After I'd found out about the fact that I'd been reincarnated in Naruto out of all places, I spent the next few weeks thinking. About a lot of things. I didn't have to think about the future as a careless baby in what was a presumably random Japanese village, I would definitely have to plan now. Konoha went through a lot of trouble, and any of these future events could result in my death.

I gathered my thoughts first. I had an idea of some of the basics of Naruto's timeline. The Hokage monument only showed the first, second and third Hokages. This means that this was before Minato Namikaze would become the Hokage, which meant that the 3rd Great Shinobi war was either yet to start, or at the latest just ended. It wouldn't take long for Minato's head to be sculpted, in that case.

While I was very concerned about the 3rd Great Shinobi war, there were other, more pressing problems to consider and some questions to ask my parents. The two most pressing upcoming incidents relating to my and my parents' safety are Naruto's birth, or Obito's attack on Konoha, and the Uchiha Massacre. Though I clearly didn't live in the Uchiha's compound, I would probably be killed too. Sasuke was the "last Uchiha", so Itachi or Obito probably killed all the Uchiha outside of the compound, too. The Nine-Tails' attack resulted in many casualties, meaning that our family's lives were also in danger. Tou-san and Kaa-san weren't major characters, so I had no idea when they might die or how strong they were.

The only consolation about this whole scenario was the fact that I would have a few years' time before either catastrophe would happen, considering the general estimate I have of the world's timeline right now. I would have to find a way to stop or survive these events, and I don't fancy my chances of stopping either.

For now, the best bet would be getting stronger. If I were strong, then I could evade or outright stop both of these tragic incidents. I also need to gather more information about my family's circumstances and gain allies and friends, though that seems like more of a long-term goal. I am still only 1 years old, after all.

I never thought about chakra so far, seeing as I didn't even know I was in Naruto, but I'd always felt a strange feeling in my body. It was persistent, like the ringing present in our ears when everything is silent. It felt like a warm liquid dripping through my body slowly. I'd chalked this strange feeling up to a phenomenon related to my infancy, but it became clear that this was chakra, flowing constantly, albeit very slowly due to my baby-sized reserves.

I started trying to meditate at bedtime secretly in an attempt to get a better feel for my chakra shortly after figuring out where I was. Needless to say, with my age, inexperience and lack of guidance, I made very little progress. The only progress I'd managed was that I felt more conscious of it. Like I didn't have to concentrate to feel it sometimes. Rather than a constant, slow flow, I managed to pinpoint the source of my chakra, my stomach, where chakra was created. It was pretty discouraging, my slow progress. I might have to ask kaa-san or tou-san about it. I wasn't completely sure if they were shinobi, but as a member of the Uchiha clan, kaa-san should know something.

About two weeks after the Hokage monument incident, I was sitting at home, absentmindedly playing with toys while trying to think of the future when tou-san picked me up with a shit-eating grin.

"Hey kiddo. Kaa-chan's ordered me to pick up some things from the store and you're coming with!" he said amusedly, throwing my legs around his shoulders to give me a ride on his back.

Is this gonna be a thing? People just grabbing me and taking me places? If you wanna take me somewhere, you can say something before picking me up!

"Kay, tou-chan" I huffed. At least I was getting a ride from this.

Tou-san and I walked through the streets of Konoha, tou-san rocking my back and forth, much to my amusement and glee. What can I say, it was like a rollercoaster for me! The warm breeze tickled my face as I giggled while my dad was humming in a slow rhythm. How peaceful, I thought, knowing that this might not last.

After a while, I decided to ask tou-san a question that had been plaguing me for a while.

"Tou-chan, you also Uchiha?" I asked seriously, probably looking adorable with a serious look and broken grammar. He slowed down and eyed me for a second. "No, Daisuke. I'm not an Uchiha. I don't come from any clan. My family's name is Toyama. " he responded, looking forward a bit seriously.

He then shifted his gaze back at me "Kaa-chan told you about that already? He mused, looking curious.

"No. Natsuki-san call kaa-chan Uchiha-san." I shot back easily. A flicker of recognition flashed in tou-san's eyes. "You've met Natsuki-san, huh. She sure is a nice lady." he said nostalgically before pausing and looking at me again. "Your kaa-chan and I got together because we were in the same genin team. Her family didn't like that very much, so we get to live together like this." he explained easily.

