Chapter 7 : Step 2

Months had passed since the classes began, and the results had been unexpectedly fruitful. Yoshimi, a seven-year-old and also one of the survivors from the Kyudo clan, had surprised me with his rapid progress in fuinjutsu—faster than even some of the Uzumaki kids. It wasn't just his talent that impressed me; the true success lay in how he was earning the money through it.

That's right. Right now, the Kids were allowed to use chakra outside of the residence.

My display of self-injury had shaken the old folk enough to finally lift the restrictions on my group. Now the kids could freely use their chakra and offer healing services to the downtrodden, giving them a better and more respectful means to fund our stay and obviously, practice their craft.

I must say that Uzumaki clan as whole were truly kind. To think, they would rather allow this than contemplate my lesson plans. Of course, I and Jizen still carried the restrictions. Ironically, this dual training helped the kids make progress in other shinobi fields.

Their improved chakra control, thanks to both medic-nin training and fuinjutsu practice, helped in their Ninjutsu practice.

"AHHH!"

The scream from the criminal in front of me brought my attention back to the present. With the final stroke of ink completing the seal, I activated the Fuinjutsu.

"Binding Seal."

The dark lines wriggled across his body like serpents before fading into his skin. The man strained, but his chakra refused to respond. Furious, he shouted, "What did you do to me?"

I shrugged. "I sealed away your chakra pathways."

With a swift punch to his stomach, I knocked him unconscious. Turning to the old man, I said, "I suppose I'll use this one to teach the kids anatomy."

The old man didn't respond with words, but the slight curve of his lips told me everything. I had passed his unsaid test, proving my growing mastery of his teachings. The faster pace of practical learning had cut my estimated training time down to five years. The remaining three years... well, I had plans for those.

When I reached the training grounds, the kids were already waiting, sharp-eyed and silent. Even the Uzumaki brats didn't flinch when they saw the bound man. Good. They were learning to face the cruelty of this world.

"Alright, kids," I began, dragging the criminal to the center. "This fine individual is a bandit shinobi who enjoyed targeting the Uzumaki's holdings. His crimes include infanticide, serial rape, serial murder, theft, and slave trafficking. Oh!" I gave a twisted smile. "He has a particular preference for children your age."

That caught their attention. Yoshimi clenched his fists, and even Taro looked grim.

"Now, let's see how a living, beating heart works."

With precision, I took my scalpel and made a clean incision across the man's chest. Blood seeped from the cut as I peeled back the layers of skin and muscle, exposing the crimson throb of his heart. A sickly wet sound filled the air with each pulse. The organ swelled and contracted like a writhing beast, the arteries and veins pulsing visibly.

He was only kept alive by my mystic palm jutsu.

The thick scent of iron hit the air, and Yoshimi turned away, dry heaving into the dirt. Another Uzumaki boy followed his example, vomiting by the edge of the clearing. The rest of the children stayed firm; their eyes locked onto the grisly display. I caught Taro's gaze; he stared without blinking, absorbing every detail.

Good.

"This is what drives the body," I explained. "Notice the rhythmic beat. Even minor damage to the heart can be fatal if you don't understand its anatomy." I traced my scalpel carefully around one of the valves. "Mess this up, and your patient dies."

Wiping my blade, I added, "The biggest challenge in healing shinobi lies in their chakra's resistance. Medic-nin excel by molding their chakra to minimize rejection. In this regard, civilians are easier to heal than shinobi."

With a sharp clap, I caught their attention.

"Now, I'm going to make some cuts, bruises, and swelling on this one. Each of you will show me your progress with medical ninjutsu."

I nodded when I saw that their faces had shown no expression of refusal. Good. If they get squeaky from this, then lives will be lost in the battlefield without timely care they were expected to give. On that matter, I decided to tell them the greatest boon to their training.

"Understand this—it will be a regular part of our training from now on."

CLAP

For a moment, I felt that they inwardly cursed me but the kids will learn. No matter what, a good medic nin must be able to dissect both the living and dead before they were truly familiar with the human anatomy.

I myself threw up the first time I dissected a body in my previous life. Comparitvely these 7-12 years were better.

Of course, I selectively ignored the medics of Uzumaki clan who were 'supervising' the class.

"Begin."

--------------Sometime later-------

The rapid weaving of signs flowed naturally from my fingers. Chakra surged through my network, shaping the water at my feet. With a sharp breath, I cast the jutsu.

"Water Style: Hidden Cutter."

The water from the pond shot out in a swift, blade-like arc—fluid yet precise. It cut the air with a faint whistle, slicing clean through a wooden dummy I had set up for practice. A flash of memory struck me—a green-haired swordsman from an anime I had once watched. In my previous life, that memory might have brought a smile, but those rare instances of amusement had grown even scarcer. Now, they were relics of a distant past, almost forgotten amid the blood and chaos.

