Chapter 4 -The First Step is a Leap.

Setting - Konoha - Uchiha Compound

The week-long meditation that mended his soul with his body was now over. The rewards were clear: his movements were more in sync, more natural. His hand-eye coordination had improved — became more refined. He had also inherited the memories and skills of the body's previous inhabitant. 'Him reading all those books will definitely help me in the future. Unsurprisingly, he was extremely well-red. I'm sure I'll make use of all the knowledge he had. Most of his favorite subjects were history, world geography, cultural customs, and international relations. Interesting, I wouldn't have guessed.' Soren combed through the recent memories now stored in his mind. He searched for one that had to do with the Uchiha. One memory stood out — Itachi Uchiha had recently awakened his Sharingan after the death of a teammate named Tenma Izuno.

Soren thought, 'So I suppose I have a lot of time left. Not as much as I'd like, but at least I'm not just a couple days away from death. That gives me enough time to actually make a difference. Where should I start? I didn't really focus on my chakra control while meditating, even though that's the best time to do it. Still, I think I've built a bit more stamina and strength than I had when I started — mostly from doing light exercises while I was mentally exhausted.' Soren began some light stretching to get his body moving while he continued to think.

I think I actually lost a pound or two just from not comfort eating. That's a win, I guess. Maybe I could try finding a canon character to train me, but that might mess with the timeline. Do I even care about that? I mean, in the current timeline, I die along with the rest of the clan — leaving only Sasuke alive. Just by surviving, I'm already changing things. Although... if no one knows I'm alive, maybe it won't matter. Ugh, this is getting convoluted. I should keep it simple. I'll focus on my mom. She's an elite Jounin, so she could probably help me with the basics. The only concern is whether she'll go easy on me out of fear I might give up. She might think it's best to take things slow. Still, she said she'd be home for a couple of days. That's the perfect time to start training. I definitely shouldn't specialize yet. I need to build a solid foundation. If I master the basics, I'll have a better understanding of different techniques — and a better chance at countering them later. I also need to get into the Academy. If I want to learn higher-ranked jutsu, I'll probably need the proper rank. It'll take at least a year to graduate — and that's if I'm as fast as Itachi or Kakashi. It's not even guaranteed for me to zoom through it like they did. I'll ask Mom about it later. First, I just need her to start training me.' Soren concluded his thoughts.

Soren walked over to the lounging area where he expected to find his parents. His father was lunging at his mother from behind — kitchen knife in hand. He wasn't clumsy or reckless, it was controlled, focused. He knew how to use this weapon, he spent hours in the kitchen using it, mastering it. A sight like this would send most kids into a panic. Some might freeze, scream, or desperately try to warn their mother. But for Soren, this was familiar. With the memories he now carried, he'd seen it happen more times than he could count. His father, much to Nidai's own dismay, often helped Taijin train her reflexes by simulating assassination attempts — testing her reaction speed, her situational awareness, and her ability to disarm a sudden attacker effectively.

As expected of an elite Jounin, she didn't flinch. Just before the blade could reach her, she shifted her body slightly to the side, aligning the strike with her shoulder. Taijin used the jutsu Chakra Skin, which centered a portion of allocated chakra to the surface of her arm in a protective aura. The knife hit with a dull clang, repelled by her defense. Without even standing, she turned her head, grabbed her husband's wrist, and flipped him — all within a second and while still seated. A moment later, Soren's father was sprawled on the ground. His mother, still relaxed, gave him a look of mock amusement. She let him stew for a second before offering a hand and a lazy smile. "I still have three wins to your 985-win streak," Soren's father grumbled as he got up. "Yeah," she replied, smirking, "but when were those wins again?" Nidai's tone got lower, more grumbling to show his discontent with being flipped upside down. "About ten years ago dear."

Soren cleared his throat before his parents could continue their banter. With how they were, they could go back and forth for hours and still find it funny. "Mom, can you teach me how to train? How to properly be a ninja?" His mother didn't register the question right away — still basking in the satisfaction of flipping Nidai. But when she finally looked at him, her brow raised in confusion, then shifted into a pleased smile. "I'm glad to hear you're taking it seriously, Soren. What have you been working on by yourself?"

Soren didn't really have a good excuse for his lack of progress. Maybe he could get away with saying he hadn't made any because he didn't properly understand how the meditation was supposed to work further than just the leaf concentration exercise. Still, he could at least show that he'd gotten a little stronger physically. "I... I'm trying to get better at chakra control like you, Mom. But... I wasn't able to figure out how to progress past the leaf concentration exercise." He added a little white lie about having learned that exercise properly. It didn't look too hard, so he didn't worry much about being called out. "But I did improve my body too! I want to get stronger, Mom — much stronger! I... I was afraid to even try to live up to your expectations, but I promise I'm going to take this seriously! I don't care if I fall on my face a thousand times. As long as I can stand up proudly at the end of my training with my head held high, I'll do whatever it takes!"

