Naruto stepped out of the Hokage Tower with his hands shoved in his pockets and a grin far too big to fit on a child’s face.

  The door behind him closed with a dry thud, and for a moment he just stood there, breathing in the outside air as if he’d just escaped a pce where no one could see the obvious: he had won.

  It wasn’t a perfect victory. It wasn’t the victory he’d imagined when he walked in, with that stubborn thought of “if I insist hard enough, I can do anything.”

  But still… it was a victory.

  He took two steps, then three, and the smile widened as reality hit his chest again—warm and delicious.

  'I didn’t get the properties… but I got compensation.'

  And it wasn’t a small thing.

  Naruto walked as if he were floating, as if every stone on the road was a coin offering itself for free, and inside his head the numbers spun with an ease that was almost scary.

  'Adding it all up… I have ninety-two million ryō.'

  Ninety-two million.

  He repeated it in his mind, just for the pleasure of it.

  '92,000,000 ryō… plus every jutsu and fūinjutsu my parents stockpiled.'

  That st part was what made his heart beat faster. Money was good, money was useful, money was freedom… but jutsu were power. And power, in that world, meant not being crushed the moment someone “important” decided you were inconvenient.

  Naruto tightened his hands inside his pockets, holding back the urge to ugh out loud like an idiot in the middle of the street.

  'If I had a swimming pool…'

  He pictured it again, like he always did when he wanted to be happy: an absurd swimming pool, filled to the brim with glittering coins, and him diving into it as if it were water.

  Only, deep down, he knew.

  Pools of coins were more fantasy than reality.

  But what he was carrying now was real.

  And for the first time in a long while, reality felt like it was on his side.

  As Naruto kept walking, lost in his own silent celebration, a notification snapped inside his mind—familiar like a tap on the shoulder, inevitable like a light punch.

  [Ding!]

  The sound was enough to yank him back to the world with a jolt.

  He frowned, curious, and the system interface appeared as if it had been waiting for exactly this moment.

  [Detected that the user has acquired a rge fortune]

  [Shop function unlocked]

  Naruto stopped in the middle of the road for a second, almost tripping, then grinned again—but now it was a different kind of grin. The grin of someone who had just found a new toy.

  “Shop?” he murmured, as if saying the name of a rare jutsu.

  He didn’t waste time. Didn’t even blink. He simply “clicked” mentally, the way he’d learned to do.

  The interface changed.

  [In the shop, you spend points to buy items from the world you are currently in]

  [Both items and points are exclusive to the world in which they were acquired; however, anything you purchase from the shop will still be avaible in the main world]

  [To obtain points, you must convert items into points]

  Naruto read everything once… then again… and the initial excitement gave way to another kind of interest. Something more serious. More focused.

  “So… it’s not just spend money and done.”

  He brought a hand to his chin as he started walking again, slower now, staring at the ground as if every stone might turn into a clue.

  Points. World items. Exclusive to the world.

  That meant even if he was rich here… somewhere else, he could be a beggar.

  Naruto let out a sigh that felt too big for a small body.

  “Things are never easy.”

  He stared at the interface like he was facing an opponent he couldn’t punch.

  “System, what kinds of items can I convert?”

  The answer came instantly—dry and objective, as always.

  [Money, minerals, artifacts—practically anything]

  [When attempting to convert an item, a message will appear showing the conversion value and a confirmation button]

  Naruto blinked.

  Money too.

  That was… useful. And dangerous.

  Because it meant he could turn ryō into points. But it also meant he could do something stupid—convert too much and end up with nothing physical, relying on an invisible shop.

  He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking.

  'So I can buy a bunch of items to help me in other worlds… but I’ll still need resources in every world I go to.'

  The system wasn’t going to “give” him anything. It was going to trade. And in the end, everything became a kind of currency.

  Naruto looked at Konoha’s streets—at the houses, at people passing by, at small shops with simple signs—and imagined… imagined a different world. A world where nobody knew the name “Naruto Uzumaki.” Where there was no “fox kid.” Where those crooked looks didn’t exist.

  'A world where he could be just… him.'

  But for that, he had to be ready.

  And being ready was expensive.

