《A Senju Tale: Change of Fate》 1 Introduction This chapter is just an intro. It is a little about me, some notes about the story/writing, and some background on the MC. You don''t have to read the first part but I would really appreciate it if you did. I mention some things about the story and some requests for you guys. You''ll be able to tell when you should start reading. Hi, my name is Alec Newman (ARN3wman on Twitch and Twitter). I am a PC gamer at heart and am an avid watcher of anime. This is my first attempt at writing so any feedback is greatly appreciated. I have been reading a lot of fan fiction lately and thought that I''d be able to fix some of the issues I find to be commonplace. The major ones being quality of writing, scaling, chapter length, story flow, and english quality. Please give feedback if any aspect of the story feels off. One request that I do have is that the feedback be given in a constructive manner. I am only looking to improve and want to use the advice which I am given to do so. Now for some notes about the story. I had a hard time choosing which universe to write in. My choices were the Naruto Universe, Star Wars Extended Universe, some random magical world from an anime, or an original story. I decided that due to my extensive knowledge of it, that my first story will be written as a reincarnation isekai based in the Naruto Universe. This choice also gives me a lot of creative freedom, within reason, to create a unique and interesting story that I can have fun with. Using a poll from a discord server that I am in, I decided to include a system in this story to assist the MC in his journey. If the novel gets popular enough, I will try to engage you guys so that you can have some say in the direction of the story. This will include, but is not limited to, possible story arcs, characters to add, abilities, locations, and events. Despite this, there is one thing that I am going to keep my stance on: I WILL NOT WRITE A HAREM INTO THIS STORY. At most, there will be a monogamous relationship but that is not even guaranteed. Many characters in the Naruto Universe do not have any romance. However, there will probably be some kind of family so that I have the ability to keep the story going. If I keep with this, I plan to keep this story going for a long time and navigate through multiple generations of the Naruto Universe. There is, however, an important thing to take note of before reading this story. For the most part, I will do my best to stick to Canon. However, I can guarantee that there will be extreme deviations from the Canon story. This will include some major events (ex: Uzushiogakure falling, Kyuubi attack, Uchiha Massacre, etc.) not occurring or being modified, supporting characters that have an impact on the story (ex: Jiraya, Neji Hyuga, Dan Kato, etc.) dying or surviving, addition of new content (abilities, bloodlines, jutsus, lore, villages, etc.), and possible altered personalities of various characters due to events being changed and the impact of other characters. THere is one last thing that I want to mention pertaining to the story. I will do my absolute best to keep this from being some generic, trashy, boring isekai about the Naruto Universe. There are a lot of these stories and some of them can be a bit boring due to the same old changes being made and a generic, overpowered MC. Due to the fact that there is a system to assist, the MC will obviously have the edge in developing his skills. However, the character that our MC will be reincarnating into is not overpowered in the first place. This will allow me to apply some buffs and still maintain balance in the world. I truly hope to be able to make this into a version of the Naruto Universe where Konoha is not on a godly plane while leaving all of the other villages in the dust. That would be generic and boring. I''ll say it again, any feedback is appreciated. I want to get better at writing and creating a good story is a crucial part of that. Please tell me if something that I write is off or doesn''t feel right. Next, some notes for the writing style. I will try my best to establish clear indications of when a character is thinking and will probably write a majority of the work in first person based around the MC. In general, I will use single quotations to indicate thoughts and double quotations to indicate speech. The speech will be structured similar to that of a traditional book and follow standard english grammar. I will appreciate any feedback on grammar or spelling as I am definitely not perfect and nowhere close to experienced with this type of thing. In addition, I will include transliterations for some common Japanese phrases and speech patterns that are used. Some examples of this include "itadakimasu", "[insert name here] Sama", "hai", "sensei", "dono", etc. I will be sure to make sure that I clarify in a note for each phrase as to what it means. With this, I will also write names according to how they are said in Japanese (ex: "Uzumaki Naruto"). Since this is the Naruto Universe, one more thing is important to note. The way that jutsus/techniques are spelled out will vary. When the MC is reading or thinking about a jutsu or technique, it may be described using english (ex: "earth release"). However, I will ask that for other contexts, such as combat or dialogue, that you guys give me feedback on how you want it to be written. I will probably start by using the full Japanese transliteration and only translate the technique specific words. It will follow this example: "Doton: Doryuheki (Mud Wall)". After reading a lot of what other people have written, this is what I feel is the most comfortable way to read a jutsu/technique name. Thus, I decided to write them like this as well. If I find that a lot of you guys are suggesting that I do it some other way, I can poll and see how you guys want it to be. Last, but definitely not least, this is going to be a hobby for me. It is not going to be something that I prioritize in my life over other things that are more important. I will do my best to upload consistently but there are no guarantees. With this work, I am shooting for quality over quantity. When I say quality, I mean that I want the writing to be top notch, the grammar and spelling to be to the best of my ability, and for the chapters to be as long as possible. The length of each chapter will vary based on the content. Some may be much longer and some may be really short. Due to these factors, please do not expect daily uploads of huge chapters. Once I fall into a groove, I will upload at as fast a pace as possible while maintaining the quality. Thank you in advance for reading this. As I said, this is my first go at writing outside of academic assignments. With that said, I am looking to only improve so constructive feedback is requested so that I can satisfy you guys to the max. I will also try to include short notes that will preface each chapter to fill you guys in on what is happening and any delays or changes that might occur. Also, follow me on Twitter and join my discord (I''ll get it linked somewhere eventually). Enjoy the story! **************************** START READING HERE **************************** Main Character Information Name: Senju Nawaki Background: Born to Senju Tetsuya (Random Senju Clan member) and Senju Toka (Senju Clan Head at start of story, daughter of Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito)Younger brother of Senju TsunadeMore detail will be gone into throughout the story so keep your eyes peeledThe rest will be a mystery for now but periodically, the system will be used to provide a status ----------------------------------------------- Map of Konohagakure that is used https://i.pinimg.com/originals/31/07/80/31078076bac9b2df2a9338682e116602.jpg Map of Main Continent that is used https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f4/f3/04/f4f3044629f48215de63304e3fc5c764.jpg *Additional maps may be added here if more locations are added in the future* Without further adieu, let''s get into the story. :D 2 An Untimely End *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* "Ughhhhh, is it 6 already?" James groaned and rolled over in bed to stop his blaring alarm. Today was the last day of having to go to the hospital before he would get a week off for President''s Day. After slowly sitting up he thought, ''One more day, and then I will get some me time! Maybe I''ll go out tonight.'' After washing up and putting together a light breakfast of toast, coffee, and some blueberries, he sat down to enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet before yet another hectic day at the hospital. He thought back on the busy life that led him, James Mitchell, to this point. ''I was always a smart kid, at least that is what everyone told me. I didn''t realize how smart I really was until I got into college. Going to Stanford University is a pretty big deal. Especially when studying engineering and going pre-med. Taking only 2 years, I finished my undergraduate degree with a double major in Biomedical Engineering and Biology. I also managed to finish my masters in Biomedical Engineering within a year after that. I then went on to finish medical school at Stanford by 23 years of age. Since then, I spent two years in my residency at a hospital in Los Angeles. It was a pretty big change from all the research I was doing at the university. I didn''t really think much of the research but everyone else went crazy about it. They went on about how I am some kid genius and that my work is revolutionary. Meanwhile, I was just trying to find something interesting that I could pour my time into. I guess that meandering had some positive consequences.'' ''After all of those things, free time was hard to come by. However, I had two pass times that I could not get enough of. The first was just aimlessly hanging out with my friends. I found a nice group of people. We all enjoyed getting together and doing mindless activities to allow us all to rest our brains. The other thing was watching anime. There were so many crazy worlds that people come up with and make into stories. I would spend a lot of time wondering what it would be like to live in one of those worlds. The thought of being one of those helpless side characters is somewhat scary but ironically funny at the same time. I guess I have a bit of a dark sense of humor. How could I not with how serious and boring my daily life is. Everyone needs to have some kind of entertainment, right?'' "Ughhhhhhh," he said looking at the clock. He sluggishly got up from my seat and cleaned up his dishes. He grabbed his car keys and ID badge and mosied his way out the door. After what felt like a really short amount of time, he checked his watch and noticed that his shift was over. He blinked in disbelief and turned to the doctor next to him. "Is it really 5 already? It feels like I just got here!" The doctor turned to James and said, "James, I don''t know why but you are right. It just doesn''t feel like it is the evening already. But yeah, you are done for the day. Will you be coming in next week?" James shook his head with a smile, "Nope. I get a whole week off. I need to go visit my family and friends. It has been a while since I have been home." The doctor smiled, "That sounds like a great time. Safe travels and enjoy your week off!" James turned and started to walk away. As he walked, he turned his head "Thanks, I''ll see you when I get back!" James looked back ahead of where he was going and picked up the pace. He exited the hospital and walked outside of the hospital. It was already dark outside but it was not too cold. The parking garage was down a few blocks from the entrance so he made his way over there. When he walked into the garage, it was dark. Usually, there are lights lining the walls of the garage. For some reason, many of them were out. He thought nothing of it since he was so set on getting home and starting his vacation. As James rounded the corner to get to the row of spots where he parked, he froze. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down and saw blood pooling on the ground. He started to panic and as he looked to the side where the pain was coming from, he saw a person dressed in dark clothing holding a knife covered in blood. He could do nothing but watch as they came at James with the knife again to stab him in the chest. With this blow, he fell over. The pain was overwhelming and was nothing like he had ever felt before. James coughed and could taste the blood pooling in his mouth. As he laid helplessly on the ground, the person emptied his pockets, removed his watch, and grabbed his bag. As James faded out of consciousness, he could hear the person''s footsteps as they ran away. Everything was dark. James couldn''t see or feel anything. ''Is this the end?'' he thought. Over the next hour, a few images flashed. The first one was what appeared to be a group of EMTs putting him on a stretcher. The next one he saw a blur of white as he was rolled through the corridors of the very hospital he just walked out of. Then, he didn''t see anything else. All he could hear was a heart monitor. *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* It continued to slow down and after what felt like a few seconds, it went solid. Just then, everything went dark. Nothing could be felt, seen, heard, smelt, or tasted. ''What is this place?'' James thought to himself. ''Is this where you go when you die? Never would have thought that it would be this but oh well. What can you do? This form I have taken is¡­ interesting.'' James didn''t feel any kind of body. It was almost as if he was just an existence that was floating through a void. After what felt like a few hours, a light began to become visible. ''What is that? Well, I''m already dead and have nothing to do so there''s only one way to find out!'' James Moved towards the light. As he did, a deep, soothing voice called out to him, "Come here my child." Suddenly there was a flash of light. "WAIT, I CAN SEE!" James yelled out. He heard a laugh from next to him. James looked over and saw a humanoid figure standing next to him. Their presence was powerful and they exuded a certain pressure. They could only be described as omnipotent. After taking a good look at the figure, James then looked around and realized that they were standing in a cemetery. Immediately, he started to see some familiar faces. They included his friends, his family, and some of his colleagues. Suddenly it struck him. He thought to himself, ''No, don''t tell me this is my funeral.'' The figure turned to James, "Ahhh. I see you''ve already figured it out. That makes sense with you being so smart." James turned to the figure, "You can hear my thoughts?" They chuckled and said in a cheerful tone, "Of course I can. I am God after all." James could do nothing but stare at the figure in disbelief. Only one sentence could come into mind. "So what now?" James asked. "That, my child, is up to you. As I am sure that you have realized, you have done some amazing things in your life. Your medical research is going to go on to save countless lives and also will serve as the foundation for many other discoveries. It also helped that you spent every day helping with the treatment of sick people at what you call the hospital. Due to all your contributions to my human race, I have decided to have a little fun with your afterlife. I am going to do this by giving you a few choices. Firstly, you can choose to enter Heaven. It is wonderful there but I won''t lie to you, it gets boring pretty quick. Secondly, you can choose to be reborn into a human child on your Earth and live a completely new life. You have already done that so I doubt you would want to do it again. The last choice is the fun one! You can choose any fantasy world that your race has come up with and be reborn into that with a few conditions that we can come up with. Now which will you cho¡­" James immediately cuts off the end of God''s speech and adamantly says "THREE! Ahem, sorry, I''ll take choice three." In response to this, God laughed hysterically and said through the laughter, "I had a feeling you''d choose the fun one. I am only surprised that you did not ask about the conditions prior to making your choice." James smiled, "Well Heaven sounds boring. Earth? Been there, done that. Also, it was boring. How could I not want to spice it up. But now that you mention it, what are the conditions? They won''t change my decision but I would like to know." God turned and thought. As if a crazy idea had popped into his head, "How about this?" God turned back to James. "First, I will give you one of my Angels that has studied Human literature. They will be augmented into you as a system that can help you navigate the world. They will have some other advantageous capabilities that will be made available to you over time. Second, I am going to have you keep all of your necessary memories. That includes anything you''ve studied, morals, language(s), food, world knowledge, and a few other things that I''ll let you figure out. For your convenience, I will remove any memories of friends or family so that you can actually enjoy your new life. Now that I have said my part, what are you thinking about the destination world and any additional conditions?" James grinned and quickly replied, "Here is what I came up with. I want to go into the world of Naruto. I want to be born into the Senju clan and be about the same age as Minato. Other than that, I want one other thing. Other than looks, I want to have all of the same characteristics as Hashirama. Wood release and all. Is that possible?" God smiled and replied, "Ahhh, yes. Naruto. That is a fun story, isn''t it? As for your requests, I can accommodate them. However, don''t come crying to me if what I have decided to do will mess with the story that you want to live in." James smiled, "Great, I am glad we could figure this out. I appreciate that you decided to pick me to have some fun with. The afterlife sounds utterly boring! But wait, what do you mean when you say that the story might get messed up?" God smirked and snapped his fingers. "That, my child, will be a surprise!" James tried to ask again but no words would come out. Suddenly everything was dark. Then, a soft male voice that was quite relaxing made itself heard. "Hello. My name is Kensho, I believe the old man just told you about me." James, still not able to speak, thought to himself, ''Ah, so this is the angel. I wish I could talk to him. I also wonder if I am the only one that can hear him. "Uhhhhhh, I can hear your thoughts you know. I am living inside your head after all. And for that last thing, yes, you are the only one that can hear me. Think of me as a voice inside your head that is not due to mental illness." Kensho chuckled as he said the last part. "I should probably also say, you are no longer James Mitchell." James was confused after hearing this. ''Then who or what am I?'' Kensho laughed again, "That is what you will find out in just a few minutes when you are born!" James''s mind moved through ideas like a race car. He was trying to think of who he might be when he comes out. A few minutes went by and suddenly, a dim light began to appear. It got brighter and brighter until everything was white. He thought to himself, ''Ah shit, here we go again!'' As he thought of this, he realized he could feel his body and a cool breeze. James opened his mouth to try and ask where he was but all he could hear is "WAAAAAAAAAAA." ''Oh right, I''m a baby. Stupid vocal cords.'' Kensho then started to crack up at this. "OH MY, this is gonna be fuuunnnnn!" Kensho said through his laughter. As James''s eyes started to adjust to the light, he felt himself get lifted up into the air as he was wiped off and wrapped in a blanket. The woman who picked him up then said, "Oh look at how cute he is! What a healthy child." James was finally able to open his eyes and he was able to see the woman that picked him up. ''I guess this is the nurse that delivered me. WAIT! SHIT, I DON''T KNOW JAPANESE!'' Kensho couldn''t hold in his laughter anymore. This was just too amusing to him. "I almost forgot, let me help you with that¡­ aaannnnd there." A notification popped up in the top right corner of his vision. *Skill Mastered: Japanese* ''Thanks, I guess'' James thought. The nurse then turned towards the bed and said, "Toka Sama, look at your baby boy." ''Toka? I''ve never heard that name before. Then again, there are probably a lot of people in this world that weren''t in the anime. I''ll need more information to find out who I am.'' "Tetsuya Sama, do you want to hold the baby?" asked the nurse. "A man standing next to the bed said, "I wouldn''t dare touch him before my wife can hold him." James was now even more lost. As he was handed over to Toka, Tetsuya called out, "Okaa Sama, Tsunade! You can come in now!" ''I must have misheard. Did he just say Tsunade? Like the Sannin?'' James slowly turned his head over towards the door that slid open. As he did, a blonde, young girl ran right up to the side of the bed. Following her was one more person. As he recognized her, his eyes widened. Standing before him was Tsunade, who he presumed was his sister, and his grandmother and Uzumaki Mito. ''Shit shit shit shit, did I actually just become Hashirama''s grandkid? THIS IS SICK!'' Tsunade turned to Tetsuya and said, "Awwww, I wanted a sister!" She pouted as Mito asked in an enthusiastic tone from behind her, "Wow, I can''t believe I have lived to see the day when I have two grandkids. Did you two decide on a name?" Toka nodded and looked towards Tetsuya as she was too exhausted to speak. "Yes we have. He will be named Nawaki. Senju Nawaki." 3 Nawaki?!?!? ''NAWAKI? THE GUY THAT DIED AT LIKE 12 YEARS OLD?!?!?! I can just imagine that God is laughing his ass off right now.'' At this point, Kensho is dying of laughter as he already knew the circumstances that were set up. "Well congratulations my friend. You are no longer James. Now, you are known as Nawaki. I am now going to take the liberty of erasing your name from your memory." Nawaki, still crying due to him being a baby, thought to himself, ''Alright. Let''s make the best out of this. God said he would give me the Wood Release, or Mokuton as it is called here. Since I am directly related to Hashirama, it seems like he got that right. But it''s time to think. God also mentioned something about the story being different from what I know. Oh! That must mean I can change the timeline with my own actions. Hehe, maybe that means I can survive past 12 years old.'' As if it was intentional, Kensho interjected suddenly, "Would you like me to go over the current capabilities that I can offer? There are also a few capabilities that will unlock soon that I can tell you about. Any locked functions past that are a secret hehehe." ''Oh you have quite the attitude, don''t you know.'' Nawaki thought as he got annoyed. ''Can you tell me about it later when I am alone? Especially if some things pop up, I don''t want to startle my new family.'' Kensho then replied, "Hmph, alright. Suit yourself." It felt like an eternity before Nawaki and his family went home. Between check ups by the nurse, close friends visiting and meeting baby Nawaki, and plenty of spoiling from Mito, there was plenty that kept them held up. On the way to the Senju Estate, Nawaki managed to gather some information regarding current events. As it stands right now, Senju Tobirama is the Second Hokage, the First Great Shinobi War is raging, Hashirama recently died, Mito is getting into her later years, and Tsunade is about to enter the academy. Tsunade is currently 4 years old. As the group was walking down the street, Nawaki noticed that they made a sudden turn. He looked around and thought, ''Huh? Why are we walking through a park?'' There was a sprawling grass field surrounded by a stone brick wall that had emblems on it representing the Senju Clan. There were beautiful trees, beds of colorful flowers, large ponds with long wooden docks, and wild animals roaming throughout it. As they walked, Toka looked down to him and said, "Welcome home Nawaki." She smiled as Nawaki looked back at her with a confused and adorable face. He turned his head forward and his eyes widened as he looked at the huge estate that lay before him. ''No¡­ way¡­ This is my house?'' he thought. ''I know that the Senju were one of the founding members of Konoha but I didn''t know that we would still have this much money! This is great!'' Kensho then cut in, "Yes, this is our house now. It is a gorgeous estate. Even greater than what I imagined. Too bad it is supposed to be lost after the demise of the Senju Clan." Nawaki thought for a second and then resolved himself, ''Well, sounds like I''ve got work to do. Changes must be made!'' Toka carried Nawaki inside. Aside from Tetsuya and Toka, everyone else dispersed to do their business. They carried Nawaki to his bedroom and placed him into a crib. It looked roughly constructed but was finished with much effort. Almost as if it was hand made in a way. There was a soft cushion in the crib that was very comfortable. Nawaki seemingly went to sleep instantly. For a few minutes, Toka and Tetsuya admired their sleeping newborn child, before leaving to cook dinner. After they left, Nawaki opened his eyes and managed to show a small smile. ''Looks like I lucked out in terms of family and money. Seems like my mom is the current clan head so that''s pretty cool. I''ll definitely get some advantages from that. Now that I''m alone, it''s time. Kensho, show me what you can do.'' Nawaki thought. "Alright, so technically, I can''t do anything at the moment. But I do have this super duper special awesome fantastic mystery box that you can open." Kensho said. Nawaki thought in response, ''''Were all of those words really needed?'' Kensho laughed and said, "Well, I felt like I needed to make it exciting? Anyways, think of it like a starter pack. I really think you should open it quickly. You''ll be happy you diiiiid!" Nawaki thought for a moment and then replied, ''Alright, open it.'' As he said that, a few notifications appeared in the top right corner of his vision. *Congratulations on opening your starter pack* *Function Unlocked: Status* *Function Unlocked: Inventory* *Function Unlocked: Perks List* *Function Unlocked: Skills List* *Function Unlocked: Jutsu List* *1 Sage Token Obtained* Noticing that Nawaki was a very confused, Kensho chimed in. "Alright, let me explain what those mean. Status allows you to see how you are currently doing. You can see various metrics that will rate your current abilities. Moving on, inventory is an inventory. Anyone could figure that out ha!. Perks are various abilities that you have. You are able to develop them over time through usage. They will help you in various circumstances. Skills are kind of like professions. Some skills include cooking, maintenance, forging, kenjutsu which is sword stuff, fuinjutsu which is sealing, stealth, and elemental proficiency. Lastly, jutsu list is a jutsu list. Any questions?" As Nawaki absorbed all the information that he was just told, two questions came to mind. ''Kensho, do I currently have any abilities in the lists? And also, what is the Sage Token?'' After a moment, Kensho replied saying, "Currently, the only item in those lists is a skill. That skill, which I gave to you earlier, is Japanese. You possess a skill level of Mastery for that. As for the sage coin, you can exchange it for various things. You can also save it. To view what you can exchange it for, you first need to unlock the Shop." Nawaki immediately thought, "Sooooo, how do I unlock the shop?" Kensho chuckled before saying, "Hmmmm, not sure. I''ll let you figure that one out!" Some time went by while Nawaki thought about how to unlock the shop. Following his thinking, he thought to Kensho, ''I can only think of one possibility. I want to spend the Sage Token.'' As he finished that thought, a notification appeared. *Function Unlocked: Shop* Kensho laughed at Nawaki and said, "Took ya long enough eh?" Nawaki got annoyed with this and thought, ''You really enjoy messing with me. Whatever, open the shop. I want to see what I can get.'' Suddenly, a person appeared in the top left corner of his vision. Kensho then said, "Oh come on, I gotta have fun with this too! And I just realized, I can do this. Hi Nawaki. Such a cute little baby, aren''t ya?" The person was talking at the same time as Kensho, was waving, and then started making funny faces that one would make towards a baby. Nawaki looked at this and frustratedly thought, ''Ughh, even though I am starting to find you quite annoying, at least I''ll have someone to talk to when I''m alone. But come on, can you get on with the explanation?'' Kensho laughed again and then said, "Okay, okay, fine. So the shop can be viewed at any time but can only be purchased from when you acquire a Sage Token. They are quite rare so make sure you use them wisely. As for the shop, you can get unique perks that can''t be acquired through training, you can gain affinity towards various element, you can acquire a random jutsu, weapon, armor, kenjutsu, taijutsu, sealing, or artifact scroll, or you can purchase an experience token which can rank up a skill or perk. I will tell you, however, that some perks can not be leveled up since they do not have varying levels of proficiency. Shall I open the shop?" Nawaki made his response almost immediately, ''Uhhh, yeah. Of course you should open the shop!'' Kensho then responded saying, "Okay, you got it bud." Suddenly, something resembling an overlay appeared over the center of Nawaki''s vision. Looking through it he saw various things. At the top right of the window, his balance of 1 Sage Token was shown. The icon shown next to the balance was a token with a golden border, a black face, and a single golden tomoe in the middle. Below that top bar, a list presented itself. Going down the list, there were several options. As per Kensho''s explanation, the items included the following: Unique Perk: Insomnia - This is a unique perk that is available due to bloodline characteristics. Allows passive regeneration of stamina and chakra outside of combat via absorption of nature energy. This does not boost healing. The user can still sleep but it would no longer be a necessity. Meditation will also increase the absorption rate and allow the user to rest their mind.Unique Perk: Chakra Beast - This is a generic perk that will boost the chakra reserves of the user. This does not affect anything other than capacity.Unique Perk: Sensor Boost - This is a generic perk that will boost the range and accuracy of sensor capabilities for the user. It also provides passive sensing in a short range as well as a reduced chakra consumption rate of active sensing techniques.Special Item: Experience Token - This is an item. It will be deposited into the user''s inventory. Upon expenditure, the user can select a perk or skill to be ranked up by one level of proficiency. After scanning through the list, Nawaki thought to Kensho, ''What happened to the other purchase options that you mentioned?'' Kensho frowned and said, "Unfortunately, you are not able to purchase those items. I am not completely sure why that is the case, but I would presume that it is due to lack of inventory space or insufficient capabilities. According to what I can see, the options that you have in the shop will change and expand over time. I would guess that as you experience various things in your life, you will unlock more options. Only time will tell my little friend." Kensho grinned as he finished his explanation. Nawaki went deep into thought. He considered a few possibilities. First, the options in the shop are not permanent. This means that things that are available now, may not be later. In addition, the options that go away will be replaced by new ones in the future. Second, he concluded that this first purchase would be the most important choice that he can make for a while. Since he is a baby, he won''t have any chances to get another Sage Token for a while. After some careful thought, Nawaki made his decision. ''Although it means that I''ll never be able to get away from you, it seems like one of those will be extremely useful. From what I know about this universe, it seems that early development is crucial in deciding how capable I will be. Thus, I am going to choose to purchase the Insomnia perk.'' Kensho''s eyes widened and he said, "Is that your final choice? Are you sure? I mean sleep is great. You get to shut off your mind, dream, recover your strength, and then wake up feeling nice and refreshed!" Nawaki laughed internally and thought, ''Well, if I don''t need to sleep and can constantly recover my stamina outside of combat, I would be much less vulnerable in the future. So yes, that is my final choice.'' Kensho nodded and said, "Alright, I guess it is a good decision. Look forward to talking to you all night long!" As Kensho finished talking, a notification appeared. *Perk Unlocked: Insomnia* Almost immediately, Nawaki felt a drastic change. He felt a foreign energy permeating his body and flowing throughout. As it entered, he felt his energy replenish until he was wide awake. Nawaki then thought to Kensho, ''What is this energy that I am feeling? It is so warm and soothing, yet foreign and powerful.'' Kensho smiled and said, "That, my little friend, is nature energy. From what I can see regarding your memories, you know the rest." Nawaki widened his eyes as he felt the energy around him. It was almost as if it was speaking to him. He could feel everything that was happening in his bedroom. However, he suddenly felt uneasy. Almost as if there was some kind of internal conflict occurring. He thought, ''Kensho, what is this feeling? Why does the natural energy feel as if it is fighting something?'' Kensho thought for a minute as he tried to figure out what Nawaki was talking about. Kensho then said, "Ohhhhh, I think I know what that is. In younger children, chakra does not immediately start to flow and remains stagnant in your chakra reserves. Maybe you can try using the natural energy to facilitate that process? Usually you would have someone else use their own chakra to help your chakra start moving but you already have something traveling through the pathways. Try it out!" Nawaki closed his eyes and tried to feel the energy that was circulating through him. As he scanned through his body, he only felt natural energy. However, as he neared his stomach, he felt that the flow of natural energy was inhibited. He went further down and noticed another type of energy. Nawaki noted how the natural energy flowing through his chakra pathways felt. As he focused on the pathways where the energy was moving freely, he could almost feel as if he could control the flow. Using some willpower, he was able to slow the flow. Then he released the restriction and felt the flow speed up and exceed the rate that it was flowing before. Following this, he tried it in his stomach. As if a dam was shattered, he felt an influx of energy flowing through his chakra pathways. ''Wow, so this is chakra? It feels similar to natural energy. Except, it feels more familiar yet less dense.'' Nawaki opened his eyes to see Kensho smiling as he said, "Yep. That sounds about right. Chakra is your energy. The other stuff is absorbed from around you so those descriptions make sense. While you were busy, I thought I''d check some stuff out. You should check out your status." Without any hesitation, Nawaki thought, ''Alright Kensho, open the status page.'' 4 Early Years "Otou-san, I''m hungry!" shouted a small boy. This boy had short, spiky hair. The light brown color of his hair melded nicely with his deep olive colored eyes. On his upper cheeks, he had an ovular, pinkish marking. It was quite adorable since it looked like he was always blushing. Standing at almost 3 feet tall, this young child had a very healthy physique. "Okay, okay, breakfast is almost ready Nawaki." As Tetsuya put breakfast out on the table, he smiled. Before him, he watched as his adorable little boy Nawaki, and his beautiful wife Toka sat down at the kitchen table. "Otou-san, where is Onee-chan?" Nawaki asked. Tetsuya shrugged as he looked over to Toka. "Tsunade left earlier this morning for a mission. Being a ninja is a very busy and serious job. You understand?" Toka said as she looked at Nawaki. Nawaki then smiled and replied saying, "I wanna be a ninja when I grow up. Just like Onee-chan!" Tetsuya and Toka looked at each other before smiling. Toka then looked back and said, "Well Nawaki, with what you''ve shown, I think that you''ll be a fine ninja when you grow up." Toka and Tetsuya walked over to Nawaki. They picked him up and hugged him. They both gave him a kiss on the cheek before placing him back down into the chair. They all then proceeded to enjoy a delicious breakfast to prepare them for the day. Following Nawaki forcefully kickstarting his chakra network, he went into a deep meditation as he felt the two energies flowing in harmony. It was quite relaxing and before he knew it, morning had arrived. Toka came in to wake up Nawaki but froze as she entered the room. She sensed a chakra signature in Nawaki''s bedroom and went on guard. She quickly scanned the room and realized that no one aside from her and Nawaki was present. As she calmed down and approached the crib, she felt a warm energy coming from it. She used her active sensing abilities and was shocked as she realized that the chakra that she felt was coming from Nawaki. It was unheard of for a newborn baby to have a chakra signature like this. After talking to Tetsuya, they decided that Nawaki must be special but they could not yet figure out how. They would not find out what really happened. As if it was a blur, a year flew by. As they celebrated Nawaki''s first birthday, everyone was shocked as he took his first steps. About a month after that, he spoke for the first time. His first words being, "I''m hungry." Obviously, Nawaki already knew how to talk but he didn''t want to seem like a freak genius. Within a year, he started to form complete sentences and began running around the grounds in front of the Senju Estate. Secretly, Nawaki had been practicing his chakra and nature energy control. Once he was able to roam the grounds by himself, he found various places to meditate and practice controlling the chakra flow within his body. Nawaki had found that there were many points on his body that chakra and nature energy would pool into and exit his body slowly. Realizing that these were his tenketsu, he used his knowledge of this world, he started doing the leaf concentration technique. Using his ability to absorb nature energy, he could keep up the chakra exercise for hours. Nawaki was now two and a half years old. After finishing breakfast, Nawaki got up from his seat and went to "play" outside. He ran across the grounds and found a tree to sit under in the shade. He sat down in the lotus position and said, "Mornin'' Kensho!" Kensho''s face popped up in his vision. Kensho smirked and said, "Someone is in a good mood. That breakfast looked wonderful by the way. Anyways, what can I do for ya?" Nawaki smiled before saying, "Yeah, Otou-san is such a good cook. I was thinking that I would start my day by looking at my status." Kensho nodded as he made the status page pop up. The status page has a similar layout to the shop. It has a bar at the top that just says "Senju Nawaki". Below it, there are various metrics. The metrics shown include age, height, weight, chakra levels, chakra control, elemental affinities, bloodlines, and titles. Nawaki decided that he would check the status page every morning to see how he was progressing. As he scanned through it, he felt satisfied with his abilities. Age: 2 years, 6 months Height: 2'' 10" Weight: 28 lbs Chakra Levels: D Chakra Control: C Elemental Affinities: Earth, Water Bloodlines: Wood Release (Kekkei Genkai), Uzumaki Titles: None "Hmmm, no titles yet huh?" Nawaki said with contempt. Kensho laughed and then replied, "Well titles aren''t something that you just get handed. You have to earn them like everything else." Nawaki thought for a moment and then said, "Yeah, that makes sense. I''m curious what titles are available. I have an idea. I think I''ll check on the perks and skills today. Can you open up those lists?" Kensho nodded and said, "Sure, coming right up." The perks and skills list had the same layout. They consisted of a bar at the top that said either "Perks List" or "Skills List". The perks list opened first. [For new perks or skills, I will provide a description once and then each time it levels up] Unique Perk: Insomniac Perk: Sage Mode (Beginner) - Due to affinity for natural energy, the user is able to sense, absorb, and use it in a limited capacity. Unique Perk: Sensor Boost Nawaki got the sage mode perk a few days after he started circulating his chakra with nature energy. In addition, he found a Sage Token while exploring the Senju grounds and used it to acquire the sensor boost perk. Next, the skills list opened Skill: Cooking (Beginner) - Basic skill learned through observation. Allows the user to prepare food for consumption. Skill: Stealth (Intermediate) - Use of chakra control to attempt to hide one''s presence. Will falter against those with high sensing capabilities. Skill: Maintenance (Beginner) - Basic skill learned through observation. Allows the user to do some basic cleaning. Skill: Passive Sensing (Intermediate) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in a small range Skill: Active Sensing (Beginner) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in a larger range via chakra expenditure. Skill: Chakra Precision (Intermediate) - Boosts the growth of chakra control to help reduce the amount of wasted chakra Feeling satisfied, Nawaki said, "Okay, thanks Kensho. I''m looking pretty good right? I mean, I am not sure how I compare to other kids my age but I''m sure that I am above average. You think so?" Kensho chuckled and said, "You really are oblivious. I don''t think you realize how above average you are. Speaking of special things, isn''t something happening today that you were looking forward to?" Nawaki lit up as he remembered. He then said excitedly, "OH YEAH! Oji-sama is coming over to train me today!" After his moment of excitement, Nawaki calmed back down and resumed his meditation. After about an hour of feeling out his internal energy and keeping 10 leaves stuck to various parts of his body, two notifications popped up. *Ability leveled up! Chakra Levels: D \u003e C* *Perk Leveled up! Sage Mode: Beginner \u003e Intermediate* Nawaki''s eyes lit up as he felt his ability to absorb and manipulate nature energy increase. He could feel more and more of the environment around him. It was almost as if he felt that his passive sensing range had increased. The passive range now covered most of the Senju grounds. This was probably due to the large amount of plant life that covered it. He could feel the flow of energy through the ground. As he followed it, he could feel the trees. In each tree, he could feel the birds and squirrels that hid in the leaves. Going back down to the ground, he continued to follow the flow. As he followed it, he felt a body of energy that was flowing like a current. Within the currents, he could sense several chakra signatures slowly moving around. Nawaki focused on them and realized that they were fish and that the body of energy was one of the ponds that were on the Senju grounds. He thought it was very interesting feeling the controlled flow of energy in the water. It resembled the way that his chakra flows throughout his own body. It was quite soothing and peaceful. As Nawaki meditated, he stayed completely still. In a state of complete tranquility, he was perfectly relaxed. Since he started meditating, he found that the less he moved, the better he was able to absorb nature energy. He visualized it as making himself into the wood that he could manipulate with his bloodline. Although he could not use the wood release yet, he still tried to use its characteristics to improve his meditation. Due to Nawaki being perfectly still, he emanated an aura of complete safety and relaxing energy. A small bird flew over and after observing Nawaki for a moment, it landed on his knee. One by one, several animals made their way over to him and settled around the spot in which he was meditating. A few more birds landed on him. One on his head, another on his shoulder, and another on his other knee. A few squirrels laid down to rest next to him. All of the animals could feel the strong flow of natural energy around Nawaki and it felt good to them. Nawaki then decided to stop focusing and let his mind wander over the expansive Senju grounds. As he did this, he noticed a chakra signature enter the front gate and then disappear. It reappeared in a few places around the grounds as it repeatedly vanished and then revealed itself. After one last jump, Nawaki sensed that it had settled in the tree that he was sitting under. Nawaki focused on the chakra signature and analyzed it. Whatever it was, the chakra it possessed was massive, yet extremely controlled. After a moment, without opening his eyes, Nawaki said calmly, "Oji-sama, it is good to see you." Hearing this, Tobirama smiled and jumped down from the tree. Landing several feet away from Nawaki, his eyes widened as he took in the scene. In his deep, serious voice, Tobirama said, "Ohayo Nawaki. The way you are meditating with the animals gathered around you, it reminds me of Onii-san. Hashirama always had such a way with nature. How do you do it?" Nawaki let on a soft smile. It was interesting that Tobirama would ask him how to do something. Typically, it was the other way around. Nawaki then said, "For as long as I could remember, I was able to feel another energy that wasn''t my own chakra. I soon learned that it was natural energy. When I started to play outside, I realized that I could feel it flowing as I explored the grounds. One day I decided to sit next to a tree just like this. Once I sat down, I felt the energy being absorbed into my body. The less I moved, the more I could absorb. It felt really good so I started meditating. When I did, I was able to sense all of the natural energy around me. Eventually, I was able to start sensing all of the animals living here. Gradually, I improved my meditation and the animals started to come over to hang out. I can''t really describe it other than saying that I can almost feel the trees breathing through the flow of natural energy." Tobirama was astonished at the deep explanation of what this toddler was feeling. The only word he could think of was genius. While he was awestruck, Nawaki then asked, "If we are asking questions Oji-sama, what was the technique that you were using to move around the grounds? It was almost as if you were teleporting." Tobirama''s eyes widened due to a few things. Firstly, he had finally noticed the leaves that were stuck to Nawaki on various tenketsu. Secondly, he was shocked that Nawaki was able to sense him after he entered the Senju grounds. Lastly, he was very impressed with the sensing abilities of his dear nephew. Tobirama was so proud. He then said, "Nawaki, I did not know that you had sensor abilities to this capacity. I am impressed. Some day, you might be able to have prowess on par with mine! For the technique I was using, it is known as the Flying Raijin (Flying Thunder God). I developed it myself so maybe I can teach it to you if you are skilled enough with fuinjutsu. Anyways, today should be fun. Are you ready to get started?" Nawaki nodded and slowly stood up. As he exited his meditative state, the animals around him disappeared. After he stood up, he opened his eyes and excitedly said, "So, what are we gonna do first?" Tobirama grinned and reached into his pocket. He then revealed two small pieces of paper before asking, "Do you know what these are?" Nawaki scrunched his face. In actuality, he knew what it was but to keep up appearances, he pretended to be confused before asking, "Nope. What is it?" Tobirama smiled and replied, "This is called chakra paper. By putting some of your chakra into it, you can see what elemental affinities you have. This is the first step in every ninja''s training. Let me show you how it works." Tobirama took one of the pieces of chakra paper and held it in between his index and ring finger. After putting some chakra into it, the paper became damp as if it was soaked in water. "I have a natural affinity towards water. Thus, I can most easily use suiton (water release). Here, take the other one and try it out." Tobirama handed the other piece of chakra paper over to Nawaki. After taking it, he imitated his uncle. When he put some chakra into it, the paper became damp just like Tobirama but then it crumbled. Tobirama grinned before saying, "Well well, looks like you have an affinity for two elements. I guess that means that we have to see if you have onee-san''s kekkei genkai. Do you know about Hashirama?" Nawaki got excited as he replied, "Yes, I have heard that he could use mokuton (wood release). Do you think I have it too?" Tobirama smiled a bit and said, "With you have an affinity for both earth and water, it is certainly possible. Would you like to try it out? With the chakra control you have, I am sure that you can do a little bit." Nawaki smiled from ear to ear as he said, "Uhhh, yeah I wanna try!" Tobirama turned and started to talk towards a clearing as he signaled for Nawaki to follow him. They walked together for a bit before stopping in an open area. Tobirama looked to Nawaki and said, "I am going to have you try to create some wood from your body. That is the most basic form of wood release and by far the easiest. First, you will need to feel the energy flowing through your body. Once you can feel it, try to extend that flow through your hands. If you have the kekkei genkai, you should be able to easily create some wood. If you understand, go ahead and try it." Nawaki solidified his stance and closed his eyes. Focusing inward, he felt his chakra and the vast quantity of natural energy he has absorbed flowing throughout. Using what he practices, he tried to manipulate the flow in his hand to extend outward. As he pushed his energy out of his hand, he felt a solid beginning to form with its own flow of natural energy that seemed to be an extension of his own. He continued to push it outwards and then stopped. He opened his eyes and saw the wood that he created from his hand. Nawaki and Tobirama made eye contact and they both smiled. Tobirama then said, "This is amazing. I just wish Onee-san could have lived to see his grandson using wood release. He would be so happy. Unfortunately, no one in the village can use the wood release. This means that you are only able to learn from the techniques that Hashirama left behind. For now, you should practice manipulating the wood release for the rest of the day. I will send one of my ANBU to deliver the scrolls tomorrow so you can start learning some of the jutsus. Be careful to not overwork yourself as you are still young. Do you understand?" Nawaki smiled and responded, "Hai!" Tobirama smiled and then disappeared from the Senju grounds leaving Nawaki to practice his wood release. 