Six months had passed since Kenji successfully made his first weapon. Naruto was now nine months old, starting to crawl and making adorable sounds that always made Kenji smile.
This morning, as usual, Kenji was preparing porridge for Naruto. Their small apartment was a little more organized now. With the increased stipend from the Hokage and money he saved carefully, at least they could eat three meals a day.
"Aaah! Aaah!" Naruto crawled closer while giggling softly.
"Yes, yes, be patient. The porridge hasn't cooled down yet," said Kenji while blowing on the small spoonful. "If it's still hot, it'll hurt Naruto's mouth."
Naruto looked at him with sparkling blue eyes. Even as a baby, Kenji sometimes felt his little brother understood every word he said.
After Naruto finished eating and fell back asleep, Kenji sat on the floor and stared out the window. Today he was planning to go to the forest again to train his abilities.
Over the past six months, he had made five combat knives of steadily improving quality. The system kept providing small missions that helped him develop his skills.
[System: Crafting Master]
[Master Status]
[Name: Kenji Uzumaki]
[Age: 4 Years 6 Months]
[Level: 3]
[Ability: Weapons Craftsman Level 2, Material Analysis Level 1]
[Available Blueprints: Tactical Combat Knife, Simple Folding Crossbow]
[Active Mission: Protect Your Little Brother (Lifetime Mission)]
[Experience Points: 340/500]
Kenji smiled faintly at his progress. Slow but steady, he was growing stronger.
But something had been bothering him lately.
Every time he went out to buy necessities, he felt strange glances from the village residents. Not the usual pitying looks, but glances of... suspicion? Or perhaps fear?
Yesterday, while he was buying vegetables, a woman pulled her child away when Kenji walked past.
"Don't go near that child," the woman whispered to her kid, but loudly enough for Kenji to hear.
"Why, mother?"
"Just don't. He's... different."
Kenji pretended not to hear, but the words still cut into him.
Different? What did that mean?
Knock knock knock.
A tap at the door yanked him from his thoughts.
"Kenji-kun, open up. It's me, Hokage-sama."
The voice of Hiruzen Sarutobi made Kenji stand up immediately. Why would the Hokage come here in person?
Kenji opened the door. Hiruzen stood there with a friendly smile, but Kenji could see something behind it—concern.
"Hokage-sama, is something wrong?" Kenji asked politely.
"May I come in? There's something I'd like to discuss."
Kenji opened the door wider. Hiruzen entered and sat on the wooden floor while looking at the sleeping Naruto.
"He's growing big," said Hiruzen softly.
"Yes. Naruto can crawl now," answered Kenji while sitting across from the Hokage.
Hiruzen was quiet for a moment, as though carefully choosing his words.
"Kenji-kun... there have been some reports about you lately."
Kenji's heart beat faster. "Reports?"
"Several residents have seen you going in and out of the training forest. Alone. At the crack of dawn." Hiruzen looked at him sharply. "What are you doing there?"
Kenji thought fast. He couldn't reveal the weapon-making. Not yet.
"I... train," Kenji answered. Not entirely a lie.
"Train? Train in what?"
"Train to become strong." Kenji met Hiruzen's eyes seriously. "I know I'm still small. I know I'm weak. But I have to protect Naruto. So I train every day."
Hiruzen's expression softened. "Kenji-kun... you're still far too young to—"
"Father died protecting this village at twenty-four years old," Kenji cut in. Tears began gathering in his eyes. "Mother died protecting Naruto. They never got to see us grow up. So I have to become strong. I have to be able to protect the only family I have left."
Hiruzen fell silent. He saw extraordinary resolve in the eyes of this four-year-old boy—resolve that should never exist in eyes so young.
"Very well," Hiruzen said at last. "But I have one condition."
"A condition?"
"If you want to train, do it properly. I'll assign a Chunin to teach you the basics of being a shinobi. Chakra control, basic taijutsu, and most importantly—how to protect yourself."
Kenji paused. This wasn't part of the plan. If someone was watching him, how could he craft weapons in secret?
But on the other hand, learning shinobi techniques through proper training would help him grow stronger.
"I accept," Kenji said finally.
Hiruzen smiled. "Good. Starting tomorrow, a Chunin named Arata will come every morning to train you. He's a patient and capable teacher."
After Hiruzen left, Kenji looked at the still-sleeping Naruto.
"Looks like the plan needs a little adjusting," he murmured.
The following morning, right as the sun rose, a knock came at the door.
Kenji opened it to find a young man in his twenties. Short black hair, sharp eyes, wearing a standard Chunin vest.
"You're Kenji Uzumaki?" the man asked.
"Yes."
"My name is Arata. Starting today I'll be training you." Arata looked him over from head to toe. "Four years old? You're too small for hard training."
"I'm stronger than I look," Kenji answered flatly.
Arata smiled thinly. "We'll see about that. Come with me."
They went to a small training ground near the apartment. Several other young children were playing there with their parents.
"First, I want to see your physical ability," said Arata. "Run ten laps around this field."
Kenji studied the field. Fairly large for a child his age. But he was already used to running to the forest and back every day.
"Alright."
Kenji started running. Arata watched carefully.
First lap. His breathing was still normal.
Fifth lap. Sweat started appearing but he didn't slow down.
