The meeting in the Hokage's office was like a stone cast into a still lake, sending overlapping ripples through Konoha's upper ranks that refused to subside.
The first to feel the chill was Shimura Danzō.
The leader of Root had been unusually quiet these past few days. In his office deep underground, where sunlight never reached, even the cold air seemed to have congealed. He no longer mentioned any arrangements concerning the "Senju orphan" to Hiruzen Sarutobi, as though that name had become taboo. He understood that the child named Senju Chen was no longer a pawn he could manipulate at will. Wood Release capable of soothing a tailed beast held strategic value that surpassed even the jinchūriki himself. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade had already built a wall around this child that no one could cross.
Any hand forcibly stretched toward him would only be severed without mercy by the power called "righteousness" and "bloodline."
Root's darkness seemed to have been stung by sunlight, retreating into the depths of the shadows for the time being.
Meanwhile, through their respective channels, the heads of Konoha's major shinobi clans had also learned scattered fragments of what had happened that day.
At the Nara Clan's residence, the afternoon breeze carried a hint of languor.
Shikaku Nara lay on his veranda, a blade of grass between his lips, watching the clouds drift lazily overhead. He looked so relaxed that he might melt into the wooden floor.
Yet within his half-lidded eyes lurked a bottomless shadow.
"Soothing the Nine-Tails... the First Hokage's Wood Release... tsk."
He smacked his lips and spat the grass aside.
"Honestly, what a drag."
A four-year-old child possessed enough power to suppress a tailed beast. An ordinary "genius" could no longer describe him. He was a walking divine artifact, a living nuclear weapon.
Lord Third and Tsunade were protecting him so thoroughly that not a single gap remained. That alone made their stance clear.
"Balance... balance..." Shikaku murmured, his fingers tapping unconsciously at his side. "Danzo's been put in his place, and the Uchiha certainly won't accept this. With this new trump card in Lord Third's hand, will he use it to deter internal threats or guard against external ones?"
He suddenly chuckled and said to himself, "No, only children choose. But these waters are going to get even muddier."
Muddy waters made it easier to catch fish.
Used well, this "trump card" might force the Uchiha's ever-swelling ambitions back into their box.
At the Akimichi Clan's residence, the aroma of grilled meat almost spilled over the walls.
Chōza Akimichi grabbed a handful of grilled meat with his fan-sized hand and stuffed it into his mouth, grease coating his lips as he spoke indistinctly to Inoichi Yamanaka beside him. "Inoichi, did you hear? That little brother of Lady Tsunade's-man, he's something else!"
Inoichi Yamanaka held a teacup, but his brow was slightly furrowed.
"He's more than something else." He set down his cup, his voice carrying a measure of gravity. "Chōza, this power is enough to become Konoha's stabilizing pillar for decades to come. Our Ino-Shika-Cho Clans must reassess our relationship with the Senju faction."
"Reassess? Haven't we always been on good terms with the Senju?" Chōza stuffed another mouthful in, somewhat puzzled.
Inoichi sighed. "We were, but that was how we treated a declining ally deserving of sympathy. Now we're dealing with a king holding a mighty weapon, about to rise again. There's an enormous difference in how we need to handle that."
Chōza stopped chewing, a rare thoughtful look appearing on his plump face.
"You mean... we should pay them a visit?"
"What does Shikaku say?" Inoichi asked in return.
"That guy? He's probably watching clouds somewhere again, complaining about what a drag it is." Chōza laughed.
Inoichi shook his head, but did not laugh.
He knew that the more Shikaku complained about something being troublesome, the faster his mind worked. He had probably already thought five steps ahead on this matter, perhaps even ten.
Unlike the awe or goodwill elsewhere, the air in the Uchiha Clan's compound was so oppressive it seemed water could be wrung from it.
The clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, sat upright in the seat of honor, his expression grim as he listened in silence to the elders arguing fiercely below.
"Wood Release! Utter nonsense! There's hardly anyone left of the Senju-where would that kekkei genkai come from?" An elder rose in agitation, spittle flying. "I say this is a plot by the Third Hokage!"
