Rain pelted the roof sending wave after wave of white noise through the small two-bedroom apartment. Kakashi sat on his couch reading icha icha back alley glancing at up he saw Akira busily producing explosive tag after explosive tag. Each one had better calligraphy than the last. The kid was a machine. Someone that his own sensei might have taken an interest in if things were different.
Kakashi could imagine a world where Obito was never crushed by the rock nin and Rin was still alive. Minato would still be Hokage and Akira wouldn't be a hate filled psycho path. He could tell the kid wasn't that far gone but he was close. Akira worked like a machine, each tag better. There were improvements made upon the example. That was the scariest part to Kakashi. The kid was a natural at fuinjutsu.
"Let's take a break. I'll cook us something on the stove." He took two instant ramen packets from the cabinet and began fixing lunch. It had been a week since the Hokage had given him this mission. His mission, acclimatize the boy to ninja life. In effect Akira was a genin in name. Skill wise he was just a civilian with a lot of chakra and no way to direct it. With no jutsu or chakra control, he was powerless.
Kakashi remembered the night he threatened the boy. Akira didn't look afraid, not really. Just like now, Akira looked like a machine more than a ten-year-old. The massive stack of explosive tags was a testament to that. Everyone was a little better than the last. It was inhuman in Kakashi's opinion.
The kid should have been emitted in the academy despite his infirmities. Most cripples were allowed to focus on a single branch of techniques for the war effort. If Akira had been born earlier, then this hate may have cooled. Work has a habit of helping people forget their sorrows the hokage and himself were examples of that. Sometimes when he read port he didn't relive the death of his best friend in his dreams.
That was enough. Kakashi brought the water to a boil and dumped both instants in. On another pan he fried some bacon to add to the ramen. "So, how did you manage to fix up your chakra network." Kakashi asked. Akira looked up at him.
Kakashi noted that the boy needed a haircut. His bangs had dipped covering his left eye socket. The boy's single blue eye narrowed. With a sigh Akira spoke. "My bloodline has near infinite uses. One just happened to be self-repair. I just needed an example." Akira removed the explosive tags from the table.
He thought about the explosive tag example. The latest explosive tags had a few additions more advanced than normal. "You are one frightening cripple." Kakashi said. Akira narrowed his eyes but did nothing. Kakashi chuckled to himself.
Line Break
He had beaten a giantess and asked her to dinner after, facing the Hokage with his explosive tags should be nothing. As he stood in front of Hiruzen, the old man gave him calculating glare. The old man went through every explosive note. After looking them over with a critical eye, he nodded his head.
"Your skill in fuinjutsu is remarkable. Every week you will make 500 explosive notes of this quality. No deviation, that will cover your rent and training under Kakashi. Normally, there would be a little money left over, but your month long stay at Konoha hospital and the life support systems aren't cheap. Havin a Jonin med nin as your leading physician has increased the bill even more. It will be a few months before you will see any money, perhaps years." Akira bowed his head.
"Thank you Hokage Sama. I will ensure the notes are always on time." The old man nodded and dismissed him. Just before he could escape, the doors burst open revealing Naruto.
"Old man, I want ramen." The blond yelled and ran by him. It was Naruto Uzumaki. The cloud of mana swirling around his mind fought. The blue demanded patients, while the red demanded action. Both warred at his mind. Enhance flooded his body. His right arm at that moment could snap a grizzly bear's spine. A hand on his shoulder knocked him out of his thoughts. Kakashi directed him towards the door. He hobbled away quickly.
Outside the air felt fresh. His mana was no longer raging at him to destroy the fox. Everything was calm. "Thank you for helping me." Akira said. Kakashi shrugged.
"It's no problem. Let's get you home. I'll teach you the leaf sticking exercise." Kakashi said.
Line Break
Kakashi handed Akira the leaves and told him to stick them to himself with chakra. He could have given him actual instruction or even taught the kid how to reach for his chakra. But Kakashi thought it would be fun to see the kid mess up time and again. He wasn't disappointed.
Akira started with his head. Instead of sticking the leaf disintegrated. "You might want to use less chakra." The kid actually glared at him, cute. "Try again with less chakra." Akira placed one on his chest and only half of the leaf turned to dust. Was he seeing progress?
"Keep trying, I'll be on the couch reading." Every few pages he heard the child cuss. Smiling Kakashi turned a page. The murderous little squirt had to learn things the hard way. Life wouldn't always give examples to build from.
He ended up falling asleep. The suns rays were just peaking in through a window when he looked over to see Akira still up. He had gone outside several times in the night to get more leaves. Kakashi had ignored the kid in the night. That wasn't uncommon. The kid didn't send any KI his way.
Line Break
Why couldn't he get it right? To be blunt, it was an act. He didn't want to appear too talented. Honestly, had more chakra than Kakashi, but no way to make use of it. This little exercise gave him the time he needed to figure that stuff out.
But why go through all this trouble what was Akira's goal? Well that was simple enough. He wanted to master chakra enhancement. It was a standard skill that all shinobi share. That wouldn't be enough to compete with the likes of Kakashi or Hiruzen. No, he wanted perfect chakra control. He had a cheat already. The construct Akira bound to his chakra network took mana from his orbit and replenished hiss chakra perpetually.
This benefit had limitless applications. It allowed him to avoid chakra fatigue and the construct was becoming his chakra. The evolution of a construct was an incredible event. This was like winning the lottery. When a dragon's construct evolved it was called dragon force.
Technically, this wasn't that. Akira's construct was made with haste. It was a standard archetype. What it was bound to was what made this extraordinary. Mana was to human chakra what natural energy was to human chakra. They could be mixed with a lot of effort. The construct was a cheat because it mixed it passively. With its evolution the construct would only get better at gathering mana from Akira's orbit and producing chakra. Two separate effects that were indispensable.
