Perhaps because of her childhood experiences, Karin was extremely sensitive, even in her sleep.
She heard a faint noise and woke from her slumber.
"Mm…"
Karin rubbed her eyes and asked softly, "Naruto-kun, what's going on?"
"How about we run away?"
Naruto smiled gently, raising his hand to pat her head. "Go back to sleep. Everything's fine."
After Karin fell asleep again, Naruto took out a few incense sticks from the system space, lit them, and carefully inserted them into the cracks of the floor.
Watching the thin white smoke curl upward, Naruto exhaled in relief and muttered,
"Good. Now that the incense is burning, hurry up and give me the attributes I want."
"System, start simulation."
[Ding~ Host consumes one simulation opportunity. Character creation begins.]
[Character surnames extracted: Aoi, Hatao, Mikami…]
Naruto froze for a moment.
Was the system punishing him for doing something bad earlier?
Why did it draw such… obscure surnames?
Fortunately, the last few were at least somewhat acceptable.
"System, lock in the surname Hatake."
He chose that one since it was the best among the lesser options.
After all, the Hatake name had prestige. Before Hatake Sakumo's death, the clan was one of Konoha's most respected families.
That would make it easier for Naruto to guide the simulated character into learning jutsu.
Of course, it would've been much simpler if he'd drawn Uzumaki or Senju instead.
Unfortunately, this time, he didn't.
Naruto went on to select the remaining attributes as carefully as possible.
[Final Character Attributes]
Surname: Hatake
Talent: Hyuga Neji
Health: Uchiha Obito
IQ: Jiraiya
Personality: Senju Hashirama
Interpersonal Relationships: Hatake Sakumo (Before mission failure)
Appearance: Yagura Karatachi
Hobbies: Orochimaru
Specialty: Rock Lee
[System Evaluation:]
You are a member of the Hatake clan.
You possess good talent.
Your IQ fluctuates wildly.
You are kind, loving, and thoughtful.
You are respected.
You're a bit of an innocent boy.
You enjoy studying ninjutsu.
You excel through hard work.
"This panel isn't bad at all," Naruto said with a grin.
He had motivation, talent, and a love for hard work — the perfect combination.
Now, all he needed was to choose the right birth period and location.
If guided properly, this version could probably master Sage Mode.
The only concern was Neji's talent — would it be enough?
Currently, there were three known types of Sage Mode.
Naruto began to think carefully.
Which one should he choose?
Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode gave the user a more serpentine appearance the stronger they became.
That transformation was… unsettling.
Even in Boruto, Kabuto, now running an orphanage, still looked like a snake.
Naruto shook his head. "No way. I want to look cool, not terrifying."
Besides, Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode had a major drawback — it was terrain-dependent.
In the later stages of Shippuden and Boruto, most battles took place midair.
That kind of Sage Mode would be nearly useless there.
Next was Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode.
When activated, the physical transformation was minimal — it looked cooler and had less of a constant effect.
Plus, it allowed one to convert natural energy into powerful chakra, enhancing ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu alike.
It was a balanced Sage Mode with few side effects.
The downside? It was incredibly hard to learn.
Even Jiraiya, despite his talent, couldn't maintain it perfectly without the help of the two Great Toad Sages.
And the simulated character's talent came from Neji…
To be honest, Naruto had his doubts.
If it were himself, he'd have no problem — he was the protagonist, after all!
As for Minato, who also mastered Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode — his talent was beyond comparison.
Neji's was good, yes, but Minato's was on another level entirely.
Lastly, there was the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode.
As far as Naruto remembered, only Senju Hashirama had ever mastered it.
Tsunade hadn't learned it directly — her Byakugō technique was inspired by its principles.
The Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode enhanced chakra recovery and healing speed while amplifying ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu power.
It was arguably the most balanced Sage Mode of all.
And combining it with the Byakugō Seal would make it even more powerful.
The only issue was that the manga offered little detail on how to learn it.
Still, it was strong — undeniably strong.
After thinking for a while, Naruto made his decision.
He would skip Ryūchi Cave entirely.
His first choice was the Shikkotsu Forest, and if that failed, he'd try Mount Myōboku.
To learn Sage Mode from the Shikkotsu Forest, he'd need the right opportunity — ideally when Senju Hashirama and Tsunade were both around.
So Naruto set the timeline to just before the First Great Ninja War.
That era was perfect — Senju Tobirama was still alive and teaching students like Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzō Shimura, and Koharu Utatane.
Hashirama was still in the village, Madara hadn't defected yet, and the Ninja Academy had just opened.
Naturally, the simulation location would be Konoha Village.
[Start Simulation!]
[You are born into the Hatake clan and begin learning kenjutsu from an early age.]
"Oh no…" Naruto muttered.
"How could I forget! The Hatake clan are all sword users!"
"If that's the case, it might be tough to catch Hashirama's attention, let alone become his disciple."
"Forget it, let's see how it goes. My simulated character's passion is ninjutsu anyway."
[At age 3, you begin sword training under your father's guidance.]
[At age 4, your exceptional talent earns you recognition within the clan.]
[At age 6, you enroll in the Ninja Academy and meet Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Shimura Danzō, Akimichi Torifu, Uchiha Kagami, and Kosuke Maruboshi.]
[During combat training, you encounter ninjutsu for the first time and develop an uncontrollable fascination with it. However, due to family tradition, you feel conflicted. Your choice is…]
"When the opportunity comes, start learning ninjutsu right away!" Naruto declared.
"Then become strong enough to catch Hashirama's attention and become his student!"
"When I master Sage Mode, this simulation's goal will finally be complete!"
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