Adult Diejian

Diejian was as unable to move as if the Sharingan had pinned him in place. Only his waist drew back slightly.

His classmates all thought Diejian liked purple. In reality, he didn't truly like it; circumstances had simply left him with the appearance of liking purple.

Perhaps disappointed by Diejian's silence, Ina let out a heavy sigh and returned to her seat.

It seemed her shoulders drooped even lower than they had when she first sat down.

Unable to bear watching, Tsunade nudged Diejian in the side with her elbow.

The blow landed solidly, sending a heavy jolt through Diejian's ribs.

Thanks to Tsunade whispering "roses" in his ear, Diejian finally understood.

He didn't let it show, but mentally, he gave his palm a smack.

He quickly formed Hand Seals, leaned forward, and extended a clenched fist toward Ina.

As Ina looked on in surprise, Diejian opened his hand as if performing a magic trick. In his palm lay a hair ornament made from fresh flowers, shaped like a bouquet of roses.

Overcome with excitement, Ina leaned forward and hugged Diejian's head.

The thin wall of her chest was softer than he had imagined. Amid the aroma of grilled meat, that faint, sweet fragrance made Diejian's cheeks flush.

After the hug, Ina happily accepted the little rose bouquet. She untied her ponytail and let her hair fall loose, then tucked the ornament beside her ear.

Her pale golden hair and the roses' red petals complemented each other beautifully.

Diejian smiled and said, "It suits you."

"Of course it does," Ina replied happily, blushing.

Sakumo and Tsunade clicked their tongues and laughed.

As a woman, I wouldn't want to receive a gift like this in a barbecue restaurant.

Thinking this, Tsunade picked up a piece of meat from the grill that had charred into a lump of coal.

"But, big brother, you have something this stylish. Why didn't you bring it out sooner? When did you prepare it?"

Tsunade hadn't meant to ruin the mood, but she couldn't hold back any longer. She was curious, too, so she cut in.

Diejian had only just gotten out of confinement. He'd barely managed to leave the house.

In theory, he shouldn't have had time to prepare little things like this.

"I've been wondering about that, too," Sakumo chimed in.

How had Diejian prepared the roses? That was something Sakumo hadn't had time to ask when Diejian gave Juri a rose.

Though Tobirama had told him to keep it secret, Diejian didn't think he needed to hide it from the people present, so he honestly told them the truth.

"Wood Release?!"

The three voices rang through the barbecue restaurant. Diejian smiled, as if to say, "Just as I thought."

"Wood Release isn't something only Grandpa can use... right? Big brother, how did you do it?"

As Hashirama's granddaughter, just like Diejian, Tsunade voiced the question on all three of their minds.

"Yeah," Diejian said, nodding.

Diejian discovered he could use Wood Release not long after leaving the hospital. Thinking back, it had happened when he resumed his ninjutsu training under Tobirama's guidance.

There was a technique called Heavenly Weeping.

It was one of the techniques developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It was a Water Release Ninjutsu that required no Hand Seals, instead using shape transformation and nature transformation.

By turning Chakra into water inside his mouth, then sharpening and extending it, the user created "water senbon" that could easily pierce even a human body.

Thanks to its convenience, surprise factor, and lethality, it was one of Tobirama's go-to techniques in close combat. It was also very suitable for practicing Chakra control.

Tobirama thought that since Diejian had already mastered Water Severing Wave, he should be able to use this technique by now. He chose it for that reason, and it could double as rehabilitation training for Chakra control.

Following Tobirama's instructions, Diejian began molding Chakra inside his mouth.

Carefully, very carefully—his mouth twitched as he worked, making him look comical, but his expression was serious.

Tobirama had assumed the worst that could happen was a little water spraying out of Diejian's nose. Instead, he stared wide-eyed at the branch that shot out of Diejian's mouth.

It was clearly abnormal. Tobirama immediately stopped the training and used Flying Thunder God to teleport to Mito, who was skilled in Medical Ninjutsu.

