As administrative matters concluded, nma's shadow clone prepared for dispersal. Before dissipating, he made one final visit to Uzumaki Misaki—the naless woman from the original tiline who'd been condemned to die, slowly consud by Grass Village ninja.
Now she lived peacefully within the Ember organization's underground sanctuary, her days filled with quiet prosperity. When she saw nma again, the wariness that had once defined her was completely gone. Tears gathered in her eyes as she faced her savior, gratitude spilling over in desperate thanks. She even tried to drop into a formal dogeza, but nma caught her arms—he'd never been comfortable with such ceremonial displays.
The system chid right on schedule.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations Host: Bond Level 5 established with canon character "Uzumaki Misaki"!]
[Points Gained: 50]
'Seems a bit low.' Naruto mused internally, though the disappointnt faded quickly. In the original story, this woman existed solely to emphasize Karin's tragic background. Changing such a fate mattered far more than any point total.
As the clone's mories integrated, Naruto's consciousness snapped back to the Academy classroom. Cherry blossoms cycled through their eternal dance outside the windows—blooming, falling, renewing. Days flowed by in deceptive tranquility.
Without major plot events looming, Naruto enjoyed what most would call a perfect childhood. Daily training with Satsuki, his gender-swapped best friend. Genuine friendships with clan heirs who'd beco his inner circle—the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Kiba, Shino. All of them now treasured companions.
But beneath this idyllic surface lay borderline obsessive training. The current Naruto had evolved beyond the system's "hard work cheat" into sothing more desperate—a "life-or-death effort cheat."
After mastering the four chakra natures gifted by his system, he'd self-trained wind release as well. Only ti now stood between him and perfect mastery of all five basic elents.
His Kongō Fūsa training never ceased. Supported by the system's massive chakra reserves, the golden chains he could manifest now made even the Nine-Tails shiver involuntarily within its seal.
One evening, after their usual taijutsu session, Might Guy wiped sweat from his brow, eyes bright with characteristic enthusiasm. "Naruto! I've encountered a most unique student recently!"
"Though this young man possesses absolutely zero ninjutsu talent, I am certain—he will beco formidable through sheer determination!"
Naruto smiled knowingly. 'So Guy-sensei has found Lee.'
Rock Lee—arguably the least naturally gifted individual in the entire Naruto universe. Cursed with a body that couldn't generate even trace amounts of chakra, unable to perform the most fundantal techniques. He believed absolutely in his creed that "hard work surpasses genius," never realizing he was surrounded not by re prodigies, but by walking cheat codes.
In the series' later stages, when power scaling reached absurd heights, Lee proved that effort alone couldn't bridge certain gaps. Guy, however, demonstrated that dedication could at least achieve mutual destruction with gods.
anwhile, Naruto's classmates accelerated their own growth. Shikamaru and Choji had begun learning clan techniques—impossible not to feel pressure when your daily companion was the Academy's most brilliant student. Even lazy Shikamaru now seriously studied advanced applications of his family's Kagemane no Jutsu.
Kiba had thrown himself into Gijū Ninpō training, charging around practice grounds with Akamaru, perfecting his "when in doubt, Gatsūga" philosophy.
As for Satsuki... his childhood friend had beco increasingly demanding in their training. No matter how desperately Naruto pushed himself, she remained unsatisfied, constantly frowning and requesting additional drills.
Naruto couldn't grasp her reasoning. Satsuki feared the power imbalance that would co with Sharingan awakening. She sensed she was approaching that threshold age, and as an Uchiha, activating her kekkei genkai would trigger exponential strength growth.
Their current sparring sessions appeared evenly matched only because Naruto deliberately held back. But Satsuki worried—what if her eventual Sharingan created too wide a gap? What if her parents deed Naruto unworthy?
This anxiety drove her to almost manic training demands. Her own Katon hand seals grew faster daily, Raiton techniques more devastating, shuriken work reaching artistic levels of complexity. Recently she'd even begun studying genjutsu and Shunshin no Jutsu applications.
Training, friendship, guidance from Iruka and Guy—two years passed in this deceptively peaceful rhythm. Just as Naruto calculated the approaching Uchiha massacre tiline and prepared to spend every system point on nma's intervention—
[Ding!]
The notification shattered the night's quiet, making Naruto bolt upright in bed.
[Major Canon Event Detected: Main Quest "Uchiha Massacre" Triggered]
[Mission Objective: Following location guidance, prevent Uchiha Shisui's suicide and alter the Uchiha clan's extinction]
[Mission Reward: Stand Ability "Gold Experience"]
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