The Nature of a Masterpiece

Status

Name: Akari Inori

Clan: Uchiha

Title: None

Age: 3

Level: 1

EXP 0/100

HP: 450

Chakra: 900

Chakra Control: 5%

STR: 41

DEX: 48

CON: 45

INT: 282

CHA: 180

Stat Points: 0

Status Effect: Pulled Muscle: Training beyond your limits can tear and strain muscles causing immense pain. You have over trained and thus any attempt on physical training of any kind is 500% less effective. Status effect lasts 2 weeks, you have 13 days left until it is cured, training for more than 1 hour will add 2 days to the effect.

1 month had passed by since I was first brought into my current body, and my progress was stagnating. It seemed my training's effectiveness finally slowed down around the 35 area in stats. Of course I expected it to inevitably happen. Although looking at it wasn't disappointing, after all, this was early on and was using simple training from my world. All I had to do was ramp up my training, until I got curious.

What if I over trained? And that led to the Pulled Muscle effect. 

Although training Shiina was going well, having her learn basic mathematics and sciences, and also in terms of her physical abilities. Everything was going well there and my Quest on that front yet the effect of Pulled Muscles was harsh but it was understandable since it mimicked our world. 

Yes, pulled muscles roughly take 2 weeks and relaxing the muscles would be best, and like my old world, a pulled muscle can only be healed when you don't do anything heavy for an extended length of time.

Although I had other ways to train, it only counted physical training, thus the mind can be trained. But that was an even slower process. My stat for INT being as high as it was made it difficult to train. I needed to read more advanced books, and when I mean advanced, I mean the type that is akin to The Art of War, The Prince, and The Laws of Human Nature.

And that is in part the problem. A 3 year old shouldn't be able to read and understand the material in those books, yet at the same time, I needed it to improve. 

Thus, hidden away from everyone in the library having ducked behind the red armchair at the corner as I scanned ahead, analysing every movement, listening to every sound, and in general keeping myself poised. 

New Skill gained, Stealth

Stealth LVL 1/20: One's ability to hide. This skill is very important for Shinobi to learn and is considered the most basic of them. When hidden you are 5% less likely to be discovered for any reasoning. Although Sensory Jutsu, natural sensors and those with Dojutsu will know where you are anyways. 

Yeah, if I couldn't get one normally, I was doing this stealthily. I wore a black hoodie and darker clothes, even had gloves on. Stolen ones to not link back to me, in case.

3 of the workers of this Orphanage were in this room, unaware of my presence, they began speaking.

"When is that man coming back?" One asked, their voice quiet, almost too quiet to be heard, it was clear that who they were talking about was someone important, but had to remain hidden. 

"That man will be here in a week to collect 5 of our children." Another stated, making it obvious who 'that man' was.

Although it was obvious, after all, 'that man' was a big issue. One I planned to take down sooner or later. Although for the sake of my own plans, 'that man' has to get his little 'toys' before I can do anything. 

"Any ideas on who we are giving up to that man?" The 3rd one stated.

This was the important part, thus I listened closely. If Shiina was chosen, I have to step in to stop it, and in order to do that, I have to delay that man from taking any children here.

"What about Akari?"

"Akari does not work, she's pretty hard to read, yes but that does not fit that man's description. If we're talking about who to give up then I suggest her friend, Shiina."

I was lucky to have done what I did earlier, as I held 3 metal shuriken in my right hand, transferring one of them to my left hand, ready.

"We can all agree that Shiina fits the description of what that man wants, perfectly." 

"Then we are all in agreement?" 

"Yes."

Then these people have chosen death. In a snappy, but quick and decisive split decision, I launched one of my Shuriken, then another, and then 3. All 3 of my victims fell to the ground, dying or already dead. It was too easy, they had their backs turned to me after all which exposed the back of their necks, a very stupid mistake on their part.

There are two ways to kill someone with a sharp weapon to the back of their neck.

The first would be through the cervical spinal cord passing through the neck. It is protected by the cervical vertebrae. Damage to this area can disrupt the nervous system's connection between the brain and the rest of the body, leading to paralysis or death, especially if higher cervical vertebrae (C1-C4) are impacted. Such an injury can interfere with breathing and heart rate control, leading to immediate or rapid death.

The second is the major blood vessels located at the back of the neck including the carotid arteries and jugular veins. These vessels are responsible for transporting blood to and from the brain. A shuriken that severs or punctures these can cause rapid blood loss, leading to unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes due to haemorrhage.

To ensure death, I had my Shuriken embedded into the spinal cord, and with enough force to cause damage to both the C3 and C4 affecting the bloodstream and cutting deeply.

