A Shinobi's Guide to Not Dying

The early morning light cut across the academy training grounds, casting long shadows of students milling around, stretching, yawning, or just waiting for lessons to begin. Rei watched them, a few like himself holding leaves in their hands. But whereas they looked at their leaves with frustration, Rei kept himself calm. 

Only those who had yet to stick the leaf to their foreheads for a minute were still trying. The remainder of the class had already managed to pass that bar and so, sat chatting amongst themselves. 

'I suppose that would be the reaction of most kids.' Rei thought to himself, flicking his own leaf between his fingers before pressing it to his forehead. With a deep breath, he focused on that familiar, electric feeling deep within, willing his chakra to flow smoothly.

The leaf stuck instantly.

It had been weeks of careful practice and private training, each day inching him closer to proper chakra control. Now, he could hold a single leaf in place on his forehead for well over five minutes and could even balance up to six leaves scattered across his forehead and cheeks, holding them all in place for nearly a minute. 

But in the academy classes, he made sure his progress stayed under wraps. Today, he half-heartedly slapped a single leaf to his forehead and let it hold for just a minute before it slipped off. 'Better not overdo it,' he thought, shooting a quick glance around the class to make sure no one noticed. 'I'll keep my Chakra Control practice to being back at the orphanage once everyone has reached the one-minute mark.'

As he made his next attempt, he intentionally let the leaf wobble before it dropped. 'I'll let someone else be the "genius" the teachers gossip about.' He stifled a grin, taking a quick look around to confirm that everyone was busy with their own attempts or talking amongst themselves. 'I'll stick to being just an average kid with average chakra control,' he thought, pleased with his success at staying under the radar. Nothing to see here.

In reality, he was leagues ahead of where he'd started—leagues ahead of where most of the civilian kids started. But in a world where standing out could get you killed, Rei knew that staying invisible was sometimes his best survival tactic.

-X-

Later that afternoon, Rei found himself alone at his favourite training spot behind the orphanage, hidden in a cluster of trees where no one could see him. He stared up at the tree in front of him, eyes narrowed, and took a steadying breath.

His goal: one step.

He pressed his foot to the bark, channelling chakra to his feet as he'd practised. He leaned forward, pressing down with his chakra, and… yes, his foot held. He lifted his other foot, pulling himself up for a single, perfect step up the tree.

A quick thrill of excitement shot through him. 'One step closer to real progress.' He balanced there for a few seconds, revelling in the satisfaction of that single step. It was a short-lived celebration as after a few seconds, his chakra slipped and he stumbled back down, landing with a jolt. 'One step closer to surviving this world,' he thought, relishing the small but satisfying progress.

-X-

Though Rei had made huge progress in his chakra control, that was not the only area he had been improving in. No, Rei had also been making slow, but steady progress in his use of kunai and shuriken. He was limited for the time being by only being able to practise at the Academy training grounds. But Rei knew that in his second year, the orphans would be provided with a set of wooden practice kunai and shuriken to use outside of the academy. 

Only those who could afford proper kunai and shuriken would use them outside the academy in their second year. Which so happened to only be clan kids or those from civilian families tha could afford proper kunai. 

As a result, Rei's progress in this area was not as substantial as his chakra control. But it was also an area that Rei applied himself to even more. 

Lining up the target in his sights, Rei shifted his footing, feeling the balance and weight of the kunai in his grip. He then swung his arms around, launching the kunai with enough force that it struck the target on the outer ring.

Not perfect, but far better than his previous attempts. 

Especially considering that was where he was aiming. 

Takashi had highlighted on the target where the passing mark was for the Shurikenjutsu aspect of the assessment. All ten kunai would need to be thrown simultaneously and hit at the very least the outer ring. Anything outside of that, even just one, would be considered a fail. 

In order to keep himself under the radar, Rei was focused only on that outer ring. He didn't care all that much for the bullseye like everyone else. His goal was simply to make sure that he got the bare minimum of a pass. 

There was no need to strive for excellence. 

Simply passing would suffice. 

But he was making progress. 

About half of his individual throws managed to hit the outer ring, a few hitting closer to the bullseye and some hitting just outside of the outer ring. Not what he had been wanting, but the fact all of them stuck to the target was good enough for him. It was a stark contrast from his early days practising when his kunai had about a fifty-fifty chance of either veering wildly off course or barely sticking in the dirt.

