Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

Koharu Utatane frowned. "Danzō, eliminating the Third Mizukage could indeed cause the Mist Village to temporarily halt their offensive, and might even lead to a full withdrawal. But such a mission will not be easy to complete. Who is capable of undertaking it?"

Homura Mitokado followed up. "It seems only Sakumo is qualified for such a mission, right? But even for him, the probability of failure is likely very high."

"Sakumo Hatake is not the best choice," Danzō said coolly. "I believe his student, Kinoshita Genichi, is more suitable."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly at this.

"Kinoshita Genichi," Koharu said, "the exceptionally brilliant prodigy. His strength already seems to have surpassed his teacher's. But isn't he too young? His lack of experience might make him unsuitable for such a critical and important mission."

Danzō looked at Hiruzen. "Hiruzen, what do you think? You should know him best."

"I agree with Koharu's opinion," Hiruzen said.

The likelihood of this mission failing was too high. The Third Mizukage himself was extremely powerful, not to mention he had guards and was unlikely to leave the village. Once a battle broke out, the assassin would have to face the vast number of Mist ninja, not just the Mizukage and his bodyguards. Unless they could find an opportunity when the Mizukage was traveling. But in the current state of war, that was highly unlikely.

Therefore, Hiruzen did not want Genichi to take this risk. He had extremely high hopes for Genichi's future. If Tsunade were to become the Fourth Hokage, Genichi would be her perfect aide.

Seeing through Hiruzen's thoughts, Danzō said, "The reason I feel Genichi is a very suitable candidate is because he has outstanding infiltration and penetration abilities. He is also proficient in genjutsu and has the Sharingan. Most importantly, he has mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. With this jutsu, even if the assassination fails, he can retreat with ease. And if it succeeds… especially with his mastery of Ice Release, with a little manipulation, he could plunge Kirigakure into short-term chaos, greatly reducing the pressure on us."

Hiruzen fell silent. He… had been persuaded by Danzō.

Tap, tap, tap~

Under the night sky, Danzō walked home slowly with a faint smile on his face. Behind him was the Root ninja, Aburame Ryūma.

"Lord Danzō," Ryūma asked, "since this mission to assassinate the Third Mizukage will have no real negative impact on Kinoshita Genichi, and the probability of failure is high, why did you push for it?" He had been thinking about this question for a while but couldn't figure it out.

"It's not important whether Genichi can complete the mission," Danzō said flatly. "Success or failure, it will affect Kirigakure and slow their movements. For us, starting the war in the Land of Rain is the most critical thing. War is the best fertilizer for Root's growth. And we cannot lose this war. Therefore, we need to commit more of our strength to it."

Realization dawned on Ryūma. "Lord Danzō, my view was too narrow."

"Remember," Danzō said coolly, "Root is the foundation that protects Konoha. We represent the interests of the village. We are the guardians in the dark. The means are sometimes unimportant. And only when Root is strong can we better protect the village's interests."

"Yes, Lord Danzō!" Ryūma nodded quickly.

Although Danzō appeared calm and composed, his heart was burning with a crazed fervor. Only when the war in the Land of Rain breaks out will my importance become apparent. Only then can I earn merit and take back what is mine!

And that little brat, Genichi. The Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't invincible. Otherwise, his teacher, Tobirama Senju, would not have died on the battlefield.

Should I leak the intel to Kirigakure? The thought flashed through Danzō's mind, but he immediately rejected the foolish idea. It would be too easy to expose myself. And what if Genichi doesn't die…

Thinking of the beating he had taken last time, Danzō instinctively shivered. That bastard brat had absolutely no respect for him. A person like that would be a danger to Konoha in the future. Danzō felt hatred and apprehension toward Genichi, but deep down, there was also a sliver of desire. Why isn't a talent like that in Root? If I had such a talent at my disposal, would I be as weak as Hiruzen? Damn it!

"The Hokage…"

Hiruzen, you are no longer suitable for that position.

The wildfire of ambition burned fiercely in Danzō's heart. The Rinnegan of that Akatsuki organization in the Land of Rain, one of the three great dōjutsu… it should be able to match the Sharingan!

In his bedroom, Genichi sat at his desk, frowning as he studied the information on the Hydrification Technique. He hadn't sent the captured Hōzuki Mugetsu to Orochimaru, but he had sent Hōzuki Shingetsu there for research. This data was a compilation: part of it was what the Intelligence Division had extracted from Mugetsu's mind, part was from Shingetsu's, and the rest was the result of his own and Orochimaru's research on the two Hōzuki clansmen.

