Chapter 3: Greetings, Captain Kazuya! Even Weaker Kage Levels Are Still Kage Level!

A Calculated Plan!

This is using one's enemies to do the dirty work!

"If that's true, the Hidden Cloud's envoy wouldn't be able to retreat easily from the Land of Fire. In other words..." Shikaku trailed off.

The Third Hokage interjected, "It's very likely that elite Hidden Cloud squads have already entered the Land of Fire, and possibly, larger ninja forces are moving toward the borders."

"Exactly," Shikaku added. "If the head ninja dies, the Fourth Raikage can pressure Konoha, boosting his influence within his village. If the head ninja survives, the Hidden Cloud might gain the Byakugan, the Sharingan, or even a Jinchuriki…"

"Well played!"

Both men, seasoned strategists, quickly pieced together the underlying plan.

"This theory makes a lot of sense," the Third Hokage said, his eyes gleaming with understanding. He knew well the power struggles involved in transferring leadership, having experienced two Hokage successions himself.

If he were in the Fourth Raikage's position, he might have considered similar tactics.

"Kazuya…"

The Third Hokage looked at him with genuine admiration. "I knew I could count on you—you are indeed an exceptional ninja!"

"Indeed!" Shikaku, a man with a keen mind, rarely found himself impressed by others in strategic matters, but Kazuya had earned his respect.

Kazuya smiled slightly.

Knowing the entire plot makes it easy to reverse-engineer these deductions, after all.

Kazuya knew this was his chance to climb even higher in the ranks. Ahead of him lay a turbulent future for the Hidden Leaf Village: Orochimaru's defection, the Uchiha Massacre, the rise of the Akatsuki, and eventually, the Fourth Great Ninja War. It would be one crisis after another.

Without enough power and influence, he risked being sidelined. After all, even with his ability to collect attributes, he needed to know where to find those powerful Kage-level ninjas to make the most of it. Without intelligence, he wouldn't even know where to look!

"Kazuya, head to the Anbu base and report in," the Third Hokage said with a smile. "There might be a new S-rank mission in the next few days, so be ready!"

"Yes, sir."

Kazuya nodded and quickly departed.

The Third Hokage watched him leave, his admiration clear in his expression. Even the usually discerning Shikaku Nara shared the same respect.

Thirty minutes later.

Kazuya arrived at the Anbu base. During the Nine-Tails' attack, he was a squad leader with three subordinates—all of whom had died in battle. Now, as a division captain overseeing four Anbu squads, he wondered if he'd see any familiar faces among his new team members.

[You have collected 20 Chakra points.]

[You have collected 20 Chakra points.]

[You have collected 50 points of combat experience.]

[You have collected 30 points of Fire Release talent.]

[You have collected 20 points of Fire Release talent.]

From the base entrance to the equipment counter, Kazuya gathered a dozen golden orbs, most of which contained combat experience, 50 Chakra points, and some Fire Release talent.

Kazuya's Fire Release talent was now at level 4 (450/1000), just a short distance from max level 5. Like jutsu, talents ranged from level 1 to level 5, with each level requiring 1,000 experience points to upgrade.

His Fire Release talent was at level 4, while Wind and Lightning were at level 3, and Water and Earth were at level 2. His Yin and Yang releases were still at level 1 with zero experience. This mirrored the strength of his jutsu across the elements, with Fire Release being the strongest and Wind and Lightning following close behind.

One significant benefit of his two years in the hospital was that Kazuya had acquired all five nature transformations, making him a standout even among the Jonin of Konoha.

"Kazuya, here's your new equipment."

A ninja at the equipment counter handed Kazuya a fresh set of Anbu gear and a mask, along with some basic weapons.

"Thanks."

Kazuya nodded.

"No problem, it's my job."

The ninja at the counter was friendly, and clearly on good terms with Kazuya.

After picking up his gear, Kazuya headed to the locker room to change into his new Anbu uniform, though he left the mask off for now. Then, he made his way to the Anbu training grounds.

Feels like old times! I can't wait!

The daily drops of golden orbs outside of battle were decent, but the best ones came during combat. And in the Anbu, every ninja was a seasoned elite. Kazuya had no intention of missing out on the gains from their training sessions.

"Kazuya, congratulations!"

"Hey, Kazuya! You're my boss now!"

"Kazuya, great to see you as our division captain!"

As he walked through the base, many Anbu members greeted him with smiles. Kazuya had a good reputation here—his heroics on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack had made him a symbol of the Anbu's strength.

Kazuya responded with a polite smile, but his focus was on the swirling golden orbs around him.

[You have collected 10 Chakra points.]

[You have collected 30 Chakra points.]

[You have collected 20 Chakra points.]

…

[You have collected 10 Chakra points.]

Before he knew it, he had absorbed over a dozen orbs, all containing Chakra.

His system's notification chimes rang nonstop as he arrived at the Anbu training grounds, having collected over 300 more Chakra points.

With that, his Chakra level broke through a new threshold.

[Your Chakra level has increased to Level 4 (120/100,000).]

Level 4—Kage-Level Chakra!

Kazuya felt his Chakra surge, expanding rapidly as he crossed into the realm of Kage-level power.

"Nice!" Kazuya's eyes gleamed with excitement.

It had only been a few days since his release from the hospital, and already his Chakra had grown from Jonin-level to Kage-level.

Turns out collecting attributes out here is way faster than in a hospital bed!

Reaching Kage-level Chakra was a significant power boost. It was a game-changer. Though his combat experience and jutsu skills still lagged behind true Kage-level fighters, even a weaker Kage could easily overpower most Jonin.

And with his God-Tier Attribute Collection System, Kazuya knew it wouldn't be long before he caught up completely in the other areas.

Just then, a black shuriken flew toward him!