The wind blew gently over the rooftops of Konoha, making the copper-colored autumn leaves dance. The sun was setting on the horizon, bathing the village in a melancholic orange hue. It was the hour when families gathered to share a meal, when the warmth of home lights lit up the streets.
But in a cold, forgotten alley of the shopping district—where even stray cats hesitated to pass—a small boy trembled. Sitting directly on the ground, back pressed against a damp stone wall, arms wrapped tightly around his knees, he tried in vain to hold back his tears.
Naruto Uzumaki. Four years old. Orphan. Cursed.
His stomach growled. He was hungry. Again. Always.
The bread he had tried to steal just minutes earlier had never even reached his lips. The baker had caught him. A slap. A knee to the ribs. A screamed insult. Then a crowd had gathered. Whispers. Spit. Eyes filled with icy hatred.
Naruto bit his lip to stifle a sob.
"Why…" he whispered hoarsely, "why does everyone hate me?"
He knew, deep down. No one wanted to answer. No one even wanted to speak to him. In Konoha, adults averted their gaze when he passed. Children moved away without even knowing why. And when he insisted—when he smiled, when he tried to get their attention—violence was the answer.
It wasn't fair. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was just a child. He just wanted to be loved. Just to be seen. Just… to exist.
But the world seemed determined to forget him.
He looked up, watching the sky over the rooftops. Stars were beginning to appear, one by one, like silent fireflies. He reached out to them, trembling fingers stretching as if he could grasp them.
"Is anyone up there listening to me?"
Silence answered him. Dense. Cold. Cruel.
Naruto clenched his teeth. He refused to cry. He had cried too much already. He didn't have the strength anymore. He didn't want to be weak. He didn't want to be… nothing.
A cat passed by him. He flinched. But the feline stopped, looked at him for a moment… then walked away without a sound. Even animals avoided him.
Naruto buried his face in his knees.
"Maybe if I disappeared… the village would be happy."
Words that should never come from a child's mouth.
But Naruto wasn't a child like the others. Not according to them. Not according to a world that had chosen to crush him before he had even learned to walk.
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced his chest. Not physical. Not a wound.
Something else.
A strange shiver crawled up his spine. He slowly lifted his head, eyes wide. The air around him seemed to vibrate. The atmosphere thickened. As if time was slowing down. As if everything around him was holding its breath.
And then… nothing.
Everything vanished.
---
Naruto felt himself falling.
Not onto the ground.
Not into the street.
Into the void.
---
He screamed without a sound, his consciousness pulled into a whirlwind of light. Colors he had never seen. Impossible shapes. Sounds he had never heard. His body no longer responded. He had no weight, no breath.
Then, with a sudden jolt, everything stopped.
Naruto opened his eyes.
And what he saw made no sense.
---
He was floating. Literally. Suspended in an endless space. Around him, unknown stars slowly orbited. Islands of light hovered in the air. Waterfalls of energy cascaded endlessly into the void. A distant sun bathed the scene in a white, soothing glow—gentle, almost… kind.
There was no wind. No ground. No gravity. And yet, he felt… steady.
"Is this a dream?" he asked aloud, his voice echoing strangely in this cosmic void.
But no. This wasn't a dream. He could feel it. Somehow, in a way he couldn't understand—but his heart accepted—it was real.
A light appeared before him. A figure. Immense. Shifting. Neither male nor female. Pure energy. It had no face, and yet, Naruto felt it looking at him with tenderness.
And it spoke.
"Naruto Uzumaki. Welcome to your dimension."
He blinked.
"My… what?"
"This place has existed within you since your birth. It is tied to your soul. It belongs to you. It grows with you."
Naruto stepped back slightly, uncertain.
"Is… is this a genjutsu?"
"No. This is the truth the world has kept from you. You are not like them. You were not born of chakra alone. You were born bearing an ancient force… infinite. An energy even the gods have forgotten."
The word echoed in his mind, like a sound from the beginning of time.
Infinite Energy.