Goro Akimichi was a strange child. He became an orphan at the age of four. His parents perished during the start of the Third Shinobi War, and he was left alone to be raised by the uncles and aunts of the Akimichi clan. Being an orphan wasn’t strange at a dangerous time like this. War breeds death in surplus without discrimination. In times like these, orphanages began to overfill or began construction, and cemeteries added new tombstones or names to existing ones.

The only thing Goro Akimichi had as a memory of his parents was the stories of his uncles and aunts and a particular scroll. A scroll sealed personally by them that could only be opened with Goro’s blood. Goro became far more secluded and recluse when he took his family's heirloom. Most of his time was spent looking at that scroll day after day.

No longer did he go out to play with the other kids, eat together with the family, or seem to smile. Day in, day out, he would be reading that scroll. His face was buried in it, consuming its knowledge. This worried the adults of the Akimichi Clan. They might not know what was in the scroll, but they did know it wasn’t healthy for a child to waste his youth like this.

However, along with the introverted nature he’s taken on since his parents’ death, there were some positive changes as well. The boy had a healthy appetite, to say the least. He could stuff enough food in his stomach on par with some of the adult members of the clan! They had never seen him eat like this before, but it was a good thing the boy was eating heartily, at the very least. It was one thing to seclude himself in all day staring at a scroll, it was another to make sure his body was growing properly.

Goro could also be heard exercising inside his house. Physically, the boy seemed perfectly fine, it was just that he wasn’t socializing like any other normal kid. Some of the caring uncles and aunts decided to have their children go over and invite Goro to play with them instead of wallowing in sadness about his parents’ death all the time.

To their relief, the boy didn’t reject their children’s offer to play. They played ninjas, catch, had eating contests, and all sorts of other games without any problems. Goro Akimichi was going to be fine, much to the relief of the uncles and aunts of the Akimichi Clan. He was a kind boy whenever he was brought out of the house.

However, the shinobi uncles and aunts of the Akimichi Clan noticed that Goro never left his family’s heirloom out of his sight. It prickled the Akimichi Clan members' interest, making them think about what was so valuable and important within that scroll that he couldn’t part with it even for a second. There was even discussion on whether or not they should sneak in to read it for themselves.

They only decided against it because Goro Akimichi was a normal boy. A kind, friendly, and sociable boy that had no problems fitting in with the other kids or the clan. And there was also the fact that when they had this discussion, it was around the time for Goro Akimichi to start attending the academy.

During that time, Goro Akimichi publicly destroyed the scroll in front of everyone to the point that piecing it back together was nothing more than just a pipe dream. Everyone watched as the boy loudly laughed and laughed until tears fell from his eyes. He laughed and cried until he wheezed and went light in the head. The uncles, aunts, and other kids came together to comfort Goro. For the adults, they figured Goro finally accepted the loss of his parents.

The Clan Head threw a clan barbeque to celebrate Goro’s growth and to remember all the lives lost so far during the Third Shinobi War.

“We will live on in their memory, continuing to eat heartily, eat happily, and continuing to form meaningful bonds with those around us.” The Akimichi Clan cheered at his speech before partaking in the feast.

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His fellow clan members gave Goro Akimichi plenty of food out of sympathy and care. He ate it all without declining a single piece. By the end of the feast, people could swear he ate more than two or three times his own body weight! It seems Goro Akimichi wasn’t that strange of a child after all… It was a joyous celebration that ended without any problems.

…

Well, maybe he was still a little strange. Goro Akimichi gained a new hobby after burning the scroll left to him by his late parents. That hobby was exercising. The uncles and aunts of the Akimichi clan knew Goro was exercising even when he was obsessed over that scroll, but this type of exercise brought about a whole new meaning of the word.

Asking for pocket money after helping out with tasks of the various uncles and aunts of the clan, Goro would use that money to buy weights and iron to train with. Every day, Goro would be seen curling iron or lifting them in some way. Sometimes in ways, they’ve never seen before!

“Goro-kun, do you mind telling Auntie what you’re doing?” Michiko Akimichi politely asked.

“Making my body stronger.” Goro gave a direct and simple answer.

“Do you plan on being a ninja?” She already knew the answer, but kids ate questions like this up.

“The strongest.” Goro nodded.

“Make sure to take plenty of breaks. Don’t forget you need to rest properly if you want to grow up big and strong.” She encouraged him.

“Yes, Auntie Michiko.” Goro thanked her for the advice.

…

When Goro Akimichi entered his classroom, he didn’t look any different from the average Akimichi child. He had a healthy protruding belly and unique birthmarks on his face. He was a round-faced five-year-old boy who was slightly bigger than his peers. He looked at his classmates' faces and then went to an empty seat in the middle of the classroom.

“Hey!” Goro was slapped hard on his back by a high-pitched feminine voice.

“Ow. Why the heck did I hurt my hand hitting you?! Is your back made of rock or something?” The violet-haired girl rubbed her aching hand.

“Hey, my name is Goro. Akimichi Goro.” Goro introduced himself.

“I’m Anko! Mitarashi Anko! I always thought about this, but why is your clan members fat?” Anko's curiosity was flaring.

Unknown to Anko, several of the other students perked their ears to listen in. They were also curious why the Akimichi Clan were all fat. Goro laughed and casually replied, “Our clan’s jutsus need us to be big.” This confused Anko.

“Your clan’s jutsus?” Anko asked.

“My clan doesn’t see being fat as bad or something to change. Our clan’s ninja jutsus need us to be big so we can use them to protect the village.” Goro explained.

“Oooh! I didn’t know that.” Anko exclaimed.

“Happy to help.” Goro smiled.

“Are you excited to become a ninja?!” Anko changed the topic.

“Excited?” Goro was confused.

“Yeah! We’re going to become ninjas!” Anko didn’t seem to have an indoor voice.

“I guess so.” Goro was looking forward to learning more about being a shinobi.

All he knew so far was that death was a real possibility. Ninjas died all the time, and if ninjas died, that meant ninjas kill. A ninja’s job was to kill. A shinobi of Konoha was expected to kill for the sake of love and peace. At least, that was what Goro understood after hearing the Third Hokage’s speech.

Love and peace… That was something Goro could get behind. He felt love for his clan. He felt at peace with his clan. If he could stop the war and killing, then Goro was fine with becoming a Konoha shinobi. No child would have to be separated from their parents because of a war. A war that Goro doesn’t even understand why it is even going on.

“You don’t sound excited.” Anko pointed out.

“I was thinking about something, my bad.” Goro apologized with a small smile.

“Anyway! Do you think we’re going to learn super awesome jutsus on the first day?!” Anko excitedly asked.

“You unlocked your chakra already?” Goro asked.

“What?” Anko didn’t know what he was talking about.

“We’re probably going to learn that first. If you can’t control your chakra, you can’t do jutsus.” Goro informed her.

“What?! Why didn’t anyone tell me that?!” Anko took a seat next to him in the second middle row.

“They’re going to tell us when the teacher comes, I guess.” Goro chuckled.

“Have you already unlocked your chakra?” Anko asked.

“My clan taught me how to,” Goro answered.

“What?! No fair!” Anko complained. “You have to teach me!”

“How about this, I’ll help give you some tips if you can’t get it when the teacher teaches us. Does that sound good?” Goro said.

“Fine.” Anko dragged the word as she then moved on to the next topic in her head. “So, what’s your favorite snack?” She propped her head up with her hands while resting her elbows on the desk.