NEW FAMILY
I was still a little spaced out due to the shock of what I had found out earlier that morning as I watched my family order our food at the establishment we had arrived at to have lunch.
EARLIER IN THE HOKAGE TOWER
The door flew open and standing at the entrance was the boisterous and energetic redhead known as Kushina Uzumaki.
Everyone in the room turned to look at her.
She stared at the room's current inhabitants but her eyes widened when she focused on one in particular. The target of her gaze also looked back at her in surprise as she basically blurred across the room and hugged the other woman careful not to harm the child in her arms.
The next words which came out shocked all the males in the room as both Uzumaki women spoke at the same time. "It's been long Kushina/Himiko."
My mind started running at thousands of miles per second. I knew my existence and that of my parents would bring some changes to the timeline but this was just crazy. I could tell from the fact that my father spoke informally with the Fourth Hokage and the friendly atmosphere that they were friends who were at least close enough to not let their respective ranks take away the genuineness from normal interactions.
Now my mother was acting all chummy with the last princess of Uzushiogakure. I have to make calculations while taking this new information into account if I want to plan properly for the future. I turned my attention back to them as they finished their animated greetings and reunion.
Minato being the genius that he was asked what all of us who were out of the loop needed to know. "Sorry to interrupt your reunion, Kushina but I'd appreciate it if you would enlighten the rest of us on how you two are related to each other."
The two women stopped their excited chatter and turned to him. They were close to the entrance of the office while the men in the room where behind the only desk in the room in a comfortable chair and standing in front of the desk respectively. My mother replied first as she set me down on the carpet on my own two feet.
"Kushina and I were both members of Uzu and are cousins. Our grandfather Ashina Uzumaki was the current leader of Uzushiogakure while Kushina's father Arashi was the head of our clan this made Kushina our village's princess. Her role made even more important when our aunt Mito married Hashirama Senju.
My mother was the youngest out of our grandfather's children and also fell in love with a Senju. I was born and raised in Uzu. Kushina and I played together when we were kids until she was moved to the leaf village."
Kushina continued "And the village got destroyed by the combined assault of Kiri, Iwa and Kumo. I was lucky to avoid the war when I was moved to Konoha. I thought everyone died in the war."
"That's where you are wrong." My mother interrupted, "You were moved to this village not just for the reason you think you were. We had detected the incoming armies but with us locked in and surrounded by Kiri and Kumo's combined naval forces it would be hard for us to pull off a large scale evacuation. We sent you to aunt Mito to at least guarantee your safety while evacuating the civilians and weak or younger shinobi to prevent our village's population from being driven to extinction.
The normal civilians and members of various clans who hadn't received any shinobi training were allowed to scatter all across the elemental nations after they went to the land of fire since the ninja villages that were attacking wouldn't waste much effort on civilians. I along with some of the younger shinobi and clan children were moved to a special outpost which is on the unnamed Island which lies a few dozen kilometers from Uzu. It was covered in multiple barriers and is meant to be a stronghold. All these preparations were made in the time it took for our enemies to reach our home." Himiko spoke in a somber tone.
"Hold on Miko, did I hear you say is as in it still exists." Kushina said, a bit of hope creeping into her voice.
"Yes, some squads of enemy ninja who were setting a perimeter intercepted us and a few of the people who were evacuating with me died since we were outnumbered and our group was made primarily of children. We managed to make I to the sanctuary and most of the refugees decided to live a peaceful life in the safety of the island's barriers but a few like me decided to move out and try to find more of our clansmen and return them to our ancestral home. We haven't had much success because our village's former citizens have done a good job of blending in to avoid shinobi while some of them are being held against their will in locations we have yet to reach."
The room became silent for a bit after the lengthy explanation but it seemed the system hadn't had enough of the number of surprises I had received so far when it decided to pull this.
QUEST ALERT!
WHIRLPOOL'S REBIRTH!
Main Objective
Rediscover Land of Whirlpools
Time Limit: ???
Objective 1
Recruit Uzumaki clansmen
Time limit: ???
Objective 2
Find Uzumaki clansmen
Time limit: 5840 days
Bonus Quest
Map out the ruins of Uzushiogakure
Hidden Objective 1
Hidden Objective 2
REWARDS
Main Objective: 10,000 exp
Title [LORD OF WHIRLPOOL]
Objective 1: 150 exp per clansman
Objective 2: 100 exp per clansman
Bonus Quest: [CARTOGRAPHER] Skill
Hidden Objective 1: ???
Hidden Objective 2: ???
Quest Failure penalty: ???
I looked at the quest alert with a few emotions running amok in my mind. On one hand the quest objectives were strange, I had planned to test whether I could trigger quests by taking certain actions but hadn't gotten around to trying it yet this confirmed that I could without me having to put in much effort.
On the other hand the quest rewards would be good but the undefined time limits and penalties along with the scale of the quest parameters would make it hard to plan properly on how to achieve this while taking care of any priorities I may get on the way. I would have to find a way to successfully complete the quest to prevent the attraction of the penalties since I don't know how exactly they could affect me since they are hidden.
My thought process was interrupted by Minato's voice, "He seems to be thinking quite deeply, does he do that often."
All eyes turned to me as I was snapped out of my thoughts by his last statement . "It seems I will have to work on my spacial awareness, I can't keep spacing out when I'm in deep thought or using the system."
My father responded "Our little one has always been a bit on the strange side but I think it's mostly because of his innate talent and rapid development. He even often tries to speak by mimicking us but there is still some progress needed."
I listened to my father's assessment and turned to look at the Fourth who was staring at me with an unreadable expression, I made eye contact him. We both continued looking at each other as my father finished, everyone in the room suddenly started watching the little staring contest for a few seconds. Minato narrowed his eyes slightly and I simply mirrored his movements, he seemed to be trying to decipher something by looking into my eyes.
I decided to look around for anything interesting while they spoke. I looked around the office and noticed something that caught my eye, a picture of Minato and Kushina at a food stand but not just any food stand but the Ichiraku Ramen stand, eating a meal which all Naruto fans would recognize instantly, Ichiraku Ramen.
" This stand has had or will have at least four Hokage as regulars in canon and even with a pariah like Kid Naruto basically treating that place like a second home it still managed to make a lot of profit that is proof that it is at least a good meal. It's time to make my move!" Tatsu finished his thought as he prepared to unleash something which could throw off the current conversation, his first word.
He turned back to face Minato as the other parents continued chatting, the Yellow Flash continued to look at him with interest, The only toddler in the room had started teething about two weeks ago and had accelerated the growth of his teeth so he could finally speak to the understanding of others but had been trying to decide on what he wanted his first word to be, finally making his decision he proclaimed it to everyone in the office," Ramen!"
At those words everyone in the room went dead silent and there were various reactions, mild surprise which was his parents and outright shock which was the Uzumaki-Namikaze couple. The silence went on for a few seconds until an unexpected reaction came, the female Uzumaki duo started laughing confusing the rooms other occupants. Minato asked a question this time," What's with that reaction?"
"It seems Uzumaki blood runs strong through his veins." My mother said this and continued laughing, after a while they both calmed down after a few seconds with Kushina taking over the dialogue. "Well it's something that has been in our clan for a while. Nobody knows why exactly yet but most Uzumaki seem to have ramen as their favorite food growing up, aunt Mito even used to say it might be genetic."
Shin cut in, "Since we are on the topic of food, we should go get lunch."
After my father's suggestion they decided to move to our current location, Ichiraku Ramen.
The stand though relatively small had a bar-like counter and stools in front of it where some customers could sit and eat even though most purchased it as takeout. It also had a warm cozy feel to it which was made even better as the chef made small talk with us even directing a few statements towards me which I made sure to answer with simple sentences, after all there was no point in hiding it anymore. It seemed if I didn't do anything outrageous my parents wouldn't overreact.
We all had an enjoyable afternoon, especially me since I finally got a taste of the iconic meal and engaged in simple conversations with the adults. I made sure to use only words which were used or explained by people around me. It felt good to have one less secret to hide or from my family.
