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Chapter Text

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, though ideas belong to everyone who dreams them. Thanks for letting us play in your world.

Chapter 1. Early Dusk

There was the feeling of warmth and comfort. Like the most comfortable bed I've ever been in, but it wasn't a bed, it felt like I was suspended in water or something. I couldn't tell by my eyes because...

WHY CAN'T I SEE?!

I tried to scream out and my mouth made the movements but no sound came out...

WHY CAN'T I SPEAK!!

In my panic I bumped my foot against something like a barrier or wall.

Suddenly a muffled voice reverberated through the liquid I was suspended in. In exclamation the voice said something which sounded like Japanese. In a stunned panic I tried to process the muffled voice I just heard. As my mind was still grappling with what was happening I could hear soothing humming reverberate everywhere which my body was surprisingly calmed down by it despite my seemingly dire situation.

The humming seemed to stretch on forever, each vibration distinct and separate. Was time moving strangely, or was I just that focused on every detail?

In my calm I tried to focus on what I could figure out. I couldn't see, but I could hear and move somewhat. My mind was captivated by curiosity while my body seemed to be scared of the unknown. I settled on trying to determine what else I could hear. The muffled voice that strongly reverberates through me and the liquid around me is definitely speaking Japanese. When the voice pauses I can hear a fainter but deeper voice.

Through context I could infer that the 2 voices were talking to each other. A thought kept scratching at the edge of my mind - absurd, impossible, yet increasingly difficult to ignore. Each heartbeat seemed to stretch longer as my mind circled the possibility, trying to find any other explanation.

No hospital room could explain this sensation of floating.
No medication could account for the muffled voices through liquid.
No rational explanation remained except...

I've been reincarnated.

I didn't really believe in reincarnation in my previous life, aren't you supposed to lose your memories? If I am reincarnated how did I die? Last thing I remember I was thinking 'I can totally make that jump'... Oh... Well maybe I should be a little more cautious this time around.

All things considered, reincarnation with intact memories was an intriguing outcome. My scientific mind immediately began cataloging possibilities - perhaps I'd arrived in some advanced future with mechs, brain-computer interfaces, and full-dive simulations. The Japanese language was a fortunate advantage; my previous interest in their culture and technology had left me with a decent vocabulary foundation. Though testing that knowledge would have to wait until after... birth.

My mind skittered away from that impending experience. Fascinating how even with adult rationality, some prospects remained daunting. Still, my discomfort would be trivial compared to what my new mother would endure. Hmm... first data point about emotional transference in this new form - maternal empathy despite not technically being born yet.

Hmm, what other things can I do while I wait. Now that I think of it, I've read a fair amount of fanfics that imagine what it'd be like to be reincarnated in a fictional story. That would be terrifying! Those stories are nice to read, but it would be hell to live through. Possibly the worst example would be Naruto. Children raised to be soldier from a young age. In there supposed 'peace time' it's still risky to even leave the village. Say nothing of the chakra beasts that roam the wilds. Though it would be cool to have powers through chakra.

...

I can't see with my eyes but... I can.. feel? It's not feeling with my body as far as I can tell. Could this be some magic thing like nen, ki, or chakra? I think I can make out shapes with it. I can feel the flow of my mothers energy in her limbs. It feels warm and comforting, but solid like a warmed stone. It's different than the sensation of actual feeling. It's hard to describe. It's like half way between a hallucination and a memory. It seems I can't 'see' much beyond that for now. I guess I have to learn how to focus it. The energy does seem to pool at specific spots in the body. What were they called in Naruto? chakra points? tenketsu? I wonder if the energy works similar to nen in Hunter X Hunter? If I could focus it and hold it around my body to reinforce it.

...

"OOOH" the muffled voice of my mother exclaimed in a concerning way. Oops, did I do that? It does look like she's hunched over rubbing her stomach. Maybe I should be careful with this energy stuff, I don't want to hurt anyone.

...

"OOOOH", uh oh maybe it's too late to not affect anyone. It seems I may have kicked something off. Hey, maybe the optimistic take is that I just woke up right before I'm born and this is just all according to plan?

...

Well, I'm hearing a lot of panicked muffled voices. Let's see if I can get a better look. It looks like they're rushing my mother somewhere. The hospital most likely.

Even in the chaos of being born, I noticed everything with uncomfortable clarity - each voice, each movement, as if my mind was desperately trying to process every microsecond of this traumatic experience. I'll save you the gory details. I was born and it was disgusting.

I have no clue how many months I was in there, but I'm way too small. I almost fit inside the palm of this doctor's hand. I think whatever I did with energy/chakra stuff inadvertently signaled my mom to go in labor.

The doctor shifts and something metallic catches the light. A metal plate on his forehead... something about it tugs at my memory. My mind refuses to process it at first, like trying to read a word that's too close to your eyes.

But then the image snaps into focus - a stylized leaf, a simple swirl with a stem at the top right.

No.

That's not just any leaf design.

My thoughts screech to a halt as time seems to crystallize around me. Every detail becomes razor-sharp: the worn edges of the metal, the familiar scratches that all shinobi headbands seem to collect, the way the fluorescent lights reflect off the engraved symbol of Konohagakure - the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

A hysterical laugh tries to bubble up in my tiny throat. Of all the worlds, of all the places to be reborn...

My adult mind calculated the political implications of being a chakra-sensitive newborn, but my infant body just wanted to curl up and hide. The fear response was... uncomfortably authentic. No amount of strategic planning could override a baby's instinct to seek safety. Perhaps the body remembered something the mind wanted to forget - the vulnerability of being truly helpless.

Especially if they rush me away from my parents? presumably? As my line of sight allows, I see my mother and time starts to slow. Well I know for a fact which ones my mom because I can sense her warm solid chakra. Mom's chakra was an open book - warm and solid like sun-warmed stone, with undertones of steel that spoke of her inner strength.

The man beside her... is Shikaku Nara. That means my mom is Yoshino Nara. The implications of this are profound. Was I born in place of Shikamaru? Is he my brother? Younger? Older?

Shikaku's my dad. His chakra aura feels... layered. On the surface, it's fuzzy and warm, like a deer's winter coat - protective, comfortable. But beneath that flows something deeper...

I strain to focus sharper on him, my tiny brow furrowing with effort. I get the sense he's not trying to hide from me, but there's a depth that requires more focus...

I see/feel a network of sharp, precise edges of tactical brilliance.

Beneath that... it seems like a barrier of some kind. I focus with a force of will... a physical manifestation of void made as a shadow barrier. And at its core... there's a steady burn, not flashy like a bonfire, but enduring like banked coals, ready to flare at any threat to what he protects. A true Konoha jonin's chakra - the Will of Fire wrapped in Nara pragmatism.

The medical-nin's chakra showed professional calm on the surface, but everything below felt like looking through foggy glass - I could make out movement and a teal glow, but the details escaped me.

In all my past life's consumption of Naruto media, I'd pictured them like the anime - slightly cartoonish, with exaggerated expressions and simplified features. But Shikaku's face... it was unsettlingly human. Every pore, every scar, the subtle asymmetry that all real faces have. His eyes weren't large anime pools, but actual human eyes with depth and complexity that no animation could capture.

The reality hit me harder than any philosophical implications of reincarnation - these weren't characters anymore. They were people. Real, breathing people who could bleed and die. And knowing their potential futures felt less like plot knowledge and more like a horrible burden.

Why am I being taken away? I tried to rationalize it, I lived a full life, didn't I? This shouldn't affect me. But this body, this tiny, fragile form, it knew better. Each cell screamed for my mother's presence, and no amount of adult logic could quiet that primal need. I focused on analyzing my chakra instead. Much safer than examining that feeling.

Well it looks like the Doctor or medical-nin has placed me in a room with a little hospital crib and has the lights real low. Wonder if this is the procedure for premature babies. I wonder if that's going to be a problem for me. Premature babies have a high mortality rate...

My adult mind wanted to methodically experiment with chakra, but my infant body had other ideas. Every muscle trembled with the need to be held, to be comforted. I redirected that desperate energy into chakra control, a logical solution to an emotional problem. Just like I'd always done, even in my past life.

I focused on the chakra flowing through my body and direct it to the surface of my skin. I studied the sensation. The chakra feels like a warm shower spreading over the surface of my tiny body. At first it's uneven. Like I'm holding a large vase of water while balancing on a pogo stick and the water keeps tipping out. As I start to balance it there's still gaps, but this seems like one of those tasks where the majority is fairly easy to get nailed down, but perfecting it will take significantly longer.

There, it's not perfect, but it feels like a barrier. Like a second skin. I imagine this is what a wet suit would feel like, but less restrictive. Should help regulate my temperature and maybe protect from some germs or bacteria.

I do feel like I'm short of breath, maybe my lungs are underdeveloped. I'll focus chakra to my lungs to try to help... The feeling is unsettling. The flowing nature of chakra filling my lungs triggers my little body into a coughing fit as the chakra gives my lungs the sensation of drowning. I pull back the chakra until my body is acclimated to it. I'm feeling like my breath is becoming deeper. I lose time as I focus on the balance of chakra.

