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[New Fanfic!,This fanfic will be on the end of the week poll. The Poll will choose the next fanfic to pick up! It will be public in my P@treon for everyone to vote]
Land of Fire, an unnamed plain.
Cold winds howled as the remnants of the Warring States era once again spread over this land.
Wearing silver armor from the Warring States period, with the clan emblem of three crescent moons on his arm guards, Hagoromo Gensou scanned his surroundings expressionlessly, his mouth twitching slightly.
The visitors were all old acquaintances.
Reto, Ai, Byakuren, Ishikawa.
And...
Gensou took a deep look at the man directly in front of him, dressed in a red and white ceremonial robe, with a "Fire" kanji hat.
Senju Hashirama!
The freshly appointed First Hokage of Konohagakure.
Before this, he had an even more renowned title.
Leader of the Senju Clan! God of Shinobi!
"You really think highly of me. The Five Kage of the five great ninja villages actually teamed up to deal with me alone."
Looking at the "Fire", "Earth", "Water", "Wind", and "Lightning" hats surrounding him and blocking any possible escape routes, Gensou bitterly joked.
What did he do to deserve this? No, wait!
Was this really necessary? He hadn't done anything heinous or evil.
As a transmigrator with excellent qualities, he had always been kind and helpful since being run over by a truck and arriving here.
Helping old ladies cross the street, playing chess with old men, buying lollipops for little girls, providing porridge for relief, repairing roads and bridges...
Which good deed had he not done?
At most, he had just casually cleaned up some low-morality thugs and bullies who bullied the weak.
And some cold-blooded, ruthless ninja who treated ordinary lives as nothing and killed at will.
Of course, it's normal for the scope of cleaning to expand unconsciously while sweeping trash.
Who let this world, under the nine-year compulsory education system, look so unpleasant to him who wasn't among the bottom nine?
Fortunately, he had the ability.
Thus, following the trail of thugs, his cleaning targets rose to those he deemed unworthy: the ringleaders, landlords, local officials, and even long-standing noble families and highly respected daimyo.
Regarding ninja, he also expanded from wandering ninja to clan ninja, and even the new ninja from the large and small villages in this era.
This undoubtedly offended many people.
But Gensou didn't care.
Who was he? The current leader of the prestigious and renowned Hagoromo clan.
Although the Hagoromo clan had often been overshadowed by the Senju clan in past confrontations.
But being able to fight against the Senju, the top ninja clan, for so many years, and signing a friendly pact with the always proud Uchiha clan, agreeing to cooperate during missions, no one could deny the strength of the Hagoromo clan.
Especially with his emergence, the Hagoromo clan's prestige soared.
While Hashirama was hailed as the God of Shinobi, he was recognized as the most talented among the shinobi, one who could stand shoulder to shoulder with a god.
Gensou's current strength had reached the pinnacle of the ninja world.
This had been his source of confidence all along.
But often, walking by the river, there's no way your shoes won't get wet.
This time, it seemed he was falling into a deep pit.
At this moment, Gensou felt his heart sink.
First Kazekage Reto, First Raikage Ai, First Mizukage Byakuren, First Tsuchikage Ishikawa.
And that person who still impressed him, First Hokage Hashirama.
His opponents were all top-tier shinobi from the Warring States era who had put an end to that era. Despite Gensou's immense strength, he couldn't guarantee victory against five opponents.
Especially with the cheat-like Hashirama among them.
Game over~~ Game over~~
As if a flock of crows were circling overhead, lamenting, Gensou took a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent thoughts, and looked around, laughing bitterly:
"Rare guests indeed! The Five Kage of the five great ninja villages visiting me together. Isn't the ninja world rumored to be holding the Five Kage Summit to divide up the menu?"
Hearing this, the First Mizukage Byakuren, with a long scar running across his blind left eye and a head full of wild hair, lifted his Mizukage hat and calmly replied:
"The menu is mostly divided, except for you, the last dish not yet on the table."
Gensou glanced at Byakuren without replying and turned his gaze to Hashirama in front.
