Not only was Shiro completely unharmed, but it was abundantly clear from the Hokage's demeanor that the village leader now held the boy in incredibly high regard.
"The details of this incident were originally classified as S-rank," Hiruzen began, pulling out his pipe and packing it slowly. "However, given the unwavering loyalty of the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance, I am at ease sharing the truth with the three of you."
After a brief moment of internal debate, Hiruzen dropped the bombshell. He informed the clan heads that the supposedly average civilian student, Shiro, had miraculously awakened the legendary Kekkei Genkai of the Senju Clan—the Wood Style.
"What?!" Inoichi Yamanaka gasped, his typically composed face contorting into an expression of absolute, unadulterated shock. "Are you saying Shiro... actually awakened the Wood Style?!"
"It is true," Kakashi affirmed from the sidelines, his single visible eye serious. "And not only did he awaken it, but his mastery was sufficient to effortlessly defeat two Elite Jonin-level Root operatives who attempted to abduct him."
Inoichi sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, his mind reeling.
To awaken the mythical Wood Style while still barely in his teens... and to possess the raw power to casually dismantle two veteran Anbu assassins without suffering a single scratch...
Just how many astonishing surprises was his prospective son-in-law hiding?!
"Wait a moment," Shikaku Nara interjected, his brilliant mind rapidly connecting the dots. He rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully. "If he has awakened the Wood Style, that must logically mean Shiro possesses latent Senju DNA. He is a descendant of the First Hokage's clan."
"Precisely," Hiruzen nodded, not doubting this conclusion in the slightest.
Decades ago, following the establishment of the village, various policies implemented by the First and Second Hokage encouraged the sprawling Senju clan to gradually integrate and intermarry with the general civilian populace to strengthen the village's overall unity. Because of this historical integration, it was entirely plausible, albeit astronomically rare, for a seemingly ordinary civilian child to experience a genetic atavism and awaken the dormant bloodline.
"Even so, the attack on his person is unacceptable," Hiruzen stated, his tone hardening. "I will not forgive the culprits who orchestrated this. They will face severe punishment!"
Initially, Hiruzen had intended to sweep the Root incident under the rug, giving Danzo a harsh private reprimand to avoid public political fallout. However, with the powerful heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance personally standing in the Hokage's office to aggressively advocate for Shiro's safety, Hiruzen realized he could no longer simply ignore his old rival's transgressions. He had to make a show of protecting the boy.
"Well then, Shiro," Inoichi turned his gaze toward the boy, a warm, protective smile on his face. "What are your thoughts on how this should be handled?"
After all, the three clan heads had mobilized their forces and marched into the Hokage's office purely to support and protect Shiro. Furthermore, Shiro was the one who had actually subdued the attackers. His input on their fate held significant weight.
"I have no strong objections to whatever Lord Hokage decides," Shiro replied calmly, offering a polite shrug. "I wasn't injured, after all."
Truthfully, Shiro hadn't lost anything in this entire ordeal; on the contrary, he had gained quite a bit. Not only had he acquired some practical, albeit brief, combat experience against Elite Jonin, but he had also successfully swindled the highly classified First Hokage's cultivation manual out of the old miser sitting behind the desk.
He considered it a rather profitable afternoon.
As for the two Root operatives currently tangled in his makeshift forest, Shiro genuinely intended to let them go. It wasn't out of the goodness of his heart, but rather a calculated political move. He knew one of the attackers was a member of the Yamanaka clan. Since Uncle Inoichi was going out of his way to show such immense support and care for him, Shiro saw no reason to make things difficult for the man by demanding the execution of one of his clansmen.
However, make no mistake—Shiro was not a remarkably forgiving person. He meticulously recorded this entire incident, and the massive debt it incurred, directly under Danzo Shimura's name.
*Danzo...* Shiro thought, a cold smirk playing on his lips. *Add it to your tab. One more debt won't break you before I do.*
By the time the political maneuvering and debriefing concluded, the sun was beginning to set, casting long, orange shadows across the village.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Shiro waved a polite farewell to Uncle Inoichi and the others at a crossroad.
"Now, now, Shiro, there's no need to be so incredibly formal with us!" Inoichi laughed, clapping the boy heavily on the shoulder. "You must come over for dinner at the compound some evening soon! Ino has been begging her mother to invite you over for a home-cooked meal for weeks now!"
"I understand, Uncle Inoichi. Thank you for the invitation," Shiro replied with a practiced, charming smile.