5 Starting at the Academy It was a warm, clear night. Not a single noise could be heard. Through the silence, a voice called out, "Nawaki! It''s time for bed! You need to get plenty of sleep before your first day at the academy tomorrow!" Almost instantaneously, Nawaki flickered next to Toka as she said, "I see your training is going well. If you do just as well with your studies, you''ll do great at the academy." Toka smiled as she bent down and picked up Nawaki. He then said, "Okaa-san, I can walk myself to bed! I don''t need you to carry me." Nawaki made a pouting face as Toka turned and kissed the top of his head. She then said, "You''re still my little boy. That means I can still baby you a little bit." Nawaki blushed and said, "Okayyy." Toka carried Nawaki all the way to his bed and placed him down before crouching down and saying, "Okay, since you''re such a big boy now, go wash up and get ready for bed all by yourself. I''ll walk you over to the academy in the morning. Okay? I love you sweetie." Nawaki smiled and replied, "Love you too." Nawaki got ready for bed and then tucked himself in before saying, "So Kensho, how are we looking?" Kensho''s face popped up as he said, "Let''s take a look!" The status page popped up. Age: 4 years, 3 months Height: 3'' 7" Weight: 39 lbs Chakra Levels: C Chakra Control: B Elemental Affinities: Earth, Water Bloodlines: Wood Release (Kekkei Genkai), Uzumaki Titles: None "Damn, I guess I earned it with all the training that I''ve put in." Kensho smiled and then replied, "Yep, you definitely put in a lot of work. Are you excited for your first day at the academy tomorrow?" Nawaki smiled and said, "Of course I am. I can''t wait to make some friends and see how I compare to the other kids. Anyways, I think I''ll actually sleep tonight. I want to clear my head so I can be at my best tomorrow. Goodnight Kensho." Nawaki closed his eyes as Kensho replied, "Goodnight Nawaki." After what felt like just a moment, Toka came rushing into Nawaki''s bedroom and yelled, "NAWAKI! WAKE UP! YOU ARE GONNA BE LATE!" Slowly opening his eyes, Nawaki noticed that it was fully light outside. After taking a moment to process everything, he freaked out. "OH NO OH NO!" he yelled as he scrambled out of bed. Nawaki quickly got dressed, brushed his teeth and flew through the house to the kitchen. Toka was standing patiently waiting for Nawaki with a light breakfast wrapped in a napkin that she prepared for him. Nawaki grabbed it and started scarfing it down as they walked out the door. Once Nawaki finished eating, they picked up the pace and began flickering down the street towards the academy. With about a minute to go before the entrance ceremony was set to start, the second hokage scanned the crowd. Realizing that his niece and grand nephew were still not here, he sighed. Just as he was about to start, he noticed two people flicker into the back of the crowd. Smirking, he realized that Toka and Nawaki had arrived. He turned to the crowd and began his speech. Tobirama started by welcoming all of the new students and their parents. He went on for a few minutes about the meaning of Konoha and how Hashirama worked so hard to create it. Then he explained what would be happening on this first day and then handed it over to the academy head, Kohaku Yakumo. He then dismissed all of the parents and asked for the new students to follow him over to the training grounds. Toka gave Nawaki a hug and said, "Have a great first day. I''ll see you later!" Nawaki smiled and replied, "You too, later!" He then dashed off to join the other kids as they moved over to the academy training grounds. Once they were all in front of Yakumo Sensei, he said, "First, I would like to welcome all of you to the academy on behalf of the other teachers. I hope you enjoy your time here and create some lasting memories. Next, let''s start with the entrance examinations. First, we will split everyone off into three groups. Group one will be made up of everyone from a ninja clan. Group two will be anyone that is not from a ninja clan that still wishes to study to become a ninja. Group three will be anyone that does not wish to become a ninja or is not sure yet. Alright, now group up!" As he said that, Yakumo and two other teachers set up to receive the three groups. As a part of group one, Nawaki went to join the kids gathered around Yakumo sensei. Noticing Nawaki, he signaled for him to come over. Nawaki walked up to him and bowed saying, "Ohayo Yakumo Sensei, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Senju Nawaki." Seeing Nawaki stand back up, Yakumo replied, "Ah yes, Nawaki. It is a pleasure to meet you too. Hokage sama told me to keep an eye on you. I look forward to seeing what you''ve got." He smiled and then turned to the rest of the group before saying, "Now that we have separated into groups, I will explain the various things that we will do today. First, we will all do some shuriken and kunai throwing. Next, each of you will demonstrate a jutsu for me. After that, we will do an obstacle course to test your physical capabilities. Lastly, you will each participate in a tai jutsu spar to demonstrate martial arts skills. Is everyone ready?" "Hai Yakumo Sensei." everyone said in unison. ''Hmmm, aside from the first part of the test, this should be pretty easy. I haven''t gotten much practice with weapons so I guess I''ll have to do some more training.'' Kensho could be heard laughing before saying, "You call that practice? That was more like a baby playing with some toys! HAHAHA!" Nawaki ignored Kensho and took note of a few of the kids in his group. The notable ones included Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, Hyuga Hizashi, Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Aburame Shibi. There were a few other kids in the group but Nawaki didn''t pay too much attention to them. Yakumo stood down at the end of the weapon range. Turning to the group he said, "Each of you will take 5 kunai and 5 shuriken. Throw them at the targets and you will be scored. Who wants to go first?" No one stepped forward. Seeing this, Nawaki decided to volunteer since he wanted to try something. As Nawaki stepped up to gather the weapons, Yakumo said, "Ah, Nawaki. Let''s see what you can do!" Nawaki picked up the weapons and walked to the opposite end of the range. As he stepped up, he closed his eyes. This caught the attention of Yakumo and a few of the kids as they widened their eyes. With his eyes closed, Nawaki sensed around him. He felt the range, the flow of energy, and the targets that he was aiming to hit. In a smooth and fluid motion Nawaki threw the shuriken one by one at the targets before doing the same with the kunai. After opening his eyes, he smiled at the result. "8/10. Very nice job! Who will go next?" Yakumo said after Nawaki finished. Aside from one shuriken and one kunai, all of them hit their mark. Fugaku glared at Nawaki thinking he was showing off. As Nawaki walked back to the group, he felt the attention and made eye contact with Fugaku. Fugaku then stepped forward, breaking their eye contact to go next. He quickly gathered the weapons and threw all 5 shuriken simultaneously and then did the same with the kunai. Yakumo then said, "10/10. As expected of the Uchiha Clan. Great job. Who will go next?" The shuriken throwing concluded with no surprising results. Other than the kids that Nawaki took note of, no one else exceeded a score of 7. Next, was the jutsu demonstration. Following the last test, Nawaki stepped up to go first. He would finally get to show the fruits of his labor over the past 2 years. He stepped into the clearing and quickly made a few hand signs before saying, "Mokuton: Wood Dome Jutsu". As he said this, he slammed his hands into the ground and a wood dome rose to surround him. After a few seconds, he released the jutsu and the wood receded back into the ground. He smirked and glanced at Fugaku who just glared back at him. Just like last time, Fugaku stepped up and went next. Quickly doing some hand signs he then said, "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu". He inhaled and as he let go of the breath, a huge fireball shot out from his mouth. The rest of the kids all demonstrated their jutsu one by one. The only other one which caught Nawaki''s interest was Shikaku''s shadow manipulation. This was the specialty of the Nara clan and was quite useful in a variety of situations. After that, it was time for the obstacle course. Yakumo stood in front of the group and said, "For this test, we will run through this obstacle course. Two of you will go at a time. Remember, this is not a race so try not to hurt yourselves. Alright, pair up!" Almost immediately, Nawaki and Fugaku made eye contact and walked towards each other. Seeing this, Yakumo smiled. This was the classic Uchiha-Senju rivalry. After everyone went through the course, Nawaki and Fugaku had the best times. They finished in 3.9 and 3.85 seconds respectively. Finally, it was time for the tai jutsu spars. Turning to the group, Yakumo said, "For this last test, we will do a taijutsu spar. You will only be allowed to use taijutsu and nothing else. Pick your opponents among yourselves. Before you start, you will form the unison sign with your sparring partner. After your spar, you will form the sign of reconciliation. Let''s get started!" Both Nawaki and Fugaku quickly moved forward into the sparring ring. Yakumo smiled before saying, "Alright, are you both ready?" They both nodded and formed the unison sign. Almost immediately they began to move in a blur. To most of the students, only the moments when they struck each other was visible. Between them both flickering around the ring and their high speed movements, the spar could only be described as amazing. In the ring, Nawaki and Fugaku were quite evenly matched. Nawaki rushed forward with a right hook only to be parried by Fugaku''s left hand while he countered with a kick. Nawaki raised his left leg to block the kick before dashing backwards. Fugaku did not let up as he followed Nawaki. Using a left hook as a feint he jabbed with his right hand and knocked Nawaki down. Taking this chance, he pounced and locked Nawaki under his body weight. Yakumo then called out, "That''s enough. Fugaku is the winner." Fugaku released Nawaki and when they looked at each other, they both smiled. "Fugaku, Uchiha Fugaku." Smiling, Nawaki replied, "Nawaki, Senju Nawaki." After forming the reconciliation sign, they walked away together and watched the remaining spars. Of all the other fights, the only notable one was between the Hyuga twins. Their taijutsu prowess was not to be underestimated. Eventually, Hiashi came out on top. Standing in front of the group, Yakumo informed them that all of them would be placed into class 1-A. "I''ll see you all tomorrow morning. Report straight to your classroom and your teacher will meet you there. Enjoy the rest of your day." he said to the group. They all responded in unison, "Hai sensei." As they were dismissed, Nawaki walked alongside Fugaku towards the academy gates. Turning to him, Nawaki said, "That was a great spar. Your taijutsu is amazing. Do you want to start training together? I have plenty of space over on my clan grounds and it is getting harder to improve training alone." After thinking for a moment, Fugaku replied saying, "That sounds like a good idea. I see you as one of the few people here that are on par with my skill level. Wanna start after class tomorrow?" Nawaki smiled and replied, "Sure! See you tomorrow!" Nawaki turned and ran off to meet Toka at the gates. "So how was your first day?" Hearing her question, Nawaki smiled and replied, "I think I made a good impression. I think I made a friend too! Some Uchiha kid. He was really talented." Toka smiled and then said, "That is great, I''m so proud of you!" Once they got home, Toka prepared dinner while Nawaki went off to meditate. While dinner was being prepared, Toka sensed two chakra signatures entering the Senju grounds. After focusing on them, he hopped up and ran towards them yelling, "Onee-chan, Otou-san!" It had been a few days since he last saw either of them. Tsunade and Tetsuya had been out on missions as usual. It was getting very busy as of late for the Konoha ninja. As they sat down for dinner, the mood in the room started to dissipate. Suddenly, Tetsuya picked up his head and said, "Guys, there is some bad news. According to Hokage sama, the Second Great Shinobi war has begun." 6 Loss As a clan head, Toka had to stay in the village so that she could participate in the war meetings. It was nice for Nawaki to at least have his mom around. Tsunade and Tetsuya were constantly out on missions and participating in the battles. On the bright side, everything at the academy was going well. On the second day of the academy, an unfamiliar face joined the class. Nawaki thought, ''So Kensho, looks like someone moved up to our class.'' Kensho chuckled and said, "Wait until you find out who it is!" Nawaki started to think. As he thought, their teacher entered the room. "Ohayo. My name is Hoki Yuna. I will be your sensei throughout the academy. We have one student joining us from group two. Please stand up." The unfamiliar guys stood up. He wore a gray jacket and navy blue pants. His unruly blonde hair and blue eyes were features that set him apart from everyone else. He then spoke up, "Hi everyone, my name is Namikaze Minato. I look forward to learning with you all." Minato then sat back down. ''Holy shit, I''m classmates with the fourth hokage. This should be fun!'' Nawaki thought as he could hear Kensho laughing in his head. Similar to his approach with Fugaku, Nawaki asked Minato to join their training group and he accepted. Weeks flew by as they trained and grew stronger together. Occasionally, Tobirama would stop by and help them with their training. However, this happened less and less as the war raged on. One day, the trio were meditating and practicing their chakra control. They had done a lot of sparring and ninjutsu practice recently so they decided that it was also important to train their minds through relaxation. When it started to get dark, Nawaki opened his eyes and said, "Hey guys, let''s be done for the day. I''m hungry and I want to get a lot of sleep tonight." Turning to look at each other, Fugaku and Minato laughed. Fugaku then said, "Oh Nawaki, dropping out so soon?" They both laughed again as they teased Nawaki. Nawaki shrugged and said, "Eh, I??m just not feeling it today. I''ll see you guys tomorrow at the academy, okay?" Minato and Fugaku nodded. "Goodnight." "Goodnight, take care." Fugaku and Minato said their goodbyes as they walked out of the grounds together. Nawaki turned and yawned as he headed back towards his house. He was not being completely honest with his reasoning for ending their training early today. For some reason, since he arrived at the Senju grounds, he could sense something was off. It felt as if the chakra signatures of the people in his house and the general flow of nature energy was disturbed. As he entered the house and walked towards the kitchen, he could see Toka sitting at the table with an empty bottle of sake in front of her. Nawaki was now nervous. As he tried to figure out what happened, he poured a glass of water and set it down in front of Toka. She noticed the glass and picked it up. Quickly, she drank the whole glass of water and sighed. Nawaki now knew that something was wrong. Sitting down, he asked, "Okaa-san, what happened?" Toka lifted her head and looked at Nawaki. He could now see that she had been crying as her eyes were red and her face was slightly swollen. Suddenly she started crying again. As she did, Nawake got up from his chair and hugged Toka. In her embrace, he noticed a letter on the table that had the Hokage''s seal on it. As he scanned through the letter he could not believe what he was reading. As he finished reading it, he began to cry as well. As both mother and son cried, they hugged each other tight and comforted each other. As they embraced each other, Kensho said, "I am sorry for your loss. I am sure that he died a valiant death. He will be remembered." Hearing this, Nawaki thought, ''Thank you Kensho. I appreciate it.'' After a few days, his funeral was held in the Konoha Cemetery. It was a miserable day. Not a spec of sun could be felt as the rain poured down. As soon as the service ended, Nawaki flickered away towards the exit. Seeing him, Minato and Fugaku chased after him. Catching up to him, they walked next to him matching his pace. As the trio walked aimlessly through the streets of Konoha, Fugaku turned to Nawaki and said, "Even though I haven''t lost a parent, I understand your pain. Just remember the type of man he was and honor his memory. Get stronger so you can protect those close to you. Make it so that they never have to feel this pain." Nodding, Minato added, "Nawaki, we are here to help you through this. How about we go get something to eat!" Hearing this, Nawaki perked up. They decided on Yakiniku Q. The three of them have grown very close as of late. They were inseparable and trained together almost every day. Even their parents became friendly since their children were together a lot. However, some of the villagers thought it strange that an Uchiha and Senju were so close. It did not seem to bother them though. After they enjoyed their meal, they split up and headed home. A few more weeks passed and Nawaki started acting like his normal self again. However, something interesting then happened at the academy. Standing at the front of the class, Yuna said, "Hello everyone. Today we are welcoming a transfer student." A red headed girl walked into the classroom. "Hello. My name is Uzumaki Kushina." As she said this, Minato''s face lit up. Seeing this, Fugaku and Nawaki looked at each other and grinned. Kushina took her seat and class went on as usual. When class was over, the usual trio flew out the door. Once they exited the academy building, Fugaku and Nawaki looked at each other and grinned. Fugaku turned to Minato and said, "Ooooooh, somebody has a crush." Hearing this, Minato''s eyes widened and his face went red. Immediately he said, "No, I don''t. Why would you think that?" Nawaki laughed and replied, "Oh Minato, we both saw the way you looked at Kushina when she walked into the classroom hehe." Embarrassed, Minato covered his face and said, "Okay, so maybe I like Kushina. What of it?" Nawaki and Fugaku looked at each other before laughing. Fugaku then said, "Oh Minato, we are just teasing you. She is definitely cute. Maybe you should have a go!" Nawaki laughed with Fugaku and Minato said nothing. They continued to walk towards the Senju grounds. As the trio entered the grounds, Nawaki signaled to them and they scattered. Each of them quickly got into a hiding spot. While they hid, they all watched the entrance as Kushina walked in and approached the Senju estate. Fugaku and Nawaki immediately looked at each other and did their best to hold in their laughter. Meanwhile, Minato went even more red in the face and stayed silent. Once Kushina entered the Senju estate, the three of them flickered back to the path and faced each other. Nawaki broke the ice, "Sooo, are we just gonna sit here or are we gonna find out why she is in my house?" The three looked at each other, nodded, and then flickered off towards the Senju estate. Entering the house, the trio did their best to eliminate their presence as they tracked Kushina. As they approached the room that she was in, Nawaki realized that she was in Mito''s room. Suddenly, Mito called out, "So, how long are you boys going to sit outside? Wanna come in?" The three looked at each other and shrugged as they entered Mito''s room. Kushina could be seen sitting on the end of Mito''s bed. The resemblance between them was uncanny. The red hair, the slender physique, they were like the same person from different times. Mito faced the boys and said, "Since when were you three so good at hiding your presence? If it weren''t for my blood, I wouldn''t have realized that you were there." She smiled as the boys stayed silent. Suddenly, Fugaku asked, "Mito-sama, you and Kushina are both from the Uzumaki clan right?" Mito smiled and replied, "Yes. That is right. Maybe I should tell you guys a bit about our clan. For a long time, the Uzumaki and Senju clans had a close relationship. We often married between our clans. When the Senju and Uchiha clans settled and formed Konohagakure, we followed suit. The Uzumaki clan formed Uzushiogakure. Most of the people there are from our clan but there are many others as well. Our clan specializes in fuinjutsu. I was actually going to start teaching some of that to Kushina. Would you boys like to join?" Minato''s eyes lit up at the chance to spend more time with Kushina. Nawaki''s eyes also lit up but for a different reason. From his knowledge, he knew that fuinjutsu was extremely useful so he definitely wanted to learn it. Fugaku, seeing as his two friends were interested, said, "We would be happy to join you to learn fuinjutsu. Thank you Mito-sama." The first step to learning fuinjutsu was getting accustomed to writing kanji. After a few hours of that, Kushina said, "Thank you Mito-sama, I need to go home now. I''ll come back in a few days so see you then!" Kushina turned to leave. As she walked out, Nawaki and Fugaku looked to Minato. Getting the message, Minato stood up and thanked Mito for the lesson as he quickly left. Having figured out what happened, Mito, Fugaku, and Nawaki all looked at each other and laughed. Mito then said, "Ah, young love. I remember when I first met Hashirama. He really was something special. Would you two like to wrap it up for today and have some tea?" Fugaku and Nawaki both nodded and the three of them left towards the kitchen. After enjoying some tea, Fugaku stood up and said, "Thank you for today Mito-sama, I look forward to learning from you again." "Later Fugaku." "See you tomorrow Nawaki." After their goodbyes, Fugaku went home leaving Mito and Nawaki in the kitchen. As they both got up, Nawaki walked Mito back to her bedroom. Mito turned to Nawaki and said, "You have some great friends. They will prove to be great allies in battle. Keep them close and look out for them." The both smiled and Mito returned to her room. After this, Nawaki went to his own room to get into bed for the night. After washing up, he wished Kensho goodnight and decided to sleep. 7 The End of the Second About a year went by after that night. Nawaki, Minato, and Fugaku all advanced two years in the academy and would graduate in one more if they kept their pace. A few of the other clan kids followed along with them as expected. The trio along with Kushina continued to regularly learn fuinjutsu from Mito. They were all progressing nicely and had reached the point where they could create some basic seals. At this rate, they could become master sealers within a few years. In addition, Tobirama took notice of them studying fuinjutsu and told them that once they reach a certain level, he would share some techniques with them. One night, Toka, Mito and Nawaki were enjoying dinner. After some silence, Toka said, "There is some good news. I have heard that the war is going to end soon!" Suddenly, the mood in the room lightened as they all cheered up. Nawaki raised his glass into the air and motioned for Mito and Toka to do the same. He then said, "To a swift end of the war and to our families safety." "Kampai!" they all said in unison clinking their cups. About 4 months passed by. In this time, the trio and their ninja clan classmates all advanced another year at the academy. That means that they would graduate in less than a year. In addition, the sealing group had moved on to advanced sealing. Noticing this, Tobirama kept his promise and delivered a scroll with some of his personal techniques in it. There were some very interesting seals and powerful techniques. The one that was most notable was the Flying Raijin. Both Minato and Nawaki lit up when they saw it. As they continued their studies, the war came to a close. A few weeks went by. One day, Nawaki, arrived home to an all too familiar scene. Both Mito and Toka were consoling each other in the kitchen. Nawaki could all but tell what had happened. Seeing Nawaki enter the kitchen, Toka got up and gave him a hug. She then said, "Tobirama is dead." Nawaki had no reaction. He knew it was going to happen soon but he still was not able to prepare himself. Growing up, Tobirama was an influential figure in his life. His uncle was very special to him and even helped him develop his skills. It was a very hard loss. Kensho then said, "Even knowing it would happen, it''s no easier. I''m sorry for your loss." ''Thank you Kensho'' Nawaki thought. Within a few days, a treaty was signed and the war officially ended. The next day, a huge funeral service was held for the second Hokage, and all the others who were lost in the war. All of the major figures from Konoha were present to offer their condolences and send off Tobirama. The recently appointed Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, led the service and made a speech about the will of fire and how the lives lost in this war will not be in vain. Following the service, Hiruzen had a quick chat with each of the clan heads and planned a meeting. After Toka talked to him, her, Nawaki, Tsunade, and Mito headed home together. Despite all that happened, Nawaki was happy. His older sister was finally home and would get to spend more time with him. As they walked, Nawaki turned to Tsunade and asked, "Hokage sama is your sensei right?" Tsunade smiled and replied, "Yup, I am getting trained by the Hokage himself!" Nawaki widened his eyes and then pouted, "Lucky. I want to have a Hokage as my sensei." The four of them laughed after hearing that and went home. Another six months passed and it was now time for the trio to graduate. As expected, those three, along with their clan kid classmates, passed their graduation exam with flying colors. As per the requirement, they all did well on the written exam, performed the clone jutsu, and also performed the transformation jutsu. In terms of rankings, the top three were Nawaki, Minato, and then Fugaku in that order. Fugaku placed lowest because Nawaki and Minato performed better on the written examination. Having received their forehead protectors, the trio took their seats. Standing in front of the class, Yuna said, "Congratulations to everyone who passed. Those of you who passed will meet here tomorrow morning to be assigned into teams. See you all tomorrow!" In unison, "Hai sensei." the class responded. All smiling, the trio walked out of the classroom sporting their Konoha forehead protectors. As they exited the academy building, Nawaki asked, "So, you guys think we will be on the same team?" Minato smiled and then said, "I sure hope so. I wonder who our Jonin sensei will be." The three then split up and went home to rest up for tomorrow. Once he arrived at home, he could not believe his eyes. Once again, Toka was sitting at the kitchen table with an empty bottle of sake in front of her. He already knew what happened. Nawaki realized that Mito was now dead and that Kushina had become the new jinchuriki for the kyuubi. He didn''t tell anyone that he knew of this but still took note of it. Nawaki saw Tsunade standing in the hallway near the kitchen. Together, they walked into the kitchen to console their mother. She cheered up a bit when she heard some good news. Nawaki told her about how he graduated from the academy. In addition, Tsunade and the rest of her team were promoted to Jonin. Nawaki and Tsunade then cooked dinner together and ate with Toka. After cleaning up, Nawaki returned to his room. After a few minutes, he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he said. Tsunade slowly opened the door and entered the room. After waiting for a moment, she turned to Nawaki and said, "I want to give you a gift for you graduating from the academy. Close your eyes." Nawaki looked at her for a moment and then followed her instructions. Suddenly, he could hear Kensho laughing. He thought, "Oh shut up you perv." Kensho continued laughing. Nawaki felt Tsunade place something around his neck and then she said, "Okay, you can open now." Nawaki opened his eyes and looked at what she gave him. Immediately he turned to Tsunade and asked, "Are you sure? This is Oji-sama''s necklace." Tsunade nodded and said, "Yes, I am sure. If he knew that you could use wood release, I am sure that he would want you to have it." They both smiled and Nawaki gave Tsunade a long hug before saying, "Thank you Onee-chan." Tsunade then left and they both went to bed. The next day, Tsunade accompanied Nawaki to the academy. He turned to her and asked, "Why are you coming with me to the academy?" Tsunade smiled and said, "It''s a secret." Then she stuck her tongue out at Nawaki and laughed. As they got to the academy, Nawaki saw Fugaku and Minato waiting outside so he said bye to Tsunade and ran ahead to meet up with his friends. As Nawaki ran up to them he said, "Are you guys excited?" Both Fugaku and Minato nodded and they walked into the academy building together. As class started, Yuna entered the classroom and said, "I will now announce the teams." She went through the list of names. As Nawaki expected, the Ino-Shika-Cho team was formed. After a few teams were named, Yuna said, "Next team. Senju Nawaki, Uchiha Fugaku, and Namikaze Minato." The trio looked at each other and smiled. The rest of the teams were announced and then Yuna said, "Alright. Now that everyone is in their teams, your Jonin sensei will come to get you." As she said this, a few Jonin entered the room. Among them were Tsunade and Orochimaru. Orochimaru was one of Tsunade''s teammates on team Hiruzen. After that group of Jonin called out the teams assigned to them, all that remained was Nawaki''s team and the Ino-Shika-Cho team. 20 minutes passed and their Jonin sensei came to get them. Now it was just Nawaki, Minato, Fugaku, and Yuna. After about an hour passed, Yuna spoke up. She said, "Well¡­ as I guess you guys have already figured out, your sensei decided not to show up. Now that I look at who it is, you should probably go look for him. Your first mission will be to find your Jonin sensei somewhere in Konoha. Are you three ready?" The trio looked at each other and then back to Yuna when they all nodded. Yuna then said, "Alright, you three need to find¡­" 8 The Pervy Sage As the trio eagerly waited to find out who their Jonin sensei would be, they listened closely to Yuna. She said, "You three need to find Jiraiya. Nawaki, you''re familiar with him right? He was one of your sister''s teammates." Hearing this, Nawakis forehead slammed into the table as he groaned. He then said, "OH MY LORD. I should have known. Of course we would get the pervy sage as our Jonin sensei." Minato and Fugaku looked at each other. Fugaku then asked, "What do you mean when you say pervy sage?" Nawaki lifted his head, stood up, and started walking out of the classroom as he said, "You''ll see. I know exactly where to find him. Follow me." The trio, now walking through the streets of Konoha, were on the hunt. Nawaki knew exactly where to go due to his knowledge of the world. Minato then asked, "So, if you''re familiar with Jiraiya sensei, what is he like?" Nawaki thought for a moment and then said, "I''ve met him a few times but most of what I know, I heard from Onee-chan. First, he is a prodigy. Apparently, he is experienced in the sage arts, is super strong, and is pretty intelligent. However, Tsunade told me that he is also really stupid and quite the pervert." Nawaki scoffed after finishing his statement and picked up the pace. Fugaku and Minato continued to follow. Fugaku then asked, "Seems like an interesting guy. As long as he is strong, I guess he will be okay. But where are we going? It sounds like you know exactly where he is." Nawaki chuckled and so did Kensho in his head. Kensho then said, "We are going where I think we are going right?" Nawaki thought in response, ''Yup. The one place we can almost be guaranteed to find the pervy sage.'' Suddenly, the trio rounded the corner to see a young ninja with spiky white hair. He was sticking to the wall using chakra and peaking through a window. Nawaki stopped and turned to his two teammates before saying, "Behold! The Pervy Sage." Right after saying this, he turned around. Quickly weaving some hand signs, Nawaki used his wood release to extend his arm. With the extension, he whacked Jiraiya off of the wall. "Ow, what was that for? I was just doing research." He said this as he stood up and looked for the one who hit him off of the wall. Jiraiya then said, "Huh? So you sneak attack me and then disappear?" He was trying to figure out who hit him but all he saw in front of him were three little kids. He turned to them and asked, "Did you guys see who hit me?" Fugaku and Minato laughed as Nawaki face palmed before saying, "It was me. I knocked you off the wall. You do realize that you were supposed to come get us 2 hours ago right?" After hearing this, Jiraiya widened his eyes as he realized he had forgotten. He then scrunched his face and said, "Hmmmm, now that I think about it, I guess I did have something to do this morning. Anyways, hi! My name is Jiraiya. You three can refer to me as Jiraiya sensei. Now, your turn!" Minato and Fugaku looked at each other and shrugged as Nawaki spoke up, "Good to see you again Jiraiya sensei. As you already know, I am Nawaki." Minato then said, "Ohayo sensei, my name is Namikaze Minato." Then Fugaku said, "Ohayo, my name is Uchiha Fugaku." Jiraiya smiled and then said, "Okay. Now that we''ve all been introduced, follow me. We are going to head over to a training ground." Hearing this, Minato asked, "What are we going to do there?" Immediately Jiraiya turned with a grin on his face as he said, "It is time for the real graduation test." [I know, the bell test is generic but it is what Jiraiya actually used in the, which Minato then used on Kakashi, who then used it on all of his teams] Once they arrived at the training ground, Jiraiya turned to the three of them and revealed two bells before saying, "You three seem pretty smart. Two bells, three of you, one of me¡­ you get the point right?" The trio turned to look at each other and then back to Jiraiya before nodding. He smiled and then said, "Then without any further delay¡­ ready, set, GO!" The instant that Jiryaiya said go, Nawaki instantly grabbed his two teammates and they disappeared. Seeing this, Jiraiya raised his brow in curiosity. ''Ohhh, this is gonna be interesting.'' Once the trio reappeared in the forest nearby, Minato nodded as he made eye contact with Nawaki. Fugaku being confused asked, "What are you guys doing? There are only two bells and three of us. Clearly we should split up and work for ourselves." Minato and Nawaki made eye contact and laughed. Nawaki then turned to Fugaku and said, "Dude, this test isn''t about the bells. It''s about testing our teamwork. The bells are just a distraction meant to break us up. If it makes you feel better, we can destroy the bells once we get them. But for us to even have a chance at getting them, we need to work together. Got it?" Fugaku thought for a moment and then said, "I see. I guess I am wrong then. So Mr. Genius, what''s the plan?" Fugaku smirked as he said that and Minato laughed. With this they huddled together and devised a plan. As they finished their discussion, Fugaku resolved himself and said "Let''s do this." Minato and Nawaki stared at Fugaku as his black eyes spun and turned red due to the activation of his sharingan. All three of them immediately erased their presence and got down to business. Nawaki sat down into the lotus position and began meditating. He took advantage of the forest around them and extended his sensory range to the max. He felt various chakra signatures but one felt bigger than the rest. Once he focused in on it, he realized it was their sensei. Thus, their plan would be set in motion. In his hiding spot, Jiraiya noticed that he could not sense his three students. ''Damn, they are pretty good. Let''s see what their plan of attack is.'' Suddenly, a voice called from above him, "I''m curious to see what they will do. This team is of great interest to me." Jiraiya looked up and noticed Hiruzen in the tree above him. "Yes sensei, this should be quite interesting." As he said this, Fugaku flickered out into the clearing. Immediately, he started running towards Jiraiya''s hiding spot. Hiruzen chuckled and said, "Ahhh, it appears you''ve been found out rather quickly." Jiraiya smiled and said, "It appears so." Fugaku suddenly stopped and weaved some hand signs before saying, "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu". A huge fireball shot at the tree and Jiraiya jumped out into the clearing to confront Fugaku. Noticing his sharingan he said, "I see you have awakened your eyes. Let''s see what they can do!" He said this as he charged towards Fugaku. As he approached Fugaku, he felt something off. Jiraiya knew that his students were up to something but in the spirit of keeping it fair, he proceeded to engage Fugaku. With the sharingan, Fugaku was barely able to keep up with Jiraiya in a taijutsu battle. They exchanged several blows and took a few steps back from each other. Taking this chance, Fugaku took out a few kunai and threw them at Jiraiya who dodged them easily. Seemingly frustrated, Fugaku took out a few more kunai and threw them. One of the kunai was way off the mark and landed in a tree that was behind Jiraiya who dodged the other two easily. Jiraiya then said, "That throw was awful, you''re gonna have to do better than that if you want the bells!" As Jiraiya said this, Fugaku just smirked. Suddenly, Jiraiya sensed someone appearing behind him. Before he could turn around, he heard, "Mokuton: Tree Binding jutsu." Suddenly wood charged towards him. He tried to move away but stopped just in time to dodge a kunai thrown at him from the woods. As the kunai flew past, someone suddenly appeared behind him and he felt a slight tug on his belt. When he looked to his belt, the bells were gone. When he looked up, all he could see was Minato smiling while tossing the bells into the air. "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu." A huge fireball consumed the bells and burnt them to a crisp. Jiraiya was speechless. In his loss for words he just plopped down on to the ground and laughed. Nawaki retracted his wood and turned to his sensei asking, "So, did we pass?" Sitting on the ground still in disbelief, Jiraiya looked up at the sky. He watched as the clouds slowly floated by before finally saying, "Yup. You guys did great. Congratulations! You are all now officially genin." The trio looked at each other and cheered. They decided that they would celebrate with some Yakiniku Q. They turned to Jiraiya and invited him. Suddenly, Nawaki turned to the forest that Fugaku lit up with a fireball and yelled, "Hokage sama, would you like to join us too?" Hiruzen froze. No genin could have sensed that he was there. Shaking himself out of his shock, he flickered down to the group and said, "I guess Tobirama sensei was not exaggerating when he spoke of your sensor capabilities. On that note, I would love to join you guys for some food. Shall we head over to the VIP room?" Hearing that, the trio''s eyes lit up and the five of them headed over to eat. Once the group sat down in the VIP room and ordered their food, Hiruzen turned to the three genin and said, "You three put on quite the show back there. Especially against Jiraiya. He is counted among the strongest ninja in Konoha." Nawaki scoffed at this and retorted, "But he wasn''t even trying. It isn''t that much of an accomplishment." Hiruzen raised his brow and asked, "What do you mean?" Nawaki smiled and said, "We wouldn''t have even stood a chance if he used sage mode. I can sense and manipulate natural energy so I know that he wasn''t using it. Upon hearing this, Jiraiya closed his eyes and began to sense the energy around him. He felt a large concentration of natural energy revolving around Nawaki and then he understood. He leaned over to Hiruzen and whispered something that made Hiruzen''s eyes open wide. He then said, "I see. You may do as you see fit." Jiraiya smiled before turning to Nawaki to say, "I have decided that I am doing to teach you how to activate sage mode. Or at least I am going to take you somewhere that you can learn. Minato, you could probably benefit from this too. What about you Fugaku, are you interested?" After thinking for a moment, Fugaku said, "I would rather train my body and possibly evolve my sharingan. I still need to get used to it. Besides, if I can evolve it enough, I could still keep up with these two." Hearing this, Nawaki became intrigued. He then asked, "Fugaku, how does the sharingan activate and evolve?" Fugaku sighed upon hearing this question. After a few minutes of silence he said, "It''s a bit complicated. The Uchiha clan has found that by experiencing extreme emotions through experience, our sharingan evolves and becomes more powerful." After hearing this, a light bulb lit up in Nawaki''s head. He then said, "Hmmm, I don''t know if it is possible but answer this. The extreme emotion is what affects the sharingan, correct?" In response to this, Fugaku nodded. Then Nawaki proceeded to say, "I believe it may be possible to recreate those emotions without having to experience a traumatic event. Methods including extreme genjutsu or direct stimulation of the brain using medical ninjutsu could yield the same results. I''ll look into it more and let you know what I find." Fugaku was lost. He had always been told that he had to lose something close to him in order to progress his eyes. Now he is finding out that loss isn''t necessary. He didn''t know how to react. Hiruzen nodded and said, "That is an interesting theory Nawaki, when did you learn so much about the human body?" ''Shit.'' Kensho started laughing and Nawaki thought to himself, ''Quite the hole I dug myself into this time. Oh I know!'' He then said, "Well Onee-chan is always studying medicine, I often would read her study materials and I picked up on quite a lot. Especially with me being able to feel how energy flows through my body, I was able to learn it quickly haha." He scratched the back of his head. Hiruzen nodded with approval and said, "As expected of Tsunade''s younger brother. Powerful like his grandfather and smart like his sister. I am sure that you will do a lot for this village." Hiruzen put on a smile before saying, "So Nawaki, aside from your sage training, would you like to learn some medical ninjutsu?" Hearing this, Nawaki''s face lit up. Having been an aspiring doctor in his past life made him feel like he could be really good at medical ninjutsu. In response, he said, "That would be great Hokage sama." Hiruzen smiled and said, "Then that settles it. I wish you much luck with your training and I look forward to seeing the results of your research on the sharingan." As he finished speaking, the food arrived. A huge spread of uncooked meat was laid on in front of them. "Itadakimasu!" They all dug in and enjoyed the delicious meal. Following the meal and some more small talk, Hiruzen insisted that he pay for everyone. Following this, they said their goodbyes and went home. As Nawaki walked home, he said, "So, I finally get to learn more about sage mode tomorrow. I''m excited!" Kensho appeared and then said, "It should definitely be interesting. You do know where we are headed right?" Hearing this, Nawaki smiled before saying, "Yup. I can''t wait!" The next morning, Minato and Nawaki met up in front of the Hokage mansion. This was the meeting spot set by Jiraiya. They both looked excited and couldn''t wait to set out. In a puff of smoke, Jiraiya appeared with a smile and asked, "You two ready?" Seeing both of them nod, he then said, "Alright, let''s go. We''re off to Mount Myoboku!" 9 Mount Myoboku ---Author''s Note--- I have read all of your comments and will respond to some of them. I really appreciate all of the feedback and am glad you guys are enjoying it. First, I will try to make the paragraphs shorter. It might be a bit challenging at times because it may affect the flow but I will make an effort. Second, Nawaki will learn other elements. He only just graduated from the academy and well before 10 years old. So don''t worry. In addition, just because he is going to Mount Myoboku, that does not mean that he will get toads as his summoning, I feel like that would be a bit cliche. If you guys have any ideas on what animal you want to see him use, let me know. We could use foxes, dragons or something crazy that I can''t even think of yet. Let me know! Here''s the chapter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So sensei, how are we gonna get there?" Nawaki looked to Jiraiya as he continued, "We will get summoned there using a reverse summoning right?" Jiraiya smiled and shook his head before saying, "Nope! We are going to take a secret route and journey there on foot." Minato seemed excited for a moment but then in a moment of hesitation he asked, "Sensei, how long will this journey take?" Jiraiya chuckled. At the same time Kensho chucked and said, "Oh wait till you hear this!" Nawaki scoffed and repeated Minato saying, "Yeah, how long is this journey?" Jiraiya smirked and then said, "Normally, it would take one month but depending on how fast you are, we could cut the journey down to a bit over a week at best." "Uhhh, Nawaki¡­ Where are you going?" Jiraiya asked. Without turning back Nawaki replied, "Home! Have fun!" Minato and Jiraiya looked at each other and laughed before running after Nawaki. Jiraiya then pleaded with, "Come on my dear student, accompany me on this journey. I swear that those toads will be able to help you progress your sage prowess. Just wait until you feel the overflowing amount of natural energy that exists in those lands. Ahhhh, my training was glorious." Hearing this, Nawaki''s interest peaked as he said, "Hmmmmm, alright. I''ll come on one condition. That condition being that we finish the journey in about two weeks." Jiraiya scoffed before saying, "Don''t kid yourself. I doubt you two kids could keep up that kind of pace." Minato and Nawaki turned to each other and grinned before Nawaki turned back to their sensei to say, "Try me bitch." As if they both accepted Jiraiya''s challenge, the air around the group changed. The sensei turned to his students and smiled before saying, "Then, we''re off!" As he said this, he flickered away and started hopping up the rock faces behind the Hokage mansion. Almost immediately, Minato and Nawaki made eye contact, smiling as they took off catching up to Jiraiya easily. "Oho, you two are fast! Maybe we can pick up the pace a bit." Jiraiya then pulled ahead. Same as last time, the two genin smiled as they matched his pace after quickly catching up. After keeping up this high pace, they stopped to rest for the night. As Jiraiya set up a hammock, Minato and Nawaki looked at each other before grinning. Nawaki then spoke up saying, "Sensei, would you mind taking down your hammock and stepping back?" Looking confused, Jiraiya followed the request. As he did this, Kensho said "Oh man, I can not wait to see the look on his face." Weaving through a set of hand signs and then saying, "Mokuton: Shichuka no jutsu" (Four Pillar House) Nawaki raised up a small wooden cabin from the earth. Jiraiya''s eyes widened as he then watched Minato pull 3 futons out of a sealing scroll. Seeing all of this, he said, "Oh boy, you guys sure know how to spoil your sensei." However they were not done. Using his inventory, Nawaki pulled out some raw meat and fresh vegetables. They were just as fresh as the moment he bought them that morning. Then Minato removed a small brick stove from another sealing scroll. Setting it down, Nawaki got to work and cooked up a feast. *Skill Leveled up! Cooking: Intermediate \u003e Advanced* Seeing this, Nawaki grinned as he finished preparing their dinner. Placing the various ingredients onto skewers, he served them up hot and fresh to a hungry looking Jiraiya and Minato. All at once, they said, "Itadakimasu!" They all scarfed down the food. After his first skewer, Jiraiya turned to Nawaki and said, "Damn, who taught you to cook? And also, your sealing is quite impressive. The ingredients taste as if they were just picked up from the grocer. How do you do it?" Hearing this question, Nawaki thought to himself as he heard Kensho whisper to him, "Spew some bullshit about the Uzumaki bloodline. I bet he is dumb enough to believe it!" Nawaki chuckled and then said, "Well, I learned this special seal from Mito. Apparently I am only able to use it because of the Uzumaki bloodline. Otherwise, I would definitely show it to you." Nawaki shrugged as Jiraiya rolled his eyes. He couldn''t tell if this was some BS or if it was actually the truth. Regardless he concluded that he would not be able to learn this technique from Nawaki. Turning back to Nawaki he asked, "Can you at least teach me how to cook?" Hearing this, Nawaki smiled and replied, "I''m sorry sensei, but that is a clan secret!" He grinned as he finished saying this. The three of them laughed as they packed up their things and went to sleep in the wooden cabin. After ten days of about the same, they reached a clearing. Jiraiya signaled for them to stop and they did so. As they did, Minato asked, "Sensei why have we stopped?" Turning to his dear students, he replied, "I''m glad you asked!" He raised his hands and then continued, "Behold, the sage land of Mount Myoboku." Minato and Nawaki looked past Jiraiya and they were speechless. In front of them was gargantuan stone arch with some kanji inscribed on it. At the base of each side of the arch, a huge stone statue of a toad could be seen with some kanji inscribed into the base. Above each statue stood two towering mountains. They were vastly steep and were made up of a very dark stone. The peak came to a point. Looking through the arch, a valley was visible. Huge lakes and rivers could be seen as well as tall jagged rock formations. Alien looking plant life was scattered and they were all as big as trees. As the sight started to sink in, Nawaki suddenly felt something. As he walked forward towards the entrance to Mount Myoboku, he could feel an overwhelming amount of energy. He ran ahead as he heard Kensho say, "Took you long enough. Let''s see how it feels!" Nawaki ran under the arch and sat under the shade of one of the alien looking trees. Entering the lotus position, he closed his eyes and began to meditate. Nawaki was shocked. As he felt the vast amount of nature energy that surrounded him, he was able to sense for miles. He could feel hundreds of thousands of chakra signatures. From the insects flying around, to the various toads, he could feel all of them. Suddenly, he felt a massive concentration of nature energy. It felt as if all of it was coming from one being. Turning around, Nawaki said, "I felt something massive. Can we go check it out?" Minato looked to Jiraiya, who then said, "Hmmm, you probably sensed Gamamaru. Anyways, lead the way!" Nawaki smiled and turned as they all ran together through the valley. As they ran, Nawaki could feel a vast amount of natural energy entering his body and it felt amazing. *Perk Leveled Up! Sage Mode: Intermediate \u003e Advanced* Nawaki thought to Kensho, ''What does that mean?'' Kensho made himself visible and smiled before saying, "I won''t tell you just yet but it is quite amazing. You''ll probably want to be sitting down for it so let''s check it out later." Nawaki nodded and continued running. Suddenly, a large toad that was approximately 8 feet tall jumped out in front of them and yelled, "Halt!" Suddenly his expression changed and he said, "Oh, my apologies Jiraiya dono. You have never taken this route so I did not realize it was you. Who are the two young ones?" Jiraiya smiled seeing a familiar face, "Oh, Gamabunta! It is great to see you my friend. These are my two students. The blond is Minato and the other one is Nawaki." After analyzing Nawaki and Minato for a moment Gamabunta replied, "Hmmm, I see you guys are headed towards the Shrine of the Great Toad Sage. Gamamaru sama would definitely be interested in these two boys. Tell ma and pa I say hi, will ya?" Jiraiya smiled and replied, "Hmm, I''m sure he would like to meet them. I''ll pass on the message, see you around my friend." The three of them carried on. After a few more minutes of running, they approached the shrine. It was massive. Made entirely of stone, there were statues of many different toads. In the distance, two small toads could be seen at the entrance of the shrine. They smiled as they saw Jiraiya. Before making their way up the stairs, Minato and Nawaki looked at each other and nodded as they stashed one of each of their flying raijin kunai behind a tree. As they topped the steps, one of the roads called out in an elderly voice, "Jiraiya chan, it is good to see you. Who are these fine young men you brought with you?" Jiraiya smiled as he bowed to them and said, "These are my students." Minato followed suit and bowed saying, "Greetings. My name is Namikaze Minato." Also bowing, Nawaki said, "And my name is Senju Nawaki." Smiling the two elder toads then said, "I am Fukasaku," "and I am Shima." Fukasaku then said, "Gamamaru sama has been expecting you. We will go and notify him that you have arrived." Nawaki smirked when hearing this and then said, "I think he already knows that we are here." Shima turned to Nawaki and asked, "What makes you say that Nawaki chan?" As she said that an elderly voice bellowed from inside the shrine, "Would you two guide the children in?" Shima and Fukasaku turned to each other and nodded. Fukasaku said, "Follow us guys." The interior of the shrine was immaculate. Sprawling stone designs lines the walls. Various depressions in the walls of the main hall contained additional toad statues. At the end of the main hall sat a huge toad. He looked ancient. He had wrinkles all over his body and squinted to see. He wore a scholars cap on his head and wore a chain necklace with a medallion that had the kanji for oil. In his elderly voice he called out, "Ah, Jiraiya chan, it is good to see you. Now, young ones, my name is Gamamaru. I am the Great Toad Sage. Who might you be?" Minato bowed and said, "Greetings Gamamaru sama, my name is Namikaze Minato." When it was Nawaki''s turn, he stayed silent. He was frozen in place. He had never felt such a large and powerul source of energy before. It was as if he could feel all of Mount Myoboku''s natural energy converging on the giant toad in front of him. But it wasn''t just him, it was also Fukasaku and Shima. They also had an extremely strong presence in terms of natural energy. Trying to calm himself down, he suddenly felt a strange power rising within him. As this power grew and grew, he could feel a huge amount of natural energy flow within him. Fukasaku and Shima looked shocked. Gamamaru then said, "Very impressive young one. It turns out to be a good thing that you came here." 10 Sage Mode Gamamaru looked at Nawaki and said, "I had a feeling that with your special body that you would be able to enter sage mode quite easily after coming here." Nawaki was confused but then looked down at his body. He could feel an insane amount of power flowing through him. He felt invincible. Nawaki then turned to Jiraiya and Minato who were also shocked. They stared at him and Jiraiya saw an image of the late Hashirama flash before his eyes. The markings and appearance looked the same. On Nawaki''s forehead was a circle with a large dot in the middle. Then another marking surrounded his eyes and spread across his cheek. There were also markings that forked around his nose. Gamamaru looked to Jiraiya and said, "Go with Nawaki chan and teach him about his new capabilities. This is the most important time for him to learn. It is unheard of for someone to activate sage mode at this young of an age." Jiraiya nodded and replied, "As you say, Gamamaru sama, please excuse us." Nawaki and Jiraiya bowed and then walked away. Once they left, Gamamaru turned to Minato and said, "I have foreseen a prophecy involving you Minato chan." Minato''s eyes widened and replied, "What does your wisdom have to say about me?" Gamamaru thought for a moment and then asked, "Wait, who are you again?" Minato had no words. He was extremely confused. In response he said, "Jiji senin, I said that my name is Namikaze Minato." Gamamaru smiled and chuckled before saying, "Ah yes, I remember now. Here is the prophecy. You will lead a crowd of important individuals through a tough time. A fork will appear in your path and a tree will decide the direction you follow." Minato did not understand what this meant. In his confusion he said, "Ummm, Gamamaru sama, that does not make too much sense. Do you have any more information? And how is a tree supposed to decide the path I take?" Gamamaru scrunched his face in thought. He then said, "My vision has been hazy as of late. I can not see very clearly. What I was able to see was you leading a group of people. They possessed great power. For your other question young one, it at least appeared to be a tree. I am unable to tell you more at this time Minato chan." Minato, still confused, then said, "Thank you, Gamamaru sama for your wisdom. I will be sure to put it to good use." Gamamaru smiled and then turned to Fukasaku before saying, "I am going to ask that you train Minato chan in sage arts. It will help him in taking the right path in his journey." Fukasaku nodded and said, "Of course, I will train him just like Jiraiya chan. Minato chan, follow me and we will get started. Shima, would you mind preparing some food for our guests?" Shima nodded before saying, "Of course. I will prepare a feast. Enjoy your training Minato chan." As the three of them turned to walk out, Gamamaru said, "One last thing. Please have Nawaki chan come before me tomorrow. I have foreseen something for him too." Minato turned around and said, "Will do Gamamaru sama. Thank you for everything!" Minato and the two toads then left the shrine to start his training. While this was happening, Jiraiya was lecturing Nawaki on the sage transformation. "It seems that this is your first time entering sage mode. You''ll find now that since you know what it feels like, it will be easier for you to get into it. Especially with that body of yours, you can probably even enter sage mode without meditating with enough practice. There are a few advantages that sage mode will provide. Firstly, it grants you greatly boosted physical capabilities. Your taijutsu will be much stronger in this state. Secondly, it increases your speed. You will be much faster. Next, it will make your ninjutsu much more powerful. With the way that your wood release works with natural energy, you could probably near the scale that Hashirama sama was able to accomplish. The last enhancement that I know about is boosted sensor capabilities. It seems that you are quite familiar with sensing life forms using nature energy so this should come easy to you. Any questions?" Nawaki took a moment to absorb all of this information. It was a lot to handle considering that he was also trying to feel out his new capabilities. He turned to Jiraiya and said, "So, what should I do first?" Jiraiya smiled and said, "Well, how about we start with a taijutsu spar." The two looked at each other and smiled before starting their fight. A few hours later, the two met up with Minato at Fukasaku''s and Shima''s hut for dinner. Nawaki looked at the two and said, "You guys head in. I need to sit by myself for a few minutes." Hearing this Jiraiya smirked and said, "Don''t take too long. You don''t want to miss out on Shima''s cooking!" Nawaki nodded and then said, "Okay sensei, I won''t be too long." Nawaki walked over to a tree and sat down under it in the lotus position. He then said, "Kensho, it''s been a while. Let''s check out my status." Kensho made himself visible and said, "Coming right up!" The status page then popped up. Age: 6 years, 1 months Height: 4'' 2" Weight: 52 lbs Chakra Levels: B Chakra Control: A Elemental Affinities: Earth, Water Bloodlines: Wood Release (Kekkei Genkai), Uzumaki Titles: Sage Seeing this, Nawaki got excited before saying, "Oh damn! I got a title!" Kensho smiled and said, "Becoming capable of sage mode is no fickle thing. It is extremely impressive." Nawaki then said, "Well, let''s not stop there. Pull up the perks list." Kensho displayed it. Unique Perk: Insomniac Perk: Sage Mode (Advanced) - Able to enter sage mode via meditation. Unique Perk: Sensor Boost Nawaki smiled and said, "Ahhh, so that is why you didn''t tell me about what getting advanced proficiency in sage mode meant. You knew I''d want to try it!" Kensho laughed before saying, "But of course. I mean, who would not want to try it? That is the question. And I am one step ahead of you so I''ll pull up the skills page now." Skill: Cooking (Advanced) - Allows the user to prepare delicious and healthy meals. Skill: Stealth (Advanced) - Use of chakra control to attempt to hide one''s presence. Will falter against those with high sensing capabilities. Skill: Maintenance (Intermediate) - Allows the user to clean and maintain weapons. Skill: Passive Sensing (Advanced) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in small ranges. Skill: Active Sensing (Intermediate) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in a larger range via chakra expenditure. Skill: Chakra Precision (Advanced) - Boosts the growth of chakra control to help reduce the amount of wasted chakra Skill: Fuinjutsu (Advanced) - Allows the user to quickly write kanji to form powerful seals. Also allows for the interpretation of other seals to learn how they work. Skill: Tracking (Beginner) - Basic skill acquired through the use of clues to track a target. Skill: Japanese (Mastery) - User is completely proficient with the native language. "Hmm, I must have gotten the tracking skill from having to find sensei." Hearing this, Kensho laughed and said, "Yup, I hid the notification because you were technically on a mission." Nawaki raised his brow, "That''s cool. Thanks for doing that. It could mean certain death if I were to get distracted by a notification in the middle of a fight." Kensho smirked and said, "Yeah, that is kinda the whole point of me doing that. Anyways, you should probably go in and eat that delicious food." As Kensho said this, he grinned. Suddenly, Nawaki''s face went pale before he said, "Oh no, I have to eat that stuff, don''t I." Kensho could only laugh in response before saying, "Go on, enjoy. I''ll talk to you later!" With a gloomy look on his face, Nawaki made his way over to the hut to join his teammates. As he entered, Jiraiya and Minato looked at each other and smirked before Minato said, "Dinner looks delicious, sit down and dig in!" As Nawaki set his eyes on the table, he gagged a bit. He scanned the table as Kensho could be heard laughing. The assortment of bugs was in a way impressive. Fried bugs, steamed worms, anything that Nawaki could imagine not wanting to eat was on that table. Nawaki then said, "Alright, we will eat this tonight but after this, I''ll do the cooking!" Fukasaku and Shima