As if waking up from a day dream, I refocus and realize I can take deep long breaths now. I wonder if the chakra will help them develop faster too.

When the medical-nin approached with the bottle, my analytical plans about chakra control seemed to evaporate. This body knew what it needed, and for once, I didn't fight it. The desperate gulping was undignified, but then again, what part of being reborn was dignified?

I tried to slow down drinking the milk, but it was like my perception kept shifting - one moment the bottle seemed endless, the next it was suddenly empty. My brain seemed to be processing time in irregular bursts, like a faulty video player.

Oh good the medical-nin's back with another bottle. Which I proceeded to guzzle almost as fast as the first bottle. My body craved more. I wasn't full, but my mind struggled to picture where it's all going. I think if I keep focusing on using my chakra I'll survive, even though using it got me in this mess in the first place.

As long as I don't run out of chakra, I should be fine... though my eyes are getting heavy...

-oOoOo-

As the medical-nins rushed around me, their movements seemed to blur and then crystallize with strange clarity. Was this just infant perception, or was my chakra already affecting how my brain processed time?

Medical-nins and nurses crowd around me, their chakra signatures flickering with controlled panic. My analytical mind noted their professional efficiency, while my infant body screamed in terror at each gasping breath. Death shouldn't feel this familiar in a new life...

It seems I was unable to maintain breathing with my incomplete lungs while I was asleep. I don't even know how much time has passed since I was born. I should see if I can fix that on my end somehow. My guess is that the part of my brain that regulates breathing while I'm asleep is underdeveloped. It's kind of surprising that I'm fitting almost 40 years of a past life in here, but can't remember to breathe when I'm asleep. Well maybe that's some spirit/soul woo stuff. Hard to be completely dismissive of it given that I was actually reincarnated with all my memories.

Anyways, it did seem to help when I focused my chakra on areas but focusing chakra on the brain could be pretty risky, but not as risky as another nap without breathing. I began to focus chakra to my brain very slowly. Upon really drawing attention to my brain, I found that I already had much more chakra there than I was channeling. Am I missing memories? Have I already damaged something? Or maybe babies normally experience brown outs.

Channeling more chakra to my mind, it feels distinctly different from when channeled in other places. Besides the normal flowing warmth of chakra that it always has, there's a tingle. Like putting your tongue on top of a 9 volt battery. The chakra isn't making noise, but still feels like it's buzzing.

At first I kept the chakra spread out and then did a little experimenting where I slightly increase chakra in certain areas. I could feel differences but they were so alien that I'd have to play around with a bunch to figure out what those feelings or results mean. However when I started to focus chakra on the part of the brain just above the spinal cord. I could feel my breathing become more automatic. I channeled more chakra to that area and my breathe became even more even. I have a feeling I could do permanent damage if I overloaded my brain with chakra.

As my thoughts drifted I unconsciously channeled more chakra to my brain and I swear it sounded like the clock on the wall started to tick slower. The implications were staggering, but my infant body had simpler priorities - the medical-nin was approaching with another bottle.

Some battles weren't worth fighting. At least the milk would help me grow stronger, and I had a feeling I'd need every advantage in the years to come. After all, I had just discovered three things:

I could manipulate time with chakra,
I was born into a world of child soldiers, and worst of all...
I was going to have to survive being a Nara.

troublesome.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2. Time to Think

I woke up in the medical crib to the rhythmic beeping and chirping of medical machines. Monitors scrolling with sensor data. The sweet scent of formula overpowered by the antiseptic hospital smell.

Thankfully there was little fanfare, mainly there wasn't a crowd diligently trying to work my little lungs. From that I concluded that my physiological needs have been temporarily met, mainly health. Hopefully there's no other hurdles with my tiny underdeveloped body. The couple medic-nin checking monitors and running tests. Occasionally blocking the fluorescent lights above as they check over me. As I focus my chakra sense on the medic-nin. I get an outer warmth of protection as if swaddled. However, though is fuzzy there's a slight coldness of clinical decisiveness under the surface.

My body becomes fussy or irritated at times. Sometimes from a medic-nin placing a cold instrument on my skin or poking with a needle. In these moments, my perception quickens and time noticeably slows. Beeps and voices noticeably drop in pitch like the sound of slow-mo in movies. Individual smells seam easier to pick up on, presumably from being able to focus on the smell of individual molecules. Small and quick movements of chakra are easier to sense.

-o-

As my tiny body lay helpless in this hospital. I attempted to do what I do best. Plan.

I closed my eyes and brought my thoughts internally to get my mental bearings. Ideally I could determine what version of this Naruto world I'm in.

If my presence is the only difference in this Naruto universe, then my knowledge of relative future events becomes much more valuable. On the other hand, this could be an alternate universe (AU) where it has completely different history, reality or that diverges in some future point.

I opened my eyes searching the room as if to find anything that could determine the version of reality I'm in.

"Where's the version number of this build, anybody know?"

In my attempt to ask the world for the patch notes, my little body made gurgling noises.

As if to respond to my gurgle, a medic-nin looked over saying "Aww, aren't you the cutest". I could tell by their eyes that they were smiling behind their face mask.

Anyways, back to my hypothesizing.

Some AUs had the summon location on a different plane of existence rather than being able to walk to them. Other's had basic jutsus available at the common library, some required ninja ranks, and then still others horded everything in their respective clans. In canon, many ninja had special abilities they focused on that weren't said to be bloodline limits, like Rasengan, Sai's ink. While in some AUs, ninja's had specialized in jutsu creation or hacking to modify what currently exists.

Worse yet, possibly worst would be that this is a narrative driven world. Where no matter my actions, major conflicts will be thrust upon me for the sake of drama. Am I literally a character in a story doomed to traumatic events for other's entertainment? No, I can't think about that, it makes no difference at this time.

For that and many other concerns, I have no way to know until I find something that diverges from what I know as canon or reality.

Troublesome.

-o-

I began reflecting on the alternatives to my Nara birth, and each thought made me more grateful for my current situation.

The Nara clan's reputation was... manageable. Lazy men and strong-willed women? Hmm... considering my appreciation for intellectual equals and independent partners, this was practically optimal.

The Hyuga, though... that analysis sparked immediate rejection. Their rigid hierarchy and obsession with appearance masked something darker - the systematic enslavement of their own family members through cursed seals. The Byakugan's near 360 degree vision would be fascinating to study, but not worth the psychological cost of growing up in what amounted to a carefully maintained caste system.

The Uchiha presented an interesting case study in timing. Setting aside the potential impending massacre, their perfect visual recall via Sharingan was a double edged sword. Every trauma, every loss, preserved in perfect clarity forever. Though objectively powerful, the psychological implications were... concerning. The source of their infamous pride remained an interesting question. Was it genetic predisposition or cultural conditioning?

A civilian birth? The data suggested limited options. Restricted chakra access, limited economic mobility, and disturbingly high chances of being acquired by ROOT for their "recruitment" program. Though... hmm... the possibility of developing chakra-enhanced technology from a civilian perspective had interesting implications.

I found myself categorizing the various similarities of village brutality. ROOT's systematic destruction of emotion. The Bloody Mist's graduation massacres. Standard execution protocols for failed missions. From that perspective, Danzo's ROOT doesn't seem objectively worse.

The Nara clan's shadows were looking more appealing with each comparison.

-o-

The technology level was... inconsistent. They had computers and television, yet used messenger birds. Advanced medical equipment, but medieval-style warfare tools. The contradiction nagged at my scientific mindset until a thought struck me - I was viewing their technology all wrong.

This wasn't a world that failed to advance past kunai and shuriken. This was a world where chakra became their primary technological revolution.

Think about it: Why develop long-range radio when you can send messages instantly via summons? Why build tanks when a single ninja could level them? Why pursue robotics when you could animate objects directly?

Hmm... but that raised interesting possibilities. If chakra had supplanted certain technological paths, what about combining both? Our world pushed electronics to their limits because we had no choice. But here...

I focused chakra through my tiny body, feeling its flow. This wasn't just magic - it was energy that could be measured, directed, enhanced. A tool that could be studied with scientific rigor. And unlike our world's technology, it was built into every cell.

The medical monitors beeped steadily, tracking my vital signs. Current tools augmented by chakra healing. But what if we went further? Chakra-enhanced computers? Seals that could process information? Neural interfaces that...

My infant body hiccupped, interrupting my grand plans for technological revolution. Right. First priority: survive being premature. Then maybe tackle combining science and chakra without accidentally creating a singularity.

Still... fascinating research potential.

-o-

In some magic systems there's a focus on visualization and for many the primary focus. If you couldn't visualize something, you couldn't perform it. Curious if this would be a permanent barrier for those with aphantasia? Maybe a topic for further research.

For now though, I had a mindscape to create.

I attempted to channel chakra into an abstract space of thought and attempted to place my memories there. It felt like trying to build a dream from scratch. The energy dissipated. Hmm... perhaps too abstract.

On a whim I thought maybe this is all a simulation.

Run Mindscape... Nothing.
If (mind.hasChakra == true) { mindScape.initialize(); } ... Nothing.

