I was awoken by a pounding headache, a sharp pain in my stomach, and an uncomfortable ache that throbbed painfully all around my body. The last thing I remembered was going to sleep. I had gotten home from school and had decided to have a nap since I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.

I slowly blinked open my eyes. It was dark where I was, which made sense, but the pain didn’t. It seemed to be night time after all.

Groaning, I pushed myself into a sitting position, each movement sending spikes of pain through my arms. Something felt off. I wasn’t just talking about the pain—my body felt different, stronger, healthier.

I raised a hand and rested it on my stomach, feeling toned abdominal muscles. Panic set in. I had never been healthy in my life. I was usually chubby and out of shape. How had my body changed overnight?

I glanced around the room, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. The architecture threw me for a loop—wooden walls, floor, and ceiling, the boards clearly visible. A window near a mirror caught my eye, but the curtains were closed.

Pulling the quilt off, I looked down. I was wearing a white shirt and shorts. The bed was higher off the ground than usual. I dropped down gently, wincing as pain shot through my legs. Stumbling to the mirror, I stared in shock at the boy reflected back at me. He looked around eight or nine years old.

I raised a trembling hand, watching the boy mimic my movements. My body hadn’t just become fit; it had shrunk. I stripped off the shirt, revealing bandages stained with dried blood. No wonder I was in pain—my body was covered in bandages, making me look like an anime protagonist after a fierce battle.

Recognition dawned as I examined my face in the mirror. Bright violet eyes, dark red hair, and three whisker-like marks on each cheek. My heart pounded as I rushed to the window, throwing open the curtains. In the distance, the Hokage faces were carved into the cliff—Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Minato.

“Am I in Naruto?” I whispered, touching my face. I stared at the reflection, my mind racing. I looked like Naruto Uzumaki.

“Is he okay?” an old man asked as he walked beside a young looking man. 

“Yes Hokage-Sama. His physical condition hasn’t changed, in fact he has already healed more than we thought he would” the man who was clearly dressed in a doctor’s uniform paused before speaking again. 

“However his mental state seems to be suffering. He has just lost his parents and witnessed their deaths first hand, he is unresponsive. I was hoping you could get a reaction out of him.” the doctor said. 

Hiruzen nodded as they arrived at a room and stopped “I do have to warn you Hokage-Sama, it may hurt to see him as he is” the doctor said. Hiruzen simply nodded and the doctor opened the door and let Hiruzen in.

Hiruzen walked in and stopped in his tracks “oh Kami” he said in a sad tone as he gazed upon Minato’s son. The red haired boy was simply staring ahead, a blank look on his face. 

Hiruzen slowly walked up and stood beside Kami who’s blank look settled on him. Hiruzen saw some recognition in Kami’s gaze but the boy stared for a few seconds before he looked down at his lap, his hands open upwards as he stared at his palms.

Hiruzen set a hand on Kami’s shoulder as he sat beside the boy, he tried to get the boy’s attention but nothing happened. It hurt Hiruzen a bit, Kami had basically treated him as a grandfather.

Hiruzen had an idea and he looked up at the doctor who had a nurse standing beside him “can you get Naruto and bring him here?” Hiruzen asked. 

The doctor sent the nurse off and a few minutes later she returned with the young baby Naruto. Hiruzen stood and gently took the baby boy from her arms.

He moved back and sat down beside Kami before he gently placed the baby Naruto in Kami’s arms. The red haired boy subconsciously adjusted his arms to properly support the baby. Hiruzen watched as some light returned to Kami’s eyes. 

Hirzuen took the opportunity “that’s your baby brother Naruto Uzumaki” Hirzuen said. Kami looked at him as he spoke, seemingly surprised by Hiruzen being here then his gaze snapped back to the sleeping baby in his arms. 

“I’m not alone. I have a family. I have a brother” Kami whispered to himself as he slowly lifted the baby into a gentle and protective hug. 

“Kami?” Hiruzen said, getting the boy's attention “Do you remember me?” he asked.

Something about what Hiruzen said seemed to scare the boy as his mind caught up and processed the situation “H-Hiruzen” Kami said quietly. 

Hiruzen smiled at the boy and nodded “yes that’s me”.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

“Yes, that's me,” Hiruzen said, smiling at me. All I knew right now was that my mind was racing in panic. I had a goddamn Hokage in front of me! 

“What do you remember?” Hiruzen asked as he gave me a worried look. He hid it almost immediately, his face settling into a comforting smile. 

“N-Not much” I said as I looked down at the baby Naruto in my arms. I may have lost my original family but I had a new one. I just couldn’t believe this wasn’t real, it felt so real. 

