Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor The Gamer Manwha. I do, however, own every original concept that I use in this piece of fiction. Enjoy!

"Um, Jiji?"

The old leader of the village looked up from his paperwork and regarded me inquisitively. "What is it, Naruto-kun?"

I shifted slightly before responding his question with one of my own. "What does a ninja need to be the best?" I asked him simply and directly, like I always did.

The old man raised an eyebrow in my direction before letting his pen rest on top of the papers he needed to sign. He looked at me for a few seconds before he leaned back on his admittedly comfy chair. "I don't think I understand your question, Naruto-kun. To be a good, or the best, ninja there are a lot of things, depending on the aspect of being a ninja that you are talking about, that you need."

I looked down at my feet for a second before looking back up to meet his eyes. "I mean does he need to be physically strong? Or does he need to be able to keep fighting for a long time? Or does he need good reflexes and speed? Or does he have to be really smart? Or wise? Or is it all about luck?"

The old man's eyes focused on me before he chuckled briefly. "I admit that your question caught me off guard, Naruto-kun. But thankfully I have an answer for you." He paused for a moment to apparently arrange his thoughts before nodding to himself. "To be honest a ninja needs everything that you just listed if he or she wants to be good, or the best. You can say that everything complements each other."

I frowned. "How so?"

The old man hummed in thought before responding. "Let's say that you are the strongest person in the world physically. But you aren't quite smart and much less wise. Do you really think you'll be able to use all the strength to its outmost potential? And what about if you weren't fast? You wouldn't be able to hit anyone just slightly faster than you. The same happens if you are only smart and wise, because if you aren't physically strong and fast then your intelligence and wisdom will be better suited for areas other than direct combat."

"I see. What about luck?"

He chuckled. "Luck is not something that we can control but having good luck is also the mark of a long lived ninja, which is rare. Look at myself. I feel extremely lucky to be alive right now at the age I am. I nearly died countless time and most of them I survived because of sheer luck. But, luck is not something that you must rely on. You must train hard and hone your skills and mind. Rely on what you are sure on, not in something that births from what might happen."

I looked at him for a moment and then nodded, understanding. "I get it. But…" I paused for a moment and he gave me a curious look. "If you could technically control the growth rate of any of those characteristics, which one would you chose? To be strong? To be fast? To be smart? To be wise? Or to be lucky?"

The old man rubbed his goatee as he seemed to seriously ponder the question before he found an answer. "I would've say luck but that's… too random to rely on as I've told you. Ideally, strength of mind should become before strength of body because if you lack the resolve to do what is needed to be done then your body could be the strongest and most powerful weapon in the world but it would be useless on a shaking hand. With that said, I believe that I would become wise and smart, to know what to do with what I already know and to get more knowledge which I can use, and then fast and strong to make the most of what my mind is already capable off."

I nodded my head at him. "So I should train my mind first and then train my body when my mind is already strong enough?"

The old man shrugged his shoulders lightly. "You can do both at the same time. You want to know how? Do not waste your time. In the Academy you can hone both under the watchful eye of the Chunin instructors but you shouldn't limit yourself. Keep training and studying after the Academy hours. You have plenty of time you cannot waste. You are young Naruto-kun. You can become strong, fast and smart now but wisdom comes with age and believe me you don't want to experience the things I have through my life as you are now. To quote an old friend of mine 'The path to greatness is filled with steady baby steps until you realize that all this time you have been making giant strides'."

There was a refusal to his statement generating on my mind but it made sense to me so I just squashed it ruthlessly. The thing is that I couldn't make heads or tails of my current situation… which was not making any sense at all. I smiled at him in gratitude. "Thanks for answering my questions, Jiji. I promise that I will focus on being a great ninja you can be proud off once I graduate this year."

The old man chuckled in amusement but he reached forward to ruffle my spiky blonde hair. "For some reason I think you are going to make good on that promise. But remember my words Naruto-kun. You are young. That means that you have to have fun. Let the other stuff to us boring adults and old men and enjoy yourself while you can, because maybe you'll be the one getting back and ass pains for spending all the goddamn day sitting on a chair, no matter how comfortable said chair is. No off with you. I have to keep doing… this."

I nodded my head seriously at him and I almost smirked at his misfortune but I managed to reign myself in. "Will do. And thanks a lot! See ya later Jiji. I'll go train. Have a nice day." Believe me or not I was going to be really easy to have fun as I trained to become a great ninja constantly, as I promised I was going to do. Why, you ask? Well…

Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Class: The Gamer
Level: LV3
HP: 300/300
CP: 250/250
STR: 10
VIT: 10
DEX: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 10
LUK: 10
POINTS: 10
MONEY: 2000 Ryo

Because my life became a game.

xXxXxXx

Ignoring the scornful and sometimes downright hateful looks sent my way by everyone on the street I began to make my way towards the library. I could ignore those looks pretty easily now and it was thanks to this strange ability that had come literally out of nowhere. I had gone to sleep after a day full of pranks and getting away from Chunin chasing me down and the next day there was a blue box in front of me telling me that my HP and my CP were full.

