Limitless Uzumaki

The first thing I knew was that I was.

No heat, no chill—only the indomitable feeling that I was. It was a curious sensation, such as suspended in an endless space, unadulterated by light or sound. I had no shape, no breath, and yet my mind was sharp, alive. Time counted for nothing here. Had I waited seconds or millennia? I had no way of telling.

Then, a voice shivered the nothingness.

"You have been chosen."

The words hung in silence, settling in my head like a self-evident truth.

Chosen to do what?

"You will be reborn."

A chaotic mix of emotions rose up inside me—curiosity, confusion, fear. Rebirth? Was that because I had died? If so, how? My past was vague, like a dream slipping away from me. I couldn't recall my name, my face—only the hazy sense that I had lived before.

"As a gift, you will possess the Essence of Blank Limitless Potential. You will master any art, learn everything, and advance beyond limits."

The words echoed deep. It was a potential beyond that of any man, something more than was possible. But before I could even consider it, the void collapsed, and my life began.

Pain. Cold. Pressure.

My tiny lungs burned, then emitted a scream I barely recognized as mine.

I was born.

Unclear forms swirled around me, their words muffled. Then, warmth—a warm body wrapped around my fragile form. A woman's face, lined but radiant, resolved. Red hair clung to damp flesh, and even though weariness lined her purple eyes, love shone there.

Then, a man's voice, full of soft awe. "He's perfect, Kushina."

Kushina.

The title was a shock, a dropping realization.

No.

No, no, no.

I was having trouble turning over, my body weak, lifeless. My head, however, was screaming at the top of its voice. I knew I existed. I knew who I was.

Naruto.

A shiver of fear ran down my stomach. Of all the worlds I could have been reincarnated into, why this one? This was not some story—it was a world of war, bloodshed, and suffering. A world where children were killers before they even knew what life was. Where power was everything.

And I? I would be the outcast. The jinchūriki. The fool, the pawn, the sacrificial lamb.

But no.

I wasn't him.

Not exactly.

I was better.

I had Limitless Potential.

The concept sent a shiver of something electric through me. My talent wasn't some ethereal gift—it was real. It meant I could master anything, break any barrier, become more than fate intended.

And I would.

The first few months blurred by. My body was weak, but my spirit was sharp. I absorbed everything—sounds, routines, emotions. Kushina's kindness, Minato's perpetual shadow. And then, suddenly, they vanished.

Death crept up on me. One moment, I was wrapped in their love. The next, I was alone.

The fox mask. The fox. The chaos.

I couldn't stop it. I was trapped in my own baby body, forced to endure as the world rebuilt itself in their absence. I was abandoned in the hands of a wearily-eyed old man, and before long, the walls of an orphanage were my existence.

It was bleak, just as I'd expected. The caretakers weren't cruel so much as uncaring. A boy like me—him—wasn't worth their attention. The other children avoided me, some because they were afraid of me, others because they were told to.

It wasn't important.

I had things of greater import to concern myself with.

I tested out my talent.

Chakra. This was the source of all in this life. Naruto had battled with it for years, fumbling with the basics, always playing catch-up. But I? I could feel it. Even as a toddler, it throbbed within me—raw, unbridled, waiting.

Even most would not be able to feel their chakra at my age. But I wasn't most. I stretched deep inside, feeling for the energy, and changed it.

It was clumsy, like flexing a new muscle. But smoother with every attempt. More precise. I could channel it through my small limbs in weeks. And before I knew how to walk, I was already honing the control that was beyond the reach of any Genin.

I was careful though.

I played the fool, hiding my progress under the guise of an active child. If the village knew what I was truly capable of, they would never allow me to be.

So I watched. Learned. Adapted.

I caught whispers of shinobi passing through the village, committed training routines from the snippets I caught in the streets. My body was still frail, but my mind was sharpening like a sword.

And I waited.

The first time I was able to climb up a wall at age three, my face crept over itself with a slow smile.

I had already surpassed the Naruto I had once known.

But I was just starting out.

This world had tried to break Naruto Uzumaki—to turn him into a fool, a tool, a martyr.

But I wasn't a fool.

I wasn't a tool.

I was limitless.

And this world?

It was mine to shape.