Chapter 8: Information Gathering and Recovery

[A/N: Yo, from now on, I'm going to be posting all questions, polls, announcements, etc on an auxiliary volume, this time I'm gonna post some important announcements and questions/polls on there, which will be out in a few hours after this chapter. ]

Kagaku looked towards the pile of books on his bedside and moved over to search through them but suddenly paused, 'This... feeling... I'm extremely lethargic and weak. Chakra exhaustion is definitely not something to be taken lightly.'

Kagaku ignored his weakness and started sorting through the books he had. After a little while, he found the book he was looking for and looked at the title, 'The history of the Ninja Villages'.

'I see... they wouldn't give me the history of the Warring Clans period and before. Well, it makes sense, there shouldn't be many records and not to mention, there's not much point in giving it to me at this time either. Besides, the information could easily be manipulated by someone like Black Zetsu so it wouldn't be all that reliable.' Kagaku thought.

Then, Kagaku started reading diligently, after all, he was a science student, to him it was quite normal to read a lot of books.

When the hour he had was almost up, Kagaku finally finished the introductory history book given to him. And started thinking, 'Hmm.... interesting.... the information recorded in this is basically verbatim what was stated to publicly available in the original naruto verse...

That could mean a lot of things, but atleast I can be sure that on the surface, there's little to no diviation from the original timeline. So in the start, it shouldn't be too troublesome to proceed as normal.

This is good, after all, Naruto being one of the most popular anime in existence, many people including me, have considered innumerable ways of surviving and becoming stronger. So, I have several reference points to work off of.

Anyways, it's almost time, assuming he'll come to pick me up five minutes before lunch, he should be here in ten minutes. I should familiarize myself with the place and positions of things and my belongings, I also have to get ready...'

In the next ten minutes, Kagaku got ready and was now wearing a dark blue shirt with black trousers, that didn't restrict his movement, these were provided by the village for Kagaku, for training purposes. Although, he didn't quite look like a ninja considering the fact that he was not even 3 yet.

After getting ready, while Kagaku was looking out at the village, he suddenly sensed a disturbance.... he couldn't quite put his finger on it at the moment, but trying to see the reason for this odd feeling, he turned around and looked towards the center of the room.

When he turned around, he saw Axolotl standing there with shock visible through his mask. This was justified of course, Kagaku had just sensed an elite anbu without them wanting him to.

Even though Axolotl didn't specifically try to conceal himself, it was muscle memory for him and any ninja chunin or lower shouldn't be able to sense him.

Kagaku quickly analysed the situation and acted startled, which wasn't all that wrong actually so he managed to do so seamlessly.

Axolotl quickly schooled his expression while thinking, 'He.... he's a sensor!? No... surely not, he probably just randomly turned around.... Who am I kidding, that's way too much of a coincidence. This kid.... never fails to surprise me.'

Without any thought given to going to lunch, he asked, "Kagaku, why did you turn around?"

Using the leverage Kagaku gained by his immediate shocked expression, he responded, "Oh! You've arrived Axolotl sensei! According to your given time, I assumed you would arrive a couple minutes early to reach by 12 so I was just about to go sit on my bed and wait for you, and coincidentally, you were there!"

Kagaku thought, 'While I'm not the best actor... he should buy it considering it would be absurd if I was a sensor too... although that is a shock to me as well, sensing isn't too complicated if thought about it from a scientific view. But, then again.... I shouldn't underestimate a ninja's instincts, if he suspects something is off, he will likely become nossy and that would be non-conducive to my plans of hiding my true strength.'

Axolotl was surprised, 'A coincidence? It's possible but... why do I feel something is off? No... I'm probably just overthinking, after all, why would a toddler think or care about hiding his abilities, in fact, he should be eager to show his strength to gain recognition, especially since he is an orphan.'

Axolotl replied, "I see... well, we should get going, we can't be late to lunch." Glancing at the open window, he said, "Come here, and hug me."

Kagaku recoiling for a moment, realised why and didn't question it and went and hugged Axolotl.

Axolotl confused, asked, "Aren't you going to ask me why?"

Kagaku looked up at Axolotl and shook his head in denial and said, "No, I think I know why."

"Oh? Do you now? Tell me, why then?" Axolotl asked in amusement. Surely, this kid couldn't know the answer, he didn't even consider him coming across this in one of the books as things like body flicker are present in advanced books which he doesn't have.

Kagaku replied casually as if just talking about the weather, " Well, before you asked me to hug you, you briefly glanced at the window, which is open and since you're an elite ninja, I assume you would know that technique that uses chakra to move at high speeds to get there quickly, to make sure that I don't fall off or injure myself somehow, you asked me to hug you."