These interactions with the Uzumaki-Namikaze family became more frequent as time passed to the point that they considered me to be a nephew. I even spent more time with my aunt Kushina at the Namikaze estate where she taught me basic knowledge and common sense for this world some of which was relatively new information for me. These lessons also involved basic academics when she realized that I was smart enough to comprehend the topics she brought up.
This went on for quite a while with both my parents now busy, my father with missions and my mother with her new job as a seal expert of Konoha providing Fuuinjutsu support in various situations and even taking a few missions herself. This went on for an amount of time with me adjusting my training regimen to fit my growing body and free time I had started throwing stones and any other small projectiles at targets to improve my accuracy along with my usual running laps, aerobics and taijutsu training.
The target practice is self-explanatory but the laps and aerobics were to improve my athleticism and stamina since I couldn't do any straining calisthenics yet. I practiced the taijutsu I had seen my father using any time I was alone and started preparations for refurbishing fighting techniques I already knew.
Some of the techniques I knew would have to be reconstructed to be functional in this world since some of them would still be useful. I would have to take concepts and techniques from my past life to create new ones. Their novelty would mean they would be harder to counter since others had less knowledge on how they would work.
My new schedule went on for two months until I met the first of the people who would be introduced into my life.
Body flickering at speeds unmatched by anyone who had used the technique the boy who would become a nightmare to Konoha's enemies! Shisui Uchiha was rushing back to the village the hidden in the leaves as fast as he could from a completed C-rank elimination mission because he had heard that his uncle had returned to the village.
At his speed it took him a few minutes to arrive at the Hokage tower to deliver his mission report to the Hokage tower's mission room. He dropped it off as fast as he could and went in the direction of the Hokage's office while walking calmly, barely able to contain his excitement as he thought, " If anyone would know where my uncle is it would be Lord Fourth." He knocked on the door with a gentle rap.
He opened the door and stepped in when he was given permission only to be greeted to the sight of the target of his search talking to the Hokage. "Hey! Uncle you're finally back."
Shin Uchiha turned to see who called him recognizing the voice instantly. "It seems news of my arrival has spread, right Shisui?"
"Yes, I also heard something about you hanging around with some woman but I decided to ignore it until I could confirm with you."
"It's true but don't you think you're forgetting something?" Shin says looking at Minato meaningfully.
Shisui quickly realizes what he means and takes action to correct it; after all he had forgotten to greet the individual with the most power in the village the Hokage. "Hokage-sama I…"
"Don't worry about it Shisui it's understandable that you would forget your Kage in the face of family." The Fourth says with a thin smile on his face. Shisui starts to get nervous; the tension building up until the current Hokage simply lets out a laugh.
"I was just messing with you." Minato says with a smile before turning to Shin. "It seems you have a visitor who came all this way to find you so I won't keep you busy any longer. You're dismissed."
Both Uchiha flickered out of the tower onto a rooftop with Shisui following behind Shin. Shisui decided to initiate the conversation. "Hey Uncle Shin, I heard you moved out of your old place so are we heading to your new place."
Shin replies as they roof jump. "We will soon but first we have to go pick your cousin from the Hokage's house."
"Oh ok… Wait I have a cousin?!"
"Yes you do and he's quite unique, his name is Tatsu and he's quite intelligent too so you will be able to play with him." He finishes his statement and looks at Shisui who now has a shit-eating grin on his face.
"What?" Shin asks confused.
"Oh nothing, just the fact that my uncle who is one of the most desired men in Konoha but had gained reputation from avoiding women like the plague happens to come home from a long vacation with a wife and child."
"Yeah so you got a problem punk." Shin sneers while he playfully grabs Shisui mid jump and gives him a vicious noogie.
Shisui escapes and makes a face before speaking again with a straight face. "Honestly I'm glad, I started to think you played for the other team."
Shin tries to smack him upside the head but Shisui who was expecting it dodged while laughing maniacally. Their banter continues until they reach the Namikaze Estate.
They arrived at the front gate and Shin pulses his chakra lightly to announce that he had arrived, the gate glow lightly with seals showing that they had been temporarily deactivated and Shin pushes open the unlocked gate and walks in with Shisui following close behind. The younger of the Uchiha looks around while taking in any information he could since this was his first time here.
Before they reached the door it swung open with a small red projectile launching himself at his father with Kushina watching with an amused smile from the doorway. Shin caught his son and started speaking immediately.
"Hello father! I thought you would take longer to come from your mission. Aunt Kushina is teaching me how to draw these weird looking kanji she said they are called seal characters, isn't that cool. I'll be able to make those seals mother told me about…"
"Calm down Tatsu, I'm not going to disappear or anything so you can tell me everything later." Shin interrupted.
"There's someone I'd like for you to meet, you didn't seem to notice him in your excitement." He glanced at Shisui as he spoke Tatsu's eyes following his gaze to see the 6 year old boy looking back at him as he put him down. Contrary to what his father thought Tatsu had noticed Shisui but wasn't sure why he was there and simply decided to ignore him until he was introduced.
Shisui looked at his cousin as he activated his three tomoe sharingan to take in all of his features and memorize them. He decided to introduce himself to the small child. "Hey little guy I'm your dad's nephew so that makes us cousins. My name is Shisui Uchiha, I'm six going on seven this year and I'm gonna become the strongest Uchiha in the leaf village."
"Hmmm… well to do that you will have to get stronger than dad but I'm sure you can do it after all you're my big brother." Tatsu said with a sincere look.
Shisui froze for a moment because of the matter of fact tone in the little boy's voice and the fact that he called him brother even though they just met. He replied with renewed bravado "Yes of course I will little bro."
It was Tatsu's turn to freeze though his pause wasn't as long or noticeable. He had mentioned the brother thing so nonchalantly since he didn't expect the older boy to accept it because truth be told he was a bit lonely. After all he was emotionally still a child even though he had his intelligence and past life's memories to guide him in making rational decisions he was still a bit emotional this was also why he was able to unleash a thousand megawatt smile and reply.
"I'm sure dad already told you but I'm Tatsu Uzumaki and I'm three months old…"
"What? You look at least two years old." Shisui said with disbelief while pointing at the boy.
"Yes, do you have a problem with that?"
"No"
"Well where was I? Yes I'm three months old and I am going to become the strongest shinobi to walk the earth!" He finished with intensity and certainty that put everyone else there on edge.
There was a moment of silence as everyone at the front of the Namikaze house digested what the child said until there was a yellow flash which left in its place Minato Namikaze who entered the conversation with a "Hey."
Kushina spoke after being a spectator for most of the conversation. "Boys you can go play in the training ground." Both 'boys' as she called them realized the cue for them to leave and took it willingly as the adults headed to the living room.
The boys headed to the backyard where the small training area was located. It had some training posts and various targets for practicing the use of various weapons along with a simple obstacle course. "I honestly expected the training ground to be a bit more advanced." Shisui said when they arrived.
"Well they could've made it more advanced but there would've been no need for it." Tatsu says.
"And why is that?"
"The Hokage receive their own private training grounds which are hidden and are a relatively far away from the village for safety purposes so there isn't really any need for a training ground back here."
"I guess so." Shisui said as he noticed upon closer inspection that the training ground had none of the usual wear and tear a training ground which had regular use would show.
"So what do you want to try?" the older of the two asked while he turned to the younger. Tatsu thought for a second before answering. "I'm honestly not sure but you're a shinobi right?"
"Yes."
"Then since we are in a training ground can you teach me any shinobi techniques."
"Well I would but you haven't unlocked your chakra and you need to do a bit of growing before you can practice taijutsu seriously. Have you started any form of training?"
"I have but like you said my body isn't developed enough to try anything serious in terms of physical training. I have started exercising to increase my strength, speed and stamina along with my flexibility. I have started trying shuriken training but with as little strength as I have I'm not capable of piercing the targets and my range is currently about 1.5 meters give or take."
"That's good but is there anything left?"
"Actually there is, I have seen my father going through movements which seem like they might be a fighting style and tried to replicate them. I don't think I'm good at it though."
Shisui turns to him and speaks. "Well that's a start, how about we play a game?"
