Konoha, Hokage Rock.
Yuichi climbed up to the platform behind the stone faces.
Standing at the edge, he took in a deep breath of the cool air.
The wind was crisp. The sky, clear.
From here, he could see the whole of Konoha spread out beneath him.
Though it was called a "village," in truth, Konoha was enormous.
From the top of Hokage Rock, every street, every roof, and every corner could be seen in a single sweeping view.
After gazing at the sight for a while, Yuichi withdrew his eyes and looked straight ahead.
The carved faces of the Hokage loomed before him.
One step forward—
[Detection: Host has arrived at a special location, Hokage Rock]
[Please choose]
[1. Stand on the head of the First Hokage and overlook Konoha – Reward: A random ninjutsu from the First Hokage]
[2. Stand on the head of the Second Hokage and overlook Konoha – Reward: A random ninjutsu from the Second Hokage]
[3. Stand on the head of the Third Hokage and overlook Konoha – Reward: A random ninjutsu from the Third Hokage]
[4. Stand on the head of the Fourth Hokage and overlook Konoha – Reward: A random ninjutsu from the Fourth Hokage]
Yuichi smirked.
So even Hokage Rock counts as a special location, huh?
Still, compared to the Valley of the End, the rewards here were nothing special.
What he truly wanted was the inheritance of a Hokage's full ability set.
If that ever triggered, his choice would be obvious—Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
Tobirama was the master of Forbidden Techniques, after all.
Impure World Reincarnation, Flying Thunder God… the kind of broken ninjutsu that could overturn the world.
As for the First Hokage? Useless.
Yuichi had already inherited Hashirama's Wood Style. That path would gradually open up on its own.
The Third Hokage? Known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu," yes, but his wide variety of jutsu didn't mean much. Yuichi's system made learning ninjutsu trivial.
And the Fourth Hokage? Aside from Rasengan, his most famous Flying Thunder God was actually Tobirama's invention.
Yuichi could probably develop Rasengan on his own anyway.
So the choice was obvious.
"Second Hokage, then."
With that, Yuichi leapt onto Tobirama's head.
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama's original S-rank ninjutsu: Water Style – Hard Vortex Water Blade]
Yuichi's eyes lit up, then quickly dimmed.
"...Hard Vortex Water Blade?"
If he remembered correctly, this was a move that had never even appeared in the anime—only in certain video games as Tobirama's ultimate skill.
Even so, the system had pulled it into reality.
Still, he couldn't help but sigh. What he really wanted were the truly broken skills: Flying Thunder God, Impure World Reincarnation, even Shadow Clone would do.
With Shadow Clone and his insane Wood Style recovery, he could master any jutsu to perfection in record time.
But alas…
"An S-rank Water Style isn't bad." Yuichi consoled himself, shaking his head with a smile.
This proves Hokage Rock is a valid trigger point. Hokage's office should be another… I'll need to test it when the chance comes.
For now, he had already claimed today's reward.
And he had another priority—Sasuke.
The system allowed him to trigger two favorability events per day with fixed characters. Whether Sasuke's impression of him rose or fell, Yuichi would still gain two ninjutsu rewards.
The problem was, Konoha was far too big to simply bump into Sasuke.
Of course, if he had Shadow Clone, searching would be trivial.
But scattering clones around the village would draw too much attention.
"Forget it. No point wasting time."
He clenched his fists.
"Hard Vortex Water Blade and Body Flicker Technique—I need to raise their proficiency fast. And Wood Style has to reach perfection. Once it does, more techniques will unlock."
He summoned his character panel:
[Ninjutsu: Three Body Technique (Perfect) / Body Flicker Technique – Beginner (0/500)]
[Water Style: Water Clone Technique (Perfect) / Great Waterfall Technique – Advanced (0/4000) / Water Wave – Intermediate (0/1400) / Water Barrier – Intermediate (1/1800) / Hard Vortex Water Blade – Beginner (0/10000)]
[Wood Style (1.5% of First Hokage inheritance unlocked): Tree-Binding Eternal Burial – Beginner (634/800) / Wood Wall – Beginner (634/900) / Silent Binding Technique – Beginner (634/800)]
His Wood Style proficiency had risen rapidly overnight, thanks to hours of practice at home. By infusing Wood Style chakra into dead branches, he had refined his control and, in turn, boosted all of his Wood Style ninjutsu.
If Wood Style can be trained like this, maybe Water Style can too. But how? By controlling water flow? By shaping rivers?
No clear method came to mind.
"Whatever. I'll head to the Valley of the End. No old man spying on me there."
Yuichi smiled faintly. He didn't want to be discovered yet. The system gave him infinite potential; all he needed was time and secrecy.
But in a place like Konoha… peace never lasted.
Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage leafed through the profiles of the newest genin.
Each civilian graduate had their own file—detailing family history, records, even interpersonal ties.
One by one, he skimmed them. Nothing remarkable so far.
Until—
"Nagano Yuichi…"
He opened the worn folder.
The boy's picture stared back at him. Nothing unusual at first glance.
Sarutobi muttered absently, "Settled in Konoha during the First Hokage's era? Nothing noteworthy…"
But then—his eyes widened.
"…The grandfather… belonged to the Senju clan?!"