Chapter 3 – Love and Training from My Parents
In the study, I placed the scroll that Sister Nonō had given me onto the desk. My eyes drifted to the few other scrolls lying there — among the very few relics left to me by my parents.
Now that I had officially become a student of the Ninja Academy, the village had returned these belongings, which had been kept in storage.
Before they died in battle, my parents had both been chūnin — civilians who had worked their way up to that rank. They hadn't left much behind in terms of ninja techniques, and when everything was sorted, it came down to just two scrolls' worth of knowledge.
One was from my father — his personal notes and insights on the Three Basic Techniques (Henge no Jutsu, Bunshin no Jutsu, Kawarimi no Jutsu), along with two C-rank Fire Release jutsu: Flame Bullet (Endan) and Phoenix Sage Fire Technique (Hōsenka no Jutsu). Both were simple, foundational fire-style techniques.
The other scroll was from my mother. It, too, contained her notes on the Three Basic Techniques, but also something unexpected — her writings on Wind Release: Great Breakthrough (Fūton: Daitoppa). I hadn't realized my mother had been a wind-natured shinobi. She'd only mastered a single wind-style jutsu, but it meant there was a good chance I had wind-nature chakra as well. In Konoha, wind-nature users were rare — the most famous being Danzō.
I ran my fingers over the densely packed notes and heartfelt reflections written in the margins of each technique. I could almost feel the emotions my parents had when they recorded them.
They must have dreamed of handing these scrolls to me personally, of teaching me step by step how to become a ninja. But that would never happen now. They had died too young, leaving me in the village's care — an orphan raised in the orphanage.
Still, I was fortunate. At the orphanage, I had met Nonō Yakushi, a responsible and compassionate headmistress. Perhaps my parents' spirits had been watching over me, guiding me to someone like her.
I wiped away the tears at the corner of my eyes and straightened my back. For the sake of the parents of this life, I would live on — one step at a time — and rise to the very top, becoming the strongest shinobi this world had ever seen.
With that resolve, I picked up my father's scroll first, studying it carefully. Classes at the academy would officially start tomorrow, and that was when the instructors would begin teaching chakra refinement.
Before entering the academy, children were strictly forbidden from practicing chakra refinement. At too young an age, refining chakra could harm physical growth and diminish future potential. Of course, such restrictions only applied to children from civilian families — and orphans like me.
Ninja clans had their own methods, be it secret medicines or high-ranking shinobi acting as guardians, ensuring their children could refine chakra early without harming their future. After all, how else could there have been so many children fighting in wars, from the Warring States period right up to the present?
Although I couldn't yet practice the jutsu in the scrolls, I could still learn their principles and rehearse their hand seal sequences. If I practiced now, I could shave precious seconds off my casting time in the future.
After finishing my parents' scrolls, I finally picked up the one Nonō had given me. Compared to my parents' techniques, hers was far more valuable. Even in Konoha, medical ninjutsu wasn't something just anyone could learn. Without talent, contribution, and connections, you wouldn't even know where to study it.
The scroll's contents were astonishingly comprehensive—enough for a complete novice in medical ninjutsu to, step by step, become a fully qualified medical ninja.
It even included a C-rank Healing Technique, B-rank Delicate Illness Extraction and Mystical Palm Technique, and the A-rank Chakra Scalpel.
These were all standard skills for a high-level medical ninja.
Taichi was certain—even the official physicians at Konoha Hospital might not have mastered everything contained in this scroll. Its value was beyond doubt.
After finishing his read-through, Taichi felt an even deeper sense of Nonō's care and goodwill toward him.
That warmth quickly turned into resolve—he absolutely could not allow Nonō and the orphanage to suffer under Danzō's coercion, as they had in the original timeline.
By the time he had gone through the three scrolls, night had already fallen.
He quickly prepared a simple meal, ate in haste, and began his final training session for the day—Basic Taijutsu and Basic Meditation.
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This set of taijutsu, Taichi had realized, drew heavily from martial arts principles he knew in his past life.
The Naruto world had plenty of powerful individual techniques, but when it came to a full-fledged, systematic training method for taijutsu, there were few examples—perhaps the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist counted, but most other methods were merely raw physical conditioning and individual combat moves.
The Basic Taijutsu system, though plain in name, was anything but ordinary.
It included every detail—training methods (renfa), maintenance methods (yangfa), and combat application (dafa).
Training Methods: Building a foundation, improving skill, systematically enhancing the body's functions, mastering combat techniques, and cultivating inner strength.
Maintenance Methods: Using specific techniques to restore the body, repair wear and tear, balance one's internal energy and blood, and even unlock greater potential. This was especially critical for shinobi—training, combat, and even chakra refinement all caused bodily strain. Shortened lifespans among ninja were, in large part, the result of such constant depletion. The maintenance methods here could directly counteract that.
Combat Application: Converting the techniques from the training phase into real, battle-ready skills.
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[You have practiced Basic Taijutsu. Related insights have improved!]
[Your skill Basic Taijutsu has improved. EXP +1]
[You have focused on Basic Taijutsu training. Civilian Job EXP +1. Your Civilian Job is at max level—please change class soon. Gained EXP will be converted after class change.]
Training wholeheartedly, he would receive a notification every ten minutes.
This was the greatest advantage of his panel—it allowed him to clearly track his progress and savor every step forward.
With that constant sense of accomplishment, Taichi never felt training to be dull—on the contrary, he enjoyed it.
Two hours of taijutsu practice later, he took a short break before moving on to Basic Meditation.
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Unlike Basic Taijutsu, which focused on the body, Basic Meditation honed the mind—boosting mental strength, fortitude, and clarity.
In the shinobi world, mental power was vital—not only for genjutsu use and resistance, but also for mastering the Yin aspect of chakra.
Taichi's mental attributes were already high thanks to his past-life memories, and meditation only amplified the effect.
[You have practiced Basic Meditation. Related insights have improved!]
[Your skill Basic Meditation has improved. EXP +1]
[You have focused on Basic Meditation training. Civilian Job EXP +1. Your Civilian Job is at max level—please change class soon. Gained EXP will be converted after class change.]
After another two hours of training, it was close to 11 p.m.
Taichi washed up, lay down in bed, and brought up his panel in his mind:
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Name: Matsushita Taichi
Profession: Civilian Lv.5 (Max)
Talent: Diligence Makes Up for Lack of Talent
Age: 6
Constitution: 7
Strength: 9
Agility: 8
Spirit: 17
Attribute Points: 4
Skill Points: 4
Skills:
Basic Taijutsu Lv.6 (113/1000)
Basic Meditation Lv.6 (754/1000)
Note: Learn Chakra Refinement to generate your first chakra and advance to Ninja Apprentice.
Evaluation: You've just enrolled in the Ninja Academy—why haven't you learned Chakra Refinement yet? Planning to stay a civilian forever?
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Taichi ignored the snide evaluation.
His recent training had raised Basic Taijutsu by one level, and Basic Meditation was only about 200 points away from leveling up as well.
Every skill-up brought with it a surge of related insights, and Taichi was confident that, in terms of taijutsu technique, he was already no weaker than many freshly graduated genin—though he still lacked actual combat experience.
That, he would remedy once he started at the Academy and had more chances to face other ninja.
With thoughts of his future simmering in his mind, Taichi slowly drifted into sleep.