Hiruzen glanced at the two who stood closer to the door, a nurse and a doctor. I guessed from their appearances.

“It isn’t impossible,” the doctor said to Hiruzen, answering his silent question. He nodded in response.

Hiruzen turned back to me and sighed “your Kami Uzumaki, a beast attacked the village yesterday. The day your brother here was born. He is Naruto Uzumaki. Your parents died during the attack on the village” Hiruzen said. 

I frowned and decided to try something, I just hoped I could lie well enough “I remember… My mother was the nine tails Jinchuriki right?” I questioned and Hiruzen nodded. 

“Do you remember your father?” Hiruzen asked.

I acted like it was a struggle to remember but slowly I nodded “the Fourth Hokage?” I said and Hiruzen nodded. 

“You were there when your mother gave birth, do you remember anything from that night?” Hiruzen asked, seemingly hopeful. 

I just got given an incredible opportunity. My best bet was to fake slight amnesia because I remember nothing about this life but I do remember about the anime and manga. 

I acted as if something just struck me, like I just had an epiphany. I immediately looked at Hiruzen looking panicked. 

“Mom and Dad were attacked by a masked man. He tried to kill Naruto and me and released the Nine Tails from mother. He was the reason the nine tails attacked the village” I said quickly as I hugged Naruto protectively. 

I imagined it was a pretty good act since Hiruzen immediately stood up “I must go Kami, these doctors here can help you, listen to them” he said. 

“The man had a white mask with black swirls on it. It had one eye hole and he had a black cloak on” I said as Hiruzen nodded to me and then left. 

I doubted they would find Obito, the baby was probably already gone. I mean he is basically throwing a massive temper tantrum because his crush died. People die all the time in this world and now I have the same risks. 

The next few weeks passed by pretty quickly. It was mostly me stuck in bed, healing. They brought Naruto over to see me once a day and I enjoyed those visits. 

I was the oldest in my old family back on Earth so it was nice to be the big brother again. 

Today was the day I was going home. Hiruzen couldn’t really hide mine and Naruto’s parentage since everyone knew who I was. 

As I was escorted to our family home by some ninja I noticed people had no idea how to feel about me. They knew I was the son of their saviour but they also knew I was Jinchūriki of the Nine Tails.

I pretty much ignored them. Hiruzen had said that Naruto would be moved to our home soon as well and that he would come to see me tonight. He said he would hire someone to look after Naruto for me.

I soon arrived at the home I’d been staying at for awhile. It was quite big. It had about 6 bedrooms. Only three had beds in them. One seemed to be my parents room, another was mine and the last was one that seemed to be for Naruto when he grew up.

The fourth room was a baby room for Naruto. The fifth seemed to be a library of some sort. There were a bunch of scrolls and books. Bookshelves were all around the walls of the room, a desk was in the middle.

The last room seemed to be an office that Minato used when at home.

The downstairs was large and nicely decorated as well. There was a nice big kitchen, the kitchen had a dining table. The living room had a nice big sofa and some doors led to the back garden.

The garden was large and sported a big sparring arena off to the left side. To the right was a range. It had targets set up at different distances and angles.

I even saw some of Minato’s tri pronged kunai off to the side of the arena. The house still looked lived in, it seemed no one had stepped foot inside until I just did.

There were even some important looking Hokage documents on Minato’s desk. It was honestly a bit depressing.

I moved back into the house and went to the kitchen to see what was in it. There was a wide selection of food but I am not going to act like I have any idea how to cook with any of it. I did see some potatoes though. 

I shrugged as I pulled them out, threw a pan onto the hob and boiled some water. I had to get a chair from the dining table to be able to actually reach the counters. I then started cutting the potatoes into slices. 

I made some chips to put it simply or fries depending on what region of Earth you’re from. I’d have to get a cook book or something. I couldn’t find any salt or anything like that so I just ate them plain which was horrid. 

After I ate I then moved to the sofa, hopped up onto it and then laid down with an audible sigh. I was pretty bored. 

Then my eyes drifted down to my stomach. I had most of the bandages taken off and Hiruzen had told me I was a Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. I was bored so fuck it.

I closed my eyes and did what I usually did when I meditated. Thought of idyllic scenes. 

I was awoken by a loud knocking on the front door. I immediately jumped up and laughed to myself a bit. I honestly wasn’t surprised I had fallen asleep. 

I moved to the front door and opened it to see that not only had night fallen but that Hiruzen stood at my door.

“Hello Kami-Kun. May I come in?” Hiruzen asked and I nodded as I stepped aside to let him in. The man moved in and I shut the door as I followed him into the living room. 

We sat on the sofa and Hiruzen let out a sigh as he took off his Hokage hat and placed it on the sofa beside himself as he turned to me.

