Naruto: The White Spider of the Leaf

A year has passed since the Second Great Ninja War started.

I'm twelve now—the same age I was in my previous life before I found myself in this world. It's hard to imagine that I've already gotten to the same stage of life as before, it's just so different from the peaceful style of living I had back then. I can't help but think, did I dream up those days? Was it all in my head? Is this the truth? My real life?

All of it is probably just getting to me.

A whole year of bloodshed, pain, and battles that felt endless. The front lines have barely shifted, and we've been fighting against the Sand, the Rain, and the Rock shinobi with little success. It's a war of attrition, one that grinds down both sides with each passing day. None of us are clean anymore. Not just me from before, but all my other peers were forced to kill. No matter how much someone hesitated at first, no matter how much they tried to avoid it, war doesn't allow for mercy. You either kill, or you die.

Our training hasn't stopped even amid all this, though. It can't stop. Every moment of rest is another opportunity to improve, to survive just a little longer. 

I guess it's about time I gave a little progress report, huh?

Well, starting with our status as Ninja might be good. Both Yukino and I have been promoted to the rank of Chunin, while Minato has already long since reached the rank of Jonin. I heard they wanted to make him a Tokubetsu Jonin at first due to how young he was, but because all of his stats exceeded those of other normal Jonin they just gave him the proper rank despite his age. 

Honestly, it's quite rare to see a four man cell like ours, but because we're technically still younglings we're still with our sensei, Jiraiya. I'm happy for it too, as it raises all of our survival rates by a lot. I sure as hell don't want to go lead a squadron or something. That'd be horrid and I'd probably get killed due to someone's incompetence. Being in a small team of elites is way better.

Right, I was doing a progress report. 

Continuing! For myself, my leg and arm band weights are now 300 kilograms each—an insane number compared to where I started, but my body has adapted. My speed, my strength, my endurance… all of it is growing at a rate that still surprises me. As a result I can safely open the third gate and use it more casually, while the fourth gate isn't that much of an issue anymore. I can handle it.

As for that little deal I struck with the Senju Princess—I have to say, Tsunade has been invaluable in more ways than I can count. Thanks to her, I have a solid understanding of medical ninjutsu now. I can tend to my teammates' wounds as I've become an actual medical-nin, which, more often than not, makes the difference between life and death. Especially because the Sand village keeps deploying more and more toxins. I've been helping Tsunade deal with all the new poisons they keep spewing out and it hasn't been easy, but it's been good practice. I'm learning a lot about poison and antidotes through the process.

I'm sure lady Chiyo is malding somewhere in the desert right about now. I remember how frustrated she was in the show even decades after this war had concluded, much less during it.

On the medical topic, something interesting happened this year because of me. Tsunade spoke with the Hokage and convinced him to reorganize all the squads so that every small unit includes at least one medical-nin. The results have been undeniable. Our survival rates compared to the other villages are much higher. Hiruzen gave me credit for the idea, which feels strange. I don't think I deserve it—Tsunade would have advocated for it on her own eventually—but I won't complain. Originally, this change would've probably happened somewhere in the middle of the war, not in the start, so it's a big advantage for us. Anything that keeps our people alive is worth it. It means we have a higher chance of ending the war sooner rather than later.

Of course the training I received from Tsunade gave me more boons than just medical ninjutsu knowledge and a fast-forwarded reshaping of the shinobi team structure. 

She and I grew rather close as student and teacher, so I got some inside information on what she herself was working on. We spent several sleepless nights discussing a technique she was trying to develop, a jutsu that would allow the user to rapidly heal in combat while also strengthening their cells and enhancing their entire body. She believed it was possible because her grandfather, Senju Hashirama, could do something similar passively. But she wanted to replicate it through ninjutsu, to give herself an edge on the battlefield—not just for her own survival, but for the survival of those around her. After all, the longer she stayed operational the longer she could keep everyone around her up and going too. 

The more she explained the concept to me, the more I realized what she was trying to create was the Strength of a Hundred Seal.

So, knowing how it's supposed to look in the future, I suggested she use fuinjutsu to store chakra over time, forming a seal on her body—perhaps on her forehead—so that when the time came, she could release it and activate the regenerative effects and strengthen herself all in one. 

She called me a genius after hearing it, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was taking too much credit away from her. This was her legacy, after all. Still, I justified it to myself: speeding up this process is just as important for me as it is for her.

When Tsunade finally succeeded in creating the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she taught it to me as a way of repaying me for my help. I now understand the full theory behind it, but I can't quite use it yet. My chakra control still isn't good enough to focus it on my forehead like she does. Not yet, anyway. I need to refine it further, and I have a feeling that once I master the Rasengan, I'll be at the level required to perform the seal properly. 

