Chapter 4

In the same year, I met Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chouza, as well as their fathers. Well, "met" is not entirely accurate, I saw them from Ishara's knees, my grandfather who retired and handed over the reins of the clan to his son.

The old man never lost hope in me and constantly talked about the times of his youth, literally instilling a desire to become a shinobi. Given that most of the adventures happened before the formation of Konoha, it was terribly interesting, because nothing like this was even mentioned in the manga.

Who would have thought that the Inuzuka were once a shepherd clan. What's even funnier, while mom wasn't around, he showed me hand seals, taking a promise not to tell anyone. Anyway, I got distracted. The blonde and the chubby brought their children to meet Shikaku.

Apparently, even before the famous Ino-Shika-Cho formation, our clans were friendly with each other. But it was funny to think that I was present at the birth of the heroes of the future war. And if Akimichi and Nara in childhood looked almost like exact copies of their future sons, Inoichi looked more like a girl with his long hair, especially since he hadn't tied it up yet.

By the way, I already started to tidy up my overgrown fiery red mane myself and even sometimes braided it tightly with mom's help so that it wouldn't stick out in all directions. It turned out almost as thick as my arm. You can clearly see whose hair I inherited, it's exactly the same as Ryuta's.

And the most important event — along with increasing chakra control, I awakened the gift of sensing! At least, that's what mom explained when I asked why I could feel the presence of chakra of varying intensity in people nearby.

Over time, memories of my past life began to fade and dim, like the contents of a read book. It evokes some emotions, but only as if from a read story, no more. And who's waiting for me there anyway?

My wife is dead, my children have long been independent and only occasionally visit. Of course, sixty isn't the end of life, but the best years have passed. No, there's no regret, and when you start to realize the possibilities opening up ahead, doubts no longer bother you — it's much more interesting here!

The fourth year. A sad year. But let's start from the beginning. I've achieved considerable success in my training. Especially in chakra control. Approximately at the level of an average genin, but even that is a huge achievement considering that my reserves are equal to those of an experienced chunin.

At least that's what ma says, and she can be trusted. After all, she's a retired jonin. She doesn't go on missions, but she maintains her form. Of course, not every Uzumaki has as much (at least, I think so), but that's exactly what I aimed for, especially with some help.

On my third birthday, Grandpa gave me a special shirt woven with fine chakra-conducting wire, just like the vests worn by elite jonin. Just charge it with chakra, and you get an impenetrable barrier against any metal and most weak E-S rank techniques.

It's terribly expensive, but if you use it constantly, not only does your reserve and control increase, but the chakra channels of the upper half of the body and arms up to the fingertips also develop, contributing to the overall strengthening of these body parts. It's a pity such pants aren't sold, but I think with more practice walking on walls, this shortcoming will be addressed. As my control grew, so did the distance at which I could sense chakra users—from a couple dozen meters, it increased to a hundred.

Unfortunately, this brought problems too—if someone with a larger reserve was nearby, my senses would start to blur, making it impossible to detect those further away. According to Dad's notes, it took me about three months of continuous training to overcome this problem and learn to "block" targets with too large a reserve. In the same year, I finally started learning the basics of clan techniques with the other three-year-olds.

Well, only the theory, the practical part comes a year later. Shikaku has already started complaining about the complexity, constant fatigue, and unwillingness to become a shinobi. However, that's until his mom Setsuri or Sai is nearby. Otherwise, the scolding that follows quickly shows the fallacy of such an opinion.

As it turns out, the basis of Nara clan techniques lies in yin energy. Yes, just like in most genjutsu. Actually, shadow manipulation can be somewhat called an illusion.

Direct manipulation of our chakra is somewhat similar to the chains used by Kushina, except she uses physical strength, not intellect. In any case, if we rely on the accuracy of the manga. So, in the classes, the principle of usage was explained, control was trained, which is absolutely necessary for all Nara, and attempts were made to isolate this very yin component of chakra.

