[…System Booting…]
[Stabilization Recommended]
The night had slipped away without him noticing.
When Eiji finally opened his eyes, the sky was no longer black. A faint blue hue brushed the edge of the horizon, and the first birds of dawn were beginning to stir in the treetops.
His body ached. Not painfully, but in a deep, pulsing way that reminded him of his efforts.
"Ughh… How long was I meditating?"
The warmth inside him had settled now into a pulse barely noticeable, a soft ember beneath his chest. His chakra, or at least what he assumed was chakra, felt calmer than this morning's wild surge.
He took a slow breath.
'Okay… so at least I didn't collapse again. That's progress.'
He stood from the base of the tree, wobbling only slightly, but even that slight instability worried him. Apparently whatever this system is, it needed certain conditions.
He brushed dirt from his clothes and stepped quietly back toward the orphanage. His sandals crunched softly against the grass. The air was cold against his cheeks.
A faint orange glow began to stretch along the rooftops.
'Oh no.'
He hurried.
If the matron found him outside at dawn after collapsing just hours earlier, she would have his head. Or worse, she'd sit him down and talk in that quiet emotional voice that hurt more than any scolding.
He cracked open the back door.
The house was still dark.
He tiptoed along the hallway, heart pounding louder than his footsteps. The kids' bedroom was silent except for Kota's heavy snoring.
'I still can't imagine how that loud snoring is coming from his small body'
Eiji slipped into the room, tip-toed across the floor, and slid onto his futon with the grace of someone disarming a bomb. He pulled the blanket up to his chin and shut his eyes right as-
*CrrEeeeaak*
The matron opened the door.
Eiji held perfectly still.
"Kids… time to wake up," she said softly, her voice tired but warm.
A chorus of groans and mumbles rose from the futons around him.
Kota flopped over, mumbling, "Five minutes…"
The matron chuckled. "No five minutes. Up, up."
Eiji allowed himself a slow exhale.
'Close. Luckily I made it in time.'
He sat up slowly, pretending he had just woken. He rubbed at his eyes for effect.
"Morning, Matron," he said politely.
She smiled fondly, but she didn't miss the way he winced slightly when stretching his back.
Her brow furrowed. "Are you feeling alright?"
He forced a relaxed expression. "Just stiff from sleeping funny."
She stared at him for one long second too long.
Then nodded.
"For today, try not to run around too much Eiji," she warned gently. "I'll handle the laundry and the errands. You stay inside and rest."
"Yes, Matron."
He bowed slightly without meaning to, corporate reflex, and she shook her head in amused irritation.
"I always say this, but you're too formal for a four-year-old…"
"I… apologize?"
"Eiji."
"Right. No apologies."
"…Honestly, what am I going to do with you?" she said fondly.
She left the room with a sigh that was half affection, half exasperation.
Eiji finally let out a breath he'd been holding since dawn. He pulled the blanket aside and stood, joints stiff but functional. More importantly, his head felt clear.
'Okay, so no idea what happened last night, but there are a few things I think I can say'
First, the energy in his chest meant he can already gather chakra
Second, some sort of system needs chakra to start, at least partially
Third, he still need stabilization,
'whatever that is'
He looked around the room at the snoring and stretching kids.
'I need to get stronger. Safely. Carefully. And quietly.'
He can't collapse again.
Once everyone washed up, they gathered in the dining room.
Breakfast was simple. Rice porridge with bits of pickled radish. The children dug in eagerly, chatting about squirrels, pretend ninja battles, and who had the most "super cool" dreams, most of them becoming the Hokage.
Eiji ate quietly.
His hands trembled only once when he lifted the spoon.
He hid it well.
Kota leaned toward him mid-bite. "You okay, Eiji? You look weird."
Eiji forced a small smile. "Just tired."
Kota nodded, completely accepting that explanation, then immediately spilled porridge on his shirt.
"Matroooon! My shirt!"
The matron sighed. "You are always playing with your spoon, it's not a kunai or a sword Kota. Sit still!"
Kota muttered something about evil spoons and reached for a cloth.
Eiji watched the scene even more closely than usual, the familiar chaos, the warmth, the simplicity, and something settled tight in his chest.
'Mistakes have a price here, people are fragile, and the world is dangerous.'
And he had already cost the orphanage seventy five ryo just yesterday.
He clenched his hands.
'I can't let this fall apart.'
After breakfast, when the kids filtered off into their usual routines, chores, play, bickering that lasted only long enough to spark yet another game.
Eiji quietly slipped out the back door.
The morning sunlight was soft, not yet bright enough to make the world harsh. Dew clung to the grass, shimmering faintly. The kind of peaceful hour that made it easy to forget this was a shinobi village where danger was literally anywhere.
Eiji took a slow breath.
Now that some sort of system was stirring awake, whatever it was, he couldn't afford to drift through each day aimlessly. He needed a strategy. One that a four year old could actually execute without raising suspicions.
He crouched near the stump by the old well, drawing rough lines into the dirt with a stick.
[Goals:
-Food for the orphanage.
-Strengthen Chakra.