“So Kami, your brother will be moved here tomorrow and I will find someone trustworthy who can take care of him for you. I am not going to put the responsibility of raising a baby on your shoulders” Hiruzen said.

“Yeah, that would be helpful,” I said with a small chuckle. 

Hiruzen smiled in amusement as he continued “your parent’s funerals are on the weekend. There will only be some close friends there. It is up to you” he said. 

I agreed to go along and soon we fell into conversation. I asked questions about my parents and about him acting like I wanted to know more about my parents. I also asked some basic things like about Shinobi and stuff. He told me most things I would need to know and most things I already knew.

“I knew you wanted to be a Shinobi before the incident,” Hiruzen said. 

I cut him off “I still want to be. Actually I wanted to ask if I’d be able to start early. In the academy I mean” I asked as I looked at him, giving him a hopeful look.

Hiruzen looked hesitant but a thought seemed to cross his mind as he gave me an interesting look. 

“How about I make you a deal? You’ll be having an Anbu guard. Both you and Naruto so why don’t I get that Anbu to test you?” Hiruzen suggested and I nodded immediately.

He was happy I agreed. He asked if he could get some documents from my father’s office that were about Hokage stuff and I let him. He told me the house was mine now and that included everything in it.

He then left with a goodbye.

Soon the funeral came. It was a sad affair and many people showed up. Many of them I recognised. I stayed near Hiruzen the entirety of the funeral and kept my head down. 

Soon I was at home just laying down and relaxing when a knock sounded out from the front door.

I got up stretching out my arms as I moved over to the front door and opened it. There was three people outside it. All of them I recognised.

Mikoto Uchiha smiled at me “hello Kami, We’re friends of your parents and wanted to come and check on you” The woman held a baby in her arms as she smiled at me. 

Fugaku Uchiha nodded at me when I looked over at him.

Then my gaze settled on the final one, Itachi Uchiha was giving me a curious look. 

“This is Itachi, my son. He was a friend of yours before the incident” Mikoto said with a smile as she shoved Itachi forward who grunted in annoyance. 

“Hey Kami” Itachi said as he stuck out his hand. I smiled and shook it before I stepped aside and let them in.

Soon I found myself sitting at the dining table, the Uchiha family sitting across from me. 

“Your mother was my best friend for many years. We often visited this house to see you all. I doubt you want to talk about the funeral so I'll stay away from that topic” Mikoto said with a sweet smile. 

“I respected your father greatly. He was an incredible shinobi. I am curious to see if you live up to his legacy” Fugaku said simply. 

I smiled at him challengingly “is that a challenge?” I said with a slight grin. 

Mikoto let out a small laugh at that as Fugaku simply nodded at me. 

We fell into conversation. Mikoto carried it easily. I had no idea what to talk about with them.

The worst part was the fact Itachi said nothing. He just stared at me with a frown. 

“Did you really lose your memories?” Itachi asked. It was the first thing he had said throughout the entire conversation. Mikoto seemed a bit surprised as well. 

I simply raised an eyebrow and nodded at his question.

Mikoto gave Itachi an admonishing look but he just ignored it and continued. 

“Then it surprises me that you haven’t changed even a slight amount. Or at least it seems that way” he said as he smiled at me.

“We knew each other well?” I asked with genuine confusion on my face. Itachi simply smiled and nodded.

“Awww Itachi-Kun is being so serious!” His mother cooed and proceeded to sweep him into a hug which he feebly tried to escape.

“You were best friends. Itachi cried when he heard what happened” Mikoto said as Itachi frowned at her in annoyance.

I laughed at that and Itachi fixed his pout on me. 

“Well you’re all welcome to come over whenever you’d like. I am wanting to enter the academy early. Preferably the start of next year so I’d like a sparring partner?” I suggested it to Itachi who smiled at me and nodded calmly. 

Soon the Uchiha family left. I moved upstairs where the babysitter that Hiruzen had gotten for Naruto was watching over said baby. She was a nice girl. She seemed to be in her teens.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Her name was Ayami. I was unsure how Hiruzen knew her but she wasn’t a ninja.

“You okay Kami-Kun?” Ayami asked as I walked into Naruto’s room. 

I nodded at the girl “yeah, just checking on him. How is he?” I asked the girl as I moved over to Naruto’s cot.

“He’s been fine. He is very energetic so it took a lot to get him tired” she said with a smile. She was obviously tired herself but I’m fairly sure the Hokage was paying her very handsomely for this. 

“Let me know if you ever need help with tiring him out. We both have a ridiculous amount of energy” I said with a chuckle as I left the room and went to mine. I had taken over Minato and Kushina’s room and made it my own. 

