The next day, not really knowing what to do with myself, I decided to stop by the bookstore and pick up something to read. In Konoha, you could find books in most mid-sized shops, usually just a single shelf, but a whole store dedicated to books? There was only one in the whole village. So that's where I headed. Spotting a separate shelf for the Icha-Icha series by the famous Sannin Jiraiya, I couldn't resist and bought the first volume - Icha-Icha Paradise.
After that, I bought myself a thermos, asked a café to fill it with tea, and settled down on a bench in one of Konoha's small parks. Reading my book and sipping tea, for an hour I almost forgot I was in another world. It felt like I was back in my own, safe and stable world. Back in college, I used to read in parks too - only I had coffee instead of tea. It was nice to lose myself for a moment - no shinobi, no Danzo or Hiruzen, just me and a book.
The plot wasn't exactly deep: the main character ends up in a village full of beautiful kunoichi, gets captured, and the story unfolds as he wins over the hearts of lonely women and defends them from an invading country. The writing wasn't exactly literary, but it was very... detailed, especially during the steamy scenes. Jiraiya definitely had a talent for that.
Hearing footsteps, I looked up, ready to hide the book's cover, but when I saw a tall guy about my age, with silver hair, a mask on his face, and the same book in his hand, I froze in surprise.
He glanced at me with his one visible eye, then at my book. I don't know how, but with just that one eye, he gave me a respectful nod. I nodded back, just as respectfully.
And that's how I had my first encounter with the famous Copy Ninja, Kakashi - the man who knows a thousand jutsu.
Three hours later, I finally finished the book and was heading home along the park's main path.
"Help!" The cry of a little boy from deep in the park made me stop. I looked around for the police - they'd been here half an hour ago - but saw no one.
"Damn, why am I always so unlucky?" Expecting the worst, I headed toward the voice. If it had been a man or woman yelling, I'd have just walked by and found a cop or even a random shinobi. But it was a child, and no matter what kind of bastard I might be, I couldn't ignore a kid in trouble.
What I saw in the clearing was beyond anything I'd imagined - my sense of reality flipped upside down again.
It wasn't the five boys lying on the ground, clutching their stomachs, whimpering and having wet themselves, that shocked me. It was the girl, with white pupils and a short bob haircut, who was looking down at them with utter contempt.
She quickly turned her gaze to me, activated her Byakugan, and immediately tensed, pulling a kunai from her pouch.
"Hey, I was just passing by and heard someone calling for help," I said, raising both hands. No way - this Hinata could probably turn me into a pincushion.
I turned to leave as quickly as possible.
"Hey, stop right there!" Oh, come on, what do you want from me? Aren't you supposed to be the quiet, polite type?
"I'm standing," I replied, turning back.
"Who are you?"
"I told you, just a passerby."
"Name!" What a little brat.
"Akira. Now, if you'd be so kind, put the kunai away, or I'll have to consider it a threat to my life."
"And what would you do then?"
"I'd exercise my legal rights and file a report with the Konoha police. Then you'd have to deal with them."
"Hmph." She snorted and put the kunai away. I turned and started walking off again.
I walked for two minutes, irritation all over my face. After a few more seconds, I turned and said, "Stop following me!"
"I'm just going the same way. What's it to you if I'm behind you or not? There's no law against it."
"Yeah? What about 'stalking with malicious intent'?"
"Don't flatter yourself. We just happen to be on the same path." She snorted again.
Spotting a new bench along the path, I decided to sit down - and what do you know, she sat on the next bench over.
I closed my eyes and sighed.
"So, why did you beat up those kids?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Those 'kids,' as you call them, are a few years older than me, and they totally asked for it." Well, I'd kind of figured as much.
"And why'd you pull a weapon on me?"
"How was I supposed to know what you wanted?"
"Fair enough." We sat in silence for a minute. "It's getting dark - shouldn't you be heading home?"
"Hmph, what's it to you?"
"Little girls shouldn't be wandering around parks at night. Even if they can handle themselves," I added, seeing she was about to snap back.
"Pfft, says the guy reading that kind of smut in the park."
How did she... oh, right, Byakugan.
"Pervert," I said, pretending to be embarrassed and covering my crotch with the book.
"What? I... you... idiot." Hinata blushed, stood up, and marched off with her head held high.
Thank goodness and maybe the Shinigami too - the last thing I needed was trouble with the Hyuuga and their clan.
