Chapter 25: Pages and Pathways

"Knowledge is power, but only if you apply it."

— Light Yagami, Death Note

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Location: Konoha Village Library – Morning, 

The Chūnin vest didn't fit.

It stretched awkwardly over Otis's broad frame, too tight around the shoulders, too short at the waist.

The Hokage had told him a custom-sized vest would take time — weeks, maybe — but Otis had declined.

His body was still growing. A tailored vest now wouldn't last.

Besides, the headband was enough.

As he walked through the village, a few villagers paused.

Whispers followed in his wake — about the boy with the dark eyes. The one who passed the graduation test without using a single jutsu.

Who simply threw a rock… and knocked out a Chūnin in one shot.

Otis didn't care.

He didn't become a Chūnin to be recognized and today he had somewhere to be.

He graduated because he wanted access.

And finally… he had it.

***

Location: Konoha Ninja Library – Entrance Courtyard

Tucked into a quiet courtyard near the Academy, the Konoha Ninja Library stood under old trees.

Red-painted tiles crowned its roof. A koi fish pond beside the entrance, the water surface broken now and then by bubbles. An old bamboo water spout clacked every few seconds, echoing across the stone path.

Otis stepped inside.

Warm light poured across polished tatami mats. Rows of high wooden shelves filled the room — scrolls stacked neatly, tagged and bound with seals of ink and wax.

Inside, it smelled of parchment and candlewax. The quiet was almost spiritual. Even his steps can be heard as he moved across the tatami floor toward the reception desk.

An older woman sat behind it, her spectacles perched low on her nose. She glanced up —

Then up again.

"...Can I help you?"

Otis held out a scroll.

"I got promoted. I need Chūnin access."

He slid the scroll across the counter. It had his ninja rank and his basic information.

She eyed it suspiciously, but when she opened it and saw the official Hokage seal, her expression changed.

"You're… really a Chūnin?" she muttered, eyes flicking between the scroll and the boy in front of her. 

"And you're eleven." She sounded more surprised by that.

Otis nodded once.

Still studying him, she reached beneath the desk and rummaged through a drawer.

"We don't get many kids your size. I thought you were one of the Akimichi the first time I saw you."

"I'm not."

"You're lucky," she muttered, sliding a red-tagged metallic pass across the counter. 

"Chūnin get access to intermediate combat theory, elemental research, and field strategy texts. Scrolls must be returned within three days"

"Restricted section access is down the west hall, second floor. Be careful with the scrolls. If you damage it, we will make you copy the whole thing by hand. And no access to the third floor — that's for special clearance only. "

Otis nodded again. "Understood."

As he walked away, he recalled a lesson from the Academy:

Otis remembered that it was the Second Hokage who had founded the ninja library — a place built to preserve and share the theoretical knowledge and data essential for a shinobi's development.

It held everything from chakra theory to combat strategy, as well as jutsu scrolls — though only up to C-rank. Anything higher was distributed through the Hokage Tower, either as a reward based on merit or directly from a jōnin-sensei. Except Clan techniques.

But for chakra transformation theory?

For the foundation of jutsu?

This library was the best place to start.

Today, Otis had come with a clear goal in mind:

To find everything available on Earth Release chakra transformation — scrolls, theory, practice methods… and maybe even a few basic Earth-style jutsu.

And if he happened to stumble across something interesting along the way?

Even better.

The Second Floor: Restricted Archives

The stair creaked a little as he ascended. Here, the air felt still. Cooler. And the shelves were taller — some packed so tightly with scrolls, he wondered if anyone ever touched the back rows.

He passed rows labeled with chakra disciplines:

Medical Ninjutsu Applications

Genjutsu Theory and Disruption

Sealing Techniques: Intermediate Patterns

And then…

"Elemental Chakra Theory and Transformation Studies."

He stopped.

Ran his hand across the spines of dusty scroll tubes. Some were cracked with age. Others bore fresh Hokage seals, the wax still sharp at the edges.

He pulled one out.

Then another.

Then five.

He settled into a wide reading chair near a low wooden table. It creaked slightly under his weight, but held.

The first scroll was a breakdown of chakra flow stabilization — how maintaining elemental release during projectile movement required a different kind of control than typical jutsu. It described something called "external continuity pulse flow."

He didn't understand all the words.

But he understood the idea.

If I could make my stone strikes carry elemental effects…

He flipped through the diagrams, one hand turning pages while the other reached for a blank sheet to scribble notes.

Hours passed.

Scrolls surrounded him now — stacked, open, layered over each other like feathers. He studied chakra paper reactions, symbols of chakra type, and the elemental "pathways" most shinobi favored.

"Most Earth-nature shinobi use it for defense, stability, and support."

Otis paused.

"...No mention of throwing."

He kept reading.

The sun dipped outside.

Candles flickered now.

Only one other person was in the room — a young woman at the opposite end, too busy copying runes to notice him.

Otis leaned back.

Eyes scanning a scroll that spoke of rotational chakra acceleration.

"What if I don't need to learn new skills?

What if I just need to improve what I already have?"

He nodded to himself.

For the first time since becoming a Chūnin…

He felt like one.

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(A/N)

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