Tabui, Hidden Cloud Village
Tabui had long since decided that running the orphanage was the best idea she had ever had after having her daughter. After that Hyuga bastard had crippled her leg to a degree that was beyond what the doctors in Kumo could repair, and her husband had been killed by a missing Suna nin, she was left with few options of what to do with herself.
But looking at the lost and crying eyes of the children gain sparks of hope, watching her daughter dote on the kids in a way only an older sister would, seeing them realize that they now have the family that they oh so deserve.
Words can't describe how proud that makes her.
That is not to say it is an easy responsibility to handle. Oh no. Between the near constant arguing, the older children using their Henge and Transformation Jutsus to prank the little ones, and she didn't even want to think about some of the boys jumping off the side of the mountain believing it to be "the ultimate Chakra control training".
So, she was rarely surprised these days. But today happened to be one such day.
'A sentiment that seems to be shared' she thought amusedly, glancing across the room at her village leader.
Ay, the Third Raikage of Kumo had momentarily froze, cutting a rep of his bench press short. He dropped the weights beside the bench, splintering the floorboards.
Eyes wide and bolting up faster than she could see, he stepped towards her. "You're sure?" He asked, not truly a question and more an expression of his disbelief. He knew she wouldn't come to him and inform him of such if she was not certain.
"I am. Quite the miracle that boy is", she smiled, reminiscing on what had happened after breakfast.
Earlier
It took over ten minutes to unlock all of Itsu's Chakra, and by the time it was done it looked like nothing could take the smile off of his face. While the energetic boy had taken to bouncing around in place and exploring his body's new limits, Tabui was left silently contemplating.
To say that she was caught off guard by the awakening of his would be an understatement. The Dead Bone Pulse is not just rare amongst the Kaguya clan, with only a fraction of their members bearing it at a single time.
To Kumo's knowledge, it only comes once every few or so generations in a single one of their members. And in today's generation, their current clan head already filled that quota. So naturally, nobody in the village who were aware of Itsu expected him to acquire the deadly Kekkei Genkai.
'Not to mention, I have never spent so long awakening somebody's Chakra before. His levels are closer to that of a Genin than that of an academy student, let alone the average of someone who had yet to grow their reserves. Could this be another effect of his Kekkei Genkai? The Kaguyas I've met have larger than average reserves, but not to this extent. This is more akin to-'
Her musings were cut short by a large bone protruding from Itsu's palm.
What? He hadn't even started his training! Hell, his Chakra was unlocked 30 seconds ago. He shouldn't even know he could do that.
'So how? More benefits that came with his lineage?' Tabui thinks while watching Itsu poke and prod at his new weapon like it was a toy rather than his own bone.
Tabui whistled, "damn. I didn't think you'd be able to properly use it without training for it first. How did you know you could do that Itsu?"
He paused, the smile on his face faltering momentarily as he seemingly searched for an explanation. The two red dots on his forehead scrunched together along with his eyebrows. Adorable. But she was wanting an answer.
"You felt some of my Chakra flowing out of my coils and going into my bones, right?" he began.
"Yes, I definitely felt that near the end there. You caught me a little off guard with that," she nodded along.
"Well, a lot of it has just settled in them. And I guess my Chakra being there is the reason why I can feel every inch of my skeleton now. I feel it right below the surface and it's like body's telling me that with any influx of more Chakra, I can manipulate it however I want", Itsu informed her.
Tabui is a sensor. She knew exactly what he had done, and it was far more impressive than he was describing. This was not something a simple innate talent in Chakra control could achieve. Even if he was a prodigy in the skill, it was not feasible to mould Chakra the way just Itsu did without being taught how.
He had apparently on instinct controlled Chakra in such a way that it wrapped around and isolated only a section of the Radius bone in his forearm, pushed that bone out of his body, and then left behind some form of advanced medical Chakra that immediately regenerated any damage done as if there was none in the first place.
'To think the Dead Bone Pulse would have so many benefits. This has implications. Implications that will need to be tested,' she thought to herself.
Tabui could only shake her head and laugh, "To think you would have so many hidden advantages." She leant down slightly and ruffled his hair. "The Raikage will sure be happy about this. Good job, Itsu."
"How come I've never seen you do this, Ms Tabui? Do you not like seeing your own bones? That sure does seem wasteful and not very ninja-like. I'm gonna be poking these bad boys out all the time", Itsu had a sagely look on his face as he lectured her, waving his hand around for added effect.
Tabui raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging on her face "Hmph. It's not that I don't want to Itsu, it's that I can't. In fact, there's not a single person in Kumo who is able to use their bones the way you can do now. And that makes you very special to this village", she spoke, looking at him fondly. "Not that you weren't special before, but this will give you a big advantage when you become a ninja."
"What do you mean? How come nobody else can? Wait, did I just create a new Jutsu? On my first try? Hahaha, man to think I'm this talented. In that case I'm gonna name this the calcium-"
He was cut off by the Head Matron chuckling. It seemed a quick lecture was needed.
