Dual Accounts

"I'm back."

Pushing open the front door, Yue called out with practiced ease.

"Ah... Yue, welcome home."

From the other end of the entryway, a smiling woman's face poked out from the kitchen as she spoke happily.

This was Yue's mother, Fuma Tianxiang.

She had come from Kusagakure and married his father, Fuma Ryoma, in her early years.

"How was school today?" Fragrant aromas drifted out from the kitchen as Tianxiang asked with a smile.

"It was fine."

Yue responded, then asked, "Aren't you busy today?"

As a Medical Ninja, his mother was, in a sense, even busier with official duties than his father, who often left on missions and remained absent for long stretches. Yue had once visited the medical department, and he had never forgotten the sight: the hospital was packed with injured people, young and old alike. A handful of Medical Ninjas and nurses simply could not treat them all. The village's medical equipment was terribly outdated and worn... many people died before they could even receive treatment.

They became corpses and were carried away.

That was the sorrow of a small village...

Just think of Karin and her mother, refugees who later came to the village. As members of the Uzumaki Clan, they possessed special constitutions.

So, although both his parents were alive, Yue had begun living by himself from a very young age.

That was why he was a little surprised to find his mother at home today.

"It's rare for me to take leave on short notice." Tianxiang stuck her tongue out playfully at her son. "Besides, I know today is a day worth celebrating for our Yue..."

With that, the woman set down her cooking utensils, slipped both hands into her pockets, and formally announced, "Congratulations... on becoming a ninja."

"Oh."

Yue's reaction was flat.

"Aren't you happy?"

Tianxiang asked.

"It's alright..."

Yue sat cross-legged beside the living room tatami, propping up his chin with one hand as he yawned.

Tianxiang pouted. "Our Yue is good at everything... but sometimes, you seem far too mature. You don't have any of the energy or liveliness a child should have. That's no good... this is the prime of your youth. You should enjoy it properly."

"Sure enough... did you catch it from your father?"

"No! When he gets back, I'm giving him a proper talking-to."

Tianxiang clenched her fists.

"The pot's about to burn..."

Yue glanced over and reminded her.

"Ah!"

Tianxiang suddenly realized and immediately began scrambling to salvage her cooking.

His father was a Chunin, and his mother was a Medical Ninja in the medical department. In Kusagakure, that family background was already quite good. His mother, though she often failed to return home as well, at least treated him, her only son, very well. Perhaps out of guilt, she spent whatever spare time she had with him, doing her best to give him a happy childhood. Compared to his father's silent, reserved nature, his mother was bright and full of positive energy.

Though she was not stunningly beautiful, she was still pretty. More importantly, she had a wonderful temperament that made people feel close to her for no reason.

She was nearly thirty, yet her personality was like that of a young girl, and she maintained a good mindset.

Yue found that a little unbelievable.

After all, even thinking with his heels, in an oppressive place like Kusagakure... it was difficult to cultivate any kind of optimistic, uplifting personality.

A product like Naruto could probably only emerge naturally in a place like Konoha.

Seeing that dinner would still take a while, Yue got up and went into the courtyard. His home had a typical Japanese-style yard. It was not large and sat in an alley within the village's residential district... almost everyone living in this area was related to ninjas, so their financial circumstances were fairly good. Most civilians could only live in cramped, crowded, makeshift apartment buildings.

The yard held some basic ninja training equipment and targets. His father had made them all and had started training him from childhood.

That was also the key to his graduation from the Ninja Academy at ten.

And the origin of his "genius" reputation.

"What genius..."

Thinking of this, Yue laughed at himself.

His figure moved. With a burst of force from his feet, he became a black blur, stepping repeatedly against the tall cherry tree planted in the center of the yard and climbing to its uppermost branch.

Sitting on the branch, he looked out over the entire village.

