The Nara compound buzzed with subdued energy as I shuffled through the halls, my left eye still bandaged. Yoshino hovered like a hawk, her worry sharpened by the elders' newfound interest. "Eat," she ordered, thrusting a bowl of miso soup into my hands. "The medic said protein aids chakra recovery."
Shikamaru slouched at the table, poking listlessly at his own meal. "Troublesome. Now even lunch is a training regimen."
"Quiet, you," Yoshino chided, though her tone softened. "Kai needs strength. The elders want him in the archives tonight."
Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched. "The forbidden archives? They're moving fast."
----------------------------------------------------------
The elders waited in a dimly lit chamber, ancient scrolls piled high. Elder Sumiko, her silver hair coiled like a serpent, gestured to a weathered parchment. "This is *The Binding of Unseen Chains*, a technique lost after the First Hokage's era. Your shadows may hold the key to reviving it."
Elder Haruto, ever the pragmatist, grunted. "Start small. Summon your wolves. Let's see if they interact with the scroll's diagrams."
I focused, chakra surging as the Divine Dogs materialized. The black wolf sniffed the scroll, its shadowy form merging with the ink. Symbols glowed crimson, and the air hummed.
Ding!
**Ability Unlocked:** *Shadow Resonance* – Sync summoned shadows with ancient seals. Temporary buff: +20% chakra efficiency.
Elder Sumiko's eyes gleamed. "Remarkable. The First's work… alive."
Sumiko stood up and stood beside me and placed her hand on my head, pointing at the seal, "Look child, we, The Nara, were a much mightier clan during the waring era, we had our own technique similar to the Uzumaki of the Whirpool. But as the war ended and the Leaf village was created, we accepted and the practice of our techniques were forgotten, it ended alongside Lord First's era, Lord First's blessings to our clan lasts still to this day. It was his chakra lying deep in the lands of our forest and trees, that saved you that night, otherwise you would've died from chakra exhaustion."
Haruto hmmed and spoke up, "Yes, out of all the Hokage, he was the only who didn't oppose or fear the Nara, after him, only Hiruzen has been supportive to us, Lord Second and Fourth were not as supportive, both of them tried to decrease the powers the clans held in the village. What matters now child, is that you be diligent and focus on your training, no need to go too hard on yourself. I and other trusted clan members, and maybe occasionally, Lord Third, will train you. Your training starts tommorow, you go have fun for now, we need to make alot of records for this new bloodline."
Shikaku spoke up, "Yes, we need a Itachi or Shisui of our own, the Uchiha have become too powerful, you will have to be like them, we will give you the same of kind of training. Of course, not as harsh, as Uchiha they were born with a strong constitution and chakra reserves. But nothing hardwork can't stop, but don't worry, we don't need you becoming jonin at 11 or 12, I don't even remember."
Sumiko looked at me and smiled, "Child, do you like snacks?"
I nodded.
---
I was now leaving the archives with a LOT of snacks, more kinds of snacks than I'd ever seen, and it was hard to walk.
But not because of the weight of the snacks, it were the weights on my ankles and wrist.
---
Training with Shikamaru was equal parts tedious and enlightening.
"Your wolves ruin the clouds," he complained as the white wolf pounced on his shadow clone. "Can't they just… *sit*?"
The black wolf huffed, dissolving into smoke only to reappear behind him, snatching the dango from his hand.
Shikamaru glared. "Annoying. But… useful."
Ding!
Likeness with Shikamaru Nara +100– "Reluctant Partner."
I didn't know why I was getting this since I apparently maxed out my likeness with Shikamaru Yoshino and Shikaku.
---
Danzō's shadow loomed in subtler ways.
"Root agents followed me to the market," Yoshino muttered that evening, chopping vegetables with excessive force. "Fools. As if I'd let them near you."
Shikaku's shadow stretched toward the window, barring unseen eyes. "Hiruzen's playing a delicate game. We need to bait Danzō's curiosity away."
"How?" I asked.
Yoshino smiled, sharp as a kunai. "Rumors. Let him hear you've taken up… *herbalism*."
---
The Uchiha came unannounced.
Itachi stood at the gates, Sasuke peeking behind him. "We brought dango," he said, offering a box. "Sasuke insisted."
Sasuke scowled. "Nii-san's lying. *He* wanted to come."
Itachi's Sharingan flickered as he studied my bandages. "Your chakra feels… layered. Are you well?"
"Training accident," I deflected. "Medic says I'll live."
Shisui materialized atop the wall, grinning. "Liar. But hey—we all have secrets."
Ding!
Hidden Quest Alert: Uchiha Curiosity – Maintain the Nara veil while deepening ties.
Reward: +300 Likeness with Uchiha Clan, ????
I shrugged, "Think what you may, photon, come in y'all."
Shisui grinned, "I like that name! "Photon" particle of light!"
As soon as Sasuke and Itachi entered, their eyes landed on the big bag of snack and they expressed their amazement, "Woah!".
Shisui chuckled and then look down at me, "You know kid, you being so mature at your age scares me sometime. Guess it's a Nara thing, well it was the same for Itachi so I can't be sure."
I shrugged, "It's just that I think more than kids my age, same goes for Shika, but he is lazier than Bartleby."
Shisui raised his eyebrows, "Who's Bartleby?"
I sighed, of course they don't have that book here, "It's a character from a book I read, he eventually ended up dying from his lack of motivation."
Shisui raised his eyebrows even further and then looked at Shikamaru and then at me, "That's.... Dark...".
I shrugged again.
"Well," Shisui continued while looking at Itachi, Sasuke and Shikamaru run through the snacks I was gifted, "I see those weights on you, they don't seem much though, barely 3 or 4 kg a piece, that's ok for your age. So why did you start wearing those?"
Yeah, kids in this world were really something, 16 kg total weights for a 6 year old is ok.
"I want to get stronger and faster, I wanna be fast like you, in..... The distant future atleast..." I replied, my hope to become as fast as him alive, but it was the clan elders who made me wear these.
Shisui laughed and patted me on my head, "Good going kid! It's always good to dream big, don't lose hope, but mind you, I am the fastest Shinobi in the world! So, did you master that earth style jutsu i taught you?"
I nodded, "Yeah, it was during the training accident."
Shisui raised his eyebrow, "Did you? That's good, how about you show me. Let's go."
He placed his hand on my shoulder and used Shunshin, I immediately braced himself, and-
We were in the training ground, and I could feel that I was about to barf. And it took every cell in my body to stop myself from throwing up.
Shisui grinned, "Progress! Now show me!"
I nodded slowly and performed the handsigns for earth style : earth wall and slammed my hands on the ground, "Earth Style : Earth Wall Jutsu!"
A wall rose up from the ground, a little bit smaller than the last time I used it a week ago.
Shisui's eyes widened a little and he grinned, "That's almost as big as mine when I was your age! Well maybe 5-10 foot shorter and 3-4 foot thinner, but this much is enough, it's a practical size, a little bit bigger would be perfect, you just need to use big walls against big attacks or when you have to protect multiple people, which doesn't happen many times.
Shisui nodded proudly, "Now do it until i say it's the perfect size."
I groaned, "Fuck!"
---
That night, the system's chime pulled me from sleep.
Ding!
New Ability:Veil Of The Fist (Passive) – Mask shadow-related chakra fluctuations. Duration: Indefinite.