Chapter 632: Strengthened Shinobi

Charles noted down the data silently in his mind, then said, "Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki, your rewards are completed."

"You may leave now. I have some tasks to discuss with the others."

Sakura and Naruto exchanged glances and replied, "Yes, Lord Charles."

After that, Sakura and Naruto left the meeting room. As they walked out, Sakura asked Naruto:

"Naruto, do you think Lord Charles is going to merge them with their future selves to increase their strength?"

Naruto shook his head, "Maybe it's something else. Both Rock Lee and my father have increased their strength. If they merge with their future selves, they will be incredibly powerful."

Sakura nodded in agreement, thinking to herself that since they had already gained so much strength, they probably wouldn't receive another boost so soon.

Inside the meeting room-

Charles turned to Kabuto Yakushi, Rock Lee, and Minato Namikaze, "Kabuto, Lee, Minato, I've brought your future selves from the river of time. I will now merge you with them to increase your strength."

"Let's start with you, Kabuto."

Hearing that he had a future self to merge with, Kabuto's usually calm face showed a hint of excitement.

He was curious about his future development and eager to increase his strength, knowing that this fusion would be much more significant than the previous enhancements.

"Yes, Lord Charles!"

Namikaze Minato was surprised. He had already increased his strength by fifty percent, yet there was more to be gained from merging with his future self. This would significantly boost his power.

Rock Lee, too, was astonished that he had such an opportunity. Although he had heard many stories about his future self from Tenten, including the near-fatal injuries during the Chunin Exams that Tsunade healed, he was now curious about more detailed memories of his future.

While they were thinking, Charles's consciousness entered the system space and retrieved Kabuto's ninja card.

Ding! Would you like to reclaim Kabuto Yakushi?

Yes!

With Charles's agreement, Kabuto's figure vanished from the meeting room. Rock Lee's eyes widened, and Minato curiously observed Kabuto's disappearance without sensing any spatial fluctuations.

Charles then brought out Kabuto Yakushi and Phantom Shadow Kabuto cards.

Ding! Would you like to merge Kabuto Yakushi with Phantom Shadow Kabuto?

Yes!

Please select the primary card for the fusion.

Kabuto Yakushi!

With Charles's confirmation, the two cards rapidly spun and merged into a new card, Kabuto Yakushi · Fusion.

Since Kabuto Yakushi card was chosen as the primary, the Phantom Shadow appearance became an outfit in Kabuto's ninja gear, while his strength significantly increased.

Examining the new card, Charles noted that the merged skills had strengthened.

He placed the new card back in the battle slot and chose to materialize Kabuto within three meters.

As Charles operated, Kabuto reappeared in the meeting room.

Minato furrowed his brow. He couldn't detect any spatial fluctuations even with Kabuto's reappearance.

Before Charles could ask, Kabuto reported, "Lord Charles, my overall strength has doubled, including chakra and physical attributes."

Charles nodded, "Very good. Your future strength will not stop here. I have high expectations for you."

Kabuto respectfully replied, "Thank you, Lord Charles."

"Rock Lee, it's your turn to merge with your future self."

Rock Lee excitedly responded, "Yes, Lord Charles."

Charles's consciousness reentered the system space, retrieving the two-star B-ninja Rock Lee · Fusion card.

Ding! Would you like to reclaim two-star B-ninja Rock Lee · Fusion?

Yes!

With Charles's agreement, Rock Lee vanished from the meeting room. Kabuto, curious, wondered if he had disappeared similarly.

Despite being prepared this time, Minato still couldn't detect any clues or spatial fluctuations regarding Rock Lee's disappearance.

Charles then looked at two other ninja cards in the system, Drunken Fist Rock Lee and Shippuden Rock Lee.

He decided to test if he could merge all three cards.

Ding! Would you like to merge Rock Lee · Fusion with Drunken Fist Rock Lee and Shippuden Rock Lee?

Yes!

Please select the primary card for the fusion.

After some thought, Charles chose Shippuden Rock Lee as the primary physical form but kept Rock Lee · Fusion as the primary consciousness.

With his confirmation, the three cards rapidly spun and merged into a new card, two-star B-ninja Rock Lee · Fusion.

Since Shippuden Rock Lee was the primary form, the appearance became that of an older, stronger Rock Lee as a jonin in the Shippuden era.

Charles glanced at the newly merged ninja card and noticed that Rock Lee now had significantly more Taijutsu skills, with previous ultimate moves transformed into different ninja techniques.

The merged techniques were also strengthened.

Though uncertain about the exact extent of Rock Lee's strength increase, Charles placed the newly merged card back in the battle slot and chose to materialize Rock Lee within three meters of himself.

With Charles's operation, Rock Lee reappeared in the meeting room. Unlike Kabuto, Rock Lee's appearance and aura had noticeably changed, yet both Kabuto and Minato instantly recognized him as the adult Rock Lee.

