Plan Change

Nawaki's words were filled with incitement and temptation. Zhixin's breathing grew rapid; on one side was the hellish torment he had endured, and on the other, a heavenly life of comfort. He quickly made the most rational choice.

To have survived falling into the hands of such an opponent was already a stroke of fortune. Since he was destined to be controlled once the curse seal was carved, he had expected to live out his days as a slave and puppet without a shred of freedom. He never imagined Nawaki would offer such a generous promise, even allowing him to become a member of his clan! He held high hopes for the future of this Wood Release successor. As a rogue ninja, he had to join a faction—could there possibly be a better choice than this? As for changing his surname to Senju, that was no issue at all; born a commoner, he had no surname to begin with. Just as Nawaki said, being granted the noble name of Senju was his glory!

Having thought it through, he spoke solemnly: "Many thanks for your generous gift, My Lord! Zhixin swears his life to your service!"

Nawaki smiled upon hearing this: "Very good! From now on, Zhixin-kun, you and I are family! Now, I shall place the curse seal upon you as proof of your status in the Senju branch family!"

The location Nawaki designed for the Senju clan's curse seal was the same as the Hyuga clan's Caged Bird: carved onto the forehead and connected to the brain. This not only allowed for control over the subject's body but made it nearly impossible to remove. Curse seals on other organs, such as the heart or limbs, might be removed through means like transplantation, but the brain could not be replaced.

The reason Nawaki insisted on waiting for Zhixin's mental defenses to collapse before applying the seal was that it connected directly to the subject's brain. If the subject harbored intense resistance, the fluctuations during the carving process would destabilize the seal. At best, the carving would fail and dissipate; at worst, the subject's neural pathways would be damaged, or they might even die on the spot!

This was also why the Hyuga branch family had the Caged Bird carved at the age of three; children that young rarely cried out of fear and did not yet understand the true significance of the seal, so their brains would not generate a resistant emotional response.

After removing the rogue ninja headband from Zhixin, Nawaki moved his hands in a blur, weaving a series of complex hand seals before pressing his chakra-infused right hand firmly against Zhixin's forehead.

A moment later, a black curse seal manifested. The shape resembled the Senju clan crest, but it was incomplete—only one half of the symmetrical design appeared. Furthermore, the orientation was not horizontal, but vertical with the center line facing downward, symbolizing his status as a "branch family" member.

With the seal successfully carved, Nawaki was completely at ease and released the Body Pathway Derangement technique from Zhixin.

"Ah..." As the neural interference from the Body Pathway Derangement faded, Zhixin suddenly felt the excruciating pain radiating from his broken limbs and could not help but cry out. It seemed he was truly afraid of pain; fortunately, the courtyard was large, and the guards outside were not alerted.

"Oh! My apologies! I forgot I had broken your limbs, but you must understand: as a ninja, one must be cautious for the sake of one's own life, especially in the presence of one's own kind. Bear with it, I shall heal you now."

"Crack... crack..." Nawaki quickly set Zhixin's bones and used a healing technique to mend him.

"Medical ninjutsu?" Zhixin was shocked by Nawaki's versatility, and at the same time, he became even more convinced that his choice was correct. Feeling his limbs fully restored, the now-mobile Zhixin knelt on one knee: "Senju Zhixin pays his respects to the Clan Head."

Glancing at the curse seal mark on Zhixin's forehead, Nawaki reached out to help him up: "Very good. You are the first to join the Senju branch family. No matter how far the Senju clan develops in the future, your position will be of great importance! Put your headband back on. Our next actions require your cooperation, so you cannot reveal your identity just yet."

Zhixin complied and put the rogue ninja headband back on. Since he had already pledged his loyalty to Nawaki, he decided to perform his first task as a member of the Senju clan to prove his value: "Does the Clan Head mean for me to... continue lurking within the Buote Consortium to assist you in rescuing the hostages and wiping out the other mountain strongholds and rogue ninjas?"

Nawaki nodded: "Correct. My original plan was to scout all the mountain strongholds along the northern midline of the Land of Fire, then launch an attack with the rest of my squad tonight to strike them one by one and break them! Afterward, the bandit forces across the Land of Fire would be split in two, their lines of communication severed. Then, before the various consortiums could grow alert and unite, I would wipe out all the bandit forces in one fell swoop!

But now, with Zhixin-kun's addition, we hold a significant advantage, so I have decided to change the plan to complete the mission in a more secure manner. How do you think we should proceed, Zhixin-kun?"

Zhixin knew this young Clan Head was testing him. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke cautiously: "The Clan Head's previous plan seemed simple and brutal, but with your infiltration skills and Wood Release power, it would be easy to succeed if handled correctly. Because the various consortiums come from different nations, they maintain a tacit understanding but remain competitors who guard against one another. If they discovered that the Buote Consortium's armed forces had been wiped out overnight, and with the east and west unable to communicate, their first thought would be to guard against each other rather than unite for defense. Therefore, the Clan Head's plan would very likely have succeeded!

The general direction of defeating them one by one is correct and need not be changed, but with my cooperation, we can make some changes to the details!"

Nawaki nodded in appreciation: "Zhixin-kun, you truly have a sharp mind. That is what I admire most about you. In my Senju clan and Konoha, there are many capable jonin, but few as sharp as you.

You are a veteran among the rogue ninjas under the Buote Consortium. Before Baran joined, you were the strongest; surely you hold a certain level of prestige among them?"

Zhixin said with confidence: "Yes, Clan Head. As you said, before Baran joined, I was the leader of the rogue ninjas. Even now, though he relies on his jonin-level strength to act as the head of security at the consortium headquarters, the other rogue leaders still heed my commands, which is why Baran wants me to submit to him. The reason I chose to stay in this area closest to Konoha is that it serves as the outpost for the entire consortium. As a vital gateway for defending against Konoha, I have the authority to mobilize the rogue ninjas stationed at other strongholds in critical moments. And Baran does not dare to move against me directly..."

Nawaki interjected: "There is more to it, isn't there? This place is close to Konoha, so it is the most likely to be attacked by Konoha ninjas. You use the hostages as leverage and the support of other rogue ninjas to potentially defeat invading Konoha ninjas and obtain the ninjutsu scrolls you desperately need. Once you learn high-level ninjutsu and possess jonin-level strength, you could naturally return to headquarters and become the leader of the rogue ninjas once more. After all, your seniority is greater than his, and the consortium should trust you more. Yet Baran can only come here to take the heat of Konoha's fury for you! If you play your cards right, you could even use this opportunity to eliminate him. Once that happens, you would be the only jonin in the consortium, and you could rest easy from then on, right?"

At the same time, Nawaki muttered to himself: A small group of a dozen rogue ninjas from a consortium is already filled with backstabbing and schemes. Truly, a small temple breeds strange winds, and a shallow pond is full of turtles!