looked at each other confused. Minato and Jiraiya just laughed before their sensei said, "That is fine with me!" 11 Returning to the Leaf The next day, Nawaki got up early and sat on top of one of those alien trees to meditate. He still could not believe how much nature energy was present here. Without even realizing it, he entered sage mode again. As he was meditating, Fukasaku jumped up next to him and said, "Gamamaru has awoken. He says that he is ready for you now." Without hesitation, Nawaki grabbed Fukasaku, much to his dismay, and teleported to his kunai using the flying raijin jutsu. Fukasaku understood once he saw where they stood at the base of the shrine. They quickly made their way up the steps and through the shrine. Nawaki bowed and said, "Ohayo Gamamaru sama." Gamamaru smiled before saying, "Ohayo Nawaki chan. I have seen a vision involving your future. Would you like to hear it?" Nawaki grinned and then replied, "I would be oh so gracious to receive your wisdom." Hearing this, Gamamaru nodded and said, "The circumstances regarding your existence are unclear. However, you will come to possess great power. In your path, there will be many forks. Moments of fate will have drastic effects on the course of this world." Nawaki expected something like this so he was not too surprised. He wrestled with the idea of revealing his origin to the sage to ask for advice in the future. Kensho then chimed in, "Just to let you know, there are very few people in this world where revealing that information would not result in drastic changes. It just so turns out that Gamamaru is one of those people. He does not have a direct impact on any major events in this world from this point onward. With his expansive wisdom, he could be a good council. I would not do it yet though." Nawaki silently agreed with this and then said, "Thank you Gamamaru sama. I will be sure to take your words with me on my journey." Gamamaru smiled and replied, "It is my pleasure Nawaki chan. Please come to visit me in the future. It seems that you have no issues getting to the shrine. Now, you should probably get back to your training in the sage arts. From this point on, you have learned all you can about sage mode from Jiraiya chan. Allow him to assist in Minato chan''s training. It was good seeing you." Nawaki nodded and said, "Sounds good. It was a pleasure meeting you and I will be sure to come visit in due time." He bowed before walking out of the shrine with Fukasaku. As they exited the shrine, Fukasaku turned to Nawaki and said, "It seems that Gamamaru has taken a liking to you. He is a great ally to have. I am sure you already know this but his trust is not to be taken lightly. I would even go to say that we can count you as a trusted ally of Mount Myoboku." Hearing this, Nawaki nodded and said, "Of course Fukasaku, I would be happy to help you guys out in the future. However, I have decided that I do not want to use toads as my summon. On the other hand, I will still come to visit and help out from time to time." Fukasaku nodded and said, "I expected as much. I''m glad we can be friends at the least. Now go and continue your training." Nawaki nodded and took off towards a quiet spot to meditate. Team Jiraiya trained for a month before returning to Konoha. On their arrival, they saw Tsunade and her team entering the Hokage mansion. Nawaki yelled out, "Onee chan!" Hearing this, Tsunade turned just to see a blur jumping at her and hugging her. She smiled and said, "Welcome back Nawaki, it is good to see you are doing well. How was your trip?" She glared at Jiraiya as she said this. She prayed that the pervy sage was not being a bad influence for her innocent and precious little brother. Nawaki released Tsunade before saying, "It was so much fun. I learned some really cool stuff and made friends with some toads!" Hearing this, Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza laughed. Tsunade smiled before saying, "We are just turning in our mission report and then going to grab some food. Would you guys care to join us?" Jiraiya''s eyes lit up at the prospect of being able to spend time with Tsunade. He then said, "That would be wonderful. Would you happen to know where Fugaku has been?" Tsunade smirked and said, "He''s been training with some of the Uchiha clan as well as Hiruzen sensei. He should be in the Hokage''s office right now if I am not mistaken." Jiraiya was relieved that his other student was not being neglected. He then said, "If he is there, then we will join you guys in turning in your report and then we can head over to get some dinner." While Tsunade''s team went to turn in their mission report, Jiraiya and his two students went to meet with the Hokage. They walked up to his office and knocked on the door. A voice called out from inside, "Come in." Jiraiya opened the door and Hiruzen''s eyes lit up as the three walked in. The young Hokage''s day has been quite boring. Following his morning training with Fugaku, it has just been an endless stream of meetings and paperwork. Hiruzen turned to his left and said, "Look who has come to visit." The three of them looked to their right to see Fugaku meditating on the couch with his eyes closed. As he opened his eyes, they were blood red and had two tomoes. Minato''s eyes lit up as he said, "Congrats Fugaku, your sharingan has evolved!" Nawaki smiled and said, "That isn''t all, it feels like you have a lot more chakra then before. Have you been keeping your sharingan active at all times?" Fugaku was surprised that Nawaki knew exactly what he had been doing. He nodded and then said, "It is good to see you guys. I have made a lot of progress in my training since you three ditched me." He scoffed as his sensei and teammates made eye contact. Jiraiya laughed and said, "We did not ditch you so much as you decided not to join us! Anyways, we are getting some dinner with Tsunade''s team. Join us, will you?" Hearing this, Hiruzen smiled. He loved to hear that the younger ninja of the village were cultivating friendly relationships. It would bode well for the future of the village if the future clan heads were good friends. Responding to Jiraiya, Fugaku said, "That sounds like fun." As the four of them headed out, Nawaki stopped and turned to Hiruzen before saying, "Hokage sama, I have a request." Hiruzen raised his brow and replied, "What can I do for you Nawaki?" Nawaki then said, "While I was away, I spent my spare time drawing some diagrams of the optical nerves and related chakra pathways in relation to my study of the sharingan. It would be great if you could organize a meeting between yourself, the Uchiha clan''s leading figures, any leading medical nin in the village, and myself of course. I want to present my theories on how to advance the Uchiha dojutsu and see what they have to say about it." Hiruzen was speechless. As of late, he had been struggling to find a way to garner the favor of the Uchiha. Their relationship with the higher ups in the village had been somewhat rough as of late. He smiled and then replied, "I would be happy to do so. I will send for you when the details have been ironed out." Nawaki smiled and replied, "Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you." Nawaki then ran off to join his teammates. As they got down to the lobby, they met up with team Tsunade and headed over to Yakiniku Q as per Choza''s request. They sat down in the VIP room thanks to some of the members of their party. As they ate, they caught up with each other. Jiraiya, Minato, and Nawaki told stories about Mount Myoboku. Fugaku told them about his harsh training regiment. Tsunade and her team told them about the dreadful D rank missions that they were doing. They complained about having to deliver packages, helping old people carry bags, and various other odd jobs. Jiraiya had nothing to say as he may or may not have forgotten that his team would have to do those things. His three genin shuddered at the thought of having to do D rank missions and Kensho laughed hysterically. After they all finished eating, Jiraiya told his team to meet up at the Hokage mansion in the morning so that they could start doing missions.Then they all went their separate ways. As Tsunade and Nawaki walked home, she turned to him and said, "Hiruzen sensei asked me to start teaching you some medical ninjutsu. Since when have you had an interest in that?" Nawaki smiled and admitted, "I might have been borrowing some of your study materials when you would go out on missions. I think I have learned a lot. You wanna see some stuff I drew up while I was away?" Tsunade chuckled thinking that they would be some silly drawings and said, "Sure, let me take a look." Nawaki took a few scrolls out of his inventory and handed them over to his sister. As she opened the first one, she stopped walking. Suddenly she said, "Holy shit! This is amazing! How did you get so knowledgeable of the optical system? This could be huge for the Uchiha and Hyuga clans!" Nawaki shrugged and said, "Between your study materials and my ability to sense nature energy, I was able to get a lot of insight on this type of stuff." Of course, this was mostly a lie. He just combined his knowledge from his past life with his enhanced sensory capabilities to flesh out a detailed drawing of the optical system. The physical biology was exactly the same so he only had to figure out how the chakra pathways fit into the picture. Not knowing any better, Tsunade was impressed. She then said, "Well how about this. You help me learn about the physical side of things and I''ll teach you about the healing techniques. Deal?" This was perfect for Nawaki. He had extensive knowledge of the human body. This coupled with his sensory capabilities made him quite the monster in this field. On the other hand, he was clueless of how to practice medicine via the use of chakra. This was the true meaning of a win win scenario. Nawaki grinned and said, "Onee chan, you''ve got yourself a deal." Tsunade was ecstatic. This could help her on her path to becoming a renowned medical ninja. They arrived home and greeted Toka. Nawaki briefly told her about his journey and then ran off to the study to work with his sister on studying medicine. After a few hours of working together, they joined their mother for dinner. As they ate, Tsunade said to Toka, "Nawaki here is a genius! It is amazing how much he knows about the human body. His work will save so many lives." Hearing this, Toka could only smile. She was truly happy that both her children were prodigies. They repeatedly surpassed themselves and would soon become pillars of Konoha. She was so proud. After they ate, they all went off to bed. Nawaki decided that he would not sleep tonight. Instead, he would practice trying to enter sage mode without the energy from Mount Myoboku. Hours and hours flew by with no progress. However, as the sun came out, he decided to try something different. Using his extreme chakra control, he expelled the natural energy that was in his body out of his tenketsu. He did this so that he could start collecting from scratch. Focusing inward, he felt out the flow of chakra in his body. He noticed that it flowed counterclockwise through his pathways. Following this, he created a counterclockwise vortex of nature energy around his body. Within a minute, the markings appeared on his face and he entered sage mode. As the sun came up, Nawaki decided that he had enough training and released his sage mode. He then went inside to prepare breakfast for his family. *Skill Leveled up! Cooking: Advanced \u003e Mastery* As he cooked, he could sense Toka and Tsunade floating towards the kitchen. Entranced by the smell of Nawaki''s cooking, they drooled in anticipation of breakfast. As he set the food down on the table, it was a free-for-all as the three of them pounced on the food. After they ate, Nawaki and Tsunade headed out together to go and meet up with their respective teams. 12 A Combo Mission? A few weeks had gone by now. Every day was the same. D rank this, D rank that. It seemed like the amount of missions they did was endless. After another week, team Jiraiya met without their sensei to scheme. They came up with an ingenious idea. Nawaki created wood clones that would replace them and do missions for them. Meanwhile, they could train and study instead. Jiraiya pretended not to notice that his students were replaced by clones. He did not think that any harm would come of it so he let it be. One morning, the four of them met up at the end of the day to turn in their mission reports. After they turned in their reports, Jiraiya turned to the three clones and said, "Please go tell your real bodies that we will meet here tomorrow morning. Hiruzen sensei has summoned us and has a mission." Sitting in the Senju grounds, Nawaki was meditating and then he froze. He tried to figure out how long ago his sensei realized that his students were not actually the ones doing the missions. He laughed and sent his clones to inform Minato and Fugaku of the news. It seemed that they would be getting a change of pace for their missions. The next morning, Team Jiraiya met up inside the lobby of the Hokage mansion. They navigated through the building and entered the Hokage''s office. Once they entered, they were surprised as they were not the only ones there. In fact, there was one other team present. Tsunade, Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza were waiting for them. Once Hiruzen saw Team Jiraiya enter the office, he began his explanation. He turned to the group and said, "Your two teams have shown great potential. Between the overwhelming strength and impressive teamwork you all have displayed, I think it is time to up the stakes. I will be imparting a C rank mission that you will all complete together. For the most part, I want your jonin sensei to observe but they will step in if necessary." All six genin were excited. They finally get to leave the village and prove themselves. For most of them, it was their first time exiting the gates. Hiruzen then continued, "This mission is of utmost importance. There has been a large group of bandits interfering with travel and trade. I need you guys to deal with this problem. They can either be exterminated or detained. You guys can decide yourselves how they will be dealt with. This type of behavior is intolerable and must be stopped. I am trusting you guys with this." Tsunade then said, "Don''t worry Hiruzen sensei, I believe that these 6 will be able to finish this mission with no issues." They all bowed and left the office. Once outside, Jiraiya and Tsunade turned to each other and nodded. Jiraiya turned to the group and said, "Alright everyone. This mission will require us to leave the village for around two weeks. We will meet at the gates in about two hours. You are dismissed until then to gather supplies." The eight of them flickered away to gather their supplies. Nawaki and Tsunade informed their mother that they would be gone for a few weeks. She was relieved to hear that they would be together. This made her much less nervous that something bad would happen. When they were gathering their supplies, Nawaki gave a few sealing scrolls to Tsunade. They were inscribed with advanced spatial seals that allowed for a lot of storage space. Tsunade packed plenty of supplies and medical equipment. Nawaki also used money that he collected from the 8 of them to buy food that would last them a few weeks. He stored it all in his inventory. Nawaki teleported back home after purchasing the food to meet up with Tsunade and walk to the gate together. As they walked out of the house, Toka called out, "Nawaki! I have something to give you before you leave." She walked outside and approached them holding a long object wrapped in cloth. Nawaki raised his brow and heard Kensho say, "Oh¡­ my¡­ god. Is that what I think it is?" Now Nawaki was even more intrigued as his mother approached him with a smile on her face. He looked at her and asked, "Okaa san, what is that?" Toka stopped in front of him and smiled as she unwrapped the object. When she removed the cloth, Tsunade and Nawaki widened their eyes in shock. In Toka''s hands was a huge sword that was sheathed in an ornate wooden scabbard. It had a set of straps on it that could be adjusted to accommodate the user. It could be worn on the hip or on the back. Toka looked at her children and said, "This is a special item to our family. Otou sama used this sword many years ago.. This sword is very special and has cut down many enemies in defense of our clan and this village." Toka smiled and then continued, "Hashirama entrusted this sword to me wishing for it to be given to someone that would be capable of using it. I believe it would suit you well Nawaki." Nawaki could not believe it. Kensho then said, "Holy shit. That sword is amazing. It is quite large but it is perfect for someone using sage mode. It is also made of chakra metal so it is quite a formidable weapon. You are very lucky Nawaki." Nawaki didn''t know what to do. He could not decide whether he was worthy of using such a weapon. Kensho then continued, "Are you just going to stand there? Or are you going to accept your mother''s gift?" Snapping out of his trance, Nawaki stepped forward and took the sword before saying, "Okaa san, I don''t know what to say. Thank you." Toka smiled and said, "Nawaki, I trust that you will make good use of it. It may prove quite useful in the future. Now go on. You two are going to be late if you don''t head out soon." Nawaki and Tsunade ran over to their mother and the three of them hugged. This precious moment would be ingrained in their memories for the rest of their lives. It was a truly special moment. Releasing their mother, Tsunade and Nawaki took off towards Konoha''s gates. When they got there, their teammates were waiting for them. When they arrived, Jiraiya and Tsunade made eye contact and nodded. They silently agreed on something due to them being on the same page. After about 30 seconds of silence, Inoichi said, "Sooooo, what do we do now sensei?" Tsunade chuckled and she tossed a scroll to Inoichi. She then said, "Took long enough for one of you to speak up." Inoichi opened the scroll. Inside the scroll was their mission directive. All of the details including location, some victim testimonies, and some other intel were there. Inoichi then asked, "Why are you giving this to me?" Tsunade smirked and said, "Jiraiya and I have our role in this mission. We are here primarily to observe. Thus, this mission is essentially up to you guys." Hearing this, another short period of silence occurred. Suddenly, Nawaki spoke up saying, "I vote to have Shikaku take charge." Hearing this, Choza and Inoichi nodded in agreement without hesitation. After a moment, Minato also nodded in agreement. All that remained was Fugaku. After some thought, he spoke up saying, "Why Shukaku? I believe Nawaki is the most qualified to lead this mission." This was a good point. He took notice of Nawaki''s mental prowess when he created a flawless plan for the bell test. He was quick on his feet and was able to make smart decisions on the fly. After a moment of silence, Nawaki replied, "While I may be perfectly qualified to lead this team, I believe that Shukaku is the best choice to lead this team. I may be smart but my intelligence pales before the mental prowess of a Nara." Hearing this, Fugaku understood why they all agreed to the suggestion. He then said, "Alright. After hearing that, I agree with the decision." All eyes then turned to Shukaku who sighed before saying, "What a drag. Alright, let''s get this over with then. Sensei, should I include the two of you in our formation or should I let you two observe from the side?" Tsunade replied saying, "We will travel with and join you guys for meals. You guys are on your own for the rest unless we need to intervene." Shukaku nodded and turned back to his team, "Understood. Here is our formation. We will travel in a 1-1-3-1 formation. Fugaku will lead in the front and set our pace. His ability to maintain the sharingan at all times makes him perfect for watching the front. Behind him will be Minato. He has long range sensor capabilities. He is the fastest member of our team and will be able to quickly provide support to our vanguard. The next line will be our core with Inoichi on the left, me in the middle, and Choza on the right. First reason for this being that I am the team leader. It is important that I am centered in our formation. This allows me to quickly relay orders to everyone. Second reason for us three being together is that it will allow for quick deployment of our secret formation. Finally, our rear guard will be held by Nawaki. His wide ranging sensor capabilities allows him to keep an eye out in all directions. He will have the easiest time watching his back without having to slow down and look backwards. In addition, his wood release will allow for the quick deployment of techniques to block attacks from our rear. Any questions?" Everyone nodded. Fugaku was shocked. It was the first time he experienced the mental prowess of a Nara first hand. The only thing he could feel was happiness that he was not Shikaku''s enemy. He would probably be able to completely and utterly outplay anyone. After seeing that his team understood, he then continued. He said, "Fugaku, you will focus on watching the front. Minato will provide support via his long range sensing and also monitor Fugaku''s peripherals. I will keep tabs on all of you guys. Inoichi and Choza will watch our left and right flanks. Lastly, Nawaki will focus on their peripheral vision but primarily use his sensor capabilities to monitor all around us. If anyone has any questions, please ask now." No one said anything so Shikaku continued saying, "Before we leave, everyone is stocked up on supplies and ninja tools right?" The 5 of them nodded. Seeing this, Shukaku said, "Alright team, form up and let''s move out." The 6 of them quickly got into formation and took off into the forest surrounding Konoha. The journey would take them four days so it was important that they paced themselves and got proper rest. The group maintained a fast pace so they stopped to rest every few hours. When they would come across a river, they would take a quick break to wash their faces and cool off. Seeing that their teams seamlessly combined, Tsunade and Jiraiya could only be proud. Once it started getting dark, they stopped to rest for the night. Before setting up camp, Shukaku turned to his team before saying, "Before we settle in, we need to set up a schedule for keeping watch." Hearing this, Nawaki smiled before saying, "I can keep watch all night. You guys can rest." Shukaku raised his brow before asking, "Why do you say that?" Nawaki chuckled and then replied, "My body allows me to recover my stamina and energy via the absorption of nature energy. Technically I never need to sleep but sometimes I choose to do so just to rest my mind. Conveniently, the absorption of natural energy also boosts my sensing range." Shukaku sighed before saying, "Alright. Guess this couldn''t be easier then. Now that we have figured that out, let''s set up camp." As everyone aside from Minato and Nawaki started to set up their sleeping arrangements, the two could only turn to each other and laugh. The four genin stopped what they were doing and gave the duo a confused look. Choza then said, "What''s so funny you two?" Nawaki grinned and said, "Oh, nothing. Would the four of you step back for a moment?" After a few hand signs, Nawaki slammed his hands into the ground and said, "Mokuton: Shichuka no jutsu" (Four Pillar House). Similar to their journey to Mount Myoboku, a wooden cabin rose from the ground. This one was much larger due to Nawaki''s increased chakra pool and the amount of people it had to hold. The four of them had their jaws dropped in shock. Choza broke the silence by laughing and then saying, "Well, seems like this will be an enjoyable trip!" Minato then pulled 8 futons out of a sealing scroll as well as a brick stove. Minato distributed the futons to his teammates as they went to explore the inside of their cabin. Nawaki then got to work pulling ingredients out of his inventory and cooking up a delicious dinner for the group. While he was cooking alone, Tsunade and Jiraiya decided it was time to join their students. They jumped down in front of Nawaki and smiled. Jiraiya then said, "First, I don''t think I''ll ever get used to being able to have a roof over my head while traveling. Second, I can not wait to have your cooking again. I''m hungry just thinking about it." Hearing this, Nawaki smiled before saying, "So sensei, how did we do today?" Jiraiya looked to Tsunade. After thinking for a moment he said, "I have to say that I am impressed. It took no time at all for you guys to organize and get going. You all were even able to maintain the entire team''s stamina to keep a fast pace. It was as if we were not observing a team of rookie genin." Tsunade nodded in agreement. Soon after, the other 5 genin floated out of the cabin following the smell of dinner. They drooled in anticipation of chowing down. Once Nawaki finished cooking, they enjoyed a wonderful meal. After eating, the 7 went to sleep for the night leaving Nawaki to keep watch in the company of Kensho. 13 First Blood The next morning, the group woke up and packed up their camp. While they were doing this, Jiraiya approached Nawaki and asked, "So what''s with the sword? I haven''t seen you with it before." Nawaki turned to his sensei and replied, "Okaa san gave this to me before we left. It belonged to Oji san." Hearing this, Jiraiya''s eyes widened. Then he said, "I guess I''ll have to find you a kenjutsu teacher then. If possible, you should put it away for now so that it does not get in the way." Nawaki nodded and put the sword into his inventory. Once the group was ready to head out again, they got back into formation and continued their journey. Three days then went by without anything happening. On the fourth day, they traveled for a few hours before approaching the mission area. As they approached, Nawaki could sense that the energy in the area was disturbed and could feel residual chakra from various ninjutsu. Noticing this, he turned to Shukaku and said, "It seems as if some of the bandits are rogue ninja. I can sense a battle that recently took place." Shukaku nodded and had his team stop to plan their course of action. Once they stopped, Nawaki and Shukaku made eye contact and nodded. Without delay, Nawaki sat down into the lotus position and began to meditate. He stretched out his sensing capabilities to the max. He could cover a large portion of the forest due to all of the trees in the area. Shukaku waited a few moments and then asked, "You see anything?" Nawaki opened his eyes and nodded before saying, "I can sense a large group of around 40 people about 4 miles to the Southeast. Most of them are nothing to be worried about but a few of them seem like they might be at least chunin level. Maybe 5 or 6 of them fit into that category" Shukaku sighed and then said, "That is troublesome." Shukaku then thought for about a minute and then said, "Listen up. I will tell you guys our plan now." While this was happening, the people in the bandit camps were lazing around. Suddenly, a voice called out, "Men, it''s time. Let''s pack up and get ready for today. We have to set up early so we can be ready for any caravans that come through today." As he finished talking, the men cheered and got busy. After a few minutes, they all left camp barring a few that stayed back to keep watch. They slowly moved through the forest and approached the road that they usually set up around. The group split in half and hid in the trees on each side of the road and waited. After about an hour, a group of merchants with large carts being pulled by pack mules approached their ambush. As they came closer, the bandits waited impatiently. The moment finally arrived. As the caravan reached the target area, the bandits surrounded them. The merchants and their families screamed in fear as the bandits took out their weapons. Their leader then said, "Listen up. If you want to live, you''ll follow my instructions¡­" While he continued his speech, six shadows approached the back side of the largest grouping of bandits. Suddenly a rumbling sound could be heard. As the sound got louder, a huge spinning object charged towards the bandits. As it approached, a wooden ramp rose from the ground and guided the object into a curved path that went right through the group of bandits. At the same time, a wooden wall also rose to surround the caravan. A few of the bandits turned around but did not have time to react. The rolling object barreled through the crowd and took around 20 people. As the object reached the side of the road, it stopped. Uncurling, Choza stood up with a look of satisfaction on his face as he threw two kunai into the ground next to him. As they hit the ground, Nawaki holding Inoichi and Shikaku and Minato holding Fugaku appeared next to them. Immediately, Fugaku and Minato charged forward to engage the group. Most of the bandits ran forward to meet the attacking Konoha ninja while 6 of them stepped back. The two genin made quick work of the initial group. All that remained were the 6 genins and 6 bandits. The last of the bandits were presumably the rogue ninja that Nawaki felt. One of the bandits spoke up saying, "You kids are gonna regret that. You should have just minded your own business." Shukaku analyzed the situation and turned to his team before saying, "Everyone pick an opponent. We number at 6 a piece. Nawaki, you take the strongest one." Upon hearing this, Nawaki nodded and sensed the 6 bandits in front of them. The one standing farthest back appeared to be the strongest. He turned to his team and said, "I''ll take the one in the back. After that, you guys have some fun!" Nawaki immediately charged at the bandits. In an effort to surround him, the bandits fanned out. As they did, the rest of the genin engaged one target each. Almost simultaneously, all the fights began. Aside from Nawaki, the fights were pretty even. Both the genin and the bandits landed some hits but with no major impact. For Nawaki''s fight, he was being utterly out classed. He was being pushed farther and farther back. Once his back was up against the forest, Nawaki smiled. As he did this, the bandit hit him with his weapon. What happened next surprised the bandit. Instead of blood, wood chips flew off of Nawaki''s body. At the moment it was revealed that this Nawaki was a wood clone, Nawaki substituted with the clone. The bandits eyes widened as he scanned Nawaki''s body. He seemed wary of the markings on Nawaki''s face. Before the bandit could even react, Nawaki flickered behind him and knocked him out with a blow to the neck. After tying him up, Nawaki went to support his teammates. As he ran over, he noticed that one of the bandits was about to stab Shikaku with his sword. In a split second, Nawaki flickered to the bandit and killed him with one punch to the side of the head. Shortly after, all of the bandits had been dealt with. Four of the six remaining bandits were dead. Once the fight was over, Nawaki plopped down on the ground and just stared at his hands. He had never killed someone before. He did not know how to feel. Even though the kill was justified, he still felt grief. As someone who used to be an aspiring doctor, he took an oath to never take a life. However, the world he now lived in was a very different place. There are countless scenarios where it is either kill or be killed. Nawaki got back to his feet as he came to the realization that he would need to get used to killing if he wanted to survive and protect those that he loves. As Nawaki looked at the rest of his team, he noticed that Fugaku, Minato, and Choza were also going through the same thought process since they also killed their opponent. Even before the final skirmish, Choza had killed most of the bandits he hit with his human boulder jutsu. Once the group regained their composure, Shikaku said, "For the dead ones, let''s take the bodies and put them into scrolls. For the 8 that are still alive, is it possible to teleport them back to the village?" Nawaki and Minato nodded. Nawaki then said, "Fugaku can handle sealing the dead ones. Minato and I will teleport the detained bandits back to Konoha and then make one more trip to grab you guys." Shikaku smiled hearing this. He then said, "Let''s get to it then." It took them about an hour to seal all of the dead bandits and teleport the group back to Konoha. While they tidied up, Nawaki lowered the wood wall that protected the caravan and informed them that the bandits had been dealt with. In addition, Jiraiya and Tsunade came out of hiding to praise their students on a job well done. Once back in Konoha, the group turned the detained bandits over to the police and went to turn in their mission report. When they handed in their report, they were informed that the Hokage wanted to see them once they finished their mission. The eight of them got to the Hokage''s office and knocked. From the other side of the door, a voice called out saying, "Come in." The group entered and bowed before Hiruzen. Hiruzen then asked, "I have heard that there were some rogue ninja among the bandits. I have to say that I am impressed with you six. From what I have heard, you put on quite the show. You even fully protected the caravan that they were attacking. Well done. I am also under the impression that some of you killed for the first time. Death goes hand in hand with ninja work. Some missions are completely based around the elimination of a target. I am sure that you are wrestling with your emotions regarding that. I am here to talk if any of you need help." Nawaki then said, "Thank you Hokage sama." The other five nodded in agreement. Hiruzen smiled and then said, "That is all. Aside from Nawaki, you are all dismissed." Nawaki then stepped off to the side while the rest of the two teams shuffled out. When the door closed, Hiruzen turned to Nawaki and said, "As per your request, I have organized the meeting regarding the sharingan. It will take place tomorrow morning in the council room. I look forward to your presentation." Nawaki''s eyes lit up. He was waiting for this moment. His chance to prove himself and make a lasting impact on this world. Nawaki then said, "Thank you Hokage sama. If you don''t I must go home to prepare." Hiruzen smiled and replied, "Of course, you are dismissed. See you in the morning." Nawaki smiled and turned to leave as he said, "Thank you, see you in the morning." 14 The Birthing of a Legend It was early in the morning. Rays of sunlight made the morning dew sparkle. Birds could be heard chirping. It almost sounded as if they were having a conversation. Inside the Senju estate, Nawaki and Tsunade were enjoying breakfast together. As they ate, Tsunade turned to her brother and asked, "Are you ready?" Nawaki grinned and then replied, "Ready as I''ll ever be. I just hope that my work will be taken seriously." Tsunade chuckled and then said, "Don''t you worry about that. If they doubt your credibility, I''ll vouch for you personally. Everyone knows that I am one of the top medics in Konoha." Nawaki smiled before saying, "Thanks Onee chan, I appreciate it." After finishing their breakfast and cleaning up, Nawaki gathered his scrolls and the two of them headed off to the Hokage''s mansion. Once they arrived in front of the building, someone was waiting for them. The aid guided them to the council room. Inside the council room was a large assortment of chairs. In the front of the room, there was a raised platform with a table. Nawaki saw Fugaku was present with his father. They had accompanied the Uchiha clan head who was conversing with Hiruzen. Nawaki approached the group. As he did, Hiruzen said, "Ah, Nawaki, allow me to introduce you to some people. This is the Uchiha clan head, Shunsui. Next to him is Fugaku''s father, Koryu." Nawaki bowed and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Shunsui sama and Koryu san. I have been eager to meet more members of my teammate''s family." Koryu smiled and said, "It is nice to meet you too. I have heard a lot about you from my son. It sounds like you two are very close. He trusts you with his life." On the other hand, Shunsui said nothing. He just eyed Nawaki. It was clear that he doubted that a six year old would have anything valuable to say. Nawaki paid no mind to this. After a few minutes, the rest of the expected attendees had all arrived and the meeting commenced. Nawaki stood up from his seat on the raised platform in the front of the room. He then said, "Thank you all for coming. My name is Senju Nawaki. As I am sure you all heard, this meeting was called so that I can present some theories regarding a medically based method for evolving the sharingan. These findings are based on what I have learned about the circumstances under which the sharingan progresses and upon my knowledge of the human body. Before I get started, does anyone have any questions?" No one spoke up. Everyone aside from Tsunade, Hiruzen, Fugaku, and Koryu had the same thought: What could a six year old have possibly come up with? Before getting started, Nawaki took out a scroll and opened it up. He turned it to the room to display his hand drawn diagram of the optical system. Everyone was shocked. No one had ever seen such a detailed drawing before. It even included the chakra pathways. Nawaki smirked seeing their reactions and then said, "I drew this a few weeks ago to illustrate how our optical system works. On the drawing, you can see the eye, the optical nerve, and the other biological components of our optical system. In addition, I included the chakra pathways that are relevant. For the majority of people, Uchiha included, their optical system should match this almost completely. There is a problem with this." Nawaki then turned to Shunsui and asked, "Uchiha sama, if I am not mistaken, your sharingan is activated by channeling chakra into your eyes, correct?" Shunsui nodded and asked, "How much do you know about our eyes? And where did you come across such information?" Nawaki could feel the suspicion in Shunsui''s voice. In an effort to diffuse the situation he said, "I am aware of all the stages of evolution for the sharingan. From single tomoe through eternal mangekyo. Most of my knowledge comes from either asking an Uchiha about their eyes or reading medical texts. My knowledge of the mangekyo sharingan comes from stories told to me by my mother. She heard them from her father, Hashirama sama." Satisfied with this answer, Shunsui nodded and then said, "Thank you for clarifying. You may continue now." Nawaki then moved on. He said, "For most people, Uchiha included, the chakra pathways that are connected to our eyes are small and quite weak. In the case of the Uchiha, these pathways get overworked when using the sharingan. This causes the flow of chakra to be unstable. In addition, the chakra usage to keep the sharingan active is quite inefficient. It turns out that there is quite an easy way to eliminate this issue. I will use Fugaku as my example. One of his training methods has been to keep his sharingan active at all times. This has proven to be extremely beneficial. Similar to working out a muscle, our chakra pathways can be expanded and reinforced via continuous usage over a long period of time. My first theory is that the sharingan chakra usage can be drastically improved with the proper training. The only reason that this remains as a theory is due to the fact that only Fugaku has undergone this training. Any questions before I move on?" Shunsui was impressed. Nawaki''s explanation and reasoning were very sound. They were based on the same concepts as chakra control exercises. He could not wait to hear what else this kid had to say. Since no one spoke up, Nawaki then said, "Now for my second theory. This one is based around the ability of the sharingan to copy taijutsu and ninjutsu techniques. I have come to the conclusion that the sharingan works similar to a photographic memory. From this, I came to the idea that certain events that are viewed through the sharingan will always feel as if they had just happened. Time and time again we see Uchihas lose themselves in the darkness from their losses. Presumably, these losses were in combat when the Uchiha had their sharingan active. This would mean that each time an Uchiha activates their sharingan, they can feel the emotions of loss and despair that come from each of their lost loved ones or the people they have killed. Is everyone following?" Everyone nodded so he continued, "My theory for this is that it would be extremely beneficial to the psychological health of a sharingan user for them to make an effort to use their sharingan to see moments of happiness. These moments will help balance out the overwhelming emotions that eat away at the Uchiha each time they use their eyes. This should be easy to accomplish for those who train to keep their sharingan active constantly. Any questions before I move on?" Again, there was silence. Nawaki continued, "My next theory is a hypothetical method of facilitating the evolution of the sharingan. When the sharingan is first awakened, it has one tomoe. It is known that the sharingan evolves via experiencing strong emotions. It is often the case that these emotions are caused by the loss of someone close to them. I believe that this should not be necessary. I have hypothesized that the sharingan can be evolved via the use of direct stimulation of the brain or powerful genjutsu. These methods would likely have harmful effects in the short term but those pale in comparison to the short and long term effects of actually losing a loved one. Does anyone have any questions before I get to my last theory?" Yet again, no one spoke up. Noticing this, Nawaki grinned before saying, "This last one is entirely theoretical and has never been tested. It has two parts. It is a little known fact that long term usage of the mangekyo sharingan results in the loss of sight. I attribute this mostly to the fact that the chakra pathways that service the optical system are unfit to handle the amount of chakra that gets channeled into the eyes when using the mangekyo sharingan. I believe that the reinforcement of these pathways using the method I proposed earlier will greatly reduce, if not eliminate the side effects of mangekyo usage. The second part is only relevant if going blind remains a problem. The human body has eight inner gates. Through intense training, one can manually open these gates effortlessly. Each gate provides a boost in power but after the second gate, there are harmful after effects. What is important here is the second one, the gate of healing. When someone opens this gate, their body gains extreme regenerative capabilities. The second part of this theory is that I believe that opening the gate of healing will allow the use of the mangekyo sharingan without any risk of going blind." Shunsui did not know how to react. He could not believe that a Senju had just imparted so much knowledge upon his clan. If even one of his ideas turned out to be fact, it would greatly boost the strength of his clan. He was eager to find out what else this boy would discover as time went on. Aside from the Uchiha clan head, each and every person in the room was shocked. They could not get themselves to believe that all of this came from a six year old. The things they heard would take a typical person a lifetime to figure out. Only one word could describe this kid. Genius. Even that wasn''t enough, he was a genius among geniuses. Suddenly, someone started clapping. Soon after, everyone in the room was applauding the genius that stood before them. Once they finished their applause, Nawaki said, "Thank you all for coming. I look forward to working with all of you to make new discoveries and further develop the theories I presented today." He packed up his scrolls, bowed, and then walked off of the stage. As he walked off of the stage, Shunsui came up to him and asked, "Nawaki, would you care to join me and my family for dinner tonight? I want to thank you for your work and also pick your brain a bit. Your family is also welcome." Hearing this, Nawaki smiled and said, "It would be a pleasure. I will let them know. Thank you for the invitation Uchiha sama." Shunsui scoffed and then said, "Nawaki, please. You can call me Shunsui. I look forward to seeing you later. Take care." Shunsui smiled before heading out with Fugaku and Koryu. Soon after, Tsunade approached him with an older man standing next to her. Tsunade could only smile. She then said, "Nawaki, that was amazing. I had no idea how much you put into this. I want to introduce you to someone. He is the chief medical ninja in the village and runs the hospital. His name is Homura Shiro." The man smiled and said, "As she said, My name is Homura Shiro. Feel free to call me Shiro" Nawaki smiled and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Shiro. What can I do for you?" Shiro chuckled before saying, "On the contrary. I want to do something for you. After seeing your extensive knowledge of medicine, I could not help but wonder. Would you like to get some hands on experience with healing at the hospital? Your skills would be quite the asset. In addition, I would make all of the medical research facilities available to you. What do you think?" Nawaki''s eyes lit up. He quickly recomposed himself and replied, "That would be amazing. It would be quite helpful for me to have some practical experience in case something were to ever go wrong while on a mission. Thank you for the opportunity." Shiro then replied, "The pleasure is all mine. I am more than happy to help cultivate the mind of someone such as you. I look forward to working with you. Please come by the hospital whenever you are free and my staff will get you started." Shiro smiled and said goodbye before leaving. Following this, the two siblings made their way out of the council chambers and went home. They needed to inform their mother of the dinner plans. What Nawaki did not realize is that the relationship that he is fostering with the Uchiha clan would change the course of history in a major way. For the first time in a while, the Uchiha and Senju clan heads would establish a friendly relationship. [Sorry if this was a boring chapter. I wanted to display Nawaki''s genius] 15 Changing the Course of History The sun was setting over the expansive forest surrounding Konoha. The sky glowed with a vibrant fade of blue, purple, red, orange, and yellow. The Senju clan head and her two children were getting washed up and into semi formal wear as they prepared for dinner. Once they were all ready, they set out to the other side of the village. Tonight, they would dine with the Uchiha clan head. The outcome of this night would have lasting effects on the course of history. Nawaki thought to himself as they walked through the dimly lit streets of Konoha. He recalled the prophecy that Gamamaru spoke of and wondered if tonight was one of those fateful moments. As he considered the effects that a positive outcome would have he realized that this dinner could completely alter future events. It was possible that the Uchiha could be prevented from even considering the possibility of staging a coup. Due to him being deep in thought, he did not even realize that they had arrived at the Uchiha clan head''s home. Nawaki was slightly startled when he heard Shunsui''s voice saying, "Ah, Toka. It is great to see you. Welcome to my home." Nawaki looked up and heard his mother reply, "Yes, it has been a while since we have last seen each other Shunsui." As Shunsui guided the three Senjus through his home, he made some small talk with Toka. Once they arrived in the dining room, they all took their seats. Aside from the four of them, Fugaku, Koryu, Hana (Fugaku''s mother), Mikoto (Shunsui''s daughter), and Biwako (Shunsui''s wife) were present. It took a moment but Nawaki realized that Fugaku and his family were present for two reasons. It seemed that Shunsui was grooming Fugaku to become the next clan head. The other reason was that Fugaku and Nawaki were quite close. The relationship could be used to foster friendly relationships between the two clans. After a round of introductions, drinks were served and everyone conversed. The adults all reminisced about the past and boasted about how amazing their children were. Meanwhile, the four kids were telling each other stories from their missions. Mikoto was a year older than Fugaku and Nawaki but she was also a rookie genin. Apparently she was on a team with Hyuga Hizashi and Lee Itsuki. Their jonin sensei was Hatake Sakumo. Nawaki made the connection and realized that Itsuki was Rock Lee''s father. There was no mention of Rock Lee''s parents in the anime so he was curious to find out. After about an hour of drinking and conversation, dinner was served. It was an impressive spread of freshly prepared food. Even though it was delicious, Nawaki couldn''t help but think that he could have made something better. Once everyone was done eating and the dishes were cleared, tea was served. Once everyone got their tea, Shunsui invited Nawaki and Toka to join him outside. It was a warm summer night. There was a slight breeze that wicked away the humidity. As the three of them made their way outside, Shunsui led them over to a few chairs that surrounded a stone table. As they took their seats, Shunsui turned to Toka and said, "As I am sure you have already realized, this dinner invitation was not just a friendly gesture." Toka sighed and replied, "I figured as much. If you are coming out and saying this, I must ask. What is the purpose of your invitation?" Shunsui smiled and then said, "For as long as our two clans have existed, there has been a fierce rivalry between us. In the warring states era, the Uchiha and Senju were considered the most powerful clans. If a land hired one of us, their opposition would hire the other. Eventually our clans came together and founded Konoha. However, this did not do much to ease the tension between us. How do you feel about the relationship between our clans?" Toka thought for a moment and then said, "I can''t really say that there is much of a relationship between us. It is more of just an innate dislike towards each other. On another note, I am confused about something. What does my son have to do with this?" Hearing this, Shunsui smiled. He then said, "That brings me to my next point. An opportunity has presented itself that may lead to a prosperous relationship between our two clans. This would also greatly benefit the village. Nawaki is a genius. As a six year old, his intellect is unheard of. I am not sure how much you know, but Nawaki has been doing some research on the Uchiha. More specifically, on the sharingan. This morning, he presented some revolutionary findings that could greatly benefit my clan. While I could just take the information he has given me and have my clan reap all of the benefits, I don''t believe that would be the best course of action. Instead, I would like to take advantage of this opportunity and work together with you and your clan to foster a mutually beneficial relationship. I strongly believe that we could use this opportunity to create a friendship between the Uchiha and Senju. What do you think of this?" Toka was stunned. She did not realize just how much of an impact Nawaki would have with his research. She knew some general bits about his work but did not know that it had so much potential. As she thought about the opportunity that lay before her, she could just imagine her father rolling in his grave with excitement. She saw only one logical decision. Toka then said, "I hate to be so straightforward, but what will the Senju gain from this relationship?" Shunsui sighed. He then said, "Depending on how beneficial the research is, I am willing to have any ninja from your clan trained in the Uchiha''s exclusive techniques. We would also supply a steady stream of data and patients for Nawaki to use in his research. Does this sound fair?" Toka didn''t even have to think. It was as if she was being handed a blank check. Without hesitation, she said, "That sounds quite reasonable. I look forward to a prosperous relationship between our clans." Shunsui smiled and then said, "Great. Now if you would please allow me and Nawaki to discuss something in private." Toka nodded and excused herself. Once Toka had left, Nawaki turned to Shunsui and asked, "So what did you want to talk about?" Shunsui looked at Nawaki and activated his sharingan. As the tomoes appeared, they kept rotating and formed into a pinwheel pattern. This was his mangekyo sharingan. Shunsui then said, "As you said earlier, long term usage of the mangekyo sharingan results in the user going blind. I have been slowly losing sight for a while now and I am afraid that I will go blind in the near future. Do you think that you would be able to take a look?" Nawaki nodded and said, "I''ll see what I can do. Please just give me a minute." Nawaki closed his eyes and entered the lotus position. He started rapidly absorbing natural energy. Olive colored markings began to materialize on his face as he entered sage mode. When he opened his eyes, they were now yellow. He set his gaze upon Shunsui and felt the flow of chakra through his body. He observed the erratic and unstable flow of energy through Shunsui''s optical system. Nawaki then said, "May I?" Shunsui nodded and allowed Nawaki to examine him. Nawaki pressed his thumb up against the Uchiha''s upper nose and placed his index finger on his temple. He replicated this with his other hand. Nawaki was able to feel the violent flow of chakra with the mangekyo active. He felt a lot of chakra being lost as it moved to his eyes. Nawaki then went to work. Extending his natural energy, he slowed and stabilized the flow of chakra in his optical system. He then circulated natural energy through these chakra pathways to repair and reinforce them. After a few minutes, he relinquished his control of Shunsui''s chakra flow. Slowly, the flow sped back up but it was different this time. It was much more stable and there was very little chakra wasted as it moved to the eyes. From Shunsui''s point of view, he felt Nawaki place two fingers on each side of his face. Then he felt a warm and powerful energy extend into his head as it forcefully dictated his chakra flow. As the flow calmed down, he felt his vision fade. Once the flow slowed, he suddenly felt the foreign energy flowing quickly through his eyes and he was able to see like he never had before. After a few minutes, he felt the energy recede as his own chakra flowed back in to replace it. He was shocked, it felt as if it took little to no effort at all to keep his eyes active. He was able to see even better than he used to. Shunsui then asked, "What did you do?" Nawaki smiled and said, "I used natural energy to repair and reinforce the chakra pathways in your optical system. I repaired the damage that was done. However, this will not prevent the damage from recurring. I recommend using the same training method as Fugaku. Keeping your eyes active at all times will strengthen the chakra pathways." Shunsui could only say, "Thank you. I was hoping you could help but I was not expecting my vision to be completely fixed. You are truly special. I trust that you and Fugaku will make exceptional clan heads in the future. I look forward to the prospect of you two working together. Let''s head back inside and join the others." Nawaki and Shunsui headed back inside and joined the others. When Nawaki sat back down, Fugaku turned to him and said, "Mikoto was just telling me about how her jonin sensei is a kenjutsu master. Maybe you can ask him to train you." Nawaki''s eyes lit up. He had just received his grandfather''s sword but had no one to teach him how to use it. This was the opportunity he was waiting for. After another half an hour, the Senju family said their goodbyes and headed home. As they walked home, they all had the same thing on their minds. Thanks to Nawaki, tonight was a night that would change the course of history. As they walked, a notification popped up. *Title Acquired: Will of Fire* 16 The Butterfly Effec It was an unusually quiet morning on one side of Konoha. A young man walked through his house and sat down to enjoy the breakfast that was prepared for him. He ate quickly and went upstairs to stand on his balcony. As he stopped out, he stopped. He could only stare and admire the village that he has fought so hard for. While he was observing the village, a cloaked black figure appeared behind him and kneeled before saying, "Danzo sama, I have something to report." The man on the balcony was Shimura Danzo. He was the head of the Shimura clan, a close friend of Hiruzen, and the leader of a portion of the ANBU Black Ops known as Root. Without turning to his subordinate he said, "Well, get on with it." The cloaked man then said, "The Uchiha and Senju clan heads met last night for an unknown reason. Toka sama and her two children had dinner at the Uchiha estate. That is all I know at this time." Danzo was intrigued. Since he was taught by Tobirama, he inherited his lack of trust towards the Uchiha clan. He would prefer them dead. It