1 Path of the Swole

Path of the Swole

Hello lovely readers! Sup Highlord here, or desaira in other sites, Now, before you read this story, here's a tip.

Enjoy it, don't think much, and sure there are some cringe moments that keep me awake at night screaming WHY! but I wrote this story, and no damn edgy teenager is going to make me feel cringy about it.

So LETS THE CRINGE FLOW! LET IT CONSUME YOU, JOIN THE CRING SIDE WE HAVE GREAT VALUE COOKIES.

Anyways this is the first story that I've written, and I may post more stories that I wrote before from different websites, So let's get on shall we lads?

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The light slowly entered my eyes as I opened them. The last thing I remember was a…

Banana I stole from that nice old man, then a fucking mini out of nowhere crashed into me, taking my life. Thankfully, I died while knowing I killed the mini driver, fucking mini drivers should be gunned down.

I opened my eyes slowly, letting more light shine in, and I saw myself slowly rise into the air; I turned left and right, and I saw some people flying with me. So is this the end; our souls travel into the unknown. Huh, it seems I won't be the best bodybuilder after all.

All my work, sweat, tears, blood, and all the fucking Youtube ads interrupting my music. All gone now, I feel bad now; what would I tell the make-a-wish kid that died two years ago? I mean, I know they pulled me in at the last second because that football player bailed on the kid while snorting cocaine… but still, I promised the kid that I would win for him.

What about my grandma? She will be pissed that I died; I can hear it now. 'You fokin twiggy cunt will never be as buff as your grandpa BILLY!'

I kind of feel wrong about that nice old man. He should have just given me that banana I needed to eat to keep my metabolism up. I mean, it's not my fault that I lost my wallet. I told him I would pay him back later. Of course, it's only a single banana, but no, that 50 cents were too much for him.

Figures Billy Bubba Bill, world champion in heavy weightlifting, and bodybuilder dies from A FUCKING MINI CAR while stealing a banana. I can see it now, "Billy Bubba Bill, the world champion, dies from a car crash while stealing a banana from an old man." And at the same time, they show that fucking picture of me shitting on a rat back in New York, Fucking Tom; I will never drink with you again! Too bad I am dead, though, eh fuck it.

I saw something in the corner of my eye, I turned to the left, and I saw this fucking geek with a "pre-pre princess" shirt. The fucker was flipping me off.

I tried to speak, but I could not; then I noticed that on his soul, there was a steering wheel with a mini brand on it. I fucking laughed at his ass, I mean, I know he killed me with HIS FUCKING MINI, but still, I took him with me at least.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then suddenly I felt something pulling me faster; I opened my eyes. And I see the golden light surrounding us, moving us quicker and quicker. I turned to the left, and I knew the geek was in the same situation.

Suddenly whiteness, plane whiteness as far as the eye could see. I turned my head left and right, And I saw every soul gathers like myself. I saw the geek moving to buff looking line, I saw warriors, Vikings, knights, and Arabic knights swearing at each other, samurai, and it goes on and on. Then I turned to my line, and all that I saw were geeks, nerds, weebs, and neets.

We moved at a crawling pace until I saw this golden giant fat Buddha about 20ft tall. I looked around the line, and I noticed every soul near me was looking at me strangely.

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Finally, after a long fucking time, I was near the Buddha; when it was my turn, the Buddha looked at me strangely, then he talked. "Hmm…" he murmured while scratching his 14th chin, "Why are you here? Did we make a mistake, NONONO? That's racists; let me ask you an easy question, do you know Dragon Ball Z?"

I thought, 'da fuck is dragon balls? Is it some gay porn, maybe?'

The Buddha started chuckling, and I saw his body move with every laugh he did, his fat rolls around his body in waves, his tits began moving around like dem stripers back in York. Then he stopped while removing his tears and looked at me. "All right, what about Naruto, one piece? Any anime, at least."

I contemplated a little and thought, "well, I don't know what Naruto is, but I do know that anime is some type of Chinese cartoon, and one-piece is swimwear for girls."

The Buddha looked serious for a moment, and he sighed and muttered in a low voice, "After ten thousand years, we make the same fucking mistake again" then he wobbled his fat ass around until he turned around and pulled out an old 90s phone, he started dialing a number and talked about someone named Taki. Finally, he hung up and started to struggle to stand up sweat, heavy breathing, and a lot of souls behind me, nodding and understanding his pain.

Finally, he stands up, and I look at the pillow he was sitting on; it has the face of a cartoon woman that is suggesting something in the carnal nature. I saw some souls behind me, making a fuss about it, and some of them were holding other souls from coming near us.

The Buddha started stretching and popping his bones around, then he bent over and picked up some chips. They look to be a Cheetos mango flavor 'I didn't know they made those in mango flavor'

The Buddha looked at me and said while chewing, "Yah… they only make them… at reality c-137" then he started licking his fingers, and he looks up, and he says "welp Taki just arrived" then he turns his head and looks at me "oh fair warning don't think about thinking the word 'chicken nuggets' bastard loves them to death and he was banned from eating them for 20 thousand years" I nod hesitantly.

Taki arrived on top of a horse-sized pug of all dogs; the pug was missing his left eye from a sword attack somehow.

Taki was fucking thin, Africa thin, white, pale skin, dark bags under his eyes, and shaggy afro and beard combo. He looks like he just came out of a coma.

I noticed that he was wearing a hospital gown, pink bunny flip-flops, and was holding a metal stick with an Iv drip on it.

Taki tried to get off the pug, but he slipped and fell on his face; nothing happened for a moment, then we heard a tired grown. He slowly stood up, and he looked at the Buddha and me; then he turned towards the Buddha and said in a gravelly voice that it belonged to a zombie. "He is not supposed to be here."

