After settling certain matters, Natsuhiko's days became extremely routine.
With no vacation time, he could only honestly carry out missions alongside Kakashi.
Fortunately, his luck had been decent lately. The assignments during this period weren't particularly difficult.
Most of them involved patrolling to see whether spies or rogue ninjas were attempting to leave the village, or intercepting individuals impersonating foreign shinobi trying to attack Konoha.
For Natsuhiko and Kakashi, all of this was fairly easy.
At the very least, they hadn't run into troublesome opponents like Kakuzu or Yashamaru again.
Interestingly enough, their first team-up had thrown them against a Kage-level opponent like Kakuzu. Their second encounter had been with an elite jōnin like Yashamaru.
After those two incidents, the most troublesome enemies they encountered were merely regular jōnin.
Even so, jōnin were already considered the elite of a village.
Even in Konoha, the number of jōnin wasn't particularly large—altogether just over two hundred.
Of course, if overall combat strength were factored in, the number might be slightly higher.
But even doubling that number would still be insignificant compared to Konoha's total population.
How many people lived in Konoha?
Counting ordinary civilians, there were easily over a hundred thousand.
With such a massive population base, even doubling the jōnin count would still make them incredibly rare.
Perhaps it was precisely because of the excellent performance of the two of them that the commander hadn't rushed to assign new members to Natsuhiko's squad.
The commander clearly understood Natsuhiko's reasoning. After all, training a shinobi was no simple matter—especially someone entering the ANBU. Even reserve members were extremely valuable.
Before long, more than a month passed.
The outstanding performance of Natsuhiko and Kakashi during that time earned them a three-day break.
This delighted Natsuhiko.
Three days wasn't long—but to him, it was more than enough time to make good use of.
During the past month of missions, he had essentially read through every sealing technique book available to him—and even memorized them.
What he lacked now was systematic instruction and guidance.
He needed someone to teach him how to properly apply the knowledge he had memorized and truly bring out the characteristics of sealing techniques.
My break starts tomorrow. First thing on the agenda: visiting the Fourth Hokage.
After finishing work that evening, Natsuhiko said goodbye to Kakashi and walked back to his residence alone. As he walked, he opened his status panel.
He was curious what it looked like now.
But when he examined it closely, surprise flashed across his face—followed quickly by delight.
...
Name: Senju Natsuhiko
Gender: Male
Birthday: March 24, Year 34 of the Konoha Calendar
Rank: Jōnin (Chūnin-level chakra reserves)
Bloodline Development: Beginner (Senju Secret Technique)
Seeds:
Jōnin-level Chakra Capacity Seed (60% Maturity)
Intermediate Sage Technique Seed (85% Maturity)
Advanced Earth Release Seed (71% Maturity)
Advanced Water Release Seed (71% Maturity)
Fruits: None
Mission: Become the true final BOSS of the ninja world (Unique)
...
"The maturity of the Intermediate Sage Technique Seed increased again?"
Even Natsuhiko hadn't expected that.
The other seeds hadn't remained completely stagnant—but that mere one-percent increase in Earth and Water Release left him speechless.
As for the chakra capacity seed—
He didn't even want to look at it.
If it weren't for the clear notation under Bloodline Development stating "Senju Secret Technique," and the fact that his late parents were unquestionably members of the Senju clan—combined with the aftereffects of the reckless experimentation he had done as a child—
He might have started doubting whether he was truly a Senju descendant at all.
This rate of chakra growth wasn't just embarrassing.
It was beyond embarrassing.
"Sigh… it is what it is. At least there's a pleasant surprise, right?"
Letting out a helpless sigh, Natsuhiko decided not to dwell on it anymore. After so many years, he was already used to it.
And the Sage Technique chakra seed really had given him a huge surprise. Even though it was only an intermediate-level chakra seed—making it relatively easier to cultivate—it was still a major boost.
Because Natsuhiko knew that once he mastered Intermediate Sage Mode, based on his current strength, he should be able to unleash even greater power.
"And if I add the Flying Thunder God Technique…"
At that thought, he almost didn't dare continue.
He had once speculated—would he directly become what the system judged as "Kage-level"?
Kage-level represented an absolute qualitative leap.
It was far rarer than jōnin. Even at Konoha's peak, only six Kage-level figures stood at the top:
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzō Shimura, Sakumo Hatake, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.
That had been Konoha's golden age after the era of the two gods—but that time had long since passed.
Still, Natsuhiko quickly shook his head.
Even if he learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, his overall strength probably wouldn't truly reach Kage-level.
After all, his insufficient chakra reserves made him unsuitable for prolonged combat.
True Kage-level fighters didn't have such weaknesses.
However, in terms of overall ability, reaching what the system classified as "Semi-Kage-level" shouldn't be a problem.
"In truth, power rankings in this world aren't as clearly defined as the system makes them out to be.
A genin killing a jōnin isn't impossible. With the right tactics, a well-placed kunai stab could do it."
He gave a small shake of his head.
The system's evaluation at least gave him a solid understanding of his own capabilities.
And even if it was only "Semi-Kage-level" according to the system, that would still grant him the ability to protect himself in this era.
At that thought, a faint smile appeared on Natsuhiko's lips.
He was truly looking forward more and more to learning sealing techniques—and the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Walking quickly toward his residence, Natsuhiko didn't forget to discreetly slip a scroll into the elders' house as he passed by.
Afterward, he stayed hidden nearby, only leaving once he confirmed that someone inside had taken the scroll.
Only then did he return to his small home.
"Hm?"
Upon entering, Natsuhiko was surprised to find that his house had been cleaned.
That left him puzzled.
As far as he remembered, he had never asked anyone to clean his room.
And there was barely anything in it to clean in the first place—unless someone had come to tidy up spider webs?
An intruder? Or something else?
He couldn't figure it out.
Still, he carefully inspected the entire house.
In the end, he confirmed with absolute certainty that someone had simply come by to clean.
What was going on?
Scratching his head, a strange thought crossed his mind—
Could the clan be planning to arrange a fiancée for him?
Large clans often had one particular "benefit": arranged marriages.
Although Natsuhiko was only fourteen, an engagement wouldn't be unusual.
The thought made his expression turn odd.
Are they going to try and introduce some girl named Rengeto me?
Shaking his head, Natsuhiko decided not to think about it any further.
He planned to get a good night's rest.
After all, tomorrow he would be meeting Minato Namikaze.
...
PS: All of the strength levels Natsuhiko mentions are system evaluations. The Naruto world itself doesn't officially define such categories. The system's rankings are only rough assessments of Natsuhiko's overall strength—at most a reference point.
(I still remember how, in the later part of the story, Naruto participated in the Chūnin Exams and instinctively activated Sage Mode against Konohamaru… Was Konohamaru really that strong at the time?)