And so began the path where I could finally move beyond the first steps in mastering chakra. Back then, Hiruzen had approved my request to make our conversation private and later, for his own reasons, asked me not to spread the word about my abilities. As we were leaving, Hiruzen remembered the ramen chef, and we apologized for discussing such unpleasant topics.
But, back to the secrecy of my abilities. If I were to tell everyone about them, the first thing that would pop into my overly paranoid head was a certain Danzo, who might try to claim me after such a revelation. He seemed to have a habit of taking many talented shinobi into his creepy organization, "Root." An organization that, it was clear, was involved in creepy business: sabotage, assassinations, inciting wars. Although, of course, such a turn of events is doubtful.
A more sensible option is that Hiruzen believes that talent attracts fame, while fame, in turn, provides opportunities… and a host of additional threats. Like Danzo himself. By sharing the news of my abilities with Hiruzen, I realized the opportunities. And considering Hiruzen's character, I managed to do so without those very threats.
On one hand, I was now under scrutiny. On the other hand, I already was. And I don't see much wrong with that—patronage. It can be different, after all. I was not destined to have a completely free childhood. "Freedom" is a fluid concept and, probably, achievable only upon the complete cessation of being. Because while living, there will always be something that infringes upon freedom. Maybe a more powerful enemy who is interested in studying your inner world. Maybe a banal death from old age.
But that's philosophy. Among the positive facts of my existence—under Hiruzen's patronage—are Sarutobi's students, every one of whom is alive. Even a certain Orochimaru—oh, what a naughty shinobi, who conducted inhuman experiments on the residents of his home village—Hiruzen let him go. Although their views on the world were very different. From this, it follows that in order not to provoke my guardian, I just need to leave my fellow villagers alone. Whereas, based on our conversation, anything that is an "enemy" is fair game… And what am I even talking about now? I'm not going to become a maniac… although some of the caretakers might have thought so a year or a year and a half ago. Or a vivisector? In my past life, I never killed a single person… I think. And I wasn't in any kind of relationship with corpses either…
In short, being under Hiruzen's thumb is far from a bad position. Considering that I haven't been given any duties, one might think I've got it pretty good. Exactly how "good," I have yet to find out. After all, I haven't been given a list of future "perks." As for duties, well, I should be grateful for whatever I'm given, in theory. But at the same time, I need to find a balance in that gratitude. Undoubtedly, if the duties are more than they should be, I will try to shirk them. Thankfully, Konoha is an organization, and in any organization, not everyone works.
Right now, by the way, I was sitting on a couch in one of the hospital rooms.
They had recently taken a lot of various tests from me: blood, hair, skin, they stuck some thin needle into my stomach, and for some reason, they cut off a small piece of my nail. Thankfully, my anal orifice remained untouched.
Some old guy in a white doctor's coat was cheerfully tapping away at the keyboard of what I considered an ancient computer. Although, for this place, the machine might be modern.
Holy crap. Turns out, there might be internet here after all.
"You have extensive dendritic vessels of chakra expansion, Uzumaki-san," he said, clearly something smart.
"…What?"
"I'm saying, you have a high potential for chakra reserve growth. Astonishingly high…" he suddenly started moving and clicking the mouse rapidly, simultaneously typing something from the top of the keyboard. The part where the numbers are. "M-hm, m-hm, congratulations. If you start developing according to the latest program right now, then by the age of twelve, your reserve will surpass that of the Third-sama by an order of magnitude! At the peak of his abilities! And even though you have Yang-dominant accretive channels of chakra flow… your Yin component is surprisingly developed!"
"Uh-huh…"
"You must have done a lot of mental work," he nodded at something and clicked the mouse again. "As for other results, you are surprisingly healthy—not a single allergy, pathology, or anything else. Your hair is strong; you definitely won't go bald before thirty. Your nails are strong. Your skin is of a normal type."
"Uh-huh… Though it's strange that all these tests were put in the same category."
"What do you mean? It's a common thing." He turned away from the monitor to me in confusion. To which I could only shrug. Well, I don't know anything about medicine; maybe that's how it's supposed to be. They can't just be messing with me, right? So instead of empty indignation, I showed curiosity. "About these dendritic vessels… They determine potential, right?"
"Correct, although this subject is very poorly understood."
"So… we don't have ways to increase the number of vessels to, well, increase potential?"
"Alas, alas, you need such sensitivity for that!" the old guy shook his head. "These are the creations of the Third-sama and a huge scientific team. And even with the combined capabilities of fuinjutsu, we were only able to get a slight glimpse of them."
"Fuin?"
"The fuin research and development complex under the control of fuinjutsu masters with the Third-sama in the central position!"
At his statement, I was a bit taken aback. Because:
"Isn't fuin just about sealing?"
