Sage Body

"Then the bargaining chip I hold—whatever you want from me, it shouldn't be the same as Madara's. You don't want to destroy this world."

Hashirama Senju suddenly sounded wistful. "Madara and I both wanted peace. In fact, he was the first to speak of that dream. We both suffered loss during the Warring States Period, so..."

"That fool... He didn't even realize he was being used. But Sora, am I being used by you now, too?"

Yun smiled but didn't answer.

Hashirama waved a hand magnanimously. "It doesn't matter. Like I said before, your dream proves you aren't Madara, and you're not someone who wants to destroy this world."

"What is a ninja? What is the purpose of a village, or of a ninja's existence? Madara and I were wrong about too many things, but we still don't know what the right answers are."

"It's up to you to find those answers and improve the system. One day, I believe there will be no more wars in this world, and children won't have to go to the battlefield..."

With that, the First departed as a spirit.

It wasn't the kind of departure that came after letting go of his attachment, as with Impure World Reincarnation. He had always cared about Konoha and the world, and had never let go of that attachment.

Standing atop Kage Rock, Yun looked down at the Hidden Leaf Village manifested in the space below and waved a hand.

In an instant, the entire village vanished like blowing sand.

"People are social animals. When they gather together, they argue, and arguments breed resentment."

"The seeds of hatred grow deeper in people's hearts. In the end, interests and resources drive them to band together. That's how villages are formed."

"If one day, I can make your wish come true... First!"

[Simulating future changes to Hashirama Senju (Pure Land)]

[Death status unchanged]

[Hidden Leaf Village's fate altered]

[Main storyline altered]

[Third layer of the nested simulation: Madara Uchiha's fate altered]

[Hashirama Senju (Pure Land) fate change rate: 50.2%]

[Earth Release Chakra (can fuse into a Kekkei Genkai)]

[Water Release Chakra (can fuse into a Kekkei Genkai)]

[Sage Body (bloodline)]

There were only three choices available. The changes to Hashirama Senju had indeed been minor this time.

In fact, if Yun hadn't warned him of the crisis and told him about the opportunity that Impure World Reincarnation would bring in the future, the change rate would probably have been even lower.

No Secret Scroll, no Senjutsu, not even Wood Release.

Fortunately, the Sage Body bloodline remained because the change rate exceeded fifty percent. Otherwise... choosing Obito might actually have been better.

But what about Asura's Chakra...

After being reincarnated into Naruto, would Hashirama still have it in his body? Or could the Exchange replicate powers a client had once possessed?

An endless stream of vitality began to well up inside Yun. The power inherited from the Sage of Six Paths—or perhaps from Asura's Chakra—was enough to make up for Yun's current lack of Chakra.

No, it didn't merely make up for it. It far exceeded what Yun had before.

Feeling the vitality surge within him, Yun suddenly sensed something unusual.

He held out his hand and focused. A faint breeze swirled in his palm, then vanished moments later.

Was this... Wind Release Chakra?

Did Hashirama Senju have Wind Release Chakra?

Asura certainly had Wind Release. And in his later Six Paths mode, he had all seven types of Chakra.

But just how much did this Sage Body contain?

A thought flashed through Yun's mind. He abruptly got up and started rummaging through the room.

"Crash! Thud..."

The noise from his search was a little too loud.

"Yun..."

His mother's voice outside made him freeze. He hurriedly quieted down.

If she misunderstood him again, he'd never be able to show his face tomorrow.

After a long while, Yun sat back down with a small sheet of paper in his hand. It was Chakra Paper, made from a tree nourished by Chakra.

Yun had actually tested his talent for Chakra Nature Transformation before, but at the time, he'd only had an affinity for Fire Release.

So now...

"Whoosh!"

As expected, one corner of the paper burned up. Then one side was sliced cleanly through—Wind Release.

Next, another corner crumbled to dust. Earth Release.

Finally, the last section grew damp, as if it had been fished out of water. Water Release.

That meant he had an affinity for the nature transformations of four of the five Chakra types. The only one he lacked was Lightning Release.

The Sage Body replicated from Hashirama Senju seemed to contain not only some of his talents, but some of Asura's, too.

Then... Wood Release was a Kekkei Genkai created by combining Water Release Chakra and Earth Release Chakra, but Hashirama couldn't seem to pass that Kekkei Genkai on to his descendants.

So perhaps Wood Release's power had more to do with the Sage Body?

What were the Hand Seals for Deep Forest Emergence again?

Did Hashirama Senju need Hand Seals?

Did Madara Uchiha need Hand Seals?

His wandering thoughts seemed to bring to mind a certain meme.

Outside Konoha, Uzumaki Sora was also feeling the sudden surge of vitality within him.

If he'd had this much Chakra earlier, he wouldn't have died three times. With this kind of vitality, even a knife plunged clean through his gut would probably heal quickly.

Uzumaki Sora took a moment to grumble, then looked toward the building in the distance.

The Konoha Orphanage.

In fact, since returning to Konoha, Sora had spent most nights keeping watch here.

There was no other way. Ever since the Fourth's fate had changed, Danzo, Konoha's resident scapegoat, seemed to have become a turtle, refusing to show his face no matter what.

And Yun couldn't break into the Root Division at his current strength. With his Chakra reserves so low, he'd only be throwing his life away. Even if that wouldn't affect him, revealing his ability to revive for no reason would be a bad trade.

So Sora had settled on keeping watch. During this period, the Konoha Orphanage was a place Danzo would visit.

It was where the Wandering Miko, Yakushi Nonō, lived—and where Kabuto joined the Root Division.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Three people stood outside the orphanage. The one wearing glasses like Shino's would later stepped forward and knocked.

A moment later, the orphanage door opened, and the group went inside. Nonō, who had opened the door, had looked worried from the start.

"The smell of snakes... Looks like the target's here. The turtle's poked its head out. Best to settle this once and for all."

"Whoosh!"

In the next instant, Yun appeared out of nowhere on the orphanage roof, while the conversation below began.

"I never expected you, once known as the Wandering Miko, to end up as a nursemaid. It's been a long time. You look a little haggard, Nonō." Danzo's voice rang out.

"I stopped using that name a long time ago. And I've already reached an agreement with Konoha about the aid money." Nonō furrowed her brow slightly.

Danzo rested his hand against his chin. His grave gaze made the woman across from him tense. "You were once a member of the Root Division. You shouldn't be completely in the dark about Iwagakure."

"Actually, I didn't come here just about the aid money. I came for you, too, Wandering Miko!"

Almost got it wrong. The one who should have come here was Aburame Ryoma.