Three Years

At dusk, Hyuuga Nen finished a day of training and headed home.

On the way, Hyuuga Nen could hear the villagers talking about all sorts of things: food and entertainment, work, their children, things that made them happy or unhappy, and, of course, the war.

Nearly three years had passed since Hyuuga Nen had learned to extract chakra.

Though he was in the Land of Iron, Hyuuga Nen could still occasionally hear delayed news about the Shinobi World War. The Third Shinobi World War had broken out three years ago, but of course, no one had any reliable details. There were plenty of rumors, though, many of them vague and contradictory.

Since the war began, far fewer shinobi had come and gone in the Land of Iron. Most of those who arrived were there to purchase war supplies, and they left in a hurry once they had what they needed.

Because of the war, business in weapons and ore had been booming in the Land of Iron over the past three years.

"Have you heard? They say the Land of Fire won the war, and they've chosen a Fourth Hokage."

"Really? When did that happen?"

"Just recently."

"We're better off here in the Land of Iron. We don't have to worry about the war."

Hearing this conversation, Hyuuga Nen paused and glanced at the two middle-aged men talking. Then he continued on as if nothing had happened.

So Naruto's been born by now? If not, it should be soon. With his hands in his pockets, Hyuuga Nen stared straight ahead and thought to himself.

As he walked, Hyuuga Nen saw a Konoha shinobi squad heading toward him. One of them looked familiar: a young man wearing a dark blue headband, with something like a toothpick in his mouth and a rather carefree expression.

Was this man called Shiranui Genma? Hyuuga Nen glanced at the Konoha squad, then naturally looked away.

Over the past few years, Hyuuga Nen had encountered quite a few shinobi. At first, he had been a little afraid, but he'd gotten used to it over time. As long as they didn't have the Byakugan, he believed it would be difficult for anyone to see through his disguise.

When he got home, Hyuuga Nen set down his training sword and began preparing medicinal herbs. Over the past few years, he had started helping Rika with the herbs.

To reduce the chance of anyone noticing, Hyuuga Nen generally didn't help out at Rika's shop. Instead, he helped her with household chores and other odd jobs. By now, he gathered and prepared all the herbs Rika needed, and he even grew some at home.

That evening, Hyuuga Nen and Rika ate together at the table.

"Nen, how did your samurai training go today?" Rika set down her bowl and chopsticks and looked at Hyuuga Nen with concern.

"It was pretty easy," Hyuuga Nen replied as he ate.

Just then, Hyuuga Nen heard Rika break into a violent coughing fit. He looked up and saw her face had turned red as she coughed, as if she were about to cough up a lung.

He hurried to her side, gathered Yang Release Chakra in his hand, and placed it against her back.

"Are you feeling better?" After a while, Hyuuga Nen looked at Rika.

"Much better. That's enough, Nen." Rika turned to look at him, forcing a smile.

Frowning, Hyuuga Nen returned to his seat. As he ate, he thought about Rika's illness. Every winter, she came down with a serious illness, and even though she was a doctor herself, she couldn't avoid it.

The scroll his father had left him only described how to practice the Hemostasis Technique. The other Medical Ninjutsu were listed with only brief explanations of their names and effects.

When Rika fell ill, all Hyuuga Nen could do was use Yang Release Chakra to ease her discomfort. He had no better solution.

Hyuuga Nen had been training as a samurai for two years.

Families of modest means like Hyuuga Nen's would pool their money to hire a samurai to train their children. Training usually took place every three days. The teachers didn't pay much attention to children with ordinary talent. After all, there were so many children in the Land of Iron who wanted to become samurai that there were more than enough to choose from.

The teacher would give the children basic instruction in chakra extraction and swordsmanship, but wouldn't ask about anything else. Even children who couldn't extract chakra could still train.

Hyuuga Nen kept his results above average and spent the rest of his time focusing on his own training.

Over half a year later, one night, deep into the night.

While asleep, Hyuuga Nen sensed someone entering his room and immediately woke up. He opened his eyes and saw that it was Taro.

"Taro, what's wrong?" Hyuuga Nen asked, looking at him.

Taro made a gesture toward the door. Hyuuga Nen immediately understood what he meant, then followed him into the forest. There, he saw a black panther lying on a rock.

"You're here. Looks like you've become a shinobi. Show me what you've accomplished with your training over the past few years."

The black panther crouched on its hind legs, crossed its front paws, and fixed its bright eyes on Hyuuga Nen.

Without saying a word, Hyuuga Nen began his demonstration. First came Taijutsu. Once he had finished, he demonstrated ninjutsu and Genjutsu.

The black panther watched Hyuuga Nen finish demonstrating his ninjutsu with a frown, but said nothing. "What about Sealing Techniques? Have you mastered any?" it asked sternly.

After hearing the black panther's question, Hyuuga Nen steadied his chakra. When he finished the hand seals, he pressed both hands to the ground.

"Single Thread Light Formation." As soon as he spoke, a circle made up of several black symbols appeared on the ground.

"Next is the Three-Way Seal." Hyuuga Nen brought his index and middle fingers together, crossed his hands to form a cross, and made the Ram Seal.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Two clones appeared beside Hyuuga Nen. He directed them to the east and west, while he took the southern position. All three formed hand seals at the same time, and a transparent green pyramidal barrier appeared between them.

"These are the only two Sealing Techniques I've mastered so far," Hyuuga Nen told the black panther.

Seeing Hyuuga Nen use Sealing Techniques, the black panther looked much more relaxed.

"Remember, Sealing Techniques will be very useful in your situation. You need to spend more time practicing them." The black panther fixed its gaze on Hyuuga Nen.

Hyuuga Nen understood that the black panther was right about his circumstances, so he nodded.

With a sharp clap, the black panther brought its front paws together. A scroll and a book appeared in front of Hyuuga Nen.

"What are these?" Hyuuga Nen asked, looking at the scroll and book.

"These are the last things your father left you. Something has happened, and I'll stay here for a while to help train you. Go home for now. From now on, come here every night." With that, the black panther disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Hearing this, Hyuuga Nen thought of the news from over half a year ago that the Fourth Hokage had taken office.

More than half a year has passed. Naruto should be born by now, right? That means the Fourth Hokage must have died already. The story is about to begin.

Shaking his head, Hyuuga Nen pushed the extra thoughts from his mind. He took the scroll and book, left the forest, and headed home.