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You're My Special
1: Why my hair is pink again?
Location
Eart
1: Why my hair is pink again?

You know what's the worst thing about dying? Doing it twice.

Yes, dying twice sucks and Itadori Yuji would attest to that. Or was it Daniel?

Well, having two names was something strange. When he was alive, he could choose to use the second one, but in death, what should he call himself?

His first name was Daniel Evans. When he opened his eyes for the second time, he was Itadori Yuji.

He would say that he had come to accept both names, but the reality was that he had lived longer as Daniel than as Itadori.

Which sucked. He was supposed to win! Everything was supposed to be in his favor! He even defeated Sukuna!

So, why was he dead again?

Well, partly it was his fault. He got too confident, thought he was already the strongest, that the fight was over.

He was tired, exhausted. Defeating the King of Curses had required much more than expected, but he had done it. He held his dead body in his hands and did the only thing that seemed logical.

He ate it.

Maybe he should have waited, done it in a less public place, but he had won! It was his moment, his triumph, everything he had worked for until he bled...

Still, he supposed it wasn't a pleasant sight for Yuta or his sensei.

Maybe they were confused? Thought Sukuna had won? Otherwise, he couldn't explain the purple that hit him in the face the next second.

If he had been at his best, if he hadn't been so distracted, if he had, if he had...

Bah! They were all excuses. In the end, he had died at the hands of his own sensei, no less.

How fucked up

"Ironic, isn't it? Whether in the first or the second life, you died at the hands of the 'same' man."

Daniel sighed and lazily opened his eyes slowly. A familiar yet strange place greeted him, an infinite space filled with all kinds of celestial bodies, planets, stars, and galaxies. It was a strange place with a strange logic.

He straightened up and looked around until he found the figure of a "woman," though referring to "her" with a gender was inappropriate. The best way to describe the being in front of him would be "divine."

Because nothing that wasn't a god would have comparable power.

"You know, I thought I wouldn't see you again." Facing the cause of his second life as Yuji Itadori brought strange sensations within him.

There was some gratitude, hatred, and resentment but, in the end, nostalgia. Even if the last time they met wasn't that long ago, it felt like centuries had passed.

The being smiled, a smile made of thousands of stars, something fitting considering that every inch of its skin was like a window to the vast universe.

"I told you not to die too quickly, but blaming you wouldn't be appropriate either. Unfortunate, but I think you fulfilled your purpose in the end, even if it ended unexpectedly."

Ah yes, the "deal"—a second life in exchange for "entertaining her." Honestly, he had forgotten about it.

Remembering the first time he came to this place, he couldn't help but laugh. Yes, it was certainly ironic. Whether in his first or second life, he ultimately ended up dying because of the "same" man.

"At least this time it was more glorious than the first." Yes, dying at an anime convention while fighting "Satoru Gojo" over a chicken nugget was not something he would proudly say out loud. Dying after killing the King of Curses? That was less embarrassing.

"It was certainly entertaining," the being commented cheerfully. Then a comfortable silence filled the vast space. Daniel contemplated the amazing views for a moment before sighing again and standing up.

"Now what?" he asked. He had failed; his second chance was gone. What came next?

The being seemed thoughtful for a few moments before responding.

"Now you try again!" it said cheerfully.

Daniel blinked, confused, his bad mood disappearing immediately.

"What do you mean?" Wasn't this the end?

"Look at you, so depressed. While things didn't go exactly as you expected, in the end, you fulfilled the deal. It was fun. So I thought, why not? They say the third time's the charm after all."

Daniel stayed silent for a moment before laughing. He couldn't help it; it was absurd. He had fought so hard, tried so hard, all for what? To end up in the same place where everything started?

What was the point of all his effort, everything he fought for? The desperate way he clung to his second life? He laughed until he couldn't anymore and wiped a tear from his eye.

The being waited until he calmed down and spoke again.

"Don't misunderstand this. I won't keep giving you chance after chance. This is an exception, only because I enjoyed the first show. After this, if you fail again, you're on your own."

Daniel listened carefully and nodded in understanding. It was more than he could ask for, more than he thought he would get.

"So how are we going to do this?" The first time, he had been too confused, too shocked to understand what was happening.

Now, having lived through it once before, he could enjoy the process more calmly.

The being rubbed its chin thoughtfully.

"The first time, I sent you with nothing, nothing but your knowledge and experience from your first life. Let's change that a bit."

The being snapped its fingers, and a deck of cards appeared out of nowhere.

"How about this? I'll give you three advantages and three disadvantages, all at random, of course."

Daniel thought about it. Well, it didn't seem too bad.

"Advantages and disadvantages, huh? Seems like you don't want to make things too easy for me, but I suppose that's fine. I'm a sorcerer, after all. No matter what, I'm still pretty strong, you know," he couldn't help but say. He was confident; unlike before, when he had been just an ordinary human, now he had the knowledge and experience of a sorcerer.

The being seemed thoughtful before speaking.

"Yes... I don't think that will be of much use to you."

Daniel blinked; for some reason, those words didn't sit well with him, and with a furrowed brow, he asked, "What do you mean?"

The being shrugged. "Hey, don't blame me. The situation is simple: cursed energy, that thing doesn't exist everywhere, you know? Each universe operates and is governed by its own laws. What works in one may not necessarily be useful in another. While you'll still retain your knowledge, without knowing where you'll end up, it's hard to say if you'll still be able to use sorcery."

Of course, without cursed energy, at least 80% of what he knew would become useless. What was the point of knowing how to perform Domain Expansion if there wasn't cursed energy to do it in the first place?

"That's..." Suddenly, he didn't feel so excited anymore. Everything he had worked for, everything he had fought for... would he lose it all just like that?

That was his power, damn it!

He looked at the cards in the being's hand, his brain racing. Maybe he could be lucky; perhaps the place he would go to would be compatible with his sorcery.

"Before looking at the cards... can we see the destination?" he asked, with an idea in mind. It was probably risky, but he wasn't going to throw away what he had worked so hard to gain. Trusting solely in luck was something he had learned not to do.

The being tilted its head, smiled, and nodded. With a snap of its fingers, a huge roulette appeared beside them, a familiar roulette full of names, many unknown, many familiar.

Daniel wiped the sweat from his hands and walked to its side. Which universe was the most compatible? It was hard to tell. The best bet would be to go to one where there was "magic," but was magic really compatible with sorcery?

It didn't matter; he wouldn't know his destiny until the roulette stopped spinning, so contemplating such things was meaningless until he knew.

If he landed in a universe that allowed him to continue using cursed energy, then it was fine. If not... well, then he would have to make a "deal."

Without hesitation, he began to spin the roulette with force.

The huge wheel spun and spun, and for a moment, Daniel just stood there motionless, sweat running down his forehead. He was so focused that he didn't even wonder how that was possible, considering he was dead after all.

Then it stopped, and Daniel blankly stared at the destination.

[Naruto]

That was... not so bad? Actually, he wasn't quite sure.

He scratched his cheek and began to think deeply. What did he know about Naruto?

Well, it was something he had watched when he was young, but he had only seen it once, so while he had a general idea of things, the reality was that he didn't remember everything word for word.

Something about aliens in the end and a very bad sequel?

"Is chakra compatible with cursed energy?" Chakra was a blend of physical and spiritual energy, right? Maybe the physical part could be dismissed, but technically the spiritual part should count?

"I don't know why you're asking when deep down you already know, no, they are not similar at all."

Yeah, he knew. Still, he harbored the vague hope of being wrong.

He sighed. Well, if that's how things were, then he had no choice but to take a chance.

Initially, if a world like Dragon Ball or something similar had come up as the destination, he wouldn't have hesitated so much. No matter how much he loved sorcery, it was useless if the recurring enemy could make you explode along with the entire planet. Or the entire universe.

In such a scenario, it would probably be safer to bet on the advantages and hope to gain something that would put him on the same "level".

But in a world like Naruto...

In a world like that, his sorcery was still useful. It was still the best option.

He didn't like leaving things to chance. He didn't like depending on luck.

He preferred to hold onto the things he had worked so hard for, the things he had fought so hard for.

The being drew the cards once more and spoke, "The advantages and disadvantages are all random. I'll let you choose from 10 options for each, no hints, no tricks. Fair, isn't it?"

Daniel looked at the cards and then spoke, starting to lay out his "bet."

"I want to make a deal."

The being paused with interest, setting aside the cards and attentively "looking" at him.

"What do you have in mind?" It seemed things could get interesting.

"My advantages—I want to exchange them all for one thing." He raised a finger to emphasize.

While having three advantages would be intriguing, being random meant little control over what he could obtain. The risk was too high. If he ended up with something useless, it would just be a waste.

He might not remember everything about Naruto, but he recalled the general power levels. In the final stages, characters started throwing around nuclear bombs like fireworks. He wasn't going to tempt his luck with something that could hinder him against such threats.

As a sorcerer, he might not have a "nuclear bomb" level attack in his repertoire, but he had many other options that made him just as or more dangerous than those capable of such destruction. At least in terms of lethality, he possessed an attack that would undoubtedly not fall behind.

And nobody said he couldn't become stronger afterward...

"Well, that's new." The being shuffled the cards in its hand and looked at him with interest.

"But I feel like this will make things more fun. So, tell me, what do you want?"

Daniel smiled. It had been a gamble, as the being could have rejected his request. But now that it had accepted, everything was fine. He had won.

"Everything I gained and had as Yuji Itadori—I want it back, cursed energy included."

It was his power, for which he had fought and bled profusely. It was his and his alone. No one should be able to take it away from him.

"Heh, so you're reluctant to give it up, huh? Well, I don't blame you. Alright, just this once, I'll make an exception."

The being reached out, and a blank card with what looked like the image of a pair of white wings appeared floating above its palm.

played with it between her fingers and then tossed it towards him. The card traveled like a projectile of light at great speed and collided with his chest, disappearing inside him. Daniel felt a familiar yet different sensation beginning to well up within him.

"Is this it?" Confused, he clenched his fists, feeling strange.

"In Naruto, cursed energy doesn't exist, so I've made chakra the equivalent instead," the being explained.

That made more sense than simply altering the entire universe's structure so that only he had cursed energy. Maybe it wasn't what he initially thought, but it was acceptable. Cursed energy or chakra, it didn't matter, as long as he could use his sorcery abilities.

While Daniel inspected his new "energy," the being pulled out a deck of dark cards adorned with skull engravings, emitting a sinister energy.

It skillfully shuffled them, catching Daniel's attention once more.

"Are these the disadvantages?" he asked, with some concern.

The being nodded absentmindedly and smiled when it found the card it wanted.

"Bingo!" It took the card, and the deck vanished into thin air the next moment.

Something didn't seem right about this.

"You said they would be random. Why did it look like you deliberately chose that card?" Daniel asked, feeling his left eye twitch slightly.

"Was your advantage random?" she countered his question.

Daniel blinked and slowly shook his head, already knowing where this was going and beginning to curse inwardly.

"You said you wanted to make a deal, not do a favor, not make a request, but a deal. And a deal should benefit both parties, don't you think?"

Well who knew, it looked like trying to be a little sneaky came back to bite him in the ass immediately.

"Since you chose a specific advantage, it's only fair that I choose a specific disadvantage as well, don't you agree? A fair deal in my view."

Then, she raised the card in her hand and it transformed in the air, becoming a semi-transparent red screen with text on it.

(Ultimate Enemy: a being that exists solely to kill you, cooldown time 15 years)

"Since we're leaving nothing to chance, it's only fair we stick with the theme you chose. Within 15 years from your birth into the shinobi world, The Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga, will appear at a random location within 15 kilometers of you and seek to kill you, no matter where you are or what stands in its way."

Well, Shit!.

He almost panicked, but he forced himself to calm down. This was manageable. He had defeated Sukuna, and Sukuna had defeated Mahoraga in canon, so theoretically, he should be more than capable of handling this, right?

Theoretically, because he had never let Sukuna fight or summon Mahoraga in his life as Itadori. He had never seen the real shikigami in person, so while he knew he should be able to handle it, for some reason he couldn't help but worry.

"It's okay, it's 15 years. That's enough time. I can handle this..."

He just had to regain all his strength or even become stronger.

"Lastly, since you asked to keep everything you had as Itadori, that also refers to his 'special' physique, correct?"

Daniel paid attention again and nodded. Itadori's special physique and its connection to Sukuna were reasons why he could "win." Losing it would be too unfortunate, so he preferred to keep it.

The being looked at him thoughtfully and smiled mischievously, as if something amusing had occurred to her. That didn't give him a good feeling.

"Well, I'll have to change a few things, but if that's what you want, then so be it."

Change a few things?

Before he could ask, the being snapped her fingers, and a spiral portal appeared next to him, beginning to forcefully suck his body in.

"this time it's the final farewell for us, I hope you can live a long time, Daniel. Enjoy this last life, you certainly deserve it. Oh yes, remember to make it entertaining haha."

Daniel couldn't respond as his consciousness plunged into darkness.

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It was dark, and his mind felt apathetic, heavy, sleepy...

He was tired yet semi-conscious; it was strange.

It had been like this for a while, his body acting automatically with his consciousness in a state where he could feel but only for brief moments.

Occasionally, he heard things, saw things, but it was blurry.

He was a damn baby, that was obvious, or at least it was to the part of his consciousness that managed to awaken occasionally.

He was grateful for this, preferring to be in this state until he didn't need to be cleaned or fed involuntarily.

If he wanted, he could have "awakened," he knew that, but he didn't. He didn't want to experience the "baby" phase and wasn't good at acting like one, so to avoid suspicion, he let his body be guided by basic baby instincts while his consciousness rested temporarily.

At least until a damn murderous intent rivaling that of the King of Curses struck him in the face.

With annoyance, his consciousness snapped back with full force, and he opened his eyes, bloodshot.

For a moment, he was on the verge of unleashing his own murderous intent, but when his eyes met the worried eyes of a woman, he forced himself to stop.

He blinked, seeing fear and panic in the woman, and everything around them seemed to tremble, a familiar yet unknown energy hitting as if gravity had suddenly intensified.

Was this chakra? And a very strong one at that. He heard a deafening roar that shook the place even more, and he saw a part of the ceiling starting to fall toward them. Without much hesitation, he lightly moved his finger, and the debris suddenly split into dozens of pieces.

He frowned slightly; that had been more difficult than it should have been.

The woman was too scared to notice; in fact, she was probably in shock. He debated whether he should do something to snap her out of it, but then he sensed someone approaching quickly.

"Haruno-san!" A man's voice called out, and soon a figure found them and took both him and the woman into his arms.

The woman snapped out of her trance and began to sob.

How annoying.

Soon, he could see the outside and the cause of all this disaster.

In the distance, towering even above the mountains, a huge nine-tailed fox was wreaking havoc on the village indiscriminately. Each movement of its tails sent gusts of wind that could crush tsunamis, each swing of its claws cut buildings into pieces. Its rage and rampage, combined with its murderous intent, could have left any other person catatonic.

To him, it was like reliving his most recent fight, except instead of a giant fox, his opponent had been the King of Curses, the strongest sorcerer of antiquity.

He couldn't help but smile. As much as he despised him, there was something he had to admit: he also loved a good fight.

"Who would have thought, maybe I'm more like you than I realized, Suku—"

"Sukuna-chan, are you okay?!" The woman's voice snapped him out of his trance. Without him realizing it, they had reached what seemed to be a shelter, far from the calamity the biju was causing.

He blinked. What the hell had she called him?!

"Let me see him, the chakra of the Kyubi is too heavy, many children are dying because of it," said one of the nearby shinobi with no tact, taking Sukuna into his arms.

A green light began to glow in his palm, and he felt a warm current of chakra flow through his body, but he couldn't pay attention to it.

Not because his gaze was focused on the headband on the shinobi's forehead, not on its symbol; he didn't need to see the Leaf Village's symbol to know where he was.

Instead, his gaze was focused on the reflection, the reflection of himself.

Pale skin, chubby baby face, light green eyes, and damned pink hair...

"Why my hair is pink again?!"

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Note:

"Spin-Off of Still Defiant?" You don't need to read anything from that series to read this, although the first chapter will probably give you a better idea of the whole "being" thing.

Well, guys, I'm working on the next updates for my main stories. Formal work is also heavy these days; it seems someone forgot to do their part, and now we're all in trouble because of it. Damn irresponsible people!

But I don't want to go without publishing anything, so I pulled out this "prologue" that I had saved for a while. I never published it because I was too busy, and by the time I noticed, I already had several stories to focus on.

This will be in a "strange" state because, as I mentioned, I already have several main stories to focus on, so I'll only update it if I have free time (I won't take time away from my main stories). But if you guys really like it, maybe I'll try to write more about it. Who knows?

The main tags will be SI-OC/Naruto AU/Slice of Life/Adventure/Action (harem is a go?) and probably a few more. I thought about making this story more relaxed and taking it down the path I wanted to take Almost Invincible, meaning an NSFW story. But since I'm still a novice at that, it will be more of a semi-serious story with NSFW touches here and there.

In summary, plot before "plot."

This was first posted on QQ so that's why the note, since we are in spacebattles obviously those parts will be cut to respect the rules of the site, of course I will let you know when that happens and if you want you can go read the censored content on QQ

Leave your comments, criticisms and suggestions without hesitation! I will be reading them.
 
2: My Special
2: My Special

Negative emotions, what an interesting and special thing.

Daniel, or rather, Sukuna now, felt the heaviness in the air, an aggressive thickness of clear malice mixed with fear, anger, rage, and despair.

A whole range of feelings that would undoubtedly have generated a high-grade cursed spirit, even a special grade if you were optimistic, or at least that would have been the case in his old world.

In this new world? They remained there, almost static, simply flooding the environment.

How boring.

He heard a dozen or more brats crying and screaming, he could feel their fragile spirits being oppressed and their will beginning to fracture, it was irritating.

He wanted to go back to sleep, although he knew it was impossible at this point. His consciousness was now fully active and he could no longer return to his previous state of conscious rest.

It would have been better to remain "asleep" until he was 4 or 5 years old, it was unfortunate but he supposed he would have to live as an infant for some time, even so, he preferred not to have more than a dozen brats crying around him.

"Let's see if this works," he opened his mouth slightly and began to suck in.

In his life as Itadori, he had done much to survive, training had been the basics, stealing and learning techniques from others too, but above all, he had experimented a lot.

Playing with the rules, bending them, probing the limits, and searching for loopholes.

One of those loopholes was achieved thanks to a special binding vow. Sukuna was a monster with an absurd amount of cursed energy and Itadori barely scratched the average, this was a great disadvantage.

To solve this, he came up with an idea.

Cursed energy comes from the sorcerer's negative emotions and under normal circumstances, a sorcerer can only use the cursed energy they themselves generate from their emotions.

So what would happen if a sorcerer could turn the negative emotions of his surroundings into his own cursed energy?

So he made a binding vow with himself, it was a deal he didn't think would work but it actually did.

It gave him a way to manipulate the negative emotions of the environment and consume them within himself to turn them into cursed energy for his own use.

The only thing he sacrificed was his ability to fall in love.

It sounded silly but in fact, love was something quite unique and special, sacrificing it completely was like ripping his own heart out.

One might wonder if it was worth it, well under normal circumstances it wouldn't have been, but he had added another clause.