It was glaringly obvious that Uncle Inoichi was still fiercely determined to secure him as a son-in-law.
*Sorry, Uncle,* Shiro chuckled internally as he walked away. *But my ambitions are a bit broader than that.*
Seeing that it was getting late, Shiro decided to take a detour to Ichiraku Ramen for a celebratory meal before finally heading back to his empty apartment.
However, what Shiro entirely failed to anticipate was the sheer speed of Konoha's rumor mill.
In less than a single evening, the explosive news of a civilian academy student awakening the mythical Wood Style had already spread like wildfire, reaching the ears of every major clan head in the village.
---
Within the sprawling, traditional compound of the Hyuga Clan.
"What?! Are you absolutely certain?!" Hiashi Hyuga, the stoic head of the clan, stood up so abruptly he nearly knocked over his low tea table. "The Third Hokage personally received an academy student who has awakened the Wood Style?!"
Hiashi's Byakugan-veined eyes widened in profound shock. Every educated shinobi in Konoha knew exactly what the Wood Style represented: absolute, unrivaled invincibility. It was the power that had subjugated the Tailed Beasts. As long as this boy fully developed his abilities, he would eventually stand at the pinnacle of the ninja world, just like the First Hokage before him.
"What a monumental missed opportunity!" Hiashi lamented, pacing the floor of his study. It deeply frustrated him that the Hyuga Clan had not managed to establish any sort of positive relationship with this rising star beforehand.
"Father! Father! I'm back!"
A cheerful, high-pitched voice echoed from the hallway, interrupting his stressed pacing.
---
Hiashi turned to see his youngest daughter, Hanabi, skipping into the room. His stern expression faltered, replaced by a look of utter bewilderment as he noticed the object she was happily brandishing.
"Hanabi... what exactly are you holding?" Hiashi asked, pointing a trembling finger at the thick, jagged, and oddly pulsating tree branch in her small hands.
"This? Oh, I saw an older boy fighting in an alleyway on my way home!" Hanabi explained, her face beaming with innocent pride. "He made a whole bunch of trees grow out of the ground! I waited until the scary masked men were tied up, and then I secretly snapped this off a branch to bring home!"
Hiashi: "..."
He stared at the physical evidence of the legendary Kekkei Genkai currently being used as a child's toy. *Only Hanabi could pull off a stunt like this without getting caught in the crossfire,* he thought, rubbing his temples.
It wasn't just the Hyuga Clan scrambling for information. The political and military implications of the Wood Style resurfacing were simply too massive. Every single clan in Konoha, from the noble houses to the minor families, had received the leaked intelligence.
Consequently, strict orders were swiftly passed down to the younger generation: *Pay close attention to Shiro, and under no circumstances antagonize him.*
---
Within the tranquil deer forest of the Nara Clan compound.
Shikaku Nara and his son, Shikamaru, sat on the engawa overlooking a koi pond, deeply engaged in a complex game of Shogi. As the wooden pieces clacked against the board, they quietly discussed the earth-shattering events of the afternoon.
"Dad," Shikamaru drawled lazily, moving a pawn. "Do you really think it's necessary for our clan to aggressively strengthen our ties with Shiro?"
Shikamaru found his father's sudden, intense political maneuvering a bit difficult to read. Was it truly worth gambling the stable, established position of the Nara Clan on the mere *possibility* of one boy's future potential?
"The Third Hokage is growing old, Shikamaru. His grip is slipping," Shikaku replied, his eyes focused entirely on the board. "The Ino-Shika-Cho alliance must constantly be looking ahead to the next era if we wish to survive."
Shikaku knew perfectly well that their aggressive stance in the Hokage's office today was a high-stakes political gamble. Did he know exactly whose Anbu had attempted to abduct Shiro? Of course he did. He knew it was Danzo. But he couldn't explicitly state it in front of the Hokage; doing so would force Hiruzen into a corner, completely stripping away his political face.
If Hiruzen truly possessed the resolve to permanently restrict Danzo's illicit activities, the kidnapping attempt today would never have happened in the first place.
"But still... is it worth investing so heavily in him?" Shikamaru countered, capturing one of his father's pieces. "As his classmate, I know Shiro fairly well. Despite his lazy act, he has a remarkably strong, independent personality. He doesn't strike me as someone who can be easily controlled or tied down by clan politics."
