"The future isn't fixed… the present determines the future?"
Souta Kiryuu fell into deep thought. "So, what I'm overdrawing is the future anchored to the present moment… even the future of myself before I awakened these inherited memories?"
"Or, put another way, although I've awakened these memories now, gaining an enormous amount of information about the shinobi world, even my thought process has changed compared to before… if I don't actually take any concrete actions, then no matter how many ideas I have, the future won't be affected."
"Just having ideas, just thinking, without putting them into practice—none of it has any real effect on the present, and therefore can't change the future."
Gradually, Souta began to grasp the essence of it. Still, whether things worked the way he thought would require testing.
However…
Souta frowned. "Seems like this body's talent is really poor. At best, it's the life of a chunin."
"That's going to be troublesome…"
He considered himself smart, but in the shinobi world, natural aptitude was critical. Bloodline and heritage often meant more than intelligence. Just look at the legendary bloodlines of the Ōtsutsuki clan. Even someone with Orochimaru's brilliance couldn't compare to Naruto or Sasuke once they had their "cheat-like" powers.
Souta sighed. "I originally thought I could just coast through, but it looks like I'll have to work hard after all. Otherwise, what was the point of reincarnating?"
"This golden finger isn't that impressive after all…"
He glanced at his "Overdraft Panel." The ability [Overdraw Ten Years of the Future] had turned gray.
He wouldn't be able to use it again for another year.
"That means I have a year to put things into practice, to make real changes that will affect the future."
"Looks like I need to make a plan… Yes, I'll call it my One-Year Plan."
With that thought, Souta got out of bed and turned his attention back to himself.
What concerned him most before was ninjutsu. This time, by overdrawing the future, he had gained access not only to the ninjutsu he would eventually master, but also skills like shuriken-throwing, basic taijutsu, strength, and even—surprisingly—chakra capacity.
No… more like stamina, really.
In short, Souta now had the equivalent of his fifteen-year-old self's peak physical and combat data loaded into his five-year-old body. Apart from memory, it was almost as if he had fused with his future self.
So after a careful check, Souta couldn't help but break into a grin.
He was still technically a genin, but was a five-year-old body really the same as a fifteen-year-old's? Outwardly, he hadn't grown taller, but his strength was incomparable.
"Good! From this moment on, I'll fight for my future!"
With a crack of his knuckles, Souta grabbed his piggy bank, smashed it open, and counted the coins—just over one hundred ryō. Not bad.
"Maybe I can buy a short sword with this… Doesn't need to be anything fancy. Even a wooden one would do for training."
Pocketing the money, he headed downstairs.
"Dad, Mom, I'm going out to train!" Souta waved at his parents.
His mother looked up and reminded him, "Be sure to come back for lunch—and be careful, don't get hurt!"
"Got it!" he shouted back, already running out the door.
In the shop, Souta's father chuckled to his wife. "Souta's so dedicated to training. We should work hard too."
His mother nodded, her hands moving more briskly with renewed motivation.
Souta visited several ninja tool shops before finding a short sword for fifty ryō—much cheaper than he expected. Of course, the quality was average, and he felt it was too light, but it was the best available unless he had one custom-made.
"This will have to do."
He paid, then bought a sword bag for carrying it on his back, and a sword belt for wearing it at his waist.
In the shinobi world, the distinction between swords and blades was blurry—kenjutsu and battojutsu were considered part of the same discipline.
After that, he picked up a bundle of balloons, then headed to a riverbank, choosing a large tree as his temporary training ground.
Setting the balloons down, Souta strapped the short sword to his waist. His current training plan had two pillars: kenjutsu and the Rasengan.
He still remembered the Rasengan's training method, so he could attempt it. Even if he couldn't master it within a year, surely ten years would be enough.
As for kenjutsu, his overdraft hadn't given him any techniques for it. With no teacher and no formal sword styles to follow, progress would be difficult. But that was fine—he didn't expect much yet. He just planned to drill basic swings, and most importantly, the battojutsu draw-cut.
That was the essence of his sword training—drawing speed, power, reaction time. Maybe it would take a year, maybe ten. Maybe it wouldn't work at all. But it was worth testing. Who knew where his potential or talent might lie?
"I'm only five. I've got plenty of time to experiment. Even if the overdraft panel doesn't let me leap to the top instantly, it gives me countless opportunities to make choices."
He tightened his grip on the hilt, lowering his stance, focusing intently.
Shing! Souta drew the blade fast and sharp.
"The motion's unstable… not steady enough. Again!"
Sheathing it, he tried again. And again.
If he hadn't overdrafted ten years into the future, he'd probably just be fumbling around, practicing aimlessly with vague ideas from his past life. But now, he had at least the experience of a seasoned genin. His understanding of strength and technique was leagues beyond that of a complete beginner.
And the draw-cut, at its core, was incredibly simple.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Souta continued sheathing and drawing, correcting his movements each time, trying to be faster, stronger.
When his arms burned and his stamina was drained, he rested, filling balloons with water at the river.
"Timeline-wise, Minato Namikaze dies in Konoha Year 50, at age twenty-four. That means right now he's fifteen."
"According to Jiraiya, it took him three years to develop the Rasengan."
"Then Jiraiya himself learned it, and it didn't take him long. I remember…" Souta thought. He recalled a scene from the anime, where Jiraiya proudly showed Minato he had mastered the Rasengan, only for Minato's calm reaction to make it awkward. At that point, Minato was already leading Kakashi's team on missions.
Even if that was from a movie, and the timeline was shaky, it was still a reference.
Obito Uchiha graduated at age nine, when Minato officially became the sensei of Kakashi's team. That would be around Year 45 of Konoha's calendar.
Kakashi might even graduate this year. Souta remembered that after graduation, Kakashi had different jōnin instructors. At age seven, when Sakumo Hatake committed suicide, Kakashi's personality changed drastically, leading to frequent conflicts with teammates and multiple team reshuffles.
Doing the math, two years from now would be Year 43, when Sakumo died, and Kakashi's shift began. If Minato started leading Kakashi's team around Year 44, that meant by then Minato had already mastered the Rasengan.
So, counting backwards three years…
"That means Minato might already be developing the Rasengan now…"
After filling four balloons, Souta returned to the tree. "Looks like I've picked the same training as him. But who masters it first is another story."
"Minato developed it to replicate the Tailed Beast Bomb. As for me…" He smirked, quickly inventing an excuse he could give if anyone asked.
But the real reason he was training the Rasengan was different. Without access to ninjutsu resources, he needed something powerful yet attainable. More than that, he wanted to craft an image for himself.
A persona.
The persona of a genius.