Young Clan Leader and Guard

Hearing Nawaki's words, the crowd was shocked and turned their gazes toward the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage looked at Nawaki with even more intense fervor: "Nawaki, your intelligence truly far exceeds that of ordinary people. I suspect that even the members of the Nara Clan cannot compare to you in intellect. Although this will bring risks to you, it must be done for the safety of the village. I hope you can understand."

Nawaki nodded and said: "For the sake of Konoha, this bit of risk is nothing. Besides, I believe everyone will protect me well, won't they? All for one, and one for all! While I enjoy the protection of the village, I should also shoulder the corresponding responsibilities!"

"Well said! All for one, and one for all! Nawaki, you are truly the successor to the Will of Fire!"

Everyone was moved by Nawaki's "Talk no Jutsu" and contributed a wave of Wish Power.

Jiraiya suddenly spoke up: "You must be the Child of Prophecy the Toad Sage spoke of! You should be my disciple!"

At this point, Jiraiya had already discovered Mount Myoboku and learned of the prophecy.

Hiruzen laughed upon hearing this: "Kid, you aren't qualified to take on disciples yet. Besides, I have already decided to take Nawaki as my student. I will announce it publicly when the time is ripe. I don't think Lady Mito will object!"

Mito nodded upon hearing this: "As the Hokage, he is indeed the best candidate to be Nawaki's teacher." The implication was that she hoped Nawaki could become the Hokage. With the two of them singing in harmony, the apprenticeship was settled.

Nawaki, who had been hoping for exactly this, naturally would not object.

"Since that's the case, I'll take you as my master, Old Man!"

"Can you call me Teacher? Don't call me Old Man!"

"Understood, Old Man Teacher!"

"You... forget it, I really can't do anything with you."

Jiraiya laughed loudly: "It's decided, from now on I'll call the teacher 'Old Man' too!"

Tsunade nodded: "Old Man fits perfectly!"

Orochimaru: "Hehehe, Old Man, you should really shave off that beard!"

"You bunch of brats... remember, never let word of today's events leak out! I have serious business to attend to, so I won't keep playing around with you!" With a "poof," Hiruzen fled in embarrassment using the Body Flicker Technique amidst the group's teasing.

After Hiruzen left, he quickly convened a high-level meeting to inform everyone that Nawaki possessed the Wood Release bloodline and had been taken as his disciple. The vast majority of the high-ranking officials expressed joy and offered congratulations. Shimura Danzō had the strongest reaction, insisting that Nawaki should be his disciple, though his words were ignored by everyone.

At the same time, Nawaki received another system notification. While gaining nearly ten thousand points of Wish Power, he noticed that the Wish Power from most of the high-ranking officials stemmed from surprise and joy—such as the heads of the various minor clans, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and even Shimura Danzō! As for the heads of the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, besides surprise, there was also wariness and caution, but not a shred of hostility or killing intent.

Nawaki had anticipated this result. The minor clans were linked to the Senju Clan through marriage, so they were naturally happy. The two advisors were part of the Hokage faction and naturally held goodwill toward the Senju Clan—the family of their teacher—and Wood Release was highly beneficial to Konoha.

Why was the usually troublesome Danzō also happy? First, although he was a hawk and wanted to be Hokage, he was truly dedicated to the interests of Konoha. Furthermore, his advocacy for combat was not without the desire to avenge the Second Hokage.

Secondly, he was still young and had not yet experienced decades of suppression by the Third, so his obsessions and ambitions were not yet so intense or dark. People only change after being forced by reality; no one is born a villain. Thus, the current Danzō still had a conscience and would not resort to unscrupulous means against his own people. Even in the original story, he did not exterminate Yamato, let alone the fact that he was likely a relative of the Senju Clan. Moreover, his main rival was the Third Hokage, and Nawaki was merely a two-year-old child. Although he had inherited Wood Release, he was not yet as much of a threat to Danzō as the Sannin, who had already grown into Jonin. Therefore, he was very happy about the reappearance of Wood Release and even wanted to take Nawaki as a disciple to instill his own philosophy, using his status and Wood Release to help the hawks take control of Konoha. Unfortunately, he was beaten to the punch by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As for the Hyuga Clan, they were indeed wary of the power of Wood Release, but the Senju faction currently held absolute dominance in Konoha. Furthermore, they had conflicts with the Uchiha Clan, who also possessed a dojutsu bloodline, so they would not harbor any crooked thoughts. In the original story, they never once defied the Hokage's orders from beginning to end.

The current Uchiha Clan, having abandoned Madara and lost their Kage-level power, was no match for the Senju Clan. Moreover, the Second Hokage had dug a massive pit for them by using the Military Police Force as bait; they were currently very satisfied with their power and thus dared not, nor did they want to, risk dealing with Nawaki. Besides, didn't they live quite well when the First Hokage was around? Now that the Senju Clan's Wood Release had reappeared, they were even less of a match, so they just wanted to ensure their own survival. They only hoped to maintain a good relationship with the new Wood Release user. Therefore, although they were quite wary of Nawaki, they would not take action against him. The reason the Uchiha Clan became increasingly arrogant and even launched a coup in the original story was because the Senju Clan was gradually dying out, and they felt there was no one left to suppress them. Now that their old rival was still there and Mito was holding the fort, they would not harbor any unwise thoughts.

Therefore, the power of the Senju faction in Konoha currently remained dominant, maintaining a balance. The Third Hokage had already issued an order during the high-level meeting that anyone who leaked news of the Wood Release would be treated as a village traitor. Coupled with the insurance of the Anbu, Nawaki was in no danger of being exposed.

Nawaki had thought deeply before deciding to reveal his Wood Release, and the current results were exactly as he had expected.

Although news of the Wood Release only circulated among the high-level officials, it brought Nawaki a significant amount of prestige, raising his reputation directly to 20 points—twice what it was before.

Afterward, Mito, in her capacity as the acting clan head, summoned the elders and all Jonin of the Senju Clan. After Nawaki demonstrated Wood Release in front of them, everyone expressed their loyalty to him while being ecstatic. For the Senju Clan, Wood Release was everything; whoever possessed Wood Release was the clan head. Even if the Second Hokage, Tobirama, were to be resurrected now, he could not compete with Nawaki.

Just like that, Nawaki officially became the Young Clan Head of the Senju Clan, with the authority to assist Mito in managing the clan's internal affairs!

Mito was now over 60 years old and had limited energy, and since Nawaki had been praised by the Third Hokage for his astonishing intelligence, combined with his Wood Release bloodline, none of the clan elders or high-ranking members were unconvinced. Because Wood Release was of such great importance, only a very small number of people in the Senju family could know about it for the time being.

To ensure Nawaki's safety, the clan specifically arranged personal bodyguards for him. Due to the degradation of their bloodline, the Senju Clan currently only had eight Jonin. Excluding the three elders and Tsunade, only four Jonin remained.

Therefore, Nawaki selected one Jonin and two Special Jonin as his guards. Special Jonin were slightly stronger than Chunin, and these two were particularly skilled in protection and stealth.