A thunderous BOOM, sharp and resonant, tore through the secluded training grounds, so loud, so violent, it could have woken the dead.
Izuna Uchiha and Tobirama Senju snapped awake instantly.
Instinct. Fear. Training.
Their young bodies reacted before their minds even caught up, they shot to their feet, exchanging a brief, wide-eyed look of alarm, and sprinted toward the source of the explosion.
The clearing by the river was thick with smoke and the acrid scent of scorched earth.
There, standing alone amidst a spray of disturbed water and broken ground, was Ishiki.
His chest rose and fell in sharp, heaving breaths. His shirt, once white, was now stained by singe marks and a streak of unmistakable red. A long, deep gash ran across his forearm, dripping blood that trailed down to the tips of his fingers.
The wound was nasty, clean, but deep.The mark of a technique gone catastrophically wrong.
Izuna froze in shock, Tobirama's jaw slackening beside him.
Ishiki, untouchable, unstoppable Ishiki, was bleeding.
Seeing their horrified expressions, Ishiki gave a strained but reassuring smile.
"Don't worry about it," he said casually, waving his uninjured hand as if brushing away a minor inconvenience. "Just a little collateral damage. A miscalculation in my new jutsu training. Nothing serious."
Nothing serious?
The two boys stared at him like he had lost his mind.
In all their sparring, all their attempts to lay even a finger on him, Ishiki had never once shown a real injury.And now, this?
Their eyes trembled as they studied the raw wound on his arm.What kind of jutsu was he practising that could injure even him?How powerful… how unstable… how terrifying was it?
Their hearts thudded in their chests.
Before either could ask, Ishiki calmly reached into his pouch and withdrew a compact metal device, the Doctor's Kit.
It hummed to life.
A needle-thin medical arm extended.
Then,A swift antiseptic spray.A precisely aligned stitch.A final layer of glowing salve.
Less than thirty seconds passed.
The deep, bloody gash sealed itself almost entirely before their eyes.
Izuna's mouth fell open, Tobirama's pupils shrank.
"T-That thing…" Tobirama stammered, pointing a trembling finger. "It healed you?"
"I… I heard it speak," Izuna whispered, utterly rattled. "Did… did the tool talk?"
Ishiki chuckled softly.
"That?" He held up the Doctor's Kit, now quiet and neatly folded back into compact form. "Just a medical gadget I made. Nothing mystical. Just… advanced tools, let's say."
He gestured toward the variety of strange devices beside him.
"That's the Doctor's Kit. An automated medic unit. Diagnoses, treats, heals, simple and efficient."
He then pointed to the sleek, metallic headgear resting nearby.
"And that is the Genius Helmet. It enhances comprehension, sharpens focus, and boosts intelligence. That's how I learned new jutsu so fast."
Finally, he tapped the object tethered to his wrist by a rope, the Mugen , Denkomaru + Infinity Lasso.
"And this beauty?" Ishiki grinned. "This is Mugen. My automatic defence system. It can deflect attacks, launch counterstrikes, even fight for me when I'm distracted or asleep."
Izuna and Tobirama stared silently.
Their world, a world of scrolls, hand seals, and chakra tradition, had no room for such things.What Ishiki casually wielded…It was as if they were staring at a time traveller from a different era.
The shock rendered them speechless.
Which, naturally, Ishiki exploited immediately.
He smirked and stretched his arms lazily.
"Well? Are you two done being shocked? Honestly, look at yourselves, you're ready to faint." His grin widened. "Just go home. You're still kids. You'll never defeat me. Completely impossible."
The provocation landed like a kunai to the chest.
Their faces contorted, shock melting instantly into fiery, righteous anger.
They exchanged a sharp, competitive nod.
A silent vow.
They would train.They would grow stronger.They would return to beat him, no matter what it took.
"That's more like it," Ishiki laughed, his tone warming. "Now go home. Rest. Recover. Tomorrow, we continue this… rivalry."
Izuna and Tobirama turned away, their steps heavy with determination.
But they didn't get far.
"Oh, and before you leave, one more thing!" Ishiki called out, his voice laced with almost musical mischief.
They paused.
Arms crossed, Ishiki added casually:
"Your big brothers, Madara and Hashirama, also have one of my gadgets. Tell them I'm lending the items. They owe me for them. Make sure they pay it back."
That did it.
The boys froze, eyes widening.
Madara and Hashirama… with devices like those?
Their exhaustion evaporated on the spot.
Without another word, they took off sprinting toward their clan compounds, excitement blazing in their steps.
Watching them disappear into the horizon, Ishiki let out a small, private chuckle.
"Good. That should motivate them properly."
His smile faded as he turned back toward the riverbank, the half-scorched patch of earth where he had nearly blown himself up.
He glanced at the sealed injury on his arm.
"Yeah… I really need to learn to control my chakra output. That was way too violent. Nearly sent my arm flying."
But despite the near-mishap, he wasn't discouraged.
If anything, the Rasengan's difficulty only sharpened his interest.
"But I learned a lot today…" he mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "My theoretical grasp of medical ninjutsu isn't bad now. I should be able to enter beginner level within a few days."
He looked at the shattered remnants of the water balloon, the casualty of his Rasengan attempt, and sighed.
"The Rasengan really is something. No wonder the Fourth Hokage created it. And its future users… Naruto, Boruto… their evolutions are insane."
As he walked, he tapped the panel on his forearm, his personal status interface.
A holographic screen flickered to life.
-----STATUS-----
Name: Ishiki
Age: 12
Chakra: 70/70
Strength: 35
Ninjutsu:
• Shadow Clone Jutsu — Intermediate
• Transformation Jutsu — Beginner
• Body Replacement Jutsu —Intermediate
Taijutsu: Intermediate
Genjutsu: None
Elemental Affinity: None
His Chakra and Strength numbers had climbed again.
Slowly.Steadily.Relentlessly.
Exactly as he intended.
He traced the air with his fingertip, closing the panel.
"Rasengan will have to wait," he muttered. "The basics come first."
The foundation mattered.Shadow Clone.Transformation.Body Replacement.
He needed them polished to an advanced level before moving on.
He walked toward the village, the morning sun warming his back, thinking only of training, mastery, and tomorrow's fights.
Tomorrow…Tobirama and Izuna would come again.
And Ishiki would be ready.