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Chapter 126 - Home #2

Konohagakure no Sato :

Konoha Streets :

The night sky over Konoha was a deep, velvet indigo, stitched with the silver embroidery of distant stars. Naruto stepped out of the Yamanaka estate, the cool air a welcome reprieve from the stiflingly warm, domestic chaos he had just left behind.

The Yamanaka invited him for dinner but He offered a polite excuse about his pets—Simba and the others—needing their evening meal, though the logic was purely performative. Somewhere across the village, three of his Shadow Clones had already completed that task hours ago, meticulously measuring out kibble and checking the water basins.

As Naruto walked, his sandals clicking rhythmically against the cobblestones, his gaze drifted involuntarily toward the opposite side of the street. A family of four was making their way home—a father and mother flanking two young children who were skipping between them, their laughter echoing off the darkened storefronts.

(..... why does my gaze goes there all the time )

It was a sight that acted as a persistent, low-frequency hum in the back of his mind. This wasn't the first time such a mundane scene had triggered a cascade of heavy reflection.

In the "original" timeline—the one that existed in the memories of a life he shouldn't possess—Naruto Uzumaki had allowed his dream of being Hokage to be twisted by a desperate, starving need for validation.

The original Naruto had been an orphan so hollowed out by loneliness that he had eventually swallowed the entire village's propaganda whole. He had expanded his definition of "Family" to include every man, woman, and child within the walls of Konoha.

( Thanks to Third Hokage's teachings )

In that other life, the "Will of Fire" was a psychological tether. Even after marrying Hinata and having Boruto and Himawari, that Naruto had worked himself to the bone, neglecting his own hearth to maintain the "family" of the masses.

To That Original Naruto , there was no distinction; the village was his home, and its citizens were his kin.

He was a man who had finally filled his void by becoming a martyr to the collective interests of the village which was also his family.

(But I am not that Naruto,) Naruto thought, sliding his hands into his pockets and maintaining an indifferent, marble-cold expression.

This new Naruto possessed a duality of spirit—the raw, aching memories of the orphan and the cynical, analytical perspective of a man who understood the difference between a social community and a blood bond.

He knew that the village was a geopolitical entity, a military machine that would just as soon sacrifice an individual for the "greater good" as it would celebrate them. He understood that while a community required service, a family required a soul.

His obsessions were now far more focused, distilled into two pillars:

Power and Family.

To this Naruto, the "Hokage" dream was no longer a desperate plea for a seat at the table; it was a tactical maneuver.

In Konoha, as long as you proclaimed a desire to serve the village and wear the hat, you were granted a pass through 90% of the village's cultural and legal checkpoints.

Your obsession with power was framed as "youthful ambition."

Your borderline insane training schedule was seen as "dedication to the Will of Fire."

By shouting the dream as a reflex, he could bypass scrutiny while he hunted for the unrivaled authority and forbidden techniques that came with the title.

( declaring Hokage dream everyday does not mean I will be Hokage tomorrow )

Naruto was in no rush. With Tsunade and Kakashi still in the wings, he had two decades , Nearly 20 years of prime development time.

The original Naruto had become Hokage in his thirties; this Naruto was simply using the title as a mask to cover the engine of his growth—the Eternal Forge and the tireless, multi-faceted processing of his Shadow Clone network.

The original kid had the resolve of a martyr BUT this Naruto had the ambition of a Monarch .

Naruto reached his apartment building, the familiar scent of old wood and the distant sound of the village's evening bustle fading as he climbed the stairs. When he opened the door, the heavy silence was immediately broken by a burst of kinetic energy.

Simba, his Orange-furred companion, came skittering across the floor, his tail thumping against the walls with a rhythmic, frantic joy.

Despite the fact that Shadow Clones had spent the entire day with the animal, the dog seemed to possess an instinctual ability to recognize the "original" soul. He sensed the weight of the gravity seals, the true frequency of Naruto's chakra, and he greeted it with a wag that could have powered a small village.

(...must be smell , Shadow Clones shouldn't smell )

Naruto knelt, picking up the dog and scratching behind his ears, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through his indifferent mask. He walked through the living area and out onto the terrace.

