(Day 90 in Konoha Village)

Ⅰ

It has been three months since I joined the Sarutobi clan. The first few weeks were challenging for me as I needed to learn numerous things about the history and culture of Konoha, along with the family traits of the Sarutobi clan.

The Sarutobi clan was skilled in using fire-style jutsu and played an important role in helping the Senju and Uchiha clans build the Konoha Village.

Many ancient records had kept details on how the Konoha village was found. It all began during the Sengoku period (Warring States Period). The Senjyu and Uchiha were once sworn enemies during the time. For decades, they had fought with each other, resulting in many victims for both fractions.

But Hashirama, the head of Senjyu, proposed a peace treaty to Madara, the head of Uchiha. He wanted to end their long-standing conflict and create a Shinobi Village where future generations would not suffer from bloodshed. Madara was pleased with the offer and also accepted the peace treaty. This was a significant turning point in Shinobi history as two rival clans had finally found peace. The idea of forming a village together later influenced other regions greatly. Years later, Hashirama became the first Hokage.

For Madara, however, there were no records of him after what happened when the war ended.

While learning about Konoha's history, I also received martial arts training from Uncle Asuma, the son of the Third Hokage. He taught me how to fight, block, dodge, counter, jump, and do parkour. Out of all these training, I excelled in parkour. I was surprised to see myself being so proficient in doing it. Despite having no prior experience of parkour, it oddly felt familiar to me. It was as if it had been engraved into my genes.

I remember that I used to parkour all over the buildings as a kid. I often did it to escape Uncle Asuma's training when I wanted to take a long break. The highest building I climbed was the Hokage Tower. It was my favorite place. The view from the top of the tower was breathtaking. Gazing down at the compact buildings and people bustling around, observing them from such a height, was a calming sight.

Ⅱ

But then, one day, everything changed. As usual, while admiring the scenery, in the corner of my eye, I noticed a boy running away in fear. He was years younger than me. He had blonde-spiky hair and was dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and grey pants.

I was curious about what he was running away from. Then I saw his pursuers, and they were all men, large in size. They were trying to hurt the boy for whatever he had done to them.

I do not know what wrongdoing the boy did to them. But seeing him running for his life made me feel an instinctual urge to help. I knew I had to take action and save him before it was too late.

Ⅲ

"Hey! Watch where you are going?!"

"What the heck?!"

"What's up with that kid?!"

The people below me were taken aback and reacted with surprise. They all wondered why I was in such a hurry as they watched me move from one building to another.
The answer was simple. To save the kid. Nothing else.

As I continued to jump, roll, and climb through a block of buildings, I soon lost sight of the kid. He was running very fast, and it was only a matter of time before the adults would catch him and hurt him badly.

"Where could he be?!" I cursed. I looked left and right furiously to find him. I moved to another place to get a better view. But no matter how many times I had changed the position, I could not locate him. My heart was pounding, and my body was trembling in fear. The thought of losing him completely made me panic, assuming the worst had already happened.

But then, an animal cry came from above. I looked up and saw an eagle flying above me.

An eagle? What it was trying…?

Our eyes met when I gazed at the flying animal, and suddenly, a vision flashed in my mind. It showed me an image of downtown Konoha, colored in vibrant blue. Taken by surprise when I saw such a vivid image in my own eyes, I then saw four figures colored into two different groups: a boy and three chasers. The boy was colored yellow, like a shining gold. The chasers were crimson red, signifying the danger that would soon fall upon the boy.

After realizing that the flying creature was attempting to assist me in finding him, I felt light on my feet. With this incredible gift I had received from the eagle, I quickly followed after the chasers. This gift was later known as The Eagle Vision.

Ⅳ

"Now, it's time for us to teach you a lesson!" the man shouted at the trembling boy.

"You caused a lot of trouble to the village!"

The boy shook his head in fear, pleading for mercy as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

"Please! I didn't do anything. Don't hurt me!" But his begging seemed to have no effect as the adults closed on him.

However, a giant burst of white smoke appeared before the men could touch the boy. The smoke covered their faces, causing their vision to become blurry and disorienting them.

"Cough! Cough! W-what is going on?!"

"W-why I cannot see?!"

They were discombobulated. A perfect chance for me to grab the boy and immediately scatter away from the area while the bomb continued to go off. Although the boy looked frightened and confused, I assured him I would take him somewhere safe. "Don't worry," I said, "I promise to keep you safe."

Passing through the disorientated men as I pulled the boy, we quickly hid inside a nearby closet that happened to be placed outside. While hiding, he was shaking. He feared the men would find him soon when the footstep came closer and closer to us. He wanted to scream. However, I gently covered his mouth and reassured him everything would be alright. I tried my best to calm him down and ease his worry.

"Everything is going to be okay." I quietly soothed him, "We will be safe."

The boy soon calmed down as he slowly nodded to my words.

Ⅴ

A few ten seconds it was when hiding in the closet, I poked my head out to see if the coast was clear. Looking right and left to make sure that they were gone, we slowly stepped out from the hiding spot.

"Phew, that was close. I hope they never come back here to find us. Right?"

The boy was still shaking. He was trying to escape from me as he stood back.

"Hey, hey. Easy. I am not going to hurt you, okay?" I said kindly.

"Who are you...? What do you want...?" the boy timidly asked.

"I am Darren Sarutobi. And you are?" I asked.

"N-Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki…" he replied.

"Naruto Uzumaki...Nice name," I answered with a smile.

"Really?" Naruto's eyes went wide.

"Yeah, sure! It is a lovely name!" I gave him a thumbs up to show I meant it genuinely.

Naruto slowly smiled and said, "Thank you."

As he seemed to be feeling better and more relaxed, I asked him why the adults were trying to harm him. His answer was shocking.

"Well, I was at the store and saw a really nice mask, and I wanted to try it on. But when I tried to touch it, one of the men hit my hand and looked at me angrily. He said,

'Don't touch it, you monster!'. Then I tried to apologize for touching it, but other adults overheard and started chasing me. I ran as fast as I could to get away from them. I didn't do anything wrong and just wanted to try on the mask! But I don't know why they would do that to me, and I…I…"

He was about to burst into tears. His heart could not take it any longer while going through this traumatic experience to explain me. But before there was a trail of tears on his face, I approached him and asked, "Hey, want to do something fun?"

"Fun?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Like what?"

I whispered into his ears and explained to him in detail. As I further elaborated, I could see his face lit up with excitement and interest.