Konoha.
Chiba was completely dumbfounded.
He had previously flipped through the archives back in the orphanage and made roundabout inquiries.
All evidence indicated that Chiba’s parents in this life were merely civilian ninja at the lowest tier of Konoha, who had died during a B-rank escort mission.
However, the System could never be wrong.
Chiba forcefully steadied his wildly beating heart, thoughts racing through his mind.
There was only one truth.
Previously, his body indeed carried the bloodline of the Senju clan, but it had thinned out to the point of being almost nonexistent.
The System’s bloodline purification was not created out of thin air either.
Instead, it had taken that meager Senju bloodline within him and subjected it to an extreme amplification and ancestral reversion!
It was precisely because of this that Chiba awakened the Kekkei Genkai of the Senju of the Forest.
Mokuton (Wood Release)!
Primary Sage Body!
What did combining these two things mean?
That was the invincible, godly power that ended the chaotic era and established Konoha Village!
Senju Hashirama relied on this power to forcefully grab those unruly Tailed Beasts as if they were pets.
Now, this terrifying power had actually appeared on himself.
However, his excitement only lasted for a dozen seconds or so.
Chiba quickly calmed down.
Because he knew his current situation all too well.
The current Konoha was no longer the village from the era when the First and Second Hokage were in power.
Konoha Year 52.
Having suffered the ravages of three Shinobi World Wars and the heavy blow of the Kyubi Attack, the top-tier combat power of the entire village had experienced almost a complete fault line.
The Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and his wife had died in battle.
Among the Sannin, Orochimaru had become an S-rank rogue ninja after his human experiments were exposed.
Jiraiya wandered outside year-round, tracking the whereabouts of Orochimaru and the Akatsuki organization.
Tsunade had left this heartbreaking place completely, carrying hemophobia and a heart full of grief.
Currently sitting in the Hokage Office was the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had reclaimed power.
And hiding in the dark underground was Danzo Shimura, who coveted everything like a venomous snake.
These two old guys’ desire for power had reached a morbid level.
If they found out that a wild Mokuton user had emerged in the village…
What would the outcome be?
Chiba could guess the ending almost instantly.
Either he would be brainwashed by Hiruzen Sarutobi using the so-called “Will of Fire,” or he would be dragged by Danzo into Root’s underground laboratory and imprinted with the Tongue Eradication Seal.
One must know that even Yamato’s half-baked Mokuton was hidden and guarded like a precious treasure.
As for himself—someone who possessed orthodox Senju bloodline and had even awakened a Sage Body along with it—once exposed, it would definitely spark a frantic scramble among Konoha Leadership.
Chiba didn’t even dare to imagine living days as a dissection subject or an experimental specimen.
Then, Chiba’s eyes moved down.
[Overall Evaluation: An unqualified Elite Jonin!]
The System’s evaluation was like a poison thorn.
Yet Chiba had no way to refute it.
Even though his chakra had reached initial Kage-level, and even though his muscles and bones had been transformed into an Elite Jonin’s level by the Sage Body, current Chiba was still a complete weakling.
Why?
Because the ninjutsu he mastered were far too few.
Apart from the Three Basic Techniques taught at the Ninja Academy, Chiba only knew three low-level elemental ninjutsu:
C-rank Wild Water Wave, C-rank Hiding Like a Mole Technique, and B-rank Mud Wall.
He was like a three-year-old child handed a fully loaded heavy machine gun—possessing catastrophic firepower, yet not even knowing where the safety latch was.
If any Special Jonin with rich battle experience showed up, a single high-level Genjutsu or a combo of close-quarters Taijutsu would leave Chiba in total disarray, or even get his neck snapped by the opponent.
To survive…
To protect himself in future wars…
Chiba had to try every possible way to madly raise his strength!
However, where was the path?
Konoha Village had long rotted to the core.
For civilian ninja to gain access to high-level ninjutsu or forbidden jutsu was harder than scaling the heavens.
The first path: Relying on legacy passed down through generations of master and disciple.
Like Kakashi or Namikaze Minato, having a powerful teacher pass on everything unconditionally.
However, Chiba’s instructor was merely an ordinary Chunin who had been blown into pieces by Iwagakure ninja back during the Third Shinobi World War.
This path was blocked.
The second path: Winning favor from leadership to acquire new ninjutsu.
But this was even more of a dead end.
In Konoha’s archives, Chiba was merely a civilian Chunin who survived purely on luck.
If he suddenly ran to a training ground tomorrow and conjured an astonishingly powerful ninjutsu, far from gaining appreciation, he would be targeted by Anbu instead.
What would follow was endless questioning and interrogation.
…
Chiba rubbed his temples in frustration.
Since Konoha Leadership could not be trusted, who else could be relied on?
Who held the true heritage and ninjutsu inheritance of the Senju clan?
Suddenly, a name flashed through his mind like lightning.
Tsunade!
One of the Sannin, blood granddaughter of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama.
The only remaining lineage of the Senju clan on the surface.
In today’s shinobi world, she was the only person qualified and capable of protecting the Senju bloodline.
Although she currently suffered from severe hemophobia, spending her days immersed in gambling and drowning her troubles in alcohol, her naturally protective nature deep down had definitely not changed.
As long as Chiba could stand in front of her…
As long as Chiba could prove to her that Senju blood flowed in his veins and that he had awakened Mokuton…
Tsunade would absolutely not sit idly by.
She would definitely exhaust all efforts to protect Chiba and even pass down all those lost Senju secret techniques without holding anything back.
After realizing this, the corners of Chiba’s mouth curved slightly into a faint smile.
However, the smile on his face quickly froze.
Because a new problem had arisen.
How was he supposed to leave Konoha?
Konoha’s Barrier Team operated twenty-four hours a day.
Any unregistered chakra attempting to forcefully leave the village would trigger an alarm immediately.
Without a permit signed and issued by leadership, any ninja leaving the village privately would be directly labeled a rogue ninja.
Chiba didn’t even have a decent offensive ninjutsu, let alone escaping pursuit by Anbu.
He had to go through official channels.
Taking missions.
Accepting a mission that left Konoha, then seizing the opportunity to head toward areas where Tsunade frequently hung around.
Chiba immediately planned out his next course of action in his mind.
[Ding!]
[The host still has one sign-in opportunity for this year.]
[Would you like to sign in immediately?]
Right at this moment, the cold, mechanical electronic voice sounded in Chiba’s mind once again.
Chiba was stunned for a moment.
The Beginner Gift Pack and the annual sign-in were actually calculated separately?
This System was truly rigid to a charming degree!
“Sign in immediately!” Chiba issued the command in his heart.
This was a cheat capable of directly altering fate—even if it signed out a Kunai, he would accept it.
[Sign-in successful!]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining reward: God-Level Comprehension!]
In the next instant, as the System’s voice fell, an indescribably refreshing airflow rushed directly up his spine and into Chiba’s brain.
There was no pain, nor the tearing sensation from the bloodline purification earlier.
There was only an unprecedented clarity.
It was as if an old gear-based machine that had been rusted for decades was suddenly replaced with a top-tier quantum computer.
The world before Chiba’s eyes transformed instantly.
And in his mind, the few ninjutsu he mastered flashed past.
Previously, when casting ninjutsu, he could only rigidly follow the hand seals from scrolls, mobilizing chakra step by step.
Forming hand seals, extracting chakra, releasing.
Mechanically applying formulas without any flexibility to speak of.
But now, under the blessing of God-Level Comprehension, these ninjutsu were disassembled into countless minute energy modules.