There was a lot of information, but even put together, it was incomplete. This showed just how difficult it was to completely analyze a person's abilities, especially a secret technique like Hydrification, or a Kekkei Genkai. Still, he had pieced together about 70-80% of it, allowing him to get a glimpse of the technique's true secret.

Of course, this didn't mean he could learn it just from this. Otherwise, the Hōzuki clan wouldn't have been the only ones to master it after existing for so long.

"Although it's not a Kekkei Genkai, over the generations, the secrets of the Hydrification Technique have been etched into the Hōzuki clan's genes. It could be said that they have formed a non-Kekkei Genkai constitution, similar to the Uzumaki clan. Unfortunately, analyzing genes is too difficult. A lot of information is lost. Unless you have enough samples to slowly piece together a complete picture."

Genichi couldn't help but shake his head. Wiping out the entire Hōzuki clan probably wouldn't be enough. After all, they were not as numerous as the Uchiha or Hyūga clans.

"The key to the Hydrification Technique is the conversion between matter, energy, and matter again… this is not a simple trick like the Transformation Technique. Chakra converting to water, that can be done by anyone who has mastered Water Release. The body converting to chakra, and then chakra converting to water… No, chakra should be the bridge, the channel, or the catalyst for the transformation between the two forms of matter."

Genichi mused that of all the missing data, this was the most critical part. "It's related to the fact that chakra itself carries all the body's information, which is why they can freely transform between water and flesh…"

"Hmm… water clones and shadow clones are both solid clones. Before they are destroyed by an attack, they are just like a real body. Even the Byakugan has difficulty telling them apart. But clones are unstable…"

Genichi pinched the bridge of his nose, then took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote down the formulas for the Shadow Clone and Water Clone techniques. If the Hydrification Technique was too difficult to crack, then the "Ice Body" technique he wanted was also going to be a challenge. That is, turning his physical body into hard ice.

So, he would first develop an Ice Clone technique. Perhaps he could get some inspiration from that.

In the previous "ten years" from his future sight, he hadn't developed a single Ice Release ninjutsu, focusing all his efforts on lowering the temperature. Currently, his ice could reach -80 degrees Celsius, still very far from absolute zero. However, ice at this level was already harder than steel, even harder than the most solid granite.

With the temperature low enough, Ice Release jutsu became simple. He could even just copy existing ones. This was why he hadn't focused on developing them before. Now that lowering the temperature further was a slow grind, even by 0.1 degrees, he could put jutsu development on the agenda. He would start with the Ice Clone.

Time flew by, and soon it was the end of April. Genichi was notified and went to the Hokage's office.

"Assassinate the Third Mizukage?" Genichi was a bit surprised by the mission.

Hiruzen nodded. "That's right. We have reached an agreement with Hanzō of the Rain Village and will form an alliance to attack the Iwa-nin within the Land of Rain. Therefore, we must reduce the pressure coming from Kirigakure. In addition, the Mist has been in frequent contact with the Sand recently, and it seems their peace talks are progressing steadily. If they succeed, it will not be to our advantage. Therefore, by assassinating the Third Mizukage under the guise of the Yuki clan, regardless of success, we can create turmoil within Kirigakure and slow their movements."

Genichi nodded, understanding their intent. However, he felt that an assassination attempt, successful or not, would actually push Kirigakure to accelerate their peace talks with Sunagakure. But this was a view based on his personal cognition and would be difficult to convince others of.

An assassination is an assassination. It didn't have to succeed anyway. The Third Mizukage… he should be from the same era as Hiruzen, perhaps even older. Thinking about it, Genichi felt a bit excited, a rush of adrenaline.

So, he nodded. "Understood. When do we act?"

"The operation will begin on May 2nd," Hiruzen said. "Regardless of success or failure, your safe return is paramount. The key to this mission is not the successful assassination of the Third Mizukage."

Hiruzen emphasized this last point, afraid that Genichi, in his youthful vigor, would insist on killing the Mizukage.

Genichi quickly replied, "Yes, Lord Hokage. I will definitely return safely."

"Then go and prepare," Hiruzen nodded.

"That guy Danzō really knows how to stir things up. He actually convinced Hanzō…" After leaving the Hokage's tower, Genichi only had to think for a moment to deduce that the assassination plan was Danzō's idea. This mission did not fit Hiruzen's style. And the alliance with Hanzō must also be Danzō's doing; he had always been in charge of matters in the Land of Rain.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if Danzō will set some kind of trap for me during this mission?" Genichi pondered this, feeling a bit distrustful of that guy's bottom line.

"Looks like I'll have to make extra preparations and go all out."

Genichi used a Body Flicker to return home.

Soon, May 2nd arrived. Early in the morning, Genichi left Konoha with Uzumaki Ina, heading for the Village Hidden in the Mist.

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