Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

"This sensory Kekkei Genkai has no other flaws, just two: it's very difficult to sense things underground, and it consumes a lot of chakra," Genichi mused to himself. He then retracted his perception and began to ponder the other Kekkei Genkai he had developed.

It was still a combination of Wind and Water Release.

If the sensory Kekkei Genkai was a training goal Genichi had clearly planned for, then this one was a complete and wonderful surprise. Or rather, the goal was achieved, but it was just a tiny bit different from what he had envisioned. Genichi had long wanted to develop a powerful water jutsu, choosing the direction of a liquid bomb. During his last "future overdraft," he had developed a water jutsu that smelled of sulfuric acid. Now, the explosive water had been developed, but not through pure Water Release; it was a fusion with Wind Release.

"Explosion Release?" Genichi found it strange.

The same fusion of nature transformations had now given birth to three different Kekkei Genkai. No, it should be four.

Wind + Water = Ice Release.

Wind + Water = The sensory Kekkei Genkai, Heaven's Eye.

Wind + Water = Explosion Release.

Wind + Water = Dark Release.

He hadn't mastered Dark Release, but by studying the corpse of Chūkichi from the Mist, he had already analyzed that it was formed from a fusion of Wind and Water nature transformations.

The same fusion of nature transformations, yet it formed multiple different Kekkei Genkai. Did that make sense? It made perfect sense. For example, Earth + Water could form Wood Release, wielded by Hashirama Senju and Yamato. Earth + Water could also form Lava Release, wielded by Mei Terumi. There was also the Cloud-nin Dodai, who used Lava Release to create rubber. Genichi wasn't yet sure if this type of Lava Release was also formed from Earth and Water. He'd have a chance to borrow some of his blood and bone marrow for research in the future. If that didn't work, a corpse would do.

Then there was Magnet Release. Genichi had previously thought it was a fusion of Wind and Earth Release. But by studying the Cloud-nin Troi, he discovered that his Magnet Release was formed from a fusion of Wind and Lightning Release. Its characteristic was magnetizing chakra and imparting that magnetism to other objects. At the same time, the magnetism could be conducted through physical contact.

Although Genichi hadn't been able to obtain the Third Kazekage's blood cells for research, he had observed Rasa controlling Gold Dust in battle, and it was clearly very different from Troi's Magnet Release. The Third Kazekage's and Rasa's Magnet Release seemed to manifest as control over specific non-ferrous metals, not bestowing magnetism on other objects.

"Whether it's ninjutsu or Kekkei Genkai, improvement is related to a person's cognition, with a touch of the power of one's own imagination…" Genichi's thoughts were starting to wander quite a bit.

"Yin Release represents the power of the spirit, and the 'art of Yin Release' can create form from nothingness. Yang Release represents the power of the body, and the 'art of Yang Release' can imbue that form with life." To put it simply, Yin Release was creation ex nihilo, and Yang Release was granting life.

These were very broad concepts. In theory, combining the two could create anything and everything. And since the energy known as chakra was formed from these two forces, it in itself represented infinite possibilities.

"What limited me before was physical energy; my chakra was insufficient. Even if I mastered a jutsu, I couldn't unleash much of its power. But now my body is constantly growing. Not to mention supplementary power sources like the Yin Seal and the Eight-Tails' horn, just my own chakra reserves have now reached about twelve 'horns' worth of power. For now, that's more than enough. What limits my combat power is no longer the amount of chakra, but my cognition, the power of my imagination."

Genichi couldn't help but think of Orochimaru again. Orochimaru frantically researched all kinds of secret techniques, forbidden jutsu, and Kekkei Genkai, but he wouldn't rashly transplant someone else's Kekkei Genkai. Instead, he extracted knowledge from them. Wasn't that just broadening his own cognition?

"The more I think about it, the more I admire Auntie Snake…" Genichi sighed to himself.

"Genichi, someone's approaching. Their chakra is a bit familiar. It's Minato-san and his team." Uzumaki Ina's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Minato-san?" Genichi opened his eyes, then stood up and walked out of the cave, with Ina by his side. "It really is them."

Genichi smiled and blew a whistle.