Apparently this universe doesn't run on command line or JavaScript.

I tried guiding my chakra to a mental space that already exists... it felt like my chakra would hit walls or boundaries inside my own mind. I slowly tried to trace the outside the outside. I lost track of how long I was trying. An image of a gigantic dial combination lock appeared in my mind with the dial slowly turning. The dial hitched, like hitting the right number. My body instantly recoiled in fear. It was an overwhelming intensity as if I drew the attention of something beyond me. Like the abyss staring into me or with the intensity of the eye of Sauron.

I decided I'll pursue a different tack as I'm not ready for whatever that was.

Let's see, how did they learn the mindscape in the show. Wasn't it meditation? You need to clear your thoughts to do that right? I don't think I've ever had less than 3 thoughts in my head at any given time, but let's try it out.

...

...

...

The thought that if aphantasia can't do things requiring visualization, maybe the opposite is true. If a mindscape requires a clear mind, then maybe I can't perform it. The meditation didn't seem to do anything, but maybe I still need practice. For now I'll give something else a shot.

I visualized how my memories are connected. Starting from one memory, branching to 2, then 4, then 16. I slowly crawled the web of my mind.

I began to see the larger picture, it was indeed a web as in a network, but... it has a pattern. The weave of my mind. The topological structure of my consciousness.

From this big picture view, it's easier to evenly distribute my chakra. I could feel the electrical flow of my chakra through the neural pathways. It was as if I hit a threshold and it was like falling into a dream, but with total awareness.

I felt as though I was the one being materialized in a space that has always existed. It was my mindscape, and the first sensation was pure nostalgia - that distinct library smell. Old paper and wooden shelves with the hint of vanilla from the bindings.

I found myself sitting in a meditative stance uncomfortably on what I expected to be the floor, but was layers of haphazardly strewn books creating an uneven surface beneath me. Every fidget causing mini avalanches of thumping and flopping books from the unstable slopes around me.

I'm not usually claustrophobic, but this tiny room felt more like a prison cell. What little room existed was drowning in books. The one wall I could see the top of had overflowing bookshelves. As for the other walls, books blocked their visibility as more than half of the presumed room size was filled with books.

Is this a representation of my cluttered thoughts or the result of too many memories in too small a vessel?

Am I a hoarder of data? Would I have to purge memories to make room for new ones? The thought of destroying experiences that made up my past life feels like destroying part of that life. Maybe I can compress the data somehow?

I picked up the nearest book. It was slightly damaged and worn paperback with a cover that simply had the title '2015-03-24'. I flipped it open and it began to describe that day in my life however there was faded text that was harder to read as if representing forgotten memories. As I read the surrounding text it started to repopulate the text that was fading. It seems I can refresh my stale memories by reviewing and remembering them.

However, having a separate book for each day is not ideal for organization.

I spent time examining a variety of books and began to see commonalities. There were some books that were not simply titled with the date. These were books that were well-worn where I had painstakingly organized my thoughts on given topics. Technical skills were in thick textbooks.

I picked up one of the programming books, not surprisingly half the text was troubleshooting best practices: 'Step 1: check logs Step 2: restart it'

The memories that formed from my brief time in this world were represented a little differently. They manifested as unblemished scrolls that seemed to have been imbued with chakra. Interesting - It seems with a body that has a chakra network memories are stored differently.

I unfurled one of the scrolls and it listed the few words I've heard in this world. Mainly Japanese represented in vertical lines. My thoughts written next to it in English as subtext.

With intention I decide that I will compress the books that are raw data dumps of days into an archive. This will remove the redundancy, but allow recovery of the specifics if I need it someday. I bring into existence a filing cabinet to represent the archive. I take each of the books representing each given day and disassemble it to be archived.

At first this process is slow, but I start to get better at it. Once I've got the knack for it the visualization of this archiving looks as though I spaghettify the books and draw the relevant noodles of data to their respective folders in the filing cabinet.

On completion of compression and archiving the filing cabinet has folders organizing dates, tags, and topics used as metadata for the raw data contained within. I also can finally see the floor. Wooden boards that seem to squeak no matter how you step on them. A ninja floor indeed.

The 'topic' books get their own bookshelf. As I organize the 'topic' books I find one labeled Naruto. Opening to a random page. The left page shows a summary of a specific episode, while the right page shows an animated video of that episode. That may definitely come in handy.

Beside that bookshelf, I think into existence a scroll shelf to hold and organize the newer memories of this world.

I know that one of the first things I'll need to do is learn the rest of Japanese. I think I had a topic book for that started. With that book I start to fill out and decipher more words by filling in the blanks from past memories. I especially leverage the recent scrolls with Japanese text and pronunciation/phonetics.

I'm snapped out of my focus and back to the real world as my mouth heavily salivates. My body happily informs me there's more milk to be had.

Fascinating how I've organized my vast knowledge and memories thoroughly, yet my highest priority alert system is still "milk goes in mouth hole."

Chapter Text

Chapter 3. Deer Scarer

I was startled out of my sleep as I felt a sharp pain in my thigh. In my panic, time seemed to freeze as if it was for the sole purpose of allowing me to experience this sharp pain more intensely. As my eyelids slowly opened I impatiently waited to see the cause of my suffering. It felt like an eternity, but it couldn't have been more than a second before I could see.

One of the med-nin were giving me a shot. Though I found the source of my pain, my body wailed as it was still worked up in confusion and fear.

As I became more relaxed time seemed to return to normal.

My body's wail dying down to a whimper as the med-nin reassures and comforts me. My mind torn between being insulted and appreciative. This certainly is a precarious predicament.

-o-

I reflected on my blessed/cursed time perception ability.

On the one hand I was cursed.

Cursed with little control of it's activation. Cursed with coughing fits by slight slow downs in time interrupting my normally rhythmic breathing patterns. Cursed with spells of vertigo as my brain processes events faster than it takes my inner ear to send signals for external changes.

Cursed with any pain receptor signal seeming to last ten times longer than it takes my body to handle the offending cause of the signal. Everything from the sting in my eyes for needing to blink to an itch that my little body struggles to reach.

Cursed with needing to relearn how to do almost everything while this ability was active. Every sense had distinct side effects. Some that were small adjustments, but others that felt like it might make mastery near impossible.

On the other hand I was blessed.

Blessed with the power to subjectively slow down time.

Who wouldn't want to subjectively live longer or have more time to make decisions. Who wouldn't want more time to cherish a memory by focusing on every detail as it occurs.

Every miniscule molecule of smell noted.
Every individual visual update from rods and cones as it's processed.
Every opportunity to divide out vibrations into their respective sounds.
Every haptic signal given sufficient attention.
Every flavor discerned.
And additionally every personality perceived through chakra.

Of course all of the above would require mastery, but something to shoot for. Really I've already begun.

I contemplate the last time my time perception ability activated. In the very beginning it's like time stops, but that doesn't last long. Then time still feels slow as if 2 seconds pass for every one second of real time. Though it only lasts for a short while, like 5 seconds of real time. Perceiving twice as fast as normal is no joke, but I wonder if I can improve it even more.

I should come up with a cool name for it and catalog it's properties:

Overclocked Cognition (quick think) - Nosoku no Jutsu (Nōsoku, 脳速) Brain Speed Technique:
-Fight or Flight Activation:
-Perception and thought rate: 2 seconds per 1 second real time (2x speed)
-Duration: 5 seconds real time
-Cooldown: Unknown
-Side Effects: Headaches, hunger

-o-

I was again pulled from my thoughts by a compulsion of comfort and protection. My body fidgeted with uncontained anticipation of being held by its mother.

My new parents have come for a visit. I guess I have to come to terms with the fact these are my parents now and drop the new or second parents thing. Not only because this is my new reality but if I keep framing things like that I'll probably eventually slip and that could have very bad consequences.

I could only pick out a few words that were discussed between my parents and the medic-nin. They were "feed", "milk", and "home".

Considering we're not home yet, I'm guessing they are seeing if I'm stable enough for "traditional milk". If that all goes well maybe that means I can leave this medical room?

Focusing my chakra senses to my mother I again was confronted with a warmth that surpassed mere words. Though to describe a fraction of it; it was like the outer warmth of a blanket, warmed by fire stones combined with inner warmth of a cup of tea.

Turning to my father, even his warmth was more pronounced than before. Like resting my head on a peaceful fuzzy animal, feeling the warmth of it's skin while hearing its steady calming breath.

As my mother swaddled me in her arms and fed me. My father was speaking to me. I could only pick out a few words.

"-you're going to make it, Shikatsu."

-o-

I was finally leaving the hospital room. My mother carrying me in cloth beside my father. Upon leaving the building, my body experienced sensory overload from the tumultuous bustling city. The shock triggered my hyper perception giving me some time to reflect on each of my senses.

The seemingly unending aisles of buildings and shops with the strong midday sun beaming down from above. The crunching of gravel under hundreds of feet. The dozens of overlapping conversations. The contrasting smells of food courts and markets.

