Absolutely, Gaurav. Here's a refined, humanized version of Chapter 3—with the one-liners merged, narration made more emotionally immersive, and natural flow enhanced. I've maintained the depth, emotion, and tone you're aiming for:
Chapter 3: White Eyes and Body Tempering
The moon hung high in the night sky, casting a pale silver glow over the desolate village. Naruto, his small body marred with scars, stepped silently into the little house he had called home for the past five years. The wooden floor creaked under his feet as he approached the worn-out bed where he had slept night after night. He collapsed onto it without a word, his cold eyes sweeping across the familiar, shabby furniture that surrounded him. There was no warmth in this place—only the lingering remnants of survival.
His fingers instinctively brushed the red mark on his forehead, and a bitter memory surged forth. Five years ago, his parents had sealed the Nine-Tails inside him to save the village… and to save him. He had watched them die—again. Once in a past life. And now in this one. Helpless both times, unable to change anything. That same helplessness festered deep in his heart, a silent scream buried beneath the calm surface of his face.
That buried resentment, swelling like a tide, reached its peak—and in that moment, something within him snapped. An overwhelming force surged through his head. His vision sharpened, shifting into clarity unlike anything he'd known before. He could see everything: the grain of the wood, the dust in the air, the chakra flowing faintly around him. He didn't understand what had just happened, but his previously chaotic thoughts began to calm with eerie tranquility.
It didn't take him long to figure it out. This was the awakening of the Byakugan. The red mark on his forehead... it wasn't just any seal. It was something more—an inheritance from a soul that didn't belong to this world. A memory fragment echoed in his mind: the name Otsutsuki Hikaru. A lineage older than the village, older than the clan wars. Ancient and celestial.
And that revelation hit him like a storm—this truly was the world of Naruto, the ninja world from the anime his girlfriend once forced him to watch in his previous life. Back then, he'd grumbled and rolled his eyes, but now... he clung to every detail he could recall. There were jutsus capable of resurrection. The Reincarnation Technique—the very one that brought fallen shinobi back to life.
Naruto's heart tightened. If Nagato could use it to revive the dead, then he, too, could bring his parents back. But it wasn't that simple. The Reincarnation Technique required more than willpower—it needed the Samsara Eye, complete bodies, and intact souls. Reviving Kushina and Minato would take all three.
The body had to come first. The soul could be retrieved later—his mother's through the Reincarnation of the Pure Land, and his father's soul could be freed from the Shiki Fuujin. But the bodies... they would decay quickly. Time was against him.
He activated the Byakugan once more, and through it, he saw the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, rapidly approaching. No time left. Panic nearly consumed him, but in the chaos of Otsutsuki Hikaru's jumbled memories, he finally found a possibility—one that involved the chakra of the Nine-Tails sealed inside him.
The Nine-Tails wasn't just a beast—it was pure, boundless chakra. Though it had only been sealed inside him a short while ago, Naruto's body had already grown used to its chakra. Kushina, his mother, had carried the Nine-Tails while pregnant with him, and its chakra had bathed his cells even before birth.
Naruto gritted his teeth. He had to activate the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan now—release the chains that had once been Kushina's weapon. His Byakugan gave him control over chakra to a terrifying degree. He saw the chakra flow in his veins and the coiled energy of the Nine-Tails lurking inside.
Pain exploded through his body as he forced the Nine-Tails' chakra to merge with his blood. His body trembled violently under the strain—he was still just a newborn—but he pushed forward. The Nine-Tails, startled, cursed inside him.
"Damn that Fourth Hokage! First, he seals me, then his freak of a son starts messing with my chakra the moment he's born! And now he has the Byakugan too? This brat is insane… Wait, no—he's worse than insane. He's… a damn genius."
Despite the insults, the Nine-Tails knew it had no choice. If Naruto died, so would it. With a grudging growl, it began cooperating, helping Naruto regulate the surge of power.
Chains erupted from Naruto's small frame—brilliant, glowing tendrils of blue and green chakra. They moved with purpose, coiling gently around the lifeless bodies of Minato and Kushina. As they tightened, Naruto's Byakugan flared, releasing a blinding white light.
The moment that light touched the bodies, they vanished.
In the silence that followed, the Nine-Tails whispered, stunned. "That… That was an independent space. His Byakugan has its own dimension?!"
Even Naruto had to pause in disbelief. He had expected something—perhaps a temporary sealing—but what he discovered from Hikaru's memories was far beyond that. The Byakugan he inherited held a space of its own—a stasis realm where time stood still. The chains, tethered to his chakra, would preserve the bodies within, keeping them safe until the day he could restore their souls.
But the moment didn't last. The barrier Kushina had left behind was gone. Her chakra was depleted. And the Third Hokage had arrived.
In a blur, Hiruzen appeared beside Naruto. He looked around, confused—there were no bodies. No signs of Minato or Kushina. Only faint traces of a white light. The old man's brow furrowed in thought.
"What was that light? Where did the bodies go?" he murmured to himself.
