"Good morning, Commander."
"Morning."
Seated inside the Third Division Commander's office, Natsuhiko returned the greeting with a gentle smile and a nod toward the ANBU ninja standing before him.
Today was his first official day as a commander, so he had arrived early.
His conversation with Senju Shoma the night before had gone rather smoothly.
Even now, Natsuhiko could still picture the elder's reaction when he heard the news.
Shoma had burst into loud laughter.
The kind of laughter that kept going until tears rolled down the corners of his eyes.
It was obvious that the old man had been suppressing his emotions for far too long.
The weight he had carried had been suffocating.
For Shoma, it must have been unimaginable that the boy who once refused to go to the battlefield would one day achieve such success within the ANBU.
Still, the old man had remained rational.
He understood that Natsuhiko must have paid a heavy price to reach this position.
After all, joining the ANBU had never been Natsuhiko's own choice.
Shoma himself had been the one who pushed him into it.
Because of that, he also worried that Natsuhiko might harbor resentment over the matter.
So when the topic turned to selecting clan members to enter the ANBU, Shoma made a conscious effort to listen carefully to Natsuhiko's opinions.
In fact, even before the discussion started, the elder had already said that it would be fine if only a small number of people were selected.
That alone made Natsuhiko quite satisfied.
Because he had absolutely no intention of bringing too many people into the ANBU.
He couldn't afford to act recklessly.
And Natsuhiko, with his keen instincts, quickly noticed the elder's willingness to compromise.
Taking advantage of that, he firmly stated that he needed to personally evaluate those candidates first.
Otherwise, even if they were recommended by the clan, failing the assessment would make the entire effort meaningless.
Naturally, Shoma wasn't too happy about that condition.
But he also understood that Natsuhiko's current situation required extreme caution.
In the end, he had no choice but to accept it.
Looks like the situation within the clan is starting to change as my status in the ANBU rises…
Sitting behind his desk, Natsuhiko flipped through the reports concerning the Third Division, quietly contemplating the situation.
He didn't have a clear understanding of the Senju clan's current state.
But he knew that ignorance wouldn't last forever.
Because the clan still needed someone to support its future.
And if Natsuhiko continued performing well, there was no reason he couldn't eventually gain full control of the Senju clan himself.
Even though the clan had dwindled in numbers, and its most famous figures had long since departed from Konoha…
There were still hidden resources tied to the Senju name.
And those were something Natsuhiko had always had his eye on.
Still… even if I want them, I'll have to take things step by step.
For now, the priority is handling the people who might be sent here.
Once he sorted through those thoughts, Natsuhiko shifted his attention back to the immediate problem—
The current state of the Third Division.
To be honest, he hadn't expected things to be this bad.
The division consisted of nine squads in total.
But three of them had been nearly wiped out during the mission involving Sasori.
And the remaining squads weren't in great condition either.
These were essentially leftover problems from the past.
Casualties during missions were unavoidable.
At the moment, only Squad 1 and Squad 6 still maintained their full roster.
The other squads were either heavily depleted—or completely destroyed.
Because the division's personnel hadn't even been fully reassembled yet, Natsuhiko didn't need to gather everyone together for a formal meeting right away.
"Now this is a troublesome situation…"
Natsuhiko rubbed his temples.
A full division should consist of thirty-six ninja.
Yet right now, he couldn't even gather fifteen.
Faced with that reality, what else could he feel besides helplessness?
"…Though maybe that's not entirely a bad thing."
After thinking it over, he could only comfort himself with that idea.
"Starting from scratch might make it easier to cultivate people who truly belong to me."
And for someone like Natsuhiko—
Building something new and loyal from the ground up might be the greatest opportunity of all.
Training someone required resources.
Time. Energy. Patience.
And even after investing all that effort, there was always the chance that the person being trained would simply die during a mission.
Thinking about those kinds of losses gave Natsuhiko a headache.
What he would have preferred was arriving here and immediately finding a whole group of ready-to-use subordinates waiting for him.
Reliable tools.
People he could deploy without hesitation.
People he could even send on extremely dangerous missions to quickly accumulate achievements for himself.
Unfortunately, reality was far less satisfying.
Counting carefully, he only had a little more than ten usable operatives.
As for the remaining twenty or so empty positions…
He would probably have to fill them with rookies.
"…Well, rookies are still better than nothing. Everyone starts somewhere. Besides, if a rookie dies on a mission, my responsibility won't be as heavy."
Setting down the file in his hands, Natsuhiko muttered the thought to himself before raising his head to look at the ANBU standing nearby.
The man was a squad leader from the First Division, codename Trout.
He was known for his exceptional mastery of Water Release techniques.
Beyond that, Natsuhiko also knew the man's real identity—his name, background, and service record.