After I got my senses under control, something caught my attention. The plateau like cliff with faces chiseled into them. Hokage Rock with only 3 faces, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

That points to it being before Naruto's born, though they could have taken a while to add the fourth Hokage's face.

In front of that, a giant cylindrical like building with two slightly smaller cylindrical buildings jutting attached to the sides. Hokage mansion.

The architecture was unique. A lot of buildings had a similar build to earth, flat vertical walls forming a rectangle with slanted roofs. However, many of the buildings were circular. Large cylindrical walls with wide wooden planks used for roofing. Some of the cylindrical homes had smaller second floors that were also cylindrical, like short silos.

Another unique element of the architecture is how the piping seem to be haphazardly draped across the roofing. With some more sensible piping around the lip of the roofs connecting to others running horizontally on walls.

We eventually made our way to my parents home. My new home. My mother laid a blanket down in what I assume is the living room and laid beside me. Shortly after, my father laid on the other side. It seems my parents may have taken the day off as they stayed like that for most of the day. Talking, smiling, joking and occasionally bickering.

My body loved the attention as its two most important people in the world doted over me. My mind was busy memorizing every spoken word to help with learning the language.

While I listen to my parents go back and forth, I notice a pattern where my father commonly answers with a single muttered word. I infer based on the tone and consistent use that it's a very specific word. I begin to wonder if Nara baby's learn to speak this word first. Of course that word being...

Troublesome.

As interesting as those quirks are, there's also an atmosphere of concern and worry. I can't make out if it's about me specifically, the family, or something bigger.

My mother made her way to the kitchen and pulled out a scroll that I saw she was given from the medic-nin while we were still at the hospital. She unrolled the scroll and then applied chakra. There was a puff of smoke and a stack of boxes appeared over the scroll. The stock reached to the ceiling with a couple of the boxes labelled "milk formula".

My mind reflected on this information as simply a useful data point. However, my body upon understanding this fact cooed in anticipation.

-o-

During the nights I studied and experimented with chakra. I mainly use my chakra to practice my perception speed.

I began my nightly ritual of focusing chakra in my brain. Over the nights of practice, it's becoming easier and it feels as though time is slowing around me after each session. There were no clocks in my room, but thankfully my parents had shishi-odoshi in the small garden outside the house.

If you're not familiar, a shishi-odoshi is a short bamboo stalk on a hinge that fills up with water causing it to become top heavy, tip and empty out in fixed intervals. When it tips down from becoming top heavy it makes a distinct *thunk* noise from the hollow bamboo. Fun fact, "shishi-odoshi" means "scare deer." Slightly ironic given the Nara's predilection for deer, but I guess even the Nara want to keep some of their garden free from them.

So in absence of a clock, this gave me fixed intervals that I could test how fast I was perceiving.

When I focus on slowing time relatively, it seems to barely slow, which makes it hard to judge how fast I'm perceiving. However, if I had to guess it's about 20% faster than normal. Put another way for every 5 seconds that pass, I feel as though 6 seconds have passed.

Intentionally activating does not yet have a strong effect, but I can hold it for significantly longer. It feels like I can hold it for about 30 minutes of real time before I begin to run low on chakra.

I need to add the manual activation to my mental catalogue of abilities:

Overclocked Cognition (quick think) - Nosoku no Jutsu (Nōsoku, 脳速) Brain Speed Technique:
-Manual Activation:
-Perception and thought rate: 1.2 seconds per 1 second real time (1.2x speed)
-Duration: 30 minutes real time (due to lack of chakra or physical energy, not inherent in the ability)
-Cooldown: None
-Side Effects: Peckish

After my training and experimentation I retreat to my mindscape for reflection and organize memories. Some nights I somehow manage to stay in my mind palace during sleep as if I'm able to lucid dream and use that time productively. My mind palace has slowly grown as I have. It now resembles a large library room.

-o-

Though the nights were memorable, the days were fulfilling with so much of the culture to learn. I would focus on learning the language and acquiring information. I mentally reviewed some of the more notable details.

My name is Shikatsu Nara.
Shikatsu (死活) means life and death.
My parents are Shikaku Nara and Yoshino Nara.
I'm no longer the size of a rodent and am resembling the size of a normal human baby, if not slightly smaller.
Physically, my body is 6 months old.
I understand about half of the language.
I'm born before Naruto.

I attempted to think of any important facts as my mother carried me through the streets. As my body was just happy to be nestled up against it's mother, I was more concerned about hearing the conversations between the villagers at the market stalls we were passing.

I catch the end of a sentence partly from noises in the crowd, but mostly because I don't know the language perfectly.

"-White Fang's fault-" a husky man says in frustration to a thin older woman.

The older woman leans over her food stand and glances around conspiringly. In a nervous whisper I can only make out "-means war-".

As I study my mother's face and chakra, I can feel the unease and anxiety. With my chakra sensing I can get an overall vibe of the village and it paints a vivid picture. It's the feeling of losing balance at the edge of a cliff. While that alone only feels unnerving, up higher on this metaphorical mountain, an avalanche has begun.

The emotional weight puts my body in a daze and my body grips my mother tighter and lets out a small whimper.

-o-

Before I know it we're back home and Mother sets me down in the living room and I struggle to recollect my thoughts.

White fang, that was Kakashi's father. I remember he chose his teammates over an important mission and the village hated him for it. It was said that it was the catalyst for the third shinobi war.

...

That means I've been born before the third shinobi war, but presumably too late to stop it. Definitely positives and negatives to this time period. The double edged sword of being able to prevent some terrible things with the risk of making them worse...

I contemplate potential actions or worse letting preventable calamities happen for the hope of "staying on the best timeline". Like not pulling the lever on a trolly about to run people over for fear that there's unseen people on the other track.

The downstream effects are too chaotic to try to thread a needle from years before they happen.

I muse about all those fanfics that fret about not wanting anything to change. I admit it is tempting, but I know my presence alone already throws the proverbial wrench in the plans.

Well you know what they say-

'If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball?'

Well I was actually going to say - when life throws a wrench, catch it and start buildin...

Wait, who said that?

Chapter Text

Chapter 4. I'm not locked in here with You, We're locked in here with Us

That means I've been born before the third shinobi war, but presumably too late to stop it. I muse about all those fanfics that fret about not wanting anything to change. I admit it is tempting, but I know my presence alone already throws the proverbial wrench in the plans.

Well you know what they say-

'If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball?'

Well I was actually going to say, pick up the wrench and start buildin...

Wait who said that?

'I think you've been calling me body. Oh body's crying again, oh body's hungry again, oh body wants to feel the comfort of his mother again. troublesome.'

...

'If it wasn't clear I was mocking you.'

Yeah, I got that vibe. To be fair, I kind of thought I was alone in here.

'Yeah I know, I see our memories too. That's how i quoted that one movie, fascinating the world you came from'

Hmm, so you can read all my memories? Is this a split personality from trauma or are you the true Shikatsu and I'm just here from the Reincarnation? I wonder if it was due to accelerating growth of the brain with chakra or from creating the mindscape? So, on the one hand I can see massive advantage with 2 minds as it's better than one, but the logistics for control and purpose could get messy if our goals diverge. What do you think?

'I understand you're reincarnated and a lot older, but I'm 6 months old. If it wasn't for all the memories in our head I'd still be drooling on the carpet.'

...

'Ok, we currently are drooling on the carpet, but you know what I mean.'

'My point being that I've been mostly molded by your memories. If it's a nature vs nurture question, I guess there's the slight chance that my decisions might be molded more by Nara sentiments than you would. You have that quote in your memories that a motivated Nara is something to fear. I'd probably be a lot less motivated if you didn't exist. However based on your memories, even a Nara would prepare accordingly. What a drag.'

Yeah, I had a feeling you might say that. How about this, our name remains Shikatsu, your name in here will be Shika, and my name in here will be Tsu?

'That works, not sure how necessary it will be when it's just us two in here.'

Yeah, also the fact that we're not fighting over control of our limbs might mean we're not fully separate minds. It seems like we're sharing the part of our brain that sends messages to move the limbs. Fascinating case for exploring the blurred boundaries of individual consciousness.

'Well yeah, I agree it does seem like we're aligned for most of our actions, but those moments where you talk about body wanting something... I felt separate from you and in control in a different way.'

Huh, those moments felt identical to an unsuppressed emotional impulse in my past life, so I thought it was completely normal.

I understand our condition is atypical, but it points to the possibility that emotional impulses are the expression of an identity that would otherwise be locked in from external expression. Concerning and fascinating...

All that aside, I'm going to address us as me as I see you as part of me. If you've read my memories you know my view of sharing memories. I believe it's true communication that allows solidarity between thinking creatures. I of course did not choose to be here, but want to give you every option of autonomy possible.

'Yeah I know, I get it. Putting aside all your unresolved conflicting viewpoints, I'm on your side. Despite my prodigious nature and your decades of memories, I'm still very affected by the emotions of our body. I don't know if somehow you're a fully chakra, mental, or spiritual mind? That could explain you being less affected. Maybe it's simply that your more connected to those decades of memories than I am.'

