Masahiko Uzumaki, absentminded and quiet, bid a brief farewell to the Senju brothers—Butsuma, Tobirama, Hashirama—and to the couple Hashirama and Mito. He declined their offer to see him off and set off alone on the road home.

  “To think I got to participate in and witness the development of Flying Thunder God… I really should keep an eye on Tobirama. Shadow Clone Jutsu shouldn’t be far off either. That’s bound to be worth some Witness Points. But the big one is Reanimation Jutsu… if that bugged-out technique doesn’t net me at least 50 points, I’m calling foul.”

  What other jutsu were there again? Come to think of it, he didn’t need to wait until Konoha’s founding to rack up Witness Points…

  The journey back was uneventful. Traveling alone, he made good time—just over an hour, and he was within a few li of the Uzumaki compound.

  But Masahiko suddenly stopped. He’d just remembered something important.

  He’d traveled back and forth through time, and was now twelve years younger. How the hell was he going to expin that? The cn leader and the three elders were probably going to ugh him out of the room if he bmed it on the Yin Seal…

  Should he cim he ate some miracle youth fruit? Damn it, this wasn’t some xianxia world.

  Maybe he could say he had a te-life burst of youthful energy?

  ...

  Forget it.

  He quickly formed a series of hand signs: “Transformation Jutsu!”

  In a fsh, he reverted to his former appearance. Level 10 in the Three Basic Jutsu had come in handy yet again.

  “Alright. Time to go home.” With that thought, he was back at the Uzumaki compound in the blink of an eye.

  The two guards at the entrance saw him and exchanged gnces—then both turned and ran off to report to the cn leader.

  Masahiko raised an eyebrow. “I’m just coming home. One of you is enough to report it—why are you both going?”

  He couldn’t make sense of it and didn’t bother trying. He simply made his way toward his house.

  But before he got there, someone blocked his path.

  It was the cn leader himself.

  Masahiko blinked. “You that eager to hear about your daughter? I mean, I’ve got news on Mito—”

  He trailed off. The cn leader’s face was grim, almost stormy.

  “Kuren’s dead.”

  “…Huh?” Masahiko didn’t quite catch that. Or maybe he just couldn’t believe what he’d heard.

  “I said—Kuren’s dead.” The words were repeated, heavier the second time.

  Masahiko’s expression froze. He turned without another word and sprinted toward the main hall.

  Inside, Kuren’s funeral was already underway. The Second and Third Elders spared him only a gnce, offering no words.

  “Where’s the Grand Elder? Don’t tell me he…” Masahiko asked, voice low.

  Second Elder shot him a look. “He’s fine. Took a hit, but he’s resting. We got the distress signal and rushed over immediately. But it was too te. Kuren died on the way back.”

  Masahiko stepped forward and looked closely at Kuren’s body. The fatal wound was a clean stab through the chest—likely piercing a lung.

  “This wound…” he murmured.

  “Yeah. A madman from the Kaguya cn,” said Third Elder grimly.

  Masahiko stared at Kuren’s far-too-young face, remembering how, before leaving for the Senju, he’d vowed with such confidence to protect Mito.

  He let out a long sigh. “Damn this warring era.” Then he turned and walked out of the hall.

  The cn leader was waiting just outside, knowing full well Masahiko must have a thousand questions. He spoke first.

  “Yesterday, on the eastern edge of the territory, unknown figures were spotted. Kuren’s squad took the mission to investigate.”

  “They reached a valley—and were discovered. It was Kaguya cn leader, Kaguya Jōrai…”

  “He unched an immediate attack. Kuren held him off so his teammates could retreat…”

  “You know the rest. The three elders rushed in. The Grand Elder was injured. They drove off the Kaguya leader… but Kuren was too badly wounded and died on the way back.”

  The cn leader’s voice was low and measured as he reyed the events.

  Masahiko nodded slowly. “Two questions. First, why was the Kaguya cn leader lurking near our territory himself? Second—and I know it’s strange to ask in this warring age, but—we’ve got no bad blood with the Kaguya, do we? Is this about Mito?”

  “No,” the cn leader replied. “It’s because of Frostbone Grass.”

  “…Ah. I see.” Masahiko’s voice was calm, almost cold.

  “And it’s not just ‘no bad blood’ anymore,” the cn leader added. “Get ready for war.”

  “Got it.” Masahiko turned and walked back home.

  Frostbone Grass. A pale blue herb on the brink of extinction. It could suppress the Kaguya cn’s hereditary bloodline disease.

  Masahiko knew this pnt was becoming rarer by the day. Soon, it might disappear entirely.

  Otherwise, how could the once-proud Kaguya cn have faded into obscurity in Kirigakure? Back in the Warring States era, they were just behind the Senju and Uchiha in power. Even the Hyuga couldn’t quite compare.

  If not for the curse of their bloodline illness, and the dwindling supply of Frostbone Grass, the Kaguya might have stood shoulder to shoulder with the Senju and Uchiha as the Big Three of the Warring States.

  And now that Frostbone Grass had been discovered near Uzumaki nds—likely in significant quantity—the Kaguya cn leader had come in person.

  Kuren had died because of it. War was now inevitable.

  Back home, Masahiko threw himself onto his familiar bed.

  “So tired… Half a month away, already physically drained. And now this kind of news… I’m exhausted in every sense,” he muttered.

  His strength had grown over the past half-month, but his training had also grown x. Now, thinking clearly, he was no more than an elite jonin. Even with his special tricks and techniques, capable of punching above his weight, he’d gotten compcent.

  “Even now… I’m no match for someone like the Kaguya leader. Let alone helping the Senju fight the Uchiha in the future…”

  That thought sobered him up fast.

  He needed to grow stronger. Fast.

  He’d earned 5 Witness Points from Flying Thunder God development, plus one leftover point. How best to use these six points for maximum impact?

  “Right… I haven’t added any points to the ‘Jutsu’ stat yet. I wonder what it does.”

  He immediately allocated one point to the “Jutsu” category.

  Jutsu: 1004 (+1)(+)

  “…Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Masahiko didn’t feel any different, so he added another point.

  This time, the difference was obvious. Chakra cohesion had improved significantly—two whole levels of increase. Meaning that for the same amount of chakra, his jutsu would now hit two levels harder than before.

  Delighted, Masahiko dumped all the remaining points into “Jutsu.”

  Jutsu: 1004 (+5.5)

  “Only half a level per point after +5? Makes sense, I guess. Otherwise, I’d be broken as hell in no time.” Masahiko looked at his status panel, nodding in approval.

  With his jutsu now fifty-five percent more powerful, he’d be able to hold his own even against cn leader-level opponents in the coming war… Well, maybe just barely hold his own.

  “Alright, then. That settles it. From now on, call me Uzumaki ‘Hold My Own’ Masahiko.”

  He grinned wryly to himself.

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