"Exactly!" another immediately agreed. "On the day the Nine-Tails rampaged, all our people were kept outside the cordon. We were only told the Nine-Tails had been soothed. Who did it and how-we know nothing! And now they're saying it was that Senju orphan? Who are they trying to fool?"
An older elder, Uchiha Setsuna, tapped his cane and spoke hoarsely. "But according to the Police Force's intelligence, there were indeed unusual chakra fluctuations nearby that day. They were immense, but gentle in nature, bearing some resemblance to the records of Lord First. Moreover, the Nine-Tails was indeed calmed. That is a fact."
His words quieted the agitated crowd somewhat.
Facts were the hardest things to dispute.
"Hmph, even if that chakra was real, who can prove it came from a four-year-old brat?" The elder who had spoken first remained unconvinced. "Perhaps Tsunade used some secret technique, or perhaps the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, did it herself, and then they gave that brat the credit to build up the Senju and suppress us Uchiha!"
That conjecture struck a chord with many of them.
Uchiha Fugaku slowly opened the eyes he had kept tightly shut.
His voice was not loud, yet it instantly silenced all the clamor.
"The intelligence is contradictory."
He looked at them and said slowly, "Our people were farther out and saw no giant trees or vines. That is completely inconsistent with Lord First's world-shattering Wood Release ninjutsu described in the records."
"Second, the lockdown was too fast. Root and the Anbu cleared away every trace almost instantly, so quickly it was as though they were hiding something."
Fugaku lightly tapped his fingers against the armrest, each tap seeming to strike at their hearts.
"A four-year-old child awakened Wood Release and calmed the Nine-Tails. That sounds more like a fairy tale told to the villagers."
He paused, a cold edge flashing in his eyes.
"But whether it is a fairy tale or a conspiracy, we cannot sit and wait for our deaths."
"Pass down my orders."
Uchiha Fugaku rose, looking down at all his clansmen.
"Use every resource we can mobilize in the Anbu and Root to investigate! I want to know exactly what happened that day!"
"I want to know whether that brat named Senju Chen is a god or a demon!"
The balance of power within Konoha quietly shifted because of Senju Chen alone.
Meanwhile, Senju Chen himself, the center of this entire storm, was enjoying unprecedented "special treatment."
"Come on, Little Chen, open wide... ah-"
Tsunade scooped up a spoonful of carefully prepared medicinal food rich in life energy, cautiously blew it cool, and brought it to Senju Chen's lips. She looked as though she were feeding some peerlessly rare animal.
"Sis, I can do it myself..." Senju Chen wore a helpless yet happy smile as he obediently opened his mouth.
Since that day, Tsunade had barely left his side, afraid that another accident might befall him. Today was his routine physical examination.
When Tsunade pressed her warm palm, glowing with pale green light, against Senju Chen's back over his heart, the smile on her face gradually froze.
"This... how is this possible?"
Her beautiful eyes widened slightly in shock.
Within her perception, the amount of chakra in Senju Chen's tiny body had already far exceeded what a four-year-old child should possess. It was even more abundant than that of many newly graduated genin!
What she found even more unbelievable was the quality of his vitality. If Senju Chen's vitality had previously been a clear stream, that stream had now joined a surging river, becoming vast and mighty, filled with boundless resilience and vigor.
This was nothing like the strength of life a four-year-old child should have!
"Could it be... that the Senju Clan's bloodline was fully activated after that incident?" Tsunade could only attribute all of this to that one reasonable explanation.
Looking at her little brother before her, his features as exquisite as carved jade and his gaze innocent as he looked back at her, she felt an indescribable surge of pride and excitement.
As expected of the Senju bloodline! As expected of my little brother!
She pulled Senju Chen into her arms, vigorously ruffled his hair, and laughed heartily. "Good! Wonderful! Our Senju Clan is finally going to rise again!"
Mmph, mmph, mmph! Senju Chen was being smothered so badly he could barely breathe.
Sis, let go. I'm going to suffocate...