"Minato, as long as you're happy, that's what matters. As a jōnin of the village, I can afford this much."
Li Yu felt a pang at heart. This amount wasn't much for a jōnin, but his sister was always gambling and constantly coming to him for money.
Li Yu had completed plenty of missions and was doing all right for himself. But then he had a sister like Tsunade, who lost every bet she made—the one people called the Big Fat Sheep.
Li Yu sighed.
Ever since Tsunade had left the village, she and Li Yu had stayed in touch through Katsuyu.
Tsunade had left the village because of the letter Li Yu had hidden beneath her pillow before he went away. Back then, Li Yu couldn't gather chakra, and he had no feeling in his right hand or left foot.
In the letter, he'd told Tsunade not to worry because he'd found a way to treat himself. He'd also told her to use the excuse of searching for him to leave the village, and that once he'd recovered, he'd find someone to inform her.
Li Yu had made a contract with Katsuyu, and they'd kept in touch through her. He knew Tsunade had taken Shizune with her and spent her days gambling and drinking, enjoying the good life.
During her time away from Konoha, Tsunade had nearly gambled away the fortune left by the First and Second Hokage.
The Senju Clan still existed.
On the main street of Konoha, Li Yu walked absentmindedly, holding Yuying's slender hand.
Something kept nagging at him. He felt as if he'd thought of something but couldn't quite figure it out. It was deeply unsettling, like needing to sneeze but being unable to.
As he walked, thinking about Tsunade, he returned to the Senju Clan's compound. He saw the clan's enormous crest, then went into his home.
Li Yu couldn't help shouting,
"I've got it!"
In the original story, the Senju Clan faded from view after Senju Tobirama died in battle. In the end, they had no choice but to assimilate into the village.
During the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade lost her younger brother and Dan Katō. She developed hemophobia and left the village, and the Senju Clan lost Senju Nawaki as well.
With Senju Nawaki gone, the clan had lost its unifying figure. Tsunade gambled away the fortune left by the Hokage, and she hadn't returned to the village in decades.
The Senju Clan had no money and no spiritual faith. Its members went their separate ways and assimilated into all corners of Konoha, until the clan disappeared. Even after Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage, decades had passed, and most of the older-generation Senju—her uncles and aunts—had died.
Besides, the Senju didn't have a Kekkei Genkai as recognizable as the Uchiha Clan's. Even if time passed, there was still a chance its members might gather again.
"The Senju Clan's disappearance was the result of political infighting too, wasn't it?"
"It seems that not only the Shinobi World feared the Senju Clan's strength; Konoha's higher-ups feared it too. They scattered the Senju bloodline to prevent another Wood Release ninja from emerging in the future."
"That explains why the force sent to surround and kill me last time was so powerful: three Tailed Beasts and three Kage Level fighters. That was enough to put any country under pressure, and they even had poison specifically meant for me."
"The three countries already had poor relations. How could they have reached an agreement so quickly and mobilized so many ninja?"
"And the mission came at such a strange time. They knew I'd be taking part in it, and it was assigned by the Third Hokage."
"The moment I left Konoha, I'd already stepped into a trap they'd prepared long ago."
After being confused for so long, Li Yu finally sorted out the logic. He felt an immense sense of clarity, and even his chakra control improved a little.
Uzuki Yuying had heard Li Yu muttering all this to himself. She covered her small, delicate mouth with her hands, forming a perfect O, and couldn't say a word.
Li Yu had been focused on himself and hadn't paid any attention to the person beside him. He turned his head, saw how cute Uzuki Yuying looked, and couldn't resist scooping her up.
She let out a startled cry. "Ah!"
He sat Yuying on his lap, wrapped his right arm around her slender waist, and gently stroked her cheek with his left hand. Feeling her warmth against his legs, he couldn't help letting his thoughts run wild.
Suppressing the heat rising within him, he lifted Yuying's chin with one hand and met her gaze.
"Yuying, these things are a secret between us. You can keep them confidential, right?"
Yuying's little face turned bright red. "Mm."
After hearing her answer, Li Yu took his right hand from her waist and ran it through her soft purple hair. Then he kissed her cherry-red lips, cutting off anything else she might have said and leaving only a muffled "Mmm."
