[ Ken Shimura POV ]
The forest was still dark when I arrived at Training Ground 17, the sky that particular shade of deep blue that came just before sunrise. Mist hung low between the trees, turning the familiar clearing into something almost ethereal. The air was cold enough that I could see my breath, and dew coated every surface.
I'd left the apartment at five in the morning, careful not to wake Aunt Yuki. She'd gotten home late again last night, collapsed on the couch still in her uniform. I'd covered her with a blanket and left a note about breakfast.
This was my fourth day attempting the tree walking technique. Fourth day of pushing my chakra control to its limits. And according to my own tracking, I was ready.
Yesterday's session had ended with a seventy-five percent success rate—six out of eight attempts hitting the sixty-second mark or better. That was good, but the system wanted consistency. Reliability. The kind of performance that proved mastery, not luck.
So I'd come early, before the village woke up, before anyone could see me. Before I had to put on the mask of mediocrity that Academy life required.
My tree stood waiting in the pre-dawn gloom, its bark familiar under my hands now. Four days of practice had left their mark—scuff marks where my feet had slipped, slight indentations from repeated contact. This tree had become a measuring stick for my progress.
I took a breath, centered myself, and placed my foot against the bark.
Chakra flowed down through my leg, through my foot, out through the sole in a controlled stream. The technique was becoming second nature now—my body knew the exact amount required, the precise balance between too much and too little.
My foot stuck. I brought up the second foot, maintaining both flows simultaneously.
The world tilted. Gravity pulled at me, but chakra held me firm against the vertical surface.
I started the mental timer.
Ten seconds. My breathing was steady, controlled. The chakra flow remained constant.
Twenty seconds. A bird called somewhere in the forest, the sound distant and clear in the morning stillness.
Thirty seconds. The mist was starting to thin, the sky lightening from deep blue to something paler.
Forty seconds. My legs were solid, no shaking, no wavering. The technique had become muscle memory.
Fifty seconds. Almost there.
Sixty seconds.
I didn't stop. I kept going, pushing past the requirement, proving to myself and the system that this wasn't a fluke.
Seventy. Eighty. Ninety.
At one hundred and twenty seconds, I finally let myself drop, landing smoothly on the balls of my feet.
The system chimed.
[ Tree Walking Duration: 120 seconds ]
[ Performance: Optimal ]
[ Initiating Quest Verification ]
I stood there breathing normally, barely winded. Four days ago, sixty seconds had seemed impossible. Now I could maintain it for twice that long without straining.
The system interface expanded in my vision.
[ Verification Protocol Initiated ]
[ Requirement: Demonstrate consistent mastery ]
[ Please complete three consecutive attempts ]
Three more. The system wanted absolute proof.
I approached the tree again. Second attempt: ninety-five seconds before I let myself drop. Third attempt: one hundred and eight seconds. Fourth attempt: one hundred and fifteen seconds.
Three perfect performances. My chakra reserves were down to maybe sixty percent now, but the expenditure was efficient. No wasted energy, no unnecessary fluctuation.
The system chimed again, and this time the notification was different—brighter, more prominent, with a finality that sent a small thrill through me.
[ QUEST COMPLETE ]
[ Tree Walking Mastery - ACHIEVED ]
[ Performance Rating: Excellent ]
[ Calculating Rewards... ]
A pause. The interface shimmered, reconfiguring itself.
[ Base Reward: Silver Gacha Pull (1) ]
[ Bonus Reward Unlocked: Performance Rating ]
[ Additional Reward: Chunin-Level Chakra Reserves ]
I stared at the notification.
Chunin-level chakra reserves.
Not a technique. Not knowledge. Not a skill or ability. The system was literally upgrading my body's capacity to hold and generate chakra to the level of a chunin—shinobi who typically had years more training and physical development than a thirteen-year-old Academy student.
[ Initiating Chakra Reserve Enhancement ]
[ Warning: Physical modification in progress ]
[ Remain still ]
Heat bloomed in my core, spreading outward through my chakra network like liquid fire. It wasn't painful—not exactly—but it was intensely uncomfortable. I could feel my chakra pathways expanding, widening, accommodating a larger flow. The sensation was similar to stretching a muscle, but internal, pervasive, affecting every part of my body simultaneously.
My vision blurred. I dropped to one knee, one hand bracing against the ground, focusing on breathing through the sensation.
The heat intensified. My chakra coils—the network of pathways that carried chakra through my body—were being forcibly expanded, restructured. I could feel them changing, growing denser and more efficient. The hollow feeling in my core that came from depleted reserves was filling, expanding, becoming something vast.
