Konoha, underground.
This was Root's base. The air was cold and damp, filled with a peculiar mixture of disinfectant and earth. The ever-burning torches on the stone walls cast dim yellow light, twisting people's shadows into monsters baring their fangs and claws.
Shimura Danzō sat at the head of the room, his right eye and half his face wrapped in thick bandages. His exposed left eye was sinister and deep, like a venomous scorpion lurking in the dark.
"Orochimaru, thank you for your efforts on this mission." His hoarse voice echoed through the empty stone chamber without a trace of warmth in its acknowledgment.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows. He had sickly pale skin and golden, serpentine eyes. The purple eyeshadow extending from the corners of his eyes made him look eerily handsome. He was Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, hailed as a genius seen only once in decades.
He extended his long tongue, licked his lips, and gave a soft, hissing chuckle. "Lord Danzo, I merely went to the border to deal with a few disobedient insects. It was hardly any trouble. But you summoned me back in such a hurry. Has something interesting happened in the village?"
Orochimaru had no interest in these so-called missions. What truly obsessed him were the mysteries of life and ninjutsu.
A glint flashed through Danzo's cloudy left eye. He knew the fish was about to take the bait.
"Something interesting..." Danzo drew out the words. "There is indeed one thing. It might offer a new ray of hope for that stalled research of yours."
Orochimaru's golden, serpentine pupils abruptly contracted.
His recent research naturally referred to transplanting and cultivating the Hashirama Cells of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. They held the ultimate life force, the source of Wood Release, the key to his path toward immortality. But this research was fraught with difficulties. The Hashirama Cells were domineering beyond imagination. Without exception, every test subject had broken down and died, unable to withstand their power.
"Oh?" Orochimaru's voice took on a note of barely restrained excitement. "Do tell."
"A surviving orphan of the Senju Clan has appeared," Danzo said slowly, each word like a stone cast into a deep pool. "Tsunade's younger brother. A five-year-old child."
"Senju?" Orochimaru's interest waned somewhat. "Merely a descendant with a diluted bloodline. He means nothing to my research."
"What if... this child has awakened true Wood Release?" Danzo offered the real bait.
"!"
The languid smile on Orochimaru's face instantly froze. A terrifying light burst from his golden pupils, and even the temperature of the stone chamber seemed to drop.
"Impossible!" he flatly denied. "The First Hokage's kekkei genkai couldn't possibly reappear after all these years in a descendant with such a diluted bloodline! It defies all reason!"
"But that is the truth." Danzo pushed an intelligence report toward him. "His name is Senju Chen. Just a few days ago, he used Wood Release in front of many people. Though it was only the most rudimentary application, there was no mistaking the aura of that life force."
Orochimaru snatched up the report and rapidly scanned it. When he read the description of Senju Chen tripping Uchiha Inabi with a thin wooden root at the school gates, his breathing quickened.
An amateur watched the spectacle; an expert saw the intricacies. The exquisite control over chakra nature and the stimulation of life force behind this seemingly insignificant move were simply inconceivable!
A living, perfect vessel that could be fully compatible with the Hashirama Cells, and could even awaken Wood Release on his own!
He was countless millions of times more precious than those cold cell tissues!
"Where is he?" Orochimaru's voice was hoarse, filled with a thirst for unknown truths.
"The Ninja Academy." Having achieved his aim, Danzo leaned back in his chair and said composedly, "However, I must warn you. Hiruzen and Tsunade treasure this child, especially Tsunade. She hardly ever leaves his side. Hiruzen has already warned me not to lay a hand on him."
His words sounded like a warning, but in truth, they only added fuel to the fire. Just because he couldn't act didn't mean Orochimaru couldn't.
Orochimaru smiled, his smile utterly uncanny. Of course he knew Danzo was digging a pit for him, hoping to use him to probe, or even seize what he wanted.
But so what?
Compared with the mysteries of immortality and the truth of Wood Release, what did a little political risk amount to?
"Hehehe... Lord Danzo, Tsunade and I are the closest of comrades. How could I possibly hurt one of her clansmen?" Orochimaru placed the report on the table, turned, and walked toward the shadows.
Watching Orochimaru disappear, Danzo's lips curled into a cold, smug smile.
For Senju Chen, lessons at the Ninja Academy were as tedious as repeatedly watching a black-and-white film he already knew by heart.
With his pretty face, inherited from the excellent genes of the Senju and Uzumaki, and his harmless, well-behaved appearance, he soon became the center of attention in class.
Especially among the girls.
During breaks, Kurenai Yuhi would blush as she handed him a piece of candy, while Mitaraishi Anko would casually clap him on the shoulder and ask if he wanted to get dango together.
Naturally, this treatment provoked jealousy and resentment among the clan children led by Uchiha Inabi.
In their eyes, this so-called "genius," Senju Chen, merely relied on Lord Hokage's favoritism and the last pitiful scraps of the Senju Clan's reputation. What happened at the school gates had to have been sheer dumb luck!
"Hmph, a pretty boy who can only hide behind women." More than once, Uchiha Inabi muttered bitterly from a distance.
Senju Chen ignored all these childish provocations.
He was very busy.
