Bluffing Them into Submission

"I'd heard that big breasts meant a small brain, but I never thought that people without breasts could be brainless too."

Tamura Hiroshi gave the girl a look reserved for idiots, especially lingering on her barely noticeable bust.

His words got under the girl's skin. No woman could stand such an insult.

"Clang!"

"Brat, I've put up with you long enough!"

The girl drew the Ninja Sword from her back and pointed it at the masked boy opposite her, grinding her teeth in anger.

Even the best-tempered person couldn't take that kind of provocation.

"Sazuko!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke hurriedly grabbed the girl by the wrist. They couldn't start a fight here.

Their mission was to take away the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. They had already reached an agreement with the Uzumaki Clan Head, who would send someone to personally escort his granddaughter to Konoha afterward.

They couldn't let things go wrong now. After all, the boy was an important member of the Senju Clan, and the Senju and Uzumaki clans were bound by marriage and were one family.

Picking a fight with a direct descendant of the Senju Clan in Uzushio Hidden Village would be a slap in the face to the Uzumaki clan. It would be a serious problem.

Their top priority was to receive the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. They couldn't afford any complications.

Tamura Hiroshi folded his arms, utterly unconcerned by the girl's anger.

I'm a direct descendant of the Senju of the Forest, and this is the ancestral home of the Uzumaki Family, our longtime in-laws. Would you dare lay a hand on me?

"You said yourself that none of the village's major Ninja Clans want another Senju to become Hokage. Do you really think the Sarutobi and Shimura clans would want that?

Your clans have risen to the village's highest ranks and control all kinds of important departments and positions. Would you be willing to give up the power and benefits you've already secured?

Even if you were, would the Ino-Shika-Cho and the other Ninja Clans that have long been in league with you agree?

From what we know about Hiruzen Sarutobi, he'll most likely pick an unattached genius from the civilian population and groom him to become the Fourth Hokage—a puppet who'll preserve your group's interests.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru both have a better chance of becoming the Fourth Hokage than Sister Tsunade.

No, Orochimaru is too capable and strong-willed to make a suitable puppet. It'd have to be a fool like Jiraiya, or one of his students. There's no way it'll be Sister Tsunade.

Sister Tsunade won't have a chance at the position until after Hiruzen Sarutobi dies.

When you just said you wanted Sister Tsunade to take the position, was your brain as flat as your chest, or were you trying to insult my intelligence?"

Tamura Hiroshi made no effort to hide his hostility toward Hiruzen Sarutobi and the three people opposite him. That was the Senju Clan's position.

The Uzumaki Ninja at the village entrance were dumbfounded. They hadn't expected to witness such a scene, and it seemed things in Konoha were pretty complicated.

"You..."

The girl was so furious that her chest heaved, making her barely-there curves look a little better.

"Sazuko, they're set in their ways. We can't talk them out of it. All we can do is let time prove their prejudice wrong."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke sighed and spoke in a helpless tone, though murderous intent surged in his heart toward the brat before him.

"Let's go!"

He said no more. After giving the hateful brat a glance, Sarutobi Shinnosuke led the other two away.

Before leaving, the girl continued glaring furiously at Tamura Hiroshi. From the look of her, she wanted to skin him alive.

Tamura Hiroshi gave her a taunting puff of his chest, making her even angrier.

If Sarutobi Shinnosuke hadn't been holding her back, she would've drawn her sword and attacked him.

She'd never met such an obnoxious brat!

Watching the three leave, Tamura Hiroshi turned to the few Uzumaki Ninja who had been keeping an eye on them and voiced his displeasure.

"Why was Hiruzen Sarutobi's son allowed into Uzushio Hidden Village, while we, the Senju representatives, were stopped outside? Does the Uzumaki clan think that now the Senju have no Hokage, they can cast us aside and form a new bond through marriage with the Sarutobi Clan?"