Through the next few days I explored what I began to call the 'Gamer Ability'. Apparently my life had become a game and I could earn levels, and through them stats points to directly modify my stats, which I could also modify through special actions too. There were also quests that gave me both experience points and money as rewards for completing them and there was a system of skills that kept track of the stuff I knew how to do and how good I was at doing them. For example, I had even gotten a skill for looking at someone and now I could get their full names and a short description of them if I activated the skill which was called 'Observe'. It had its limits, obviously. There were people, like Jiji, who I couldn't even see their level meaning that they were so ridiculously strong that I couldn't comprehend.

There were two skills, however, one of which I suspected was the reason behind all this gamer thing. They were called 'Gamer's Mind' and 'Gamer's Body'. Gamer's Mind allowed me to keep calm in any situations and think things through while also giving me immunity to al mental status effects. The other one, 'Gamer's Body' gave me a body that allowed me to live as if I was video game character, giving me an HP and CP bars and the ability to recover one hundred percent of my health after sleeping. After some tests the only thing I needed to confirm was the supposed immunity to any type of mental attacks and after everything I have seen I could easily say that it was all legit.

I also had an 'Inventory' which was some kind of my own storage pocket dimension. I could store whatever I wanted with the only limit to stuff that I could carry on both of my arms. There were also perks and those apparently kept track of specific traits to my person which gave some kind of bonuses to my development. There was, however, one slight problem with that particular feature of this ability.

"Perks," I muttered under my breath as I turned on a corner and kept walking, still ignoring the looks of hatred. The only 'good' thing about them was that I had gotten a skill out of it. I could now detect the hate people had for me on a diameter of thirty meters. Which was neat.

?. ?. (+50 to MAX HP and +50 to MAX CP per Level)
?. ?. (+50 to MAX HP and +50 to MAX CP per Level. 300% gain to Fuinjutsu Skill.)
?. ?. (Physical stats grow twice as fast)

I didn't have a goddamn idea on why I had those perks but something told me that it was tied to why the people of the village hated me because I also didn't have a clue on why they did. As far as I was concerned, since perks were traits specific to me and I didn't know what those traits were and the people of the village hated me for something I didn't know then it was fairly obvious that they were related.

And since I didn't like to be kept obviously in the dark and I was sick of being hated for no apparent reason I was going to find out what those traits were. According to Iruka-sensei, my Chunin Instructor at the Academy, unknowns are the worst thing for a ninja and I have a healthy dislike for unknowns ever since I realized I am hated for… something. It couldn't be the pranks. They were harmless and I always cleaned up, against my will, after myself. There was something else and I bet it was some conspiracy level bullshit. Lucky me.

It was ironic how my proprieties had changed in the past few days. There was nothing more that I wanted other than being Hokage so I could be recognized for the things I did and then my life turns into a game, giving me a skill that practically forces me to think about stuff and reach logical conclusions and now what I want to do is to find out why am I hated and get better living conditions. The second part was easy to figure out. I needed money and the best way to earn money was through missions that ninja performed. And the better ninja I became the better missions I would go and the better I would be paid. If I became the best ninja I would get the most difficult missions hence I would be the best paid. Simple logic.

The other one was not as easy but it was as, if not more so, important. I was sure it was tied to 'who' I was and where I came from which I had no idea how I came to live. I was sure I had a mother and a father but I have never met them. All my memories were about living on an orphanage until it was time for me to go to the Academy. When that time came around Jiji pulled me out of the orphanage and gave me my apartment and taught me the essential things I needed to do and to know to survive, along with giving me a monthly allowance to get by.

But I had a lead and it was probably the best lead I was going to get. My name. Not Naruto, which could mean fishcake or maelstrom –obviously I preferred the latter. No. It was my last name. Uzumaki. Whirlpool. And there was a spiral on the back of the standard flak jackets that Chunin and jonin used. It had to mean something. It couldn't possibly mean something random. There was a reason why I was given that last name.

And I was going to find out even if it was the last thing I did.

It didn't take me too much longer to reach the library and I slipped easily inside. A blue window appeared in front of me telling me that bloodlust was detected and I looked up to see the librarian looking at me with surprise, surprise, hateful eyes.

She scowled at me. "You are not allowed here, brat. Get out."

