(POV – Yuji)
It's been two months since I was adopted.
What surprises me most is how much I've changed since coming to this world—how much I've learned, how much I've grown.
My typical day starts at 4 AM. From then until 8, I grind through physical training: push-ups, running, weightlifting—pretty much everything you can imagine. After that, I clean the entire house. Yeah, I'm the one maintaining this place. Then I cook breakfast for both of us.
After breakfast, it's chakra control training. The first exercise? Sticking a leaf to my forehead using chakra. Sounds simple, right? It took me three whole days just to get it to stay. The next step was sticking three leaves at once. Somehow, I managed to pull that off in a day.
Then came the real test—spreading chakra evenly throughout my whole body while keeping leaves stuck to different parts of me. The point? To train my brain to handle two tasks at once. And I had to do all that while sparring with Haruki Sakamoto.
I'll be honest, I hated that part. I got wrecked. Every. Single. Time. Couldn't land a single hit on him.
But I stuck with it. Day after day, I kept grinding. The routine became muscle memory—wake, train, clean, eat, focus, fight, repeat. I poured my blood and sweat into getting stronger.
The most exciting part? I got abs. Real abs. The first time I noticed them, I spent a solid five minutes just staring at myself in the mirror, grinning like an idiot. It felt… good. Like I'd finally earned something in this life.
Having abs feels amazing.
And just like that, I kept going—living in this world with the hope that I can keep getting stronger, keep doing my best.
Four months have passed since I arrived here, and now I'm in the middle of an intense sparring match with my uncle. My heart pounds as I size him up, determined to outmaneuver him. I explode forward, my feet a blur, aiming to slip behind him with a burst of speed. To my surprise, I succeed—he doesn't turn in time, and I'm at his back in an instant.
Seizing the moment, I leap into the air, twisting my body to launch a powerful left-legged kick toward his side. But Haruki's reflexes are razor-sharp. His hand shoots out, catching my leg mid-strike with a grip like iron. Undeterred, I swing my right leg in a follow-up attack, aiming for his torso while he's occupied. In a flash, his other hand snatches my right leg too, leaving me suspended in midair, both legs trapped.
I grit my teeth, refusing to give up. I cock my arm back, ready to drive an elbow toward his head. But before I can strike, the world spins violently. His movements blur—some kind of twist or throw—and suddenly, I'm airborne. My brain scrambles to catch up as the ground rushes toward me.
Thud.
My head smacks the mat. For a second, everything goes hazy.
"Take a rest," Haruki says. "There's somewhere we need to go, Yuji."
"Where are we going?" I ask, still catching my breath. It's rare for him to take me anywhere. The first time was when he adopted me. The second was for his birthday—we went to a barbecue place, and I gave him a wooden kunai I carved myself. That was all I could afford.
Other than that, it's always me going out to grab necessities.
"You'll know when we get there," he replies.
Now we're on our way. He still hasn't told me where we're going, and it's already 8 PM. Even at night, the village is alive—lights glow from every shop, crowds bustle through the streets. It's even more lively than during the day.
As we move through the market district, we eventually reach the Bamboo Society area. If our neighborhood is the least developed, this place is the most notorious. Known for its strippers and drug dealers.
Why is he bringing me here?
A few women approach Haruki, trying to catch his attention, but he ignores them and keeps walking. Some even try to flirt with me, but I stay focused. I'm not fazed. It's not that Uncle scared them off or anything.
I'm just built different.
As we keep walking, the people start to thin out. Eventually, it's just us.
"Wear this mask," Haruki says, handing me something. "Apply chakra into it when you place it on your face."
I look up. He's already wearing the same kind of mask.
I take it, press it to my face, and channel chakra into it. Instantly, it fuses to my skin like a second layer.
"It's special," he adds. "Don't lose it."
I'm starting to get the feeling that wherever he's taking me, it's not someplace just anyone is allowed to go.
We stop at an old shop—run-down, abandoned-looking. The kind of place that feels like it could collapse at any second. Inside, there's nothing. Just two people standing guard.
"Truth is only known by the strong," one of them says.
"Whatever it is," Haruki replies, "the fire will shine—and it will always burn the brightest."
Without another word, they open the door. A staircase leads down.
Haruki starts descending. I follow.
As we go deeper, I begin to hear the noise.
Shouting.
"Do it, bitch!"
"I bet my whole salary on you!"
"Kill him!"
"Kill! Kill! Do it!"
My gut twists. Whatever's happening down there, I know I'm not going to like it.
We finally reach the bottom.
It's like a colosseum—stone walls, harsh lights, and a crowd packed into stands around a circular arena. In the center, two fighters go at it like wild animals. Blood spatters across the floor—some of it fresh, some of it long dried.
This place reeks of violence.
I turn to Haruki, already knowing the answer.
"Don't tell me… I'm going to fight here"