He'd originally planned to disguise himself as a Konoha ANBU member to conceal his identity, but now he could only pretend to be a member of the Senju of the Forest.

"Watch what you say. Our Uzumaki clan has an exceptional ability to sense chakra. We can sense other people's chakra, and yours is nothing like that of the Senju of the Forest."

A middle-aged ninja said coldly. That was the main reason he had stopped the four of them outside.

Their act earlier had been convincing, but chakra couldn't lie. He couldn't possibly mistake the Senju Clan's chakra.

"Looks like you've really fallen behind if you don't even know how to disguise your chakra."

Tamura Hiroshi sounded disappointed. Then he connected to the Kaguya Phantom and used it to imitate chakra originating from Senju Tobirama.

He'd developed this ability by studying the Kaguya Phantom over the past few days. It was much like White Zetsu's Impersonation Technique: by devouring someone's chakra, it could imitate it perfectly, making it hard to tell apart.

The fact that he was in the spiritual world made chakra connections inconvenient, so the effect wasn't as good, but it was still enough to fool other people's senses.

Sure enough, when he imitated Senju Tobirama's chakra, the middle-aged Uzumaki ninja's expression changed.

He knew the Senju Clan's chakra well. It was unique, with a remarkable Life Force. He couldn't mistake that feeling.

"I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you before. Please, follow me!"

After sensing it several more times to be sure, the middle-aged ninja apologized and invited Tamura Hiroshi and the others into the village.

Since he was a member of the Senju Clan, there was no problem.

"This is my first time in Uzushio Hidden Village. I've been wanting to look around. Grandma Mito used to tell me about this place all the time."

Tamura Hiroshi walked into the village, spinning a tale about being a younger relative of Mito Uzumaki.

As soon as Tamura Hiroshi mentioned Mito Uzumaki, the Uzumaki Ninja warmed to him.

The three Cloud ANBU exchanged bewildered looks, then silently followed along. They paid even more attention to the brat Lord Dodai had brought with him.

The kid was weak, but he had his bright spots. No wonder Lord Dodai thought highly of him.

And so, Tamura Hiroshi successfully infiltrated Uzushio Hidden Village. He was shown around the village, and even entered the shrine where they worshipped the Death God. Rows of fearsome Death God Masks were enshrined along the walls.

Of course, the three ANBU weren't allowed into such a sacred place. They waited outside.

"Which branch of the Senju family are you from?"

An old man walked in and looked over the boy studying the Death God Masks.

"Clan Head!"

The middle-aged man who had brought Tamura Hiroshi inside hurriedly bowed. The newcomer was their clan and village head, Masahiko Uzumaki.

Masahiko Uzumaki waved for him to leave, his eyes never leaving the boy.

He'd just heard the report, including the verbal exchange between the two sides at the village entrance. It had revealed a great deal, but he still doubted the boy's identity.

Besides, his sister's letter hadn't mentioned sending anyone from the Senju Clan.

"To be precise, I'd say I belong to Tobirama's branch."

As Tamura Hiroshi spoke, he took off his mask and ran a hand through his hair.

His short black hair turned white, and at the same time, he once again imitated Senju Tobirama's chakra.

He had white hair, after all, so he might as well put it to good use. Earlier, he'd only made a partial change with the Transformation Jutsu to conceal his identity.

This was an advanced application of the Transformation Jutsu. At first, it required changing the whole body, but with sufficient chakra control, one could transform only part of oneself. It used less chakra and was harder to see through.

For instance, he could change only the face that was visible and wear real clothes.

"How do you have Tobirama's chakra?"

Sensing that familiar chakra, Masahiko Uzumaki grew even more puzzled.

Everyone's chakra was different. It wasn't just a matter of its nature; there were deeper reasons, too.

Even the chakra of a parent and child or of siblings would differ. He was familiar with Senju Tobirama's chakra and couldn't possibly mistake it.

Who exactly was this person?