was no easy task but he was sure he could figure out a way to accomplish his goal over time. He then said, "Keep monitoring the situation. Report back to me when you know more. Something is happening and I want to know what it is. You are dismissed." The figure nodded before saying, "Yes Danzo sama." As he said this, he was gone. Meanwhile, Nawaki had just finished his breakfast. While he was eating, he was thinking about what had happened the previous night. He had noticed something when he entered sage mode. He could sense the presence of several people surrounding the Uchiha estate. It was as if they were keeping tabs on the clan head. Nawaki decided that he should inform Shunsui of this and give him some advice to improve the clan''s reputation. As he made his way over to the Uchiha estate, he sensed someone tailing him. He kept moving to pretend that he didn''t notice. He noticed a dango shop and entered. He bought a stick of dango but the real purpose of entering the shop was for the other thing he did. He created a wood clone and had it exit the shop while he sat down inside the shop and at his dango with his eyes closed. He sensed his clone continue towards the Uchiha estate. As it did, he also sensed the unknown person continue to follow him from the roofs above. Nawaki sighed. He had a feeling that he knew exactly who was following him. He didn''t know the identity of the person but he knew who they associated with. He slipped his free hand into his kunai pouch and pulled out one of his three pronged kunai with the flying raijin seal on it. He flipped it around his finger a few times as he stood up and exited the dango shop. Once outside, Nawaki closed his eyes and lightly gripped the kunai in his hand. He lowered the kunai to his left hip. In one fluid motion, he snapped his hand in a diagonal motion across his body and released the kunai that flew right over the roofs above. In a flash, he was gone. On the roof, a cloaked figure was tailing what he thought was Nawaki. In a flash, a blur appeared behind up. Nawaki''s real body had teleported to the kunai he threw and while still in the air he twisted his body and delivered a spinning kick to the back of the person''s head. Once he landed, Nawaki looked at the victim as he dismissed his wood clone. He immediately recognized the attire. He had just taken down one of Danzo''s root operatives. Nawaki sighed and placed his hand on the operatives shoulder. In a flash he was gone with the unconscious body. He reappeared in the hallway outside Hiruzen''s office. Nawaki knocked on the door and Hiruzen said, "Come in." Nawaki opened the door and dragged the body into the Hokage''s office. Hiruzen''s eyes widened as he noticed the body. He then said, "Is he dead?" Nawaki chuckled and said, "He''ll wish he was. This guy was tailing me as I was making my way through town earlier. I''ve sensed guys like him watching me and my family since he had dinner with Shunsui last night. What is going on? Does Danzo have anything to do with this?" Hiruzen raised his brow and asked, "What do you know about Danzo?" Nawaki then replied, "I know enough. Oji sama told me a bit about him. He hates the Uchiha and is involved in the ANBU. This guy isn''t one of your ANBU so that means he must be one of Danzo''s. You do realize giving that man power will come back to bite you in the ass right?" Hearing this, Hiruzen sighed before saying, "As you said, this guy you brought me is one of Danzo''s. He is part of Root. It seems you already know about them. Seems like I''ll need to have a talk with my old friend." Nawaki scoffed and then said, "That you do Hokage sama. And just so you know, my mother and Shunsui will be hearing about this. Don''t come crying to me when Danzo''s actions come back on you. Despite what he says, he only works for himself. He does not act in the interest of the village. I will be going now. I hope you can deal with this situation and prevent it from escalating." Hiruzen said nothing as Nawaki walked out of his office and closed the door. He knew this would spell trouble. Especially with the newfound friendship between the Uchiha and Senju. Hiruzen sighed and quickly wrote up a note. As he sealed it, be signaled and two ANBU emerged from the shadows. Hiruzen handed him the letter and said, "Tora, deliver this to Danzo immediately. I expect him to be in my office within the hour. Inu, deliver the Root operative to the interrogation unit. Make sure they check him for seals before doing anything. I want to know everything." Once Nawaki was in the hallway, he teleported back to the Senju estate. He entered the front door and navigated through his house to the study. Inside, he found his mother reading some intelligence reports. She turned to him and said, "What can I do for you Nawaki?" Nawaki sighed and said, "Would you please come with me? We need to go have a chat with our new friend." Toka raised her brow before saying, "Okay. This must be important if it can''t wait. Lead the way sweetie." Nawaki and Toka then accompanied each other across town. As they walked, Nawaki signaled to his mother. She saw it and understood that they were being tailed. Nawaki tilted his head towards the weapons store on his right and she nodded. They both entered. Similar to before, Nawaki created two wood clones and transformed one into his mother. Seeing this, she nodded. Nawaki made some hand signals to her. There were 3 root operatives observing them. Nawaki sat down on the floor and entered the lotus position. After about a minute, he entered sage mode. Toka smiled as she saw the marking form on his face. They looked exactly like her father''s. Nawaki had the two clones exit the shop with a bag of various items he purchased to keep up appearances. He observed that two of the operatives remained as the third followed the two clones. It seemed as if they had learned from their previous mistake. Nawaki sighed and created another two clones. He had them leave the shop. Yet again, just one of the operatives left to tail the clones. Nawaki smiled when he noticed this. It was time to put his plan into action. He walked up to the counter and purchased two masks and cloaks. He created one more wood clone of himself. Nawaki and his mother looked at each other and nodded. The clone and Toka put on the masks and cloaks and exited the shop. They pretended to look around and then they took off down the street. Once Nawaki sensed the last operative begin tailing the clone and his mother, he reached into his kunai pouch and removed another three pronged kunai. He then exited the shop. Closing his eyes he threw the kunai and disappeared in a flash. As the kunai flew past the operative, Nawaki appeared and knocked the man out with one hit to the head. His taijutsu was extremely lethal when in sage mode so he had to hold back. In a fluid motion, he grabbed the unconscious man''s collar, grabbed the kunai, and threw it again. Once again, he teleported to the kunai, knocked out the next operative and repeated. He had quickly incapacitated all three Root operatives and knelt down on the roof with the three bodies. He sighed, grabbed the three bodies, and teleported to the hallway outside Hiruzen''s office. Without knocking, he flung the door open. Hiruzen looked up from his paperwork with surprise. Nawaki shot him a glare. If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead on the spot. As soon as Nawaki dropped the bodies, he disappeared in a flash. Just like last time, Hiruzen signaled and 3 ANBU agents emerged from the shadows. Without having to say anything they picked up the bodies and transported them to the interrogation unit. Nawaki reappeared next to his mother. He had given Toka a necklace with a small charm on it. It was inscribed with the seals for the flying raijin. He did this so that he could always get to his mother if anything ever happened. He turned to her and said, "It''s done. You can remove the disguise." Toka removed the mask and cloak to reveal an angry face. A slight amount of killing intent leaked out but she took a deep breath and controlled herself. The aura dissipated. As she did, Nawaki''s wood clones returned and he reabsorbed them. He looked to Toka and said, "Here''s the plan. There were three tailing us. However, there are going to be more surrounding the Uchiha compound. I want you to approach the estate like nothing is wrong and greet Shunsui. Please inform him of what is about to happen. I''d give it about 30 seconds after you enter before I start dropping the bodies next to the two of you." Toka nodded and she turned to walk towards the Uchiha estate. Nawaki entered the shadows and erased his presence. Once she arrived at the Uchiha estate, she knocked and was greeted by a smiling Shunsui who said, "To what do I owe this pleasure Toka?" Toka looked to him with contempt and motioned that they should go inside. Shunsui frowned and led her inside. Once they entered the study Shunsui activated a set of seals on the walls to conceal the room. Toka sighed and then said, "I don''t know all the details but Nawaki is about to deliver some ANBU operatives to us." As she said this, there was a flash as a body dropped on the floor next to them. One by one, 15 bodies piled up next to them. Once the last one landed, Nawaki appeared next to his mother with the sage markings on his face and a disgusted expression. Shunsui then sighed and said, "Nawaki, please enlighten us." Nawaki then explained what was going on. He revealed how he sensed the operatives around the estate the previous night and how his family started to be observed after their dinner. Once Nawaki finished speaking a large amount of killing intent was released. Both Toka and Shunsui were furious. The two clan heads looked to each other before Toka said, "Let''s go pay Hiruzen a visit." As the three furiously walked towards the Hokage''s mansion, Nawaki thought to himself. ''Well shit, I''ve really done it now. Might as well throw almost everything I know out the window.'' Kensho then said, "Yeah, you just completely changed the course of history. I''m quite excited to see what happens." The three of them entered the building and blew past the front desk. They stormed right up to Hiruzen''s office. Without knocking, Shunsui slammed the door open as they walked in. The two men in the office were slightly startled as they turned to the door. Shunsui let his killing intent fly as he said, "Danzo, thanks for being here. You have spared me the effort of finding you myself." Hiruzen sighed as he prepared himself for the shit show that was about to take place. 17 Internal Strife Hiruzen, Danzo, Toka, and Shunsui sat down on the couches in the Hokage''s office. Nawaki stood between his mother and the Uchiha clan head. Hiruzen made a concerned face as if he knew why they were here but he asked anyways, "Shunsui, Toka, it is good to see the both of you. What can I do for you?" Shunsui and Toka both glared at Danzo. Toka gestured to Shunsui. He understood that she was signaling for him to open fire. He appreciated this since his clan was the one being scrutinized by Danzo. It was only because they had met the previous night that the Senjus were under surveillance as well. Shunsui turned to Hiruzen and said, "You know why we are here. We know the truth. You are letting that snake do whatever he wants. He has too much power and is a threat to village security. On behalf of both the Uchiha and Senju, I demand that action be taken. It is now clear to me why our clan has been shut out of the political scene and isolated in the police force. I hate to even consider what actions would have to be taken if changes aren''t made." Danzo scoffed and then Hiruzen said, "I see. What do you think should be done?" Danzo widened his eyes. This was the worst case scenario. The situation was rapidly getting out of control. The Uchiha must be stopped and he had dedicated his life to that purpose. Shunsui then said, "I demand that a meeting if all the clan heads be held. All of the shady behavior that Danzo has been involved in must be revealed to us. I believe that the abuse of his power is enough to have him stripped of all privileges and punished for his actions." Danzo felt like he was being pushed into a corner. He had to do something and fast. The only thing that came to mind was to kill everyone in the room and frame the Uchiha clan head. He scanned the room and decided that Hiruzen and Shunsui were the only threats. Unbeknownst to him this was a grave miscalculation. Danzo turned to Shunsui and stood up before saying, "It''s treason then." As he said this Shunsui activated his mangekyo sharingan. Danzo started blurring through hand signs. However, before he could even finish, Nawaki had flickered behind him and knocked him out in one strike to the back of the head. Hiruzen was awestruck. He snapped out of his confusion and signaled. Quickly several ANBU emerged from the shadows and detained Danzo. He then said, "Old friend, how far have you fallen. This is truly saddening. Shunsui, Toka, I will set up the meeting to occur later today. I apologize for these happenings and will find a way to reconcile." Everyone was curious. However, Nawaki was extremely happy on the inside. He had just eliminated the cause of almost all of the problems within Konoha before they could even happen. It was nothing short of a miracle. Later that day, all of the clan heads convened for a meeting. They were all surprised when they heard the news about Danzo. None of them saw it coming except for the Nara clan head of course. He had his suspicions but there wasn''t enough evidence to make any accusations. It was decided that Danzo had committed treason against Konoha and was executed. Following this, Root was dissolved and wiped from the face of the world. Hiruzen mourned his friend. It hurt him that Danzo would not even get a funeral due to his crimes. No one knew it but this day would completely change the course of history. Nothing would be the same. This became apparent immediately. After the meeting regarding Danzo, Nawaki approached Shunsui and offered some advice on how be could improve his clans standing in the village. They had the strength but needed the reputation. Nawaki suggested that they stop having the majority of their ninja join the police force and instead go on regular missions. This would help the civilians start to like the Uchiha. Nawaki also suggested that he open up the police force to ninja that are not Uchiha clan members. This would make it so that the negative impression of law enforcement would be spread out. A few weeks went by and the changes started to show results. Many of the Uchiha left the police force. Several of the more talented members of the clan even became ANBU. In addition, many ninja from other clans joined the police force. The other clans jumped at the opportunity to assist with keeping peace within the village. As per the agreement between the Uchiha and Senju, many Senju clan members went and we''re trained in the Uchiha''s taijutsu and shuriken jutsu. Among the two clans members, many friendships began to develop. Nawaki and Minato were invited to join Fugaku in his training. They were taught by Shunsui himself. The future looked bright. There were even rumours that some marriages might occur between the two clans. About 4 months went by. They passed in the blink of an eye. Team Jiraiya was returning from a mission. They were dealing with rampaging wild animals that were damaging crops. After they turned in their mission report Jiraiya turned to them and said, "You guys are progressing quite well. I have decided to nominate you guys for the upcoming chunin exams." 18 The Calm Before the Storm The three genin were extremely excited. They knew that they were ready. It was about time they went to the next level. The trio decided to celebrate the good news by meeting back up for dinner that night. They all went home to inform their families of the good news. When they met at Yakiniku Q, Nawaki noticed that there were a few extra guests than he expected. Minato had brought Kushina with him. Apparently they had been hanging out a lot recently. Nawaki knew exactly what that meant and he was excited that he didn''t change that part of the timeline. On the other hand, Fugaku brought two people with him. Clutching his arm was Mikoto. They also get married in the future so at least Sasuke and Naruto are both guaranteed now. They are important to the future of this world. The other person was someone he didn''t recognize. The only thing he knew was that she was beautiful. The young Uchiha girl was perfect in every way. Her black hair was long and straight. It looked like fine silk. She had a cute face with soft features and the typical black Uchiha eyes. As Nawaki stood there in silence, Kensho said, "Oooooooh, somebody''s got a crush!" Hearing this, Nawaki blushed and Kensho laughed. Fugaku noticed Nawaki''s reaction and smirked before saying, "Allow me to introduce my sister, Sara." Sara smiled and said, "It''s nice to meet you all. I''ve heard many stories from Fugaku. It makes me happy that he has friends like you all." The group laughed and they went inside. Yakiniku Q was now their favorite spot. After the clan head meeting, the Akimichi clan head found out about Nawaki''s involvement in taking down Danzo. This, combined with his son Choza vouching for him made it so that Nawaki was a VIP and welcome guest. Fugaku nodded to Minato and he understood. All but Nawaki quickly took their seats leaving only one seat available. That seat was between Fugaku and Sara. He slowly took his seat. As he did this, Minato and Fugaku made eye contact and grinned. They knew what they had to do. They made it their mission to have Nawaki and Sara become friends. As they ate and conversed, Fugaku and Minato repeatedly manipulated the conversation to push it towards Nawaki and Sara. After about an hour, their job was done. The two were hitting it off. Once they all ate, Fugaku invited the group back to his house for some desert. They all accepted the invitation and headed there together. As they walked, the two couples separated. Before Nawaki could even realize what was happening, he found himself isolated with Sara. He sighed as he realized that he''d been set up. Kensho then teased him, "Come on lover boy, say something." Resolving himself, he turned to Sara and started talking to her. They learned a lot about each other. It turns out that Sara was a year older than Nawaki. She joined the police force when she graduated from the academy but was now a regular ninja just like him. She had already become a chunin so he asked her a lot about that. The rest of the night flew by and Nawaki found himself with a huge smile on his face as he laid in bed. He felt butterflies in his stomach and he knew that could only mean one thing. He didn''t really have much experience with this type of thing in his past life. After some careful thought, he decided that he would take his time with it. If it was meant to be, she would still be available once he was ready. He is only a kid after all so be had plenty of time. After a while, he went to sleep to prepare himself for what was to come. Over the next few days, be found out that all of his classmates would also be participating in the chunin exams. The next weekend, Nawaki was meditating on the Senju grounds. He was trying to figure out what he should focus on for his training today. Over the past few weeks, he had been progressing quite well in kenjutsu. Nawaki had managed to convince Sakumo to teach him. Thinking of that, he decided to work on his kenjutsu form for a few hours as some last minute training before the exam begins the next day. As he practiced his move set, a notification popped up. *Skill Leveled Up! Kenjutsu: Beginner \u003e Intermediate* Nawaki smiled and decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. During dinner, he bombarded his sister with questions about the exam. She only gave vague answers and said something about not wanting to ruin the experience. It was as if he blinked and he was sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast the next morning. The first test started in 3 hours. He was supposed to meet up with his teammates in front of the academy an hour before the start time. All of their paperwork was turned in and all they had to do was show up. Toka came into the kitchen and hugged him from behind before kissing him on the head. He blushed and said "Okaa San, stoooopppppp." Toka laughed and then said, "You''re going to do great. I have no doubts that you''ll become a chunin." Nawaki smiled. He knew he was strong. He was confident that his whole team has what it takes to become chunin. All they had to do was what they normally do: kick ass and take names. He thought back to what the chunin exams were like in the anime. He wondered what his test would be like and how it would compare to the ones he saw. He was eager to see how he compared to the genin from the other villages. There was only one way to find out. Nawaki said goodbye to his mother and went to pack up his supplies. He had plenty of special kunai, shuriken, ninja wire, paper bombs, food, and water. He kept some fresh meals in his inventory for quick access. He sealed his spare equipment into scrolls and put on his weapon pouches. Lastly, he shifted his focus over to his bed. He smiled as he picked up Hashirama''s sword and strapped it onto his back. He turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. He grasped the necklace that his sister had given him and smiled. It was finally sinking in that he really lived in the world of Naruto. This is his life now. Today would be just another test on his path to greatness. Nawaki darted out the door and quickly arrived in front of the academy to find Minato and Fugaku already waiting. As the trio made eye contact, they all grinned. Nawaki stepped forward and said, "You guys ready?" Fugaku and Minato both nodded before Nawaki said, "Then, let''s do this." 19 The Written Exam The trio navigated through the academy building and approached the classroom where they would be taking the first portion of the exam. As they came up to the room, Nawaki kept his sensing abilities active. He was trying to identify who he should look out for. Suddenly, he felt a huge presence approaching them. He stopped moving and turned to where it was coming from. He then saw a team of three genin from Sunagakure. The one on the left was tall. He wore a cloth on his head that covered half of his face. On the exposed half of his face there were two tattoos that came to a point under his eye. He wore white pants and a cream colored long sleeve shirt. The one on the right had short red hair and soft facial features. He wore a black shirt that resembled the Uchiha style three quarter sleeve and sand brown pants. The one in the middle had an intimidating presence. He had small eyes and sharp facial features. He had short, messy burgundy hair. He was dressed in a v neck three quarter sleeve shirt and pants. Both were black. The one in the middle noticed Nawaki looking at him. Before reacting, he observed. He sensed a powerful energy coming from him that reeked of strength. He then spoke up saying, "Hey you, what''s your name? While you''re at it, have your teammates introduce themselves." Nawaki grinned. This was just like the stand off between Gaara and Sasuke. He then said, "My name is Senju Nawaki." He motioned and his teammates said, "I''m Namikaze Minato," "and I''m Uchiha Fugaku." The Suna ninja was excited at the mention of the Uchiha and Senju. He knew their clans were legendary and he would be able to test their power first hand. He then said, "Nice to meet you guys. I am Rasa. My two teammates are Sasori and Baki. I''ll be looking forward to fighting you guys in the finals." Rasa and his team then walked past team Jiraiya and entered the classroom. Nawaki was star struck. He just met Sasori, the legendary puppeteer, Baki, a future elite Suna ninja, and Rasa, the fourth Kazekage and user of the magnet release. He grinned and was eager to see how he would compare to them. He never realized that being in Minato''s generation would allow him to grow up with all of these legendary ninja. This generation was truly special. Snapping out of his daze, he turned to his teammates and said, "Watch out for those guys. They are really strong." Minato and Fugaku nodded and the three of them entered the exam room. When he entered, he was amazed. On top of the three Suna ninja, he saw some other familiar faces. From Kirigakure, he saw Ao, future ANBU and aid to the Mizukage, Terumi Mei, future Mizukage, and Hoshigaki Kisame, who would become the tailless tailed beast. From Iwagakure, he only recognized Kitsuchi. Other than them, there was not really anyone else too noteworthy other than his classmates. The trio made their way over to an empty bench and sat down together. 15 minutes passed and it was time for the exam to start. The door opened and a man wearing the standard Konoha flak jacket lead a group of other Konoha chunin and jonin into the room. Aside from the leader, they all took their seats around the perimeter of the room. Standing at the front of the room, the man spoke up, "Welcome to the first stage of this iteration of the chunin exams. My name is Nara Shikaramu and I will be the proctor for this portion of the exam. This is a written exam. Each one of you will receive a test. Everyone on your team must answer at least 80% of the questions correctly or you will fail. You have 1 hour to complete the exam." He signaled to the supervisors and they began distributing the tests. Once all of the tests were handed out, he said, "Everyone must wait until time has run out. Then we will collect the tests and announce the passing teams. You may begin." Everyone began scrambling to answer the questions. Nawaki looked down and opened the test booklet. As he read the first question, he noticed it was very easy. He quickly scanned through the other questions. There were 50 in total and they got progressively harder. He knew there was some kind of trick to this test. He was trying to figure out what it was but came up with nothing. Nawaki decided that he needed to clear his head so that he could come up with a plan. He closed his eyes and began to meditate. He focused inward and then immediately noticed that something was off. His chakra flow was disturbed. He thought to himself and realized that he was in a genjutsu. He quickly stopped the flow of chakra in his body and then restarted it by flaring it. Now that he was out of the genjutsu, he opened his eyes. He realized that the test booklet in front of him was not a 50 question packet. Instead, it was one singular page with a line for his name. Below it was one question asking, "Would you like to pass the written exam?" Nawaki sighed as he noticed that he had not even written his name yet. He filled out the sheet and answered the question with a definitive YES before setting his pencil down. He looked up at the clock and noticed that not even 5 minutes had passed. Seeing this, he decided to look around. He saw his teammates had also released the genjutsu and filled out their sheet. Aside from them, he noticed that all of his classmates had also done so. It was the slowest hour of his life. He was somewhat disappointed that he didn''t even have anything to do. He started to doodle on the test paper. If he was asked what he drew, not even god would be able to answer the question. After a while, he started having a conversation with Kensho to pass the time. Finally, time was up. Shikaramu called out and said, "Time is up, pencils down." He smirked as he noticed that most of the genin were still in the genjutsu. He signaled to his assistants and they released the genjutsu. He then said, "Everyone look down at your papers. If your exam is blank, you have failed. You are dismissed. Better luck next time." After all of those people shuffled out of the room, Shikaramu said, "Those of you that remain, congratulations on passing the first portion of the chunin exams. I will now hand off the reigns to your next proctor." As he said this, the doors opened and none other than Koryu walked in. He quickly said, "Everyone follow me." As he said this, he held a stop watch in the air for everyone to see and started the clock. Everyone quickly left the room and followed him down to the academy courtyard. Once they all arrived, Koryu turned to the group and said, "My name is Uchiha Koryu. I will be the proctor for the second part of the exam. This exam will start 1 hour after the end of the first portion. It will take place at the 35th training grounds. Anyone who is not there at the starting time will be disqualified and be sent home. No fighting will be permitted between the teams during this time. You are¡­" As he went on with his explanation, Nawaki felt something was off. He had started the clock as soon as he came into the room to get us. Then he realized what was at play. Time was of the essence. He turned to Fugaku and Minato and signaled. They understood. The three of them flickered away and took off towards the exam site. Once they arrived at the exam site, Nawaki chuckled. Koryu was already there. Apparently the one that came to get them was a clone. After looking around, they noticed that only one other team was there. Seeing them he wasn''t surprised. It was the three Suna genin that they met before the first portion. Team Jiraiya walked over to them and made some small talk. As they talked, there was 10 minutes remaining until the start time. With 5 minutes to go, the other teams started to trickle in. At the start time, only a handful of teams remained. The Konoha teams included Team Tsunade with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Team Orochimaru with Hyuga Hiashi, Aburame Shibi, and Inuzuka Tsume, and lastly Team Sakumo with Hyuga Hizashi, Uchiha Mikoto, and Lee Itsuki. The others that made it were included Mei''s team and 2 other Kiri teams, 1 Kumo team, Kitsuchi''s team, 1 other team from Suna, and 2 teams from Uzushiogakure. In all, 13 teams or 39 genin made it to the second exam. Koryu noticed that it was now time to start the exam. He said, "The second portion of the exam will work like this. Each team will receive four tags. Throughout the training ground, some number of tags are hidden. Your task is to collect 10 tags and then reach the center tower as a team. There will be a time limit of 4 days or 96 hours. Once you enter the exam area, you will not be allowed to leave until the exam has concluded. Lastly, you are prohibited from using any type of seals to conceal the tags. Everyone who is ready, please step forward to sign one of these waivers and retrieve your team''s tags." Nawaki sighed. That last rule made it so that he could not keep the tags in his inventory. It seemed to function similar to a spatial seal to that was off limits. His team stepped forward and signed the waiver. Nawaki went to retrieve the tags and then returned to his team. He then said, "Let''s discuss our plan once we enter the exam area. I don''t want anyone to catch wind of our ideas." Fugaku and Minato nodded and they all remained silent. After about 20 minutes, all the genin were ready. Koryu then said, "Each of you will be guided by one of my assistants to a starting gate. Once everyone is in position, all of the gates will open and the time will start. Good luck everyone, you''ll be needing it." Nawaki and his team were escorted by one of the proctors to a gate. While they waited, Minato turned to the proctor and asked, "What did Koryu san mean when he said we''d be needing luck?" The proctor smirked and then said, "Since you guys are fellow Konoha ninja, I''ll tell you. The 35th training ground is also known as The Final Frontier. It is called that due to the amount of dense vegetation and dangerous beasts that live here. There are rumors that some of the species that live there are somewhat intelligent. I kinda feel bad that you guys had the luck to have this as an exam site. That Koryu really is cruel." Nawaki smiled and said, "I couldn''t have asked for a better exam site." He then sat down into the lotus position and gathered natural energy. He could feel that it was quite dense. It only took him about 20 seconds to enter sage mode. While it wasn''t as dense as the energy at Mount Myoboku, it would still be enough for him to maintain sage mode for the entirety of the 96 hours. Seeing this, his two teammates smiled. They gained a boat load of confidence that this was in the bag for them. Then out of nowhere, a countdown sounded out from a PA system. "5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Begin." As the countdown finished, the gate slowly opened. Once it was open, the trio took off to take on The Final Frontier. 20 The Final Frontier Team Jiraiya kept up a freakish pace. They sped through the forest. Fugaku led the charge monitoring their front side with his sharingan active. Through training, he now had three tomoes. In the middle was Minato. He used his sensor capabilities to watch their flanks and scanned back and forth with his eyes. In the back was Nawaki. He kept tabs on all of their surroundings and guarded their rear. As they ran, Nawaki could sense 5 teams within a 3 mile radius. Suddenly he could feel one of the teams getting closer. Upon focusing on their location, he immediately recognized their signatures. He was about to speak up to inform his team but it was too late. A huge wave of gold dust crashed towards them. Just in time, Nawaki and Minato threw their special kunai. Minato grabbed Fugaku and the three of them teleported to safety. Upon landing in a tree, their opponents revealed themselves. It was the Suna team made up of Rasa, Baki, and Sasori. In a classic standoff, the two teams started each other down waiting for the other to make a move. Out of nowhere, a golden fist flew towards the Konoha genin. Nawaki jumped towards it. With a single kick, the fist exploded and the dust fell to the ground. Rasa laughed and then said, "I am glad you have met my expectations. Honestly, you probably even exceed them. If your teammates are anywhere near as strong as you, neither of our teams would get out of this battle as a whole." Nawaki thought for a moment and then replied, "Then what do you suggest we do?" Rasa then replied, "Well there are 3 options. First, we could fight. That would probably result in both of our teams failing the exam. Second, we could just go our separate ways and pretend nothing happened. Lastly, we could cooperate. My team already had 6 tags. We could work together to take out two teams and we will probably find two more tags for you guys. What do you say?" Nawaki turned to Fugaku. He nodded to confirm that Rasa was not lying. Nawaki chuckled as he recalled the last time he had to make a choice with three options. He then said, "Option three sounds like it would be fun but I think it would be best if we just went our separate ways." Rasa sighed. He wanted to work with the opposing team to see their true strength. He was intrigued about the markings on Nawaki''s face and was eager to know more. He then said, "Very well then. See you soon." Rasa waved before him and his team took off. In the observation room, Hiruzen laughed after seeing the interaction between the Konoha and Suna genins. He thought that they made a sound decision. Once they left, Nawaki sighed and dropped down to sit on the branch. He turned to his teammates and said, "Well, that was interesting." The three of them laughed. After getting back into formation, they got moving again. Over the next hour, not much would happen. They found one tag. All they needed was to beat one team and find another tag on their way to the central tower. Nawaki scanned the area. 3 teams were nearby. Of those 3, one of them stood out as much stronger than the rest. As he tried to decide between the other two teams, he turned to Minato and said, "Pick a number. 1 or 2." Minato laughed. He knew exactly what Nawaki was doing. He then replied, "2." Nawaki then said, "Alright, then we head straight east from here. We should run into a team within 10 minutes." The trio made a sharp turn and headed in that direction. After about 8 minutes, they were nearly on top of the other team. They stopped in the trees above and waited. About a minute later, 3 Kumo ninja could be seen walking below them. Nawaki turned to his teammates with one of his kunai in hand. They turned to him and nodded to confirm that they understood the plan. The Kumo genin were quietly walking through the forest. They had yet to run into any other teams and or find any tags. However, there were still three and a half days left in the test. No problem. Suddenly two kunai zipped past them and landed in the dirt behind them. As they looked at the kunai, they heard a thump in front of them. They looked back to see a lone ninja before them. One of them then said, "Nice aim." The three kumo genin laughed. As they were laughing, there were two flashes behind them. Instantly, the three of them dropped to the ground. The lone ninja then complained, "Come onnn. I didn''t even get to have any fun." The three laughed, before Nawaki stood up revealing himself before saying, "Sorry Fugaku, those guys went down in a flash." Fugaku rolled his eyes at the pun as he bent down to retrieve the tags. He sighed and said, "Damn, these losers only had four. Guess we still need to find one more." After collecting their kunai and the tags, they took off once again. They decided that they would move straight towards the center tower and would hopefully find a tag on the way. If not, they would just set up an ambush and take them off someone else. As they traveled, Nawaki felt that the flow of energy was disturbed right ahead of them. He signaled for them to slow down. When they reached the location, they landed on the ground. Looking around, nothing really seemed amiss. However, Fugaku could see it clearly. With his sharingan, he saw through the simple genjutsu that was concealing the base of one of the trees. He walked up to it, dispelled the genjutsu and turned back to his team with a tag in hand. Seeing this, Minato smiled and said, "Well let''s get going then. It''ll probably be nice to relax for a bit while we wait for the test to end." The trio nodded to each other and took off for the central tower. Once they reached the central tower, 5 hours and 23 minute had passed. Not the best recorded time but still pretty good. As they looked around, Rasa''s team and Mei''s team had already made it. Without waiting around, the trio explored the central tower. After entering, they were given room keys. There was a floor of bedrooms that were prepared to accept the passing candidates. Aside from the sleeping arrangements, there was a dining hall, gym, hot spring, and lounge. It was pretty nice. The trio decided that they would do light sparring each day to keep active but for the most part, they would take it easy. The next 3 days would consist of eat, spar, bath, sleep, repeat. When the time limit was up, everyone was called down to a small indoor arena. Standing in the front of the room was Hiruzen. Beside him were the jonin sensei for each passing team. The teams that made it were Team Jiraiya, Team Tsunade, Team Orochimaru, Team Sakumo, Rasa''s team, and Mei''s team. Essentially, everyone that Nawaki expected would pass did. Once everyone had settled in, Hiruzen spoke up, "Congratulations on passing the second exam. Unfortunately, too many people remain. Thus, we will be forced to hold preliminaries to cut down your numbers. In addition, if anyone is unable to continue today, feel free to drop out. From here on out, it is an individual competition. That means that if you lose, nothing will happen to your teammates. If you wish to drop out, you may do so now." Two people raised their hands. They were Mikoto and Tsume. They both looked as if they had broken some bones. In addition, Tsume''s ninja hound was limping. After the two drop outs made their way to the stands, Hiruzen continued, "For those that remain, you will be matched up randomly. Once the fight begins, it will not end until one of you submits or is unable to continue. Technically, killing is allowed but we will intervene if we determine that a match is over. If you would all direct your attention to the screen behind me, the first matchup will be displayed." Everyone stared at the display in anticipation. The different matchups flashed through Nawaki''s head. He wondered who it would be fun to go up against. There were so many good options. He only knew one thing: he just had to battle Rasa in the finals. Finally, two names popped up on the screen. Seeing this, Hiruzen said, "The first match will be Namikaze Minato against Baki of the sand. Everyone else, please make your way up to the stands." Nawaki was excited. This would be a really good match. Between Minato''s speed and Baki''s strength, they would put on quite the show. Everyone shuffled up and into the stands. Jiraiya, Fugaku, and Nawaki sat together. Team Tsunade joined them. Looking down into the arena, Koryu stepped forward. He then said, "Hello, I will be in charge of these matches. I already introduced myself before the second portion so I''ll get right into it. Fighters, are you ready?" Both Baki and Minato nodded as they got into position. Koryu then said, "Ready¡­ fight!" 21 Trimming Down the Herd The first match of the preliminaries had just begun. As soon as the fight started, Minato fanned out several kunai in his hand and threw them around the area. He then took out several others. He fanned out all but one in his left hand and held the other in his right. Back in the woods, Baki saw Minato and Nawaki use these kunai but had yet to figure out their purpose. Deciding that he would test the waters, he reached into his pouch and pulled out a small metal cylinder that fit into the palm of his hand. It resembled the hand of a sword. He even held it like one. As if the two had reached an agreement, they charged towards each other. As they approached each other, Minato threw a few more kunai into the ground. When they came up to each other, Minato tried to slash him with the kunai. Suddenly, he felt something was off so he disappeared in a flash. He reappeared at one of the kunai on the ground. Upon further inspection, his suspicions were confirmed. He looked at Baki and said, "That is a very interesting use of wind chakra. I probably would have gone down in one hit if I wasn''t so fast." Baki smiled. He realized two things. First, he figured out that the purpose of the kunai were teleportation markers. Second, he now understood that this would be a challenging fight. He knew he could win but it would not be easy. He then said, "I have to compliment you as well. That is a clever use of kunai. Shall we continue?" The two looked to each other and grinned before nodding. They were having fun. Again, they charged at each other and Minato threw two more kunai, they zipped past Baki''s head. As they did, Minato suddenly stopped and jumped. As he entered the air, he spun and began to kick. Seeing this, Baki rushed him to take advantage of his immobility in the air. However, Minato appeared in a flash behind Baki and the seemingly random spinning kick connected with his back. He was knocked several feet forwards from being struck. As Baki landed, he coughed up some blood before standing up and wiping his face on his sleeve. Even thought Baki had figured out how the kunai worked, he couldn''t figure out how to counter it. Suddenly he weaved a few hand signs and said, "Futon: Toppa" (Breakthrough). The wind release jutsu covered a wide area and there was no place to take cover. Realizing this, Minato blurred through some hand signs and said, "Doton: Doryuheki" (Mud Wall). A wall of rock emerged from the ground just in time to shield him from the strong wind. The wall got chipped and cracked a bit from the insane amount of force. Behind the mud wall, Minato did another set of hand signs. He bit his thumb, smeared the blood on his hand and slammed it into the ground while saying, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Summoning). Suddenly, a huge puff of smoke emerged from the other side of the mud wall. When it cleared, a huge toad standing at about 12 feet tall was revealed. Minato was standing on top of it. The road was red in color with dark red markings covering his body. He had a large scar running through his left eye and had a pipe in his mouth. On his hip was a large katana. He looked up and said in a deep, raspy voice, "Well this is a nice change of pace. Usually it''s only that pervy sage that summons me." Hearing this, Minato laughed and replied, "Oh Gamabunta, you know he means well." The toad scoffed and replied, "Eh, we''ll see about that one. Anyways, what can I do for ya." Minato smirked and said, "It was getting a bit chilly in here. I was thinking about heating things up!" Gamabunta then said, "You are right, it is a bit cold. May I do the honors?" Minato jokingly bowed and said, "After you." Gamabunta''s stomach began to expand as he said, "Gamayudan" (Toad Oil Bomb). As oil exploded out of the toads mouth, Minato threw two kunai on either side of Baki before weaving through some signs and saying, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu" (Fireball). The fire ignited the oil and a huge ball of fire shot towards Baki. Without thinking, Baki quickly evaded the attack. However, the moment he cleared the attack, Minato''s kunai flew past him. As he saw the kunai, he knew the match was over. In a flash, Minato teleported to the kunai, kicked Baki straight into the ground, and then landed on him with a kunai pressed to his neck. Accepting the loss, Baki said, "I give up." Minato released Baki from his hold and stood up. It was a good fight. Both fighters displayed some impressive abilities but Baki got outplayed. Minato offered his hand. See this, Baki smiled before saying, "I hope the day never comes where we have to meet on the battlefield." Minato smiled upon hearing this and replied, "I feel the same way. I really don''t like war." The two continued to chat as they walked over to the stands. Koryu then stepped up and said, "The winner of the first match is Minato. Now, let''s see who''s up next." Everyone turned their attention back to the display. The next names popped up on the screen. Seeing this, Koryu said, "Would Akimichi Choza and Hoshigaki Kisame please come down?" Nawaki sighed. Choza was definitely strong. There is no doubt about that. But Kisame is a monster in every sense of the word. He even looks like one. The only thing he was missing is Samehada. This one should be a wash. The two fighters got into the arena and took their stance. Koryu called out and said, "Ready, fight!" As soon as he said that, Choza knew his one chance to win the fight was right now. He then slammed both palms together and yelled, "Nin po: Baika no Jutsu" (Body Expansion). Once he grew to full size, he towered at 16 feet tall. Without hesitation, he tucked into a ball and yelled, "Nin po: Nikudan Sensha" (Human Boulder). Spinning rapidly, he barreled towards Kisame at high speed. After colliding with him Choza released the expansion and looked back to see a splash of water on the floor. The Kisame he took out was a water clone. Suddenly, Kisame slowly rose out of a puddle on the ground near by. Getting into the infamous position with two fingers raised against his chest and the other hand straight above his head with two fingers also raised, he said, "Kirigakure no Jutsu" (Hidden Mist). The arena was shrouded in a thick fog obstructing everyone''s view. Kisame is an assassin. He may be displayed as a tank that could steam roll almost anyone, but his specialty is assassination. More specifically, the silent killing technique. He called out from the fog, "Tree hugger, I suggest you give up now. I don''t want to kill you by accident." Choza turned to his right where the voice came from. Then from behind him, "Last chance." Choza took a defensive stance and prepared for Kisame''s attack. After about a minute, the fog cleared to reveal Kisame holding a sword against his shoulder. He had one foot resting on Choza''s back and the other on the ground. Choza had been cut all over and seemed to be taken out with a blunt blow to the back of the head. The match was over as soon as it started. Koryu stepped forward and said, "The winner of the match is Kisame." As he said this a team of medics rushed into the field and carried Choza off to treat his injuries. Kisame also headed back to the stands to join his two teammates. Koryu continued, "Moving on to the next match¡­" Back to the display. Who would be next. Well turns out, the next few matches were pretty boring. Itsuki got bodied by Mei, Hizashi outclassed Ao, Hiashi dunked on Inoichi, and Shikaku got clapped by Rasa. After watching several iterations of one opponent wiping the floor with the other, another good finally presented itself. Koryu called out, "Uchiha Fugaku and Aburame Shibi please come down." This one would be very interesting. Despite it seeming that the Uchiha would win simply by using a fire style and deleting the bugs, this would be different. Shibi was the pride of the Aburame clan. He was a never seen before prodigy. The way he controls is insects is on another level. The two Konoha genin stood opposite each other. As the fight started, they looked to each other and nodded. Fugaku and Shibi walked up to each other, formed the unison sign, and then walked away. Hiruzen smiled when he saw this. It warmed his heart to see his ninja be so sportsmanlike. The two fighters returned to their positions and stood at the ready. Suddenly, Fugaku reached for his shoulder and plucked a bug off of it. He crushed it in his hand and scoffed at Shibi. Fugaku immediately started weaving hand signs before saying, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu" (Fireball). A huge fireball raged towards Shibi. As it approached him, he dissolved in a swarm of bugs and rematerialized off to the side. Seeing this, Fugaku charged in towards Shibi. In terms of taijutsu, Fugaku was worlds ahead of Shibi. He quickly took the advantage and was pushing Shibi back. Suddenly, a huge wave of insects rose behind Fugaku. As it crashed on him, he started weaving hand signs as he flickered to the side and shot off another fireball. The bugs were all burnt to a crisp. Shibi hesitated for a moment trying to process the great loss he just experienced. In that moment of hesitation, Fugaku got behind Shibi and held a kunai to his neck. The match was over. The two genin faced each other and formed the sign of reconciliation. As they walked back to the stands, Koryu said, "The winner of this match is Fugaku. Would the last two participants please come down." All that remained were Nawaki and Sasori. Both of them monsters in their own way. Most would be unlucky to be up against either of these two. It would be a clash of titans. The two genin eyed each other as they entered the arena. They stood at the ready. Sasori opened a scroll and placed it on the ground. Koryu then said, "Ready, fight!" Sasori performed a summoning using the scroll and revealed a humanoid puppet. Without hesitation, he sent it straight for Nawaki. With one punch, Nawaki shattered the puppet. The parts scattered all over the ground. Nawaki knew that Sasori was just testing him. He knew what Sasori was truly capable of. Sasori smiled. He was up for the challenge. Performing another summoning, he wielded two puppets. One male, and one female. These were the infamous mother and father puppets. Each pupped raised an arm and charged towards Nawaki. On closer inspection he noticed a poison coated strip of razor wire connected the two puppets. Nawaki unsheathed his sword. He swung downwards and cut the wire. It was an interesting sight. This small six year old swinging this huge long sword. The best part was that he made it look effortless. His sage mode made the sword feel as light as a feather. It was the perfect weapon for him. The puppets turned and revealed poison coated dagged sticking out from their wrists. They charged at Nawaki. Using his boosted strength and speed, he skillfully parried each and every strike the puppets made. After a few minutes of this, the puppets flew backwards and stood on either side of Nawaki. Their jaws hinged open. Nawaki knew what was about to happen. He quickly weaved some hand signs and said, "Mokuton: Mokujoheki" (Wood Dome). As soon as the dome formed around him, a barrage of poison coated senbon shot out of the two puppets. They continued firing for about 30 seconds and then stopped. One of the puppets then flipped its arm open to reveal a saw. It approached the wooden dome and started cutting into it. Wood chips flew everywhere as the dome was shredded. As the puppet was about to break through, the backside of the dome exploded and Nawaki came running out. Sasori looked at Nawaki and noticed that the markings from earlier had disappeared. Sasori then said, "It seems you are out of time. I guess that ability ran out. Time to end this." Nawaki smirked and then said, "You are right about one thing. This match is over." As he finished speaking, Sasori was pulled into the ground. Only his head remained above the surface as Nawaki emerged from the earth. He pulled out a kunai and held it to Sasori''s head. Sasori then said, "Well played. I give up." The match was now over. Nawaki reached down and pulled Sasori out of the ground. They shook hands and walked back up towards the stands. Koryu called out and then said, "The winner of the last match is Nawaki. Now, I''m going to hand it over to the proctor for the finals." In a swirl of leaves, a woman appeared. She said, "My name is Utatane Koharu. I will be overseeing the finals. They will work the same way as the preliminaries with one key difference. Killing is not allowed. There will be spectators there and that would just not look good. If you kill your opponent, you will be disqualified and barred from taking the chunin exams again. If everyone understands, I will now announce the tournament brackets. Going from left to right, Terumi Mei vs Rasa, Uchiha Fugaku vs Hyuga Hiashi, Hoshigaki Kisame vs Senju Nawaki, and Namikaze Minato vs Hyuga Hizashi. You all have one month to recover and prepare for the tournament. Representatives from the different lands will be present so be sure to put on a good show. You are dismissed until then." 22 The Finals Part 1 The month flew by. Everyone trained themselves to death. Minato went off with Jiraiya to train at Mount Myoboku. Fugaku trained with Shunsui in their clan''s training grounds. Nawaki focused primarily on his kenjutsu with the occasional help of Sakumo. Finally, the day had arrived. The arena was at capacity with every seat full. In the VIP box sat the Hokage, Mizukage, and Kazekage. Everyone was eager to see the matches. This time around, there were some truly exciting prospects. Once all the participants arrived, Koharu said to the group, "Welcome to the finals of the chunin exams. You all know what the deal is. Each of your kage is here as well as potential employers. Put on a good show for everyone. Follow me." She turned and led the group of genin out into the arena. When they reached the center, they all stood and faced the crowd. Hiruzen then stood up and said, "On behalf of Konohagakure, I would like to welcome you all to the chunin exam finals. After witnessing each of these candidates, I can guarantee that you are all in for quite the treat today. Without further adieu, I will hand it off to the person in charge of the finals." Koharu then spoke up saying, "Hello everyone. My name is Utatane Koharu. I am going to start by introducing each of the candidates. From Konohagakure, we have Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Fugaku, Senju Nawaki, Hyuga Hiashi, and Hyuga Hizashi. From Kirigakure, we have Terumi Mei and Hoshigaki Kisame. From Sunagakure, we have Rasa. This first match will be between Terumi Mei and Rasa. If all the other candidates would make their way up to the observation deck, then we can start." Everyone was excited for this first match. Rasa is quite well known. He is from the Kazekage clan. He also had a kekkei genkai called the magnet release. He manipulates gold dust to crush his enemies. On the other hand, Mei was not very well known. In fact, most of Kiri''s ninja were not too well known. They were a very secretive village and kept to themselves. However, everyone had found out that she also has a kekkei genkai called the lava release. This would truly be a battle of monsters. Once the arena had cleared aside from the two genin, Koharu said, "Ready, fight!" As the match started, Rasa surrounded himself with a vortex of gold dust. Seeing this, Mei weaved some hand signs and said, "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu" (Water Bullet). She fired a barrage of high speed balls of water into the vortex but none of them broke through. Mei sighed as she realised that she would have to get serious. With one hand by her chest and the other up in the air, she said, "Kirigakure no Jutsu" (Hidden Mist). The arena was covered by a dense fog. In response to this, Rasa formed his gold dust into a fan and swung it. The gust of wind blew the fog away but the trap had already been set. Through the fog cover, Mei used her lava release and covered