Present
"HAHAHAHA! The good news keeps on coming!" Ay roared his head back, spreading his arms wide. "First, we crushed those Uzumakis! And now! Now we finally have a bloodline in Kumo!" The Raikage continued his victory laugh.
It had been quite the week for the village.
"Indeed, it's a very happy surprise, Lord Third. And it's even stronger than we thought. Good Chakra control, Medical ninjutsu and a large reserves, any more will have to wait to be seen" Tabui listed off with her fingers, the Raikage's infectious laughter causing her to smile.
"Yes, the boy is a fine prize for Kumo, and we'll make sure not a speck of his potential is left unreached. He may even make a fine brother for my son!" The Raikage eased his laughter and became slightly more focused, "his reserves don't surprise me though, the current Kaguya clan head has reserves that rival the Senju. Much more than the rest of his clan, a clear byproduct of his Kekkei Genkai."
Ay crossed his arms, his face adopting a thoughtful expression, "Hmm, I did not plan for such a possibility. Not much is truly known to us about the Dead Bone Pulse, so we can only wait to see what the boy is capable of. I'll have one of the medical shinobi run some tests on him once he starts at the academy."
He lowered his gaze to her, "Make sure to note down any observations you make while preparing for the boy for the academy, and pass those on before he has his evaluation."
"Of course, Lord Third. That was already my plan," Tabui easily nodded. "Only when we know more about him can we make a suitable training regimen. He is far different to the rest of Kumo's shinobi."
Ay grunted in agreement before he turned around to sit on his sofa. He has no desk in his office.
The Raikage gave a satisfied sigh as he sat back, "It's days like these Tabui, that you look forward to the most as the Raikage. As the leader of the Kumo, I must always fear for our village's future. The S-rank shinobi are the pillars of the great ninja villages, and without the blood of a clan in our Kumo, the chance of anyone having such potential is slim to none.
If myself and my son died, Kumo's Jinchurikis would be our only remaining S-rank ninjas. And as unfortunate as it is, people would not follow them. The rampages of the eight-tails due to my brother's incomplete control causes too much mistrust. Too much fear. But then what? Who will lead? One of our elite Jonin? The other villages would wipe Kumo off the map and take our Biju. We would be taken as a joke and the power of the two-tails and uncontrollable eight-tails would not be enough to ward off the other great villages. Not after what we did to the Uzumaki's.
But now. Now we have a clan! Without the influence of their bloodthirsty culture, we will have a true Kaguya clan, without their insanity! We will have more ninja with the potential for S-rank! And with the boy having their bloodline, if we ensure he reaches his potential, dosen't share the insanity of his kin, if myself and my son die, I will have far less fear for the future of this village."
…
Itsuki Kaguya, Hidden Cloud Village
The Head Matron had long since left after explaining to him what his bloodline was, giving him time to get use to his new superpowers on the training ground while another Matron watched over him.
And they were superpowers. Make no mistake. Wolverine had quickly become something of an idol to him this morning.
He had been testing the capabilities of his new body all morning, trying to run at his maximum speed for as long as he could, jumping as high as his legs would take him, sprouting bones from different areas to attack invisible enemies, who he then later assaulted with his pitiful attempt at shadow boxing.
He was definitely impressed with himself. Running at speeds faster than he ever had in his previous life, and to do so for over an hour? David Goggins was surely nodding at him somewhere.
It was the explanation for the scene many of the orphans stumbled on.
"What the hell!? Did you purposely tire yourself out so you wouldn't have to fight me Itsuki!? I've been waiting all month for this! How shameless can someone be!?" A steaming Tomoki loomed over my lying form, blocking out the sun.
Going over my memories, the culture in Kumo seemed vastly different than that of Konoha. One such example being that in Kumo, every orphan under the age of 10 has to become a shinobi. As in it's mandatory. The village looks after you and you look after it. There is some disagreement about this in the village however, mostly coming from civilian families who moved to Kumo from outside the Land of Lightning.
See, the religions in this region heavily feature a misconstrued image of the Sage of the Six Paths as some kind of warrior God. An ordinary man who discovered and unlocked the Chakra within himself, becoming so powerful that his very Jutsus shook the foundations of the world, he brought peace and order wherever he went by killing the many tyrannical rulers of that age. The young, savage planet became a divine kingdom united under the Sage, and he taught the secrets of ninjutsu to his army in order to maintain this peace once he passed.
Strength is mostly followed before all here in Kumo. And with the Sage being the strongest to ever live, naturally he is idolised. Death in battle is an honour here; you'll simply be joining the Sage in the Pure Lands in his new divine kingdom.
He was so revered in fact that because the family of the first Raikage owned his sacred tools, uniting Shinobi to form a village with himself as the leader was a simple matter.
So, because of these strong beliefs, once you hit the age of four as an orphan, your Chakra is unlocked and your training begins.
"Stop crying Tomoki, you're jumping to conclusions." I bent my arms back before kicking up into the air. Arms resting behind my head, I closed my eyes and gave a relaxed smile, "see not tired at all."
'Sharingan, Wood Release, who the hell would want those when you could have this?' What I was hoping to be true turned out to be correct. The regeneration of the Dead Bone Pulse massively improves the recovery rate of my muscles. There's just so many benefits from that alone.
