Chapter 16 - Kekkei Genkai
CHAPTER WORDS - 1578
Chapter 16 - Kekkei Genkai
-------------------------------
Underneath the Hokage Rock, in the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was seated alongside advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, as well as Danzo Shimura, the leader of the Root division.
Looking out at the beautiful sunset from the window, Koharu relaxed slightly, her expression reflecting her relief. "The war is finally over," she remarked with a light tone, clearly in a good mood.
A moment of silence filled the meeting room before Homura broke it. "Even though the war has ended, there are still issues that need to be addressed swiftly. Also, Jiraiya hasn't returned yet. Hiruzen, during this critical time of post-war recovery, should not be acting so impulsively as a jōnin of the village."
Homura's tone carried clear disapproval of Jiraiya's actions.
Following the conclusion of the war in the Land of Rain, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had been bestowed the title of the "Legendary Sannin" by Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure. However, while Orochimaru and Tsunade had returned to Konoha, Jiraiya had stayed behind, taking in three orphaned children from the Land of Rain.
Koharu turned to Hiruzen and chimed in, "That's right, Hiruzen. He's a Konoha jōnin, yet he blatantly defied orders by taking in orphans in the Land of Rain and still hasn't come back. This is a serious breach of village regulations."
For a ninja who broke the rules so flagrantly, standard procedure dictated firm intervention—be it through persuasion, imprisonment, or even execution, should they refuse to comply. Otherwise, tolerating such behavior could undermine the credibility of the village's rules.
And yet, Konoha had neither sent a team to bring Jiraiya back nor declared him a rogue ninja. As the Hokage's direct disciple, only Hiruzen himself could issue such orders.
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, smiling faintly. "Don't worry. Jiraiya is a capable ninja who embodies the Will of Fire. He understands the importance of his actions."
Homura and Koharu frowned, unconvinced by Hiruzen's casual dismissal. Hiruzen continued, "Jiraiya sent me a letter recently. He believes that staying in the Land of Rain can help ease tensions with Amegakure and build goodwill with Hanzo."
Homura's expression darkened further, clearly displeased. "Hiruzen, you're just excusing his behavior because he's your student. This is no time for indulgence. He's a Konoha ninja, not an Ame ninja!"
The war in the Land of Rain had left a bitter aftermath. While Konoha emerged victorious, the path to that victory was anything but smooth. Crucially, Konoha had defeated Amegakure's forces but not their leader, Hanzo.
According to reports, during the final battle in the Land of Rain, over a hundred Konoha ninjas who fought alongside the Sannin had fallen to Hanzo. Only Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade survived, earning them the title of the "Legendary Sannin" before being spared by Hanzo.
As a result, the enmity between Konoha and Amegakure was intense.
Should Hanzo harbor any resentment or malice, he could easily execute Jiraiya. Even if Jiraiya's death was justified with fabricated charges like "stealing national secrets," Konoha would be powerless to argue.
Other villages would likely support Hanzo's claims, relishing Konoha's embarrassment.
"If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility as Hokage," Hiruzen declared, putting an end to any further arguments from Homura and Koharu.
"Danzo, what's your take on this?" Homura turned to Danzo, who had been silently observing the discussion. As the head of the Root, his opinion was critical in such matters. Danzo finally rose from his seat and headed toward the door. "Hiruzen has spoken. If anything happens, it'll be his responsibility as Hokage. I have other matters to attend to at Root."
Without Any further comment, Danzo left the room. Homura and Koharu exchanged glances, surprised by Danzo's abrupt departure.
"Well, since Danzo has no objections, we'll leave the matter of Jiraiya as is," Homura conceded.
"But Hiruzen, make sure you focus on nurturing more medical ninjas. The village desperately needs talent like Tsunade." With that, Homura and Koharu also left, following in Danzo's footsteps.
Hiruzen shook his head and sighed. Those three always seemed eager to find fault with him.Still, even Hiruzen had to admit that Jiraiya's decision to take in orphans in the Land of Rain was impulsive, unbecoming of a ninja.
Was it guilt… or something else entirely? Even he couldn't be certain. However, he refrained from forcing Jiraiya back to the village, fearing it might create unnecessary conflict.
As long as Jiraiya remained an asset to Konoha, Hiruzen decided to turn a blind eye. He wrote to his student, advising him to prioritize his safety and, if necessary, abandon the orphans should danger arise.