They had a lot of stuff in here. I knew a lot of it was scrolls about jutsu and fuinjutsu since both of them were incredibly talented in those arts but I had no clue what any of the stuff meant.

The next day came quickly and I was stirred from my boredom by a knock on the front door. I was confused and thought maybe Itachi had already taken me up on my offer.

I moved over to the door and opened it. I saw a man standing at the door. He was wearing a tan coloured cloak and had on a bird Anbu mask.

“Hello. You may call me Bird. I’m the Captain of the Anbu squad assigned to protect you and your brother” Bird said with a nod.

I blinked. I had completely forgotten what Hiruzen had said. “Uhh… Hi” I said with a small smile.

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

“Hokage-Sama asked me to test your ability. He simply wanted to test your talent. Does this house have a training ground?” He asked.

I gave him a flat look “you most likely already know the answer to that question. But yes it does” I said.

I had the feeling the man was smiling as he spoke next ”then may I come in?” He asked and I nodded and let the man in.

I shut the door and then we moved to the back garden.

Bird turned to me and handed me a leaf. I simply glanced down at it in confusion. I had a feeling I knew what he wanted me to do with it but I couldn’t give myself away.

“What do you know about Chakra?” Bird asked.

“Not much… That I remember anyway” I said and he nodded.

“Then I’ll give you the very basics. Chakra is made up of our physical energy and spiritual energy. It is why physical exercise and improving one's mental abilities will increase the amount of chakra you have.

For example, to increase your physical energy you must train your body. Your endurance, strength, vitality. You must constantly train. It is also why as you age and reach your physical prime, your chakra also increases. 

For Spiritual Energy you must train your mind. Through studying, meditation and through experience. For example practising a technique a lot and gaining experience with it will increase your spiritual energy and getting battle experience will also increase it” Bird said as he crossed his arms. 

“The most important part of any ninja is their chakra control. It is easily one of if not the most important thing you will learn. Chakra Control is essential in being a shinobi. It is required to use Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Fuinjutsu or any type of jutsu besides Taijutsu” Bird said as He stared at me.

I nodded listening closely. I already knew all of this stuff and I imagine he was leading me to the leaf concentration exercise. 

“I cannot stress how important chakra control is. The better at it you are the farther you will go in your shinobi career. Now there is a place where all must start. That is the academy’s Leaf Concentration Exercise” Bird said as he took out a leaf and stuck it to his palm.

He then shook his hand around to show that it wouldn’t come off. 

“Now this is first practised by placing the leaf on your forehead. I cannot demonstrate it in that way sinceI cannot take off my mask. First you must get a feel for your chakra” Bird said.

“Close your eyes and place the leaf against your forehead and hold it there. Now focus inwards and see if you can feel your chakra” Bird said. 

It took a few seconds to feel it since I had been aware of it since I first woke up. That weird feeling of strength was from Chakra. I imagine not having chakra for most of my life and then suddenly waking up with a massive amount of it would be quite different. 

I could always feel its presence. Minato may have a hand in that as well since he was an incredible sensor ninja, that could’ve passed onto me. 

“I can feel it” I said, a few seconds after Bird had spoken.

He seemed to pause, probably not expecting that. He seemed to continue pretty quickly though. 

“Now try and guide your chakra to the leaf. You must direct it. Intent is one of the most important parts of controlling your chakra so remain calm and collected and focus on the result you want” Bird explained and I nodded.

I kept my eyes closed as I did my best to guide the chakra in me. I could feel it moving around my body in the chakra pathway system. I guided chakra at the top of my body to the leaf and… it exploded as I tried to push chakra towards it. 

“Ow shit!” I cursed as I fell back on my arse, rubbing my forehead as I groaned in annoyance. It was more of a stinging pain that quickly disappeared. 

I looked up at Bird who was simply staring at me. I couldn’t see the man’s expression but it didn’t take long for him to speak up. 

“So this will most likely be a big problem for you. You have a much higher amount of chakra than most people because of your genetics. It means the maximum amount of chakra you can have will be much more massive than the average Jonin but it also means the chakra you have now will be harder to control. You’ll have to learn to use only the amount you need, it’ll take a lot of practice” Bird said as he passed me another leaf. 

I sat down cross legged as I almost slammed the leaf to my forehead and shut my eyes. I focused and moved my chakra again. I was determined. I moved a much smaller amount of chakra this time and slowly pushed it to the surface of the leaf.

“Fuck!” I shouted as the leaf promptly shot away from my head as a small explosion blasted my forehead back and into the dirt behind me. 

I grumbled in annoyance as I rubbed my stinging forehead. 

