Kenchū Senju, with a square face, thick brows, and big eyes, scratched his head.
He understood what the problem was, and a hint of embarrassment came over his honest face.
He knew about this flaw himself. He had tried to fix it many times, but it was still hard to change!
According to the clan elders, it was caused by long-term missions and could only fade with time, so he had stopped forcing himself to change it.
Just now, when he saw Uka with his back to him, he had instinctively lightened his steps.
He hadn't expected this person to be practicing Wood Release!
Uka stood up and dropped the branch in his hand, watching Kenchū Senju scratch his head.
"Brother Kenchū, why did you ask me to come over?" Uka Senju asked.
Kenchū lowered his hand and explained with a sheepish grin, "I don't know either. The Second Elder told you to go!"
The old man? Uka Senju frowned, unable to figure out why the Second Elder had asked him to come to the execution viewing platform.
But it was clear that he wouldn't get an answer from Brother Kenchū.
So, after greeting Chiharu and Maki beside him, he followed Kenchū Senju toward the wooden platform that had been hastily erected.
They passed through the crowd and walked from behind the clan members to the platform facing the main gate.
Kenchū Senju stopped and quietly reminded Uka, "Go up by yourself and head straight to the Second Elder. I have to guard things down here!"
"Okay!"
After answering softly, Uka climbed the wooden steps and went up onto the platform.
As soon as he got up, he spotted his target.
He circled around from behind the others and stopped in front of the old man on the right side of the seat of honor. "Second Elder, why did you ask me to come?"
The Second Elder, dressed in beige clan robes and with his white hair neatly groomed, smiled and was about to speak.
But the woman on the left side of the seat of honor cut him off. "Uka, come over here. I'm the one who asked you to come!"
Her clear voice drew everyone's attention.
Hearing this, Uka Senju instinctively looked at the Second Elder.
When he saw him smile and nod, Uka circled around behind him and went to the woman's side.
Looking at her familiar red hair, familiar talisman decorations, and familiar white kimono,
Uka Senju ignored the gazes around him and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Lady Mito. May I ask why you called me over?"
Looking at the boy, who was 1.4 meters tall, with white hair, dark eyes, and a clear, open expression,
Mito Uzumaki nodded in satisfaction, drew him closer, and said with a smile, "There's no need to be so formal. After Tsunade comes back from her parents' place next month, we'll arrange your engagement. From now on, remember to call me Grandma, just like Tsunade does!"
The surrounding Senju upper echelon heard their conversation and the good news that the future Wood Release user and the most talented person of the present would be joined together.
They all smiled with relief.
Since yesterday, they had been arranging the aftermath while also preparing for war and defense, communicating with their allied clans, and keeping an eye on the other ninja clans.
The sudden situation had left them extremely busy, and their spirits were badly affected.
This piece of news had eased their heavy hearts somewhat.
Pulled to Mito's side, Uka Senju heard the laughter around him and understood why he had been brought onto the platform.
He quietly pouted to himself, a little disgruntled that he had been used as a stimulant.
Looking at the rows of seats around him, he saw there was no place for a little nobody like him.
So, without changing his expression, he asked, "Grandma Mito, if there's nothing else, can I go back down?"
Seeing that he had understood why she had said all that,
Mito Uzumaki rested her hand on his head and stroked it with a smile. "Just sit beside Grandma and watch. There's no need to go down!"
"You'll be making decisions sooner or later. Since you have the chance today, experience this and watch more!"
Before Uka could refuse, she signaled to the guards below to bring over a low stool and set it beside her.
Seeing that his spot for watching the spectacle had been set up,
Uka Senju stopped being coy and sat beside her on the platform.
In a familiar spot, protected by the familiar Nine-Tails, he accepted the tea Mito Uzumaki handed him and silently sat in the corner to watch the spectacle up close.
About half an hour later, the sun reached its zenith.
It was only early July, and the sun had recovered just seventy or eighty percent of its strength, but it still baked the people below until they were drenched in sweat.
"Ding!"
Hearing the sound from the guardroom, a Senju guard turned toward the two people by the gate and said, "The clan leader has ordered you both to go to the execution viewing platform at once!"
Without paying attention to their expressions, the guard called out behind the gate, "Open the gate!"
After receiving the guard's notice, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been about to ask where the execution viewing platform was, but then he heard the shout.
He exchanged a glance with Danzo. The two of them set aside their questions about who the clan leader was and waited quietly for the gate to open.
"Creak-!"
With the sound of the hinges, the gate slowly swung open.
Seeing the scene inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi understood where the so-called execution viewing platform was, and who the Senju's new clan leader was!
He gave his old friend a slightly pitying look, then walked straight in with Danzo.
They went up onto the wooden platform.
Looking at the three people in the seat of honor and the Senju upper echelon arranged in a V on either side,
the two ignored the hostile gazes and bowed to those in the seat of honor. "Greetings, Senju clan leader, Lady Mito, and Second Elder!"
"..."
The venue fell silent. Everyone watched as the two men, dressed in a Hokage robe and an elder's robe, bowed.
After a moment, Senju Toka, seated in the place of honor, lightly tapped the armrest with her finger and said coolly, "Rise!"
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō straightened up after holding their bows for a long time, then stood there in a daze, waiting for the next instructions.
"Third, come sit by me!" After the First Elder, Sawagen Senju, spoke, he motioned for the person beside him to make room for two seats.
Seeing that the three in the seat of honor said nothing, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and nodded to the person who had given up his seat, then sat beside the First Elder with Danzo.
Once everything was ready, they received a signal from the platform.
Senji Senju, who was in charge of punishment and interrogation, circulated his Chakra and shouted to the Senju clansmen below, "Silence! Watch the execution!"
"Bring Tachihito Senju out to be punished!"
After hearing the shout, the clan members below stopped chatting and focused on what was happening in the middle of the venue.
After the second shout, two Senju ninja in battle armor on the left brought Fourth Elder Tachihito Senju to the center of the grounds.
Seeing the changes in the arena, Uka Senju remembered the Fourth Elder's punishment: Thousand Ants Devour the Heart!
Just as he was wondering how they would carry out this punishment in an empty space,
the two ninja who had brought the man onto the grounds made their next move.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall
The familiar Tiger-Snake-Tiger-Snake-Tiger-Snake.
The six Seals stayed in their hands for just over a second.
Two streams of water shot from their mouths.
The water flowed around the Fourth Elder, forming a rectangular enclosure with no top.
Seeing how they used the technique, Uka Senju couldn't help raising his eyebrows.
One man made three sides and the other made two?
Thinking of the one side he had just learned to make, he shook his head, understanding how the gap between people could be greater than the gap between people and dogs.
But if they were using this, why not use the Water Prison Technique?
With that question in mind, Uka kept watching.
After the Water Release technique surrounded the Fourth Elder, another person entered the grounds, their entire body wrapped in black cloth.
Carrying a small wooden bucket, he walked up to the Water Formation Wall. First, he took a glass bottle from his clothes and tossed it inside the wall.
Then he lifted the bucket and poured everything inside through the opening at the top of the Water Formation Wall.