"No, no, not at all. That's generally correct, but not entirely… There's a confusing history with the terminology," he waved his hand. "Fuin seals the will of the creator so that… You'll read about it later."
To my disappointment, he quickly stopped answering my questions and returned to the computer. Hmm.
"Now for the most interesting part!" he jumped up and slid a door to the side. "Come in."
And on his command, shinobi entered, similar to the ones who had been with Hiruzen in masks. ANBU—a special tactics and assassination unit, only under the direct command of the Hokage and not as shady as Root. They had been waiting in the corridor for about ten minutes, by the way. Though it was a bit interesting to watch, because they had been talking about something the whole time. Probably work-related. A pity I can't read lips. With this ability of my soul, I could be a good spy.
Then I noticed three chairs, on which the newcomers sat. After which I was asked to sit down, and they brought over some metal cube on a pedestal covered in characters.
"Uzumaki-san, now listen carefully and follow my commands," the old guy said in a serious tone and, wiggling his legs in a not-at-all-serious manner, rolled over on his chair.
The chair was a bit too big for him, so his feet didn't properly reach the floor… I can so relate.
"You mentioned that you are capable of chakra manipulation. Your task is to concentrate images in your chakra as much as you can. I will say a word, and your task is to put the first thing that comes to your mind into the energy! Don't try to find meaning in the words; they will be random. The main thing is to put in the first thing that comes to mind as quickly as possible. Ready?"
"I guess…" I replied, placing my hands on the cube and peripherally noting the sharpened attention of the three shinobi.
"Green…"
At that moment, with a pleasant, quiet hum, my chakra rushed through my channels. The current stopped in the cube, quickly filling the unknown artifact. The humming disappeared; I held my energy in the object. An image flashed in my mind. Clear, reflecting the ever-growing essence of the word denoting the color. I felt something in me tense up to change the chakra.
"Elephant."
"…" My hands inadvertently trembled as other images wanted to follow the animal… But I managed.
"Grass."
I concentrated more and more. The world around me began to dim imperceptibly. My soul vision faded…
"Tower."
The word echoed as if from somewhere further away, as my consciousness sank into a trance.
"Cart."
Even further…
"…"
"…"
"Flow-e-er."
Suddenly, my spherical vision expanded, and I felt a hand shaking my shoulder.
"What, flower? Ah… oh, sorry." Apparently, I had gotten lost in my own head.
"It's alright," the unnamed not-so-young man moved away. "That's enough."
He took three data tablets from the shinobi. Where did they get them, I wonder? I hadn't noticed those items in the office.
"Thank you, you may go." And, as they were leaving, he started rapidly entering data into the computer again. "And so… O-o-oh, uh-huh, uh-huh… I can congratulate you again, Uzumaki-san. I envy you… An uncut diamond. The facts have come together. From the moment you were born, you were destined to be great…"
"Could you be more specific?" I brought his stream of thought, which had veered into poetry, back to reality.
"Yes… My parents were strong ninja. I inherited a great talent for chakra reserve growth. But my talent for control was deficient… so much so that I couldn't become a shinobi…"
Seriously? I thought wearily. Is some random guy just going to start telling me the tear-jerking story of his life? Oh, right… I'm in Naruto…
"The world is unfair. Some get nothing, others get everything. Usually, everyone is born with an average talent for control. Less often—with one like mine. Even less often are true geniuses born, like the Third-sama. But cases where all talents converge at the highest point… We only know for sure about the First-sama."
"More concisely, please," I requested, already slightly glad that he had limited the length of his autobiography.
"You have the greatest talent for energy control! But it will only be fully unlocked in your old age. And I must say, on behalf of the scientific community, do not die! By fifteen, you will be able to replace the Third-sama, but after that, you will only surpass him exponentially. I must also ask you—study fuinjutsu! It is the broadest field. But in any of them, you will be able to reach heights that others cannot even imagine." Finishing his sermon, the scientist stared at me with great expectation and some hidden… respect? Awe? It's strange to receive such a thing.
"I… will keep that in mind," I said. Not dying… I'd like that. "And I will try."
"Excellent! All the data has been obtained. Later, a messenger will deliver to you an individual chakra source development program. It will be compiled by the Third-sama himself!"
"Thank you for your work." I intended to get off the couch and go about my business.
"Oh, don't mention it, I get paid for it," the old guy waved his hand. "Perhaps you have any more questions, Uzumaki-san?"
I suddenly stopped in the pose of almost touching the floor with my feet and climbed back up. This person seems quite knowledgeable about chakra. So why not continue this sort of "interview," just not about the person, but about a topic that interests me.
"Yes, thinking about the dendritic vessels again. Does control potential have a similar marker?"
"We hope so." Without slowing down, he spread his hands. "We would very much like to find one. Perhaps this discovery could elevate humanity. The ability to control energy is extremely important… But, alas, not everything is within our power."