What they discovered afterward was shocking.

Kakuzu had torn out Diejian's heart along with his circulatory system, and a huge scar still remained on Diejian's back.

The scar was still there, but the wound itself had completely healed. The heart and circulatory system that had been torn out had regenerated, too.

There was no flaw in the First, Senju Hashirama's secret technique. If there was a problem, it was only that he was a "special existence."

Hashirama was a rare ninja who could use all five basic natures, but he was especially skilled in Water and Earth—and the Kekkei Genkai that stemmed from them: the one-of-a-kind Wood Release Ninjutsu.

That was what had caused the mutation.

—Hashirama's Chakra, with its "special properties."

"Natural Energy," which surpassed Chakra.

And the regeneration of his heart and circulatory system.

These unprecedented factors became intricately entangled within Diejian's corpse, which was on its way to resurrection—so much so that it had even devoured the soul that had been called back.

Diejian's cells were steeped in Hashirama's special Chakra and changed in form.

His circulatory system had naturally possessed the Water and Earth natures. Drawn together by the special power of Hashirama's Chakra, they fused and mutated.

Earth and Water—as long as he molded Chakra of one nature, the other nature activated along with it.

The two natures activated at the same time, fused outside Diejian's awareness, and ultimately formed the Kekkei Genkai, Wood Release.

In practice, he had lost the qualities of both Water and Earth. The only thing left to him was Fire, along with Wood Release—and those were the powers Diejian had now.

However, Diejian's body couldn't keep up with the fundamental, sudden changes taking place at the cellular and spiritual levels. Even after a year, he still couldn't use ninjutsu normally. That was the situation.

Tobirama judged that there was no point in forcing it. He changed Diejian's training plan, deciding to suspend ninjutsu practice and focus on Taijutsu until his new circulatory system had fused with his body.

That was why Diejian's Taijutsu scores at the Ninja Academy had improved.

At the same time, he was told to keep Wood Release a secret until he could protect himself.

A one-of-a-kind Wood Release Ninjutsu.

There were probably countless ninjas who wanted it.

It was better to be cautious.

Besides, compared with Hashirama, Diejian's Wood Release was barely worth mentioning.

When Mito and Tobirama told him about the changes to his body, Diejian once again ignored Tobirama's advice and focused on using Wood Release to fulfill his long-held wish. In the end, he managed to create only a tiny flower bed, about the size of one tatami mat.

Just imagine: he'd wanted to use "Wood Release Secret Technique: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees," which could create a huge tree that scattered pollen and spread out to swallow everything around it. The gap between that and his result was obvious.

Naturally, Tobirama sensed it with Chakra at once, caught Diejian, and gave him a severe scolding.

It seemed Tobirama's troubles would continue for a while yet.

"So, all I can do is make flowers bloom."

"Come to think of it, now that you mention it, maybe you really do have some talent for it."

After he finished speaking, Diejian moistened his throat with water.

Listening to Diejian, Sakumo seemed to remember the pieces of wood mixed into the Earth Landslide Technique, and spoke up.

"That troublesome technique," Tsunade muttered, looking disgusted.

Diejian laughed heartily, but inwardly he mocked himself for being unable to fully use the power he had inherited from Hashirama. He felt useless.

"That's amazing!"

Ina's eyes lit up as she leaned toward Diejian.

The force of her enthusiasm made Diejian lean back. At the same time, he remembered—come to think of it—

Many women enjoyed flower-viewing, and Ina was a particularly devoted flower lover. Her family ran a flower shop, and she was the daughter of its owner.

"How wonderful," Ina murmured dreamily, imagining that if she could grow flowers herself, she could decorate her room with flowers of every kind, all year round. Her fantasies were full of girlish whimsy.

Seeing her like that brightened Diejian's mood again.

It suddenly occurred to Diejian that, at this rate, it would take forever. But one day, when he could use Wood Release freely, he'd try building a house with it—

"One day, I'll create a jungle in Ina's room."

