebration. Banners fluttered through the air. Jonin and chunin gathered in the courtyard, offering their congratulations.
Today was the beginning of destiny.
Minato Namikaze—the Fourth Hokage—and his wife Kushina stood proudly before the villagers, their hands on the shoulders of Manma and Naruko.
"The time has come!" Minato declared. "My children will begin their path to fulfill the prophecy foretold by the Great Elder Toad. They will become Konoha's greatest protectors—no, the saviors of this world."
Cheers echoed through the air. Jiraiya nodded with pride. Tsunade stood with arms crossed but a proud smile on her face.
Naruto, standing at the back, didn't cheer.
He simply watched.
His fingers were clenched at his sides—not out of jealousy, but something deeper. Disconnection.
The ceremony went on for hours.
That evening, when the crowds had gone and the lights dimmed, Naruto quietly walked into the main room. His parents were seated on cushions, chatting and sipping tea.
He hesitated for only a moment.
Then he stepped forward.
That other power—way stronger than this chakra thing—was huge. It felt like it could destroy the whole village. No... not just the village, maybe even the whole planet if it wanted to. That thought made Naruto shiver a bit. He didn't know what it was or what he was supposed to do with that kind of power. And honestly, he was a little scared to try anything with it.
Still, he decided to ask his parents about it.
"Um… excuse me, Dad?" Naruto said.
Minato blinked in surprise, then turned to look at him. "Uh… Naruto, do you need something?"
Naruto scratched his cheek. "Well… I wanted to ask about, you know… training."
Minato blinked again but then shook his head. "Naruto, now's not the time. When you turn eight, you'll enter the Academy. You'll learn everything there."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What about Manma and Naruko? Why are they getting training now? Why can't I train too?"
His voice wasn't angry. It was calm. Detached.
Minato didn't really notice the tone. But if he had, maybe he would've understood something deeper.
The truth was, Naruto had always been different. Even when they were little, Manma and Naruko would play together while Naruto stayed at a distance, just watching, always curious, always quiet. He never really connected with them.
Minato just sighed and said, "It's nothing, Naruto. Right now, the world needs Manma and Naruko. When the time comes, we'll train you too."
Then he added, "There's something I want to tell you. You see, both Manma and Naruko… they're special."
Naruto raised an eyebrow again. "Special? Does that have anything to do with that other kind of chakra—or energy—I can feel inside their bodies?"
Minato stiffened.
Naruto was watching closely, trying to see if this would cause trouble with the whole 'destiny' talk.
Jiraiya's eyes went wide. So did Kushina's. Even Tsunade looked surprised.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Jiraiya said. "Kid, what do you mean 'other kind of energy'?"
Naruto shrugged casually. "I mean what I said. I can feel some kind of power inside both Manma and Naruko. It's different from normal chakra. They were doing those flashy training stances like kids showing off, and I could clearly feel something strange in their stomachs. That energy—it's not chakra. But both of them have it, and it feels kinda similar between them."
He paused and added, "I don't have that energy inside me. I can tell. But Mom… she has some traces of it. Leftover, I think."
That made Kushina blink in surprise as she turned to Minato. "Minato-kun… do you think Naruto is a sensor?"
Minato was about to respond when Tsunade spoke up first.
"Well," she said thoughtfully, "it sounds like a sensory ability—similar to my grandmother, Mito Uzumaki. She could sense the chakra of the Tailed Beasts and even the emotions of others. If Naruto can't sense emotions though, it might just be a more limited Uzumaki ability. Definitely weaker than Mito's, if you ask me."
Naruto noticed something strange in Tsunade's eyes—like she was trying to test him with genjutsu—but he didn't say anything.
Minato smiled a little. "Well, Naruto, it does sound like you have some kind of sensory ability. Don't worry. When the time is right, I'll train you myself. Who knows, maybe you'll even join the sensory corps of Konoha. It's a unit that helps guard the village using sensory and barrier techniques."
He laughed softly, "But that's for later. You'd need to reach chunin level first anyway."
Jiraiya, though, was already thinking differently. He could tell Naruto wouldn't become anything great. Not like Manma and Naruko—those two, with the power sealed inside them, would go far.
Naruto, meanwhile, just shook his head. This wasn't the answer he'd been looking for. He could feel it—Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya, and even Tsunade didn't have the kind of power he felt inside himself. Not even Manma and Naruko did.
Sure, this thing called "chakra" was interesting. But compared to his power, it felt small. Unimportant. So Naruto just said casually, "All right then. I'll see you around."
Minato watched him leave with a bit of worry in his eyes. He was afraid Naruto might become bitter or lash out—maybe even throw a tantrum like most kids would. But Naruto didn't do any of that.
Then again, Naruto had always been distant from the family. Quiet. Detached. Not in an angry way… just disconnected.
Still, Minato knew he had to train Manma and Naruko. If Jiraiya's sense of destiny was true, then those two had to be ready. They had to be prepared for whatever danger was coming to the world.
"Alright," Jiraiya said, "maybe we should start Manma and Naruko's training now."
The others nodded.
Before they left for the training grounds, Minato gave one last glance toward Naruto, who was walking out the door. He felt a little guilty, but comforted himself by thinking, I'll train him some other time. Yeah… that would be fine.
Meanwhile, Naruto just kept walking. Then he stopped and looked around.
With a small breath, he began to channel the power inside his body.
Suddenly, the world began to slow down around him.
He could feel it—the energy in the air, the people walking and talking, their movements sluggish like they were underwater. Their presence seemed to fade. His senses sharpened as if everything around him had slowed, but really, he had just moved beyond them.
A small smirk appeared on Naruto's face. He liked this ability. Whenever he used his power, it felt like the whole world moved in slow motion.
But even as he enjoyed the moment, he shook his head.
This… this wasn't normal.
:: End of flashback ::
Now, Naruto was seven years old.