That was one of the privileges of being a division commander.
He had access to the full personal records of everyone in his division.
Of course, that only applied if the information hadn't been deliberately hidden.
After all, even Natsuhiko himself could be considered an "unregistered ghost" within the ANBU.
"Trout, head to headquarters around noon," Natsuhiko said with a relaxed smile.
As a division commander, he no longer needed to keep his mask on at all times.
"It looks like we're short quite a few people. Go to the logistics department and pick out as many promising recruits as you can."
"Yes, Division Commander." Trout nodded seriously. "I'll carry out the task."
"Good." Natsuhiko nodded before continuing. "Oh, and while you're there, submit a request to the Commander for me. I want Kakashi transferred from the First Division to ours."
"Kakashi?"
Trout frowned slightly, clearly confused.
Normally, if a division commander wanted to transfer someone from another division, the division commander would personally make the request.
Was this new division commander… a little too lazy?
And besides, Trout knew about the relationship between Kakashi and Natsuhiko.
Still, Kakashi had a reputation for being distant—even within the ANBUhe was something of a lone wolf. Aside from Natsuhiko, hardly anyone seemed to get along with him.
On top of that, Kakashi had entered the ANBU early because of the Fourth Hokage's influence, without even completing full training.
Was bringing someone like that into this division really a good idea?
"I understand, sir," Trout finally said, nodding despite his doubts.
"Although it would normally be better for you to handle this personally… I'll give it a try."
"Don't worry. You'll succeed."
Natsuhiko waved a hand casually and smiled.
"Our dear Commander will probably prefer that you handle this request instead of me."
"…Division Commander, I don't quite understand." Trout lowered his head, clearly puzzled.
"You can try asking around about what happened at ANBU headquarters the other day," Natsuhiko said with a shrug.
"Maybe you'll get an answer. Maybe you won't."
"Either way—go."
Now that he had firmly secured the division commander position, Natsuhiko didn't mind if certain things became known.
In fact, he needed to establish authority in front of his subordinates.
And what could be more effective than letting them know he had once beaten someone down inside ANBU headquarters, confronted the ANBU Commander directly, and still walked away unharmed after the Third Hokage personally suppressed the incident?
After Trout left the office, Natsuhiko leaned back in his chair and stretched lazily.
Being promoted from squad leader to division commander meant more than just a change in title.
In many ways, he had moved from the frontline execution level to the management level.
As a result, many tasks—especially combat missions—no longer required him to rush to the front lines.
Most of his work now involved coordination and administration alongside ANBU headquarters.
For example—
Organizing patrol assignments.
Arranging pursuit and assassination missions.
Or accepting important operations and assigning the right members to carry them out.
In other words…
Natsuhiko had officially stepped into the role of someone who moved pieces on the board, rather than just being one of them.
Even so, Natsuhiko knew that for certain high-priority missions, even a division commander—or sometimes the Commander—had to go out and handle things personally.
After all, he hadn't forgotten how Kusunoki had died.
In simple terms, Kusunoki had accepted an important mission that required him to personally lead the division outside the village. Unfortunately for him, he had run into Natsuhiko.
Even worse, the man had harbored malicious intent.
Which ultimately forced Natsuhiko to "reluctantly" send him on a one-way trip to the Pure Land.
In the end, strength was still the most important factor for a shinobi.
If Kusunoki had been powerful enough, he wouldn't have been pushed to such a desperate situation by Sasori. And if he hadn't been that desperate, he wouldn't have tried to use Natsuhiko as bait to slow Sasori down.
If that hadn't happened, Natsuhiko wouldn't have found the chance to eliminate him.
At the end of the day, it all came down to a lack of strength.
And that certainly wasn't Natsuhiko's fault, was it?
"Strength really is everything," Natsuhiko murmured to himself. "Only with enough strength can you avoid being casually killed… and only with strength do you gain the right to speak."
He had always been clear about that. His desire for power had never faded.
In fact, now that he sat in the position of division commander, his hunger to improve his own strength had only grown stronger.
"At this stage, I should already be among the strongest of my peers," he thought. "Even Kakashi probably wouldn't be able to beat me—at least not without using the Mangekyō."
Thinking about Kakashi made a faint smile appear on Natsuhiko's lips.
Come to think of it, although Kakashi occasionally brought him a bit of bad luck, he had also brought Natsuhiko opportunities beyond imagination.
In just a few short months since joining his squad, Natsuhiko had obtained Lizardmaru, and his position had jumped from a mere squadleader to a full division commander.
Compared to that, encountering people like Kakuzu and Sasori along the way didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.
"…Forget it. I should check on my seeds. It's been too long—I have no idea how they're doing now."
