Senju Nawaki's face was wreathed in smiles.
A question nagged at him: If I absorb Sarutobi Shinnosuke's bloodline, could I regenerate severed limbs?
Even if Sarutobi Shinnosuke alone wasn't enough, adding the elite jōnin from the Ino-Shika-Cho families who were guarding him should bring a tremendous harvest.
He put the thought aside and turned his attention to what mattered now.
Senju Tojian's eyes were full of resentment. If only he were stronger—strong enough to stand against all of Konoha—then Senju Nawaki wouldn't have to suffer.
Seeing Senju Nawaki like this made his heart ache.
Their Senju Clan had to rely on its clan head maiming himself to escape Konoha's darkness. A wave of sorrow welled up in his heart.
"Grandpa Tojian, you should be angry, not sad.
The elite jōnin from the Ino-Shika-Cho families coming in are just the medicine I need to heal. I'm counting on you."
Senju Nawaki's mouth twitched. He struggled to keep smiling, fighting through the pain.
He didn't want Senju Tojian to feel too burdened.
Tap...
Tap...
A steady stream of footsteps approached. The Senju Clan jōnin outside could no longer hold back Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo.
Bang~
The hospital room door was smashed in once again.
A group of people walked inside.
Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo were at the front.
Behind them were Sarutobi Shinnosuke's loyal guards—the bodyguards assigned to him by the Third, a pair of jōnin from the Ino-Shika-Cho families.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru followed behind the others. Unlike the rest, they weren't on edge. What could possibly happen at a Konoha camp?
The scene before them stunned everyone who entered.
Senju Nawaki was pinned to the wall, blood covering half the hospital room.
His right arm had been severed at the shoulder. By the usual rules of the ninja world, his ninja career was over.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who had entered earlier, was nowhere to be seen.
"Dogs of the Sarutobi Clan! Die!"
Senju Tojian pressed his hands together and roared.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground began to tremble, soil and stone churning as roots bursting with life thrust upward and surged toward the newcomers.
Stunned, the group reacted a split second too slowly.
For one thing, they were in a Konoha camp and didn't believe anyone would attack them here.
For another, Senju Tojian had used the Wood Release employed by the First.
Even though rumors had spread throughout Konoha about the Third's great strength, these ninjas still knew the truth: the strongest Hokage would always be Senju Hashirama, hailed as the God of Shinobi.
Rumble...
While everyone stood frozen in surprise,
several enormous trees burst from beneath their feet, surrounding them and cutting off their lines of communication. The hospital room was torn apart.
From a distance, a forest half a kilometer in diameter appeared in the middle of the Konoha camp, taking up half its area and drawing everyone's attention.
Wood Release?
Some experienced ninjas stared at the scene in astonishment, making their own guesses.
Spies from other villages nearby recorded the unusual sight, preparing to send the information back to their villages.
At the center of it all, where the hospital room had been, someone cried out for help.
"Help... me..."
It was one of the elite jōnin from the Ino-Shika-Cho families.
Splurt...
The sound of flesh tearing.
Three elite jōnin from the Ino-Shika-Cho families were bound by vines, their chests pierced through. Their eyes were full of disbelief.
Blood spilled from their mouths as they tried to say something more, but Senju Tojian gave them no chance.
This was his first time using Wood Release on such a massive scale. He still couldn't control its power perfectly.
Whoosh...
Blades flashed, slicing through the roots that held the area in their grip and opening up the space where the hospital room had stood.
The scene came back into view.
Everyone could see that the elite jōnin from the Ino-Shika-Cho families had lost all signs of life.
"Elder Tojian... what have you done?"
Hatake Sakumo's expression was grave. For a moment, he couldn't make sense of what was happening.
Senju Tojian's sudden attack had sparked the disaster, and he was deeply displeased.
The short blade in his hand was already drawn, gleaming coldly.
When his gaze fell on Senju Nawaki, he weighed his options and held the broken blade before his chest, remaining on guard.
He considered how to handle the situation.
If Senju Tojian hadn't awakened Wood Release, he would have been confident he could suppress him. But now, he didn't believe he could capture him.
His gaze shifted to the Konoha Sannin.
"You... you actually killed your own comrades..."
Jiraiya's voice rang out in a furious roar, his eyes bloodshot.
The Third had taught him to protect his comrades at all times. The ninjas of the Sarutobi Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho families in particular were pillars of Konoha, while Senju Tojian was just a stubborn old man clinging to his clan's glory.
The three elite jōnin from the Ino-Shika-Cho families were ninjas he knew well, and he shared a deep bond with them.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
He formed Hand Seals and gathered chakra, ready to attack Senju Tojian.
"Don't!"
Tsunade shouted, but Jiraiya ignored her.
"Idiot!"
A cold glint flashed in Senju Tojian's eyes.
Jiraiya was so blind to the situation, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's most thoroughly brainwashed student. He even dared to attack him with Fire Release. It seemed Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't taught Jiraiya the basics of Wood Release.
Even an imperfect Wood Release was based on Earth and Water Release, with Yang Release added to the mix.
As Senju Tobirama would have put it, the life force coursing through Wood Release made it the natural bane of Fire Release.
Jiraiya leaned back, puffing out his cheeks as he prepared to spew flames.
His target was Senju Tojian.
Whoosh...
Whoosh...
Vines covered in leaves shot toward Jiraiya.
They coiled around his limbs and squeezed tight.
Another vine, thick with foliage, shot into Jiraiya's mouth and plugged it shut.
He dangled like a dead pig, bound to a tree trunk and struggling with all his might. The vines absorbed his chakra, calming him down.
The others all breathed a sigh of relief.
Judging by his actions, Senju Tojian might still be willing to talk.
"Nawaki?"
Tsunade tried to run over and check on Senju Nawaki.
Newly grown trees blocked her path.
A flash of anger crossed Tsunade's face. She glanced at Senju Tojian, fear showing in her eyes, then quickly backed down.
Senju Nawaki watched everything unfold before him.
From their reactions, he could tell where everyone stood.
There was no need to analyze the Ino-Shika-Cho families. They were blindly loyal to the Sarutobi Family.
Jiraiya, who was close to them, had been completely brainwashed. He was fiercely loyal to this sick version of Konoha.
Hatake Sakumo was a neutral party. He wanted to use his own ninja way to make sense of the filth before him, but could never understand Konoha's darkness. All he could do was watch and wait.
Orochimaru was the clearest-eyed of them all. Perhaps he had already seen through his plan but chose not to expose it, because this, too, was the truth.
His own sister was the most conflicted, still caught in the lies woven by Senju Tobirama and the Third.
When it was time to lay everything bare, what choice would she make?
Before you continue