I

Nothing could have prepared me for that string of words. If I only get one time in my life to be speechless, I'm using it now.

His kekkei genkai – the secret to his power. He's offering it to me?

"I…I don't understand," I say, barely able to push my voice above a whisper.

"I didn't expect you to – not right away. I know it's a lot to take in, especially since you don't know much about this power except what you can see. Don't worry, I always intended to explain further."

I don't know if any amount of explanation can penetrate the thick haze of confusion that has formed in my mind. But at the same time, my brain is drowning in questions, and I need answers like air. Eventually I nod, deciding to just let him talk at me until I come around.

"As I said," he continues, "I didn't inherit this power from my bloodline. Only the first to wield it did. It was passed down to me by the seventh user, Nana Shimura."

The name alone is all it takes to knock me out of my stupor. "D-do you mean the Nana Shimura? The Hidden Stone ninja who they call the Goddess of Storms?"

He looks to me, eyebrows raised. "She's known in this part of the world?"

"You bet she is!" I exclaim. My hands begin pumping up and down in response to that confirmation, my excitement overwhelming my sense of decorum. I'm not only a history buff, I'm also a hopeless fanatic of not just a few famous shinobi. Like her, many are kunoichi, but none are even close to her level. I have my favorites from the Hidden Leaf, but of all the others, Nana Shimura easily makes my top three. "Well, not widely," I admit. "But I have all her data cards. Is it true she possessed three chakra natures – earth, wind, and lightning – from birth? It seems so crazy, but if you were her student—"

He clears his throat. I stiffen and drop my hands to my side.

"Sorry," I say, embarrassed of my outburst. Here we are trying to have an important and potentially life-changing conversation, and I'm rambling about his old master like a fanboy. I really am hopeless.

He chuckles, a low rumble in his thick throat. "It's quite alright. Just didn't want us to get off track. But you're right, she did possess those three chakra natures from birth. It's so rare that most think it's impossible. Actually, that particular kekkei genkai is said to be cursed in some of the smaller lands. But she made good use of it, and that's why she's remembered so fondly today. Even in the farther-off areas of the world, it seems."

"Wait, it was a kekkei genkai? Does that mean she possessed two bloodline traits?" It's somehow even more surprising than finding out a kekkei genkai could be passed down. I pat my pockets, but I've forgotten my notepad. I'll have to write it all down later.

"Yes. She's one of only four people in history to do so."

"I thought she was the seventh inheritor, like you said."

"She was. But three of us, myself included, didn't have a kekkei genkai when we inherited this power."

"Oh, I see. That must be part of why she was so powerful. Some say she could wipe out a whole battalion of Jonin by herself. Is that true?"

"Heh. I don't know about that. She would have given it her best try, though." He laughs heartily at this.

I allow myself a small chuckle, as well. Not because it's funny, but because he speaks of her as if he were reminiscing about an old friend. It's clear in his voice that the thought of her puts him at ease. I wonder if I sound like that when I talk about my mom.

Just as I'm about to say something else, Mister Yagi doubles over abruptly, spewing an almost comical amount of blood from his mouth. He instantly reverts to his frail, skeletal form, sputtering and hacking as he endeavors to clear his lungs.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" I yell, thinking he must be dying. It's something I did, I'm sure of it. And now he's dying.

He holds up a hand. "Yeah, I'm fine." He coughs again, spraying a red mist from his throat. "This just happens sometimes. I can only be in that huge form for a few hours a day, since it strains my body so much."

"Oh. Is…is it because of your kekkei genkai?"

"Partly. It certainly doesn't help. The strain of having that much unnatural chakra tends to eat at your body a bit no matter what. That's why I had you climb all the way up here – to see if your body could handle it."

I'm suddenly grateful that I have no skill with taijutsu, otherwise I wouldn't have had to train so hard to avoid getting killed during sparring matches. I wouldn't have been able to scale that plateau face otherwise. Come to think of it, I almost gave up at the ninety-nine percent mark. Could those few hundred pushups I did to tire myself out last night have been the difference between success and failure?