Bird simply handed me another leaf without a word. I was too focused to notice how intently he stared at me. 

The day passed by quickly with almost no progress. 

I found cutting the amount of chakra I was using down was very difficult. I already felt like I was using a miniscule amount of chakra and yet it was sticking.

My forehead was no longer exploding but the leaf kept getting pushed away. 

Bird soon left. I had no idea what he was doing but I had no plans on stopping. I got a bag from the house and collected a bunch of leaves before I had some food and a shower and then found myself sitting on the sofa in the living room. 

It was night and Ayami had gone home. I had been told the Anbu would watch over Naruto whilst Ayami was home. 

I stared intently at the leaf as I placed it against my forehead. I literally practised all night.

I was awoken by a knock at the door. It seemed I had fallen asleep. I moved over to the front door and opened it to find Bird there again.

The next few days passed the same with me training in the Leaf Concentration exercise. On the 4th day I finally managed to complete the technique. 

I threw my arms up in excitement as I let out a cheer. A leaf was stuck to my forehead.

It soon dropped off as I lost concentration but I soon got another one from Bird and kept sticking it to my forehead then moving it away and sticking it back.

‘I have magic power!’ I thought to myself in childish glee as I smirked at Bird who seemed to be amused.

“What’s Next?” I asked him as I dropped the leaf.

“Well really you should continue practising it for a bit but fine. Hokage-Sama did ask me to test you so I will” he then walked over to a tree and took a step on it and walked up the side of it, his cloak drooping down as he defied gravity.

“The tree walking exercise is the exact same premise but you are attempting to hold your body weight so you thus require more chakra. Usually this is about upping the amount of chakra used.

That is why it is considered training but I imagine it will be much easier for you since you’ve been training to use less chakra” he said as he dropped from the tree.

I nodded and moved over to a nearby tree as I stuck my foot against it and directed my chakra to the bottom of my feet.

I put about the same I used for the leaf before slowly increasing the amount of chakra. I felt my foot stick to the tree so I pushed off with my other foot and promptly plummeted to the ground.

“Too little chakra this time” Bird said in amusement as I gave him a glare before glaring at the tree.

I put my foot against it again and pushed more chakra into it this time. 

This continued for a while before I managed to get the technique down at the four hour mark. It had just started getting late, around the time Bird would leave.

I smirked happily to myself as I walked up and down the tree trying to get used to the shift in gravity. 

I moved up and hung down from the underside of a branch as I smirked triumphantly at Bird.

“Well done,” Bird said with a nod at me.

I smiled at him in thanks as I walked back down the tree and up to him.

“What’s next?” I asked curiously, I doubted he’d get me started on water walking so I was curious.

“Now I go speak to Hokage-Sama and I'll report my findings. You may get a visitor tomorrow” Bird said with a nod before he promptly vanished.

I shrugged before moving into the house to get cleaned. 

Hiruzen let out a tired sigh as he moved the sheet of paper to the stack at the right side of his desk. The whole ordeal with the Nine Tails and Minato had left a lot of work for Hiruzen to do.

The village required numerous repairs and he was being buried under a massive amount of paperwork. It usually wasn’t this bad. The worst part about paperwork was how draining and boring it was but it was so much worse now. 

Hiruzen lifted his pipe and took a long drag from it as he let out a content sigh. He leaned back in his comfortable chair for a small break. 

“Hokage-Sama '' Bird, an Anbu Captain said as he appeared in front of Hirzuen’s desk, kneeling down. 

“Yes Bird-San,” Hiruzen asked. He was curious as to what Bird’s report would be. He was the captain of the squad assigned to protect Naruto and Kami after all.

“You asked me to test Kami and gave me free reign in how I did so. I decided on Chakra Control training since it is something the boy will need a lot of” Bird said. 

Hiruzen nodded approvingly. Kami would need that training. With the Kyuubi and his massive reserves he will need all the chakra control training he can get. 

“I started Uzumaki-San on the Leaf Exercise. He struggled but completed the technique in four days.” Bird reported. 

Hiruzen nodded. Four days wasn’t anything prodigious but it was still well above average. 

“It should be taken into account that he practised almost all day and most of the nights as well. He has a lot of drive and determination” Bird said.

Hiruzen wasn’t surprised. Kami had a lot to live up to. Hiruzen would’ve preferred keeping Kami and Naruto’s parentage a secret but everyone in the village knew who Kami was. Few knew of Naruto as of right now but that would soon change. 

Hiruzen imagined Kami could end up being the reason for that. He knew the boy well until his memories had been messed up. Now he knew little of the boy. 

