The sun dipped below the horizon, casting Konoha in long shadows and amber light. The hidden village bustled in the distance, alive with training drills and mission reports. But within a forgotten corner of the Senju compound—dusty, cracked, and silent—sat a boy who no one noticed.
Senju Arashi, age six, crouched in the dim glow of an old oil lantern. Around him: a mess of notes, herbs, wires, and broken glass. His academy robe was stained, his hands scraped, but his eyes… his eyes burned with purpose.
"If talent was inherited… I got none. But intelligence? I can make my own future."
Floating in front of him was his secret—A translucent blue interface visible only to him.
[Scientific Analysis System: Online][Chakra Composition Breakdown: Complete][Craftable Item: Beginner Recovery Serum][Success Rate: 26% — Risk: High]
He had gathered ingredients over the past week. Some stolen, some traded, some grown in a hidden pot behind the compound garden.
Dried senbon leaf — boosts internal chakra flow.
Streamwater touched by nature chakra.
Crushed chakra paper, repurposed as a stabilizer.
Tree sap — crude, sticky, but effective as a binder.
On a metal plate he'd repurposed from the academy's trash, Arashi began to mix. He ground the leaf, stirred in the water, added the fine paper powder, and stirred it clockwise—slowly, methodically. When the sap hit the center, the concoction hissed and smoked. Green-gray vapor rose into the air.
"Don't inhale. Don't panic."
He stepped back. The serum swirled, bubbling ominously. Arashi hesitated.
"This… might poison me.""But what's the alternative? Getting mocked in the academy until I drop out?"
He stared at the vial. One drop shimmered at the lip.
"I'll never surpass Tsunade like this. Never build anything real. This is just the beginning."
He drank.
The taste hit first—sharp, bitter, metallic. His tongue burned.
Then the heat came, pulsing from his chest outward. A buzzing sensation crawled under his skin, not painful, but foreign. He clenched his fists, breathing heavy.
The warmth flowed… then settled. A strange clarity followed. His thoughts sharpened. Reflexes aligned. Even the ache in his shoulder—leftover from yesterday's fall—faded.
"No chakra flare. No explosion. But I feel… faster. Lighter.""I didn't just survive. I improved."
A slow grin crept across his face. He scribbled frantically in his journal.
[Beginner Recovery Serum – Test #1: Ingested 1 drop][Effect: Moderate stamina recovery. Accelerated blood flow. No nausea. Success.]
His heart pounded, not with fear… but excitement.
"This… is science. Measurable. Repeatable. My way to power."
Next Morning – Academy Sparring Grounds
Sunlight bathed the worn-down sparring field. Students paired off under their instructor's barked orders. Arashi stood at the edge as always, ignored, his name barely registered.
"Senju Arashi vs. Nara Riku."
Groans echoed. "Why him? He's dead weight," someone mumbled.
Riku, hands in pockets, gave Arashi a sleepy smirk. "You know how this ends."
Arashi remained silent. His bruises from past spars still ached, but today… he felt grounded. Centered.
"No brute strength. Just calculation."
He'd modified a kunai last night—wrapped in copper thread, linked with a heated chakra coil, rigged to overheat on contact. No chakra injection needed. Just clever metallurgy.
The match began.
Riku charged. A standard feint-left, jab-right combo. Arashi didn't panic this time. He let the first blow graze his arm and used the momentum to slide under the punch. In one smooth motion, he kicked the modified kunai near Riku's foot.
Click.FZZT—!
A blue spark burst up, disorienting Riku just long enough for Arashi to sweep his legs and pin him down.
THUMP.
Silence followed.
Even the instructor blinked. "That wasn't a jutsu…"
Arashi bowed. "Scientific application of energy feedback. Temporary nerve shock. Non-lethal."
The class stared.
"What did he just say?""Did Arashi… win?"
That Night – At the Senju Compound
Tsunade walked past the garden on her way from medical class, but something caught her eye.
There, under the moonlight, Arashi was sitting with his knees pulled up, scribbling in a thick notebook. The bruises on his arm were fading, but his expression was calm, his movements precise.
She tilted her head. That look in his eyes—quiet, calculating, but strangely... hopeful.
For the first time, she didn't walk past.
Elsewhere – Beneath Konoha's Surface
A cold room. A desk. A man cloaked in darkness.
Danzo Shimura read through a sealed report.
"Senju Arashi: Low aptitude. Weak chakra. No threat.""Recent incident: Modified kunai. Unknown technique. Tactical use. Bypassed Nara reflexes."
Danzo's expression darkened.
"No power, but dangerous potential. A mind like that… must be monitored."
He turned to a ROOT operative.
"Add him to the watchlist. Observe. Silently."