A Bone to Pick (Naruto SI)

[Slightly_Displeased]

Chapter 1: Blessed

Itsuki Kaguya

I never had a firm belief in my past life of what could happen after death. I wasn't especially religious, even if my parents were. As I got older, I always felt like I needed to see more concrete proof that a God truly existed. That said, I didn't discount the possibility of God being real either. Whether it was heaven or hell, reincarnation, an eternity of nothingness, I had no way of knowing. I just had to hope it wasn't the last one cause that would suck.

Imagine how annoyed I was when I found myself surrounded by nothing.

It's not really an experience that can be described. How would you explain not existing yet somehow still being aware? I wasn't surrounded by darkness exactly, but nothing. It felt like I was there for both a long time and no time. I couldn't even look around, I just was. What I was I have no clue because I couldn't feel anything.

And then out of nowhere I would feel everything. I felt the air on my skin, heard voices chattering, smelled smells that overwhelmed my senses, saw giant people all around me… it was too much. It was like I couldn't comprehend what was going on and could only stare blankly ahead.

Then I was back.

In the void of nothing.

This kept happened more and more frequently, with my stay in existence being longer each time.

I felt bigger every time I entered that place, I could understand more, my vision was clearer, but still felt unable to properly function and could only stare straight ahead before I got kicked out again.

Until one day, I fully took control and I wasn't sent back.

---​

I woke up from my bed, eyes wide and frantically looked around.

"What the fuck?" were my first words.

Then memories flooded into my mind. Vague and messy memories which cleared up as I got older.

My name is Itsuki. It's my fourth birthday. I live in an orphanage in Kumo, a village high up in the mountains. And I want to be a ninja.

Huh. Well then.

"What the fuck?" were my second words.

As the headache of knowledge died down, I felt a wave of elation. I'm alive. I can feel things. I can actually move.

"Haha" I began to chuckle which turned into a full-blown belly laugh as I celebrated in the confines of my new room. Getting up from lying on my bed to finding myself lying down on the floor, rolling around with uncontrollable giddiness like I was that Greek philosopher who died laughing at his own joke.

I don't care that I'm apparently in the world of Naruto and I don't care that I'm in the body of a four year old. Right then and there, all I cared about was the fact that I exist again. I'm real. And whatever that bullshit limbo I had to go through was is a thing of the past.

"Ugh," a voice nearby grumbled.

"What's so funny?" another boy spoke.

Then a door creaked open in a far corner of the room.

"I see someone's in a good mood", I look up to see a light-skinned middle-aged woman, with silver hair and a bright smile gazing down at me. "Happy birthday little Itsu."

"Thank you, Ms Tabui", I thanked her, calming myself back down and pulling the name from my memories. It helped that she was a prominent one being the Head Matron of the orphanage. "It's a big day today!"

"Why'd you wake me up Itsuki!?" a different voice yelled.

Tabui had been busy lately; we were in the midst of the second shinobi war and more kids were joining the Kumo orphanages by the week. She is a retired Chunin, with some kind of severe injury in her right leg from the first shinobi war which has left her with a limp as she walks. She has said that her daughter usually helps, as she lived here too, but was currently out deployed somewhere being a Kunoichi herself.

There were around 50 children in this orphanage alone from my memories, and I'm not sure how many more there are in this village. The rooms were fairly packed because of this. This still wasn't enough to dampen my mood.

"Haha, he's just excited, Eiji. Itsu's been talking about it non-stop all week. 'Tomorrow's the day I get to be a ninja!' " Tabui softly chuckled while stepping towards me and ruffling my hair. "Come on. Since you're all up I can make breakfast early for your room. A big four year old needs a big meal. Afterwards, we can see about unlocking your chakra."

Oh. That was today wasn't it.

Barely holding back the need to start laughing again, I nodded and followed her out.

---​

I was mostly quite during breakfast. There were about twelve of us sat down in a large hall, with the Head Matron sat amongst the children smiling and replying to their babbling as more staff set the tables around us.

The orphanage it turned out was a pretty big place. High up at the top of a mountain, a large chunk was carved out to make room for the building.

With a moment to myself, my thoughts were going over this body's memories.

I'm in Naruto.

That thought is finally taking a firmer place in my mind. The fictional anime world of my past life. Somehow, I've reincarnated into the famous, messed up land of punch-wizards whose salary is based off of killing other punch-wizards.

Hell, I don't even remember how I died. I actually don't remember much about my past life beyond what I recall from Naruto. That I remember in vivid detail. I feel like I should be more concerned about that, given that I must've had family and friends that have now been snatched away from my brain. Who exactly am I supposed to blame for robbing my memories? Who's to say any memories I make now won't just be taken all the same? I don't even remember my name. But since I can't remember any of that, I found myself not too bothered by that little rabbit hole of depression. Since I can't remember them, I don't know what I'm missing out on. I also have some other pressing things to be thinking about.

I'm not just Itsuki.

I'm Itsuki Kaguya.

Kaguya.

As in the clan of people that pull bones out of their body to stab people with. The insane battle-maniacs that attacked the entirety of Kiri by themselves for nothing else but the love of game.

That little tidbit of my name hadn't seemed to mean much to me before today, not even knowing about the Kaguya clan, but it has very much been near the forefront of my own thoughts over breakfast.

'How the hell am I in the body of a Kaguya kid in Kumo? What kind of plot-driven nonsense is this?'

My new body's memories don't go back enough to learn the answer to my new backstory, and it dosen't seem like I ever bothered asking since I didn't even realize I was from a clan.

'Well, being that I'm in Naruto, I'm sure it's a tragic backstory. Convenient too since I'm glad I didn't wake up anywhere near Kiri.'

"What's with that serious look on your face Itsu? Trying to act more mature now that you'll get to use chakra soon?" Tabui questioned me with an amused smirk on her lips.

"I'm just thinking about all the new stuff I'll get to do with my Chakra. I'll get to train now and go to the academy soon." I replied like the joyful four year old I was.

A good part about this world I've gathered, is that kids mature way faster than they did in my previous world. If a three year old kid was in my old world and was able to have a genuine conversation with an adult, not mispronounce any of his words, take giant pauses to think of responses and not stutter out a yap session while going off on tangents, he'd be considered a genius.

I guess Chakra, even lying dormant and not yet awakened, has a massive effect on the human body.

So lucky for me, I don't really have to dumb down my words too much to hide the fact that I am in fact a grown adult man, and won't end up with Kumo's version of Ibiki.

"Yeah, now I can beat you up in sparring! You keep saying you'll beat me so you better not be scared and chicken out!" A boy slightly older than me named Tomoki challenged out. He was my friend who had begun his training a few months ago and had been beating up many of the other orphans here that are our age. He would also be starting the academy with me in a few months' time. For some reason I seemed to get immense joy from annoying the boy by saying I was stronger than him, even though I had yet to fight anyone.

Well, gotta commit to what I started. "Yeah, yeah. I'll beat you up the second I get my Chakra. You just try lasting more than a couple of seconds" I said, leaning back slightly and flapping a hand in his direction.

Tomoki shook his head and smirked, "everyone's got an attitude, and then they become Tomoki victims."

I snorted at him.

"So eager to start your training, huh Itsu? Well then, if you're finished with your food, let's go outside and see about unlocking your chakra." Tabui said, standing up from her seat and beckoning me to follow.

---​

I walked with the Head Matron up a spiralling staircase that reached the peak of the mountain, on a large, flat, open area made up of stone that was fenced off at the edges of the peak. Turning my head around I saw markings on the ground on one side of the peak which my memories explained to be a training ground. It was cold, but I felt like I should be far colder than I was even in my small fur coat, seeing how high up I was. Must just be another byproduct of chakra circling the body. A glance showed that Tabui only wore a sleeveless kimono.

I could feel it, my chakra, like a warm layer under the surface of my skin that's impossible to reach. I've been feeling it intensely all morning, my connection to it being far stronger than that of my memories. The experience of living a life with no exposure whatsoever to chakra, was a stark contrast like night and day, giving me far more awareness than a child of this world should have. Like an extra sense that is intrinsically part of my body, no my very soul, and is kept dull and at bay.