The Buddha looks at him, waiting, then for a moment when nothing happens, the Buddha sighs and says, "Yeah, why the fuck do you think he is here? It's your fucking job to sort them out; it's my job to tell them what happens after."

Taki starts to scratch his afro, and he looks at me and groans, "Yeah, I think I blacked out for a moment. I am currently fasting; I want to save my taste buds for the fated day."

The Buddha looks at him strangely and asks, "so how long did you fast for Taki? Please don't tell me since that day when the thingy happened."

Taki looks at the ground for a moment and replays "the same"

The Buddha then looks at Taki's iv drip and drops his limited-edition chips in shock. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, TAKI?!"

Taki sighs "well, what do you want me to do? The only good thing I could come up with is that they will test better when I fast, so I thought if I did it for a long fucking time, they would be fucking great."

Taki then moves back towards the pug, and he starts to search the bag attached to the pug, then he pulls out two papers and comes near me.

He looks at me for a moment and nods, "all right here" he looks at the papers and reads them, "John stone, since you died, and we know you love anime n shit, we are going to put you in the wheel of anime world reincarnation."

Taki reads the other paper "Billy Bubba Bill for fighting all your life and shit we grant you the honor of joining Odin in his halls of victory all though you died while not in battle, you still killed your killer, therefore, you are granted the privilege of joining I Odin in my halls FOR HONOR AND GLORY and all the shit."

Taki then starts to erase the names and switch them. Then he looked up at me. "All right from now on, you are John stone, a lonely loser who likes to watch anime, and steals his sister's car to go to an anime convention so you can buy body pillows" then he points a finger towards my head, "And so the people at the top don't get suspicious here." then he taps his fingers on my skull, the next thing I knew was fucking pain. So. Many. Body. Pillows. THE FUCKING CRUST!

Billy's eye glowed, and he blacked out.

The Buddha looked at Taki and said, "You should not have done that, Taki; they may make it 40 thousand years now"

Taki looked up. "No, they won't if you won't tell them. And you know that you owe me from last time."

The Buddha groans. "Fine, I guess I could look the other way this time, but what about him? The wheel or do we wait for him to wake up and choose?"

Taki puts his pinky finger in his nose, digging, "Let's just do the wheel now, slap a mental note in his head, and call it a day. I don't want to deal with him anyway. I have to sort out some more papers, and my fucking assistant won't leave me be."

Suddenly Taki and the Buddha look at the souls, and they focus on one soul who uttered the forbidden name 'nuggets,' Taki went into berserker mode, attacking anything around him.

Luckily for Billy, Buddha is too lazy to deal with it, and he picked him, slapped a mental note explaining everything to Billy, and he started the wheel.

The wheel turned and turned until finally, it settled on Naruto. Then he turned the wheel again with a bunch of numbers on it, and finally, it settled on 01/03/30 BNB. Then eventually, the wheel changed again, and, in its place, it became a map, the Buddha held a small stone and threw it into the map, and the stone settled into the hidden leaf village.

The Buddha smiled, and he looked at the unconscienced soul "well, well, well, you lucky son of a bitch, the best place to be born in with that knowledge. And the original timeline too, so no fuckery until you change shit, I guess" Then he bent down and picked up the soul, updated the mental notes on where he is and everything, and he changed the awakening time to 6 years of age. Then he moved to the map, and just when he was going to throw in the soul Taki in his rampage, threw another soul at Buddha, and Buddha almost slipped, but he managed to stabilize himself on the map, then he slowly stood up and exhaled.

The Buddha did not wish to deal with Taki, took it in stride, and threw Billy to his new home.

Nodding in satisfaction, he bent down to pick up his loose bag of Mango flavored Cheetos, but then he saw it, when he fell, it changed the birthing state from 'random' to 'no potential limits' Buddha knew that if Billy worked hard on whatever he wished for, he could achieve it now. The only one Buddha knew in the Naruto world that had no limitation at birth was Hashirama Senju; Hashirama was able to create his bloodline because he wished it so.

Buddha sweating a little, wrote a small note, and he blew into it, letting it fly into the map; it may reach Billy in 10 years or 20 depending on the sea of souls at this time of the year.

Buddha nodding at his "well-done job," he turned around and found Taki fuming, holding the one person that uttered the forbidding name "nugget" Taki Held the person to the Giant, and he shouted. "SEND THIS FUCKER TO 40K IN THE WORSTEST TIMELINE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, LET HIM BE BORN FROM A FUCKING HERETIC THAT FUCKED AN ORK!"

Buddha frowned a little, "But 40k is not in my jurisdiction; that is the devil's position."

Taki fumed some more "Just do it; I will bring in two thousand years' worth of mango-flavored Cheetos and one hundred years' worth of banana Cheetos."

Slowly Buddha bent down and picked up the soul. "Done and done. Can't wait for the new flavor. I bet they will taste better than the kiwi ones," he said while walking away.

One of the only brave souls slowly raised its hand and thought, "eh sir, I am sorry, but what are we supposed to do now?"

Taki, with his rage subdued, turned to the soul and spoke in a tired voice. "I don't know, man, it's not my job; you guys can fuck each other for all I care. I have a shit ton of paperwork, and Puggo needs to be cleaned."

And with that, Taki slowly moved away from the carnage that he made towards Puggo the pug.

With this, the souls sighed and waited.

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Billy Slowly woke up, rubbing the crust from his eyes, opening his eyes slowly, and letting the light shine in. He remembers a crazy dream about him stealing a banana, dying, and meeting Buddha.