If he managed to defeat the King of Curses, the most powerful sorcerer in history, in a solo battle without any help, then he could regain his heart.

If he lost even once, then he would lose his heart forever.

Well, he had won, and regaining his heart had been so euphoric that he ended up acting like a fool, which led him to die.

He felt the negative emotions slowly beginning to enter him but abruptly stopped and opened his eyes, confused.

No one could notice it but one of the toes on his left foot had turned to stone.

"Huh? What's this?" He hadn't felt it before because it was something new, a different energy.

One that seemed to passively surround the entire world, present in every part of it in a strange way. He studied it carefully, realizing that this energy was slowly but progressively absorbing the negative emotions.

Eroding their existence and mixing them with itself, it might take several years but at some point, all negative emotions would have been eliminated from the environment.

It wouldn't have been possible for him to notice if he wasn't so familiar with negative emotions and their effect on the environment.

He began to think, trying to remember.

"Natural energy?" The name came to his mind along with vague images of toads.

It seemed he wouldn't be able to use his unique ability until he found a way to avoid the unexpected side effects on his physical body.

"How annoying,"

even so, this was an opportunity, it was time to experiment a little.

As the calmest infant, his mother had laid him down on one of the cradles in the shelter while she helped other mothers calm their children.

He carefully checked that no one was watching and slowly closed his eyes.

He began to feel this thing called "chakra" pricking his existence carefully.

While he had felt the difference when he was still dead, feeling something like a soul and doing so with a body of flesh and bone were two different concepts.

And thanks to that, he realized a problem.

"All my control..." he knew how to manipulate cursed energy.

He didn't know how to manipulate chakra.

That didn't mean he couldn't use his abilities; he had practiced with them so much that they had become completely second nature. He could still force their activation if necessary, although he didn't know if this could bring about unknown consequences.

So trying to play it safe was the best course of action, at least until he learned to use this new energy source to power them correctly.

Which was undoubtedly annoying but he could accept it.

He continued probing, feeling his body little by little.

The being seemed to have kept its word so far; he had arrived in this world with everything he had obtained as Itadori Yuji.

At the same time, there was something extra, a kind of strange organ similar to a circulatory system.

His new energy, chakra, traveled through it naturally and passively.

"What was it called?" While he remembered general things about Naruto, the technical aspects, such as the deep function of chakra, were things he didn't fully remember beyond some vague images.

"Chakra network," he recalled, a very good character had broken or was born with a defective chakra network or something like that, right?

It was a guy with big eyebrows.

"Rock Lee," the name came to mind easily once he had something to relate it to.

At the same time, some images of the boy appeared, images of his possible future.

How interesting, but he didn't get too distracted thinking about it, he still needed to solve the small problem in his foot.

Once he correctly self-evaluated, he began to manipulate his chakra carefully.

Although playing it safe was the plan for the future, right now he needed to deviate from that plan a bit to fix the mess he had caused.

Soon the chakra began to act, and dark tattoo-like marks started appearing on his body and face, an extra pair of eyes formed beneath his original ones.

Slowly, the two pairs of eyes opened lazily, blood-red pupils illuminating for a moment, but the next instant the chakra seemed to slip out of his control and the changes vanished along with any marks.

"Tch!" It was irritating but he had achieved his goal.

He felt how he could move his left toe again, now once more of flesh and bone.

When he began to consume Sukuna's body, he stole everything from him, absolutely everything.

He had won, he ceased to be the "imitation" and became the real thing.

He supposed it made sense then that his sensei had confused him, certainly he and Sukuna had looked very similar in the end.

Although he didn't have four arms or two faces, not that he complained, he preferred the "normal" appearance.

"I have to practice." Physical and spiritual energy.

The spiritual part was vaguely similar to cursed energy; using something like "emotions" to generate energy was something he could understand, and thanks to that, he could use those small similarities to manipulate it more easily.

The physical energy was something strange, it was born from the body and used the body's energy to act, he still couldn't say if this would make its use easier or harder.

And of course, the combination of both, chakra, manipulating both energies together to create something "superior."

It seemed he wouldn't get bored training, at least.

But for now, he needed to rest a bit; it seemed his physical changes required physical energy to take effect. Who would have thought?

His small baby body had gotten quite tired just by fixing something small.

Well, he still had something to do inside himself, so he would take this opportunity to finish what he couldn't in his previous life. Besides, not having to listen to those irritating cries was just an advantage he would take without hesitation.

So, he slowly closed his eyes and let his consciousness delve deep into his soul.

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Then he opened them again and smiled.

He took a deep breath, the smell of meat and blood clear in his nostrils.

"Ugh, this place still stinks!" he grimaced and began inspecting his surroundings, opening his eyes slightly with excitement as he saw something that pleased him.

"So there you were," he looked at the space with his smile returning to his face as he noticed the anomaly present. There was something that had started to irritate him, but now he understood.

Where was all his cursed energy? While he didn't have much as Itadori, once he began to devour sukuna, he felt the cursed energy of the King of Curses become part of him, greatly increasing his natural reserves.

The being had promised to send everything he had with him, which of course should also include his cursed energy and its reserves. He didn't know exactly how the conversion from cursed energy to chakra would be, but he felt there shouldn't be a big difference.

At least not one that would make him feel as little chakra as he had felt when awake.

Now he understood, it was an instinctive comprehension.

"An infant's body couldn't withstand so much energy inside or it would explode." Who would have thought, his new body was actually a fragile vessel.

Thus, the being had done something to maintain his health and at the same time fulfill her part.

she had placed all his cursed energy converted into chakra inside his inner domain, hidden deep within his soul.

"Eh, doesn't this make me a- what was it called?" He thought until the word came to his tongue.

"Jinchuriki! Ha, this is really ironic." Of course, it wasn't entirely the same; his "chakra" wasn't sealed nor could it be detected by others. After all, it was in his inner domain, in his soul.

He knew from the moment he understood the situation that if he wished, he could release it all instantly, making it merge with his "natural" chakra reserves easily, meaning the ones his mortal body was born with in this world.

Of course, as a consequence, his chakra networks would probably explode, along with his baby body.

That was because he didn't have the chakra control to avoid it or a body strong enough to withstand it.

At least, not for now.

"But releasing it little by little is possible," thus the only burden that had been bothering him disappeared.

He had too many techniques with a colossal energy cost. If he only had the minuscule reserves his new body was born with, then using most of his abilities would have been nearly impossible, which made the whole matter of changing his advantages a bad joke.

Of course, there was his unique ability which he had gained with his binding vow, but it would probably take a few years to use it again, at least until he managed to acquire the necessary knowledge to use natural energy without issues.

Additionally, it had the drawback of needing constant negative emotions in the environment. In a world where natural energy eroded such emotions over time, it would be difficult to find suitable places unless he created them himself.

Relying on such an ability in a world like this was always worse than simply using his monstrously hard-earned energy reserves.

He could use the negative emotions generated by others, but that also meant making people feel those emotions in large quantities in the first place, which again, was too cumbersome.

"Looks like I can relax. I just have to practice diligently and everything that was mine will return naturally."

With a sincere smile, he began to walk through the sea of blood toward a mountain full of bones and skulls. His foot stepped on one, turning it to pieces, and he started to climb the slope with slow, measured steps.

As he walked, he couldn't help but hum a song that had stayed in his memories for a while. His humming echoed through the place until his feet carried him to the top. To the throne.

"You're my special~" he smiled, pleased to find himself face to face with his "gaze."

"I'll need to make some changes, decorate the place a bit. Although I like the theme, suitable for a demon king, don't you think?" he said, looking around before lowering his gaze back to the throne.

"Not a word? No? Well, I suppose it's normal, after all, you no longer have mouths to speak with," he mocked.

Before dying, he hadn't been able to properly digest his meal.

It was fortunate then that the remains had stayed in his "stomach," still fresh.

He looked at the body full of bites, just a half-eaten piece of flesh, and couldn't help but chuckle a bit, a single red eye looking at him with perhaps a fraction of remaining will.

"Itadakimasu!" He put his palms together in prayer for a second before leaning in and starting to chew.

This was his triumphant feast after all.

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Note:

A second chapter more focused on explanation, Over time I will explain more things, everything in due time, for now I think it is a good point to start the story, I don't know when the next chapter will come out.
 
3: First steps, First encounter
3: First steps, First encounter

"Say ah! Come on, say ah!"

Lazy green eyes looked at the woman trying to feed him with boredom.

The woman pouted at his refusal and put the wooden spoon down on the plate, sighing as she watched the small child, no more than 2 years old, take the spoon himself and begin to calmly eat the baby food.

"Mu! Sukuna-chan won't let me feed him!"

She looked with tearful eyes at a man sitting beside her, the poor guy laughed helplessly and tried to console her.

"Come on, he's a big boy now, the time when you used to feed him is over, isn't it, Sukuna?"

Being suddenly called, the child looked up from his plate, his "innocent" green eyes gazing at the two adults before confidently smiling and nodding enthusiastically.

It was a good act and neither of the two adults in the room thought there was anything strange in his behavior.

The man laughed and reached out his hand, ruffling the already messy pink hair of the child.

The woman sighed, looked at her baby, and couldn't help but complain.

"They grow up so fast, at this rate he'll start throwing kunais and practicing jutsus before we even notice."

The man stopped his hand and his smile faded a little.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, just because other kids do things like that doesn't mean we should expect the same from him, that would be putting too much on his plate."

They weren't a clan, maybe once they had been shinobi, but that was in the past, now they lived different lives.

The woman stayed silent for a moment, looked at her son, and nodded in agreement with her husband's words.

"Yes, Sukuna-chan can choose to be whatever he wants."

Sukuna, for his part, ate slowly; the baby food wasn't that bad.

Even so, he would kill to try some meat.

Metaphorically, of course, he wasn't a maniac.

He watched his "parents" chat cheerfully, Kizashi Haruno and Mebuki Haruno.

They were an... interesting duo, civilians but clearly something more than that, at least in the past.

From the brief conversations and information he had managed to overhear, they had served as genin during their youth before retiring once the Third Great Ninja War ended.

That made sense with what he sensed using his superior senses. The amount of chakra in them was weak, a little better than the chakra of common people, but that was all. Combined with their weak and fragile spirit, Sukuna could say without much doubt that they were weak.

There wasn't much to learn from them, so for the most part, he ignored them and pretended to be a normal child, or at least he tried his best and seemed to be quite good at it because so far they hadn't suspected anything.

Maybe it was cruel; after all, he had taken their "son" from them.

But he wasn't going to replace him. He was an adult, at least in mind, and had no interest in playing the role of a child for a pair of adults. That would be too pathetic.

Besides, they could have another child; he had verified that. Both were healthy and both were fertile, and if they couldn't, he would have done something to fix it for them.

Hey, he might not replace their son, but he wasn't ungrateful.

Setting aside the matter with his "parents," he focused more on his new energy.

Controlling chakra was becoming easier every day.

It was a different energy governed by different rules, but in the end, it served the same purpose as cursed energy.

To empower something, to create an effect.

Only now, there were additional steps.

"Come on, Sukuna-chan, today will be a very productive day."

Mebuki took him in her hands once he finished his meal and got him ready.

He looked at the woman carrying him with slightly furrowed brows, wondering who names their child Sukuna? It didn't even match the surname.

"Well, at least it's not something related to flowers."

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Some time later

Konoha was a large place. He didn't know if it had always been like this or if something had changed.

He didn't remember enough of "Naruto" to make a proper comparison.

Even so, the reason these thoughts came to his mind was that despite having been in this place for a little over three years, he still hadn't found any "familiar" faces.

Of course, for the most part, he spent his time "confined" to his house and its surroundings. Once he could walk and put in some effort, his parents began to take him to the family business.

His parents were merchants. They had a simple shop that sold many varied things.

They were not rich or anything like that, they still had a good life and sometimes it was entertaining to watch them work.

Of course, he didn't forget to train. He mainly experimented with chakra. His body was special, after all, and his type of training was different. Thanks to having devoured the King of Curses, he could now modify it to a certain degree. Combined with Itadori's special physique and the fact that he had devoured his three "brothers," this made it so that, even without a vast amount of chakra, his physical strength alone was monstrous. It was clear to him from the beginning that his physical strength would never be a problem.

Of course, having talent in something shouldn't exclude training it. He had already been thinking about how to do it but decided to postpone it until he resolved a small problem.

Carefully, he examined his chakra networks. They were something strange that he had never dealt with before, and "playing" with them could be dangerous. He could fix any other type of injury or physical imperfection if necessary by instinctively activating his reverse cursed technique, but the chakra networks were something beyond the physical.

He didn't know how his reverse cursed technique would affect an organ he had never had before, much less one that was both physical and spiritual. If he made a mistake, he could end up with an irreparable injury, which was why he was postponing his physical training.

In summary, until he had a good medical book in his hands that explained their function more clearly, he wouldn't mess with them beyond using them to move chakra.

And moving chakra was quite fun.

Unlike cursed energy, where you needed to constantly channel your negative emotions and maintain strict control over them, chakra came in any mental state.

You could be bored, sad, happy, angry—it didn't matter. As long as you had the slightest control over chakra, you could draw it to you and use it.

It was a change that might not sound significant, but for Sukuna, it was.

Forcing yourself to suppress negative emotions all the time could be quite exhausting over time.

At least now he felt quite relaxed and calm, something he hadn't experienced in a while.

He looked at his finger, and with some concentration, a small flame appeared on it. It was flickering, but its heat was evident.

"This is different."

Creating fire with cursed energy and doing it with chakra also felt strange.

He could still use the divine flame, but he could also use "fire" without it, simply by manipulating the chakra to adopt its properties.

Something almost impossible to do with conventional cursed energy unless you had some innate technique.

Chakra, by definition, was more "controllable and moldable." Cursed energy was like electricity, volatile and difficult to control, its properties almost fixed, easily capable of harming oneself if not careful.

Proper control was always necessary to use it correctly.

Chakra… Even if you didn't have great control, it was fine. Your own chakra wouldn't harm you unless you intended it to.

Of course, this could give the illusion that chakra was safer, but that notion couldn't be further from the truth.

Sukuna pointed his finger, and a weak, thin thread of fire was shot at high speed, forcefully breaking through the air and hitting a large rock in the distance. The thread pierced through it easily as if it were a piercing projectile. Then the rock began to glow red-hot in less than a second, and in the next instant, it exploded into a thousand pieces.

Sukuna looked at his finger more closely again.

"This energy is more destructive." He didn't know if it was because it was a combination of physical and spiritual energy or maybe something else, but the point was that its potency was much greater than that of cursed energy.

The fire shouldn't even have been able to pierce that rock. It was fire; melting the rock was fine, which was what he intended to do in the first place, but passing through it? Making it explode? Where the hell did that kinetic energy come from?

"Throwing nuclear explosions around like firecrackers, huh?" It made more sense now. If chakra could increase the destructiveness of something as simple as fire, then more advanced techniques and moves would undoubtedly be beyond this.

Not only that, the amount of energy needed was much less. Right now, he was still using the energy reserves his new body was born with, reserves so pathetic that his parents seemed like strong beings in comparison.

But despite that, Sukuna felt he could continue using this improvised, unnamed technique at least eight more times.

He did some basic calculations and a conversion based on what he knew so far.

"If this were my old world and my chakra were cursed energy, then I would currently have less than a quarter of the cursed energy of an average adult."

In his previous world, such an amount of energy was trash; it wouldn't be useful for anything.

"How interesting," he thought. How strong were the ninjas, really?

He made sure the fire didn't spread and began to return to the backyard of his parents' shop, where they had left him to play alone for a while.

Another different thing in this world was the treatment of infants. Who the hell leaves a little over 3-year-old child completely alone? Well, apparently, such a practice was normal in this place.

When he reached the yard, he heard some commotion in the streets of Konoha. Interested, he entered the shop and looked through one of its windows.

Listening to the idle chatter of people passing by on the main street, he learned what it was all about.

It seemed that ninjas from another village had arrived in Konoha to sign an agreement. He began to probe his mind until a name reached the tip of his tongue.

"Kumo?" He savored the name in his mouth; there was something about it, something he should remember.

"Kidnapping" Some images came to his mind, and then he had a vague idea that ended up disappointing him.

"How boring," he hoped it would be something different, but a matter that would resolve itself didn't interest him.

Of course, if he left it as it was, then a child would grow up without a father, but he didn't care enough to do anything about it.

Or maybe he would do something just to entertain himself.

"What should I do?" He had no objectives. Of course, there was the whole matter of defeating Mahoraga, but aside from that, he had no significant goals. His new life lacked meaning.

He didn't know if he wanted to change something or do anything at all.

The fate of this world, should he interfere?

He looked at the blue sky thoughtfully, he would meditate on it a little longer.

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Night.

Sukuna adjusted the wooden mask on his face; it was a bit big, but it would have to work for now. He looked at the full moon in the sky and settled into his position, one that gave him a clear view of the Hyuuga clan compound.

He wasn't here to interfere but to observe. He hadn't yet decided if he would change anything; he really didn't care if things remained as they should, but what he was interested in was answering one of his doubts.

How strong were the ninjas?

He deliberately chose a tall house with several inhabitants and suppressed his chakra as best he could. Finding the place had been both easier and harder than expected; with how big the village was, he had to go far from his home, so if he had to run, he couldn't return quickly.

Therefore, the best option was to pretend to be one of the local inhabitants. He was just a child with "little chakra"; who could suspect him?

"Should be fine, right?" he couldn't help but wonder. He didn't remember everything about the Hyuuga clan, but he knew the basics, their special eyes being one of those things.

360-degree vision, seeing through objects and bodies, and long-distance vision of at least hundreds of meters or several kilometers.

He was missing details, but that was all he could recall about them at the moment.

The problem was that long-distance vision. He didn't know how it worked, which was why he didn't get any closer.

"Oh, it's starting," he settled into his spot and watched while he seriously focused on his sixth sense, spiritual perception.

In his previous world, spiritual perception was something all sorcerers needed in one way or another. It allowed them to see cursed spirits while also perceiving cursed energy.

Sukuna had worked hard on this ability to the point of turning it into a sixth sense that he could use actively when needed. And although it was now chakra and not cursed energy, it didn't make it any less effective.

"Eh, it's quite strong," he saw the Hyuuga clan member stepping out and standing in front of the kidnapper, who now carried the clan's princess.

He could easily gauge the amount of chakra in both and knew the kidnapper was going to die quickly.

Disappointing.

Sukuna patiently waited for the moment, and when it came, he had to blink several times.

He almost missed it. In an instant, the distance between the two ninjas was closed, and the kidnapper died in less than a second.

Sukuna couldn't follow the movement with his eyes, only with his spiritual perception, and barely at that.

"Interesting," he could say it was due to his current weakened state. Special body or not, he was still an infant just over three years old.

But his perception ability wasn't limited by his physical state.

First grade? No, too low, more like special grade, at least in speed, maybe more.

He hadn't seen enough to make an exact calculation, but he had seen enough to know that not intervening had been a good idea.

"Chakra doesn't just make techniques stronger," those who use chakra to enhance and empower their bodies are much stronger as well.

However, the way they used chakra to enhance their bodies was less efficient.

They were simply doing something wrong. If that Kumo ninja had reinforced his body properly, he could have survived a few more moves.