So they'd been shinobi, huh. I guess I would have to ask for help with chakra later. Kaa-san must've been kicked out of the compound after falling in love with tou-san, breaking some sort of Uchiha rule. That's pretty sad. Speaking of which, since they both have separate names, I guess they aren't married. A clan law? Maybe they just haven't gotten around to it. They could still be a new couple.

After we left the store, tou-san's hands full with bags, we decided to take a walk around the village.

"Do you want something sweet, kiddo?" tou-san asked, eyeing me kindly. Oohh, something sweet? I always liked Japanese sweets back on Earth, but there was one I never tried. Dango.

"Dango!" I nearly screeched in excitement, eyes glowing. If dango was anything I'd imagined, then I was in for something delicious. "Okay, okay, jeez! Don't get too excited. Off we go!" tou-san replied, clearly entertained, before racing to a nearby dango stand, rocking me back and forth.

The rest of the trip was very enjoyable. Tou-san got me a whole stick of dango, which was a lot for a 19 month old baby! And dango was much better than I'd thought, bordering on too sweet, it was absolutely delectable for a baby with my kind of sweet tooth. Tou-san and I laughed ourselves home with the groceries that kaa-san needed for dinner.

"Welcome back, Kichiro! Daisuke-chan! How was your trip?" kaa-san asked, shooting the two of us an expectant look.

"Very fun! I eat dango!" I answered excitedly, giving her the widest grin I could manage. "Tou-chan carried me!" I added, leaning against tou-san.

"After shopping, we went for a walk and he wanted dango. I made sure to not make him too full for dinner." tou-san explained. "Did you miss us, Hazuki?" tou-san asked.

"Of course I missed you two!" teased kaa-san. "... But I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves!" she explained, snatching me from tou-san. Again. It's like I'm a toy to these people… "Why hello there, my sweet little boy! Aren't you just the cutest?" she cooed at me, squeezing me tight, yet carefully. She really does remind me of Mom…

After that, we had dinner together as a family and after being breastfed, I was put to sleep. As per usual, I got to meditating and trying to feel my chakra.

While I do value sleep and make sure I sleep enough, today I got lost in meditation, feeling my chakra more intimately than before. After the lack of progress for months, this was a great step in the right direction.

I decided that I should maybe try to move my chakra. I made my best (and probably cutest) concentration face and worked at trying to move my chakra. After maybe 30 minutes, it finally happened. For just an instant, I was able to change the flow of my chakra toward the direction of my hands.

I squealed with excitement before I realized how tired I was and promptly fell asleep. I must've been at it for a while. Luckily, tou-san and kaa-san let me sleep as long as I wanted the next day. I decided that before going further, I would tell my parents about what I'd been doing.

—-

As I woke up the next morning, I felt very tired, probably due to the experimentation I did with my chakra. On Earth, I'd heard from the anime that chakra was one's life force. It was created when stamina and mental energy mixed. To me, it's easier to imagine it as a second blood flow. Whenever I was meditating, that was how it felt to me, at least. Very warm, like blood, and moving around like a tick liquid. It probably wasn't healthy to experiment with your life force while in such an early stage of life, but any problems that arise will be for future-me to deal with.

Opening my eyes, I saw kaa-san looking down at me with a loving and gentle look. She must've been worried, since I'd slept for longer than usual. As I saw her, I squeaked in greeting "Kaa-chan!"

"Oh, you're awake now, my little sweet-tooth? Sleep well?" she asked, looking vaguely worried. I nodded and gave a mhm noise while holding out my hands to be carried. "M' sleepy cus I moved warm thingy in m' belly!" I said excitedly, trying to sound like I'd done it by accident.

I didn't want to be manipulative or anything like that, but I didn't want to have to tell them I was reincarnated. I was frankly scared of being seen as an imposter instead of their son, and who knows, maybe I really did take the place of this kid. That's not a thought I wanted to dwell on. My Japanese was still very shoddy, so I couldn't explain what I'd felt properly, anyway. I didn't have to fake much.

Kaa-san's expression turned to one of shock as her eyes widened. "Warm thingy? What do you mean, Daisuke-chan?" she quizzed me, looking a bit more worried than before. Damn, I didn't want to worry her.

