Sunlight pierced forcefully through the curtains into the room, and Raijin opened his eyes. He quickly got up and freshened up for the start of his third day in Konohagakure.
It was half past ten in the morning, and Raijin wasn't surprised to find he'd slept for nearly ten hours. Yesterday's training had been intense, leaving him too exhausted to worry about the past 10 hours.
"Hmm... fatigue's gone," he muttered, running a hand over his body as he checked for any lingering weariness. He freshened up, using warm water to wash away the sweat from his sleep.
"Well, first things first—food," Raijin muttered to himself. He quickly made his way to the kitchen, preparing a meal to refuel. After eating, he headed to his storage room, where he began inspecting his late father's old equipment. He was searching for anything useful that might aid him in his training.
Fortunately, he found some kunai and shuriken. 'Hah, kunai, designed for thrusting and stabbing, but can also be thrown as a projectile, and shuriken, four-pronged metal stars, useful for throwing.' He took some kunai and shuriken and went to his small training ground behind his house.
Raijin started throwing kunai at the tree, but none of them hit the tree, one with a hair's breadth missed the tree. He tried it multiple times to learn that it was just a fluke.
The perfect practice makes the perfect man. Learning to throw kunai and shuriken without a mentor will be difficult. I might pick up bad habits. He thought
"For the time being, I should put the idea of training on Shurikenjutsu on hold."
Raijin then began his workout with basic stretching and warm-up exercises to improve flexibility and prevent injuries. After finishing his warm-up, he ran laps until he couldn't keep up the same pace. After half a minute of heavy breathing, Raijin sat down on the floor, controlled his heavy breathing, and did a chakra control exercise by the practice of leaf concentration.
The leaf on his forehead fell off in about fifteen minutes. He then tried to do push-ups. Surprisingly, he was able to do up to 4 normal pushups. With a few breaks in between for menial tasks like washing, eating, and meditating, he repeated his training until four in the afternoon.
Raijin meditated until half past four and took a shower to wash off the stench of dried sweat.
Raijin left his home and walked towards Ichiraku Ramen. "I should go taste the ramen of the infamous Ichiraku Ramen that the anime showed quite often."
…
Wind blows the curtain separating a warm and friendly ramen shop from the cold pavement dust, a boy no taller than the counter was struggling to be seen puts up his hands and says shyly, "Uh, Excuse me!" Teuchi looks down with a warm, gentle smile "Well, hello there, little one! Are you here alone?"
The young boy nods, taking in the familiar yet new scent of ramen, "Can I have some?" He keeps his answers simple. He went to one of the stools with a smile on his face, so to speak, he was glad.
Teuchi smiled, "Miso ramen for our little one?"
Raijin nodded, while his mind took note of the quality of the ingredients and the professional setup, he continued to sit quietly and watch the steam rise from the pots. The familiar smells put a natural smile on his face.
After the bowl arrived, Raijin noticed that with his little hands, he had slightly less than actual dexterity when using the chopsticks for eating.
As he finished the last sip of broth, his small hands carefully holding the bowl said, "All done..." Laying the bowl down carefully, he slowly felt his pocket, extracted the money then placed it beside the bowl, and said, "Thank you, mister...".
Teuchi turns to the kid with a smile on his face. Raijin restrained himself from pointing out how excellent the broth was, or how silky smooth the noodles were. He carefully slid down from the high stool - a moment of internal amusement at how far the ground seemed from this height - and took small steps towards the exit, his head barely clearing the bottom of the shop's curtains.
Raijin exhaled slowly, quietly content, knowing that he would be back - after all, good ramen is good ramen, no matter where you are.
…
Four weeks and two days later, with Raijin's same repeated routine of training and occasional Ichiraku Ramen, Raijin was able to hold 27 minutes of leaf concentration, 10 to 13 push-ups with 40 minutes of laps at his same pace. He had also started training from 5 in the morning until 10 at night with added bodyweight exercises to his routine.
Overall, Raijin was satisfied with his progress.
At 11 a.m., he completed training for the third time and decided to take a break, which included meditation.
