Building the Naruto World

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Early the next morning, Naruto woke up, washed up, and ran a couple of laps on the rooftop before heading back inside to continue his little hobby of crafting clay figures.
He only ran about a hundred meters. At his young age, his body wasn’t fully developed, so he didn’t dare push himself too hard. A little exercise was enough.
Reflecting on yesterday’s failed attempt at making a clay model of the battleship Vittorio Veneto, Naruto decided to set a smaller goal this time: making a destroyer. After all, destroyers were just too cool.

Knock knock knock.
“Come in.”
Naruto quickly stuffed the clay he was working on into a nearby iron pot, stirring it a few times to destroy the unfinished Vittorio. There was no helping it—the hair was just too hard to sculpt. He had already failed several times that morning.

After washing his hands, Naruto turned to see the Third Hokage standing at the door, looking at him with a complicated expression.
The Third had spent more time watching Naruto through his crystal ball than he had spying on the women’s bathhouse. Last night, he had watched the entire live broadcast of the little brat flirting with a young girl, and the appearance of that portal had left him deep in thought. He hadn’t slept well and, after handling some urgent matters, had come to Naruto’s house.
“Naruto, last night…” The Third hesitated, unsure how to begin.

“Last night? What about it?” Naruto continued to smile innocently, his acting skills on full display. If he couldn’t charm his way out of this, he’d just have to rely on his wits. He had already accepted that he wasn’t cut out to be an idol—that was Sasuke’s thing. He’d stick to being the strong, silent type.
“That purple door last night… What was it?”
“Old man, how do you know about that?” Naruto countered, turning the tables.

Cough cough cough! The Third choked on his smoke, coughing for a while before catching his breath. “I happened to be passing by last night.”
“You saw it and didn’t help me?” Naruto pressed, landing another verbal blow.
“By the time I saw you, you were already leaving,” the Third replied, making up an excuse on the spot.

“Oh, I see…”
“So, what was that purple door? Can you tell Grandpa?” The Third put on a kindly expression, though his heavy dark circles made him look more like a creepy old man.
“I don’t know either. I was so tired last night and just wanted to go to bed early, and then it appeared.”

Realizing that changing the subject wasn’t going to work, Naruto decided to play dumb. After all, he was only three years old. If the Third kept pressing, he’d just stammer and act clueless. He knew how to use his age to his advantage.
“Can you do it again?” After a few more questions and seeing Naruto scratching his head in confusion, the Third decided it was better to study the phenomenon himself. Space-time ninjutsu was rare in Konoha, and expecting a child to explain it was a bit much.
“Sure, old man.”
Naruto raised his hand, and two portals appeared in the room. He stepped into one and emerged from the other two seconds later.

The Third walked up to one of the portals and reached out to touch it. His hand passed right through, as if it were a mirage—visible but intangible.
There was no chakra fluctuation, and he couldn’t sense anything unusual. If it weren’t for the light and the two-second delay, it would have been a useful combat ability. But with those conditions, its utility was limited. Space-time abilities were known for their unpredictability and speed, but the glowing portal and the delay practically announced, “I’m going to appear here in one second!” giving the enemy time to either flee or prepare a counterattack.
“It doesn’t last long,” the Third observed as the portal dissipated after about ten seconds.

Of course, Naruto had closed the portal himself. It was fine to reveal his abilities, but he couldn’t appear too powerful. A ten-second duration was just enough to seem plausible for a three-year-old.
“Can you do it again?”
“I think so…” Naruto said hesitantly.

His current magic points were at 14, and opening two portals cost 6 points. He could do it twice, but he needed to act uncertain to keep the Third guessing.
In the game, only one portal needed to be opened, with the other appearing at the storage location. But in the Naruto world, perhaps because his home didn’t qualify as a proper “home” for a single guy, no corresponding portal appeared, forcing him to open a second one manually.
Naruto raised his hand again, and two portals appeared in the same spots. He stepped into one.

Just as Naruto’s figure began to fade, the Third suddenly lunged, grabbing at him. His hand passed right through Naruto’s body. Before Naruto could react, the Third sped to the other portal and grabbed at the emerging Naruto, only for his hand to pass through again.
“Old man, what are you doing? You scared me!” Naruto was startled by the Third’s speed. All he saw was a blur, and then the old man’s hand passed through him twice.
“Grab my hand and do it again. Hurry!” The Third grabbed Naruto’s hand, urging him to act quickly before the portals disappeared.

