Seeing Nawaki in such danger, the white soul flame above Tobirama Senju's head suddenly blazed fiercely, shooting more than ten meters into the air.
He knew better than anyone how important a powerful shinobi was to a village.
While his older brother Hashirama was alive, a Shinobi World War could never have broken out.
His older brother said he liked peace, and the other four Kage behaved like a flock of obedient ducklings. They were all bark and no bite.
His older brother said he was going to capture the Tailed Beasts, and when he entered the other four great nations, not a single one of their hidden villages dared send anyone to keep an eye on him.
After his older brother died, the First Shinobi World War broke out almost immediately. They'd been holding it in for too long, and they were itching all over.
Tsunade had inherited her older brother's physique, but Nawaki had inherited the Senju Clan's talent for ninjutsu.
If Nawaki could grow up, he would be tremendously important to both Konoha and the Senju Clan.
The only thing Tobirama Senju could do was hope Kawadera Uchiha completed the mission!
At a moment when danger threatened to topple everything, what was the fastest thing?
Light. The speed of light was the fastest!
Sight was the fastest!
"Genjutsu!"
High in the air, the Sharingan in Kawadera Uchiha's eyes spun wildly.
In an instant, he sent all his chakra out in the form of Sharingan Genjutsu.
The assassin, wearing an aluminum-foil hood, buried his face deep in the darkness.
His gaze slipped beneath the brim of his hood and fixed on Nawaki Senju.
Nawaki Senju fell under the genjutsu, Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.
In the illusion, Nawaki Senju used the Wood Release he had dreamed of mastering. He was astonished and overjoyed, tears of excitement welling in his eyes!
Ever since he learned that his chakra natures were Earth and Water, Nawaki had looked forward to the day he could master Wood Release.
Yet the Wood Release vines bound him, leaving him unable to move.
The assassin twitched his fingers, setting off the Explosive Tags.
But in his field of vision, a pair of Sharingan appeared in the air behind Nawaki Senju, far in the distance.
Unable to help noticing those Sharingan out of the corner of his eye, the assassin's vision blurred.
To throw him off, those Sharingan had even begun to weep bloody tears. Their chakra had been pushed beyond its limits, converted into genjutsu with reckless abandon.
That brief blur caused Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death to falter for an instant.
Nawaki Senju instinctively exerted himself and leapt off the ground.
Twenty centimeters made all the difference.
The six Explosive Tags detonated on the ground, and the shock wave and heat blasted Nawaki Senju away.
Only then did Orochimaru notice someone beneath the cliff on the opposite side!
The Snake-Style Sensory Technique he took pride in hadn't detected that person at all!
Had Kawadera Uchiha, up in the air, noticed the enemy before he did?
Kawadera Uchiha didn't know any sensory techniques. He spotted the assassin first not because he was stronger, but because he knew the plot.
Kawadera Uchiha landed and looked toward the cliff again, but the spot was already empty.
What an incredible Body Flicker Technique, what powerful genjutsu, and... the Sharingan!
When their eyes had met, he had clearly seen a pair of Sharingan beneath that hood.
That was one enormous accusation. Could the Uchiha Clan bear the blame?
Seigetsu Senju leapt from the tree trunk and caught Nawaki.
Glancing down, Seigetsu Senju cried in alarm, "This is bad! Nawaki's badly hurt!"
Nawaki Senju had multiple fractures in both legs. His lower legs were charred black, seeming boneless and limp as noodles.
His pelvis had also suffered compression fractures, its shape no longer recognizable.
Kawadera Uchiha hurriedly checked on Nawaki Senju. Fortunately, at the crucial moment, Nawaki Senju had jumped twenty centimeters. His upper body wasn't too badly injured, and he wouldn't die right away.
Compared with the original plot, there was a difference of twenty centimeters.
Standing still on the ground versus jumping a little—that was the distance between life and death.
In the Sea of Consciousness, Kawadera Uchiha said:
"Second, thank goodness you had Mind Awakening. It transformed my genjutsu ability, pushing the [Genjutsu] stat in the Eight Ninja Stats past the level of 8.
"The blood vessels in my eyes burst, and I only managed to distract the killer for an instant."