the ground. Rasa was now stuck in place. Seeing that her plan worked, she started weaving hand signs to quickly finish off her opponent. She had one jutsu that she knew would finish this quickly but it required a lot of signs. While she was weaving hand signs, she suddenly couldn''t move. She looked down and saw gold dust starting to swallow her. It covered her entire body and left only her head exposed. Rasa compressed the ball a bit and Mei screamed out in pain. Her entire body was being crushed. She felt her bones about to break and she couldn''t breath. Mei then yelled out, "I submit!" Rasa then released her from the encasing and she fell down to the ground. She was bleeding all over and was in extreme pain. A team of medic ninja rushed onto the field and carried her off to receive treatment. After seeing the match, the Kazekage and Mizukage glared at each other. Hiruzen laughed and said, "That was a great match. Both genin were quite formidable. It was interesting to see them using their respective kekkei genkai." He had successfully diffused the situation as the two Kages turned their attention back to the ring. Koharu walked out and said, "The winner of the first match is Rasa. The next match will feature Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi." Of all the matches, this was the one that the Konoha civilians were most excited to see. It was a showdown of two legendary dojutsu. The Uchiha''s Sharingan vs the Hyuga''s Byakugan. Everyone wanted to see who would come out on top. The two genin took the stage and stood facing each other. The pressure was on. The pride of their respective clans was on the line. Whoever won would gain a huge boost of reputation for their clan. The two stood opposite each other and got into their stance. Koharu then called out, "Ready, fight!" Hiashi settled into the gentle fist stance. His palms were extended out in front of him and he activated his byakugan. Veins popped out of his face as his eyes went white. Fugaku quickly weaved some hand signs and said, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu" (Phoenix Flower). A barrage of fireballs flew through the air towards the Hyuga. Without breaking a sweat, Hiashi fell into a relaxed stance and said, "Hakkeshou Kaiten" (Revolving Heaven). A glowing blue dome formed around Hiashi. It blocked all of the fireballs. As Hiashi stopped rotating, Fugaku was right in front of him. They started a taijutsu brawl. Hiashi skillfully targeted Fugaku''s tenketsu. He jabbed at them in order to inhibit his chakra flow. Thanks to the sharingan, Fugaku parried and threw counters in response to each jab. In a similar fashion, Hiashi would deflect the strikes and continue his assault. To most people, the fight was mesmerizing. The blur of their fists and kicks moved like lightning. Upon close inspection, one could see that Fugaku was slowly gaining the advantage. He blocked more and more of Hiashi''s attacks and started to throw out more counters. Soon, he was forcing Hiashi backwards. After several minutes of exchanging blows, Hiashi suddenly froze. Fugaku had caught him in a visual genjutsu. Hiashi broke out of it in an instant but it was too late. Fugaku landed a kick to the side of his head and then held him to the ground before putting a kunai to his neck. Realizing he lost, Hiashi said, "I give up." Koharu stepped out on the field and said, "The winner of the second match is Fugaku. Up next, we have Senju Nawaki against Hoshigaki Kisame." Fugaku helped Hiashi up and supported him as they walked off the field. Rather than taking the stairs, Nawaki and Kisame jumped down into the arena and quickly got into position. As fellow swordsmen, they were eager to cross blades. As if they had come to an agreement, the both unsheathed their swords and assumed their stance. Koharu stood back and then said, "Ready, fight!" In a single leap, the two genin dashed towards each other. The loud sound of their swords clashing rang through the arena. From the first hit, Kisame could tell that he was overwhelmingly overpowered by Nawaki''s sage mode. He fell into a more defensive style. As Nawaki swung his huge sword, he made quick and precise slashes at his opponent. This was no problem for someone of Kisame''s caliber. He skillfully parried each and every strike with ease. He carefully observed his opponents movements to identify flaws in his form. Kisame noticed a pattern. Nawaki''s attacks came in threes. After every third swing, there was a brief opening. Without hesitating, Kisame capitalized and pounced on the opening. He thrusted at Nawaki with his sword. Just in time, Nawaki sidestepped the strike but it still left a deep cut in his side. Nawaki jumped backwards to create some space. With his sage body, the injury quickly healed. He and Kisame locked eyes. Nawaki then said, "How about we skip the BS and get serious." Kisame smirked and then said, "Mind if I even the playing field? I don''t want you to get bored." Nawki smiled and then replied, "Go ahead. Be my guest." Kisame inhaled a huge breath of air and then spit a huge amount of water all over his half of the field. He turned to Nawaki and said, "I''m ready." As he said this, they both blurred through a long set of hand signs. As they both finished, Nawaki said, "Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu" (Wood Dragon) and Kisame said "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu" (Water Dragon). Two gigantic dragons emerged from the earth and curled above their respective casters. Simultaneously, the two dragons sped towards each other and collided in the middle of the arena. The two dragons repeatedly crashed into each other and turned away only to attack each other again. After several minutes of this, the wooden dragon crashed through the water dragon and destroyed it. Just as this happened, the wooden dragon fell to the ground with all the damage it took. Kisame and Nawaki were staring each other down. They were having the time of their lives. They were both on the same page. With one final jutsu, they would try to take each other down. As they locked eyes, Kisame started weaving hand signs. He planned to use the rest of his chakra to take down Nawaki who was waiting for him to finish. Once he was done, he said, "Suiton: Senshokuko" (Thousand Hungry Sharks). Nawaki smiled. He knew this was the last showdown. He raised his hands into the air and then slammed them into the ground saying, "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Koutan" (Deep Forest Emergence). Two monstrous jutsu built up in front of the casters. From Kisame, a towering wave of sharks crashed forward. From Nawaki, a wild and dense forest exploded. The two jutsu crashed in the middle. There was a huge explosion as the sharks crashed into the forest. It took a whole minute for the struggle to end. Once the smoke cleared, the outcome was clear. Kisame had collapsed from exhaustion and Nawaki remained standing but was no longer in sage mode. Nawaki walked over to the collapsed Kisame and said, "Thank you Kisame. That was a lot of fun." He then stuck out his hand. Kisame smiled and took Nawaki''s hand as he said, "And I thought I was a monster. You remind me of the stories about Hashirama." Nawaki pulled Kisame to his feet and said, "Well he is my grandfather." Kisame laughed and said, "That makes sense. I look forward to facing you again in the future when we have both grown stronger." Nawaki smiled and said, "I look forward to it as well." They shook hands. Kisame then turned to Koharu and said, "Match is over. He wins." The two cheerily walked together back to the observation deck. Seeing this, Koharu came down and announced, "The winner of this match is Nawaki. For the last match of the quarter finals, we have Namikaze Minato up against Hyuga Hizashi." Hizashi walked down to the field. On the other hand, Minato threw one of his kunai into the ground and teleported to it. Upon seeing this, the crowd cheered. It was a super flashy jutsu and it looked so cool. Once the two genin were in position, Koharu said, "Ready, fight!" No one was ready for how fast this fight would end. Minato held his hand out and a blue swirl of chakra started condensing in his hand. Nawaki''s eyes lit up and immediately knew what it was. The legendary rasengan. No one else had ever seen this jutsu used before. It was brand new and developed by the yellow flash himself. Rasengan in one hand and kunai in the other, he charged towards Hizashi who did the same. As they approached each other, Minato threw the kunai. Hizashi easily dodged it as it flew by his head. As Hizashi was about to land a jab to block off one of Minato''s tenketsu, Minato teleported to the kunai. He twisted his body in the air and slammed the rasengan into Hizashi''s back. Minato had just displayed the Flying Raijin Second Step. With this one attack, Hizashi was out cold. Fortunately, the rasengan was pretty small so it was not lethal. The crowd roared. No one had ever seen anything like it. No one could believe their eyes. Some no name ninja just took down a Hyuga. On top of that, it wasn''t even a close victory. Minato had completely wiped the floor with Hizashi. After snapping out of her daze, Koharu jumped down and announced, "The winner of the final match of the quarter finals is Minato. We will take a 15 minute break and then resume the tournament with the semi finals." A team of medic ninja rushed onto the field and retrieved the Hyuga. Minato disappeared in a flash and teleported back up to the observation deck. As he arrived, Nawaki was waiting for him with a huge grin. Seeing this, Minato smiled and said, "What do you think? I invented two of those techniques myself. I still have a few things up my sleeve for you." Nawaki smirked and said, "Don''t think you''re so special Minato." Nawaki raised his hand and formed his own rasengan. Minato was confused. No one should be able to use that jutsu aside from him. After thinking for a moment, he was no longer surprised. Nawaki was a special kind of genius. With his sensory capabilities, he should easily be able to reverse engineer the technique. Minato then said, "I guess I''ll have to go all out to even have a chance against you." Nawaki laughed and said, "Don''t discount yourself Minato. I feel the same way. I''ll see you out there." The two of them nodded and went their separate ways. Nawaki knew he''d have to be really clever in this fight. He could not afford to lose. He wanted nothing more than to face Rasa. 23 The Finals Part 2 Jiraiya could not be more proud. All three of his students were in the semifinals. Nothing could make a sensei happier. His team had come so far and outclassed almost everyone else in the exams. The next match was going to be a hard one for Fugaku. He had to come up with a way to counter Rasa''s magnet release. He came up with an idea and decided that he would test it out. If it worked, he could have a chance at winning. If it failed, he would forfeit. Fugaku and Rasa took the field. They stood opposite each other. As they stared each other down, Koharu said, "Ready, fight!" Fugaku unsheathed a sword and charged at Rasa. Rasa didn''t move as he raised a wall of gold dust that he then pushed forward towards the Uchiha. Rasa was shocked at what happened next. Fugaku swung his blade through the gold dust and as he did, it collapsed. Fugaku had coated his sword in lightning chakra and demagnetized the gold dust. He had successfully negated Rasa''s ability. The two genin''s eyes met and suddenly, Rasa froze. Fugaku slowly walked up to Rasa and placed his blade against his neck before releasing the genjutsu. As he did, Rasa collapsed into a pile of gold dust. On the ground, gold dust gripped Fugaku''s feet and began to cover his body. At the same time, Rasa emerged from the dust on the ground and raised Fugaku into the air. Fugaku quickly called out saying, "I give up." A wise decision. He did not give Rasa a chance to hurt him like he did his previous opponent. The match was over. Rasa released Fugaku and then turned to return to the observation deck. Koharu then said, "The winner of the first semifinals match is Rasa. To determine who will face him in the finals, the next match will be between Nawaki and Minato!" At this announcement, the crowd roared. Aside from the fact that both of them were Konoha ninja, both of them had put on a great show so far. Their jutsu were flashy and impressive. Everyone was excited to see what would happen. On the observation deck, Nawaki and Minato looked to each other and smiled. They both took out a kunai and threw it down to the field. Simultaneously, they teleported to their respective kunai. Seeing this, the crowd cheered even louder. They did not even know that Nawaki could also use the teleportation technique. They would get to see not just one flash, but two. The two flashes turned to each other and Nawaki said, "No hard feelings." Minato nodded. Koharu then said, "Ready, fight!" Each of them took out several kunai and threw them into the ground around each other. What happened next was amazing. The two genin were moving so fast that no one could tell what was happening. As the two of them teleported around they continuously swung and parried kunai swings from the other. Occasionally one of them could be seen knocked to the ground but just as fast as they hit the ground, they would disappear again. This went on for a few minutes and the crowd was mesmerized. Suddenly they both stopped teleporting and Minato collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. He then said, "I give up." Nawaki walked over and healed Minato before helping him up. Koharu then said, "The winner of the last semifinals match is Nawaki." The crowd cheered. Their fight was truly amazing but Minato knew that Nawaki held back. He wasn''t even in sage mode and didn''t use his wood release either. Nonetheless, it was still a lot of fun. Minato was confident that no one else could come as close to his speed as Nawaki. As Minato walked off the field, Rasa made his way down to the field. Using his gold sand, he floated down and landed gracefully. He made quite the entrance. As he landed, the two genin locked eyes. This was the moment they had both been waiting for. Their fight would be nothing short of spectacular. Koharu then said, "It is time for the finals. In one corner, we have Rasa from Sunagakure. In the other corner, we have Senju Nawaki from Konohagakure. Keep your eyes peeled. This should be quite the show. Without further adieu, ready, fight!" Rasa knew that if he didn''t end this quickly, it would only get more challenging. With that, he sent a huge wage of gold dust crashing towards his opponent. Without thinking, Nawaki created a wood clone. The wood clone stepped forward and raised a wooden wall to block the gold dust. Nawaki stepped back and deployed a wood dome around him. Rasa thought he knew what Nawaki was up to. He quickly created a foothold of gold dust and raised himself into the air. He had to stay on the move as Nawaki''s clone continuously launched wooden projectiles at him. Suddenly, the wooden dome exploded as Nawaki emerged in sage mode. Rasa knew that this fight just got a whole lot harder. Nawaki recalled the clone to boost his energy. He would need everything to pull this technique off. It was something he did not practice much but he managed to pull it off after a few attempts. Nawaki blurred through a series of hand signs and slammed his hands into the ground as he said, "Mokuton: Mokujin no Jutsu" (Wood Golem). A towering golem rose from the ground. It stood at 20 feet tall and had a wood dragon wrapped around it''s torso. Seeing this, Hiruzen saw Hashirama''s image flash before his eyes. He was awestruck. Immediately, Nawaki piloted the golem and dragon into his attack. He relentlessly bombarded Rasa with physical strikes. Rasa was overwhelmed. He was truly being outclassed. This kid was a monster and he knew it. But for some reason, he wasn''t scared or nervous. Instead, he was thrilled. The rush of this battle was nothing like Rasa had ever felt before and he was high on it. He ascended up into the air to escape the reach of the golem. He then used a huge wave of gold dust to lock the golem in place. The gold slowly creeped up the golem''s body. He planned to capture Nawaki with this maneuver. The gold dust was almost at Nawaki''s feet. Rasa could taste his victory. Then suddenly, a huge wooden dragon exploded from the ground. It flew upwards towards Rasa at high speed. Rasa was unable to move his foothold due to the massive amount of effort he was putting into restraining the golem. Before he could react, the dragon grabbed Rasa and dragged him down to the ground. It slammed his body down and Rasa was out cold. The crowd went wild. The match was so close. Either of them could have won. The ending was so flashy and amazing that everyone was left stunned. Nawaki jumped off of the golem as it returned to the earth. He ran over and started to heal Rasa. As he was tending to Rasa''s wounds, Rasa woke up and asked, "Why are you healing me?" Nawaki smiled and said, "Isn''t that something friends would do for each other?" Rasa scoffed and said, "How could we be friends? We are from different villages." Nawaki then replied, "Are we at war? No, we are not. That means we don''t have to be enemies. During our fight, I felt like we really connected. I was able to feel what you were feeling. I once heard someone say that the strongest ninja can tell what each other are thinking when they exchange blows. I felt the same excitement and enjoyment that you felt. Plus, it couldn''t hurt if two future elites from different villages were friends. I think it would be beneficial." Rasa didn''t know what to say. He had never thought about it in this way. He felt his energy returning to him and as his injuries faded. He looked up to Nawaki and said, "Friends it is then." They both smiled and then laughed. Yet again, Nawaki would be changing the course of history with his impact on others. *Title Acquired: Diplomat* Koharu jumped down and announced, "I now present to you your winner, Nawaki of Konohagakure!" The crowd cheered as Nawaki helped Rasa to his feet. In the VIP box, the Kazekage turned to Hiruzen and said, "That is some boy you have there. His way of thinking is¡­ peculiar." Hiruzen smiled and said back, "I believe that boy has what it takes to bring peace to this world someday. I just hope I get to see it in my lifetime." With that, the chunin exams came to a close. A few days after the decision on who would be promoted to chunin was made. From other villages, all of Mei''s and Rasa''s teams were promoted. From Konoha, Minato, Nawaki, Fugaku, Shikaku, and Hiashi were promoted. They were summoned to the Hokage''s office and all received their flak jackets as well as a lengthy speech from Hiruzen on what it means to be a chunin. Team Jiraiya celebrated their promotion with an expensive dinner at Yakiniku Q. In the blink of an eye, two years passed. At the end of a group training exercise, Jiraiya informed his team that they were being assigned a mission and should meet outside the Hokage''s mansion the next morning. That night Nawaki was laying in bed and said, "Hey Kensho, show me my status." Kensho then popped up and said, "Coming right up." Age: 8 years, 5 months Height: 4'' 10" Weight: 61 lbs Chakra Levels: A Chakra Control: S Elemental Affinities: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind Bloodlines: Wood Release (Kekkei Genkai), Uzumaki Titles: Sage, Will of Fire, Diplomat Seeing this, Nawaki smiled and said, "Damn, I''m looking good! Pull up the perks list." Unique Perk: Insomniac Perk: Sage Mode (Mastery) - Able to enter sage mode at will and maintain it for a long period. Unique Perk: Sensor Boost Nawaki sighed. He has spent more than eight years in this world and has only found two sage tokens. He wondered when he would find another one. He had a feeling he would find one soon. He then said, "Alright, next is the skills list." Skill: Cooking (Mastery) - Allows the user to prepare foods to perfection. Skill: Stealth (Mastery) - Use of chakra control to hide one''s presence. Will falter against those with high sensing capabilities. Skill: Active Camouflage (Beginner) - Basic skill acquired from stealth mastery. Uses chakra to bend light and make the user effectively invisible. Skill: Maintenance (Advanced) - Allows the user to clean and maintain weapons. Skill: Passive Sensing (Mastery) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in small ranges. Skill: Active Sensing (Mastery) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in a larger range via chakra expenditure. Skill: Chakra Precision (Mastery) - Boosts the growth of chakra control to help reduce the amount of wasted chakra Skill: Fuinjutsu (Advanced) - Allows the user to quickly write kanji to form powerful seals. Also allows for the interpretation of other seals to learn how they work. Skill: Tracking (Advanced) - Allows the user to track a target over large distances. Skill: Japanese (Mastery) - User is completely proficient with the native language. Nawaki smiled and said, "I guess this is where I stand after two years. I''d say I''ve made some pretty good progress. What do you think Kensho?" Kensho replied, "Pretty good is an understatement. I don''t understand how you could be so humble." Nawaki laughed and said, "It is just who I am. I''ve always been like this. Anyways, goodnight." Kensho replied, "Goodnight Nawaki." The next morning, Team Jiraiya met outside the Hokage''s mansion. Jiraiya led the squad inside. When they went to the reception desk, they were informed that Hiruzen was waiting for them. They made their way up to his office and knocked. Hiruzen called out saying, "Come in." Hiruzen looked stressed. There was something on his mind. Something big. He turned to the team in front of him and said, "I have an extremely important and potentially dangerous mission that I want to send you guys on. It is at least A rank but could possibly be S rank depending on what happens. Can you handle it?" Jiraiya smiled and said, "Whatever it is, we can handle it. What does the mission entail?" Hiruzen sighed. He then said, "What I am about to tell you guys is an S rank secret. No one can find out about it. I have come across some intelligence suggesting that the other four great nations are plotting the destruction of Uzushiogakure. I need your team to deliver this intelligence to the Uzukage and get a response." 24 A Sea of Red Nawaki could not believe his ears. There was no way Hiruzen just said what he did. The Hiruzen that Nawaki knew had no balls. He would never make a play like this. Especially when there is war on the line. Nawaki then said, "So what does this mean? Are we going to save the Uzumakis?" Hiruzen sighed and said, "That is what I hope to do. The Uzumaki clan is a priceless ally for us. I know we have to do something but I don''t know what that is yet. I hope to explore those options with the Uzukage." Team Jiraiya understood the stakes of the mission. An entire village and clan was on the line. One mistake could result in the lives of thousands being lost. This had to be done with perfection. Hiruzen then said, "If you guys accept this mission, you will leave in one hour. I will personally deliver the scroll to you at the village gates to avoid complications. This mission needs to be done in utmost secrecy. No one can find out. Understood? If so, you are dismissed." Team Jiraiya stood tall and said, "Hai Hokage sama." The four of them flickered out of the office and rushed to gather supplies. They would need to prepare enough to be away from the village for more than a month. Aside from the looming stress that shrouded this mission, there was also excitement. The three chunin had never been to another hidden village before. They couldn''t wait. Nawaki and Minato went to the weapon smith that makes their kunai for them. They wanted to restock on their flying raijin kunai. Before making the order, the craftsman created the grips for the kunai so that they could inscribe the flying raijin seals. Their order was ready today. It was now 10 minutes before the meeting time. Thus, the two made their way over to the village gates after packing away their things. On their way, they met up with Fugaku and Jiraiya. Fugaku had his tanto strapped to his back Kakashi style and Jiraiya had his signature large scroll on his lower back. One they arrived, Hiruzen and a few ANBU were waiting for them. The four of them bowed before Hiruzen as he said, "This mission needs to be completed quickly. Head out immediately. Try to avoid situations where you need back up but contact the village if you need it. We will do our best to get help to you. Good luck." Team Jiraiya headed out of the village after retrieving the scroll. Once outside of Konoha, Uzushiogakure was a straight shot to the east from there. They traveled through the forest by foot. The journey would take 3 days. They were two days into their journey. After one more night, they would arrive in the morning. Nawaki was able to sense for miles around them because of all the dense forest. He was able to keep sage mode active for the whole journey. They repeatedly snaked their path to avoid bandit groups. There was no time to deal with them. As they crossed the border into the Land of Whirlpools, Nawaki sensed a small group of ninja waiting up ahead. He focused on their chakra signature. After some careful thought, he determined that they were suspicious. He knew what an Uzumaki''s chakra felt like and this was not that. He spoke up to his team, "There are some ninja up ahead. I don''t believe that they are friendly." The three nodded as they continued. Once they were close enough, they stopped. Jiraiya turned to Nawaki and they both nodded. After a few seconds, Nawaki said, "10 ninja, 3 jonin, 7 chunin." They all turned to each other and nodded. Minato then spoke up, "Can I handle this myself? I have been itching to try out a new technique." Fugaku scoffed and said, "As usual, keeping all the fun to yourself." The four of them laughed and then Jiraiya said, "Just this once I''ll allow it. We will keep an eye out to intervene if it is too much for you." Minato let on a toothy grin and said, "I''ll be off then!" He disappeared in a burst of speed. The 10 ninja lay in wait. 5 of them wore Kiri headbands and 5 word Kumo headbands. There seemed to be a certain amount of underlying distrust between them. Their mission was to keep tabs on travel to and from Uzushiogakure. Having been there for a few weeks, they were all bored with the lack of action. Out of nowhere, a kunai flew by and landed in the ground behind them. As they all turned to where it came from, several more kunai landed into the ground around them. They were now surrounded by kunai. The group tensed up as they spread their vision to cover all their angles. After a few moments, one of them spoke up saying, "Someone is toying with us." As he finished his statement, there was a series of flashes. With each one, a ninja dropped. Within 15 seconds, all 10 of them were dead. In another flash, a blond ninja stood over the bodies twirling a kunai around his finger. Three more ninja jumped down from the trees as he said, "Well, that was easier than I thought." One of the other ninja ran forward with an amazed face and said, "Minato! What was that?!?!" Minato chuckled and then said, "I call it the Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three." Upon hearing this, Team Jiraiya bursted into a fit of laughter as Minato''s face went red. Through the laughter, Fugaku said, "You really do suck at naming things." Minato pouted and said, "Well I think it sounds cool." After teasing Minato for a bit, they investigated the bodies. Jiraiya called his team over and said, "It seems the rumors are true. I''m sure that I don''t have to say it, but we should hurry. Let''s go." With that, the team took off. After a few hours, Nawaki sensed another team of ninja. He said, "Another group of ninja. I think these ones are Uzumakis. Let''s keep going." Soon enough, they were intercepted by the team of Uzushio ninja. Nothing was said but it seemed that they were expecting them. After about 10 minutes, they approached a clearing. It was truly a sight to behold. Before them, a sprawling valley with rolling hills of green grass stretched towards the coast. A large mountain range hugged the outer borders of the valley. From the mountains, a huge river snaked through the hills and dumped into the ocean. Looking out to the coast, there was a huge village. There were several high rise buildings that towered over the rest. A huge wall surrounded the village so not much other than the towers. The group arrived at the gates and sped through with no delays. They made a turn onto a wide road that resembled a city''s main street. A huge estate sat at the end of the road. It had a traditional Japanese construction. It was red on the sides with black roofing. Whirlpool symbols dotted the walls that surrounded the property. Once the group reached the building, all but one of the Uzushio ninja remained outside. The last one escorted Team Jiraiya through the building and led them to a large set of wooden doors. He knocked and an elderly voice called from inside, "You may enter." This appeared to be an office. There were countless scrolls that were neatly organized in bookshelves that covered the walls. At the other end of the room, a large wooden desk sat with papers scattered in various piles. Behind the desk sat an old man with white hair and a long beard. The Uzushio ninja bowed and Team Jiraiya followed suit. The Uzushio ninja then said, "Uzukage sama, these are the Konoha ninja that you were expecting." The Uzukage then nodded before saying, "Thanks, you are dismissed." The Uzushio ninja then left the room. The Uzukage then said, "Welcome to Uzushiogakure, my name is Uzumaki Ashina and I am the Uzukage." Jiraiya then stood up and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Uzukage sama. I am Jiraiya and these are my teammates Uchiha Fugaku, Namikaze Minato, and Senju Nawaki." Upon hearing this, Ashina smiled and said, "Ah Nawaki. Would you happen to be related to Uzumaki Mito?" Nawaki perked up when he heard this and said excitedly, "Yeah, she was my Obaa san." Ashina then smiled and said, "Then we are family. Mito was my cousin. It is great to finally meet you. She has told me a bit about you in her letters. It was tragic when I heard of her death." Nawaki was stunned. He then said, "So would that make us cousins?" Ashina laughed and said, "Something like that. We can talk about that later. There are more pressing matters at hand." Seeing his cue, Jiraiya took out the scroll and handed it over to Ashina. Ashina sat down and read through it before saying, "I don''t understand. We have always maintained a stance of neutrality. Why would we be targeted?" Jiraiya said nothing. He was not sure how to answer the question. Nawaki knew the answer but he felt guilty. He realized that this event was not supposed to happen yet. The third war should not take place for at least another 10 years. He felt responsible for speeding up the timeline but knew he had to do something. Nawaki then said, "If I may, I could try to explain." Jiraiya turned to Nawaki wearing a thankful expression. Ashina then said, "Go ahead. I''d like to hear what you have to say so speak freely." Nawaki then started, "While what you say about your village''s neutrality is true, the other villages do not see it that way. You appear to favor Konoha with the amount of business that is done. The many discounts and friendly relationships boosts our strength. The other villages see this as a threat. Tension is rising and there will without a doubt be a war. Sadly, this war is set to start quite soon. In order to gain an advantage in the coming conflict, the other villages have banded together in an effort to reduce Konoha''s strength through the elimination of your village and clan. Fortunately, Hokage sama has taken notice and has decided to take action with your permission of course." Ashina sighed and wore a large frown. He then said, "I never would have thought that it would come to this. From what I know, even with assistance from Konoha, we would not be able to hold off the combined might of four great nations." He then went into deep thought as he stroked his beard. He then looked up and said, "Please send word to your Hokage. I wish to meet with him as soon as possible. I would come to Konoha but there are many things I must attend to quickly with the looming threat. I request that he come here as soon as he can. It is unfortunate that we can not meet immediately but one can only travel so fast." Upon hearing this, Minato and Nawaki turned to each other and grinned. Seeing this, Ashina said, "What is so funny you two?" Nawaki turned to Ashina and said, "What if we told you that there was a way to have the meeting this afternoon?" Ashina raised his white bushy brow and said, "Continue." Nawaki chuckled and then said, "Minato and I have a teleportation technique that can theoretically be used over an infinite distance. The only drawback is that the amount of chakra used scales linearly with the distance." Ashina laughed and said, "I''m intrigued. How does this technique work?" Minato then stepped forward after taking out one of his kunai and handed it to Ashina. His eyes widened as he said, "This is quite the advanced seal. I have to say that I''m impressed. I''ll have to show you guys around our sealing archives at some point. You''ll be able to make good use of the knowledge there. Anyways, get to work. The sooner we can have this meeting the better." Nawaki turned to Minato and said, "I''ll do the honors. We don''t know how much chakra this will take so I''ll test it out." Minato nodded. Nawaki then looked for a good place in the office to meditate. As he looked around the office, he looked through a large window that spanned the wall behind the Uzukage''s desk. Out the window, one could see the bustling main street that ran through the village. They didn''t get a chance to look around when they sped through the village so Nawaki soaked in the sight. Under the high rise buildings, countless smaller structures lined the side of the road. They looked like smaller versions of the tower. They were made of the same concrete but were only a few stories tall. On ground level, canopies covered all types of shops and food stands. The flow of people was endless as they shuffled in and out of the businesses and down the streets. With most of the people being of the Uzumaki clan, it looked like a sea of red heads flowing chaotically. 25 The Fate of a People Nawaki sat down in front of the floor to ceiling window and entered the lotus position. Usually he wouldn''t have to meditate but due to him being in the middle of a city, there wasn''t enough energy for an instantaneous transformation. After about 30 seconds, the olive colored markings appeared on Nawaki''s face as he entered sage mode. Ashina''s eyes widened as he saw an image of his old friend Hashirama flash before him. He then said, "You remind me of my old friend. It is not surprising that you two are related." Nawaki smiled as he stood up with the yellow hue in his eyes. He took out one of his kunai and placed it down on the Uzukage''s desk. In a brown flash, Nawaki vanished. Back in Konoha, Hiruzen was having the most boring day of his life. Every time he would process one request, two more would replace it. The stack of paperwork was seemingly endless. He sighed and said, "I swear, this stack of paper could go to the moon and back and still have some leftover." Hiruzen had recently taken up smoking to cope with the stress of his day to day duties. He reached into a desk draw and removed his pipe. He packed it with tobacco leaves. He took a large breath as he ignited the leaves with his lighter. He sighed as he let out a cloud of smoke. Hiruzen missed being out in the field. Nowadays, the only excitement he gets is when someone knocks on his door unexpectedly. He would do anything for someone to do just that right now. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Hiruzen perked up with excitement but calmed himself before saying, "Come in." The door opened revealing none other than Nawaki panting from exhaustion. Hiruzen got concerned and quickly said, "What happened? Where are the others?" Nawaki lifted his hand and waved it in an effort to dispel Hiruzen''s concern. He then stumbled over and plopped down on the couch. Through his heavy breathing he said, "Just a moment¡­ need to breathe¡­" Hiruzen got up from his desk and poured a glass of water. He went over and handed it to Nawaki who finished it in one gulp. Hiruzen then sat down in a chair across from Nawaki and said, "Catch your breath and then tell me what is happening." After a few minutes of recuperating his energy, Nawaki said, "The Uzukage wishes to meet. I told him that I would see if you could meet today." Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief. He was concerned that their mission had gone wrong. In actuality, it was the opposite. It couldn''t have gone better. However, one question remained. Hiruzen then asked, "How did you get back here so quickly? The journey should have taken around 4 days." Nawaki smiled and just took out one of his kunai. Hiruzen nodded since he now understood. Hiruzen then said, "I will give you two hours to recover your energy. In the meantime, I will send word to the Uzukage and gather the necessary people." Nawaki nodded as he went to sleep. He would nap for a bit to recover his energy for the upcoming task. Once two hours had passed, Hiruzen returned to his office with a few people in tow. With him was Toka, Koharu, and Mitokado Homura. Toka was there to represent the clan heads. As a Senju, she was best suited to do so. Koharu and Homura were Hiruzen''s aides and most trusted advisors. As they entered the office, they laughed at what they saw. Nawaki was sleeping soundly on the couch just as he was left. Toka walked over to her son and bonked him on the head saying, "Wake up idiot." Nawaki flew into the air as he woke up and fell onto the floor. He stood up scratching the back of his head and said, "It''s time already?" He let out a cheeky smile and Hiruzen said, "Indeed it is. We are ready to go." Nawaki sighed through the tired expression on his face and said, "Alright, here goes nothing." He then sat down to prepare himself. In Uzushio, Ashina had just finished reading the letter that was sent by Hiruzen. As per Hiruzen''s request, he had a large pitcher of water with a full glass ready and waiting. In a brown flash, 5 people appeared in the office. As they did, Nawaki collapsed to the floor and passed out. Jiraiya rushed to Nawaki and carried him off to get some rest. Seeing this, Hiruzen quickly wrote up a letter and handed it to Koharu before saying, "Please send this back to Konoha. We will need an escort for our return journey." Koharu nodded before leaving the room. Ashina smiled and said, "Hokage dono, it has been a while." Hiruzen chuckled and then said, "Oh please Ashina, spare me the formalities. It is good to see you old friend." They walked up to each other and shook hands. They talked for several minutes and filled each other in on some recent occurrences in each other''s lives. They gladly avoided the issue at hand as they caught up. Hiruzen then said, "Once Koharu returns, shall we get this started?" Ashina nodded and said, "I''ll bring you all to the conference room." He led the group out of his office and down the hall. As they approached the conference room, Ashina turned to Hiruzen and said, "It is unfortunate that Nawaki chan can not join us. I''ve witnessed his insight and wisdom first hand. He could make some valuable contributions to this meeting." Hiruzen smiled and said, "That boy really is special. If he wakes up soon, he can join us." As if on cue, footsteps could be heard down the hall. Nawaki and Jiraiya rounded the corner. Toka smiled seeing that her son was okay and said, "How funny, we were just talking about you!" The group chuckled and then filed into the conference room. Once they were inside, Ashina''s advisors joined them and they sat around the table. The Konoha representatives sat on one side of the table and the Uzushio representatives sat on the opposite side. Jiraiya and Minato stood behind Hiruzen. At the request of Toka, Fugaku stood behind Toka to represent his clan. In addition, Ashina invited Nawaki to take a seat as well. Once everyone was settled, Ashina opened the discussion. He turned to his advisors and said, "Have you all been briefed on the situation?" They all nodded so he continued, "It truly is unfortunate that this meeting must take place. I am just glad that we have a chance to get out in front of this. Working together is the only way to devise a solution to this problem. I look forward to hearing what each of you has to say. Hiruzen, what is your take on this?" Hiruzen nodded and said, "Thank you Ashina. From the intelligence report, Suna, Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri are preparing for a joint operation to eliminate Uzushiogakure. This appears to be an effort to reduce the strength of the Land of Fire in anticipation of war. After some careful thought, it occurred to me that the Land of Fire is in part responsible for this situation. As such, we want to explore the various courses of action that can be taken to avoid the impending tragedy. That is all I have for now." Ashina sighed and said, "You are correct. Both the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Fire share the blame. I appreciate you reaching out. Now I will open this discussion up to the advisors. Before I do, I would like to say that the people present from my village include Hondere Toneri, the Civilian Council representative, and Uzumaki Akane, the Uzumaki clan head. That is all." Hiruzen then introduced his advisors. Ashina commented when he heard about Toka and informed her of their connection. After this, their discussion commenced. As the current jonin commander, Koharu said, "We must be careful in what we choose to do. As it stands, Konoha does not have the military strength to defend Uzushio from a combined assault from the other four great nations. Even with our combined strength, I doubt that we could hold them off. In addition, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would never approve of the forces that would be needed to even stand a chance. Due to this, confronting their assault is off the table." Everyone sighed but nodded in agreement. They all knew that the combined strength of four great nations was nothing to be trifled with. Ashina then spoke up and said, "It is unfortunate that you must go through the Daimyo for any major decisions. As the Uzukage, I also am the acting Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools. As such, I have the authority to approve any decisions made today. Since military action is off the table, does anyone have any ideas?" The room fell silent. Everyone was deep in thought but at the same time felt nervous to break the silence. Aside from trying to solve the problem, none of them wanted to be the first to make a suggestion. Through the silence, the tension in the room was slowly rising. Everyone was tensing up and none of them could come up with anything. A few minutes passed. To those in the room, it felt like hours. Having run out of patience, Kensho scoffed and said, "You goddamn idiot. I know you have an idea. I can hear your thoughts, remember? Stop being a dumbass and speak up. Ugh, why do I even need to tell you this. You have got to be a special kind of stupid if you didn''t realize why that old man invited you to sit at the table." Nawaki sighed as he listened to Kensho bitching in his head. He knew that Kensho was right so he broke the silence, "If I may¡­" As if an angel was coming down from the heavens, everyone turned to Nawaki. They all looked hopeless as the child was the only one in the room with the balls to speak up. Homura then said, "Boy, know your place. You do know who you''re speaking to, right?" Toka scoffed at hearing this. Hiruzen then shot Homura a glare before turning to Ashina and saying, "Ashina, do you mind?" Ashina laughed and said, "Of course I don''t mind. There was a reason that I wished for him to join us. I am eager to hear his thoughts. From what I have seen, his wisdom is too great for him to only be just a child." Nawaki nodded and stood up. He bowed and said, "Thank you. I know I am out of place and I apologize for that. Speaking before all of you is a great privilege." He raised his head and continued, "I just could not bear the silence any longer. On that note, I have an idea." All eyes in the room were on Nawaki. He felt the pressure but stood tall. He was thankful that he was used to working under pressure due to his medical training in his past life. Nawaki then continued, "As it stands, Uzushio is set to be attacked in the near future. Intelligence suggests that it will not happen in the next month. Aside from some reconnaissance squads, none of the villages have mobilized any notable forces. Thus, it is not safe to remain in this village. To this, I have two ideas for what we can do. The first one would involve relocating the village to somewhere else within the Land of Whirlpools. This would avoid the coming assault. However, the other nations would most likely do the same thing again and we would be back at square one." Everyone nodded in agreement so he continued, "The second idea would be a merge of sorts. Essentially, all of Uzushio would relocate to Konoha. On the surface, this would seem quite complicated. However, several factors greatly simplify the process. Firstly, the friendly relationship between our two villages would avoid most opposition on both sides. Secondly, the only clan in Uzushio is the Uzumaki clan. If the order comes down from their clan head, there will be no issues having them move. The last factor comes from the usage of seals. The Uzumaki clan is famous for their powerful and useful seals. They can potentially be used to store entire buildings. This would reduce the amount of construction time and expense necessary to accommodate the new residents. I wish I could say more but that was as far as I got." Nawaki scratched the back of his head as he finished. The two kage and their advisors looked as if a bomb was dropped on them. Hiruzen could only sigh. He could only imagine the literal mountain of paperwork that would come with the second option. Ashina was blown away. He had thought about both of those possibilities but did not have the audacity to say it out loud. Toneri (Civilian Council Representative) then said, "No way. Both of those ideas are ludacris. There has to be another way." Akane then scoffed and said, "Toneri, there is no other way. Unless you have any ideas, there is only one choice." Ashina nodded and said, "Thank you Nawaki. I am glad that I had you join us." He then turned to Hiruzen and continued, "I think that the most logical course of action is the merge. We will have to discuss the specifics but what are your thoughts?" Hiruzen sighed, "It will be a lot of work for me but I agree. Lucky for me, I do not need to seek approval from the Daimyo for this as this only concerns the village. I doubt that he would have any issues with it anyways. All that is left is to establish the conditions of the merge." After a few hours, the meeting concluded for the day. There was still much to be done so they would meet again the next day to finish up. Following the second meeting, the merge was finalized. The Uzumaki clan would move to Konoha in its entirety. They would be joining the Hyuga, Uchiha, Senju, Akimichi, and Aburame clans as a noble clan. As for the remaining Uzushio civilians, the Uzukage would announce the relocation of the village. They would not be forced to follow it but they would be made aware of the dangers of not doing so. A few days later, the escort team arrived from Konoha. Hiruzen and his two advisors left to return to the village. Toka stayed behind as a representative to help facilitate the move. Team Jiraiya also remained to support her. As such, the process began. 26 The Changing Leaves Autumn had arrived. The beautiful forests that surrounded Konoha exploded in vibrant colors. Various shades of red, orange, and yellow formed the tree canopy. In a similar fashion to the leaves, Konoha also gained a lot of red. It had been a week since the meeting between Uzushio and Konoha and the merge was progressing slowly. Four days after the meeting, the Uzumaki clan started to set up their new grounds. They employed an army of workers to clear the trees. Gradually, they unsealed their structures and prepared them for their clan''s arrival. Over the next few weeks, every available Konoha and Uzushio ninja was tasked with escorting the civilians as they made the journey between the two villages. Every few hours, a pool of red heads could be seen entering the village gates. In all, the process took the better part of a month. A few people remained in Uzushio but the majority had relocated to Konoha. Once everyone that was expected had made it to Konoha, Ashina retired. His last action as Uzukage was to eliminate the position and finalize the merge. Everyone was relieved that it was over. The morning after it was finally over, Nawaki woke up. It was a beautiful day. The Senju grounds were peaceful. Similar to the forests surrounding the village, the trees were glowing with vibrant colors. The wild animals scurried around gathering food for the coming winter. Nawaki slowly opened his eyes. He was woken up by the sun bleeding into his bedroom. He sat up in bed and stretched his arms. He had been home for a few days but he still could not be happier to sleep in his own bed. Nawaki rolled out of bed and stood up. He slowly walked over to the mirror and stood before it. He scanned his reflection. He smiled and flexed his arms while puffing out his chest. Kensho then said, "What in God''s name are you doing?" Nawaki laughed and said, "Just checking myself out. Am I not allowed to do that?" Kensho chuckled and then said, "You still look like a complete idiot." Nawaki and Kensho laughed together. Nawaki then put on a shirt and went to make breakfast. He made some eggs, toast, and tea. After eating his fill, he returned to his room to get ready for the day. He washed up, got dressed, and put on his ninja gear. Nawaki decided that he would go and visit Hiruzen. The Hokage was nowhere to be seen since the merge had picked up. Nawaki made his way through the village and arrived at Hiruzen''s office. He knocked and a defeated voice called out, "Come in." Nawaki opened the door and walked in. He did not see Hiruzen anywhere. He then said, "Hokage sama, where are you? I can''t see you." In a cartoon like fashion, Hiruzen peaked his head out from behind a tower of paperwork. Nawaki laughed and said, "You look awful. Have you done anything aside from paperwork?" Hiruzen sighed and said, "It has been THREE days since I''ve been home. I can''t do this shit anymore. Sign this, review that. I''m too young for this." Nawaki knew that this was probably happening. After hearing it himself, he decided to help. He then said, "Hokage sama, why do you have to do all of this work by yourself? I thought that the Hokage was supposed to lead the village and not a desk slave." Hiruzen sighed and said, "I know, I know. I agree with you on that too. I yearn for the days when I could go out on missions. I just don''t know what to do." Nawaki thought for a moment and then said, "Then why don''t you get some help? I doubt that every single document that you handle requires your attention. Get a secretary or have anything that can be handled without you go to the civilian council." Hiruzen scrunched his face in thought. He then said, "Hmmm, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks Nawaki. So what did you need me for?" Nawaki then said, "Well, ever since Obaa San passed, my team has not had anyone to learn fuinjutsu from. I was wondering if you could find someone to teach us." Hiruzen then smiled and said, "Well that is convenient. According to my schedule, a certain someone that would fulfill your needs will be here to meet with me. He should be here any minute." