Speedrunning Naruto to the Top

Time slipped by, and quietly, Konoha's calendar flipped over into year 62.

Looking back on year 61, so much transpired in just twelve months.

First was the incident in Kumogakure at the end of year 60, which only spread across the entire ninja world in year 61.

Then came the Five Kage Summit, held for the first time in decades.

At first, everyone thought it was the Akatsuki attacking Kumogakure, with the latter mounting retaliation and sparking a war.

Who would have imagined it was actually the work of someone from the moon?

Ōtsutsuki Toneri, who possessed the Sage Eye known as the Tenseigan, set off a chain of conflict in order to reclaim the Gedo Statue, personally orchestrating the war between Kumogakure and the Akatsuki.

Following that, there was a peak-level clash of "extraordinary forces" that once again shattered the ninja world's understanding, on par with the Valley of the End battle between the God of Shinobi and the Shinobi Shura so long ago.

That confrontation expanded everyone's worldview.

A fiery-red meteor shower raining down like an ocean tempest, a green forest sea that spread like a tsunami, a towering Hundred-Armed Buddha, repulsion blasts over huge areas like invisible storms…

This conflict brought the ninja world into the "Era of the Sage Eye."

The Akatsuki Leader and Ōtsutsuki Toneri both looked barely eighteen or nineteen.

People thought the next few decades would be completely dominated by their Sage Eyes—five major villages might at any moment be consigned to the dust of history.

Toneri's puppet army assaulted the Five Great Ninja Villages for months on end, letting him "train" his puppet corps by fighting their elites.

This only strengthened people's belief that once the "final battle" ended, it would seal the fate of those five villages.

But who could have guessed that less than a year later, that "final battle" would break out—and neither the Akatsuki Leader nor Ōtsutsuki Toneri was the victor, nor the sudden wild card, the Wood-Style ninja. Instead, it was Uchiha Madara, long dead for decades—the Shinobi Shura of legend.

It turned out the legendary Rinnegan had the power to fully resurrect others.

And the Akatsuki Leader who cast that resurrection was apparently fine afterward—no side effects from that power.

But no one dared meet Madara's eyes head-on, because once resurrected, Madara simply took back the Rinnegan from the Akatsuki Leader, who did not resist.

Though the Leader lost the Rinnegan, he remained recognized as an extraordinary force, thanks to his potent Wood-Style.

With two such super-level fighters, Amegakure suddenly became the strongest ninja village in the land.

Of course, having experienced the final battle and with Madara lurking there, nobody dared visit the newly rebuilt Amegakure for tourism. Only the Amegakure citizens themselves returned to live in that village that had been hastily rebuilt by Mokuton.

It might be that the Five Great Nations' alliance treaty deterred them, or that Konoha's Wood-Style ninja had contacted Ōtsutsuki Toneri. Either way, the ninja world was left in an uneasy balance.

So far, Madara and the Akatsuki Leader seemed disinclined to attack the Five Great Nations, and Toneri and Izayoi likewise did not assault Amegakure.

But everyone knew they were just regrouping. Sooner or later, a battle bigger than the final one would erupt.

To avoid their own graveyards being robbed, and to reinforce Amegakure, the Five Great Villages voted to open the tombs of those powerful shinobi who had shown up in the final battle.

They removed the remains and sealed them in scrolls, leaving only burial keepsakes in the coffins for re-internment. Because being desecrated in Edo Tensei is even worse than having your corpse stolen.

If those deceased knew, they would doubtless approve, not wishing to become enemies of the villages they once protected.

That was year 61's big news. Meanwhile, smaller stories happened in each village.

For instance, Mei Terumī, after leading the Mist Ninja in a two-month fight against the puppet corps, gained loyalty and popular support in Kirigakure.

At the end of year 61, she formally assumed the position of Fifth Mizukage. This happened far earlier than in the original timeline.

Similarly, the Fourth Raikage was now focusing on personal training, handing off responsibilities to Darui. Accompanied by Killer Bee at the new Kumogakure, he was pushing himself to perfect his father's "strongest shield" and "strongest spear."

Ōnoki tried to have Kitsuchi contact Deidara, hoping Deidara would come back to Iwagakure to learn Dust Release. But after being refused again, Ōnoki gave up on passing Dust Release to an inheritor, choosing instead to guide Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi in elemental transformations in the hope that they, too, could grasp a "Bloodline Selection" like Dust Release to survive the new era.

Then there was Gaara, who finished his academic courses and began leading Sand Ninja on missions, becoming a jōnin of Sunagakure.

Gradually, the villagers' and fellow ninjas' rejection and fear of him melted away, and he built a small fan base of supporters.

With all four major villages changing like this, Konoha was no exception.

Among the new graduates of Konoha year 60, Izayoi was not only the one who became chūnin the fastest, but also the first in the new generation to reach jōnin rank.

Once he rose to all-round jōnin, Team Eight basically ceased to exist. Hinata was right behind Izayoi in reaching chūnin, and Aburame Shino after her.

As Tsunade said, sending them on low-level missions would be a waste, so the team effectively disbanded. Izayoi convinced his future father-in-law and Tsunade to let Hanabi graduate early, thus becoming her personal jōnin mentor. Now he spent even more time with his sister-in-law than with Hinata.

An early-blooming Hanabi, fully aware that Izayoi would one day become Sixth Hokage, figured that once that day came, he'd be too busy to spend time with her, and as she grew older, they might become more distant.

Thus, she clung to him all the more now, wanting to fill her childhood with precious memories. Izayoi never guessed her deeper motives—he only noted how clingy she'd grown since she no longer attended the Academy daily. He didn't mind; with his power at its current level, further training was unnecessary.