Hashirama, an honest man, noticing Gensou's gaze, sighed:
"The ninja world has finally welcomed a long-awaited peace, and no one wants to break it."
"Gensou, you are too powerful, and your ideas are too extreme. After much deliberation, this is our only option."
Gensou was dumbfounded.
First of all, he wasn't the Nine-Tails.
Secondly, extreme ideas?
What did he say? Gensou was confused for a few seconds, then remembered. His ideas were nothing more than stating that the establishment of the five great ninja villages and the existence of the five great nations weren't true peace but a twenty-year truce; real peace required unification; he laughed at Hashirama's lack of strategy and Madara's low intellect, and similar remarks.
Just for that?
Weren't they just empty words?
For someone who had studied the way of the keyboard for a long time in his previous life, these remarks were nothing unusual.
To painstakingly achieve the unification of the ninja world? He had no interest in that.
With that time, wouldn't it be more comfortable to study ninjutsu, expand the family, and live a peaceful life behind closed doors?
Why did these people take it seriously?
Gensou looked again at the five Kage filled with murderous intent around him.
For the first time, he experienced the consequences of speaking recklessly for momentary pleasure.
"I was just speaking casually. I never intended to act on it. Do you believe me?"
Gensou shrugged, speaking the truth for the last time, not expecting these people to truly listen.
Sure enough. Hashirama was about to respond when the impatient First Raikage Ai clenched his fist and said, "So what? Gensou, you deserve to die!"
The First Mizukage Byakuren, First Kazekage Reto, and First Tsuchikage Ishikawa nodded in agreement.
Ishikawa bluntly stated, "The structure of the five great ninja villages has been established. For the peace to continue, Hagoromo Gensou, you, the biggest threat outside the five great ninja villages, must be eliminated."
"The daimyo of various countries are very dissatisfied with you, always hoping to get rid of you. Blame yourself for being a ninja who overstepped his bounds and was too ungrateful."
The First Kazekage Reto, who had always worried about funding for his village, added with a smile.
The harsh environment of the Land of Wind, with most of its territory being sand, forced him to trade his share of the tailed beasts for funds to build his village during the Five Kage Summit.
Many daimyo and nobles, feeling a sense of impending doom, hated Gensou with a passion, and he was eager to take Hagoromo's head for a high bounty.
As the nominal masters to whom the ninja villages owed allegiance, the daimyo controlled the vital funds the villages needed, wielding significant influence.
Offending the daimyo was a death sentence.
Furthermore, the five great ninja villages found Gensou , who operated independently of them, highly inconvenient.
All these factors culminated in the situation where, under the pretext of the Five Kage Summit, the Five Kage, who had rarely gathered together, ambushed Gensou while he was unprepared.
One-on-one, it was uncertain whether they could defeat him, but Gensou could easily escape.
Five-on-one, escape was impossible.
Gensou's fate was sealed from the moment they arrived.
Future Madara would earn the honor of facing the Five Kage alone.
However, Gensou was granted this grand honor decades earlier.
Especially with the rule-breaking Hashirama among them.
Gensou had no more illusions.
As Ishikawa said, as an outsider, he would be eliminated regardless of the reason, even if he had accidentally stepped on an ant.
All for the dominance of the five great ninja villages.
"I was careless."
Gensou shook his head.
He hadn't considered himself a thorn in some people's sides.
But given his strength, he hadn't paid much attention.
Complacency was deadly.
He thought the Five Kage Summit was only about tailed beast distribution and alliance formation among the five great nations, not realizing they had another plan in mind.
The Five Kage actually teamed up to ambush a young man like him!
They really did it! But did they consider the price they would pay?
Gensou's expression turned cold as he brushed the dust off his armor, his eyes gradually becoming dangerous.
At the same time.
Noticing Gensou's sudden, fierce aura, the Five Kage prepared for battle with serious expressions.
Compared to the other four, Hashirama looked more regretful.
He genuinely admired Gensou.
When Konohagakure was newly established, he sincerely invited the Hagoromo clan to join the Konoha family.
