Authors note: Yes, I know Yamatos name is Tenzo, no I don't want to change it I like Tenz. IF ykyk.
Chapter 57: So Soon?
[Status Panel of Player Mathew
Name: Shikomu Senju (Senju/ Uzumaki)
Titles:
Konoha Shinobi, (Training speed in Konoha increases by 100%)
Prince of Konoha, (All NPCs tend to favour you)
Inheritor of Nature, (Your Physique and Chakra require half the EXP to progress. You also have no 'limit.')
Green Beasts Apprentice, (Training in Taijutsu and Physical training increases by 100%. Stackable)
Ninja Rank: Chunin (Anbu)
(Access to Chunin + level missions)
Physical Stat: Early- Elite Jonin (1/1500)
Chakra Amount: Early- Elite Jonin (1/1500)
Chakra Control: Advanced
Elemental Chakra Control:
Water- Proficient
Earth- Proficient
Wood- Advanced
Ninjutsu:
D- Academy 3 (Mastered), **Body Flicker Jutsu (200/200)**
C- (E)Muddy Capture (300/300), (E) Tunneling technique (300/300), (E) Stone Fang Jutsu (200/300), (E) Tremor Palm (200/300), (E) Subterranean Evasion (200/300), (E) Echo Sense (200/300), (Wa) Waterfall Basin Technique (300/300), (Wa)Piercing Torrent (300/300), (Wa) Water Needle Jutsu (200/300), (Wa) Mist Veil (200/300), (Wa) Water Rope Binding (200/300)
B- (W) Tidal Guillotine (400/500), (Wa) Grasp of the Drowning Sea (300/500). (Wa) Jellyfish Bind (500/500), (Wa) Drilling Hydra Strike (300/500), (Wa) Exploding Bubble Barrage (300/500), (Wa) Rising Water Wall (300/500), (Wa) Water Clone (300/500), (E) Earth Clone (300/500), (E) Stone Avalanche Formation (300/500), (E) Earth Maw Entrapment (300/500), (E) Adamant Pillar Formation (300/500), (Wo) Thorn Trap Bloom (100/500), (Wo) Spinal Lattice Wall (100/500), (Wo) Binding Bark Coffin (100/500), (Wo) Verdant Spear Barrage (100/500), (Wo) Warden's Embrace (100/500)
A- Shadow Clone Jutsu (800/1000), (Wa) Maelstrom Coffin (400/1000), (Wa) Flashfood Surge (400/1000), (E) Iron Bastion (400/1000), (E) Mountains Embrace (400/1000),(Wo) Thorned Vortex Cannon (400/1000), (Wo) Camouflage Canopy Cloak (400/1000), (Wo) Forest Breaker Pillar (200/1000), (Wo) Silent Canopy Execution (200/1000)
Genjutsu:
D-Imaginary Illusion Jutsu (100/100)
Taijutsu:
Forbidden- 8 Inner Gates (7000/7000)
A- Strong Fist (700/1000)
B- Maito Guy Special Taijutsu (500/500)
C-Konoha Taijutsu (300/300)
EXP: 0]
[Ninjutsu: Wood Release – Thorn Trap Bloom
Rank: B
Description: The user causes vines and thorn-covered roots to erupt from the ground and ensnare enemies in a circular pattern. Excellent for immobilizing squads or controlling space.
Proficiency: 100/500 ]
[Ninjutsu: Wood Release – Spinal Lattice Wall
Rank: B
Description: A defensive jutsu that summons layered, interlocking wood panels resembling vertebrae. Strong enough to block mid-tier elemental jutsu.
Proficiency: 100/500 ]
[Ninjutsu: Wood Release – Binding Bark Coffin
Rank: B
Description: Roots burst from below, encasing the opponent in a wooden shell that tightens with their movements. Best used to restrain taijutsu users.
Proficiency: 100/500 ]
[Ninjutsu: Wood Release – Verdant Spear Barrage
Rank: B
Description: Creates multiple sharp, spear-like branches that launch at high speeds toward a target. Can be used mid-combat for pressure.
Proficiency: 100/500 ]
[Ninjutsu: Wood Release – Warden's Embrace
Rank: B
Description: A mid-range supportive jutsu where the user wraps allies in a protective dome of vines and bark, absorbing damage and slowing enemy pursuit.
Proficiency: 0/500 ]
[Ninjutsu: Wood Release – Forest Breaker Pillar
Rank: A
Description: Summons a massive, spiraling wooden pillar that tears through terrain and enemies alike. Its size and force make it ideal for large-scale disruption.
Proficiency: 200/1000 ]
[Ninjutsu: Wood Release – Silent Canopy Execution
Rank: A
Description: The user summons a dense canopy overhead, muting sound and visibility. Hidden spikes and vines then descend, targeting chakra signatures.
Proficiency: 0/1000]
An entire month... that's how long I spent training under Tenz.
