Cursed Uchiha - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Become a Writer

The pre-dawn chill of 4 AM was a familiar companion now. Dom didn’t need an alarm; his internal clock, finely tuned by a desperate need for survival and system points, roused him without fail. He slipped out of his futon in the Uchiha communal shelter, the rhythmic breathing of his parents a soft counterpoint to the distant, early stirrings of Konoha.

He found his usual secluded spot, a little alcove partially hidden by stacked supply crates that smelled faintly of mildew and old wood. Settling into his meditative pose, he closed his eyes. The cool thrum of Cursed Energy within him was stronger now, a denser river compared to the trickle it had been just days ago. His focus, honed by repetition and an unyielding desire to not die a horrible, clan-massacred death, settled quicker than before. The mental dings of point accumulation began their steady chime.

Three hours later, as the first grey light of dawn seeped into the shelter, Dom opened his eyes. A familiar sense of accomplishment washed over him.

[Points: 180]

Without hesitation, he directed the points. ‘System, all 180 points into CE Control.’

The sensation was like a lens clicking into sharper focus, his internal grasp on the flow and direction of his Cursed Energy becoming more defined, less slippery.

—

CE Control: 27%

—

[System Notification: CE Control has reached a new threshold. Skill Unlocked: Reinforcement Lv1]

Dom’s eyes widened. A new skill! He eagerly accessed the information:

[Skill: Reinforcement Lv1]

Description: Allows the user to consciously flow Cursed Energy throughout their body or parts thereof to augment its capabilities. This technique can be used both defensively and offensively.

Defensive Application: Coating the skin in Cursed Energy can harden the user’s body, significantly increasing their ability to withstand physical trauma and block incoming attacks.

Offensive Application: Imbuing physical attacks (punches, kicks, etc.) with Cursed Energy dramatically increases their destructive power, pushing them to superhuman levels.

Current Effect (Lv1): Physical strength and durability augmented by approximately 2x base capability.

Dom’s mind reeled. “Two times my base strength… as a five-year-old.” He looked at his small, decidedly non-muscular arms. “So, instead of struggling to lift a ten-pound sack of rice, I can now struggle to lift a twenty-pound sack of rice. Groundbreaking.” A sarcastic beat, then a thrill shot through him. “But wait… this is basically Tsunade’s Chakra Enhanced Strength, but with Cursed Energy! As this skill levels up, and as I get older and my base strength increases… holy crap. I could become a taijutsu monster! Even stronger than Tsunade in close combat? The system isn’t prone to hyperbole, is it?”

This was huge. This was a game-changer. It wasn’t just about having more energy; it was about making his physical body a weapon. He clenched his small fist, a grin spreading across his face. This was very, very good news.

Breakfast was the usual somber affair – more watery porridge, more hushed, worried conversations. Dom, despite his internal excitement about Reinforcement, couldn’t ignore the oppressive atmosphere. He watched his father, Hiroshi, mechanically eating, his brow furrowed as he mentally prepared for another day of Uchiha Police Force duties in a village that increasingly viewed them with suspicion. He saw his mother, Hana, carefully rationing their small portion of pickled vegetables, her face etched with a quiet anxiety that tugged at Dom’s heart.

The financial strain on his family, and indeed on most of the Uchiha whose homes and businesses had been damaged or destroyed, was palpable. They had lost their home, most of their possessions, and likely a good portion of their savings in the chaos and its aftermath.

Rebuilding would be expensive, and with the Uchiha clan’s already strained relationship with the village leadership, aid might be slow in coming, if it came at all.

Dom felt a familiar pang of helplessness. He was five. What could a five-year-old do about adult-sized financial crises? He couldn’t take on extra guard shifts or open a dango stall (though the thought of an Uchiha dango stall run with JJK-level efficiency was briefly amusing).

Then, like a rogue kunai out of the blue, an idea struck him. It was audacious, perhaps even a little insane, but it just might work.

Jiraiya. One of the Legendary Sannin, a powerful shinobi, and also… a writer. A writer of… questionable, yet apparently very popular, adult fiction. If Jiraiya could make a living penning smutty novels in this world, surely there was a market for other genres?