Hiruzen was sure that Kami hadn’t gone through complete amnesia. He definitely still had some of his memories. He believed that Kami was just confused and scared so the old Hokage decided to just give the boy time. 

“I started him on the tree walking exercise next. As I thought would happen he easily grasped the technique but what I didn’t expect was for him to accomplish the tree walking technique in around four hours” Bird reported before going silent, having finished his report. 

That… That was incredible. Four Hours to finish the tree walking exercise was impressive. Kami obviously had his talents. Hiruzen doubted he’d be good at Genjutsu, most people with large chakra reserves from a young age struggled with Genjutsu. 

But if we could keep up Kami’s chakra control training then he could be a force to be reckoned with when it came to Ninjutsu. 

“Bird, I want you to continue pushing Kami’s chakra control training. Push him to the limit with it. Test his affinity and get him started on nature training as well. When you think he is ready, start him on water walking as well as put him through some physical and spiritual training to try and increase his reserves further” Hiruzen ordered. 

Bird nodded in affirmation before Hiruzen dismissed him. Bird disappeared soon after. 

Many people on the council disagreed with what Hiruzen was doing regarding Kami. They thought sticking an entire Anbu Squad on protecting them was a waste when one would do just fine. 

But Hiruzen cared for the two boys. Kami may not remember but Hiruzen had basically been a grandfather figure to Kami. Hiruzen cared deeply for Minato and he wouldn’t let Kami or Naruto be hurt.

He’d just have to make sure that both of them were strong enough to protect themselves.

The next day was quite exciting. Bird came around and told me we were going to do more chakra control training.

I expected him to start talking about the water walking exercise instead he demonstrated something else.

His hands were stuck to a high tree branch and he was doing pull ups.

“There are many tenketsu points around your body. If you are talented enough you can stick most parts of your body to any surface. You can use that ability in combat to move yourself in unpredictable ways.

Of course being able to expel chakra from these tenketsu points requires a knowledge of their positions that few can gain.

The Hyuga Clan are especially adept at this.” Bird explained as he dropped down from the tree.

“The main tenketsu points that ninja use are the ones in the head, throat, mouth, hands, and feet. Those are the tenketsu points that all can use, that require no training” Bird explained.

I nodded following along. This was something that wasn’t explored as much in the show as far as I could remember.

“The first thing you should do is learn to hold and move your body on vertical surfaces using only your hands. Best way to do this is through pull ups since most of it will be upper body strength rather than chakra control.

This will help your physical abilities whilst training your control” Bird said as he gestured to the tree.

I nodded and walked up the tall trunk before walking across the branch. I then crouched down and placed my hands against the rough surface as I pushed chakra to my the surface of my hands.

I then dropped down backwards off the tree and let myself fall. The chakra in my hands gripped the tree before they broke off taking some bark with them as I fell backwards and slammed hard into the ground.

“Ow!” I said as I sat up and rubbed my back. I groaned in pain. I stayed sat down for a bit to rest my back before soon getting back to my feet.

I moved back up and crouched down on the branch again. I narrowed my eyes as I focused heavily on the feeling of chakra moving to my hands.

I pushed a constant stream of chakra to my hands. The amount I believed was spot on so I dropped again.

I expected to fall again but my momentum suddenly halted as my arms held my body up. I smirked in triumph as I focused on keeping the chakra going.

I slowly pulled myself up and then slowly lowered myself down before I looked down at Bird who had moved to stand below me. 

“Now someone with your energy will probably think this is easy but that’s why you are now going to do pull-ups until you physically cannot. I want to see a constant fast pace.” Bird said.

Now a kid would probably think this would be a cake walk but as soon as my muscles started becoming exhausted then my concentration on the chakra would become much harder to hold.

I imagined he would also do some stuff to make it harder for me. I nodded at Bird before starting to do pull ups as fast as I could.

“Make sure to count,” Bird said and I nodded.

The time passed by as I moved as fast as I could and soon I reached a 1000 pull ups. My muscles were starting to burn by that number but the fact of reaching it in the first place blew my mind.

I could barely do 30 in my last life. Uzumaki’s are insane.

I kept going, not holding anything back and soon I reached 2000 pull ups. At this point it was getting hard to focus on the chakra.

I almost fell multiple times but managed to keep myself up.

At this point Bird decided to start testing me. He span around, lifting his leg as he slammed a kick into the trunk of the tree.

The force of the kick caused the tree to shake. I just managed to keep my grip. My aching muscles kept distracting me and so I almost failed.

At this point I was sweating badly but I kept going. My pull ups had slowed down greatly because of the strain.

Keeping myself attached to the tree used a minuscule amount of chakra but because of the time I had been up here this was actually the most chakra I had used in a day.

