Itachi's graduation was a glaring reminder of the limited time I was operating under. The timeline moved with no mercy.
To keep up with it, I would need to continue developing.
But that required capital.
The Academy stipend was a meager allowance designed to keep the students from starving, not to fund armory. The fifty pounds of iron strapped to my limbs were free, but scraps had its limits.
I needed real money. Ryo.
I couldn't get a job. I did not have the time for that.
I had to exploit the one environment where my age was irrelevant: the Forest of Death.
The mutated fauna within that training ground were highly prized commodities to civilian apothecaries and black-market merchants. Venom, leather, and other body parts fetched exorbitant prices.
I had the ability to hunt. Now, I just needed to sell.
I sat in the center of my apartment. There, I recalled the scroll from the library: E-Rank: Transformation Technique (Henge).
In theory, the Henge was an optical and physical illusion. Unlike the Clone Technique, the Transformation Jutsu required the user to actively envelop their own body in a shell of chakra, mimicking the mass, dimensions and texture of the target.
For a child attempting to turn into a fully grown adult male, the hurdles were overwhelming.
I didn't just need to project an image, I had to artificially increase my height, broaden my shoulders, and simulate the vocal chords of a grown man.
I closed my eyes, drawing the energy from my core. I focused on the image of a generic, unremarkable civilian. Average height, dull brown hair, a scarred face, and a cloak to hide his build.
Dog. Boar. Ram.
I pushed the chakra outward, commanding it to solidify around my frame.
Poof.
A cloud of white smoke cleared. I walked over to the mirror above my bathroom sink and stared at the result.
The face was correct. But the proportions were a failure. Because my internal skeleton was still that of a child, the adult stance dropped. The arms hung too low, the torso was compressed, and the legs looked too thick.
If I walked into a merchant's shop looking like this, I would be laughed out of the room.
I dispelled the technique.
"Mass distribution" I muttered, analyzing the failure. "I'm trying to stretch my chakra evenly. I need to concentrate the density in the extremities to build the artificial bone structure."
I went at it again. Dog. Boar. Ram.
I spent the next three hours engaged in a cycle of trial and error. Maintaining an adult-sized Henge while carrying iron weights drained my reserves. I would hold the transformation for ten minutes, collapse onto my bed panting and drenched in sweat, recover, and start again.
By the fifth hour, I stood before the mirror, analyzing the reflection.
The man staring back at me was perfect. The posture was slightly hunched, suggesting a life of hard labor. I opened my mouth and spoke, forcing the chakra around my throat to vibrate at a lower tone.
"I am here to trade" I rasped, the voice rough.
The execution was flawless. I had my disguise.
The following midnight, I slipped through the fences and entered the Forest of Death. I didn't drop my iron weights this time. If I wanted to increase my baseline physical energy, I had to fight and kill under the added weight.
I wasn't hunting boars tonight. I needed high-value, low-weight contraband.
I moved silently through the forest, walking along the undersides of the massive branches, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor.
Two hours into the hunt, I found my target.
Slithering through moss was a mutated Viper. It was roughly fifteen feet long, its scales a deep purple. The fangs of this breed held a potent neurotoxin highly sought after for paralyzing agents.
I didn't engage in a direct confrontation. I had to rely on strategy.
I positioned myself on a branch directly above the serpent's path. I uncoiled a length of ninja wire, tying a rock to one end.
I waited until the viper moved directly beneath me.
I dropped the rock.
The stone plummeted, crashing into the brush two feet to the right of the snake. The viper reacted instantly to the object, its head snapping toward the sound, its jaw unhinging, revealing its fangs.
The distraction gave me an opening.
I dropped from the branch, lunging.
I landed squarely on the back of the serpent's head. The impact of my body weight, amplified by the seventy pounds of iron, drove the viper's skull violently into the mud.
Before the beast could thrash, I drove the blade of my kunai directly into the base of its skull.
The body convulsed for a few seconds, its tail whipping against the tree trunks, before going limp.
I exhaled a slow sigh, stepping off the carcass. The kill was only efficient because I caught it off guard. I was adapting to the weight.
I knelt in the mud and extracted the fangs, ensuring the venom sacs remained intact at the base. I wrapped them carefully, tucking the contraband into my pockets.
The next evening, after the Academy dismissal, I put my plan into action.
I knew exactly where to go.
Over the past years, during my treks around the village, I had mapped the area to learn about heavily policed places and gray zones of the village, where shops lacked official branding.
I ducked into a narrowed alley that smelled of stale alcohol.
I closed my eyes, drawing my chakra. Dog. Boar. Ram.
The white smoke cleared, leaving the hunched, scarred adult in my place. I adjusted the cloak over my shoulders and stepped out of the alley.
I walked two blocks until I found a shop with a faded wooden sign and windows opaque with dust.
I pushed the door open. A small bell chimed.
The interior was cramped, lined with jars containing dried herbs and cloudy liquids. An old man sat behind the counter.
He looked up, his eyes sweeping my disguise. He didn't ask questions. In this part of the village, anonymity was the norm.
I walked to the counter, reached into my cloak and placed the two purple-tinged fangs.
The old man's eyes widened. He leaned forward, inspecting the venom sacs.
"A rare breed" the old man rasped. "Fresh. The sacs are full. Not many freelancers risk taking that."
"How much?" I demanded, keeping my voice deep.
The old man tapped a finger against the counter. "Five thousand Ryo for the pair."
My mind calculated the exchange rate. Five thousand Ryo was roughly equivalent to three months of my Academy stipend. It was a fortune, but I knew I could bargain for more.
"Eight thousand" I countered. "The extraction was perfect. You won't have any problems getting the pure venom out of it."
The old man narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing my face. For a moment, I held my breath, manually stabilizing my Henge to make sure nothing was wrong.
"Seven thousand" the old man grunted. "And you bring the next batch only to me."
"Deal."
He reached beneath the counter, pulling out a stack of bills.
I pocketed the money, turning toward the door. The financial obstacle was surpassed. I now had a way to earn capital to purchase better equipment.
I pushed the door open and left the establishment.
The atmosphere in the village had changed drastically. I felt that something was wrong.
It wasn't loud. But the ambient hum of the village had vanished.
I kept my head down, pulling my cloak tighter, and hastened my pace.
I caught a flicker of movement in my peripheral vision. High above the streets, a shadow detached itself across the power lines. Then another. And another.
They moved in silence. There were dozens of them, converging rapidly in the same direction.
ANBU.
They weren't evacuating the village. They were hunting something.
My mind raced, filtering this situation through the timeline of the canon.
It was late July. The massive deployment of ANBU.
Orochimaru.
The Sannin had been discovered. Hiruzen had raided his underground laboratory, and found evidence of his human experimentation. The snake was currently fleeing the village, carving a path through the elite forces attempting to detain him.
I walked calmly, turning down the narrowest alleyway I could find.
Once I was enveloped in the shadows, I dropped the Henge.
I crouched behind a stack of wooden pallets, pulling my knees to my chest. I gripped the stack of Ryo in my pocket, feeling the paper.
I just had to go on like this. Count my money, go to the Academy, and continue to grow.