‘I have knowledge from Earth,’ Dom realized, his mind racing. ‘Entire libraries of stories, concepts, and narratives that this world has never seen. And in my past life… I wasn’t a bestselling author, but I dabbled. I wrote articles, short stories, even started a few novels I never finished. I know how to structure a narrative, how to build characters…’

His gaze sharpened with determination. He wouldn’t just sit by and watch his new family struggle. He would contribute. He would become a writer in the Naruto world.

That very day, after his morning routine and a quick, experimental flex of his new Reinforcement skill (which mostly involved him trying to punch a pillow harder and succeeding only in making it fluffier), Dom set his plan into motion. The first hurdle was supplies. Paper and ink weren’t exactly growing on the partially-collapsed trees in the Uchiha district.

He approached Hana, who was mending a tear in one of Hiroshi’s old shirts. “Mom,” he began, trying to sound casual, “do we have any old paper? Or maybe some charcoal? I… I want to practice my letters.”

Hana looked up, a tired smile on her face. “Practicing your letters, Dom? That’s good. But I’m afraid most of our things were… lost.” Her smile faltered for a moment. Then she brightened slightly. “Wait. I think your father might have an old ledger book from the Police Force, one that was mostly empty. And I might have a few sticks of charcoal I used for sketching patterns.”

It took some rummaging through their meager salvaged possessions, but eventually, Hana produced a thin, slightly water-damaged ledger with mostly blank pages, and a small pouch containing a few precious sticks of charcoal. “Will this do, dear?”

Dom beamed. “It’s perfect, Mom! Arigato (Thank You)!”

He found a relatively flat piece of salvaged wood to use as a makeshift desk in their alcove and began. He wasn’t going to start with some obscure literary classic. He needed something with broad appeal, something imaginative, something that could capture the hearts of a world familiar with ninja and giant toads but perhaps not with wizards and flying broomsticks.

He decided on a global phenomenon from his old world: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The story was etched into his memory, every twist and turn, every character. The challenge was transcribing it, adapting it slightly where necessary (perhaps changing some overtly Earth-specific cultural references, though he decided to keep most of it intact for its unique flavor), all while writing with a clumsy stick of charcoal in a child’s developing hand.

His past life’s experience as a writer was invaluable. Even though he was physically five, the mental pathways for plotting, character voice, and descriptive prose were still there. He worked with a fierce, quiet intensity, often late into the night by the dim light of a shared oil lamp, long after his parents had fallen asleep. The scratching of charcoal on paper became a familiar sound in their small corner of the shelter.

This new project, however, did not mean he neglected his primary goal: survival. Itachi wasn’t going to be impressed by a well-written manuscript if Dom couldn’t defend himself or his family. His meditation sessions were sacrosanct. Three hours every morning before dawn, all points meticulously funneled into CE Control. Three hours every afternoon and another three hours every evening, those points poured into increasing his raw Cursed Energy levels. It was a grueling schedule for a child, but the blue system screen, with its ever-increasing numbers, was a constant motivator.

The week passed in a blur of writing and meditating.

His Cursed Energy levels climbed steadily. By the end of the week, the constant influx of points from his afternoon and evening sessions had pushed him far beyond his initial modest gains.

[System Notification: Cursed Energy (Yin Chakra) has reached Level 21. Host has met the prerequisites for advancement.]

[Status Update: Grade 4 Sorcerer (Ninja Academy Student) -> Grade 3 Sorcerer (Genin Ninja)]

Dom felt a significant shift within him as he crossed the Level 20 threshold. It wasn’t just more energy; it was a qualitative change, a deeper resonance. And with the rank-up to Grade 3 Sorcerer (which the system equated to ‘Genin Ninja’ – an interesting parallel), another long-dormant aspect of his being stirred.

As he was focusing on the flow of his now considerable Cursed Energy, he felt a sudden, sharp heat behind his eyelids. It wasn’t painful, more like a switch being flipped. When he opened his eyes, the dim light of the shelter seemed infinitesimally sharper, clearer. He glanced at his reflection in a small, cracked piece of mirror he kept nearby.

His dark Uchiha eyes now held a single, perfectly formed black tomoe in each, spinning lazily around his pupils.

