Chương 17: Shocking Revelation

I started by eating the ninja food ration. It was dry. Not the worst thing I've eaten in this world, but definitely fighting for top ten. If sandpaper had a chewy cousin, this would be it. I had to wash every single bite down with water, and by the time I finished, I felt like I'd swallowed a river. My stomach was full, sure, but now I was ninety percent hydration and ten percent regret. I looked at the cup and muttered, "Now I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. Wonderful."

After eating, I cleaned up. Another habit from my old life. Back then it wasn't just about neatness. It was survival. No evidence, no trail, no one to point fingers. Different world now, but the instinct stuck. Make everything spotless, leave nothing behind. Once that was done, I decided to enjoy something I hadn't had in way too long, a hot shower. I stood under the water for thirty straight minutes. Thirty. I didn't even move much. Just stood there, letting it soak in.

Warm water was a privilege I never had in the orphanage. Neither was privacy. Or enough time to actually relax. So, I made the most of it. I tilted my head back, closed my eyes, and tried to imagine myself as one of those cool, emotionally scarred anime protagonists. The type who stands in the rain dramatically while the sad music swells in the background. Except it wasn't raining, and there was no music. Just me pretending to cry under a shower like a theater kid who got rejected from drama club.

Eventually, I got out, dried off, and threw on another cheap, worn-out outfit I'd brought from the orphanage. One of the last ones I had, actually. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed.

"I need to get some real clothes. Can't be walking into class looking like a homeless background character." I sat down at the table and stared at the one thing in front of me that actually mattered right now. the chakra paper I bought earlier. But first, dessert. I poured a small glass of water and mixed in some sugar. Took a sip. It was sweet, but not in a comforting way. It tasted like what poverty must feel like. Somewhere between desperation and mild victory. I smiled anyway and whispered to myself, "Ah yes.

The flavor of rock-bottom. With a hint of salt. From my broke tears." Then I looked back at the chakra paper. My hand hovered over it. Still not touching. I was hesitating. Up until now, I knew I was alive in this world. I had accepted that, kind of. I'd trained, suffered, eaten dirt, and nearly died more than once. But a small part of me still thought it could all be a dream. Some twisted limbo or hallucination right before death. But chakra. real chakra. has a weight to it. It feels alive.

And this world, for all its strangeness, felt more real to me than the one I left behind. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Maybe because my old world was hollow. Burned out. Drenched in revenge and grief. And this one… this one had color. And wind. And smells. And light. And chakra. If I touched that paper, then it would all become real. My chakra nature would be revealed. The first step toward becoming a true shinobi. There would be no going back. No safe corner.

I'd have to fight. I'd have to bleed. I'd have to kill again. this time not for vengeance, but for something else. That thought brought my hand closer. Still, I hesitated. I closed my eyes and whispered softly, "What should I do?" In my head, as if summoned from the depths of memory, I heard her voice loud and clear.

"Stop being such a lazy bitch." I sighed, eyes still closed.

"Yeah. That sounds like her." Fire lit up behind my eyes. The hesitation burned away. I reached for the chakra paper and channeled my chakra into it. It took a few seconds. Then the paper wrinkled. And crumbled. I stared. Lightning. Lightning chakra nature. I sucked in a deep breath and straightened in my chair. My eyes kept blinking like I couldn't believe it. Then, without thinking, I muttered, "Wow. Considering the way I died… fate sure does have a dark sense of humor." I wasn't joking.

I died strapped to a chair, pumped full of electricity until my heart fried like discount chicken. And now? Now my chakra nature was lightning. It felt like a joke. A cruel one. Like fate was leaving a little signature on my soul, saying, "Hey, remember this? Thought we'd run it back." I stared at the paper, my thoughts swirling.

"Is this a warning? A sign? Am I going to die the same way again? Is lightning just meant to kill me, no matter what world I end up in?" My hands clenched into fists. No. No matter what it meant, I'd already decided to walk this path. I'd chosen it the moment I touched that chakra paper. I wasn't going to let fear stop me now. If lightning was the tool I'd been given, then I'd master it. I'd wield it my way. I'd use it to protect what matters to me. I'd blaze a path forward.

Now that I had some clarity, I decided to think logically and coldly about my chakra nature. Out of all the elemental chakra natures, lightning was probably the coolest. Not flashy like fire. Not adaptable like water. Not sturdy like earth. Not sharp like wind. Lightning was something else. It was fast. Precise. Violent. Lightning didn't overpower its enemies. It pierced them before they even realized they were under attack. Lightning Release required insane control.

The chakra needed to be refined to a needle point. Focused. Directed. And when unleashed, it hit like a thunderclap. If you messed it up, you didn't just get singed. You got nerve damage. Paralysis. Internal burns. This wasn't a nature you could half-ass. But if I could master it? If I could sharpen my control to that level? I could move faster. Hit harder. Disrupt chakra. Paralyze my enemies. Maybe even supercharge my body. It sounded insane. However, I was very much the type to try something insane.

To me, lightning was chakra at its most aggressive. It didn't ask permission. It didn't hesitate. It surged, it struck, and it ended fights before they began. I smirked to myself and thought, "Aggressive, huh? Yeah. That suits my style very well."