A Senju Tale: Change of Fate

"Otou-san, I'm hungry!" shouted a small boy. This boy had short, spiky hair. The light brown color of his hair melded nicely with his deep olive colored eyes. On his upper cheeks, he had an ovular, pinkish marking. It was quite adorable since it looked like he was always blushing. Standing at almost 3 feet tall, this young child had a very healthy physique.

"Okay, okay, breakfast is almost ready Nawaki." As Tetsuya put breakfast out on the table, he smiled. Before him, he watched as his adorable little boy Nawaki, and his beautiful wife Toka sat down at the kitchen table. "Otou-san, where is Onee-chan?" Nawaki asked. Tetsuya shrugged as he looked over to Toka. "Tsunade left earlier this morning for a mission. Being a ninja is a very busy and serious job. You understand?" Toka said as she looked at Nawaki. Nawaki then smiled and replied saying, "I wanna be a ninja when I grow up. Just like Onee-chan!" Tetsuya and Toka looked at each other before smiling. Toka then looked back and said, "Well Nawaki, with what you've shown, I think that you'll be a fine ninja when you grow up." Toka and Tetsuya walked over to Nawaki. They picked him up and hugged him. They both gave him a kiss on the cheek before placing him back down into the chair. They all then proceeded to enjoy a delicious breakfast to prepare them for the day.

Following Nawaki forcefully kickstarting his chakra network, he went into a deep meditation as he felt the two energies flowing in harmony. It was quite relaxing and before he knew it, morning had arrived. Toka came in to wake up Nawaki but froze as she entered the room. She sensed a chakra signature in Nawaki's bedroom and went on guard. She quickly scanned the room and realized that no one aside from her and Nawaki was present. As she calmed down and approached the crib, she felt a warm energy coming from it. She used her active sensing abilities and was shocked as she realized that the chakra that she felt was coming from Nawaki. It was unheard of for a newborn baby to have a chakra signature like this. After talking to Tetsuya, they decided that Nawaki must be special but they could not yet figure out how. They would not find out what really happened.

As if it was a blur, a year flew by. As they celebrated Nawaki's first birthday, everyone was shocked as he took his first steps. About a month after that, he spoke for the first time. His first words being, "I'm hungry." Obviously, Nawaki already knew how to talk but he didn't want to seem like a freak genius. Within a year, he started to form complete sentences and began running around the grounds in front of the Senju Estate. Secretly, Nawaki had been practicing his chakra and nature energy control. Once he was able to roam the grounds by himself, he found various places to meditate and practice controlling the chakra flow within his body. Nawaki had found that there were many points on his body that chakra and nature energy would pool into and exit his body slowly. Realizing that these were his tenketsu, he used his knowledge of this world, he started doing the leaf concentration technique. Using his ability to absorb nature energy, he could keep up the chakra exercise for hours.

Nawaki was now two and a half years old. After finishing breakfast, Nawaki got up from his seat and went to "play" outside. He ran across the grounds and found a tree to sit under in the shade. He sat down in the lotus position and said, "Mornin' Kensho!" Kensho's face popped up in his vision. Kensho smirked and said, "Someone is in a good mood. That breakfast looked wonderful by the way. Anyways, what can I do for ya?" Nawaki smiled before saying, "Yeah, Otou-san is such a good cook. I was thinking that I would start my day by looking at my status." Kensho nodded as he made the status page pop up.

The status page has a similar layout to the shop. It has a bar at the top that just says "Senju Nawaki". Below it, there are various metrics. The metrics shown include age, height, weight, chakra levels, chakra control, elemental affinities, bloodlines, and titles. Nawaki decided that he would check the status page every morning to see how he was progressing. As he scanned through it, he felt satisfied with his abilities.

Age: 2 years, 6 months

Height: 2' 10"

Weight: 28 lbs

Chakra Levels: D

Chakra Control: C

Elemental Affinities: Earth, Water

Bloodlines: Wood Release (Kekkei Genkai), Uzumaki

Titles: None

"Hmmm, no titles yet huh?" Nawaki said with contempt. Kensho laughed and then replied, "Well titles aren't something that you just get handed. You have to earn them like everything else." Nawaki thought for a moment and then said, "Yeah, that makes sense. I'm curious what titles are available. I have an idea. I think I'll check on the perks and skills today. Can you open up those lists?" Kensho nodded and said, "Sure, coming right up."

The perks and skills list had the same layout. They consisted of a bar at the top that said either "Perks List" or "Skills List". The perks list opened first.

