Chapter 247 : The Noble System Player
Just like that, Namikaze Minato became a resident of Amegakure.
Uchiha Taiga led him through the streets of Amegakure to a residential area on the eastern side of the village.
The houses here were all single-family courtyards with gray tiles, white walls, and wooden doors and windows. Flowers and plants grew in the yards.
Uchiha Taiga stopped in front of one of the courtyards.
"You can live here."
His voice was casual.
"If you need anything, just tell Yumiko."
Namikaze Minato nodded, pushed the door open, and walked inside.
The courtyard wasn't large, but it was tidy. The ground was paved with gravel, and a small tree grew in the corner with a stone bench beneath it. Inside the house, there was a bed, a table, and a cabinet. The bedding was brand new. The windows were open, allowing sunlight to stream in and cast a patch of light on the floor.
He took a lap around the room before standing by the window, looking out at the street.
People were walking along the street—both civilians and shinobi. The civilians wore ordinary clothes, carrying baskets or holding children. The shinobi wore Amegakure flak jackets with forehead protectors on their brows, their ninja tool pouches bulging at their waists.
No one noticed his presence.
The people of Amegakure didn't show much surprise at his appearance.
Because very few people cared.
It wasn't as if Amegakure hadn't seen outsiders over the years. Following Uchiha Taiga's advice, Nagato had been steadily absorbing population from the outside year-round. Refugees from other countries, people who had lost their homes in wars or chaos, and those who simply couldn't survive elsewhere—as long as they were willing to come, Amegakure was willing to take them in.
So, despite Amegakure keeping a low profile, if one were to actually count its population, it likely wouldn't be any less than Konoha's.
Namikaze Minato stood by the window, watching the pedestrians for a long time.
Then he turned around, walked to the bed, and sat down.
The bedboards let out a faint creak.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
Those youthful hands were exactly the same as they were before he died.
He clenched his fists, then released them.
Then he lay down and closed his eyes, but he didn't fall asleep.
Countless thoughts swirled in his mind, buzzing endlessly like a swarm of flies that couldn't be shooed away.
Everything about Amegakure was novel to Namikaze Minato.
After all, he was someone who had served as a Kage. His level of thinking and the perspective from which he viewed things were entirely different.
Early the next morning, he walked out of the courtyard and took a stroll around the village.
He observed many things: the streets, houses, shops, pedestrians, farmlands, crops, mills, training grounds, ninja tool shops, hospitals, and schools...
From many subtle details, he could grasp the general state of a village.
The smoothness of the roads reflected a village's financial strength; the condition of the houses reflected its construction capabilities; the mental state of the pedestrians reflected its level of governance; and the laughter of the children concerned its future.
Namikaze Minato walked around the village for an entire day, going from east to west, and from south to north.
He noticed many details and finally came to a conclusion.
Amegakure's war potential was likely stronger than any of the Five Great Ninja Villages in the ninja world.
This conclusion truly startled him.
He stood on a small hill on the western side of the village, looking at the distant fields and the village itself, remaining silent for a long time.
This was partly due to Uchiha Taiga and Nagato, but also because of the numerous details he had witnessed.
He turned around and looked at the tallest building in the center of the village—Amegakure's administration building.
He knew that a kunoichi named Konan acted as the Kage of Amegakure, handling the village's daily affairs with methods no less capable than his own.
It wasn't until his third day living in Amegakure that Namikaze Minato saw Uchiha Taiga again.
That morning, he was stretching in the courtyard.
Uchiha Taiga walked in through the gate, wearing dark clothes. His hair was tied up at the back of his head and secured with a single chopstick, looking incredibly casual.
Namikaze Minato stopped his movements and looked at Uchiha Taiga.
"Minato, you're quite a decent guy. If we could be friends, I'm sure it would be a great feeling."
Namikaze Minato didn't speak. He just looked at Uchiha Taiga, waiting for him to continue.
The corners of Uchiha Taiga's mouth curled up slightly.
"So I'll give you a piece of advice: stop using those little tricks."
Namikaze Minato's expression changed, his cheek twitching slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
His voice was calm, his tone completely natural.
Uchiha Taiga looked at him with a half-smile.
"It's best if that's true."
His voice was still just as casual.
"Minato, I only give advice once. Don't make things difficult for me."
Namikaze Minato took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
He fell silent, not saying a word. He knew his little maneuvers had been discovered.
His numerous actions in the village over the past two days weren't just about looking; they were about memorizing.
He had been memorizing the layout of the roads, the distribution of the houses, the locations of the sentry posts, and the patrol routes.
He was evaluating Amegakure's war potential, but he was also planning his own escape routes.
He thought he had been very discreet, assuming no one would notice.
But looking at it now, he was wrong.
Uchiha Taiga looked at him and spoke again.
"Let's go. I'll take you to see something."
