Black and White Hair

After receiving Hozuki Shingetsu's message, Senju Meima immediately issued the order to counterattack.

The Senju clan members charged forward as if they'd been injected with adrenaline. They'd been bottling up their frustration for days, and now every one of them was fighting like their life depended on it. That was the strategy of those in power.

The Kaguya Clan struck first. This battle was nothing like the minor skirmishes before; the clan banners of both sides now covered opposite ends of the battlefield, and nearly two-thirds of their forces, from elite Jōnin down to Genin, had joined the fight.

Amid the blood-soaked battlefield, a distinctly small figure appeared. Black trees spread continuously, absorbing the blood on the ground.

"Senju Shugo! He's over there!"

"Take him out!"

"These trees are such a pain!"

The Kaguya ninjas spotted the boy and immediately shouted. They'd discovered this disgusting Kekkei Genkai over the past few days.

Shugo's Wood Style hadn't yet reached the point where it could regenerate rapidly or become indestructible. But on the battlefield, it was thoroughly obnoxious: every so often, it stole some of your Chakra, then peppered the area with branches to disrupt the fighting.

And this only affected the Kaguya side. Under Shugo's control, the trees never attacked the Senju clan members.

"Three Jōnin."

A flash of crimson crossed Shugo's eyes, and he moved. He dodged the first man's downward slash by stepping back, then planted a foot on a bone blade on the ground and leaped up, kicking the second man in the face. Finally, his right hand turned into a wooden fist and knocked down the third man, who had just arrived, before vines wrapped around him.

The whole sequence flowed smoothly, as if he'd rehearsed it beforehand, without a single pause.

"You little brat!"

The first Kaguya clan member to attack had only just recovered when a branch pierced his eye. It was the fastest way Shugo could think of to kill a Kaguya.

Their bodies were covered in bone, making it hard to spot any weaknesses from the outside. Their eyes were about the only vulnerable spot. Once the branch pierced them, he could finish them off with Wood Style: Cutting Technique.

It was a gruesome method, but there was no other choice on the battlefield.

The Kaguya ninja who'd just been kicked in the face came to and felt a sharp pain in his neck. The Kaguya ninja pinned to the ground met the same fate.

Water Release: Water Severing Wave!

This jutsu was incredibly useful. Even now, when he relied on Wood Style most of the time, he still kept this Water Release technique.

"Don't get too cocky!"

Kaguya Hakujin flickered over and swung his blade. Shugo was in the middle of finishing off the three men, and he didn't have time to form Hand Seals in response to the sudden attack.

Wood chips flew, and his armor cracked.

Shugo spat out a mouthful of blood and steadied himself. His Wood Armor and shinobi armor had protected him twice over, keeping the worst of the damage at bay.

"You've got no shame," Shugo said coldly, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"All I have to do is kill you."

Dance of the Flowing Blade!

Kaguya Hakujin said nothing more. Half the bone spikes that had emerged from his body aimed at Shugo and shot out all at once.

Wood Substitution!

Wood Style: Forest Birth!

Faced with such a dense barrage of bone blades, Shugo first switched places with a tree on the battlefield. Once the distance was right, he used Forest Birth to block the attack.

Kaguya Hakujin's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the Substitution Technique to be used that way.

The dense forest blocked every last blade. Using the trees as cover, Shugo put some distance between himself and Kaguya Hakujin and ran toward another part of the battlefield.

What was he thinking, fighting this guy? Reaching Special Jōnin rank at five was already his limit. Fighting him wasn't going to trigger some breakthrough at death's door. There was blood everywhere for him to collect; he didn't need to risk everything for this one man.

But Kaguya Hakujin had no intention of letting Shugo go. He came rushing after him, using the Body Flicker Technique again and again. Chakra surged, and he pulled the sword made from his spine from his body.

"Kaguya Hakujin, I'll f*cking kill you! Why won't you stop chasing me, you bastard?!"

Shugo yelled, bit his finger, and pressed it to the ground.