Gazing past the fences was a deep bed of clouds stretching far across my vision, with many mountain peaks jutting out above them. Walkways extending out from the sides of the vast mountain circling the mountains themselves, multiple floors of buildings sticking out of the crevices and some etched deep into the rock, with more bridges than I could count connecting the vast network of the village.

'The First Raikage was dramatic as hell to pick this place', I thought looking at the Village hidden in the clouds for the first time. 'Very cool though. I approve. No other village would come close to looking this good.'

Tabui turned around near the centre of the clearing and gestured me to come near.

"Alright then Itsu, let's begin. Chakra, as I have already explained to you is an energy that encompasses all living things in this world. Everything from people to trees to insects bear this gift. It's what's responsible for every Jutsu and technique we use as ninja. Without it we would be as weak as civilians. Most people in this world will never get to use this gift, and go their whole lives never knowing the true limits of themselves." Tabui looked down at me with a warm smile, holding out her hand to rest on my head, "As a child of this orphanage, I now get to share this gift with you."

The alien energy that emanated from Tabui, entered and spread throughout my body. Feeling far stronger and more energetic than my own chakra, it travelled throughout pathways across my body that I hadn't even realized were there until now. Growing warmer and wider with every new cycle, my chakra coils were stretched out by the minute.

The Head Matron's chakra circled the pathways and began to focus on a point, a gate, in the left hemisphere of my brain. The Gate of Opening. My own chakra began to pour through, a slow, methodical, gradual thing.

"Focus on my chakra. Focus on its flow, the paths that it is taking throughout your body. Those are your chakra coils. Now, focus on your own chakra. It is reacting to mine and I'm helping to push it out and guide it, but you need to take control of the flow on yourself. Soon your body will learn and this will become as easy as breathing, but you need to show it how it's done first. Now harness it and follow the cycle." Tabui gently ushered with a focused look on her face.

Taking control of it already felt natural, instinctual. Tabui's eyes widened slightly as I followed the flow of her chakra perfectly. No deviations, no corrections needed from her. Just a perfect pathing of my body.

More and more of my chakra was pulled out of the well of my inner gate as the minutes went by, my muscles began to feel slightly stronger, my breathing clearer and my thoughts faster. But my bones. I could feel every single one. What was 280 bones since Tabui begun pulling out my chakra, became 206. Young bones of the body of a child fused together to leave the number a fully grown adult would have, not that of a four year old.

The infamous bloodline of the Kaguya clan was awakened and in full effect. No emotional trigger was necessary, no waiting for a traumatic event for the possibility of awakening the Kekkei Genkai. You are either felt its blessing the moment you awakened your chakra, or you didn't. And right now, I was feeling very blessed.

"Hmm, good. You'll grow to be strong Itsu."

AN: After lurking and reading fics for a couple of years, I finally decided try out writing one myself. I wanted to combine two things I find sorely lacking Naruto fics: a Kaguya and the Third Raikage (the guy's cool as hell in the show).

I did have some of a prologue written to actually explain how the MC's body ended up in Kumo, but I ultimately realised that he just wouldn't remember it. I figured I could just have it explained later as the MC grows up and any issues with Kiri can ensue.

This is my first time writing anything so any constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

 

[Rekka]

Kumo eh? Some interesting characters there, and pairing potential in Samui, Mabui, etc.

It's also got some interesting techniques. If the Raikage teaches Itsuki his Lightning Armor - that would mix really well with Dead Bone Pulse.

Watched.

 

[Slightly_Displeased]

Kumo eh? Some interesting characters there, and pairing potential in Samui, Mabui, etc.

It's also got some interesting techniques. If the Raikage teaches Itsuki his Lightning Armor - that would mix really well with Dead Bone Pulse.

Watched.

Click to shrink...

Thanks. The Dead Bone Pulse is crazily underrated, and there's a lot of ways to make it stronger.

 

[T4ndoris]

Watched! Can't wait for more chapters!

 

[AAAustinYu]

You can always add a discount All-Killing Ash Bones, or maybe steal a pair of byakugan for synergy

 

[Kuraha]

I have this headcanon that Kaguya bones are extremely chakra conductive so i'm just imagining nature transformation through a sword made of your spine, can't wait to see where this goes

 

[Slightly_Displeased]

I have this headcanon that Kaguya bones are extremely chakra conductive so i'm just imagining nature transformation through a sword made of your spine, can't wait to see where this goes

Click to shrink...

I have a big list of ideas for new ways it can be used. The amount of potential for this Kekkei Genkai is crazy.

 

[RookDeSuit]

You can always add a discount All-Killing Ash Bones, or maybe steal a pair of byakugan for synergy

Click to shrink...

What's your thoughts on the same name of the Kaguya clan and Kaguya the Moon Goddess? Any relations (I.e. secret descendants) or none here beyond name scheme?

 

[AAAustinYu]

What's your thoughts on the same name of the Kaguya clan and Kaguya the Moon Goddess? Any relations (I.e. secret descendants) or none here beyond name scheme?

Click to shrink...

The Kaguya clan is probably an offshoot of Hagoromo, that got the All Killing Ash Bones in a degraded form (stated in the Kaguya clan wiki)

 

[Rekka]

I like to think the Kaguya are descendants of Hamura myself, inheriting his 'body' as the Hyuga and Otsutsuki got his eyes, equivalent to what the Senju and Uzumaki are to the Uchiha biologically speaking.

 

[Slightly_Displeased]

Chapter 2: Implications

Tabui, Hidden Cloud Village

Tabui had long since decided that running the orphanage was the best idea she had ever had after having her daughter. After that Hyuga bastard had crippled her leg to a degree that was beyond what the doctors in Kumo could repair, and her husband had been killed by a missing Suna nin, she was left with few options of what to do with herself.

But looking at the lost and crying eyes of the children gain sparks of hope, watching her daughter dote on the kids in a way only an older sister would, seeing them realize that they now have the family that they oh so deserve.

Words can't describe how proud that makes her.

That is not to say it is an easy responsibility to handle. Oh no. Between the near constant arguing, the older children using their Henge and Transformation Jutsus to prank the little ones, and she didn't even want to think about some of the boys jumping off the side of the mountain believing it to be "the ultimate Chakra control training".

So, she was rarely surprised these days. But today happened to be one such day.

'A sentiment that seems to be shared' she thought amusedly, glancing across the room at her village leader.

Ay, the Third Raikage of Kumo had momentarily froze, cutting a rep of his bench press short. He dropped the weights beside the bench, splintering the floorboards.

Eyes wide and bolting up faster than she could see, he stepped towards her. "You're sure?" He asked, not truly a question and more an expression of his disbelief. He knew she wouldn't come to him and inform him of such if she was not certain.

"I am. Quite the miracle that boy is", she smiled, reminiscing on what had happened after breakfast.

Earlier

It took over ten minutes to unlock all of Itsu's Chakra, and by the time it was done it looked like nothing could take the smile off of his face. While the energetic boy had taken to bouncing around in place and exploring his body's new limits, Tabui was left silently contemplating.

To say that she was caught off guard by the awakening of his would be an understatement. The Dead Bone Pulse is not just rare amongst the Kaguya clan, with only a fraction of their members bearing it at a single time.

To Kumo's knowledge, it only comes once every few or so generations in a single one of their members. And in today's generation, their current clan head already filled that quota. So naturally, nobody in the village who were aware of Itsu expected him to acquire the deadly Kekkei Genkai.

'Not to mention, I have never spent so long awakening somebody's Chakra before. His levels are closer to that of a Genin than that of an academy student, let alone the average of someone who had yet to grow their reserves. Could this be another effect of his Kekkei Genkai? The Kaguyas I've met have larger than average reserves, but not to this extent. This is more akin to-'

Her musings were cut short by a large bone protruding from Itsu's palm.

What? He hadn't even started his training! Hell, his Chakra was unlocked 30 seconds ago. He shouldn't even know he could do that.

'So how? More benefits that came with his lineage?' Tabui thinks while watching Itsu poke and prod at his new weapon like it was a toy rather than his own bone.

