Splash.
Moonlight spilled like water into the stream below.
Downriver along the Naka River, something rustled beyond the reeds and shrubs.
Splash.
"Oh yeah! Awesome! It finally took the bait!"
A blond brat grinned from ear to ear as an arc of water sprayed up.
In front of him, a freshly-caught saury thrashed violently, splattering droplets everywhere. Plenty of them landed right on the kid's head, soaking his hair.
The four-year-old was drenched, dirty all over, his grimy little face set off by a pair of clear, sky-blue eyes.
Yet he didn't look annoyed in the slightest—if anything, he laughed even harder.
"Heehee—this has gotta be at least half a pound, right? I can finally eat my fill today!"
His smile was simple and pure. There wasn't a trace of the pain of hunger in his eyes—only longing and anticipation.
Crackle, pop.
As the campfire caught, the reddish glow slowly toasted the cleaned fish until it turned golden and slightly charred.
The aroma drifted outward.
Crack.
Then, suddenly—footsteps.
They were quiet, but out here beside the river where only the fish was sizzling, the sound was jarringly out of place.
"Who's there?!"
The blond kid shot to his feet at once, arms raised defensively in front of him.
Usually, the only ones who came near him at times like this were those awful village kids.
And when they did, it was never to say hello—only to throw rocks at him or spit insults.
Even though he hadn't done anything.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
But this time, after waiting a while, no stones came flying.
Instead, the person slowly stepped out from behind a tree.
He was a whole head taller. Black hair tied back, handsome features that looked gentle rather than hateful.
The clothes he wore looked oddly familiar too—
Like the uniform of one of Konoha's major clans.
"B-big brother… who are you…?"
Naruto hesitated, but his guard stayed up as he stared hard at the boy.
"So it really is you… Naruto."
The newcomer was Uchiha Ren.
After night fell and he'd gotten the news from Itachi, Ren left a clone behind in the clan compound.
His real body, meanwhile, slipped out to go loot a corpse.
A Cloud shinobi's corpse.
Someone who was going to die in canon anyway—so what did it matter whose hands he died by?
At first, when he sensed pursuers closing in after he finished, he'd planned to leave immediately.
But then he felt it—someone by the river.
And at this hour, a kid alone at the river…
In all of Konoha, there was only one person that fit.
The "prince" himself—Naruto.
"You know me?" Naruto's eyes widened, excitement flickering across his face the moment someone spoke his name.
His cheeks turned red.
Then those big, orange-tinged eyes of his darted around, as if he'd made up his mind about something. He scratched at his head.
"Big brother, I'll treat you to fish! Hehe!"
The boy, bright-eyed and happy, had no idea how to handle being acknowledged.
So he did the only thing he knew—he offered the most important thing he had.
Grrrr—
But right after he said it, his stomach betrayed him with a loud, rumbling roar.
Clearly, four-year-old Naruto was starving.
"Just having someone know your name is enough to make you this happy…?"
Ren shook his head as he watched Naruto.
If the man who'd thought of his son even as he died could see the life his child ended up living…
Would he still have gone so calmly?
Unfortunately, the Uchiha had been under scrutiny from the village for years.
Ren had tried more than once to "accidentally" run into Naruto, to start talking and build a connection.
But the moment he got anywhere near Naruto's home, he'd feel that prickling sensation—like needles against his back.
ANBU watchers.
Or Root.
On high alert.
Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, Ren had been watched—by ANBU, or perhaps by Root.
And it was obvious: none of Konoha's higher-ups wanted the Uchiha to have anything to do with the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
So he'd had no choice but to give up for the time being.
He didn't want to truly end up on the village's radar this early.
"Ah… it's… it's kinda not very tasty," Naruto mumbled, misunderstanding Ren's head shake. "I don't have much seasoning…"
His little head drooped.
Like a big, defeated quail, neck tucked in.
"Heh, no, that's not it." Ren smiled and rubbed at Naruto's hair lightly. "How about this—we eat together."
"Huh?! Okay!"
In an instant, the lonely child's eyes lit up.
Naruto seemed to have endless things to say.
With every bite of fish, he'd babble for ages.
Ren didn't steer the conversation anywhere. He just ate with him, kept him company, and occasionally answered a sentence or two.
If Sasuke saw this, his jaw would hit the floor.
Since when did the chatty second brother become this quiet?
As time passed, Ren finally saw part of Naruto's traits.
[Conversation Target: Uzumaki Naruto.]
[After ten minutes, traits available to copy: Talk-no-Jutsu (Black), Child of Destiny (Rainbow), Nine-Tails Jinchūriki (Gold), Chakra Monster (Gold), Nimble (White).]
A painfully simple set of traits.
Aside from the ones he'd been born with, in four whole years he'd only gained one—Nimble.
A "different" childhood, all right.
Ren murmured to himself, but his excitement only grew.
Fewer traits meant fewer possible outcomes.
Out of five, four were outright busted.
An 80% chance of copying something good.
Wasn't that a gift?
Ren's smile deepened as he watched the system prompt with anticipation.
[Copy successful. Congratulations to the host: obtained Common trait Nimble (White).]
Ren: "…"
So the 80% was a lie, huh?
A flicker of regret crossed his eyes, then vanished.
Running into Naruto at all had been an unexpected bonus.
Copying a trait—any trait—was already more than he'd had earlier.
Without another word, he said, "System, fuse it into the Swift-Light Dash trait."
[Fusion successful. Swift-Light Dash (Blue) increases slightly.]
That warm, familiar current flowed through him again.
Ren could clearly feel the change in his limbs—
…which was to say, he couldn't.
The increase was tiny.
Or rather, compared to the scale of the trait, the ratio was small.
Swift-Light Dash (Blue) was an elite trait he'd cultivated over the years by feeding it countless Nimble traits, evolving it from Light-as-a-Swallow.
The boost was significant overall—at least when he controlled himself, he could walk without making a sound.
Combined with his rainbow trait, Weak Presence, it was practically perfect synergy.
And of course, he hadn't spent these four years feeding only that one trait.
A thought stirred. While he kept chatting, he casually checked his own status.
[Name: Uchiha Ren.]
[Chakra: 1,000,025.]
[Traits: Seven-Year Itch (Black), Light's Golden Body (Rainbow), Weak Presence (Rainbow), Flying Thunder God Technique (Gold) lv4, Distinguished Background (Purple), Sharingan (Purple), Byakugan (Purple), Adamantine Sealing Chains—Incomplete (Purple), Cloud-Style Body Flicker Arts (Purple), Lightning Release Mastery (Blue), Fire Release Affinity (Blue), Swift-Light Dash (Blue), Dynamic Vision (Green), Eight Trigrams Palm (Green)…]
Plenty of traits.
But because of his age, his body still couldn't handle limitless strengthening.
He understood the principle: early brilliance breaks easily.
Besides, in his previous life he'd seen plenty of child stars who trained too hard too young—most of them never grew very tall.
It all pointed to the same truth:
Don't overdraw the body.
Too much muscle could even restrict bone growth.
After a moment of quiet reflection, his attention returned to Flying Thunder God.
That was the trait he'd been feeding nonstop for four years.
And it was finally starting to show its fangs.
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