Ten months had passed since then.
More then Half a year of waking up before the sun and training religiously.
Summer had hit Konoha like a wet blanket. Hot. Humid. The kind of weather that made you want to lie face-down on a cold floor and never move.
I was in the orphanage's common room, sitting on a futon, pretending to read a book. Nonō was in the kitchen. The other kids were outside, trying to catch cicadas.
JARVIS. what's my Status report?.
«Finally. I have been waiting for you to ask for three months and 14 days.»
I was busy...
«You were training. There is a difference.»
Just give me the numbers bruh.
The flood of information hit my brain. Not painfully. Just... data.
«Chakra reserves: Low-Jōnin level, pushing mid-tier. Your capacity has increased 340% since beginning optimization. At age seven, you currently rival young Kakashi and pre-Mangekyo Itachi in raw reserves.»
I kept my face neutral. Inside, I was screaming.
«Chakra control: Absolute. Your own control has been refined by me to the point where you waste zero chakra on any technique you've mastered. I handle the micro-management, but your baseline is now what most shinobi achieve after a decade of practice.»
And the gravity seal? i haven't taken that off in months.
«20x normal gravity. You wear it constantly. Your body has adapted to the point where removing it would make you feel like you're floating. Your muscle density is approximately 8 times that of a normal seven-year-old. Your bone density is 2.5 times higher. You can punch through a reinforced wooden training post without chakra reinforcement.»
I looked at my hand. Calloused. Scarred. The hand of someone who'd been training in the dirt for months.
«Nature transformations: All five mastered to Stage III. Wind, Lightning, Fire, Water, Earth. You currently possess no Earth or Water affinity, but I have brute-forced the transformations through chakra manipulation. Your efficiency with those elements is lower than your primary affinities, but you can still perform the techniques.»
List the techniques that I have learned from the library.
«Wind: Great Breakthrough, Gale Palm. Vacuum Serial Waves. Lightning: Electromagnetic Murder, Lightning Beast Tracking Fang. Fire: Fireball Jutsu, Phoenix Sage Fire, Dragon Flame Jutsu. Your fireballs are currently comparable to an adult Uchiha's. Water: Water Formation Wall, Water Dragon Jutsu, Water Clone. You can now create water from your chakra without an external source currently. Earth: Earth-Style Wall, Underground Fish Projection.»
I remembered the first time I tried Earth Release. I'd slammed my hands on the ground and nothing happened. JARVIS had spent 30 minutes recalibrating my chakra patterns before I could make a pebble twitch.
«Shadow Clone: 20+ clones without significant strain. Memory feedback is processed by me, so you don't get overwhelmed. Body Flicker: Mastered. You can appear to teleport within a 100-meter radius and chain flickers. Substitution: Instant and reflexive. You can swap with objects you've tagged with chakra up to 30 meters away. Transformation: You can maintain any form indefinitely and transform partial body parts. I suggested the partial transformation as a precursor to more advanced shape manipulation.»
What about my taijutsu?
«Your form is... still trash. but with my help you are decent. You fight like a brawler who's read a lot of theory but hasn't sparred enough. However, your physical stats compensate. You can move faster than most mid-tier Jonin. Your striking power is equivalent to a mid-tier jōnin as well. I can analyze opponent movements and predict attack patterns with 94% accuracy.»
And about the weapon mastery?
«Kunai, shuriken, senbon. With my aim assistance, you can hit a target the size of a coin from 50 meters while moving. You could probably hit a smaller target, but I have not had the opportunity to test.»
I set down the book. Stretched. My joints popped. Everything felt heavy. Normal heavy. 20x gravity heavy.
«You have made exceptional progress. This is the minimum you could achieve given your schedule and resources.»
Thanks for the compliment.
«It was not a compliment. It was an assessment.»
Same thing.
«It is not.»
---
= Three Months Ago – A Flashback =
The snow had been melting. Spring was trying to happen. Training Ground 3 was muddy and miserable.
