Naruto: Snow Cold

--------In the outskirts of the village Hidden in the Leaf-------

Every single shinobi available did their best to push back the Kyuubi, making use of every single weapon at their disposal. Explosive tags, Kunai, Elemental Jutsu, noises, their own body, everything they could.

The third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen had stepped in and pushed him back with the help of his Monkey King Summon, Enma, who turned into a Bo staff, extending at Hiruzen's will. It hit the beast in the stomach, staggering it and buying enough time for Minato Namikaze to finally arrive, his cloak waving by the wind as he kneeled.

He stood up, and looked up with a serious expression, showing no fear whatsoever.

'I won't allow it to do as it pleases anymore!' He thought, already formulating his plan to seal the beast.

The Nine Tails glared at him from the distance, and it roared in anger, beginning to charge up a purple energy bomb... the famed Tailed Beast Bomb!

"You won't get your way here." He exclaimed, maintaining his glare as he performed handsigns in order to relocate the beast bomb.

Serpent, Horse, Rat, Ram.

He stretched his left arm forward, and a wall of Fuinjutsu symbols appeared behind him, absorbing the huge mass of chakra, little by little.

'For this large a scale, I'll have to be careful where I send it.' He thought as he looked back with a glare, before opening the seal up somewhere far away from the village, causing a massive explosion.

'I must report all that's happened to Lord Third immediately-' And he felt the grip of a hand almost on his shoulder, using his quick reflexes to stab the man behind him, who quickly ducked and grabbed his forearm in retaliation.

"I'm your opponent... And it's all over." The masked man with black robes said with a challenging tone.

Long story short, the 4th Hokage fought "Madara Uchiha", eventually beating him and removing his control over the Nine Tailed Fox, heading off to the battlefield, summoning Gamabunta to hold it down.

Kushina used her Adamantine Chains to restrain the fox, and then...

Snake, Boar, Ram, Hare, Dog, Rat, Bird, Horse, Snake. Minato performed all those handsigns, and a reaper-like ghoul emerged from behind him, sealing half of the Kyuubi inside him, and eventually, they sacrificed themselves to save the newborn Naruto, sealing the other half of the Kyuubi inside of him.

...

----------PRESENT----------

After drying my tears—or at least attempting to—I looked into the distance, noticing the absence of the beast and, consequently, the lack of sounds.

Minato must have sealed the foolish fox by now.

I returned to the group and faced a severe scolding, hearing things like, "You could have died!" and "Why did you go off on your own?!"

In a whisper, I informed the matron about Hana, trying desperately not to break down once more. I could see her heart sink, yet she fought hard to maintain her facade of strength in front of my siblings. 

I can respect that.

...

Crying, sobbing, and sniffles could be heard at the graveyard; many lives were lost today.

Personally, I didn't have the energy for it anymore.

I noticed a few familiar faces: silver spiky hair—must be Kakashi. Spiky brown hair held up in a... well, I don't know what that is. Iruka. And, of course, the Third Hokage was there.

"Many lives were lost, including the Fourth Hokage, Minato, and his wife, Kushina. The facts behind the incident are still unknown, but for now, let us mourn our fallen comrades..." he said in his grandfatherly voice. With a somber tone, he continued:

"In times of darkness, it is easy to feel despair, to question our strength, and to wonder if we can continue. But let us remember: it is in these very moments of grief that our bonds are tested and our true character is revealed. We must honor those we have lost by standing together, supporting one another, and rebuilding what has been broken."

"Let the Will of Fire burn brighter inside you, and grow stronger so that we may ensure that such a misfortune does not befall us once again," he finished with an inspirational tone.

Huh, pretty good. He even managed to lift my spirits up a little.

...

Luckily, the orphanage was not affected by the fox's rampage, and we still had plenty of food stocked up, so I could stay here for a while longer.

I need to find someone that could take care of me, fast. So that I can start my training as soon as possible.

had never been I a hard worker, really. I don't like the idea of training to the point of exhaustion, but if that's what it takes to make it out alive in this accursed world, I'll do it. I won't let this happen again, ever.

Actually, could I get my own apartment? I remember reading that academy students were provided with their own places to stay until they graduated and became genin of Konoha. I can take care of myself... or at least I think I can. Plus, I'd be able to train in complete secrecy.

A week passed, and most of the damage was being repaired by civilians and ninjas alike; I assume the demand for construction D-rank missions increased significantly.

I asked the matron if she could arrange for me to get an apartment, but she refused. I told her I would handle the cooking, maintenance, the bills, and earn my own money, yet she still insisted that I was too young.

Well, that's unfortunate. It makes sense, though; why would you let a literal child live alone? At least she's better than a certain old man.

I didn't sit idle during this week either. I also started doing physical training outside at the playground with some of the older kids.

------FLASHBACK------

I went outside to the playground to gather leaves since I had run out, and I saw the children running around, looking tired but still pushing themselves. They appeared to be about six years old. I guessed they were preparing for the academy.

As I approached them, I noticed one of the boys had stopped running to rest a little.

"Hey... is it okay if I join you guys? I want to run too," I said sheepishly.

"Sure, just don't get in the way," he replied, panting. This little...!

No need to get angry at a brat, Amai. Don't give in to your intrusive thoughts.

Then, I began running as well, testing the limits of my body and feeling the wind brush against me as I raced across the spacious ground.

It felt exhilarating to run at full speed and feel the wind; I struggled to contain my laughter. I had never run much before, and it felt even better because the air wasn't nearly as polluted as it was back in my world.

Each lap was around 400 meters. I ran and kept running. One lap became two, two became three, and I pushed myself further, feeling the energy draining from my body, overtaken by adrenaline. My legs burned, but I didn't care.

I continued until I truly ran out of steam, collapsing onto the ground after finishing 13 and a half laps, my legs wobbling and trembling from the exertion as I gasped desperately for oxygen.

God, that felt amazing...

Back in my world, I couldn't imagine going outside and running even 2 kilometers.

Chakra really does wonders for your body.

I decided that I would also train my upper body and struggled to get into position, but I managed.

I started pushing up and down against the ground. One, two, three, four, five... I kept repeating the exercise, feeling both of my arms burn intensely as I did so, reaching the grand total of... 40 reps. That's when I dropped down, unable to continue any longer.

Should I try doing sit-ups? I'll probably need a strong core.

Ugh...

I lay down and felt the cold surface beneath me, grounding myself as I prepared for the sit-ups. I took a deep breath, engaged my core, and lifted my torso off the ground.

I could feel my abdominal muscles contracting, and the strain building in my lower back. I kept going, feeling the burn accumulate. God, this stings...!

I lowered back down and lifted my torso over and over, feeling gravity pull me. The fatigue was growing, and the rhythm of my breathing quickened.

I felt my abs burn more than ever, and I mustered as much strength as I could to complete one last sit-up—or should I say crunch? I didn't have enough stamina for another full sit-up.

I lay flat on the ground with my whole body, huffing and panting, greedily taking in all the oxygen I could. It burns so much...! But, i still managed to do 30, which is nice.

...

--------FLASHBACK END--------

From then on, I increased the difficulty by a marginal amount every day, doing half a lap more, 1 more pushup and situp. I also took rest during Thursdays, and weekends.

I will stand at the top of this damn world, I swear it.