"My name is Masao... and this is my younger sister, Kanae. Our parents are dead, so I've been wandering everywhere with her just trying to survive."
Inside the damp cave, Masao used rainwater to soften a piece of stale dry ration. He carefully fed the mush to Kanae bit by bit as he recounted their tragic story.
To Ooka Shin, the siblings' story sounded depressingly ordinary for the war-torn Land of Rain. Orphans were a dime a dozen here.
However, as Shin looked closely at the dim light filtering into the cave, he focused on the siblings' matted, filthy hair. After confirming the striking crimson hue beneath the mud, a deep sense of satisfaction washed over him.
Red hair didn't absolutely guarantee one belonged to the Uzumaki Clan, but every true-blooded Uzumaki definitely had red hair. Given how rare the trait was in the ninja world, the chances were incredibly high.
"My name is Ooka Shin," he said, his voice flat and practical. "You two follow me from now on. I'll provide food, but stay sharp. If we encounter danger, you run and hide far away. Do not drag me down."
Masao immediately nodded, his eyes wide with desperate gratitude. "I understand! I'm very obedient, and I eat very little! I won't cause any trouble, I swear."
Shin nodded curtly and stepped toward the cave entrance. Drawing his newly looted short sword, he began running through basic katas.
Because Kiichiro had been relentlessly practicing swordsmanship over in the Land of Lightning, Shin's body already possessed the muscle memory. He was soon swinging the blade with the smooth proficiency of a trained soldier.
Not only that, but because the five of them were essentially starting from zero, every shared improvement felt massive. After Kyosuke's successful Chakra refinement in Konoha earlier that day, Shin could physically feel the newfound energy circulating in his own coils, making him significantly stronger and faster.
Having Chakra would make the grueling journey to track down the Akatsuki Organization infinitely safer.
The next morning, the torrential downpour finally weakened into a steady drizzle. Shin packed up their meager supplies and led Masao and Kanae out of the cave, setting a grueling pace toward the nearest civilian town.
Meanwhile, in the sweltering heat of the Land of Wind.
Tasaka Sensuke returned home from the Sunagakure Ninja Academy. Just as he was about to head into the courtyard to continue practicing his ninjutsu, he saw his father, Tasaka Bussei, jogging toward him. The older man's face was flushed with joy.
"Sensuke! I have incredible news!" Bussei beamed, clapping a hand onto his son's shoulder. "Lady Pakura has agreed to my request! She is willing to give you a chance. As long as you can pass her test, she will take you on as her personal disciple!"
Over his first year at the Academy, Sensuke's performance had grown exponentially—thanks to the shared physical stats of his 'alts.' He had quickly risen to become one of the school's top geniuses.
Seeing his son's terrifying potential, Bussei knew his own skills as an average Chunin were entirely insufficient to teach him. He had spent the last few months pulling every string he had, desperate to find a master worthy of Sensuke's talent.
A parent's heart is entirely dedicated to their child, and Sensuke genuinely appreciated the old man's efforts.
As a veteran who had survived the horrors of the Second Shinobi World War, Bussei had built a solid network of Jonin acquaintances. By cashing in old favors and leveraging Sensuke's flawless Academy record, he had finally managed to persuade Pakura to grant an interview.
At this point in time, Pakura of the Scorch Release was already a standout among the young elite and a rising star in Sunagakure. Becoming her disciple would be a massive leap forward for Sensuke's future.
Of course, that was provided he passed whatever brutal test she had prepared.
Bussei was brimming with confidence. "Don't worry, son. You're brilliant; you'll easily pass. Go meet Lady Pakura at the designated coordinates today and follow her orders to the letter. I'll take care of requesting a leave of absence from the Academy for you."
Sensuke nodded sharply. "I'll go pack my gear right away."
"Hurry. Do not keep Lady Pakura waiting. She is constantly out on high-rank missions and has very little free time to humor genin."
"Understood."
Since it was a test from a Jonin, Sensuke took no chances. He packed kunai, shuriken, wire wire, medical bandages, ration pills, and antidotes. He prepared his kit entirely according to the standards of an active warzone deployment.
Seeing his son's meticulous and professional preparation, Bussei felt a surge of overwhelming pride.
Later that afternoon, Sensuke arrived at the coordinates: a towering, desolate loess plateau just outside the village walls. Pakura was already waiting for him at the very top, a tiny silhouette against the glaring sun.
This must be the first test, Sensuke thought, adjusting his goggles against the biting wind.
He walked up to the nearly ninety-degree cliff face and patted it gently. A shower of loose dirt and pebbles cascaded down. With just a little force, his fingers easily pried loose a large chunk of sandstone.
This plateau had been severely eroded by centuries of wind and sandstorms, making the structural integrity of the rock incredibly brittle. It was entirely unsuitable for free-climbing. One careless handhold would lead to a fatal drop.
For a young Academy student, scaling this cliff was a hellish challenge.