And if the Hyuuga clan member had used his chakra not just for a momentary speed boost but for proper muscle reinforcement, he could have defeated the Kumo ninja without needing to kill him.

"Seems like I need to go to school," he needed to learn and understand all aspects of this world better, especially the ninjas.

Without further thought, he turned around and started to leave. He had seen everything he needed.

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"Ninja school?" Mebuki blinked and looked at her little son. Where had this idea come from?

"I heard it from some kids at the park, I want to be a ninja," Sukuna was straightforward. There was no need to beat around the bush. Mebuki didn't know what to say, so she turned to look at her husband, who also had a worried look on his face.

Maybe at another time, they would be less concerned, but Konoha was not peaceful at the moment. The death of the Kumo ambassador had caused tensions between the two ninja villages to skyrocket.

There was talk of another war, even though no one wanted one.

If their son embarked on the path of a ninja now...

"It's a bit early for that, Sukuna-chan. You're still very young. Enrollment doesn't start until age five," his father spoke kindly, trying to persuade him.

Sukuna remained silent. Well, he had forgotten that part. Wasn't there supposed to be a guy who graduated at 5 years old? How do you graduate at the same age you enter?

Interpreting his silence as stubbornness, his mother knelt down to look at him and spoke with comforting words.

"Don't worry, Sukuna-chan. The academy isn't going anywhere. For now, you can keep having fun. I heard they finished building a new, big park in the center of the village. Why don't you go there and play with the other kids?" his mother offered, and Sukuna could only sigh and nod. He said goodbye to them, not without getting his "allowance" first.

As he left his house, he looked at the village streets, pondering his next actions. He couldn't force his way into the academy, so he could only use his Plan B.

Find out where the library is and steal what you need.

Although that might be a bit difficult since Konoha was on high alert after the incident with Kumo.

"I wish I had kept sleeping," being a kid sucked.

Well, this would work too. It was time to try out these chakra exercises he remembered: walking on trees and walking on water. He would see how difficult they were; at least they would be useful skills.

He walked to the newly built "park," and when he arrived there half an hour later, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. It was more of a playground for children than a real park.

He thought he saw some familiar faces but decided to ignore them for now. Instead, he headed to a more secluded spot.

"There must be a place here where I can practice," he began walking among the trees, venturing into one of the many forests surrounding the village. Konoha was truly a place hidden among the leaves, as there were lots of "forests" and trees everywhere, providing plenty of places for privacy.

Well, if there weren't any ninjas nearby, of course.

Just to check, he focused on his spiritual perception. When he didn't use it actively, his spiritual perception only served as a much less detailed passive sensor, and if he wanted to really sense things in detail, he had to concentrate.

That's why it was only now that he noticed a huge amount of chakra not far from him. It was inactive chakra that wasn't yet interacting with the surrounding area, but it was undoubtedly there.

"Is not a ninja," once chakra starts being trained, it leaves traces outside the body. Chakra that has never been used remains inside the body.

He debated whether he should investigate until he felt something else.

"Negative emotions?" And a large amount...

His figure became blurry, disappearing from his previous spot, and soon he found himself on the branch of a large tree, looking towards the concentration of chakra and negative emotions.

It seemed he had found the first interesting thing in this place.

The soft crying that had been flooding the area suddenly stopped, and a pair of sky-blue eyes turned to look in his direction.

Had they noticed him? Of course, he hadn't been suppressing his chakra, but it seemed the perception of his target was much better than expected—a unique ability?

"H-how did you get up there?!" The shrill voice was a bit annoying but not unbearable. Sukuna crossed his arms over his chest and spoke casually.

"Because I can fly," he lied.

The already large eyes widened even more with astonishment.

"Really?!"

"No." The little blond boy froze at his response.

"Y-you!" and now there was a bit of anger.

Sukuna jumped down, finally landing on the ground not far from his target.

"Whoa!" The boy seemed surprised, and Sukuna was about to say something else but stopped. He inspected his target more closely, particularly his face. His features were much more delicate than they should be—something was wrong here.

"Why are you a girl?" he couldn't help but ask.

Wait, what was his surname again? Only now did Sukuna begin to recall the most useless and annoying character that ever existed, at least in his opinion.

Remembering the pink hair, green eyes, and the insignificant amount of chakra his body currently had, he couldn't help but curse inwardly, realizing what had happened.

"Hey! What do you mean by that!" The girl stood up, looking more angry than before and pointing her finger at him.

Well, this changed things; in fact, it made things more interesting. What else had changed?

"Hey, what's your name, brat?" he asked directly.

"Eh?" The girl blinked; this was the first time a boy her age had asked for her name. Still angry but mostly confused, she introduced herself directly.

"Naruko, Uzumaki Naruko."

Sukuna studied her for a moment. Were all the children in this world strange, or had he simply not interacted with enough kids in his two previous lives?

"Your name," she suddenly said, drawing Sukuna's attention back to her.

She had introduced herself, so he should do the same, right? At least that's what the girl thought.

"Sukuna, just call me Sukuna." He didn't like his last name; it didn't even go well with his first name.

Just Sukuna? Naruko didn't think much of it and simply accepted it. She was about to say something else but suddenly went quiet. What came next? This was the first time she had gotten this far.

"Why are you here?" Sukuna asked suddenly. Wasn't she something super important? You know, having a giant fox inside her stomach. There should be at least a dozen ninjas guarding her, right? So why was she here alone?

That was one of the reasons Sukuna hadn't bothered to find her before. He didn't want to draw that much attention just yet.

Naruko frowned, her expression darkening as she remembered what had happened.

"No one wants me around," she said quietly, and that was enough for Sukuna to figure out the rest. She had probably come to see the new park, but the parents of the other children made sure to exclude her or something like that.

Even he had heard the rumors the villagers whispered. It was hard not to.

Still, that didn't explain why there were no ninjas guarding her. He probably couldn't figure that out for now, and he doubted she had any idea that there should be ninjas around protecting her, so asking her would be useless.

He walked up to the girl and placed his hand on her head, ruffling her already untamable blonde hair. It was softer than it looked.

"I see, then ignore them. Ants are just nuisances you should crush if they mess with you." He deliberately used a bit of his ability to absorb negative emotions, but only enough to avoid hearing more crying and without risking another part of his body turning to stone.

"Ants?" She asked, looking up to meet his eyes. She didn't try to move away. It was the first time someone had patted her head. It was strangely relaxing and somehow made her feel less sad.

"Uh, ignore that for now. You seem hungry." As he finished saying this, a growl could be heard from the girl's stomach.

Naruko's eyes widened, and she blushed a bit, wrapping both hands over her stomach. She hadn't eaten anything all day.

"Come on, there should be a river nearby." Sukuna could smell the scent of water and fish coming from somewhere deeper in the forest, so he started walking in that direction.

The girl blinked, confused, processing his words. Did he just tell her to go with him?

Sukuna stopped and looked back at her when he noticed she was still in place.

"What are you waiting for?"

Her eyes widened in surprise, realizing that he did, in fact, want her to come with him. She quickly nodded, a smile starting to form on her face, and almost tripping, she began to run toward him.

Sukuna nodded at her and continued walking.

He still didn't know what his plans or goals in this world would be beyond surviving and living as he pleased, but if Sukuna knew one thing, it was that he would never die such a pathetic death again.

No matter what it took, he would seize all the advantages this world had to offer. And if the world offered its "protagonist" to him on a silver platter, who was he to refuse? Having a super weapon at your side was always the winning option.

He would deal with the possible consequences later.

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Note:

I underestimated the effort it would take to explain some things. I could simply say, "It works," but that feels too empty. The childhood arc will probably last a bit longer since there are still things I want to write before getting to the start of the series.
 
4: Childhood Friendship
4: Childhood Friendship

His mouth was dry, and his body trembled slightly.

He looked at the blood on his hands, bright scarlet with a metallic smell, sweat dripping from his forehead, running down his cheek, and into his eye. The sudden sting snapped him out of his daze.

"What's wrong? Haven't you seen someone die before?" The voice made him look up, meeting the gaze of a pale-skinned figure, marked by long scars and gray hair with a faint bluish tint.

The mocking look directed at him caused something to break inside.

"It's a shame, but she was quite bothersome. Her ritual technique was too inconvenient for me."

His breathing steadied, numbness filling his body. He looked at the blood again, then clenched his fists, cursed energy beginning to flow powerfully through him.

"Oh? I thought you'd be depressed for longer. She was your friend or something, right? After all, she said your name before she died." More mockery, in a shameless tone.

His silence seemed to irritate him, a frown appearing on his unpleasant face.

"Thank you," then came the surprise.

"Huh?"

"I had been hesitating, but now I understand," he said with an apathetic voice.

He could feel it—the binding vow he had long hesitated to make was beginning to take effect within him.

The negative emotions flooding the area began to sharpen in his senses.

"In this world, I can't afford to feel anything." It was as if his heart stopped beating. He was still there physically, but any warmth his blood might have held vanished.

"At least not until I become the strongest of all." The wind stirred as the negative emotions within hundreds of meters around him began to converge towards him, as if drawn by an irresistible pull.

"Hahaha, what is this? Something's changed… What did you do, Itadori?!" his enemy asked in astonishment, feeling the changes in the atmosphere and the cursed energy of the human before him increasing at an astonishing pace.

Itadori Yuji took a deep breath and assumed a stance, his guard up, ready to continue the battle.

"I've signed your death sentence," he replied coldly, and before his enemy could react, his body launched forward at full speed.

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"This should be enough," Sukuna said, looking at the small pile of branches the blonde girl had been gathering, holding four plump, fresh fish in his hands.

"Incredible!" Naruko looked at the fish with wide, bright eyes; she had never seen such fat fish before!

Sukuna searched for some long, thin sticks, which he used to skewer the fish that he had already cleaned properly. He then placed them around the campfire, and with a thought, his finger lit up with a small flame.

"H-how did you do that?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"I used chakra," he explained simply, pointing with his finger and letting the fire travel from it to the campfire, igniting the pile of wood and setting it ablaze.

"Catra?" The confused voice made him turn to see the blonde girl tilting her head, not understanding.

"Chakra, it's what ninjas use." She blinked, and then her eyes widened even more as she pointed at him with disbelief.

"You're a ninja?!"

"No." Her astonishment was cut short by his instant response, leaving her visibly puzzled.

"I'm just training to become one," he clarified patiently, as he picked up two appropriately sized stones and easily placed them near the campfire as improvised seats. He took his seat and patted the other stone in a clear signal, which took the girl a moment to understand, but she eventually did, running over to sit down as well.

"Training? What's that?" she asked, causing Sukuna to look at her in confusion… then he remembered the date. Strangely, in this world, the months were called the same as in his two previous worlds.

Right now, it was early January; just a few days ago, it had still been December, and the whole thing with Kumo had happened. If he calculated correctly, that meant Naruko was just a little over three years old.

It was confusing; the children in this place might behave with more maturity than they should, yet still be childish in strangely peculiar ways.

"Training means preparing to do or be something. At least you know what that is, right?"

That question seemed to irritate her a bit.

"Of course I know! I'm not stupid..." This was what he meant by acting strangely. Three years old, and while she might not recognize certain words or concepts, she could still speak and express herself more clearly than she should—or perhaps it was his lack of knowledge about children that made him think so?

No, it had to be something else, although he didn't really care at the moment. He wasn't a pediatrician, nor did he have any intention of becoming one, so figuring out such things wasn't his concern.

"I didn't say you were stupid; I just asked if you knew," he said calmly, causing her to fall silent for a moment.

Her large blue eyes watched the fire with no small amount of curiosity, quickly leaving behind her earlier irritation. With a bit of "shyness," she spoke again.

"How… how do you train to be a ninja?"

Good question. He himself didn't know exactly how people trained in this world, beyond the two chakra control exercises he remembered. Still, he did know how to train to become strong, which in retrospect, should be the same.

"Do you want to be a ninja?" Instead of answering her question, he asked one of his own, making her frown.

"They say it's cool, and all the other kids play at being ninjas."

'I see,' he thought. Nothing about being Hokage or anything like that yet. It seemed she hadn't learned about the ninja hierarchy and just thought it was something cool, like a game.

At the silence and his lack of response, she squirmed nervously while Sukuna kept a watchful eye on the fish over the fire.

Soon, her attention shifted as an incredibly appetizing smell filled her nostrils, her mouth starting to water, and with stars in her eyes, she gazed at the fish, almost ready to eat.

Sukuna noticed her reaction, somewhat puzzled, since they were just simple fish—no seasoning, no salt—and although the smell wasn't unpleasant, it was nothing extraordinary either.

"You're from the orphanage, aren't you?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. The girl's attention returned to him, and she nodded affirmatively, though without taking her eyes off the fish.

"Have you ever eaten fish before?" His next question made her frown, and her blue eyes turned to him. He could feel some negative emotions stirring within her.

"No... the other kids at the orphanage never leave me anything," she said softly, with a hint of helplessness. Noticing her bad mood, Sukuna took one of the fish that was already cooked and handed it to her.

"Here, it's hot, so don't eat it too quickly, or you'll burn yourself." She blinked, and her eyes lit up again with excitement.

"Great!" Clearly, she didn't hear what he said because she tried to take a big bite the very next moment.

Sukuna was quicker, easily stopping her hand before she could do so.

"I told you it's hot," he reminded her. In response, he almost thought he heard a growl—she seemed quite defensive about her food, as her hair nearly bristled. But when he released her hand, she calmed down.

"You need to blow on it a bit, like this," Sukuna said, demonstrating with his own fish. She mimicked his movements, and when the time was right, he nodded. She then eagerly took her first bite.

And then another, and another, and in a matter of seconds, even the bones were chewed up.

It seemed the small fangs he had noticed in her mouth weren't just for show.

Thankfully, she didn't eat the stick.

Naruko licked her lips with delight—she had never tasted anything so delicious! Of course, for a three-year-old orphan who was constantly discriminated against in various ways, a fish without salt or any other seasoning would seem like the most delicious meal in the world.

"Here." Before she realized it, another fish was in front of her. She looked at Sukuna, puzzled.

"I got them for you, brat. I'm not hungry," he said. He had already eaten before leaving the house.

Naruko looked at the fish in front of her, then at the other two still near the fire, and for some reason, she felt her eyes welling up with tears for no apparent reason.

"I-I..." Sukuna frowned.

"Eat and don't cry, or you'll really ruin my day." Without giving her time to respond, he shoved the fish into her mouth. He didn't want to hear any crying.

The girl chewed her food while looking at him with clear gratitude. As with all her other emotions, it was always easy to see what she felt through her eyes.

Sukuna took a long leaf, shook off any possible dust, and placed the two remaining fish on it, using it as a makeshift plate, which he then set in front of Naruko.

He glanced up at the sky, noticing that it was starting to get dark. It seemed he wouldn't be able to use this day to practice as he had intended. Oh well, he wasn't in a hurry.

As he was lost in thought, he felt something—a shift in the atmosphere. His spiritual perception activated automatically, and he forced himself to stay calm.

Something was watching him.

Discreetly, his eyes scanned the area, searching for the source, but the longer he looked without finding anything, the more he realized something else.

'This isn't an ordinary gaze,' he thought. It felt as if it were coming from nowhere, from a source he couldn't reach.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recall something, and then images began to fill his mind.

'The Third Hokage.' It had to be him. Of course, it could also be a member of the Hyuga clan, but why would they be watching this area?

Naruko? That was a valid reason for both possibilities. Whether it was a Hyuga clan member or the Third Hokage, keeping an eye on the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki was crucial for the village and its security.

As he considered this, he sensed three strong presences approaching—three ninjas who knew how to hide themselves quite well.

He had been wondering where the blonde girl's guards were. It seemed they had finally decided to make their "presence" known.

Of course, Sukuna didn't simply assume they were her guards. They could just as easily be ninjas from another village looking to kidnap the jinchuriki.

But he knew that wasn't the case. He could feel the negative emotions coming from them, and none were directed at Naruko. Although one of them really seemed to be one step away from suicide.

It had been a while since he had sensed such intense negative emotions coming from a single person.

He didn't act nervously or give any indication that of knowing that they were now being watched. He was just a three-year-old boy hanging out with another three-year-old kid.

There shouldn't be anything suspicious about this.

He waited a bit longer, watching the blonde girl eat before standing up and dusting off his ass.

"It's getting late, I have to go or I'll get in trouble," he said, adding a touch of childishness to his voice. Naruko looked at him with furrowed brows, but being just a child, she couldn't quite pinpoint why he was suddenly speaking differently.

"Already? It's still early," she said with reluctance, clearly wanting to spend more time with him, see more of those amazing ninja skills.

Sukuna scratched his head, pretending to be a bit reluctant as well.

"We can meet another day. I'll catch more fish for you then." That seemed to cheer her up, as she stood up and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! And we can play ninja, and..." She didn't stop talking until she ran out of breath.

"Of course," he finally said after seeing her calm down. He then began walking back toward the park, waving his hand without looking back at her.

"See you later!" Seeing him leave, she lost some of her enthusiasm and sat back down.

"See you later..." she said softly, watching his retreating figure until he disappeared from view.

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Sukuna emerged from the forest and walked through the park on his way home, behaving just like any other child his age. He bought some sweets along the way and played with a few cats for a moment before hurrying back home.

All the while, that gaze remained on him, like an invisible observer.

"I'm home!" he shouted cheerfully as he took off his shoes. His parents inside raised an eyebrow at hearing him so happy.

"Oh, Sukuna-chan seems to be in a good mood," his mother remarked to his father, who nodded, equally surprised since their son usually didn't express his feelings much.

Soon, Sukuna found them both in the living room and greeted them with a smile.

"It looks like you had a lot of fun, dear. Did you like the new park?" his mother asked. Sukuna nodded enthusiastically in response.

"Yes, it was great. I met a new friend, although is a bit strange." That caught his father's attention, and he turned to look at him curiously.

"A new friend, you say? It seems our son is finally coming out of his shell." Of course, Sukuna had never made friends before; he usually detested dealing with kids.

Upon hearing his father's words he pretended to pout, making his parents laugh a little.

"Come on, tell us a bit about this new friend."

So Sukuna recounted a version of his encounter with Naruko that was similar but at the same time very different. Naturally, he omitted many details and exaggerated others in a childish way.

It was exhausting and humiliating, but he soon felt that watchful gaze disappear.

Even so, he didn't relax and decided to postpone his plans to rob the local library for the day.

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Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen exhaled the smoke from his pipe with a contemplative look.

"I want the ANBU responsible for monitoring Naruko Uzumaki in my office now."

At his command, some of the hidden presences in the darkness quickly departed.

'What a disaster,' Hiruzen couldn't help but think with a frown. This shouldn't have happened. Leaving Naruko, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and, above all, the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, without any supervision for so long was against the very surveillance protocols he himself had established.

Especially now, when tensions with Kumo were still high.

How did this happen? He needed to find out, though he already had some suspicions in mind.

Even if he was the Hokage, Hiruzen knew there were people in the shadows pulling some strings. In earlier times, this would have been impossible, but Hiruzen was no longer the man he once was, and neither were his power and influence.

The tensions continued to grow, not just outside the village but also within, like a glass of water filled to the brim, about to overflow, and he didn't know if he could prevent it from happening.

