Chapter 1: The First Spark
(Pov Aunt Mai)
Just where is that kid! He is an hour late! He has no regard for curfew, just like my brother. Can't he just come on time without worrying me?
I need to sleep, and I don't know when little Kei will wake up again. That bundle of joy loves waking me up in the middle of the night.
I am definitely going to lecture him for forcing me to stare at the door for so long.
Creak…
So he has finally returned. Let's see, his footsteps are slow and steady, meaning he is back safe, and since there don't seem to be any other footsteps, he's alone. Finally, I can lecture him without any of his friends making it awkward or taking the blame.
"Taito Ren! Do you know how late it is? You are well past your curfew. Tomorrow you will help me do the laundry, and you are not allowed to go out and play."
"Sorry, Oba-san," replied Ren. Then he continued, "I can obviously help you out, Oba-san, but if I stay in the house for too long, maybe little Kei may suddenly start crying for no reason."
I couldn't help narrowing my eyes. This brat is trying to blackmail me at such a young age. He really is suited to be a ninja, being so sly at his age.
But he is still too green. Since he wants to go out so much, this trick will work fine enough.
"Since you want to go out, then you will do my grocery shopping for the week. Wouldn't you?"
Ha! I can see his face go pale. It can't be helped; he dug his own grave thinking I would let him off so easily.
"Now go to your room and hit the bed. You will have to wake up early to do my grocery shopping tomorrow."
"Okay, Oba-san!" said Ren as he ran towards his room.
---
Ren's Room
There sat a boy with an expression that scholars often observed in despairing youths.
He paced around restlessly before he laid down and wrapped himself with his blanket.
---
(Ren Pov)
Oba-san is such a jerk. She is making me do grocery shopping tomorrow. There will be so many people, I will only finish by curfew.
Wait! I could use it to train myself. I can use the bags as weights for tomorrow. Hehe, Oba-san won't see that coming.
She will see that nothing can stop me from being a ninja… Hehehe.
---
Next Day
January, Konoha Year 50
Under the scorching afternoon sun, a healthy boy carrying a stick on his back, with grocery bags on its ends, was seen jogging.
The villagers weren't the least bit fazed by this, having gotten used to Might Duy—a Konoha genin—and his child's antics over the years. Many elders smiled at the sight, sending them reeling back to fond memories of their own youth.
Not many knew, but… this was just the humble beginning of… a Titan.
---
(Taito Ren Pov)
Finally! I am free! Mere groceries can't defeat me! But why is the village so weird now?
Is it the war? Keiko and Sai haven't been allowed to go out for too long ever since the news of war spread, and Dad also left.
The village is super safe, so why are their parents so pesky!?
No worries. I will just train myself. When I asked for training from Dad before, he told me to stop. Something about bad effects in the future.
I am six now, so I can finally start some training before the Academy test in March.
Let's go home. I will play with Kei and then—Muahaha!—I will finally be able to take the scroll that Dad wrote for me from Oba-san, and officially start training. The last few days are just a warm-up compared to this. That's what Dad said.
Boom…
What the!! What's going on…? Where did the sound come from?
Wait—it's from behind!
Woah! A ninja fight! Dad never fought in front of me before—not with this kind of quickness. The stronger guy seems to have a fan symbol on his back. That means he is an Uchiha like how Dad told me.
Wait—why is the weaker guy running to me?!
---
"Leave me, you Uchiha devil!" shouted a man with plenty of bruises from the fight.
"Not till you give up, Kumogakure scum!" replied the Uchiha officer with fiery spirit and a righteous tone.
"Not a chance!" said the loser of the quick clash. He knew he wasn't a match for this Uchiha; he needed to secure his retreat to pass on the intel he had collected, however limited it may be.
He rushed to secure a hostage from around and saw a kid—an ideal hostage, too weak to resist but of enough value for the village to consider. After all, an adult may be something they sacrifice, but a child will at least garner some attention and hesitance.
He grabbed the child forcefully and placed a kunai against his neck quickly.
Ren tried his best to get free, but alas, the very young age that endowed him with potential—unknown and unfulfilled—left him reeling from this sudden incident.
He kicked and flailed his hands around in an attempt to break free, but all that did was kick up some dust.
Suddenly he felt the sharp touch of a cold blade on his neck, one that filled his chest with dread and despair—until he clenched his fists tight.
"Stop now, otherwise I will kill this child along with me!" threatened the man, left with no other option.
Seeing this, the Uchiha came to an abrupt stop, subtly displaying hesitation when he saw a child. He had seen plenty of killings and had even killed a lot of people personally.
It was nothing new for him, even if the victim was a child. Though he had never had to kill children before, he had seen plenty of them die.
But he couldn't let a child from the very village he swore to guard die in front of him, not for just some unimportant intel.
The Uchiha replied in an intimidating tone, "What do you want?"
"A secure retreat till outside the village," replied the now sweating spy.
"Okay," replied the Uchiha.