Kazuki frowned.
The mission still wasn't complete.
In his mind, a directional marker appeared—northeast.
He looked toward the dark forest stretching endlessly ahead.
It was pitch black.
The kind of darkness that swallowed sound.
The kind that made your imagination run wild.
This place is creepy as hell…
He hesitated.
He was just a chūnin.
Barely above average.
If he ran into real combat…
He'd be dead weight.
"Go back?" he muttered under his breath. "Be a background extra?"
But the progress bar was already at 60%.
"Maybe I just need a few more strands of hair…"
He clenched his fists.
He didn't sneak out of Konoha just to quit halfway.
"…I'm going."
He sprinted into the forest.
At the Gates of Konoha
A yellow blur shot out of the village like lightning.
Minato Namikaze.
"Kazuki wasn't at Kushina's house?" someone asked.
Standing beside him was Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.
Minato held up a strand of crimson hair.
"This belongs to Kushina."
Sakumo nodded and summoned one of his ninja hounds. The dog sniffed the hair, growled low, then bolted northeast.
"The scent's faint," Sakumo said grimly. "But it's there."
Minato's expression sharpened."Sakumo-san… can we catch them?"
Sakumo didn't hesitate."We'll try."
He turned back briefly."Report to the Hokage. Minato and I are pursuing."
Then both vanished into the night.
Back in the Forest
Kazuki quickly found a second strand of red hair.
[Ding! Clue found. Mission progress: 70%. Continue tracking.]
He remembered the original storyline.
Kushina deliberately left strands of her hair as a trail.
Minato found them.
By dawn, she had nearly been taken across the border.
Minato arrived at the last second.
Hero saves the girl.
Wins her heart.
The beginning of a legend.
But now…
There was a variable.
Kazuki.
He had already picked up multiple strands.
If Minato couldn't track her because of him—
Would the entire future collapse?
No Fourth Hokage.
No Naruto.
No Nine-Tails attack.
The ripple effects would be catastrophic.
His thoughts raced—
But he kept moving.
Third strand.
[Mission progress: 80%.]
Only a little more.
He wasn't quitting now.
Konoha Great Whirlwind?Yeah, no thanks.
He burst through the forest's edge.
Leaping onto a treetop, he looked toward the plains beyond—
And his pupils contracted.
About a hundred meters away, several shinobi were retreating toward the Land of Lightning.
At the rear—
Slender figure.
Long red hair.
Kushina.
He found her.
But at that exact moment—
"What are you doing here?"
A cold voice came from behind him.
Kazuki's instincts screamed.
Too late.
A heavy palm slammed into his back.
"Guh—!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Pain exploded through his chest like a grenade.
He crashed from the tree, body barely responsive.
The attacker landed smoothly beside him.
A Kumogakure uniform.
At least chūnin-level.
"A weakling trying to play hero," the ninja scoffed.
Bang.
The attacker vanished.
Shadow Clone.
In his eyes, Kazuki was already dead.
No need to confirm the kill.
Kushina's POV
Kushina sensed the disturbance and looked back.
She saw a figure fall from the trees.
Her face went pale.
Someone came to rescue her.
And they were killed.
"Stop struggling," a Kumogakure ninja sneered."Anyone who tries to save you dies."
Kushina bit her lip.
For a brief second—
Kazuki's smiling face flashed in her mind.
No.
It couldn't be him.
That coward.
Right?
Her body trembled.
Back with Kazuki
He leaned weakly against a tree.
His vision blurred.
His body was going cold.
So this was it.
He gambled and lost.
[Ding! Target located. Option 3 complete.][Reward: Supreme Starter Gift Pack.]
"…Open it," he rasped.
This was his last shot.
[Confirm opening Supreme Starter Gift Pack?]
"Yes."
A brilliant light erupted in his mind.
[Congratulations. You have obtained SSS-Rank Character Card: Hashirama Senju.]
Kazuki's fading eyes snapped open.
Hashirama Senju.
The First Hokage.
The God of Shinobi.
Asura's reincarnation.
[Fusion grants all ninjutsu, taijutsu, senjutsu, combat experience, and cultivation talent of Hashirama Senju.]
[Full fusion estimated time: 1 year.]
[Proceed with fusion?]
"Fuse!"
The Fusion
A vast mental space unfolded.
In its center stood a towering figure.
Hashirama Senju.
Radiant.
Unshakable.
Kazuki's perspective merged with his.
Across from him—
A young Madara Uchiha.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The earth shattered.
Saplings burst upward.
In seconds, they grew into a colossal forest.
Branches twisted like living serpents, swallowing the battlefield whole.
This was Wood Release.
The true bloodline limit of Hashirama.
Kazuki's eyes snapped open.
His body changed instantly.
The shattered pain disappeared.
His organs repaired themselves.
Warmth surged through his limbs.
Every pore opened.
He could feel natural energy flowing into him, converting seamlessly into chakra.
He felt connected to the forest.
To the earth.
To life itself.
In seconds—
He went from dying to fully restored.
Not only restored—
Overflowing.
He could launch that same technique right now.
With a single thought—
A forest would rise.
This was the power that once suppressed the Nine-Tails like a house pet.
And this was only partial fusion.
Kazuki could feel it.
His strength had increased dozens of times over.
And this was just the beginning.
One year from now—
When full fusion completed—
He would stand at the level of a god.