'Either way, we'll work together, but I'll continue to embrace those emotional moments. Besides, those may be the only moments that we display an iota of normalcy to the others around us.'

Deal. Even if you're in control in those moments, I'll stop otherizing by saying it's my body and just say it's me and it's implied that it's us.

-o-

I find myself again laying on the living room floor, but this time with a bottle in my mouth.

I practically vacuum the milk out of my second bottle. Yoshino seamlessly trades it out with a full third one and goes back to refill the second bottle. Before I know it, I'm half way done with the third bottle. Shikaku studies me.

"Where does he put it all? If he keeps this up he's going to eat us out of a home." Shikaku drawls.

"Oh stop, he's a growing boy. Besides, he needs to make up for those 2 missed months!" Yoshino retorts.

"Troublesome."

"Oh by the way, did you hear that Shikafufu wants to meet him?" Yoshino inquires.

"Already?" Shikaku complains.

"What do you mean already, he's his grandpa. Of course he wants to meet him." Yoshino unconvincingly offers.

"That's not all it is and you know it." Shikaku toothlessly bites back.

"Well, there's no doubting how exceptional he is, even for a Nara. Might as well get it over with." Yoshino proudly declares.

"I just want to give him more time." Shikaku states with concern.

I couldn't help but feel slightly unsettled by the ominous undertones. If it's as simple as concerns about not having a childhood experience, then that's understandable. However Shikaku, a prominent Nara, openly showing concern does not bode well for things to come.

-o-

I find myself on the shoulders of Shikaku, my dad of this world. As we leave our home to travel through the village.

"Shikatsu, you're going to meet Grandpa Shikafufu today. Don't feel pressured to perform for him okay?" Shikaku urges me.

"Mmh" I mumble in agreement.

We made our way to a gated compound with the Nara symbol on it. I actually didn't know there was a compound. There's a few other Nara that live next to us, so it's not just our family that lives outside it, maybe the Compound is just for meetings?

As we made our way inside, I could get a feel for what some of the buildings were used for. Some buildings in front were administrative for handling visitors, filing requests or permissions. To the sides looked to be resident housing. So some Nara do live here. Other rooms were modeled after traditional Japanese style with thin sliding walls with wooden decks and curved peaked roofs. One room showed a couple of people sparring taijutsu. Another was empty with a large meeting table in it. Passed that we came upon a small room with a shogi board in the center with 2 pillows on the sides. One of the pillows had an old Nara man. The old man had spiked white hair with a receding hairline, a white haired goatee and a cheerful smirk on his face. This must be my grandpa Shikafufu.

I focus my chakra sense to get a feel for what kind of man my grandpa is... It's like positivity, but underhanded. There's a warmth, a version of the Will of Fire. One moment you see distorted air from the rippling heat waves, the next moment your bound to the shadows formed by those same distortions of light. All that and he'll be laughing while he does it.

"Well if I'm not mistaken, this must be Shikatsu. Looks like a small breeze could blow you away!" Shikafufu chuckles and pinches my cheek. In response I give him an indignant glare and he just chuckles louder in response.

"Old man, this better not be what I think it is." Demands Shikaku.

"Don't be nonsensical, I just wanted to see my new grandson and play a game of Shogi. That's not too much to ask for, is it not?"

Grandpa Shikafufu started to play shogi with Shikaku while they sat on the pillows. I crawled up to the side of the board and watched with rapt attention. I knew the rules for chess but not for Shogi and was interested to learn.

As I did both of the men glanced at me. A large smile growing on Grandpa's face while a frown was developing on Shikaku's face. I understood my father was hesitant for me to be around Grandpa, but wasn't exactly sure why. Dad's words were "Don't feel pressured" and I definitely don't feel pressured so it's fine right?

pa-chink
"Did you hear about Kiri?" Asks Shikafufu.
pa-chink
"I hear a lot about a lot of places. What specifically?" Asks Shikaku.
pa-chink
"Don't be nonsensical."
pa-chink
"Yeah. War. It was bound to happen."
pa-chink
"You're not wrong. Don't you think we shouldn't procrastinate?"
pa-chink
"It's too soon. You know how I feel about this."
pa-chink
"Delaying won't help."

I could hear their words, but I wasn't really listening, I was focused on the board. In my mental focus I unknowingly activated the manual Overclocked Cognition as I studied the board. The different pieces. The presumed valid moves. The strategies being initialized and executed. The mental model of both of the men mentally modeling the other in each step.

Grandpa Shikafufu turned to me to drop something into my hand...

I laid open my palm to receive his gift and furled my brow in confusion and curiosity...

A small piece of paper started to drop into my hand. My sped up perception contemplated what was happening. Is this a test? Does this have something to do with what Shikaku didn't want me to perform for Shikafufu? The paper tugs at some memories for Naruto... Is this chakra paper?

The paper seemed to float down in slow motion. As soon as it touched the skin of my palm, the paper crinkled.

I immediately stopped channeling Overclocked Cognition and guiltily looked at Dad.

As if amplifying everyone's moods. The already present smile on Shikafufu's face stretched to an even wider smug grin while Shikaku's frown turned to a defeated scowl.

"Not unexpected!" Shikafufu chuckled triumphantly.
pa-chink

-o-

Yoshino glares over at Shikaku stating "You've been moping around ever since you've got back from visiting Shikafufu. Get over it."

Yoshino picks me up and sits down on the couch and bounces me on her lap questioning "What do you think Shikatsu, is daddy being a grumpy pants?"

"Can you say daddy's a grumpy pants?"

I (mostly Shika) tries to respond with a big grin "dagraptpffsha".

Shikaku sighs saying "Troublesome."

I give another shot at speaking: "...tubbasum"

Yoshino's face lit up with glee shouting "My baby's first word!" and squeezing me in a warm hug.

Yoshino's joy is so infectious that I'm compelled to join in her happiness saying "tubbasum tubbasum tubbasum!"

A small smile forms on Shikaku's face saying "Of course that's his first word."

Shika was riding a high from that positive reinforcement. I (we) spent the rest of the day attempting to say whatever popped in our heads barely stopping to take a breath. At the end even I was annoyed with me (us).

-o-

The next day I was rolling around in the living room occasionally mumbling words. I see Yoshino bend down to unfurl a storage scroll in the living room. I watch with giddy excitement and unbridled curiosity.

"It's too soon for all that." Shikaku grumbles in exasperation.

"Nonsense he's already crawling and he needs something to occupy himself. Besides you know what Shikafufu said, Enchu wants to know as soon as possible." retorts Yoshino.

"You're all conspiring against me."

As the storage scroll is activated, there's a puff of smoke and a variety of toys appear on top of the scroll.

I crawled over to study the items as my mom hovered over the open scroll expectantly.

Identifying each item, there was:
-Colorful building blocks with ninja symbols.
-String.
-Wooden kunai with dull tips.
-Paper, brushes and colorful ink.
-Book with a large kanji on the left and a pictograph similar to the kanji on the right.
-Book of Katas for Taijutsu.
-and a Shogi board.

I grabbed the storage scroll itself and looked for the kanji inscribed on it. Around the center of the scroll is kanji arranged in a circle. I then grabbed the book with the kanji on it to identify the kanji on the scroll.

"Has that ever happened before?" Yoshino questions.

Shikaku's face showing a complicated mixture of pride and concern answered with the only thing that could sum up his feelings: "...Troublesome."

-o-

The book cover had the kanji 止 with the label "SHI" under it. To the right is a picture that is presented in a style that mimics the kanji. The scene is with a Shinobi Police holding his arm out in a stopping gesture with a person in the distance to the left. A clever children's book that shows pictures for what kanjis mean while doubling as a mnemonic device.

Opening up the book, I eventually was able to find some of the kanji with a scene describing their meaning.
-囲 meaning surround, which was a combination of 囗 meaning enclose and 井 meaning well.
-宙 meaning space.
-橋 meaning bridge.
-包 meaning package.
-梱 meaning packing or wrapping.
-材 meaning material.
-気 meaning energy, spirit, or life force.
-力 meaning power or energy.
-印 meaning mark or seal.
-物 meaning thing or object.

There were a few of the kanji on the storage scroll missing from the book. One kanji that was missing from the book showed up in multiple spots always preceding one of the kanji for energy. My guess with limited knowledge was that this kanji meant chakra. After figuring out almost all the kanji, I could mostly piece together what the scroll was trying to do:
1. Use chakra for power.
2. If mark exists, something is already stored in scroll so unwrap it using chakra. Otherwise do the rest of the steps.
3. Wrap object with chakra energy.
4. Enclose space to package object.
5. Bridge enclosed space to ???

The last step is unclear, but I think it's using the scroll as the entry and bridge to the enclosed space created by chakra.

I grabbed the paper, brushes, and ink to attempt to draw out a new storage scroll. Of course I'm not actually applying chakra to this new scroll, I'm just practicing my calligraphy. I don't know if all those fanfics with eldritch horrors from sealing failures are real, but I'd rather not test it.

After practicing the kanji from the storage scroll I went back to learning the other kanji from the book. I then practiced writing each kanji from the book. Good calligraphy should help with a variety things besides just sealing.

