Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 54: A New Mission

【Ding!】

【Mission Released】

【Main Mission: Become the Boss of the Cutting Class Quartet】

【Mission Description: Although the host, who has begun his rise at the Ninja Academy, defeated Naruto Uzumaki, the attention of teachers and classmates remains unfocused on the host. Defeating the dead-last is insufficient. The host has decided to target the Truancy Quartet. Defeat Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Naruto Uzumaki (completed), and Kiba Inuzuka to further elevate your rebellion at the Ninja Academy, and ultimately dominate it!】

【Mission Tip: This is a main mission, it cannot be refused or avoided.】

【Ding! Ding!】

【Mission Released】

【Side Mission: Childhood Sweetheart】

【Mission Description: What would student life be without an element of romance? Sasuke Uchiha is adored by many female classmates, and even the dead-last Naruto Uzumaki is liked by the esteemed Hinata Hyuga. The host, determined to become the king of the Ninja Academy, refuses to be outdone and decides to choose a female classmate as a romantic interest. The mission is completed if the female classmate has significant affection for the host.】

【Side Mission is optional. The host can choose to accept or reject it. Failure carries no penalty; success grants a reward.】

【Side Mission Reward: Radiant Appearance Technique (Regardless of gender, everyone loves beauty. This technique allows the host to maintain optimal appearance, free from white hair, wrinkles, dirt, and other negative effects.)】

A series of system messages flooded his mind.

Enjoying a hot spring bath in an inn, Hagoromo Gengetsu pulled the towel from his face, opened his eyes, and looked at the white mist of the hot spring around him, raising an eyebrow:

"Just when I was wondering why the system was silent and if it would continue to play dead. Unexpectedly, two missions arrive at once."

Hagoromo Gengetsu reviewed the missions in his mind.

The first main mission was nothing special.

Since the path to dominating the Ninja Academy included defeating Naruto Uzumaki, it was only natural to defeat a few more members of the Konoha 12.

But the other side mission.

"Completion comes with a reward, failure doesn't matter. It looks quite good. But the content of this mission..."

Engaging emotionally with a ten-year-old girl?

System, what are you thinking?

Feeling it was beneath his dignity, Hagoromo Gengetsu instinctively wanted to refuse.

However, upon seeing that the side mission had already revealed its reward, and it was a beauty-related technique, his eyes gleamed.

"Ahem. Unlike the main mission, the side mission explicitly states the reward. The deeper meaning is worth contemplating."

"Although the system often acts erratically, given this new concept of side missions, based on the principle that practice is the only criterion for testing truth, perhaps it warrants some verification."

"Anyway, failure doesn't have any impact. Let's just see how it goes."

With a serious demeanor, Hagoromo Gengetsu accepted the side mission in his mind and stood up.

Splash—

Boiling hot spring water cascaded down his perfectly proportioned body.

However, as the white mist dispersed, what was revealed was a body full of scars and indentations.

The most severe was on his chest, a depression deep enough to fit half a fist.

Such injuries would have been fatal for an ordinary person.

Hagoromo Gengetsu could move freely and even engage in a large battle earlier, not only due to his robust physique but also because he used secret techniques to suppress his injuries.

However, this only treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

Hagoromo Gengetsu inspected his body.

During this period of recuperation, while the surface wounds had healed, only waiting for the flesh to regenerate, the deeper injuries remained.

Especially the Sage Chakra left in his body by Hashirama Senju.

Because of the forbidden technique "Eternal Breath" preserving his vitality, these Sage Chakras, which could have been removed, had now fused with his flesh and blood for decades, making them very difficult to deal with.

"Sage techniques..."

Hagoromo Gengetsu touched the particularly noticeable scar on his chest, recalling the scene of Hashirama Senju, in Sage Mode, stepping on a giant Buddha and descending with an invincible presence.

Hagoromo Gengetsu was well aware of the power of Sage techniques.

During the Warring States period, he had specifically sought out the Three Great Sacred Grounds.

However, either their locations were too well hidden, or the timing was not right, and he could never grasp the essence of Sage techniques.

As for creating his own Sage techniques independent of the chakra system, without other Sage techniques as reference, it would be as difficult as perfecting the Kekkei Mōra.

Focused on the Kekkei Mōra, Hagoromo Gengetsu had neither the time nor the energy to create Sage techniques from scratch.

If it were that easy, there would not have been only three sacred places with Sage techniques in a millennium, and not the kind suitable for humans either.

Moreover, learning Sage techniques seems to require a certain aptitude, which only a very few possess.

During the Warring States period, the only person Hagoromo Gengetsu knew who could use Sage techniques was Hashirama Senju.

Don't even suggest that Hashirama Senju created Sage techniques on his own.

This guy was strong because of Asura's reincarnation and the activation of the Wood Release bloodline limit.

Creating Sage techniques?

Hagoromo Gengetsu, Tobirama Senju, and Orochimaru hadn't done it.

Hagoromo Gengetsu would never believe that the simple-minded Hashirama Senju created Sage techniques on his own.

Most likely, he learned them from the Shikkotsu Forest.

After the Warring States period, in the ensuing decades, Hagoromo Gengetsu knew of only a few people who could use Sage techniques: Jiraiya, Naruto Uzumaki, and Kabuto Yakushi.

Minato Namikaze also could, but he died before he could master it, making it ineffective in battle.

So, in a millennium, very few humans truly mastered Sage techniques.

Hagoromo Gengetsu was unsure if he would have a chance to learn Sage techniques in the future.

Regarding the three elders of the sacred places, who had lived for thousands of years, witnessing the conflicts between Kaguya Otsutsuki and her sons, and remaining aloof even during the Infinite Tsukuyomi, merely nurturing sacred land contractors like Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Hagoromo Gengetsu was highly cautious.

Rather than forcibly taking them, it would be better to hope to get them from the system later.

However, now wanting to completely eliminate the residual, extremely stubborn, and destructive Sage Chakra of Hashirama Senju in his body, Hagoromo Gengetsu found it very difficult with mere normal recuperation.

"Perhaps, I should look for medical ninjutsu information." Hagoromo Gengetsu thought while putting on his yukata.

Thanks to Tsunade's establishment of Konoha's medical system, imitated by other major ninja villages, medical ninjutsu in the ninja world had become far more advanced than during the Warring States period or the early days of the ninja villages.

Even Orochimaru, whose hands were sealed by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, believed that Tsunade could heal his injuries, indicating the sophistication of current medical ninjutsu.

Times are always advancing.

Technology advances, and so does ninjutsu.

There is no such thing as the ancients being superior to the present.

With this thought in mind, Hagoromo Gengetsu walked out of the hot spring, rapidly planning his next steps.