"Hey, stop right there! What kind of joke is that?"

Diejian laughed heartily.

Ina laughed, too, pretending to be exhausted. "Give me a break..."

★

"Big brother, let's settle this!"

"Again, Tsuna?"

One afternoon.

Now that she had started taking Genin assignments, Diejian had been lounging in bed all morning, using the perfectly respectable excuse that he needed to rest his unaccustomed, exhausted body.

Just then, his bedroom door was flung open, and Tsunade barged in, shouting with a whole set of gambling equipment in her hands.

Diejian had wanted to enjoy a rare day off, while Tsunade wanted someone to keep her company precisely because it was a rare day off. They'd been locked in a heated gambling match since morning.

Gambling itself counted as keeping her company, but Tsunade seemed to want to go out together, and she refused to give in.

Diejian had turned down even Ina's invitation, using "I'm tired" as an excuse—though he'd made up a reason to go with it—so he felt awkward about going out now.

And besides—

"You don't have anything left to wager, do you?"

Tsunade had lost every bet about going out. Diejian had won today's meals, tomorrow's snacks, next month's allowance, and even her birthday present for next year.

If she'd been Ina's older sister, Diejian might have suggested strip mahjong. But he wasn't cruel enough to do that to his little sister, and he wasn't a lolicon.

Tsunade pouted and stomped over to Diejian's bed.

Then she plopped down beside him as he rolled around reading, and started bouncing on her bottom with a series of thumps.

The hair she'd recently begun tying at the back of her head swayed with each bounce.

Perhaps she envied Ina, whose hair was a similar color. Tsunade had started to like tying her hair back.

At first, Diejian had asked, "Is that a topknot?" He'd been sent flying through a wall, and Ina had been the one to rescue him.

"Big bro-ther, big bro-ther."

Tsunade bounced away, making the bed shake and Diejian's body bounce along with it.

There was no way he could read.

Annoyed, Diejian gave Tsunade's hair a hard tug. She shrieked like a cat grabbed by the tail, lost her balance, and fell onto the bed.

Tsunade was usually strong-willed and often spoke rudely even to her older brother, but she was very good at being affectionate when she wanted to be. Diejian didn't dislike that side of her.

Her neatly shaped brows and sharp, dignified eyes made her look more beautiful than cute, even at such a young age. Still, she had a girl's charm that suited her age.

Diejian just didn't show it in what he said or how he acted. But Ina had already seen through him. Whenever Tsunade came up, he wore the same smile he did when Hashirama came up. Diejian loved his little sister as much as anyone else, and he found this way of her being affectionate rather amusing.

"Okay, okay."

Diejian pushed Tsunade aside, though she had somehow taken up most of the bed, dragged her off it, and put on his coat.

He'd made it himself, modeling it after the Hokage's robe, but the design was subtle enough that you couldn't tell where it had come from.

Grandfather Hashirama didn't much like such formal clothes, but Tobirama thought the Hokage ought to look the part, so he dressed quite formally.

Diejian thought Tobirama looked a little cool from behind, so he'd used the few Shadow Clones he could manage to practice sewing as hard as he could. He thought he'd done a pretty good job.

"There, get ready. We're going out, right?"

Tsunade stared blankly at Diejian's smiling face. The instant she understood what he meant, she sprang up and ran toward her room, shouting, "You promised!"

Good grief...

Diejian was busy smoothing out the rumpled sheets when Tsunade returned, ready to go out.

When he asked where they were going, she answered, "The casino."

Diejian lightly tapped her on the head and said, "You don't have anything left to wager, remember?" Then he used the Transformation Technique to make himself look like an adult.

Adult Diejian's appearance retained Hashirama's features, but had a sharper air about it. His hair stuck up in places, and he had tied back the hair that would otherwise hang loose.

Seeing Diejian with his mature charm, Tsunade let out an impressed "Oh!"