-o-

During the day I snuck some pieces of paper next to my bed and then at night I practiced sticking paper onto my forehead and hands. When I focus on my chakra sense I can vaguely feel where my chakra points are. Making it convenient to find where I might have the best luck getting paper to stick. I realize I'm kind of just venting my chakra out of all my chakra points.

At first I attempt to prevent the chakra from leaking out. I hold it for a small amount of time and once I released there was a sharp pain. I don't think it's a good idea to hold in my chakra. Either because my chakra system is undeveloped or the way I'm doing it is wrong. Instead of just trying to hold the chakra in I use it at the points I'm holding paper. If I push too hard the paper pushes off. If I don't push enough, the paper simply falls off. However if I'm pushing chakra out in the right amount it sticks.

I was able to stick the paper on my hands and feet, but still working on controlling the chakra points in other places like my head, torso, and limbs.

'Post-it no Jutsu!' Shika chimes in.

Very funny...

Chapter Text

Chapter 5. Speedrunning Child Development

If I'm to escape this living room, I'll need higher mobility, not to mention that walking will be a good milestone. My limbs feel exceptionally coordinated and strong this morning. I think it's time to try standing.

'At this rate we'll be flying before running. So much for Nara reputation of laziness.' Quips Shika.

I struggled to move this tiny body in ways it hasn't yet. from a crawling position, I bring one foot forward to plant it firmly on the ground. Then the next foot while my hands were still on the ground. I slowly leaned back and extended my legs getting into a standing position. My proportionally massive head threatens to topple me over with any slight imbalance.

Trying to keep balance from miniscule movements starts to become tedious. I manually activate Quick Think to give me some time to process everything. This does indeed give me some peace from constantly monitoring my balance allowing time to think. I can still feel the pressure against my legs, but the constant feedback from feeling like I'm going to fall seems to have stopped. As my body grows, it's getting easier to understand the feedback while in Quick Think.

In the time while I'm hyper focused on the changes of how my body feels after growing a little more. I realize I'm starting to fall backward, but it's more like zero g than falling. It's quite an alien sensation that I've never felt...

My balance is not telling me I'm falling!

As my anxiety reaches a threshold, the flight or fight version of Quick Think activates and I'm immediately flooded with the information from my inner ear that I'm falling. It feels like a geyser of chemicals flood my brain. A sharp spike of adrenaline and fear that one gets when they lose their footing next to a cliff, but instead of this feeling lasting a fraction of a second like normal, it feels like it will never end. The closest experience for this alien sensation is like the continuous sensation of the first moments of falling in a lucid dream. It's intense, surreal and uncomfortable.

I attempt to bend my legs and extend my arms to get low and counterbalance falling backward. In the state of slowed time, my body does not move as fast as my thoughts and the flood of overwhelming feelings continues. The slow speed at which my body moves feeling like paralysis only adds more fuel to the potent emotional turmoil.

The agonizing intensity of fear and anxiety continues to overwhelm me as gravity slowly brings me back into balance. My inner ear finally feels comfortable with the grounds position to my head and body. It stops flooding my brain with warnings.

That was the first time I've noticed a significant difference in functionality of the two versions of Quick Think. I thought it was just the rate of perception that was changed, but it seems as though there's more to it. My inner ear didn't seem to be sending signals to my brain during the manual activation of Quick Think. As soon as the stress (fight or flight) activation was triggered, I was flooded by signals from my inner ear. Maybe the stress activation applies chakra to my inner ear, and possibly more body parts, allowing them to function at the speed of the temporarily increased thought speed.

This perception speed ability has been present since my new birth. I'm surprised I haven't analyzed how it's functioning sooner. Granted a lot has been going on. It's definitely something to do with chakra, I might have to learn more about it before I can truly figure out what it's doing. However I can't help but think of possible ways chakra is increasing my perception speed:
-Is the chakra modifying the myelin sheath on neurons to increase signal speed? That may not explain speed ups outside the brain.
-Is it spatial manipulation to decrease the travel time of nerve signals? Seems feasible, but I don't even have an idea of how to to test that right now.
-Chakra is carrying information signals to get around laws of thermodynamics? Is chakra made of matter or waves? Can it be seen in a microscope?

So many things to investigate! I think to myself as a balance in a deep squat.

I muse over the implications of possible answers for my perception speed and chakra as a whole. My stress induced Quick Think wears off and I'm immediately assaulted with a sharp headache and a massive gurgle of my stomach.

Yoshino whips her head over from what she was doing in the kitchen when she hears the gurgle of my stomach. Her face lights up as she sees me balanced in a deep squat in the living room.

"Good job Shikatsu!" she exclaims as she swiftly walks around the kitchen counter to join me in the living room.
She crouches at the other end of the living room and gestures to walk to her saying "Come on! You can do it!"

I move my feet in a way that could barely be considered as baby steps as I slowly shuffle them forward. However Yoshino's infectious smile finally overtakes me with joy causing me to lean forward resulting in relatively large bounding steps. Like a particularly uncoordinated penguin, I clumsily make my way to my mother.

As I make it to her arms, she grabs me and lifts me up in a big hug congratulating me on my achievement. It's a shame baby's don't normally remember these moments of their childhood as they truly are something to cherish.

-o-

Yoshino takes me out with her to the garden in the backyard. She tends to the plants around the bamboo deer scarer (shishi-odoshi).

"Mommy, what that? what doing? why?" I ask vibrating with curiosity.

"These plants help make medicine for the village. I'm collecting samples that are ready and removing weeds."

Interesting - I hadn't considered the Nara clan's medical role.

"Why?"

"These plants are very delicate and require the right conditions. Harvesting early and clearing weeds helps them grow. Also the medicine helps people get better and is our duty as part of the Nara clan." Yoshino patiently answers.

I grab a clump of dirt in my tiny hand. I peer into it studying the different minerals and fibers as small bugs scurry away. I'm still caught off guard when confronted with the reality of this world. The amount of detail compares to earth. The seemingly endless causal chain from social interactions. The overall chaos of reality that no mere story could simulate.

"Why?"

"Alright, that's enough of that, let mommy work." Yoshino warmly states.

'I'm sure glad our mom is more patient than the Yoshino shown in your world, but maybe that comes when we start making decisions she doesn't approve of' Shika contemplates.

-o-

"Mommy, buk buk!"

"It's not buk, it's book. Say, Please will you read a book to me." Yoshino demands.

"Please read book to me!"

"Good job!" Yoshino praises with an infectious smile.

She hoists me onto her lap while I'm holding an old worn leather-bound book titled 'Shinono: Fields to Remember us by'.

"Shinono... that's Mommy's old name. Are you sure you don't want one of the Nara books?" Yoshino hesitantly offers.

"Please read!" I excitedly encourage.

"Alright, alright. Those doe eyes won't always work." Yoshino reluctantly opens the book and starts reading out loud.

...

Shinono: Fields to Remember Us By

Preface

Our clan has never been defined by a single pursuit, but by an insatiable curiosity that knows no boundaries. From the literal fields of our agricultural beginnings to the metaphorical fields of human knowledge, we have always been wanderers—not of land, but of understanding.

Each generation of Shinono has been a cartographer of sorts, mapping unexplored territories of thought. Our great-grandmother might have studied the intricate ecosystems of a rice paddy, while her daughter delved into the lightning nature fields of chakra manipulation. Our uncle mapped trade routes, while another charted the thought streams of human memory.

We do not specialize. We explore.

This chronicle is not a linear history, but a tapestry. Each thread represents a family member's journey—sometimes intersecting, sometimes diverging—but always part of a greater whole. It is a testament to the belief that knowledge is not a destination, but a continuous landscape of discovery.

-Shoki Shinono
Compiler and Seventh-Generation Scribe

...

I study the words with laser focus as I follow along to Yoshino reading out loud. Yoshino continues reading past the preface as it chronicles the legacy of her clan.

I don't remember any of this from any scene with Shikamaru. Possibly it just didn't get screen time? Or given Yoshino's seeming hesitance, it's not something he pushed to learn?

"Please more!" I beg.

"Okay, one more Chapter."

-o-

After dinner I was placed down in the living room once again to play while the parents cleaned dishes. As I observed their actions in the kitchen, I realized they aren't using soap. They're simply rinsing the dish and drying it off. Do germs not exist in this world or does chakra reinforced bodies never succumb to sickness from germs? Something to look into later.

I crawled over to the bookshelf placed against a wall. I grabbed the first one I could reach. It had a large Nara clan symbol on it. I could make out some of the title "Nara-...-Shadows". Looks like I'll need to learn more kanji before I figure out the title of this book. I'll use that kanji pictograph book to see if I can infer the title and maybe some other kanji.

"Walking, talking, now reading... Child Development Speedrun: Any%, Save the animals. 7 months, 10 days, 3 hours." Shika jokes.

After some investigation, I concluded that the title was "Nara Path of Shadows". It was a book of Nara tales. Every story with a lesson. One story advocates the philosophy of shadows. In a round-about way conveys that shadows can protect. Protect from heat of the sun. Protect from sight of the enemy. Protect those who seek refuge. Shield the wounded until they heal. And when darkness falls, shadows can protect the village by binding those who would do harm.