[For new perks or skills, I will provide a description once and then each time it levels up]

Unique Perk: Insomniac

Perk: Sage Mode (Beginner) - Due to affinity for natural energy, the user is able to sense, absorb, and use it in a limited capacity.

Unique Perk: Sensor Boost

Nawaki got the sage mode perk a few days after he started circulating his chakra with nature energy. In addition, he found a Sage Token while exploring the Senju grounds and used it to acquire the sensor boost perk. Next, the skills list opened

Skill: Cooking (Beginner) - Basic skill learned through observation. Allows the user to prepare food for consumption.

Skill: Stealth (Intermediate) - Use of chakra control to attempt to hide one's presence. Will falter against those with high sensing capabilities.

Skill: Maintenance (Beginner) - Basic skill learned through observation. Allows the user to do some basic cleaning.

Skill: Passive Sensing (Intermediate) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in a small range

Skill: Active Sensing (Beginner) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in a larger range via chakra expenditure.

Skill: Chakra Precision (Intermediate) - Boosts the growth of chakra control to help reduce the amount of wasted chakra

Feeling satisfied, Nawaki said, "Okay, thanks Kensho. I'm looking pretty good right? I mean, I am not sure how I compare to other kids my age but I'm sure that I am above average. You think so?" Kensho chuckled and said, "You really are oblivious. I don't think you realize how above average you are. Speaking of special things, isn't something happening today that you were looking forward to?" Nawaki lit up as he remembered. He then said excitedly, "OH YEAH! Oji-sama is coming over to train me today!" After his moment of excitement, Nawaki calmed back down and resumed his meditation. After about an hour of feeling out his internal energy and keeping 10 leaves stuck to various parts of his body, two notifications popped up.

*Ability leveled up! Chakra Levels: D \u003e C*

*Perk Leveled up! Sage Mode: Beginner \u003e Intermediate*

Nawaki's eyes lit up as he felt his ability to absorb and manipulate nature energy increase. He could feel more and more of the environment around him. It was almost as if he felt that his passive sensing range had increased. The passive range now covered most of the Senju grounds. This was probably due to the large amount of plant life that covered it. He could feel the flow of energy through the ground. As he followed it, he could feel the trees. In each tree, he could feel the birds and squirrels that hid in the leaves. Going back down to the ground, he continued to follow the flow. As he followed it, he felt a body of energy that was flowing like a current. Within the currents, he could sense several chakra signatures slowly moving around. Nawaki focused on them and realized that they were fish and that the body of energy was one of the ponds that were on the Senju grounds. He thought it was very interesting feeling the controlled flow of energy in the water. It resembled the way that his chakra flows throughout his own body. It was quite soothing and peaceful.

As Nawaki meditated, he stayed completely still. In a state of complete tranquility, he was perfectly relaxed. Since he started meditating, he found that the less he moved, the better he was able to absorb nature energy. He visualized it as making himself into the wood that he could manipulate with his bloodline. Although he could not use the wood release yet, he still tried to use its characteristics to improve his meditation. Due to Nawaki being perfectly still, he emanated an aura of complete safety and relaxing energy. A small bird flew over and after observing Nawaki for a moment, it landed on his knee. One by one, several animals made their way over to him and settled around the spot in which he was meditating. A few more birds landed on him. One on his head, another on his shoulder, and another on his other knee. A few squirrels laid down to rest next to him. All of the animals could feel the strong flow of natural energy around Nawaki and it felt good to them.

Nawaki then decided to stop focusing and let his mind wander over the expansive Senju grounds. As he did this, he noticed a chakra signature enter the front gate and then disappear. It reappeared in a few places around the grounds as it repeatedly vanished and then revealed itself. After one last jump, Nawaki sensed that it had settled in the tree that he was sitting under. Nawaki focused on the chakra signature and analyzed it. Whatever it was, the chakra it possessed was massive, yet extremely controlled. After a moment, without opening his eyes, Nawaki said calmly, "Oji-sama, it is good to see you."

