Sage Body! Wood Style!

Konoha.

Senju was completely dumbfounded.

He had searched through the old records at the Orphanage and asked around discreetly.

All the evidence showed that Chiba's parents in this life had merely been low-ranking Civilian Ninja of Konoha, killed during a B-Rank escort mission.

But the system could not possibly be wrong.

Chiba forcibly steadied his wildly pounding heart as his thoughts raced.

There was only one truth.

In his previous life, Senju blood had indeed flowed through his veins, though it had become so diluted it was nearly nonexistent.

The system's bloodline purification had not created anything from nothing.

It had instead magnified the tiny trace of Senju Bloodline within him to its utmost limit and reverted it to its ancestral state!

And because of that.

Chiba had awakened the Bloodline Limit of the Senju of the Forest.

Wood Style!

Primary Sage Body!

What did those two things mean when combined?

They were the invincible power that had ended an age of chaos and founded Konoha.

With that power, Hashirama Senju had forcefully captured those unruly Tailed Beasts and treated them like pets.

And now.

That terrifying power had appeared within him.

However.

His excitement lasted only a dozen seconds.

Chiba quickly calmed down.

Because he understood his current situation all too well.

The present-day Konoha was no longer the village it had been when the First and Second Hokage were in power.

Year 52 of Konoha.

After the devastation of three Ninja World Wars and the crushing blow of the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

The village's top-tier fighting strength had practically suffered a complete break in succession.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife had died in battle.

Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, had become an S-Rank Missing-nin after his human experiments were exposed.

Jiraiya had spent years wandering outside the village, tracking down Orochimaru and the Akatsuki.

Tsunade, burdened by severe hemophobia and overwhelming grief, had completely left that place of sorrow behind.

The one sitting in the Hokage Office now was the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had reclaimed power.

And lurking beneath the darkness was Shimura Danzō, watching everything like a venomous snake.

Those two old men's desire for power had already reached a pathological level.

If they learned that a wild Wood Style awakener had appeared in the village.

What would happen to him?

Chiba could practically guess the outcome in an instant.

Either Sarutobi Hiruzen would brainwash him with the so-called Will of Fire.

Or Danzo would drag him into Root's underground laboratory and plant the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on him.

After all.

Even Yamato's half-finished Wood Style had been hidden away like some priceless treasure.

And Chiba possessed the genuine Senju Bloodline, with even a Sage Body awakened alongside it.

Once exposed, he would absolutely trigger a frenzied struggle among the Konoha High Command.

Chiba did not even dare imagine a life where he was treated as slicing material or an experimental subject.

Then.

Chiba lowered his gaze.

[Overall Evaluation: An unqualified Elite Jonin!]

The system's assessment was like a poisoned thorn.

Yet.

Chiba had no way to refute it.

Even though his Chakra had already reached Early Kage Level.

Even though his muscles and bones had been transformed by the Sage Body to the level of an Elite Jonin.

The current Chiba was still weak through and through.

Why?

Because he knew far too few ninjutsu.

Aside from the Three Body Technique taught at the Ninja Academy.

Chiba only knew three low-level elemental ninjutsu.

C-Rank Water Wave, C-Rank Earth Dragon Concealment, and B-Rank Earth Wall.

He was like a three-year-old child who had been handed a fully loaded heavy machine gun.

He possessed devastating firepower, yet could not even find the safety.

Any Special Jonin with ample combat experience.

Could overwhelm Chiba with a single high-level genjutsu or a chain of taijutsu attacks at close range.

He would panic, and might even have his neck snapped.

If he wanted to survive...

If he wanted to protect himself in the wars to come...

Chiba had to find every possible way to frantically increase his strength!

But.

Where was the path forward?

Konoha had long since rotted to the core.

For a Civilian Ninja to gain access to advanced ninjutsu or Forbidden Techniques was harder than climbing to the heavens.

The first path.

Relying on the inheritance passed down between master and disciple.

Like Kakashi and Minato Namikaze, having a powerful teacher impart everything they knew.

But Chiba's instructor had only been an ordinary Chunin.

That person had long ago been blown to pieces by Iwagakure ninja on the battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War.

That path was blocked.

The second path.

Gain the favor of the higher-ups and obtain new ninjutsu.

But that was an even more hopeless dead end.

In Konoha's records, Chiba was merely a civilian Chunin who had survived by luck.

If he suddenly went to the Training Ground tomorrow and produced a shockingly powerful ninjutsu.

He would not receive appreciation. Instead, the Anbu would target him.

What followed would be endless interrogations and investigations.

Chiba irritably rubbed his brow.

Since the Konoha High Command could not be trusted, who could he rely on?

Who held the true foundation and ninjutsu inheritance of the Senju Clan?

Suddenly.

A name flashed through his mind like lightning.

Tsunade!

One of the Sannin, the granddaughter of the First, Hashirama Senju.

The only remaining descendant of the Senju Clan known to the public.

She was the only person in the current Ninja World qualified and capable of protecting the Senju Bloodline.

Although she now suffered from severe hemophobia and spent every day drowning her sorrows in gambling and alcohol.

That fiercely protective nature in her bones could not possibly have changed.

As long as Chiba could stand before her.

As long as he could prove to her that Senju blood flowed through his veins and that he had awakened Wood Style.

Tsunade would never stand by and do nothing.

She would certainly protect Chiba with everything she had, and might even teach him all the lost secret techniques of the Senju Clan.

After figuring that out.

The corners of Chiba's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a faint smile.

But.

The smile on his face quickly froze.

Because a new problem had appeared.

How was he supposed to leave Konoha?

Konoha's Barrier Squad operated around the clock.

Any unregistered Chakra forcibly leaving the village would immediately trigger an alarm.

Without an official order issued by the higher-ups.

Any ninja who left the village without permission would be branded a Missing-nin.

Chiba did not even have a decent offensive ninjutsu, let alone the ability to evade pursuit by the Anbu.

He had to use the proper channels.

Accept a mission.

Accept a mission that would take him out of Konoha, then use the opportunity to travel to an area Tsunade frequently visited.

Chiba immediately began planning his next course of action in his mind.

[Ding!]

[The host still has one sign-in opportunity this year.]

[Would you like to sign in immediately?]

Just then.

The cold, mechanical electronic voice rang out in Chiba's mind once more.

Chiba froze for a moment.

The beginner's gift pack and annual sign-in were calculated separately?

This system was rigidly adorable!

"Sign in immediately!"

Chiba gave the command inwardly.

This was a cheat capable of directly changing his fate. Even if he signed in for a Kunai, he would accept it.

[Sign-in successful!]

[Congratulations, host. You have obtained the reward: God-Level Comprehension!]

The next moment.

As the system's voice fell silent.

A cool current beyond description surged directly up Chiba's spine and into his brain.

There was no pain at all.

Nor was there the tearing sensation from the earlier bloodline purification.

There was only an unprecedented clarity.

It was like an old, rusted gear-driven machine that had operated for decades being replaced by a top-of-the-line quantum computer.

The world before Chiba's eyes immediately changed.

Several of the ninjutsu he had mastered also flashed through his mind.

When he had cast ninjutsu before.

He could only rigidly follow the seals recorded on the Scroll and mobilize his Chakra step by step.

Hand seals, refinement, release.

He copied them mechanically, with no flexibility whatsoever.

But now.

With the aid of God-Level Comprehension.

Those few ninjutsu were broken down into countless minute energy modules.