"Morning, Guren."
"Morning~"
Guren greeted Naoki Senju somewhat awkwardly. Although this was only her first day living here, she had felt truly safe last night, safer than she ever had before. Perhaps this was what "home" felt like...
"Come down and have breakfast with us once you've washed up."
"Okay~"
After a quick wash, Guren headed downstairs with some apprehension.
Judging by yesterday's experience, Princess Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin renowned alongside Lord Orochimaru, could hardly be called welcoming toward her. Hopefully things would be a little better today.
"Greetings, Lady Tsunade."
Guren lowered her head respectfully in greeting. Tsunade, who sat casually on the tatami, replied offhandedly:
"Since Naoki invited you, sit down and eat with us."
"Yes." Guren carefully sat down beside Naoki Senju. The gesture made Tsunade raise an elegant eyebrow, and she decided she absolutely had to make Naoki sit between her and Shizune tomorrow, lest the little vixen seduce him.
The breakfast Naoki Senju had prepared was as lavish as ever. There were soup dumplings, which Tsunade had praised endlessly after trying them once, and soup made with fresh river fish. Her favorite roast young chicken was, of course, indispensable.
After breakfast, Naoki Senju pushed open the courtyard gate, about to begin today's Ninjutsu training, only to find Kabuto Yakushi standing straight outside.
Upon seeing Naoki Senju come out, Kabuto Yakushi immediately approached and said ingratiatingly:
"Lord Naoki, your subordinate has been waiting for quite some time."
But Naoki Senju was not fooled by Kabuto Yakushi's behavior. This was a ruthless strategist, deeply calculating and skilled at hiding his ambitions-the Sima Yi type. As it happened, Naoki Senju liked to style himself as Cao Cao...
"You're not my subordinate. Saying that now, aren't you afraid Orochimaru will find out?" In a rather good mood, Naoki Senju did not keep picking on Kabuto Yakushi. After all, he would still need to use him to research "immortal cells" and squeeze out his remaining value. Being too harsh on him in such a short time could easily affect his efficiency.
"I'm sure Lord Orochimaru wouldn't mind. Isn't that right, Lord Naoki?"
Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses and gave a very restrained smile. Just as he had predicted, Naoki Senju had stopped targeting him, but his specific purpose still required further observation...
"Don't smile anymore. It turns people's stomachs."
Kabuto Yakushi's standard villainous smirk was truly hard to stomach. If he added a "kekeke" laugh, he would be a minor villain who wouldn't survive three chapters.
Although Naoki Senju's warning was mild, Kabuto Yakushi did not dare ignore it and quickly wiped the smile from his lips. Even though his patience was nearly at its limit, he could only say respectfully:
"Lord Naoki, Lord Orochimaru is currently conducting 'adaptation experiments' at the experimental base. Would you like to go?"
Naoki Senju waved a hand. He had absolutely no interest in watching Orochimaru's so-called "adaptation experiments." They would not produce results anyway.
A stick, then a carrot. Naoki Senju took a sealing scroll from inside his clothes, handed it to Kabuto Yakushi, and instructed him:
"This is Sister Tsunade's experimental report on cell structure and observations of cell division. Your task is to continue the research in it. Creating 'immortal cells' definitely won't be achieved through crude transplantation. Ultimately, we have to start with the cells themselves."
Kabuto Yakushi accepted the scroll and unrolled a small portion, immediately finding himself drawn to the cellular knowledge recorded on it. Cells were not Orochimaru's primary research focus, so all this knowledge was new to Kabuto Yakushi.
"Rest assured, Lord Naoki. Leave the cellular research to me."
After Kabuto Yakushi left, Naoki Senju continued toward the mountaintop to learn the remaining Wood Release Ninjutsu. Immortality was far beyond reach, while the present was within his grasp. Only strength was something he could rely on!
And just then, a letter quietly left the hideout in the Land of Rice Fields...
Three days later · Konoha · Root hideout
Danzo raised his sole remaining arm, his left, and opened a letter with some difficulty. Written in it was a jumble of meaningless characters.
Yet Danzo had no trouble reading it, because he had devised this cipher himself.
But the more he deciphered, the more alarmed he became, until undisguised rage filled his heart.
"No wonder the Root ninja I sent still haven't returned. Damn Orochimaru! He actually dared lay hands on Root ninja, and even took in and sheltered Tsunade and that Senju brat!"
After a bout of impotent rage, Danzo slumped helplessly into his chair. Orochimaru's strength stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World, and he had gathered a large number of ninja clans and wandering ninja. His forces could not be underestimated either. Root alone might not even be enough to keep Orochimaru from soloing them.
And that brat who had escaped from the Senju Clan had actually awakened Wood Release!
Had the spy planted at Orochimaru's side not risked his life to send out the intelligence, Danzo would probably still be unaware that another Senju Clan ninja wielding the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai had emerged.
As it happened, he was among the few ninja who knew Wood Release's true power. Others could only learn about it through books and secret accounts, and even those contained only scattered fragments, because the grass on the graves of every ninja who had faced the First Hokage head-on was already three meters tall.
Even onlookers like them remained deeply reticent about it. Power that terrifying brought only fear, just as the Uchiha Clan feared Madara Uchiha.
"Perhaps this is a chance for Konoha to rise..."
No sooner had the thought flashed through his mind than Danzo rejected it.
"No. Since that Wood Release brat is under Orochimaru's protection now, Root's operation must have been exposed too. If he returns to Konoha... what will happen to Root and to me, its leader, goes without saying."
And even if he could keep his life, the Hokage position would be forever beyond his reach. The others in Konoha would surely nominate the Senju Clan member with Wood Release as Hokage-even that old man Sarutobi!
"In for a penny, in for a pound!"
Danzo's bloodshot gaze grew increasingly vicious, his aura increasingly dangerous.
"Someone, come!"
A Root ninja wearing a red demon mask appeared in the room. Upon sensing Danzo's cold, savage aura, he lowered his head further.
Danzo pulled over a scroll, his brush moving with great force, as though venting the anger and hidden fear in his heart.
"Deliver this scroll to Hanzō of Amegakure."
Then, feeling that was not enough, he took out another scroll and quickly finished writing it.
"Deliver this scroll to the Akatsuki."
The Root ninja accepted both scrolls and vanished from the room in an instant.
After doing all this, Danzo seemed to lose his strength and closed his left eye. Yet he still faced the center of Konoha, toward the building known as the Hokage Building...
The hideout in the Land of Rice Fields.
Orochimaru tossed a ninja who had undergone brutal torture, with not a single uninjured patch left on his body, before Tsunade and Naoki Senju. Meeting Tsunade's puzzled gaze, Orochimaru explained:
"He was a spy Danzo planted at my side. Three days ago, he sent out a piece of intelligence at all costs. Unfortunately, because of the Cursed Seal of the Tongue, I couldn't interrogate him to find out exactly what he sent. This place has been exposed. We'll have to move to another hideout."