Konoha appeared peaceful on the surface, but undercurrents were stirring in the shadows. The Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan had each quietly drawn dozens of clans to their side. Now, caught up by the two major powers, these clans were beginning to form opposing camps. They were all waiting for the Hokage confirmation meeting, with only one goal: to stand against Tobirama Senju and make sure the Senju Clan never obtained the Hokage Position.
Tobirama Senju sat in the Hokage's office, soft light streaming through the window onto a desk piled high with documents. His pen never stopped moving as he handled Konoha's affairs, big and small. The turmoil outside seemed unable to affect him in the slightest. He frowned slightly as his gaze swept over an urgent intelligence report, and a cold, disdainful smile appeared on his lips. In his eyes, the schemes outside were nothing but the tricks of a bunch of clowns before absolute strength. As long as he, Tobirama Senju, held the fort in Konoha, no one could turn the village upside down.
Night fell, shrouding Konoha in darkness. The occasional bark broke the silence. At Tsubasa's home on Hokage Street, Senju Ga packed his belongings with reluctance written all over her face. She carefully placed clothes and daily necessities into cases, filling the carriage with bags large and small. "Child, take good care of yourself when you get to the Senju Clan Compound," she said softly, her eyes full of worry and affection.
Mei'er stood to one side, quietly sorting the smaller items, loyalty and resolve in her eyes. She had followed Senju Ga for many years, and now that she had been assigned to serve Tsubasa, she had long since come to regard the task as her mission.
The night passed, and the first light of dawn appeared. Senju Tenpuku led the horse as the carriage made its way slowly toward the Senju Clan Compound. Sitting in the carriage, Tsubasa looked back at his home as it receded into the distance, his feelings a jumble. He knew unknown challenges awaited him once he entered the Senju Clan Compound, but his eyes shone with resolve, without a trace of fear.
The gates of the Senju ancestral home slowly opened, and Senju Tenpuku and his party filed inside. Mito Uzumaki came forward to greet them warmly, her face wreathed in smiles and her eyes full of sincerity and delight. Her gaze fell on Tsubasa. The boy was handsome and carried himself exceptionally well; his every movement was composed and polite, making him easy to like from the bottom of one's heart. What was more, his talent was first-rate. There was simply nothing to fault about him. Now he had become her husband Hashirama Senju's disciple, his only personal disciple at that. To Mito, wasn't he practically half a son to her? She resolved to see that every aspect of the boy's life was properly arranged and that he wanted for nothing.
As soon as Tsubasa entered the ancestral home, he followed Hashirama Senju straight to the training ground. He entrusted the daily necessities to Mei'er without concern. The training ground was empty and quiet, and the air itself seemed to carry a solemn atmosphere. Tsubasa's heartbeat quickened. Both nervous and excited, he knew his path of cultivation was about to begin here.
Hashirama Senju looked at Tsubasa and said seriously, "In the Senju Clan, children start learning the basics at two years old. The first things they learn are stance training and breathing techniques. Your circumstances were unusual; you were bedridden all that time and never came into contact with them. So we'll start with those two. Our Senju Clan's stance training is no ordinary method. It's called Moving Stance Training. You don't just stand there; you have to use footwork, moving around while holding the stance, and combine it with a unique breathing technique. Don't underestimate this method. It can engage every muscle in your body, and even train your internal organs. It's the foundation of the Senju Clan and a supreme manual of the Strong Fist school, specifically used to build children's foundations. But it places extremely high demands on the body. Only people like us Senju, born with Sage Bodies, can practice it. If someone from another clan tried, they might well ruin their body!"
With that, Hashirama Senju stepped back and began demonstrating Moving Stance Training and the breathing technique. His steps were light, and he moved across the training ground like flowing clouds and water. Every movement was steady and powerful, his breathing long and even, and an intangible aura radiated from him. Tsubasa watched without blinking, his heart full of astonishment, and silently resolved to master the method.
When it was Tsubasa's turn to practice, he took a deep breath and copied Hashirama as he took the first step. But at first, his posture was as awkward as could be. His arms and legs refused to cooperate; either his steps were wrong or his breathing was out of rhythm. Anxious and discouraged, he broke out in fine beads of sweat. Hashirama Senju patiently guided him from the side, constantly helping him adjust his posture. "Take a slightly bigger step. Yes, that's it. Your breathing-keep it steady, don't rush..." With Hashirama correcting him again and again, Tsubasa gradually got a feel for it. His movements grew smoother, and his control over his body became more precise.
