Solitude

After that talk with Rei, Shin was not in the mood to go to the other Ninja shops anymore. He decided it was better to go home.

'I`ll visit the other shops later for chakra paper. I can't buy it now, anyway'.

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The room radiated with a gentle glow, casting a warm light throughout. Seated on a chair was a woman in her late forties, delicately peeling potatoes while humming a beautiful melody. The noise of banter and laughter could be heard echoing all around the lady. The lady didn't seem to be too bothered by the noise and kept humming. The laughter stopped, but the lady kept humming. Suddenly she stopped and turned to look at Shin. 

'Where are you dear?. When will you come home', her face adorned a picture of sadness. 

looking at her, Shin could feel his tears welling up all of a sudden. He tried to answer but wasn't able to. He tried and tried again, but he was being taken away from that room and falling further down into the abyss. 

"Ma!!!", Shin cried out, his voice echoing through the air. He assessed his condition, realizing his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

'Again, its the same dream', he gasped, breathing heavily for a few minutes. This recurring dream had plagued him since his encounter with the Uchiha lad three days ago.

Seeking solace, he took a sip from a nearby bottle of water and tried go back to sleep.

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The next day, he woke up to find that he had developed a small headache. He freshened up and remembered his plan for the day.

He had already looked at the Leaf Village layout back at the library and planned to start training at the Training ground situated near the Senju compounds. 

En route to the Training Ground, he sought directions quite a few times and almost lost his way. However, after half an hour of travel, he eventually found his destination.

From the map in the library, he saw that the Forest of Death was also near this area. Looking at the huge barricades that encased the entire expanse of the forest, he was a bit amazed at the sheer scale of it. 

'Even though I am about one kilometer from the Forest of Death, I can still see those huge trees. I wonder how the leaf village maintains them with the forest inhabited by a huge litany of overgrown monsters', Shin wondered. 

'These training grounds should largely be free from bigger animals, however, there is the danger of running into Genins or Chunins and being questioned about my motives is a potential risk. I could simply say... I am here to explore and watch ninja training. Yeah, I think that would be enough', he reasoned.

With that train of thought, Shin started his regular stretching and some exercises he was familiar with. After completing his daily quota, he moved on to his regular meditation. Getting rid of his regular thoughts clouding his mind before, he soon entered a more peaceful state of clarity. After another half an hour, he plucked a tree leaf and performed the leaf concentration exercise. 

As sweat dripped from his face, he stopped due to the expenditure of all his chakra. He spent another hour to infuse his chakra again. After repeatedly performing this exercise and using up his chakra reserves again and again, he finally felt some growth in his chakra pool. 

'It has increased by a good margin. I believe there may be a 10% increase in comparison to my previous reserves. Well, considering the previous pitiful amount of chakra, its not saying much.'

As his chakra filled up and got exhausted repeatedly, he had weird feelings all over his body. He felt both pleasure as well as mental exhaustion. Yet, it was satisfying in the end. 

'So, this is how chakra increases in a healthy way. Too much work for my tastes.' 

Lying upon the comfortable grass, Shin gazed at the clear sky adorned with clouds. Contemplating his current situation, he murmured, "I suppose this is my life for now. Am I destined to remain here permanently, or will I someday return to my own world? I do not know what brought me to this world, and ever since I came here, It had been one thing after another keeping my attention. However, during all the troubles, I forgot that this is a world where a weak person can get slaughtered with just a shake of a hand from a ninja. Even if I didn't achieve much and just stayed inside the village all the time as a normal citizen, I would be caught up in the myriad of catastrophes that would fall open the Leaf Village in the future. So, I must train, I must survive. I can't just die here in this strange world in vain."

With renewed determination, he rose to his feet and resumed his training.

As evening approached, the weather turned chillier, compelling Shin to conclude his activities. He packed his belongings into a cloth bag that he had brought and started heading back. Along the way, he observed several Genin teams continuing their workouts at the Training Ground, purposefully avoiding any encounters. Near to the exit, he almost got caught in a jutsu launched by one of the genin who was practicing Earth-style jutsu. 