How long it lasted, I couldn't say. Seconds? Minutes? Time lost meaning while my body underwent fundamental changes.
Then, gradually, the heat began to fade. The pressure eased. My vision cleared.
I stayed on one knee for another moment, taking stock of the changes.
My chakra reserves felt... enormous. Where before I'd had maybe enough chakra for ten or fifteen solid attempts at tree walking before hitting exhaustion, now I could sense reserves that went deeper, further. Like comparing a pond to a lake.
This wasn't just an incremental improvement. This was a categorical upgrade.
I stood slowly, testing my body. Everything felt normal—no pain, no lingering discomfort. But when I focused inward, toward my chakra network, the difference was staggering. I had perhaps three or four times the reserves I'd had five minutes ago.
A thirteen-year-old Academy student with chunin-level reserves. That was... problematic, actually. If anyone tested my capacity, if I performed too many techniques in front of the wrong people, questions would be asked. Questions I had no good answers for.
I'd need to be even more careful about maintaining my cover.
The system chimed again.
[ Enhancement Complete ]
[ Chakra Capacity: Chunin-Level ]
[ Chakra Control: Enhanced ]
[ Note: Increased reserves require adjustment period. Practice recommended. ]
[ Silver Gacha Pull Available - Activate? ]
The interface shifted, presenting a silver wheel with four sections: Techniques, Knowledge, Abilities, Items.
I focused on it, thought activate, and the wheel began to spin.
The sections blurred together, rotating faster and faster until they became a stream of silver light. Then, gradually, the wheel began to slow. Each click as it passed a section was audible in my mind, a deliberate rhythm.
Techniques... Knowledge... Abilities... Items...
Slower. Slower.
The wheel stopped on Techniques.
[ SILVER GACHA RESULT ]
[ Category: Techniques ]
[ Reward: Water Style - Water Clone Technique ]
[ Rank: C ]
[ Description: Create physical copies of yourself made from water. Clones can perform techniques and take hits but disperse after sufficient damage. Memory and experience transfer back to user upon dispersal. Requires nearby water source or Water Release affinity. ]
[ Installing technique knowledge... ]
Information flooded my mind, but this time I was ready for it. The sensation was similar to the taijutsu knowledge I'd received from the first gacha pull, but more complex. Hand seals appeared in my mind's eye—a specific sequence of twelve seals performed in rapid succession. Ram Horse Bird Ram Tiger Dog Tiger Snake Ox Ram Snake Tiger.
I could see the chakra manipulation required, the precise way water needed to be shaped and animated. The technique converted chakra into water, or manipulated existing water, shaping it into a physical copy of the user. The clone would have roughly one-tenth of the user's chakra and could perform techniques of its own.
It was a powerful technique. C-rank meant it was beyond what most genin could perform reliably. Some chunin struggled with clone techniques that required this level of chakra control and manipulation.
And I'd just acquired it instantly, complete with the muscle memory and understanding that would normally take weeks or months of practice.
[ Installation Complete ]
[ Water Clone Technique - Ready for Use ]
[ Note: Technique requires practice for optimal performance ]
I stood in the clearing as the sky continued to lighten, processing what had just happened. In the span of ten minutes, I'd gone from a barely-adequate Academy student to someone with chunin-level reserves and a C-rank technique.
The smart thing to do would be to never use the Water Clone in public. Too advanced, too suspicious. The reserves I could maybe explain away as late blooming or good genetics, but a thirteen-year-old performing C-rank techniques would draw exactly the kind of attention I was trying to avoid.
The system chimed once more.
[ New Quest Available ]
[ Quest: Academy Competition ]
[ Objective: Place in the top of the monthly Academy taijutsu competition ]
[ Time Limit: 3 days ]
[ Reward: Silver Gacha Pull (1) ]
[ Failure Penalty: None ]
[ Accept Quest? ]
Three days. The Academy competition that Takeshi had been enthusiastic about. Top meant performing well enough to place, but so well that I'd stand out as exceptional.
With my enhanced reserves, maintaining chakra control during extended sparring would be trivial. The challenge would be remembering to fight at an appropriate level—skilled enough to place, but not so skilled that anyone questioned where I'd learned to fight like that.
I thought accept.
[ Quest Accepted ]
[ Recommendation: Familiarize yourself with enhanced chakra capacity before competition. Performance characteristics may differ from baseline. ]
Good advice. Having more chakra was useful, but I'd need to recalibrate. My body was used to working with limited reserves, rationing energy, carefully managing expenditure. Now I had reserves to spare, which could lead to sloppy technique if I wasn't careful.
