I don't own Naruto.


Chapter 3

Forest, Konoha

Unlocking chakra was turning out to be a tiresome process. I have spent almost the rest of the week trying to get results, but so far, I have achieved nothing.

The first step to unlocking one's chakra is meditating. So, that is what I was trying to do for the last few days. Because of this, I always made my way into the forest after the academy day was over.

The forest around Konoha is beautiful, lush green trees as far as you can see. It was peaceful, that's the reason I was here.

The sun was starting to go down again, and I grew increasingly frustrated. "Why the fuck is this not working!?" I exclaimed, my frustration getting to me.

'Just one more try, then I am heading home' I thought and with a bit of grumbling I returned towards meditating.

At first, I didn't feel anything again. I just listened to the rustling leafs, the wind kissing my skin. Suddenly, everything starts to go quiet, but I don't lose focus and continue.

There was only silence left, I didn't feel anything anymore. I decided to open my eyes because I got the feeling that this was the right thing to do.

If someone had watched, they would have noted the blue glow emitting from the boy sitting in the grass, oblivious to what was happening.

My vision was still a bit blurry, but I came to realize, that I was no longer in the same spot as I used to be. I was standing in shallow water. The water was crystal clear and reached up to my ankles.

'The scroll didn't talk about this.' I thought to myself.

Looking around, I could spot small rock formations, which dotted around the water at random intervals. The rocks had a weird, dark and crystal-like complexion.

I decided to move towards one of those formations. Coming to a stop, I picked one up a rock and held it against the… light source. I paused. There was no light source. There only seemed to be light, but it had no direction.

'So I am no longer in the real world. This could be my mind… or maybe that's my core' I thought to myself. I could remember some things from my past life regarding chakra cores, but those memories started to fade far faster than I thought.

'I have to start writing down the things I can remember from my past life' I thought.

How did I access this place? The scroll said that you will experience a strange feeling around your stomach. If you can feel it, you should start to try and pull it out.

'Perhaps it pulled me in' I thought, but that shouldn't have happened.

'How can I get out of wherever here is?' was the question floating through my mind after that. I could think about what happened here when I am outside again.

'Maybe I can just meditate again to leave?' I thought. With that in mind, I sat down on these strange rocks and started to center myself.

After a few moments, I could feel myself disconnection from this plane. It was a strange feeling, it was like losing a thought when walking through the door. Something that was just there, suddenly disappearing.

I opened my eyes, and I was sitting in the forest again. But I felt different, like I found something that I lost a long time ago, but never realized I had lost it in the first place. 'That's weird.' I thought.

My senses also seemed to be sharper. I could hear animals moving and felt the grass dance around my legs. I felt at peace.

'I guess I unlocked my chakra. The scroll spoke about sharper senses and a feeling of peacefulness when succeeding.' I thought with a little confusion.

Meanwhile, the sun has gone down, and I was sitting in the dark. Looking at the position of the moon, I must have been here for close to three hours. It didn't feel so long to me.

With a pained moan, I stood up, my body feeling very stiff after sitting in the same position for multiple hours.

"I should probably head back to the orphanage. The matron will not be happy about me being so late." I muttered. With that in mind, I headed back towards the village.


Orphanage, Konoha

Like I expected, the matron was more than a little displeased, when I stumbled back to the orphanage. I was forced to do the laundry for two whole weeks afterwards. But I didn't really care all that much. I unlocked my chakra!

The other kids also started asking me where I was the next few days, but I only told them, that I went to the forest, but fell asleep and forgot the time.

Most of them seemed to buy it, but some looked at me skeptically. Most notably, my two roommates, Fuji and Itsuki.

(Itsuki POV)

"Hey Fuji, Masashi is acting weird lately, isn't he?" I asked my friend.

"Yeah, you are right, he is acting strange since the academy started. Doesn't really hang out with the other kids, like he used to do." Fuji responded.

"Mhm… but not only that, he seems so different. Always reading those scrolls and training." Itsuki continued. "We should talk to him."

"You're right. Let's go."

(MC POV)

Fuji and Itsuki came to me at breakfast one day. Initially, I was confused, what do they want? I quickly realized that my personality shift didn't go by unnoticed.

"It's like I said, I just realized, that I have to train hard to become a shinobi. You all have seen what happens to the shinobi who are caught with their guards down, they end up crippled or worse, dead." I explained.

