Chapter no.1 Prologue - The Cube
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[ Naruto's POV ]
Early that morning, I felt my eye twitch as I glared up at the rows of students watching me from the safety of their seats.
I knew I had only myself to blame for ending up like this... well, me and Iruka Umino's nosiness.
He was currently giving me a lecture in the only way he knew how: by tying me up and dragging me halfway across the village to sit in the middle of the classroom floor as a warning to everyone else.
The message was crystal clear—mess with the village's monuments and you'd pay dearly.
The latest stunt I was in trouble for was painting the faces of the Hokage Monument in vibrant white, red, and blue—a spectacle for the world to see.
Even now, I could hear the echoes of shock and admiration from the crowd outside.
The cries of dismay and outrage from those who saw their beloved mountain altered filled the air, reaching into the classroom and fueling a mix of reactions.
Despite the situation, a small smile tugged at my lips.
The praise from some fans felt good, but the displeasure of getting caught by Iruka soured the triumph.
It had to be karma, I thought bitterly.
The room was filled with the sounds of impatient tapping.
I glanced to my left and up, meeting Iruka's intense gaze.
His brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his hands were balled into fists on his hips.
The deep scowl on his face was enough to clue me in on the kind of trouble I was in. He looked ready to make me regret my actions, thoroughly.
I gave him a sheepish grin, trying to lighten the mood.
I slowly turned back to face my classmates. Some glared at me disapprovingly, others grinned, amused by my antics.
A few, the ones who always seemed to have a cloud over their heads, didn't seem to care one way or another.
Most of these observations, though, were just my own interpretations, as I tried to brush off the varied stares and the particularly sharp glare from Iruka.
"Okay... in my defense... I think Hokage-jiji looks way better with a nosebleed," I blurted out, trying to inject some humor into the situation.
A burst of laughter erupted from the boys in the stands who appreciated the joke.
"This is no time for jokes!" Iruka's shout reverberated through the classroom, cutting off the laughter like a sharp knife.
Every student, myself included, jumped in their seats.
The sheer volume of his voice made me cringe; it echoed painfully inside my head.
"We ALL know exactly what you did, you little smart-assed brat!" he continued, his words stinging more than I cared to admit.
I rubbed my ears, trying to shake off the ringing.
"I gave the past Hokages a makeover, big deal. That's nothing to get angry about. It's not like I poured a whole bottle of laxatives into your coffee this morning, sensei," I groaned, half-joking, half-defiant.
As the ringing subsided, I couldn't help but let a proud grin spread across my face.
The thrill of the chase this morning had been real fun.
"IRRELEVANT!" Iruka's voice boomed again, so loudly that it seemed his head might explode.
I was sitting so close to him that the force of his shout actually blew my hair to the side.
I tried to smooth it down, feeling a mix of amusement and a twinge of guilt.
"This is the eighth time this year you've done this! You skipped the early morning lectures and practice tests to pull another one of your stupid pranks! That was valuable time you could have spent studying for the final exams coming up in a month or so, and you've failed it thrice. What do these little escapades of yours teach you that the academy doesn't?"
His eyes were ablaze with frustration, and for a moment, I felt a pang in my chest.
I knew I was letting him down, but I couldn't seem to help myself.
"That the Chunin chasing after me are second-rate chumps?" I shot back, trying to deflect with humor, but Iruka was having none of it.
"NOTHING! THAT'S WHAT!" he screamed, the words echoing in my head. I watched as he caught himself, his anger simmering as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, his gaze fixed on me with a mix of exasperation and disappointment. That look always made me squirm. It reminded me too much of the disdain and dismissal I felt from everyone else in the village.
But Iruka cared, maybe too much, and that made it hurt all the more.
"Why can't you appreciate the time I'm using to teach you the stuff you need to know to become a shinobi, Naruto? Isn't that your dream?" His voice softened, but the intensity in his eyes didn't wane.
"Yup!" I responded, a bit too quickly. "My dream is to be Hokage, dattebayo!" I declared with as much conviction as I could muster.
Sitting there, tied up in the middle of the classroom, I felt the weight of my words more heavily than ever.
I wanted to be Hokage, to be someone important, someone respected.
But here I was, the class clown, the troublemaker, always on the wrong side of every lecture.
I wanted Iruka to understand, to see that my antics weren't just about seeking attention or stirring up trouble.
They were my way of coping, of proving I existed in a world that often wished I didn't.
But how could I explain that the laughs and the shouts, even the scoldings, were better than being invisible?
How could I make him see that every prank pulled me a little further from the loneliness that gnawed at me every night?