  Naruto kept walking, but without realizing it, he’d chosen a quieter route—a side street, a stretch where few people passed. Maybe out of habit. Maybe because that path had always been “safer” for him, simply because there were fewer people to stare, whisper, and point.

  That was when he heard it.

  Laughter.

  At first it sounded distant, just a loose sound in the air. Then it became clearer—sharp, childish ughter… with something wrong in it.

  Naruto slowed.

  Kids’ ughter could be happy. It could be light.

  But that…

  That tasted like cruelty.

  He turned toward the sound and walked silently, trying not to make noise. His small feet didn’t make much sound on the dirt and stones, and when he rounded a narrow corner, the scene revealed itself.

  Five boys.

  They were about five or six. Children, technically. But the way they stood there, they looked like tiny versions of the worst Konoha had to offer.

  They were surrounding a smaller girl.

  She was curled in on herself, body tense, shoulders raised as if she wanted to hide inside her own skin. Her eyes were full of tears—not the kind already falling, but the kind that shimmer and threaten to spill any second, as if fear had filled everything to the brim.

  Naruto recognized her instantly.

  Hinata Hyūga.

  The eldest daughter of the Hyūga cn head.

  She was an important name even to him. Not because he had “contact” with the cn—he didn’t. But because, in that world, the Hyūga were a wall. And Hinata… Hinata was known for being shy, quiet, fragile—at least to people who only saw the surface.

  But Naruto knew something almost nobody seemed to notice: behind that shyness, there was something.

  A silent determination.

  A kind of strength that didn’t shout.

  And… there was something else too, a detail that made him feel a strange mix of irony and curiosity.

  'She was supposed to be his future wife.'

  Naruto hadn’t thought much about romance. Not seriously. Not the way a “normal” kid would.

  But… he’d lived in a world where the strong could have as many partners as they wanted, and over time he’d gotten used to the idea—not as some empty dream, but as a common part of reality.

  And if he was honest with himself… he didn’t mind.

  In fact, he even liked the idea of having several partners who truly wanted him. Not out of whim. Not out of ego.

  But because deep down, Naruto had always wanted something he’d never had: bonds.

  'People who chose to stay.'

  But now wasn’t the time.

  There, in that simple alley, what existed was a girl being surrounded and five boys ughing.

  Naruto felt heat rise in his chest.

  It wasn’t blind rage.

  It was an old irritation, deep and familiar, like he was watching a mirror of what he’d already lived—except this time, it was someone else at the center.

  Dropping everything else, Naruto acted.

  He crouched, picked up a stone from the ground, felt its weight in his palm, and without hesitating, threw it.

  The stone sliced through the air and hit one of the boys square in the back.

  “Aaagh!” he screamed immediately, his voice cutting through the alley like an arm. The boy dropped to the ground, twisting, clutching his back, eyes wide with pain and shock.

  The other four turned on instinct. One of them opened his mouth, outraged, ready to shout:

  “Who did—”

  But the sentence died.

  Because he saw him.

  Saw Naruto standing there with rexed hands, steady gaze, posture far too calm for someone who’d just nailed a kid with a rock.

  The boy went pale like he’d seen a ghost.

  He pointed a trembling finger at Naruto, voice breaking.

  “I-it’s the fox kid!”

  The words came out scared, without any courage.

  Naruto smiled.

  A pretty smile, teeth showing.

  But to those children… it looked like a demon’s grin.

  He took one slow step forward.

  The boy on the ground swallowed hard, forgetting the pain for a second.

  Naruto tilted his head, as if judging the distance between them.

  “You’d better get out of my way,” Naruto said in a light, almost pyful voice. “Because if you don’t… I can’t guarantee I won’t eat you.”

  Their faces went pale instantly.

  One of them stumbled back.

  Another choked on his own saliva.

  And then, as if someone had given an invisible signal, the four of them turned and ran, tripping over each other in panic.

  The boy on the ground tried to hold on to some dignity, but when he heard the threat and saw Naruto’s smile, his courage evaporated.

  He scrambled to his feet and ran too, clutching his back like the stone had broken something.

  Naruto didn’t chase them.

  He didn’t need to.

  He watched for a moment, until he was sure they were really gone, and then he turned to the girl.

