In the days that followed, Naruto found a strange sense of peace and fulfillment. His life, once filled with emptiness and rejection, began to take shape.
Every morning before the sun rose and every evening after it set, he trained. He picked remote alleys and overgrown trails far from the center of the village to avoid the judgmental eyes of the villagers. In these quiet corners of Konoha, there were no disgusted glares, no whispers, no cold avoidance—just the sound of his own breathing and the rhythm of his heart pounding in his chest.
His body ached daily, the training routine far beyond what a three-year-old child should endure. But Naruto didn't care. The more it hurt, the more real it felt. And in that pain, he found freedom.
On some days, while running or practicing push-ups in an alley, he noticed a small presence nearby—familiar yet shy. Hinata. She always kept a distance, hiding behind trees or behind crates at the market. She watched him in silence, eyes filled with wonder and worry. Sometimes, her hiding spot was so good that Naruto didn't spot her. Other times, he would "accidentally" catch a glimpse, and for the rest of the day, he would carry a bright smile.
It was comforting. To have someone watch—not with hate, but with curiosity. He didn't confront her, nor did he call her out. It was enough to know she cared.
Outside of physical training, Naruto continued his chakra practice at home. His progress was shocking, even to himself. The first time he successfully extracted chakra, it felt like a whole lake had formed inside him. A lake, not a stream. He didn't know how much chakra others had, but he was sure this was far more than average.
He used this endless energy to practice the Three Body Techniques: Transformation, Substitution, and Clone.
The Transformation Technique was easy. Within a few tries, he could transform into perfect likenesses of people he remembered—even if they were just from memory.
The Body Replacement Technique was also manageable. He practiced with a stump and a stack of firewood, learning to swap out his position when under threat.
But the Clone Technique… that was tricky.
No matter how hard he tried, his clones always came out wrong. Twisted limbs, oversized heads, drooping eyes. Some looked more like ghouls than clones.
"Clone Technique!"
Boom!
"Clone Technique!"
Boom!
"Again!"
Boom!
White smoke would rise as the imperfect clones vanished. But Naruto didn't give up. His determination was unshakable. Each failed attempt was another step toward perfection.
Inside him, sealed in the depths of his soul, Kurama—the Nine Tails—watched in disbelief.
"This kid…" Kurama muttered, his voice echoing in the void of the seal. "Under the influence of my chakra, he's improving his control. He's not even four years old. Is Konoha trying to raise a genius Jinchūriki?"
Kurama wasn't pleased. He had expected Naruto to fall into darkness—like so many Jinchūriki before him. He wanted the boy to despair, to rage against the village that hated him, to break the seal and lose control. That would have been Kurama's moment to finally unleash his fury on the world again.
But Naruto wasn't breaking. He was growing.
And that unsettled the great fox.
At one point, Naruto's clones began to look nearly perfect. Kurama narrowed his eyes.
"At this rate, I won't be able to tell the difference between his clone and his real body…"
One morning, as usual, a Naruto clone emerged from the house and began his daily training, running his ten kilometers along the familiar forest path.
High above in the shadows, the Anbu ninja assigned to monitor Naruto moved to follow.
Unnoticed, the real Naruto slipped quietly out the back of his home.
This time, he didn't head toward the training grounds. Instead, he transformed into a nondescript villager—average clothes, forgettable face—and melted into the crowd. He moved carefully, avoiding any routes that were under surveillance.
Kurama's eyes widened in shock. "This kid... he tricked the Anbu?"
The real Naruto, silent and alert, made his way toward the outer edges of Konoha, eventually arriving at the forest near the training grounds. He paused once he was deep inside, hidden by tall trees and thick underbrush.
He raised his left wrist.
Strapped to it was a strange gauntlet—black, sleek, with faint pulses of light running across its surface. The light was nearly imperceptible to the naked eye, undetectable by basic observation or scanning techniques.
Only Naruto could feel its true nature.
"Bedrock Armor... activate," he whispered.
With a soft hum, the armor extended. Dark liquid-like metal flowed from the gauntlet, wrapping his arm, then his torso, then the rest of his body in a smooth cascade. In seconds, Naruto looked like a miniature warrior encased in high-tech armor, like something out of a different world entirely.
The armor shimmered, and Naruto nodded in satisfaction.
The armor wasn't from this world. It was a product of his first successful wish from the sapphire statue—an artifact he still wore around his neck.
That day, when he met Hinata and the statue reacted with that strange heat, he hadn't realized it was absorbing luck. Her luck. A powerful, almost celestial kind of energy.
The next morning, when Naruto woke up, the gauntlet was beside him. A gift from the sapphire statue, changed by the absorbed luck. When he touched it, information poured into his mind:
"Bedrock Armor: equipped with deformation functions, anti-reconnaissance capability, self-repair, life recovery, damage absorption, void teleportation, void shield, and adaptive camouflage."
Naruto had been stunned. It was more powerful than any ninja tool he had ever heard of, even in legends. It was more than armor—it was a complete combat system.
And it had changed everything.
Because of its anti-reconnaissance feature, Naruto quickly discovered something unsettling: he was being watched constantly. Not just by Anbu. Every few days, he would feel a subtle pressure—almost like a hand brushing against his mind.
He recognized it as the Telescope Technique. He had read about it in one of the scrolls Third Hokage left in the public library.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was watching him.
"Why?" Naruto often wondered. "Is he worried? Suspicious? Afraid?"
That's when the paranoia began to grow in his heart. Not enough to break him—but enough to make him cautious. A lesson he learned quickly: trust no one completely. Not even the man who gave him warm words and empty ramen coupons.
"The heart of harming others is never absent," Naruto muttered. "And the heart to defend myself must never rest."
That's why today, he created a perfect clone, sent it out to be followed, and made his way here to test the armor's full capabilities.
Now wrapped in bedrock armor, Naruto began his trials.
He tested his speed—boosted far beyond normal.
He tested strength—punching trees until they shattered.
He activated the Void Teleportation. In a blink, he vanished and reappeared ten meters away, then another ten. He used the Void Shield, which formed a protective dome that blocked kunai he threw at himself.
The forest trembled.
Birds flew into the sky. Trees snapped like twigs. Chunks of earth lifted and cracked from the sheer pressure of his movements.
"This thing is insane," Naruto breathed. "I wonder if… could I fight a Jōnin with this?"
The idea filled him with excitement and fear.
Suddenly, sensing movement, Naruto disappeared into the void.
Moments later, a team of Konoha shinobi appeared at the edge of the forest. They looked around, tense and alert.
"Who's causing all this?" one asked, staring at the broken trees.
"That kind of force… it has to be a Jōnin-level battle."
"Do you think it's an enemy scout?"
"Let's hope not," another muttered. "Konoha's still recovering. The village can't afford another disaster."
They vanished, spreading out to search.
But Naruto was already gone—miles away, hidden deep in the forest.
He deactivated the armor, panting lightly. Despite his size and age, he felt a sense of control that was terrifyingly real.
With this power, he no longer felt helpless.
He finally had a card to play.
Still, he knew better than to reveal it. Not yet. He needed to grow stronger. Train harder. Learn the limits. Sharpen the blade.
Then, and only then, would he decide how to use this gift.
Back at home, Naruto lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
He thought of Hinata. Of the shy smile she gave. Of the trust in her eyes. He thought of the villagers. Of their hate. Of the warmth of ramen and the chill of loneliness.
And somewhere in between, he thought of destiny.
Whatever it was, he would face it on his terms.
Not as a victim.
But as Naruto Uzumaki.