His voice was casual, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.
Namikaze Minato's heart stirred. He looked up at Uchiha Taiga, then pointed in a specific direction.
"Is it that?"
What he pointed at was the towering giant tree in the distant mountainous area of the village.
He had seen that tree since the day he was resurrected three days ago.
It grew in the distant mountains, taller than all the surrounding peaks, its canopy so massive that it covered half the sky.
He didn't know what it was, but his instincts told him that the tree was far from simple.
Uchiha Taiga nodded.
"Yes."
He paused.
"Let the Nine-Tails take a look at it. Maybe it will give the tree a little stimulation."
Namikaze Minato nodded solemnly.
"Alright."
The two walked out of the courtyard and headed toward the western side of the village.
They moved quickly, arriving at the foot of the mountain where the giant tree stood in just a matter of minutes.
From here, the giant tree was even more breathtaking. The trunk was so thick that its edges couldn't be seen, rising from the ground like a colossal pillar. The canopy was so large that its top was invisible, spreading across the sky like a gigantic umbrella. The leaves were a deep green, densely packed together, completely blocking out the sky.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Thick vines hung down from the trunk, so massive that a person couldn't wrap their arms around them. They dangled from high above down to the ground, looking like giant pythons draped over the tree.
Bulging roots broke through the surface, extending outward from the trunk in all directions like a massive net spread across the earth.
Namikaze Minato stood beneath the tree, tilting his head up to look at the behemoth, deeply shaken to his core.
This tree was taller than any building he had ever seen, larger than anything he had ever laid eyes on.
Standing before it, he felt like a mere ant.
The thin mist drifting around them gave him an even stranger feeling. He knew exactly what it was—it was the result of gathered natural energy.
Uchiha Taiga stood beside him, also looking up at the tree.
His expression was calm, as if he were entirely used to seeing such a thing.
"Let's go."
He stepped forward, walking toward the trunk.
Namikaze Minato followed behind him, stepping over the bulging roots, advancing step by step.
The roots were incredibly thick and stable to walk on, feeling just like solid ground.
Nagato was waiting right there.
He stood in front of the trunk, wearing a white outer robe with glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, his hands tucked into his pockets.
Seeing the two arrive, he simply nodded.
Namikaze Minato walked up to him, stopped, and nodded in greeting.
Then he turned his head and looked at the trunk.
The trunk was dark brown, its bark rough and covered in deep fissures.
He raised his hand and touched the bark.
The bark was warm, as if blood were flowing beneath it.
He pulled his hand back and looked at Uchiha Taiga.
"What exactly is this thing?"
His voice was a bit dry.
Uchiha Taiga looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"The God Tree."
His voice was casual.
"The God Tree that I developed."
Namikaze Minato frowned in thought, searching his mind for any information regarding a God Tree, and then his expression changed drastically.
"The God Tree from the myths, the one connected to the Rabbit Goddess?"
His voice grew tight.
Uchiha Taiga nodded.
"The blueprint is indeed the tree from the myths, but it isn't a myth. It's true history."
Namikaze Minato's expression grew even more solemn.
Uchiha Taiga looked at him and spoke again.
"A long time ago, a member of the Otsutsuki clan named Kaguya came from the distant starry sky and planted a God Tree in the ninja world. This God Tree absorbed the natural energy of the ninja world to condense a fruit."
His voice was calm, as if he were simply telling a story.
"Otsutsuki Kaguya ate the fruit of the God Tree, gained immense power, became the progenitor of chakra, and ruled over this land."
Namikaze Minato's brow furrowed tightly.
"And then?"
Uchiha Taiga continued, "Later, her two sons, Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Otsutsuki Hamura, sealed her away."
His voice remained calm.
"Otsutsuki Hagoromo was the one who later became known as Hagoromo Otsutsuki. He founded Ninshu and distributed chakra to everyone."
He finished speaking. It was that simple.
Namikaze Minato stood there, digesting this information.
Then he spoke.
"The God Tree needs to absorb the natural energy of a planet to grow, right?"
His voice was heavy.
Uchiha Taiga nodded.
"That's right."
Namikaze Minato's expression grew even uglier.
He looked at the giant tree before him, at its canopy that reached beyond sight, at its trunk that stretched endlessly, and at its hanging vines and bulging roots.
"Won't something like this destroy the entire planet?"
His voice was stern, carrying obvious concern.
Uchiha Taiga shook his head.
"No."
His voice was casual.
Namikaze Minato looked at him, his gaze heavy.
"How can you guarantee that?"
His tone was serious, almost like an interrogation.
Uchiha Taiga glanced at him. "Because my tree does the exact opposite of the God Tree planted by Otsutsuki Kaguya."
After saying that, he glanced at his own system panel.
He was, after all, a noble system player.
The panel hovered before his eyes—translucent, pale blue, and filled with lines of text.
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