Konohagakure No Sato :
Uzumaki Apartment:
Naruto stared into the mirror until the last traces of doubt vanished. With his memories fully integrated, he accepted the gravity of his new life, ready to navigate the dangers of the Shinobi World with a clarity he never had before.
Even with a dual perspective and the maturity of a twenty-two-year-old man, Naruto found his primary motivation unchanged.
The experiences of his past life only sharpened his fixation on the Hokage seat, transforming a child's plea for attention into a man's relentless pursuit of power.
That was the one goal both lives could finally agree on.
The convergence of these two lives forged a psyche with a jarringly different perspective. He no longer felt like a typical child; his mind now possessed a cold, crystalline depth that replaced his old impulsiveness .
With his stomach protesting the lack of food and the delay in his routine, Naruto finally stepped away from the mirror. It was time to stop staring and start moving; his daily rituals couldn't wait any longer
Repulsed by the stale scent of the bathroom, Naruto finished his routine as quickly as possible. He washed the sleep from his eyes and stepped back into the main room—a familiar home that now felt like an alien territory .
"Ughhh"
A groan of pure exhaustion left him as he took in the state of his home. Between the stained, mottled walls and the piles of discarded noodle cups, the apartment felt more like a junkyard than a home .
The mess was easily a week old, perhaps more. Dust coated every surface, and the floors were slick with grime. Scattered across the room like discarded shells were those dirty orange monstrosities he had once called clothes .
" I really lived like this huh"
Despite the squalor surrounding him, Naruto felt no shame. Shame was for those who had failed him , for himself, he felt only a cold, lingering bitterness as he looked at the ruins of his childhood
His memories revealed a pathetic, calculated strategy. He had kept his clothes filthy specifically so people would react; in his mind, even the Hokage's scolding was better than the crushing silence of being alone .
( all for acknowledgement )
The filth was a plea for attention. He had lived in squalor just to bait the Hokage into visiting him, trading his dignity for a few minutes of the old man's time .
His avoidance of bathing was a desperate, if misguided, attempt to be seen. He hoped that his lack of cleanliness would be a signal, leading Iruka or the Hokage to step in and provide the attention and guidance he craved
He recalled his childhood obsession with the hot springs. It was a tactical plea for inclusion; he knew that with Iruka or the Hokage by his side, the public couldn't shun him, and the owners wouldn't dare bar the door.
For a few hours, he could pretend to be a normal part of the village
He looked at the mess and realized his younger self had used these tasks as anchors for human connection.
Doing laundry or cleaning the apartment weren't burdens to the boy; they were opportunities to be near someone—anyone—who would acknowledge his existence.
( all for acknowledgement )
A darker fear lurked beneath his younger self's neglect:
if he became self-sufficient, would Grandpa Hokage stop visiting? If he no longer appeared helpless, would Iruka-sensei stop caring? He worried that by proving he didn't need their help, he would inadvertently prove he didn't need them
Acknowledging the desperate logic of his past, the newly awakened Naruto moved toward the cupboard near the entrance.
He began gathering cleaning supplies with a sharp, focused efficiency, determined to strip away the filth of his former life .
Because Naruto knew that no matter what , he is not gonna live like this .
Ironically, the cupboard was well-stocked. Since Naruto had never cleaned a single surface himself, the detergents and rags were brand new, ready for the overhaul he was about to begin.
( let's begin )
Naruto realized his 'grandfather's' visits were a necessity, not just a choice. His status as the Nine-Tails' host and his lineage as the Fourth Hokage's son made him a critical asset.
Hiruzen had no choice but to monitor the seal's stability, ensuring the village's ultimate weapon remained secure .
Naruto began with the laundry, staring at the sea of dirty orange jackets that had once been his only way to be seen. Finding nothing clean to wear, he gathered the lot and hauled them to the bathroom, ready to start fresh .
Naruto notices the overall apartment .
Naruto surveyed the open floor plan. While officially a studio, the oversized rooms and broad windows were a tactical anomaly. T
he apartment was expansive, with large windows flooding each area with light. It was a perfect home for a child .
( but an even better cage for a Jinchūriki )
His new mind quickly grasped the truth: the 'appropriate' windows were observation ports, allowing the ANBU to maintain a constant, unobstructed line of sight on their target .
The situation was far better than Naruto had feared. While the villagers shunned him with a cold, palpable dread, their hostility was passive; they kept their distance, but as of yet, their fear had not boiled over into physical violence.
( good enough )
For as long as Naruto could remember, Grandpa—no, the Third Hokage—had visited him exactly twice a month. It was a rhythmic, calculated tradition that Naruto now viewed with a newfound scrutiny.
The visits had started twice a week, but as Naruto grew older and was moved into the apartment, they slowed to once a week, and then to twice a month.
The older Naruto became, the more the Hokage seemed to trust the silence of the walls to do his job for him.
( 9 year old is quite old ......heh )
It was a meticulously crafted routine: the bi-weekly doses of the Will of Fire, the monthly hospital checkups—the last of which he'd just cleared a week ago—and the 'spontaneous' fishing trips at the lake.
Even their time at the hot springs felt scripted, always accompanied by a speech designed to steer his ambition toward the Hokage seat .
( I can make use of this )
He remembered those dinners with the Hokage, every meal seasoned with the heavy weight of 'cultured morals.'
Standing now before the rusted washing machine, Uzumaki Naruto bit his lip; he struggled to find the words to describe this jarring dissonance between the man he once was and the boy he had become .