"Sure but I doubt I'll be a challenge to you if it's something physical."
"You don't have to worry its simple."
"If you say so but you would have to explain the rules. I haven't really played with other children."
"OK! Here's how it goes, it's a modified game of ninja tag. You have to tag the other person like any other game of tag but here's the twist you can tag them with traps, projectiles and physical contact. You can also hide but only for 20 seconds, Oh and you can also tag with a handheld object. Simple right! "
"Yes it is. I have one rule I'd like to add though, no using chakra for you. The game is already disadvantageous to me because the gap in our physical abilities." Tatsu said as he started moving away.
Shisui shouted to him "I'll close my eyes too to even the odds since you're going to try to tag me first."
"Even the odds my ass! A trained shinobi's senses are strong so he will probably be able to hear me coming if I move recklessly and if I also have to hide my intent otherwise his instincts will perceive my attempt to tag him as an attack.
I'm not sure if he planned this but this is probably the best training I can have. It will help me improve my basic shinobi skills and fitness." Tatsu thoughts ran through his mind like lightning as he stepped away from Shisui to prepare his attack.
He watched Shisui who stood in the middle of the training field calmly waiting for the younger boy to make his move while the younger of the two who was hiding behind the line willow tree in the yard began to plan. Tatsu opened his status window to see which skills he could work with in this situation.
NAME: TATSU UZUMAKI
TITLES: [REINCARNATOR] [GAMER]
AGE: 3 months 1 week and 3 days old
CURRENT LEVEL: 2 NEXT LEVEL: 130/200
HP: 30/30
CP: 1080/1080
STA: 30/30
STR: 2
DEX: 3
VIT: 3
INT: 5(10)
WIS: 3(30)
CHA: 1(50)
LCK: 1(50)
STAT POINTS: 19
SKILLS: [GAMER'S BODY LVL. MAX] [GAMER'S MIND LVL. MAX] [CYBER MIND LVL. MAX] [IMPERIUM LVL. MAX] [FAUST LVL. MAX] [APPRAISE LVL. 6] [HONORED ONE LVL. MAX] [BASIC PHYSICAL CONDITIONING LVL. 2] [STRONG FIRE AFFINITY LVL. 1] [STRONG EARTH AFFINITY LVL. 1] [STRONG WATER AFFINITY LVL. 1] [INTERMEDIATE CHAKRA CONTROL LVL. 1] [FUUINJUTSU LVL. 1] [CALLIGRAPHY LVL. 10] [GARDENING LVL. 4] [CLEANING LVL. 3]
AFFILIATIONS: NONE
TRAITS: [UZUMAKI] [UCHIHA] [SENJU]
PERKS: [First time's the charm]
Just as he prepared to come out of his hiding place to start the game a new window popped up.
QUEST ALERT!
UCHIHA TAG!
Main Objective
Tag Shisui Uchiha
Time Limit: 7 days
Bonus Quest 1: Get Shisui to open his eyes during the game
Bonus Quest 2: Finish main quest in 3 days
Hidden Objective
REWARDS
Main Objective: 300 exp
Bonus Quest 1: [BINDING VOW]
Bonus Quest 2: 100 exp
Hidden Objective: ???
QUEST FAILURE PENALTY
[TRAINING JITTERS] Flaw – 5% less exp from training.
Tatsu looked read the window's contents and came out of my hiding spot, activating [APPRAISE] to take a look at his level and it was within his expectations at least.
TITLES: [CHUNIN OF KONOHA] [MASTER OF THE SHARINGAN]
AGE: 6
LEVEL: 42
HP: 1490/1490
CP: 2820 /2820
STA: 640/640
User's reputation with target:
AFFILIATIONS: [KONOHAGAKURE] [UCHIHA CLAN]
His strength was currently on the level of an average chunin so if this were a fight or normal game I wouldn't have stood a chance but with the rules of the modified ninja tag and the time limit for the quest I had some leeway to use some trick which would work under these circumstances.
The younger of the two boys picked some pebbles as he began to walk towards the older one as he noticed the slight tensing of Shisui's muscles as he was ready to spring into action. "I was right he can hear me from this distance. " A frontal attack should give me an idea of how much strength he is willing to use." Tatsu started sprinting towards Shisui and started making swipes at him in order to tag him using physical contact. The Uchiha dodged with grace and efficiency with the Uzumaki child continuing his relentless attack in an effort to grab Shisui. "He's moving at civilian speeds but his reaction speed is annoying. He's staying just out of my reach with minimum movement probably to infuriate me or give me false hope. First test over!"
Just as Shisui dodged a swipe from his left arm Tatsu used the momentum to spin as he grabbed some pebbles from his pocket and flung them from his right hand aiming at Shisui's general direction. The older boy sensed something flying towards him and jumped onto one of the branches of the closest of the surrounding trees.
Tatsu who had anticipated that had thrown more pebbles in his path just as Shisui landed on the branch causing him to jump back onto the field. Tatsu repeated the process again and again while trying to tag his target through physical contact while herding him away from places he could jump on like trees and training posts.
He distracted him using random projectiles both to try and tag his target or making it harder to track him through hearing by throwing his ammo at random objects in the training yard. The sounds served as brief distraction and even caused a few close shaves but Shisui simply increased his dodging speed every time Tatsu got closer to tagging him. The intense game went on for ten minutes until Tatsu stopped and called out "Hey Shisui I think it's about time that we pause our game. I'm beat."
Shisui also stopped moving and opened his eyes "Really, it was just starting to get fun! Though I guess you did well for a squirt."
Tatsu who had been sitting on the ground looked up with a playful glare as he quips back "I'd be offended if it was anyone else but my parents told me not to take insults from children seriously."
Shisui points at him with an exasperated expression "You're literally five years younger than me."
Tatsu decided to feed more fuel to the flames "Your point being?" as he thought to himself "This will allow me time to recover my stamina and riling him up should make him more likely to dance right outside of my reach like he did in the beginning to annoy me, it got tiring when he started keeping my distance."
"Oh yes, one last thing Shisui."
"Yea what do you want?"
Before he spoke Tatsu had one more string of thought "One thing I've observed when it comes to Shisui both from my memories and from our interactions is that he's the playful laid-back type who will only get serious when the situation requires it. So playing on his childish tendencies and clear underestimation of me is my best bet."
"Shisui how about we make a bet on this game of ours?"
"I don't really feel like it and besides a child like you shouldn't be gambling."
"*Sigh* and I thought you were cool, maybe you're just scared of being beaten by a toddler. It's not your fault though, as a shinobi like you can tell I'm simply on another level."
"Oh please I was just sparing you because I didn't want you crying when you would eventually lose."
"I'll take that as a yes! Do you want to hear the stakes?"
"Bring it little boy."
"Sure here is my offer. During our game you aren't allowed to hide and you are allowed to open your eyes if you feel the need to. The stakes I propose are that in the situation where I win you will teach me how to unlock my chakra and if I lose I'll have to call you sensei until I die."
"Your offer is good enough but I also want to be able to counter attack with projectiles."
"That's good enough." Tatsu said a bit of his stamina recovered and rearing to go. Shisui looked past his adversary and saw the three adults in the house watching from the window. He started to take a few steps away from Tatsu while smiling to himself "It would be nice to have someone with this much potential call me sensei. I set the games rules so that I could take a look at what he's capable of right now and from what I can see he is only being limited by his stature right now.
He isn't making any unnecessary movements as he attacks, he has also on more than one occasion predicted my movements and is attacking before I make those moves to compensate for his own lack of speed and he even tries to force me into situations where I can't avoid his attempts by herding me from any cover or platforms. I've had to increase my speed many times so as not to take a loss."
Shisui turns to face Tatsu before closing his eyes and asking a question "Before we start I'd like to ask, the rules you put in place should be disadvantageous to you. I'm faster than you and now that I can counter- attack it's an even worse situation for you so I'm wondering why you bring those rules considering you should be smart enough to figure out the repercussions."
"Who knows? Maybe I just enjoy the challenge." Tatsu said with a shrug and a smile that seemed to widen with every syllable as his the two dark pools that were his eyes seemed to completely absorb the light from their surroundings.
