"Lord Third!"
An ANBU ninja burst through the office door.
Hiruzen Sarutobi jerked in his seat, hands flying to cover the crystal ball on his desk. His heart hammered against his ribs.
After a moment, he composed himself. His weathered face settled into calm lines as he regarded the ANBU operative. "Catch your breath first. Then report."
The ANBU ninja straightened, admiration flickering behind his mask. Such composure. Such discipline. This is why he's the Third Hokage.
"Lord Third, Uzumaki Naruto has been engaging in unusual behavior at the back mountain for the past two days."
Hiruzen's eyebrow arched slightly. "Unusual how?"
"He appears to be training, sir. Repeatedly."
"I see." The Hokage waved a dismissive hand. "Continue observation. Do not interfere. Dismissed."
The ANBU vanished in a swirl of leaves.
Hiruzen's shoulders sagged. His hands lifted from the crystal ball, revealing the clouded surface beneath. With a guilty glance at the door, he reached for it again.
The women's bathhouse shimmered into view.
But the report nagged at him. With a resigned sigh, he passed his hand over the crystal once more. The bathhouse vanished, replaced by the tree-covered slopes of the back mountain.
A small figure moved in the crystal's depths. Five years old, stripped to the waist, face flushed red. His arms shook as he pushed himself up from the ground, then lowered himself down. Again. And again.
Naruto Uzumaki.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, studying the boy. His feelings toward the child were a tangled knot he'd never managed to unravel. Guilt. Responsibility. Regret. Something else he couldn't quite name.
Just a child playing at training.
He had the crystal ball. Nothing in Konoha escaped his sight.
Speaking of which, he'd been away from the bathhouse surveillance for far too long. Those floors could be slippery. What if someone fell and injured themselves? He'd be failing in his duty to protect the village's citizens.
His hand moved across the crystal's surface.
The bathhouse returned. Hiruzen's face reddened as he settled more comfortably in his chair. Good. No one had fallen.
"Three hundred ten... three hundred eleven... three hundred twelve..."
Naruto's arms burned. His chest heaved. Sweat dripped from his nose, forming a small puddle on the dirt beneath him.
[Excellent form. Continue.]
First exercise complete. According to the system, his body was pathetically weak. It needed serious work.
I'm five years old! Naruto had protested when the training began. Of course I'm weak!
The system had responded by showing him another projection. A toddler, barely able to walk, hoisting a massive stone tripod over his head. The child's face was calm, unbothered by the weight that should have crushed him.
Naruto had shut his mouth after that.
"Three hundred fifty." His arms gave out. He collapsed forward, catching himself before his face hit the dirt. Slowly, carefully, he pushed himself to his feet. His arms trembled as he shook them out, working blood back through the muscles.
Sitting down now would be a mistake. The system had been very clear about that. Something about blood flow and fainting.
After his arms stopped shaking, Naruto began to run.
Three thousand meters. That was the goal. The system had mentioned that eventually he'd be running with weights. More than three thousand meters. Much more.
But that was future Naruto's problem.
Present Naruto focused on putting one foot in front of the other. His lungs screamed. His legs felt like lead. But he didn't slow down.
He'd endured worse than physical pain. Loneliness hurt more than burning muscles ever could. And if training meant friends, he'd train until he collapsed.
By the time he finished, his clothes clung to his skin, soaked through with sweat. The river called to him, cool and inviting.
He took one step toward it.
[Stop.]
Naruto froze.
[Do not enter cold water while your body is overheated. You risk serious illness.]
Naruto didn't fully understand, but he trusted the system. It was the first... person? Entity? Whatever it was, it was the first thing that treated him like he mattered. Like his thoughts and questions deserved real answers.
That meant something.
He settled for splashing water on his face and arms, letting his body cool gradually.
Later, as the sun climbed higher, Naruto crouched beside a small fire. Grease dripped from the rabbit he'd caught and cooked, sizzling in the flames. He tore into the meat with his teeth, barely pausing to chew.
His appetite had become monstrous. The expired milk and instant ramen he usually survived on weren't enough anymore. His body demanded fuel, and meat provided it.
[Protein rebuilds muscle. Carbohydrates provide energy. Fat stores reserves. You need all three, but especially protein while training this intensely.]
Naruto nodded, his mouth too full to respond.
Half an hour later, his stomach full and his breathing steady, he returned to training.
Push-ups. Running. Pull-ups. High jumps. Sit-ups.
The exercises filled his day, left no room for dwelling on cold stares or muttered insults. His body ached, his muscles screamed, but his mind was quiet.
[The body is the foundation of all strength. Remember that.]
As twilight painted the sky purple and orange, Naruto dragged himself home. Every step sent fresh waves of pain through his legs. His arms hung like dead weight at his sides. The ground looked so inviting. He could just lie down for a moment...
No.
He gritted his teeth and kept walking. This was training too. Not just his body, but his will.
At home, he forced down more food, scrubbed away the day's grime, and fell into bed.
System?
[Yes, Naruto?]
When can I learn the real techniques? The ones like that guy in the projection?
He thought of the young man crossing through space itself, regenerating from a single drop of blood, shattering stars with his bare hands.
[Your body isn't ready. Learning advanced techniques now would cripple you, possibly permanently.]
A pause. When the system spoke again, its tone was almost gentle.
[True mastery of Ultimate Taijutsu means transforming every part of yourself. Your blood must flow with concentrated energy. Each individual cell must become as resilient as steel. A single strand of your hair should be able to cut through stone.]
[But foundations come first. Without a strong base, the structure collapses.]
Naruto tried to form a response, but exhaustion dragged him under. His eyes slid closed. Within seconds, his breathing deepened into sleep.
Dawn light touched his face.
Naruto's eyes opened. His body protested as he rolled out of bed, muscles stiff and sore. He ignored the complaints and headed for the back mountain.
The next day was the same. And the next. And the next.
Days blurred into weeks. Weeks into months.
His sixth birthday came and went, unmarked except by the candle he stuck in a rice ball and ate alone.
The training never stopped.
On a crisp morning six months later, a boy ran along a mountain path. Sandbags weighted his ankles, throwing off his balance with each step. His breathing followed a specific pattern: three counts in through the nose, hold for two, four counts out through the mouth. Over and over, synchronized with his footfalls.
His skin had darkened from constant sun exposure. His frame had filled out, muscles developing across his shoulders and legs. At six years old, he stood noticeably taller than other children his age.
But more than his physical changes, something inside him had shifted.
The villagers' cold stares still stung. Their whispered insults still landed like kunai in his chest. But the pain was distant now, muted. He had a purpose. A goal. Something to focus on that didn't involve begging for scraps of kindness from people who would never give them.
He had the system. He had his training.
And someday soon, when he was strong enough, he'd have friends.
Real friends. The kind you earned through strength and respect.
Naruto pushed harder, legs pumping, sandbags thumping against his calves. Sweat poured down his face, but his breathing never faltered.
[Well done, Naruto. Your progress is remarkable.]
A smile cracked across his face, fierce and determined.
He was getting stronger.
And he was just getting started.