I found myself wondering if the book's real lesson wasn't about shadows at all, but about the responsibility that comes with power. The shadow that shelters can also strangle - the choice lies not in the technique, but in the hand that wields it.

-o-

"I'm so proud of my baby boy, already making full sentences at 7 months old!" Yoshino exclaims as she washes the dishes from dinner and hands a plate to Shikaku.

Shikaku receives the plate, dries it and puts it away. As he patiently waits for another dish, he gives Shikatsu a contemplative stare. The scene before him would look innocent to most - a baby with picture books. But Shikaku sees the patterns.

Shikatsu goes back and forth from an unknown book to the kanji pictograph with deliberate purpose. There's no doubt in Shikaku's mind that his son is systematically decoding the book based on the kanji guide, even attempting to derive meaning for unlisted kanji through context. The methodical approach reminds him of cipher breaking more than a child's play.

What troubles him most isn't just the advanced development - it's the careful precision in those movements, the calculating look in those infant eyes. At times, his son's expressions shift between childlike wonder and something far too... knowing.

"...You ever think Shikatsu's a little different?" Shikaku questions as he receives another dish to dry.

"He's a Nara. I thought this was your version of normal." Yoshino reasoned.

"He's exceptional even for us." Shikaku states with concern.

"Well, you've never had a Nara with my exceptional genes!" Yoshino proudly proclaims.

"Troublesome."

"What was that?!"

"Nothing dear."

-o-

"Alright little guy, let's go watch some stars." Shikaku picked me up from the living room. He took me to the second floor of our house, through the window of their bedroom and wall walking upwards on the outside of the house to the roof. Shikaku laid down on the roof with my tiny body sprawled out on his chest as I gaze up at the stars with him.

The stars were brighter, more colorful and more numerous than I've ever seen in my past life. Does that confirm that this isn't earth? Or perhaps it could still be an alternate earth and this chakra refined body sees differently. Or maybe it's due to atmospheric differences?

I loved stargazing, but always convinced myself that there were better things to do. Now, cradled safely on my father's chest, I wondered why I thought anything was more important than moments like this.

...

"There once was a small star that looked up at his elders. All he wanted to do was glow as bright as his family overhead. He had the shine, but not the size. His family warned him to not shine as bright until he had size. They warned that the planets were jealous of the light, and while they couldn't harm a fully grown star, a small one... well..."

Shikaku pauses, his voice taking on a careful tone.

"The small star thought his brilliance would protect him. After all, light pushes away darkness. But he learned too late that sometimes the very light that makes you special can draw unwanted attention. The bigger planets have their own gravity, you see, and they can pull in stars that aren't strong enough yet."

The message was clear. He thinks I'm attracting too much attention. Would he still agree if he knew of all the hurdles already on our course?

In that instance, a shooting star streaked the sky coming to life and dying out in a flash.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6. Make Sense

In the morning after breakfast I was again placed in the living room. I found a book and started to attempt to read to myself.

About every one out of every twenty kanji, I don't know and take mental note of for later. So much of the text, even ones meant to be descriptive, are imprecise and mystical making it difficult to gleam definitive information. Regardless it points at interesting experiments to try.

Yoshino read from her old clan's book of tales and journals. One curious exert stood out to me:
...

One of the most cherished traditions of the Shinono clan is the Meditation Pose. Hands in front of your chest, fingers pointing upward. Palms facing each other but spread wide apart, like holding an invisible ball. Then bringing just your fingertips together - thumb to thumb, index to index, and so on - forming what some say resembles an ancient war helmet or perhaps a temple roof.

There are numerous claims about how the pose works and it's capabilities. Some say it's a state of prayer and humility granting blessings of solutions from above. Some say the pose can multiply one's wit and cleverness through the focusing of chakra. Some say it slows the world around you deafening the external distractions for better meditation. Some say the act alone of constantly correlating meditation with this pose begins to entwine the two in your mind causing a meditative state by the mere association through habit.

There are Shinono's that spent their lives delving into the depth of this seemingly simple hand pose. One of the most prominent examples is the writings of Meishino (瞑思野 meaning meditative thinking field). His writings and many more can be found between these covers.

...

There's something odd about that last line. It's underlined as if to show importance. Maybe it was just a stylistic decision? Why would it feel the need to restate that other writings are in the book? Maybe it is just a flowery conclusion or it was underlined without a thought behind it. Hmm... well, when we get to the part of the book that has Meishino's writings maybe it will make more sense?

As Yoshino finishes reading the exert out loud. I point to where it says 'writings of Meishino' and say "Please read Meishino?"

Yoshino's face shows initial surprise, then switches to confusion and makes eye contact with me. I start to show some confusion on my face. I think I see a her make a face of guilt before it snaps to a fake smile stating "That's enough reading for now."

Hmm, what was that about?

-o-

"Knock knock, Choza here!" yells a voice that sounds like it could have come from a bear.

"Choza! In here, you've got to meet my boy!" Shikaku responds with a rapturous smile as he picks me up and balances me on his knee.

A gigantic burly man rounds the corner of the Nara entryway, grinning. It is without a doubt Choza, with his thick red spiked hair flowing past his shoulders. His chakra signature feels like a bonfire in winter - massive and warm, ready to protect or destroy. His vest appears to be made of dense metal plating that could stop a tank blast, cinched at the waist with a rope thicker than a person's neck. Three children, not even reaching his waist in height, follow behind him.

Choza's impressive stature is evident as his red hair grazes the doorway - if he were to reach up, his palm would easily touch the ceiling with his arm still bent. His width is equally remarkable, spanning the width of three men. While his frame carries considerable mass, it isn't mere obesity. His build resembles strongman competitors, not lean and not a blob, but purposeful strength with ample fuel to power that strength.

Behind him, the three ninja boys followed. Their chakra signatures were harder to read, still developing and undefined. Like trying to feel out the texture of fog.

As if leading the charge a boy with a bowl haircut and green jumpsuit energetically enters the room. He wears his hidden leaf hitai-ate on his waist as a belt buckle. On his face is a big weird grin as if he's trying to keep his lips pressed together but losing against the smile. Unmistakably Might Guy.

The second to enter was a boy wearing dark clothes with round tinted glasses and a bandana with the hitai-ate on his forehead. He looked uncomfortable while randomly glaring at his teammates as if they were embarrassing him.

The last was a boy also wearing a tied bandana over his head, but not displaying the hitai-ate. He had a senbon in his mouth and wore something like a trench coat. He casually sauntered in with his hands in his coat pockets and a proud smile on his face.

As Shikaku's gaze drifts from Choza to the 3 small ninjas he states "Oh and you've brought your team-"

"Kami, you kids are cute! Get in there and meet our little Shikatsu. I'll make some tea and bring out some snacks." Yoshino interrupts.

"Food sound great!" Choza declares with an unashamed grin.

Yoshino looks at Guy with concern asking "Guy, everything okay? You seem to be acting strange... stranger than usual."

Guy's only answer was a wide grin and a thumbs up.

Ebisu spoke up saying "I apologize Yoshino for my immature teammates. Genma bet Guy that he could go longer without speaking."

Everyone glances towards Genma as his smile grew a little more smug.

Shikaku burst into laughter. "Choza, remember when you bet Inoichi he couldn't meditate longer than you? Found him passed out in the lotus position two hours later."

Choza let out a rumbling laugh. "To be fair, he did win that bet. I was done meditating as soon as it was supper time."

As the two Jonin finished their story, Ebisu's mouth was wide open in disbelief. Guy started to send hand signals to Ebisu. He glanced over to Guy to answer his nonverbal communication with "Just because Sensei and Shikaku does it, doesn't mean it's mature."

This set off another round of laughter from Shikaku and Choza with Yoshino even joining in. Genma had both his hands pressed against his mouth holding in an explosion of laughter.

...

The conversation that followed painted a picture of a village preparing for conflict. Between bites of Yoshino's snacks and sips of tea, Choza's team practiced their hand signals while the adults discussed supply routes and training schedules. The war hadn't officially started, but the air was thick with anticipation.

Even Guy's silence bet seemed to take on new meaning - perhaps less a childish game and more an early lesson in stealth and self-control. Though watching him try to suppress his enthusiasm while limited to hand signals was both entertaining and somehow endearing.

As they left, I noticed how Choza's chakra had shifted. The bonfire was less roaring, and more laying dormant with red hot coals ready to ignite any fuel placed upon it. The genins' signatures remained faint, but there was a new tension there, a sense that they were more prepared for what was to approach.

I filed away this observation about how chakra signatures could change with intent and mindset. Another variable to account for in my growing understanding of this power.

-o-

I've made progress with chakra control. I can now easily maintain 3 different pieces of paper on my head. On my hands one piece of paper stuck to the palms and a piece of paper on the tip of each finger. On my feet, one on each heel, arch and big toe and just before the big toe at the end of the metatarsal. I can maintain that for about an hour before I lose concentration, the ones on my head usually falling first, then the ones on my feet. The pieces of paper on my hands and fingers rarely fall even after hours.

