Name: Senju Natsuhiko
Gender: Male
Birthday: March 24, Year 34 of the Konoha Calendar
Rank: Jonin (Chunin-level reserves)
Bloodline Development: Beginner (Senju Secret Techniques)
Seeds:
Jonin-level Chakra Reserve Seed (60% Maturity)
Intermediate Sage Technique Seed (82% Maturity)
Advanced Earth Release Seed (70% Maturity)
Advanced Water Release Seed (70% Maturity)
Fruits: None
Mission: Become the true Big Boss of the ninja world (Unique)
...
"Only the intermediate Sage Chakra seed has grown slightly… the others haven't changed at all?"
Looking at his status panel, Natsuhiko could only sigh faintly. Even though he had mentally prepared himself, he still felt somewhat helpless.
While he was pleased that the Sage Chakra seed had improved, what he really wanted was for the Jonin-level chakra reserve seed to finish maturing soon.
His chakra reserves were too low.
Or rather—his usable chakra was far too limited.
As for how much chakra he truly possessed, even he no longer had a clear idea.
The reason was simple: the four seeds inside him—ranging from intermediate to advanced—consumed an enormous amount of chakra.
At the beginning, he could only plant two seeds.
Gradually, he managed to plant four.
Then later, he could plant eight.
That increase in planting capacity had made him happy for a while—until he discovered a major problem, which forced him to stop pushing further.
Not only did cultivation take an extremely long time, but when he was young, his chakra reserves were already small. Splitting it among so many seeds meant each one received even less.
The result? The growth rate became painfully slow.
Which was why, even now, he didn't have a single advanced fruit fully matured.
And if he had continued planting seeds the way he once did, he felt they might have drained all his chakra completely.
"I don't want to end up like Guy… although my base attributes would technically allow me to train that way."
Natsuhiko deeply admired Guy—for his character, personality, and strength.
But the man's aesthetic sense was… difficult to accept.
Moreover, Natsuhiko had no intention of specializing purely in taijutsu. With the foundation he had for well-rounded development, why would he limit himself to just one path?
"Still, judging by the timing, I should be able to harvest these fruits within six months to a year."
Thinking about the gains he would receive all at once, Natsuhiko couldn't help but feel excited.
This would be a qualitative leap.
Reaching Jonin-level chakra reserves alone would be extremely important for him.
The intermediate Sage fruit would grant him much greater survivability.
After all, this wasn't the future era of Naruto—where Kage-level fighters seemed to be everywhere and Jonin were as common as dogs.
Although the signs were already appearing—after all, someone like Obito had already begun breaking the rules, and in the coming years several Mangekyō Sharingan would emerge.
Still, with intermediate Sage Mode, Natsuhiko believed he could handle everything relatively smoothly.
As for the advanced Earth Release and Water Release fruits—
Those excited him even more.
Once obtained, they would mean a far deeper understanding and control over those chakra attributes.
Currently, his Earth and Water techniques were powered by intermediate fruits.
Yet the destructive power he could unleash was already terrifying.
That was because he had already achieved a decent grasp of both the shape transformation and nature transformation of those chakra types.
If he obtained the advanced fruits—
He would likely gain complete mastery of those two elements.
He might even be able to simplify his techniques to their purest and most efficient forms when casting them.
"Probably like Hashirama Senju—just clap your hands together, and whatever jutsu you want happens?"
Hand seals?
That's something only low-level ninja bother with.
Truly powerful ninja can complete everything with a single seal.
And in real combat, forming hand seals is far too easy to interrupt. Unless you can grab someone else's hands to help you weave them—or form five seals in a single second—standing still to make seals just turns you into a living target.
Natsuhiko never wanted to become a living target.
And he believed that day—when he wouldn't need such vulnerabilities—was not far off.
...
For the rest of the journey, Natsuhiko and Kakashi continued traveling without much conversation.
Kakashi was reflecting on Natsuhiko's earlier words, seemingly fighting an internal battle of his own.
Meanwhile, Natsuhiko was thinking about his future development—and also mulling over some matters related to sealing techniques.
It wasn't until nightfall that the two found a cave to rest in, planning to continue their journey the next day.
Their squad's destination was in the region bordering the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain.
To be honest, Natsuhiko really didn't want to get close to that area.
The reason was simple—
The Land of Rain was the headquarters of the Akatsuki.
If nothing unexpected had happened, Obito had already manipulated Nagato by now. And Nagato would be developing the Akatsuki—just look at Kakuzu as proof.
Natsuhiko remembered clearly that, for certain special reasons, Danzo had accepted an invitation from Hanzo of the Salamander to take action against the Akatsuki.
This operation had been carried out very publicly.
Hanzo had even openly declared Danzo's affiliation.
And the result?
A tragedy.
Danzo's Root forces were nearly wiped out. It seemed that only he himself managed to escape back to Konoha.
Because of this incident, the once-ambitious man who dreamed of becoming Hokage turned around and threw his full support behind Orochimaru.
But the outcome was something he simply couldn't accept—
Orochimaru failed.
Which meant Danzo had once again bet on the wrong side.
Worse still, he had little ability to resist the consequences. One of his most important chess pieces—Root—was nearly crippled and still in the process of being rebuilt.
Danzo's actions could be said to have thoroughly sabotaged himself.
And Konoha as well.
Originally, Nagato already harbored hatred toward Konoha for the deaths of his parents. Jiraiya had gradually eased that resentment.
But after Danzo's interference, new grudges piled on top of old ones.
Danzo hadn't just dragged himself and Konoha into trouble—he had dragged Hanzo down with him as well.
Not only had Danzo suffered heavy losses, but nearly all the subordinates he brought were killed.
Moreover, Danzo was ultimately a Konoha ninja—and a high-ranking one at that.
With the protection of the village, and with Nagato still needing time to consolidate power, he couldn't immediately make a move against him.
But Hanzo was different.
They were both in Amegakure. Seeing each other day in and day out.
It was obvious who Nagato would prioritize dealing with.
For now, Nagato likely hadn't acted yet—his forces still needed development, and Hanzo's strength was formidable.
Nagato might need to be cautious when confronting Hanzo.
But Natsuhiko?
He was just an ordinary Konoha ninja.
If he happened to run into them… that would be another story entirely.
It had to be said—
Shimura Danzo's "power" was truly something else.
And sometimes, he wasn't even taking the blame for others.
The things he did harmed both others and himself.