Naruto: Blessed

In the dead of night, the streets of Konoha echoed with the sound of pounding footsteps.

A small child, ragged and bloodied, ran through the darkness. His heart hammered in his chest, a frantic rhythm that matched the pounding of his feet on the stone road.

His blonde hair whipped around his face. His tattered clothes clung to his frail body. Every step felt like it might be his last, but he kept going.

His skin, tanned from years spent in the sun, was streaked with dirt and fresh cuts. His body was a map of the abuse he'd endured, each scar telling its own story.

This was Naruto Uzumaki. To most of the village, he was a troublemaker. A prankster.

But to some, he was far worse. A demon.

"Fuck! Don't let him get away!" A voice shouted from behind.

Naruto's breath came in shallow, desperate gasps. He could feel his legs giving out beneath him, each stride harder than the last. 'Why?' he thought. 'Why are they doing this to me?'

He couldn't remember what he had done to deserve this. All he'd ever done were harmless pranks. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was never about the pranks.

It was about him.

The demon.

'Shit, I can't run anymore.' His legs burned, his chest felt tight. His vision blurred, the world around him spinning as exhaustion overwhelmed him.

His foot hit the edge of the fence that separated the village from the farmlands beyond. He tried to push himself over, but his body was too weak.

His fingers brushed the top of the fence, but his foot caught on the edge.

With a gasp, he fell forward, crashing hard onto the ground.

Blood poured from his forehead, where he had hit the earth. He struggled to push himself up, but his body wouldn't cooperate. His vision swam, and he could barely make out the dark shapes of the mob behind him.

"Look, he's slowing down!"

"Finally, out of the village!"

"Get that demon!"

As soon as Naruto heard the last line, a surge of anger and panic shot through him.

I'm not a demon!

His legs buckled, and he went down.

The ground rushed up to meet him, hard and unforgiving.

He smashed his forehead into the earth with a sickening crack.

The world spun wildly as his body went limp, the searing pain in his head making it hard to think.

Blood poured from the gash, mixing with the dirt beneath him.

"We finally caught you little fucker!" The man that was leading the chase said. "Who knew a demon like you could run so fast"

Naruto was horrified as when saw the man taking out a knife and wanted to scream but was too late as the knife was stabbed on his chest where the heart was located.

"Oi! You shouldn't have killed him! The Hokage favors that kid!" One of the mob members shouted, his voice filled with alarm.

The man who had stabbed Naruto sneered, a cold, mocking smile crossing his face. "I don't give a damn about the Hokage or his laws," he growled. "Fuck the Hokage!"

A few of the other mob members echoed his sentiments.

"Yeah!" one of them shouted, waving a fist in the air.

"We've finally avenged our families!" another cried, his voice high with a sense of twisted victory.

"The village will thank us for this," someone else muttered, their tone filled with a false sense of righteousness.

The mob's cheers echoed into the night, the air thick with their sense of twisted triumph. They stood over the lifeless body of Naruto, the so-called "demon" who had been their target. His once vibrant form now lay still, eyes closed, blood pooling beneath him.

"How courageous…" a voice whispered from the shadows.

A cloaked figure stepped forward from the edge of the woods, emerging like a phantom from the dark. The sudden appearance of the man froze the mob in place, their eyes narrowing as they turned to face him.

The leader of the mob, still high on the adrenaline of their violent act, gritted his teeth and raised his weapon, motioning for the others to do the same. "Hey, man, you better stay out of this," he warned, his voice shaky but firm.

"This does not concern you," the cloaked man replied, his tone cold and detached.

He paused for a moment, a sinister smile creeping across his face. "Killing... is something I can do, okey-doke," he said, his voice smooth, almost playful. But the smile that followed was far from kind—more of a twisted, psychopathic grin.

"But children…" He let the words hang in the air, his smile turning into something much darker. "Children... are off-limits."

The atmosphere shifted. The air grew heavy, suffocating with a malevolent killing intent. It was so dense, so charged with malice, that it felt like the very air itself was pressing in on the mob. Fear gripped their hearts, their hands trembling on their weapons, unsure if they could even lift them.

The cloaked man took a step forward, and his voice, calm and chilling, broke the silence.

"Tell me..." he began, his eyes gleaming with a deadly light.

"Do you bleed?"

.

Location: *Unknown*

For what felt like an eternity, Naruto drifted in a white, endless space. There was no sound, no movement. Just an oppressive silence.

...

Wait... did he die?

He looked down at himself—nothing. There was no body, no clothes, just white stretching out endlessly in all directions.

"Oh, great. Not only am I dead, but I'm also invisible," he muttered to himself. "This is some real crap, huh?"

His thoughts raced. What was this place? Why was he here? Was this the afterlife? Was he being punished?

"Ugh... calm down, calm down, Naruto!" He slapped his own face, but the white void didn't care. "This is fine, right? Totally fine." His voice cracked with the uncertainty of it all.

He tried to force himself to stay calm, but the absurdity of the situation overwhelmed him.

"AHHHH!" His frustrated scream echoed through the empty void, but there was no one to hear it.

…

…

…

Sighing sadly, Naruto looked around for anything worth noticing. There was something in the distance, but it was so far away that it appeared as nothing more than a tiny dot.

He shrugged, unsure of what else to do.

After walking for what felt like an hour, he came across a long line of people, all with yellow halos hovering above their heads.

"Look at these idiots, trying to look like angels," Naruto muttered, rolling his eyes. He then glanced up at his own head and froze. "Oh shit. I have one too."

Now he felt like a complete moron.

No, scratch that—he was the moron!

