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Kuro watched the kid swinging slowly back and forth, his head hanging down as if the weight of the world was pressing on his small shoulders. The boy seemed lost in deep thought, completely unaware of anyone else around him.
'Should I just leave him alone?' Kuro wondered, hesitating a bit. 'I'm not sure if I should get involved with the main plot this early in the story. I mean, nothing terrible is going to happen if I just have a simple conversation with him, right? I'll have to interact with him eventually anyway.'
But even as he tried to convince himself, doubt crept into his mind. Getting involved with major characters this soon could change things in ways he couldn't predict. He stood there for a long moment, torn between his curiosity and his caution, watching the lonely figure on the swing.
'Ah, screw it...' Kuro finally made up his mind with a quiet sigh. Whatever consequences came from this, he'd deal with them later. He stepped off the sidewalk and headed through the park entrance, as he approached Naruto.
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Naruto pushed himself back and forth on the swing, the chains creaking softly as he did. His mind kept circling back to the same painful question that had been eating at him for as long as he could remember... why did everyone in the village hate him so much?
He'd never done anything terrible to any of them. Sure, he pulled pranks sometimes, but nothing that should make people look at him like he was some kind of monster. Yet every time he walked through the streets, he could feel their cold, disgusted eyes on him. Parents would pull their children closer when he passed by, shopkeepers would serve him with barely hidden irritation, and even some of his classmates' parents would give him those looks that made his stomach twist into knots.
'What did I ever do to deserve this?' he wondered, shifting the goggles on his head as he stared down at his feet. 'Maybe... maybe if I become Hokage, everyone will finally treat me differently. They'll have to respect me then, right?'
But even that dream felt impossibly far away right now. This was his final year at the Academy, and he'd already failed the graduation exams twice. It wasn't his fault he couldn't pass those stupid written tests, all those complicated questions about theory and history that never seemed to stick in his brain no matter how hard he tried. And to make everything worse, that bastard Sasuke had already passed his written exams with flying colors and mastered all the basic three jutsu requirements like it was nothing.
If he failed the next graduation exam, they'd either kick him out completely or make him stay back another whole year. The thought of being left behind while everyone else moved on made his chest feel tight.
"Man, this sucks," he muttered under his breath, ruffling his spiky hair in frustration as a low groan escaped his throat.
"Yo... you good?" A voice called out from behind him, cutting through his spiraling thoughts like a knife through paper.
Naruto's head snapped up from staring at his feet, turning to see a boy with dark, shaggy hair that reminded him a bit like Sasuke, but this guy was way taller and more muscular. The stranger had an easy, relaxed posture that was completely different from Sasuke's usual emo act.
Naruto blinked in surprise, his mouth falling open slightly. No one ever talked to him in such a casual, friendly way, without that edge of irritation or fear in their voice. Most people either ignored him completely or spoke to him like he was some kind of annoying pest they wanted to get rid of as quickly as possible.
He squinted his eyes and looked up at the boy with deep suspicion. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice carrying a defensive bite that had become second nature over the years.
What was this guy's angle? Was this some kind of prank? Maybe he was one of those kids who pretended to be nice just to mess with him later. Naruto had learned the hard way not to trust unexpected kindness.
"I mean, you look pretty sad sitting here all alone, so I figured I'd check to see if you were alright," the boy said with a simple shrug.
Naruto stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out if this was real or just another prank waiting to happen.
Naruto shifted uncomfortably on the swing, trying to maintain his tough exterior even though something about this stranger's genuine concern was throwing him off balance. "Look, I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me, okay? I'm doing just fine on my own," he said, his voice coming out harsher than he intended. But then he quickly softened his tone, not wanting to completely drive away the first person who'd shown him kindness in forever. "I mean... thanks for asking, I guess. But I'm alright."
GROOWWLLL...
Just as he finished speaking, his stomach let out a loud, unmistakable growl that echoed through the quiet park. Naruto's cheeks immediately turned bright red as embarrassment flooded through him. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and stared up at the boy, hoping the darkness would hide his flushed face.
Kuro, despite being brushed off moments earlier, didn't seem fazed at all. Instead, he tilted his head with a small smile. "You hungry? We could grab some food if you want."