Or perhaps it was already happening. It was good that he always took a moment during the day to check on Naruko's situation, Yet, it made him quite angry that there was no one nearby to ensure her well-being.

Of course, the villagers wouldn't do anything truly harmful; they were too cowardly, and the risk that the Kyubi inside the girl could be unleashed if they hurt her was well-known by all. This was mainly spread by some of the shinobi who had witnessed other Jinchuriki in action during the war and understood that if they pushed things too far, it would end very badly for everyone.

And that was yet another reason why no one wanted to get close to the girl, treating her as if she were a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at the slightest touch.

Of course, Hiruzen and many others knew that was just nonsense; the Fourth Hokage's seal was far superior to any other seal, and Naruko wouldn't unleash the Kyubi as easily as the villagers believed.

Even so, he let that narrative continue without clarifying it, because even if it was bad for the girl's social life, it also served as another form of protection. Of course, it wasn't something that would last forever. Eventually, the villagers would realize that breaking the seal wasn't so easy, and their treatment of her would change accordingly. Still, Hiruzen hoped that all the accumulated hatred and resentment would have eased by the time that happened, or that Naruko would have already learned to defend herself at the ninja academy.

What happened today showed that he had been right in choosing that path. Naruko was fine and unharmed, yet it was still too risky. While the villagers wouldn't do anything stupid, the same couldn't be said for foreign shinobi.

The recent kidnapping attempt of the Hyuga clan princess made this clear.

Another complicated matter. Feeling the headache about to arrive, he decided to think of something else and looked at the crystal ball that now only showed his own reflection.

"Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno, it's been a while since I last heard of them." Of course, as Hokage, he recognized two of his former shinobi as soon as he saw them, and knowing they had a child was no surprise since they had always been quite close.

At least amidst all the bad, something good had happened. He didn't know if this little friendship Naruko had formed would last, as he wasn't exactly sure of his former shinobi's thoughts or how they had influenced their child.

The boy hadn't been too detailed in describing Naruko to them, which was expected from a boy his age who seemed much more excited to talk about how he had managed to catch a fish with his bare hands.

So, the couple simply thought that their son had met another child his age, nothing more, which seemed to make them quite happy. But that could change if they realized who their son's new friend really was.

"For now, let's wait and see," he wouldn't interfere. Whatever had to happen would happen. Right now, he had more stressful matters to deal with, like the recent rising complaints from the population regarding the Uchiha clan.

"I'm too old for this," he sighed, taking another puff from his pipe, letting the smoke fill his lungs.

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Note:

A somewhat relaxed chapter with a glimpse into the past. Poor Hiruzen, forcibly pulled out of retirement. Oh well, at least he has Icha Icha to keep him company on his lonely nights.

The hardest part to write was Naruko's. I apologize if it's not very good. As an adult, it's difficult to think about how a child would act/think, so I need to practice more. Fortunately, it will get easier as she gets older, and the magic of chakra starts affecting her brain, just as it did with Itachi, though without overdoing it...

Remember that if you want you can support me on patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader)
 
5: Reverse Cursed Technique
5: Reverse Cursed Technique

"So that's what it's about," Sukuna lowered the thick book that his small hands could barely hold and closed his eyes, recalling every word. Then he opened them again and read the entire book once more to make sure everything was imprinted in his mind to the letter.

Finding the information he needed turned out to be more difficult than he initially expected. Konoha had several public libraries, but for the most part, their content was barely adequate.

It seemed that civilian medicine and ninja medicine were quite divided.

The civilian part focused on the knowledge Sukuna already had about the human body, so it was useless to him. Entering one of the shinobi libraries was too risky, and he might not find what he was looking for there either.

So, he sneaked into Konoha's main hospital.

Going unnoticed was a small challenge, but nothing he hadn't done before. In fact, it served as a good express training that helped him verify how much of his stealth abilities had been lost with the body change.

In short, none. In fact, being a child gave him an unexpected advantage due to his size—something that wouldn't last forever, but as long as he could, he would use it to his advantage.

Perhaps the most annoying thing was dealing with the Hyuuga clan. Sukuna used to wonder what it would feel like to have their gaze on him; now he knew, and thanks to that, he was able to get a better idea of how to avoid that gaze.

After all, the Hyuuga weren't "omniscient." Sure, they had a 360-degree vision, but it was limited in distance in the form of a sphere. The average range was unknown to him, but thanks to his research, he deduced that it wasn't more than a radius of about 5 or 10 meters with their bodies as the center. Of course, this measure varied depending on the individual strength of each person, but in general terms, most of the white-eyed clan ninjas he had encountered maintained the same range of vision.

Then there was their telescopic vision, which allowed them to see at great distances. Sukuna had felt it while he was looking for a way to get inside the medical facilities. The sensation could only be described as being illuminated by the headlights of a car or a flashlight in the middle of the night—something strange, but he didn't think there was a better comparison. And like the headlights of a car or a flashlight, you just had to stay out of the path of the beam of light to avoid being seen.

Easier said than done, as the Hyuuga were quite perceptive to chakra and could quickly shift the direction of their gaze if something caught their attention.

It was fortunate, then, that Sukuna could suppress his currently insignificant amount of chakra quite well—something that would undoubtedly be much more difficult once he unleashed all the reserves hidden within him.

With that said, once he figured out how to bypass the Hyuuga's surveillance, it was fairly easy for him to slip in during the night and start reviewing the medical files and books at the facility. Of course, there were also scrolls, but when Sukuna inspected them, he realized that many had unfamiliar seals that prevented anyone from opening them. He wasn't about to tempt fate by messing with something he didn't understand yet, so he mostly set them aside.

Fortunately, the information he sought wasn't in those scrolls.

Sukuna looked at his left hand and, without hesitation, activated Dismantle on himself. His arm, from the elbow joint, was instantly severed, flying through the air with a clean cut. But the blood that would normally gush out stayed within, not spilling a single drop.

"The Kamo clan technique always comes in handy," he thought. Blood manipulation, an ability he gained by eating his "brothers," something that had saved his life many times.

He caught his severed left arm before it hit the ground and set it aside safely. Then, he looked at his stump and focused, beginning to activate his Reverse Cursed Technique.

Using the new information he had obtained, he began the reconstruction. First, the bone grew rapidly, forming the skeleton of his severed hand. Then came the blood vessels, and normally the next step would be the formation of nerves, but this time he added an extra step. As the blood vessels began to form, something else did as well—a network of chakra that started to extend through every present cell like a web of fine threads.

To aid this, Sukuna continued the process, making the nerves, muscles, tendons, and ligaments grow. He took his time to ensure everything was in order, and once he had his hand back, though without skin, he clenched his fist to test the sensation.

"It seems I succeeded." Once he felt the chakra flowing through his arm without any issues, he allowed the skin to regrow, completing the regeneration entirely.

The chakra network turned out to be much less complicated than he had expected. Sure, it was a new kind of "organ," but an organ nonetheless. Once he understood its structure, how it was built at the cellular level and distributed throughout the body, it was a piece of cake for him to incorporate that information into his Reverse Cursed Technique. Of course, it would take some time to make it intuitive again; for now, he had to manually guide the technique to avoid mistakes. But with practice, it would once more become automatic.

He moved his new left arm, stretching it until he was satisfied, then looked at his previous arm, now resting on the ground. He had kept it in case things got complicated—after all, reconnecting a severed part was a thousand times easier than growing a new one. If he hadn't been able to regenerate a new arm optimally, he could have simply reattached the old one.

But since he had succeeded, he no longer needed it.

With a thought, the limb flew into his palm. There was something strange about holding an old limb with the new one—probably a bit morbid if you asked some people.

Sukuna extracted all the blood from the arm, causing it to dry up until it resembled a brittle twig. Then, flames came to life, quickly consuming what was left until it turned to ashes that dispersed in the wind.

The pink-haired boy then looked at the floating ball of blood in front of him, about the size of a small football. Using "Convergence," he compressed the sphere to its limits, condensing it into a small drop.

"Let's see how this works." Normally, a member of the Kamo clan would have to bring both palms together to use the Piercing Blood technique. Sukuna had managed to simplify the method, adapting it to his style.

Extending his arm, he clenched the small drop of blood into a fist, then aimed forward, extending his index and middle fingers while raising his thumb.

The air shattered as the supersonic explosion sent gusts of wind around him. The blood shot out like a high-pressure stream, piercing through everything in its path. The phenomenon lasted only a few seconds, as there wasn't much blood, and Sukuna didn't have enough chakra to keep feeding the technique. Even so, it was enough to bring a smile to his face.

"Quite a bit faster than it should be." Yes, chakra seemed to make everything several times more "potent." It was a good thing that after robbing the hospita, he had taken his spoils to a fairly isolated part of the village.

Of course, he now needed to return what he had taken. If anyone noticed some things were missing, the ninja would undoubtedly get involved, and although Sukuna had ensured he left no trace behind, he preferred not to take any chances.

Before leaving, he gathered the remaining blood, compressing and condensing it again, storing it inside himself in case he ever needed to use it. Sure, the Kamo clan's blood techniques weren't his favorite in combat, but they could always be useful in other ways.

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Once Sukuna resolved the issue with his Reverse Cursed Technique and was now able to use it without restrictions, he decided he could start some light training.

Naturally, he began by testing the chakra control methods he remembered.

Walking up trees was absolutely easy. His first step was a bit unsteady, but the second was firm, and after that, he continued walking until he reached the top of the tree he had chosen without any difficulty.

He might have called it talent, but the truth was that chakra was much easier to manage than cursed energy. As a result, when he began playing with it, not caring now if his chakra network might get damaged, he was able to gain excellent control almost immediately.

Next, he tried walking on water.

Of course, he managed to do that on the same day.

"I don't think I lack chakra control at all," he mused. It was interesting; he had been holding himself back out of fear of damaging his chakra network and being unable to repair it. But now that that fear was gone, and with it the need for caution, Sukuna could take full command of this new energy, shaping it to his will with ease.

You could say the only thing he was lacking now was quantity.

Fortunately, that also had a solution. He just needed to make his body strong enough to withstand all the "sealed" energy within him without exploding into a thousand pieces—no small feat when you're a three-year-old brat.

Sukuna stepped out of the water with four fish in his hands and looked up at the sun high in the sky. It seemed the time had come. Using his chakra, he ignited a fire and began cooking the fish he had caught.

Soon, he sensed a familiar presence approaching, and from behind the bushes, a small blonde figure emerged, almost tripping. Her eyes searched the area with uncertainty until she found him. Her blue eyes lit up, and a big smile spread across her face.

"Hey!" she shouted exuberantly in his direction.

"Yo," he greeted her casually.

If anything had changed in these past few days, it was that Sukuna now had something of a routine: feeding a gluttonous little blonde girl.

After their first encounter, Sukuna returned to the park the next day to meet her again. It was a risky move, as there were sometimes ninja watching over her from a distance. Of course, there were also days when those ninja were conspicuously absent, something odd and random, but Sukuna didn't care much. In fact, it was better when there was no surveillance nearby; having to act was annoying.

"Hey, look at this!" Naruko approached him excitedly, pulling something out from behind her back. When she held it up in front of him, Sukuna noticed it was an old, rusty kunai.

Its edge was worn, and the metal had long since lost its shine, but it mostly retained its sharp shape.

"A kunai? Where did you find that?"

"They throw a lot of these away with the trash. Usually, the other kids at the orphanage grab them all, but this time I managed to get one," she said as if it were a great achievement.

Sukuna took the kunai, playing with it. It was a bit large for his hands, but he could still hold it firmly. He'd never used kunai before; weapons weren't really his style—he preferred his fists. Still, he knew a thing or two about throwing sharp objects, thanks to the teachings of a certain green-haired woman who was quite skilled with all sorts of weaponry.

"Tell me, do you want me to teach you how to throw this?" His question caught the girl by surprise as she was already munching on one of the fish Sukuna had been cooking.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement when her brain processed what he meant.

"You know how to throw kunai?!" she asked in awe. She had always watched the other kids at the orphanage practice and wanted to learn too, but no one was willing to teach her, which had been bothering her a lot.

"My parents were ninja. They taught me a little," he lied easily.

Then, quick as lightning, his arm swung, sending the kunai flying skillfully through the air in a perfectly straight line.

He didn't use too much force in his throw, but even so, the kunai struck a tree, piercing through it and embedding itself deeply in the wood.

Naruko stared in amazement at the feat. Even the older kids at the orphanage, who were about to enter the ninja academy, hadn't shown the ability to throw a kunai so skillfully. In fact, most of the time, their kunai ended up bouncing uselessly off their targets.

"How cool!" she exclaimed excitedly, running towards the tree with the kunai embedded in it. Sukuna was about to stop her, but the words failed to come out as he watched her grasp the handle of the kunai and pull forcefully. It took some effort, but the girl was still able to extract the metal deeply buried in the wood.

'More strength than she looks' looking at the girl's slender arms. Sukuna had to admit that he was taken by surprise this time.

From that day on, Sukuna dedicated himself to teaching the girl how to throw kunai.

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Time can pass quickly when you have a routine. Sukuna still didn't know what his place in this world was, but if he knew anything, it was that he would prefer to avoid its destruction. After all, he lived in it now.

He didn't remember much about the end of the story, but one thing was clear: the term "Rabbit Goddess" was etched in his memory. He didn't know if it referred to a literal god or just someone too full of themselves, self-titled in that way.

Whatever the case, it was clear that his previous peak strength needed to increase if he wanted to surpass this "goddess." He needed to become stronger.

For that reason, he leaped, dodging a claw the size of a grown adult, and looked at the enormous bear, at least 4 meters tall, roaring in his direction.

Sukuna, now 5 years old, pulled his hands out of his pockets and clenched his fists. If there was something interesting in this world, it was its fauna. Chakra seemed to make everything non-human grow to colossal sizes. Of course, not all animals did so—only those born with much more chakra than usual.

It was like the difference between civilians and ninjas. The civilians in this world were not physically much different from normal humans on Earth, but ninjas could easily move at speeds faster than sound and crush metal with their hands.

A notable difference.

"How should I kill you?" It had been a while since he had tasted bear meat.

In response to his question, the beast roared and lunged at him with great force and a speed far too high for its colossal size.

Sukuna easily dodged its charge with a hand sign that caused a small puff of smoke to erupt, leaving a rock in the spot where he had been. Confused, the bear smashed the rock to pieces and looked around, searching for the small figure with pink hair that had intruded into its territory.

Out of the corner of its eye, it saw him approaching and quickly counterattacked, but its instincts screamed at it when it was already too late—its claw passed through the ghostly figure of an illusory bunshin.

Then, a powerful blow struck its head, causing its body to crash to the ground with force.

Sukuna landed not far away, watching the trembling bear with some disappointment. The beasts had started to become useless for training.

He stomped the ground and stepped forward, a kunai appearing in his hand, ready to kill the beast, but his movement had to change course when he heard the wind whistle. He quickly raised his hand, sparks flying as he intercepted a shuriken that had been sent his way.

"I was wondering who had been killing the beasts in the forest. Finally, I find you, little demon," a female voice called out, and a teenage girl with mid-length purple hair tied in a ponytail appeared in a blur, looking at him with clear annoyance.

Sukuna wasn't surprised by her arrival. In fact, he had sensed her presence approaching. Normally, when a ninja appeared, he tended to escape to avoid dealing with them, but this time he decided not to for several reasons.

"Calling me a demon is a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think? I was just training," he said, putting away the kunai.

"Training? Wait, how old are you, brat?" The teenager took a good look at him for the first time, her eyes widening as she realized he didn't look very old. She had expected to find a genin or an academy senior, but the pink-haired kid in front of her was far from that.

"Old enough, though calling me a brat is a bit exaggerated too. How old are you, ten?" he asked, causing the girl to bristle a bit.

"You should watch who you're talking to, kid. I'm Mitarashi Anko, a Chunin of Konoha, and I'm 12!" she said proudly, pointing to the green vest she wore.

"Eh, it looks like anyone can be a ninja now." he said stoically, causing the smile on her face to fade. She looked at him with a frown—was he trying to annoy her?

Anko might not have been the most skilled when it came to dealing with others, but she could still tell that there was no real disdain in his eyes or words. She would know—she was quite familiar with that feeling, after all.

"I don't know what you're after, brat, but you'd better scram. I don't care what kind of training you're doing; this area is off-limits." If he were a genin, she would have made him pay for all the trouble he'd caused her over the past few months, but he was most likely just a student. And as much as it irritated her, a student was still a civilian until they graduated. Her already terrible reputation would only get worse if she messed with a civilian, something she definitely didn't want.

"Eh, seems like you're a lot more cautious than I thought."

Anko's left eye twitched. She swore that once this brat became a genin, she would track him down and teach him a lesson in "caution."

As for Sukuna, he couldn't help but ponder what to do next. His plan to provoke her into attacking him didn't seem to be going as planned.

Sukuna had been thinking about this for a while now. The beasts were no longer useful for training; he needed something stronger, something wiser and more intelligent—a ninja.

But it couldn't be just any ninja. It had to be someone who could keep the strength he showed against them a secret, either voluntarily or because they didn't have many people to tell. Another requirement was that they could take a hit, so they also needed to be somewhat strong but not too strong, or they'd be difficult to deal with if things went south.

Above all, it needed to be someone no one would miss if they mysteriously disappeared one day... metaphorically speaking, of course.

With that list in mind, it was obvious what he was looking for.

A pariah. And while he had Naruko, the girl was still too weak to be useful in real training, so he thought of another option.

One that he actually knew where to find and could easily contact.

Mitarashi Anko. He had heard of her from time to time through the village gossip. If Naruko was hated for the fox inside her, then anko was hated in almost equal measure because of her teacher.

The Sannin Orochimaru, the traitor.

His betrayal had hit a still-reeling Konoha hard, and the people's resentment had been simmering for a while. Any scapegoat was eagerly accepted by them, even if they hadn't really done anything wrong.

Anko's only sin was being assigned to Orochimaru's genin team.

With all that said, her existence was exactly what Sukuna had been searching for. Although he hadn't started training in the Forest of Death because of her, it was fortunate for him that she had been assigned as the caretaker of the place long before he began training there.

It saved him the trouble of finding an excuse to meet her.

"So? Are you going to leave, or do I have to drag you out by the ear?" Seeing him stand there in silence, Anko spoke up again as she landed on the ground and approached the still-stunned bear.

"You know, I put a lot of effort into hunting that bear. I wouldn't like to leave just like that."

That made the purple-haired girl scoff.

"Oh yeah? Sorry to disappoint you, bubblegum head, but the hunt is over. As long as I'm here, that bear isn't going anywhere," she said, crossing her arms and looking at him as if to say, 'What are you going to do about it, kid?'

Sukuna smiled.

"I guess I'll have to go through you, then."

At those words, Anko was stunned for a moment before she burst out laughing. Sure, the kid was strong—few could hunt a bear of that size or roam casually in the outer parts of the forest she guarded—but she was a chunin! A real ninja! If he really wanted a fight, she'd have to show him the difference between them and knock that arrogance out of him. Of course, she wasn't going to attack him first again—she still remembered he was a civilian and didn't want to get into trouble. But if he attacked her first, she could come up with a good excuse for why she roughed him up a bit.