A few days ago I would've yelled, giving her an actual reason to kick me out but thanks to the mental skill I mentioned earlier, I kept my cool and met her eyes steadily. "This is the Public Library lady. Everyone is allowed here. Since I am not a shinobi yet there are some specific areas that are restricted to me and as long as I keep myself away from those and keep silent then there is no reason that I am not allowed here. Or should I fill a complaint to the Hokage?"

She scowled fiercely at me and it looked like she was about to kick me out anyways but she thought better of me because she huffed and walked away and I smiled slightly in triumph at the small victory and I stepped further into the library and I was struck speechless by the fact there were a number of glowing books and scrolls that people didn't seem to notice them. I approached one of them and picked it up only for a blue box to appear in front of me.

You obtained the skill book 'Chakra Control: Its Purpose and Importance'. Would you like to learn this skill?

It took me almost ten seconds to read and then comprehend what I was seeing… and then it took me less than a fifth of that time to jab my finger into the 'Yes' option. My eyes widened in alarm, however, when the scroll glow brightly before it disappeared in particles of light resembling fireflies into me. Another second later and I got dinner plates for eyes as the knew knowledge settled in and with it a small but noticeable increase in power as another window popped up.

Chakra Control. Passive/Active. LV 1 [0.0%]. Chakra is the manifestation of a ninja's physical might gained through harsh training and his mental strength gained through experiences. Through centuries shinobi and kunoichi alike have devised methods to harness, mold and control this wonderful but terrifying energy. Cost depends on the chakra control exercise. Known methods of chakra molding: Twelve Zodiac Hand seals. Known chakra control exercises: Leaf Concentration (5 CP per minute per leaf), Tree Climbing (15 CP per minute) and Water Surface Walking (30 CP per minute).

Passively increases maximum chakra capacity by 10%.

Passively decreases CP usage of skills by 10%.

Passively increases CP Regen by 10%.

This changed everything. I could learn skills immediately from books by literally eating them without wasting time on the internationally hated learning process! And now I knew everything that had to do with basic theory on chakra, how to correctly perform the control exercises and how to go through the basic hand seals for jutsu in a not awkward manner which had been true to me in the past.

"What was that?"

"Shit."

I quickly scrambled away from the isle to evade the librarian who had obviously seen the light show absorbing the scroll on chakra control had caused. As my breathing slowed down I chastised myself for being so reckless in my excitement but this was a crucial learning experience for the future when I would undoubtedly come back here to eat more books but that was for later. Now I needed not to get caught.

I heard her hastened steps and I thanked whatever deity that watched over us all that she wasn't a shinobi as her intention were clear and I used my experience on pranking to move away from her limited perception without her noticing I was there. I could feel hear frustration on her walking as she moved away, apparently deciding that since noting seemed out of place she was probably imagining things, much to my relief as I let out short breath.

When I couldn't hear her another window popped out.

A new skill has been updated through a special act. By sneaking around someone successfully you have updated the skill 'Stealth''. Due to previous experience on 'Stealth' the skill will be displayed appropriately.

Stealth. Active/Passive. LV 20 [0.0%]. Stealth is the one of the bases of combat for any shinobi and kunoichi worth their salt. If you can go through your enemies senses undetected then it's half of the battle won. You only have to hit them to put them down for good.

Passively increases perception of surroundings by 100%.

When actively using Stealth chances for being detected decrease by half.

Critical Hit ratio is augmented by 275% when active.

My eyes narrowed at the windows as this time I didn't feel a shift within myself but there was something that sort of clicked. I could now understand why I did what I did while sneaking around instead of just doing it because it worked. And thanks to this now I understood why I didn't have Skills on the others skills I knew I had. It was because I have not performed even one of them since whatever this was happened. It was like it needed a trigger to update it.

That was another thing I needed to do as soon as possible because I needed to see exactly where I stood and to what strengths I needed to play in order to cover any weakness I had. I wasn't delusional anymore. I knew that it was dangerous out there and that I was just a tadpole in an ocean at the moment. But the thing is that I wanted to be the most dangerous sea creature in said ocean and to do that I needed the most specific starting point I could get and this… ability could give me that and more.

Nodding my head resolutely at that I stood up and made my way to the history section of the library, resisting the urge to pick up more skills books to learn only thanks to the fact I knew I didn't need anything else at the moment. I had come here with the purpose of finding out what my last name meant and that was what I was going to do. Afterwards I could look into anything useful I could learn.

I finally reached the isle labelled 'U' and it only took me a few minutes to find something. Something that disappointed me. There was only one book about the Uzumaki and it was a thin, smallish one that I was sure didn't contain even the tip of the iceberg of what I hoped to find. I picked up the book, which was called The Uzumaki Clan, The Village Hidden in the Whirlpools. Said book was thinner than my finger and only contained a handful of pages. Sighing in defeat I opened the first page and began to read.