Summoning Technique: Rashomon!

A shut gate rose from the earth. A metallic clang rang out.

Kaguya Hakujin put all his strength into vaulting over one side of Rashomon, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. "Kid, you're all mouth. You're too scared to move, aren't you? Just give up and die!"

Wood Style: Wood Rotation Wall!

Wood sprang up on either side of Shugo and closed together, forming a protective barrier.

"Not even close, not even close, not even close..."

Kaguya Hakujin's Chakra erupted. He slashed again and again, cutting through the wood as white bone flowers bloomed around him. At last, he swung for Shugo's neck.

But at that moment, the ground beneath his feet suddenly softened. His otherwise powerful strike went awry, shifting from Shugo's neck to his chest.

Shugo's already battered armor was completely destroyed. He spat out blood again and staggered backward, crashing into the remains of the Wood Rotation Wall.

Mud...

Hakujin glanced at the ground. The firm earth beneath his feet had turned to mud.

Had the kid stayed behind just to pull this off? Foolish. Wait...

Kaguya Hakujin's eyes narrowed. Something black seemed to be moving beneath the mud: a vine covered in Explosive Tags, which had quietly wrapped itself around his right leg.

Hakujin could have dodged immediately, but the mud had hampered him, and he'd just landed a blow that injured Shugo. With his target right in front of him, he'd let his guard down.

The next second, a brilliant flash burst from his right leg, followed by a deafening explosion. Shugo was flung away, his entire body covered in blood.

Kaguya Hakujin screamed, too. The blast had concentrated on a single leg. His Shikotsumyaku-enhanced body could keep him from being killed outright, but his right leg was gone—and so was what made him a man.

The pain was excruciating, both in body and in mind.

Shugo panted lightly. At a thought, a vine emerged from the ground. The blood and Chakra absorbed from the battlefield flowed through the earlier vines into his body, boosting his strength while reinforcing his ability to heal.

Unnoticed by him, his black hair began turning white before his eyes. It wasn't the pallid white of old age, but a bright, pure white.

Shugo felt he'd recovered enough when Dark One and Dark Seven appeared before him. The former moved in to finish off Kaguya Hakujin, while the latter scooped Shugo up and carried him away from the battlefield.

Damn it. Back when I was being hunted, neither of them showed up. Now that it's over, one comes to steal the kill, and the other—who knows what he's doing.

Dark Seven took Shugo straight to the wooden house where Senju Rei was. Seeing his condition, Rei immediately summoned Slug for treatment.

The slimy slug crawled over him. It had looked fine in the anime, but in person, it was a little gross.

"Rei, he's fine. In fact, he's in better shape than most of you."

The Slug spoke softly.

The Slug summoned by Senju Rei was a split body of the Slug Sage. It was countless years old, yet gentle and never put on airs.

"I'm fine. Ever since I awakened Wood Style, I've been able to recover quickly. I just look a little rough."

Shugo scratched the back of his head.

Dark Seven fell silent for a moment, then made a mirror appear, showing the boy's head of white hair.

"?"

Shugo looked and seemed a little surprised. Then he said, "It's nothing strange. Tobirama has white hair too, and half of Hashirama's hair is black and half white. Maybe it's because my Kekkei Genkai awakened."

"But why didn't you two come out and protect me? The clan head ordered you to protect me. When I was being chased around by an elite Jōnin, were you asleep?"

"I didn't hear you call for help," Dark Seven replied calmly. "And I sensed your movements and thought you were training on your own, so I didn't intervene... Sorry for the trouble."

Shugo's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected that because he was so focused on fighting that he never called for help, his "bodyguard" had decided it was better not to interfere.

"Whatever the reason, be more careful next time. Getting hurt too often isn't good for you," Senju Rei said with a sigh of relief.

"Okay."

Shugo nodded, secretly trying to make the Wood Style absorb his blood, but it had no effect.

Looks like I can't eat myself and regrow like Otsutsuki Urashiki to evolve.