I was living in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. There was finally decent food in the orphanage. At lunch, we had actual meals with meat in them. Chicken cooked in broth with soft rice, roasted potatoes, eggs that weren't gray in the middle, even beef stew thick enough to chew. Dinner was lighter but still real food. Soups with lentils or beans, boiled greens, and sometimes grilled fish. They even gave us a small sweet at the end. Once, it was a sticky dumpling with honey on top. I almost cried.
That food didn't just hit the spot. It hit my soul. My body started to feel alive again. My arms didn't feel like twigs anymore. I could wake up without pain in my legs or a tight chest from sleeping cold and hungry. And maybe I was just imagining it, but the chakra felt easier to move too.
I love good food. Always did. So yeah, that old version of the orphanage? That was hell. I wasn't just starving. I was wasting away. But now? Now I could finally think, plan, and train without feeling like I might pass out halfway through a sit-up.
With the Academy getting close, I started thinking about my next few steps. In my past life, I used to be a smart kid. Top of my class kind of smart. But the day I chose revenge, I dropped all of that. I dropped school, books, grades... everything. My whole life turned into one long bloody goal: kill them all.
But here, I need to survive. I need to grow stronger. So I made a plan.
Every morning, I trained my chakra control. I pushed chakra into different limbs, tried to hold it there, shift it around, and change the amount. I don't know if that'll help me later with jutsu, but it feels right. It feels like I'm building something. I still don't know what my chakra nature is though, and figuring that out would help a lot. Problem is, chakra paper costs money, and all I've got are pocket rocks. I don't think any merchant is about to accept that deal, unless they want to start a rock collection.
Once I get into the Academy, they'll give me my own place to stay and a stipend from the village. First thing I'll do is buy chakra paper and test my nature. After that, it's all about time in the library. I'll read everything they'll let a student touch. And when the time comes, I'll finally perform some real ninjutsu.
Just the thought made me so excited I dropped all the leaves I had stuck on my arms and legs. I sighed and stood up. Time for physical training.
Part of the Academy exam is physical, so I made sure not to slack there either. I focused on chakra-enhanced workouts. Before the bear incident, I could only boost my strength or speed for a few seconds before I lost control. But after that fight, something shifted. Chakra control got easier, like a switch flipped in my brain. I could hold the boost longer and move smoother. It made me push harder and train more.
After a couple of months of decent food, proper sleep, workouts, and meditation, my body started to change. I got taller. My arms filled out. My punches felt heavier. I started to outpace the other kids in the orphanage so much it made me wonder if all this chakra stuff was speeding up my growth. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. Chakra is weird like that.
But of course, I went too far.
One day, I was running laps in the yard, trying to see how far I could push my chakra-enhanced speed. I dumped more chakra into my legs than I ever had before, just to test the limit. The moment my foot hit the ground, I blasted forward so fast I lost control. My legs cramped, and I shot off like a missile straight toward the wall.
It was one of the older walls, the kind that hadn't been fixed up since the Nine-Tails attack. I knew if I hit it without protection, I was done. So I wrapped my whole body in chakra as fast as I could. Desperate move, really, but it worked. I crashed through the wall, actually went through it, like some wild cannonball. In my head, I could almost hear myself yelling: "Nothing can stop the Juggernaut!"
Unfortunately, a shinobi who had been posted nearby heard the crash and rushed over the moment I hit the ground. I was lucky. My desperate chakra coating had held just long enough to protect me before it gave out. I still smacked into the ground hard, but the damage was minor. A few scrapes, some bruises. The real injury was to my pride.
I knew better than this. Chakra isn't a toy. This world isn't a game. I was smarter than this. I'd already seen what happens when you act reckless. It didn't matter how cool the chakra tricks looked. If I wanted to survive, I had to treat chakra with the respect it deserved.
So yeah, I got dragged back to the hospital again.
Ayaka was there, of course. This time, she was not amused. She didn't say anything while healing me, but the way her chakra moved made it very clear she was angry. I still paid attention to the process because it's fascinating, but my back was tense the entire time.
After she was done, she grabbed me by the ears and scolded me like I'd just kicked the Hokage's dog.
"Why do you keep getting injured, Noa?"
I winced. "I was just exercising. Inside the orphanage, mind you. Then I lost control and hit the wall."
I didn't mention that I went through the wall. No need to give her a heart attack.
She turned her glare on the shinobi who brought me in. "Where were the caretakers? Why aren't you doing your job?"
Before the poor guy could open his mouth, she raised a hand and shut him down.
"If he gets hurt one more time, I'm going straight to the Hokage. And there will be reckoning."
The guy gulped so loudly I actually felt bad for him. He was probably a rookie, and Ayaka clearly outranked him by a lot.
Then she looked back at me with a glare that made me shrink in my chair.
"If you ever get injured again," she said, pointing her finger at my forehead, "I will heal you in the most painful way possible."
I stared at her, stunned. Was this really a medical-nin? I thought they were supposed to be kind and gentle. She looked like she was ready to suplex me into the hospital bed.
Like the shinobi before me, I nodded fast and silently.
Terrified. Humbled. And weirdly impressed.