"What the hell is this supposed to be?"
Back home, Hikaru flopped onto his bed, his mind in total chaos.
Because he genuinely could not understand one thing—
Why on earth could a random tree produce a sealing-technique seed?
He wasn't without guesses.
The most plausible explanation was that Minato had left the Flying Thunder God formula on that tree—and that was what allowed this new seed to form.
After all, only that could explain it.
But what made Hikaru miserable was this:
The way he'd obtained seeds in the past didn't work like this at all.
"The speed-type seed came from bamboo… the strength-type seed came from a cypress… the reaction-type seed was some accidental harvest from a flower…"
Hikaru stared at the yellow seed in his palm, replaying the old moments in his head.
"Earth chakra seed, water chakra seed, even the sage chakra seed—they all came from plants or trees.
Except wind chakra, which I still haven't figured out, but even that was from some completely unremarkable tree.
So why is this one so special?
Unless… the seeds I got before weren't 'natural' either—maybe they also absorbed some kind of power like this, and that's how their attributes were born?"
The more he thought, the worse his headache became.
In the end, Hikaru let out a long sigh and gave up.
He would test it.
Thoroughly.
"For example… I can have Kakashi blast a tree with Lightning Release, then I'll try extracting from it and see what happens."
Once he made the decision, he stopped obsessing.
If he was right, he could save an unbelievable amount of time in the future.
If he was wrong… then so what?
He'd survived this long already.
He could treat today as nothing more than a strange coincidence.
"But what do I do with this seed?"
And that was the next headache.
He had never planned on getting a sealing-type seed—so he'd poured effort into learning fuinjutsu the hard way.
Now that the seed had appeared, he was happy… and yet deeply conflicted.
Happy, because this could dramatically improve his sealing talent and ability.
It would let him spend less time grinding fundamentals and more time focusing on combat application.
But conflicted, because planting seeds took time.
Even a basic seed would likely take more than a month.
A month from now, he might've learned fuinjutsu on his own anyway.
And there was an even bigger issue:
He had already planted enough seeds.
The painful lesson from childhood still haunted him.
He already had four seeds growing inside him—his chakra was being divided and drained constantly.
Adding one more?
Who knew what that would do.
Even if it was only a low-tier seed.
"My chakra is already barely enough as it is. If I add another… who knows if it'll drop to the point where I can't even fight properly?"
Hikaru's heart felt like it was being pulled in two directions.
He hadn't even dared to plant the wind chakra seed before.
So why would he dare now?
And then—
Flying Thunder God flashed through his mind.
That temptation was unbearable.
He struggled for a long time.
Finally, he gritted his teeth.
"Plant it."
He thought viciously.
"One month.
As long as I don't get assigned some insane mission, my current strength is enough.
And I refuse to believe I'll run into someone like Kakuzu again.
For ordinary enemies, Kakashi is enough.
For real trouble… I'll just activate Sage Mode."
The allure of fuinjutsu—especially now—was on a completely different level compared to normal chakra attribute seeds.
At least, it was for him.
To prevent his resolve from wavering, Hikaru acted immediately.
He clenched the seed in his palm.
A soft green chakra shimmer appeared around his hand—
The sign of his bloodline technique: Senju Secret Art.
As the green chakra pulsed, Hikaru clearly felt the seed slip into his body.
Slowly, the yellow seed flowed with his blood toward the area near his heart—
And then it settled there, taking root.
At once, Hikaru felt his chakra begin pouring into it, nourishing it.
And the seed started to change.
Name: Senju Hikaru
Gender: Male
Birthday: Konoha Calendar Year 34, March 24
Rank: Chunin (Jōnin)
Bloodline Development: Basic (Senju Secret Art)
Seeds:
Jōnin Chakra Capacity Seed (Maturity 60%)
Intermediate Sage Seed (Maturity 82%)
Advanced Earth Release Seed (Maturity 71%)
Advanced Water Release Seed (Maturity 71%)
Basic Sealing-Type Seed (Maturity 1%)
Fruits: 0
Quest: Become the true ultimate boss of the shinobi world (Unique)
"As expected… my chakra dropped again."
Feeling that steady pull—his chakra being siphoned to feed the new seed—Hikaru's chest ached.
His chakra had never been abundant to begin with.
Now it felt like he'd added another layer of suffering on top.
But he didn't regret it.
Once Hikaru made a decision, he didn't look back.
When weighing benefits, Flying Thunder God was simply stronger at this stage—no contest.
And Hikaru was smart enough to choose accordingly.
"That's done.
For the next month, I need to be careful."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"And also…
I spent three straight days with the Fourth Hokage.
I wonder what kind of reaction the Third Hokage is having right now."
Hiruzen's surveillance over Minato was heavy—so heavy that calling it strict wasn't even enough.
Minato couldn't even freely meet people alone inside the Hokage's own office.
If that wasn't suffocating control, what was?
And Hikaru still remembered something vividly from the Kakashi arc back when he'd watched the anime—
Orochimaru had bluntly stated why Hiruzen chose Minato.
Because Hiruzen needed an obedient puppet.
Nothing more.
"Now that 'obedient puppet' is suddenly spending time with a Senju descendant…
I wonder what the so-called 'strongest Hokage in history,' the Third Hokage, is thinking."
Hikaru tilted his head, genuinely curious.
And now he would wait.
He would wait for the Third Hokage's move.
Minato had guessed one thing right… and one thing wrong.
Yes—Hikaru was investing on both sides.
Putting all eggs in one basket was the most dangerous option.
But this time, Hikaru's actions represented only himself.
Not the Senju clan.
…Not at all.
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