My Kekkei Genkai Is Kinda Weird?!

The moment Rin accepted the scroll, her fingertips grazing its aged parchment, a subtle shiver ran down her spine.

She looked up at the Third Hokage, eyes shining with a soft and carefully measured glow—equal parts gratitude and surprise.

"Thank you, sensei."

Hiruzen smiled kindly and reached out, ruffling her dark hair with practiced ease.

"Study it thoroughly. If anything confuses you, don't hesitate to ask."

Rin nodded, the movement precise, controlled.

"Understood."

She pressed the scroll gently to her chest and turned to leave.

---

The streets of Konoha were bathed in the last remnants of golden light. As Rin walked, her footsteps were light, almost airy—but her mind churned with thought.

This scroll...

There's no way it was just a reward. Not from someone like Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Her fingers instinctively brushed the scroll hidden beneath her robes, as though she could feel the dormant chakra sealed within its paper. It felt heavy—far more than just its weight.

When she returned home, the lights were still off. Kenichi wasn't there, again.

Since she'd become the Third Hokage's student, he had buried himself in missions, as if trying to outpace the helplessness that came with being unable to change her fate. He couldn't fight the Hokage—but he could at least earn enough ryo to support her training in silence.

Rin headed straight to her room. She locked the door, pulled the curtains shut, and only then did she sit at her desk and unroll the scroll with reverent care.

The scent of old ink and chakra-heavy parchment filled the air. Her eyes swept over lines of elegant script—Senju-exclusive chakra manipulation techniques, rare Water and Earth Style jutsu… and then, at the very bottom, her gaze caught on a short passage.

"Wood Release, born of the perfect union of Water and Earth chakra. Only those of untainted blood can wield its full potential…"

"Wood Release…" she echoed under her breath, pupils narrowing.

So that was it.

The scroll wasn't a gift. It was a test.

Hiruzen wanted to see if she could awaken the legendary Wood Release—once wielded by Senju Hashirama himself. And if she could…

She would become a new symbol of power for Konoha. A new pillar to prop up the decaying ideals of the Will of Fire.

Rin's fingers drummed softly on the desk, her thoughts razor sharp.

As a reincarnated soul, she knew the truth.

Wood Release wasn't just a combination of chakra natures. It was something far more profound—tied to the divine chakra of Asura Ōtsutsuki, passed through the blood of Senju Hashirama. Even among the Senju, not a single person besides him had ever awakened it naturally. The others? All lab experiments, or recipients of Hashirama's cells.

So that's what he's after. He wants to see if she was a miracle.

A soft laugh escaped her lips.

If only it were that simple.

Still, she couldn't help the spark of curiosity. It was Wood Release. How could she not try?

---

From that day on, Rin's training took a new direction.

She spent every spare moment at the training ground, forcing her chakra into unfamiliar patterns, trying to blend the fluid suppleness of Water with the grounded resilience of Earth.

The results were… frustrating.

Time and again, the chakra refused to fuse. It clashed, repelled itself, unraveled. She adjusted ratios. She altered the timing. She re-centered her core. But nothing worked.

Until one evening—when the sun was a deep crimson and the world seemed paused between breath—

She created something.

Not a jutsu. Not a tree.

But a flower.

It bloomed in her palm like a secret finally whispered aloud.

A flower of perfect symmetry—six-petaled and layered, its edges soft like silk, each petal a brilliant crimson that shimmered like lacquered silk under the dying sun. At its center, delicate golden stamens clustered tightly, like sunfire caught in velvet.

Twelve centimeters wide. A deep, geometric grace. The kind of thing no ordinary chakra mold could replicate.

"…It looks like the Six-Sided Crimson Peony," she murmured.

Her fingers brushed a petal—and froze.

The moment she touched it, something inside her sang.

It wasn't just chakra. It wasn't just a construct.

This flower was alive. And more than that—it was hers.

A part of her chakra. A part of her being.

An extension of her soul.

"…I understand now." Her voice was barely a breath. A strange, stunned smile crept onto her lips.

So this was why her self-healing had always been weak. Why she never quite matched the famed vitality of the Senju.

Her life force hadn't vanished—it had been redirected.

Not into her body.

But into this flower.

This was her bloodline limit—not like Hashirama's Wood Style, but something unique. She could have called it Flower Style, but the name felt unbearably embarrassing.

So instead, she named it: Sange no Chigiri.

Her own unique kekkei genkai.

The flower trembled slightly, and her mind filled with information—like a dam cracking open:

The passive ability that marked enemies.

The instantaneous movement skill, Moon shadow step.

A faint, natural resistance to genjutsu.

That was just the surface.

There were more abilities, still sealed—waiting for her to grow strong enough to awaken them.

She closed her eyes, willed the flower away, and sat quietly for a moment longer.

Then, with impeccable precision, she returned to playing the role.

---

The next day, Rin resumed training as usual.

She kept up appearances—constantly "failing" to combine Water and Earth, sighing, slumping in frustration. The Third Hokage visited occasionally, always kind, always gentle.

"Don't be discouraged," he would say, ruffling her hair. "Even Lord Hashirama didn't master Wood Release in a day."

What he didn't say was that no one else ever had—no matter how many experiments, no matter how many years passed.

"I'm sorry, sensei," Rin would mumble, fingers twisting together. "Am I… just not good enough?"

The Hokage smiled. "You've already surpassed every expectation. Now, show me your Water Release."

She nodded obediently, hands moving in a blur.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

The training ground flooded in seconds. A wave of water surged out from her, crushing through the air with thunderous force. The Third Hokage's eyes lit with approval.

"Excellent. Your chakra levels are already nearing jōnin rank."

Rin smiled bashfully.

She didn't tell him—ever since the flower awakened, her chakra had surged. Her vitality, too. Now, she was finally beginning to feel like a proper Senju.

Just then, a masked ANBU appeared at the edge of the field.

"Hokage-sama. An emergency council meeting."

Hiruzen's expression sharpened. He turned to Rin.

"That's enough for today. Head home soon."

She watched him vanish into the trees, exhaling slowly.

As she packed up her gear, something shifted.

A flicker of killing intent.

Soft—but deliberate.

Rin's hand moved to her weapon pouch. Her voice was low, calm.

"…Who's there?"

From the trees, a figure stepped out.

Silver hair. Slouched posture. That ever-present black mask.

Kakashi.

"Not bad," he drawled. "Your reaction time's improved."

Rin relaxed. "Kakashi-senpai… You scared me."

"Finished a mission. Just passing by," he said, hands still tucked lazily in his pockets.

She didn't press. He didn't explain.

After a moment, his tone shifted slightly—still casual, but with an edge beneath.

"…Things are getting tense. Stay home for a while. Train quietly. Don't go wandering."

Rin's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Third had been summoned to an emergency meeting.

Only the elders could call something like that. And their meetings always revolved around one of two things:

The Uchiha clan—

Or war.

She stared out across the trees, her fingers curling faintly at her side.

So it begins…

The first true tremor of the Third Great Ninja War.

---