The sun rose over the Uchiha compound, casting long shadows across the wooden floors. Yoichi opened his eyes before the first bird sang, and the grogginess of sleep vanished instantly.
This body felt different. The bones were dense and heavy, yet the limbs moved with a frightening fluidity.
Dressing occurred in silence, and the cloth of the shinobi attire felt light against the skin.
The hallway remained quiet as the kitchen came into view. Every step was a lesson in control, requiring a conscious effort to soften the tread and avoid cracking the polished wood under a newfound weight.
The remnants of the previous night's meal sat on the table, covered carefully to keep the food fresh. Naoko and Nobuyuki stayed behind their closed door, and their steady, rhythmic breathing was the only sound in the house. A glance at the extra portion left out for a son brought a rare, genuine warmth to the chest. The leftovers were consumed in the grey morning light, and the simple meal felt like a profound gift.
"Thank you, truly," Yoichi mumbled.
The words were a quiet vibration in the empty kitchen. Precise, silent movements cleaned the bowl before it was placed back on the counter. A long look toward the parents' room followed, and gratitude sat heavy and still in the gut.
"I am glad to be here," a whisper drifted, almost lost in the morning breeze.
The porch led to the street, and the walk toward the training grounds began. The morning air was sharp, allowing thoughts to settle. One last look back at the roof of the main house caused the eyes to soften.
A home is a luxury I did not expect to keep, his mind reflected. Their warmth is a strange fuel, but it is steady. I will protect that stillness, even if I must become a monster to do it.
The corner was turned, and the realization of a new reality anchored the rational mind. The path ahead was bloody, but having a place to return to made the burden of power feel worth the cost.
The seven days of training transformed the physical vessel, yet the house remained a space of quiet, delicate gravity. Mornings often found Yoichi in the kitchen before the sun touched the floor, eating the portions Naoko left for him with a silent intensity. The air between the family members felt different now, no longer a void but a bridge of unspoken recognition.
Shared meals were brief, filled with small nods and the rhythmic clink of chopsticks. Naoko's eyes often lingered on his hands, noting the subtle shifts in his grip and the unnatural stillness that had settled into his frame. Nobuyuki spoke less than before, but the man's gaze held a steady, quiet pride that softened the atmosphere.
"The meal is good today," Yoichi murmured, looking at the steam.
"There is more in the pot," Naoko replied, her voice holding a soft, relieved warmth.
The simple exchange was a tether to a normal life that felt increasingly distant. He appreciated the effort they made to keep the world small and safe for him, even as his bones grew denser and his blood ran hotter with Qi. By the seventh evening, the body had fully integrated the Bone Forging Realm, and the internal pressure of his power felt stable and deep.
He sat on the porch as the light faded, watching the shadows stretch across the garden. The two Prismatic Tickets remained untouched in his mind, glowing with a faint, potential energy. He looked at them with a cold, calculating eye, weighing the necessity of immediate power against the safety of a trump card.
The world is changing outside these walls, he thought, his gaze drifting to the horizon. I must choose the right moment to reveal the next step.
The gratitude for the quiet house sat heavily in his gut, serving as the silent foundation for the path ahead. He remained still, a guardian in the twilight, waiting for the natural conclusion of the week to reveal his next move.
The eighth morning arrived with a summons that pulled Yoichi away from the quiet of the hearth. He made his way toward a secluded training field, where the air felt heavy with potential.
Three figures stood in the clearing, and their silhouettes carried a weight that even the dense Bone Forging Realm could feel.
Jiraiya stood with his arms crossed, his posture radiating the physical resilience of the Mahavairocana Mantra. Tsunade remained nearby, her stillness hiding the overwhelming vitality of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Scrolls. In the shade of a tree, Orochimaru watched with pale eyes, his presence as lethal as the Moon Swallowing Snake Transcripts.
"You're late!" Jiraiya shouted, a wide grin breaking across his face.
The voice echoed through the trees, breaking the morning silence. Yoichi stepped into the clearing, and every movement was a lesson in suppressed strength. The eyes of his peers swept over him, measuring the changes in his frame and the unnatural density of his presence.
"I apologize," Yoichi replied, his voice calm and steady.