Above, the ravens he kept as his "eyes in the sky" shifted on their perches, their dark feathers gleaming like oil in the moonlight. From a shadowed corner of the roof, Sadako, his snowy owl, turned her head nearly 180 degrees, her amber eyes widening as she prepared for the night's hunt.

(From now on, I'll take you guys with me on missions,) Naruto thought, looking at the assembled creatures. ( Family ...huh )

As Naruto stood there, his mind drifted back to the concept of family. The original Naruto had been obsessed with bonds because he was terrified of the dark. He wanted to be loved by everyone because he had been loved by no one.

But the new Naruto, burdened by the bittersweet memories of a previous life and the terrifyingly clear foresight of what "canon" looked like, longed for family for a different reason. He didn't want to be a hero; he wanted to be an anchor.

He loathed loneliness, not as a victim, but as a man who knew the value of companionship. He looked for bonds not to find someone to die for, but to find something worth living for.

He sought a family that would be a sanctuary, a private world where the "Hokage" mask could be dropped and the gravity seals could be deactivated.

However, there was a sharp edge to this desire. If anyone—the village, the Akatsuki, or the world itself—threatened the few people he chose to let behind his walls, his retaliation would be absolute and devastating.

But unlike his predecessor, he would not be a sacrificial lamb. He would protect his family, but he would not do so at the expense of his own life unless every other tactical option had been burned to ash.

He would be the shield that survived the war, the father who returned home, the king who kept his crown and his kin.

With a final pat for Simba, Naruto looked out over the village. The "Will of Fire" was a beautiful light, but he was more interested in the shadows it cast—the places where a man could build a home that the village could never claim as its own.

The sliding door of the Terrace clicked shut behind him, sealing out the cool night air and replacing it with the savory, rich aroma of a freshly prepared feast. In the center of the room, three Shadow Clones stood in a disciplined row, having just finished plating the final dishes.

As the "original" stepped into the light, the clones offered synchronized nods and promptly dispersed into plumes of white smoke. Their memories—hours of culinary labor, the precise seasoning of the meats, the careful washing of the vegetables—surged into Naruto's mind, a seamless integration of experience that he accepted with practiced ease.

Naruto sat at the table, his eyes scanning the spread. There was glazed pork, steaming bowls of white rice, seasonal vegetables sautéed in garlic and ginger, and a side of chilled tofu. Naruto picked up his chopsticks and began to eat, the first bite of the succulent meat making him close his eyes in momentary bliss.

(...Ahh, this is food,) he thought, savoring the texture.

He had no interest in the "humble monk" aesthetic that the village elders—and perhaps even the Third Hokage—would have preferred from a Ninja/Jinchuriki.

In the scrolls and stories, a great shinobi was often portrayed as an ascetic, someone who ate bland rice and slept on stone floors to prove their endurance.

( A Shinobi is someone that endures ...pfft )

But Naruto rejected that narrative entirely.

He wasn't a brainwashed machine designed for suffering. He liked good food, he liked high-quality "toys"—be they scrolls, weapons , clothes or seals —and he had every intention of dressing the part of a powerhouse.

He understood that even the "original" Naruto had vied for attention through pranks and orange jumpsuits.

And This Naruto simply channeled that same drive into a more sophisticated, subtle form of display. The direct renovation of his inherited estate was the ultimate expression of this: a declaration of existence that the village could not ignore.

As he chewed his rice, Naruto reflected on the three years he had spent in this world. At the beginning, the sheer weight of his situation had been paralyzing.

The memories of the future—of the Akatsuki, the cataclysmic arrival of Pain, the manipulative shadow of Obito, and the god-like return of Madara and Kaguya—had been a dark cloud hanging over his every thought.

If not for the cold, logical framework of his System skills and his own hardened mentality, he might have broken under the pressure, perhaps even blurting out the truth in a moment of weakness.

But time had been a tempering forge. Over these three years, the terror had cooled into a focused, icy resolve. Naruto no longer looked at the future as an inevitable apocalypse, but as a series of high-stakes variables to be managed.

