Naruto woke before the alarm. Morning sunlight leaked around the curtain edges and forced his eyes open before he felt ready to move. The light made no accommodations for the day. It treated October tenth like any other date, even though the village remembered it sharply. Naruto recognized it only because he recognized everything that changed his routine.
He pushed himself upright and rubbed his face once to clear the last of sleep. The futon creaked beneath him. The room around him looked familiar in a worn way. The same cracked tile near the kitchen remained untouched. The same faint dust gathered in the corners where his cleaning never reached. He pulled on his usual shirt and shorts. The fabric tugged at old seams but held.
He stepped outside before the building stirred. The hallway smelled faintly of old wood and wet stone. He walked out the front door and let it close behind him. The hinges gave a low sound that reminded him of previous mornings, not because he felt nostalgic, but because repetition made details difficult to forget.
Konoha had not reached its full rhythm yet. Vendors arranged crates along the market path. A few shinobi crossed the rooftops with early assignments. Naruto stayed in the alleys that threaded between buildings where people rarely paid attention. The back streets gave him brief space to move without glances following him.
He passed the bakery. Warm air drifted through the open window. His stomach responded the way it always did when the smell touched him. He walked faster to avoid letting hunger settle into his thoughts for too long.
Two shopkeepers outside a tea stall stopped speaking as he passed near them. Their eyes followed him until he turned into a side street. Naruto kept his gaze ahead. Watching them would only confirm what he already knew.
He reached the academy training yard fence. The noise from earlier years never returned to him here. He used the path behind it to loop around the village perimeter. The route never stayed safe on this date, but it gave him a few extra minutes before attention caught up to him.
He walked for another block before a familiar sound reached him. Someone shouted his location from behind. He did not need to see who it was.
He ran.
The alley behind him filled with the noise of multiple sets of footsteps. They scraped across the stone in an uneven rhythm. Some voices barked orders. Others sounded eager. Naruto pushed his legs harder and chose the narrowest paths where only one person could follow at a time. The fewer bodies on his heels, the better.
He vaulted over a low stack of crates, reached a fence, and swung over it. His landing came at an awkward angle. Pain shot up his leg. He pushed forward anyway. Behind him, the group split to take alternate paths.
He cut left toward the carpenter's shop and took the route with three sharp turns. He reached the first corner and collided with a hand grabbing the back of his shirt.
His feet lost their grip. His body dropped to the ground. A young shinobi blocked his path. Another stepped behind him to trap him between them. The first one drove a foot against Naruto's ankle to keep him from rising.
"We caught him," the shinobi said.
Naruto tried to pull his leg free, but the pressure on his ankle pinned him. The crowd filled the alley seconds later. Faces blurred together. He could hear them more clearly than he could see them.
"I did not do anything," Naruto said.
The shinobi laughed. "Nobody believes that."
Naruto measured the space around him. The alley offered no clean angle for escape. Before he could shift position, the shinobi struck his ribs. The blow forced air from his lungs. He folded inward, which gave the second shinobi enough room to hit him again. The strikes were built without structure, powered by resentment rather than technique.
He raised his arms to shield his head. A fist caught his cheek through the gap. His vision jolted. The world tilted. Someone dragged him upright by the collar only to shove him back to the ground.
A woman in the crowd stepped forward. "We remember what happened years ago," she said.
Naruto did not answer. His throat felt tight from the earlier blow. He tried to stand. Yet he couldn't. The reality was that a six-year boy couldn't overpower a shinobi and mob of angry villagers. Someone kicked his leg out from under him. He hit the ground again and felt the grit along the stones scrape his palms.
More hands reached for him. Someone pulled him forward. Another shoved him sideways. The alley blurred into shifting shapes. His body responded slower each time he tried to counter.
A voice behind him said, "Finish it."
Naruto tried to rise again. His knee buckled. A strike reached his head, and the ground met him with full force. The sound of the crowd faded. The edges of his vision darkened. He reached for another breath, but the pattern slipped away from him.
Everything shut down in one quick collapse.
No sound marked the moment when the system activated. It appeared in the empty space where Naruto's consciousness had fallen. It did not communicate intention. It executed a directive.
[Alert: Host condition critical. Emergency protocols engaged.]
Naruto did not hear the message. The crowd did not hear it either. His body lay still on the ground with no visible sign of awareness.
A second notification was executed.
[Accessing sealed chakra reserve. Bypass granted under protective directive. Stabilizing host.]
Chakra rose through Naruto's body in a steady surge. The shift in the air made the nearest shinobi step back without understanding the cause. Red chakra lifted around Naruto with a force that pressed dust from the alley walls. Loose cloth along the ground snapped in the sudden current.
Naruto's wounds closed. His breathing steadied. His eyes remained shut.
[Host recovery incomplete. Threat proximity detected. Initiating neutralization protocol.]
Naruto stood without conscious direction. His body moved with speed that did not rely on training. The system eliminated the threats around him with efficiency. The alley quieted once the final hostile presence no longer registered as dangerous.
The chakra receded. Naruto settled back to the ground. His pulse remained stable. The alley fell still.
