[Option 1: Sage Body]
[Option 2: Wood Release Kekkei Genkai]
Straight to the point!
Looking at the two choices before him, Hanyu Bai fell into a brief dilemma.
Transmigrating into the Naruto world, both the Sage Body and Wood Release were abilities that countless people dreamed of.
Wood Release needed no introduction—it was the divine technique used by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, to end the Warring States period.
To uncover the secrets of Wood Release, Danzo and Orochimaru had conducted countless inhuman experiments in secret!
Although the reputation of the Sage Body was not as dazzling as Wood Release, it was the fundamental foundation for the Uzumaki and Senju clans, granting its possessors chakra capacity and physical attributes far exceeding ordinary people!
Any shinobi who awakened the Sage Body basically had no worries about lacking chakra.
Even for a transmigrator like Hanyu Bai, making a decision was tough for a moment.
However, it only took a few breaths before Hanyu Bai quickly made his choice—Option 1: Sage Body!
Wood Release was strong, and it held extraordinary significance for Konoha, but in Bai’s view, Wood Release’s reputation was greater than its practical reality.
Hashirama Senju indeed ended the Warring States period with Wood Release, but did that prove Wood Release itself was strong?
The strong one was Hashirama Senju!
A Sage Body developed to the limit, a near-perfect Sage Mode, being the reincarnation of Asura’s chakra, plus Hashirama’s unique life-sacrificing combat style—all these factors combined to forge the invincible legacy of Wood Release.
It could be said that Hashirama Senju made Wood Release iconic.
Even if Hashirama were given a different Kekkei Genkai, he would still be invincible!
Without those prerequisites…
Just look at Yamato for reference!
In short, choosing Wood Release might offer a high ceiling for the future, but its floor was merely Jonin level.
In the future Fourth Shinobi World War, a Jonin wouldn’t even count as high-grade cannon fodder!
Moreover, given Bai’s situation, if he suddenly awakened Wood Release for no apparent reason, there was a high probability he’d be dragged straight onto Danzo’s experimental table by Root—Bai had transmigrated to Konoha three years ago during the Nine-Tails attack.
According to the Konoha shinobi, his parents had died heroically during that tragedy.
He started out as a complete orphan.
Although not entirely destitute, in Danzo’s eyes, he was no different from a commoner.
Bai hated showing off without real strength, but he also hated hiding his light under a bushel forever.
If he awakened Wood Release and couldn’t even practice it openly for three to five years, what was the point of choosing it?
By contrast, the external manifestations of the Sage Body were much easier to hide.
Whether it was a larger chakra pool or enhanced physical fitness, both could easily be explained as innate talent.
With Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, as a precedent, wasn’t a second civilian genius allowed to emerge?
Besides, the floor of the Sage Body was higher than that of Wood Release.
Choosing Wood Release might result in another Yamato; choosing the Sage Body guaranteed at least Kage-level potential!
At this thought, Bai whispered in his mind: “System, I choose the Sage Body!”
Hum—
The moment his decision was finalized, a dreamlike hum rang out in his mind, followed immediately by a warm current that subtly spread throughout his entire body.
The feeling passed in a flash.
There was no agonizing pain of bone-reforging, nor any black sludge from cleansing his meridians.
Everything felt light and effortless.
Bai even wondered if it was just a hallucination, but his limbs genuinely felt lighter, and his senses became remarkably sharper.
Bai let out a long breath, his mood instantly lightening up—after three years of transmigrating, he finally had the foundation to control his own destiny!
Naruto was a hot-blooded shonen manga, but the Naruto world wasn’t a place where one could survive on passion alone.
Even without transmigrating during a Shinobi World War, the covert struggles between the major hidden villages were equally lethal!
The death of Hizashi Hyuga, the annihilation of the Uchiha clan, the tragedy of Kabuto Yakushi and Nono Yakushi—all these events chilled Bai to the bone.
Before this, Bai came from an ordinary background.
His father in this life was merely an ordinary Special Jonin of Konoha, and his mother was a Chunin.
He had no Kekkei Genkai, no secret family jutsu, and wasn’t remotely related to the Otsutsuki clan.
As a native Earthling, his talent might be slightly better than average, but not by much.
In the later stages of Naruto, everything basically devolved into an Otsutsuki family feud!
According to Bai’s original plan, he would grow up step by step, go with the flow, and avoid potential threats as much as possible.
With his knowledge of the Naruto world, he might eventually reach Kage-level or a weak High-Kage level, but the Fourth Shinobi World War wouldn’t have much to do with him—it would be far too late, so he’d just obediently wait for Naruto and Sasuke to save the world.
In the meantime, while the girls were still young, he could charm one into becoming his wife and live a peaceful, stable life—in the Naruto world, that was already considered a blessed existence!
However, with the awakening of the System, the innate pride of a transmigrator made him unwilling to settle for mediocrity.
Bai’s system provided a cheat every three years.
Currently, it was Konoha Year 54, and the Fourth Shinobi World War ended in Konoha Year 68.
This meant that before the war started, Bai would receive four more cheat options.
Judging from the first two options, the cheats provided by the System were impressive.
The very first option granted him Kage-level potential.
Four more cheats later, wouldn’t reaching Six Paths level be a certainty!?
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
Bai couldn’t wait to pull out the chakra extraction scroll left behind by his cheap father.
Chakra was a blend of physical and spiritual energy, and children who were too young could not extract it safely.
Even core members of noble clans only began attempting chakra extraction around four or five years old.
But Bai now possessed a Sage Body and was a transmigrator; both his physical and mental energies were far beyond those of children his age, allowing him to start early.
Just at that moment, a rapid knocking sounded at the door.
Immediately after, a lively, soft voice called out: “Shiro-chan!
Open up quickly, we’re here to play with you!”
Hearing this voice, Bai let out a helpless smile.
He could only temporarily set aside his plans for chakra extraction and open the door.
Standing outside were three kids: an adorable, delicate girl, a lazy pineapple-headed boy, and a chubby kid holding snacks—none other than the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio!
“Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, you guys are here!” Bai suppressed his internal helplessness and smiled softly.
Shikamaru and Choji didn’t react much, but Ino knitted her cute eyebrows, studying Bai closely before saying hesitantly: “Why do I feel like you’re a bit different today, Shiro-chan…?”
“Huh?” Bai was slightly surprised.
He hadn’t expected Ino to be so perceptive.
He quickly denied it: “No way, I’m the same every day!”
“Really?” Ino naturally pinched Bai’s baby-fat cheek, clearly unconvinced.
However, she soon stopped obsessing over the detail.
She grabbed Bai by the arm and pulled him out of the house, giggling eagerly: “Whatever, let’s hurry!
We still need to find Sakura and the others!”