Now, the real challenges lay ahead:
The cultivation of medical ninjas.Curbing the expansion of the Root division. These two issues weighed heavily on Hiruzen.
The Root, originally conceived as a subdivision of the ANBU to handle clandestine operations, had evolved into Danzo's personal organization, operating beyond even the Hokage's control. Balancing the power dynamics within the village was becoming increasingly complex.
Hiruzen sank into thought. The war may have ended, but the real battles were just beginning.
-----------------
"Tsunade?" Natsuki looks surprised at the information that he heard right now. Some of the students talked about how Tsunade has taken over the Medical Ninja Classes. the same classes that Natsuki rejected when He was handed the form. and now, he is more thankful that he did than ever before.
Tsunade is the best medical Ninja in the world, along with her being the future Hokage, she would instantly recognise Natsuki holding back or doing mistakes on purpose, which would raise all sorts of suspicions. it is good that-
"Hi, My name is Senju Nawaki. Pleased to meet you-"
"WHAT THE FUC-" Natsuki Grabs his heart, not at all expecting that when he opens his Class's door to go home, he would be spoken to by Nawaki. Nawaki looks shocked, but quickly composes himself, looking sheepishly.
"I am sorry for that, didn't mean to scare you!" He looks at Natsuki apologetically, and while Natsuki wants to punch this kid in the face like any mature and grown adult would do in his situation, Natsuki refrains from doing so.
"....What do you want?" Natsuki doesn't accept his apology, coming directly to the reason he is here. Nawaki Senju is the younger brother of Tsunade, and the grandson of Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage. The fact that he is here is too suspicious for Natsuki to ignore.
"You know of someone Named Uchiha Ruri?" Even though Natsuki tries to control it, his surprised expression comes out, causing Nawaki to realize that Natsuki does know about Ruri.
".....Why do you want to know that?" Nawaki can feel that Natsuki is suspicious of him, so he decides to elaborate to show that he has No ill Intentions.
"She's the most outstanding genius of her generation in the Uchiha clan and also my most desired rival." Although Nawaki spoke of rivalry, his expression held no arrogance. He smiled confidently, as though victory was certain. which would make sense, as even though Nawaki seemed slightly older than Natsuki, Nawaki had already worn the Konoha ninja forehead protector, signifying His official ninja status.
"Oh, is that so?" Natsuki was a bit puzzled. He knew the outcome of Nawaki, who got Explosion-Diffed in the Canon Storyline, but the fact that Nawaki considers Ruri his rival means that her status is a little bit more important to the Story than he thought.
He always thought that Ruri was eventually going to be killed, and he didn't want to participate in that 'Event' in any way shape or form.
"Don't worry. It's just a friendly competition. However, I plan to have this match with her after she graduates and becomes a Genin. Please let her know." Nawaki nods, like he has Confirmed that his message has been received to the person it was supposed to go to.
"Ah, okay." Thankfully, Natsuki wasn't the one who got himself 'targeted' by the Direct Descendant of a Senju, especially someone who was the Grandson of the First Hokage. That would be all kinds of trouble that Natsuki wouldn't want to deal with.
"Thanks Man." Even without asking Natsuki's Name, he left the area, going to whomever he was going to. Thankfully Natsuki didn't have to deal with more of that, or else he might have been in some serious trouble.
But, meeting Nawaki made him question something.
He knows Nawaki and Tsunade don't have Wood release, but then How is Wood Release a 'Kekkei Genkai' if Hashirama's direct descendants cannot access it? Natsuki knows that in Boruto, a character named Moegi somehow achieved Wood Release, which was through combining Water and Earth Nature Transformations. Should he try to achieve that?
He decides to add that to the list of the things he is researching, along with All the other Kekkei Genkai that could be Replicated. He might need Nawaki's blood to understand how The cells work, and if he is successful, he might replicate the Hashirama Cells.
he knows that it is almost impossible, but Natsuki Will at least figure something out by using his knowledge, he is confident in that.
THE END
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN:- THERE WERE LITERALLY 2 CHAPTERS OF MC GLAZING, ABOUT HOW HE IS THE SMARTEST, BUT IS AVERAGE IN EVERYTHING, FORGETTING THE FACT THAT THE MC IS IN A NINJA WORLD, WHERE DECEPTION IS THE TRUTH, HIS MEDIOCRE ACTING WILL NOT SUFFICE.