Kite's Activity

The Senju Clan's training grounds.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

With a low shout, the entire Senju Clan compound trembled. Hashirama Senju's vast Chakra surged forth without end like a tsunami, continuing for over half a minute before gradually coming to a stop.

More than a thousand Senju Ninja stared in stunned silence at the scene in the center of the training grounds.

The training grounds had been completely transformed into a vast jungle made up of giant vines dozens of times larger than ordinary trees.

Hashirama Senju stood atop one of the giant vines in the center, his hands pressed together, like a god!

All around him, anyone who looked carefully could spot Senju Ninja caught among the vines.

Hashirama Senju had said that anyone who wanted to break the agreement could step forward, but the opposition wasn't about to disrespect him that much.

In the end, a team of around fifty elite jōnin took the field against Hashirama Senju.

They, too, felt that with a lineup like this, victory was all but certain.

But what the entire Senju Clan never expected was that Hashirama Senju had held something back.

This never-before-seen Wood Release technique, unleashed without warning, had defeated nearly fifty elite jōnin in one fell swoop!

The element of surprise had played a part, but without terrifying power to back it up, no amount of surprise could have achieved that!

"Anyone else opposed? Go ahead."

Hashirama Senju spoke in a deep voice.

The more than a thousand Senju Ninja around him fell silent. The power of Deep Forest Emergence, along with the training grounds' complete transformation in a single move, said it all.

"Tobirama, what do you think..."

Senju Takeuma asked quietly, turning to Tobirama Senju beside him.

"Let's do as Big Brother says this time."

Tobirama Senju sighed.

From Hashirama Senju's expression, he knew there was no changing his mind this time.

But after seeing the terrifying power of Wood Release, Tobirama Senju couldn't help feeling secretly pleased.

With power like this, they had undoubtedly gained another trump card against the Uchiha.

The rest of the Senju felt the same as Tobirama Senju. They were disappointed, but secretly pleased as well.

The Vice Clan Leader Hashirama was this strong now!

Even if they gave up this opportunity, they were sure to win in the future!

Seeing that no one objected, Hashirama Senju circulated his Chakra and withdrew the vines into the earth, giving the Senju Ninja another chance to feast their eyes.

Incredible!

Senju Takeuma thought to himself, Looks like I'll have to step down in favor of someone more capable within the next couple of years.

Izuna knew nothing about what had happened among the Senju.

Tonight, he had put on the Spiral Mask again and donned the same black cloak that covered his hair.

This time, the person he planned to deceive... no, to lull into a false sense of security was his main enemy, Masashige Hagoromo.

Whenever Izuna heard the surname "Hagoromo," he couldn't help associating it with Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the son of Kaguya Otsutsuki.

But after fighting them repeatedly and never finding the slightest trace of the Otsutsuki Clan among the Hagoromo, he figured it was probably just a coincidence.

The Five Allied Clans Army didn't share a single camp. Instead, the clans had set up their camps side by side.

After all, these ninja clans had clashed plenty of times before. Though they were temporarily bound together by common interests, having them eat and sleep together was bound to cause trouble. Someone might sit down to a meal and find an enemy who had killed their friends or family right across from them.

"Clan Leader, it's time to eat."

Inside Masashige Hagoromo's tent, a logistics officer came in carrying a roasted meat leg and a bowl of vegetable soup.

Masashige Hagoromo was studying a map on the table. He only murmured, "Put it down," then continued staring at the map.

After an unknown amount of time, Masashige Hagoromo finally looked up and reached for the soup. He took a sip. It had gone cold long ago.

"Clan Leader Hagoromo, you've been working hard."

The sudden voice made Masashige Hagoromo's pupils contract. Instinctively, he flung the bowl in his hand toward the sound.

Bang!

The Masked Man had appeared at some point in the corner of the tent to the right. As the bowl came flying, he casually shattered it with the back of his black-gloved hand.

"Who are you?!"

After saying this, Masashige Hagoromo was about to call for the guards outside the tent to rush in.

"You'd better not call anyone. If those Four Clans—the Fūma, Saitō, Watanabe, and Onikawa—find out, it'll all be over."

Masashige Hagoromo furrowed his brows at those words. After hesitating for a while, he still didn't call out. Instead, he said coldly, "Don't change the subject. Who are you? How did you get in?"

"If I wanted to attack Clan Leader Hagoromo, I would've done it while you were looking at the map. Well, you can call me 'Kite.' I can't tell you my surname just yet..."

As "Kite" spoke, he pointed his right index finger at Masashige Hagoromo. "But you really can let your guard down a little. I'm on your side."

Masashige Hagoromo was a Kage Level fighter. There was no way he'd believe a stranger after just a few words. In the Warring States Period, anyone who could become a clan leader—even of a small clan—was no ordinary person.

"The Fūma, Saitō, Watanabe, and Onikawa Clans are unhappy with how you plan to divide the spoils after the war. They've secretly sent people to join forces with the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans in the northeast. Once they've dealt with Izuna Uchiha and the others, they plan to take care of the Hagoromo as well."

Izuna spoke in a hoarse voice. "Then they'll have two major clans to divide between them. I came to you to stop them."

"That's impossible!"

Masashige Hagoromo's pupils contracted. The words escaped him before he could stop them.

In the Warring States Period or any other era, nothing was more hated or harder to accept than "betrayal." The way the future ninja villages despised rogue ninja spoke for itself.

"Impossible? Heh. Clan Leader Hagoromo, think about it. Is it really impossible?"

Hearing "Kite" scoff, Masashige Hagoromo's brows drew tightly together.

His plan was for the Hagoromo to take forty percent after capturing the Uchiha's northwestern territory, with the remaining sixty percent split among the other four clans.

On the face of it, the Hagoromo were getting the largest share, but Masashige Hagoromo believed it was what he deserved.

After all, he had always maintained that the Hagoromo were a major clan on par with the Hyuga, second only to the Uchiha and the Senju. Of course they deserved to take this much.

Suddenly, a thought struck Masashige Hagoromo, and he hurriedly asked, "And the Sarutobi and Shimura agreed?"

The Sarutobi and Shimura Clans had a similar stance toward the Uchiha and Senju as the Ino-Shika-Cho: they stayed neutral and hadn't fought either side for decades.

"Furukawa is taking a wait-and-see approach, but Keizo is very tempted."

Izuna's voice was full of disdain.

A thought stirred in Masashige Hagoromo's mind. This mysterious Masked Man had called the leaders of the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans by their given names instead of their full names.

Did that mean he knew them, or had some close connection to them?

"I can't give you any concrete proof. I came to warn you first, Clan Leader Hagoromo. Be careful of those four clans under your command."

As Izuna spoke, he vanished from where he stood like a shadow. His last words were a mutter as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "I can't stay away too long..."