"This tingling feeling of anticipation and excitement in my body…" He thought as he got into stance "it seems even in a new life this toxic habit hasn't disappeared. The thrill of the challenge! " The look in his eyes became cool and calm as his gaze became completely analytical the previously vibrant smile disappearing as it was replaced by a poker face.
Shisui sensed a change in atmosphere and tensed up as he suddenly felt like he was being hunted.
All of this was being watched by the adults in the house from a window.
TWENTY MINUTES AGO
The Namikaze couple watched with Shin Uchiha as the two boys walked to the training yard. They also walked to the spacious living room where they all sat. Minato started of the conversation "You all looked surprised when I first arrived. Did something happen while I was gone?"
Shin sighed before speaking dismissively "It's just the usual with my son. I shouldn't be surprised at this point but somehow I still am."
Minato looked at him with a bit of concern "What exactly did he do?"
Kushina decided to end their usual game of 20 questions before it could start "Tatsu-kun already has ambition. When they were introducing themselves Shisui said he wanted to be the strongest Uchiha but Tatsu decided to kick it up a few notches by saying he wanted to be the strongest being to walk the earth."
Shin continued" It wasn't just the words that surprised us after all almost everyone has had some form of ambition which drove them to become what they are today. He didn't say it like the usual ways kids speak when their daydreaming, in fact the look he had in his eyes was like both of yours whenever you said you wanted to be Hokage back in the academy."
Minato answered "It seems you will have to start guiding and training him as soon as possible."
Kushina continues "Yes you should also ask him why he wants that kind of power. No one gets that look in their eyes without having a reason that guides their resolve. For me it was because I wanted to be acknowledged as Hokage so that I wouldn't be treated as a foreigner but I got what I wanted before I reached that point."
Shin replied "So what you're saying is if I know why he wants to do what he wants to I can help him reach it without taking the wrong path?"
Minato answered "Yes and with the potential he's showing he could become someone who could shake the ninja world so it would be dangerous if his ambition leads him away from the village."
As Minato finished his sentence, Kushina suddenly turned her head in the direction of the training yard. Minato noticed it and spread his senses. "What exactly are they doing outside?"
"Why they should be playing?" Shin asked.
"That isn't the problem. From their movements they should be playing some kind of tag but that isn't the problem. Your son's chakra it's starting to unravel. People can unlock their chakra in three ways, by meditating alone to do it or with the help of someone who will pulse their chakra through the other's system. The last is through physical or mental strain. "Kushina responded while standing up to move.
"But it is usually only supposed to happen in a moment of extreme focus. The single-minded need to achieve something whether physical or mental can cause ones chakra to be released. Civilians describe it as hysterical strength because of the boost the chakra's release grants to them physically but since they don't end up using it much their reserves don't grow." Minato explains as all the adults head to a window to watch the intense children's game.
PRESENT
Tatsu sprung of into a run with the sound of his footsteps reaching Shisui's ears and just when he was a few feet away, the sound of the footsteps suddenly disappeared and the next thing Shisui heard was the slight whistle of a projectile heading towards his head which he dodged by tilting his head to the side.
He suddenly jumped as he sensed a shower of small pebbles flying towards him. This happened a few more times and abruptly stopped again, he was now on guard since he still couldn't hear his opponent's footsteps. He suddenly dashed forwards as he sensed danger and heard a whine of annoyance from Tatsu "Freaky shinobi instincts."
Shisui was confused as the footsteps reappeared and his opponent rushed him. The Uchiha had to admit that he had to put in more effort to dodge now, it seemed like his opponent had analyzed his movements from their previous match and now seemed to be using a fighting style.
His eyes snapped open as he realized something; he watched Tatsu's movements as he continued to dodge. "Even though it's not perfect that's definitely the Uchiha Clan's Interceptor Fist."
Up until this point the Uchiha had been moving just fast enough to stay out of Tatsu reach but now he wanted to test him. He jumped back so that he was a little over 2 meters from the young Uzumaki. He grabbed a storage scroll from a weapons pouch, opened it and unsealed another pouch in one swift motion.
Tatsu was on guard and didn't approach Shisui as he fixed the new pouch to his thigh. "What exactly is that?" Tatsu asked suspiciously his muscles coiled and ready to spring him into action if an attack came. Shisui answered "Don't worry it's just a pouch with blunted training kunai." He picked on of the blunted kunai and threw it at Tatsu who was now on the defensive.
As he jumped there were many close shaves as the kunai managed to graze him on multiple occasions. Shisui even mixed in a bit of close quarter's kunai use which he quickly stopped when the red head tried to tackle him to land a tag. Shisui dodged and rushed to pick up the thrown kunai as the younger boy stood back up.
"I'll have to end this. My stamina is almost exhausted." Tatsu's roared within his mind. He had put the quest behind him as his mind was now focused solely on winning. "I have to move faster! He isn't trying right now but he is avoiding everything with ease. Even with the strategies I cooked up I'm not close to tagging him. I have to be faster and drive him into a corner before I'm exhausted."
He sprinted like a child possessed and charged at the older boy. Shisui threw kunai directly at him to discourage him but with surprising flexibility he contorted his body as he ran weaving out of the path of multiple kunai and closed the distance as fast as he could even tanking some of the projectiles.
Shisui started dodging even faster as the boy wasn't just trying to tag him anymore. He was now throwing punches and kicks which Shisui proceeded to dodge nimbly until he sensed something. "He unlocked his chakra?"
Shisui watched as a visible aura of dark blue chakra surrounded his opponent. The child didn't seem to notice as he simply attacked with an unholy amount of focus, his movements becoming faster and faster. Shin was about to jump in to stop the game when Kushina held him "Let's watch for a bit, you don't have to worry about him. His reserves are massive so he won't pass out that easily."
"I understand." Shin watched with concern as things proceed.
Shisui jumped back and shouted. "Tatsu take a look at yourself!" the young boy looked at his hand and saw the glowing energy around it. It surprised him for a moment but he composed himself and closed his eyes. "I need to rein my chakra in. It's nice to know that I unlocked it but I can't have myself passing out from chakra exhaustion." he focused on the warm fluid feeling that was the sensation of his chakra and pulled on it.
Pulling it together and gathering it within his body until the blue aura was pulled back into his body after a few seconds. He called out his status window to look at his CP level. He sighed in relief when he noticed that it was at 902/1080.
"It's still at about 84 percent. I can experiment a little with my chakra a little before I exhaust it." He opened his eyes as a smile broke out on his face again and spoke "Shisui lets continue."
The adults watched with surprise. Shin in particular watched with his mouth agape. "What the hell?" Kushina eloquently summed up their thoughts. Their reaction was because of one thing, how easily Tatsu had pulled in his chakra.
When one unlocks their chakra It starts spewing out of their body like air out of a popped balloon, most people pass out because of the rate at which they lose their chakra which causes chakra exhaustion because they don't have the control to pull it back. Some are able to do so but it usually only happens when the chakra is close to being emptied out of their reserves which makes it smaller and easier to control.
So for a little boy to rein in his chakra when it was nearly full especially with the reserves that he possesses was impressive. So the reaction was warranted.
Tatsu stood still for a bit as Shisui watched him, curious to see what he would do next. Tatsu started probing the mass of energy within him that was his chakra. "I should try to use chakra enhancement but even with [INTERMEDIATE CHAKRA CONTROL] it won't be too efficient. I should try using it in bursts instead of a constant flow; it will make it easier to manage and reduce the amount of chakra wasted."
He concentrated on his chakra and directed it towards his right leg and sent a timed burst as he was launched off at speeds far surpassing everything he had done so far. Shisui was a little surprised but still reacted. Tatsu tried it a few more times but realized something, since he started off with the burst it acted more like a leap than a stride for a run. "I have to reduce to output for the first step and progressively increase it as I start to build momentum instead of going for instant acceleration like I was earlier."
