Planting new seeds—especially advanced seeds—no longer had the overwhelming impact it once did on Hikaru.
With the Dragon Vein chakra supporting him, the burden of consumption had been reduced significantly.
Of course, his greatest advantage still came from the little Nine-Tails.
At this stage, comparatively speaking, his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode was slightly stronger.
If you looked at overall combat strength, the difference wasn't that large—his Sage Mode + Wood Release + Flying Thunder God still offered higher kill efficiency.
But the key point was—
there wasn't much within Konoha that required him to personally take action right now.
That freedom alone was the biggest advantage his strength gave him.
If it were the old him, before fully securing his own safety, he would never have dared to plant high-level seeds so casually.
But now—
he had two completely different combat systems.
Even though both belonged to him, they produced entirely different results.
That was confidence.
That was growth.
"…Though why does one feel like a mobility-based combat style, and the other like an assassination style?"
Hikaru couldn't help but mutter to himself.
Both of his states were interesting.
Each had its own chakra mode:
Sage ModeNine-Tails Chakra Mode
And they shared one defining trait—
extreme speed.
Calling it "maxed-out agility" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Of course, the fastest of all was still Flying Thunder God, since it bypassed space entirely.
But even without it, Hikaru's speed alone was already one of his greatest survival tools.
In all martial arts, speed is king.
If you were fast enough that your opponent couldn't hit you—
while you could strike them freely—
then from start to finish, you held absolute initiative.
Hikaru believed that once his Advanced Sage Chakra Seed fully matured—
combined with Wood Release and Flying Thunder God—
even his own Nine-Tails Chakra Mode might struggle to compete.
This time, aside from planting the advanced Sage seed—
he had also planted all other available seeds.
Intermediate seeds consumed chakra too, but compared to advanced ones, they were negligible.
He had experienced that firsthand before.
Especially when planting multiple seeds at once.
"The mid-level Wind and Fire seeds are already planted… and both have advanced variants lined up afterward."
"That saves me a lot of trouble."
"But Lightning Release… still nothing."
"And beyond that… I need to start thinking about chakra fusion."
Sitting inside the ANBU office, Hikaru rested his chin on one hand as his thoughts drifted.
Some time had already passed since Orochimaru's incident.
And just as he expected—
the shinobi world had remained relatively calm.
As ANBU Minister, he had shifted his focus toward building and restructuring ANBU.
There was no need to stir trouble for now.
He simply had to wait for his seeds to mature.
But chakra fusion…
That was a problem he could not avoid forever.
Anyone aiming for Bloodline Snare (Kekkei Mōra) had to understand what that truly meant.
The difficulty was almost unimaginable.
After all, even Kekkei Tōta—which fused just three chakra natures—was already incredibly rare.
And its power alone was terrifying.
If Ōnoki's technique hadn't been overwhelmingly outclassed—
it might have actually landed cleanly on Madara.
And if Madara had taken a direct hit after revival—
losing just one arm would've been the least of his problems.
But the question remained:
How do you actually fuse chakra?
Hikaru had tried before.
But his chakra development was already too refined.
That refinement meant he understood each nature deeply—
but it also meant his control over them had become rigid.
"Do I need to find a Bloodline Snare seed directly?"
He shook his head.
"Even if I somehow gather Ten-Tails-level chakra and meet the conditions…"
"How long would it take to cultivate something like that?"
It was a difficult path.
But also an unavoidable one.
No matter how hard it was—
he would walk it.
Still, now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
He hadn't even gathered all advanced chakra natures yet.
Thinking this far ahead was pointless.
Who knew—
maybe someday he would obtain a fusion-type seed directly from the system.
After all, the system had never failed to surprise him before.
Shifting his focus, Hikaru turned to the documents on his desk.
ANBU had been undergoing massive changes recently.
With sufficient funding and his partial opening of the ninjutsu repository, enthusiasm had exploded among ANBU members.
They all understood one thing:
ANBU was expanding.
And expansion meant opportunity.
From squad leaders to division commanders—
positions were opening up.
Combined with Hikaru's policies—
motivation had surged across the entire organization.
After all—
you couldn't expect a horse to run without giving it carrots.
Hikaru had always believed that:
If you wanted results, you had to show sincerity first.
And so far—
it was working.
Under Kakashi and others' efforts, ANBU expansion was proceeding steadily.
Meanwhile, Senju Shōma had begun reaching out to smaller clans once aligned with the Senju.
He also started visiting influential families directly—
timing it perfectly alongside Hikaru's policy rollout.
