Chapter 2

However, new harvests are also approaching.

Taking a look at his attribute panel, especially the seed section, Xia Yan's mood improved considerably.

Although these things, like worms, voraciously consumed his chakra, there was also Xia Yan's own problem.

When he first obtained this plugin, out of curiosity, he planted a bunch of seeds, especially a large number of basic attribute seeds.

This resulted in him having a decent foundation—his speed, reaction, and strength were all excellent, but his chakra suffered.

Some clan members even began to doubt whether he was truly a member of the Senju clan.

He had planted both the chakra fruits for genin and chunin, but the higher the planting level, the more chakra he consumed, and the longer it took.

Fortunately, his strength was not weak.

Especially when he fortuitously obtained the seed of Sage Chakra, which gave him a better trump card.

Just how powerful Sage Chakra is can be seen from Naruto and Senju Hashirama.

Even though Xia Yan's Sage Mode does not belong to any of the three great holy lands.

Even though he is only at the initial stage, the enhancement it brings is already quite significant.

With such an enhancement, he managed to avoid a lot of trouble during missions and even counter-killed some powerful enemies.

In Sage Mode, the quality of Xia Yan's chakra greatly improved, thus significantly enhancing the power of his jutsu.

In addition, his resistance to genjutsu and his sensory abilities also improved considerably.

Genjutsu is extremely terrifying; in ninja battles, a momentary lapse in attention can lead to a fatal threat.

Moreover, ninjas are like Ferraris—fast and powerful, but one touch and they shatter. Many famous ninjas have died from kunai.

He didn't think he could judge an opponent's moves without looking at their eyes like Might Guy.

Therefore, he particularly needed a method to counter genjutsu, and Sage Mode was the best.

After putting on the ANBU uniform and quickly donning the mask, Xia Yan left his residence.

He had a mission today and naturally dared not be late, and the strictness of the ANBU was unimaginable.

Stepping over other people's rooftops, he quickly arrived at the ANBU base.

Entering the gate and identifying himself, Xia Yan casually found a spot to rest.

He didn't know what the mission was, but his job was to do his best to complete it once it was assigned.

ANBU missions are generally not disclosed in advance; you only learn the specifics right before execution, a method of maintaining secrecy.

Xia Yan had long been accustomed to this after so many years in the ANBU and had already become a squad leader.

However, I'm a squad leader who's a bit of a failure. Look at Uchiha Itachi; he's also a squad leader but can slaughter his entire clan.

Xia Yan sighed, thinking that it was the end of the year 47 of the Leaf Village, and the Third Great Shinobi War was basically over.

On the battlefield in the Land of Grass, the Minato Namikaze squad performed exceptionally well in the Kikyo Bridge mission.

Although they lost Uchiha Obito, they cut off the supply lines between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass, leaving the Rock Hidden Village isolated.

This forced the Rock Hidden Village to choose to cease fire and surrender. However, the ceasefire agreement offered by the Leaf Village...

"Complete abandonment of compensation, no pursuit of responsibility for the Rock Hidden Village's attack on the Leaf Village, and the release of the captured Rock Hidden Village members..."

Xia Yan roughly recalled the decisions made by Hiruzen Sarutobi during the Third Great Shinobi War in the manga and anime.

It could be said that this completely sold out the Leaf Village's interests, although from Hiruzen Sarutobi's perspective, it was a reasonable decision.

Because no one knew the Rock Hidden Village's attitude; if they went crazy and decided to fight to the bitter end, it would be disastrous.

During the Third Great Shinobi War, the Leaf Village had fought with all four major ninja villages, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted, with a near depletion of powerful ninja.

If the Rock Hidden Village went crazy, the Leaf Village couldn't withstand it.

Moreover, making the Rock Hidden Village too difficult to resist would make it hard for them to fight the Cloud Hidden Village, which was strong and had high morale.

Using the Rock Hidden Village to contain the Cloud Hidden Village, giving the Leaf Village a chance to catch its breath, was Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision.

However, such a 'sellout' ceasefire agreement would also bring him trouble.

So the Third Hokage had already stepped down, and Minato Namikaze officially took over as the Fourth Hokage, ushering in a new era for the Leaf Village.

At least it seemed that way.

However, this Fourth Hokage might not last long, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm not an Uchiha, and whoever becomes Hokage won't have much impact on my missions.

Xia Yan, who had no idea what punishment or reward was, still decided to complete his only mission, "Become the true big boss of the ninja world."

To complete it, he needed to rely on a powerful force.

He had considered whether he should run away and join Uchiha Obito, after all, they were once classmates.

But after much thought, he felt it was better to stay in the Leaf Village.

Because whether it was Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara behind him, or Black Zetsu, Kaguya, they were all his 'competitors.'

In the end, it was all about controlling the entire ninja world.

Xia Yan didn't think being a 'terrorist' had any future.

Moreover, staying in the Leaf Village meant he would have two destined heroes, the saviors of the ninja world, in the future.

Whoever became Hokage didn't matter, and it might even be better if Hiruzen Sarutobi continued as Hokage.

Even though Xia Yan didn't particularly like him, and the Senju clan would be happy to see him dead.

But knowing the plot, he naturally knew that this Third Hokage would be betrayed and die without anyone to help him.

Not that there was no one; the only one was stopped by Kakashi.

And the Hokage after him was Tsunade, who, after all, was from the Senju clan.

Playing it safe and waiting until then would be a sure win.

Of course, if Xia Yan performed well, he might even replace the Fifth Hokage.

Becoming an ANBU squad leader gave him a 1% completion rate; how much would becoming Hokage be?

"Gather."

While Xia Yan was waiting and slowly thinking, a man with a dog mask led a white-haired man with a cat mask into the room.

"Captain."

At his voice, all the ANBU members in the rest room immediately gathered, and within thirty seconds, everyone was in formation.

"This is our new member. I'm sure you've heard of him, Hatake Kakashi." The captain said calmly, "From now on, he's one of us, codename White Fang."

Kakashi?

White Fang?

Xia Yan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the name, and he was even more puzzled by the codename.

Encountering Kakashi wasn't surprising, but he didn't know if the codename was intentional on the captain's part or a request from Minato Namikaze.

Before he could think it through, the captain spoke again, "Nightingale."

"Yes, Captain." Xia Yan immediately replied.

"From now on, he will be part of your squad."

"..."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, Captain."

...