Tabui whistled, "damn. I didn't think you'd be able to properly use it without training for it first. How did you know you could do that Itsu?"

He paused, the smile on his face faltering momentarily as he seemingly searched for an explanation. The two red dots on his forehead scrunched together along with his eyebrows. Adorable. But she was wanting an answer.

"You felt some of my Chakra flowing out of my coils and going into my bones, right?" he began.

"Yes, I definitely felt that near the end there. You caught me a little off guard with that," she nodded along.

"Well, a lot of it has just settled in them. And I guess my Chakra being there is the reason why I can feel every inch of my skeleton now. I feel it right below the surface and it's like body's telling me that with any influx of more Chakra, I can manipulate it however I want", Itsu informed her.

Tabui is a sensor. She knew exactly what he had done, and it was far more impressive than he was describing. This was not something a simple innate talent in Chakra control could achieve. Even if he was a prodigy in the skill, it was not feasible to mould Chakra the way just Itsu did without being taught how.

He had apparently on instinct controlled Chakra in such a way that it wrapped around and isolated only a section of the Radius bone in his forearm, pushed that bone out of his body, and then left behind some form of advanced medical Chakra that immediately regenerated any damage done as if there was none in the first place.

'To think the Dead Bone Pulse would have so many benefits. This has implications. Implications that will need to be tested,' she thought to herself.

Tabui could only shake her head and laugh, "To think you would have so many hidden advantages." She leant down slightly and ruffled his hair. "The Raikage will sure be happy about this. Good job, Itsu."

"How come I've never seen you do this, Ms Tabui? Do you not like seeing your own bones? That sure does seem wasteful and not very ninja-like. I'm gonna be poking these bad boys out all the time", Itsu had a sagely look on his face as he lectured her, waving his hand around for added effect.

Tabui raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging on her face "Hmph. It's not that I don't want to Itsu, it's that I can't. In fact, there's not a single person in Kumo who is able to use their bones the way you can do now. And that makes you very special to this village", she spoke, looking at him fondly. "Not that you weren't special before, but this will give you a big advantage when you become a ninja."

"What do you mean? How come nobody else can? Wait, did I just create a new Jutsu? On my first try? Hahaha, man to think I'm this talented. In that case I'm gonna name this the calcium-"

He was cut off by the Head Matron chuckling. It seemed a quick lecture was needed.

Present

"HAHAHAHA! The good news keeps on coming!" Ay roared his head back, spreading his arms wide. "First, we crushed those Uzumakis! And now! Now we finally have a bloodline in Kumo!" The Raikage continued his victory laugh.

It had been quite the week for the village.

"Indeed, it's a very happy surprise, Lord Third. And it's even stronger than we thought. Good Chakra control, Medical ninjutsu and a large reserves, any more will have to wait to be seen" Tabui listed off with her fingers, the Raikage's infectious laughter causing her to smile.

"Yes, the boy is a fine prize for Kumo, and we'll make sure not a speck of his potential is left unreached. He may even make a fine brother for my son!" The Raikage eased his laughter and became slightly more focused, "his reserves don't surprise me though, the current Kaguya clan head has reserves that rival the Senju. Much more than the rest of his clan, a clear byproduct of his Kekkei Genkai."

Ay crossed his arms, his face adopting a thoughtful expression, "Hmm, I did not plan for such a possibility. Not much is truly known to us about the Dead Bone Pulse, so we can only wait to see what the boy is capable of. I'll have one of the medical shinobi run some tests on him once he starts at the academy."

He lowered his gaze to her, "Make sure to note down any observations you make while preparing for the boy for the academy, and pass those on before he has his evaluation."

"Of course, Lord Third. That was already my plan," Tabui easily nodded. "Only when we know more about him can we make a suitable training regimen. He is far different to the rest of Kumo's shinobi."

Ay grunted in agreement before he turned around to sit on his sofa. He has no desk in his office.

The Raikage gave a satisfied sigh as he sat back, "It's days like these Tabui, that you look forward to the most as the Raikage. As the leader of the Kumo, I must always fear for our village's future. The S-rank shinobi are the pillars of the great ninja villages, and without the blood of a clan in our Kumo, the chance of anyone having such potential is slim to none.

If myself and my son died, Kumo's Jinchurikis would be our only remaining S-rank ninjas. And as unfortunate as it is, people would not follow them. The rampages of the eight-tails due to my brother's incomplete control causes too much mistrust. Too much fear. But then what? Who will lead? One of our elite Jonin? The other villages would wipe Kumo off the map and take our Biju. We would be taken as a joke and the power of the two-tails and uncontrollable eight-tails would not be enough to ward off the other great villages. Not after what we did to the Uzumaki's.

But now. Now we have a clan! Without the influence of their bloodthirsty culture, we will have a true Kaguya clan, without their insanity! We will have more ninja with the potential for S-rank! And with the boy having their bloodline, if we ensure he reaches his potential, dosen't share the insanity of his kin, if myself and my son die, I will have far less fear for the future of this village."

…​

Itsuki Kaguya, Hidden Cloud Village

The Head Matron had long since left after explaining to him what his bloodline was, giving him time to get use to his new superpowers on the training ground while another Matron watched over him.

And they were superpowers. Make no mistake. Wolverine had quickly become something of an idol to him this morning.

He had been testing the capabilities of his new body all morning, trying to run at his maximum speed for as long as he could, jumping as high as his legs would take him, sprouting bones from different areas to attack invisible enemies, who he then later assaulted with his pitiful attempt at shadow boxing.

He was definitely impressed with himself. Running at speeds faster than he ever had in his previous life, and to do so for over an hour? David Goggins was surely nodding at him somewhere.

It was the explanation for the scene many of the orphans stumbled on.

"What the hell!? Did you purposely tire yourself out so you wouldn't have to fight me Itsuki!? I've been waiting all month for this! How shameless can someone be!?" A steaming Tomoki loomed over my lying form, blocking out the sun.

Going over my memories, the culture in Kumo seemed vastly different than that of Konoha. One such example being that in Kumo, every orphan under the age of 10 has to become a shinobi. As in it's mandatory. The village looks after you and you look after it. There is some disagreement about this in the village however, mostly coming from civilian families who moved to Kumo from outside the Land of Lightning.

See, the religions in this region heavily feature a misconstrued image of the Sage of the Six Paths as some kind of warrior God. An ordinary man who discovered and unlocked the Chakra within himself, becoming so powerful that his very Jutsus shook the foundations of the world, he brought peace and order wherever he went by killing the many tyrannical rulers of that age. The young, savage planet became a divine kingdom united under the Sage, and he taught the secrets of ninjutsu to his army in order to maintain this peace once he passed.

Strength is mostly followed before all here in Kumo. And with the Sage being the strongest to ever live, naturally he is idolised. Death in battle is an honour here; you'll simply be joining the Sage in the Pure Lands in his new divine kingdom.

He was so revered in fact that because the family of the first Raikage owned his sacred tools, uniting Shinobi to form a village with himself as the leader was a simple matter.

So, because of these strong beliefs, once you hit the age of four as an orphan, your Chakra is unlocked and your training begins.

"Stop crying Tomoki, you're jumping to conclusions." I bent my arms back before kicking up into the air. Arms resting behind my head, I closed my eyes and gave a relaxed smile, "see not tired at all."

'Sharingan, Wood Release, who the hell would want those when you could have this?' What I was hoping to be true turned out to be correct. The regeneration of the Dead Bone Pulse massively improves the recovery rate of my muscles. There's just so many benefits from that alone.

The only downside I had found so far was that to actually pull out a bone is fucking excruciating. Even if it only lasts for a few seconds, with my regeneration kicking in like a sweet bliss and healing any damage near instantly, I don't feel like the 1-10 scale is enough to describe how much it sucks. Imagine snapping one of your bones, tearing said bone through muscle, tissue and then piercing it through your skin. All the while trying to keep a stoic expression or else you'll ruin your whole image.

I had managed to keep a straight face while screaming internally in front of the matron earlier, but that was mostly because of the shock of how painful it was. Spamming it all morning had helped to get me accustomed to it.

