The Nameless Person

"Yuzuru, can you feel a kind of energy from the outside world that lingers within you? When you use this energy, do you feel much stronger than usual?" Jiraiya asked Yuzuru.

How strange. The way Ryūchi Cave uses Natural Energy is indeed different from Mount Myōboku. He's carrying so much Natural Energy, yet there's no sign of petrification at all.

"I... I think so, but I don't really understand what's going on."

Although Yuzuru knew just as much about the theoretical aspects of Natural Energy as Jiraiya did at this stage, he naturally had to play along.

"That's right. You should make good use of this power... I mean, someone will probably teach you how to use this power in the future."

Jiraiya inwardly lamented. A ninja with such strong innate perception and affinity for Natural Energy, someone so compatible, was fated to have no connection with Mount Myōboku.

Since Ryūchi Cave had gotten to Yuzuru first, Jiraiya, as the successor of Mount Myōboku, couldn't interfere carelessly now... He didn't have any real basis for this judgment, just a feeling that it was a kind of unspoken understanding between the sacred lands.

"Someone?"

Yuzuru pretended to ponder before nodding.

"Jiraiya, I'll have you explain about Natural Energy and Sage Mode in detail later." Orochimaru stared at Jiraiya, speaking the longest sentence since the mission began.

He hadn't expected Jiraiya to be hiding such a secret. Since Jiraiya could say these things, it meant that this dead last student had already begun training Sage Mode... So Ryūchi Cave wasn't just a snake pit.

Teaching Sage Mode? Are there sages? Besides ordinary snakes, Ryūchi Cave actually had special snakes.

Well, Orochimaru is still too young now.

"Alright, let's set aside your connection with Ryūchi Cave for now and return to the fundamental question... How can an ordinary ninja suddenly be able to control Natural Energy?" For some reason, Tsunade suddenly started digging for the root cause.

Yuzuru didn't immediately grasp the deeper meaning behind Tsunade's words. He just felt, Do we really need to discuss such a probing topic in this environment?

No matter how we discuss it, there won't be any results. Yuzuru will just claim ignorance, at most insisting he suddenly "mutated."

However, after Jiraiya's imagination ran wild, it was finally Tsunade's turn to get creative.

"You must understand that the power of a sage is very special. Anyone who can use this power is no ordinary person... He even learned it on his own."

"Uh, Tsunade, he's just using Natural Energy. He's still quite far from true sage power," Jiraiya corrected.

"But you can't deny that even at this basic level, an ordinary ninja probably wouldn't have the chance to reach it in their entire lifetime."

"..."

Alright, Jiraiya has nothing to say.

Based on Yuzuru's own description of his strength progression, it wasn't the result of post-training efforts. Therefore, all explanations had to point towards talent, or perhaps a more direct explanation... bloodline.

At least compared to something like a "dungeon," this was a more reasonable explanation for ninjas.

Tsunade shifted her gaze to Yuzuru. "Yuzuru, we've seen your basic profile. If I recall correctly, you came from the Orphanage... While some ninjas from similar backgrounds like to adopt surnames like Yakushi or Yakushiji, you are actually without a surname, aren't you?"

Although Tsunade was stating facts, her words were a bit impolite. Yuzuru still nodded; the original host did indeed come from such a background. And since he was essentially a usurper, he didn't really feel anything about such an evaluation.

"Sorry for asking a rude question... Do you have any memories of your parents?"

"Tsunade..." Jiraiya felt this was beyond merely impolite.

Yuzuru paused for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "No, I have no memory of them at all."

At this point, Tsunade's expression finally changed. Her eyes lit up for a moment, but then her entire demeanor showed a hint of loneliness.

"Is that so? It seems we are all the same...

Nameless."

*Yuzuru thought, Can that be the same? Even though you're just called Tsunade, everyone knows you're actually "Senju Tsunade." What about me?

No, wait a minute...

Yuzuru finally understood the implication behind Tsunade's words. Was she mistaking him for someone from the Senju clan? That couldn't be right.

Due to the Second Hokage's policies, for the past twenty-odd years, the vast majority of the Senju clan had abandoned their surnames and become the bedrock of Konoha. They either adopted other surnames or, like Tsunade, used only their given names.

However, Yuzuru knew his own situation. He had no talent as a ninja, and the way his strength increased was completely unconventional, having nothing to do with so-called bloodlines... If the original host were truly from the Senju clan, why would he still be a Genin at sixteen?

A Genin at sixteen was either pure cannon fodder or a prophesied child, a savior. Yuzuru could only be the former.

Still, being misunderstood like this might not be a bad thing. Yuzuru thought carefully and felt that this matter could potentially be exploited.

For ninjas, power brought status, but power always needed a reasonable explanation. In this regard, nothing was more suitable as a backing than the Senju clan.

Jiraiya's wild imagination, combined with Tsunade's, seemed to have accomplished something significant.

"Tsunade, you mean to say..."

Tsunade's last sentence was too suggestive, even bordering on explicit. Jiraiya and Orochimaru naturally understood.

"I just think it's a possibility. It's too difficult to investigate related information from almost fifteen or sixteen years ago now... But there's no need to be so demanding about such things. Remember, the Senju are Konoha, and Konoha is the Senju."

Those words further reinforced some of Yuzuru's stereotypes. Indeed, the Second Hokage was quite a cunning person... Yuzuru had no intention of researching the history of the Senju clan for now, but through Tsunade's brief remarks, a simple conclusion could be drawn: as long as Konohagakure existed, the Senju clan existed.

To retain the name while losing the substance, very much in the Second Hokage's style.

It was supposed to be a simple pick-up mission, yet the conversation along the way seemed to have yielded gains for all four of them.

Several hours later, the team smoothly returned to the Konoha camp. Yuzuru saw Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō again.

Based on the facts he witnessed that night, he described the battle situation to them, neither exaggerating nor fabricating.

"It seems it was indeed Hanzō who made the move... Yuzuru, you did well."

"It was merely a coincidence. Any Konoha ninja would have done their best to bring back intelligence in such a situation."

"No need to say more. Merit shall be rewarded."

Uh, merit being rewarded is correct, but the problem is that it was Danzō who said it.