Shaking his head, Natsuhiko quickly opened his system panel.
His cheat ability was still his greatest support, and that was something he would never forget.
But the moment he looked at the panel, he froze.
Name: Senju Natsuhiko
Gender: Male
Birthday: Konoha Calendar Year 34, March 24
Rank: Elite Jonin (Chunin)
Bloodline Development: Beginner (Senju Secret Techniques)
Seeds: Jonin-level Chakra Reserve Seed (99% Mature)
Advanced Earth Release Seed (95% Mature)
Advanced Water Release Seed (95% Mature)
Fruit: Intermediate Sage Arts Fruit
Mission: Become the true ultimate BOSS of the ninja world (Unique) (Progress: 10%)
(When the progress of the unique mission increases, seed maturity receives a corresponding bonus.)
...
"…What the hell?"
Natsuhiko stared at the line in parentheses, utterly baffled.
What did it mean by "unique mission progress increases seed maturity"?
Did that mean his main quest was actually linked to the growth of the seeds he planted?
Looking at the chakra reserve seed that had suddenly jumped to 99% maturity, along with the advanced Earth and Water Release seeds sitting at 95%, Natsuhiko felt both thrilled and slightly troubled.
The thrilling part was that his gamble had paid off.
Becoming a division commander had seemed extremely risky at the time, but the rewards were far greater than he had imagined.
His unique mission progress had jumped from 1% all the way to 10%.
Even if that progress number itself didn't seem very useful yet, the rewards it triggered were incredible.
After all, the time and chakra required to grow advanced seeds had once been enough to make him despair.
And now, this sudden boost had practically pushed him to the brink of excitement.
What troubled Natsuhiko, however, was the unsettling realization that he didn't really understand his own system.
Even after fourteen years of having it, he was still only scratching the surface of what it could do.
He still had no clue where those seeds had even come from—and now there was this new twist: "Unique mission progress increases with seed maturity." How was he not supposed to feel lost?
"Looks like… if I want this progress to keep moving, I might as well become Hokage!"
Natsuhiko drew a deep breath. He wasn't entirely sure how far being Hokage would push the progress of his unique mission—but logically, only by stepping into that position could he truly climb higher.
The influence of the Hokage was hard to overstate. And once he became Hokage, Natsuhiko could pull more clans to his side, recruit more useful people, and consolidate power.
He could even reshape the ANBU into something akin to Akatsuki, secretly running operations across the ninja world if he wanted. Ambitious? Yes. But Natsuhiko had never been one to settle for small ambitions.
"Alright… this Hokage position is mine," he muttered, firm in his resolve.
Of course, to reach Hokage, he'd first need to secure the ANBU Commander's spot—something he couldn't afford to forget.
Shaking his head, he turned back to the panel, eyes falling on the Intermediate Sage Art Fruit listed under the "Fruits" column. He wasn't surprised it had fully matured.
Its growth rate had always been steady, and with the bonus from becoming a division commander, full maturity was only natural.
"Intermediate Sage Arts Fruit… looks like my power is about to get another serious boost."
The Beginner Sage Arts Fruit had already given him an incredible boost.
As for what kind of enhancement the intermediate version would bring, Natsuhiko didn't know yet—but he was certain of one thing.
It definitely wouldn't disappoint him.
That said, he still had some concerns.
After all, Sage Mode relied heavily on chakra.
With the amount of chakra he currently had, would he even be able to sustain an intermediate-level Sage Mode?
After thinking it over, Natsuhiko suspected it might be troublesome.
Even at the beginner stage, the amount of time he could maintain Sage Mode wasn't particularly long. If it advanced to the intermediate stage, that duration would probably shrink even further.
"But whatever."
Natsuhiko shrugged to himself.
"With the Flying Thunder God Technique and an intermediate Sage Mode, my combat power should definitely rank pretty high in the system's evaluation."
At the moment, his system panel already rated his overall strength at Elite Jonin level.
That assessment even factored in his relatively low chakra reserves, which limited the range of his Flying Thunder God usage. If Sage Mode were included at full capacity, his rating would probably be even higher.
And once his Sage Mode advanced to the intermediate stage…
His destructive power would likely rise to an entirely new level.
"The only issue is that until my chakra catches up… my fights will probably be over in seconds."
Natsuhiko let out a helpless laugh as he condensed the fruit into his hand.
Staring at it, he took a deep breath.
"Fine. If I'm a 'one-second man,' then so be it. Worst case, I'll just fight like an assassin. If I can't kill them instantly, I'll just run."
He paused for a moment before smirking slightly.
"Who knows? Maybe my chakra fruit will ripen tomorrow."
"And when it comes to running away…"
"I've never really been afraid of anyone."
...
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