Last night, his father, Senju Tobirama, really dropped a bombshell at the dinner table.
It was sudden and unexpected. He knew his father would eventually become the Hokage. But he didn't think it would be this soon.
He would announce his decision to become the next Hokage publicly during the award ceremony of the interclass competition tomorrow.
However, everyone quickly accepted it.
There was no other choice.
His uncle, Senju Hashirama, was still busy recovering from his old wounds. It would be tough for him to lead the village from the front lines if a war between different ninja villages broke out.
And the leaders of other Shinobi villages surely know his uncle's situation by now, which fueled their ambitions.
His uncle required at least three or four decades to fully recover. If he were forced to exert too much power on the battlefield now, his internal injuries would only worsen, leaving him no more than five years to live.
No one wanted to see that happening.
Not him. Not his father. Not Mito. Not Hashirama's son and daughter-in-law.
Once his uncle finally recovered from his injuries, it would be the moment when the God of Shinobi would truly return to the world again.
Considering Senju Hashirama's chakra reserves and abundant vitality, he could maintain his peak power for at least half a millennium. And if he continued to get stronger during this time, then he would probably live even longer.
Seimei couldn't be sure. But if everything he learnt about this unique Shinobi world from his father was true, his speculations should be correct.
As for his father becoming the second Hokage…
"Took him long enough."
"He is already handling the duties of a true Hokage and managing the village."
"Even I have to admit, although my uncle is a great person and a powerful Shinobi, his management skills…well…"
"To put it mildly, my uncle, Senju Hashirama's management and governing skills are mediocre at best."
"To put it bluntly, he has absolutely no clue how to manage the village as a Hokage. If he didn't have my father's assistance, the village would have been in shambles by now."
"Thankfully, my father was there. Otherwise, Konoha would have fallen right after its foundation."
"By becoming the second Hokage, father will only make things official. His work and duties will remain the same."
On second thought, his father becoming the second Hokage wasn't a choice, but a necessity.
During the discussion last night, Seimei learnt a lot of unsettling things.
Like how the other Shinobi villages were baring their fangs at Konoha, ready to pounce on it the moment it showed any weakness.
After all, they all wanted a piece of meat. All of them had set their sights on the ever-prosperous and resource-rich Land of Fire, hovering around its borders like scheming vultures.
They were literally clamoring for a war to begin.
Thanks to their spies, they knew if my uncle joined the war, even if he could bring Konoha victory with minimal casualties, the price would be his life.
So, even if the villages lost this war, they would wait for the God of Shinobi to die before launching an even fiercer assault on Konoha, marking the beginning of another great Shinobi world war.
And if Hashirama didn't participate, that would be even better for them.
After all, they could weaken Konoha and gain substantial benefits after the war ended.
They were a group of hungry vultures and sly foxes through and through.
So, his father needed to become the Hokage soon.
Only this way could he earn the complete trust of Konoha's forces and gain enough authority to mobilize the clan ninjas seamlessly.
Both of these factors were necessary to keep Konoha stable and win future wars with minimal losses.
After all, according to his father and his aunt Mito, Konoha probably had less than five years before the foreign Shinobi village leaders lost patience and launched all-out attacks.
That would be the beginning of the First Great Shinobi War.
And he would be graduating to become an official Shinobi within the next 3.5 years.
"I will be participating in the war, after all."
Well, at least he had enough time to hone his skills and become at least as powerful as an Elite Jonin by the time of his graduation.
Status Panel
Seimei called his system out in his mind, and a transparent blue panel that was only visible to him appeared in front of his eyes out of thin air.
He focused on his two specific bloodline-related abilities and checked their progress.
[Sharingan—Three Tomoe Lv.3 (5,401 /10,000) → (5,473 /10,000)
Tenseigan Lv.2 (4,426 /5,000) → (4,451 /5,000)]
"My Tenseigan will evolve within the next 6-7 months. At level 3, I should be able to unlock my first Tenseigan ocular technique."
"As for my Sharingan…."
"I don't think I can unlock Mangekyo Sharingan before the war begins unless I can find a way to increase its proficiency faster or increase my overall ocular power."
"But that's fine."
Eyes and ocular techniques were fine and all, but it didn't mean Seimei could slack off building his foundation and avoid learning other skills.
He didn't want to end up like his grandmother, Otsutsuki Kaguya, who had great power, god-level ocular techniques, and monstrous potential, but zero combat experience.
Otherwise, how could someone as powerful as her be sealed by his own sons, whose powers were like a mere lake in front of a vast ocean?
He remembered how Isshiki fought in the original Boruto anime.
Even if you gouged his unique Dojutsu, Kokugan, he could still beat Super-Kage-level opponents with his sheer strength, speed, Taijutsu, and other elemental powers.
After years of training, Seimei understood one thing.
His Otsutsuki bloodline gave him immense potential.
The potential to gain a body strong enough to crush mountains with raw physical force.
The potential to attain healing factors that could regenerate severed limbs and mend even damaged heart and internal organs within seconds.
The potential to have vast chakra reserves.
The potential to evolve his eyes, control space-time elements, and obtain unique ocular techniques that could be downright despair-inducing for ordinary ninjas.
The potential to live for hundreds of thousands of years.
The potential to attain immortality.
The potential to grow stronger without any limits.
But they were just his potential.
He had yet to attain them.
He could naturally attain Super-Kage-level power within a couple of hundred years and Six Paths-level power within a millennium or two due to his potential, even if he slacked off. But he didn't have this kind of time.
His enemies wouldn't let him grow peacefully.
Not the other Shinobi villages. Not the distant Otsutsuki.
And he wasn't delusional.
He knew that every hostile Otsutsuki he would face in the future had honed their techniques and battle skills for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
Yes, many of them slacked off. But their long years of experience made them formidable opponents.
To match them, he needed to train like his life depended on it.
He was no Uzumaki Naruto or Uchiha Sasuke, who had gotten Six Paths-level chakra and power as a Christmas gift from the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, himself.
Otherwise, do you think it's possible to reach such a level before even turning 18?
Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.
Although those gifts helped them attain powers beyond Super-Kage-level before they even turned 17 or 18, borrowed powers always came with severe limitations.
The power they gained could never truly become their own.
All they could do was treat them like external plug-ins and use them without fully internalizing them.
Didn't you see how Naruto could no longer create his own Truth-seeking orbs? Or how Sasuke only had Rinnegan in one eye, which he could never revert to Sharingan and back to Rinnegan at will?
If they had gained the Six Path chakra and powers through their own strength, they wouldn't have faced such limitations. They wouldn't need to use their abilities as external plug-ins.
And the worst part?
Because of the interference of the external powers, their growth had been stunted.
They could never attain powers beyond the level of the Six Paths.
An utterly hopeless situation.
Fortunately, I have a system to help me accelerate my growth process.
I can grow my powers steadily.
And every bit of power I gain will be my own.
Sure, I will need a lot more time to reach the Six Paths level of power.
But I will reach that level and eventually, go beyond it.
Seimei sighed lightly as he stood in the middle of a private training ground within the Senju clan compound.
"Being a genius or prodigy doesn't mean shit."
Seimei clenched his fists and murmured.
At least, not until I can turn my potential into tangible strength!
"I still have a long way to go!"
He stayed silent for a while before pulling out an A-rank Ninjutsu scroll that was gifted to him by his father.
He opened the scroll and revised its content once again to see if he had missed anything before closing it.
"Anyways, let's focus on the present."
"It's about time I bring this new Ninjutsu to level 2."
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