He had built his bonds, refined his power, and, most importantly, he had come to terms with the reality of his lineage.

He had accepted himself as an Orphan .

The Third Hokage wanted him to be a grateful ward of the state, worshipping Minato Namikaze as an idol of sacrifice.

Naruto, however, viewed it through a more cynical, modern lens.

He understood that Minato might have been a legendary Hokage, but he had been a failure as a father. To Minato, the village was the priority; to Naruto, the child was the casualty.

( The Hokage wants me to accept Minat-no Hokage's decision that sacrificed a child for the village , the old man also doesn't want me to resent 4th Hokage and also his father , whether as JInchuriki or as his son )

If Jinchuriki harbors resentment to Hokage then that was something no one want .

( But I know that Minato and Kushina doesn't have the choice at that time , even giving him nuke was also to make his most valuable asset in the village )

But Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know that .

Naruto didn't harbor a burning resentment—Minato had made the choice he thought was right in a desperate moment—but he also couldn't offer the blind, unconditional love the village expected for a ghost.

( As much as respect him as 4th Hokage and maybe a Father , but I don't have that Deep Fillial piety for someone entirely absent in my life )

With his modern thinking and viewpoint , A Father and Mother are not just blood related , there are plenty of people who are absolutely a shame to be even called parents , and the there are those who are a symbol despite not even being bloodrelated 

In these three years Naruto has come to a realisation towards 4th Hokage and his Wife

(How can I respect or even love you when you weren't even there?) he mused, swallowing a mouthful of tea.

(No talks, no bedtime stories, not even a picture book left behind to guide me. Just a seal in my gut and a target on my back.)

In his modern eyes, blood didn't make a parent; presence did. He respected them as the Hokage and his wife, and perhaps there was a lingering, biological attachment to the idea of them as his Parents , but beyond that?

Nothing.

( Even though I know you did not have a choice )

His drive to hunt down Obito wasn't just a matter of justice for the village; it was a personal vendetta against the man who had ensured he would grow up in a world of cold stares and empty apartments.

The "Project Tsuki no Me" was a threat to everyone, a technique with no hiding place, and Naruto intended to be the one who broke the mirror.

Naruto's thoughts shifted from the dark future to the intimate present. His mind wandered to the bonds he had cultivated, the most significant being the girl who had always watched him from the periphery.

When the memories of his previous life first merged with the consciousness of the young Naruto, the new individual—the "new" Uzumaki Naruto—had quickly realized he had been overlooking a treasure right in front of him.

Hinata Hyuga had become a special existence to him, eventually bordering on an OBSESSION.

Naruto had initially hesitated, fearing that his changes might have altered her feelings or that her age made his interest inappropriate, but her firm, unwavering declaration of his humanity had shattered those doubts.

Yet, this Naruto was not the innocent boy of the original series. He was cynical, greedy, and possessed a modern man's ambition. He didn't just want a bond; he wanted a family.

AND HE WANTED MORE

(After getting a second chance, how can a man not aim for a Harem?)

But Naruto wasn't looking for a collection of trophies or disposable flings. He wasn't some emperor who forgot the names of the women in his court.

Naruto understood that this wasn't some perverted fantasy world of Highschool Dxd , where every girl accepts Harem without much aversion or simply Natural order of things.

This was a world of shinobi, where kids matured early but remained emotionally sheltered regarding the complexities of long-term intimacy and Naruto was willing to wait, to play the long game, and to prepare the foundation.

For a harem to function as a family, compatibility was the only metric that mattered in Naruto's dictionary.

This was the true reason Naruto had allowed Ino to draw closer. He had tested her, meticulously observing her reactions to Hinata. If Ino had been scheming, if she had shown a trace of malice or tried to push Hinata away, Naruto would have kept her at a safe, professional distance.

Instead, Ino had surprised him. She hadn't just accepted Hinata; she had become her best friend and even Hinata has accepted Ino , Ino was genuinely seeking Naruto's affection while simultaneously supporting the girl who was technically her rival.