He started his new application and continued pressing on the attack while Shisui dodged with more vigor a smile appearing on his face. "He called me a prodigy but his talent is just monstrous." He threw more training kunai at Tatsu who did something surprising. A small coating of chakra appeared on his hands which he used to slap away some of the kunai as he simply tanked what he couldn't knock away as he continued to make a beeline for Shisui.
Shisui jumped backward to create more space but that was a mistake. Tatsu who had started to get a hang of using chakra enhancement in bursts to accelerate overloaded his last step as soon as he saw Shisui jump. This propelled him in a burst of speed towards the point where Shisui would land.
Shisui threw a kunai aimed at his head to distract him since he was still a bit ahead of Tatsu in the air. The Uzumaki boy threw a pebble he had been holding at it which deflected it just enough for it to miss his head but that brief distraction bought a second which allowed Shisui to land without being intercepted. "No! This is probably the best chance I'll ever get to finish this quest." The young boy thought.
All that everyone else saw was a sudden spike in Tatsu's speed as the boy managed to just barely tag Shisui's arm with a leap as he fell flat on his face. Shisui looked at him with surprise. "What was that burst of speed? Was he holding back to deceive me in order to create this opportunity?
He looked at the boy who was slowly picking himself up from the floor with what can only be said to be acknowledgement and reached out a hand to help him up. Tatsu accepted the hand and Shisui praised him. "You did good little bro!" Tatsu started to smile until he heard Shisui's next words. "Also you're it again.
As Tatsu was about to go into a protest, the Namikaze couple and his father appeared beside them in flickers. Shin picked up Tatsu and said with a smile "You shouldn't be a sore loser and besides you have to be prepared for deception in your daily life if you want to be a Shinobi."
"*Sigh* Yeah I guess so." Tatsu replied while calming himself.
"You unlocked your chakra too which is good but you have a ways to go in terms of control."
Tatsu smiled a real shining smile and thanked his father as his vision began to fade to black "Damn, it seems I really outdid myself." Shin began to panic and was ready to run when Minato held his shoulder.
"Don't worry he only passed out because he pushed himself farther than he has before so just a long nap will be enough to get him back to peak condition."
Shin went to put his son down on one of the couches in the living room to let him rest before coming back to meet the others who were waiting for him in the training yard.
Kushina asked Shisui a question "So Shisui-kun what exactly started a game that intense?"
Shisui who noticed all the attention being focused on him smiled awkwardly and begun explaining "When we came out here we were both wondering what exactly to do to kill time and Tatsu proposed the idea of a game after I declined his request to teach him shinobi stuff. I told him about this version of ninja tag and asked him if he wanted to play because he said he wanted to learn how to be a shinobi but I knew I couldn't teach him anything directly without permission from you."
"So you devised a game which would test his current skill set while killing time." Shin stated.
"Yes."
"That's good enough but how exactly did you get him to push himself like that? I have never seen him so focused." Shin asked
"Well I didn't have much to do with that. He proposed a bet which I accepted and started going all out all of a sudden and before you ask the deal was that if he won I would have to teach him how to unlock his chakra but if I did he would have to call me sensei till he dies."
"That's interesting so he went all out because of self-imposed conditions. "Minato supplied with a thoughtful look before turning to Shin and continuing "You have to watch him he seems like a thrill seeker."
"If that's the case it seems like I have my work cut out for me but it's the price of having an extraordinary child." Shin says with some pride leaking into his voice.
"Yes he is something special but that is why I want to ask you this. Why did you downplay what he did? Awakening your chakra at such a young age and having this level of control isn't something that can just be described as good." Shisui asks with a confused expression.
"It's a common mistake people make with children who show considerable talent, by constantly praising them for every milestone they cross you can make them arrogant and unprepared for failure when they finally leave their comfort zone. I don't want to make that mistake with my son since he seems intent on becoming a shinobi." Shin explains.
"That is understandable but if you downplay everything he does too much you may discourage him and stunt his growth." Kushina adds.
"Well that is what makes being a good parent so hard." Minato comments.
Shin looks at Shisui "You should head home. I heard from Fugaku that you have an appointment with his son soon."
Shisui panics a little as he remembers that had promised Itachi that they would spar when he returned from his mission and flickers away in a hurry after thanking the Namikaze family for hosting him.
Shin brings up a topic which is currently one of Konoha's best kept secrets. "Minato, Kushina how is the baby coming along."
Minato smiles of the thought of the child growing in his wife's belly "It's growing well. The doctors say its development is stable and steady so we have no reason to worry if nothing extreme happens."
Kushina says with a giddy expression "And when they are born they will have some friends waiting for them like Tatsu. It will be nice to see how they will all grow up. Mikoto told me her due date is very close and they confirmed that it's going to be a boy."
"I have heard some rumors that some of the major clan heads will also be getting new additions to their families this year so if you are in the mood to establish connections this is the time." Shin states.
"What do you mean? Oh no I was just talking about our kids; with the friendship our families have I'm just sure they will become good friends." Kushina explained.
"Oh I heard what you said clearly, I was just stating something I was sure you would need to know." Shin said with an air of seriousness around him.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Minato asked as he noticed his friend get serious.
"Minato, Kushina what happened today made me realize something no matter what we do our children will get caught up in this village's politics and power plays simply because they are related and the chances of them being splendid shinobi in the future is close to guaranteed so I just think we should tie our lose ends and makes connections which can help them in the village to make life easier for them. I in particular don't want my son to go through the things I did because of other's need for power. I just hope you tread carefully."
"Yes, after all that's all we can do for now." Minato replied.
"Well we can only prepare for the future." Shin says as he turns and begins to leave "So let's keep doing our best to live good lives my friends!" he waves as he goes into the house to collect Tatsu and return to their own home.
TWO DAYS LATER [UZUMAKI MANOR]
Absolute boredom, that was all Tatsu felt in that moment. His mother Himiko for the period in which he regularly went to the Namikaze home was busy with her job as Konoha's newest resident Fuuinjutsu master which was why the young boy was sent to Kushina, both as a way to watch him and keep both the little Uzumaki and his aunt busy.
Kushina had started teaching him basic academics and theory which involved everyday topics and shinobi related content. She was a little apprehensive at the education he was receiving, not because she didn't want him to learn but simply because as selfish as it may sound she wanted her child to stay as naïve and innocent as he could for as long as he could. This the reason why she was a little worried when she found out that not only was her son showing signs of extreme interest in the shinobi arts, he had also unlocked his chakra at only a few months old and shown that he already had some control of it even though he had just unlocked it both instances which were unheard of.
She had come to a conclusion; her son was a monstrous prodigy. When he had gone through that massive growth spurt which had accelerated him from a newborn to the size of a toddler she had been worried but when they confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him so she simply ignored it. This got harder as time went on as in the span of a few months he had gone from walking to running and even started speaking, it advanced even further with his vocabulary expanding exponentially in a short amount of time.
Her husband had gotten him to start learning to see what his limits were but after seeing him absorb all information given to him he had come to the conclusion which recent events had forced her to accept, Their child was a unique existence whose limits had yet to be determined.
That was why she was trying even harder to keep him close because she knew with time he would become an existence that would look down on the shinobi world like Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.
This was the reason why Tatsu was experiencing boredom; his mother had been watching him like a hawk since he got home from his game with Shisui. All his attempts to do anything physical which was related to the shinobi arts and chakra was cut short but his mother. She had him follow her around for most of the days to try random things around the house but he could tell what she was doing.
"She's scared of my growth rate; I expected this to happen sooner so it doesn't change my plans much, she will probably try to distract me with random tasks. I wanted to see if there were more ways to trigger quests and gain stat points anyway, I can also level up some of my skills which aren't directly combat-related." This was what was going through his mind as he was pulled by hand to the garden at the back of the house to continue working on it.
His mother allowed him to watch and occasionally help as she tended to the flower beds. They removed weeds, added fertilizer and pruned the plants. This model was repeated as she would try to keep him occupied with simple chores and games which they would do together for a week.
It put her mind to rest when she noticed that he was genuinely having fun. Even though he truly found the activities fun and interesting, what had him smiling like a mini sun was what he saw on his status window.