Then, recovering quickly, he gave stern orders to the surrounding ANBU and shinobi—Naruto's identity was to remain secret. No one was to speak of the Nine-Tails or the boy it had been sealed into. But such words rarely stop rumors.
Holding Naruto in his arms, the Third Hokage looked down and smiled gently. "Naruto… I'll raise you like my own grandson. I'll protect your father's will."
Naruto smiled back, an innocent expression that masked everything he had just done. Hiruzen's heart softened, and he turned to leave—only to be intercepted by a shadowy figure.
Danzo stepped forward, his voice cold and calculating. "Third Hokage, hand the boy over. He belongs to Root. I'll raise him properly."
Hiruzen's expression hardened. "No. He is the son of the Fourth Hokage. I won't let you turn him into a tool."
Danzo's eye narrowed. "You'll regret this. Emotions are weaknesses. Jinchūriki don't need hearts—they need control. I'll prove you wrong."
After the Third Hokage brought Naruto home to be raised, it didn't take long for the entire village to learn the truth — that Uzumaki Naruto was the vessel of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Despite the Hokage's gag order, the whispers had already spread like wildfire. And when grief grips a village, logic is the first casualty.
The people who had lost loved ones during the Kyūbi's attack needed someone to blame. They didn't seek justice; they sought a scapegoat. Even if it hadn't been Naruto, someone else would have been made to carry that burden. That's just the cruel nature of people. They need someone to hate.
Naruto understood this cruelty all too well. After living through the highs and lows of two previous lives, he had become numb to warmth and affection. The shifting tides of human emotions no longer stirred him. He no longer felt excitement — only a quiet detachment.
What he craved now was power. And so, at the age of three, he made an unusual request to the Third Hokage: he wanted to live alone. Hiruzen was hesitant, but Naruto wore him down with persistence and determination. Eventually, the old man agreed, granting Naruto a modest allowance and a small house at the edge of the village.
But Naruto's independence came at a cost.
On the second day after moving in, he discovered a gaping hole in the roof of his new home. When he stepped outside, people looked at him as if he were a monster. Children hurled stones at him. Merchants cheated him—charging double for expired groceries and selling him tattered, out-of-season clothes.
Sometimes, Naruto imagined killing them. But he never acted on it. Danzo was always watching, and he couldn't afford to make a wrong move — not yet.
After receiving chakra refining techniques from the Third Hokage, Naruto secluded himself indoors. Day after day, he refined his chakra and used it to stimulate the cells in his body. His experience told him that power began with the body. If he could make himself strong enough, even the Nine-Tails' chakra wouldn't be able to harm him.
In addition to this, Naruto sat perfectly still for fifteen minutes every day to sense the natural chakra around him. He ran twenty kilometers daily with weighted seals, pushing himself to the edge.
To keep up with his intense physical routine, he began foraging for food in the woods behind Hokage Rock. That meant daily battles with snakes and wild beasts. He couldn't rely on bloodline techniques — not with Hiruzen's eyes on him. So he fought with only the simplest physical techniques and the most basic ninjutsu the Hokage had taught him.
Every evening, he dragged his wounded body back to his cold, empty house. Alone, in the quiet, he tended to his injuries and endured the pain.
But even in this hardship, Naruto discovered something vital — each time he was wounded and healed by the Nine-Tails' chakra, his body grew stronger, tougher. His compatibility with the Kyūbi's chakra improved, little by little. His instincts sharpened, and his adaptability in battle soared.
So he kept returning to the forest. Every single day. For five long years.
Now, at the age of eight, he gently touched the red mark on his forehead — a seal left by his mother, Kushina. Whenever he did, he could almost feel her presence. As he stood in the quiet of his room, thinking back on the years of blood, sweat, and solitude, a calm settled over him.
His thoughts drifted to the Rinnegan.
In this world, only Uzumaki Nagato possessed the Samsara Eye. Convincing him to use the Rinne Tensei no Jutsu was a fantasy. Naruto wasn't the original protagonist — he didn't have the power of friendship or the invincible "Talk-no-Jutsu." He couldn't talk his way through this one.
He briefly considered stealing Nagato's Rinnegan. But even if he could, it would be dangerous. The masked man — Tobi — would unleash the full force of Akatsuki on him. Naruto wasn't afraid of that... but it would be a massive nuisance.
Sasuke? He thought about taking his eyes instead. But he dismissed the idea almost immediately. He had a strange respect for Sasuke. The boy had guts. And besides, if Kushina ever found out he'd hurt Mikoto's son, she'd rise from the dead just to beat him senseless.
In the end, Naruto couldn't think of a good solution. Only the most dangerous one came to mind. If it failed, he'd die a terrible death. But if it worked — he would obtain a Rinnegan most compatible with him. One he could truly call his own.
He looked out the window. The moon was full and bright, casting pale light through the broken roof. As he stared into the night sky, a memory of his mother's final words surfaced in his heart.
A small smile tugged at his lips.
"Two more years," he whispered.