He had the seven elemental transformations, had surpassed the "Wind Rasen Shuriken" threshold, unlocking [Ninjutsu Genius (Blue)] and swiftly upgrading it to [Ninjutsu Master (Purple)].

Once he mastered the Supreme Jutsu "Truth-Seeking Orbs," that might upgrade again. He had basically learned all the forbidden jutsu from Konoha's scroll, short of becoming Sixth Hokage.

All he lacked was time. After his birthday, he'd finally enter his true growth phase. Whereas the two previous years were a growth period, the coming two would overshadow them entirely.

Naruto served as the prime example: short in the Academy, he shot up to 166 cm in Shippūden, then 180 cm as an adult.

Since Izayoi also had [Sage Physique (Red)], [Sage Eye (Red)], plus the newly minted [Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Multi-Color)], far beyond Naruto's capacities, he'd attained extraordinary might well before his real growth phase even began.

Over the next two years, his transformation would be unimaginable. Within two years after graduating, he'd already soared in height from 163 cm to 178 cm, which in the Land of Fire was quite rare for someone his age.

Even with the best lineages, it normally wouldn't be this extreme, but Izayoi had yet another hidden trump: the Gelel Stone deposit. Unknown from what point, the personal hot spring at his home was tinted a shimmering green—its bottom lined with Gelel Stones saturating the water in life energy and natural energy. Soaking in that water daily spurred Izayoi's remarkable growth. The same was true for Hinata, Karin, and Hanabi.

Hinata's height and figure had now surpassed both the Shippūden and even the Tenseigan-movie versions, reaching 168 cm, the same as Shizune.

Just two more centimeters and she'd match the adult Hanabi in Boruto. Karin wasn't far behind, standing at 165 cm, though in body shape she still lagged behind Hinata—onlookers' gazes were always locked on Hinata rather than Karin.

Fortunately, Hinata liked wearing kimonos, or else her T-shirted figure would hit with the force of a Tailed Beast Bomb. Besides Tsunade and Samui, basically no one else compared.

With Izayoi's chakra and the blessings of Gelel Stone, plus Tsunade's tutelage, both Hinata and Karin had grown tremendously in power.

Hinata now mastered a robust synergy of soft and hard taijutsu and even acquired the Yin Seal. Karin had fully inherited Tsunade's skillset as well, not only learning the Senju clan's monstrous chakra bursts and achieving full mastery of Uzumaki sealing techniques to complement her Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Whoever she captured, it was basically an instant kill. She'd also become a near-expert at medical ninjutsu—likely to surpass Shizune within a year or two.

Thus, both achieved "special jōnin" rank by the end of year 61, with Hinata being promoted yearly and Karin jumping from genin to special jōnin within a single year.

Their names and fame reached well beyond Konoha. People whispered that Hinata and Karin were Tsunade's specially cultivated assistants for Izayoi if and when he became Sixth Hokage.

Among the three girls in Izayoi's life, only Hanabi had changed the least over these two years. She'd grown from 132 cm to 140 cm.

Because of her youth, Izayoi didn't dare give her too many overpowered enhancements. Hinata not only possessed a huge appetite but also had privileges to soak in the Gelel Stone's pool, while Hanabi only got Izayoi's chakra infused with the stone's life energy.

He deliberately didn't let her bathe in that special hot spring. Still, 140 cm was tall for a third-year Academy student. Remember that Naruto was 147 cm at graduation. After another two years, Izayoi would let her get those upgrades, and with her strong genes, she might be a 170-cm "super beauty" like the adult Hanabi in Boruto.

He was quite looking forward to that. Body Healing plus Gelel Stone—truly unstoppable!

Meanwhile, Team 3 from year 59 (Might Guy's team) and other 60th-year graduates also made major leaps these two years.

The first half of year 61's chūnin exams saw Uchiha Sasuke, Aburame Shino, Hyūga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Hinata, and Karin all promoted to chūnin.

In the second half, Rock Lee, Uzumaki Naruto, and Akimichi Chōji followed. Hence Naruto broke the "genin to hokage" scenario from the original story, no longer skipping ranks.

Sasuke had passed on taking the special-jōnin exam, wanting more mission experience before trying for jōnin in year 62. Same for Neji. Shino, on the other hand, joined the Anbu, where his status was unknown.

Now the only 60th-year graduates still genin were Haruno Sakura, Tenten, and Yamanaka Ino—just waiting for the next chūnin exam for their promotions.

Thus ended the year-61 summary for Konoha.

January 6, year 62. Winter still lingered, blanketing Konoha in snow.

Izayoi, uncharacteristically, woke early that day without needing Hinata or Hanabi to come drag him out of bed. Nor did he rise naturally—it was itching that woke him, which was quite embarrassing for a man with [Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Multi-Color)] and [Sage Physique (Red)].

Yet that was the truth. The itching wasn't on his body but his skull, specifically two lumps on his head. Half-asleep, he scratched them and felt something sharp, fully shocking him awake. He didn't even bother putting on shoes, rushing to the bathroom and pushing aside his hair at the hairline. In the mirror, amidst his white locks, two tiny, sharp, beige horn tips protruded.

Seeing them, Izayoi's lips curled upward. He murmured, "They finally emerged. Wonder if my Shikotsumyaku can also control these horns?" Just as he was about to test that, a second surprise arrived.

"Hsss…"

His eyes, reflected in the mirror, abruptly squirmed in a creepy, horrifying way—an indescribable sensation. Instinctively, Izayoi clapped a hand over them with a sharp intake of breath. Then, the corner of his mouth lifted again, and he grinned. "Surprises one after another… I must be having a lucky day!"

Yes—his Tenseigan's third and final "fetal movement" had finally come!

~~~

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