บท 1: Prologue
Prologue
Life of an orphan was already quite challenging, especially during the war. Children with no potential for shinobi arts were mainly ignored and left to survive alone. Of course, some orphanages gave a roof and food, even if it wasn't enough for growing children, but that was what all the Village Hidden in the Mist would provide for orphans.
Children who had shown talent and potential for shinobi arts were taken off better. Yet their fate might be even worse, especially in the Bloody Mist era. This era began with brutal regulations set by the Third Mizukage and later would be carried by the Fourth Mizukage. The Village Hidden in the Mist gained a cruel and fearsome reputation in those years. The village's leaders and elders made sure to keep it that way.
Utakata was a misfortunate kid. Not even having a last name, he was an orphan for as long as he could remember. He was born a few years after the second shinobi war. It seemed that he was forgotten as soon as he was born. Thin and small, he could only scavenge food from dumpsters, looking for half-eaten fruit or vegetable or, if lucky, a bone with some meat.
Sometimes he would go starving for days, but at least it rained quite a bit in the village, so he never was thirsty and had enough water to clean himself. The orphanages were full by the end of the second shinobi war, so it wasn't surprising that they couldn't care for everyone. Even though the food wasn't sparse, it was too expensive for Utakata, so he grew malnourished, leaving only skin and bones on his body.
"And I thought being born in the world of Naruto would be amazing," Utakata murmured as he found a core of an apple that wasn't rotten.
Life was unfair. Utakata understood that soon after he gained his memories from his past life. He had nothing to rely on, and nobody cared about him, so he lived trying to survive until the next day, dreaming of a better life. He didn't complain much, neither did he cry. It took energy to do so, and he would rather sleep than waste energy on pointless things.
That was how he survived the winter—sleeping through most of it. He had a bed in the orphanage and a blanket. To say it was warm would be an overstatement of a century, but at least he had four walls to protect him from the wind and a roof to shelter him from the snow and rain. And when you sleep with more than twenty other children in the same small room, it becomes warm enough to live, even if the room smells quite bad.
Utakata believed he could get a better future if he survived his childhood. After all, it is said that adversity strengthens one. So, in that logic, he should be strong in the future. Right? At least he could dream of the day when he would be a powerful shinobi that would eat anything and whenever he wanted. With those dreams, he continued to scour the dumpsters for any bite of food he could find without any shame.
But his dream would have to start with the Academy of the Bloody Mist. Even if he wanted to get into it, he had to be chosen by some village elders. At least, that was how kids from his orphanage were taken. To be selected, he had to be at least four years old, which he was, and have an aptitude for shinobi arts.
While Utakata didn't have even a faintness of an idea about fighting, as he never was in a fight in his previous or current life, he had other advantages. With his memories came his intellect. While he wasn't the most intelligent guy in the world, or even close to it, there wasn't anyone better than him as a child. Utakata learned how to read and write in this world frighteningly faster than the rest of the children.
If someone cared to test him, he would prove his worth. But again, nobody cared for a no-name orphan. So, even though many caregivers knew he was more intelligent than the rest, they didn't care about it. He was just a kid, and that's all. If he has some talent, the village elders will enroll him in the academy. If he doesn't, he will live as an orphan, and if he survives long enough, he will be a civilian.
Civilian was valued in the village for their support for the shinobi. But that was why he didn't want to be a civilian in the Mist Village. They were there to support the shinobi. In other words, they were servants to the shinobi. Even if it wasn't common, Utakata has seen how some shinobi acted around civilians like they were second-rate citizens. There was nothing a civilian could do against a shinobi.
Some rules and laws made this kind of behavior uncommon, but there was one rule above everything else in the Village Hidden in the Mist. It was the rule of the strong. As long as you are strong enough, you can escape most punishments for things you do. If you are not strong enough, you don't deserve most of the privileges, and there wasn't a civilian stronger than a shinobi.
That is why Utakata had to make it to the academy this year. Even though he was only four and would only turn five at the start of the summer, he knew that the sooner he started training, the faster he could escape this life. Utakata wished he could start his training sooner, but he needed to figure out where to start. And even though he knew some physical exercises could help, they cost energy.
