Minato ultimately still embarked on the path of Space-Time Ninjutsu, just like in the other timeline. That wasn't too surprising.
After all, with no special bloodline, Minato's only praiseworthy trait was his natural talent for space-time techniques.
"Let's call it a good deed for the day."
Having obtained the ninjutsu he desired, Minato said his goodbyes to Nawaki and dashed home, likely planning to study and train through the night.
Nawaki had no intention of slacking off either. He returned to the courtyard, planning to cultivate his Wood Style and chakra.
Although, to be honest, this kind of manual training was far slower than just directly exchanging for power.
If he weren't so low on points, he'd have long since exchanged for things like the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Mystic Eyes of Precognition, Saiyan bloodline, or Imagine Breaker—far more efficient than this repetitive grind!
Still, appearances had to be maintained. If he gained strength while just eating, drinking, and lazing around, even an idiot would start getting suspicious.
When Nawaki returned to his room, he noticed Kushina was still there, happily chatting with Tsunade.
Tsunade had already changed into a white crop top, giving her a youthful and vibrant look.
Big sis was big sis—she looked stunning no matter what she wore.
Nawaki's eyes instinctively swept over Tsunade's... curves, then turned in surprise to Kushina.
"Huh? Kushina, aren't you going back to train?"
"Training can wait. Kushina doesn't get to visit us often, so of course she should stay a little longer! We're going shopping together later too," Tsunade waved dismissively before suddenly remembering something and turning to Nawaki.
"Oh right—Nawaki, Lord Hiruzen was looking for you earlier."
"The Third Hokage's looking for me?"
Nawaki raised an eyebrow. What would Hiruzen Sarutobi want with him?
As far as the Wood Style issue was concerned, he'd already met with him last month when he returned to the village.
The Konoha leadership had even debated for a while whether to keep Nawaki's Wood Style awakening a secret, or "accidentally" leak it to boost morale for those who had lost loved ones in the war.
He didn't know the details of the discussion, but judging from Kushina and Minato's reactions when he used Wood Style, it was clear that only the top brass of Konoha knew about it so far.
Could it be they'd decided to make it public?
That would be fine by him—Nawaki's goal was to become Hokage. Awakening the Wood Style was definitely a huge plus for that ambition.
As these thoughts ran through his head, Nawaki nodded.
"Got it, sis. I'll go see the Third Hokage now."
"Nawaki, if Lord Hiruzen asks you to take on something dangerous, feel free to refuse. You only just awakened your Wood Style and haven't had time to really train with it," Tsunade said suddenly as he was about to leave.
Did Tsunade know something behind the scenes?
Nawaki could sense the concern in her voice. He pulled a forehead protector from his pocket, tied it on with a grin.
"A ninja's life is full of hardships like this. If you whine every time it gets tough, how can you ever become truly strong? Sis, I'm the man who'll become Hokage!"
The line Tsunade once used to lecture him was now being used against her—and it didn't sound out of place at all.
Kushina clapped immediately from the side. "Well said, Big Brother Nawaki!"
Tsunade stared blankly at him for a second before suddenly chuckling.
"You really dared to lecture your big sister, huh? Not bad. Now get going—don't keep Lord Hiruzen waiting."
Leaving the Senju compound, Nawaki headed toward the Hokage's office.
He pushed open the door and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi seated behind his desk, buried under a mountain of paperwork.
His small stature looked even smaller compared to the towering stacks of files beside him.
"If I become Hokage… am I going to end up buried in that many documents too?" Nawaki's mouth twitched at the thought, quickly shaking it off.
After waiting a few minutes, Hiruzen finished the file he was reviewing and placed it aside, smiling warmly at Nawaki.
"Nawaki, haha, sorry to keep you waiting. Things pile up during wartime."
There wasn't a shred of superiority in Hiruzen's tone.
To be fair, most of Konoha's Hokage had personalities that felt relatively approachable.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Hiruzen got straight to the point.
"Nawaki, you've been out of the Academy for about two years now, right? How's your strength?"
"If we don't count the kekkei genkai, I'm about Chūnin level."
Nawaki gauged how much to reveal. "With Wood Style, I could probably defeat a standard Jōnin."
Even Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh at that. Wood Style really was absurd.
Nawaki had only awakened it a month ago, and already he was leaping tiers—jumping from Chūnin to Jōnin level… Given time, wouldn't he become the next God of Shinobi?
Comparing people really was infuriating.
"In that case, Nawaki, I'm assigning you a mission. Consider it your Chūnin Promotion Exam. Complete it, and you'll officially be promoted."
"..." Nawaki fell silent.
Was this karma? He spent all day assigning missions to his Reincarnators, only to be hit with a mission from someone else now. How ironic.
Still, it made sense. During wartime, formal promotion exams were meaningless. Field-tested ninja were far more qualified.
"What's wrong?" Hiruzen asked, puzzled by Nawaki's silence.
"It's nothing, Lord Third. What's the mission objective?" Nawaki asked.
"It's not a difficult task," Hiruzen said with a smile.
"A while ago, shinobi from Sunagakure came to negotiate, but talks fell through. Konoha's leadership has decided to send a unit into the Land of Wind. The team is still being assembled. Your mission is to infiltrate ahead of time and gather intel on Suna's defensive layout."
This mission was tricky. For Nawaki, who specialized in Earth Style, reconnaissance wasn't a problem.
But the real danger might not be from Suna itself.
If the mysterious downfall of the Senju clan was orchestrated by someone, then Nawaki—who carried the clan's hopes of revival—was likely a major target.
Leaving the village could make him vulnerable to assassination.
Hiruzen was being sly—using Nawaki as bait to lure out Konoha's internal enemies!
Nawaki saw through the ploy instantly—and he wasn't happy about it.
~~~~~
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