ANBU arrived almost immediately. Four masked shinobi dropped into the alley. Their movements carried practiced precision. Owl-mask led the approach. He scanned the air and recognized the residual chakra.
"Secure the area," he said.
The others moved to the alley entrances. One knelt beside Naruto and checked his breathing. The boy remained unconscious but steady. The healing that had taken place spoke for itself.
A change in air pressure signaled Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrival. The Hokage walked into the alley, his posture controlled and direct. His eyes moved from Naruto to the still forms scattered across the scene. He did not pause over any of them.
"Report," he said.
"He is alive," the ANBU replied. "Stabilized. Cause uncertain."
Hiruzen studied the faint shimmer of disappearing chakra. He recognized its nature with ease.
"Bring him to the tower," Hiruzen said.
One ANBU lifted Naruto. Dust fell from the boy's clothing as he shifted. Hiruzen looked down the alley one more time.
"Seal this location," Hiruzen said. "You know the drill, no witnesses."
The owl-mask inclined his head. "Understood."
Hiruzen turned and left with the ANBU. His steps remained steady as they moved through the village. His cloak brushed the ground. Once inside the tower, he took Naruto in his own arms.
The weight felt too slight for a boy his age.
"Return to your posts," Hiruzen said to the ANBU. "I will call when needed."
They vanished into the shadows. Hiruzen carried Naruto down the corridor and settled him on a couch inside the office.
He looked at the boy's face. "You should have been safe," Hiruzen said quietly.
Naruto surfaced from unconsciousness with no sense of time passing. He blinked at the ceiling. The plaster and wood trim told him he was in the Hokage's office.
He sat up slowly. Vision steadied after a brief blur. A blue box waited in front of him.
[Alert: Emergency safeguard complete. Host condition stable. Threat level cleared.]
A second box followed.
[New function unlocked. Emergency Protocol Access.
Description: System may use sealed chakra reserves if host life is threatened while unconscious.
Restrictions: Manual activation impossible.]
Naruto dismissed the messages. His breath caught once before settling into normal rhythm.
Naruto examined the skin on his hands. No cuts remained and no pain lingered. The ease of motion felt unnatural.
Suddenly the office door opened. Hiruzen entered and closed it behind him.
"How much do you remember?" Hiruzen asked.
Naruto searched for his memory. Running came first. The alley followed. Impact after impact. After that, fragments dissolved into scattered flashes.
"Not a lot," Naruto said.
Hiruzen sat across from him. "You were attacked."
Naruto nodded once. There was nothing else to say.
"You accessed chakra that should still be beyond your reach," Hiruzen said. He studied Naruto's eyes. "It acted to protect you."
Naruto shifted his gaze to the floor. He let silence hold for a moment before speaking. "What was it?"
Hiruzen sighed before answering. "Well… I'd have to tell you at some point… You know of Kyuubi's death at the hands of Lord Fifth, right?"
Naruto responded exuberantly. "Of course! Everyone knows that! But what does that have to do with me?"
"Well… thing is, a tailed beast can't be killed without extraordinally special circumstances… So, the Fifth did the next best thing, he sealed it into a newborn, hoping he would be honored as the village's hero."
"But… what does—" Naruto abruptly broke off, realization dawning on him.
"But- But why!?" Naruto burst out. "If the Fifth Hokage wanted me to be a hero why aren't I! Why am I treated like trash!? The villagers hate me, the vendors refuse to sell to me and everything just sucks!"
Hiruzen was quiet for a solid minute, and despite what he wanted to say he knew it would not help. He had failed. "I will also ensure you receive better protection from now on. What happened was not your fault."
Naruto accepted the statement without argument, Naruto was just too drained from the entire situation. His thoughts drifted to the alley, then back to the present.
"Can I go home?" he asked.
"Not tonight," Hiruzen said. "You will stay here until we confirm your condition is stable. Medical staff will examine you soon."
Naruto accepted that as well.
Hiruzen stood. "Rest for now. I will return shortly."
He reached the door before Naruto spoke again.
"Old man," Naruto said.
Hiruzen looked back.
"I know the academy is in six months, and I know I'm gonna go. But… I don't ever want to end up like this again. So… Can you teach me how to be a ninja?" Naruto asked, desperately wishing not to end up in this sorry state again.
There was another long pause. "Alright." Hiruzen said, "I'd see what I can do."
He left the room.
Naruto sat still for several seconds before another system message appeared.
[Hidden Condition Met.
Threshold of Survival.
Reward: +1 VIT, +1 INT, +1 WIS.]
Naruto felt too emotionally drained to care about random blue holographic screens. So he ignored it. The room felt quiet, not in an oppressive way, but in a way that allowed him to think without interruption. He lay back against the couch and watched the shift of late daylight across the opposite wall.
Another notification appeared.
[Emergency Protocol locked until further data collected.
Recommendation: improve durability and chakra control to reduce future risk.]
Naruto ignored the message.
He watched the shadows change shape with the setting sun. The room remained steady around him. Tomorrow waited with new information he did not yet understand.
For now, he let the stillness settle without resisting it.