Rumors in the Ninja World

With him taking the lead, many would surely respond.

In Senju Nawaki's eyes, he saw a flicker of ambition.

He was also more than willing to help Senju Nawaki fulfill his desires.

All of this would eventually become the power in Senju Nawaki's hands.

"Good!"

Lying on his hospital bed, Senju Nawaki turned his head to watch Senju Tojian merge into the ground.

The Earth Release: Earth-Style Submersion allowed a person to move freely underground as if they were a fish in water. Its only drawback was the obstruction encountered when meeting other substances, such as tree roots.

Now that Senju Tojian had awakened Wood Release, he could perform the Submersion technique augmented by Earth, Water, and Wood attributes. It was similar to the Wood Release: Mayfly technique used by White Zetsu, only faster and with greater stealth.

If Senju Nawaki hadn't also mastered Wood Release, it would have been impossible for him to track the trajectory of his departure.

He began to simulate his future plans in his mind.

The performance of the Anbu ninja today confirmed that Konoha had not yet sensed his change and still expected him to grovel like a sycophant.

They wanted him to exhaust the strength of the Senju clan in the coming wars.

Senju Nawaki already had a guess regarding the identity of that Anbu.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke.

Recalling the Anbu who had interrogated him earlier, he confirmed that the one wearing the monkey mask was indeed the eldest son of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

At this point, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already begun paving the way for his son, who served as a squad leader in the Anbu. Though he had yet to learn the cunning of Sarutobi Hiruzen, his attitude was already repulsive enough; he wanted to scrape the last bit of profit off Senju Nawaki, who was already on his way out.

Senju Nawaki's previous image as a coward was already deeply ingrained in everyone's minds.

With a plan in place, he would start by collecting some interest from Sarutobi Shinnosuke, using his status as the Hokage's son to create a rift with Konoha.

The Sarutobi family's bloodline was also quite excellent; both Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Sarutobi Hiruzen possessed all five chakra nature transformations.

He had heard that they were currently trying to fuse three chakra natures to create a powerful Kekkei Genkai.

The debt owed to the Senju clan would be repaid slowly.

Senju Nawaki calculated that the cards in his hand were far more numerous and aggressive than he had imagined.

It was just that the fool who had occupied this body before had been brainwashed and didn't know how to use them.

The most important thing now was to nurse this body back to health.

His mood relaxed involuntarily.

Without realizing it, Senju Nawaki drifted off to sleep.

The ninja world was in flux.

The fundamental issue of resource distribution remained unresolved, and war was still brewing.

The geographical location of the Land of Fire and the resources contained within its territory made others covetous.

Senju Nawaki's misfortune had spread, becoming a joke.

The grandson of the God of Shinobi was now nothing more than a useless waste.

Konoha specifically convened a meeting of Jonin to reach a decision.

If the last heir of the Senju clan could not uphold the glory of the family, then Konoha would follow the orders of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and have the Senju clan completely integrated into Konoha.

The various clans of Konoha sent representatives, preparing to escort Senju Nawaki back to Konoha; they could hardly wait to carve up the remaining resources of the Senju clan.

In exchange, Konoha would ensure Senju Nawaki's safety.

None of this had been discussed with Senju Nawaki, nor had his opinion been sought.

In their eyes, Senju Nawaki was still the same idiot waiting to be slaughtered.

Three days later.

Inside the hospital ward at the Konoha ninja encampment.

Senju Nawaki paced by his bed, wearing a prosthetic limb he had crafted himself out of wood.

It still looked somewhat uncoordinated, like a toddler learning to walk.

"Still awkward. It seems I need to raise my life level quickly to the point of limb regeneration."

Senju Nawaki remained uncomfortable; if given the chance, he naturally wanted to return to his original state.

He needed to accelerate his progress; his bloodline required further optimization and completion.

He sat back on the hospital bed and wiped the sweat from his face.

Pricking up his ears, he heard the sounds of commotion drifting in from outside.

Today, Konoha had sent three Jonin, led by Hatake Sakumo, to announce the village's resolution.

The Hatake clan, to which Hatake Sakumo belonged, had once intermarried with the Senju clan, and Hatake Sakumo was not supposed to belong to any faction.

Konoha was doing this to ensure he would return to Konoha village without resistance.

He had long since made other plans; to him, Konoha was nothing more than a cage.

The name Hatake Sakumo served as a warning of the darkness within Konoha, and he dared not claim the title of a loyal subject to the village.

Outside his hospital room, two Senju clan jonin stood guard. Aside from Senju Tojian, even Tsunade had to obtain his permission before entering.

There would be no repeat of the door being smashed in, which gave him a small sense of security.

Tap... tap... tap...

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in..."

Senju Nawaki spoke; hearing that familiar knock, he knew it was Senju Tojian.

This time, he had not entered the room using ninja stealth.

"Nawaki, how is your recovery?"

Senju Tojian's armor was still covered in dust he hadn't had time to clear away.

It looked as though he had just returned from a long-distance raid.

"Granduncle, I am recovering very well." Senju Nawaki stood up, took a few stiff steps, and continued, "What did my aunt say?"

He sat back down and looked toward Senju Tojian.

Over these past three days, their plans had been fully laid out.

Consolidating the forces within the Senju clan willing to follow him—the two jonin guards at the door were proof of that.

At the same time, through his aunt, they had contacted the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to strike at Sarutobi Hiruzen's reputation.

Senju Tojian hurried forward to help Senju Nawaki sit back up, his eyes filled with joy.

He spoke.

"The Sarutobi clan has been acting far too brazenly lately, uniting with the Ino-Shika-Cho families and other Konoha clans in an attempt to swallow up the Senju clan's financial lifelines."

"This has damaged the interests of many nobles who cooperate with us. If given enough time, they might truly rely on their ninja strength to successfully usurp the wealth that belongs to us."

"Now, the Daimyo and several major nobles have decided to suppress Sarutobi Hiruzen."

A cold glint flashed in Senju Tojian's eyes; everything was ready, and what followed would be his task.

"Everything is still in time."

Senju Nawaki nodded.

Once a pawn, he was now preparing to jump off the chessboard and become the one who played the game.

Hearing Senju Tojian's reply, a chill ran through his heart.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Konoha had already reached out their hands toward the nobles of the Land of Fire.

With the power of ninjas as their trump card, those nobles who were close to the Senju clan would eventually be purged; it was only a matter of time.

Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama had truly done them a great disservice, nearly sending them all to their graves.

To abandon the power in one's own hands was to become nothing more than a dish on someone else's table.

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly enough; now was the time to strike back.