Summary

Raiko is a 4-and-a-half-year-old orphan who finds himself self-inserted into the Naruto universe. Watch as he grows and evolves into a formidable ninja, earning the title Thunder God.

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AN:

Welcome to my story. While I've written a few fanfics in the past, this is the first one I'm determined to finish and continuously improve upon. Without further ado, let's dive into the world of Raiko!

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Chapter 1: Beginning

"Mhn." Raiko groaned as consciousness returned to him. His eyes fluttered open, and he blinked several times, trying to adjust to the dim light around him. The room he was in was sparse, unfamiliar, and uncomfortably small.

He sat up slowly, glancing around frantically.

'Where am I?' Raiko thought, his heart pounding as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

He scanned the room, searching for anything that might give him a clue. However, before he could delve further into his panic, a loud bell rang from somewhere outside, pulling his attention away.

Cautiously, Raiko stepped out of the room, though "room" was a generous term. It looked more like a tiny, rundown closet with a makeshift bed.

'This… This place looks like something out of the past,' he thought, glancing at the wooden walls and the complete absence of anything remotely modern. 'Maybe I've somehow landed in some ancient setting?'

Before he could dive further into his thoughts, a strange sensation rippled through his body. It wasn't physical pain but something deeper, like a pulse of energy moving inside him.

'What is this feeling?' he wondered, shivering slightly.

The answer didn't come immediately, so Raiko chose to file it away for later investigation. His first priority was figuring out where he was.

As he made his way toward what he assumed was a dining area, Raiko noticed the people around him speaking in a language he didn't initially recognize. He strained to listen closely.

'Wait... That sounds like Japanese.'

Fortunately, Raiko had been a massive anime nerd in his previous life, so he understood enough Japanese to get by. That solved one problem. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly explain how or why he was here.

For several days, Raiko observed and listened carefully. He pieced together bits of information, but it wasn't until he overheard a child exclaim, "I want to be a cool ninja one day, just like Lord Hokage Hiruzen!" that everything clicked.

His blood ran cold, and his mind raced.

'I'm in the Naruto universe,' he thought, equal parts terrified and exhilarated.

Thankfully, Raiko wasn't entirely helpless. He had read all 700 chapters of the manga and watched almost every episode of the anime in his previous life. If knowledge was power, then he was armed to the teeth.

But there was a glaring problem: he had no idea when in the timeline he had landed. After some consideration, he guessed it was close to Naruto's generation, though he couldn't be certain.

After finishing lunch one day, Raiko returned to his tiny room and sat cross-legged on the floor, assuming a meditative position.

'Alright, step one: unlock my chakra. If I can do that, I'll already have an advantage when I enter the academy in a year and a half.'

He closed his eyes and focused, taking deep breaths to calm his mind. Almost immediately, he noticed something peculiar. Despite being in the body of a four-year-old, he felt physically stronger than he ever had in his old twelve-year-old body back on Earth.

'Maybe people in the Naruto world are naturally more powerful,' he mused.

Shaking off the distraction, Raiko focused intently on the strange energy he had felt earlier. Minutes passed, and then it happened—a subtle but undeniable connection.

It was like a sea of energy inside him, though given his age and inexperience, it felt more like a small pond. He could feel it, swirling and waiting to be molded into something useful.

'So this is chakra,' he thought, a small smile tugging at his lips.

However, his excitement was short-lived. Without any jutsu to practice, his newfound chakra was practically useless for now.

'Guess it's time for step two,' Raiko decided. 'I need to find a scroll on chakra control. The leaf-floating exercise would be a good place to start. And if I'm lucky, maybe I can snag an E-rank jutsu while I'm at it.'

With a plan in mind, Raiko snuck out of the orphanage late that evening. To his surprise, it was shockingly easy for a four-year-old to slip away unnoticed.

The real challenge, however, was finding the library. He wandered through the streets for what felt like an eternity, scanning every corner for a sign of his destination.

Just as he was about to give up, he spotted it. The library was—ironically—right behind the orphanage.

Raiko groaned internally, resisting the urge to curse the universe.

'Thirty minutes wasted because I didn't think to check behind me. Great.'

With a resigned sigh, he trudged toward the library, which took another five minutes to reach.

The door was heavier than expected, and Raiko had to put all his weight into pushing it open. When he finally managed it, a soft jingle echoed from the bells attached to the doorframe.

Behind the desk sat a kind-looking woman, who would later introduce herself as Mrs. Hanji. She glanced down at Raiko's grinning face and couldn't help but smile warmly.

'Bingo,' Raiko thought smugly. 'If I'd known being four and adorable gave me this much power, I'd have stayed four forever.'

"What can I do for you, little one?" Mrs. Hanji asked gently.

Raiko pretended to think for a moment, tapping his chin for added effect. "I want a scroll on chakra control," he said innocently, stumbling slightly over the word "control." "It's for my older brother's birthday!"

Mrs. Hanji beamed, clearly charmed. "What a sweet little brother you are. Follow me."

Raiko followed her, barely suppressing a triumphant smirk.

'This is going better than I thought. She's so distracted by my cuteness that she didn't even notice the gaping plot holes in my story. Who sends a four-year-old to fetch a birthday present? These people are too trusting.'

Mrs. Hanji led him to a shelf and handed him what appeared to be a small scroll.

"Here you go," she said. "I hope your brother loves his present!"

Raiko nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you!" he chirped, adding just the right amount of childlike glee to his voice.

Clutching the scroll tightly, Raiko left the library and headed back to the orphanage, a victorious grin plastered on his face.

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AN:

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I know it's a bit short, but it's just the beginning. Expect longer chapters (2,000–3,000 words) going forward. If I don't meet that goal, I'll post an additional chapter sooner. Updates every four days or less!