The Mystery of a Thousand Hands

Early the next morning, Nawaki rose at the crack of dawn. Feeling the chakra flowing like a murmuring stream within his body, he felt incredibly invigorated.

What man has never had a chuunibyou dream? Now that he had realized the dream of his past life and obtained supernatural power, he was not only excited but also more confident in his future. This was a natural shift in mindset after gaining power; every powerhouse is confident. If one loses their conviction and begins to doubt themselves, their combat effectiveness will inevitably plummet.

Last night, after Tsunade taught the Chakra Extraction Technique to Nawaki, the system notified him that the recording was successful. It also noted that he could instantly master the technique for a mere 100 points of Wish Power, but Nawaki did not exchange for it.

100 points of Wish Power was nothing to Nawaki; he could easily earn it in ten days. However, he did not intend to spend his Wish Power on such low-level ninjutsu. Doing so would not only waste precious source points but also foster a reliance on the system, eroding his own willpower!

Wish Power should be used to accomplish miracles that ordinary people cannot, not to cheat or slack off.

In the original work, any nameless ninja could learn the Chakra Extraction Technique. No matter how low their IQ or how poor their aptitude, they would eventually succeed if they spent enough time. If he had transmigrated into the Naruto world and couldn't even learn this most basic technique, he might as well just drop dead.

As Nawaki expected, as long as one knew the method, extracting chakra was easy to learn. It required no technical skill—it was simply a matter of practice making perfect.

As long as one had sufficient physical and spiritual energy, anyone could extract chakra. Relying on the spiritual power from his two lifetimes and the vast physical energy granted by the Asura bloodline, Nawaki succeeded in extracting chakra after only a few attempts, taking just half an hour.

Tsunade, who was guarding him, and the Third Hokage, who was peeping with the Telescope Technique, were both shocked by his performance and provided him with another 200 points of Wish Power.

One must know that all ninjas begin learning chakra extraction at a few years old, but even the fastest take half a day. Learning it within a day or two is considered high talent—for instance, Tsunade herself took a full day to learn it. Yet, right before their eyes, Nawaki had succeeded with extraordinary smoothness in just half an hour! The two couldn't help but exclaim that he was a genius.

After Tsunade confirmed that Nawaki had fully mastered the extraction technique and there would be no accidents, she returned to the main hall to inform Mito of Nawaki's performance while Orochimaru and Jiraiya were still there before taking their leave.

The three of them provided Nawaki with another 300 points of Wish Power. Just like that, Nawaki's genius and conviction gained the recognition of the high-ranking members of the Hokage faction.

With Nawaki's spirit and body, he had practiced continuously for five hours last night before stopping due to fatigue. This achievement not only far surpassed his peers but was already the limit for an average adult ninja. It was evident how powerful the Asura bloodline was; Nawaki's future chakra reserves would certainly be no less than Naruto's, so he would never have to worry about chakra.

Meanwhile, the Seed of the Divine Tree was gradually reviving after being nourished by chakra, and the Divine Tree Space was slowly expanding.

After getting up, Nawaki sat cross-legged and silently recited in his heart: "System, display my attribute sheet."

Host: Senju Nawaki
Age: 1
Bloodline: S-rank Asura Bloodline
Chakra Natures: Fire, Lightning, Wind, Earth, Water, Yang, Yin
Intelligence (Knowledge and IQ): 6
Energy (Stamina as the foundation for chakra): 10
Seals (Proficiency and mastery of hand seals): 0
Taijutsu (Ability and proficiency in physical combat): 1
Ninjutsu (Ability and proficiency in ninjutsu): 0
Genjutsu (Ability and proficiency in genjutsu): 0
Speed (Agility of movement and reaction): 3
Strength (Physical power starting from wrist and leg force): 2

Looking at the attribute sheet created by the Book of Imitators, aside from chakra, he basically had nothing else. The reason was that he had only been in this world for a year and hadn't grown up yet. However, possessing an S-rank bloodline and natural seven-nature chakra meant his potential was immense. As long as he was given enough time to train, becoming a Kage-level ninja would be a natural progression. As for reaching the Super-Kage level, he would have to rely on the Wish Power system to hack. In the Naruto world, the peak for mortals is the Kage level, such as the Third Hokage and the Kages of other major villages. To reach Super-Kage, one must hack—like Naruto, Madara, and Sasuke, who were all cheaters. Fortunately, Nawaki also had a cheat, and it was stronger than theirs.

In this world where one relies on their father, those without bloodline cheats are all cannon fodder. The most high-end among them are the bloodlines originating from the Sage of Six Paths, with the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan being the representatives.

