Seriously? I’ve reached Jōnin level, and the system’s only shows up?

Might Duy's original body, after years of high-intensity training, had long since been riddled with hidden injuries and worn down beyond repair.

That's also why, during missions, he rarely opened the Eight Gates.

But after treatment from both Tsunade and Yamanaka Shinno…

Although Duy's physical stats hadn't seen a direct boost, his now-perfect bodily condition allowed him to display combat strength far beyond what he'd shown before!

With the Seventh Gate open, he overwhelmed the still-developing A—pummeling him blow after blow with brutal, bone-shaking force.

Even Kurotsuchi's father, Kitsuchi—a towering man over 1.7 meters tall—winced at the sound of those hits. It was that visceral.

Most ninja had a fixed perception: when it came to raw physical ability, no one topped those brutes from Kumogakure who specialized in taijutsu.

But who would've thought…

Lately, Konoha had been churning out talent like it was on cheat mode—taking down Kumogakure's muscle heads with ease!

...

Whoosh—

The space around them rippled.

At the border camp of Konoha, Namikaze Minato appeared beside Yamanaka Shinno, using the Flying Thunder God marker stored in Shinno's ninja tool pouch.

Seeing his close friend chatting over tea with the Iwagakure delegation, and the lopsided battle clearly unfolding outside the building, the "Little Sun" finally let out a breath of relief.

He flashed a bright, relaxed smile and nodded politely to Kitsuchi and Ōnoki.

"Honored to meet you, Lord Tsuchikage. Former Tsuchikage."

"Sigh…"

Ōnoki gave Minato a once-over, his sharp eyes lingering for a moment before he let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Uh…"

Minato blinked and turned to his friend with a confused expression.

What was that about?

Was his face really that hard to look at?

Why'd the old man sigh the moment he saw him?

"Don't take it the wrong way, Jonin Minato," Kitsuchi said with a sheepish smile, trying to smooth things over. "The old man's just lamenting how full of geniuses Konoha is these days. Having someone like you is a huge asset."

Honestly, he didn't blame the old man for sighing.

Back when he wasn't Tsuchikage, he could always fall back on the old man handling things. No pressure.

But now that he was in charge… well, the urge to sigh came naturally.

"Lord Tsuchikage flatters me," Minato replied, scratching his head with his trademark awkward grin.

"Sunagakure's delegation just arrived," Shinno said, glancing southwest. "But it looks like their journey didn't go smoothly."

Boom!

A scorching burst of Scorch Release erupted deep within the nearby forest, a wave of flame crashing skyward like a firestorm.

Ōnoki, Kitsuchi, and the others immediately turned toward the sound, their brows furrowed.

Scorch Release? Pakura?

Who was she fighting?

Their minds raced, and they turned toward Shinno for answers.

"Don't look at me—it's not one of ours," Shinno said with a chuckle, resting his chin in his hand as he leaned on the table. "That's the work of the rogue Sunagakure shinobi, Sasori of the Red Sand."

Thanks to his powerful sensory abilities, Shinno was able to track the battle happening kilometers away in vivid detail.

Iron sand churned beneath the ground, surging and twisting.

Over a hundred puppets, each with unique designs, darted and danced like butterflies through the trees.

Pakura, wearing the Kazekage's ceremonial hat, was fighting desperately, using her Scorch Release to shield her companions as they tried to escape toward the negotiation site.

If it had been a one-on-one fight…

Pakura wouldn't have feared Sasori, whose offense relied heavily on puppetry. After all, to ensure speed and mobility, most puppets were crafted from lightweight wood—not exactly flame-resistant.

A direct hit from Scorch Release would reduce most of them to ash in seconds.

Even with Sasori controlling the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand puppet, as long as he couldn't completely surround her, Pakura could hold her ground until her chakra ran dry.

Unfortunately, her allies weren't much help. One of them was the elderly Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, Bunpuku.

If not for Shukaku taking pity on him and grumbling as it formed a cushion of sand under Bunpuku's feet, helping him flee...

The whole group probably wouldn't have even made it to the border of the Land of Fire.

"Sasori of the Red Sand?" Kitsuchi's expression went blank.

Why would Sasori suddenly ambush the Kazekage?

...

In just a few short minutes, several Sunagakure shinobi, led by Pakura, burst out of the forest and landed on the Wood Release platform Shinno had constructed.

