This was definitely not Medical Ninjutsu!
"Lord Jiraiya, did you feel that? This child is so young, yet he already has chakra inside him?" Shizune had also sensed that soothing presence and looked at Jiraiya in surprise.
Jiraiya's face was more solemn than ever.
Of course he had felt it.
That chakra signature, that faint yet vital force!
Though weak, its essence was exactly like that of the First Hokage in his memories, the man hailed as the "God of Shinobi"!
Wood Release?!
The absurd thought flashed through his mind, only for him to reject it immediately. Impossible! Wood Release had vanished after the First Hokage. Konoha had conducted so many experiments, and all had failed. How could it appear in a child of unknown origin?
But how else could he explain the inexplicable scene before him?
Tsunade's hands trembled even harder. She slowly raised a hand and gently touched Lin Chen's forehead, brushing aside his messy black hair.
Stirred by that familiar yet unfamiliar vitality, she saw the boy's filthy little face gradually overlap with the boy deep in her memories who had always followed behind her, calling, "Big sister, big sister."
Nawaki...
Was it Nawaki?
No, it wasn't.
But this feeling... this closeness of shared Senju Clan blood, and this power that could soothe her soul...
Tsunade's eyes reddened instantly. Without warning, a burning tear fell onto Lin Chen's cheek.
She was not crying over what had happened to this boy, but because her own long-dead heart had actually felt a trace of warmth again today.
This was hope!
The Senju Clan's... the last hope after the deaths of her father and younger brother!
"Tsunade, calm down!" Jiraiya barked in a low voice. "This child's origins are far too strange! And this chakra signature of his... we have to get to the bottom of this!"
"Shut up!"
Tsunade whipped her head around. The vulnerability in her eyes was instantly replaced by an unquestionable forcefulness, a madness that wanted to hold a recovered treasure tightly in her arms and protect it.
"I'm taking him back to Konoha!"
She carefully lifted Lin Chen into her arms, her movements as gentle as though she were handling a priceless treasure. The boy's body was so light it seemed to weigh nothing. As he leaned against her, that soothing presence grew even more distinct.
"Listen, Tsunade, you can't be so impulsive! Have you thought about the uproar bringing him back to the village will cause? If Danzo and his lot find out..."
"I don't care!" Tsunade cut him off sharply. She held the child tightly, as though she were holding the entire world. "He's a member of my Senju Clan!"
She spoke those last two words very softly, yet with utter conviction.
Seeing her like this, Jiraiya opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words of persuasion. He understood that this four- or five-year-old child had reminded Tsunade of the late Senju Nawaki. He knew Tsunade all too well. When she was like this, no one could dissuade her.
He could only turn his gaze back to the unconscious child, his eyes filled with scrutiny and wariness.
Who exactly was this child? Why had he appeared here?
And what exactly was that power in him that resembled Wood Release?
Would Tsunade's insistence on bringing him back to Konoha introduce an enormous, unpredictable variable into a village already rife with undercurrents?
Tsunade picked up the frail little boy, turned, and left. Jiraiya and Shizune immediately followed.
The lingering sunset stretched their three shadows long. Holding this newborn "hope" in her arms, Tsunade's eyes held a determination they had never held before.
Beneath Konoha.
Cold and damp were the eternal hallmarks of this place. The air carried a mixture of disinfectant and the raw smell of earth. Fine beads of water seeped from the icy stone walls and slid down them, collecting in small puddles on the ground. This was Root's base, the roots of the village that sunlight could never reach.
Flickering firelight illuminated the bandage-covered profile of the figure in the seat of honor. Half of Shimura Danzō's body lay hidden in shadow. His exposed right eye was as sharp as a hawk's as he scrutinized the Root ninja kneeling below.
"How are the experiments with Hashirama Cells progressing?" His voice was hoarse and low, betraying no emotion.
The man below tensed even further, lowering his head until it nearly touched the floor. "Reporting to Lord Danzo, more than half of the latest batch of test subjects have collapsed and died because they could not withstand the cells' invasive effects. At present... only five subjects remain alive, but their physiological readings are extremely unstable. Their compatibility with Hashirama Cells... cannot yet be assessed."
Danzo tapped his fingers lightly against the armrest, the "tap, tap" sounding especially clear in the deathly silence.
"Our supply of Hashirama Cells is running low."
At those words, the ninja trembled almost imperceptibly. After hesitating a moment, he ventured a suggestion. "Lord Danzo, could we... obtain some cell samples from Lady Tsunade? After all, Lady Tsunade is the First Hokage's direct granddaughter. The vitality of her cells is far beyond that of those collateral branches or test subjects."
"Foolish."
Danzo's voice abruptly turned cold, like an ice-tempered blade. Terrified out of his wits, the kneeling ninja hurriedly kowtowed.
"Tsunade is one of the Sannin, and the last publicly known bloodline of the Senju Clan. Neither Sarutobi nor those old fools in the village would ever allow us to touch her. Moving against her would mean shaking Konoha's foundations. That is Sarutobi's bottom line." An inscrutable gleam flashed through Danzo's lone eye. "That Senju woman has a fierce temper. Push her too far, and she's capable of anything. Until we are absolutely certain, do not provoke her."
"Yes! I acknowledge my mistake!"
"Continue the experiments." Danzo waved a hand, offering no further explanation. "At any cost, I must see results. Konoha needs this power."
"Understood!"
As though granted a pardon, the ninja vanished into the darkness in an instant. Only Danzo remained in the empty stone chamber. He slowly closed his eyes, and in his mind appeared that man's towering figure, along with the power of Wood Release that had ushered in a new era for the Shinobi World.
For Konoha... this power must be mine to wield.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage building.
Warm sunlight streamed through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows and fell across Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk. He held his beloved pipe between his lips without lighting it, merely letting the scent of tobacco linger beneath his nose. He could not take in a single one of the documents piled like a mountain on his desk.
His gaze fell beyond the window, passing over the bustling streets toward Hokage Rock in the distance. The First Hokage's resolute face looked especially solemn in the sunlight.
Hiruzen Sarutobi heaved a deep sigh.
Tsunade...
That girl who had followed him around like a little princess since childhood had now become his heaviest concern. Ever since Nawaki and Dan had died in battle one after the other, a thick gloom had shrouded her once bright, confident amber eyes.
Her fear of blood had grown increasingly severe, so severe that she could no longer carry out even the most basic medical assignments. Sending her to the border this time had been intended to give her a change of surroundings, but the battle reports that came back still left him deeply troubled.
When she returned this time, he had to have a proper talk with her. He could not let her go on like this. She was all that remained of the Senju Clan. She was not merely a medical ninja, but also one of the symbols of Konoha's spirit.
Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe and finally lit it. He took a deep draw and exhaled curling rings of smoke, but his worries did not ease in the slightest.
He did not know that the Tsunade he worried about was now on her way home, bringing with her a "variable" capable of overturning the entire balance of Konoha.