A Gaze in the Darkness

Several days later, far from the clan grounds, a line of carriages sat waiting as various ninja stood in silence until a young man approached.

"Lord Shugo."

The ninja from the three vassal clans of the Eastern Battlefield knelt on one knee the moment they saw Shugo.

For three years, Shugo had not engaged in any grand gestures to win hearts; he had simply treated the Senju and the vassal ninja with as much equality as possible. It was precisely this equality that earned him their heartfelt respect.

For these vassal clans, excessive deference made them anxious, while excessive casualness bred resentment. Only relative equality was the best path.

Shugo nodded and said:

"Rise. Although we are not in a hurry, it would be troublesome to be nagged by some old geezers if we arrive late."

"Understood."

As Shugo boarded the carriage, he suddenly sensed the "aroma" of delicious food. He paused, his eyes darting toward a certain spot.

A Senju ninja accompanying him immediately went to investigate:

"Young Master, there is nothing here."

Shugo frowned: "Perhaps it was just my imagination. It's fine, let's go."

"Understood."

After the carriage departed, a mass of black liquid oozed out from a crack in the soil, emitting a sinister, chilling voice:

"Interesting..."

As the third son of Kaguya Otsutsuki, it was determined to save its mother, but lacking sufficient power of its own, it needed to leverage the reincarnations of Indra and Asura to achieve its goal.

Unfortunately, the process had not been smooth; the reincarnations of those two fellows had always ended in mutual destruction.

It valued this generation's reincarnations of Indra and Asura the most, as they had awakened their powers at a young age, offering a higher probability of success.

While observing the two reincarnations not long ago, it had caught sight of Senju Shugo.

It was quite strange; for some reason, a sense of familiarity and danger emanated from this boy—weak, yet pure.

"I shall observe him. Perhaps he can serve as a backup pawn."

Inside the carriage, Shugo pondered. He did not feel his intuition was wrong; much like his experiences on the battlefield, a fleeting instinct often saved one's life.

Black Zetsu?

A cold light flashed in Shugo's eyes. This thing was jokingly referred to as Kaguya's "black menstrual blood," but there was no denying it was a super-old schemer, the mastermind behind the Naruto World and the source of all tragedies.

A creature that had lived for so long surely possessed many tricks. Given its status as Kaguya's third son, ordinary ninjutsu would likely be ineffective. According to his own theories, dealing with it would require either Sage Arts that absorbed natural energy or Yin-Yang Release...

Yet, he possessed neither of these abilities. He would have to settle the score after he grew stronger.

"My Lord, it is time to eat."

Mizukumo Renai knocked on the carriage door and took a ration from her bosom.

Shugo took the slightly warm ration and began to eat.

This woman had decent talent and was very capable of handling the various affairs within her own clan; she was certainly convenient to have around. Otherwise, he would have wiped her out the moment she was caught spying on his ninjutsu training.

But ever since that incident, she had not only failed to keep a low profile, she had grown increasingly close to him, taking over chores like washing his clothes and delivering his meals.

Revenge...

How could Shugo not understand the girl's intentions? She simply wanted to acquire power to take revenge on the Uchiha. But relying on the Mizukumo clan alone, that was destined to be an impossible task, which was why she needed the power of the Senju.

However, it was a pity that this was destined to fail; the Senju would not wipe out the Uchiha, but would instead join forces with them to build the village.

Five days later, the group arrived at the Western Battlefield, having traveled a distance almost identical to the journey to the Eastern Battlefield.

The south of the Senju lands was guarded by the Uzumaki, while the north, east, and west battlefields were managed by the Clan Head, the First Elder, and the Second Elder respectively. Therefore, strictly speaking, this Western Battlefield was the territory of Senju Genma.

Every Senju ninja who saw Shugo looked at him as if he were a treasure, each one busy trying to make a good impression.

Except for one young man, who watched from the side with a flat expression.

"And who is this?"

Shugo asked the clansmen around him.

The clansmen looked at one another, until the young man finally spoke:

"I am the foster son of Lord Genma, and the one responsible for managing the Western Battlefield, Senju Genichi."

"Senju Genichi..."

Shugo had never heard his father mention such a person. In that case, was this guy, strictly speaking, his "older brother"?

"The room is the one Tobirama previously occupied. It is very clean. If you have no issues, get some rest early; I will show you around tomorrow."

After looking Shugo over, Senju Genichi vanished immediately after speaking.

Tch, a bit cold, but that Body Flicker technique has some substance to it.

Shugo didn't pay it much mind. His old man had left this person to manage the Western Battlefield, which clearly showed great trust. Based on Tobirama's personality, he was likely just another tsundere; they would get along fine after spending more time together.

"My Lord, do you need me to help tidy up?"

Mizukumo Renai whispered.

Hiugo shook his head; knowing Tobirama's temperament, his room was bound to contain some scholarly secrets, and protecting his brother's intellectual property was his bounden duty.

In a tree not far away, Senju Genichi observed everything in secret, while Senju Shinji teased him from the side:

"What's wrong? You didn't say a word before hiding away?"

"Shut up. I'm a bit nervous about seeing my little brother for the first time."

"Oh~ you aren't nervous when killing Hyuga, but you're nervous about seeing your brother?"

Senju Genichi let out a soft huff:

"That's because I want to leave a good impression. I only have this one brother, and that woman from the vassal clan beside him is trying to 'seduce' him just because she's pretty. I'll go deal with that later."

The Senju clansman soon led Hiugo to Tobirama's residence, where a pile of scrolls and books were organized neatly, occupying two-thirds of the space.

"...Where is the bed?"

"Tobirama felt the place was too small earlier, so he replaced the bed with bookshelves. He usually just lies down on the desk to sleep. If Hiugo wants to change it, that's fine too."

"No need."

Hiugo refused; he was a "master architect" himself, so this little matter was not a problem at all.

This knowledge was left behind by Tobirama and was of great value. Compared to this, all he had on the Eastern Battlefield was a cold vault reinforced with sealing jutsu.

Led by a Senju clansman, Mizukumo Renai arrived at her living quarters and began to tidy up her belongings.

A voice rang out before her:

"What is your relationship with Hiugo?"

"I am his subordinate."

Mizukumo Renai looked at Senju Genichi and replied indifferently.

Senju Genichi grabbed Mizukumo Renai by the throat with one hand. Watching the expression of pain on the young girl's face, he showed not a shred of pity:

"A subordinate? I can sense that you have different intentions. I will only say this once."

"Hiugo is still young. I won't interfere in the future, but for now, don't harbor any other thoughts toward him, or else, I will kill you..."

"Understood," Mizukumo Renai managed to choke out.

In an instant, Senju Genichi vanished, as if he had never been there at all.

Senju Genichi stood in the tree, silently watching Hiugo's room:

"He looks so cute. I didn't expect him to have grown so much. Sometimes I even feel like I'm getting old..."

When Senju Genichi was still young, his parents had already died. It was Senju Genma who took him in and raised him, treating him like his own son throughout that time and teaching him almost all of his ninjutsu. He had lived up to those expectations, eventually relying on his own strength to successfully secure the position of second-in-command on the Western Battlefield.

Upon learning of Hiugo's birth, he had actually felt a sense of loss for a time, but that feeling vanished the moment Genma returned to the clan territory and placed him in charge of the Western Battlefield.

He had started with nothing. With such a "father" who had done his utmost to help him become a powerhouse and placed such trust in him, what right did he have to be dissatisfied? Even if he ended up paving the way for his child, so what?