[Ding~ System task completed, simulation opportunity +1]
[Ding~ System mission released: Combat Power increased to 200,000.
Reward: Simulation opportunity +3]
After two simulations, Naruto finally completed his combat power mission.
In the third simulation, Naruto's luck was quite good.
This simulated character possessed Senju blood and could make contact with the Senju clan—waiting for the right opportunity to learn senjutsu.
Once he mastered senjutsu, Naruto could then guide him to the True Waterfall.
And most importantly, this character's "hobby" attribute was Orochimaru.
The hobby attribute often played a huge role in shaping a simulated character's behavior and research direction.
After selecting the attributes for the third simulation, Naruto immediately began the process.
Everything went as smoothly as he expected.
The character was born in the era when Senju Hashirama was still alive. He later met Hashirama, signed a summoning contract with Katsuyu, and successfully learned Sage Mode.
Then, under Naruto's detailed guidance, the simulated character went to the True Waterfall, observed its illusion, and successfully replicated it.
After that, Naruto just had to let the simulated character conduct his own research — Naruto only needed to wait for the results.
Lines of simulation data continued to appear before Naruto's eyes.
He wanted to find a way to control the phantom body summoned by the True Waterfall's illusion.
However, the difficulty was far greater than Naruto had imagined.
This simulated character, who happened to possess Hatake Kakashi's talent, took a full sixteen years to develop a seal that could control the phantom body summoned by the True Waterfall illusion.
And then—
The technique was classified as a Forbidden Jutsu!
The character who created it was immediately imprisoned by the Third Hokage after being caught performing human experiments.
He had spent his entire life studying jutsu, with little real combat experience.
Later, while in Konoha Prison, he was taken away by the brothers Raijin and Fujin.
Naruto, however, didn't feel the slightest sadness over that tragic ending.
He had already obtained what he wanted.
But there was one thing that made him pause.
The method was too cruel—too dark and evil.
The character in the simulation had controlled the souls of the dead, using a forced Impure World Reincarnation technique to command those souls to enter the phantom bodies summoned by the True Waterfall.
By controlling other people's souls, he achieved complete control over the phantom bodies.
The advantages of this method were completely different from traditional Impure World Reincarnation.
For example, if the caster of Edo Tensei wanted to control their summoned dead, they had to manipulate their movements like puppets.
But in this new method, once the soul entered the phantom body, the caster could directly give it commands.
That meant, unlike Edo Tensei where the caster needed to act through constant control, the soul within the phantom body could obey direct verbal orders.
When Naruto claimed the reward, related knowledge and memories instantly flooded into his mind.
He was just about to set off for the Land of Snow.
There were plenty of small-time criminals and outlaws in that country.
Naruto figured he could use their souls as test subjects for this jutsu.
Yes—he had no intention of abandoning this technique.
Though it was undoubtedly dark, he only intended to use it on evil souls.
It might sound hypocritical, but as long as Naruto didn't believe he was evil, that was all that mattered.
He didn't care what others thought.
Having gained such a powerful jutsu, Naruto was in a great mood.
At that moment, Karin was training in the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Even though she had resolved her emotional issues, her conversion speed for Nine-Tails chakra was still a bit slow.
Unlike Naruto, who could directly merge the Nine-Tails' chakra with his own, Karin was still learning to adapt to the process.
But training alone, without actual combat, wouldn't yield much progress.
So Naruto walked over and said, "Karin, enter Nine-Tails Mode and attack me directly."
"This…" Karin hesitated. "Are you serious, Naruto? When I use Nine-Tails Mode, I feel like I could kill a cow with one punch. Isn't that too dangerous?"
Naruto smiled. "Don't worry, you won't hurt me. Besides, you don't have many combat techniques yet — I'll give you some special training afterward."
Karin knew how strong Naruto was, so she nodded with a grin. "Alright then. I'll take it seriously. The stronger I get, the less you'll have to worry about me~"
The Land of Snow.
A country blanketed in snow all year round.
Two ships were docked along the icy shore.
One was a cargo ship, the other a passenger vessel — and the passengers were fleeing in panic.
Because Naruto and Karin were far too terrifying and mysterious.
For ordinary people, keeping as much distance from ninjas as possible was the best way to stay alive.
On deck, Naruto glanced at the frightened crew and sighed helplessly.
Still, he didn't blame them.
If their positions were reversed, he'd have run away too.
Upon arriving at the Land of Snow, Naruto admired the glittering scenery and said, "It looks amazing at first glance."
"But it's a pretty harsh place for people to live in," Karin added.
Naruto nodded, then disembarked with her.
Not far away, another ship rested beside theirs — and Naruto immediately noticed a familiar chakra presence on board.
What a coincidence.
Naruto pulled Karin along and shouted, "Hey, Sasuke! How's that old pervert? Is he still strong?"
Hearing Naruto's voice, Sasuke instantly turned around.
Naruto, holding Karin's hand, leaped lightly onto the ship.
"Naruto?" Sasuke said in surprise. "Why are you here?"
Naruto took one look around and quickly realized — this was the same crew from the Land of Snow arc in the original story.
Their sudden arrival drew attention from the crew members.
One of the sailors cautiously approached and said, "Um… even if you're ninja, this is a private vessel. You shouldn't be boarding without permission, right?"
He spoke politely — after all, angering a ninja could easily get you killed.
Sasuke quickly explained, "It's fine. Naruto's one of us."
"Oh, alright then," the sailor replied and immediately backed off, wisely avoiding further trouble.
A moment later, Sasuke, who had been standing guard, called for the others inside the cabin.
Haruno Sakura rushed out as soon as she heard Naruto's name.
"Naruto-kun!" Sakura cried, running toward him.
Seeing him standing there smiling, she suddenly felt a wave of frustration and longing.
Naruto, you're so cruel!
You've been gone for so long!
Even if you don't miss me, don't you at least miss Hinata?
Tears welled in her eyes as she ran straight into Naruto's arms.
"Naruto~ You're going to be the death of me!" she sobbed.
This time, Naruto didn't push her away — he caught her gently in his arms.
But what he didn't expect was that she'd take it a step further and press her lips toward his.
"Let me kiss you, just once…" Sakura murmured softly.
Naruto: "…"
At that moment, two more figures stepped out from the cabin — both with white hair.
Hatake Kakashi.
And Jiraiya.
Tch~
This film crew was really lucky — they actually had Jiraiya himself serving as their escort.
As everyone gathered and began chatting, an irritated voice suddenly came from inside the ship.
"Why are you all being so noisy?"
"Don't you know I went to bed late last night?"
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