As soon as Hinata left, she paused, activated her Byakugan again, and looked around.
"Did I just imagine something?" After standing there for a bit, she disappeared into the depths of the park.
"Did he just call the Hyuuga princess a pervert? Why didn't I break his leg right there? Whatever, I'll find out where he lives and figure out how to get back at him." Imagining herself whipping that guy, Hinata couldn't help but smile, her cheeks turning a little pink.
****
While roasting chicken in soy sauce, I found myself wondering why the hell I wasn't working on self-improvement.
Technically, I should be training on the practice fields from morning till night, then meditating all evening - and using clones to help, too... Oh, right, that's because of that bastard Danzo. If, all this time, his people haven't shown up to have a 'heart-to-heart' with me, it means I'm either not interfering with his plans, or he just hasn't gotten around to me yet. I might be from a pretty advanced society by local standards, but I never thought of myself as the smartest guy around - any Nara would outthink me, and as for monsters like the Hokage or Danzo, who've survived countless political crises, I didn't even want to imagine.
The fact that I have a chakra source at chunin level is probably known to everyone who needs to know. Luckily, I'm not the only one walking around with chakra who isn't a shinobi. Even my foremen - the way they lift those weights, it's obvious they use chakra, just not as skillfully as shinobi.
So, all shinobi are chakra users, but not all chakra users are shinobi. If you've got the right genes, activating your chakra system is no big deal - but developing it properly and learning techniques is another story. I'm the only genius who's watched every episode of Naruto and has some idea of how to develop myself - no one else here has that chance, and never will.
So, who are these shinobi, anyway? People with a chakra system and enough potential for growth, whom the village turns into dangerous members of society. Am I dangerous? Not at all. And who can turn me into a real ninja? According to the locals, only a ninja-sensei. And as far as I understand, they're forbidden from teaching the art of killing to anyone who isn't officially a village ninja. At least, regular shinobi can't - though Jiraiya did teach orphans in the Land of Rain, and look how that turned out.
*Ding* - the chicken's done.
Even if I can't train like a ninja in public, there's nothing stopping me from working on my regular fitness. Some old folks gather in the park every morning to do exercises. What's stopping me from going for a morning run? Right - my own laziness.
After finishing my chicken, I went to bed at 11, determined to get a good night's sleep and wake up early.
The alarm woke me up, just like every other day. I felt great - the weather was perfect, the sun was just rising.
After a cup of tea, I spent a while watching the street from my window before finally making up my mind.
I changed into a tracksuit, slipped on some rubber sandals (couldn't find any proper running shoes), and went out for a jog.
"This isn't as bad as I thought," I said to myself as I reached the village gate. The goal was simple - one lap around the village along the walls. No idea how long it would take, but if running kept feeling this easy, I'd be done in no time.
Two hours later, I was standing, out of breath, hands on my knees. I don't know how I looked from the outside, but my eyes were definitely shining! This body is amazing! Or maybe it's the chakra, even though I wasn't consciously using it. Remembering how I used to nearly die after thirty minutes of running in my old life, now I just wanted to laugh out loud - I felt more alive than ever.
Climbing the stairs to my apartment, I noticed my neighbor sweeping her balcony.
"Oh, Akira-san, you're up early today - usually you sleep till noon." How does she know that?
"Haha, you're right. I decided to remember what it's like to run in the morning - it's great for your health, I have to say."
"I'm glad for you," Kushina smiled sincerely. "I decided to make pancakes this morning - would you like some?"
"Pancakes and tea... I'd love some, just let me take a shower first."
****
As soon as Akira disappeared into his apartment, Kushina started poking at her sides, deep in thought.
"I've really let myself go. When was the last time I worked out? I think... since I got pregnant, I haven't done anything physical at all. I need to lose some weight, or at this rate I'll end up with a belly."
****
When I walked into the Uzumaki apartment, I immediately started looking for my painting. For some reason, I only now noticed the family photos of Naruko and Naruko with Kushina, but there wasn't a single picture of Minato. Strange - maybe they're hiding it from Naruko, but why?
"I hung it in my room - it felt a little awkward to put it on display for everyone." Awkward? It's just a portrait.
"Naruko's still asleep?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "It's impossible to wake her up before classes start."
"Kushina-san, what do you do in your free time?"
"Excuse me?" Oops, that could be misunderstood.