'It being so painful honestly just makes it cooler. "Oh my god, that guy goes through that much every time he fights somebody? That's fucking metal man." ' I mentally nodded to myself, already anticipating how others would see me.

The kids had begun to spread around the training ground, preparing to start their stretches which we were taught from when we could walk. I stood near Tomoki, searching through my memories and looking around to follow along so I don't look like a grown man who took over a child's body.

"What the hell?! Did someone die here? Look! There's so many bones everywhere!"

Ah. I'm not able to put back any of my bones into myself, at least not yet, hence the scene looking like an abandoned grave robbing job.

Oh well.

…​

The Head Matron had returned and a circular crowd had formed around one of the training rings. While any of the kids were allowed, and encouraged, to watch, only those with their Chakra unlocked were permitted to spar. As of today, the orphanage had 28 children with access to Chakra, with 20 of those currently being at the academy since it was a school day. So, the fights were to take place one at a time, with Ms Tabui going over how both fighters could have done better.

Going into this, I unsure how would stack up against my peers. While they had only been training for a few months at most, my experience was literally zero. They would have started their Taijutsu lessons and been instructed on some of the basic Katas. I had no recollection of fighting in my last life, so I'll mostly just have to be going off of instincts for now. All this would give them a massive leg up on me.

Is what I was thinking until I saw one of the boys in the first match charge at the other with a raised fist, screaming and looking directly at where he wanted his blow to land.

I lost most of my interest in the fights after that. 'Even with their small head start, I probably shouldn't have expected anything else. Their four. No amount of Chakra making their minds more advanced is gonna change that.'

However, as I found myself walking into the circle with Tomoki I felt some anticipation. He was no slouch. For months now the little prodigy had been beating on all of the kids I'd seen fight today and even some of the ones that go to the academy. How I would stack up against him was a different question.

"It's time to beat some respect into you! And then Ms Tabui can tell you all the things you did wrong, and the first thing was challenging me!" Tomoki puffed out while rolling his shoulders. A look of determination was on his face as he turned to look at me, pointing out a fist as we reached the centre.

I completed Kumo's version of the seal of confrontation by bumping his fist with my own. "I don't know man, it sure would be embarrassing if you said all this and lost." We both stepped back, him falling into what I assumed was the academy Taijutsu stance, and myself with what I'm sure was a poor imitation of a boxing stance.

The Head Matron looked on, "ready… start!"

Tomoki immediately shot towards me, his right shoulder twitching forwards when he was within range. I brought up an arm to block in anticipation, falling for the feint which left me with a strong hook connecting to the side of my head, rocking it to the side. But, it dosen't hurt as much as it should and I see a slight wince on Tomoki's face.

His surprise gave me time to block his follow up body shot and I step back trying to get some space. He disagrees with that choice and instantly stepped forward, pressing his advantage. He's slightly faster than me, and with his Taijutsu being at a level far above mine I'm left on the backfoot with little choices as I approached the edge of the ring. My only saving grace being my dense bones which were making him more wary.

When I wasn't being pushed back, he was baiting me, purposefully leaving openings and anticipating my strikes. Each punch I threw was blocked, parried or dodged, with Tomoki taking advantage of the openings in my guard which he knew would be there.

He landed a powerful blow to my stomach, making me lurch forward and wheeze but before he could follow up, my regeneration had already kicked in. With the pain mostly subsided near instantly after the punch connected, I slammed my head into his nose, landing my first hit of the match.

As Tomoki cried out, his head snapping back, I saw my chance and threw a kick at his leg, sweeping him off his feet. My foot slammed against the ground as he rolled to the side, preparing to start another exchange as he stood up, not giving either of us a second to rest.

I decided that as it stood, I had no chance of winning a Taijutsu fight against him.

Seeing Tomoki swing at my head again, I held up an arm to block, but this time as soon as it connected, I pushed out the two bones from my forearm.

"AHHHH!" I screamed, clutching my mangled looking arm and dropping to my knees.

Tomoki immediately stopped his advance, his face paling. "O- oh my god, Itsuki! I- I didn't mean- I didn't think I you hit that hard!"

All of the orphans around us were screaming, many crying at the brutality caused by Tomoki.

He whipped his head around to face Ms Tabui, who was pinching her nose as she shook her head. "Ms Tabui please you have to help him! This match can't keep-"

Tomoki was cut off by a heavy blow to the side of his head, knocking him off his feet once again, but this time outside of the circle.

AN: Not sure how I feel about the little fight at the end, feel like it could've been better but I wanted some practice before I get to the good stuff later on. I will have definitely improved by then, and with Ninjutsu and Genjutsu thrown into the mix it'll be a lot easier to write.

On another note, when I was planning out the fic and Itsuki's power progression, I quickly realized how crazily OP the Dead Bone Pulse actually is. From the little it's shown, it has a few, very broken, very unfair implications. As in so much that I considered just not including some of them because I didn't want Itsuki to get that much of a free ride. But no! I'll do right by our MC and give him every advantage his Kekkei Genkai has! And I guess it's not too unfair given the current monsters roaming around in this time period.

 

[Slightly_Displeased]

I like to think the Kaguya are descendants of Hamura myself, inheriting his 'body' as the Hyuga and Otsutsuki got his eyes, equivalent to what the Senju and Uzumaki are to the Uchiha biologically speaking.

Click to shrink...

We have the same headcannnon then, they're definitely a descendent of Kaguya, either on the Asura line or Hamura line. That's my reasoning for his reserves.

 

[AAAustinYu]

I like to think the Kaguya are descendants of Hamura myself, inheriting his 'body' as the Hyuga and Otsutsuki got his eyes, equivalent to what the Senju and Uzumaki are to the Uchiha biologically speaking.

Click to shrink...

Hamura having the Hyuga, (Moon) Ostutsuki and Kaguya, and Hagoromo having the Uzumaki, Senju and Uchiha? All of the other clans should probably be some kind of ghost/demon people, or just natural elemental combinations

 

[Honaimannequin]

I hope he can evolve the Dead Bone Pulse into All Killing Ash Bones like sharingan evolves in Mangekyo......Also please don't let him neglect Ninjutsu, Iryojutsu and Genjustsu like other fanfic with a Kekkei Genkai does......Even Dead Bone Pulse is cool asf.......Wind Blades with Bone sword or Earth Dragon with bone plate will be more cooool.

 

[Drageos]

Considering his bloodline.

Taijutsu specialist is definitely the best path.

 

[Rekka]

Considering his bloodline.

Taijutsu specialist is definitely the best path.

Click to shrink...

Not necessarily. DPB would certainly be a massive boon to Taijutsu, but it can do a lot more besides that.

Most obviously, he can make chakra conductive weapons on the fly, so swordsmanship and ranged techniques are something he should look into - fortunately Kumo is big on swords.

It's also big on lightning jutsu and railguns, so he should put some focus on that as well and learn to make something like the Angel Arm from Trigun.

Spoiler: Angel Arm

Building to that, he should look into learning the Heavenly Transfer Technique from or alongside Mabui, letting him shoot his bones at literally light speed and with his potential for durability he could even turn into a personal speed/teleportation technique.

This would also let him spend some bonding time with one of the settings biggest baddies. He may not be able to learn it though since it apparently unique to her somehow. A space-time bloodline maybe?

He should also see if he can't get Darui to teach him how to use Black Lightning which just seems to be a stronger Lightning Release that seems to have something to do with Six Paths Chakra given Sasuke and Kakashi both started using it after getting some.

And of course, he should absolutely look into learning the Raikage's Lightning Armor Nin-taijutsu.

 

[Myriddin]

I did have some of a prologue written to actually explain how the MC's body ended up in Kumo, but I ultimately realised that he just wouldn't remember it. I figured I could just have it explained later as the MC grows up and any issues with Kiri can ensue.

Click to shrink...

Honestly, I wouldn't even bother including it later. It just doesn't really matter. Everyone dies, it's not like it's a plot hole or anything.

I always prefer more cold open like this, without the 5k pre-reincarnation section everyone skips.

 

[Jubjub3000]

Seems interesting! I wonder if he will create bone armour? Maybe a bone sword/pole arm? Would imagine that it would conduct his chakra pretty easy for elemental attacks.