"I want to live a long life, but I can't do that if I am weak. That is why I train, I intend to survive and be able to see the world." I continued passionately.

My two roommates both had surprised expressions adoring their faces. They probably weren't expecting my response.

I left after that, not wanting to continue talking. After washing my plate and storing it away, I decided to wander around Konoha for a bit.


Streets, Konoha

"… bastard. Let me go" I heard a strained, most likely male, voice from an alleyway shout. After that, a thud and a pained groan.

'Huh? Seems someone is in a bit of trouble.' I thought, my curiosity getting the upper hand, I decided to take a peak.

I could spot three children. One holding a boy, so he couldn't move. They both seemed to be around my age, maybe a year older. The kid holding the other definitely looked stronger. He had brown hair and muscular arms. Looking at his face, I couldn't quiet decide if he had a bigger resembles to a frog or a rat. One thing was certain, he was certainly ugly.

The kid being held on the other end looked like he was hit by a train. He spotted a black eye and numerous bruises. He had black hair and a paler complexion than the boy holding him.

Opposite to the two stood another, taller boy. He looked fairly plain, brown hair and all. His face devoid of any noticeable features, it was just normal.

"Will you finally tell us where you store your money, Arata?" the taller boy spoke, a smirk present on his face. "Or should I continue beating you up, loser?" he taunted.

The now named Arata kept quiet, but you could see his eyes burning with hatred.

I liked the kid, he had spirit. I also didn't like bullies, and I was really getting angry, seeing the state of him.

In my books, ninjas should never fight honorable. Leave the honor to the samurai. That was the reason I decided to attack the taller boy from behind, when he was taunting Arata.

He did not have time to react when a fist collided with his head. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. His lip was definitely bust open from the fall, and he would probably get a black eye from my hit.

Arata realizing his chance kicked the other kid behind him in the groin and gave him a right hook. I internally winced when I heard his pained scream.

"Come, before these two idiots get back up!" I told Arata and received a nod. We made our way through the streets of Konoha, until we were fairly certain, that we would not cross paths again with the bullies.

"Thanks for helping me, my name is Arata." spoke the kid, extending his arm.

"No problem, my name is Masashi." I shook his hand. "Any reason these two gorillas were playing punching bag with you?" I asked, a small smile on my face.

"These two idiots are named Dosu and Doku. They are a year older than me, and we live in the same orphanage. We never really got along, but they started targeting me, when they realized that I made some money on the side, working for a store a few streets down the road." he answered.

"I see, I live in an orphanage too. Are you going to the academy?" I asked him, wanting to know more.

"Yeah, but I only started recently, so I don't know that much." he admitted sheepishly.

"Cool, we could hang out after the academy a bit, if you want." I told him with a smile. "I am also a first year student like you, so we could help each other study."

He smiled at me and nodded "Sounds great!".

"I have to go now, take care of your wounds, maybe visit a nurse or something… See ya!" I waved and started heading back to the orphanage, I skipped lunch on my stroll, and I was starving right now.


Arata and I became fast friends, he was a really nice guy. He was also smart, which showed when we were studying together.

I didn't really expect to make a friend this early on, but color me surprised.

The Naruto world was really weird when it comes to children growing up. The mental development was much faster for ninjas than civilians. Chakra sensitive children tended to age more rapidly, at least in the mental department. They still looked their age.

I also gave Arata a few tips to unlock his chakra, he hasn't unlocked it just jet, but I think he is getting close.

Meanwhile, I was starting to work on some chakra exercises. My first focus was the Leaf Concentration exercise. Simple right? Just stick a random leaf on your forehead and tada, you train your chakra control.

My chakra was still reacting wildly whenever I tried calling it. Therefore, I mostly focused on meditating to calm it down.

In the academy, we also started learning about taijutsu a few weeks ago. So Arata and I mostly just practiced this together. It was very helpful to have a sparring partner to train with.

The hours we put into our training really paid of, and we rose to the top of our respective class.

I didn't truly interact with my classmates all that much, but I spent a lot of time in the library. Yui-san was very helpful whenever I was looking for a specific scroll.

Arata and I mostly kept to ourselves, the bullies and other troublemakers quickly realized, that we were not easy prey, so they let us be, mostly. There were a few encounters, when we spotted a few bruises after fights, but the opposition always looked worse for wear than us.


Hey guys, the new chapter is out, I hope you liked it :D

Like always, please read and review!

SSW