He yawned and stretched, slowly clapping his lips together, then his eyes widened in shock; he was in a fucking dirty room. And the smell, it's like a dirty red neck petting zoo in here. He quickly stood up, and he found himself on the floor out of balance; then he looked down and saw that he was sleeping on the floor next to some hay.

Billy slowly balanced himself and stood upright this time, then he looked around and found everything was significantly bigger for some reason.

Step by step, he explored the barn he was sleeping in, then he found a door. He opened the door and closed his eyes quickly from the sun that shone on him. After a while, his eyes adjusted, and he looked at the field that he was in; he saw some Pigs, Chickens, cows, dogs, and some cats lazing about.

Then he looked across the field and saw a forest next to a small lake. He quickly moves to the lake, fearing what he already knows, dread in his heart, wishing this was but a dream.

Finally reaching the lake, he slowly closed his eyes and dunked his head without looking at himself; he drank from the crisp, clear, cold water and opened his eyes in the lake; it felt like hours had passed, his head deep in the cold water waking his body up, his lungs burned with the sensation of desperation for air. Taking it no longer, he raised his head.

Quickly taking in gulps of fresh, clean air, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the sky; clouds, big, fluffy clouds that look like castles in the sky. Dreading what was to come, Billy gathered his courage and looked down.

His eyes widened, dark gray eyes almost looking black, snow-white hair, heavily scarred face, nose been cut off, his face looks like a shawarma spit, he could not even guess his age because of the scars. Then he threw up into the lake.

Suddenly everything came back to him, his death, Buddha, Taki, Johns's memories, then a new set of information started seeping into his mind as he knew it all along; he just remembered that he is in the Naruto world, a world filled with Shinobi, wars, death, and finally, Naruto the promised one.

He knew where he was, what year is it, and finally, what nation he was in.

He slowly stood up, and he looked at his hands, scars, blade scars torture? He turned to the right towards the mountain, and he saw two heads and a third being built. Suddenly new memories came in.

He saw his father calling his name "Tsuyoi ushi."

He saw his mother in her death bed; she called him "Tsuyoi."

He saw that distant family member that he only saw once. And he had the same hair like him.

Then he saw them, Bandits attacking the farm, they killed his father and tortured him for fun, Then darkness.

He woke up in a fast-made hospital for disasters; most of the farmers, or what was left of them, had been gathered here to save their lives.

He remembered the guards talking about Kumo attacking, on triple fronts inside, outside of the hidden village, and finally, their primary attack points were the farmers that fed the village, they mostly succeeded, but some of us survived. They used bandits so no one could detect chakra.

He remembers them moving him to a farm collective where they gathered all the farmers to farm. The one they put in charge was cruel to him because he did not like to look at his face.

He remembers the beating, the starvation. He remembers trying to kill himself more than once.

And finally, he remembered last night, how he dropped the master's shoes while he was cleaning them, and the master beat him bloody and threw him in the barn; then he crawled into a haystack to sleep.

Then he woke up. For some reason, he feels strange, he does not know if it is from the sudden surge of memories or the sudden rush of a thousand brushes with death, but he feels something new. And he knew what it is; chakra, the forbidden fruit of strength.

"TSUYOI, YOU FUCKING BASTARD, COME HERE AND LICK MY BOOTS CLEAN NOW!"

Billy turned his head slowly, and he saw the bastard master, his belly full, his clothes are clean, the only reason no one dared to touch him was that he is a genin; he only knows how to enhance his strength, but they put him here because his father did not want his son to fight in the front lines. And they kept moving him until the attack, and now they put him here to guard us and to oversee the farming.

Something stirred in his belly; he could feel it, with the rage and the hate, he could feel it.

The master grew mad and walked towards Billy, wishing to show the other workers who were cowering in the corner who's boss.

Billy's two memories clashed with his determination in his old life and the rage he feels in this new life combined. But suddenly, he found himself pushed to the ground, and he looked up to a boot slamming into his head.

"THIS IS WHAT WE DO TO LAZY WORMS!" he drew in a breath because the little walk made him tired. "I AM GOING TO SHOW YOU SCUM THAT YOU SHOULD FEAR AND RESPECT ME, FOR I AM A SHINOBI!"

The master kept hitting Billy with his boots, over and over, until he grew tired. Not wanting to do it anymore so early in the morning, he turned around to leave, walking two steps away from Billy, but suddenly the master felt something on his neck, and it hurt him.

When he turned around, he found Billy blooded and bruised, biting his neck; he could feel Billy's teeth slowly digging into his neck fat. And he panicked; he tried to shove him off, but Billy did not budge, and it only made him hold on more.

Billy could feel the test of iron and blood in his mouth, and it tasted sweet, he quickly bites down harder, drawing in a startled scream from the master, but Billy knew better, and in an instant, Billy reached with both hands to the master's face to his eyes, and he plunged his fingers into them, popping them like balloons filled with blood.

The master screamed and screamed while the farmers shouted, and the animals of the farm scattered; Billy's chakra finally emerged from his body. Like a flood gate, they powered his tired body. The master was the sacrifice he provided to his bloodlust, and his chakra unlocking was its gift.

He bit down harder, and finally, his teeth met each other, but he did not relent; he now knows that he is only six years old, therefor another bite he took, and this time it was more manageable, and he took another, and another, and another, until his teeth finally hit the spine. And, the master is dead.

Billy slowly stood up without a word, moved to the lake, and cleaned himself up. After cleaning, he sat down, exhausted, and smiled to himself.

"My name is Billy Bubba Bill, and never in my life has anyone stepped on me and bragged about it; I would rather die than let anyone do this to me again," he told himself.