NAME: TATSU UZUMAKI
TITLES: [REINCARNATOR] [GAMER]
AGE: 3 months 2 weeks and 5 days old
CURRENT LEVEL: 2 NEXT LEVEL: 130/200
HP: 30/30
CP: 1080/1080
STA: 30/30
STR: 3
DEX: 9
VIT: 3
INT: 5(10)
WIS: 3(30)
CHA: 1(50)
LCK: 1(50)
STAT POINTS: 13
SKILLS: [GAMER'S BODY LVL. MAX] [GAMER'S MIND LVL. MAX] [CYBER MIND LVL. MAX] [IMPERIUM LVL. MAX] [FAUST LVL. MAX] [APPRAISE LVL. 7] [HONORED ONE LVL. MAX] [BASIC PHYSICAL CONDITIONING LVL. 2] [STRONG FIRE AFFINITY LVL. 1] [STRONG EARTH AFFINITY LVL. 1] [STRONG WATER AFFINITY LVL. 1] [INTERMEDIATE CHAKRA CONTROL LVL. 1] [GARDENING LVL. 5] [CLEANING LVL. 4] [ORIGAMI LVL. 3] [SCULPTING LVL. 2] [CALLIGRAPHY LVL. 10] [FUUINJUTSU LVL. 1] [THREAT DETECTION LVL. 1]
AFFILIATIONS: NONE
TRAITS: [UZUMAKI] [UCHIHA] [SENJU]
PERKS: [First time's the charm]
QUEST: UCHIHA TAG! (COMPLETE)
Main Objective
Tag Shisui Uchiha(COMPLETE)
Bonus Quest 1: Get Shisui to open his eyes during the game(COMPLETE)
Bonus Quest 2: Finish main quest in 3 days(COMPLETE)
Hidden Objective – Use chakra during game(COMPLETE)
REWARDS
Main Objective: 300 exp
Bonus Quest 1: [BINDING VOW] skill
Bonus Quest 2: 100 exp
Hidden Objective: [CHAKRA MANIPULATION MANUAL]
CLAIM REWARDS!
Tatsu was sitting in the room with his mother who was drawing some seals when he decided it would be a good time to claim his rewards. He was satisfied with what he had seen on his status window, a minor increase in stats along with the improvement of his skill set made sure of that.
The game with Shisui was a big harvest even though he had to use six stat points on DEX to get the boost in speed to land that unexpected tag. It was why he didn't distribute his stats when he got them so that he could upgrade the particular aspect of his abilities which he needed to get out of a tough situation.
He asked his mother for permission to move to the garden to take a walk. After extracting a promise that he wouldn't mess with his chakra while he was out he went into the garden to a rather large cluster of shrubs. They would provide the cover needed for him to do what he wanted to do.
He mentally clicked claim rewards and watched as the description for his newest item and skill appeared.
[BINDING VOW] – This skill gives its user the ability to make contracts with entities and items which are enforced by the skill. The effects of the contract can be altered but have to be accepted by the other party.
[CHAKRA MANIPULATION MANUAL] – Chakra is the basis of the shinobi world. So a shinobi should understand it well enough to use it in and out of combat. This manual will be a guide which when followed will make even a civilian capable of being a force to be reckoned with.
I read the descriptions as ways to apply my newest skill started to come to mind but I decided to experiment with it later. I pulled the chakra manipulation manual out of my inventory to skim through it and I was impressed. The books name didn't completely encompass what it contained.
It had sections which explained different aspects of chakra theory and had instructions on how to apply them. This meant that it contained chakra control exercises, chakra nature manipulation exercises and simple but useful techniques for applying these which couldn't exactly be classified as jutsu but came close. It would be fun to start working on it.
After claiming my new skills I set up a new routine. I would do light exercises in my room at dawn and clean myself up before picking any book which I felt like reading whether they were educational or for entertainment simply depended on my mood. I would get out and get breakfast when my parents came to fetch me from my room. My mother would teach me a bit about academic stuff for an hour before I was free to do what I wanted for the rest of the day.
I would use this time to attend to my newfound hobbies which were gardening and fashioning objects out of anything I could get my hands on; they were good at occupying my time and also granted me exp for their respective skills. In the afternoon when my mother would usually go out, I would train my more physical skills and chakra related abilities.
Even though I had intermediate chakra control already I decided to start my chakra control training from the humble leaf concentration exercise to smooth out any flaws I might have and also because it would be easier to hide. The leaves I was working with could be hidden under my clothes and the exercise could be done in my room.
It was beneficial to say the least; I had started off by training it in my room with leaves I collected from surrounding plants. I started with a leaf and added more until I started losing control and was unable to hold them. I decided to start from the one short of my limit which was twenty three leaves.
I would work on holding a number of leaves for an hour before adding another and repeating the process, I decided to try it on any surface of my skin which was available since it could help me get a feel for channeling chakra to different parts of my body to enhance them.
The last thing I would do would be to experiment with my newest skill [BINDING VOW]. I had found out a few things since I started testing it:
1. Like the skill description stated it could be used on anything.
2. When I activated the skill on any deal or transaction it would enforce it.
3. Any entity that I was in a binding vow with had an illustration of a chain appear on their status window. I found out about this when one of the maids promised she'd get me food from the kitchen for me.
4. Special conditions can be applied to reduce, maximize and optimize rewards and penalties for the entities involved in the binding vow. These conditions will only come into play when the contract is fulfilled or broken.
5. The quality of the conditions added is determined by the skill.
6. There is a limit to the number of binding vows that can be maintained at a time. This would increase as the skill leveled up but a loophole was that using the exact same vow on multiple targets still counted as one vow. My current limit is ten.
I had managed to make a binding vow based on my tests.
Boot camp vow: Any time I gave the command "Boot camp" and started used a skill right after that skill's level up rate would be drastically increased for thirty minutes but in exchange my other skills wouldn't progress in that time.
I had decided to create only that one since creating too many binding vows when I didn't urgently need them could be detrimental to my progress.
Two months passed like a breeze as I fell into my new routine. A few notable things happened in that time which made things interesting. I met some more new people in that time through my current contacts. The first was Itachi, I met Kakashi too but he was guarding Kushina as an Anbu so I can't consider that a real meet and greet.
My meeting with Itachi was fun, Shisui had started coming over to play with me for a while since our first meeting and on that day he had asked for permission to take me out of the house to hang out we had gone on a small tour of the village but my little legs soon got tired and he carried me on his back towards one of the smaller forests in Konoha where the meeting happened.
FOREST NEAR UCHIHA CLAN COMPOUND
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked.
"We're going to meet a friend of mine on a training ground."
"Who exactly is this friend?" I asked with some curiosity creeping into my voice.
"I can tell you but I think it would be better for you to find out yourself." Shisui replies.
The rest of the journey went on in a comfortable silence as Tatsu looked around himself at the forest observing the movements of some of the creatures he noticed from his perch on Shisui's back as the older boy carried him piggyback through the forest.
Shisui's tree hopping was promptly interrupted by a kunai flying directly at his face. The Uchiha body flickered and crouched horizontally on a tree's trunk scanning his surroundings for his opponent. He spotted him, a slightly shorter boy who was at least a year younger than him on a tree branch. Shisui jumped of the side of the tree as more kunai were sent flying towards his former position.
He whispered to the little boy on his back "Tatsu, I'm going to have to put you down. Please stay still and be quite."
Tatsu did as he was told as Shisui put him down and disappeared in a burst of speed to face his assailant. The young Uzumaki watched in fascination from his hiding spot as the only other people in the area, the attacker and Shisui moved around at speeds he could barely even track. All he could see was blurs as they moved only managing to spot them when the tempo slowed for brief moments when they got caught in a deadlock either with kunai or taijutsu.
The fight went on for close to five minutes until both fighters stop moving in front of each other and went through hand signs in front of each other and unleashed the same technique.
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu
The balls of flame clashed for a few seconds and seemed almost even until Shisui's technique suddenly increased in size and intensity, swallowing up the other boy's fireball. The boy abandoned the struggle and body flickered out of the way as the techniques detonated in an explosion of orange flames.