Even though there was much blood feud between the two clans, even though his third brother, Senju Itama, had died at the hands of the Hagoromo clan.
If he could accommodate the Uchiha clan, why not the Hagoromo clan?
But Gensou refused.
Knowing the plot, he had no interest in humbling himself to join a future trouble-ridden and constantly fighting Konoha.
He knew too well the future fate of the Senju and Uchiha clans.
Moreover, his clan had strong objections.
Gensou didn't understand how the proud Uchiha were willing to make peace and work with the Senju.
His clan, with a longer history of opposing the Senju, would never agree to shake hands with former enemies and become villagers together.
Thus, the Hagoromo clan, which had stood shoulder to shoulder with the Senju and Uchiha during the Warring States era, gradually declined in the decades after the Warring States ended, disappearing from the ninja world's stage.
Of course, compared to the Senju and Uchiha, who were eventually reduced to a few individuals, the Hagoromo clan, though declined, fared relatively well.
Unaware of the future, Hashirama sighed and shook his head.
With his nature, he was unwilling to deal with Gensou this way.
But the daimyo of the Land of Fire had persistently demanded it, and with the other four Kage agreeing, and his brother Tobirama's constant persuasion, he had finally consented.
All for Konoha.
Hashirama reached out and touched the "Fire" kanji on his hat, his calm eyes turning sharp.
The wind froze at that moment.
Cold killing intent filled the valley.
Hashirama was about to act.
Suddenly!
Gensou raised his hand in a pause gesture and said: "Wait a minute."
Hashirama stopped, his carefully prepared expression dissolving into confusion.
Seeing this, the other four Kage also halted.
What was Gensou up to? Begging for mercy?
Or cursing them out? Gensou ignored the Kage's confusion, his attention entirely focused elsewhere.
At that moment, his mind was fully concentrated.
He heard a mechanical sound: "Ding."
His long-awaited system finally arrived!
(End of Chapter)
(It's a very long prologue!, 13 Chapters. They're pretty fun, as they set the motions on the story. But nonetheless, it's a prologue, so better rate the story after you read around 20 chapters.)
Ding!
Detected host is a transmigrator, system formally activated.
Name: Hagoromo Gensou
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Identity: Ninja
World: Naruto
An emotionless mechanical voice suddenly rang in Gensou's mind.
Gensou instinctively checked himself first, finding no signs of genjutsu before he relaxed. Endless thoughts surged in his mind, ultimately forming one sentiment: "This system sure took its time to arrive!!!"
At the beginning of his transmigration, young Hagoromo Gensou eagerly awaited the system's arrival, but it never came, leaving him disappointed for a long time.
Fortunately, he persevered and reached his current position.
Hagoromo Gensou could proudly say that he had achieved his current strength entirely through his own efforts, without any system help.
"So, I'm already a big shot. Why are you here now, system?"
No, wait! The system was still useful.
Looking at his dire situation, Gensou's eyes lit up. He gestured for Hashirama to wait a moment and eagerly opened the system.
This system is the Comeback System, dedicated to helping the host overcome barriers of talent, background, and resources, assisting the host in defeating all rivals on the path to becoming the strongest in the ninja world!
Please accept the beginner's gift pack.
For some reason, the word "comeback" made Gensou feel uneasy.
But seeing the promise of "becoming the strongest in the ninja world," he suppressed his doubts and looked forward to the beginner's gift pack.
Generally, beginner's gift packs, despite being for beginners, often contained extremely powerful items.
Things like the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Rinnegan, or Six Paths Sage Mode.
If it could provide something useful for his current situation, that would be great.
With such expectations in mind, Gensou mentally said: "Accept."
As the words fell, with a brilliant display of fireworks in his mind, the luxurious beginner's gift pack burst open with a "boom," and a heap of beginner gifts spilled out.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Three Basic Jutsu.
Congratulations to the host for obtaining Konoha-Style Taijutsu.
Congratulations to the host for obtaining Kunai Throwing Technique.
Congratulations to the host for obtaining Standard Genin-level Chakra.