It was no wonder Yue compared everything to Konoha. As a "viewer," the place he understood best in this world was naturally Konoha. Whether in area or architectural layout, Kusagakure was far inferior to Konoha. Looking around, there were not even many imposing buildings. The most eye-catching was naturally the Grass Tower, where the village's upper echelon worked... the equivalent of Konoha's Hokage Building. But there was no supposed Grass Shadow inside, only several elders responsible for managing the village.

A village without a "Shadow."

A textbook grassroots operation.

In truth, the formation of every nation and village in the ninja world had imitated Konoha.

The credit for that did not really belong to Hashirama, but to Tobirama. With his exceptional mind, the Second Hokage gradually built Konoha's complete system. Whether it was the Ninja Academy, the Anbu, the police force, or other departments, every part was properly established.

The other villages saw Konoha's strengths and began imitating it.

The Land of Grass, neighboring the Land of Fire, was naturally no exception.

But sometimes, copying and pasting also tested a village's capabilities.

Clearly, Kusagakure was one of the incompetent ones.

"The Fuma Clan... if I remember correctly, their most famous member was the one turned into one of the Pain Six Paths, the Animal Path... she fought Jiraiya before," Yue muttered.

The Fuma Clan was known for its members' skill with large ninja tools... the famous Fuma Shuriken had also originated from the Fuma Clan. Furthermore, before Otogakure was founded, the Land of Rice had no ninja village. So the Fuma Clan could not remain settled in one place like Konoha's clans.

The clan lacked centralized control, its members were relatively scattered, and they traveled everywhere, taking part in battlefields large and small. They were the sort who were very good at making their presence known.

That was all.

Within Kusagakure... most of these so-called local clans possessed neither Bloodline Limits nor secret technique inheritances. They had simply developed from several larger commoner families in the early years, producing generations of ninjas.

Except for two clans.

In Yue's eyes, they were the only bloodlines that were somewhat special.

Of course, Kusagakure was not entirely without merit. It was still a village, and after enduring for so long, it could not have accomplished absolutely nothing. For most ninjas, the power of a village still absolutely outweighed individual ability.

Monsters were not included in that calculation.

For example, Kusagakure had a unique Binding Technique. It was not a sealing technique, but it could restrict a target's ability to move.

Though its effect might not be all that powerful, in Yue's eyes, it was already a decent thing to find in such a barren "starter village."

It was also one of the ninjutsu he currently wanted to get his hands on.

"Yue, dinner's ready."

After some time, his mother called from inside the house.

Yue put away his thoughts and jumped down from the tree, nearly ten meters high, using the lower branches to steadily reduce his descent.

When he entered, the dining table in the living room was filled with appetizing dishes.

They looked and smelled excellent.

"You'll be taking the advancement exam and getting assigned to teams soon, right?"

Mother and son sat facing each other and began eating.

Tianxiang asked.

"Yeah... but I already know Teacher Masada will lead my team. As for who else will be on it, I'm not sure."

Yue answered as he ate.

After speaking, Yue looked at his mother. "After becoming a Genin, I want to apply for a transfer to the medical department."

"You want to become a Medical Ninja?"

Tianxiang was somewhat surprised.

Yue's thinking was simple. Compared with ninjas who went out on missions and charged into battle, Medical Ninjas were relatively safer.

Surviving came first. He did not want to die young like the other rookies who had just graduated.

Some things could not be changed by a child like him.

Not before he possessed absolute strength.

And his mother was a member of the medical department. With that connection available, Yue naturally intended to use it.

"The medical department has indeed always been short-staffed, and Yue has the potential to become a Medical Ninja... but." As his mother, Tianxiang naturally did not want her son risking his life outside. She understood Yue's thoughts, but she let out a faint sigh. "Your grades at the Ninja Academy have been outstanding... quite a few people know that."

"The village probably..."

Tianxiang trailed off.

"I can try."

"Alright."

Yue did not say more.