We kept going until about an hour later, night fell “alright Kami, you can stop”I heard Bird’s voice shout from below.

He could obviously tell how much pain I was in. I could barely pull myself up at this point. Every bit of movement sent pain through my body but I knew I could go farther.

I had the Kyuubi, I was an Uzumaki, I’d heal. I stared at my hands with a focus I had never felt before.

I systematically pulled myself up groaning in discomfort before slowly lowering myself down. Bird had quieted down, he hadn’t spoken again.

Then I felt the tree shake violently as I assumed Bird kicked it again.

I had to abandon the pull up I was doing as I focused completely on the chakra holding me up but alas it was too much.

A sharp spike of pain went through my right arm as it straightened out from my accidental drop.

The pain made me lose focus as my hands slipped and I plummeted to the ground. I didn’t have the energy to right myself so I slammed hard into the ground.

I stayed laid on my back as I groaned in pain “you okay?” Bird asked as he stood above me looking down at me. 

I nodded as I slowly pushed myself to my feet. My right arm ached even more but i’d be fine. 

“Yeah I’m fine, just need some rest and I’ll be good” I said as I smirked at the man. Bird nodded.

“I’ll be here at the same time tomorrow. See you then” Bird said before vanishing.

I nodded as I walked back into the house and let out a sigh. The kitchen was restocked every week by the Anbu. I assumed it was them anyway.

I immediately got cleaned and then had something to eat before I went to sleep.

The next day in the middle of the same training as yesterday Bird notified me that I had a guest.

I dropped from the tree as I walked into the house. Bird had vanished, I had no idea where he was.

I moved to the front door and then opened it, greeting the person with a grin.

Itachi nodded with a smile as he stood with his arms crossed.

“Hey Kami, you up for a spar?” He asked. I nodded and stepped aside and Itachi walked in.

“I honestly didn’t expect you to come so soon,” I admitted as I walked into the back garden. I assumed Bird would be fine with this, I hoped anyway.

“I was a bit upset that I lost a friend but I just gotta make a new one,” Itachi said, obviously referring to what Mikoto said.

I laughed at his frown as we entered the back garden “you got your Sharingan?” I asked and Itachi looked at me before his eyes shifted, a smirk on his face.

I nodded as I gestured around the garden “I have a sparring arena but I doubt highly I’ll be even a slight challenge to you. I’m not even sure if my parents trained me at all since I can’t remember” I shrugged.

We both stepped onto the arena and glanced at each other “how are we doing this?” I asked.

“It'd be best if we had someone to officiate,” Itachi said with a frown.

“Hey Bird” I said out loud and the Anbu captain appeared beside the arena.

“Can you officiate?” I asked with a smile at the man, he nodded.

Itachi looked at the Anbu with a bit of surprise. Then at my state, I was covered in sweat and some dirt.

“Are you being trained by an Anbu?” Itachi asked and I nodded.

“Smart one we have” I said with a smirk at the boy. He shook his head with a smile as he crouched down and got into what I assumed was the Uchiha Interceptor fist style.

Itachi didn’t have his Sharingan cause that would be overkill. 

I got into a simple boxer’s stance. 

“Alright we will do a simple fight. We end when one of you can no longer fight” Bird said.

We both turned to each other and then Bird signalled the start of the fight.

Itachi decided to advance. He shot forward at a speed a normal human would be incapable of reaching.

I found myself able to react as I stepped to the side just barely avoiding his strong punch. He seemed to be surprised I managed to react.

I narrowed my eyes as he rushed at me. Itachi threw several punches. I hastily raised my arms to block and two of his punches slammed into my arms.

One hit my stomach, another in the chest then he couched down and span around, sweeping my legs out from under me.

I hit the ground hard, unable to see what he was doing because of my raised arms.

Itachi capitalised on my mistake as he stood up and raised his leg to slam an axe kick down onto me. 

I just managed to roll out of the way as I scambled to my feet. I barely had any time to adjust as Itachi launched himself at me again.

I just barely managed to dodge one punch.  I decided to forgo blocking since it didn’t really work last time.

He had superior speed though. I managed to block two punches before a kick slammed into my side and I was sent tumbling to the ground.

I was sat on the ground as Itachi rushed me. My instincts took over at this point, I stopped thinking I just reacted.

Itachi sent a kick for my head which was an easy hit since i was sat down.

I bent backwards planting my hands on the ground, I pushed chakra into them as I pushed with my feet into a back handstand.

I easily got myself to my feet as I raised my fists and stared at Itachi.

He smirked at me seeing I could at least dodge. He then shot forward, he practically appeared in front of me and I was unable to react as 5 quick punches slammed into me.