After reading this information, Hagoromo Gensou fell silent, his initial excitement quickly fading.
Was this beginner's gift pack too beginner?
The Three Basic Jutsu, Konoha-Style Taijutsu, Kunai Throwing Technique—what were these things? He hadn't even been interested in these since he was five years old.
As for the Genin-level Chakra, Hagoromo Gensou sensed a small amount of extra chakra in his body, noticeable only upon close inspection.
But pouring a cup of water into a river had no effect.
I've already faced the Five Kage, and you're giving me beginner-level ninja stuff? "System, did you give me the wrong beginner's gift pack?" Gensou asked repeatedly.
After verification, no error was found.
Gensou: "...System, do you think the items in the beginner's gift pack are useful for someone of my current strength?"
After verification, the beginner's gift pack is very useful to the host.
"System, are you sure your program isn't malfunctioning?"
After verification, the system program is functioning correctly.
Gensou was speechless.
But the system wasn't done yet.
Ding!
Beginner task being issued
This task is a mainline task, cannot be refused or avoided.
Failure penalty: System will no longer serve the host, host's comeback will fail.
Fine, even though the system's beginner's gift pack was a bit odd, at least its primary functions were working.
Let's see what the first beginner task is.
Maybe it has something to do with the Five Kage in front of me. Maybe it involves holding out against their combined attack for a certain time? Or even harder, defeating one or two of them? Thus earning great rewards and making a miraculous comeback? Gensou, filled with hope, accepted the beginner task.
Beginner task: Defeat Uzumaki Naruto.
Task description: As an average student at the ninja academy, you are unwilling to be ordinary and decide to embark on a comeback journey. Young man with passion, go defeat the dead-last student, Uzumaki Naruto, and take your first step on the path to greatness.
Task reminder: Completing tasks will grant the host corresponding rewards. Please take tasks seriously.
What? Gensou was filled with confusion.
What kind of nonsense was this?
He knew who Naruto was.
But what era was this? Naruto's grandfather hadn't even been born yet, let alone the future protagonist.
And when did he attend the ninja academy? The academy hadn't even been established in Konoha yet.
System, are you sure you're functioning correctly? This beginner task clearly wasn't meant for his current self.
Thinking of something, Hagoromo Gensou hurriedly asked:
"System, what year is it now?"
Year 60 of Konoha.
Gensou: "..."
What the hell is Year 60 of Konoha?
It's only been two years since Konoha was founded.
He finally understood everything.
This broken system had traveled to the wrong time, starting up over fifty years early.
Or maybe he transmigrated too early? Damn this comeback system!
He should have guessed from the start.
Now, facing the Five Kage alone, who else could he make a comeback against?
Hagoromo Gensou took a deep breath, trying to salvage his dignity:
"It's Year 2 of Konoha!!!"
After verification, it is confirmed to be Year 60 of Konoha.
Please follow the system's recognized timeline.
What else could Hagoromo Gensou say?
"How can this task be completed?? Give me a different beginner task!"
Please complete the beginner task as soon as possible.
"Restart the system! Bring in a smarter one."
Please complete the beginner task as soon as possible.
"Uninstall the system! What's the point of you!"
Please complete the beginner task as soon as possible.
"Trash system!!"
Gensou decided to ignore this malfunctioning system.
So what if he had to face the Five Kage head-on?
At worst, he'd die a glorious death.
He had relied on himself all his life, never cheating.
That trash system, get as far away as possible! Disappointed, Gensou put the useless system out of his mind.
He opened his eyes, refocusing on the Five Kage around him.
For the Five Kage to join forces against him, Gensou naturally had not earned his reputation in vain.
Calming down and letting go of everything, he fully committed to the fight. The chakra within him surged, and a powerful pressure enveloped the entire plain.
"Let's begin."
Gensou raised his head, speaking coldly.
"It should have been like this from the start."
As he responded.
Boom! A deafening sonic boom erupted.
The pinnacle battle of the ninja world had officially begun.
(End of Chapter)
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