Haruko Sarutobi, who forgot to visit Raijin until the last council meeting, walked towards Raijin's residence, "I am looking forward to meeting Takeshi's child. I forgot to meet him because of the damned work!" The fluctuations in her expression were obvious.
She pressed the doorbell activating her sensory mode to sense the surroundings. She was surprised to see Raijin's fluctuating unique little chakra.
Whereas inside the house, 'Damn Hiruzen, let me be at peace.' Raijin inwardly cursed Hiruzen opening the door for the guest.
Raijin saw a new face, a black-haired woman in her 30s, with black eyes, some wrinkles on her face but fairly white skin, high cheekbones, and a defined jawline. She was wearing a green and white kimono-like outfit tied with a white obi (belt), a high collar, and long sleeves. She carries herself with an air of authority and confidence.
"Umm… who are you looking for, ma'am?" Raijin asked, sweat pouring down his face.
'Has he been training?' Haruko looked over at the small child and asked, "Are you Takeshi's kid?"
'Oh, she knows my father.'
"Yes…I am Raijin Sarutobi, his son," he replied with confusion on his face, hoping to know who the person in front of his house was.
"I am Haruko Sarutobi…Won't you let me in?" Haruko asked with a cold expression.
Raijin frowned and replied, "I don't know who you are, I'm afra…"
Haruko interjected, "I am a friend of your parents…" She paused and then smiled, "and also your clan elder."
Raijin was amused internally. 'She looks about 35 years old. How come the elder is only in their 30s?' he said, "Clan elder, why don't you come in?" with a small bow.
"How can I help you, Clan Elder?" he asked as he walked towards the main hall.
Haruko remained silent. After reaching the main hall, she walked towards the front of his house, across the main entrance, and straight to the training grounds like she had walked here thousands of times.
"Kid, I've come specifically to help you. Since your parents have passed away, I want to discuss what kind of compensation you should receive for the clan work they did during their lifetime. Let me know what you would like to receive as compensation for their work." Haruko asked walking towards the training ground.
Raijin was lost in his thoughts after hearing Haruko's words. 'Compensations? Can I ask for a mentor?'
After reaching the training ground, "Say kid, were you training?" Haruko asked with an excited face.
"Ah...I do light exercises like running laps and stretching my body." He replied, keeping his leaf concentration a secret.
"Perhaps, the Clan Elder can help me train," Raijin added, hinting that's what he wants as compensation. "I've been struggling at Shurikenjutsu. If I have some guidance from the senior, I'll make sure to make our clan reach new heights."
"…"
Haruko was taken aback by Raijin's straightforwardness. She had indeed planned to fulfill his wish but if it were an absurd one, she would deny it, give him an earful of scolding, and train him regardless. However, Raijin asked to be trained willingly to a Clan Elder.
Haruko was pleased with Raijin but still gave him a cold look, "What do you think a Clan Elder does? ...Train yourself-" she replied with a hint of annoyance.
Without letting Haruko continue. "Mmm…the Clan Elder manages the Clan for its smooth functioning, and Lord Hokage also said that Clan Elder would guide the newer generation for the betterment of the village," Raijin answered her with an inward grin.
Cough...Cough… Haruko cleared her throat and replied, "I can't train you. I have a busy schedule."
"Then how about giving me access to the clan library without restriction, even though I am not in the academy or a genin...yet," Raijin thought and added, "Oh, and a monthly allowance that's enough to get me through the month."
Haruko was amused when she heard that he had access to the clan library without restriction and skillfully asked for the graded jutsus. Also, he didn't ask for a huge amount of money but for something that would last him for a month.
Haruko took a long breath and looked deep into Raijin's eyes. After some moment Haruko spoke.
"About the allowance, it will be given by the end of the month until you become a Genin starting this month. I think you have enough money until the end of this month." She raised her eyebrow and asked if he had money.
"Yes, I do."
"And about access to the clan library. You'll have access to all the information available, but not all the classified jutsus. You can't have access to rank A or rank S jutsus as well as forbidden jutsus. Is that clear?" Haruko explained what he could and couldn't do.
"Uh-huh," Raijin nodded and grinned internally.