Chapter 7: The Sealed Potential and First Steps of Training

From the moment Tatsuya could walk, it became clear that he was different from the other children in the Yuki Clan. While other toddlers were learning to stand, Tatsuya's movements were already sharp and deliberate. His strength, even as a child, was abnormal, and his speed and reflexes far outpaced others of his age. Whispers spread throughout the clan of his uncanny abilities. Some believed he was blessed by the gods, while others were more wary, wondering what lay beneath the surface of his extraordinary potential.

Yet, Tatsuya could feel that the true depths of his power were sealed away. The memories of his past life and the immense abilities granted by the entity were locked, hidden deep within him. Occasionally, flashes of those memories would flicker in his mind—his time as Li Wei, the training memories of legendary figures from Other-Worlds like Kuzan, Kuai Liang, Esdeath, and Iceman—but they would fade as quickly as they came. The frustration gnawed at him. He knew there was more, much more, but his young body simply wasn't ready to handle the full scope of his power.

When Tatsuya turned four, his father, Yuki Kaito, decided it was time for him to begin formal training. The Yuki Clan was not a place where children were coddled. In the Warring States Period, survival meant preparing for war from a young age. Kaito believed in tough love, and as the son of the clan leader, Tatsuya was expected to excel.

The training was brutal by any measure. He was taught to mold chakra from a young age, practicing basic ninjutsu and taijutsu alongside other children of the clan. While the others struggled to even grasp the fundamentals, Tatsuya absorbed everything like a sponge. He could feel his body adapting, his mind slowly reconnecting with fragments of the knowledge sealed away inside him.

His first attempts at Ice Release were clumsy, but there was undeniable power behind them. Small ice crystals formed in the air around his fingertips, and with practice, they grew into shards, then larger blocks of ice. His instructors, while impressed, were unaware that this was only the tip of the iceberg. Tatsuya could feel something far more terrifying beneath the surface, but it remained out of reach, as if waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.