Inside the Konoha Root underground base, an observation report from the Orphanage landed on Danzo's desk. Having just finished assigning recent missions, Danzo casually picked up the report and began reading.
He hadn't even finished the document when his usually stern face showed an unusual flicker of disbelief.
"Hmm? This…"
The flames of the Third Shinobi World War had swept across the entire Shinobi World. Yet, for Kevis, a toddler peacefully nestled in a corner of the Konoha Orphanage, the war mattered little.
In a relatively quiet room of the Orphanage, Kevis held an anachronistic pen, meticulously writing on an open sheet of paper. The soft rustling of the pen tip against paper filled the room. After a few moments, the final stroke was laid down.
Kevis handed the paper—bearing two clearly written characters—to the woman beside him.
Yakushi Nonou's expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief. She mechanically took the paper.
"Ke…vis?" Her voice trembled as she subconsciously read the two characters.
The characters were neat and strong, not the work of a child.
Startled, Nonou abruptly lowered her gaze to the tiny figure barely reaching her thigh.
"Is this… the name you chose for yourself?!" Her voice rose, filled with incredulity.
Kevis, just one year old and experiencing explosive growth but still under seventy centimeters tall, lifted his small head toward Nonou. Slowly, clearly, he nodded his tiny chin.
"Yes, Orphanage Mother," he said, his voice tender and childish, yet articulated with extraordinary clarity.
Before he finished, Nonou instinctively covered her mouth, suppressing a sound of shock. The intense surprise lingered for a few seconds before fading into a numb calm.
To her, such "miracles" were almost… routine. After all, anyone who had a child speaking at one month, attempting to walk at three months, and running freely at six months would likely experience their composure breaking faster than hers had!
Now, a one-year-old naming himself didn't seem so impossible.
What the hell! This was beyond any normal child!
Nonou took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm her still-unsettled heart. She looked at the characters on the paper, then at Kevis, whose calm, composed expression made him seem far older than a mere baby.
"Kevis, huh…" she murmured. The name suited him well.
In the Orphanage courtyard, other children chased each other or played in the mud. Only Kevis ran tirelessly, lap after lap. It wasn't that he avoided company; rather, how could an adult soul bond with these children?
"Ah, this feels great!" he thought. "Running can actually make a person this happy—I never even imagined it!"
Sweat drenched his hair and clung to his cheeks, but he paid no mind. His breathing, though heavy, maintained a steady rhythm.
Since becoming mobile six months ago, he had trained relentlessly: ten kilometers of running, one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and one hundred squats. Initially, at six months old, he could barely manage a tenth of any exercise and had to stop.
But he had no choice. In Naruto's harsh world, human lives meant nothing. If he didn't want to be cannon fodder, if he wanted control over his destiny, he had to train himself to the limit.
At one year old, he now completed seventy to eighty percent of his intended training regimen.
Combined with speaking at one month, walking at three months, running at six months, super-normal physical development, quickly mastering Shinobi World writing, and possessing a mature mind far beyond his age… the Orphanage staff, excluding toddlers too young to understand, all had one reaction: a monster!
How could a one-year-old achieve all this?
[Kevis, Transcendent]
[Age: 1 year]
[Physique: 0.5 (Shinobi World human average 1)]
[Soul: ∞]
[Energy: Bio-energy (Source: food, cellular absorption ongoing)]
[Ability: Transcendence]
[System Space: Roast potatoes ×10, Rice balls ×5, Lollipops ×3, Water bottle, Portable radiation-free miniature nuclear bomb ×10 (single yield: megatons of TNT), Portable launcher (range 1000 km)]
[System Message: I passed by a planet undergoing civil war. They fought so fiercely, nuclear bombs were their conventional weapons! I haven't brought you gifts for a long time, so I stole some nuclear bombs to send you for now. More gifts to come…]
Calling up the panel, Kevis ignored the ten miniature nuclear bombs.
Over the past year, he had understood most of this system. Though it had run away, it had left behind a "Transcendent" starter pack. The explosive changes in his body over the year stemmed entirely from this Transcendent status.
The "∞" in his soul column aside, his body was now beyond normal comprehension.
Though he hadn't yet refined Chakra, his physical abilities were extraordinary. The main point remained: Transcendence. His cells craved energy intensely, resulting in a terrifying appetite and super-efficient digestion.
Each meal required three to four times what an adult would eat. After exercise, he needed extra food immediately, or unbearable hunger clawed at his heart. Food was digested rapidly, energy absorbed instantly, physical development and training efficiency enhanced exponentially—all effects of Transcendence.
Of course, such growth came at a cost. Kevis knew the strain his appetite placed on the already struggling Orphanage.
With fewer than fifty or sixty children, his consumption equaled that of over ten ordinary kids, raising food costs by a fifth. And he still held back, not eating as much as possible.
As his body grew, his appetite would continue to increase, further burdening the Orphanage. Caregivers whispered concerns to Nonou, noting that funds were near their limit and meat portions might be cut.
Seeing this, Nonou would frown, flipping through tattered ledgers, sighing almost inaudibly.
Kevis watched silently, a pang of guilt striking him. Despite his adult mind, Nonou still held a special place in his heart. He didn't want to burden the Orphanage.
Yet beyond eating, training, and building his abilities to protect himself and repay the world, there was little else he could do. He couldn't exactly use a nuclear launcher to solve problems, could he?
Kevis's thoughts were interrupted. His eyes twitched as he noticed two figures entering the Orphanage gate: Shimura Danzo and a Root ninja in sunglasses and a gray hooded cloak.
"They are… Shimura Danzo? And… who is that?"
The Root ninja, Ryoma, responded without hesitation: "Lord Danzo, the intelligence is accurate. Confirmed repeatedly by Tora."
Tora, a Root operative, monitored the Uchiha Clan and also kept watch on this Orphanage.
Danzo studied the running child. Could he really be only one year old?
"One year old? He looks at least three or four… speaking at one month, walking at three months, lively at six months… eating a lot, self-training, reading and writing… a genius? No, a monster."
The Orphanage report had been incredible, but seeing it firsthand left Danzo stunned. A thought took root—uncontrollable and wild:
This child must be recruited into Root!
He, Shimura Danzo, must personally control and shape him.
Danzo envisioned the future: Kevis, Root's sharpest fangs, the ultimate trump card of Konoha.
Countless geniuses had emerged since Konoha's founding—Orochimaru, Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, Shisui—but this child… might surpass them all.
Refining Chakra? Trivial. This monstrous existence didn't need Chakra mastery to defy comprehension.
After a pause, Danzo gripped his cane and stepped forward.
"Let's go… to meet the 'Walking Miko.'"