Takamagahara

At the thought of something wonderful, Kanna smiled again and pulled open his collar to take a look.

Beneath his slightly gaunt collarbones lay layers of white medical bandages, with faint traces of blood seeping through. As Kanna focused his attention, a half-circle tattoo-like pattern gradually appeared on the exposed skin between his collarbone and the top of the bandages, as if answering his summons.

It was a dark red circular design, its edges lined with delicate patterns. Once the bandages were fully removed, it would be possible to see that the tattoo formed a perfect circle.

Of course, this thing hadn't been tattooed onto him by the previous Kanna. It was another ability the current "Kanna," the one who had crossed into this world, gained after awakening his system. Perhaps it could be thought of as a skill slot.

A skill slot, as the name implied, was a circular tattoo meant to hold a ninjutsu. Its effect was somewhat like Uchiha Sasuke's Lightning Sword Manifestation, a Summoning Technique. Don't be misled by the name: it wasn't a ninjutsu that used Lightning Release on a blade to create a lightning sword. It was simply a way to summon weapons. A storage formula was carved onto a wrist guard, and touching the "seal" on one's hand was enough to summon ninja tools instantly. Kanna's tattoo-like "skill slot" worked in much the same way.

Kanna surmised that if a storage ninjutsu formula could be carved onto a wrist guard, then other ninjutsu ought to be capable of the same thing in theory. In fact, plenty of ninjutsu in the Shinobi World used external seals to cast techniques. The Second Hokage's Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags and Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, for example, could both function independently of their creators. So this "skill slot" wasn't hard to understand: it broke down the seals for a ninjutsu and inscribed them one by one, simplifying the sequence of "starting seal—chakra circulation—guiding seal—final seal" over and over until it became like a skill in an online game, released with a mere thought.

This ability had undoubtedly helped Kanna a great deal. Though he'd done his best to absorb the memories of this body since arriving, his two different scientific worldviews still made it impossible for him to use chakra proficiently. So far, he'd barely managed to master one Transformation Technique. With the help of this "skill slot," he could simply input ninjutsu that he couldn't figure out how to use, then rely on the system to perform it for him.

Actually, this ability was quite interesting. At first glance, it seemed to serve only as a stopgap while Kanna learned to use ninjutsu properly. After all, he was confident that, given enough time, he'd eventually get used to ninjutsu and become proficient at it. Wouldn't that make the skill slot useless?

Kanna had a vague feeling that the skill slot wasn't so simple. If ordinary ninjutsu could be analyzed, what about certain kekkei genkai techniques? What about Space-Time Ninjutsu? In theory, any ninjutsu could be performed through the most basic seals and various changes in chakra. Once he acquired certain special ninjutsu, Kanna planned to experiment and see whether the skill slot could bypass their various casting requirements and let him use them directly.

Kanna was very satisfied with this feature, and the only thing holding him back was probably his chakra. After all, this skill slot didn't exist out of thin air; it was attached to his body and could be considered a sort of seal. Right now, for example, the pitiful amount of chakra inside Kanna was almost entirely dedicated to the circular "seal" on his chest. If he wanted, he could choose one of the seven D-rank ninjutsu he'd acquired and implant it into the slot. After that, the series of steps needed to release the technique—the corresponding chakra circulation—wouldn't be triggered through Kanna's body. They would unfold directly within the "skill slot" seal, as if he'd gained an additional organ for performing ninjutsu. It was truly wondrous.

Kanna gave this "skill slot" a meaningful name: Highland.

Highland was the upper world where the gods were imagined to dwell in Shinto. To Kanna, this "skill slot," capable of holding one ninjutsu after another, was like a highland that held the gods. The name also represented his encouragement to himself and his hopes for the future.

Becoming a man whose body bore "gods" didn't sound bad, did it?

As the days passed, Kanna gradually calmed down, no longer as restless as he'd been at first. During this time, aside from his parents and a few ninjas who came on orders to comfort the surviving examinees—namely Kanna—and take statements, nobody came to bother him. Zabuza, meanwhile, was thriving in Anbu.

It made sense. All of Kanna's friends—childhood friends from his class or other classes—had been killed by Zabuza in one fell swoop. Fortunately, Kanna said he didn't know any of them. Otherwise, this story might have turned into a Kanna revenge tale like Obito's or Nagato's.

After sorting through the memories and seeing his "parents" with his own eyes, Kanna realized that the people in this world were rather strange. At first, he'd assumed that he'd be an orphan or the child of an ordinary family, but it turned out that "Kanna's" parents were no ordinary people.

His father, Kanna Tokiomi, was an aide to the current Third Mizukage, much like Danzo was to the Third Hokage or Killer B was to the Fourth Raikage. He was known as "Merciless Kanna." Extremely strict, he upheld fairness and equality, always had sound reasons for his actions, and never bent the rules for personal gain. People both feared and respected him. From Kanna's memories, the boy had been terrified of his father. He hadn't even dared to reveal his identity at school, and had always felt ashamed of it. He was an unfortunate boy who'd been left with psychological scars by his father's harsh upbringing.

Compared to him, his mother was much less intimidating. Kanna Morishita Mai, originally named Kaori Morishita Mai, had taken her husband's surname after marrying Kanna Tokiomi. She was a jōnin from Kirigakure, but quit her job after giving birth to Kanna and stopped serving in an official capacity. Like Kakashi and the other jōnin in Naruto's era, she accepted missions as she pleased. In her free time, she took care of the household and raised her family, enjoying a relatively free life.

Kanna's parents had placed great hopes in him. Unfortunately, the boy hadn't been particularly strong-willed by nature—or, to put it bluntly, he'd been a disappointment. He'd nearly been hacked to death during this exam, infuriating Kanna Tokiomi so much that he'd wanted to slap him dead on the spot. That was why he'd barely visited in all this time, and why he'd forbidden his wife from visiting. It seemed Kanna's performance had truly broken his heart.

Then again, if it had been Kanna rather than Zabuza who'd cut down everyone at the exam, Kanna Tokiomi would probably have smiled in his sleep. Zabuza's situation made that clear. The parents and friends of his victims were so enraged they could barely keep from biting his head off, but whenever Zabuza's name came up, everyone in the village gave him a thumbs-up and praised him as a "genius." And what about Kanna? Who even remembered him? If his heart hadn't been in the wrong place, his body would probably already have turned to ash by now.

It had to be said: the people of this world—or at least this village—really did worship strength. Kanna figured that if he'd died in the exam arena, his father might even have had a better expression on his face right now. Of course, he knew Kanna Tokiomi was only angry in the moment. It was like Sasuke's father, who seemed to favor Itachi over Sasuke, but truly loved both his sons deeply.

With all his friends and relatives hacked to death and his parents at odds with him, Kanna had the place to himself. He'd only barely figured out one of the seven basic ninjutsu—the Transformation Technique—so he wasn't in any hurry to exchange the few newly acquired ninjutsu. He'd save them up and, once he was used to this world, make a big move!

Of course, before then, he needed to refine more chakra. Maintaining a "Highland" that could only analyze D-rank ninjutsu was already a struggle. If he wanted to build a more advanced Highland, he'd need as much chakra as he could get.

(ps: It's true that updates have been slow; I admit it. I haven't quite found my rhythm yet, but the bigger picture is gradually unfolding. Also, nobody knows when the Third Mizukage ruled or what his name was, so I've set this period during his reign. The Third Shinobi World War will break out soon, followed by the Fourth Mizukage Yagura's succession and Obito's control of him. I think the period in the forties of Konoha's calendar is best approached through Kirigakure, since so much is happening there.)