-Strengthen Body.
-Earn Money / Get Supplies.]
Each point was obvious, but seeing them written down made everything clearer.
"Okay… first things first," he murmured under his breath, "I need food sources."
The forest made the most sense. But he wasn't delusional. Even the edge of the woods didn't guarantee his safety.
"I can't go too deep into the forest, at least not yet"
He dragged the stick against the dirt.
[Food options:
-edible plants
-mushrooms
-berries
-small animals
-fish (if he found a stream)]
The problem?
He didn't know which ones were safe.
He sat back, rubbing the inside of his palm with a thumb.
"I need knowledge first. Even basic knowledge."
He didn't have access to scrolls or textbooks. But he did have the village library. Food stalls. Vendors. Hunters. And if he listened long enough, he could maybe learn small things. What was safe. What was commonly sold.
He could piece it together slowly.
For now, he wrote:
[Step 1 - Strengthen Body.]
"It's not much"
But it was a start.
He pushed the stick aside and stood, rolling his shoulders. His small frame didn't have much strength, but that could change. Kids here trained early. Running. Stretching. Balancing. Daily acupuncture. Medicinal baths. Some even practiced basic kunai throwing under a parent's supervision.
He had none of that guidance.
So he'd start with what he did know.
Cardio. Strength basics. Flexibility.
It wouldn't be much at first, but habits accumulate.
He inhaled and let his feet slide apart on instinct, lowering himself into a squat. The posture was a little shaky, but manageable. He repeated the motion again. And again. His breaths came sharper after the tenth. By the fifteenth, his legs shook.
By the twentieth, he had to stop.
He let out a shuddering breath and sat on the stump again.
"Wow…" he muttered, staring at his trembling legs. "Why is my body so weak?"
He caught himself.
"..."
"Right."
'I'm not an adult anymore'
He wasn't an adult burning stress away with late-night gym sessions after twelve-hour shifts.
He was a child rebuilding from zero.
So he had to take it slow.
He steadied his breathing and stretched his arms overhead, letting the ache settle into something he could use later.
"Okay… moving on."
His thoughts drifted to ryo.
Medicine costs money.
Food costs money.
Everything costs money.
The orphanage had no steady funding. Only occasional stipends that were too small to matter.
He grabbed the stick again and sat down.
A kid could do small tasks.
[Possible earning methods:
-sweeping storefronts
-cleaning tools
-running errands
-helping elderly villagers
-hand-picking herbs and selling them
-catching fish or small animals to sell or use
-firewood gathering]
Foraging, hunting, and gathering would probably be the fastest and most useful.
'But the forest…'
He looked at the line of trees again, their shadows stretching long across the ground. They seemed harmless now in the morning light.
But he knew from both lives that even the faintest rustle could be something dangerous.
Still… he wasn't helpless. At least not fully.
He placed a hand over his chest.
He could feel the warmth again.
Chakra.
His chakra.
He wasn't sure how much he had compared to other children. Probably less than clan kids. Definitely less than the monsters called prodigies. But he had discipline, something he lacked for most of his old life until corporate misery hammered it into him.
He closed his eyes.
Slow breath in. Slow breath out.
The warmth flickered gently. Not enough to cause a surge. Balanced. Soft.
He nudged it, not pushing, not forcing.
The warmth nudged back, expanding a little, then calming again.
"…I can work with this," he whispered.
It was still too early for another serious attempt. He wouldn't risk fainting again. But that didn't mean he couldn't practice something more controlled.
Breathing and awareness. Feeling the flow, letting chakra spread slowly across his body.
He sat still for a moment, focusing on the faint hum beneath his skin. The morning breeze brushed his hair. A few birds chirped overhead.
The moment felt… peaceful.
Until a memory from last night surfaced.
[Stabilization Recommended]
That message didn't seem random.
If the system needed chakra as fuel, then his sudden surge yesterday was like trying to sprint before learning to walk.
He needed to build a foundation.
He quietly added another line in the dirt:
[Step 2 - Chakra Basics:
• Focus on breath
• Gentle flow only
• Stop at first sign of dizziness]
No exceptions.
He wasn't going to terrify the matron again.
Eiji brushed dirt from his hands and stood, stretching his arms overhead until his joints popped softly. He looked toward the forest one more time. It was quieter now, less intimidating, but still not safe.
"Tomorrow," he whispered, "I'll start scouting. Only for a few minutes. Only the border."
He took one last look at the forest before heading back toward the house.
The matron would want help hanging laundry soon. Kota would probably spill something. Mizu would cling to his arm again. The younger kids would bicker then instantly forgive each other.
Life went on as usual.
But beneath that simple, peaceful surface, something had shifted.
This time, he wouldn't be dragged along by life until it crushed him.
This time, he had a chance to shape it.
One small step at a time.
Tomorrow, strength training and scouting.
Tonight, chakra stabilization.
And soon… helping the orphanage and earning money.
Eiji walked back inside, the faint morning light stretching across his small silhouette.
(To Be Continued)
A/N
If you want to read ahead, you can follow my journey while supporting me at;
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