The moldy wooden bed creaked sharply.
Sen Senju jolted upright, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.
He lowered his head and stared at his own chubby little hands, clearly a whole lot smaller than before.
"What is this supposed to be..."
The memories flooding his mind couldn't be fake.
He really had crossed into another world.
This was Konoha, and the Third Shinobi World War had just ended.
And now, he was a six-year-old war orphan.
Not only was he an orphan, but he was also from the most distant, most insignificant branch of the Senju Clan.
The tattered blanket on the bed beside him shifted, and a round head poked out.
It was Ishikawa, the chubby boy sleeping next to him, a glistening string of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.
"Sen, what's gotten into you so early in the morning?" Ishikawa mumbled, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"I had a nightmare," Sen said casually.
His current mood was a hundred times worse than after a nightmare.
The Naruto world was a famously dangerous place, where human lives were worth less than grass.
The Nine-Tails Incident was coming soon, followed by the Akatsuki carrying out their plans and Madara Uchiha dancing on the battlefield.
With his status as a distant Senju relative, he was practically a walking ATM full of Hashirama Cells.
If that sinister old man Danzo took an interest in him, he probably wouldn't even be left with ashes.
"What kind of nightmare makes you sweat that much?" Ishikawa yawned and sat up.
"I dreamed I became Hokage, then died from overwork while reviewing paperwork every day."
Ishikawa pursed his lips, disbelief written all over his round face.
"Yeah, right. Becoming Hokage is everyone in the village's dream."
Ishikawa clenched his chubby fist, his eyes shining with longing.
"One day, I'm definitely going to become a great ninja like Lord Third and go to the battlefield to kill enemies!"
Sen rolled his eyes, looking at his companion as if he were an idiot.
"Get lost. If you want to be cannon fodder, don't drag me into it. I haven't had enough of living yet."
"I have only one goal in life."
Sen raised one finger, his expression utterly serious.
"That's to stay alive, keep a low profile, and be a nobody."
"I'll lie low until the very end, find a sunny place to plant trees and grow flowers, and live in peace."
Ishikawa was so stunned by his total lack of ambition that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time.
"Did you squash your brain in your sleep? What's the point of being a lazy bum?"
"A lazy bum doesn't have to turn over, and no one takes one away to dissect and study." Sen shot back irritably.
Just then, the shabby wooden door was kicked open with a bang.
The door slammed against the wall, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
A burly matron with a face full of flesh stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, blocking it like an iron tower.
"Enough sleeping! You bunch of lazybones!"
Her booming voice made the spiderwebs on the ceiling tremble.
"Get up and clean the courtyard. The people upstairs are coming to inspect the orphanage today!"
"Anyone who drags their feet won't get a bite of breakfast!"
The orphans in the room sprang out of bed in fright, scrambling around for their clothes.
Ishikawa panicked too and hurriedly pulled on his old, patched jacket.
"Come on, Sen. Aunt Li isn't messing around. You really want to find out what it's like to go hungry?"
Sen sighed and slowly reached for the faded shirt by his bed.
Since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it. Step one in keeping his head down: obey the matron.
Just as his fingers touched the cold, coarse fabric,
a crisp, emotionless mechanical voice suddenly rang out deep in his mind.
[Ding! Host's soul wavelength is a perfect match.]
[God Tree Origin System successfully bound!]
Sen froze halfway through putting on his shirt.
His listless eyes widened.
His heart pounded wildly against his chest.
A cheat!
The standard perk for someone transported to another world had finally arrived!
"System? What can you do? Can you make me invincible at max level right away?"
Sen called out urgently in his mind, his breathing quickening.
[This system is designed to help the host perfectly control the power of the Divine Tree Origin.]
[The initial status panel has been generated. Please check it yourself.]
A faint glimmer flashed before his eyes, and a translucent virtual screen appeared that only he could see.
Name: Sen Senju
Age: 6
Bloodline: Senju Clan (extremely diluted)
Origin Level: Lv1
Sen skimmed through the basic information at a glance, his eyes fixed on the skill bar at the bottom of the panel.
Two icons glowed there, each radiating a faint golden light.
He swallowed, then focused his thoughts and tapped the first icon.
[Photosynthesis (Passive)]
Skill Description: As the sole vessel of the Divine Tree Origin, sunlight is your perfect nourishment.
Effect: When exposed to direct sunlight, chakra recovery reaches its peak and becomes virtually limitless.
In moonlight or dim light, recovery speed is halved.
In a lightless night, recovery speed is ten times that of an ordinary genius ninja.
Sen sucked in a sharp breath, his scalp tingling.
This wasn't just a skill. It was a cheat code that had come to life!
