Six Years After the Massacre
Location: Border of the Land of Fire and Grass
Time: One Week Before the Chūnin Exams Begin in Konoha
---
The village believes I died with my clan.
They have no record of my survival. No mission logs. No gravesite.
Just a boy whose chakra signature vanished into fire.
They were half right.
The boy named Kaizen did die that night.
The one who rose from the ashes?
He's still evolving.
---
The waterfall nearby hissed against the sharp wind as I practiced a fire release kata in slow motion, bare feet planted in cold stone, eyes half-lidded.
Each movement flowed into the next—flame-shaped strikes meant for both offense and control. I didn't need perfection today. I needed control. Stability.
The system buzzed faintly behind my thoughts—like a pulse beneath the skin.
> [Daily Skill Points Allocated: +2]
[Total Unspent SP: 3]
Path of Embers – Enhancement Grid Online
🔹 Flame Control Lv. 1 – Fire jutsu +5% power
🔹 Speed Burst Lv. 1 – Temporary +10% speed in combat
> "Three points to spend," I muttered.
---
📊 Enhancement Grid Interface – Visible to Kaizen Only
Paths Available:
---
🔥 Path of the Flame
Flame Control (Lv. 1/10) – [UPGRADE – Cost: 1 SP]
Flash Ignition (Lv. 0/5) – Reduce hand seals by 1 per fire jutsu [Cost: 2 SP]
👁 Path of the Eye
Tomoe Acceleration (Lv. 0/3) – Increases chance of unlocking next Sharingan stage [Cost: 2 SP]
Perception Boost (Lv. 0/5) – +3% reaction time [Cost: 1 SP]
💪 Path of the Body
Speed Burst (Lv. 1/5) – [UPGRADE – Cost: 1 SP]
Pain Tolerance (Lv. 0/5) – Reduce movement penalties while injured [Cost: 1 SP]
---
> Allocate 2 points to Tomoe Acceleration.
Bank 1 point.
> [Tomoe Acceleration Lv. 1 – Progress to next eye stage accelerated by 7%.]
My pupils flickered red—briefly. A single tomoe spun once before fading.
Not yet. But soon.
I wasn't going to awaken my Sharingan through loss or rage. That was the old path. The clan's path.
> "I'll awaken it through precision."
---
A breeze passed through the trees.
But it wasn't the wind that shifted the air.
Chakra. Fast. Suppressed.
I turned silently and ducked behind a boulder near the river's edge. My hands moved slowly, weaving seals with surgical control.
> Fire Release: Ember Spark Jutsu.
A low-tier technique—but enhanced by the Grid, it flared from my palm like a heated blade, ready to slice upward.
Three figures stepped from the treeline, cloaked in gray.
Missing-nin. Chūnin-level. Grass forehead protectors cut with a single slash.
They hadn't noticed me—yet.
But one of them, a tall man with a scar across his jaw, turned toward the water.
> "Feel that?" he muttered. "Some kind of chakra distortion. Someone's nearby."
I didn't breathe.
> "Let's check it. Keep it quiet. No witnesses."
---
[SYSTEM ALERT]
> Opportunity Detected: Trial Encounter – Rank D+
> Defeat or evade three missing-nin without being seen
Reward: +2 Bonus SP | Hidden Grid Node Unlock
---
> "Time to evolve."
I moved like a whisper, the Spark Jutsu igniting in silence as I blurred between shadows.
No witnesses?
Perfect.
They wouldn't live to tell the tale.
Location: River Border, Hidden Grass Outskirts
Target: Three rogue Grass-nin
Condition: Remain unseen, neutralize all threats
---
> "No witnesses," the missing-nin repeated as they spread into a triangle formation.
> Perfect.
The system's interface pulsed lightly in my vision—non-intrusive, just enough to remind me I had full Grid Support active.
> [Speed Burst Lv. 1 – READY]
[Flame Control Lv. 1 – ACTIVE]
[Stealth Kill Opportunity: X3 – Bonus Reward Multiplier: ON]
I inhaled once—slow and silent.
Then moved.
---
Target One: Left Flanker
He stood nearest the tree line, scanning the forest with a half-raised kunai.
I emerged from the underbrush at an angle, my steps covered by the wind and the low babble of the river. My chakra was suppressed to near zero—not from luck, but from daily meditation training, boosted by the system's Will Path exercises.
> Fire Release: Ember Spark – Focused Edge Mode.
A flicker of orange flared across my palm, condensed into a glowing knife of flame.
Before the rogue could turn, I was behind him.
One slice. Right under the jaw.
His chakra winked out like a candle.
> [Target Eliminated – No Detection Registered]
[Bonus SP +1 | Silent Execution Confirmed]
---
Target Two: Right Scout
The next moved cautiously, scanning overhead like he expected trouble from above.
Wrong guess.
> Speed Burst – Activate.
A controlled surge shot through my legs, and I vaulted across the rocks silently, landing above him with knees bent. My chakra flared—but only at the moment of impact.
> "Wha—?"
My foot crushed his throat before he could speak. A kunai to the chest ended it.
> [Target Eliminated – Partial Detection (Delayed)]
[Bonus SP +1 | Combat Performance: 92% Efficiency]
---
Target Three: Team Leader
"Something's wrong—!" the leader shouted.
Too late.
He turned just as I emerged from the steam rising off the river, hands weaving signs faster than his eyes could track.
> [Flash Ignition – Unlocked Mid-Combat]
🔓 Fire jutsu now require one less hand sign.
> Fire Release: Ember Fan!
A burst of concussive flame whipped through the air like a giant folding fan, blasting his arms apart. I followed immediately with a leap—then drove my knee into his temple.
Crack.
His eyes rolled white.
> [Target Neutralized – Blunt Force KO]
[SP Reward: +2 | Combat Sequence Complete]
[Hidden Grid Node Unlocked: "Shadow Burn"]
---
I stood in the smoke, my heart steady.
The river trickled peacefully again, unaware of the lives it had just witnessed end in silence.
> [Total SP Gained: +5]
[Current SP: 6]
Would you like to invest SP now?
Not yet. I had something more important to check.
---
[Sharigan Status]
> Tomoe Acceleration: Lv. 1 – Effect Active
> Sharingan Awakening Progress: 94%
So close.
Too close.
My hands tightened.
> "Not rage. Not fear. I'll awaken it through clarity. Through perfection."
I turned toward the Hidden Leaf's southern forest.
The Chūnin Exams were coming.
And I would walk into that village under a false name…
as the ghost of a clan they thought extinct.