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Hiruzen then said, "Come in." The door opened and Ashina entered the room. Nawaki''s eyes lit up with excitement. Seeing his cousin, Ashina said, "Nawaki chan, it''s good to see you. I''ve been meaning to come by your home to visit Toka." Nawaki then said, "It''s good to see you too. Family is always welcome for a visit." He then looked to Hiruzen with pleading eyes. Hiruzen then turned to Ashina and said, "I have a request of you. Nawaki and his team are in need of a fuinjutsu instructor. Would you be willing to do it?" Ashina smiled and said, "It would be my pleasure. Retirement is quite boring so I would welcome some excitement in my life." Nawaki was very happy. He let on a huge smile and said, "Thank you so much Ashina sensei. I look forward to learning with you." He bowed and Ashina said, "We will start tomorrow afternoon. See you then." Nawaki replied, "Hai sensei." He then quickly ran out of the office. Seeing this, the two men laughed. Hiruzen then said, "Well, let''s get down to business, old friend." Nawaki flew through the Hokage mansion and exploded down the street. He ran as fast as he could towards the Uchiha quarters. He arrived at Fugaku''s house and told him the news. Fugaku was just as excited. The two then raced out of the house and went to tell Minato about the news. They rushed over to his house but he was not there. After talking to his mother, they found out that he was in town. Nawaki closed his eyes for a moment and scanned for Minato''s chakra. After about a minute, he found it. Minato was walking with someone. Nawaki focused on the chakra that was next to Minato. It felt massive and sinister. On closer inspection, he realized that there were two chakras in the same spot. Nawaki then thought to himself, ''Oh yeah, that must be Kushina. I''m probably feeling Kurama''s chakra.'' He then turned to Fugaku and said, "I found him. Follow me!" They took off and jumped across the buildings. Once they got close, the two stopped and watched. Minato was out with Kushina. The two stalkers turned to each other and grinned. Minato and Kushina were adorable together. They looked like they were meant for each other. As they walked, Kushina suddenly grabbed Minato''s arm and pulled him into the park. They ran and ran but stopped at a tree next to a lake. The two laid down under it and watched the clouds. It was a beautiful day. Large, white clouds floated through the sky occasionally covering the sun. There was a slight breeze that formed ripples on the water surface. The scene could only be described as complete tranquility. While the couple zoned out as they gazed upon the sky, Fugaku and Nawaki made their move. They covertly made their approach. As Minato''s best friends, it was their duty to mess with him. Noticing that the couple was distracted, Nawaki threw a kunai into the tree above them. Before it could make a noise by hitting the branch, he teleported himself and Fugaku into the tree as he caught the kunai. The two looked at each other and made an evil smile. Then, in the deepest voice he could muster up, he said, "WHO DARES LAY ON THE GROUND BENEATH ME?" Minato and Kushina both jumped in surprise. Minato then looked up and said, "Very funny guys." Nawaki and Fugaku jumped down from the tree laughing hysterically. They were satisfied with their shenanigans. An annoyed Minato then said, "What do you guys want?" Nawaki grinned and said, "I just wanted to tell you that we have a fuinjutsu teacher. We are starting tomorrow afternoon with Ashina sensei." Minato''s face lit up at the news. The three of them had been yearning to become fuinjutsu masters. This was the perfect opportunity. They decided to celebrate the news with a dinner at Yakiniku Q. Aside from the three of them, Kushina, Mikoto, and Sara joined the group. After they all ate, the three gentlemen accompanied their ladies home. When Nawaki and Sara arrived at her home, they said goodnight to each other. As Nawaki turned to leave, Sara rushed him and turned him around. As she did, she gave him a tight hug. It felt good. It felt natural. Nawaki blushed as he hugged her back. After releasing each other he said, "That was¡­ nice." Sara smiled as she looked around and said, "Yeah. See ya!" She then quickly went inside her house and closed the door. Nawaki was stunned. He was not expecting the hug but he could not say that he did not enjoy it. He then smiled as he turned and headed home. Nawaki got into bed that night but couldn''t sleep. Even though he doesn''t need to sleep, he still enjoys it. It is refreshing and is like a reset button on his mind. Rather than try to sleep, he decided that he would meditate and improve his chakra control. He tried to clear his head but he couldn''t. He was far too excited. The next day, he would resume his fuinjutsu training and he could not wait. 27 A Grim Forecas It was a cold morning in Konoha. A thick layer of snow covered the ground. It had been snowing for a few days now. Although it was coming down slowly, it had built up quite a lot. A young man woke up and sighed as he noticed that it was still snowing. Despite the sigh, he soaked in the scene. It was such a peaceful and pretty sight. In the courtyard outside his window, a lone tree towered over the ground. It was painted white with snow. The branches hung down under the weight of the snow. The hedges and other plants that lined the perimeter of the space were also buried. The man stood up and got out of bed. He walked over to grab a shirt but stopped at the mirror. He looked over his body. His body was built, but toned. His skin was smooth all over and had no body hair. A large scar stretched from his chest down to his midsection. Looking up, he stared into his face. Gazing upon his face, the red marks that were once on his cheeks were fading as they got closer to his overall skin color. He had fair, white skin and soft but defined facial features. His large brown eyes sparkled as they reflected the light. His hair had also grown out a bit. He reached for his dresser and grabbed a hair tie. Gathering his hair, he put it into a ponytail. Satisfied with the job, he walked over to the dresser and grabbed a soft, brown hoodie. He raised it over his head and pulled it over his head. After pushing his arms through the sleeves, he exited his room. The house was quiet. He closed his door and walked down the hall towards the kitchen. After grabbing some food from the fridge, he started cooking up his breakfast. As he was cooking, he heard a door open and close upstairs. He smiled knowing who it was. As he was finishing up, a teenage girl floated into the kitchen following the delicious smell. She then said, "Nawaki chan, I''ll never get tired of waking up to the smell of your cooking." Nawaki chuckled and said, "Must be nice. I''m just happy that you enjoy my food. Where is Okaa san?" Tsunade sighed and replied, "She probably left already. Everyone is busy these past few months with preparation. It takes a lot to organize it all." Nawaki sighed and said, "It really is unfortunate that it has come to this. Why can''t people just understand each other?" Tsunade then said, "You''re just like Jiraiya. He longs for peace and friendship. War is such a horrible thing. I just pray that not too many people die. Are you going to attend the briefing today?" After sipping his tea, Nawaki threw his head back and sighed. He then said, "Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that. I guess I''ll go if you''re going." Tsunade laughed and replied, "Okaa san will be there so we can say hi before it starts." Nawaki picked his head back up and said, "Yeah. She hasn''t been home much lately. Can''t blame her tho. Hey, on that note, I had an idea." Tsunade turned to her brother and said, "Hmmm. I always get nervous when you get ideas. I can never tell what is going to come out of your mouth." They both laughed and then she said, "Soooo. What is this idea?" Nawaki grinned and said, "Alright. With war, certain things are inevitable. A lot of people are gonna die. That got me to think about the reasons they die. Obviously, we can''t do anything about the people that are killed on the spot during battle. However, I was trying to think of a way to reduce the amount of deaths that result from complications due to their injuries. In the academy and since I have become a ninja, none of the medical training I have done was mandatory. I think that it''s kinda weird. What do you think, Onee san?" Tsunade thought about what he said. She realized that he was right. In addition to that, the amount of ninja with some form of medical training was very limited. She then said, "You''re right. I can''t believe I''ve never realized it. What should we do?" Nawaki smiled and said, "How convenient of you to ask. I think that the two of us are the perfect people to take action. We are considered two of the best medic ninja in the village so we have the credibility. I think that we should make a proposal at the meeting today. We can suggest that all ninja must undergo some basic first aid training. In addition, we should get as many people trained in medical ninjutsu as possible. I think you mentioned it once before. Every squad should have someone with medical training. However, I''ll go even further to say that every ninja should be able to stabilize a wounded ally." Tsunade smiled upon hearing this. She had been wrestling with this problem for a while now and she could finally see a potential solution. She then said, "I''m in. What do we have to do?" Nawaki nodded and said, "Glad to have you. Since you''re more experienced with handling the higher ups, it would be great if you could write and present the proposal. I will come up with the lesson plans for first aid and medical ninjutsu courses. Does that sound fine?" Tsunade stood up from her chair and said, "Yep, that sounds perfect. I''ll get started right away!" She jumped as she turned around and skipped down the hall. Kensho then scoffed and said, "I know this is important to her but it still surprised me how excited she got. How can a person have so much energy in the morning?" Nawaki laughed and said, "I haven''t got the slightest idea. You''re guess is as good as mine. She was so caught up in it that she didn''t even help me clean up." He sighed and then stood up. He made a hand sign and a wood clone separated from his body. Nawaki turned to his clone and said, "Can you clean up? I gotta go write up that lesson plan." The clone threw his head back and said, "Come on dude! Why is it always you that gets to do the fun stuff? I swear, I''m gonna go on strike one of these days." Hearing this, Nawaki laughed and said, "Well, I''m the one with Kensho. If you had him, I''d clean up myself. He is kinda important to double check the knowledge that we are pulling from our previous life." The clone let out an annoyed sigh and got to cleaning up the kitchen. Nawaki returned to his room and sat down at his desk. He picked up a pen and opened up an empty scroll. Without delay, he got right to it. There was no time to waste. The meeting was set to start at 3 in the afternoon and he approximated that it would take him 4 hours to finish the plans. At around 1pm, the plans were complete. For each one, there was an overview that listed everything that would be taught. The first aid course would be separated into 2 hour sessions over 4 days. The medical ninjutsu course would hold 4 hour sessions daily until missions related to the war start being issued. Satisfied with his work, he looked at the clock on the wall. He had over an hour before he had to leave. He decided that he would take a nap. As he got into bed, he said, "Humor me Kensho. Display the usual." Kensho appeared and said, "You got it." First, the status page popped up. Age: 13 years, 2 months Height: 5'' 4" Weight: 107 lbs Chakra Levels: S Chakra Control: SS Elemental Affinities: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning Bloodlines: Wood Release (Kekkei Genkai), Uzumaki Titles: Sage, Will of Fire, Diplomat, Fuinjutsu Master Seeing this, Nawaki smiled and said, "Hmmm. I thought that I''d be taller. If my growth keeps slowing at this rate, I''ll be a midget." Kensho laughed and said, "Well I know how tall you''ll get but I''ll keep that a surprise to you." Nawaki scoffed and said, "I really do hate you. Next." Unique Perk: Insomniac Perk: Sage Mode (Mastery) - Able to enter sage mode at will and maintain it for a long period. Unique Perk: Sensor Boost Unique Perk: Primal Tongue - Allows the user to communicate with animals. Nawaki recalled when he received the Primal Tongue perk. As usual, he was meditating on the Senju grounds. Suddenly, he heard a voice ask, "What are you doing?" He opened his eyes and looked around trying to find who said it. It spoke again saying, "I''m right here moron." Nawaki looked over and saw a bird hovering in front of him. It then said, "Are you deaf? I''m talking to you." Nawaki then asked, "Since when were you able to talk?" The bird scoffed and said, "I''ve always been able to talk. I''ve been trying to get your attention for as long as I can remember." Then the notification popped up and he sighed. It would be useful but annoying at the same time. Kensho then said, "That was hilarious. The look on your face was priceless." Nawaki sighed and said, "Next." Skill: Cooking (Mastery) - Allows the user to prepare foods to perfection. Skill: Stealth (Mastery) - Use of chakra control to hide one''s presence. Will falter against those with high sensing capabilities. Skill: Active Camouflage (Advanced) - Uses chakra to bend light rendering the user effectively invisible. Skill: Maintenance (Mastery) - Allows the user to clean and maintain weapons. Skill: Passive Sensing (Mastery) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in small ranges. Skill: Active Sensing (Mastery) - Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in a larger range via chakra expenditure. Skill: Chakra Precision (Mastery) - Boosts the growth of chakra control to help reduce the amount of wasted chakra Skill: Fuinjutsu (Mastery) - Wide arsenal of seals known. Able to create them almost instantaneously. Allows the user to research and develop new seals Skill: Tracking (Mastery) - Allows the user to track a target over large distances. Skill: Japanese (Mastery) - User is completely proficient with the native language. Skill: Medical Ninjutsu (Mastery) - User can heal most injuries. Skill: Kenjutsu (Mastery) - Complete proficiency with various sword styles. Allows the user to create their own style. Nawaki smiled and said, "Well, I got my work cut out for me when I have some free time." Kensho then interrupted and said, "I suggest that you get ready. You have to leave soon." Nawaki looked over at the clock and said, "Ah shit, I didn''t even get to take a nap." He got up and got dressed. Since he was a bit older, his style has changed. He pulled on fitted black pants that cut off at his ankle. Next, he removed his hoodie and put on a chainmail mesh undershirt. Over that, he put on a loose fitting gray t-shirt. Then, he grabbed his flak jacket. He pulled it on and zipped it up. Lastly, he picked up his forehead protector and stretched it around his head. He replaced the headband with an elastic one after it was torn to shreds on a mission. Tsunade then called out, "Come on Nawaki, we''re gonna be late!" He smiled and said, "Coming!" He grabbed the scrolls from his desk and stuffed them into a pocket before running out of his room. The two siblings put on their sandals, grabbed cloaks to keep warm, and rushed out the door. It had been a year since Nawaki and his teammates were promoted to jonin. Since then, they have had to attend various meetings with the other jonin. They learned quite a bit about how the village worked. Usually, the meetings were held monthly. However, they occurred weekly now due to the impending conflict. Nawaki and Tsunade arrived at the Hokage mansion. Like everything else, it was covered with snow. The fencing, the grass, the ponds, the roofing, all of it. They made their way inside and headed over to the conference room. It was a huge space. It was easily the largest room in the building. It was filled with tables and chairs. At the front of the room, Hiruzen sat with his advisors on each side. In the front few rows, all of the clan heads took their seats with the noble clans occupying the middle. Behind them sat most of the jonin in the village. The two siblings made their way to the front of the room and found Toka. Nawaki complained, "Okaa san, I haven''t seen you in days. I thought you left us." He sneered as he finished. Toka walked up and bonked him on the head, "Idiot. Like I''d ever leave you two. Now go take your seats, the meeting is about to start." Nawaki and Tsunade headed towards the back of the room and sat down together. After another minute, the meeting began. It was pretty boring. Nawaki almost dozed off a few times. All of the recent intelligence reports were presented and some speculation on the expected timeline took place. After a painfully slow hour crept by, Hiruzen stood up and said, "That is all for today. Before you are dismissed, I will open up the meeting to anything else that has yet to be discussed." Upon hearing this, Nawaki perked up and poked Tsunade to get her to stand up. She sighed and stood up saying, "Hokage sama, I would like to make a proposal." Everyone turned to her. They wondered what some teenager could possibly have to say. Hiruzen then said, "Alright, we are listening. Let''s hear it." Tsunade then went on to discuss the proposal. She hit on each of the key points. As she concluded she said, "Lastly, I have come up with 3 rules for medic ninja to abide by. First, no medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end. Secondly, no medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines. Lastly, no medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon. That concludes my proposal." Hiruzen thought for a moment and said, "That sounds like a good idea. Who would the instructors be?" Tsunade smiled and said, "Nawaki and I will spearhead the effort. We plan to ask for assistance from the hospital so that we can get this training done as fast as possible." Hiruzen smiled and said, "That decides it then. I approve of your proposal." 28 Action is Coming A few months had passed. At this point, every active ninja had passed the first aid course and the medical ninjutsu course had ended. In addition, the first aid course and basic medical ninjutsu lessons were added to the academy curriculum. Between villages, tensions soared. Small skirmishes and border disputes became commonplace. Everyone was on edge as the war approached. Hiruzen had made a few attempts to contact the other Kage. He hoped to find a way to avoid the war. Unfortunately, he never even received a response. Sitting at his desk, he was torn. On one hand, he was somewhat relaxed. Using Nawaki''s suggestion, he distributed the paperwork responsibilities and only handled the important stuff. On the other hand, he was stressed to no end. Many would die in the upcoming war and he did not want to accept it. Someone knocked on the door. He said, "Come in." Koharu entered the room and said, "Hiruzen, I have just received a scouting report from our teams in the Land of Grass. Iwa has started to mobilize their troops. It appears the war will begin soon. I will inform you when I find out more." Hiruzen sighed and said, "Thank you. Send out a summoning to convene the war council. The meeting will start in 1 hour. You are dismissed." Koharu nodded and said, "Hai, Hokage sama." An hour went by and all of the officials filed into the conference room. All of the major clan heads, Hiruzen, his advisors, some division heads, and some high ranking jonin were present. It was time to get started. Hiruzen stood up and said, "I am going to assume that you all read the small briefing that was included in your summon. With that, let''s begin. In the coming war, it appears that there will be 4 fronts. Our goal is to keep our defensive line from being pushed back into our borders. Our first order of business will be to allocate our forces between these fronts and establish the chain of command." The meeting went on for a few hours as they ironed out most of the details. With the added forces of the Uzumaki clan, Konoha would not be as thinly spread as they would have been. In addition, they gained a large amount of sensor types and medic ninja as well. One other important topic that they discussed was that every mission from then on would require a team to have at least one person with medical training. It was a quiet afternoon in Konoha. Despite everyone being busy, there was not too much noise. A young jonin sat in the lotus position on top of a blanket. He was in a small clearing inside a park on the outer edges of the village. The ground was covered in a thin coating of snow. On the ground around him, several foxes relaxed as they basked in the comforting and warm energy that convened on that spot. One of the foxes picked up its head and said, "It''s amazing how it is so cold but just laying next to you keeps me warm." Nawaki opened his eyes and turned to the fox saying, "Natural energy really is something special. I don''t think I''ll ever get over how peaceful it makes me feel." The fox laid its head back down and said, "My mom once told me stories about special humans that are one with natural energy. I always had my doubts but after meeting you, everything she said appeared to be true." Nawaki chuckled and said, "I don''t know if I''d call myself special for that reason. I would say that I''m special because I can talk to animals. How many humans have you met that can do that?" The fox snickered and said, "I believe you''re the first I''ve encountered at least." Nawaki had come to enjoy speaking with animals. He found it relaxing. It was an escape from all the depressing news that came each day. The wild life didn''t have a care in the world as they only worried about food and their children. He envied how lucky they are. Closing his eyes again, he stretched out his sensor capabilities. He then noticed that his mother was arriving home. He opened his eyes and knelt on the ground as he said, "Well, I''m gonna go home now. See you later!" He disappeared in a flash. Reappearing at the gates of the Senju estate, he stood up. He could have easily teleported to his room but he enjoyed taking in the scenery. Nawaki wanted to enjoy the privilege of stopping to smell the roses before it would be taken away from him. He strolled through the grounds. The snow covered ground, the small paw prints from animals, the icy trees, and the frozen ponds. They all emitted a sense of stillness and peace. It was truly relaxing. After his walk, Nawaki stepped onto the porch and entered through the front door. He called out, "Okaa san, I''m home!" Toka then said back, "How convenient. Join me for lunch, will you?" He smiled and trotted into the kitchen to join his mother. As he entered the kitchen, he noticed that she was taking out various ingredients to make a sandwich. Nawaki smiled and said, "Hey, go sit down. I''ll make the food." Toka stood back up and sighed saying, "You''re the sweetest." She turned to the counter and grabbed the tea pot that was heating on the stove. Bringing it over to the table, she sat down and poured two cups of tea. Nawaki got right to work. He grabbed a frying pan and some butter. After heating up the pan, he melted the butter in the pan before putting in four slices of bread. After browning each side of the bread slices, he melted a slice of cheese on two of the slices. As the cheese began to ooze, he scooped up the bread slices with a spatula and placed them on a cutting board. He ripped a few pieces of lettuce and placed it onto the cheese covered bread. Then he took a few slices of turkey and evenly spread it across the other pieces. In a fluid motion, he flipped the bread, lettuce, and cheese onto the turkey and finished the sandwich. He then grabbed a large knife and gently cut the sandwiches diagonally before placing them onto two places in a pac man like shape. Toka was drooling in anticipation as she smelled the gourmet sandwich that was placed in front of her. Without waiting for Nawaki to sit down, she dug right in. The first bite was magical. It had been too long since she was able to enjoy her son''s cooking. The rich buttered toast, the melted cheese, the crunch of the lettuce, and the cool feeling of the cold turkey slices blended together as she savored the meal. Nawaki pouted and said, "Okaa san! I didn''t even sit down yet!" Toka laughed almost choking on the huge bite she took and said, "I''m sorry honey, it just smelled so good. I couldn''t resist!" They laughed again as he sat down and started to eat. Since it was so delicious, they finished their sandwiches quickly. As they sipped their tea, Nawaki noticed a troubled look on his mother''s face. He frowned and said, "What is on your mind?" Toka sighed and stayed silent for a moment. Then she said, "The war is about to start. I don''t want to believe that you are going to be sent into battle. I wished that you would never have to go through the horrors of war." Nawaki put his head back and thought for a moment. He then looked back at his mom and said, "You don''t have to worry Okaa san. I am strong. And when I can''t protect myself, I have my friends to rely on. They''ll always have my back." Toka''s expression lightened a bit. She then said, "I can''t say that you are wrong. I am still your mother so it is my job to worry about you." Nawaki blushed and said, "Okaa san. I''ll be fine. Anyways, is there anything you can tell me?" Toka sighed and said, "I was told that the clans will be deployed together for the most part to simplify the chain of command. I want to recommend that our clan is deployed to the Iwa front. What do you think about that?" Nawaki shook his head and said, "Nope. I won''t be able to be at full power if I fight against Iwa. There is not as much forestry there. I would be much more helpful if I was able to fight in a dense forest or jungle. Would it be okay for me to go to the Kumo front? I''ve been looking at some maps lately and there are a lot of dense forests and jungles in the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Bears." Toka smiled at this and said, "That sounds like a good idea. I''ll try to make it happen. I presume that you''d want your team there as well?" Nawaki smiled and nodded his head. Suddenly he remembered something and shot out of his seat, "Crap, I almost forgot. I gotta go! See you later!" Toka just shook her head as he teleported out of the house. Soon after, Nawaki reappeared in front of Fugaku''s house and knocked on the door. Koryu opened the door and smiled saying, "Nawaki, it''s good to see you. Please, come inside and out of the cold." Nawaki bowed and said, "Thank you Koryu san." He then walked inside. Koryu called out and said, "Sara! Nawaki is here!" She then called back saying, "Okay, coming!" He then turned back to Nawaki and said, "I know what you''re up to boy. Remember, if anything happens to my daughter, you''ll be answering to me." He flashed his mangekyo sharingan and leaked out a bit of killing intent. Nawaki stumbled and said, "Hai, hai. Don''t worry. I would never do anything to hurt her." Koryu deactivated his eyes and smiled as he said, "Great, you two have fun then. Just not too much fun¡­" Koryu then turned and walked away. As he did, Sara came running down the hall and mauled Nawaki with a hug. She released him and then said, "So where to Nawaki kun?" Nawaki smiled and grabbed her in his arm as he teleported out of their house. The two reappeared in an open field covered in a thin layer of snow. The sun had just begun to peak through the clouds. The ground was glistening as the rays of light spread across the snow. The emerging sun had provided a slight warmth that overtook the cold winter air. Next to the two ninja, there was a blanket with a basket. Nawaki spun around with Sara in his arms and slowly sat her down onto the blanket. He then plopped down onto the other side of the blanket and opened the basket. He revealed two bento boxes and handed one over to Sara. She blushed as she took it from him before removing the lid. She revelled at the smell that rose out of the container. She turned to him and said, "I''ll never get over your cooking. Nothing else tastes the same." Nawaki smiled and said, "It is a pleasure to cook for you. I get so happy seeing your adorable smile as you enjoy it. Totally worth the effort." Sara blushed and turned away. Then Nawaki said, "Come on, eat up! It''s gonna get cold!" They laughed and dug in. Unbeknownst to them, this would be one of their last peaceful moments for a long time. 29 Heading Ou Four days passed and Konoha sent out the deployment orders. Those entire four days were dedicated to planning as the council allocated their manpower. For the Kumo front, Uchiha Koryu would be the commanding officer. Due to the dense forests and jungles, a lot of sensory capable ninja were assigned there. In addition, Nawaki, Minato, and Fugaku would be there as well. The primary location for these battles was expected to be the Land of Bears. At the Kiri front, Uzumaki Ashina would lead Konoha''s forces. He was chosen due to the expectation that the battles would take place in the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Waves. Various clans'' ninjas were selected to join him that could combat the use of water release jutsu and the hidden mist jutsu. On the Suna front, Hatake Sakumo was the commanding officer. His skills were needed to counter the elites of Suna. His forces consisted of many Uchiha and Sarutobi clan members due to fire release being effective against wind release. Their battles were predicted to happen in the Land of Rivers. Lastly, the Iwa front was led by Sarutobi Biwako. She was joined by most of the Senju clan as well as Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. Most of their battles were expected to take place in the Land of Rain. For the entirety of the war, the clan heads would remain in the village unless dire circumstances arose. The same went for the Hokage and a few other high ranking jonin. After receiving their orders, all of the forces that were being deployed had to depart the next morning. It was crucial to quickly set up the defensive and offensive lines in advantageous positions. There was also the matter of constructing forts and temporary housing for the army. It was the last night that many families would be together for god only knows how long. The village was silent as everyone spent the last moments they could with their loved ones. No one was guaranteed to come back so there were countless heartfelt goodbyes. In the Senju estate, Toka and her two children sat down to enjoy one final meal as a family. Toka turned to her children and said, "You two need to promise to not do anything reckless. If either of you die out there, I''ll kill you." Tsunade and Nawaki laughed. Tsunade then said, "Okaa san, you don''t have to worry. Firstly, Nawaki and I are both medical ninja. That means that a lot of the time, we will be treating the wounded. The other reason is that if anyone comes at us, we can kick their ass no matter who it is!" She threw a few punches in the air as she said it and they all laughed. Nawaki grinned and stood up. He flexed his arms and said, "Yeah mom. Kumo isn''t gonna know what hit them. I''m gonna be a legend!" His antics made his family laugh before they continued eating. As they finished, tears started to roll down Toka''s face. Seeing this, the two siblings made eye contact and nodded. They both got up and walked over to their mother. They wrapped their arms around her as they embraced each other in a group hug. Toka''s tears slowly stopped as she let on a smile. She lifted her head, placed a hand on the side of each of her children''s heads, and gave them each a long kiss on the head. Toka wrapped her arms around her two amazing children and just basked in the warmth and comfort that rolled off of them. She was in bliss. In this moment, she prayed to whatever was listening that she would be able to relive this moment again once the war concluded. After the moment ended, the three Senjus cleaned up and headed to bed. While Nawaki was sitting on his bed, there was a knock at his door. He said, "Come in." The door slowly opened revealing a worried Tsunade. She walked over and sat next to him on his bed. She turned to him and said, "I know that you''re not just gonna be sitting in the back lines treating the wounded. You know that too." Nawaki frowned. He wanted to avoid this topic. All he wished for was one last night where he wouldn''t have to worry about the war. As the thought of the battles that would come entered his mind, he recalled the first time he took someone''s life. Even though it was in defence of his comrades, he still dreaded the feeling it brought him. As he took the man''s last breath, he felt extreme guilt. In a flash, he thought of the family and friends he just took the man from. He thought of the limitless possibilities of all the good and bad that the man''s future could have held. In that instant, he made a vow. He promised to dedicate his life to finding the solution. To stop the senseless bloodshed. The endless cycle of hate that plagues this Shinobi world. He had found his ninja way, his purpose. He would stop at nothing to carry on his grandfather''s and his sensei''s legacy. Nawaki now wore a face riddled with sadness and fear. He took a deep breath, found his resolve and turned to Tsunade. He then said, "Onee chan, I have taken many lives throughout this short existence of mine. Each time I witness my enemy''s final breath, I am overcome with remorse. I feel for their family, their friends, their village. All those who lose a piece of themselves as that person departs the mortal plane. I have come to terms with the kill or be killed nature of this world." Tsunade was silent as he spoke. She was in awe from the wisdom her little brother was projecting. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let out the breath in a loud exhale and continued, "Through each life taken, my purpose, my ninja way is reinforced. I feel more and more responsibility to end this plague. This cycle of hate must stop and I have made it my life''s mission. I am willing to die for this cause. I am not afraid to fall in battle. For if I fall, my actions will nurture the growth of new leaves, new generations. In a way, my death would not be the end of me. My cause will be everlasting as the budding leaves go out into the world and continue my quest to find the way. That is my Will of Fire, my ninja way, and my sole purpose in this world." Tsunade broke down in tears as he finished speaking. The power that came from those words was overwhelming. Nawaki leaned over and hugged his sister saying, "Everything will be okay. You are strong. You just have to show it. Our clan will look to you as their leader. I know you can do it. I know that you''ll inspire unimaginable strength in your comrades. I love you." Tsunade continued to sob. Through her crying she uttered, "Thank you. I couldn''t have asked for a better brother." After a few minutes, her tears dried up and she said, "I''m okay now. Let''s get some sleep." She turned her head and gave Nawaki a kiss on the cheek. They released each other from the embrace. She then stood up and left the room saying, "Goodnight. Stay safe out there." Nawaki smiled and said, "You too Onee chan." She closed the door and headed to bed. As the door closed, Nawaki sighed and fell back onto his pillow. He could only imagine what horrors waited for him in the war. Kensho appeared and said, "You are ready Nawaki kun. Koryu will take good care of you out there. The best part is that you''ll be in your element. No one will be able to take you down in a battlefield filled with trees. We will be okay." Nawaki smiled and said, "Thank Kensho. You''ve been there for me the whole time I have been in this world. I wish I had a way to thank you." Kensho laughed and said, "Don''t you worry about that at all. You have kept me thoroughly entertained. Quite the show if you will. Anyways, get some sleep tonight. You won''t be able to get much for a long time." Nawaki closed his eyes and said, "Okay. Goodnight." The next morning was gloomy. A dense cloud cover held back the sun. The ground grew damp as a light rain fell from the heavens. The snow faded away as it was consumed by the rain. Stepping outside, the cold air bit at the skin as the rain poured down. That morning was a blur. Nawaki woke up to his mother kissing his forehead before heading out to oversee the deployment. Tsunade had left before he woke up. The ninja heading to the Iwa front headed out first so she had to join them. Hearing the front door close, Nawaki sighed. He sat up and turned, dropping his feet to the floor. Slowly standing up, he dragged his feet to the bathroom to enjoy one last shower. After turning on the water, he stood in front of the mirror. As it heated up, he gazed upon his reflection. He bent over, turned on the cold water in the sink, and washed his face. With reality sinking in, Nawaki stood back up and felt fully awake. He pulled off his pants and underwear and entered the shower. As he stood in the running water, motionless, he enjoyed the serenity. The relaxation that was brought on by the hot water flowing over his body. Nawaki finished his shower and dried off. After making his way back to his room, he went over his mental checklist. After some thought, he decided to pack some extra sets of clothing. Then he got dressed. Dropping his towel to the floor, he pulled on his clothing. He then turned to his dresser. He reached over and picked up Hashirama''s necklace. Closing his eyes, he resolved himself and put it on. Lastly, he stored various scrolls filled with spare weapons and maintenance tools, pouches filled with food pills, and plenty of water into his inventory. Keeping a few of the scrolls and pouches, he packed them into his flak jacket and put it on. Once he zipped it up he opened his closet. He grabbed the scabbard with Hashirama''s sword and strapped it to his back. He was still not tall enough to wear it on his waist. Grabbing his Konoha forehead protector, he stood in front of his mirror and put it on. He was ready. Nawaki closed his bedroom door and exited his house. Standing on the porch, he looked out over the Senju grounds. He soaked in the sight. It would be without him for a long time. He took a deep breath and checked his watch. There was thirty minutes until he had to depart. Without any thought, he knew what to do. Rather than teleporting there, he decided that he would enjoy one last stroll through the streets of Konoha. He made his way out of the grounds and walked down the streets. The streets were littered with families saying their goodbyes. Navigating through the crowds, he kept on. Finally, he had arrived. He entered the gates and slowed his pace. Once he had reached his destination, he partially unzipped his flak jacket and gripped his necklace. Nawaki was standing over Hashirama''s grave. He then said, "Oji sama, I am heading off to war now. I ask that you watch over Okaa san and Onee chan and keep them safe. Please grant me your strength and your Will of Fire as I confront these battles. I will honor your memory." A single tear broke through. It crept down Nawaki''s face and reached his jaw line. The tear fell to the ground. As it fell, there was a flash. By the time it hit the ground, he was gone. Nawaki reappeared near the village gates. He found Minato and Fugaku talking with Koryu. He joined them and they talked for a few more minutes. At last, it was time. Koryu turned to his men and yelled, "Today we start our journey. Resolve yourselves as you prepare for the coming struggles. This will not be easy. It never is. Think about what or who you are fighting for. Clear your minds as we prepare to defend our village, our country. I will have your back and I expect the same in return. Look around you. These are your brothers. As brothers, protect each other and overcome any challenge that lies in wait. Now, move out!" All of the ninja cheered once they heard their commanders resolve. He had instilled a strength in them that only comes from a strong leader. After the cheers died down, they departed. The massive crowd of ninja took off through the gates and headed to the northeast. The journey to the defensive line would take 4 days. While the offensive line and battlefield would be in the Land of Bears, the defensive line would be set up near the border of the Land of Whirlpools. Unfortunately, the rain refused to let up. The group was soaked. Each night, they had to squeeze the water out of their clothing before settling in. Everyone made the best of the journey but no one enjoyed it in the slightest. Normally, the scenery would be quite beautiful. The clouds and rain took away from the view. The flooded hills, the endless darkness, it ate away at the morale of the group. Finally, they reached a vast clearing near the border of the Land of Whirlpools. It was late in the day and the already scarce amount of light faded into darkness. The group stopped and got to work on setting up their base of operations. Nawaki took this chance and showed off. He used his wood release to create buildings for the command center, medical corps, and intelligence corps. Once the setup was complete, tents and wooden buildings dotted the area. Koryu then summoned all of the jonin to the command center. Koryu stood before his men and said, "Thank you all for coming. Each of you here today will play an important part in leading our forces. Our first order of business will be to sort out our resources. We must take inventory of all supplies and establish our supply routes. I also need a report on all the ninja available and their specializations. Let''s ge¡­" Before he could finish, a ninja from the intelligence corps ran through the door and yelled, "THIS JUST CAME IN! FIGHTING HAS BEGUN ON THE SUNA FRONT! THE WAR HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED!" 30 The Art of War Koryu let out a sigh. He knew that this news would be coming but he still was not ready for it. He took a deep breath and composed himself. He needed to set a good example for his men. He then said, "Thank you for the news. Now, let''s get to work." The meeting lasted a few hours. All sorts of things such as provisions, medical procedures, chain of command, supply routes, and priorities were discussed. It was decided that they would rest for the night. For now, the various sensor types rotated to keep watch throughout the night. The next day, a battalion would head out and set up another base of operations closer to the offensive line. Almost everyone got some sleep that night. Nawaki, however, sat atop the command center and meditated. The vast forest allowed him to sense for miles. As he sat, he slowly absorbed natural energy and entered sage mode. As he scanned through the surroundings, countless types of animals could be felt. Foxes, bears, wolves, and cats lived throughout the forest. As Nawaki was enjoying the vast flow of energy, something caught his attention. He had found an interesting chakra signature. It was significantly larger than all of the other animals. It''s signature was significantly stronger than most humans even. Upon closer inspection, he realized that whatever it was, it was not human. Nawaki honed in on the signature but before he could learn more, it flared and disappeared. Nawaki raised his brow and said, "What was that? It felt powerful." Kensho then said, "There are countless creatures in this world and many of them possess great power. I would not be surprised to find all sorts of strange creatures in the forest and jungles. I say we go and check it out!" Nawaki chuckled and said, "While I''d love to go on an adventure, it just isn''t possible. I have a responsibility to stay here and follow Koryu san''s orders." Kensho sighed and said, "Oh well. I tried. I just wanted to have some fun!" They both laughed. Nawaki then said, "The more I talk to you, the less I believe that you''re actually an angel. That title just does not seem to fit you." Kensho scoffed and then said, "If you think I''m bad, you probably couldn''t even imagine what the old man is like behind closed doors. After doing the same thing every day for countless years, he loves his fun." Nawaki laughed and said, "Oh, I feel like I could imagine it to some extent. Back to that other thing, I''ll just have to hope that I get to find some cool stuff when I''m out there." Kensho smiled and said, "Me too. I''d be bored to death if nothing interesting happened." As he said this, Nawaki noticed something. Three unknown chakra signatures had entered his range and were moving towards their camp. He thought for a moment. He had taken note of all the chakra signatures that belong to his allies and these three did not match up. Kensho then said, "Oooooh, I smell fun. What are you gonna do?" Nawaki opened his eyes and stared into the sky. Over the past few hours, the sky began to open up. The rain stopped and stars were peeking out from behind the clouds. He sat in silence as he took in the view. With the limited amount of light coming off the lamps that illuminated the camp, it was almost completely dark. Nawaki''s jaw was dropped open and he almost felt like crying. He couldn''t come up with any words to describe it. Never in his two lives had he seen so many stars in the sky. As he shifted his gaze across the sky, there was no end to the sea of lights. He slowly leaned backwards and laid down. As he looked up, he couldn''t believe his eyes. Just when he thought that the sky couldn''t be any more beautiful, he was proved wrong. Stretching across the sky above him, a vast arm of light glowed with brilliance. Various fields of bright colors dotted the dense field of stars. Nawaki was reminded of his old world. He recalled a trip to Hawaii. Late in the afternoon, he hiked for hours across a field of solidified lava. The priceless memory of watching the sun set over the seemingly endless blue sea. Once the sun set, he started his hike back to civilization. When he was about half way back, he stopped. No light could be seen anywhere. It was truly pitch black. He slowly sat down and looked into the sky. The amount of stars was breathtaking. Even an arm of the Milky Way galaxy could be seen. Snapping out of his nostalgia, he resumed admiring the night sky of this new world. He closed his eyes and basked in the cool air of the night. He then said, "I''ll deal with it if they come close enough. For now, I''m just going to admire the view." Kensho smiled. He was able to see Nawaki''s memory as if it was his own. He had no doubt that it could be counted among the most breathtaking sights on that world. He then said, "That memory was beautiful, thank you for that. You''ve got a bit before they are too close for comfort so let''s just enjoy our moment of peace." Nawaki smiled and said, "Sounds like a plan senpai." They both then sat in silence and continued to gaze upon the stars. After 15 minutes, Nawaki opened his eyes and said, "It''s time. I''m glad that I set a perimeter with my kunai. This will be easy." He then disappeared in a flash. In the forest, 3 Kumo ninja were out on a mission. Their orders were to scout out the enemy and estimate their battle strength. One of the ninjas raised his fist to signal for his team to stop. He then sat down and closed his eyes. Stretching out his senses, he scanned for nearby enemies. Finding nothing, he stood back up and shook his hand forwards to signal his team to continue their approach. They kept on and were now within a mile of Konoha''s encampment. Slowing their pace, they did their best to erase their presence. After some time, they approached the clearing and could see their objective. The leader removed a scroll and pen from his pouch and started taking down some notes. Meanwhile, the other two kept watch. Once he finished his report, he sealed the scroll and packed it away. Suddenly, he heard a slashing sound. He looked in the direction of the noise but nothing was there. A bead of sweat dripped down his face. As the droplet of sweat fell off his cheek, another slashing sound could be heard. Again, he looked to where the noise came from and nothing was there. Then it sunk in. Both of his teammates were gone. Out of instinct, he turned around quickly to see a short Konoha ninja slowly walking towards him. The ninja then said, "You guys really need to work on the whole stealth part of the job." The Kumo ninja opened his mouth to respond but was knocked in the back of the head before he could say anything. Nawaki stood over the unconscious body and sighed. The wood clone that distracted the enemy was absorbed back into Nawaki. He then knelt down, gripped the body, and disappeared in a flash. Koryu was soundly asleep. Much to his dismay, he woke up to a knock on his door. He said in his groggy state, "What couldn''t wait till morning?" A voice then called out from behind the door saying, "We have apprehended 3 Kumo scouts. Awaiting your orders." Koryu sighed knowing that he would not be able to get any more sleep that night. He rolled out of bed and exited his quarters. After making his way over to the command center, he could only smile at what was in front of him. On the ground, three Kumo ninja were tied up and crippled with restraining seals. On the table behind them sat a grinning ninja twirling a three pronged kunai around his finger. Koryu sighed and said, "Boy, I should have known it was you. I won''t even ask how you did it." Nawaki chuckled and said, "Just doing my job Koryu san." Koryu then turned to the genin that summoned him and said, "Go fetch some people from the torture and interrogation corps. They have some work to do." The genin stood tall and said, "Hai!" He left as he said this. The next morning, all of the jonin gathered in the command center. Once everyone had arrived, a tired Koryu stood up and yawned at the front of the room. He then started the meeting. He briefed them all on the intelligence that was gained the previous night and announced the teams that would go and set up their offensive line encampment. It was also revealed that Kumo planned to launch an assault in two days'' time. They decided to Once it was over, everyone dispersed and got to work. Nawaki, Minato, and Fugaku were assigned to advance to the offensive line and find a suitable location to set up camp. The three of them met up and Nawaki bragged about his escapade from the previous night. After finishing his moment of glory, Nawaki said, "Usual formation, are you guys ready?" Minato and Fugaku nodded. The trio then took off into the forest. It would take an hour to reach the destination. They had to cross into the Land of Bears and locate a clearing that could accommodate the forward encampment. The hour went by quickly. The sky had fully cleared throughout the previous night and it was wonderful. The sun shined brightly and warmed up the cold air. It was quite pleasant. As they approached the clearing, the trio stopped. Nawaki sat down and swept the area. After some careful investigation, he found nothing. He turned to Minato and said, "Let''s mark the area and return to base." Minato nodded and they both tossed a kunai into the ground. Nawaki grabbed hold of Fugaku and the trio disappeared in a flash. They entered the command center and reported to Koryu. After hearing their report, he issued orders for the advance teams to head out. After a few hours, a smaller version of the main encampment was set up in the clearing. Once everything was ready, Koryu called a meeting and they planned out an operation to catch out the enemy''s advancement. As the meeting came to a close, Koryu stood tall before his men. He then said, "Everyone get plenty of rest tonight. Tomorrow marks the beginning of our fight." 31 Gorilla Warfare It was a cool morning. After a torrential downpour the previous night, a dense fog consumed the land. An ominous silence hung in the clean jungle air. At the base of a tree, a rabbit was munching on some leaves. Suddenly, a muffled crack startled it and it ran away. Behind the tree, a Kumo ninja had stepped on a stick and snapped it. Along with him was an attack force numbering at about 400 strong. They slowly made their way through the fog, carefully planning each step as to not make a sound. The mission they were on required stealth. They were tasked with covertly advancing forward to the Land of Whirlpools and attacking Konoha''s encampment. Despite the disappearance of their scouts, Kumo''s officers decided to go through with the assault anyway. Little did they know, Konoha''s forces had set up an ambush to intercept them. Koryu had developed a masterful plan. A small team would go ahead and wait for the assault force to pass. Behind them, 2 lines would wait for the Kumo ninja to arrive between them. Lastly, another group would wait in their path. Once in position, the advance team would raise walls to block off their escape. Then the 2 ambush teams would launch large jutsus into the trapped enemies. Finally, all four groups would box the assault force in and take care of them. Nawaki and Minato sat in hiding with their presence completely erased. Nawaki was completely invisible. As the Kumo ninja began to pass their position, Minato teleported away to notify the other teams of their arrival. Nawaki patiently waited for 5 minutes. Once the last of the Kumo ninja passed by, he made his move. Nawaki slowly walked down the tree he sat in and stepped onto the ground. Carefully, he snuck into position. Everything was ready. He released his active camouflage and blurred through some hand signs before slamming his hands into the ground and yelling, "Mokuton: Jukai Heki" (World of Trees Wall). A vast wall of branches emerged from the ground. In a burst of speed, it grew to 30 feet in height. Many of the Kumo ninja turned around to see the wall but it was too late. In unison, various wind and fire jutsu consumed the small army. The intense winds and heat cleared the fog that covered the area. The flames raged for about 15 seconds and then died down. In that instant, 120 of the Kumo ninja were either killed or critically injured. Through the silence, a voice yelled out, "CHARGE!" The area was overcome with the sounds of jutsu being fired off and metallic clangs as weapons clashed. The battle has begun. Nawaki leaped over the wall. As he soared through the air he weaved some hand signs and slammed his hands into the ground as he landed. He yelled, "Mokuton: Mokujin no Jutsu" (Wood Golem). He was lifted into the air atop a towering wooden golem with a dragon wrapped around its torso. Manipulating the golem, he charged through the Kumo forces. In a sweeping motion, he swung the dragon through the crowd. Many of the victims were killed on impact as bodies were flung through the air. In addition to the dragon, he had the golem charging and smashing various enemies as he made his way through the battlefield. On his own, he either killed or critically injured 150 enemies. As Nawaki was on his rampage, the rest of the Konoha ambush teams cleaned up the rest of the enemy. The operation was completed swiftly. The Kumo forces surrendered once they only had around 60 ninja in fighting condition remaining. 115 of their ninja died and the rest were either injured or cooperated with the surrender. Although the operation was a huge success, 4 deaths and 28 injuries afflicted Konoha''s side. Their bodies were retrieved and sealed away for transportation back to the village. For the enemy ninja, they were stripped of all their weapons and supplies before being transported back to camp. The dead Kumo ninja were also sealed in scrolls. They would be kept aside to be used as a bargaining chip in future negotiations. During the cleanup operations, Nawaki was walking through the carnage. He was soaking in all of the destruction as he reinforced his ninja way. Suddenly, he felt that he was being watched. He closed his eyes and found an unknown chakra signature. It was similar to the one he sensed a few nights earlier. He opened his eyes and rushed towards the signature. He quickly arrived in front of it and laid his eyes on the creature. It was massive. Due to the dense fog, only it''s piercing eyes and silhouette were visible. Nawaki looked the creature in the eyes and said, "Who are you?" The creature stared back at him in silence. After a brief moment it said in a gnarly and deep voice, "I am but a resident of this jungle. It was quite interesting observing your actions. I have to say that I''m impressed with your senjutsu. I won''t reveal myself now but worry not. We will meet again boy." The creature then faded into nothingness and disappeared. Kensho then popped up and said, "Interesting fellow, eh?" Nawaki couldn''t hold in his laughter. After he got over the joke he said, "Yes Kensho, interesting indeed." He then decided to take his time as he made his way back to camp. When Nawaki arrived at camp, he was the last one to return. As he entered the grounds, someone shouted out, "Hey everyone look! It''s him!" Nawaki stopped and looked around to see who everyone was excited about. Kensho laughed and said, "You complete idiot. They''re talking about you." Nawaki scoffed in disbelief. There was no way in hell that he was the person in question. Little did he know, hoards of Konoha ninja started gathering around him. They were all looking at him with starstruck expressions. From the crowd, people were yelling different things. "This kid is on a whole other level!" "With him on our side, we can beat anyone!" "He''s like a little god of shinobi!" On that last one, people cheered in agreement. A group of them grabbed Nawaki and held him up in the air. They tossed him up and down. He was helpless. All he could do was smile and laugh as he flew up and down. As this was happening, a notification popped up. *Title Acquired: Little God* Nawaki was speechless. Seeing his new title, he thought of his grandfather and smiled. Hashirama would be so proud if he could see his grandson. After the crowd died down and dispersed, Nawaki came down from his high. He suddenly felt sick. He stumbled over to his quarters and fell through the door. Once inside, he grabbed the garbage can and vomited. He couldn''t handle the grief. It had finally started to sink in that he just killed around 100 people. He tore through them like paper. After he finished throwing up, he fell to the floor and laid on his back. He closed his eyes and tried to process everything. The power he possessed made it so the enemies he faced were no more than ants to his boot. He struggled to accept that he possessed this strength and wasn''t sure if he was worthy of wielding it. After a few minutes of laying there, Nawaki passed out. A few hours later, he was shaken out of his slumber. He heard a voice yelling, "Nawaki! Nawaki! Someone get the medical corps!" Nawaki slowly opened his eyes to see Minato and Fugaku kneeling over him. As he opened his eyes, a piercing headache caused him to wince in pain. Noticing this, his two teammates looked back down at him. Fugaku then said, "Breath. Just keep breathing. Help is on the way." Nawaki held his head in his hands and he rolled over groaning in pain. The door then swung open as a team of medic ninja rushed inside. Minato and Fugaku stepped back. The pain was too much. Nawaki passed out again. It was dark. In a familiar place, Nawaki floated through a void. Gradually, a light appeared ahead of him. He struggled but moved towards it. Once he reached it, he reached out to grab it. As he did, he heard a voice. It said, "He is perfectly healthy. He must have experienced some emotional trauma. He just needs to rest and he''ll be up and about tomorrow morning." Nawaki slowly opened his eyes. This time, no headache ailed him. His vision was blurry but he could see four people in the room. One of them turned to him and said, "Look! He''s awake!" Nawaki groaned as he sat up in the bed and said, "What happened?" The medic came over to the bed and said, "You passed out. It seems that you went through some trauma. I heard what happened during the battle and I am going to mandate that you get some counseling before returning to action. That is final." Nawaki slowly put his head back to rest it on the wall. He sighed. No one could have prepared themself for the feelings that come with taking that many lives. He then softly said, "Alright. I''m gonna go back to sleep now." As he said that, he slid back down onto the bed and passed out as soon as he hit the pillow. Early the next morning, the sun breached through the windows. Slowly, the light stretched onto Nawaki''s face. He slowly woke up as the sun blazed in his eyes. He raised his hand to cover his eyes from the bright light. Someone noticed this and went over to the window to close the shades. They then came over and said, "Good morning Nawaki kun. How are you feeling?" Nawaki lowered his hand and said, "A lot better than yesterday. That''s for sure¡­" She then said, "Oh how rude of me, my name is Sarutobi Ikuko. I am the chief medic on this front. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He smiled and said, "Nice to meet you. Thanks for the help." He sat up and turned to place his feet on the floor. Looking down, he realized that all of his clothing had been removed barring his pants. He blushed and then turned to Ikuko and asked, "Where are my clothes?" Ikuko laughed and said, "Right over there on the table." She pointed to a table in the corner. Nawaki stood up and put on his shirt after deciding to carry the rest. As he headed out, she said to him, "Just so you know, someone from T\u0026I will come by your quarters in an hour to assess you." He continued walking and said, "Sounds good. I''ll come by later to help out." 32 Coming to Terms (Sorry for the delay guys. I won''t go into much detail but depression is not a good time. Enjoy the chapters) It was a beautiful day. