Two weeks passed.
The clearing was quiet.
Kaito stood alone in the place he'd claimed for himself...his training ground, hidden in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, tucked between tall trees and worn grass. The bark of the surrounding trunks was scarred with kunai and shuriken marks. The air was still. The sky above was wide and black, scattered with stars and cosmic dust that colored the blank sky of this world.
He looked up.
The stars didn't twinkle. They stared back...silent, unreachable, ancient, powerful.
And yet, he wanted to reach them.
Not with jutsu. Not with tools. With his body.
He wanted to become strong enough to transcend the ranks of the ninja world. Like the Otsutsuki clan. To travel through space with nothing but his own power. No seals. No summons. Just him.
This vast world was too small compared to the starry sky.
One planet, locked in endless conflict. Superpowers clashing. Aliens crossing galaxies. Gods living forever.
And here he was...just a boy with kunai and three E-Rank jutsu.
But he wasn't content.
He wanted to be one of them. To carve his own path to godhood. To break the ceiling of this world and walk among stars. To see the scenery of the universe with his own eyes.
And maybe, just maybe, find answers.
How did he transmigrate here?
Was Earth out there?
Was it just another star in the sky?
Was it even in the same universe? What of his younger sister?
He didn't know. But he wanted to.
The wind moved through the clearing, brushing the grass, tugging at his sleeves. He didn't move.
His hair was longer now, caressing his neck. His jaw was sharper. His shoulders were more built. His eyes, once calm, now burned with something else. Ambition...
If Takeshi-sensei saw him now, he'd stop mid-sentence.
If Daiki saw him, he'd go quiet.
If Reina saw him, she'd stare shocked.
They all thought he was calm. Reliable, but the quiet one.
But tonight, his ambition was visible, burning just as brightly as the stars in the night sky.
Kaito asked himself many times what he wanted to do now, and he finally found his answer. The fog of confusion that once clouded his mind, now disappeared.
At this moment, Kaito felt different. He felt changed. He felt like he was seeing the world through a higher lens.
He didn't know what it was. It wasn't chakra. It wasn't a jutsu. Just a change. A click. Like something inside him had turned.
He couldn't name it.
But he knew that this change was somehow useful to him and would prove to be someday.
He pulled up his panel.
The screen lit up, casting a faint glow on his face that only Kaito himself can see.
__________________________________________________________
Name: Kaito Arata
Age: 6
Chakra: 25
Rank: Middle Academy Level
Taijutsu:
[Konoha Taijustu: Entry (77/100)]
Ninjustu:
[(E) Clone Jutsu: Entry (47/100)]
[(E) Transformation Jutsu: Entry (40/100)]
[(E) Substitution Jutsu: Entry (44/100)]
Bukijutsu:
[Kunai Control: Entry(17/100)]
[Shuriken Control: Entry(14/100)]
__________________________________________________________
For the past two weeks, he reduced the time he practiced his Taijustu and focused on his jutsu and weaponry. Kaito also increased his chakra. He increased it by 7 points in just 2 weeks, only 5 points from the upper Academy level. For the tournament tomorrow, he wasn't aiming for first place. In fact, he didn't care about the tournament at all, except for reaching the top 5 for more resources. Kaito was more interested in his own path to becoming stronger. He is thinking about his future in the long term. Kaito knows he will become stronger as his mastery of jutsu and chakra increases!
He turned off the panel and looked up at the stars one last time, his eyes smothered in their light.
Then he left the clearing.
Tomorrow was the tournament.
The next morning...
The classroom buzzed.
Students talked fast. Moved faster. Some were excited. Some were nervous. Some were pretending not to be either.
Today was the combat tournament of Class 9.
It would decide class rank.
It would give them a glimpse of where they stood, and what class they might enter after the entrance examination. The top 5 would earn the resources to become even stronger and reach a higher class and rank in the entrance examination.
Kaito walked in.
Reina spotted him first. "You look like you didn't sleep," she said, sliding next to him, looking at the dark circles under Kaito's eyes.
"I didn't," Kaito replied, smiling lightly.
She smirked. "Figures. You must be worried that your gunna get beaten by me. Don't worry I show mercy to my friends."
Kaito just smirked back.
The next second, Daiki walked over. "You ready?!"
Kaito nodded. Reina elbowed Daiki. "Yeah, of course I am. Watch out!"
Daiki, not to be outshone, immediately fought back.
While those two were bickering, Takeshi-sensei walked in.
"Quiet!"
Immediately, the class went silent. Some were shifting nervously. Some were confidently holding their heads up. Some were indifferent.
"Meet at academy training ground 3." Takeshi-sensei then disappeared with a flicker.
The class immediately started rushing out to the training field.
On the way out, Kaito looked thoughtful.
That must be the body flicker jutsu. Amazing...it's like he vanished in thin air. That can only mean, Takeshi-sensei was faster than what my eyes could process...
...
The field was flat.
Cut grass. No obstacles. No cover.
Just open space.
The dew was still on the blades. The sun was low. The air was crisp.
Takeshi-sensei stood in the center, menacing.
"Now the rules...," he said. "You can use shuriken and kunai. No other weapons. Jutsu is limited to the three E-Rank techniques you've learned. No D-Rank or higher. I know some of you have access to them. Doesn't matter. You can also use any taijutsu art. That's it."
He held up a box.
"In here are thirty-six slabs. Numbers one to eighteen. Two of each. You'll draw one. Whoever has the same number is your opponent."
The class lined up.
One by one, students stepped forward, drew a slab, and stepped back.
Kaito's turn came.
He reached in.
Pulled out a slab.
Number 4.
He looked up and saw another boy holding the same number.
The boy was tall and bulky. Kaito had heard that this boy was a Civilian ninja descendant. Short black hair. Prideful eyes. His stance was relaxed and filled with arrogance.
He met Kaito's gaze and also saw his slab.
"Kaito, right?" he said. "I'm Ryoji Matsuhara."
Kaito nodded back.
Ryoji grinned menacingly. "Watch out, weakling!"
Kaito just ignored him, walking back and sat at the side with some other students waiting more the first battle to start.
Hmph. Acting all cool. Just you wait, I'll make you cry in pain, Ryoji thought darkly.