Not only that but as the group moved on to Taijutsu, Rei had also been making some rapid improvements. Enough so that he was having to hold himself back a lot more to stay with the other civilian kids. Perhaps it was due to him mentally being an adult, but he had been making rapid progress early on when learning the forms. Enough so that Takashi had seen fit to let Rei join the clan kids in sparring. 

Rei had berated himself for that result, cursing his mind for being able to understand the instructions Takashi was giving him and implementing said improvements more effectively than the other kids around him. This had led to Rei being much more cautious when facing off against the clan kids in sparring. 

He was older and able to think more clearly through the fights and against kids who while more skilled than him, were for the most part just as strong and fast as him. Some obviously had advantages, but they were at an age where said advantages were minuscule. 

At least they were for him. 

For those few civilian kids who had joined him in sparring against clan kids, those advantages had been huge. But for Rei, whose mind was able to analyse his opponents more clearly and intelligently, it had led to Rei being able to nearly gain a victory. He'd been holding himself back which was a lot harder than he had realised, allowing himself to be a punching bag for the clan kids. 

He only ever allowed himself to win against other civilians. 

Not every fight against them, just a handful. 

His goal was middle of the field. 

Not too low as to arouse suspicion but not standing out either. 

No, Rei was aiming for the middle of the field where he could blend away with the rest of the civilian kids and besides an earlier hiccup, he had been successful in doing just that. 'They think I'm just some punching bag,' he thought, dodging a blow in one match.

Rei then stepped in, landing a solid hit upon his opponent's guard which had been raised just in time to block the kick. His opponent, another civilian looked surprised, maybe even a little annoyed, before recovering and quickly putting Rei back on the defensive who focused on parrying and dodging the strikes that came his way. 

The match ended with Rei on the ground, purposefully allowing his legs to be swept out from underneath him.

-X-

In his private training sessions, Rei had kept up his rigorous exercise regimen with all the bodyweight exercises he could think of: push-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees, you name it. But lately, he'd noticed something frustrating.

As his stamina and strength had increased, the exercises that had once left him sore and breathless now barely made him break a sweat. His list of exercises had grown so long it took him well over an hour to get through everything, and yet he felt like he wasn't getting any stronger.

He stared at the small clearing he used for training, trying to think of ways to intensify his workouts. 'Great,' he thought bitterly, 'turns out the greatest obstacle to becoming a shinobi isn't chakra or training—it's poverty.'

He'd need weights to push his strength to the next level, but weights cost money, and that was something he didn't have. The orphanage provided meals and a place to sleep, but they didn't exactly hand out allowances for ninja gear.

He imagined approaching one of the wealthier clan kids. 'Maybe I should start charging the clan kids for taking all their hits in sparring,' he thought dryly, picturing their reactions. Somehow, he doubted it would work out in his favour.

Sighing, he considered his options.

He might have to get creative—find some heavy rocks or fill a bucket with water or sand for resistance. Either way, he knew he couldn't afford to stall his progress, he needed to push his body to the limits. If guys like Gai and Lee could become as strong as they did, then Rei was determined to do the same. 

'Even if I have to lift a boulder like some cartoon character, I'm not letting this slow me down.' Rei vowed, before pausing. "But I'm not wearing those green jumpsuits or orange leg warmers."

-X-

After class one day, Rei lingered by the door as his classmates filed out. He'd been mulling over an idea for a while, but it wasn't something he could just ask anyone about. Waiting until the last student had left, he approached Takashi-sensei, who looked up from his desk with a curious glance.

"Sensei," Rei began, trying to keep his tone casual, "do you know where I could find books on… Fuinjutsu?"

Takashi blinked, clearly taken aback. "Fuinjutsu? That's an advanced topic, Rei. Most Shinobi don't show much interest in the subject outside of Storage Scrolls and Exploding Tags."

Rei shrugged, forcing a nonchalant expression. "I was just curious. It sounds interesting."

Takashi nodded thoughtfully. "Well, the Konoha Library has Fuinjutsu texts, but they're restricted to Genin and above. They're complex, and they require a strong foundation in chakra control."

"Right," Rei replied, fighting to keep the disappointment off his face. "That makes sense. Thanks, Sensei."

As he left, his mind raced with possibilities.

