Chapter 16 — Quiet Hands
Floating Cloud City was louder than usual.
The market hummed with shouts and clatter, traders hawking their wares while buyers argued over prices. To anyone else, it was just another day.
To me, every sound was sharp. Every movement clear.
It wasn't that the city had changed.
It was me.
The Naruto training hadn't given me flashy jutsu or super strength.
But it had honed something far more subtle: awareness.
Breath steady, senses steady — I was no longer just in the world. I was present in it.
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The Accident
It happened near the herbal shop.
A boy no older than eight darted through the crowd, arms full of packages. His foot caught on a loose stone, and he went down hard, the sharp edge of a crate slicing into his forearm.
Blood welled, bright against pale skin.
The people around him barely slowed, too wrapped up in their errands.
The boy bit back a cry and tried to stand, but his arm shook violently.
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The Test
I hesitated.
Helping meant attention.
Attention meant risk.
But something quiet inside me — maybe that stubborn bit of humanity I hadn't burned out yet — shoved me forward.
"Hey," I murmured, crouching beside him. "Let me see."
He froze, eyes wide, but didn't pull away as I rolled up his sleeve.
It wasn't deep, but it needed pressure.
And… maybe a little experiment.
I took a slow breath, letting that thin stream of energy — what the system called Chakra Flow — seep into my hands.
Not enough to glow, not enough to draw notice. Just a quiet hum, steady and focused.
I pressed gently against the wound.
The boy flinched, then blinked in confusion.
The bleeding slowed faster than it should have, the edges of the cut tightening, the pain dulling.
Not healed.
Not miraculous.
But better.
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A Quiet Departure
"Keep it clean," I said, handing him a strip of cloth from my pouch to wrap it.
He stared at me like I'd just pulled off some miracle, his mouth opening to speak.
"Don't mention it," I muttered, already stepping back into the crowd.
By the time he turned, I was gone.
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System Notification
> [Practical Integration: Chakra Flow (Basic) — Successful]
[Skill Progression: +3%]
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Reflection
Back in my room, I sat cross-legged on the mat, replaying the moment.
Not the risk — though that was there, sharp as ever — but the quiet control.
I hadn't panicked.
Hadn't flared my energy like a beacon.
I'd simply… acted.
And that, I realized, was what true growth felt like.
Not a surge of power or some sudden transformation.
But steady, deliberate steps forward.
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