Now, It strained me to remember him. After all, my focus had been on the canon knowledge and all the effort to survive. A pity, to think I was starting to forget most of my beloved entertainment.

I exhaled and shifted into the next sequence of hand signs, pouring lightning chakra into the pond.

"Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder."

The pond crackled and spat as chakra-infused electricity danced through the water. Steam hissed into the air, fogging the surroundings. Without delay, I infused water chakra into the rising vapors. The mist thickened, blanketing the backyard of my residence.

Now came the most delicate step. I activated the pre-inscribed fuinjutsu symbols concealed around the property's perimeter. They flared faintly before disappearing, creating a barrier that masked chakra signatures, muffled sounds, and blocked outside surveillance.

The Uzumaki's constant vigilance had kept me from attempting this before. Despite Jizen's and the kids' trust in my confidence, I'd never stopped worrying that our visible unilateral enmity with the Senju would provoke the Uzumaki.

It never had.

Why, I couldn't say.

I shook my head—no point dwelling on that. If I were strong enough, I wouldn't have to second-guess every step, fearing another powerful clan's reaction.

"ONCE MORE! GIVE IT YOUR ALL!"

""FUIN RELEASE""

BOOM BOOM

Even so, the Uzumaki had to be familiar with my training routines by now. Especially the hell I put my kids through.

I noticed with irritation as the Fuin barrier walls I managed set as a trap broke apart on the 12th blow from the kids. It was a familiar sight, both to the monitoring shinobi and the kids, for me to suddenly sprang the ambush and traps in the midst of my ninjutsu training. Then the kids would try to breakthrough with ninjutsu or exploding tags, courtesy of my funding.

Of course, I had that in mind when I set oil swamps in between the fuin traps.

BOOOOMMMMMMMM

Looking at the gap that formed in between their group formation, I wished I could instantly change the barrier's shape to form a wall in between them. However, without Advanced teaching in Fuin barrier discipline, this was the best I could do. I was sure that the monitoring Uzumaki must jealously of the fact that I managed to understood the Fuin Barrier from in such a short time.

Even so, an fuin barrier that could change itself based on the user's instructions. Now that would be killer on the battle.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH

Momosuke and the others body flickered before me, tense and breathless. I crossed my arms.

"You took thirty seconds to find me," I said coldly. "In that time, I could've killed you all—three times over."

Momosuke scowled. "The mist disrupted our sensing. The fuinjutsu traps—you caught us off guard."

As usual, Momosuke spoke for the others, standing firm like a wall. I sighed.

"That's the point. Ambushes aren't fair. Attackers prepare in advance—your only chance is to react faster. Without that, you die."

Momosuke clenched his fists, swallowing whatever retort he wanted to make. I could see the frustration boiling beneath his stoic exterior. Despite his temper, I knew his growth had been remarkable.

With proper guidance, both he and Karui were already performing at elite genin level. The rest—Hiro, Yoshimi, and the younger kids—were still limited by their age. Seven to nine years old… too small yet for their strength to match genin standards. But I knew they would get there.

They had to.

I ignored the churning in my stomach, forcing myself to speak.

"The best outcome in an ambush would be you dying quickly. The worst... you know what that is."

The change was immediate. Tired eyes sharpened. Pupils shrank. The soreness in their bodies no longer mattered; hate was far stronger. Memories they tried to suppress were now fuelling their movements. It was cruel, but necessary.

"Push-ups. 300." My voice hardened. "If you fall, Karui will patch you up so you can keep going. Karui and Momosuke, you are forbidden from healing yourselves."

They moved without question, sweat darkening their clothes. Even Karui, who usually carried that gentle smile, set her teeth and continued.

WHOOSH.

The air hung heavy with the scent of sweat and soil as the kids grunted beneath their own weight. Palms dug into the dirt, arms trembling, faces strained with effort. Each push-up was driven by rage, frustration, and memories that I know, refused to die. Karui's green chakra flickered to life as she moved between the smaller kids, easing the swelling in their shoulders and elbows, dulling the aches in their muscles. But her own arms wobbled dangerously during those moments.

Momosuke wasn't far behind, knuckles bleeding as he continued pushing through sheer willpower.

Jizen appeared beside me, the metal of his prosthetic leg hissing against the ground. He favored the puppets limbs Uzumaki artisans had forged for him, relishing the ability to move freely after so long. His eyes flicked to the book in his hand—the one I'd spent years creating, a document mapping out the shinobi rankings.

Genin, Chunin, Jonin and S-rank. Finally, the special epithets like 'Special' or 'Elite'.

While the anime gave some rough idea, it took me over a decade to write down the specific criteria, especially when adding epithets like 'special' or 'elite.' Special Jonin, for example, had most of their skills at a Chunin level, but one or two abilities at such high mastery that they could stand on equal footing with a Jonin in combat.