I checked my internal clock. Almost six in the morning. The sun was breaking over the horizon now, burning away the last of the mist, turning the forest golden.
I should head back soon. Aunt Yuki would be waking up, and I needed to maintain the appearance of normalcy. But first...
I walked to the edge of the clearing where a small stream ran through the training ground. The water was cold and clear, barely a foot deep.
Twelve hand seals. Ram Horse Bird Ram Tiger Dog Tiger Snake Ox Ram Snake Tiger.
I performed them slowly, deliberately, feeling the chakra flow through the sequence. The technique activated, and I felt a portion of my chakra—roughly ten percent—separate and flow toward the water.
The stream rippled. Water rose up, taking shape, forming a human silhouette that rapidly gained definition and detail.
A perfect copy of myself stood in the stream, water dripping from its form but maintaining cohesion. It looked at me with my eyes, moved with my body language.
The clone was surprisingly solid. I could sense its presence, feel the thin connection that linked our minds. It had access to my memories, my knowledge, my techniques. If I wanted, it could perform the tree walking exercise right now.
"Disperse," I said quietly.
The clone collapsed back into water, splashing into the stream.
The technique had worked perfectly on the first try.
That was the power of the system. Not just giving me techniques, but giving me the mastery that should take months or years to develop.
I looked at the stream, at the tree I'd practiced on, at the training ground that had become my secret development space.
Four days ago, I could barely hold tree walking for a few seconds. Now I had chunin-level reserves and a C-rank technique.
The question was how to use these advantages without exposing them.
I started walking back toward the village, my mind already planning. Three days until the competition. Three days to calibrate my performance, to find that perfect balance between competence and mediocrity.
The sun was fully up now, the village starting to wake. I took the long route home, jogging at a steady pace, using the movement to test my new reserves. The chakra flowed easier now, more smoothly, like a wider river compared to the stream I'd had before.
Everything felt lighter. My body moved with less effort. The fatigue that usually accumulated during training was absent—I could go for hours now before hitting exhaustion.
This was going to take some getting used to.
I was two blocks from home, still jogging at a comfortable pace, when I heard them.
"YOSH! ANOTHER LAP, LEE! WE MUST COMPLETE FIVE HUNDRED LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE BEFORE BREAKFAST!"
"YES, GAI-SENSEI! FIVE HUNDRED LAPS IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!"
The voices were loud, enthusiastic, and getting closer.
I looked up to see two figures in green jumpsuits running toward me at a pace that made my jogging look stationary. The morning sun glinted off bowl-cut hair and gleaming smiles.
Might Gai and Rock Lee. Of course.
They spotted me in the same moment I spotted them. Gai's eyes—were those actual sparkles?—locked onto me with the intensity of someone who'd just found a new project.
"LEE! LOOK! ANOTHER YOUTHFUL SOUL EMBRACING THE GLORY OF EARLY MORNING TRAINING!"
"I SEE HIM, GAI-SENSEI! HIS FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY!"
They were going to run past me. I could see the trajectory. They were going to run past me and that would be it—
Except they didn't run past. They matched my pace, flanking me on either side, their smiles bright enough to hurt.
"GREETINGS, YOUNG SHINOBI!" Gai's voice was somehow even louder up close. "IT IS WONDERFUL TO SEE SOMEONE ELSE APPRECIATING THE BEAUTY OF DAWN TRAINING!"
"The village is more beautiful at this hour," Lee added, his enthusiasm only slightly less overwhelming than his sensei's. "When the youth of Konoha push themselves to become stronger!"
I kept jogging, trying to process the situation. Might Gai—jonin, taijutsu specialist, known throughout the village for his eccentric training methods—and Rock Lee—his student, equally eccentric, equally dedicated—were running alongside me like this was a completely normal thing to do.
"I'm just... getting some exercise," I said carefully.
"MODEST!" Gai declared. "BUT I CAN SEE THE DETERMINATION IN YOUR EYES! THE COMMITMENT TO SELF-IMPROVEMENT! WHAT IS YOUR NAME, YOUNG ONE?"
"Ken Shimura."
"SHIMURA-KUN! A FINE NAME!" He gave me a thumbs up without breaking stride. "AND TELL ME, WHAT DRIVES YOU TO TRAIN AT THIS EARLY HOUR?"
