The transition wasn't a tunnel of light; it was a violent surge of data.
I died, Kenji thought, or rather, the soul that used to be Kenji thought. He remembered the screech of tires, the cold rain of Tokyo, and then... nothingness. Until now.
Now, there was warmth. A suffocating, rhythmic heat. He opened his eyes, but all he saw was a hazy, crimson tint. He tried to move, but his limbs felt heavy, submerged in a thick fluid.
[Ding!]
A sharp, mechanical chime rang directly in his consciousness, vibrating through his very essence.
[System Synchronization: 100%]
[Host Soul successfully merged with Vessel: Naruto Uzumaki.]
[Warning: Original Soul Remnants detected. Commencing absorption...]
Kenji felt a second rush of memories—not his own. He saw a lonely swing set, the smell of cheap ramen, and the soul-crushing weight of thousands of hateful eyes looking down at a small boy. He felt the raw, primal rage of a caged beast—the Nine-Tails—clawing at the edges of his mind.
I'm Naruto? Kenji's mind raced. He knew this world. He had read the manga, watched every episode, and even delved into the darkest theories of the fandom. He knew the betrayals, the wars, and the hidden gods.
[Integration Complete.]
[System "Monarch's Gaze" Initialized.]
[Current Era: Graduation Year - Age 12.]
[Objective: Surpass the destiny of the "Child of Prophecy." Build your Kingdom.]
Suddenly, the red haze shattered like glass.
"Naruto! Wake up! If you fail this exam one more time, I'm sending you back to the beginning!"
The voice was sharp, yet held an underlying layer of exhaustion and care. Kenji—now Naruto—gasped, his eyes snapping open. He was sitting at a wooden desk, the sun streaming through the windows of the Academy classroom.
He looked up. Iruka Umino stood before him, arms crossed, looking down with a frown.
Naruto didn't answer immediately. He couldn't. His vision was flickering. Lines of glowing golden light began to trace the outlines of everything in the room.
[Skill Activated: Eye of Providence (Passive)]
[Target: Iruka Umino]
[Power Level: High-Chunin]
[Affection Level: 65/100 (Fatherly/Protective)]
Naruto blinked. The world looked sharper. He could see the flow of chakra in Iruka's body—a steady, blue stream. But when he looked at his own hands, there was nothing. No chakra. Just a void that felt deeper than any ocean.
"Naruto?" Iruka's voice softened, his brow furrowing. "Are you alright? You look... pale."
Naruto slowly leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips—a smirk that the "old" Naruto never would have worn. This wasn't the grin of a prankster; it was the look of a man who knew exactly what everyone was worth.
"I'm fine, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said. His voice was lower, smoother. He stood up, and for a moment, the entire room went silent.
The Naruto they knew was loud, orange, and clumsy. This boy stood with a predatory grace. He didn't look like an outcast; he looked like a king who had accidentally wandered into a peasant's hut.
He turned his gaze toward the back of the room. There sat Sasuke Uchiha.
[Target: Sasuke Uchiha]
[Power Level: Low-Genin (High Potential)]
[Affection Level: 15/100 (Rivalry/Curiosity)]
[Note: Soul Resonance Detected.]
Sasuke's dark eyes met Naruto's. Usually, Sasuke would look away with a huff of "useless loser." But this time, he froze. He felt a sudden, electric jolt shoot up his spine. The golden tint in Naruto's eyes held a magnetic gravity. It felt as if Naruto wasn't looking at him, but into him, stripping away his secrets.
Sasuke's breath hitched. He felt his face heat up, a reaction he didn't understand. He gripped his desk, his knuckles turning white. What is this feeling? Why can't I look away?
"Is something wrong, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his voice carrying across the room, silk-soft and teasing. "You're staring."
The class gasped. Sakura and Ino, who usually would be screaming at Naruto for talking to their "Sasuke-kun," were strangely silent. They were looking at Naruto as if they were seeing him for the first time. The messy blonde hair didn't look ridiculous anymore—it looked wild. The whiskers on his cheeks didn't look like a curse; they looked like war paint.
"Hn," Sasuke finally managed to grunt, turning his head away, though his ears were tinged a deep red. "Just focus on not failing, loser."
[Ding!]
[Target 'Sasuke Uchiha' feeling: Confusion/Attraction.]
[Affection increased to 18/100.]
Naruto chuckled softly. He could get used to this.
The First Test
The afternoon was spent on the Clone Jutsu exam. It was the moment of Naruto's greatest failure in the original story. But this time, he had the System.
As he stood in the separate testing room with Iruka and Mizuki, the air felt heavy.
"Alright, Naruto," Mizuki said, his voice dripping with fake encouragement. "Just one successful clone, and you pass."
[Target: Mizuki]
[Affection Level: -10/100 (Hostile/Deceptive)]
[Warning: Host intends to lead you to the Forbidden Scroll.]
Naruto looked at Mizuki. In his eyes, the man's chakra was a muddy, sickly green—the color of envy. He then looked at the hand signs required. He knew he had no chakra to mold. The Nine-Tails was being suppressed by the System's presence, and his own body was a vacuum.
System, Naruto thought. If I have no chakra, how do I pass?