Naruto didn’t argue. He had never tried taking someone through a portal before and wasn’t sure what would happen. But he knew he’d be fine—if anything went wrong, it would be the old man who suffered. No worries there.
Naruto activated the portal, and the two figures slowly faded, reappearing at the other end.
‘I didn’t know I could take someone with me,’ Naruto thought, surprised. He quickly closed the portal.

The Third stroked his beard, deep in thought. The fading figures during the transition suggested they were in a different space—visible but untouchable, much like the portals themselves. The ability to take someone along was intriguing, but the portals’ short duration indicated a limited energy source.
In reality, the energy consumption had doubled since he was transporting two people. The portal’s duration had shortened by three seconds, though the Third couldn’t see the countdown or the “X” symbol indicating the portal’s closure.
“Can you do it again?”

“Probably not,” Naruto said truthfully. With only 2 magic points left, he couldn’t open another portal. He raised his hand, but nothing happened.
The Third continued to ponder. The energy required to open the portals wasn’t chakra, yet Naruto seemed to have some awareness of it. “Naruto, how long do you think it’ll take before you can do it again?”
Naruto glanced at the clock on the wall. His magic points regenerated at a rate of one point every three minutes. Opening a portal cost 6 points, so he’d need about eighteen minutes.

“Maybe three hours,” Naruto said, exaggerating the time a bit.
“What’s the range of this ability?”
“What do you mean by range?” Naruto asked, playing dumb.

The Third thought for a moment and rephrased his question. “Where can you create these purple doors?”
“Hmm… Probably places I’ve been to,” Naruto said, mixing truth with lies.
The portals did require him to have seen the destination, but in the game, he could use small lamps or wall lights to mark locations. He had tried it before, but the oil lamps were a hassle—they needed refueling and relighting. Electric lights were much more convenient.

The Third stroked his beard. ‘This ability can’t be used for rapid troop deployment, but it could be useful for sending elite squads. Naruto would need to be sent first, though.’ The strategic value was high, but the combat utility was limited. However, the intangibility during transit could be used to evade attacks. Whether it worked against ninjutsu or genjutsu would require further testing when Naruto was older.
The Third ruffled Naruto’s hair, his mind flashing back to a certain golden-haired shinobi.
It wasn’t entirely surprising that the son of the Fourth Hokage had awakened /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ a space-time ability. Minato’s mastery of space-time ninjutsu had surpassed even the Second Hokage’s. But Naruto’s ability was unique, and the Third couldn’t help but wonder how it had manifested this way.

Naruto ducked away from the Third’s hand. If his head kept getting rubbed, he’d never grow tall. That was his aunt’s famous saying, and he wasn’t about to risk it. Besides, there was an old saying: “Don’t touch a man’s head, and don’t touch a woman’s waist.” He was determined to protect his head.
‘If you keep touching my head, I’ll pull a big surprise out of my stomach,’ Naruto thought, glaring at the Third.
The Third ignored Naruto’s glare and smiled, placing two books on the table. “That’s enough for today. I know you don’t like going out, so if you’re bored, you can read these. Stop playing with clay all the time.”

“Old man, take this—‘Infinite Egg Barrage’! Consider it a health supplement!” Naruto shouted, his hands moving rapidly as he summoned eggs and hurled them at the Third.
The old man clearly needed some nourishment. He was so out of it that he’d forgotten Naruto couldn’t read. Even if he brought over an entire library, it wouldn’t do any good.
Sure, Naruto had picked up some language skills from watching Naruto in his past life and listening to people over the past two years, but understanding spoken language didn’t mean he could read.

The Third caught the eggs as he made his way to the door. He had come with two books and was leaving with a bag of eggs. Not a bad trade, he thought with a chuckle.
After the Third left, Naruto tossed the books onto a shelf and went back to playing with his clay.
As he worked, he suddenly thought of someone and burst out laughing.

“Does this count as having fought the Third Hokage and coming out unscathed? Hahaha!”
 
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