From now on, Billy will tell them his name was Billy Tsuyoi ushi in honor of his new family, but he will never forget where he came from.

After sitting there near the lake, he looked up and saw the sun in the middle of the sky, which means it was high noon.

Suddenly he heard someone approach him, he turned around. And what he saw scared him twenty Shinobi came to him, and a fat noblewoman with them.

He quickly stood up, ready for another fight, he looked at the Shinobi, and he saw pity in their eyes, but the willingness to do their job was there.

Their leader stopped before Billy, and he shrugs, "sorry kid, just doing my job, you just had to kill a powerful noble's son, for that I am sorry."

One of the leader's men approached first, but the leader stopped him and shook his head, then the leader approached with a kunai, suddenly he stopped, and turned around and kneeled, there the third Hokage appeared. He looked much younger, maybe in his late 20s.

The Hokage stood there, and next to him was an ANBU with a monkey mask on. The Hokage looked around, then he signed with his hands, all the Shinobi suddenly disappeared into the trees.

The Hokage walked slowly towards Billy until he stopped 5 ft from the boy and the body; he looked down at the mangled mess of the master, then he looked at Billy frowning a little.

The Hokage took a small puff from his pipe and spoke, "Young boy, why did you kill my shinobi?" he spoke in a kind and gentle voice, akin to asking about the weather.

Billy looked down a little, thinking about what to say. "Because he beat us, treated us less than dirt, and today is the last day he will beat anyone."

The Old man stood silent for a moment, then he took another puff "young boy, I can't fault you for what you did, but today you took one of my shinobi's life; therefore, you have to pay for it; what can you offer?"

Billy understood what Hiruzen The Hokage wished for because he had just killed one of his Shinobi that he needed while they were at war. And to add more on his plate, the village needs farmers who grew food for them. He understood that Hiruzen could not afford to kill a farmer or a potential shinobi.

Billy thought for a moment and spoke. "The master was always stronger than us, he beat us, and we could not do anything to him, but… but when I attacked him, I felt a strange surge of energy that made me stronger for some reason. And the rest was a hazy red mist; the next thing I knew, you came Hokage-sama."

Billy hopped that the so-called professor would take the bait and figure out that he unlocked his chakra.

Hiruzen nodded and closed his eyes in contemplation, nodding again and inhaling smoke from his pipe. Finally, he opened his eyes, "Young boy, what is your name?"

Billy thought that it was strange for the Hokage to come unprepared, and a simple name of a kid is easy to find, for a shinobi village at least. "Don't you know my name Hokage-sama? The master always told us that Shinobi knows everything going on around them?" Billy hoped that by shedding some light about his past with the master, from his new memories, it may make his question seem not so strange for a kid at least.

Hiruzen's eyes soften a little "My boy, too many people had gone missing when the attack happened, and I admit we did not keep records of the farms nearby, which is a mistake I am fixing at the moment, so how about this, my boy" He squatted to appear smaller and more friendly while giving a small smile "My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi pleasure to meet you."

Billy slowly relaxed his stance and bowed a little "My name is Billy Tsuyoi ushi, please take care of me" When Billy slowly rose, he saw Hiruzen's eyes widen every slightly for some reason.

Billy knew that he was nothing important, and if Johns memories and the laws of "fiction" are to be believed, his family name may make him related to a certain toad sage, but what destroys this theory is that from his early new childhood, He fucking knew that in this world, or this time-period at least. There are many white-haired people, about three out of ten.

This makes the common theory null and void, and not every white-haired person is related to Jiraiya.

Hiruzen's eye adjusted, then he asked, "And where are your parents, Billy?"

Billy looked at the ground for a second, "dead."

Hiruzen sighs and rubs his forehead. "I am sorry, Billy, but is there anyone related to you?"

Billy looked up. "My cousin, but he left us when I was little. The only thing I remember about him is that he had white hair like mine and that my father always cursed him," Billy hugged his arm. "My father used to say that my cousin was not grateful for farm life and that he traveled to find his," and Billy quotes with his fingers, "destiny."

Hiruzen nodded, and when he was about to speak, the fat noble lady barged in on the conversation and screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR HOKAGE-SAMA KILL THE BOY! HE KILLED MY BABY BOY! AND HE DARED TO KILL A NOBLE!"

The Hokage turned his face ever so slightly to look at the fat noble lady. "Aiko-sama, you better show respect when you are dealing with the Hokage."

Then he turned his head back, ignoring her. "So Billy, back to our conversation, since you have no one to help you, and we do need cool Shinobi like you, Billy. Would you like to be a shinobi? You could do amazing things just like this"

Suddenly he spat out a small flame from his mouth to impress him, and Billy understood what Hiruzen was trying to do; he needed verbal confirmation so that he could get Billy as a shinobi and stop any more political leverage that lady Aiko may use on him.

Billy jumped in the air, excited. "WOW! If I became a shinobi, could you teach me cool stuff too?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, Billy, but you have to go to school and learn from them first, so what do you say? Do you want to be a shinobi?"

Billy clapped his hands. "YES!"

Hiruzen smiled and turned around. "Aiko-sama, please leave this place at once; this matter is for the shinobi corps."

Lady Aiko bristled and controlled her face, then she bowed. "Hokage-sama, please let me collect my son's remains at least."

Hiruzen nodded. "You may, Aiko-sama, and I am sorry for your loss. And please send one of your households to my office so we may discuss this more; we have more to uncover on what happened here."

The noble lady bowed. "Yes, Hokage-sama," then she walked away, but she gave Billy a hateful glare before she climbed her palanquin and left.