At that moment, Rock Lee, with his eyes closed, was absorbing the memories from his merged card.

In his memories, he found that his future self indeed experienced a nearly crippling injury during the Chunin Exams, just as Tenten had mentioned.

Tsunade healed him, and he later supported Shikamaru and others in the battle against Kimimaro.

The memories also included three years of training. After Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage, Rock Lee trained under Might Guy, eventually rising to the rank of jonin.

However, he noticed a problem—despite his growth, he hadn't opened the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates technique.

Three years ago, he had already opened the Fifth Gate, but even after becoming a jonin, he was still stuck at the Fifth Gate.

The memories revealed that his leg injury, though healed by Tsunade, had left some lasting impact, preventing him from unlocking the Sixth Gate.

After absorbing all the memories, Rock Lee slowly opened his eyes.

"Thank you, Lord Charles. My strength has increased significantly, possibly more than doubled, though I can't confirm the exact amount yet."

Hearing Rock Lee's words, Kabuto was surprised, but seeing Lee's increased age and physique made him thoughtful.

Charles nodded, "Lee, your strength has indeed increased substantially. You should now be aware of your future self's injuries."

"You have not experienced the same crippling injury here, and with the fusion of multiple future selves, your physique has greatly strengthened."

"Believe me, the Fifth Gate is no longer your limit. Train hard with Guy and aim to open at least two more gates of the Eight Gates technique."

Hearing that the Fifth Gate was not his limit, Rock Lee nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Charles. I will train hard with Guy-sensei to surpass my limits and open more gates."

"Go for it, Lee. Your future should be even more brilliant."

"Yes, Lord Charles!"

With the successful fusion of two members, Charles turned his gaze to Minato Namikaze for the next fusion.

"Next is you, Minato."

"Yes, Lord Charles."

Charles's consciousness entered the system space and retrieved the three-star A-rank young Minato Namikaze ninja card.

Ding! Would you like to reclaim three-star A-rank young Minato Namikaze?

Yes!

With Charles's confirmation, Minato's figure vanished from the meeting room, and both Rock Lee and Kabuto had grown accustomed to such scenes.

Charles looked at the Minato card. Unlike the others, Minato's cards were all three-star, whether it was the S-rank Fourth Hokage Minato or the A-rank young Minato.

He wondered if merging A-rank and S-rank Minato would result in a super Kage-level ninja.

Charles summoned both young Minato and Fourth Hokage Minato cards.

Ding! Would you like to merge young Minato Namikaze with Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze?

Yes!

Please select the primary card for the fusion.

Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze!

With Charles's confirmation, the two cards spun rapidly and merged into a new three-star S-rank Minato Namikaze · Fusion.

Since Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze was the primary card, the jonin vest disappeared, replaced by the signature Hokage robe.

After glancing at the new card, Charles placed it back in the battle slot and chose to materialize Minato within three meters.

Minato reappeared in the meeting room, just like Rock Lee, with his eyes closed, absorbing the merged memories.

Kabuto, observing the change, thought to himself, "So this is the Fourth Hokage who sacrificed himself. I didn't expect Lord Charles to bring back his future self after becoming Hokage."

Minato exuded a powerful aura. From his memories, he learned about the deaths of his disciple Obito and Rin, and how Kakashi gained his Sharingan.

He saw the end of the war and his rise to the Fourth Hokage, and Kushina's pregnancy. He saw his struggle to implement new policies and the attack by the masked man with Uchiha bloodline.

He also witnessed the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, the death of Kushina, and his own sacrifice to seal the Nine-Tails in the newborn Naruto.

With these memories, Minato exuded an aura of surpassing Kage-level and a terrifying killing intent.

The sudden surge of power forced Kabuto and Rock Lee to defend themselves. Lee exclaimed, "Such terrifying strength..."

"This...this is the power of the Fourth Hokage?"

Minato reined in his aura and opened his eyes, slightly red.

He knelt on one knee and said, "Thank you, Lord Charles, for allowing our family to reunite."

"And for giving us new lives in this world, providing a chance to make amends."

Having gone through the memories, Minato valued his family even more. With his wife and child by his side, his only regret was not being able to raise Naruto.

Seeing Minato's gratitude, Charles said, "I accept your thanks. Now that you're here, make sure to make up for Naruto's incomplete childhood in this world."

Mentioning Naruto made Minato's eyes redden further, regretting that his last wishes hadn't been well executed. He vowed, "Lord Charles, Naruto is my child. I will make up for him."

"Alright, no more sadness. Here, you all have bright futures. Tonight, we have a party to celebrate. Prepare yourselves."

"Yes, Lord Charles!" X3

The three left, and Minato's mind was already on his wife and child.

Watching them leave, Charles nodded in satisfaction. The harvest had been fully converted into strength. Next, he would find Wanda and Quicksilver, activate their abilities and recruiting them under him.

As for Vision, Charles thought, "Sorry, but it seems unlikely for you to be born on Earth."