As Iruka's gaze bore into me, filled with a mix of hope and despair, I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever really be able to change, to be the shinobi he believed I could be.
And beneath all the defiance and the smiles, I was just a kid who wanted more than anything to make someone proud.
"Exhibit A; the apple you crammed full of worms and gave to Mizuki... and several other unfortunate teachers. Exhibit B; the stink bombs you simultaneously detonated inside every single classroom. Exhibit C; slipping factory adhesive glue into everybody's sandals during dojo practice..."
"Oh yeah... that one was great," I couldn't help but laugh out loud, remembering the chaos of that day.
The dojo had turned into a slapstick comedy scene, with everyone stuck in place, their sandals glued firmly to the floor. It was a riot, at least in my eyes.
However, my laughter quickly faded as I felt a wave of glares and what felt like killing intent from the students in the stands behind me.
Their displeasure was palpable, and it prickled at the back of my neck.
I tried to shrug it off, but the weight of their disapproval was heavy.
"Exhibit D; rigging the dividers in the hot spring between the boy and girl sides to collapse randomly during the day... actually... props to that one, Naruto, nice going. Oh... and Exhibit E; replacing all of the canned drinks in the academy cafeteria with urine samples swiped from the hospital," Iruka continued, his voice heavy with resignation as he dropped the last document on the desk with a groan and slammed the drawer shut.
"That's not even the worst part..."
"How was that not the worst part?" a random student called out, sounding distressed, probably haunted by the memory of the drink swap prank.
"All of those so-called 'accomplishments' can be used to fill up my file three times over," Iruka marched over to me, crossing his arms and fixing me with a glare that tried to bore straight through me.
Despite his anger, I couldn't help but feel a strange mix of pride and guilt as he listed my pranks.
They were meant to be funny, to lighten up the dull days, to make me stand out.
But seeing Iruka so upset, I felt a twinge of regret.
"To summarize your academy record for you, in brief; you're a terrible student," he concluded, his disappointment clear.
The jinchuriki instantly dropped the clueless look and grinned.
"Thanks..."
"That wasn't a compliment, idiot," Iruka snapped back, pulling a kunai from his holster and slicing through the rope that bound me. I stretched out, relieved to be free from the physical restraints, but the emotional ones tightened around my heart.
Watching me flex feeling back into my limbs and midsection, Iruka then held his hand out expectantly.
"Don't think you're being let off so easily today, Naruto. You still need to face punishment for your actions. Empty your pockets..."
As Iruka's impatience visibly grew, I knew I couldn't stall any longer.
With a heavy sigh, I reached into my jacket pockets and reluctantly pulled out the items I had stashed for today's pranks. Handing them over, I watched Iruka's expression change from suspicion to curiosity as he held up one of the three eggs I had surrendered.
Iruka inspected the egg, holding it up to his eye level with a raised eyebrow.
I knew what he was thinking; I wasn't the type to carry around ordinary eggs.
His experience with my pranks had taught him to expect something more from Naruto Uzumaki.
"Back ups..." I muttered, trying to sound nonchalant as I watched him scrutinize the other two eggs in his lower hand.
"Back ups?" Iruka echoed, sniffing the egg he held, probably checking if it was expired.
As he was distracted, I quickly lowered my goggles over my eyes. I barely suppressed a grin.
"What do you mean bac—"
SPLAT!
The egg exploded right in front of Iruka's face, and the other two burst against his chest, splattering yellow goop all over him. The sight of Iruka, covered in chicken mix and standing there in total bewilderment, was too much.
I doubled over with laughter, and soon, the whole class joined in.
Despite catching some of the splashback, it was absolutely worth it to see Iruka's stunned expression turn into one of slow-burning fury.
He brushed the yolk off his trousers and face with quick, disgusted swipes, the heat from his anger practically cooking what remained of the egg on his skin.
Calming down from my fit of giggles, I couldn't help but grin up at him triumphantly.
"How'd yah like that, Iruka-sensei? Cool, huh?" I boasted, pulling out another rigged egg from my pocket and waving it like a trophy.
"The hard part was getting the ignition powder into the egg, but it all worked out in the end..."
....
Approximately a few minutes later, standing by the door, the weight of a bucket in each hand and an egg precariously perched atop my head, I felt the muscles in my arms start to burn.
The water in the buckets threatened to spill at the slightest tremor, demanding all my focus to keep balanced.
My expression was fixed in an annoyed glare, and my body stayed rooted in place, unable to escape the ever-growing weight or the mounting discomfort.