The Hokage hummed and spoke without facing Billy. "Come, Billy, we have much to speak about, don't worry about your stuff if you have any. I will send someone to pick them up."

Billy nodded and followed the Hokage.

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After walking for hours in the forest, Billy chatted with the Hokage for some time. He asked the Hokage how they knew what happened on the farm if they were so far away. And the Hokage replayed that they suspected something wrong was going on because they did not get any reports from the farm for a month now. So, they sent a shinobi to see what was going on, then the Shinobi found my state and the master's state. So, he reported what happened, and both the Hokage and Lady Akio went to investigate.

Billy also asked him what would happen to him now and the strange rush he felt. The Hokage answered in a vague manner, "Billy, what happened back there was you unlocked your chakra."

Billy looked up at the Hokage. "Chakra, what is that?"

Hiruzen inhaled some smoke. "Chakra is what makes us Billy, see the trees, the air, stone, water, animals, and us humans have chakra; it is life. Most have it in a small amount, but us Shinobi have learned to harness this power we learned to manipulate this power, to help us survive this harsh land."

Hiruzen stopped walking, and he bent down and picked up a stone. "See this, Billy"

Billy looked confused, "Yeah, it's a stone?"

Hiruzen smiled. "To most, it is a simple stone, earth stuck together for years and years until they merged and became a stone, but what most failed to see past the stone is"

then the Hokage blew smoke into the stone; suddenly, the stone crumbled and showed a small jade crystal inside.

The Hokage bent down and presented the jade to Billy "this jade is chakra Billy, and the stone is you; with time and patience, your chakra can become stronger and grow bigger."

Then he straightened himself up and took a puff from his pipe. "Billy, do not tell the other children in the academy that you unlocked your chakra alone; just say that you learned it from your father before he passed, oh and on that note, you asked what will happen to you now."

He scratched his beard and closed his eyes. "Billy, since you agreed to become a shinobi, you have to go to the academy, there you will meet new friends your age, you will play with them, make friends with them, and learn together to become shinobi to protect our village, remember what happened to your Father Billy do you wish to become stronger and prevent that from happening?"

Billy nodded glumly. "Yes."

Hiruzen looked down and picked up a leaf "see this, Billy."

Billy looked at the leaf, "are you going to keep showing me more stuff to compare them with again?"

The Hokage bristled and laughed. "No Billy, not this time, Billy our village's name is Konohagakure no Sato or the village hidden in the leaves" then he took a puff from his pipe and exhaled "and my master, the First Hokage, always spoke of a philosophy called the will of fire, do you know what that is Billy and why it is related to leaves?"

Billy knew what it means from Johns's memories, but he knew that he could not explain it easily "is it because the will of fire is to protect the village, because the leaves are the shinobi?"

Hiruzen sighed. "No Billy, the leaves are you" he took a buff "the will of fire means that we the shinobi protect the leaves because the leaves are the village; without them, there is no future, Hakin did not understand that lesson, and he ruled over you, did not protect you, and if I knew about him much sooner I would have stopped him, but Billy I think you have the will of fire because you protected your fellow farmers from Hakin."

Billy looked at the ground, a little be ashamed. "But Hokage-sama, I never tried to protect them, and they never tried to protect me; I just did not want him to hit me anymore, and I snapped."

Hiruzen looked down at Billy, "then, would you have just stood there and watched him beat another farmer?"

Billy looked ashamed because, from his memories, he did what he suggested, "I did not do a thing when he did that to other people. I was scared."

The Hokage smiled. "Ahh, but now he can never hurt the farmers again because you dealt with him, now you protected them, and now you have the power of chakra Billy, and the first thing you did with it was not to oppress people but protect them, to me, this is the will of fire the first Hokage tried to teach people, and I have my faith in you, that you will do what the first Hokage did. Protect the leaves, Billy."

Billy nodded. "So if I became a shinobi, I have to protect our people. I think I understand Hokage-sama" then he looked up and saw Konohagakure no Sato he saw the walls big and strong with a large green gate, past it he saw people walking around, and building as far as the mountain with the protectors of the village faces looking down at the village.

When they reached the village gate, the two guards bowed, "Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen nodded at them, and they kept on walking at a brisk pace, but then Billy noticed people looking at him and turning away. And he knew why because of his face; after all, he looked like a burnt Christmas ham with no nose. He looked up at the Hokage "Hokage-sama, can we get a mask?"

The Hokage looked down, and his eyes softened a little "Of course, Billy, I know just the guy."

They turned to the left instead of the Hokage's office and found themselves in the market; the place was filled with people buying and selling their wares. He saw people sell food, weapons, utility items, and more stores whenever he walked.

Finally, they reached a store with children's masks displayed on the walls; when they entered, they found it a little empty, but the Hokage walked on, ignoring the clerk, and entered the backdoor.

There they entered into a barely lit room filled with ANBU masks, and sitting in the office was an overweight old man with a big handlebar mustache; he was wearing a fishing hat and a leather jacket with pants made from the same material. He was also smoking a cigar while looking at a broken mask. Finally, he noticed us and stood up and bowed, "Hokage-sama! Welcome to my store."

The Hokage nodded, "thank you, Yamazaki; how's business?"

Yamazaki frowned. "It is good Hokage-sama, which means it's bad for us."

Billy noticed and said, "How can it be good and bad, sir?"

The store owner looked at Billy, and his eyes almost twitched from Billy's sight. "Because I sell masks for injured shinobi and ANBU."

Billy understood and nodded, then he thanked the old man, and he looked around the stores for the mask that he wanted while the Hokage talked with Yamazaki, he saw mostly ANBU masks, but some half masks are made to cover half a face, some top masks, bottom masks like Kakashi's mouthpiece. Aburame insect masks with the clan logo on. Finally, he found a mask he liked.