Axolotl froze for a moment while thinking, 'What the hell!? He.... he figured it out, that too in such detail from such little information! This kid... just when I had my guard down too... well, can't say I'm surprised... about being surprised. Never mind, bad joke.'

Axolotl patted Kagaku's head and said, "Good job Kagaku! You got it right! I'll tell you what, I'll give you a gift for your correct analysis."

Kagaku was surprised, but showed a cute expression and said, "A gift! Yayy!!" Acting much closer to his age.

'A gift? Just for that? Hehehehe.... you poor soul... you don't know what's coming for you, I'm gonna bankrupt you! Haha haha... I mean meow.... I don't think anyone gets that reference now.' Kagaku laughed maliciously in his mind.

Then Kagaku pretended to try and haphazardly calm down and become as serious as possible. He coughed once in fake embarrassment and said, "I... think we should get going sensei."

Unaware of Kagaku's treacherous thoughts, Axolotl thought, 'Aww so cute! Kids are truly adorable man, even if they are geniuses who make you feel incredibly stupid and jealous.... Well, more frightening in this kid's case but still, he just makes you want to squeeze the life out of him. Even if tries to conceal it, he can't completely hide his inner toddler after all, I'm gonna have so much fun teasing him!'

Axolotl replied in agreement,"Yes, yes we should. Get ready!"

Of course, he didn't leave Kagaku's safety just upto his strength, after all Kagaku's just two and a half years old, his size is quite small and his strength isn't at the required level. So, he picked Kagaku up in his arms and used chakra to make sure he was stuck to him.

Despite Kagaku being prepared, he simply couldn't have fathomed the nauseating feeling of pulling hundreds of Gs. And they reached their destination in the blink of an eye, after all, it wasn't very far.

'This... is absurd! The stupendous acceleration and deceleration should've killed anyone! Wait.... Naruto characters are kinda built different though... even civilians can handle hundreds of Gs like just did and not to mention the deceleration would've turned normal humans into red paste.

The highest Gs anyone has barely survived was 46 something Gs for about a second and they passed out immediately after.

Well, considering that even civilians can survive such ludicrous force, it must be a passive effect of chakra. As even if civilians can't use it, they still have chakra within them.'

Axolotl didn't seem surprised by Kagaku's somewhat dazed expression although he misinterpreted it to be nausea from the acceleration and deceleration and put Kagaku down.

Axolotl chuckled, looking at the state of Kagaku and said, "That's how it is the first time kiddo, you'll get used to it."

Kagaku snapped out of his thoughts and asked in response, "Kiddo? Aren't you supposed to be formal? I didn't ask you before but, why do you act so formal sometimes and so casual other times?"

Axolotl replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not really big on formalities and the only reason I was acting formal sometimes was because at those times, others who could've heard me were present. And of course, I wouldn't want someone to snitch on me to the Hokage. It breaks protocol after all."

Kagaku nodded and said, "I see.... so, when are we going to eat? Also, this isn't my orphanage, where are we eating?"

Axolotl responded, "Indeed, unfortunately, the higher ups have decided that from now on, you will be doing everything with the anbu and the root, I'll explain what those are later alright? Just know that I too am a part of anbu.

This is the mess, where all anbu can eat their meals at a highly discounted price. You don't need to worry about the money though, all of your basic necessities and ninja equipment are fully paid by the village.

Anyways, considering your age, most people will baby you so.... just bear with it. It's a buffet style lunch, where you take what you want, all the food is specifically made for shinobi to provide all the necessary nutrients required for proper growth.

Considering your special circumstances, a special meal is already prepared for you. Also.... don't pay attention if... no, when other anbu call me and you... names ok?"

Kagaku innocently said, "Names? Why should we not pay attention if they call us by our names? How else are they supposed to call us?"

Meanwhile, Kagaku was smiling devilishly and thinking, 'Hehehe... so, they have call signs huh, they're gonna regret that...'

Axolotl responded in exasperation, "..... just forget about it alright? Just enjoy your meal for now and try to connect with them, they're going to be your comrades in the future after all."

[A/N: Suggest some funny call signs for Axolotl and Kagaku, best one wins. I suppose it might be hard as you aren't really familiar with the characters yet but I think you guys can come up with something good regardless.]

Kagaku nodded while saying, "Ok!"

Then, Kagaku and Axolotl went inside to eat. And Kagaku once again started to ponder his situation while eating.

