Power Stone Goals from now on: I always post a minimum of 5 chapters. Henceforth this are the goals:
Every 200 powerstones, I upload an extra chapters.
If we hit top 30 in the 30-90 days power stone rankings, thats 1 more chapter
If we hit top 10 in the 30-90 days power stone rankings, thats 1 more chapter
If we are top 5...well lets get to that first. Happy readings!
Chapter 61: Mission
I stood quietly in front of Matatabi, her massive flaming form staring down at me through the mirror.
The wind in this grassy world was soft, but there was tension thick enough to cut through it.
Her mismatched eyes locked onto mine.
"What did I see?" she asked simply, her voice rumbling low and curious.
I exhaled slowly.
"This... is another realm," I said, choosing my words carefully. "And I'm from there. Sort of like the Sage of Six Paths... your father."
Her flames flared slightly, and her eyes widened.
"You know Old Man Six Paths?" she asked, surprised.
I smiled faintly. "I know a lot of things in this world. This just happens to be one of them."
Matatabi leaned in, the blue and black flames around her ears flickering.
"What else do you know?" she asked, her voice softer, almost cautious.
I tapped my finger against the soft grass beneath me.
"Well," I began, "I know you tailed beasts were mostly peaceful beings, minding your own business before humans started chasing you down. Capturing you. Turning you into weapons.
And I know you guys... are split pieces. Fragments of the Ten Tails itself."
Matatabi recoiled slightly, genuine shock flashing through her mismatched gaze.
"How do you know this?" she demanded, her chakra stirring uneasily. "Are you from the same world as the Old Man? Why are you here? Are there more of you?"
I smiled a little sadly.
"Well..." I said, scratching the back of my head. "The knowledge I have isn't exactly common.
To be honest, I don't think there's anyone but one other being who knows as much as I do.
And no... I'm not from the same world as the Sage. I honestly ended up here by pure coincidence…at least that's what I think."
I shrugged lightly, feeling her intense gaze still locked on me.
"And yes," I added. "There are others from my world. But they don't know nearly as much as me."
Matatabi's massive form shifted slightly, her mismatched eyes glinting under the blue sky of the mindscape.
"I need some time to process this…" she said, her voice low but steady. "This does not mean I trust you."
I bowed my head slightly, respectful.
"I understand, Matatabi."
She stiffened.
"How do you know my name?!" she asked sharply, her flames bristling.
I smiled faintly.
"Told you. I know a lot of things."
She stared at me for a few more seconds, then simply turned away, curling up once more into her nest of flickering chakra, the conversation clearly over for now.
Taking the hint, I allowed myself to exit the mindscape, my consciousness flowing back into my body in the real world.
…
Thanks to Tsunade's healing techniques, the medical team's around-the-clock care, and my own Senju bloodline's natural vitality, I recovered in two days — far ahead of the week-long timeline they had originally predicted.
The moment I was cleared for duty, I found myself standing, fully outfitted in my new Anbu gear, mask and all, kneeling in front of the Hokage inside his office.
The familiar smell of smoke from his pipe filled the air, mingling with the low flicker of the oil lamps around us.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, regarded me with that same tired but sharp gaze he always wore when addressing serious matters.
He tapped his pipe once against the side of the desk, knocking loose the ash.
"Cat," he began, his voice calm but carrying weight, "I am assigning you your first mission as an Anbu operative."
I straightened slightly at the words.
"Take your squad of ten and move toward the Land of Water. We've received word that the Mist is sending shinobi to scout that border. I want you to intercept, gather information, and neutralize them if necessary."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"This is your first mission as a Jinchūriki," he continued, his voice lowering slightly, "and it will show us if you are capable of maintaining control over your powers in a real battlefield environment."
I nodded immediately.
Had to play the part…
This wasn't just about control.
It was a test of loyalty.
It was a test of trust.
Well…it didn't matter, because I could give less of a damn about this Kage.
"I do not want to keep you hidden away in the village doing nothing," Hiruzen said after a pause, "that would be a waste of your talents."
But there was no way someone stronger was not following me…in case I lost control or decided to defect.
After all, I was more than just a Ninja now dude…I am walking Nuke which the Hokage cannot lose for sure.