Down below, Minato Namikaze's team of four, who were on the move, heard the whistle and immediately stopped. Kakashi subconsciously drew his sword. Obito Uchiha reacted a step slower, then quickly pulled out a kunai and jumped in front of Rin Nohara.

Minato, however, crouched down and placed his fingers on the ground, his perception rapidly spreading out. A smile soon appeared on his face. "Kakashi, you guys don't need to be nervous. It's not an enemy. It's Genichi's team."

Obito immediately let out a long breath, put away his kunai, and pushed up his goggles. "Geez, Genichi, why didn't you just appear directly? You scared me."

Kakashi glanced at him. "Approaching rashly would be even more dangerous, you idiot."

Obito's fists immediately clenched again, but Minato interjected, "Alright, let's go see them." With that, he leaped up the mountain. Kakashi and the other two quickly followed.

Soon, they arrived at the cave.

"Minato-san!"

"Kakashi, Obito, Rin, long time no see!" Genichi greeted them with a smile, and Ina did the same.

"Everyone's been too busy lately," Minato smiled. "What are you two doing here?"

"We just got back from the Land of Wind," Genichi said. "We're resting here and will head back to the village tomorrow."

"In that case, we'll rest here too," Minato smiled. He had originally planned to stop only after entering the Land of Fire.

And so, the six of them entered the cave and lit a campfire. They ate and chatted around the fire.

"Genichi, what's the situation in Sunagakure?" Minato asked.

"Not good," Genichi replied. "Although they've held off the attacks from Kirigakure and Iwagakure, the Wind Daimyō is very dissatisfied with the current situation, especially since the Mist's attack has caused a lot of damage to the wealthy regions in the south."

"Shouldn't the Daimyō be blaming the Mist?" Obito asked, confused. "After all, they were the ones who invaded the Land of Wind."

Genichi smiled. "Obito, the problem isn't that simple. For the Wind Daimyō, Sunagakure isn't important. His interests are what's important."

Obito looked completely baffled. What the heck? Isn't Sunagakure part of the Land of Wind? Rin didn't understand either. Kakashi looked thoughtful.

Minato, however, understood instantly. He explained to his students, "To be precise, Sunagakure isn't an absolute subordinate of the Wind Daimyō. Their relationship is a partnership where their interests are relatively aligned. If Sunagakure can't protect the Land of Wind's interests, then the Daimyō could hire other forces to protect his interests. It doesn't have to be Suna."

Obito scratched his head, feeling a bit dizzy.

Genichi smiled. "Obito, if you want to understand these things, you first have to understand the true nature of the wars in our world."

Obito paused, then said, "The nature? Isn't the nature that they were invaded? Suna is fighting Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo because they were invaded, right? And we're at war with Kiri because they invaded us too."

"Then why," Genichi asked, "do you think Kumogakure invaded the Land of Wind to attack Sunagakure? After all, the Land of Lightning is very far from the Land of Wind, with many countries in between."

Obito thought long and hard. Minato waited with a smile. Kakashi and Rin were also thinking.

After a while, Obito said uncertainly, "Because of hatred?"

"Obito," Minato said seriously, "as a leader who is responsible for the lives of countless people, you don't start a war over a little hatred."

"Genichi already said it, didn't he?" Kakashi said. "Because of interests."

"Kakashi is right," Genichi said. "Obito, even if the Third Raikage's parents, his grandparents, and all his ancestors were killed by Sunagakure, he wouldn't start a long-distance war for revenge. The Third Raikage is not an individual; he represents the will of a collective. Even if he wanted revenge, Kumogakure as a whole wouldn't launch a war for that reason."

"Although they often use revenge as a banner, what's hidden in the shadows is always interests."

Minato nodded in deep agreement.

Obito scratched his head. "This is so complicated."

"It's not complicated if you understand where a ninja village's interests lie," Genichi smiled. "A village's income comes from two sources: economic funding from the Daimyō's government, which you can think of as the fee the Daimyō pays to hire us to protect the Land of Fire."

Obito's eyes widened. "Wha-what…" Rin was also shocked. This was different from the "protect the village, protect the Land of Fire" education they had received at the academy. The way Genichi put it, protecting the Land of Fire was… stripped of all sense of mission and sacredness, reduced to a mere transaction. It overturned their entire worldview.