Naruto didn't have any allowance left from what the old man had given him at the beginning of the month. He'd spent it all on cups of ramen and some milk that had gone bad faster than expected. The offer was seriously tempting, especially since he was really hungry, but he remembered his old man's warnings about watching out for strangers who offered candy or food, they could be kidnappers or worse.
"No, thank yo—"
"It's Ichiraku ramen," Kuro interrupted casually.
"Okay," Naruto said immediately, jumping to his feet so fast he nearly stumbled off the swing.
If he was going to get kidnapped, at least it would be over a bowl of the most amazing ramen in all of Konoha. Some risks were just worth taking.
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"Gaahhh!" Naruto released a satisfied gasp of air as he finished his bowl, tilting his head back before slamming the ceramic bowl back onto the counter with a loud clink. "Thank you, man... I was starving! You really saved me there, pal," he said with a genuine smile, patting his now-full stomach contentedly while throwing his arm around Kuro's shoulder in a friendly gesture.
Honestly, Kuro hadn't expected their encounter to drag on this long, but seeing the kid so desperately hungry made him feel bad for him. He couldn't just walk away from that. Naruto had been treated like garbage by his fellow villagers since the day he was born, even though he was just a little kid who hadn't done anything wrong to deserve it.
It wasn't like it was Naruto's fault that the Nine-Tails had been sealed inside him. But for that one reason alone, his entire life had been spent in crushing loneliness. If it wasn't for that manipulative bastard Danzo and his twisted schemes, maybe Naruto could've lived something resembling a normal childhood. But it was also the villagers' fault for being so damn stupid, treating a little kid like a monster when they knew perfectly well that a child couldn't have been responsible for something like that.
The worst part was that Naruto wasn't even the one who'd caused the attack in the first place. He was just an innocent baby who got stuck with the consequences of someone else's actions.
"No problem..." Kuro said, slurping down the last bit of broth from his own Ichiraku ramen bowl. And if he was being completely honest, that shit hit harder than his mother smacking his ass with a belt. No wonder Naruto went absolutely crazy over this place, the ramen was legitimately incredible.
Naruto nodded in appreciation, a genuine warmth spreading across his face. "I guess you aren't too bad after all," he said, giving Kuro a friendly pat on the back. But then his gaze shifted upward and locked onto the metal headband wrapped around Kuro's forehead, his eyes widening with curiosity. "So you're a shinobi, right? What's it like?" he asked, pointing directly at the gleaming leaf symbol.
Kuro finished the last of his ramen and instinctively touched the metal plate of his headband. If he was being completely honest, becoming a shinobi hadn't really felt like some life-changing thing to him. He couldn't give less of a shit about all that "Will of Fire" inspirational crap that Hiruzen loved to spout during his speeches, he just didn't want to die, plain and simple.
Plus, this whole setup wasn't really that different from being part of the military back in his previous life. Same chain of command, same dangerous missions, and the same risk of not making it home.
"Um..." Kuro paused, trying to find some inspiring bullshit that might actually cheer Naruto up and give him hope. "It's good, you know? Knowing you're protecting and helping the village in some way. I don't really know how to describe it properly..." he said, hoping he sounded more convincing than he felt.
Naruto nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling. "I think I know what you mean!"
Kuro raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. He'd always figured Naruto to be pretty stupid from the show, but maybe the kid was actually smarter than he gave him credit for. "Really?" he asked.
"Yeah! It's about kicking ass and having people finally like you! Plus, you get to do cool jutsu's and throw kunai at bad guys, and everyone has to respect you because you're super strong and awesome!" Naruto said with the utmost confidence.
Kuro groaned internally, shaking his head. 'Nevermind, I take it back. He's still an idiot.'
"Yeah... that's it," Kuro just agreed for the sake of it, not wanting to crush the kid's enthusiasm with his own cynical worldview.
Naruto nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin like he was contemplating something for a moment, which looked like he was taking a shit if anything. "Super cool!..." he said before suddenly pumping his fist into the air with renewed energy.
