The next six months were nothing short of grueling for Haruto Takeda. The orphanage buzzed with the constant cries and movements of the other children, but his world had narrowed into a singular focus: survival. Not the basic kind of survival—food, warmth, or shelter—but survival in a world where chakra, ninjas, and warfare were the norm. He needed to learn quickly, but he needed to be invisible while doing so.
Haruto's mind had always been sharp, but his body remained a frustrating limitation. Every day was a battle, not only against the physical constraints of his infant form but also against the clock—he knew that time was ticking, and that soon, the village around him would be swept into the chaos of the Third Great Ninja War. The slow development of an infant's body was a weakness he couldn't afford.
The Language Barrier
The first step was learning the language.
Haruto already had a foundation thanks to his Japanese mother, but casual exposure wasn't the same as full immersion. The words spoken around him often blended together, moving too quickly for his baby brain to process fully. But Haruto paid attention.
He started small. Simple words. He listened to Obaa-chan, his elderly caretaker, as she moved around the orphanage, noting the repetition of words like "food," "sleep," and "come here." He focused on context, watching the other children as they interacted with the caregivers. He mimicked their babbling sounds, using the opportunity to hide his true intent—to absorb every word, every sentence, and build an understanding from the ground up.
The struggle wasn't just understanding. His baby body, with its clumsy tongue and underdeveloped vocal cords, refused to cooperate. Even when his mind knew what to say, his body couldn't form the words properly. He listened. He practiced in secret, whispering to himself when no one was watching, mimicking the sounds of the adults. Slowly, over the course of months, his vocabulary grew. He could understand more and more of what was being said around him, piecing together conversations even if he couldn't participate yet.
Still, it wasn't fast enough. Every time he fumbled a word or failed to mimic a sound properly, a flicker of frustration would course through him. But Haruto was nothing if not patient. He knew that every small victory was a step toward gaining a deeper foothold in this world.
Refining His Movements
While the language slowly came to him, mastering his body was a more immediate goal.
After the first system reward had enhanced his physical control, Haruto had a significant edge over the other infants. But he couldn't afford to show it. Every day, he practiced in secret, testing his body when no one was watching. When the other infants fumbled and crawled awkwardly, Haruto would mimic them, letting his body stumble to avoid suspicion.
But when he was alone—when the caregivers turned their backs—he pushed himself. He practiced crawling smoothly, lifting himself up onto shaky legs, standing for longer and longer periods. His muscles ached, and sometimes his small body felt like it was on the verge of collapse, but he pushed through. He needed his strength to grow faster, to adapt.
Haruto's movements became more refined as the weeks passed. He could control his balance better than the other children, his grip strong enough to pull himself up to standing, though he avoided doing so in front of the adults. Even something as simple as grasping objects became a training exercise—he used toys to test his dexterity, moving them carefully between his fingers, all while pretending to be an ordinary infant.
He knew that his ability to move smoothly would be his first real step toward gaining a sense of freedom. And yet, it still wasn't enough. He needed more. More control, more precision. But for now, he would have to settle for these small victories.
The Struggle to Sense Chakra
Of all the things Haruto worked on, chakra was the most elusive.
He knew from the anime that chakra was the key to unlocking the power of this world, but the reality of sensing it was far more difficult than he'd imagined. The concept was simple enough: chakra was a combination of physical and spiritual energy that flowed through pathways in the body. But understanding it on a conceptual level didn't make it any easier to feel it.
Every day, Haruto spent hours in quiet focus, trying to sense even the faintest trace of energy inside him. He tried meditating, calming his mind, slowing his breathing, but the results were always the same: nothing.
Weeks turned into months, and still, there was no sign of chakra. Haruto's frustration grew with each passing day. He had expected some small success by now, even if it was just a flicker of energy. But his body—a baby's body—wasn't ready to handle chakra yet. He could feel it in the way his muscles still tired easily, in the underdevelopment of his bones and tissues. His body simply wasn't capable of storing chakra in the way that older shinobi could.
But he refused to give up. Haruto spent hours each day in quiet contemplation, trying different methods. He focused on his breathing, his heartbeat, the flow of blood in his veins. He visualized chakra pathways, imagined energy flowing through his body. It was exhausting work, mentally and physically, but he knew that success wouldn't come easily.
The breakthrough came unexpectedly, during one of his longer meditation sessions.
He had been focusing on his breathing, slowing it down, trying to clear his mind of distractions. For the first time in months, something different happened. A faint, almost imperceptible warmth spread through his chest—so subtle that Haruto thought he had imagined it at first. But then it pulsed again, like a tiny flicker of life deep within his core.
Chakra. It wasn't much, but it was there.
The excitement that coursed through him nearly broke his concentration, but Haruto forced himself to stay calm. It wasn't enough to simply feel it. He needed to understand it. The chakra was weak, barely more than a tiny flicker, but it was real. His body, though still undeveloped, had finally started to produce the energy he had been searching for.
This is only the beginning, Haruto reminded himself. His body wasn't yet ready to store or mold large amounts of chakra, but that would come with time. For now, he had a foothold. A small victory in the larger struggle to become something more than an ordinary child in this world.
Contemplation
Six months of intense focus and effort had passed, and Haruto felt the changes in himself. His understanding of the language had grown, though he still struggled to speak properly. His body had become stronger, more agile, though he hid his abilities from the caregivers. And, most importantly, he had finally sensed chakra, however faint it was.
But even with these small victories, there were more challenges ahead. He needed to develop his chakra further, build his strength to match the children who would one day become powerful shinobi.
As he lay in his crib, reflecting on how far he had come, a familiar hum began to fill his mind. It was faint at first, just like the warmth he had felt when trying to sense chakra. But it grew stronger with each passing second, a vibration deep within him, pulsing gently.
Haruto froze, his heart skipping a beat.
The system… He recognized the feeling instantly. The same hum, the same pulse that had come before his first reward.
It was happening again.