He looked at the kid from the bushes quite a distance away. Every time the kid tried to cast the Jutsu, he would make some hand signs and then immediately place his hands on the ground and yell loudly, "Earth Style: Mud wall". A few of the sand and dirt would splash sometimes, here or there, but no mud walls appeared. The Genin didn`t give up and would infuse chakra after every second try.

While hiding in the bushes, Shin observed the boy and thought, 'He is performing Mud wall Jutsu, Wasn`t that the jutsu that Kakashi used so many times? It was a B-rank Jutsu, now that I remember. How did a genin got ahold of it? It must have been given as a reward or by his sensei.'

'Anyway, I believe it is a waste of time, for him to learn that jutsu at his current level.'

Shin waited a bit more to see the hand signs and noted all of them. 

Tiger → Rabbit → Boar → Dog.

Shin tried each hand sign while constantly feeling his chakra. 

'Hmm, it seems, I need to enhance both my chakra pool and chakra control since my current attempts are not resulting in anything happening. Each hand sign molds the chakra in a specific way but that can also be different according to different people. Merely performing the hand signs is not enough; I must train my chakra to get accustomed to using the standard path for each hand sign before thinking of casting any jutsus.'

Deep in thought, Shin placed a finger under his chin and contemplated, "I suppose the knowledge of hand signs can only be gained through the ninja academy. Nevertheless, I can make educated guesses without putting myself in harm's way."

He turned around and decided to head back. Arriving back home, he freshened up and after eating dinner, he meditated and performed the leaf exercise. 

Deep in the exercise, he could feel his mind clearing, all of the mental fatigue accumulated due to the repeated usage of all of his chakra, vanished bit by bit. 

After thirty minutes of exercise, he collapsed into a satisfying slumber. 

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Uchiha Compound, 

Fugaku Uchiha returned from a grueling three-month mission after the Great War, his weary footsteps echoing through the clan compound. Congratulations and well-wishes surrounded him from every corner. On the way to his home, he heard from the old lady that his wife was already two months pregnant.

The news hit him like a bittersweet wave, mingling joy with the ever-present ache of loss. He thanked all of them, hiding away the pain he had recently suffered. 

He could still imagine the moment when it all happened. It was like it had happened just yesterday. His eyes burned with hatred at the enemy which had caused him such a huge loss.

"Go Fugaku, Leave. I`ll hold them back."

"Are you crazy! I`ll never leave."

"GO!!! you Idiot, you have a higher chance of survival if you leave. Just tell my fiancée... tell her I love her." Tenma cried out. 

"Youre going back to the leaf if it is the last thing I do" Fugaku resolved.

Suddenly, a Mud wall covering an area of 100 metres emerged in front blinding their view. Fugaku moved ahead and launched Fire style: Fire Ball Jutsu. 

At this moment, he heard numerous sounds, Earth Style: Earth spear. Tens of spear were launched in his direction. His Sharingan eyes scanned the onslaught, his reflexes honed from years of training allowing him to dodge each deadly projectile. As he dodged each of them, he casted Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu. 

All of the earth spear were broken. 

"Fugaku!!!!!" Tenma cried out running to cast barrier Jutsu. A few hundred meters away, there was a large man with the hidden stone headband, watching the two leaf ninja. He casted Earth Style: Earth Spike and then again Earth Style: Earth Spears. 

Fugaku looked back and saw that dreadful scene. His friend had been turned into a porcupine with all the spear jutting out every which way. 

"Tenma!!!!!!" 

Fugaku cried out. Suddenly, the three tomoe pattern evolved to the form of three dots followed by three curves spiralling counter-clockwise around the pupil. He felt new powers awakening within him. 

"Mangekyo Sharingan" 

A scene of carnage followed afterwards. 

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Fugaku covered his eyes and wiped away the tear that had escaped. He was home, It wasnt the war anymore. It was a place of peace where his lovely wife lived along with their prodigy son. 

He forced a smile upon his face and entered the house. 

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Author Comments: 

Okay, this was my first short fighting scene. Please share your thoughts if you liked it and if it can be improved in any way, please share. 

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Author Note: 

Thank you dunkinB, mohammed_hassan_2200, loalola, and DarkApple for your power stones. 

If you like the story so far, please review, and comment, and yes please send power stones. 

Please share your thoughts in the comments or reviews. 

The chapters 1-3 have been revised.