"The warm drip drop. In m' belly and everywhere else!" I added, still trying to act somewhat naive while making use of my still-developing vocabulary. Maybe carelessness would defuse some of her worries. It can't be that rare for a 19 month old baby to have accidentally moved their chakra, right?

"Daisuke-chan, does your warm thingy feel like this?" she asked, concentrating for a bit as a sweat broke out on her forehead before a small, blue glow pressed itself from her hand against my skin. Her chakra didn't feel exactly the same as mine, it felt more hot and fierce, less like a liquid and more like energy. It didn't burn.

"Yup. Like kaa-chan's blue powers!" I said, confirming her thoughts. "Kaa-chan's so cool! Me, too! Show how!"

Maybe she would decide to teach me more about chakra. I wasn't really exaggerating my enthusiasm in learning more about chakra. I knew a fair amount about chakra from watching Naruto, but I never used it on Earth. It was an alien concept, like sorcery or superpowers. Besides, I'm going to need to get a head start to survive some of Konoha's upcoming incidents.

Kaa-san said nothing, smiling at me before bringing me to the living room, where tou-san was sitting on the couch, reading some book. Was it that serious? Did Tou-san need to be informed right away? Kaa-san carefully sat with me on the couch, setting me on her lap.

"Kichiro. Honey. Daisuke-chan just told me that he's moved his chakra." she said, lacking as much cheerfulness as usual, yet still managing to sound gentle.

Tou-san peered up from his book with widened eyes. This can't be that rare, can it? "Are you sure?" he asked, a bit bewildered,

"Yes. He called it 'warm thingy' and said it felt like my chakra when I showed him my chakra." she replied quickly.

"Whas' catra?" I asked, trying to lessen the tension with the same thing Naruto called chakra early in the series.

It worked. Kaa-san and Tou-san looked at each other for a few seconds before they both chuckled at each other. My parents turned to me, "No, kiddo. It's chakra. Chakra is your life force. It's what shinobi use to fight with. Your mom and I are both genin, and we can use chakra to some degree, but it is very dangerous." tou-san warned, looking much less worried than before.

"That's why your tou-chan and kaa-chan were scared. It makes shinobi strong, but it can be very dangerous to use when you're still such a small and cute little boy." she said, with a slight smile on her face. "Running out of chakra can make you feel very sick. Promise me, honey, that you won't try to use it ever again." she added, looking at me seriously.

I understood their concern, but I needed to stand my ground. If I want to protect mine and their lives, I need to make a compromise. Learning to manipulate chakra this early would give me a great advantage.

"But Kaa-chan! Is' funnnn! Can I pleaaaase move m' chakra? Tou-chan or Kaa-chan watch?" I said, putting on my best puppy-dog-eyes. I looked up at them expectantly.

After a tense couple of seconds, kaa-san replied. "Daisuke-chan, I don't want to force you to give up something that's fun, but tou-chan and I are worried about you, too." she explained, pausing midway to think.

"Pretty please?" I muttered, looking like a sad wet puppy outside on the doorstep of a sympathetic family. Kaa-san widened her eyes in shock before smiling to herself. Tou-san looked to be deep in thought.

As kaa-san looked like she was gonna have a cuteness overload, tou-san looked at me with a compromising look in his eyes. "Okay, Daisuke. You will be allowed to practice your chakra, but only when me or kaa-chan are watching and after you turn two years old, understood?" he said firmly, with a playful grin tugging at the sides of his lips.

This was the best outcome! Even though I would be barred from using chakra for 5 more months, I would be able to return to it with a safer conscience and guidance from two former shinobi. I smiled up at my parents with stars in my eyes. "Yay" I cheered, enjoying the relieved look from both of my parents who were smiling at me.

I love this family so much, I thought at the time, strengthening my resolve to protect this peaceful life.

—-

That's the end of chapter 2! I didn't read any feedback or anything since I'm working on this the day after chapter 1. I hope it didn't feel rushed or too bullshitty, but the main reason why the parents agreed so easily will be explored later. This chapter took about 3 or 4 hours while I was doing stuff in between, but it was fun to write. It's definitely difficult to write a character with this age… As always, if you have any feedback, please write a comment or review!

Speaking of which, I was surprised to have received my first favorite and follow shortly after publishing the first chapter. Thank you for reading, Sen Tobi!