Tsunade stepped forward. "Grandmother!"
Mito Uzumaki looked at Tsunade kindly. "Tsunade is back. That's good. Now I can leave my final instructions behind."
The entire room fell silent.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, chose to remain silent.
Mito Uzumaki said, "Cough, cough... During the Warring States Era, the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan joined forces to create the Konoha of today. It passed through the First Hokage and the Second Hokage, and now it has been handed down to Hiruzen. I hope you will all support Hiruzen properly and ensure that Konoha continues on. This was Hashirama's wish, and it is also my final request."
As soon as she finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi dropped to one knee. "Master's wife, rest assured. Hiruzen will definitely carry Konoha forward."
Mito Uzumaki chuckled softly, then looked at Tsunade. "Tsunade... I leave the Senju Clan to you. Nawaki is still too young. He is not qualified to lead the Senju Clan yet."
Tsunade nodded silently, sorrow clouding her expression.
Mito Uzumaki kindly patted Tsunade's hand, then turned to look around the room. Her gaze paused on Ren for a moment before sharpening once more.
A grave aura spread from Mito Uzumaki. It was hard to imagine that an elderly woman on the verge of death could still possess such a terrifying presence.
Mito Uzumaki said, "After I die, the Senju Clan will return to its ancestral lands. Unless Konoha faces destruction, they are absolutely forbidden from leaving those lands. This is my order, and it is also Hashirama's final wish. However, Konoha will not be entirely without members of the Senju Clan. Nawaki and Tsunade will remain in Konoha."
At those words, the members of the Senju Clan below all looked astonished and horrified.
The Third Hokage lowered his head. He understood that Mito Uzumaki was protecting the Senju Clan, restricting the Senju Clan, and helping him as well. Konoha had been created by the Senju Clan, and the first two Hokage had both come from the Senju Clan. Logically speaking, the position of Third Hokage should also have been passed down within the Senju Clan. Unfortunately, the clan lacked worthy successors, with no suitable heir at all. That was why the Second Hokage had chosen Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi inheriting the title of Third Hokage had left the Senju Clan unwilling to accept it. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Second Hokage's disciple, he was not a member of the Senju Clan. After all, not everyone in the Senju Clan was as great as the First Hokage and the Second Hokage. After experiencing the glory of the First and Second Hokage, the Senju Clan had now decayed beneath the influence of power. With Mito Uzumaki suppressing them, those who had been blinded by power could still remain clear-headed. Once they lost her restraint, they might begin fighting for power and profit.
Mito Uzumaki understood this as well. With the Senju Clan in its current state, it was simply impossible for them to control Konoha. Especially now, during the Second Shinobi World War, if any upheaval occurred in Konoha, the village would suffer enormous damage. Therefore, Mito Uzumaki would rather have the Senju Clan return to their ancestral lands than allow Konoha to be harmed. If the First Hokage were still alive, he would likely have done the same.
Hiruzen Sarutobi understood all of this too. Gratitude filled his eyes as he lowered his head and remained silent.
After a moment of silence, Mito Uzumaki waved her hand. "Tsunade, Hiruzen, Reiko, Kushina, and Ren. You five stay behind. Everyone else, leave."
As she waved her hand, the grave aura slowly dissipated.
In the blink of an eye, only a few people remained in the spacious bedroom.
Mito Uzumaki stared at Reiko and Kushina. "This suffering will eventually descend upon you, but I do not wish to favor one over the other, nor do I wish to let the Nine-Tails run rampant. Therefore, after I die, the Nine-Tails will be divided into two and sealed separately within Kushina and Reiko. I hope the two of you will support each other and continue onward together."
Kushina and Reiko nodded silently. They had long known their Destiny. Now that each of them would control half of it, things were actually better for them.
Then Mito Uzumaki looked at Ren. "You look so much like him... So very much like him! I met him when I was young. He was just as calm, just as outstanding. But his heart was very kind. I hope your heart is as kind as his. In the future, I leave Kushina's smile to you."
Ren looked at Mito Uzumaki in surprise and confusion. "Who was he?"
"Hehe... Figure it out yourself!" Mito Uzumaki said with a smile, then waved her hand.
Ren nodded silently, then led Kushina out of the bedroom by the hand. Reiko followed them out as well, leaving only the last few people inside.
Ren turned back and looked inside once more. "A remnant of the Warring States Era will finally pass away today. How many renowned figures from that era are still left in this world? Of the elders who established the Five Great Shinobi Villages during the Warring States Era, how many remain? It seems the continuation of the Warring States Era has vanished. Like the Valley of the End, that era has completely become a final period. What remains is a new age!"