The mask was black matt in color, made out of leather and plain at first glance, but Billy saw something underneath the mask; when he got closer, he picked it up from its glass casing, and he turned it around, there he found some air tubes with some fūinjutsu drawing on them, then he looked inside, and found more leathery tubes near the mouthpieces.

He took the mask and went to Yamazaki. "Yamazaki-san, what does this mask do? There are a lot of tubes inside."

Yamazaki leaned forward "ah, that's one of my late son's inventions before he passed; he created this mask for a mission in Kirigakure no Sato, keep in mind this is only a prototype he created; the real one is with his brother now. Now what did it do again" he turned around, looking for something "aha, there it is," he brought a dusty book, and he started flipping it, blowing dust in the air until he found the page.

Yamazaki leaned in, then he brought his glasses to read better "let's see he called it Era no Kamen" he stopped for a moment "in his notes, he crated this mask, based on Kiri's water masks that they use to breathe underwater, and stop toxic gas from entering his body."

Yamazaki looked up, "can I see it for a moment," Billy nodded, handing him the mask.

He looked at it and started turning it around until he found the pipes with the fūinjutsu marking. He touched them with his fingers; suddenly, the mask fell from his hand.

The mask dented the wooden floor, breaking them, and when the dust settled, the mask looked nothing like it used to, twenty pipes joining together into the helm, the mouthpiece changed from flat looking into a metal skull mask, the pipes became exhaust pieces, one in the mouth, two at the back of the skull, a spine piece of metal appeared under the back of the skull extending to the lower back, and in each piece of the spine there is an exhaust pipe coming out.

Billy stared at the Mad Max mask, and he simply said, "I want it."

Yamazaki coughed. "No, my boy, I think I understand why it is a prototype, he went deep with this, and it became too heavy to use, not good for a shinobi."

Billy looked up at the shopkeeper. "Please, Yamazaki-san, I can handle it."

Yamazaki looked at the Hokage, waiting for him "hmm, I will allow it only if you suspend the fūinjutsu until Billy graduates and becomes a chunin, while also learning about how the mask works; it's too dangerous if he does not understand it." Then the Hokage thought for a moment, "How about this Yamazaki? Since you do not have an apprentice, and you are our only mask creator, off duty, why don't you teach Young Billy over here your craft? Since he needs to wait for a year until he is allowed into the shinobi academy."

Yamazaki thought for a moment, "well, Hokage-sama, it has been lonely since my son married and moved out with his wife, and I do admit I need more help nowadays" he mulled over it for a moment. "Fine, I will take him with me, but if he becomes my apprentice, he must live in the store like my sons used to do; he must care for the store and handle business while also learning from me. I, of course, would be living in my own home, so young boy, you would be living alone. Are you all right with that?"

Billy nodded. Things are moving up for him; he got a job and a place to live.

Yamazaki smiled. "Fine then" he leaned down and placed his hand on the seal, then the mask shrunk down and turned into leather again. He picked it up and went back to the book "hmm, let's see what my son made for the mask" he sat down "all right, it says here that he created this mask, for breathing underwater, resisting air-born poisons and toxins, underwater swimming boosters I think this is why he created a lot of pipes at the back, and finally a Jutsu mouthpiece, so the large pipe in the mouth of the skull."

then he leaned in more "Huh, the rest of the notes have been destroyed, I can only read some of it, oh well my boy, I think I found your apprentice project, try to find out more on what the mask dose."

Billy smiled and nodded, then he saw Yamazaki bring out some ink and a brush, and he started painting something on the seal, then he manipulated his hands at a frightening speed then stopped at the ram seal, and he said. "Kai suru!"

"Now, my boy, I just sealed the mask, so here go on, try the mask on"

Billy took the mask and tried it on, but it was too big for his head. "It's too big, Yamazaki-san."

He heard someone moving, then he felt someone touch his left ear "there we go; I taught my son where to best place the fitting seal should be."

The mask shrunk until it fitted him perfectly, and for some reason, he does not feel the mask at all. Maybe the creator did this too.

He looked up and saw the Hokage and Yamazaki "now, my boy, whenever you feel the mask getting uncomfortable, just put your hand on your left ear and channel some chakra there; the mask will fit better."

Billy bobbed his head in understanding. Then he heard the Hokage "Billy, why don't you go to the front of the store while I talk with Yamazaki-san?"

Billy looked at the Hokage "Hai Hokage-sama," and he turned around and went to the front of the store looking at the normal stuff that the store sells, children's masks, toys for kids. Then he heard Yamazaki's voice call out, "Tunka! Teach Billy about the store he will be taking your job from now on; you can tell your mother that you repaid your debt."

He turned to the right and saw a teenager working there, bored out of his mind. He looked at Billy and said, "Ugh, finally, here's a tip, kid don't egg stores at night they may catch you and force you to do boring shit, anyway come here let me tell you where you will spend hell."

================================================================

The Hokage took a seat, waiting for Yamazaki to return; he started looking around, remembering the masks; most of them came from this very store. He remembers Yamazaki Orichi when he first came to the village; back then, there used to be shinobi families instead of clans; because of how low their numbers were, the Orichi was the last of the families to join a village, and they only did so, because Yamazaki and his family were the only ones left, He had his wife, his grandfather, and his two sons.

He remembers Yamazaki's son Ozein Orichi, that boy was a monster on the battlefield; he had masks for every situation, he had a mask for ANBU confusion as I remember it, it helped us sneak into Suna, we walked into the place as we owned it. I remember when he first explained to me what the mask does; it casts a subtle genjutsu, henga, and something he never explained, only that it bothers people who tried to look at us.

