With a deep breath, I reached out my hand. Focusing on what I wanted, I said and thought of the word "Status." Nothing happened—no screens, no interfaces, no nothing. I put my ear to the door and was happy not to hear Kankuro's footsteps approaching to meddle. Sticking my hand back out, I said all the usual vocal cues. "System! Info! Panel!" Still nothing happened. I wanted to pull my hair out. No way to look at the details of my skill? Really? I jump into my bed, my back lying flat against the disheveled blankets. The frustration was just a little too much for my brain to function around. Muttering to myself in half a question, half a demand, "How do I turn this on?"
Now God? Yeah, that guy must have a messed-up sense of humor. As soon as the word "on" left my lips. A status screen lit up right in front of my face, startling me. Slowly sitting up, my mind raced with a slew of curses that would make the heartiest of sailors pale in my wake, all aimed at that so-called God, but I gave it up almost as quickly as I had begun. Looking over the new status screen in front, it read.
{Genji Chimasa. Chakra reserves: 200 out of 200
Jutsu: Transformation Jutsu. Substitution Jutsu
Mastery: You have no knowledge of Chakra Natures
Skills: Chakra God. Details: "You have an innate affinity for chakra. Any jutsu that you use will be more efficient and more powerful. Additionally, increasing your Chakra reserves by five hundred will passively increase Chakra regeneration by five. Once your Chakra reserves reach fifty thousand, then the Chakra God skill will double your reserves."}
I stared at the screen and read it again, and once more. But the words never changed, my eyes stayed true. I had received essentially Uzamaki blood on steroids. Well, at least that's what I thought, anyway. Without a proper way to measure another person's chakra value, I wouldn't be able to tell the extent to which the skill was broken.
And with that thought, something strange happened. My status screen spoke to me? "The subject 'Genji Chisama' has incredibly low Chakra reserves in comparison to children their age." I paused in part to both the shock of realizing that my own status screen was talking to me and that I'm weaker than an average child.
"Can you help me increase my Chakra pool?" I said aloud to the status screen. Part of me thought it was a fluke. Maybe a side effect of going through all those memories?
"Affirmative. Depleting your Chakra reserves to null repeatedly should increase your reserves. Appropriate quest created." My screen replied to me.
Ping
A small exclamation mark showed in the top right of my vision. On its own, the screen shimmered, displaying a small, upbeat paragraph.
"Practice the Shadow clone jutsu and become a ninja! Create 5 Shadow clones successfully in a row! 0/5"
I stared at the screen in a daze. It took me a full minute to process what was in front of me.
A game? Did this freaking god turn my life into a video game!? I'm not sure whether I should be insulted that he thinks I'm immature enough to want this in my day-to-day life, or happy that he was right. "Alright, syst- no, I'm not calling you that. It would feel weird to do that." I looked around my room. Grasping for some idea to call this talking robot. A folded fuma shuriken caught my eye as I turned my head. It lay on the side of my dresser, held up by some stacked books in just barely the right places. "I got it!" I grinned at my screen. I could feel it shudder as I watched it. Well, I imagined it did. "We'll call you Fuma!"
Fuma's screen turned blue and gained a sparkly loading symbol in the center. I grimaced at the screen, not because I was upset that my name didn't go over well or that the system was doing whatever it was doing. I was more worried that naming it might have broken it in some twisted way, since God made it.
Ping
Two thick lines and a capital "D" suddenly appeared on the screen. "Acknowledged. The special entity that was paired with Genji Chisama's skill 'Chakra God' has been acquired as a skill. The skill 'Fuma' has been made." It was now a monotone voice that sounded suspiciously like a more lifelike Siri. The number of small toads I could fit into my mouth could be ten at least, the way it hung open. A skill just got made? Just like that? How? Why? Should I be able to do that? Can I make more skills? "Negative. The skill 'Fuma' was a special case because God let it be."
I paused. Fuma's remark had caught me completely off guard. "Oh, so you can read my mind now?" I said, running my hands through my hair.
"Affirmative." The "D" is now being replaced with a three to make a cat emote.
I sighed. I created some sentient skill that uses emoticons to, well, emote, and it's going to be probing my mind now. Swell. "Ok, back on track, Fuma. How do I learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
Fuma's screen went blank, then produced a localized map of the neighborhood I lived in, with a marker pinned to it. "This," Fuma's steady voice rang in my head," is the Library. Multiple libraries are in Sunagakure, all containing books, documents, and scrolls on various Jutsus. By readin-"
"Ok," I interrupted, "So basically I gotta study."
". . . Affirmative"
Noticing the pause, I teased, "What was the pause for? Are you mad?" It was more just a joke for itself. Fuma hadn't hinted that it could feel emotions at all, so I didn't really expect an answer.
"You must have imagined it," Fuma stated in their monotone glory. Who knew a bot could be so petty? Shrugging, I turned to the window that overlooked part of the street. While the Naruto world easily had the craftsmanship to produce glass, my window had simple cloth blinds. Despite that, the sun had begun to set, setting a crimson glow on the sands of the village. The rays streamed into my room even before I threw it open. Looking back at my door, I realized that I hadn't heard Kankuro leave. Refusing to rely on Fuma unless necessary, I decided to leave through my window. I was a ninja after all.
Pushing off the windowsill, I jumped from roof to roof, letting my memories guide me to the Library nearby. I was hesitant at first. The bumps on my head and the soreness on my back, where bruises were surely forming, highlighted my previous Chakra use, but I kept moving. The wind swept through my hair as I grabbed the occasional metal railing or stray rope that people used to dry their clothes. The parkour through the village felt natural; it felt right. I took each step more confidently than the last. And with one final push, I leaped high into the air, sliding on the wall of a building before pushing off and landing on the street.
A few people walking by gave me a passing glance before carrying on with their evening. "I guess this is a ninja village after all, huh? No one gave me a second glance, let alone surprise." Resting my hands behind my head, I started to take the short walk to my goal—a happy smile on my face.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
With a hiss, a trio with demon masks sporting horns and fangs materialized out of the shadows of the rooftops. Their bodies nearly completely hidden by pillars on the roof, the three occupied. They overlooked the streets of Sunagakure, watching, searching, until an orange-haired boy, the target, casually walked down the street.
"Careless," one of the figures said, watching the boy. "The Kazekage was right to watch this kid." Their voice warped in the air, an effect brought on by the mask as a disguise.
"Should we bring him back?" Asked another as they took note of the nearby surroundings. Their muscles tensed, prepared to move at a moment's notice.
The third and final figure leaned their back against a pillar, relaxed in their stance. Taking off the mask, the ninja's face was exposed to his compatriots. The man wore dark purple makeup surrounding his eyes, connecting to his nose. A final strip went down the center of his lips to his chin. "Nah," Kankuro said, yawning in his hand. "He just needs to be protected as a potential vessel. That and he's just a kid anyway, he deserves to have freedom. Just keep watch of him." The other two masked figures nodded and faded back into the darkness, leaving Kankuro to cast one final look below before finally fading away himself.