Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

After three days of repeated encirclement and interception, the Third Raikage finally gave up his plan to lead his men in a retreat. If this continued, their effective strength would be gradually worn down by Iwagakure. And so, he made the most difficult and courageous choice.

On this day, Kinoshita Genichi watched as the Third Raikage led a group of Cloud-nin to cover the rear, allowing another portion of their forces to break through the encirclement and escape.

A and Killer Bee have retreated first… Genichi observed the core of the battlefield from the periphery.

Over the next few days, the Cloud-nin continued to withdraw in batches. The commander, Third Tsuchikage Onoki, paid no mind to the retreating ninja, his eyes fixed only on the Third Raikage. He had already sensed the Raikage's intentions.

As expected, on this day, after the last batch of Cloud-nin had withdrawn, only the Third Raikage remained on the battlefield.

Looking at the distant figure of the Raikage, Genichi couldn't help but think of the saying: "One man stands guard at the pass, and ten thousand are unable to get through." Although the Third Raikage couldn't quite achieve that, he possessed that kind of spirit.

The Third Raikage is going to die… This wasn't a judgment based on the original timeline, but on the fact that the Third Raikage had chosen the same path as Tobirama Senju.

Countless people had wondered how Tobirama, with the Flying Thunder God Technique, could have died. Why didn't he just use it to take his subordinates and leave? Firstly, Tobirama's chakra reserves were surely not small, but they were definitely far from Hashirama's level. Secondly, he was already old at the time. Genichi estimated that Tobirama could, at most, teleport two people at a time. The rest would have been surrounded and killed by the Cloud-nin.

Likewise, Tobirama himself could have escaped; the Gold and Silver Brothers' elite unit certainly couldn't have stopped him. But young men like Hiruzen Sarutobi would have been killed. These were the most outstanding individuals of their generation in Konoha. If they had died, Konoha would have suffered a big loss in its most talented ranks.

So, Tobirama chose to hold off the enemy himself, allowing his subordinates to retreat, and then fought to the point of exhaustion and death. Just like the Third Raikage now.

With his strength, no one could stop him if he wanted to leave. Not even Onoki. But if he left, Onoki would lead his men to surround and kill the other Cloud-nin. In the past few days, this constant attrition had caused the Cloud to suffer huge losses. So, the Third Raikage chose to cover the rear alone.

If he stayed behind, his men could escape, and he himself might be able to fight his way out later. If others stayed, too few would be useless, and too many would mean the entire army would be wiped out with heavy casualties.

"Kill!"

With an order, countless Iwa-nin roared and charged toward the Third Raikage from all four sides. Genichi was among them, charging with the others.

CRACKLE!

With a sound of electricity crackling through the air, the Third Raikage suddenly moved, charging at the enemy in front of him. Genichi then saw Iwa-nin flying through the air, a chorus of screams filling the battlefield.

RUMBLE!

The ground sank, but in the next moment, the Third Raikage burst out of the pit, easily broke through two earth walls, ignored the numerous rock projectile attacks, and charged back into the crowd. The Iwa-nin were sent flying in chaos. The beauty of raw violence was on full display.

Watching this, Genichi felt it was no less impressive than the reanimated Madara facing an army alone.

In the air, Onoki watched the rampaging Raikage below, his face grim. He descended from the sky, pressed his hands to the ground, and a giant golem of rock rose from the earth, its massive palm slapping down at the Third Raikage. Unfortunately, such an attack was too slow. The Raikage easily dodged it, then used his hand-blade to sever the golem's legs.

RUMBLE!

The rock giant collapsed, and the Third Raikage charged toward Onoki. Onoki quickly flew into the air, clapped his hands together, and a Dust Release cube appeared. But before he could attack, the Raikage had already charged into the crowd of his own men.

"Damn it!" Onoki could only give up the attack. He couldn't just kill his own men too, could he? So he could only rely on his vast numbers to repeatedly wear down the Third Raikage.

Under the night sky, Genichi ate a military rations pill and drank some water, watching the still-fighting Raikage in the distance. This was already the second night of the siege.

"My current chakra is about half of the Third Raikage's." This was a fairly accurate assessment. The Third Raikage had been able to fight the Eight-Tails to a standstill where both ran out of stamina, so their chakra levels couldn't be too different. The reason it wasn't a perfect one-to-one comparison was that, compared to a Tailed Beast, a person like the Third Raikage would have much finer control over their chakra output.

