Naruto: Mind Games Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Birthday




My father is worse than those military instructors. I was made to train for eight hours… Eight!



I used to spend two hours at the gym at maximum and now I was made to train almost as much as the people doing nine to five.



And have I ever mentioned how inconvenient it is to move around in this body? It is like an obese person trying to fit in a small-sized shirt.



But at least there is one good thing. 



It is entertaining.



All this fantasy training is gruesome but equally fun. Learning to control elements of nature is what many dream of and now it was a reality for me. 



I learnt the basic fundamentals of the elements, especially water and lightning. 



And the water bullet move is stronger than I expected. After learning to properly aim, it now deals equal damage as stabbing someone with a pencil. 



And father taught me another move called the 'Hidden mist technique' which lets a person hide himself in a veil of mist. 



The most difficult part of learning these were the hand signs. They needed to be fast and that caused me cramps multiple times. But the fruit of hard work was sweet and so was the feeling of fulfilment of completing a successful jutsu.



My progress was faster than average but I needed to be ready before the Academy started. Most kids, while they don't go to the academy— are trained at home once they turn four. But mostly because of my mother's death— father did not want me to get injured in training so he waited till now. But he knows… that as a member of the Yamanaka clan I had to join the academy. If I don't… the clan will frown upon us. 



I need to make up for the lost time in one week… Impossible, I know. But I have to do my best. 



"*Sigh* Then there is the birthday of Inoichi tomorrow."



Inoichi Yamanaka, the son of the Yamanaka clan head— and as the next clan head himself, it was a big deal for Inoichi to prove himself in the academy. As a mere member of the side branch, I wasn't expected to achieve much. But since my father was kind of famous… they did have a tiny bit of hope for me. 



Inoichi is turning six tomorrow… that makes him three weeks younger than me. 



Age doesn't matter in this world as most kids die before reaching adulthood because of war.



And I have no intention of dying so I need to get strong. However, there are ways in this world to extend lifespan— but all of them are forbidden.



Not that the word 'forbidden' has ever stopped me in the past. And yes, I do have plans to increase my lifespan. 



But that is for the future. For now, I need to grow stronger and possibly earn enough fame to become a part of the main branch. That's the least I can do for my father.



Yeah, that's for my father. I have zero admiration for my clan. 



"I should sleep as I have to go to the clan head's house tomorrow."



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"Now, I believe that I don't have to tell you how to behave in front of the main branch members." Father said. "Also remember to show respect to the clan head and his son."



"Yes, father."



I am not good with formalities but I am a good enough actor. So this should be fine… considering that they cannot read my mind.



However, I am thankful to my father. Being born with the ability to resist mind reading in a clan with mind readers raises a lot of tension. One suspicion of me trying to harm the clan and I will be executed without a second thought as I possess something that makes the clan's ability useless against me. And humans are creatures of distrust— the clan elders might try to harm me as they cannot read me. 



Eventually, I will have to think of something to deal with that issue.


.


.


.



The clan compound was filled with high ranking members of the Yamanaka clan as well as the people from the other great clans. 



Being surrounded by such high ranking people was overwhelming.



"Don't be nervous." 



Father's concern was unneeded but I am grateful. I know that he is going to have my back if I slip up... not that I am going to— but it's nice to know.



I saw a lot of familiar faces. Some that I have seen and some that I saw before regaining my past memories. 



I have seen Inoichi even after regaining my memories but most of the children my age are basically from my memories. 



But as I was walking besides my father— I heard a familiar voice.



"Hikaru!" I heard an annoying voice.



The voice belonged to a certain annoying boy whose spiky black hair was something that I would recognise from a mile away.



"Arima." 



I gave the grinning boy a nod as he walked towards us. He's the son of the Hokage so it goes without saying that people hold a lot of respect for him. 



But in reality, he is a brat, whom I happened to save from a bunch of stray dogs before regaining my memories and since then… he is my self proclaimed friend.



He is annoying but no one can imagine how lucky I am to be friends with the Hokage's son.



"I was looking for you." He declared as my father gave Arima a slight bow. 



"Sarutobi-sama." 



Arima smiled. "It's alright uncle. You know that you can call me by my name… After all, I am Hikaru's friend."



This idiot…



"I am afraid that I cannot do this, Sarutobi-sama." Father kept his smile. "You are the Hokage-sama's son. And calling you by your name in a formal gathering would be considered inappropriate."



Arima frowned. "That's why I hate formal gatherings… *Sigh* Okay then." 