I was doing push-ups. 500 of them. 15x gravity. My arms were screaming. My face was in the dirt. Sweat was mixing with mud and getting in my eyes.
"THREE HUNDRED THIRTY SEVEN. THREE HUNDRED THIRTY EIGHT."
Naruto was watching from a stump. His jaw was on the floor.
"Dude. How many is that?"
"LOTS. SHUT UP."
"You've been doing push-ups for like an hour!"
"THAT'S THE POINT."
He jumped off the stump. Dropped to the ground next to me. Started doing push-ups.
One. Two. Three. Four.
His arms started shaking at twelve. At twenty, his face was red. At twenty-seven, he collapsed face-first into the mud.
"I CAN'T," he yelled into the dirt.
"You did twenty-seven. That's good."
"YOU DID LIKE FOUR HUNDRED!"
"Three hundred and something. And I've been training for months."
He rolled over. Stared at the sky. Mud on his face, in his hair, up his nose.
"How do you do it?"
"What, push-ups?"
"No. All of it. The training. The waking up early. The not giving up."
I stopped. Sat back on my heels. Looked at him.
"Because I have something to protect."
"Like what?"
"Like you!, idiot."
He blinked. Then he grinned. Then he jumped up and tackled me into the mud.
"THAT'S SO CHEESY!"
"GET OFF ME!"
"NEVER!"
"I AIN'T GAY!"
We rolled around in the mud for five minutes. When we finally stopped, we were both covered head to toe. Nonō was gonna kill me.
"Hey, Ryū?"
"What?"
"I'm gonna get strong too. Stronger than you."
"Good luck buddy."
"I'm serious! I'm gonna do five hundred push-ups someday! And a thousand! And a million!"
"That's not how numbers work."
"I'M MOTIVATED!"
I laughed. He laughed. The sun came out from behind a cloud.
---
= and even 6 months before that =
Winter was in it's full swing. The air was thick enough to drink. I was seven years old now. So was Naruto. Our birthdays were the same day, which was either a cosmic joke or proof that the white orb had a sense of humor.
October 10th was still a days away. But I had a plan.
Kakashi was leaning against a tree, reading his book, pretending he wasn't watching me train. I walked over to him.
"I need a favor."
He didn't look up. "No."
"You don't even know what it is."
"Doesn't matter. No."
"It's my birthday. October tenth."
"So?"
"So I want you to buy me a cake."
He looked up then. His visible eye was doing that thing where it was half-closed and judging me.
"You want me to buy you a birthday cake."
"Yes."
"You're seven."
"Yes."
"Buy your own cake."
"I'm seven. I can't buy a cake. They won't sell one to a kid plus I'm broke."
"Then ask the orphanage lady."
"Nonō wouldn't do much. I just want a cake. For me and Naruto."
Kakashi stared at me. I stared back.
"If I say no?"
"Then I tell every girl in the village you told me to read porn in public."
"..."
His eye twitched.
"Fine."
"Great."
"I'm not wrapping it."
"Didn't ask you to."
"And I'm not singing."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
He went back to his book. I went back to training.
«You managed to blackmailed a jōnin. With porn... congratulation »
---
= October 10th – The Birthday =
Kakashi showed up at the orphanage at 6 PM. Holding a cake. White frosting. Red lettering that said "Happy Birthday." No name. Just the words.
He handed it to me without saying anything.
"You didn't wrap it."
"You said not to."
"I was being sarcastic."
"I wasn't."
He turned and walked away. Didn't look back. Didn't say goodbye.
«He might be going to the memorial stone.»
For what? To remember his deadteam made who is actually alive? His teachers son's life is miserable and he is doing nothing about it...
I took the cake to Naruto's apartment. Knocked on the door. He opened it wearing a ramen-stained shirt and holding a bowl of instant noodles.
"RYŪ! It's our birthday!"
"I know. That's why I brought this."
I held up the cake.
Naruto's eyes went wide. His bowl hit the floor. Noodles went everywhere.