As Iruka resumed his lectures, the smell of egg wafted off his clothes—a persistent reminder of my morning antics.
Despite the spectacle, he carried on, his dedication a sharp contrast to my current predicament.
He mentioned something about shopping for new clothes after class, but his voice became just another background hum as I concentrated on not dropping the egg or spilling the water.
The hours dragged on.
Iruka's voice melded into the sounds of scribbling and pages turning, and I felt a dull ache in my arms and neck.
Each minute felt like an hour as I stood there, part of the room yet apart from everyone else.
Occasionally, I shifted my gaze to the blackboard, attempting to absorb the information Iruka had written.
The academic material was as dry as the desert to me, and after several reads, even the words started to blur together.
I had been through this punishment before, a direct result of my frequent escapades.
It was a familiar dance—miss mischief in the morning, suffer in silence during class. On days when I wasn't in trouble, I'd either catch up on sleep or grudgingly scratch out answers to the assignments, the bare minimum to scrape by.
Lunchtime couldn't come soon enough, but even as the bell finally rang, my ordeal wasn't over.
I remained at my post by the door, a statue of endurance as the rest of the students began to leave.
Some avoided eye contact, embarrassed or indifferent, while others smirked or snickered as they passed.
Kiba, never one to miss an opportunity to dig in, threw his usual taunt as he walked by with Akamaru perched on his head.
"Nice going, dead last," he exclaimed. Akamaru yipped in agreement, making my grip on the buckets tighten.
"Bite me, dog chow," I shot back, our glares clashing for a moment before he moved on.
Each comment, each mocking grin, felt like another weight added to the buckets.
Yet, beneath the surface bravado and the sharp exchanges, there was a weariness in me.
I knew I was the class clown, the troublemaker, the 'dead last.'
But these labels, as much as they were a part of me, also felt like chains.
Within minutes, the classroom emptied out, leaving me alone under the watchful gaze of Iruka-sensei.
As usual, following the pattern of punishments for my antics both inside and outside of the academy, he assigned me to classroom cleanup.
I swept the floors, emptied the bins, cleaned the chalkboard, and wiped down the windows and desks.
After Iruka had gathered his things together for his break, he dragged me up to the Hokage Monument to clean up the mess I had made there.
It was a long and grueling process...
__________________________________________
Early afternoon found Iruka sitting atop the Fourth Hokage's stone head, a position that gave him a clear view of the Ninja Academy below.
As the bell rang, marking the end of the school day, he observed the students and teachers spilling out of the building, the sinking sun casting long shadows across the village.
A part of him felt relieved that the day was winding down, but another part was dismayed; his responsibilities were not yet complete.
His gaze shifted downwards to the boy still laboring at the base of the monument. Naruto had been scrubbing paint off the Hokage faces since the second period. Despite his constant groaning and complaining, the boy had made significant progress under his insistent supervision.
Bit by bit, the paint peeled away, revealing the stoic expressions of the village's revered leaders.
Iruka felt a twinge of satisfaction seeing the monument return to its original glory.
"I won't let you go home until everything is as it should be," he declared, folding his arms across his chest.
"I expect this cliff side to be spotless."
Naruto's response was tinged with a deep sense of displeasure and annoyance.
"Like I care, it's not like I have anyone to go home to," he shot back sharply, then returned to his task with a dull rag.
Iruka flinched at the boy's words.
In his stern focus on discipline, he had momentarily forgotten Naruto's solitary home life.
The boy had no family waiting for him, no cheerful house to return to after a long day. He lived alone in a sparse apartment, a fact Iruka knew well but had momentarily overlooked amid the chaos of managing a classroom full of energetic children.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Iruka's stern demeanor softened.
He remembered now, all too clearly, the briefing from Hiruzen when he first took Naruto as a student.
The boy had been on his own for as long as he could manage it, raised more by the streets of Konoha than by any guardian or mentor.
Reflecting on the day's events and the punishments meted out, Iruka realized he might have been too harsh.
True, Naruto's pranks were mostly harmless, though there were exceptions like the incident with the rogue wasp nest.
Shaking off the unsettling memory, Iruka decided it was time to amend the day's harshness.
"Naruto..." he called out gently.
The boy looked up, skepticism plain on his face, perhaps expecting another reprimand.
Iruka managed a small smile, choosing his next words carefully to avoid adding to the boy's burdens.
"When you're done and everything is cleared up over here, I'll take you out for ramen tonight," he offered.
"I'll buy..."
The change in Naruto's demeanor was immediate and profound.