The two stared at each other, Sukuna with a simple smile and Anko with a mocking grin. The bear, not far from them, felt the tension in the air and instinctively began to back away slowly.

"Don't blink," Sukuna said, confusing the girl slightly. But the next moment, her pupils shrank as the pink-haired boy's figure blurred, vanishing from his previous spot.

With great speed, her arm shot up, blocking a kick. The impact between leg and arm made the air explode, sending powerful gusts of wind rippling through the surrounding underbrush.

Anko's smile vanished as she felt a slight tingling in her arm. The force behind that strike was insane!

Even so, she was still a ninja. Without blinking or hesitating, she moved with great speed and agility. Her arm twisted as she tried to grab the leg that had struck her, but Sukuna pulled back and quickly launched another attack with a punch, which she deflected to the side.

Seeing her elbow heading toward his stomach, Sukuna twisted, dodging the blow and striking with his knee, attempting to hit her. But she was agile and blocked the attack with her leg.

"What do you think? Am I not a bit strong?" Sukuna asked as they both maintained the awkward position they found themselves in.

"Don't be arrogant, brat," Anko replied, but she had to admit to herself that, yes, this boy was indeed strong. She wasn't using her full strength, of course, but it was still surprising that he could exchange a few moves with her.

After all, there were real genin who couldn't even withstand one of her hits.

"Tell me, who's teaching you?" she couldn't help but ask. Geniuses—she'd heard of them and even seen a few. They were usually quite famous, but she didn't recall anyone mentioning one with pink hair.

"My parents were ninja. They're retired now, but they've been training me for when I enter the academy," Sukuna didn't entirely lie. In fact, his parents had begun teaching him a few things; from them, he learned the three basic jutsus as well as the academy's taijutsu katas.

Anko couldn't help but be a bit surprised to hear that he wasn't even an academy student yet. At the same time, a twinge of resentment arose within her.

Ninja parents—aside from being in a clan, having ninja parents was the second biggest advantage someone could have in a village, something that orphans and common civilians greatly envied.

"Well, I guess they won't get too mad if I kick your ass hard, right?" If they were ninjas, they should be much more understanding. In fact, the fact that they'd trained their son to this point told her they were probably tough on him, so maybe she could be a bit tough too.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll be the one kicking your ass," Sukuna said mockingly, making Anko smile.

Alright, it was time to teach this brat a lesson.

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.

Note:

Another chapter done. At first, I hesitated about making such a big time skip, but honestly, there wasn't much to cover during those two years that couldn't be explained in a few paragraphs, and I'd rather get to the good stuff soon.

By the way, I think I didn't mention it, but if it wasn't obvious already, this is a Naruto-AU (Alternate Universe). Some things will be slightly different but still follow the general framework of the series.

Remember that if you want you can support me on patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader ) This story doesn't have a fixed update schedule yet, but whenever I have a chapter ready you'll be able to find it there first. Of course I want to clarify that this isn't a paywall, all my stories are public and free, sooner or later the chapters will be released publicly. Simply those who support on patreon have early access as well as some other advantages. So if you'd like, you can go and check it out ;D

With that said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Remember to comment, give suggestions, critiques, and if you notice any errors, point them out so I can correct them. Thanks.
 
Illustration 1: Sukuna Sketch
Alright guys, I've brought a preliminary sketch of Sukuna's design. I think it still lacks some things, a lot of details actually, but as a sketch, I think it's decent enough to show. Of course, this is from the current arc. Later on, I hope to do drawings of his different ages. Honestly I suck at drawing kids so don't point that out to me too much lol (Men too, something I need to fix by practicing more)

I also hope to at some point make drawings of all the important characters in this story, something that will take a while since I've had much less time to draw these days, but hey, if achieving goals was easy, no one would have them, right?

With that said, I'd like to ask you something else. I've been reading some Naruto novels, one of them being the Itachi Shinden, and some ideas came to mind that I want to know what you think about.

Waifu big sister Uchiha or not? It's obvious to everyone who reads the story that Sukuna is a self-insert in a male Sakura. That, of course, means that Naruto turns into Naruko and Sasuke turns into...? (I'm still deciding on the name, but if I can't find one, I'll use the typical Satsuki). At first, I was thinking of doing it with just these three characters, but a friend (who lent me the Itachi Shinden because he had it in physical form) suggested I include the older Uchiha brother as well, something that I think would make sense because if in one universe they are two brothers, in another, they should be two sisters, right? Well, I'm still thinking about it, so I want to know what you think. I don't think this warrants a poll, so there won't be one.

Remember that if you want you can support me on patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader)

 
6: Divergent Fist
6: Divergent Fist

A few months ago.

"Arg!?" With a dry sound, a body flew through the air, easily rising at least 3 meters off the ground, before plummeting into a not-so-distant pile of snow.

"W-What?!"

White eyes, as pale as the moon in the dark sky, watched in astonishment as the figure of a girl calmly lowered her leg.

Her loose blonde hair seemed to glow especially bright, like strands of gold gently swaying in the winter wind.

"Wow, and here I thought you had something to show, but you're nothing more than a bunch of Shit" her voice carried a clear mockery that made the other two boys still standing clench their fists in anger.

"Damn you! You'll see!" They both rushed forward, ready to fight. The blonde-haired girl snorted and waited until they were close enough before launching herself at both of them in a swift motion. They couldn't even blink before a pair of fists hit them directly in the face. Their noses crunched, and they fell to the ground, unconscious the next moment.

"Tch, what garbage!" the girl scolded, then as if thinking of something, she kicked the ground, causing a heap of snow and dirt to splash over them, a small laugh escaping her lips.

"And now it's a pile of garbage," she said in a somewhat strange tone, as if recalling something amusing, before shrugging and suddenly turning around.

"Hey!" Blue eyes met white eyes.

Hinata Hyuga almost let out a squeal, her body trembling slightly, and it wasn't exactly because of the cold snowy morning.

Seeing her shrink under her simple gaze, Naruko raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused.

She walked towards the dark-haired girl with her hands in the pockets of her sweater to get a closer look at her features—white eyes, pale skin, and dark hair—a Hyuga, no doubt.

"Tell me, why didn't you kick their asses?" she asked, puzzled. The Hyuga clan was a ninja clan; even if this girl wasn't a big deal within it, she should at least know how to throw a punch, right?

"I-i..." she stammered, a blush flooding her cheeks and her large eyes trembling slightly.

"Forget it I can see why," she sighed. So much for thinking she'd found something interesting.

"Don't go wandering around alone if you can't even defend yourself. Not everyone is kind enough to lend a hand," she said, turning around and waving goodbye.

Hinata, who hadn't even been able to thank her, could do nothing but reach out helplessly as she watched her leave.

.

.

.

In the present.

Sukuna spun backward, easily dodging a kick. He landed on the ground and stepped forward, propelling his body.

Anko raised her guard, taking his charge head-on—something she shouldn't have done, as she felt the kid slip through her defense and strike her in the stomach, causing her guts to twist and the air to threaten to escape her lungs.

This wasn't going how she expected—not at all!

"Damn it, what did your parents feed you?" Anko skillfully retreated, creating some distance between them and massaging her stomach with a grimace.

"Everything a strong kid needs to grow," Sukuna said, giving her space to recover, something the girl noticed with annoyance.

A fight she thought would be resolved in less than five minutes was now almost half an hour in.

Was she really that weak? She couldn't help but think with doubt, but she quickly banished those thoughts. After all, she hadn't used all her cards yet. She had mainly engaged in a taijutsu battle with the brat—that was a mistake, and it took her longer than she'd like to realize it.

The boy was skilled and knew how to move, and while she could recognize certain patterns from the Academy's taijutsu style, she could also see distinct movements in his fighting form—more unpredictable moves that had been giving her some trouble.

Was it something original? She hadn't seen taijutsu like that, even in ninjas from other villages.

'Shit, am I really going to have to use it?' she couldn't help but bite her lip. Up until now, she had been holding herself back, moderating her chakra output to that of an average genin and using a taijutsu style different from the one she was truly skilled in.

After all, that taijutsu style had been taught by her old Sensei—the man who betrayed the village, who betrayed her.

Anko had wanted to completely change her ninja style since that happened, learning other techniques, other jutsus. But no matter how hard she tried, it seemed that whenever she found herself in trouble, she would revert to the same old habits, using old teachings—the teachings that had allowed her to become a chunin, even if she despised them.

Sukuna noticed her frustration, raising an eyebrow as her negative emotions seemed to triple in an instant.

"For someone who calls themselves a chunin, you're certainly a bit disappointing, don't you think? If this is the average level of ninjas, then maybe I should just skip the Academy and go straight to the Hokage for one of those green vests," he said with a mocking smile.

And there it was—he could feel in real-time as something "exploded" within the girl in front of him. Something metaphorical, of course. Her negative emotions burst forth, and a killing intent flooded the surroundings like an invisible pressure that seemed to have a physical effect on the environment.

Something undoubtedly caused by chakra.

Sukuna ignited his own spark of chakra within himself, causing the pressure on his body to vanish effortlessly—Something that did not go unnoticed by anko. Despite being extremely angry, the girl still managed to maintain a certain level of control over herself, resisting the urge to rush in carelessly.

"You're really an unpleasant brat," she smiled, though inside she was truly mortified.

"Really? My parents say I'm a delight," Sukuna said "innocently."

"Your parents are blind," she couldn't help but retort, then her expression turned deadly serious.

"Kid, do you really want to do this?" At her question, Sukuna also dropped his jovial attitude.

He could see that she was about to get serious. Maybe Anko wasn't the strongest ninja in the village, but she was still a chunin—one trained by Orochimaru, the Sannin. Even if she wasn't the strongest, fastest, or smartest, she was still a deadly force within her generation.

If she went all out, Sukuna couldn't be sure if he could defeat her without using any of his real abilities. After all, he was currently fighting like a ninja, not like a sorcerer—relying only on his body, his small amount of chakra, and basic jutsus. He was far from being able to unleash his true combat power.

In fact, in this state, most of his strength came from his superhuman physical power and his hand-to-hand combat skills. This was why he had the advantage so far, as Anko had been holding back, not using her chakra to its full extent.

One had to understand that in this world, even though the body was important, it wasn't everything. The true star behind great feats was chakra.

When ninjas used chakra to enhance themselves, they could boost all their basic stats in incredible and absurd ways.

For example, even if Sukuna's body was currently stronger than Anko's, that didn't mean she couldn't hit harder than he could.

That's where chakra came into play—how much you had, how you used it, and how much control you had over it.

Using his spiritual perception, Sukuna was able to gauge the amount of chakra in the purple-haired girl—a significant amount that far surpassed his own current chakra reserves by a wide margin, which wasn't very difficult since his current body didn't have much chakra to begin with.

He knew she was only using less than a quarter of her true reserves, an amount that reminded him of freshly graduated genin he had seen over time—those who weren't from clans, of course.

She must have thought that would be enough to deal with him, a mistake she should have realized by now.

"I've been craving a good fight for a while," he said sincerely. These past few years had been somewhat boring, after all.

"Fine, in that case, I'll tell you the same thing you told me earlier," Anko got into position, her sharp gaze fixed on him.

"Don't blink," all her chakra exploded like a blazing flame.

Sukuna twisted his body, but he could still feel the flesh on his cheek being torn. Blood splattered in slow motion through the air, and the pink-haired boy smiled excitedly, seeing the fist that had nearly struck him in the face.

'That's what I'm talking about!'

In a hurry, he raised both arms, barely managing to block a powerful kick. Even so, he felt the air explode around him as his body was sent flying uncontrollably.

His back slammed into an enormous tree that shattered into splinters on impact. Then he continued crashing through four more in quick succession. If his body weren't extremely durable, it would have at least broken a rib.

Sukuna maneuvered in the air, regaining control, but a blurred shadow approached him like a slippery serpent. He tried to block the next strike, but it unnaturally slipped through his defenses, hitting him square in the face.

He flipped backward, his feet digging into the ground, and quickly looked up with a broad grin on his face. His eyes could barely follow the shadow that seemed to surround him from all directions like a predator hunting its prey.

'Left? No, right? Neither, then—!' His eyes widened, and he quickly leaped into the air. The ground where he had been standing exploded outward with force as the purple-haired girl shot through it.

In an instant, they crossed paths in the air. The shockwave stirred the wind, their figures becoming blurred as they exchanged dozens of high-speed blows, leaving visible marks wherever they passed.

Sukuna almost coughed when a fist buried itself in his stomach with enough force to nearly make him vomit his dinner. Even so, he continued to smile with childlike glee and countered with an elbow strike that made Anko's head snap to the side, blood spraying from her lips.

The punches and kicks kept flying, and Sukuna reveled in the sensation as the adrenaline began to surge through his veins after so long.

'Yes, I almost missed this,' he thought, narrowly dodging a knee aimed at his side before delivering a kick that sent Anko's body flying into the air.

His eyes widened as he saw how, almost blurrily, the girl skillfully formed several hand seals.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

She took a deep breath, filling her lungs completely, and in the next instant, with one hand near her mouth, she exhaled forcefully.

The forest was flooded with the color of flames as several small fireballs shot out at high speed toward Sukuna.

'This is just a distraction,' he thought as he skillfully dodged the attacks, which struck around him, shaking the area.

He sharpened his senses and spiritual perception, then smiled as he felt the girl's presence trying to approach him from a "blind spot."

He let her get close, and when she was about to strike, he suddenly turned, facing her head-on. He saw her pupils contract in surprise, and without hesitation, unleashed a dozen blows in an instant.

The girl tried to block as best as she could, but many of the blows still got through her defense, making her grunt in pain.

Sukuna finished with a powerful punch to the liver that made her body double over and sent her flying until she crashed into a big rock, which shattered upon impact.

Dust filled the area, and Sukuna took a deep breath, feeling a bit of sweat trickle down his forehead.

"I have to admit, I didn't expect this to be so much fun. I should thank you," he couldn't help but say, as he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders to relax them.

The debris went flying when Anko staggered out of it, blood dripping from her forehead, and her hair, which had been in a ponytail, now hung loose and disheveled in the air.

"Thank me? When I'm done with you, you'll wish you never met me," she said defiantly.

Sukuna sighed; she was truly a fighter. Despite being so injured, she still wanted to continue. It was a shame—noon was approaching, and he had somewhere else to be.

"Although I admire your stubbornness, this fight is already over." At those words, Anko frowned.

"I don't think so, I still—" Her words were cut off.

something is off...

Anko's eyes widened in disbelief as she felt the air explode out of nowhere, and there, where Sukuna had struck her before, the sensation of being hit returned with full force as if she were experiencing it a second time.

Her body convulsed as dozens of invisible blows struck her simultaneously, finishing with a powerful punch to the liver that sent her flying backward for dozens of meters.

"The good ol' divergent fist, never fails." Sukuna grinned mischievously and prepared to leave, as he had already obtained what he wanted.

Although… maybe he should make sure she was alright?

Wiping some of the blood from his nose, he looked towards where Anko had crashed a second time. He really didn't care about the girl, but for some reason, he couldn't help but imagine a pair of blue eyes looking at him with disappointment if he left without helping her.

"Damn it, spending so much time with that brat is making me soft," he complained, but still walked over to Anko.

"Hey! You still alive?" he asked, looking at her fallen form, though he knew she was alive thanks to his spiritual perception.

The only response he got was an unintelligible murmur.

Sighing, he prepared to use his reverse cursed technique on her before leaving. He wouldn't heal her completely, just enough so she could make her way out of the forest and find help elsewhere.

But before he could, he sensed something shift in the air.

"Argh!" Anko groaned, a mix of anger and pain. She stood up despite being severely injured, and Sukuna raised an eyebrow as he felt her chakra bubbling, increasing beyond what he knew she possessed, while her negative emotions intensified.

"Oh?" Something stirred in the air, an energy he vaguely recognized. He watched as from the girl's neck marks in patterns that burned like fire began to spread.

Anko, on her part, felt as though her entire body was burning, as if boiling lava coursed through her veins, a sensation she had only felt once before.

'No, no, NO!' She tried to contain it, she needed to contain it!

"Looks like that hurts quite a bit. Let me give you a hand," she heard the brat's voice and remembered he was still nearby. She wanted to yell at him, tell him to run, but she couldn't open her mouth to form the words.

It was over. She felt the influence of the seal ignoring her attempts to restrain it. She had failed.

It was at that moment that a hand, which seemed even smaller than hers, rested on her head. Anko's eyes widened in disbelief as she felt all the negative emotions that had been consuming her, threatening to swallow her existence in an endless void, begin to fade into the air, leaving only a calm and serenity she had never felt before.

Maybe it was an illusion, but she felt as though that hand, which had seemed small before, transformed into something entirely different—a much larger, firm, and warm palm that pierced through all the darkness as if it didn't exist.

Anko looked up, and her eyes met a pair of deep crimson pupils.

Then she fainted.

.

.

.

A sigh echoed through the now silent forest as the pink-haired boy looked down at the teenage girl lying on the ground, annoyed.

"I guess I can't just leave you here alone, can I?" The situation had changed. Leaving her awake and with enough strength to take care of herself was one thing, but leaving her powerless and unconscious? That would be like telling all the beasts in the area that there was an open bar.

Or was it open buffet?

He shook his head; he needed to stop getting distracted. Carefully, he lifted the girl from the ground, carrying her on his back.

"Uh, where should I take you?" A hospital wasn't necessary—he could treat her himself. Besides, if he took her to one, there would be questions, questions he didn't want to answer.

"Looks like I'll have to figure out where you live." Great, more work.

With a hint of irritation, he started walking. For some reason, he felt he was forgetting something, but if he didn't remember it meant it wasn't important, so he would deal with it later.

.

Meanwhile, in a more normal part of Konoha, at a usual meeting spot, a girl with shoulder-length yellow hair frowned up at the midday sun. Her foot tapped the ground impatiently, and her stomach growled with hunger.

Where the hell was Sukuna?

.

.

.

Note:

Here's a brief explanation that I thought would be useful for readers regarding how I believe chakra enhances the physical abilities of its users.

As mentioned and demonstrated in the chapter, chakra can boost all physical aspects depending on three factors: quantity, control, and the way it's used (techniques).

For example, let's take two "average" people who can each deadlift 250 kilograms.

Now let's give these two people chakra: one with a theoretical amount of 100 and the other with a theoretical amount of 500.

If both train it for a while and achieve the same level of control, when they use it to enhance their bodies, the one with 100 in quantity might get a boost in all their physical attributes by (theoretically) 5x.

Meanwhile, the one with 500 would get a 25x boost.

Of course this is assuming that they both have the same degree of chakra control, a chakra control that allows them to distribute chakra fairly well throughout their body.

Now let's imagine that the person with 100 trains their chakra control to an excellent level. Because of this, they can manage their chakra better and use it more efficiently, increasing their multiplier to 15 or 20, even though their reserves are still 100.

Now let's say that person acquires a technique (a way to use their chakra to enhance their physical abilities beyond what their quantity or control of chakra can provide). Using this technique, they can further increase their multiplier, reaching even a 40x boost!

Quite impressive, right? But what about the person with 500? Have they fallen behind?

Well, since they have more chakra than the first person, it's harder for them to improve their control, which is frustrating. However, unlike the first person who continued to train their chakra, they decided to focus on something else: their body!