He turned around to look at me. "Are you going to wish Inoichi?"



"I am."



"Great! Then let's go together." He looked at my father. "If that's alright by you, uncle."



I noticed that children in this world were far more mature than the ones from my previous world. While Arima might be idiotic at times— he knows how to respect elders and when needed… he can talk formally.



Father looked at me and I knew the look that he had. 



'Don't do anything that might cause trouble.'



Giving him a nod, I walked towards the main building with Arima. Father had to go through a lot of formalities to meet the clan head but since I was with Arima. I had a free pass for now. 



Even the people that we passed greeted us with a bow… well greeted 'Arima' with a bow. I just happened to be there.



One of my future goals was to gain equal if not more respect than Arima.



As we walked inside the massive house, we saw a kid sitting next to a woman with a few other kids. 



The woman, who was his mother and the lady of the Yamanaka clan, had the iconic Yamanaka features which included blonde hair and turquoise eyes. As for the boy, his hair was a little lighter but he had brighter eyes than his mother. 



The kid was Inoichi Yamanaka— the heir of the Yamanaka clan.



"Yo, Inoichi!" Arima called out, drawing the attention of the people towards us. 



Inoichi's eyes widened seeing the two of us. 



"Arima-sama and… Hikaru." 



We knew each other… but we were not close and that was visible from the way he referred to the two of us.



"Inoichi-sama." I greeted the boy with the silver spoon. "May your birthday be the start of a year filled with good luck, health and happiness.”



I gave him a formal birthday greeting while Arima said a casual 'Happy Birthday.'



Inoichi's mother smiled as she looked at us.



"Inoichi, talk with your friends and I will greet the guests." She looked at us. "And thank you for coming, Arima-sama and Hikaru."



Lady Yamanaka didn't care much about rank and treated everyone equally. And that's one of the reasons why I have quite the respect for her.



After all, it's rare for me to have genuine respect for someone. 



As she left— Inoichi, Arima and I decided to talk near the pond. Inoichi didn't care about the kids that were previously with him.



And if I were in his shoes… I wouldn't either. They were nothing more than bootlickers who were trying to get on his good side on their parents' demands.



We talked for a few minutes about things that are usually talked about between young boys as well as topics related to jutsus. 



"So… what's your plan for this year, Inoichi and Hikaru."



I could answer Arima's question pretty easily but I couldn't just say that I wanted to stand above them all.



What? Ambitious? Yeah, I am… After all, this is a fantasy world and if there is a world where that dream is possible— it's this world. It will be difficult… but with proper planning, anything was possible.



"I… want to grow strong… as strong as lord Hokage." 



It wasn't a lie. I needed to grow stronger in order to fulfil my dream. But I wasn't stupid enough to elaborate. 



"Hoo…" Arima grinned. "As for me… I want to be the next Hokage."



Pretty common for kids of our age to have this dream, but being the Hokage would only be a hindrance to me as I will be under surveillance of the village elders day in and day out.



"What about you, Inoichi?" 



Arima asked the boy that was staring at the pond.



"I want to make our clan stronger than the Hyuugas and the Uchihas." Inoichi declared.



Hyuuga and Uchiha...The two strongest clans in the village with visual-based clan abilities called dōjutsus. 



The Hyuuga clan possessed eyes called the Byakugan which was a dōjutsu that allowed them to see the chakra network of every living being while also providing them with a 360° vision.



And the Uchiha clan possessed eyes called the Sharingan which allowed them to watch the world with precision and in slow motion… and it also allowed them to copy Justus and texts in their brain after looking at them once.



Cheat skills… Haxx… But I couldn't complain. Our clan had mind control which in my opinion was bloody overpowered.



We talked for a little more before Arima made a declaration. "Let's do our best to fulfil our dreams!" 



He looked at Inoichi. "You will make your clan stronger than the Uchiha and the Hyuuga." He turned around to look at me. "You will become as strong as my father."



He looked straight at the sky and grinned. "And I will do my best to become the next Hokage."



Inoichi smiled. "Yeah, let's do our best."



I didn't like Inoichi much, but I can respect his demeanour. As for Arima's statement… even without the declaration, I was going to fulfil my dream. 



After all... being chained down in my previous world's laws was not something that I wanted to repeat in this world.



"Yeah, it's a promise." I said. 



And you better believe it.



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[[A/N: Yes, Arima is an OC. Yes, he will not exist for long. Merely a plot convenience move.]]