End of This Volume
The first volume ended here. This was also my understanding of Naruto. I felt that Mito Uzumaki's death represented the complete disappearance of Konoha's remnants from the Warring States Era. What remained was the transitional generation, people like the Third Hokage. The new generation was Jiraiya's generation.
This volume ended by witnessing Mito Uzumaki's passing.
The next volume, Genin Life, would officially enter the brutal slaughter of shinobi!
Six Years Passed
In the blink of an eye, six years passed just like that.
Konoha's quiet Ninja Academy was no longer as cheerful as before. Instead, it carried a faint sadness.
Kushina smiled as she looked at the young man before her.
The young man was Ren. He raised his hand and gently stroked Kushina's beautiful red hair. "Let's go... I think those people have already been selected. The Jonin should be arriving soon too."
Kushina nodded and immediately linked her arm through Ren's left arm. Ren, meanwhile, held Mikoto Uchiha's hand as they slowly walked toward the distant classroom.
As they walked along the path, the once-noisy field instantly fell silent. Even the new students who had just entered the academy were restrained into silence by the older students. Every student stared at Ren without daring to make a sound. Their eyes held complicated emotions—some were fearful, some admiring, some hateful, and some confused...
After Ren left, several new students asked, "Who was that? Why did everyone here fall silent when those three came out?"
An older student said, "You're new? It's normal that you don't know him. He's a genius, but he's also a terrifying person. Ever since first grade, he defeated everyone in his year one by one. No one dared provoke him. Anyone who did was beaten badly, then healed by him. Once, several people even gathered their older brothers, who had already become shinobi, to take revenge. But that guy beat them into cripples, then used Medical Ninjutsu to heal them. After healing them, he crippled them again. It happened several times, and those people nearly broke down."
"Hiss... That terrifying?" The new students were shocked.
"He really is that terrifying. No one in the entire academy dares to provoke him, not even the teachers. But he's finally graduating today, so we won't have to worry about being crippled and then healed again!" the older student said, as though recalling something frightening.
The older and younger students chatted, discussing Ren's past.
Ren entered a classroom and turned his gaze toward the remaining students.
Of the fewer than sixty students originally in the classroom, only a dozen or so remained.
Ren said, "Teacher Yamada... Are there only this many people left?"
Yamada looked at Ren with a smile and a hint of pride. "These are all the elite students of the class. The specific arrangements will be decided by Lord Hokage."
Ren nodded silently and slowly walked toward his seat.
In the spacious classroom, the dozen or so remaining students all fell silent. The excitement they had felt about graduating vanished in an instant. Ren had left too terrifying a shadow over them—or rather, Ren had taught them far too miserable a lesson.
Ever since Mito Uzumaki died, Ren had understood that if he wanted to decide his own Destiny or change the Destiny of others, he needed immense strength.
Ren needed even greater strength, which meant he needed even more rigorous training. Thus, after returning to the academy, he showed no mercy to those who provoked him. One after another, they were beaten by Ren until their bones broke, then treated with the Medical Ninjutsu Tsunade had taught him. He openly practiced Medical Ninjutsu this way. Over time, Ren became the most terrifying presence in the Ninja Academy, but his Medical Ninjutsu continued to improve as well.
Ren had now graduated. After spending six years in the Ninja Academy, it was time for him to graduate.
At that moment, Yamada continued, "Most of the class has been selected by various departments. You are the remaining elites, and Lord Hokage will personally assign you. You will also be assigned Jonin instructors. If you can earn your Jonin instructor's approval, you may even become a Jonin's disciple."
At those words, the frightened students showed faint excitement.
Ren's class had originally been an elite class. Even the relatively ordinary students in an elite class were competent Genin. In the past, such students would be chosen by Konoha's various departments, such as the Guard Department, Logistics Department, Mission Department...
Aside from the students who had been selected, those remaining were the class's elites. There were few of them, and the Hokage would personally assign them into three-person squads before giving them a Jonin instructor. The Jonin instructor would then identify promising students among them and focus on training them.
That was why these students were so delighted. Compared to them, Ren remained as calm as still water. It did not matter which Jonin came to teach him. Ren did not need a Jonin's guidance for his training at all.
As Ren waited quietly, Minato, who sat in front of him, said, "Ren... I wonder if we'll be assigned to the same team this time!"
Please send flowers.
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