Could he create a railgun with his bones? As in create a pair of rails, build up a charge with electric chakra, then create a spike with a different charge so it fires out extremely fast! Could probably make a beam rifle with that.

Maybe he could even put micro barbs on any stabby weapons he generates for extra damage? Kinda like a porcupine.

 

[Rustic]

Hamura having the Hyuga, (Moon) Ostutsuki and Kaguya, and Hagoromo having the Uzumaki, Senju and Uchiha? All of the other clans should probably be some kind of ghost/demon people, or just natural elemental combinations

Click to shrink...

I read somewhere might have been fanon. I think it was a naruto factoid that the Uzumaki clan were cousins of the bone people. They shared an ancestral but split when the Uzumaki made there village.

 

[Slightly_Displeased]

Chapter 3: Training days

Itsuki Kaguya, Hidden Cloud Village

One of the most beautiful things about this world was that absolutely anyone can reach the peak of its power. No matter where you live, if you have a bloodline, or even what your Chakra levels are. The dormant potential to reach the level of power only the strongest have achieved lies dormant in everyone on the planet, no matter how weak your beginnings may be.

Might Guy is proof of that. He had nothing special about him; he wasn't even a particularly talented in any field.

But still, with nothing but dedication and hard work, he took his Taijutsu and brute forced his way to reach that peak.

There's no excuse to not reach such a level, even from a Clanless ninja. If they don't, then they simply did not work hard enough.

And as a ninja who is from a Clan, I especially have no excuse. Which is why I put everything I had into my training.

…​

Exhaustion terrorised my mind and body as I neared the end of another lap. I was no longer welcomed by the cheering encouragement of my peers, excited for one of their fellow villagers to push themselves so far, no, the selfish, unpatriotic little gremlins had stopped that almost a week ago and now only bored, unsurprised faces remained.

But if you were to look closely, there was a flicker of respect in their eyes.

Panting, I completed the final steps of the lap as my mind urged me to do one more, but that idea had me collapse into a sweaty and groaning clump on the floor.

"This is crazy! We finished our laps like seven hours ago! We even left to have lunch and everything!" One of the kids who had come back to watch let his feelings known.

The protests of the child and his skill issue barely registered in my ears however as my body felt like it had been stretched out by a rolling pin and then used as a sumo mat.

I had finished running for over an hour and a half to train my endurance, going until I no longer move. But of course, I had only started this run after resting from my previous workout, because I had already collapsed on the floor today. Multiple times in fact.

Each and every time getting up sorer than the last, but with the burning determination to make the most out my Kekkei Genkai. Something which the Head Matron heavily agreed with.

It had been a week since my Chakra was unlocked, and I had made a few discoveries about my bloodline. The biggest of which being that my body actually makes two distinctly different types of Medical Chakra to heal me, instead of one. I had taken to calling them: my Regeneration Chakra and my Recovery Chakra.

The Regeneration Chakra comes about when I am actively using the Dead Bone Pulse, or from my observations whenever my body believes me to be in danger, and this is what I have been using previously to heal any damage I take near instantly.

In a situation that is not a threat to me however, my body will instead use Recovery Chakra to heal me. And while it is not as fast acting as the cheat that is my Regeneration, it has a very important trait that the other lacks: it allows my muscles to grow back even stronger.

A big relief in hindsight. When a person exercises, they are causing microtears to form in their muscles, and it is the human body healing these muscles to recover stronger than before that causes any gain in strength.

If I only had my Regeneration Chakra, then any attempt I made at training would just be completely pointless. My muscles would be immediately restored from any damage taken when exercising, but they would not come back any stronger, vanishing the gains I would be beginning to make.

A big flaw, one which I'm glad evolution ironed out by giving me two ways of healing. Or however Kekkei Genkai's develop.

That's not to say that the Recovery Chakra is slow. Far from it in fact. It'll kick in the moment I take a break, flood my body and begin its magic, only taking around 20 minutes if I'm completely spent. It does not restore me completely however, but it's a close thing. Like going to the gym and feeling sore the next day. The issue only comes after repeatedly abusing this training method, and the soreness of every recovery stack on top of each other.

Which is why after 4 such sessions, I decided to call it quits for the day.

"Oh, are you done with your running for the day Itsu?" One of the Matrons called out to me. Hearing my barely audible hum in agreement, she replied "Good job then! I'll go get you some lunch!"

"You ran even longer than you did yesterday. How the hell are we supposed to keep up with that!?" One of the kids watching voiced his thoughts, which had many of the others nodding in agreement.

"We can't. there's no way we can." A girl looked down at herself, slightly glum.

"This is so unfair! How come we don't get a bloodline!?" Another spoke up.

The kids have had a range of emotions about my Kekkei Genkai over the week. From being slightly scared about all the bones poking out of me, to recognising that they were not scary and in fact the coolest thing they have and will ever see, and then finally settling on becoming a small group of haters all agreeing that I was an overpowered individual.

I couldn't really disagree with them.

Tomoki, who was sitting amongst the small crowd, had apparently had enough. "No. There's no point complaining that it's unfair. It won't change anything." He then stood up and looked down at his fellow orphans, "It's his strength. And 'cause we don't have it, that just means it's our weakness! So, we just have to work even harder to cover for that weakness so we don't get left behind!" Tomoki said as he moved to stand by me and stomped on the ground.

"We just have to train! Harder than ever before! And we'll get stronger than you! Just you wait Itsuki!" He declared, like he was making a statement to the world itself. Tomoki looked back at the other kids with a look of resolve, "Come on, everyone! We've all rested since our workout earlier, so let's do it again!"

He turned around and took off, the other kids followed behind quickly with determination on their faces, shouting on their way to hype themselves further.

I lifted my head slightly and watched them go. This was good. I had come to like these guys over the week. And if me training motivates them to train even harder, then good for them.

They were wrong though. They had no way in hell of ever reaching me now that I was already stronger than them. The world simply wasn't that fair.

But I wasn't about to burst their bubble.

If they wanted to work this hard, and keep following me as a goalpost then I wouldn't dare to stop them. If they kept up this level of determination and hard work, then maybe they too can eventually join me at that peak.

…​

The schedule for us academy-in-training students was pretty simple. A morning spar after breakfast, followed by the morning conditioning via running, then came the late afternoon Chakra control exercises, and finally the evening Katas practice.

I of course did a little extra though, and trained with my bloodline between the spars and conditioning, as I was not allowed to use it during spars.

But after a week of getting accustomed to the training regimen and familiarising myself with Chakra, I was deemed fit to finally be included in the Chakra control lessons.

"Okay, you all know which exercises you need to focus on, so get started." Tabui clapped her hands as she called out to us.

My day of training was far from over yet. While the soreness on my body lessened over the day, I knew it would not completely go away until the next morning.

I was tempted to just activate my Kekkei Genkai and get rid of this soreness, but I had already tested this on a previous day and knew its drawbacks. While it had brought me back to 100%, the progress made in my speed was far less compared to days I had just ridden out the pain.

So, it's just not worth it I found.

"Yuto, go and show Itsu how the stone sticking exercise is done, it's his first day learning these techniques," Tabui beckoned over a taller boy towards me with a wave of her hand.

"Uh, yeah. Sure thing, Ms Tabui," Yuto shrugged and walked over.

Yuto was in the 4th​ year of the academy, if I was remembering right. The ninja school had finished for the day and the students from the orphanage had now returned, making the hall feel a lot more cramped with 20 added bodies filling the space.

"Alright little bone man, you see those stones," he pointed at the collection of small stones in my hand. Seeing me nod, he continued "your gonna put those stones on your arm. Like this," he rolled up his sleeves and did as he said.

"Then you send up a tiny bit of Chakra to up to your arm, and make them stick! But don't send too much though, 'cause that'll make them fly off." He pointed at me to start. "And keep the stones close together. It gets a lot harder to control the more you spread them and you're not really ready for that right now."

"Right, right." I looked down at my task. "So how small an amount of Chakra are we talking? I wouldn't wanna fling these off into anyone's eyes or something by accident."