His face brightened, a genuine smile breaking through the frustration as he eagerly returned to his scrubbing, now with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.
"Okay! I'll work a lot harder!" Naruto exclaimed.
Iruka chuckled softly to himself, watching the boy work.
Despite the frequent frustrations, Iruka couldn't help but feel a deep affection for his most troublesome student.
"Good to see there's always a spark inside of him infinitely burning," he mused to himself, shaking his head in amusement. Even though that spark often leads to a raging fire of mischief and practical jokes... he's still a good kid...
__________________________________________
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow of oranges and purples over Konoha, I strolled through the bustling streets alongside Iruka-sensei.
The lively chatter of villagers filled the air, weaving a vibrant tapestry typical of an evening in the Leaf Village.
With a bloated belly and a content smile, I rubbed my stomach appreciatively.
"As I always say, Ramen is the food of the Gods," I proclaimed proudly, my voice carrying slightly over the din of the busy street.
"You have never once said that," Iruka countered, a hint of amusement in his tone.
"Oh, right," I responded, a sheepish grin spreading across my face.
I looked up at Iruka with a spark of joy in my eyes.
"Well, when I am Hokage, I'll make that the official saying of Konoha!"
Iruka opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, shaking his head slightly.
He was too tired to point out that there wasn't such a thing as the official saying of Konoha.
"At least try to focus on school," he sighed, his voice soft yet firm.
"I will," I grumbled, my tone light but sincere. We continued walking, surrounded by the lively energy of Konoha's nightlife.
Suddenly, my foot collided with something. "Ouch!" I yelped, stumbling slightly. Annoyance flickered across my face as I turned to confront the obstacle.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" I began, but my voice trailed off as I noticed what I had hit.
Under the dim glow of the streetlights, my attention was entirely captivated by a cube-shaped object in front of me.
Intricate patterns and designs, a mix of geometric circles and angular shapes, were etched into its surface.
The dark background of the cube contrasted sharply with the lighter, possibly metallic color of the designs, giving it the appearance of an ornate, decorative puzzle box.
"Cool," I murmured, my eyes sparkling with interest as I turned towards the seller.
The seller, a beggar shrouded in a cloak, looked worn and weathered by time.
His cloak, frayed at the edges, seemed to blend into the shadows of the evening.
"Hey, dirty old man, how much for the box?" I asked, my voice tinged with excitement.
"You can have it," replied the beggar in a raspy voice.
"What?"
My excitement was evident in my tone, but I paused, eyeing the beggar with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
"Look dirty old man, I can pay for it. Just tell me the price."
"No price. I was just trying to rid of it. Try not to solve it," the beggar warned, his tone grave.
"What's better than cool stuff? Free cool stuff!" I declared triumphantly, my grin widening as I held the intriguing box.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei, look at this cool box I got!" I shouted, turning towards Iruka with enthusiasm.
Iruka, looking weary, turned towards me and raised an eyebrow.
"Look, Naruto, it's late at night, I'm tired, I don't want to deal with your pranks right now."
Taken aback by Iruka's words, I insisted, "Come on, Iruka-sensei, you can't tell me this isn't a cool box."
Iruka sighed heavily.
"Naruto, there is nothing in your hand."
I blinked in confusion and looked at my hand.
The box was there one moment, then I looked at Iruka, and then back at the box, flicking it and feeling its vibration.
Maybe Iruka-sensei is just pranking me as revenge.
"Hmph, Iruka-sensei, you have to do better than that if you want to prank me," I said, a hint of defiance in my voice.
I glanced back at where the old beggar had been, only to find no one there.
Scratching my head, I muttered, "Weird," as I carefully placed the mysterious box into my pocket.
.....
Sitting cross-legged on my bed, I clutched the puzzling cube firmly in my hands, my bedroom bathed in a soft glow from the moonlight sneaking through the window. My brows knitted together in concentration, I struggled to unravel the secrets locked within the intricate designs of the cube.
"Why is this so hard?" I muttered, frustration edging into my voice. I set the cube down, my eyes darting toward the inviting softness of my pillow, considering sleep. But restlessness quickly overtook that fleeting thought. "No, what kind of Hokage will I be if I back down from a challenge?" I thought to myself, feeling my resolve reignite like a stoked fire.
As the clock ticked steadily towards midnight, I resumed my efforts, my eyes growing red and tired from the strain. I remained fixated on the cube, turning it this way and that, each twist filled with hope for some magical transformation or revelation. Yet, the puzzle remained stubbornly unsolved.
Then, just as I was about to complete the last twist of the puzzle, I paused.