I miss him sometimes; he was a great storyteller. His other son Izein Orichi is a sickly lad as he remembered him. Back then, he also did not wish to become a shinobi; family problem, maybe?

Hiruzen noticed Yamazaki entering the room with some tea. "Here you go, Hokage-sama, so what is it you wish to talk about? I thought we agreed on the price for this year's quarter already?"

"No, Yamazaki-san, it's about the boy; I just wished to tell you about him and ask for a small favor."

Yamazaki started a new cigar "all right, but before that, why does his face look like a cigar ashtray?"

Hiruzen thought about it; he remembers that night the raid. Kumo attacked Konoha's gate, but then there was another attack they sent some men to infiltrate the village undercover. For hours we tried to push them back until Orochimaru found the last one.

Then we got a warning one of our Shinobi sent a letter before he died; Kumo's main object was to send a huge number of bandits with one Shinobi per team of bandits, they will attack farms around Konoha and destroy them at the same time, it appears while they waited for the signal to start torching the farms, they had their fun with the farmers.

Hiruzen remembered where he was and quickly said, "war, my friend war, the last attack from Kumo, to be specific."

Yamazaki took a puff of his cigar and a sip of the tea "sad thing, it was Hokage-sama, attacking civilians is a low blow, but it is effective for the war efforts, but again what about after the war, I wonder?"

Hiruzen thought about it "they will get fucked if I am being honest with you here," he took another sip. "Most Shinobi forget that we only make about 5% of the world population, and the rest are civilians; we do still have to play ball with the rest of the world at least. Massacre of a civilian population that is not in a hidden village, but outside will be a permanent black mark."

Hiruzen then groaned, "This reminds me of Uzushiogakure; we should have been there faster, all those lives wasted and poor Mito-sama" his anger quickly took over him, he felt blood seeping through his hands, and he looked down to the broken china in his hands. "At the very least, we still have an outpost there, and the village survived, but they will need some help in the coming years."

He quickly flicked his hands and did some signs commanding his chakra to levitate some water and clean the floors quickly.

Yamazaki took another puff to calm his nerves. "I am sorry I reminded you of your bad memories, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen replayed while healing his hands, "It all right, Yamazaki-san, and look, I will be quick. I have a meeting in twenty minutes, and my break is almost over."

Hiruzen's hand, now clean and healed, looked up. "I want you to teach the boy your craft. I am sorry if I am being pushy here, but you are the only one who knows about your family craft left, and both Ozein, Izein are unable to pass on your knowledge for your family."

Hiruzen sighed. "Look, I don't want to lie to you, your son Ozein was my friend, and I would hate it if his family's craft would disappear, so what I am saying here is that if you taught the boy about your family craft, he would return the favor, by teaching Izein's children, and everyone wins your family, the village, and finally the boy he got nothing left."

Yamazaki took another puff "all right, Hokage-sama, I will teach the boy, but only if he signed a contract that compels him to teach one of my future descendants at least. I am sorry, but I do not know the boy yet, and my family had these techniques for generations."

Hiruzen nodded. "Done, and for the small favor, please let the child live in the store until he graduates. I know the guildsmen laws dictate that apprentices must live for one year in the store, but it does not say that they can only live for one year. It's just that the boy took his first kill today, and I think that he needs some stability for now and living in a small store likes your learning going to the academy while interacting with customers would be great for his mental health. So, what do you say?"

Yamazaki thought about it for a moment "well, I am not short on funds, and I do have this empty apartment on top of the store, and I am not willing to rent it out to people who are not linked to me, so I think we have a deal Hokage-sama" and he extended his hand for a shake.

Yamazaki looked at the Hokage, "but may I ask why are you doing this for him, Hokage-sama? I mean, there are a lot of orphans running around who want to be Shinobi, yet none received the same treatment as the boy?"

Hiruzen sighed, "Do you know who the boy killed today?"

"no Hokage-sama who?" he gazed at him weary

"He killed Zamamoto uso nagi, son of lady Aiko and lord Hizashi. I have no fear of lord Hizashi for I know he is a pragmatic man, and when he learns about what his son did to the farmers, he will not seek vengeance, but what I fear is lady Aiko she is petty, so I know she will try to sabotage young Billy at the academy and will try to kill him if she could get away with it."

He sighed and refilled his pipe "therefore, I am doing this, so you may be able to protect him because your family name is respected, and she won't dare to touch your store or your family. Thankfully Billy is an uncommon name, and I bet she did not get the name before she left, the attack left us scrambling for survivors, and the ones we did find we could not get their names, so there is no database for her to gain the information she wishes for"

Yamazaki shacked his head in understanding, "ahh, now I see, don't worry Hokage-sama, I will protect him, and I will try to rouse some rumors that he is a distant family member."

Hiruzen gave a small bow in thanks "thank you again, Yamazaki; I will leave the boy in your care, now I need to head out for the meeting, take care I will see you again for poker night."

"Will do Hiruzen," he said in a cheeky smile.

He laughed and went out of the office; there, he saw Billy teaching a teenager how to count funds for some reason "ah, Billy, how was learning about the store? Is it fun, I hope?"

Billy strangely looked at me. "No, Hokage-sama, this idiot right here does not even know how to add numbers; how did he manage a store so far?"

Hiruzen laughed. "Now, Billy, you cannot insult people like this, be respectful of your elders."

Billy nodded. "Hai Hokage-sama."

Now that he is satisfied, "Billy, I have to go now, Yamazaki-san will teach you more, and I will send for you later so that I may explain more about your situation, for now, learn and rest, and take care of yourself."