Two exhausted Sunagakure jonin, faces pale and drenched in sweat, stared at the Iron Sand that had ceased pursuit and now retreated into the trees. The look on their faces screamed we just survived hell.

"Iron Sand… over a hundred puppets…"

Ōnoki's gaze followed the retreating puppets and sand, his brow tightening.

The Third Kazekage's Iron Sand techniques were legendary throughout the ninja world, and Sunagakure's puppets had distinct traits—they were hard to mistake.

But what the hell was going on?

Was the Third Kazekage leading a puppet corps alongside the rogue Sasori… to attack the Fourth Kazekage?

Was Sunagakure eating itself from the inside?

"Wait… Shinno," Kitsuchi said, staring blankly from the rooftop. "Didn't we hear that the Third Kazekage was already dead?"

"Yep," Shinno said casually, putting down his tea. "Killed by Sasori. Turned him into a human puppet. The Iron Sand we saw just now was being controlled through that."

"Oh—wait, what? Human puppet? But… why?"

Kitsuchi's mind blanked. The more he tried to process it, the less sense it made.

...

"Sasori's parents were killed by Konoha's White Fang—Hatake Sakumo," Shinno explained calmly.

"When Sakumo died, Sasori couldn't take revenge. So he redirected his anger toward the Third Kazekage, who made the decisions during that war."

"Add that to his obsession with 'art' and the lack of care or guidance from Chiyo after her son and daughter-in-law died…"

Shinno trailed off, letting the implications hang in the air.

...

"Killed the Third… and now wants to kill the Fourth?"

Kitsuchi's face twisted into a strange grimace.

It was hard to keep up with Sasori's twisted logic.

His parents were killed by Konoha's White Fang.

Even if White Fang committed suicide, shouldn't Sasori's grudge be against Konoha?

Why turn on his own village?

Killed the Third, now targeting the Fourth?

"Maybe he's blaming Pakura because Chiyo died," Shinno said, though he sounded unsure.

A few days ago, right before surrendering, old lady Chiyo had clearly made up her mind to die.

After wrapping up every major matter in Sunagakure and naming Pakura as the Fourth Kazekage…

She calmly drank poison and passed away.

Maybe, in her mind, the moment she agreed to merge with Konoha, Sunagakure was already dead.

And as someone born in Sunagakure, who had once held all the power, maybe she believed she deserved to be buried with the village she had both led and failed.

...

"Chiyo, huh…"

Ōnoki nodded slowly.

As an enemy, she had been frustrating to deal with.

But no one could deny that, in her own way, she had always given everything for Sunagakure.

Well… except, maybe, for her own family.

Still, if Sasori was the one who killed the Third Kazekage… then…

Never mind. The man's dead already.

No point blaming Chiyo for what her unfilial grandson did.

Everyone had suffered enough.

And honestly, you couldn't even blame Chiyo anymore.

Konoha's power now was simply overwhelming—resistance was futile.

Even if the Third Kazekage had lived, nothing would've changed.

(T/N: I strongly recommend you to read my new fanfic "Starting From Being Adopted by the Second Hokage!"

Quite an interesting fanfic. What really caught my attention is that the protagonist becomes stronger through a gradual process — this is not a brainless power fantasy. It's the first time I've seen something like this, and I have to say, I'm satisfied.

The main character has a pretty unique background, he's an Uchiha who was adopted by Tobirama (which is already unusual) thanks to Hashirama. As you might've guessed, the story takes place in the early timeline of the Naruto world. He's in the same generation as Hiruzen, which is another plus.

The MC is talented and works hard, but his efforts only make him slightly stronger than Hiruzen (at least for the first 100 chapters). He also has a well-developed personality, he's not a madman, but he is ruthless toward his enemies. One particularly interesting aspect is that he uses poison, a very underrated element in the Naruto world. We know from canon that poison can be deadly even to powerful shinobi, yet it's mostly associated with Sunagakure and usually used against genin or chunin.

The only downside is that the fanfic gives more attention to cooking than necessary (the MC is apparently very impressive at it, and everyone praises his cooking). It's manageable for me, but still a bit much. There's even a whole chapter about it at the beginning. For readers who aren't into that, I noted at the top that the chapter focuses on cooking and can be skipped. Thankfully, after that, the fanfic doesn't dwell on it this much.)

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

Fanfic is finished on Patreon (258 chapters in total.) 

Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)