"That would take way more Chakra than you need for this. You'd have to be purposefully trying to do that. You can't mess up that bad." Yuto shook his head at my hypothetical, "I don't know man, you gotta just feel it out. This is training. I don't have the exact reserves that you have so I can't really explain it anymore than just not that much."

"Hmm. Alright, then." I moved the stones and pressed them against my bicep. Focusing internally, I slowly moved Chakra towards the points of the objects.

'Let's see'. Factoring in their shape, weight and size, I locked in on an amount I felt appropriate. 'This is kinda like using my bloodline, if I was only trying to push out small bones instead of the larger ones.'

"Wouldn't it be weird if I did it on my first try?" I innocently asked the boy as he watched my hold the stones to myself.

"You won't do it first try, man. It takes people like a month or two at least to get this down for a couple sec- wait. Why would you ask that? You wouldn't ask that unless you- no don't tell me you've already done it" Yuto's expression grew more and more appalled as he spoke.

Removing the hand from my arm, I left behind the stones in clear view, still clinging onto my bicep. I kept the innocence on my face and gasped in surprise.

"Woah! I did it. And on my first try too. Man, I must be even more of a prodigy than I thought." I rubbed my chin at the only possible explanation.

Yuto deadpanned in silence for a moment as he looked at my arm, before huffing out, "You asshole. How can one guy make everything so unfair."

"Hahaha, sorry man. That's just how it is; it's really similar to using my bloodline." I chuckled.

"Just…" Yuto gave a heavy sigh, "just keep them there for as long as you can. If it's too easy then spread them out more. And if that's somehow too easy…" He gave another sigh, "then I guess move on to moving the stones around your body. And add more stones."

I thanked him before he turned to walk away, towards his own practice in wall walking.

'I guess my Chakra control is naturally pretty good. And this is barely draining any of my Chakra, I wonder how long I can hold these for'

…​

Tomoki's eye twitched as he looked at me. I pretended not to notice and continued going over the motions of the academy Taijutsu Katas. He wasn't the only one, and I was very much enjoying the attention that was on myself.

"It's been three hours! How the hell are you still going!?" A girl near us screamed as she dropped her pose and pointed a finger at my face. More specifically, at my forehead, where a few stones were dancing around in random patterns around each other at my own discretion.

"Hm? How am I doing what, Hina?" I turned my head at the voice, eyebrows high and looking at the easily exasperated girl.

"That! You know what! How are you still controlling them? And how are you moving them around like that on your first day!?"

"You didn't do this on your first day too?" I hummed back.

"No! No obviously not! This is ridiculous!"

"Oh? Why not? This isn't that hard, so there's no way you've been struggling with it," I gave a thoughtful look as I searched for a possible reason.

"You- Argh!" She had to be held back as she attempted to lunge at me.

I was expecting something like this to be the case. In the anime, Kimimaro was kept in a cage all his life by the Kaguya clan and was only released for battles, but with seemingly no training, he could go toe-to-toe with Chunins and come out victorious, all because of the innate high level of control he had over the Dead Bone Pulse and Chakra augmentation. The same control that I had from the moment my Chakra was unlocked.

So, it was safe to assume that something as basic as Kumo's leaf sticking exercise would come naturally to me. Hell, even tree walking and water walking might be a breeze to figure out too.

A dulled wooden kunai thumped against the girl's forehead, "focus! Don't become distracted so easily." Tabui admonished the girl before turning my way, "And you! Stop antagonising the others!"

We both nodded, and soon the final portion of the day's training was over.

I released the Chakra that was keeping up the stones and heard a voice behind me, "Excellent work, Itsu. I don't think I've ever seen someone master the stone sticking exercise as fast as you." Tabui walked over and ruffled my hair. "You were so eager to train on your birthday that we didn't take you out to eat, so come on! We're all going Miyaki's to celebrate!"

"Enjoy this Itsu, because tomorrow we're starting your personal sparring practice with me, making full use of your bloodline. And because of your healing, I don't have any reason to go lightly on you," she smiled sweetly at me.

…​

My days carried on like this for three months, and the day to start the academy was finally here.

Spending almost all of my time training in some way has made me far stronger and faster than a four year old had any right to be. By the end of the first week, I had caught up to Tomoki physically, and the gap had only widened between me and my peers from then.

The Kaguya blood in me urged me to go further, relishing in the feeling of becoming something more than I was the day before. And it did not want me to stop growing. Ever. The idea of complacency was sickening. And I wholeheartedly agreed.

Training for me was becoming addicting, and whether that was from my battle maniac genes or from me becoming part of a world with limits beyond anything I previously dreamed of being possible, I couldn't say. But I knew that I would never stop.

I had plans on top of plans on how to get stronger, but time was not on your side in this world. Prodigies are snuffed out in the crib and never get the chance to make something of themselves.

I would not make that mistake; I would not have a moment of hindsight before death thinking that I should have tried harder. That I could've done something more.

No.

There are people out there who have already reached realms of strength that I couldn't touch right now, and may be gunning for my head once word of who I am gets out to them. So, I'll do everything in my power to make sure I'm as prepared for them as I can be.

AN: I'm more of a plot guy when I choose fics I want to read, so that'll probably translate in my writing and mean I'll get the academy section out of the way pretty quickly. But with that being said, there are a few things I want ironed out before Itsuki can graduate out of there.

 

[T4ndoris]

TFTC! Can't wait for more, he is going to be busted if he can combine his Kekkei Genkai with lightning armor

 

[AAAustinYu]

Third Raikage would be high as fuck after seeing this
Wonder what letter he's gonna get

 

[Omniext]

tftc, stuff looks fun. we really do need more second shinobi war fics, and this one looks cool

 

[Slightly_Displeased]

Chapter 4: First Day

Itsuki Kaguya, Hidden Cloud Village

I trudged along with my fellow orphans across the village, following behind the Head Matron, and as I gazed around, I spotted a few other groups of what looked to be children in the same boat as us. I never did ask Tamui how many orphanages were in Kumo, but the war had clearly been taking a toll on the population.

I had been outside of the Orphanage a few times by this point, but the view of walking among the very clouds themselves and being able to gaze down at the bed of white, while looking down from the walkways that connect the gigantic mountains together, never ceases to amaze me.

It was like living in a ninjafied Olympus.

The only issue was how agonizingly inefficient it was to get across since there was no choice but to pass through said walkways, meaning they were also heavily congested most of the day. I had seen ninjas walking on the sides or upside down along the bottoms of the structures, but sadly not all of us knew that technique so we had to travel like some normals.

A few heads turned my way. Whenever I explored the village, I always stuck out like a sore thumb.

With hair as white as the clouds above, straight and long as it reached down my back, a zig-zag parting in the centre.

Sea-green eyes and a smooth, innocent face, a twisted reflection of the vicious bloodline that I wield. The purple kimono I wore over my pale white skin was a deliberate choice, allowing for easier access to my abilities.

None of these things individually drew the attention of passers-by, but together the uniqueness signified a meaning of belonging to somewhere. Somewhere that is clearly not from Kumo. Even for those unfamiliar with the looks of the Kaguya clan, I clearly represented a people who were different to your ordinary civilian. A person does not develop such traits on their lonesome, there must be others.

The clearest indicator being the twin crimson dots that centred on my forehead and the shade of red on the underside of my eyelids, taking my innocent face and making it look a touch demonic.

Some were slightly fearful of me, a cautious nature built from hearing stories about the Kaguya clan over the centuries, and so tried to keep their distance.

Most though, were simply unaware or just decided to trust that their Kage would not bring such a danger into their village. They were not scared of me, nor did they even mistreat me. They simply looked at me as if they could solve the puzzle of what I was by staring, before carrying on with their day.

Apparently, my existence was an S-rank secret of the village, but with little explanation as to why for the people who were unaware of the Kaguya clan and knew my last name.

We soon arrived at the academy, joining a noisy, large crowd of kids and parents and that had to number at over a thousand people. The academy itself was the biggest building I had seen, its dark stone walls completely surrounding the mountain itself, covering its peak from view as its many stories nearly reached the height of the Raikage's office.

