Naruto: I Am Uzumaki Naruto!?

"Well..."

Naruto leaned against a tree, patting his bloated stomach with a satisfied sigh. "That was good..."

He had eaten every last bite of the bento, and now he felt like he was going to explode.

"As expected of little Hinata. Your food is amazing—it even tastes like you."

Hinata's face turned redder than ever, her fingers fidgeting nervously. "T-Then... I'll make even more tomorrow. Naruto-kun, you need to eat well... o-or else you'll go hungry..."

Naruto's eyelid twitched. More?

His gaze flickered toward the towering stack of empty bento boxes. He could already feel his stomach protesting at the thought, but he couldn't bear to turn her down.

"Alright, I'll be looking forward to it." He grinned.

Hinata's expression brightened with pure joy, her head nodding so enthusiastically that Naruto worried she might pass out.

"Okay! Then, um... I'll see you at school tomorrow, Naruto-kun! I'll bring lots of delicious food!"

With that, she hurried off, still blushing furiously.

Naruto watched her disappear, then let out a small chuckle, rubbing his still-round belly.

"I ate too much... Little Hinata really does eat a lot. No wonder she'll surpass the Akimichi clan in the future." He paused, then muttered, "I really need to make more money... Otherwise, I won't even be able to feed my wife at this rate."

---

Shaking off the food coma, Naruto focused inward. Closing his blue eyes, he accessed the system.

A black interface appeared in his mind.

[Bloodline Selection]

→ Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)

Manipulate bones at will, hardening and regenerating them indefinitely. Deadly for both offense and defense.

[Discount Price: 30,000 Ryo]

→ Crystal Release

Crystallizes nearly all matter except chakra. Highly durable, but weak to ultrasonic waves.

[Discount Price: 30,000 Ryo]

→ Adamantine Sealing Chains

A unique ability of the Uzumaki clan, forming chakra chains capable of sealing tailed beasts and creating barriers.

[Discount Price: 30,000 Ryo]

→ Scorch Release

A Kekkei Genkai combining Fire and Wind Chakra, capable of instantly evaporating the moisture in a target's body.

[Discount Price: 30,000 Ryo]

Naruto stared at the list, his heart pounding.

"I wish I could buy them all..."

Unfortunately, only these four were discounted. Everything else—Sharingan, Byakugan, Wood Release—was still at full price.

And by "full price," he meant an absurd 500 million ryo.

Rinnegan? Tenseigan?

Forget it. They were in the billions.

Naruto sighed, pulling out his frog-shaped wallet. The once-plump thing now felt depressingly light.

"Thirty thousand ryo..." He muttered, his eye twitching. "It took me three years to save this, cutting costs wherever I could..."

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself.

"Buy: Scorch Release!"

The system acknowledged the purchase. The glowing red flame icon on the interface dimmed to gray, signifying that the ability was his.

Then—

Boom!

A wave of intense heat erupted from within his body, igniting his blood like a furnace. His muscles tensed, his skin burned from the inside out, and he nearly collapsed from the sheer intensity.

It lasted for thirty agonizing seconds.

When it was finally over, Naruto gasped for breath. Sweat dripped down his face as he raised a trembling hand.

A ball of fire flickered into existence in his palm.

"This is... Scorch Release?"

The flames were different from normal fire. They were denser, hotter—like miniature suns floating in his grasp.

Heat rippled through the air, scorching the ground beneath him. The leaves above his head curled and blackened, on the verge of bursting into flames.

Naruto grinned.

"Finally..."

For six years, he had endured the isolation, the disdain, the deliberate sabotage at the Academy. He was denied even the most basic ninjutsu, left with nothing but the Shadow Clone Jutsu to rely on.

But now... he finally had power.

He turned toward a massive tree and stretched out his hand.

The moment the flames touched the trunk—

WHOOSH!

The tree exploded into fire. Flames devoured the bark, the heat so intense that the wood turned black in an instant. The inferno roared, crackling as it consumed everything in its path.

Naruto's grin widened.

No wonder this Kekkei Genkai was feared in the war.

---

The blaze didn't go unnoticed.

A group of villagers rushed over with buckets of water, throwing them onto the fire in a desperate attempt to put it out.

Even after hundreds of buckets, embers still smoldered inside the charred trunk.

"This is insane! How did such a huge fire start so suddenly?"

"Spontaneous combustion...?"

Naruto quietly slipped away, heading down the streets of Konoha toward the Forest of Death.

As expected, the moment he set foot in the village, whispers followed him.

"Ugh, that monster is out again."

"Disgusting... Look at his face—those whiskers are just like a fox's."

"Why is he walking around like he belongs here? He should just disappear already."

"Stay away from him. Don't talk to him. He's the demon fox... He should just die."

Naruto kept walking, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.

Six years.

For six years, he had heard these words every day.

The hatred. The fear. The disgust.

He was used to it by now.

For now, he had no choice but to endure it.

But someday...

One by one, he would make them regret ever looking down on him.