I opened my eyes to find the lake of my mindscape before me, its depth seeming to have increased since I had been there just a few hours ago. Such a phenomenon should not be possible, yet here I was, witnessing it firsthand.
I turned my gaze toward the silver stream, my spiritual energy, ts flow steadier than ever. However, the amount pouring into the lake seemed to diminish, which was concerning. Previously, nothing I had done reduced the flow of spiritual power into the lake.
"This deserves a proper investigation," I proclaimed loudly, feeling excitement about this new development, even though a part of me was worried. I could only hope it wasn't a bad thing.
I started walking upstream, my eyes wandering as I observed my ever-evolving mindscape. Birds flew around, perched on trees and the ground, and small animals were becoming increasingly common.
In just a few minutes of walking, I spotted a family of ducks and a few rabbits playing in the shallower areas of the forest. Small pink crystals were now growing throughout the woods, not just in the clearing, slowly feeding on anything they touched.
As I drew closer to the source of the Silver River, the current calmed; it felt less chaotic and more controlled. The flow seemed constant, and whatever was happening made my spiritual power more manageable.
After another thirty minutes of walking, I reached the bottom of a waterfall. And above me was a ravine, which was the exit point for the river.
I jumped and climbed up to safe ground above the ravine, entering a smaller clearing, comparable in size to the one near the log cabin.
A pure silver lake was slowly forming at the bottom of the ravine, which ran through the clearing and extended deeper into the woods.
Where the river used to flow unobstructed from one lake to the other, a small dam now partially blocked it, forcing the water to pool slowly inside the ravine.
Upon inspection, it was clear that this was not merely a result of fallen trees; they had been deliberately placed there.
I concentrated a small amount of my spiritual power, and the world around me transformed drastically. Instead of sharp colors and defined shapes, everything morphed into colorful blobs vaguely resembling their physical forms. I could "see" every small animal in the clearing as they were more saturated in color than the trees.
Inside the dam, I spotted a few small brown blobs, nesting and building a home.
I turned off my newly acquired skill, not wanting to overexert myself twice in one day.
"I felt barely any strain using it here, and yet…" I pondered aloud, "my body must still be the bottleneck." For now, I decided to leave and check on the beaver family periodically to ensure my spiritual river flows even better in the future.
When I woke up in the outside world, it was dark, with dim artificial light filling the room. It seemed we were in a hidden shelter. I looked around from the mattress where I was lying, noticing Sakura next to me, with our parents sleeping on either side. I sat up, trying to survey as much of the scene as possible.
People were everywhere, lying on their own mattresses, nearly every square centimeter filled with them. Around the edges of the room, a few ninjas in green flak jackets were positioned, while other, younger ninjas patrolled the narrow walkways between the people.
I breathed a sigh of relief; we had survived the attack. Unable to sleep anymore, I was grateful when morning eventually came and people started to wake up. More ninjas entered the hideout, slowly escorting us outside, where the village lay in ruins.
Many houses had lost roofs, and others were destroyed or damaged by flying debris. The most striking sight was a new ditch cutting across nearly the entire village, stretching from the east all the way to the Hokage monument.
This was the aftermath of a single Bijuu bomb that hadn't even detonated here; the scale of destruction was almost unimaginable. Konoha was not small, far from it in fact; the manga and anime did not do it justice.
I listened to a ninja accompanying us.
"Over fifty thousand people are either dead or missing, and even more are wounded. It will be a nightmare to actually count the dead... so many were completely obliterated, not a single cell of them remains," he lamented.
Another nearby ninja, looking disheveled and clearly sleep-deprived, added,
"One single night has inflicted more casualties on Konoha than the entire Third Great Ninja War." As rain began to fall, I understood: it was now time to rebuild and heal.
And thus, the rebuilding began on that rainy afternoon right after the Third Hokage addressed the populace.
"People of Konoha," he began, "tonight we survived a great calamity and lost many lives." He paused, as if steeling himself for the remaining part of his speech.
"The Kyuubi's attack was stopped by our Fourth Hokage, who fought valiantly and killed the beast." Cheers erupted from the crowd, but Lord Third was not finished.
"Unfortunately, Lord Fourth did not survive the battle." The crowd gasped, some in disbelief, others in shock, and many more in sadness.
The strongest ninja of the last few decades was dead. The war deterrent, the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, was gone, leaving the village vulnerable.
"I shall take office again until a Fifth Hokage can be appointed," Hiruzen continued, his tone still somber.