If he had transmigrated any earlier, he absolutely would not have allowed this body to be so flashy at the Ninja Academy. Keeping a low profile was the proper path.

The body's previous owner had worked extremely hard in both training and studies in order to please his strict father.

Whenever Fuma Ryoma returned home, he would bring out his perfect report card to "win favor" with him.

A little later, after finishing dinner, his mother hurriedly tidied up the house and rushed off again.

Clearly, the leave she had managed to get only lasted for those brief few hours.

Left alone, Yue opened a storage room in the yard.

It was a warehouse filled with all kinds of ninja tools. Shuriken, kunai, armor, and the like were all basic items. More unusual were several strangely shaped and enormous weapons.

Each one was incredibly heavy for an ordinary ten-year-old boy.

Yet Yue casually picked up a large blade. Its body could split into two halves, connected by a long, thin chain. When joined together, it formed a blade. When separated, it became an entirely new ninja weapon.

The chain was used to control the blade heads on both sides.

It demanded great strength and flexibility in the wrists.

To wield this ninja tool skillfully, one had to master the use of two different cold weapons.

Holding the ninja tool, Yue returned to the yard. After a simple warm-up, he began practicing forms... the heavy weapon slashed and chopped in his hands, stirring fierce gusts of wind. He looked quite convincing.

As he spun, shifted, and moved, his motions gradually changed from stiff at first to fluid.

Sweat slowly soaked through his clothes.

When the blade split into a chain, he hurriedly changed his technique and stance... the chain pulling the two blades in circles suddenly resembled a windmill.

But a few minutes later, Yue suddenly stumbled and fell. The ninja tool flew from his hands and crashed heavily against the distant wall.

It let out a loud bang.

The sudden gust of wind brushed across Yue's face... what had just happened was extremely dangerous.

The spinning blade had nearly grazed his head.

"Sure enough... it's still too difficult for me... this body's bones and muscles have only just begun developing. My strength and endurance are too weak... I can't rush the use of such a special ninja tool." Lying on the ground, Yue gazed at the darkening sky and sighed.

Then he got up, rested for a moment, and began drawing upon the "weak" Chakra inside his body. Following the cultivation method Kakashi had taught Team Seven, he spread Chakra beneath his feet and used delicate control to hang upside down from the tree trunk like a bat. His eyes were closed, as though he had entered meditation.

Yue firmly believed that the upper limit of a person's growth depended on how solid their foundation was.

If one wanted to build a tower on flat ground, it was impossible without a good foundation.

So, given his current situation, there was no better choice than building solid fundamentals.

Much later, deep into the night, Yue washed up briefly and returned to his bedroom to lie down.

The spacious house was empty, with only him inside.

"Then... let's see whether there's been any progress on the other side..."

In the pitch-black room, Yue suddenly smiled with a faintly eerie tone.

He was not going to sleep.

Because for him... sleep was actually a key, a key that opened another door.

With that, he closed his eyes.

His consciousness sank into the "dreamscape."

When he opened his eyes again, he was already lying on a lush green hillside as a breeze blew over him.

Above him stretched a clear blue sky, and the scenery around him was pleasant.

"Honestly... we finally came out to have fun, and you actually sneaked off here to sleep, Yue!"

Immediately afterward, a beautiful face suddenly lunged in from the side, filling Yue's entire field of vision.

The girl's long orange hair fell over her shoulders and brushed against Yue's cheek, carrying a pleasant fragrance.

Yet her expression and tone were full of resentment.

"Hehehe... isn't Yue always like this? Just leave him alone."

A laugh sounded from nearby.

Beside Yue sat a silver-haired boy, smiling with narrowed eyes.

"I was only taking a nap. I wasn't asleep."

Yue came back to himself and smiled softly.

Then he obediently sat up.

He looked toward his two companions, one male and one female.

He knew them both as well.

Gin Ichimaru and... Rangiku Matsumoto.

This place... was Bleach.