The only downside I had found so far was that to actually pull out a bone is fucking excruciating. Even if it only lasts for a few seconds, with my regeneration kicking in like a sweet bliss and healing any damage near instantly, I don't feel like the 1-10 scale is enough to describe how much it sucks. Imagine snapping one of your bones, tearing said bone through muscle, tissue and then piercing it through your skin. All the while trying to keep a stoic expression or else you'll ruin your whole image.
I had managed to keep a straight face while screaming internally in front of the matron earlier, but that was mostly because of the shock of how painful it was. Spamming it all morning had helped to get me accustomed to it.
'It being so painful honestly just makes it cooler. "Oh my god, that guy goes through that much every time he fights somebody? That's fucking metal man." ' I mentally nodded to myself, already anticipating how others would see me.
The kids had begun to spread around the training ground, preparing to start their stretches which we were taught from when we could walk. I stood near Tomoki, searching through my memories and looking around to follow along so I don't look like a grown man who took over a child's body.
"What the hell?! Did someone die here? Look! There's so many bones everywhere!"
Ah. I'm not able to put back any of my bones into myself, at least not yet, hence the scene looking like an abandoned grave robbing job.
Oh well.
…
The Head Matron had returned and a circular crowd had formed around one of the training rings. While any of the kids were allowed, and encouraged, to watch, only those with their Chakra unlocked were permitted to spar. As of today, the orphanage had 28 children with access to Chakra, with 20 of those currently being at the academy since it was a school day. So, the fights were to take place one at a time, with Ms Tabui going over how both fighters could have done better.
Going into this, I unsure how would stack up against my peers. While they had only been training for a few months at most, my experience was literally zero. They would have started their Taijutsu lessons and been instructed on some of the basic Katas. I had no recollection of fighting in my last life, so I'll mostly just have to be going off of instincts for now. All this would give them a massive leg up on me.
Is what I was thinking until I saw one of the boys in the first match charge at the other with a raised fist, screaming and looking directly at where he wanted his blow to land.
I lost most of my interest in the fights after that. 'Even with their small head start, I probably shouldn't have expected anything else. Their four. No amount of Chakra making their minds more advanced is gonna change that.'
However, as I found myself walking into the circle with Tomoki I felt some anticipation. He was no slouch. For months now the little prodigy had been beating on all of the kids I'd seen fight today and even some of the ones that go to the academy. How I would stack up against him was a different question.
"It's time to beat some respect into you! And then Ms Tabui can tell you all the things you did wrong, and the first thing was challenging me!" Tomoki puffed out while rolling his shoulders. A look of determination was on his face as he turned to look at me, pointing out a fist as we reached the centre.
I completed Kumo's version of the seal of confrontation by bumping his fist with my own. "I don't know man, it sure would be embarrassing if you said all this and lost." We both stepped back, him falling into what I assumed was the academy Taijutsu stance, and myself with what I'm sure was a poor imitation of a boxing stance.
The Head Matron looked on, "ready… start!"
Tomoki immediately shot towards me, his right shoulder twitching forwards when he was within range. I brought up an arm to block in anticipation, falling for the feint which left me with a strong hook connecting to the side of my head, rocking it to the side. But, it dosen't hurt as much as it should and I see a slight wince on Tomoki's face.
His surprise gave me time to block his follow up body shot and I step back trying to get some space. He disagrees with that choice and instantly stepped forward, pressing his advantage. He's slightly faster than me, and with his Taijutsu being at a level far above mine I'm left on the backfoot with little choices as I approached the edge of the ring. My only saving grace being my dense bones which were making him more wary.
When I wasn't being pushed back, he was baiting me, purposefully leaving openings and anticipating my strikes. Each punch I threw was blocked, parried or dodged, with Tomoki taking advantage of the openings in my guard which he knew would be there.
He landed a powerful blow to my stomach, making me lurch forward and wheeze but before he could follow up, my regeneration had already kicked in. With the pain mostly subsided near instantly after the punch connected, I slammed my head into his nose, landing my first hit of the match.
As Tomoki cried out, his head snapping back, I saw my chance and threw a kick at his leg, sweeping him off his feet. My foot slammed against the ground as he rolled to the side, preparing to start another exchange as he stood up, not giving either of us a second to rest.
I decided that as it stood, I had no chance of winning a Taijutsu fight against him.
Seeing Tomoki swing at my head again, I held up an arm to block, but this time as soon as it connected, I pushed out the two bones from my forearm.
"AHHHH!" I screamed, clutching my mangled looking arm and dropping to my knees.
Tomoki immediately stopped his advance, his face paling. "O- oh my god, Itsuki! I- I didn't mean- I didn't think I you hit that hard!"
All of the orphans around us were screaming, many crying at the brutality caused by Tomoki.
He whipped his head around to face Ms Tabui, who was pinching her nose as she shook her head. "Ms Tabui please you have to help him! This match can't keep-"
Tomoki was cut off by a heavy blow to the side of his head, knocking him off his feet once again, but this time outside of the circle.