[I] (3/3)

"Again!"

Kizashi sighed, going through the hand signs again, this time transforming into an elderly man with a very long beard, watching his son get more and more fascinated as time went on.

"This… makes absolutely no sense!" Haruki chirped as if it was a good thing the Transformation Technique had broken his little mind.

"If this elder knew you'd be so captivated by chakra, he would've told your mother to not buy so many toys." Kizashi said, stroking his comically long beard.

"Chakra…" His son repeated to himself, licking his lips before continuing. "What… what exactly is chakra?"

"It's the energy of life. Or life energy, whichever one. Every living being has chakra. Even the plants and the animals."

"Really? Then isn't using it for tricks like this dangerous? Couldn't you run out and, like, die?"

Kizashi frowned, sharpening his gaze. "And who told you what death is?"

"Uh… I dunno, to be honest. I can't remember." His son scratched his cheek, looking sheepish.

Ninja training was honestly the best when raising a child. He could instantly tell if his son was lying or not. If he was happy or sad. Reading body language was better than any jutsu. It was too bad other ninja rendered it useless since they knew how to control their body language. Only clans like the Uchiha and Hyūga could see through that.

Haruki hadn't lied, thankfully, but it was concerning that someone already explained what death is to his son without consent.

On the bright side, at least he didn't have to anymore. He was not looking forward to the birds and the bees later.

He hummed, saving that thought for later. "I see. Anyway, yes, you can and will die if you run out of chakra. But a small trick like this barely costs anything so don't worry about your old man."

"Costs nothing, huh? Then can you teach me? …I tried meditating to feel my chakra but I couldn't feel anything. And it's been days!"

He shook his head. It was hard to remember sometimes that he was only a toddler since he clearly was more intelligent than others his age.

Dispelling the transformation, he crouched down to get on eye level with his son. "Sorry kiddo, but I doubt you'd be able to feel anything for quite a while. Probably even longer than most kids, in fact."

Haruki raised an eyebrow in lieu of pouting or screaming like other children would. "And why's that?"

"Well, uh, hmm. How do I explain this one?" How did you explain genetics to a kid without… "Oh, I've got it! It's sort of like your hair."

"My hair?" He reached up and patted his spiky pink hair.

"That's right. It's pink even though neither me nor your mother's hair is that color. Mine is burgundy, and hers is blonde. Together, they seem to combine into yours."

For some reason, Haruki didn't look convinced. "Uh huh."

"So since you've got traits from both of us, you don't really have a lot of chakra. Not much at all."

"Do… do you not have much chakra?" He asked that question almost like he was afraid to offend. That was adorable.

But Kizashi had never been shy about his lack of chakra. "To put it bluntly? Yeah. Your mom's side of the family were all merchants. There were pretty much no shinobi in the family, so she didn't inherit much of anything when it came to chakra."

"I, on the other hand, come from a family of ninjas known for their below-average chakra levels but high control. Combine that and you get…"

"Me." Haruki finished for him.

"Yup. If you want to be a shinobi then you've got your work cut out for you. I had to work twice as hard as everyone else and I'm still a Genin." He internally winced at his own words. Laying out the facts like that was probably too blunt. Too harsh.

"Hey, look on the bright si-"

"You said chakra is life energy, right?" Haruki cut him off, a startling amount of intelligence and ambition shining behind his eyes.

"Uh, yeah."

He fired question after question. "And what is life energy made of? You said it'd take me a while to feel anything, which means it grows, but why does it grow? Age?"

Kizashi blinked. Getting straight to the meat of the matter, huh?

His tone was dry and mechanical, as if reading from a script. "Chakra is formed when two primal energies combine together, physical energy and spiritual energy. Some refer to spiritual energy as mental energy, but both terms work."

"Physical energy is collected from each of the body's cells, and is increased through training. Spiritual energy is collected from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through meditation, studying, or just general experience. It's why some like to refer to it as mental energy."

"And yes, it grows since you're constantly developing until you become a full adult. Once you're an adult, the only way to increase it is through the methods I mentioned." Haruki nodded seriously. It was usually 50/50 whether he got all that or not. Being a genius like his son was didn't help with suddenly knowing what certain words meant.

"Then it's settled. I'm gonna need your help, though." Haruki continued. For some reason, he didn't like the sound of that.

"…What is settled, exactly?"

Haruki jumped out of his thinking face as if he just noticed Kizashi was there. "Hm? Oh, I'm gonna be a ninja. And I need you to help me with my training."

Kizashi sighed heavily.

"Haruki. You know the academy doesn't open until you're six, right? And you don't have to be a ninja to know a few fancy tricks if that's what you're really into. Settle down and-"

He cut him off again. "Nope. I already decided. I decided weeks ago, actually. I'm gonna be a ninja. One who'll be stronger than you. Than anyone. And it starts now."

Exasperated, he tried to put a bit of steel in his voice. "Are… are you sure? This profession… it isn't a game, Haruki." Evidently, he failed.

"I know that, dad. I'm not an idiot. But it's a dangerous world out there, even if you guys try to hide it away from me sometimes. Kids see more than you think they do, ya know."

Kizashi paused, not letting any emotion show on his face, and contemplated if he should teach him. Haruki wasn't wrong, the world was a dangerous place, but that's why he'd become a shinobi in the first place. So that when things went wrong, he could protect his family. His son didn't need to become a shinobi.

And what other village was stronger than Konoha? The only way someone would even get close to his family would be if the Sannin themselves started attacking the village.

On the other hand, he knew himself. And he knew his wife. Even if his son seemed to be showing signs of being a bit of a genius, he likely inherited the biggest thing both of them shared.

They were all stupidly headstrong.

There was a reason they didn't interact with either of their families much. His family was a family of shinobi; Living long wasn't really realistic unless you retired early. His wife's family, though, simply didn't approve of their relationship.

So what'd they do? They got married. And then had a child.

If Haruki inherited even a little bit of that headstrong nature, he would just become a shinobi either way, even if his parents didn't approve.

From that perspective, his choice was fairly simple.

Kami forbid something happened to his son, but if it did, he could at least take solace in the fact that he had prepared his son to the best of his abilities and tried everything in his power.

"...Fine. But you have to promise me something," Haruki nodded. Good, he was taking this seriously. "If you get bored during school, find something else to do. No early graduation. No skipping years ahead. You will attend every single day for all six years of the academy, got it?" He nodded again, no hesitation whatsoever.

He was probably going to regret this but…

"Then I'd be happy to teach you all I know."

Kizashi would never forget the beaming smile Haruki sent up at him that day. With that gleam in his eye and his teeth on full display, the look he gave him was almost… vicious.