"As for my radically atrophied form," he continues, jabbing a thumb at his chest, "this is my fault. I get careless one time out of a thousand, and I end up like this."

"Careless?" I inquire. I spot another canteen lying on the ground. It's likely meant for me, but he clearly needs it more, so I hand it to him. He takes a long swig before speaking again.

"Yeah," he sighs, staring absently into the darkness of the canteen. There's a sad kind of resignation in it, a bitterness at himself.

"If you don't mind my asking, what happened?"

He raises his head slowly, making sure to firmly meet my eyes.

The expression carved onto his face is beyond mere description – it can only be measured in gigatons of intensity. It is a bookmark in our conversation. A point of no return. It says that should I take one step further into his world, learn the secrets he has fought to the edge of his life to protect, there will be no going back to the life I once had – the person I was.

I feel like I'm teetering on a cliff. If I continue, his enemies will be my enemies, and I will be at risk of suffering like he has.

Maybe it's ironic, but the fact that I get all of that from one look brings all the pieces together for me. Maybe I wasn't conscious of it, but I passed my own point of no return a long time ago. He's placed so much of his trust in me already. How could I not do the same?

I square my shoulders and set my stance, imbuing my eyes with as much resolve as I can. He drew the line, and I've stepped over it. I think he understands that, because he answers me.

"My inheritance, this kekkei genkai, is called Convergence. Our enemy killed my master trying to steal it, and they will resurface soon enough to try again."

II

"She…died?" I say quietly. I never knew. "They tried so steal her kekkei genkai?"

In this world of shinobi, war and strife are commonplace even to those who live in relative peace. The Third Hokage's death was a grim reminder to the Land of Fire that nowhere is completely safe. I've heard and read countless stories about governments doing everything they can to quell dissent in sometimes morally reprehensible ways. Children have been killed at birth for bearing certain physical kekkei genkai, and entire clans, like the Hidden Leaf's own Uchiha Clan, have been slaughtered wholesale for their powerful and potentially dangerous bloodlines.

We fear what we cannot control and seek to erase it. That much is a given. But for someone's kekkei genkai to be stolen from them is not only unheard of, it is impossible.

At least, I think it is. But Mister Yagi's grim expression is making me increasingly unsure.

"They tried, but of course they failed," he says. A darkness falls over him like a velvet curtain. "She passed Convergence on to me as she lay dying in my arms, urging me not to abandon the work I had sworn to undertake. I hadn't anticipated losing her so quickly, though. I was barely eighteen. I needed her…"

He draws a shaky breath. If he's holding back tears, I can't tell from beyond the shadow of his brow.

I think he's about to say something else for a second, but he doesn't. I take the opportunity.

"I'm sorry," I say. "About your master."

He looks at me and sighs. "I guess some things just never leave you, eh, Young Midoriya?"

I don't answer. I don't even know how I could.

The corners of his mouth upturn once again, steadily transforming back into his big toothy grin.

"I knew you were the right choice," he says. I'm not expecting it after discussing such a grim topic, but he's on the upswell. Maybe for my sake.

"R-really?"

"Where I come from, they say there's two things you need to be a ninja," he holds up two fingers, "grit, and desire. Grit gets you through the tough times, and desire is derived from the will to live. You need to possess both in equal measures to learn how to use this ability. It's a long, hard road that might yield your death. But if you've come this far, I'm going to assume you know that."

I set my face in stone and nod once.

"I know you have grit because you climbed all the way up here, even though you didn't know what it was for. That, and you stayed at the Academy for years without improving at all." He laughs. "That takes a lot of grit. As for desire, I know you have that because of your answer."

"My answer?" I'm not sure I ever gave him one, but he seems to think I did.

"It's clear you want to live so that you can chase your dream on your own terms. That takes a ridiculous amount of restraint. You'd be shocked how many people assume it's a yes or no question, but it isn't meant to be answered like that. Say yes and I'll assume you're reckless and gullible for taking a total stranger at his word. If you answer no, I'll assume your spirit isn't strong enough to handle the truth."

"That sounds complicated."