And with that, the Hokage walked out and shunshined to the office, leaving Billy alone.

================================================================

Billy looked at the teenager fleeing his job to teaching him the basics, but if Billy knew anything better its that he was much better than him, the kid could not even count, Jesus Christ, the kid is an idiot, any who Billy started managing the accounts, he is no egg head, but he could manage some numbers, it's like his daily calorie count that he manages every day back when he was on earth.

After managing the accounts, and the store stock, he saw Yamazaki return from the back with a fishing pole.

Yamazaki looked down at him "huh, where is Tunka? I thought I told him to teach you, then leave."

Billy held up some papers he had been working with. "Tunka could not even count Yamazaki-san, I had to recount everything since he came, and I barely made a dent on what we sold, not to mention our current stock of products. I had to teach him how to add numbers."

Yamazaki laughed a deep belly laugh. "Haha! Yeah, the kid is an idiot, but he still got a good heart deep down somewhere; anyhow, before I go fishing, I have to show you where you will live and where the keys are"

Billy jumped from the chair and landed softly, following Yamazaki around the store. He showed him where they keep the normal stock of products, then he showed him at the back where they keep the exclusive items, then he went further back to the basement of the workshop; it was filled with tables of each kind, material ranging from metals, stone, leather, glass, oils, and chemicals.

After showing him around the workshop, he told him that he would teach him more about it later, then they went up and to the side of the shop, where they reached the garden with an outside forge and woodworking tools nearby.

And finally, after showing him around, they went to the front of the shop near the entrance, where he found rusted metal stairs leading up to the second floor. He looked up at the store's name, "Orichi's kiddy masks," a weird name for a store, but he could respect sticking with it.

After walking up the stairs, they reached the room, then Yamazaki pulled up a keychain filled with keys, and he kept switching, trying one after the other, and finally, he opened the door. Instantly dust flew into the air.

Coughing from the dust, he waited until it settled, then walked in with Yamazaki-san. He looked around and saw a living room/bedroom, a kitchen to the left, near the kitchen is the bathroom, and finally, a small balcony fit for one person.

In the living room, there is a small traditional Japanese table that is designed to be used while sitting down. On the table, there is a 4.5-inch tv/radio that looks like it came from the 40s. It was smaller than Yamazaki-san's one hand. Near the table, there is a queen-sized bed and a dead plant.

Yamazaki-san looked around, remembering the old days about this place. "Back when we first moved into Konoha, we did not have much money; I had two kids, my grandfather, and a wife to feed. I sold everything the family-owned back in the day, gold, jewels, statues; hell, I even sold my mother's brush. And I bought this store with this home for my family and me."

A single tear threatened to fall from his eyes, but he quickly cleaned it. "Now it's yours, my boy; I want you to take care of it like it is your own home; after all, you will be living here for a long time."

Billy's eye widened "but Yamazaki-san, didn't you say that I will live here for one year only?"

Yamazaki nodded. "Hai, but the Hokage talked to me about it, and I thought since no one used it for a long time and I don't want to rent it to anyone I thought why not just give it to you, oh and the rent will come from your job, but not on the first year only after. Won't be much, to be honest with you, maybe '500 ryō' a month sounds more than fair, that's like 25 eggs a month Hah! Can you imagine paying me in eggs!"

Billy looked around some more, and he felt somehow moved. This man, not knowing him for more than one hour, already did much for him; he turned around and gave him a deep bow. "Thank you, Yamazaki-dono! I will take great care of this place; you have my word!"

Yamazaki stayed silent for a moment, swiftly he moved while Billy was bowing and smacked him on the back of his head. "BAKAYARO! DON'T GET SOFT ON ME NOW, BOY! It's ONLY A FUCKING APARTMENT!"

Billy slumped to the floor, his face hitting the floor, disturbing the dust, and he quickly stood up. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, OLD MAN! I WAS JUST SHOWING YOU MY GRATITUDE!"

Yamazaki looks furious. "DON'T CALL ME DONO AND SHIT I DON'T ROLL THIS WAY, BOY!"

Billy bristled a little "FINE YOU OLD FART YAMAZAKI-OYABUN! HAPPY!?"

Yamazaki smiled and picked up Billy from the back of the shirt, and started dusting him. "Now, this is how you talk to your elders; never go sappy on me, kid. HAHA! You had me there for a second. I thought you were turning into one of those old dramas my wife used to watch!"

Yamazaki lowered Billy down and went to the door. "Oh, right here," he revealed two keys to Billy, "this one is for the store, and this one is for your room. Now I am giving you this first week to settle in and clean the place. Then you will start your apprenticeship all right, kid."

Billy took them and looked up. "Thanks, Yamazaki-oyabun. I will start the cleaning now," but suddenly, his stomach growled.

Yamazaki laughed. "HAHA! Right I forgot, the Hokage gave you this" Yamazaki brought his wallet out and took out a hundred thousand Ryo.

"This is for the first week, and later the Hokage will deliver the rest when you set up your bank account."

"Hai Yamazaki-oyabun, I will open my bank account now and get something to eat; the last time I ate was two days ago, I think." He looked out, and he could see the sun setting.

Yamazaki's eye softened a little, but it changed quickly "then it is better to eat now, the food will taste much better, and don't forget to eat your vegetables; they are good for you."

He looked back at the sun and whistled, "Now I gotta run, my boy, night fishing in March is the best; I could catch 30 pounders easily. And I have a long way to go."

Billy watched him go, and suddenly when nothing was holding him back, he went into the dusty bed and cried himself to sleep. His new memories all came crashing in, and just now, he realized where he was.

He cried until darkness took him.