"I see the Will of Fire burning deep inside all of you. Channel your grief and loss into rebuilding, grow stronger, and make the village proud!" While it was a powerful speech, nobody felt like cheering anymore. However, the people around me looked more determined than before.
"It seems even the civilian population is somewhat indoctrinated," I thought to myself.
"All the battles and flashy jutsu almost make you forget that all the villages are military dictatorships, filling children's heads with propaganda from a young age." I shook my head, forcing those thoughts away.
Right now, I needed to focus on gaining strength; thoughts on this worlds politics could come later.
The next few days were a blur as I kept myself busy, mainly experimenting with the new sight-based ability I had unlocked during the Kyuubi attack.
It was truly like seeing without eyes. I even managed to spot a few hidden ninjas observing the rebuilding process.
"You should be able to manifest your willpower into a potent weapon," were the words of Lady Marzanna before sending me here.
Willpower and spiritual power combined inside my body made my physical form a conduit for a power I was very familiar with, albeit not from this world at all. Everything I tried led me to conclude that I now possessed Haki and had rudimentary control over it.
Since I was already adept at enhancing my senses from before my transmigration, the Observation Haki was the easiest to use. However, I had yet to tap into Conqueror's Haki, which was probably for the best, as it would surely overwhelm my still-weak body.
Fortunately, harnessing and strengthening my Haki was rather straightforward, I just had to use it. The more dangerous the situation, the faster my Haki would improve, and as someone aiming to become a ninja, there would be no shortage of dangerous situations.
Another change was my chakra. It was still not ready for use, but it was becoming more balanced and stable. By my estimates, I should be able to use it in about one and a half to two years at the latest, possibly sooner if I trained my body.
However, for that idea to work, I would need to develop a training regimen that wouldn't damage my body, so I was likely going to set that idea aside. There is no way I'm throwing away my new life just because I stupidly rush things and harm myself.
I soon realized I was overthinking everything again. I didn't need to run while carrying weights for training; just moving around as much as possible would be enough for such a young body.
My plan was to "help" with the rebuilding efforts by running around and carrying bricks to people, which they found funny, adorable even. I didn't correct them, as long as they didn't ask too many questions I was happy to run around.
I didn't delude myself into thinking I was genuinely being helpful; after all, I could only carry one brick at a time, which wasn't exactly efficient, but it benefited me immensely.
Thankfully, our family home was among those that were only damaged, although almost half of the roof was gone. The foundations and walls stood firm.
I also devised a clever way to train my Observation Haki during the rebuilding process. I delivered the bricks with my eyes closed, trying to feel and memorize the presence of people around me.
I even stashed a few bricks away to experiment with Armament Haki, which I could indeed use, although not reliably. I was quite certain that a few villagers heard me cursing like a sailor in a language they did not recognize when my Haki didn't activate properly.
Fortunately for the villagers, and unfortunately for my training, the rebuilding of the district where I lived was completed in just two weeks.
On the bright side, I finally got my Armament Haki to activate more reliably. It wasn't very strong yet, but at least I could activate it whenever I wanted now. My Observation Haki, on the other hand, was improving every day.
I could reliably feel almost half of the village, and if I focused on a specific point, I could see far beyond the village walls.
The challenging part was memorizing people's auras. Everyone's aura felt slightly different, and even if they were represented by the same color, their energy was distinct. It was very confusing at first, but it became easier day by day. I also kept a few bricks to carry around my room whenever I was left unsupervised.
Unfortunately, they were discovered and taken away by Dad. What a shame! I guess I'll just have to run around like a hyperactive monkey to simulate training.
I smirked; it was time to annoy my parents a little with a small, harmless prank from an adult stuck in a toddler's body.
Time flew by, and sooner than I realized, I was sitting in the living room surrounded by family and family friends, celebrating my sixth birthday.
My goal of becoming a ninja was not a secret to anyone, and luckily enough, I received some basic training weapons, two hip pouches, and a small box filled with kunai and shuriken, all gifted by the Yamanaka family.
It turned out that my presence had made Sakura much less introverted, and she quickly befriended Ino, which was quite a pleasant surprise.
On the other hand, I was seen as a massive introvert; I never really approached anyone, preferring to train my Haki and over the last three years, work on my chakra control.
Sakura occasionally joined me in some of my exercises, but it didn't happen often, and I wasn't going to force her into training.
My training regimen was rather simple. Starting with chakra and Haki, the main focus was on control, including the leaf sticking exercise, and later, tree walking and water walking. Thanks to my talent for chakra control, I managed to learn these techniques quite quickly.