Unlimited chakra?
In a world where "running out of chakra" was practically ingrained in everyone, this was an overwhelming advantage!
Other people had to carefully ration their chakra when unleashing a big technique on the battlefield.
He only had to stand somewhere sunny and could throw out big techniques like ordinary attacks!
Even the Sage Body of the First, Hashirama Senju, would probably have to admit defeat before this Photosynthesis.
He forced down the surge of excitement and, fingers trembling slightly, opened the second icon.
[Life Drain (Active/Passive)]
Skill Description: The Divine Tree is the source of life for all things, but it can also devour them and turn their essence into nourishment.
Active Effect: Through physical contact, forcibly drain a target's chakra and life force.
Passive Effect: After killing an enemy, the system automatically absorbs their dissipating life essence.
Function: Absorbed life essence is converted into experience points, which can be used to raise the Divine Tree Origin's level.
Leveling up unlocks stronger Wood Release Ninjutsu and raises the upper limit of the host's physical abilities across the board.
After reading the detailed descriptions of these two divine skills, Sen's lips curled upward, and he couldn't stop them.
His grand vow to "live like a lazy bum and keep out of danger" was instantly tossed out the window.
With a cheat this absurdly powerful, why bother keeping his head down?
As long as there was sunlight, he'd be a tireless, self-sustaining machine.
As long as he went out and killed enemies and criminals, he could level up and get stronger at rocket speed.
It was practically a path to the heavens, tailor-made for him.
"Sen, what are you grinning about? You're drooling!"
Ishikawa nudged his shoulder, his chubby face full of disgust.
"Aunt Li's already coming with a broom. If you don't put your shoes on, she's going to beat you."
Sen snapped back to his senses, wiped the grin off his face, and quickly slipped on his shoes.
"Putting them on, putting them on."
He moved ten times faster than before, as if he'd been injected with stimulants.
He couldn't wait to test the effects of his two divine skills.
Especially [Photosynthesis], which promised to give him all the chakra he could want.
The orphanage's communal sleeping room was always in the shade, without a single ray of sunlight. It was dark and damp.
He had to get outside!
He had to find the sunniest spot and test it immediately!
Sen didn't even bother to grab a broom. He strode past Ishikawa and headed for the door.
Aunt Li, the matron, was blocking the doorway. When she saw Sen standing there empty-handed, her bushy eyebrows shot upward.
"You little brat, where's your broom? Trying to slack off first thing in the morning?"
Aunt Li raised the shiny feather duster in her hand, ready to bring it down.
Sen didn't dodge. Instead, he stepped forward and grabbed her thick wrist.
"Aunt Li, my stomach's suddenly in knots. I have to get to the outhouse right now."
Sen furrowed his brows and put on a pained expression, clutching his stomach with his other hand.
"The outhouse is in the backyard! Why are you running toward the front gate?" Aunt Li demanded, glaring at him.
"The front yard has fresh air. I really can't hold it—I'm about to soil my pants!"
Sen didn't want to waste time arguing. Drawing on the first hint of strength granted by his transformed body, he forced his way past Aunt Li's enormous frame.
"Hey! You little brat, have you lost your mind?" Aunt Li stamped her foot in anger behind him.
Sen ignored the shouting behind him and hurried down the dark hallway, where sunlight never reached.
The orphanage's battered, heavy wooden front door stood right ahead.
Through the crack in the door, a sliver of golden morning sunlight shone in.
Sen swallowed and reached out with both hands, pushing hard against the heavy door.
"Creeeak—"
The door slowly opened with a harsh scraping sound.
Blinding morning light spilled in at once, enveloping his small frame completely.
Warm.
A deeply comforting warmth that seemed to reach the depths of his soul.
He could clearly feel his originally weak chakra churning inside him like boiling water.
Behind him, Ishikawa's frantic shout came from the hallway.
"Sen! Have you gone crazy? If you run outside now, Aunt Li's going to skin you alive!"
Sen stood quietly in the sunlight, feeling the power within him begin to surge exponentially. He could no longer suppress his grin.
Slowly, he turned and looked toward Ishikawa, who stood in the shadowy doorway with worry written all over his face.
"Skin me alive?"
Sen chuckled, his eyes calm in a way that didn't suit his age.
"From today on, I doubt anyone in all of Konoha will be able to skin me alive."
"What are you even going to do? Don't be stupid—come back!" Ishikawa was almost in tears, stomping his feet.
Sen turned around and spread his arms, letting the sunlight wash over him.
Without looking back, he walked toward the center of the courtyard, leaving a breezy remark hanging in the air.
"Let's see if these old bones of mine can sprout today."
Before you continue