Tenth lap. Kenji stopped in front of Arata, breathing slightly harder but nowhere near collapse.
Arata went quiet. His eyes widened slightly.
"You've... trained before?"
"A little. On my own," Kenji answered.
"Your physical condition is good for a child your age. Even better than some kids who've already entered the Academy." Arata crossed his arms. "Now show me your chakra."
Kenji held out his hand. He focused the energy within his body—chakra, the fusion of physical and spiritual power.
A faint blue light appeared on his palm. Very small, very weak, but present.
Arata was surprised again. "You can already feel your chakra? Who taught you?"
"No one. I just... felt it." Kenji wasn't lying this time. After he made his first weapon, the system had provided a basic tutorial on chakra control.
"Remarkable," Arata murmured. "Children usually only begin sensing chakra at six or seven years old after entering the Academy. But you... at four years old you're already capable."
Arata nodded with satisfaction. "Alright. It seems Hokage-sama was right to send me to you. You have talent, Kenji. From now on, I'll train you seriously."
Three months passed since Arata began training Kenji.
Every morning, Kenji trained with Arata. Basic taijutsu, chakra control, kunai throwing, and various other foundational shinobi techniques.
Each afternoon, after Arata left, Kenji took care of Naruto. Playing with him, feeding him, changing his diapers.
And every night, when Naruto was asleep, Kenji slipped out to his secret cave in the forest to craft weapons.
An exhausting routine, but Kenji never complained.
Today, Arata brought something new.
"Kenji, you've already got a good enough grasp of the basics. Now it's time you learned something more important." Arata placed a small piece of paper in his hand. "This is chakra paper. To discover your chakra element."
Kenji looked at the paper. He knew about this from his knowledge of the Naruto world. Chakra paper would react according to a person's elemental affinity.
"Channel your chakra into the paper," Arata instructed.
Kenji held the paper and channeled his chakra into it.
The paper trembled. Then it split cleanly into two pieces.
"Wind element," said Arata. "Same as your father, Minato-sama."
Kenji stared at the torn paper in his hands. Wind element. The element of sharpness, the element that cuts.
Perfect for weapons.
"But that's not all," Arata said suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
Arata handed him another piece of chakra paper. "Try again. I sense there's something else."
Kenji channeled his chakra again, this time pushing more of it out.
The paper cut apart again. But this time, one of the pieces also crinkled slightly.
"Lightning element as well," Arata whistled in admiration. "Two elements at such a young age. You're truly exceptional, Kenji."
Kenji wasn't sure whether to feel proud or worried. The more exceptional he appeared, the more attention he would attract.
And attention was the last thing he wanted right now.
That evening, after Naruto fell asleep, Kenji sat on the floor staring at both torn pieces of chakra paper.
Wind and Lightning.
[System: Crafting Master]
[New Mission Detected!]
[Mission: Fuse Chakra with Weaponry]
[Description: Create a weapon capable of channeling Wind or Lightning chakra]
[Reward: Blueprint — Chakra Combat Gauntlets, Chakra Manipulation Ability Level 1]
[Time Limit: 6 Months]
Kenji stared at the system screen seriously. This was a far harder mission than anything before.
Fusing chakra with a weapon was no simple thing. Even adult shinobi needed years of training to achieve it.
But Kenji had the system. And he had determination.
He looked at Naruto sleeping peacefully.
"For you, Naruto. I will master this power."
Two weeks later, something happened that changed everything.
Kenji was walking home from the market carrying a bag of vegetables and Naruto's formula. The afternoon was setting in.
Along the way, he spotted a group of children around six or seven years old—likely Academy students—gathered at a street corner.
Kenji planned to ignore them and keep walking. But then he heard something that made him stop cold.
"Look! That's the Fourth's kid!"
"The one with the baby brother?"
"They say he's weird. Talks to himself."
"Maybe he's possessed by a demon!"
The children laughed.
Kenji's fists clenched. He was used to mockery. But this was nothing yet.
What made him truly furious was what came next.
"His little brother is probably just as weird!"
"Yeah! Monster twins!"
"They should both be thrown out of the village!"
CRACK.
The shopping bag slipped from Kenji's hand.
His emotions surged. The adult mentality that usually kept his anger in check vanished in an instant.
They can insult me. But not Naruto.
Kenji walked toward the children with a completely different aura. His eyes cold, his fists clenched.
The children fell silent at the sight of his expression.
"W-what do you want?" the biggest child among them asked with a trembling voice.
"Say it again," Kenji said in a low voice that sounded deeply unnatural coming from a child not yet five years old. "Say again what you said about my little brother."
"W-we were just joking—"
"SAY IT AGAIN!"
Kenji's shout made every single one of them flinch in terror.
One of the girls even burst into tears.
"S-sorry! We're sorry!" the children screamed while fleeing in all directions.
Kenji stood there, breathing hard, his hands trembling.
What did I just do?
He stared at his own hands. For a moment he had completely forgotten that he was a small child. He had intimidated other children the way a grown adult would.
"No... I have to be more careful..." he murmured while picking up the scattered contents of his shopping bag.
But from behind a building, someone had been watching him.
An Anbu in a mask.
And that Anbu reported everything to the Hokage.
[END OF CHAPTER 3]