The dissonance was staggering. Part of him felt the instinctive need to thank the old man for his care, while the other side saw only a cold strategist—a man who had spent years carefully molding a lonely child's heart to suit the needs of a village that had otherwise discarded him.
Was the Hokage a grandfather or a sculptor? Naruto couldn't decide whether to be thankful for the warmth or to hate the man for spending a decade effectively brainwashing him into becoming the Konoha's perfect, self-sacrificing shield .
" How Complicated "
Emerging from the bathroom, Naruto cast a final, lingering look at the desolate apartment. He immediately set to work, scrubbing the floors and wiping down the mottled walls.
A desperate attempt to drown out his racing thoughts with the rhythm of manual labor .
The 'accident' and the white room haunted his thoughts even as he cleaned. He carried the weight of his parents' karma—a reward he should have spent after dying at a peaceful old age, but now he forced to use as his only weapon in this fantasy reality.
Winning the lottery for a new life in the shinobi world had felt like a miracle in that white void. But standing in this derelict apartment, he realized his mistake.
He had drawn the name Uzumaki Naruto thinking of power and glory, never once considering the years of neglect and 'mental torture' that came before the legend .
( To think this is the life that I was lokking forward to )
Exhausted, Naruto slumped into a chair and looked within. He was met by a dazzling Bright Diamond, a singular spark of hope that served as his reward for a lifetime of tragedy and a second chance at destiny.
=========================
The Sign-in System
Host - Uzumaki Naruto
Status - healthy
Skills - N/A
============================
That was the extent of it. No stat sheets, no attribute points, and no health bars.
The Sign-In System had arrived without so much as a manual or a basic explanation, leaving him to decipher its mechanics entirely on his own
He was a man of two worlds, but the bridge between them was missing. The White Room was nothing more than a faint, sterile echo in the back of his mind—a memory so limited it barely qualified as a dream.
( but I still remember Earth )
He was a shinobi now, yet the details of his life on Earth burned bright in his mind, refusing to fade into the shadows of his new world.
Stepping onto the terrace, Naruto looked out at the village landmark. There it was—the Great Hokage Rock, sporting rainbows and ridiculous beards. He stared at his masterpiece, but the pride he expected to feel was replaced by a strange, quiet distance .
Below the Rock, the workers were already busy cleaning the Hokage Rock, their voices low and heavy with resentment. They were cursing the prankster with every scrub, unaware that the boy they hated had changed overnight.
" hmm Just approaching will be hassle "
The Hokage Rock was the obvious choice for his first Sign-In, but he wasn't a fool. The shinobi and ANBU would be guarding the stone faces like hawks after yesterday's stunt.
He'd have to wait at least a week before the heat died down enough for him to move. .
He also had no desire to face Hokage-sama so soon. Naruto still needed time to fully integrate his memories and calibrate his new reality before standing under the scrutinizing gaze of the 'God of Shinobi.
His three years at the Academy had provided him with the basics of the shinobi craft. The introductory courses involved a mix of history, weapon handling, and
Basic Infiltration , espionage
Basic camouflage , Disguise
Basic Surveillance , awareness
The Academy was no ordinary school. Every lesson was designed to teach a child how to disappear, how to watch, and how to kill. It was the birth of a Shinobi, a title that was just a polite way of saying assassin .
Naruto felt fortunate to have awakened at this specific juncture, particularly with the Academy closed for the holidays.
Transitioning between the end of his third year and the start of his fourth, Naruto now had the rare luxury of time—a private window to master his new reality before the eyes of the village were back upon him
" This is in the middle of may and Academy starts at the beginning of July , give or take ....40 to 45 days "
Naruto grabbed the laundry from the bathroom and stepped onto the terrace. As he began hanging the clothes to dry, his mind was already shifting toward the more important tasks of the day
" yosshh at least 2 or 3 times like this and all the laundry will be finished "
As he hung the clothes on the terrace, Naruto's mind cataloged the iconic 'Sign-In' locations throughout the village: the Academy, the Hospital, and the Hokage's Office.
Yet, he quickly suppressed the urge; he couldn't afford to take risks under the watchful eyes of seasoned ANBU who would spot any uncharacteristic behavior in an instant
( for now , I need to still act a little like before .......but I need to start the change too )
A clean apartment was one thing, but those small, subconscious habits were harder to fake. The ANBU had spent years watching him, filling files on the Hokage's desk with his every move. If he wasn't careful, his newfound maturity would become his biggest red flag
Naruto would change, but he would do it slowly. Children were impulsive, and he would use that to his advantage. If he moved piece by piece, the Third Hokage would see a boy finally growing up, rather than a stranger inhabiting a child's skin.
The Sign-In System was limited to a single daily entry, and Naruto had already calculated the most logical starting point. It would be right here, in his own apartment.
The place where his new life began—to be the foundation of his future power .
"*fuhhhh*"
breathing out inside the bathroom , where no one should be looking , Naruto focuses on the Diamond inside And whispers
"Sign in"
================================
Ding !
Sign-in location - Uzumaki Naruto's apartment
Reward : Unique skill - Inner Strength
Inner Strength - The mental and emotional resilience that allows One to persevere through difficulties It is not Physical but Mental fortitude forged through Loneliness and Self-reliance . It allows you to manage emotions, stay focused on goals despite setbacks to Find ways to your success.
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" Huh what's this nonsense "