"But still… the next harvest isn't far off."
Hikaru glanced at his status screen again, especially the Seeds section, and his mood improved noticeably.
Even though those things were like parasites—constantly devouring his chakra—this situation was partly his own fault.
Back when he had first obtained this cheat, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He'd planted far too many seeds, especially basic-attribute ones.
The result?
He ended up with an excellent physical foundation—speed, reflexes, and strength were all outstanding—but his chakra reserves were the ones that paid the price.
So much so that some clan members had even begun to wonder whether he was really a Senju at all.
He had already grown Genin-level and Chūnin-level chakra fruits, but the higher the seed's tier, the more chakra it consumed—and the longer it took to mature.
Fortunately, his combat strength wasn't weak.
Especially after he'd obtained a Sage Chakra seed through sheer luck.
That alone gave him a far better trump card.
Just look at Naruto or Senju Hashirama—one glance was enough to understand how terrifying senjutsu really was.
Even though Hikaru's Sage Mode didn't belong to any of the Three Great Sage Regions, and even though he was only at an early-stage level…
The boost it provided was already absurd.
With that enhancement, he'd avoided countless deadly situations during missions—and had even turned the tables to kill powerful enemies.
In Sage Mode, the quality of his chakra increased dramatically, which in turn massively amplified the power of his techniques.
On top of that, his resistance to genjutsu, as well as his sensory abilities, saw a clear improvement.
Genjutsu was terrifying.
In shinobi combat, even a momentary lapse—less than a second—could mean death.
Shinobi were like Ferraris: insanely fast, devastatingly powerful… but fragile. Plenty of famous ninja had died to nothing more than a kunai.
Hikaru knew he couldn't do what Might Guy did—reading movements without ever looking into an opponent's eyes.
So he desperately needed a reliable countermeasure against genjutsu.
And Sage Mode was perfect for that.
After putting on his ANBU uniform and swiftly donning his mask, Hikaru left his house.
He had a mission today.
Being late wasn't an option—and ANBU discipline was on an entirely different level.
Bounding across rooftops, he quickly arrived at the ANBU compound.
After entering and confirming his identity, Hikaru casually found a spot and rested.
He didn't know what today's mission would be.
All he needed to do was give everything once the order came down.
ANBU missions were never disclosed in advance. You only learned the details right before execution—it was standard secrecy protocol.
Hikaru had long since gotten used to this.
After all these years, he was already acting as a small squad leader.
"Still… my life as a squad leader is pretty miserable."
He sighed inwardly.
"Look at Uchiha Itachi. Same rank, but he got to slaughter his entire clan with a single order."
The current time was late Konoha Year 47.
The Third Shinobi World War had essentially come to an end.
On the Grass Country front, Minato Namikaze's squad had performed exceptionally well during the Kannabi Bridge Mission.
Although Uchiha Obito was lost, the mission successfully severed the supply line between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass, turning Iwagakure's forces there into stranded ghosts.
Forced into a corner, Iwagakure had no choice but to seek a ceasefire.
But the terms Konoha offered…
Hikaru recalled the decisions made by Hiruzen Sarutobi in the manga and anime.
No war reparations.
No accountability for Iwa's aggression against Konoha.
All captured Iwa ninja released.
From one perspective, it was a complete betrayal of Konoha's interests.
But from Hiruzen's standpoint, it made sense.
No one knew how far Iwagakure might go if pushed too hard. If they went insane and decided to fight Konoha to the bitter end, things would become catastrophic.
During the Third War, Konoha had clashed with all four major villages in succession. The village was exhausted—physically and mentally—and its pool of elite ninja was dangerously close to collapse.
If Iwa went berserk, Konoha simply couldn't hold.
More than that, cornering Iwa too badly would leave them unable to check Kumogakure, whose military strength and morale were still frighteningly high.
Kumo's temporary ceasefire with Konoha was largely thanks to one fact—
The Third Raikage had died after being surrounded by tens of thousands of Iwa ninja.
Using Iwa to restrain Kumo, buying Konoha time to recover—that was Hiruzen's strategy.
But such a "self-sacrificing" peace treaty was bound to cause backlash.
And so, the Third Hokage stepped down.
Minato Namikaze officially became the Fourth Hokage, and Konoha entered a new era.
At least, on the surface.
"Though this Fourth Hokage probably won't last long either."
Hikaru was calm about it.
"And that has nothing to do with me. I'm not an Uchiha—whoever sits in the Hokage's chair doesn't really affect my missions."
That unique quest—Become the true Big Boss of the Shinobi World—still sat there, with its vague rewards and punishments unknown.
But Hikaru intended to complete it.
To do that, he needed to attach himself to a powerful faction—one strong enough to dominate the shinobi world.
He had briefly considered cutting loose and joining Obito.
After all, they'd been classmates.
But after thinking it through, staying in Konoha was the better choice.
Whether it was Obito, Uchiha Madara, Black Zetsu, or even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—
They were all competitors.
In the end, they all sought control over the shinobi world.
And Hikaru saw no future in being a terrorist.
Besides, Konoha still had two Children of Destiny—the so-called saviors of the ninja world.
Honestly, even if Hiruzen had stayed Hokage, that might've been even better for him.
Not that Hikaru liked the man. In fact, plenty of Senju wished he were dead.
But knowing the plot, Hikaru understood one thing—
Hiruzen's end would be lonely. Betrayed by all, dying with no one to help him.
Well… almost no one.
The only one who tried was stopped by Kakashi.
And after Hiruzen?
The Fifth Hokage would be Tsunade.
A Senju.
If Hikaru played it safe until then, it was guaranteed profit.
Hell—if he performed well enough, maybe he could even take that Hokage seat himself.
Becoming an ANBU squad leader already gave him 1% quest progress.
So what would becoming Hokage give him?
"Assembly."
As Hikaru waited and thought, a man wearing a dog-faced mask entered the room, followed by a silver-haired figure in a cat mask.
"Captain!"
The moment the voice rang out, every ANBU member in the lounge assembled.
Less than thirty seconds later, the formation was complete.
"This is our new member," the captain said calmly. "You've probably heard of him."
"Hatake Kakashi."
"From today onward, he is one of us."
"Codename: kakashi."
Kakashi?
kakashi?
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
Meeting Kakashi wasn't surprising.
But that codename…
He couldn't tell whether the captain chose it deliberately, or if it came from Minato himself.
Before he could think it through, the captain spoke again.
"Nightingale."
"Yes, Captain," Hikaru replied instantly.
"From now on, he's assigned to your squad."
"…"
"Any objections?"
"No, Captain."