Fuinjutsu was one of the most powerful, versatile branches of ninjutsu, and Rei knew it. In the right hands, it could be a weapon, a defence, a tool to control the very fabric of chakra itself. To him, it was an untapped goldmine of potential, a secret weapon he wanted to add to his arsenal.

He couldn't help but feel a mix of awe and excitement. 'Of course, it's advanced—it's also terrifyingly powerful. In a world like this, a good seal could be worth more than any weapon. Imagine what I could do with even the basics.'

Masking his enthusiasm with a practised look of casual disinterest, he waved to Takashi on his way out. 'So much for the 'just curious' act, Takashi-sensei's probably onto me.' He'd have to be more careful next time.

-X-

As Rei left, Takashi watched him go, an intrigued look in his eyes. Fuinjutsu wasn't exactly the type of skill most civilians asked about. Even among clan children, interest in Fuinjutsu was rare—it required both patience and an analytical mind, traits most young shinobi lacked.

Takashi leaned back in his chair, remembering Rei's progress since the start of the year. When Rei had first arrived, he'd struggled with the basics of chakra control and physical training, ranking near the bottom among the civilian students. He was much like every other civilian in the regard that he hadn't shown much potential to go anything beyond Genin at the most. 

But slowly, and somewhat unexpectedly, Rei had started improving. Day by day, he'd climbed from the bottom ranks of the civilian students to the point where he was now close to the top. His growth wasn't flash or dramatic, but it was consistent and steady, fuelled by dedication and effort. Though for some reason, Rei seemed insistent on hiding said progress. 

It hadn't escaped Takashi's notice that Rei was the most attentive in theory lessons. Even the most academic students tended to switch off at various points, but not Rei. It was that dedication to learn everything about the Shinobi world and Konoha that had initially caught Takashi's attention. 

Rei was unusually interested in every aspect of the world and it was a dedication that Takashi had wanted to foster. It was that interest that led to him watching Rei more closely in the other aspects of his training. 

In the scant chakra control lessons they did to gauge what the students were doing outside of the Academy, Takashi had seen the first inkling of Rei hiding what he could really do. Rei had simply placed the leaf on his head and at exactly one minute and forty-five seconds, the leaf dropped off. 

This by itself wasn't unusual. 

For the current stage of the Academy, being able to do the Leaf Sticking Exercise for around two minutes was average. Rei was near that and therefore, most instructors would have glossed over this without much thought. Yet it was the consistency with which Rei had gotten one minute and forty-five seconds. A time frame that had grown by fifteen seconds to always stay within the average bracket of the other academy students. 

Again, by itself this wouldn't be all that unusual. 

But then came Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu training. 

Rei had quickly shown promise in both aspects, seemingly having far greater hand-eye coordination and understanding of his body than even the clan kids. He had no real understanding of how to do either, but compared to the other civilian children, he had picked up the basics the quickest. 

Yet after that, he had stagnated. 

For Shurikenjutsu, when throwing individually, Rei's kunai always seemed to be in, or just outside of the outer ring. At first, Takashi hadn't thought much of it, but at a certain point, when it kept happening consistently, Takashi had become certain that Rei wasn't aiming for the bullseye. 

He was purposefully aiming for the outer ring, the bare minimum needed to pass the assessment at the end of the year. A question that had been asked by none other than Rei himself when Takashi had touched upon the final assessment at the end of the academy. 

His progress in Taijutsu had also seemingly stagnated after his initial grasping of the basics. Nothing more than a punching bag for the clan kids and only able to put up a decent fight against the civilians. Except, when fighting the clan kids he focused purely on dodging and parrying, something he was very good at. Rei for whatever may be stopping himself from attacking, but Takashi through careful observation had been tracking Rei's eyes. 

The boy was able to see his opponent's attacks coming. 

He was allowing himself to be hit by certain strikes, parrying and dodging the rest. Rei was trying to script his defeat by dictating which strikes landed and while he did capitalise on certain openings here and there, mostly only against civilians, Takashi had seen that Rei noticed openings in all his opponents, but chose not to capitalise on them. 

Rei was purposefully holding himself back, whether he knew it or not. He could see the strikes coming and was purposefully aiming for the outer ring. Takashi couldn't quite understand why considering most kids wanted to become the next prodigy. 

But Rei seemed adverse to that attention. 

'Very much like a Shinobi.' Takashi thought to himself with a smile.