Hearing the voices outside the door, Tomoki Senju poked his head out and called to the two of them, "Uka, come in and sit for a while!"
"Okay!"
After answering, the two of them walked into the lounge!
As soon as they entered, the clan members who were chatting and resting in the room saw Uka and greeted him warmly.
"Uka's here!"
"Uka, I heard you awakened Wood Release?"
"Uka, show us!"
"Yeah, show us! I've never seen Wood Release before!"
As he responded to everyone in the room, Uka Senju gained a deeper understanding of the importance of Wood Release!
In the past, when he ran into them, they would at most smile and nod at Uka. They had never been this enthusiastic before.
They were his aunt's subordinates, and they were also members of the Senju Clan. They were certainly loyal to his aunt and the others.
But with a child they weren't familiar with, a nod was already a courtesy to his aunt!
Looking at the teenager, who was a little over ten years old and said he had never seen Wood Release, Uka Senju smiled and replied, "Sure. What kind of furniture do you want?"
"I'll make a few things for you while I'm at it. Just showing off by making branches would waste too much Chakra!"
The teenager in the guard uniform asked in surprise, "Wood Release can do that too?"
Seeing Uka's attitude, several middle-aged men nearby joined in the fun and nodded in agreement with the teenager's idea!
The teenager thought for a moment, then unhesitatingly said, "I'll take a dining table and a shoe cabinet! The ones at my house just broke, and I haven't had a chance to buy new ones!"
"Sure!" Uka smiled and nodded, then shifted to his own request. "I'll make them for you. Go find Sister Chiharu for me. Auntie said she's somewhere around here!"
The teenager answered nonchalantly, "Sister Chiharu's covering for Mizuki. I know where she is. I'll go find her!"
With the deal struck, Uka Senju gathered his Chakra and pressed one hand against the floor in front of him.
Several branches quickly sprouted from the wooden floor, growing thicker and longer before weaving together.
Gradually, the furniture the teenager had asked for took shape.
A simple, square dining table and a four-tier shoe cabinet without doors appeared in the lounge.
Looking at his somewhat rough work, Uka still nodded in satisfaction.
He thought it was pretty good for his first attempt.
He even wondered whether he should set up a hands-on furniture workshop in the clan later on.
Playing around like this also trained his control over Wood Release.
The Battle Armor Technique he had in mind, combined with Nintaijutsu, would depend on how strong his control was!
Making furniture for the clan members would not only give him practice, but also help him fit in better with them.
After all, they would be living together and going on missions together in the future. He would have to rely on them to watch his back.
Keeping his chin up was easy, but it also made it easy to get shot in the back!
Seeing the dining table and shoe cabinet connected to the floor, everyone grew interested and gathered around to inspect and discuss them.
Their reactions went from surprise that it really was Wood Release to discussing details like how the table should be sanded. They even offered Uka plenty of suggestions about the furniture's dimensions!
Sekisei Senju, a brown-haired, black-eyed man wearing a Senju combat uniform, walked into the Security Room. Seeing everyone gathered around the table in discussion, he greeted them, "Everyone's here!"
Looking up at him, Kenchū Senju asked, "You're here. Did those people have anything in their heads?"
"Those Anbu?" Uka Senju asked.
"Yeah!"
Sekisei Senju took off his armor, walked over to sit down, and shrugged at everyone. "There was nothing there. As soon as I checked, it turned to mush. It should have something to do with the seal on his tongue."
"I tried to break it, but unfortunately, I failed!"
Sekisei couldn't break the seal?
He was, after all, a rising sealing-jutsu genius among the Senju. He couldn't break it either?
That description did sound a lot like the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal from the story!
But had Root really been established this early?
Uka recalled the three people he had encountered that afternoon!
He remembered that the story said Root members were emotionless killing machines, trained by Danzo from childhood.
But the three from today had been intimidated by his threats. So even if they were from Root, it must have been established only recently!
Hearing their conversation, Tomoki Senju frowned and asked, "A seal on the tongue?"
"Yeah!"
Sekisei Senju nodded and looked at the friend who had come over to him. "Is something wrong? Or have you seen one before?"
"This morning, when my brother was patrolling the west gate, he caught an Anbu guy. But my brother thought something was off about him, so he knocked him out and checked." Tomoki Senju replied.
"That guy couldn't be examined either, and there was a seal on his tongue. He's still locked up now!"
"At noon, my brother even told me to watch out for people like that. He said they were most likely involved in dirty work!"
Hearing that, Uka Senju smiled and thought, Your brother was right. Danzo and Root specialize in dirty work!
Then he thought of a way to make things difficult for Danzo and said to Tomoki Senju, "Brother Tomoki, where's that person being held?"
"Why don't you take Brother Sekisei over to examine him while he's alive and see if there's a chance of removing it?"
Hearing that, Sekisei Senju immediately grew interested and nodded eagerly. "Let's go, let's go! I think that thing is really interesting. Examining it on a living person might give me a few leads!"
Tomoki Senju thought for a moment, then replied, "Sure. He's at the west gate. I'll take you there!"
After the two left, Kenchū Senju tugged at Uka with the drawings in his hand and said, "Make a few like the ones we drew!"
"Sure!"
Taking the drawings, Uka Senju looked at the chair design on them, gathered his Chakra, and pressed it against the floor.
Hearing that Uka wanted her, Senju Chiharu hurried over.
When she arrived in the room, she saw him playing around with everyone.
She was very pleased with how Uka was using Wood Release to fit in with the others.
Before, it hadn't mattered what attitude Uka had. Now that he had awakened Wood Release, he needed to fit in like this.
He would still need these people to protect him in the future. Keeping his head too high wasn't a good thing!
After watching for a while, Senju Chiharu checked the time, then spoke in a gentle voice to interrupt him. "Uka, it's time for us to go back!"
He finished making the table in his hands!
Uka Senju turned and called to the woman behind him, "Sister Chiharu, you're here!"
Then he said to the people nearby, "I have to go now. If you want anything else, bring the drawings to my house. Remember to be careful when sawing, or you'll damage the floor!"
"Okay!"
"This is enough for now!"
"I'll come find you when I have time!"
After saying goodbye to everyone, Uka headed home with Chiharu.
Inside Senju Toka's residence.
Dining room.
After helping Sister Chiharu prepare the vegetables, Uka Senju half-reclined on a daybed nearby. At last, he had time to check the system's notifications from that afternoon.
[Name: Uka Senju] [Age: 9] [Identity: Konoha · Senju Clan] [Strength: Genin] [Attributes: Wood, Earth, Water] [Skills] Chakra Extraction Technique: Proficient (89/100) Seals: Proficient (69/100) Senju Style Nintaijutsu: Proficient (85/100) Senju Style Kenjutsu: Proficient (78/100) Three Basic Techniques: Proficient (51/100) Temporary Paralysis Technique: Proficient (25/100) Hiding Technique: Proficient (31/100) Rope Escape Technique: Proficient (23/100) Wood Release: Beginner (11/100) Water Release: Beginner (32/100) Earth Release: Beginner (38/100) [Energy: 308]+