3 "Heirloom"

Karna went towards the bank of the lake and crouched down. He brought his face down to his knee's level and washed it with the freshwater from the lake. As the ripples in the water subsided, his reflection was visible within the water.

His golden eyes contrasting that of his parents stared at his reflection. His long black hair that covered his face was swept away by the wind and what was revealed was a small yet well-defined face.

His sharp golden eyes were complemented further by the high arch eyebrows and his diamond-shaped face. His delicate Greek nose and thin lips made him sigh in annoyance.

'Man, I miss my scars and tattoos. Why couldn't I simply get transmigrated? Sigh.'

Karna scratched his head as he seemed to notice that his reflection was becoming darker and darker with each second, so he looked towards the sky and found that the slight extension of a light that was left from the sunset was now gone.

'Huh? Why does the sky look darker all of a sudden? Oh, fuck! I'm late again, mom's going to kill me this time.'

His mother was equally aggressive when it comes to loving or punishing him. So, if he was late by any minute he would be in quite a predicament. His mother couldn't care less if he ignored her or not, she'll definitely beat the shit out of him.

Cold beads of sweat started to fall from his forehead as he quickly got up, cleaned himself and used [Body Flicker] to appear in front of his house.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Kazuya sitting in front of the neatly prepared table filled with snacks.

She smiled glaringly at Karna while he felt an extremely familiar shiver in the back of his spine.

"Ah! I see, Karna-kun, you're late again. What should I do with you!? I've made the ramen with all my love only for it to get cold. I guess I've to put some sense of time in you."

She stated while still keeping that ominous smile on her face but this time, her hazel eyes were closed and they took on the shape of a horizontal half-moon, which made her look even creepier.

'I am fucked! Aren't I?'

Karna looked at Kazuya with pleading eyes as he knew what was about to come.

The Next Day.

"Sigh, yesterday was hard. I took an excruciatingly painful beating from mom, and now, I have to go home 10 minutes earlier than I'm supposed to. Dad went to check on our route for Konoha, so I don't even have a training partner to spar with. Tch! This damned boring village."

Karna just finished his routine training and was on his way home but when he arrived in front of his home he felt something very unsettling.

He was being watched from the moment he step foot in his courtyard.

He crouched down to touch the ground and immediately used the sensory techniques taught to him by his father. He tried to pinpoint the enemy, and when he discovered him he became frightened because the person was within his house.

He immediately used [Hiding in the camouflage technique] to erase his presence and readied himself with a kunai.

But when he focused a little bit more and noticed the individual's energy signature, he eased himself.

In his house, Kazuya and Kyo —who came back after determining their route to Konoha— were standing behind a beautifully decorated table crammed with many delicious foods and a gorgeous cake with candles lit in the middle.

Karna figured out what they were doing and dropped his guard. He undid his technique and steadily advanced towards the front door in short strides.

When Karna opened the door, yells of exhilaration rang out within their home.

"Happy birthday! Karna kun/Brat."

Karna already knew what was coming, but he still put up a shocked face so as to not break their enthusiasm.

"Umm Thank you. I-I really didn't know today was my birthday."

Even though he was confident he could pull it off he still stuttered a bit. Since this was the second time someone wished him. It bought up a few old memories but he was genuinely happy with his parents. The old ones never considered him as their child at least the new ones loved him.

"You're welcome, Karna kun. Now, hurry and cut the cake otherwise the candles will blow off."

Kazuya quickly grabbed his hand and took him in front of the cake.

Karna, therefore, blew up the candles and wished silently in his head.

Even though Karna isn't a religious person, he knows deep down that his rebirth is orchestrated by some omnipotent being.

So, he wished to him, he wished for strength and power to protect this new family.

Although he's still having problems emotionally connecting with his new family, he'll still protect them with his life since they're the only people close to him.

He knows soon everything would change. This entire world will delve into a terrifying war, and if he doesn't have the necessary strength to protect his family, everything he holds dear will wither away.

"What did you wish for Karna?"

"Um…You shouldn't tell your wishes to others."

"Tch! you're no fun, Karna-kun. Anyway, it's time for the gifts."

Kazuya took out a large card box and gave it to Karna to open.

He opened it and found a very beautiful custom made half sleeve black shirt, which had a golden Yagami clan crest embedded on it in the back.

It was embroidered with golden linings at the edges, and within the box there was also a black pant with golden stripes.

