Awakening

Konoha

In a hospital, a boy of no more than 11-12 years old opened his eyes in confusion with a hint of vigilance which intensified as the boy stared into the unfamiliar ceiling and just before the boy decided to turn his head, he was assaulted with a severe headache as if he was being repeatedly stabbed in the head with a sharp knife. With the headache, what seemed to be memories flashed through his mind as if one was watching a movie. The boy clenched his fists till they turned white due to the pain but surprisingly the boy made no sound and after 10 minutes, the pain finally settled down until the boy didn't feel it anymore and was left panting with heavy breaths as if he ran a marathon. 

Sitting upright on what seemed to be a hospital bed, the boy looked around with earie calmness that should not be displayed by a 12 year old boy, observing for any threats and counting the exists in the room due to what seemed like habit. Noticing that there aren't any immediate threats he looked at the wall in front of the bed and saw a big mirror which displayed the boy's appearance. The boy had spiky yellow hair, ocean blue eyes, what appeared to be whiskers three on each cheek which in turn made him look feral, he had on green hospital gown and bandages all over his body.

As he stared into the familiar yet unfamiliar reflection, he thought with some amusement 'Uzumaki Naruto huh, no matter how impossible it seems. I cant deny the reality before my eyes. To think that I would find myself in a world I once thought to be fiction.' 

As the boy, now known as Naruto stared into the reflection in deep thought, his eyes suddenly turned cold while thinking 'In my past life, I did whatever I felt like doing and followed my own path, this time will be no different. specially now that I have access to something I never had, chakra. No matter what it takes or whoever stands in my way, I will see the pinnacle of this world, that is my vow and my creed. My new name is Uzumaki Naruto and the inhabitants of this world will come to fear it just like my former name instilled fear into my former enemies!' as soon as he made the vow in his mind, his chakra almost erupted on its own in reaction to his determination and conviction. 

After taking a deep breath to control his emotions, he looked around and thought back to his current predicament 'Judging from the memories I received, this timeline is just after the Sasuke retrieval arc, I personally couldn't have asked for a better start than this. After all, Naruto just went through something traumatic since his "best friend" not only betrayed the village but "almost" killed him, no one will question the personality change nor would they question my behaviour towards others.' 

Before Naruto could plot any further, he heard a bang outside right next to the window on his right. He waited and just stared at the curtains that blocked the window with the same earie calmness, knowing full well who was about to enter due to his memories of the plot. 

Not even 30 seconds later, Jiraiya came through the window "Hey there Naruto, as usual your wounds seems to be healing quickly" he said with a sigh of relief in his tone after observing his posture. The situation quickly became a bit awkward as Naruto just stared at Jiraiya with a calmness that seemed to spook him a bit and so Jiraiya being who he is said "Look kid, you have been through something awful and I know you are angry so how about a proposal that I'm sure you would like." 

"What kind of proposal?" he asked without showing any kind of anticipation or excitement which not only surprised Jiraiya but also confused him a bit internally  'Having spent some time with the kid, he should be very be very energetic but so far the boy has only displayed an earie calmness and what's even more puzzling is that for a singular moment upon my entry I noticed that he was studying me. People change after a trauma but this too big of a change, hopefully it will be temporary' Jiraiya thought with a hint of doubt and curiosity while staring back into Naruto's ocean blue eyes. 

"I will take you on a 3 year training trip out of the village, as for Sasuke... Forget about him, he is gone. He chose to go to Orochimaru with his own free will. That brat would've left soon or later and trying to bring him back will not change anything, trust me..." he paused as he noticed that Naruto was still listening "I have been there and it didn't bode well for anyone. You need to focus on yourself and remember that you still have people who love you and care about you. I am here for you and I will make sure you have become a well respected shinobi by the end of our training trip, you have my word" continued Jiraiya but soon stopped and observed Naruto's reaction or the lack of 'I really hope the boy is doing alright, this is becoming concerning' sighing, Jiraiya thought. 

"Very well Jiraiya, when do we leave?" said Naruto without any outer reaction and thinking 'This man, he is truly a master, even while standing in front of me, I cant sense his presence whatsoever. Truly remarkable, if he decided to kill me right now. I would be unable to do a single thing except wait for my death. Just the thought of it sends chills down my back. There is so much this world has to offer and I will not waste a single minute in seeing them all.'

"Meet me at the gates in two days, use the time to say your goodbyes and get your things in order. I'll see you there kid, until then I hope for your speedy recovery although you might not need it" said Jiraiya with a big smile that almost blinded Naruto due to the angle the sun light was shining from the window. Without saying any further ado Jiraiya jumped out of the window landing on the head of a giant orange frog. However before he left with his unique mount, he heard Naruto's voice "Jiraiya, before you leave I need some money to buy new supplies, the ones I currently have are either damaged or faulty, I also need to buy clothes." said Naruto while looking at Jiraiya who had an almost unnoticeable sadness in his eyes before he agreed and threw a sizable bag full of ryo notes. 

Naruto started at the back of the leaving Jiraiya with a calculative gaze that if someone were to see him right at this moment, they would think that he was plotting someone's death. 

'I don't need to say goodbye to anyone here for the time being, interacting with them would have no significance and there is no reason to go to this kid's apartment since he has nothing of use there. I need to get some supplies for the trip and there is one shop that I remember from the show that has most of what I need. I can do that few hours before I leave but for now though what I need to do is get familiar with this body and chakra, even though I have the muscle memory of this body I still need to get used it and what better way than with the addition of Shadow Clones' Naruto thought with an exciting glint in his eyes. 

10 minutes later.

A man is seen walking down one of the streets of Konoha, the man looked average in all sense of the word, there was nothing unique about him, he has a face you wouldn't easily pick out within a crowed, even the way he walked didn't betray his average aura. This man was non other than Naruto who has successfully used the Transformation Jutsu and he was heading towards a secluded training ground that he knew from memory. 'With this form, I wont have to deal with anyone who knows the previous Naruto, the quicker I get used to this body and its abilities the better. I have 2 days to be ready to set off before I can officially start training and experimenting with few things.' thought Naruto as he kept eye on his surroundings, still maintaining a vigilance against anything and anyone who might pose a threat to his life. No matter how much he knows from the series, he cant fully rely on that knowledge and disregard his own caution. 

2 days later. 

Naruto and Jiraiya left the Village for their trip...