  Hinata was still there, trembling.

  When Naruto started to approach, she took a small step back—almost imperceptible—as if fear was still there, unsure where to aim.

  But Naruto stopped at a respectful distance.

  And when he spoke, there was nothing threatening in his voice. No joke.

  Just… concern.

  “Are you okay?”

  He leaned down a little, because he was taller than her, lowering his head so he could look her in the eyes without seeming like a giant invading her space.

  “Did they hurt you?”

  The question came out with a tenderness he might not have known how to expin.

  Because Naruto could pretend to be “the monster” to scare others… but he couldn’t be a monster to someone who was truly afraid.

  Hinata took a while to answer.

  Her white eyes—so pale they seemed to reflect the light—were wide, and the tears still shimmered at the edges.

  But little by little, she seemed to understand Naruto wasn’t there to hurt her.

  That, in some strange way, he’d shown up to help.

  “They… they didn’t hurt me,” she finally said, quietly.

  Naruto let out the air he hadn’t even realized he was holding.

  “Then what were they doing?”

  Hinata trembled again, and her face tightened like the memory squeezed from the inside.

  Naruto raised his hand slowly and rested it on top of her head, a simple gesture. It wasn’t force. It wasn’t control.

  It was comfort.

  His hand stayed there, light, as if it were saying without words: you’re not alone right now.

  Hinata calmed down, centimeter by centimeter, like her body was slowly unlearning panic.

  After a few seconds, she finally spoke, voice still shaking:

  “They… were mocking my eyes… for being completely white.”

  The words seemed to hurt more than any stone.

  The tears threatened to fall for real.

  But Naruto didn’t let the silence grow. He replied quickly, firm, without overthinking it—like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “They’re just idiots.”

  Hinata blinked, surprised.

  Naruto continued, with the same natural tone someone uses to say the sky is blue.

  “Your eyes are beautiful.”

  Hinata froze.

  It was like her body forgot how to move.

  Her pale face started turning red—far too red—and within seconds she looked like a full tomato, hot and embarrassed.

  She lowered her gaze, fingers twisting in desperate nervousness, like she didn’t know where to put her hands, how to breathe, how to exist.

  Naruto noticed and blinked, a little confused.

  He’d only said… the truth.

  But apparently, the truth was something very rare in her life.

  “What’s your name?” Naruto asked, trying to sound normal, like this was just an ordinary conversation between two kids.

  Hinata opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again.

  “H-h-Hinata,” she stammered, but managed to say it in the end.

  Naruto smiled—softer now.

  “I’m Naruto. Nice to meet you.”

  Hinata lifted her gaze for a moment, and her white eyes met his.

  And in that brief second, it felt like she wanted to say so many things her throat couldn’t handle.

  A “thank you.”

  A “you saved me.”

  A “why did you do that?”

  But the words didn’t come.

  And before Naruto could say anything else, he heard it.

  Footsteps.

  Not a child’s running footsteps.

  Firm, controlled, drawing closer.

  Naruto turned his head and saw a woman with the same white eyes and a serious expression hurrying toward them. From the look of it… a Hyūga attendant. Or a guard.

  Someone assigned to watch over her.

  Naruto didn’t wait for a confrontation.

  He knew how adults were. And he knew how Konoha was.

  The st thing he needed was someone from the Hyūga cn deciding he was “messing” with the heiress.

  He took a step back.

  “I’d better go,” he said, already turning, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  Hinata opened her mouth, desperate to say something—anything—but the sound died.

  In the end, she just watched.

  Naruto started walking away, his hands returning to his pockets.

  For a moment, he thought about looking back.

  But he didn’t.

  The sound of the woman’s steps reached Hinata, and the attendant hurried closer, eyes scanning the alley, the child, the scene.

  “Hinata-sama! What happened? Why are you here? Are you hurt? Who was that boy? Where are the others?”

  The questions came like arrows, one after another.

  But Hinata barely heard them.

  In that moment, the only thing she could feel… was her own heart.

  Beating.

  Hard.

  Fast.

  As if it had just discovered something that had never existed before.

  As if, for the first time, someone had looked at her… and seen something beautiful.

  (Early access chapters: see the bio.)