Karna was very happy with the outfit as it was something made by Kazuya herself. Kazuya too was quite happy seeing that Karna liked what she had prepared for him.

Kyo and Kazuya kept changing their location to not to get found out, but because of karna's birth, their stay in Tanzaku was prolonged. As a result, to maintain their financial needs, Kazuya opened a clothing shop, and the robe was made in there.

After receiving Kazuya's gift Karna turned to Kyo, but Kyo said that his gift can only be found in the basement. So, Kyo, along with Kazuya and Karna, went towards the basement.

Kyo walked to the dining table, crouched down, put his palm on the floor, and did a single hand sign which unveiled many intricate sealing patterns. A second later, the door to the basement was visible to everyone.

They went down to the basement and noticed giant shurikens, kunai, tanto and other ninja weapons.

There was another seal placed at the stairs leading to the basement, which detected their chakra signatures and enabled them to enter the main area of the basement.

A huge vault and large shelves filled with scrolls were visible to them. Kyo went before the vault, did some hand signs and unsealed it. He then took out a long square wooden box from the vault.

Karna was becoming increasingly curious about what his father was holding that had to be kept in this level of secrecy.

"Karna, while I was coming back from the Subaku town, I thought a lot about what to give you on your birthday, but nothing good came up in my mind. But then I remembered it, one of the most important things entrusted to me by the former clan leader."

Kyo opened the wooden box and took out a glorious sword from within it; it was a well crafted straight katana. With a single glance at the scabbard, anyone would say that it is an old and rusty blade, but Karna, even without looking at the actual blade, could feel the sheer elegance and beauty of the sword.

Kyo unsheathed the sword and revealed a shiny and sharp blade. Its edges looked so sharp that it felt like a piece of clothing will be cut apart if it fell on the blade.

Karna, upon glimpsing at the sword was completely entranced by it. He has never seen a blade as beautiful as this one.

The sword was made with special steel, which can be deduced by its glistening golden blade and intricate ancient marking carved on it. Its shinogi(blade ridge) and hi(groove) was shining golden colour while the other parts from kissaki(point) till habaki(blade collar) was completely white. The tsuba(guard) was made up of a golden sun symbol. The tsukaito (cord wrap) on its handle was golden too. Its scabbard was also that of pure golden colour but it did look a bit rusty and old.

"This is an heirloom of the Yagami family, 'the great sun sword'. It was made by a divine blacksmith who was inspired by the Kusanagi swords, and It was said by my grandfather that this sword can rival the likes of the Kusanagi swords.

"A divine metal was used to create this sword, which gave it a special ability similar to that of 'Kusanagi swords'. If I was any better with kenjutsu, I would've used the sword myself. I know that you're good with swords, so I want to give this to you for your birthday. Even though you like me a little less, I still love you the most, son. Haha!"

Kyo spoke but he was hit in his head by kazuya. If looks could kill kyo would've been dead a dozen times already. The menacing glare from Kazuya scared him too much.

"What the fuck! It hurts honey."

"LANGUAGE!"

Kazuya took another hit at kyo's head and glared at him. She moved her sight and focused on Karna who was already drowned in guilt.

As she sensed this, she moved closer to him and softly grabbed his shoulder.

"Listen! Karna, what your father meant is that no matter what we will love you with all our heart and it will never change."

She then glanced back at Kyo.

"Now, give him the sword."

"Y-Yes."

Kyo handed the blade to Karna with lingering sadness. He was happy that he could pass down the family heirloom to his son, but at the same time, he was disappointed with himself for not being able to use the sword.

Karna took the katana in his hand and a long forgotten ethereal feeling rushed into his body. It was a sensation unlike any other. He felt like one of his missing Limb was put right back in its place

"Thanks for the gift, dad! I'll definitely use it to its fullest and for good purpose. I also l-love you, dad." Karna stated with gratitude but he turned his face down at the latter part of his phrase as he felt guilty to say something that he wasn't able to feel right now.

"I know you do, son. You must practice your kenjutsu with a wooden sword for now. And you should only use this sword when you're qualified to handle it. I know that you're already quite adept in your kenjutsu, but your body can't handle a real sword yet. So, you must be careful!"

"I know, and this sword is quite large for me to wield currently. I'll use it when I'm prepared and I'll use it carefully."

Karna assured Kyo as he sheathed the blade and put it beside his waist.