When he woke up the next morning, Yoichi noticed that there was no one in the room. He thought:
"Damn it, so it wasn't a dream after all. Looks like I'm the last one awake. Well, at least I have some time to think about what to do next."
Suddenly, without warning, the door opened with a slight creak, and a brown-haired boy entered the room. Yoichi remembered that his name was Seiji Murakumo, and he also lost his parents during the Kurama attack.
Seeing that Yoichi was already awake, Seiji said:
"Yoichi, get up! Breakfast is almost ready, and you're still lying in bed. Hurry up unless you don't want to eat."
Without waiting for an answer, Seiji quickly left, leaving the door open.
Yoichi sighed and thought:
"So much for my planning. Alright, time to pull myself together and head down for breakfast before everything's gone. I also need to act like a kid. Hopefully, no one will notice any changes. Although, if something happens, they'll probably blame it on the trauma from the Nine-Tailed Fox attack."
Yoichi entered the cafeteria, trying to behave as naturally as possible. The room was full of children who had already taken their seats at long wooden tables. The air smelled of a simple breakfast: rice, miso, and a few pieces of vegetables. He tried not to draw attention to himself and sat in an empty spot.
He started eating, thinking:
"Nothing extraordinary, but better than nothing, considering this is an orphanage and the village is still recovering from recent events. It seems we get three meals a day here: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Unfortunately, there's no meat here. Still, the food should be fine, and thanks to that, I can train a bit without worrying about being hungry."
While he was busy eating, he didn't realize someone had approached him.
"I thought you wouldn't show up! If you were late, you'd have to wait until lunch."
Hearing this, Yoichi suddenly turned around to see a boy his age. He remembered his name was Hikaru Ishigami, and he was his roommate.
"Right, I had trouble waking up," Yoichi replied, trying to sound natural.
Hikaru sat next to him and continued speaking:
"Yesterday, you scared us with that scream, but don't worry. I have nightmares too and keep seeing that demonic fox."
Yoichi nodded, trying to stay calm. Thoughts swirled in his mind:
"Yesterday's scream is considered a nightmare. That's good; at least no one suspects anything."
Trying to mimic the tone of a frightened child, he said:
"It's... good to know I'm not alone. I hope it ends soon so I can sleep normally again."
Hikaru sighed, his shoulders slightly drooping.
"I hope so too. Sometimes it feels like that fox will come back and destroy everything again."
Yoichi thought for a moment about how to respond. He didn't want to sound too confident nor too scared.
"I don't think it will come back. The Hokage and the ninja would do everything to protect us, right?"
Hikaru looked at him with a faint smile.
"You're right. After all, the Hokage defeated the Nine-Tails. Maybe... maybe someday we'll become ninja too and be able to protect others?"
Yoichi, trying to sound excited, said:
"That's an idea... I'd like to be as strong as them someday."
Hikaru perked up, his earlier anxiety giving way to childish enthusiasm.
"What about it? Maybe later we can play ninja with the others!"
Yoichi nodded, hiding his true intentions behind a childlike smile.
"Great idea. I need to know my limits and also not stand out anytime soon so Root doesn't notice me."
After finishing his meal, Yoichi went back to his room and told Hikaru that he needed to rest a bit more because he hadn't had enough sleep.
When the door closed behind him, Yoichi sat on the bed and took a deep breath.
"Alright, now I have a moment of peace. I need to check if I have chakra."
He sat in a cross-legged position, closed his eyes, and focused, trying to sense any energy flowing through his body.
After a while, he managed to feel a gentle warmth and a subtle flow of energy.
"This... this must be chakra!"
Yoichi felt growing excitement but quickly composed himself.
"Was this chakra already unlocked before? The memories of this body contain nothing about chakra training. Children who had chakra were taken by Root... Maybe my chakra activated due to the stress of being transported here? Doesn't matter. What matters is that I have it now and can use it."
Yoichi slowly opened his eyes and began thinking:
"I need to be careful. Though it's hard to act like a child, luckily no one has noticed any difference in me. It's good that there are no ninja in the orphanage. I guess I need to think about what to do next. Now that I'm here, I don't want to be just another faceless soldier. And my knowledge of future events gives me a huge advantage. So exactly how should I proceed?"
Yoichi began considering all possibilities and thinking about what he should do.
After intense analysis, he finally reached a conclusion:
"Alright, even though I have unlocked chakra, I can't draw too much attention to myself before going to the academy. Likewise, I shouldn't reveal future events to anyone else. Not to mention, there's no guarantee that everything will unfold exactly as I remember. They'll just throw me into the T&I department or worse, to Danzo! That would change all future events, depriving me of my advantage. My main goal now should be to increase my power so I can join the elite class at the academy."
"Learning jutsu isn't an option now; I can only focus on chakra control and physical training. Maybe if I manage to get some ninja tools, I can practice with them, and I need to start practicing hand signs as soon as I learn how they work.
I suspect that hand signs cause the chakra to move in a certain way or exhibit certain properties that allow these jutsu to be completed. If I start practicing now, it will be easier for me at the academy, and I'll have more time to practice other things.
Now I should bring some leaves for chakra control practice. If I practice in the room, it shouldn't attract any attention."
After setting a preliminary plan, Yoichi looked at the clock on the wall and saw that lunchtime was approaching. He got up from the bed and headed toward the cafeteria.