Word Seal: Soldier!

After dinner, he took a bath.

Only then did Shita Genichi return to the bedroom and lie down on the bed.

What kind of achievements would he make over the next ten years?

Shita Genichi looked forward to finding out.

Yin Seal!

Four-Symbols Seal!

Kenjutsu!

Nine Syllables Hand Seals!

And the Zero-Tails, cell transplants.

Closing his eyes, Shita Genichi chose [Overdraft the Next Ten Years].

As the Overdraft Panel exploded into a violet sphere of light, Shita Genichi's mind went blank in an instant, while every cell in his body trembled as if electricity were coursing through it.

A moment later, Shita Genichi's eyelids twitched before he opened his eyes. "I've finally made it through a full ten years..."

Across his three overdrafts, the first had covered only six years, and the second eight.

This time, he had finally reached a full ten years. In other words, he had overdrafted up to March 18, Konoha 53.

He would be seventeen that year!

Shita Genichi smiled.

Although this time he still hadn't acquired the Zero-Tails or undergone a cell transplant, and his body hadn't changed either,

he'd made considerable gains in other areas.

Getting out of bed, Shita Genichi hurried to the washroom and looked at himself in the mirror.

A diamond-shaped mark had appeared on his forehead.

It was the mark of the Yin Seal, which he had only fully mastered in the ninth year of the future. It certainly hadn't come easily.

"My fear of running out of chakra has finally eased!"

Shita Genichi beamed.

The Yin Seal stored four years' worth of his chakra.

If he didn't unlock it and use it, the reserve would keep growing.

In the future, he had also used Haruno Sakura's training method for the Yin Seal, splitting the chakra reservoir into two.

One large and one small: the large one was the Yin Seal, and the small one was for everyday use.

That way, it wouldn't interfere with his usual training and battles.

Of course, if the small reservoir ran low, he could stop accumulating chakra.

If that still wasn't enough, he could unlock the Yin Seal and release the chakra stored inside.

Back in the bedroom, Shita Genichi picked up his Forehead Protector and put it on, covering the Yin Seal mark.

Keep a low profile!

Then Shita Genichi slung his sword over his back, went outside, and headed for the small woods where he often trained.

After taking a few breaths to steady himself, Shita Genichi formed the Soldier Seal with both hands.

As soon as he finished the hand seal, Shita Genichi vanished from the spot and raced through the woods, leaving a series of afterimages.

A moment later, he returned to where he'd started, excitement in his eyes. "Using the Soldier Seal has increased my speed by about a third."

"And it's not just movement speed. My neural reaction speed has improved too."

"Or rather, every kind of speed has improved."

"Neural reaction speed, Body Flicker speed, hand-seal speed..."

He was on the right track!

The Nine Syllables Hand Seals were truly extraordinary and well worth exploring further.

Even if the increase was only a third,

that extra third came on top of everything else.

Besides, Shita Genichi felt that the Soldier Seal still had plenty of potential.

If he kept studying it, perhaps he could double his speed, or even improve it further.

Still, Shita Genichi couldn't help feeling it was a shame. Of the ten years he had overdrafted, the Soldier Seal was the only thing that had yielded results. The All Seal, which he'd decided to study in depth, had yet to bear fruit.

"From now on, I'll call this technique... the Soldier Mantra!"

Shita Genichi happily came up with another name for it.

Maybe one day, there'd also be an All Mantra and a Presence Mantra.

"I have to keep studying the Nine Syllables Hand Seals for a hundred years without wavering!"

Shita Genichi strengthened his resolve.

Then a question occurred to him.

Just how strong was he now?

With three overdrafts, he'd effectively trained for twenty-six years.

By a rough estimate, his combat strength should be that of a thirty-one-year-old.

At that moment, Shita Genichi felt an urge to find someone to fight and test his strength.

But then he smiled.

Kakashi and Guy hadn't grown up yet. Should he go find his teacher, Hatake Sakumo?

If they really fought, he'd probably still get beaten to a pulp.

Shita Genichi had once thought Hatake Sakumo was merely skilled in Kenjutsu. Only after becoming his student did he learn that was far from the truth.

Hatake Sakumo had mastered five chakra nature transformations and could use all five types of ninjutsu with great skill.

He just tended to use his sword more often.

High speed, high attack, ending fights quickly to save time and effort—that was the fighting style of the White Fang of Konoha.

"Style, or rather, a tactical system."

Shita Genichi mulled it over.

A Water Clone as bait, then use Genjutsu with the original body to rob the enemy of sight, followed by a close-range sword strike to take their head.

Or simply rush in with Kenjutsu and take their head.

If that didn't work, unleash Water Release with sweeping force.

If that still didn't work, take the opportunity to close in with Kenjutsu and take their head.

In short, he needed to stay flexible and make full use of his strengths.

After thinking it all through, Shita Genichi turned his thoughts to his plans for the coming year and the priorities ahead.

"In training, I need to work on the Nine Syllables Hand Seals, Genjutsu, Wind Release nature transformation, Water Release, and Sealing Jutsu."

"And in the future, on top of that training, I'll have to plot how to get the Great Blade Samehada, the Zero-Tails, and... the Nine-Tails!"

Shita Genichi unconsciously licked his lips.

For the first time, he had officially added the Nine-Tails to his list of targets.

Of course, Shita Genichi wasn't going to kill Uzumaki Kushina.

He might be a little opportunistic, but he wasn't heartless.

Not only was he not going to kill Uzumaki Kushina, he was going to save her.

But that didn't mean he couldn't try to claim the Nine-Tails during the Nine-Tails Incident.

After all, he could acquire the Nine-Tails in the future and then use it in the present.

Still, the thought made Shita Genichi intensely curious.

If he really did acquire the Zero-Tails or Nine-Tails in the future he'd overdrafted, and then they appeared in his present self,

what state would the Zero-Tails and Nine-Tails in the present be in?

March 20.

With a sword at his waist and a backpack on his back, Shita Genichi appeared at the village gate.

"Looks like this mission won't be simple!"

Shita Genichi saw that he wasn't the only one gathering at the village gate—another team was there as well.

After greeting Hatake Sakumo and the other two, Shita Genichi turned to the four newcomers.

Three of them were easy to identify: one from the Yamanaka Clan, one from the Akimichi Clan, and one from the Nara Clan.

The other boy's face also seemed somewhat familiar.

"Genichi, these are Akimichi Dozō, Yamanaka Jing, Nara Kakuto, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke."

Hatake Sakumo introduced them to Shita Genichi.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke?

No wonder he seemed familiar. He was the Third's eldest son, Asuma's older brother, and one of the legendary Eight Colors of Konoha. He was said to be proficient in Earth Release and was one of Sarutobi Hiruzen's right-hand men in Anbu.

Of course, Sarutobi Shinnosuke looked only twelve or thirteen now.

Shita Genichi respectfully bowed and greeted each of them as senior.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others were all warm and courteous.

Word had spread throughout Konoha that Hatake Sakumo had taken Shita Genichi on as an official student.

Even setting aside Shita Genichi's reputation as a genius, they still had to show respect for Hatake Sakumo's sake.

They didn't waste time on small talk. Once everyone had arrived, Hatake Sakumo gave the order, and they all used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the village.