The moonlight flowed like water, spilling into the stream below.
Downstream along the Naka River, rustling sounds came from the reeds and bushes.
Splash.
"Oh yeah—awesome! Finally, I got one!"
A blond little brat beamed with joy as water arced through the air.
In front of him, a freshly caught saury thrashed wildly, splashing water everywhere.
Droplets flew up, soaking his messy blond hair.
The four-year-old was drenched from head to toe, his dirty little face framed by bright azure eyes.
Yet instead of being annoyed, he laughed even harder.
"Hehehe! This one's gotta be almost half a kilo, right? I can finally eat my fill today!"
The smile on his face was simple and pure.
There was no resentment, no bitterness from hunger—only anticipation and longing.
Crackle. Pop.
As the campfire burned, the cleaned fish slowly turned golden over the flames, its skin charring slightly.
The aroma spread along the riverbank.
Crack.
Just then, footsteps sounded from behind.
They weren't loud, but in the quiet of the riverbank, they felt jarringly out of place.
"Who's there?!"
The blond boy jumped to his feet instantly, arms raised defensively.
At this hour, the only people who ever approached him were those hateful village kids—
throwing stones, hurling insults, laughing at him.
Even though he'd done nothing wrong.
Rustle, rustle.
This time, though, no stones came flying.
Instead, the figure slowly stepped out from behind a tree.
He was much taller than Naruto.
Long black hair tied back, sharp yet gentle features, no trace of the usual disgust people showed him.
The clothes he wore looked familiar—like those of one of Konoha's major clans.
"B-big brother… who are you…?"
Naruto hesitated, but his guard stayed up, blue eyes fixed on the stranger.
"So it really is you… Naruto."
The newcomer was Uchiha Kai.
After getting information from Itachi earlier that night, Kai had left a clone behind in the clan compound while his real body went out to "loot corpses."
The Kumogakure ninja's corpse.
In the original story, he was destined to die anyway—did it really matter whose hands he died by?
Kai had planned to leave as soon as he sensed pursuit.
But then he noticed someone by the river.
A kid, alone at this hour.
Looking across all of Konoha, there was only one person who fit that description—
The blond prince.
"You know my name?" Naruto asked, eyes lighting up. "Big brother?"
His small face flushed red.
Then his orange-blond eyes rolled around, as if he'd made up his mind. He scratched the back of his head.
"Big brother, I'll share my fish with you! Hehe!"
At that moment, Naruto didn't know how to respond to being recognized.
So he instinctively offered up the most precious thing he had.
Grrr—
Right on cue, his stomach growled loudly.
Clearly, four-year-old Naruto was already starving.
"Just knowing your name is enough to make you this happy, huh…"
Kai shook his head quietly.
If that man—the one who'd died still worrying about his son—could see the life Naruto ended up living…
Would he still have left so peacefully?
Unfortunately, the Uchiha had long been under strict surveillance.
Kai had tried more than once to approach Naruto, to talk to him.
But every time he got close to Naruto's residence, he felt eyes on his back—like needles.
ANBU.
Or rather… Root.
Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, Naruto had been under constant watch.
And it was obvious—the village higher-ups didn't want the Uchiha anywhere near the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
With no other choice, Kai had temporarily given up.
He didn't want to draw the village's attention too early.
"I-I know it's not very tasty… I don't really have any seasoning…"
Seeing Kai shake his head, Naruto thought his fish had been rejected.
He lowered his head, shoulders slumping like a dejected little quail.
"It's not that," Kai said quickly, smiling. "I just meant… how about we eat together?"
"Huh?! Really? Okay!"
Instantly, light burst into the lonely child's eyes.
Naruto talked nonstop while eating, rambling after every bite.
Kai didn't interrupt—he simply ate alongside him, replying occasionally.
If Sasuke saw this, his jaw would drop.
Since when did the talkative second brother become this quiet?
As time passed, Kai finally saw Naruto's traits clearly.
[Conversation Target: Uzumaki Naruto]
[After 10 minutes of conversation, copyable traits detected:
– Talk-no-Jutsu (Black)
– Child of Destiny (Rainbow)
– Nine-Tails Jinchūriki (Gold)
– Chakra Monster (Gold)
– Agile Body (White)]
Shockingly simple.
Aside from the traits he was born with, Naruto had only gained Agile Body in four years.
Maybe that counted as a different kind of childhood.
Kai murmured to himself, excitement building.
Fewer traits meant fewer outcomes.
Five traits—four of them completely broken.
That was an 80% chance to copy something insane.
How was that not good news?
Kai smiled and waited for the system.
[Copy successful. Congratulations, Host has obtained:
Common Trait — Agile Body (White).]
Kai: "..."
So that 80% chance was a lie, huh?
A flicker of regret crossed his eyes—but quickly faded.
Meeting Naruto at all was already an unexpected gift.
Copying any trait was a bonus.
Without hesitation, he spoke internally.
"System, merge it into Swift Lightstep."
[Merge successful. Swift Lightstep (Blue) has increased slightly.]
A familiar warm current flowed through his body.
Kai could clearly feel it—
And… nothing much changed.
The boost was minimal.
That was expected.
Swift Lightstep (Blue) was an elite trait, upgraded over years by feeding countless Agile Body traits, evolving from Light as a Swallow.
The improvement was significant overall—when Kai moved carefully, he made no sound at all.
Paired with his rainbow-tier Low Presence, it was almost perfect.
Of course, over the years, Kai had fed more than just this one trait.
As he chatted casually, he checked his own status.
[Name: Uchiha Kai]
[Chakra: 1,000,025]
[Traits:
– Seven-Year Itch (Black)
– Body of Light (Rainbow)
– Low Presence (Rainbow)
– Flying Thunder God Technique (Gold) Lv.4
– Distinguished Lineage (Purple)
– Sharingan (Purple)
– Byakugan (Purple)
– Adamantine Sealing Chains · Fragment (Purple)
– Cloud-Style Body Arts (Purple)
– Lightning Release Mastery (Blue)
– Fire Release Affinity (Blue)
– Swift Lightstep (Blue)
– Dynamic Vision (Green)
– Eight Trigrams Palm (Green)
…]
A lot of traits.
But due to his age, his body couldn't handle excessive strengthening yet.
Genius who blooms too early withers early—that wasn't just talk.
He'd seen enough in his past life.
Overdeveloping the body too early could stunt growth.
Muscle restricted bones.
After a moment of reflection, Kai shifted his focus—
To Flying Thunder God.
The trait he had continuously fed and refined for four whole years.
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