If the time of transmigration had been a few years earlier, when Naruto was less than eight years old, it would have been a complicated mess.
Long-term malnutrition, three meals a day consisting of nothing but instant noodles or expired milk, and walking down the street with everyone staring at you as if you were trash, with the occasional dim-witted thug coming over to beat you up in the name of justice...
Naruto didn't consider himself the kind of chill guy who could laugh off any amount of malice, he couldn't have tolerated that kind of life.
Furthermore, if he had transmigrated to childhood, he would have been forced to face two people: Danzo and Hiruzen.
Danzo wanted to keep the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki firmly under his control and turn him into a war weapon that belonged only to himself.
Although Hiruzen seemed kind on the surface, his eyes were constantly watching the growth of the Jinchuriki.
These old foxes were not playing games. The slightest hint of something wrong, a small change in personality, or a sudden shift in habits would not escape their eyes, especially not the Root ninjas under Danzo who specialized in intelligence and surveillance.
Naruto knew he wasn't an award-winning actor. He couldn't possibly play the role of a naive, optimistic orphan perfectly under the gaze of those two old foxes.
Within three days, they would realize something was off, and then he would either be interrogated as a spy or surrounded by a Fuinjutsu squad.
But this point in time was simply perfect.
First, he had already passed Kakashi's test and officially possessed a Konoha ninja headband and a ninja registration number, which meant he had the most basic identity security and a certain degree of leverage.
Ninjas could take on missions to earn money and no longer had to rely on meager orphan subsidies to get by. With money in hand, he could improve his life and purchase training resources.
Secondly, after the Land of Waves mission ended, the Chunin Exams would immediately follow.
According to the plot, during the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru would launch the Konoha Crush Plan, and Hiruzen would sacrifice his life, using the Reaper Death Seal to seal the souls of the First and Second Hokage as well as Orochimaru's arms, ultimately dying.
By then, everyone's attention would be drawn to this massive upheaval, and the Konoha high command would fall into a brief period of chaos and power transition. No one would have the leisure to pay attention to whether a Genin brat's personality had suddenly become a bit more composed.
Once Tsunade returned to take over as the Fifth Hokage, the situation would improve. Tsunade had never had any contact with Naruto before, and all her knowledge of him came only from others' accounts and a single file.
By then, he would interact with Tsunade using his true personality, and given Tsunade's straightforward nature, she would never in a million years think in the direction of something as absurd as soul possession or transmigration. At most, she would just think he was more mature and sensible than what was written in the file.
Pfft!
Just as he was thinking, a piercing sound rang out.
It was the sound of metal breaking through flesh and piercing a body.
Immediately following that was a sound—the dull thud of a body hitting the ground.
Naruto snapped his eyes open. The scene that met his eyes made his pupils constrict.
He saw Sasuke lying in a pool of glaring blood. His body was pierced by countless senbon, from his back to his arms, from his thighs to his waist.
Naruto's pupils reflected that pool of blood, and immediately, a surge of fury rushed uncontrollably from the depths of his heart straight to his brain and his vision began to turn red.
But just at that moment, from the deepest part of his body, an indescribable sense of control emerged.
Just as he had done countless times in his previous life, he subconsciously moved slightly.
In an instant, the excessive secretion of adrenaline and the manic emotional fluctuations were pressed down by an extremely precise force. The anger faded, leaving behind extreme calmness.
Naruto was stunned, then immediately felt wild joy in his heart.
This feeling... Absolute Control!
Did his ability transmigrate with him?
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Just then, Sasuke coughed.
He looked at Naruto. "You... you super big idiot..."
"What is that expression?"
"I clearly... hate you the most..."
"But my body... just threw itself in front of you..."
Sasuke's eyes closed, and his whole body collapsed into the pool of blood.
Watching Sasuke collapse in front of him just like that, Naruto's heart gave a violent jolt. It was as if some residual consciousness of the body's original owner had resonated with him at this moment.
Immediately afterward, an astonishing amount of Chakra erupted from within his body.
Haku, who was standing in the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals not far away, retreated a step.
"This is..."
Thoughts raced through Naruto's mind, and he instantly knew what this was.
Nine-Tails Chakra!
The destructive will contained within the Nine-Tails Chakra were enough to make anyone with a weak will lose their sanity in an instant and devolve into a beast that only knew how to destroy.
In the original story, Naruto had lost himself countless times under such Chakra surges. But at this moment, there was not a trace of pain or madness on Naruto's face.
Although Nine-Tails was sealed within his body, on a certain level, its Chakra was also a part of his own body. Since it was a part of himself, it should be under his own control.
Absolute Control!
In an instant, the violent Nine-Tails Chakra seemed to have its neck pressed down by an invisible hand, and after struggling a few times, it surprisingly quieted down.
The sense of hatred that sought to devour his sanity was isolated outside his consciousness, leaving behind only the Chakra.
The deep red aura became stable, as if it had draped him in a crimson cloak of Chakra.
Nine-Tails Chakra has an extremely powerful effect in healing. In the anime, whether it was being turned into a hedgehog by senbon or having his chest pierced by Sasuke's Chidori, Naruto could recover rapidly under the reinforcement of Nine-Tails Chakra.
Naruto guided the domesticated Nine-Tails Chakra to every part of his body. The warm energy wrapped around every wound from the inside out, cells began to divide and regenerate frantically, and the damaged tissue healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The tiny holes caused by Haku's senbon closed rapidly after the Chakra flowed through.
The various scratches and bruises left from the previous battle also vanished completely at this moment.
In just a few seconds, all of Naruto's injuries were healed.