He practiced for the entire morning, going through Moving Stance Training hundreds of times on the training ground. His clothes were already soaked with sweat and clung tightly to his body, and his wet hair stuck to his forehead, but his gaze grew ever more determined. Hashirama Senju watched from the side, dumbfounded and inwardly amazed. This disciple of mine is an absolute freak! Senju children start practicing Moving Stance Training at two, and even by the time they're ten, they collapse from exhaustion after only about ten rounds a day. But my disciple has only just started learning it today, and he's already so proficient. He's reached in one day what takes others ten years, and his endurance is practically divine. Other people can't go on after ten rounds, but he's done hundreds. Even though he's sweating buckets from exhaustion, he still looks like he has energy to spare.
Seeing this, Hashirama Senju hurriedly told Tsubasa to stop and praised him. "Good lad! You've reached this level on your very first day. You're the first person in the Senju Clan's entire history to do that! All right, you must be starving. Let's have lunch first, then we'll continue this afternoon!"
Tsubasa followed Hashirama Senju to the dining room, where Mito Uzumaki was already waiting by the table. More than a hundred delicious dishes covered it, each a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate. Tsubasa stared in a daze and couldn't help marveling, As expected of the most powerful clan in the Hokage world. This is unbelievably extravagant!
After a whole morning of Moving Stance Training, Tsubasa's stomach had long been rumbling as if in protest. The moment he saw the dazzling spread on the table, his eyes lit up, and he swallowed involuntarily. The aromas wafted straight into his nose, making him itch to eat. How could he hold back? Still, when Hashirama Senju said they could start eating, Tsubasa first bowed politely to him and Mito Uzumaki before eagerly digging in.
He wolfed down his food, his cheeks bulging like those of a greedy little squirrel. Mito Uzumaki watched with a fond smile, her eyes full of affection. To her, the way the boy ate was the most adorable sight in the world, innocent and unpretentious, and it warmed her heart.
Hashirama Senju watched Tsubasa and patiently instructed him as he ate. "Using the breathing technique while you eat can activate your stomach and intestines, letting you absorb the energy in your food quickly. That way, you can quickly replenish the strength you used up exercising and make your body stronger. Even your internal organs get a workout."
Hearing this, Tsubasa hurriedly adjusted his breathing as his master had instructed. He took a deep breath, feeling the organs inside his body pulse gently with each breath, then focused that rhythm on his stomach and intestines. Something miraculous happened: the food he had just eaten was quickly digested, turning into a warm current that flowed to his internal organs before spreading through the flesh and blood of his entire body. Astonished and delighted, Tsubasa couldn't help exclaiming, "This world is amazing. It's practically the perfect place for Immortal Cultivation!"
He grew more practiced as he ate, and his appetite grew larger and larger. Before long, he had mastered this unique way of eating. At this meal, he ate five times his usual amount. At first, he had thought it excessive for his master's wife to prepare so much food, but now he realized it was just enough to fill his stomach.
Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki were once again astonished by Tsubasa's performance. They exchanged a look, their eyes full of disbelief. Ordinary people couldn't learn this eating technique at all. Hashirama Senju himself had taken two years to master it, and most people in the clan had spent ten or twenty years on it. But Tsubasa had learned it in the space of a single meal. His ability to learn and comprehend was simply heaven-defying. Hashirama Senju couldn't help wondering, Is this boy even human? Could he be an immortal descended to earth?
After the meal, Hashirama Senju brought Tsubasa to a quiet cultivation room. It was utterly silent inside, apart from the occasional birdsong. The two sat cross-legged facing each other, and Hashirama Senju said seriously, "Next, we're going to learn how to extract Chakra from the body. Before we begin, I want to ask you something. What are your aspirations? Or rather, what is your greatest ideal in life, your ultimate pursuit?"
The question caught Tsubasa off guard. He couldn't help pondering what he had come to this world for. Was it to become the strongest person in the world, or to defeat the Ōtsutsuki Clan when they invaded in the future? On closer thought, those seemed to be merely ways of dealing with future crises, not his true ideals. What, then, was his ideal? In his previous life, he had only wanted to live comfortably from day to day and drink while the wine was there. But now that he had transmigrated, could he go on loafing around like that? Of course not! Since the door to Immortal Cultivation had opened before him, he had to pursue the longevity everyone desired. People in this world generally didn't live long; sixty was considered a ripe old age. Yet beings like Katsuyu Sage, the Toad Sage, and the White Snake Sage had all lived for more than a thousand years. Why could small animals live so long when humans couldn't? At that thought, Tsubasa silently resolved that the greatest goal of his life would be to live forever!
Seeing that Tsubasa had remained silent for so long, Hashirama Senju assumed he was too young to have thought about such things and said, "You're still young. It's normal not to have a goal in life yet, so there's no need to rush your answer. Listen to my story first."