By training their body intensely, they manage to increase the amount of weight they can deadlift to 500 kilograms!

So even without a special technique or great chakra control, they can still keep up with and even surpass the other person a bit.

The first person, with 250 kilograms, expert chakra control, and a special technique, achieves a 40x boost, allowing them to lift 10,000 kilograms!

The second person, with 500 kilograms, only trained their body intensely to its limits and maintains their initial multiplier of 25x.

Still, this is enough for them to achieve an impressive lifting capacity of 12,500 kilograms!

That's right friends, the world is unfair—cry about it, haha. Well, to be clearer, if the first person also trained their body, they would surpass the second person in no time. Similarly, if the second person also acquired a special technique and improved their chakra control, they could continue to surpass the first.

Ultimately, it all depends on what the chakra user does and how much effort they put in. However, it is undeniable that some people are born with more talent or, in this case, chakra. Thus, there will always be those who have it easier and can reach greater heights if they put in the effort and train properly in the right aspects.

Of course, many other factors can come into play. For example, what happens if you're born with a lot of chakra but no talent for controlling it? Or what if you're born with a weak body? There are many factors and variables that can make the numbers lose their significance. (That's why they are theoretical numbers.)

To conclude, this explanation was made because Naruto doesn't have a clear explanation for this (at least not one I've found), so I decided to create one, however basic, to make it clear. This will be the system I use, at least for the physical aspects of chakra.

The aspects of ninjutsu and "magical" powers will likely remain as they are in the original work, as I believe they are somewhat understandable, at least more so than the physical enhancement aspect.

Of course, this could change depending on various factors. After all, there is still much that is unclear about the power system in Naruto, so as an author, I need to theorize and provide an explanation if I think it's necessary for it to make sense in what I write. That's why this is an AU! (Alternate Universe)

I hope the explanation was clear.

With that aside, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know there wasn't much story progression, but that was because I wanted to see how it felt to write a fight scene in this setting. There are still details to improve, but I feel like I tackled it as well as I could, and I'm happy with the result.

This will probably be the last chapter of the month, at least for this series. I'll likely also update Still Defiant and, if there's time, Supersoldier.

I don't know; I plan to do nothing on the 30th since it's my birthday, and if possible, go out for a bit on the 31st. But if I get inspired, maybe I'll write something more. I guess we'll see.

Remember that if you want you can support me on patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader )

Given all the support this fic is receiving, I've considered starting an update schedule soon. I don't know exactly how it will be yet, but I hope to start it in September with at least two chapters a week on Patreon, and once I accumulate enough, have two chapters a week also publicly like with my other two main fics.
 
7: Prodigy
7: Prodigy

It all began when his son was three years old.

"I want to be a ninja." The words were spoken with a conviction and resolve rarely seen in such a young child, feelings conveyed so clearly that they caught Kizashi Haruno completely off guard.

Although he knew that in a village like Konoha, a ninja village, words like these would eventually come from his son's mouth, he hadn't expected it to be so soon, nor that those words would carry such sharp certainty.

His wife, Mebuki Haruno, who had also been present, turned to look at him with a slightly furrowed brow. The worry and doubt were evident in her eyes, feelings that he could see reflected in his own face through the bright green eyes of his son.

Kizashi thought it would be complicated, but that day they managed to make their son understand that it wasn't the time yet, that he was still young.

Sukuna seemed to accept it calmly and without much complaint. Kizashi thought that was the end of it until a few weeks later, his son brought up the subject again.

"I want to train to be a ninja."

"Uh, Sukuna-chan, I thought we already talked about this. You're still a bit young for the academy." His son nodded as calm and serene as ever.

"I know, but while I was playing in the park, some older kids made fun of me because I didn't know how to throw shurikens. And when I asked them to show me, they didn't want to teach me."

Kizashi blinked, then understood—bullies. He didn't expect his poor son to encounter them so soon.

"I see. In that case, let this old man teach you a couple of moves."

Kizashi hadn't planned to teach him much at first, just a few basic moves to impress some kids and let his son make more friends.

"So, I should do it like this, right?" Sukuna took the shuriken, a weapon that seemed a bit too big for his small hand, a weapon that his short fingers should have held clumsily.

But instead, even with the size difference, his son managed to get a perfect grip on it.

Kizashi had only shown him once. Of course, he had carefully explained how to do it to avoid getting cut, but even so... it was only once...

...and that seemed to be enough for his son to play with it as if it had been attached to his hand since birth.

"S-sure, just be a bit careful since it's a real shuriken. Your mother would kill me if she knew I was letting you play with it." Actually, she would first listen to the explanation and then beat him to a pulp. Women—they didn't understand a man's pride and why it was important to defend it.

"So, how do I throw it?" At the question, Kizashi pondered for a moment. Did he really want to teach his son how to throw deadly weapons around other children?

"Watch and learn." He took one of his old shurikens and got into position. He explained each step in detail so his son wouldn't miss anything. Then, he aimed at his target and, with speed and precision, threw the weapon across the yard. The shuriken flew steadily, in a perfect straight line, cutting through the air toward a thick training log about 20 meters away.

In the blink of an eye, the weapon embedded itself precisely in the bullseye on the wood of the log. Kizashi couldn't help but smile; even though he was no longer an active ninja, it seemed his throwing skills were still in excellent shape.

"What do you think? Isn't your dad cool? Don't worry, Sukuna-chan, in no time, and with my guidance, you'll be able to do the same. For now, don't be disappointed if your first throw misses; it's normal for—" Kizashi blinked, the smug smile on his face freezing.

There are moments when you witness something you can't believe, moments when you doubt yourself and your own senses. A ninja always had to be ready for those moments, ready to doubt everything and everyone. After all, the cruelest genjutsus were always the most subtle.

Kizashi mobilized his chakra, using an old technique that seemed almost forgotten. He disrupted the flow of his own chakra while simultaneously trying to break any external influence that might be affecting his body.

There was none.

"It seems easier than I thought, thanks for showing me."

"W-well, that was just a basic throw. Any kid in the academy could do it. How about I show you something a bit more complicated?" He shouldn't, he shouldn't do what he was about to do, but... he needed to see if this was a fluke or not.

.

.

.

A ninja never stops being a ninja.

It was something Kizashi had learned over time—he and his wife might have retired when the Third Shinobi World War came to an end, but they both knew that was just an illusion.

Once a ninja, always a ninja.

"I must say, I'm surprised to see you here, Kizashi. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

The smoke drifted peacefully through the air as the Third Hokage set his pipe aside and looked at the man kneeling before him.

"A little, Hokage-sama," Kizashi stood up at Hiruzen's gesture, then met his gaze. No matter how many years passed, Kizashi always felt nervous in his presence.

"Tell me, how have the sales been? I heard you and your wife have secured some good trade deals with the Land of Bears."

"Things are progressing smoothly. If all goes well, our main store will have a second floor by next year," Kizashi said with a hint of pride. His skills in commerce hadn't been something obvious early in his life. As a war orphan who grew up in a shinobi village, he hadn't had many options other than following the path so many others had taken before him. Becoming a shinobi wasn't easy, and surviving long enough to save up for other career options had certainly been a challenge.

But in the end, it had all been worth it, no matter how hard the journey to get there had been.

'Then why are you here?' a small voice in the back of his mind whispered, a voice Kizashi easily silenced.

"I see," the hokage looked at him with a sincere smile on his face. Seeing his people advance and prosper always sparked a bit of joy within his old body.

"But you're not here just to talk to me about these things, are you?" Hiruzen would have liked to come and go a bit more, catch up with old acquaintances. It was something a man his age should be doing more often, after all. Still, as Hokage, he didn't have such luxuries. his schedule had been a bit tight lately and with it the time he could allocate to small meetings like this.

Kizashi swallowed hard. He had been thinking about this meeting for a long time, debating what was right and what wasn't. But in the end, one thing was undeniable.

He was a ninja, and he served his village.

"Leave us," Hiruzen said to the air, and from the shadows, perfectly concealed figures faded away.

"!?" Kizashi looked at the Hokage in surprise.

"You seemed a bit nervous. I thought you might be more comfortable if we spoke alone," Hiruzen's smile was kind, and Kizashi couldn't help but bow in gratitude. It seemed the Hokage had seen through his intentions to have a private conversation, even without him saying a word.

"It's about my son," he finally said, catching Hiruzen's attention.

Had he learned about his son's friendship with Naruko? The old Hokage couldn't help but think this might be the reason for the man's visit, but he chose not to speak hastily and decided to let Kizashi continue.

"I believe... No, I'm certain that he has a talent never before seen in the shinobi arts." After those words left his mouth, Kizashi felt as if the enormous weight he'd been carrying since discovering this had lightened a bit.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Hiruzen couldn't help but let his curiosity show on his face; this seemed like an unexpected development.

Kizashi then began to explain everything that had happened since Sukuna came to him with the desire to learn how to throw shurikens.

"Since that day, it only took him a week to catch up to me and even surpass me in Shurikenjutsu. I know I shouldn't have, but I kept teaching him. Now, he has also mastered the use of kunai and has already completed the first chakra control exercise... I didn't dare show him more without coming to you first."

There was a silence that lingered in the air for a few seconds, hiruzen stroked his beard with a contemplative look on his face.

"And you say he's only three years old?"

"Yes..."

The Third Hokage walked to the window of his office and looked at the sunset, which was beginning to tint the leaves of the trees surrounding the village.

It reminded him of autumn.

"Times of change..." he whispered, and a smile appeared on his lips.

A prodigy of such caliber appearing at a time like this—was it just a coincidence or a sign of something more?

Hiruzen removed his hat and looked at the kanji for "fire" on it. It seemed that even with all the tragedies that had struck the village, it could still prosper in the hands of the next generation.

Perhaps it was too early to be so optimistic, but Hiruzen wasn't getting any younger, and the weight of carrying the hat in his hands had begun to leave its mark. Before his time came, he needed to ensure that the village's future would be in good hands, that the Will of Fire burning within him would be passed on to the right person.

"I want to meet him."

He didn't know for sure yet, but perhaps he had found another potential candidate.

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"Ugh," Anko groaned, her consciousness beginning to return. She vaguely heard the crackling of flames and felt the familiar warmth of a campfire against her body. She blinked in confusion until her eyes could process information again. Once her vision cleared, she was greeted by a cavernous ceiling.

"Looks like you're finally waking up, Sleeping Beauty. I was starting to get tired of waiting."

Anko nearly jumped at the sound of the voice, but her body protested. Frowning, she looked at herself—her Flak Jacket was gone, as was most of her ninja gear. Instead, several bandages covered her; her wounds had clearly been treated with care.

"Don't push yourself too hard, or you'll ruin all the work I did to treat you." Though still a bit confused, Anko decided to stay down. Then, her head turned to see Sukuna, who was sitting on a rock not far from her, staring at the campfire with boredom.

'What happened?' At that question, vague images began to flood her mind.

The fight, her losing, the cursed seal slipping out of her control.

"Argh!" Despite her body's protests, Anko sat up straight, her hand shooting up to touch her neck.

The burning and stabbing pain she had expected to feel was nowhere to be found, and for a moment, she wondered if she had imagined it all.

Then, the memory of a pair of red eyes flashed in her mind, making her shudder. Unintentionally, her gaze returned to Sukuna, and for a moment, she thought she was looking into those same eyes once more. But soon that illusion shattered, as she carefully observed that his clear green irises were only reflecting the color of the dancing flames.

Without realizing it, she stared at him for too long. Sukuna stopped staring at the fire and turned his bored eyes towards her, catching her by surprise.

"It seems you've recovered enough. In that case, it's time for me to go," the boy said as he stood up, dusting off his shorts.

"Why?" Anko was surprised, as the question had come from her own mouth.

"Uh?" Sukuna looked at her in confusion.

"Why did you help me? You don't seem like the type who cares about others." Anko knew her own reputation quite well. She was aware that even among her fellow ninja, few would be willing to lend her a hand. She didn't think someone like Sukuna, young or not, would be unaware of the rumors and gossip that circulated around the village.

"Don't mistake my mercy for kindness. I didn't help you because I cared about you or any nonsense like that." Now that sounded like the boy she had fought against. Still, as she looked at the carefully placed bandages on her body, she couldn't help but think that his actions contradicted his words.

Something flew towards her. Anko, though injured, was still a ninja. Her hand shot up, easily catching the object.

"This is..." She looked at the small, marble-sized ball of dark brown color.

"It should help you recover enough energy to get out of here."

Sukuna said nothing more and left the cave he had used as a makeshift shelter for both of them. He had initially planned to carry her out of the forest, but after thinking it over, he realized it would be really annoying to figure out where she lived and If someone caught him with her on his back, it could become a bit problematic. So, he changed his mind and ended up finding a shallow cave where he set up an improvised camp and treated her wounds. Of course, he could have fully healed her in an instant with his RCT (Reversed Cursed Technique), but revealing his cards like that wasn't his style, so he had to make it look like he treated her the traditional way with bandages and all.

'How annoying. I hope you're happy with this, Naruko…' He blinked, looking at the sky starting to turn purple and orange hues at last he remembered what had been bothering him.

'Uh, I forgot about her.'

Scratching his head, he couldn't help but grimace. Well, now he needed to think of a way to make it up to her, or she'd give him those damned puppy-dog eyes for the rest of the week.

'Maybe I should just rip that damned fox out of her stomach and save myself so much trouble,' a sinister thought crossed his mind for a moment before he easily dismissed it and began walking towards their usual meeting place.

Maybe it was time to introduce her to ramen. That would surely be enough to make her happy, right?

Back in the cave, Anko watched his retreating figure with unknown thoughts.

"Mercy, huh?" A short laugh escaped her lips before she shook her head.

She tossed the soldier pill into her mouth and swallowed it without chewing. Soon, she could feel its effects hit her body. Her chakra was greatly restored, and although she was still in pain, she could ignore her wounds and stand up. She reached for her ninja gear, which had been neatly placed beside her, and prepared to leave as well.

"What a strange brat."

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Night had fallen, and in the sky, a full moon shone splendidly alongside the light of distant stars.

"Your pouting is getting annoying, so knock it off."

Walking together down a busy street were two small figures. Although they were the same age, one was a few centimeters taller than the other.

At his words, Naruko pouted even more. Ever since they met up, she had been giving him a clear look of anger, something that had been amusing to Sukuna at first but soon began to grow irritating.

Sighing, his hand rose, falling onto her head and ruffling her already messy blonde hair, causing her to shiver a bit before her body relaxed.

"Come on, we're here. Look," Sukuna said, pointing to a stall not far from them.

Naruko lifted her gaze, reading the characters on the sign at the stall.

"Ichiraku Ramen?" She had seen this stall a few times in the past but had never wanted to approach it. Her experiences dealing with people and their shops had been unpleasant, and since meeting Sukuna, she preferred going to him when she needed something rather than dealing with the disdain and hateful looks from the villagers.

She frowned. Why were they here? Why not eat where they usually did?

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," she said, clearly expressing her discomfort.

"You won't know until you try. Let's go." Sukuna gave her a push, making her move forward, and soon both entered the stall.

"Welcome!" A cheerful voice greeted them, and a man with narrow eyes and a sincere smile emerged from the kitchen. His gaze settled on them for a moment, and for a second, Naruko thought she would see the familiar disdain she had grown accustomed to.

But there was none. The man's expression didn't change at all; he still wore a kind smile as he invited them to sit down. Sukuna dragged her along, and soon both were seated on a pair of high stools.

"What can I serve you, young ones?" Naruko hesitated; she had never eaten in a restaurant or food stall before and didn't know what to say. Her blue eyes turned to Sukuna, who, noticing her hesitation, pointed to the various signs displaying the names and ingredients of the different ramen dishes.

She had no idea which one to choose.

Seeing her indecision, Sukuna sighed and decided to speak up.

"Two Miso Chashu," he said to the stall owner, who nodded in understanding.

"Two Miso Chashu coming up!"

The service was quick, and soon two enormous bowls filled to the brim were placed in front of them. The extraordinary aroma made Naruko's eyes sparkle as saliva flooded her mouth.

"Remember to blow on it," Sukuna simply said, taking his chopsticks and separating them.

Naruko, who had long since learned to listen to him, nodded distractedly. She grabbed her own chopsticks, dipped them into the bowl, and easily pulled out a good portion of noodles. Her cheeks puffed out slightly as she took a breath and began blowing on them for a few moments before impatience got the better of her, and without hesitation, she shoved the food into her mouth.

What kind of divine food was this?!

With stars in her eyes, the blonde girl completely forgot about decorum and began devouring her ramen as if there were no tomorrow. Seeing her, Sukuna chuckled a bit and looked over at the cook—if he remembered correctly, his name was Teuchi or something like that.

"Maybe we'll need two more bowls," Sukuna said. The man glanced at Naruko in surprise before turning to Sukuna and nodding in understanding.

For a moment, the place took on a peaceful atmosphere, where the sound of pots in the kitchen served as white noise, accompanying the sound of a girl eating for the first time what would become her favorite food for the rest of her life.

It was peaceful and calm, something that had seemed so distant and strange to the pink-haired boy. For a brief moment, Sukuna imagined what it would be like to live a life like this.

But soon, that illusion shattered when the sound of a conversation reached his ears from outside the shop.

"Did you hear? It seems she managed to break the previous time record, even though she was just one person."

"They say she scared her opponent so much that he went crazy and decided to stop being a ninja."

"As expected of the Uchiha clan prodigy who graduated from the academy in just one year."

"The only good thing to come out of that clan if you ask me."

"Quiet! If someone from the military police hears you, you'll get us into trouble."

"O-oh, you're right."

The voices faded into mere whispers carried by the wind.

Prodigy, huh? Sukuna couldn't help but feel a spark of interest flash through his eyes.

'I wonder... How strong are you?'

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Note:

Well, here's another chapter. I didn't plan to write this so soon, but the idea just wouldn't leave my mind, and I couldn't write about anything else until I got it out.

So here it is. Let me know what you think. Things have progressed calmly for Sukuna, but soon it's time for the turmoil and darkness of the shinobi world to collide with him. What will happen then? I guess we'll find out together.

A fun fact: Kakashi graduated from the ninja academy at the age of 5 and became a chunin just a year later... a 6-year-old chunin, what a little monster, haha.

Finally remember that You can already find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader )All the support received is appreciated ;D
 
8: Whim
8: Whim

She took a deep breath, felt the wind brushing against her hair, and listened to the sound of leaves falling from the trees. For a moment, she stood still, and in the next instant, her body soared several meters into the air. Her blue eyes sharpened, and with a swift motion, the six kunai in her hands flew toward their targets.

Naruko landed gracefully and, with unwarranted confidence, raised her head proudly, speaking in an arrogant tone.

"What do you think? Am I not amazing?"

"You missed one." The flat voice made her stumble.

"Impossible! I practiced this for weeks." Indignantly, she looked at the six targets until she found the one that was missing a kunai in the center.

"Damn it!" She walked over, irritated, and picked up the kunai from the ground. It was the farthest target and at the most unusual angle. She had been having trouble hitting it, and just yesterday, she had finally managed to reach it. She had excitedly jumped around until she realized Sukuna wasn't there to see it.

