Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

Under the night sky, Kinoshita Genichi sat cross-legged on the back of the tiger-headed eagle, Toratou. Beside him, Uzumaki Ina rested her chin on her hand, gazing at "Lord Genichi" under the moonlight.

So handsome! So amazing, he could even kill the Third Mizukage.

Ina felt as if the person before her was a god descended from the heavens, a deity who had saved her. For a moment, she was lost in a daze.

Genichi could feel her gaze, but he was used to it. He paid it no mind and silently reviewed the mission.

"The infiltration was perfect. Getting close to the Third Mizukage and striking first, and succeeding, was the most critical step. The genjutsu was executed perfectly, successfully hard-controlling him. However, the Third Mizukage was indeed formidable, breaking the genjutsu in such a short time. It seems my current Sharingan's genjutsu ability is still far inferior to Madara Uchiha's during the Fourth Great Ninja War."

"But that's to be expected. His was a powerful Mangekyō, an Eternal Mangekyō at that, combining the immense dōjutsu power of two pairs of eyes."

Genichi considered today's assassination to be quite perfect. He had both killed the Third Mizukage and achieved his strategic objective, successfully sowing chaos within Kirigakure. If the Mizukage hadn't died, the turmoil wouldn't have been significant. But with him dead, the turmoil would be considerable, and with a new Mizukage needing to take his place, Kirigakure's war effort would inevitably slow down, or even grind to a halt.

This was why Genichi hadn't killed him outright, but had frozen him first, and then used Explosion Release twice. The frozen Mizukage might not have been killed by the first explosion. The Ice Release had restricted his movements, but it had also protected him. So Genichi had followed up with another work of explosive art, setting off an even bigger firework. He had blown the Mizukage to bits, while leaving behind just enough traces of Ice Release.

Perfect.

If there was one regret, it was that he hadn't been able to see the Third Mizukage's true strength.

By the time Toratou entered the Land of Fire, the sky was already light. They descended to the ground, and after dismissing the summon, Genichi and Ina strolled slowly back to Konoha.

Meanwhile, news traveled even faster. By eleven in the morning, the intelligence had reached the hands of Yagura Karatachi, who had once again become the commander.

"Has it really come to this?" Yagura's expression was grave. The Mizukage had been assassinated, and by the Yuki clan, no less. It was… unimaginable.

Yagura was, of course, aware of the internal conflicts within the village, but he had never expected them to erupt at this time. And the Third… Yagura couldn't imagine how someone with the Third's abilities could have been successfully assassinated.

"I understand. I will arrange matters here immediately and then return to the village." With that, Yagura began to issue orders. He first summoned Ao and gave the order to retreat, changing their strategy from a full-scale offensive to a harassment campaign. The command of the front line would be temporarily handed over to the young jonin, Ao.

After arranging everything, Yagura immediately took a boat and rushed back to Kirigakure. He knew he was returning to clean up a mess and to become the Fourth Mizukage. At this time, there was no one in the village more suitable for the position. If only Hōzuki Shingetsu hadn't died…

As the Mist army withdrew, Jiraiya, as the commander, immediately understood that the purpose of the assassination had been achieved. He just didn't know if the Mizukage himself was actually dead.

"That's probably impossible, right? I admit that Genichi kid is incredibly strong, but that's the Mizukage we're talking about, in his own village, with heavy protection."

Jiraiya muttered to himself as he wrote his report. He then had it taken and sent back to Konoha by a flying ninja beast.

Two hours later, in the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi received the report from Jiraiya. Genichi was still on his way back to the village. The Mist had retreated. This meant the assassination plan was a success. But Genichi had not yet returned. Hiruzen frowned, slightly worried.

However, after carefully considering Kirigakure's reaction, he relaxed. Genichi should be fine and had likely not been exposed. Now, he could push forward with the plan in the Land of Rain. Hiruzen immediately began to issue orders, redeploying personnel and sending a message to Danzō in the Land of Rain, telling him to prepare for war.

That evening, Genichi and Ina returned to Konoha.

Hokage's Office.

When Hiruzen learned that the Third Mizukage was dead, his expression was complex, and his heart was filled with a mixture of emotions. He had never thought Genichi could kill the Third Mizukage; the difficulty was too high. Just as they had analyzed in the meeting. That was why he had emphasized that the Mizukage's death was unimportant when he gave the mission.

He had never expected… that Genichi would actually pull it off. This truly surpassed Sakumo Hatake.

"You did… very well!" Hiruzen took the pipe from his mouth and praised him repeatedly.

Genichi replied humbly, then changed the subject. "Lord Hokage, I would like to learn the Impure World Reincarnation Technique."

Hiruzen immediately frowned. "That jutsu was created by the Second Hokage, but it is disrespectful to the deceased, so it was sealed away by the First. And it requires a living human sacrifice to perform."

Genichi nodded. "Lord Hokage, I want to learn this jutsu to research the mysteries of the soul and find a better way to counter genjutsu, not for the sake of the jutsu itself." This was true, not a single word was a lie.

Hiruzen immediately relaxed. He was afraid that this promising seedling would go down the wrong path like Orochimaru. "In that case… I approve."

Hiruzen agreed, then asked, "Your genjutsu ability, Genichi, should already be at the very top of the ninja world, right?"

