NahinS77
patreon
Chapter 44: Target—Senju
🕑 Added 2025-02-20 14:43:54 +0000 UTCChapter 44: Target—Senju
Haruta’s goal was clear—to outright replace Naruto and become the new Asura reincarnation!
It might be a knockoff version, but if his strength reached a certain level, who could say the knockoff wouldn’t surpass the original?
However, taking Asura’s place was no easy feat. Haruta had a long road ahead.
For an Uchiha trying to replace Sasuke as Indra’s reincarnation, the path was relatively simpler.
After all, Madara had already laid out a clear roadmap for power progression.
As long as you had a brother and were lucky enough to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, then it was entirely possible to follow his path.
Worst case scenario, for a certain period, you'd still be an extremely formidable opponent.
Even without a brother, just awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan would at least put you at Obito’s level.
But Asura’s path? Now that was a mess.
“Hashirama’s Wood Release… Naruto’s Tailed Beast Chakra Mode…”
Tailed Beasts were currently out of Haruta’s reach, so his only viable option was Wood Release.
"Figures. If you’re Indra’s reincarnation, you just have to pump points into the Sharingan. But for Asura? There's way too much to consider…”
Especially for someone like him—a regular person without a powerful bloodline. He had even more to think about.
Thankfully, he was a cheat.
“Yang Release, Water Release, and Earth Release all need to be on the same level before they have any chance of fusing.”
The higher his proficiency in a single chakra nature, the deeper his understanding. And the deeper his understanding, the easier it became to find fusion points with other natures.
But those fusion points were incredibly elusive. Most shinobi wouldn’t discover them in their lifetime.
Otherwise, with so many ninja across the entire world, why were bloodline clans so rare?
Of course, for Haruta, this wasn’t a problem. As long as he had free points, anything was possible!
“But aside from elemental affinities, my physical attributes and chakra reserves also need to keep up…”
Chakra was the foundation of everything, and a strong body was necessary to handle greater chakra reserves.
He had already studied the [Scorch Release Experience and Insights] he obtained from Pakura. From that, he realized just how terrifyingly massive a chakra pool was needed to fuse a Kekkei Genkai!
By normal training methods, his chakra growth wouldn’t be bad. But it would never be as fast as simply allocating points.
Not to mention, chakra points also synergized with his physical stats, drastically boosting his recovery rate!
“Now that I think about it… should I try fusing Scorch Release first?”
As he walked, Haruta pondered. Thanks to Pakura’s experience report, he already had a solid understanding of how to fuse Scorch Release. He could practically “copy the homework” to achieve it.
But there was one small problem—he was carrying on Konoha’s finest tradition: Fire Release specialists who weren’t actually good at Fire Release.
His Fire Release proficiency? Still stuck at Lv2…
“Forget it. I’ll take it one step at a time. The priority is figuring out how to create Wood Release.”
Haruta shook his head. Wood Release was a game-changer, and he planned to make full use of it for deception.
If he wanted to investigate whether that deep-buried Uchiha still existed—and possibly even dig him out—he needed to figure out a lot of things.
The Uchiha Clan was unreliable. They didn’t even know where their own "final weapon" had perished.
Otherwise, they would’ve at least tried to retrieve him. A Mangekyō Sharingan was no trivial thing.
"The only ones worth investigating are the Uzumaki, Sarutobi, and Senju who participated in the battle."
Unfortunately, the Uzumaki Clan had been wiped out. Their records were in Konoha, but Haruta didn’t have the guts to steal them.
As for the Sarutobi…
He might as well break into Konoha’s secret archives and steal the Uzumaki records instead!
After weighing his options, the most practical target was the Senju—technically “extinct,” but in reality, still present. Plus, they had Tsunade, who wielded considerable influence.
With Haruta now focusing on Wood Release, the Senju were undeniably the best target.
Just as he was deep in thought, his brows furrowed.
Not far away, he spotted a faint shadow flickering in the distance.
At the same time, he sensed a Flying Thunder God seal—one that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere…
---
Meanwhile…
On the highest peak behind Konoha, Obito stood overlooking the village.
At that moment, a monstrous figure resembling a pitcher plant emerged from the ground. In a low voice, it spoke:
"Obito, the boy is on the move."
The duo, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, had been keeping tabs on Itachi for days.
Obito’s plan—described in polite terms—was “not quite perfect.”
But sometimes, perfection wasn’t necessary. What mattered was planting the seed of doubt.
Doubt was the deadliest weapon. Once it took root, cracks would inevitably form.
And once those cracks grew, without any clear resolution, everything would eventually collapse.
Obito wasn’t worried. Based on his intel, Haruta was from Root.
"Interesting. That brat’s out on a mission this late? He’s really handing us an opportunity."
Obito smirked, while Black Zetsu nodded.
"He just became a Chūnin, so his enthusiasm is high. Moving at night helps him stay under the radar—seems like a cautious approach."
"And what about Shigen Haruta? What’s he up to now?"
Obito recalled how, back when he was a shinobi, he had been just as eager for missions.
Of course, back then, his motivation had been to stay close to someone…
But things had changed. That person was gone.
"Shigen Haruta has had contact with the new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
This time, it was White Zetsu’s half-face that spoke.
"Man, that guy’s way too rough. The Jinchūriki offered him food, and he almost beat the kid up."
"Food?"
Obito was momentarily confused, though he had long since gotten used to White Zetsu’s absurd remarks. Nothing that guy said could surprise him anymore.
"Yeah, food."
White Zetsu nodded, looking deeply regretful.
"The little Jinchūriki spent half a day picking mushrooms in the backwoods, only for that guy to treat him like that. Obito, I fully support your plan now."
"……"
What the hell was this conversation?
Obito felt a headache coming on. Fortunately, Black Zetsu knew exactly what he actually wanted to hear and cut in.
"Regardless, Shigaru Haruta has already separated from the Jinchūriki. I believe now is the perfect time to draw his attention."
"Good."
Obito nodded. At least one of them was still somewhat reliable.
"Then let’s begin. Time to give him a big surprise tonight."
"No problem."
Black Zetsu agreed. Meanwhile, the other half of White Zetsu was still shaking its head wistfully.
"Such a waste… That basket of mushrooms looked amazing. I bet they would’ve tasted delicious…"
Hearing that, Obito almost tripped.
Even if he were a complete idiot, he knew—those mushrooms were NOT edible!