I ponder on what other things I can work on or experiment with.

Thinking back on how chakra sensing was basically one of the first things I experienced in this new world as I was in the womb. The memory of panic in not seeing or being able to talk while only my sense of hearing hinted at being suspended in fluid. It was that first time that I had reached out with my chakra sense, not to observe someone's character, but to merely sense my surroundings.

Potentially a small bit of behaviorism has driven me to not attempt it since then-it did almost cause the death of me and my mother. For all I knew, I could have been born in a world where all babies perceive their surroundings that way. At the time, I didn't even know it was chakra-let alone that babies in this world don't normally have that ability. How was I to know the dangers?

Reviewing my thoughts after the fact, I couldn't help but think I was just rationalizing my decision.

Either way, from what I remember of Naruto's story, chakra sensing was rare and extremely beneficial. I had thought in the story that the ability was passive, but I had to actually focus on it. Maybe that would come with practice?

I for the second time in this new life used my chakra sense to view my surroundings. It was as if opening an eye-an eye in my mind. It did not see light-it saw chakra. The field of view was more narrow than my real eyes. I had to actually look around to see anyone. I looked in my parents direction and I could see 2 chakra signatures stationary in my parent's bedroom. There was no color or detail denoting anything more than it 2 entities with chakra. I couldn't even make out the shape. It was simply represented as 2 blurry clusters of light.

It was a completely different sensation from when I was observing someone's character or rather the feel of their chakra. That's truly where the distinction was. One chakra sense was seeing other chakra signatures around you. The other was reaching out and feeling someone's chakra. It was more intimate as it was as if tactilely examining one's soul. I couldn't help but wonder. Did every person that I "observed" feel me reaching out with my chakra?

Realizing that there was a chakra sense for seeing chakra and a chakra sense for feeling chakra. This raises the question: were there likewise smelling, hearing, or tasting versions of chakra sense? Knowing how little I know of chakra, there might be versions of sensing that are completely different from the typical 5 senses.

Taking the feeling chakra sense as an example. It's much more abstract and conceptual than the sense of feeling of shapes and texture. Is my chakra sense of feel limited by my conceptual knowledge? If I didn't know what an elephant was could I still see someone's chakra give off elephant vibes? That might be a complicated experiment to test. Using feeling as a guide; one could get elephant vibes by feeling an elephant with their hands. But it would be simply easier if you had a good grasp of what an elephant was ahead of time. It's a good hypothesis, but I'm still itching to test it.

I manually activated my Quick Think for practice and maybe to run some experiments. To my surprise it was significantly stronger. Before it had me thinking 20% faster (or 120% of normal thought speed). Somehow my manual activation had caught up to what my stress activation was at about 2x normal speed.

Was this caused simply by practicing it? I've been practicing it almost every night and haven't noticed a significant jump. Perhaps it was my chakra control practice. That is something I've started relatively recently, but still would think I would have seen a gradual increase. Maybe it just needs a threshold to be met for increase? Or maybe it was something to do with my little episode when learning to balance standing. The stress activation did feel different, but I thought it was just from all of the inner ear stuff going on.

After hearing the bamboo deer scarer (shishi-odoshi); I made a plan for a little experiment. Counting down to the time just before the bamboo would thunk down again. 3, 2...

At one second left I pinched myself as hard as I could in the knee pit.

'Ouch, that hurt! Don't do that!' Shika mentally yells.

Well sorry, but I was trying to test the stress activation of Quick Think to see if it's stronger.

'Yeah I know, but... it didn't work anyways. So don't do it again.' Shika reasons.

Fair. It seems either I didn't reach the threshold of pain for it's activation or it's more a mental trigger based on a perceived threat or danger. You know it would be better to know how this ability works, especially if it's going to activate in the middle of crucial or life threatening moments.

'Yeah, I get it... But I don't like it.' Shika complains.

You are right there controlling our body as much as me right?

'Yeah, but right after the pinch, there was a well of emotion... As it washed over me, I felt separate. I don't think you're feeling pain as deep as I do'

You've seen my memories about mental tricks to diminish pain?

'Yeah yeah. Experiments from others showing that looking at your own wound in binoculars making them appear bigger increases the pain while looking through the binoculars the reverse way making them appear smaller decreases the pain. You've used those studies to reinforce the belief that pain is mental. Pain is a signal to the brain and, with enough practice and (misdirected) focus, can be tuned down or diminished. That doesn't change how much it hurt!'

I always had a suspicion that people just didn't believe it hard enough, but maybe there's just something different with me that dulls pain? This is a small update in that direction, even if we are are an edge case by having 2 minds. To be fair, I was in many ways an edge case in my old life.

This seems like more evidence that you're more attached to this body than me somehow. Though there could still be some way in which I'm more connected to my memories as I've lived them and have the experience of feeling diminished pain from using some of the methods. Maybe in some way you only view my memories and don't experience what they were like?

...

Shika?

...

The silence stretched as I theorized potential reasons for Shika's silence only to be interrupted by the rhythmic thunk of the shishi-odoshi. This too seemed to be a sense I'd need to understand better. Not just chakra sensing and time dilated senses, but the senses needed between two minds in one body. Like the mysterious Meishino's writings, some secrets required patience to unravel.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7. Geenee

-o-

As I lay awake in my crib the morning sun shines through the window. I think about Shikaku's words of being made a target too soon. His analogy of being a baby bright shining star that's eaten by larger planets. He's a genius, he most likely knows exactly who would target me for "shining too bright" as he put it. I'm not some genius, I just have some foreknowledge and some years of experience. Maybe I should take his advice and be more careful.

I've barely confirmed anything about this world, granted it's most likely consistent with the Naruto cannon, but even in that, I've seen things that were never focused on or explored. For instance, Yoshino's demeanor and personality seems to be completely different from the anime. On top of that, her maiden name, Shinono, has this rich generational history. Like, I thought all this time the meditation pose that Shikamaru does stemmed from a Nara tradition. Now I find out it's actually from Yoshino's family. Maybe that's just a result of a real world existing around the story. Or perhaps, maybe the writer of Naruto was reincarnated in the "real earth" after living through a life in Naruto? Maybe this is all a fever dream or my neurons randomly firing as I slowly experience. Well, the world seems a little too consistent for those last two, but in any event, there's no way to narrow it down for now.

Maybe it's time to start laying the foundations with some control tests. But which ones would I be able to do as a baby? All action is technically a test. I think I'll just have to observe others even if it's not controlling for as many variables as I'd like. This way I can potentially seem more normal too.

-o-

Yoshino briskly walking with me in her arms to a "playdate". It seems it's an effort to foster early networking and comradery. This might be the perfect place to gather intel, at least social intel if nothing else.

"No pressure, but you can show off a bit when we get there. I can't wait to show them all how much of a genius my son is!" Yoshino proclaims.

I definitely don't want to show off more than I can help. This might be the most dangerous place to do it with so many people going to be present.

Thinking about showing off causes me to furrow my brow until I make eye contact with Yoshino whose excitement radiates off her infectiously causing me to wear a big baby grin.

"Can you say genius?"

"geenee! geenee!" I try to control my excitement, but can't. I blame Shika.

-o-

We arrived at the gathering a massive hall. It looked like mostly moms, but some dads sitting on the ground in a big circle with kids sitting in front of them. Some bigger kids are running around in the center of the circle. I start to eavesdrop on a group of 9 year old's to my right.

"Asuma, don't let her get to you, she's just trying to rile you up." Says a pale skinned and red eyed girl.

"Ooh, looks like Kurenai's got you on a short leash." Heckles a purple haired girl who's wearing fishnets all over and a big trench coat.

"She does not!-"

"Asuma!"

"Coming!"

I turn to my left.

"Chohoso! Would you stop it!" A boy, despite having auburn hair instead of blonde, was easily identified as a Yamanaka, by the pony tail and narrow face.

"Nonsense Santa! If I don't gain some weight I'll be the disgrace of my clan." A girl says excitedly while chowing down on handfuls of rice balls. With the rosy cheeks and long spiky brown hair, she looks like an Akimichi. Except for the one thing Akimichi's are known for, their big size. Her limbs look like sticks. Her face might look thin as well if her cheeks weren't packed full of rice.

"Well, at least eat it don't spray it!" The boy named Santa complains.

I feel something akin to scopaesthesia as I look forward and find a baby staring at me intensely. Not just the curious stare of a baby, but a calculating stare. A dark haired, dark eyed baby, being held by a dark haired, dark eye woman.

The woman starts speaking to Yoshino with a kind smile. "I've been meaning to come greet you and your new family member. I heard there were some complications. I'm glad you and the baby made it fine."

"Oh Mikoto, thank you for the kind words. Yes, little Shikatsu gave us a scare. It's as if he couldn't wait to get out and start learning. How is little Itachi doing?"

"Oh Kami! Sometimes I think he's a full grown human shoved into a babies body!" Mikoto lets out like a burst dam.

"Right!?"

-o-