After giving Hiruzen Sarutobi a few subtle nudges, Reiji walked home feeling completely satisfied.
Ever since the death of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, life had been great.
It might've sounded a bit out of line, but Reiji wasn't going to lie to himself—he just had to say it: the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was a damn godsend!
To him, using shadow clones strictly for combat or reconnaissance was a total waste of Tobirama-sama's genius.
Why not use them to make money?
Why not use them to research other jutsu?
Why not use them to train all the skills you're too lazy to grind out yourself?
This technique was the ultimate tool for slackers—the holy grail for any transmigrator.
Thinking that, Reiji let out a regretful sigh.
As amazing as shadow clones were, his chakra reserves only allowed him to maintain three at a time.
Compared to Naruto, who could spawn hundreds—thousands—of clones with ease, Reiji was way behind.
But this limitation had also led him to uncover one of the downsides of immortality: chakra capacity.
His chakra pool was roughly on par with an average Chūnin.
Once he hit that threshold, no matter how much he trained or refined it, the amount wouldn't budge. It was as if this was the natural ceiling of being immortal.
That theory wasn't baseless either. According to the chakra extraction method, chakra is created from a fixed balance of mental and physical energy.
People with strong wills produce more mental energy. Those with stronger bodies generate more physical energy.
And there was the catch—despite Reiji's body growing stronger from intense weighted training, with his muscles and bones improving every day, the physical energy extracted from each cell remained unchanged.
He even suspected that in the original series, Hidan's chakra level barely reached that of a Genin.
After all, that guy didn't seem to have a brain to begin with.
Low chakra had obvious drawbacks—he could forget about using high-level jutsu like Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees.
Still, he had just enough chakra to manage some basic use of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But the moment he thought about it, Reiji's mood dipped again.
Maybe it was because he had absolutely no sensitivity to spatial energy—training this jutsu was brutally hard.
Even with seventy to eighty clones stationed outside the village practicing non-stop around the clock, the most he could do was teleport a dozen meters.
And even then, there was a huge chance of failure.
Sometimes, his upper body would warp through... but his legs would stay behind. Every attempt resulted in another clone vanishing.
And the feedback from those failed clones? Brutal.
Even for Reiji, who was used to pain and had practically no fear of death, the repeated agony of spatial failure was overwhelming.
Ordinary people with no such experience wouldn't even survive the mental load.
Experiencing firsthand how hard the Flying Thunder God was to master, Reiji couldn't help but envy Tobirama Senju—and even more so, Minato Namikaze.
Especially Minato, who had taken the jutsu to absurd heights. He could cross the entire Land of Fire in a flash, reaching the battlefield in seconds. And that wasn't just skill—long-distance Flying Thunder God consumed exponentially more chakra and required flawless control.
Still, progress was progress.
Even if it crawled forward at a snail's pace, Reiji was moving forward.
He believed that someday, in the not-so-distant future, he'd become the "Dr. Mundo"—able to go wherever, whenever.
Fully channeling his inner delusions of grandeur, his mood lifted once more.
Walking home in the glow of the setting sun, steps light and cheerful, Reiji was just about to step through his front door when something familiar hit him.
His brows furrowed.
What the hell?
Why did all of his clones training outside the village just vanish?
He dug through the fragments of memory sent back by the fallen clones, rubbing his chin in thought.
Judging from the crushing sensation in their final moments, it had to be some kind of Earth or Wind Release technique.
And to wipe out nearly seventy clones in one go? The scale had to be massive.
That sparked a bit of curiosity in him.
Who the hell was bored enough to go out of their way just to pick a fight with shadow clones?
Then again, he was bored too—might as well meet the guy.
No hesitation.
Reiji formed the hand seals swiftly.
Ox—Dog—Dragon—Rat—Dog—Boar—Snake—Tiger.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
With a bang, a clone appeared. Reiji pointed toward the Katō household.
"You, go back and get some sleep."
With that, he tapped the ground lightly with his foot and vanished.
Not wanting the culprit to get too far ahead, Reiji picked up speed and shot out of the village like a blur.
In under five minutes, he'd gone from the Katō residence to where his clones had been stationed outside the village.
The area was a mess—trees torn up, the ground uneven like it had been chewed up by wild dogs.
