Terrifying Combat Power

There were fourteen days left until the Chunin Exams.

In the secret chamber on the third underground level of the Senju ancestral estate, Chiba sat cross-legged at the center of a stone platform, his hands forming the Rat seal. The chakra pathways within his body slowly unfolded in his mind's eye like an illuminated star map.

He took stock of everything he currently possessed, one ability at a time.

Wood Release.

Under the Beauty Record System's continuous purification, his pure Senju bloodline had recovered to nearly seventy percent of the First Hokage's concentration. Combined with the yin-yang balance boost from the third stage of the Perfect Sage Body, the scale and density of the Wood Release generated by his chakra far surpassed that of ordinary Wood Release users.

Chiba extended his right hand, fingers pointing downward, and sent a thread of chakra into the floor.

A deep rumble rose from the rock beneath the stone platform. Three seconds later, a thumb-thick sapling pushed out from a crack in the stone before Chiba, its tender green branches and leaves spontaneously giving off a faint glow within the sunless chamber.

He did not stop channeling chakra. Within five seconds, the sapling grew into a tree as tall as a person, its canopy spreading to fill half the chamber. Its trunk swelled from thumb-thick to thigh-thick.

Ten seconds.

The entire secret chamber was filled with massive trees grown by Wood Release. Their roots burrowed into the stone walls, and the sounds of cracking rock rose one after another.

Chiba withdrew his hand. The tree stopped growing once it lost its chakra supply, but it had already forced a half-meter-long crack into the chamber ceiling.

Sage chakra.

The Dual Sage Body—the physical resilience of the Mount Myoboku snake sages combined with the natural energy perception boost of Ryūchi Cave—had brought both his recovery speed and sensory precision to monstrous levels.

Chiba closed his eyes and entered Sage Mode.

As natural energy poured in, the total chakra within his body began to rise. Thirty seconds later, it reached its peak. His mental range expanded from twelve hundred meters to three thousand, bringing Konoha's entire southeastern district into his sensory network.

Every person's heartbeat, the chakra flow through every pathway, the contraction frequency of every muscle—all of it became incomparably clear.

Genjutsu immunity.

The Yin Release boost from his contract with Yuhi Kurenai had strengthened his mental core to an absurd degree. Genjutsu below B-rank was as laughable before him as drawing a circle and telling him to jump into it. The mental intrusion signals of A-rank genjutsu would automatically be repelled by his core, and even the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan genjutsu might not take effect immediately.

The ultimate swordsmanship of the Senju Style, Two Heavens One Style.

The Wind Release cutting ability brought by Yugao's contract gave him scalpel-level precision killing power in close combat as well as at mid and long range.

Chiba held two fingers together and made a casual stroke toward the chamber wall. A silent, invisible wind blade cut through the air, leaving a one-centimeter-deep slash in the stone wall, its surface smooth as a mirror.

He gathered all his abilities in his mind and made an overall assessment.

Third stage Perfect Sage Body, yin-yang balance, and a total chakra reserve exceeding that of ordinary tailed beasts.

Without Sage Mode, his normal state matched the middle tier of Kage-level strength.

After activating Sage Mode, he matched the top tier of Kage-level strength.

If he stacked Wood Release, swordsmanship, genjutsu immunity, and Wind Release together—

The corner of Chiba's mouth curled upward.

Back then, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had relied on Wood Release and Sage Mode to suppress Madara Uchiha and the complete Nine-Tails at once.

His current path closely overlapped with the First Hokage's. What he lacked was only accumulated chakra and the tempering of time.

But he had the system.

Every time he contracted another beauty, his strength would leap forward by a massive margin.

Four beauties were currently under contract. Tsunade had contributed Senju bloodline purification and the medical knowledge of the Strength of a Hundred. Anko had contributed the Snake Sage Body. Yuhi Kurenai had contributed Yin Release spiritual power. Yugao had contributed Wind Release swordsmanship.

At the Chunin Exams, even more beauties were waiting for him to claim.

Chiba stood up and stretched. Under the pull of his chakra, the massive trees in the chamber slowly withered and retreated into the ground. Three minutes later, everything had returned to normal.

He pushed open the stone door of the secret chamber and walked up the stairs.

The door at ground level opened, and the setting sun poured into the courtyard.

Tsunade leaned against a corridor pillar, her arms folded across her chest. When she saw him emerge, she raised her sake flask and took a sip.

Anko crouched on a wooden post in the courtyard, sharpening her snake-shaped shuriken. She looked up at the sound of footsteps.

Yuhi Kurenai stood beneath the study's eaves with a scroll in hand, her dark crimson eyes turning toward him.

Yugao stood in the shadows inside the main gate, her left hand resting on her sword, her posture straight. Her purple eyes gleamed with a cold light in the twilight.

Four people, four entirely different temperaments, four pairs of eyes falling on Chiba at once.

Chiba slipped his hands into his pockets and looked at them. Something surged in his chest.

It was not chakra, but something even hotter than chakra.

"In half a month, all of you are coming with me to the Chunin Exams."

Tsunade lowered her sake flask.

"I'm a former Hokage. What am I going to the exam grounds for?"

"Be my medical consultant. If I get too excited fighting and can't hold back, someone has to keep the other side alive."

Tsunade rolled her eyes.

Anko hopped down from the wooden post.

"M-me? What am I supposed to do?"

"Examiner's assistant and on-site order maintenance."

"And what does that mean in plain language?"

"Muscle. If anyone refuses to behave, go up and beat them up."

Anko grinned, slamming her fist into her palm with a crisp smack.

Yuhi Kurenai put away her scroll and walked over.

"What about me?"

"Intelligence analysis and genjutsu supervision. Prevent anyone from cheating with genjutsu."

Yugao did not ask, but Chiba looked in her direction.

"Yugao, your duty is the simplest, and also the most important. Personal bodyguard. Never leave my side."

Yugao slightly raised her chin, and the fingers resting on her sword hilt tightened.

"Yes."

Chiba jumped down from the steps and landed on the courtyard's stone-paved ground. He turned back to glance at the plaque hanging over the Senju ancestral estate behind him.

The twilight cast the Senju Clan crest on the plaque in interwoven gold and red.

"Konoha is only the starting point. At the upcoming Chunin Exams, it's time for the entire shinobi world to get to know me—Senju Chiba."