Hearing this, Tobirama smiled and jumped down from the tree. Landing several feet away from Nawaki, his eyes widened as he took in the scene. In his deep, serious voice, Tobirama said, "Ohayo Nawaki. The way you are meditating with the animals gathered around you, it reminds me of Onii-san. Hashirama always had such a way with nature. How do you do it?" Nawaki let on a soft smile. It was interesting that Tobirama would ask him how to do something. Typically, it was the other way around. Nawaki then said, "For as long as I could remember, I was able to feel another energy that wasn't my own chakra. I soon learned that it was natural energy. When I started to play outside, I realized that I could feel it flowing as I explored the grounds. One day I decided to sit next to a tree just like this. Once I sat down, I felt the energy being absorbed into my body. The less I moved, the more I could absorb. It felt really good so I started meditating. When I did, I was able to sense all of the natural energy around me. Eventually, I was able to start sensing all of the animals living here. Gradually, I improved my meditation and the animals started to come over to hang out. I can't really describe it other than saying that I can almost feel the trees breathing through the flow of natural energy." Tobirama was astonished at the deep explanation of what this toddler was feeling. The only word he could think of was genius. While he was awestruck, Nawaki then asked, "If we are asking questions Oji-sama, what was the technique that you were using to move around the grounds? It was almost as if you were teleporting." Tobirama's eyes widened due to a few things. Firstly, he had finally noticed the leaves that were stuck to Nawaki on various tenketsu. Secondly, he was shocked that Nawaki was able to sense him after he entered the Senju grounds. Lastly, he was very impressed with the sensing abilities of his dear nephew. Tobirama was so proud. He then said, "Nawaki, I did not know that you had sensor abilities to this capacity. I am impressed. Some day, you might be able to have prowess on par with mine! For the technique I was using, it is known as the Flying Raijin (Flying Thunder God). I developed it myself so maybe I can teach it to you if you are skilled enough with fuinjutsu. Anyways, today should be fun. Are you ready to get started?"

Nawaki nodded and slowly stood up. As he exited his meditative state, the animals around him disappeared. After he stood up, he opened his eyes and excitedly said, "So, what are we gonna do first?" Tobirama grinned and reached into his pocket. He then revealed two small pieces of paper before asking, "Do you know what these are?" Nawaki scrunched his face. In actuality, he knew what it was but to keep up appearances, he pretended to be confused before asking, "Nope. What is it?" Tobirama smiled and replied, "This is called chakra paper. By putting some of your chakra into it, you can see what elemental affinities you have. This is the first step in every ninja's training. Let me show you how it works." Tobirama took one of the pieces of chakra paper and held it in between his index and ring finger. After putting some chakra into it, the paper became damp as if it was soaked in water. "I have a natural affinity towards water. Thus, I can most easily use suiton (water release). Here, take the other one and try it out."

Tobirama handed the other piece of chakra paper over to Nawaki. After taking it, he imitated his uncle. When he put some chakra into it, the paper became damp just like Tobirama but then it crumbled. Tobirama grinned before saying, "Well well, looks like you have an affinity for two elements. I guess that means that we have to see if you have onee-san's kekkei genkai. Do you know about Hashirama?" Nawaki got excited as he replied, "Yes, I have heard that he could use mokuton (wood release). Do you think I have it too?" Tobirama smiled a bit and said, "With you have an affinity for both earth and water, it is certainly possible. Would you like to try it out? With the chakra control you have, I am sure that you can do a little bit." Nawaki smiled from ear to ear as he said, "Uhhh, yeah I wanna try!"

Tobirama turned and started to talk towards a clearing as he signaled for Nawaki to follow him. They walked together for a bit before stopping in an open area. Tobirama looked to Nawaki and said, "I am going to have you try to create some wood from your body. That is the most basic form of wood release and by far the easiest. First, you will need to feel the energy flowing through your body. Once you can feel it, try to extend that flow through your hands. If you have the kekkei genkai, you should be able to easily create some wood. If you understand, go ahead and try it." Nawaki solidified his stance and closed his eyes. Focusing inward, he felt his chakra and the vast quantity of natural energy he has absorbed flowing throughout. Using what he practices, he tried to manipulate the flow in his hand to extend outward. As he pushed his energy out of his hand, he felt a solid beginning to form with its own flow of natural energy that seemed to be an extension of his own. He continued to push it outwards and then stopped. He opened his eyes and saw the wood that he created from his hand. Nawaki and Tobirama made eye contact and they both smiled. Tobirama then said, "This is amazing. I just wish Onee-san could have lived to see his grandson using wood release. He would be so happy. Unfortunately, no one in the village can use the wood release. This means that you are only able to learn from the techniques that Hashirama left behind. For now, you should practice manipulating the wood release for the rest of the day. I will send one of my ANBU to deliver the scrolls tomorrow so you can start learning some of the jutsus. Be careful to not overwork yourself as you are still young. Do you understand?" Nawaki smiled and responded, "Hai!"

Tobirama smiled and then disappeared from the Senju grounds leaving Nawaki to practice his wood release.