With the lack of food, he couldn't replenish his energy. So, he always did everything to save it. Some kids bonded together, trying to survive. Poverty was the common enemy of every orphan, so some came together to fight it. But Utakata could never get along with other kids for one simple reason. The kids didn't know how to be patient.
They didn't know how to save food for a dark day. They didn't know how to save energy either. Playing was fun and all, but it cost energy. So, Utakata would default to one activity most of the time, sleeping. He could pass the time in record time and waste minimal energy by sleeping. It was perfect for him. But to the other kids, it was a waste of time. They didn't understand that wasting time was the point why he did it.
"Kids, gather around," One of the caregivers ordered one day at the start of the spring. "An elder has come to test you to see who will attend the academy. So be on your best behavior."
Utakata smiled softly. It was time he left this part of his life and started the new one. Dozens of children gathered in the main hall of the orphanage. They stood before an old man with greying hair as he looked at them. Utakata was confident that he would be selected because he had an ability that was well sought out. He could sense chakra. If the worst came true, he only needed to reveal that.
"Is that everyone?" The elder asked no one in particular.
"Yes, they are all children under six years old," One of the caregivers answered.
"Good," The elder replied before turning to the children. "Everyone that knows how to read and write hold your hands up."
Utakata was one of the few who raised their hands. Quite a few more knew how to read, but only a few knew how to write. The caregiver started to tell the names of those who held their hands up while the elder began to write them in his scroll. After he finished, he motioned to let their hand down. Utakata was happy at a good start.
"Now, those who know what a chakra is, raise their hands," The elder instructed, and the children did as they were ordered.
The questions continued, and while no children uttered even one word, the elder still got all the information he needed. Utakata started to get nervous as questions continued. While he could always raise his hand, he still didn't know what criteria needed to be chosen. Some children Utakata knew well started to raise their hands at things they didn't know, so, Utakata was confident that few tests would be done to weed out liars.
Soon enough, Utakata's suspicions were confirmed as the children were divided into groups. He knew he was with the other children who could read and write when a written test was given. He was led to a different room to take the test. Before he left the main hall, Utakata saw another group of children being shown outside. Probably to test their physical capabilities, as they couldn't take the written test.
The test was very simple, at least to him. The first part was to test the basics of reading comprehension. The children had to read short stories and answer questions about those stories. The second part was to test the knowledge of the history. Even though Utakata struggled with the second part a bit, as he never had the opportunity to learn history, he knew he nailed the first part. So, he wasn't that concerned.
Utakata didn't rush to finish the test but returned it faster than anyone else. The caregiver looked over it to see if he even wrote anything. Once he finished, he told Utakata to sit back and wait. After half an hour of waiting, Utakata was called by the caregiver and led to another room, where the elder waited for him.
"Utakata?" The elder asked, and Utakata nodded. "You have done well. How did you learn writing so well at such young age?"
"It just came naturally," Utakata lied. He spent countless hours learning a foreign language. He had patience and nothing else to do but learn.
"Utakata is more intelligent than most children his age," The caregiver said, as he knew it all along.
"Good. Gather your belongings, Utakata-kun. You will be coming with me to the academy," The elder announced.
"Won't there be other tests?" Utakata asked.
"For others, there will, but you won't need to take them," The elder explained. "You are smart enough to learn what you don't know in the academy."
The elder's words were short, but it was enough for Utakata. The caregiver returned him to the sleeping courters, where he backed his stuff. All he had was a change of underwear, a few pairs of socks, and another shirt. Everything else he had he was wearing. Then he had to wait for the rest of the children to finish.
At the end of the day, the elder led only a half dozen children to the academy grounds. There was no welcoming ceremony. Only a few, Utakata presumed were instructors from sensing their chakra, waited for them. They led them to their dormitories, where they would stay while studying. After giving them the schedule for tomorrow, they were left alone.
The dormitory where Utakata stayed had twenty beds but was at least twice as big as the cramped room in his orphanage. There was a drawer near the bed to put their belongings inside. Utakata still had more than half of it empty after he finished unpacking. At least he had a clean bed with a soft pillow and a warm blanket.
"Well, that's a start to a new life," Utakata muttered as he hit his bed.
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