Busy watching Kakashi's every subtle movement out of the corner of his eye, analyzing his calmness and maturity beyond his years; busy "running into" Shisui Uchiha and using innocent questions to draw out information about the Uchiha Clan; even busy mentally scoring the girls in class and calculating whose "potential" was greater.
His disguise was flawless.
Until today's taijutsu sparring class.
"Next, you'll spar in pairs. Remember, begin with the Seal of Reconciliation and end with the Seal of Reconciliation. Don't take things too far!"
The teacher had barely finished when Uchiha Inabi stepped forward, pointed his chin at Senju Chen in the crowd, and declared loudly:
"Teacher! I request to be paired with Senju Chen!"
Every gaze in the class instantly focused on Senju Chen.
Here it comes.
Senju Chen chuckled inwardly, while a trace of reluctance and unease appeared on his face at just the right moment.
Seeing him like this, Inabi grew even more smug. He would trample this fame-seeking fraud before everyone and wipe away his earlier humiliation!
"All right." The teacher glanced at Senju Chen, then at Inabi, who was brimming with fighting spirit, and nodded. He also wanted to see just how capable this legendary Senju orphan really was.
The two walked to the center of the training ground.
"Please go easy on me." Senju Chen bowed slightly, perfectly courteous, looking like a docile little lamb.
"Hmph!" Inabi merely snorted through his nose and impatiently formed the Seal of Reconciliation.
The instant they released the seal, he drove off the ground and shot straight at Senju Chen like a cannonball! He would use the taijutsu the Uchiha Clan took such pride in to crush his opponent instantly with overwhelming speed and strength!
Too slow. His movements are too big, too. Nothing but openings.
In Senju Chen's mind, Inabi's movements broke down into frames of slow-motion footage. His perception, far beyond that of ordinary people, brought every contraction of his opponent's muscles and every shift of his center of gravity clearly into his awareness.
To the others, Inabi's fist was lightning-fast as it shot straight for Senju Chen's face.
And Senju Chen seemed frozen with fright, not moving an inch.
Only when the rush of air from the punch was about to touch the tip of his nose did he tilt his head to the right like a startled rabbit.
Whoosh!
Inabi's fist brushed past his hair and struck empty air.
Undeterred by the miss, Inabi used his forward momentum to unleash a fierce sweeping kick, stirring up a gust of wind.
Senju Chen lightly pushed off with both feet, drifting backward just far enough to evade the kick.
There wasn't a single unnecessary movement. His motions were as small as could be, and every dodge was a hairbreadth escape that seemed to depend entirely on luck.
"Can you only dodge, you coward?" Unable to land a hit after repeated attacks, Inabi began to lose face, and his assault grew fiercer.
Fists, elbows, knees, legs-for a time, Inabi was constantly on the attack, while Senju Chen was like a tiny boat in a storm, rocking from side to side. He seemed about to capsize at any moment, yet always avoided the fatal blow at the critical instant with the smallest possible effort.
In the corner, Kakashi Hatake's brow furrowed even deeper.
It's not luck. He could see it clearly. Every one of Senju Chen's evasions came precisely when Inabi's strength was spent, or in a blind spot in his attack. This wasn't coincidence, but absolute control built upon terrifying insight and anticipation!
This guy... is playing around!
"Aaargh!"
Inabi completely lost his patience. With a furious roar, he used his proudest move, a wide, sweeping axe kick that came crashing down toward the top of Senju Chen's head with tremendous force!
Now.
An unnoticed flash of cold light crossed Senju Chen's eyes.
Faced with this ferocious blow, he didn't dodge again. Instead, just as Inabi's leg was about to descend, he advanced rather than retreated, taking half a step forward.
Then he extended one small palm.
Not to block, but to give the ankle of Inabi's supporting leg a gentle push.
Just that casual little push.
Uchiha Inabi, putting all his strength into his downward kick, felt a cleverly applied force strike the pivot supporting his body. In an instant, all his strength lost its foundation.
"Huh?"
Before everyone's incredulous eyes, the aggressive Uchiha Inabi collapsed like a sack stripped of its bones, hitting the ground in a position even more wretched and ridiculous than the last time at the school gates.
Thud!
Dust flew.
Once again, the entire training ground fell deathly silent.
Senju Chen stood where he was, looking at the fallen Inabi with just the right trace of surprise and bewilderment on his face, as though even he didn't know what had happened.
"Ah... I'm sorry." He reached out, seemingly wanting to help him up, his voice full of apology. "I... I didn't mean to. You used too much force..."
"Pfft-"
This time, someone finally failed to hold back and laughed aloud.
Then snickers spread like a plague.
"Wow, he fell again."
"How does he do it? His falls are so creative every time..."
Lying on the ground and listening to the mockery around him, Uchiha Inabi felt the world spin. He couldn't catch his breath and nearly passed out on the spot.
Meanwhile, outside the training ground, in the shadow of a large tree.
Orochimaru's golden, serpentine eyes stared unblinkingly at the innocent-faced five-year-old in the training ground.
The earlier fervor had vanished from his face, replaced by a deeper, more complex expression mingling excitement and wariness.
"Hehehe... interesting..."
He extended his tongue and licked his dry lips.
"Such absolute control over timing and strength... simply a perfect work of art."
"Senju Chen..."
"I'm becoming more and more interested in you."