Kannabi Bridge

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge could be called the beginning of all the evil in Naruto, indirectly leading to Rin's death and countless tragedies.

After losing Rin, Obito was tricked by a trickster who had himself been tricked, and went on to commit a series of utterly deranged acts: tying up his sensei's wife, putting a warming patch on a baby, and asking his sensei whether to save the mother or the child.

Put nicely, he spent his whole life fighting for Rin. Put less nicely, he never installed an anti-scam app and got so thoroughly taken advantage of that he ended up losing even his eyeballs.

"To change everything, I need enough power. It's time to get stronger." Back at home, Genye muttered to himself.

Next, he solemnly took a bath, burned incense, prayed to Lesser Lord Kusanali, and performed the Hinokami Kagura, along with a series of other superstitious rituals.

Only then did he hurry out to find his tool.

"This time, I've made all the preparations. My odds of getting something good from the draws are bound to double!" Genye declared confidently.

To keep his body from recovering too quickly, Genye hadn't done a rerun in two years. The ten-pull he'd saved up should be enough to make his Kekkei Genkai undergo a transformation!

"Hehehe, here I come, Uncle Hizashi~"

Genye had chosen Hizashi Hyuga as his rerun target. Although he was closer to Mei, he figured Hizashi's bloodline would be stronger.

After circling around the Main Branch estate several times, Hizashi's icon finally popped up on the system interface. Genye immediately chose to rerun him.

"System, give me a ten-pull, right now!" Genye said grandly.

[Good luck is coming, wishing you good luck~~~]

As rousing background music played, the system interface began to roll, rapidly displaying one notification after another.

[ Ding! Congratulations, host, you have rerun the skill "Gentle Fist"! ]*3

[Congratulations, host, you have rerun the skill "Top-Tier Cooking"!]

[Congratulations, host, you have rerun the skill "Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms"!]

[Congratulations, host, you have rerun the Kekkei Genkai "Byakugan"!]*4

[Congratulations, host, you have rerun the "Constitution" attribute! Your current constitution is 8, equivalent to an elite jonin!]

As all ten rerun notifications appeared, a terrifying power surged from deep within Genye's soul and swept through his entire body in an instant.

If the power he'd felt before had been like a warm current, this time it was scorching—boiling water that made him sweat all over.

He felt as though he were immersed in magma. His bones, muscles, and tendons seemed about to melt in the heat, repeatedly dissolving and reforming.

Genye endured the pain and made his way home as if nothing were wrong, afraid someone might notice something was amiss.

During the transformation, the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead "burned" away, vanishing like snow melting in spring.

What cage could ever hold a phoenix reborn in fire?

Even if the phoenix didn't care, the heat it released without thinking was enough to burn the cage to ashes in an instant.

"This transformation really packs a punch. It's way more intense than before!" Genye muttered with a bitter smile.

If he hadn't spent the past two years regularly snapping his tendons and training his flexibility, this transformation might have hurt him to death!

Fortunately, the transformation didn't take long. After a little over ten minutes, the power vanished without a trace.

The system soon displayed new notifications.

[Ding, transformation complete. Host's Kekkei Genkai has upgraded to a Kekkei Tōta!]

[Host has awakened "Atavistic Byakugan." After completing the Bloodline Puzzle, you may proceed to the next stage.]

[Host has awakened the ocular technique "Omoikane."]

[Host's constitution +1. Current constitution: 9. You have reached the Kage Level of this era.]

[As a ten-pull reward, the system has combined and developed the new skill "Gentle Fist: Blast" for the host.]

Looking at the new notifications, Genye's eyes went wide. "Is this what they mean by getting rich in one go?"

A Kekkei Tōta!

A unique ocular technique!

A Kage Level constitution!

"Have I really just reached the threshold of Kage Level?" Genye stared at his hands, unable to shake the feeling that it wasn't real.

"Right, I should check out my new ocular technique first!"

With that thought, Genye hurriedly opened the description of his ocular technique.

[Omoikane: A space-type ocular technique. The host can teleport to any location within their line of sight.]

"Holy crap, it really is a space-type ocular technique!" Genye was so excited that he broke into a shoulder-shaking dance on the spot.

It might not be as good as dual Kamui, but he was already satisfied, because his field of vision was huge!

Genye closed his eyes. His range of vision, already far beyond that of ordinary Hyuga, expanded dramatically, reaching a terrifying five kilometers!

