Chapter 15 - Hiruzen's Thoughts and Kensei's Suspicions.

Hokage office. That evening.

Genma gave the Hokage a folder containing all the relevant information on Daichi Hekima. From his time of birth to now.

Hiruzen opened the file and flipped through the pages. Quickly reading every line.

'Born on March 28 the same year as the attack. But it says here that's not his real birthdate. It was assigned by Aiko Hikara when he was in the orphanage. Still, his 5th birthday was 2 days ago… Same day he got adopted I see… The one who adopted him is…'

The Hokage was shocked when he read the name.

Kensei Yasaji.

'Kensei !? Why would he adopt a child now?'

Looking at Daichi's photo again another face came to his mind. 'I see. The boy's resemblance to Kensei's late son is amazing. No wonder he adopted him.'

The Hokage read through the file. Then asked for Genma's personal report. "Tell me what you've found out."

"As you know, during the attack 5 years ago there were many children that became orphans."

"A dark day." Hiruzen sadly sighed. It was also the day he lost his beloved wife, his successor and many other shinobi and villagers.

"Daichi was one of them. During the 2nd day of rescue operations after the attack, a chunin found a child buried beneath a lot of rubble and concrete. The child didn't look like he was breathing but when the chunin took him in her arms he suddenly started crying. They called it a miracle that he survived." Genma said.

"The chunin who rescued the boy, it was Aiko, wasn't it." Hiruzen asked even though he knew.

Genma nodded. He continued. "She retired shortly before the attack and after the incident she quickly got to building her orphanage. She's the one who gave him his name."

"And since some of the records sections were destroyed in the attack and he looked about 6 months old she gave him his name and marked March 28th as his birthday."

'Daichi. Meaning 'from the earth' and 'wisdom'. A fitting name indeed.' Hiruzen mused.

"He has exceptional learning capabilities. Miss Aiko said he learned at a much faster rate than the other children. Based on what she said, his interests lay in books and knowledge."

"A polite smart child who hasn't caused any problems other than the occasional small harmless pranks on his friends. That's her impression of the boy. And during his stay in the orphanage the only times he left its premises was with Miss Aiko to buy groceries or other such items and that too on a handful of occasions."

Hiruzen nodded and motioned to continue.

"Two days ago he was adopted by Kensei Yasaji. A retired Jonin. Miss Aiko said that Kensei thought Daichi might be his grandson so she ran a blood test. It turned out to be false. But he still decided to go through with the adoption."

"That's because Daichi has a strong resemblance to Kensei's late son. During their later years both him and his son became estranged. Perhaps he wanted to make up for that and felt adopting Daichi would accomplish it. That's probably why." Hiruzen added.

Hiruzen then thought about the strained relation he currently had with his son. 'Oh Biwako. I wish you were here. You would know how to solve this.'

"Continue." The old kage motioned with his head.

"Yesterday morning Daichi left his new home and went to several places in the village. I retraced his steps and found he went to a bookstore first. He bought books on gardening and cooking. Then he headed to the Leaf public library."

Now Hiruzen got interested. He wanted to know what books Daichi read there.

"I was able to find the books he took. He spent almost 5 hours reading through the founding of the village, the various clans, and books on the warring era period." Genma stopped.

'So a child no older than 5 really did comprehend the bloody history, the birth and significance of the village and the importance of its existence on his own… unbelievable.'

The Hokage's mind replayed the meeting with the small boy and his words still resounded in his ears. "Go on." He said.

"He bought a map and then went straight to Ichiraku Ramen and then to the Hokage monument. After that he went to the Yamanaka flowers to buy some seeds and fertilizers. Most probably for his garden."

"So that's why he bought the gardening book. And since he bought a cookbook, he would most probably try to learn cooking as well."

"Then he went to buy some common everyday items from the nearby shops and went home." Genma concluded his report.

Hiruzen nodded and dismissed Genma. 'Why am I thinking so much about one child who hasn't even been to the academy?' He sighed.

Although Hiruzen asked himself this question he knew the answer. It was because this boy reminded him of Itachi, Minato and also Orochimaru. He didn't want to see another child with great potential lead a life with heavy burdens or be taken before his time or worse…. Go down the wrong path and become the enemy.

The third Hokage made a decision. "Hawk. Assemble the council along with the clan heads for a meeting. Immediately."

The shadow of an anbu disappeared from Hiruzen's periphery.

Hiruzen made some important choices and chief among them was the change in the age of the academy graduation.

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Kensei's House During Dinner.