Since such was the case, to compensate she also taught me how to use chakra to enhance my strength in millisecond bursts with pinpoint timing. It's the same principle that she and Sakura later on use to create those monstrous punches and kicks. It's pretty neat. I could already smash boulders before but now, well, I can turn them to dust with my fist.

I may still be doing a Sakura / Rock Lee build, but I'm at least getting the best of both worlds!

Speaking of the Rasengan, actually, I've already cleared the second step of Rasengan training—the Rubber Ball stage. Thanks to the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I've been able to accelerate my progress immensely. My chakra reserves have grown a bit too, allowing me to create an extra clone now. So that's been helping tons too.

All I need to do now is clear the balloon stage. If I can reach a proper equilibrium, the Rasengan will take on a proper form and I'll both reach the needed level of chakra control and of course acquire an insanely powerful ninjutsu!

It's technically usable at the moment, and I did test it out in the forest. But I kinda wrecked everything around me on accident because the technique kept spiralling out of control and evicerating whatever it touched in big spiral shapes. I'm surprised I haven't taken my own head with it yet. For that reason, I'll stick to the controlled training with the balloon.

Overall, I'm fairly satisfied with my results this past year.

But training isn't my primary concern at the moment. We're deep in the heart of the Hidden Rain's territory, locked in a brutal engagement against the Rock shinobi. It's been days of constant fighting, and we're still holding out, but our forces are getting tired. Reinforcements are supposed to arrive soon. They have to. Because if they don't yet, I'm not sure how much longer we can last.

I wanna go home.

The rain pelted against my already-drenched clothing as I crouched behind the cover of a broken wall and worked on healing Jiraiya-sensei with my medical ninjutsu. He'd gotten hurt on his side, it was a deep wound but not something I couldn't handle for him. Beside me, Minato wiped blood from a cut on his cheek, his usual cheerful expression subdued by exhaustion, while Yukino stood motionless, checking the entire area with her Byakugan and following the movements of both our own forces and those of the enemies.

"Sensei, how much longer till reinforcements get here?" Yukino asked, her normally calm demeanor strained as her eyes darted toward the battlefield. Veins bulging from using the Byakugan.

Jiraiya sighed, leaning against a half-destroyed pillar as I patched him up. "Should be any time now. But knowing Konoha's logistical issues, I wouldn't hold my breath."

I let out a tired chuckle. "That's reassuring."

Minato frowned. "We've held out longer than expected, but we can't keep this up forever. Our supplies are running low and we've lost a lot of men here. If the Rock gets their reinforcements first, I'm afraid the balance will tip off and our platoon will be annihilated."

"Yeah," I said. "But we don't have a choice, this is a place we need to hold firm on. We just have to make sure we're still standing when backup finally shows up. Once we push back the Rock shinobi, we can retreat with your Flying Raijin and get some much needed rest."

"Right." Minato nodded at me, his sharp blue eyes narrowing. "Then we hold out. No matter what."

"Yeah," I muttered again, repeating myself as I shook the rain off my hair.

Yukino clicked her tongue. "I don't like this. We should be pulling back already, not waiting to be overwhelmed. Every second reinforcements take to get here is a second too long. We're losing shinobi."

"You think I don't know that?" Jiraiya's voice was quieter than usual, but it carried the weight of command. "The problem is that if we retreat, it'll especially cause trouble for the reinforcements. We need to hold out a while longer in order to bounce back!"

The rain continued to pour, running in streams down my face. I swallowed hard. As much as I wanted to bolt for the safest route and teleport away, if we did that, then our efforts would be set back in this region. We can't let them turn the tide at this stage.

Minato turned toward me. "Shirokumo, how much chakra do you have left?"

I flexed my fingers, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle over me. "Enough to fight, not enough to waste."

"Then don't waste it," Jiraiya said, cracking his neck as he stood all patched up. "Yukino?"

"We've got movement," she said. "They're coming right for us, you'll see them soon."

A flash of movement in the downpour—dark shapes weaving between the wreckage. A dozen figures, no, more. Their headbands glinted under the stormy sky.

"These Rock shinobi sure are persistent."

Minato's fingers twitched toward his kunai pouch. "They're getting bolder, too."

"Good," Jiraiya said, straightening up. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Means they're getting desperate."

"Or they know something we don't," I muttered, shifting my stance.

The world seemed to slow as the enemy closed in. One moment of stillness before the chaos. My heartbeat was steady. My breathing was calm.

Then, like a thunderclap, the storm of battle crashed down upon us as we engaged them in combat.

…