That had made her feel down, but she quickly composed herself. If she had hit it once, that meant she had already mastered it, right? At least, that's what she thought. So this morning, she dragged Sukuna to their usual spot, which had become her training field, and decided to show him so he could praise her for her good work.

She hadn't expected to fail like this.

"You were too impatient. You jumped earlier than you should have and didn't aim properly because you rushed," Sukuna said as he approached the spot where she had stood before. He moved his hands slightly, and where they had been empty before, suddenly six kunai appeared.

His foot pushed gently against the ground, and as if his body weighed less than a feather, it lifted into the air. The boy maneuvered gracefully mid-fall, skillfully twisting his body and waving both hands, from which the six kunai flew swiftly and precisely. The sound of metal clashing with metal echoed as the five kunai Naruko had hit were displaced from their spots. To add to that, the target the girl had missed was also struck right in the center.

"Show-off," Naruko muttered under her breath, though her eyes sparkled with admiration at the display.

Sukuna ignored her murmur. He wasn't showing off; he was simply showing her how to do it, and If he happened to look cool while doing it, it was because he had been born that way.

'I wonder if you've managed to pick up on any of that,' he thought as he glanced out of the corner of his eye toward the distance, where a pair of white eyes peeked from between the leaves of a bush.

For months now, he had noticed the little spy but hadn't said anything. After all, it wasn't his problem, it was Naruko's. And if the girl was skilled enough to hide from the blonde, then he could let her keep spying as much as she wanted.

Besides, he thought it might be fun if the girl managed to pick up a thing or two by watching him and Naruko train.

"Huh?" He felt a familiar presence approaching.

"For now, keep training until you can do it. I'll be back in a while."

"Eh? Wait, where are you going?" Naruko looked at him in confusion. After all, Sukuna usually didn't interrupt their training sessions.

Sukuna simply waved his hand, and his figure blurred, disappearing from the spot without saying anything more.

"How strange…" Naruko looked in the direction he had gone with suspicion. Yesterday, he had been late to their meeting, and today, he was leaving without saying a word. Something strange was definitely going on here.

Her curiosity piqued, and she debated whether or not to try following him, but she eventually gave up. After all, she had already tried before, and he always noticed. So, sighing, she looked at the training field and began picking up the scattered kunai, ready to keep training until he returned.

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Anko leapt from tree to tree at a decent pace. She would soon arrive at the place she was told to go.

"Well, I thought you'd be spending more time in bed, Are you here for a rematch?" The voice made her stop. Surprised, she looked to the side to see Sukuna standing casually on the surface of a tree, as if he had been waiting for her.

How long had he noticed her?

Anko narrowed her eyes at him before jumping and landing on a branch next to him.

"I have a message from the Hokage," she said, opening one of the pouches on her ninja jacket and pulling out a scroll, which she threw towards sukuna who caught it easily and opened it starting to read its contents.

"So, you accused me," Sukuna asked sarcastically, to which she scoffed before replying.

"Did you expect me not to?"

"You'd be a lousy ninja if you didn't." In fact, Sukuna had already considered that she would talk to the Hokage. It would have been foolish to think she wouldn't. Still, he didn't mind. A long time ago, he had already "manipulated the facts" to make sure the Hokage wouldn't be a problem.

Since deciding to keep meeting with Naruko, Sukuna knew he couldn't hide from the sight of the man and his strange way of looking at things from a distance,. Therefore, he adapted and used his surroundings to his advantage, consolidating his identity in this world.

If you can't hide, then don't. That was part of his life philosophy. Of course, revealing a little didn't mean revealing everything. That's where you had to draw the line, and where things could go wrong if you made a mistake.

There was a reason he had chosen Anko after all. She could report to the Hokage, but he highly doubted she would tell anyone else.

If you don't have to reveal yourself, then don't. That was also part of his philosophy.

Sukuna would only give explanations if necessary, but if he could avoid giving them, he would. In the end, everything depended on the situation, and if he could gain something from it, no matter what, then he would.

That's why he hadn't gotten rid of the little spy Naruko had brought along. Having the future leader of one of the village's main clans as her backer was useful not only for her, but also for Sukuna, who was her "friend."

Useful for what? Who knows? Sukuna didn't have grand plans yet. For now, he was fine staying in Konoha, and so he planned around that. If tomorrow he had to leave the village for some reason, then he would plan around that as well.

As he had said before, he was adaptable.

He finished reading the scroll. There wasn't much in it, just a lengthy explanation about why he shouldn't enter restricted areas because of the dangers they posed and If he wanted to, it would be better to ask for permission beforehand.

The perks of being in the Hokage's good graces, he supposed.

"If that's all, then I'll be on my way. I still have a few things to do." Sukuna tucked the scroll into one of his pouches and prepared to return to the training field.

"Wait!"

"Huh? What is it?" Seeing him stop and turn to look at her with a lazy expression in his eyes, Anko hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Your name."

"My name?" He raised an eyebrow. She nodded.

"You didn't tell me before."

"Oh, now that you mention it, it seems I forgot. How rude of me." Sukuna had completely forgotten. He didn't usually have the habit of introducing himself.

"You can call me Sukuna, but..." he narrowed his eyes at her, "Is that really the only reason you came? You're still injured, aren't you? Why aren't you resting?" If the Hokage wanted to send him a message, there were other ways to do it. Anko didn't necessarily have to be the one to deliver it. So sukuna deduced that the girl chose to come for some reason.

"Sukuna, eh?" What a strange name to give someone.

"Don't underestimate me. You just got lucky, that's all. But it won't happen again."

"Oh? So, you really came to fight again?" Sukuna couldn't help but get a little excited. Anko might not have been the strongest opponent he'd faced, but she was tenacious and didn't shy away from a beating, which, in his book, made her a good punching bag for a bit of fun.

"Not exactly..." How should she mention this? Anko brought her hand to her neck, still feeling uncertain about whether what she had experienced at that moment was real or not. She hadn't mentioned it to the Hokage for fear of being wrong. Maybe she had imagined things, but for some reason, she felt that wasn't the case. The only way to find out was to ask the only other person who had been there.

"Before I passed out... did something happen?" Of course, Sukuna noticed her gesture of touching her neck and immediately knew what she was referring to.

"Well, I had to carry you on my back. It was a bit tricky, if you ask me. Maybe you should lose some weight."

"You!" She wasn't fat! Anko felt her cheeks flush and unconsciously touched her stomach... Maybe she should eat fewer dangos? No, she shook her head. She couldn't get distracted!

"I'm being serious!"

Sukuna merely shrugged, then his eyes sharpened, making Anko shiver without knowing why.

"If you don't remember, then it doesn't matter. Why worry about it?"

"So something did happen!" she said excitedly, as if she had caught him.

"Who knows?" Sukuna was already bored with this conversation. Without waiting any longer, he turned and started to leave.

"Hmph! Fine, don't tell me. One way or another, I'll get it out of you," Anko muttered to herself, watching his figure disappear into the distance.

Then her stomach growled. It seemed it was time to eat. Maybe her favorite dango shop still had some left... "Maybe you should lose some weight," for some reason, Sukuna's words echoed again in her mind.

"I'm not fat..." she grumbled to herself.

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Night soon fell, and a radiant moon rose in the sky, accompanied by the sound of birds' wings fluttering.

In the Uchiha clan compound, within the secret bunker inside the Nakano Shrine:

"I have no intention of having my daughter join the military police force," Fugaku Uchiha, the leader of the Uchiha clan, spoke while looking at all the clan members who had been summoned for the secret meeting that took place every so often.

This time, however, the meeting had been brought forward due to an event that had filled the entire clan with excitement.

His daughter, the princess of the Uchiha clan, one of the greatest geniuses the village had ever seen, had finally become a chunin.

"But sir! If a ninja of her caliber joins the military police force, it could greatly improve the Uchiha clan's position with the village. Then why-" The man speaking was interrupted by Fugaku.

"Because I want her to join The Anbu." His words caused a deep silence to fill the room.

"The Anbu?" someone finally spat, with clear animosity in their voice.

Discontent was visible in the eyes of the clan members, and Fugaku could understand it. After all, the military police and the Anbu didn't exactly have the best of relationships, and they could even be called rivals, often clashing with each other for various reasons.

Although their functions were not exactly the same, it was undeniable that the Anbu often assumed responsibilities within the village that belonged to the military police, excusing themselves behind the Hokage.

Taking that into account, it was normal for the clan members to be angered by Fugaku's declaration, and they began to loudly protest.

"Silence!" His voice echoed through the room, causing the flames illuminating the interior of the shrine to flicker.

"I understand how you feel," he finally said more calmly, "It's a sentiment I share myself, and that is why my daughter will join the Anbu. She will serve as the connection between the village and the clan that we have been seeking." His words surprised some people, and confusion was clear on their faces. Noticing this, Fugaku decided to explain further.

"I believe we are all aware of the 'secret' surveillance the Anbu has over the clan compound, something we have endured for long enough. it's time for us to have our own eyes on them too." It was then that Fugaku's intentions became completely clear.

A spy—the clan leader wanted his daughter to become a spy for them.

Agitation filled the place, there was worry as well as excitement. Although no one had said it explicitly yet, it was clear to everyone present that this would cross a point of no return—spying on the village meant betraying the village...

"Why do this? Aren't we all comrades of the same village?" A soft voice was heard, a whisper that shouldn't have attracted attention, but it did. The whole place fell silent as dozens of red eyes turned toward the source of those words.

Fugaku frowned as his own eyes moved to the seat beside him, the seat where his daughter was sitting.

She was looking down, with unknown thoughts deep within her dark eyes.

"What did you just say?" someone asked, barely containing their anger.

His daughter seemed distracted, not looking at anyone in particular, and she appeared to speak more to herself than to anyone else.

"Whether it's the people of Konoha or the other clans within the village, they are all our comrades." Her eyes then focused, and her sharp gaze finally rose, looking at the discontented members of the clan.

"Continuing to create distance from them and fostering this absurd dispute will only end up harming us all. Instead of fanning the flames of conflict, we should work to resolve it, not worsen it."

Resentment grew thicker, as did the bloodlust, but she neither lowered her gaze nor wavered.

"Absurd dispute, you say! Do you have any idea of everything the clan has suffered?" One of Fugaku's trusted members stood up, looking at her accusingly.

"I am also a member of the Uchiha clan, of course I know," she replied sharply, making the man grit his teeth and take a step forward.

"Then you're siding with Konoha? Is that what you're saying?!"

"I'm simply seeing the bigger picture. If you used those eyes of yours to look beyond your own ego, maybe you'd understand." Her words were biting.

"You!" The man couldn't take it any longer and nearly rushed forward, ready to grab the girl by the neck.

It was at that moment that Fugaku finally intervened, stepping between them.

"Clan leader!"

"Calm down, Yashiro." The man seemed reluctant, but Fugaku's stern gaze finally made him back down and return to his seat.

The Uchiha clan leader then turned to look at his daughter.

"Apologize," he said, causing her to look at him with discontent.

Fugaku sighed.

"Listen, I understand what you're trying to say, but that's nothing more than an impossible ideal. Reality isn't that simple, and things aren't that easy to resolve. The Uchiha clan has suffered enough, and the village isn't leaving us with any other options. We must look out for the clan, for our people."

The clan, the clan—it was always about the clan.

Why couldn't her father see beyond that? She couldn't help but clench her fists as she felt her blood boiling with anger.

No, it wasn't just him. Looking at the furious eyes of all the gathered members, she realized something, causing her anger to turn into frustration.

Almost the entire clan was rotten.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, swallowing the annoyance she felt inside, though not for the reasons the people in the secret chamber believed.

In fact, she didn't even know why or to whom she was apologizing. She just felt that she needed to.

Without waiting for a response or reaction, she stood up, bowed to her father, and left without saying anything else.

Dozens of red eyes followed her back as she exited the room.

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In the end, she left the clan compound altogether. She simply couldn't bear to stay there any longer, at least not for the rest of the night.

Her blurred figure darted across Konoha, moving from rooftop to rooftop until she passed the more populated areas and ventured into its deep forests. The village was larger than people thought, only most of its lands weren't inhabited, so they went unnoticed by the majority. She intentionally reached those parts where ninjas usually went to have privacy in their training.

Or to vent by destroying things.

She landed in a clearing surrounded by tall trees, a perfect spot to train until she felt ready to return to the clan compound.

At least, that was her intention until she sensed an unfamiliar presence approaching.

"Who's there?" A kunai appeared in her hand at the same time her eyes gleamed with blood-red color.

"I was wondering when you were going to stop. I didn't expect you to come this far, but I won't complain. This works for me too," the voice was somewhat childish yet strangely mature.

Slow, deliberate steps were heard as a figure emerged from the shadows, and she couldn't help but be surprised when she saw him, as she hadn't expected someone who seemed even younger than her to confront her.

The most surprising thing was that he had followed her all the way here without her noticing.

"Who are you?" she asked coldly, not lowering her guard. She had already realized this wasn't a genjutsu meant to confuse her, but that didn't mean she would be careless.

"Ah, of course, introductions. You can call me Sukuna," the boy said as he stepped closer, seemingly unconcerned by the Uchiha's defensive stance.

"You're shorter than I expected." His comment made her frown slightly.

Sukuna looked at her, studying her appearance until he came to those "mythical" red eyes.

He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't have even sought her out. Sukuna had no real reason to interfere with this girl or her fate, and to say that he cared about her wouldn't be correct either.

Just like with Neji and the whole affair with Hinata's kidnapping, he could have easily looked the other way and let everything follow its destined course.

He could lie to himself and say he was doing this for some future benefit—maybe to deal with Danzo or perhaps for something else.

But Sukuna didn't lie to himself.

He was here for one reason only.

"I want you to fight me," he finally said, breaking the silence and causing her to frown even more.

"Why?" Her question was understandable, and Sukuna answered with honesty.

"Because I want a good fight."

Yes, that was all it boiled down to.

There wasn't a more convincing or logical reason, no grand future plan or extraordinary goal.

Sukuna just wanted a good fight.

He had felt it ever since his battle with Anko, like an addict relapsing. His mind had been restless, and the reason was simple: his long-dormant thirst for battle had awoken and was eager for an opponent who could set his heart ablaze.

So why her? With so many other options, why choose her?

Again, there was no great reason,. Unlike the situation with Anko, in this case, Sukuna was simply acting on a whim. He had heard of her recent promotion to Chunin, and his curiosity had been piqued. It was simple—he wanted to face her because he wanted to measure himself against the famous "Uchiha prodigy."

"Is that a good enough reason to risk your life?" she asked, though Sukuna understood that she was really speaking more to herself than to him.

"Are you assuming my life is in danger?" He couldn't help but mock. Whim or not, Sukuna wasn't stupid—he had already died twice and wasn't looking for a third time. If he truly thought his life was at risk, he wouldn't act so recklessly.

The Uchiha girl sighed, then her eyes sharpened with a trace of anger in them.

Was she really going to do this? She asked herself while looking at Sukuna. She didn't really know how strong this boy was. If she lost control, she might actually end up killing him. Even so, the frustration of everything going on with her clan and the village had already pushed her to the edge. She had come here to vent, and now someone had interrupted even that, pushing her already frayed patience to the breaking point.

She felt like she was about to explode.

"I won't say it again, leave." Last chance.

Sukuna smiled, feeling the anger radiating from her like a blazing fire.

"No..." Their gazes met for a moment, the three tomoe in the girl's red eyes began to spin rapidly at the same time as the atmosphere in the clearing shifted, growing ten times heavier.

"Fine…" and just like that, before the words had fully fallen, both of them vanished in a blur of speed.

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Note:

First of all, if you notice any grammatical error of any kind, please point it out so I can correct it.

About the "Uchiha girl," ever since I decided to go down this path for the character, I imagined that if Itachi were a woman, she would be quite different—not completely distant from what the character is in the canon, of course (her goals should remain mostly the same)—but different in various aspects.

Mainly in the emotional aspect. Itachi in canon is more "depressed," so to speak, or maybe "calm" would be a better word? At least that's the impression his character gave me. For that reason, I think a female version would be more "aggressive" in a certain sense. (I don't know if that makes sense.) Maybe more "impulsive"? More emotional?

I can't exactly explain why, but that's the impression I have based on how most of the women are in Naruto canon (many are quite crazy in some aspects). Also, because of how the Uchiha clan is and all that about the curse of love.

Love, after all, is the most terrible curse that exists, and they say women tend to suffer it ten times worse than men.

With that said, you can get an idea of how different this character will be, and why, even though her goals may not differ much from canon, her way of approaching them will and I think that will become noticeable as events unfold....

remember that You can already find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader )All the support received is appreciated ;D
 
9: Yin Release
9: Yin Release

In an instant, the calm of the night was disturbed.

BOOM!

Crashing in the middle of the clearing, two figures, like blurry smudges, collided repeatedly with each other, making the wind swirl, swaying the nearby grass and stirring the tall trees around.

Fists, kicks, elbows, and knee strikes—agile, fast, and precise movements—were executed without hesitation in barely a breath.

Eyes as red as blood glowed intensely as their bearer easily blocked and deflected every attempt to reach her.

'he's strong,' a thought and assessment that came to her mind after exchanging more than a dozen moves against her opponent.

'But not strong enough.' Sharpening her gaze, the girl did not hesitate, and determined to end this senseless fight, she stepped forward, causing the ground beneath her feet to sink, and her blurry figure appeared in front of Sukuna in an instant.

Seeing this, Sukuna didn't waver either and lunged without fear, beginning an even fiercer and closer exchange than before.

'She's reading me completely.' The pink-haired boy smiled with excitement as he saw and felt how each movement, each punch and kick, was predicted with absolute ease.

It was like a chaotic dance where Sukuna tried every possible way to land a hit, and the Uchiha simply deflected and blocked each attempt as if it were a pre-rehearsed routine for both of them. Nothing he did seemed to faze her in the slightest, and Sukuna couldn't have been happier about it.

"If this is all you can do, then this fight ends here," she said in a cold voice as she blocked his next strike and, without hesitation, counterattacked without a shred of mercy.

Sukuna barely saw the counterattack that nearly knocked out several of his teeth. In swift and practical movements, the girl unleashed a flurry of punches, elbows, and kicks on his body, making his insides churn uncomfortably.

He tried to block them, of course, but his defense seemed nonexistent in the eyes of the red-eyed girl.

"Ugh!" Sukuna spat out a stream of blood, his body recoiling with his feet digging two trenches several meters long into the ground until he finally stopped, crashing into a tree, splintering its wood into shards and raising a cloud of dust.

The Uchiha exhaled the air from her lungs slowly as she clenched her fists and looked in Sukuna's direction. Was that it? She couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed for some reason, while that frustration inside her seemed to worsen even more due to the dissatisfaction of such a brief exchange.

She should feel happy. Being so strong, being the strongest, was her goal, after all.

But for some reason, she didn't feel content.

Before she could delve further into those thoughts, a broken laugh filled the clearing, interrupting her and making her raise an eyebrow.

"Ha-hahaha! This is exactly what I was looking for!" Sukuna stood up with a leap as if the damage he had just taken hadn't bothered him in the slightest.

"You…" The girl snapped out of her surprise and once again took a combat stance, ready to continue the fight with an almost imperceptible glint of excitement in her eyes.

