On the other side, a string of explosions rang out along the riverbank!
The back gate of the Senju Clan Compound.
The three ninjas on duty in the guardroom had been slacking off and playing cards. They hurriedly dropped their cards, grabbed the weapons beside the table, and used the Body Flicker Technique to rush to their respective watch posts!
"What's going on?" shouted the Senju guard keeping watch inside the gate below.
"Looks like Uka's blowing up fish again."
"Oh... then it's nothing!"
"Come on! Let's keep playing. That kid blew up a good hand of mine. I'll have to take two extra fish from him later!" The brown-haired Senju guard on watch with a sword at the gate's right side let go of his tension, stood up, and spoke to his two teammates.
This was one of the perks of guarding the back gate. They got all kinds of fish from Uka Senju. Who knew what had gotten into him? He'd go fishing for a few days, then blow up the river once.
Ever since they started guarding the back gate, their families had never been short of fish!
The Senju guard inside the gate said with a laugh, "You can go find him later..."
"Something's wrong. Mizuki, go check it out. That kid Uka seems to have blown up a person!" The guard at the high watch post stood up with a laugh, about to come down, but suddenly realized something seemed off and hurriedly interrupted their chat.
Hearing this, Senju Mizuki, who had just complained about his good hand being ruined, changed expression. He circulated the Chakra in his body and ran toward Uka Senju!
A moment later.
Senju Mizuki hurried back and said to the people waiting inside the gate, "Captain Takaze, Uka really did blow someone up, but Anbu got there first and took him away!"
"Anbu? They got here that fast?" Senju Takaze frowned at the report.
He was puzzled about why Anbu had arrived so quickly, right after the incident had happened.
Sensing that something was amiss, he immediately gave the two of them their orders. "Mizuki, go straight to the meeting hall and find Lady Toka. The clan elders are all there today. Just explain clearly what you saw. Toma, keep watch. I'll go get a few more people from the squad!"
"Yes! Yes!"
After receiving their orders, Senju Toma wrote down what he had seen from the high post on a scroll and handed it to Senju Mizuki.
Then he picked up his weapon and returned to the high post to continue keeping watch, while Senju Mizuki repeatedly used the Body Flicker Technique to hurry to the meeting hall!
The Senju meeting hall.
"You two, Third and Fourth, you're a pair of idiots, worse than pigs and dogs! Open your damn eyes and look at what the Senju have become!"
"In a situation like this, you still want to withdraw from the world? How are the clan members without ninja talent supposed to live after giving up the Senju name?"
"You two sons of bitches, you..." A middle-aged man in Senju clan clothes stood in the hall, glaring furiously at the two elders opposite him.
He unleashed a stream of obscenities!
He truly couldn't understand what was going through these people's heads. The Senju had carried on for over a thousand years!
Their strength came from unity and their clan members. No matter what happened or what blows they suffered, no one had ever said they should disband!
So why were these people so set on following Tobirama's last words and disbanding to merge into Konoha?
In all of Konoha, whose clan besides the Senju was talking about disbanding?
You people could still live well after disbanding, but what about ordinary clan members who had lost the pillars of their households, or who lacked ninja talent?
Were they supposed to farm like civilians?
Then what had been the point of founding Konoha?
"Fifth, you son of a..." The Third Elder, so furious that he was about to lose it, slapped the table and was about to retort!
"Creak-!"
The sudden sound of the door opening interrupted the tense atmosphere in the hall and stopped both sides of the argument!
"Lady Mito, honored sirs."
After bowing to everyone in the hall from the doorway, the middle-aged man entered and said, "The back-gate watch has reported that Uka Senju was blowing up fish just now and was taken away by Anbu!"
At his words, the people in the hall couldn't help laughing!
The tense atmosphere immediately eased.
Toka's nephew had been up to this sort of thing for the past few years. Several people he'd wronged had come knocking, and he'd been arrested more than once.
At the top of the hall, a woman in her twenties, dressed in a white kimono with her hair tied in a bun and an ornament resembling a crown, smiled at everyone and said, "He probably blew up something again. Which of you will go to Sarutobi's and bring him back?"
At that, Senju Toka, seated on the left, darkened slightly and stood, intending to bring back her mischievous nephew!
She'd warned the little brat several times, but he still wouldn't listen. It seemed she really would have to get tough with him!
"Let me go instead. Toka, stay for the meeting. It's a small matter, just a small matter. He blew up some little thing; we can just pay for it. There's no need for you to go in person." A middle-aged man seated at the lower left smiled and stopped Senju Toka when he saw her displeased expression.
His words reminded several people nearby what happened when Toka went to retrieve someone, and they hurried to chime in!
After several incidents, everyone knew how much Toka cherished her only nephew. Last time, he'd blown up one of the Uchiha's summoned beasts.
When she went to get him, she'd been so protective of him that she'd nearly come to blows with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Uchiha in the Hokage Building. For everyone's safety, it was better to have someone else make the trip!
Otherwise, if they really started fighting in the Hokage Building, it would be an ugly scene!
Seeing everyone trying to stop her, she knew what they were worried about.
Senju Toka frowned and sat back down. She was just about to speak when a pulse of Chakra suddenly came from her waist.
Without time to say more, she hurriedly took out the ninja tool pouch at her waist and found the white insect corpse radiating a Chakra pulse inside.
When she saw the insect corpse, Senju Toka's expression turned cold.
This was an insect raised using a Senju secret technique, specifically for transmitting urgent messages or situations!
The two insects shared one life. If one body died, the other would die as well.
This one in her hand had been specially given to Uka because she was worried about his safety!
Hadn't Anbu taken him away?
Why would he use this?
Was he in danger?
Or was he trying to send some information?