Minato gave a wry smile but didn't object. It was blunt and didn't sound good, but it was the truth. Genichi just spread his hands in response to Minato's smile. The truth of the world was often cruel. None of the five great ninja villages were armed forces that were absolutely controlled by the Daimyō and the five great nations.

Take Konoha, for example. The selection of the Hokage seemed to require the Daimyō's approval and appointment. But in reality, that was just a formality performed for the sake of the money. First Hokage Hashirama was the founder. Second Hokage Tobirama got the position by asking his brother. Third Hokage Hiruzen was directly appointed by Tobirama during the First Great Ninja War.

In the original timeline, the Fourth Hokage Minato's ascension was also quite complex. First, during the Third Great Ninja War, after gaining an advantage against Iwagakure, Hiruzen chose to make peace. This meant they would get no benefits from the war. Danzō used this as a pretext to force Hiruzen to take responsibility. And this wasn't just Danzō's will; at that time, he represented the interests of a large portion of the village's ninja. So Hiruzen chose to step down.

At that time, Danzō was very confident in promoting his subordinate and partner, Orochimaru. Jiraiya was a wanderer, and Tsunade had already left the village. These were Orochimaru's biggest competitors. And Danzō had originally thought that Hiruzen's chosen candidate was also Orochimaru. At the Daimyō's meeting, the Daimyō had expressed regret about the Third's resignation but was silenced by a glare from Danzō. Danzō then proposed Orochimaru. The Daimyō asked for Hiruzen's opinion. Hiruzen praised Orochimaru as a brilliant ninja of a turbulent era, and Danzō's smile was already unconcealed.

But then, Hiruzen's tone shifted. He said Orochimaru harbored ambition and malice, and thus rejected him. Danzō was stunned. Genichi remembered this famous scene very clearly. Hiruzen then proposed Minato. Koharu and Homura immediately backed him up, introducing Minato's background and strength. One said he was Jiraiya's student, the Third's grand-student. The other said he was the elite known as the Yellow Flash. It was clear that not just Hiruzen, but also the other two elders, didn't want Orochimaru to be the Fourth. The Daimyō's government also disliked the assertive Danzō, so they went along with Hiruzen's proposal. And thus, a 23 or 24-year-old Fourth Hokage was born. The Daimyō didn't even have the right to propose a candidate, showing he had no real power in the appointment.

When Obito and the others had somewhat recovered from their shock, Genichi continued, "For a ninja village, income comes from the Daimyō's funding and from mission fees from various clients. Whether it's Kiri, Iwa, or Kumo, their goal in attacking Suna is for these two things. And for the Wind Daimyō, if Suna can't meet his needs, it's not impossible for him to hire Kumo, Iwa, or Kiri to protect his interests, although it's not the best option."

"You can even think of it as a protection fee the Wind Daimyō pays to other villages. Of course, he won't abandon Sunagakure, because to him, Suna are his own people. The other villages will always prioritize their own country's interests first, and the Land of Wind's second."

Ninja villages never fought for territory. Or rather, they fought for mission territory, economic territory.

Genichi finally smiled. "So, Obito, for us ninja, the village's interests come first, and the country's interests come second. Because sometimes, the country's interests do not represent the village's interests." This was why propaganda about protecting the Land of Fire always came after protecting the village. Even the Will of Fire had no place for the Land of Fire.

Of course, what Genichi didn't say was: For a ninja, personal interests come first, and the village's interests come second. Because sometimes, the village's interests do not represent personal interests. When someone tells you to think about the bigger picture, it's time for you to sacrifice your personal interests.

Obito was already numb. "Isn't that… going too far?"

"Don't think too much about it, Obito," Minato comforted him. "Just remember what Genichi said."

Just then, Ina asked naively, "In that case, if the Land of Wind hired all five great ninja villages at the same time, would they not be invaded by other villages?"

"That would be even more disadvantageous for the Land of Wind," Kakashi replied, "because no single village would prioritize their interests. For the Land of Wind, Sunagakure is the best choice. Although Genichi said the country's interests don't always represent the village's interests, at least most of the time, the Land of Wind and Sunagakure's interests are aligned."

Genichi and Minato both nodded in agreement.

Minato then changed the subject. "Genichi, has Sunagakure's Fourth Kazekage been decided yet?"

(End of Chapter)

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