While the others had simple golden halos, Naruto's halo was a rainbow of constantly shifting colors. It swirled around him, changing hues in a way that was both mesmerizing and ridiculous.

'Well, at least it's unique,' he thought with a smirk. 'I've always known I was special anyway.'

He shrugged and walked up to the line, not really sure what he was standing in line for, but figuring he'd find out eventually. After a short wait, it was finally his turn.

At the end of the line stood an old man, draped in a white robe decorated with golden designs. He had a majestic, long beard, and as he looked at Naruto, the man's eyes held an unsettling, powerful calm.

"Welcome, my child," the old man said with a voice that carried an overwhelming sense of authority.

As soon as the old man spoke, Naruto felt something stir within him. Every word that left the man's mouth was filled with such absolute power that it made Naruto feel small in comparison. It was like looking at a god.

"Well, I am God, my child," the old man continued, his voice rich with amusement, as if he had read Naruto's every thought.

"I am reading your thoughts."

…

"Umm… you're a weird old man, are you some kind of magician or something?" Naruto scratched his head, still in awe despite his casual tone.

The old man blinked in surprise, sweat dropping down his temple, then laughed heartily. "It's been thousands of years since anyone had the gall to call me weird."

"Hehe, but of course! I'm the great Naruto after all!" Naruto grinned and flexed his arms, showing off for the god.

The old man couldn't help but laugh again, his amusement growing. He actually liked this kid. "My child, you're something else. Tell me, do you know why you're here?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto replied quickly. "I was about to ask you that before you creeped me out by reading my thoughts!" He paused. "What's this place? All I remember was getting stabbed in my—uhh, my chest…"

The old man turned serious for a moment, letting out a deep sigh. "My child, this place is where I decide who goes where." He smiled gently. "This is technically heaven."

Naruto's eyes widened into the biggest 'O' shape imaginable. "Wait, if this is heaven, then who are you?" He asked, his voice a mix of awe and confusion.

"I am God," the old man said, smiling warmly. "The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. But you may know me as Kami." His grin widened as Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Before Kami could react, Naruto dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead to the ground in an exaggerated kowtow. "I'M SO SORRY, KAMI-SAMA! I CALLED YOU WEIRD AND OLD, I'M VERY SORRY!!"

Kami froze for a moment, blinking in disbelief before bursting into laughter so hard that tears streamed down his face. "It's alright, my child!" He wiped his eyes, still chuckling. "I kind of find it nice that you're so honest with your thoughts!"

Kami helped Naruto back to his feet, smiling warmly. "There's no need to kowtow before me. The Child of Prophecy should never bow to anyone."

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Right, right. Sorry about that, Kami-sama." He paused and then sighed. "By the way, where are you sending me? I mean, what's going to happen to me now?"

Kami smiled even more brightly, as if pleased by Naruto's curiosity. "Do you see that rainbow halo above your head, my child?" He gestured towards the swirling, multi-colored light that hovered around Naruto. "That means you are special. You are the Child of Prophecy."

Naruto looked at his halo, thinking deeply. "Well, I've always known I'm special, but what's this whole prophecy thing? I don't really get it."

Kami chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "Just know that you're very special, and—tell you what…" Kami grinned, rubbing his hands together. "I'm going to give you three wishes and send you back to your world."

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he practically bounced in excitement. "Really?! Like, for real?!" He nearly shouted, earning a calm nod from Kami.

Naruto's smile turned sly as he put his hands on his hips. "Okay, then my first wish is… to turn the three wishes into five! More wishes for me!"

Kami's eyes widened in shock, and for the first time, he lost his composure. "Yo—YOU BRAT!" He pointed an accusing finger at Naruto. "Three wishes are already taxing enough on my energy! You want five?!"

Naruto grinned cheekily, not backing down. "Hey, wishes are meant to be fulfilled, right? More wishes, more fun!"

Kami groaned and rolled his eyes. There was no arguing with a blockhead like this. "Fine, fine," he muttered. "Five wishes it is. But, that's the last time you pull this stunt."

Naruto pumped his fist in the air. "YES! Now, my second wish—" He smirked. "I want a system. Like one of those cool ones where I get missions or whatever."

Kami stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. "Where did you even get this idea from? Never mind…" Kami slapped his hands together, shaking his head. "Congratulations on being the most cliché person I've met in eons."

Naruto shrugged with a grin. "Hey, I like what I like."

"Whatever," Kami muttered. "Third wish?"

"Third wish?" Naruto rubbed his chin as if deep in thought. "Ah! I want the ability to duplicate anything I touch!"

Kami sighed deeply. "Alright, but there's a cooldown of ten minutes on that ability."

Naruto didn't even flinch. "Fine, whatever. Fourth wish, I want time control. Like, pause time or rewind it, or something."

Kami raised an eyebrow. "Time control? You're really pushing it. I'll allow it, but you can only use it twice a day, for a maximum of five minutes each time."

Naruto scratched the back of his head but accepted the terms. "Fair enough."

Kami closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed once more. "Last wish, then?"

Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Oh, this one's a good one!" He said, leaning forward. "I want ultra-comprehension and photographic memory. You know, so I can learn anything instantly and never forget it."

Kami grumbled, rubbing his temples. "I suppose I can make an exception this time. Come here, my child." He placed a hand gently on Naruto's forehead. "I bless you with your wishes."

The white room filled with blinding light as Kami smiled warmly at Naruto. "May you have an adventurous and eventful journey, Naruto Namikaze."

The light grew brighter until it engulfed Naruto completely.

Kami sighed, rubbing his chin. "Sorry, my child. Giving you a system wouldn't be much fun for you. I hope you understand that."