Using the Eight-Tails' horn as a reference, Genichi's own chakra was now about one-fourth of the Eight-Tails', which was half of the Third Raikage's. The Raikage should be in his fifties now. Genichi calculated his own progress; even if each "future overdraft" was ten years, seventy years had passed. His foundation was really poor.

But my stamina limit is now increasing at an astonishing rate. The next time I use my ability, I'll definitely surpass the Third Raikage, and maybe even match the Eight-Tails. If I master a few more Kekkei Genkai and use my ability a few more times, surpassing the complete Nine-Tails won't be a dream. The key is potential. The deeper the accumulated potential, the better…

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Genichi could feel that the force of the Third Raikage's charges was beginning to drop off a cliff.

What a man, Genichi thought with emotion, following the Iwa-nin into the fray but staying on the sidelines.

"Raikage, surrender!" Onoki called out from the sky.

The Third Raikage just glanced at him, then lowered his head and continued to fight. As the Kage of a village, how could he surrender? Charge! Charge! Charge! He faced death with courage, charging forward even in his final moments.

Finally, his stamina ran out. His tall body collapsed with a thud. The surrounding Iwa-nin cheered and swarmed forward, raising a cloud of dust.

Genichi mingled in the crowd, no longer staying on the sidelines. Under the watchful eyes of his "comrades," he surpassed one Iwa-nin after another, pushing to the very front.

As he was about to reach the Third Raikage, he covertly formed a hand seal and exhaled. A gust of wind kicked up the dust, obscuring everyone's vision.

He flickered to the Third Raikage's side, grabbed the dying man, and used the Flying Thunder God to vanish from the battlefield.

When the dust settled, the numerous Iwa-nin stared at the empty space before them, stunned.

Where was he? Where was the Third Raikage? Was he fighting a shadow clone the whole time? Impossible… right?

Onoki descended from the sky, his face grim. He had originally planned to send the Third Raikage's body back to the Cloud Village, as a sign of respect for such a powerful warrior. But now, someone had snatched it away.

Which bastard? Damn it! Onoki was furious, but also secretly alarmed that someone had been lurking on the battlefield without him noticing at all.

On the border of the Land of Earth, in a certain cave.

Genichi appeared with the Third Raikage. Lying on the ground, the Raikage struggled to open his eyes, but his vision was already blurry, and he couldn't see Genichi's face clearly.

Genichi waited quietly until the Third Raikage had breathed his last. "The end of an era for a great warrior," he sighed. "Don't worry, I will make sure your death is not in vain."

He had great respect for the Third Raikage. Therefore, he decided to cherish this "cadaver for study."

He took out a sealing scroll and sealed the Third Raikage's body, then vanished from the cave. It was time to go home.

September 9, Konoha Year 47.

Genichi used the Flying Thunder God to return to the Hidden Leaf Village.

Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen's expression was complex as he listened to Genichi's report about the Third Raikage covering the retreat. Tobirama Senju had made the same choice back then. However, when he heard that Genichi had snatched the Third Raikage's body, his face twitched, and he almost bit through his pipe. This hobby of collecting corpses…

Hiruzen couldn't comment on it, and he certainly couldn't have Genichi return the body to the Iwa or the Cloud. In the end, he could only say, "Your own safety is what's important."

Genichi, of course, nodded obediently, then brought up the matter of the powerful individual he had encountered in the Land of Rain, who he suspected was Madara Uchiha.

"Madara Uchiha?" Hiruzen was shocked. "That's… impossible. He was killed by the First Hokage long ago."

"If it wasn't him," Genichi said, "then perhaps an Uchiha bloodline has been scattered, and someone has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Hiruzen gradually recovered from his shock. "The Mangekyō… the Susanoo? The Mangekyō is extremely difficult to awaken. Back then, only Madara and his younger brother, Izuna, had awakened it… The form you described is not something one can possess just by awakening the Mangekyō."

"This matter…" Hiruzen took a deep breath. "For now, do not tell anyone else about this. We will investigate after the war is over."

Genichi, of course, had no objections. He knew very well whether it was Madara or not.

After a moment, Hiruzen asked again, "Now that Iwagakure has ended its war with Kumogakure, what do you think their next move will be?"

