Kaien Hatake stood atop the Hokage Monument, the wind whipping at his cloak, eyes like twin flames staring into the early dawn horizon. At just six years old, his presence was already far from human. The air around him seemed still, subdued by the sheer control of his breath and the precision of his being. With each inhalation, his chakra flowed in exact harmony with the world around him. He was no longer a prodigy. He was a weapon.
And today, that weapon would be officially unsheathed.
He had been summoned to the Hokage Tower, not by a teacher or a mission overseer, but by Tobirama Senju himself. The Second Hokage. The man who redefined shinobi tactics and founded the ANBU.
Kaien descended the monument with effortless grace, leaping between ridges and rooftops in perfect silence. His footsteps never echoed. Not a soul noticed him. That was the mark of one ready to enter the shadows.
Inside the Hokage Tower
Tobirama was as imposing as the legends described. Dressed in armor etched with the Senju clan's markings, his aura was suffocating, even to elite jonin. But Kaien bowed without fear.
"Kaien Hatake," Tobirama said, folding his hands behind his back. "You are six. You've completed over two dozen C- and B-rank missions solo. You have demonstrated advanced mastery of multiple breathing styles, with chakra control comparable to seasoned jonin. And yet you hide in the guise of a child."
Kaien said nothing.
Tobirama studied him a moment longer. "Tell me, why do you breathe like a swordsman of old? Your body radiates with rhythm beyond shinobi training."
Kaien closed his eyes. "Because the blade cannot lie. Chakra is the world. But breath is life."
Tobirama's lips twitched slightly. Perhaps amusement. Perhaps approval.
"You will enter ANBU. Effective immediately. You will train under direct supervision, take missions of strategic importance, and never speak of your identity to anyone outside this tower."
Kaien nodded once.
The Hokage extended a scroll.
[New Title Assigned: ANBU Operative - Codename: Kurohana] [Template Progress +2.3% - Advanced Combat Assignment Initiated]
The ANBU Training Compound
Kaien's first steps into the hidden ANBU facility were met with silence and suspicion. He was, after all, a child. But one whose presence demanded respect.
The training was brutal.
Combat scenarios simulated the most dangerous real-world missions: hostage retrieval, assassination, sabotage, and extraction under fire. Kaien passed each with cold efficiency. His breathing techniques granted him stamina far beyond normal limits. His reflexes allowed him to dodge arrows mid-flight, and his swordsmanship disarmed jonin-level instructors during sparring.
His teammates were seasoned killers. ANBU veterans with masks of boars, ravens, and wolves. Yet it was Kaien—the boy with crimson eyes and a katana longer than his arm—who became their center.
He didn't lead. He simply moved, and they followed.
Progress and Evolution
Each mission brought new mastery:
Earth Breathing fused with underground travel techniques.
Water Breathing adapted into silent infiltration.
Lightning Breathing paired with chakra-enhanced speed.
Wind Breathing empowered his throws and reaction timing.
Kaien even began integrating sword styles from captured scrolls: the Wind Sabre Form from the Grass Village, the Flowing Fang of the Mist Swordsmen, and the Mountain-Cutting Technique of the Stone Clan.
[Advanced Breathing Styles Mastered: 7/9] [Multiple Sword Styles Learned: 5] [Template Progress: 23.8%]
He started combining forms. A strike beginning in Lightning Breathing would end in Water Breathing's flow. Every cut left no wasted motion. Every kill was clean. Silent. Absolute.
The First Kill
It was a B-rank mission turned S-rank. A rogue Rain ninja with an experimental explosive kekkei genkai was hiding in the outskirts of Fire Country. ANBU dispatched a four-man team. Kaien was among them.
The Rain ninja was mad, body twitching from unstable chakra. He unleashed acid clouds and chakra bombs, devastating the terrain.
Kaien stepped forward through the mist.
He inhaled.
Sun Breathing - Fifth Form: Solar Rain.
His blade danced through droplets, each swing dispersing acid into harmless steam. He closed the distance, breath unbroken. The Rain ninja screamed, unleashing a final volatile explosion.
Kaien's sword cut through the blast.
And through the man.
Silence followed. Even the wind dared not move.
[First Assassination Complete – Target: S-Class Rogue] [Mental Fortitude Increased – Killing Intent Controlled] [Template Progress +4.7%]
Mentorship and Observation
Tobirama visited the compound weeks later. Not to oversee training—but to observe Kaien personally.
They sparred, in secret.
The Hokage's water dragons clashed with Kaien's solar arcs. Neither gave ground. For two minutes, the battle raged with no victor.
Then Tobirama smiled faintly. "You're not just a Hatake. You're something else. Something old."
Kaien said nothing.
Tobirama handed him a scroll. "Study the nature of chakra more deeply. Learn elemental fusion. You are ready."
That night, Kaien meditated under a waterfall, integrating chakra elemental theory into his breathing style.
He created the first prototype of elemental Chidori.
[Chidori Variant Created: Flame Piercer – Fire Element] [Template Progress +3.2%]
End of Year 6
Kaien stood once more atop the Hokage Monument, older now—not in body, but in soul.
He was no longer a child.
He was ANBU.
[Year 6 Complete] [Template Progress: 31.9%] [Status: Shadow Forged – Discipline Perfected]