'Living far into the ocean, in an large island surrounded by the most powerful whirlpools ever seen, the Uzumaki, with locks of blood red hair, despite being separated from the main land were self-sufficient and their own village and shinobi system, shared distant blood relation with the Senju clan. Through the years, the Uzumaki and Senju kept close ties, with members at times marrying between clans, as with Hashirama Senju, the Shodaime Hokage and Mito Uzumaki, the Heir of the Throne of Swirls. Following the founding of Konoha, at the end of the Warring States Period, the Senju chose to symbolize their clans' friendship by adding the Uzumaki's emblem to Konoha's flak jackets. Konoha and the Uzumaki's own Uzushiogakure remained close allies over the following decades, with the Uzumaki providing fūinjutsu (among other things) to Konoha whenever there was a need. In time, the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple was even constructed on Konoha's outskirts.

The Uzumaki's skill with fūinjutsu earned them both respect and fear throughout the ninja world. At some point after Kushina Uzumaki, last officially confirmed pure Uzumaki before she died during the attack of the Kyubi twelve years ago, immigrated to Konoha, the villages Kumogakure and Iwagakure banded together to destroy Uzushiogakure, believing the village was too powerful to be allowed to continue. The survivors of Uzushio's destruction went into hiding and spread throughout the world.

Not a lot is known about the Uzumaki Clan since they kept their secretes jealously guarded, only sharing with Konoha methods of resources production and sealing techniques, even when the heir of the clan at that moment was married to the leader of the village they refused to share their more obscure arts. It is known, however, that Uzumaki possessed a extremely strong life force and a stronger and dense chakra, the main example of this being Mito Uzumaki who lived into her early hundreds and it was a combination of a rare illness and the pain of losing most of her family through the wars the reason behind her demise and she still looked on her late thirties.'

That was essentially everything written about the Uzumaki that the supposed book contained. The other pages gave other examples of the physical characteristics of the Uzumaki, most of which I apparently did not share other than the strong and abundant chakra, and maps that tried to pinpoint the exact location of the island that was home to the Uzumaki. It was frustrating and more than very suspicious.

Why the hell would there be so little information in the village's library on a clan that it fucking even paid homage in their military uniforms?

It didn't add up and I was sure there was some conspiracy tied to this. Sighing again I turned to the last page of the book and my eyes widened in interest as they caught sight of two pictures. The first one I recognized immediately because I have seen it a lot during History class in the Academy. It was Mito Uzumaki and I have to admit that she was very beautiful and I could even see the amount of intelligence she must have possessed through the photograph.

My eyes trailed to the other one and my breath caught in my throat at the grinning visage of another beautiful redhead next to the picture first picture. I caught her name beneath it, Kushina Uzumaki, but my focus was entirely on her face. Why you may ask? Because I realized that my face had the exam same shape as hers and that her smile was exactly like mine and that was no coincidence that much was obvious to me even with the poor knowledge (read nonexistent) on genetics I had.

'This is my mother,' I said to myself mentally as I took in every detail of her. From her lustrous look red locks of hair, to her roundish face, mischievous amethyst colored eyes and wide, excited grin as she waved at the camera happily. How I was so sure of this? Well…

A perk has been updated!

Scion of the Whirlpool. The royal blood of the Uzumaki runs through your veins. They were known for their longevity and their natural talent for the sealing arts and naturally, you have inherited those traits. (+50 to MAX HP and +50 to MAX CP per Level. Fuinjutsu Skill grows three times as fast.)

There were tears in my eyes and a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach as I stared between the picture of who I was sure was my mother and the window that pretty much told me I had come from somewhere instead of magically appearing from the air, which was what I used to think before. I was… happy. There wasn't another word I could use to describe how I felt right now even if the book had mentioned she had died. Looking at her picture I was sure she loved me because I couldn't picture her face as belonging to someone that could hate. I can easily picture her getting angry and the mental image brought a chuckle out of me.

With the happiness I was feeling also came a resolve to honor my late clan. I was angry at the villages responsible for destroying it but I couldn't bring myself to hate them because my now logical mind came to the conclusion that it would be a waste of my time and that it was during war time, a time when everything and anything could happen. There was nothing preventing me from harming a shinobi from those villages if I ever encountered them though.

Sniffing a little first and then rubbing the sleeve of my shirt over my eyes to dry them I closed the book gently after directing a fond look to the picture of my mother and put it in the place I had picked it up from the shelf and I walked away from the section and further into the library.

I will honor my clan.

And there was I skill book I needed to get started on that.

So... this happened. Got caught up reading The Games We Play and decided to try my hand at a serious fic for a change. I will deliver chapters between 4k and 6k for faster updates. Sorry for any inconvinience.