"The biggest challenge was defining Chunin," I muttered before he could speak. "There's always been a gap between Genin and Jonin, but Chunin... Chunin was a grey mess. Do you remember the assassin we encountered in the Torim battle? He had had little talent in elemental jutsu or taijutsu but possessed such precise mastery over Shurikenjutsu that he felled two clan leader, who I classified as Jonin, by striking pressure points with needle-thin kunai."

Jizen hummed, flipping through the pages. "Yeah, I agree with you on that. But it was the only instance that I saw in my 43 years of life. To go through such trouble for such niche skill."

I responded back, "At least, it will take every skill, including the niche variety into the evaluation. Grasping every potential of the shinobi. Just think about it, if that shinobi was given the specific ninjutsu to aid the power of his shuriken or elemental jutsu of Shuriken variety. He would have easily classified as a Special jonin, reliably showing the Jonin combat power."

Jizen slammed the open book down in anger, "I get that kid. That is the reason this book scares me. This… this isn't just a ranking system." He stopped on a page detailing the evaluation of skills. "You actually devised methods to measure individual techniques. Shurikenjutsu, Taijutsu, even Kenjutsu... you gave each its own criteria."

"I had to," I answered, watching as Momosuke's arms finally buckled. Karui's hands glowed green, easing his spasming muscles before returning to her own set.

"Kenjutsu was the trickiest," I admitted. "The samurai's structure for swordsmanship helped. They break it into precision, footwork, grip, and mental composure. I adapted it to fit shinobi combat, added chakra flow as another factor."

"And that..." Jizen tapped the book, "...that's what makes this terrifying. This means that it's a system for growth. A system that clearly maps out the path to becoming stronger for average shinobi." He looked out at the children, barely standing now. "You're building soldiers."

"I'm building survivors." I clenched my fists. "The kind that can protect themselves and their home."

I could see my vision coming through in the kids. Their bodies wavered on the brink of collapse, yet I kept pushing them with comments on the clan.

"Momosuke, are you giving up on revenge? The revenge for your sister who died in front you. The same sister whose body bloated and decomposed in front your very eyes."

"No."

"Karui, do you remember the wails of your mother as you and the kids hid inside the basements? The helplessness as you tried to wake me up."

This kind of vicious cycle—tearing their bodies down only to rebuild them again—was dangerous. It would cost them. Shortened lifespans, weakened organs, perhaps even chronic pain in the distant future. In simpler terms, I was having them trade years of their lives for strength now.

Jizen stood quietly beside me, eyes fixed on Karui's exhausted face. He knew what I was doing form sheer experience. "You think they'll hate you for this?"

I exhaled, watching the children grit their teeth and force themselves to move. "If they live long enough to hate me... then I've done my job right."

Jizen's frown deepened. "What exactly is your goal here?" His voice sharpened. "If you're trying to rebuild the Kyudo clan, forging ties with the Uzumaki would be smarter. Continuing the alliance with Momosuke's arranged marriage with our former ally clan is a far better move. Instead, you're clearly pushing the kids toward war preparation and hoarding grains like a war merchant. Don't think I haven't noticed Hiro running errands for you. The kid's bright, sure, but the scale of those trades..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

If Jizen realized this, then the Uzumaki had also realized this. It seems, I might as well openly involve myself in this.

I sighed. "I might as well tell you. I need your help to achieve this." My gaze flicked toward the children still pushing through their training. "In fact, I need all their help too. This isn't something one person or one clan can manage."

In the back of my mind, I felt the bitter truth gnawing at me. There were exceptions—two names that surfaced from my memories. Two individuals with the strength to bend the world by themselves. But they were just that: exceptions.

I bit my thumb, smearing blood across my palm before slamming it onto the ground. With a puff of smoke, a stack of thick books appeared, tightly bound and weathered from use. Each one bore different titles—studies on Daimyo economies, treatises on military tactics, essays on politics and resource management. They had been my plan to secure a position in the Hidden Leaf—proof that I could offer more than just a shinobi's skills. That ambition had died with my family.

I intended these to gain influence back then, flipping open the largest book, I involuntarily muttered out loud due to the sheer emotion behind the words, "But now, they're for something else."

Jizen reached down towards my hands, lifting the thickest tome with both hands. It was thrice the size of the others. The worn leather cover bore its title in bold ink.

Jizen said, "Quite the interesting title."

He would be even more interested as he read the book. It won't take long for the expected curse to come. Especially after he read the book's first page.

-

5

4

3

2

1

"Oh, Kami..." Jizen muttered.

I was not strong enough to change everything alone. I internally admitted. Even if I became a Jonin by twenty-five, or an elite Jonin who could take on squads single-handedly, surpassing that... was unlikely.