Last month, I even started learning the Rasengan. Unfortunately, while I had good chakra control, I still lacked the capacity to progress. I could easily direct my chakra, but I was stuck at the second stage because I couldn't burst the rubber ball yet.
My Haki training was divided into two parts. For Observation, I practiced all my training blindfolded.
As for Armament, I integrated it into my physical training, primarily by kicking and punching trees.
I also awakened my Crystal Release, but it wasn't ready for battle yet, not by a long shot. Even after convincing Uncle Inoichi to help me learn hand seals last year, I still had to create all my crystal-based jutsu, which was extremely annoying and tiring as there was no one to turn to for help.
Although that was mostly because I wanted to keep my Crystal Release a secret, at least for now.
On the positive note, I could keep myself busy with my training. Now that I could add weapon throwing to my schedule, I had a good excuse to try and visit some of the ninja training grounds.
Why visit the training grounds? Because many ninjas use them, and observing them with my Haki helps me understand the jutsu they are using. It's not the Sharingan, but I won't complain, especially after learning the Transformation Jutsu by watching a Genin team.
Unfortunately, if you are not at least a ninja in training, you are forbidden from entering. I found that out the hard way last year when some Chunin spotted me while I was watching them. Thankfully, I wasn't punished, but I was thrown out, and my dreams of learning something new were dashed.
My observation Haki and sensory abilities cover a wide area, but to accurately sense someone's chakra, I need to focus on them from relatively close range. So, I can't just spy on them from my room.
As the birthday party finally ended, I thanked everyone for coming and decided to try my luck at the training fields. Unlike swordsmanship and martial arts, I've never been great at throwing weapons.
The training ground I arrived at was near the Uchiha district, almost always empty since the Uchiha clan had their own training area, and many avoided the district after the Kyuubi attack.
Indeed, it was as empty as could be. I looked around; it was a simple, small training field covered in grass and surrounded by trees. A few trees near the open grassland had small targets hanging from them, battered from use.
I stood some distance away and gripped a kunai in my left hand. It felt different from any throwing knife I'd ever used, so I decided to start nice and easy.
I flicked my arm toward the target, releasing my grip on the kunai. It soared toward the tree, spinning once in flight but missed the small target, embedding itself in the bark.
"These fly differently; they feel way heavier on the blade than I'm used to," I murmured, pulling out another kunai and trying again. This time, I barely hit the target, but the kunai was buried too shallowly and fell out quickly.
"So the targets are made from denser material to test both power and accuracy at the same time… good, that will save me some time." At least I knew when I threw hard enough for the kunai to be a legitimate threat.
I continued throwing, trying to use my right hand as well. After all, I would be using a sword in my left hand most of the time, so it only made sense to train my non-dominant arm.
This was much harder; my right hand wasn't trained for such movements, not even in my past life. I probably looked like I was flailing my arm around wildly, failing to hit the target even once in the past hour.
"Your wrist movement is wrong," an unknown voice informed me from the treeline. The voice belonged to a boy slightly older than me. Using my Haki, I looked for him. He stood on a tree branch a few trees to the right of my target.
I looked at him; he had black hair, black eyes, and a Konoha headband. He was undoubtedly a young ninja from the Uchiha clan; if I had to guess, I would say about ten years old.
"It's difficult to use my non-dominant hand. Any tips?" I asked, curious if I could get some help.
"Show me your throw with your left," he said, looking at me intently. I shrugged, pulled out a kunai, and swiftly buried it in the target. It wasn't dead center, but it was certainly a decent throw.
"I'm not sure if I'm throwing it right with my left either; it feels very front-heavy," I added, considering my technique.
He jumped down and walked toward me, stopping right beside me.
"Can I try?" he asked, reaching for my kunai. I handed it to him, curious about what he would do. His hand blurred, moving faster than I anticipated, and the kunai struck dead center, embedding itself almost to the hilt in the target.
"The training kunai are often slightly unbalanced. You need to learn how to correct for it, and using an actual kunai will be much easier," he explained.
"Try moving your arm like this while you throw." He demonstrated the throwing motion slowly. It was similar to knife throwing but subtly different, especially in wrist movements during release.
I practiced the motion with both of my hands, throwing a few more kunai and getting slightly better results with my right hand.
"This will take some getting used to; thank you." I looked at him again, realizing neither of us had introduced ourselves.
"Oh, I completely forgot! Excuse my rudeness. I'm Uchiha Itachi; what is your name?" He introduced himself with a small bow, and I think I had a small heart attack.