Diejian added, "It'd be a problem if Ina found out," and took Tsunade out.

"Tsunade! Who's that man!?"

The shopping street in Konohagakure.

Diejian had been browsing a street stall when he heard someone call out to Tsunade. He turned around.

"Oh, it's you, Jiraiya..."

A boy named Jiraiya, with white hair sticking out in every direction, glared at Diejian with a resentful look.

Diejian wondered, Huh? Did I make an enemy somewhere?

Then he thought of what had happened with Juri, and figured it wasn't impossible. He smiled wryly to himself.

"Who's that?"

"A classmate from the Academy. We call him 'Pervert-suke.'"

"Pervert-suke...?"

The boy had a serious expression and a composure beyond his years.

Diejian tilted his head inwardly. He didn't seem like the kind of kid people would call "Pervert-suke."

The nickname "Pervert-suke" somehow caught Diejian's attention, but he reminded himself that Tsunade might just be badmouthing him.

When Diejian graduated as the first student of the Ninja Academy, Tsunade entered the Academy as well.

As an older brother with a little sister, Diejian was wary of this boy who was Tsunade's classmate and already known as "Pervert-suke." But as a man, he was curious, too.

Still, what did he mean by "Who's that man—"?

Diejian had once buried part of the village in earth and sand.

He'd also flooded a classroom, ruining the textbooks and other materials.

After returning, he'd failed at summoning and summoned the enormous slug Katsuyu, crushing the school building.

For those "achievements," Diejian had earned nicknames such as "Slug Prince" and "the Problem Child of the Village." The adults had complicated feelings about him, while his juniors looked at him with fear and respect—or so they should have.

That was when he remembered he was using the Transformation Technique.

Aha. He thinks some shady man is making a move on Tsunade.

From Diejian's perspective, Jiraiya was a lecher. But from Jiraiya's perspective, he was seeing Tsunade walking alongside some man of unknown origins.

Diejian didn't know if it was because of their friendship as classmates or something else, but he was glad to know there was a boy who cared about Tsunade.

He'd always worried that the strong-willed Tsunade, who never held her tongue and could be a little violent, might not have any friends.

Since Kagami also had a little sister, the two of them got along well and had talked about things like that.

Diejian had even gone so far as to use the Transformation Technique to keep Tsunade company today because he'd remembered Kagami and Juri's relationship.

"Are you Jiraiya? Don't worry. I'm Tsunade's older brother, Senju Diejian."

"..."

Jiraiya stared at Diejian with suspicion. He circled him, sizing him up from head to toe as if licking him with his eyes. It looked as though he was examining Diejian, but his gaze seemed to linger more on Tsunade, who was standing beside him.

I see. He's easy to figure out.

Diejian had asked him to "keep it a secret that I changed my appearance for certain reasons," but Jiraiya had actually demanded a photo of Tsunade as hush money.

Diejian realized Tsunade had been telling the truth and couldn't help smiling wryly.

He's already like this at his age. What will he be like when he grows up? As her older brother, Diejian found the thought a little frightening.

Whether Tsunade was embarrassed, happy, or scared because Jiraiya had asked for her photo, her fair cheeks flushed bright red, and she punched Jiraiya flying.

Diejian used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Jiraiya as he flew through the air and gently caught him.

He gave the unconscious Jiraiya a loud shout, rousing him.

Diejian gently tapped Tsunade on the head as she came over and warned her, "That was too much." Then he patted Jiraiya on the shoulder and said, "From now on, please look after my little sister, Tsunade."

Tsunade sulked, upset that he was the one she had to deal with, while Jiraiya felt overwhelmed by how mature Diejian was, even though he was only a few years older.

Leaving the chaotic Team Six he belonged to behind, Diejian laughed heartily, thinking that his little sister's class seemed like it would be a lot of fun.

...Much later, Diejian naturally had no idea that Ina had found out he "cared more about his little sister than me" and scolded him for it.