I clenched my fists at the sheer frustration from shackles of talent that bind me.

To bear the burden of a Jinchuriki—to house a tailed beast—my body would need strength and my chakra pathways, resilience far beyond what I can build through training alone.

Even with the limited Fuinjutsu I know, it was clear my body had to be stronger. Reinforced. Durable enough to contain something that powerful. Especially since I was not genetically built for it like the Uzumaki. It made me all the more curious of the other canon jinchuriki's bloodline.

Flip.

My eyes watched Jizen read through the plan that detailed part of my overall goal. In essence, The part which upon success, will allow me to research a way to achieve my goals. A body to contain Tailed beast. Of course, I didn't mention the tailed beast in the plan. Now that would mean I would be revealing everything. That was something a good shinobi would never do.

Jizen flipped through the pages, skimming diagrams and notes scrawled in precise handwriting. His lips pressed into a thin line. "This... this is madness."

"Madness? Maybe," I said quietly. "But it's a plan. And right now, especially when you consider the changed across the world. Now is the best chance we have. If we succeed, the Kyudo clan will not just be rebuilt, it will reach the apex of this world. "

Jizen shouted out loud, his voice piercing the mist that I deployed, reaching the kids.

"This was much worse than Clan leader's folly. Something like this would result in complete genocides across the world. The Daimyos across the world will make examples of shinobi clans like the Daimyo of grass did to our Kyudo clan. Just to stomp down any such thoughts."

I shook my head and said, "No, it won't. Not if the plans succeeds. Upon the success of this plan, the world's power structure will change. Besides, the plan will succeed because the times have changed. You see the new clan leader of Uchiha clan was determined few weeks ago. His name is Madara Uchiha."

"So, what? So, what if that monstrous brat will be the new clan leader? He will be busy battling the other monster."

Jizen clearly recognised the monster who already had jonin level strength at 10 years age and destroyed the invasions on Uchiha clan. As for the other monster, our Kyudo clan vividly knew the strength of Senju leader, Hashirama Senju, thanks to me, of course.

I let out a chuckle at Jizen's question and incredulous face. It was quite funny to see the old and serious face of his morph like that. I answered him, "It means that there is more than 70% chance of us succeeding."

Jizen may be confused. Rightfully so. He didn't know the future like I do. He didn't know that the one spearheading this plan will be the two monsters he mentioned. Their strength alone will choke the Daimyo's into inaction.

Momosuke who had come over from the push up spot, read the title of the book over Jizen's shoulder. It was without doubt step 2 of my lifelong plan. Perhaps the most important part of life and will be my greatest achievement.

Momosuke's voice rang out as he read the title, "How to Build Your Hidden Village Filled with Shinobi?"

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Profile

Name: Kyudo Kirito

Age: 16 years, 10 months

Chakra: 7200 [Chunin] [Growth: 200 points]

Physique: Elite Chunin

Chakra Control: S

Chakra Control Exercises: Rasengan Balloons

Nature Transformations

Water Release: 925/1000 [A-rank] [growth: 120] Lightening Release: 20/1000 [D-rank]

Taijutsu

Chakra Scalpel Precision Combat: 650/1000 [A-rank] [Growth: 50]

Kenjutsu

Medic Scalpel -????? [Theoretical]

Genjutsu

None

Ninjutsu

General Ninjutsu

Academy 3 [D-rank] Body Flicker – 350/1000 [C-rank]

Medical Ninjutsu

Mystic Palm Jutsu: 1000/1000 [A-rank] Chakra Scalpel: 1000/1000 [A-rank]

Water Style Techniques:

Water Style: Water Bullet [C-rank] Water Style: Water Whip [C-rank] Water Style: Water Clone [C-rank] Water Style: Hidden Mist [C-rank] Water Style: Rising Water Cutter [C-rank] Water Style: Severing Waves [B-rank] Water Style: Water Prison [B-rank] Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet [A-rank]

[Lightning Style Techniques:

Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang [C-rank] Lightning Style: Thunderclap [C-rank]

[Earth Style Techniques:

Earth Style: Mole Hiding Jutsu [C-rank]

[Fire Style Techniques:

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu [C-rank]

[Wind Style Techniques:

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough [C-rank]

Fuinjutsu

Storage Scrolls (Mastered) Chakra Sealing Technique (Mastered) Body Seal (In Progress) Pain Suppression Seal (In Progress)

Other Skills

Chakra Disruption: 650/1000 growth: 50 Chakra Augmentation: 400/1000 [B-rank] [Growth: 200] Advanced Sensory Techniques: 1000m range [A-rank] [Growth: *500*]

Training

Weighted Training: 150 kg per limb, 400 kg vest (In progress) Sign Languages [B] Tracking [A] Information Analysis & Gathering [S]