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky. The sun heated the cool winter air. It made for quite a pleasant feeling. As Nawaki walked through the camp to return to his quarters, he noticed that the camp was quite lively. Everyone that was not occupied with meetings or other tasks were enjoying the weather. Lots of people gathered around fire pits and we''re eating breakfast. Cheerful voices could be heard in conversation. Morale was running high because of the quick win the previous day. Nawaki arrived back at his quarters. He opened the door and entered. He looked around and noticed that it was awfully clean. Someone must have come by while he was knocked out to clean up the mess he made. His sword, flak jacket, and equipment pouches were all laid down on the table he made. He took a deep breath and then started to take off his clothes. He felt dirty and needed to wash himself. He used a water style jutsu to fill a bucket with water. He then grabbed a rag from his inventory and soaked it in the water. Starting with his face, he wiped himself down. The cool water felt extremely refreshing. He felt the tension that stressed his body wash away. Before getting dressed, he grabbed a towel and dried himself off. He took all of his dirty clothes and tossed them into his laundry sack. Then he got dressed before laying down in bed. Then there was a knock on the door. He called out, "Come in." The door opened revealing a tall intimidating man. He had two scars across his face and wore a head covering with a Konoha forehead protector. In a deep voice he said, "Good morning Nawaki. My name is Morono Ibiki. I''m here to do your psychological evaluation." Nawaki sat up and was shocked. He thought to himself, ''Holy shit. This is the Ibiki. Wait, why is he here. I''m not supposed to get tortured right?'' Kensho laughed at this. He then said, "Hi Ibiki. Please, take a seat." Ibiki closed the door and turned back into the room. He walked over to Nawaki''s table and gripped a chair. Spinning it around to face his patient, he sat down in a relaxed position. He flipped open a notebook and then said, "I have been assigned to you for a psych eval. You ever done one of these before?" Nawaki shook his head. Ibiki then continued, "In that case, I''ll explain how it''ll go down. Essentially, we are going to have some talks, just the two of us. Our sessions will continue until I can make the decision that you are fit to return to the field. Until then, I suggest you find some way to keep yourself busy. Any questions?" Nawaki thought for a moment as he took it all in. He then said, "Nope. Let''s get this over with." Ibiki chuckled and then said, "Alright. How are you feeling today?" Nawaki sat back and leaned against the wall. He slowly tilted his head back and sighed as it rested on the wall. He then said, "That question is not so easy to answer." Ibiki started jotting down some notes and then said, "That''s okay. Take your time." Nawaki took a deep breath after hearing this. After regaining his composure, he said, "Physically, I feel great considering how I was doing yesterday. But up here, I feel conflicted. It kinda feels like I made some huge mistake a long time ago and it''s coming back to haunt me now. It''s making me question my values and goals in life." Ibiki continued taking notes and without looking up asked, "Can you tell me about those values and goals?" Nawaki sighed and closed his eyes. After a moment he opened them and said, "Well, they all kinda fall under one thing. I hate war. I hate killing. All I want is for the endless cycle of hatred to stop. I''m starting to think that it''s impossible. After just one battle, I''m already doubting myself." Ibiki raised his brow and said, "It seems like you have a lot on your mind. I read the report on the ambush. Tell me, what goes through your head when you kill an enemy?" Nawaki looked up at the ceiling and said, "I feel guilty and remorse. I feel for the people that they are leaving behind. Having to end a life goes against my beliefs down to the very core." Ibiki took some more notes and said, "Well, I would like for you to try something. Instead of harping on the losses, focus on the comrades that are saved and protected due to your actions." The two continued their talk for a while and Ibiki left. Once he was gone, Nawaki laid down and thought about everything. After a few minutes, he stood up and got out of bed. He got dressed but left his sword in his quarters. One he was ready, he headed over to the field hospital. As he approached the building, he saw Ikuko out front ordering around some genin. They were organizing supplies. Nawaki smiled and said, "Ohayo Ikuko san." Hearing the voice, she turned and smiled after seeing Nawaki. She then said, "Ohayo Nawaki kun. What can I do for you?" Nawaki looked around and then said, "I was told to find a way to keep myself busy. What can I help with over here?" Ikuko sighed in relief and said, "You''re timing couldn''t be any more perfect. There are a few patients inside that need to continue their treatment. Could you take care of them?" Nawaki nodded and headed inside the building. It turns out that there were quite a bit more than a few patients. He turned to the wall and grabbed some medical charts. After looking through them, he smiled. They were all minor injuries so this would be a piece of cake. Before he started, he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. He quickly entered sage mode and was ready. One by one, he cared for the injured. With his boosted healing abilities, the recovery times were greatly reduced. One more session and most of them would be healthy. However, one of the injuries was a bit complicated. The notes written in his chart listed various, acute, pains across his arms. After a physical examination, Nawaki concluded that he was suffering from nerve damage. After the diagnosis, Nawaki was distraught. In the world he came from, there was not much to do in terms of treating nerve damage. He decided he would attempt to repair the neural pathways using natural energy. He put one hand on the ninja''s shoulder and the other hand on the wrist. He circulated natural energy and felt the flow. He could immediately tell that the chakra pathways were significantly weakened compared to the rest of the patient''s body. Nawaki continued to circulate the energy until the flow felt more stable and smooth. He released the man and said, "You''re gonna need to take it easy for at least a week. Your arm is in pretty bad shape so no training and no heavy lifting. Come back in a few days for a check up and another round of treatment." The man thanked Nawaki and admitted that he has been having these issues for a few years. Recently, the pain had been getting worse so he decided to get it checked out. It took Nawaki about 3 hours to get through all of the patients. Once he was done, he decided to go procure some lunch. Since he had some time off, he would cook up something nice instead of eating the standard rations. The forest that surrounded the camp was home to plenty of wild animals. Unfortunately, there was not much in the way of wild crops since it was winter. Nawaki stood in a tree. Below him was a turkey. It wasn''t just any turkey. This one was fat as fuck. Thicker than a Snicker. Baby got back. Nawaki pulled a kunai out of his pouch and waited for the right moment. The turkey bent down and was inspecting something in the grass. In that instant, Nawaki threw the kunai and nailed the turkey''s head to the ground. It was killed in one blow. He smiled and jumped down to collect his bounty. After returning to camp, he got to work. He plucked all of the feathers, cut off the neck, and gutted the insides. Before he did this, he took out a stove from his inventory, ignited the coals, and started heating it up. Using a sharp knife, he cut some slits into the skin. Nawaki reached into his inventory and took out his cooking kit. From the kit, he took out salt, pepper, and olive oil. He poured some oil over the bird and rubbed it in. He also spread it under the skin using the slits he cut. He then rubbed the salt and pepper all over the bird and also packed some of it under the skin. It was now time. Placing the seasoned bird onto the grill, it sizzled from the heat. Nawaki allowed it to cook for 4 hours. Once it was done, he created wooden prongs from his hands and lifted the turkey off the grill. He placed it onto a wooden cutting board and started carving it. As he was doing this, several Konoha ninja started surrounding him as they salivated from the delicious smell. Nawaki noticed this and laughed as he invited them to join him for a meal. They offered up some of their personal alcohol stash to contribute to the meal. Nawaki created some wooden cups, plates, and utensils with his wood release and started serving the turkey. Once he finished distributing the food, he was handed a cup filled with sake. They all thanked him for the food and they dug in. Nothing was said as they all scarfed down the turkey. Aside from the occasional moan and burp, utter silence. The group set up a fire pit in the middle of the group and set it ablaze. For the rest of the day, they all drank and told each other stories. A few days passed. Nawaki had gotten friendly with a bunch of the ninja that were also at the encampment. Each day he could go out and hunt some wild animals and cook up a delicious meal. Each time he would return with a different animal. They enjoyed deer, bear, boar, turkey, and rabbit. Gradually, more and more people joined the group. Some even started joining Nawaki on his hunt. For the ninja that had nerve damage, Nawaki gave him another round of treatment and started him on a physical therapy routine. Another few days passed and the guy was back in good health. Over that week, Nawaki and Ibiki continued having their sessions. He was finally cleared to return to the field but would still have to get a debrief following every mission. About an hour after Ibiki told Nawaki that he was cleared to get back into the field, there was a knock on Nawaki''s door. He called out saying, "Come in." The door opened revealing a genin. He said, "Koryu Taichou needs you in the command center. Please come with me." Nawaki sighed. Koryu didn''t even give him time to breathe after his evaluation. He got up and put on his flak jacket. He then strapped his sword to his back and followed the genin through the camp. When the two arrived at the command center, the genin stayed outside and Nawaki headed in. He entered the war room and said, "Yo." Koryu looked up from the planning table and sighed in relief. He then said, "It''s good to have you back. I''m glad you''re okay. Toka would kill me if anything happened to you." Nawaki chuckled and said, "That she would. That she would. Anyways, what can I do for ya?" Koryu looked back down and the map and motioned for Nawaki to come over. After Nawaki walked up to the table, Koryu said, "We have some reports on where Kumo''s encampment is possibly located. It''s time to crash their party." 33 Search and Destroy Koryu and Nawaki stood around the planning table in the command center. Koryu turned to Nawaki and said, "It is time to crash Kumo''s party. Guys, come out." From the shadows, 3 ANBU agents emerged and kneeled before Koryu. He then turned and said, "These three will be your subordinates on this mission. Your orders are to infiltrate Kumo''s encampment and kidnap their commanding officer. If that is not possible, waste him. After that, burn it to the ground. Complete these objectives by any means necessary. Successful completion of this mission will help us finish the job on this front. You will leave in one hour and scout out the area until nightfall before making your move. Please remove your masks. You are dismissed." Koryu then picked up a few papers and left the room. Nawaki turned to his team and said, "Ohayo. Please, introduce yourselves." The three ANBU agents stood up and removed their masks, sealing them into storage scrolls. The one on the left had red hair and soft facial features. He had deep blue eyes and was quite built. He spoke up saying, "Ohayo Nawaki Taichou. My name is Uzumaki Kira." Nawaki scoffed and said, "Please spare me the formalities. Just call me Nawaki." The middle one was a girl with black hair. She had sharp facial features but they somehow still looked feminine. Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had light brown eyes. She said, "My name is Nara Kikuko." The last was another guy with jet black hair. He had sharp and masculine facial features and quite a toned physique. He would have black eyes but his sharingan was active. He said, "My name is Uchiha Kogetsu." Nawaki heard the names of his teammates and didn''t need to ask them about their specialties. The Uzumaki was obviously a fuinjutsu and ninjutsu specialist on top of being an absolute chakra beast because of that God forsaken bloodline. The Nara was your run of the mill lazy genius that used the clan''s shadow manipulation. Lastly, the Uchiha was an all rounder thanks to those eyes and his genetics. There was just one question to be asked. Nawaki turned to Kira and asked, "In the case where everything goes to shit, can you use the adamantine chains?" Kira smiled and said, "Hell yeah I can. I was taught by Ashina sama personally." Nawaki laughed and said, "It''s funny how small the world is. He is my cousin!" The team laughed and then walked out of the command center. As they walked, Nawaki said, "I pretty much have an idea for how we''re gonna do this. I''m already packed with more than enough stuff so if you guys are ready, let''s head out early. We will discuss our plan once we set up camp tonight. It''ll take until tomorrow afternoon to get there. You guys ready?" The three of them nodded so they departed immediately. Kogetsu led the charge to watch the front with his sharingan. Kira was behind him to provide frontal support. Then there was Kikuko. Nawaki told her that she would give orders on the fly but he would still have the final say on their plans. Lastly, Nawaki held their back and monitored the surrounding area with his senjutsu enhanced sensing. That day was nothing special. It was cold and windy. The clouds covered the sky and it was somewhat dark. The only good thing about it was that it was not raining or snowing. As the light began to fade, the team stopped and set up camp. Not even giving them a chance to start setting up, Nawaki weaved some hand signs and said, "Mokuton: Shichuka no Jutsu" (Four-Pillar House). A small wooden cabin emerged from the ground. Nawaki grinned and turned to his teammates before brushing off his shoulders. Kogetsu scoffed and rolled his eyes as Nawaki pulled some futons and a stove out of his inventory. He tossed the futons over to his team and they went to set up their sleeping arrangements. He then pulled out a stove and started cooking. Soon enough, his three teammates floated out of the cabin as they followed the smell. They quickly scrambled and sat around the stove as they salivated and stared at the food with hungry eyes. As ANBU operatives, their missions always involved them hiding in the shadows. All they ate when out of the village was rations and food pills. On a mission, they had never eaten a proper meal or slept under a roof. To them, this was a life of luxury and they would only get a small taste. "Itadakimasu!" They all dug in. The three ANBU groaned with pleasure as they inhaled the food like a breath of fresh air. Kira turned to Nawaki and said, "Where the hell did you learn how to cook?" Nawaki laughed and said, "I''ve been cooking for my family since I was like 6. I wasn''t that great back then but now people always rave about my cooking." Kogetsu was amazed. Despite the positive relations between their two clans, he still had some deep seated mistrust towards them. He thought that Nawaki would be some spoiled clan head''s kid but in fact, he was great to have around. The team enjoyed their food and once they were done, they got down to business. Nawaki got serious and said, "Tomorrow will be when we carry out this mission. Here is our plan. We are gonna sleep in tomorrow morning and then head out. We will get to the mission area in the afternoon. Until nightfall, we are going to split up into two teams and scout out the area. Take note of guard paths, guard locations, key structures in the camp, and population. Also jot down anything else that is noteworthy. Any questions so far?" They all shook their heads so he continued, "Once it is dark, we make our move. We will take out anyone in the way as we plant explosive and incendiary tags. After that is set up, we will infiltrate the command center, knock out the officer, and I''ll transport us out of the area. As soon as we clear the blast zone, we light em up." Kikuko raised her brow and asked, "How exactly do you plan to get us out? Aren''t we going to be in the middle of the encampment?" Nawaki grinned and took out one of his special kunai. Upon seeing it, the three of them widened their eyes. Kira then said, "Oh, I heard rumors about that. I''ve heard that your whole academy team has reached the rank of master sealer. Mind if I take a look at that?" Nawaki chuckled and tossed the kunai over to the Uzumaki. After examining the sealing formula for a few minutes he scrunched his face. He laughed and said, "Damn kid. You really are something. I couldn''t understand anything from looking at it! I''ll be looking forward to seeing it in action." The four of them cleaned up the mess from dinner and headed inside to get some sleep. The night went by quickly but they all enjoyed getting to sleep in. They all naturally woke up at around 10 AM and started packing up their camp. It would take around 3 hours to reach the mission area so they packed up quickly and headed out. Conveniently, they were able to avoid Kumo''s perimeter scouting teams using Nawaki''s sensory capabilities. At around 2 PM they arrived at their meeting area. It was about a mile out from the target. Nawaki took one of his kunai and concealed it using some grass so that it was barely visible. As long as he could sense it, visibility was not a problem. Using hand signs, Nawaki sped off to one side of the camp with Kogetsu while Kikuko and Kira headed to the other side. The group reconvened at the meeting spot at around 6 PM. The sun was starting to set so it was time to prepare for action. Nawaki took some leftovers out of his inventory that he packed away the previous night and distributed some small portions to each of his teammates. They were happy that they didn''t have to do this on an empty stomach. To be safe, they waited until 11 PM to commence the operation. Kira distributed his own explosive and incendiary tags to the other three. Nawaki made some signals to communicate that they needed to hide their presence and be silent from here on out. Then they moved out. It was a clear night. There was a slight breeze that would wick the sweat off of their bodies. A full moon shone in the sky and provided a decent amount of light. This would prove convenient because there would be shadows even in the night. In order to avoid detection, they proceeded on foot. They approached the camp and encountered the first two guards. Nawaki signaled to Kogetsu and Kikuko and they got ready. Nawaki and Kogetsu took out kunai and threw them at the Kumo ninjas'' heads. As they flew through the air, Kikuko extended her shadow and froze the two guards in place. As they realized that they couldn''t move, the kunai struck their heads and they died before they hit the ground. Nawaki threw one of his special kunai into the ground, flickered over to the bodies, and teleported them back to their meeting point. He then reappeared with his team. According to their scouting, another patrol was to pass this area in 30 seconds. They quickly hid behind two of the tents that dotted the perimeter of the encampment. Nawaki sat down into the lotus position. He entered sage mode and stretched out his senses. Right on schedule, the patrol of two guards rounded the corner and approached their position. Using wood release, he extended four tendrils into the ground. For each guard, there were two tendrils. He extended one up behind each of their heads. In one sweeping motion, the second tendril drilled through their chests and the first wrapped around their faces to cover their mouths. Nawaki then moved up and teleported the bodies away just like the last ones. Then the group continued forward. They snaked around the camp planting the explosive and incendiary tags. As they made their way through, they took care of 12 pairs of guards total. Finally, they closed in on the command center. There were two Kumo ninja guarding the entrance. Nawaki signaled and had Kira and Kogetsu move forward on each side of the command tent. The two Konoha ninja inched up behind the Kumo ninja. In an instant, they covered the Kumo ninjas'' mouths and slit their throats. They dragged the bodies back and Nawaki teleported them away. The four of them then transformed into some of the Kumo ninja that they killed and entered the tent. Inside it was one big room with a table in the middle. Several shelving units lined the walls of the tent and they were half filled with scrolls. Kikuko took the lead and walked in. As her three teammates approached the table she said, "Taichou, reporting in with our scouting reports." The officer sighed and said, "Hai hai, just put them on the table and go to sleep." As he said this, Nawaki flickered behind the officer and knocked him unconscious with a chop to the back of the neck. His body fell to the ground but Nawaki caught it before it could make a sound. The group then went around and sealed all of the documents in storage scrolls and prepared to head out. He gently laid it down and the four of them undid their transformations. Then Kira spoke up and said, "Change of plans guys. Our meeting spot is too far to remotely detonate. I''ll have to set off the tags before we leave." Nawaki sighed and said, "Alright, that''s fine. Everyone gather around me and grab my shoulders." Nawaki knelt down and put his hand on the unconscious officer as his teammates grabbed his shoulders. Nawaki then said, "I''ll count it down. 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ go." As he said go, Kira made a hand sign and flared his chakra. As soon as he was done, they disappeared. The instant they were gone, several explosions and fires ignited across the encampment. The group reappeared at their meeting spot and looked back towards the Kumo encampment as it was set ablaze. Nawaki then took out a paralysis and chakra suppression seal and placed it on the officer. Once the officer was secured, he placed him on the floor. Following this, him and Kira started sealing all of the dead Kumo guards into storage scrolls. Now that everything was packed up, they all ate a food pill to restore some energy and they headed straight back to their camp. They traveled at a much quicker pace as they returned since they would not be stopping. As the sun rose, the team arrived back at Konoha''s encampment. Without delay, they went straight to the command center to report to Koryu. They walked into the war room and Nawaki placed the officer on the floor. Then he and Kira took the scrolls containing the bodies and placed them on the planning table. Koryu smiled at the outcome of the mission. It went perfectly. He then said, "Bring him and the bodies over to T\u0026I. Take the documents over to the intelligence corps." "Hai taichou!" The four of them then split up to make their deliveries to complete their mission. After completing their final objective, the team was exhausted. Thus, they all returned to their quarters for some much needed rest before the war meeting that afternoon. 34 A New Challenger Approaches (So I was rewatching some episodes of Shippuden and thought of some things. Would you guys be interested in fun filler chapters and/or chapters where Nawaki is not the main character? I think it would be cool for building up the whole new Naruto world that I''m creating while fucking around with the timeline. Lmk what you guys think!) It was a miserable afternoon. After several days of clear weather with lots of sun, the sky opened up. The rain was heavy and the wind was strong. Lightning lit up the sky as thunder bellowed through the air. A large team of 12 Konoha ninja approached their encampment. They were in a rush to get back in time for the war meeting that afternoon. The group arrived in the camp. Leading the charge were two familiar faces. Minato and Fugaku arrived in camp and headed to the command center. They had been out on a reconnaissance mission for over a week so they were itching to sleep in a bed. The two teammates got over to the command center and entered the front door. As they walked in, they removed their cloaks and shook them off since they were wet from the rain. They then walked into the war room and got excited. Minato called out saying, "Nawaki! How''s it going?" He ran over and dapped him up as Nawaki said, "Yo. I just got back from a mission. How about you guys?" Fugaku joined them and said, "We just got back too. We''ve been gone for so long. It''s good to see you." Koryu then walked over and said, "Ah Fugaku. Please give your briefing on the reconnaissance mission during the meeting." Then he turned to the rest of the jonin in the room and said, "Let''s get this meeting started." In the few hours that they had the officer, the T\u0026I division used the Yamanaka clan techniques to complete a mind walk. This combined with the documents stolen from the enemy command center provided some startling news. It turns out that the Raikage''s son, A, and his partner, B, will be entering the battle. Not much was known about the two. The key intelligence that they possessed reported that A is extremely strong and fast, and that A''s partner is allegedly the hachibi jinchuriki. They would be joined by a squad of elite Komo ninja to help out down the Konoha forces. The battles to come were about to get significantly harder. It also seemed that the advance force they sent out was just to test Konoha''s strength before sending out the big guns. Following the meeting, Nawaki invited his former teammates to go hunting for fresh food with him. They were eager to enjoy some of his cooking so they happily agreed. As the three of them left camp, they caught up on their recent excursions. Minato and Fugaku left on a scouting mission soon after they returned from the first battle. Their team had fought with a few Kumo scouting teams but nothing notable happened. Nawaki then told them about the infiltration mission he went on and they were amazed. They were jealous that he got to have all the fun. What''s worse is that they had a feeling that they would have been selected for that mission if they were not off base. As they were searching for dinner, the rain slowed down and finally let up. Unfortunately, it was replaced by a dense fog that limited visibility. The three of them were quiet for a few minutes. Nawaki then said, "Guys, I think I sense an animal up ahead. Let''s check it out." He waited and there was no response. Then he realized that he could not sense his two teammates. Understanding the situation, he immediately unsheathed his sword and assumed a defensive stance. Out of nowhere, he sensed a familiar chakra. It was extremely powerful. Nawaki turned in the direction of the signature and froze. Staring back at him was a huge silhouette. Glowing eyes pierced through the fog and gave off an extremely intimidating presence. The creature then said in a deep voice, "Hello again. It is time for us to have a little chat." It''s chakra flared and it disappeared along with Nawaki. Once they were gone, the fog slowly dissipated revealing a very confused Minato and Fugaku. A bright light shined on Nawaki. Opening his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground. He sat up and looked around. The ground he was sitting on was a construction made of engraved stone bricks with the appearance of being thousands of years old. Around him were decaying stone pillars with crumbled stone rubble scattered around them. Looking out from the platform, he noticed several mountain peaks that sat above the clouds. There were various plateaus with caves leading into the mountain side. There were trees, ponds, and plenty of grass covering all of the flat land. Nawaki then set his gaze to right in front of him. A huge albino tiger stood in front of him. It had glowing blue eyes and a powerful presence. A bead of sweat dripped down Nawaki''s face as he knew that he didn''t stand a chance against the beast. The tiger then sat down and said, "Welcome to Mount Yudaina. This is the home of me and my brethren." Nawaki sat there dumbfounded. He then said, "Wait, where am I? And who are you?" The tiger laughed and said, "Ah yes. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zora. I am a member of the Tiger Sage clan. We are currently in a mountain range within the Land of Lightning as you humans call it." Nawaki was extremely confused. He just could not wrap his head around what was happening. He then said, "Huh? Tiger Sage clan? What''s that?" Zora laughed again and said, "I am not surprised. We have not had much interaction with your species. In fact, over my thousand years of life, you are the first human I''ve brought here. For your question, allow me to explain. The Tiger Sage clan is made up of descendants of Matatabi sama or Nibi (two tails) as you humans call her. What else might you be confused about, boy? And do please tell me your name." Nawaki shook himself out of his daze and said, "Oh yes yes. My name is Senju Nawaki. I am from Konohagakure and am a part of the Senju clan. Why did you take me here?" Zora stood up and said, "Follow me. The Great Tiger Sage would like to meet you." Nawaki stood up and followed the great tiger towards a massive shrine. As they walked Kensho popped up and said, "Damn kid, this that new new. Things are getting pret-ty spicy." (The dash is to alliterate the two "t" in pretty) Nawaki rolled his eyes and thought, ''So I was right. This did not exist in the anime. Or at least we just weren''t told about it. I''m curious if this tiger sage is like Gamamaru. Should be interesting.'' He followed Zora across a stone bridge that extended to one of the other mountain peaks. This other peak was where the plateau with the shrine was located. As the two approached the shrine, the immense amount of ornate detail in the shrine''s construction. The front of the shrine had massive stone pillars. Large stone blocks sat at each end of the pillars and they were engraved with beautiful carvings of tigers. On the ground in front of the shrine, two large statues of tigers towered over any human that would approach them. As they walked into the shrine, Nawaki felt a wave of powerful energy wash over him. An extremely overwhelming presence consumed the space. He continued to follow Zora deep into the mountain reaching the main chamber of the shrine. A deep and powerful voice called out, "MMMMMMmmm¡­ My humble abode, I welcome you to, young leaf. Byakko the Great Tiger Sage I am. Patriarch of this clan I am. Introduce yourself you will?" (Yes, he fucking¡­ he fucking speaks like Yoda. No, I don''t care if you don''t like it. If it bothers you, drop the novel and go fuck yourself. This is for my enjoyment.) Nawaki shook himself out of his daze and said, "Oh, my apologies Byakko sama. My name is Senju Nawaki. What have you brought me here for?" Byakko let out a deep laugh and said, "Many reasons, I brought you here for. Some of them¡­ reveal to you I can not. Chosen, you are, young leaf." Nawaki was extremely confused. Meanwhile, Kensho was dying of laughter. Through the laughing fit he said, "OH MAH GAWD. WHO IN THE FUCK REINCARNATED YODA? LOL XD!" Nawaki chuckled and then shook off the humored expression. He then said, "What, exactly, have I been chosen for?" Byakko pointed his head into the air and then said, "Summoning contract, you will sign. Look forward to working with you, my clan does. Zora chan. Bring out the summoning contract you will." Nawaki got very excited. Kensho was nearly speechless. He could only say, "Yooooooooo! Tigers are dope as fuck!" They both could barely contain their excitement. Zora walked into a side room and grabbed a large scroll. It looked very similar to what Jiraiya and Hashirama would strap to their backs. Nawaki''s eyes widened in excitement. It was of course the one thing he was missing in his ninja garb. Zora placed the scroll down and unfurled it. There were various open positions to sign and only one was taken. Written in blood, the name was Otsutsuki Hagoromo. Otherwise known as the Sage of Six Paths. Nawaki turned to Zora and asked, "Why is the Sage of Six Paths the only other name in here?" Zora chuckled and said, "Ah. That is quite the question. Each of the nine tailed beasts had descendants that formed clans. Due to the relationships between the tailed beasts and Hagoromo sama, he was the only one trusted with us. I hope that covers it. You are quite special to be chosen as our second ever summoner." Nawaki''s eyes widened and sparkled with delight. This was truly amazing and better than he could have ever imagined. Without hesitation, he bit his thumb and spread blood to his index finger. Channeling chakra to his finger, he then signed his name in blood into the space next to the infamous sage. Lastly, he spread the blood to each of his fingers and pressed all five of his fingers into the contract to leave fingerprints. Once he finished signing, his name and fingerprints glowed and he felt a connection establish itself in his head. Then Byakko said, "Completed, our contract is. Take the scroll you will since responsible for our clan you now are. Send you back to your friends, we will. Farewell for now, young leaf." A thick mist then rolled in. Zora walked over to Nawaki and slammed his paw on the ground saying, "Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Reverse Summoning). In a puff of smoke, Nawaki and the scroll disappeared. 35 A Cute New Friend (Again, sorry for the delay. Having some chronic health issues, depression exists, and also just went through a breakup so life is not fun. Gonna try to get back to rapid firing these fuckers. Enjoy!) It had been a few hours since Nawaki had disappeared. There was a large search party sweeping through the forest trying to find him. Despite their efforts, all of the trackers were losing his trail at the location where he disappeared. The only thing that they know is that there was another scent at the scene. A Hyuga was monitoring the area with his byakugan and suddenly there was a cloud of smoke. Out of the smoke, a young man was revealed. He turned to Koryu and said, "Taichou, I can see him. He is right where he disappeared!" Koryu didn''t hesitate and took off towards the location. As he arrived, he noticed that Minato and his son Fugaku were already there since Minato had sensed Nawaki''s reappearance. He sighed as he saw that Nawaki was unharmed but then raised his brow as what he was holding. He then asked, "Nawaki, where the hell did you go? We had half the camp looking for you!" Nawaki laughed and scratched the back of his head as he said, "I was more or less kidnapped by tigers." The three of them looked at him and said in that signature anime style, "NANI?!?!?!?!?" Koryu then said, "Explain¡­ Now." Nawaki sighed and said, "So, back at the ambush, this tiger named Zora was apparently watching me fight. I sensed him and confronted him but he just disappeared. This time he showed up and used some kind of space time jutsu to bring me to this place called Mount Yudaina. It is the home of the Tiger Sage clan who are descendants of the two tails. I met this weird tiger geezer that talked very oddly and they gave me this summoning contract that has only ever been signed by the Sage of Six Paths and now me. That about sums it up!" All three of them were speechless. They were so confused but amazed at the same time. As they were doing this, Nawaki pulled a length of rope from his inventory. He ran it through loops in his flak jacket to create a holster for the summoning scroll. He then secured the scroll in the holster. Koryu then said, "Wow. I honestly don''t know what to do here. We were all panicking that something had happened to you and I was just fearing your mother''s and sister''s wrath. They can be very scary women. On the other hand, you kinda didn''t have any control over what happened so it''d be wrong to punish you in any way. I guess all we can do is go back to camp." Nawaki nodded and said, "Yes please, Koryu san. I''m quite hungry!" The four of them laughed and headed back to camp. Koryu called off the search party as Nawaki had been located. As the three teammates walked through the camp, Minato turned to Nawaki and said, "Soooo, you gonna show us your new summons?" Nawaki grinned. He hadn''t even gotten to try it yet so he was excited. Nawaki then said, "Hell yeah I''ll show you my new summons. If I''m not mistaken, the amount of chakra I channel into the jutsu will determine which one I summon right?" Minato nodded and said, "Yup. That is how it works essentially." Nawaki then weaved some hand signs, bit his thumb, smeared blood across his palm, and slammed it into the ground saying, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Summoning). A large cloud of smoke appeared from the ground. As the smoke cleared, a huge tiger was revealed. It was Zora. He blinked for a moment trying to figure out where he was and then said, "Ahhh. Nawaki dono. What can I do for you my friend?" Nawaki laughed and said, "No no. Sorry for bothering you Zora. You see, I''ve never used the summoning jutsu before so I wanted to see how it works. You can go now if you''d like." Zora nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Then, an idea popped into Nawaki''s head. He completed the jutsu again but only put a small amount of chakra into it. A small cloud of smoke came out of the ground. As the smoke cleared, the most adorable little tiger cub was revealed. It was asleep. As it appeared, it yawned and stretched while opening its eyes. The cub was red with white stripes. It had an adorable face and was the size of a house cat. It scrunched its face as it looked around. Then it asked, "Where am I?" Upon hearing its adorable voice, the three of them melted. It was just so cute. Nawaki then knelt down and said, "Hey there little fellow. I summoned you. My name is Nawaki. What is your name?" The cub sat down and said, "Ah hiya. My name is Zuko. What can I do for you Nawaki?" Nawaki smiled and said, "Nothing in particular. Wanna just hang around?" Zuko tilted his head to the side in curiosity. He then said, "Sounds like fun. You got anything to eat?" The three teammates laughed and Nawaki said, "Yeah buddy. I was about to cook some dinner. Come join us." He reached out and picked up Zuko and had him hang out on top of his head. It was down right adorable. Kensho appeared and looked irritated. Nawaki smirked and thought, ''Hey buddy. Are you jealous that you''ve got some competition?'' Kensho scoffed and said, "Oh shut up. I''m an angel. I would never stoop so low as to be jealous." Nawaki laughed inwardly at Kensho''s antics. Nawaki, Minato, and Fugaku cooked up a feast. Several other ninja joined them for a night of eating and drinking. Of course, Zuko ate too and he got plenty of attention from the Konoha ninjas. He was just so adorable. Zuko was just happy with all of the back scratches he was getting. The next day would mark the start of preparations for the first real battle of this front. Aside from the ambush and some small skirmishes, not much has happened. Now that A and B were joining the Kumo forces, the fighting was really about to get started. That morning, the camp was very busy. Everyone was put to work. Some people were training, some were sorting through supplies, everyone had a role to play. Nawaki was going over some tactics with the field medics. They would be very important in the lengthy battle that was to come. According to the intelligence briefing, the Kumo reinforcements would arrive in another 2 days and they would make their move soon after that. The Konoha ninjas needed to be ready by then. Two days creeped by very slowly. No one was looking forward to the battles. What''s even worse was that it had rained heavily the entirety of the two days. From the intelligence, the Kumo troops would be setting up their defensive line in front of Kawagoe. That is the Land of Lightning''s closest city to the border. Thus, Koryu decided that they would draw in the Kumo forces and set the battlefield near the border of the Land of Bears and the Land of Lightning. It was time to head out. Nawaki packed all of his things into his inventory and only kept what he needed on his person. Him and Minato would scout ahead of the group and Nawaki would use his wood release to create a stronghold near the border. As the attack force prepared to head out, Minato and Nawaki set off to the border. The two remained silent for most of the trip. They were nervous in anticipation of this battle. They traveled at a fast pace so they made it to the border in a few hours. Once the two arrived, they began scouting out the area. Before proceeding, Minato took cover and Nawaki fell into a meditative state. They both stretched out their senses to scan their surroundings. As they expected, there were some Kumo scouts there as well. It seems that both sides made a similar decision on where to have the battle. Nawaki and Minato found a small clearing in the forest. It was about the size of half an American football field. In the clearing, Nawaki used his wood release to construct some buildings. Within a few hours, the remainder of the Konoha force arrived at the base. Nawaki and Minato reported to Koryu and filled him in on their findings. Based on their findings, the battle would start sometime in the next two days. Kumo''s forces were setting up their defensive line just a few miles away from the border. It appeared that the majority of their numbers had arrived. Following the briefing, Nawaki decided that he would find a spot to meditate. He wanted to clear his head in preparation for the battle. He made his way through the base. As he was approaching the edge of the camp, he heard a crash followed by a familiar voice. The voice yelled, "THROUGH THE POWER OF YOUTH, I WILL CORRECT THIS MISTAKE! AS MY SELF RULE, I WILL RUN 500 LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE WHEN I RETURN! SUMIMASEN! (sorry/excuse me)" Nawaki widened his eyes and Kensho let a burst of laughter escape from his mouth. Nawaki turned and before his eyes was something he did not expect to see. Before him was a burly man. He had thick black hair that parted in the middle. On his face, he had extremely bushy brows, a thick moustache and a goatee. He wore a green jumpsuit and a yellow scarf. On his lower legs, he wore orange leg warmers. He was none other than¡­ Might Duy. Nawaki thought to himself, ''Holy fuck that is Guy''s dad. The unknown legend that will take out 4 of the 7 ninja swordsmen of the mist in a 1 on 7 battle. I HAVE to meet this guy.'' Nawaki walked over to the mess that Duy made. He was carrying a large stack of boxes and dropped them all after tripping over a rock. The scene was quite comical and was quite typical of Duy. Nawaki knelt down and helped Duy clean up the mess. Duy noticed this and said, "AHHHH, YOUR YOUTH IS MAGNIFICENT. What is your name, boy?" Nawaki smiled and said, "I am Nawaki. If I am not mistaken, you are Might Duy, yeah?" Duy was surprised. He didn''t think that anyone would actually know who he is. Much less this young kid. Duy then said, "How old are you my friend? And why is someone as young as yourself on the battlefield?" Nawaki smirked and said, "I''m 13 and am here because of my rank of jonin." Duy''s eyes opened wide as he heard this. He was a fully grown adult and even had a son. Despite this, he is still a genin while this kid is a jonin. Duy figured that he must be special. Duy shook himself out of his daze and said, "Your youth is quite impressive. I hope my son will grow up to be as strong as you." Nawaki chuckled and said, "I have a feeling that he will be quite the spectacular shinobi some day." Nawaki felt good about this interaction. As far as he knows, he just met the only ninja in existence that can open all 8 inner gates. If anything goes wrong, he feels that Duy would be one of the most reliable people in the attack force. That night was very quiet. The rain had stopped and the sky cleared up nicely. Darkness hung over the forest as countless stars sparkled in the sky. The night passed very slowly. Nawaki remained awake that night and just meditated on top of the command center. After what felt like an eternity, the sun began to rise. As the sky lit up, a team of scouts came running back into the camp. Shortly thereafter, all of the jonin were summoned to the command center. Koryu stood before his men and said, "We have just received word that Kumo''s forces are advancing. We will depart in 30 minutes. Once we get there, we will deploy based on their strength. You are dismissed." 36 Ride of the Valkyries (I see your comments. Some things from canon I want to maintain purely due to the fact that I want to preserve some of the character development. You''ll know what I mean as the story progresses. And also, sorry for the delay. My health really deteriorated the past few weeks but I am feeling better for the time being. Hopefully this keeps up so I can get back on track. Thanks for the support guys!) It was mid morning on this cool late winter day. The sky was clear and the sun shone brightly. The entire forest was illuminated under the intense light. A huge clearing that was covered in knee tall grass spanned the area. Each blade was slightly damp from the remaining morning dew and the ground was soft from the days of rain that preceded it. IN THE RED CORNER, WEIGHING IN AT 1200 NINJA, WE HAVE KONOHAGAKURE! *Thunderous applause and cheering* IN THE BLUE CORNER, WEIGHING IN AT 2000 NINJA, WE HAVE KUMOGAKURE! *Thunderous applause and cheering* Now, without further adieu, ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?!?!?!?! *Thunderous applause and cheering* FIGHTERS¡­ ARE YOU READY?!?!?! 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ FIGHT! *DING DING DING* (This was very amusing to type :P) The two armies waited in anticipation on opposite sides of the clearing. Both sides were waiting for the other to make their move. Koryu split up the attack force into two divisions. They would alternate between fighting and resting. In addition, personnel would be shifted around to balance any losses. At the front of the two forces, A and Koryu were staring each other down. As opposing commanders, they did their best to read each other''s intentions. As expected, A was the first to lose his patience. In that moment, he raised one arm, and then swung it downwards to point forward. With this, the Kumo ninjas began to charge. In response, Koryu gave a similar order to his men and the battle had begun. As if an unspoken agreement had been made between the two sides, most of the elites stayed back to observe the battle before joining in. The clanging of metal and the booms of explosions could be heard. Within seconds, the battle was raging. After a few minutes, the fighting had spread out and those watching from the sides had a clear view of where they needed to assist. Before entering the battle, Nawaki sat down in the lotus position and meditated. He stretched out his senses and searched for something. After a few minutes, he found what he was looking for. A massive chakra signature was moving towards the battlefield. It could be none other than Kumo''s hachibi jinchuriki, Killer B. Nawaki quickly weaved some hand signs, bit his thumb, spread some blood across his palm, and then slammed it into the ground as he yelled, "KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU" (summoning). A massive cloud of smoke appeared. Once it cleared, a huge albino tiger with glowing blue eyes appeared. Nawaki jumped on top of it and said, "Zora, take me to the hachibi. I can tell you where it is if you can''t find it." Zora scoffed and said, "You underestimate me Nawaki dono. I can feel him clearly. I recommend you hold on to something." As he said this, lightning chakra coated the tiger''s body. Once it was covered, arcs of electricity shot off of Zora''s body and into the ground around him. It looked very similar to the Raikage''s lightning chakra mode. Noticing that Zora was ready to go, Nawaki sat down and began his meditation to enter sage mode. He would need to be at full strength as he was about to take on the infamous Killer B. Once Zora felt that Nawaki was using chakra to stick to him, he took off with insane speed and acceleration. The two flew through the battlefield in a blur of lightning. As they were approaching their target, Nawaki could see Koryu engaging A. Unruly A''s speed was not something to take lightly. However, Koryu was able to keep up with him thanks to his mangekyou sharingan. Zora and Nawaki sped through Kumo''s forces. As Zora was running, he said, "Nawaki dono, the hachibi is right up ahead." Hearing this, Nawaki opened his eyes. The olive green sage markings have covered his face and he was read. He sensed the massive chakra of the biju and looked straight to Killer B. As they approached, a group of Kumo ninja blocked the way. Nawaki turned to Zora and asked, "Would you mind disposing of them? I''ll handle B." Zora chuckled and said, "It would be my pleasure. Allow me to show you my powers." Zora inhaled deeply. As he did this, Nawaki could feel senjutsu energy flowing into Zora''s lungs. He then said, "Senpo: Ranton Kouga" (sage art: storm release light fang). (If you want to see what this actually looks like, search it up on youtube. Madara uses it in his battle with six paths naruto.) As Zora exhaled, a concentrated purple laser shot out of his mouth at extreme speed. In an instant, he swept across the interfering Kumo ninja. In a flash, they were all sliced in two as their lifeless torsos fell to the floor. B somehow managed to dodge it. Most likely this was thanks to the hachibi telling him to drop to the ground. Nawaki smirked and said, "Zora, that was crazy. If you wouldn''t mind, use the rest of the time you have here to go and assist in the battle. I''ll take over from here." Nawaki hopped off of Zora and unsheathed his sword. Zora held his head high and mighty as he said, "That was nothing. Be safe Nawaki dono. A jinchuriki is nothing to play around with. I wish you luck. Farewell." He then took off and started taking down any Kumo ninja on his way to assist the Konoha forces. B stepped forward and unsheathed two swords from his back. He stood tall and wore all white. He had blond hair and his forehead protector covered his hair. He had small black sunglasses over his eyes. He wore the standard Kumo flak jacket and pants with no shirt underneath. (I apologize in advance for the extremely shitty and giga cringe rhymes.) With a smug look on his face, he looked at Nawaki and said, "The eight tails is me, the cool Killer B. Now tell me what your name might be, bakayaro konoyaro." Nawaki thought for a moment and replied, "Look at me, my name is Nawaki. From the Senju clan, I''m gonna fight you man." In Nawaki''s head there was suddenly an audible clap. Kensho had smacked his forehead in reaction to the cringe that just came out of Nawaki''s mouth. The two power houses stared each other down. On one side, the Senju with senjutsu enhanced wood release. On the other side, the hachibi jinchuriki. They could both tell that the other was quite formidable. As they locked eyes, a silent agreement was made. They would begin with a kenjutsu bout. Nawaki grinned and nodded at B and he returned the nod. They both wanted to enjoy this duel before they''d have to get serious. Nawaki reached into his kunai pouch and revealed several of his hiraishin (flying raijin/thunder god) kunai. He scattered them as he threw them into the ground. With the preparations complete, the two swordsmen sped forward. They met each other with a clash of swords. B met Nawaki''s long sword with the sword in his right hand. As he parried the strike, he swung his left sword to slash across Nawaki''s chest. Nawaki loosened the grip on his sword and jumped to flip over B. He effectively escaped the parry and dodged the strike. As he landed, he stabbed his sword backwards towards B. In a fluid motion, B turned and swung both his swords to parry Nawaki''s strike. He then quickly stopped his right sword and swung it back towards Nawaki. Nawaki then spun around and parried the strike as he jumped backwards. He looked to B and said, "How about we heat things up a bit?" He then channeled lightning chakra through his sword. B did the same and their exchanges became even faster. From outside, their fight looked like a blur. The constant clangs of their swords and the flashes of light from the strikes lit up the area. Every once in a while, there would be a flash and they would separate as Nawaki teleported to one of his kunai to avoid a swing. They would pause for just an instant before returning to their battle. Nawaki was able to tell without a doubt that he was outmatched when it came to kenjutsu. Killer B truly deserved his name. Kensho then spoke up, "Not sure how long it''ll take you to notice, but this battle is kinda getting out of hand. Stop being a dumbass and get serious dude." Nawaki scoffed and then thought, ''Come onnnnn. I''m having fun! Ughhhhh, alright. Let''s end this.'' As he finished that thought, a loud explosion rocked the battlefield. Nawaki turned and couldn''t believe his eyes. The fight between A and Koryu was at its peak. Koryu had activated his susanoo. His susanoo was a pale green and only the torso and head had materialized. It held a large glowing sword in its hand. Half of the blade was currently in the ground and A stood next to it panting. He was clad in lightning chakra. Nawaki widened his eyes and said, "I think it''s about time we get serious." After saying this, Nawaki flashed to one of his kunai and sheathed his sword. B glanced over to the fight between Koryu and A and then looked back to Nawaki. He then said, "Indeed it is time to get serious, but in this fight I will be victorious, bakayaro, konoyaro!" Nawaki smirked and then weaved through some hand signs and slammed his hand into the ground, "Mokuton: Mokujin no Jutsu." (Wood Golem) The ground shook as a gigantic wooden golem emerged from the ground. This one was by far the largest that he had created thus far. It stood at about 35 feet tall and towered over the battlefield. Seeing this, B sheathed his swords and said, "Eighto, it''s time to go!" Steam then began to rise off of his skin as a red cloak formed over him. The aura that he let off was stifling. As the chakra cloak covered his body, he let out a deafening roar that shook the ground. Nawaki smiled and said, "Kensho, this should be fun. You ready?" Kensho laughed and said, "This is even better than the anime. Fuck yeah I''m ready!" In response to the jinchuriki''s roar, the wooden dragon that is draped over the golem roared back as Nawaki yelled, "IKUZOOOOOO!" As he yelled, the wooden golem charged forward. As he did B flew forward at breakneck speed. When they met in the middle, they both threw out a punch. As their fists met, a loud boom and huge shockwave exploded as the ground shook. Everyone that was fighting around them paused for a moment and looked on helplessly. Nawaki and B were on a different planet than them. They couldn''t even come close to displaying the same amount of destructive power. In the end, their contributions would not mean much. This battle would be decided by the two fights: Koryu VS A, and Nawaki VS B. As their fists parted, another huge explosion echoed across the battlefield. Looking back to the battle between Koryu and A, it was getting even more intense. Koryu now has his full susanoo activated with its majestic attire. It was now holding two swords. With each swing, a huge gash would be carved into the ground and debris would fly through the air. However, A was just too fast. He systematically dodged every attack, avoiding injury. Nawaki started getting anxious. It was obvious that Koryu would not last much longer. Using the susanoo was very taxing. Especially upon closer examination, Nawaki could see a stream of blood coming down from his eyes. Koryu was reaching his limits. He had to end this fight and fast. Nawaki quickly sent his wooden dragon at the jinchuriki. As the dragon was about to chomp down, B swatted it away. As he did, wood exploded off of the dragon and it slammed into the ground. B then jumped back and started to amass chakra. Blue and red blobs of chakra started materializing. They flowed towards B''s mouth and condensed into a dark purple sphere. It was none other than a tailed beast bomb. Upon seeing this, all of the Kumo ninja scattered. Nawaki then yelled out, "RETREAT! PUT AS MUCH DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND THE HACHIBI AS POSSIBLE!" As the tailed beast bomb was building up, Nawaki created some wooden beams to support the back side of his golem and burrowed them into the ground. He then formed countless wooden tendrils and created a huge wall in front of him. While the wall was being formed, the tailed beast bomb finally finished forming and was shot at Nawaki. It flew through the air and smashed into the wall. Wood shrapnel exploded through the air. Quickly, Nawaki formed a wooden dome to protect himself. Using his sensory abilities, he continued building the wall to block the tailed beast bomb. The tailed beast bomb continued smashing through the wooden tendrils. However, it finally showed signs of slowing down. As it was coming to a stop, it exploded. A bright glowing explosion expanded outwards and consumed the wooden tendrils. Fortunately, plot armor prevented the explosion from consuming Nawaki so he was safe. Once it subsided, Nawaki unfurled the wooden dome and looked out over the resulting destruction. 