In his past life, when Nawaki watched the Naruto anime, there was one question he could never figure out: during the Warring States period, was the Senju Clan's bloodline ability, which could rival the Uchiha Clan, merely a powerful life force?

Before Hashirama Senju, who developed Wood Release, was born, what did the Senju Clan rely on to contend with the Uchiha Clan?

Why did the Uzumaki Clan, which also possessed powerful life force, not have the same combat power as the Senju Clan? Not only could they not end the chaos of the Warring States, but they were also wiped out by surrounding small countries a few years later?

Why was there such a huge difference in combat power between these two close clans with similar bloodlines?

Most importantly, why did the Senju Clan, which had established Konoha together with the Uchiha, completely disappear within a few short decades, leaving only Tsunade by the time the plot began?

All these mysteries would be completely unraveled today by the transmigrator, Nawaki!

In his past life, as a veteran Naruto fan, Nawaki had searched online for the reasons behind the extinction of the Senju Clan, and the netizens' theories varied.

All the speculations could be roughly divided into three types.

The first: Because of the multiple Great Ninja Wars, the members of the Senju Clan were always the first to charge into battle, suffering heavy casualties until they all died in action, leaving only Tsunade.

The second: The First Hokage ordered the entire Senju Clan to change their names and live in seclusion, no longer acting as ninjas.

The third: The Senju Clan was secretly captured by the high-ranking officials of Konoha to be used for human experiments to study the Wood Release bloodline, eventually dying out.

Upon careful analysis, all three explanations had major loopholes!

First, the "died in action" theory: in the three Great Ninja Wars, Konoha would go all out, and ninjas from every clan would go to the front lines. Why would the Senju Clan be wiped out while all other clans survived? Even if the Senju Clan sacrificed themselves for Konoha, they would have left descendants to continue the family line, right?

Could it be that the Senju Clan was deliberately framed by a conspiracy in Konoha? Then why didn't Tsunade die, and why didn't she turn against the high-ranking officials? As one of the Sannin, she held a high position and would definitely have noticed any anomalies; the high-ranking officials' conspiracy couldn't have been hidden from her.

Moreover, the high-ranking officials of Konoha all came from the Hokage faction, and they had always longed for the reappearance of Wood Release to restore Konoha's glory. Why would they not protect the Senju Clan instead of wiping them out? In the original work, the Hokage faction had always been at odds with the Uchiha Clan, and they only took action to wipe them out when they were about to stage a coup, yet they still left behind the brothers Itachi and Sasuke. Could the Senju Clan have been more dangerous to Konoha than the Uchiha Clan? The Hokage faction couldn't have been so insane as to conspire to kill off the entire Senju Clan just because of suspicion. Such a massive event would require many people to complete and could not be covered up. If it spread, the impact would be too great; only a fool would take such a high-risk, low-reward action! Therefore, the first speculation was unlikely.

As for the second speculation, it was even more impossible. After the First Hokage established Konoha, he needed to rely on the strength of his clansmen to contend with and check the Uchiha Clan. He would never have ordered the dissolution of the Senju Clan before Uchiha Madara left.

And he died shortly after the battle at the Valley of the End. Due to the news that he and Uchiha Madara had perished together, various countries were restless, and the situation in the ninja world became tense again. To cope with this, after succeeding as Hokage, the Second Hokage even established the Ninja Academy to train civilians to become ninjas to supplement combat power. He could not have ordered the Senju Clan to disband and hide. Furthermore, the Second Hokage died during the First Great Ninja War. From the end of the war until now, the young clan leader of the Senju Clan was Nawaki, and his grandmother Mito was helping him manage the Senju Clan as Hashirama's wife, waiting for him to grow up so she could hand it over to him. Neither she nor Nawaki had the prestige to order the Senju Clan to go into hiding. One was an outsider, the other a child; who would listen to such an absurd order from them? As for after Nawaki's death, Tsunade was only the princess of the Senju Clan, not even the clan leader, so it was even less possible.

As for the third speculation—being used by Konoha for experiments to transplant Wood Release cells and then all dying out—like the first, Tsunade would not have let this happen, and it couldn't have been hidden. The original work clearly showed that the Third Hokage opposed human experimentation and even drove his beloved disciple Orochimaru out of the village for it. It was impossible for Orochimaru and Danzo to capture the entire Senju Clan right under the Third Hokage's nose. Did they think the ninjas of Konoha were blind? All other clans, including the Hyuga and Uchiha, would not have agreed, because on this point, they were in the same boat as the Senju Clan. If the Senju Clan could be wiped out today for human experiments, would it be their turn tomorrow? No one could guarantee that! Therefore, Danzo and Orochimaru could only secretly capture individual members of the Senju Clan for experiments; they would never dare to wipe out the entire clan. Again, no one is a fool; smart people don't do things with high risks and low rewards.

