The smell of antiseptic, the monotonous mechanical beeping of the medical equipment was the background music for Enji's thoughts and musings for the night.
The peace and calmness of the night gave him the time to think about his future plans. He was blessed or in a way cursed with an unimaginable gift of foreknowledge.He had knowledge about the future but he was wavering on his plans. He had admired many characters when he watched Naruto series,he wanted to save many, change their destinies, but since this was his reality,he had to be careful. A single wrong move could have severe repercussions.Also the more he changed things from the canon,the less reliable his knowledge would be.
He kept thinking about this conundrum until he noticed that it was already dawn.
He finally managed to calm himself down,refocus and thought more carefully.
Enji surviving under the rubble was a miracle, he was supposed to die under the rubble,but somehow he had survived and he knew the future, that itself could cause a butterfly effect and change everything he knew.
He could not rely blindly on his knowledge of future events, they could change, they were not set in stone. But what he could do was predict the actions of characters he knew,and make plans around it,like Itachi would always protect Sasuke. Also he knew about weaknesses and secrets of many characters , like kakuzu can only be killed by destroying his five hearts. So he still had his perks and advantages.
He could make use of these knowledge to move ahead and plan ahead. He wanted to live his life to the fullest and not live like a scared rat, always scared and mindful to interact with others.
Once he had reached a conclusion and his future path had been decided he felt himself relax , the heavy weight on his mind lifted. He felt liberated and become a part of this world. Now this was his world, his reality, he was not an alien here. He had been so tensed that when he relaxed he unknowingly drifted to sleep.
He was woken up by the sound of shifting curtains, to see the doctor leading a man of average height, well toned body, with short black hair slightly greying at the temples and black eyes, wearing a jounin vest and konoha head protector. He had straight and rigid posture, each step he took were equidistant,measured and silent.He had an average looking face, but he looked like a person who deserved respect and and who was used to authority.He observed Enji for a second, squinted his eyes for a bit, inspecting, searching for something in Enji before returning to his normal poker face
The man's voice sounded gruff and powerful. He said " Enji Sarutobi,you are to be discharged from the hospital today. Since you are of clan lineage ,and an orphan ,you can chose to return to the clan grounds or to the orphanage, or your family owned home. The hokage has given you preferential treatment, considering your bloodline awakening.Which option do you choose?"
'Bloodline awakening? ' Enji thought surprised, but a second later he realised, the doctor's had seen his improved constitution. They likely attributed it to awakening his latent sarutobi bloodline, rather than kyubi chakra that split into two, one nourishing his soul and strengthening it and awakening his past memories and other his body, indirectly activating his bloodline and making the body stronger.
He had no idea why the chakra he absorbed had split into two,likely yin and yang halves. He guessed maybe because his soul was far stronger than his body ,as he had the memories of his past self; while his body was only 7 years old . To be healthy and strong this body required rebalancing of his physical and mental energies and the kyuubi chakra was available at the right place and right time.
He had heard in his previous life that the Uchiha had stronger mental powers compared to their physical prowess and the senju vice versa. Since they were present in the village why was his case special?. He could only make educated guesses that his mental and physical halves were so imbalanced that his memories were sealed and during the extreme stress ,the memories resurfaced and resumed the imbalance forcing the absorption of the nine tails chakra and the subsequent rebalancing.
Seeing Enji absorbed in his own thoughts instead of answering, the jounin,annoyed, knocked on his head with his knucles . Enji awakening from his thoughts from the sudden pain,found himself face to face with the annoyed face of the jounin.Enji with a calm and confident demeanor,unlike a recently orphaned child said "I would like to stay at my house, if possible"
The jounin surprised by his firm and confident response scrutinized him for half a minute and seeing him determined and not retracting his demand ,nodded his head." Very well, as you wish. You can head to your home after you get discharged. Your house was not damaged severely, the necessary repairs have been done.
Your monthly allowance will be provided by the village until you become a ninja or till 14 years of age if you remain a civilian.
Also once you reach home ,read the books that have been placed on the table in the living room.
After 3 days I'll personally test your knowledge and progress. If it is satisfactory, we will start training the next day. I'll repeat it once more,only if 'I' find it
Satisfactory "
Enji replied with same seriousness " yessir"
The jounin's face softened a bit and he said "I'm Yasu Sarutobi, if you are diligent,then I'll be your teacher for the coming year. Go home and be ready. I'll take my leave"
Enji watched as his future teacher departed, leaving only the doctor at his side
She began to show him how to dress his wounds from home and informed him that all paperwork were completed and he could go back.
Yasu Sarutobi had brought with him a pair of clothes for Enji to wear back home
Enji got up from the bed, changed his hospital gown to a black t shirt and shorts. He bid farewell to the doctor and started walking his way home.
He could feel most of the scratches and wounds on his body has already healed from the absorbed and split nine tails chakra and few wounds that were left to heal had already scabbed and would heal by tomorrow as per Enji's estimation considering his improved body.
As he walked through the familiar but unfamiliar streets filled with workers rushing, ninjas overseeing the construction, the smell of fresh wood and plaster, he thought about Yasu, his future teacher's words. He had been given preferential treatment compared to other orphans because of his talent, and importantly his clan name.
As he reached closer to his home he felt a little stifled and uncertain. He suppressed his feelings and opened the front door and entered.The house had been cleaned , and the decorations and furniture remained the same, in shape and in arrangement, same as he remembered.
Enji entered the bedroom where he saw his family photos, through the ages, first photo showing a young couple, then their marriage and finally Enji and his photos.
He took his parents' photo and lit some incense and offered his respects.
With newfound resolve, he came to the table in the living room and saw the books that had been given.
The books covered basic knowledge about chakra, chakra control exercises, basic physical training and history of konoha and the sarutobi clan.
There was also a special note from Yasu forbidding him from practising anything and asking him to only read and understand the theory.
Enji was wondering why would an adult ask a kid to, not do something when the child was given the method and oppertunity to do it, there was no way a kid wouldn't do it.
But Enji was not a kid and he felt like someone was watching him.
He knew this was a test,he scoffed inwardly.
He couldn't sense chakra yet as he had not unlocked chakra therefore he did not know how chakra felt, but he could feel someone's gaze on him.
He calmly grabbed the books and began his reading. Even though he knew what chakra was and chakra natures and control exercises,he was happy to cross check and confirm his knowledge.
He skimmed through the history books first. Even though they were mostly propaganda to instill patriotism and loyalty, he read through it.
He found that he could remember everything clearly as if he had near perfect memory.
With this pleasant surprise,he began reading the books with gusto.
It was already evening when he reached his home, and now he was starting to get hungry. Today he was in no mood for cooking and with the allowance given by the village he could squander it on some nice food once or twice in a month.
He planned to eat outside for today and buy groceries tomorrow.
By dinner time he had finished reading through all the books and had already memorized them.
He took his wallet and decided that today ,he would eat some meat to restore his tired and injured body. He ate his food from a nearby restaurant and returned to his home. He wondered why he had not seen any named characters till now and realised most of the powerful were busy while the young ones had not yet grown up and his house was near the civilian area. So his dinnertime and walk back was peaceful and uneventful.
He went to bed immediately looking forward to the next day so that he could start his ninja journey.
He was one step closer to being a ninja.