"Damn fox demon, go to hell..." hissed a villager, his eyes narrowed with hatred.
"I feel sick just looking at his face..." another chimed in, their voice thick with disgust.
"Why does Hokage-sama allow a monster like him to live in this village..." grumbled a mother, pulling her child's hand tightly, drawing them away from the boy's figure.
"I really want to... finish him off..." whispered an adult man, his fists clenched tightly, his eyes blazing with fury.
"..."
Along the dusty street, rows of Konoha villagers stood rigidly on both sides, their gazes piercing the blond boy walking alone like daggers. Insult after insult flowed like the whispers of snakes, poisoning the morning air that should have been fresh.
However, amidst the torrent of hatred, the spiky-haired boy seemed so accustomed to it. Far from retaliating with anger, a bright smile bloomed on his face, as if the morning sun itself was greeting them. With a nimble wave, his hand cheerfully gestured towards the villagers who hated him.
"Hi, good morning everyone!" he called out with an innocent voice that only served to pierce the hearts of those who loathed him.
Seeing the seemingly forced cheerfulness on the boy's face, the anger in the hearts of the Konoha villagers surged even more. Some even held their breath, their cheeks flushing with suppressed emotion.
How can a monster like you be so happy! they thought in unison, an unspoken sentence echoing strongly in each of their minds.
A moment later, harsh voices and curses erupted again, filling the entire street. The blond boy could only manage a thin smile upon hearing them, quickening his pace, jogging towards his shabby home while occasionally dodging small pebbles thrown in his direction.
Bang!
The rickety wooden door slammed shut. At the same moment, the bright smile on the blond boy's face slowly faded, replaced by a cold and flat expression, as sharp as ice on a mountain peak.
"So annoying... a bunch of bastards..." he murmured softly, his tone low and heavy.
His name was Naruto.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Yes, he was the protagonist of the world of Naruto. A reality he had fully realized five years ago when he suddenly woke up to find himself staring at the gentle face of Uzumaki Kushina. Then came the mysterious masked man, Namikaze Minato, and the terrifying aura of the nine-tailed fox's silhouette... A flash of nightmare that led him to one bitter conclusion: he was reborn as the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto.
However, the fate of an anime protagonist did not grant him any special privileges. Instead, he grew up in a sea of hatred from all the residents of Konoha Village. After the life-risking sacrifice of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina to seal the Nine-Tails, Sarutobi Hiruzen chose to hide the truth about him. That decision resulted in the resentment, hatred, and anger that should have been directed at the Kyuubi being mercilessly vented upon him, the container.
Since he was a baby, the persecution had never stopped, and it continued to this day. And he had no choice but to hide his pain and anger, wearing the mask of a foolish child who always smiled brightly in front of the people who hated him.
"A bunch of... damn bastards..." he whispered again, this time with a firmer tone, but it only echoed within his wounded heart.
"..."
Naruto took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil of emotions that were almost overflowing. He walked listlessly towards his small, messy kitchen and began preparing two packs of instant ramen with hot water. He knew very well that instant noodles were not nutritious or healthy, but he had no other choice. As the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki, he had difficulty buying decent food in Konoha. If there was any, it would surely be expired or moldy, the result of subtle sabotage born from endless hatred.
After his stomach felt slightly full, Naruto sat leaning against the kitchen wall and took out a worn book. The title was "Chakra Purification Technique," a mandatory book for every aspiring ninja distributed by the academy.
Diligently, he read every line and sentence, trying to understand the concepts written within. After a while, he nodded slowly, his mind beginning to piece together an understanding.
"Almost the same as I imagined... I need to extract spiritual energy and physical energy from within my body, then combine them..." he muttered to himself.
"Spiritual energy is a person's mental strength, and physical energy is the nutrients stored in the body's cells..." he continued, trying to connect the theory with his own condition. "For spiritual energy, I think I have quite a lot as a time-traveler who has lived two lives. But for physical energy... this body of mine..."
Naruto stared at his skinny body with a blank gaze. Due to his limited finances and the discrimination he faced, instant ramen had been his staple food for years. As a result, his physical fitness lagged far behind his peers, and he even suffered from significant malnutrition.
With a body like this, it was hard to imagine how much chakra he could produce. However, after considering everything, Naruto decided to still try to purify his chakra. After all, becoming a ninja was the only path that might lead him out of this life full of suffering. Even if his body became weaker due to this process, he was sure there would be an opportunity to regain his strength in the future.
With a burning determination, Naruto no longer hesitated. However, before starting the exhausting chakra purification process, there was one important thing he had to do first.
Naruto held out his right hand, gently pushing the empty air in front of him, and whispered softly, "Open the door!"
A faint creaking sound came from the seemingly intangible air. Slowly, Naruto pulled out a transparent door from the void. He was already used to this strange phenomenon. With the remaining strength in his body, he reached out and took several items from behind the air door.
A bucket full of fresh milk and several savory-smelling sausages. This was the food he had carefully saved for his last resort.
And this was his "golden finger," a devil fruit: the Door-Door Fruit. By consuming his physical energy, he could turn anything he touched into a door, and he could open that door at any time, leading to an invisible personal storage space.
The reason why Naruto possessed this unique ability was rooted in the terrifying night of the Kyuubi's Attack. At that time, he was just a baby in the arms of a mysterious masked man, witnessing with innocent eyes the fierce battle between that man and Namikaze Minato.
Hiraishin no Jutsu! Such a subtle divine power!
The two space-time techniques collided fiercely, creating fluctuations and distortions in space. Amidst the chaos, a strange fruit fell and landed right in his cradle. With his small hand gripping it tightly, without understanding anything, he bit into the fruit with his still toothless mouth.
From that moment on, he gained the ability to open doors. However, because his body was still too weak, he was only able to control this ability a year ago. Even now, he had to exert all his strength just to open an air door and steal some food from the store to survive.
I hope that after purifying my chakra, my physical strength will increase a little... Naruto thought as he devoured the precious milk and sausages. After his stomach was full, he closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the cold kitchen floor.
A few minutes later, with incredible focus, Naruto began to purify his spiritual and physical energy separately. The two energies slowly merged within his abdomen.
Little by little, a vortex of light blue energy formed. Just as the energy was fully formed, Naruto suddenly opened his blue eyes wide.
"What is that!?" he exclaimed inwardly, shock clearly etched on his face.
In an instant, he truly saw a door within his mind. However, this door was vastly different from the air doors he usually opened. The portal seemed endless, towering high through the clouds of his imagination, as if it filled his entire consciousness.
Its entire surface was a greenish-blue with ripples of calm waves, and he could even faintly hear the sound of crashing waves, as if the portal was made of boundless seawater.
"Is that... the door that seals the Kyuubi? But shouldn't that door be red...?" Naruto murmured with a confused expression.
After a moment of silence, Naruto gritted his teeth and closed his eyes again. In his dark consciousness, he saw the same blue door again. Carefully, he tried to touch the portal with his consciousness.
Suddenly, an understanding flashed through his mind, and he whispered with an undisguised tone of shock:
"This... is..."
"...the gateway to the world of One Piece!"