Chapter 4: The Fire Thief Initiative and the Butterfly's Wings
Just as Dana was settling in for what he thought would be a long-haul session of chakra molding, A stopped him.
"That's enough for now, Dana. Take a rest," he said, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
In this era, dedicated medical-nin were exceedingly rare. Most were just doctors who happened to know a few specialized secret jutsu. Tsunade, the future founder of a systematic medical ninja program, had yet to make her mark on the world.
To be honest, despite the crowd of Hidden Cloud elites and clan experts gathered to watch, if Dana's bloodline sickness had taken a turn for the worse during his first chakra session, they would have all been completely useless. No one had any real emergency procedures for this situation.
They were dealing with an undocumented bloodline disease and a completely new, unconfirmed Kekkei Genkai. Out of an abundance of caution, A decided to halt the session. Molding chakra was a daily practice for a shinobi; there was no need to rush into the unknown.
For a three-year-old to have molded chakra for so long was already highly unusual.
A carefully inspected Dana's condition. As soon as Dana stopped molding chakra, the strange phenomenon on his spine subsided, returning to its faint, bruised-purple state. The frantic electrical arcs also began to fade away.
Even more strangely, the small amount of residual chakra left in Dana's body was quickly and completely absorbed by his spine, leaving not a single trace behind.
After confirming that his son was otherwise unharmed, A handed Dana over to a maid to be taken home. He, however, remained behind to hold a meeting with the clan members.
"Did you see anything? Is this truly a Kekkei Genkai, or just the disease?" A asked, rubbing his temples in frustration.
Ever since his second son had been born, he had been a source of constant worry for him and the entire Yotsuki clan.
A bloodline disease was difficult enough to handle, but Dana was potentially the very first member of the Yotsuki clan to ever manifest a Kekkei Genkai. There were no precedents, no historical records to consult.
"Perhaps we are being too hasty," said an elder with a salt-and-pepper beard. "Whether it is a true Kekkei Genkai or merely a disease will become clear once Dana is old enough to begin training ninjutsu. That's only four or five years from now. We old-timers can afford to wait."
Another, even older man, whose teeth were nearly all gone, shot him a fierce glare.
A single glance confirmed he was not one of the patient ones.
"A, your decision was correct," another elder chimed in. "Dana is too important to the Yotsuki clan. We cannot afford to be reckless. Things will be clearer in a few years."
But one man frowned. "That's assuming Dana has a Kekkei Genkai without a debilitating illness. The boy's condition is precarious. If this disease truly has harmful side effects, it would be better to treat it sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it could become uncontrollable..."
A's brow furrowed, but he remained silent.
This was his dilemma. As a father, he didn't want to leave his son's fate to chance. He wanted to identify the problem and find a solution as soon as possible. But the hard truth was that neither the Yotsuki clan nor the Hidden Cloud Village possessed the advanced medical expertise required. The few medical-nin in the village were decent at treating battlefield wounds, but researching a completely new bloodline disease was far beyond their capabilities.
Ultimately, the village just wasn't advanced enough in that area.
A sighed and summoned Dodai. "It's time. Begin the Fire Thief Initiative."
Dodai nodded, unsurprised, and vanished in a flicker.
The "Fire Thief Initiative" was a plan A had formulated in his capacity as Raikage shortly after Dana's birth. Its core objective was simple: steal fire from others.
It was designed to compensate for the Hidden Cloud's deficiencies in certain areas.
As a village of warriors, Kumogakure was somewhat specialized. The transition from the Warring States Period of warring clans to the era of hidden villages meant that the system had become more complex and its needs more comprehensive. A village could no longer rely on a single clan's secret techniques to dominate. It had to be well-rounded.
Beyond the three main categories of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, a village needed experts in interrogation, assassination, medical arts, and sensory techniques. They didn't have to be the strongest in every field, but they had to have a foundation, or the village would suffer from functional weaknesses.
The Hidden Cloud didn't have the same blessed start as Konoha, which was founded with powerful clans filling every conceivable role. The Leaf had no blind spots. For sensory abilities, they had the Hyuga, the Inuzuka, and the Aburame. For genjutsu, they had the Uchiha, the Kurama, and the Yuhi. For powerful physical techniques, they had the Akimichi and the Hatake. For interrogation, they had the Yamanaka, whose mind-reading techniques were nearly impossible to counter. And that wasn't even counting their countless other secret arts like the Nara's shadow manipulation or the Akimichi's expansion jutsu. Other villages could only look on in envy. Even without the two god-like figures of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, Konoha's fundamental strength far surpassed the other four great villages.