After a few minutes of waiting, a man with more muscles than anyone I had seen yet (which is saying a lot in Kumo) stepped out of its front doors. He was younger, but was definitely a man I recognized from the story. The first one I had recognized in fact.

Ay, the Third Raikage, stepped forward on the raised platform and lifted a hand. Silence engulfed the crowd as he immediately gained everybody's full attention. He paused momentarily before speaking.

"Becoming a shinobi is no small choice. It is a promise, a vow to give your all to Kumo. To fight, to bleed, to give everything you have into protecting our home. To protect the children, the civilians, the people who are not able to protect themselves were our enemies to come to attack.

You have all decided to become the guardians who shield this village, and for that, I cannot thank you enough. It makes me proud as your Kage knowing that you all love our home as much as I.

When I look you all, I do not see children. Not anymore. No, I see warriors. I see the future of our village! You are our villages future! You are the shinobi who will carry the village forward after this brutal war is done with, and show the world the might of Kumo! Today, you enter a new world and become comrades in arms until death!

This is the start of your journeys. Your careers as Shinobi. Everything you will possibly need to become as powerful as you can lies in this village, and it all starts at this academy. Put your hearts into it. I know I can trust each and every one of you to give everything you have and be the strongest ninjas you can be."

Cheers erupted from the thousand in attendance, and a small smile graced the Kage's face. His eyes swept the crowd, taking in the new crop of recruits, until his gaze met mine. I met his stare for a few seconds, before his smile widened slightly, and after a nod he returned his attention to the rest of the crowd.

…​

"It is the basis of all Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu…" Habichi-sensei drawled on.

Going to school for a second time and learning in a class full of four year olds was as boring as you'd imagine it would be. My new sensei had introduced himself and explained the curriculum for the first semester. Then he spent hours going over basic Maths and tested our reading and writing skills.

Things only became interesting once he began to teach us about the geography of the Cloud Village and its place in the world. Now he was explaining the basics of Chakra for the few class members who are first generation shinobi from a family of civilians.

"Hey, dya think he's bald under that bandana and that's why he's wearing it?" A boy behind me who's name I can't remember whispered.

"Haha yeah, maybe he can cast genjutsus off of it to blind-"

A crashing window drew everyone's attention, and to our surprise we found our sensei, who had just been at the front of the room, shouting at the flying forms of two of our classmates.

"If you wanna mouth off during lessons, then do it outside! You'll pay nothing but absolute attention in my class!"

Our Sensei was also kind of a hard-ass. Almost like a drill sergeant.

Lucky for the kids that we weren't too high up from the village.

…​

Unlike in some of the fanfics I had read, there was no entrance exam for the academy. The Head Matron simply gave a list of our names a few months prior, and we were all set to attend. If anyone chooses to be a Shinobi, Kumo would whip them into something and put them somewhere in the Shinobi forces.

Tabui had said that the training provided in Kumo was second to none, better than any other village. All because of the necessity to have such support for our Shinobi, as we had no Clans here. The generations worth of knowledge to train many of our forces did not exist. So, almost everything was shared in the Cloud Village and help from your fellow ninja was easily given. Whether this was some Kumo propaganda by the Head Matron was yet to be seen.

But because there was no exam, the classes seemed mostly random and not at all divided based on ability.

Which was made very clear when I steamrolled through everyone during our spars. I hadn't expected anyone to actually be a challenge, but even holding back wouldn't have given them a chance.

Barely paying attention, I shifted my weight, leaning away from the oncoming swing aimed at my face. Seeing my bored expression, the boy I was facing grew frustrated, but was unable to act on his feelings as I grabbed his forearm and landed a heavy punch to his stomach.

He wheezed from the blow and collapsed, not getting up as I rested my hands on the back of my head and stepped away.

We were made to spar three students each, giving our instructor an understanding of where we all stood, but unfortunately for my instructor, he didn't get to see much from my opponents as I felt no need to draw my fights out.

Habichi-sensei sighed, "Itsuki, go take him to the nurse's office."

"Sure thing sensei, but which way was that again?"

A longer sigh was drawn out by my sensei this time before he spoke, "Brat, I have already shown you the way twice now. So quit your joking, take that grin off your face and go take him to the nurse's office, before I have someone take YOU to the nurse's office!" He cracked his knuckles for added effect, which was made even more intimidating because of his enormous size like many of the other gym-rats in this village.

"Why would someone need to take me to the nurse's office, sensei? I'm completely healthy," I tilted my head and put on a face of concern. "That should be pretty obvious, especially to a trained ninja like you. Are you alright, sensei? Are you sure YOU don't need to go to the nurse's office?" Habichi-sensei's frown deepened the longer I talked.

Unfortunately for him my blood was yearning for some kind of a challenge today, no matter how low my chances of winning were. And his threats of violence had no impact on a guy who rips his bones out on the daily. As emo as it sounded, pain meant nothing to me anymore.

I pointed a finger directly in his face, "maybe you hit your head? Is there a big lump under that bandana? It's OK sensei, you don't need to be embarrassed, you can show me. I ca-"

I was launched back as a footprint formed across the entire length of my chest, falling into a few of the children watching. Scrambling back to my feet, a savage grin overtook my features as a growl of excitement escaped me.

'HAHAHAHA FINALLY!'

I held out a hand and aimed high, firing five Bone Bullets from my fingers, a move I figured out recently, before pushing out the bones in my forearm, fusing them into two twin Swords in my hands. Pumping Chakra into my legs I shot forward, seeing him lean away from the bullets.

Stabbing toward his thigh with one hand and slashing across his midsection with the other, he twirled around, expertly dodging both attacks and I barely had time to react to the spinning back kick he aimed at my chest once again.

Splintering off parts of my ribs, my entire front was rapidly covered in large jagged bones, shooting forward as they gave Habichi no time to pull away his foot without being skewered.

"Tch," he grunted as he pulled back his bleeding appendage.

A small grin then pulled on his face, "You have promise. Good. But at what point did I say we could use Kekkei Genkai in a Taijutsu spar!?" And in an instant, he vanished from my view.

'Body Flicker!'

I tried to expel bones out across my back and arms as they were on my front, I had been working hard to improve the speed at which I could do so.

But even then, I wasn't fast enough.

I was helpless as I felt a hardened fist smash into the back of my reinforced skull, and darkness crept into my vision.

…​

I awoke to the realization that I was piggybacking one of the other students, carrying me to the nurse. I saw the boy I had knocked out before my spar with the teacher in a similar situation in front of me with someone else. I should really let them know I'm awake and already healed.

"AHH!" I screamed.

"AHHH!" The kids screamed back. Startled, the boys jumped up, dropping the pair of us as they did. The boy I beat, still being unconscious, slammed into the ground, where as I, the clearly more prepared ninja, landed gracefully on my feet.

The two boys turned around and scrambled backwards a few steps, a realization that there was no danger dawning on them as they caught their breath. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" One of the boys yelled at me.

I raised my hands, "woah, don't blame me. You scared me man, be more careful next time," I calmly replied, finishing with my arms crossed to show my disapproval of their antics.

"How did we scare you!? We were taking you to the nurse!" The other boy shouted back, stepping towards me.

"So, you think I'm injured, and now you're screaming at me? The injured guy? What kind of a sick person slacks off like that when there are people in need of dear help?" I shook my head in disappointment and pointed to my right. "And you dropped that guy. Is this some kind of joke to you?"

He charged at me, quite rudely I felt, but it was far to slow to work. I jumped over him, propelling off of his back and making him stumble forwards.

"Well, if your gonna act like this and not take me to the nurse's office, I might as well just go home." I walked off, hearing their shouts behind me.

…​

When you enter the academy as an orphan, you're given the choice of having your own apartment or staying at your orphanage.

I, like almost everyone else, chose the latter option. Besides the fact that there was an array of training equipment available there, a retired Chunin for a Head Matron to give out advice and spar against and food given out here for free, I did actually like everyone in the orphanage. I had especially gotten attached to the small band of four year olds who work their asses off every day to try to get on my level.

I would be bored out of my mind if I had to live by myself.

But the main reason I stayed was that I had no plans to hold myself back and hide any of my strength.