[Innate Technique: Sharingan (Lv0 – Dormant) -> Sharingan (Lv1 – Activated)]

[Sharingan (Lv1): Single Tomoe. Grants enhanced perception, the ability to see chakra/cursed energy flow to a degree, and basic predictive capabilities in combat through reading muscle tension and slight movements.]

His Sharingan had awakened. It was only the first stage, but it was active. A thrill, cold and sharp, ran down his spine. This was the power of his bloodline, now intertwined with his JJK system.

His CE Control also saw remarkable improvement. The daily 180 points from his morning meditations, diligently applied, pushed his percentage upwards. From 27% at the start of the week, it climbed steadily. The cost per percentage point seemed to be increasing, making each gain feel more hard-won, but he was relentless. By the end of the week:

—

CE Control: 56%

—

And when he crossed 30% control level, the system chimed with more good news.

[System Notification: CE Control has reached a new threshold. Skill Unlocked: Perception Lv1]

And when he crossed 40% control level, the system chimed with more good news.

[System Notification: CE Control Advancement have met prerequisites. Skill Unlocked: Reverse Curse Lv1]

Dom’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Two more skills!

[Skill: Perception Lv1]

Description: Allows the user to actively sense and perceive concentrations of Chakra and Cursed Energy in their immediate surroundings. Manifests as a mental overlay, highlighting energy signatures, their approximate strength, and location relative to the user, akin to a rudimentary map.

Range (Lv1): Approx. 50-meter radius.

“A built-in radar!” Dom breathed. This was incredibly useful, not just for combat, but for general awareness, especially in a world of stealthy ninja. He focused, trying to activate it, and a faint, almost imperceptible overlay flickered in his mind’s eye. He could ‘see’ the small, warm blips of his parents nearby, the slightly larger, more potent signature of a patrolling Uchiha officer just outside the shelter, and the myriad fainter energies of other sleeping clan members.

Then, he focused on the second, even more astounding skill.

[Skill: Reverse Curse Lv1]

Description: Cursed Energy, by its nature, is born from negative emotions and is inherently entropic, thus it cannot typically be used to regenerate complex living tissue, only reinforce it. However, by taking two sources of negative Cursed Energy and multiplying them together (a highly complex and precise manipulation of energy), it is possible to generate positive energy (akin to Yang Chakra). This positive energy can then be utilized for true regenerative healing.

Application (Lv1): Allows for the healing of minor to moderate injuries on oneself. Efficiency is moderate; severe injuries or limb regeneration are beyond current capabilities.

Dom stared at the description, his mind blown. “Reverse Cursed Technique… I can heal myself? Not just patch up wounds with medical ninjutsu, but actual, proper regeneration from Cursed Energy? That’s… that’s Gojo-level stuff, or Shoko Ieiri’s specialty! At Level 1, it’s limited, but the potential…”

This was beyond anything he’d hoped for so early on. The ability to heal himself in a world as dangerous as this was nothing short of miraculous. The implications were staggering.

By the end of that transformative week, Uchiha Dom was a changed five-year-old. His Cursed Energy had skyrocketed to Level 25. He was now a Grade 3 Sorcerer. His Sharingan was active. His CE Control was over 50%. He possessed Reinforcement, Perception, and the almost mythical Reverse Curse technique.

And, clutched in his small hands, was a thick stack of painstakingly written pages: the completed manuscript of Hari Potā to Kenja no Ishi – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Konoha Edition.

He looked at the stack of paper, a sense of profound accomplishment, and a healthy dose of trepidation, filling him. This was his gamble, his attempt to pull his family out of their financial mire. He still didn’t know if it would work, if anyone in this world would care about a boy wizard from a foreign land of his imagination.

But as he looked at the manuscript, then felt the thrum of his Cursed Energy, the keen sight of his newly awakened Sharingan, and the latent promise of his new skills, a sliver of hope solidified into something more robust.

‘Itachi will still try to kill us all in a few years,’ he reminded himself, a grim but necessary anchor to reality. ‘No amount of bestselling novels will stop that. But strength… strength might. And if this book can give my family some peace of mind, some breathing room while I get stronger… then every cramped muscle and charcoal-stained finger was worth it.’

He carefully wrapped the manuscript in a spare piece of cloth, a plan already forming in his mind for how to get it seen. Tomorrow, he would begin the next phase of his audacious plan.