"It is, but it doesn't have to be. At least…" He holds the flame out to me. "Not anymore." My hands reach out instinctively, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to take it, so I hesitate. "It's okay. You won't hurt it. If it goes out, it just returns to me."

I gulp hard, cupping my hands underneath his. He parts his hands and lets it fall through.

The instant it touches my palm, I'm overtaken by a rush of energy. The environment blurs, and I'm suddenly in a mind space where everything moves a million kilometers an hour.

The nodes in my palms inflate to maximum capacity, straining as my network does its best to accommodate the swelling influx of chakra. I break out in a cold sweat, body flooding with heat. Every muscle I have screams at me, and I can hear the blood rushing in my ears.

My senses are enhanced a thousand-fold. I can almost taste Ichiraku from here, smell the flowers in our garden at home. My lungs pump at an alarming rate as my blood cells run dry of oxygen, rushing to supply more throughout my body. For a moment, everything is so vivid and crisp and alive even as I seize with exhilaration, tendrils of green lightning dancing up and down my body.

And just like that, it is over.

He scoops up the flame again, brings it to his mouth, and swallows it. He grimaces, presumably accepting that energy back into his body.

"How was that?" he asks after letting me rest a moment.

I'm doubled over, even more winded than when I reached this summit. I can feel everything I have relaxing, unwinding like a spool.

"Incredible," I manage through gasps. "Unbelievable."

"And that was barely a taste. The trait optimizes chakra flow up to a hundred times the average and increases the amount of chakra inside you about as much."

"You would really give me something so powerful, so rare and precious?"

He smiles. "I'm new to the concept, but I think you have what this country calls the Will of Fire. I don't see why I need any more reason than that."

"I…" I can't think of anything to say – nothing that will fully convey how humbled I am in this moment. I mean to say something formal like "I'm honored," but instead my eyes begin pouring tears.

"It's really happening," I say. "I'm going to be a ninja. Thank you."

He smiles. "I should be the one thanking you, Young Midoriya. Once the procedure is done, I can rest easy knowing Convergence is in good hands."

I look up, wiping my face. "Procedure?" The word doesn't conjure positive imagery.

"Yeah, nothing crazy. I channeled a bit of the Convergence into you just now. But for me to pass it on permanently, we'll need to place a special seal on you. Like this." He pulls the neck of his shirt down to reveal a series of symbols etched onto his skin in a circular fashion.

I haven't done as much research into sealing as I would like to yet, but I know enough to tell an everyday seal from a seal that means it. This seal is clearly in the upper echelon, incorporating minute details that I can't begin to guess the purpose of. It is likely holding back a lot of power. Without it, Mister Yagi's body might be ripped apart just by having Convergence inside him.

I wish that were the most troubling thing, though. On his neck and chest are numerous scars, deep and red as desert canyons. Some of them look relatively fresh. My worry must be showing on my face, because he clears his throat and releases the neck of his shirt, letting it retract back into place.

Every piece of information he gives me just yields more questions. What famous ninja will I discover to be Mister Yagi's predecessors? Who are these enemies who are out to get Convergence? Why is it even called that, and what kind of training do I have to do to master it?

My head feels like it's going to explode.

I open my mouth, but he holds up a hand to block any further questions I might have.

"I know you're curious, and I'll answer as many questions as you like later. But right now, we have to—"

"I have a question," grinds a raspy voice.

Mister Yagi bursts into his muscle form instantly, head swiveling as he scans the area for the source of the voice. He's tensed up everything he has, preparing for an attack from any angle. I've seen this body language from other ninjas, and it never means anything good.

I'm blown back by a blast of wind as something huge comes hurtling into the sky from below our line of sight. It lands with an earth-shaking crash, fragmenting the rock beneath it.

When I open my eyes, he's right in front of Mister Yagi, standing nearly as tall and twice as menacing. His arms and chest are thickly layered with raw, uncovered sinew, and his left eye has been replaced with an optical apparatus of some kind. He's horrifying to behold.

I don't realize how much trouble we're in until he says, "I've been looking for you, Toshinori Yagi."