I could see that finishing it would make all the once ornate and intriguing shapes join together into a disappointingly blank cover. The intricate designs that had so thoroughly captivated me would vanish, leaving behind something utterly ordinary and unremarkable.
I pursed my lips in dismay, withdrawing my hand.
"I ain't finishing it and making it lame," I declared, choosing to preserve the mystery and allure of the cube as it was.
The excitement of the unknown was far more appealing than a bland conclusion.
In a fit of disappointment, I slammed the now bland cube onto the desk beside my bed. The sound echoed slightly in the quiet of my room. Turning my back on the puzzle, I settled into my bed, my mind still spinning with thoughts of the cube's initial allure and its anticlimactic resolution.
_____________________________________
As Naruto drifted into a deep sleep, the room was bathed in silence, broken only by the soft, rhythmic breathing of the slumbering boy. However, this tranquility was soon interrupted by an unexpected occurrence.
The cube began to emit a faint glow. Its light, subtle at first, gradually intensified, filling the room with a soft, otherworldly luminescence.
Almost as if possessing a will of its own, the cube started to levitate, gently rising from the desk. It floated through the air, guided by an unseen force, moving steadily towards Naruto's resting form. The glowing cube hovered above him, casting a warm light on his peaceful face.
Then the cube began to merge into Naruto's chest. It moved slowly, seamlessly integrating with him, as if it were being absorbed by his very being. The light from the cube enveloped Naruto in a gentle embrace, and then, just as quietly as it had begun, the cube disappeared entirely into him.
Naruto, oblivious to the supernatural happenings, continued to sleep soundly.
________________________________________
Standing amidst towering trees in an unfamiliar forest, their leaves whispering secrets on the gentle breeze, I felt a surreal sense of displacement.
"Am I in a dream?" I murmured, pinching myself, half-expecting to snap back to reality.
Yet here I remained, enveloped in this inexplicable scene.
As if answering my bewildered query, a path illuminated before me, cutting through the dense foliage with a soft, inviting glow. Driven by an insatiable curiosity, I followed the path without hesitation. It wound through landscapes that shifted dramatically—a scorching desert, a serene snow-covered field, a tranquil lake, and a murky swamp.
Each environment transitioned seamlessly into the next, as if nature itself orchestrated this mysterious journey.
Emerging from the swamp, I stepped into a clearing where reality twisted in impossible ways.
Water flowed upward into the sky, birds growled like dogs, and cats and dogs literally rained from above.
Above, the sky morphed into a surreal canvas of melting, contorting clocks. It was a scene that defied all logic, a vivid hallucination—or so it seemed.
At the center of this bizarre world stood an altar, atop which rested a cube, similar yet distinctly different from the one I had at home.
As I approached, a voice echoed in my mind.
[ Do you want to play a game? ]
Excitement surged through me, and I nodded eagerly, drawn to the challenge. [ Then finish the cube ]
The voice instructed.
I reached out, my hands steady as I manipulated the familiar object.
With a confident twist, I completed the puzzle.
[ Activation sequence recorded. System will begin merger. ]
The voice announced.
"You talk like a pompous teme," I chuckled, my confusion tinged with amusement despite the surreal circumstances unfolding around me.
Suddenly, the cube erupted into a brilliant, blinding light.
I shielded my eyes, momentarily overwhelmed by the intensity.
When the light subsided, I found myself adrift in an endless cosmic sea, surrounded by a breathtaking tapestry of stars and planets.
I floated there, feeling both insignificant and profoundly awestruck by the vastness surrounding me.
Looking up, I saw it—an entity like no other. Before me, a cosmic entity made of multiple human hands, glowing with a golden luminescence, moved and danced against the backdrop of stars, planets, and galaxies.
The hands and fingers, adorned with sparkling jewels, orchestrated a celestial ballet.
"Are you the Sage of Six Paths?" I asked, my voice echoing through the vast expanse, feeling small yet connected to something infinitely larger than myself.
[ System has recognised the player "Naruto Uzumaki" ]
[ System merger has commenced. ]
I couldn't grasp what was happening. The words were foreign, yet they resonated within me. I closed my eyes, trying to make sense of it all.
The entity transformed into a stream of liquid gold, flowing toward me and merging with my being. I felt the progression as if time itself were announcing it:
[ 1%... 20%... 50%... 80%... 100% ]
[ Congratulations! Naruto Uzumaki, you have been selected as a player ]
[ Memories of system domain have been sealed ]
[ Reverting Naruto Uzumaki to level 1 ]