Published at 16th of September 2024 9:50 am

Chapter 22 Lost in Reality: Naruto’s Journey Through the Modern World

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Naruto Uzumaki awoke with a sharp intake of breath, his body jerking upright as his senses flared into overdrive. Instinctively, he reached for his kunai, only to find nothing but the cold touch of concrete beneath his fingers. Confusion clouded his mind as he looked around, his pulse quickening. This wasn't the Hidden Leaf Village.

He was sitting in an alleyway, surrounded by towering buildings made of glass and steel. Strange, humming lights illuminated the streets, casting an otherworldly glow across the pavement. Above, enormous screens flashed with images of people, advertisements, and strange symbols he couldn't read.

Naruto rose to his feet, his heart racing. His head pounded with questions, but the one that screamed the loudest was: Where am I?

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Hours passed, and as Naruto wandered the streets, his sense of disorientation only grew. The people here looked… normal, but they wore strange clothes—tight-fitting pants, colorful shirts with odd logos, and strange devices they stared into constantly. Most didn’t pay him any attention, brushing past him like he was invisible, though a few gave him curious glances, likely wondering about his orange jumpsuit and forehead protector.

Naruto’s stomach growled, reminding him of the last time he had eaten. He spotted a sign in the distance—“Ramen”—written in big, bold letters, and his heart leapt. Finally, something familiar!

He hurried inside the small shop, the rich smell of broth and noodles filling his nose. The place was quiet, with a few customers sitting at tables, engrossed in their meals or the glowing screens in front of them. Naruto slid onto a stool at the counter, breathing in the comforting aroma.

“What can I get you?” asked the chef, a man with a kind face but tired eyes.

“One bowl of miso ramen, please!” Naruto said enthusiastically, his voice filled with relief. At least ramen existed in this strange world.

As he waited for his food, Naruto’s mind raced. How had he ended up here? One minute he had been training with Kakashi-sensei, practicing his Rasengan, and the next—a bright flash, a sensation of being pulled apart, and then nothing. Now he was… here. Wherever here was.

The bowl of ramen arrived, steaming and perfect. Naruto took one bite, and for a brief moment, all his worries melted away. This was exactly what he needed—familiar, comforting food. But as he finished the bowl, reality came crashing back in.

He had no idea how to return home. No idea how to contact anyone—Sakura, Kakashi, even Sasuke.

Naruto stood up and paid with the few coins he had left, hoping the strange money system of this world wouldn’t leave him broke too soon. As he stepped outside, he felt an overwhelming sense of isolation. In the Hidden Leaf Village, he was surrounded by friends, comrades, people who cared about him. Here, he was just another face in the crowd.

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As night fell, Naruto’s confusion deepened. The lights of the city were overwhelming, and the technology around him was like nothing he’d ever seen before. He passed stores filled with devices called "smartphones" and “computers,” people talked into tiny objects clipped to their ears, and strange metal machines raced by on the roads, honking and flashing lights.

He approached one of the glowing screens in a shop window. On it, images flashed by—some showing people talking, others showed scenes of destruction, but one thing caught Naruto’s eye: a news report about something called "war." It seemed that even in this world, conflict was inevitable. The words on the screen spoke of countries fighting for power, for resources.

Naruto clenched his fists. This world wasn’t that different from his own after all. But where were the shinobi? Where were the ninja who fought to protect their villages and loved ones? Did this world have its own kind of warriors?

He needed answers.

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The next few days passed in a blur of exploration and confusion. Naruto tried to find any trace of chakra in this world, but it was as if the energy that fueled his abilities didn’t exist here. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t summon a shadow clone, couldn’t perform a simple transformation jutsu. Even the nine-tailed fox, Kurama, was silent inside him. It was as though something was blocking his connection to chakra itself.

Without his powers, Naruto felt vulnerable. He hadn’t felt this weak in years, not since he was a child, mocked by his peers and ignored by the villagers. But this time, it was worse—because now he knew what it felt like to have strength, and it had been taken from him.

He wandered the streets, trying to find someone—anyone—who could explain what had happened. But everyone seemed wrapped up in their own lives, too busy with their gadgets and screens to notice a confused shinobi from another world.

One night, while he was sitting on a bench in a park, watching the strange machines called "cars" zoom by, a voice called out to him.

“You look lost.”

Naruto turned, startled. A man in his thirties stood nearby, dressed in a casual jacket and jeans, his expression calm but curious. He had short black hair and wore glasses that reflected the dim light of the streetlamps.

“I guess you could say that,” Naruto muttered. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk, but something about the man’s calm demeanor made him pause.

The man sat down beside him, not saying anything for a moment. Then he looked at Naruto again, his gaze penetrating. “You’re not from here, are you?”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

The man smiled faintly. “I’ve seen people like you before. People who don’t belong to this world. It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while… someone from a different place shows up.”

Naruto felt a surge of hope. “You know what’s happening to me? How I got here?”

The man nodded. “I’ve been studying this for years. My name is Akihiro. I’ve met others—like you. People who come from what you’d call… another dimension.”

Naruto’s mind raced. Another dimension? That would explain why nothing in this world made sense—why there was no chakra, no shinobi, and why he couldn’t access his abilities.

“I have to get back,” Naruto said urgently. “My friends, my village—they’re counting on me.”

Akihiro nodded, though his expression grew darker. “It’s not that simple. I’ve been trying to understand how this dimensional crossing happens, but it’s unpredictable. Sometimes, people return to their worlds, but… most of the time, they’re stuck here.”

Naruto’s stomach churned. “Stuck? You mean… forever?”

“There are ways,” Akihiro said carefully. “But they’re dangerous. Very dangerous. You’d be risking your life—and even then, there’s no guarantee.”

Naruto’s resolve hardened. He had faced danger his entire life. He had fought against unimaginable odds—Madara, Kaguya, even the pain of loneliness—and he had come through. He wasn’t about to let this world trap him.

“Tell me what I have to do,” Naruto said, determination burning in his eyes.

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Over the next few days, Akihiro explained everything. There were certain places in this world—portals, cracks between dimensions—where the boundaries between realities weakened. These portals were unstable, difficult to find, and even harder to control. But if Naruto could find one, and if he had the right tools, there was a chance he could return to his own world.

Akihiro handed him an old, weathered map, covered in strange markings. “This is where the portal might be. It’s in a place called the ‘Lost Ruins,’ an old, abandoned city far from here.”

Naruto studied the map, his mind racing. It wouldn’t be easy, but nothing worth fighting for ever was. He had faced worse odds before, and he wasn’t going to give up now.

But as he prepared to set off on his journey, a strange feeling gnawed at the back of his mind. This world, as strange and alien as it was, had its own kind of suffering. War, conflict, division—just like his own. Could he really leave without trying to make a difference?

No. That wasn’t who he was.

“I’ll find the portal,” Naruto said, looking at Akihiro with a determined gaze. “But I’m not leaving until I help some people here too. That’s the way of the shinobi.”

Akihiro smiled faintly, nodding in understanding. “Then I’ll help you, Naruto. We’ll find a way.”

And so, with a heart filled with both hope and uncertainty, Naruto set off on his journey through the modern world—a world of technology, war, and strange new challenges. But no matter where he was, no matter how far from home, Naruto knew one thing for sure.

He would never stop fighting for what was right.

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The End… or just the beginning?

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