At the Senju Clan gathering, Senju Momoka sat in the seat of honor, chatting happily with the Third Generation. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru sat beside them, followed by the Hokage's personal guard.
It was an ordinary scene, yet it steadied everyone present, calming the people who had been thrown into a panic by the Nine-Tails' Rampage.
"Hey, Orochimaru, what are you staring at down there? Do you know someone here?"
Jiraiya was already tipsy, his tolerance for alcohol low. He didn't care who was watching as he slung an arm around Orochimaru's neck and followed his gaze.
The moment he looked, most of Jiraiya's drunkenness vanished. He rubbed his eyes and stared again.
"So it's not that my alcohol tolerance has gotten worse. There really is someone who looks that much like the Second Lord? Is he related to Tsunade? Have I just never seen him before?"
While Jiraiya muttered to himself about Senba's appearance, Orochimaru had already made his move. Hidden by his sleeve, he cut his finger and formed the "Ram" hand seal with one hand.
The next second, a snow-white snake appeared beneath him. It slipped into the ground without a sound and slowly made its way toward Senba.
Orochimaru's trick hadn't escaped the notice of the people in the seats of honor. The others might have been mindful of the occasion, but short-tempered Tsunade arched her brows and was about to get up and confront him.
"Come here, Tsunade. Grandma's getting old and doesn't have the energy she used to. Why don't you catch up with Lord Hokage?"
Senju Momoka's words held Tsunade's anger in check for the moment. She stood and went to help her grandmother up. As Senju Momoka was leaving, she gave Tsunade's hand a gentle squeeze.
Having understood her grandmother's message, Tsunade temporarily suppressed her displeasure. With everyone watching, she sat down on equal footing with the Third Generation, her haori-clad figure beginning a reunion with her former teacher.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that his student had become the head of the Senju Clan. Tsunade had already been granted the title of "Princess" by the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire; now, both in status and influence, she was among the most powerful people in Konoha.
If she wanted to become Hokage, Konoha couldn't afford the turmoil right now. A flicker of thought crossed Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, but he soon dismissed the idea.
Leaving aside the Senju Clan's steady decline, Tsunade's hemophobia alone was a fatal flaw for anyone aspiring to the Hokage Position. How could the leader of a village have such a serious weakness?
Only then did Hiruzen Sarutobi gradually put his mind at ease and begin talking warmly with Tsunade across from him.
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's considerations had nothing to do with the affection between teacher and student. He really was old.
Senba glanced coolly at the two bite marks on his ankle. A moment earlier, a little white snake had crept out of the ground and quickly bitten him. After drawing blood, it had vanished at once.
An ordinary Genin wouldn't have noticed it, but Senba, with two units of Chakra, had clearly sensed it. What left him even more speechless was that the white snake had left a little venom in his wound.
So Orochimaru wanted to test his body's resistance to poison, too. The guy really didn't take the Senju Clan seriously. Or perhaps he simply thought Senba was just a Genin and that the Senju Clan wouldn't fall out with him over it.
"Thump!"
Senba shut his eyes and let his body topple to the side. The peer beside him, who'd been sneaking a bite to eat, jumped in fright and choked.
Senba never found out what happened after that. He really had passed out. To avoid revealing himself and go along with what Orochimaru expected, he could only pretend not to notice, let the poison enter his body, and then faint.
Orochimaru, I have a very small heart. I'll remember this gift.
"Orochimaru, have you lost your mind? You poisoned a child from the village!"
Seeing Senba being carried away in a poisoned state, Jiraiya looked upset. He'd thought Orochimaru's research obsession had flared up and that he was collecting the boy's blood. He hadn't expected him to poison a child.
Jiraiya had lowered his voice, but he was clearly furious. Orochimaru thought for a moment, then could only mutter "Idiot" to himself before replying:
"Jiraiya, it was only a poison that made him pass out. His body will metabolize it before long. Even if I didn't care about the Senju Clan, I'd still have to consider Tsunade. Why would I actually harm him?"
"Since he looks so much like the Second Hokage, if his constitution is unusual as well, I think he could be a great help to Konoha."
Hearing Orochimaru's hoarse voice and seeing the feverish look in his eyes, Jiraiya was about to speak again when the Third Generation interrupted him.
A little while later, after seeing the Third Generation and the others off at the entrance, Tsunade returned to the clan to continue hosting the gathering. But her thoughts had already wandered elsewhere. She was worried that Orochimaru might discover the secret of the little guy's body.
If that happened, the Senju Clan would face enormous pressure.
"Ugh, my head hurts. Being poisoned has that bad of an aftereffect? Could the poison damage my nerves?"
"No. No matter what, that little Orochimaru wouldn't use such a potent poison with everyone watching."
"Good. Then... uh, greetings, Lady Momoka."
Senba abruptly froze halfway through his sentence, then hurriedly got up and bowed to Senju Momoka, who was sitting in the corridor, basking in the sunlight.
"Call me Grandma. Miki and I did grow up together, after all." Her calm voice, together with her weathered gaze, weighed on Senba. He felt as though she could see right through his thoughts.
"Senba."
"Yes!"
At Grandma Momoka's call, Senba instinctively straightened up. As he listened to her instruction, a sheet of paper floated in front of him.
Chakra Paper was used by every Ninja after they learned to refine Chakra. The test helped them understand their nature and the path they might follow in the future.
Understanding what she meant, Senba reached out and held down the Chakra Paper, slowly channeling a small amount of Chakra from his body into it.
Then, under the gaze of two people, the Chakra Paper split in two. The left half crumbled into pieces, while the right half grew damp.
Senba's affinities were Wind, Earth, and Water.
"Your records say your innate affinities are Wind and Earth." Senju Momoka showed no surprise. She only looked at the Chakra Paper scattered on the ground with a complicated expression. Ninja with innate Earth and Water affinities weren't uncommon in the Senju Clan, but it was rare for someone to develop an additional affinity on their own. In fact, this was the only successful case in the clan so far.
I'd already given up, yet this child appeared at this moment. How cruelly fate toys with me.
Closing her weary eyes, Senju Momoka felt that, for the first time, she didn't know what to choose. This child didn't need to have Wood Release, and he probably wouldn't have it. But if he could become a figure like Lord Tobirama, the Senju Clan could come together again.
But when she remembered that dissolving the Senju Clan had been the order of Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama, Senju Momoka found she couldn't disobey the commands of those two lords.
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