I liked my other story, Stepping Forward, but I hated helping Naruto. I wanted Mika to be very much a start from scratch, rise to greatness... and I think this fits better.

Slow, healthy, not super special progression.

C from Cloud is a huge inspiration, as is Radio and Yugao and Hayate.

The day of Naruto's graduation

Mika could not contain his disappointment as Iruka failed to call his name out for a team. "Uh, Iruka?" The entire class has been given mentors and teams, but Mika simply had not.

The man turned, frowning for a moment before smiling. "Oh, yes, Mika. You see you are sort of the odd man out, but don't worry. You are being placed in the reserves, basically if some other team needs help, usually if there is an injury or worse, you will take that spot. You are allowed access to the library, and can train yourself as need be."

It took everything not to hiss, Mika was so freaking tired of that sort of bullshit. 'My academic scores were better than anyone's, even Sasuke. I was tied for second place with Shino... why would they put me alone, without a team?' The answer was easy. He was not a clan kid. The only teams that had a chance of survival were the ones filled with Clan kids. The rest had abysmal scores and were collectively idiots. Of course, Naruto, Kiba, Sakura, Choji and Shikamaru were all idiots... so maybe he was wrong.

Masking his deep seated annoyance, Mika asked. "Can I leave the class?"

"Yes, but make sure you are ready for missions starting Wednesday."

And so he left, ignoring the happiness of his classmates. Making it to the library was easy, he had been dying to go there for years, since the moment he learned of it. Typically you needed a jonin sensei to do anything, he wondered what that meant for him.

So he asked the librarian, who said. "You can access only those things you can manage, that means all genin level exercises."

Mika nodded, masking his hatred for a moment. He grabbed several things over the course of the next twenty minutes.

A book on Advanced Conditioning.

A book on the next stage of the Leaf Taijutsu. ( The next stages of the Academy Style)

Chakra Control and Chakra Conditioning ( Beyond the pitiful methods taught in the Academy)

Anatomy and Physiology.

Genjutsu basics.

And finally, a book on kenjutsu.

That last scroll was the most important for Mika, who had been practicing Kenjutsu in private for the last year. It had been costly, he had worked at a local dango shop for the last three years to pay for for a Tanto and a scroll with the most basic of basic movements. He knew he was small, being smaller than even Naruto, and doll like. People used to tease him for looking like a porcelain doll. It would take time to bolster his strength, Kenjutsu just seemed to be a perfect fit. It gave him range, sharp hard to block attacks, and was precise which fit him perfectly.

Mixing anatomy and more advanced kenjutsu seemed a perfect fit for him!

'Maybe I can make my own kenjutsu style, that would be nice. It's been a year, almost exactly, since I started to train in kenjutsu. I think with a better scroll and the anatomy book, I can really make significant progress.'

He turned to the other scrolls. 'I've heard of Ninjas walking on water, climbing vertical surfaces, and magnifying their strength. I think I can use that, plus I know my chakra levels are low. In a few months, few years, who knows what they'll be. Maybe I have really good control, maybe not, either way being immune to genjutsu feels vital. Same with getting more advanced taijutsu, what they showed in the academy was so basic.

I wonder what I can do, really do, when I actually have the resources needed to elevate myself to greatness... I hope it's a lot. I have dreams. To be the next Sanin, wandering the world and being powerful. A real asset to whoever I call my allies.'

Pleased, Mika hurried away, to his apartment, there was reading to be done. The first thing he did was read through the chakra control and physical conditioning books. It took about an hour to read them all, and another hour to write notes. He did this next to his kenjutsu and taijutsu scrolls and finally with his genjutsu scroll. He had plans, to be great, to master it all, and to show the world what he was capable of..

He may be a nobody now... but one day...He would be great, and no one would stop that.

Not even death.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a joy to write.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.