Genichi nodded in acknowledgement, but said, "It is precisely for that reason that I need to research it more deeply. The Third Mizukage suffered because of genjutsu this time; otherwise, I would not have succeeded so easily. As for stronger genjutsu, Lord Hokage should know that the Uchiha clan has a level above the three-tomoe, the Mangekyō, correct?"

Hiruzen's expression darkened. "The Mangekyō…" He thought of Madara Uchiha.

"You are right," Hiruzen said. "You are still very young; you must not lose your drive to improve. Go and take the scroll."

Genichi bowed his thanks and left. He could feel that Hiruzen was becoming more and more lenient with him. This was the effect of strength. If he had asked to learn the Impure World Reincarnation last time, Hiruzen probably wouldn't have agreed so easily.

After getting the jutsu, Genichi and Ina went home.

"Genichi, can we rest for a longer time this time?" Ina asked on the way.

Genichi, his hands in his pockets, nodded. "We should be able to." From now on, not just any mission could be assigned to him. It wasn't a matter of whether he was willing; even Hiruzen, the Hokage, would not treat him as an ordinary elite jonin. Ordinary missions were not worth dispatching a powerhouse who could assassinate the Kage of one of the five great villages.

Like Sakumo Hatake before him, if it weren't for leading a team, he wouldn't have been sent on ordinary missions. And now, Genichi wasn't being arrogant, but he was in a league of his own. If only the assassination of the Mizukage hadn't been a secret, his prestige would have surpassed the Sannin's and his teacher's in a very short time. Although he was young and had completed far fewer missions than them, the death of one Third Mizukage was enough to cement his status.

So, he felt that Hiruzen would not be sending him on ordinary missions in the future.

Hearing that she could have a long vacation, Ina was delighted. "This way, I'll have time to learn more medical ninjutsu from Lady Tsunade! And the Yin Seal."

"Then you'll have to work hard," Genichi said with a leisurely smile. "Lady Tsunade is currently developing a secret technique. If she masters it, she might be able to stay young forever."

"Really?" Ina gasped. "That's amazing! Is the secret technique based on the Yin Seal?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll definitely learn it!"

Root Headquarters.

Coming out of his lab and seeing the Hokage's orders, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. "War with Iwagakure… the plan to assassinate the Mizukage succeeded. As expected of you, Genichi-kun. Hmm? Pulling some troops from the Kirigakure front…"

Orochimaru's expression changed. "Could it be… how is that possible?" First came disbelief, then he couldn't help but stick out his long tongue and lick his lips. "It seems I still underestimated your abilities, Genichi-kun."

Although it didn't say the Third Mizukage was dead, the official document from the Hokage's office revealed a lot of information.

"Hehe, Danzō… is in big trouble now," Orochimaru laughed softly. Although he was the leader of Root, he couldn't control its forces. And he could see Danzō's ambitions as clear as day. Unfortunately, all schemes and plots were like paper before absolute strength.

In the Land of Rain, within the Village Hidden in the Rain, Root's temporary base.

On the morning of the third day after the Third Mizukage's death, Danzō received two pieces of intelligence in succession. The first was the war order from Konoha. This meant the assassination plan was a success. The second came from the Land of Water.

The Third Mizukage was dead, assassinated by the Yuki clan.

This short line of text made Danzō's heart tremble, his pupils constricting. The Third Mizukage was dead! The assassination had actually been completed.

Noticing Danzō's strange expression, Aburame Ryūma quickly asked, "Lord Danzō, what's wrong? Did the plan fail?"

"No," Danzō said, coming back to his senses and taking a deep breath to calm himself. "It was very successful. The Third Mizukage is dead."

Ryūma was stunned. "The Third Mizukage was assassinated? How…" He was subconsciously in disbelief, then said, "Has his strength already reached that level?"

He knew Genichi was very strong, having watched him defeat Orochimaru in a single move and beat up his superior. But this was the Mizukage of Kirigakure, one of the five great ninja villages, an existence on the same level as the Third Hokage. He was definitely stronger than Lord Danzō. Otherwise, Lord Danzō would be the Third Hokage.

"Lord Danzō, we must treat Kinoshita Genichi with caution," Ryūma suggested gravely. The subtext was: don't provoke such a ruthless person. But as a subordinate, he couldn't be too blunt.

Danzō naturally understood what he meant. "Of course, I know that," he said coolly. "However, he is still too young. It will be a long time before he is in a position of power. His great strength is actually beneficial to our plans, and to the village's security. As long as he doesn't betray the village, we naturally have no need to clash with him again."

After the lesson from last time, Danzō now knew how to use Genichi, just like this time.

What's the use of being strong? In the ninja world, what matters is influence and seniority! And once he became Hokage, Genichi would naturally become his man. Unless he wanted to become a rogue ninja.

Danzō's gaze darkened. He wasn't stupid. Genichi would never work under him. But if he became Hokage, he wouldn't have to care about him anymore. If necessary, he could just eliminate him. No matter how strong one person was, they couldn't fight against an entire village. At least, Genichi couldn't.

And for now, he would use the rules of the ninja and the village to the fullest to wield this sharp sword.

(End of Chapter)

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