"IS THAT A CAKE?!"
"Yes. It's a cake."
"FOR US?!"
"Yes yes. it's For us."
He grabbed my arm and dragged me inside. The apartment was small. It was Messy. ramen cups stacked on every surface. A single bed in the corner. No decorations. No presents. No parents.
But Naruto was grinning like someone had handed him the moon.
"We need candles," he said. "And we need to make wishes. And we need to!!"
"I got candles." I pulled them out of my pocket. Seven of them. Stuck them in the frosting. Lit them with a tiny fire jutsu that made Naruto jump back.
"YOU CAN DO FIRE NOW?!"
"Light the candles, Naruto."
He leaned in. Stared at the flames. His face was orange in the glow.
"What are you gonna wish for?" he asked.
"Can't tell you. It won't come true."
"I'm gonna wish for ramen. Infinite ramen."
"That's... a waste of a wish..."
"It's not a waste. It's a goal."
We closed our eyes. Made our wishes. Blew out the candles together.
Naruto's wish was probably ramen.
Mine was that I could keep him safe. Keep him happy. Keep him from ending up like he did in the original story.
We ate the cake with our hands. No plates. No forks. Just seven-year-olds and frosting and the quiet of an empty apartment.
"Ryū?"
"Yeah?"
"This is the best birthday ever."
I looked at him. Frosting on his face. Whisker marks hidden under white icing. Grin so wide it almost split his head.
"Yeah," I said. "It's pretty good."
---
= present day July 4 =
July 23rd. Sasuke's birthday. He'd be eight this year.
I knew what was coming. The massacre. Itachi. The night that broke Sasuke and turned him into the avenger we all knew from the show.
The question was: could I do anything about it?
«You are debating whether to intervene in the Uchiha massacre.»
Yep.
«The probability of success is low. You are seven years old. Your combat abilities, while exceptional for your age, are not sufficient to defeat Itachi Uchiha. He soon will be an S-rank missing-nin in all but name. He killed his entire clan in a single night.»
Yeah In only name, because he had help of obito
I'm not gonna fight Obito. That's suicide.
«Then what is your plan?»
Mikoto. Sasuke's mom. If I can get her out. Warn her. Something. Maybe she can survive. Maybe that's enough to tone down Sasuke's trauma.
«Want me to list Pros and cons?.»
Hit me.
«Pro: Sasuke's psychological state would improve significantly if he retained one parent. His obsession with revenge might be less extreme. He might not defect to Orochimaru. The entire trajectory of his life could change for the better.»
That's a big pro.
«Con: Intervening in a historical event of this magnitude carries risk. Itachi is under orders from the village leadership. Danzo is involved. The Hokage is aware. If you are discovered interfering, you become a target.»
I'd be careful.
«You are seven. Your definition of 'careful' is untested.»
Fair. What else?
«Con: Saving Mikoto does not guarantee Sasuke's stability. He could still become obsessed with killing Itachi. He could blame himself for her injuries. Trauma is unpredictable.»
So what, I just let her die?
«I am not making a moral judgment. I am presenting data.»
I sat on my futon. Stared at the ceiling. The water stain was still there. Same one I'd been staring at for seven years.
JARVIS. If I try to save her, what's the best way?
«Anonymous warning. A letter delivered the day before the massacre. No direct contact. No identifying information. If she believes the warning, she may survive. If she doesn't, you have lost nothing. BUT, there is a high jump she won't believe that latter and in the end itachi will still kill her »
And if she does survive?
«Then Sasuke has a mother. And you have changed the timeline significantly.»
Is that bad?
«Unknown. The future becomes less predictable. Naruto's growth, Sasuke's trajectory, the fate of the village, all of it could shift.»
I'll take that risk.
«I thought you would.»
Think I'll go personally...
---
END CHAPTER 16
Xx-----xX
A/N: Leave some power stones and if you don't... Come outside >:)
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Btw if you want to read some advance chapters then check out my P@treøn, links in the synopsis.