Taijin looked genuinely perplexed. She glanced at Nidai, silently asking for help on how to navigate the moment — how to show that she was proud without making Soren feel like he had to immediately prove himself. But Nidai just wore a smug smile, pretending not to notice. When Soren looked over at him, Nidai grinned and gave him a double thumbs-up. He was proud — proud that his son was finally breaking free from his shell and shaking off the lazy period. It took real maturity to admit you weren't happy with the way your life was going — even more to actually do something about it. That made Nidai beam with pride. "I am definitely going to make the famous Curry of Life dish," Nidai thought, "just like I learned from my distant aunt Sansho."

Taijin furrowed her brow at Nidai's lack of a response — but the moment she saw him beam, a chill ran down her spine. While Nidai was easy to please, whenever that particular smile appeared — the one full of pure, overwhelming joy — it almost always meant one thing: he was about to make the Curry of Life to share the joy he felt. It was a monstrosity. A dish that blurred the line between what made a shinobi notable and what made one legendary. Anyone who could stomach even a single serving was, in Taijin's eyes, practically Kage-tier. She recalled the reconstruction period after the Nine Tails' attack, when morale was at rock bottom. Nidai, ever the optimist, tried to uplift the village with what he called "a warm meal to heal the heart." He cooked a massive pot of the Curry of Life and handed it out to both shinobi and civilians alike. Most of them fainted after the first bite. Unbeknownst to Nidai, his well-intentioned gesture ended up halting Konoha's reconstruction efforts by an entire day and a half.

Taijin didn't bother hiding her expression. Soren, meanwhile, felt nothing but mild curiosity. Whenever he tried to recall the taste of the Curry of Life, it wasn't some traumatic ordeal — in his memory the kid actually liked it. He ate every bite and then some. Taijin took a moment to compose herself before speaking. "I understand, Soren." She stood up and calmly crossed her middle finger over her index — a single motion was all it took to create a shadow clone. Leaning in close, she whispered something inaudible to anyone but the clone: "Make sure he doesn't make the Curry of Life. Stay hidden. Steal the ingredients if you must. We should be done in a couple of hours. She pulled back. The clone gave a silent nod and flickered away.

Taijin hoisted Soren over her shoulder and shouted, "We'll be back in a couple of hours, my dear! Oh, how I look forward to the Curry of Life — but do NOT force yourself to make it. If we don't have the ingredients, I'll buy some for next time!" Then, without giving Nidai a chance to check the pantry and guilt-trip her into stopping at the store, she launched out the door with chakra-enhanced speed. Soren, unfortunately, was not having a good time. Half the time they were airborne, and when they did land, it was jarring and punishing. He bounced on her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "M-Mom! What are we doing?!" he yelled, doing his best to keep his stomach from flipping. "We're expediting your training!" she called back, her tone far too cheerful. "You need to be in tip-top shape for the academy. The exams are in a week and a half." She glanced at him sideways mid-jump. "Based on what I've seen, you probably have a 34.5% chance of getting in — not counting any pull I might have. Sure, I could guarantee your admission as an Uchiha, but we're going to act like you've got nothing but your own skill to carry you." She said as she turned back forward "The entrance exams are split into four parts: Basic Physical Fitness, Chakra Sensory and Manipulation, an Academic Test, and a Psychological/Emotional Evaluation. I'm confident you'll ace the academics... But the rest? We need to work on. The method we'll be using to accelerate your training—at least for the physical fitness and chakra manipulation sections—is something called a Soldier Pill," Taijin said over the wind, her tone suddenly more serious. "We'll start with your body. Push your limits first—then shift to chakra control." Soren blinked, trying to process it all while still bouncing on her shoulder. "Wait, what's a—?" Taijin cut in "I'll explain when we get there. For now, we're just picking it up. We'll begin tomorrow." There was a pause. Then Taijin added quietly, almost as an afterthought— "It can be dangerous if used for too long… so we'll need to be careful. Tomorrow we'll begin."

(A/N):For the super attentive readers out there—you may have noticed I changed "well-read" to "well-red" in the beginning. It's a small tweak, but I wanted to make sure it didn't sound awkward if someone decided to listen to the story aloud. Hopefully it doesn't feel too jarring.

Also, I know some people might find the shift in Taijin's personality a bit surprising. That's totally fair, and I get that it might be a little disappointing for those who liked her more serious, robotic tone in the earlier chapter. But the change was intentional.

Last time we saw her, she had just gotten home from a mission—she even mentioned Soren's chakra pathways as a subtle nod to that. I wanted to show the contrast between work Taijin and home Taijin. Kind of like how someone can be a hard-ass manager at work and a goofy dad at home. I figured a week was enough time for her to settle back into her comfort zone. She's still calculating, just more casual now—because no one's life is on the line.

I'll be working on today's chapter a little later! I usually upload between 9 PM and 11:59 PM EST (yeah, I like cutting it close). I also tend to do a little refining the day after, since I pretty much crash right after posting.

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Even if you're just checking out chapter one, I seriously appreciate the time you've given it. Fingers crossed I pass the Book Vetting process! Have a good one!