Pursuit

Katsuki sprinted with all his might. Even after a day of grueling training, he still maintained abundant energy and stamina. The benefits of the Hito Hito no Mi were showing just the tip of the iceberg at this moment.

He was very dedicated to the practice of Ninjutsu, and the development of the Hito Hito no Mi was equally paramount. After years of exploration and experimentation, especially during recent training, he had gradually found some clues in developing the fruit's powers. By pushing his body to its limits, he could, in turn, exert pressure on the Hito Hito no Mi's power; this was one path.

Recently, due to his Ninjutsu training, his chakra refinement had become far more massive than before. Because of this, he discovered that extracting chakra was also a way to develop the Hito Hito no Mi's power.

Chakra was the power formed by the fusion of spiritual and physical energy. Extracting chakra indiscriminately would cause immense damage to the body. The military ration pill was a prime example of this. Katsuki, due to the Uzumaki Clan's innate chakra reserves, which were ten, even a hundred times greater than ordinary people, had almost never truly depleted his chakra. At the very least, before he seriously started learning Ninjutsu, the Three Basic Ninjutsu consumed very little chakra.

The training with the Rock Rods allowed Katsuki to discover yet another path for developing the Hito Hito no Mi. The indiscriminate consumption of chakra could also stimulate the Hito Hito no Mi's reciprocal nourishment. Vaguely, Katsuki had some plans for his future fighting style.

However, all of this was still just thoughts in his mind. The future was still unknown. He was too young and inexperienced, and he still needed time to accumulate.

The immediate issue to resolve was the Nine-Tails problem.

Senju Clan residence.

It was a highly respected place in Konoha, and at the same time, a very secluded one. It was no less than the Uchiha Clan's self-contained territory, like a small kingdom, and even surpassed it in exclusivity.

However, compared to the arrogant Uchiha with their "red-eye disease," the Senju Clan, after losing two outstanding Clan Heads, the First and Second Hokage, had completely retreated. They shifted from the spotlight to behind the scenes, striving to downplay the Senju Clan's existence among the ordinary villagers while simultaneously strengthening the Senju lineage within the village's high-ranking officials through master-disciple succession.

It had to be said that compared to the proud Uchihas, the Senju Clan clearly had a sharper political mind. One only needed to look at the subsequent Hokage; almost all of them were disciples or grand-disciples of the Senju lineage. The Third was a student of the First and Second, the Fourth was the Third's grand-disciple, the Fifth was the Third's student, the Sixth was the Fourth's student, and the Seventh was the Fourth's son and the Sixth's disciple. As for the Eighth, sorry, the story ended there.

Looking at this line of succession, one could see that the village's supreme power was firmly held by the Senju lineage, never wavering for a moment. The Uchiha dreamed of obtaining the position of Hokage, but after generations of effort, they failed, and in the end, they were completely ruined, becoming a clan with a single bloodline, possibly facing extinction one day.

Katsuki rushed into the Senju Clan's territory at this moment, but a place he could usually come and go freely was blocked today.

Anbu.

A dog-faced mask, a short sword on their back, wearing a black bodysuit and gray suspenders, blocked the path of the three children.

"The Senju residence is not receiving guests today. The three of you should leave."

With a calm, unruffled voice, the Anbu stood on the rooftop, quietly staring at Katsuki in the middle of the path.

He didn't attack the three of them immediately. They recognized the red-haired boy in front of them. After all, Katsuki and Kushina had entered and exited the Senju residence more than once, so the guards knew him. As for Minato and Otome, they didn't care at all. Even though the little girl had a Gunbai on her clothes, what of it?

Konoha was the Senju's Konoha; the Uchiha were merely a part of Konoha.

"I need to see my sister. Please let us pass, or inform someone inside," Katsuki said, stopping his advance and trying to negotiate.

However.

"I'm sorry, my mission is to guard here. Abandoning my post is a grave offense."

The Anbu stood like a nail hammered into the ground, unmoving, directly refusing any possibility of negotiation.

Katsuki's expression instantly turned grim. Such an attitude indicated one thing: his guess was correct. The next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would be born soon, and Kushina had already been chosen as the next Jinchuriki.

Setting Otome down, he formed the simplest hand seals with both hands.

Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Six shadow clones appeared around them, all with cold eyes and radiating killing intent.

The Anbu with the dog-faced mask's pupils constricted. He put away his slight arrogance. Although he was a child, the killing intent emanating from him was not fake, and he could even use Shadow Clones. This was interesting; he couldn't be careless, or he would be utterly humiliated if he were to capsize in this small ditch.

However, he didn't dare to use excessive force. His duty was to eliminate any suspicious individuals who dared to approach and investigate, not to attack Katsuki, a legitimate descendant of the Senju. That would be suicidal.

Therefore, he didn't draw his sword and stood there bare-handed, concentrating.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Ever since he had been on the battlefield in the Land of Rain, Katsuki had developed the habit of carrying a Ninja Tool Bag with him, unlike his previous student-like behavior of not carrying tools except during training.

Facing this sudden situation, he was glad he had brought his tools, otherwise, what could he do with empty hands? Although in his past life's memories, the Anbu were purely cannon fodder, constantly being toyed with by various powerful figures, only the top powerhouses were qualified to do so.

The Anbu were absolute elites below the Jonin. Since the Second Hokage established the Anbu, and with the meticulous management by Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, the Anbu's strength was immense. To be selected for the Anbu, apart from some exceptionally talented Genin, the rest were either experienced Chunin or Special Jonin, possessing formidable overall strength.

This meant that the one blocking his path was at least a Chunin.

The six shadow clones simultaneously threw shuriken wildly. Katsuki considered the Shadow Clone Jutsu a super bug. The clones were not only solid but also perfectly replicated the original's equipment. Not a single shuriken was missing from their bags, but they couldn't replicate Explosive Tags, which was incredibly frustrating.

But it made sense. The cost difference between Explosive Tags and shuriken was enormous. If Explosive Tags could be replicated with Shadow Clones like shuriken, the ninja tool industry would decline by a level. As for the reason behind this, Katsuki pondered it, likely due to the complex manufacturing process of Explosive Tags.

Explosive Tags, frankly speaking, were Fire Release jutsu sealed onto paper, essentially a portable ninjutsu. Unlike shuriken, which existed physically, the core of an Explosive Tag was the Fire Release jutsu sealed within it. This could not be replicated by the clones.

Otherwise, the Uchiha family's business would plummet.

That's right, the largest source of Explosive Tags was the Uchiha family. Even in the Ninja World, no other force could compete with the Uchiha family in Fire Release jutsu. This item was originally developed by the Uchiha clan.