There was no Danzo here in Kumo, at least to my knowledge. I wouldn't be plucked out and forced into Root like I might have been were I reborn into Konoha. I had no doubts that I would be expected to father a new clan for the village one day, but apart from that, I completely believed that this place wanted what was best for me.

They would not try to hinder my growth, only match my hard work with whatever support I needed to help me grow further, so I would take full advantage of that.

I'm their golden child. Their future. In the long run, I'm arguably more important to them than a tailed-beast.

They are also aware of what my potential is since the current Kaguya clan head has the same Kekkei Genkai, and is apparently one of the most dangerous dudes out there. So, any sandbagging from me would definitely be noticed.

I arrived back at the orphanage entrance and searched for the Head Matron. I was scheduled to have an evaluation today at the hospital to learn more about my biology, something I had been waiting a while for.

…​

A Chakra scalpel cut into my heart, past my ribcage which I had parted to give the doctor an easier time.

The Medical shinobi's eyes had been wide for the past thirty minutes, and only widened further as he felt my heart repair itself with the help of my Regeneration Chakra.

I was pretty stumped too. I knew I could heal myself, but I had no idea I could bring back my organs.

The doctor had gone from making cuts along my hand, to slicing off a small part of my skin, to making a small incision across my small intestine, to just cutting out a small chunk out of some of my less important organs.

He was currently working on my heart, at my insistence, which had healed back perfectly fine like the rest of my body had.

'Holy shit,' I could only marvel at the sheer unfairness on display. The only organs he hadn't tested on were my eyes and brain, as medical ninjutsu with those were much more dangerous, with more severe injuries being complete lost causes. He was confident he could aid in my recovery with the other tests, but my noggin was something he drew the line on.

But we both knew there was no reason why I wouldn't be able to regenerate them too.

'Is… is this the same level of healing that Hashirama had? Am I… am I 100% Hashirama cells?' I marvelled in awe, "Itsuki cells" I spoke out loud pondering my divinity.

This is insane. What the hell would it even take to kill me? How much of me needs to be left to regenerate fully? Am I like Perfect Cell?

In the story, when Kimimaro fought Lee and Gaara and used that giant bone forest move, he absorbed his body into his bones and travelled in them, appearing right behind the duo.

Did he just not have a brain for that brief moment? No body at all apart from literal bones? And did he then near instantly grow back a whole new body for himself?

This... this is…

"Pft-hahaha," I couldn't hold back the laugh as I fell back, landing in a chair behind me.

Tabui's eyes had narrowed in concern, while the doctor kept the same exasperated expression on his face as he took in a deep breath, an attempt to have some level of composure. "This is unprecedented. Your body generates a form of Medical Chakra far more potent and far more advanced than anything I have ever seen before. I am truly not sure if there is anything that you wouldn't be able to heal."

The doctor's brows furrowed, his eyes focused on me even further, "even if you were to lose a limb, I see no reason why you could not be able to regenerate it back. No, with this Regeneration Chakra as you call it, I have seen enough evidence to know for certain that you could."

"What could actually kill me then?" I asked him, still grinning like a loon.

"Barring you running out of Chakra and being unable to restore yourself, I cannot honestly say. Perhaps if your brain were to be damaged, as you said you were briefly knocked out at the academy today. But even still, there are grounds to assume even that may not be enough." He looked up and met my eyes, "perhaps every cell in your body would need to be completely eviscerated to truly put you down… Quite a formidable ability."

He sighed, as he had many times during the evaluation. "I will be sure to inform the Raikage of this. For you though, I strongly recommend you start using weights to bolster your training. You will not have your development impacted by the use of them like others your age, your healing will see to that. Especially, make the most of training weights to keep on at all times, with your Recovery Chakra working in tandem with them, you will see more benefits than anyone else."

"Where can I get training weights from?" I questioned.

"You just have to ask at the academy. Everyone is permitted to use them from their fifth year onwards, and with the doctor's permission so will you," Tabui spoke up to inform me.

"Quite right," the doctor adjusted his glasses. "Now, onto our final topic… How do you feel when you fight Itsuki? What emotions are there? Is there any strong change?"

'Huh… oh. Right. He's asking about the Kaguya madness.'

"Nothing too much, I guess. If I'm against someone I'm stronger than, that is. But I do get a little excited when I know the fight will be tough, like against Ms Tabui."

"Or like your academy instructor today? A very brash decision to try to challenge Habichi. What compelled you exactly?" The doctor pulled his notepad back out.

"Yeah, like that too. I was just bored after having to fight against the other kids, and Habichi-sensei was a great challenge for me. Look, I know your asking to make sure I'm not insane like the other Kaguyas, but it's really not like that. I knew he's a Chunin, I wasn't trying to kill him or anything, I knew he could handle it, and if he couldn't I would've held back to not seriously injure him. I'm not bloodthirsty or anything, I just get a little more enjoyment out of a good fight than most others do."

"Hm. And how are you outside of spars? How is your temper?"

"Itsu here is a smartass. I'd have known if he was quick to anger. Instead, he enjoys when people try to annoy him and never fails to get a rise out of them." Tabui shook her head, a smile on her face as she looked at me.

"I see. Even so, do take more care, Itsuki. This battle-junkie mentality may not be an issue here in the village, but may very easily lead to grave danger outside. You are quite the intelligent boy, I have seen that even with our short meeting today, so I trust you can envision these scenarios."

"Yeah, don't worry doctor. I wouldn't ever do anything dumb like fight an army by myself. I'll keep all that energy here in Kumo, maybe challenge the Raikage or something." I hoped so anyway, I did feel myself getting carried away sometimes during my fights.

The doctor looked at me for a second, then stood up, "hm. Good. Well, that's all for today then. I've made a note for you to give Habichi for your training weights, so be sure to take it to him." He stretched out a hand, "after what I've seen today, I'm expecting big things from you, Itsuki."

I shook his hand and thanked him for his time before walking out with the Head Matron.

And just like that, my training opportunities have bloomed, and my potential far higher than I previously imagined.

'I'm gonna have to push myself a lot more starting from tomorrow.'

AN: How broken do you think Itsuki's healing should be? And how broken was Hashirama's for that matter?

 

[iperno]

AN: How broken do you think Itsuki's healing should be? And how broken was Hashirama's for that matter?

Click to shrink...

"I'll adapt"

 

[Kuraha]

How broken do you think Itsuki's healing should be? And how broken was Hashirama's for that matter?

Click to shrink...

Broken enough for Orochimaru to consider transferring his soul to Kimimaro's body if it wasn't for the disease. Like i'm pretty sure the only other instance of Orochimaru even considering not taking over an Uchiha is from filler and it's some girl that could control Bijuus for some reason.

 

[Spearow]

AN: How broken do you think Itsuki's healing should be? And how broken was Hashirama's for that matter?

Click to shrink...

depends on how much he training, i honestly think that he might be able to regenerate bone parts, and at his peak he should be able to emulate doomsday, maybe have a doomsday mode with a subskin bone armor like kimimaru had but more monster mode.

Spoiler: maybe make him look like the doomsday from this series

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=511WJ_yCgOg

 

[Akuma-Heika]

And how broken was Hashirama's for that matter?

Click to shrink...

IIRC, a lot of Tsunade's Ultimate Med-Jutsu BS was her attempts at copying what Hashirama could do passively.

 

[Jubjub3000]

Thank you for this! I wonder how dense, strong and flexible he can make his bone armour? Maybe fill it with cartilage so he's effectively immune to blunt force trauma? Something like a woodpecker skull could help nullify heavy blunt attacks, a dense outer layer to spread the impact would help alot as well. Multiple layers of each would be thick but considering how he can move his bones at will, wouldn't be an issue.

 

[Slightly_Displeased]

Thank you for this! I wonder how dense, strong and flexible he can make his bone armour? Maybe fill it with cartilage so he's effectively immune to blunt force trauma? Something like a woodpecker skull could help nullify heavy blunt attacks, a dense outer layer to spread the impact would help alot as well. Multiple layers of each would be thick but considering how he can move his bones at will, wouldn't be an issue.

Click to shrink...

I've had to study up on way more biology than I thought I would writing this, lol.