Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
"I transmigrated?!"
"And…into Uzumaki Naruto?!"
By a small stream, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy sat on the ground in a daze.
He mumbled something under his breath.
As his memories merged, he realized he had transmigrated into the world of Naruto.
And, he had become the protagonist during his youth.
As a corporate drone, he had merely stayed up late for two weeks straight, then spent a night chatting with famous teachers online.
How did he unlock the title of a transmigrator?!
"Hiss…"
A jolt of pain pulled Naruto back from his memories to reality.
At the same time, a new memory surfaced in his mind.
Hunger had driven Naruto out of his home, hoping to try his luck with the last of his welfare money to buy some food.
The reason he called it "trying his luck" was because, most of the time, the people in the Village were unwilling to sell him food.
Even if he did manage to buy food, it was often low-quality, nearing its expiration date… And today, unfortunately.
He couldn't buy any food.
"The food here won't be sold to a Demon Fox Brat!"
This sentence still echoed in his ears.
Yet, he hadn't done anything wrong!
Yet, his father was Konoha's hero!
Yet, he was just a child… but with this small body, he bore the greatest malice of the Village.
"We shouldn't play with him, he's a demon fox, he'll eat people!"
"Why hasn't Hokage-sama kicked him out of the Village yet? What bad luck!"
"Damn demon fox, why aren't you dead yet!?"
… Malicious slander from adults, ostracism and bullying from children his age.
It was as if his very existence was the biggest mistake in this Village.
Helpless, little Naruto could only come to the stream to search for food to fill his stomach.
But he didn't expect that, due to long-term bullying and malnutrition from lack of sufficient food, he was too weak.
He fainted as soon as he reached the stream.
After falling, he hit the back of his head… Before losing consciousness, Naruto's only thought was how hungry he was… After receiving all the information.
A surge of nameless anger rose from his heart.
In his previous life, he was a Naruto fan.
He only knew of Naruto's passion, the boy's dreams, and the success after adventures.
But he didn't understand the loneliness beneath the passion.
Nor did he comprehend the bitterness within the dreams.
And he certainly didn't know the sorrow before success… His small body, frail from malnutrition, was riddled with old and new injuries from the malicious acts of the Village's children… This was a five-year-old child.
Just the memories alone were enough to ignite anger and hatred in his consciousness.
Let alone the young Naruto, who had personally experienced and endured the greatest malice of the entire Village… Knowing the plot, his consciousness grew even angrier.
This anger was not only directed at the ignorant villagers.
But also at the entire Konoha leadership!
Danzo, single-mindedly wanted to bring the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki into the Root Organization's sphere of influence.
So he spread rumors to isolate Naruto from the villagers, believing that a darkened heart would be more suitable for Root Organization's control.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also harbored similar thoughts.
Therefore, he did not stop Danzo's actions, and even encouraged them.
His goal was to become Naruto's only light, to gain more complete control over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
These old dogs… "Gurgle…"
The intense resentment was drowned out by hunger.
"I need to eat something first, otherwise I might become the shortest-lived transmigrator."
Naruto forced his body to stand up.
He looked around.
Naruto's worn and somewhat ill-fitting clothes were discarded nearby, suggesting that upon arriving here, Naruto had already prepared to go fishing in the river.
However, although the stream wasn't deep, it reached up to little Naruto's stomach.
At such a depth, with his current physical condition, he couldn't possibly catch any fish.
As for tools he could use, there was only a long stick, sharpened at one end.
He supposed it could be considered a spear… With that thought.
Naruto picked up the "spear" from the ground and prepared to go fishing in the stream.
[Detected fishing tool, comprehended Master-level Fishing Skill]
Suddenly, a series of electronic mixed tones flooded Naruto's mind.
Along with it, a large amount of information on how to fish surged in.
Weaving fish traps, making simple automatic fishing platforms, river-blocking automatic fishing traps… As each piece of information appeared, a gleam of light also appeared in Naruto's eyes.
His golden finger had arrived!
Urged by his body, Naruto had no time to think too much.
More important than thinking was filling his stomach.
Dragging his weary body, he began to search for suitable materials to make efficient fishing tools.
Half an hour later, a simple fish trap was thrown into the stream.
At the same time, with Master-level Fishing Skill, the "spear" in his hand also became a good tool.
After more than a dozen attempts, he finally speared a fish.
"My physical condition is too poor. Even with a skill, is it this difficult!?"
Naruto's eyes lit up as he looked at the three-finger-wide fish in his hand.
It was true that it was difficult, but it was also true that he had food.
Naruto, who was complaining but eager, took out the small knife from his bag and began to prepare the small fish.
[Proficient use of knives, comprehended Basic Swordsmanship]
The prompt sounded again.
This Basic Swordsmanship sped up Naruto's processing time.
Immediately, he started a fire and grilled the fish.
[Started a fire, comprehended Fire Release Chakra]
[Comprehended Fire Release Chakra, automatically comprehended C-rank Fire Release: Small Fire Snake Technique, C-rank Fire Release: Spark Burst Technique]
The continuous prompts filled Naruto with a hint of joy during the grilling process.
Regardless of whether this was a system or a projection of the world's will.
This awesome golden finger gave Naruto ample confidence in the future.
He wanted to live in this world by his own will.
Strength… was the foundation!
Of course, Naruto did not continue to ponder these things.
The most urgent task was to eat!
As for overturning Konoha, that was a problem to think about after he was full.
...At the same time, the Anbu Ninja secretly monitoring Naruto.
Upon seeing Naruto wake up and find food.
One of them quickly disappeared from the scene.
Inside the Hokage Office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was conducting his usual safety inspection of the bathhouse.
"Swish!"
A masked figure appeared there.
"Hokage-sama, the child has woken up and found food."
"Currently, there don't seem to be any major issues."
The Anbu Ninja reported the day's intelligence.
"Understood," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, ending his Telescope Technique.
He took off his Hokage robes.
"I'll go check on him."
"The child is also nearing school age…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking to himself, then stood up and left the Hokage Office.