Looking at the insect corpse in her palm, Senju Toka's heart tightened as she worried about Uka's situation.
She raised a hand to stop the people around her from speaking, took the sword hanging on the wall, and said, "Never mind. Uka used the Shared Life Insect. I'll take people and go see for myself!"
Hearing this, the three squad leaders below hurriedly stood and picked up their swords.
"What?"
"What happened? Why would he use that?" The people in the hall looked at Toka in surprise and asked.
Senju Toka ignored them and headed straight out of the hall with her three subordinates.
The Second Elder, seated at the top beside the woman in her twenties, saw Senju Toka leave without explaining. After a moment's thought, he spoke up. "Toka, don't rush. Wait. Give this old man two minutes to find out what's going on!"
At the doorway, Senju Toka heard the Second Elder and reluctantly stopped.
She could ignore everyone else, but he was an elder of her own branch. She couldn't disregard him!
That was fine. She'd planned to ask on the way, but since the Second Elder had called for her, she might as well get the facts straight here!
Seeing Senju Toka stop, the Second Elder said to the guard who had reported to the hall, "Have the back-gate watch come in and explain exactly what happened!"
The middle-aged man froze, then glanced at the elder above.
He cupped his hands, left the hall, and brought Senju Mizuki in!
"Tell us what happened."
"Greetings, honored sirs!"
Senju Mizuki, with brown hair and wearing standard armor, bowed to everyone.
After recalling what he had seen, he began to explain. "The Takaze squad was on duty at the back gate when they suddenly heard three explosions. Senju Toma saw Uka Senju pull someone out of the water from the high post, so he sent me to inspect the situation. But before I could reach him, Anbu took Uka away..."
After hearing the account, the Second Elder thoughtfully waved for the two to leave.
He didn't ask why the report differed from what he had just heard!
"Toka..."
"Creak-!"
The door had just closed when it was pushed open again, cutting off the First Elder on the left mid-sentence.
Looking at the guard who had entered, the First Elder frowned and asked, "What is it?"
"Honored sirs, a message from the Hokage. He wants Lady Toka to go personally and collect Uka Senju!"
"..." At the message, everyone in the hall looked at one another.
Those quick-witted enough to think about what it meant in light of what had happened frowned. The few rough-and-ready types on either side laughed and said, "What's gotten into the Third Hokage today? Toka, come on, we'll go with you and see what's going on. Why does it have to be you who collects him?"
"Exactly!"
"Let's all go have a look!"
"All right, all right. Don't go joining in just for the excitement!" The Fourth Elder on the right, a black-haired man in Senju clan clothes, stood and cheerfully cut off the rowdy men.
Looking at Senju Toka by the door, the Fourth Elder spoke in a kindly voice. "Toka, don't worry. I'm sure the person he blew up this time is difficult to deal with, so the Hokage called you over. Just go have a look, pay them some compensation, and bring Uka back."
"That insect was probably set off because Uka touched it by accident, or something else happened. The Shared Life Insect has caused plenty of false alarms before!"
"Don't take anyone with you. Making a big show of it will make people wonder what's going on! Rest assured, the Hokage is Lord Tobirama's disciple!"
Hearing the Fourth Elder say this, the people on the right nodded in agreement.
They thought he made perfect sense. That insect had caused plenty of false alarms before!
Besides, the Third Hokage was Tobirama's student. It wouldn't look right for Senju Toka to show up at his door with a crowd of people.
After all, he was the Hokage. They ought to show him some respect!
"Exactly!"
"The Fourth Elder is right. Just go by yourself, Toka!"
"Right, the Shared Life Insect must have malfunctioned!"
"Yeah, just go bring Uka back yourself. What's the point of taking a huge crowd?" The people on the right not only agreed, but also helped the Fourth Elder persuade Toka.
Looking at the attitudes of the people on the right, Senju Toka's expression darkened. She said coldly, "Everyone, this time he hit a person!"
"He wouldn't be stupid enough to not look around before setting it off. So someone was in the water near the Senju Clan Compound, and he didn't notice. The Anbu arrived as soon as the incident happened!"
"And now he's used a Shared Life Insect. I assume none of you are idiots!"
After repeating the key points from Mizuki's report, Senju Toka sighed inwardly. The Senju really had no one left if they were letting a bunch of brainless fools occupy high positions!
Hearing Senju Toka emphasize these points, everyone in the hall realized something was wrong. They frowned and began to think.
He hit a person!
That river behind the Senju Clan Compound was basically Senju's private territory. Almost no outsiders ever went there!
Everyone knew Uka's temperament. He was always getting into trouble, but he wouldn't deliberately set something off if he saw someone there!
After the incident, even the guards closest to Uka hadn't arrived, but the Anbu had?
And there was the Shared Life Insect. That was something you could only use in an emergency!
If this insect wasn't a false alarm, then...!
Seeing the harmonious atmosphere from moments ago disrupted, the Fourth Elder's heart sank slightly.
Then he put on an expression of feigned surprise and said leisurely to everyone, "The Anbu probably just happened to be passing by. Sarutobi is, after all... Lord Tobirama's disciple!"
His voice rose at the end, and he flicked his sleeve as if mocking everyone present for reading too much into things!
Ignoring the Fourth Elder's attitude, the Second Elder, who had stopped Toka earlier, sat above them and slowly opened his eyes. After looking around, he said to Senju Toka, "You don't need to go. I'll bring Uka back, and while I'm at it, I'll pay the Third a visit and ask him for a cup of tea!"
At that, everyone looked up at the old man.
The hall fell silent!
A moment later, the woman in a kimono above turned to look at the oldest man in the Senju clan and said with a smile, "Sorry for the trouble, Second Elder!"