Every single day blurred into the next, filled with focused training routines, spars, chakra refinement, and a constant emphasis on perfecting my Wood Style. Tenz didn't say much—he never needed to. His quiet presence and steady encouragement were enough. He wasn't harsh—just firm, focused entirely on results, and I made sure to deliver.
I wasn't aiming to be seen as the second coming of the First Hokage—not yet, anyway. There was no benefit to drawing that much attention to myself while I was still playing the long game.
My bloodline was powerful, yes, but revealing the full extent of my power too early would bring me more enemies than allies.
I was already playing with fire just by being here.
Every night, after Tenz dismissed me, I would retreat to my small quarters within the ANBU headquarters
And every night, I would make shadow clones. Nine, to be exact. Most of them trained in Fuinjutsu—painstakingly decoding the cryptic formulae from the scrolls Jiraiya had passed down to me.
I could feel my understanding of the art grow sharper. If the system had a proficiency tracker for Fuinjutsu, I was sure it would say [Advanced – Approaching Proficient].
To be completely honest, the village was starting to feel like a bottleneck.
Sure, they finally gave me access to Wood Style—something I should have had access to from the start, considering my lineage—but the progress I needed? The growth I craved? It wasn't here.
Combat was where I thrived.
That was the biggest issue.
As a player, I was meant to level through combat.
Defeating opponents of equal or greater strength gave me EXP.
As a reincarnated person, my second major advantage was information. But what good was information if I couldn't use it?
The plans I had, the foresight I possessed, the connections I knew would form in the future... all of it was meaningless while I was stuck in a loop of secrecy and training drills.
Most players would envy me. They would have killed to be where I was—ANBU, Wood Style, ties to Jiraiya, and on the path to Jinchūriki status.
But...I was inherently a greedy person. Well, any normal person in my situation with my knowledge would feel like they could do more.
Ayumi and Yuki were doing fine without me. Yoru had already given them the message that I was alive. I trusted them enough to keep that secret locked away.
Naruto though... I didn't know how he was coping. He was probably shouting at the Hokage every day. I could practically hear his voice in the back of my head.
"Shikomu wouldn't just die! BELIEVE IT!"
While I would've preferred to tell him I was alive… This was fine too. Sure, he'd be upset, but knowing Naruto—he'd understand.
He always did, it was literally his character...he went after the emo king after so long so I am sure he would close an eye to me not telling him that I had to stay silent about my own death which I didn't even know had happened...
So I stayed hidden.
Tenz didn't approve of my obsession with Fuinjutsu. He never said it outright, but I could feel his disapproval in the way he watched me during those few times he oversaw my clone work. He was a soldier through and through. Direct. Efficient. He felt like I was talented in Wood Style, and as a Senju, I should walk the path of the First Hokage properly... but he never said such a thing. Elemental ninjutsu and Wood Style mastery—those were the paths he valued.
But I had other ideas.
My strength wasn't one thing. It was the sum of many parts.
The 8 Inner Gates—my core physical foundation.
Wood Style—my powerful elemental lineage.
The Uzumaki bloodline—still untapped, but oozing potential in sealing arts and chakra reserves.
Fuinjutsu—the bridge that could combine them all.
My theory was simple: why master one path when I could blend them into something greater? A new fighting style that merged my greatest strengths into an overwhelming force.
Every clone I sent to study the interaction of seals with elemental chakra brought me closer to that goal.
And then there was the Jinchūriki issue.
I hadn't forgotten about the Two-Tails. That little side quest from the Moonshadow clan was the only reason I was still biding my time in the village.
The cat summon had all but confirmed that the game was presenting me with a branching storyline—one that could make me the host of the Two-Tails.
It wasn't guaranteed, but it was there.
The thought of becoming a Jinchūriki so early into the game was definitely a boon for me. I was bound to become one eventually, I needed one of those beasts.
Well...need is a strong word since Hashirama did not need one, more like it was super cool to be riding on a tailed beast...
Still... with the war heating up, it was becoming more obvious.
I couldn't afford to stay idle any longer.
The world was moving. Villages were forming alliances, players were climbing the ranks, and legends were beginning to stir.
And here I was, stuck training under a man with a code name, wearing a mask no one was allowed to take off.
I needed out.
I needed a mission.
I needed to fight again.
Because if I stayed here any longer, all this potential would rot.
And I hadn't come this far just to play dead.
But it seems like the game had a different plan than sending me on a mission... it wanted to do something else entirely.
"Shikomu," Tenz called me first thing in the morning.
Well, the only reason I even knew it was morning was because the system panel had a clock that told me the time.
In the ANBU quarters, you didn't get sunlight, and days blurred into each other like water over glass.
"Yes, Tenz?"
"Follow me... today, something important will be happening to you."
There was no room for questioning. I simply nodded and followed.
The path was long, eerily silent, lit only by the dim glow of wall-mounted torches. It spiraled downward, a staircase that seemed like it was taking me into the depths of the earth.