They both started walking towards each other and Tatsu finally managed to get a good look at the other boy and smiled as the name revealed itself in his mind. " Itachi Uchiha!"
Shisui walked up to the now identified Itachi and started speaking "I know I said we would spar but don't you think it was a little risky to launch an attack at me while I was holding someone."
"I considered it but I also knew you would be able to avoid a simple kunai and I also waited for you to put the child down before continuing my attacks." Itachi replied in a matter of fact tone.
"Yeah yeah, I hear ya." Shisui says before turning and calling out to Tatsu "You can come out now little brother!"
The Uzumaki did as he was told and ran as fast as he could to the location of the other boys. He reached the Uchiha duo and stood by Shisui before asking him a question which was more of a statement. "Big brother, is this the friend you were talking about?"
Shisui replied "Yes, now how about you two introduce yourselves. I have something to do!"
He body flickered away before the other two could react.
Itachi who was quietly watching their short interaction sighed when Shisui disappeared from his position in a smokeless body flicker. He looked back at the red-haired child to see him looking at Shisui's previous position with barely concealed amazement.
The heir to the Uchiha clan pulled the boy's attention to him "Hello."
Tatsu turned towards him with a confused expression before presenting an awkward smile with a wave. "Hello I guess."
"So you're Shisui's cousin right?"
"Yes. Has he been talking about me?" Tatsu asks with narrowed eyes.
"No, he hasn't mentioned you before. I know your father and heard about him coming into the village with you and a woman who I'm assuming is your mother."
"So you mean he just left me here with you without telling you who I am or the fact that he was bringing me."
"Yes."
Silence began to permeate the forest as both of them just fell silent and looked at each other. Tatsu decided to salvage the situation.
"Well I guess we might as well just make the most of it and introduce ourselves like he said."
"We might as well but I think we should teach him a lesson for ditching us."
"That's a good idea. I know a few good pranks we can try, wait I'm getting of topic. I'm Tatsu Uzumaki."
Itachi looks at him expectantly trying to get him to add more to his introduction but the younger boy either didn't notice it or was ignoring it, probably the latter.
"You didn't complete your introduction."
"What do you mean?"
"You're supposed to add more information like your age, hobbies, likes and dislike in a setting like this especially when you're trying to make an acquaintance, like right now."
"I know but I thought we should make it a game. We only give each other our names and try to find out more about each other without asking the other person directly."
"That seems interesting but what exactly is the end goal of the game."
"Nothing, it just seems like something fun to do."
"You're acting a bit like Shisui."
"How exactly?"
"He makes games and challenges out of the most random things but just like him you manage to make it interesting."
"Thanks, how about we present our findings to each other in a week's time."
"That works for me. I'm Itachi Uchiha by the way."
"Nice to meet you Itachi-san, I feel like this is the start to an interesting friendship."
"I believe so but what should we do in the mean time until he returns."
"I feel like doing some training this is one of the few opportunities I get to work on some of my skills."
"Training? You seem a little young and your chakra hasn't been unlocked." A confused expression appeared on Itachi's face as he saw a radiant smile appear on the other boy's face.
Tatsu got up and jump around in a childish fit of joy as he shouted repeatedly "It worked! It worked!"
Itachi let him calm down before expressing his curiosity "What worked?"
"Before I answer Itachi-san how did you make the observation about my chakra?"
"I sensed it. I have some talent with chakra sensing but not enough to invest my time into sensor training."
"Well I guess I should check with more people before confirming its effectiveness. I have actually unlocked my chakra but I'm being restricted from training it externally so I tried molding my chakra within my body because I was bored."
"And?"
"I decided to test something. I read that it's easier to sense someone's chakra when it is being used and molded. I then came to a conclusion, if I compress my chakra I could try to make it look like how it did when it wasn't unlocked."
"That's quite impressive. You're using a technique without realizing it."
"What technique?"
"Chakra suppression, by condensing one's chakra into a smaller point within one's body, a person can make it harder for other's to sense their chakra. There are other applications like making your chakra pool appear smaller or pretending to be a civilian. It's good for getting around unnoticed."
"That's cool!"
"Think of it like this. When a person normally uses chakra suppression they compress their chakra as much as they can within them, this is already hard enough since the chakra tries to expand and flow opposite to the user's will to compress it. When a person does that they make harder to sense them but anyone who sees them will suspicious if they can see you but can't sense your chakra."
"So what I was trying to do is more useful?"
"Yes. By making your chakra seem smaller it unlocks a completely different level of stealth. You can appear weaker to your enemies to make them underestimate you or even appear to be a civilian to sneak past them. In more extreme cases you can pretend to be someone else by mimicking their chakra levels."
"That's actually amazing." Tatsu responded with excitement.
"Yours isn't anywhere near that level yet. I just assumed you hadn't unlocked your chakra from how strangely it was flowing. A trained sensor wouldn't make that mistake." Itachi chided
"*Sigh* I guess so." He said a little deflated.
"I can't teach you but if you improve your chakra control it will make things easier"
"What exercise do you have in mind?"
"The leaf concentration exercise"
"I have already mastered that." Tatsu interrupted
"You have?"
"It's the only training I managed to sneak past my parents."
"I'm not going ask why a toddler is already hiding stuff from his parents but if I'm going to teach you anything you will have to keep it a secret and find a way to explain how you learnt this."
"If they ask I can just pin it on Shisui, he deserves it for ditching us."
"That will work perfectly." The two looked at each other with matching looks of conspiratorial agreement as they prepared to sell out their comrade.
Shisui who was actually on his way to meet someone felt a chill up his spine "I have a bad feeling all of a sudden… it's probably nothing."
"Do you know how the tree climbing exercise works?" Itachi asked
"Yes but I haven't actually seen anyone use it yet."
Itachi walked up to a tree before taking a few steps up its trunk. He climbed up to a sturdy looking branch before sitting on it and looking down at Tatsu and instructing him. "You need to focus chakra to the soles of your feet. If you use too little you will slip of the bark but if you use too much you will be blasted off."
Tatsu walked up to the tree and put the sole of his small sandaled foot on its trunk; he closed his eyes and focused on channeling a small amount of chakra to the sole of his feet. He increased it slowly while trying to pull his feet of the bark each timed he attempted it until he wasn't able to pull it off the tree.
He increased it a little more before hopping of the ground with his remaining foot and doing the same with it. He caught himself when his upper body tried to fall back to the ground, using his strength to keep himself parallel to the forest floor and opened his eyes to see Itachi smiling down at him.
"Good, now try walking up and down the tree until you can do it without needing a lot of concentration to do it."
The red-haired boy smiled as he began his march up and down the tree's trunk maintaining his focus and balance as he became more and more confident, taking larger steps until he was walking casually up and down the tree's bark. The entire process took twenty minutes before he became confident enough to start jogging and then running up and down the tree.
He had gotten used to the rhythmic movement of his chakra with his feet as he moved seamlessly up and down the tree. Itachi watched him the entire time. A thought running through his mind as he saw the little boy runs up the tree. "He got it down in a bit over an hour and he isn't showing any signs of being tired, that's an outrageous level of stamina and chakra.
It will be fun to see what else he can do."
"Tatsu you can stop now, you've got the technique down. You can advance it by adding more movements when you are tree walking. Jumping onto different objects and doing normal physical exercises while sticking to surfaces can help you since you will need to use it alongside other techniques in combat. Making it something you can do reflexively will help a lot."
"Good to know."
"Follow me; we have enough time for you to try water walking." Itachi called to him and began walking away.
Tatsu hopped off the tree and started trotting after the older boy. "Water walking, is there a stream nearby where I can try it."
"Yes and I take it that you know how it's done?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Is there anything else we will do today after I complete it?"
"Do I detect some arrogance?" Itachi quipped
"It is only arrogance if I fail isn't it?" Tatsu shot back
"We'll see about that."
"Are you willing to bet?"
"Not really, I don't to be the cause of your descent into a gambling addiction at such a tender age."
"That just seems like fear of losing."
"I'll humor you. Whoever loses owes the other a favor."
