Year of Foundation: The Third Year of Konoha's Establishment
Month: May
Kenichi Sato's Age: 7 years and one month
A few weeks had passed since the start of the second year at the academy, and life in the Sato household began to shift slowly—not because of academic progress, but because of something deeper... something that pulsed with new life.
One evening, while Kenichi was helping his mother tidy up the kitchen, he noticed her suddenly pause. She placed her hand on her stomach, closed her eyes, as if feeling something invisible.
She said in a low voice, "I feel something strange… but beautiful."
He didn't say anything, but he knew. The signs were clear: the light fatigue, the frequent naps, the morning nausea she tried to hide.
He looked at her for a long moment, then smiled quietly. "Do you think it's…?"
She nodded, her eyes shimmering. "Yes… I think I'm pregnant."
That night, he couldn't sleep.
He had never had a brother or sister in his previous life. He lived loneliness like it was a habit. But now, someone was coming… a piece of his family, of this new world.
He knew she would be born the same year as a shining generation: Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.
But to him, she wouldn't just be a little sister—she would be part of a long path… one he might shape with his own hands.
He began to imagine her features. Would she look like their mother? Or would she be born with eyes like his?
Then he smiled to himself and said, "If she doesn't inherit anything from me… I'll give her something greater—my second chance."
—
On the other hand, Kenichi's training kept advancing—but in a smart way.
In one of the practical sessions, the instructor asked students to use their clone to dodge a direct attack.
When Kenichi's turn came, he used a weak-looking clone, but placed it at a calculated angle—enough to mislead the opponent at the moment of substitution.
The instructor laughed and said, "A weak clone, but clever… Not bad, Sato."
But deep inside, Kenichi was observing how to control his body's weight precisely, syncing his breath with the rhythm of the teacher's steps.
He had begun experimenting with controlling his abdominal and chest muscles, slowing his heartbeat when sneaking, or holding his breath with timed precision while making silent movements.
Even during breaks, he never stopped watching. He studied how the students placed their feet, how they breathed under fatigue, and how they reacted to pressure.
To him, this information was a weapon.
That night, he wrote in his notebook:
> "Those whose breaths can't be heard, their steps go unnoticed."
"If I want to become a shadow, I must learn how to hide my heart as well."
—
On Saturdays, where students were allowed free training, Kenichi would pick a far corner, bring a wooden sword with a deliberately broken tip, and practice only one motion: inhale… step… strike.
He was trying to guide every movement, making air part of his body, as if the earth beneath him and the water within him moved in unison. But the sword wouldn't obey.
His grip was still weak, and his wrist wouldn't bend like the others.
One student told him, "You like fancy moves, but your strike always breaks in the middle!"
The instructor laughed, teasing, "You might become a poet of taijutsu, but don't think of being a swordsman."
Kenichi didn't reply. He just looked at his hand and said, "Maybe I don't need a sword."
—
One day, he came home early and found his father smiling with a strange expression.
"Your mother's sleeping… but she was reading girl names just a while ago."
Kenichi paused for a moment, then said, "I think I'll need a good name… for a future fighter."
His father laughed, "What's this? You think she'll be a ninja?"
Kenichi answered with half a smile, "Maybe. And if not… I'll be her first shield."
Then he sat by the window, watching the sunset. Inside, he was reviewing all the ways he could make his little sister strong—without making her walk the path he had to.
> "Maybe I'll be the shield I never had."
—
And at the same time, he didn't know that someone else had been watching his growth.
Kagami Uchiha, who had been observing Kenichi since the first year, started to feel that this boy was hiding more than he showed.
One morning, after a taijutsu drill, he approached him and asked:
"Sato… in your opinion, who's stronger? The one who shows everything… or the one who hides it?"
Kenichi answered without looking at him, "The strongest? Is the one who can be both… at the right time."
Kagami nodded with admiration, then walked away without a word.
But that question kept echoing in Kenichi's mind for days. Who is better? The proud one flaunting his strength? Or the silent one concealing it?
He realized his answer wasn't just philosophical—it was a promise to himself.
> "I'll build my path in silence, step by step… until they can't keep up, even when they finally notice me."
—
And every night, he returned to his room, sat before his notebook, drew diagrams of his muscles, and wrote instructions on how to press specific points to improve his body's responsiveness.
He had begun to see his body as a complex machine… all he had to do was adjust every screw in it.
End of Chapter Eight.