This wasn't a full chance at freedom — it was a leash, carefully given length to see if I would bite back.
I could almost feel the invisible chains tightening, but outwardly, I only gave another respectful bow.
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
Inwardly though, I was already planning ahead.
There was no system quest…
It made sense, if I thought about it from a system perspective.
No EXP reward notification.
Meaning this mission… was beneath my rank.
The System probably had some sort of hidden mechanism to prevent players from farming weaker missions endlessly for cheap EXP.
Otherwise, Elite Jonin players could just grind B-rank missions and break the balance.
No — this wasn't about rewards.
A test.
And it was also a reminder.
A reminder that no matter how powerful I became, in their eyes, I was still something to be watched.
Still something to be controlled.
I kept my posture steady even as these thoughts churned.
At the same time, my mind was already calculating my next moves.
I had a window — a brief one — to use the Hidden Leaf to my advantage before I outgrew their usefulness.
I had three main things left to leverage here:
First, the Fuinjutsu archives.
Konoha was unrivaled in its sealing knowledge, and I needed to plunder everything they could offer.
Once I fully mastered Fuinjutsu to a truly terrifying degree, I'd have something even the Hokage feared.
Second, my connection to Tsunade.
While she hadn't been able to spend time with me now due to the war, the bond was there and I defintely needed to exploit that.
She had a Jutsu that I wanted to see if I could use after all…
If I could nurture it even slightly, I might secure a powerful political ally for the future — or at least someone who would hesitate to act against me when I made my eventual break.
And third, Tenz.
My Anbu mentor.
My access to advanced Wood Style techniques depended on him.
I needed to learn everything from him. He probably knew a ton of A- rank Jutsus, but not too many forbidden ones.
For those, I would have to come back to the Leaf when I was stronger…
The first and third points wouldn't take long.
The second... Well, that would depend on how the war unfolded.
Either way, my timeline was shrinking.
Every day, every mission, every moment, the chains tightened.
Soon, the Hokage would see me not as a promising young shinobi...
But as a potential threat.
And when that day came, I needed to be ready.
Because once I left...
There would be no coming back.
Well…maybe by that point in time I would be strong enough to change the Hokage itself…but that was a strong maybe.
I did not trust the 3rd Hokage.
I thought of him as an irresponsible fool who did not know what he was doing at the post of Hokage…he was also definitely one of the weakest Kage's the lead had.
The Leaf, as far as I knew, would have 7 Hokages.
The First, Hashirama Senju, also known as the God of Shinobi.
The second, Tobirama Senju, someone who created most of the Village's highest ranking Jutus, and tens of S rank Ninja needed to be present to kill him. In my opinion, he was bordering the Super-Kage rank of power.
The 3rd Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the professor….he knew all basic elements to a crazy degree and knew a lot of Jutsu.
The 4th, and my personal Favourite, Namikaze Minato. This man had so much Aura it was actually crazy. He had a run on sight order, and he didn't even have an overpowered bloodline…
The 5th, Tsunade Senju, nothing had to be said about her. A top 5 female character in the verse, and her 100 Healing marks was simply busted.
The 6th, Kakashi (Never duck a Fade) Hatake. Definitely on the weaker end of the spectrum without the perfect Susanoo, but personally I would think he could beat Hiruzen in a fight.
And then the protagonist of the world. The child of prophecy and chosen one, Naruto Uzamaki and personally the strongest Kage.
All of these people were selfless and progressed the leaf in insane ways…other than Hiruzen. He let the plague known as Danzo overtake the village and did nothing.
And I had no empathy for a person like Danzo.
Anyways, Hiruzen was definitely someone I could not trust, yet was so much stronger than me right now…
He was probably at the Mid Kage level…maybe an Early Kage but I could not tell.
I think Naido Sensei and Guy sensei were at the Early Kage level, but with their styles they could fight against Peak Kages….
Kakashi Sensei was definitely an Elite-Jonin who could Jump to Kage ranks of power.
There were still the Sanin, not including pedo…
Sigh, all these people would be hunting me in the future.
...
Authors note:
You can read some chapters ahead if you want to on my p#treon.com/Fat_Cultivator