Reiji crouched down, examining the signs carefully, trying to trace the attacker's path. Suddenly, a faint, familiar scent drifted into his nose.
"Hm? That sweet milky smell…? Don't tell me the guy's still nursing?"
As he muttered to himself, his brow furrowed sharply—then it hit him.
No, that scent—it's Tsunade!
Without a second thought, Reiji bolted in the direction of the fading trail.
He didn't need to think about it. Something had happened to Tsunade!
At this point in time, she hadn't yet mastered monstrous strength. She shouldn't have been able to take out all his shadow clones in a single instant.
More importantly, as Hashirama's granddaughter, there was no way she'd be wandering outside the village alone at night.
Unless she'd been kidnapped. And the one who took her? At least Jōnin-level.
This wasn't just about whether to rescue her—he had to. And he needed to bring her back in one piece.
He knew ANBU surveillance on him had stopped ever since they grew complacent with the routine. And now, just after he slipped free of their watch, Konoha's princess gets kidnapped?
That was a disaster waiting to explode—no matter how you looked at it.
Reiji's chest tightened. He pushed harder, picking up even more speed.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
He formed hand seals, and with three soft puffs, created three clones using nearly all his chakra.
"Stay hidden. Be ready to strike at any moment!"
The clones slowed down, keeping pace behind Reiji at a safe distance.
Reiji drew in fresh chakra, fully replenished, and summoned iron sand from beneath the skin on his back. It surged out and rapidly condensed into a massive sword—taller than he was, like a slab of steel.
A wave of relief washed over him. All the tension locked in his muscles vanished, and even the blood in his veins seemed to surge with energy.
"Purged the toxins. Damn, that feels good."
He gave a satisfied shiver, then pushed off the ground again.
His speed, already too fast for the naked eye to track, spiked even higher.
With his physical limiters removed, Reiji's base sprinting speed now rivaled that of a full Body Flicker.
...
Up ahead, not far from Reiji's position, three ninja were moving at top speed.
The one in the middle carried a young girl with a high ponytail over his shoulder—Tsunade.
Their heading was northwest, toward a location, just east of the Land of Earth. There, they planned to hand her over to the wealthy client who'd paid handsomely for her.
In other words, they were bounty-hunting mercenaries.
As they sprinted forward, the man carrying Tsunade suddenly scowled.
"Big bro, second bro—someone's tailing us!"
"How many?" the last man in line asked.
"One!"
Tsunade, who'd been feigning unconsciousness, froze.
With Senju blood from her grandfather and Uzumaki lineage from her grandmother, Tsunade's body was exceptionally strong. She wasn't going to be knocked out that easily.
Hearing that someone was chasing after them, her heart leapt with hope. But when she realized it was only one person, dread returned.
Uncle Hiruzen! Is it you?!
In that desperate moment, she hoped with everything she had that it was Hiruzen Sarutobi coming to save her. But deep down, she knew how foolish that thought was.
Hiruzen had just taken over as Hokage. There was no way he'd come out alone to rescue her.
And even if he did, he'd bring an entire ANBU team with him.
The more she thought about it, the deeper her despair grew. Regret gnawed at her.
She should've never lingered near the southern Naka River. She should've returned to the village before nightfall.
Run. Please. Don't follow them. You'll get yourself killed.
...
Just as Tsunade's anxiety peaked, her three captors came to a stop and touched down on the ground.
The bald man at the rear had war paint smeared on his face. His weathered features were stern and grim.
"No.3, take the hostage and move. We'll stall the pursuer. Rendezvous at the secret base on the Land of Fire border."
"No!" No.3 suddenly cried out. "They're too fast—we won't make it!"
His eyes narrowed as he looked toward Konoha.
In that direction, the earth trembled slightly. Trees cracked and burst apart, splinters flying everywhere. It was like some untamed beast was rampaging through the forest, heading straight for them.
"Stay alert! Taijutsu-type shinobi!" barked No.1 in a low, serious tone.
The words had barely left his mouth when a figure dropped from the sky.
A handsome youth, a massive door-sized blade slung across his back, landed in the middle of the forest with a thunderous boom.
The ground beneath his feet shattered from the impact.
"Yo~ So where exactly were you guys planning to take Konoha's little washboard princess?"
...
Follow me on Patreon — 30 advanced chapters available for Free members.
[email protected]/PinkSnake