“First, refine Chakra.”
Chiba quickly steadied his mindset and suppressed the excitement in his heart.
In the Ninja World, the foundation of all cultivation, techniques, and combat power is Chakra; without Chakra, even the most top-tier talent cannot be displayed.
He picked up the most precious scroll, the “Senju Chakra Refining Technique,” and scanned every line of text with a serious gaze.
Looking at the training seal on the scroll that belonged exclusively to the Senju Clan, Chiba’s thoughts flew, and he instantly understood many details he had previously overlooked.
The exclusive refining technique of the Senju, the swordsmanship notes of the Second Hokage…
This was enough to prove that his family was a remnant of the Senju Clan that had responded to the Second Hokage’s policy back then, voluntarily integrating into Konoha and hiding their clan identity.
Elder Makuma and Uncle Tie Mu, who often looked after orphans like them, were likely also surviving members of the Senju.
They lived incognito, silently guarding the few remaining Senju orphans, struggling to survive in the cracks of Konoha.
In his previous life, ignorant and without the awakening of past wisdom, he had never noticed this secret.
But now that he understood everything, only sighs and vigilance remained in his heart.
The once-thriving Senju Clan had long since withered away, with very few surviving members left.
The more he thought about it, the heavier the sense of urgency in Chiba’s heart became.
“After the start of the Second Ninja World War, Konoha will inevitably conscript Ninjas from all clans to participate in the war.”
“The surviving middle-aged and young Ninjas of the Senju will most likely be deliberately pushed to the front lines by the higher-ups, using their lives to wear down the final foundation and influence of the Senju Clan.”
This cold speculation was not baseless imagination, but a conclusion drawn from combining Konoha’s past style of conduct.
The Senju were the clan that founded Konoha, with deep-rooted foundations; even though they were withered now, they remained an existence feared by the Konoha high-ups.
Especially the Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura, who had never stopped coveting the Senju bloodline.
Research experiments on the Wood Release Bloodline Limit had already been quietly advancing in the shadows.
The future Yamato would be a victim of this dark experiment.
Once the last of the Senju’s middle-aged and young combat power had all died on the battlefield, and once Uzumaki Mito’s lifespan had been exhausted, that would be the moment for the Konoha high-ups to thoroughly purge the remaining Senju and launch large-scale bloodline experiments.
Thinking of this, Chiba felt a slight chill down his back.
“The Second Hokage’s plan for the Senju to integrate into Konoha seemed to be for the survival of the clan, but in reality, it personally buried the future of the Senju; it was too foolish.”
Integrating into Konoha seemed to preserve the clansmen, but in reality, it severed the independence of the clan, allowing the once-great clan to completely become fish on the chopping block, waiting to be slaughtered.
In troubled times, gentle compromise never brings stability; only absolute strength can control one’s own destiny.
“I must improve my strength as soon as possible and achieve self-preservation first.”
Chiba’s eyes became increasingly firm, and the plan in his heart became clearer.
Self-preservation alone was far from enough; if he wanted to truly establish a foothold in the turbulent Konoha and avoid Danzo’s covetousness and the schemes of the high-ups, he had to find a backer.
Looking at the entirety of Konoha, only two people were most suitable.
Tsunade, the last princess of the Senju Clan, with a noble status and powerful strength.
Uzumaki Mito, wife of the First Hokage, a top-tier powerhouse in the Ninja World, with deep seniority, enough to deter all kinds of petty villains.
If he could obtain the protection of these two, even if Danzo were greedy and cunning, he would not dare to easily lay a hand on him, this inconspicuous Senju orphan.
And his ultimate goal was not just to seek protection, but to reverse the decline of the Senju Clan, terminate this integration plan that seemed to preserve but actually destroyed, and let the withered Senju regain the foundation for survival.
This path was harder than ascending to heaven.
But for the sake of his own life, and to gain a foothold in this cruel Ninja World, no matter how difficult, he had to keep going.
