Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Xia Zuo lived in Konoha Village for 12 years.

He understood the power of the Uchiha clan, but he understood even more the immense influence of Wood Release in Konoha.

In front of the Konoha ninjas and Uchiha, he created a lush forest, preached the Will of Fire, and then said that Konoha must have Uchiha and must protect every Konoha ninja.

Who would dare to say they want to destroy the Uchiha clan?

If Shimura Danzo had dared to lose his temper at that time, the Konoha ninjas could have drowned him in their spittle.

If the Third Hokage still had any brains, he would have personally torn this untimely bastard to shreds.

The First Hokage's Wood Release Kekkei Genkai and Will of Fire were the two great treasures that united the people of Konoha Village.

Whether it's the powerful Konoha ninja army, outstanding ninja geniuses, or even a wealthy and safe life, they all stem from these two core elements.

If the Third Hokage sees someone publicly questioning these two ideas and still refuses to take drastic measures, then he himself will be the one being questioned.

Especially in Konoha 55, Hiruzen Sarutobi's position as Hokage was very unstable.

The Konoha ninjas had only reluctantly accepted his restoration, so what did he do?

He drove away Orochimaru, the natural candidate for Fifth Hokage, and accepted the Kumogakure's rude threat, exchanging Hyuga Hizashi's life for peace with the Kumogakure.

For seven whole years, Konoha Village failed to elect a Fifth Hokage, and the Konoha ninjas were already extremely dissatisfied.

Without the Third Hokage's precarious position, the Uchiha clan would never have come up with such a terrible idea as a coup.

When the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was alive, no Uchiha ninja ever clamored for a coup.

However, Xia Zuo suppressed the inner turmoil and calmed down to rethink his action plan.

Don't be reckless, or you'll die.

After awakening the Wood Release bloodline limit, Xia Zuo was able to change more than just the Uchiha clan massacre; he also changed his own status in Konoha.

If he performs well, he could even replace Tsunade and become the Fifth Hokage before the age of 20.

Xia Zuo suddenly realized that he seemed to have the ability to change Uchiha Shisui's fate.

As a time traveler, he naturally wanted to contact and capture key characters in the story as a starting point for his influence over the ninja world.

Uchiha Shisui was an important and key character in the plot, as Xia Zuo knew him, but Uchiha Shisui was not easy to approach.

Because he is kind.

Uchiha Shisui was too kind, and what was even more fatal was his overly strong sense of hierarchy.

Because Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Third Hokage, he trusted him unconditionally, and even trusted Danzo Shimura very much.

I can tell them all the core eye techniques of the Mangekyou Sharingan!

Is it possible for others to know about the technique of Kotoamatsukami?

Uchiha Shisui, who trusted his superiors unconditionally and kept no secrets from them, was completely unsuitable as a friend; he was simply too much of a jerk.

If I could recruit Uchiha Shisui as my subordinate, that would be absolutely fantastic.

But before, Xia Zuo was just a commoner ninja. His strength and status were not enough to be Uchiha Shisui's friend. How could he be convinced to become his subordinate?

So he gave up on the idea.

The situation is different now.

Having awakened the Wood Release bloodline limit, Xia Zuo's identity is naturally linked to the First Hokage, giving him the opportunity to persuade Uchiha Shisui to abandon the Third Hokage and instead believe in him.

That's possible.

The Third Hokage had too many weaknesses.

During Hiruzen Sarutobi's tenure as Hokage, Uzugakure was destroyed, the Senju clan disappeared, the White Fang of Konoha committed suicide, and one of the three legendary Sannin defected and two left Konoha. The decline of Konoha was clearly visible.

He led the Konoha ninja to victory in two wars, but gained no benefit from the victory.

This victory, like Schrödinger's cat, exists in a superposition of victory and non-victory.

In any case, the Konoha ninjas didn't feel like they had won the war at all.

Hyuga Hizashi, who was forced to commit suicide, has the most to say on this matter.

These facts could not possibly have left Uchiha Shisui unmoved.

However, Uchiha Shisui was used to blindly following authority and was unwilling to think about these things, or perhaps he did think about them but didn't know how to solve the problem.

Then give him greater authority, use the First Hokage to suppress the Third Hokage, and maybe we can win him over.

Xia Zuo was smitten.

Who wouldn't be tempted by the opportunity to take in a perfect subordinate like Uchiha Shisui?

But the most important thing right now is to master one's own strength; personal strength is the foundation of everything.

With enough money, Xia Zuo rented a high-end training ground to systematically test his strength.

Tearing off the newly sprouted branches and buds, Xia Zuo left the bedroom and entered the courtyard.

He meticulously tested everything from the most basic speed, reaction, agility, strength, endurance, and recovery, to the amount of chakra extracted, extraction efficiency, circulation speed, control ability, and external control.

Xia Zuo's basic abilities have increased by a full two times, which means that, without considering factors such as ninjutsu, he can now defeat 10 of his past selves at the same time.

He could easily say, "I can take on 10 of them!!"

If it were a one-on-one ring battle, Xia Zuo felt that even 100 of his past selves wouldn't be a match for him; he could fight all day long until he was defeated by hunger.

But an even bigger surprise was yet to come.

Xia Zuo discovered that he could easily perform chakra transformation and qualitative change, and easily extract the chakra of the five elements of wind, earth, water, fire, and lightning. He even extracted Yin Release and Yang Release chakra.

This is a miracle.

It is a miracle born from the cultivation knowledge accumulated by the Heavenly Demon Xia Zuo over hundreds of years, the spiritual insights gained by the Death God Xia Zuo over a hundred years, and his own chakra cultivation.

Unfortunately, the powerful and convenient telekinesis of the interstellar world was not shared.

However, Xia Zuo also discovered that his ninjutsu proficiency was problematic.

Firstly, the excessive improvement in physical fitness disrupted muscle memory, leading to a decrease in the speed of hand seal formation.

Secondly, it's because his control over chakra has greatly increased, and the speed at which it circulates within his body has also greatly increased, which conflicts with his previous habits of using ninjutsu.

The ninjutsu was circulating too fast in the body, and the combination with the slow hand seals caused an error, resulting in the failure of the ninjutsu.

But Xia Zuo quickly turned a bad situation into a good one. He tried to reduce the number of hand seals and replaced them with his own surge of chakra control, successfully performing the ninjutsu.

The speed is even faster than before.

He smiled with satisfaction: "So this is what it feels like for Jonin to use ninjutsu, and why they all have their own unique styles of ninjutsu."

"Hmm, I think I should learn from Hashirama Senju, who could clap his hands and summon whatever he wanted."

Xia Zuo spent the entire day practicing ninjutsu, familiarizing himself with chakra and its control.

His strong physique brought him abundant recovery ability. He felt no fatigue even after a busy day and practiced basic ninjutsu to a satisfactory level before dark.

After dark, Xia Zuo quietly left home and came to the daimyo's mansion in the northeast of the village, to the wilderness between the walled area and the surrounding area.

Because the daimyo's mansion cuts off the transportation between this place and the center of Konoha, no one lives here.

Daimyo usually live in the Fire Capital, and only stay temporarily at the Daimyo's mansion when they come to Konoha Village. The huge mansion is also empty.

The northeast corner of Konoha Village is arguably the most remote part of the entire village.

Xia Zuo felt that practicing Wood Release Kekkei Genkai here would be the least likely to be disturbed.