Seeds × A Meeting

Naturally, not everyone could be developed the way Nara Dan had developed him.

For the vast majority of people, even if a God-Seeing Indestructibility expert used Jin Force to cleanse their pineal gland by hand every day,

the results would still be negligible.

Otherwise, the supposedly highest state of mind—"neither hearing nor seeing, yet sensing danger and evading it"—would be commonplace.

Most importantly, Ino Rinya possessed the Talent Entry Turn Danger into Safety.

From birth, his Sixth Sense had far greater potential and was much easier to develop than an ordinary person's.

That was why Nara Dan had been able to bring about such obvious results with just a little development.

Nara Dan opened his Cheat System again and looked. Sure enough,

the blue Talent Entry on Ino Rinya seemed to be growing stronger.

It was still a long way from advancing to the next level,

but that was enough to prove Nara Dan was on the right track.

Nara Dan looked at his own Entry again.

(Purple) Taijutsu Expert:

You have grasped the mysteries of life between life and death. The human body holds no secrets from you. In some worlds, you could be called the Sea Emperor; in others, an expert. But the most fitting title is—God-Seeing Indestructibility!

"The secrets of the human body are all in my hands."

"That's just a figure of speech."

"Otherwise, how could the golden Entries and those of even higher levels advance?"

Nara Dan had a clear understanding of himself.

The more you knew, the more you realized how little you knew.

It was like a circle.

Your knowledge was like a circle. The larger it grew, the more you knew,

but your circumference grew longer too, bringing you into contact with even more unknown knowledge.

Otherwise, why would Orochimaru equate learning every technique in the world with achieving immortality?

"It seems like I've broken through my bottleneck now,"

"but I've entered an even more difficult one."

"Across countless worlds,"

"without bald men or people with hair standing on end, the limit of what humans can achieve is God-Seeing Indestructibility."

"The different worlds just call it different things."

"But what lies beyond that?"

Though Nara Dan was absorbed in his current state, he was also deeply worried about the future.

He believed the path ahead would inevitably go beyond the body and involve the soul.

Alongside the necessary logical deductions, an intuition deep within him pointed him in the same direction.

"Whether it's the Buddhist practice of giving alms for the next life, the Daoist art of Corpse Deliverance to become an immortal,"

"or the so-called Shattering the Void,"

"they all value the soul over the body."

Nara Dan's mind was crystal clear. His brain cells raced into action, driving an extraordinary storm of thought.

He unearthed one possibility after another, considered one experiment after another, then discarded them.

"The pineal gland must have many more undiscovered uses."

"At the very least, I still can't store Chakra in it like Tsunade does."

"But clearly, this path is viable."

Nara Dan watched Ino Rinya's retreating figure, anticipation flickering in his heart.

Of course, no one could unravel the path alone.

The more people walked it, the clearer it became.

And the pineal gland was an extremely sensitive, fragile part of the human body. The slightest mistake could cost someone their life.

Naturally, Nara Dan had to proceed with caution.

That was why he had chosen Ino Rinya, who had some talent, as his test subject.

Besides, though he was treating Ino Rinya as a test subject, wasn't this also an opportunity to change his fate?

Everything had gone according to Nara Dan's expectations,

whether his training or his plans.

Except for one thing.

The Hokage Office was unusually free of smoke.

Apart from the Third himself,

two or three others sat inside:

Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura.

The four senior figures of Konoha had gathered because the clouds of war were drawing near.

"What?!"

"You want Nara Dan in charge of the Land of Wind front?"

"Absolutely not!"

Utatane Koharu flatly refused.

"The Uchiha are already too powerful to control."

"If the Nara Clan rises too,"

"the peace within the village will be shattered."

"Who knows whether you'll even keep your position, Hiruzen!"

"Exactly."

Mitokado Homura had always been in lockstep with Utatane Koharu, and he nodded in agreement.

"If Ino-Shika-Cho aren't on our side,"

"a lot of situations will become difficult to handle."

"What's more, the Hyuga are clearly about to place their bets on the Nara Clan."

"And Nara Dan is too young."

"If he gets the chance to become Hokage,"

"the village may become difficult to control."

The other three understood what Mitokado Homura meant.

Being young didn't just mean boundless potential—enough to outlast the political careers of all four of them.

It also meant being unpredictable and holding different views.

But, contrary to his usual stance, the Third shook his head and spoke up for Nara Dan.

"The situation now will be much worse than before."

"Tsunade's illness. White Fang's death."

"We need a strong force on one of the fronts."

"We can't let those people see how weak we are."

"So..."

"Now is the last time we can afford to disagree!"

Danzo, too, spoke up for once in a rare display of fairness. He tapped his cane and said,

"Sarutobi is right."

"After the first two wars, the village can't afford any more turmoil."

"If we still hold back now,"

"then before Nara Dan grows too powerful to control, we'll have already thrown the village into the abyss."

But the two members of the Elder Council still wore frowns.

"Nara Dan is too difficult to control."

They had spent years judging people and had seen more shinobi than they'd eaten meals.

Nara Dan was precisely the kind of person who was hardest to handle.

He came from a powerful family, had astonishing talent, focused solely on training, and had few other desires.

And the Will of Fire? He clearly didn't buy into that.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be discussing this today.

"It's still too risky."

"What if he earns tremendous prestige in this war?"

"Even if he has no such ambition, the people who depend on him will push him forward."

The two elders were right about this.

The saying that someone could be suddenly robed in yellow overnight wasn't just a myth or a fable.

It had happened time and again throughout history.

Even if you didn't want to advance, your subordinates, relatives, and everyone with a stake in your success would be counting on you to bring them all along.

"Then how about this?"

Danzo cut in with a proposal.

"I'll take charge of the Land of Wind front."

"Just give Nara Dan a position as deputy commander or in logistics."

"That way, we can handle any unexpected situations."

"..."

The other three were speechless.

You shameless old bastard, Danzo. So all that time you were speaking up for Nara Dan, you were just trying to steal the prize for yourself?

They knew you had no good intentions.

At that, the other three didn't even bother to respond. Sending you to the Land of Wind front—setting aside whether an old man like you could win—

who in Konoha didn't know you were always eyeing the Hokage's seat?

If you really went, you'd probably cause even more trouble than Nara Dan.

Thanks to Hehe for the donation, and thanks to Suiye for the donation.

Generous as always!