"I'll finish this in under an hour."
"Bold words, people have a harder time mastering water walking since it isn't as straight forward as tree walking."
Their banter continued until they got to a small clear stream which was brimming with aquatic life. Fishes swam around under the surface in what seemed to be a disorganized dance which still managed to be pleasing to the eye.
Tatsu took off his shirt and sandals and started the exercise in a similar manner to the previous one testing the waters by putting a foot in the flowing stream's surface. He immediately realized why it was considered to be on another level of difficulty compared to tree walking. While a solid surface was stable and constant, the flowing water surface was constantly changing and fluctuating so one would have to channel their chakra to match the movements and not fall in.
He made his first attempt and stepped onto the water. He was standing on the water's surface on his first attempt. He turned to tease Itachi but suddenly fell through the water's surface; He fell on his butt since the stream wasn't really deep and was greeted to the sight of Itachi trying to hold in his laughter.
He stood up with a face red with embarrassment before silently going back to work. With each passing attempt he was able to stay on the water's surface for longer periods but kept falling into the water due to distractions from Itachi. The Uchiha would do random stuff like skipping stones, trying to catch fish and he even threw a few pebbles which grazed the Uzumaki a few times only because he managed to react with the of [THREAT DETECTION].
A random pebble flying past him again was the last straw for Tatsu as he screamed while pointing at Itachi. "Are you so scared to lose that you would resort to underhanded tactics! Also where did you get that from?"
"That" was referring to the stick of dango which Itachi had just finished eating.
"I always carry essentials with me which includes snacks and mentioning underhanded tactics is quite rich considering the fact that we are training to be shinobi. I was trying to distract you and throw you off but whether or not I was retarding your progress was up to your ability, just look at what you're doing right now."
Tatsu stopped for a second and though about what Itachi said, his eyes widened when he realized what he meant. He had managed to stay on the water for longer periods with each attempt because he had to do water walking on instinct while focusing on Itachi's assault. He said with a shit eating grin and his nose up in the air.
"Yes your attempts to foil me only served to strengthen me. That is simply because my inherent awesomeness and overwhelming power!"
Itachi's left eye twitched as he launched his dango stick at Tatsu faster than everything else he had thrown at the younger boy so far. The Uzumaki tried to jump out of the way but the stick managed to graze his shoulder, it left a barely noticeable scratch but in his mind Tatsu analyzed
"That throw was serious, even though I saw his hand move my body wasn't able to react nearly fast enough. If he actually wanted to kill me I would have died with no way to resist."
Itachi stood up from his previous sitting position and smiled when he noticed the look of contemplation Tatsu had on his face. He called him "We should start heading back we've been out here for a while; Shisui might be searching for us."
Itachi waited for Tatsu to put on his shirt and sandals and both of them started on their trek back out of the forest at a sedate pace.
"So Tatsu what do you want to do with your life?"
"Now that's probably the most random way to begin a conversation."
"I guess so."
"So why do you want to know anyway? Are you already trying to get a lead on our game?"
"Not really."
"Then how about you tell me what you want to do with your life first? Itachi-san."
"Oh me? I just want to become a shinobi who can protect Konoha and maintain the peace that those before us have worked hard to create, fragile as it is…now back to you."
"You're really serious huh… I honestly haven't really thought too deeply into that question."
"The way you seem focused on getting stronger suggests otherwise Tatsu- san."
The conversation slowed down for a while as Tatsu started thinking and Itachi realizing this gave him space to do so. The red haired child looked up at him after few seconds.
"I'm honestly not sure if I can settle on a single thing for something like what I want to do with my life but if I had to decide right now it would be becoming the strongest shinobi in the world and living a good life with my family and friends."
"The strongest shinobi in the world…"
"It's okay if you don't believe me. It does seem like a lofty goal."
"No, with what I've seen so far it's actually possible."
"I appreciate the compliment but I really want to know why you asked the question."
Itachi was silent for a few seconds as the smile on his face gave way to a neutral expression. He stopped walking and turned to face Tatsu who also stopped walking in response to Itachi.
The Uchiha gave him an answer "I don't mean to sound vain but people like you and I are different from others. We were born with innate aptitude that allows us to progress and advance faster and more efficiently than others can, even to the extent that it makes the hard work of others who don't have our gifts seem irrelevant."
Tatsu's attention was completely focused on the older boy wondering where he was going with his speech.
"This 'talent' which sets us apart from others can have its negative effects. I wanted to know if you had a goal so that I could give you this advice. When people realize your potential they might start treating you differently, sometimes its good but sometimes its unpleasant, you may not understand what I'm saying completely yet but when you do make sure to trust yourself and your own judgment when it comes to your life's decisions."
Tatsu looked at him and nodded "Thanks for the advice Itachi-san."
"I really do appreciate the advice but I understand, maybe even more than he does."
FLASHBACK
Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk*. The sound of flesh hitting wood, this was all that could be heard in a dojo filled with all sorts of training gear and machines.
"You seem even more worked up than usual young master." A masculine voice rang out in the dojo catching the attention of the young man who was training using a training post. He stopped his one –sided assault on the post and turned to the man who just walked in "What do you mean Mr. Briggs?" The young blonde asked as he used a towel to clean his sweat.
"You only train like that when you're stressed out." The man said gesturing at his bloody knuckles.
"I guess you have a point."
"So what's your deal this time?"
"The usual routine of people approaching me to get stuff. "
"You really should find something else to do other than just work, studying and training you know. Maybe try making some friends?"
"Making new friends? We both know how that goes." The young man says with a laugh that held hollow mirth.
"Well meeting new people would be better than what's going on right now."
"How exactly would it make it any better? Knowing that people around you don't care about you for you. They're warm greetings and smiles are simply masks to hide their true intentions. They only approach me for my skills, my intelligence and wealth, heck even my own family has gotten to that point.
They praise me for my achievements but never show simple acts of empathy, how I feel never crosses their mind. All they bring to me are their expectations so I'll give them they want, a machine that simply racks up achievements and wealth."
"That's what I'm scared of. You will keep on going, improving and gaining more resources but in the end only they will happy. You started to care so much about earning their approval that you are forgetting what it means to make yourself happy."
FLASHBACK END
"My memories of my past life paint a similar picture to what Itachi is trying to get at. When you are extraordinary the masses will be behind you, at first they cheer you on and praise you but at some point that start to forget that you are a person and only see what you have achieved.
Then some of them start to envy you and some even want to become you. They approach you, a sea of people shouting their praise and presenting their smiles, smiles filled with poison and tongues that stab at your back like knives.
Past me made the mistake trying to win the affection of my family only to realize that they had become like the masses, wishing for my success but only for their benefit. He stopped caring about them at some point and simply started doing whatever eccentric things crossed his mind as a way to keep away the sadness that was creeping up on him.
At some point he became addicted to the thrill of overcoming insane challenges even going as far as creating a virtual world to satisfy that need, too bad he never got to finish playing that game.
So yes I understood, extraordinary people can end up isolated due to their uniqueness. It was the main reason why I liked show like Naruto, no matter how strong individuals became or what actions they took them always seemed to have people who genuinely cared about them.
Seeing that even behind a screen was comforting for me."
The memories of his past life flashed through his mind as Tatsu continued walking alongside Itachi but even with this knowledge he didn't feel any attachment to those visions.
"That's why I'll try my best to enjoy my time with my new family."
They walked out of the forest and entered the village proper both of them walking both in their own thoughts, moving with no destination in their minds.
Author's Note
I apologize for the delay (even though I've never really established deadlines).
This chapter is pretty much to show what the MC is doing as he starts to integrate into Konoha. When he isn't in a situation that requires seriousness he can act like a normal child though a very intelligent one.
MC won't be gaining any abilities geared towards direct combat for a while but the supplementary skills he's training will be a massive boost when he finally does though. Itachi and Shisui will have an older brother kind of vibe when interacting with Tatsu but most of the time they spend with each other will be training related. Shisui has to keep himself in shape since he takes missions regularly and Itachi is trying to get stronger for his goal and also to meet his father's expectations.