Genichi became serious. "The Third Tsuchikage and the Fourth Kazekage met secretly. We don't know what agreement they reached, but it is definitely not as simple as just joining forces to attack the Land of Rain. I think the war in the Land of Rain was just a diversion."

"Go on," Hiruzen said, taking the pipe from his mouth.

"Sunagakure still hasn't attacked us from the Land of Rivers," Genichi continued. "This is very unusual. And Iwagakure, I believe, will launch a surprise attack on us from the Land of Grass, which is the closest route. They have just won a victory against the Cloud; their morale is high. And then there's the Cloud. The Third Raikage is dead. Will they end the war just like that? I don't think so. In fact, they will become even more aggressive. In other words, we will soon be facing a full-scale attack from all four ninja villages."

Hiruzen's expression was grave. He and the elders had previously analyzed that Iwagakure would need time to rest after the war with the Cloud. But now… the Third Raikage was dead, although his body had disappeared at the end. But such a great victory meant that Iwa's morale was incredibly high. It was very likely they would ride this momentum and immediately redeploy their troops to attack Konoha.

"I understand," Hiruzen said gravely. "Go back and rest for now, Genichi. But be prepared to head to Sunagakure."

Genichi understood and nodded. "Yes, sir."

Back home, Genichi found Pakura working like a waitress in his family's dango shop. He glanced around and saw that there were quite a few customers, especially men.

A bunch of perverts. They're definitely here to see her beautiful back.

"Genichi!" Pakura spotted him, pleasantly surprised.

Yaji and Minako heard her and also came out from the kitchen, surrounding their son.

"Don't worry, they were all very safe missions. They just took a little long," Genichi reassured his parents.

Pakura watched with envy. Her own parents had died in the war long ago. Her home… she no longer had one. A wave of sadness washed over her.

After chatting with his parents for a while, Genichi went upstairs to wash up. When he came out, a table full of delicious food was already prepared, and Pakura was just coming out of the kitchen with a pot of soup.

Genichi was surprised.

"I just helped out a little. Aunt Minako did all the cooking," Pakura smiled.

Genichi smiled and nodded, then sat down to eat. But he quickly realized that a few of the dishes were definitely not his mother's cooking. He couldn't help but look up at Pakura.

"Is it not good?" she asked carefully.

"It's very good," he smiled.

Pakura sighed in relief, then hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.

"Don't be in a hurry," Genichi said as he ate. "A hunt requires patience, to find the best opportunity."

Hearing this, Pakura's restless heart gradually calmed, and she nodded. "I understand."

"Have you been slacking off on your training during this time?" Genichi asked casually.

"Of course not," she nodded. "I'm not ready for retirement yet."

The two of them chatted like this, and before they knew it, Genichi had eaten everything on the table. A high metabolism meant a big appetite.

They cleaned up together, looking a bit like a married couple.

Coming out of the kitchen, Genichi asked, "Can you tell me how you developed your Scorch Release?"

"I didn't develop it intentionally," she shook her head. "It was an accidental fusion while I was developing a combination ninjutsu."

A combination ninjutsu? Genichi was taken aback for a moment, then a flash of inspiration hit him. Developing a Kekkei Genkai didn't have to start with directly fusing two nature transformations. Perhaps one could start from a ninjutsu. Or rather, use a ninjutsu as a guide. Sometimes, a new nature transformation was far less concrete than a ninjutsu.

Pakura's Scorch Release had been an accidental fusion while developing a combination jutsu. In fact, his own sensory Kekkei Genkai, Heaven's Eye, was also an accidental mastery from the fusion of two jutsu, although he had originally intended to train in a sensory Kekkei Genkai.

"Are you trying to develop Scorch Release?" she asked.

"No," Genichi said, coming back to his senses. "I haven't mastered the Fire Release nature transformation yet. After you mastered Scorch Release, did your stamina increase?"

"There was indeed a period of time when my stamina grew rapidly," Pakura recalled. "I didn't pay much attention at the time; I thought it was just because my body was developing."

"A Kekkei Genkai is a new nature transformation formed from the fusion of two others," Genichi said. "It will deeply change your own genes and also increase your potential."

"Is that so?" Pakura was thoughtful. She had never thought about it like that before.

Genichi created numerous clones to go off and train, then invited her, "Care to train together?"

"Sure," she nodded.