He stopped ten paces away, and the gap between them felt charged with a strange energy. Tsunade stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she scanned his posture. She noted the lack of fatigue and the way his feet seemed to anchor into the earth with every step.
"You look different," Tsunade observed, her tone curious.
"The training was effective," he said, and the words were a simple truth.
Orochimaru shifted in the shadows, his movement so fluid it barely stirred the grass. The boy sensed the sharpened edge in Yoichi's spirit, recognizing a kindred spark of lethality. Though they were all the same age, the three of them stood as a wall of talent, yet Yoichi did not flinch under the collective weight of their techniques.
"Let's see if that holds up," Orochimaru hissed, and the challenge was accepted with a silent nod.
The training ground became a blur of high-speed collisions. Yoichi moved with a terrifying density, his reinforced bones acting like iron pistons against their specialized martial arts. He parried the remarkable stability of Jiraiya's techniques and the explosive vitality of Tsunade's strikes, finally catching Orochimaru's serpentine movements with a calculated, bone-shaking force.
After minutes of relentless combat, the clearing fell into a sudden, heavy stillness. Jiraiya and Tsunade lay on the grass, gasping for air, while Orochimaru leaned against a tree with ragged breath. Yoichi remained standing in the center, his limbs feeling like lead and his frame trembling from the effort. He had won the day, and though exhaustion blurred his vision, he kept his posture upright.
"You're a monster, Yoichi," Jiraiya wheezed, managing a weak grin from the dirt. "I think I felt my soul leave my body for a second."
"Your soul is just lazy, Jiraiya," Tsunade panted, sitting up slowly while rubbing a bruised shoulder. She looked at Yoichi with a sharp, appreciative squint. "You've gotten faster. Your skin feels like hitting a brick wall."
Orochimaru wiped a thin line of blood from his lip, his pale eyes narrowing as he studied Yoichi's calm face. "It is more than just speed, Tsunade. He has changed drastically. His physical structure has a weight to it that defies the logic of our peers. It is as if he is made of a different material entirely."
The group shared a rare moment of levity, the tension of the spar dissolving into the quiet rustle of the leaves. They sat together for a moment, four children who had already seen more blood and iron than most. Jiraiya started to brag about a new trick he was working on, but Tsunade cut him off, her expression suddenly cooling into something distant and sharp.
"Enough," she said, and the air in the grove shifted. "The reason we called you here is that the three of us are leaving. The Old Man gave us a scroll this morning."
The transition was immediate, the playful banter dying in their throats. Yoichi watched her, noting the way her hand tightened on the grass.
"A surveillance rotation near the northern border," Tsunade continued, her voice low and clinical. "Just me, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. It's a reconnaissance mission to map neutral zone movements."
"We move out tonight," Orochimaru murmured, his eyes locking onto Yoichi's. "It seems your path stays within the walls for now, Yoichi."
"I'll go too," Yoichi said, his voice cutting through the quiet of the grove with a flat, final certainty.
The three of them looked up, the humor from their earlier spar vanishing completely. Jiraiya wiped the dirt from his cheek, while Tsunade's brow furrowed in a mix of surprise and concern. Orochimaru remained perfectly still, his eyes tracking the lack of hesitation in Yoichi's expression. They knew him well enough to know he didn't make idle boasts, but the reality of the village hierarchy was a different matter.
"The scroll only had three names, Yoichi," Tsunade said, her voice softening. "The Old Man was specific. This isn't a school trip where we can just bring a friend along."
"He's right though," Jiraiya added, standing up and dusting off his pants. "After that beating he just gave us, it feels stupid to leave him behind. He's tougher than the three of us combined right now."
"Strength is not the issue," Orochimaru murmured, his gaze moving toward the village center. "The issue is authorization. If Yoichi leaves the village without a mission, he is a deserter. If we take him, we are accomplices."
"Then we change the scroll," Yoichi replied, stepping toward the path that led to the administration building. "We're going to the Hokage's office."
The four of them moved through the streets, a small pack of eight-year-olds walking with a purpose that made older shinobi step aside.
They climbed the wooden stairs of the red building, the air growing thick with the scent of tobacco.