( is this what a fangirl is ?? .....knowing he is married or similiar but still trying ?? Ino must be something like a Sane Fangirl )

All this was meticulously observed by Naruto with his Keen Eyes Skill over the years and so Naruto made a decision.

( If you're not giving up on me, then why should I give up on you? )

Naruto walked out onto the terrace, Simba trotting at his heels. He looked down at the quiet street below, the memory of Ino's shivering courage as a child—declaring to the village that Naruto wasn't a monster—playing in his mind like a vivid reel.

Ino was the first one who had made him feel like a person rather than a Jinchuriki. That bond was now an integral part of the fortress he was building.

Naruto knew Hinata's feelings, but this is why communication is important .and Ino's words that were first heard made an Devastating inpact on that Dark mind and Light heart , and Naruto has already realised something about his feelings for Ino

( After that moment , It's impossible for me to push Ino away , if she goes herself than good ...if not even better )

Naruto thought of Hinata's reaction to the Harem .

In the stoic, ancient culture of the Great Clans like the Hyuga, polygamy wasn't a taboo; it was a historical reality of the nobility and high-ranking shinobi. Hinata's own father, Hiashi, had been married to her mother who passed away early , and later to Hitomi, Hanabi's mother.

Hinata had been raised within that framework. She understood the codes of the superhuman elite by the elite education of Hyuga Clan.

In this Shinobi world most Jonins have more than 1 wife , they may be civilians but the status of Ninja is really of worship .

Naruto leaned against the railing, a slow, calculated thought tugging at his lips as he watched the moon climb higher.

(A little manipulation, a lot of sincerity, and the right environment... everything will fall into place.)

The night deepened, the silence of the apartment broken only by the rhythmic scratching of a fountain pen against parchment. Naruto sat at his desk, the amber light of a single lamp casting long, flickering shadows against the walls.

His mind, usually a fortress of tactical calculations and training regimes, was currently navigating the variable in his long-term grand design: Uzumaki Karin.

In his meticulously laid plans—plans that had been gestating for nearly two years—Karin was an anomaly. She was someone who, by all rights of the original timeline, should never have set foot in the Land of Fire at this stage of the story.

In the memories of the "other" Naruto, Karin was a tragic figure found in the ruins of the Grass Village, later becoming a fanatical devotee of Sasuke Uchiha, a woman whose loyalty was so absolute that she remained Single even into the era of the Seventh Hokage.

Yet, here she was. Karin was introduced in Naruto's life with the meeting of Tsunade , a year ago—Later , Naruto had introduced her into his inner circle, weaving her into the lives of Hinata and Ino.

At first, Naruto's cynical, modern mind had viewed Karin as a structural necessity—a "buffer." He had envisioned her as the bridge between Hinata's quiet, traditional reserve and Ino's explosive, modern charisma.

If his "Harem Plan" were to succeed in a world of high-stakes shinobi politics and ancient clan traditions, he needed a cohesive unit, not a fractured group of rivals.

Karin, with her shared Uzumaki blood and her status as an outsider, was the perfect glue to bond the two Leaf girls together.

But the variable had developed a will of its own. Over the past year, Naruto had expected that Karin to once again focus on the Uchiha but somehow she locked onto him with a gaze that defied his calculations.

(I still don't understand it,) Naruto thought, his eyes narrowing as he watched the ink dry on the scrolls.

( OR ....Is she just a fangirl?)

To a man who had lived twice, a simple "fangirl" was a liability—a shallow obsession that would crumble under the weight of a real war. Naruto didn't want a collection of one-sided devotions; he wanted a family .

If he wanted mindless stress relief, the world was full of places where money could buy a night of hollow company.

But Naruto was building a FAMILY . He was looking for partners who could stand in the epicenter of the storm he was destined to create.

Despite his cynicism, he couldn't deny the results. Over the year, the "Purple Trinity" had formed. Hinata, Ino, and Karin—three girls with vastly different temperaments—had found a strange, harmonic resonance.

They shared a peculiar affinity for the color purple, for the language of flowers, and for the quiet moments of girlhood that Naruto's presence seemed to facilitate. Hinata found peace in the delicate art of flower pressing; Ino lived for the vibrant aesthetic of the bloom; and Karin, with her heightened senses, was obsessed with the lingering fragrance that signaled life and growth.

