The following week Yuta had developed a routine.
Morning walks through the civilian district, afternoon rest in his small apartment, evening strolls to watch the village settle into the night.
The ANBU shadows following him had become as familiar as his own reflection.
However, during this week, he developed certain interests, and one of them pulled him towards the center of the village.
The Memorial Stone stood quietly in a small clearing, surrounded by flowers that looked freshly placed.
Names carved into black stone caught the morning light.
'Too many names for such a peaceful village.'
Yuta knelt beside the monument, reading the characters he was slowly learning to recognize.
A woman approached with a small bouquet, her movements careful and reverent.
She placed the flowers at the base of the stone and whispered something too quiet for him to hear.
When she noticed him watching, she offered a sad smile.
"Someone you knew?" she asked softly.
"No," Yuta replied.
"Just... understanding."
She nodded as if that made perfect sense, then walked away.
Yuta stayed longer than he intended, thinking about Tokyo Jujutsu High, about classmates who might never come home, about the weight of names carved in stone.
This village knew loss the same way his world did.
The methods were different, but grief felt universal.
The Hokage Monument dominated the northern cliff face, four massive faces carved into living rock and there was a fifth one in progress, watching over the village like eternal guardians.
Yuta found himself drawn to them repeatedly, trying to understand what he was seeing.
'Heroes? Likely. That's what they were meant to represent.'
In his world, power corrupted more often than it protected. The strongest sorcerers became the greatest threats.
But these faces... they looked weathered by time and responsibility, not twisted by ambition.
A group of Academy students ran past, one of them pointing at the monuments and shouting excitedly about becoming Hokage someday.
The others laughed and raced ahead, their dreams as bold as their voices.
Yuta watched them disappear around a corner and wondered what it would be like to grow up believing power could be heroic.
His next unexpected thing to pull his attention was the weapon shop, which smelled of oil and metal polish.
Yuta stood before a display of katanas, his fingers tracing the air above their hilts without quite touching.
The craftsmanship was different from what he knew, functional rather than artistic, and he couldn't tell whether it could channel cursed energy like his last weapon.
"You looking to buy?" the shop owner asked, eyeing him nervously.
"Just admiring the work," Yuta said.
He lifted one of the swords carefully, testing its balance.
The weight distribution was wrong for his fighting style, but the steel was of good quality.
"This one's well-made."
"You know swords?"
"I had a friend who did." Yuta set the weapon back in its stand.
"She would have appreciated the attention to detail."
The shop owner relaxed slightly.
"Training swords are cheaper if you're looking to practice."
"Maybe later."
Yuta moved to examine a set of shorter blades when a smoke puffed behind him and someone appeared from it; however, He didn't turn around.
"Planning to buy something, or just browsing?" a voice asked from behind him.
"Just... remembering a friend who would have appreciated the craftsmanship." Yuta turned slowly to face a man with silver hair and a face mask, one eye covered by his forehead protector.
The visible eye studied him with lazy intensity.
"Kakashi Hatake," the man said by way of introduction.
"Yuta Okkotsu. Though I suspect you already knew that."
"Mm." Kakashi's gaze shifted to the katana display.
"Looking for something specific?"
"Not buying. Just seeing how weapons are made in... Here." Yuta paused
"Different techniques, different needs." He said
"And what techniques are you used to?" Kakashi asked
Yuta considered his answer carefully.
"Ones that required close combat. Precision over power."
Kakashi nodded toward the shop owner, who was pretending not to listen while polishing the same dagger for the third time.
"Mind if we continue this conversation elsewhere?"
---
They ended up on a training ground empty except for a few practice dummies and target posts.
Kakashi leaned against a tree with studied casualness.
"So," he said, pulling out a small orange book.
"I'm supposed to teach you the basics."
"Basics of what?"
"Chakra theory. Village customs. How not to accidentally destroy things." Kakashi's tone suggested he found the entire assignment tedious.
"Standard orientation for... unusual cases."
"I see, I thought Mr. Asuma already covered that."
"He gave you the need to know only basics" Kakashi flipped a page without looking up.
"From what I understand, you're completely new to chakra manipulation. Most people spend months just learning to access their chakra properly."
"I think I may have already figured out the access part," Yuta said quietly.
Kakashi's visible eye flicked up from his book.
"Explain."
"Where I am from, some sorcerers could see cursed spirits. Here..." Yuta gestured vaguely around them.
"Although I can't see it, I have a knack for sensing it when it's concentrated enough. And once I could sense it..."
"You absorbed it" Kakashi finished, his book now closed and forgotten.
"I made contact after determining there was no harm it brought, but it doesn't exactly mix well with my own energy. But enough to understand what it feels like."
Kakashi was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice had lost its bored edge.
"Show me."
"Show you what?"
"Your chakra. Let me see what you're working with."
"How?"
Kakashi then proceeded to stand up and said to Yuta.
"Watch closely, this is the most basic technique even academy kids should know. It is called the clone technique," Kakashi said as he proceeded to weave hand signs, and then in a puff of smoke, another Kakashi appeared before him.
"It can be dispelled after taking damage or subconsciously," Kakashi said as Yuta looked at this new Kakashi closely but found it difficult to find a difference.
And then, as Kakashi ordered, he proceeded to weave the same hand signs slowly, and at the end of it, he could sense the chakra he absorbed riling up, and when he was done.
Puff
Another yuta was formed, just not in the expected state, as it looked sick and ready to dispel any moment, which it did almost immediately, prompting a confused look from Yuta.
"Well..." Yuta said.
"You can absorb chakra but can't control it properly. That's like having a book without knowing how to read." Kakashi said gesturing to the book he was holding
'I was indeed trying to hold back to avoid accidents' Yuta thought
"So what happens now?" He asked
Kakashi looked at him for a long moment, then sighed.
"Now you learn to read."