With internal promotion from these clans—
Hikaru's reputation had improved significantly among Konoha's major families.
And when you combined a good reputation with real power—
it became an irresistible temptation.
Recruitment pressure eased.
Expansion accelerated.
But what surprised Hikaru the most—
was how quickly non-combat divisions were growing.
"The administrative office, secretariat, and intelligence division…"
"…they're expanding even faster."
He skimmed through the reports, slightly stunned.
The administrative office alone had gained nearly twenty new shinobi.
The secretariat—being newly established—had fewer, but still around ten full members.
Enough to operate properly.
The intelligence division had also expanded significantly—
now capable of matching operational units.
But the most interesting part?
Many of these recruits came from:
Nara ClanYamanaka Clan
The classic Ino–Shika–Chō alliance had clearly picked up on something.
Their instincts were sharp.
And they understood investment.
The Akimichi had appeared in combat units—
but that wasn't unusual.
Inuzuka, Aburame, even Uchiha and Hyūga had representation.
But Nara and Yamanaka choosing:
administrationintelligence
That wasn't random.
They had seen something deeper.
Hikaru didn't care how they figured it out.
He didn't need to.
He already knew their real intent—
they were signaling loyalty to the Fourth Hokage.
Unfortunately for them—
they were actually aligning with him.
"…What a pity," Hikaru thought with a faint smile.
"You think you're following Minato."
"But it's me."
At that moment, the little Nine-Tails spoke inside his mind:
"Can you stop thinking about schemes all day?"
"Even when I sleep, I can feel your malice."
"You're more twisted than a tailed beast."
Hikaru rolled his eyes.
"Aren't you literally made of malice?"
"That just makes us compatible."
"Hmph. I'm not that thing."
The little Nine-Tails snorted.
Then muttered:
"And your actions are annoying."
Hikaru chuckled.
"You'd rather I used my real identity to do all that?"
He knew exactly what the little Nine-Tails meant.
So far, he had used its power twice—
and both times had caused massive impact:
crushing Akatsuki forcesattacking Orochimaru inside Konoha
Now even Konoha's higher-ups believed:
There existed someone who could perfectly wield Nine-Tails power.
A perfect Jinchūriki-like existence.
That alone had shaken them.
After all—
a tailed beast was dangerous enough.
But a controlled tailed beast?
That was catastrophic.
And just like that—
Hikaru had unknowingly become a nuclear deterrent.
"But that's fine," Hikaru thought.
"And now… it's time for the next step."
Inside the ANBU office—
Senju Ayame and Uchiha saya stood beside him.
Along with:
Kakashi"Salmon" (codename)"Antelope" (codename)
All ANBU division leaders.
"Everyone's here?" Hikaru asked calmly.
"Sit down. This is just a simple meeting."
"Yes, Minister."
They responded in unison—
but none of them actually sat.
Respect outweighed familiarity.
"Fine. Let's begin."
Hikaru tapped the table lightly.
"Orochimaru. What progress?"
Kakashi stepped forward.
"We have some leads. But we're proceeding cautiously."
"He's connected to ROOT."
"And possibly Danzō."
Hikaru nodded.
Expected.
Difficult—but manageable.
"I see."
He smiled faintly.
"Then let's stir things up."
The room grew still.
"Kakashi. Use Yamato's intel."
"Trim it."
"Then leak it."
"Quietly."
Kakashi frowned.
"That could alert him."
Hikaru's eyes turned cold.
"That's the point."
"We want to alert him."
"If we can't reach them directly…"
"Then we force them to react."
"And when they react…"
"They expose themselves."
A brief pause.
Then he added:
"After all… this method isn't new, is it?"
Kakashi fell silent.
His father's past resurfaced.
The weight in the room grew heavier.
"First," Hikaru continued, unfazed,
"let ANBU's investigation be exposed."
"Then release the information."
"You know what to do."
"Yes, Minister."
As the meeting ended, only three remained:
HikaruSenju AyameUchiha saya
Ayame spoke first.
"Minister… can we trust Antelope?"
Hikaru smiled.
"This is a test."
"A dangerous one."
"But necessary."
"If he fails—"
He glanced at her.
"You'll provide a replacement list."
Ayame lowered her head slightly.
"Understood."
Then Hikaru looked at saya.
"Administrative reports?"
"They'll arrive shortly," she replied calmly.
"New recruits are adapting well."
Hikaru nodded.
"Record everything."
"Year-end evaluations will depend on it."
After dismissing them—
Hikaru stood by the window, gazing at the Hokage Rock.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"The Third Hokage…"
"…are you ready?"
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