They were now inseparable, a trio of "best chummies" who had effectively bypassed the jealousy stage. Observing all this Naruto looked at karin differently .

Naruto wouldn't have considered Karin in his plan if not for her relationship between Hinata and Ino.

After all 

(Why would a lion refuse a piece of meat delivered directly to his mouth?) a dark, honest corner of his mind whispered.

If the girls had already done the hard work of building a foundation of sisterhood, who was he to dismantle it? If Karin was offering her loyalty and her life to the Uzumaki name, he would accept it—but only after he had thoroughly dissected the "why" behind her feelings unlike Hinata and Ino.

He needed to be sure her bond was to him, the individual, and not just the glowing, golden chakra he radiated.

Naruto stood up, the floorboards creaking slightly under the weight of his seals. He walked to the window where two of his ravens sat perched on the railing, their obsidian eyes reflecting the moonlight. He took two small, rolled tubes of parchment and tied them securely to the birds' legs.

"Go," he whispered.

With a coordinated flap of heavy wings, the ravens took flight. One banked left, heading toward the sprawling, high-walled silence of the Hyuga Estate to find Hinata.

The other drifted right, soaring toward the Senju territory where Karin was currently housed under the village's protection. The messages were identical: a summons to gather at the Hokage Tower early tomorrow morning. The pretext was simple—they were to "help" Ino with the daunting task of the estate's interior design.

In reality, This was another step and Test in the "Biological and Social Synthesis." He was bringing his future family together under the roof of the House he had built for them , and asking them to make it Home.

( who says Love is not an obsession )

Naruto remained at the window, the cool night breeze ruffling his blonde hair. The moonlight caught the sharp, calculating gleam in his eyes—a gaze far too heavy for a boy of twelve. He watched the ravens become mere pinpricks against the stars, carrying his silent invitations like the first moves on a shogi board.

( They like me and I like them too , what's there to hesitate )

Naruto knew he was playing a dangerous game, one that required the precision of a master sealer and the patience of a mountain. But the timing was perfect.

In the world of shinobi, the pre-teen and early teenage years were the crucible where the most enduring loyalties were forged. It was the age of first impressions, of shared trauma on missions, and of the blossoming of identities.

(This is the golden window,) Naruto thought, his fingers drumming a slow rhythm against the wooden sill.

( While their hearts are still soft, while their world is still small... I will make sure that whenever they look toward the future, the only silhouette they see is mine.)

By the time other suitors even realized the game had started, Naruto intended for the "Purple Trinity" to be so deeply entwined with his own life that the roots could never be pulled.

(For the next three years, I will play the part,) Naruto mused, a slow, wolfish grin spreading across his face.

( I'll be the dense protagonist, the hardworking hero who is "oblivious" to the blushing faces and the lingering glances. I'll score points, raise their affection to the absolute maximum, and weave myself so deeply into their lives that the idea of anyone else will become unthinkable.)

Naruto wasn't in a rush and this the world of Love-Brains. He would let the seeds he had planted in the garden of their hearts grow until they were ripe. He would utilize these years of "innocent" Genin missions and domestic renovations to solidify his power base.

(And once the age is right... once the fruit is heavy on the vine...) Naruto turned away from the window, his eyes glowing with a faint, fox-like intensity.

( It will be a FEAST )

Naruto embraced the struggle and the passage of time, knowing that no effort was too great when it came to his future queens.

Naruto walked back to his bed, Simba lifting his head from the rug to offer a sleepy wag of his tail. Naruto lay down, the hum of the Eternal Forge acting as a lullaby. Tomorrow, the "renovations" would begin—not just for the house, but for the future of the Uzumaki Clan.

( just like everyone else ... I LOVE MYSELF , even if I am a TWISTED Invidual ...)

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Author's notes :

The Harem Plan is underway .

A Future direction of How Naruto will act with the girls .

don't raise your bloodpressure when he acts as Dense protagnist.

A different take on harem and love 

Moral Of the story - Love yourself 

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