Akira had no idea what would happen when raw mana mixed with his chakra. He could blow up or burn out. Normally when too much mana meets a physical body, friction burns can occur. Some mages have burned themselves to a crisp from over enhancement.
The construct was a mediator in this regard. Hopefully, it will mix Akira's chakra and mana slowly, to let the two energies get to know each other.
Akira didn't really know any of this. He knew his construct was evolving and he knew he wasn't running out of chakra any time soon. That's about it.
Currently, he was sitting cross legged covered in leaves. Not quite on his way to perfect chakra control but starting the journey. Over three dozen leaves covered his body. He had started to move them across his skin. Sticking something to himself with chakra was easy, what would happen if he tried to move each leaf independently.
"It seems you have the leaf exercise down. Here I thought it would be weeks before you got it. When did you catch a break?" Kakashi asked. Caught red handed the leaves flew off his body disintegrating. "That's some impressive power you got there. I have a mission to get to, so a friend of mine is going to watch you while I'm out of the village. Try not to lose your mind." Kakashi said.
"Yosh little junior are you ready to train your flames of youth." A man dressed in green spandex walked in thrusting a thumb up. Akira looked to the side not seeing Kakashi. The man must have pulled a batman.
Well, Akira figured this Maito Gai couldn't be that difficult to manipulate. Heck, he might be able to get a new arm and leg out of this.
"I can't train physically with my disability. But if you could get two blocks of chakra wood for me, I could make something that could help me fan my flames of youth." Akira said.
The man rubbed his chin, looking Akira up and down. Nodding the man ran off at break neck speeds. Akira attached a few leaves to himself and relaxed waiting for the green beast to get back.
Line Break
Chakra wood was used for a near infinite number of things. Gai preferred its use as a training post. Nothing quite took solid hits like chakra wood. "Youth," He shouted and made his way to the lumber yard. The smell of freshly cut chakra wood filled his nose. It was a delightful scent.
"What can I do for Konoha's beautiful green beast?" The shop keeper said. Most shinobi preferred dried chakra wood, they were fools. Only the greenest of chakra wood could do for any ninja tool. He took two large blocks from the man and payed him. It was also cheaper to buy the fresh untreated wood.
He appeared back at Kakashi's apartment at the speed of youth. The poor boy was still practicing when Gai surprised him. Young Akira looked at the green slaps of wood and did he see a smile on the young boy's face.
"So, my most youthful dependent what will you do with this most glorious chakra wood." Gai watched the boy inspect the slabs and then something happened. The wood was carved with no tools. Soon the framework for an arm and a leg was formed. Segments and ligaments were given space. The finished product was a disconnected series of parts. Something was obviously supposed to connect all the pieces creating fully functioning limbs.
Akira held the wooden arm and leg to his stump and Gai watched the boy's skin fuse with the chakra wood. In moments chakra pulled the separate pieces together binding them as the pieces snapped together. He watched the boy flex his new fingers and toes.
Gia couldn't quite believe his eyes. This boy who barely mastered the leaf sticking exercise has the chakra control to manipulate two limbs. The limbs themselves looked functional by his eyes. Truly only a puppet master of renown could create a better product.
"Yosh, to celebrate your success I will do three hundred back flips." While Gai performed his feat of skill, Akira stood up and began to walk around. He stretched his new arm and went through a series of stretches. Gai quickly finished his back flips and gave the boy a look over.
"You have proven yourself resourceful, but now you must prove yourself youthful. Come let me teach you the ways of taijutsu." The boy dutifully followed behind him. Gai began to formulate a routine for the boy in his mind. He had maybe a week with the boy, plenty of time to spread the teachings of youth and hard work.
Line Break
Operation limbs had been a success. Not only did he have full mobility, but he had a taijutsu teacher now as well.
Gai stood over his shoulder as Akira pummeled the wooden posts in the training ground. CWA (Cheap Wooden Arm) 1.0 was a rousing success. He hit the wooden post with fully reinforced chakra. The arm didn't have a crack in it. He had no idea how long the arm would last, but he would use it until he could make a new one.
"Now my student, these are weighted training bands. You must never take them off unless it's to protect the sanctity of the village." The orange weights Gai stuck on his body were heavy to say the least. His wooden arm couldn't move at all without chakra, so adding more chakra lifted his left arm easily. Akira had to reinforce actual muscle for his right arm. Operation Wizard mode was still a few day or years away, so strengthening what he had only made sense. The fact Kakashi stuck him with this fountain of information was a blessing.
"Thank you, Sensei, I will be sure to use these weights to make myself stronger." He smiled and stuck a thumb up. Akira repeated the gesture. Gai had taught him a few katas in the basics of Taijutsu. Akira could throw a punch and block one without looking like a fool now.
"Kakashi is near, I sense his cool presence, now I must go other children need my guidance in the ideology of youth. The bushy eye browed man vanished in a green flash, surely to go corrupt another child." Kakashi waved his hand and walked into the training field.
"Has he converted you to the faith Akira?" Kakashi said with a raised eyebrow. Akira rolled his one eye at the silver haired man.
"I'm not that easily converted to the faith of eternal youth. What kind of religion worships fire? Kakashi shrugged his shoulders.
"Did you get taller why I was away?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes, I hit a growth spurt." Akira said. Kakashi nodded and started walking towards their house. "So, when will I be able to attend the academy?" Akira asked.
"When you stop being scary and hating Naruto?" Kakashi said easily.
"In other words, I'm never attending." Akira said. Kakashi nodded.
They walked in silence to their home. Akira worked on explosive notes until the 500 stack was completed.