Yoichi led the way, his dense footsteps echoing against the floorboards until they reached the heavy door.
Inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi was leaning over a map, his pipe resting in a ceramic tray.
He looked up as the group entered, his eyes immediately settling on Yoichi, who stood at the front with a calm, unyielding presence.
"I was expecting three of you for the final briefing," Hiruzen said, his voice raspy and neutral.
"There's been a change in the calculation, Lord Hokage," Yoichi stated, meeting the man's gaze without blinking. "I am joining the surveillance rotation."
Hiruzen set his pipe down, the clatter echoing in the quiet office. He looked at Yoichi, his eyes narrowing as he weighed the request against the reports on his desk.
The recent assassination attempt on the Uchiha boy had been thwarted, but the shadows behind that move remained cold and unidentified.
Sending Yoichi to the border, far from the protective layers of the village center, felt like baiting a trap without knowing who the hunter was.
"The border is a place where accidents are easy to manufacture, Yoichi," Hiruzen began, his voice heavy with a warning. "The threat against you hasn't vanished just because the blade missed its mark. Within these walls, I can monitor the pulse of the village. Out there, the pulse is erratic."
"I am aware of the risks, Lord Hokage," Yoichi replied, his posture as steady as a mountain. "But staying behind walls does not solve the mystery of the threat. It only delays the inevitable confrontation."
Jiraiya stepped forward, his usual loud energy replaced by a rare moment of earnestness.
"Sensei, he's faster than us. If someone tries to jump him in the brush, he's the one they should be worried about. We saw what he can do this morning."
Tsunade nodded, her arms crossed over her chest. "He's a variable they won't expect. If the schemes are still active, they'll be looking for a boy hiding in a compound, not a shinobi on the move."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples, his rational mind warring with his duty to protect the village's future.
He looked at the four of them. A group of children who had just battered each other into exhaustion out of respect and growth.
The political schemes of the elders were a poison, but the bond forming between these four was a different kind of power
"You understand that if things go wrong, I cannot send a squad to pull you out immediately," Hiruzen said, his gaze locking onto Yoichi's unblinking eyes. "You will be responsible for each other's lives in a way the academy never taught you."
"We understand," Yoichi said, the words simple and firm.
The Hokage sighed, picking up his brush and hovering it over the mission scroll. He looked at the space beside the three names, the weight of his decision hanging in the air.
Hiruzen's brush finally moved, scratching Yoichi's name onto the scroll with a decisive stroke. He looked up, his expression softening into a mask of calculated care as he watched the four children.
"How about this," Hiruzen spoke, his voice low and steady. "I'll provide you with someone who could protect you four from front to back. Is that alright?"
In Hiruzen's mind, he remembered another teammate of his who remained a little bit lazy and an exceptional ANBU operative that Yoichi knew well. He did not call them into the light yet, but the implication of high-level protection hung heavy in the air. The Hokage was not merely approving a mission. He was deploying a hidden net to catch any blade aimed at the Uchiha boy's throat.
The four of them stood in silence, the gravity of the arrangement settling over them. Jiraiya's usual grin faded into a look of serious realization, and Tsunade tightened her grip on her sleeves.
They understood that this was no longer a simple scouting trip among peers. It was a high-stakes movement that required the village's hidden hands to stay involved.
Yoichi nodded, his rational mind mapping the logic of the Hokage's caution. He knew that their every step would be shadowed by veterans, making the border both safer and more scrutinized. The protection was a shield, but it was also a reminder of the unseen enemies still plotting in the dark.
"We understand, Lord Hokage," Yoichi replied, his voice a calm vibration.
"Go then," Hiruzen said, waving a hand toward the door. "Prepare yourselves. The shadows outside are longer than the ones in this room."
The group turned and exited the office, their footsteps sounding in unison as they moved through the halls. They didn't speak until they reached the fresh air of the street, the weight of the upcoming midnight departure pressing on their shoulders.
__________
Thanks to doomslayer24, Snowwwww, Kacey_Jackson, and Daemonic_Dragon for Power Stones! Thanks Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, I appreciated the gestures!❤️
Merry Christmas! Have a heartwarming and great holiday, everyone!