Konohagakure.
The Senju Clan no longer had the glory of its past—especially after Princess Tsunade left the village. Their power had weakened to the point where it seemed they might disappear from the stage of history at any moment.
Even their once-vast settlement had shrunk to just a few courtyards, a pale shadow of its former self.
Inside one such unremarkable courtyard, Senju Haruto sat cross-legged on a straw mat.
He had been living in this world for five years—five long years—and no one knew how he had managed to survive during that time.
"The Senju Clan has one full measure of strength—Hashirama alone takes nine parts, Tobirama three, Tsunade one… and the rest of us still owe three."
Haruto couldn't help but complain inwardly. Ever since Tobirama's death, the Senju Clan had declined at an alarming rate. And now, in his generation, forget Wood Release or self-regeneration—
It had taken him five whole years just to extract enough chakra to activate his little assistant.
Transmigrating into the Senju bloodline, and yet he hadn't reaped even the tiniest benefit.
And now, the moment he had fully activated his assistant, the first novice mission arrived.
Ding!
Please proceed to the Fire Country forest border to sign in. Successful sign-in will grant a newbie reward!
Haruto's brows furrowed slightly.
When he first crossed into this world, he had quickly figured out the general timeline. Konoha's history had become part of his life.
Inside the village, the Uchiha Clan still existed and was eager to move against the Konoha regime.
Outside, Kumogakure had been in constant conflict with Konoha. Although they had recently announced an alliance, Haruto knew there were likely still Cloud spies lurking around.
But risk and opportunity always came together.
A gamble… and a bicycle might just turn into a motorcycle!
Haruto's eyes narrowed slightly. Before transmigrating, he had been an avid reader of online novels. He knew all the tropes on Qidian—you could talk about them for three days and three nights without repeating yourself—and he knew exactly what to do now.
Most importantly… his current situation was awkward.
When he had first arrived here, his mood had actually been pretty good.
After all, he had landed in the timeline before the start of Naruto's story—right after the Nine-Tails' attack on the village.
It was a relatively safe and peaceful period for Konoha.
With his Senju bloodline, he should have had plenty of time to make plans, grow stronger, and maybe even use that identity to enter Konoha's upper ranks.
But that joy had quickly faded.
Although he was of the Senju Clan, his chakra reserves were shockingly small.
That meant that even if he enrolled in the Ninja Academy, he wouldn't be able to graduate—he could never become a shinobi.
For Haruto, this was a huge blow.
Fortunately, after five years of hard work, he had finally gathered enough chakra to activate his sign-in assistant.
It was time.
"Forest border."
Haruto stood up, went back inside, and changed into clothes better suited for movement before hurrying out of the courtyard.
Although the forest border was remote, it wasn't difficult to find.
However, Konoha was in a state of hidden unrest at this time.
Even the entrances and exits were guarded by chunin-level shinobi.
"Looks like walking out of the village openly isn't going to happen."
Haruto muttered to himself. He was still dozens of meters from the gate when the guards spotted him.
If he told them honestly that he was going to the border, they'd never believe him—worse, they might hand him straight to the Anbu.
"Better to find a quiet spot, sneak out, sign in, and come back."
He made up his mind, quickly slipping away. It took him several hours to make a large detour.
"Even after training nonstop these past five years, I'm still far from a real shinobi,"
Haruto sighed to himself.
Still, he had managed to bypass Konoha's guards, and the border was now within reach.
Just as he was about to complete the sign-in, Haruto noticed movement ahead.
Had he been discovered? Were those Konoha chunin catching up to him?
He quickly hid behind a large tree and observed.
To his surprise, the figure wasn't a Konoha guard—it was a shinobi from Kumogakure.
Like Kakashi, the man wore his forehead protector tilted to one side. His legs moved like the wind, and in one arm he carried an unconscious little girl, rushing straight in Haruto's direction.
Haruto's eyes narrowed, using the moonlight to recognize the girl's face.
"Wait… isn't that Hinata from the Hyūga Clan?"
He froze. In his memory, Kumogakure shinobi had indeed tried to kidnap Hinata, but they were stopped by Hiashi Hyūga before they could leave the village.
Why were they at the border now?
Butterfly effect?
"No…"
Haruto shook his head. Thinking carefully, the details of the Hinata kidnapping incident had always been suspicious.
"Could the Hyūga Clan have covered up the truth…?"
It was possible. Neji was younger and a branch family member—he likely didn't know the full details of what had happened that day.
But as Haruto pondered, a wave of killing intent surged from behind him.
Whoosh—
A flash of cold light swept past. Haruto rolled aside, turning sharply—only to see more Kumogakure shinobi emerging.
"We've been discovered?"
"Kill him."
Their deep resentment toward Konoha, combined with their current predicament, instantly ignited their bloodlust.
They drew kunai, clearly intending to eliminate Haruto before escorting their leader away.
Seeing this, Haruto bolted.
If these Cloud shinobi dared to kidnap Hinata, there was no way they'd let him live.
Within moments, he reached the edge of the forest.
Ding!
Congratulations on arriving at the sign-in location! Sign-in will now begin! Progress must reach 100%. Quitting midway will result in failure!
Hearing the assistant's voice, Haruto felt a wave of relief—until a kunai brushed past his cheek, leaving a bloody mark.
Thud!
The weapon lodged into the tree trunk ahead, a suffocating murderous aura bearing down on him.
He turned sharply, and for an instant, it felt like he was staring not at human beings, but at demons crawling out from the abyss of hell.
1%23%
Haruto instinctively stepped back, only to feel a sharp pain in his ankle.
A black kunai had sliced through his muscle, robbing him of the ability to run.
The Kumogakure demons raised their weapons and charged.
"Die, Konoha brat!"
69%77%
Pain shot through Haruto's ankle. He had no time to dodge—he could only watch as the cold steel slashed toward him.
100%!
Congratulations, Host! Sign-in successful!Reward: Hashirama's Chakra and Chakra Burst!