37 Aftermath Due to the explosion, the cloud cover was dispersed and the sun was now shining down on the battlefield. A huge crater was now visible and in the middle of it was a wooden golem with a young ninja on top. Nawaki did not hesitate to take action. He immediately had the golem slam both hands into the ground. After a moment, the ground started rumbling and 2 huge wooden dragons emerged on either side of B. The two dragons relentlessly attacked B and kept him occupied as Nawaki charged forward on the golem. Once he was about 30 feet from B, he weaved through some hands signs and jumped off of the golem. As he landed, he slammed his hands into the ground. "Mokuton: Taju Mokuryu no Jutsu" (Multiple Wooden Dragon). Several additional wooden dragons emerged from the ground and attacked B. Now he was blatantly overwhelmed. Within a few seconds, multiple dragons wrapped around B and sunk their teeth into him. As the dragons tightened their grip on B, the chakra cloak started to fade revealing his burnt skin. It was healing rapidly but the cloak continued to fade. After about 30 seconds, the cloak completely dissipated and B was unconscious. When Nawaki was about to move in to detain the hachibi, another huge explosion rang out across the battlefield. Looking to the source, a half destroyed skeletal susanoo was lying on the ground and A was standing over it. Nawaki immediately turned away from B and took out a three pronged kunai. He threw it across the battlefield towards Koryu. As it reached the apex of its trajectory, it had covered half of the distance. In that instant, Nawaki teleported to the kunai, grabbed it, and threw it straight towards Koryu. As the kunai flew through the air, Nawaki looked down at Koryu. At that moment, A jabbed at Koryu who was on the ground with a 3 fingered assault. His hand was clad in lightning. Almost instantaneously, A''s hand stabbed through Koryu''s chest and blood splattered. Nawaki''s eyes widened and he screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" After a short moment, the kunai had arrived on the ground next to Koryu but A had already disappeared in a blur. He then teleported to the kunai and knelt down. Nawaki then picked up Koryu and sprinted towards the back line. After a short moment, they arrived at the back line and Nawaki placed Koryu on the ground. As Koryu''s body hit the ground, Fugaku ran over and knelt down before frantically saying, "Dad, what happened?!?!" Koryu was barely staying awake. He coughed up some blood and said, "Fugaku, come here." While this was happening, Nawaki was applying first aid. He was using his senjutsu boosted mystical palm jutsu to heal Koryu as fast as he could. Sadly, he had already lost too much blood and he had internal organ damage. Nawaki decided he would keep trying but chances were not looking too good. Fugaku leaned closer to his father. Koryu then said, "Fugaku, you have great friends. Keep them close to you. They will help guide you back on course when you lose your way. Take care of the family for me. Tell your mother I love her and will always be watching over her. Lastly, give my best to Shunsui sama. I trust that he will support you as if you were his own son." Tears started streaming down Fugaku''s face as he screamed, "NO OTOU SAN! YOU CAN''T DIE HERE! NAWAKI WILL HEAL YOU!" Koryu coughed up more blood and said in a faint voice, "Nawaki, it''s okay. My time has come. Fugaku, everything will be alright. One last thing before I go; Nawaki, come here boy." Nawaki leaned down and placed his ear next to Koryu''s face. Koryu then whispered, "I leave them to him. I trust you to keep them safe and give them to him when the time is right. They will be my legacy and I hope he puts them to good use." A stream of tears then started to run down Nawaki''s face as he replied softly, "Leave it to me Koryu san. They will be his when he is ready." Hearing this, Koryu said to Fugaku, "Boy, everything will be alright. I will always love you. My only regret is not being able to see you grow up. I''ll see you on the other side, my son." At this point, Fugaku was hysterical. A steady stream of tears were coming down his face and he was weeping. With these last words, Koryu took one last breath, and smiled as he closed his eyes for the last time. As he went out, the last images to go through his head were his family, the Uchiha crest, and the view of Konohagakure. He thought to himself, ''I''m sorry honey. I guess I lied. I won''t be coming home.'' Then, he went limp as he departed the mortal plane. As he exhaled his last breath, Fugaku screamed in agony as he buried his face in his palms. Nawaki moved forward to comfort him but suddenly, Fugaku''s hands shot down to his side and black flames shot out of his eye and landed on the ground nearby. More and more flames started to shoot out. Nawaki thought to himself, ''Holy shit, he just awakened his mangekyou.'' Without hesitating, he leaped forward and arrived behind Fugaku. In a smooth and sweeping motion, he landed a chop on the back of Fugaku''s neck. Fugaku was instantly knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Suddenly a voice yelled out, "RETREAT!" Nawaki quickly pulled out a storage scroll and sealed Koryu''s body inside it. Zora then landed on the ground next to Nawaki and said, "Both sides are retreating. We should get out of here." Nawaki nodded before picking up Fugaku and hopping onto Zora''s back. The three of them then took off to head back to camp. The atmosphere back at camp was quite solemn. Both sides lost a lot of lives. Since it was a stalemate, it was approximately even. This was largely in part to Nawaki subduing the hachibi. Nawaki brought Fugaku to the field hospital and laid him down on a bed. He then went back outside. He turned to Zora and said, "You can go and get some rest my friend. There is no need for you to stick around." Zora nodded and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Nawaki then went back in to see Biwako examining Fugaku. He then said, "He is fine. I knocked him out so he didn''t hurt himself." Biwako turned to Nawaki. She had a solemn look on her face. In a soft voice she said, "That is good. I was checking him over and couldn''t find any injuries. I was wondering why you brought him here. Is there anything you need Nawaki chan?" Nawaki hesitated for a moment before saying, "May I borrow an operating room? I need to do something and it is time sensitive and highly confidential." Biwako let on a confused but intrigued expression. She then said, "I won''t ask any questions but make it quick. I doubt it will be long before other people in need of medical attention return." Nawaki smiled and said, "Thank you so much Biwako san. I''ll be as quick as I can." He quickly went through the field hospital building and entered a secluded operating room in a corner. Kensho then popped up and said, "I guess you finally get to stretch your fingers. The last time you did anything like this was before you came to this world. It''s kinda nostalgic eh?" Nawaki chuckled as he took out the scroll containing Koryu''s body and placed it on the table. He then said, "Yes, it has been a while. Hopefully I''m not too rusty. The cleaner I can extract the eyes, the quicker Fugaku''s recovery will be when they are transplanted." Kensho nodded and said, "Yup. I''ll shut up now and let you focus." Nawaki then unfurled the scroll and revealed Koryu''s lifeless body. He took some disinfectant out of his inventory. He cleaned his hands and then used some gauze to disinfect the area around Koryu''s eyes. Next, he pulled a cloth mask out of his inventory to avoid contaminating the corpse. To complete his preparations, he pulled a sealed jar with a saline solution in it to preserve the eyes. (I''m no doctor, but I thought that this kinda makes sense to preserve an organ) Nawaki then pushed some wood out of the end of his fingers and made two prongs to keep Koryu''s eyelids open. He put them in place and then put his fingers above and below his eye sockets. Nawaki then closed his eyes and sensed the inner structure. ''Wow, being able to sense stuff like this is so much easier than having to go in blind.'' He then opened his eyes and created a chakra scalpel on his index finger. In a smooth and extremely delicate motion, he manipulated the blade to sever the optical nerve, liberating the eye from the socket''s grasp. He then pushed two fingers above the eye and one below into the socket. This removed the eye from the socket, leaving it in Nawaki''s hand. After placing the eye in the jar, he repeated the process with the other eye to complete the extraction. Once he was done, he sealed the jar and placed it in his inventory for safe keeping. Then he used the disinfectant to clean his hands and Koryu''s face before resealing him in the scroll. Once everything was cleaned up, he disposed of the garbage and went to tell Biwako that he was done. As he arrived back in the primary care area, he noticed that it was much more lively than before. Every bed was filled and there was a line to get more treatment for minor injuries. As Nawaki scanned across the room, he saw that Fugaku had woken up and was drinking some water. He quickly walked over to the bed. Fugaku had a very confused and distraught look on his face. He was seemingly still in shock. Nawaki pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down. He looked at his friend and said, "How are you feeling?" Fugaku slowly looked up and stared blankly at Nawaki. His eyes showed no emotion. They were seemingly as empty as the void. He then softly said, "He is dead. I honestly don''t know how I feel." Nawaki sighed and then replied, "Yes, he is dead. But he did not die for nothing. We are going to win the war on this front for him and prevent more needless casualties. I promise you that." Hearing this, Fugaku closed his eyes and let his head gently fall back against the wall. He then said, "I guess you''re right. He seemed like he was able to die happily. I can still see the smile on his face. However, I was curious about something. What did he whisper to you? I don''t remember you and my dad being particularly close." Nawaki then hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath. He then said, "This is not the place to discuss it. We can talk about it later in my quarters after the meeting. All the jonin should be summoned soon to reorganize our forces." He then reached out his hand and helped Fugaku out of the bed. They then headed over to the command center. Once they arrived, the two of them made their way to the war room. Nawaki turned to Fugaku and said, "I''m going to go back to Konoha real quick and ask what we should do. We are in need of a new commander." Fugaku nodded and stepped to the side. Nawaki then dropped one of his kunai in the corner of the room and disappeared in a brown flash. -Back in Konoha- Hiruzen was mulling over paperwork and reports from the various fronts. He was stuck in meetings all day long and was dreading to rinse and repeat the next day. As if a saving grace was sent from the heavens, there was a knock on his door. He immediately perked up and said, "You may come in." The door opened and it revealed a disheveled and quite distraught Senju boy. Hiruzen immediately said, "Why are you back here? Could you have not just sent a messenger hawk?" Nawaki slowly walked into the room and said in a soft voice, "Koryu is dead. I came personally to find out what we should do." Hiruzen dropped the papers he was holding in his hands and let on a shocked expression. He then said, "Inu, summon the war council members. We will be meeting in 20 minutes. Tell them that it is an emergency. Nawaki, come with me." Hiruzen then led Nawaki out of his office and to the meeting room. He sat down at the head of the table and motioned for Nawaki to sit next to him. He then said, "Is there anything that I should know that shouldn''t be brought up during the meeting?" As he finished saying this, the door slammed open. The two of them looked to the entrance of the conference room and standing there was none other than Uchiha Shunsui. He immediately said, "Is it true?" Nawaki got up from his seat and took out the scroll containing Koryu''s body. He then handed it to Shunsui and said, "Sadly yes. This is his body. Since you''re here, I can tell the two of you something that the other clan heads should not be privy to." Shunsui sighed and said, "Please, enlighten us." Nawaki sighed and took the jar out of his inventory and placed it on the table. Hiruzen and Shunsui were shocked. "Is this¡­" Nawaki nodded and said, "Koryu entrusted this responsibility to me. He wishes for Fugaku to receive them. It just so happens that he has awoken his mangekyou. I will most likely discuss it with Fugaku soon and carry out the transplant." Hiruzen sighed and said, "Well I''ll leave it to you then. It is only right to respect his dying wish. Do you have any objections to this Shunsui?" Shunsui shook his head and said, "I am fine with it. Aside from my clanmates, I''d say that Nawaki is one of the only people I''d trust with this matter." Hiruzen sat up and said, "Alright then. This information does not leave this room. Aside from Fugaku and the chief medic at your front, Biwako, no one can know about this. I declare this an S ranked secret." For a few minutes, the three of them chatted as they waited for the other council members to arrive. Nawaki had a quick heartwarming reunion with Toka. Shortly thereafter, everyone took their seats and the meeting began. 38 Reinforcements? (Don''t worry. MC is not becoming a commander. He is 14 for fucks sake.) Hiruzen stood up from his seat at the head of the table. "Let''s get this meeting started. As I''m sure you have all been informed, Koryu has been killed in action. This meeting is to choose a new commander and reallocate our forces as necessary. Does anyone have any suggestions for a new commander on the Kumo front?" No one said anything. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence as everyone waited for someone to break the ice. This was a very difficult decision and no one wanted to have to make it. Breaking the silence, Shikaramu spoke up, "At the moment, we can''t transfer anyone that is capable of the role from the other fronts. Regardless of our situation, our enemies must not be allowed an advantage. Thus, we will need to send someone from the village." Upon hearing this, the room fell into silence yet again. Growing impatient, Shikaramu spoke up again, "I advise that we send some serious firepower so that we can end the war on that front quickly. I volunteer to go and take on the role of commander for the Kumo front." Shinsui smiled and said, "In that case, I will go as well. I would be doing Koryu a disservice if I didn''t return the favor to Kumo. With Shikaramu and I, we should be able to suppress their forces quickly." Hiruzen smiled and said, "All is set then. Please head out immediately. Best of luck." -Back in the war room- A large group of Konoha jonin grew restless in the war room. They were impatiently waiting to find out what to do next. In addition, everyone was still mourning the loss of their commander. Suddenly, there was a flash in the corner of the room. Everyone immediately turned to the source to find out what happened. From the flash, three people became visible. The three of them began to walk towards the center of the room where the table is. As the Konoha jonin recognized the three people, they stepped to the side and opened a path to the center of the room. Shikaramu projected his voice across the room, "Good afternoon everyone. In case any of you don''t know me, I am Nara Shikaramu and I will be your commander for the time being. In addition, allow my vice commander to introduce himself." "Hello everyone. I am Uchiha Shunsui. I look forward to working with you all." Shunsui then looked over to Shikaramu and nodded. Shikaramu then said, "Now, let''s get this meeting started." He then started filling everyone in on the other fronts and also received intel on their current available forces. As he did this, Shunsui tapped Nawaki''s shoulder and nodded his head to the side. They then left the room while the meeting was taking place. As they neared the door, they found Fugaku and Minato. Shunsui did the same thing with Fugaku and brought them outside. Shunsui turned to Nawaki and then said, "Time is of the essence. I suggest we do the transplant now." Nawaki sighed and led the way to the field hospital. On the way, Fugaku turned to Shunsui and asked, "Shunsui san, what do you need me for?" Shunsui just shook his head and said, "You''ll find out soon. This is not the place to discuss it." After a short walk, the trio entered the medical building. As they entered, Biwako noticed them and said, "Shunsui? When did you get here?" Shunsui smiled when he saw Biwako. The two have always been somewhat friendly due to her position at the hospital. Shunsui then said, "I arrived just now. Ah yes, it is quite convenient that you''re here. I need to borrow you for a procedure. Is there an available operating room?" Biwako laughed and said, "I''d be happy to help. What do you need from me?" Shunsui shook his head and said, "I''ll tell you when we get to the OR." Biwako led the group to a secluded operating room. Once they arrived, Nawaki sealed the walls to prevent any eavesdropping. After doing this, Shunsui turned to Biwako and Fugaku before saying, "From what I have heard, Fugaku, you have awoken your mangekyou. As I am sure you know, the mangekyou is a double edged sword. It gives you great power but also punishes its user with a severe backlash. Your father''s dying wish was for his eyes to be transplanted into yours to eliminate most of said backlash." Fugaku was speechless. He had yet to hear anything about this. He then realized that this must be what Koryu whispered to Nawaki before he died. He then asked, "Why now?" Shunsui sighed and said, "If we were not in our current circumstances, I would opt to not do the transplant now. However, we need you at full strength for the next battle. I believe that with a bit of support, Nawaki, you and myself should be able to end this fight quickly. That will only be possible if you undergo this procedure." Fugaku hesitated before responding. These were his father''s eyes. It was obvious that he needed to do it but he truly wished he didn''t have to. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Alright. Let''s get this over with then. It was his dying wish so it is my duty to respect it." Nawaki nodded upon hearing this and took the eyes out of his inventory before placing the jar on the table. He then also took out the necessary tools and medicines including disinfectant, gauze, anesthesia, and another jar to put Fugaku''s eyes in. He then turned to Shunsui and Fugaku. "Shunsui, would you mind standing to the side? And Fugaku, go ahead and lay down on the table." He then turned to Biwako and continued, "Please administer the anesthesia once he is settled in. I am going to prepare the eyes." Shunsui nodded and stepped back. Fugaku then laid down on the table while Biwako took out a syringe to inject the anesthesia. Meanwhile, Nawaki opened the jar with Koryu''s eyes and placed them into a metal dish. (Yeah, I''m too damn lazy to type out another eye surgery. Basically, Fugaku got put under, got his eyes yoinked, then got some new ones yeeted in there, and then Nawaki stored the eyes in his "prison wallet". Lastly, he used sage boosted medical ninjutsu to reduce the recovery time. I''m not sorry for my laziness. I just wanna move on with the story and get to some fun stuff.) Once the surgery was done, Nawaki placed Fugaku''s old eyes into the new jar and stored them away. He did this because he recently had an epiphany: these eyes can be saved and given to Itachi or Sasuke in the future. Shunsui noticed Nawaki lay claim to the eyes and asked, "May I know why you are holding onto those?" Nawaki sighed and said, "I believe they might have some use in the future. Do you mind if I hold onto them until then?" Shunsui nodded and said, "That is quite the foresight you have there. I''ll leave it to you then. Thank you for this." Nawaki shrugged and said, "Eh, don''t worry about it. It is just natural to help a friend." Shunsui smiled, "I''m glad that he had friends like you and Minato to rely on. I hope you two can help him through the mourning process. My clan has a long history of people losing themselves to their emotions after the death of a loved one. I''ll have to trouble you two with that." As they talked, Biwako wheeled Fugaku back to the infirmary to rest until he woke up. After about an hour, he groaned as he tried sitting up. Nawaki quickly dashed over and held him down, "I would stay laying down for now. And don''t try opening your eyes yet. It''d probably be best if you kept them closed until the pain is mostly gone." Fugaku laid back down into the bed, "Ughhh. Okay doc, whatever you say. How''d the surgery go?" Nawaki chuckled and said, "Obviously it went perfectly. Who do you think was operating on you?" Fugaku let out a soft laugh in response. Nawaki then said, "Try and get some rest. I''m going to come back later to heal you some more so that maybe you can open those eyes tonight." Fugaku shuddered and said, "Tonight? Didn''t the surgery just finish? How would I be able to see even a couple days from now?" Nawaki grinned and said, "I got the magic in me baybee." Inside his head, he heard an audible slap as Kensho popped up with a red forehead. "Dude, you just posted cringe. You''re gonna lose subscribers." Nawaki rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, my healing abilities are quite strong so it is not surprising that you might be able to see by the end of the night." Fugaku smiled and said, "That''s great news. Thank you Nawaki." Nawaki nodded and said, "Of course. Happy to help a friend." 39 Oh How The Turns Have Tabled It was a cool night in the Land of Bears. Countless small clouds dotted the night sky. As they moved, stars would emerge from behind them. A light breeze made the air feel colder than it already was. Waking up from a nap, Nawaki yawned and stretched his arms before slowly sitting up. "Kensho, what time is it?" Kensho then popped up, "It''s about 9pm. Would you like a weather forecast or today''s lottery numbers?" Rolling his eyes, Nawaki turned and dropped his feet off of the bed. He yawned and stretched again before rising to his feet. Slipping on his sandals, he made his way to the door. The camp was quiet. Most people were either indoors or huddling around campfires to keep warm. It was a peaceful scene considering the current state of affairs. As Nawaki strolled across the encampment, he shook himself up a bit to fully wake up. Once he arrived at his destination, Nawaki interlocked his fingers and cracked his knuckles. Following this, he entered the hospital. The infirmary was somewhat less crowded than earlier and much more quiet. Many of the patients were sleeping while some were receiving treatment and others were relaxing. Nawaki walked through the infirmary and approached Fugaku''s bed. He was sitting up with his back against the wall, seemingly awake. "Yo, you want to get those bandages off?" Fugaku''s expression lit up upon hearing his friend''s voice. He then excitedly said, "Hell yeah. Let''s do it." Nawaki chuckled and said, "Alright. I''m gonna slowly take them off now but make sure you keep your eyes closed until I say otherwise." Fugaku smiled, "You got it boss." Reaching over to the clip, Nawaki unfastened it and slowly unraveled the bandages covering the top half of Fugaku''s face. Once they were off, the results of the transplant were visible. There was some moderate swelling around the eyes and some dried up blood. Seeing this, Nawaki grabbed a piece of gauze and dampened it a bit. He then gently wiped the dried blood off of Fugaku''s face. Following this, he placed a finger on Fugaku''s temple and above the eye on each side. Then, he circulated some natural energy through the chakra pathways to get a rough idea of how the healing process was progressing. Seeing a golden opportunity, he said, "Bad news. Looks like you''re gonna have to keep those eyes closed for another week at least." Fugaku''s jaw dropped upon hearing this, "No, you''re joking right?" Nawaki started laughing and said, "No shit Sherlock. Try slowly opening your eyes." Fugaku let on a confused expression and asked, "Who is Sherlock?" Nawaki nearly soiled his pants when he realized what he did. "Ummm, some detective from a book. It''s a figure of speech. Don''t worry about it." He then thought, ''Phew, that was close.'' Slowly, Fugaku started to open his eyes. The swelling made it a bit difficult but he was able to do it nonetheless. "I can see! Never realized how badly I take sight for granted." They both laughed at this. Nawaki then said, "Aside from the swelling, everything is healed up. The swelling should go down by tomorrow night. Now, how about you try activating those things?" Fugaku grinned as he ran chakra through his eyes. Once they activated, he realized his vision was clearer than ever. "Damn, this is amazing. My sharingan wasn''t even close to as good as this." Nawaki laughed and said, "My friend, those are not just any sharingan, but eternal mangekyou sharingan. With your reinforced chakra pathways, I have no doubt that there will be no issues when using your mangekyou abilities." Fugaku tried the mangekyou and was flabbergasted by the quality of his vision. Nawaki then went on to fill him in on the plan put forth by Shikaramu. On the surface, the plan is to bait the Kumo forces into an all out engagement. However, the actual plan is only known by a select few. The actual combat will be done by a small team that is capable of taking on all of Kumo of their own. This team includes Shunsui, Fugaku, Nawaki, and Minato. In addition to them, Nawaki requested that Uzumaki Kira and Might Duy join them. Due to his rank, Duy would be kept in the dark until the day of. Otherwise, the only person outside of the team that knows the plan is Shikaramu. Essentially, this group was chosen due to their individual abilities to take on a multitude of opponents simultaneously. The two Uchihas would use their Susanoo, Nawaki would use wood release as well as his tiger summons, Minato would use his hiraishin and toad summons, Kira would use his adamantine chains, and lastly, Duy would "do his thing" as Nawaki put it. Part of the secret plan included allowing Kumo''s spies to find out about the all out offensive. This would almost guarantee that they could put a swift end to the conflict. The next morning, Nawaki met up with Minato. The operation would be carried out the next day so they left camp to inform their summonings. This way they''d be ready for action right away. The duo made their way to a clearing that was about 20 miles behind the forward encampment. Nawaki turned to Minato, "Here should be good." Minato nodded and then they both performed the summoning jutsu. Two massive clouds of smoke exploded in the field. From one cloud, Gamabunta was revealed. From the other, Tora appeared. The two ninja then walked through the plan with their summons. When Nawaki was done talking, Tora laughed and said, "Well this is great timing. Sadly, I''ll have to miss out on the fun this time. However, you''ll get even better help when the time comes. Use a bit more chakra than you usually would when summoning me. On top of that, put an equal amount of natural energy into the jutsu as well." Nawaki nodded and dismissed Tora. Minato had also done the same. Following this, they headed back to camp. The rest of the day went by quickly. Those involved found out that their bait was taken based on reports that Kumo was preparing for a full mobilization. Finally, the morning came. A thick fog covered the land. Visibility was limited to about 100 yards. Despite the fog, it was actually a somewhat warm day. With the sun shining so bright, the fog should clear up in a few hours. As the sun was ascending through the sky, Konoha''s forces were preparing for the "operation". Everyone aside from a few ANBU and intelligence corps was packed up and ready to go. On Shikaramu''s orders, they moved out. The sea of Konoha ninja trekked through the forest towards the same battlefield from a few days ago. When they were a few minutes out, they received word that Kumo''s forces were about to arrive at the battlefield as well. Everything was going according to plan. Several minutes later, the two armies were staring each other down from across the clearing. Each side was patiently waiting for the other to make the first move. As time dragged on, A grew visibly frustrated. He then yelled out, "THEY ARE TOYING WITH US! CHARGE!" With some yelling, the crowd of Kumo ninja sped forward. In response to this, Shikaramu yelled, "RETREAT!" Despite the confusion, everyone on his side ran away from the approaching enemies. Of course, all but a few were doing this. In the small group, Shunsui stood in the middle and said, "Nawaki, deal with the hachibi. Duy, deal with A. Everyone else, let''s have some fun!" Following this, Nawaki weaved through the hand signs and smeared some blood, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." (Summoning) As per Tora''s instructions, he injected some natural energy into the jutsu. Two huge smoke clouds exploded on the field and obstructed Kumo''s view. As the smoke cleared, an overwhelming amount of pressure emanated from the team. Shunsui was surrounded by a dark blue rib cage that was rapidly growing. It formed the full torso, flesh, and then became clothed. Lastly, he rose up into the avatar''s head as it became completely covered in armor. His complete body Susanoo towered over the battlefield and looked like a majestic samurai. It had two swords hanging from it''s hips and a pair of wings spreading from it''s back. Moving down the line, Fugaku had also let loose his complete body Susanoo. It was a light green figure and had similar characteristics to Shunsui''s. It had one sword at its hip and also had wings. Next, Kira had materialized his chains. He was using them as legs in a Doctor Octopus type fashion. After him, Duy was standing in a fighting stance. A powerful aura exploded from his body as he opened up to the 7th Gate of Shock. From one cloud of smoke, Gamabunta was revealed with a smug look on his face as he smoked his pipe. Lastly, from the other cloud of smoke, the source of the largest amount of pressure had yet to reveal itself. Once the smoke cleared, the summoning was still shrouded in a cover of mist. Suddenly, three deafening roars shook the ground as the mist quickly dissipated. From the smoke, three massive feline summonings were revealed. On the left was a majestic yellow panther with a blue zig zag tail. It had a purple cloud floating off of its neck and was covered with black markings. Its face was white. On the face, a dark gray plate was on its brow and there was a blue star on its nose. In the middle was a fierce brown lion with a cloud of smoke floating off of its back. It had black bands around its legs and a fluffy white tail. It had a sharp geometric face with a red star, a gray stache, and a yellow flame on its brow. On the right was a beautiful blue jaguar. It''s body was covered with white spots and a purple mane floated off its back. The most noticeable feature was the flowing white ribbons that floated around its body. Seeing this, Nawaki''s jaw dropped as he thought, ''No. Nonononono. Noooooo way. THIS IS FUCKING SICK!'' Everyone, including the Konoha team, was staring at the three cats in awe. None of them had ever seen such majestic creatures. Not only that, but the amount of pressure they emanated was intense. The cat in the middle turned to Nawaki and said in a deep booming voice, "I''m guessing you''re the one Tora told us about? Ahhhh, this should make for a fun stretch." The other two cats laughed. Snapping out of his daze, Nawaki asked, "Ummmmm, who are you guys?" The cat on the left scoffed and said in a deep voice, "My name is Raikou." The middle said, "I am Entei." The last one said, "And I am Suicune." (I don''t care what you think. I''m having fun.) Hearing this, Nawaki got all giddy. He grew up with Pokemon so this was the coolest thing ever. Kensho then said, "Bro, don''t even ask. I have no idea." Nawaki laughed before weaving some hand signs and clapping both hands together. "Senpo Mokuton: Shin Susenju" (Sage Art Wood Release: True Thousand Hands). The ground shook as a gargantuan wooden construction emerged from the ground. It towered over even the complete body Susanoo. In the front was a sitting Buddha. On the head was a wood golem. Lastly, it was backed up by a thousand wooden arms. Shunsui laughed and thought, ''What is he gonna do next? Pull a rabbit out of a hat?'' He then said, "Let''s do this." 40 Annihilation (Should I reupload the book as a fan fic? I accidentally selected "novel" when I started and kinda just went with it. I also contacted support and they were like, "Nah bruh. We don''t do that." Let me know.) The entire Kumo army froze as they looked at what was in front of them. They were completely and utterly outmatched. Snapping out of his daze, B immediately transformed into the hachibi and charged at Nawaki. A equipped his lightning chakra mode and sped forward towards Shunsui but Duy intercepted him in a blur and sent him flying. Seeing their two trump cards rush forward, they had no choice but to join the fight. They resumed their charge. Unfortunately, they were merely running to their deaths. In similar fashion to the previous battle, Nawaki charged at B. As he approached. He launched a bombardment of wooden fists. Immediately, the hachibi got forced back. During the bombardment, Nawaki sent out two wooden dragons and restrained him. Nawaki quickly suppressed the bijuu chakra and incapacited B. After 20 seconds, he was unconscious on the ground. At this point, he was quite adept at overpowering and suppressing tailed beasts. Wood release really is a god sent kekkei genkai. After this, he continued forward crushing all in his path. Over in the fight between Duy and A, it was a deadlock. Duy was clearly stronger when it came to strength but A was always able to dodge using his slight edge in speed. However, Duy was just aiming to keep A busy so he was doing his job well. Minato was flashing around the field taking out an enemy with each move. The bodies were continuously hitting the ground. The two Susanoos were mowing down ninja with each swing. And the summonings, Kumo ain''t looking too hot. Gamabunta was also mowing down Kumo ninja with his blade. For the legendary trio, each one possessed a kekkei genkai and used large scale jutsus to blow away the enemy. After exchanging blows, A was sent flying again. As he stood up, he looked across the battlefield. His heart hurt with each strike from the Konoha team. All he could do was watch as his comrades were slaughtered. They didn''t stand a chance against this small group that was able to completely let loose. A grew visibly frustrated at his lack of foresight. He just sent his men to their deaths. With extreme reluctance, he yelled, "RETREAT!" After just 10 minutes of fighting, their army was on the verge of annihilation. There was truly no hope for victory. All of the Kumo ninja that were still alive and well made a b-line off the battlefield. The Konoha ninja gave a brief chase continuing to cut down as many Kumo ninja as possible. After a short time, Shunsui yelled, "LET THEM GO! WE HAVE FINISHED WHAT WE CAME HERE FOR!" Their team then turned back and left the fleeing Kumo ninja. At this point, Shikaramu sent the rest of the army back forward to detain all of the living Kumo ninja to use as negotiation chips. In addition, they took all of the weapons and equipment and made quite the profit from the exchange. Nawaki and Minato dismissed their summonings and the team headed back to camp leaving the rest for the army to handle. Nawaki had to carry Duy and bring him back to camp as he was incapacitated due to the pain caused by opening the gate of shock. Later that day, Shunsui and the rest of the demolition team were drinking in celebration of their overwhelming victory. As if coming to a sudden realization, Shunsui became serious and turned to Nawaki. He then asked, "Hey kiddo. Mind if I ask you something?" Nawaki raised his brow letting on an intrigued look. He then said, "Sure, ask away Shunsui san." Shunsui then said, "Okay, what the FUCK were those summonings?" Upon hearing this, everyone else became silent. It turns out that they were all thinking the same thing. With this, all eyes were on Nawaki. Speaking of whom, he just smiled and scratched the back of his head. He then said, "I''m just as clueless as you guys are. When Minato and I briefed our summons before the operation, Tora told me to perform a special summoning instead of the normal one and that''s what happened." Everyone laughed in response to this. They were all expecting some crazy training or super powered ability but it was merely a slightly modified summoning. Despite being shocked, the truth was quite comical. As they were laughing and celebrating their boon, an Intelligence Corps member ran into the room, "SHUNSUI SAMA, URGENT NEWS!" Shunsui turned and said, "Hai hai. Calm down my friend. What is the news?" After taking a few breaths and calming herself she said, "We just received a letter from Lord Third. He has been informed that the Raikage wishes to enter peace talks. We have orders to cease all operations on this front and wait for further instructions." Shunsui smiled at this. Everyone else was silent waiting for his reaction. He reached into his flak jacket and removed a scroll. He unfurled it and in a poof of smoke, a bottle was revealed. The bottle was made of crystal clear glass and had a square base. It was about 8 inches tall and contained a brown, smokey liquid. Nawaki''s eyes lit up. This was none other than authentic Japanese style whiskey. Shunsui turned to everyone and said, "Boys, TONIGHT WE DRINK!" Everyone in the room cheered. (Did you know that Whiskey and Whisky are both correct spellings of the word. They have the same meaning and there is no differentiation between the two aside from the one letter in spelling. I just found this out when doing some research so I thought I''d share.) Shunsui had the Intelligence Corps take over for the night and until tomorrow afternoon as they would be drinking into the night. This wasn''t just a normal celebration. They were making progress towards ending this war! The lives lost would not be in vain as they would be built upon to secure the future of Konoha! The remainder of the night was a shit show of drunken shenanigans. Since people were considered adults when they became ninja, the whole squad was sloshed. Duy had a slow start with the drinking. However, when he reached a certain point, he became an untamed beast. He actually turned out to be yet another natural proprietor of the drunken fist. He became belligerent and started wrecking the makeshift bar that Nawaki constructed with wood release. Everyone needed to band together and distract Duy so Nawaki could restrain him with wooden tendrils. They locked him down and forced some water down his throat before leaving him to calm down. The rest of the night went by quite smoothly. Everyone got shitfaced and passed out in the makeshift bar. It was truly an enjoyable night. They all knew that as soon as the peace talks ended, another night like this one wouldn''t come around for a while. Soon enough, the sun began to rise over the forest. A thin fog began to envelop the vegetation as the morning dew slowly evaporated due to the sunlight. The chirping of birds and rustling of small animals emerging from their abodes livened up the environment. Nawaki slowly opened his eyes as he groaned. Kensho laughed and asked, "How''s your first hangover in this world?" Nawaki immediately shut his eyes and fell back to the floor saying, "Oh shut up, will ya?" Kensho just laughed and said, "I''d get up and figure out this hangover if I were you. The orders from Konoha should be here in the next few hours. The Raikage has that teleportation thingy, remember?" Nawaki sighed and sat up against the wall. Looking around the room, everyone was still asleep in awkward positions on the floor or in chairs. In the far corner, Duy was still restrained but was peacefully asleep. He walked over to the poor genin and released him from the tendrils. Following this, he walked out of the makeshift bar to stretch his legs. Nawaki was sore all over. He had a massive headache and was very groggy. This would be an awful morning. In an effort to wake himself up, he decided that he would go hunt and then cook some breakfast. He still had some fresh ingredients left in his inventory so he only needed some meat. Nawaki left camp and entered the forest. Jumping into a tree, he knelt down and stretched out his senses. He was searching for a particular animal that had meat that would taste heavenly during a hangover. Unfortunately, it took him a little longer than normal. Despite all expectations, Nawaki was not a superhuman. His senses were dulled a bit due to being hungover so he struggled a bit. However, he was recovering at breakneck pace as he circulated the natural energy through his body. It rejuvenated his cells and energized his body. Suddenly, he took off through the trees. In the middle of the forest, a fat, brown boar was munching on some acorns. (I looked it up, they actually eat almost anything.) Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the leaves above. As it went on the defensive thinking that there was a predator, it heard the flapping of a bird that took off from the trees. Hearing this, it calmed back down and resumed eating. Unfortunately for it, that was not the source of the noise. Reality was not so kind. The actual source was a hungover Nawaki that was not able to keep his stealth at a peak. He almost alerted the boar of his presence! After waiting for a few seconds to steady himself, he removed a sheathed tanto sword from his inventory. This is one of the spares that he keeps in case of emergency. He did not feel that his grandfather''s sword should be used to hunt. He dropped down from directly above the boar and landed on top of it as the tanto blade slid through its head, killing it instantly. It''s lifeless body fell to the ground as Nawaki removed the blade from the boar and rolled to the side. He whipped the sword, removing blood from the metal blade and sheathed the tanto before placing it back in his inventory. Never know when he''ll need it. Nawaki then took out some rope from his inventory and was about to tie up the boar to bring it back to camp but then stopped. "Why do I need to lug this thing back to camp when I can just butcher it here and store it away in my inventory? IDIOT!" He laughed and put the rope away before taking a metal table out of his inventory. He keeps this on him at all times in case of needing to do emergency surgery. He then took the tanto back out and decided to yet again put it to good use since he did not have a carving knife on him. (Insert butchering wild boar montage here because I''m lazy :P) Once the boar was processed, Nawaki stored away the bones, meat, and edible organs into his inventory and then left the rest of the boar for the wildlife to eat. In reality, wild animals will eat almost anything. It really is quite convenient that any item that is placed in his inventory remains in a state of stasis. Unfortunately, no living beings can be stored in it. Within a few minutes, Nawaki had returned to camp. He created a table and some chairs with wood release and took out his charcoal grill. He ignited the coals and allowed it to start heating up. "I really need to design a better grill. Should be a fun project." (Pls recommend ideas for how the grill will function, I wanna start having him invent some shit. I''ve already got some ideas that I will keep secret for now but ideas are welcome. And also, the cooking stuff I write into this book is real stuff. I know how to cook and all of these described methods can be used to prepare food in real life. It''s learning time boys.) *Large flashing letters pop up on the screen* "WELCOME BACK TO COOKING WITH NAWAKI!" From his inventory, Nawaki took out a cooking knife, a large wooden cutting board, two large pans, two mixing bowls, some plates, and various eating utensils. In addition, he took out some eggs, a slab of bacon, various vegetables, and an array of spices. Everybody knows at this point that Nawaki is a spicy boi. Nawaki started by finely dicing the vegetables. His skill with a blade was put in full display as he used the knife to quickly process the ingredients in a blur. Once the vegetables were done, he tossed them into the bowl to prep for the next step. Moving on, he grabbed the bacon and dropped it onto the cutting board with a thud. It was a beautiful, fatty cut. Before cutting it, he liberally rubbed the slab with some salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and brown sugar. These spices would enhance the flavors and aroma of the meat. Due to it being from a boar, it would be extremely flavorful and the only way to cut it was thicker than a snicker. He went in for the kill and quickly sliced the bacon slab into quarter inch thick slices. (Cool tip: On most people, the digit of your thumb that is attached to your hand is about an inch long. When looking for a rough approximation, you can use that part of your finger to visualize a measurement.) Next, Nawaki cracked almost a dozen eggs into the empty bowl and beat them with a fork. After some mixing, Nawaki sprinkled in a generous amount of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper into the eggs. Again, he mixed it up. Following this, he dumped the vegetables into the eggs and mixed it all together. After all this time, the charcoal stove was fully heated up. Nawaki pulled some oil out of his inventory and put a small coating of it into the two pans. Following this, he placed them over the flame to let the oil heat up. A few minutes went by and the oil was now hot. First, Nawaki placed in as many slices of bacon as would fit in the pan at a time. When they hit the oil, a heavenly sizzle erupted from the pan and the aroma started filling the cold morning air. While the first batch of bacon was cooking, he moved on to start cooking the eggs. He poured some of the mixture into the pan and just like with the bacon, it started sizzling. He intended to make scrambled eggs with veggies so he stirred the eggs as they cooked to keep them from flattening. After a few minutes, Nawaki flipped the bacon to make sure that both sides crisped over evenly. Another few minutes went by and the first batch was ready. Taking a fork, he stabbed into each slice of bacon. The outside was nice and crispy but after breaking through the outer shell, the inside was tender and juicy. He had prepared a plate and stacked the bacon onto the plate. He then quickly moved to place another batch of bacon into the pan before taking the eggs out of the other pan and putting them into the bowl that the vegetables were in. Following this, he poured more eggs into the pan. Due to the sheer amount of ingredients, he repeated this process several times. As the aroma filled the air, some groggy, hungover ninja shuffled out of the makeshift bar and plopped down into the chairs surrounding the table. 41 Change of Scenery (Just an update for y''all. I''m starting to lose steam with this novel. I am going to start a new one but do not fret, I will still release chapters for this occasionally. I will probably swap between the two as I get bored just to keep the whole writing thing fresh and exciting. Hope you guys check out the new book!) Minato smirked and said, "Ah, our favorite housewife is cooking breakfast!" Nawaki took the cooking knife and threw it at Minato. Minato ducked and a few strands of hair got cut off by the knife. Minato made one of those shocked anime faces and said, "I was joking! Sheesh!" Nawaki rolled his eyes and said, "This is the last time I''m cooking for you buddy." Minato coughed and said, "Whoa there. No need to make threats like that. Aren''t we friends?" Nawaki scoffed and said, "Maybe, maybe not. Seems like you see me as more of a housewife than a friend." Everyone laughed as Nawaki passed out some plates and utensils before placing the bowl of eggs and plate of bacon in the middle of the table. "ITADAKIMASU!" Like starving, wild animals, they all dug in. The entire time everyone was eating, no one said a word. Aside from being hungover, they were all starving and hadn''t had a proper meal in too long. The only noises were some chewing and Duy''s obnoxious eating noises. Duy reclined back into his chair, "Ahhhhhh, so good. Nawaki, the power of youth is strong with you. Your cooking is perfect for a good day of training!" Everyone laughed and Duys antics. Shunsui then said, "So Duy, tell me a bit about yourself. Before this mission, the only thing I''ve heard about you is your nickname: the Eternal Genin." Duy sighed and said, "Well, I guess that is kind of true. Although I am still in the springtime of my youth, I always mess up when it comes to getting promoted. People call me clumsy and irresponsible. I can''t figure it out. But anyways, I don''t let that bother me. Every day I work to improve my body since I can only use taijutsu. I also have a son who is also cursed with the same ailments as myself. But he is strong. I believe he will far surpass me one day." Shunsui''s jaw dropped. He was joined by everyone except Nawaki who was chuckling instead. Shunsui then said, "My friend, if you can only use taijutsu, then what the hell were you doing out there that allowed you to keep up with Unruly A? He was strong enough to take down Koryu so clearly you are stronger than him and myself." Duy did the trademark Might family smile and made a thumbs up before saying, "That is a special technique that I came across and learned. It is known as the Eight Inner Gates. Within our bodies, there are eight gates that regulate chakra flow and restrict our bodies. They do this to protect us from overexertion. However, one can open these gates to gain EXTREMELY YOUTHFUL POWER. However, it is very dangerous because opening the gates puts extreme stress on the body and leaves you crippled until you recover." Shunsui laughed and said, "HAHA, that is just great! No wonder Nawaki wanted to include you in this mission. You did quite the splendid job out there. It is a shame that you are just a mere genin. In fact, I have an idea. I''ll talk to Lord Third when I get back and get your promotion in order. It is truly a waste for someone with your power to be kept at genin rank. You''re practically as strong as a jinchuriki!" Nawaki was surprised. Duy won''t be a genin forever? What have I done? Duy was in tears, "Oh Shunsui sama, you are truly the epitome of youth. Thank you for your support!" He stood up from his chair and dropped into a deep bow. Shunsui laughed again and said, "Raise your head my friend. I should be the one thanking you! Without you keeping A at bay, we might have not been able to force Kumo into negotiations!" They all laughed again but were interrupted by a messenger from the Intelligence corps. "Good news Taichou." Shikaramu closed his eyes and said, "What a drag." He shook his head, gesturing towards Shunsui for him to handle it. Shunsui got serious and said, "Well, spill the beans! Enlighten us how this morning could get any better!" The messenger smiled and said, "Kumo has committed to a full surrender. We have orders to retreat off of this front and return to Konoha. After a short rest, we will receive further orders." Shunsui smiled, "That is great news! Tell everyone to pack up. We''re headed home!" Four days later, everyone, barring a few scouts, walked through the village gates. Shikaramu stopped and turned to the group. "Great work out there everyone. Get some rest while you can because we''ll be shipping out again before you know it. You are dismissed!" Following this, everyone dispersed and headed home. Shikaramu led the team that dealt the finishing blow to Kumo''s forces to the Hokage Mansion. They arrived at the building and navigated through to Hiruzen''s office. Shikaramu knocked and a voice called out, "Come in." They opened the doors. Inside, Toka was standing next to Hiruzen, who was sitting at his desk. Toka''s eyes lit up when she saw the group. She dashed forward and hugged Nawaki. "I''m so proud of you. I was so worried but I guess it was for naught." "Okaa san, I''m fine. I told you I''d kick some Kumo ass!" Everyone laughed and Toka released Nawaki from the hug. Hiruzen then asked, "So guys, to what do I owe this pleasure?"'' Shunsui then said, "Well aside from informing you of the personnel that took part in the concluding operation, I would like to request that Duy be promoted to Chunin for his contributions to the war. I don''t know how, but no one has noticed his taijutsu prowess aside from Nawaki. Believe it or not, he was able to go toe to toe with Unruly A. I''m sure you understand the magnitude of such a feat." Hiruzen''s eyes widened. He was shocked to say the least. He was amazed that someone such as Duy could do such a thing. However, he was embarrassed even more so that he never uncovered Duy''s true strength. "If what you say is true, I have no objections. I''ll put it through immediately." Hiruzen took out a piece of paper and quickly wrote on it before stamping it to make it an official document. He then waved his hand and an ANBU agent appeared from the shadows, kneeling before Hiruzen. "Take Duy down to the armory and get him a flak jacket. This missive should get it done quickly. I''ll handle the paperwork." "Hai hokage sama." The ANBU agent received the missive and then escorted Duy out of the room. Once the door closed, Hiruzen turned to Shikaramu and said, "So, now that only you guys are here, what else is there to report?" Shikaramu sighed and said, "Well, we just arrived back in the village today. I told our ninja that they can get some rest before we redeploy to other fronts. How is the war looking?" Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and let out a cloud of smoke. He took a deep breath, "Well, the good news is that we aren''t losing the war. However, we are not winning either. The Iwa front is at a bitter stalemate. That old bastard Ohnoki is so damn stubborn. He refuses to let up on the small skirmishes. He seemingly wants to exhaust our troops." "The same goes for the Kiri front. The Blood Mist village really lives up to its name. They are using guerilla tactics to gain small victories. However, we have won most of the larger battles. Unfortunately, the odds are still even. However, there are rumors that internal strife is taking place among Kiri''s forces. Supposedly, there is a faction that has split off from the Mizukage that is trying to stage a coup and take over the village. I have contacted the Daimyo about this and he said that the Land of Water''s Daimyo has always avoided interfering with the village. I plan on continuing to monitor the situation for now." "On the other hand, Suna is not looking great. That devil Chiyo, their jinchuriki, and that boy Rasa are giving us major problems. There are also reports that there is another puppet master that is causing major problems. On top of that, there are rumors that the Third Kazekage is going to join the battle. Aside from those problems, the poisons that they are using are giving out medical ninja a huge headache. They are churning out new poisons faster than we can concoct antidotes." Nawaki grinned. It was his time to shine. Due to his education in his previous life, he is probably the most knowledgeable of chemistry and biology in this world. Perhaps the time has come for him to invent something useful. Many ideas came to mind but there is one piece of technology which could prove indispensable in the development of antidotes. Hiruzen noticed Nawaki''s expression and said, "Nawaki, do you have something to say?" Nawaki nodded and said, "I have an idea for a tool that can be used to help identify poisons. I will spend the next few days putting together a prototype." Hiruzen was ecstatic hearing this. This boy was a gift that would just keep on giving. "I look forward to seeing what you can do. Tell the hospital that they are to give you their full support in this endeavor. If we can identify poisons faster and more accurately, countless lives can be saved." "Thank you Hokage sama." Hiruzen laughed and said, "Anytime kid. I''m always happy to help if it is for the sake of the village." Nawaki smiled and said, "I''ll be going now. Minato, Fugaku, let''s get some food."