"You are observant. There is no need to worry about controlling him," Shikaku smiled faintly. "We have thoroughly investigated Shiro's background and psychological profile. The Ino-Shika-Cho alliance didn't choose to support him today with the intention of turning him into a puppet."
Shikaku was a master strategist. He knew that Shiro possessed a fierce sense of autonomy. If the boy were easily swayed by political pressure or simple affection, he would have already caved to Inoichi's relentless matchmaking and become the Yamanaka son-in-law months ago.
"Just make an effort to interact with him more naturally in class," Shikaku advised, finally moving his bishop to trap Shikamaru's king. "Checkmate."
Shikamaru sighed, nodding in reluctant acknowledgment. "What a drag. But I suppose I understand the logic."
"However," Shikaku added, resetting the board, "the Genin squad assignments are imminent. Overthinking the long-term strategy right now is somewhat redundant. The Hokage has likely already finalized his decisions regarding team placements to best utilize Shiro's new abilities."
---
For the entire following week, Shiro simply submitted a formal leave of absence to the Academy, choosing to stay barricaded inside his apartment to thoroughly test and study his system.
His official excuse submitted to Iruka-sensei was brilliantly simple and entirely plausible: *The horrific, unprovoked assassination attempt by rogue ninja had left him deeply traumatized, making it psychologically impossible for him to attend classes for the time being.* No one, not even the Hokage, dared to question it.
Inside his apartment.
"System, initiate daily sign-in!"
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully signing in. You have obtained the Bloodline Limit: Steel Style, Steel Transformation!]
Shiro stared at the glowing blue text floating in his vision, utterly speechless.
It seemed highly probable that drawing two phenomenally broken, top-tier traits right at the beginning had completely drained his cosmic luck reserves. For the entirety of the past week, his daily sign-ins had yielded nothing but relatively useless C-rank ninjutsu or minor, situational Bloodline Limits.
While gaining the ability to turn his skin into indestructible steel would be considered an unattainable, god-like power for any ordinary shinobi... for Shiro, who already possessed the absolute pinnacle of Wood Style—a power that offered unparalleled defense and instantaneous regeneration—the Steel Style was practically redundant.
"System, pull up my inventory. Exactly how many of these low-level entries do I have stockpiled now?"
[Ding! The Host currently possesses seven low-level entries. Would the Host like to initiate the synthesis protocol to combine them into a single, high-level entry?]
"Synthesize them all," Shiro commanded without hesitation.
Keeping a clutter of mediocre, redundant ninjutsu was pointless. It was far better to throw them all into the system's blender and hope for a jackpot. He didn't care about dismantling these abilities; with his Wood Style and Heaven-Defying Comprehension, he was already armed to the teeth.
[Ding! Synthesis successful. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Unique Entry: External Incarnation!]
"External Incarnation?" Shiro muttered, raising an eyebrow.
Seeing the golden 'Unique' tag attached to the entry, he knew he had definitely hit a jackpot.
"System, provide a detailed explanation of the functions and parameters of this External Incarnation."
[Ding! External Incarnation is an advanced, highly specialized evolution of cloning ninjutsu. The avatars created by the Host are entirely autonomous. They can independently cultivate chakra, train to improve physical parameters, and remain manifested indefinitely in the physical world without passively draining the Host's core chakra reserves or dispersing upon taking minor damage!]
Listening to the system's mechanical explanation, Shiro quickly formulated a clear understanding of the technique's potential.
This was essentially a god-tier upgrade to the standard Shadow Clone Jutsu.
However, upon further reflection, he realized it still didn't dramatically alter his current combat style. Once you possessed the monstrous versatility of the Wood Style, everything else seemed somewhat pale in comparison. Wood Style could unleash devastating, landscape-altering destruction, and it could provide miraculous, instantaneous healing.
If he encountered a powerful enemy, he could simply clap his hands and unleash *Deep Forest Emergence* to crush them under a tidal wave of sentient timber. Wouldn't the sheer, apocalyptic scale of that attack be far more shocking and effective than simply sending a really durable clone to punch them?
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
Just as Shiro was preparing to finally crack open the First Hokage's cultivation manual to see if Hashirama had any interesting philosophical insights on chakra control, a rapid, insistent knocking echoed from his front door.
"Sakura! Why are you following me all the way to Shiro's apartment?!"
A familiar, shrill voice drifted through the thin wooden door.
"Who says I'm following you, Ino-pig?! I noticed that Shiro hasn't come to class in over a week! Obviously, I came here to personally check on him and make sure he's taking care of himself!"