Weaknesses or complete gaps in certain fields were common problems for every major village except Konoha. The Hidden Cloud had been slowly trying to fill these gaps, but before now, it had been more of a general policy than a concrete plan. Dana's condition, however, had thrown their biggest weakness into sharp relief.
His illness was the primary catalyst for the Fire Thief Initiative.
From one perspective, you could accuse A of using his power for personal reasons. But A, like the Raikage before him, was not a public servant. He was a leader, a chieftain who ruled through charisma and martial prowess. Therefore, it was natural that some aspects of the initiative were skewed towards his personal interests.
A's voice was low and commanding as he gave the first order:
"Dispatch an elite team to the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools. Search for any surviving records of their sealing jutsu. Furthermore, all shinobi on missions are to be on the lookout for survivors of the Uzumaki clan. If any are found, they are to be brought back to the Hidden Cloud immediately. The Uzumaki's fūinjutsu is incredibly powerful and has many miraculous applications. There are also records suggesting some Uzumaki possess a unique, innate healing ability, though this is unconfirmed."
The value of powerful sealing jutsu was self-evident. It was rumored that the Uzumaki possessed techniques for sealing tailed beasts that were far superior to the Cloud's own Iron Armor Seal. As one of the most versatile arts in the shinobi world, fūinjutsu could solve many unconventional problems—and might even hold a key to helping Dana.
Many powers had been eyeing the legacy of the Land of Whirlpools since its destruction, but its distance from the Land of Lightning had made it a low priority for the Cloud. That was about to change.
A waved his hand, and three ANBU appeared before him. He paused for a moment in thought before issuing his second command:
"Send agents disguised as a merchant caravan to make contact with the Land of Water. It is home to a large number of clans with Kekkei Genkai, some of whom have not yet joined the Village Hidden by Mist. Approach them. If they're willing, recruit them. If not, report back, and we'll find a way."
Kirigakure was a hotbed of bloodline clans. While many were not famous, they were still valuable assets. Their unique abilities and bloodlines were treasures in themselves, and some of the older clans may have made significant discoveries in their study of Kekkei Genkai. Many of these smaller clans were now on the verge of extinction, their numbers dwindling to a mere handful. Even forcibly relocating them to the Cloud was better than letting them fade into history.
Other villages might hesitate to use such aggressive tactics, fearing it would make their own clans wary. But the Hidden Cloud had no such concerns.
The Cloud was internally unified, its people speaking with one voice. In the original history, there wasn't a single named rogue ninja from their village. A powerhouse with such internal cohesion wouldn't be shaken by aggressive foreign policy. Besides, the Cloud could guarantee that while their recruitment methods might be a bit impolite, once you were in, you were family.
The third order followed:
"Put out a bounty in the underworld for any and all medical ninjutsu. When the time is right, I will establish our own specialized medical corps."
The Cloud had medics, of course, but they were mostly focused on treating external trauma. They could save a life on the battlefield, but they couldn't cure diseases. They lacked the ability to conduct research or handle special cases. This was a fundamental weakness, and they needed to absorb knowledge and techniques from the wider world. A envisioned a day when the Cloud would have its own medical corps—or even a hospital—capable of not only treatment but also research.
...And hopefully, one that could figure out what was wrong with Dana.
At the end of the day, A was a leader, not a civil servant. As long as his orders didn't harm the core interests of the village, commands that carried a degree of personal motivation were perfectly acceptable. Not only would the Yotsuki clan carry them out with total dedication, but every shinobi in the Cloud would treat it as their own mission. Because it was an order from A.
"Gentlemen," A's voice boomed. "The ninja world is at peace for now, but the Cloud must continue to build its strength. The Fire Thief Initiative is a vital, long-term plan. Do not fail me!"
"OSU!" A thunderous roar of assent echoed through the Yotsuki shrine.
Meanwhile, back at home, Yotsuki Dana was busy arguing with his brother, stomping his feet in frustration. He had no idea that the wings of his butterfly effect had begun to flap so early, and with such force.
Utterly oblivious, he couldn't possibly know how much this "Fire Thief Initiative," born from the Third Raikage's private wish, would change the world.
"You big jerk, Arashi! Let me go! I'm telling Mom!"
For now, one can only hope his mind escapes the influence of his toddler body soon.