"You guys need anything else?" Teuchi, the chef and owner of Ichiraku ramen, suddenly stepped forward from behind the counter. He wore his signature white kimono and matching hat with a red kanji symbol on the left side. His eyes appeared to be permanently sealed shut in what looked like a constant squint, but somehow he could see everything around him with perfect clarity.
"No, that's all for me," Kuro said with a polite nod.
"I'm totally stuffed!" Naruto added, patting his satisfied stomach again. But then his gaze drifted to the old clock hanging on the wall, and his face immediately widened. "Oh crap!"
He jumped up off his seat so fast he nearly knocked over his stool, then turned to Kuro with a deep, respectful bow. "Thank you so much for the meal! I really appreciate it, but I gotta go, I have school tomorrow!!"
Kuro nodded with a genuine smile, giving him a casual wave. "No problem at all.."
Naruto flashed him one last grateful grin before rushing out of the ramen stand. The moment he was gone, Kuro released a long breath of relief, his shoulders sagging slightly as the social energy drained out of him.
He turned back to Teuchi, who was already cleaning up the empty bowls. "What do I owe you?" Kuro asked, reaching for his wallet.
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Perched on the rooftop of an apartment building, a figure in a black cloak and white rabbit mask kept watch on another apartment building directly across. Rina had been following Kuro for days now, tracking his every move as he climbed the stairs to his apartment and turned on the lights in his small room.
For the past few days, Rina had become Kuro's shadow, following him everywhere from his daily routines to that training ground he visited so religiously. At first, she had brushed off any suspicions about him being a traitor, after all... how could someone so ordinary pose any real threat? But the deeper she dug into him, the more things didn't add up.
Her investigation led her to Kuro's old academy professor, who didn't hold back when talking about his former student's abilities. According to him, Kuro had zero talent for Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, he was basically a disaster in every combat area you could think of. The professor had called him "talentless garbage" in almost every aspect of ninja training, except for one bright spot..his writing skills were so good that he aced every written exam.
It was this academic achievement that had carried him through graduation and landed him a spot in the genin corps, though he'd been sent there immediately without even getting a chance to try out for a proper Jonin squad.
This trail led her to the chuunin trainer who ran one of the genin training courses. His story matched the academy professor's word for word, except Kuro was so terrible that he'd actually been kicked out of the course for lacking any combat ability or showing the slightest capacity to learn anything. The kid couldn't handle basic combat jutsu's or even simple chakra control.
Yet, not only had Kuro performed better than anyone else during his recent evaluation, but he also defeated a chuunin and successfully completed a B-rank mission without a single casualty in his party. All of this happened just two months after getting booted from the training course for being completely hopeless and a lost cause.
There was no way someone could get that strong in two months..shit, even two years would be pushing it."Something must've happened during those two months to change him so drastically," she reasoned to herself, "and the only way that's possible is if he became a completely different person."
What made her suspicion even worse was what she'd witnessed during his training sessions at the training grounds. Kuro would often just disappear, literally vanishing into thin air before reappearing in the same spot hours later. 'It must be some sort of camouflage jutsu,' she wondered, which would actually make perfect sense for someone trying to infiltrate the village and gather information undetected.
Still, nothing had actually happened, and there wasn't anything particularly threatening about his behavior. Sure, his crazy level of growth was definitely out of the ordinary, but he hadn't done anything wrong or incriminating yet.
'That camouflage jutsu isn't listed anywhere in his files though,' she mused to herself. 'Could be that he just hasn't updated his jutsu file list yet.' But even as she tried to rationalize it, something about the whole situation still didn't sit right with her.
Even his physical appearance had changed drastically in just a week from what she remembered. When she first met him, he was scrawny, skinny, and small, basically your typical weakling with zero talent for anything. But now... Her eyes tracked him as he pulled off his shirt, revealing his shredded set of abs and physique. The sight made her mind go back to that night, and she found herself biting her bottom lip without thinking.
'Just who the hell are you...'
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"ACHEEWWW!" Kuro sneezed loudly from inside his apartment, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. "Am I getting sick or something?" he groaned to himself, completely unaware of who was watching him.
He then flopped onto his bed and pulled the covers over himself, settling in for what he hoped would be a peaceful night's sleep. Since all he's been sleeping for the last two days was hard tree branches.
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