Big Shot

Ninjutsu like the "Mayfly Technique" only made one appreciate more and more how godlike it was the more one used it.

Its practicality was far beyond the norm. It did not require hand seals to activate, and its chakra consumption during use was extremely low. If one had to ask what its weakness was, it was that the technique was not especially fast when moving across different mediums.

Judging solely by its activation process, it was worlds apart from a space-transference ability like Obito Uchiha's.

For example, whenever Yuzhen used the Mayfly Technique, whether he plunged headfirst into a tree or the earth, or burst out from one, neither his speed nor the time consumed was ideal.

If he encountered a nimble ninja, this "brief process" would undoubtedly be fraught with lethal danger.

Of course, this weakness was entirely within an acceptable range. No ninjutsu was perfect. Yuzhen only needed to be more careful when using the Mayfly Technique.

Two days later, Yuzhen returned to the primeval forest in a good mood after his "harvest." However, when he was about to approach the camp, he immediately sensed something unusual.

The person responsible for guarding the camp should have noticed him long ago.

Realizing that something was wrong, Yuzhen immediately quickened his pace. When he reached a high enough point to overlook the camp, he discovered that the camp had already fallen into a tense standoff.

Could the Tsugawa Clan's ninjas have found them? No, the situation was not that bad.

Yuzhen's clansmen had surrounded an unfamiliar enemy. At present, both sides were merely confronting each other and had not actually begun fighting.

This really was a blessing in disguise. Fortunately, Yuzhen had returned before the battle began. Otherwise... It was not that he was selling himself short; he had great faith in his clansmen's strength.

The kind of strength where they could not beat anyone.

The surrounded enemy looked very composed. The information he gave off was more wariness than hostility, which indicated that he had not come for the former "Hagane." He had most likely merely wandered into this place by accident.

Who would have thought that such an advantageous hiding place would be discovered so quickly?

Yuzhen turned his regretful gaze toward the intruder's face. He could not help blinking hard, and his expression instantly became strange.

The intruder's appearance and clothing were truly distinctive.

The intruder was about the same age as Yuzhen, seemingly only fourteen or fifteen. He wielded an Ōdachi, had pure-white hair, and wore dark-blue half-body metal armor...

If those features were not obvious enough, then the half-open face guard he wore, along with the clan crest on it, was enough to completely reveal his identity. He was extremely recognizable.

This really was a "big shot"—and an underage version of one at that.

"Clan... Captain."

"Captain, you're back."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him return, as though they had suddenly found their backbone.

Yuzhen leaped down from the high ground and landed at the edge of the encirclement. He then passed between the others and walked step by step toward the intruder... The reason he did not simply jump right in front of him was to avoid provoking him.

Confirmed. It's him.

Yuzhen thought silently. After identifying the intruder at close range, he was one hundred percent certain of the other party's identity... Tobirama Senju of the Senju Clan, the future Second Hokage.

After coming to this world more than a year ago, Yuzhen had finally figured out the approximate era he was in.

Encountering Sarutobi first and then the Senju these past few days gave him the feeling that the gears of the era were beginning to turn faster.

Standing before the miniature child version of Tobirama Senju, Yuzhen secretly heightened his guard. After all, the man before him was renowned for being sinister, despicable, and willing to use any means necessary to achieve his goals.

"Captain..."

Hayasaka Ryunosuke shook his head slightly at Yuzhen from the side, reminding him not to attack rashly.

It was not that Ryunosuke thought they had no chance of winning. In fact, after witnessing Yuzhen's assassination abilities, he had developed somewhat blind faith in them.

It was precisely because Ryunosuke was ignorant enough to believe that Yuzhen could easily deal with the other party that he was worried Yuzhen would attack without considering the consequences.

No one failed to recognize the symbol on the intruder's forehead guard. If they truly attacked this man, Ryunosuke was worried about the Senju Clan's retaliation.

The difference in size and strength was simply too great. When facing the Senju Clan, Ryunosuke had no intention of taking the initiative at all.

They could not afford to provoke them. They absolutely could not afford to.

When facing the Tsugawa Clan, they could still fight while retreating. But what if they faced the Senju? They were simply not on the same level.

Yuzhen nodded lightly at Ryunosuke, indicating that he understood and would not attack recklessly.

Rather than being intimidated by the Senju Clan's reputation, Yuzhen was actually more concerned about Hashirama Senju's reputation. Judging by Tobirama Senju's current age, Hashirama Senju had likely entered his mature, twenty-something stage of strength.

Although that so-called maturity was nowhere near the peak of the "God of Shinobi," if they truly faced him, was there any difference between being killed by Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence and being killed by Sage Art: Top Transformed Buddha?

Both would happen in an instant. He would probably die without feeling any pain.

So it was not that Yuzhen was incapable of launching a righteous sneak attack on Tobirama Senju. He simply could not do it... In any case, he first had to determine why the other party had appeared here.

Tobirama Senju could not possibly have come to exterminate them. By instinct, Yuzhen felt that there was no irreconcilable conflict between them. They had never had any contact before.

Tobirama Senju sized Yuzhen up and saw that he was dressed simply, wearing nothing more than a sack tied at the waist with a rope. His hair was unkempt, he wore only straw sandals, and his skin had an unhealthy pallor...

This was a camp of wandering ninjas, and even among wandering ninjas, they were among the most miserable.

"You're the one in charge here? I have no intention of becoming your enemy, provided that you hand over the person you're hiding." Tobirama Senju stated his demand directly.

He was somewhat arrogant, but not excessively so. In the end, he had made it clear that he had no intention of attacking these pitiful wandering ninjas.

Tobirama Senju had been sinister since childhood, and he would only become more so in the future. But he was not a maniac who killed everyone he met.

His deviousness usually manifested in his willingness to use any means necessary to achieve his goals. As for the "goals" he pursued, they could not be described as evil—especially given the circumstances of the current era.

Overall, as the surrounded party, Tobirama Senju believed that he held the initiative, which was why he could make his demand so openly... He did not take the people here seriously.

Looking for someone?

Yuzhen turned to look at Ryunosuke, who immediately shook his head. Clearly, there was no one hidden at the camp. The other party had obviously misunderstood something.

"Ahem, I think you'd better treat your wounds first. You're about to lose too much blood..."