The soul flame above Tobirama Senju's head returned to normal, burning gently like a candle.
He felt a wave of lingering fear. If he hadn't gotten Kawadera Uchiha on his side, Nawaki Senju—the most important junior of the Senju Clan—would surely have died here.
"You completed the S-rank mission I assigned. Now I'll give you your reward."
Kawadera Uchiha was full of anticipation.
The assassin beneath the aluminum-foil hood was a powerful Uchiha. What he'd done would certainly offend the Uchiha Clan.
But if he could get a Forbidden Technique in return, it would all be worth it.
"Your genjutsu is decent, and your ninjutsu is so-so, but taijutsu is your weak point.
"If someone uncovers your secrets and breaks your genjutsu, you'll die in an instant.
"The Forbidden Technique I'll give you is a taijutsu technique—the strongest taijutsu in Konoha, the Eight Inner Gates!"
Kawadera Uchiha thought it over and didn't refuse. The Eight Inner Gates were pretty good, too.
It wasn't as elusive as Flying Thunder God, or as capable of deciding a battle from a thousand miles away as Impure World Reincarnation, but it was still a Forbidden Technique with plenty of prestige.
Tobirama Senju clearly expected him to trade his life for someone else's.
But it didn't matter. If he could open the Seventh Gate, then even if he couldn't win, he could still run, couldn't he?
Why trade his life for someone else's?
Kawadera Uchiha opened his eyes, his gaze vacant.
A stream of knowledge and experience flowed into his mind.
He instantly learned how to train in the Eight Inner Gates and gained the experience to open the first gate, the Gate of Opening; the second, the Gate of Healing; the third, the Gate of Life; the fourth, the Gate of Pain; the fifth, the Gate of Limit; and the sixth, the Gate of View.
Wait, what about the Seventh and Eighth Gates?
"Second, are you skimming off the top? Where are the insights into the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, and the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death?"
Tobirama Senju said, "I only trained up to the sixth gate, the Gate of View. I'll give you the training methods for the seventh and eighth gates. You can train in them yourself.
"With your frail physique, your muscles will tear if you open the fifth gate.
"Follow the Eight Inner Gates to build up your physique and taijutsu first.
"I've dissected hundreds of people, so I understand muscle mechanics inside and out. If you train the way I tell you, you'll get twice the results with half the effort."
Hearing Tobirama Senju insist that he train as instructed reminded Kawadera Uchiha to be wary.
He couldn't trust Tobirama Senju completely. He'd have to find a chance to check with Might Duy later, just in case Tobirama Senju was setting him up.
Kawadera Uchiha wasn't a good person, so he didn't assume other people were good, either.
As if he could read Kawadera Uchiha's thoughts, Tobirama Senju added:
"You saved Nawaki's life, but your weakness meant he was badly injured. We don't know whether that will affect his strength.
"I want you to get stronger even more than you do.
"You said you'd seen the future, and that the Uchiha Clan would destroy Konoha.
"I hope you're as shameless as you say. As long as you get something out of it, you'll take the village's side in its struggle with the Uchiha Clan.
"No. You'll take the side of the benefits."
Kawadera Uchiha smiled. Tobirama Senju had summed him up perfectly.
"Training in the Eight Inner Gates will take a serious toll on your body. With your talent for taijutsu, the fourth or fifth gate will be your limit. If you want to open the Seventh or even the Eighth Gate and keep completing missions to protect Konoha, I'll teach you how to train in Strength of a Hundred.
"The first step in Strength of a Hundred is to fundamentally improve your physique with the Senju Secret Technique."
Kawadera Uchiha thought, You're pretty good at laying bait. You've dangled a carrot that's impossible to refuse.
His gaze shifted from vacant to solemn. Kawadera Uchiha immediately saw Orochimaru staring at him intently with his snake-like eyes.
The plot had changed.
Nawaki Senju hadn't died. Would Orochimaru still turn evil?
Which was stronger—the inertia of history, or the influence of the butterfly that was Kawadera Uchiha?
Orochimaru, why are you looking at me like that? My face is streaked with bloody tears. I risked my life for the group, after all.
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