Senju Style: Willow

Orochimaru asked, "What does Tsunade want with Kawadera Uchiha?"

Seigetsu Senju knew that Lord Orochimaru was the teammate Tsunade trusted most—far more than that unreliable Jiraiya—yet he still felt a sense of dread in Orochimaru's presence.

"Lord Orochimaru," she replied, "Master Tsunade said she intends to teach Kawadera a secret technique as a reward for his repeated assistance to Young Clan Leader Nawaki recently."

"Teaching a secret technique to an Uchiha?" Orochimaru shook his head slightly and said, "You may go."

Watching Seigetsu Senju and Kawadera Uchiha depart, Orochimaru realized he had been one step too slow.

Tsunade teaching Kawadera Uchiha a secret technique meant that Kawadera Uchiha had officially become her subordinate.

This was extremely rare within the Senju Clan. In the thirty-plus years since the village was founded, only the Second Hokage had possessed the breadth of mind and self-confidence to take an Uchiha ninja as his confidant.

He was interested in Kawadera Uchiha because the boy dared to pry into the secrets of Konoha; as for why Tsunade was interested in him, Orochimaru did not care.

As long as Tsunade was happy, that was enough.

Following Seigetsu Senju to the tent where Tsunade was stationed, they found her in the middle of a surgery.

Tsunade had her hand inserted into the patient's chest cavity, performing cardiac massage.

Who learned from whom? Kawadera Uchiha thought. The techniques of these two are truly identical.

If not for the ambiguity surrounding Orochimaru's gender, Kawadera Uchiha might have wondered if Tsunade had once admired Orochimaru.

Once Tsunade finished the surgery and cleaned up, she led the two of them away from the tent.

Upon reaching another tent, Tsunade performed hand seals to initiate a summoning technique.

A large scroll, half a person's height, appeared at her side.

Emblazoned on the scroll was the double-leaf crest of the Senju Clan.

Kawadera Uchiha felt a surge of excitement. He spoke to Tobirama Senju within his sea of consciousness:

"It's over! Lord Second! You're finished!

I've perfectly deceived Princess Tsunade, and she's about to give me something good!"

"Tsunade possesses the strength to correct errors at any time; I am not worried in the slightest."

"Lord Second, your mouth is truly stubborn. Just like how you refuse to admit it was your own disciple who used your Flying Thunder God kunai to kill you—can't you just acknowledge my acting skills for once?"

Tobirama Senju fell silent, and the sea of consciousness lapsed into stillness.

Tsunade said, "Kawadera, Seigetsu has given me a detailed account of your recent performance.

Providing intelligence that Nawaki was in mortal danger, helping him on several occasions, and your performance on the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water—repeatedly covering the retreat and volunteering as a dangerous messenger.

I accept Seigetsu's judgment; there is no doubt you are the successor of Kagami Uchiha.

Next, I will teach you a secret technique unique to the Senju Clan. Firstly, as a reward for your actions, and secondly, to formally establish you as my subordinate and provide you with my protection."

Kawadera Uchiha quickly replied, "Thank you for your trust, Lady Tsunade! I will certainly uphold the legacy of Lord Kagami and continue to guard the Will of Fire!"

Tsunade nodded and opened the Scroll of Sealing.

The scroll unrolled, its contents scrolling past until it finally stopped at a specific section.

"Kawadera, this is one of our Senju Clan's secret techniques: Senju Style: Willow.

It is a technique that combines genjutsu with swordsmanship.

Without the need for hand seals, you trigger a genjutsu that makes the enemy see a dozen swords, much like the supple branches of a willow tree by a lake, laden with a dozen leaves.

The enemy becomes trapped in the genjutsu, unable to move, while you launch a surprise attack from their blind spot."

Kawadera Uchiha looked over the technique, but instead of a sudden flash of realization, he felt only confusion.

Judging by the description, this was exactly the Konoha Style: Willow used by Maruboshi Kosuke in the original story.

He just didn't understand why a secret technique of the Senju Clan had ended up becoming a Konoha Style secret technique.

"I know you cannot grasp this immediately," Tsunade said.

"You are a genjutsu-type ninja who relies on the Sharingan to cast illusions, so you don't quite understand this type of non-Sharingan genjutsu.

It is like how some ninja are incredibly skilled with ninja blades and can never understand why others insist on using kunai for close-quarters combat."

Kawadera Uchiha quickly said, "Please, Lady Tsunade, enlighten me."

The abilities he had acquired from Tobirama Senju came with the man's memories, insights, and even muscle memory, which was why he mastered them so quickly.

Learning a new technique from scratch was different; it required his own brain. And as for his own... well, saying he had no brain was a bit inaccurate, but his thought patterns came from his previous life and were very different from the logic of the ninja here.

Tsunade explained, "Chakra has seven nature transformations: Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Yin, and Yang.

The five elemental releases go without saying, but the key lies in the Yin and Yang nature transformations.

Yang nature transformations include techniques like Jiraiya's Needle Jizo or the Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique.

Yin nature transformations include genjutsu and the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu.

In the records of our Senju Clan, beyond the Yin and Yang nature transformations, there exist the legendary Yin Release and Yang Release.

If you wish to learn our secret technique, you must temporarily forget your Sharingan and first learn how to cast genjutsu using Yin-attribute chakra."

"If you are talented enough, once you have mastered Senju Style: Willow, you can also combine this technique with your Sharingan."

The chakra affinities of Kawadera Uchiha were Fire, Lightning, and Yin—a quintessential trait of the Uchiha Clan.

Carefully studying the chakra flow paths on the scroll, he attempted to extract his chakra, which naturally carried the Yin attribute.

Instead of surging toward his eyes, the extracted chakra flowed into his hands.

After drawing his ninja blade, he felt the changes the chakra wrought upon his hands and the steel.

According to the secret scroll, the Yin-attribute chakra—that is, genjutsu chakra—protruded from the blade like fish bones, stabbing left and right.

The ninja blade swayed slowly in rhythm with the shifting chakra.

In Tsunade's field of vision, the speed at which Kawadera Uchiha swung his blade was slow, yet it already produced faint afterimages.

"Very good, truly excellent. Your talent for genjutsu is high; to think you grasped the resonance between genjutsu chakra and the blade on your first attempt.

Next, you must follow the techniques described in the scroll to master this resonance and increase its speed, until you can deploy this secret technique in actual combat.

I do not know this technique, and no one in the Senju Clan has been able to replicate it for over a decade.

The Second Hokage seems to have passed this technique on to a few people, but no powerhouse has ever managed to carry it forward.

Kawadera, I hope you can prove the power of this technique."

Tsunade put away the scroll and ended the summoning.

A flash of regret and greed flickered in the depths of Kawadera Uchiha's eyes.

Tsunade had only displayed a small portion of the Scroll of Sealing, showing Kawadera Uchiha only a single technique.

That Scroll of Sealing represented over a thousand years of accumulation by the Senju Clan.

Kawadera Uchiha said, "Lady Tsunade, I will certainly practice this technique diligently and restore its reputation!"

Senju Style: Willow and the Frame-Skip Body Flicker created by Kawadera Uchiha shared certain similarities.

Senju Style: Willow could create a dozen sword strikes like willow leaves, while the Frame-Skip Body Flicker could create afterimages; combining the two would make his movements even more eerie and unpredictable.

Tsunade said in closing, "The situation on the Land of Grass battlefield is deteriorating. Amegakure has declared war on Konoha and is joining forces with Iwagakure to deal with us.

The forces in the Land of Grass may have to split, with a detachment entering the Land of Rain to intercept the Rain Ninja led by Demigod Hanzo.

Train well; we do not have much time left."