Both Kensei and Daichi were at the opposite ends of the table and slowly eating their food. Both thinking about various things.

Although on the outside Kensei was calm on the inside he was astonished. Never in his life did he meet a kid that on his own, without any outside guidance learned to use his chakra. That too on his first day.

'He was able to understand the theory and how to apply it. His intelligence and growth rate is unprecedented. And not only that, it's not just the fact that he learned to use chakra but that it has increased. A small marginal increase but still a noticeable one non the less.'

'Now that I think about it, this isn't the first time something like this happened. During the first day of training I noticed a small increase in his reserves. But I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me. Now I'm sure. His body is somehow able to increase his reserves at a much faster rate than the normal person.'

'This kid's body is definitely abnormal. But this could also be a great advantage… And with his intelligence he could reach heights even beyond my expectations. And when It comes to talents, is it possible? Could this child be in the same league as the fourth Hokage?'

Kensei closed his eyes and thought about the achievements of the late fourth Hokage. 'I suppose only time will tell.'

Then a small smile came to his face. 'If this is his improvement in the first 3 days I can't wait to see how much he will improve by the end of the month. I thought I had come up with an adequate training schedule for the next 11 months but it seems I'll have to revise those plans…'

'Impress me boy. Show me just how much potential you have.'

Kensei ate calmly but mentally cheered Daichi on.

At this time Daichi was thinking about making a training plan for the month. He wanted to improve his skills and learn some chakra control exercises as well as increasing his chakra volume. Since he just got a skill that would help him with creating Justus, increasing his reserves would definitely be a priority.

Suddenly….

[Rep increases with Kensei Yasaji.]

Daichi was a little surprised. He wasn't sure what impressed the old man but he would take it.

'I need to learn the leaf concentration technique tomorrow and increase its level. I also have to focus on my body's stats and improve my body conditioning skill.'

'And I need to figure out how to unlock the special stats. Hmm… The clue to unlocking the stats are in their names. I've already unlocked one and put in motion the events that could unlock another…. Or at least I hope it will work. If not, I'll have to save it for another time. That particular special stat isn't my priority right now.'

'Chakra is like a muscle. As long as I use up my chakra and exhaust it by the time I go to bed I'll increase the chakra stat and lesser chakra affinity skill. An increase in this skill is an increase in chakra growth rate. It will also force the passive regeneration skill to increase in level.'

Daichi quickly finished his meal and thought about how he would spend the next 4 weeks training. He took the dishes as usual and washed them. Increasing the dishwashing skill level.

He bid his grandfather goodnight and went upstairs to his room. He put on some sleepwear and got on his bed, planning his training schedule for the coming days.

Out of nowhere a red notification box appeared.

[You were able to successfully convince someone of much greater strength to make an important choice or a life changing decision through your words or actions. You have reached the special condition needed to unlock Charisma stat. ]

[+1 CHARISMA]

[This stat improves the player's charm that can inspire devotion or loyalty in others and helps rally allies much easier.]

[You have unlocked a special stat. ]

[Reward: +500 Exp.]

[+75 Exp. ]

Reading the system message Daichi was shocked. 'It worked. I can't believe it worked. I was just trying out my luck. I didn't actually think it would work.'

'Charisma. The ability to influence others through words or actions. At first I thought I would have to be like Naruto and make some loyal friends or something like that to awaken this stat. But when the Hokage came to talk to me, the idea to impress and maybe even slightly influence him suddenly came. It was a big risk, but looking at this result. WORTH IT.'

'Now as for the remaining 5 locked stats… I have some ideas on how to unlock them. Need to put those ideas to work soon. Persistence and Sense. Those are the next two I'm going to unlock.'

Now lemme take a look at my stats.

[Name : Daichi Hekima (The Gamer)]

[Class : Civilian]

Age : 5

Title : Capable Child, Explorer

Level : 5 (665/1700)

HP : 405

CP : 319

SP : 250

[Primary Stats]

Strength - 10

Vitality - 9

Dexterity - 5

Agility - 10

Intelligence - 18

Chakra - 6

Wisdom - 11

[Special Stats]

Sense (LOCKED)

Stamina - 4

Indomitable (LOCKED)

Charisma - 1

Persistence (LOCKED)

Dignity (LOCKED)

Luck (LOCKED)

[Stat Points - 35]

[Ryo - 400]

'Not bad for a few days of work. But increasing stats will get more difficult the higher they go. So I'm not going to invest my points in any unless absolutely necessary. Training is the best way to improve them.

Time to get some sleep. Gotta really push myself starting tomorrow.'