"I mean, do you have any hobbies? After moving and starting the restaurant construction, I realized I suddenly have a lot of free time and no idea what to do with it. And as far as I can tell, you don't go out much. Do you have any interests?"
Kushina thought hard, like I'd just asked her the meaning of life.
"Well, if I'm not doing housework, sometimes I take on commissions from old friends."
"By commissions, do you mean that unusual skill with the strange symbols?"
"Yes, it's called fūinjutsu. With it, I can change or enhance the properties of objects. There are hardly any fūin masters left in Konoha, so for complicated jobs, people come to me - or rather, to the weapons shop owned by my friend's husband, and he comes to me."
"Oh, can you learn it?"
"At the so-called basic level, you can learn from books - but not every jonin has access to those. To reach apprentice or journeyman level, you need a personal teacher."
"Can you give an example of using fūin in everyday life?"
"Everyday? Well... if you haven't noticed, my stove runs on fūin. The lights, too. I've put fūin on the house for soundproofing and reinforcement, and to keep out unwanted visitors - though that's less about daily life."
"That's awesome. So, in theory... can you do anything with fūin? Like healing wounds, flying, invulnerability?"
"Healing is possible, but I don't specialize in that. As for flying or total invulnerability... that's way too complicated. If my clan were still alive, maybe a few could do it, but the chakra cost would be enormous. But yes, with fūin, you can even manipulate souls - but that's a whole other level."
"That's amazing... and kind of sad."
"Why sad?" Kushina asked, surprised.
"I think fūin could change the world for the better. It's a shame people only think of themselves. Your clan didn't deserve what happened." I shook my head.
"Well, it's all in the past now," she said calmly.
"Have you ever thought about rebuilding your clan?"
"Of course I have - who wouldn't? But... history has a way of repeating itself." After a short silence, I asked the question that interested me most.
"Kushina-san, is there any fūin master in our village looking for an apprentice?"
"You want to learn fūinjutsu?" Kushina was surprised.
"Who wouldn't?" I replied, just as surprised.
"Well, there are plenty who want to, but not everyone has the talent. To give you an idea, there are only two fūin masters in Konoha, and two at apprentice level - Sannin Jiraiya and the Hokage. I'm the first master, as you guessed, and the second, as far as I know, works in ANBU and never leaves. So, you see... and besides, you need chakra."
"Oh, I've got that."
"Really?"
"Well... sort of. I have no idea how to control it, though. Tsunade-san helped me activate my chakra source."
Kushina gave Akira a thoughtful look, while he stood there, glancing away with an awkward smile.
For a moment, she thought she saw Minato standing in front of her. He'd once been just as curious about fūin, and she'd taught him herself. Minato had enough talent to create the technique that made him famous as the Yellow Flash of Konoha.
Making up her mind, Kushina said, "I can lend you a book. If you master it, that'll be enough to reach the basic level."
"Really? That would be amazing. I swear to the Shinigami, I won't show it to anyone." And right then, chills ran down my spine - and judging by Akira's face, he felt it too.
"Akira-san. Never, ever swear on the Shinigami's name, especially in front of an Uzumaki."
"Oh God... I swore yesterday I'd go for a run this morning."
Kushina smacked her forehead and said, "Luckily, Akira-san, you kept your promise - otherwise, by lunchtime, you'd have met my husband." He went pale.
"Ahem, I'll remember that." Taking the book she handed him, Akira bowed gratefully and left.
Kushina watched him go, glancing back every second as if expecting to see the Shinigami, carefully hiding the book under his coat.
As soon as the door closed, she couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
It was true - the Shinigami could take your soul if you swore on his name and broke your promise, but the oath had to be sealed in blood with the person you swore to, and the full blood ritual had long been forgotten. Still, you shouldn't go swearing to the Shinigami every five seconds - those chills they felt were from a brief opening to the Shinigami's realm.
As a child, she'd heard stories about some genius who used an incomplete Shinigami oath to cool off in the summer. No one knows what happened to that fool - he just vanished, and all that was left of his house was a ten-meter-deep crater.
"At least now he definitely won't show that book to anyone." And honestly, even if he did, it wouldn't be a big deal - the Hokage has the same book. But if Akira showed it to someone, he'd lose her trust. And if he did... well, for a fūin master, it's not hard to put a tracking seal on a book.
🔥~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~🔥
Thank you so much for the power stones! I really appreciate the support!