“To gain the attention and protection of Lady Tsunade and Lady Mito, having just the identity is far from enough.”
Chiba thought calmly, weighing the pros and cons clearly.
There were not a few Senju orphans living incognito within Konoha; without sufficiently stunning talent and value, he simply could not catch the eyes of these two big figures.
He had to proceed step by step, revealing cultivation talent that exceeded ordinary people, quietly highlighting his own uniqueness, and at the same time reasonably exposing his identity as a pure Senju descendant.
And in all these layouts, the most critical and dangerous core was how to attract the attention of the two powerhouses while perfectly avoiding Danzo’s investigation and covetousness.
Once Danzo discovered that he possessed top-tier talent and a pure Senju bloodline, what awaited him would only be cold laboratories and endless bloodline research.
The road ahead was fraught with danger, but Chiba, holding the system and max-level talent, already had a sharpness burning in his eyes to swim against the current.
The next second, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind, and a plan far safer and more long-term than relying on a backer instantly took shape.
“Uzumaki Kushina! She is the key to my plan!”
Chiba instantly locked onto this core target that was enough to overturn his future situation, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit apologetic in his heart.
“Minato, sorry! I’ve set my sights on Kushina; you’d better find another target in the future!”
He silently complained in his heart, with a hint of sly amusement.
He and Minato Namikaze were not only orphans of the same age but also neighbors who spent every day together, and their relationship was excellent.
Usually, the two would get up early to exercise together, throw Kunai and shuriken, and polish their basic physical fitness; they were the best pair of partners among their peers in Konoha.
As his thoughts flowed, a bold guess suddenly arose in Chiba’s heart.
Combining the attitude of Elder Makuma and Uncle Tie Mu, who took special care of and secretly looked after Minato Namikaze on a daily basis, he highly suspected that Minato Namikaze was also, in all likelihood, a Senju orphan hidden in Konoha.
If this were true, then everything would make sense.
The surviving Senju clansmen had always been silently protecting the remnants of the clan, just never revealing their identities, lying low and dormant.
“It seems that I can take more initiative to contact Elder Makuma and Uncle Tie Mu in the future, slowly gain their trust, and strive to connect with all the surviving Senju clansmen.”
Chiba secretly set a new plan in his heart; gathering the remaining Senju forces would be an important trump card for him to reverse the fate of the clan in the future.
With all distracting thoughts collected, he took a deep breath and completely calmed his mind.
“It’s about time; I can start officially extracting Chakra.”
He sorted out all the plans in his mind, no longer distracted, picked up the “Senju Chakra Refining Technique” again, and carefully read the entire text twice.
Thanks to the max-level talent of [Rapid Mastery], the operating keys of the entire cultivation method were instantly thoroughly grasped and mastered by him, without the slightest obscurity.
Even though it was his first contact, he was already clear about every step of Chakra extraction, knowing it by heart.
Chiba immediately sat cross-legged on the tatami, his back straight, eyes slightly closed, and followed the refining mental method to start mobilizing physical energy and mental energy.
Hum—
A faint energy tremor sounded from within his body; the refining process was unexpectedly smooth, without the slightest stutter or stagnation.
In less than a minute, he successfully extracted pure physical energy from his entire body’s cells, then perfectly blended it with the mental energy condensed by his soul, and the first wisp of his own Chakra successfully formed.
Having had the successful experience of the first time, the subsequent refining was even more natural.
Under the blessing of the top-tier Chakra control talent, his understanding of the Senju refining technique deepened rapidly; the refining speed became faster and faster, and the energy conversion efficiency climbed steadily, as if he had been practicing for several years, handling it with ease.
Time flowed slowly; half an hour later, Chiba exhaled a long breath of turbid air, slowly opened his eyes, and terminated the refining.
His body sent waves of soreness and fatigue, and every inch of his cells signaled that they were fully loaded.
“Is this my current physical limit? It seems my basic physique is still too weak.”