"It's like Flying Thunder God without the need for a marked formula within five kilometers. I don't know how much it takes out of me yet, but damn, that's awesome!"

"My constitution and Gentle Fist have upgraded again, too. My tendons are incredibly resilient now. I shouldn't have to worry about being crippled the moment I throw a punch!"

Genye was very satisfied with this upgrade. It seemed all his preparations had paid off!

"But what does it mean to complete the Bloodline Puzzle?" Genye asked the system, puzzled.

[Ding, please explore on your own!] the system replied.

"Tch, making it all mysterious." Genye pursed his lips.

He soon put the matter out of his mind and eagerly started trying out his new ocular technique.

"This ocular technique is awesome. There's no windup, and it doesn't take much out of me. I can use it a dozen or so times a day without a problem!"

After roughly figuring out the limits of his ocular technique, Genye took out the special solution he'd prepared in advance and redrew the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead.

He wasn't invincible yet. To be safe, he'd play it cautious for another two years!

"With this new ocular technique, I can enter and leave the village without anyone noticing. That'll make my next move much easier."

Muttering to himself, Genye unfolded the map on the table. A few large words were written on it: "Land of Grass, Kannabi Bridge."

Outside Konoha, on a lush green meadow, Minato led his three students toward the border of the Land of Fire.

"Konoha's forces are severely depleted. To make our missions more efficient, we'll split into two teams from here on."

As he walked, Minato looked back at his three students and spoke, feeling rather helpless.

In truth, some of Konoha's major clans still had forces to spare. But they dodged their orders and paid lip service to them, while the Third Hokage was far too lenient. That was why Konoha had ended up with no one available.

"Split into two teams?" Obito repeated, confused.

"That's right." Minato nodded. "I'll operate alone. The three of you will carry out missions as a team, with Kakashi as your captain."

"Why does that guy get to be captain?" Obito turned his head aside and muttered, sounding a little unhappy.

"Because starting today, Kakashi's a jonin, just like me," Minato explained with a smile.

"That's right, Obito. Didn't I talk it over with you again later? We even agreed we'd get Kakashi a present," Rin added.

Kakashi, walking in front, turned around and said coolly, "Sorry, the wind was pretty loud just now. I didn't catch what you were saying."

"Kakashi, this is for you."

Minato smiled, took a kunai from his pouch, and tossed it to Kakashi.

"This kunai was specially made for you. It's a little heavy, but once you get used to it, it'll feel comfortable in your hand."

"Thanks." Kakashi caught the kunai and casually tucked it into his waistband.

"This is my present. It's a personal medical kit. Please take it."

As she spoke, Rin took a small medical case from her backpack and handed it to Kakashi with a grin.

"Thanks." Kakashi took the medical kit with his left hand, then turned his gaze to Obito and held out his right hand expressionlessly.

Obito pursed his lips, pulled a book from his jacket, and slapped it into Kakashi's hand.

"Here. It's my favorite book. You can have it as a present."

"Oh?"

Maybe it was because the cover looked a little strange, but the moment Kakashi took the book, he wanted to flip through it.

Rin, standing nearby, leaned over curiously too, her eyes wide as she tried to see what kind of book Obito liked best.

"Don't look!" Obito was so startled he nearly jumped out of his skin. He clamped a hand over Kakashi's and shouted.

"You have to read this book slowly and carefully, with a clear mind. Otherwise, you won't appreciate what makes it so wonderful. I recommend waiting until you finish the mission and get home, then take a bath and change before you read it!"

"Oh." Kakashi nodded and put the book away. He glanced at Obito. "It doesn't seem like the kind of book I'd enjoy, but thanks anyway."

"Hmm..." Rin eyed Obito suspiciously for a long time. She felt there was something off, but in the end, she didn't press him.

Only then did Obito secretly breathe a sigh of relief, grumbling to himself about the terrible idea Genye had given him.

"All right, we're getting close to the border. Let me explain your mission."

Minato stopped and spread a campaign map over a rock, gesturing for his three students to gather around.

"This is the route the Iwagakure ninja are using to invade the Land of Grass."

Minato pointed to a line on the map, then traced along it.

"Your mission is to infiltrate the enemy's rear and destroy this bridge that Iwagakure uses to transport supplies."

As he spoke, Minato tapped the icon representing the bridge firmly with his finger.

The three of them followed Minato's finger. The bridge was called Kannabi Bridge.