From what I've asked the teaching members of the clan, this kind of preparation takes about two to three years on average, and by the age of six or seven, you can start learning shadow jutsu yourself. First with the simplest manipulations to get used to it and gain experience, and then with more complex ones.

I stopped my physical training disguised as games. The reason is simple—Saya started training with me in this direction. Well, the training was disguised as games. Increasing endurance, speed, and strength was the main focus. And all this without chakra.

The strangest thing is that it's much easier than in my previous life. The famous Uzumaki endurance? Most likely, but the workload keeps increasing. And if before I ate for two, now the amount of food consumed has doubled again. However, ma is just happy to cook more—she found shadow clones in the scrolls left by Dad and now fully utilizes the technique, sending them to cook, clean, and wash her copies.

It's a pity I haven't managed to get my hands on such a useful jutsu yet. Interestingly, she started training even more, and there's a certain tension in the air. According to some overheard phrases and recalling the chronology, I managed to recognize the proximity of the Second World War.

Confirmation of this was a conversation overheard between Uncle Shenesu, who held the post of chief strategist and commander of the jonin in the village, and his subordinate.

Of course, if I were an enemy spy, they would have noticed me having nothing to do, but who would pay attention to children playing in the neighboring room, the elder of whom isn't even six yet, and the younger one is four? And it's lucky that I've already learned to direct chakra to my ears, enhancing my already naturally good hearing.

In general, they talked about many things, but the main thing I highlighted was this: according to intelligence reports, Kirigakure and Kumogakure have started rapidly increasing their military power and gradually increasing their border garrisons.

Analysts believe that with a ninety percent probability, these advancements signify the imminent start of a new war, and it's quite possible that both sides will want to eliminate Uzushiogakure from the global equation just to acquire the famous Uzumaki techniques, accumulated wealth, and artifacts over centuries, as well as to eliminate Leaf's reliable ally.

Only a few know about this for now, but already the Hokage and the elders are discussing the futility of sending aid to allies. A necessary sacrifice for the village's survival! Konoha hasn't fully recovered from the first shinobi world war, and therefore losing forces in the impending Suna-Iwa war, in which Konoha might have to get involved as well, is not advisable and exposes the village to unnecessary risk.

Furthermore, Danzo has stirred with his "Root". Uncle's conversation partner speculated that he hopes to snatch a piece of Uzumaki knowledge and treasures before the two great villages take everything for themselves. So to speak, a platform for the emerging organization. And maybe he'll act alongside them—his hatred for Mito Uzumaki is well known, as is his persistent desire to get his hands on the knowledge of sealing masters and barriers.

The First's wife gave him a good beating when he tried to pry into her library and even refused her husband's training, thus harboring future resentment. And it's not just him—Orochimaru is also keen on getting his hands on the knowledge of generations of Uzumaki, regardless of the number of casualties.

Apparently, even at such a young age, the future "Snake Sannin" was distinguished by considerable cold-bloodedness and cynicism. And considering that he has carried out espionage missions against this elder, despite being a student of Sarutobi, the picture painted was quite dark.

After such a conversation, it became clear how Uzushiogakure was destroyed—probably not without betrayal from Konoha's side, if the attack wasn't carried out by our shinobi under the guise of friendly visits.

And as if this news wasn't bad enough, closer to my fourth birthday came the news of Ryuta's death. Mom reread the letter marked with the red whirlpool symbol for a long time, and suddenly she seemed to age ten years, the spark disappeared from her eyes, and her hands helplessly dropped.

She sat like that until I climbed onto her lap and hugged her, burying my face in her chest. After that, we sat like that until late in the evening and then into the morning, embracing each other. And only when dawn broke, I was told that as soon as I turned four, we would go visit my second grandfather from Dad's side.

Actually, this event was the catalyst for changing history. But I understood that much later. However, I don't regret it at all—after all, that's why I wanted to be born long before the original manga storyline began to unfold.