I see. Judging by the scientist's words, this control, unlike chakra, develops throughout one's life. "But it will only be fully unlocked in your old age." For now, it seems, there are only some roughly selected formulas for approximately calculating something not clearly understood. In the future, I'll need to devote some time to this issue. For now, next:
"What did you mean by an individual program?"
"A set of exercises with chakra. As for training your body," he looked me over, "it is not recommended without a complex of special preparations and the supervision of an experienced mentor. Not everything at once—first, you need to get used to the methodical development of chakra."
"So that means, for the time being, I won't be developing my Yang component. That component progresses from body training, right?"
"No, Yang, like Yin, can be developed through any chakra manipulations. By training the body, a shinobi undoubtedly increases the production, reserve, and slightly the quality of Yang. Every cell in the body produces and stores Yang. The chakra core penetrates every cell; it directly interacts with and is the center of energy. But this means that by manipulating chakra, we can work in reverse: develop the body through the use of chakra… but actually, that develops Yin better than the body. Although the method is not significantly worse than body training, if you use one specific technique."
"So, Yin can be developed through the practice of chakra manipulation?"
"Not only, but that is one of the most effective ways. You can also develop it through any kind of learning, meditation, and gaining experience in something. For example, you can perfect one technique and try to add something to it. That will strengthen Yin and, as a result, the chakra created with it."
"M-hm… you mentioned the potentials of reserve and control. Based on this, are there perhaps some objective power rankings? Besides the division of shinobi into genin—junior shinobi, chunin—senior, and jonin—elite."
"There are also tokubetsu-jonin and their commanders—senior jonin. A tokubetsu has the rank of jonin in only one area; regular jonin have at least two profiles. As for senior jonin, we have almost none… They are appointed by the Hokage for special skill in their field and the ability to teach it. But all these ranks can be considered conditional. Sometimes, a genin will defeat a tokubetsu in a fight—and there's nothing surprising about that."
"How is that possible?"
"There are the basic ninja stats: bloodline strength—you could say, potential, mastery of weapons, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu—using the body for combat. This is generally speaking, without details. But there are also other characteristics: speed, energy, strength, intelligence. Many pass the chunin exam thanks to the latter. Good teamwork is one of the two qualities a chunin must possess. The other quality is the ability to prepare for and adapt to an opponent. But that doesn't at all mean that a chunin must be strong on their own. Everyone has weaknesses—a chunin must exploit them."
"Based on my analyses, could you give me a breakdown?"
"Of course, I essentially did that before. Only much more detailed. But to generalize, of the main stats, you only have bloodline strength—genome at maximum. Although that's conditional. Some, for example, the Uchiha, also have this stat at maximum. But your talents are incomparable. A symbolic amount is also added to the ninjutsu line. Of course, your control is higher than almost any genin. But you don't know any techniques. Of the other characteristics: speed is like an ordinary person's, since you don't know how to enhance your body with chakra, and strength is at the same level. But due to the properties of your chakra, your endurance is much higher than it should be for an untrained person. Your intelligence, considering your age, is presumably over two hundred IQ points. And you have as much energy as a dozen jonin."
"As much as a dozen jonin?" I was surprised.
"Yes. This is the 'injustice' of the world!" this time, the old guy feigned indignation. "All shinobi, one way or another, have a limit to which they can develop. Until the limit is reached, they can increase their chakra reserve exponentially. And in a relatively short time. When the limit is reached, of course, a shinobi can continue to develop. But not nearly as quickly."
"So, in a way, everyone is equal? And, for example, in terms of reserve, it's quite possible to catch up to me?"
"No, it's not. You were born with a reserve that almost all shinobi will never develop. It's very good if a shinobi reaches the reserve of a jonin by the age of twenty. But even that is rare."
"Well, cool." Good thing I stayed in this body. A cool vessel. Not only are the acquaintances I've made impressive, but the potential turned out to be even higher, apparently.
"That's an understatement, Uzumaki-san. But for now, it doesn't reflect your abilities much. With this ranking system, you can become a shinobi with just brains and a little talent. And even a senior jonin. Though you have to be lucky with the brains. And the position will be a military one, but definitely not a field one."
"Thank you for your explanations… Hospital-worker-san," I gave a nod of thanks and finally jumped off the couch.
"Oh, don't mention it, Uzumaki-san. This work will be in the basic literature anyway. I, for one, was glad to shirk my work. Come by anytime. I'm always here."
"Uh… okay."
I went out into the corridor and trudged toward my part of the hospital.
They really gave me some food for thought. The thought even creeps in, was it all for nothing?… I could have spent years in my usual rhythm, without stressing too much. Now, with some kind of training system, I'll have to work. Hah.
On the other hand, if you don't leave your comfort zone, life can eat you up. In my case, literally. So… you grab something by the balls, and forward, with a song