With the scorching sun beating down on his back, Sensuke first unhooked his canteen and chugged the entire thing. He couldn't risk passing out halfway up due to dehydration and heatstroke.
Preparations complete, Sensuke drew three kunai from his holster. He gripped two in his hands, using them as makeshift climbing picks to dig deep into the rock wall.
He tied the third kunai to a spool of ninja wire attached to his waist. Every time he ascended ten meters, he found a relatively solid fissure in the rock, jammed the third kunai deep inside, and used it as a temporary safety anchor.
It was a grueling, agonizing process. The erosion was worse than it looked. Just fifteen meters up, Sensuke drove his right kunai upward, only to hit a pocket of loose shale. The rock crumbled instantly, and Sensuke plummeted backward into the open air.
The wire snapped taut, violently jerking his waist, but the safety anchor held. He slammed hard against the cliff face, gasping for breath, but alive.
Such near-death falls occurred three times in total. The final slip happened nearly a hundred meters above the desert floor. Without his paranoid safety anchors, Sensuke would have undoubtedly fallen to his death.
His stamina was completely drained. The sweat had poured down his face, dried in the baking wind, and poured again, until his body had nothing left to sweat. He was caked in a thick layer of dried, salty mud.
Just as the sun began to dip below the horizon, a dizzy, half-conscious Sensuke finally dragged himself over the ledge and onto the plateau. He collapsed directly onto the sun-baked stone, his limbs twitching involuntarily from severe muscle fatigue.
Standing a few feet away, Pakura watched the boy in silence. Beneath her calm exterior, she was genuinely shocked.
To be perfectly honest, she had zero intention of taking on a disciple. As a proud wielder of a Bloodline Limit, she had incredibly high standards. Even if she wanted a student, she wouldn't settle for an ordinary civilian kid. She was only entertaining this meeting to repay a life debt to Tasaka Bussei.
In her eyes, Sensuke was just a child. Teaching him would be an annoying burden.
It was precisely because of this annoyance that she had intentionally chosen this plateau, setting a harsh, bordering on impossible, physical challenge. She fully expected the boy to take one look at the crumbling rock, cry, and back down.
She had never expected him to actually attempt it, let alone complete it.
Whether it was his raw intelligence to use the kunai as safety anchors, his physical endurance, or his sheer, stubborn willpower... Sensuke's performance had violently shattered her expectations.
Sensuke slowly lifted his trembling head, looking at Pakura through his dust-caked goggles.
Pakura crossed her arms. "I have a mission tomorrow. You are coming with me. Meet me at the main gate at 0600 hours sharp." She paused, her eyes narrowing. "That will be the real test."
Having issued her orders, Pakura stepped forward, casually grabbed Sensuke by the scruff of his collar, and easily carried him down the side of the cliff.
That night, deep within the grey mists of the Dream Space, the five boys exchanged their daily reports.
Hearing Sensuke's story, Kyosuke couldn't help but groan in envy. "If you actually become Pakura's disciple, our Suna account is basically set. We can finally learn some A-rank ninjutsu! All we did in the Konoha Academy today was practice the leaf-concentration exercise and memorize chakra formulas. It's so boring. I want a Jonin master too!"
Sensuke adjusted his goggles, looking incredibly smug. "Obviously. Pakura is a named, high-tier character. With her as my master, I'm guaranteed to become a top political figure in Sunagakure."
Kiichiro snorted. "Keep dreaming, idiot. Don't forget the lore. She gets betrayed and murdered by the Fourth Kazekage later on. As her personal disciple, do you really think you'll survive the political purge when she dies?"
Sensuke waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever. That betrayal doesn't happen for years. Besides, with five transmigrators actively messing with the timeline, who knows how things will turn out? Maybe I can save her."
At that moment, Shin interrupted, his tone uncharacteristically urgent. "Enough about the timeline. Kanae is sick. She has a high fever and won't stop vomiting. Have any of you guys picked up basic medical skills yet? I need advice."
Kyosuke shook his head helplessly. "I've only been in the Academy for two days. We haven't touched basic first aid, let alone pathology. I don't have the connections to sneak into the Konoha hospital either. Asking too many specific questions as a healthy six-year-old will look incredibly suspicious. Of course... if she's dying, I can always deliberately poison myself and ask the doctors while they treat me."
Sensuke frowned. "I'm going on a mission with Pakura tomorrow. If you can hold out until tomorrow night, I can ask my dad for some field-medic knowledge."
At this point, Mishu chuckled darkly from the corner. "Hehehe... what are her exact symptoms, Shin? Tell me. Because the Bloody Mist is basically a giant slaughterhouse, basic combat medicine and herbalism are taught aggressively early. I can describe the appearance of some common fever-reducing herbs to you. If you can forage for them in the Rain, she should be fine."
Shin let out a massive sigh of relief. "That's perfect. By the way, I interrogated the older brother about their parents. They really are Uzumaki. That means her baseline vitality is naturally terrifying. As long as I can get her a basic fever-reducer and some clean food, her bloodline should do the rest of the heavy lifting."
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