"Izumi." Her voice came almost as a whisper, making Sukuna raise an eyebrow.

"My name is Uchiha Izumi."

"Oh? So I finally get the honor of knowing your name, and here I was thinking you wouldn't say it," he couldn't help but mock, completely ignoring the fact that he had done something similar to Anko not too long ago.

For her part, Izumi looked Sukuna up and down. Although he looked somewhat battered on the outside, she could tell he didn't seem genuinely injured, at least not to the level she had expected after hitting him the way she did.

One must know she hadn't held back in her blows at all.

"You're strong," she finally voiced her thoughts aloud.

"Of course. You're not the only 'genius' around here, you know?" Sukuna wasn't humble in the least and responded confidently.

"Arrogance is dangerous," the girl frowned, but before she could continue speaking, Sukuna interrupted her.

"Only for those who don't have the strength to back it up. But let's leave the idle talk aside. I'd appreciate it if you stopped wasting your chakra in vain trying to use genjutsu on me. You should've already realized it's useless."

Genjutsu, a ninja art undoubtedly interesting but completely fruitless when it came to Sukuna. After all, even if he didn't have an elegant dojutsu like the Sharingan, he still possessed his spiritual perception, which gave him the ability not only to sense but also to see the chakra surrounding him with perfect clarity.

"How?" Izumi couldn't help but ask, true curiosity in her eyes. After all, no one had ever been able to escape her genjutsu before.

"Maybe someday I'll tell you, who knows," Sukuna shrugged before raising one of his hands in front of him, smiling mysteriously as he formed something resembling the tiger hand seal.

Izumi immediately went on guard upon seeing the chakra in Sukuna's body begin to concentrate, a clear sign that a jutsu was about to be unleashed.

"Ever since I heard about the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan, I've been thinking of a way to counter their famous dojutsus. I'm still not entirely sure about the Byakugan, but thanks to this little exchange, I think my idea should be useful against your Sharingan."

A way to counter the dojutsu? Izumi almost let her father's influence take over, and a mocking laugh nearly escaped her lips, but she controlled it and instead carefully observed every move the boy in front of her made.

Regardless of whether it was just a bluff or not, underestimating your opponent was a grave mistake she would never commit.

Seeing her take him seriously and go on full alert, Sukuna smiled in satisfaction.

Normally, he didn't follow the stereotype of announcing the names of his techniques or abilities out loud, but this time he decided to make an exception, not just for the drama but also because he genuinely wanted to show off one of his new "techniques." Though, in reality, they were just his old techniques renamed and adapted to the style of this world.

After all, he was now an aspiring ninja, and his techniques now used chakra. Sukuna really felt it would be inappropriate if he went around calling them cursed techniques or sorcerer's skills.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, or something like that was the saying

Putting all those thoughts aside, Sukuna began circulating his chakra in preparation. He saw Izumi tense up, ready to counterattack at any moment, while he noticed the three tomoe in her eyes spinning rapidly, surely trying to decipher what kind of jutsu he was about to use and without hesitation he decided not to make her wait any longer.

"Yin Release: Simple Domain!."

As those words fell, Izumi couldn't help but widen her eyes in astonishment as she witnessed how, in less than a second, Sukuna's body was enveloped by an invisible barrier that blocked the sight of her sharingan almost completely.

It wasn't as if she had lost sight of him, of course—he was still there, illuminated by the glow of the moon in the sky—but at the same time, his chakra flow had disappeared, hidden behind a veil of shadows.

One of the primary abilities of the Sharingan had been blocked.

Understanding this made the Uchiha girl feel a shock deep to her core, and she unconsciously took a step back. This action let Sukuna realize that his idea had succeeded.

It was simple, really. Though the Simple Domain was originally designed to counter the guaranteed hit of a true Domain Expansion, that didn't mean it couldn't be useful in other ways.

Sukuna had thought a lot about it while doing some research on the Hyuga Clan during his little "visit" to the Konoha General Hospital.

How do you hide from a vision capable of seeing through "everything"?

The answer was simple: by altering and distorting the nature of the surrounding environment, creating a barrier that such vision couldn't penetrate.

And there was no better tool for achieving this than a technique capable of establishing a personal, simple space around the user.

A technique Sukuna, of course, possessed.

"From your reaction, I can see I've succeeded. In that case, it's time for this fight to continue," he said, snapping the Uchiha girl out of her astonishment.

Izumi remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"That jutsu you just used… if I defeat you, I want you to teach it to me."

Oh? Sukuna was surprised. Were they setting terms for the fight now?

Well, having something to gain besides the satisfaction of victory was also a great motivator, and surely the girl would fight even more fiercely because of it.

"Agreed. If you defeat me, I'll teach it to you."

Of course, Sukuna had no intention of losing at all.

"But if I defeat you, you have to promise not to tell anyone." Of course, Sukuna didn't plan to trust her promise just like that, but even so, he felt the need to also set some terms, even if he didn't really care about gaining anything from this.

Izumi seemed to think about it for a few moments before nodding seriously.

"Alright, I won't tell anyone," and she really meant it, something that would undoubtedly be criticized and judged by the most loyal members of the Uchiha clan if this were known.

After all, as the heir to the clan and daughter of the clan leader, it was her duty to protect the clan at all costs. The jutsu she had just witnessed was a complete and clear threat to her bloodline. Killing Sukuna and ensuring that such a jutsu would cease to exist was the path a loyal member of the Uchiha clan would undoubtedly take.

But she wasn't a loyal member of the Uchiha clan. In fact, in her eyes, the clan had begun to seem less and less important.

And if what she feared most actually happened, then this could be a hidden card the village could use against the Uchiha clan in the future.

That's why she didn't plan to lose at all.

"Then let's begin." Sukuna took a step forward, his figure disappeared in a blur, reaching Izumi with a ready punch.

'I can't see his chakra flow but…' the girl dodged the attack and countered with her own strike, which hit the mark, piercing Sukuna's defenses once again.

'Not being able to see his chakra flow doesn't matter if he's still using taijutsu.'

Even though the main ability of the Sharingan had somehow been blocked, the Sharingan could still do more than just see chakra flow. The enhanced perception and reaction speed that her eyes gave her, along with the ability to predict her opponent's movements, were enough to maintain an absolute advantage when it came to taijutsu.

Or at least, it should have been.

Fast, much faster than before, the pink-haired boy twisted his body and struck with a kick that hit Izumi's side directly, making her involuntarily step back as a sharp pain assaulted her.

'How?!' With eyes wide in surprise, she saw Sukuna close the distance and continue attacking. Hastily, she ignored the pain in her side and raised her defense, but this time things seemed to have undergone a qualitative change.

Where before she could block every attack, now, for every blow she avoided, two more pierced through her defenses.

What changed? What did Sukuna do?

His battle style remained the same, but his physical abilities seemed to have taken a significant leap all of a sudden.

'I can't see him,' squinting her eyes, she decided to change her approach and focus on a sense different from any other.

Not many knew, but she had been able to sense chakra in a much more direct way than other ninjas from a very young age. When she curiously asked about this, her father had said that she was a sensor, a ninja who could sense chakra much more clearly than other ninjas.

A skill that had been useful in her early days as a genin but that she soon stopped using in battles in favor of her Sharingan, relegating its use only to reconnaissance tasks or similar ones.

After all, in the middle of a real battle, seeing the chakra of your enemy was much better than just sensing it.

'Is he blocking this too?!' It seemed that the jutsu Sukuna had used not only worked on vision; her chakra perception also seemed unable to reach him.

At least until one of her strikes connected with his body.

'Is this!?'

It was only for a moment, but she was able to sense Sukuna's chakra when their bodies made contact.

Clinging to that sensation, she moved even closer to increase the body-to-body contact.

'Is this why he wanted to block my Sharingan?' With every exchanged blow, Izumi noticed how Sukuna's chakra surrounded his body in a way completely different from anything she had seen or felt before.

Like a completely unknown taijutsu technique, or rather, a completely new type of taijutsu technique.

'He didn't want me to copy this,' he was clever. If she had managed to obtain such an ability combined with her Sharingan, then her strength would have increased instantly by several levels.

'I want it,' she very rarely had such a feeling, normally she was not greedy by nature, but this time she couldn't help a bit of greed from growing inside her.

Whether it was the jutsu that blocked her Sharingan or the taijutsu technique that increased Sukuna's strength and speed by several levels in an instant.

She wanted them because they could make her stronger, because they could bring her even closer to her dream.

To be the strongest of all, to be Hokage.

And to stop all wars and conflicts in this world.

'Huh?' Sukuna blinked in confusion. Why did a thought like that suddenly pass through his mind?

Stop all wars and conflicts in the world? What kind of nonsense was that?

Are you kidding?! If that happened, where would he get all the fun? Without wars and conflicts, where would he find worthy opponents to fight until his body burned with pain and his heart beat with satisfaction?

Where else would he find that thrill that kept him feeling alive?

This time it was Izumi's turn to blink in confusion. Abruptly, both of them interrupted their intense exchange of blows and took a step back, looking at each other with bewilderment.

'Genjutsu?' For a moment, Sukuna wondered if Izumi had somehow managed to do what should have been impossible.

'No, aside from my spiritual perception, my simple domain is still active. No genjutsu can reach me in such a state.'

Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I didn't think it was real," it was almost a whisper, but it drew all his attention toward the Uchiha girl.

"Do you know what that was?" At his question, she looked up, hesitating for a moment before speaking.

"My mother once told me that when two first-class ninjas cross fists, they can read each other's minds and know the other's thoughts without saying a single word. It had never happened to me before, so I thought it was just a tale."

At that moment, Izumi could even see that her mother hadn't believed it either.

Sukuna thought about her words. He had the feeling he had heard something like that before but couldn't pinpoint exactly where.

Shrugging, he returned to his combat stance.

"If that's the case, there's no need to keep talking, right? We just need to let our fists do the talking."

To that, the girl agreed. Strange feeling or not, she had a clear goal and wasn't about to give it up.

Thus, their movements resumed in an instant. They clashed again in the middle of the clearing, this time with much more strength and intensity, causing a shockwave to explode, lifting dust and dirt.

Sukuna raised his arm, blocking a precise kick aimed at his face. Then, with quick and measured movements, he deflected a combination of strikes directed at different parts of his body and finally launched a counterattack toward Izumi's side.

But his blow didn't meet flesh. Instead, his target exploded into a cloud of black feathers, revealing a rock that shattered as his fist collided with it.

'Kawarimi?'

With the sound of air being cut as his only warning, the boy spun around sharply, seeing a dozen shurikens speeding toward him.

Without hesitation, he agilely leaped back and fluidly dodged each one, letting them land uselessly in various parts of the clearing.

Zziiii!

'Oh?' Thanks to the moonlight in the sky, Sukuna was barely able to see the reflection of steel wires tightening around him like a spider's web, trapping its prey in a cocoon.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Technique!"

The flames came to life with great intensity, a torrent of blazing fire crashed against Sukuna, enveloping his body in an instant and causing the ground beneath his feet to glow red hot.

Boom!

Then an explosion engulfed the area.

Izumi looked at the fire with a frown. She didn't believe for a second that it had been enough, and as if to answer her thoughts, the sound of cracking earth was the only warning she had when the ground beneath her suddenly shattered, and a fist shot up toward her jaw.

The girl's body flew into the air before exploding into a cloud of smoke in the next moment.

'A shadow clone,' Sukuna frowned as he suddenly saw dozens of Izumis appearing around him.

'Multiple shadow clones?'

No, with his spiritual perception active, he could see that these were simple bunshins, spectral images without any substance.

Then why, when blocking the first of her strikes, could he feel it collide against his arm? Counterattacking, his kick passed through the illusory clone's body without causing any harm.

Thus, from all directions, the clones began attacking him, and every time he blocked their strikes, he could feel the weight and impact behind them, but every time he tried to hit back, his attacks simply passed through them as if he were striking air.

The strange exchange lasted only a few seconds until he realized what was happening.

"I found you!" With a wide grin on his face, Sukuna struck one of the clones with his elbow, sending it flying.

"Ugh!" Izumi grunted in frustration as she maneuvered in the air, landing heavily on the ground. When she looked up, it was only to see her bunshins vanish into nothing.

"What an incredible way to use and combine the bunshin and the Body Flicker Technique." Quickly and instantly switching places between illusionary clones to confuse the enemy was undoubtedly something only a Uchiha with a truly strong Sharingan could achieve.

After all, controlling the travel direction of the Body Flicker Technique was quite difficult, and even Sukuna couldn't claim that he would be able to use such a jutsu in the middle of combat with the same skill and fluidity as the girl in front of him.

If it weren't for his spiritual perception, he wouldn't have been able to figure out which one was real and which wasn't.

"Come on! Show me what else you can do!" At his roar, the Uchiha girl's eyes gleamed, and without hesitation, she charged back into the fray, once again engaging in a chaotic dance with Sukuna.

A clash of strength and wills that lasted until the dark night in the sky began to turn orange, and the first rays of sunlight started to strike the leaves of the trees.

The clearing in the forest had long since ceased to exist. Its surroundings had been forcibly altered, with the entire terrain changing in various ways due to the different high-powered and intense attacks that had struck the area throughout the battle.

"Y-you can surrender now," Izumi panted, staggering as she felt the sweat dripping from her face.

"I-I should be saying that to you," Sukuna spat on the ground, and mixed with his saliva and blood was a small broken tooth.

Both, standing across from each other, clearly exhausted, looked at one another with no intention of giving in despite the wounds and fatigue weighing on their bodies.

'She really is as stubborn as a mule,' Sukuna couldn't help but think with satisfaction. This fight had been everything he had been looking for and more. Now, he felt like he could relax for a while before needing another similar battle to calm his thirst for combat.

Sighing, he felt the chakra he had left, which was actually quite little. His natural reserves weren't large to begin with, and the only reason he had lasted so long was because he had occasionally snatched and consumed some of the negative emotions that had been affecting the girl in front of him to replenish his energy.

First-class negative emotions, without a doubt.

Though, he probably shouldn't have done it. The lighter Izumi's negative emotional burden became, the more her fighting spirit and competitiveness seemed to intensify by several degrees, to the point where she even started smiling from time to time during their exchanges of blows.

Something that might have been cute to see if not for those red eyes she bore and the blood covering her face, battered by the fight.

That only made it look creepy.

Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts aside, deciding it was time to end this.

"I have to thank you. This fight really got my blood pumping. But in the state we're in, there's no point in continuing. Surrender; you can't beat me." In a rare display of kindness, Sukuna offered to end the fight simply.

"No..." The answer, of course, was exactly what he expected.

Seeing that fire of resolve in her eyes, Sukuna couldn't help but remember that feeling, one that had repeated itself several times during their encounter—a strange connection between their spirits that allowed him to understand the thoughts of the girl in front of him, even though they had barely exchanged words.

"To be the strongest, huh?" He couldn't help but feel nostalgic. After all, not so long ago, that had also been his greatest dream, the goal and ideal he had pursued with all his might.

And he had achieved it. He became the strongest sorcerer of all… though it lasted only for a moment.

A dream worth fighting for until death… Sukuna missed having that.

With a sigh, the pink-haired boy let himself fall to the ground, causing dust to rise.

"Huh?" Seeing this, Izumi, who was ready to keep fighting, couldn't help but blink in confusion.

"I'm tired. You win… for now."

Without waiting for a response, the boy simply closed his eyes, sinking into his subconscious, seeking to dream of the past, when his life had purpose.

When he had a reason to fight.

'Is it a trick?' Izumi didn't lower her guard. She waited and waited until she saw Sukuna's breathing become slow and steady, a clear sign that he had fallen asleep.

But what really made her lower her guard was seeing how that "simple domain" disappeared, and her Sharingan was once again able to see the flow of chakra in his body.

"He… gave up?" Comprehending such a fact left her dumbfounded for a moment.

Perhaps others couldn't grasp the significance of such an act, but somehow, she could. After all, through the brief moments when their spirits clashed and that strange connection was formed between them, she understood that for Sukuna, the battle was more than just an act of senseless violence.

It was a way to fill the emptiness in his heart with emotions, a desperate way to feel something other than just darkness.

To keep feeling alive.

"An existence without meaning."

It wasn't a conclusion she had come to on her own, but rather the deepest thought of Sukuna that she could feel through the connection they had formed during their battle.

It was a bitter feeling, a terrifying emptiness—living without truly being able to live.

It would have been utterly hopeless if not for the fact that within him, even amidst all the darkness, there burned a fiery flame. A will that refused to die.

A desire to live so strong that it seemed nothing could extinguish it.

"A purpose"—that was all he needed, and that flame would turn into a fierce wildfire that could sweep through the entire world.

It was dangerous, but at the same time, it opened up a possibility.

'With his help...' Maybe it was just a foolish thought, but Izumi felt that if it was him, perhaps her dream could really come true.

Because in the end, it didn't matter whether it was her or someone else; as long as someone strong enough rose above all others, then without a doubt, the ninja world could be changed—it could be saved.

If Sukuna could hear her thoughts, he would have laughed out loud until he ran out of breath. Him? Change the world? Save it? What a funny joke. In his hands, the world would surely end up in pieces without him even realizing it.

And if Izumi could hear those thoughts, she would have laughed too, though more calmly, while shaking her head.

After all, she didn't believe that someone kind enough to lose a fight he had already won could make the ninja world worse than it already was.

.

.

.

.

.

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Note:

A chapter full of interesting things, huh?

First off, the name—I considered different options, including keeping the classic one (even though it would've been strange since it's a masculine name), but I finally decided on one that, while different, isn't too far off.

So, here we have Izumi Uchiha. Don't confuse her with her cousin, who shares the same name.

Secondly, to explain what that "spiritual" connection mentioned so much in the chapter is, I need to give a few examples.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, Itadori Yuji has the innate ability to connect deeply and in strange ways with others (something that, I think, becomes clearer with his "domain expansion," whatever it may be—damn Gege, about to finish the series without telling us anything about it yet). (this was written before jujutsu kaisen ended so I'll correct my words... Damn Gege for ending the manga without explaining it at all!)

On the other hand, in Naruto, chakra can connect the minds and hearts of people through various means when their chakras "mix" in one way or another (it was never fully explained).

With this in mind, and the already explained ability of Sukuna to sense negative emotions and, in a way, "devour" them, I thought it would be extremely easy for him to accidentally and unintentionally learn Ninshu (what ninjutsu was originally supposed to be).

Whether that will be a good thing for him or not, I guess we'll find out together.

(I foresee some people asking or pointing out that most sorcerers who know simple domains don't seem able to move while keeping them active. To that, I'd like to say that Gojo was able to move while maintaining his simple domain during his fight with Sukuna (the original), and of course, our Sukuna learned to do the same).

I think I've been writing too many fights lately (both in this and my other series). I hope you enjoyed the exchange because I don't think there will be another fight (at least in this series) for several chapters.

For now, I'll focus on advancing the plot as best as I can. I know many of you are eager for more time skips, but I still have several things to explore before that happens.

I just ask for patience. After all, this series has only just begun, and I don't like to rush things.

comment, share your opinions and criticisms, and leave a like. I'll be reading them. If you find any errors, don't hesitate to point them out so I can correct them as quickly as possible.

remember that You can already find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader )All the support received is appreciated ;D
 
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