He took her to his usual training ground. Having been on a mission for so long, Genichi, who hadn't done any basic training in a while, began to torture himself. Pakura, on the other hand, mainly focused on the in-depth development of her Scorch Release. Seeing the sweat-drenched Genichi, who seemed to know no fatigue, she couldn't help but think to herself, To have such achievements at his age is not just due to talent, but also hard work. He had just returned from a mission, after all.

As the sun gradually set, painting half the sky in red clouds, Genichi finished his physical training. After recovering some of his stamina, he invited the resting Pakura, "How about a spar?"

"Alright!" she immediately responded. She had only heard of his reputation but had not yet witnessed his specific strength.

She opened her hands, and a ball of fire, white-hot on the inside and orange-red on the outside, appeared floating in each palm. Scorch Release fireballs.

"My Scorch Release is a fusion of Wind and Fire nature transformations," she said. "It has the characteristic of evaporation. You'd better be careful."

"And as it happens, I'm skilled in Water Release," Genichi said.

"Then let's see!" Pakura shouted, and the two fireballs shot toward him.

Genichi leaped, easily dodging them. She then created two more, and the four fireballs attacked him, squeezing his evasion space. Dodging in a limited space was difficult even with the Sharingan.

So Genichi clapped his hands together, and a current of water gathered around his body. The fireballs crashed into it, and a large amount of steam hissed into the air. He then spread his arms, and the water around him poured out, completely extinguishing the fireballs and sweeping toward Pakura.

She dodged the wave, but just as her feet touched the water's surface, streams of water shot up and coiled around her. She quickly leaped away, creating more fireballs. Genichi controlled the water, forcing her to dodge left and right.

Damn it, to be suppressed like this. Pakura gritted her teeth and shouted, "Look out!"

Four fireballs danced and swirled above her head, then merged and expanded.

BOOM!

A violent explosion sent up a rolling cloud of steam. When it cleared, the body of water Genichi had created was gone, and the ground was completely dry. This was the Oversteam Kill, which could evaporate the moisture from anything, which was why it was also called Scorch Release.

However, Genichi was still standing in the same spot, unharmed, his body covered in a layer of light-reflecting ice crystals.

"This is…" Pakura's pupils constricted. "Ice Release! You have the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai! Could it be…" A thought suddenly occurred to her. "You were the one who assassinated the Third Mizukage!"

Genichi smiled without speaking, a tacit admission.

Pakura was shocked, but at the same time, a sense of joy welled up inside her. What she didn't know was that today's spar was something Genichi had intentionally arranged, precisely to show her his Ice Release, to make her think of the assassination, and to give her confidence. His subtle influence was everywhere.

While Genichi was quietly training, just three days after the end of the war with the Cloud, Iwagakure sent another thousand troops to the Land of Rain. The pressure on the front line increased dramatically. Danzō's requests for reinforcements came three times a day. Hiruzen immediately sent five hundred more troops.

September 18, Konoha Year 47.

A few days after Iwa had reinforced its troops in the Land of Rain, the Sand army invaded the Land of Rivers. Konoha hadn't deployed many forces there, only for scouting and early warning. The Sand army moved extremely quickly. The news had just reached the border of the Land of Fire when they arrived. And in just two days, before Konoha could send further reinforcements, its defensive line on the border was broken.

The two Hokage aides, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, urgently led reinforcements to the front line, which was how they managed to stabilize the situation. But less than half a month later, another request for reinforcements appeared on Hiruzen's desk. The Sand's Chiyo was too skilled with poison. As a fellow medical-nin, Koharu couldn't hold out. Although she hadn't let Chiyo poison many Konoha ninja, too many had lost their ability to fight due to poisoning.

October 10.

Genichi was at the village gate, seeing off Tsunade and the others. This time, the reinforcements for the Sand front included not only Tsunade but also Uzumaki Ina, and Shizune, who had been recalled from the Mist front.

"You should be going with us, you jerk," Tsunade said, looking at him with displeasure.

"You should take that up with the Third Hokage, Lady Tsunade," Genichi said helplessly.

Ina and Shizune covered their mouths to stifle their giggles.

After a few words, the team departed. Genichi watched them disappear at the gate. Of course, he would also be going to the battlefield, but not now. Hiruzen was saving him, this sharp blade, for a critical moment, to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.

He retracted his gaze, turned, and went home to continue his training.

(End of Chapter)

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