5 hours later
Seki leaned against a tree, staring at his hands. He didn't have time to think about all the memories coming. He knew enough. His life with his grandma was over. The warm kitchen, the smell of food she made. All gone.
He looked at Seki's memories again, trying to find a reason to stay.. What he found shocked him.
"Are you kidding me?" he thought, sounding scared. "I'm in the middle of a war, and I just went rogue?"
He kicked a stone, watching it disappear into the undergrowth. "Damnyou, Root! You couldn't have picked a time to try and kill me?"
He walked in a small circle. "Okay, okay. Calm down, Seki. Getting angry won't help. I need to think."
He sat down, resting his head in his hands. Seki could form a group like Akatsuki. Create his own village. He laughed, "No way that's much work. I'm too lazy."
The only thing Seki could do was become an assassin. The thought made his stomach turn. Hours ago, he took a life. "Now I'm supposed to make a career out of it? Come on, give me a break. I was an office worker."
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Seki could wear a mask and stay hidden. With this body's talent, he could get strong enough to keep Danzo
"Even if this is bad, it's the way," he said to himself. He stood up and looked at an oak tree. "Right training. I killed that Uchiha. That was just luck. I need to know what I'm doing."
He went to the tree, trying to remember how to do it. Tree walking is a skill. "Okay, push energy to my feet like a magnet. Simple, yeah?"
He slammed his foot against the bark, tried to step up, but fell backward, landing hard on his back.
"Ow... Damn it!" He rolled onto his side, coughing. "This is ridiculous. Why is this hard? The original Seki did this easily!"
He got up frustrated. He tried again, focusing until his vision blurred. As soon as he shifted his weight, he slid down the trunk.
An hourpassed. He was covered in dirt and panting. "Seriously, how can this stupid tree be this hard to walk on? Is this body not supposed to be good at this?"
He sat on the ground staring at the bark. Think. What am I missing? He closed his eyes, looking at the memories of the boy. It's not about putting energy into my feet; it's a pulse, a balance.
He got up his legs shaking from exhaustion. He thought of the energy like a stream of water. He stepped forward. One foot stayed, the other.
"Wait... I'm actually doing it," he whispered, eyes wide. "Don't look down, don't look down."
He took another step, another. He was five feet off the ground. He felt a surge of excitement. "Yes! I've got it! I'm a"
Thwack.
His focus stopped the energy flared hard. He was thrown from the tree, hitting the dirt with a loud thud.
"Son of a..." He groaned, staring up at the moon through the leaves. "Why can't anything in this world just be easy?"
2 hours later
He stepped up. This time he didn't stop until he was standing up the trunk. He looked out into the forest with a smile on his face.
"Finally, one win for the office guy."
He practiced for hours walking up and down until it felt natural. As he finally stepped down to the grass, exhausted, he knew the easy part was over.
"This is the beginning, " he thought. "Tomorrow I start the work."
His body finally gave up. He slumped against the tree bark, his head dropping to his chest. The ground was hard the night air was cold. He didn't care. Within seconds, he was asleep, drifting into sleep there in the dirt.
Chapter 2 End