The next day.
The morning sun shone into the room. Li Yu held the soft body in his arms and didn't want to get up.
Uzuki Yuying clung to Li Yu like an octopus, sprawled all over him. He gently shifted her into a more comfortable position so she could sleep better.
At noon, hunger woke them both. They got up one after the other and hurriedly dressed. After lunch, Li Yu changed into a black robe, put on his mask, and rushed off to report to Anbu.
Inside the Anbu office.
A palm-sized Katsuyu appeared on the desk.
"Tsunade asked me to give you this."
Li Yu saw the note Katsuyu handed him, and half his face immediately darkened. Fighting the urge to tear it up, he opened it. "Nawaki, I've run up a twenty-million-rio debt lately. Bring money to pay your big sister's debts."
The Katsuyu in his hand spoke up.
"Tsunade also said to hurry and gather the money. She wants the debt paid in full within a month."
Then it went "poof" and vanished in a puff of white smoke.
Li Yu's face was covered in dark lines. He couldn't help lamenting, "So this is how my sister and I communicate? That's a painful lesson to learn."
Over the past few years, he'd helped Tsunade pay off debts totaling nearly a hundred million rio.
"No, I can't keep letting this go on. Tsunade will never change her gambling habit."
"At this rate, the Senju Clan will be dragged into the mire."
"There's nothing I can do. Tsunade is probably still angry."
She was angry because Li Yu had left without telling her years ago and hadn't let her return to Konoha.
At present, the Senju of the Forest had three jōnin, one Special Jōnin, twelve chunin, five genin, and sixty-four ordinary civilians.
Most members of the Senju Clan didn't have any obvious distinguishing features, unlike the Uchiha's Sharingan or the Akimichi Clan's red-haired, stocky members, whose appearance and traits stood out.
To find members of the Senju Clan, he had to start with the family records. For example, Senju Toka had once been a trusted subordinate of Senju Hashirama and was skilled in genjutsu.
That was why, for all these years, Li Yu had secretly contacted Senju members scattered throughout Konoha in his capacity as clan head. Because of the policies of the First and Second Hokage, the Senju had been dispersed throughout the village, so Li Yu had to spend a long time identifying them.
"The time is about right. Looks like I need to put that plan into motion."
Konoha's main street.
Having changed back into his green flak jacket, Li Yu headed straight for a Japanese-style dumpling shop.
"Rika, you're at the shop."
"Is your younger sister here?"
A man with black hair had it tied into a braid. A long fringe on one side covered a third of his face, and his skin was as fair as a woman's.
He spoke quietly to Li Yu. "Clan Head, my younger sister's in the kitchen. I haven't had a mission these past few days."
"Perfect. Come help me for a while, and don't take any missions for the time being."
When he entered the kitchen, he saw a woman with her hair similarly tied up. She wore an ordinary white chef's uniform, which did nothing to hide her fine figure. A headscarf held back her waterfall of black hair.
She had the gentle air of a girl who would make a good wife, and Li Yu's eyes lit up.
She stopped making dumplings and turned around. "Brother, who is this ninja?"
"Toko, this is Senju Nawaki. You met him when you were little."
"So you're Nawaki! It's been so long since I last saw you."
"That's right. Ninja spend most of their time away on missions. I came by specially today to ask for your help."
Rika spoke up first. "Whatever you need, we'll help."
"I've heard your brother say you're good at managing a business. I want to open a hot pot restaurant of my own, and I'm hoping Toko can help run it."
Rika was afraid his younger sister might turn him down, so he spoke first. "No problem. My sister can handle it. Even if we have to close this Japanese-style dumpling shop, we'll still help."
Hearing Rika say that, Toko was surprised. She didn't understand why her brother was so eager to support him.
Li Yu heard that they were willing to close the Japanese-style dumpling shop and hurriedly said, "There's no need to close this shop. Otherwise, some people won't be able to eat their favorite three-colored dumplings anymore."
Like a curious child, Toko eagerly asked, "Then who loves three-colored dumplings so much?"
He coughed awkwardly twice.
"Ahem."
Li Yu quickly changed the subject. "It's settled, then. I've already picked out and bought the shop. We'll start renovating it in the next couple of days."