Outside Konoha, at the Senju Residence.
Kazamatsuri Masaki arrived alone in the area, his face brimming with an irrepressible, excited smile.
As a clansman born in the third generation after the family had moved out of the Senju Clan, he had been born into the Kazamatsuri Family and had never experienced what it felt like to be a member of the Senju Clan.
But his father was different. When Masaki was young, his father often told him stories about things that had happened in the Senju household in the past, making him firmly remember that he too was a ninja who had inherited the bloodline and will of the First Hokage.
Therefore, after deciding to undergo the Wood Release Awakening Experiment personally overseen by the Hokage, Kazamatsuri Masaki could not suppress the excitement in his heart. He had come to see this place where, according to what he had heard, his father had lived long ago.
It would be even better if he could be allowed inside to pay his respects to the First Hokage. Perhaps the First Hokage's spirit in heaven would bless this experiment with complete success.
As a young jonin of Konoha's new generation, Kazamatsuri Masaki was not exactly unknown. Moreover, he was friends with Sarutobi Shinnosuke, so the Third Hokage, the Sannin, and those around them were all familiar with him.
Just as he stood outside the walls of the Senju Residence with his hands pressed together in silent prayer, a little girl with black hair and black eyes poked her head over the wall. Tilting her head, she asked softly, "Big Brother Masaki, what are you doing? Did you come to see Teacher Tsunade?"
"So it's little Shizune~"
Kazamatsuri Masaki looked up and smiled faintly at the little girl atop the wall. "Is Lady Tsunade