You wake up before the sun rises.
You always do.
The room is small. Bare. Cold. A cracked window lets in the wind. The blanket wrapped around you is thin, but you don't shiver anymore.
You're used to it.
You've lived like this for years.
And no one's coming to change that.
You sit up, stretch, and roll your shoulders. Muscles tight. Bones stiff. Another night of barely sleeping. Your body aches, but it's a good ache. The kind that tells you you're getting stronger.
You stand, walk to the corner of the room, and pull out the scroll.
Her scroll.
Your mother's handwriting covers it. Old ink. Old paper. But the chakra in it is still alive. Like she's watching you. Smiling, maybe.
You close your eyes and breathe.
The seal on your stomach pulses—soft, quiet, like a second heartbeat.
Kurama stirs.
"You're up early again," he mutters.
You don't answer.
You just smile.
You train before the village wakes.
You push chakra through your muscles. Through your bones. Through every cell in your body. The Crimson Ascendancy isn't just about chakra—it's about breaking your limits, piece by piece, until there's nothing left to break.
You climb the tallest tree in the forest without using your hands.
You leap across rooftops, faster than any kid your age should be able to.
And when you're done with movement, you sit and make ten clones.
Each one has a mission.
One works on elemental control. One does taijutsu. Another studies scrolls you stole from the library at night. The rest run drills—chakra shaping, reaction time, new techniques.
In a few hours, they'll pop.
And everything they learned will come back to you.
That's your secret.
No one knows. Not even Iruka-sensei.
Not yet.
By the time you walk into the Academy, your body feels light.
Your classmates are already there. Laughing. Talking.
Sasuke sits in the corner, quiet, like always. His eyes sharp. Focused.
Hinata glances at you once, then looks away fast. Her cheeks turn red.
Kiba makes a face the moment you walk in.
"Ugh. Why's he here?"
You smile.
Big. Dumb. Loud.
"Morning, Kiba!"
He scowls. "Don't act like we're friends, loser."
You shrug and slide into your seat.
Iruka walks in a minute later, holding a clipboard.
"Alright, settle down!"
The room goes quiet.
They spend the day on the basics.
Transformation jutsu. Clone jutsu. Shuriken practice.
You do them all.
Badly.
On purpose.
Your clone jutsu fails. Your shuriken miss.
You make sure of it.
Because if they knew—if they really knew—they'd never leave you alone again.
And you're not ready for that yet.
Not until you finish the Ascendancy. Not until your body is strong enough to handle what's coming.
So you laugh.
You play dumb.
You act like the idiot they all expect.
But behind the smile… your mind is working.
Watching.
Learning.
Planning.
At lunch, you sit on the roof. Alone.
You always do.
You don't eat much. Just a few old crackers from your pocket. You're used to hunger.
The clones pop while you chew.
And in that moment—
—your mind explodes with information.
Chakra nature control. Earth and wind manipulation. A scroll on water surface walking. A taijutsu combo that could shatter bones. A new sealing array, too advanced for your age, but not too advanced for you.
You close your eyes and let it all settle.
This is your real life.
Not the classes.
Not the fake smiles.
Not the mask.
This.
The training. The growth. The pain. The power.
The mask you wear… it's heavy.
But it protects the truth.
And the truth is simple:
You're not just some kid from nowhere.
You're an Uzumaki.
You are the last heir to a clan that shook nations.
You are the boy with chakra stronger than a Tailed Beast.
You are the child who learns with a glance.
You are the storm waiting to be unleashed.
And one day—
—they'll all see you for what you are.
End of Chapter 1