'Now that I think about it, most of the time I think about stuff for any significant amount of time, I do it while eating. Kinda reminds of someone...

Anyways, that's a bit off topic. It's like they treat me like Minato, even better I would say. Minato is quite a mysterious character to a casual fan, but his character is quite clear to those who are die hard fans of Naruto know him quite well.

Minato is basically the physical manifestation of protection. His entire character is based upon the fact that due to his talent, the entirety of Konoha placed their hopes on him and tried to get him into the battlefield as soon as possible.

At just 12, he thwarted Kumo's plans to capture Kushina by singlehandedly defeating 3 Jonin, by this time, he was considered the up and coming strongest shinobi of his time. And at 14, he was already one of the strongest powerhouses Konoha had and was fighting in the frontlines against two jinchurikis.

Due to his nature, talent and the flawless indoctrination of Konoha from a young age, he was dedicated to Konoha as can be seen by his sacrifice. But despite this, he learned at the end of his life, that no matter how talented a person, they can only do so much by themselves.

Well, a normal person that is, and I.... am not a normal person. While, I don't like to tute my own horn, I have I would say above average intelligence and am a fully grown and matured adult who also knows about the entirety of the plot. Even if it's not exact, for the most part it shouldn't deviate much from what he knew.

As for nearly everything in this accursed world, the answer.... is power! Power reigns supreme and if you have enough of it, you can control everything, there's a realistic chance for you to become a God if you work enough in the right direction.

Considering they're investing in me so much, they likely expect me to be a second or better Minato. Well, that's not exactly a problem for them, after all, I intend to become God, becoming just a high Kage level shinbi isn't too much of a concern.

I'm surely not going to let anyone die!.... is what I would like to say but people dying is something inevitable until I get that strong. But, I do have a solution for that.... remain as cold, emo and unlikable as possible so, I don't get any friends. Therefore, even if they die I won't feel bad.

That's what I would do if I could.... but that's just not in my nature, I can pretend to be a a different personality than I am but, I just can't act like that with people who actually care about me... so, the only option I have is to become strong as fast as I can.... or manipulate people who are strong enough or alternatively the vast majority of the populace though that would be harder.

The future is hectic huh? Well, I still haven't actually had a lot of time to think, I'll do so during the rehab sessions I suppose. The down time has to be used to study about the world and construct a good scientific understanding of this world.

I already have a pretty good headstart because of my younger self being such a weeb and thinking about this a lot, not to mention I also used to listen to other people's theories and ideas as well.

Other than today, I should use the lunch time to develop social relationships, not only so that I don't appear even more unusual then I already do, I also need to secure helpers who will be willing to teach me things.

I also need to dial back a little bit on showing my talent, the chakra awakening was an accident and shouldn't be something that I do frequently, well that's what I get for ignorantly thinking I know this world.

I will need to work really hard, not just in training but also to figure out just how much to show to maintain good enough trump cards all the time. Not to mention, I need to figure out how the hell am I gonna hide my training from battle hardened ninjas....

I suppose sensing techniques could work... no, too many problems with it, ninjas likely have counter strategies to prevent detection by it. I'll need to invent something new which they have no knowledge about.

Something like infrared vision could work... if I manage to figure it out quickly enough or, even senjutsu sensing or a modified version of it... in either case, I need to be done as soon as possible so I can start my secret training.

I wonder how hard it is to even pass by undetected from ninjas and anbu? I mean a 12 year old boy who was just goofing around and oh yeah a freaking chakra nuke inside him, painted all of the Hokage faces in broad daylight at rush hour and got away with it, only getting caught when he was about finished.

Though I think there might be more to this then meets the eye, after all, Iruka, just a high chunin could sense Naruto and you're telling me that elite anbu who are supposed to be following Naruto 24/7 missed him? Not a chance.

Now that I remember the scenes, I think catching Naruto might just be a fun punishment anbu veterans give to newbies like how they give newly minted genins the mission to catch Tora. Either way, still impressive on Naruto's part.

Well, anyways, I should start a conversation, I've been zoning out for way too long agai-'

Coincidentally, someone called out to Kagaku just as he decided he should start up a conversation.

The voice was clearly distinguishable as feminine, it was however, 'a baby voice' as they call it which made quite annoying to Kagaku. It asked, "Heeey there kiddo! What are you doing here eating with the big bad grown ninjas?"

'Huh, so nevermind, this is definitely a bit..... annoying, but I can make it stop.... hopefully, with a bit of.... let's just call it magic.

Divine Class Spell: Deadpan Voice!'