What could I say? That I had a system giving me quests and I needed to complete them? That I'd just received chunin-level reserves and was testing them out?
"Graduation exams are coming up," I said, which was true enough. "Wanted to make sure I'm ready."
"EXCELLENT! THE MARK OF A TRUE SHINOBI IS DEDICATION!" Gai's grin somehow widened. "LEE WAS JUST LIKE YOU ONCE—AN ACADEMY STUDENT PUSHING HIMSELF TO ACHIEVE HIS DREAMS!"
"I could not perform ninjutsu or genjutsu," Lee said, his tone serious despite the smile. "So I decided to become a taijutsu specialist. To prove that hard work could overcome any limitation!"
I knew Lee's story. The Academy student who couldn't use chakra techniques, who'd been written off by most instructors, who'd been taken on by Gai and transformed into a formidable taijutsu user.
"That's... impressive," I said honestly.
"LEE'S PROGRESS HAS BEEN MAGNIFICENT!" Gai declared. "AND YOU, SHIMURA-KUN! I SEE POTENTIAL IN YOU! YOUR FORM IS GOOD, YOUR PACE STEADY! WITH PROPER TRAINING, YOU COULD BECOME A SPLENDID SHINOBI!"
"Thank you, Gai-sensei." The honorific came automatically. When a jonin complimented you, you didn't argue.
We ran in silence for about thirty seconds, which was apparently Gai's limit for being quiet.
"TELL ME, SHIMURA-KUN! WHAT TRAINING DO YOU FOCUS ON? TAIJUTSU? NINJUTSU? WEAPONRY?"
"Mostly taijutsu," I said. "And chakra control exercises."
"CHAKRA CONTROL! EXCELLENT FOUNDATION!" Gai nodded approvingly. "STRONG CHAKRA CONTROL IS ESSENTIAL FOR ALL SHINOBI! LEE, REMEMBER WHEN WE WORKED ON TREE WALKING?"
"Yes, Gai-sensei!"
They were going to keep running with me, I realized. This wasn't just a brief encounter—they'd decided I was interesting enough to engage with.
"We must turn here for our route," Gai said as we reached an intersection. "BUT SHIMURA-KUN! IF YOU EVER WISH TO TRAIN IN TAIJUTSU, YOU MAY FIND ME AND LEE AT TRAINING GROUND 3! WE TRAIN EVERY MORNING AT DAWN!"
"Every morning!" Lee confirmed. "We would be happy to share our training methods!"
"I'll... keep that in mind," I said.
"YOSH! COME, LEE! WE HAVE FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-THREE MORE LAPS TO COMPLETE!"
"YES, GAI-SENSEI!"
They accelerated away, green blurs disappearing around the corner, their voices fading into the distance but still audible.
"THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN ETERNAL!"
"GAI-SENSEI, YOU ARE SO COOL!"
I stopped jogging, just standing there in the middle of the street, processing what had just happened.
Might Gai and Rock Lee had run with me. Had complimented my training. Had invited me to train with them.
That was... both an opportunity and a potential complication. Training with Gai would accelerate my taijutsu development significantly—the man was one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the village. But it would also mean exposure, scrutiny, questions about my progress and abilities.
Something to think about. Not now, but later.
I resumed jogging, slower now, letting my heart rate settle. The apartment was just ahead, and I could see morning light in the windows. Aunt Yuki was probably awake by now.
Time to be a normal Academy student again. At least until the next training session.
I pushed open the apartment door to find Aunt Yuki in the kitchen, still in her sleep clothes, hair down, looking marginally more rested than she had in days. She looked up when I entered.
"You were out early."
"Couldn't sleep. Went for a run."
She studied me for a moment, her nurse's eyes cataloging details I probably didn't even notice. "You look... different."
My heart rate spiked. "Different how?"
"I don't know. More energetic?" She shrugged, turning back to the tea she was making. "Maybe I'm just tired. There's rice in the cooker if you want breakfast."
"Thanks."
I grabbed a bowl and started eating, trying to act normal despite the fact that I'd just received chunin-level reserves and had a brief encounter with two of the village's most eccentric shinobi.
Just another morning in Konoha.
Aunt Yuki sat across from me with her tea, watching me with that perceptive gaze that missed nothing.
"The Academy competition is in three days," she said after a moment.
"Yeah."
"You entering?"
"Thinking about it."
"You should" She sipped her tea "You've been training hard. Might as well see how it pays off."
I nodded, not trusting myself to say more. She had no idea how much my training had paid off.
And that's exactly how it needed to stay.