Therefore, in summary, the disappearance of the Senju Clan was not due to the three reasons above!

Then why did such a clan, which could rival the Uchiha Clan, disappear?

Through a year of observation, Nawaki already had a preliminary answer!

Before proceeding, the first question to clarify is: on what grounds could the Senju Clan contend with the Sharingan of the Uchiha?

The Sharingan provides bonuses to genjutsu, the ability to reflect genjutsu, and clear insight into an enemy's movements—a bonus to taijutsu—as well as the ability to copy ninjutsu, a bonus to ninjutsu. Thus, the Sharingan provides a comprehensive enhancement across the three pillars of genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu; the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai is one of the most elite in the entire ninja world. Could the Senju Clan really contend with them based solely on recovery speed and chakra volume? Since every additional tomoe in a Sharingan also increases chakra volume, the gap between the two clans in terms of raw chakra was not significant. Where, then, did the Senju Clan's advantage lie?

Through systematic analysis, Nawaki discovered another advantage of the Senju Clan's Kekkei Genkai: chakra nature! Yes, the Senju Clan's Kekkei Genkai is the innate possession of four or five chakra natures!

In the original work, Kakashi once mentioned that chakra natures can be acquired through training, but this process is extremely long; mastering each nature requires ten or even several decades! Therefore, average jonin can only master more than two nature transformations, and these jonin are already in their twenties.

Naruto, even with the cheat-like advantage of Shadow Clones, could only master the Wind nature he was born with and never used ninjutsu of other natures thereafter. Sasuke also only used the Fire and Lightning nature ninjutsu he was born with.

It is evident that training chakra natures is extremely difficult and time-consuming, so most ninjas only develop one additional nature after skillfully mastering their innate one.

Therefore, ninjas who master five chakra natures are extremely rare, yet the majority of the Senju clansmen are capable of utilizing ninjutsu of all five natures.

Do not underestimate this point. When ninjas engage in combat, the situation is complex and ever-changing; sometimes, a single suitable ninjutsu can turn the tide of battle! By mastering ninjutsu of five natures and applying them flexibly, one can counter average enemies and handle varied situations. Hiruzen Sarutobi became a Kage-level existence precisely by relying on five-nature ninjutsu!

The Uchiha Clan, restricted to using ninjutsu of their own nature, were easily countered by the Senju Clan's elemental advantages. Coupled with the Senju Clan's powerful recovery, they were the perfect practitioners of both ninjutsu and taijutsu, allowing them to stand toe-to-toe with the Uchiha. Consequently, Konoha became a village proficient in five-nature ninjutsu, thanks to the foundation laid by the Senju Clan.

From his past life, through the Book of Formations, Nawaki knew that both the First Hokage and the Second Hokage were ninjas who possessed all seven natures. Tsunade was a ninja with Wind, Lightning, Earth, Fire, and Yang natures; because she was accustomed to taijutsu and Yang-style medical ninjutsu, she did not develop Water-style chakra. Kushina possessed Wind, Water, and Yin natures, which allowed her to use sealing jutsu. This further confirms the hypothesis that the Senju Clan's chakra natures are innately more numerous than those of others.

Thus, every member of the Senju Clan had the potential to become a jonin. Having clarified this, the most important question arises: why did the Senju Clan disappear?

Nawaki speculates that it is because the Senju Clan adopted an open policy of intermarriage with outside clans!

After the founding of Konoha, Hashirama, in order to maintain trust between the various clans, established connections with other ninja families through marriage!

Except for the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, who did not fully intermarry with the Senju in order to ensure the purity of their own Kekkei Genkai, every other ninja family intermarried extensively with the Senju, and even civilian ninjas participated in this.

Senju women married men from other clans, while Senju men could only take women from outside clans as wives!

Although this caused the blood of the Senju Clan to dissolve completely into the entirety of Konoha, the Senju bloodline was no longer pure as a result. While Nawaki's father's generation still barely maintained a high-level Kekkei Genkai, by the generation of Nawaki and Tsunade, the bloodline had been diluted and thinned. Aside from Nawaki and Tsunade, many other clansmen possessed only low-level Kekkei Genkai, and some even lacked any Kekkei Genkai traits at all!

Meanwhile, other clans and civilians improved their own bloodlines by relying on the Senju Clan's Kekkei Genkai, contributing many talents to Konoha. Thus, the Senju Clan used the strength of one clan to create the cradle of geniuses—Konoha!