Chapter #3
On waking up the next morning, Kazuki looked out of the window, noticing that the sky was still dark. He thought, "Whoa, I woke up really early. Seems like it's just 5 a.m. yet. Oh well, I basically slept the whole day yesterday — no wonder I woke up so soon. Anyway, I suppose I'll have to make a habit of it if I really intend to get strong."
Not expecting the other kids to wake up anytime soon, he freshened up and stepped out of his room. He then exited the orphanage building. The orphanage had a decent-sized playground for the kids toward the north side. On the east and south sides, a dense patch of trees resembled a mini-forest. It seemed Konoha had many such green pockets across the village, often used as training grounds for ninjas. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—there wasn't any official training ground nearby.
To the west were residential areas and a small market just a few hundred meters away. Kazuki thought, "The forest could give me some cover and privacy. While it's not the best training spot, it's discreet enough for secret training. I should also look into getting the orphanage room all to myself in the future. For now, let's see how far I can push this body."
Ending his train of thought, Kazuki began stretching to loosen up. After ten minutes, he started running around the playground, which he estimated had a circumference of about a hundred meters. The first few laps were easy, but fatigue set in soon. Pushing himself, he completed 28 laps.
Breathing hard, he thought, "That's almost three kilometers! No way I could've done that as a five-year-old in my past life. And I don't remember this kid training either. Maybe people in this world are just naturally stronger, or maybe unlocking chakra did something. Probably the former since I only unlocked chakra yesterday."
After a five-minute break, he continued with bodyweight exercises: two sets of 12 pushups, four sets of 15 sit-ups, three sets of 12 squats, and eight pull-ups. The workout pushed him hard, but he held back from reaching total exhaustion to avoid injury.
Finished, he returned to the orphanage, took a bath, and changed into fresh clothes. Back in his room by 7:30 a.m., he noticed his roommates were still asleep. "Interesting. Seems like they only wake when the bell rings for breakfast. If that's consistent, I might have an hour or two of private time each morning for training. I should confirm that over the next week."
He sat down on his bed and took a leaf he had picked up on his way back. Staring at it, he thought, "There are five basic natures — Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. To find my affinity, I'll need chakra paper, but every ninja can eventually learn all five. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, even non-specialists used Earth Release. But mastering a nature allows for much stronger jutsus."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi had mastered all five. I wonder what my affinity is... If I could choose, I'd go with Lightning. Fast, deadly, and boosts physical attributes — like the Raikage's lightning armor. That'd put me on a fast track to Kage-level power. My second choice would be Water, though I'm not a fan of it. Still, Konoha has access to water sources."
"Right now, I don't have much choice. I only know the proper training method for Wind Release — it was explained thoroughly. The rest I'll save for later. For now, let's master Wind Release, regardless of affinity."
He placed the leaf flat in his palm and began focusing his chakra to slice it.
"Jarvis, monitor chakra flow. Let me know if it's too weak, too unfocused, or leaking."
[Acknowledged, Host. Scanning chakra pathway... 62% stable. Insufficient density at focal point. Suggest narrowing the channel width and increasing compression by 7%.]
Kazuki frowned and adjusted the flow.
"Like this?"
[Better. Chakra flow density now at 79%. Still fluctuating. Minor leakage at the wrist tenketsu. Adjust wrist angle by five degrees.]
He shifted his hand and tried again. The leaf fluttered but remained intact.
[Host, I recommend mental visualization. Imagine the chakra as a blade edge. Infuse the intention to slice — intent affects form.]
Kazuki closed his eyes and imagined a chakra blade, sharp and clean.
"Slice," he muttered. A thin line appeared on the leaf. Not a full cut — but progress.
Over the next week, this pattern repeated. He trained early, and his roommates consistently woke only when the breakfast bell rang. After breakfast, between 10 a.m. and noon — and again between 4 and 6 p.m. — he practiced further. These were times when the room remained empty. He added punching and kicking drills to his routine and began practicing the leaf concentration exercise during those quieter hours.
A leaf placed on his forehead became the focal point. All his chakra had to be directed toward it and held steady.
[Maintaining stable chakra flow to forehead: 41%. Focus broken due to external thought drift. Advising mindfulness breathing protocol.]
Kazuki breathed deeply, calming his mind, and tried again. Bit by bit, his chakra control stabilized.
Jarvis provided constant feedback:
Tracking ratio of power to control Highlighting instability during emotional distraction Recording his improvement (from 62% to 81% control accuracy) Projecting mastery timelines based on his pace
[Current control accuracy: 81%. Projected leaf-cutting mastery within nine days. Recommend adding secondary control drills afterward.]
Kazuki silently thanked the AI. His improvements remained invisible to others, but he could feel them. Chakra no longer resisted — it was beginning to obey.
Though his lack of playtime made him seem antisocial, the orphanage was too crowded for anyone to care. A loner being quiet wasn't unusual. He had time. He had privacy. And thanks to Jarvis, he had a guide.
His path had begun.
........................End of the chapter