The Return of the Senju Clan (1)

Tsunade finally lost her full five million ryo. She stood up, turned, and scanned the room, only to realize Rika was gone. After sweeping her gaze across the second floor, she suddenly spotted Rika chatting with a face that felt both familiar and strange, with two Senju Clan ninjas bearing the clan crest standing behind him.

She sobered up instantly. Dropping her wine bottle, she used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Li Yu, her voice choked with emotion.

"Nawaki, is it really you?"

Seeing that it was Tsunade, Li Yu smiled and replied, "Yes, Sister Tsunade. I am Nawaki."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a fist the size of a sandbag came hurtling toward his face. A jolt went through his entire body, and he instinctively raised his hands to protect his face.

"BOOM!"

With a deafening crash, Li Yu felt the immense force transmitted through his arms. Caught in a hasty defense, he was sent flying through the wall behind him, sliding over ten meters through the air before landing with his feet sinking halfway into the ground and skidding back even further.

Damn, that's brutal.

"Tsunade, is this how you express your affection?"

A figure shot out from the hole in the second floor of the casino, charging straight toward Li Yu.

"Again?"

Seeing Tsunade's momentum, Li Yu immediately adopted a defensive stance, preparing to weather her storm of attacks.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Fists and feet collided with dull thuds. The neat, level ground became pitted and scarred, with several large cracks spreading outward.

Seeing that she couldn't break through his defense despite her prolonged assault—even after unleashing her Strength of a Hundred—Tsunade was frustrated that she couldn't knock him down, as he was taking every hit head-on.

It seemed there had never been a scene in the history of the Hokage where two users of the Strength of a Hundred had clashed; the thunderous sound of their impacts was like a rolling storm.

After attacking for so long, Tsunade felt a mix of astonishment, joy, and excitement at her brother's growth, which finally gave way to a flush of shy anger.

After a while, seeing that she couldn't take Li Yu down, Tsunade stopped and said in a tone reminiscent of a girl pouting, "Hmph, you've grown capable, haven't you? Not letting your sister land a single hit—how stingy."

"My hands are sore from hitting you; you'd better compensate me."

Li Yu's face twitched, feeling a sense of grievance he couldn't put into words. You're the one who hit me! And you want me to stand there and take a beating? I'm the Clan Head, for heaven's sake! The people upstairs are still peeking through the hole in the wall—I still have a reputation to maintain.

"Sister Tsunade, please, listen to me. Let's talk this over properly."

"What's there to talk about?"

"Let's step aside and have a private word."

After saying this, Li Yu formed hand seals and activated a barrier, enclosing the two of them within it.

He moved closer to Tsunade, and when he was only a step away, he said, "Sister, actually, I—" Before he could finish, a fist the size of a sandbag swung toward his face again.

This time, Li Yu had no time to block the blow. Here we go again. Women, honestly. Tsunade's punch passed directly through the space where Li Yu had been standing, and because she couldn't retract her force in time, she stumbled forward a few steps, nearly falling over.

"Flying Raijin Jutsu? Nawaki, you actually learned that?" Tsunade stared in shock at the spot where Li Yu had vanished, unable to believe her eyes.

Li Yu reappeared from outside the barrier, holding his hands up with palms facing outward in a defensive gesture.

"Sister, please, stop! Just let me finish!"

Tsunade looked thoroughly displeased. Seeing that she couldn't gain the upper hand against Li Yu, she had no choice but to compromise.

"Fine. Speak, I'm listening."

"Sister Tsunade, the truth is that I am currently only a Wood Clone. I can't take a full-force hit from you, or the jutsu will dispel. Only a few people know about this, so please, don't tell anyone else."

Hearing this, Tsunade's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"What? How is that possible? I couldn't tell at all!"

"It's true, Sister Tsunade. The reason I asked you to return this time is that there is a major matter concerning the clan."

"I intend to leverage the prestige the Senju Clan has gained from this war in the Land of Wind to recall all Senju clansmen to Konoha Village at once. Just like the other major clans in Konoha, we will have our own residential district within the village."

Tsunade seemed numb after hearing this. She had been shocked so many times today by this brother of hers that she felt she had used up a lifetime's worth of surprise. She pondered for a moment before saying, "The First Hokage, Grandfather Hashirama, had the idea that the clansmen should hide their names and integrate into the village. Aren't you going against his wishes by doing this?"

"Sister Tsunade, I only know that the First Hokage and the Second Hokage made those choices out of necessity due to the complex circumstances of building the village back then. But times have changed. The village is already becoming a place that cannot tolerate the name 'Senju'."

"Besides, the Senju Clan has such great talent. As long as we are gathered together, we will surely be able to develop more ninjutsu and produce more outstanding ninjas."

In truth, what Li Yu was implying was that the Uchiha had Shisui, Obito, Itachi, Sasuke, and so on.

The Senju would have just as many outstanding ninjas as the Uchiha, and they wouldn't fall into the same extremes of "love" that led the Uchiha to the night of their massacre and left only two survivors by the time of Boruto.

"Sister Tsunade, this is my request to you."

After a moment of silent contemplation, Tsunade gave an answer that brought relief to Li Yu.

"Fine. Since it's come to this, I'll go crazy with you just this once."

"That's great!"

"But, where is your real body?"

"That, I'm afraid, is a secret. He has his own important matters to attend to."

"However, you don't need to worry about the safety of the main body. In this ninja world, no matter how many people come or who they are, they are no match for the main body."

Watching Li Yu's Wood Clone speak with such a proud expression without the slightest hint of blushing, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Look at how smug you are."

Dispersing the barrier, the two left the spot side by side, returning to the second-floor VIP area of the casino through the hole.

"Rika, find someone to patch this hole; it really is a bit too large."

The group went downstairs, left the casino, and returned to the Senju Clan compound.

Tsunade had actually met Uzuki Yuying long ago and knew she was her younger brother's girlfriend and future sister-in-law, so she was incredibly warm toward her.

Uzuki Yugao was overjoyed to meet Tsunade of the Sannin for the first time, following closely behind her and calling her "Big Sister" at every turn, filling the house with a lively atmosphere.

The next day.

The Senju Clan issued a message, summoning all clansmen scattered throughout the Land of Fire and Konoha Village—whether civilians or ninjas—to return to Konoha and reform the Senju Clan.

Once this news broke, villagers in the streets and alleys all heard of it. The speed at which the information spread was astonishing, directly detonating the various major clans of Konoha Village.

The Uchiha, Sarutobi, Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans all received this explosive news.

Street vendors and patrons in the taverns began to discuss it fervently.

"Have you heard? The Senju Clan is reorganizing."

"It's been a long time since we've heard anything about the Senju Clan in the village."

"The First Hokage's clan—they must be incredibly strong, right?"

Within the various major clans, however, many could no longer sit still. They began holding family meetings to discuss whether the Senju Clan's return meant they intended to seize control of Konoha Village once again, fearing that the power currently held by their own families would be stripped away.

Back when the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, died in battle, he had verbally passed the position of Hokage to Sarutobi Hiruzen. Most of the clans in the village were dissatisfied, but Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo, and their associates had been entrusted with the mission on the battlefield. In order to secure more benefits for themselves, they had no choice but to support Sarutobi Hiruzen in ascending to the position of Hokage.

To stabilize his position as Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen distributed benefits and power to the major clans in the village. It was only with the backing of these various clans that he was able to solidify his status as the Third Hokage.