[Answer: The Eye of Providence converts 'Aura' into physical manifestations. No chakra required. Command the reality around you.]
Naruto closed his eyes. He didn't mold chakra. Instead, he reached into the void within himself. He felt a power that was colder, heavier, and far more ancient than Ninjutsu.
"Clone Jutsu," he whispered.
The room didn't just fill with smoke. It vibrated.
Five figures appeared. They weren't the pale, sickly clones of the old Naruto. They were perfect. They stood with their arms crossed, each one radiating a pressure that made Iruka's breath catch in his throat.
"This..." Iruka stood up, his chair clattering to the floor. "This isn't a normal Clone Jutsu. There's no chakra signature, yet they're... solid?"
Naruto dismissed the clones with a wave of his hand. He walked toward Iruka, stopping just inches from the man's face. He was shorter than Iruka, but the way he looked up—the way his golden eyes shimmered—made Iruka feel like the smaller person.
"Did I pass, Sensei?" Naruto asked. He reached out, his fingers grazing Iruka's flak jacket, lingering just a second too long over his heart.
Iruka's heart hammered against his ribs. The proximity was overwhelming. The scent of Naruto—sandalwood and something metallic, like a coming storm—made his head spin. "Y-yes. You pass, Naruto."
Iruka handed him the forehead protector. As their fingers touched, Naruto purposefully let his hand linger, his thumb stroking the back of Iruka's hand.
[Affection: Iruka Umino increased to 72/100.]
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Naruto purred. "I'll make sure you're proud of me."
He walked out of the room, leaving a dazed Iruka and a trembling, suspicious Mizuki behind.
The Night of the Scroll
Despite passing, the System prompted the original event. Mizuki approached him later that evening, trying to manipulate him into stealing the Forbidden Scroll. Naruto played along. He wanted that scroll—not for the jutsu, but for the data the System could extract from it.
As Naruto sat in the woods, the massive scroll resting against his back, he didn't study the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. He let the System scan.
[Scanning Forbidden Scroll of Seals...]
[New Skills Available: Hiraishin (Incomplete), Reaper Death Seal (Data logged), Shadow Clone (Optimized)...]
"You're late, Mizuki-teme," Naruto said without turning around.
Mizuki landed in the clearing, his face contorted in a sneer. "Give me the scroll, Naruto! You don't know the monster you are! The village hates you because—"
"Because I have the fox inside me?" Naruto interrupted, standing up slowly. He turned around, and for the first time, he let the Eye of Providence glow at full power.
The air in the clearing turned to lead. Mizuki fell to his knees, his lungs seizing. He looked at Naruto and didn't see a boy. He saw an apex predator.
"I already know, Mizuki," Naruto said, walking toward him. "But here's something you don't know."
Naruto reached out, grabbing Mizuki by the throat. He didn't use chakra. He used the raw, crushing strength the System had granted his physical form. He leaned in close, his lips brushing against Mizuki's ear in a terrifying, mock-intimate gesture.
"You're too weak to be a pawn in my game."
With a flick of his wrist, Naruto sent the Chunin flying into a tree, unconscious before he hit the ground.
[Quest Complete: The Forbidden Night.]
[Rewards: +50 Strength, +50 Agility, Unlocking 'Seduction' Skill Tree.]
"Naruto!"
A figure blurred into the clearing. It was Iruka. He looked frantic, his clothes disheveled. He saw the scroll, he saw Mizuki, and then he saw Naruto—standing tall, calm, and utterly untroubled.
"Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, his voice dropping into that deep, melodic tone.
Iruka rushed to him, checking for injuries. "Are you hurt? Did he do anything to you?"
Naruto let the man fret, enjoying the way Iruka's hands trembled as they touched his shoulders. Naruto suddenly reached up, catching Iruka's hands in his own. He pulled the man closer, until their chests were touching.
"I'm fine," Naruto whispered, his eyes locking onto Iruka's. "Were you worried about me?"
Iruka couldn't speak. The boy he had protected for years was gone. In his place was a young man whose gaze was so intense it felt like a physical weight. "I... I was terrified, Naruto."
Naruto leaned in, his breath warm against Iruka's cheek. "I like it when you worry about me, Iruka. It shows me how much you care."
Before Iruka could respond, another presence arrived.
[Target Detected: Kakashi Hatake]
[Power Level: Elite Jonin]
[Affection Level: 5/100 (Observation/Guilt)]
From the shadows, a silver-haired ninja watched. Kakashi's visible eye widened. He had been sent by the Hokage to monitor the situation. He expected to find a crying Naruto or a battle. He didn't expect to find the Uzumaki boy holding Iruka in a way that looked dangerously close to an embrace.
And more importantly, Kakashi felt it. Even from the trees, he felt the magnetic pull of Naruto's presence. It was a gravity he couldn't explain—a desire to come closer, to protect, to own.
Naruto looked toward the trees, a knowing smirk on his face. He knew Kakashi was there.
Let them come, Naruto thought, his eyes glowing gold in the dark. Sasuke, Iruka, Kakashi... the whole village. They will all belong to me.
[System: Harem Progress Started.]
[Chapter 1: End.]