Why was Naruto in the original manga so short and thin?
You don't need to think too deeply to understand the reason—insufficient nutrition, or to be blunt, his body was under constant strain and lacking proper sustenance. For him to even grow at all is, in itself, remarkable.
Konoha Village, for all its ideals, couldn't be relied upon to take proper care of Naruto. So, if Naruto wanted to be well-fed and healthy, he had to fend for himself.
That's why the forest near his home quickly became Naruto's first choice for survival.
In the beginning, before he had the strength to defend himself, he would only gather wild vegetables and fruits from the forest's outer edge. But once Naruto learned how to refine chakra—especially after entering the Ninja Academy—his physical abilities improved, and his range for foraging expanded. His diet gradually evolved to include fresh fish, shrimp, small forest game, and occasionally even larger beasts.
All of them became Naruto's hunting targets.
And those fiercer animals?
They were the perfect test dummies for his training.
At first, Naruto even used these beasts to hone his skills in combat and survival. And even if he couldn't win in a direct fight, he always had a safety net. Hidden ANBU agents, assigned by the Third Hokage to watch over him, would intervene if necessary.
With that unspoken safety, Naruto had nothing holding him back.
Thanks to this arrangement, Naruto never had to worry about food again.
This approach not only ensured his survival, but also helped him develop strength and practical experience.
Why not take advantage?
As for whether this kind of behavior might be restricted?
Naruto wasn't worried in the slightest.
Those ANBU assigned to observe him would report everything to the Third Hokage. Not to mention, the old man himself had a crystal ball that let him observe the entire village. If he hadn't stopped Naruto's behavior from the beginning, it meant he allowed it.
Naruto used the freshly caught fish to make soup—a method that preserved both nutrition and freshness.
As for the flavor?
Under such conditions, Naruto didn't care at all. Taste was the least of his concerns. Strengthening his body and improving his combat power were his only priorities. Whatever method best supported those goals, Naruto chose without hesitation.
As for the tools and equipment needed for his ninja training:
After entering the Ninja Academy, Naruto could obtain some of it through official school distribution.
For the rest, even if Naruto couldn't afford them on his own, he could often count on Iruka.
Though Iruka's feelings toward Naruto were mixed—sympathy, concern, lingering bitterness from his parents' deaths during the Nine-Tails attack, and some sense of helplessness—his sense of duty as a teacher and his instructions from the Third Hokage meant he looked after Naruto carefully.
Sometimes, Iruka would even take Naruto out to eat better food.
When Naruto showed he needed training gear, Iruka never hesitated to provide it.
Even when Naruto offered to pay, Iruka would always wave him off with a kind smile.
Although Naruto didn't yet possess the Nine-Tails' chakra or any sensory ability to detect malice, he could sense Iruka's sincerity. Whenever he interacted with Iruka, he felt a kind of rare warmth—faint sunlight shining through the heavy shadows in his life.
Thanks to this, over the course of a year, Naruto's life became more stable.
His training progressed steadily.
Even his school life at the Academy far exceeded his own expectations.
Most children in the class didn't fear or despise him—at least, not yet. They hadn't been told the truth about who or what he was.
In this life, Naruto was neither mischievous nor disruptive as he had been in the original timeline. His quiet nature, golden hair, and above-average academic performance made him stand out in a different way. Though he deliberately avoided being the top student, he consistently ranked in the top five in both theoretical and practical tests. In fact, his theoretical scores were the highest in the class.
Because of this, Naruto was quite popular among the girls at school.
But of course, the number one heartthrob remained the young Uchiha heir.
Sasuke was not only handsome but also top of the class in every subject. Add to that his status as the youngest son of the head of the Uchiha Clan—Konoha's most prestigious ninja family—and it made sense why he received so much attention.
Naruto didn't care about popularity.
His reason for hiding his abilities a little was simple: he didn't want to draw too much attention.
He wasn't afraid of being noticed.
He just didn't want to expose himself prematurely.
At this stage, the Third Hokage was still alive. As long as Naruto didn't do anything suspicious or blatantly reveal his inner thoughts, there would be no danger. The masked man behind the scenes—the one wrapped in bandages—could not touch him yet.
In this regard, Naruto felt a faint sense of gratitude toward the Third Hokage.
Not that he'd ever say it aloud.
His academic performance and steady progress could be attributed to his diligence, but also to the occasional high-altitude surveillance from the Hokage. If Naruto hadn't made visible progress under such scrutiny, that would have raised real questions.
A little bit of concealment didn't matter.
After all, people only cared about the top scorers or the failures. Unless someone was dead last, being ranked second or tenth didn't raise any eyebrows.
Because of this, Naruto was able to enjoy an unexpectedly peaceful and productive year.
Both in his personal time and during school hours, Naruto felt relatively at ease.
"Let's give it a try today too."
After preparing and eating a hearty lunch, Naruto resumed his training in the forest following a short rest.
From tree-climbing practice to water-walking exercises, Naruto followed a steady training rhythm.
By standard ninja expectations, his progress was neither too fast nor too slow.
In the original timeline, it had seemed like Naruto learned techniques like tree-walking almost instantly—but that version of Naruto already had a foundation.
Look at his behavior in the original series during his Academy days—he could scale walls and escape trouble easily, meaning his chakra control was already developed, though crude and uncontrolled.
Tree-walking under Kakashi, water-walking under Ebisu...
It's no wonder he improved quickly.
To put it simply:
The Naruto of the original manga learned by instinct.
But this Naruto?
He learns by thinking.
While he still had some natural instincts left over from his previous life, he relied more on logic and reasoned training now. Without the benefit of a mentor guiding him directly, his pace of learning was naturally slower than the fast-tracked growth in the original.
But every step he took was grounded, deliberate, and truly his own.