Sensing Bai Sui's strength, the group didn't attack immediately. Instead, they decided to talk things over first.
Senju Butsuma asked Bai Sui, "May I ask why you've been lingering outside the Senju Clan Territory and repeatedly approaching my son?"
Bai Sui nodded. "I have indeed been staying in this forest because I have something to do.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of doing anything to the Senju Clan. I'm only looking for a lost relative, and today I finally found him."
At first, when Bai Sui admitted it, Senju Butsuma had been ready to order an attack. But he hadn't expected Bai Sui to take such a turn and say he was looking for someone. "Then may I ask who you are, and whom you're looking for?"
Bai Sui didn't answer. He simply closed his eyes. Seeing this, Butsuma signaled for everyone not to act rashly. They focused their attention on Bai Sui, ready in case he suddenly attacked.
With his eyes closed, Bai Sui sat cross-legged in full view of everyone, suspended in midair. As time passed, a white light gradually began to shine from his body.
As Bai Sui's body grew brighter, something unusual happened to one of the people in the group.
"Kyohei, Kyohei, are you all right?" Seeing white light begin to shine from their teammate, the others hurried over to check on him.
But Uzumaki Kyohei, who was also glowing, didn't feel that anything was wrong. "I'm fine. No, wait—I feel like my strength has increased a little."
Even he found his own words hard to believe. As the light grew brighter, the sensation of his strength increasing became more intense. Just as he began to wonder if this was some kind of technique that could unlock his potential, Bai Sui spoke first.
"Don't worry. I won't harm you. It seems you're the relative I've been looking for. I just drew upon qi to replenish some of the depletion in your body caused by extracting too much chakra. That's why you feel a little stronger. In truth, I've merely restored what you'd lost."
Naturally, the others didn't take Bai Sui's word at face value. They examined Uzumaki Kyohei again, and eventually concluded that he was in excellent health, with both abundant vitality and plenty of chakra. Only then did they tentatively believe Bai Sui.
The group then looked to Senju Butsuma, their leader, and waited for him to decide what to do. After all, if Bai Sui really had come to reunite with a relative, there was no reason for a fight.
Butsuma furrowed his brows and looked at Bai Sui. "You say he's your relative, but can anyone prove it?"
Bai Sui smiled wryly and shook his head. "I honestly don't know. I was separated from my family when I was eight, and it's been more than thirty years since then." He then turned to Uzumaki Kyohei. "Are any of your elders still alive? Perhaps they'd know if you asked them. I only know you're my relative because I can sense it through our bloodline. I truly don't know anything else."
The red-haired girl beside them stared at Bai Sui's face, thinking that he didn't look anywhere near forty. Still, she kept her thoughts to herself.
Uzumaki Kyohei scratched his head, looking at Bai Sui. "My mother died when I was young, and my father never told me anything about this. The only thing I can do is ask him when I get back." With that, he looked to Senju Butsuma, waiting for him to decide.
At this, Senju Butsuma furrowed his brows even more, but in the end he didn't order an attack. The Senju and Uzumaki Clans were allies, and if it turned out that Bai Sui really had ties to the Uzumaki Clan, attacking him now could damage their relationship. Besides, Bai Sui was clearly powerful; there was no reason to turn him away.
So the group resumed their journey back to the Senju base, with Bai Sui accompanying them.
Bai Sui floated quietly behind them, maintaining exactly the same distance no matter how fast they went.
This made Butsuma think even more highly of Bai Sui. Being able to fly was a real advantage these days, especially since Bai Sui could move fairly quickly. Although Butsuma wasn't traveling at his top speed, Bai Sui clearly wasn't pushing himself to the limit either.
Before long, the group returned to the Senju base. Hashirama spotted Bai Sui following behind them right away. At first he was surprised, but when he saw that the atmosphere among the group wasn't tense, he relaxed.
Half of the people in Senju Butsuma's group were from the Uzumaki Clan because, after the two clan leaders had met earlier that day, the support the Uzumaki Clan had previously promised had arrived at the Senju base.
The leader of the Uzumaki support team suggested bringing their sensory ninja along to search the area. If they found something, all the better; even if they didn't, they could at least eliminate any potential threats near the clan's territory.
Senju Hashirama had originally asked to go with them, but because of his earlier secret message to the Uchiha, they refused and had Senju Tobirama keep an eye on him to make sure he stayed behind.
After returning, Butsuma told the Uzumaki team leader what had happened. Once he'd heard the story, the leader met with Bai Sui and agreed to arrange for a small team to escort him to the Uzumaki base to find his relatives.
After thanking the captain, Uzumaki Hisao, Bai Sui set out with the Uzumaki squad—a team ostensibly assigned to escort him, but in reality there to keep an eye on him.
Bai Sui didn't mind their wariness and struck up a casual conversation with Uzumaki Kyohei.
Kyohei was seventeen that year. He was already married and had two children.
Neither of Kyohei's parents had been ninja. His father was an Uzumaki, but lacked the talent to become a ninja. As for his mother, she had died when he was very young, so he didn't know much about her. Kyohei also had a younger sister, who was married and had a son.
At present, Kyohei was the only one in his family with the talent to become a ninja, and he had decent ability. Among his peers in the clan, he was considered about average.
When Kyohei learned that Bai Sui was even older than his father, he was so shocked he nearly dropped his jaw. No matter how he looked at it, Bai Sui didn't seem much older than him. He'd assumed Bai Sui would be a cousin, but now he might turn out to be his uncle. He found it hard to accept.
Ninja could travel extremely fast, and the group reached the Uzumaki Clan Territory in less than a day. When the guards at the entrance saw them return, they were wary. They followed the standard procedure to verify everyone's identities before allowing them inside.
News of what had happened at the entrance quickly spread through the clan. At a time like this, they had to remain alert to even the slightest disturbance and make sure no one could exploit an opening.
So, once the group had passed inspection and officially entered the clan territory, they found the clan leader and several elders coming to meet them.
It wasn't that they were so idle they'd personally handle every little matter. Most of the clan's ninja had been sent out, leaving few skilled fighters behind. The letter the squad had brought back described Bai Sui as extremely powerful, so they had come to be safe.