Clashing Again

Ever since that sparring assessment, Nawaki's reputation as a genius had begun to spread through the village, albeit on a small scale. His fame had gradually reached 60 points, but he didn't seem satisfied.

"System, didn't the mission you gave me say I'd get 100 fame points if I became a genius recognized by Konoha? How come I've only got 60? Fine, maybe completing the mission doesn't come with a reward, but why are my fame points so much lower too? You haven't been pocketing them, have you?" Nawaki complained to the system in his mind as he trained with weights.

"Reminder: the system was created by its host and has no function for issuing rewards, other than Wish Power. The host's reputation as a genius has spread through the village by word of mouth. Many people haven't witnessed it firsthand and don't believe it. According to the system's assessment, if the host graduates from the Ninja Academy and becomes a Genin at age three, he will gain at least 100 fame points. Also, without the host's permission, the system has no authority to use Wish Power. The chakra extracted by the host is the energy best suited to the growth of the system's core. Calculations show that absorbing Wish Power directly is inefficient; its effect is tens of millions of times weaker than absorbing chakra after helping the host grow. The system will not choose such a wasteful course of action."

"System, you seem more sentient lately. Do you think you'll develop a mind of your own someday? Then I'd be invincible, wouldn't I?"

"Thank you for the compliment, host. The system's core is the spirit of an Innate Spiritual Treasure and has the potential to develop a mind of its own. It can grow along with the core. According to calculations, this will take one hundred thousand years at the current rate."

"Fine. Improving my own strength is still the more reliable option."

So Nawaki returned to his daily training. The system estimated that after he turned three, he should be able to use the Six Powers to a basic degree. However, because they placed heavy demands on his stamina, he wouldn't be able to use them for long, and their power would be limited.

As for the Flying Thunder God Technique, which he had coveted for a long time, he had inherited the Senju Clan's talent for sensing space-time, just like Minato. But with his current chakra reserves, he wasn't even qualified to train in it. Exchanging for it directly would cost ten million Wish Power because it involved the laws of space! He had firmly decided against that. Once he had enough chakra, fully mastered the five nature transformations, and completed the Rasenshuriken, he would focus all his efforts on training in the Flying Thunder God Technique and use it to reach Kage Level strength!

After starting school, Nawaki had already learned how to handle family affairs. Some of his suggestions had earned the elders' approval and improved the clan's situation, giving him a certain amount of influence among the Senju Clan.

For example, he had suggested that clan members who couldn't become ninja go into business, with the clan offering them protection. The Senju Clan had now established several merchant caravans, specializing in trading local goods from different countries: medicinal herbs from the Land of Wind, Chakra Metal from the Land of Lightning, minerals from the Land of Earth, and lumber and grain from the Land of Fire. They had made a great deal of profit. They had also opened numerous hotels and casinos throughout the Land of Fire, both of which were highly lucrative. Although this had taken profits away from many people, no one dared interfere because of the Senju Clan's reputation. These measures had greatly improved the clan's finances. They no longer had to rely on their members completing missions to stay afloat.

Ninja work was a high-risk profession, and many children in the clan had lost their parents. The village's compensation was nowhere near enough to support these orphans until they could become ninja. Training a ninja required medicinal baths, ninja tools, ninjutsu, and other resources, all of which cost money. The clan had to spend a fortune raising these orphans, and could only scrape by with the wages its members earned from missions.

Now, with Nawaki's guidance, the Senju Clan had easily used its reputation to bring in a great deal of money. Its members no longer had to risk their lives on missions, and casualties had fallen considerably.

The clan could now provide its members with benefits such as Military Ration Pills, Explosive Tags, and ninja tools made from Chakra Metal, greatly improving the survival rate of its ninja. They could enjoy the luxury of overwhelming their enemies with superior equipment. These changes were all thanks to Nawaki, so naturally the clan members were full of gratitude toward their young clan leader.

As a result, Nawaki's Guard Corps had grown to ten members. He had carefully selected seven elite Chunin who possessed both advanced Senju bloodline traits and the bloodlines of other distinguished families. He had completed their bloodline fusion, earning the loyalty of seven Jonin. He believed that once he had fully grown up, he would be able to take complete control of the Senju Clan. The forces under his command were already on par with those of an ordinary minor clan.

Busy and fulfilling days always passed quickly. Before long, it was March of Konoha's twenty-fourth year. Nawaki was already three and a half years old. On his birthday the year before, he hadn't asked for anything. He had only hoped that Mito would get more rest and stay healthy. His words had moved his grandmother to tears, and she'd said that Nawaki had grown up and was even more considerate than his older sister.

Today was the final assessment of the term. Nawaki was exempt from the first two parts and went straight to the final one. His opponent was still Fugaku, and the same people were watching. Everything seemed almost exactly like last year.

Once they stepped onto the field, Uchiha Fugaku didn't waste any time this time. He completed the Hand Seals for the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique in just two seconds and sent the attack toward Nawaki. But this time, Nawaki didn't stand still and let the fireball approach. He vanished from where he stood with a Shunpo.

Nawaki could now use Shunpo to move quickly within a range of ten steps. In an instant, he appeared behind Fugaku and punched him in the back. If the punch had connected, it would have been enough to knock Fugaku unconscious. But as soon as Nawaki landed the hit, he could tell that something was wrong.

Poof!

The Fugaku in front of him turned into a log. The Substitution Technique? Fugaku's Hand Seal speed had improved considerably. As Nawaki thought this, he leaped into the air, using the Moon Step technique to jump more than ten meters high!

Looking down after his jump, Nawaki saw Fugaku not far behind him, throwing three Kunai his way. He narrowly dodged them.

Fugaku was astonished to see Nawaki leap more than ten meters into the air, but then he sneered to himself. What good was jumping so high? Nawaki was just a target. At the same time, Fugaku drew his Shuriken and hurled them at Nawaki.

But Nawaki didn't look the least bit flustered. He rapidly stepped through the air with both feet, moving as if he were walking on level ground. Using gravity to his advantage, he gripped a Kunai and rushed down at Fugaku from above.

Nawaki was moving too fast. Fugaku was so shocked that he couldn't dodge in time, and could only struggle to raise his Kunai to block.

With a sharp clang, the Kunai in their hands crashed against each other, scattering sparks. The enormous force drove Fugaku, caught off guard, down onto one knee.

Their Kunai screeched as they strained against each other. Nawaki was clearly much stronger than Fugaku, and he had him completely overpowered with just one hand. Fugaku could only barely hold him off, gripping his Kunai with both hands. His entire body trembled under the crushing force, yet he couldn't move. Nawaki stood before him as immovable as a mountain.