The deeper we went, the colder it got.
When we finally reached the bottom, a large door stood in front of us. Tenz didn't knock or announce himself. He simply pushed it open.
Inside the room was a gathering I didn't expect.
There were a lot of ridiculously powerful people. People whose names could shake nations.
Naido sensei was there. Well... I say "there," but he was quite literally sitting sideways on a wall like he had no concept of gravity. He gave me a lazy wave.
"Yo, long time no see."
"I feel the same, sensei," I replied, trying not to smirk.
"Seems like my cheeky student has missed me."
And there it was.
He ruined the moment.
Typical.
I ignored Sensei and turned to face the real gathering.
There stood the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, regal and composed as ever. One hand behind his back, the other puffing gently on his pipe.
Beside him was Shikaku Nara, the village's genius strategist. Sharp eyes, calm presence.
A man of few words, but when he spoke, villages listened.
Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, stood leaning against a pillar, arms crossed. For once, his expression was serious.
But then my eyes settled on someone else.
A woman with long, flowing blonde hair. Fair skin. Eyes that seemed to shimmer with a mixture of strength and sadness.
Lady Tsunade.
I bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Lady Tsunade. I believe this is the first time we've met."
To my surprise, she approached me. She knelt—well, crouched. Sometimes I forget that I was still a child in this world.
A powerful one, yes, but a child all the same.
Her eyes locked with mine, and for a moment, I saw a flood of emotion.
"I'm glad there is one more of our clan still alive," she said softly, wrapping her arms gently around me.
A part of me was stunned. This... This was a side of Tsunade no one really got to see in the anime.
This wasn't the gambling-addicted, sake-loving slug princess. This was someone who'd lost too much, and found a spark of hope.
Over her shoulder, I caught Jiraiya glancing away and sighing. Was that jealousy?
Suck it Perv!
"I know I wasn't supposed to tell anyone..." Jiraiya muttered. "But Tsunade had a right to know."
And that shocked me more than anything else.
Jiraiya—the same man with the most expansive intelligence network in the world. A man who kept secrets even from the Hokage. For him to break that rule... it was serious.
Jiraiya would never have done this in the anime...
But maybe that was just it. Maybe this was the real Jiraiya.
The man who always acted a fool to hide how much he carried. The man who knew how important the Senju clan was to Tsunade. Who saw me as more than a mission or a pawn.
Maybe this wasn't just about informing her.
Maybe they really thought I was going to die.
Because this meeting wasn't just a family reunion.
No. This was something bigger.
I looked around the room, and the gravity of the situation began to sink in.
This wasn't just a formality. I wasn't here to say hi to some family and return to training.
I was about to become a Jinchūriki.
The air grew heavier as silence blanketed the room.
"You understand what this is, don't you?" the Third Hokage asked, voice calm but firm.
I nodded.
Even without the Moonshadow clan, if I reached this point I would have been able to piece 2 and 2 together...
We have the 2 tails.
We have a Senju.
Ugh...wait, that song is so 2016
Anyways, 2 + 2 means new Jinchuriki.
"The Two-Tails."
Hiruzen puffed his pipe and exhaled slowly. "I am sorry Shikomu, but we don't really have a choice."
Tsunade pulled away from me gently, her hand lingering on my shoulder. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to..."
Bro...don't worry. I definitely want to.
Senju lineage.
Uzumaki bloodline.
Massive chakra reserves.
All the boxes were checked.
I was the perfect candidate.
Yet...I had to play the part. So I took a deep breath.
"What are the risks?"
Shikaku finally spoke. "You die."
The bluntness was appreciated, oddly enough.
"But if I survive..."
"You become a pillar for this village," The Hokage answered. "A legacy. And a target."
I nodded again. This wasn't something I could just do without consequence.
Jiraiya stepped forward. "We'll begin preparations this entire morning. The sealing ritual will take place at dusk. You have until then."
"To prepare?"
He shook his head. "To decide."
And that was it.
I was dismissed.
Naido walked beside me as I exited the chamber. He was quiet, oddly so.
"Do you think I'm ready for this?" I asked.
He didn't answer right away.
Then he stopped, looked at me with those tired, wise eyes.
"Does it matter?"
I blinked.
He continued, "This world doesn't wait for you to be ready, Shikomu. It throws you into the fire and sees if you burn or become something more."
I chuckled. "That's your way of saying I should do it."
He gave me a lopsided smile. "I'm saying I believe in you."
And for all his teasing, that meant a lot.
So now, I had the morning to think.
This world needed power.
And I was going to become one of its strongest pillars.
Not because I was forced to.
But because I chose to.
Tonight, I will become the Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails.
And then after that...I had to seriously consider if I still needed to stay inside of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
...
Authors note:
You can read some chapters ahead if you want to on my p#treon.com/Fat_Cultivator