Two to my head, two to my stomach. An uppercut to my chin as I bent over from the stomach hits.

Then Itachi moved forward grabbing my arm before he threw me over his shoulder and into the ground.

I groaned in pain but didn’t let it distract me. I grabbed his shins as I pushed chakra into my palms, sticking my hand to his legs as I used that grip as leverage to pull my body up, slamming my knee into Itachi’s nose.  

I immediately detached my hands as I used the opportunity of him stumbling backwards to get myself to my feet.

Itachi smirked at me as he wiped the blood from his nose before he seemed to stop playing around.

He shot forward at what I assumed was his top speed since I could barely see him move. I felt multiple impacts slam into my body as I asssumed he punched me.

It hurt a lot but my body would not stop. I had a lot of stamina. As I felt one more punch hit me, I grabbed it and held him still as I pulled Itachi forward and slammed a headbutt into his face.

Itachi groaned as he fell back from the hit. He managed to catch himself. 

Itachi was fast, very fast but I had more resilience than him and we had similar strength.

I smiled at the boy as he did the same. We then charged at each other. He reached much sooner than I’d be able to reach him.

I was forced to duck under a punch. My momentum caused me to go behind Itachi. It was very bad to have your back to an opponent, especially one faster than you.

I felt that this match was over but something stopped me from calling it. I felt something behind me. Like when you felt someone was watching you.

I frowned at the feeling as I moved my head to the side, I saw Itachi’s fist fly past my head, my eyes widened in surprise but I didn’t waste the chance.

I copied Itachi. He was clearly the better fighter in skill so I grabbed his arm and pulled. I flung him over my shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

I immediately followed up the throw by diving forward onto Itachi. I went to throw a punch but he simply caught my wrists, a smirk on his face as he planted a kick into my stomach using his foot to push and throw me backwards. 

I hit the ground hard and the next second he was on top of me raining down punches. It was very obvious I was not going to beat him or do anything so Bird called the fight. 

“Enough” he said and Itachi stopped smirking at me. It was clear he had been holding back greatly for most of the fight.

Itachi stuck out his hand and I nodded and took his hand. I groaned as itachi pulled me up to my feet. 

“You could always take a beating” Itachi said with a smile as he watched me slowly stretch parts of my body out. 

“We’ve fought before?” I asked and Itachi nodded. 

“Many times. You were my main rival. When you dodged my punch by moving your head to the side, did you feel something?” Itachi asked and I nodded. 

“You are a sensor. I’m glad you can still feel it. You had started training in sensing about 2 months before the whole attack. You described the feeling as a tingle in the back of your mind” Itachi said as we walked off then arena. 

“That is what it felt like. So I had trained before then?” I asked and Itachi nodded. 

“You were a match for me. You won about 7/10 of our spars simply because your body was stronger and took one hell of a beating. I had the skill but you could just outlast me” Itachi said with a frown seemingly slightly annoyed at that.

“You helped push me a lot and I want that back. I need strength and you can help me with that so i’ll be coming over here every now and then to spar. I’d train you but I imagine the training of an Anbu is better than anything I could give” Itachi said with a smile. 

I had a thought as I turned to Bird who had been quietly standing off to the side “Hey Bird, you think the Hokage would be cool with you training Itachi and me?” I asked with a cheeky grin as Itachi looked at me with some surprise. 

“I would have to ask. I was tasked with protecting and training you after all” Bird said.

“If it helps tell him I looked like I was about to cry if you said no” I said with a grin. I had a feeling Bird was giving me a flat look but again… mask.

“Sure,” Bird said simply before he disappeared. 

I chuckled lightly before walking to the house “food?” I asked as I turned to Itachi who shrugged and nodded. 

I cooked some food for us. It was simply some chips and veggies. I couldn’t do much else after all. 

I placed the plate down in front of Itachi before I climbed onto the chair opposite him and started eating. I soon realised I heard no sound of eating coming from across the table.

I looked up and saw Itachi staring at his food like it was a bag of shit on his porch. I almost spat out the food in my mouth as laughter erupted from my mouth. 

“Can you cook?” Itachi asked as he gave me an incredulous look. It wasn’t a joke, he was actually asking. 

“Believe it or not, I can. That does remind me though, I do need to get a recipe book” I said as I shoved a chip into my mouth.

“I agree,” Itachi said as he used a fork to stab a chip. He slowly took a bite of it before he shrugged and tilted his head in a way that said it wasn’t that bad.

“See i’m not that bad” I said. 

“I’d beg to differ. I should’ve cocked” Itachi said as he reluctantly started eating.

I laughed a little as I went back to eating. We fell into pleasant conversation soon after.