Killed Shu Manabu 50 EXP, Suzune Hinamori 75 EXP, Ichinose Narukami 125 EXP. With all 3 kills you have gained 250 EXP

Achievement "Make your first Kill" complete

Rewards: 1000 EXP, 500 Ryo

You have levelled up to LVL 6

Interesting, did it assign an EXP value based on the accuracy of my Shuriken? Shu was less accurate but still died, Ichinose was the most accurate so it assigned

New Skill gained, Shurikenjutsu

Shurikenjutsu LVL 1/20: An important skill all Shinobi have, it involves the usage of throwing weapons in combat although it may seem useless, it is very effective. The effectiveness of this skill increases with your DEX for accuracy of the weapon, INT to know which parts of the body to target and STR as the Force transferred into the weapon when it is thrown is important to pierce and penetrate tougher skin. This skill increases accuracy by 5%.

Without a care for what I did, I sneakily grabbed 3 books that seemed to be on the level I needed placing them inside my Inventory. 

I wasn't worried anyways, nobody would suspect a 3 year old to be capable of killing, and 2, the fingerprints on the Shuriken weren't mine to begin with. 

I simply didn't care. I've seen too many people die to care. As I began to walk back to my room I recounted the events from 2 hours earlier.

2 hours earlier.

I was about to prepare for my little mission but there was last minute preparations that needed to be done. I used paint to make a few of my Shuriken look wooden, this had the added benefit of a person not feeling the metal as they'd feel dried paint instead. I made sure to mess up, the idea was to give this to someone, get them to tell me what I did wrong, and pin murder on them. 

I knew a certain someone would appear soon. He had to appear to take children to his organisation. He was the 'root' of so many issues, yet it would not be wise of me to remove him off of the board yet, he was still helpful, even though he didn't know my plans were 2 steps ahead of his. 

With all 10 Shuriken painted and dried, I went to the 1 person I knew many would want gone. 

In front of me stood a woman that appeared to be in her 40's, her blonde hair tied into buns, her eyes of a dark red. 

Why was this woman bad? She had let's just say some unsavoury thoughts about little boys, who happened to need a mother in their lives. She was hidden well of course, but with a little manipulation of a boy a bit older than me, I managed to confirm it. She was 100% confirmed to be that way to males, to females, she has no such reaction.

With that reasoning, I decided to get rid of her.

"Hikari San." I stated her name. "Can you help me with something?" 

"Hmm, sure Akari, what is it?" 

I lifted the Shuriken, painted, up to her, "Can you take these and hold them?" 

With a kind smile she took the bait, "Hmm, are these painted?" She asked.

"I thought it would be a good idea to paint over them. Didn't last long." 

"You did a good job, Akari. But why do you want me to hold them?"

"I wanted to see your reaction to them being painted over." 

With that she handed them back to me. 

"Well, I find it nice that you have hobbies outside of books, drawing can be a good hobby you know? You can make a lot of friends from it, Akari." 

She hinted that I needed more friends, unaware that I didn't view Shiina as a friend to begin with. 

With that, I retrieved my Shuriken from her, and after the farewells left.

Back to the present.

I take the outfit off, and put my regular clothes on. Putting the black clothes back in the inventory. And then, as I sat back in my bed, I looked up at the ceiling, ready to go to sleep as it was late. And a memory of my time from back then appeared.

There were 100 of us in the colourless room, all hunched over our desks, pencils scratching against paper. I watched as some of the others struggled, their small hands trembling, the fear in their eyes unmistakable. I was no different at first—my own hands shook, my breathing shallow. But I kept working. There was no other choice.

I wasn't the best, but I wasn't the worst either. Still, the tension never left me. Every wrong answer, every mistake, sent a chill down my spine. I could feel the eyes watching us, judging, weighing our worth.

The room started to empty. I noticed it slowly at first—children who couldn't keep up were simply gone. Disappeared. Only 85 of us remained. I was still here, but I wasn't safe. Not yet. Fear gnawed at me, pushing me to work faster, harder. Each day, I felt the terror rise in my throat, but I kept going. I couldn't stop.

Fear... fear was the only thing driving me forward. It came from the pain, from the punishments, from watching the others vanish. I didn't want to disappear too. But there was something else—something deeper—that called to me, a path I couldn't fully understand.

Time passed, and there were fewer of us. Only 65 now. I didn't feel afraid anymore. Fear had been burned out of me, leaving nothing but a cold, empty space inside. My hands moved faster than ever, solving each question with ease, my mind sharper than I knew it could be. There was no hesitation, no doubt. I didn't care if the answers were right or wrong. They were correct, though. Always correct.

The room continued to empty until there were just 25 of us left. It didn't surprise me anymore when others disappeared. They couldn't keep up. That's all it was. I was still here because I could. It wasn't about being the best anymore—it was about surviving.

By the time I was eight, I was the only one left. The room felt smaller, like the walls had closed in. I stared ahead, my mind clear, my face blank. The fear was long gone, replaced by... nothing. I didn't feel joy, sadness, or pride. Just curiosity. An insatiable, boundless curiosity to understand the unknown, to see what was beyond this cage I was inside of.

And I would get my chance, sooner than later. It was just a matter of time. For now, I'll hone my claws, for the day I escape this place.

My eyes closed, falling into dreamless sleep as the memory faded away.